"So that's the door of sin." Elas said as rushed as ever in every step he make. "Let's go, we should enter it as soon as we can. I don't feel comfortable staying in this Hill of Despair. It feels like someone is watching us from a distance."

"Oh.. Maybe it’s the spirit of the hill. He might have taken a liking to an elf like you." Fryr said chuckling.

Eros could only watch the two and smile; he knew that they don't remember seeing the spirit of the hill that time, so he remained silent and kept everything a secret. After his encounter with the spirit, it was apparent that it would not harm them because he left it with a gift- A memory so precious that in return it helped him comprehend the first layer of the curse.

"A curse of emotion." He thought while placing his palm in his own chest. "It makes all my strength explode at a single moment, when my emotion spikes in an instant; be it fear, or rage; but, the most fascinating thing about it, is that it’s a magic that can control emotions of others.” Then a trace of unease flashed in his face. “What will happen if all this curses opens, do I lose sanity and become Orcus’ new body?”

Eros was filled with worry, but he could not dwell on it since he knew that it is currently not their priority. Entering the Door of Sin was the move everyone needs to make, so that they could advance and complete their agreement.

In the midst of Eros’ rumination, Elas steps suddenly stopped filled with a dangerous sensation. He looked up and saw three black robed figures came flying from afar. Those three were quite familiar, they were the demon apparitions that were chasing Elas who back then was on the run.

Fryr then shouted. “Everyone, Run! Enter the door as soon as you can!”

“Katara Thureos!” The cursed shield activated quickly, surrounding them completely. However, the three apparitions did not stop their advance; they were willing to do anything for their mission, even if it was to sacrifice their life to capture Elas dead or alive.

With haste, the four tried to escape, they can fight the enemies, but Fryr wasn’t willing if their chance of winning wasn’t certain. Also, it would be best to conserve their energy, since they are not sure if beyond the door there will be an enemy.

Eros also ran, but this time, he was faster than usual. He himself was shocked but he had no time to react. On the other hand, Elas who was running along with Eros noticed Eros’ boost in speed which was somewhat abnormal.

With their distance only several meters from the Door of Sin, the three enemies unleashed a very powerful skill, a magic that’s capable of eliminating hundreds of people at a single blow or even create a cavity in the hill.

As response Fryr bolstered his shield and increased its width covering and entire fifty meter field. However, before the attack and the shield collided, a roar was suddenly heard. It was a roar so fierce that everyone stopped on their feet. The magical attacks dissipated and the shield crumbled. Their magic powers were nothing compared to the roar of the creature which slowly materialized behind the Door of Sin.

It was a merely a shadow, with only its eyes barely visible, yet it filled their hearts with terror. For some reason its shape was close to a toad, but it stood like a human on its foot. When its eyes met them, it suddenly roared again. This time, it blasted the apparitions away, with portions of their body shattering while crying in pain.

Eros’ group was about to suffer the same fate, but suddenly, a boy materialized in floating in front of them blocking the monster’s terrifying roar. The boy looked at the shadow firmly which made the shadow stop any movement and stood there silently.

Fryr and Elas were baffled why the shadow stopped its motion, but they had no time to ponder, so they leaped towards the Door of Sin the moment they saw an opening. Hagu who seemed to be clueless as always, simply followed suit with his oddly mobile movement.

Contrary, Eros doesn’t have the same bemused expression, but instead his face was filled with gratitude as he bowed deeply before following the three.

The boy said to the shadow. “Allow them to pass. This is the only favor I would ask.”

The shadow didn’t reply, and simply glanced at Eros’ group who was advancing forward. He then sneered and looked away towards the apparitions who were trying to flee as soon as they can.

Elas, Fryr and Hagu did not delay; they quickly entered the door without looking away. But, Eros looked back again to the boy who saved them. He knew that others could not see the boy, so in their behalf he again bowed and said. “Thank you.” After which, he entered the Door of Sin completely disappearing in the Hill of Despair.

….

