Chapter 620: The Cartographer
Alaric did not answer immediately. He continued being escorted by the agents, his wrists bound by containment cuffs and two strips of enchanted cloth covering his eyes and mouth. Losing his connection to the Well had stripped away almost all of his supernatural strength. Without the dark veins, accumulated shadows, and the network of memories reinforcing his body, all that remained was an old man trying to maintain his composure in defeat.
Even so, before crossing the passage, he turned his face toward Kael.
"They do not need to open doors."
Violet tightened her grip on the prisoner’s arm, forcing him to keep walking.
Kael followed Alaric with his eyes.
"What does that mean?"
Alaric smiled tiredly.
"It means some are already open."
Violet pushed him through the passage before he could say anything else. Kael tried to move forward, but Sylphie closed her fingers around his arm and held him in place.
"No."
"He just mentioned other doors."
"And you can barely keep your own open."
Kael looked down at his body. The cut on his shoulder was still bleeding, the fingers of his right hand were swollen, and his ankle hurt whenever he placed too much weight on the leg. The red mark had disappeared, but the channels through which it had passed remained sensitive, as though they had been burned from the inside.
"I can interrogate him while sitting."
"You can receive treatment while lying down."
"That too."
"Treatment first."
Kael looked toward Amelia, searching for some form of support. She was already organizing the withdrawal of the last agents and speaking with Irelia about the number of vessels transferred. When she noticed his gaze, she merely pointed toward the passage.
"Infirmary."
"Did you arrange this together?"
"It was not necessary."
Liza passed beside them carrying two smaller vessels inside a reinforced box.
"You are surrounded by intelligent women. Get used to it."
Kael watched the queen cross the passage.
"That began as a compliment and ended sounding like a threat."
"Because it is both," Sylphie replied.
He did not argue again. He crossed the passage with her and Umbra, leaving behind the partially collapsed mountain and the teams still inspecting the region. As soon as he reached the hall prepared inside the Vampire Realm, he understood the true scale of the rescue. The metal platforms occupied almost the entire space. Hundreds of vessels had been arranged in rows, separated by stability, mana intensity, and the condition of the consciousnesses.
Vampire healers, witches, and specialists brought by Eleonor worked together. Some examined the external inscriptions. Others compared the fragments of consciousness with the victims found near the Tower of Aster. Each vessel received a number, a description, and an individual seal to prevent any new connection.
Kael stopped in front of the first row.
A woman appeared inside one of the crystals. Her face was poorly defined, but her eyes followed the movement around her. When she saw Kael, she slowly raised one hand and placed her palm against the inner surface.
He approached.
"Can she hear me?"
Elion appeared beside him, still carrying analytical instruments.
"Probably. The vessel preserves perception, but we do not know how much of the consciousness remains organized."
Kael raised his hand and placed it against the external surface, aligning his palm with hers.
"You are safe."
The woman’s face moved. Her lips formed a word, but no sound crossed the crystal.
Kael did not need to hear it to understand.
Body.
He looked toward Elion.
"Can we return her?"
"When we find the corresponding body, perhaps. Some consciousnesses are complete enough for reintegration. Others lost important parts during extraction."
"No dangerous tests."
Elion narrowed her eyes.
"I would not do anything without evaluating it."
"I am not talking only about evaluation. No one will be placed inside a different body, living vessel, or magical construction without consent."
"Kael, some of them may not be able to provide clear consent."
"Then wait until they can."
"They may disappear first."
He looked again at the woman trapped inside the crystal.
"Stabilize them first. Then we find a way to communicate. The fact that they are vulnerable does not give us the right to decide what they will become."
Elion remained silent for several seconds. Her curiosity was still present, evident in the way she watched the crystals, but she eventually nodded.
"Fine."
"I want that written into the treatment rules."
Amelia arrived just in time to hear him.
"I am already writing it."
Kael looked at her.
"Did you appear only to record it?"
"I also came to stop you from turning the recovery area into another operation room."
"I am only looking."
"You are bleeding on the floor."
Kael looked down. Several drops had indeed fallen beside his boot.
"That seems exaggerated."
Sylphie pulled him by the uninjured arm.
"Enough."
This time, Kael was taken to the infirmary without arguing. The place had been improvised in a nearby wing because the primary healers were occupied with the victims. A young vampire cleaned the cut on his shoulder while Sylphie treated his mana channels and another witch immobilized the two broken fingers.
Kael remained seated on the edge of the bed throughout the procedure.
"I do not need to lie down," he said.
"No one asked for your opinion," Sylphie replied.
The vampire healer lowered her head to hide a smile.
Kael looked at her.
"You may laugh."
"I was not laughing, Your Majesty."
"You were."
Sylphie pressed one of the sensitive points on his shoulder.
Kael closed his mouth.
