After her words, everyone started attacking their king, unleashing magic the instant they heard the word “kill”. All his men that were filled with veneration suddenly transformed into creatures loathing him to the bone, and with each one of them going for the kill not holding back anything.
The reason for their crazed behavior was not only Eris’ magic which caused discord among their group, but also because of Eros’ skill which he unleashed a few breaths after Eris’s unimaginable spell. Eros controlled everyone’s emotion causing rage to fill their thoughts, but unlike those other thormos, he controlled the king’s emotion specifically to make him feel confused.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they king’s defenses was always lax towards them, since they have been using their magic on him almost every day, they would never had the chance to attack the king and incapacitate him in any way.
While the chaos was unfolding, Eros and Eris both fell on their knees with complexion pale from the magic they were using. It was impossible for them to stand, but another slave used a magic which carried the two with giant golden hand.
Magical attacks rained everywhere, along with blood of the fallen. The thormos’ warriors joined hands in attacking the king who was still in daze from Eros’ magic and the things happening.
When the king finally received several injuries, his eyes suddenly flinched and he screamed in fury. “You slaves! How dare you attack the me!”
Eros and Eris who were being carried by the magic of a man, who was rushing towards the exit, suddenly trembled from the scream of the king. They were both completely drained of energy and have no way to defend from the enemy. All they could do now was hope that their companions could pass through the door safely.
The king unleashed several attacks directed to Eros and Eris, but those attacks were simply blocked by several rampaging thormos in the attack’s path. The king became furious, but he was still under Eros magic, which made his powerful magic impossible to use.
“How dare a human like you use this damned magic on a king like me!” The king then stood up making the whole chamber which was already trembling to shake violently more than ordinary. The door also slowly closed, controlled by the king who was still shaking off Eros’ and Eris’ magic, trying to get a better grasp at his surroundings.
Eros and Eris could do nothing but trust their companions on successfully escaping the chamber of the king. The numerous thormos going wild kept the king busy, and prevented the king from reversing the flow of the confusion to his side.
“Hurry!” Eris shouted as her complexion became paler than ever. “I cannot hold on for much longer!”
The man carrying them increased his speed, dodging random attacks from the rampaging thormos even tough his wounds started to bleed.
The king roared and growled. He was fully infuriated with his slaves rebelling while he could do nothing. “Take another step and you shall die!!” The king shouted with his voice reaching the skies.
Many of the slaves stopped their motion when they heard the king’s roar, but some still maintained composure and rushed towards the door. Along with those who were not affected was the man carrying Eris and Elas using his magic; he only glanced back and shouted, “You cannot imprison us forever you fake king!”
The king was enraged beyond words; instead of saying anything, he gathered all his strength and shot a spear of sand towards the man carrying Eris and Eros with his magic hand. The man was only one step away from the door before the spear pierced his heart and he fell on the floor, but before he lost consciousness, he was able to throw Eros and Eris towards the exit allowing them to escape.
“No!!”, Eris shouted as she was flung out of the chamber landing on the ground fully unscathed.
Eros who was still barely recovering from overusing his magic, grabbed Eris by the arm, and fled along with the other slaves who successfully rushed out of the chamber in panic.
There weren’t any thormos outside the chamber; those few were immediately subjected to the slave’s slaughter. No one could stop their advance even though many of died in the kings hands.
….
On a separate location, where Elas was already at his limit controlling his agitation from being a slave because of Fryr’s continuous persuasion, a scream from the king’s chamber could suddenly be heard creating a large scale commotion.
“It’s the king.”, One thormos said looking at the direction of the voice.
“Someone is infuriating the king?” Another said.
Fryr and Elas glanced at each other, nodding as if they both understood what was happening.
Fryr then looked at Hagu who was all this time frowning while looking at the thormos worrying about their king. All the past months, Hagu had the same expression as if he was bothered by something very intriguing.
