THE ROYAL PALACE, IOLITE

Ian made his way through a series of doors, from the dining area to the kitchen, dressing room, servant’s quarters, and a spiral stairway leading to the top. Ian’s footsteps could be heard dashing up the stairways, taking flight over several floors. At this point, Ian was running beyond his limit, with only the surge of adrenaline keeping him going.

At the top of the stairway, Ian swung the door open to find a room with a window. From the small window, he had a bird-eyed view of the entire castle. Most of the ceiling was torn down by the typhoon’s foot. There were chambers, dining halls, and empty servant rooms. The room that stood out the most was the silhouette Princess kneeling on the platform with the throne beside her. She seemed to be hugging someone. She was barely recognizable. The black flames burned her entire right hand, traveling across her torso to consume her wings.

He unhooked the latch of the window, but the window panel tore away from the sheer strength of the typhoon. Ian gave a sigh and a slight nod, jotting down that mental note.

“I guess I can’t jump down.”

Ian looked around the room. In the drawer of the table, he found a few small daggers, a hammer and a few nails, a small rag full of holes, and other small working tools. He drew in a breath.

“Right.”

He ripped the cloth in half and tied a dead knot in his hand to the handle of the dagger. His teeth and knees did most of the work to tighten the knot, securing the grip on the handle.

He squeezed through the tight opening, facing the wall. He lowered his body and carefully placed his feet in between the cracks of the bricks. There was the first stab on the wall, anchoring the dagger deep into the walls of the castle. Feeling secure, Ian shifted his weight on the dagger and anchored the other one in.

“Good, just don’t look down now.” He assured himself.

His breath formed small mists and his limbs tensed in the raging chilly wind. His lips cracked and dried in the blizzard. With every step he took, his breathing stabilized, knowing that he was a step closer to the ground. The sense of security didn’t last for long. A drop of magma fell off the foot, splashing on the tower. Ian watched in horror as the magma set the top of the tower ablaze.

He wished his passion could burn as bright as it. The untamed flames of passion that can’t be put out by the icy blizzard. Inspiring and terrifying.

The fire was consuming the tower ten levels of bricks per minute, while Ian could only manage three levels. Heart racing, he became faster, crossing over larger, riskier gaps. As soon as he reached the bottom of the tower, he ran towards the Princess across the platform. He released his grip from the two daggers as the cloth loosened and fell to the ground.

“Princess, what are you doing? Let’s go!” Ian raised his voice in the typhoon. The princess was unmoving.

Ian dropped down to the throne room, seeing that the Princess was holding onto two people. She kneeled at the foot of the staircase leading to the throne. He took a glance around the room. Evidence of fights filled the room. There were rubble and pillar ruins, pools of blood on the ground, a sack of corpses, and a trail of blood leading to the place where the Princess sat.

Then the shattered amulet caught his attention. Each piece was stained with blood. He bent down and collected all the large chunks, making sure to not drop them.

“Don’t.” The Princess said, not turning back.

Delighted with the response, Ian rushed over. “Let’s go back, Princess.”

“Don’t save me from the curse.” Lucia hugged her parent’s bodies even tighter.

“Are you giving up?” Ian walked to her back and took a seat on the ground behind her.

“Yes.” Lucia closed her eyes.

“What did you give up on? Finding a cure, saving your country, the throne, or your future?”

“My strength. My strength was everything that defined me, and I failed.”

“Stop lying.”

“Which part of this is a lie?”

Ian felt his hair blowing away from his face. The castle itself would be uprooted by the typhoon’s foot. But he gritted his teeth. His face felt hot with frustration. “Everything. I don’t like it when you say it like that.”

“Does it matter? Once the curse takes over, this unbearable pain will end. The country would be overwhelmed by the effects of natural disasters. Demons would take over. Then maybe somewhere down in the future, someone would liberate the country from the brink of destruction. A new hero would be born.”

“A new hero, you must be joking.”

“I’m not. Because that person would have learned from our mistakes and made rational decisions. That person would not be cursed.”

“Why can’t that person be you?”

“Because I feel weaker than before! The artifact you gave me did slow down the curse, but I feel weaker with the passing of time. It was only five days, but something… Something in me is lost! I won’t be able to fly as high as before or cast stronger spells! And if at this point, I can’t stop Krystol, I will never be able to!”

