Chapter 65: Promise Child

The end of the Second Ring. And the end of the Rings, since only the Queen is allowed to pass to the Third. He had not expected it to look like this. He wondered if he had been tricked, or if this was really how it looked.

It reminded him of the outskirsts, a vast wasteland, with nothing in sight. And with fog covering everything around them, not allowing them to see anything. And the deeper they went, the thicker it got.

“You said you would take me to the zones… what is this?”

Azel tilted her head.

“These are the zones. It is just that the only way to see them is if you conquer the mist. That is the first trial to challenge a Knight.”

Aether didn’t look back, just continuing to move forward deeper into the fog. With the only shadow that he could speak to, being his own. He had thought that it wouldn’t be so easy to just challenge a Knight.

“You said this is the first. What are the others?”

Azel touched her lip with her finger, trying to remember everything. For her, this was her job. She had to prove her worth to Aether, since not only was he a very intresting person. But also the only one who would accept her now.

So she was scared that if she didn’t help, he would leave her behind. Which wouldn’t happen, since he felt guilty of what happened to her. But she didn’t know that.

“Well, it really depends. All the zones have this mist, but beyond that, it’s the choice of the Knight what they do. This could be the only thing standing between you and them. But the second trial, the third, and so on, they can be anything. If the Knight wants them.

Aether rubbed his chin.

’Anything…’

He wondered what that meant.

A game that you have to complete to get through. Defeating a guard or another challenger. Maybe even having to face yourself. He didn’t doubt that The Abyss could do it, so it could really be anything.

Humanity has been stuck at breakiality for eternity. No one has been able to achieve it ever since the first squad that did it. The Breakers of humanity are really very strong, and with the gaps between classes only growing, just what was the power of someone of the strongest class?

For a reader to go against one of the strongest Gods will. It was unheard of. Yet here he was.

He stopped, turning back to Azel.

“You don’t mind if I go first, right. I have personal stuff there.”

The girl raised her hand and saluted him.

“Of course not! Go ahead. I’ll be waiting right… here.”

Aether blinked twice, not sure he had heard what she said correctly. But in the end, he sighed. It was going to be a challenge finding her again, but he would manage. Maybe his shadow will remember.

He waved before setting off into the fog.

The plan he had come up with was simple. Since the Rings were in the form of… circles, if he walked in a… well circle, he would go through all of them. If his zone existed, he would know by using his card. If it suddenly worked, then it was obvious.

So he summoned in, looking at it closely, as the fog got thicker, making it harder for him to breathe. But he was used to this sensation.

He wasn’t sure if this would work; after all, he needed to use the card, but he didn’t know what using it meant. Did he have to play a game at the supposed place? Did it open a door? Speaking of it, back in Downspire, the doors seemed to use some sort of cards to open. So maybe this was really how it worked.

“It also makes sense why I didn’t have a room.”

But if he didn’t have a card, nor a place to stay in the bunkers. Where did the Fool even stay? What did he even do?

Who was The Fool before he became him?

It was ironic, really; he hadn’t realized it until now. But the most mysterious person in Frozen Crown wasn’t any of the Knights, nor the Queen.

It was himself.

Did he even help with the research, and if yes, did he know about the Sun’s influence? If he hadn’t helped, why? Wasn’t he just like the others, a Child of Praise? J. also spoke like they were good friends, so the two of them had to have spent time together.

And while all of these questions were important, there was one that stood out.

How was he alive?

He had woken up in the fisherman’s home, but it also seemed like that had been the first day. And by how he asked if he was awakened. He had to have been unconscious. So had the Fool been there when the Sun exploded, or whatever happened in Ashen Wing?

But as he was trying to solve that mystery. He had found the answer to another question.

His card had started to glow and disappear in thin air.

[Your relic has been destroyed.]

Aether stared dumbfounded at his empty hand. Not understanding what happened.

“What the hell!”

He shouted, digging his hands through his hair.

Had he been tricked again? I mean, the card was from J., so there was a chance it was just another trick from the abyss.

He ruffled his hair, but stopped to keep his balance as a small earthquake began to happen beneath his feet.

His eyes widened as in front of him, hidden by the fog. A gigantic building made out of pure obsidian, in which he could see his reflection, appeared.

The gates were wide open. Actually, it felt like they were inviting him.

He swallowed as he slowly walked inside. His feet trembling slightly.

He found himself inside what seemed to be an abandoned ruin, where the walls were practically falling down from the cracks created.

His steps were precise, as the floor itself had many deep holes, holes that… if you fell inside, there was a chance you would fall for eternity.

He wasn’t sure if there was even something below. Only the void.

But as he continued to walk in the darkness. He jerked as he started to hear laughter in his ears. He tried to cover them; that way, it would get quieter.

But it only helped him realize that the laugh was coming from inside his mind. Not from outside.

But to whom did it belong?

It didn’t seem to be one person; it was worse, rather it was the combination of the laughter of the people he had met in Frozen Crown so far.

Every single one.

From the fisherman to Azel.

Was it trying to test him? Well, he wasn’t going to let himself fall to something that was trying to replicate the voice of his dead friends.

So he continued onwards, as the laugh only continued to get louder.

But to his salvation, deep inside the darkness, he saw a flame. So he fastened his step, trying his best to bear the laughter for a little more.

His breathing became heavier, as his mind began to feel like it wasn’t just his own anymore… but surprisingly, the closer he got to the flames. They started to disappear one by one.

And when he reached the light, they were gone.

Aether stared in disbelief as, between the flames, stood a sheeted sword.

Was that what was hidden inside? A weapon that would help him challenge the gods.

He bit his lip as his hands moved forward, hesitantly.

But the moment his fingertip touched it, golden chains wrapped around his arm, making him scream in agony.

He clenched his fists as he fell to his knees.

The chains that had wrapped around his arm burned through his skin, imprinting their mark onto him permanently. They seared his muscles, making them burn like never before. It was so painful that his vision started to blacken, as his eyes rolled so far back that the iris was hardly visible.

He tried biting his lip, clinging onto anything around him, but he couldn’t find anything. All he could do was stay there in agony.

His skin had almost gone completely white as the chains started to gnaw at his bones. He wanted to die at that moment, to end the suffering.

The chains weren’t hot, but the opposite. They were frozen, the coldness spreading around his whole arm, stopping the blood from flowing. He moved his other arm around in the air, but without any motive.

But as he was about to fall unconscious. The pain stopped, and the chains disappeared inside his arm. Leaving behind a large black mark, like a tattoo.

But that wasn’t the only thing.

[Your Path has been stripped away.]

[You have gained a new path]

[You have gained a new relic]

…

…

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