Chapter 264: Chapter 264: We have to trust him

Nyx shook her head while running her hand over her hair. "Xavier please just think. We can regroup and return for her with a real plan. This is reckless even for you."

He finally turned, staring at each of them with sharp fire in his gaze. "She is the rightful ruler of this nation. If she dies here because I ran away to save myself, then I might as well have never come."

Mirielle frowned. "We will all stand with you then. We did not come here to abandon someone who needs us."

Selene raised her hands in frustration. "Mirielle, that is not what he is saying. Kenn will capture us, torture us and maybe kill us. Do you want your pretty little head chopped off before you even become a real cultivator."

Lucas’s voice abruptly rose like thunder rolling through the dungeon stones. "Enough."

He took a deep breath then spoke with a controlled fury that brooked no argument. "All of you must go. Now. You will leave through the same path we came and meet the innkeeper at the exit. I will get the Empress out. That is not up for debate."

Selene stared at him in disbelief. "You order us to leave you behind. How can you expect us to accept that."

Lucas’s eyes shifted toward the Empress again. The strain in his voice revealed the fear he refused to show. "I will not abandon someone who cannot fight for herself. I refuse to fail her."

Nyx tried to argue but he cut her off sharply. "Do not test me on this. If you care about me, then listen. Leave."

Seraphina’s voice cracked as she whispered, "Xavier please...you have to save her." She had been silent since she saw the Empress’s physical and emotional state.

Seraphina stood her ground, the torchlight reflecting in her fierce eyes as she refused to budge from Lucas’s side. Her voice held equal measures of fear and resolve as she spoke. "I will not run. I will not leave my Empress here to suffer. If she remains here, then so will I."

Lucas gritted his teeth, desperately trying to keep his focus on the intricate runes woven across the lock. He knew arguing would waste precious seconds. Every tick of time felt like a weight pulling them closer to disaster. He exhaled sharply and spoke in a low voice filled with command. "Seraphina. If you want to help her, then release the others. Free Theron. Get the prisoners out of here before Kenn turns this place into a slaughterhouse."

Seraphina moved quickly, "We have to get them out quickly," she whispered to the other girls, her eyes scanning the line of cells. "If the alarm rune has already gone off, we have little time before Kenn and his men arrive."

Nyx and Lira exchanged uneasy glances but nodded. They both drew closer to the iron bars, examining the locks, and Nyx cursed under her breath when she saw the glowing symbols etched onto the metal. "Enchantment locks," she muttered. "They are weaker than the Empress’s cell lock, but still reinforced. Whoever did this didn’t want anyone escaping alive."

Lira placed her palm against one of the locks and closed her eyes. A faint shimmer of Qi pulsed through her fingertips as she probed the mechanism. "I can break this," she said, her voice firm. "Give me a moment."

Seraphina moved down the line, breaking what seals she could and guiding the prisoners out of their cells. She recognized faces among them, servants, advisers, and guards who refused to bend to the invaders. Soon she reached where Theron was.

"Theron..." she whispered.

He stood by the gate of his cell, weak but still on his feet, his once-elegant robes torn and stained. His eyes lifted at the sound of her voice, and for the first time in days, something close to life stirred in them. "Seraphina...?" His voice was hoarse, strained from thirst and silence.

Seraphina rushed to him. "I’m here," she said, pressing her palm to the rune-sealed lock. "Hold on, I’ll get this open."

He tried to smile, though his lips trembled. "You should help the empress and escape here."

"Xavier is helping her," she replied sharply, focusing her Qi.

The lock glowed blue, hissed, and then burst apart in a cloud of fading sparks. The door creaked open. Seraphina reached forward, wrapping his arm over her shoulder to steady him. "Come," she said softly. "We’re getting you out."

Meanwhile, Nyx, Lira, Selene and Mirielle were working in rhythm now. Each cell clanged open one after another, the sound of breaking enchantments echoing down the corridor. Prisoners muttered words of disbelief and gratitude, but the girls quickly silenced them.