“Hagu.. Its time.” Fryr said slowly.
Hagu did not respond; so Elas asked. “What’s wrong Hagu. You have the same expression for several months now?”
“Hey, do you think those guys have feet?” Hagu said as his frown was becoming eminent.
“Is that the reason you have that frown all this time?” Elas asked stupefied.
Hagu simply nodded still looking at the thormos who was faithfully guarding this post.
Fryr then chuckled and said. “Hey. How about you find it out yourself, tear them apart so that you’ll know if they do have feet.”
Hagu’s face flinched; he then dropped the pail on his hands and roared with dominance; the manacles on his hands simply shattered by the brute force from his arms. With a simple motion, he leapt in the air, quickly traversing the distance between him and the thormos guarding them. Without hesitation, and even filled with anticipation, he grabbed the thormos’ upper body made from flesh and blood, and its lower body made from sand. Hagu pulled his body apart, which caused the thormos to scream in pain and terror from Hagu’s sudden attack. His eyes bulged, his skin ripped, and all his organs flew in the air as his body split apart like a twig. Elas gaped and Fryr chuckled; Hagu was so wild that it sent chills to Elas spine and left his eyes wide.
“Elas, let’s go; seems like Eros has done something in the king’s chamber.” Fryr said.
Elas quickly followed along, but Hagu was crestfallen from what he have see. He expected for the thormos to have a limb or something hidden within, but there was nothing but sand in contrast to what he was expecting.
“Hagu let’s go, check other thormos, you might find different result.” Fryr urged with a smile.
Hagu’s quickly changed from downcast to a face filled with brim; without waiting for Elas, he quickly made path by tearing several thormos apart.
….
“Hey Eris, are we there yet?” Eros asked while running along with the group of slaves.
“We’re almost there! That man locked up in that building ahead can fight the king; I’m sure of it.” Eris replied running ahead of Eros and unleashing an attack. There were several thormos blocking their path, but still wasn’t enough to stop the slave’s wrath.
When they were a few steps away from the building they were aiming to get in, a man suddenly surfaced from the sand on the ground. He stood tall and with air of authority; radiating puissance and glory of a man capable of controlling an army.
Eros and Eris face became grim as they looked at the thormos blocking their way in. “Terras..” Said Eros stopping his advance; that name was the name of the thormos who captured them. He knew that they have no chance to beat him, so he gripped Eris’ arm as if thinking where to run.
When he was about to make his decision, a voice suddenly rang from an elevated street not far, catching his attention. There he saw Elas, Fryr and Hagu rushing towards his location.
Fryr suddenly shouted. “Hagu that man might have legs!” Pointing at Terras as if what he said wasn’t even fabricated.
Without a word, Hagu leaped appearing above Terras who was caught off guard. His eyes went wide; blocking Hagu’s punch with his spear shaft.
A thunderous sound echoed out when Hagu’s fist landed on Terras shaft. All of those who witnessed the attack were forced to make one step back. However, Eros was already prepared for the collision, so he took advantage of the situation, and rushed towards the prison. Eros knew that the king has almost recovered and there was no time to wait for the fight of Hagu to end.
“Eris! Come!” He dragged Eris along entering the building.
Without even wasting a breath, they directly went to the location where the man is supposed to be locked up in seclusion. Amazingly there were no guards in the place, and only stairs that leads further down like a maze.
“I did not expect this.” Eris said a bit worried.
Eros felt the same but he did not voice out his concern. Instead, he focused on his curse and attempted to do something he wasn’t sure he could accomplish.
“Emotions..” Eros murmured.
After which, he snapped his eyes open, searching for something. His breathing became rugged, and his energy drastically lowered. Everything around him became silent, and threads from Eris’ body suddenly appeared. Eris could not see it, but it was clear from Eros perspective, to the point that he could even touch it.
“More..” Eros said; His eyes becoming red.