In an instant, he stepped out at the other side of the door feeling slightly tired. There he saw the three waiting anxiously. “Why did it take you so long to enter that door?” Elas said a bit pissed.

“I’m not sure, my body simply felt heavy.” Eros replied trying his best to hide his lie.

“Come on kids. We have no time to squabble. We need to first secure our location.” Fryr said while glancing around. Then after a while, he sighed seeing no one around.

“So do you know where we are?” Elas asked.

“I am not sure either, the Door of Sin sends people to random places.” Fryr replied.

“Maybe we should just look around then. But, I’m curious, what was that shadow behind the Door of Sin earlier?”

“I don’t know, but I am sure it is the guardian of the Door of Sin. It’s my first time seeing it too, but I’m not certain how it woke up since those oldies in the Moonlight Cave said that it is in slumber.”

Eros then interjected. “I’m curious, why is it called the Door of Sin when it’s simply an exit to the Stints Covert?”

Fryr smiled and shifted his glance at Eros. “It is simply an exit if you use it as exit. But, it does something different if you use it to enter the Stints Covert. Legends say that everyone who entered it became filled with greed which was the main reason why war started in that place. With the frequent war, the population was reduced to almost nothing and only wild creatures remained.” Then he smiled and said. “However, don’t worry if you wish revisit that place there are plenty of other ways, and besides no one enters the Door of Sin anyway because of those legends.”

Eros didn’t ask more, he simply asked because for some reason the shadow stared at him with derision. It was only a moment, but he was sure he felt it.

When Fryr observed Eros closely, his already protuberant eyes suddenly widened as he said. “Boy., When did you become an Arguros Mage? How did you increase a level in such a short amount of time?”

“I noticed it too earlier when we were trying to enter the Door of Sin. You’re really mysterious.” Elas added with his tone slightly amazed.

“I am not sure either..” Eros replied thinking of a good lie, but he could not find a good line so he just said. “I think it’s the curse in me.”

“Interesting.” Fryr said smiling.

Fryr did not ask anymore, but obviously, he was filled with unanswered questions. What he was most concerned about was their current location, Being sent in an unknown place was as dangerous as facing that weird shadow.

Walking in a group, they wandered in the desert. All they could see were endless sand, and scorching heat of the sun. Even though the place was barren, natural energy was still there, which means that hunger would be the last thing that could kill them.

“Hey we have been walking for days. Do you still have no clue of where to go?” Elas asked obviously infuriated.

“Calm down. I think I am getting an idea where we are. I just need to confirm it.” Fryr answered in his stolidly calm tone.

Incensed from Fryr’s placid behavior, he exploded with the lines. “Confirm what? You’ve been doing random useless things since we started walk!” Before he could finish his words, a gigantic worm like creature suddenly appeared from the ground towering towards the sky.

With its gigantic body blocking the sunlight, they could only see its silhouette rising up, but, with its size they were sure it could easily gobble them up. Its body was covered with spikes, and it has numerous fangs. Its mouth was as large as its width, with sand even flowing out of it. Crazily, it doesn’t seem to have eyes, yet it seemed to be staring directly down at them.

“Yep, now I’m sure where at the Desert of Rawn and that thing is an Erelex.” Fryr said nodding his head.

“All right… Now that we know what that is, how do we take care of it?” Elas asked with unease.

“We run.” Fryr said as he hopped in Hagu’s shoulder ordering him to escape with him.

Elas smiled wryly, but he had no choice but to flee with the group in a hurry. “Why do we need to run? They don’t seem that strong.”

“Yes we can defeat them, but if you killed one, more will come.” Fryr said while sitting calmly on Hagu’s shoulder.

Eros who was running a step behind the three suddenly glanced back at the Erelex. His eyes shone with an idea as he stretched his arm towards the creature, where numerous strands suddenly materialized. Those strands connected itself to the Erelex from his hand, then using a finger, he strummed one of the threads which made the creature suddenly stop and tremble in dread. Then in a hurry, it dived in the sand which left everyone dumbfounded.

