Realm of the Sun

Chapter 18

Yue was tired.

After a bit of help from Nicholas, who was also tired, she had decoded some more of the prophecy- largely, who was going to die out of them. She didn't figure it out entirely, but she did know a few more things.

One: It wasn't her.

Two: It wasn't Roza, Gwen, Solarie, or Nicholas, who wasn't even part of the prophecy but rather here because of connections to the ones chosen.

And three: thankfully, it wasn't Sylas.

Unfortunately, one problem: They were still missing one house from the prophecy.

Obviously, Solarie was supposed to be the hero, Yue was the brink of extinction house, and either Roza or Gwen could serve as the chaos and power house. Apparently, the king's plot to just insert a house into the prophecy had worked, because Sylas was in multiple visions about the prophecy, and now it looked like he was defined as roped in by love. Odd choice, but it worked nonetheless. But they were still missing one; the weak. There were many lower houses; not all of them, Yue remembered, but still, the possibilities were endless. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of lower house children. And weak didn't have to define a lower house; perhaps it was a derivative of another house, but still powerful. Maybe a high house, with limited power reach. It was giving her a headache.

"I've never thought I had to say this, but this is actually hopeless," Nicholas slammed another book shut. There were piles and piles of similar books, all around the area they had claimed on the floor of the library. People were now actively avoiding going near the library. Partly from Yue's screaming from pain, and partly because of Nicholas' temper.

Yue had to agree, but she couldn't give up now. "We have to keep searching. Your kingdom and the lives of many are at stake-"

"And all that, save your family, restore honour, et cetera. I get the point." Nicholas finished. "I know you mean well, Yue, but we might have to throw down the towel soon. 'Can't dig yourself out of a hole if you don't put down the shovel."

That was true, but Yue had lost too much to give up now. She found comfort in their new friend group. Solarie was an odd kind of energetic chaos, Roza and Gwen were the ironically humorous power duo, Sylas was her longtime best friend, and Nicholas was... well, Nicholas. There wasn't much more to say. Even Jin, the next quietest member of their group that sparsely attended, was nice to have around. He was kind, and paid attention to everything. A shame, really, that the king was still deciding whether or not he would honour his deal with Solarie- he did not like people who fell out of place in the system.

"Having fun in the library?"

Sylas leaned on the bookshelf, grinning. Even without being a descendant of House Ng, he had eerily quiet footsteps when he desired so. He moved like a fox- strangely, he wasn't wearing a more common Ardish, western suit, but a dark purple Manchu-style of male dress. He probably had just come back from a religious rite. That, or he was having fun making bombs in the basement of the Reactor and needed some kind of smock to protect his regular clothes. Judging from the bits of charcoal smudged on the sleeve, the latter was highly likely.

"Sylas!" Yue took her friend into a sudden, tight embrace. He was exactly the kind of energy boost she needed- after hours of searching through books, she was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue. She'd have to raid Sylas' caffeine supply closet again soon. She was running low from the last adventure. Caffeine was the true gift from the gods. Powers, long lifespans, and prestige were nothing compared to the power of caffeine. Too bad Sylas wouldn't let anybody touch his supply- Yue wasn't entirely sure whether it was because he was hoarding it for his own addiction and use, or he was trying to protect others from succumbing to its addictive property. A fruitless endeavor. Yue had gotten ahold of it anyway.