Atheline could not stop thinking about the prison. It lingered in his mind long after their conversation ended.

Not the prison he had seen in reality but the one from the dream in the novel. The underground cell where the original had spent maybe months or years forgotten beneath the palace. He wasn’t really sure.

The image refused to leave. Elydrah sitting there locked by chains. Although Atheline had killed the man himself it didn’t mean the prison image would leave his mind.

Atheline knew it wasn’t real or rather, it had never happened in this timeline.

Yes, the prison and the cell existed. But the events he had witnessed belonged to a story that no longer existed.

Yet somehow that made it worse, because the place was still there. Somewhere beneath the palace. The exact location where Lilith had once been destined to imprison her husband.

The thought bothered him far more than it should have. It felt like a stain in his mind that only had one way to clear it up.

The following morning he finally voiced it.

"I want to see your prisons."

She brieftly glanced at him." Which one? There are the lower and upper levels."

"Lower prison," he answered nonchalantly.

She looked up from her breakfast.

"...Why?"

He tore a piece of bread apart.

"I’m curious."

She stared at him. His answer clearly failed to satisfy her.

"You’re saying you just woke up and suddenly wanted to visit the lower prison because you’re curious?"

"Yes."

She clicked her tongue. It was clear she was not impressed. Her hand lifted and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You know what they are right?... torture chambers."

"Yes."

"The traitor cells."

"Yes."

"The place where some prisoners actively beg to die."

His hands froze for just a fraction.

"...When you describe it like that, it sounds unpleasant."

"It is unpleasant."

Atheline took another sip of tea while Lilith continued staring at him.

"Why?"

"I’ve never seen it."

"That’s because normal people don’t ask to."

He smiled.

"Are you calling me abnormal?"

"That stopped being a question a long time ago," she flatly said.

He laughed.

Lilith sighed.

For several moments she simply studied him trying to determine whether he was serious. Unfortunately for her, he was.

Eventually, she set down her teacup.

"Fine."

Atheline blinked.

"That was easier than expected."

"You’ll regret it."

"Possibly. If you’re insistent on it, it must be quite horrifying. "

"No it’s filled with flowers and love," she sarcastically replied, " prepare yourself."

That only made him more curious. Lilith clearly thought this was a terrible idea. Which usually meant there was something interesting waiting at the end.

Lilith on the other hand was the least bit happy about it. The prisons were dirty and filthy places that would dirty him. She knew everything there wouldn’t faze him but it irked her that he wanted to visit such a disgusting place.

Not like she would stop him, he would find a way to go there by himself anyway. It was better that she monitor him herself and control their pace.

An hour later they descended into the lower palace. The atmosphere changed almost immediately. The luxurious halls of the imperial residence vanished behind them. Marble became stone and sunlight disappeared. The air grew colder the deeper they went.

Atheline followed beside Lilith while several elite guards accompanied them from a distance.

No one spoke and the deeper they traveled, the quieter everything became. Eventually, even the sounds of the palace above disappeared entirely.

Only footsteps remained. Echoing in the hallway. Atheline glanced around curiously. Ancient architecture surrounded them.

Massive damp black stone pillars supported enormous ceilings. Atheline noticed that they weren’t the ordinary prisons he had expected. The one in the dream seemed a little simpler.

This was a fortress beneath another fortress. Built to contain monsters disguised as people.

She noticed his gaze and smirked, almost proudly.

"Still interested?"

"More than before."

"You always amaze me, my love."

"You still haven’t seen the best of me yet."

They continued downward.

Several heavy gates opened one after another. Each required multiple wardens. Atheline lost count after the sixth checkpoint.

Then he heard distant yet unmistakable screaming. The sound echoed through stone corridors before fading again.

Atheline remained silent. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Lilith on the other hand didn’t even react since she was clearly accustomed to it. Eventually, they reached the main prison levels.

Rows of reinforced cells stretched into darkness. Some of them were empty while some occupied.

But Atheline noticed something the moment they entered. The prisoners immediately lowered their heads when they noticed Lilith. Others visibly trembled. Even one man began praying.

Atheline understood why. Lilith rarely visited personally and when she did it generally wasn’t good news.

The chief warden arrived quickly. He was a massive dark elf covered in scars.

He immediately knelt.

"Your Majesty."

Lilith nodded.

"Report."

The man obeyed instantly.

Atheline listened while they discussed prisoner transfers, interrogations, and investigations. Most of it sounded unpleasant.

One section sounded particularly unpleasant so he decided not to ask questions.

The chief warden eventually glanced toward him, clearly confused at his presence. Atheline smiled politely at him and the man looked even more confused.

Which was a reasonable reaction on his part. Most royal spouses did not voluntarily visit torture facilities. Thought Atheline was the first male royal spouse.

Lilith finally finished her discussion and then turned toward him.

"You’ve seen everything there is to see. Happy now?"

"We haven’t reached the lower levels."

The warden looked alarmed.

Lilith looked annoyed.

"Of course, that’s what you want."

Atheline smiled. She sighed again for the fifth time since they left the dining.

Together they continued deeper. They walked past the normal cells, military prisoners, and political detainees.

Continuing further down toward the older sections. Sections no longer used frequently except when she felt the need to.

He felt his heartbeat slow slightly. Because now the architecture looked familiar. Wet stone corridors, black walls, a damp smell in the air, and the sound of dripping water.

It was the same place from the dream. Lilith noticed his expression.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

It was an obvious lie but she didn’t push. Eventually, they arrived at a solitary corridor. Only a handful of cells existed here. They looked older and clearly designed for long-term containment.

Atheline stopped walking. Lilith glanced toward him with a little bit of annoyance.

"Well?"

His gaze moved across the corridor. The scene returned immediately. Elydrah sitting there half gone but still calling for Yander’s name.

Then he found it, the exact cell. He just somehow knew it was the one. Perhaps because the system had reconstructed it perfectly in the memories.

Atheline approached slowly.

The cell stood empty. Cold, silent, and unused. It was just stone and iron. Nothing more or less. Yet he couldn’t stop staring.

Lilith folded her arms and looked at him incredulously.

"You came all the way down here for an empty room?"

Atheline laughed softly.

"When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous."

"Because it is."

Perhaps it was. Yet relief still settled inside him. The cell was empty.

It had always been empty. There was no imprisoned husband, no forgotten life, no tragic ending. Just a damp simple empty room.