“How are you two?”
Shazan left the group at the front and walked over to the two Charm Witches.
The two of them had pale faces, but they smiled and bowed to him when he inquired about heir well-being.
“We are fine, Lord Silverstein.” The Older woman who looked to be in her late thirties answered.
Shazan nodded to her and grabbed her hand without permission. He inspected the internal damage she had suffered by overexerting herself.
To his surprise, he found that her injuries were healing fast. The tiredness didn’t go away, and her mental strength needed time to recover, but her body was in no danger of any sort. He let go of her hand and grabbed her sister’s hand.
Making sure that there was nothing wrong with them, he finally sighed in relief and smiled.
“Thank you for your hard work!” He told them.
“It’s our job, Lord Silverstein. Thank you!” The younger one answered politely.
“How are they?”
Queen Izna came over and inquired.
“They suffered injuries, but the injuries are healing fast. They will be fine in some time.” He told her. “But they must rest. They are not prepared to take the load of another fight.”
Izna nodded to him and then smiled at the two High-Guards.
“Go and get some rest.” She ordered them. “And send in the Unit-S of your clan. We need all of them here.”
The two of them obediently bowed to her and left to inform the Unit-S.
“What’s Unit-S?”
“There are 12 Charm Witches in the Unit. Two of them are Elders in the Fifth Realm, and the rest of them are all in the Fourth Realm. They have always trained together. Their teamwork makes them a highly capable and dangerous Unit.”
“That’s perfect for the current situation.” He nodded in approval.
“What’s the Plan?”
Akash walked up to him with the King and asked.
“Firstly, all of us need to get in outfits suited for battles.” He chuckled and said.
The three of them nodded with smiles.
The King and Akash had not engaged in a head-on fight, and so their clothes were fine. Queen Izna’s dress had small tears in it, and his shirt had tears as well.
Caius always kept himself in a light armor under the shirt, and he was pretty much in his battle form all the time.
“Secondly, we need to know what’s happening out there on Arkaya. I don’t think there’s any danger outside, but we still need to know what happened in the Treasury.”
Everyone nodded to his words.
“I have already sent a Guard to inquire about what’s happening out there. The communication devices work as long as we get up to the platform.” The King answered him.
“Call the Elders as well. All of them.” Shazan said.
“Are you sure about this?” The King asked again.
His question was a serious one.
They had all witnessed what just happened here. It was not only Caius who was excited to battle more, given the benefit of an increase in strength, the Guards too were willing to brave risks.
The difference in guards and Elders was that the Guards would not hold an opinion at the order of the Royalty, but the Elders could voice it.
Shazan answered them by gesturing to the Walls.
“You see, even if what we face are only the One-Star Insect Beasts, there are about seven different Insect Beasts. Two of them have Wings.”
Akash clenched his fists tightly when he looked at the pictures of the Beasts. He was the weakest person present here, and his weakness made him better realize how big of a danger the Beasts possessed to them.
“We hardly won the battle against one, if two or three come at the same time…” He didn’t finish his words. He didn’t need to.
“That’s what I fear as well.” The King nodded and gravely looked at the Dimensional Passage. “Casualties are unavoidable. And if things get out of hand…”
None of them said anything in comfort.
What the King worried the most was about the people and the land he was responsible for, and Arkaya was in danger.
“I will pass on the order of emergency evacuation. All of the Humans and weaker Azeros will be sent to the Silver Palace in the Himalayas.”
Shazan nodded in approval and looked at Caius.
“Yes, Lord Shazan?”
He approached the group and asked.
“I want you to contact Gerald Bloodfallen, and ask him to come personally with his Blood Knights. We need all of them.”
Caius looked at Shazan in horror. Even the brave him had a pale face at the name of Gerald.
Shazan passed him his cell phone before making him leave for the platform to contact the Lord of Blood Knights.
“You are not going to contact the Wise-Blood Order?” Akash asked confusedly.
“I don’t want the people that I don’t trust to come here.” He answered.
