Thaddeus menghela napas perlahan.
Pikirannya, yang sempat terhambur oleh seluruh beban rangkaian penyingkapan itu, mulai menetap menjadi sesuatu yang lebih terfokus. Lebih berbahaya.
Karena—
Jika yang mereka bicarakan adalah Gerald sang Bencana Bintang…
Jika itu orangnya…
Maka ya.
Ya, itu mungkin.
Gerald sang Bencana Bintang pernah melakukan hal-hal yang menentang logika, yang melampaui batas kemampuan manusia. Kemampuannya meruntuhkan formasi, mengubah jalannya pertempuran sendirian, selalu terasa… tidak wajar.
Dan jika kekuatannya adalah sesuatu yang bukan berasal dari dunia ini—
Maka itu menjelaskan segalanya.
Mata emas Thaddeus meredup.
"Kekuatan yang kau gunakan," ujarnya, suara lambat dan penuh pertimbangan, "apakah kau mengatakan bahwa kekuatan itu mirip dengan makhluk-makhluk itu?"
Lucavion mengangguk.
Untuk sekali ini, senyum sumbangnya memudar, digantikan oleh sesuatu yang lebih serius.
Mata gelapnya berkilat, berat kata-katanya mengendap di udara seperti badai sunyi.
"Alasan aku tahu banyak tentang penyakit Aeliana," katanya, suara tetap stabil, "alasan aku mengenali apa yang terjadi padanya sejak detik aku bertemu dengannya—"
Ia mengangkat tangan sekali lagi.
"Adalah karena kedua master-ku… Dan…"
Kemudian ia membiarkan cahaya bintang kehampaan menyala.
"—adalah karena ini."
Energi berputar itu berdenyut, bergeser, seolah hidup.
"Energi ini bukan milik dunia ini."
Keheningan.
Lucavion membiarkan kata-kata itu mengendap, membiarkannya berakar.
Lalu—
"Sama seperti master-ku," katanya, menurunkan tatapannya, tatapannya terkunci pada Thaddeus, "aku pun adalah seseorang yang tidak bisa diukur oleh aturan dunia ini."
Aeliana menyipitkan mata, pikirannya berpacu merangkai seluruh kepingan informasi.
"Meskipun kau memiliki energi yang mirip," katanya, suara terkendali, "jumlah detail yang kau ketahui, cara kau bertindak, bagaimana kau mengenali segala sesuatu tentang kondisiku sejak kita bertemu…" Jari-jarinya sedikit mengepal di sisi tubuhnya. "Itu tidak masuk akal. Meskipun master-mu yang memberitahumu, aku meragukan bahkan Gerald sang Bencana Bintang akan tahu sebanyak ini."
Lucavion terkekeh pelan, kilat kebijaksanaan di mata gelapnya. "Heh… Seperti yang kuduga, kau memang tajam."
Wajah Aeliana tetap tak terbaca, tetapi ia menunggu.
Lucavion memiringkan kepalanya sedikit, mengangguk pada dirinya sendiri. "Jadi, kau ingin tahu caranya?"
Ia tidak menjawab. Ia tidak perlu.
Ia tersenyum sumbang. "Bagaimana aku bisa tahu sebanyak itu? Misalnya, bagaimana ada sesuatu di dalam dirimu?"
Aeliana menegang. "Ada sesuatu di dalam diriku? Apa maksudmu?"
Lucavion menghela napas pelan sebelum menjawab.
"Alasan Kraken bisa tumbuh sekuat itu adalah karena ia menyerap energi dari ibumu dan darimu."
Napas Aeliana tertahan.
"Apa?"
"Penyakitmu yang katanya…" Lucavion melanjutkan, nadanya tidak wajar tenang, "bukan kondisi biasa. Bukan sekadar konstitusi lemah atau tubuh yang terlalu rapuh untuk menopang dirinya sendiri." Tatapannya semakin tajam. "Sebagian dari Kraken entah bagaimana telah menempel pada dirimu dan ibumu."
Aeliana merasakan sesuatu yang dingin mengendap di dadanya.
.
Tidak. Itu—
Itu tidak mungkin benar.
Tetapi bahkan saat ia ingin menyangkalnya, kepingan-kepingan teka-teki itu sudah saling pasang.
Kelelahan itu. Cara tubuhnya selalu terasa seperti ada sesuatu yang terkuras darinya. Cara tidak ada dokter, tidak ada penyembuh, tidak ada obat yang bisa menjelaskan apa yang terjadi padanya.
Lucavion mengawasinya dengan saksama.
"Kau…" Suaranya sedikit lebih rendah, lebih penuh pertimbangan kini. "Pasti ada sesuatu di masa lalu. Sesuatu yang membuatmu bertemu dengan benda itu saat ia masih tumbuh."
Pikiran Aeliana menelusuri—putus asa menemukan momen yang ia maksud.
