Chapter 40: The Burden of Oversight

Elysia led the way out of the subterranean holding area, her soft footfalls guiding Ren through a succession of damp, torch-lit tunnels that slowly sloped upward.

The low, oppressive atmosphere of the dungeons broke apart as they ascended a massive spiral staircase constructed from polished white granite. Towering arched windows lined the stairwell, casting beams of midday sun across the intricate brass banisters.

At the top of the stairwell, heavy double doors swung open into a sweeping, open-air balcony.

The grand palace unfolded before them. Intricate marble pillars arched high overhead, framing a view of the central court below. Terraced gardens spanned the grounds, choked with vibrant, exotic flora that wrapped around multi-tiered stone fountains. Cascades of clear water caught the light, spraying thin mists over the manicured hedges.

Standing at the balustrade, her hands resting against the carved stone railing as she stared out over the royal grounds, was Evelyn.

"Evelyn," Elysia called out, her tone light as a small smile touched her lips.

Evelyn turned instantly. Her eyes swept over Ren, her expression snapping cold as she raised two fingers, pointing them straight at his chest.

BZZT.

A sharp, humming array of blue mana materialized at her fingertips, the air around her hand crackling with immediate violent force.

"Whoa—hold on!" Ren raised both palms, taking a sudden step back.

"Evelyn, relax!" Elysia stepped between them, gently resting her hands over Evelyn’s forearm to press her fingers downward. "It’s really Ren. NYX isn’t controlling him."

Ren nodded quickly, keeping his palms up.

Evelyn didn’t drop her stance right away. Her blue eyes narrowed, fixed on Ren with unyielding scrutiny. "And how am I supposed to know that isn’t a front?"

Her words hit like a cold draft. "You could be wearing his face while the entity waits for an opening."

"Don’t get the wrong idea," Ren said, rubbing the back of his neck as he let out a dry, awkward laugh. "I’m just me. If NYX were operating the controls, I would’ve torn the roof off the dungeon by now instead of standing here, wouldn’t I?"

He maintained the casual smile, though a faint tension remained in his back. He couldn’t blame her for the paranoia. As a high-ranking noble and a scion of the Grace lineage, Evelyn understood the reality of the dark gods, the celestial lore, and the ongoing war with the Heretical Dark Faction far better than a transmigrated outsider ever could.

"Sister, please," Elysia murmured, her smile persistent as she pushed Evelyn’s hand all the way down. "I can read his mana signature. It’s completely clear."

Evelyn glanced at her sister, her tone stern. "Elysia, drop the habit of trusting everyone so easily. If you let your guard down around strangers, you’ll end up with a blade between your ribs."

Elysia merely tilted her head, her smile unbothered.

Ren’s eyebrow twitched slightly. *Hey, I’m standing right here.*

He let out a short breath, cutting straight to the point. "Look, Elysia said you wanted a word. What’s on your mind?"

Evelyn turned her full attention back to him, her gaze sweeping over his frame from his boots to his messy dark hair, calculating every posture.

Ren shifted his weight slightly. Being dissected by someone that stunning felt less like a conversation and more like an interrogation.

"Yes," Evelyn said, adjusting the cuffs of her royal attire with deliberate elegance. "There are matters we need to address."

Elysia looked between the two of them, taking in the dense, silent tension hanging in the air. She rubbed her arm with a dry chuckle. "All right... you two are entirely too stiff. I’m going to head out."

She offered a quick wave, turning on her heel. "Try not to level the balcony."

Ren watched her depart, his eyebrows pulling together. ’Wait—Elysia, don’t leave me alone with her. This is going to get insufferable.’

"Follow me," Evelyn said, turning away without waiting for a response.

Ren nodded silently, falling into step three paces behind her.

They left the balcony behind, traversing a grand interior corridor lined with vaulted ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and deep crimson carpets that muffled their footfalls. The only sound echoing through the wide hall was the rhythmic, firm *click-clack* of Evelyn’s heels against the polished floorboards.

The silence dragged on until Evelyn spoke, her head remaining straight ahead.

"Ren. I have a question for you."

"Ask away," Ren replied.

"What exactly are you?" she asked, her voice calm yet sharp. "And why is the dark god NYX rooted inside your body?"

Ren paused briefly before continuing his stride. The honest answer was that he didn’t fully grasp it himself. Was it a byproduct of the system interface that had yanked him out of death when he first arrived in this world? Or was it linked to his past life as Elian on Earth, when he touched that strange purple monolith inside the ancient pyramid?

He had no memories from the original owner of this body that explained a dark deity’s presence. Every piece of his current situation was an unsolved puzzle, one he was trying to piece together as he navigated this magic-laden realm.

"I don’t know," Ren answered truthfully, keeping his voice steady. "I don’t have an answer for how NYX got in there."

Evelyn glanced back over her shoulder, her brow casting a slight shadow over her eyes. "You expect me to believe you have total amnesia regarding a dark entity anchored to your soul core?"

Ren gave a simple, helpless shrug.

