The Damned Demon

Few hours ago,

Rhygar trudged through the dark and eerie streets of his kingdom, each step heavier than the last, his silhouette a dark smear against the afternoon sun. The dirt and stones beneath his feet seemed to resonate with the tumultuous pounding of his heart, reflecting back the echoes of his turmoil.

His back was bent, not with age but with the weight of betrayal he carried; his face was as pale as the underbelly of a cloud before a storm, his eyes hollow—portals to a soul grappling with disbelief and despair.

He still couldn't fathom the sights that had seared themselves into his memory. His mother, regal and revered, entangled in a disgusting affair with their sworn enemy? The images flickered behind his lids like a malevolent specter, taunting him with questions he dared not voice. How long?? Why?!

The fury within him was a living thing, yet strangely, he found himself robbed of even the strength to voice his agony.

As he approached his mansion, a place that now seemed as foreign as the emotions wracking his body, he lowered his hood, revealing the full extent of his torment etched across his face.

It was then that one of the royal guards approached, his steps measured, his head bowed in deference, "His Majesty has summoned you and has ordered you to return the cloak first," the guard intoned, his voice a somber echo in the hot and humid air.

Rhygar's heart lurched, thudding painfully against his ribs as if seeking escape. Panic gripped him, but he swallowed it down, his breathing labored as he handed over the cloak.

After a moment that stretched taut like a bowstring, his features settled into a mask of cold determination, "I will see him now," he declared, his voice carrying the brittle edge of forged steel.

The journey to the palace roof, where his father awaited, was a silent march. With each step, Rhygar rehearsed what he should say, knowing full well the peril of facing his father with the truth. The wind greeted him with icy fingers as he stepped onto the roof, the expansive view of the kingdom a grim reminder of what was at stake.

"Why did you sneak back in without letting me know how it went? Are you hiding something?" Drakar's voice cut through the chill, sharp as the wind itself.

Rhygar kept his gaze resolutely lowered, the stones of the roof a safer harbor than his father's piercing eyes. He inhaled deeply, gathering the shreds of his composure, "I am sorry, Father. I failed to learn anything. That is why I silently returned...I didn't have the face to give you this disappointing news."

Drakar studied his son, his expression unreadable for a long moment that stretched between them like a chasm. Finally, he clicked his tongue in evident disgust as he took out a shimmering cloak, "Tch, what a joke you are. You couldn't even find out where she went despite the legendary grade cloak I gave you and wasted my time. Get out of my sight!" Drakar roared as he swiftly yet casually raised his hand to shoot a dark red projectile at Rhygar.

"Urgh!" Rhygar got thrown back and crashed against the hard floor with a grimace. But swallowing the pain, he immediately got back on his feet, "Forgive me, father!" Rhygar's voice broke as he bowed deeply, his form trembling with the effort to maintain composure. Without another word, he turned and hurried away, each step away from his father a temporary reprieve from his scrutiny.

The moment Rhygar's figure disappeared, Drakar's gaze narrowed. One of his hands slipped into the secret pocket of the cloak as he took out a Sightstone, activating it as a black projection popped out.

However, other than the pitch-black projection, a sound played out,

[ Mhmm…Mch….Whoooosh…. ]

No matter how many times he listened to this recording, it was hard to discern the sounds in between the wind and the sound of the lake.

And yet his sharp senses discerned certain sounds for a brief few moments that made Drakar feel a sense of heaviness in his chest even though his mind refused to believe it was what his instincts were telling him. He crushed the Sightstone in his hand as he mumbled with a hint of bloodthirst in his eyes, "I never knew you had it in you, Lysandra…after all these years. You can't hide any secrets from me for long. Soon, I will find out whatever it is you are hiding."

—

Few hours later,

A certain wasteland in the continent of Inferna stretched endlessly, a barren expanse where the earth seemed to have given up on life. The crimson sun was about to set over the remnants of a forgotten village.

It was here, amidst the ruins of a broken-down house that had long succumbed to the ravages of time, that Lysandra arrived to meet Rhygar based on the letter.

"Show yourself, Rhygar. I don't have time to waste," she called out, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade, cool and commanding.

From behind the skeletal remains of the house, Rhygar emerged, his steps heavy with the weight of unspoken agony. His eyes flickered with a storm of emotions—anger, pain, betrayal—as he faced the mother whose actions had shattered his world.

