Kane stared at his new Follower, the Mist Assassin. She was a pale, slender woman with striking red eyes, her form solidifying out of the ethereal void.
"So, you can speak?" he asked, taking a hesitant step toward her.
"Yeah, dumbass," she replied, her voice muffled and dry.
Kane was bewildered by her brashness. He hadn't expected such an abrasive personality from a being he had just created. He wondered if the transformation process had granted her the ability to speak.
"Do you remember anything?" he asked, his curiosity overriding his confusion.
"Nope, I can't," she answered. "But somehow, I remember how to fight and how to use my abilities, like putting my hand on my back."
Kane nodded, a strange feeling of satisfaction settling in his gut. She was a weapon, a tool, and now she was his to command.
"I need to name you," he said. "I can't keep calling you 'Mist Assassin.' Any suggestions?"
The woman paused, her brow furrowed in thought. "Missy," she said. "Missy is fine." She sighed and continued, "And dude, you're buck naked."
A wave of embarrassment washed over Kane. "Yeah, thanks to you," he retorted.
Missy turned her head away, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Suddenly, a voice from behind them made them both turn. It was Linia, holding a pile of seaweeds and a barnacle-encrusted armor.
"Who is she?" Linia asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"She's my Echo, Missy," Kane explained, gesturing to his new Follower. "Missy, this is Linia."
The two women looked at each other, an unspoken tension hanging in the air. Kane, eager to get some clothes on, walked toward Linia to get the armor. As he approached, Linia flinched, taking three steps backward and throwing the items at him.
"Dress up from there," she commanded, her voice filled with a subtle mix of fear and sadness. "After you're dressed, I'll explain everything."
Kane sighed, catching the items. He tried to summon Missy back into his soul sea, and she immediately vanished. Missy found herself in a strange, ethereal landscape. She was in a vast, soul sea, and in the distance, she saw a magnificent temple with a glowing red core inside it. She tried to enter, but an invisible barrier stopped her.
"Is this home?" she asked, her voice echoing in Kane's head.
"Yeah, it seems so," Kane replied. "And by the way…" His voice boomed through the soul sea like a peal of thunder, a stark contrast to his usual tone.
"I can see and hear what's happening outside, like a screen," Missy said, her voice now a whisper in his mind. "Summon me when you're in danger."
Kane focused on the task at hand. He began to stitch the leftover armor with the seaweeds, a makeshift outfit to cover his nakedness. After a while, he had a decent-looking armor, albeit one made of seaweed and barnacles. He turned to Linia, who was still facing away from him.
"Linia, I'm dressed," he said. "You can turn now."
Linia turned to face him, a faint smile on her face. "Well, it looks good on you, if that's any comfort."
"Question here," Kane said, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Where are we?"
Linia's smile faded, replaced by an expression of sadness. "We are in some sort of trial," she explained. "You can call it a world inside a world. This is Level One. It seems you cleared the entry monster to be considered worthy for this trial."
Kane remembered the Skeletal Knight and the free fall. Missy's voice echoed in his mind, "You know, I was thoroughly violated by you, master."
Kane frowned, a cold knot of dread forming in his stomach. "How exactly did I 'violate' you?" he asked, his voice low.
"I was forced to inhabit your body," she replied. "I had to endure the aftertaste of your body."
Kane's mind went blank. He wanted to tell her that she was the one who had possessed him, but the comment on the "aftertaste" of his body creeped him out.
"Hey, are you listening?" Linia shouted, her voice jolting him back to reality.
"Sorry," Kane said, shaking his head. "Having a debate with Missy. Continue."
Linia's voice softened. "This Level One is a maze," she said. "Every alternate hour, a swarm of Nightmare creatures will come out and attack. To escape, we need to clear this level."
She paused, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and sadness. "So, how did you enter this place?"
"I was in the city ruins," Kane explained. "I reached a dead end, read a note on a wall, and that's how I got in. What about you?"
"Same here," Linia said, a hint of loneliness in her voice.
Kane thought for a moment, a sense of foreboding settling in. "Is there really no way out?" he asked.
"Actually, there was one," Linia replied, her eyes distant. "But it was a one-way ticket, and it got used."
A wave of displeasure washed over Kane. "So, where is it?" he asked, his voice tense.
"Follow me," Linia said. "Wait. I have some ground rules."
"What rules?" Kane asked, his patience wearing thin.
"You need to keep your distance from me, at all costs," she said, her voice filled with sadness and despair. "Follow me."
They walked in silence, the only sound the crunching of their feet on the smooth stone floor. After a while, they reached an endpoint, a wall with a message inscribed in runic language. Linia pointed to it.
"There was an exit here," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "But there was a message here, and I couldn't… understand it."
The message read:
Dear Traveler,
When I first came here to the castle and fought with my cohort,
That Spire Messenger in that throne room.
I thought we would escape but to find a gateway at the witched crimson spire.
Then, I found out that there are seven shards that can form an escape plan.
Then the Hunt for the shards began, I raised an expedition to find all the shards.
They will not be destroyed. If you are reading my message,
Then you must have come here to find the emergency exit,
but sorry to say this, I need to use it because there is one of the shards,and this place is hard to find due to its anti-divine in nature
This shard, Dawn shard which has the ability to empower the memories is here.
I have a people to lead, If you are able to read this, then I have failed, Spectacularly.
I have been racking my brain for a solution to lessen the casualty. If you'd like to consider,
After collecting the shards, I will fight the entire army of attacks
even if it kills me, Because that's what a ruler does.
A ruler's life is a life of service.
The man who rules must give himself up to the service of others,
and not for his own good.
Sorry for the incompetence, Please survive with less blood shed.
By Thrain,
First Bright lord.
Kane read the message, his initial anger at the man who had left him stranded slowly turning into admiration. Thrain had tried everything to save his people, even sacrificing his own escape route for a shard that could help them. He had left a clear message, a path for others to follow, even if it meant his own demise. Kane reread the lines:
A ruler's life is a life of service.
The man who rules must give himself up to the service of others,
and not for his own good.
"He lived and died by his values," Kane said, a sense of profound respect filling his voice.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed through the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. Linia's face hardened.
"Brace yourself," she said, her voice a low command. "The shit has started."
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Linia is original Character,Kindly tell me how you feel about her,soon sketch will come in the auxillary volume chapter