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nIn the depths of the mountain forge in the Dwarven slave city, the lair of Saint Cardinal existed as an elaborate labyrinth of corridors and halls. Serving as an experimental site for the old monster of a man, it was filled with all sorts of horrors.

n“A few more years, and the secrets of immortality shall be within my grasp,” the voice echoed as it seemingly talked to itself. “The Sand Lord will be pleased.”

nIn the dark, endlessly large laboratory, Saint Cardinal Joseph worked on one of his new slaves to try and unlock the secrets of immortality. Using runes, crystals, or even dwarven creations to attempt to achieve the goal of forcefully infusing Solarium from another’s body into oneself—obtaining the youth of the other person as well.

nHowever, an issue with blood perplexed him and hindered his work. It was extremely challenging to match the blood to a level that the living body would accept and incorporate. Thousands of slaves died in the experiments, but experimental slaves were something he had in abundance.

nTime, however, was of the essence.

nThud! 𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

nOut of nowhere, a sudden thud resounded in the dark hall. Cardinal Joseph turned around abruptly and looked as the sound felt too distinct. Unlike something falling, it was definitely the sound of someone’s footsteps.

n“Who’s there? Slave Ten?” he called. “Guards!”

nThud!

nBut instead of guards entering the lab immediately and helping him, all he heard was another loud thud of someone’s footsteps. But this time, there was an additional sound of a grunt, similar to someone coughing.

n“Who’s there? Prince Zedd? I swear I will give you the results within this year. You don’t need to dismantle my work!” Cardinal Joseph assumed and cried out in his hoarse old voice.

nHowever, when the reply came, it belonged to an entirely new voice.

n“Oh, but I want to dismantle you.”

nWoosh!

nRight then, before Cardinal’s stunned eyes, ten strange beings entered the giant hall. All of them were humanoid, and their bodies seemed to be made entirely of light as they shone in golden radiance bright enough to illuminate everything in the vicinity.

n“S-S…” Cardinal Joseph’s face turned pale, and his knees weakened. “S-Solis?!”

nBzzz!

nThe air buzzed with lightning, and the radiant forms moved faster than the Cardinal’s eyes could track. They encircled him, spreading all around. The heat was tangible, scorching his lungs and igniting his very breath.

n“No! Please!” Saint Cardinal implored, moving to pick up his staff near the workstation, a concrete slab that held a human body tightly with metal restraints. The body, alive and sane, twitched in fear.

nWoosh!

nOne of the luminous beings darted with such speed that before Cardinal Joseph could reach his staff, it shattered into pieces with a mere touch from the being. Ancient wood and the precious giant crystal adorning it vanished.

nJoseph’s eyes widened, and tears of terror streamed down his face. His legs quivered, and visible wet stains appeared on his robes.

n“Supreme God—God of Gods—Lord of Light… I beg for your forgiveness! I shall become your most devoted servant… grant me another chance! Bestow upon me a new youthful life to serve you!”

nAll the radiant beings spoke in unison, their voices muffled and demonic, undoubtedly frightful enough to bring the Cardinal to his knees. “Mortal is your heart, from morality so far apart. Hold sinful gaze, yet ask for a new life of youth in craze—death is your only salvation, heretic!”

nBoom!

nA sonic boom reverberated, and all the light humanoid figures vanished. However, Joseph sensed a presence behind him, emitting a searing warmth. It was no longer just light but a blazing crimson fire, fiercely scorching his back.

n“Agk…N-no…please…I worked so hard for this! You can’t kill me, God.”

nYet, all Joseph felt was a firm palm seizing his skull from behind, inflicting excruciating pain. With each passing second, the pain intensified, accompanied by cracking sounds.

n“Confess!”

n“I killed the Saint Cardinal! I serve the Emperor! I murdered the Crown Prince’s wife!…”

n“What about the Guardian?! Confess!”

nJoseph’s face resembled that of a zombie, his eyes nearly bulging out, tears saturating his visage, and his nose repulsively distorted.

n“Confess!”

n“He escaped… I-I… There is so much! Spare me, please!… I killed on behalf of the Princess!”

n“…”

n“For what?! Confess!”

nCrack…!

nJoseph neared the final breath of his existence and voice. “She wanted preserved and clean faces of dead people! Ones she could wear on her face!”

nPoof!

nThat was enough—the skull exploded in a sickening wet blast of brain matter, blood, and vile substances. Headless, the body twitched momentarily before collapsing with a thud.

nClank!

nThe slave’s body on the experiment table became liberated on its own. The iron restraints melted away without scorching the man’s skin.

n“SOLIS! SOLIS, HELP!”

nThe slave cried out and knelt. However, just as God emerged in the light, he vanished, leaving darkness to linger.

nYet this time, it was not as menacing as before.

n…

n“Gah! That was intense!”

nSylvester took off the cloth covering his face to take a fresh breath of air in the already scorching underground Slave City. His body stopped shining by the time he exited the underground lair and headed to meet the Dwarf again.

n“Maxy! That was so cool!” Miraj exclaimed while flying around Sylvester’s head. “Just one bam, and then boom and woosh! Death has arrived! I wanna do it too.”

nSylvester smiled and ate a few solarium crystals to replenish his solarium reserves. “Yes, but using that level of Elder Magic is too straining on the body. I felt like fainting back there… Let’s just get out now.”

n“Got it!” Miraj chirped and kept a firm watch ahead of Sylvester to protect him.

nKnowing their way, they took the right turn and soon arrived back at Elrog’s forge. The man was not alone there, however, and three more Dwarves had gathered. They were similarly old-looking as Elrog.

