DARK FLAMES exploded from the demon’s hand in a second. It spread too fast, covering everything. Xurden jumped back as his two henchmen charged at the demon, letting go of the clipboard that melted to the fire before it fell to the floor. The demon spread the dark flames even more so the two couldn’t get close right away. They put their hands in front to block the fire as they approached the demon. But the flames had a powerful force pushing the two to their feet. The demon clapped his hands afterward to fill the entire office with dark flames. The darkness also hid his whole body, making it hard for them to see.Xurden changed the weapon on his hand to a spear and threw it toward the demon. The spear hit something, but it wasn’t the demon. The demon already disappeared as the spear slipped through the flames before it pierced the table. He became more alert when everyone shouted hysterically. The dark flames ate everything, even the thickest iron. Before it was too late to save anyon
XURDEN had been restless ever since they left the university. His mind wouldn’t settle down. He kept on thinking about what happened these past few days to him after meeting Yric again. His urge to know everything about the younger guy grew more. He felt like if he didn’t do it that day, his head would explode. He stood by the window in the living room looking at Yric watering the plant in the small front yard. Since he couldn’t get an honest answer directly from Yric, he needed to move on his own.Sebastian came out from the hallway together with Marco. The two had this blank expressions on their faces.“We’re here, boss,” Sebastian exclaimed as they approached Xurden.Xurden shifted his attention from the younger boy to his henchmen. He looked straight them in the eyes.“Did you find where Yric was born?” he asked, putting his other hand in his pocket.“Yes. It’s a small town,” Sebastian answered. “We’ve been there before. Do you remember the town near the lake? The one with the big
THE TWO-STOREY HOUSE looked dead from the outside. Its walls were darkening and covered in crawling large vines. Weeds had grown tall in the front yard, blocking the pathway. Many years had passed since the last time someone set foot on its door. No one dared from the town entered the house. They believed that the house was haunted and cursed. The old man from the gas station forgot to tell them about the story of the house held. It didn’t matter anyway, since there was nothing out of the ordinary. Negative energy wasn’t present in that house, even though it was abandoned for a very long time. It made Xurden doubt if he could find something in there that would help in revealing Yric’s real identity. He was desperate to stop his mind from being restless because of Yric.Xurden signaled his head at his assistant without sparing a word. Marco understood his command and moved toward the door, parting the tall weeds. His henchman made a path for him to take. They approached the house in si
TO ESCAPE, the grueling state of Yric, Xurden went to a bar for some drink. He couldn’t do it in his own house since Yric had not stopped crying. It had been a couple of hours and yet he was still pouring out his tears that seemed like not going to end. He left him with his two henchmen so he would be fine.Calm music played in the air, filling the whole place. Since he went to the bar, he had not moved from the table in the corner where he sat, far from the eyes of the others who went there. The low light from the ceiling also helped to hide his face. He hated going there, but he didn’t have a choice. There was no room in his house where he couldn’t hear Yric’s cry.He looked at the golden liquor in the glass he was holding. It reminded him of his life before in the first realm. The glistening gold reflecting the light was a sign of his status and glory. He could take it all back once he caught every demon on his list. The only thing he needed to do in reaching that goal was not to p
THE UTENSILS clanged as Xurden prepared the table. He cooked a lot that almost filled the dining table. The smell of the food wafted in the air, making him more hungry. It was the first time he had made different dishes for no reason. He just felt like doing it that evening. It was already dark outside when his stomach growled and he would eat more than before. His appetite became high. Eating everything on the table would not be a problem. Thinking hard drained him, which made him not leave his office for many hours. He stood confidently when he put the last dish and looked at his preparation. The dishes looked so good to his eyes that boosted his confidence more. As he folded the sleeve of his shirt until his elbow, Sebastian arrived looking like a vocalist of a rock band. His assistant wore tight leather pants and a black jacket. Sebastian came from the door, exhaustion was showing on his face. They had been working non-stop after the incident on the island.“What’s the occasion?”
