In a world perpetually marred by power struggles and incessant battles for control, King Henry emerged as a beacon of change. His life's mission: to mend the scars of a tumultuous world and spare countless lives from the clutches of human greed. Through unwavering determination, he achieved the seemingly impossible, ushering in an era of peace that enveloped the realm.
However, the serenity shattered when, before my very eyes, his adopted son callously ended his life. The proclamation rang through the grieving crowd, "He will face the worst punishment I can think of and will pay!" The onlookers, torn between sorrow and vindication, erupted into applause, relishing the impending justice for their fallen king.
Outside the cell, Arthur confronted William with a pressing question, "Did you kill the king?"
"Of course not," William asserted.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the princess intervened, "Hold on, Arthur. While I trust William, we need to unravel the truth. How did my father die?"
Turning her gaze to William, the princess pressed, "So, William, how did he die?"
The answer, though implied, hung in the air as William began to unveil the sinister truth. "It's pretty obvious who it was. The king always has two Royal guards with him at all times – me and HIM. So, this is how HE killed your father, the king."
William:
William hesitated as he questioned, "Are you sure we should wait outside, Sir?"
"Yes, we follow the king's commands. If he wants us outside, we stay. If he commands us to kill, we obey. Even if he tells us to drink poison, we do it," HE replied, his tone exuding confidence. "But ease up, William. Even if there's a threat inside, I could handle it in an instant. You know better than anyone; there isn't a soul who could lay a finger on me."
"I apologize, sir. It's just unusual for him to talk to the priest alone, or anyone for that matter." An hour passed before the king emerged.
"UGH, that was tedious. My apologies, royal companions. The chat with the old priest sparked a desire to revisit my birthplace. Fancy a tour of my old home?" the king suggested.
"My lord, your home is quite a distance away. Are you sure? Do you not have other pressing matters?" I inquired.
"Ah, you're such a stickler. Come on, the kingdom will survive my absence for an hour. HE's okay with it, right?" the king asked, turning to HIM.
"Yes, your majesty, I'm at your service," HE affirmed.
"See HE's fine with it, William.and so are you right william?"
the king turned to me. "I suppose so, your majesty. We better get moving; darkness is approaching.
OFF WE GO!" the king declared.
As I settled into the carriage, I observed HIM securing the straps to pull the carriage around his shoulders. With the door closed, the king gestured for me to take the seat in front. The carriage started moving, HIM effortlessly pulling it like a powerful steed.
The king remarked, "Impressive strength HE possesses. He can pull this carriage with us inside effortlessly. Truly the strongest, wouldn't you agree, William?"
"Absolutely, your majesty. Our sparring sessions daily reveal his unmatched strength. It's as if he's waiting for me to surprise him. I would dread having him as an enemy," I said acknowledged.
The king chuckled, "Rest assured, my son, as long as I'm alive, you won't have to face his true strength. With both of you by my side, I'm confident in our safety. So, no need to worry." Grateful,
I smiled and expressed his thanks to the king.
We reached his home, a mere 30-minute journey from Thornwolf, the main city where the king now resides. I stepped out and assisted the king. Then HE spoke,
"William, go secure the area."
"You don't have to; I doubt there's anyone here. It's a ghost town," the king replied.
"Well, it's better to be safe, your majesty," I insisted.
As I conducted a quick check around the area and found nothing, I returned. Upon opening the cabin door, a sight of horror awaited me – the king's lifeless body lay before me, a knife embedded in his throat. It felt as if my heart had fallen out, the world spinning in a disorienting blur. Everything seemed wrong, and staring into HIS bloodied mask intensified the surreal horror. I couldn't discern whether it was reality or imagination, so I asked, "Why?"
"Why what, William? I'm not the one who did this; you are," HE gestured pointing at me.
"What?! What are you saying?"
"I told you to secure the area, and you left, never checking the cabin. So, as punishment, I killed the king. It's all your fault, William; you know better."
Anger and hatred surged within me, compelling my body to charge towards HIM with fists clenched in pure hatred. However, my assault was abruptly halted mid-air as HE grabbed me by the
throat, asserting,
"Know your place, little William."
The next moments blurred, and I found myself here. The princess reassured, "Alright, it's as I thought; I knew you would never harm my father. Just wait until night, and we'll rescue you."
