Volume 5 : The Shadow Keep Penitentiary

Part 1: 'Why was the goose sad?'

27th of the Golden Star

Julie was somewhat able to contain the fire trying to consume her brother, but each time that happened, he would have to be locked in the basement for multiple hours. The Phoenix Flames were indiscriminate and strong, so there was a big possibility they would either hurt the servants or burn the entire manor.

Surprisingly, Julie found that Feylord didn’t object to this harsh treatment. He would willingly let himself get bound and wait until the situation had calmed down.

Moreover, he mostly holed himself in his room and only left to eat. Compared to his past attitude, which was filled with arrogance and haughtiness, he had become relatively docile and oddly different.

Perhaps it was the fear of dying, or his recent experiences really did change him. Either way, Julie didn’t want to take any chances and tasked Razim to constantly watch him.

During one of the days Julie was inside the room with no sound, Feylord peeked his head from the corner and, with a frown, curiously asked,

“What in God’s name are you doing in this dusty place? Doesn’t a Baron have better things to do?”

Julie glanced at him but didn’t respond at all, opting to give her the cold shoulder and ignore his unnecessary remarks.

“This is the Ancestral Room, right? Father visited it only once. I guess he wasn’t that interested in our family’s heritage or history. Frankly speaking, I don’t care either.”

“Then piss off.”

Feylord grinned and continued, “Then again, to see my changed little sis lurking here alone and in the darkness. I’m intrigued. What are you looking for? A hidden artifact, perchance?”

Just as she was about to angrily lash out at him, there was a momentary rumble followed by a burst of flames that shot from Feylord’s chest.

Surprised, he stepped back and saw the flames fly at the statue right next to his sister.

Fortunately, she reacted swiftly and conjured a translucent red curtain that extinguished the flames.

“I-It wasn’t me!”

‘Leave. Leave. Leave.’

A gentle and motherly voice echoed inside Feylord’s head, startling him even more. With a terrified expression, he backed away until he hit the wall, his hands trembling ever-so-slightly. He had thought the feather wanted to try and consume him again, but it wasn’t the case. It actually tried to attack the statue, or whatever was beneath it.

Seeing him act scared, Julie, who didn’t hear the voice, was confused.

“Don’t you hear it? There’s a v-voice!”

She said something in response, but all he heard was an absolute and deafening silence.

‘Leave this place!’

The soft womanly voice echoed again, urging Feylord to turn tail and distance himself from the room. Alas, after taking a couple of steps, his body went limp and he fell unconscious.

‘Seek the Nameless Knight.’

Those were the last words Feylord Lernon had heard before entering a comatose state that lasted an entire week.

“There it is!”

“Fuck! Catch it! Quick!”

Radolf and Midolf, the two Mythical Beings, were moving at an outrageous speed as they chased after a small three-eyed orange frog.

The creature, albeit small and barely noticeable, was passing through obstacles and zigzagging around.

Radolf extended his hand and cast a massive spell that fell upon the Frog of Destiny, but the latter simply moved through it.

Midolf was next, however, even with his strong Wind-aspected spells boosting his mobility, he wasn’t able to catch the target.

It was then that a human-sized blank white card appeared right in front of the frog’s way. The Joker appeared from within the card with another regular card of 3 of Diamonds in his hand. A mysterious black light emanated from his body as it became illusory and blurry.

The frog abruptly halted its rapid escape, its third eyes focusing on the man before it. It seemed to understand that its escape paths were cut-off, so it chose to retaliate.

A massive leg made of brilliant white light appeared out of thin air and descended on the half-visible Trickster.

A bunch of glowing cards were thrown at the incoming legs, exploding all around it and extinguishing it. However, it left remnant specks of light that glued themselves to the Trickster and flattened him to the ground.

“F-fuck! Agh!”

His bones were crushed and his body twisted in an unnatural way. Still, he flung one last card right at the orange frog, causing a black star symbol to appear on its back.

“Hah! Got you! Motherfucker!”

The entire world suddenly turned jet black, followed thereafter by a momentary and eerie silence. When everything cleared up, Midolf and Radolf glanced at each other in trepidation.

The Joker’s body was bent in an unnatural way, his head was practically crushed to smithereens and there was a lot of blood around him.

After a couple of seconds, the body started to regenerate at ludicrous speed. Midolf, who had control over the unique Life Magic, was rendered speechless by the spectacle. Not even his ability was able to apply healing this fast, especially when the body was like that.