THE CURATOR brought them to a room filled with boxes of different sizes. Xurden heard a growl from a bigger box, which he ignored. They displayed a few of the artefacts atop the boxes, where Marco fixed his eyes. The artifacts emanated undeniable charm that could make a normal human being weak on their knees. The purple-haired man stopped beside the small boxes of potion in the very middle of the room, facing the two.“Take your pick,” the curator said happily, opening the small boxes one by one. The light coming from the ceiling cast a glint to the vials inside. He still glued a smile on his lips. He looked like a crazy person as the time passed.“We don’t want any of the potions,” Xurden told the curator. He spoke clearly and heavily. “I want a distinct thing.”“My guess is right, then. You don’t like you need potions anyway,” the curator said. With a wave of his, the small boxes closed on their own. “What is that you really want?”“I can’t answer you. I know you have everything her
WHEN XURDEN went back home, he took a shower. The cold water drenched his muscular body. But that didn’t take away the heat he felt at that moment. No matter how low he lower the temperature, it didn’t help even a little. He no longer knew what was wrong with him. Maybe the demon had something to do with it. He couldn’t remember though if the demon put something on his neck while his back was on him.There was no other explanation that he could find. He couldn’t think of any other reason than the demon’s breath was poisonous.As every second passed, he felt colder, even though he was hot all over his body. That’s when he realized he was already sick. He didn’t get sick even once, but at that moment it was happening. That’s why he was confused. He concluded that the demon really made him sick. He closed his mouth to repress his moan because of the cold. His muscular body was shaking. The pouring water on his back muffled his grunt.In the end, he hurried out of the shower, grabbing the
XURDEN woke up at the sound of Sebastian calling him. His henchman was not loud, but he could hear him clearly. He opened his eyes, looking for Yric because he was no longer in his arms. His arm felt numb and told him it was just been a few moments when the younger left his room. He tried moving and found he could swing his body. Yric helped remove the poison from him. Now that he was thinking about it, he wondered how big Yric’s knowledge was about things. He sat straight, massaging his numb arm. The storm was still breaking the night outside.“What is it?” Xurden asked as shifted his eyes at his assistant.“I thought something happened to you while we were out. I came here to check after I saw Yric came out of your room,” Sebastian told the man. “But looking at you now, you seem fine.”“When did he leave?”“A minute ago,” Sebastian answered him. “Why would Yric stay here? What did the two of you do?”He stared at his assistant because he felt like something’s brewing in Sebastian’s
A salty wind blew from his left, whistling through the houses lining that one side of the beach. By late afternoon, that wind would breathe cool air, carrying with it the stench of the mudflats. The waves had already calmed down, giving this serene feeling aligned to the horizon. From where he was sitting, on the balcony of his two-story house, he could see everything that was happening in the white sand. There was a group of men drinking under the shade of the umbrella. Next to those men was a family sitting on the soft sand with no mats under them. Aside from those people close to his house, other humans scattered along the beach, going on with their life while seagulls cried in the air just above.It wasn’t out of the ordinary that many people flocked to the beach, admiring the solemnity and beauty. The month of December brought a lot of visitors to different places. He was now used to it, seeing people ever since Yric died, and that sorrowful day happened four years ago. He adjust
He touched his head violently to deny the reality. His mind had stopped working. He couldn’t think of anything else other than the fading body of Yric. They both expected that there would be death. What he didn’t predict was the outcome of his fight with the deity.Once again, he questioned himself about being a god. He was a powerful god, but he failed to protect the most special person in his life. Yric and he didn’t get to spend a lot of time with each other which made his feeling worst. He could feel the pain building in his chest, drilling his new heart. The result of the exchange formed different pain. Saying goody to goodbye to Yric really hurt him badly. It was a fact that he could not forget even to his own death.The two leaders looked down at him. The expressions in their eyes never changed even a bit. But they were full of judgment, searching for all mistakes that he did to add up the sin he had made. After a while, the king shifted his attention to the demon lord.“What i
The deity disappeared in a blink of an eye and appeared in front of him only a few inches away. He quickly blocked the attack with his sword, putting strength in the blade. The powerful punch of the deity touched his sword, creating a sound wave. Their clash turned the entire room into chaos, making the ceiling fall and breaking the walls. He pushed the deity harder, but the deity wouldn’t even budge even a little. He then sent his ice from his sword, starting with the hand to freeze the deity. His enemy was also fast to respond. The deity raised his other free hand, transforming his fingers into a sharp blade. When he realized the deity was about to stab him to the side, he stepped back to dodge.Fortunately, he escaped death as he stood alert. To calm his nerve, he took a deep breath. From that moment on, it would not be easy facing the deity. He had to put everything in one attack to defeat him. If he let the fight longer, he would only get tired. With that thought in mind, he held
