"Mehmed, teleport and catch him by surprise from behind. I will do same from his front. Axia, stay hidden in that grocery shop over there and wait for my call. Once you hear me shout 'now,' you swiftly attack him from his left side and slam him into that building over there." Rufus explained his new plan to the duo while pointing to a building that was just adjacent where Eliot could be seen standing.
"Mehmed, once Axia is in action, we both teleport to them and strangle him for Axia to begin the ritual. Is that understood?" They nodded in agreement.
Eliot's eyes lingered on the trio as intently as he could, letting out loud breaths to keep himself cool. He formed his palms into tight fists, mentally preparing himself for another big fight. His eyes was still on them until the trio suddenly disappeared from his view. Huh? Where did they go? He was suddenly put on urge, scanning around. He spread his senses as far as he could and a frown soon formed on his face. He could not sense their presence. Did they manage to conceal their presence from him? He fell in a state of alarm. The trio were definitely up to something.
Just then, a strong force slammed into him from behind. He gasped and let out a mix of saliva and blood from his mouth as the force sent his body flying to his face. However, just before his face could hit the ground, another force came slamming into him from his front. The prince, left in utter oblivion as to what was happening found himself flying into a carriage to the side. "Now." He heard Rufus command.
His back was only about to crash into the carriage when another strong force slammed into him from his left side, sending him crashing into a coffee shop. His body banged into the glass window, shattering it and landing him into the counter. The loud sound of glass shattering and his heavy body crashing into the counter filled the air. Swiftly as planned, the trio sped towards the boy lying weakly on his back in a dent created in the counter with glass shards scattered over him. Drops of blood made a trail on the floor as they entered the room. As quickly as they could, Rufus rested his heavy knee on the boys back, holding his arm in place while Mehmed held unto his legs firmly. Rufus mouthed something and soon, a deep shade of red and black ropes wrapped around the boy holding him in place. Rufus nodded to Axia to proceed and she did so without hesitation.
The queen began to chant a spell while her palm rested on the boy's head. A glow formed around her palm resting on his head and soon, Eliot began screaming in pain. He shook, struggling to free himself from the strong confines of the rope but it would not break. The boy continued screaming and trembling as the glow intensified until it encased him fully, slowing eating into his flesh. The queen continued chanting, while the glow performed its task by encasing the boy's body in a small crystal. Eliot screamed, trembled and fought for freedom but to no avail, until the crystal was nearly about to cover his head.
"No. You can trap me here all you want but I will still come for you. It is my destiny to rule. Ha-ha-ha." His pained voice came out desperate and viciously.
"Shut up beast. You can only get freedom from the one woman whom is truly your soulmate, but wait. How will you find her, when you will be trapped by then?" Lord Mehmed said in mockery.
"Wait for me. I will come for all of you. I will have my vengeance….no." He trailed off as the crystal consumed his chin and forehead, quickly covering his eyes, nose, and successfully covering his mouth. Rufus heaved a sigh of relieve and let himself lean against a pillar with his eyes shut, while the others sat on the floor. Mehmed frowned at the small crystal lying on the floor and took it. He held it close to his face and just could not believe his eyes- that a few hours ago, Eliot was in a serious battle with them and now he was trapped in this crystal. Everything felt funny and strange to him at the same time.
Lord Asmodeus by now was lying weakly in the swan bubble, his eyes slowing giving in to the darkness. His eyes welled up as he saw from his hazy eyes the rogues and undead far off still fighting the faes in the distance, suddenly withering away. It was evident the battle had ended and they had succeeded in putting an end to Eliot as planned, but why? Why did something good as this hurt so much. As much as he hated it, Eliot was still his son and he loved the boy dearly. His weak mind wondered off to his wife, Ravana, and how broken she would become at the news of her son's end. Soon, loud cheering sounded all over, only confirming his thoughts, that indeed, the battle was over. He heaved a sigh, and allowed the darkness consume him.
....
