Azoria Kingdom,Earth,Solar System.
Queen Serephine, along with a few soldiers, was walking through the hallways of a prison. They reached an isolated prison cell door. Serephine looked at one of her soldiers,
"Chop chop, warrior, unlock the doors. We don't want to keep our guest waiting, do we?"
The soldier opened the cell door. Inside was an eerie prison, not a single ray of light. In one of the corners sat a figure, shrouded in darkness. As they all closed in, the prisoner was revealed to be a woman, not older than Serephine herself. The soldiers stopped at a distance, while Serephine alone walked closer. She held the chained woman by her chin.
"Well, Linda? Finding yourself cozy here? You must have impressed my husband to earn a place in his grand castle. How is this spot?"
Linda, weak from starvation, looked at Serephine. She had grey hair from aging, a lean body from hunger—a sorry state of a woman. Her eyes struggled to stay open, her vision blurry. She answered,
"As I have… always… t...old you… your husband had nothing to do with us."
Serephine started laughing maniacally.
"Haaa haaa haaa! Nothing to do with you? Then tell me why he cared so much for your sons. There is no way that fool would care for children he never had like that. All these years in chains, yet you still won't accept your crime."(THAT! She slaps Linda across the face.)
"But do not worry. Your son has been taken care of. He rots in the undergrounds of this castle, the same as you. Kael is watching over him. Now tell me what you always refused to. Where is your second son?"
Linda laughed despite writhing from pain.
"What makes you think I'd tell you that?"
Serephine grew furious. She kicked her in the gut. Linda coughed out blood. Serephine stomped on her repeatedly. A puddle of blood spread across the prison floor. The walls were already pink from dried blood.
"Still cocky? Tell me where he is or I will kill you!"
Linda still smiled with a bloody mouth.
"I will make you… a… bet… ter de..al!"
Serephine looked disgusted. She asked,
"What could a scum like you possibly offer me? I only need your son. Royal blood tainted with a lowlife's blood like you must never live."
Linda answered coldly,
"Kill me! (All the soldiers took a step back. They thought the price of killing the king's beloved would be heavy. Serephine didn't back out, her eyes filled with resentment.) Kill me, Serephine! And my son will find you."
Serephine grinned. She clasped Linda's neck, suffocating her. The soldiers were desperate to stop the queen, but they hesitated to oppose royalty.
Linda gasped for air."AGhhh… Arr… ghhh…"
Serephine released her and responded,
"If your son manages to find you, I will kill you in front of him. He too shall suffer the same fate as the firstborn."
Serephine left the prison, leaving Linda in a puddle of her own blood.
Castle Basement Prison
Kael vigorously beat a man. The man was locked in chains, rendered immovable. Kael interrogated him,
"Where is your brother? Where did your dishonorable mother send him?"
The man coughed out blood. He pleaded with a sweet, innocent voice,
"I do… not kno…w…"
A voice rang out from nowhere,
"That is quite enough for today, Kael!"
Suddenly, a new man walked into the prison. His face was covered in shadows until he reached the light at the centre of the prison. The lamps lit up his face—a young man, scarred, with legs not of muscle but made of steel. It was Commander Elthraf.
Kael was annoyed by his presence, yet greeted him."Welcome, 'brother'… tchh."
Elthraf responded,
"Now now, is that any way to treat your elder brother, Kael? We'll teach you manners later. For now, let us focus on the prisoner at hand." (He looked at the bloodied man.) "Ahhh! Maro, the firstborn bastard son of King Karyos."
Maro, exhausted from torture, asked Elthraf,"What do you want from us? Why torture us?"
Elthraf walked closer to Maro and answered,
"Serephine is my mother. She was the daughter of King Valentine—your father so ruthlessly killed in the Battle of the Barren. Raised in secrecy, she plotted this grand scheme to take revenge on your father and seize his kingdom. She pretended to fall in love with him and had a child. Unfortunately for us, that child was useless… Kael."
Kael yelled at Elthraf,"Hey, I am not—"
THUDD! A punch to his gut."Aahhhhhhhuuuuu…" he gasped, falling to his knees.
Elthraf threatened Kael,
"Shut the fuck up. If only you weren't such a weakling, none of this would be necessary. Now don't interrupt me." (He turned back to Maro.) "Kael, the true son of Karyos, is to ascend the throne. You and your brother are the only others of Karyos' bloodline. If your brother claims the throne in the Court of Azoria, everything will be ruined. But if we kill him before that, everything will fall into place."
Maro responded weakly,"You… will… never find my brother."
Elthraf replied,"We'll see about that."
He dragged Kael along the ground and exited the prison.
Maro's breath was both loud and quiet at the same time. It's as if his suffering was channeled out across the universe.
Chamber of TruthRafterStellar Prime
Gauge suddenly felt a weight in his heart. Var noticed and asked,"Kid? You feeling okay?"
Gauge grabbed his chest, took a long breath, and responded,
"It's as if someone is calling out to me." (He steadied his stance.) "Never mind. Let's focus on the problem at hand."
Gabriel and Mimir sat there, tense. Mimir raged,
"There is a demon tyrant taking over Lucia? Why didn't Lucian inform me of this?"
Gabriel scratched his head and replied,"I might have… sort of… split him into two beings."
Mimir looked at him furiously and yelled,"YOU DID WHAT!!!???"
Next chapter – Off to a New Moon