“We are attacking the Smartians,” I told him. And without waiting for a response, I closed my eyes, focusing my energies. I connected with all the monsters that were present in the dimension through the mind.

“This is me, your king,” I told them, “and we are going to attack the Smartians.”

“But we can’t!” they wailed. Long exposure to fear had weakened the hearts of the prisoners.

“We can!” I affirmed.

“Forgive us, but we can’t stand against the Smartians!”

I was confused. I decided to speak with my mouth instead. Maybe it would be more charismatic.

“Why can’t you?” I barked as loud as possible. All heads in the dimension were turned towards me. “There are so many of you, and the Smartians so few. I was able to deal with them once. I survived them. There is no reason why you can’t too.”

Countless prisoners fell to their knees begging me not to attack the Smartians. While they were ready to carry out my orders, their complaint was that doing so would spell doom on everyone.

“Lord, how can you think that we never rebelled against the Smartians?” Dorak said. “There is an ugly spell over this dimension. If an individual revolts, everyone suffers. An ancient trick of the elves. Cause the smallest harm to a Smartian and an otherworldly agony will consume you.

“Many times we have tried to break free. But the agony is overpowering. It is an agony not only of the body but of the mind too. It will make you want to die, only it would not allow you to kill yourself. Why do you think these prisoners have accepted hopelessness? After repeated failed attempts at escape, the agony has broken them down. If you command them they will attack the Smartians. But barely after they rise in rebellion, they will begin to topple to the ground one by one, writhing in the cursed agony.”

“So you are saying that there is nothing that I can do… to save my Kiara?” I said, glowering at Dorak, tears rolling down my face.

Dorak blinked and considered me. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure if he should. He decided not to hide anything from me.

“Incidentally there is,” Dorak said.

“There is something that I can do?” I asked, my heart leaping.

“Your friends were drugged only a few minutes ago,” Dorak said, “the procedure to turn them into Smartians would take at least a day. The Smartians won’t cause any physical harm to your friends during this period. So you have got some time. Time in which you can challenge the spell.”

The last few words made many prisoners near Dorak gasp. Many gawked with open mouths. The entire dimension fell quiet.

“The spell?” I said, as I observed that even Dorak had gone very pale. “The one that causes agony to the monsters? And I should challenge it?”

“Yes,” Dorak said. “But… it comes with its risks.”

“What kind of risks?” I asked. The grim expression on Dorak’s face announced beforehand that the risks would be huge.

“If you challenge the spell and you win,” Dorak explained, licking his parched lips, “the spell would be lifted. After that by the strength of our sheer numbers we should be able to kill all the Smartians and free ourselves. However if you challenge the spell and you lose, my lord, then the agony shall have us. For all eternity.”

Dorak swallowed as if the very thought of that terrified him.

I imagined floundering in internal agony for the rest of existence. The fear of the prisoners was valid. But then I reckoned that if something happened to Kiara, then too I would burn in a hell of regrets for the rest of my life.

I inhaled deeply.

“I will challenge the spell,” I said. At once a murmur passed over the crowd of prisoners in the dimension. Dorak’s eyes popped. I was sure, had I not been the king of all eviluns, Dorak would have gladly stabbed me with his quills.

Dorak inclined his head.

“Very well then, lord, you shall,” he said. “I will tell you the procedure on how to challenge the spell. Before that, I must warn you, from the moment you challenge the spell, you will be exposed to the agony the entire while until you have defeated the spell. It will be like nothing you have experienced in the past. I hope that I am making this clear to you?”

Dorak was trying his best to change my mind. It was understandable. But Kiara was at stake, and I was willing to push myself to the limit for her, even if the odds were overwhelmingly against me..

I nodded.

“I understand,” I said, much to Dorak’s distress. “Tell me the procedure.”

As if Dorak’s discouragement was not enough, a notification slid into my vision to further warn me of the dangers of what I was committing to.

You are taking on an ultimate quest.

If you lose this, you lose everything. Are you sure you want to continue?

Yes/No

Do note that in the scenario that you win the quest, you will be rewarded in manners beyond your own expectations.

I chose ‘yes’ stoically.

“It is simple,” Dorak said. “You must go to the center of the dimension and say ‘I challenge you’ three times, clear and loud… you are sure about this right, lord?”

He had clasped his feeble hands together, begging me not to proceed.

“I have made my decision,” I said, firm.

Dorak moved aside and I walked to the center of the dimension. From this point I could see a giant spherical door hovering against one corner of the dimension. Maybe it was the route through which the smartians came in to abuse the prisoners.