CHAPTER 5 -DILEMMA-

Mordain, the lost prince of the phoenix race.

This bastard knew about my existence. Everything is going to hell from this point on.

“You, the king’s shadow or do you have another name?” The tall phoenix asked, giving who I didn’t think was here a motion to leave the room. “You may leave Chul.”

Chul gave me this wretched look of disgust before leaving the room with a loud bang from the door, he was still a child in the phoenix’s eyes.

But enough about that, I thought.

Looking at the sun's imitations of his eyes told me many things but at the same time it rejected those claims. His mind and thoughts all aligned to trusting or not, the same thing he did with Arthur Leywin when he was looking for the third keystone.

Now I see, the matte cubic object that was in front of him earlier was the third keystone that Arthur needs in the future.

Chul knew, Mordain knew, mostly everyone here knew. Yet, the question still stands whether or not Aldir of the Pantheon clan knew? If he did, why did he stay quiet about it?

Ahh dammit!

Mordain came closer to me, worried. “Are you okay? If not, I can call Rinia for you, the king’s shadow–”

I cut him off, annoyed at that moniker or whatever they came up with to irritate me. “Listen lost prince, enough with that name. I am not no king’s shadow or whatever you call it or think about it. I am Luke Hodges, a normal child–who is two years old for your information–who barely knows how to walk.”

Surprised or not, I really didn’t see his reaction since multiple emotions arose from me and I couldn’t contain them any longer. Anger, agony, sadness, distrust, confusion. Those were the ones at the surface.

Mordain, who had been glancing me up and down like some crazy child, turned around and pulled out a device, one that I or the novel described. The ring shaped device was bigger than your normal sized ring–enough for him to open his palm fully–emitting mana from it. “Then, Luke Hodges. Tell me does your definition of a normal child consist of a two year old human with an orange solid stage mana core?”

A light—flat enough to be like a paper—appeared from the ring-like object, sending some pictures of something. A place which I haven’t seen or read in the novel.

It could mean multiple places. Starting with Epheotus, Alacrya, the djinn’s place…the relic tombs.

Like me, Mordain stared long and hard at these places with narrowed eyes. Staying at a solid picture, the lost prince began to speak, saying in a melancholy voice, “These places are bound by something that we asura cannot enter or escape, much less see it. However, only a lesser person can enter and possibly escape from it.”

I held my hand up while I sat down, “I know where you’re getting at Mordain. But that duty isn’t mine to do.”

“Why is that?”

I smiled before answering his question. “Because there will be a person who will later on in the future, who could defeat and conquer these trials meant for djinn descendancy.”

It was true that after Lady Sylvia’s death, she entrusted Arthur with these tasks of the four ruins in the Relic Tombs. Of course retrieving these “Keystones” wasn’t easy in any way, people have died or will die if nothing is done.

With Arthur not only entering war as a powerhouse of Dicathen, his only duty at the time being to kill these retainers and scythes but his ability wasn't enough.

Killing Jagrette even with his second will phase was hard for his body, not including when he fought Uto with Sylvie only to lose to him and having Seris save him.

Though that was the case, he was able to see memories of Uto’s when he was going to white core stage. Even Sylvie’s break through the seal her own mother put on her just for Agrona to take over his daughter’s body.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Eughh.

Too much to remember and act on.

I laid my back to the ground while Mordain started quietly at the keystone in his hand. I could tell that he was quite concerned with how I was a piece in this world.

Whether I was trustworthy to him or not, his decision that he will make will depend heavily upon his ability.

Some hours or even days passed by, it was hard not knowing if it was day or night. All I had to do to kill my boredom was see Mordain play or observe the keystone float around that ring.

There were times where I wanted to just go behind his back and try to use the keystone for my unanswered questions but it seemed futile to even think of the infinite possibilities that it provided. Not only that but I needed to have King’s Gambit to utilize it to its full potential.

Again, it is not my duty, it is Arthur Leywin’s responsibility as the protagonist of this world.

Not wanting to bother Mordain with his conservative thoughts and beliefs, I asked Chul for an extra room with mana in it for my training.

Of course he had refused but I had to marinate him with some crap about sparing with him when I got older, hopefully he forgets about it.

Chul had shown me a couple of places where I could use as training but it all lacked what I needed, a rich amount of mana. Until he showed me one open place where mana would react from a mile away radius.

Deep in the dungeon—perhaps two-hundred feet deep from Mordain’s room—was a perfect room for me. Filled with vibrant colors and beautiful plants, the place itself offered more than meets the eye.

There was a section for pure mana concentration and another for practicing my art style in swordsmanship.

Like I had said before, fighting on earth wasn’t really a common thing to do like in King Grey’s world. There was boxing and kendo along with many other branches who exhibit more skill and discipline but nothing to real swordsmanship.

Duels like in King Grey’s world just were enough to give Arthur Leywin some sort of fighting experience but only on one-on-ones, not like a full on group. That is the only disadvantage that he has right now, no, even during the war the training he had gone through in two years wasn’t enough to kill the retainer Uto.

And to make up for that solace spot that Arthur Leywin can’t fill up, I must train now so that my body could get accustomed to when the battle for the wall comes up. No. I’m lying. My body should be stronger to fight Draneeve who still is stronger than Arthur’s phase two beast will.

Things should go the right way but I’m still having second thoughts here. Saving Nico or Elijah from being taken by Draneeve would make the Legacy’s soul a no go for Agrona.

The High-Sovereign needs Nico to remember who he is before thinking of turning him into a Scythe of Central Dominion.

And that is another side quest for my main goal. Saving as many people who have died in the original novel to make it difficult for an all-out-war between Dicathen, Epheotus, and Alacrya.

If I leave here to where Arthur meets the bandits and then Sylvia, I should be around silver core and possibly enough to fight or even hold off Cadell so that she and Arthur can escape.

Yet, I felt a strong doubt in my heart and mind. Let's say that I was a silver core, would I still be strong enough to fight these lesser asuras before a bigger threat emerges?

Then another memory surfaced, it was when Arthur met Cadell again in the floating castle. The young Lance was a white core mage but still couldn’t make the dragon killer sweat, not to mention the battle with his entry to the third beast will phase.

Will Sylvia Indrath really die in that cave in the hands of Cadell? Is there another way to save her from even dying?

These thoughts had me in deep trouble and pain, fighting to the death in this child’s body wasn’t the best way to get her to live with Arthur but it wasn’t a great choice for Arthur’s future as Dicathen’s savior either.

Everything I had thought about, whether it be a good thing or a terrible idea, would turn into a dilemma that I simply couldn’t bear to face with myself or others.

“You seem to be in a predicament of a good side and a bad situation, Luke Hodges.” Said the voice in the entrance to the room with a plate of food.

That’s right. It had been hours or days before I got a chance to eat, another reason why my concentration wasn’t on par with my body.

I got up from my comfortable sitting position and walked towards the food. “And you seem to know what to do with me now? Because I doubt that you finally left that room at—god knows how many hours—just to bring me some food.”

Mordain raised a brow, “It’s been three months, I thought you’d have known by now.”

“Eh?”

Upon hearing that, I felt my world change and spin endlessly around me. The dizziness didn’t crumble but only intensified more when I started to realize where I was again.

This room, the very room that seemed to have a large amount of pure mana. Being solely the only room with a sense of balance and astonishingly assurance towards me and my core.

I, who had thought to be here for hours or just a couple of days, realized that this was too good to be true.

Though it was faint, I could feel it. The only thing that could alter existence, fate, space, and time...

“Aether…”