Crimson Core

A few months ago the news of King Sullivan’s Death spread like wildfire. Everyone in the kingdom of Klinestra knew of his death but no one knew the truth behind his death.

To top it all suddenly Prince Wilson was going for special studies in one of the other kingdoms, it seemed odd, but no one could boldly bring the anomaly up.

Denzel, by right, became the king to be, and with his newfound authority, he made sure that no one knew of what had happened. The scene from five months ago was quite self-explanatory.

Two mages went in with the king, and a few hours later only the king’s head was found; the mages that went in with him had disappeared as well and left no trace.

Not minding the fact Lord Marshall was known all over the kingdom as the strongest Lord-ranked mage in the present time, the royal family had tabs on him; it wasn’t as if they had to search for him or something.

There was a fact—actually, there were two facts that caused Denzel not to go and confront or take revenge for this father or at least find out what happened to his father as they were the last people to see him.

Firstly, Denzel kind of wanted the throne one way or another and they just did all the hard work for him; the least he could do for them was to give them a head start.

The second point to consider is that the individual in question did not possess any hope or possibility of successfully overpowering Lord Marshall, due to the latter’s superior strength, power, and influence. Although Denzel had crossed the threshold of the Lord rank long ago, he wasn’t sure if he could go against him… Lord Marshall was the strongest Lord for a reason.

Denzel would be shocked if he found out that Lord Marshall had advanced the mage rankings.

“I am ready for the ritual!” Denzel had a glint of unwavering resolve.

Denzel was in a dimly lit room. The walls of the room were lined with luminescence inscriptions but they didn’t really help much with visibility. The air in the room was very stale; it wasn’t murky, just stale.

The rather huge room of three hundred square meters had no window, but it didn’t seem to bother the men in the room.

“Hahaha, very good, very good.” In a dark room, a man sat in a high seat; he gave off a very precise and delicate aura.

The man’s piercing gaze penetrated the dark and looked deep into Denzel’s soul through his eyes.

“Let us proceed, shall we... brother?” The man stepped down from his throne, exposing his face. It was none else but Lester.

“Yes, brother.”

Lester walked slowly toward his brother; he seemed to be chanting a spell. His lips mumbled something at the speed that only a noble could see clearly.

—Rumble—

The ground shook a bit, and out of the ground came up two alters of water. The two alters were of different sizes.

One was large enough to fit two of them, and the other was small, so small that only the hand of a grown man could cover the entirety of its surface.

“Brother, you know what to do.” Lester said it almost with a grin.

“Yes.” It didn’t take long before Denzel was lying on the altar made of water, naked.

Lester walked towards the other altar and placed a heart that came from god knows where.

“Don’t worry, brother, it would not hurt... You are still useful to me in a lot of ways.” Denzel looked so obedient as Lester caressed his head with his bloodied hand.

“OK, I trust you, brother,” Denzel had a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with uncertainties.

“Let’s start; by the way, it might sting a little.” Lester winked.

Soon the two altars connected; a string of water connected the two altars. Soon the sound of someone drowning reverberated throughout the room.

“bwoda!! Save meeee” The sound was coming from the tiny altar.

“Please keep your voice down. I want to remind you that you are currently helping your brother achieve his lifelong dream. Even if you’re unsure about where you are headed, please don’t worry. Trust that you will end up in a place where you will experience happiness and fulfilment. Keep focusing on the present moment and the positive impact you’re making on your brother’s life. You’re doing a great job!” Lester consoled the crying voice.

Although Lester’s words could melt the heart, his sinister plans were just coming together. The dreadful expression on his face and the piercing gaze he had all made his words seem weightless.

Nonetheless, the voice kept shouting and asking for help. Lester got kind of frustrated and just let the voice be; to keep on shouting.

Lester was simply having fun. His half brother was writhing in pain and sometimes convulsed because of the pain. His cries filled the room; tears trickled down his cheeks; he had never been in so much pain.

All this brought joy to his face and heart. “Don’t worry, my dear brother, it would all soon be over.”

After a few hours of screaming and whimpering, Denzel lay on the altar lifelessly. "Finally, the ritual is complete. A new king has been born.”

Denzel was just unconscious from the intense pain he felt.

“It is all coming into place, hahaha.” Lester was laughing hysterically.

Lester and Denzel had always been close. To put it more precisely, Denzel looked up to Lester. As they grew up, although Lester was not acknowledged by their father, Denzel saw his efforts and growth. Denzel wanted nothing more than to be like his elder brother.

Going back to the first day that fostered their sibling relationship. A few decades ago, when Lester was still a teenager and Denzel was a little boy, Wilson hadn’t been born yet.

