All Chapters of Rise Of The Mage King: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
95 chapters
Chapter 21
When Drogo Payne whispered the word "Activate," the forest of Solara vanished. The tall trees, the glowing white roots of the Priestess, and even the gray morning sky were swallowed by a thick, heavy blackness. This was the [Abyssal Domain]. It was a piece of the Chasm brought to the surface.In this space, there was no sound. There was no wind. There was only the feeling of thousands of cold, invisible eyes watching from the dark.The High Priestess of the Moon let out a sound. It was not a scream. It was a gasp of pure shock. Her silver light, which had been as bright as a star, was suddenly very small. It looked like a tiny candle struggling to stay alive in a deep ocean. The dark magic was eating her light. It was chewing on the edges of her power, rotting the air around her."What... what is this?" her voice echoed, sounding thin and weak.Drogo did not answer. In this domain, he was the king. He could feel every root, every leaf, and every breath the Priestess took. He felt the
Chapter 22
"I gave nothing that mattered, Mama," Drogo said. He held her hand. It was so light."You are so cold," she cried. The tears ran down into her thin hair. "I can hear the dark in your voice. Your heart... it does not beat. You gave your soul for a dying old woman.""I would give it a thousand times," Drogo said. He felt a lump in his throat, but he couldn't cry. His eyes didn't make tears anymore. They only made shadows. "I’m going to make you better, Mama. I promise.""No," Elara said. She gripped his hand with surprising strength. "Don't go further into the dark, Drogo. Take Tiana. Run. Be a boy again. Find a farm. Find the sun.""The sun doesn't want me, Mama," Drogo said. "And I don't want it. The dark is the only thing that kept us together."He looked at Tiana. She was watching them, her face full of pain. She was only ten. She shouldn't have to see this. She shouldn't have to watch her mother die or her brother turn into a ghost."Mama," Drogo said. "I have to put you to sleep f
Chapter 23
"What is the first step?" Drogo asked the Archive.[KNOWLEDGE RETRIEVAL...][THE SOURCE OF LIFE IS GUARDED BY THE FOUR EMBERS OF THE SUN.][THE FIRST EMBER IS HELD IN THE CITY OF OAKHAVEN. THE MARQUIS OF THORNES HOLDS THE KEY.]Oakhaven. It was a city two hundred miles to the north. It was famous for its giant trees and its powerful Earth Mages. It was a fortress."Then we go to Oakhaven," Drogo said.Suddenly, Drogo’s head snapped toward the entrance of the cellar.His [Sense Vitality] flared.There was someone outside.It wasn't the High Priestess. The energy was different. It wasn't the bright, silver light of the moon. It was something else. It was sharp. It was fast. It felt like metal.Drogo gently slid Tiana off his lap and onto the hay. He stood up, his purple eyes beginning to glow in the dark.He walked toward the stairs.A figure was standing at the top of the stairs, silhouetted against the moon. The person was not tall. They were thin. They wore a suit of black leather ar
Chapter 24
The High City of Solara was a place of light. It sat on a mountain, far above the mud and the smoke of the slums. In the High City, the streets were not made of dirt. They were made of white stone that sparkled like diamonds under the sun. The buildings were tall and thin, reaching for the clouds. Every window was made of stained glass, and every door was decorated with gold.In the center of the High City stood the Solarium. This was the Great Hall of the Solar Council. It was a massive room with a ceiling made of magic glass. The glass made the sunlight even brighter, so the room always felt like the middle of a hot summer day, even at midnight.But today, the air in the Solarium was cold.The powerful nobles of the Empire were gathered there. These were the men and women who ruled the world. They were High Mages. They could command the winds, move the earth, and create fire from nothing. Normally, they walked with their heads high. They laughed and drank wine.Today, they were whi
Chapter 25
"The army is useless against him," the King said. "Soldiers are just more food for his hunger."The King turned his head toward the shadows at the side of the hall."Kaelen," the King called out. "Step forward."From the darkness behind the throne, a man appeared.He did not look like the other nobles. He did not wear silk or gold. He wore a suit of armor made of polished silver that was so bright it was hard to look at directly. He carried no sword. He carried a heavy book bound in white leather and a long silver chain with a spiked ball at the end.The man’s face was very calm. His hair was white, and his eyes were a pale, cold silver. He looked like a man who had never laughed in his life. He looked like a man who was made of ice and law.This was Inquisitor Kaelen.The nobles stepped back as he walked past. They were more afraid of Kaelen than they were of the Sun-King. Kaelen was the head of the "Purification Wing." His job was to find anything that was "wrong" in the world of ma
