Traevan turned, and Kal’s first impression had proven accurate as the man practically radiated disgust when he looked at Kal. The man’s expression made Kal angry but he held it in, barely. He was about to speak but suddenly he felt something in his chest twist making him gasp.
“Kalum? What’s wrong?” Darian said, moving around the table to place a hand on his shoulder. Strangely Traevan simply raised an eyebrow, his expression changing dramatically from a sneer to a confused expression.
Kal tried to take a breath but found his lungs weren’t responding and his legs began to quiver. Darian scooped him up, “Guards!, Lana! Something's wrong with Kal!”
Agony radiated from Kal’s chest, it felt like he had just jumped into a fire and started rolling around in it. He couldn’t breathe, his vision began to fade as Darian went to exit the room but was barred from leaving by the two guards, “What are you doing?! My son needs help!”
Kal heard someone else respond as his vision went black, “Restrain them both! And go find the merchant sister, we may need her too. ”
Kal heard a hard thud and felt the world spin before he knew no more.
Time passed in a blur before Kal came to. He was blindfolded and he couldn’t move, his wrists were tightly bolted to the arms of a wooden chair. But Kal could barely understand what was happening, his chest hurt so much, he was so hot. Sweat poured from his face and his eyes ached like he had been staring into the sun.
What was happening? Was the water in his wash bowl poisoned? He tried to speak but nothing but a weak gasp came out but the sound was enough to get a response.
Kal heard a door somewhere on the other side of the room open and close before someone spoke, “Finally the freak is awake,” the person took a few steps closer then suddenly Kal's head snapped back and his ears rang as the man slapped him hard across the face. It hurt but the pain was nothing compared to what he was feeling in his chest, the sudden motion making it flare up even worse.
“Who would have thought I would find you in this worthless backwater town, and in such a pathetic state,” Traevan said, Kal didn’t need to see to know that the man was sneering.
“What?... why were you looking for me?” Kal rasped, just barely getting the words out.
“We weren’t looking for you boy!” Traevan scoffed, “We were looking for what you were supposed to be. To throw away such a gift is…unforgivable!
“What? What gift?” Kal struggled to get out. The man was clearly enraged, but Kal had no idea what he was talking about, “Where is my father?”
Kal's head was flung back as Traevan hit him again before responding, “Your father will be questioned thoroughly shortly, as well as your sister. But first, you will tell me who freed you from our lord's control.”
“I don't know what you're talking about sir, please just let my family go,” Kal rasped as the pain radiated throughout his body.
“Oh but you do boy, you can feel it now can’t you, the pain of your cursed existence,” Traevan stepped even closer and tore off Kal’s blindfold before jabbing a finger into his chest. The pain suddenly grew tenfold and Kal screamed, “That boy is your broken core. What a pathetic waste. To pay such a price when you could have been something truly great as the chosen of Dhinir.”
Traevan kept his finger in place and waved his free hand in an arc, forming a golden circle around Kal’s head as he spoke, “No more wasting time, Who freed you from Dhinir’s grasp?!”
Panic began to rise up in Kal as his pain continued to climb, he didn’t know what he was talking about. What would Dhinir want with him anyway? He was just some failure who still hadn’t managed to ascend. His chest twisted suddenly as the panic changed into disgust with himself. But something else began to flow with that pain and heat as he focused on the eyes of his capturer. Anger, “I don’t know what you are talking about, sheep of a traitor god!”
Kal blacked out for a moment as he was thrown across the room, the chair he was bolted to breaking beneath him and with it his left arm. He cried out in pain as he regained his breath and saw Traevan looking down at his hand with a furious frown on his face.
“Say those words again and I will ensure even your pathetic sister mage is dead with the rest of your family,” he seethed. Turning back towards the door he continued, “Perhaps you're correct however, your father is just as guilty to have sired a waste of potential such as you.”
Opening the door Traevan let two of the armored guards enter the room, “Kill him, leave nothing left for him to corrupt this place further. I will see to the rest of the family.”
Kal tried to curse at Traevan but he could breathe let alone speak. He tried to get to his feet but nothing was responding like it should. No, not like this! Not his family! The burning pain intensified again as the guards came closer, one of them drawing a sword. The guard raised his sword and Kal saw the barest hint of smirk through the gap in the man’s helm as the sword began to fall. He didn’t care, Kal was just another body on the pile. The anger flowing through the agony of the radiating heat in Kal’s chest intensified, becoming something more savage. You should be dead! Not me! If Kal could, he would kill them all. It was what they deserved! To kill an innocent family was unforgivable, to kill at all was not their right. He should be the killer here.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The blade sliced into his throat, the motion slowing further as the blade cut deeper his vision blurring. Suddenly his pain was gone and the fury building up inside exploded into a wrathful flame. A golden flash appeared in front of his eyes as they suddenly regained focus, fueled by his wrath.
