"Back in my time, about three thousand years ago, I had a friend. His name was Paragor," He began, "My family and his were close associates, and more often than not, we were in each other's company from a young age. Over the years, and after a war, our bond grew into something infinitesimally more than simple friends,"

He smiled, "We were blood brothers... This relationship flourished even as we grew, to the point where we trusted one another more than our own families! Sadly..." He sighed, the earlier grin completely wiped off his face, "Revenge stole this man from me,"

Sephrates stared deep into Connor's eyes, "He had the same eyes like you... when they murdered his wife and daughter,"

He felt his breath hitch at that. However, the ghost didn't care and continued, "Same listless look, same pragmatism, same..."

"Same thirst for revenge?" He finished.

"...A spitting image," He nodded, "In his quest for revenge, he had no qualm for using techniques... less than savoury to the rest of the world,"

"One day he'd be searching for spells to bring back his dead family; other days, he'd be sacrificing people to curse their murderers," Sephrates gritted his teeth, "All while I was forced to stand by and watch, unable to help due to my position as a king,"

He deliberately paused, staring pointedly at Connor, as if telling him he should be listening to what he'd to say next, "He got his revenge, I suppose; nothing could've stopped him from getting it. And I don't think anything will stop you either." Again, another stare.

"But revenge is one thing; what's next?"

"Hm?"

"Imagine this: you've just avenged your family, the adrenaline's wearing off, the cold shivers of excitement when seeing their horrified faces gone. Back to my question: what's next? I assume you'd come out of this immensely powerful, considering the journey you'd have to go through. After all, anybody warranting a personal quest for vengeance must be a bigshot!

But that's when you realize: wait, I have all this power at my fingertips! I could use it to stop anything like this from happening to anyone ever again! So let me ask you this, from the bottom of your heart, What. Would. You. Do. Next?"

Connor found himself unable to answer, only able to open and close his mouth, no sound coming out of his throat.

"I'll tell you what Paragor did next: systematically, he forced every single empire, kingdom and duchy to follow his rule,"

"What about those that didn't follow?" He asked.

"Well, some of their remains are still littered across the world today, a shadow of their former glory..." An unsettling silence descended over the four...

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Which did you choose, then?" It was Malkov, his sharp brown eyes piercing into the ghost.

"What?"

"Did you choose to fold to his will, or did you resist?"

"...This technique was a creation of mine and his," He pointed at the large gash in the ground, "I contributed sixty percent, and he forty... The fight ended in a single strike," He answered with a non-answer, though Connor and co quickly worked out what happened.

"I still fail to see how this has anything to do with me,"

"Then you'll understand it later, hopefully before the worst has come to pass..." Sephrates shifted away from the three, floating back to where he came from, "Anyways, I'll give you the brush; give me a minu—"

"Wait!"

He turned his head back, an eyebrow slightly raised at the interruption, "Hm?"

It was Malkov, and he was kneeling on the ground, "Please... Please teach me the sword technique you used earlier!" He pleaded.

"Oh?" Sephrates's eyes widened, surprised, "...Why do you want it?"

It was Malkov's turn to be caught by surprise, 'He's giving me a chance to explain myself?'

It didn't take long for him to recover, though, and he opened his mouth, "I want to be you... just in case he becomes the second Paragor!" He got up to stare at the man, completely earnest...

"Pfft-" Suddenly, the once quiet atmosphere was broken by the sound of laughter, "Hahahahaha!!" Raucous, lively, laughter!

Naturally, Malkov, Connor and Mariya were rightly surprised. They glanced at each other before back at the still laughing ghost-king. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to recompose himself.

"Hehehehe... You're an interesting one," He paused to fly towards Malkov. When he arrived, he put a hand on the younger(by a few millennia!) man's shoulders, "I commend you for caring this much..."

Malkov's eyes lit up. Maybe he could—

"But... your body is far too frail; one swing and your shoulder blade would be in pieces," The ghost shook his head and let go of his hold, "You should give up on it,"

"...I see," The moustached man looked downcast when he heard the cold evaluation, "...Well, that's fine. I'll find some other way to look out for him!"

Sephrates smirked, "Just because I won't be able to teach you the technique doesn't mean there isn't something else in my armoury you can learn!"

"Huh?!"

"What? Did you really think I only had that one to use throughout my whole life?" Malkov blushed, and he sheepishly shook his head.

"I didn't think so," He folded his arms and harrumphed. He then turned to Mariya, "Girl, you've been awfully quiet all this time; do you want anything?"

Although she looked tempted, Mariya eventually shook her head, "Thank you, but I prefer agility over power,"

Sephrates shrugged dismissively— as if to say 'your loss', and headed to where he'd intended to go before being interrupted.

As he was gone, the three began to chat. Malkov was the first one to speak, "So... where do we go from here?"

"We get back on the ship and ride all the way to the Murukhali Savannah," Connor replied, "Then we go further in, into the Murukhali Desert, and by extension the Murukhalaiya Empire. Next comes the hardest part, we're gonna be looking for the son of a bitch that killed my family..."

He licked his upper lip, "...And we beat the shit outta him!"

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