"So, what does this Darym the Breaker get anything to do with any of this?"
Aaric Langhorne leaned back against his lone armchair. He looked at each teen, from Azran to Sunny and Heon. The three of them waited with halted breath. Confusion and wonderment seemed to bleed into one.
Then, with a long sigh, the bald, old man turned to the partially white-haired boy who had just asked him. "Darym the Breaker got everything to do with this. Everything." Another sigh. "If what my gut told me is right, that is."
Sunny scoffed, "So, all this waiting is only for you to speak from your gut? What a bust. But, at least it'll be more interesting now."
Hearing the nonchalant tone, the green-haired earth mage decided to step in. "This is not the time to find an interesting thing for your entertainment. Our lives are in danger because of it."
"Danger is my middle name," the manic boy poked his tongue out.
Before they escalated to fight again, Heon cleared his throat, bringing attention to him. "Then, what are you saying, sir? Does it mean that Darym the Breaker is the immortal who brought me here?"
"Wait, didn't you say it was a God wearing a yellow cloak?" Azran interrupted.
"Darym the Breaker was a mage who lived centuries ago. He was cursed by the Gods to have a long life with nothing to kill him. Later, he grew too powerful and volatile. I didn't say anything about Darym the Breaker being a God." Aaric turned a sharp eye at the boy in the middle.
Being the recipient of that stare, Sunny rubbed the back of his neck.
"Still, how can you be sure he's the one who brought me here, sir?" Heon probed again.
"Like I said, I have a hunch. Besides, the legend told in the safety of the palace was about Darym the Breaker. He was cursed to be immortal after doing something terrible. Something that made Gods angry."
"What is that?"
"Darym the Breaker opened a portal to another world. One where Gods had no reigns, no power to even stayed more than a day."
"That's it?" Heon didn't think that was all of it. "The Gods punished Darym the Breaker just because he opened a portal to a world where they have no power? That sounds like a–"
"Dick move." Sunny chimed in, completing the sentence without being asked.
Though, for once, Heon could agree with the blond mage. Now, he wondered if the Gods here were truly that powerful, knowing they punished a guy for opening a portal to another world where they wouldn't be considered Gods.
On the other hand, Azran disagreed. "We live in this world, and our power came from the Gods. If people from another world came here carrying their weapons that Gods have no power against, what does that mean for us?"
Right. Of course.
"Anyway," the green-haired girl turned to Heon. "What did he want you to retrieve?"
"I don't know." He spoke the truth. "He never told me."
Sunny butted in, "That's ridiculous. Or is it only your imagination, after all?"
Heon glared at the blond. "I didn't ask to be brought to another world where I became the most wanted criminal, okay? Why would I make up something like this if my life is in danger now?"
"For the thrill," Sunny chuckled, grinning wide by his side. "That's why I keep you around. I don't regret things, you know. I enjoy the adrenaline. It's fun with your stupidity around."
Anger flashed in his brown eyes, so Heon took a deep breath to calm himself. There were other important matters to deal with.
"I don't think we should be talking about that now," he directed this to the bald, old man.
Aaric nodded, "Ah, yes, yes. You can stay here for as long as you want. I won't tell anyone."
"Just like that?"
The old man raised a greying eyebrow. "Just like that."
Heon frowned, looking at his companions. Sunny merely stuck his finger in his nose. Picking boogers. Disgusting. He did that in public, in front of a stranger who would be their savior, one way or another.
Thankfully, Azran was dependable. She gave a reassuring nod. "I've known him for years. You can trust him."
"I want to ask first," he said to Aaric. "Do you know anything about the original kingslayer? About the death of the king?"
"It's you, dummy," the blond said, ignored by the others.
Aaric took a moment in silence. His frail-looking hand rubbed against his greying beard. Unlike the nonexistent hair on top of his head, his beard was thick and bushy. "I've been here for years, so you've got the wrong person to ask about what's happening in the capital. But I can tell you something else."
"And that is …."
"Whether you are truly the real person who killed the king or not, I know that his demise is coming."
"Well, duh," Sunny rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "You all will die sometimes."
The green-haired mage scoffed, "As if you won't."
"I won't."
"Because you'll beg your God to curse you to live forever?"
"No, but–"
"Can we focus?" Heon interrupted then, patience running thin. He turned back to the bald, old man. "Why did you say that, sir? How could you know?"
"The late king, Verghan Basha, was a powerful man. He got his authority and influence throughout the kingdoms. If you ask everyone in this kingdom, they'd say he was the best. It's true, at some point. King Verghan had sworn that he'd unite all five kingdoms into one. He wouldn't rest until he succeeded that."
"How unfortunate, he failed that," Sunny jeered, now picking at his nails.
"Sadly, yes. But not without reason." Aaric murmured, "The death of his first son, the late Crown Prince Vernand Basha, was the cause of his weakening willpower. He may fail to unite all five kingdoms, but under his reign, Bahran Pasai had grown into this big kingdom, the center of everything."
"Cut the case, will you? What does that have to do with any of this?" Sunny impolitely interjected.
"We have established that the late King Verghan Basha was the most powerful man in the kingdom. And when you want someone to keep an important yet dangerous thing, you would choose the one who holds the most power."
"Huh?"
"King Verghan Basha of Bahran Pasai was one of the Keepers of the Keys."
"… Keepers of the Keys ..?"