Mane was startled by his master's words. He tried to open his eyes. The formerly weighty eye lids were not as heavy as before, making his task all but difficult. After a few seconds he finally succeeded in opening his beautiful blue eyes. The piercing light that fell upon his pupils prompted him to shut them again. Spending thirteen days in darkness was enough to make his eyes forget what light was. He prepared himself and opened them once more, this time slowly. As his eyes adjusted to the bright room, Mane turned his head to the side of his bed while waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lights, all the while wondering who it was that was waiting for him. When his eyes finally did adapt to its surroundings, they grew misty. This wasn't because of pain or weariness on their part, but because of the emotions of their owner. Looking at the woman who had fallen asleep beside his bed, Mane was filled with so many complex emotions: love, joy, and some small amount of anger. Yet when he
"Speak Old Fin. I am listening." In a large and spacious room that had only a desk and two chairs as its occupants of space, two men stood. None of them bothered to sit, with one of them stroking the books that occupied the only shelf in this vast area. The other stood behind the former, his body straight as a spear and his eyes filled with doting for the man before him. Although the speaker didn't orate his command loudly, although it was as silent as a whisper, it didn't hide the fury within. Fin, Butler Fin, didn't think it was unusual. On the contrary, it would be strange if his master wasn't furious with what had happened upon his return.It just so happens that the night when Mane was ambushed was the night his parents had returned to Zandor. Upon their return the eager parents couldn't wait to see their boy and had been preparing to go to the Academy when they felt his aura. It was dark and cold like the deepest regions of Iracor, a planet filled entirely
"Sir, it seems that a bounty has been placed on the young master by unknown individuals." Butler Fin spoke carefully, intent on staying on his master's good side. But the tone of his voice did indicate that his care wasn't because of fear, but concern for his 'master'. "The bounty wasn't limited to just the Bounty Hunters organisation, but every single organisation there is. Mercenaries, assassins, as long as they can be bought with money, all of them have received this information. And all of them would be coming for the young master." Butler Fin continued. His head remained slightly bowed, his focus on the carpet he stood on. The news he had just fed his master didn't do much in revealing who was behind the covers, but it did draw a picture on the magnitude of threats that were coming their way."My son is a profound realmer at the peak of his level. Any Zandorian who comes for his head would be leaving his- or hers- behind instead." Ray stated nonchalantly. H
Zandor was a tiny planet, yet it had its own shares of secrets. Even with its modest size, some areas remained unexplored and dark forces slowly spread through the land. With the Dark Kingdom drawing most of the Wielder Association's attention, the formerly docile forces had become braver. Yet with their newfound bravery came newfound cautiousness and secrecy. Hence, though they slowly grew more influential than they previously were, they became far more secretive, making their locations and actions hard to pin down. Besides, anytime any of their actions came into light, many assumed that it was the Dark Kingdom's doing, and they had no issues with that. Normally one would be unhappy when another gets credit for their actions, yet these organisations weren't. When you were around before the emergence of the Dark Kingdom, when you were there during the era where the Wielders Association kept a short leash on them, you will understand why they were unwilling to stand out. At least, no
Inside the main house, the master felt his hand holding his teacup shake. They trembled as though they had been subjected to extreme cold and the nerves could hold out no longer. He felt his entire being shiver, his entire body seemingly doused in a pond of chilling cold water."What is happening?" he wondered, as he observed his trembling hands up close. Hardly had he posed the question to his brain when he received the answer.*BOOM*A loud bang from outside shook the entire residence. The master rushed to the window to find out what was going on. He watched in horror as a man emerged from the 'big bang'. His horror was from his knowledge. Knowledge that the barrier around the house couldn't even be broken through by tens of peak mortal realm experts. He had heard legends. Legends that spoke of beings with power beyond Zandor. These beings could supposedly turn the world upside down if they wanted to. He had rubbished these 'absurd' theories at the time. His r
"Unlike many, I believe that there is a God who rules over everything. I believe that the Maker of the Universe is still out there, and oh how I admire him. Yet you curse me by the name of him whom I look up to? Do you think I can do nothing to you? Do you think that the grating cry of death would save you from the consequences of your words?" Ray squatted beside the cursing man as he questioned him. The man being questioned looked at his adversary with mockery in his eyes and scorn widening his lips."I can already see the reaper standing before me. The gleam of his eyes. The curve of his scythe. Tell me, what can you do with the soul collector here?" The dying assassin looked at the hideously cloaked figure he couldn't see before. With his life force dwindling away, he could finally see the figure that went around the battlefield, collecting the souls of those that had passed away into his bag, as though they were precious pearls. It was finally his turn. What could his aff
Back at the residence of the Brute King, Butler Fin was busy sweeping up the pieces of glass that used to belong to a window pane. He had already cleared the bigger glass pieces. But since he wasn't a mortal, he could ignore the risk of getting injured by a neglected sharp object. At his level of strength it would be a joke to get hurt because of a piece of glass. Any ascender who heard this would scoff at the absurdity of such a thought. None of them would consider it ignorance, for ignorance and stupidity may go hand in hand, but they weren't the same.Anyway, after taking the large glass fragments out of the way, not because of the fear of an injury as we have already established but due to the simple reason that they will get in his way, Butler Fin proceeded to fix a new window where the old one previously stood. In the few minutes it took him to complete this task, several flies had already found their way into the building. Since fixing the window took precedence to cle
"Yes. I felt it. That malicious aura that consumes everything it touches. The Shadow God has reached his dirty hands towards this world." Ray replied as he fixed the window upon its frame. He took even less time than Butler Fin had. He was clearly more skilled with repair works than his butler. "Ah, I see." The very same butler who sat comfortably in his (Ray's) chair didn't seem so surprised by the news. And Ray was just as unsurprised at his reaction, as the butler was about the news."Just as I thought, you already knew. Why didn't you tell me?" Ray didn't take his eyes off his task. He was focused on clearing every glass piece on the ground, now that he had finished the harder task of refitting the window. He would be a fool to believe that Butler Fin didn't know what he had just discovered today. As mentioned earlier, there was nothing that would happen on a planet that this butler was on that would escape his attention. That was why once the butler had inf
"What do you know truly know about Seth?" Instead of immediately saying what he wanted to say, Butler Fin asked Ray his very own question. "I know what everyone else does", Ray wrinkled his brows and replied. He wasn't sure what Butler Fin was doing, but they had been close long enough for him to understand what Fin was implying. It was very likely the one who had watched him grow into a man knew much more than most people did. Every ascender worth his salt knew about the Dark God Seth. Call it 'Common Knowledge 101' if you will. Everyone knew the parents of Seth- Geb and Nut. And all were aware that his brother was Osiris. Though it was this very same brother that Seth had gruesomely murdered several millions of years ago. Although he didn't truly murder him, choosing to rather destroy his body and seal him, it was still a cruel act, one that accurately described the soul of the Dark God Seth."If that is all you know, then you know nothing." Fin shook his head at Ray's repl