Tapi—
"Aku tidak ingat…"
Lucavion menghela napas dari hidungnya, tak ambil pusing. "Yah… tidak masalah." Tatapannya sedikit bergerak. "Begitulah cara mereka bekerja."
Aeliana merasakan sesuatu yang mengganggu melingkar di perutnya.
"Mereka?"
Senyum sumbang Lucavion kembali.
"Yup… Mereka."
Suara Lucavion pelan, tetapi berat di udara itu tak bisa disangkal.
Aeliana merasakan perutnya berputar.
"Apa maksudmu mereka?" tanyanya dengan hati-hati.
Lucavion menghela napas perlahan, mata gelapnya mengunci tatapannya.
"Mereka adalah yang datang bersama batu itu."
Ia mengalihkan tatapannya ke Adipati, mengawasinya dengan saksama.
"Saat kau datang menyelamatkan kami, kau juga melihatnya, bukan? Batu itu, atau sejenisnya… Kelihatannya sangat tidak wajar bagimu, kan?"
Thaddeus diam sesaat. Lalu, dengan presisi yang terukur, ia mengangguk.
Jari-jari Aeliana berkedut di sisi tubuhnya.
"Itu karena benda itu datang dari langit," Lucavion menyatakan.
Dan begitu saja—
Segalanya terang.
Aeliana menarik napas dalam, matanya membelalak.
Ah.
Tajamnya tatapan Adipati langsung berkilat ke arahnya. "Ada apa?"
Aeliana ragu hanya selama satu detik sebelum berbicara. "Sepuluh tahun yang lalu… aku sedang berlatih tepat di tepi laut."
Wajah Thaddeus merenggang gelap. "Lalu?"
"Ibu juga ada di sana," Aeliana melanjutkan. Suaranya terasa jauh, kenangan-kenangannya sendiri terurai seperti tapisan lama yang tak ia sentuh selama bertahun-tahun. "Saat itu, kami merasakan sesuatu jatuh dari langit. Kami tidak melihatnya langsung, tetapi kami merasakannya."
Ia menelan ludah, pikirannya berpacu saat kenangan lama yang terkubur itu muncul.
"Waktu itu kelihatannya sangat indah," gumamnya. "Aku ingat memaksa Ibu pergi bersamaku. Dan dia…
Thaddeus exhaled slowly.
His thoughts, once scattered by the sheer weight of all these revelations, began to settle into something more focused. More dangerous.
Because—
If it was Starscourge Gerald they were talking about…
If it was that man…
Then yes.
Yes, it was possible.
Starscourge Gerald had done things that defied logic, that went beyond human capability. His ability to carve through formations, to shift the tides of battle alone, had always felt… unnatural.
And if his power was something that did not belong to this world—
Then it explained everything.
Thaddeus' golden eyes darkened.
"The powers you use," he said, voice slow, deliberate, "are you saying that they are similar to those creatures?"
Lucavion nodded.
For once, the smirk faded, replaced with something more serious.
His dark eyes gleamed, the weight of his words settling into the air like a quiet storm.
"The reason I know so much about Aeliana's illness," he said, voice steady, "the reason I recognized what was happening to her the moment I met her—"
He lifted a hand once more.
"Is because of both my master….And…"
Then he let blackened starlight shine to life.
"—is because of this."
The swirling energy pulsed, shifting, almost alive.
"This energy does not belong to this world."
Silence.
Lucavion let the words settle, let them take root.
And then—
"Just like my master," he said, lowering his hand, his gaze locked onto Thaddeus, "I, too, am someone who cannot be measured by the rules of this world."
Aeliana narrowed her eyes, her mind racing to piece everything together.
"Even if you have a similar energy," she said, voice measured, "the amount of detail you knew, the way you acted, how you recognized everything about my condition the moment we met…" Her fingers curled slightly at her sides. "It doesn't make sense. Even if your master told you, I doubt even Starscourge Gerald would have known this much."
Lucavion chuckled softly, a knowing glint in his dark eyes. "Heh… As expected, you are sharp."
Aeliana's expression remained unreadable, but she waited.
Lucavion tilted his head slightly, nodding to himself. "Then, you want to know how?"
She didn't answer. She didn't have to.
He smirked. "How I knew that much? Like how there was something inside you, for instance?"
Aeliana stiffened. "Something inside me? What do you mean by that?"
Lucavion let out a quiet breath before answering.
"The reason the Kraken was able to grow as strong as it did was because it was absorbing energy from your mother and from you."
Aeliana's breath hitched.
"What?"
"Your so-called 'illness'…" Lucavion continued, his tone unnervingly calm, "it wasn't a normal condition. It wasn't some fragile constitution or a body too weak to sustain itself." His gaze sharpened. "A part of the Kraken had somehow attached itself to you and your mother."
Aeliana felt something cold settle in her chest.
No. That—
That couldn't be right.
But even as she wanted to deny it, the puzzle pieces were already fitting together.
