Episode 5 — Beneath the Catacombs

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The deeper they descended beneath De Rosa Palace, the colder the air became.

Torches flickered weakly against ancient stone walls blackened by age while dust swirled beneath every step. The narrow staircase twisted endlessly downward like the spine of some sleeping beast hidden beneath the empire itself.

Nobody spoke.

Even the knights seemed uneasy.

Only the distant sound of dripping water echoed through the darkness.

And beneath it—

that singing.

Soft.

Faint.

Almost impossible to understand.

Yet unmistakably human.

Evelisse’s frightened expression lingered briefly within Rodderic’s mind, but he forced the thought aside immediately. Right now, the palace itself had become dangerous.

Someone had murdered an imperial guard.

Someone connected to the Black Thorn.

Inside his own home.

Unforgivable.

Rodderic tightened his grip around the silver dagger concealed beneath his coat.

Ahead of him, Aurelian descended calmly beside the torchlight, his expression unreadable as shadows danced across his sharp features.

“You’re unusually quiet tonight,” Rodderic finally said.

Aurelian glanced toward him briefly.

“How observant.”

“You recognized the Black Thorn immediately.”

“So did you.”

Rodderic’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.

The tension between them remained familiar.

Old.

Sharp enough to bleed.

Yet strangely controlled.

As though both princes had learned years ago exactly how close they could approach disaster before stepping back again.

Behind them, several knights exchanged nervous glances.

Nobody enjoyed standing between Roseria’s crown prince and Velmoria’s heir.

Especially not underground.

Especially not alone.

The staircase finally ended.

A massive underground corridor stretched before them, disappearing into darkness beyond the reach of torchlight.

Ancient statues lined the walls.

Kings.

Queens.

Dead rulers of Roseria whose stone eyes seemed to follow intruders silently.

The catacombs.

Burial grounds of the imperial bloodline.

Cold mist drifted across the floor.

And somewhere deeper within the darkness—

the singing continued.

A woman’s voice.

Soft.

Melancholic.

Beautiful enough to make the atmosphere feel even more terrifying.

One knight visibly crossed himself.

“These catacombs were sealed years ago,” another whispered uneasily.

“Then someone unsealed them,” Rodderic replied coldly.

Fresh footprints remained visible in the dust.

Leading deeper underground.

Aurelian crouched briefly beside them.

“Interesting.”

“What now?” Rodderic asked.

“These prints are recent.”

His green eyes studied the floor carefully.

“And whoever made them was dragging something heavy.”

The knights immediately stiffened.

Nobody wanted to imagine what “something heavy” meant inside royal catacombs.

Rodderic continued forward.

The corridor widened gradually into a vast underground chamber illuminated by dozens of ancient candles.

But something felt wrong immediately.

Too many candles.

Someone had lit them recently.

At the center of the chamber stood a long stone table covered in strange symbols carved directly into its surface.

Bloodstains darkened the stone.

Old blood.

And new.

Several knights immediately stepped backward.

One nearly dropped his torch.

“Blood ritual…” he whispered horrified.

Aurelian approached the table slowly.

His expression lost all traces of amusement now.

Interesting.

Because very few things truly disturbed Velmoria’s crown prince.

“This chamber was used recently,” he said quietly.

Rodderic’s eyes swept across the symbols carved into the table.

Most had faded with age.

But one symbol remained fresh.

A black rose pierced through by silver thorns.

The Black Thorn.

Again.

Suddenly—

a sharp sound echoed nearby.

Everyone turned instantly.

A shadow disappeared behind one of the stone pillars deeper within the catacombs.

“Stop!” a knight shouted.

Several guards rushed forward immediately.

Rodderic followed without hesitation.

The underground corridors twisted endlessly through darkness until finally—

they entered another chamber.

And froze.

Bodies.

At least six corpses lay scattered across the floor wearing old palace servant uniforms blackened by decay.

Some looked years old.

Others…

recent.

The smell of rot poisoned the air instantly.

One knight vomited.

Another stumbled backward in horror.

“What in the gods…”

Rodderic’s expression hardened dangerously.

Because every corpse had the same thing carved into their throats.

A thorn.

Meanwhile, near the far wall—

stood a young woman.

Her white nightgown was stained with blood.

Long black hair covered half her face while silver chains hung loosely from her wrists.

And she was singing.

Softly.

Beautifully.

As though completely unaware of the corpses surrounding her.

The knights immediately raised their swords.

“Who are you?!”

The girl slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes were completely white.

Blind.

Aurelian’s expression shifted slightly for the first time that night.

Recognition.

Then—

without warning—

the girl screamed.

Every torch in the chamber extinguished instantly.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Several knights shouted in panic.

“What happened?!”

“Light the torches!”

Something moved violently within the darkness.

Fast.

Too fast.

A scream echoed.

Then another.

Metal clashed against stone.

Rodderic immediately drew his dagger.

“Aurelian!”

“Still alive,” Aurelian’s calm voice answered somewhere nearby.

Another scream.

Closer.

Rodderic caught movement rushing toward him through the darkness and reacted instantly, slamming his attacker against the wall—

Only to freeze.

Zephyr.

The fisherman looked terrified beyond reason.

“Don’t kill me!” he gasped.

“What are you doing here?!”

“I followed you—”

Before he could finish—

a body crashed violently beside them.

One of the knights.

Dead.

His throat ripped open.

Blood spread rapidly across the stone floor.

Then—

the singing returned.

Closer this time.

Much closer.

Rodderic slowly turned.

And saw her standing only a few feet away.

The blind girl.

Motionless.

Smiling.

The torches suddenly reignited all at once.

Gasps echoed immediately.

Because the girl’s chains were gone.

And written across the wall behind her in fresh blood were the words:

SHE NEVER DIED.

Silence crashed over the chamber.

Then—

Rodderic’s face changed completely.

For the first time since the story began—

true emotion appeared in his silver eyes.

Shock.

Aurelian noticed instantly.

Because only one woman in Roseria’s history mattered enough to affect Rodderic like that.

The dead empress.

Rodderic’s mother.

And hidden within the shadows—

someone quietly laughed.

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