Inside a room at Silver Palace where eerie sounds traveled across every nook, Master Chen was tied to a chair, with his hand secured to the chair's posterior.
Being too adamant, the witch released four Ache Serpents from a cubic box.
And as the creatures entwined with him, a loud cry of pain broke out.
These creatures possessed not only harmful dark powers but also fangs and claws containing poison.
Master Chen screamed in agony as the sharp claws dug into his flesh.
His eyes turned red, and beads of sweat formed on his temple.
"Spill it out already. You won't last more than twenty minutes if you continue this way," said the dark witch, both manipulatively and persuasively.
However, Master Chen sneered. He then said, "I didn't live this long as an immortal cultivator to be killed like an ant. Is this all you have got?!"
The dark witch breathed in loudly.
With a flick of her finger, the pain surged through him again.
He had thought he could resist the torture with time, but it only appeared to escalate even higher.
The more he tried to control his mind, the more the Ache Serpents inflicted pain on him.
"The stronger your resistance, the more you put me at advantage," the witch said as a maniacal smile broke out on her lips.
Just at that moment, Master Chen's head fell forward, and his eyes closed.
Simultaneously, his hands lost any hint of life in them.
The Silver King entered the room and asked, "Has he said anything?"
"He'll do soon," said the dark witch confidently.
[Silence]
As anticipated, Master Chen began,
"Arion's greatest weakness is his family as well as it is his strength! He's one of the people massacred ten thousand years ago...being possessed into an Enthralled Shadow! On--"
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought he had betrayed Arion.
When he hesitated, the Ache Serpents dug their claws in his flesh at the same time. He felt an army of pain well through him.
Master Chen gasped.
"O-on top of everything, Arion is the dead royal astronomer's son."
(Present day)
"I am sorry for revealing your identity and not telling you about your family's death on time. The reason why they were slaughtered was because they were Enthralled Shadows," Master Chen said to Arion, and Arion's greatest fear danced on his face.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he was agape.
To think his family was the same as the monsters he usually killed made his heart ache.
His knees hit the ground hard and he couldn't help but sob.
Until that time, he never believed something could make him shed tears!
Master Chen continued, "I once asked you to take things down and think of something else than vengeance. However, you have faced Enthralled Shadows before and you are aware of how they can be once they have been created. I don't want you to solve this differently anymore; do as your mind told you to."
"Find and take revenge on the one who performed the dark sorcery of enthralling, for he was the cause of your entire family's death and other villagers that year, caused the death of many more people now, and would still continue until the day you put an end to his life. Most importantly, don't forget that you were a victim too. You have great power and you can conquer all things. Revenge for Sarah as well!"
Arion, with his reddish eyes fuming, glanced at the little girl sleeping on Master Chen's lap.
He promised he was going to take revenge that day; on the killer of his family and the Silver King, who was the man's confidant.
"Those bloody jerks! Kidnapping me is a chance to get revenge!" He groaned and pulled the chain tightly, trying to break free.
Although he wasn't able to, he felt less chill as he used his magic. He assumed it was because he was ready for a fight.
***
"How come I didn't recognize him after seeing the meteorite that day? Now that I think about it, both the meteorite and the sign on him the day I killed him are so much alike."
Thorian muttered.
He smirked, "He should have been reborn in mortal realm, not as a man in the fairies' realm. I am baffled by how he came back to life."
The Silver King cut in, "My wish is clear, Thorian. Turn him into an Enthralled Shadow after I have acquired his magical stone...."
He wasn't able to complete his word when lifted from the ground by Thorian, strangled hard.
The Silver palace guards aimed to draw their swords, but then, they were blocked by the Gnostic soldiers.
Thorian smirked, seeing the soldiers trying to save their king.
There was no point in fighting, the king thought, and he signaled to his soldiers to put down their swords.
"You don't tell me what to do. Fine, you are going to have his magic, but you can't decide what I am going to do with him later." Thorian groaned and then, put him down.
"You wench! Wasn't it our plan from the onset to enthrall him? Wasn't it?!"
"Both of us are badasses so it's not that bad to trick each other."
Silver King smirked, while gasping for breath. "You can't make it out of here if I raise an alarm of you attempting murder."
"Less than thirty percent of demons would believe you when I expose your secrets too, I presume," Thorian said. "All the demon king needs is evidence and you would be eliminated. Meanwhile, every eye here is evidence because I cast a spell that makes them capture and save your actions...for future use."
