Chapter 89~~ Deal ~~Amelia nodded, “Yes. Karen told me the kind of work you do and I don’t think it’s a safe thing to do at all.”“But no one is willing to do what I do, to listen to the plea of the less privileged,” Ian shrugged.“She mentioned that too and I’ll see to it,” Amelia assured with a nod.Ian’s brows twitched, “Not to sound stereotypical, but that is what every noble, every Elite says and yet they have nothing to show for it.”Amelia, who was about taking a spoon full of soup took a glance at Ian after his statement and dropped the spoon. He looked really serious and perturbed about the matter, “I see it’d take more than words to convince you.”‘Well, obviously, yes,’ Ian held himself from saying it out loud.He nodded in silence.“You just have to trust me on this. Moreover, it is also the reason why I’m offering you a job at the palace,” she lifted her brows.Ian had his eyes half closed, “At the palace? What job could you possibly offer me at such a place?”She smile
Chapter 90~~ The Request ~~A woman walked into a pub in Knoxville at dusk. Her pale white skin was a little wrinkled on the face, her eye bags were black and heavy. Her thick black hair was scattered over her head like a crazed person. But as she entered in her draping black cloak, she put on her hood and dropped her head.She headed straight for the counter and knocked twice on the wooden slab.The chubby, middle-aged bartender took out an order before attending to her. He was bald with full brown beards. His appearance alone gave a foul taste to the woman’s tongue and she almost retched in disgust. One could say she had gone crazy since nothing seemed awful about him.“How may I help you?” the bartender asked with caution. Her mysterious appearance made him feel an eerie ambience around her.“I’m here to see the detective,” she answered in a strained cracked voice, as though she had been sobbing for days.His eyes narrowed as he sized her up. Then he sighed, the ‘detective’ was mu
Chapter 91~~ Coincidence ~~The Royal Palace, Prime city, Dhemistaria…‘Who would have thought searching for just one kid would become such a hassle?’‘It’s been four hours since I left that poor woman in her house and she’s probably still waiting in hope that I’d return with her son tonight. When in truth, the boy is nowhere to be found. I’ve searched every nook and cranny of Prime city and the environ villages, but he still remains a ghost. I can’t even feel his movement through space; I know I might not have perfected that ability but it feels like he’s nonexistent. Like he’s a ghost.’“Ian? Are you listening to me?” Princess Amelia snapped her fingers at his face and he jolted back to reality.He rubbed his temple with two fingers, “Sorry, you were saying?”She folded her hands to hold her breasts up and taut, “What were you thinking about?”“Tch. Nothing important. You don’t have to worry about it,” he answered casually while drifting his eyes across the room from edge t
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