Strongest Incubus System

Nera’s statement remained inside the cell for several seconds, but Damon did not allow the silence to decide its meaning for him. Being Xue Lian’s successor might sound like an important revelation to everyone else, but to him it was still only an interpretation built upon events no one fully understood. He had received an elemental root and a transformed body after interfering with a sealed memory, but that did not mean he had inherited that woman’s will, goals, or enemies. The only concrete certainty was that Seraphine believed there was something useful inside him, and that belief had already placed children in danger, awakened the Subterranean Heart, and triggered movements that had nearly destroyed Arven.

Damon stood carefully, respecting his body’s limits without displaying unnecessary weakness in front of Nera. Ester watched the movement closely, ready to catch him if his legs failed, but he managed to remain steady. The stiffness was still present in his muscles, especially after so many days forcing an incomplete recovery, but the pain no longer controlled every decision. He walked to the small barred window of the cell and watched the light cross the underground corridor before looking back at Nera.

”Seraphine believes I am Xue Lian’s successor, but you still have not explained why that makes me useful beyond the Heart. I want the part you keep avoiding.”

Nera kept her expression controlled, but the question struck exactly the point she had been trying to evade. Elizabeth noticed immediately. Morgana did as well. The prisoner had explained the origin of the stories, described the three parts of the inheritance, and confirmed the connection between the Heavenly Ice Body and the roots of living cold, but one simple answer was still missing. If Seraphine wanted only to open the Heart, Damon was already enough. Xue Lian’s fortress had to conceal something far greater to justify so many years of research, so many agents, and the decision of a woman like Seraphine to enter Arven personally.

Nera looked toward the book on the bed.

”In the Valcair records, the fortress has another name. They call it the Tomb of the First Snow.”

Aria immediately opened her notebook.

”Does that name appear in any document found in the former Duchess’s room?”

”Not directly,” Nera replied. ”Seraphine would never place that information in letters sent to an unstable subordinate. The former Duchess only knew that she needed to find a compatible host and open the Heart. She did not know the full objective.”

Damon crossed his arms.

”And you do?”

”I know what Seraphine believed. That does not mean it is correct.”

”Tell me anyway.”

Nera breathed slowly before continuing.

”The Tomb of the First Snow was not merely Xue Lian’s fortress. It was supposedly the place where she learned to divide, absorb, and control elemental roots. If the original core still exists there, it may allow someone to remove a root from one region and transplant it into another.”

Morgana stiffened immediately. The meaning did not require a long explanation. The Subterranean Heart was connected to Arven’s land, extending through mines, stone, and perhaps much of the northern mountains. If Seraphine could remove it, she would not merely be taking a source of energy. She would be tearing out a natural structure that sustained the territory without anyone knowing all the consequences.

”She wants to take the Heart,” Morgana said. ”Not control Arven from here.”

Nera nodded.

”It is a possibility. She may also want to divide it, create smaller roots, or use it to feed another territory. The Valcair archives speak of lands in the west that have lost productivity over the last generations. Some mines dried up. Underground rivers changed course. Natural energy diminished.”

Elizabeth understood the rest before Nera finished.

”Valcair is weakening.”

”Yes. Not politically, not yet. Financially, they remain powerful, and their influence conceals the deterioration. But Seraphine knows that within a few decades, the house will lose the foundation sustaining its wealth. She needs a new source.”

Aria stopped writing for a moment.

”So she intends to tear the Heart out of Arven to keep Valcair alive.”

”Perhaps. Seraphine does not usually think in such limited terms. If she gains access to the fortress core, she could control more than one root. Arven’s Heart would only be the first test.”

Damon felt his own root react with a faint pressure. It was not a response to the Heart, but to a possibility his body seemed to understand better than his mind. An elemental root was not merely stored energy. It was connected to something greater, whether territory, memory, or natural structure. Seraphine wanted to turn that into a transportable resource. People, regions, and even bodies would be nothing more than containers.

Ester watched bluish lines appear beneath the skin of Damon’s neck.

”Control.”

”I am controlling it.”

”Then reduce it.”

