The Princess And The Lord

Lory's eyes bulged out in surprise and her breath hitched for a second as she looked at her the girl in disbelief. Her mother had told her the seeress story. It was about a girl who was both cursed and blessed at the same time as she could see the past and foresee the future. No one knew where she came from or her true age. It was said the gods froze her age to look the same for eternity.

"You are the seeress?" Lory frowned.

"That's me!" The girl tilted her head playfully.

"Are you here to stop me?" Lory carefully asked.

"No. However, I do have some questions…" She squinted her eyes, "Why?"

Lory was puzzled, "Why what?"

Arthea became serious, "Why are you doing this? You know of the consequences, don't you?"

"I have no other choice…"

"Don't you?" Arthea gave her a doubtful smile. "You can choose to let it go. No one would blame you as it's your brother's fate to take this path. He is even ready to face his fate, why won't you?"

Lory glared at Arthea. She hated how she spoke of the matter lightly. "My people need their king. The world needs a Lucient King."

Arthea's eyes lit up. She wiggled her index finger, "There is still you... The daughter of a Lucient. You can lead your people, protect them, and when you have a son, he can be the next king. I doubt anyone would object to that given the dire situation."

Lory's eyes flared with anger, "I will never let my brother die. Do you think I will let him sacrifice himself for everyone? Why him? Why does he have to be the one to do this? He never asked for any of this. He doesn't deserve this!"

"And yet he is willing to go through it. This is his burden as a Lucient King. It is the reason he was born…" Arthea smiled helplessly. She had seen the fate of the Lucient lineage for thousands of years. The responsibility they never asked for and the glory they never wished for. She witnessed their pain, heartache, loss, and eventually their falling. No normal human could walk the Lucient's path of great glory and tragedy. How could she not cry for them?

"Your brother accepted this burden. He's destined to carry this world's fate on his shoulders…"

"And I am ready to carry him..." She stomps the Trinity staff to the ground. A hairline crack formed from the middle of the floor ran-up to the big painting on the wall, exploding it into pieces. Arthea and Lory remained calm as it happened. 

A hidden black steel door lay behind the wall. An image of a snake was engraved on it.

Lory ignored Arthea and walked toward the steel doors. Arthea called out to her when she reached the door, "Do you know what it will cost you?"

"I do," Lory responded. She placed her hand on the door and it automatically swung open. Lory was unfazed by the chilling air that hit her. She closed her eyes in contemplation and touched her chest. Her chest glowed with a bright white light as she murmured, "Sorry…"

Something was forced out from within her. Light orbs fell out of her and transformed into a giant bird. The bird flapped his wings in confusion. He didn't know why she kicked him out of her body. The bird looked up and saw the metal doors closing slowly. Lory smiled at Girsha before the doors completely shut.

"Wait! No! What are you doing? Lory, open the door… LORY!!" Girsha slammed the door in vain. He repeatedly punched the door as he panicked. His shrieks and crumbling stones filled the room. The First Kind's punches were enough to shake the wall but he failed to completely destroy it as it was a special shrine.

"Open the door, Arthea!" He squawked at the calm girl who watched him. "I'll destroy this shrine and kill your priestesses if you do not open the door!"

"This is her will. Why can't you accept it...? It's for your own good," Arthea said calmly even when the dome above their heads threatened to collapse.

"Lory, what's going to happen to her...?" Girsha murmured to himself.

Arthea sighed. She wondered why all Lucients liked to hide secrets from their loved ones, "You don't know...? She wants to condemn her soul in order to gain the power of the gods…"

Girsha's heart went limp from the revelation and his mind became numb. What did his little girl do?

Condemning one's own soul was the worst thing a person could do. It meant giving up your soul to become someone's puppet or slave for eternity. You became one with your master as he swallowed yours. Such a soul could never reach heaven until judgment day.

He didn't understand why she would go that far. Girsha became more stressed as he banged the door.

"Open the door! I'm gonna kill all you Basta*ds. OPEN THE DOOR!"

"You want to save her?" Arthea softly asked. "I can show you how..."

Girsha glared at her with an impatient look. Arthea turned solemn as she warned, "But it will cost you..."

"SHUT UP and tell me!" 

Meanwhile, Lory couldn't see anything as darkness greeted her. She clenched her fist, cast a spell and dozens of fireflies burst out of her palm and swarmed around her to light the room. She was inside a dark grey stone chamber with cracked walls. Moss covered the floor and the walls. A few rats run to the corner at the light. Lory coughed at the musty smell and stinking rats. 

A stone gate filled with snakes carving stood before her. The carvings made the room seem eerier than it's already was. Lory braced herself and walked through the gate guarded by two giant snakehead statues.

She took the path that led to a long staircase once she passed through the gate. Hundreds of black stone pillars soaked in black water on the floor surrounded the stairs. She didn't know the depth of the water but she didn't want to find out.

she climbed the stairs slowly as her heart shrunk with every step. Lory wasn't someone who was easily scared. She started killing beasts at a young age as she spent her time exploring dungeons and caves…but this... This was different. It made her heart race like a bad omen.

She clenched her fists as she reminded herself of the reason she was there. She reached the top and was stunned by the massive giant serpent statue that looked too real. A torch lit-up as she got closer. She looked around but there was no one else. She shifted her gaze back to the giant statue as she felt its eyes were following her. 

Lory took a deep breath, "I'm here to meet the King of Serpent, are you here…?"

There was a moment of silence before a strong wind swirled out of nowhere. The air changed and Lory's fireflies disappeared as darkness descended once again.

"Lu...cie…nth..." A chilling voice hissed. Lory could feel the hatred as the hiss turned to disdain, "The great Lucient king…is…here..."

"No. I'm Lorient. His descendant. Where are you?" Lory gripped her Trinity staff until her hands turned white.

The snake statue's eyes glowed with a yellow light. He said with sarcasm, "Descendant...why… is the honorable Lucient's heir visiting my humble home…"

Lory didn't have time to waste, "I want your power to steal god's gift."

Quietness followed before the snake fell into laughter. His loud laughter shook everything around Lory causing her to fear the place would collapse. It took a few minutes for the snake to contain his laughter. This displeased Lory as she didn't have much time to spare. The snake hissed again, "Interessss…ting. Tell me why..." 

"Does it matter?" Lory disliked his teasing words.

"It's love, isn't it...? Sssshhh… You all Lucients are so weak. It always because of love. Love for your lover, your family, your friend, the kingdom, the people. Love…love…love. How disappointing…!" The snake became emotional. He felt hate, shame, and anger for being subdued thousands of years ago by a man he looked down upon.

Lory rolled her eyes. She wasn't there to listen to the snake's grievances, "Will you help me or not?"

"Ooohh… I'll help you, of course, of course." His voice was filled with joy. He hissed once more, "But it will cause you…dearly."

"What…?" Lory could guess what he wanted.

 "Your soul. The soul of Lucient heir. How marvelous…?" He shrieked with happiness.

Although she had expected it, Lory's heart thumped like crazy. However, she had come too far to back out, "Deal!"

The snake gave another exaggerated laugh. Lory was sick and tired of the charade.

"However, you must break this seal first. I need to get out of here to help you…" The yellow eyes glowed brightly.

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