As Lester’s eyes scanned the area, he spotted the familiar figure of Denzel hiding behind a tree. “Hey, Denzel,” he called out, his voice a hushed whisper, “... I know you’re behind that tree. You know that your mother and father would punish you for staying with me.”

Lester’s face was slick with sweat, and he looked as though he were on the verge of passing out. Denzel emerged from behind the tree, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t care about my parents,” he said. “…I just want to hang out with you.”

Despite his young age of only fifteen, Lester had already achieved the rank of a warrior mage. He had been putting in a lot of effort lately to enhance his skills in water attacks, finely honing his precision to become a formidable force.

Whether he was practicing alone or engaging in battles with other mages, he never gave up until he had perfected his techniques. His dedication and hard work had earned him a reputation as a skilled and talented mage, and many looked up to him for inspiration.

And as such, even the young Denzel aspired to be him; Lester was his inspiration. The only sad fact was that, not minding the accolades Lester gathered or the heights he reached, he was never enough for his father.

After Lester’s mother fell terribly ill, King Sullivan didn’t even look at him any more. If it weren’t for Dorcas, he would have been forgotten in the kingdom.

“You don’t want me to stay with you?” A much younger Denzel of around eight years walked out of the tree before Lester.

A little boy with ruffled ginger hair and a dusty face. It was clear to Lester that it must have taken a lot from the little ginger-haired boy to follow him here.

“Sigh… You can stay, but next time let me know.” Lester could not stay angry with the little boy, he was the only one that wanted to stay with him.

Elated that he could stay little, Denzel jumped up in joy. “Yay…! You are the best; I brought these for you.” Little Denzel pushed his hands forward.

Denzel had something in his hands. “What is that?” Little Lester asked.

“I brought you food. You don’t like it?” Little Denzel’s eyes were almost filled with tears; he had mastered the infamous puppy eyes, and he knew how to use them.

"No, I do, but why would you bring food for me?” Lester was truly confused about the reason Denzel was being nice to him.

“Nothing; I just didn’t see you eat last night or this morning, so I brought you breakfast.” Anyone could see that Denzel was sincere. He had that childish innocence around him.

Denzel could see Lester’s sufferings in his eyes; it was always filled with loneliness. Denzel still had a childish purity; he wanted nothing more than to see his big brother smile.

Although Lester was growing fast in his proficiency as an elemental mage, their father seemed to never notice it. No matter what Lester did, he was never enough for his father; it broke little Denzel’s heart.

"Right, come over, let me have the meal you brought for me.” Lester sat under a tree, and Denzel sat with him.

This scene kept repeating itself; every day Lester and Denzel spent a lot of time together until that day.

Denzel always stayed with Lester whenever he trained; over the few weeks, Denzel learnt a few things from Lester’s unrelenting nature of training.

“Who is there? Show yourself!!” Lester had been eating the food Denzel brought to him when he sensed that someone was in the area.

Lester had filled the area around his training area with molecules of water; if someone or something entered the area, he would know.

“Is that how to talk to your queen?” At this moment, Denzel’s pregnant mother walked from behind the bushes.

Lester had not expected her to follow Denzel. Seeing her shock him, he stood up from his sitting position and bowed.

“I am sorry, my Queen; I didn’t know you were the one behind the bush. My Queen, I am really sorry.” At this point, Lester was already bending at a ninety-degree angle.

King Sullivan had been king for nearly two thousand years but didn’t seem to grow older. He was almost immortal; ruling his kingdom had turned into more fun than work.

As a result, he deemed it fit to have children; after the mistake that came with Lester, he decided to minimize risk and marry one last woman, and it turned out to be Dorcas.

“This is what my son does? Every day he goes missing from the palace only to be found here? Explain yourself!” Although the Queen was known to be gentle, she was still a mother.

It was clear that the Queen, Dorcas, had a lot of pain in her eyes. She had always been a kind woman and had taken care of Lester to the best of her power.

Dorcas was actually a simple mage; she was not from any great family. She was always down to earth and related with everyone quite well; everyone simply loved her, and moreover, she was simply stunning.

Her dark ginger hair, beautiful face, and hourglass figure made her flawless when her character was added. She was a very good queen, the very best that the kingdom of Klinestra had ever seen.

The thought that Lester would cause her to worry so much every day broke her heart. She had been really good to him; she treated him like her own child. It was sad that every day she woke up, it was going to be the news that her only child had disappeared from the palace.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t put effort into stopping Denzel from leaving the palace, but he was simply too slippery. No one knew how he did it; he just seemed to disappear from the palace every day.

It was only normal for her to be furious, and Lester understood that; he could not blame her for being angry with him.

“My Queen, it is like this.”

