A

/N: Sorry, a long one.

Forge City was a place that rested on the long trade corridor within the southern Riveria. It was a wide, sprawling road around which various cities were set up, focusing on producing different items highly coveted throughout the realm. It was the most crowded and the biggest market in the world, generating almost the majority of Riveria’s wealth—also the reason it was the richest Kingdom in the land.

However, crowds were often the best places for some to hide themselves. The dark alleys, which led to some illegal shops, were common and were usually filled with people best avoided. Needing weapons anonymously, magical crystals, or any poison—everything was available for a price.

“When do we meet him?”

“You said he’s close… where are we going?”

Eleven figures, robed in oversized brown hoods, walked through the dark alleys of Forge City. They questioned the one who led them every now and then, their voices filled with anxiety and paranoia. They looked all around, even toward the sky. It was nighttime, but even in the darkness, an unsettling sensation of being observed was felt.

“I never said he’d meet us here,” the man in the lead said. “The Chief of Anti-Light will see us in the Barrier mountain range. We’re here to find a man who can lead us there on a ship—using the road isn’t safe from here. And let me remind you; You came to me for protection—not the other way around.”

“Keep your mouth shut, Seer—You’re a traitor of the Holy Land. While we only offended the new runt who became the Pope.” The man behind angrily said, placing his hand on the shoulder of the man ahead.

“Haha, if he’s a runt, then why are you running away? I can see the fear on your face, Null. Don’t take me for a fool—I know everything about you lot. That was my job as Saint Seer.” Saint Seer replied, pushing away Null’s hands from his shoulder. “Void Keepers are despised by all branches of the Holy Land—The Pope isn’t the only one who wants you dead.”

The Void Keepers made annoyed expressions but, in the end, silently followed the man who could lead them to a new life. They needed a new master to follow, one who could grant them shelter and protection.

Crunch!

“Hmm?” Saint Seer looked down as he felt he had stepped on something solid and broke it. “What’s t… a bone?”

Crunch!

Just then, eerily similar sounds echoed from behind, and Saint Seer looked to find everyone had stepped on bones. They were all confused, since the bones weren’t there before. Immediately, the bizarre occurrence sent them into a panic, and they took out their weapons of choice.

Boom!

“It’s an attack!” Null, the leader of the Void Keepers, roared and jumped. Only to see his colleague getting impaled in the head by a bone spear that came out of the wall beside them. Since it was a tight alley, there wasn’t enough room to move around either. “Run for the exit!”

However, the moment they looked behind, their scalps tingled, and sweat formed on their foreheads. A massive horde of undead creatures blocked their way out. The creatures piled atop one another, the hill going as high as the walls of the alleyway, three stories high. Skeletons, zombies, liches—they all growled and came close toward them.

Saint Seer sighed and chuckled wryly, “Well, at least I tried…”

“What do you mean?!” Null asked and looked in the opposite direction, only to notice a similar massive hill of undead. That left them only with the sky above. However, even there, he saw a gigantic undead dragon perched and looking at them with glowing red eye sockets.

It frightened them. After all, not just any necromancer could reanimate a dragon into an undead. The amount of magic it required was massive, beyond what they believed anyone could wield.

“Haha…”

“Why are you laughing?” Null asked, annoyed by Saint Seer. “We have to fight our way out.”

But Saint Seer continued to laugh and sat down, “You foolish puppets. Do you not know who that dragon belongs to? If you did, you’d have given up too.”

“Who?!” Null questioned, eyes looking desperate.

“Emperor Lich, Raz Mi’ul Naseer—Now, do you still believe you can defeat it?” Saint Seer asked in amusement, still laughing. “We’re all dead.”

Woosh!

Massive spears of undead bones came out of the walls on both sides and the ground as well. They impaled almost all of the Void Keepers to death, forming large holes in their bodies. It was instant death, and they didn’t even get to use their strange abilities—fear was a terrifying thing.

“I refuse such death!” Null roared and tried to use his Soul magic on the undead. But, it was useless as the undead had no souls. “I won’t die so easily…!”

Thud!

Just then, someone dropped from the sky and landed behind Null. “Let me introduce myself—”

Snap!

With a simple move of his hands, the new arrival snapped Null’s head, turning it fully around until it looked at him. Robed in black, his face as pale as the snow, he spoke. “For Shane… Name’s Lazark Kul Mizar.”

