"Your Majesty, the crystals bear Isolde's personal emblem, and their energy keeps calling something from the darkness!"
Nikolai remained still as the report reached him. He looked at the ice crystals arranged inside the defense core room, then turned toward the soldier who had spoken. The man's face showed clear concern, but Nikolai needed more than a warning before deciding what to do.
"Explain what you mean by calling something," Nikolai ordered.
The soldier swallowed before answering. "The energy inside the crystals keeps changing, Your Majesty. Our mage says it does not behave like ordinary defensive magic. There is something else mixed into it."
Adrian Veymont stood beside Nikolai, studying the crystal at the center of the room. Its surface carried a small emblem shaped like a cro
