CHAPTER 18: Dead
Somewhere
Inside the ancient-looking cave.
A middle-aged man in a purple robe sat atop a massive rock, a worn clutched in his right hand. A blurry marked his wrist. His red eyes were fixed deeply on the book, lost in shadowed words, searching for something.
A one-meter-tall, black dragon-like creature lay sleeping before him. Seven heads rested upon the ground.
Suddenly, its body trembled. Two of its seven heads opened their eyelids.
Despite his intense focus, the man noticed almost instantly.
Seconds later, his eyes shone as he saw the creature slowly lift another pair of eyes. A pair of ember-red eyes.
“No way! He broke two chains just yesterday… and now the third? Damn. Looks like he is going all out this time, huh?"
His voice carried a hint of awe.
Then he closed the book and closed his own red eyes.
A few moments of silence followed.
Then, his voice filled the entire cave,
He took a pause and opened his eyes, revealing irises that stored some bloody truths.
“Today, I ask you of these. I hope you will not disappoint me when the time finally comes, Zalchys.”
He found the black creature looking at him. Six of its eyes met his gaze. A smirk curved his lips as he said,
“Don't you worry, little blacky! No matter where he is, he'll come back very, very soon! And after he returns this time, no one will dare to look down on us again! Everything will be…
All six eyes of Little Blacky gleamed with wild excitement. Its long black tail and wide wings flapped seven times, as if counting something only it understood.
…
Cenking City.
Royal Palace.
Inside the small room.
“It looks like… You will soon wake up.”
Ceniza spoke, the warm smile from before still lingering on her face.
She sighed in relief and thought,
‘Finally… all my gambles paid off. Navan was right after all. He really did manage to pull it off. Then again… if it were truly impossible, he wouldn't have given him the mission in the first pla—’
She couldn’t finish her thought as her whole body trembled violently. Instinctively, she turned toward Nysia, her gaze locking with a person.
In the next moment, her pupils dilated, reflecting the storm of her mind and heart as she spoke in a soft voice—
Her heart started to race as she immediately turned back and looked at the portrait before her.
She watched as the canvas crinkled, edges curling and ashes whispering from the scorched surface. One by one, seven minutes passed, crawling over the room like smoke. The painted eyes of the portrait twisted in the heat, burning only at the very last, as if reluctant to leave the sphere of memory.
She felt like a heavy mountain was lifted from her chest. She hadn’t felt this happy in a very, very long time.
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She felt hopeful for Zalchys for a moment. But soon, her brow furrowed.
“That woman from before… Elestria. Was it her who caused his first severing? No, it shouldn’t be. I thought he could break the first one by himself… I’ll have to ask Navan.”
Then, she closed her eyes.
And her calm voice encompassed the small room,
[Meaning:
Then she opened her eyes.
A pair of eyes which had—
ember-irises encircling golden-pupils.
…
Seven minutes earlier.
Nysia.
Under the
Zalchys and Elestria were still embracing each other cordially.
Elestria… Ceniza… even though I can already understand the truth vaguely, it's all my fault nonetheless… Even though this place i—’
Zalchys's thoughts got interrupted as he once again shut his eyes tightly and hugged Elestria even more tightly.
‘Argh! This damn memory is gone once again! How am I even supposed to tell them the truth, if I can't remember it myself!? If I can't tell them the truth, when I face them in future… I'll always feel guilty.’
Elestria felt Zalchy's tensed action and asked,
“Does it still hurt?”
“Yes, a bit. But as long as I see Ceniza, I’ll be fine.”
Zalchys replied while monitoring Elestria’s reaction from the corner of his eyes.
So he pieced it together from all those fragmented memories. Argh! Whatever! I’ll just wait and see for now.
I wonder how much he’s managed to recover…’
Elestria mused inwardly.
Outwardly, however, her expression betrayed nothing of her thoughts. With calm composure, she spoke in an unhurried tone,
“Yes, that's right. You should meet her once you feel ready. I personally think, you should still take a bit of rest for a few days to—”
She couldn't finish her sentence as she suddenly noticed the entire tree started to shake violently. She became alarmed, her eyes vigilant.
Zalchys also sensed that and let go of her embrace. Although the surrounding area was trembling unnaturally, unlike Elestria, he was calm. His eyes shone in a strange light.
‘Right… I saw this coming. It must be the meeting…’
Soon, a golden light covered the entire tree from theto the top.
And the door slowly opened.
Zalchys and Elestria didn't move a single inch from their original spot.
Elestria just stood beside Zalchys, her eyes reading his expression more than actually paying attention to the opening of the door.
‘He knows. He's been prepared mentally. He is calm. His eyes are glistening due to… Curiosity? Expectations? Excitement?’
Zalchys sensed that Elestria was watching him closely—her attention fixed more on him than on the unfolding event.
‘No matter how much the world believes we’re perfect for each other… The truth is, I can rarely tell what’s going on in her mind. The only thing I know for certain is that she loves me… deeply, fiercely… enough to give me goosebumps.’
The sound of footsteps caused his train of thoughts to come to a halt.
Zalchys looked in the direction of the door and saw three different figures standing next to each other in a very respectful manner.
The middle of them—a one-meter-tall kid. On his right—a two-meter-tall man. And on his left—a three-meter-tall demon.
