Cut out the mark III

I looked at the window and found out that everything has been paused "Why? Why is everyone and everything paused?" I asked, confused by the strange phenomenon. The man replied, "You're the connection between life and death. Your absence from life keeps everything paused, waiting for you." Intrigued, I questioned further, "Then what about my absence from death?" The man responded, "Your absence from death keeps everything going in life. You've had five chances to freely return to life, but you've wasted them all. Now, the only way for you to return to life after death is by answering my riddles correctly."

"Riddles, oh okay. What's your name? The Riddler?" I asked. The man replied, "So many of your ancestors called me many names - Gaghul, Gate Keeper, Strange Man, The Riddler, After Death Man, etc. It's up to you what you want to call me." I responded, "Okay, but I need to go save my friends now." The man warned, "Boy, be careful of the words you say. You're here in the domain of death. If you say you want to go save your friend, then your friend you'll save."

"Okay okay, I want to go save my sister and my friend from that giant bull monster," I uttered. The man replied, "Okay then, answer my riddle." I insisted, "Bring it on." The man presented the riddle, "𝙄𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 '𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩' 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 '𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚', 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 '𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧' 𝙖𝙣𝙙 '𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨' 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚; 𝙖 '𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩' 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚, 𝙖 '𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚' 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙; 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙩 '𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩' 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙. What is It?"

"This riddle has been bothering me, and I've thought of so many answers, but none of them seem to be correct. Then it hit me, it's a question about life. The words echoed in my ear." "𝙄𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 '𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩' 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 '𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚', 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 '𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧' 𝙖𝙣𝙙 '𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨' 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚; 𝙖 '𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩' 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚, 𝙖 '𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚' 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙; 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙩 '𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩' 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪're 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙." "Boom! I've cracked the code! It's like something to cling onto, like a memory," I exclaimed. The man inquired, "Is that your final answer?" With determination, I replied, "Absolutely, memory is the answer." The man questioned me once more, "Are you certain?" I hesitated but responded, "Yes, I believe so." Suddenly, the man declared, "Correct! The gate is open. Go save your sister and friend." Filled with gratitude, I sprinted towards the door. Just as I was about to leave, the man called out, "Hey! Remember this: to defeat the mighty bull, you must snatch its crown." "Thank you, riddle man," I expressed my appreciation.

With determination, I charged through the door, feeling the rush of life coursing through me once again. My broken neck miraculously straightened, and the mark on my body glowed with renewed intensity. The giant bull stirred and began its relentless approach. Summoning my courage, I whistled at it and boldly exclaimed, "You missed me!" Undeterred, the bull charged at me once more. This time, I unleashed a colossal magic blast, only to have it thwarted by a formidable force barrier shield. But then, in a moment of revelation, something clicked in my memory..."To annihilate the formidable bull, you must seize its crown," I recollected. Fueled by determination, I charged towards the colossal creature, my fists radiating with brilliant light. As I sprinted, a powerful incantation escaped my lips: "portal punch." Leaping into the air, I thrust my hands forward, piercing through a mystical portal. Emerging behind the bull, I delivered a resounding blow to its head, causing the crown to tumble towards me. With a swift motion, I stooped down to claim my prize. Now in possession of the crown, the bull pleaded for mercy, but I uttered only two words: "just die." And so, the bull met its demise, impaling itself on its own axe, while the mark on my forehead extinguished.

I rushed over to Amma and Gina, my concern evident in my voice as I asked, "Are you both alright?" They reassured me, "Yes, Jordan, we're fine. But how did you manage that incredible feat?" I struggled to find an explanation, my words faltering as I replied, "I... I'm not sure. It was like something else took control of me. It didn't feel like it was me." In the distance, Amma asserted, "Let's head home, guys."

◦•●◉✿Queens pov ✿◉●•◦

....The queen approached her lord shakenly....

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡, 𝙄 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚" 𝘼 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 "𝙢𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚" 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 "𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨" 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 "𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙" 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 "𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩" 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙡𝙪𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚-𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙞𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩, 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

"𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚"? 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 "𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙" "𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙢𝙚" "𝙔𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙" 𝙁𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚d