CHAPTER 22: The day has arrived
Aethelgard.
Aetherwood.
Just as Usheer mentioned that the person the petite girl was looking for had disappeared.
Under a not-so-large tree.
A black, five-foot tall beast sat in the dirt beneath it.
Despite its jagged, pointed ears and savage frame, it lounged with an eerie, relaxed confidence.
It didn't move, but its luminous yellow eyes remained fixed and alert, watching the world with the stillness of a predator that knows it has nothing to fear.
It closed its eyes and then suddenly—
The sound of splintering bone rippled through the branches. In an instant, the area around the tree erupted in a frantic exodus. Birds tore through the canopy in a blind panic, and small beasts scurried into the deep shadows, desperate to get away.
As the last of the wildlife vanished, the woods fell into a suffocating silence. Only the black beast remained, the sole source of the sickening grinding sounds within its own frame.
By now, the body of the previously ferocious beast held a very horrifying shape. It looked as though the beast had been crushed by something far heavier than it could withstand— almost flattened, yet still containing its blood and organs within.
But… a procedure or whatever it was, wasn't finished just yet as in the next moment—
The black skin of the beast unraveled itself from the flesh inch by inch— slowly but surely.
Minutes passed in a wet, rhythmic struggle until the beast had peeled the skin from its own frame, leaving behind a lump of living darkness.
Soon, the darkness coalesced into a two-meter-tall skeleton.
Then came the anatomy of a nightmare.
His whole naked form was black. His black hair was so long that it almost touched the ground beneath him. His physique resembled that of a battle-hardened warrior. His facial features were sharp and flawless.
However, he had no eyes.
Then the black man bent down to pick up the yellow eyes from the lump of flesh and bones beside him.
He straightened, pressing the spheres into his hollow sockets.
In appearance, he resembled Zalchys in almost every way.
If Zalchys were to have pure dark skin and yellow eyes instead of pale skin and brown eyes, as well as this long black hair, it would be impossible to distinguish between the two of them.
The black man shifted his position towards Cinderfall.
His hunter eyes pierced through everything and stopped right at the sight of the Cinnabar Palace of Cenking City.
He murmured in a contemplative tone without blinking once,
“It wasn't I, who merged with him that day. It was something else… someone else. That thing… trapped me in this area on that rainy day…”
His eyes narrowed toward the distant palace.
“It wasn't anything like us… It didn't come to be because of Lord Zalchys…”
He frowned with a displeased expression on his black face, which made him look even more scary than he already was.
“It was more like… It was Lord Zalchys… who came to be because of that thing…”
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He paused and added,
“And that… is deeply unsettling…”
The forest felt quieter after those words.
“I wonder whether it was a friend… or a foe.”
And then the man once again looked down— at the lump of flesh and bones.
“I should reunite with the others… but first…”
A dark smile ghosted across his face.
He sat cross-legged, the elegance of his new form vanishing into primal hunger.
He tore into the pile of discarded flesh like a man who had been starving for a lifetime.
…
Juniper.
Jiking City.
Royal Palace.
Just after the man in a red cloak vanished into Zalchys.
Inside a lavish dining hall.
Isira sat on Jord's lap, her body barely veiled by a strip of violet silk.
Jord’s hungry eyes followed her hand— the hand that fed him.
From time to time, those same hungry eyes wandered over the seductive figure before him.
Normally, Jord would either praise Isira’s beauty or describe the taste of the food to his feeder.
But unlike any other times, he was unusually quiet.
And Isira found this silence between them to be an anomaly.
“Your Majesty… is the food not to your liking today?”
She asked, her usual enchanting smile in place.
Jord took a break from chewing the food and swallowed it instantly in the next moment.
His gaze studied Isira's face as he replied,
“I'm looking forYou probably don't know such a great figure yet. I'll introduce the two of you later.”
With that, he shifted his eyes to the food once again.
‘So that’s what it is… This fool is searching for one of us, yet tells me I wouldn’t know him. What an irony…’
She laughed mockingly inwardly.
“I cannot wait!”
She exclaimed in excitement outwardly.
Jord just smiled faintly and nodded.
'I don't really know much about the girl's background that I usually e—’
Jord didn't finish his thoughts as he felt Isira stiffening for a moment.
He frowned inside but asked in a fake worried tone with a slightly panicked expression,
“Isira? Are…. you okay, my love?”
By the end of the sentence he focused his gaze into Isira's green eyes.
'Huh? Was that my mistake just now? I thought her irises turned… purple for a moment?’
Isira seemed to have come to her senses.
“Your Majesty, I am extremely ashamed of such behavior. I am truly sorry. I did not mean to startle you.”
Isira replied in a guilty tone while intending to get up from Jord's lap.
But Jord held her down with gentle force and said in a relieved tone,
“Please, do not. It is okay, really. I forgive you. Now, continue what you were doing.”
He wore a kind smile.
“Your Majesty, please punish me. I shall immediately go to the torture cell by myself.”
Isira insisted as she stood up almost immediately and headed toward the exit in a hurry.
Jord's eyebrows knitted together.
'This girl… since when was she this strong? Still, you are rejecting my goodwill now.’
