"Immortal…Dragon Emperor…?", Lucas muttered.
"Yes, human, that is what I just said! Must you repeat everything I say?", asked the creature in an irritated tone, "Seems like there's no helping it. Walk over to the walls on your left"
Still confused, Lucas obeyed and walked over to the walls to his left. As he got closer, he could now clearly discern what the patterns carved into them were. Records and stories of the past long ago.
"I shall start from the very beginning", said the creature, "Try to follow along, little human"
"The beginning all starting with the one who created all, the Supreme Being", the creature narrated, "Using his omnipotent and limitless power he shaped everything, from the very fabric of space to the phenomenon of time, from whole galaxies to the smallest star and from the great powerful dragon race to mere goblins and imps. He created all that is our universe"
"Satisfied with his work, the Supreme One delegated the task of looking after the affairs of the universe and all it's lesser beings to his second born son, Atreus", the creature continued, "Knowing that the universe would be safe under Atreus' care, the Supreme One entered a deep slumber"
"Now the thing was, the Supreme One was known to have had three sons", the creature explained ,"The first being the Dragon Emperor himself. The second was Atreus. As for the third son, I never really bothered learning about him, including his name. He was quite the aloof character and lacked any sort of hunger for power. At some point, the youngest went off into the vast universe on his own without a single mention of where exactly he was going. Meanwhile, his two older brothers were at odds with one another"
"The Dragon Emperor had grown jealous of Atreus, wondering why his father had chosen his younger brother to lead instead of himself. After all, he was older and more powerful than both his brothers. It only made sense to him that he be the one to rule"
"And so one fateful day, he invited Atreus to his home, under the guise of a friendly dinner. That was when the Dragon Emperor gathered a few of his closest and strongest subordinates and ambushed him. The battle was quite fierce and sent ripples across the universe itself with it's intensity. But in the end, Atreus was slain and the Dragon Emperor took over the entire universe"
"However, as you can already tell, not everything went as planned. Long before he perished, it seemed that he had invoked some of the Supreme Being's power and used it to create a system. The very same system that governs the universe of today-"
"The Rector Princeps", said Lucas.
"Yes, that's right", said the creature, "And using it's power, Atreus sealed the Dragon Emperor and his most powerful subordinates inside this temple and placed a curse on them, petrifying them in obsidian. Well…most of them"
"All of them but you", Lucas guessed as he walked back over to the creature and stood before it ,"Why?"
The creature let out a forlorn sigh and said ,"I was the Dragon Emperor's handpicked maid back in the primordial age. I was his most loyal servant and wouldn't even think twice about offering my life for his. At the time, I thought that since Atreus was dead nothing could stop me from sneaking inside the temple and setting my master free"
"Wait wait wait, maid? You're telling me you're female?!" Lucas exclaimed in surprise. He had assumed that the creature had been a male up to this point because of how deeply it spoke.
The creature narrowed her eyes at him, radiating a faint aura of killing intent as it asked, "Are you trying to imply something, human?"
"No no no, not at all", Lucas answered hurriedly, making a mental note not to bring this up again, "Please continue with your story"
"Right", said the creature before she continued, "Unfortunately, the system was alerted to my presence as soon as I entered this place and it imprisoned me here in this manner. Leaving me to rot away for over 5000 years"
"But then today, I sensed you and your group enter this place and I realized not all was lost just yet", said the creature, "I had originally planned to not harm a single one of you. However, I truly cannot stand weaklings who believe themselves to be powerhouses when they are nothing but mere toddlers. Your leader was one such person"
"Captain…", Lucas muttered, recalling the horrible sight of Captain Jarl's corpse.
"Yes yes, truly unfortunate that an ant like him thought himself a lion", sighed the creature with a simple shake of her head, "As for the other, well, I simply found his pretentious demeanor infuriating to bear"
"On that, I couldn't agree more", Lucas snorted coldly.
The creature was momentarily surprised at his remarks before she chuckled and said, "You are quite interesting for a human but I won't delve into your matters any further. It is time for you to do your part!"