“What happened?” Elas asked completely perplexed while stopping his steps.

Fryr on the other hand quickly hopped down from his comfortable position and directly landed in front of Eros asking the question. “What magic was that?”

Eros then replied with unsure expression. “Uhh.. a magic that controls emotion, I guess.. Using it, I simply made that creature feel extreme fear which seems to have been effective.”

“Increasing a level in such a mysterious way, and now using a magic extremely extraordinary.. I guess you are really worthy of receiving magic from me.” Fryr said with a laugh.”Even a wizard would not be able to defeat that Erelex easily, yet you made it so scared for it to scurry. I guess controlling emotion would be useful for such brainless creatures.” Then he suddenly got an idea. “What if you use it to Hagu. Maybe you’ll be able to easily control him, since he’s as stupid as those worms.”

Hagu then growled and said. “I’m not stupid. Try it on me Eros!”

“Uhh.. I think that’s not a good idea.” Eros said while backing away from the seemingly enraged orc closing on him.

“Alright, with his magic we can worry less about those aggressive beasts.” Elas said while walking towards Fryr who was still laughing. “So Fryr, now that we know we are at the Desert of Rawn, how do we get to the House of Marx.”

With Elas interjecting, Eros sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure if what Orc Hagu would do if he did not use the magic on him.

“Currently we are extremely far from the House of Marx. It might take a year to get there.” Fryr flatly answered.

"Is there no faster way?" Elas asked.

"I am aware you know the distance yourself. You knew how far the Stints Covert is from the destination you wish to reach. Maybe we can reach it a bit faster but at most it could still take almost a year." Fryr answered. "Besides, both Eros and you can’t fly, which means we will consume more time.”

Elas sighed and looked at Eros standing on his side. “Eros, we should become a wizard as soon as possible, with your talent it would not be impossible.”

“But, isn’t that still too far from my current level; is there a method you could share?”

“No..” Sighing, Elas continued. “We could only hope for your weird curse to kick in and push you towards the wizard realm.”

“Anyway, we should start walking and worry about that along the way.” Fryr said while leading the way.

Along the way, Hagu kept bugging Eros to cast the magic on him. He always wore a stiff expression; ready for any moment in receiving the magic so that he can prove he’s not stupid.

Eros on the other hand got a headache from Hagu’s relentless demand. Fortunately, there were more Erelex that tried to attack them which gave him the reason to ignore Hagu’s persistence. Everytime an Erelex surfaced, nobody but Eros moves to use his special curse. The Erelex simply flee as if it saw something that could kill it instantly. Even if there were three that appeared simultaneously, they would not even last a second before they escape in a hurry.

They walked on the barren desert, parched from the heat, sultry and torrid and they got nothing to eat, even with their magic it wasn’t an easy feat for them to remain placid. Day and night they traversed the mountains of sand; there were nothing but different beast appearing in their sight.

Everytime Eros uses his magic, he ameliorates it. His mastery increased from every use of the curse. However, the successive activation of it was still too much for his feeble energy pit. As their journey progressed, Fryr taught him a lot of things. Even Elas shared his view on magic as succor for Eros’ essential progress. Hagu also tried to fling in some of his ideas, but he himself got confused after only a few of his own words. This gave Fryr a chance to pillorize, and deride him in front of Eros and Elas, who were holding in a chortle in an attempt not to agitate Hagu any further. Hagu even with his simplicity still noticed their audacity, and with ire, he shouted. “Eros! Use that curse on me! Prove to this goblin that I’m as smart as everyone here!”

Eros who was always caught in the bind, already mastered to ignore Hagu’s demand. Actually, he tried to cast the magic on Hagu, but for some reason it doesn’t work how it’s supposed to. Eros noticed that Hagu has an extremely high tolerance to magic, and it was impossible at his level to pierce through the impregnable defenses. But even though how much he explained this, Hagu won’t listen in his vindication. So he had no choice but to increase his forbearance and swallow his indignation towards the situation.

