The King's soul entered Luke's soul successfully. He won't kill Luke's soul, for now, he will just put him in the state of hibernation.

'Time to leave the castle!' the King thought joyously. ​​

His spirit floated and exited the door that appeared out of nowhere.

The King's spirit disappeared from the basement and reappeared on the ground of the castle. He grinned happily!

"Finally! I'm going to leave this place and taste my freedom after a thousand years of imprisonment!" he shouted in an ecstatic voice.

He floated towards the open window and zoomed excitedly outside.

But when he was already a few meters away from the castle, he suddenly felt a burning sensation as he tries to fly further away. He felt like his spirit is about to explode!

Dammit! He can't go on any further!

He floated back towards the window and entered the castle. Slowly the burning sensation faded away, and everything returned to normal.

Shiit!

He can't leave the place even if he's using other people's spirit as a vessel!

Everything is useless! His hope was gone!

He was seething in anger and returned to his territory in the basement.

His experiment failed! What a bummer!

He went back to the windowless room and separated his spirit from Luke's spirit, and returned to his own body, which was sitting like a statue on the chair.

A few minutes later, the King's spirit was back in his body. He opened the Soul Eater Vase and imprisoned Luke's spirit inside. Done, he put the lid back and left the vase on the table. Then he vanished from the room.

A few minutes later.

Luke woke up from a deep slumber and was devastated to found out that he's back inside the vase that can imprison him for a long time.

It looks like the King hasn't succeeded in leaving the castle yet!

Good for him and the rest of the captive men!

Inside the vase is pitch darkness surrounding him in all directions, suffocating him.

He was wondering when he will ever see the light again?

~~~0~~~

Inside the bamboo house.

Terros had just finished reading the contents of the black booklet.

He was horrified after discovering the horrific sacrifices that one has to do or endure to make the spell works!

Damn!

He thought the black booklet can help him in rescuing Luke's spirit. Well... there is indeed a powerful spell that can summon the wandering soul of a person. But it comes with a heavy price, and he's not willing to perform the sacrifice unless all options are exhausted.

He released a deep sigh and returned the black booklet inside the drawer.

The time has not come yet that he will become so desperate and take the plunge. Not yet!

He won't say never but as much as possible he will avoid using the spells inside the black booklet.

He returned to his bed and sleep peacefully that night.

When he woke up the next day, he didn't think about the black booklet. He already pushed the booklet's memory into the deep recesses of his mind. But the truth is still out there...when things take turns for the worst...there is always an option to do the last resort and make a sacrifice for the good of all.

He left his room and went to the kitchen to prepare himself a hearty breakfast.

A few minutes later, he finished eating what he had prepared and was ready to perform his daily routine.

He was expecting Graven to arrive anytime soon. They have to go to the Windless Mountain to seek the goddess's help, and they can no longer delay it because Luke's life is at stake!

He picked up the water jug and left the house, going in the direction of the stream to get some drinking water.

~~~0~~~

Graven's Manor.

After eating breakfast, the couple went back to their room.

Laura noticed something about her husband. He's been a bit absentminded lately. Since yesterday after his return from visiting Grandpa Terros, he wore a subdued expression on his face. And every time she asked him why - he replied nothing.

Like now, her husband was standing at the window, looking outside, trying to hide his worries from her.

On the other hand, Graven tried to conceal the worry on his face. He was worried about his brother and his men imprisoned beneath the ground of the crumbling castle.

Time is like a ticking bomb!

If the time comes for the black liquid to attack their bodies, the King is already waiting for them in the castle, and if no one comes to get the antidote, he might think that everyone was already cured. And this might piss off the King, reason enough to kill all the remaining prisoners under his control.

It's all because of his stubbornness and refusal to bring his wife to the King!

But Luke's life and that half of his men are nothing compared to Laura and their unborn baby.

He was trying to be selfish this time!

Although he loved his brother so much and his men, he can't save them all. Nothing would work!

No matter how hard he tried to think of a perfect solution, it's still the same thing. He would go back to the castle, the King would strip him of his power, ridicule him, taunt him, demand that his wife must be taken to the castle...etcetera...it's a repetitive process! Nothing will change as long his men are imprisoned in the castle, he will forever be a tortured man!

And he's getting f*cking tired of it!

He wanted to end the situation with the King badly!

He wanted to tell his wife about the King, but he can't because he was trying to protect her and shield her from stress and worry.

Laura went to her husband's side and hugged her from behind. "Husband, if you have a problem, you can tell me everything! You can share with me what is bothering your mind right now," she told him lovingly. She's trying to convince him to open up about what's bothering him.

Graven turned around slowly and hugged his wife, he smiled brightly. "Who says that I have a problem?" he asked and planted a sweet kiss on her head.

"You look sad and worried," she said.

"Who says?" Graven said and tickled her side.

Laura erupted into a giggle. "Please stop!" she said.

Graven obeyed and embraced her lovingly. "I'll visit South Pond today. I will make rounds in my family's businesses. I might not be able to return home for 2 to 3 days. But if I finished everything ahead of time, I'll come home as early as possible," he said.

"Okay, you take care of yourself out there. Are you going now?" Laura asked. Every time Graven is gone for a few days, she never complains because she knows that he is a busy man carrying many responsibilities on his shoulder. Besides that, she trusted him completely.

Graven smiled. "Thank you for your trust, wife!" he said.

"I trusted you completely with all my heart. Because I love you so much!" Laura uttered the words sincerely. Feelings of love and devotion flash in her eyes for him.

"I love you more!" Graven said. "I'll take my leave after one hour. Let's cuddle in bed first," he said gently.

The couple hopped in the bed and cuddled each other passionately.

One hour later.

Graven bid goodbye to his wife and vanished from the couple's room in the blink of an eye.

He reappeared at Terros place a few minutes later.

Terros was in the garden, taking out weeds that were growing abundantly around the plants. He looked over his shoulder after hearing footsteps approaching him from behind. He saw the problematic expression on Graven's face. He rose to his feet. "Son... do you already have a solution?" he asked.

Graven shook his head. "Nothing solid so far. But if I want to do the suicide thing as a last resort, it will be super easy. All my problems will dissolve instantly!" he admitted dejectedly.

Terros brows furrowed in alarm. "Huh? W-what do you mean?"

"I plan to do the suicide thing. You know... burn the whole castle to the ground and make sure the King won't be able to escape. Then just die with my brother and my men," he finally revealed the last resort he had conjured up in his mind.

Terros was shocked and speechless by the severity of desperation he saw in Graven's eyes.

Graven saw the worry flashing on Grandpa's face. Then he smiled to soften his claim. "But before I do that, I want to see the thousand years old deity first! Maybe she can help us in finding a solution to my problem," he said.

Terros smiled and cheered a little. "That's a good thing! Before we lose hope, let's try the deity first! Maybe she will have a ready solution for us since Veronica already told her about your problem. I have a feeling that she can help us! So, what are we waiting for? Let's go to the Windless Mountain now!" he said.

"Okay, but later. I'll stay here for a moment, gaze at the mountains, and think a little bit more. Maybe I can still find a better solution to my problem," Graven said.

"Alright, I'll continue with my gardening. Just tell me if you are ready to leave so that I can change my clothes and do some washing in the stream because my body is sweaty," Terros said and resumed his chores around the garden.

Graven settled on the wooden bench. He released a deep sigh, thinking about his problem while staring at the top of the mountain.

And once again, he was thinking about the suicide thing, over and over again!

If he will do it without hesitation, all his problems will end!

He's ready to die more than ever for a good cause!