The morning after, as sunlight peeked through Rio's room window, a direct beam hit his eyes. He woke up with a soft, warm feeling, the pleasure of that peaceful sleep still lingering within him. Beside him, Adrina lay stretched out, her eyes open, clearly awake for a while. Her hair spilled across the pillow, the morning light giving it a gentle glow. With a calm smile, she said:
"Silver bunny, get up already. How about we go grab some breakfast?"
Rio nodded, a sense of lightness filling him. He got out of bed, tidied his clothes, and left the room with Adrina. The palace hallways glowed in the morning light, the stone walls mingling with soft shadows of the sun. Halfway down, Adrina said:
"I'll pop into the kitchen to grab something to eat."
Rio nodded and walked ahead of his sister, his footsteps echoing in the palace's silence until he reached the main hall. But the moment he stepped in, he froze.
Nadia was there. In the corner of the hall, she sat on an old sofa with dark green upholstery, wrestling with a strange metallic cube. The cube gleamed in her hands, its lines alive, shifting every few moments. Nadia frowned, her eyes locked on it as if the world around her didn't exist. Rio's heart beat faster—he knew every time Nadia saw him, she'd either grumble or flare up in anger. He didn't want to say anything, didn't want to ruin the moment. Quietly, he moved to a wooden chair in the hall corner and sat down. The hall wasn't large, the distance between him and Nadia small, but he tried to stay silent and just breathe.
A few minutes passed. Rio glanced at his sister from the corner of his eye—Nadia's hands moved over the cube with frustration, as if she were fighting an invisible enemy. He was lost in watching her when, suddenly, without lifting her head, Nadia said in a cold, emotionless voice:
"If you do that one more time, I'll crush your teeth."
Shocked, Rio's breath caught in his chest. He looked around to make sure Nadia was talking to him. When he realized no one else was in the hall, he said, his voice trembling with fear:
"What?"
Nadia stopped, set the cube on the sofa, and looked up. Her sharp, red eyes pierced into Rio like twin blades, a quiet fury burning in them. With a voice that sent chills down the spine, she said:
"I don't need your pity. If you ever try to feel sorry for me or meddle in my business again…" Her words were cut off as Adrina's shout filled the hall.
Adrina stormed in, a tray in her hands with glasses of milk and cookies. Her eyes blazed with anger as she slammed the tray onto a table and stared at Nadia:
"Don't forget what you promised Dad!"
Nadia clenched her teeth, let out a long sigh, and lowered her head. Without a word, she picked up the cube again and busied herself with it, as if trying to escape the moment.
Adrina steadied her breathing, turned, and gave Rio a smile. She walked over and sat beside him on a sofa across from Nadia. Setting the tray between them, she said, "Come on, silver bunny, let's eat."
Rio smiled, took a glass of milk, and started eating with Adrina.
As Rio and Adrina sat on the sofa facing Nadia, chatting with milk and cookies in hand, Adrina suddenly looked up. With a surprised glance at Nadia, still wrestling with the cube in the corner, she said:
"Nadia, you've been messing with that weird thing for six years and still nothing! Why don't you just give it up?"
Nadia didn't even lift her head. She waved her hands over the cube and said in a dismissive tone:
"It's the last thing Uncle left. Out of all his stuff, this was always by his bed—he never parted with it. I have to figure out what's inside."
Hearing this, Rio grew a little curious. His eyes widened slightly as he leaned closer to Adrina and said, a hint of shyness in his voice, "What was his uncle's job?"
At that moment, Nadia erupted. She slammed the cube onto the sofa, looked up, and shouted, her voice shaking the hall: "Don't you dare say his name with that cursed mouth of yours!"
Her red eyes blazed with rage, as if she wanted to tear Rio apart with her gaze. Adrina reacted quickly, trying to hide her anger behind a cold face, but she gritted her teeth and said, "If you yell at our brother one more time, I'll tell Dad!"
Nadia froze for a second. Fear flickered in her eyes, but she quickly lowered her head and said nothing, as if unwilling to show weakness. Rio, not wanting things to worsen between his sisters, said in a shaky voice, "If I shouldn't ask, it's fine. I'll stay quiet."
