Dragon Deep

Chapter 20 - Revelations

“Funny you would think that I could actually notice that when he is trying to slice me into pieces.” Sarcasm was evident in my voice.

“He wears a ring?” Ren repeated the question.

“Yes, a black jewelled ring. Surely you must have seen it? It is very prominent. He wears it all the time.”

“No.”

“Well, then you have to trust my word when I say he wears one. I have reason to believe that this ring is no ordinary ring indeed. It’s black. How many rings have you seen that are black?”

“It does match his fashion sense though. Black clothes, black hair, hey even his nails are black. All he’s missing is some black lipstick to top it off.” Nobody laughed at Ren’s comment.

“And a black cage to put him in.” I added very dully.

“The jewel does not look normal at all. It looks as though something was encased in glass to look like a jewel. I’m sure all of you know Caden Diablo, the hellbringer, demonic prince, son, or spawn of Lucifer…whatever you want to call him. He’s still alive, no matter how hard everyone tries to deny it.”

“What actually happened?” I was almost scared to ask. Bain sniggered at my question. I lived in a village! Why would I know anything? I was tempted to add, but decided against it.

“Let’s start from the beginning, Aria.” Bain had hissed mockingly, like he was talking to a child.

“The Northerners were famed of their strong bonds with their weapons, fighting with brute strength and force. Southerners, with strong friendships with their familiar, were able to use magic to assist their battles. Westerners were all about knowledge. They could think up the most brilliant strategies, traps and machines. Easterners were the villagers, known for their amazing chicken stew.”

Bain’s lips had twitched upwards at the last part. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Basically, Easterners were useless, living primitive lives in huts. I see they still do that now.” He finished. I ignored him, trying not to let him see that the comment had hurt me.

Daik continued.

“Well, Caden was part of two wars which destroyed almost all the Westerners and Northerners, making their art and knowledge lost. The Southerners and Easterners were more scattered, so they were able to pass on their skills. He was rumoured to be very ruthless and cruel. He had no heart or sympathy for the people he killed. It was said he did…unspeakable…things to people. Things too horrifying to even think about.”

“He’s looking for a way to gather back all his powers ever since he blasted himself apart a hundred years ago. He’s been doing that through manipulating people. His powers have a piece of his consciousness inside…All that power is probably trapped inside random objects around the world. He’ll be able to control anyone who even touches those things, which includes rings and jewels. He is still alive. He’s just waiting for the right time to come back and send the world to hell.”

A long pause followed, the only sound being the flapping when Janice fanned the pot of brewing medicine. Just the thought of a fearful person like him coming back…terrified me.

“What does it have to do with me? Or my soul?”

“I don’t know.” Daik truthfully said. What did his comeback have to do with my soul? I didn’t understand at all. I continued thinking, hoping I would find out how he intended to do this revival thing. I only snapped out from my thoughts when I saw Drey wake up. 

 He had woken up so suddenly, even Bain was startled. He looked around, confused and frightened for a moment.

“Wh-what? Where am I?”