A few drops of tears dropped down her cheeks. “Just let me die.”

“Krystol took away everything you had. You’re scared of starting over. That’s perfectly fine. Everyone is scared of starting over, even me. But you know what, Princess? Dawn would always come, and I want to share the next one with you.”

Lucia suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind, pulling her into a tight embrace. She could feel the warmth emanating from the person, reminding her of the love and care she had been missing all this time. Though he didn’t remember anything, the embrace alone was enough to make Lucia feel like she had a reason to keep living. As the warmth seeped into her body, Lucia felt the pain from the Abyssal flames slowly begin to fade away, as if it had never existed in the first place.

“Krystol, the problem of demons, and saving Gloria. Leave it to me. I’ll handle it, so all you need to think about is living.”

Lucia felt the embrace disappear. She wanted to stop him from going. “No. Don’t do it!”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

With a swift and precise strike, Ian’s hand swung down and collided with the base of the fairy’s neck. She crumpled to the ground, completely helpless and unconscious. He placed his finger beneath her nose. Good, still alive. Swiftly, Ian scooped her delicate form onto his back, carefully securing her in place with a torn-up carpet nearby.

“What is that foot? Isn’t it getting closer than before? Alright, where’s that trapdoor?” Ian dashed up the flight of stairs, reaching the throne. Pushing the throne aside, as Jade said there was a trapdoor underneath it.

The trapdoor made a long creak with the pull. Ian jumped straight in, sliding through the long, never-ending tunnel, and reached the bottom with a thud. When he reached his destination, he slowly opened his eyes.

“I bet Jade forgot to warn me about the dark tunnels. Because humans can’t see in the dark.” Ian mumbled, feeling for the walls nearby. He aimlessly wandered until he felt a brick wall nearby.

The tunnel was quiet, completely shielded from the world outside. Ian walked silently, using the walls as a guide. It was somewhat of an instinct for him to walk softly. After a while, the ground beneath him shook violently. Ian couldn’t even stand still from that impact.

The logical conclusion was that the foot had made contact with the earth. And as if in response, the ground beneath Ian began to split and fracture into bizarre shapes. Tiny shards of debris rained down from the ceiling, signaling that even the ground above him was beginning to crack. Soon, red-hot magma oozed out of the seams in the earth, while icy chunks pierced through the ceiling, causing a deadly mixture of fire and ice.

“Oh, shit.” His heart rate went on full throttle as he started running again. The magma was chasing after him, burning the path behind him while the ceiling behind him collapsed from the piercing ice chunks.

Ian noticed a faint light at the end of the tunnel as he approached the exit. A figure appeared at the tunnel’s entrance, racing at breakneck speed, as the tunnel’s blackness gave way to the blazing light of day. Exhaustion made their chest heavy and sweat poured down his faces and soaked their garments. His steps stirred up dust and debris, leaving a trail behind them. He staggered and fell to the ground as he burst into the open air, panting for oxygen.

“Nice, you made it. Now get on the ship.” Jade said, reappearing from the other side.

“You could’ve told me that the tunnel was dark.”

“Would you like me to tell you that the sky fell in the form of a foot?”

“Funny,” Ian said with a hint of sarcasm. He passed the unconscious Princess to Jade. “Just make sure she holds on to that jewel of hers.”

“Alright,” Jade said, nodding his head. He carried the Princess aboard the ship.

A female voice pierced the air. “Jade, if you’re lending my ship, I would need you to be quick. Seems that another wave is going to blow.”

“Right, sorry Hilda. You, are you coming or not?”

Ian looked up at the airship in awe and marvel. The hull of the ship was hovering in the sky, powered by arcane runes. The sails of the ship rolled up. He ran up the decks of the ship, with his lips pulled back in a wide, beaming grin.

As the ship pulled away, the end of the foot was already gone. The once peaceful city landscape was now a barren wasteland of destruction. The relentless snowstorm and molten lava showered the earth, wreaking havoc on everything in its path. The entire continent trembled under the force of the disaster, as if the very fabric of the planet was being torn apart. No city or town was spared, as the hurricane reduced all buildings to rubble. The majestic forests were buried under heaps of snow, and even the highest peaks of the mountains crumbled and collapsed. It was a scene of utter devastation, and the survivors could only pray for a miracle to save them from this global catastrophe.

