《Shattered Kingdoms》 Chapter 00: Prologue Part 1 Prologue: Fisk Rapids was in a hurry, the tapping of his copper tipped redwood cane made hard clicks as it went against the white stone marble floors. The white marble hall glowed with dim enchanted lights moving around the surface like smoke, a sight that would make most people to pause to look at the marble more closely. However, he was trying really hard to hurry to get to the main hall of the castle that he didn¡¯t notice the small thin black scratches his cane made on the beautiful floor, which usually he was careful about not touching. He was going the fastest he has moved in a while, which regretfully he was not very active of late. Fisk almost lost in thought for a moment wondering how it would look if there was an onlooker, such as one of the guards in the palace, ¡®Ha, if only they saw me moving quickly right now! When usually I move so slowly and very steadily paced might really surprise them.¡¯ With that thought he smiled confidently that he can make it to the hall in good time, when the loud clicking of his cane eerily echoed on the marble brought his thoughts back to what is important. Even if he did get lost in thought too much, his attention was brought right back to the pain in his leg when suddenly the rest of Fisk¡¯s body complained. He regretted that he has not been actively trying to stay physically fit. Even a palace guard friend was willing to help train him in the mornings, which he declined every time since he didn¡¯t want to get out of bed at dawn. Brought back from his musings, He realized he hasn¡¯t made much distance at all before tiring out, he could barely run down the hall from the main library. Fisk could hardly breathe, the lungs felt like they were being squeezed as the pain bloomed from his chest. When he finally got to the large heavy oak doors his body couldn¡¯t feel more grateful for the brief rest. He didn¡¯t even have time to be mesmerized by the familiar looking doors that had rich reliefs of grapes, trees, satyrs, angels, and merry folk. He looked right at the four guards that were blocking the beautifully made rich doors, he couldn¡¯t feel any more angry and bitter about the situation. Usually there is only one guard that changes regularly at the main entrance. He would typically be able to get in through the doors since he knows more than half of the guards. However, this seems to be an unlucky and unlikely turn of events that the guards at the entrance are not the ones he knows. He quickly thought that he could play friendly with the guards, and if necessary beg to get in. After all, even if Fisk wasn¡¯t a noble he still has connections with the cursed Whale King that the royal king of the empire both respects and fears. Knowing that he was a friend to the cursed Whale King usually scares the guards and the royal order king to do anything for him. Yep, even the royal king who was probably sitting comfortably in the hall, would do anything for him within reason. Fisk hated using the cursed Whale King¡¯s influence, after all it was the cursed Whale King¡¯s fault that he himself was caught up in the curse as well. He touched his face thinking of the incident that gave him the nightmare he has been living since twenty years ago. ¡°Too long. It¡¯s been too long that I almost forgot what I was like before twenty years ago,¡± he muttered aloud by accident. He forgot about the guards for a moment as he was too deep in musings that waylaid him from his desperate goal. When suddenly what brought his attention back was the fact that the guards who were silently standing have now focused on Fisk with their swords pointed at him forming a half circle. Fisk could still run away as his back was still clear, however he didn¡¯t want to back down from the situation that could get worse. ¡°Wait! You probably have heard of me! I am Fisk¡­ you know¡­,¡±his voice choked and died out to a croak in nervousness even though he mustered all his desperation and courage. The guards had dead stone like eyes that seemed inhuman and deadly to Fisk. Fisk suddenly realized that things have gotten worse than he had originally thought. ¡°Wait! Is the king really going so far as to keep anyone out by using golems! Why would the king go so far to keep everyone out by mindless puppets,¡± Fisk shouted in anger to no avail as there was nobody to hear him. Fisk dropped his cane in fear, Fisk no longer knew what to do. He had come to stop the situation that he feared was going to occur. The royal king was going to make a fatal mistake that could ruin not just the kingdom, but perhaps, no he would not think of it. ¡°Rather I have to be worried about myself more than the kingdom right now, if I die here then perhaps it¡¯s too late,¡± he mused morbidly. The golem guards crumbled instantly to white clay dust scattering the floor, Fisk meekly looked behind him to see who would¡¯ve been generous to save him from the situation. Fisk could not help but cough as the clay cloud dust reached his throat. His eyes teared up for a moment from the dust, but he could still clearly make out the bulky figure of the guy who saved him. Fisk knew for sure that he has never set eyes on the bulky guy before, yet he was certain from the rumors the identity of the guy. The guy passed Fisk and unexpectedly bent down to pick up what was once four silver coins. The silver coins were now worthless melted bent pieces due to hitting the golem guards at high velocity. