《Legend of Lunos [Dropped]》 Chapter 0 - First Strikes ¡°Aw shit!¡± I shouted as I broke the pipe again. ¡°Sheesh man, keep breaking those things and you¡¯ll be zapped down to being a bum,¡± said Josh my co-worker. ¡°I know! I know! Stop telling me!¡± My name is Gale Manchester and I¡¯m a proud crew member of the Earth Orbital Defense Station known as ¡°Ranger¡±. Ranger was launched into space along with a crew of fifty members meant to serve as operators of the defense mechanism to be used against incoming meteor strikes. Ever since discovering a cheap way of terraforming, humanity has been transforming planets like nobody¡¯s business. I mean just look, humanity now has a department store as large as a planet, and everyone can get there because of the discovery of teleportation or ¡°zapping¡± as everyone calls it now. By the way, it is now the year 3005 of the Space Expansion Age. Why am I telling all of this? Simple, because this is a recording. I and all members of the Earth Orbital Defense Station, Ranger, have already died. How? Well that¡¯s what I will tell now. I was working out in space fixing the exhaust pipes. All other stations have robots fixing them but this station was the very first one launched and any hope of upgrading it was struck down after budget cuts after budget cuts. Incidentally, I¡¯m also the lowest paid in the job at about $100,000 a year. Mind you that means nothing as inflation and all that. So Josh and I were fixing the exhaust pipe when suddenly a bright flash of light came from the moon. The moon now was different, it still reflected light yes but that was because of all the metal that was on it. The moon was now colonized by humans and large metallic cities stretched all around. Even the dark side of the moon is lit up. Usually this light would not bother us as this was usually just a slight glare but it kept on growing and I couldn¡¯t help but take a look. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. What I saw was death. It was a ray of light made by plasma particles shot in a straight line. This was the death ray. I¡¯m pretty sure someone else can explain better but I¡¯m only a mechanic that was randomly picked for this job. Anyway, I don¡¯t really even know why I¡¯m telling you this because I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re dead too and that no one¡¯s listening to this you know. I was born as a prince of the Space Expansion Age. But because of the things I did, I was disowned, but I still knew everything that was going on. And that¡¯s why I know, that the light that hit Ranger, came from Luna, the moon colony. That day was the beginning of the end. Where humans would kill each other using planetary destruction devices against each other. Ranger was just the beginning. But I luckily avoided it by being the first casualty. ¡°Human¡­¡± said a melodious voice ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored, entertain me,¡± ¡°How¡¯d you get into this? Who are you?¡± ¡°You need not know, just come¡­¡± ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a hassle if you have these memories. I¡¯ll just get rid of them!¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too weak physically, especially in the lower body¡­ are you by any chance still a virgin?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°This is getting fun! By the way I¡¯m ****** ruler of the world that you¡¯ll be sent to do you want to go there?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes then! Time to rip you apart into tiny little pieces and process you until you¡¯re ready to go!¡± ¡°No!!!!!!!!!!¡± I shouted as I felt tiny needles moving at an extremely fast pace into every inch of my body. ¡°I¡¯m finally not going to be bored!¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ END TRANSMISSION Chapter 1 - The Beginning Hello guys! I''m back again. Honestly this was slated for two months ago but bad things happened. For one, I lost the original follow up chapters after the prologue (Yeah!). So needless to say, I was dispirited for quite a while. Finals also appeared so less time to even start writing again. Then after the enjoyment of Christmas and New Years, I came back to write this. Schedule is undetermined for now but do expect once a month at the least, (It''ll get better I just need to get a routine with college). Anywho, sorry about all the inconvenience and hope you all like this! (The result of my getting better as a writer but will most likely have plot holes and whatnot even though I make sure to not have them, again!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I opened my eyes and saw that I was under some kind of shelter. It looked strange and foreign and I wondered why I thought that way. I tried remembering but it just hurt me and I was forced to cry out in pain. In front of my eyes appeared a woman with pale skin. She had gold eyes and a feeling that made me feel safe around her. She spoke to me in some strange language that I couldn¡¯t understand. Actually, it didn¡¯t even sound like any of the languages that I had heard before. Again I tried remembering but it just didn¡¯t work, it hurt too much. Then I realized that I couldn¡¯t remember anything not even my own name! I cried and the woman held me close to her. I felt safe and warm and somehow or the other I found myself asleep. The next time I woke up I was surrounded by more pale skinned people talking in a different language. I tried to speak but all I could get out were some sounds. They looked happy and the woman with gold eyes picked me up. Only then did I realize that her eye color was the only one different between the rest of the pale skinned people. Amidst the sporadic wake-ups and sudden drowsiness, I was able to understand the language and can talk to them now. I was also able to learn about some things. My name is Gale Lunos, the son of the head of the Lunos clan. Our clan used to be powerful, but somehow, we were forced to hide in the Forest of Darkness. I turn three years old in the next couple of weeks. I¡¯m already able to fend for myself and this somehow just feels wrong to me. I can¡¯t put it into words but I feel that three year olds should not be capable of fighting against a ten-foot tall monster with claws and fangs as large as he is. I was fighting against a Dragans. An ursine monster with black fur that scratches everything it touches. Usually they are docile and harmless but if you get too close to them they become enraged and attack everyone around them. Did I mention that they could also control wind? Now what led to this situation¡­ I was out hunting with my aide Luke. He was a timid guy but he was always someone you could count on¡­ except when he¡¯s too absorbed in making sure everything is perfect and I mean perfect. One time, I pulled a prank on him by making one of the furniture¡¯s legs be off by a bit and would you believe me when I said that he reworked the entire room. I mean literally, the furniture was completely different, there was even a fountain where there wasn¡¯t before. Now for the Dragans¡­ there just happened to be the perfectly shaped clearing for us to rest a bit next to the Dragans¡¯ home. Needless to say my servants tried to repel the Dragans but none of them were its match. Although they were able to wound it severely in one shoulder, but this just made it even more enraged which forced my servants back. We were at an impasse and so I had to take over. Letting a three year old child fight a Dragans, let alone the next head fight on his own is simply preposterous that my servants gritted their teeth and tried to stop me from going forward. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Stand down,¡± I said as I looked back to reassure them, ¡°remember, I am my father¡¯s child, I can handle this.¡± In truth I was able to handle this. See, the Lunos clan is a noble demon clan. Our world is separated into five continents with each continent being predominantly of one race. We had five races known as the Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs and the Demons. I don¡¯t know much of the other races but for the Demons, we have a caste system in place. Each caste has different clans that either try to get into a different caste or force other clans to another caste. The latter is what happened to my clan. We were once Nobility, in the highest caste as well as the ruler of the Demon continent of Ozuron. But then our bloodline started dwindling making my clan be kicked aside and forced into hiding. Since then, we have been living away from the eyes of the ones who brought us to this state, the Fallen Angel clan. There were many skirmishes with that clan in the past. They were relentless but ever since we started hiding in the forest of darkness, we have not seen them at all. Going back to the Dragans, my clan has the special power to control blood. It is an innate ability, compared to the humans¡¯ magic or the elves¡¯ songs. Demons have innate abilities passed down from generation to generation. The orcs and the dwarves can also use magic but they are mainly specialized in crafting and combat respectively. Staring at the Dragans, it started charging towards me with small whirls of wind around it. I forced its blood to flow backwards causing him to flinch. It stopped moving but it then started resisting my control on its blood. I focused even harder onto its blood. It started to convulse in areas where my control was stronger than its will. A minute passed and its right arm exploded. It cried out in pain and allowed me to force the rest of its blood against it. The left arm was next. At this point it looked at me in defiance and launched several wind blades towards me. I shifted my attention to the blood on the ground and controlled it to form a wall in front of me. I blocked the wind blades and then right after, I had the blood shield form blood spikes and launched them to the wounded Dragans. It cried out in anger as it was killed by its own blood. Once it was dead, I gathered its blood and forced it into a small seed. As a descendant of my father, I am naturally also able to use another innate ability. Blood Feed. It allows me to obtain everything about a living being suffice that I have enough of its blood and it¡¯s still fresh. The chance of success is slim at best. I may also only learn a portion of what it knows. After the blood formed a seed, it was a scarlet red orb, in this darkness, it looked like a red eye staring into my soul, I took it in my hand and swallowed it. My insides burned as the seed assimilated into my body. I resisted the urge to scream as the pain was much stronger than usual. It lasted a couple of minutes, towards the end the pain lessened and I learned about changing my teeth into fangs. Very disappointing, sometimes the ability doesn¡¯t give a fair trade-off. ¡°Young master, are you alright?¡± asked Luke after seeing that I was alright. ¡°I¡¯m fine Luke. Let¡¯s get all of these back home,¡± I ordered my servants. My servants took the Woldrans, giant lupine creatures capable of manipulating lightning, that we had stacked up and put them in the back of a wagon. I¡¯ve already gained an ability from them. Not as fancy, as manipulating lightning, but I am capable of increasing my speed to be as fast as lightning itself. After my servants stored all of the Woldrans, we headed towards home. Chapter 2 - The Lunos Clan Hello all, here''s the next chapter! Thursday releases are maybe''s but I figured a release schedule of Monday''s and Friday''s, every other Saturday''s and Tuesday Thursday maybe''s. Without further ado... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took us an hour to get back home. We were nearby but we had to circle around some giant trees. The Forest of Darkness has existed for a long time. It marks the boundary between the Demon, Dwarven and Human Continents. It is to the northwestern edge of the Demons, north of the Dwarves, and northeastern of the Humans. It is a forgotten area that few dare to approach. Which made it the perfect place for us to hide. Our home was located a few miles away from the Demon continent. At times, we would have some of our clan members venture out to see the state of affairs in the Demon continent. They rarely come back as getting out of the forest is easy but coming back is hard as the Fallen Angels still monitor us. We lived with the trees like the elves. We built our homes inside the trees by manipulating the sap. It took hundreds of us to do but it was doable. As we entered our home, I saw other children playing around in the dirt road or helping their parents. Everyone was to help starting at the age of two. In this way, they would learn everything that was to be needed of them within a year. Our bodies may mature slowly but our minds mature extremely quick. As children, we understood our importance. Our clan can live for hundreds of years, but the older we get, the harder it is to control blood. As such, children who have just started to learn how to control their power, are favored for the most delicate of tasks. Of course, a more experienced clan member would be there in case they fail but in this way, they would learn how to control their power much quicker. I had my servants take the Woldrans to the storage while Luke and I headed to the central tree, my home. As I neared, I controlled my clothes to turn into more formal clothing. I was to meet my father and mother, it would not do well to be in hunting clothes. The reason why I¡¯m able to control my clothing to turn into something else is because it is created from our own blood. The first thing we are told to make with our blood is clothing. It is a difficult task but not as difficult as changing our own appearances which I can only do for my face right now. From hunting clothes, to the regal Lunos clan vestments. Black overcoat with red embroidery, black long-sleeved shirt with gold etchings, black pants with a gold chain and black gloves with dark brown and red designs on the fingertips. Luke did the same but instead of the regal clothing he changed into the butler clothes of pure black clothing. As we got to the doors, they opened and we were greeted by an entourage of maids and more butlers that bowed and said, ¡°Welcome home young master.¡± ¡°Where are my parents?¡± I asked one of them. ¡°They are waiting for you at the study,¡± said a maid. I nodded and proceeded inside. After the doors is a wide staircase that led to the upper floors. Luke stayed at the bottom of the stairs as I went up alone towards the second floor where the study was. The study was just located above the entrance so all I had to do was go around and the door was right in front of me. I knocked at the door and immediately after I heard my mother say ¡°Enter.¡± I opened the door and stepped inside. The room was surrounded by bookshelves detailing history, geography, politics, war tactics, everything that my father deems important to learn as the next head. Towards the back was a desk with my father sitting down while mother was over to the side. Father wore the same clothing that I did with the exception of a monocle. He had silver hair and pale skin with red eyes as all of us usually are. My mother was different, she had the same silver hair and red eyes but her skin was a bright tan color. I take after my mother in skin color but I still retain the silver hair and red eyes. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Welcome back,¡± said my mother Amber Lunos. She smiled as she told me that and I replied, ¡°I¡¯m back mother.¡± ¡°Did you encounter any hindrances?¡± asked my father Vlad Lunos. ¡°None father, they were all within expectations.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Good, we begin your lessons in an hour as I have to check on the state of our food. You may go.¡± ¡°Yes father,¡± I said as I bowed. With nothing to do for an hour, I walked out to the practice field. It was to the west of our tree home and was wide enough for nearly all of us to practice. My control over blood was weak as I had trouble controlling the blood of the Dragans. With that in mind, I decided to practice on the blood bags. These were statues with blood flowing inside of them. For practice, I would force the blood to go the opposite way or increase the speed in which the blood flows. There are ten of these statues situated right next to each other. There were two sets of five with blood flowing in different directions. Each five also flowed in different speeds, in this way, one can practice controlling blood flow in relative ease. I went towards the statue with normal blood flowing at three times the speed. I stood in front of the statue and forced my will into its blood. I could feel it flowing inside of the statue, it didn¡¯t give the statue life but it made it seem to live. I started slowly by controlling a speck of blood within the copious amount. This speck would be the core of my control as I expanded my reach. Little by little I was able to control more volume. Soon I had control over all of the blood, at this time I forced it to flow backwards. The resulting force, made a small vacuum appear in one of the blood vessels in its right arm. From there, the blood flood backwards as I had it follow the vessels. I then forced it to flow normally again and then backwards. Each time changing the speed. Towards the end of my practice I made its flood flow in different directions, causing the blood to collide in its limbs. At this point, its limbs would have broken but because it¡¯s a statue, it had no effect. Releasing my control, the blood flowed normally once more. Finishing my practice, I went to the library where my father likes to teach me. The library¡¯s entrance was right below the staircase so it was easy to get to. Entering the library, I saw piles of scrolls in one of the tables. I groaned inwardly as I knew what today¡¯s lesson was going to be in. ¡°Come Son, it¡¯s time to learn about mannerisms,¡± said my father in as jovial a tone as he could muster even though he also hated this subject. The lesson took most of the afternoon and by the time we were done, it was time for dinner. We ate in the dining hall, to the right of the foyer. As usual it was a feast of Woldrans. As we were eating my parents were discussing about Moonbreak. Moonbreak was a time in the Forest of Darkness when light would actually pierce through the canopies. It is not much of a problem with the creatures as everything that lives here is capable of living in darkness but for us it is a problem. The reason why the Lunos clan is hiding in the Forest of Darkness is because light, any light can kill us. Because of our dwindling bloodline, the effects of light is disastrous to us. For us, living in darkness forced many changes such as seeing in the dark as well as an even greater control over blood. We would take this as a blessing but it is a curse. As we cannot leave the safety of the forest without having to fear any light. Brave members venturing outside have to be especially careful in any city as light is a problem. They manage but we can see the bruises made by light. Moonbreak would force all of us into hiding inside of our homes as a way of survival. They reminded me of staying inside during the night of Moonbreak as last year I was found outside. I¡¯ve actually always wondered why they need me to stay inside because last Moonbreak, I was actually bathing in light. Chapter 3 - Moonbreak It''s been a week since I returned from hunting. Moonbreak was tonight and many of my clan members are already preparing for it. Some usually had duties during the evening but with Moonbreak, they would have to make sure they did it during the morning. As for me, it was a normal day of studying and making sure that we had food. As I passed by some of my clansmen, they would bow down and greet me. The ones my age on the other hand looked joyful as they greeted me. Some even said that they would everything in their power to protect me once I became the next head. I smiled at that and went about my business as usual. I had to act my part, as much as I would¡¯ve loved to be playing games with them. Sunset approached, we are able to keep track of time using the Blooming Regalia. A flower that blooms once every hour, after blooming for a minute, it closes its petals again, waiting for the next hour. It was a normal day, save for the extra things to do. My parents told me not to leave the manor once I had returned from my duties. We ate dinner earlier as everything was already finished. They turned in early after insisting that I do as well but I declined saying that I still needed to do one thing. They left me alone after that and I waited until all was quiet and the moon was bright. After a few hours, I noticed a change in the lighting. I was waiting in the foyer for Moonbreak and it came. At this point I went outside and saw streaks of moonlight dropping from the canopy. It was a surreal sight but I knew I could see it better. I had found a lake nearby that was not covered by the canopy, it would be a perfect place to watch the moon. I headed westward through the forest. I dodged the patches of light as a game to motivate me to go faster. Soon enough I reached the lake. It wasn''t too far from home but far enough that most wouldn''t come here. The lake was a clear blue with the moon shining in the middle. There was no ripple on the surface making it appear as glass. The surroundings were filled with sharp rocks strutting towards the center. It made the lake look like a crown with the moon being the crown jewel. I sat down on one of the sharp rocks and watched the moon. At this point I was under the moonlight but I was not harmed one bit. I started to hum a tune, I didn¡¯t know what it was but I just felt like humming. It started off weak, as I wasn¡¯t sure of what I wanted to do. Soon it grew in intensity as I gained more confidence. The wind passed through my ears joining the melody that I was humming. The sounds of the animals nearby also added. Occasional wolf cries echoed in the distance further adding to the music we were making. And then silence. I didn¡¯t notice but I was out under the moonlight. The moon was beautiful. It had a nice round shape that was so perfect. It didn¡¯t pass my mind that I was supposed to be dying but I didn¡¯t care. It was a sight that I would die for. Satisfied, I lay to sleep where I was underneath the moon. A soft cry woke me up. It sounded very far away and I would have ignored it had it not been the only sound I could hear. The moon was still up in the sky but it seemed to be going down. I heard the cry again and went towards where I heard it. Again I heard a cry, much closer now, after moving several meters. I had my doubts before but now it seems that the cries were coming from my home. The closer I got home the more shouts I heard and I could just see some kind of light coming from the camp. There were armored men in black shiny colors with weapons as bright as day. It was blindingly bright. Through the corner of my eyes I could see corpses of my servants as well as the mangled bodies of the children in the clan that I played with whenever I had the time. They looked distraught and sent shivers down my spine. Their faces were horrifying, the happy faces that I used to see were now filled with dread and sorrowful hate. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I froze in spot as I watched the armored men kill more and more of my people. I was too shocked, I didn¡¯t know what to do. So I just crouched there in my hiding spot. Where I could see the horrifying scenes unfold in front of my eyes as I felt powerless to stop them. A shout stopped me from my confoundedness as the voice sounded much like my mother¡¯s. I brought my eyes to see where the shout came from and there was my mother with my father. They were fighting along with some of our servants and clan members. Mother was hurt and had to lean against Father to support herself as her right arm was holding her right side. Again I stood there motionless as I watched it unfold. Soon they were overwhelmed and just as the armored men struck down my parents whose last visions were of each other, I noticed a red draconic skull imprinted on one of the men¡¯s armor. As my parents fell, I snapped. I felt the blood boiling in my body. I instinctively tried to contain what i was feeling but it was too strong. I shouted, no more like roared a blood-curdling scream. My vision turned red and I felt no longer in control. As if I was in limbo, floating in the air as I watched through my eyes. I saw myself moving towards my home. It all happened so fast that I barely had time to register. There was a good kilometer difference from where I was to the camp as I was hiding above a tree but it seemed as if I just traveled that distance in less than a second. The armored knights seemed bewildered for a moment. I saw no less than a thousand of them but my body just swung its right arm and more than a hundred flew up in the air. Another swing with the left and another hundred more flew. At this point the first hundred fell down to the ground with a massive crunching sound that drove the rest of them out of their stupor. One of them, dressed in a bit more lavish style shouted something, but I was unable to hear what they were saying as my body moved by jumping and landed on top of him, crushing a couple hundred more in the process. Then came another massacre, only this time, it was my body that was doing the massacring. What seemed like screams came from the men, some ran away some flat out passed out. Some even stabbed each other. It was chaos, and I was its center. Smash. Jump. Crunch. Swing. Grab. Bite. Smash. Jump. Crunch. Swing. Grab. Bite. Over and over again along with the attacks they did to themselves in their craze. Soon it was just my body atop a pile of dead and mangled bodies. It was taller than my home. I was no longer in a craze. I looked around and found that I could no longer see a trace of my clan¡¯s bodies. It was all covered with decapitated body parts that I had flung around in my rage. I held my face in my arms as I stared at the horror I had done. Easily a thousand of them were killed so easily and I had done it. I had killed animals before but not other people. Remembering what I had done and the sight around me I vomited. My vomit landed on one of the armors. I stared at the insignia and burned its image in my mind. It was their fault that this happened. I vow to kill anyone who wears this insignia. I will make them pay for what they have done! Chapter 4 - Its a Rocky World Ok so I deeply apologize for being so late in adding a chapter. I just got busy with school and work. So without further ado... