Shadow Soul

Veronica and Ophelia's answer came so swiftly and directly that Gawain did not react for the first two or three seconds. Then he realized that he had found a crucial clue to Amber's origins so easily—someone who knew the truth was standing right before him.

"Why did you suddenly mention the Shadow Fortress?" Veronica noticed the change in expression on the three people before her and asked with some curiosity, "Where did you hear that name?"

Gawain did not answer immediately. Instead, he followed up with another question. "Never mind that for now—since you know about the Shadow Fortress, have you heard of a Royal Shadow Guard named Salilendorf?"

Theoretically, this "Saint Princess" had not yet been born when Salilendorf was active. But Gawain knew that beneath Veronica's youthful appearance hid the soul of an ancient Defiant. She had remained active in the world through soul parasitism, changing bodies an unknown number of times. Perhaps one of her vessels had been active in the Ansu Kingdom decades ago. Perhaps even the mission Salilendorf had carried out back then had something to do with her.

But Veronica shook her head. "I have no recollection of that name."

She did not look like she was lying, though Gawain found it difficult to discern her true thoughts from the ancient Defiant's usual calm expression. For now, he could only tentatively believe that she was telling the truth.

"Salilendorf was a Royal Shadow Guard several decades ago," Gawain said after some consideration. He decided not to mention Amber's identity yet and instead began with that classified mission from years ago. "We found some records from that time. They showed that this Royal Shadow Guard had been ordered to search for an Ancient Gandor ruin called the Shadow Fortress. It seems that fortress really was