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Fisk did not even see the coins hitting the golems and almost believed that it was done by powerful magic. Fisk quietly wondered how brute strength could shatter such powerful and magically created golems that only kings could afford to own. Those golems were top of the line, constructed for the king. Fisk¡¯s thoughts were interrupted when he heard the bulky guy¡¯s voice, it was unexpectedly a soft sounding kind of tone for such a big muscly guy. ¡°I had nothing else on me to hit the golems,¡± grumbled the bulky guy, ¡°Seriously, I just got these coins today for my month¡¯s pay!¡± Fisk had nothing to say about the loss of a month¡¯s pay, after all Fisk had only a few copper coins which could hardly compare to even a twentieth of a single silver coin. Fisk was ready to say sorry when the bulky guy spoke. ¡°I guess as compensation,¡± the bulky guy spoke mischievously, ¡°I will take these rich and lavish armor that the golems aren¡¯t using anymore. Since the golems ruined my month¡¯s allowance!¡± He reached out grabbing the royal guards¡¯ clothes and armor that was scattered in the hallway. ¡°Thanks for saving me,¡± Fisk murmured softly, amazed by the bulky guy¡¯s carefree attitude. (end of Prologue part 1, expect Prologue part 2 ~10pm tomorrow) Prologue 00: Part 2 ¡°Thanks for saving me,¡± Fisk murmured softly amazed by the bulky guys carefree attitude. ¡°However, it is just like I have heard from the rumors about the man called Alexander Pendale.¡± ¡°Ho. So you have heard of me! My, I guess my reputation has preceded me to have you recognize me before I even introduced myself!¡± Alexander Pendale spoke eagerly with his eyes gleaming from the unexpected recognition. ¡°Then I guess it is my turn to impress you! That your name is Fisk.¡± Fisk squinted his eyes suspiciously doubting that the guy truly heard of him. If he did he would called him Fisk, friend of the cursed Whale King. At least he would have known his whole name was Fisk Rapids. ¡°My name is Fisk Rapids. Pleasure to meet someone as great as you. I usually don¡¯t get to see the king¡¯s great guests.¡± This time Alexander Pendale stopped smiling idiotically, but had a more serious look when hearing the name. This reaction Fisk is used to, he looked away from Alexander is disappointment. So he did not know who I am after all. Alexander Pendale suddenly clapped loudly having a foolish grin on his face, ¡°Sorry, I just heard you say that you were Fisk when talking to the golems! So I did not know you were the Fisk people admire! I have heard of you! You were pretty smart like they said, to even know who I am just base on rumors!¡± Fisk closed his eyes thoughtfully thinking that Alexander may not be as foolish as people think, but is just too honest for people to accept. Fisk looked again at Alexander thinking the smile may be an honest one and not necessarily as foolish as he first thought. It¡¯s not like he could help what his face looks like when smiling, he thought this with kind empathy on how his own face looks now due to the curse. He often wondered what others thought when he smiled, feeling with his fingers the corners of his unusually wide fish mouth that were once human. The lips had once looked like beautiful thinly painted white porcelain china. Now because of the curse the mouth doesn¡¯t even look human, much less the rest of the body. He went into self-pity depression too easily, but he knew he didn¡¯t have the time for it. The reason Fisk has fallen easily to depression is the fact that Fisk had only one really big regret in his whole life, and that was the knowledge of the lost opportunity for breaking the curse really crushes him inside. Fisk found out too late that the only way to break the curse was to give his real name to a magician who can unbind the spell. Fisk knew he had not always been called ¡°Fisk Rapids¡± but he has been called such ever since his curse. He had a real name before the curse and he has always tried to deny the new name for himself ¡°Fisk¡±. In the end of being called ¡°Fisk¡± for so long he gave up. Not even ¡°Fisk¡± knew his real name anymore, which makes him almost lose his mind in knowing that he lost the only chance to break the curse. Fisk tries to recall it every day which only seems to have been in vain, he consoles himself thinking that it was the magician¡¯s fault for not being able to save him sooner from the curse. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Fisk pulled on the leather vest he was wearing tighter. The magician gave him the leather vest, it¡¯s also a cursed item. The vest allows him to have a pseudo-form of his body before the curse, however the cost is great as it is still a cursed item. Hence, Fisk¡¯s body was in poor condition. He was feeding his life and health to the vest to have a pseudo-body similar to before the curse. However, the previous curse still exists, he could still feel the ugly face of the fish-lips even if no one is able to see through the pseudo-body. Fisk fell over onto the floor as he has been standing too long without the cane for support. Alex bent over to pick up the cane and went over to Fisk without asking pulled him up off the floor into a bear hug. ¡°I have heard rumors that you were handsome,¡± Alex continued talking about the rumors, ¡°But I did not know that you were in such ill health. Have you looked into a healer or at least a poor man¡¯s physician?¡± Fisk groaned softly remarking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have business with the king? Why don¡¯t you hurry up? I am just old, leave it alone. I idle in old age, it¡¯s no good for the young to do it.¡± Alex frowned slightly remarking, ¡°You don¡¯t look all that old? However I have heard rumors about you that spans decades. Ah.¡± Alex became quiet as realizing that it was impolite of him and opened the magnificent doors with hardly more than hand waving. Just brushing his fingers on the door and the heavy wood creaked open. ¡°My he¡¯s stronger than I have been told! Perhaps he is part elf? His last name does have nature like parts too it. ¡°Dale¡± means valley in old English afterall,¡± mused Fisk, ¡°He really does put a lot of his latent magic to enhance his body. Unlike support mages that enhances others temporarily and unlike elemental mages, definitely quirky kind of guy. His body must be larger than normal by putting constant amount of magic in enhancing it.¡± Fisk¡¯s eyes had to adjust to the main hall¡¯s bright lighting. No. The hall was brighter than usual. Fisk realized that he was pretty darn close to being too late. ¡°Wait! Stop! Don¡¯t do that!¡± shouted Fisk. A hand grabbed Fisk¡¯s shoulder holding him back from trying to hurriedly stumble in. Fisk turned to look at the hand, Alex was giving a grim look towards the center of the room. Fisk didn¡¯t care about his safety, he just had to stop the king from making a foolish action. He paused for a moment wondering if it was fine to take off the vest. Prologue00: Part 3 For the vest to be taken off the curse has to be dispelled, which means it can¡¯t be used again to hold his appearance. He sighed, he was not fit to stop the king¡¯s actions unless he was in top shape. He pulled out a rare elixir he spent fifty years perfecting for when he needed it due to the cost of losing life and health to the vest. It would have been necessary eventually to take an elixir to fully recuperate. Well, I am taking this a little early. However, my health was declining too much after all. He pulled off the vest, but quickly hid his features in the shadow cloak he had hidden beneath the vest. It seemed like Fisk¡¯s condition before when he was in front of the gates were a lie, he was no longer needing to hold unto the cane to stand up. The cane changed form, it was now a great bow that only he could wield. The king muttered, ¡°Ho. So I see I should have brought knights in the hall too. But, I was worried that a knight may betray me during the process.¡± ¡°What are you doing,¡± Alex asked angrily quickly grabbing the top of Fisk¡¯s hood. ¡°But I am trying to stop the King! That¡¯s what I am doing!¡± Fisk complained loudly to Alex who was still holding him by the hood. The way Alex grabbed Fisk, the hood was pulled off. Fisk dropped to the ground free from Alex who was still holding unto the hood. Ashamed Fisk turned his head away from Alex muttering. Alex didn¡¯t bother looking at Fisk who was in a bad mood, but looked dead straight at the king who was still in the center of the brighter-than-normal room. Alex spoke in a dangerous low voice that seemed out of character to the tone that Fisk was surprised, ¡°What. Are. You. Doing?¡± Alex spoke in a rage through clenched teeth, he waited for a response hoping he misunderstood the situation. The king looks down sighing with a supercilious tone he spoke, ¡°Ha. You are an idiot. What do you think I¡¯m doing? Do. I. Really. Need. To. Tell. You?