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I traveled westward further into the forest. I could¡¯ve gone east towards where the armored men came from but even though I vowed to kill them. I was sure that I wasn¡¯t strong enough. That power I used was sure to be unreliable. I don¡¯t even know what triggered it. It was best that I learned how to protect myself and the closest place to do that was west, towards the human lands. I would be recognized in the demon lands as they tend to hold grudges longer. The corpses of my brethren and my family, I burned along with the armored men¡¯s. Those men deserved worse than that but I couldn¡¯t even tell which part belonged to who. The homes were also burned to let those that sent them think that my clan has been extinguished. The creatures here were easy to handle as I¡¯ve already dealt with them already before. Albeit a bit harder as I was now killing them on my own. At the time I set off, I changed my clothing. I had it transform into a hunter¡¯s gear. Dark leather fur vest, leather pants, gloves and belt. Each piece of clothing has a red tint to it. It was to remind me of my vow of vengeance. I have already traveled for two days. By my estimates, it would take me a month to get to the human lands. It would be a long travel but I was sure that I would be able to do it. I had enough food that I had taken from home and even more from the creatures I killed. I had to rest from my travelling and I went towards a cave to save me from making my own resting place. The cave was a dreary, damp place filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Chiropteran creatures hanged in the ceiling. They eyed me as I walked slowly inside. I had enough to eat so I was not in any need of killing these creatures for my meal. I sat under one of the stalagmites, it formed a depression on one side that I could seat myself comfortably. I rested for some time and was woken up by the screeches of the creatures. I jumped up and readied my control over blood. A fog of black covered my eyes as the screeches resounded in the cave. I could barely see anything until all of the creatures left the cave. I looked deeper into the cave and saw a pair of purple dots. It stared at me, and it was growing ever so slowly, a slight tremor being felt. Finally, I could see what it was. It was a small golem, the same height as me. It had moss all over its head making it look like hair. Its face was gaunt and seemed to look down on everything. Strange symbols covered its body but otherwise it looked like a child. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± the golem asked as it crossed its arms, its voice did not match his features. It sounded like a squeaky little kid not a golem child with strong features and moss all over it. I was a bit stunned at it and I didn¡¯t respond quick enough. ¡°You¡¯re an enemy aren¡¯t you! Take this!¡± The golem started running towards me, making the ground tremble, it jumped up high for something so heavy and tried to land a punch on me. I dodged and said, ¡°I mean you no harm!¡± ¡°Shut up! That¡¯s what bad guys say!¡± said the golem as it lunged at me. I dodged again and tried to control the golem¡¯s blood. There was no reaction and I was unable to dodge his follow-up kick. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The kick was heavy and pushed me to the walls. I forgot that golem¡¯s had no lifeblood. ¡°That¡¯s what bad guys get!¡± said the golem as it got back to its pose. It had a sneer on its face as it looked at me. I looked back in anger and used my lightning speed. I could only use it once a day but I didn¡¯t care right then. I was able to knock him down with a tackle and smashed its head repeatedly on the ground. Once my lightning speed disappeared I jumped back and stayed at a distance. My body felt weak as using that ability usually made me tired. I heard some sniffling and the golem looked at me. Its face was cracked and it looked sad in a ruined, rocky way. ¡°You hurt me! I¡¯m telling on you!¡± it screamed as it ran inside the cave, sniffling. I felt bad and chased after it, hoping that I could apologize before it could tell whoever. The cave got wider and wider and the rocks slowly became littered with gems. I could still hear the trembling ground from the golem. I was fascinated by the changes and almost forgot what I was here for. Soon the cave opened up to a massive opening. As my eyes slowly adjusted, I could see the golem running across what seemed to be a bridge towards a gigantic castle. It was fitted with towers and battlements. Flag poles with tattered flags could be seen at the top of some spires. Cracks and holes were everywhere as a testament to how old the castle was. Below were rows of houses, spanning the whole floor, making an old picturesque scene of dilapidated buildings. There was a coliseum, with several arches broken and clattered. A huge mansion-like building that was surprisingly well preserved, except for its surroundings which were leveled to the ground. Sprawling marketplaces that seemed to be just as large as the mansion. One of them was even the size of two mansions. All of this with a path towards the middle leading up a small hill on which the castle stood. Above were gigantic stalactites that seemed to be ready to pierce the ground. There were some buildings built on them, with large gangway near it. In all my staring, the golem had already pushed open the gate to the castle and entered it. I ran as fast as I could to enter the castle as my eyes took in the scenery around me. Just as I got to the gate, I heard a roar come from inside the castle. I got down on the ground as the roar was enough to put me off balance. ¡°WHO DARES TRESPASS INTO THE LAND OF STONE!¡± shouted the voice. ¡°Get him Grandpa!¡± shouted the golem child. The gate crashed open and I was flung back to the center of the bridge. ¡°HOW DARE YOU LAY YOUR FLESHY HANDS ON MY GRANDSON!¡± I couldn¡¯t see it as a cloud of dust obscured my vision. ¡°He¡¯s a bad guy!¡± ¡°I WILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER, YOUNG GRELING!¡± I heard a soft whimper through the dust as it cleared up. Soon, I could see what owned the voice. It was a gigantic fifty foot monstrosity of a golem. It had eyes as large as a small boulder. The crease on its eyebrows made it look menacing as it accentuated the growl on its mouth and nose. Its limbs were as wide as the towers from the castle and its torso was humongous. Large markings covered its whole body as well as moss from years gone by. ¡°YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO TRESPASS IN THE SACRED CITY, ALIAD!¡± Chapter 5 - Aliadian Golems Author''s Rant: Hello all! So I know that the past chapters were all walls of text... Sorry about that but it was my intention to just describe the world and reveal the struggles and backstory. This chapter and the next are the last walls of text, wherein the prologue or the tutorial story ends and the real thing begins. I hope you all can bear with me for this chapter and the next so that we can all really see what happens next. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was on the ground as I looked up to this giant golem in front of me. I didn¡¯t have much time to think as I had to get away from his foot that was about to step on me. ¡°Get him!¡± shouted the little golem. ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted trying to get him to stop, ¡°I¡¯m innocent!¡± ¡°YOU WILL PAY!¡± the giant golem shouted as he took another step towards me. I lunged forward to dodge and scrambled to get back up. ¡°STOP RUNNING AWAY!¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t listen!¡± I shouted back as I ran towards the little golem. ¡°Get him!¡± he shouted but then he saw me and shouted, ¡°Grandpa!¡± I grabbed him and held on tight to him as he struggled to get away. ¡°LET GO OF HIM!¡± ¡°Not until you calm down,¡± I managed to say as the little golem was struggling. A flash of white light appeared in front of me and I felt my arms slack. Once the light was gone, the little golem was gone and in front of me was a stone bird that flew away towards the giant. ¡°YOU DIE NOW FLESHY!¡± The giant shouted as it raised its foot to stomp me. ¡°I am the last remaining member of the Lunos clan. I will not die without avenging my family!¡± I shouted as I forced myself to bear the giant¡¯s weight. It felt like a boulder crashing onto me, but I knew that had to do something and all I could think to do was that. My whole body was slowly being crushed as I felt my muscles strain and my bones start to crack. With my Lunos heritage, my internal organs could regenerate at a fast rate and would take more than the average human in damage but even then, this weight was too much. The ground under me was depressing at a slow rate as I realized that this giant was playing with me. ¡°I WILL KILL YOU SLOWLY AND I WILL SAVOR IT!¡± said the giant as if he could read my thoughts. ¡°I will not die here!¡± I shouted as I felt power surging through my body. I was able to prevent myself from dropping down further but the giant just increased the strength he was using, in turn, I also used more. I had no idea where the power came from but as more and more power came out, my vision started reddening. ¡°WHAT IS THIS?¡± I roared and pushed him over and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are, I will not die for something I did not even begin. Your grandson started everything, if you still want to continue this, I will be happy to destroy you.¡± The giant looked at me then to his grandson then back to me and then to his grandson and said, ¡°Is this true?¡± His voice was a lot softer than before but it was still very loud. The stone bird just flew in the air and acted as if he was ignoring us. ¡°IS THIS TRUE?!¡± shouted the giant. The bird was startled and returned into its golem form after a strange ¡®poof¡¯ sound. He started shivering where he transformed. ¡°IS THIS TRUE?!¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Y-Yes!¡± shouted the little golem with a bit of a stammer. The giant waved his hands and the little golem floated inside of a glowing purple sphere. He screamed but I could hear no sound. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my grandson, I don¡¯t know who he takes after of,¡± said the giant in a calm voice. ¡°I offer you my home, Aliad, you may stay here for as long as you like.¡± ¡°And him?¡± I asked pointing at the little golem. ¡°He shall not bother you,¡± said the giant, ¡°I am being rude, my name is Entropy, this little one¡¯s name is Arc.¡± ¡°I am Gale. Gale Lunos.¡± ¡°I have heard,¡± said Entropy, ¡°I assume you have questions.¡± At this point, Entropy was leading me towards the castle. ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°This place is known as Aliad. The strongest and most advanced city in the world. Even if the outside world advances, it cannot surpass the might of Aliad,¡± said Entropy as his eyes glittered with a tinge of nostalgia, ¡°it is the capital of magic. Formed and led by a council of magicians each strong in their own respective fields. It flew in the air suspended by minerals created by the magicians themselves. Its army of magicians could summon thousands of minions thereby creating an infinite amount of forces!