A distinct thread, crimson and barely visible, floated in front of Eros giving him the direction of where the person they are looking for is imprisoned. Even though the thread was so thin, it gave Eros the feeling of fear.
Along with Eris, they followed the thread with ease. Eris did not ask anything, and simply followed Eros who was deeply focusing on the string of emotion from somewhere in the prison.
As they move, the thread became thicker, and the pressure it emited becomes more apparent. Eros was rapidly being drained of energy, but he still held on following the thread patiently. While walking, the stairs started trembling. It seems like the battle outside was going a critical point, and both Eros and Eris wasn’t sure how long their allies could block the enemies assault.
“Is this where he is being held?” Eris said looking at a metal door covered in magical symbol.
Eros exhaled strongly as if a massive weight has been lifted out of his chest, and enabled him to breathe normally. How he used his curse of emotions taxed him strongly, but it was their only way to locate the cage of the man they wish to seek assistance quickly.
“Who are you?” A voice came from behind the door, putting intense pressure to Eris and Eros almost making them kneel on the floor. The voice was filled with anger and hatred that was obviously built up from being locked from a very long time.
“We are here to free you, if you help us in escaping this place.” Eris said not allowing the pressure to affect her tone.
“Are you bargaining with someone like me?” The man said in fury.
Eris did not flinch; instead, she stepped forward and touched the door with her fragile looking hand. “I am not here to bargain. This is a favor you will owe us, since I will give you the chance to fight the king and get revenge for everything.”
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The man went silent and not a word could be heard, only after a short moment did he say his next statement. “It is your choice to free me, but I will not do anything for some nobody. I might also kill you when I’m out of this confinement or even put you into an unbearable torment, or simply flee without even staring back at that pig of a king who only knows killing and eating.”
Eris however did not stop; when she touched the door earlier, she already started breaking the seal and the barrier. After a few breaths, the seal started breaking and the barrier started cracking, which made the man stare in disbelief in what Eris was doing. Even with his words, Eris didn’t stop undoing the seal.
In the instant that the seal crumbled, a bright glow appeared at the corner of the metal door as if a large explosion was about to occur. Eros quickly noticed this and pulled Eris away avoiding the metal door from slamming into her.
BOOM!
The door flew, slamming into the stairs Eris and Eros previously passed through. A powerful surge of energy erupted from the room, where a man wearing a wizard robe walked out. He was thin and looked frail, but Eros could tell that he was strong enough to kill them without fail. His eyes filled with rage, and his hair was disheveled; some of it even covering his face. Even though Eros could not clearly see the man’s expression, he could tell that he was mad beyond reason.
“Natural Energy!” The man said weakly. “It has been years since I have felt this much of it.” Then he started laughing uproariously. Not even a few breaths, energy started to gather in his body, his hair whipped and his body seemed to slowly recover some vigor.
The man then shifted his gaze towards Eros and Eris who was on the floor still weak from all they’ve experienced. “A human.” The man said. “It has been a long time since I saw a human, but it is still not enough for me to spare you. Give me a reason why you should not die in my hands.”
Eros was also stunned; he also have never seen a human in this land. However, he did not use it to beg for mercy, instead, he looked at the man fiercely.
The two of them stared at each other for a while before the man said. “Such deep desire to live for revenge; I will not kill you since I can feel what you’ve gone through.” Then the man slowly faded, appearing at a distance ahead.
Eris who was still lying on Eros lap now regained consciousness and quickly stood up. She looked at Eros with high regard and then said. “Let’s go. If he fights the king, that’s our chance to escape.”
…
Outside, a man stepped out of the building, he was the very man Eros and Eris took great lengths of freeing. He looked up and saw the king fighting Hagu and Fryr.
Near him, he saw a thormos breathing ruggedly, he was familiar to him. It was Terras, one of those who fought to capture him. “It has been a long time.” The man said while looking at Terras.