The exhaustion. The way her body had always felt like something was being drained from it. The way no doctor, no healer, no medicine could ever explain what was happening to her.
Lucavion watched her carefully.
"You…" His voice lowered slightly, more thoughtful now. "There must have been something in the past. Something that caused you to encounter that thing when it was still growing."
Aeliana's mind searched—desperate to find the moment he spoke of.
But—
"I don't remember…"
Lucavion exhaled through his nose, unconcerned. "Well… doesn't matter." His gaze flickered slightly. "That's just how they work."
Aeliana felt something unsettling coil in her gut.
"They?"
Lucavion's smirk returned.
"Yup… They."
Lucavion's voice was quiet, but the weight in the air was undeniable. Experience tales at
Aeliana felt her stomach twist.
"What do you mean they?" she asked carefully.
Lucavion exhaled slowly, his dark eyes locking onto hers.
"They were the ones that came with that stone."
He turned his gaze to the Duke, watching him carefully.
"When you came to save us, you saw it too, didn't you? That rock, or stone… It looked really unnatural to you, didn't it?"
Thaddeus was silent for a moment. Then, with measured precision, he nodded.
Aeliana's fingers twitched at her sides.
"That's because that thing came from the sky," Lucavion stated.
And just like that—
Everything clicked.
Aeliana inhaled sharply, her eyes widening.
Ah.
The Duke's sharp gaze flickered toward her immediately. "What is it?"
Aeliana hesitated for only a second before speaking. "Ten years ago… I was training right beside the ocean."
Thaddeus' expression darkened. "And?"
"Mother was also there," Aeliana continued. Her voice felt distant, her own memories unfurling like an old tapestry she hadn't looked at in years. "At that time, we felt something falling from the sky. We didn't see it immediately, but we felt it."
She swallowed, her mind racing as the long-buried memory surfaced.
"It looked really beautiful back then," she murmured. "I remember urging Mother to go with me. And she…" Her voice wavered slightly. "She said we could check it out."
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
Thaddeus' voice, low and controlled. "Why did I not know about this?"
Aeliana blinked.
The answer came almost instinctively.
"Back then…" She exhaled, forcing a small smile. "I didn't want to tell you."
Thaddeus' expression hardened.
"You always pestered me about training," she admitted, meeting his gaze evenly. "And I knew you wouldn't let me go if I told you."
Aeliana took a slow breath, her mind pulling at the threads of the past.
"At that time, the sea was really strong," she said. "The currents were rougher than usual, and… the monsters suddenly went berserk."
Thaddeus frowned, his sharp gaze focused entirely on her. "Berserk?"
She nodded. "They became more aggressive, as if something had disturbed them. We didn't stay out long because of it. Mother and I returned not much after heading out."
She paused.
Something was nagging at her.
Like a memory just on the edge of her consciousness, buried beneath years of time and sickness.
Lucavion said nothing, merely watching.
Then—
She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening.
"I—"
Thaddeus' gaze sharpened. "You what?"
Aeliana's hand unconsciously went to her arm, fingers pressing against her sleeve.
"I remember… getting bitten."
The words felt strange coming out of her mouth.
"Bitten?" The Duke's voice was edged with something unreadable. "By what?"
Aeliana's throat felt dry. "By a Tidemaw Serpent."
The room stilled.
Tidemaw Serpents.
A species of aquatic monsters known for their razor-sharp fangs and venomous bites. Highly aggressive. Infected wounds from them could be lethal if not treated quickly.
"You were bitten?" Thaddeus' tone turned sharper.
Aeliana nodded slowly. "But it was just a scratch," she said quickly. "It healed immediately, and I—I killed countless of those monsters afterward, so I didn't think much of it."
Her pulse quickened.
But now—
Now that she was speaking the words aloud—
Now that she was thinking about it—
She realized.
She had never told anyone about that wound.
She had never thought about it again after that day.
And yet, it had healed immediately?
That wasn't normal.
Not even for her.
Lucavion finally spoke, his voice low, unreadable.
"Healed… immediately?"
Aeliana met his gaze.
And for the first time, she felt a shiver of unease.
Lucavion's dark eyes studied her carefully, his usual smirk absent.
"It must have been that time," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Aeliana's breath was unsteady. "What do you mean?"
Lucavion didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back slightly, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee, his gaze calculating.
"Did your mother also get bitten?" he asked.
Aeliana's body tensed.
She tried to remember.
She wanted to remember.
But—
"I-I don't know," she admitted. "I don't remember… It was such a long time ago."
The words frustrated her more than she expected.
She could recall so many details—the ocean, the sky, the way the stone had shimmered in the distance—but her mother?
Had she been bitten too?
Why couldn't she remember?
Thaddeus, who had remained silent, exhaled slowly. His golden eyes had darkened with something deep, something unreadable.
"Well, that is all in the past, is it not?"
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