Dark Upheaval

The night on the Island of Avalon was exceptionally quiet.

Skylar stood by the shore, calmly preparing to leave.

He turned to look at Viviane.

She stood by the water's edge, her long white hair cascading down, her robes swaying slightly in the night breeze. Her expression was more composed than before, as though she were pondering something important yet had been unable to voice it.

"I should be going," Skylar said gently. "Before I leave, is there anything else you want to say?"

Viviane froze slightly.

She lifted her head, her gaze falling on Skylar. A flicker of hesitation seemed to pass through those lake-clear eyes, followed by what appeared to be the resolution of some decision.

After a moment, she spoke softly.

"...My king."

The moment those words left her lips, even the air seemed to pause.

Skylar was visibly taken aback and instinctively looked at her. "Viviane?"

Yet Viviane did not avoid his gaze. Instead, she slowly stepped closer, her expression solemn and restrained, as though this was not an outpouring of emotion, but a recognition buried for a thousand years that had been awakened once more.

"Forgive my presumption," she said in a low voice, "but this is the first time since King Arthur that I have addressed someone in this way."

She paused, her voice growing softer yet exceptionally firm.

"Before you leave, I want to take you somewhere."

Skylar did not press for an explanation. He merely nodded.

They left the garden and proceeded along an ancient path so faint it was nearly impossible to see.

The path seemed deliberately concealed by time. It led neither to a mountaintop nor deep beneath the lake, but cut across a forest of stone shrouded in thin mist. The farther they went, the heavier the magic in