Chapter 26
The rain did not fall in the Sink. The Sink was a place deep beneath the streets of Solara. It was a massive network of old sewers, abandoned basements, and natural caves. Here, the "Light of the Sun" was a myth. The only light came from glowing green moss on the damp walls and cheap, flickering magic lamps that smelled like burning fat.This was the Black Market. It was a place for people who did not exist. Thieves, runaway slaves, and "Dross" with dangerous secrets came here to trade.Drogo Payne walked through the crowded tunnels. He kept his hood pulled low. Vane walked beside him, her hand always near the hilt of her short sword. Tiana was between them, holding onto the back of Drogo’s cloak. She was terrified. The air in the Sink was thick with the smell of old grease, unwashed bodies, and the sharp, metallic tang of illegal magic."Stay close," Drogo whispered. His voice was low and gravelly. Even though he was hiding his purple eyes, his body felt heavy with power. The peopl
Chapter 27
"In a moment," Grog said. He stood up. As he moved, the floor of the room seemed to shift. "I just need to check my back room for the food. Stay right there."Grog walked into a side room.Drogo’s [Sense Vitality] flared. He felt Grog’s energy pulse. It was a signal. Grog wasn't getting food. He was activating a magic stone hidden in the wall."Vane, get Tiana out of here," Drogo said. His voice was cold."What? Why?" Vane asked."The trap is closed," Drogo said.Suddenly, the door they had entered through slammed shut. Heavy iron bars slid into place. From the ceiling, stone blocks began to drop, sealing the windows.Grog walked back into the room. He wasn't smiling anymore. He looked like a mountain that was about to fall. His skin began to glow with a dull, brown light."You're a fool, kid," Grog said. "The Vargus ring is worth a lot. But the bounty on your head? That will make me the King of the Sink. I’ve already signaled the City Watch. They are coming down the main tunnel right
Chapter 28
"The Watch is your problem, Grog," Drogo said. He looked at the heavy iron door.He could hear them now. The sound of many boots running down the tunnel. The clanking of silver armor. The City Watch was here."Drogo, we have to go!" Vane said. She grabbed Tiana’s hand. "The back exit is behind the curtain, but it’s blocked by a stone gate!"Drogo walked over to the back wall. There was a massive slab of stone blocking the path. It was three feet thick and reinforced with magic.Drogo didn't use the [Entropy Flame]. He wanted to test his new strength.He placed his hand on the stone slab. He felt the earth essence inside his bones hum. He squeezed his fingers.The solid stone cracked like a dry cracker.Drogo pulled.With a horrific grinding sound, he ripped the three-foot-thick stone slab out of the wall and tossed it aside. It hit the floor with a boom that shook the entire Sink."Let's go," Drogo said.They ran into the dark tunnel behind the gate.Behind them, they heard the front
Chapter 29
The rain in the slums did not wash things clean. It only turned the dirt into deep, thick mud. It turned the piles of garbage into a stinking soup.Drogo Payne ran through the narrow alleyway. He was breathing hard. He didn't need to breathe to live, but his body still remembered how to feel tired. In his arms, he held Tiana. She was shivering, her small hands clutching his dark cloak. Vane was somewhere behind them, moving through the shadows like a ghost.They had just escaped the Sink. Drogo could still feel the heavy, dry weight of the earth magic he had stolen from Grog. It sat in his stomach like a pile of stones. It made him strong, but it also made him slow."Drogo," Tiana whispered. "The light... it's behind us."Drogo stopped. He turned his head.At the end of the long, dark alleyway, the rain was no longer gray. It was white. A soft, glowing light was coming around the corner of a broken wooden shack. It didn't flicker like a torch. It was steady. It was perfect.It was the
Chapter 30
"I don't care about my humanity!" Drogo screamed in his mind. "Use it! Save her!"[VOID STEP INITIALIZING...]Kaelen saw the change in the air. The space around Drogo began to ripple. The rain stopped falling near the boy. Instead, the water droplets seemed to be sucked into a black hole."Spatial magic?" Kaelen’s voice finally showed a hint of surprise. "A Null cannot use spatial magic. That is the highest level of magecraft!"Kaelen didn't wait. He unrolled his silver chain. The spiked ball glowed with a blinding, white heat. He swung it with all his strength, aiming to take Drogo’s head off."Purify!" Kaelen roared.The spiked ball hit the space where Drogo’s head was.But Drogo wasn't there.There was a sound like a wet cloth being ripped apart. Tch-shhh.Drogo appeared at the end of the alleyway, twenty feet behind Kaelen. He was leaning against a wall, his skin still smoking, but he was standing.Kaelen turned around. His eyes narrowed. "You... you stepped through the void.""I