Along the way, Aaron stopped to check some houses. He confirmed that the places were covered in dirt but not unorganized and destroyed. They weren't attacked and were forced to leave their homes. They left of their own volition for one reason or the other. All of them…
"This is weird since the gates had been sealed… it doesn't look like they took things for a long trip either," Aaron furrowed his eyebrows.
Eventually, Aaron stopped the investigation in the houses and then headed to the castle. He didn't find any signs of people or of soldiers and guards in the streets. No signs of battles either, but the gates of the castle still were sealed… At that point in time, Aaron had grown tired of closed doors, so he fired some bone swords to destroy it… that solved the problem quickly. He thought that it would make some people hiding there look for him, but that changed nothing.
After crossing what seemed to be a dead garden, Aaron opened the iron doors at the entrance of the castle and then found a massive and empty hall in front of him… the place was cleaner than the rest of the city since the doors and Windows were closed. Still, it looked even more ominous because of its magnitude.
Aaron looked to the sides and then saw some doors that would lead him to some corridors and, in front of him, a massive stone staircase that would lead him to an even larger throne room. The leader of the country was supposed to be there… if they were still alive. After climbing up the stairs and then opening the door, Aaron found a massively large and impressive throne room.
As Aaron walked into the throne room, he couldn't help but feel some shock at the grandeur of the space. The room was enormous, with high ceilings that seemed to stretch up into the heavens. But as he looked closer, he realized that the room was in a state of disrepair. The throne, once a symbol of power and authority, was now surrounded by dust and cobwebs. Once adorned with beautiful tapestries and paintings, the walls were now bare and faded.
Once polished to a high shine, even the floor was now dull and scuffed. Despite its worn-out appearance, however, there was still something undeniably impressive about this space. Aaron imagined the past rulers who had once sat on the throne, dispensing justice and making important decisions that would shape the course of the history of their kingdom. Even in its current state, the throne room still held a powerful allure, a reminder of the greatness that had once been achieved within its walls.
On the throne, Aaron found a single person sitting on it, even though two other seats were on his side. Aaron found a man wearing a dark armor and while using his right arm to rest his head. He seemed to be asleep… or she was. Aaron had a hard time confirming that since the dark knight covered their whole body with a thick, ominous-looking full-plate armor filled with spikes.
"Are you the ruler of this place?" Aaron asked while he approached.
Aaron was greeted only with silence… nothing more. The dark knight didn't move either, and Aaron found it hard to believe that they were awake… it seemed that they had been sleeping for a long time; Aaron couldn't smell death coming from it.
After letting out a long sigh, Aaron approached the dark knight, and then when he was ten meters away, that person finally moved and looked at Aaron silently.
"Who are you?" A woman's voice echoed in the throne room.
"My name is Aaron, and I am a visitor from a faraway land that you never heard of," Aaron replied. "Are you the ruler of this country? What did you do to the people here, and what are you plotting to destroy the other country?"
"... That is no one's business but mine," The woman replied after a brief silence.
"No way, that is my business. It became my business when you decided to create a weapon of mass destruction," Aaron shrugged. "We can still solve this peacefully… unless you confirm that you did something to the people of this country."
Aaron didn't have the chance to gather information since the people were like that. Talking with them was impossible, but he could tell that the vast majority of men and able-bodied boys had left their towns and villages, and Aaron imagined that they had come to the capital. Still, the capital was empty, even though it was large enough to house hundreds of thousands of people.
"I didn't do anything to them… that they didn't agree to," The woman nonchalantly said, and then she moved a little.
At the same time, some parts of the floor of the room began to move, and then some holes were revealed. Before long, some platforms emerged, and then people wearing a smaller version of the dark knight armor showed up.
They were clad in full-plate dark armor that covered them from head to toe. The armor itself seemed to be made of some kind of dark metal, with intricate etchings and designs etched into the surface. The dark knight's helmet was similarly imposing, featuring a stylized visor that hid the face from view. Despite the bulk of their armor, they apparently could move with surprising speed and agility, ready to strike down anyone foolish enough to cross their path.
"I see, so this is your answer," Aaron said. "Now, this is my answer."