Click! The door opened up and Alex, Isabella and Olivia appeared to be the visitors. They had arrived at Liam's home. A grand mansion carved with the fragments of wealth. Cars were littered around the extremely massive compound and there were fountains around the field. The man who had opened the door was one of the servants; Mr. Davis. "Oh, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Partel, what a pleasant surprise, Please come in." The trio walked In and were led to seats on one of the sofas. "What would you like to have?" "Actually, we came to check on Liam." "Liam..." The servant muttered. "Isn't he around?" "I'm afraid not … Mr. Reynolds." Mr. Davis sighed, " Liam had gone on a business trip yesterday, he won't be back till he's done." 'A business trip?!' Alex raised his brow. "You see, Liam's father wants his son to be accustomed with the company and its activities so he can take over someday." "We... we understand." Isabella spoke on behalf of the team. "Erm, Is M
Liam stood there completely fear stricken by the voluminous portal as something pulled out of it. Thud! Liam's eyes widened a bit. He released his grip over his sledgehammer and it got returned into his inventory. He seemed completely shocked by whatever had pulled out of the portal. Standing out there in the opening was a teenage girl, she looked twenty at first glance but she wasn't. Red hair, Absurd pink eyeballs that were undeniably beautiful, Average yet a slender beauty. Although, she was fear stricken. The moment she came to the other side of the portal, she turned back eminent fear dancing around her emotions whilst conflicted by unforgiving memories that made stagger backwards as she turned around to catch a glimpse of the voluminous portal. Gasp! She fell flat on her ass, watching the portal barring at her with full intensity. 'What's wrong with her?' Liam observed, looking a bit worried. She started dragging herself away from the portal as if, asid
"Mr. Donovan!" Liam's secretary, Enny Winston knivked and came in with some files in her hand. "I didn't know you were here already. When I got to the subway..." "You like you got into some trouble." Liam cut her words short. "Forget all that." "Erm... alright sir." She said, looking dejected. "I need you to do me a favor." Her face then brightened up. " What would you like me to do?" "There's a lady in my room, I want you to get her some clothes and food while I am here." 'A lady?' She shook her head at first. 'Is there a lady in the Young Master's room?' "I believe those are the files needed for the presentation, aren't they?" "Yes... it's the papers," she snapped and handed it over to him. Liam collected it and placed it on his desk. "Erm, but sir... " "What is it?" He responded as he went through the files. "Erm... who is this lady?" Feeling uneasy, Enny couldn't help but ask who the woman in his room was. Liam stopped whatever he was doing and set h
THE OLD HOUSE. About that time, Alexander had returned to the old house. The jeep had parked outside the house. He had dropped Isabella and Olivia at their house as they suggested earlier to see their parents one last time before leaving. But, Alexander refused to see parents. He didn't want to, he just wanted to get this over with and focus on what was next after it, which was the clearance of the floors. "I will have to deal with them first." Alex said to himself as he entered the old house. Just as he entered, his sensory stats kicked and he sensed someone's presence in the house. 'Someone's here ...' Alexander carefully examined the interiors of the house. He went up the stairs. Gently, with extremely light steps, he climbed the stairs and came close to the door that was a bit open. Alexander sensed someone's presence there. Although, the energy he felt appeared very weak and human. Even though, who? Gently, Alexander opened the door and walked in. "About time to
Next Day, REYNOLDS RESIDENCE. Two police cars parked outside the small bungalow. They had been requested by Stanley to scout for his son Alex since the day he disappeared. But unfortunately, they had returned with unfortunate news. Thud! Stanley struck his fist against the wall. "I'm sorry sir, but we can't find your son." Said one of the cops. "What do you mean you can't find me kid. it's a damn small town!" The cop gave an understanding nod. "I do understand you but my team has already scouted several possible areas your son could have been but he wasn't found in any of those areas." Stanley grunted, "So where is he then?" "Do you mind me asking? I didn't want to ask at first z but now that you asked it... did something that made him run away?" "What?!" Stanley growled like a beast. Phoebe stood there in the kitchen observing everything while hiding away her wounds. Her eyes filled with tears, and berated by sorrow. "How dare you ask me there." "It's a simple qu
It started off with Isabella, just right where we stopped earlier, it continued from there. "I said, where are you off to?" Her dared glared daggers at her. His eyes mixed with annoyance and disgust. His daughters' actions pissed him off. A daughter of a renowned man like him, disappearing for a day or two couldn't be tolerated. "I'm stepping out for a bit." Isabella finally found the courage to speak. "You still haven't told me where you have been for the past two days now. Don't even try lying to him about staying at Olivia's place! I won't buy it." Izzy rushed downstairs upon hearing his father's voice. "Sure, I never intended on mentioning Olivia's place." Isabella lied, she was going to use Olivia's place as an excuse but it was no use, her father wouldn't even listen to her if she said so. Mr. Thompson on the other seemed extremely impatient as he pulled her hand and tugged her. "Answer me woman! Where have you been? I let you off the hook yesterday, but I
