AT THE SAME TIME

ALEXANDER

The system didn’t just glitch this time. It stopped reacting entirely, like it was holding its breath and silence spread across the battlefield ruins, thick enough that even the distant wind felt unsure about continuing. Auron looked at Iris, then at me. Then, very casually, he said something that shocked everyone.

"Iris was not just a summon."Auron said and smiled.

"Oh?"Iris tilted her head slightly.

"She was designed to be my bride system unit."Auron nodded.

Dead silence. Michael’s soul visibly left his body as Reynold dropped his clipboard again. Scarlet blinked once, Noa slowly turned her head toward Iris like she was reassessing reality itself.

"I am starting to miss normal wyverns."Rosalia muttered

The system stayed completely still.

"DING."The system gliched and everyone flinched so hard it was almost synchronized.

The system displayed a single line, no glitches, no errors just cold confirmation.

"CONFIRMATION FOUND."The system said.

"Ah. So it still remembers."Auron exhaled softly.

"WHY DOES IT REMEMBER THAT?!"Michael pointed at the air, shaking.

"ORIGINAL DESIGNATION: IRIS FUNCTION: COMPANION UNIT / KING-CLASS SUPPORT / BRIDE-TYPE CONTRACT FRAME."The system continued.

Iris didn’t move for a moment, then she slowly looked at the screen.

"I was a what?"She asked.

"Not in the way you think."The system continued.

"CLARIFICATION: BRIDE-TYPE CONTRACT IS LITERAL."The system immediately interrupted.

"Nope. No. I am done. I am officially done."Michael collapsed backward.

"I support your resignation emotionally."Reynold nodded without looking at him.

"You made a what system?"I asked and just stared at Auron.

"It was an old design philosophy."Auron sighed.

"Which was?"I asked.

"Strongest summon required strongest emotional anchor."He answered immediately.

"You mean love?"I blinked.

"Yes."Auron nodded.

"You made a romance system."I blinked again.

"It was more efficient than loyalty programming."He frowned slightly.

"So she was assigned to you."Noa finally spoke.

"No."Auron shook his head. He looked at me. "She was assigned to the system core user, which should have been me."

Everyone froze again.

"So I was meant for you."Iris suddenly took a step forward.

"Originally."Auron said. Then he glanced at me. Auron nodded. "But the system re-routed when you were born."

"WHY DOES EVERYTHING ’ROUTE’ TOWARD HIM?!"Michael shrieked from the ground.

"BRIDE UNIT TRANSFER: SUCCESS. CURRENT TARGET: ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD."The system flickered once more then confirmed it.

"WHY IS THAT STILL ACTIVE?!"I pointed at myself.

"Because the system adapted."Auron looked slightly amused.

"So I am yours now."Iris smiled faintly.

"No, that is NOT what that says!"I nearly choked.

"CLARIFICATION: ACCURATE."The system immediately corrected.

Scarlet’s eye twitched, Noa drew her blade halfway out.

"I am going to start charging emotional damage fees."Rosalia muttered.

"Guild master."Reynold slowly stood up again.

"What."Michael didn’t move.

"I believe we have officially entered a historical catastrophe involving marriage architecture."Reynold smirked.

"I hate this job."Michael buried his face in his hands.

"You were supposed to stabilize me."Auron, meanwhile, looked at Iris again.

"And instead?"Iris tilted her head.

"You stabilized him."Auron smiled and pointed at me."And now the system considers that a valid outcome."

The system responded immediately.

"FINALIZED STRUCTURE: ACCEPTED. BRIDE UNIT LINKED. DESTINY PATH: ACTIVE."The system confirmed.

"Can I turn this off?"I slowly turned to Auron.

Auron thought for a moment, then answered honestly.

"No."He said. "But you can survive it."

I looked at Iris as she smiled sweetly.

"I accept the current assignment."Iris nodded.

I looked at Michael, who fainted on the spot.

"ROUTE LOCKED."And the system chimed one last time.

Auron looked at the unconscious Michael, the horrified academy students, the frozen goblins, and the system floating in the air. Then he laughed, not an evil laugh, not a kingly laugh, just the laugh of a man who was very happy this disaster was no longer his responsibility.

"Good luck, Alexander."Auron said.

"WAIT."I immediately pointed at him.

"No."Auron said.

"AURON."I said.

"No."Auron shook his head.

"YOU CAUSED THIS."I argued.

"Technically I caused several kingdoms, three wars, a trade revolution, and the system." Auron nodded. "This barely makes the list."

"AURON."I tried again.

"You’ll be fine."Auron smiled.

"I WON’T."I kept arguing.

"You have Scarlet."Auron added.