He took a deep breath, compressing the cold until the lines disappeared. Nera followed the process with an interest that made him uncomfortable. It was not Seraphine’s cold and possessive curiosity, but it was still the gaze of someone observing a rare phenomenon. Damon was already tired of being treated as confirmation of other people’s theories.

”Stop looking at me as though I were an ancient document,” he said.

Nera held his gaze.

”You are more dangerous than an ancient document.”

”That did not improve it.”

”I was not trying to.”

Elizabeth placed one hand on the table.

”If Seraphine needs Damon to find the fortress, why did she leave Arven after confirming his condition? She could have tried to kidnap him while she was here.”

”Because she could not,” Nera replied. ”Not with Ester, Elizabeth, Ingrivid, Morgana, and the guards around him. Even if she managed to remove Damon from the mansion, forcing him close to the Heart could destroy the resonance she needs. The route to the fortress will not be opened by the body alone. It depends on the consciousness that altered the memory.”

Damon frowned.

”So I need to choose to enter.”

”Or be placed in a situation where you believe you chose.”

The answer changed the atmosphere. Seraphine did not need to chain him and drag him to the mines. She needed to create a threat that forced him to use the root, approach the Heart, and search for the fortress by his own decision. The children had served part of that purpose. The attack on the mines as well. Each problem pushed Damon in the exact direction she wanted.

Morgana clenched her hand.

”She is using our need to protect Arven to guide him.”

”Yes,” Nera replied. ”And she will continue doing it as long as she believes Damon responds better when other people are in danger.”

Damon did not like hearing such a personal trait turned into a predictable method. His first reaction was to deny it, but the recent events were clear. Lia, Elin, Toma, Morgana, the guards, even Ester. Seraphine did not need to threaten him directly. She only needed to place someone in front of him and wait for him to choose to act.

”Then we change the method,” Damon said. ”She expects me to run toward every problem. From now on, I do the exact opposite.”

Ester raised an eyebrow.

”You intend to remain still?”

”No. I intend to choose the problem before she chooses it for me.”

Nera watched him in silence.

Damon approached the table and placed both hands on the wood.

”She wants me to return to the memory near the Heart. Then we will do it, but not under her conditions. We choose the moment, isolate the mine, remove the children from Arven, and prepare a way to cut the resonance. Meanwhile, we make Seraphine believe I am refusing any further contact with the memories.”

Elizabeth nodded, already understanding the advantage.

”She will need to provoke you again.”

”And when she tries, she exposes more agents.”

Morgana looked at Nera.

”How long do we need to prepare the anchor?”

”I do not know. I have never done anything like it.”

Ester answered before anyone could accept such a vague estimate.

”At least several days to map Damon’s meridians after the transformation. The previous lock was made in a hurry and broke near the Heart. This time, it will not be an improvised bracelet. I need to build three layers of isolation: one internal, one external, and a third capable of cutting the flow without destroying the root.”

Damon looked at her.

”You were already thinking about this.”

”Since you suggested returning to the memory.”

”Even while saying no.”

”Preparing a way to prevent your death does not mean I agree with your idea.”

Aria began organizing the information in her notebook.

”While Ester works on the containment, we can relocate the children. Not somewhere else inside Arven. Seraphine already knows the territory and may have informants.”

Elizabeth replied, ”Mirath. A discreet escort can leave through different routes. Lia, Elin, and Toma will be registered as patients under diplomatic protection. Seraphine will not be able to touch them without turning the conflict into a direct attack against another domain.”

Morgana nodded.

”Mara will go with Lia. For Elin and Toma, we need to find reliable relatives or send servants they already know. I will not allow them to be taken away by strangers after everything that happened.”

Damon felt part of the pressure ease. It was exactly the kind of decision that removed one of Seraphine’s weapons against him. If the children were beyond her reach, he could enter the mines without carrying the obligation of rescuing them at the same time.

”We also need to move Nera out of here,” Damon said.

Ingrivid, who remained near the door, immediately turned her head.

”She is a prisoner.”

”And she is the person Seraphine truly fears. Keeping her in a known cell is offering them a target.”

Nera appeared surprised, but did not thank him. Damon preferred it that way.

Morgana thought for several seconds.

”Transfer her to Mirath with the children?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

”That would concentrate everything in the same group. Nera should travel by another route, under a different identity and with a small escort. I can place her in a secure property connected to Carmilla, outside known trade routes.”

