2024-04-15 17:06:34After the unopenable coffin of the Grand Duchess had been laid to rest in a simple ceremony attended only by servants and close relatives, Jace maintained his mournful expression a little longer as he bid a brief farewell to everyone present so he could promptly depart for Remirer to attend the coronation feast of the new Queen Varidianth.
All relatives were cordial to him. After all, he would soon become the new Grand Duke. However, amidst everyone, Jace suddenly encountered her. The woman he had once loved deeply. His former wife whom he divorced to smooth his approach to Serena. The woman whom Jace believed loved him wholeheartedly, yet was ensnared in the game Vikrant devised to test her loyalty. Her love and loyalty to him turned out to be more fragile than splintered wood.Jace maintained his somber expression and returned the embrace from his former wife. "Thank you for coming, Vanessa," he whispered. He wasn't thankful at all. Jace was still wounded by Vanessa's infi
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Dead Soul Exorcist 106 | The Lost Memory
"Are you alright, Lady Serena?"Serena blinked in surprise, realizing that she had been staring down at the plain black fur carpet beneath her feet. She lifted her head slightly, meeting Jenny's gaze, the maid who had been diligently painting her nails plain black with silver glitter. Behind the girl, a fire flickered in the fireplace. The warmth that Jace always enjoyed whenever he visited the old central palace of Varidianth."Should we extinguish the fire in the fireplace? You seem uncomfortable with the warmth," Jenny murmured softly.Serena shook her head, then forced a smile. "I enjoy the warmth," she said, secretly longing for the cool weather before the heavy rain in Rainvale. "I'm just not used to being dressed up like this."She wasn't entirely lying. Jenny had been with her for an hour now, quickly helping her dress, style her hair, and apply makeup. By the time Jenny decided to paint her nails, Serena was already tired and sleepy."Oh, really?" Jenny suddenly looked guilty
Dead Soul Exorcist 107 | Discrepancy
"Yeah, why didn't you buy that mat, Anne... It's cheap, and though not comfortable, at least you wouldn't have to..."Oliver rolled his eyes listening to Anne muttering softly beside him, perhaps scolding herself for not getting an extra mattress from the servant dormitory, and the sofa in their room turned out to be too narrow to sleep on. As a result, they ended up sharing a bed, and even though they were both exhausted from not having slept since yesterday, Anne wasn't pleased with the idea. Maybe she was afraid of Oliver or something.Honestly, Oliver disliked it when people were afraid of him. He had often received those fearful glances from his own family ever since he discovered his special magic talent during the blessing ceremony. It was as if Oliver would turn into General Griffin and go on a rampage. Or perhaps they were afraid Oliver would turn into his father and disrupt his territory as the Earl. However, Oliver knew very well who the enemy was and who the friend was. He
Dead Soul Exorcist 108 | Malevolent Sorcerer-King
"Malevolent Sorcerer-King?" Kieran repeated Morana's words with confusion. "If you mean Prince Vikrant, he has not yet ascended to the throne in the kingdom of Valorthorn."For a moment, the bedroom fell silent. Only the sound of raindrops tapping outside and the faint murmurs of tense conversations among the servants in the garden could be heard.Neither Morana nor Rory were eager to confront Kieran's naive statement. It was too painful to acknowledge its truth."Alright, I understand," murmured Kieran finally. "King Nightcrown has long been confined to his bed due to the chronic heart disease he suffers from. But I fail to see the correlation between the existence of a 'Malevolent Sorcerer-King' and the abundance of children in Valorthorn who have been cursed with revenant curses. I myself have been cursed because my father was also a Revenant. I don't know about you, Rory, and the new revenant you're chasing."Morana sighed deeply. Her eyes roamed wildly, perhaps forming speculatio
Dead Soul Exorcist 109 | Memory Recovery
The drizzle kissed Kieran's face as he arrived on a floor beneath his bedroom. The wind whispered fiercely, the sky cloaked in darkness with rumbling clouds. Several servants hurried past, thankfully too rushed and occupied to acknowledge him.The winding corridors of the palace made it easy for Kieran to locate Serena's room among the many guest chambers on that floor. With eyes as keen as an eagle's, Kieran swiftly found a door with a golden plaque inscribed 'Marquis Jace' hanging on it. It turned out to be precisely beneath Kieran's own room, explaining why the servant earlier had mistakenly ended up at his door.He slowed his pace, arriving in front of the door. For a moment, he hesitated as the golden plaque stood before him—though he refused to meet its gaze.Kieran bowed his head momentarily, feeling uncertain. The name on the golden plaque only stirred up the jealousy and disappointment he felt. It also reminded him of the last moment he spoke with Serena earlier that morning.
