SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES-Chapter 186: Truth Revealed

Cracks spread across the ground in a net, two larger ones snaking left and right simultaneously.

They opened up as darkness exploded outward, rising to his shoulder.

With a hissing sound, the darkness started to solidify, taking form.

Two deafening howls pierced their ears as the smoke took the form of wolves larger than Kesha's summons.

Without waiting for command, they lunged at Kesha's summons, smoke trailing behind them like smoke from a furnace.

Kesha couldn't hide her surprise as she saw her wolves being overwhelmed by Aramith's.

Aramith looked at her, eyes gleaming, but expressionless.

She prepared to attack, but Aramith shook his head.

This startled Kesha. Her eyes darted around, searching for something she was sure he was hiding—something that didn't exist.

Aramith lowered his form, then lunged at her.

His movement was a strange one, for she couldn't see every action, but at the same time, she could see everything he was doing. He was moving too fast, but too slow, and the smoke seemed to replicate his motion, distorting his very being.

And when he moved, he didn't do it in any complicated manner; he just went straight for her, but she couldn't dodge.

What she felt wasn't fear; it was the acceptance that she couldn't avoid this and had to take it head-on.

She braced for the impact, quickly surrounding herself with several layers of ice.

"Useless," Aramith growled as he smashed through them.

Kesha moved quickly, but Aramith saw what she was doing—leaving an afterimage to confuse.

He saw the real Kesha and smashed her onto the ground.

Everyone held their breath. It was as if time had slowed, and for a split-second, Kesha phased between human and damned form. And her face was filled with desperation.

Who would have expected the lone wolf, the untouchable princess of the Glacial Empire, the powerful princess who commanded an army of snow wolves, would be restricted so easily?

She struggled, slipping under his grip.

Aramith calmly pressed his paw harder into her, and suddenly the smoke around his body exploded in an aggressive burst.

His body increased in size, almost doubling. The weight increased, pinning Kesha down further and making even the smallest movements impossible.

It felt like a whole mountain had been dropped on her.

She growled and scratched, flailing helplessly against him, but he didn't budge.

Aramith! What are you trying to achieve here?!

The cloud above her head moved on its own and split into threads of ice that wound around his limbs.

They crept up along his form, freezing him as they moved, but he remained rooted in his place, refusing to budge.

Then Kesha charged a shot in her jaws.

Aramith felt the power from it, and this time, his eyes narrowed into slits.

He shifted his body in the nick of time, avoiding the fatal blow as it whistled past.

The shot traveled high, blasting through the shield in an explosion of snow and ice.

The temperature over a large radius, even outside the arena, was too cold to breathe.

And Aramith wasn't unscathed.

His right shoulder had been cleanly cut off, the wound frozen.

This time, his breath left him harsher—but his eyes remained steady.

Then quickly, he attacked like a cobra.

His jaws snapped on Kesha's neck tightly, and before Kesha knew what was happening, she was lifted into the air.

Aramith smashed her into the ground with so much force that it left a crater in the ground.

Keesha winced in pain, but he wasn't done.

He lifted her again, smashing her into the ground.

Kesha clawed, trying to get up, to escape the clutches of his jaw, but he refused to let go.

From the stands, this was too frightening and gut-wrenching to watch.

Without letting her even breathe, he lifted her again and smashed her into the ground.

"I told you to stop." His voice flowed right into her skull.

Then one final time—higher than before.

This was the loudest and most powerful yet.

Kesha reverted to her human form this time.

He held her delicately in his jaws, looking straight into her eyes.

It was a miracle she was still alive.

Unlike other damned users, her damned form wasn't directly connected to her human form, which meant injuries from when she's in damned form did not affect her when she reverted, though she would lose so much power, she'd need a lot of time to replenish them.

As she looked into his eyes, she couldn't believe this was Aramith.

For the first time, she started to doubt if this was Aramith.

Maybe Therin wasn't an alias he was using, but that Therin was a different person.

How could...

Aramith dropped her onto the ground, and as he stood towering over her, darkness smoking from his back, he looked like a higher being about to decide her fate.

I don't even know you anymore...

The boy she'd fallen in love with long ago was now a monster she couldn't recognize.

I've lost...

Aramith could read her thoughts from the look on her face and confirmed it.

"You've lost," he repeated.

His wolves had just finished tearing her summons apart, then returned to his side.

He nodded slowly, and they exploded into darkness, which flowed into his body.