The message window vanished and just as did, another window appeared, a window that compiled all five talismans she had gathered from the library of Acrania. "A new weapon?" Olivia's eyes lit a bit when she saw the long staff that harbored intricate rune designs that blew her mind. [] You Have Been Granted The Staff Of Acrania! [] Type: Staff [] Attack: 550 [][] Effect: Maximizes Users Stats By 100% [][] Other Effects: Grants User magical prowess in creating magical constructs and opening up portals. Opening of portals can only be done after a 5 hours cool down. Destruction of construct will reduce players' Mana points. [][] Description: A Weapon Forged out of the five tails man of the library of Acrania. Olivia was speechless, she was excited at first but confusion lingered across her face as she read through it again and thought about the staff. The staff hovered around in mid air while she examined it. "It's such a nice staff with, of course, a very nice attack po
Yutah. The countryside on the far side of town. Olivia's parents lived here while she was in the city trying to further her studies. There weren't any forms of conflict till later. "I'm surprised to see you here in yutah." the old woman started. Olivia tilted her head a bit. "I guess things just happen." "Things don't just happen unless there is a logical reason for them to happen ." Olivia sighed. "Why have you come here all of the sudden? does city life bore you at some point?" "No..." Olivia retorted firmly, "There's nothing of the such that will make me bored, I just felt I had to at least come here someday." "And that someday happened to be today... " The woman retorted without looking at her but Olivia couldn't deny the fact, something indeed had been brought here. She wanted to say Goodbye to them before I left... "You and I know your parents aren't here anymore, you're aware of this Better than anyone else so why are you here?" 'Gush, why is she so pers
The instant Gaia’s eyes flared open with an unnatural light, the prison cell dissolved into chaos. Alexander barely had a moment to brace himself before the ground shifted beneath his feet. The stone walls of the dungeon bent and twisted, as if reality itself was no longer bound by the laws of nature. Gravity became fickle—pulling in one direction one moment and then reversing violently the next. Gaia, now hovering above him, was a storm of pure, unrestrained magic. The air around her crackled with raw energy as she extended her hand, and the very fabric of space folded around them. Her voice, though once familiar, now echoed with cold malice. “You are nothing but an obstacle,” she hissed, her tone devoid of the warmth he remembered. With a flick of her fingers, the ground beneath Alexander’s feet warped into an abyss. The solid stone floor seemed to collapse into itself, pulling him toward the void. Reflexively, Alexander leapt to the side, Emberbane flashing as he slashed at the sp
“Hm?” Alex knocked one of the standing guards down and half-turned towards Aelia. His eyes gradually dilated and he turned completely, appearing before the cell in a blur. Thick iron bars reinforced with runes of containment loomed like an unbreakable wall. The magic was palpable in the air, an invisible force that resisted their presence. Through the dim light, Alexander caught sight of her—Gaia, the witch of space magic, and one of his closest companions. She lay still on the cold floor, her vibrant energy suppressed, her body weakened from days of magical containment. "Gaia..." Alexander’s voice was soft but resolute as he knelt by the bars, his piercing red eyes scanning for any signs of life. Her breathing was shallow, her once brilliant aura now dull and muted. Without wasting time, he summoned Emberbane and created a scabbard with it, sheathing it by his side. “The prison is enchanted,” Aelia whispered, her eyes darting over the runes etched into the walls. “No wonder her m
Alex carried Aelia again and hopped from rooftop to rooftop in a blur. It was the best way to avoid any confrontation with the guards below. He knew a fight with the guards at the dungeon’s entrance was inevitable, but there would be little to no repercussions from that. Not only would he take care of them quickly, no one would notice that the guards had been killed, since no other guard would patrol into the area. The recent guard shift made this a concrete fact. Besides, for those guards to be placed at such a volatile spot, they must be among the strongest, if not second to the Elite Guards. They got past the guards loitering the streets in over a minute and landed before the dungeon’s entrance. Alex dropped Aelia and immediately curled his hands to fists, a small smirk creeping at the side of his lips. Aside from his very short bout with Borg—the mercenary at the tavern—he hadn't gotten the chance to flex his body. And Borg was a disappointing opponent anyway. Feeling the sud