When he returned to ‘normal’, the Magician shook his head and stomped on the ground.

“You two are nothing more than two useless pieces of shitstain. Mythical Beings my fucking ass!”

He walked up to them and gave them crisp slaps on the faces, but they didn’t retaliate. They cowered to the back while holding their reddened cheeks, looking a bit disheartened.

“At least I don’t have to look everywhere to find that elusive enigma.”

Then, the man, dressed in funny and colorful outfit, extended his arm and pulled the two closer to him as a thick black card hovered in front of him, soon opening a portal right towards the Garden of Knowledge.

Radolf and Midolf were relieved that they returned home. With Quhea present, they didn’t have to worry about being beaten-up. However, the presence of another terrifying being, the Nameless Knight, still made them keep their mouths shut as they sat on a far away bench.

As usual, Leiu was sitting across from Quhea, the two enjoying a moment of respite.

“Hey you! Why did you call for me? I’m not your damned la-”

The Joker halted his feet and swallowed the words he was going to say. The bleak and hollow stare of the Nameless Knight made him change his attitude and wryly smile.

“I-I mean… Do you need any help?”

“Took you long enough.” Cold rebuked Leiu as he grabbed his helmet and stood up.

He didn’t bother offering any explanation, instead, he walked to the exit with the Joker reluctantly following after him.

The breath-taking returned to its silence and the two guests left, so the two Mythical Beings dashed to Quhea’s side.

“Did you have fun?”

She had a beautiful smile as her star-filled unique eyes focused on the two youths, who were one of the oldest being alive despite behaving like actual children.

“Fun? It wasn’t fun! He almost got us killed.”

Upon hearing this, the Creation God chuckled, “Come now, you two cannot be killed that easily.”

“That’s true!” Nodded Midolf as he puffed his chest pridefully.

“But that crazy bastard can kill us!” Radolf paused for a moment and then sheepishly asked,

“E-ehm… Quhea, can you tell us about the Frog of Destiny? After seeing it in person, I kinda got curious.”

“Very well.”

She motioned for them to sit and, with a snap of her fingers, materialised snacks and tea in front of them.

“As always, I’ll have to remind you that anything I say is exclusively for you two. You cannot divulge anything to anyone, including the other Creation Gods.”

“Yes! We understand!” The two nodded in unison, expectantly looking at the Creator of Knowledge. Their ears were perked and their curiosity rising to the maximum.

“First of all, I’ll have to preface by explaining what exactly is a ‘Mythical Being’. Like you two lovely children, each of your ‘peers’ was either created or born with a distinct ability. Lovely Radolf, for instance, was created from the Death Laws, meaning that you can use magic imbued with Death-aspected energy. The opposite is true for Cute Midolf, who’s born from the Life Laws. You two are the tangible manifestation of the aforementioned laws, but you are not beyond them. However, not all Mythical Beings share your case. The Black Kraken- in my opinion- is the most mysterious of all. No one actually knows its origin or purpose, but some say Timos created it. I have my doubts about that.”

“Is the Frog of Destiny the same as the Black Kraken?”

“Indeed.” Nodded Quhea as she clarified, “It seldom appears before any living being, but when it does, said being will have his or her life changed. It is beyond the aspect of Fate as it has the ability to bring about monumental change.”

“How exactly can it change one’s destiny?”

Instead of giving a verbal response, Quhea snapped her fingers, causing a small brown leather book to appear.

“Try reading this and finding out for yourself.”

The two leaned their heads toward the book and read its title: ‘The Minstrel of the Ages.’

“Ah! I know him!” Midolf exclaimed

“You should. Aerin is, by far, the most exceptional mortal that had ever lived. He demonstrated, not just to me but to all Creation Gods, that even a human utterly devoid of any physical or magical strength, can cause so much change.”

“Isn’t he just a bard?” Radolf furrowed his brows, seemingly unable to fathom that a mortal could be so special.

“He is a bard, a poet, as well as a very reckless explorer.” Quhea looked at the book and sighed,

“His book is seen as nothing but a fool’s imaginary tales, but they’re all true. He has been beyond the Rift and returned. He has even been to the Binary Dimension. I truly admire him and envy his sense of freedom.”

“He’s that amazing?”

“Only for some.” There was a melancholy lingering in the woman’s eyes as she wryly smiled.