¡± ¡°Golems like myself were created as the protectors. We, the Aliadian Golems,were created with intelligence. Each one made by a different councillor thereby creating Golems that are as strong as their creators. We were made with the sole purpose of protecting Aliad and using our respective abilities for the good of Aliad. Obsidius, Ankorite, Rubidus. The strongest three, created by the councillors of Ethereal, Time, and Space. These three were our leaders, the first protectors.¡± After some seconds of silence I said, ¡°But something happened.¡± He shook his head and said, ¡°It was meant to happen. As with all things, there must be an end. My creator, the one who named me Entropy, was the councillor of Death. When Aliad had reached its peak, and no more could be attained, my creator killed all the living beings and sealed Aliad underground. It was then my task to kill all of the golems, as it was my duty as the last Aliadian Golem to do.¡± The destruction of this city was orchestrated by itself. It was hard to believe such a thing as a city should be aiming for even higher heights rather than ending it all. ¡°I see that you find it hard to believe, but let me tell you about what I am. I am called Entropy, created by destruction. But what comes after destruction? There could only be creation. I am the final instrument of Aliad, my grandson Arc is my own creation. When Entropy ends, life begins anew. It would be my pleasure to teach you all that I could not to Arc. Afterwards, I will disintegrate. I have lived long enough, waiting for a successor. Someone to enter the cavern, it matters not who it is for my duty is to make sure it is passed on.¡± We were at the center of the castle. Large spires rose with dilapidated walls, courtyards with barren grounds, broken walls and cobblestone. Imagining the castle in its peak, at its highest. When the crowds would travel all around, when laughter rings and people lived. It was hard to imagine that they created their own destruction and accepted it so easily. I looked to Entropy and said, ¡°Why did you do it?¡± He looked to me and in the most indifferent voice I could ever hear, ¡°I was created to do it. It was my mission.¡± Chapter 6 - Days of our Mana Hey guys! Sorry for the not posting! I was busy with papers for college. Finally done with all that so I can continue writing again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been in Aliad for a couple months already. Right after I agreed to Entropy, he touched my head with one of his fingers. Immediately, my brain felt like it was being pressed on all sides. I would¡¯ve screamed if it were not also numbing. I felt my consciousness waver and drift away. After what seemed like centuries, I heard a faint crackling rain of glass and then a flood of information streamed into my brain. I learned about the history of all the races, countries, continents, magic and magical research. All the world¡¯s information was plunged into my brain. There was so much that I fainted. When I woke up the next day, Entropy told me that I fainted the moment he began the information transfer, I felt it last centuries but it was way less than that. Then began instruction from Entropy. Though I say instruction it was more of having me recall the information. There was so much that I knew now that I couldn¡¯t easily recall it. He had me do these strange exercises involving the city, runes, magic, Arc, and myself. It was so embarrassing really that I do not even want to think about it. Arc accompanied eating with me every meal. Though he can¡¯t eat, he would go outside of the cave and find some animal and bring it to me to prepare. He almost always brought back a Dragans but sometimes he would bring back Woldrans as well. One time he brought a Slaunkal, a serpentine creature with red blazing scales. It would¡¯ve been alright if there was no way to cook the Slaunkal. It was also poisonous but because the poison is in the organs, I could not control it¡­ yet. Then Entropy came along while I was arguing with Arc that there was no way that I could eat it. He wrote a strange rune in the air, it was circular in shape with lots of rounded shapes inside, and then it attached itself into the Slaunkal. The scales turned crystal clear and Entropy assured me that it was no longer poisonous. I refused to believe him as I knew that there was no way this could be done to a Slaunkal. He shrugged his rocky shoulders and said, ¡°There is a way, you just need to remember.¡± He proceeded to cook the Slaunkal in front of me in a simple way by cutting it into pieces and laying it on a rough stove that was a rock on top of the flame. After handing it to me, I reluctantly ate it and boy was it delicious and life changing. The Slaunkal had no spices or seasonings but the juices inside of it made it even more delicious than the food my mother made. I remember that at that time I asked myself, ¡°My mother didn¡¯t make any food. She was too busy, so why did I compare this to what my mother made?¡± Try as I might but I never could remember and it hurt my head whenever I thought about it too long. Arc and I would also talk about anything and everything. I told him about my clan and our history and he told me about what he and Entropy had been doing here. Him and Entropy have been here for a millenia already and all they¡¯ve been doing is maintaining the city as much as they can and doing the exercises that I mentioned. Sometimes monsters would come in but I could easily take care of them. Well¡­ more like Entropy forces me to by teleporting me. The first time it happened I was unprepared as he just sent me off with a random, ¡°Good luck.¡± Then suddenly, I was surrounded by a pack of Woldrans. This would be alright but I was sitting on top of the Alpha Woldrans. After the initial shock, the Alpha growled and knocked me off him. I heard another growl and then I heard several sounds around me. Immediately I had to think of something and my brain remembered a spell. I casted it and I felt myself flying through the air. It was so amazing but then I hit my head on the ceiling. I grabbed a nearby stalactite and breathed out a sigh in relief. I had no idea how I was able to cast that spell, ¡°Soar¡± but I was certainly glad I did. I was more interested in how I was to survive than I was to worry about what I was doing. The Woldrans under me were growling and snarling at me. Some even tried to climb the walls or jump to get me. I hadn¡¯t had much practice with controlling blood so I used them for target practice. There was a total of ten of them, a small pack including the Alpha. They were all moving so I could not easily control the blood so I could only control the blood of one of them at a time but I couldn¡¯t think of how to deal with the others. If only there was a way to trap them, I thought and then I suddenly thought of a spell, ¡°Shadowlock¡±. I casted it and the wolves seemed to stop moving. Not knowing how long the spell would last, I controlled the blood flow of the Alpha starting from a speck and proceeding from there. Although the wolves stopped moving, I could feel that they were resisting the spell as the Alpha was straining really hard to stop me from controlling its blood. Within seconds, I had control over the Alpha¡¯s blood and forced it to stop flowing. The Alpha died in no time but the other Woldrans were finally free. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Seeing that their Alpha died the rest of the Woldrans snarled more. One of the Woldrans started gathering lightning in its mouth. Crap, I thought. I then started to control the blood on the Woldrans with the lightning but then the rest of the Woldrans also started gathering lightning. This isn¡¯t good, I thought. Suddenly, the earth started moving and created spikes running through most of the Woldrans. ¡°What are you doing to my big brother!¡± shouted Arc. He had just come back from his hunt outside. He had ten Dragans that he was dragging behind him. Most of the Woldrans died from the spikes but the rest, two of them, were only seriously injured. With their injuries, I could control their blood a lot easier so the two bled to death. ¡°Cool!¡± said Arc as I got down from my stalactite, ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± ¡°I am a Lunos, our power is to control blood,¡± I said as matter of factly. ¡°Really?¡± he asked as for some reason his eyes started to glaze over, ¡°To what extent?¡± A bit confused, I said, ¡°Well, I start from a speck of blood until I can have control over all the blood. Once I have complete control, I can then instantly kill the target.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see,¡± he said and nodded as his eyes looked to be shining every so often, ¡°Is that all it can do?¡± ¡°No, I can control lifeblood as well. Because I am a pureblood, I can control anything that lives so long as I know what keeps them alive. Like for trees and plants, I can control sap as well but not as easily as blood. I also have the ability Blood Feed, it allows me to learn everything about a creature so long as there is enough of its blood and it¡¯s still fresh. I may also only learn a portion of what it knows and can do but the chance is slim.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± he said, his eyes had random characters going through them now. ¡°Are you ok Arc?¡± I asked concerned. ¡°Yes, could you show me how Blood Feed works please,¡± he said gesturing to the corpses. I obliged and started Blood Feed on one of the Dragans. The blood flowed out of its mouth and I condensed it all into a seed. Before I could put it in my mouth, Arc walked briskly over and took it. He started staring at the seed and before I could even say anything, he swallowed it. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± I asked him. He didn¡¯t answer. His eyes were blank now and I waved my hands in front of him trying to get a reaction out of him. Suddenly, his eyes shined bright and I was blindedly pushed back. I rubbed my eyes and he said, ¡°Dragans, of the ursine species. Capable of creating sharp winds dangerous to those without any protection from wind magic. Fur is as strong as mythril and claws as strong as adamantine. Physical components are made of a combination of Carbon and Flourine.¡± Then he looked at me and said, ¡°So this is the power of Blood Feed. It is just a tad weaker than the power of the Codexes.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked, ¡°What¡¯s this about Carbon and Codexes?¡± And then instantly I learned all about the elements and the Codexes of Magic, Elves, Humans, all of them. It was amazing to say the least that there could be these books scattered all over the world filled with everything that could be known. He smirked and said, ¡°You should know now.¡± ¡°Arc, what¡¯s going on with me?¡± ¡°Forced Recollection, it¡¯s a spell that came along with the information that Grandpa gave you. It only lasts for a year so, until then, you should make use of it. Once the year is up, you will never remember anything else and the only things that you can are the ones you had before and the ones you recollect now.¡± I nodded and asked, ¡°So what was that earlier, you know when you ate the Blood Seed.¡± ¡°Oh that, that was me scanning the ability. I may not look it but I want to know everything so when something I don¡¯t know is in front of me I like to know about it.¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you have this Forced Recollection thingy too?¡± ¡°Yeah but it only works when you really need the information, so most of the things I know are about magic, runes, architecture, and caves,¡± he said shrugging, ¡°you should use blood feed on the rest, you never know what you might get.¡± I nodded and did that. In the end I only got Wind Blade from the corpses. ¡°Are these abilities the same as magic?¡± I asked Arc as we headed back. ¡°No, these abilities are similar to your own Blood Feed. They are innate abilities that the creatures can only use. Magic works by gathering mana to yourself and converting it to the right type for the spell to work,¡± Arc explained. ¡°But when I used magic back there, I didn¡¯t use any of that. I didn¡¯t feel any conversion or mana gathering in me. And what¡¯s mana?¡± He looked at me incredulously and said, ¡°Mana is what everything in this world is made of. Though living creatures still also require some element. Without mana the elements would not even exist. The fact that you used magic without gathering mana is something my grandpa might know about.¡± Chapter 7 - Runes Hey guys! Sorry Valentines plans... Here you go! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We walked back to Entropy and told him about what happened. ¡°Let me see,¡± he said as he went towards me. He laid his large stony hand on my head and let it sit there for some time. ¡°Interesting,¡± he said after some time and he let his hand go away. ¡°What¡¯s interesting?