His words meant that he did not trust the Order. He was their leader and he knew what kind of people resided in that Order. The Elders were all dangerous, and even if they feared him greatly because of his strength and because of Renesme, they still harbored ill intentions towards him.
Envy is a Sin that corrupts the rationale of its sinners.
“Do you trust Gerald Bloodfallen?” Queen Izna frowned and asked.
“I can trust him with my life.” Shazan smiled at the question. “He’s an honorable man. And there are barely any people in the World as honest as him.”
“Shazan,” Akash confusedly looked at him. “I want to know why you joined the Wise-Blood Order when you could have formed your Order with the Blood Clan and the Moon Clan.”
It was the question he had always wanted to ask him.
“Things don’t work as we want them to…” He lowered his head and sighed. “I joined the Wise-Blood Order to avoid a war. The Two Orders would have waged a war on us if we formed an Order of our own. The Strength of the Blood Clan is something that the entire World fears. Moon Clan is just as dangerous. Silverstein is the weakest of the three, however, people fear us just as much. The three clans trust each other to the fullest. We don’t interfere in each other’s internal matters, but if anyone dares to come at one of us, we all stand together.”
Akash was surprised to hear the confidence and trust in his words. The King was also surprised, but Queen Izna was tensed.
“How come you have such a relationship?” She asked.
“Every relationship starts with benefits.” Shazan smiled at her. “The Blood Clan is not a part of Earth. They are not Human, and they are not Azeros. Their Ancestors came to Earth to hide and take refuge, and they are one of the Oldest Clans in the World.” He told them a secret. “Same goes for the Moon and Day Clans, they are not part of this world.”
His words shocked them. But they quickly recovered. Things made sense to them now.
“The people of the Blood Clan suffer mental break-downs and crave Blood if they can’t control their emotions. It is not only a danger to them but others as well. A Bloodfallen, whose mind is ruled by Blood, would get stronger, but their potential would be hindered. And there is a danger of them losing their sanity.” He sighed before continuing. “The people of the Blood Clan hold strength to subjugate the weaker among them and keep their minds in check, but it isn’t safe. That is why the Silverstein and they joined hands. The Silverstein helps them stay sane.” He smiled at Queen Izna. “And the people fo the Moon Clan control Illusions, but the side-effect is that their minds would end up confusing the reality with their imagination. So, they need the help of Silverstein as well.”
“And that is why they would never allow anyone to lay hands on the Silverstein Empire…” The King nodded in understanding.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But that’s not all. The three clans have lived and fought together for thousands of years, and the mutual trust and companionship that has developed can not be underestimated. Now, it is not just about benefits, but also about friendship, honor, integrity, responsibility, and trust.”
The three of them remained silent at his words. They had never before heard him speak of any other power in the world with such confident words.
“I know it is hard to believe that such a friendship could exist between Clans, but it happened.” Shazan smiled. “The three clans realize that they are stronger together. Also, if we stay together, we will only get stronger than our opponents.”
“Is that why the Moon Clan even made their Prince your Right-Hand Man?” Akash asked the question that bothered him.
“There’s more to it, but Caius could no longer stay in the Moon Clan. His father asked me for a personal favor, and trusted me with him.” He smiled and said. “It’s more personal than official.”
“I see…” He nodded. “And the reason why you did not allow the Order to interfere with the Aryan Clan was that you didn’t trust them?”
“Yes,” He nodded. “I don’t allow the Order to interfere in the matters of the Blood Clan and the Moon Clan. I am their representative in the Order. And I don’t want the Order to interfere in the matters of Aryans as well. You are one of the few Ancient Clans who have no agendas.”
Shazan smiled at him.
“Forget about it.” He said.
Akash surprisedly looked at him.
“What?”
“You were thinking about contending for the position of a Lord when I take care of the Fourth Lord, right?”
“How do you…” The Aryan prince looked at him in shock.