“Isira, come back to me this instance. Are you defying the King's will?”
He spoke unhurriedly, as if the outcome had already been decided.
Isira halted.
Jord smiled darkly.
‘In the end, it all comes down to the title of the King…’
Isira took a deep breath and turned around.
But…
She didn't arrive beside Jord.
Or…
Uttered another word.
Instead.
Jord’s pupils dilated. The hall seemed to have come to a standstill. Even the candlelight flickered strangely.
But before he could react, he saw Isira's green irises turning into purple.
His face drained of color as sweat began to pour down his temples.
He leaned back into the luxurious chair, unsure of what he intended to do but it didn't budge an inch.
Her seductive voice changed into something eerie and otherworldly—
As the words left her lips, Jord’s perception warped.
The silver cutlery on the table trembled subtly. Shadows stretched unnaturally toward her.
Jord could not look away.
His eyes clouded. His body twitched involuntarily, as if pulled by unseen strings.
He nodded in a daze.
Isira’s neck retracted smoothly, her figure returning to normal.
Then she looked at the dazed Jord for a brief moment.
“Lord Zalchys has awakened. My work here is done. And from what I sensed just now… that red cloak guy this fool wanted to hire… has already merged with Lord Zalchys.”
Her soft lips curved into a sweet smile as she spoke before leaving Jord Terra behind,
“The reunion is happening sooner than I thought. Not that I'm complaining…
I truly can't wait!~”
…
Not long after she left, Jord's eyes became clear.
“Huh? What's going on here? Where are my dishes?”
He was confused.
“I'm pretty sure, I wasn't alone… oh… maybe the new feeder hasn't arrived yet.”
He subconsciously ignored the half-eaten dish before him, as though it didn’t exist.
And kept waiting for the food.
…
The unknown battlefield.
The unending war.
Just when Navan declared that the laws of the world had begun to change.
In a random clash, a group of white-armored soldiers faced a similar group of black-armored soldiers.
Every single one of them had been fighting for a century.
Today was no different.
Or…
It wasn't until—
A black soldier fell by the hand of a white soldier.
The white soldier also fell by the hand of the black soldier, just beside him.
Both of them were breathing heavily.
After a moment, the black soldier spoke.
“Finally… I can die… a terrible death… I've been waiting… for far too long.”
The white soldier spoke right after him.
“Finally… I can die… an honorable death… I've been waiting… for far too long.”
And then…
Both of them sank into the soil beneath them.
Moments later, they vanished from the battlefield.
“Halt your attacks at once!”
The leader of that particular group of black-armored soldiers shouted.
The leader of the white soldiers gave a similar command.
Soon after, the two leaders approached each other, neither showing the slightest intention of attacking.
The white leader spoke in a solemn tone.
“You noticed it too… This is the first time I've lost a soldier in the past hundred years.”
The black leader nodded in affirmation.
“This is the first time… they have truly… disappeared.”
The white leader frowned.
“I… have a very… very bad feeling about this.”
The black leader exhaled in resignation.
“Sometimes I wonder… if we were forsaken. If not… then why can't we die?”
“I have similar thoughts from time to time… but then I remind myself of the reason for this war.”
The white leader responded.
“Then again… who decided this war began a century ago? I believe… we passed that mark long ago.”
The black leader added.
“My thoughts exactly… Who knows how many years it has truly been? No one out there is still alive for us anymore… that much is certain.”
The white leader's voice grew quieter.
“Blessings and curses… which would you rather have?”
The black leader asked with an amused look.
“Blessings. The grace of the GOD is where ultimate peace lies.”
The white leader answered.
“For me… it is curses. If GOD bestowed blessings upon everyone… then they would cease to be blessings. They would become… Nothing.”
The black leader stated.
“Curses are the same in that sense… wouldn't you agree?”
The white leader paused.
“... Myself?”
He smiled faintly at the black leader.
The black soldier smiled back mysteriously… and said nothing.
‘He has been aware of this for a while now…’
The white leader observed his reaction and came to this conclusion.
“But… why after all these years? Why now? What have I been doing all this time?”
He murmured.
He lifted his gaze toward the seemingly endless sky.
Or so he had always believed.
Yet instead of a weary sigh, confusion spread across his pale face.
And he uttered—
…
Coralis.
Corking City.
Royal Palace.
Inside a beautifully decorated room.
Carine sat on an azure rocking chair which swayed in a rhythmic movement.
Her eyes were fixed on the familiar ceiling, which held a hexagonal pattern.
At the very middle of the pattern, there glowed a gem-like stone.
Carine's sapphire eyes gazed deep into it.
There she saw the scene of Zalchys walking towards the Cinnabar Palace of Cinderfall with a bouquet of Blood Lilies.
A serene smile bloomed on her beautiful face, which made her look even more exquisite than before.
Then she lifted her left hand and gently blew on her ring finger.
A gust of cold air brushed her finger as a beautifully crafted wedding ring became visible.
It looked exactly the same as the one Ceniza wore after she transformed into a woman from an old lady.
She stared at the ring for a moment more.
Then her soothing voice drifted through the entire room—