At the Silver Palace....
In the dimly lit confines of the silver palace, intricate patterns of moonlight danced upon the walls, casting ethereal shadows across its ancient structure. The walls, crafted from shimmering silver, seemed to pulse with a faint glow, reflecting the flicker of torches and candles scattered throughout the halls.
Within its chambers, rare materials from distant realms adorned the palace's interiors, including luminous moonstone pillars that seemed to hum with otherworldly energy, and delicate strands of celestial silver woven into tapestries that depicted mythical scenes of forgotten epochs.
At the heart of the palace, upon a dais of obsidian, sat the dark throne of the king, an imposing seat of power adorned with twisted spires and jagged edges, exuding an aura of both majesty and foreboding.
Shadows clung to its cold, metallic surface, hinting at the secrets harbored within its depths. Behind the throne, a tapestry of midnight velvet depicted the constellations of a distant galaxy, their stars seeming to twinkle with an eerie, almost sentient light.
Three Gnostic disciples marched inside, and in the next second, Thorian manifested at the silver-coated entrance.
The Silver King welcomed him with a smile, and the dark witch, lingering at the King's side, bowed to him.
"I received your message yesterday. Is it what I am thinking?" Thorian asked, and the King replied,
"Yes."
In an underground cage within the palace, where Arion was confined, he opened his eyes, realizing his hands had been chained.
The floor of the underground cage was covered with hay, emitting smell of dung.
Irritation welled up, and Arion attempted to unleash his magic to break the chain gripping his hands together to his back, only to realize the chain didn't break; instead, his hand froze.
It startled him, especially considering the extreme power he was said to possess.
"Save your power. Do you think I would still be here if I could use my power in this place?" Arion heard a voice and, looking to his left, saw Master Chen and Sarah, the young girl, locked in a different cage.
The demarcation between the cages was hardy metals.
"Master Chen!" He shouted, but the man seemed drained, coughing up blood.
The cage was covered with smoke that affected Arion's brain when he shouted.
"The evil formation in this secret room affects your mind when you shout, and you can't use magic; instead, your magic gets drained when you use it. I fear if we are going to make it out of here," said Master Chen.
Arion made a tense grin, holding in his anger.
"So, someone can go to such lengths to steal my magic? Demons and Golangane fairies are surprisingly alike in greediness!"
This time, Arion tried harder to break the chain. However, he suffered a chilling, burning sensation in his hand.
"Puff!" Arion gasped as he felt the chills down his spine.
He realized it was futile to break free immediately, opting instead to bide his time with Master Chen and Sarah and, definitely, not spare the lives of others in the palace.
"I promise, no one else will step out of this palace soon, only the three of us!" he declared, though he had little desire to care for others at that moment.
"You've got to forgive me. I was the one who exposed you. Now, they know who you are and what you are after," said Master Chen, his words faint due to extreme stress. "They know your past identity and that.....you were reincarnated with a young man's body...."
A sneer played on Arion's lips that someone knew more about him than he personally did.
It was the first time he heard his current body was fake!
(12 hours ago)
The Silver King confronted Thorian to reveal his forbidden sorcery, as the Enthralled Shadow Thorian couldn't provide the magic he sought.
However, Thorian retorted with a threat, "I have got nothing to lose. But what about you? Everything in your life will be lost, and you would rot in hell forever! The demon king won't turn a blind eye to it in the end."
Afterward, Thorian instructed the Silver King to capture a man named Arion, claiming he would make him a powerful and formidable Enthralled Shadow, as the guy had always exterminated the greatest shadows he created.
Soon after, the king discovered that Arion was the same as the mountain god who had escaped from his grasp previously.
Inquiring with one of the guards who had previously searched for the mountain god, the king learned that the god was seen leaving their realm's mountain with some Golangane people.
However, they disappeared before capture was possible.
The king, accompanied by some men and the dark witch, invaded the mountain in search of clues. Using her dark powers, the witch located the paths Arion had taken out of the mountain. She and the king followed the trail, but it abruptly ended.
"Why did he visit this place last? There's nothing here—no house or hideout for him to stay," the king remarked, puzzled.
The dark witch, however, had a different plan in mind.
Incantations escaped her lips, and suddenly, Master Chen's invisible house materialized. Soldiers arrived, and at the king's command, they surrounded the house.
Master Chen stepped out, his confidence unwavering, and demanded, "What's happening here? No one enters my house without my permission. This is a clear intrusion, you know, Silver King?"
Ignoring his protests, the king ordered the guards to search the house for the wanted man. But they found nothing except a little girl inside, who was Sarah.
Master Chen glared at the king and groaned, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
The king noticed the guard holding the girl and, understanding his signal, the guard placed his sword at her throat.
"Tell me where the mountain god is, and I will spare you and the girl," said the Silver King.
Master Chen glared at him, anger surging through him as the little girl whimpered in fear.
"Why do you think I know the whereabouts of that stranger you're talking about? I've lived my life in this mountain invisibly all these years, and I don't meddle with people's affairs. So why do you think I am connected to some unknown god?" he replied softly.
The King smirked, having expected such a response.
"Who knows if you will cooperate when that girl's life is at stake? You've never married, so the girl can't be your daughter. She must be one of the people you are used to saving, including the mountain god you deny!"
Then, he ordered the guard to kill the girl, but Master Chen summoned his sword and severed the guard's arms.
"Kharrr!" The guard wailed and moaned in pain, now completely armless.
"You don't kill, unless I allow you to do so!" Master Chen declared, unleashing a myriad of magic from his sword, sending more guards flying.
The Silver King then instructed the witch to play her role.
A wooden harp appeared in her hand—a large musical instrument with strings stretched on a vertical frame, played with the fingers.
As she played, hypnotic waves emanated, affecting those in front of her—Master Chen, Sarah, and the guards.
They lost their balance immediately upon hearing the sound. Master Chen covered Sarah's ears, subjecting himself to the painful sounds.
"Everything will be okay, Sarah," he assured her.
The sounds grew increasingly hypnotic, causing the guards to fall into a seemingly unconscious state. Master Chen, however, resisted the enchantment, fighting against it with all his might.
The witch intensified her efforts, casting a power-suppressing spell into the harp's strings. As the name implies, the spell was capable of neutralising someone's magic.
Master Chen began to feel dizzy, his hand falling from Sarah's ears. She passed out immediately upon hearing the sound.
Master Chen, determined to protect her, continued to resist but ultimately lost the battle.
The Silver King absorbed the souls of the fallen guards into his body, multiplying his power. Another set of guards arrived to take Master Chen and Sarah to the palace.
"He will surely change his mind as he experiences the pain from the Ache serpents. Is he going to continue protecting the mountain god or prioritize his own life and magic?" the king smirked. "The question has an answer already."
These tormenting creatures, known as "Ache Serpents," possess a snake-like form and a sinister purpose. They specialize in inflicting excruciating pain on their victims, their power increasing as their target's resistance grows. Ache Serpents are notorious for their role in torturing individuals, making them endure unimaginable suffering.