Evelyn didn’t press the matter immediately. She stopped before a set of massive, gold-embossed oak doors, placed her hand against the central emblem, and pushed them open.

The room beyond was an expansive private vault, designed like a high-end archive. Glass display cabinets lined the perimeter, housing ancient artifacts under protective wards. At the far end of the hall, enclosed within a reinforced glass case, hovered two deep-purple crystals. They emitted a low, rhythmic pulse of dark violet light.

Ren stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking onto the twin stones.

He recognized them instantly. Prior to his foray into Vora’s subspace, he and Elysia had recovered one of those stolen gems. Seeing it now, mounted beside its twin, pulled a strange chord in his memory.

The structure, the facets, the internal hum—it was identical to the purple crystal he had surveyed in the desert pyramid back on Earth, right before his world went dark and he woke up in this body.

’Is there really a connection between those stones and my transmigration?’

"These are the ancestral crystals of our royal house," Evelyn stated, stepping up to the glass casing. "Inherited through generations of the Grace line."

"What do they actually do?" Ren asked, coming up beside her.

"They serve a dual purpose," Evelyn explained, staring at the purple radiance reflected in the glass. "They contain the necessary mana frequencies to elevate the Grace bloodline’s arts, and more importantly, they act as the primary catalyst to bind and seal NYX’s power."

Ren’s brow furrowed. "To seal NYX?"

He paused, piecing her previous words together. "Wait. Does that mean you were the one who suppressed the entity inside me back on the hill?"

"I was," Evelyn confirmed flatly.

Ren stared at the glowing shards as his mind raced. If these purple stones were built specifically to contain an ancient dark god, then what was the identical stone doing inside a human archaeological site back on Earth? How did a non-magical modern government acquire an artifact built for divine containment?

The pieces refused to fit together cleanly.

"Hey," Evelyn’s voice cut through his thoughts. She was waving her hand inches from his face, looking at him with a mix of irritation and suspicion. "Where did your mind just drift off to?"

"Ah—nothing," Ren cleared his throat, snapping back to reality. "So... what’s the actual takeaway here? Why bring me to the vault?"

Evelyn turned her full frame toward him, her demeanor shifting into total authority. "Because NYX resides within your core, I cannot allow you to roam freely without supervision."

Ren blinked, the words taking a moment to land. "Hold on... ’without supervision’? Are you saying you’re placing me under house arrest?"

"I am stating that your mobility will be restricted," Evelyn replied coldly.

"Look, Princess, can we negotiate this?" Ren pressed, his shoulders stiffening. "I just got out of an iron cell."

The last thing he needed was to have his freedom stripped away. His ultimate goal was to move out, find a territory, and leverage his system to build a secure base. Being locked under a royal guard’s microscope ruined every plan he had set up.

"There is no negotiation," Evelyn cut him off, her voice absolute. "If you lose control again, NYX takes the reins. That makes you an immediate threat to this kingdom, to my people, and to me. You will not be left unmonitored."

She took a deliberate step closer, her blue eyes fixing onto his. "Furthermore, the Heretical Dark Faction is active. If they discover a living vessel containing NYX’s essence, they will hunt you down, break you, and use that power to erase Starlight Kingdom. You aren’t walking around as a target."

"I am taking personal responsibility for your oversight," she added.

Ren’s shoulders dropped slightly as he took a slow breath.

He looked her up and down. Having a top-tier powerhouse keeping tabs on him wasn’t entirely a loss. She possessed the exact bloodline magic required to suppress NYX if the seal ever breached again, acting as a natural safety net while he focused on expanding his resources.

"Do I still get to move around?" Ren asked, confirming the boundaries. "Or am I chained to a wall in a nicer room?"

"You have functional freedom within defined parameters," Evelyn stated. "Provided I am aware of your location."

Ren sighed, running a hand through his hair. ’Great. So I’ve got a high-ranking royal playing shadow monitor.’

"Fine," Ren muttered, turning toward the double doors. "If that’s the whole speech, I’ll take my leave. I’ve got things to sort out."

He wanted out of the tense atmosphere, eager to inspect the city perimeter and map out a location to utilize his 2,458 CM and 776 CP.

"Wait," Evelyn called out.

Ren halted, his hand hovering near the brass door handle. He looked back over his shoulder. "Is there something else?"

Evelyn closed the distance between them, her footfalls quiet against the stone. She stopped directly in front of him, her blue eyes narrowing as she locked onto his expression with absolute precision.

"There is one more matter," she said, her voice dropping into a low, measured register.

Ren held his breath, uncomfortable under the weight of her stare.

"You possess the ability to construct and manifest structures out of nothing, don’t you?"

The words hung in the air like a cold blade.

Ren froze instantly. His pulse spiked, his jaw locking as his eyes widened in genuine shock.

’How the hell does she know about the system’s creation protocol?’

Before he could craft a response or pull his expression back under control, Evelyn maintained her steady, unblinking glare.

"If my information is correct..." Evelyn continued, her voice remaining razor-sharp. "...I require your assistance."