"—you will be set free."
"Haha, what a heavenly blessing! This boy looks like a prince of Thallerion. Hmm, how much money can we get if we kidnap him for ransom?" the lizard leader mused, a greedy glint in his eyes.
The dagger heard the lizard leader's thoughts, its silent voice echoing sharply in Xerxez's mind. The boy tried to run, hoping to escape immediately, but another group appeared, blocking his way. "Grrr, why are they all trying to get the dagger?" A cold dread coiled in his stomach. "What am I supposed to do now?" he whispered, his heart pounding. Just don't trust them! the dagger's voice cut through his fear.
"You are just an innocent boy, but… if you don't want to give up that dagger… hmm, we're sorry about your soul vessel."
"After many years of searching… we've finally found a high-value treasure," the master lizard announced, stepping in front of the boy. Its voice, a strange imitation of a man's, seemed to emanate from its four arms, two legs, and a face with fan-shaped jaws that vibrated with every word.
"I'm the one who found it… not you!" The boy stood tall, his stance unwavering as he defended his right to the dagger.
They're just treasure hunters, he thought, a sense of confusion bubbling up. I never expected creatures like them to be so obsessed with treasure.
"Sure, kid… you are! But I'm telling you… have mercy on your poor soul vessel!" Its violet tongue tasted the air, sensing the fear radiating from the boy. "Mmmmm, I tasted his fear, as sweet as a rodent's blood." The lizards gnashed their sharp teeth with a rhythmic tremble, a sound like crickets in a swamp. Their leader's gaze fell on the boy's pouch, noticing a faint movement within.
"Yeak! Yeak! Chick! Chick!"
Wait a minute, are those eggs hatching? Is it because of the intense fear from the gnashing sounds of the swamp lizards? he wondered, his mind momentarily disconnecting from the danger. He stopped moving, sensing the strange moment. Or is it the talking dagger… yeak, like a chick?
TREMBLE!!!!
It's actually moving! The pouch moved insistently. Did the dagger just incubate the eggs itself? Or is it warning me again?
"Yeak!!!" the dagger responded with a fierce tremor.
The swamp lizards, startled by the boy's strange movements, froze like statues, a shared fear rippling through them. They had heard the reporter's tales of the dagger's power to electrocute.
He immediately leaned against a moss-covered tree, widening the pouch's mouth, and peered inside. He took the dagger, his fingers closing around the cold hilt. "Yeaks, why are you making noise! They'll notice you now!!"
The pouch was filled with eggs, but thankfully, no chicks had hatched. Instead, the dagger itself glowed with an intense light. He stared intently at the blade, a slight tremble in his hand.
"Hooo… careful, young kid… that dagger is not good in your hand. Give it to us, and you can leave freely!" They moved cautiously, a hint of doubt in their slitted eyes, worried they might be electrocuted. I can't imagine how powerful that dagger is, the lizard leader mused. Hmm, he's just a little boy compared to our numbers. Wait, is he talking to a dagger?
"Tongue him!!!" The leader commanded his retinue to use their long, prehensile tongues to snatch the dagger from the boy. "Attack now! Don't give him a chance to wield that dagger against us!"
"Please… Yeak, save my life—Aghs!!" The boy desperately pleaded with the dagger, as if it were a hero who could save him. But it only sparked painfully, like a bolt of lightning from the sky. The searing energy coursed through all his veins. "I said, help me, ack!" he murmured, his vision blurring. Without warning, the dagger bit his palm, and he lost consciousness, waking up in another place. "Yeak! Yeak!"
Time paused.
His eyes blinked, then blinked again.
"Where am I? Why are there so many clouds here?" He rubbed his eyes, a wave of confusion washing over him. "Am I dead?"
THUD!
He heard a man's voice calling out to him. "Xerxez!" The voice was deep and gallant, yet held a cold, unwavering tone.
"Yeak! Is that you?" he whispered, then a new thought struck him. "Wait… who are you?" He looked around the empty, unfamiliar space. Why can't I see the man?
"Where is my talking dagger?" The boy stood in the calm, empty void with a moderate light. He asked another question, his curiosity overriding his fear. "How do you know my name?"
"Do you remember the dagger?" The question vibrated around Xerxez's ears. The voice seemed impressed. He is a child of Thallerion? it thought.
"Uh, you mean the talking dagger? I just found it in the stream," the boy said, then his mind plunged into worry. "Well, I don't know where Yeak is now; it just disappeared when I came here. Wait a minute… I was surrounded by that lizard group! I have to go back or my talking dagger will be taken away!!" His eyes dropped with genuine concern.