When Terras saw the man, he trembled and tried to run, however, the man simply smiled and waved his hand causing a massive wound to appear on Terras back.
Terras shrieked in pain, tumbled in the ground, supporting himself with the spear on his hand. “So those brats freed you!”
“It doesn’t matter what you say; your life will still end this day.” The man said while walking towards Terras. “Back then, you attacked me with your king even though I helped him lessen his suffering.”
“Lessen his suffering!? We discovered that you tried to experiment on him.” Terras said in fury.
But the man simply raised his arm and slashed it swiftly, cutting Terras’ head smoothly. It fell to the ground and blood gushed out. In an instant he was dead without doubt.
The man then looked at Hagu and Fryr who was fighting with the king. The moment his eyes landed on the two, he murmured. “Strong.. Those two are strong, but they can’t kill that king with level of skill. Also, I have to kill that pig myself to ease my anger all these years.”
The man then disappeared from his spot and appeared next to the king exploding with wrath. On his hands was a green sharp energy that seemed to be able to cut any enemy.
The king’s eyes went wide, and both Hagu and Fryr moved back. They sensed that the man was about to attack them too, and if they don’t move away they’ll be cut into two.
In a simple slash, a wound on the king’s chest opened where blood gushed. “How dare you human! Do you think I’m the same as before! I have gained strength that far surpassed your own.” The king shouted as his wound was covered with sand, stopping the bleeding in an instant.
The king exploded with power, but the man did not cower. He faced the king head on, causing massive explosions. Fryr did not even bother to look back, and flew towards Elas who was sitting behind a rock. Hagu on the other hand was still looking at the king, thinking deeply if the king is different from all the thormos he have split into two.
When Fryr saw Eros exiting the building, he began shouting. “Hagu come here! We’re leaving!”
However, before they could regroup, the king roared in fury. Several of his underlings rushed towards Fryr and Elas in a hurry, completely cutting them off from Eros and Hagu. Eros along with Eris were also suddenly surrounded, many thormos appeared out of the sand in the ground led by Aegas who previously had a thing for Eros.
Also, along with the king’s roar, his energy spiked which pushed the man away. He even unleashed an attack towards Hagu, who was still looking at the king as opposed to what Fryr ordered him to do.
Sands flew in the air as it whipped about shredding everything on its path. Be it allies or foes, they were not able to escape the king’s wrath. Hagu was able to block the attack; however, he was caught in the storm of sand. Even the man who was fighting the king was thrown violently towards the ground.
Many of the slaves who escaped along with Fryr, Hagu and Elas died in the king’s massive magical spell. Even some of the slaves Eros conspired with were like grains crushed in a mill.
“Fools! Do you really think that you could escape this king after causing so much trouble in my territory?” His voice reverberated in the lands, inciting fear in everyone’s heart. In contrast, it boosted his men’s morale causing them to pin Fryr and Elas in place; not allowing them to assist Eros and Eris who was being chased.
Eros and Eris whose life was suddenly threatened, ran back inside the structure to avoid being captured. In spite of their effort to escape, the group of thormos after them still managed to catch up in a rapid rate.
Soon, they ended up in the lowest point of the underground maze where a pond lays unfazed by the fighting outside the maze. On its surface a thick haze floated filling the entire place.
Eros breathed heavily appearing to be somewhat drained of energy. Eris was on a better condition but with the tens of thormos in front of them and more guarding the path, she knew she could not escape without risking her life, and giving it all she got.
“Hahaha! Give up boy, there’s nowhere to run. It’s not possible for the two of you to take us on and survive.” A man familiar to Eros said with glee. The way the man looked at Eros made Eros shiver and be filled with abhorrence.
Eros suddenly remembered the man’s name and said. “Aegas, there’s no use capturing us. You should help your king since he might die in my comrades’ hands.”
“Hahaha! I have more interest in you boy. So just allow yourself to be my pet, since I’ll treat you well every single day.” He replied while licking his lips.