"What! Are you threatening me again?"
"No, I am not. I only think we should put an end to this since you seem to be fed up," he said. Thorian moved closer to him and then whispered, "It doesn't matter how you are treated, but isn't it better for you to gain powers and claim the demon king's seat? Get your actions straight!"
Two armoured guards appeared, and then, they unlocked the door in which Arion was inside. Master Chen fretted as well as Sarah, but Arion gave them a reassuring wink.
The guards took him out of the cage.
Arion widened his palm and then, magic unleashed that unlocked the lock of where Master Chen and Sarah were. Afterward, the guards took him away, without knowing he had unlocked the other people abducted.
"Why's he risking his life?" Master Chen fretted. Nevertheless, he grabbed Sarah up. "Let's look for a way to rescue you out."
Sarah fretted. "But, master, what's going to happen to that man?"
He smiled. "Don't you have the gift that allows you to see people's magic?" He then said, "Don't worry, I believe he is going to make it out of here. You actually saw the amount of power flowing inside him, didn't you?"
Sarah shook her head. "I did."
"Let's go then," he held her hand, and they gently headed out of the cage, though he was worried about Arion.
As they got to a corner, he peeped and saw two guards at the entrance. He then told Sarah to wait for him and showed up directly infront of the guards,
"Hello, gentlemen. Aren't you tired today?"
The guards sheathed their swords and moved closer to him, not letting their guards down.
"Hey, who are you?" One of them questioned.
"There's no way he is someone else than those locked here..." The other one replied but suddenly felt a warm breeze that enveloped them, inviting them to sleep.
"It's just a nap. Hmm...?" Master Chen smiled and watched as the two men fell into sleep.
Sarah went over to him, then he teleported them out of the palace.
Meanwhile, as Arion was being taken away, he conceived it was time to fight. But unfortunately, his magic didn't work again.
"What?!" He was surprised as he couldn't break the chain, no matter the effort he put in.
Anyways, he assumed there was another formation where he was taken into.
It was a silver-walled room, without any light penetration.
Perhaps, the silver was the one preventing his magic?
"I haven't fought in long time so my qi energy can't have been exhausted," Arion thought. "I must activate my magic now or the party will take a different change!"
"Crimson flame, activate! Activate now, Crimson Flame!"
He cast the spell over and over again, but his magic failed to activate.
Arion noticed they were getting farther into the room so he summoned the dragon.
"Rowan, get me out of here!"
However, the dragon didn't seem to show up.
What's happening?! Won't his power be lost at this rate?!
Finally, the guards took him out of the silver-walled room — that's just an entrance room to a secretive courtyard— and his two arms were chained to the top of two long, rigid pillars.
The solitary moon hung high in the darkened sky, its ethereal glow cascading onto the deserted courtyard. Rows of abandoned rooms stood silent, their weathered bricks bathed in the moon's gentle luminescence.
The entire place was dark, but still, Arion could see the surroundings.
"Did I just think about darkness?!"
Arion thought that was nice. His power doubles, or even triples, whenever he's in darkness. He sneered. His power might have failed to activate in the dark room because of silver.
"Dumb asses! Show up and let me display my power!"
His bridges shrunk, and he glared icily at the front, waiting for them to appear. He was expecting the King and the unknown person making Enthralled Shadows; and if possible, the forsaken woman that made him pass out.
"I am going to kill all of you!"
Then the Silver King, in his long silver and black robe, appeared with the woman Arion was expecting as well. But there was no other person.
Arion was displeased to have realized the other person was absent. Besides, that person was the main person to revenge on.
"That asshole!" Arion mumbled under his breath, and glared at the ones in front of him, "None of you is going to last the next nanosecond! Bring it on."
"Activate the Extraction Formation," the king ordered the witch, and Arion was surprised.
"Extraction Formation?" Arion glanced around curiously but it seemed too late before dark fumes grew around the pillars he was chained in between.
A bluish compass-like circle surfaced beneath him, rotating. The compass had spells round its inner circle.
Arion's arms were immobile, and he felt a magic, somewhat like another chain, rolled across the floor and attached to him; making him feel like he was burning.
Feeling the tension, he cast another Reawakening Spell.
The Reawakening Spell could be used only if all hope had been lost in a fight.
"The beginning of the two worlds, yin and yang...."
