Warriors of Kagolania

They reached the Forbidden Zone in the middle of the night. Kalena began to regret not taking warmer clothes with her, and Zarkin was angry that he took an extremely unlucky lantern that burned out the fastest. Everyone had scratches from the branches through which they had to break, but the mood improved slightly.

When the group saw the abandoned city they were shocked. The closer they came, the more they could see. It wasn't dark there at all. Streets were lit by large lanterns. The houses no longer looked abandoned and damaged. From time to time, there was a shadow here and there, as if someone had just left the house and was in a hurry. In the distance an imperial palace could be seen, larger and much more majestic than the palace in the new capital of Kagolania.

"How beautiful is this place!" Kalena sighed softly. "It's like we're going back in time."

"I thought it was abandoned. And yet there are some people!" Mizar moved quickly, but then stopped and turned to the rest, seeing that they had formed a tight group. "What are you waiting for?"

"We shouldn't go in there. At least not this way, they will see us right away!"

"Kalena is afraid, again!" For a moment a malicious smile appeared on the boy's face, which soon disappeared under the mask of cordiality. "Don't you wonder what they are doing in an abandoned city?"

"Sure," Zarkin interjected, "whenever I see suspicious people where they shouldn't be, I want to come and meet them. She is not afraid, she is just sensible."

Seth didn't wait for them, just walked on. Without waiting, they followed him.

"Wait a minute!" Kalena suddenly wanted to stop him, but he pushed her away.

"Leave me alone. Go back if you want!" he growled.

A shiver went through her entire body. Kalena looked at her friend with fear. He did not behave naturally.

"That ghost! He told you to come here and now he draws you to him!"

"What? No, not at all!" He replied, this time gently. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I want to go there, and I'm nervous because I keep thinking if I missed something along the way. By all gods, I'm really worried! I don't want you to get into trouble because of my inattention. It would only ignite rumors about me."

Kalena said nothing. He didn't sound convincing, but after all, she decided to say nothing and followed him.

"Maybe the seekers turned those lights on?" Zarkin tried to find a logical explanation of what they saw. "It would not be surprising, after all, they come here for sure..." He paused, seeing that from the opposite two men of indefinite age were coming towards them.

"Who are you?! You shouldn't be here!" Mizar called after them.

"We also shouldn't be here!" Kalena whispered to him.

The strangers apparently did not understand. They looked at each other and glanced back at him several times.

"Don't bother," a clear male voice sounded nearby. "Your language is different from the one they know."

The man speaking to them emerged from the shadows and smiled. The first thing they noticed was the striking resemblance to Galaspiael.

"It's him!" Kalena whispered to Zarkin. "He followed us! He knew we would come."

"What are you talking about?" The boy stepped back and looked at her carefully. "Who is this?"

"This is the ghost I saw earlier when I came here with Seth and Jin-Si. The one who almost killed us!"

"Oh, my lady." The mysterious figure approached Kalena and looked deep into her eyes. "I assure you that you are not in any danger. None of you are in danger at this moment. I invite you to come with me, the night is still young. We have a lot of time before the day comes up."

"You are the one who used this terrible weapon, am I right sir?" Seth spoke for the first time "You were the cursed emperor?"

Everyone froze. Kalena was sure that the mysterious man would tear Seth apart. Instinctively she backed away, ready to run at any moment.

"Doesn't lantern light seem so friendly to you? It is warm, it does not make you squint, unlike the rays of the sun. Let's go I haven't had guests in a long time, please give me this pleasure."

Everything looked so normal that after a while they forgot where they were. For Kalena, it seemed like they were walking around the ordinary city at night. The old capital was very similar to the one she had already met. Only the people passing them seemed suspicious. They behaved as if they did not see them or their ruler at all. They didn't talk to each other. They were almost like dolls.

They went into the second alley, and on the way, they did not hear anyone say a word.

"The Scribes' Association has changed a lot since I last saw the newcomers from Yagn-Sho. Or just your clothes look different from what I am used to."

"Has any Scribe been here yet?" Kalena asked and immediately began to imagine what fate must have happened to this unfortunate person.

"Oh, I haven't seen a human here in a long time. Well, unless you're talking about those thieves who come here during the day. But when I meet them, I usually don't have time to even look at their faces. There is no point if I kill them anyway."

"You like it?" Zarkin tilted his head slightly. "Do you like to kill them?"

"That's an interesting question. I never thought about whether I like it or not. For me, it's one of those things you shouldn't think about in these categories... Do you fancy a cup of tea? It will be great to warm up."

His pale hand came out from under the folds of his robe. He opened the door in front of them and invited the group inside."

"Excuse me..." Seth broke the silence. His voice was extremely quiet, barely audible.

"Oh, what terrible behavior on my part! Call me Gyeul, young friend. What did you want to ask?"

"I don't quite understand how it's possible that we're here and talking to each other?"

A woman came inside and without even glancing at them began to make tea.

"Don't mind her. She may behave quieter if she bothers you."

"I won't get an answer to my question?"

"Forgive me," Gyeul smiled, and for a moment Kalena had the impression as if she was sitting next to Galaspiael. "but I don't know how to answer. I am here because this place is my home and you are here because you visited me. Was that your answer?"

