He insisted on paying after a heavy night of drinking, but I paid. I had to protect my pride. I was relieved to have brought cash.
His liquor hold was excellent. He did not appear drunk at all. Despite drinking a lot, he maintained his composure and did not exhibit any signs of intoxication, demonstrating his impressive ability to hold his liquor. It made me question whether I had underestimated his tolerance for alcohol.
I came out of the inn and started to head towards the palace. Then I recalled that he had told me to take what was rightfully mine. He didn't give anything. I paused for a moment, feeling a mix of disappointment and frustration. It seemed like his promise to give me something in return was just empty words.
I mentally slapped myself. He said that, so I would go meet him; otherwise, he knew why I would spend my time with him. As I continued walking, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been too naive to believe his empty promises. I sould've seen it coming.
As I keep walking, I feel my body stiffen. The streets weren't crowded, and my body felt suffocating until it started moving by itself. I try to control my body, but it keeps walking on its own. I proceeded in the direction of a shadowy, unknown alley. My heart raced with fear as I realized that I had lost control over my own movements. Panic set in as I desperately tried to resist, but it was as if an invisible force was pulling me towards the dark alley.
I remember reading it once. It's possession-control magic. The caster controls your body or mind according to their wishes. It has a very long chant to break free, which I don't remember. Since when did I use chant?
All I have to do is feel the pressure on my body, my heartbeat, my presence, and how I felt when my body was under my control.
As I keep walking in the dark alley. I notice a man in the hood, his face obscured by shadows. He stands still, his presence exuding an eerie aura. I can sense the power emanating from him.
Wait..
Wait..
I need to try to escape the situation soon. As I focused on these sensations, feelings of my own power and strength came flooding back, enhancing my determination to regain control. I break off the magic before approaching him. There was still a few feet of space between us.
I move and step back to run. As I turn around and take a few steps my body feels pressed against something from behind. I look behind; there's nothing, but I can't go as if there's an invisible wall. No matter how hard I push or struggle, the invisible barrier remains unyielding.
"How interesting, someone broke off the spell without chanting." A dark, velvety voice speaks from behind, sending a shiver down my body. I hear footsteps coming from behind. I turn around slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. Standing there is a tall figure cloaked in shadows, their piercing eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and amusement.
I remember Edgar saying very clearly that very few can escape the chanting ability.
Hold on, is this how I'm going to die?
I notice the stone of my ring, which was black, is now purple. Sometimes, when someone casts an unpreventable magic spell against me, it changes its color according to that element. As if Edgar casted any unpreventable magic against me, the stone would glow pink. It helps to find out who is trying to harm me. But as it is glowing purple, there is no way.
Every element has a color of its own. Red is fire, blue is water, light aegean is Ice which is quite similar to Water element. Otherwise, yellow is spirit, white is light, grey is wind, brown is force, silver is moon, olive green is fairy, teal is time, pink is thunder, and purple is none other than dark.
I thought dark elements were nearly extinct. Well, yeah, nearly not completely.
My discomfort increases as he approaches me. His presence is palpable. It's as if his presence alone could kill me right now. Everything about his presence seems enigmatic to me. His aura radiates an overwhelming sense of strength and danger, leaving me fearful. But besides that, everything is dark and cloudy.
Hold on.. Is he doing this on purpose so I'll feel like this? Is this why the book stated that every dark element creates a strong barrier to their presence? I begin to recall every detail about the dark elements. However, despite my extensive reading, I was unable to identify any of their flaws.
"Your very strong presence caught my attention." He says it in a deep yet gentle voice. As if he is mocking my fear of him. I try to steady my breathing, refusing to let him see how much he affects me. The air becomes heavy and tense once he's near, making me feel suffocating by his presence and causing an unsettling unease to settle within me.
He gently gathers a few strands of my hair, his touch weaving a spell that transforms them into a shade of purple. My thoughts blur as his touch works its enchantment, leaving me entranced and unable to think clearly. My thoughts become hazy as his touch sends a strange energy coursing through me. I struggle to maintain my composure, desperately trying to grasp onto reality. Hold on, what is going on? My body is completely immobile. Every muscle feels paralyzed under his presence, as if I'm trapped in a state of immobility.
His eyes bore into mine, a hypnotic gaze that seems to pierce my very soul. I feel a surge of fear and fascination intertwine, as if I'm caught in a web spun by his magic.
A smile curls around his lips, and his eyes take on a purple glow.
"There always happens to be a reason why I hate water elements." he pauses, then looks at me. The most scary thing I've ever seen in my whole life would be it.
"But how come you're so.... innocent?" He tilts his head as he didn't find the word 'innocent' satisfying. he doesn't hide his expression of confusion.
"Why are you anxious, sad, and hopeless?" He asks with an irritated expression, as he couldn't read the reason behind it. "You're very desperate for something, but I can't read what it is."
Of course I'm! I'm very desperate to avoid dying. I want a good and different happy ending without me being dead.
His lips curled into a smirk again, as if he heard what I just thought.
