Aramith didn't move a muscle as a figure landed before him with a loud boom. It was a tall man with a broad chest and big muscles. Another walked quietly from behind the first.
A light flashed high above them, and a dome started to form, sealing them in a place hundreds of meters wide.
"So this is the famous prince of the Vermillion Kingdom," the first man spoke. Aramith noticed the voice was different from the first voice he heard.
Before he could analyze anything, he rushed to Lia's side, seeing an arrow that was going to push her towards the door of death. He caught it, but it disappeared, and another arrow pierced the back of his palm. He flinched, not expecting the first one to be an illusion. He caught a faint glimpse of someone on a building disappearing.
The anger in him burned more as he turned to look at the two men, but they had disappeared as well. Looking around, he saw people starting to appear all around him.
He frowned.
Mozrael dashed out when she saw Aramith moving frantically. She was also bothered when she thought of what he said but only decided to follow when a little figure told her to follow him.
Something must have happened to Lia, she thought as she rushed after him. She couldn't move as fast as him, and in a short while, he had disappeared. Luckily she could track him down and went after him.
In no time, she arrived in a deserted place. It was very bothering to her. The place had not been deserted for too long, too. As she approached, she noticed an almost invisible wall before her. It stretched high and wide, so she couldn't cross easily. A closer inspection drew her attention to the dome shape it formed.
It was sealed.
She studied it a bit and raised her hand to touch it.
No! A voice rang in her head, stopping her.
Her fingers were just an inch away from the pulsing and shimmering shield.
"What's wrong?" she asked, unsure.
Look at it well. The formation may be dangerous, the voice replied.
She dropped her curious hand and looked at the black cat that seemed to have appeared beside her. It dropped a mouse at her feet and moved close to the wall.
Try this.
She didn't hesitate and picked up the almost-dead mouse, throwing it forward. A buzzing sound was heard as it got stuck mid-air, attached to the wall, shrieking loudly and twisting its body in agony. After a few seconds, it was shot away with a spark, flung to the ground, rigid as a statue with smoke coming out of its body. A burnt odor pervaded the air.
I know this dome. The formation used to make it should be almost complete. It would shock anyone or anything with life in it for a few seconds, approximately 12 seconds. If the formation is reinforced, it could last a minute. If needed, they could reinforce that again to make it shock one till all life is gone from whoever touches it.
Mozrael looked at the wall, then turned to the cat. It disappeared and reappeared on her shoulder, pointing to the bow and quiver of arrows that appeared before her.
I felt something like this could occur, so I added an arrow with an aleus within it to the set.
Mozrael remembered an odd arrow in the set and removed it. It was made of metal, and instead of the usual pointed arrowhead, it had a marble embedded at the tip, which looked like a dark, starry night sky. A slight expression of disgust surfaced.
Gebreth taught her how to use these arrows. They were known as relocating arrows, and Mozrael liked how efficient they were.
The problem was how difficult they were to use. First of all, the shooter should be very good at calculating the fall of an arrow.
Arrows, when shot, didn't travel in a perfectly straight line until they reached their target. Gravity was always working on them, and at a point in time, the arrow would start to descend. This is what the shooter must know—the exact moment when it would descend.
In using the relocating arrow, the shooter had to be walking before shooting. The moment the arrow was shot, it would open a portal that the shooter would enter. The exit would be the point where the arrow starts to descend. Upon exiting, the arrow would be found on the ground right in front of the exit where it could be used again.
Mozrael spent a long time mastering this arrow before Gebreth told her the dark truth.
The ball-shaped gem used at the tip couldn't be mined, nor was it a special item from any rare location. It was obtained from space attribute users. To be specific, it was the eyeball of a space attribute practitioner. This disgusted her.
How cruel of fate to make her use the same thing again. It took some courage for her to take the bow and nock the arrow, though she trembled.
Still trembling, she pulled the string, aimed carefully, and stood still for almost a minute, calming herself. With her eyes closed, she started to walk forward, then just as she was reaching the wall, let go of the arrow which flew forward. She opened her eyes and then kept walking into the space that had opened up. She walked fast, ignoring the red flashing images that would suddenly light up the darkness and then fade into oblivion. The images showed beasts, scary faces, massacres, and every terrifying thing seen by the source of the Aleus used.
The darkness started to fade, and she could feel the real world come alive. She calmed herself down, trying to control her breathing. Every time she blinked, the last image would flash in the back of her eyelids, floating in the air with a sinister look.
