290 MOMMY I WANT REVENGE ON MY TOY PEBBLE
Lord Argun raised his hand, summoning a surge of raw flames.
The force exploded outward, the sheer magnitude was enough to level a city block under normal circumstances. Yet, when it met the shimmering forcefield around the chess piece block, it dissipated harmlessly, as though swallowed by the air itself.
Argun clenched his jaw, his voice grim. "This prison cannot be broken, not by strength or magic alone."
As they deliberated, a shadow fell over the board.
The pieces of the black side began to move, carried forward by the spectral chess pieces hovering above them. The ethereal figures shifted unnaturally, each piece gliding into position with an ominous inevitability.
The pawns moved first.
Straight and deliberate, their advance was chilling but slow.
The demons on the white side were clueless about what to do so they watched the enemy make their move.
"Should we do something?" Lord Harith asked.
"We watch them move first. Only then we can understand the rule of this game," Lord Argun replied to him.
But as the black pawns reached the white side's ranks, the air shimmered and the barrier separating the two armies vanished.
"Charge!" Emperor Ramses' voice cut through the tense silence, a thunderous command that shook the chessboard to its core.
The demon spirits inhabiting the black pawns surged forward, their ethereal forms twisting and solidifying. Where once they were bodyless shadows, now they stood as demons, their bodies regained and fully transformed, and they were grotesquely powerful.
Horned heads, armored bodies, and blazing eyes filled the field as they clashed with the soldiers of Heaven's Cage. Demon fought demon, each clash a cacophony of screams, steel, and fury.
"So, this is how the chess pieces move. They move to engage", Lord Argun explained his observation.
"What now? What should we do?" Harith shouted, his mace gripped tightly as he faced King Argun.
Before Argun could answer, the air shifted.
A black Rook surged forward with a terrifying speed, barreling into Harith's space. The massive stone bodied demon it carried roared, towering over Harith like a mountain of rage. Its hammer-like fists came crashing down with deafening force, meeting Harith's mace in a collision that sparked fire.
"Pebble Man."
Argun's eyes narrowed, his mind racing to make sense of this macabre game.
He stepped forward, with the intent of aiding Harith. "I'll help you Harith", Lord Argun said.
He wanted to move into Harith's space and help him destroy the Pebble demon. "But how do I move my chess piece?" he asked.
His mind raced as he thought about moving his chess piece. Suddenly, to his surprise, his chess piece moved forward.
"That is how to move the chess piece, you just have to think about it", Lord Argun explained.
But his advance was painfully slow, restricted by the laws of the chessboard.
Around him, the chess pieces stirred—not in the usual orderly sequence of a conventional game, but all the pieces could move at once, but their movement regulated by the nature of its chess piece.
A Rook could charge straight or sideways, its path unyielding and absolute if left unobstructed. Bishops carved through the field diagonally. Each piece adhered to its purpose, bound by the laws of this twisted chess game.
The King, however, was fettered.
Though Argun could move in any direction, his range was limited to a single step. For the mightiest warrior on the board, it was a cruel restriction. The battlefield burned with chaos, yet Argun's power remained caged by the rules of the game.
"The King moves one step at a time," Emperor Ramses taunted Lord Argun as he observed him stumbling with his chess piece.
"This bloody King piece, why did the chessboard assign this to me?" Lord Argun muttered and complained, his voice edged with irritation and helplessness.
Emperor Ramses explained to him, "That is because you are the strongest in your army. You must occupy King piece. That is the rule of this game."
"Damn," Lord Argun complained.
The sound of battle drew Lord Argun's attention before he could come up with the right strategy.
Across the board, one of his generals, Lord Goram, was caught in a desperate situation. Besides himself and Lord Harith, Lord Goram was the strongest among the demon generals.
A towering demon insect from the black side reared its venomous tail, striking Lord Goram with ruthless precision.
"Ant Man."
Lord Goram's scream echoed through the ethereal arena as the stinger pierced his chest, his life was snuffed out in an instant.
"Arggghhh"
As Goram's body fell, the ethereal projection of his chess piece shattered, consumed by the enemy's. The black piece stood in its place, in victory.
That was how the enemy captured their piece.
But the tide wasn't one-sided.
Elsewhere, Lord Harith brought his hammer down with bone-crushing force. His opponent's rock covered skull caved under the blow, the Pebble demon collapsing in a lifeless heap.
"Pebble has fallen."
"No… My Pebble," Emperor Ramses cried at the death of his favourite general though his sadness was short-lived.
"Don't worry son, we'll rebuild Pebble once we finish this battle", Dassa replied to him like a mother consoling a child who just broke his favorite toy.
The black chess piece above the fallen foe dissolved into shadow, and in its place, Harith's piece shone victoriously. White has captured a piece.
The board was a theater of unrelenting carnage and chaos. Each clash between pieces yielded victories and losses.
Despite being ensnared in Koresh's cruel game, and disadvantaged by the ignorance of the rules, the demons of Heaven's Cage soon came around and held their ground.
For every loss they suffered, they exacted a brutal toll on the enemy.
"Hah! I'm getting the hang of this cursed game!" Harith roared, his pride unshaken as he stood over the disappearing chess piece of his enemy.
King Argun cast him a stern, approving glance. "Well done, Harith," he said, his voice steady but wary. "But don't let your guard down. This game is far from over."
"Mother… I want revenge for Pebble man," the emperor cried to Lady Dassa.