“Your hero?” Derek burst into a mocking laughter and poked at the boy’s forehead, healing all his wounds.
“I’m not your hero, boy. I’m no one’s hero. If you want a hero, you have to become your own. That’s what I did.”
Despite the Void’s cruel tone, the boy felt sadness and compassion in his voice. Even amid all that chaos and mayhem, the boy noticed his dislocated shoulder didn’t hurt anymore.
“Please-”
“It’s nice hearing you finally admit it, brother.” A pillar of darkness the size of a car descended from the sky, hitting both the Void and the boy. “I’ve always known you were just pretending to be good.
“Now finally everyone will know I was right all along!”
As the Horseman of Night descended from the sky on top of his steed, fear reached a new height and the citizens of Zeska screamed like Mogar was going to end.
Unlike Silverwing, Orpal had nothing to do while Night worked on merging the crystals except screaming in pain and gritting his teeth. Luckily for him, the Darmoq outpost on Jiera had extended the range of the Kingdom’s interlink, giving him something to read.
After weeks of reading through pain, Night had finally done it. Dusk’s red crystal and her own black crystal had started to merge. The process was far from complete but at least Orpal’s suffering was mostly over.
While Night worked on synergizing the two crystals and bringing them closer to merging into one, Orpal used Accumulation to refine his mana core. He used his breathing technique day and night, sleeping only when Invigoration didn’t work anymore.
Discipline and the doubled flow from the crystals had brought his core to the bright blue, one step away from the deep violet and the potential awakening of his Vurdalak bloodline.
Yet it also brought some bad news. No pillar had manifested to support Orpal’s breakthrough and if not for Night’s regenerative abilities boosted by Dusk’s crystal, the Vurdalak would have died on the spot.
‘Whatever I am, whatever I’ll become, Mogar doesn’t want me more than my own parents!’ He thought. ‘This entire planet has turned its back on me.’
While waiting for Night to finish the fusion and his body to be ready for the deep violet, the Royal Edict about Lith’s disappearance had popped out on Orpal’s communication amulet.
Considering it a sign of destiny, Orpal had traveled back to Garlen, always keeping the amulet at hand and checking for any news, no matter if they were rumors or an actual sighting.
After waiting for days, his patience had been rewarded. The alarm had resounded in Zeska, a city he knew well from the War of the Griffons. Thanks to Moonlight, each Steps covered hundreds of kilometers, bringing him to his destination in less than a minute.
Now, after months of humiliation and weeks of suffering, the perfect opportunity for retribution was at hand.
“Who the hell are you?” Derek swatted the pillar away with Ragnarök, revealing that both he and the boy were unscathed.
“Are you really amnesiac? Are you telling me this isn’t just another of your schemes to do whatever the almighty Lith Verhen wants with impunity?” Orpal and Night were flabbergasted.
“Amnesiac?” Derek Blinked the boy to safety and was about to crush the pompous jackass like a fly but then the word hit him like a sledgehammer.
It broke through the complex scenario drawn by his paranoia, offering him a much simpler answer to the weirdness of his condition.
“Do we know each other?” He asked in honest confusion.
“If we know each other?” Orpal couldn’t have been more offended if Lith had just pissed on his head and broadcasted the event throughout Mogar. “How dare you forget about me? You’ve destroyed my life!
“You’ve taken everything that was supposed to be mine away from me! My family, my fame, my power. Everything!”
“Is he telling the truth?” Derek asked the Constable.
“No! That man is a criminal and a murderer.” Between a crazy Supreme Magus and a sane Dead King, not a single person in Zeska hesitated choosing which one of them was the lesser evil.
The Knight’s Guard stood by Lith’s side and the citizens sought shelter in the buildings behind him, hoping for his protection.
“Don’t believe a word he says. Meln Narchat is one of the Kingdom’s most wanted.” The Constable said.
‘Believe the amnesiac part! Believe the amnesiac part!’ The Voidfeather screamed from the sealed corners of Lith’s life force.
Orpal’s new name alone sent a jolt down Derek’s spine, making his fist clench and his eyes narrow.
“One of the most wanted?” The Dead King sounded offended as he kept casting his Blade Tier spell, Shattered Moon. “Tell me, mortal, who’s above me?”
“Anyone who can commit crimes without wearing a diaper, Poopie.” The Constable replied, making Derek laugh even though he had no idea why.
“That does it!” Orpal screamed in outrage. “I was going to kill only Leech and let the rest of you live to pass on the story of my triumph, but I’ve changed my mind.”
He used his steed, Moonlight, to draw as much world energy from the mana geyser below as he could while also infusing himself with four bolts of Life Maelstrom.
One for himself, one for Night, one for his equipment, and the last one for his mage tower.
‘Careful with that, you idiot!’ Night said via their mind link. ‘I’m not finished merging my and Dusk’s crystal and we didn’t have the time to study our newfound bloodline abilities.
‘We don’t even know if the fusion is stable enough for a proper fight. If you go overboard, you might send us back to square one.’
The seal on Night’s willpower was gone so she could help Orpal plan and fight against Lith. Yet the seal on Dusk’s abilities was still in place. Just like her brother, Night needed the help of her host to undo it permanently and they had no idea how.
Dusk’s observations about the seal were gone along with the rest of his knowledge, leaving them with nothing.
To activate Dusk’s bloodline abilities, they had to overflow the seal with mana, wasting a considerable amount of energy. Moonlight more than made up for it, but Night knew that every time Orpal tapped into Dusk’s powers, their strength plummeted for a while.
‘Please, Leech is amnesiac.’ Orpal replied with a sneer. ‘He didn’t even react to my Blade Tier spell and he’s not using Life Vision. This is going-‘
Before he could complete his thought, Derek kicked the ground with all his strength and bolted toward Orpal.
‘Careful. With or without his memories, your brother is still a Divine Beast and a cunning bastard at that.’ Night said. ‘This is a feint.’
As if she could read the Void’s mind, Life Vision showed them a Blink whose exit point opened behind Orpal. Night was like Solus, her senses weren’t limited to her physical eyes while Orpal was in control.
She could see in every direction at the same time, spotting the exit point of the dimensional door the moment it opened.
The Dead King roared in triumph, turning around and stabbing at the Blink multiple times in less than a second.