For almost half an hour, he was forced to remain still while natural energy crossed the damaged channels. The treatment was not comfortable. The mark had disappeared physically, but it had left small internal ruptures at several points. Whenever Sylphie restored a channel, Kael felt a brief burning sensation spread through his chest.
He endured it without complaint until she reached his mana center.
The pain made his entire body stiffen.
Sylphie stopped.
"This is where the structure tried to complete itself."
"I noticed."
"A fragment of the command is still trapped."
Kael looked toward her.
"How much?"
"Very little. Not enough to control you, but it may react to similar structures."
"That could be useful."
"No."
"It could help locate the others."
"It could also allow the others to locate you."
Kael thought for several seconds.
"Then do not remove it yet."
Sylphie pulled her hands away.
"Kael."
"Listen. The organization uses separate projects, different suppliers, and agents who do not always know one another. The only repeated element so far is the command structure. If I can sense when I am near one..."
"You want to keep part of what nearly turned you into a key inside your body."
"I want to keep an isolated, studied fragment."
Sylphie continued staring at him, clearly dissatisfied.
Eleonor entered the infirmary before the argument progressed.
"He is right."
Sylphie turned toward her.
"That does not help."
"I am not trying to help Kael. I am being precise. Completely removing the structure now may destroy information we will not be able to recover later."
Kael pointed toward his grandmother.
"See?"
Eleonor looked at him.
"You are still reckless."
His hand lowered.
"Of course."
Eleonor approached and examined the restored channels.
"We will separate the fragment from the mana center and bind it inside a secondary area. You will not use it without supervision."
"Define supervision."
"Me, Sylphie, or Elion."
"And Umbra?"
"No."
Umbra, who was seated on the shadow covering the wall, raised her head.
"Why?"
"Because you would probably encourage him."
Umbra thought about it.
"Fair."
Kael released a breath and agreed. Eleonor created a small seal below his collarbone, trapping the remaining fragment inside a circle of scarlet mana and natural energy. The sensation was strange but stable. There was no voice, pressure, or attempt at movement.
When they finished, Amelia appeared at the door holding two folders.
"Alaric is awake."
Kael began standing.
Sylphie pushed his shoulder down.
"Seated."
"I cannot interrogate him from here."
"You can when they bring him."
Amelia nodded.
"I already sent for him."
Kael looked between the two women.
"You truly plan everything."
"That is the idea," Amelia replied.
Several minutes later, Violet entered accompanied by four guards. Alaric was placed in a chair in front of the bed, his wrists bound behind the backrest and his legs secured to the floor. One of Eleonor’s seals covered his throat, preventing him from destroying his own mind or activating any hidden oath.
Alaric looked at Kael sitting there with one hand immobilized and his shoulder bandaged.
"I expected to find you dead."
"I expected to find someone more important."
The response struck precisely. Alaric tried to hide it, but his jaw tightened.
Kael noticed.
"You did not lead the project."
Alaric remained silent.
"You did not create the Well either. You inherited an ancient structure, gathered victims, and followed instructions from someone who never appeared personally."
"You know nothing."
"If you knew as much as you pretend, you would not have stood there holding a cup while waiting for something else to use you."
Alaric leaned forward as far as the chains allowed.
"I was chosen."
"You were left behind."
The room remained quiet.
Kael continued:
"The wagons were escaping. The agents received orders to destroy their own memories. The Well tried to consume everything when we arrived. You were the only one who needed to remain in place to touch the cup."
Alaric did not answer.
"You were not the guardian of the project," Kael said. "You were its final component."
The man’s expression lost some of its confidence.
Amelia opened the first folder.
"Alaric Dalmor disappeared from House Veyr’s records five years ago. Officially, you died during a commercial journey to the Empire."
"A name does not matter."
"It mattered enough for you to use properties inherited from House Solis."
"Properties are tools."
Kael tilted his head.
"Who delivered the tool?"
Alaric looked at him.
"You believe a few answers will turn this victory into something greater."
"No. The victory already happened."
Kael pointed outside the infirmary.
"Your victims are free. The Well was destroyed. Your agents are imprisoned, and your routes have been identified. You have nothing left to negotiate with using this project."
"The Well was merely an archive."
"It was an archive trying to acquire a body."
"And it existed before you were born."
"Now it does not."
The simplicity of the answer irritated Alaric more than any threat. He pulled against the chains, but the seals did not yield.
Kael continued looking directly at him.
"You said some doors were already open. Which ones?"
Alaric smiled again, but this time it required effort.
"I do not know."
"That part I believe."
The smile disappeared.
"You know only the project you received. Perhaps you know false names, temporary routes, and a communication method that has already been abandoned. The organization would not trust someone like you with more."
"Someone like me?"
"Someone willing to become a piece and call it purpose."