“Whoa… How did this happen?” Ian said with admiration.

“No one knows. Out of a sudden, a bright light came out of nowhere like an explosion. Then the foot appeared.”

Ian slumped on the deck, exhausted from all the running. “Hilda, was it?” He asked the stoic-faced fairy on deck.

“We are already in mid-flight. Not going to save every survivor engulfed by this madness.” She said.

“You didn’t even ask what I wanted. Could you drop me off where Krystol is?” Ian asked.

“What does this sound like you’re going to a friend’s house? Are you serious?”

“More than ever.” Ian said determinedly.

“You’re going to give me something better than that.”

“Krystol is at his weakest point. It’s better to strike now than ever. And I know how to close off the cracks of Abyss."

“You’re just a human, don’t push your luck,” Hilda warned.

“It’s because I am a human. You have nothing else to lose.”

“No.”

“I am still going, no matter what you say.”

“How? By jumping off the airship? I think not.” Hilda chuckled.

Ian was on his way to jump off the airship.

“Wait, wait! Alright. I will drop you off the Island of Fetters.” Hilda sighed, entering the navigation room.

Soon after, the ship turned its course to the south, heading towards the Island of Fetters. From the top view, the quaking of the continent slowed down. The magma in some parts of the earth still bubbled, showing no signs of slowing down. The rest of the continent had a layer of thick ice over it, covering up to the top of the mountains.

Hilda exited the navigation room. “It is done. You should have a good plan for this.”

Ian nodded his head. “Yup, leave it to me.”

“The Island of Fetters could only be accessed using this ring,” Hilda said, pulling out a ring from her pocket.

“Sweet. Do you also have a sword, by chance?” Ian wore the ring on his index finger.

Hilda brought him over to an armory. “Pick one. Well, actually. Pick however much you can carry.”

Ian walked through the armory, admiring the weapons on the wall. “Cool. I can use any?”

Ian picked up leather armor, a sword, a crossbow, bolts, and a few daggers from the shelves.

“Do you know how to use any of these?”

“Only in theory.”

Hilda sighed, “Theory and practical are not the same.”

“Well, there’ are not a lot of options."

“The dummy over there should suffice. Use it to practice or something.” Hilda said, pointing to a training mechanical dummy at the corner of the room.

“Sweet.”

“I’ll let you know when we are close.”

As soon as Hilda closed the door beside her, Jade was outside waiting.

“You’re not stopping me. I am going with the boy.” Jade was filled with determination.

“And why exactly are you going?”

“While Ian is focused on doing whatever he was supposed to do? I will save Lady Gloria and kill Krystol."

“We only have three rings, and two of them are missing. I gave one to Ian. Now there’s none left.”

“These rings? I found it in the Princess’s pockets.” Jade asked, producing two rings.

“You searched her pockets.” Hilda muttered. “I am still against it. You’re weak, so don’t go.”

“Why? It makes no sense to not go. Ian’s right. At this point, it’s easier to take this guy down when he is at his lowest.”

“How would you know that? Hm?”

“He fought against the entire royal family, and he summoned this thing that wiped the entire continent clean. I highly doubt that he has any more energy to fish out.”

“And the demons? This is the man who was willing to wipe a few centuries’ worth of civilization clean. No. We wait for the Princess to recover, group up, and attack.”

“I am not even asking you to come with me. I am going to kill Krystol for ruining Iolite."

A knock came from within the door. “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt,” Ian said meekly.

“Leave us. It’s no time at all.”

“I’m sorry for breaking your dummy. Was it expensive?” Ian apologized.

Hilda didn’t say a word as she walked back to the room. Jade followed. Both of their eyes widened with disbelief. The mechanical dummy that both can’t even hope to dent had a large cut on its right shoulder. The metal bent to its shape.

“What… what happened here?” Jade asked.

“Nothing. You told me that this was a dummy, so I tried a few moves with the sword."

Hilda looked at the sword in his hands, “It’s just a normal sword.”

“Jade, spar one match with him. I will let you go if you win.”

Jade shook his head slightly. “No way. I am not going to fight someone who sliced it in half.”

“Then, don’t go,” Hilda said, emotionless.

“You’re not serious.”