¡± Fisk was a little relieved that Alex seems to understand the situation, at least a little. Fisk wondered why Alex is still waiting, ¡°Is it loyalty does he pause or does he not truly understand the situation waiting for someone to tell him?¡± Fisk got up off the floor taking the initiative again while worrying about the wild card that neither the king nor Fisk expected to be here. ¡°Well, looks like I am going to be married to the floor at the rate that this is going,¡± Fisk sighed expecting to lose. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Fisk wasn¡¯t thinking anything about the kingdom nor the king, just that he wasn¡¯t going to give up now that he has fallen (twice). Fisk spoke out, ¡°So, do you understand what you are doing?¡± Fisk was angry thinking the king may not have fully understand the situation that he has caused. The switching of the guards with golems was suspicious enough, however it was kept so secretly that Fisk realized it may have been a well plotted plan since the beginning. The King looked at Fisk sneering, ¡°What, you think I would do such things openly? Of course, it was well planned in secret. It wasn¡¯t hard to keep it a secret from most, as they wouldn¡¯t understand. However, keeping it from you was harder than you can think. The years of knowledge you have and experience is immeasurable, it would be sad to lose such a person. But, I do not see such person before me. Only a ¡­¡± Before the King could finish his comment ... Prologue 00: part 4 (end of prologue) The King¡¯s speech was interrupted by a sudden kick to the stomach by Alex. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were going to say about my friend here, but I don¡¯t think I want to hear that,¡± Alex said with a cold voice giving a threatening look to the king. Alex had a few swords with him that he salvaged from the golems, but Alex has not pulled them out yet. The King coughed a little saying haughtily, ¡°But you really don¡¯t want to hear what I have to say? Even if it¡¯s the truth that he looks like¡­¡± Alex used the pommel of one of the blades against the stomach responding, ¡°Do you really want to finish that? Really, and I thought most kings are just cowards sitting on thrones.¡± Fisk was shocked by Alex¡¯s rough treatment to the king, and hearing the response he almost thought that Alex had a little bit of anger for being used as a pawn. Fisk felt the situation might have been handled a little bit better; he turned his head to look away wondering if Alex has always felt that he was royalty¡¯s pawn being a knight that serves their every will and whim. Alex noticed that Fisk was starting to get scared, he breathed a sigh with an awkward grin as he backed off a little bit. The king responded in a wheezed voice that no longer held the rich haughtiness it once had, ¡°Even if you had brought a wild card such as Alex to stop me, it¡¯s too late! Even Alex can¡¯t stop me.¡± Fisk was going to refute that he didn¡¯t bring Alex that he only just met outside the door, but before he could make a noise he noticed something odd. Shadows started to form around the hall, with the hall so bright Fisk wondered how he missed it. Fisk didn¡¯t even know what those shadows were; he felt a cold chill down his spine. It was a danger that Fisk instinctively felt that he could not win. The shadows were fast, moving so quickly it was almost imperceptible like a flame that flickers on the edge of one¡¯s vision. Fisk was about to tell Alex about the shadows, when he noticed that Alex felt the danger too. Of course Alex felt it; after all he was a knight that has been in many dangerous situations. However, Alex didn¡¯t sense beasts or magic, if he didn¡¯t know any better he would have sworn they were like living darkness. Alex shrugged disregarding that thought, if there were living intelligent dark creatures then why haven¡¯t they ruled the world. Alex believed in swords, and that the shadows must have a weakness! Fisk was worried seeing the confidence in Alex¡¯s eyes; he didn¡¯t think it was something that could be defeated by swords or magic. Fisk could tell that Alex has never seen the shadows before, and that he was going to rely on brute force over strategy. Admittedly, how can you plan for something that one doesn¡¯t expect nor didn¡¯t know even existed? Fisk gripped his forgotten bow even tighter. ¡°Well, guess I will never find a way to break the curse after all,¡± Fisk muttered under his breath as he raised his bow feeling that he didn¡¯t want to give up without at least trying. The shadows drew closer as if it sensed that they were caught moving about. ¡°They really are coming in fast! Can you even keep up with this speed?