Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 567: A Game ()

"Volcanic sand..." Kaideon murmured, recognizing the few strange particles of sand on his hands for what they were.

"This is it... Veah was right...Fort Blazed is here..." Kaideon thought to his subordinates.

"Kaideon, we have what we came for." Rodvan thought to Kaideon, clearly wary of the late hours.

"Not nearly...confirming this is one thing, but we must find a weak point..." Kaideon thought back to Rodvan.

"It is witch magic, as you said, we do not know nearly enough about it. Returning to consult the elder mages will be the best course of action." Rodvan insisted.

"You are right..." Kaideon murmured with a sigh.

Before Kaideon could say anymore, the mental communication link shared amongst the three dragon lords snapped abruptly.

Kaideon’s eyes narrowed as he sensed the sudden surge of dark magic. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Slowly, he reached for the sensor and opened it. Sure enough, the arrow moved uncontrollably from one end to the other.

’Such powerful dark energy!’ Kaideon thought.

The sound of clapping echoed through the quiet terrain, interrupting the silence and Kaideon’s words.

Kaideon’s hands clenched at his sides and he turned around slowly to face the dark sorcerer clad in black robes with a black mask hiding his visage from view.

The dark sorcerer stood calmly, his hands crossed behind his back. His robes fluttered in the wind and the rays of the moonlight reflected off his mask.

"Kaideon Vairheac, with scales of midnight blue. Your fame precedes you." The dark sorcerer broke the silence first,

"And you must be the lead fugitive, who commands the black network, a group of other delusional fugitives... I see you have finally stepped into the light." Kaideon surmised.

The dark sorcerer tilted his head to the side.

"I liked you better when you did not speak, Dune Lord." The dark sorcerer commented.

"You have come a long way, it would be inappropriate of me not to greet you in person." The dark sorcerer said.

Kaideon was quiet for a short time before a quiet chuckle sounded from him.

"Azkar... you have cheated death once again." Kaideon said.

"Not many would still recognise my presence..." Azkar commented.

"You were never worth remembering..." Kaideon replied with a casual shrug.

Azkar laughed coldly, nodding his head in agreement.

"I have taken a liking to Fort Blazed, you see. I brought it all the way to the dimension plains... the only one of it’s kind." Azkar revealed.

’Dimension plains...’ Kaideon thought to himself.

Kaideon had believed it to be a myth, that there was a portion of the dark lands that had hidden entrances to strange dimensions forged from dark magic, where the fieriest dark beasts were summoned from.

It made sense now, Fort Blazed had been transported to a different dimension and the entrance to that dimension was hidden away by this barrier.

"Do you not find it irresponsible, to plot behind my back and snatch it away?" Azkar asked in a low, deadly tone.

"Snatch? There are hundreds of lives in there...all citizens of the stronghold,"

"Fort Blazed will be restored to it’s rightful place. There is nothing you can do about that." Kaideon made clear.

"Then I must send a worthy lesson...that the dragons will not find it an easy feat, to advance on the dark lands for the second time." Azkar murmured thoughtfully.

"What do you think of the dark lands? Is it exactly how you all had hoped it would become? Truly forbidden..." Azkar asked.

"All of this is as a result of dark magic. To whom are you casting blames?" Kaideon asked blankly.

"Then, what do you think...of this dark lands as your grave?" Azkar adjusted his question.

"It would depend on if you have the ability." Kaideon replied, unfazed.

"Me? Dark magic was never about playing fair, Lord Kaideon." Azkar reminded.

A powerful surge of energy exploded from him and in response, loud shrieks echoed from a distance, a foretelling of the shadow beasts advancing.

Kaideon readied himself for the battle he knew was to ensue.

"Shall we play a game? Lord Kaideon?" Azkar asked.

"Battle here to your death... and I will send a hundred innocent citizens of Fort Blazed to accompany you..." Azkar offered.

"Or... become Fort Blazed’s champion." Azkar finished.

"Champion?" Kaideon asked, a feeling of unease churning within him.

__________________

King Jian sat across from Neveah’s bedside, his hands clasped together as Lord Orin examined her.

It was already dawn, a few hours had gone by and Neveah was yet to regain consciousness.

King Jian’s predator had long calmed and to replace that intense urge to possess was a deep sense of regret and disbelief at what he had done.

It had all happened much too quickly and now that his rage had settled, the scene replayed itself in his head over and over again.

The sun was slowly coming up, but the drapes were all drawn shut and had been since they returned to Dune Castle.

"How is it?" Xenon asked as Lord Orin as he stepped away from Neveah’s bedside.

Lord Orin’s uncertain gaze moved between Xenon and King Jian, and then he heaved a sigh.

"I believe we will have to await Everon’s arrival." Lord Orin revealed.

The royal physician had been summoned in a great rush and ordered to make for Dune castle immediately, inspite of the mission he had already been assigned.

A trip by portal would make the journey swift and timely.

It was the only way to make a trip that should have taken at least a couple of days in just a few hours.

Meanwhile, Lord Orin was still not clear on what had happened and neither Xenon nor King Jian appeared to be in the right mood.

There was not much Lord Orin could do about it and so he took his leave without another word.

"I... I did not mean to hurt her... I don’t know... Scales!" King Jian exclaimed in frustration.

"The merging of scale is known to be an excruciating endeavour... but this is Neveah. I fear the pain is the least of your worries..." Xenon said quietly.