DING!
[System Prompt: You have received a
[
-Comply with the wishes of and undo the seal binding the
Rewards:???]
Lucas received another system prompt, this time with a bit more of the quest information. Not much to go by, but at least he now knew what he was supposed to do. However-
"The Dragon Emperor...the carvings on the walls show that he was a heartless tyrant. One who destroyed countless planets and other civilizations on a whim", said Lucas, "What makes you think I'd willingly free such a person?"
The creature flashed him a sinister smile, "I don't think you will. I know you will. Or else-"
"AAHHH!"
Lucas spun round to see the source of the sudden cry of terror and his eyes widened. Three new corpses now lay on the ground besides bodies of Egan and Evans. Their bodies were covered in deep cuts and their limbs twisted at odd angles.
"The others behind you all die", The creature finished.
Lucas shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth, knowing that he'd just caused the death of more comrades. Yet still, his resolve remained steadfast.
"You might as well kill me or pick someone else then, because I'm not changing my mind", said Lucas with determination.
The creature glared at him for a moment before showing a confident smirk, "No. One way or another it shall be you to free my King"
"What?!"
"Why the hell is he so special?"
"Hey Hag! Let me do it! I-I don't want to die here"
A few of the others who had heard everything that the creature had said quickly spoke up, hoping to save their own skins. Lucas turned and glared at them but couldn't really find it in his heart to truly hate them. Who wouldn't think about saving themselves under so much pressure? Was it truly wrong? His own hands were still shaking slightly at the thought of possibly losing his life at the hands of the strange creature.
"No, it wouldn't be fun if it were you little things", said the creature with a cold smirk on her face, "I want him to be the one to free my King. The rest of you can still help me by dying though"
"AAHHHHH!"
Now that Lucas was paying attention, he managed to catch how the creature was killing people. The four warriors closest to the front of the group began to spasm and roll around the floor. They clawed frantically at their own throats to the point where they drew blood before they finally lay still and unmoving.
Whether they died from the blood loss or something else, Lucas did not know.
"Screw you!" Lucas finally lost his composure and drew his great sword, lunging towards the creature.
The creature simply scoffed at his measly attempt before her eyes began to glow once again.
[System: Warning! You have been placed under the effects of the skill
Before Lucas could even get within two feet of her, the space around him became heavier as the creature restricted his movements with a crushing invisible pressure. His body was pressed flat against the ground, unable to even lift a finger.
"Perfect, now you have the best seat for the show", the creature taunted.
"AAAHHHHH!"
What was worse was that this time, he was forced to watch helplessly as the creature took more lives. Lucas felt all sorts of conflicting emotions welling up inside him. Frustration, anger and hopelessness all churning up inside him but still he held fast.
'I'm sorry everyone but I can't let that beast roam free. I just can't!' Lucas thought to himself as another five people died right before his eyes. His teeth were clenched so hard from frustration that his gums began to bleed, filling his mouth with a taste of iron.
"Hmm, you have quite the will power for a human", the creature remarked with a pondering expression on her face, "Most would have been driven over the edge of their sanity by now. Seems I was right about picking you"
Lucas said nothing to this and simply glared at her, with pure hatred his in his eyes.
"Oh, what a scary look you have there", The creature chuckled lightly, "However, everyone has a breaking point, don't you think?"
Lucas frowned, wondering what exactly she was getting at. However his confusion soon dissipated as with a nod of her head, someone began to walk towards him.
"Cait, stay back!" Lucas yelled as he watched her slowly approach him.
Caitlin's eyes were filled with tears as she stuttered, "I-I can't…I'm…not…in control…Lucas…"
He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he noticed how rigid her movements were. It looked she was struggling against some invisible force.
"Is it a manipulation type skill…? Damn it!" Lucas cursed, "Ben!"
Lucas' eyes desperately searched the room for his friend. However, his face soon paled once he caught sight of Ben. Or rather, it was better to say what had once been Ben. His friend's body lay on the floor in a bloody heap mangled and disfigured flesh. In fact, Ben's form was so twisted that it would been impossible for Lucas to even identify him if not for the little necklace that hung around the neck of his corpse.
