Doom...
Doom...
Samuel's eyes were fixed on the palace, a cold intensity in them. He walked towards the massive public announcement machine, its gears still humming. Not with electricity, but essence.
Without a word, he adjusted a few dials, his fingers moving with detailed efficiency. The machine crackled, and then a low static filled the atmosphere, broadcast across the entire city through the numerous speakers levitating on rooftops.
Lira watched, her breath caught in her throat. She could feel the tension radiating from him, a stark contrast to the playful Samuel she had just seen in the market. This was a side of Samuel she had never witnessed...the one driven by a profound rage, a purpose that overshadowed everything else.
Then, Samuel's voice, amplified and distorted by the machine, boomed across the city. It was deep, unwavering, and chillingly devoid of emotion.
"Testing, Testing, Hear me, citizens of the Blue-Crest Kingdom," Samuel's voice echoed, each word reverberating through the streets, reaching every corner of the sprawling city. "I am Samuel. You may remember me. Or perhaps, you only remember a lie. The 'Outworlder' who fled, whose very existence was erased from your histories."
A murmur began in the streets below, a ripple of confusion and fear spreading through the populace. People paused in their morning routines, looking up at the speakers, trying to understand.
"Months ago," Samuel continued, his voice gaining a cold edge, "this kingdom, under your very nose, summoned and sacrificed innocent children to appease its gods. Your gods. Children like me. Children like my sister, Emma. Children who were stolen, brought here, and condemned in a ritual you all never knew about."
Lira saw people in the distant streets pointing, their faces showing disbelief. She could imagine the royal guards, perhaps even the King himself, reacting to this unprecedented public address...
"Which is why I am telling you all. You have ten minutes to leave this city," Samuel added, his voice hardening. "I survived. I escaped. And I have returned. Not for mercy. Not for peace. I have returned for justice. Fuck. For vengeance. For every child whose life was taken. For every family shattered by your false piety."
"So citizens, failure to do so will result in death." He paused, letting the grim statement sink in. "I am going to kill every last one of you."
He continued, his voice rising in intensity, a direct threat. "And High Priest Malaki, I am coming to rip your throat out."
Samuel ended the announcement with a sudden click, plunging the city back into silence now heavy with shock and terror. "Lira, let's go."
Before Lira could respond, Samuel clenched his fist and punched the stone wall in front of them. A huge hole erupted in the stone, debris flying.
The palace barriers had begun to close and were still shimmering faintly.
Samuel smiled, a stark, unsettling expression. He quickly scooped Lira into his arms.
"Aegirion." Samuel's blade entered his skin and flowed down to his legs, making them grow in size, bulking with immense dark green energy.
Then, with a tremendous boom, Samuel launched himself upwards. The force of his leap destroyed the kingdom announcement center building, sending shattered stone and wood exploding outwards.
As soon as the palace barrier was almost closed, Samuel blasted through it, landing on the other side of the palace, away from the immediate vicinity of the palace. He set Lira down gently.
When Samuel straightened up, his eyes widened as he saw the palace up close. It looked exactly as he remembered. The memories of his summoning, his classmates, and Emma, all flooded back. But this time, instead of sadness, his face twisted with pure rage.
"Samuel!" A not-so-familiar voice called him.
He turned around to see Yvaine, dressed in a black and white dress, running towards him, a group of knights chasing closely behind her.
"Aegirion," Samuel called out, ready to act. But before he could, Lira reacted.
For the first time, Lira used the staff Grandma Dotty had given her. She thrust it forward, and a massive, wolf-like creature materialized from the staff, its form coalescing in under three seconds. It moved with incredible speed, a blur of fur and teeth.
The knights rushing forward were all killed in an instant. Blood splashed everywhere, mixing with shredded flesh and bone. The wolf-like void Walker had sensed danger coming toward Lira, which was why it acted on its own. Without Lira's command.
Lira stood speechless, staring at the raw power unleashed by the staff. So this was the gift Grandma Dotty had given her. When she had heard it contained a Void-Walker, she had not fully grasped its implications because she was not an expert in arcane essence users. The creature, its task complete, dissolved back into the staff.
"Yvaine!" Samuel shouted, snapping her out of her frozen fear.
Yvaine, still trembling slightly, managed to speak. "Samuel, I did it."
"I know," Samuel said, his voice softening slightly as he looked at her. "Good job."
Samuel turned to the side, noticing the confusion on Lira's face. "Samuel, who is this?" Lira questioned.
"Lira, this is Yvaine. Yvaine, this is Lira," Samuel introduced them simply.
Yvaine managed a polite, though still somewhat terrified, "Nice to meet you."
Samuel quickly explained. "She and her sister are the ones who helped me escape the palace when I was being pursued back then. It's a long story, but Lira, her sister is currently being held underground beneath the palace. Please help her." He looked directly at Lira. "Yvaine knows where she can take you."
Before Lira even had the chance to question anything, Samuel had already made the decision. She sighed. "Fine. You're always making me do your dirty work." She pouted. "You're very bad to women. Hmph." But before she could finish her playful complaint, Samuel pulled her into a tight hug. Yvaine watched in silence, feeling awkward.
Samuel tightened his grip. "Please don't die, Lira." His voice was low, filled with genuine concern.
Lira, blushing fiercely, answered cutely, "Okay," while nodding into his shoulder.
Samuel let her go, stepping back.
"You too, be safe," Lira uttered, still blushing.
"Lira, once you have her sister, you both should retreat," Samuel responded, his expression serious. "Don't act rashly." He then looked at Yvaine. "Yvaine, take care of her too."
Samuel knew he had grown attached to Lira. For him, this attachment felt like a new weakness, a vulnerability he hadn't anticipated.
Then they both left, Lira and Yvaine heading towards the palace, their own dangerous mission ahead.
Samuel went in the other direction, towards the very first place he and his classmates had been summoned to, the Blue-Crest Kingdom's Grand Cathedral, He pushed the massive
doors open. Inside, a lone figure stood waiting for him... General Klot, recognizable by a faded scar on the left side of his cheek.
"I knew you would come here," General Klot uttered, his voice calm, almost disdainful. "What a wonderful speech you gave out there. So what now? You're here. What are you going to do, Outworlder?"
Samuel started laughing, a cold, humorless laughter. "Mortal? Oh, I see. I guess you all still see me that way." He stepped fully into the cathedral, the light from the entrance framing him.
"Allow me to educate you, General Klot."
"Aegirion," Samuel called, and his blade materialized in his hand, humming faintly.
In an instant, Samuel moved. He appeared behind General Klot, delivering a kick so devastating that its sheer force alone broke the ground beneath them, sending cracks of spiderwebbing across the floor. General Klot was sent flying through multiple stone pillars, which crumbled to dust around him.
General Klot landed hard amidst the rubble, coughing. Dust and debris filled the air around him. "I see... You are not a mortal anymore," he rasped, then let out a sharp, mirthless laugh. "Such a heavy kick could have killed a normal knight in an instant."
He slowly rose from the rubble, his eyes fixed on Samuel. "But you're not the only one with tricks."
General Klot extended his hand and cut his palm with a small, golden knight figurine he held. His blood spilled onto the ground, then began forming a blood-red armor that slowly coalesced around General Klot's body, encasing him in a powerful, crimson shell.
"Aegirion," Samuel's blade voice spoke, clear and urgent. "That is an arcane essence. Be careful Samuel."
"I know," Samuel responded, but before he could complete his sentence, a fist appeared directly in front of him. It was so fast, so sudden, that he could not keep up.
The blow slammed into Samuel, knocking him violently out of the cathedral, and sending him crashing through the heavy doors and into the palace courtyard...