Aegas did not hesitate and leaped towards Eros attempting to capture Eros for his own use. However, Eros fought with all his might using every magic he could use in the fight. He tried to use the curse of emotion on Aegas, but he was totally drained of energy that the curse could not last.
Eris was also cornered by the other thormos and wasn’t in a position to help Eros. Eros who was fighting Aegas could not help but be pushed back caused by Aegas’ relentless attacks. Behind him the pond was just a meter away when Aegas said. “Give up. If you fall into that liquid you shall die the worst death.” Then he laughed and continued. “That is a poison that corrodes one’s life force, and something only our king is capable of consuming and even uses it as his medicine.”
Eros looked at the pond and gritted his teeth; he knew that what Aegas was saying was real and not a trick. So with all his might, he fought back and tried to gain his footing in order to find an opportunity to attack.
…
Outside, the king was still rampaging, killing many slaves and thormos who were close to him. The king then pulled out a large gourd and guzzled the liquid in it nonstop, some even falling in the ground. The man who was thrown away earlier suddenly came out of the rubble from a collapsed structure, which earlier, he collided without control. “So that’s how he lived until today. That liquid seems to be lowering his life force weakening my spell inside of him.”
The man then flew in the air, laughed and shouted. “Why use that liquid? You should just allow your life force to increase from your unctrollable eating habit.”
The king replied in Fury while unleashing attack along with his every statement. “Indeed my life force was controlled after you placed your spell on me, with the pretense of helping me control the rapid increase in my life force which was extremely dangerous. However, something inside me grew! It completely enveloped my heart, and instead of my life force getting dangerously higher; that thing inside me absorbed the life force from what I eat. I managed to live longer because of that spell, but I realized that it was not a simple magic, it was something meant to turn me into a medicine! A medicine for you to use for your own! Do you think that you could trick this king!?”
The man who was floating towards the king laughed while blocking the attacks and said. “I thought you were all fats and no brains. It’s good that the Door of Sin did not completely affect your small brain.”
…
Eros who was fighting Aegas was now breathing hard as his feet was extremely close to the pond. His hands were holding onto Aegas’ spear which was pointed at his throat slipping by his hands as every second passed. Aegas laughed perversely as he slowly forced Eros to give in to his offer.
“So boy, do you wish to fall in that pond? Or be my pet your whole life?” Aegas said laughing.
Eros who was about to fall, looked back at the pond, and afterwards stared deeply at Eris who was also on a corner about to be captured, and again be locked up. Unexplainably, his stare made Eris realize what he was planning, so Eris shouted. “No!!” But before her voice could reach Eros, Eros already used his curse with all his remaining strength.
Everyone in the maze shuddered, their eyes filled with murderous intent; it was the same emotion Eros triggered to incite anger in everyone in the kings chamber. Eris who knew what was coming also used her skill risking her life to create chaos and invoke fighting. “Madown” She said as she almost fell into unconsciousness.
Eros who overused his magic, slowly lost consciousness, and fell into the pond without any resistance. Everyone started fighting. Even Aegas rapidly killed his allies as if it was nothing.
Oddly, no one attacked Eris who slowly stood up and looked at the pond. “It happened again. I am the only one left. This damned ability of mine causes discord and kills anyone who I get close. I guess I am really destined to live this life on my own.” Then she sighed and said. “Eros, you sacrificed your life in order to save mine; using that magic to boost my own. I will remember you for the rest of my life.” Then she walked away towards the stairs ignoring the fighting around her.
…
In the pond, Eros was slowly sinking, and his mind drifting. He saw the faces of his parents, but he suddenly remembered them dying. So with anger, his eyes snapped open, and realized he was in the liquid drowning. He tried to swim up, but it was useless. His body kept on sinking like stone that soon will become a pebble on the ocean floor.