¡± I asked. He tapped his chin for a bit before saying, ¡°You have a power that bypasses the gathering and conversion of mana. You would make an excellent mage if your body did not reject it.¡± ¡°Reject? But I don¡¯t feel any pain.¡± ¡°For now,¡± he said ominously, ¡°your body is capable of doing magic, as all demons are. But each demon has a limit. I¡¯d wager that you can only learn three more spells of different elements. double that if you use Dynamic magic. But even then, I might be wrong. Learn spells with my presence so that I can monitor your condition.¡± I nodded and asked, ¡°What¡¯s Dynamic magic?¡± ¡°Dynamic magic is a combination of different elements,¡± said Arc. ¡°It¡¯s similar to that Shadowlock earlier. That was a combination of Dark and Wind.¡± ¡°Arc is right, you are capable of learning more magic of the Dark and Wind systems,¡± said Entropy. We spent the next few hours deciding which magic I should learn. Since I already knew ¡°Soar¡±, a pseudo flying spell as it just let me go forward into the air for a bit and then it would slowly glide me down, I was taught ¡°Dark Wings¡±. ¡°Dark Wings¡± was a spell that did not allow flight but allowed to float. Coupled with ¡°Soar¡± I would be able to fly as if I had used the ¡°Flight¡± spell. In addition to this combination, ¡°Dark Wings¡± also increased my power by a factor according to the number of wings. The spell was a little bit different the more it is mastered. In the beginning there are only two wings but at mastery there will be ten. Being as strong as it is, it also has a drawback. It causes the user to not be able to use any other magic once ¡°Dark Wings¡± is used. Because of this reason, most mages do not attempt to master this spell, only mage knights do but even then it is a small fraction. Another spell I learned was ¡°Descending Shadow¡±. This was a strange spell in that it could ultimately be used at all times. After using, my body would gain in strength slowly until my body could no longer be improved. I would then have to use it again and my body will gain in strength again. This was a common spell for users of dark magic as it made them stronger without any effort. The drawback was that at mastery, the user would develop demonic traits. As such humans stop before the last usage to prevent being confused as a demon. Demons that learn this spell are unaffected by the mastery effect. The last spell I learned was ¡°Reflection¡±. This was a spell that would hide my ¡°Dark Wings¡±. It worked on the principle of bending light around an object to hide it from sight. At least that¡¯s what Entropy said. They both say the strangest things but for some reason I can understand what they¡¯re saying. We spent the next few months doing the same thing over and over. I learned the culture of all the races as well as the proper etiquette. I also learned Arithmetic, Science and Anatomy. The information was in my head but it was still good to practice it. My Forced Recollection was just about over and the last thing I was taught about was Runes. Runes were interesting things that worked similarly to spells but had to be first written down. Most runes were lost in one of the wars of the past known as the War of the Lions. There are only a few runes to be studied and the rest are derived or discovered again. All in all, it''s an unpopular subject for mages to study. But with Entropy, I learned them all. It had no effect on me as a demon as the mana was not gathered by me but by the rune. The lines generate an absorption quality once they are all connected. Then it would convert the mana into what the rune was written for and then execute the command of the rune. It was similar to coding in Earth. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Earth, I thought, I feel like I know that place. But isn¡¯t Earth just an element, how can it be a place? I dismissed the thought and continued listening to Entropy. One of the runes I learned was the Rune of Blood. I have it on my clothes now and it makes my control over blood not deteriorate and even further enhances it. My control can still be resisted though so I can¡¯t exactly use it for battle. Whenever we try to control blood, we can¡¯t move as we are using everything to concentrate on the control. I can move slightly but even then it is problematic. ¡°You have done well,¡± said Entropy one day before starting our usual lessons. It was just days before I no longer had Forced Recollection and Arc and I were talking about things. ¡°Before you lose Forced Recollection, there is only one thing left to teach you,¡± he said as he tossed me a large blade. Its width was a foot long, the height five feet. Its edges were dull and it seemed to be made for blunt force rather than slashing. I grabbed it and it shrunk in front of my eyes. It become about a half foot wide, and the height three feet. It was the perfect size for my five foot eight inch height. The blade still remained dull and blunt while the grip fit my hand just perfectly. ¡°Defend yourself!¡± shouted Entropy as a flying ball of fire flew towards me. I reflexively blocked with the sword and immediately the ball of fire was absorbed by the blade. I was stunned at what happened and lowered my sword, much to my dismay as more fireballs came towards me. I suddenly knew that I couldn¡¯t block this wave and dived forward into a roll. As I got up, I was about to be surrounded by more fireballs, eight in total. I swung the blade around and each time it passed by a fireball, the blade seemed to absorb it. ¡°Good, you are understanding the blade well. That is a Runeblade, a sword that absorbs mana and uses it to power its own runes. But be warned, it can only store so much mana before it stops doing so.¡± I absorbed another fireball and as I looked up there was a giant ten foot wide fireball headed straight towards me. ¡°Your Runeblade can no longer absorb mana. What will you do?¡± I had merely seconds to figure out how to escape. Flying wouldn¡¯t work as I would still be caught in the blast and be flung away. I couldn¡¯t block with the blade as it wasn¡¯t wide enough. Then a sudden flash of inspiration came over me and I stabbed the blade onto the ground. I wrote on the flat edge facing me a rune. As most runes, it started off with a circle. Then I drew an upside down triangle inside. At the sections, separated by the triangle, I drew swirls swirling inwards, all three heading in the same direction. Within the triangle, I drew a diamond using the bottom vertex of the triangle as another point for the diamond. At the center of the diamond I drew lines heading to the vertices of the triangle. In the end, I pressed my whole palm on the rune to engrave it. I had only one second left after engraving and used the rune that I had just finished writing, the rune of raging winds, ¡°Tornadus¡±. With the center of the fireball as the center, the fireball was ripped apart by the winds, scattering the fragments everywhere. Among the runes I learned, this was one of the most powerful and hardest to use. It required a huge amount of mana that would normally take ten day¡¯s worth of absorbing when written anywhere else. The fact that I was able to use the rune after absorbing mana from nine fireballs. ¡°Well done, although don¡¯t expect to be using that rune quite so soon. My fireballs were stronger than usual fireballs. It is equivalent to a level 9¡¯s fireball at full power, although mine was only at 10% of my own power.¡± ¡°Now then, Arc. Would you care to enlighten Gale here on how to properly use a sword?¡± Untold Legends- Fleeting These are the short story series. These just bring a more thorough understanding of the world. I am definitely up for suggestions for these series though. I will be using this to either clarify, tell a story from the past, or introduce new things. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllpppppp!¡± ¡°Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!¡± ¡°Stoooooooooooooooooooopppppppppppp! Pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssseeeeeee!¡± The shouts. I hear them every night! The screams! The beggings! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! I¡¯m sorry! It¡¯s my fault! I¡¯m sorry! I hear them, my clan dying and crying in pain! Agony, despair, hopelessness! I couldn¡¯t do anything! Why! Why am I alive! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE LEFT! I ask the questions but they¡¯re never answered. All I hear is the sound of my people dying, butchered, tortured, raped. Over and over and over and over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Arc POV) ¡°He¡¯s doing it again,¡± I told grandpa. He sighed, ¡°That pain will forever mark him. Though he is mentally older for his age, he still is a child. Go, and do the same as before.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I nodded and went to Gale. He was squirming in the bed that we had made. He and I went everywhere looking for things that could be used to make a bed. This was one of the first things we did when he was given the gift. We found some tattered sheets from the city and I restored them. We got wood from the forest outside and we gathered leaves and put them inside of the sheets to make a bedding and some pillows. It was new for me to try and do but it made sleeping easier for a fleshy like him. That same night; we found out. He would have nightmares that he would forget the next day. Almost as if he was trying to forget the experience but his will won¡¯t let him so he dreams about it every night. This went on for a time until my grandpa gave me a potion. Just a drop from this and the person won¡¯t have nightmares for the night. It was the only thing we could do, other than making him realize the truth of the matter and my grandpa did not think it was a good idea just yet. The potion also works as a stimulant, making the imbiber aware. It brings to mind dreams and makes the imbiber remember things better. But its effects are random, it might make the imbiber aware slowly, making the connection a soft blow. Other times, the imbiber is aware all at once, making them go crazy at the thought depending on how disastrous the dream was. It¡¯s a double-edged sword but it would help, I thought as I dripped a single drop on his lips. Chapter 8 - Entropy Just a slight warning, this one is a bit gory and descriptive in that it involves corpses and sexual acts. (Really trying not to give anything away...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was easy learning while fighting Arc. He would manifest swords and teach me basic movements like parrying. Then he would teach me the sword style of Aliad, Altuhazan Blade Dancing. It was apparently a lost art of sword fighting that was eradicated because of Entropy. Now it is to be reintroduced by me. The sword style involved lots of spinning and parrying while using the most minimal of movements. It involved more of using the opponent¡¯s force than it was to kill your opponent quickly. Because of Forced Recollection, I knew the movements; now all I had to do was get my body used to it. There was only five moves in the style but they were all powerful. We ran towards each other, him starting it off with a lunge. I swung my blade from below his, causing him to lose balance as I then stabbed towards him. He stepped back and let go of his sword. He dropped down quickly and came back up with his sword in his hands aimed for my chin. I backed off and started to use the first move, Three Winds. I spun around and turned my blade parallel to the ground. As I turned to face him again, my speed picked up and my sword started to glow a green hue. He avoided the first slash. My speed picked up as I went for another slash, this time from the bottom. My sword to take on a jade color as I almost hit him. I then spun for the last time and this time, my sword took on an emerald color. I was now in the middle of a small typhoon as the power of my slash would be strengthened by these winds. I spun three times to catch up to him as he had started running after the second slash. This just made my power be stronger as when I got to him, I jumped up and slashed downwards. He was able to dodge the slash but he was unable to avoid the winds that came after. I felt the rush of wind explode all around me, I was unaffected but Arc was blown ten feet back. He dug his feet on the ground to be prevented from being pushed further. ¡°Awesome!¡± shouted Arc, ¡°now take this!