Alaric remained still.
Kael changed the question.
"Who brought the cup?"
The reaction was minimal.
Alaric’s fingers closed.
Kael saw it.
"So you did not find it inside the tower."
The man looked away for the first time.
"Was it a woman?" Amelia asked.
Alaric did not answer.
Kael remembered the memories obtained through the connection. The pale hand. The way the cup had been delivered. At the time, there had been another detail that seemed irrelevant: dark fabric covering the wrist and a single silver line embroidered around the glove.
"She wore white gloves," Kael said.
Alaric quickly turned his face back.
"With silver stitching."
His breathing changed.
Kael had his confirmation.
"Who was she?"
"You will not find her."
"Name."
"She never gave one."
"What did you call her?"
Alaric tried to resist, but fear had already appeared. Not fear of Kael.
Fear of the woman.
"The Cartographer."
Amelia wrote it down.
"What does she do?"
"She finds places that have been forgotten. Abandoned structures. Buried ruins. Paths that do not appear on ordinary maps."
"She chooses the locations for the projects," Kael concluded.
Alaric closed his mouth.
That was another confirmation.
"Where is she?"
"Nowhere for long."
"How did you contact her?"
"We did not."
Kael waited.
Alaric understood that silence would not help him.
"She appeared whenever the project needed to advance."
"How many times did you see her?"
"Three."
"The last time?"
"Four months ago."
"What did she say?"
The man hesitated.
Kael leaned slightly forward, ignoring the pain in his chest.
Alaric answered more quietly:
"That Aster was no longer the priority project."
Amelia stopped writing.
"Why?"
"Because they found something better."
Kael felt the sealed fragment below his collarbone pulse once.
It was not an attempt at control.
It was recognition.
He placed a hand against his chest.
Sylphie noticed.
"What happened?"
Kael looked north, although the infirmary walls blocked any view outside.
"Something answered."
Alaric had noticed the change as well.
His face lost what little color remained.
"No."
Kael looked back toward him.
"What?"
Alaric pulled against the chains with force.
"She should not be nearby."
"Who?"
The fragment pulsed again.
Twice.
Then a third time.
A communication crystal attached to Amelia’s belt lit up. Irelia’s voice emerged from it, tenser than before.
"Amelia, we found something inside one of the vessels listed as empty."
"What?"
"It is not a consciousness. It is a map."
Kael stood despite Sylphie trying to stop him.
Irelia continued:
"There are seven marked points."
Alaric closed his eyes.
Amelia looked toward him.
"Was the Well one of them?"
"Yes," Irelia replied. "Aster is extinguished."
Kael pressed the seal below his collarbone.
"And the other six?"
"Five are dark."
"And the last?"
The response took several seconds.
"It lit up just now."
Alaric began laughing, but there was no humor in it. It was a nervous, almost desperate reaction.
Kael walked toward him.
"Where?"
Alaric raised his face.
"It does not matter."
Kael gripped the back of the chair.
"Where?"
The man stared at him.
"In the Witch Realm."
The entire room became still.
The fragment inside Kael’s chest pulsed once more.
This time, he received an image.
A forest covered in mist.
Black stones arranged in a circle.
And at the center, a vertical door open in empty space, despite there being no wall around it.
Something crossed the opening.
Not a creature.
A human hand wearing a white glove with silver stitching.
Kael opened his eyes.
"The Cartographer."
Alaric stopped laughing.
Kael turned toward Amelia.
"Close every passage to the Witch Realm."
"I am already doing it."
"Warn Eleonor."
His grandmother was already standing.
"I heard."
"I want Yggdrasil informed. No root, natural portal, or spiritual path can remain unwatched."
Eleonor nodded and immediately left the infirmary.
Kael looked toward Sylphie.
"Can you locate the forest through the image?"
"Perhaps, using the fragment."
"Then we find it before the door finishes opening."
Sylphie examined the bandages, the broken hand, and the newly restored channels.
"You are not in condition to go."
Kael looked toward Alaric.
Then toward the crystal still glowing in Amelia’s hands.
The organization had lost the Well, but it had hidden a map inside its own cargo, not to save it, but to announce that another operation was already underway. Perhaps it was arrogance. Perhaps it was a distraction. Perhaps the Cartographer wanted Kael to know.
This time, he did not intend to advance without thinking.
But he would not allow someone to open a door inside his realm while he remained lying down.
Kael sat back on the bed.
Sylphie looked surprised.
"You are not getting up?"
"Not yet."
He looked toward Amelia.
"Bring the map."
Then he stared at Alaric.
"And do not take him away."
The man swallowed.
Kael rested his arms on his knees.
"If the Cartographer wants to show us a door..."
The fragment pulsed at the center of the seal.
"...we will use you to discover what she expects to find on the other side."