Looking around, she could see everything in shades of grey. It took some time before color started to appear in her vision. The fear that she could have been trapped there scared her deeply.
Let's go. She looked at the cat.
"Wha...what was that? The face...I almost—" she asked with a trembling voice.
I'll explain later, but for now, I can only apologize.
"It was like I couldn't get out. I don't understand." She was still in shock and couldn't shake off the feeling.
Look, we need to focus on following him. If we don't go now, we might be too late.
"I...okay," Mozrael tried to calm down.
"I think we should get some help," she was now getting worried.
It's too late for that now. And the more time we waste, the more difficult it'll be for us.
"But what if we can't do anything to help and just make things harder instead?"
I know what I'm doing. we have to go. But if you're so sure you would rather get some help, fine. We can always head back.
Mozrael hesitated. She was torn between rushing to help and going back for more help. The latter seemed the better option, but she had to decide quickly.
Well?
"Let's go," She steeled herself, running forward, bow in hand.
Aramith was surrounded, but that wasn't his biggest problem. The real battle wasn't just against them—it was against himself. The darkness clawed at his senses, clouding his vision, and numbing his limbs. And yet, he had to fight. He had to keep Lia safe.
One of the men lunged at him, staff swinging. Aramith timed it perfectly. As the strike came down, he ducked and shot his fist upward toward the man's jaw—only to hit empty air.
The sudden lack of resistance threw him off balance. Before he could react, a blade slashed across his back. Pain seared through him. Then another impact—his chest caved as a heavy force struck him, knocking the air from his lungs. The ground rushed up to meet him.
A boot crashed into his face. His head snapped sideways, stars bursting in his vision.
"We're only here to escort you to our superiors," a voice sneered. "So be good and come quietly."
Aramith pushed himself up, blood trailing from his lip. There were only three of them now. The others—all the ones who had surrounded him—were gone. His fingers curled into fists.
He now knew they were using illusions to confuse him, but how?
"Go die!" he spat.
One of them chuckled. "You're weak. We might end up killing you by accident if you keep this up. Just like her."
Aramith stiffened.
The man tilted his head toward Lia's unconscious form. "She didn't last long before passing out. That little worm you call a sister was just bait, but she was too stubborn for her own good. And now look at her." His laugh was sharp, cruel.
"Speaking of worms, that girl is so stupid." The man's voice dripped with amusement. "All I had to do was disguise myself as some dignitary from afar. Oh, you should have seen her face when I offered her a gift. She was thrilled—such an innocent smile, so eager to accept it. She even smiled and thanked me"
Aramith's nails dug into his palms.
When did that happen?
He couldn't figure it out
A low chuckle broke through his thoughts. "She even thanked me," the man added, savoring the words.
"Shut up!" Aramith's voice was sharper than steel, his control slipping. Darkness coiled at his fingertips.
"Don't interrupt your elders when they're speaking, boy." The man's grin widened. "Now, where was I? Ah, right—the gift. I gave her a…" He paused, drawing out the moment. "Well, let's just say it likes to slither and take control of a person." His eyes gleamed. "A worm."
Aramith immediately knew what the man was talking about. The thought made his stomach lurch. The worm he spoke of was called a Hollow Tongue, and they were very rare to find.
It would temporarily take control of a person's body when ingested. The victim would obey the first voice they heard, their nervous system bending to its will. And though the effects were temporary, the person could be commanded to end their life and there would be no resistance.
What made it dangerous was that it was very small in size, rarer ones could even be the size of a fingernail.
He remembered something feeling off. No wonder when he asked her to stay, she just laughed it off and stubbornly left. He felt like vomiting.
"You two make such a heartwarming pair."
Aramith turned. Lia lay beside him, motionless. His stomach twisted, eyes turning a darker shade of purple.
The man smirked. "You're pathetic. Let me end this sore sight."
A flash of silver—
Aramith barely had time to register the dagger flying toward Lia.
"No!"
He moved faster than thought, throwing himself between her and the blade. Pain exploded in his palm as the dagger pierced through, stopping inches from Lia's chest. His breath hitched. The world around him dimmed. The darkness in his vision spread like ink, and he was starting to regret coming alone.
The man's expression twisted in frustration. He yanked out a sword, eyes gleaming with malice.
"Brat. You couldn't even protect her properly. Fine—I'll finish the job for you."