n“How did it go?!” Elrog asked the moment Sylvester appeared. “Did you get inside?”

nSylvester used a slightly changed voice under the disguise. “He’s dead, but morning is upon us. I don’t have too much time, so lead me to the elven boy.”

n“We have already killed the guards outside the dark cell,” one of the other Dwarves voiced. “Follow us!”

n‘Aren’t you being a bit too friendly?’ Sylvester thought, but he remained silent as there was no malice in the scents.

nSwiftly, all five of them exited the mountain forge and headed to a different forge that looked similar. Inside, they went down to the dungeons. Unsurprisingly, as the dwarves had claimed, they had killed the soldiers there. Hence the place was only littered with dead bodies.

n“This one.” Elrog pointed at a steel door fixed into the stone wall. “We can’t open it with force. A rune key is required for this.”

nSylvester nodded and placed his palm on the door to feel the etched runes on it. They were human runes, to his luck, something he could decipher and counter himself.

n“When does the shift change?” Sylvester asked them.

n“Within an hour,” Elrog blurted. “Be quick.”

n‘Ugh… the rune scheme is too vast. I can break it with elder runes, but it may trigger an alarm of sorts,’ Sylvester mumbled to himself and thought about a way around it. ‘Wait!’

nSylvester’s face turned to Miraj as the cat merrily sat on his shoulder. As their eyes met each other, without words, they understood each other.

nMiraj nodded his head and walked over to sit on Sylvester’s raised palm towards the dark cell’s metal gate.

n‘Don’t end up eating the elf too, buddy.’

n“Step back.” He warned the dwarves and focused as if he was using magic. In reality, Miraj simply opened his mouth and activated his godly devouring ability.

nGrrr…!

nThe metal door creaked under the negative pressure from Miraj’s mouth. All the dirt around had already been sucked away, cleaning the entire corridor.

nClack!

nAs if a hinge broke, a loud noise rang. Miraj took it as an affirmation of it working and somehow increased the negative pressure while holding Sylvester’s arm tighter.

nBoom!

n“STOP!” Sylvester shouted with instinct once he saw the door come loose. Any further usage of Miraj’s ability would have also sucked the contents of the cell into the dark belly void too.

nWith that, Miraj returned to sit on Sylvester’s shoulder in triumph, awaiting to be praised, petted, and given a lot of treats.

n“H-How did you…Such spatial magic!” The Dwarves were in disbelief, as expected.

nSylvester had no time to waste, sadly. So he quickly conjured a ball of fire on his palm and looked inside the dark cell. At best, it was not even a meter wide and a meter long. The ceiling, too, was merely half a meter high. The cell appeared to be designed to break one’s will by restricting movement.

n“Boy.” Sylvester shed some light on the left corner at the end of the cell. There, a naked, long-eared, black-haired elven boy sat in fright. His body was covered with gashes, and his eyes held utter fear.

nSylvester decided to speak in the elven tongue instead. “Hile mauhk oilwa nikari yorifo hame hi.”

n“Hjwmi kiawra ulani makofo?!” The elven boy instantly responded, a newfound hope shining in his eyes. The scent of sunflowers and a gentle breeze were so intense that Sylvester didn’t even notice the filthy stench from the cell anymore.

n“Let’s go.” He extended his hand to the boy. “We must hurry, Vanss.”

nThe darkstone chains holding the elven boy broke apart under Sylvester’s magic, and the boy grabbed Sylvester’s hand to come out.

nSylvester immediately wrapped him in a sheet of cloth that the dwarves brought and carried him on his back, as Vanss’s body was too weak.

nHe glanced at the Dwarves before rushing out. “Elrog…You will not be forgotten. Next time we meet, it shall be under the warmth of the sun.”

n“Go away! Do not waste time here!” Elrog shouted in reply, worried that Sylvester would be unable to get the word out.

n‘He still does not realize I’m their only chance of freedom.’

n“Farewell.”

nWoosh!

nSylvester dashed out at maximum speed, which was enough to make him appear as a mere blur. Then, back through the way he came out, Sylvester headed to climb the stairs to the monastery above.

n…

nDing!

nDing!

nDing!

nAs soon as the morning sun washed the Empire in sunlight, the guard shift changed, along with clergymen working around the city. Immediately, dead bodies were found, and the giant emergency bells rang all over the city simultaneously, echoing as a gloomy, depressing menace.

nBut when the commanders arrived and the situation was investigated, the bells never stopped ringing that entire day, the streets never got crowded, and soldiers overtook every nook and cranny of the land.

nDeep underground, the Crown Prince gathered with the Elder Grand Wizards of the Empire to inspect the crime scene, for only they knew of the secret existence of the city.

n“Such a gruesome death!” Prince Zedd covered his mouth in disgust at the smashed skull of the Cardinal. “Joseph was a level-five Grand Wizard, and the two guards outside were level-two Grand Wizards. To kill them in such a manner…What do you think, Grand Uncle?”

nCrack!

nAn almost seven-foot-tall, masked, domineering figure adorned in armor crafted from peculiar fragments and components strode across the lifeless body of the Cardinal, mercilessly crushing the chest beneath his weight.

nWith a swift swing of his unique sword, the man cut open the experiment stone block table.

nBoom!

nA man appeared from inside, scared and shivering in fright.

n“IT WAS SOLIS! IT WAS SOLIS!”

nThe domineering tall armored man turned around to look at his grand nephew.

n“Now we have the answer, my prince.”

nA

/N: See the Elven boy and Prince’s Grand Uncle

nThank you for reading. GT votes are much appreciated.

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