Xurden woke up in a searing pain drilling his head. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in the very middle of the dome underground. They tied his hands in golden chains attached to two dark pillars, making his wrist numb and burned. His skin had now red wounds. At the brief movement he made, he winced crazily. He couldn’t think of a way to free himself because the chains had drained all of his strength.He moved his head to look around, only to find nothing. He was alone and all he could see were the dark corners of the dome that the light of the torches stuck on the walls couldn’t reach. The runes written on the floor beneath were noticeable as they glowed in red. He understood what was really happening. The demon planned on taking over his body using that ceremony.He turned his head to the right when dark smoke appeared a few inches away from him. In that smoke, Jake came out and walked toward him. Every step the professor took seemed different to his eyes. When he stud
They all got into the car as the traffic got heavier. The loud honking of cars never stopped ringing in his ears. The side mirrors almost rubbed together in that traffic jam. His servants sat down on his left while he remained on the other side. Arasia took the passenger’s seat quietly and Jake concentrated on driving. The silence inside the car didn’t last long. Sebastian couldn’t hold his mouth. His servant turned his attention to him. “Boss, why are you with him?” Sebastian asked. Jake heard clearly who was in front. Xurden observed the questioning look of his servant. “It’s because of her,” he answered. He moved his head a little toward the goddess. W “Are they together?” Sebastian said next. Xurden didn’t expect that Sebastian would say those words. He forgot Sebastian’s mind ran differently. His servant’s imagination could be wild sometimes. The moment that one question entered Arasia’s ear, she turned around with a frown on her face. She stared at Sebastian before she spo
Xurden woke up from his sleep feeling refreshed on the side of the bed. His hand immediately looked for Yric while his eyes were still closed. But he didn’t feel him. He could only grab the empty sheet next to him. When he realized the younger boy wasn't there, he got up in a rush and got off the bed. He moved his eyes around the room, looking for a sign of the younger boy. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Yric, which made him worry. A second later, he closed his eyes, heightening all his senses. But he didn’t sense him even a bit. In the end, he accepted the reality that Yric wasn’t there on the mountain.As he was about to go out of the room, he noticed a note on the small table beside the bed. He picked it up after reading the message that Yric left for him. His forehead furrowed because of what Yric wrote on it. The message made him frustrated. Yric went on with his plan facing Veronica without bringing him along. Now that he was in that situation, alone in the mountain, he wou
THE STORM had stopped on the mountaintops, making everything clear in Yric’s eyes from where he was standing at the mouth of the cave. All he could see was the thick snow that wouldn’t melt all year long. He was wearing thick fur to fight the surrounding cold. He left Xurden asleep inside his old house because he was waiting for his servants to arrive. Just as he was thinking about them, he could see movements below a hundred meters away from him. He saw his three servants climbing up the slope. All of them were wearing dark coats. When Tear waved his hand, he walked out of the cave and slid down toward his servants without using a tool to make his slide smooth. He used his body effectively and arrived in front of the three that stopped climbing.“You better have good news for me,” he told the three as he stood up. He removed the snow which clang on the fur.The three looked at each other before Drop spoke up. “We’re very sorry. Celestro escaped the dungeon,” the demon said and quickl
THEY LAY down on the ground, looking up at the night sky. The stars seemed to fade away from their eyes while the cold of the breezing wind touched their skin. Around them, the silence was deafening. They could hear each other calm breathing. Xurden didn’t know for how long they stayed quiet. They only admired the serene scene above them. Yric broke the silence after a while. “How are the things there?” the young boy asked without turning his head. “It’s the same,” Xurden said to him. “Nothing had changed ever since I left.” He didn’t tell him about acquiring the seat from his older brother. But he felt like Yric sensed it, which was shown in his next words. “Even in your family?” Yric lay down on his side. The younger boy stared at his face. Xurden also did the same, meeting Yric’s questioning eyes. He hesitated for a second, but when he thought there was no point if he would hide it from him, he finally spoke about them. “Why do you ask?” he said to him first. “I just want to k
THEY WENT directly to his older brother’s house, Mikael, after they returned to the floating city. The guards stopped them at the gate. He froze them in thick ice when they tried to rush toward him. They entered the gate with no problem. His two servants carried the man with his hands tied. They had to walk through the wide lawn before reaching the main house. The other guards came out. They ran towards them. With just a flick of his hand, they froze after being covered in thick ice. They reached the main house and no one else stopped them. He kicked the door to open it. He found his older brother having fun with three girls in the bath he had placed near the door. “What are you doing here?” his brother asked him with anger in his voice. Because of his arrival, the three women ran out of the water and entered a room. He pulled the man they were carrying and kicked him to fall into the bath. “What do you think you’re doing?” His older brother stood up in the bath because of his ang