“I know how ambitious you are.” He smiled and patted his shoulder. “Do not get involved in dirty politics. You are not ready yet. And you have your Clan to take care of.”
Akash nodded to him and lowered his head embarrassedly.
The King had a grateful smile on his lips. He was grateful to Shazan for telling the truth to Akash and making him realize that not all glitter was gold. Even though Shazan was a few years younger than the Aryan prince, he was years ahead of him in such matters.
“How are you going to contain the Elders from making trouble?”
His question made the three of them frown.
“Do you have a plan?” The King stopped thinking and straightforwardly asked him.
“I have an offer.” He smiled at the Aryan King. “In December, this year, the Blood Clan, the Moon Clan, and the Silverstein Clan will sign a Blood Contract. It is my wedding as well. The Aryans are welcome to become part of that Blood Contract.”
“What is it about?” Queen Izna asked confusedly.
“I will be leaving this world with my family in a few years, and the Blood and Moon Clan will follow me out of here.”
“What?”
Akash unbelievably looked at him.
“You have found another world?” He asked.
“There are a few.”
“The ones that are being Guarded by the Guardian Beasts?” Queen Izna asked.
“No. Not those three. Those three Worlds are only slightly stronger than this world. Where I will be going is much stronger, and… Well, I will tell you more about it when you agree to become part of the Blood Contract.”
He showed his trust in them by revealing something that perhaps only those three Clans knew. If the news spread that he was in the knowledge of a stronger world with more potential, where all of them could settle and become stronger, the Earth would face catastrophe.
Every Major Power in the world would come after him, and even the Order that he is the Lord of will turn against him and force him to reveal the information to them.
What he had just done was his show of trust in the three of them. He showed them that he trusted them, now it was up to them to trust him in return or betray him.
“Let’s focus on the problems at hand.” Queen Izna smiled and said. “What do you plan to do about this passage?”
“I don’t have a plan, but I think if we guard it for over a month, we will have a solution.”
“How?”
Shazan apologetically smiled at the Queen.
It was not that he did not trust her. But it was because he did not want more people to know about Renesme.
He did not know why, but his heart made him believe that Renesme would have a solution to this problem.
Her face emerged in his mind, and he subconsciously looked for her. The bond he had with her could tell him where she was, but right now, he could not sense her in any direction. The bond was still there, but it was he who did not know where to look. She was not on Earth.
“You are confident?” Queen Izna did not inquire more and asked the only question she needed an answer for now.
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Alright.” The King nodded too and then smiled at all of them. “Come with me.”
“Where?” Akash asked confusedly.
“The Training Ground, down there. Don’t we all have to change into something suitable for battle?”
“But isn’t that too far down? What if something happens here in the meantime?”
“It won’t take much time to get there if we jumped.” The King laughed and kept walking.
Shazan shook his head and smiled.
The four of them arrive outside the cave, and instead of taking the stairs down, they all simply jumped off the little platform there.
“How are we going to land safely?” Akash asked in a panic.
It was funny how he asked the question after jumping with them.
“You will be fine. The Young Emperor here is used to jumping from skies, and he can fly. So, stay close to him. He will make sure that you are safe.”
The words of the King surprised Shazan, but it only made him smile more.
They were falling for a few kilometers, even though the jump would not kill the King and his Queen, Akash would suffer a lot.
“Alright, stay calm, and make sure you are controlling your blood flow.”
He guided them through it and formed layers of shields under them. The process was the same as he had done with Maira, it was only easier this time around as the drop was not that high.
When their feet touched the ground, as light as feathers, they all looked at him in admiration.
“That’s a sound technique.” The King nodded and patted his shoulder.
The Guards all looked at the four of them in shock. They hurriedly kneeled to the King and their Queen and waited for a command.
‘Rise,” The King said. “Those of you who are in the fourth Realm, are to assemble in the cave above with shields, armors, explosives, and melee weapons. Take as many as you can. The ones that are under the Fourth Realm should evacuate this place. Go outside and wait for further instructions.”