I’m sorry that I could not be there to help you Kalum, but I will do what I can in my final moments and rebuild what I can. Now go, show them your wrath.
Kal snarled at the words before him, he did not need help.
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Tyrin chuckled as his blade cut through the boy's throat easily. At least the kid was brave enough to face him as he died. Tyrin locked eyes with the boy as his lifeblood left him, but a sudden chill ran through him as the boy's eyes focused suddenly, “What the f-” The boy smiled and his eyes lit up like crimson stars as blood began to pour from every inch of his body. Tyrin readied himself to swing again but the chill in his bones intensified making him freeze up with all his will to fight vanishing, like he had never killed a fly.
Eventually, he moved and brought the sword back across into the monster before him but it only met empty air as the thing's body twisted in an unnatural, reckless way to avoid the strike. Tyrin saw the other guard Bekit freeze as he was drawing his sword. He didn’t get another chance to look before the boy leaped towards him, his face twisted into a pale sneer as blood continued to pour.
The boy rolled incredibly fast, completely disregarding his broken arm, and slammed his foot into Tyrin’s armored knee. Tryin hadn’t expected it to be a problem since the freak was unascended but when the strike landed he screamed in agony as the knee completely failed turning into a blood pulp making him fall into the monster’s wait hand.
One small hand crushed his throat and the other, still broken, snapped his wrist. He was about to scream again but then he met the boy's eyes again and all thought was lost to despair.
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The other guard screamed as Kal ended the first, his hatred filling the room. His broken arm snapped back into place as his wrath repaired his shell. The second guard still hadn’t even drawn his sword, pathetic, these things had no right to kill. Disgusted Kal threw the corpse into the second guard with a meaty crunch, the pathetic things scream dying in an instant.
He would kill them all.
A crimson flame spread away from Kal’s pours and he moved towards the door. Picking up the first corpse's sword on his way. His vision became a world of black and red, the blood of his enemies in his sight, there were dozens moving towards the chaos he had wrought. Not enough.
The door exploded outwards, sending shrapnel of both wood and iron into the oncoming guards. Kal didn’t rejoice as the debris rendered the first two enemy's corpses in an instant but instead moved through chaos like a storm of blood, bone, and fire. When his weapon was stuck in the chest of a corpse that corpse became his weapon in the fray. They struggled but they could not win, how could they? They were lesser, nothing to his wrath, nothing to his will, nothing at all. Some attacks struck him but his shell was nothing to his wrath, his body crumbled as swords cleaved and hacked but his pain was nothing to his wrath. He moved to kill and nothing else, if it did not kill, it was worthless. Every crippling blow was repaid with instant horrific death while he weaved his way towards the next line of corpses.
Kal gasped a lung full of air and sat up in a rush. His head was spinning as he tried to figure out where he was. His heart was pounding as he looked around finding himself back in the cave next to the crimson pillar, “What the fuck was that?!” It was all wrong, first the infinite sea of blood an-…No! Don't think about that. Then it was some fucked up nightmare. It was all wrong Jayne hadn’t even ascended before he left home, how could he have been there to see her leave?
His head ached as flashes of the dream went through his mind, “Fuck, sleeping was a mistake,” he felt exhausted like his head had been stomped on repeatedly by some bored giant. He was just lucky that he was next to the pillar when he did. The first part Kal was sure was one of the fucked up nightmares that the fatebinders cooked up but somehow Fyborh had saved him again, but this time it was different. Kal looked at the knuckles of his right hand to see them bloodied and then he noticed a similarly bloodied spot on the pillar.
He must have touched the pillar while he slept, activating the vision. He checked the quest entry to make sure and nodded.
The Forgotten One
Uncover the mystery of the Mountains of Revenge.
Pillars Found: 2/3
Rewards: Uncommon Chest, Title
Yep, he had definitely activated it. Somehow Fyborh could tell he was in trouble even though he was just a memory, or at least something like that. But what was the next part? Fyborh had told him to sleep well and then given him another fucked up dream, yeah, thanks. It had to be a dream, none of it made any sense. He would remember ascension if he had been there to see, but no he had heard about years after he was sent away. No, it must have just been a regular old nightmare. I wish I got to see them one last time, before coming to this damned place. But no you threw that away. Why didn’t he just go see them, he could have. Even if it was just his father it would have been better than just leaving. Then the need to see them faded, as it always did. He had been sent away. They didn’t want to see him anyway.
Frowning Kal stood up and stretched, trying to clear his head. He should just stop thinking about all that and concentrate on his survival and growth. He had finally slept now for better or worse. Flashes of imagery from the first dream crawled into his mind, forcing a chuckle into his throat before he crushed it down.
Trial of the Slayer IWave: 2
Time: 19 days, 16 hours, 41 minutes, 56 seconds
The Lords of this layer have become aware of your presence and have allied their forces with the Bestial Lord. Show them that a slayer cares not what enemy they face.