Barely recognizable from the main-hall, steps resounded in the hallway that led to the dungeons.
Kuzan entered the lobby, many servants bowed and officials greeted him as he proceeded to enter the northern wing of the castle.
"What do you think, Bing?" He asked his servant beside him.
"Eerie, very eerie..." She commented before continuing "Your Highness was shocked when the news of his death was received in the northern front. Even though there was no way we could depend on the eastern prince, him being alive always presented a risk that kept the other two princes in check."
"His sudden return from the dead balanced that out once more but his cha...he seems different. Something is off!"
Kuzan nodded.
"Who knows, maybe being assassinated made him take things more serious. Who knows what dying does to one's mind..."
Kuzan suddenly stopped his steps after he heard this, he recognized a figure waiting in front of his chamber.
"Hello, there big brother," the figure said with a slight smile on his face.
"Little Liu." He answered with an indifferent face.
Little Liu was the second oldest prince of the Ralunian kingdom. The prince of the west, Aurelius Ylvazad.
Kuzan proceeded to walk past this little brother of his. Aurelius' face reddened for a bit but his smile remained.
"I heard little Zuul is entertaining his guest in the dungeons right now, have you met him already?"
Aurelius said in order to get a reaction from his big brother, but his intention bore very little fruit.
"It is of no concern to us what happens in the eastern city. See you at dinner, little Liu!" He once again said devoid of any emotion and without really answering.
Aurelius' face darkened as his big brother and his servant turned their back on him and walked toward the door of his chamber.
As Kuzan entered his chamber and finally put down the last piece of his armor, he sat down on the stool in his study.
"What do you think, Bing?" He asked his servant in front of him.
~~~
The door closed and Bazuul walked through the dark and uncanny hallway of the dungeons. Every couple of meters he passed another room of confinement, his face remained indifferent as he was surrounded by chilling whispers coming from the cells.
He reached his destination at the darkest part, unlocked the door, picked up a little stool and entered the cell. Bazuul sat on the stool and looked at the figure that laid there, chained and cowering.
"Now, now, don't pretend to be asleep old..." he paused before the tone in his voice changed "friend." followed by a kick on the unattended and thus, still broken arm.
Aran cried out loud, drenched in sweat he wailed for minutes and the pain carved out his face into a grimace. Yet his eyes, through all the pain, held on to a tiny flicker of hatred.
Bazuul stood up, picked up the stool and laughed as he turned around to leave.
"You really should have someone take a look at that arm of yours," he added as he left the cell snickering.
He never intended to interrogate Aran, he already stole his memories back in the tavern, there was no need to waste time on him more than occasionally stopping by. Until, of course, some time passed and it would look to his peers as if he had spilled the beans. Then, Bazuul would set him free, right unto his boss's hands.
As he returned to his own chamber he started training his body for two hours and then proceeded to cultivate his mind and the ying and yang plate for another three hours.
toward the end a breeze in the air turned into the wind, his mind drifted for a second and he thought of her. For a moment he wondered, what kind of woman she would have become if she would've had the chance to grow up. As he thought of a grown-up version of her, the light lit up and filled him with some sort of pride he never felt before.
The light shot out and enveloped him in it. The vision of her ceased to exist and it felt like he was dragged out into the sky. He then passed the land until he reached a mountain range. The atmosphere here was rather grey and the stone all over was also rather dark.
Then, barely recognizable, there was a crack at the face of one mountain and his mind entered. A huge cave complex unveiled beneath the mountain. There were even some ruins that must have belonged to a long-fallen civilization. The ground was paved and there were some bridges that took one further into the deep, terraces at a higher altitude and more.
But his mind seemed to be dragged to something. Something hidden in the deepest corners of the complex. Eventually, as he stood in the dark cave and turned another corner, it unveiled itself in front of him.
A huge crystal, sky-blue in color and emanating a silver hue, resembling the light emanated by the moon. There was a vibration as if the crystal and he were resonating with each other.
Reminding him of her eyes that shone in the same light as the crystal. His nose turned sour and the taste on his tongue bitter even though it was just his mind here, and his body was still in his chamber.
The vibration became stronger and suddenly a familiar voice arose, one, that was never directed at him but very important to him.
Once more it wasn't directed toward him but more like he was listening in to one of her conversations.
The shock sucked out all the air in his lungs and his vision almost collapsed, turning black for a second. His vision then returned but before he had the chance to check the crystal out he was back in his chamber.
Even after minutes, his breath was still unstable, although at first, he was happy.
Then he thought, what was this crystal? That voice, was it really her? Where is she then? Is she alright?
As he began to delve into the things he didn't understand, anger rose in him and so did the darkness. Slowly clouding his mind, turning anger into rage and even though it was still bright outside, his chamber was layered in darkness.
At this moment someone knocked on the door and proceeded to enter, it was Bram. "My prince, it is time for dinner with yo..." he abruptly stopped, the chamber looked different, and as he looked his master in the eyes, he felt scared and subsequently fell on his butt. What he saw perturbed him, his face carried so much anger, it almost seemed different.
His eyes...his eyes carried so much killing intent, not even the space between heaven and earth seemed enough to contain it.
"Is that so? Well then, let's go!" He said as his voice sounded just as cold and eerie as everything around and about him right now.