Chapter 77~~ The Chase ~~Huessen, Dhemistaria…It was two quarter past seven in the evening, the two suns formed semicircles behind the horizon with a continuous spew of their warm orange glow, filling the town with serenity and warmth.Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!A pair of footprints were left imprinted on the sandy ground as a figure dashed across the just-ploughed farm field. The farm was only a square of thirty by thirty meters, and by the speed at which the figure moved, it was only a short matter of seconds for them to scale through.Their long black leather coat fluttered noisily and relentlessly behind them as they ran across the interlocked street, towards an alley. A large hood was draped over the figure’s head, obscuring one from seeing their face to make out their gender. But aside the normal shadow casted over their face from the hood, their face was so dark, it was as though they had no head at all.In a swift crisscross of legs, the figure tilted to the right, but
Chapter 78~~ Interrogation ~~Imperial post 3074, Huessen, Dhemistaria…Elizabeth Thorne exhaled for the umpteenth time. Her emerald irises looked pale betwixt her half closed eyelids.She was in a room with walls made of white spotless tiles. The marble floor was smooth and refracted the white light beaming from the few dangling bulbs above. She was seated on a metal chair, in front of a short rectangular table. Her hands were placed on the table and were bind in a somewhat orange pulsing translucent cuffs.The last thing she could remember was the crystal blue eyed man extending his right hand towards her before everything went black and silent. She then opened her eyes to find herself here, seated and in handcuffs. It had been roughly over fifteen minutes since she sprang to consciousness and was seated there alone. It was getting boring and tiring for her.‘Kill me if you want to kill me. Stop making my last breathing minutes so bleak…’ she grumbled in her thoughts with an exaspe
Chapter 79~~ What a night ~~Knoxville, Dhemistaria…Ian ran his fingers back across his silver-white hair with a sigh. He was walking down the street when he passed by a local shop at his right arm side. The shop was constructed with long sticks and tarps; it was like a makeshift tent. And since the front side wasn’t covered, Ian could clearly see what the vendor was selling. Mirrors of different sizes were arranged in rows and columns, reflecting the twilight hue of the clear moonlit sky.What caught Ian's attention was the odd fact that he could see his reflection clearly on all the mirrors as though it was daytime. Fancied, he stopped his stroll and turned to look at the mirrors with squinted eyes. He felt it to be such a weird but yet amusing phenomenon.He noticed his new faux hawk hairstyle with side undercuts and he smiled. It took him back to a year ago when he applied for the position of a librarian after graduation. He had to cut his hair so as to look neat before the gru
Chapter 80~~ Whitegrail ~~Ring!!The bells on the analogue alarm clock, rang loudly with a shrill sound.The disturbing ring stung her ears and her head throbbed heavily. Throwing her right arm to the side, she melted the alarm clock with a stream of flames from her palm and the ringing seized.Serenity descended, but only for a short while as she could no longer dive into sleep. She was so sore and languid that she didn’t want to get up. Roughly wrapped in her white duvet with her chest on the bed, she waited for minutes to return to sleep, but it ended in futility.“Ugh…!”With exasperated grunts, she turned over and unfurled the duvet from her body. She sat up but quickly clamped her hands below her forehead. It felt so heavy, it was as though it’d fall off if she didn’t hold it in place. It took a couple of seconds for her forehead to feel a little lighter, then she shifted to the edge of the bed and stood up.A shrill influx of vertigo struck her and she almost collapsed to t
Chapter 81~~ Souls and Spirits ~~“What else would it be?” Ian scoffed as he dusted some stone crumbs off his white shirt.“She tricked us?!” Karen placed a hand on her temple.Ian tilted his head to look at her by his left and shook his head, “More like IT tricked us. That wasn’t Beth, it was the Phantom all along.”He returned his gaze to look at the dark being hovering above the decimated pub. He scoffed, “Tch. Who would have thought anything from Purgatory could be so calm and thoughtful?”From his perspective, he estimated the Phantom to be at least seven feet tall. It had no peculiar characteristics; just a body made of shimmering darkness and bloodshot eyes. It was just there, standing aloft with its arms wide open.Karen sighed depressingly, “She tricked us and I fell for it without hesitation.”Ian had rolled his sleeves up at this point. He lifted his hand and placed it on her shoulder, “You can’t blame yourself. Her words… Or rather, its words were intoxicating. Even I cou
Chapter 82~~ Intervention ~~“Wh-What is the meaning of this!?” the Phantom yelled with a quivering body. Its dark humanoid body was pale blue with various snow flakes matted on its skin.If not for the fact that it had no mouth and used its mind to speak, it'd have been left speechless.Ian was also freezing to death. His teeth gnashed uncontrollably.Karen was kept warm by her blessing's physiology. She pulled the Phantom’s hand from her neck and rescued Ian too. They staggered some feet back due to Ian’s heaviness and unstableness. Not only was he subconscious, he was also shaking from the cold.Her hands glowed a yellow hue and she placed them on his chest. His blue lips turned pink and his pale skin regained their vibrancy. He heaved a long sigh of relief as he held his tipsy head.“You good?” Karen asked while moving to stand by his side.He rubbed his glabella and nodded, “Yeah… Thanks.”The atmosphere was chilly and silent as more snow flakes fell from the heavens an
Chapter 83~~ In Preparation ~~Lumberville, Dhemistaria…It was forty minutes after seven in the evening and the two suns had vanished from the sky. The silver full moon stood in their place, dispelling its illuminated light on the realm.Inside a wooden bungalow, seated around the dining table was Ian and his family enjoying a sumptuous meal for the night. They were having boiled rice and stew for dinner. But that wasn’t all; three wide plates were placed on the dining table, each containing different species of fried meat. Ian ate with all seriousness and joy. It had been a very long while since he came to visit or tasted a meal this good. He and Kurt mostly went out to eat or ate cereals when they were broke and had no option. Even with the meals they had in diners and restaurants, Ian wasn’t satisfied. It just couldn’t be compared to the ones his mother made. This… maternal touch and taste was just one of a kind. The only person that had dared to stalemate his mother’s cook
Chapter 84~~ Hitched ~~The Royal Palace, Prime City, Dhemistaria…Amelia Cassius yawned to the dawn of a new day. She sat up on her bed and looked at the curtained windows with squinted eyes. The curtains were as light as veils, so one could easily see through the two wide windows. The veil curtains allowed just the right amount of sunlight to peer into the well decorated room.She tossed the large pink duvet off her body and got off the bed. The bed was so high, it reached her waist as she stood. It was also wide enough to accommodate almost ten people at once.Her armless silver night gown was very transparent and stopped above her knees. She yawned once again with outstretched arms before sitting on the bed. She felt weak in the knees and couldn’t afford to stand for too long.Her eyelids were half-closed as she stared out the window for a couple of seconds. She rubbed her eyes to clear the blurry vision before laying her back on the bed.‘Ugh… I’m so tired! Sophie won’t l