Adrina looked at Rio, saw his innocent, frightened face, and gently ran her hand over his head. Then, with a soft smile, she said:
"No, silver bunny, you can ask whatever you want. I might not have all the answers, but you've got every right to ask."
She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and began:
"Our uncle, Rio Astroid, was a great warrior among the dragons—an exceptional dragon. He spent most of his life adventuring, exploring the strange corners of the world. He was witty, always laughing, the kind of person no one could dislike."
Rio stayed silent, listening to Adrina as a mix of sadness and longing for an uncle he'd never met stirred in his heart. He thought if Uncle were alive, maybe their whole family would be laughing together right now—even Nadia. But then an idea sparked in his mind, a way to maybe cheer Nadia up a little. He whispered softly to Adrina, and she nodded in agreement.
Adrina stood, walked over to Nadia, and said, "Give me that cube."
Nadia frowned at first, her grip tightening on it, but when Adrina shot her a sharp look and said a few more words, she seemed to falter and handed it over. Adrina returned to Rio, gave him the cube, and sat beside him.
Rio held the cube in his hands and studied it for a moment. It was heavy, like a living stone. Strange, alive lines moved across it, like veins that breathed. He fiddled with it for a bit, then sat on the floor and lay down. He tapped the cube gently against the ground and pressed his ear to it, listening to the bell-like sound it made. Adrina and Nadia both stared at him with wide eyes, clearly baffled by what he was doing.
Suddenly, Rio jumped up and said, "I think it's made of some waterproof alloy. You can tell from its density and weight. It's hollow inside—when you tap it, it makes a sound, but when you shake it, there's nothing, so whatever's in there fills it completely."
Both sisters looked at him in surprise. Nadia, with a sarcastic edge, said, "Where'd you pull all that nonsense from?"
Adrina, still confused, said gently, "Silver bunny, what does all that mean?"
Rio paused. His face flushed—he realized he'd gone too far, saying things he shouldn't have. Quickly, he said, "Nothing, forget it! Adrina, could you get a big bowl of water? I want to try something."
His eyes sparkled, as if he were about to uncover a secret.
A little later, Adrina returned with a large bowl of water and carefully set it on the floor. She stepped back, hands behind her, waiting for Rio. He rolled up his sleeves, took a deep breath, and slowly submerged the cube in the water. At that moment, it was as if a living force awoke—the cube began to tremble, its strange, alive lines twisting like black veins in the water, forming odd shapes: stars and moons that seemed from another world. Adrina and Nadia exchanged wide-eyed looks. Adrina, stunned, said:
"Have you ever seen anything like this?"
Nadia, speechless, muttered, "I've tried blowing it up a few times, but nothing!" Her eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Rio flashed a proud grin, feeling a bit pleased with himself. He focused on the cube. Moments later, its lines began to spin, and soon it transformed into a metallic Rubik's cube, with glowing stars and moons lighting up the hall. Rio flinched but started solving it. It was tough—he was smart, but he had no talent for Rubik's cubes. His hands moved slowly, but after a long struggle, with the final twist, the cube jolted violently and leapt from his grasp.
Rio was shocked, leaping back as the cube, trembling violently, burst out of the water bowl. It hit the floor with a chilling metallic screech—like the wail of a dying creature—and split open. Nadia, who was more eager than anyone to uncover the cube's secret, rushed toward it. She reached inside and pulled out a golden compass. Strange markings were etched on its back; the compass was odd and mysterious, not indicating directions but instead bearing cryptic words within. Its central needle remained still. Nadia shook it in confusion, but nothing changed. She looked up, her eyes filled with disappointment and doubt, staring at the hall's walls as she whispered:
"Why would Uncle do this? Why hide a broken compass?"
Adrina stepped forward, took the compass from Nadia, and examined it. It was heavy, like a living stone in her hands. The needle didn't budge even when she shook it. She recognized only one word among the many engraved inside—"fire," in the dragon language. The rest were unfamiliar. Glancing at Rio, she said:
"Silver bunny, see if you can make sense of it."