¡± Fisk asked to Alex, hoping for at least a confident smile. Though Fisk knew that was too much to ask for, he was not looking at Alex so he did not see that Alex truthfully shook his head no. Fisk attempted to use the blood river arrows, the only powerful attack he was confident in to defeat the shadows. Fisk felt that if this attack didn¡¯t work then there was no way he could defeat the shadows. To his dismay the arrows pierced nothing but air, not a single arrow slowed down the shadows. Alex gave a war cry that scared Fisk, but the shadows still drew closer. The shadows seemed to have hesitated coming in until the war cry that seemed to have frenzied them to attack coming right at Fisk and Alex. Fisk collapsed to the ground in which he could only have enough strength to mutter saying, ¡°I seem to love the ground today. However not until the very end! I would have at least liked to have known my name before¡­¡± Stolen novel; please report.Alex grunted in a reply, but he fared no better as he was already falling to the ground without a single complaint from his lips. The shadows scattered cracking the ceiling above making a dramatic bang. The noise was loud enough for guards to immediately run into the hall. ¡°What happened?¡± asked a dozen palace guards ¡°It seems a stray fish managed to walk on land wandering into my hall! Worse yet a thief stole some of the finest armor and swords have also come here threatening me!¡± the King said a tired voice as he still has not been able to regain his breath yet, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take them out. If you want cook the fish or whatever. However, I would like better security! How could a fish and a thief get in here?¡± The guards nodded and were walking away with the limp bodies that none recognized as the famous Fisk and Alex, then again they never saw Alex and Fisk hasn¡¯t shown that form to the guards before. The king smiled, wiping some sweat on his forehead. He gave a wide smile that would have been suspicious if the guards were around to see. The king has spent ten years, in which has made him age in worry that it would not succeed. Yet it came to fruition. ¡°Sorry old friends, especially Fisk. Hold on a little ok,¡± the King softly said as he looked younger as the worry was erased from his face. The princess walked into the hall. ¡°I heard a lot of commotion, so you have done what I asked right?¡± she asked innocently with a smile that could have been from an angel if it wasn¡¯t for the angel¡¯s intentions. The king secretly feared his daughter, ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t have to worry I have finished that. There was no reason to worry about the interruptions¡± The princess nodded leaving the hall. The king sighed feeling that he will be safe for a little longer, at least she was satisfied for now. The living shadows came together when it was finally empty except for the king. <> The king sighed, he felt that he could not trick this guy as easily. The king could only mutter, ¡°What is done is done. You know, the die will be cast eventually. Aren¡¯t you the real scaredy-cat? I mean shouldn¡¯t you be leaving before anyone finds you? Hmph! Don¡¯t you know I should wonder why you call me spineless when all you do is stay in the shadows!¡± <> The shadows scattered. The king knew the shadowy guy could not stay long in the palace undetected, so he was satisfied with the last barb response before the shadows completely left. The king shivered, knowing the guy was one to be feared. However he could not help at least give a sharp response to being called a coward. The king could only hope that the shadows would leave his kingdom forever someday. Chapter 00: The Summoning (changed setting to a ¡®normal¡¯ world) The rain drops pounded against the window almost rhythmic as the rain came down faster. The rain drops caught against the glass like flies in a web as the drops beaded up like wrapped flies before running down like an outline of a silvery-web. The thumping noise of the drops became an almost expected noise, as if waiting to hear the next drop in anticipation as it came down for quite some time. Noticing that the noise of the drops falling faded, now the drops have stilled to the lingering ones falling from the edge of the roof. Big fat drops reluctantly rolled off the edge of the gutter. I was hoping that there would be a thunder storm with the heavy rain, since it is always beautiful and interesting to hear the rolls of thunder as the lightning flashes brightly splitting the sky in contrasting shadows. I moved the window shade back into place, all in a single quick movement I was already laying on my back in a comfortable position in bed. It was already officially summertime last week, and the rain seems to be coming down quite a lot already this season. I looked at the grey ceiling, the ceiling made me think of the grey clouds that has been hovering low over the city this week. It made me