Soul fire emanating from my hands burned the many curls of ropes around my wrist, freeing both my hands. Curling my fingers into a tight fist, I got into a punching stance. Rotating my hip, I generated the power for a jab, as my hand reached the guards bare face. My fist seemed to bury deep into his face. Stream of blood started to flow out of his nose, as it cracked, staining my right hand into red.
The second guard couldn't seem to realize the urgency of the situation, as he was still standing there, wide eyed. Without wasting a single moment, I took a straight run up to him, closing the distance up in a few milli seconds. A spear was leaning on the wall just beside the castle's gate, which the guard started to run to. I couldn't risk letting him get a hold of it. So, to close the remaining few meters distance up, I hopped. Flipping midair, I got the guard in my range, from where I hit his armored head with the heel of my left foot.
My heel dug through his thin-plated metallic helmet, contacting his head with full of the force I put into it. Due to the skull-crushing force that attack was imbued with, the impact caused the guard to fall down on the ground, fainted.
Both of them were lying unconscious on the platform and that creature had also disappeared beyond the castle's territory. That felt like the perfect chance for me to escape.
'Where do I go now?', I thought. 'Stairs'. I ran up to the stairs, but my eyes couldn't even track the end of them.
'I can hide in this castle...', I thought, uncertain of my own idea. As I was running back to the castle's gate, my eye caught something glowing, which tinted the neck of the unconscious guard till his chin. The light was the same purple, as that monster's pendant, leaking out from the armor's collar. I walked up to the fainted body of the guard, crouched beside it and started looking for the source of the light.
There ran a thick string, down the guard's neck. With a finger and the thumb, I held it and pulled all of it out of the armor, pulling something along with it. That was a similar artifact as the creature, which he used to teleport us to this world.
'Will it teleport me back to my world?', I was curious, so out of my eagerness, I pressed my index finger on it gently, imitating how that monster did. Nothing happened. 'Why was it glowing when in the armor, but not now that I try to activate it?'.
That was probably, because I didn't know how to activate the artifact. I grabbed it in my hand and violently pulled it, breaking the string it was attached to. Standing up I kept it in the pocket of my pants, because it could come of some use sometime.
Standing in front of the castle's gate I thought of going inside but I didn't want to risk it too. There were no options left for me though. My disability of decision making started to rock in, building panic and confusion inside me. Stairs or Castle? Which one? I couldn't waste more time just standing there, in a totally new, unknown world. My indecisive nature couldn't let me fixate on one of the choices.
As I was going through the never-ending thought process, the metallic spear sparkled and shone in my eyes, clicking something in my mind. 'I have an idea, I think'. I hurriedly jogged to the spear, picked it up and went back to the exact center of the platform. There I put the spear on the ground with its butt, completely vertical, and removed my grip around it. 'Now this spear will do the decision making for me'.
The spear, for some seconds held its ground, not falling on either side, but then started to lean on a side. The right side. I was standing perpendicularly to the castle and the stairs, having one at the right and the other on the left of me, respectively. The metallic spear fell with a clank, pointing towards the opened castle's gate, deciding for me, my fate.
Gulping the stocked-up bile, down my throat, I mentally prepared myself for the things which I might face ahead. My village's people, my father, and...….Aria. I still had to find them. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I was ready. I was ready to face whatever there was to come, if it leads me to my loved ones. Dismissing my inner turmoil and swaying away any of the hesitation left in me, I took a resolute step forward...
Roheric Lorien's POV:
*about a month ago*
The luminous, spherical artifact looming over us like a mini sun, scattered its light all through the cuboid room to every corner of it. The warmth held by the yellow-tinted light kept the atmosphere cozy and friendly for all. Such brilliant was the warmth that even the cold floor couldn't exert its effect.
Unlike the earlier days when such a suffocating life was getting unbearable for the people, everyone started living like they'd been, for their lives. Everyone, including myself too, couldn't help but wait for the Vesperians to get done with their anonymous experiments. No one protested anymore. Everyone was just surviving...