Kesha accepted her defeat, having no strength to fight anymore.

Aramith saw the acceptance of defeat in her face, but she was still filled with rage.

Why would you do this? What about Lia?

Aramith's body started to shrink in size, the darkness evaporating from his form as he returned to his normal form. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Now, when the smoke cleared, Aramith felt lighter.

Kesha stared at him, suddenly wide-eyed.

"Who's that?" Someone suddenly asked, her voice carried across, echoing the question everyone was asking in their mind.

So many stood up, craning their necks to get a better view of what had just unfolded before them.

Kesha was alright, but before her...Therin had disappeared.

Instead, he was replaced by this handsome, pale-skinned boy.

His sharp features were something they couldn't take their eyes off, and the way his purple eyes glowed made it impossible to look away.

A few females had already fallen in love at first sight.

"This idiot! What is wrong with him?" Lynnor exclaimed.

Mozrael couldn't believe it. "Why now?" Fear covered her head to toe.

Aramith felt the gazes of everyone on him, then he noticed it on the ground.

My mask.

Kesha suddenly snapped out of her trance and clapped.

A burst of mist exploded from the ground, covering the whole arena, but it was too late.

From her high seat, Serephene smirked, lazily resting her chin on her palm.

"So that's why you could kill Elira."

In the mist, Kesha picked up the mask and handed it over to Aramith.

"Put it on quickly."

Aramith took it and stared at it, but he knew it wouldn't work.

Unless he could erase all their memories, there was no escaping this.

Instead, he looked straight into Kesha's eyes. "You should hate me."

For some reason, looking in his cold eyes, she saw what he'd hidden from everyone else—the softness he held in his heart.

He was still in there, and she understood that everything he was doing was for a reason.

Yet, she couldn't push aside the anger she felt as well.

What she'd just done was instinctive.

She saw trouble and stepped in to get rid of it, but she still hated him for everything.

"I still hate you. Don't think I'm forgiving you so easily," she frowned.

Aramith nodded. "I agree, especially since I remember everything."

He raised a hand to the mist. "Remove this. They're waiting."

She dropped a hand, and all the mist was sucked into the ground.

Once again, everyone was looking at Aramith, confused.

Aramith turned to the eyes that gazed upon him expectantly and confusedly.

"My name is Aramith! Aramith Virellian!" He shouted.

Many gasps filled the arena.

Then, in a quieter tone that still reached ears, he continued, "I am the banished prince of the Vermillion Kingdom, forced to leave for going against the king in his decision to remove a fugitive."

Some exchanged looks.

"This is not real."

"He's that Aramith?"

Mozrael couldn't believe this.

Stop! You're making this worse! You know how many people are after you.

But Aramith didn't stop there.

"As of now, I can overpower almost all of you here, and no student here is a threat to me."

His words angered many, but they accepted the painful truth.

He glanced at Kesha.

"Even the lone wolf was no match for me."

His words bruised Kesha's pride, but she said nothing.

He continued, "if you have any issues with me, think twice."

Finally, he turned to the announcer, who had been thrown off by the reveal.

"I won this round," he reminded him.

The announcer awkwardly walked forward, but turned to the judges for confirmation. They nodded for him to announce him as the winner, for even though he'd deceived everyone, he didn't break any rules.

"The winner of this round is...Aramith of Forsaken Peak Academy."

Aramith nodded and turned to leave, but Kesha called to him.

He stopped and half-turned.

"What about Lia? She came here with me."

Kesha was sure he'd at least want to see her, but Aramith turned away and said these words without even looking at her. "I have no reason to see her here."

Kesha couldn't believe his words.

She felt this uncontrollable rage boiling up within her.

Then suddenly, her eyes beamed.

"Are you insane?!' She shouted madly, then shot at him faster than anything had ever moved in the arena since the start of the competition.

"Aramith!" Mozrael screamed, her voice hoarse.

Aramith turned to see a white wolf, jaws open, right behind him.

He lifted a hand, and the wolf's jaws snapped shut, ripping his arm off from the elbow.

Everyone was shocked.

He clenched his teeth, feeling the pain, but unmoved.

The wolf disappeared, dropping his torn limb onto the ground.

He could have stopped it, but he didn't. Maybe this was Penance

He clutched the bleeding stump and quickly walked away.

Kesha went down on one knee, weak.

"How could you say that?" Her eyes became bleary.

"How could you? You monster!" She choked on the last word.