The clouds seemed to be getting darker as the sun was slowly shying away. The lands here seemed desolate with no soul in sight except for a lone man or what was left of him limping through these lands in a very miserable state.
His eyes were gouged out, his ears and nose were cut off, one of his arms was cut off while the other was crippled, and his hair and most of his skin turned to ashes leaving behind a bloody body of flesh. It was still a miracle that he was still breathing and walking.
He looked like a ghost who had escaped purgatory, and right now, he had no idea where he was walking towards.
He was the strongest emperor and lived like one all his life, and never even in his dreams did he expect things to end like this.
"Damien…Damien…" He was incoherently mumbling in a vengeful tone since this name had become a bane for him. He was sure as long as Damien lived he would never know peace. Damien's existence was something he never foresaw.
How did he fail despite always being a step ahead of others? He didn't cultivate for centuries to end up like this.
He had to get revenge no matter what he had to give up. His mentality began to warp from all the resentment, anger, and humiliation.
"Going somewhere, father?"
A hoarse voice suddenly stopped Ruthren, making him feel startled by the familiar voice, even if it was a bit hoarse.
"A-Arthur?" Ruthren didn't expect to see him here and thought he had run away with the maid.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})But he had no idea that Arthur didn't really run away but only left to leave his maid in a safe place.
And since Ruthren was blind, he couldn't see Arthur's appearance. Arthur's skin had an ash hue, his previously sky blue eyes had become a dark blue, and his teeth had become slightly sharper.
"I have been waiting for you, father. Are you surprised to see me?" Arthur asked in a calm, cold voice.
"Son…it's good that you…are here….Quick…get me back to our palace," Ruthren mumbled desperately since he didn't want his legacy to end like this. Despite losing everything, he only became even more crazed to get everything back.
Arthur's lips curved into a cold smile as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the back of Ruthren's bald bloody head, "Oh, father. I am here to take you anywhere, nor are you going anywhere. This is the end of your path."
Arthur's words startled Ruthren, though Arthur still continued, "You are going to die here from a miserable death. Nobody will know how you died or even get a glimpse of your remains. Soon the entire world would forget that there ever existed a Ruthren. But don't be too shocked. This is what happens to people like you, father. If only you could look at the mirror, you would see your true self that you have been hiding from everyone all this while."
Ruthren's spine shook hearing his words, and he could sense the deep killing intent behind his voice. He was here to kill him!
"No…you are my son…" Ruthren didn't really care, but he had to try and convince Arthur. The last thing he expected was his own son to be a threat.
"Yes, and as your son, I am even more glad to bathe in your blood and make things right for killing my mother and for all the suffering you made others go through," Arthur said as he curled his lips and rammed his fist into Ruthren's chest.
"Urgh!" Ruthren coughed out blood as he felt Arthur's hand puncturing through his flesh and ripping out something big.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})He could hear his own blood gushing out but what rattled him was the sound of Arthur chewing on his beating heart.
"You…monster…" With a mind full of despair, anger, and disgust, Ruthren succumbed to the dusty ground. And not long after, Arthur began to greedily devour his flesh, planning not to even leave a piece of bone behind.
Meanwhile, Damien, Lily, Valentina, Yuria, Reva, Irene, Elor, and Leon had decided to split up to investigate the disaster that was shaking the entire Rising Sun Continent and putting its denizens in confusion and despair.
Leon decided to go to the Xeton Empire, Elor decided to go to the Lancaster Empire, and Irene said that she would go to the Rong Empire and help with whatever she could.
Damien and his wives decided to go to the Gale Empire since Yuria can help her people in the Krisen Kingdom while Lily and Reva can support her. His plan was to go and talk to a certain someone whom he thought might know something, but he wasn't sure since this was just a desperate move.
Since all of them had already heard that the mysterious plague was back again, killing all the land and the people on it rapidly, they felt that this couldn't wait. Otherwise, there might be no more Rising Sun Continent for people to live on.
Valentina came up to speed with what was going on and understood the gravity of the situation they were in. Because of this, she even postponed the questions she wanted to ask Lily, Reva, and Yuria, especially about the fact that she could feel the pulse of their souls, which was also making her feel as if these three were important to her.
Of course, she already considered Yuria as her sister, but she still had some qualms about Lily and Reva in the past. However, now she wasn't feeling the same strangely.
Damien and his wives quickly reached the Gale Empire and were shocked to see people running around in panic as the plague had already begun to seep into towns and slowly continued to spread.
They could see how the air was becoming eerily dark wherever the plague was spreading, making Damien mumble, "Is this the end?"
