Chapter 92~~ Deeper than it seems ~~Hum!The five strange men hummed and moved around the caged boy in rhythm. The moonlight beaming from the only window in the room, casted a spotlight on the boy. He was furled up like a hedgehog, his head swaying from side to side as he seemed to have lost consciousness. The movement of his head was in accordance to the men’s humming.Ian's fingers were trembling on the shelf's wall as he watched from the dark. He was more curious and not even close to being afraid, but the eerie aura exuding the men felt like he was placed before a chained beast, gnawing at him ferociously, trying to break free of its chains and devour him.Though he had fortified his mind, his body kept reacting to stimuli.‘What is this place? Who are they? What do they plan to do with him?’ Ian's head ached from the multiple questions running through it, which he couldn’t answer.Two minutes into the humming and mysterious walk in a circle, five pillars of blue translucent lig
Chapter 93~~ Insubordination ~~The two suns has just risen at the break of dawn, showering the realm of Dhemistaria with their warm yellow light.Prince Raymond Cassius walked out of the palace in a plain white shirt and blood red trousers. His shoes were wine and glistered under the sunlight. His long blonde hair was neatly combed and tied into a ponytail.With both hands in his pockets, he raised his chin and made his way out of the royal grounds. He’d nod once or twice as the palace guards greeted him with their heads dropped.He walked further away from the palace and into the streets of Prime City. The span of houses and crossroads he had walked into was where the high ranking nobles lived. From councilors, to sages, advisers, and a few Elites.The houses here looked really modern and had this hue of class surrounding them. Even those who lived in other parts of Prime city would be wowed by the buildings’ architecture.Unfazed by the obviously display of wealth and pride, Princ
Chapter 94~~ Conscience ~~Gasp!Ian sprung up on his bed with a sharp gasp. He squeezed his blanket tightly as he heaved heavily for breath. His upper body was bare and dripping with sweat.It took almost a minute for his racing heart to regain normalcy and he finally caught his breath. He rested his back with a grunt and wiped his face.‘One night in this place and I’m already having nightmares. I have to leave as soon as possible.’He let go of his blanket to have a look at his palms.Glitch!Cut scenes from his nightmare began to replay in his head in no specific order. One moment he could see the whole of Dhemistaria in ruins, next he saw himself having a casual dinner party with Kurt and Karen, then the next scene was a bloody massacre of everyone he knew in Dhemistaria. He could see Karen and Kurt creeping towards him with torn limbs and cracked skulls.“Why didn’t you warn us? Why didn’t you save us?”“You killed him! You don’t belong here!”He could hear their screams and cr
Chapter 95~~ Loose thorn ~~Prime city, Dhemistaria…“How nostalgic,” Ian watched as students trooped out of the high school he had graduated from. Though he was within the premises of Annabelle's school, he still had a good angle to watch from.‘It feels like it was just yesterday when we argued before going to search for Etnum, which by the way, Kurt never got to use. Though he did say he had it with him during the fight, but Gilgamesh wasn’t the kind of opponent worthy of his trump card. We risked our lives for nothing.’Ian took his eyes off the students as he heard the marching footsteps and subsequent chattering behind him. His eyes fell on the little children trooping out of the school building like a scattered colony of ants. He gazed further, looking past the many pupils till he spotted the blue haired Annabelle walking alongside a red haired boy.His eyelids dropped a bit as he whispered to himself, “That must be him.”Annabelle and the boy held hands as they conversed in
Chapter 96~~ Turmoil ~~She danced elegantly to the tunes emanating from the orchestrated keys. Her legs reeled her from left to right, then back and forth, in fine rhythm. Her deep scarlet gown swayed above her knees as she moved. Her smooth olive skin could be clearly seen since her short gown was sleeveless and the chest side was a wide U, revealing a little cleavage. Her silk long hair was akin to the color of her gown.Click! Clack!Her heels touched the tiles as she came to a stop. She was in the mini-ball room of the castle. Its walls were matted with gold paint. The windows were overlaid with fine sewn linen, allowing just the comfortable amount of sunlight to peer in. Even though several hanging light bulbs illuminated the room, the golden disco-like light of the big chandelier at the epicenter of the room was inevitable to be seen.She stopped to look at the classy, black piano across the hall with her steel blue eyes. Behind the grand piano was the silver haired Khelian. H
Chapter 97~~ Hidden truths ~~Twelve palace guards marched into the mini-hall with stern faces. They had heard the little commotion from the hall alongside some yelling, and since the princess was here, they didn’t hesitate to rush into the scene. But what they saw as they entered, put them to a halt.Derek was laying dormant with his face to the floor, probably knocked out cold. Princess Amelia was also on the floor with some bruises on her face. Lastly, was the silver haired Dhemistarian — the only person standing amid the fallen nobles. It could only mean one thing…“What did you do to them!?” this palace guard had a purple cape, signifying his status as captain.Ian raised his hands in submission, “I didn’t do anything--”“Detain him!” the captain ordered without waiting for an explanation.With a nod, four of his men approached Ian while drawing out their batons.Amelia pulled herself up, “Stand down. At least hear what he has to say first.”The captain looked at her from the co
Chapter 98~~ Telling ~~King Dhamon paced around the red square rug at the center of his chambers with his hands behind him.His eyes were steel blue like Amelia’s, his hair long and dark. He had a very chiseled face and perfect jawline that made him look way younger than his age. Someone meeting him for the first time would probably think of him to be in his early 40s. He was clad in a wine royal robe that caressed the floor as he walked back and forth.‘There’s no way… It doesn’t make any sense! That tattoo… Only Ghordon has them and I killed him and anyone of family to him. There’s no way he’d have had an offspring in the afterlife.‘I probably didn’t see it well and mistook it for something else, because there is just no way for such a thing to still exist. But then, the lad kept spewing and enormous amount of energy once I got close to him. The energy signature felt familiar, yet repulsive, like it didn’t want me to go near the him.’He came to a halt and faced the wide window
Chapter 99~~ Infiltration ~~“How do you expect us to do this? They aren’t just going to let us go down there and come out,” Kurt pointed out as he combed his hair with his fingers.“I can’t do this alone. I’ll distract the guards and keep watch while you guys enter and get him out,” Amelia said almost out of plea.Karen scoffed, “Are we really going to risk our lives for some liar who doesn’t belong here?”Amelia turned to her with a slight frown, “Don’t say that. He’s our friend and has helped us in one way or the other. It’s now our turn to get him out of this mess.”“Tch,” Karen shook her head.Kurt rubbed his chin as he processed some scenarios, “Okay, what if… What IF we are able to get him out, what’s next? Where do we go from there? Sure we’d sneak pass the guards with him and get away from the palace, but they won’t stop looking for us. You can’t expect us to keep running from them for the rest of our lives.”Amelia wanted to interject but she had no reasonable words to say.