Just before stepped out, Zalchys had already thrown the robe towards Elestria and she put it on almost instantly. Now, only Zalchys was standing there with a bare upper body among the five. But he didn't seem to care.
The three peculiar figures bent their knees before Zalchys and spoke—
Their voices were swallowed by the silence, yet carried everywhere.
‘Oh… So it's more like a submission than a meeting. Judging from their way of addressing me… I must say, I didn't expect things to turn out like this. Just how much of my memories am I lacking? And… Why?’
Zalchys was taken by surprise by the scene unfolding before him. But at the end of the thought his eyes became dimmed for a moment as he subconsciously gave up trying to remember anything anymore. So, he decided to play with words and get some information out of them. This way, he can just convince his brain to have received new information and not trigger his fragmented memories.
“Did you truly think I would accept your kneeling so easily?
If you seek my recognition, then earn it.
Give me reasons to believe you and to accept you. Prove your conviction. Show your worth. Explain your decision.
Why choose ME?
And why choose NOW?”
Zalchys asked in an authoritative tone.
Elestria silently observed.
‘Looks like even though he knew something will happen, he didn't know the exact events. And why do I feel this vague connection with one of them?’
She frowned and tried to look at the three kneeling figures before Zalchys with more concentration.
Not long after, her gaze fixed upon the boy in the middle and her eyes narrowed.
‘Huh? Who's that? This connection is coming from that kid.’
At the same time, the boy in the middle trembled slightly.
Inwardly he spoke,
‘We get to meet after so many years… but in such a manner.
It can't be helped since…
Zalchys noticed the boy shaking slightly and said,
“The three of you may stand up. I await a proper reply.”
The three stood up. Their eyes were still fixed on the ground, as if they didn't dare to meet Zalchys's eyes.
Then the three each took their turns and replied the same words as they did to their fellow just a day ago.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Zalchys heard their reply while coming to know the existence of the
I didn't get anything helpful to restore some of my memories. However, Navan… he surely knows what I want to know. But can't tell me right now. I'll just play along for now as well then. Besides…’
He turned his head towards Elestria for a brief moment and found her in a daze with a confused expression. Her eyes locked in the kid before him.
A fleeting moment of guilt crossed Zalchys's eyes as his head quickly turned back.
“I see. I have some things to consider. I will take some time to decide. Whether I accept the or not, your words for them are not enough. I want to meet them all to come to a decision. You in the middle, you can certainly get access to my location whenever you want, right? Tomorrow, you alone shall meet me at the same time as today.
Now, all of you are excused.”
“Then I shall.”
The one-meter-tall kid replied while bowing down and placing his right hand on his left chest.
With this, today's meeting came to an end. It was a short but meaningful and perhaps fateful meeting.
Just as the three turned to go back to the through the door, the kid suddenly stopped and turned his head in Cinderfall's location. Then he whispered,
[Meaning:
In that area nearing the door, no one heard him except himself and the person standing behind him—Zalchys.
‘Huh? What was that language? It sounds… very familiar. It's like something that I—’
He couldn't finish his thought and closed his eyes abruptly. Just like before, his headache showed up right on time as he was about to remember another thing from the past.
When he opened his eyes, those three from before were already gone from his range of sight.
As soon as the three left the scene, Elestria, who was standing behind Zalchys all this time, without making a single sound, held Zalchys's left hand with her right hand and asked in a quivering voice—
“That person in the middle… W-Who was it? I-I feel connected to him… somehow.”
Zalchys turned around to Elesteria and saw that her face was showing a mixture of emotions— joy, regret, anger, surprise, sadness.
He pulled her into his embrace while placing her head right next to his heart. He replied in a low voice,
“His name is Navan.”
He felt drops of liquid pouring from her face across his bare chest.
Elestria started shaking and hugged him tightly to get a grip on herself as she whispered,
“Father… he is… Still alive. But..."
Zalchys felt his heart ache due to a feeling of guilt. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
‘Please, forgive me… I'm truly sorry, Elestria. For not being able to explain it to you right away. Just wait a bit longer. Soon, everything will be… just like the old days.’
…
At the unknown
A gust of wind unveiled three shadowy figures.
“Things are looking good so far.”
Said the warrior, his tone neutral.
“Yes! I'm one hundred percent sure he'll accept us!”
The demon exclaimed confidently.
“There's still a day left before his final decision. Be prepared for anything.”
The kid spoke and isolated himself somewhere far from the other two where no one could hear him.
After making sure that no one was there, he sat down crossed-legged.
“I'm truly sorry, Naqeera. Please, forgive me… father. After all that had happened… And since, there's no in life… I can only make it up to you two by helping Zalchys in this way…”
His voice trailed off. A determined look on his face, he continued—
“Yes, this is the only way. I, Navan Soumark, have always been true to my words. Since, this is the only path that exists for me to take…”
His speech got paused again, this time, a sad look replaced his previously determined demeanor.
Heyo! What’s up!? ?(o_O)
conlang to this story! ?(＾?＾)?
(Like—grammar, unique alphabets, the whole package!)
(future-me will deal with that! ????? ), but if you want, you can suggest some!
Thanks for reading!(???????)?—?☆