"Excuse me." Seth shook his head. "I can't speak the language as accurately as I would like."

"We never heard of a man to live so many years." Kalena decided to finish his thought. "This is an extremely puzzling phenomenon."

"You are right, it is puzzling. Even I could not fully discover everything, and yet I had a lot of time... And then these rats destroyed my work."

"The Righteous Conspiracy?"

"Yes. They completely eradicated art, perfected for thousands of generations... they were afraid of its limitless possibilities. They were afraid that someone could use it to achieve a power similar to mine and deprive another creature of will and soul."

"Deprive of the soul?" Zarkin picked up. "So all these people here... your subjects..."

"They are ghosts who can't leave this place unless I order them."

"It's cruel," said Kalena.

"You're wrong, my dear. You know too little to lecture me!"

"I wouldn't dare!" For a moment the girl's heart leaped into her throat. "Maybe, I don't know what the art was about, but I know you didn't win the war anyway. And now Galaspiael suffers because of such a burden."

"Finish it now," Mizar whispered.

The atmosphere concentrated. Gyeul stood up and gave them a contemptuous look.

"I know what you think. A terrible weapon... cursed emperor. That's what people call me now. This generation would like to cut the past, as a sick piece of the body is cut out. But in reality, all of this is deeply hidden in every human being, including you. Dormant power, waiting to be released. The strength that lies in people can amaze the gods. Suffering... He didn't even fully understand the word. Oh, you can't even imagine how much I'd like to leave and regain my divine form again. Instead, I'm stuck, neither alive nor dead, in a world where I have only a piece of land at my disposal. Until he suffers enough, I'll be here forever!"

He said it and just sat back next to them. The maid set the teacups on the table and left.

Kalena quickly understood. The more Galaspiael suffered, the closer Gyeul was to leave the Forbidden Zone. It was obvious that he had already tried to influence her master's life somehow to harm him. Even this strange death of the royal couple could have been caused by him. Seth and Zarkin began to talk about something, but she did not listen to them at all.

What else could this specter do? How much could he influence someone's life?

She jerked as he handed her a box full of stones with a strange light blue color. She recognized water nephrite.

"You're looking for it, right? Last ingredient. Take it, I hope it will be useful, to harm Madegal's tribute is always pleasant. Just keep it away from the fire. I am looking forward to the results of your experiments.

She chose three stones and thanked. At the same time, Zarkin nudged the already doomed Mizar.

"We have to go. I'm also sleepy, and he clearly hopes that we will stay here, and when the day comes up, he will kill us all."

"It was a great honor for us." Seth got up and bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You're all fascinating," he said and took a sip of his tea. "Goodbye"

The boy opened the door and froze. Rays of the rising sun burst into the room. There was no one outside, and the building in which they were sitting began to collapse.

"Run!" Kalena pushed him outside and jumped out. She didn't look back. They were taught that during the pursuit they should split up because they would increase their chances of survival. At the moment, she wasn't even worried about the others, it was only important to leave this place as soon as possible.

The ground beneath her feet shook, and a powerful gust of wind almost knocked her feet, and then someone jerked her into one of the side streets, then hit in the face."

"If you want to die so badly, you had to hang yourself instead of sticking here!" it was Galaspiael. "I thought you were smarter."

"We thought..."

"What did you think? That this is a good place for a picnic? You've exposed all Yagn-Sho! A bunch of idiots, and to think you're the best students!" He tugged her arm and ran away a little further. "Hide here dumb girl"

Kalena ran a little further until suddenly she heard a scream behind her. She turned back. The prince was now busy fighting Gyeul.

The ghost did not use power, but ordinary weapons, but it still had a crushing advantage. His am-shen were incredibly long and all covered with a black, matte substance. Despite the strange size, he kept them stable.

"You finally got the courage to come here! You filthy bastard!" Gyeul's voice was like the worst nightmare. He crushed Galaspiael against the wall and moved two crossed blades close to his throat, intending to use them as giant scissors. Rikken and Tessale came running across the street. They tried to distract him, but he didn't let them come too close.

Kalena reacted, throwing water nephrite at the spirit. A deafening bang nearly made them all faint and the ghost turned into clouds of suffocating smoke. She didn't kill him, at most, she enraged him. Just like her master, which surprised her greatly. He came up to her holding his bleeding arm.

"Do you even think?!" He shouted, trying to hit her again.

"I just wanted to help!"

Rikken signaled to someone standing a little further and threw Galaspiael a piece of cloth to wrap his arm. They started running towards the forest.

"I don't know why I thought to teach a slave, especially stupid one, is a good idea!" said the prince when they left a safe distance.

"You have your longed-for family! Come back there, maybe he'll teach you how to rule!" She snapped at him. "You could have left me to death if I disturb you so much."

"I felt like it!"

"You should not have brought me with you! You could have given me back to my owner!"

"I will sell you back if I want!"

The girl almost choked in fury. In an instant, hatred like never before had risen in her.

"So go on! What are you waiting for! May you not be at peace after death like your predecessor! I hope that people will never forget whose ancestor you are!"

"Shut up! You stupid, ungrateful girl, shut up! I hate you!"

"I hate you too!" Kalena trembled with anger. Galaspiael pursed his lips, turned away, and said nothing.