wonder if it would be great sunny weather next week, or if this bad weather is here to stay a little longer. It would be terrible that the only week off from work for Summer Vacation I planned out for next week will be ruined by this unusually wet weather that has been occurring of late. I reached my hands out above my head stretching them thinking if only I could get far away from here, escape from this gloomy grey weather-worn city that has been clouding my own mind a little. Again I was thinking, in yet another reoccurring rant that was in the end just futile arrogant frustration against the weather. I sighed at defeat to the weather, once again thwarting my plans. I woke up startled when I thought I heard a rumble of thunder, heck I didn¡¯t even know I fell asleep. I listened for a while, yet I didn¡¯t hear any sounds of rain or thunder. It didn¡¯t show any signs of a storm when I looked outside. In fact the sun was already high above the horizon on a cloudless sky. Which seemed odd since I didn¡¯t think I slept that long, I quickly ran to the kitchen to where I have a clock. I also left my phone in the kitchen to charge on the counter, I looked at the digital clock to see that it was off. Maybe the storm passed already when I was startled awake, which makes sense why there are no longer signs of the storm. However, it¡¯s a real shame if the power was knocked out by the storm. I look at the phone that should be charged now, even if the power was knocked out. When I grabbed the phone off the cord, a small spark startled me though it was too quick to process. After my heart settled, I looked at the phone to see that it was off. I tried to turn on the darned thing holding the power button to no avail, when I inspected the phone better I noticed that the back of the phone was melted. The area where the battery is kept must have got fried from a power surge by the storm. Odd though, since the house had surge protectors to prevent such occurrences. However there was no way to stop what was going to happen to him. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.----------------------------- (Another part of the world at the same time)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cellphone suddenly rings shattering the silence in the library. The boy looked startled; he forgot to turn off his cell phone. He quickly ended the phone call before the second ring. He was about to mutter angrily that he just wanted quiet. He sighed, it was probably important, so in the end he walked doggedly to the entrance of the library to slip out in the cold night. A chilly wind greeted him when he stepped outside. He already missed the warm comfy library¡¯s lounge, hoping the phone call was important enough for him to freeze in the cold. He pulled the phone out; he didn¡¯t even look to see who called when he pressed the redial button. Only one person knew his personal cellphone number. ¡°Ah, so glad you were able to call back, we need you to come back to the house, there is a matter you need to hear from your father,¡± the butler spoke softly. ¡°My father can talk to me whenever he wants, what he wants to say can wait tomorrow, right?¡± he asked the butler in a tired voice. He wanted to go back inside and relax at the public library. The public library was donated by his father, with collections of books from the family, and the father still donates to the library to keep it open 24/7. The butler wheezed a small cough in reply into the phone making a static like whoosh that broke the awkward silence on the phone. ¡°I¡¯m freezing right now, I am going back in the library, and besides I will be at the house during the weekend, it can wait three days right?¡± He replied tiredly and annoyed. The butler was starting to protest when the boy hung up, not caring to hear what the reason was for in the end. The boy turned off the phone. ¡°I don¡¯t care if my father gets upset a little, I will just camp out in the library, forget about coming home over the weekend. I have enough change to live off the vending machines at the library¡¯s basement lounge. Hahaha¡­ my father made this library too comfortable¡­ my win,¡± the boy muttered feeling satisfied that he might have beaten his father a little bit. The butler gave the phone back to an angry father; his face was already turning red with purple blotches. The butler sighed; the boy keeps running off from the house trying to live off the library away from the house. But never would the butler and the father expect what happened after the phone call. In fact even the boy himself probably didn¡¯t fully comprehend what happened after the phone call. Chapter 00 part 2 (after long hiatus) The king felt beads of sweat slide feeling relieved that the shadowy mastermind has left, he called for guards to light up the hall. The guards found it strange as the hall was already bright, but they followed the orders and brought dozens of torches and light stones. ¡°Make sure that that everyone has a light so there is no shadows!