The Blue Flame Lordess did not travel with noise.
Flames parted space for her.
Reality bent.
And Emilie followed.
They did not arrive in a palace.
They arrived in a marketplace.
It was nothing like Darel.
Lanterns floated midair. Stalls stretched endlessly. Strange currencies shimmered between fingers. Creatures from distant realms bargained in languages that sounded like wind chimes breaking.
"This," the Blue Flame Lordess said softly, "is one of his minor trade hubs."
Emilie scanned the area.
Then she saw him.
Not on a throne.
Not commanding.
Not negotiating.
He was kneeling beside an old man whose fruit stall looked painfully untouched.
The fruits were slightly bruised. The sign crooked. The old man's hands trembled as he tried to call customers who simply passed by.
Lin Xianyu stood calmly, examining each fruit with serious attention.
"How much for all of them?" he asked gently.
The old man blinked. "A-all of them?"
Lin smiled behind his plain black mask — smooth, without symbol or design, yet strangely refined.
"Yes. Every single one."
The old man named a price — hesitant, embarrassed.
Lin handed him double.
The old man tried to protest.
Lin shook his head.
"You miscalculated transport cost," he said casually. "This covers it."
The old man's eyes reddened.
Lin lifted the entire crate himself.
"Your fruit is good," he added. "Just poorly displayed."
And then he left.
Emilie watched in silence.
No aura display.
No arrogance.
No attempt to impress.
Just kindness.
The Blue Flame Lordess — Luna — smiled faintly.
"I told you."
Lin walked through the crowded street casually.
He did not look rich.
He did not look dangerous.
But the market subtly shifted around him.
Paths cleared unconsciously.
Deals paused.
Respect followed him quietly.
Suddenly—
"BOO."
Luna appeared behind him in a burst of blue sparks.
Lin did not flinch.
Instead, he turned slowly.
"Your sneak attacks are declining in quality," he said calmly.
Emilie saw it clearly now.
The black mask.
No markings.
No glow.
But it fit his face perfectly.
Elegant.
Minimal.
Cool.
Luna crossed her arms. "One day I'll scare you."
"Unlikely."
They began walking side by side, as if this ritual had happened a hundred times before.
Emilie followed quietly.
Observing.
Always observing.
His mansion stood at the edge of the market district.
It was not excessively grand.
But it was vast.
The gates opened silently as they approached.
Inside—
Artifacts.
Weapons.
Fragments of architecture from unknown realms.
Floating compasses that pointed to nowhere.
Scrolls sealed in languages Emilie could not recognize.
Crystals that contained moving galaxies within them.
Every object whispered one thing.
Merchant.
A true one.
Not someone who traded goods.
Someone who traded worlds.
They sat.
Lin removed his outer coat but kept the mask on.
He began preparing food personally.
Emilie instinctively stood.
"I can help."
"No," he replied gently. "You are a guest."
Luna smirked. "If I'm your big sister, then he's your big, big brother."
Lin sighed faintly.
"She exaggerates."
"He's one year older than me," Luna told Emilie with mock seriousness. "So technically he must act mature."
Lin looked at her.
"You once set a negotiation hall on fire."
"It was dramatic emphasis."
They both laughed.
It was easy.
Natural.
Warm.
But Emilie did not laugh.
She watched.
She noticed the defensive arrays woven into the walls.
The layered concealment spells.
The dimensional folding in the ceiling.
The trade contracts embedded into the floor sigils.
Every corner told a story.
Lin placed a plate in front of her.
"You observe before trusting," he said calmly.
Emilie looked up.
His eyes were sharp behind the mask.
"You're sharp," he continued. "And connected."
Luna tilted her head.
"Connected to what?"
Lin's gaze shifted to Emilie's chest.
"To the Nine Books."
The room went still.
Emilie's breath hitched.
Luna straightened.
"What do you mean?"
Lin's voice remained calm.
"I can see the threads."
Silence.
"Golden. Extending from your heart. Interwoven. Resonating."
Emilie's pulse quickened.
"You can see them?"
"Yes."
Even Luna looked shaken now.
Lin continued gently:
"But your Resonance is incomplete."
Emilie's fingers tightened.
"What do you mean incomplete?"
"The Nine Books you hold are frameworks," he said. "Additive Techniques. But the true convergence requires the Nine Documents."
"Documents?" Luna asked.
Lin nodded.
"Nine records detailing the life and death of a Saga."
The word lingered.
Saga.
Not technique.
Not spell.
A Saga.
"When all nine are gathered," Lin said quietly, "the Core awakens."
Luna stared at him.
"You knew this… and never told us?"
Lin's tone did not change.
"You never asked."
The air felt heavier now.
Then Luna exhaled sharply.
"Enough mystery. The Supreme Lordess has summoned you."
Lin paused.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"So," he murmured.
"It's time."
Emilie felt it.
That reaction.
He had been waiting.
"For what?" Luna asked.
Lin stood.
"You'll see."
He adjusted his mask.
And the atmosphere shifted.
Moments later, the three stood before the gates of Darel.
As Lin stepped forward—
Two majestic pillars at the entrance reacted instantly.
Ancient sigils ignited.
Energy spiraled upward.
Recognition.
Not hostility.
Acknowledgment.
The gates opened wider than they ever had before.
Even Luna looked unsettled.
Lin walked through calmly.
Softly he said—
"Now the real trade begins."
And neither Emilie nor Luna understood what he meant.