“Mother, I am the one who came here by myself. Please do not worry; Lester has been good to me.” Before Lester could say anything, Denzel ran to his mother and tried to persuade her.

She could not simply disregard her first child and the next king. Especially when he was looking at her that way, he truly knew his way to her heart.

Although she had forgiven Lester because of her son’s plea, she didn’t want to seem like a pushover. “Lester, come here.”

“Yes, my Queen.” Lester walked closer.

“Now tell me, what is it that you do here with Denzel?” Dorcas was simply curious.

"Yes, my Queen, is it like this?”

Lester explained how the days he spent with Denzel went; he told her about his training and how he helped Denzel to train.

“Wait, your elements are different, even so they are opposites. How do you help him train then?” Dorcas could not believe it. She knew that her son had two elements: fire and lightning, while Lester’s element was water. How could Lester teach him?

“My Queen, it’s rather simple. His fire element is similar to my water element as well as his lightning; let me explain. The lightning element is fast, so to gain control over it, you have to slow it down and bend it to your will. The opposite goes for my water element; the only difference is the difference in the effect.”

Lester explained that the lightning element wanted to rush out even if it was in a small quantity, but his water element was slow; he had to force it out. So he was teaching Denzel how to control his output of lightning with what he learned on his own.

He also explained how he taught Denzel how to control his fire element. He explained that water, wind, fire and other variant mages use their bodies as a channel for the element to manifest itself. So if he tightened the channel, the output would carry more pressure than it would if it was coming out as it was being filtered.

Dorcas was simply amazed at the extensiveness of his knowledge of elemental proficiency. She was a powerful fire mage so she knew a bit of what he was saying, even though it was only a vague understanding.

“Who taught you all this?” Dorcas was simply amazed at his understanding of elemental manipulation.

“My Queen, I taught myself; the tutors assigned to me are my pupils now.” The words that came out of his mouth caused Dorcas’ eyes to widen in shock

“What do you mean your tutors are now your pupils.” This was simply too good to be true.

Lester, although chastised by his father, was still a prince so he was assigned tutors that had proven themselves. The fact that he said that the royal tutors were his pupils did not sit well with Dorcas; he was a fifteen-year-old boy for crying out loud.

“Not really my Queen, I am too young to be their master, I just aid them whenever they have problems with their element manipulation.” Lester’s eyes were very clear.

“Prove it to me.” Dorcas was clear with her words.

“Yes, big brother, prove it to Mother!!” Little Denzel lifted his hands as he hyped Lester and cheered for him.

“My Queen, I have a meeting with one of my tutors this evening; if you can wait a little bit more, I think he will not miss the appointment.” Lester said with a bow.

‘I am not sure if I can wait, but I have to.’ “I will wait, but until then, I want to see how good your control is. Do you mind if I watch you train?”

“Not at all, my Queen; you can watch me. But I have to apologize; I have no seat for you, my queen.” Lester really felt incompetent now, but how could he have known that the Queen would be coming today?

“Don’t worry, just train.” Queen Dorcas had thought about that fact as well; she knew what to do.

And besides, she was a powerful Nobel-ranked mage. She had climbed up the ranks on her own; becoming Queen was simply out of fate; it was what had to be.

Before long, Queen Dorcas was floating in the air with Denzel in her arms. She watched with such intensity that it seemed as though she was right behind Lester, breathing down his neck.

Lester was tense and nervous, but he still had to prove himself. After a few minutes, Lester began his show of proficiency.

It didn’t take long before Dorcas was amazed at how seamlessly he controlled his element. Lester was simply dancing; his moves were beyond smooth; surely if Dorcas was younger she would have fallen in love at the spot.

Dorcas, although she loved every living being, only respected the strong and those who strived for perfection. Today Kai had just proven himself to her.

The show of proficiency went on for what seemed like an eternity. Everyone was so engrossed in what they were doing: Dorcas watching Lester, Little Denzel cheering for Lester, and Lester dancing his heart out in his element.

They were so engrossed that they didn’t know that evening had come. “My Queen, I think it is getting late; I don’t think that the tutor I told you about would be coming today…”

“Sigh, you have really broadened my horizon, little boy.” Queen Dorcas’ pupils were dilated; it was evidence that she was simply in awe of Lester’s show of talent.

"Mother, can I stay with him?” Little Denzel’s eyes shimmered as he spoke.

“My son, yes. But you have to promise me that you will always come back to the palace and have lunch with your mother.” A warm light of motherly love seemed to flow out of her eyes as she spoke.

These words brought immense joy to Denzel. “I promise, Mother, I will always have lunch with you.”

“Since the tutor is running late, we’ll have to head back home now. What do you say, Lester?” Queen Dorcas asked.

