The firm metal rope slid over Jongho's gloves without damaging his skin as he swung down on it. The night sky of Asora was clear and full of brilliant stars that Jongho didn't get to see often. The cloud of poisonous emissions and agony surrounding Zey was visible even from here, but Asora had no such problem. Even in the night, its white marble buildings shone palely in the moonlight. They didn't reflect it like in the day, but the stone was still heated and promised comfort and security.

Jongho swished past it all. Past glass roofs that shone like rainbows in the sun, past the golden ornaments that decorated the palace, and past the warm stone. The rope ended in the upmost chamber of the highest tower of the castle. His feet connected with the wooden floor safely, and he immediately ducked to avoid possible attackers that might have appeared in the time that it had taken them to remove the window and open a route. When everything stayed quiet, and nothing moved in the still chamber full of boxes, he exhaled slowly. Then, he motioned out of the window for Mingi to join him.

While the man descended, Jongho adjusted his bulky vest full of equipment. He carried more weapons than usual, and his belt had introduced the addition of two pistols, a bunch of ammunition, and a knife in case he had to fight bodily. The sturdy leather of his clothes was meant to protect him from severe injuries, but he doubted that the pneumatic missiles or whatever horrific weapon the Bishops carried would halt from it.

Despite his chunky boots, his steps on the wooden boards were silent and left no trace.

Inside the boxes were books and clothes, nothing of worth. The parchment had long since yellowed from age, but the dark ink contrasted vividly with it still. Dry and like crunchy leaves, it rustled as Jongho shifted through the objects inside the crates.

Mingi landed with one hand on the rope and the other on his belt, prepared to fire his grappling gun in case anybody saw and destroyed the rope dangling from Hongjoong's ship. With a few blinks to accustom his eyes to the dark and make out Jongho, he beckoned for the next person to come.

Seonghwa didn't land just as smoothly and soundlessly as the two mechanics, but nothing moved beneath them. As they waited for Yeosang, the prince stepped over to examine the contents of the boxes.

"These belonged to my mother. It's a surprise he still keeps them around."

Jongho watched where he leaned against the wall next to the entrance leading down as he reverently cradled a red dress in his hands to marvel at it. Melancholy permeated his features and brought a rueful smile upon his lips. Respectful, Jongho lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Seonghwa, did your mother die of natural causes? Or is there a chance that this was the king's doing, too?"

Mingi caught Yeosang in his arms before the man could go tumbling on the ground. The librarian was terrified and clutched at Mingi for a long moment before he could stand on his wobbly legs.

"Her disease was a stroke of fate. If anything, maybe she feared my father and what he had become. But if anybody is responsible for her death, then it was me." Seonghwa set the dress down delicately and folded the sleeves just as they had been before. Then, he closed the lid to the crate.

"We had a theory when we heard about you two brothers. For a long while, it was said that the king couldn't bear children, and Asora had no heir because of that. But you two aren't far from each other in age and completely fine." Jongho worded the question carefully as not to push the man in sorrow all over again. The grim expression on Seonghwa's face remained paired with grieving eyes. He hummed thoughtfully.

"There were more, yes. But the king either killed them or sent them into wars - pointless wars, also killing them. If they would have succeeded and conquered other countries, then he would have left them their thrones and praised them with fervour. But mostly, he assigned them to rot. And they knew. But through the years and with no sign of him weakening, there was nothing else they could do but comply."

Yeosang looked just as surprised and disgusted by that news as the rest of them. So that knowledge was taboo, even in the palace.

"My mother told me this before she died. But usually, people get silenced, or nobody lives to tell the tale." Seonghwa's eyes sought the Puppeteer in the skies when San landed in their midst to glance around innocently. High above them, Hongjoong's hair got thrown around in the wind like a plaything as he leaned over the railing. At Seonghwa's signal, he rolled up the rope to take off.

"Some people raised suspicions against the king, too. They knew that his having an heir was only ever a farce he upheld. Sometimes, he denied his sons, too. Like Yeosang. He would just let them disappear silently and without a trace as if they never existed. The few heirs that we know of all died tragic deaths."

"Just like you," Mingi whispered with chilly understanding. Seonghwa's grave nod sunk a thick veil of grim determination upon all of them.

"Just like me. I knew what would happen once I discovered all of his dirty little secrets and the amount of blood on his hands. I threatened him to step down and leave things to me, but I couldn't circumvent the inevitable consequences even through all my safety measures. But luck was on my side." His tone was final as he brushed the story off. They had talked for long enough, and Jongho didn't need to hear more. The sheer mention of the king messing with every person of Asorazey and possibly planning to kill off or keep Yeosang trapped until all eternity ignited Jongho's resolve anew.

With his ears and eyes strained to pick up on any signal in the thick darkness of the tower, he glanced down the wooden stairs. At the yawning silence that greeted him, Jongho nodded at the others to follow. The group soundlessly heeded his orders, and led by Seonghwa, they all sneaked down the stairs. Like shadows in the night, they blended in the dark with their dull clothes and masked features. Jongho went last and kept his eyes on the people in front that were no more than silhouettes from how black the passage was. The tower had no windows, and not even San's hair was still visible.