"Wait, aren't we going to free him right now? There's no one around," Arthur suggested.
"We could, but then HE will show up and kill us," the princess explained.
Arthur chuckled, "I forgot, sorry."
Just be careful; HE is strong and very intelligent, so just be careful."
They nodded and departed. When midnight arrived, they returned, the princess clad in hand-made armor of fine metals, and Arthur in his everyday soldier uniform. Arthur opened my cell, and the princess handed me a hood, saying,
"Alright, we have an escape route planned. We are gonna tak..."
Their plan was interrupted by a man sighing, expressing irritation,
"Really? This is how you're gonna free him? Just come down here and give him a hood, really? HE knew you two weren't gonna believe the fake story he told everyone else, so he assigned us three to wait until you freed William so he could kill you without causing too much trouble.Anyway, we're here to kill you two."
"What was your plan, princess? Where are we going?"
She whispered, "The mythical forest."
I opened my eyes in shock but quickly lowered them so as not to reveal our destination.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, you remember the first time you and HIM entered; that's where we'll go," the princess confirmed.
"Alright, you two go ahead, and I'll meet you there."
As they ran behind me, Arthur pierced the wall with his sword, and both jumped down the tower. The man in front of me instructed the one on his left, covered in black,
"Go after them,"
as the black-clad man kneeled, and a portal opened under his feet. Rushing towards him, I tried to intervene, but a fire bullet from the right struck me. Shot backward, I grabbed the ground to halt. Turning around, I saw only two of them. The man declared,
"HE told us you would be hard to stop, but if one fire bullet can do that, then this should be relatively easy." He spoke confidently.
Rising to my feet, I charged at them unexpectedly. Grabbing both of their throats, I leaped high, throwing them forcefully to the ground. Anticipating their use of powers to mitigate damage, the fire user concealed himself with flames, while the other man relied on his empowered left arm to break the fall. Quickly clapping my hands behind me with immense force, I propelled myself towards them, conjuring a fist aimed at the fire mage. But just before landing the punch, he hit me with a fire bullet at close range. Accompanied by an explosion, I was sent backward as fast as I moved forward. Disoriented and agitated, I knelt on the ground. The fire mage conjured a large fire arrow above his head. At that moment, I yelled, "Enough!" With all my might, I lunged towards the empowered arm guy, slamming him headfirst into the ground. Then, I turned to the fire mage, whose eyes conveyed the fear of impending doom. I repeated the act, forcefully slamming his face towards the ground. These mages weren't powerful enough to kill or seriously harm me, but their abilities proved effective at agitating and slowing me down, stoking my fury.
Arthur:
As the princess and I escaped the prison tower, we fell from a super high place. I felt as if my heart and stomach were coming up to my throat. As we were about to land, the princess used her air mana to place us on the ground safely, and we began to run towards the mythical forest. In the far distance to the right, I saw William launch the two men to the ground but didn't spot the third. As I thought that, the princess yelled my name, "ARTHUR, STOP!!!" As I did, I noticed a black portal on the ground, and in it, a man, the third man that was missing from William's fight. He was dressed in an all-black robe; it looked pretty cool, and I wondered where I could get such a cool robe. Then the man spoke in a deep voice,
"You two are no longer needed, and so I will kill the both of yo..."
Before he finished his sentence, I activated my sword style and pierced him right above his heart, paralyzing him.
"Sorry, man, we don't have time for your chatter. You look cool and all, but not very smart if you knew who I was. I was trained by the finest swordsman, so please stop underestimating me,"I said as the princess and I began running.
"Arthur, quickly, in this building," the princess yelled at me.
"Don't we need to, you know, go to the checkpoint?" I asked, confused.
"YES, Arthur, there's a portal in this building I put before we came to William."
"OH, smart!" I yelled happily.
We entered the building, and there was a small portal built with small stones with runes engraved in them. "How much did this cost and take, princess?" "Ugh, time, about an hour, money,
I don't... know," the princess said almost ashamed.
"Ah, the perks of being royalty," I said mockingly.
She then gave me a warning look, and I quickly apologized,
"Sorry, your majesty."
We then quickly entered the portal, and to my surprise, William was not yet here.
"Oh, he's still fighting?"
"Well, you know how he is," the princess said.
Then, like if the Devil heard us, William came down with a big boom next to us.
"Ah, there he is!"