A high-pitched metallic sound diverted everyone's attention to the only opening in that compact hall. A duo of guards, one of which was holding a kid's arm, entered the hall. The kid, as soon as he got freed by the monstrous guard, ran towards a lady, who looked like no one but his mother. She waited for her toddler on her knees, right in front of the entrance, with watery eyes and arms opened. The kid went right in between of his mother's arms and dug his head into her chest and the arms curled around it tightly, depicting the love of a mother.
As the mother and son were having their moment, one of the guards yelled, "Number 786". When no one responded, he repeated in an even fierce tone, "NUMBER 786". The monstrous voice of the guard coursed through the huge hall, echoing for a few milliseconds before completely dismissing.
Hearing the guards command, everyone's head started to move searching for the next Subject. A man around my own age, and a young lady just beside him, rose up from the ground they'd been sitting on, leaning on the wall, opposite to the entrance. They were the Halters, well-known throughout the village, and a good friend of mine too.
Being the center of attention, all eyes watched them as they made their way through the dense crowd to the guards. Considering that Fredrick had already been experimented, it was his daughter's, Aria Halter's turn.
Number 786. That was the last assigned number. Vesperians, they'd been inspecting everybody for some kind of marks, saying that their descendants were among us. Could we have someone who they were calling their 'descendent' living among us?' Just like the other 785 subjects, no one had any hopes for that young lady too, to be discovered as that 'descendent' of theirs.
As the Halters reached a distance a few meters away from the guards, Fredrick Halter pulled his one and only daughter into a tight hug, making it last for a few seconds. Gently holding his daughter's petite face, he kissed her forehead, then let her go away for the inspection. The young lady couldn't help, but with her helpless, teary eyes, gaze at her father who wore the same look as her. The eye contact broke as the lady, along with the guards crossed the doorway having the metallic door shut behind them with a loud thud. The crowd that had been gathered there gradually thinned as the people went back at what they were doing.
A week passed by, but the last subject had still not been released yet. "Why is it taking so long...?", "Is she the one they've been talking about...?", "She might be their descendent...!", such gossip had been increasing by each passing day. It would usually take a day or two at most for a subject's inspection, but for Fredrick's daughter, it was unusual. A whole week they'd already consumed, and she was still not back.
Fredrick was sitting on the southern wall of the hall with his head tilted down, with an intention of hiding his face, but as I was sitting just against him, I could make out the mixed emotions of stress and frustrations his face expressed. His already wrinkly face produced even more wrinkles as he tightly shut his eyes.
"It must have been hard for you", just as I said, I saw a tear leaking out from the squeezed lids of his eyes.
"Yeah...", he replied, in a shaky voice, but didn't continue as his voice started to break more.
His Adam's apple produced some movement as he swallowed the bile down his throat, preparing to speak, but the thunderous sound of the door followed by loud clanks of metal-cladded footsteps disrupted.
In an instant, Fredrick rose up, kicking the ground up and rushed towards the entrance. Immediately getting up too, I closely trailed behind the restless father.
As we reached the very front, nearest to the entrance, there were not two guards with the 'Number 786' as there were supposed to be, but instead tens of guards, and what was missing, was Fredrick's daughter. She was not there with them.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!", Fredrick's yell coursed through the hall, expressing his agitation out of long missing presence of his beloved daughter.
A guard who had been standing in the center of the lined-up pack of guards, stared down at Fredrick before speaking.
"Masters requires the presence of everyone present here".
With the guard's word, confusion and uncertainty took over everyone.
"I WANT MY DAUGHTER BACK FIRST!", Fredrick protested, yet once again, hoping to get an actual response that time, but just as before, he got completely ignored.
All the pitiful eyes of the villagers turned towards poor Fredrick, as he helplessly fell on his knees, covering his miserable face with his trembling hands.
