The interior of Yino’s castle extended before them, the hallways were wide with black marble columns that could serve as cover and stairs that divided into multiple levels to confuse invaders.

As they followed the trail of corruption and energy that Dragarion had left in his wake, they realized the same reality that Selphira’s group had encountered: there were no signs of resistance in the main halls.

“This is unsettling,” Julius murmured while observing the empty hallways. “I expected at least some traces of resistance… Yino’s soldiers seem too organized to be all in sync avoiding fights all the way here.”

Though there were foot soldiers scattered through the hallways, they were all from Yano.

The explanation why came when they intercepted a minor officer who was coordinating the evacuation of non-combatant personnel.

“Selphira asked the bulk of the ’opportunists’ and general soldiers to support at the front line where our King had been,” Julius explained after briefly interrogating the man.

They didn’t know they would find only a hole and an aerial battle, but at least they’re not interfering too much with the entry.

The group advanced more quickly and without too much caution through the hallways now that they understood why they were finding so little resistance.

The situation was becoming clearer. The enemy had consolidated their best forces at a specific chokepoint, abandoning the outer defenses to concentrate on protecting whatever lay in the castle’s depths.

As they descended the main stairs leading to the castle’s deeper levels, the atmosphere began to change.

The air became denser, charged with energies that pulsed from the depths like the beating of a gigantic heart.

They could feel Selphira’s power and the others in her group fighting several levels below.

It was a familiar sensation for those who had experienced high-level combat: that particular vibration created by powerful beasts when they clashed against equally formidable forces.

But that sensation was becoming increasingly difficult to perceive.

The King’s growing power gradually overshadowed everything, as if a star had begun to shine in the castle’s depths, making all other lights seem dim in comparison.

Dragarion was forcing himself again. Ren could sense it clearer than the others through his connection with the fungus, that erratic resonance that indicated when someone was channeling energy in a forced manner, in a way their clogged system shouldn’t be handling.

Julius looked at Ren with concern that had been building. His eyes clearly said what his words couldn’t express in front of the others: How bad is my father’s condition really?

Ren looked at Larissa. She also appeared worried, her hands clenched in fists as she advanced, but when she noticed his gaze she smiled sideways at him.

It was a smile that spoke of years of resignation, of a girl who had grown up accepting the reality of a stubborn father.

It was the expression of someone who had learned to accept that this was how her father was: brilliant even in his absence, too powerful, and completely incapable of doing things halfway regardless of the cost.

“Very Dragarion-like,” Julius murmured, as if that explained everything. And for those who knew him, it really did.

At that moment, Han stopped abruptly.

The group had been moving as a cohesive unit, but now Han separated toward a side hallway, his eyes fixed on a direction that didn’t lead toward where the others had gone.

His movement was sudden, instinctive. Something was calling to him.

“Han,” Ren called softly, recognizing the expression on his companion’s face.

The expression he had seen on his parents’ faces. The look of someone who had found something they had been missing too much.

But it was a little different…

A desperate hope and absolute terror at the possibility that this hope could be destroyed. The fear that what he was sensing might be real, or worse, that it might not be.

“I can feel her,” Han whispered, his voice also charged with an emotion he had never shown. “It has to be my sister… She’s close. Really close.”

The certainty in his voice was both touching and concerning.

Ren gripped the diamond potion that the King hadn’t taken, feeling the weight of the decision he had to make.

His eyes met Larissa’s, who observed the situation with that mature perception that characterized her. She understood what was at stake for Han. If there was a chance, however small, to find her…

Larissa nodded silently at him. The gesture said: I understand how important family is. Let him go.

“Go,” Ren murmured. “But be careful. Your corrupt beast…”

“I know,” Han interrupted, already backing toward the side hallway.

He disappeared into the hallway’s shadows, following a presentiment that pulled him toward another part of the castle with an urgency that had been growing.

The rest of the group continued their descent, but now the air had become even more tense.

They continued down stairs that became progressively narrower, until they reached a point where the descent became a true bottleneck.

There were many people accumulated in what had essentially become a tunnel. They weren’t common soldiers; they were only the strongest foot soldiers of the kingdom, but still there were dozens of powerful tamers trying to advance simultaneously through a space that hadn’t been designed for such traffic volume.

The problem was obvious and frustrating. All their enhanced capabilities meant nothing when basic physics constrained their movement through architectural chokepoints.

“Let us through!” Julius shouted, trying to use his authority as prince, but his voice was lost in the chaos of the battle ahead.

Dragarion, being the King and having the advantage of being alone, had passed them by flying without ceremony.

Larissa could jump with Ren, Wei and Zhao could carry Julius and someone else, but it would be little use for them to get ahead without the other fragments carried by the large group.

The energy transfer system they had developed required multiple carriers working in coordination. Breaking that chain would defeat the purpose of their mission.

“I’m Prince Julius!” he tried again, but the noise was deafening.

It was then that Ren noticed the guards who had been carrying fragments of draconic power were beginning to show signs of serious overload.

Wei, who had insisted on carrying a portion slightly larger than what Ren had initially injected, now trembled visibly. His breathing was labored and he sweated profusely despite the cold air of the underground castle.

The symptoms were escalating beyond what any normal tamer could safely endure.

“I have an idea,” Ren murmured, observing the crowd blocking them with new eyes.