The high-ranking officer returned after a few minutes, his expression one of crisp, professional respect. He gave the party a sharp salute. "Come on in," he said, his voice echoing slightly in the vast, subterranean cavern. "He will talk to you."

He led them through the magnificent gates of the castle, and the party's collective breath was taken away. If the city outside was a marvel of magical engineering, the palace was its crown jewel. They walked down long, vaulted corridors with floors of polished marble and walls adorned with massive gold statues depicting heroes of old. A plush red carpet, so soft it felt like walking on a cloud, guided their path. Servants and nobles in elegant, royal clothing paused to bow as they passed, their gazes a mixture of awe and reverence, all of it directed at Bombom.

They finally arrived at the throne room. It was a vast, circular chamber with a domed ceiling that glittered with enchanted crystals, mimicking the night sky. At the far end of the room, on a simple but elegant throne of white stone, sat a young man. He had the same fiery blonde hair as the late King Chadimus, but his eyes were a calm, intelligent green. The moment he saw them, he stood, a warm, genuine smile on his face as he walked toward Bombom.

"Hey, Bombom," he said, his voice full of a friendly, easygoing confidence. "We never knew you would come back. Well, at least our parents didn't. I'm King Aethernus, but you can call me Kōken, since I use spells that summon swords."

He welcomed them warmly, his handshake firm and his gaze direct. He then led them on a personal tour of the palace, his long strides easily keeping pace with theirs as he pointed out various artifacts and explained their history with the casual knowledge of a man who had grown up surrounded by legends.

"What was the deal with the time disease that was in the scroll?" SynchroNoice asked, his voice a small, curious squeak in the grand halls.

The King's cheerful expression faltered for a moment, a flicker of sadness in his green eyes. "I don't know for sure," he admitted with a sigh. "People just started getting sick, and then... turning into dust. We don't have any more info on that, so we know just as much as you do." He stopped, turning to them. "How do you guys know about this disease?"

"King Chad left a scroll explaining something about what happened," Gluteus explained. "After returning back to our time, we found a bridge with a sign that said 'The Bridge Incident.' Do you guys have more info on that?"

A loud, hearty laugh erupted from the young King. "Oh, that was a funny one," he chuckled, shaking his head. "My parents told me he was an ally with another kingdom, but someday he discovered his 'ally' was trying to get with his wife. So, he left an... offense... in one of the meetings, and the other king started calling the King Chad 'PinKiePie.' The nickname kind of carried around after that."

Bombom's party was left standing in stunned silence, the image of the proud, powerful King Chadimus being called "PinKiePie" almost too much for their brains to handle.

The King, still chuckling to himself, led them into a large, circular chamber that served as a royal study. "I want you to meet our best mage," he said. In the center of the room, a woman with long, ice-blue hair and eyes the color of a frozen lake was sitting in a chair made of pure, crystalline ice.

"She's Selene Winterbane, our most powerful mage," the King explained, his voice dropping to a respectful whisper. "She lost her twin brother in an exploration. She's been... kind of lost after that."

As if sensing their presence, Selene turned. She got up from her ice throne, her movements fluid and graceful, and walked towards them. A faint, cold mist seemed to emanate from her, tiny particles of ice glittering in the air around her hands. She stopped in front of Bombom and leaned in close, her icy-blue eyes narrowed as she took a delicate, analytical sniff.

"You smell awfully familiar," she said, her voice a soft, cold whisper that sent a shiver down Kenjiro's spine. She looked deep into his red eyes. He glanced nervously at his team. "Do I know her?" he mouthed, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.

The King just laughed. "It's impossible for you two to have met. Selene is 200 years old. She was blessed by the Ice God."

Selene sniffed him again, her expression hardening. "You have the same smell as my brother," she said, her voice no longer a whisper, but a sharp, accusatory hiss. "Dare to answer me why?"

In a flash of movement so fast it was almost impossible to track, a long, beautiful sword made of pure, razor-sharp ice materialized in her hand, its tip resting against Bombom's throat. The King gasped, his face pale with shock. "Selene! He's our savior from the past! He has nothing to do with your brother!"

She ignored him, her icy gaze locked on Bombom. "I read the Merlin scrolls. They said Bombom had a 'shadow' that could use ice spells. I want to see it."

A drop of sweat rolled down Kenjiro's face. "H-hey," he stammered. "I don't know what you're talking about. But I do have one strange shadow I got from touching a cube in a pyramid. He kinda... entered into me, and helps me around."

Her eyes narrowed, and she pulled her sword back, but then, with a surge of grief-fueled rage, she lunged, the ice blade aimed directly at his heart. In a fraction of a second, the ethereal, blue-haired boy emerged from Bombom's back. He caught the ice sword in his bare hand, a serene, almost bored expression on his face as he laughed, a silent, melodic sound.

A single, crystalline tear traced a path down Selene's cheek. "Jack..." she whispered, her voice cracking.

The blue-haired boy shattered her ice sword into a thousand glittering fragments and then melted back into Bombom's form.

"H-how?" she stammered, her composure completely gone. "I thought he was dead..."

Bombom just shrugged, his own mind reeling. "I don't know either. He just helps me when I'm in danger. But all he says makes little sense."

"He died protecting me against a powerful enemy..." she said, her voice trembling as she turned her back on the party, her shoulders shaking. "We went to explore the external world, but then this person appeared. He was stronger, faster. He decided to attack us without a reason. We ran for some time, but then... the hit that would have killed me... Jack jumped in front of it, dying in my place." More tears streamed down her face, freezing into tiny diamonds as they fell to the floor.

DragonSlayer, seeing his opportunity, stepped forward, placing a gentle, surprisingly comforting hand on her shoulder. "He saved Bombom numerous times as well," he said, his voice losing its usual arrogant edge. "His other shadow, too. He's powerful. You can rest. He will stay with Bombom for the time being."

The King cleared his throat. "You should all see Merlin," he said, his voice full of a new urgency. "He would probably like to know about this."

Selene nodded, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. She turned, her icy-blue eyes now filled with a new, desperate hope. She walked between the party members until she reached the door. "Follow me," she said, her voice firm once again.

Bombom looked at his team and gave a single, determined nod as he began to follow her, a new, and deeply personal, quest now laid out before them.

Selene led them through a series of winding, crystalline corridors, her silent, graceful movements a stark contrast to the clanking of Gluteus's armor and the grumbling of DragonSlayer. They finally arrived at a large, circular chamber that was less a laboratory and more a living library. Books were stacked in precarious towers that reached the high, domed ceiling, scrolls were piled on every available surface, and in the center of the organized chaos, a man with a long, white beard and kind, twinkling eyes was meticulously arranging a collection of glowing crystals on a large, wooden table.

"Merlin," Selene said, her voice soft but firm.

The old man looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Ah, Selene. What brings you and your... entourage... to my humble abode?" He looked at the party, his gaze lingering on Bombom with a flicker of recognition.

"This Lily," Selene began, her voice trembling slightly as she pointed a slender, pale finger at Bombom. "He has my brother inside of him."

Merlin let out a hearty, booming laugh, a sound that seemed to shake the very dust from the ancient scrolls around them. "Oh, does he? Hahaha! You kids are so funny nowadays."

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