"Not yet," Nyx hissed. "Save your thanks for when we’re safe"

Selene, standing near the entrance, was already giving directions. "When the others are ready, lead them back through the tunnels. Straight to the wine cellar. Don’t look back, don’t make a sound."

Mirielle nodded and took a torch from the wall, her face pale but resolute. "I’ll guide them," she said. "I remember every turn we took."

The prisoners began to gather by the gate, their movements cautious and quiet, waiting for Seraphina’s signal to begin their escape.

But Lucas wasn’t with them. He was still kneeling in front of the Empress’s cell, drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged as he pressed both palms against the intricate runes that sealed her in. The lock on her cell was unlike any other...it was made of celestial energy, a mechanism so complex that it resisted every attempt he made to unravel it.

He had tried cutting through it with pure Qi, but it regenerated. He had tried reversing the energy flow, but it reflected his own power back into him. Every attempt left his hands trembling and his vision swimming with exhaustion.

The Empress remained curled in the corner of her cell, her hair disheveled and her eyes heavy with sorrow. The celestial restraint on her neck pulsed faintly, its energy suppressing her strength completely.

Lucas exhaled hard and pressed a hand to the bars. "Your Majesty," he said urgently. "You have to come closer to me, let me try unbinding the restraint around your neck...I need to see it clearly if I’m going to undo it."

The Empress didn’t move. Her voice was faint, almost fragile. "It’s useless, Xavier. That lock was made by the Celestial Order itself. Even I cannot break it while bound like this."

Lucas shook his head, refusing to accept defeat. "Maybe you can’t, but I can try," he said firmly. "If I can weaken the restraint around your neck, you’ll have enough strength to blast the lock yourself."

Her eyes flickered for a moment, and a ghost of a bitter smile crossed her lips. "You risk too much for someone you barely know."

"You’re wrong," Lucas said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "You’re the only one who can stand against them. Without you, Lechia will fall completely. So please, just come closer."

The Empress hesitated, then slowly pushed herself to her knees and crawled toward him.

As she reached the bars, Lucas extended his hands through them, his Qi swirling faintly as he began to trace the energy pattern on the collar. The celestial runes sparked violently at his touch, burning his skin, but he didn’t stop.

The Empress flinched. "Enough," she said weakly. "You’ll destroy yourself."

Lucas gritted his teeth and forced his Qi deeper into the lock’s core. "Then let me destroy myself for something that matters," he said through clenched teeth.

The sound of vibration filled the air, the runes reacting to his energy. He could feel the barrier start to shift, just slightly, as if recognizing something within him. The Ice Belle fluttered nervously at his shoulder, sensing the danger, her tiny body glowing faintly in response to his effort.

Nyx turned her head from across the room and shouted, "Lucas, hurry! We’re almost ready to leave!"

He didn’t answer. His entire focus was on the restraint, on the faint spark of possibility that maybe...just maybe...he could undo what celestial power had sealed.

Lucas’s voice was low but steady, his eyes locked on the glowing collar. "I’m giving you back your strength, Your Majesty. Just hold still a little longer. When I’m done, you’ll break through that door yourself."

Theron and Seraphina came to meet Lucas who was still at the Empress’s cell, drenched in sweat, his hands trembling from the strain of battling the celestial lock that refused to yield. His Qi swirling faintly around him, threads of light weaving and unraveling as he tried once more to break the seal.

Behind them, the prisoners had gathered in a restless crowd near the gate. Lira, Nyx, Selene, and Mirielle were already forming them into small groups, giving orders and guiding them toward the passage that led to the wine cellar. The sound of footsteps and the low groan of shifting metal warned that the fortress was beginning to stir; time was slipping through their fingers.

Nyx turned to Lira and Selene, her expression torn between worry and faith. "We can’t wait any longer," she said softly. "You know what he’s like. If he’s made up his mind, nothing we say will change it."

"He promised he’d escape with the Empress. We have to trust him." Lira said firmly.