¡± He ran towards me and jumped forward. He twisted his body in the air and slashed downwards. I backed up but then he went forward again with his sword slashing upwards. I sidestepped as quick as I could then his blade came towards me again. I parried his blade and made it slide downwards as I jumped up above him so that I could stab down to his head. He dropped to his knees and spun around as his sword came slashing towards me. I was unable to block this so I was slashed back with a wound stretching across my stomach. Blood started dripping down and I felt awful and retched right there. Pleas resounded in my head as I started seeing my home in front of my eyes. It should¡¯ve been a nice vision but I saw fire and ruined houses, corpses strewn across the ground and blood all over. I retched again as my vision reddened and I felt anger. I got down on the ground and held my head with one hand as I screamed in pain. ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± I shouted as I kept on seeing more. The trees were burning, the moon a bright red as if it was mocking me. Armored men with laughing faces and wretched smiles as they killed people, my people. ¡°Stop it!¡± I shouted as my voice got deeper and deeper. Arc was saying something but I couldn¡¯t hear him. I heard the cries of my people and the jeers and laughter of those men. I saw my father and mother killed in front of me. Blood was dripping down their mangled bodies. My mother was still breathing when those men raped her. In front of me! I cried out and felt that I needed to do something, but something was stopping me. They raped her, the gentle though strict mother of mine. Then they stabbed her. I heard her screaming throughout all of this. Why, why is this happening! ¡°It¡¯s your fault,¡± said a voice as sweet as honey. ¡°It¡¯s your fault. You left, you broke the rules. It¡¯s your fault.¡± My fault, it¡¯s my fault. I did this. ¡°Yes it is. It¡¯s all because of you. Look aren¡¯t those your friends. Look at them slaughtered like lambs.¡± Stop this. Stop this please. ¡°I can stop this.¡± Anything, please. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Let your rage consume you. Let me help.¡± Okay. Then I felt myself floating in softness as everything disappeared. I was floating in a blue space. There was only a few figures around me. One was human, it looked to be tired and haggard as if it didn¡¯t have anything left. I felt drawn to this human so I moved closer to it. But something stopped me, there was this invisible force that was stopping me from going there. I then turned around and saw another human. It looked the same as the first but this one had bat wings behind it and blood was circling around. That¡¯s me, I thought. I turned my head to the right and saw another one. This human had chains all around it so I couldn¡¯t tell what it was. But it looked like a part of the chains were broken and a large demonic wing was jutting out behind it. I turned my head to the left and I saw one more. This one was not in chains but it was concentrating hard. The figure was surrounded by the elements. A mass of earth, water, wind and fire flew all around him. ¡°Do not worry, young one,¡± it said in the most beautiful voice I¡¯ve ever heard. ¡°It was not your fault. Blame no one but those knights. Do not listen to him. He will do everything in his power to leave his bindings. I can only help for so long, you must awaken your human side.¡± Who are you? ¡°I am your ancestor as are all of us here.¡± ¡°Do not do that,¡± said the vampire, ¡°I am the only one you need.¡± ¡°No! He must first awaken his human side.¡± ¡°Bah! What is the use for those weaklings. They are merely prey.¡± ¡°He must or else your blood will stop.¡± The vampire didn¡¯t speak. ¡°There is something strange about this boy. He holds the blood and soul of four races. Except for the fact that each one is very opposed to each other. There must be a reason.¡± ¡°You and your people believe that everything has a reason. Sometimes things happen, for example rape.¡± ¡°Things aren¡¯t always as they seem. Especially in this case. Young one, awaken your human side. It holds power greater than ours. As the gentler of the four, it would behoove you to start with it. We will tell you all about your past when you at least accomplish this. Now go, your friend needs you.¡± A bright flash of light blocked my vision as everything around me disappeared. After opening my eyes, I was panting hard while barely being able to stand. I looked up and the city was in complete ruins. Everything was rubble all around and when I looked closely in front of me I saw Entropy laying on the ground. His head was the only thing intact. ¡°Entropy!¡± I shouted and ran as fast as I could towards him. I stumbled and fell to the ground and I looked up. ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± he said in a tired and relieved tone. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°You happened,¡± said a voice beside me. It was Arc. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It''s alright Arc, I have done everything that I was made to do. Gale, you have a power inside of you. This power is dangerous and must be controlled. There is a way to control it but I daresay that only Arc can help you with it.¡± His voice was slowly but surely lowering in tone. ¡°Entropy?¡± ¡°I am weak, it is now my time. Whatever happened in the past is not your fault. Remember for it may help you control this power.¡± ¡°Past? Wh-what are you saying Entropy?!¡± I asked slightly scared of what¡¯s happening. ¡°Remember Gale Lunos. The once proud clan of Lunos.¡± I slowly started to remember and a burning rage began to fill me. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± said Arc beside me, ¡°I will help you but only if you remember that you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. There was nothing you could do, but now there is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your fault!¡± said the voice. ¡°Gale, avenge your family. Avenge my masters, avenge the rulers of Aliad,¡± said Entropy as the glow in his eyes disappeared. I cried. I remembered. I had forgotten, no, I forced myself to forget. The pain and regret of everything. I didn¡¯t want to feel it. I didn¡¯t want it to be real. But I had to accept it! Or else, they would¡¯ve died for nothing. I had to. I have to kill them, I have to avenge my family! Chapter 9 - To Klein, the Human Lands Finally on with the story! Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arc and I created a grave for Entropy. All we did was seal him to the mausoleum underneath the castle. Arc did most of the heavy work and I just did what I could to help. In the end, Arc and I said our goodbyes to Entropy as it was now time for me to do something about my family. This was just a small detour but I¡¯m glad that I took it. ¡°Alright, first things first,¡± said Arc as he lit up in a white light and got smaller and smaller and then moved to my neck. When the light disappeared he turned into a necklace with his face as the centerpiece. ¡°This way, it won¡¯t look so strange,¡± said Arc¡¯s voice in my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could do that,¡± I said surprised. ¡°You ain¡¯t seen nothing yet. Anyway do you have a plan?¡± I nodded, ¡°We go back to the Demon continent and find them there.¡± ¡°How are we going to find them?¡± I was stumped and said, ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out.¡± ¡°Not much from an avenger,¡± said Arc with a slight sigh, ¡°Let¡¯s do it my way. We go to the Human lands first. And wait! Wait for me to finish.¡± I was just about to interrupt because going to the Human lands would just take more time. ¡°Demons live long and I doubt they would be so weak after all, they did completely annihilate your people. Anyway, we have little to no information on the group that killed your people. Going to the Demon lands is tantamount to suicide. If we go to the Human lands we have a much better time of surviving and getting information. And besides, Humans and Demons don¡¯t get along at all.¡± ¡°Once we get to the Human lands, we will have to join a group known as the Hunter¡¯s Guild. They¡¯re a prestigious group from what I¡¯ve learned and should make things easier for us.¡± ¡°Hunter¡¯s Guild?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s a collection of humans united on different goals and beliefs but work to the betterment of humanity as a whole. It¡¯s a lot better than the army where you would have no freedom but it does have safety issues which we should be more than capable of doing.¡± I nodded, ¡°If this group can help me in my revenge then there¡¯s no reason not to.¡± ¡°We¡¯re also going to have to hide your blood powers. Humans do not have that capability and may see you as a monster to be killed so we¡¯ll have to rely on your runes, magic and swordplay. To that end, we¡¯re going to use the monsters on our way to the Human lands as practice. We¡¯ll also use Blood Feed as often as we can to improve your ways of fighting.¡± I agreed with Arc and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s not take any longer and go.¡± To get to Klein, the land of humans, we had to skirt our way back to the Demon lands. There was a way to get to the Human lands without making them automatically attacking us. The borders of the Humans and Dwarves next to the Forest of Darkness were apparently manned by their forces which would kill anything coming from outside their borders. There was no way of going through this other than through the Gorge of Fear which was a small gorge between the Dwarven and Demon lands. It was still protected here but the chances of surviving were higher as the area is considered a training area by the Humans and Dwarves. They believe that by surviving in this gorge would one be able to combat demons and not be afraid. That being said, cowards, those who seek to be strong, and prisoners are sent to this gorge. I knew all of this thanks to Arc. Forced Recollection had stopped about a day before we left. It took us a little more than a week to get to the gorge entrance. It sloped down at a very steep angle with dark wisps everywhere. The rocks were an evil shade of blue and green and the lower one got, the darker and more soul sucking it seemed to get. ¡°The Gorge of Fear,¡± said Arc, ¡°there are no monsters here with blood. They¡¯re mostly ghosts and spirits so we¡¯ll have to rely on your ¡°Twilight¡± spell.¡± We met a unicorn in the Forest of Darkness. It was so beautiful and ancient. It was standing there eating at the grass, uncaring about us. It made me remember all of the good things that had happened, the fun times with Arc, learning from Entropy, my family. And then there I felt rage. I remembered my vengeance, my reason to live, my anger, my pain. This creature made me forget it. Made me forget who I am. Perhaps because it noticed my reaction that it stopped eating and looked at my direction. When it saw me, it got frightened and was just about to flee when I rapidly took control of the blood on its legs. It stumbled on the ground and furiously struggled. My control was spreading as fast as I could. It twisted its head towards me and a ray of light came straight at me. It stung and pained me. I was bleeding all over but I didn¡¯t care. My family suffered far worse wounds. The light dissipated as I took complete control over its blood and stopped it from moving. The unicorn died in just a few short seconds and then I immediately used Blood Feed. Maybe because of my emotions but the spells I got were different, changed. I also got two instead of one, an extremely rare chance. The spells I got was ¡°Dark Remedy¡± and ¡°Twilight¡±. ¡°Dark Remedy¡± would produce a stream of dark black light that had healing properties but at the same time, it would drain the vitality of everything near me. ¡°Twilight¡± would do what the unicorn did as well but it would release a stream of dark black light instead. It would also heal me as it seems to sap the life out of its targets. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°These spells are peculiar, they seem to have combined Chaos and Holy magic and created an entirely new affinity¡­ interesting¡­¡± muttered Arc as he observed the spells. When I asked him about it he would say, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you¡¯ll learn in the Human lands.¡± I was a bit irritated at that but if he thinks it¡¯ll be better to know later, then I should trust him. I descended the gorge slowly making sure that I didn¡¯t fall. Quite honestly, despite the fact that there are random screams here and there this place would be quite beautiful. Screams?! I turned my head to where I first heard the scream and found some figures running towards me on the bottom of the gorge. They seemed to be chased by a dark robed figure. ¡°A Spectre,¡± said Arc, ¡°those humans must¡¯ve found it.¡± ¡°Humans? They look similar to my people.