He had always been a strong and selfless man, with his lips, always curled into a wide smile, portraying the innocence of his heart and his cheerfulness. He was liked by the whole village. Whether it be a kid, a teenager or an adult, everyone admired him and witnessing him bear such cruelty was undeniably heart-shattering for everyone.
As a father myself too, I, even if to a little extent, but surely understood the fear and pain he was going through. That's just how a father loves. He must have loved his daughter with his soul too...
"Line up, everyone!" The guard ordered abruptly. Hearing the guard's command, everyone started moving, forming a rough line in front of the doorway, except, Fredrick was still in that same kneeling position.
Crouching down beside him, I rested my hand on his shoulder, as an effort to console him.
Squeezing his shoulder with my hand, I said, "We'll get her back, Fredrick. But for now, we have to follow their orders". I said it, but I was uncertain of my own self.
Fredrick's shivering body started to relax, as he collected himself back.
After a brief moment of silence, he uncovered his sobbing eyes, and put his hands on his thighs, finally standing up. To appreciate his perseverance, with my both hands, I tapped on his shoulder, throwing a forced smile to him.
We were already having our first spots in the line. Because we were nearest to the entrance, the line formed behind us. Surrounding our line the guards, except for the one in center, formed their own lines, but less concentrated, as they were having around a distance of a few meters in between them.
Taking a slight step to the side, I partially got out of the line and twisted my neck to track the three lines. Each one of them ended perfectly with the length of the hall.
The guard standing against the line, turned around and paced up, leading the lines. The three queues crossed the wide doorway without any congestion at all. From the hall, we exited into a long hallway.
After spending months in isolation, the air outside the hall felt refreshingly breathable, from the very first inhale.
We made our way through the broad hallway under the lead of the guard. The lanterns hanging to the plain ceiling emitted enough light to illuminate the regular, carved patterns on the greyish sidewalls. Simple, but the walls were thoughtfully designed to give the hallway a perfectly elegant vibe. In contrast to it, the floor was perfectly architected as a checkered pattern of maroon and indigo, through the translucent surface of which, could be seen a veiny texture of dark shades of the same colors. Some parts of the side walls remained veiled under the deep purple, plain curtains, which added to the aesthetics of the corridor's look.
The straight passage ended, branching into two, opposite directed pathways. Following the leading guard, we transited on to the short hallway on our right. The later hallway ended, just as it began, with no further branches, but a gateway to somewhere.
Mumbling of chatters of the two gatekeepers could be heard from a distance. When saw us approaching, they regained their composure and went for the shining golden handles of the dark brown wooden doors, pulling them open. The armored gatekeepers stepped aside as the guard leaded us in.
As per what their orders might be, the two queues of guards beside us, halted and stood there still, not walking any further.
Beyond the gateway, the vibrant red carpet, margined with a minimalist, bright yellow pattern, which leaded the way to the throne, was really eye-catching. The furry carpet was actually a cross-sign. From the center, it subdivided into two walkways, connecting the opposing doors on the sidewalls of the hall. All the remaining region on the ground had a layer of sand colored carpet.
Light mustard color coated the four walls smoothly, emerging a feel of serenity among the visitors. Lanters on the wall filled the room with a soft creamy light. Contrasting the plain ceiling, a mesmerizing chandelier suspended in the air, right at the center of the hall, really did much for the grandeur of the elegant throne room.
The room's grandiosity peaked at the throne—the focal point of the room. Carved out of a small hill, the crystal-like, throne chair rested solitarily, holding all the overwhelm, a throne room should have.
My attention got drawn out of the architecture of the throne room, as the door on the right wall of the room opened. My brain revived a long-forgotten piece of memory, when the monstrous man furiously entered the room, reminding me of his identity. General Darvth, that's what I heard him being called. His one hand had the hair of a girl gripped tightly, whom he wildly dragged to the center of the cross carpet. The girl was not anyone else, but Aria Halter. My lungs ceased to breath and eyes widespread, as he drew a dagger out of its waist-attached sheath...