The Guards obediently nodded and took their leave.
There was a large platform here, and the walls surrounding it had small lights in them. They illuminated this place enough to see everything. The temperature here was higher, and oxygen was a lot lower. It was a place perfect to test one’s limits.
There were several cabins around the platform, and there were all sorts of facilities here.
After all the High-Guards left the training grounds, The King led them to a changing room.
“These are not proper battle suits, but they are durable and fit for training.”
He opened a locker and passed to them several packets of simple training clothes that looked like tracksuits.
Then he opened more lockers and showed them the shin-guards, knee guards, bracers, and some light armors.
“The Iron Swords are in the armory, and there are some more weapons.” The King informed them before picking his outfit and walking inside a changing booth.
“I will go check the armory and see if there is anything fit for what awaits us,” Shazan told them and picked up a light armor, and a black tracksuit.
He could not find a suitable weapon in the Armory, but he took some fire explosives and a few metal shields.
The shields were not useful enough, but they could still provide a layer of protection.
Something was bothering him that he had not revealed to the others. Something told him that the creature they fought was just the beginning. Even after waiting for over two hours, no other creature had appeared before them from that channel. It was strange.
Lost in his thoughts, he arrived at the Training Grounds where the three of them were waiting for him.
Watching him carrying several Shields in hands with a couple of bags full of explosives made them smile. It was a funny sight.
“Here…” He forwarded half the shields to Akash.
“How are we going to get up in the shortest amount of time?” The Prince accepted the Shields and asked.
“You will be taking the Stairs.” He told Akash and exploded Aura under his feet. The next moment, he was dozens of meters above them on the spiral staircase.
As soon as he stepped on the stairs, he exploded the aura again and jumped diagonally to arrive at the stairs on the other side of the wall. He left the Guards behind that were still on their way up, and kept jumping in Zig-Zags at an insane speed.
He was glad that killing the Beast had returned some of his strength, he had enough to spare to save time.
The King and Queen Izna were following him using the same method, but their technique still lacked refinement and so they were several hundred meters under him in the darkness.
In a matter of a few minutes, he arrived outside the cave.
They had only been gone for a little over an hour, and the place now had a lot more people than before. He handed the Shields and Explosives to the Guards and entered the cave.
He was not so surprised to find Elder Amraaz inside, but he was surprised to see Vikaros as well.
“What happened in the Treasury?” He walked over to him and asked.
Vikaros looked at him in a complicated gaze, but then he clenched his fists and lowered his head.
“It was my fault,” He said. “Vikranth was with me. We were playing Chess there as I looked after the Flute. But, suddenly, the inscriptions of the Flute started shining, followed by tremors.”
He stopped and looked back at Shazan.
“I don’t remember what happened, but I felt drawn to the flute. I knew that I was under an influence, and so I tried my best to fight against it, but when I finally regained my consciousness, I had already opened the case that contained the Flute. I heard the sound of it. Behind me, Vikranth had it in his hands and was playing it.” The pain in his expressions was full of regret.
“Is he okay?”
“He lost consciousness after playing it, and he still has not woken up. The doctors say that he will be fine, and only lost consciousness because he was tired.”
Shazan nodded to him and then looked at the Wall.
“Whatever happened was not in our control. There is no need to blame yourself or anyone.” He said and smiled when he saw ripples present on the wall. “Back Off!” He called out. “Get in a formation.”
Elder Amraaz and Vikaros stayed with him, but the rest of the Guards immediately formed layers of formations behind them.
“What’s happening?” Vikaros confusedly asked.
“Another Beast is coming.”
It was Caius who rushed up to them and stood by the side of Shazan. He had an excited smile on his face, but as soon as the creature appeared before them, the smile paled, and a look of horror dawned on his expressions.
“How…”
♛ Author’s Note:
Hey there!
I hope you liked the chapter. I will see you next week with two more chapters. Be safe!
To stay updated about the stories, do join my Discord. The link is on the ToC Page. See you there!