Dead Soul Exorcist 110 | Demon
There was once an observatory erected in the western part of Varidianth's central palace. It was a dome-roofed building made of gleaming iron, visible even in the daylight, and reserved solely for research purposes. During his time at the palace, Dravon never found interest in the iron dome or anything within it. However, in Valorthorn, the observatory and planetarium were open to the public for research and divination purposes. When feeling weary, Dravon often visited just to gaze upon the beauty of the universe. The beauty amidst millions of chaos—from the past to the future.From several servants Dravon knew, he learned that the coronation ceremony had been postponed. Actually, the word 'postponed' was too simple to describe the current situation. All the servants were in a panic. The drizzle followed by an impending storm was a bad omen in Remirer, a city almost unfamiliar with rain. They had to relocate all the chairs and tables in the palace's backyard, where the celebration wou
Dead Soul Exorcist 111 | The Beginning of Everything
"Serena, are you betraying me? Answer me!" Jace's voice echoed through the bedroom.It was the first time Kieran had seen and heard Jace so furious. The man had never been angry before; he was like an older brother figure, always pleasant, cool, and incredibly skilled at making things better for everyone. But now, his demeanor was vastly different, and it felt somewhat eerie."Don't yell at me!" Serena retorted as she rose from the bed and stood right behind Kieran. "I'm not betraying you, Jace. On the contrary, it's you who's betraying me."Jace laughed, short and cold, poised to deliver a hurtful remark to both of them. But his young, petite-bodied guard whispered something to him, instantly silencing Jace and steadying his breath.Kieran thought the situation would soon improve. However, Serena suddenly moved to the wardrobe and retrieved her beloved red-handled dagger. Jace's subordinates moved forward swiftly, and Kieran didn't need to think twice. He immediately summoned his shi
Dead Soul Exorcist 112 | The Grim Reaper
Facing four of Jace's guards at once was no easy feat. Yet Revenant, inhabiting Kieran's body for centuries, across different forms, was agile and swift. He darted between chairs, scaled walls, dodged Jace's bullets, then struck one guard, seemingly the smallest and lacking teleportation powers.In one sword thrust to the cursed guard's chest, he fell lifeless. Kieran's body leaped away, a bullet grazing his cheekbone, shattering it. Blood and bone splattered the walls. The enraged Revenant dodged aside, summoning Eliora's arrow and expertly hurling it at Jace's finger holding the pistol. A cry rang out, but the Revenant didn't linger to relish it. He swiftly moved, evading the teleporting sorcerer's chair swing and advancing to attack one of the burly guards.The guard wasn't just strong but agile and highly skilled in combat, anticipating Kieran's sword movements and dodging them. A sudden kick slammed into Kieran's chest, sending him rebounding into the wall.Bones cr
Dead Soul Exorcist 113 | Sweeter than Bile
The rain returned to greet Rainvale, this time accompanied by thunder so powerful it deafened and quickened the heart. Julian closed the back door of his house, connected to the backyard, and drew the curtains to shield it. Instantly, the surroundings plunged into darkness. And Julian realized, this was the first time he felt alone with Everly Sablecrest.Everly was making hot cocoa for the two of them. Julian couldn't help feeling a bit wary of her. At any moment, the Revenant could decide to poison him. It could be tomorrow, it could be now. But he quickly dismissed the suspicion in his heart and approached Everly."Let me show you to your room," Julian said. "You can also change into something more comfortable. I'm sure my sister's old clothes will suit you."Everly nodded nervously, her face blushing. A demeanor Julian didn't expect her to possess. So, which one was real? Everly's gentle and pleasant nature when they chatted at the ice cream shop, or Everly casually threatening him
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138 | Endings That Become Beginnings