After three months of enervating travel, Eros’ eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement and his already slump posture became filled with vim and vigor.

“Is that a town?” Eros said rubbing his eyes, hoping he’s not seeing a mirage.

“Rawn Bandits.” Fryr said with a sneer. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Why? What is the Rawn Bandits?” Elas asked in succession.

“They’re a dangerous group of thromos- a sand creature that many despise. I haven’t met them, but they’re popular in these parts of land.” While Fryr was about to continue his explanation to elucidate Elas and Eros about the situation, suddenly, the sand around them became agitated and then contorted. “I guess were too late.” Fryr added.

There, more than ten creatures surfaced from the sand, they were covered in tattered clothes with their lower body in a shape of small mountain of sand which seemed to be connected to the land, but their upper body resembled a human but more viscous in appearance.

Elas quickly fixed his stance, ready to fire an arrow in any instant. But then Fryr held his arm and lowered it with a sigh. “We’re surrounded; I can feel more below us.” Fryr said while looking around, “And it seems we have less than 10 percent chance of escaping if we force our way. I think it would be best to meet their leader.”

But instead of dispersing his bow, he stood there ambivalent of his final decision, waiting for the others to make their stand on the situation. Eros was also uncertain about his course of action, but he was weaker compared to Fryr who simply chose capitulation, so he had no choice but to go along with that option. Hagu on the other hand wasn’t even bothered, but instead he seemed to be frowning staring at the enemies’ lower body formed from sand.

“Greetings great bandits of Rawn, I am Great Goblin Fryr from the Stint’s Covert. May we meet your leader for us to pay our respect.”

“Oh someone from the Stint’s Covert, our king might find this interesting.” A voice of a man could suddenly be heard who slowly appeared from the sand, and stood in front of goblin Fryr two meters in height.

“Boss, Let me keep that human boy, the king has been in a sour mood lately and it’s impossible to calm him down, also, he doesn’t like to see humans, so it might stir him into a frenzy.” One of the thromos said licking his lips not even concealing his concupiscence.

This made Eros’ hair stand in one end as he shivered in dread. The leader then glanced at Eros. Without warning he lifted his arm, which caused the sand to envelope Eros’ foot and cause Eros to jerk in alarm.

“Wait!” Eros shouted. “I can do something about the mood of your king!” Then without waiting, he waved his hand towards the leader who was attempting to capture him. Invisible threads appeared which Eros quickly chose one thread and strummed it.

Along with this action, the thromos leader hefted his spear attempting to kill Eros in a single swing, but before he could do so, his eyes suddenly filled with jubilation for unknown reason. This made him stop his swing saving Eros’ from a sudden beheading.

“What magic is this?” The leader asked filled with disbelief.

“It is a magic that I was born with, a magic gifted by the heavens which could possibly help your king.” Eros said in fervor.

“You might be of some use.” The leader said. “It might help our king to control his temper.”

The thromos who spoke earlier strongly disputed. “But leader Terras, this might cause a problem.”

“Tie them up; we’ll bring them to the king.” Terras resolutely replied.

“But..”

“Are you going against my order Aegas?” Terras interjected before Aegas could say another word.

Aegas swallowed his words and looked down with suppressed odium. He then left followed the orders still looking at Eros with lecherous inclination.

Eros’ group was tied up with sand manacles formed from magic unknown to them. With it, they felt that their magic was suppressed to the point where it would be useless.

While walking along the group, Eros asked Fryr about something he noticed. “Is it me or that small town seems to be closer now?”

“Yes it is closer. It is supposed to be a moving town which is unique to this desert of Rawn.”

“How is it moving?” Eros asked amazed.

“I’m not sure either. It is just known that the sand moves it at random points of the desert of rawn.”

“Stop talking and keep walking.” Aegas said in a sour mood.

