Kora sat in silence, looking at Theresa and Fjara.
She grumbled in her mind as she waited for Ruun to come back.
But as the minutes passed, she grew uneasy.
It was easy for Ruun to defeat all the enemies they had faced up until then, but she got used to being by his side.
And when she was away from him, she felt restless.
But right when she was about to get up, and go towards the castle, she heard Ruun's words in her mind.
'Kora, get Theresa and Fjara, and come in. I need you.'
The magic words.
She would always get in a frenzy, every time she heard Ruun say he needed her.
"Come on, time to move." She got up and urged the two girls to follow her.
She walked, remembering the first time Ruun found out about her special capabilities.
And while the thoughts of such a sweet moment fleeted in and out of her mind, the most wicked grin spread through her lips.
When they entered the castle, the main hall was deadly silent, and the king lay, on his knees, before Ruun.
The floor underneath him, once a gleaming white marble, now just a messy pool of blood.
"I'm here, master." Kora announced herself, even though she knew it was unnecessary.
"Good. You know what to do." Ruun turned towards the trio. "It doesn't matter how many times I kill him and bring him back, he just won't say a word about what I want to know. So, he's all yours."
"No... You don't understand..." Vartas retorted. "I just can't tell you who 'he' is, now please... L-let me go..."
"I already told you that I'm not good with repeating myself, brother..." Both Kora and Theresa froze at Ruun's word. "But I'll be good for once, and tell you again. I won't let you go, unless you tell me what that ritual is about, and who is the one behind your revival."
"Brother..." Vartas pleaded.
"Kora, he's yours." was the only thing Ruun said.
He then stepped back, and approached Theresa and her daughter.
"I think you should look back." His voice sounded amused.
The girls turned around, but he didn't.
Ruun wanted to look.
Because he only saw Kora in action four times in a millennia.
And to him, it was the prettiest vision in all existence.
And not even just because he hates Vartas' guts.
No.
Theresa covered Fjara's ears, as soon as the screaming began, and Ruun felt a shiver run down his spine, due to such mesmerizing moves that Kora displayed.
She had the torturing kit hidden in a pocket dimension that she called 'Inventory', and every time she reached out to the tiny black rift that opened like a tear in space and time, she took a different tool.
And every time she grabbed a tool, Vartas would scream louder and louder.
He begged for the pain to stop.
He begged for Ruun to kill him once and for all.
But every time, Ruun would heal him, only for him to feel more, insurmountable pain.
Minutes turned into hours.
Hours turned into an almost ending day.
And when Ruun was finally certain that his brother was so adamant, that no amount of pain in existence would make him say a thing, Vartas finally wavered.
"OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU!"
Ruun raised his brows, and Kora turned to look at him, clearly frustrated, but the predator smile was still there.
"What's this ritual that you told me about?"
"We... We're going to summon the... The... GHYAAARGH!"
Varta's shriek echoed through the main hall, and little by little, he began bleeding from all of his pores.
And after a few seconds, there was nothing of Ruun's brother but blood, dry flesh, and bones.
"That was... A curse?" Theresa asked, her eyes wide after turning towards the scene and looking at what remained of Ruun's brother.
"No, not a curse." Ruun retorted, squinting his eyes.
Theresa looked at him, ready to say something, but not a word left her lips.
She was perplexed enough to not be able to say a thing.
She only saw the world through magic, and nothing ever imagined that there would be anything major than that in the existence.
Even more, because the Great Constellation was the most powerful being they ever met, aside from Ruun.
And its power had its source in the mana that permeated the universe.
Ruun, on the other hand, had experienced many things more to the world and beyond.
And what he felt, when his brother started to die in front of him, aside from joy, was a far deeper power than he ever felt, even in the Abyss.
"It seems like, whoever brought him back to life, doesn't want us to know who or what they are..."
"So, we lost the trail?" Kora looked at Ruun, knowing he had an answer.
"At least, you got rid of the king, and brought peace to the realm..." Theresa shrugged, timidly.
"Not quite." Ruun retorted, smiling, and both girls looked confused as he said it. "We didn't quite lose the trail, 'and' we didn't quite bring peace to the realm, yet."
"What do you mean, master?" Kora's eyes widened.
"I mean," Ruun started, tucking his hands into his pockets. "that whatever or whoever brought Vartas back, also brought others back, too. Which means..."
"Which means that whoever the 'we' that your... Brother, mentioned, is going to keep on with the plan of summoning whatever thing that brought them to life, into our world?"
Theresa's words were precise, but shaken.
She knew that if whatever killed Ruun's brother, didn't use a curse, the thing might be way more powerful than the Great Constellation.
"Yes. And it means that the realm isn't at peace. Yet." Ruun shrugged. "Do you trust yourself to take care of the realm while me and Kora are away?"
Theresa stood there, in silence, waiting for someone to answer the question.
But when reality hit her, she started stuttering, mumbling that she wouldn't be a worthy queen, if she couldn't even do what was right, a thousand years ago.
"We can talk about it later." Ruun looked at Theresa, serious. "The point is, I can't just sit idly by, and watch as people summon some unknown power onto 'my' world. So, I can't keep my castle while I'm out. Which means that I'm not 'asking' you if you 'can' be a queen. I'm 'telling' you that I need you to be the queen."
After a few seconds of hesitation, Theresa finally answered.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Does it mean we are going to live in the castle now, omma?" Fjara looked excited.
But Theresa didn't reply.
She just looked at Ruun and Kora, as they turned around to leave.
"Will you come back?" Theresa seemed apprehensive.
"Do you really think I'm gonna leave 'my' castle?" Ruun laughed. "Also, it's not as if I'm being sent into the Abyss again. Of course I'll come back, after I gather some answers."
And Theresa just stood there, watching as Ruun and Kora left with a teleportation spell.
"Omma..." Fjara pulled her shirt.
"Yes, my darling?"
"Do we have to clean all of this, too?"
Theresa screamed as she understood what she had been left with.