Deviating from the original plot

Chapter ninety-four

A/N: sorry guys for taking so long to publish, I was occupied with some things in real life😥. Anyways happy new month!

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They set out for the palace, slipping into the flow of the crowd. The streets were packe. Throngs of people flooding in from every direction, eager for the so-called celebration.

The ascension ritual, as always, was cleverly masked as a grand event meant to "promote unity and reform", a public spectacle hiding a far darker purpose.

The group stayed close, weaving through the mass of bodies until they reached the point where the crowd thickened near the palace gates. Lanterns hung from high posts, banners fluttered, and performers distracted the public with music and colour-all to keep eyes away from what was truly being prepared inside.

Victoria lowered her hood just enough to study the area. "The guards are black mages," she murmured. "Their aura is thick... even from here."

"Then stay close," Cassius whispered, subtly directing them toward a narrow side path that hugged the eastern wall. Most people avoided it, assuming it led nowhere - which made it perfect.

"The tunnel entrance is behind that bush," he added quietly.

They slipped toward the overgrown shrubbery, careful not to draw any attention. Once hidden behind it, Cassius pulled aside tangled branches, revealing a broken, rusted sewer grate half-buried in stone.

Celeste wrinkled her nose. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes," Cassius answered. "And keep your voices down. Sound echoes like crazy in these tunnels."

Victoria nodded. "Let's move."

Cassius crouched first, easing himself through the grate. Victoria followed right behind him, then Evelyn and Celeste slipped in after, pulling the branches back into place.

The darkness swallowed them instantly. The tunnel smelt of damp earth and old stone, the only light coming from faint, scattered cracks in the ceiling.

"Watch your step," Cassius whispered. "It gets narrower ahead."

They walked in single file, boots crunching lightly on debris.

"How long does this tunnel go?" Evelyn whispered.

"Straight to the east wing basement," Cassius replied softly. "After that, we climb the old service stairs."

They pressed on, single file through the narrow passage as droplets fell rhythmically from the ceiling. The tunnel curved sharply and at last widened into a broader chamber. Dust-coated crates slumped along the walls, their wood rotting and splintered. At the far end, a heavy iron door sat half-buried under layers of grime.

"That's the entrance," Cassius whispered, pointing. "The eastern basement."

Victoria stepped forward without hesitation, drawing her sword. With one clean swing, the old locks shattered, clattering to the floor in pieces.

Cassius eased the door open just enough to slip through. A cold, stale draught swept out, thick with dust and the sour scent of disuse. They all coughed as they stepped inside, boots crunching softly over grit and debris. The basement was dim, lit only by thin slivers of light leaking through narrow cracks overhead.

They crossed the room quickly and climbed the narrow stone stairs upward, emerging into a forgotten corridor of the palace - one with peeling walls, cobwebbed corners, and doors that looked untouched for years.

"I found this place a few years ago," Cassius whispered, leading them forward. "Don't even remember what I was looking for, but if we stay down this hall, there's a stairway that connects to the upper levels."