Chapter 89: Chapter 89

“Who do you think I am?”

Shia thought long and hard. She stared at the man’s pale face and his even paler hair that reminded her of corn husks; well, silver corn husks, that is. It didn’t seem to suit his muscular frame that towered over her.

The most beautiful things about him were his eyes. His dark violet eyes were shining towards Shia like a pair of mysterious jewels. They looked misty though, as if he was on the brink of tears or suppressed elation. This man didn’t seem like the Sirion she had known, but somehow, he felt extremely familiar.

It seemed to take her an eternity before she could finally answer his question, “I… I don’t know…”

He sighed. There was a tinge of disappointment in his eyes, but she had seen it only for a second as his face had changed to a tender but more worried look.

“That’s alright. Your memories do not seem to be back yet, but your power has been overflowing, which makes this journey of yours more dangerous. You must escape here as soon as possible. Come and tell me immediately what you want so that you can come out of here.”

An anxious thought surfaced in Shia’s mind. “I-If you are not Sirion, then I can’t ask you to take away his curse, can I? Moreover, you’re imprisoned here. Shouldn’t we focus first on getting you out of here too?”

The man shook his head. “Getting out of here is impossible… Unless you would be able to break my curse, I won’t be able to get out of here…”

“What do you mean?”

There was a pained look in the man’s face once more, as if he was trying to get something out of his mouth, but he couldn’t. “Ah… It was part of the conditions put upon me here, so I can’t tell you… Just promise me one thing, alright,” he said, clasping her hand. “Once you regain your memories, come back here and free me, will you? Only you can do it.”

The man did not look back at her with resentment. She doesn’t know why, but she wanted to help him so badly.

Shia blinked and tears filled her eyes. She doesn’t remember who he was, but the familiarity of him felt so strongly in her heart that she wanted to cry. How can she leave him here behind?

“I… I’m really sorry I don’t remember you…”

“That’s alright… It’s not your fault… Just promise you would come back for me, alright?” he said. He was really someone very familiar to Shia, and yet, why can’t she remember him? If her remembrance of him was the key to his release, then why can’t she do it? She’s so pathetic.

“Come on, Freya... Your time here is limited. Tell, me what your wish is?”

“My wish is...”

She stopped and thought hard. What was her wish again?

“My wish is...”

She felt stumped. Why was it hard to remember now?

“This isn’t good... You are starting to forget too, Freya...” He came closer to her again and tapped her cheeks lightly. “You can do this, Freya. You have to remember. Why are you here? What was your wish?”

“My wish is -”

A powerful hand held the man’s arm that was still holding Shia’s cheek.

“Her wish is to free me from my curse.”

A man with jet-black hair and piercing eyes that were as blue as the ocean stood in front of them. He looked very memorable in Shia’s eyes too, but who was he?

He looked at her with concern in his eyes. He shook away the man’s arms that were still holding her and he took her in his own arms.

“Shia, I was worried. I-I couldn’t speak with you. What happened?”

Suddenly, a familiar name came into her lips. “L-Langrey?”

The man’s face split into a sheepish grin. “That’s right. It’s me Langrion.”

All at once, she remembered why she was there and who this man was. “Why... H-how did you come here?”

Langrion frowned back at him. “I don’t know... I could follow you through the time passages, but you couldn’t see me. I know you can hear me though, through the ring, so I was able to guide you through the passages. During the last time passage, we got separated somehow... I stayed in the light and began looking for you until I found you here.”

Shia and Langrion smiled at each other until someone coughed forcefully beside them and brought them back into reality.

“So, you are Freya’s mortal husband?” the man said.

They eyed each other for a while, and Langrion shot him a very fierce glance although the man’s stare was rather milder.

Shia began to tug at Langrey’s collar to ease the tension in the air. “Don’t stare at him like that... This man, he isn’t Sirion.”

“What,” Langrion uttered. “Then, who is he?”

“I don’t know too... Unless I break his curse, he can’t tell us nor can we get him out of here either.”

“Is this true,” Langrion asked the man in hell. The man nodded in agreement.

Langrion sighed. “Then, all our efforts to get here are wasted.”

The man thought deeply for a while before he spoke. “Maybe not all... I can still help in some way. I can still grant you two your wish, or at least something close to it.”

He moved closer towards Langrion. “The originator of your curse is our common enemy, so I have an idea how his power works. I cannot do anything about his curse, but I can grant you a way to control it.”

Before anyone could speak or do anything, the man tapped Langrion’s forehead with his fingers and a sliver of light escaped from it. “There! It’s done!”

Shia looked over at Langrion’s forehead. “What happened?”

“I gave him access to my powers. He could control Sirion’s curse with this and resist his call. He could also use it to trick the protection curse that loomed in Teotroly.”

“But how about you? Won’t this affect you?” Shia said with a worried look.

“I can bear the repercussions, don’t worry.” He smiled back at Shia. “Besides, I have no use of my powers here... He would be able to use it more to protect you.”

Shia felt even more depressed. She couldn’t free him, and they even robbed him of his powers. How wretched of them to do this to someone who was imprisoned!

The man stroked her forehead. “Don’t fret, Freya. You can come back and free me if you feel sorry. I know you’ll remember me soon.”

