LOGINJim’s voice emerged from the shadows of the cave, low, deep, and mysterious, carrying a subtle but unmistakable hint of disdain, almost like a soft blade of arrogance sliding across the air.“Actually… you don’t need to literally say a wish to the Holy Grail itself. You see, as long as your inner desire, your personal, burning, all-consuming wish, is strong enough, the Grail will sense it naturally when you approach it. It doesn’t analyze or judge the consequences of your wish, it doesn’t ponder whether your desire will bring chaos or peace—it simply responds. But the stronger your desire, the more certain it is to manifest into reality.”As soon as the last word left his lips, the air seemed to thicken and freeze.Elias and Alia both instinctively halted, their breaths caught, brows furrowed in concentration, their minds processing Jim’s confirmation of the rules they had only glimpsed in the old diary.Even though they had studied the mysterious rules and known fragments of the Grai
“You’re not afraid? Once everyone gets here, you won’t be able to run.”Elias’s voice grew colder, as if he were building a wall across the cave entrance with nothing but words.The sealed cavern was unnervingly silent, the air thick with a damp, metallic taste that clung to the throat.Yet Jim inside remained maddeningly relaxed—so at ease it made one’s skin crawl.“I told you already.”Jim chuckled.The sound slid against the stone surface as it escaped, like a cold serpent tracing along the wall.“Think carefully about whose man I am. When the others arrive… how many of them will help me? And how many will help you?”The words fell like pebbles into still water—and the ripples were impossible to ignore.Elias and Alia kept their faces steady, but Jim’s words struck exactly at the weakness they shared:the hints in the diary,Edgar’s obsession,those inexplicable moments of trust and strangeness…If Edgar truly was Jim’s real master—then everything finally made sense.Silence fell
“Not necessarily.”From the darkness deep inside the cave, Jim’s voice was low and steady, carrying a chilling confidence—as though even the stone walls turned cold at his tone.“The last fragment is still in my hands.”Elias didn’t yield an inch. His reply was laced with a bone-deep, contemptuous sneer.“We’re in no hurry. You can starve in there as long as you like. Once you’re dead, we’ll just dig the fragment out of your corpse.”The moment the words landed, the air tightened—drawn taut like a string ready to snap.Jim went silent for a heartbeat.Then—suddenly—he burst into wild laughter.The sound ricocheted off the sealed stone slab again and again, filled with mockery, sarcasm, and a hint of frenzy from being forced into a corner.“Hahaha! If you really believe that, I’ll have to take back everything good I ever thought about you—you’re an absolute idiot!”His laughter cut off, and his voice turned razor-sharp, like a blade skimming across bare skin.“Everyone on this island c
⸻“Th—this is…?”Alia instinctively stepped back, nearly stumbling. Her voice trembled with disbelief as she stared at the cave entrance buried under the massive stone slab. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs, as if trying to break free.Elias remained composed, unaffected by her shock. His voice was low, carrying the sharpness of someone tearing open a truth hidden for years.“David… although he is your father Edgar’s most trusted aide, his other identity is far more astonishing.”The words were like a dull blade, slicing through a long-maintained disguise, layer by layer.Alia’s mind raced.Loose fragments of information connected themselves at impossible speed—that flash in David’s eyes earlier, the vague oddities in his relationship with her father, Jim’s behavior on the island, the way the cup handle was buried—All of it suddenly snapped together into one inescapable possibility.She blurted out, almost screaming:“—Jim?!”Elias lifted his eyes toward her, as if ackn
Elias’s first instinct seemed to be stepping into the cave, but the moment he lifted his foot, he stopped.He looked toward the cold glimmer inside, something thoughtful and calculating flashing briefly in his eyes before he slowly lowered his foot again.He turned slightly, looking at David. His tone was gentle, yet carried a deliberate sense of trust.“David, we may not know each other well, but we’ve crossed paths a few times.”Elias gave a faint smile—so light it almost looked harmless.“I believe you’re a loyal friend to Lord Edgar. How about you retrieve the fragment this time? I trust that you’ll bring it back safely.”The way he said it sounded perfectly natural, yet in the darkness it felt like a soft but razor-sharp blade, gently shifting the responsibility outward.Alia had been about to speak—to fight for this opportunity as planned—but just as she opened her mouth, something flickered in her mind.A vague, needling sense of unease pricked at her heart, softening her voice
And so, the three of them walked into the depths of the forest—one leading, two following behind.Fallen leaves rustled softly beneath their feet. The wind, however, stopped without warning, and the entire woodland seemed to fall under a layer of unseen stillness.Strangely, even though David was accompanying them, he deliberately kept a nearly constant distance from Alia.Not too close, not too far—far enough that it felt like he was avoiding overstepping, cautious of her identity;yet close enough that whenever she turned back, he would always remain within sight.This kind of “respect” was almost too exact.So exact that it didn’t feel natural—more like a distance calculated in advance.Noticing this, Alia’s brows drew together slightly.She slowed her steps and moved to walk beside Elias.The night stretched thin shadows between them. She leaned in just a little, her voice soft by his ear:“What’s going on? I thought you would continue hiding—as our final trump card.”Elias did