In no time, they were all escorted into the largest establishment of the small town. Inside were filled with large quantity of food of different variety, even including meat of some species abhorrent for normal mortal to eat; a repugnant smell filled the area to the point that it’s sickening.

Deeper into the building, they were guided into a chamber. There, a noticeably large man sat at a throne taking a bite at what appears to be a chunk of meat from some unknown creature. His body was large, bulging with fat; his hair was made of sand and even his beard which hang up to his stomach.

“Why are you here?” His voice echoed out in the whole chamber making it tremble.

“My king, we offer you these travelers from the Stint’s Covert.” Terras said overflowing with respect.

This time, Hagu’s frown deepened but he did not say a word. Elas however stared at the king with contempt, while Fryr’s face remained placid.

“Stint’s Covert?” The king frowned. “Bring them here.” But when he caught sight of Eros, his mood suddenly changed; he was instantly filled with rage.

“How dare you show a human in front of me!!” The king shouted causing sand to appear from gaps of the floor tiles. That sand started to coalesce into a giant mass which was preparing to smash Eros’ group into a bloody mess.

But before the attack hit Eros’ group, Terras blocked its route. He also released Eros’ manacles and signaled Eros to use his magic. “Terras!! Are you betraying your king!!” The king again shouted in anger.

Along with the disturbance, Eros also quickly activated his magic causing the king to be startled. Before the king could bolster his own magic, his mood suddenly took a turn from enraged to ecstatic.

Just like Terras, he was caught off guard by Eros’ unique magic attack which was hard to block. However, the magic was not meant to harm him, so in response, he quickly withdraw his attack, and cause the sand to suddenly fall apart while staring at Eros with amazement and surprise.

“What was that magic?” He said. This time his voice was not filled with rage, but it still made the chamber tremble from the strong energy coming from his body.

“My king, this boy seems to be able to control emotion on his will. A magic extraordinary that I thought would be befitting to be under control of a king such as you.” Terras said with pride in every word.

The king, then took another bite at the humongous meat on his hand, and replied. “He’s a human but he has a useful ability.” Then took another bite before saying, “Alright I’ll take him in as my slave; you did well Terras, as expected of the man I placed my trust.”

The king then glanced at Hagu, Fryr and Elas and asked. “How about those three, they’re also from the Stint’s Covert. Do they have some interesting skill just like that boy over there?”

Terras glanced at the three, but they obviously weren’t willing to cooperate. So Terras said. “My king, they have no better skill. We will just use them as slaves to handle other task befitting of their ability.”

Without waiting for the king to speak, Terras then bowed, and left Eros with the king, unrestrained and free from moving. But unlike Eros, the others were still shackled and was taken away not to be freed, as if a warning to Eros not to offend the king, or his friends will die without warning.

“So boy, enter your cage over there. I will call you when my mood turns sour.” The king said while continuing to eat.

The place the king pointed at was at the far end corner of the chamber near the left side of the king’s chair. Eros’ did not notice it earlier since they were intimidated by the king’s anger. But now that he looked at it closely, he can see other slaves locked in their own cages behaving obediently. Just like pets the king keeps for himself to assist him with his necessities.

Eros knew that the king was extremely powerful, that’s why those slaves even though not shackled and was free still chose to remain locked up in a cage following the king subserviently. So he himself also followed the king. He had no choice but to do the same, be tractable and meek and avoid any conflict. For now he knew that he had to make a plan, observe the king and the things he will do and have done. With this, he knew that on day he’ll find an opportunity to flee and become free.

The days passed, and Eros abided by his task, to help the king control his emotion in any situation that needs his action. Eros realized that the king have a lot of mood swings which mostly depends on the food he eats. For some reason, the king never stopped eating; It was as if he had a stomach just like a pocket- with extremely large space from such a small object.

Even though eating nonstop was a bootless act for someone who calls himself a king, but for some unknown reason his frequent eating seem to make him slightly stronger.