Nera stared at Elizabeth.

”You expect me to accept voluntarily?”

”No,” Elizabeth replied. ”I expect you to understand that the alternative is remaining in a cell Seraphine can locate.”

”That is not a choice.”

”You worked for people who kidnapped children. Do not expect comfortable choices.”

Nera did not argue.

Damon sat again, realizing that the effort was beginning to take its toll on his body. Ester noticed at once, but did not interrupt. The conversation was finally ceasing to revolve only around what Seraphine wanted. They were building their own decisions, and Damon needed to participate while he could still think clearly.

”Is there anything else about the fortress you still have not told us?” he asked.

Nera took too long to answer.

That delay was enough for everyone to realize there was.

”The original core has a guardian.”

Aria slowly exhaled.

”Of course it does.”

”It is not an ordinary creature. According to the records, Xue Lian separated part of her own authority and left it protecting the center of the fortress. The guardian would recognize only someone carrying all three parts of the inheritance.”

Damon ran a hand through his white hair.

”So it might allow me to enter.”

”Or try to confirm whether you deserve to enter.”

”With a test.”

”Probably.”

”What kind of test?”

Nera shook her head.

”No record describes it. They only say the successor must prove that he controls the cold without belonging to it.”

Ester became serious.

”That sounds exactly like his current problem.”

”Because perhaps everything that happened since the coma is part of the preparation.”

Damon immediately rejected the convenient idea of destiny.

”No. What happened was the result of decisions, mistakes, and people trying to use me. I will not turn it into planned preparation merely because it fits an old story.”

Nera held his gaze.

”Xue Lian would probably have answered the same way.”

”That still proves nothing.”

Morgana almost smiled, but the moment ended when a dull impact traveled through the ceiling of the prison. Dust fell between the stones. Ingrivid drew her sword. Ester grabbed Damon’s arm before he could stand too quickly.

The second impact came stronger.

It was not the Heart.

It came from above them, inside the mansion.

Footsteps ran through the corridor. A guard opened the outer door without waiting for permission, breathing quickly.

”Lady Morgana, there was an explosion in the old archive. Two men dressed as servants tried to reach the documents removed from the Duchess’s room. One was captured. The other swallowed poison.”

Morgana immediately stood.

”The documents?”

”Aria had already transferred the originals. They found only copies.”

Aria pressed the notebook against her chest.

”Document threat working again.”

Elizabeth looked at Damon.

He understood before anyone spoke. Seraphine had left the mansion only a few hours earlier, and her agents were already trying to destroy records connected to Xue Lian and the former Duchess. The reaction was not a coincidence. The previous day’s conversation had shown that Nera was a threat. Now someone was trying to erase the material that could confirm her story.

Damon stood, this time without waiting for permission. Ester began to protest, but he spoke first.

”I am not going to fight. I want to see the captured man.”

”You still need to rest,” Ester said.

”And he needs to speak before another poison takes effect.”

Ingrivid was already leaving the cell. Morgana followed immediately, giving orders to seal the mansion and separate every newly hired servant. Elizabeth requested that the captured man be kept conscious. Aria hid the notebook inside her clothes before following the group.

Damon stopped at the door and looked at Nera one last time.

”Seraphine reacted quickly.”

Nera nodded.

”That means you came close to what she is hiding.”

”Good.”

”It does not sound good.”

Damon felt the cold move beneath his skin, not as a loss of control, but as anticipation. For the first time, Seraphine was not moving pieces to force him to follow. She was erasing tracks because she feared he might discover the path on his own.

”She spent weeks trying to turn me into a key,” Damon said. ”Now she is going to discover the problem with letting a key learn where the lock is.”

He left the cell with Ester beside him, moving down the corridor toward the stairs. His body was still weak, the root remained incomplete, and Xue Lian’s memory was still closed. Even so, the direction finally seemed clear. The children would be moved beyond Seraphine’s reach. Nera would be hidden. The mines would be prepared. The anchor would be built.

After that, Damon would return to the snow.

Not to receive another reward.

Not to follow a destiny.

He would return to reach the fortress before Seraphine and discover what Xue Lian had left waiting for him.