The Dark Covenant

THE DELEGATES MEETING : SCENT OF A LOVING DESPAIR

The conversation lasted well into the night. A third of the people in the room raised their hands, while others hesitated or stayed mute.

“Wait, what? Raise your hands! You want to set this killer free!” Rovier shouted, his hands firmly raised.

“ The results are in. Slejj's case will be considered at the delegates conference tomorrow.” Drom sighed and sank back into his seat.

“ You can't possibly agree to this. He should be put to death as soon as possible. Giving a killer like him additional time to life is pointless! ...” he...”

“ Enough is enough!!! His trial will take place tomorrow, and that will be the end of it! Now I don't want to hear from you; his actions have had an impact on everyone here, and he will be confined in the jail cell until we can prove it. If you believe you have the power to oppose your king, go ahead and do so, but be prepared to pay the price.” Drom roared angrily

They admired this side of Drom, authoritative and forceful, and that version of Drom had gained their respect. The council members took a seat, waiting for the next item on the agenda.

“How about the dark bender? Is that him?” The leader of the Milner family, Thomas Milner, inquired.

Drom said, "I am confident that is him."

“How can we prove it?” 

Drom stood up and began making his way over to the dinner table. He was confronted by a knight guard who was near by.

The dark bender emblem may be found on the upper right part of his back. Check it out.”

The guard confirmed its existence as instructed. “Sir, it's there.”

“Then release those restraints,” 

The councilmen were in a frenzy.

“ But the slave emblem! It's possible he's still suffering the effects!”

“Come on, you should've worked it out by now,” Drom said, almost chuckling." In the entire kingdom, the most powerful gifted. He would've done it a long time ago if he wanted to be free of those constraints and burn us to ashes. I believe it is safe to say he is no longer under the slave emblem's spell.”

The chains were released and tossed away by the guard. To relieve the discomfort caused by the shackles, Daito rubbed his wrists. Every single person in the room was staring at him.

“The meeting has been deferred; we will meet again tomorrow. Slejj will be led to the cells in the meanwhile. You are free to disperse.” The councilmen, together with their maidens, made an appearance. Martha went up to her daughter, hugging her so firmly that she was on the edge of crying.

“ Are you alright? “Are you in pain?”

“ Mom, please stop! “Mom, you're humiliating me!” she said as she shrunk her voice even more.

Alicia was flanked by Lisa. Since they were seized from the defectors' state, she did not talk a single thing.

Alicia smiled as she stretched for her hand and clasped it hard.

“Everything will turn out fine.” Turning to her mother, she said,

“This is Lisa, Mother; she will be staying with us for a while.”

Martha descended to welcome her, but her heart crushed when she saw her face. Her pensive atmosphere emanated from her blank face. “Why are they doing this to grandpa?” she asked Martha, tears streaming down her face. Martha's heart was shattered. She could only wrap her arms around the helpless kid. Alicia pondered how to restore her damaged spirit while they stood there.

Daito and Drom made their way up the stairwell to the quarters. The black sticky wine that had been thrown on his face had dried up, hardening the hair strands that hung over his brow. Drom took a step ahead of him.

“It's all a ruse, isn't it?” Drom said. Daito came to a standstill.

“The slave insignia is a hoax, and that insane narrative about Slejj abducting you is also a hoax...” Drom continued.

“... Bringing us back here was a huge error on your part. You've placed the kingdom in jeopardy.”

“ You're referring to your kingdom... You know, I've been wondering why you left all these years. I thought you were dead at first, but after a few minutes, weeks, months, and years passed, I realised you were still alive. I assumed it was because your family had collapsed and you couldn't cope with being alone. Then I reasoned that just because you had me as a sibling wasn't a good enough excuse for you to depart. Then it dawned on me. Do you recall that day in the garden?

Daito was deafeningly quiet.

“the day your father brought that enormous case, and I was watching you, kneeling on the porch, watching your father plunge the dagger into my father's chest. You imagined yourself in your father's shoes, replaying the scene in your head, you holding the knife, me lying on the bed. And it was at that point that you made your decision... Listen, Dai, I understand what needs to be done for the good of this kingdom, so..

“ Stop it..."

“ It doesn't have to...”

"I told you to stop!"

Drom came to a halt and grinned at him. “ Your room is the third door on the right; stay there for the night, and I'll leave you alone.” It will take some time to get you back, but I assure you that I will...BROTHER.” He walked away, leaving Daito alone on the stairwell.

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

The little whirlwind growing within blasted the papers out of the shelf on which they were resting and pulled down the decorations as the bright orange circle blistered at the room's edge. As the turbulence subsided, he emerged from the teleportation circle, landing in the centre of the room. He strolled over to the shelves, sliding his finger across the ancient wooden plank, dust accumulating on his hands and blowing it away. The old guy sat still by the hearth.

The apparition then turned to face the elderly gentleman, approaching him slowly.

“ Hello, old man! It's been a long time,” he murmured as he came to a halt behind his chair.

“ You've matured! You were roughly the same age as my kid the last time I saw you.”

The figure made a masochistic expression. “What a brat, that little brat. He had almost slipped my mind. Actually, I just saw him the other day,” 

“So he's still alive.”

“ And kicking, he's become stronger lately, so he'll be a worthy opponent at the very least. Anyway, I came for the book and the blade, old guy. Would you mind handing it up, since I despise the other alternative; after all, we've been friends for a long time, and I'll feel horrible if I have to take them away from you by force.”

“...And why would I offer them to you, Anato, when the entire chest now belongs to the dark bender, and I no longer have the power to use them?”

“Well, in that case, you're useless to us... I suppose I'll have to hand over the chest to whoever has the authority to use it; thank heavens he's back in the Royal Republic...”

“My son is back!” said the old man, his eyes brightening. " Daito is in royal republic?! If that is the case, my last plea to you, young Anato Strider, is that you allow me to see my son one last time...”

The sword slashed its way through the back of the chair and into his spine, then across his chest, into his heart, and out the front. The entire blade passed through his body and came to a halt over a flaming lump of wood in the fireplace, the blood on the sword's edge dripping over the flames and sizzling as it landed on the red-hot coals. As he strained to draw a breath, the old man coughed up streams of blood. Anato waited, his gaze fixed on him.

He opened his mouth and strained to enunciate, gaggling blood as he spoke, “ The... the end is...,” he said with the last of his desire to live.

“ Shhh!” 

He eventually became silent, his heart thumping out its final beat and his lips exhaling its final breath. Anato drew his blade and wiped the blood on the old man's seat with it.

“Don't worry, master Hashi; your son is on his way to meet you; I'll see to it, and there... You will be with your dear Daito forever!” he said as he strolled to the centre of the room and flipped the carpet covering the hardwood floor. As he unlocked the secret hatch and pulled out the chest containing the Covenant book and the ritual knife, he began whistling. With a flick of his wrist, the teleportation circle materialised in front of him; he went inside it and vanished as quickly as he arrived.

IN THE CASTLE OF THE KING

Drom clung on the railing as Harmel sat alongside the balcony, staring down.

Harmel added, "So, your strategy succeeded, though I find it difficult to believe myself," but Drom did not respond.

“I sense something isn't quite right.”

“Well, of course, you haven't slept in two days!”

Drom shifted his gaze to Harmel.

“ Please keep everything in order for me. I'll be back in a few minutes; I need to speak with Hashi and inform him that his son has returned.”

“Well, you do that, and...WAIT! HASHI! You're telling me Hashi has been alive the whole time...”

Drom fled before he could finish, leaving just ashes and embers for Harmel to scream at.