"And that happy ending is for whom?" He says. What? Did he really hear it?
How could he possibly know what I was thinking? Wait, I get it; he possessed me and my mind. that's why.. I have to break free before he reads all of my thoughts..
"You're really smart," he says, as if my thoughts met his standard.
Why isn't the ring working? Shit..
His brows meet in a frown. "What ring?" he asks as he glances at my hand.
Yes ...
In a moment, I pressured myself to feel my presence the same way I did before. I felt a bold wave flow through my body as if I were getting unparalyzed. I could feel the power building within me, ready to confront him and reclaim my mind.
I breath out in relieve and my hair start to turn blue again. He looks at me in amusement. Thinking how cleverly I managed to grab his attention to something else so he wouldn't be able to stop me from releasing me.
"Who are you?" I step back, and my back hits the wall again. Oh shit, I forgot that.
"As far as I know, water is the weakest element," he says, tilting his head and staring directly into my eyes.
Okay, that must be his other trick. I averted my eyes right away. My eyes glow blue as I keep trying to protect myself.
"The empress must be proud to have a daughter like you," he says. So he finally figured, Who am I?
Empress, proud? My foot..
"Why?" he says. Even if I broke free, could I still hear his voice? I notice a few strand of my hair is still purple.
I don't remember reading about this kind of magic.
'Because it's an ancient magic' Hearing his voice in my head almost gave me a heart attack. I quickly regained my composure and glance at him. but Deep down, I can't help but feel a flicker of curiosity and wonder about the magic.
"The Empress fancies her second daughter the most, neglecting her first daughter," he says. If I don't move away, he'll keep reading me like a book. I'm afraid he'll know something he is not supposed to. The thought of someone uncovering the secrets I've worked so hard to hide sends a shiver down my spine.
His smirk doesn't leave his mouth, as if he is enjoying the moment.
I place both of my hands against the wall from behind me. Cold Touch flows from me, turning the wall cold ice and breaking it in an instant. As the wall crumbles, I step through the opening, determined to escape his prying eyes. The rush of adrenaline fuels my powerlessness. It catches him off guard. After a few steps, my legs float in the sky. Uh oh, I'm floating in the sky.
My body flies towards him. My back collides against his as he grabs me by the shoulders while I'm still floating in the sky. I struggle against his grip, desperately trying to break free and regain control of my floating body. But as his hold tightens, a sense of dread washes over me, realizing that escaping his prying eyes may be more difficult than I had expected.
"You should've done at least one bad thing. Then, I would've let you go away like that," he whispers in my ear with his dark, velvety voice, sending goose bumps through my body. He deliberately damaged his own wall. His voice has a hypnotic effect, drawing me in despite the danger I sense. What kind of eargasm is that?
"Why...?" I finally found my voice to ask.
"I hate water elements," he replies. What does it have to do with you hating water elements and me doing bad things?
He chuckles and says, "You'll know once you do."
His chuckle sent another shift of shivers through me. I really never felt this scared hearing someone's laugh before, to be honest.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask warily.
"Worse than hell... You wanna know?" His voice hinting that his identity might freak me out.
"Yes." My voice came out more like a whisper. That was definitely not because I'm scared. Who's scared? Nope, not me.
He sets me on my feet then Leans against my ear. he says in a deep voice, "Zeus"
A huge wind swirls from behind, pushing me forward. I immediately look behind me; he is gone. My heart races as I try to process what just happened. A feather falls on my head. I pick up the feather and look at it, feeling a strange energy radiating from it. A black feather that reflects dark purple. So much like a dark element.
That dream was good. I must've fallen asleep. There's no way I would really meet a dark element.
Then I glance at the feather again. Nope, that wasn't a dream, I can still sense his presence.
Come to think of it, when I first encountered him, I was suffocating. But after I tried to run away, that strong presence was gone. It felt gentle and comfortable in his arms. This is bad. This is not just bad, but worse. The more gentle he would be, the closer my death would be.
I never counted the possibilities of dying at the hands of a dark element. Everyone else is nothing compared to him. Shit, the more I try to run from my death, the more I get close to it.
I feel another chill run down my spine thinking about it. I shake my head and shrug it off. Later.. let's move on. Let's be hopeful!
I glance at my ring; it has turned black again. Then, I check my hair; it has turned blue again. I deeply sigh and look at the feather on my hand now.
It's beautiful. it black, yet when I move it, the dark purple color reflects off the light, creating an enchanting shimmer.
Thanks for the gift, but...
I throw away the feather and run away. I must not keep that shit.
Evory never met any dark element beside the king. She was never anything like this, so it's okay for me to throw it away for me, right? It's an extra.
Moreover, I can't risk any more strange occurrences happening. I need to distance myself from whatever is causing these bizarre changes.
Wait, did he say Zeus? that Zeus of a bastard who defeated Edgar in a bet? No shit, he is scary. I thought he would be a decent person. I can't believe I was so naive to think that. Damn, I really hope our paths never ever cross again.