Lysandra's eyes narrowed, instantly reading the turmoil that swirled around him like a dark aura, "This better be something important, or else—"

"Did you sleep with him?" The question erupted from Rhygar, raw and accusing, slicing through the tense air between them.

Lysandra's expression momentarily froze, then settled into an icy calm as she retorted, "Make it clear before I punish you for your indecent words."

"That fucking alien dog, the Bloodburn King! How much more clear do you want me to make it?!" Rhygar's voice was ragged with emotion, his fists clenched at his sides as he glared at her.

"So it was you. You followed me?" Lysandra's voice was frigidl, a brief flicker of killing intent flashing in her eyes before she quickly suppressed it.

Rhygar, consumed by his own tumultuous feelings, barely registered her accusation, "Yargh, that isn't what's important here. What you should be telling me is why you betrayed us... betrayed me! I saw the way you kissed him, and I have never seen such warmth on your face before. Whenever you look at me, you show nothing but to him... you showed so much. How can you treat me, your only living son, like this?! You never once looked at me like that!"

Lysandra's expression darkened, her voice cold and final, "I don't have to explain anything to you."

"What? You... You aren't scared? I haven't told Father yet, but if I tell him, he will butcher you before everyone," Rhygar blurted, his words laced with disbelief and anger.

"Then go and tell him," Lysandra replied calmly, her demeanor unflinching, her eyes steely.

Rhygar's eyes widened, stunned by her composed response. The realization that she was prepared to face whatever consequences her actions might bring shook him to his core, planting seeds of doubt about the nature of her betrayal, and whether there was more to her actions than mere treachery. "What? Y-You don't fear death? You are willing to die for that alien dog?" He asked, his face etched with confusion and anger as he stared at her.

"Die?" Lysandra's voice was tinged with confusion, and she shook her head slightly as if to clear away a misunderstanding, "Why would Drakar kill me when he is the one who ordered me to get close to the Bloodburn King?"

The ground beneath Rhygar seemed to shift, his world tilting as the words sank in, "F-Father ordered you? No..." he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper, disbelief clouding his expression.

Lysandra closed her eyes briefly, a weary sigh escaping her lips, "Your father is too desperate now. You must have already seen how much he hates Asher and how he wouldn't hold back to get his hands on Asher. So he decided to use me to trap Asher and destroy his kingdom as quickly as possible. He doesn't have the patience to wait for the barrier to come down."

"No...that can't be... Father wouldn't..." Rhygar's voice trailed off, his face a mask of shock and bitterness. The notion that his father would exploit his mother in such a way was too vile to accept.

He knew how possessive his father was that he even killed all the men his other consorts had affairs with. He even killed his mother's old flame and his entire family just to satisfy himself.

"You know your father best. There is nothing he wouldn't do to get what he wants. He is no longer the same after what Asher did to him that day. He was humiliated before his own men, and you know how fast the rumors spread even if people maintained their silence out of fear. So now, he is ready to sacrifice anything to reclaim the face he lost," Lysandra responded firmly, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

The pain etched on Lysandra's face and the harsh reality of her words cut through Rhygar.

Clenching his teeth, he found his resolve hardening as a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes, "I...I can't forgive him for this... I have to ask him to stop making you do this! He can't do this to you or use you like this!"

"No, Rhygar," Lysandra interjected sharply, stepping forward to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Her touch was gentle, fraught with maternal concern, "Your father is still a very proud man. If you confront him and make him realize that you know what he ordered me to do, he will lose even more face and punish you or maybe even kill you for knowing what he did. He would never want anyone else to know that he is using his woman to get close to his enemy. It would be a disgrace to a man like him. You are the only son I have now. I can't lose you too."

Rhygar's expression softened under her touch, the warmth seeping into his bones, thawing the cold dread that had settled in his heart.

He never knew her soft and pretty hand was so warm and soothing.

For the first time, he felt the true depth of her affection, her concern resonating deeply within him, "T-Then am I supposed to just let him keep using you for such dirty purposes for devil knows how long?"

Lysandra lowered her hand and sighed, a sound heavy with resignation, "I do not want the same, but it's close to impossible to stop him."

"You said... close to impossible. That means there must still be a way, right?" Rhygar asked, his voice eager, clinging to the sliver of hope her words had inadvertently offered.

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