(Arc: Luna) Artifacts

With an arc-like motion, father threw Ellis' body into one of the vacant cells. A loud thump resounded as his torso hit the ground.

"You're going to speak."

"How much knowledge of the other continents do you hold?"

"And why would I tell you?" he replied.

My eyebrows were lowered and were as sharp as swords; the ends of my lips were upturned exposing my pearl white upper teeth. Anyone who had the misfortune of witnessing my sinister face would be paralyzed with fear and Von Ellis was no exception.

"Maybe I'll be able to convince you."

The ring on my index finger began glowing a scarlet red color and a flashing white light blinded us as an object popped out; my arm was extended to grab the object, it was a dagger. The blade swished as it left the scabbard.

"Father, bring a healer, he'll need it."

In the blink of an eye, the dagger penetrated his shoulder and I used a nifty trick that I had previously acquired. Back in the 'Pit of Deadman', I was under the impression that using energy barrier would be pointless, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It came to my attention that as I mastered the spell, I could also prevent energy from passing through the barrier; I might be one of the very few capable of achieving this.

Tens of thousands of small barriers appeared on the pores of Von Ellis to prevent energy from entering his body; additionally, I placed barriers inside of him through the wounds to prevent energy from circulating. His strength and healing had essentially reverted to normal human levels; his pain tolerance also spiraled downwards.

The edge of my blade began to heat up; the process was slow and excruciating. His upper teeth were exposed as his nose wrinkled and soon afterwards, his blood-curdling cries for help echoed throughout the dungeon. As soon as he seemed close to kicking the bucket, I asked the healer to tend to his wounds before repeating everything. I made sure he stayed conscious throughout this ordeal.

"I-I'll tell you everything, so please stop," he pleaded.

The man who once sat on a gold throne above everyone else was now begging under the soles of my feet.

"Go on," I said.

"The land we're on is divided into three layers each containing one of the three tiers. The outer most layer contains all the lower tier continents, the middle layer houses the middle tier continents and last but not least, the core of the land contains the four upper tier continents."

"Interesting and which middle tier continent is closest to us?"

"That would be the continent named Luna," he replied.

"Are they peaceful?"

"They don't care about the rankings and generally try to be on good terms with everyone."

"Thank you for the valuable information. Now let's continue," I said.

"W-Wait didn't you say that you'd stop?"

"Oh really? Did I say something like that? I must have lied once again. I'll ask for forgiveness from God when I meet him," I replied with a grin.

Screams of terror echoed throughout the castle for hours on end. A crowd had gathered around the dungeon entrance as they were curious about the matters that I was partaking in. The door swung open and an eerie figure rose from the void; his toned body was mantled in a dense layer of blood. A suffocating iron smell permeated the air.

"What are you looking at? Do I have bread crumbs on my chin?" I jokingly asked.

"No sir, we were just wondering why someone was screaming inside," one of the men replied.

"No need to worry, I was just punishing a pet."

Not wanting to bother me any further and incurring my wrath, the small group dispersed until one man remained, it was grandfather.

"What will you do?"

"I'm your leader, why are you speaking to me in such a casual tone?"

We both erupted in a fit of laughter. Despite my cruel facade, I still had a soft spot for the people I cared about.

"Let's hold a meeting with everyone in the great hall in a couple of hours then we'll discuss our course of action."

I smelled like a latrine and a bath was a necessity; I entered the room and took off my soaked clothes. I hoisted myself in the tub and as the hot water soothed my skin, I heaved a sigh of relief. My body gradually sunk deeper into the bath until only my head was not submerged. It was already day time and I hadn't had a single moment of shut-eye; truth be told, I wasn't in the mood for sleep either.

By now, news of the other continents and the new leader of Gerhan had spread like wildfire throughout the area; surprisingly, there was not an ounce of panic. If we wanted to win this battle, I needed to get stronger. My brain went into overdrive and came up with an answer, I had to travel to Luna for two years to strengthen myself. Middle tier continents were significantly stronger than us, they must be doing something differently and I was going to milk Luna for all it was worth.

A series of loud knocks caused the door to tremble.

"Who is it?"

"It's me you idiot," grandfather said.

I opened the wooden door and followed his steps down the hallway.

"You better have a valid reason for interrupting my relaxation," I sarcastically said.

"Maybe I should just kick your ass," he replied.

"Gramps, even if I'm asleep you won't be able to lay a finger on me."

A colossal, shiny wooden door stood before us; the imposing crest of the Anderson family was carved in the center and two guards flanked the entrance.

"What is this place?"

"This is where we keep all of our artifacts. Traditionally, only the patriarch can access the objects within, however, you'll make better use of them and you technically hold a higher position than I," he said.

One of the guards pulled a lever and the sound of grinding gears could be heard as the door swiveled open. What met my eyes left me open-mouthed...