“Does he practice a magic that can make him stronger by simply eating?” Eros thought amazed of what he was seeing. Eating to get stronger physique is a given, but eating random food to improve one’s magic is just abstruse and in any way baffling.

As he stayed longer in the chamber, he became worried that he might not find a chance to get freed. He had never heard of news about his companions, and even thought that they might have already fallen to the other thormos.

While he was deep in thought, a soft voice came from a chamber beside his own. “Hey, I’m Eris, I’ve been observing you for some time. Are you planning to escape?”

Eros noticed that her voice was transmitted using magic, preventing anyone to hear it. So he also did the same and transmitted a message only perceivable between them. “I am Eros, why do you ask if I’m planning to escape. Do you wish to do it yourself?” Eros asked with caution, he does not like to be the one to open up the topic about escaping this weird prison.

The girl stared at him keenly for a while before giving her reply. “Yes, I am planning to escape. I have been here for a year already. I can’t stand anymore hearing this pig chew his meat and look at his fat belly.”

Eros then smiled faintly, and transmitted his message with sincerity. “Yes. I am also planning to escape, but I am not yet sure how to do it.”

“Hey, cooperate with me; it might become easier for both of us.” The girl responded in an instant.

This time, Eros did not reply for a while, and only looked at the girl in the eye. Only after several minutes did he say yes to the request and asked for the plan.

…

On a separate location, Elas, Hagu and Fryr were also locked up in a prison. Unlike Eros they were shacked both in hands and foot. It was impossible for them to use magic to escape, so they had no choice but to do menial task ordered by the thormos’ in charge.

Day and night they were tasked to gather odd fluid from the ground, and it seems like the thermos uses it as drink for their king who have unquenchable appetite. There were many other slaves doing the same job, some were even like machines only working and waiting for their reward – food and water enough to sustain their life.

When the day ended, Elas burst in fury antagonizing Fryr for not doing anything. “Fryr! When will you initiate that plan! We have been here for two months, doing this annoying task!”

“Don’t worry kid, just wait a bit.” Fryr said calmly.

“But we are just wasting time!”

Fryr then smiled and replied. “Kid. Stop bickering, we are not wasting anything. In fact it will be faster this way.”

…

Days after Eros and Eris talked about the plan; they now simply sat on their cages waiting for the night to come. Similarly, the others had the same expression as if waiting for something to occur. The time went by as usual, where the king simply ate all day long. Sometimes he would call for other slaves to use their unique magic for some trivial matters or even simply for his own entertainment.

This was their usual routine, but unbeknownst to the king, Eros and Eros along with other slaves were busy brewing a scheme. Eros was also shocked to realize that Eris has already recruited other slaves to increase their success.

Eros could not believe that a small girl around the age of thirteen, with the most gentle face he have ever seen, could come up with a plan to fight against a very strong opponent which was even considered as a king. Even her eyes does not show any trace of evil, yet something about her is disturbing. It might be caused by the fact that she has been imprisoned for a year which strengthened her will, or it might also be born from the hatred she accumulated throughout the year from the monster that confined them against their will.

Eros wasn’t exactly sure, but he knew that this girl was determined to escape the confinement of this thormos king by any means even if it is beyond her capabilities.

“My king, pardon our intrusion, we are here to bring your meal.” A voice resounded from the door.

The king then simply waved his hand causing the door to open on its own guided by the sands on the floor. Several thormos entered the chamber carrying large amount of food on their shoulders. One by one, they lined up the meat near the king, so that the king could reach it without lifting a feet from his seat.

While more and more thormos entered, the slave’s eyes were filled with anticipation and hatred. It was the moment they have been waiting for, to initiate the plan and be free once more.

When there were more than hundreds of thormos in the chamber, piling up food for the king, Eris suddenly stood up, her eyes glowing in red and her scarlet hair whipping about from the wild energy surging from her small body.

Everyone looked at her in shock, but before they could react, Eris said. “Madown” which made everyone suddenly stop. Their eyes became red and their face filled with madness. Only then she shouted. “Kill!”