It took about thirty minutes to get there.
"What time is it now?" I asked.
9:30 AM.
All that talking…
…and now we were on our own.
I gripped my hand tightly.
Riku reached over and held my fist.
"That's how Father is," Riku said quietly. "And many demon-kind."
"Ever since you woke up that day, Sophia… you've been different."
He looked me in the eye.
"But don't worry. As long as I'm here, we're going to do this together."
Draxx sat beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You'll get used to it," he said.
"I mean, look at me. Dad sends me on my own campaigns sometimes—even with my own troops."
He laughed like it was normal.
"I even got to know them. We became friends!"
"Friends?" I repeated. "How many?"
Draxx told me to look out the window.
Over fifty carriages surrounded us, all bearing one symbol—Malphas's kingdom crest.
I stared.
"Why so many?"
Draxx didn't even blink.
"This is a good opportunity to test all the children above age… ten and up."
He said it flat.
"This is the time to weed out the weak."
I swallowed.
In my head, a thought came out cold:
That's right… Only the strong shall survive.
Such a cruel way to live.
I looked at both Draxx and Riku.
"Do you know who Belzagus is?"
Both of them shut down.
Riku got pissed.
"So you found out?"
Draxx rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh… I don't know what to say…"
"It's fine," I said. "All I know is I'll be seeing him regardless of anything you say."
Riku's voice dropped.
"Sophia… listen. He is unstable."
"Unstable?" I asked.
Draxx said it bluntly.
"You know what—whatever. If you know he exists, what's the point, Riku?"
Riku sighed hard.
"Fine."
"Draxx," Riku said, "tell her everything."
Draxx looked at me.
"He was born to a mother of no noble lineage," Draxx said.
Basically…
one of Father's reckless nights.
"He is clearly strong," Draxx continued. "If he goes into what they call Heir Mode…"
He hesitated.
"It can rival Riku."
"HEY!" Riku snapped. "That fool lost his shit that day!"
Draxx clasped his hands together like he remembered another piece.
"And apparently the wolf girl—"
"Madina," I corrected.
Draxx blinked.
"Right, right. Sorry."
"Apparently, whenever she bites him… it calms him down."
"Like some type of masochist."
I didn't even react much.
To me, medical was medical.
Strange remedies existed everywhere.
Maybe this was like that.
Except crazier.
Because Madina wasn't just anybody.
She was special to him.
I mean… It's clear.
Dude threw a whole halberd with one arm and impaled an elf like it was nothing.
And he looks like Dad…
I get it.
But I said out loud what was bothering me.
"My issue is… why the hell is his body so much more muscular than yours? Like damn."
Riku looked ashamed and held his arm.
Draxx leaned forward.
"Wait—wait—me?"
He flexed.
It was barely anything.
Yeah… no.
Bel clearly had both of them outdone.
Draxx looked like he had been hit in the gut.
Riku looked ashamed for the first time.
We were closing in on the hospital.
I asked quietly, "Is he a good brother?"
Riku and Draxx both paused.
Riku started, careful.
"I mean… he is a good—"
Draxx spoke instead.
"I don't dislike him," Draxx said. "It's just… Father wants him away from us because of his power."
"What is it?" I asked.
Draxx's voice got lower, like he actually knew Belzagus… because he did.
"His power is from the Abyss."
"The what?" I blinked.
Draxx tried to make it simple.
"Think of it like a bottomless pit," he said. "Except what lives inside it… is his own energy."
"And it's massive."
Nira hovered closer.
"And that Ledger going quiet earlier?" she muttered. "That's not normal."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Nira's voice sharpened.
"An anomaly," she said. "Something is messing with signals. That's why I couldn't access it."
My stomach tightened.
So it wasn't just my nerves.
Something in the world was wrong.
Riku finally spoke, voice tense.
"And that's why Father doesn't keep him near us."
Riku's jaw clenched.
"Bel's power is too unstable," he said. "It can put our kingdom in danger."
"Heir Mode… Abyss… whatever you want to call it—if he loses control, it's not just us who die."
Riku stared out the carriage window like he didn't want to look me in the eyes when he said it.
"And Father wants him locked away," Riku continued. "On a small island near the border."
"With his unstable mother."
"He's basically there to kill off random heroes that step onto their island."
I blinked hard.
"Cross their house?"
Riku nodded once, like it was normal.
"A border island," he said. "Heroes try to slip through sometimes."
"And they don't come back."
Draxx's face tightened.
"And a tale started spreading because of his mother," Riku added.
"She's called something insane…"
Riku's lips curled as he hated even saying it.
"The Shade-Eater."
I swallowed.
Riku kept going anyway.
"His mom used to be a criminal," he said. "A real one."
"But Father used her lineage to conceive his first child."
"And that's Bel."
Draxx snapped instantly.
"Riku—watch your mouth."
Riku didn't turn.
Draxx's voice rose.
"Say what you want about Bel," Draxx barked, "but don't talk about his mother like that!"
Riku's eyes stayed on the window.
He didn't argue.
He didn't apologize.
He just looked like what he said was right.
And the silence felt worse than yelling.
Draxx breathed hard like he wanted to keep fighting.
But I spoke first.
Quiet.
Then blunt.
"Why does Father keep something so dangerous?"
Riku's jaw flexed.
Draxx didn't answer.
Nira didn't answer either.
So I did.
Like I already knew the answer.
"Our father is clearly a pure demon," I said. "There's no pretending otherwise."
The carriage rocked forward.
The air outside felt colder.
Heavier.
Like the world was holding its breath.
I checked the time again.
10:00 AM.
One more hour.