As Lord Asmodeus watched the scenes of the past play before his very eyes, his eyes welled. He had failed as a father. He had failed to save his son. He instead let his son meet a tragic end and it irked him that even until now, he still could not find an exact way to help his son out. Of course the girl Tezznin was there, but even his visions of late told him otherwise of his initial revelation. Could it be that fate itself did not know what it wanted of the boy, or could it be that the boy lived by his own rules and wrote his own story? Nothing made sense to him. He prayed for a sign- anything at all that could give him the assurance he needed but here he was. In the darkness, watching things that were already dead and gone playing before him. A pity it was for him.
As time elapsed, the Lord began to regain consciousness and he found himself still in the cave with Heracles lying weakly on the bed. Beads of sweat was on his forehead while he kept on shivering. The Lord rose to his feet and walked towards the man. He touched his forehead and realized the man's temperature had risen to an unusual degree. Had it not been for the fact that Lord Asmodeus knew exactly what was wrong with the former, he would have been thrown into a state of paranoia. His gaze travelled from the former to the entrance, where the water kept falling and began to near it, but he was abruptly halted by Heracles' strong grip on his wrist. He turned to the former and a sudden darkness fell upon him again. A little while after, he frowned as he found himself outside the walls of Tezznin's house.
...…
There by the gate, stood both Tezznin and a small girl somewhere around the age of eleven. In Tezznin's hand was the necklace. She was smiling fondly at the girl who was saying something he could not hear to her. The Lord watched intently as Tezznin gave away the necklace to the girl whom triumphantly took it without hesitation and the girl soon dropped an object in Tezznin's palm. Both smiled to themselves as they hugged and bid themselves goodbye. The girl then run to a man the Lord presumed was her father and they entered into a black jeep that drove away soon.
The scene shifted and Lord Asmodeus found himself in a room, where he found the little girl from earlier lying fast asleep in bed. She was mouthing something amid her sleep and the Lord could not help but be curious and went close to her. He frowned when he heard her say,
"Oh, oh encaged one."
"Be free, be free, be free."
"For thine has set you free."
"Be free, be free, be free."
"Roam the walls of this earth and let your purpose shine."
What was the girl talking about? What did she mean by roam the walls of this earth and let your purpose shine? He frowned. Did this mean his vision some years back was upon them? That Eliot would set himself free. What about Tezznin? Did he get things wrong or was it that Tezznin was not actually meant to free his son. That she was only the medium to reach the little girl. Too many questions flooded his mind.
His gaze settled on the necklace around the girl's neck. Tezznin had joined the broken crystal together and held it neatly with a golden coil around it. For some odd reason, looking at the crystal made the Lord fall into fear. He was dreading something huge. The stone began to glow. The man watched intently as the glow got brighter until it was almost too bright for his eyes. He turned his head away from it and after a while, once it was dim again, he turned his head to the girl again. However, he was left puzzled at the sight of his son standing so tall and poised over the girl. His mouth fell agape. Eliot was here, right before his eyes. A sudden urge to embrace the boy came upon him. Oh how he wanted to tell him how much he had missed him and how sorry he was for failing him as a father. He wanted to walk to his little boy and embrace him the longest but realization soon dawned on him that all that could only be possible in his imagination. He was sure Eliot must hate him with all his might.
The scene shifted again and he found himself at the demon palace. The heir to the throne, the oldest son of Lord Mehmed, Prince Balam, was getting married. His jaw dropped as the bride came trailing along the walkway to the aisle and it was none other than Tezznin. What did all this mean? He did not understand. Tezznin was going to wed Prince Balam. Then what was going to happen to Eliot? A deep frown and confusion flashed over his face. The scene shifted again and this time he saw his son, Eliot, lying in a pool of blood with Tezznin still in her gown screaming and trying to peel herself from the strong grip of some guards holding her in place. Her scornful gaze was upon Prince Balam holding unto a knife soaking with blood.
Everything was playing out so fast that he could not exactly cotton unto what was happening. Then he found himself at a grave that displayed his son's name boldly engraved in it. Lord Asmodeus' heart dropped. Was this what the future held?