A thin silver chain with a small jagged tooth for a pendant. A molar from an iron-fanged boar that they'd both been hunting at some point. The beast had managed to sink it's teeth into Ben's armor during the fight and one of it's molars got lodged in there before they actually managed to kill the thing.
It was Lucas who had taken the tooth out after the fight and used it to forge the necklace himself.
"B-Ben…?", Lucas choked, his voice low and thick with emotion.
"He was quite tough, for human. Even took me quite a bit of time before I tore him up completely", The creature praised Ben begrudgingly.
Slowly, Lucas finally ripped his eyes away from Ben's corpse and glared at her. Contrary to what she expected, when the creature stared into his eyes they were not filled with tears or helplessness at all.
"Be it this life or some other, be it in heaven or in hell, day or night, I will make sure you suffer a thousand times more than what you did to Ben", Lucas vowed in a cold voice, his eyes filled with pure rage and hatred.
The creature laughed loudly in amusement ,"You? You're just another little ant who can't even protect his friends, let alone himself. You really think you can kill me? I think it's time you had another dose of what the real world is like, child"
Her eyes glowed briefly as Caitlin finally reached him.
"Cait, try to fight it please", Lucas pleaded, despite knowing how pointless it was. He didn't know what the creature was up to but he knew it couldn't be anything good.
Tears wouldn't stop streaming down Caitlin's face as she looked down at Lucas.
"I-I'm trying, Lucas…", she whispered helplessly.
Suddenly, Lucas felt his body betray him as whatever skill was being used on Caitlin now forced him into an upright position, face to face with Caitlin. His right hand reached and pulled out the small dagger that Caitlin always made sure to carry with her, just in case she ever found herself in a situation that needed her to have it.
Without warning, Lucas thrust it forward and stabbed Caitlin's stomach. Caitlin's eyes widened in shock as a small whimper of pain left her lips.
"NO!CAIT!" Lucas cried out in horror as he finally felt himself regain control over his own limps. He laid Caitlin down but didn't pull out the blade for fear of her bleeding out.
"I shall give you one last chance, boy", said the creature ,"I truly do not wish to any more lives than I have to. I've played around long enough. Free my King and you, she and the rest of whoever is left of your people live to see another day"
[System Prompt:
[
-Comply with the wishes of and undo the seal binding the
Rewards:???]
"Damn it!" Lucas cursed, not knowing what to do anymore. He had already lost one close friend today. He wasn't really sure if he could bear to lose another one.
"H-Hey young man-"
Lucas glanced past Caitlin at the only two people remaining alive aside from them. He recognized both of them as members of their joint squad party from earlier. One, a skinny looking middle aged assassin and the other was an older powerful fire mage.
The assassin dropped to his knees and lowered his head to the ground.
"P-Please…just do as she says", he pleaded ,"Don't you think enough blood has already been shed?"
"But-"
"Don't be fool!" the mage shouted at Lucas ,"You think this creature doesn't have other means of freeing that thing? You're actions are only costing us our lives. So stop trying to be a self proclaimed hero and just do as she says!"
Lucas lowered his eyes and swallowed hard, slowly accepting the truth. That to the creature, their lives were nothing more than some twisted form of entertainment after being stuck here for countless years. And Lucas just happened to be her favorite toy.
"Seems you are finally catching on", said the creature ,"That takes away my fun, but oh well. It was bound to happen eventually"
Lucas remained silent for a few moments before he asked ,"If I free your stupid King…will you swear upon your soul that you shall not harm us?"
The creature offered a small smile as she said, "I, Aria Hawthorne, swear upon my soul that if the humans before me free the Dragon King and his vassals, I shall not bring harm to anyone of them"
DING!
[System: Do you wish to accept the soul vow of the
Yes or No?]
'Yes' thought Lucas and the system screen disappeared.
The deal had been struck and there was no turning back now.