A Pained Father

Time: During Ty's Arrival at the Castle Location

Dungeons: 4 Levels Below the Castle.

The dungeon floor echoed with the ominous clank of metal boots.

A soft, sinister chuckle shattered the silence, heralding the approach of the Yami King as he strutted toward the cell where Elithira was kept locked, each of her limbs restrained by ten chains which secured her to the cold, unforgiving wall.

"The elusive Elithira makes her grand return," the King sneered, offering a psychotic smile that would normally send chills down someone's spine. "And we finally apprehended your skeleton friend, who foolishly believed that he could escape my grasp."

Gritting her teeth, Elithira mustered the strength to speak as she tried to mask the fear and desperation that was clawing at her heart. "Where is Sogetsu?" she demanded, raw emotion crackling in her voice. "If he's dead, spare me the torment and tell me!"

The King stepped closer, the darkness in the room also seemed to be walking along with him. 

"Where's the fun in that?" he mused maliciously before removing his glove and revealing a hand that seemed imbued with a dark, eerie aura. "Wouldn't it be much more delightful if I brought him to you as a soulless slave?" His lips twisted into an evil grin as he extended his hand towards her.

Defiant, yet filled with a mounting dread, Elithira met his gaze. "Do your worst," she spat as she braced herself for the agony that awaited.

As the King's hand hovered over her head, an unbearable pain surged through her body, prompting her to release a soul-wrenching scream that she was not able to hold, letting the walls of the dungeon feast on her despair.

The moment lingered as if time itself had paused to bear witness to the horror within the dungeon. Elithira's screams reverberated, echoing further and further, causing a tumultuous stir among the other cells.

After a prolonged, heart-wrenching scream an eerie silence prevailed, so profound that the slightest sound would have resonated like a thunderclap. 

The Yami King removed his hand, and a transformation overcame Elithira. Her luminous, pearly white skin had shifted to a disconcerting bluish-black hue. This unforeseen change even took the stoic Yami King by surprise. 

"This is something new," he mused aloud as Elithira, who was now devoid of life's essence, went limp before him. Her once vibrant eyes, now seemed lifeless, a hollow shell remaining within them where once a soul resided.

"Could it be that you were always devoid of a soul, a mere wretch lost in the abyss?" he taunted, his voice laced with derision. 

"Fleeing for over a dozen years, did you nurture the futile hope that the skeleton boy would emerge as your savior, and redeem the multitude of your life's miseries?" Yami King's cold and merciless eyes remained fixated on her as he pulled Elithira's hair back, revealing her lifeless visage. 

Unsheathing his blade with a swift, deliberate motion, he severed the chains binding her, allowing her body to collapse lifelessly onto the cold, unforgiving floor.

"Stand up and follow me," he commanded, his voice reverberating through the dungeon, bouncing off the cold stone walls and cutting through the subdued murmurs and sobs of hundreds of imprisoned souls.

"We have much to prepare for as the final, desperate throes of your futile rebellion unfold."

____

Meanwhile, back at the top of the castle walls.

Masaru and Nana walked up to the castle walls where two guards, who had their skin warm and slightly tanned due to the long exposure to the sun, broke into a salute, welcoming both generals back.

Noticing the fatigued pain in Nana, one of the guards asked.

"Ma'am, are you okay? Do you need to go—" 

However, he was interrupted by Nana as she used her power to push him against the wall without uttering a word before the two walked through the gates that were adorned with wooden symbols, a black masked figure, and black tendrils that were wrapping around its icon, symbolizing the king's numerous victories.

"Now, where is King Yami?" Masaru inquired as Tsuandro, who was sitting in a chair, ran up to them both, bowing. He then explained that the King had gone to the dungeon to retrieve the woman and requested for both of them to wait in the King's Chamber area for his return.

"It shouldn't be long," Masaru muttered before he turned to Tusandro and sneered.

"Ah, Tsuandro, this name sounds familiar. That's right, it was your son who tried to overthrow the capital all those years ago after King Yami rightfully defeated the last King, isn't that right?"

Tsuandro's words trembled as they escaped his lips in a corridor where the dim light of ancient lanterns flickered with uncertainty. The mystical carvings danced along the walls, weaving tales of battles that were lost in the mists of time and long-forgotten magic.

In that haunting silence, Tusandro muttered, "Ye-yes, Sir," burdened down by a sea of regret that seemed as old as the stones beneath his feet.

Masaru's cold, mocking laughter cut through the silence, rippling through the haunting enchantments that filled the hall. 

"What a pitiful father, aren't you?" His words slithered through the eerie quiet. 

Their footsteps echoed ominously under mystical archways that shimmered with threads of old, ethereal spells, illuminating their path with a ghostly glow.

The ancient stone floor, worn down under the weight of countless steps, bore stains of the essence of faded magic and the fresh anguish of Tsuandro's blood. The walls themselves seemed to resonate with the echoes of the silent fury that was burning within his heart and the hidden tales of his powerful sorceries.

Entering the King's Chamber, a realm where reality seemed to be blending with whispers of another world, they encountered vast, echoey spaces adorned with banners featuring dragons and phoenixes who soared amidst the stars in the fabric of the ancient sky. A chilling wind swirled through the room, carrying with it the faded echoes of incantations.

"So that's Sogetsu, huh?" Nana spoke out, breaking the silence, her words echoing in the dimly lit space adorned with the lingering shadows of the past.

"To think he actually put up a fight against King Yami all those years ago," Masaru stated, his voice carrying a hint of disappointment as it mingled with the cold drafts that wandered through the chamber.

Now, Sogetsu, a frail, weak man, seemed a mere shadow of his former self, lost in the echoes of ancient battles and mystical confrontations.

Moments passed, and time seemed to be flowing like a quiet river as Masaru noticed that cracks had appeared in the barrier that was housing Ty. 

"There's no way he's still chipping away at the barrier," Masaru muttered, his words filled with a blend of surprise and contemplation as he began to apply more layers of mystical protection around the barrier, not wanting to take any chances against Ty breaking his barrier like before.

Nana's heart fluttered with unease as she inquired, her voice threading through the silence, "That sword that appeared out of nowhere, did you see who threw it?" 

"No, why do you ask?" Masaru's reply bounced off the words which carried a hidden understanding.

"It seemed as if it threw itself at me. And after the skeleton caught the sword, it erupted into an array of flames," Nana explained, her words recalling the scene of the battle that was bound to the realms of the mystical and unimaginable.

"What's your point, little girl? He's not getting out anyways, so why should it matter?" Masaru responded, the skepticism in his tone pretty obvious.

Swallowing her apprehension, Nana spoke with a hint of frustration, "Arr, are you really that oblivious? I believe that the skeleton somehow formed a contract with the Head Captain's Blade."

Masaru, initially skeptical, paused, absorbed the gravity of the situation and let it seep into his consciousness. 

"I see your concern," he acknowledged, his voice reflecting a newfound understanding before he reassured her. "But as long as he's sealed away, we have nothing to worry about. Besides, there's nothing that Yami King can't figure out, you know it very well."