¡± ¡°Well of course, Demons are actually just humans with only one magic to be specialized in. With the passing of generations, these humans became attuned to that magic and it changed their very forms. I actually find it hard to believe that your family can really only control...¡± I wasn¡¯t able to hear anything towards the end as the screaming was much louder this time. ¡°I¡¯m going to save them,¡± I said as I threw caution to the wind and started jumping down. (Humans POV) Gasping for breath, I ran. We ran. We had to be sent here as punishment. God, why were we so stupid! I¡¯m sure Elias is laughing at us right now. That damned bastard acting like he owns everything. We weren¡¯t even supposed to have met the spectre. It just followed us after we passed by some rocks and this orb that Elias gave us for ¡°protection¡±. That god damned prince! I bet he knew that this orb would attract these monsters. And he had the nerve to say that we had to come back with this orb or else we would get into even more trouble. I swear upon my name as Asher von Claude, I will make sure that ¡°his Highness¡± Elias gets what he deserves. I looked up and saw light. We were finally going to get away. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± said a dark gloomy voice, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you escape!¡± Suddenly, we started slowing down. I felt a huge weight on my shoulders as I got on my knees. I looked back and that spectre was laughing. ¡°Now, give me that orb!¡± said the spectre as it lunged straight towards me. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said a light but commanding voice. The spectre was surrounded by a dark brilliant light and it screamed as it disintegrated. ¡°You¡¯re safe now,¡± said the voice in front of me and I looked up. It was a boy of no more than five years of age. He had silver hair and the most flawless clothes even better than the royal family¡¯s. He had red eyes that perfectly matched his dark clothing. ¡°My name is Gale, Gale Lunos,¡± said the boy. Chapter 10 - The Gorge of Fear Hello everyone, sorry about not updating. I had papers to write for class and a ton of homework and exams to do before Spring Break. My school work will be lighter from here on out so I should be able to update on time. Anyways I''m trying out writing in third person, comment if it works or if first person was better. Also Triple Release because of how much I missed! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (3rd person) A heady heavy fog lingered in the ashes of the spectre. From where the fog started, there were four people. two males and two females. One of the males was on the ground. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Gale asked, reaching his hands out to the man that was lunged by the spectre. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said the man as he stood up on his own, ¡°anyway what are you doing here kid? This place is for criminals you know.¡± ¡°Does that mean you are criminals as well?¡± Gale asked, dodging the question. He scratched his cheek and said, ¡°Fair enough, my name is Asher von Claude. And no I¡¯m not a criminal just got on the bad side of the prince.¡± The man was robust and tall. You could see the leather armor he was wearing contour to his muscles. A wide sword was hitched to his back along with a silvery shield. A black orb was held in his hands but he immediately put it away inside one of his pouches on his waist. ¡°Thank you for your aid,¡± said one of the females. She was wearing the same type of leather armor that Asher wore only this time it accentuated her feminine figure. She would charm many a man if not for the fact that she exuded this cold aloofness. Her stance was that of a seasoned warrior and she carried the same armaments as Asher only much more suited for her size. ¡°My name is Ophelia Yuna. Thank you for saving us, child,¡± she continued. ¡°Yes thank you,¡± said the other woman. She had voluptuous breasts and an hourglass figure. Her armor was barely covering anything and could be argued if it was even armor at all. She held no weapon but her gloves had some sort of crystal embedded onto them. ¡°Now if you could just help us find the altar that would be great,¡± continued the woman as she posed seductively. Ophelia looked aghast and Asher looked like he was looking at a particular spot until he came to his senses and introduced this woman saying, ¡°This lovely lady is Ellen Krass. She is a most powerful mage with us. And as she says, we would appreciate any help from you.¡± Gale was stunned at the sight, not really knowing what to do when a woman does these kinds of things but upon hearing Asher again he recovered his wits, ¡°I see no reason why not.¡± The four then became a group to find this altar that they were looking for. As they were searching for a place to rest Asher explained why they were looking for the altar. ¡°The altar is the only way for us to get out of here. They throw criminals into this gorge and tell them to find an altar that would take them back up.¡± ¡°It should¡¯ve been very easy but this guy just happened to make the prince angry,¡± said Ellen. Asher scratched his face in embarrassment and continued explaining, ¡°The job is easier to do with a group as the monsters here generally avoid groups but because of this orb they seem to come by even more often.¡± ¡°Then why not get rid of it?¡± asked Gale. He shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t. The prince ordered that I return it to him after I return.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired!¡± complained Ellen, ¡°Asher carry me!¡± Asher complied and even though it looked to be cumbersome he had this expression of bliss. It took them a few hours to find a suitable cave. This was hidden between two high walls such that it would be difficult to notice unless you knew what you were looking for. The ceiling was fifteen feet high with green and blue mold scattered throughout the walls. Several stalactites hung above. Stolen novel; please report. Asher dropped Ellen down and proceeded to get firewood. Gale was also about to go find firewood but Asher stopped him and Ophelia went instead. Gale and Ellen were then left at the cave. ¡°Hey kid,¡± said Ellen. Gale looked up at Ellen. She was laying in a way that all her curves could be seen. ¡°You¡¯re a mage right?¡± Gale nodded and before he could say anything, ¡°That¡¯s great! Make it cooler in here, it¡¯s too hot!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it?¡± said Ellen with a smirk, ¡°Maybe you should think twice about being a mage. You obviously can¡¯t be one if you can¡¯t even make it cooler in here.¡± Gale was about to say something when Asher and Ophelia came back. They began setting up a fire and prepared food for everyone to eat. Gale was inconspicuously moving further into the cave and when the others noticed he said that he was just going to explore. Ellen rolled her eyes while Ophelia said that she would go with Gale and Asher would stay to make food. The inside of the cave was wide enough for their party of four to go through unimpeded. And with a light search they were able to tell that the cave continued on farther and farther. They didn¡¯t need to use a torch as there were some mushrooms glowing along the walls that lit their path. After finding a path that led downwards they started heading back to the fire. ¡°What are you here for?¡± asked Ophelia. ¡°Stealing,¡± lied Gale remembering the reason of his actions, ¡°you?¡± ¡°My parents are rebels. The kingdom sent me here as an example to my parents.¡± ¡°Is there a problem with the current monarch?¡± ¡°Problem?! How can you! A citizen of the empire not even know what¡¯s going on?!¡± Gale shrugged his shoulders. Ophelia sighed and said, ¡°Well, you are just a kid. The current king, Aer Claudius Remas, is a tyrant. He has seized control over the aristocracy and they are literally under his watch. He would get rid of the nobles if not for the fact that the country would not function without us. Almost all the nobles have to follow what he says even if it means sacrificing the land, people and cities. Why, just before I got sent here, he enslaved an entire city simply because he needed more workers for his temple. The city is gone now, attacked by its own military. We are doing all that we can to stop him but even then it doesn¡¯t work. That¡¯s why some nobles are becoming a part of the resistance.¡± ¡°It seems that the humans have an internal war going on. Good thing the demons haven¡¯t found out yet,¡± said Arc to Gale with telepathy. ¡°What about the guilds?¡± asked Gale. ¡°The guilds?¡± Ophelia frowned and said, ¡°they too are part of the resistance but because they are considered a foreign entity they are unable to do much. Plus citizens of king Aer are forbidden from joining the guilds when he came into power.¡± ¡°And the prince?¡± asked Gale thinking of Asher. ¡°I think that is a prince of another country. There are four major countries and I think Asher comes from the neighboring country, the kingdom of Casidius. By the way, Ellen and I come from the Remas kingdom. I¡¯ve heard the prince of Casidius is named Elias but I can¡¯t remember.¡± As they got closer to where they left Asher and Ellen, they heard some soft sounds. The two started taking cautious steps and when they turned the corner, they saw a most captivating scene involving clothes strewn across the cave floor. Chapter 11 - Reaper The next day, Asher looked rejuvenated laying next to Ellen. ¡°Morning,¡± said Gale knowing that Asher had got up. ¡°When did you guys get back?¡± asked Asher not remembering them coming. ¡°During business,¡± said Ophelia as she prepared everyone breakfast. It was a simple meal of Woldre meat. Asher blushed a little and noticed that he had clothes strewn on top of him. He quickly changed and gently woke Ellen up. She punched him and said, ¡°I needed my beauty sleep. Don¡¯t wake me up until it¡¯s time to eat.¡± They waited and talked about Gale and Ophelia¡¯s findings and ate the meat that was cooked on top of the rock placed on the fire. Of course, Ellen was woken up, she was pleased with the food but you could tell that she was annoyed at being woken up. When they finished eating, Asher readied his torch and Gale moved into the cave. Not noticing Gale¡¯s actions, he lit the torch and illuminated the surroundings. Gale was within the light but instead of the pain that he was expecting, he instead felt warmth. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± said Asher as he led the way into the cave. Gale followed but was still perplexed at the fact that the light didn¡¯t harm him. ¡°It¡¯s your mother,¡± said Arc, ¡°I remember that you told me that your mother was raped. There are beings in this world that still leave their genetic makeup even if they are not the primary fertilizer. Whatever that being was, its genetic makeup must have done something to you weakness to light and fire.¡± ¡°Genetic makeup?¡± Gale asked thinking that he had heard of it before Arc telling him. ¡°It¡¯s what makes every piece of you. Like how a mountain is made up of many stones and clumps of earth.¡± Gale nodded and knew that he should not be afraid of fire and light anymore. Asher led them down the path and into what seemed to look like a temple. There were strange markings on the carved walls, some of a bird, others of an eye. ¡°Well now what?¡± asked Ellen, ¡°how are we supposed to find the one altar that we need in this temple? It¡¯s got to be filled with altars!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just look around first,¡± said Asher. They continued on and soon came across another spectre. Ellen screamed and said, ¡°Kid, protect me!¡± Asher and Ophelia stepped in and tried to cut the spectre. But they all passed through. The spectre laughed and went for Ellen. Gale casted ¡°Twilight¡± at the spectre and it died after releasing a loud scream. Almost immediately they became surrounded by zombies, almost three times as many as their group. They started fighting as they were surrounded. Asher, Ophelia and Gale were using their swords at the zombies but whenever they cut one down, another just took their spot. Ellen just kept on screaming and not doing anything. Arc also helped as much as he could without being noticed. He would trip a zombie or stun it long enough for anyone to take care of them. It was a grueling battle with no end in sight. They started moving to the right bit by bit but none of them seemed to noticed. Soon enough, one of the zombies was able to get into the middle where Ellen was screaming and was about to bite into Ellen¡¯s neck. ¡°Ellen!¡± shouted Asher as he tried to save her but she just screamed and the crystals on her gloves shined. It was a blinding light that engulfed everything around them. It took Gale quite a bit until he recovered his sense of sight again and when he did he noticed that the zombies were no more. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. All the zombies were dead and Ellen was standing in the middle with a triumphant expression on her face. Their surroundings were no longer covered by those carved walls. Now it looked ominous as if something was waiting for something to happen. The ground on Ellen¡¯s feet started rising but whether it was because she was elated or chose not to notice it, she didn¡¯t feel any sense of foreboding. Asher and Ophelia got their senses back a bit later than Gale but they also noticed that the atmosphere. ¡°Those zombies were nothing. Look I took care of them myself,¡± said Ellen, ¡°I bet I can handle anything that comes to us and all you guys have to do is watch.¡± A shadow appeared behind Ellen and it kept on growing and growing. Asher, Ophelia and Gale readied their swords and Ellen just said, ¡°Oh scared of me now? Hahaha, well serves you right, I mean, I am the most powerful here. You guys did have a tough time with those zombies, are you even fighters.¡± She laughed at the perceived powerlessness of the three while the shadow behind her materialized and said, ¡°So you are the most powerful eh? Then that makes this easy.¡± Ellen turned around with an annoyed look to her face and when she saw the figure she was suddenly overcome with fear. The reason was simple. The shadow behind her was none other than a reaper. It¡¯s sole purpose was to harvest the souls of living creatures, the true enemy of life. It raised its hand and Ellen suddenly shuddered and fell lifelessly as if the strings of a puppet were cut. ¡°One down, three to go,¡± said the reaper as it faced the three, ¡°I would suggest surrendering your souls to me. It is¡­ less painful that way.¡± Asher raised his sword and attacked the reaper. ¡°A pity,¡± said the reaper as it prepared to fight against Asher. Knowing full well that his attacks earlier wouldn¡¯t work. Asher infused mana into his sword and slashed at the reaper. The reaper yelled in pain for the first time in its life. A reaper was supposed to be immune to slashing attacks but because of the infusion of mana, the sword was able to do just that. ¡°You will pay!¡± shouted the reaper as it lunged at Asher. Asher started running away while Ophelia attacked the reaper¡¯s back. It screamed again and knew that it had to fight against two opponents that could injure it now. As it gazed at the two, it forgot about Gale who casted ¡°Twilight¡± at its back and it screamed the loudest it had. The pain from ¡°Twilight¡± was much more than the two gave it and it¡¯s eyes flashed in anger as it rushed to Gale. Asher and Ophelia attacked the reaper as much as they could but the reaper seemed to be ignoring the pain. It made sure to dodge the stream of twilight against it as it didn¡¯t want to feel the pain again. It knew that as soon as it reaped the soul of this boy, it would be able to recover its injuries and take care of the other two. As it neared, the reaper was joyful in that it would be able to get stronger and have a feast of four souls soon. But it wasn¡¯t meant to be. As soon as the reaper was in range, Gale used one of the runes on his runeblade against the reaper, it was the Rune of Raging Winds. ¡°Tornadus,¡± said Gale as his runeblade pointed at the reaper. It split into many tiny different parts as it the winds spread from the center of the reaper, its scream hidden within the sound of rage. Chapter 12 - Lair of Shadow With the death of the reaper, Gale and the others slumped on the ground. Asher looked to the corpse of Ellen and remembered the night before. His thoughts were broken when Ophelia asked, ¡°What was that?¡± Asher was also quite curious as he had never seen that rune before. ¡°It¡¯s a self-created rune,¡± explained Gale. ¡°That¡¯s dangerous, you could¡¯ve been hurt,¡± chided Ophelia. ¡°But it saved our lives,¡± said Gale. Figuring that nothing would come from telling him again, Ophelia stopped. They rested a bit and tried to bury Ellen¡¯s body as much as they could. They also made sure to take her valuables while leaving her clothes on her. Ophelia did this job as she couldn¡¯t trust Asher and wouldn¡¯t let Gale do such a horrid thing. After, they proceeded to carefully explore around them. The walls exuded this dark aura as if it was cursing the very air around it. Soon the path led to a crossroad splitting off into three different ways. ¡°What now?¡± asked Ophelia. ¡°We should split up,¡± said Asher. ¡°I agree,¡± said Gale. ¡°But he¡¯s just a kid!¡± ¡°Who can take care of himself.¡± ¡°Its alright lady Ophelia, I can handle myself just fine.¡± Ophelia grumbled but conceded and said, ¡°Ok but be careful.¡± And so they split. Ophelia going left, Asher going straight and Gale going right. ¡°They were an interesting bunch,¡± said Arc as he turned into a bird and flew in front of Gale. ¡°At least we learned some things,¡± said Gale as he used ¡°Dark Wings¡± and ¡°Reflection¡±. He was unable to do this earlier because of the group. He would usually practice using spells so that he would be able to use them with little to no cost. In case he ran out of mana, Arc would supply him with the needed mana until he had fully recovered. ¡°What did they do to that reaper earlier?¡± asked Gale. ¡°They infused mana into their swords. In this way, they became unenchanted magic swords. They¡¯re useful in a pinch if you don¡¯t have enchanted swords against spirits.¡± ¡°Can I do it as well?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s similar to using rune magic only instead of mana pouring into the rune, the mana is poured into the sword itself.¡± Gale tried it and it worked, the runeblade now had a blue colored edge emanating from it. ¡°That blue edge means that the blade had been infused with mana.¡± ¡°Is there a way to infuse it without causing this blue edge to appear?¡± asked Gale as he found the telltale sign to be a bit too outspoken. ¡°There is,¡± said Arc, ¡°but you need a much larger pool of mana for it. And even though we are increasing it bit by bit, it is still not enough to do such a thing.¡± Arc and Gale would increase Gale¡¯s pool of mana by having him use mana until he ran out. This would increase his mana pool by quite a bit. Currently, Gale has a mana pool comparable to that of a mage trained for thirty years. They continued their exploration of the path until it opened up. From this vantage point, a sprawling castle illuminated by dark blue fire rose above his head. The castle filled this whole opening leaving nearly nothing that wasn¡¯t a part of the castle. It rose along with a stalagmite towards a giant blue crystal. Above this crystal was a stalactite that seemed to be a part of the castle as well. Just by looking at this castle, the large crystal looked as if it was hoisted up in the air by these two rock formations. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. In front of this castle was a group of flying robed figures. Between them floated the Asher and Ophelia. A small group of these figures flew towards where Gale was and with an intent, his clothes matched these figures making him look as one of them. These figures came to Gale and spoke in a strange language. Gale didn¡¯t know how to respond but Arc spoke in the same language. He had hidden himself again as a necklace when Gale changed clothes. The figures seemed satisfied with his answer and flew back towards the castle. ¡°What did you tell them?¡± asked Gale. ¡°That we were just out exploring. It seems that we stumbled across a city of Shadows.¡± ¡°Shadows?¡± ¡°A race of sentient reapers capable of creating their own cities and culture. Reapers generally act upon instinct even though they are capable of thought. But these Shadows are different. They have no form and are nigh immortal. So long as there is a shadow, Shadows will survive.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what they are doing with humans but you can be sure that they aren¡¯t up to any good. As much as they are civilized, they do not interact kindly with the other races. I would wager that they would use their bodies as carriers for other Shadows to attack human settlements. Once they do that, it would be difficult to even get rid of them. But of course, they¡¯ll be safe.¡± Gale sighed knowing that these humans would be safe. He didn¡¯t know them well enough so he could care less about their health. Only that he was a link that he could use to gain connections in the human world that he actually thought about them from time to time. But at knowing that these Shadows might interfere with him he said, ¡°So we should make sure that these Shadows don¡¯t do anything to them then.¡± ¡°Quite, or we could just leave them alone. It matters little if we don¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning.¡± One of the Shadows looked back towards him and looked as if it was waiting. ¡°Oh and they need you to follow him,¡± added Arc. And so Gale followed the Shadows inside the castle. The castle did not have many decorations, only simple hallways and rooms littered the castle. The Shadows Gale was following had Asher and Ophelia between them. They were floating with the backs to the ground and seemed to be dreaming. ¡°It¡¯s an ability of the Shadows to put living creatures to sleep. This makes it easier for them to invade the creature and escape the sun,¡± explained Arc. ¡°Is it possible that the Shadows have already hidden within their shadows?¡± ¡°No, otherwise, they would¡¯ve left them back where they found them. There must be some other reason.¡± Soon they came in front of a tall decorated door. It swung open and in front of them was a spacious throne room with a large Shadow in regal attire sitting at a throne. ¡°Wake them up,¡± said the large Shadow when the group came in front of him. Asher and Ophelia woke up and found themselves surrounded by monsters. They prepared to draw their blades but stopped when they looked at the large Shadow. ¡°I am the Shadow King, what business does your people have in my domain.¡± Im alive. So I know I haven''t been posting a lot but I have had a lot of things going on the past weeks. At the same time I was regretting on dropping any of my old stories. I don''t want to regret things and I seriously want to see those stories finish and share it with everyone. So I''m doing this: I''m going to start all the stories over from the very beginning. The stories will be the same but I just want to put it as a new fiction. There may be some changes but I doubt that. Doing this could make some of you happy while the rest might be grumbling about me not finishing what I started. While the latter is true I ask for your patience. I tend to not finish what I start and I want to change that. Everyday I regret not finishing these stories and I really don''t like to do that. So I''m going to be honest, this will be difficult for me and that''s why I ask for your patience. I also ask that if I''m not doing the things I said I would do that you please tell me. I too want to see how the story ends and sometimes I get sidetracked very easily (blame video games). So I''m giving you all what I intend to do. I may have said Aliad was 7 books long but with the addition of "Legend of Lunos" it has become 10 books long. Codex 1 This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Codex 2 - Dragonflight Codex 3 Codex 4 Codex 5 - Zed''s Tale Codex 6 Codex 7 Codex 8 - Legend of Lunos Codex 9 Codex 10 I intend to write three books at the same time namely Codexes 2, 5, and 8. Each will appear once a month on Wednesday. They will be posted in the order that they are listed so the first chapter would be the new one called Dragonflight. Then the next would be Zed''s Tale and the next is Legend of Lunos. After that is a week''s rest for me to do what I need to do or write chapters. If I fail to do this I ask that you please let me know and I will go back to the routine. It will take some time I know but I just need to get it a habit and then everything will flow. I just hope that I can do this. Codexes 5 and 8 may or may not be the same as it was before. I intend to leave them as is but I may just change the POV or some minor changes. I have posted the same as the above on the other stories and I hope you comment on anything plot holes that you noticed onto the respective Codex and I will try to change them. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please enjoy reading the other books here on royalroad. Aliad - Dragonflight Codex 2 - Dragonflight has been released. The next chapter for this will come in a month''s time. Codex 5 - Zed will come next week on Wednesday. Aliad - Zed Codex 5 Zed is now started. Codex 8 - Lunos will come next Wednesday.