It wasn’t long for him to see the bottom of the pond. When he landed, he immediately felt something pound. It was not loud, and not even an audible sound, but he was sure of what he felt and tried to focus on it. Soon, he felt it again, but this time it was continuously pounding, like a heartbeat of a living being.
“Am I in a body of some creature?” Eros thought, but he was sure he fell into a pond and not into some monster. However, with his curse of emotion, he could feel something from the floor he was stepping, as if the whole thing has some emotion.
He looked around, and could not determine the exact origin of the sound. Suddenly, something came to his mind; he remembered that the pond is supposed to absorb his life. “Why is it that I’m still alive?” Eros thought while holding his chest. “Maybe Aegas lied, and this liquid could not really take my lif…” Before he could finish the last word, he felt a small portion of his life force seeping away, entering the walls of the pond as if it was eating its prey.
Eros trembled, now he knew that he would surely lose his life, but there was no way to fight. He tried to bash the walls, but not even a dent appeared even if he used all his force. When he was slowly losing hope, a corpse slowly sank towards him from above. It was a corpse of thormos who was probably fighting in chaos.
Eros saw as the remaining life force of the thormos was quickly sucked by the walls of the pond, so he realized and thought. “So it’s only me that can withstand staying in this pond for some time.”
Another corpse sank down, and the same thing happened which made him frown. When the third corpse slowly sank, he thought of something absurd. He closed in the corpse and held it in place. When the walls and floor were about to absorb the thormos life force, he caught the floating life force and absorbed it for his own use! It was something he never thought could work, but still gave it a shot since he had no other choice to make.
The life force entered his body revitalizing him and giving him energy. A smile broke out of his face and said with excitement. “It worked! If I use more body, I might survive longer to think of a way to get out of this place.”
He waited for the next thormos, and continued absorbing life force. He did this continuously while thinking of a way to get out of the situation he was in. As he absorbed more life force, his energy shot up like never before. The corpses piled up which just means that the fighting above was getting intense as time passed.
When he closed his eyes to think of a way, he felt the pounding again. This time, because of the increase in his energy, he felt the pounding more clearly. He was now sure it was a heart, a heart of a creature colossal in size. Compared to it, he was probably smaller than a grain of rice.
Now that he knew what he was against, he thought of a plan, a plan impossible for any other man. He continued to absorb life force and made sure he gathered enough to use on the monster so that he could be expelled by force. When he had enough, he roared!
Threads appeared. It was the threads from the monster below. Eros felt great strain, but he still used his curse to force the monster to feel emotional pain.
The whole pond trembled, then the whole maze, and then everything!. It was as if a monster was awakening!
Everyone gaped, but Eros was excited. It was the moment he knew he could escape!
The water in the pond seethed as if it was attempting to expel Eros with all its might. So in a flash, Eros was shot out of the pond, tumbling at the ground.
“I did it! Eros shouted.” But he noticed the foul stench of the blood in his surroundings.
He looked around and could not find Eris, so he sighed since he knew that Eris survived. Not far, he saw a thormos standing up; he was wounded and covered in blood. Most of it was not his own blood, but instead, blood of his allies he slayed during the sudden chaotic fight.
“So you’re alive.” Aegas said glaring at Eros with mixed hatred and lechery.
Eros frowned, and grabbed a spear. He knew that Aegas was extremely weakened and could be defeated. So with all his might, he went for an all out strike. To kill the man who he hated and despised.
Aegas also rushed towards Eros, attempting to fight it out even though he wasn’t in the shape to fight or even shout.
In an instant, Eros pierced Aegas with the spear. He did not feel fear from his first kill. He knew that this man should die and not be allowed to roam alive. He have already killed many monsters along the way, but they were simple minded creatures not comparable to this thormos blocking his way.
Aegas fell on the ground as Eros looked at him with despise. “So this is how it feels to kill someone similar to a human.” Eros thought as he looked at his hand. "It doesn't differ much from the time I slayed many in the memory of the Hill of Despair."