Rio took the compass, his eyes locking onto its strange words. His heart raced—they were in the languages of dragons, humans, elves, and even vampires! He didn't understand vampire script, but he recalled Olivia showing it to him once in a book. He stared at it, then brought the compass closer to his body. At that exact moment, the needle twitched with a faint sound and began to spin. Rio froze. It pointed to "water" in human language, then shifted to "ice" in elvish. He lowered his head, not wanting his sisters to suspect anything. He moved it away and held it toward Nadia. The needle spun again, this time settling on "fire" in dragon language. Even when he pointed it at Adrina, it still showed "fire."
Adrina opened her mouth to ask something, but William and Maria entered the hall.
"Good morning, kids!"
Then his eyes fell on the water bowl and the opened cube. Surprised, he said, "What's going on here?"
Adrina grinned proudly. "Rio opened Uncle's cube." William raised his eyebrows, and Maria smiled, saying, "Really? So what was inside?"
Adrina was about to answer, but Maria's eyes landed on the compass first. For a fleeting moment—so quick no one but Rio noticed—her face changed. Her smile vanished, her eyes sank into dark, endless pits. Her teeth sharpened and lengthened, like a bloodthirsty monster from the depths of hell. Her skin turned yellow and wrinkled, a wild fury rippling across her face—a terrifying creature ready to rip everything apart. Rio's heart froze, cold sweat trickled down his neck, and his legs gave out. With a choked gasp, he collapsed, breathless. That wasn't his mother's face—it was a monster, a living nightmare worse than anything he'd ever dreamed.
William stepped past Maria, and in that instant, her face returned to normal—her calm smile and kind eyes reappeared. Everyone rushed to Rio in confusion. Not wanting to explain, he forced a smirk and said:
"I think the floor got wet while we were messing around. I slipped."
William chuckled, shaking his head, then hugged Rio and said:
"So, what was in the cube?"
Rio showed him the compass but before he could speak, Nadia said in a strained voice:
"Everything he had, he showed me—but never this compass. Why?"
She lowered her head, picked up the cube from the floor, and headed to her room. Rio called out, "Nadia, you forgot the compass!"
Without turning, her voice echoed through the hall: "If Uncle didn't show it to me, he didn't want it to be mine. Keep it."
Then she disappeared, her footsteps fading down the corridor.
Nadia left the hall with heavy steps, and William glanced at Adrina with a nod. Understanding Nadia's mood, Adrina shouted, "Nadia, wait!" and ran after her.
Her footsteps echoed down the hall and gradually faded. Meanwhile, William took the compass in his hands, studying it with curiosity. "Strange," he said. "Even I never saw this. Rio loved showing off the things he brought back from his adventures."
On the other side, Rio was still reeling from that horrific moment—Maria's face turning monstrous before his eyes. Cold sweat clung to his forehead, but he tried to pull himself together. Quietly, he said:
"So, what do I do with it now?"
William smiled, handed the compass back to Rio, and said, "Since Nadia doesn't want it, keep it. Maybe fate meant for it to end up with you, right, Maria?"
Maria nodded with a gentle smile. "I think you're right. Fate's a strange thing!"
But there was an odd shadow in her eyes that Rio couldn't quite decipher.
William looked at Rio and said, "By the way, I was looking for you, son. It's time to start your training."
Rio blinked in surprise. "But Dad, there's still a few days left!"
William shook his head with pride, setting Rio down. "Things have changed a bit. Come on, I'll explain everything."
He kissed Maria's cheek, took Rio's hand, and led him out of the hall. Halfway down, Rio glanced back at Maria. Her face was kind, her usual smile in place, and as she waved at him, there was no trace of that monstrous figure. Confused, he muttered under his breath:
"Idiot, idiot! You're so scared of Nadia you're seeing everyone like her. What's wrong with me? "
The sound of William and Rio's footsteps faded down the corridor. The hall fell silent, leaving only Maria. Suddenly, her face shifted—her smile vanished, her eyes turned cold and lifeless, as if a mask had slipped off. With trembling steps, she walked to the sofa, her hands shaking as she sat, a heavy burden seeming to weigh on her shoulders. She stared at the walls around her, her breathing labored, and whispered:
"Why? Why did you keep it? You swore you'd destroy it…you swore, brother."