The Zelut's Awakening

"Whatever twisted reasons you have, I will not yield." I replied.

"Oh you must, cause you don't have a choice. Perhaps a demonstration will change your mind? Bring in the traitor!" He retorted.

In the doorway, a figure appeared, her clothes were dirty and torn. My heart sank as I recognized the familiar lines of her face.

"Mum?" I startled, "Leave my mum out of this Zerunjok..."

Zerunjok's cruel smile widened as he watched my reaction.

She looked like she had been through the depths of hell itself. She stumbled forward, shackled and chained.

"My dear Sarina," Zerunjok cooed, his voice dripped with a sadistic glee, "You should know that resistance is futile. And since you won't cooperate, perhaps this will change your mind."

As if on cue, two guards appeared, dragging my mother to the center. She struggled against their grip, and her eyes pleaded with mine. But there was nothing I could do.

Zerunjok ignored my pleas, his fingers curled around a wicked-looking knife as he advanced towards my mother. The blade gleamed in the torchlight as he raised it high, and with a savage grin, he brought it down in a swift and brutal manner. My mother screamed in agony, her body was convulsed as blood poured from the wound.

He continued striking nonstop, tearing her skin bit by bit.

"Stop it!" I screamed, my heart shattered into a million pieces as he began to laugh. "How could you do this? You're a monster!"

"You're starting to see the truth, Sarina," He hissed, "You will give me what I want. I will break you until you have nothing left, until you are nothing but a shell. And when you are broken, you will give me the grandson I demand."

He continued to torture my mother as he spoke, his wicked knife sinked deeper into her neck, her screams were like daggers in my heart, and I could feel my rage building to a fever pitch.

My eyes glowed with a blue light, the rage and sorrow within me seemed to have reached a fever pitch. The palace trembled around me, as if my emotions were affecting the very fabric of the world.

I rose to my feet, with my fists clenched at my sides.

"I won't let you get away with this!" I yelled, "You will pay for what you've done, Zerunjok! And I will be the one to make you pay!"

The air around me seemed to crackle with energy. I could feel the power coursing through my veins, pulsing with a fury that was almost tangible. The guards drew back, their eyes were wide with fear, but Zerunjok merely laughed.

"You think you know so much, Sarina," Zerunjok taunted, a cruel smile played on his lips. "And yet, you have no idea where I learned of my power, or how to defeat me. Tell me, where did you find the truth about me?"

"I found it in your own library, buried deep within the palace," I replied, "And while I may not have found the spell to kill you, I have found a few others that will serve me well."

He gestured to his guards, who once again began to torture my mother. "You will obey me!" He declared.

Her screams filled the palace, and I felt my anger growing hotter, stronger, until my eyes continued glowing in a raging, blue light.

With a fierce determination, I began to chant the spell that I had learned in the palace's library.

"Solus Arkan Oquar!"

My voice rang with power, The air around me seemed to crackle with energy, and in my hands a sword of blue fire appeared.

"Now," I whispered, my gaze, fixated on Zerunjok's soldiers, "Let's see how well you fight against a weapon forged by magic."

With the sword in my hand, I charged forward, the energy of the blade left a trail of blue flame in my wake. The guards before me raised their weapons, but I parried their blows with ease, my movements were swift, and deadly.

"You will not harm my mother!" I cried. I swinged my sword, and felled the first of the guards, his body disappeared in a burst of blue flame.

I lunged towards the next soldier, the blade of my sword continued to crackle with energy as I swung it deadly. The guard raised his shield in an attempt to block my blow, but the enchanted blade cut through it as if it were paper, cleaving the soldier from shoulder to hip.

The next guard swung his sword in, I spoke the words of the spell that had been etched into my mind.

"Aera Vanec Hixar!"

With a burst of blue light, I vanished from sight, only to reappear behind the guard, my blade striked his exposed neck with a deadly precision.

He fell, and his blood stained the polished marble floor, I turned to face the remaining soldiers. "I've never felt more alive.."

My eyes burned with rage.

I charged towards the remaining guards, my blade sliced through the air with a lethal accuracy. I dodged their blows with a preternatural swiftness, slicing through their armor as if it were nothing.

In a blur of movement, I lunged towards the final guard, the soldier cried out in pain as the blade cut deep into his flesh, but with a final burst of strength, he swung his sword towards me in a last-ditch effort to strike me down.

But as the blade arced, my mother leapt forward, blocking the attack with her own body.

I froze, watching my mother crumple to the ground, her eyes were wide with shock.

Zerunjok's cruel laughter rang out, cutting through the silence like a knife.

"Bravo, Sarina," he sneered, his cruel smile twisted into a vicious grin. "I must say, I am impressed by your power. But remember, it was you who brought death to your mother's door. If you do not give me what I want, there will be more deaths."

"Deniraxis Enlare Gostar!"

He yelled, And with that, the palace walls seemed to shift, the entrances and exits vanished as if they had never been there.

His laughter echoed through the air as he spoke the words of another spell, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Arcanus Eraton Shazak!"

Zerunjok's laughter faded into silence, I stood, cradling my mother's lifeless body in my arms. My body began trembling with the force of my rage.

I knew that I could not give up. I had to find a way out of the palace, to escape Zerunjok's wrath and avenge my mother's death.

And with that, I lifted my head.

________________________________________

The stench smell of rotten eggs whizzed past my nose, I woke up immediately, holding my breath from inhaling such incessant odour.

My vision swam, and the events of a few days ago replayed in my mind, the carnage, my mother's screams, the laughter of Zerunjok.

"I'm going to rip his head, off his shoulders!" I exclaimed.

I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to quell the rising bile. Where was I? Then I remembered, I've been in the cold, damp cell for days.

The cell was spelled, I couldn't get off using magic.

Suddenly, a young boy approached me. He was no older than ten. He wore tattered rags and his face was pale and gaunt.

"You... you fought," he whispered, "You fought the sultan's soldiers."

I looked at the boy, surprised by his presence. How had he gotten past the guards?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Kai," he replied, "I live in the tunnels beneath the palace. I saw everything."

My voice trailed off, I was suprised. "You saw...?"

He nodded, "I saw you fight. You were like fire, like a... a goddess."

I looked at him, bewildered. "A goddess?"

Kai nodded earnestly. "You were amazing. You fought like a warrior of old."

Hope ignited within me. Perhaps there were others who knew the truth about Zerunjok, others who would help me.

"Do you know anything about the orraptis?" I asked.

Kai shook his head. "I only know what the whispers say. It's a powerful artifact, hidden deep within the bowels of the earth. Legend says it can shatter even the strongest magic."

"Do you know where to find it?" I murmured.

Kai hesitated, his eyes darted around the cell for a moment. "I... I think I might know someone who does. Maybe you could find her outside the palace. She knows many things."

"Take me to her," I urged, "We need to find the orraptis before it's too late."

Kai looked at me, "But... but the guards..."

I knew I couldn't rely on him to help me escape. I had to find a way to break free on my own.

I looked around the cell, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon.

While searching, Kai gave me a loose stone and asked me to follow him.

I used all my strength to pry the stone loose. It took several tries, but finally, the stone gave way, revealing a small, rusted knife. It was crudely made, but it was sharp.

I turned to Kai. "Thank you, now we need to escape."