Null was wide-eyed, his nose and mouth bleeding; he had instantly died while standing. Quick and efficient, his Soul Magic did nothing.

Then, Lazark turned to look at Saint Seer, “How would you like to die?”

Saint Seer shook his head, “He sent you to kill me? I thought at least he’d do it with his own hands—After all the harm I’ve done to him.”

Lazark crouched down to Saint Seer’s level and touched the man’s chest, “That you did. But what did the Anti-Light offer you that you changed sides? I was informed that you were not initially a traitor.”

Saint Seer sneered wearily, not for Sylvester but at himself. “I was… too ambitious… But before I realized my foolishness, it was too late to turn around. I tried my best to serve both sides without causing harm to any—but in the end, I had to follow their order… I had to.”

“Any last words?”

Saint Seer looked toward the sky at the moon shining between the undead dragon’s bones. “I wish I had made different choices in life… But the consequences are my own to bear—Give His Holiness my regards.”

“I will.” Lazark activated his magic, and a bone spear emerged from his palm. It stabbed Saint Seer right in the chest, straight through the heart. It killed the man on the spot, and with it, his task was complete.

Clap! Clap!

“Great execution, but still a lot to learn.”

Lazark rose to his feet and bowed at the seven-foot-tall being behind himself. Donning large black robes and a joker mask on his face, Emperor Raz managed to blend into the crowd to some extent.

“Thank you, Emperor Raz. But I’m afraid I can only resume the training after reaching the Holy Land. His Holiness has appointed me as the new Saint Seer. I cannot disappoint him.” Lazark said and removed his hordes of undead.

“Ah!” Emperor Raz exclaimed in surprise. “So that’s why you came here to kill the old Saint Seer?”

Bishop Lazark nodded and focused on preserving the old Saint Seer’s body. “This was a test and a way to tie the loose ends. Now, I only need to use Saint Seer’s body and extract all the information. Using it and my flying undead birds, I will be able to spy anywhere.”

“And with my teachings, you’ll become the greatest spymaster ever to exist.” Emperor Raz said with delight, relishing the opportunity to speak with other people instead of being stuck in the frozen north. “I still can’t believe His Holiness wants me to teach necromancy and dark magic at the school—Hah, an Emperor Lich within the halls of god, it’ll be chaos.”

Bishop Lazark, who rarely smiled, did so as he remembered Sylvester’s words from a long time ago, “Evil lies in mind, not in magic or body.”

“Can’t agree more.”

Having finished his task, Lazark decided to return to Sylvester and officially start working. Establishing a spy network was a huge undertaking. Although he still felt confused, as Sylvester had told him his job would be easier, as there was another, more expansive, and efficient spy group in Sol.

‘When did His Holiness make a spy network? Who works for him?’

Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine how innocent and loved Sylvester’s spies were.

…

Back in the Holy Land, a small group gathered outside an underground chamber of the Pope’s Palace when the night fell. It was finally time to fulfill the terms of the contract he had made with the Saint Scepter. He had to; there was no running away from it, as he knew how the Blood Contracts worked.

“I despise you!” Xavia shouted at Saint Scepter, who stood in the distance beside a small, black-colored gate. “How can you call yourself the Shield of Solis? You’re a traitor!”

Sylvester calmed Xavia down and hugged her. “Don’t, Mum… It’s the same as slamming your face on a wall. Gather yourself, and don’t waste your tears—I’ll be fine.” .

He tried to give her some courage and find some for himself as well. He knew that Xavia was on the verge of a panic attack at that point, especially after having gone through one ‘death’ experience. She didn’t want to see him retake such deadly risks. But he was the Pope, and it was his job now.

Aurora came forward to hold Xavia and help her, “He’s right. Have some faith in His Holiness… Light always wins over darkness, and he is the brightest source we all know of.”

Sylvester nodded gratefully and moved to Felix, as he was the Saint Viceman, meaning the man with the signing authority when the Pope was absent, “I’ve given you the diary, so go by the book. Always take advice from Lord Inquisitor and Gabriel when uncertain. Don’t allow the previous Saints to be anything more than advisors.”

Felix hugged Sylvester. The visor he had placed on his charred face clanked against Sylvester’s restored winged armor. “Don’t die, brother—I don’t want to lose any more friends.”

“I’ll try not to.” Sylvester stepped back and saluted Lord Inquisitor and the rest. “All of you, please go back. I don’t know what is on the other side of this door, and it’ll be bad if any of you get caught in it.”