According to Arion's sophisticated brain, one should have felt their magical stone shaking inside him on casting the spell. But then, it felt like Arion's stone had been grabbed tightly by a sinister hand.
"Hey, you freaky assholes! Let's end this party already!" He yelled and cast the spell again, "The beginning of the immortal worlds, yin and yang fused together with the energy of the sky. I summon the spirit of darkness and demand to make it dance to my tune, for I am the god of---- "
A great force interrupted and made him gasp. He felt like his alchemy was on fire.
Simultaneously, his chest started to behave like it cracked; as if the center of his chest was just hammered!
His whole body vibrated amidst the force dashing through him, and then, his head shrunk, in response to the huge element about to exit his body.
The Silver King signaled to the witch to proceed, and she hesitated for a second before directing a huge torrent of dark magic to lift the stone from Arion's body.
"Aargh!!!" Arion exclaimed as he was hit by the magic, and instantly, the seemingly crack he felt before came true.
His chest cracked and just like a joke, like he was dreaming, like he was back to the Land of the dead to be reincarnated again, his magical stone traveled out of his body.
His hands were chained, his power was restricted, and the formation bound him to stay in one place!
Arion was scared. He was afraid of getting killed. He felt frustrated and nervous, to see that his magic was being taken.
Feeling of a huge and magnificent thing exit him made him weak. Flashes of regret, pain, and sorrow went across his face as he watched the stone containing his magic dance before him.
"If only... if only..."he cried, "if only you can give it back. You can't do this! No!"
Amidst all this, he imagined what was going to be of him if he lost his power?
"Please don't!" He begged silently.
The black stone swerved across to the Silver King....
Arion exclaimed, "Please don't! Rowan! Rowan! Rowan, please do something! Please stop him for goodness' sake! Dang it! You can't take my power away!"
But the dragon didn't show up at such a crucial time.
Arion stared at the king, his mouth opened widely.
Tears dropped from his eyes; his eyes clouded with sorrow and the greatest agony.
The king nearly fell to his knees when the magical stone surged into him. His stature became magnificent, and his veins grew thicker.
At the same time, his hair turned gray, a sign of a great mage.
Arion's voice died faintly, whimpering, and the tears escaping his eyes could nearly turn a river — he wasn't in his right state again. His heart ached.
How could he ever be able to revenge anymore? He lost his power, so what's his essence in life?
"You can claim anything you want now. Your power is at the extreme!"a masculine voice praised.
Arion heard the new voice that just joined.
He knew that could be the person he was looking for. The one that caused his family's death! But his vision became affected, that he felt like fainting as he tried to look up, to see that damn jerk! But he couldn't see anymore.
"What's happening again?!"
"Wish this world goodbye, mountain god," Thorian said as he approached the pillar Arion was chained to while casting greenish magic in his hand.
As he got to Arion finally, about two meters away, he firstly took a deep breath, happy that no one would be able to mess up his ideas anymore.
"I will kill you a thousand times if you get reincarnated again," he said and then, released the magic to Arion's neck.
Thorian didn't touch his neck but the more he clenched his fist, the more the green magic would tighten on Arion's neck.
Arion suffocated. Was this the final for him? What an ill fate he had!
He gasped, wailed, and screamed in pain.
Just at the moment at Heka, a plate dropped from Liora's hand because she shook unnecessarily.
"What's happening?" She fretted.
Could this had been a sign that someone dear to her was in danger?
Arion gave up and finally, he lost his breath.
Suddenly, the air grew thicker and it whistled.
Fortunately for Arion, the dragon glided in at great speed.
Rowan sent Thorian flying in the air and broke the chain holding Arion, taking him off.
"A dragon?!" Thorian imagined, clenching his fist.
The witch also imagined, "So the guy is not only a mountain god... but also a dragon lord?"
"He was a mountain god, and anyways, he won't be able to remain a dragon lord as he lost his power," the Silver King said as he walked away.
"That's right; dragon lords are dragon lords because of their powers," the witch agreed and left as well.
Thorian couldn't resist the anger that he nearly ended that Arion's life. He was extremely up the wall.
Now that Arion lost his power, what's his essence anymore? What could he do without his power? The main reason for his existence was to revenge his family given great power; however, could he still do that anymore? Maybe because he had never thought about it, even if he successfully revenges, what else would he do for the rest of his life?
However, he had already lost his breath... and reincarnation doesn't come with duplicated lives.