They safely passed two more floors. Each time, they spread out in the room to check on the situation while Mingi and Jongho were poised to attack before they resumed. After they had darted down the third flight of stairs, light flooded the dwindling staircase. Instantly, Seonghwa slowed and motioned them to stay alert by raising his gloved hand. The group halted, their ears pricked and pressed against the cold stone wall.

A faint hissing from machines that weren't Jongho gadgets reached their ears. It came from just a bit further down, and it always remained in one place. A stationed guard, presumably at the entrance of the tower.

Mingi left their formation and pulled his magnetic blaster. With his gun in hand, Jongho sneaked after him as they cautiously descended the last flight of stairs.

The light of the palace corridor broke around the imposing statue of the Bishop. It had turned its back to them as it overlooked a part of the place without ever shifting its gaze in a different direction. The brass of its metal body was polished and gleamed expensively in the golden glow that surrounded it.

Stealthy like a mouse in the pantry, Jongho dashed behind its back and on the other side. In the blind spot of the entrance, he knelt in the alcove and waited.

Mingi stood on the stairs still as he unloaded the weapon. With a whir, it came to life, loading up for several seconds. Alerted, the Bishop turned its head at ninety degrees in the mechanic's direction. Its glowing blue eyes illuminated the shadows of the tower eerily as it stared at Mingi, unblinking. Just when it rose its arm to turn Mingi's body into a piece of cheese, the weapon fired.

A stutter went through the machine as if one of its cogs had frozen, and the whole system suddenly didn't circulate anymore. The scarily human skull of the huge machine wobbled and shook as if ready to break off. And then, the bright blue glow went black from one second to the next.

Seizing his chance, Jongho jumped forward. His strong arms pulled additional power from his machines as he pulled himself up on the shoulders of the stunned creature. Then, he plunged his gloved hand into the mess of wires and cables that had been lit with nethicite energy earlier but had now died out. Brutally, he pulled on the two thick tubes that ran from the sturdy back to the horrific skull to connect with the metal set of teeth that had been a gruesome design choice. They came off with a crunch of metal snapping, and he dug around some more, ripping everything that looked important to him.

The Bishop didn't collapse, which was a gift from the heavens since the noise certainly would have alerted many more of them, but it did sink its head on its chest once it lost all connection to its power core. Triumphant, Jongho jumped down from once it stopped all spasms. He and Mingi paused for a moment, expecting a sudden turn of events. When nothing happened, both of them breathed out audibly. As Mingi went to fetch their team, Jongho discreetly stepped around the mighty Bishop that made him uncomfortable by its presence alone to peek into the corridor.

They were currently in the eastern wing of the castle, on the same side that Yeosang had lived in. These hallways were familiar to both princes and Mingi, and by extent, also Jongho. Jongho detected one more Bishop in a corner and nearly hidden from sight as it guarded the juncture of two paths.

Wooyoung was on the floor beneath them. They needed to get to him first and then see how they could get through the main building's countless guards. Since this was only the additional complex, the supervision didn't spike too much after Seonghwa's disappearance.

When Jongho felt a body behind him, he moved back to regroup with his team. All of their eyes were fixed on Seonghwa, anticipating their next orders. Still, everyone glanced at the Bishop now and then as if they had to make sure it wasn't going to light up again. The mess of cables in its nape seemed to satisfy them only partly.

"We'll take the stairs down since I don't want the machines to alert the Bishops. Once Wooyoung joins our team, we will pause to think about the next step. There are several possible options for how we could infiltrate the main complex, but I would like to consult our friend first."

Nodding, they left it to Mingi and Jongho to clear the path. They shut off the machine around the corner without much trouble since it stood so conveniently. Then, they crept down the stairs and found two other Bishops with their rears to them. Clearly, they weren't foreseeing an initiative from above.

Sweat covered Jongho's body by the time they arrived in front of Wooyoung's chamber. The stealth mission strained his nerves, and the perseverance he had to practise at his every move got more difficult the more time passed. The break he took to rest against the wall on the left of Wooyoung's gateway while Mingi stood on the right was heavenly.

Yeosang shyly rapped his knuckles against Wooyoung's door. Nothing around them shifted; no glowing Bishop was still in sight. Seonghwa and San stood nearby tensely. They all arranged for an ambush from Wooyoung's room, expecting him to be accompanied by two Bishops, or maybe the king himself if he had gained knowledge about their ploy.

However, the man who opened the door hesitantly was the same person Jongho had spotted a few weeks ago when he had saved Yeosang from that window of his. At the sight of Yeosang, his eyes went wide.

Without another second to wait, Jongho rushed in to put a hand on his mouth and push him further inside his chamber. The rest of the team followed, and San closed the door behind them while Wooyoung hung in Jongho's grip like a defeated bunny.

Once they were in the clear, Jongho nodded at him in apology and stepped back. Wooyoung took a shuddering breath as he viewed their situation. When his eyes got stuck on Seonghwa, his mouth dropped open in a little o.

"We can give you a quick summary of everything that has happened. Will you be able to help?"

Wooyoung didn't need to hear Yeosang's story to nod, unrelenting.