"Yes, that noisy dagger." The boy's brow furrowed, his expression puzzled by the man's casual confirmation. Oh no, don't tell me he will ask me where it is! his mind screamed.
"So, what do you want from it??" The boy's tone became sharper, his guard rising. Is he the owner?
"But, currently… there's a group of swamp lizards who are trying to get the dagger. I'm afraid… they'll snatch it from me!" the boy said, a hint of misfortune in his voice. He saved me!
"Don't worry about that… but now, listen to me… You've made a bond with me," the voice in the wall said. "The time inside the dagger was paused… so, your body was teleported in milliseconds, like the blink of an eye."
"What??? Wait! Wait…. what is that bond? When did it just happen?" His mind reeled, a torrent of questions pouring out. "What bond are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about a portal," the voice said with a moderate tone. "A portal, between you and me." His relieved tone settled the boy's thoughts.
"How does it work?!"
"After the dagger electrocuted you… it means you are the new chosen one," he answered. "Look at your palm." There was a ritualistic mark etched into his skin.
"Chosen one?" The boy gasped, his gaze fixed on the mark. "What is this mark?"
"You are the new owner of the dagger," the man said. "It is now a part of your body… you can summon it anytime, at your will."
"How? Without any blood compact, sacrifices, or things like that, which the old people in the Bellatrix guild always talked about?" The boy was skeptical, trying to make sense of the man's words.
"If the dagger didn't choose you… there would be no bond," he explained simply.
The young boy was incredibly curious about this man. He could only hear a voice, with no physical body in sight, just a flickering virtual wall in front of him whenever the voice spoke. I need to know who he is first, his mind insisted.
"…and you would not have been teleported here," the voice continued. "So many hands have owned the dagger, but none of them were chosen by it."
"Really? How is that so simple?" He scratched his head, unable to grasp the simplicity of it all. He then pouted in amazement. "WOW!" The realization hit him. "That's great... imagine, I am the new owner of the talking dagger?" His hand clenched and unclenched, as if trying to feel the dagger's presence.
He had always believed that in the books of Thallerion, powerful beings or items required complicated ceremonies. But for him… he made it so much simpler? He shook his head. Wait a minute… where exactly am I?
"I can't believe the dagger chose me and summoned me here, but… where exactly is this? This ugly place, like… like a tormented heaven?"
"This void is inside the dagger."
"What!!!!!?" The boy's mind was in a tempestuous storm of confusion. "How is that possible? You told me the dagger was now in my body…. How can I be here, inside the dagger??" His brows furrowed with furious curiosity. Does that mean I became so tiny? Is it possible to be transmigrated inside a dagger?
"It is not magic… It is your fate!" The man's voice was filled with a strange, joyful pride as he spoke.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Your fate to be a chosen one, by the Constellar-king."
"Who is that Constellar King?" The boy's curiosity deepened, making the man inhale slowly.
"The real creator of the dagger."
"Are you the creator of the dagger?" The boy asked intently, but the voice went silent, leaving the question hanging in the air.
The boy felt a surge of fear inside the dagger's void. He pictured himself as a tiny, ant-sized being. "I became so tiny… maybe, I am like an ant… so small, inside of this dagger." He hugged himself, a shiver running through him. "Oh, well… outside is worse than here… the swamp lizard is still there, ehh."
"You're wrong in your thinking… this void is not as small as you think… And don't be afraid. Believe me… you are safe here," the man assured him.
Who is this guy, actually… I feel like he can read my mind, too… but I can't even see his face… Is he a man or a monster? The thoughts swirled in his head, before he finally spoke. "Just tell me, who are you?"
The voice paused for a few milliseconds. "You will know me in due time, but my name is Martheuw Cereun. I have so many names; call me only that name."
"Now that you are the new owner of the dagger, I am glad that you are a child."
"Oh… I am now the owner of the dagger… but—" he was glad to be the new owner, but his thoughts immediately returned to the danger outside. He looked up at the flickering wall. "Please help me fight those monsters in the swamp, Mr. Martheuw Cereun."
"Hmm, why are you scared of the monsters out there?" The boy's eyes darted nervously to every empty corner of the void.
"Huh???"
"I am not scared of the lizards out there!" He firmed his tone, determined to hide any fear. "Grandpa told me everything outside of the palace. And he said I will be the bravest boy in Thallerion." He heard the man's voice, which seemed to chuckle silently, filled with amusement. "I just need a backup!!!"
"Hmm… aren't you afraid… if I might be a monster, too?" The man's voice rumbled with a playful darkness.