¡± the king hurriedly shouted thinking that if there is not a speck of darkness that he could disrupt the shadows from watching him. The king only needed a minute to purposely stop the summoning, then later he will come up with an excuse why it failed. He was about to stop the summoning sequence that was prepared when his daughter came back. The king held his breath wishing that the lights could really dispel darkness. ¡°What are you doing father?¡± she asked cutely, ¡°Guards can you leave? I want to spend some time with father.¡± The king nodded his head to the guards that they are dismissed. Even though he dismissed the guards he wished one would stay behind to protect him from his daughter. The king felt really pitiful that he may really be a coward after living so long. Why did the fear seem to feel more real as one gets older, is fear tied to wisdom or age? He swallowed hard as he played with his daughter¡¯s hair.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°We don¡¯t like to be betrayed you know? You lived a long life,¡± she said as her voice went an octave lower sounding familiar and strange to his ears, ¡°It¡¯s too late to stop the summons now! I will be successful and you don¡¯t need to be alive for the future plans.¡± The king wasn¡¯t shocked by the declaration yet he had to ask, ¡°Where did I go wrong?¡± The strange voice chuckled responding, ¡°Where did you go wrong with your life? You should know I was never going to let you live even if you did follow orders.¡± The king fumed as he really wanted to know why his daughter turned out like this! The king felt the fear disappear slightly as he felt guilty wondering if it was his fault. His thoughts however wasn¡¯t going to be peaceful musings for long when danger is on his lap. ¡°Of course, it would be strange if the king suddenly died or disappeared,¡± the voice ominously resounded in the king¡¯s ears, ¡°But I can¡¯t have you disrupt my plans...¡± The king felt like all the blood has left his body feeling the blood thirsty chill in the glittering eyes of his daughter. Chapter 00: Part Three The king was astonished that his daughter¡¯s blood lust stopped suddenly. The king thought he was going to die, but now the traces of the fear-inducing aura was gone. The king held the confusion from his face. ¡°Geeze! The summons was taking so long that I thought you were betraying me,¡± she smiled at the king innocently, ¡°But, I guess it really was successful!¡± The king didn¡¯t dare to sigh that the long-cast summoning actually saved his life. He was so occupied by his daughter that he missed out from seeing the two gentlemen that were lying on the ground next to his throne. Even though it was time consuming it really couldn¡¯t have succeeded at a better time! However, the princess and the king were a little disappointed that the summons wasn¡¯t very flashy! Where was the thunder, earthquakes, and heart rending electricity that made this lost art a taboo? How could the powerful and awesome summoning magic end quietly with not even a flash of light?!This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I might have spoken too soon! You didn¡¯t trick me right?! You didn¡¯t kidnap some youths,¡± the princess asked in a pout. The king felt flabbergasted thinking that the princess is acting stranger than usual, wasn¡¯t summoning magic pretty much the very principle of kidnapping? Whether the youths were taken from this world or another even he didn¡¯t know. The king still worried that the summoning magic might cause a backlash to the world at any minute, after all he wasn¡¯t planning on completing the process! He made the longest summons possible to give him time to cancel it, however it ended to be like this. The princess was ranting angrily at the king without any of the previous threatening aura, which relieved the king that the princess was more like her yapping self that suited her more. However, the king thought tiredly that perhaps the summoning had an unusual effect of destroying the cursed being that was controlling his daughter at the right moment. After all didn¡¯t the killing aura disappear right at the summons and the traces of the cursed being was no longer in his daughter¡¯s words? No, summons shouldn¡¯t be able to kill cursed beings. Rather, the shadowy mastermind was probably planning on using the cursed beast to take over one of the summons! The king worried that one of the two men may have been afflicted. The king mused not knowing what the future might bring for his troublesome worrying daughter and the two young men, yet thinking that trouble would surely be following them.