"None of us will probably ever know how he got to the black doors of the building, or more precisely the identity of the deceitful and talented person who put him there. But if this foul stranger is anything like this abominable child, then he too would deserve to be punished."
"How cruel and cowardly you are, Johes!" Exclaimed the black magician with a significant gesture, falsely horrified, even though he hid it as best he could, everyone, his servants and Stanys fellow men, knew that he was the most affected by his failure to sense the presence of the child carrier. "You are trying to get rid of in another way what you have been unable to destroy on your own."
"You are the one who condemned him!" the servant protested angrily, deeply offended.
"Oh, that's right." Sirkol admitted with a casual nod. "I only decided to take care of something you'll never have the strength to do yourself," he added, absentmindedly playing with his glass before smashing it to dust. "Anyway, you're as weak as a radiant little bird, Johes. So, to console you for your countless failures, I'll let you rejoice in the fall of your invincible enemy."
The young servant clenched his fists to the point of tearing skin, burning with murderous rage.
"I will do it. I will watch him suffer and die without missing a moment of that unforgettable sight, the one whose existence I cannot bear."
Sirkol approached the bay window and gazed out at the night landscape, a vast world of darkness, populated by terrible beings. Their glittering eyes and bodies moved through the black mass of misty veils.
The round moon and its invulnerable rays illuminated with its opaline brightness this banished kingdom. Sirkol saw his face and body reflected through the bewitched glass of the bay window, his gray hair combed back, falling over his shoulders. His amber eyes clearly showed his undying adoration for all that the light hated. But the most fascinating and frightening thing about him was his large body, whose color was perpetually split between black and white, and covered with symbols as ugly as they were deep, representing a powerful shield of harm that protected him from any external attack.
"You may leave now. Go prepare our little prodigy for the feast, and don't forget to take his faithful friend with him. If he really must perish, at least let him not be alone. After all, we are responsible for a children's shelter. We must look after the welfare of our little charges and give them our best."
"Very well, master," Köel replied, steadily putting on an unreadable face.
The two guardians bowed deeply to the wizard before descending into the sea of shadows and leaving the room with a deafening roar. Sirkol continued to gaze out the window at the night, then turned back to the map of life, gazing at the glimmer of life from a boy whose exception was unacceptable. Then he smiled cruelly.
"Ah, what a beautiful night. A wonderful night to kill the child king."
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***
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In a long, dark corridor of the underground prison of Athok, chains rattled and the sound of running water echoed relentlessly. In one of the cells, two boys, about thirteen years old, were imprisoned. One, named Kei, was rather strikingly blond considering the environment he had been immersed in all his life. Even his broad, healthy-skinned body seemed unreal, not to mention his open face whose great beauty was further accentuated by his blue eyes with the reflection of a morning sky, so that even the hideous green uniform he wore did not change his sublime charm. He knelt down next to another boy and tried in every way to support him and ease the torturous pain that was gnawing at him after he had fought terrible dark forces.
Kei watched the pale boy he was supporting with his arms. And in spite of the apparent fragility of his friend, he knew better than anyone the strength and the will that the latter possessed in him. Unfortunately, he had not yet been able to develop his potential effectively, his magic was constantly unstable and most of the time too weak to achieve anything really tangible. Not to mention, of course, the all too rare times he was able to create strong defenses like the one he had just used, to protect them from attacks of darkness filled with hatred and anger. Now that the danger was over, his friend seemed to have lost all his strength and balance. He was having great difficulty breathing. Bent over the ground, he struggled valiantly to regain his energy and composure.
"That's it, calm down, everything is fine now, breathe slowly, breathe calmly", Kei repeated untiringly while patting gently the boy's back. After long minutes, this one, whose thin body was rather worrisome, finally managed to breathe more freely. Relieved, he leaned his head back.
"Do you feel better now?" Kei asked, still anxious, but at the same time very relieved to see some color coming back to his friend's pale face,
"Yes Kei, I feel better now, thank you," he assured, smiling hesitantly, but with a still weakened voice.
"Oh, so much the better then. I'm so glad you're feeling better. You really scared me this time. And that sudden, sneaky attack, it's so like them. It's still not enough for them to know that we'll be thrown into their sordid game of death in a few hours? On top of that, they have to hurt us on the threshold of battle. "
His friend smiled, half amused, half sarcastic.
"No Kei, it is obvious that nothing can satisfy them. But as usual, they failed to kill me. "
"That's good, but you shouldn't laugh at such things." gently reprimanded him by his loyal companion. "However, as usual, I had to be helpless to help you", he forced himself to add, displaying an air of sadness and shame such as it would have made anyone melt, and this acted on his friend who, to console him, had to appeal to his sense of humor.
"Don't worry, Kei, your magic will inevitably awaken one day. And I'm sure it will be as magical and radiant as you've always wanted it to be, just like your zest for life."
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