“Nothing at all, my Queen; I am really apologetic for the fact that he didn’t come today.” Lester said with a remorseful bow.

“It’s alright, let us go.”

"Yes, my Queen.”

It didn’t take long before they started heading back to the palace. Lester was walking and Queen Dorcas was leisurely floating behind him; she was more concerned in understanding Lester’s movements.

‘Lester’s movements seemed to be part of a ritual dance; I can’t seem to place my fingers on which one it is... Sigh.’ Dorcas was really lost in her thoughts.

“Stop!!” Although Dorcas was lost in thought, she still noticed that something had entered her space, and it was not an animal.

All mages, after attaining a level of proficiency, could feel the molecules of their element in the air, much like what Lester did, but this was more of a reflex than a planned action.

“My Queen, is there any problem?” Lester was confused. It was rather normal that he didn’t sense the change in the area; he wasn’t that strong yet. Lester thought that it was something that he had done.

“Come out; do not fret. I know you are there inside the bushes.” This was rather odd for Lester as he watched Dorcas ignore him and talk to no one in particular.

It didn’t take long before he understood what was going on; someone was close!

—Ruffle—

“Speak! Do not blame me for burning you to a crisp!!” Dorcas was calm and loving but she was still a mage, and a powerful one at that.

If she said she was going to send you to hell, you better believe it; Dorcas could go into a war and win single-handedly. She was the true definition of a Fiery War general, not minding her cute face and all.

—Ruffle—

Dorcas already had a huge ball of flame dancing above her palm. Immediately the intruder came out of the bushes, he or she would be torched; more specifically, turned to ash.

“PLEASE!! Don’t kill me. I am coming out.” A few moments before Dorcas lost her patience, a loud pleading gruff voice came out of the bush before them. “Give me a few moments—FUCK!! Why won’t this thorn bush let me go?!”

It turned out that the owner of the voice was caught in a thorn bush. “YES! Finally free. I am coming out now.” After a few minutes of struggling, the struggling man staggered out of the thorn bush.

“It’s about time. Speak your purpose!” Dorcas was agitated right now.

“Oh, my Queen I didn’t expect to see you here. My apologies if I startled you, but I have an appointment with Prince Lester.” It turned out that the owner of the gruff voice was actually the tutor that Lester talked about.

“Hmm, Tutor Ivan? Is that you?” The night had not yet matured so it was fairly easy for Dorcas to see the face of the person before them.

"Yes, my Queen, it is I, Ivan,” Ivan said with a bow.

“That is alright; I thought it was you. Lester, is what he is saying true?” Although Ivan was a respected tutor, she still had to be sure.

"Yes, my Queen, he is the one I told you about.”

“Right, you guys can talk with each other; I and Denzel would not wait up for you guys.” Dorcas said as she leisurely floated away.

“Thank you, my Queen.” Lester said.

“Be safe, my queen,” Ivan said.

After floating away for some distance, Dorcas turned around; what she saw was simply unexpected.

‘What am I looking at?!?’ What Dorcas saw was simply surreal to her. Lester, a fifteen-year-old boy, was blessing Ivan, a revered mage. The image of Ivan kneeling before Lester was ingrained in her mind.

Although Ivan was not very powerful in the aspect of fighting, his wealth of knowledge in the arts of element manipulation was almost unparalleled by those in his generation.

Ivan was a respected mage even among his fellow keepers of knowledge, but he was a respected young mage bowing to an even younger age mage. If Dorcas didn’t see this, she would not believe it, even if the king told her of it.

Something else scared her; as she looked more intently, she could see Lester’s smile. He looked like a predator about to feast on his prey; his eyes had a sinister shine to them.

As Dorcas observed Lester’s face, she couldn’t help but notice that his expression was similar to the king’s. She had seen this look only once before and it had been on the king’s face when he was addressing his subjects. It was a look that commanded attention and respect, and it was not easy to ignore.

Dorcas wondered if, at such a young age, Lester already had such a domineering and sinister look. She couldn’t help but wonder how much more powerful and intimidating he would become once he grew up to be a stronger mage. She imagined him standing tall, his gaze piercing, and his voice commanding respect from everyone around him.

The thought of Lester becoming a powerful mage scared her. She couldn’t imagine anyone being able to stand in his way if he continued to develop his skills and his demeanor remained as imposing as it was now.

'No, I mustn’t worry myself before he turns to terror I would be dead by then, I hope. At least my son would be under his wing.’ Dorcas thought as she shook her head.

“Mother, why are you shaking your head?” Denzel asked.

“It’s nothing, my son, Let us head home.” Dorcas said as she patted Little Denzel on the head.

“Yes, mother!!” Denzel held his mother even closer as she moved faster, Denzel loved it when she flew faster.