Contents
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Overview
Euyn, Mikail, Royo, and Luhk construct a funeral pyre for nine murdered priests and narrowly prioritize ritual over haste. Back inside, Aeri and Sora report two exceptions to the Rule of Distance and a dire revelation: combined relics amplify each other. The group confirms Joon holds two relics and targets the ring, raising the stakes.
Summary
Euyn narrates as he, Mikail, Royo, and the priest Luhk haul nine murdered Yoksa out of the Temple of Knowledge to the frozen lakeshore. Exposed and uneasy, Euyn keeps watch while the others dismantle a warming hut for fuel. Despite urgency, they uphold their promise to grant the priests a funeral pyre.
Working through the dark, they build a single pyre for all nine, using benches, wood, and the stove to raise the heat. Luhk offers multiple prayers before dousing the bodies in oil and lighting the fire, while Euyn remains alert, sensing danger and noting only a moon owl circling the lake.
Returning inside, they find Aeri and Sora surrounded by texts. Aeri shares mixed news: they located two exceptions to the Rule of Distance, though written oddly; worse, a scroll reveals that multiple relics amplify each other “as man merges with god.”
The group concludes the implication: with the Immortal Crown and the Flaming Sword, Joon seeks the ring to become overwhelmingly powerful. Mikail and Euyn absorb the threat as their strained partnership persists, and the team’s focus shifts to preventing Joon from uniting the relics.
Who Appears
- EuynNarrator; keeps watch, senses danger, helps ensure the priests’ pyre, processes the relics revelation.
- MikailDirects pyre construction, distances emotionally from Euyn, confirms stakes of Joon uniting relics.
- AeriResearches texts; reports two Rule-of-Distance exceptions and that combined relics amplify power.
- RoyoProvides muscle; dismantles the hut for fuel; voices suspicion of a trap.
- LuhkKhitan priest; insists on proper rites, leads prayers, aids the group’s research efforts.
- SoraResearch partner with Aeri; present for discovering exceptions and the relic amplification warning.
- JoonOff-page antagonist; holds Crown and Sword, now confirmed to seek the ring for greater power.