"I decided to trust you, Dravon," Kieran replied. "But you betrayed my trust in you. Over and over again." He maintained his smile, as the tip of his sword was still in Dravon's grasp. He pushed his sword harder, but Dravon's defences were as hard as granite. The prince began to fight back, until the blade of Kieran's sword slipped out and pierced the bed. The Valorthorn prince immediately jumped out of bed. His diamond-hilted sword formed in his hand from millions of pieces of magic light. "Read my mind, Kieran," Dravon growled, almost pleading. "So that you may know what truly happened." Kieran's gaze dimmed. "I don't want to know," he refused. The next instant all the glass in the place shattered and struck Dravon. The Crown Prince immediately ducked, creating a protective wall of magic around his body. Dravon gritted his teeth as he got back to his feet. "Alright if that's what you want, we fight," he said. The man immediately swung his magic sword at Kieran. Both their swo
137 | Blinded by Vengeance
Kieran was woken up by a jolt on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, instantly overcome by a feeling of nausea. But when he realised that it was Julian who woke him up, he was shocked to death. Because Julian's clothes were soiled with blood and sweat. In his hand was a sword, which Kieran realised he had borrowed from a palace knight. Around them was only chaos. "I think they mixed something into my drink," Kieran said. "A lot of something and—" "That's not important," Julian interrupted. "Everly betrayed us. But somehow she didn't give me enough sleeping pills. So I woke up early, and saw a lot of dead souls out there. A lot of them. The phone rang, and I called Serena's father. It was just as bad there. There's a plague of dead souls that's attacking our entire kingdom." Each sentence pierced Kieran like a sword. He quickly got up from his chair and for a moment desperately fought off the dizziness and nausea. Even so, he immediately searched for Elios Silverlake's whereabouts, an
136 | The Fall of Chessboard
"It's weird seeing four revenants in one room," was the first thing the King of Varidianth, Elios Silverlake, said as they were all ushered into the Throne Room."Yeah, maybe not as weird as all of us seeing you suddenly become King, Elios," Jace replied kindly from the corner of the room. But everyone ignored him, especially Morana."We may look like immortal, rebellious seventeen-year-olds, but I hope you know that recently the number of revenants has increased due to the rise of The Malevolent Sorcerer-King. I hope it's not you," Morana said calmly.Elios immediately stood up from his throne chair, as if he was uncomfortable sitting there. The man approached all the prisoners, with a sad smile. "You don't look like a seventeen-year-old to me at all," Elios said. "But the fact that you're here, away from Zyronox, I think proves that you're in good hands. For a long time, Princess Morana."Morana gritted her teeth. "Don't think you know me just because you know my name," she exclaime
135 | Indecisive between Two Sides
In her entire life, Everly had never heard of the Black Tower. But from the bones scattered in the corner of the room, it was most likely the same place as the Red Tower in the northern area of Valorthorn that was reserved for the exile of traitors. The difference, though, was that there were no alogojos and torture devices waiting here. There was only darkness and emptiness, which was actually another form of torture."So..." Everly tried not to glance over as her cousin, Oliver, inched closer while rubbing his hands together. "How have you been?"After the past six months of being exiled by their extended family simply because of the curse in her blood, the words 'How have you been?' really felt ambiguous. Nonetheless, Everly shrugged. "As you can see, Odd," she muttered. "I'm confined here with you on traitorous charges. And since that's the way it is, I try not to protest."Oliver laughed awkwardly, as if he thought she was trying to be funny. But she wasn't. There was nothing fun
134 | Fixing the Past
Dravon was right, that Kieran did not need mind-reading magic to know what had just happened. He could feel the coldness of William Zephyr's gaze on him, penetrating his skin. He could feel the emptiness that Dravon hid behind his casual demeanour. But it was the fact that Dravon came straight to him after his fight with William that bothered Kieran. It made him, inevitably, remember the past between the two of them in Umbravale."You think," Dravon muttered as he leaned against the magic wall. He casually removed his court robes and placed them on his lap. Kieran had never noticed it before. How graceful Dravon was. How he was more fit to be a prince than a king's son really was. How friendly and kind he was to his peers and the people who worked for him. "What will become of us. I mean, what fate awaits you and me."Kieran huffed. It was more because he felt cold than because he wanted to be cool. Dravon's magic fire was right behind his back but he couldn't feel
