The artifact is truly masterful, David mused as they walked. It provides complete social camouflage, not just visual deception.

They navigated deeper into the palace, David's strategic mind continuously updating his mental map while the Umbra Veil managed his social interactions. Luna scouted ahead through wall shadows, reporting guard positions and magical ward configurations, while Vespera phased through solid barriers to identify potential threats.

"Main stairwell to detention levels is clear," Veylith's voice advised through the crystal. "But move quickly, security patterns suggest they're more cautious tonight than usual."

****

The descent to the detention levels marked a clear architectural transition. Opulent palace decorations gave way to utilitarian stone corridors, and the air grew colder, damper. More concerning were the increasingly complex magical wards, these weren't designed to deter casual trespassers but to contain serious threats.

David's disguise shifted again as they entered the restricted areas. The Umbra Veil transformed him into a senior guard, taller, broader, with the confident bearing of someone accustomed to authority. His voice deepened to match, carrying the crisp tones of military discipline.

Excellent, he noted. This identity will grant access to secured areas without suspicion.

But the transformation came with a cost. The increased height and mass required more energy to maintain, and David's already strained control wavered dangerously. Pain lanced through his skull with renewed intensity, and for a moment his vision blurred.

"Status report," he muttered, ostensibly speaking to his "subordinates" but actually checking on Luna and Vespera.

"Northern corridor clear, Master," Luna responded through their bond. "But I've located the detention chambers. Three prisoners as expected, heavy magical bindings, rotating guard schedule."

"Magical suppression fields are centralized," Vespera added. "There's a control focus somewhere in the adjacent chambers."

David nodded, filing the information away while fighting another wave of pain. The power suppression was reaching critical levels, he could feel his carefully maintained balance beginning to crack. But the mission took priority over personal comfort.

Pain's a message, he reminded himself. And the message is clear, wrap this up.

They rounded a corner following Veylith's puppet guide, and David suddenly stopped dead. Before him stood an ornate door that seemed to radiate warmth and light even in the corridor's darkness. Golden runes covered its surface, pulsing with power that made his skin tingle and his suppressed abilities react violently.

The pain in his skull exploded into white-hot agony, and David barely managed to bite back a cry. His hands clenched into fists as the careful control he maintained over his power wavered dangerously. For a terrifying moment, he felt his true strength beginning to leak through the suppression.

"Master!" Luna's alarmed voice cut through the haze of pain. "That door, the magical signature is immense. And your aura just...what happened?"

The puppet servant beside him suddenly spoke in Veylith's voice: "Master, that door leads to the Sun Empress's private throne chamber. We need to avoid it completely, the magical protections are beyond anything we can handle."

But even as she spoke, text materialized in David's vision, text that only he could see:

[SYSTEM QUEST MANDATORY]

Quest: "Heart of Solar Power"

Objective: Gain access to the Sun Empress's private chamber

Reward: Elixir of Natural Suppression - Eliminate pain from rank suppression while maintaining foundation building

Warning: Extremely dangerous, This quest cannot be declined or postponed. Failure to complete within the current arc will result in permanent foundation damage.

Quest Status: ACTIVE

David stared at the impossible demand, fury and desperation warring in his chest. The system wasn't asking, it was commanding. There was no decline option, no alternative path. The quest had simply activated, trapping him into pursuing what appeared to be certain death.

Damn system, he thought bitterly. So it finally bares its fangs.

"Master, something about that door feels... wrong," Vespera said, her ethereal form flickering with agitation. "Not evil, but dangerous in ways I can't identify. And your emotional state just shifted dramatically, what aren't you telling us?"

David forced his expression back to neutrality, though his hands still trembled with suppressed rage. "Environmental magical interference," he said, the lie coming easily despite the turmoil within. "We have a mission to complete."

He approached the Sun Door, desperate hope overriding tactical caution. If there was even a chance of easy access, if the system's demand could be fulfilled quickly, perhaps he could save himself and complete the rescue simultaneously.

David placed his palm against the door's golden surface. The runes flared brilliantly, scanning him with thorough intensity, then dimmed back to their previous state. Nothing else happened.

New text appeared:

[ACCESS DENIED]

Reason: Insufficient bloodline authentication

Sun Door requires: Royal Sun Bloodline verification

Current user bloodline: None detected Quest remains active. Alternative access method must be found.

"Of course," David muttered under his breath, pulling his hand back from the useless door. The system had trapped him into an impossible quest with no clear path to completion. The elixir that could solve his power suppression problems lay behind magical barriers he had no legitimate way to breach.

"Master," Luna's voice carried deep concern. "We need to move. Veylith says guard rotation happens in fifteen minutes, and you still need to disable the suppression fields."

David forced himself to turn away from the Sun Door, though the mandatory quest weighed on him like a physical burden. Every instinct screamed at him to find a solution, to break through those golden barriers by force if necessary. But tactical thinking overrode desperation, drawing that kind of attention would doom the entire mission.

Later, he promised himself.

****

The magical suppression control chamber was heavily warded but designed more for preventing prisoner escapes than stopping infiltration from outside. David's senior guard disguise granted him automatic access to most restricted areas, and the few that required additional authorization were easily bypassed with Luna's shadow manipulation.

"Elegant system," David observed, studying the central control focus. Crystal matrices channeled suppression fields throughout the detention level, powered by solar energy and maintained through runic amplifiers. "Disable the primary focus, and every cell opens simultaneously."

"Two guards in the rotation chamber," Vespera reported, phasing back through the wall. "One on duty, one resting. Professional quality, they won't be easily distracted."

David nodded, pain still pounding behind his eyes as he formulated the approach. The suppression in here was even worse, as if the chamber's very purpose worked against his own carefully maintained control. But strategic thinking cut through the discomfort with practiced ease.

Luna disables the focus through shadow manipulation, silent and untraceable. Vespera neutralizes the resting guard while I handle the active one. Timing window: thirty seconds between guard checks.

"Positions," he murmured, and his companions moved with deadly precision.

David approached the control chamber door, adjusting his Umbra Veil to display appropriate guard credentials. His hand closed on the door handle just as a voice behind him called out:

"I don't recognize you, Guard. What's your business here at this hour?"

David froze, every muscle in his body coiled for action.

Three options, he calculated in the split second before turning around. Bluff with authority, create a distraction, or eliminate the threat permanently.