The Black Mountain Castle is a group of caves that were carved and prepared to become a castle inside the mountain. It's said to have existed for hundreds of years and is now the palace of the new king. Or rather, it serves as a prison for the enemies of the new king. The castle and the surrounding atmosphere used to instill fear, but now it's even more terrifying due to the sounds of the tortured prisoners.
A tall, beautiful woman in her twenties with long black hair walked slowly among the cells. The sound of her heels silenced all other noises. No one dared to breathe, and they suppressed their moans. This beauty, dressed in revealing tight clothes, was actually one of the most skilled torturers. Her preferred weapon was a sacred-level whip with tiny venomous thorns that intensified pain for anyone it touched.
*Tak tak tak*
The sound of her heels echoed in the corridor, stopping at the last cell. She extended her hand, holding a key, and unlocked the door. Her face lit up with joy as she stood before the red-skinned young man hanging from chains.
"Sixth one, missed your big sister?" She taunted.
No response. "Why don't you answer me? Did I hurt you too much last night?" She slowly placed her hand on his battered body and licked the blood that clung to her fingers. The young man lifted his head weakly and asked, "When will he return? How long must I wait?"
The Fifth one chuckled softly, her sweet voice filled with mockery. "Oh, tired of my company already? I came all this way just for you. You've always been cruel to me."
*Howl*
The howl of a wolf interrupted the Fifth one. Annoyance crossed her features as she turned to see a plump-cheeked, stocky young man standing behind the massive wolf, which stood over a meter tall. He's the Fourth one, the beast tamer and overseer of the ancestral island. While his combat skills were weak, his intelligence and management abilities made him a valuable member of the group.
*Cough* The Fourth one cleared his throat and addressed them calmly, "
" The teacher has arrived, so stop your nonsense and...," he yelled. Suddenly, before the Fifth one could comprehend what was happening, she received a kick to her chest that sent her flying, crashing into the wall due to the immense physical force of the Sixth. The girl lost consciousness. The Sixth one then stepped forward and took up her whip.
"Attack him, tear him apart!" shouted the plump man with the wolf. The latter began to growl, readying itself to pounce on its prey. The Sixth one grinned and with a flick of the whip, calmed the giant wolf, ignoring its master's commands.
"Idiot, you're supposed to be the cleverest among us. How did you not realize that the Fifth one changed your beast with a wolf she tamed?"
In that moment, the plump man realized the wolf before him wasn't the same one he had tamed. It had been betrayed.
"Let's get back to our topic. What were you shouting... Ah, I remember... Attack him, tear him apart."
The enraged wolf leaped at the Fourth, tearing into his neck with its fangs. Blood splattered, staining the cell's floor red. In an instant, the Fourth was dead, unable to resist.
The Sixth one approached a prisoner, freed them, and handed them the whip. "The giant wolf will obey you as long as you hold the whip. Don't fear it. Overcoming the guards won't be an issue. But remember, the beast acknowledges a true master. What do you think will happen if its master awakens?"
He pointed to the unconscious girl without adding another word. The prisoner clearly understood his intention. Unperturbed by the words of gratitude and thankful looks from the other prisoners, the Sixth one left for the throne room, ignoring the Fifth one's screams as she regained consciousness.
He paused for a moment before a colossal door. Behind that door awaited his ultimate adversary, his teacher, his father.
A majestic voice resonated from within the chamber, "My dear child, you've truly broken your old father's heart. Is this how you betray him? Is this how a dutiful son behaves?"
The Sixth one collected himself and entered the throne room, which resembled a massive cavern adorned with giant golden skulls. The throne itself was black, and upon it sat a man in his fifties with long white hair and blue eyes. A light beard covered his face, and despite being in his fifth decade, he remained slender. The wrinkles on his face were a reflection of the venom technique he had mastered. While his body weakened day by day, it was not enough for anyone to dare challenge him.
"Tell me, remind my ears how you disposed of your five siblings?"
The Sixth one confidently approached the king, known as the Plague, and answered as if presenting a report on one of his tasks, as was the norm.
"The mission wasn't a top priority, to be honest. As the saying goes, a divided house cannot stand. Killing the second brother was inevitable. That man truly despised me. As for the third, he acted on his own and killed the first brother's beloved. He paid the price with his life for that."
With composure, the Sixth one continued, "The fourth was plump, not the sharpest tool in the shed. He was overly loyal and quite the glutton. Manipulating him into attacking the others was child's play. The Fifth, the beautiful traitor, was enamored with her own reflection. She let her guard down after taming the giant wolf, allowing me to overpower her."
The Plague, the king, sat on his black throne with his long white hair and piercing blue eyes, his face partially obscured by a light beard. Despite being in his fifties, he remained lean due to the effects of the venom technique he had mastered. His body weakened day by day, but not enough for anyone to dare stand against him.
"Tell me, remind my ears how you disposed of your five siblings?"
"And you know the First one, guilt will eventually consume him, and most likely, he'll isolate himself in some temple. There's no need to mention the Fifth and the Sixth ones. Until today, I haven't figured out why I gave them numbers in the first place."
*Ha ha ha* The old man's mad laughter echoed through the throne room. "Ah, you truly resemble me. We are indeed two sides of the same coin. Killing you will actually sadden me, perhaps more than when I killed my sister. My grief for killing you might rival my sorrow when I learned of my mother's suicide. It's unfortunate, but next time, I won't be the one choosing you."
The Sixth one didn't fully comprehend the recent campaign, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. In the blink of an eye, the old man vanished from the throne and reappeared before him.
His sword had indeed pierced the Sixth one's chest. In the midst of the silence, one could hear the blood dripping onto the ground. Despite the circumstances, a wide smile remained on the Sixth one's face, while the king was in a fit of rage, his eyebrows furrowed. The boy didn't resist or attempt to evade the attack. This indicated one thing.
"A trap! You used yourself as bait. What do you plan to do?"
A golden magical circle appeared on the Sixth one's chest, emitting a glow as audible incantations began to resonate.
With each elevated chant, the golden light intensified until it covered his entire body.
The king's face turned black, and he tried to back away, but he couldn't escape the Sixth one's powerful grasp.
The golden light continued to shine, engulfing the entire room. For a moment, blinding light overtook the stone fortress. Finally, the Sixth one released his grip, and the king jumped backward. Though his vision had been damaged due to the light, he could still ascertain that he was unscathed.
"Whatever you did, it hasn't... What's this pain that's overwhelming me? What are these fires consuming my bones?"
He raised his head to find a smiling face before him. However, the smiling face he saw was not the Sixth one's; it was his own. Finally, he understood the nature of the spell his child had used. It was a body-swapping spell, and now he was dying within the Sixth one's body, not because of the sword thrust into his chest – the Sixth one's powerful, cell-regenerating body would easily heal from such a wound – but because of the poison infused into the sword, which was now dissolving his body from the inside.
In his final moments, a smile never left his lips, and he repeated, "You are my best child."
*Thud*
The body of the Sixth one, now inhabited by the king's soul, fell to the ground before the throne. The mad laughter was the last sound that echoed through the room.
"You truly... are two sides of the same coin."