133 | End Everything
The two of them climbed more and more stairs, until they were on a fairly high floor in the Black Tower. The higher they got, the cleaner the rooms became. It was as if no one had dared to climb these stairs before.Until finally Will stopped at the highest floor, as the only room that had furniture in it. A canopied bed, a sofa set, a dresser and a closet.Dravon was not at all surprised, he simply lit a fire in the two lanterns that lay on top of the pair of nightstands in the bedroom, and sat down on his dusty, fragile bed. A centipede poked out of the hem of his blanket, but Dravon deliberately ignored it."So," Dravon asked cheerfully. "What did you want to talk to me about, Will?"Will moved closer to him. All his cool demeanour slowly crumbled, replaced with a fragility underneath. "We lost badly," he muttered. "But it's not too late. I know atop this tower we can still paint the final magic pattern. Or we can go home to Valorthorn, and def
132 | Black Tower
When the cloth covering their eyes was finally opened, only darkness and cold greeted them. A building, which Julian finally realized was the Black Tower. Although it seemed like this place wasn't as scary as Lord Swiftwind had told him about. Or perhaps, the wizards around him made Julian feel that way.After the presence of the knights enclosing them had long since faded, Dravon snapped his fingers, summoning blue magic flames that danced around them all, burning what Julian realized too late to be bones. The bones of those who were once trapped in this place."We are only three hours away from the palace," said William. His pale and handsome face looked beautiful against the blue firelight."Maybe only an hour," Dravon muttered as he looked at every burnt bone. Not at all bothered by the heat. So like it or not, Julian thinks about Jace. That those who have fire elemental magic cannot burn. "They deliberately chose a circuitous path to confuse us.""Now what do we want to do?" Oliv
131 | True Love
Arlo finds Lunabelle in her room. His foster sister was sitting on the bed, while Lana combed her hair. From Lana's chuckle and Lunabelle's annoyed voice, Arlo realized that his sister was discussing romantic matters with Lana. Also complaining about Arlo. Because they both remained silent when Arlo entered the room."Well," said Arlo cheerfully as he sat on the sofa with his legs propped up on one of the arms. "It seems like you two are doing fine while Varidianth is getting destroyed overtime."Lunabelle's pink eyebrows rose. "What's going on with Varidianth? The plague of dead souls?""Yeah, almost actually," Arlo answered. "But what I want to say is, Seraphina died." Lunabelle froze in shock. And Arlo proceeded cautiously."Seraphina was killed by Prince Vikrant. After that, we were forced to appoint Elios as king. So that's it. You are officially a royal princess again," he explained. Then added grimly. "Yet Elios sentenced Dravon and his fri
130 | Make Peace and Forgive
Previously, the Black Tower was just a bedtime story for Kieran. Different from prison, this place was used to lock up nobles who betrayed the kingdom. The location is unknown, and the place is very dark without the slightest source of light. It is said that every prisoner locked up there would rather die than stay there for the rest of their lives.Now, Kieran knew that it wasn't just a fairy tale.His eyes were covered by a black cloth while his hands were tied by another cloth. He, Julian, Serena, as well as Dravon, Oliver, William, Everly, and their servant whose name Kieran didn't know, were forced to sit in a horse-drawn carriage whose cabin was quite long. During the uncomfortable journey because the carriage kept shaking due to rocks or roots, they could hear the galloping of the horses of the knights accompanying them."It's really sad that now you and I are on the same train, heading to the Black Tower, Kieran," Dravon said sarcastically. Only the two of them understood how