Chapter 105: Unveiling Secrets

The room where the brothers plotted was dimly lit, casting shadows that danced across the stone walls. The space felt claustrophobic and cluttered, filled with strange powders, bones, and ritualistic materials stacked haphazardly. The air was thick with the earthy smell of herbs and dried plants, mingling with a more pungent, metallic scent—likely from dried blood. The flickering light from a single lantern threw ominous shapes across the brothers’ faces, enhancing their already sinister expressions.

The brothers themselves wore dark, tattered robes—evidence of their attempt to mimic some higher magical order. Both men’s bushy eyebrows and oval faces looked eerily similar, their beady eyes reflecting greed and fear. The younger brother, slightly more skittish, fidgeted with a kitchen knife in one hand while his other hand swung a chain-bound watch that shimmered faintly with magic. The older brother, more composed but just as vile, paced the room, occasionally picking up dried herbs or peering into a sack of collected bones. The scent of decay hung around him.

"Maybe we should sell the artifact once it’s complete. I bet we could get a hundred thousand coins easy," the younger brother chuckled, though there was nervousness behind his excitement. He scratched his chin, eyes darting to the materials piled on a worn wooden table.

The older brother stopped pacing and gave a low laugh, the shadows stretching behind him ominously. "Or maybe we keep it and take over the town ourselves," he mused, though his voice carried doubt. "But no, there are stronger artifacts in this town. We’re not the only ones looking for a shortcut to power." His voice lowered as if admitting a hidden fear.

The younger brother shifted uneasily, his voice dropping. "But how do we even know this ritual works? What if we just end up with a room full of blood and bones for nothing? Doyou know how long it would take to clean some of that dried blood?"

The older brother’s face twisted into a smirk as he approached the table. "The seller was clear. We carve the symbols into the bones, paint the circle with their blood, and then, once the chant is done, we’ll channel the mana from the world into the artifact. Normally, we’d need the blood of a magical beast, but the seller said human blood works just as well—if we add a few extra magical words." He paused, a gleam of satisfaction in his eye. "It’ll draw power from the world, and once the enchantment is complete, whatever we place in the circle will become a weapon unlike any other."

Taking a moment to breathe, he continued. “The watch he has given us works. And it has been a huge help in gathering these fools, so why shouldn't we trust the ritual? We have physical proof that magic is real.”

The younger brother gulped, staring at the array of bones and powders, now more aware of their eerie significance. "And you're sure it’s gonna work? We only get one shot at this, otherwise, I'm sure gathering this many people within one room again will be very difficult."

The older brother snapped back, his voice sharp. "Of course, it'll work. We'll follow the instructions exactly as we were told. This town’s never seen real magic before, but once we have this artifact, we’ll be untouchable." His voice faltered, betraying a hint of anxiety. "The mayor doesn’t know what’s happening, or if he does, he’s too scared to admit it. Either way, he won’t be a problem for much longer."

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A strange mad look was evident on the big brother’s face as his long wish of gaining power and money was almost in his hand. Even the little brother seemed a little afraid of his brother's sinister look, as there was a strange vile feeling emanating from him.

They continued preparing the ritual, their conversation punctuated by the clatter of materials and the rustling of robes as they moved. The younger brother spoke up again, his voice filled with awe. "If the mayor knew about all this magic, why wouldn’t he tell the town? Wouldn’t he want the power for himself?"

The older brother’s laughter was bitter, a sound that echoed in the cramped room. "The mayor might be ignorant, but more likely, he’s scared. He knows if the town starts figuring out magic, he’ll lose control. We’ll be the ones with power."

As the two brothers continued talking, the room suddenly grew silent when they heard a faint clicking sound—the door handle slowly turning. They both froze, exchanging nervous glances.

"You think they’re trying to escape?" the older brother growled, anger creeping into his voice. "Idiots. Tied up and blindfolded, and they think they can get out."

The younger brother drew his knife, the blade glinting dangerously in the dim light as he crept toward the door. His watch swung hypnotically from side to side, murmuring the beginning of a binding spell, as the younger brother prepared for the worst.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing Abel standing calmly in the doorway. His eyes, calm and inscrutable, locked onto the two brothers as he stepped into the room. The lantern light flickered against his face, casting long shadows, but Abel didn’t flinch.

"How...how did you get out?" the younger brother stammered, his voice rising an octave in panic. He raised the watch higher, swinging it wildly, as the knife in his hands trembled slightly, his earlier confidence faltering. "You’ll pay for this, I swear! Take one step, and—"

Abel’s expression remained eerily calm, his voice soft but filled with an unsettling amusement. "You’re the ones who should worry," he said coolly, his presence suddenly overwhelming the room. There was no fear in his eyes, only the quiet certainty of someone who had long surpassed the likes of these two brothers. He wanted his questions answered.

The younger brother’s hands trembled as he looked back at his sibling for reassurance. But the older brother, usually calm and composed, looked just as shaken. His voice faltered. "What... what are you? If you have an artifact so do we!"

Abel took a step forward, his voice even quieter now, carrying the weight of a promise. "I’m the one who’s going to end this farce."

The two brothers took an instinctive step back as the room seemed to shrink around them, the once-cluttered space now suffocating under Abel's presence. The shadows grew longer, the air colder, and in that moment, it became clear that the ritual they thought would bring them power was nothing compared to the force standing before them.

The younger brother, gripping his knife until his knuckles turned white, raised it in a final act of defiance. "You don’t know what you’re messing with!" he shouted, his voice breaking under the weight of his own fear.

Abel’s lips curled into a dangerous smile, his eyes gleaming in the dim light as he pulled out his dagger and played with it in between his fingers. "Oh I know, that's what I'm about to find out."

Things had changed quickly and the older brother was quickly thinking of ways out of this situation. He knew who to avoid and who not to start any issues with. This man in front of him wasn't anyone he had met before, therefore he was unsure of how this would go. He cursed his younger brother inwardly blaming him for not trying the ropes around correctly. He stepped forward standing next to his little brother as Abel smiled murmuring just loud enough for the two brothers to hear, “Good…”