His smile towards her was so genuine, it didn’t seem like he resented her at all for not being able to remember him at that moment.

The man looked around. “Alright now, it’s time for you and your husband to get away from here.”

“It’s Langrion,” Langrey said. “My name is Langrion. Thank you for your help. We promise we’ll come back for you.”

“I know. You are tied to my powers now, so I know you are telling the truth. You can call me in your head anytime if you need to ask something about the powers I gave you... Now, off you go. This place isn’t safe for anyone with god powers, especially mortals. You’ll both start to lose your memories soon if you stay longer.”

“How do we get out?” Langrion asked.

“You have to sleep and go back the way you came. You will probably encounter one or two more time passages, and then you will wake up in your own bodies soon.”

“A-alright then... We’ll try it,” Shia whispered.

“Goodbye, Freya and Langrion. Until we see each other, take care,” he whispered, “And don’t let them fool you.”

Shia didn’t want to leave the man behind, but she knew that the more she stayed in hell, the more she will forget him, and therefore, she won’t be of any use to this man than she already was. She shut her eyes and tried to sleep in Langrion’s arms.

As she dozed off, light started to envelope her body all around. When she woke up again, she was yet jolted into another painful, but apparently more sinister scenario.

******************

Miles away, the Tainted One’s chest started to throb, and his face turned deathly cold as he sat at the royal throne of Gascone.

His icy heart palpitated wildly inside his rib cage. He could remotely feel someone wielding powers in the depths of hell.

Such a feeling could only mean one thing – someone must have discovered the secret that he had been keeping in the underworld, and he would bet his infinite lifespan that this someone was none other than Freya.

“Damn that traitor,” he roared as he clutched his heart. He knew that only that person could have given an idea to Freya on how to get through the underworld. How else could she have reached it when she hasn’t recovered her memories yet?

Ever since he had found a way to circumvent his imprisonment, the Tainted One had toiled for so long to get to where he was, and now that the preparations for his return was almost complete, he won’t just sit around and wait for his plans to crumble down because of this unexpected turn of events.

“Your Darkness,” Gilyan greeted him with a bow as he entered his royal chambers. “Veed and I have returned...” His pale countenance already betrayed the outcome of his quest. He dropped into the ground and kissed the hem of his heel. “We are sorry we have failed you!”

“I’m glad you know how to own to your faults.” He seized the youth by the collar and forced him to stare at his eyes. “Your inability to bring me my queen had some unexpected repercussions. You mustn’t fail me yet again, Gilyan!”

“Take my life, Your Darkeness! I-I was at fault. I let her and the prince escape...”

“Indeed, you have. Don’t worry. I know where they are and what they are doing. We’ll just have to proceed with the next part of the plan. Did you bring the others?”

Gilyan nodded. “They are being held right outside your door.”

“Good. Bring them in.”

Gilyan wasted no time. He snapped his fingers, and several soldiers entered with their prized prisoners – two men and a young lady - in tow.

“Bow your heads down to our king and god, lowly ones,” Gilyan said as they entered. The younger of the men and the lady didn’t need this coaxing for their feet trembled upon just the sight of seeing Sirion. Just one look in his face, and they started losing their energies and as they tumbled down to the ground in fright.

The older, more unruly man was another matter though.

“I shall never bow down to the God of Darkness!” he hissed. The soldiers drove a punch into his chest several times before he was forced to go down on his knees at the presence of Sirion.

“You must be that brat, Rus Misfah. I heard a lot about you from my other cursed minions,” Sirion said. Indeed, he looked like a man who would never bow down to anything. He would certainly be a great asset in his army.

Before Sirion could even come closer to the old brat, he spat against him. “I don’t take orders from a vile creature!”

“Ah, you’re really a handful,” Sirion said, smiling. “That’s good. I like the challenges presented by wild ones like you... How would you say about being the commander of my cursed army?”

“Never in a billion life times,” Rus growled.

“Don’t worry. You only need one life time to be of use to me,” he said, coming closer towards him. “Now, lend me your body, and command my troop.”

Sirion only needed to touch his forehead with the tip of his fingers, and he started to scream in pain. Rus’ mind and memories began to shatter, and it only took a few seconds before he began to succumb to the Tainted One’s control.

As the commander fell into his powers, Sirion was able to gain access of his most recent memories where he saw Freya’s activities when they were together. He began to see what these people had meant to her in this lifetime. He smiled even brighter.

Once the forging has finished, Sirion withdrew his fingers from Rus’ forehead.

“Now then, command my army, Rus. You need to bring me back my queen. It’s high time I take back what was mine all along...”

The great rebel and commander, who had now turned into a lifeless, listless puppet, could only nod to his command.

Indeed, Freya would be waiting for him in Teotroly, and despite her and that foolish prince’s insistence to travel back through the time passages unscathed, he had also prepared a surprise for them that would ensure his upcoming glory.

After all, he knew of more than one ways to tamper through Freya’s memories.

Now that he was already pronounced as the new king of Gascone and he had already completed his cursed army and laid a trap for his competitor in Freya’s heart, nothing and no one else could stop him from ruling the world of men and of the immortals.

Things could only get better for Sirion from this moment going forward...