There was no time to discuss it with Aelia. Alex took action immediately. He began to mumble some inaudible words under his breath whilst taking one step after the other out of the storage room. He placed his palms some distance away from each other, waving them in back and forth arcs, as though an invisible ball lay between them. The air got thick, red threads of mana sparking around him like electricity. The threads soon flourished into a dull red aura of magical energy around him. He had to keep the releases of his power to the minimum, or all eyes would instantly be on him—including the normal guards, who were weaker and less sensitive to mana auras. He could tell, his ears twitching to the constant shaking from Aelia behind him. She was already overwhelmed by such a small fragment of his full power. He continued reciting the spell in a whisper and the aura of mana around him flowed down his upper body, and up his lower body. It was as though the space between his open palms w
The two of them waited patiently for the switch to happen. Eventually, Alex had to dispel the ball of flames as the guards did a last patrol around the premises. Their infiltration had been going on pretty well now. He couldn't risk them getting caught when they were so close to the central chamber. It wasn't as though they would cause him any trouble. He knew he could take all of them, even without Emberbane, but he needed to be covert for now. If a fight were to break out and it reached Lord Varek’s ears, the warlord could change the location of the witch’s cell, since that was obviously what the intruder—Alex—was here for. No one was foolish enough to try and kill Varek without a very substantial reason. “They're coming,” Aelia whispered, her ears twitching to the vibration of the maintenance room and the trudging of incoming horses. Alex stepped away from the window, his hand finding its way around Aelia’s wrist once more, “Let's move.” The gate to the central chamber opened
Aelia moved to and fro nervously before the sleeping Alex. It was almost time and he was still fast asleep. She was scared that he might lash out at her if she woke him up abruptly—a negative side effect of being a slave to Lord Varek. She had been manhandled and violated over very little mistakes. She gathered some courage after two minutes and crouched down before him. She exhaled softly and tapped him on his shoulder, “Uh... Alex. It's time.” At that very moment, Alex opened his eyes. Crimson met blue as they locked eyes. Aelia almost jumped back in fright. She didn't expect him to wake up so suddenly. Alex could read the fear in her eyes. He sighed and stood up, stretching his left hand down toward her, “Sorry for startling you.” “I-It’s fine,” she took his hand and he pulled her up without any effort. She cleared her throat afterward and began to turn off each lantern, “It's almost time for the guards to switch. We still have about fifteen minutes, but it would take us over
Alex made sure to exhaust the hell out of Liora by walking around the inner city aimlessly. She wanted to act strong at first, but after walking for an extra two hours, fatigue and thirst began to kick in. She spotted a nearby tavern and suggested that they had some rest there. Alex was in no way tired. He could keep going for days without food or water without faltering, but he agreed anyway. At least… She thought he did. In the brief moment that she turned to look at the tavern, he cast an illusion spell, creating an exact replica of himself close to her, while his real self blended with the darkness of the nearby alley. He was gone. His replica would only last for an hour or so, since he didn't put much magic essence into the spell. He had to reserve his power for his battle against Varek. Liora noticed a slight distortion in Alex's replica’s countenance, but she was too tired to give it any thought. It wasn't as though she could read him in the first place anyway. After havin
The mercenary squeezed his fists, “You're fodder, red eyes. I was only trying to warn you so you wouldn't do anything stupid. But it would seem I would have to beat some sense into you.” Alex couldn't help it at that point. With his head still cocked to the left, he grinned. Slowly unsheathing his axe, the mercenary announced, “By the way, the name's Borg. You should at least know the name of the man that wipes that stupid grin off your face.” Alex stretched his right hand to the side, “Borg… I'll try to remember that.” Space rippled by his right palm, cracking ever so slightly that nether and dark energies leaked out in a very small quantity, creating this red-black bubble of energies. He grabbed something within this bubble and pulled out a long broadsword. The flux of energies was immediately sucked in and space repaired itself. Gently, and with much care, Alex placed the tip of the sword on the floor, sending a slight tremor across the tavern and the surrounding areas. The b
After cursing him a few more times internally, Liora turned to look at the tavern, and without looking at the placard above, she could already tell its name. “The Broken Shield? Why are we here?” she quizzed with a raised brow. Before Alex could respond—not like he planned to anyway—she quickly added with a slight frown, “Seriously? Beer at this hour? How do you expect to sell your stuff with clear eyes when you're drunk?” For the first time in a while, Alex took a glance at her. In that very moment, he imagined conjuring a big cog and shoving it into her mouth. She was too loud for him. He retracted his gaze without saying a word and made his way up the short flight of stairs that led to the tavern. Liora's brows twitched, but she had no choice than to follow him. Though, at the back of her mind, she strongly fought against disregarding her superior’s orders to escort Alex. She wanted to at least stab him through the leg. By the time she entered the tavern, Alex was alread