Understanding his worries, everyone retreated from the underground chamber, leaving behind Sylvester and the Saint Scepter.

“Let’s go.” Sylvester took out the normal-looking key from his pocket.

But Saint Scepter didn’t move, “You’re bringing your little friend as well?”

“Friend?” Sylvester turned around and looked. There, hiding behind a pillar, he noticed a furry white head poking out, and when noticed, quickly hid back. “Chonky, come out. I know you’re there.”

Caught, Miraj proudly came out from the shadows and stopped a distance away from Sylvester.

“Why are you here? I told you to stay at home.” Sylvester asked, not angrily, just worried. “I don’t know where I’m going or what will happen inside.”

“No!” Miraj shouted, his eyes narrowing in annoyance and anger. “I come with you, Maxy… I will protect you… I will never let you die like Dol-Dol!”

Sylvester sighed and walked toward Miraj. The little cat stepped back in fright, believing Sylvester would scold him. But the opposite happened, and Sylvester scooped him up to his chest and hugged him.

‘He’s scared of losing me.’ Sylvester could feel it. ‘But I’m scared of losing him as well.’

Miraj licked Sylvester’s face, “Let me come… Chonky Bank can help you lots and lots… I’ll devour all the dangers… I can also fly.”

“Alright.” Sylvester relented and tucked him inside his chest plate, close to his neck. “Come along, but you must stay tucked inside my robes. If you try to jump around, I’ll never forgive you.”

Miraj nodded his head, his eyes shining bright, “Pawmis!”

Sylvester sighed, “Your and your pawmises… I always melt over them.”

With that out of the way, Sylvester finally walked over to the door and held the key near the keyhole, “What should I expect after opening it?”

Saint Scepter stepped behind Sylvester and stood calmly. “Darkness… and other senses. Maintain your calm without exerting any force, and let nature take its course.”

Sylvester didn’t find his words helpful. He took a long, deep breath to calm himself and inserted the key in the hole. Before turning it, all possible scenarios churned through his mind. And the most fearsome one was the possibility of…

‘I hope this doesn’t lead me to Earth.’

Clack!

He turned the key at last, and the sound of unlocking came. That very instant, he felt something sweep through, a strange aura so fearsome and scary that it almost threw Sylvester to his knees. The scent of absolute death permeated the air, telling him, screaming into his head, that there was absolute death beyond the door—no matter any rank.

Bam!

The torches in the chamber quenched as the light crystals inside them also exploded. An immense surge of solarium swept the whole chamber, thickening the air to the point of breathlessness.

“Walk inside.” Saint Scepter’s emotionless voice reminded him of his task.

‘I can’t do this… There is death on the other side! Going in there is idiotic!’ Sylvester told himself again and again. But the fact that the man behind him could kill him and destroy the entire Holy Land posed a greater fear.

Unwillingly, he brought his hand to hold the knob and slowly started to turn it. With every passing moment, the scent and taste of bitterness increased as if the tiniest cracks were leaking the aura of whatever was within.

Clack!

The door clicked open, and he only had to pull it now. His breath stopped, and his heart thumped like it would explode at any moment. All the hair on his body stood on end, and his mouth went dry.

“Open it.”

Sylvester found himself with no other way out. The blood contract would kill him if he didn’t obey it anyway. ‘Solis, I hope you weren’t lying.’

At last, Sylvester opened the door. An invisible, heavy gust of air passed through him in an instant. Sylvester felt the solarium in the air. It was insane, even more than what he felt in the Gold Peninsula from the Orb of Purity. However, unlike the Orb, he didn’t find any repulsive force in this solarium.

There was complete darkness before Sylvester. Gathering some courage, he stepped inside, first on one foot and then the other.

Bam!

Saint Scepter, behind him, shut the door, depriving Sylvester of any semblance of light. However, he could cast it himself, so he raised his hand.

“Don’t.” Saint Scepter warned. “Let nature take its course.”

“What do you m—”

Before he could finish speaking, an intense wave of nausea washed over him. The need to vomit overtook him and churned his stomach. However, that was merely the beginning. In the next moment, he felt a suction force coming from ahead, a force so immense that he was powerless against it.

He got pulled into it, and the speed increased so much that he felt his body twist in unimaginable ways, but surprisingly, there was no pain. The possibility of space magic crossed his mind, and he felt his greatest fear seemingly turning into reality.

‘This c-can’t be… I can’t go back… no…’

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