8 The fallen from light

The gate was opening very slowly. Its size is so incredible that many mages had to use their dark to open it. The feeling of uncertainty lasted for too long as the gate was opening for several seconds. Those felt like minutes.

But when it finally opened we slowly drove inside, I saw something that was very unpredictable from the outside. You could think it was just a stronghold. But, inside was completely different. There is a big ring of sandstone all under the walls. In the middle, there were stairs made of something like metal. The stairs were not used as long as there was no one walking down I suppose because… There is a giant hole in the middle. Massive.

This means that the stairs are imbued with dark and there are sorcerers that make the stairs, well stairs… I could also see more rings of sandstone down there in the big hole in the middle.

The stairs are surely imbued with dark. How else could they be put down and set up? When we went a little further inside I could see multiple of those rings under one another. From the hole, I heard all kinds of noises from screaming pain to excitement and some loud mumbles.

One of the guards or soldiers came to us. Not sure which one.

"Name, age, height, and origin," he said with an emotionless voice. Almost like a puppet without a soul.

"Eh... Hayden Moonshine, 14, around 1.65. He was the young lord of the Moonshine family in the Laylia city until his power got evaluated as 0 and was thrown out of the family." Explained Arthur. Almost shouting because of the commotion all around us.

"Hmm. So his power is very low. And he is still pretty young. I know where to put him." A small grin appeared on his face.

"Emm may I as…"

"Quiet! you may do nothin' you are dead to the world right now!" He shouted at me and was close to slapping my face.

"I'm sorry…" I said scared and sad at the same time. Dead to this world? Where am I...

"Okay kid, I'm leaving you here, on your own accord. I can't do any more than this for you." Is he sympathizing with me now? He can't do more? Did he do anything anyway...

"If… I will leave this place. Would you help me?" I whispered it to his ear. With a sad voice and almost started crying.

"Listen, kid. If there is any chance of you leaving this place. It's better for you not to look for me, understood? I can't help you even if I wanted to. My life is already hard. I'm sorry…"

"…" I looked at him with grim eyes… I had a feeling that I wanted to cry. But I didn't, I have to keep myself in shape.

"Why is this world so fucking cruel to me." I thought to myself being overwhelmed by anger. This world is nothing to actually care about. I'm not even weak. I can't be considered weak if I'm 0. the most normal of all men...

I can't be even weak actually… I'm so weak that I can't be compared to anything.

So the old man left me just like that…

"Follow me." Said the man while making a sign with his hands to close the gate. While walking behind him I looked once more in the direction of the gate. I saw the old man getting onto his carriage with the horses. He also glimpsed back, smiled, and waved to me. His already white hair is almost like mine. And then the gates closed and the hair disappeared. As the last glimmer of freedom...

I followed him and while we were walking, we got close to the stairs and another soldier came to us he handed clothes to the soldier I was following.

"Change." Again the emotionless voice resonated in my mind.

"It's co…"

"Change!" He shouted angrily. "Change! I won't repeat it one more time!" It's so cold… They all see me. I took off my tuxedo with a big hole in it. Took off my pants and threw them on the ground. He then handed me the clothes. His look… Murderous. I started changing into the shirt and shorts. "Boots too." He added and I took off my shoes. The one's that I've been given looks more like a tailored rag than real shoes.

"What floor are we going to?" I asked very quietly. Already terrified of what his answer would be.

"Since you are weak. I mean really weak. You are going somewhere on the upper floors. I would take you to… Floor five." Floor five? Out of? How many people are here...

"Why are the floors like that?" I questioned the guard expecting an answer like: "Shut up!" or something like that, but it was nice that I was mistaken.

"You are asking too many questions." Answered the guard while smiling with an indication that I will never escape this place. Then he swapped his expression in a second to that emotionless one. After several steps on the dark steps hard like steel. I looked around. Rooms with iron bars… A prison? Why am I in a prison… It's so weird. There must be a lot of people here. I saw many rooms with bars and the whole hole seemed almost unending, maybe because it's evening and I just don't see the lowest level. And then the screams from that dark abyss got louder and louder with each step. We arrived on floor 5. I looked around and saw two other guards at different ends of the sand ring.

I came with him to my room. He opened the crate and told me to go inside. I only obeyed, once I entered the soldier left and went back up the stairs leaving me with the three men in the cell. It seems that we are of similar age, at least that is somewhat good.

The first one of them introduced himself under the name of Matthew and he is 16. He is a dwarf.

"Listen, kid. We always introduce ourselves to the new ones no matter what. So we will just do it." Matthew nodded. "It's like a tradition." Then he took a deep breath and started his story. I could even imagine how it went...