Scarlet straightened proudly.

"You have Noa."Auron add again.

Noa nodded once.

"You have Aiko."Auron said.

"Of course." Aiko adjusted his glasses.

"You have Rosalia."Auron said.

Rosalia grinned.

"You have Zavier." Auron said as somewhere nearby Zavier was still harvesting goblin weapons for materials.

"And unfortunately." Auron continued. "You have Iris."

"Fortunately." Iris corrected immediately.

"See? You’re already arguing like family."Auron said.

"No." I pointed again.

"Goodbye." Auron said and before I could stop him, spider lilies suddenly appeared around his feet.

The air shimmered, the black haired king smiled one last time. Then his expression softened. For a brief moment he didn’t look like a legendary ruler, he looked like a grandfather, or maybe an older brother. Someone happy that the future existed, someone relieved he wasn’t alone anymore.

"I’m glad my family survived."He said.

The battlefield became quiet, even Michael stopped pretending to be unconscious.

"The castle isn’t waiting for a king, Alexander."Auron looked directly at me.

"What?"I blinked.

"It’s waiting for someone who can do better than I did."Auron said.

Thousands of red petals exploded into the wind as Auron vanished. Gone, just like that.

Michael slowly stood up.

"Did the founder of an ancient kingdom just give us emotional closure and leave?"He asked.

"Yes." Reynold nodded.

"I hate this expedition."Michael groaned.

"DING." Everyone jumped as the system suddenly came back to life. Not glitching, perfectly normal as if the previous fifteen minutes had never happened.

"DING. Castle key quest updated."The system said.

"NO." Michael pointed immediately.

"Please continue." Aiko said.

A giant map appeared, golden lines spread across the air. Then a single location lit up bright red, the system zoomed in. Everyone stared as an enormous ruined cathedral appeared on the projection. Broken towers, collapsed walls, black stained glass, ancient stone statues. The place looked less like a church and more like something that should definitely be haunted.

"DING. Third key fragment located. Location: Saint Aurelia cathedral. Distance: 2 days. Threat level: unknown. Recommended level: unknown. Recommended party size: unknown. The system paused. "The survival procentage is 31%."

"THIRTY ONE?"Michael stared at the number.

"Probability adjusted."The system continued. "48%."

Michael looked hopeful.

"Adjustment reason: Iris present."The system said.

Iris smiled and Michael immediately looked less hopeful.

"That is somehow worse."He said.

"DING. Additional information appeared. Historical record found."The system added.

The cathedral image expanded. Ancient text scrolled across the screen.

"Saint Aurelia Cathedral served as the final sanctuary of the first king’s companions following the fall of the kingdom."The system said.

The old goblin general slowly looked toward the projection, his expression became serious. very serious.

"I know that place."Goblin general said.

That got everyone’s attention.

"You do?" I asked.

"I escorted the king there."Gork nodded slowly. "I was present during the final meeting."

The academy students looked terrified, Reynold looked fascinated, and Michael looked like he wanted to run.

"Warning."The system displayed another message.

"Of course." Michael groaned.

"The cathedral may contain surviving legacy units."The system said.

Nobody liked that sentence.

"What is a legacy unit?" Victor asked.

"Examples include: ancient summons, royal guardians, divine constructs, forgotten heroes, sealed monsters, autonomous war machines."The system immediately answered.

Victor regretted asking.

The map zoomed again. A single glowing marker appeared inside the cathedral. The final fragment. Only one remained. 3/3.

"Castle access requirement near completion." Then the system spoke one last time. "Upon obtaining final fragment, the Black castle gates will unlock."

The image changed. For the first time everyone saw it clearly, the castle. A gigantic black fortress standing atop a mountain. The same castle from the memories and the same castle from Auron’s past.

"I have a question." Then Victor slowly raised a hand.

"No." Michael answered immediately.

"I haven’t asked it yet."Victor said.

"I know."Michael said.

"So we’re following the descendant of the First King, carrying a royal sword, escorted by a legendary goblin general, protected by a five hundred year old vampire queen, heading toward a haunted cathedral to unlock a forgotten castle?"Victor pointed at me.

"That sounds correct." Aiko nodded.

"I need a minute."Victor sat down.

"DING."Meanwhile the system cheerfully displayed the next objective. NEXT DESTINATION: SAINT AURELIA CATHEDRAL. Objective: retrieve final key fragment. Hidden Reward: ???"

The question marks glowed ominously. Michael looked at them, then looked at me, then looked at the sky.

"Why are hidden rewards never money?"He asked the air.

Nobody had an answer, but I knew that cathedral had secrets most of us did not wanted to find out.