The sound of a whip was echoing in the basement of the Megalima kingdom, two executioners dressed in black, holding a whip swinging in each hand, and a boy with a bloodied back huddled in the middle of the prison room.
The boy is Prince Megalima, Prince Thomas Phyla, he has been tortured and detained in this underground prison for almost a month. The Megalima Kingdom was a coup by his aunt.
The Queen, his beloved mother, died because of poison, his older sister was sold to a brothel, and until now he does not know whether she is still alive or not.
He tried to save the throne and his family, but ended up with the curse of the White Wizard, the aunt's right hand, making his body shrink and lose all his strength slowly. His aunt loved to torture, she absolutely wouldn't let him die before she begged him to die.
Previously, he was a very strong prince, a sword knight, tall, well built, and had some muscles in his arms, jet-black hair, and blue eyes. No one could resist the charm of Thomas Phyla, the prince of Megalima.
But now Thomas hates this body, his defeat in his battle to save the throne of the Megalima kingdom against the Aunt, made him cursed by the White Wizard so that his body shrinks like a five-year-old child. His body can't stand the pain and is very weak, his hair and eyes turn white with time. Its power is gradually disappearing.
Thomas didn't scream or scream as the whips of the executioners swung unceasingly at his back, he still had the pride of a prince.
The executioners were tired and weary. They came every three hours and whipped for a whole hour, annoyed that the prince didn't die.
They came out, leaving Thomas slumped on the ground, his body covered in blood, his whole body aching and sore. He crawled, trying to get up slowly, his hands shaking as he gripped the iron bars.
"I have to run away from here," Thomas said softly with a gasped breath, he would die silly if he lingered here.
Within a month, he had been trying hard to remember the magic runes his grandmother taught him, ancient magic, for self-rescue, a kind of teleportation to faraway places.
Thomas didn't know where he was going, it didn't matter now, didn't know if it worked or not, he wasn't a wizard. This small body of his would not last long and would soon bleed to death.
His trembling fingers moved to draw magic runes with difficulty, his lips moved to say a few words of incantation. He was desperate.
"If this doesn't work, then today is my last day," said Thomas, taking a deep breath.
Blood flowed into the rune. After five minutes, nothing happened. Thomas began to think about ending his life. The executioner's footsteps came galloping, and Thomas was about to bite his tongue.
The cell is opened and the chains that bind it rattling are brought in. The executioner dragged his small body, slamming against the wall, Thomas felt some of his ribs snap. He shut his mouth tightly.
"PRASH .... "
The magic rune suddenly cast a dark black shadow, and quickly enveloped Thomas' body, dragging him away. Thomas smiled before coughing blood. The shadow absorbed his body and Thomas felt excruciating pain in his body.
"I did it," he mumbled quietly. The executioner didn't have time to do much, Thomas's body disappeared in an instant.
In another place, far from the corners of the Megalima kingdom, a stooped woman in a black robe is collecting swamp flower seeds in her wrinkled cloth pocket.
The woman is Amara Iris, a witch who is hundreds of years old. She was badly injured in the past war, making her body no longer immortal. Her body slowly aged and wrinkled, only skin covering the bones. She must find a replacement body quickly before her body rots, eaten by maggots.
But this place seemed to be holding her back, the safest hiding place for hundreds of years that she had imprisoned himself.
She must find a human, a beautiful and well-built girl to restore her strength and body. But here in the swamp of death, there is no one but her and her pet Litzy, who is now in the form of a rat hanging around her feet.
She collects swamp flower seeds to eat, to survive in her final moments. She was ready to die, no human would come to this place no matter how long she waited, Iris resigned and felt that her life for hundreds of years was boring.
Iris walked across the black swamp, closing the hood of her robe tightly, not wanting to see her reflection in the water, her face like a skull.
"Litzy, if I die, you have to live well."
Iris took out the seeds of the swamp flower and placed them on top of the log, the black mouse approached rapidly, its eyes flickering in confusion.
Litzy had served Iris for hundreds of years, and it was only today that she saw her master so desperate like this.
Iris had already prepared the coffin that she had placed in the meadow, the woods being put together carelessly, planted flowers around it, and made her headstone.
Amara Iris's name was written painstakingly on the wood with a thin stone. Her name was perfectly engraved on her tombstone.
Iris looked up at the sky, in the swamp of death, there was no day or night, only the sky was cloudy and windy. The sun was always covered in clouds and fog, making the place feel humid.
"These are my last moments," she mumbled, preparing herself to lie down in the coffin, already feeling her end approaching.
Litzy was silent on the log, watching her master's actions. The rat couldn't do much. She was just a servant and took the form of a rat. What could be expected other than watching the master die?
Iris looked at Litzy, smiling, but what the rat saw was Iris's hideous face, her skin completely fused to the bone.
"Litzy, thanks for being my servant. You are free now." Iris said, then came to her senses and laughed aloud, "Litzy, you're so poor, you're free, but you can't get out of this place."
She lay down, the sky was still cloudy and she knew it would be. She closed her eyes, Iris's hands clutching a bunch of swamp flowers, preparing to die.
"Goodbye," she muttered. Litzy lowered her head as if to salute.
There was a moment of silence, the rat didn't know whether her master was dead or not. Scenes like this were repeated almost every day.
In reality, Iris wasn't dead either.
"Blurb ... Blurb ..."
The swamp water suddenly churned, forming a vortex in the middle and rolling in circles. The rat stood with her feet looking, then saw her master who was motionless in the coffin.
Again, she was just a rat, unable to do anything but watch.
"PLASSHH ...."
The swamp water suddenly released something, hurling a body to the ground. The sound made a loud thud, forcing Litzy to hide behind a rock. The black marsh water splashed into the sky, causing a sudden downpour.
"Ah ... it's raining!" Iris shouted as she rose from her coffin. Unaffected by the loud noise, she spread her arms wide, welcoming the rain.
Litzy just looked at her master lazily. In her heart, she already knew Iris wouldn't die.
The meadow turned wet from the spilled swamp water, Iris got up slowly, afraid she would break her arm or leg if she got up suddenly.
"What's that?"
Not far from them, a boy with white hair covered in swamp mud lay helplessly.
"A human?"