He was from a major family in his city but when he was abused and beaten by his mother since he was eight. He took things in his hands and decided to kill her. He tried to make a culprit out of his older brother that also made fun of him. Despised him. And humiliated him. Just like it was with me...

He went to a great hall with his mother but before he told someone to tell his older brother to come to that same hall in 30 minutes. They entered the hall together. His mother first and before Matthew closed the doors he looked around to see if no one was around. He prepared well to make everyone busy and let him be alone with her. She started the conversation very lightly. No offensive words, just typical talk about how his day went. But after a couple of sentences between each other, his mother started going offensive and saying that he was a failure…

Marcus was still unmoved by those words but, his anger was rising with every second of their conversation. His fists were already dripping with blood from the nails entering the inner skin. It was 15 minutes after their dialogue started. He knew he needed to wait until it was at least 25 minutes otherwise his brother wouldn't find the body first. Then she stood up and started touching him in many places. He felt uncomfortable and couldn't resist… He took the knife and stabbed her. Again. Again and again and again... He looked at her miserably and said.

"It's your fault." He smiled and with eyes as if their glow had been taken, his soul has been ripped apart and humanity lost... With a crazy smile, he left the room. It was around 20 minutes after they entered the hall. No guards around and no maidens as well. He wanted to leave the city as fast as possible. He left the castle with a fast walk, but on his way. On the streets, he saw what he will leave behind… His abusive life and a beautiful city. The city was from dark bricks with some light red accents so that it won't leave a feeling of an empty void. As he was walking many people greeted him a good day. He was smiling. But it wasn't a smile of happiness. It was a smile of falling from sanity.

The dwarven prince was slowly approaching the gates to leave the city. And so he made his plan into work.

"Go to the dining room! Quickly! I heard something happened there while I was leaving but, I was too scared to say it to the guards in the castle!" It was exactly 28 minutes after entering the room with his mother.

"Come with us, you don't need to worry when we are here! And by the way, lord where are your bodyguards?" Damn it.

The wicked smile left his face by then. He had to go with the guards or he would be even more suspicious.

"They… I told them that I want to go to gather herbs so they let me." He tried to imitate a scared voice and just made this lie up.

"Something like that could not have happened. The bodyguards are supposed to always go with their assigned lord. Until the lord… Escapes on his own that is. You are coming with us, Lord."

It was around 30 minutes. The prince entered the room and saw his mother on the ground in a pool of blood. With despair in his eyes, he approached the body.

"Wake up… Please! Don't leave me, mother… Why has that happened to you…"

He took her into his arms. Then he screamed with pain and tears in his eyes. The guards stormed in shouting what was going on. He partially lost connection to reality. He didn't hear a thing.

Matthew could only imagine what that pig thought about their mother.

She was always there for him. When he was entering the academy. When he was getting evaluated. All the time she was there when he needed her the most… And Matthew? His mother was never there…

His brother was screaming as the most important person in his life… Is not there anymore.

"The prince killed the queen!" Shouted one of the guards. But the older brother didn't hear. He was gone as well… They took them to the king. Together both of them. Matthew and his older brother. They stood before their father.

"Who is guilty! If you say who is, I may lower your penalty, for braveness." Both of the brothers didn't say anything. "Then I will put it the other way… You will tell me where you were."

"Father." Said, Matthew. He told me that he was a little scared while saying those things. But still confident enough to try and deceive his father.

"I was leaving the castle and as I was walking by that room I heard a loud screech then it made me afraid so I just ran away. When I was close to the gates because of some herbs I needed. The thing I heard was so… Familiar to me. Then I thought it could be my mother so I told the guards to investigate the thing right away. When I wanted to escape they told me to come with them… I was really scared so I told them that. They brushed it off saying that they were with me and that they would protect me so I came with them."

"And you? Daniel? What were you doing?" He said calmly he knew that pressure in this kind of time won't do a thing.

"I was… Going back to my room right after I got my clothes from the handmaidens… And someone I think was one of the guards told me to come to that exact room in 30 minutes… Then after those 30 minutes when I came to the room I saw the mother on the floor… In a pool of dark blood. Her clothes were stained in it. It was horrifying, I still see her. Every time I close my eyes. Her corpse is in my head. And my hands in blood…" He said while looking at his palm with sad eyes and a tear falling down.

"The both of you have a good alibi… Matthew… " He was interrupted.

"My lord, May I say something?" One of the servants from the crowd said. Matthew went completely pale. He felt despair and fear as never before. My eyes… I thought I would rep them out on my own. I wanted to cry but, with the tears of blood with a big grin on my face. But it would sell my guilt out, I couldn't. That bitch! She will ruin my plan. Where was she when I spoke with Daniel? I'm sure there was no one nearby!

"You may speak Maya." Said the king, less infuriated. But his stare still felt like a sun piercing through one's body.