The Creatures Series

Twentieth Dark

Twentieth DarkCreatures of the Dark

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##### Twentieth Dark #####

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Life won’t survive without making a few enemies.

Even a kappa could be venomous when needed. It was my fault to underestimate the possibility for vengeance. Various ways had been used by him, until it came to one breaking point. He knew about the moon effect, and deaths began to become unavoidable.

The burial ceremony is hold grandly, but my visit is private. I bring Frozen Roses as a symbol of peace and reincarnation, in hope that their souls will find a better place than the ones they had left.

The public can't know that I executed the kappa as a Court, nor to be taken as an act of crime by the Wizthority so they can arrest me again. So mind manipulation is the only key to my way out. I erase the entire witnesses and replace their memories with their usual routine. Next step is I fix Sorcier Tower in one night, remove my blood from the carpet inside the passageway, and make a report to Lulu. All have to be done secretly.

As for the engagement part.... I have no other choice but to go with it. I can manipulate Link and my parents’ minds, but the tattoo will still be there. I can break it, but by force, Link will have to pay the consequences with his life.

"Let me through," I say to the guard that's blocking my way. He's twice as tall as we, at least, full of muscles and fierce-looking.

The guard looks down on me and replies flatly, "His Majesty can't be disturbed right now. No guest allowe—"

A buzzing voice from his earphone interrupt his words. While listening, he eventually replies with "Yes" and "Understood". When the speaker has finished, the guard turns his attention back to me again.

"This way please, Court Arsene." He steps aside from the way and let me enter through the golden painted gates.

Inside, although it looks pretty much as it was at my last visit, minus the party guests, there's completely no living, breathing being that inhabits the place. Zero sign of Lulu from any corner of the front room—not even to welcome his Court. I have no other choice but to explore the building. Although it's massive and grand and all, I can end this search quickly by using my shadow powers. Tracing every single object in the house, I find a glimpse of life inside of the guests' room—one that I know quite well of.

"Your Majesty," I bow when I enter the room. The door wasn't locked, so I wasn't delayed. "I have report for you, even though I'm sure you already know most of the story."

"Most?" His voice echoes through the room like a low and sizing chanting. "You mean there's more that I don't know about?" He appears from behind one of the dark curtains.

"Yes," I nod my head politely.

He approaches me suddenly—so fast I can't even react when his face is inches from mine. He raises his hand up high, but not to slap me. But instead, to caress my cheek.

"You don't need to be so formal this time, Arsene. We are childhood friends, after all," he whispers to my ear.

"We were," I mutter, dropping the formal accent. "We used to be friends, close friends, until that night. Now, you're just someone that recruited me."

He chuckles. "Someone that recruited you?" His tone holds amusement and humor. “ Are you really sure you even want to be addressed as one of my mere servants? Because if you do, then that means I can do this ─”

Lulu pulls my right hand in such strength and speed, I’m starting to expect that I’ll lose my hand. Kisses of blades start to tingle my palm. But when I bleed, my black blood always instantly heals myself. The shadow-pull will not let my wound open for too long, especially because this is not the other side of the moon’s night anymore. Traces of cuts still linger my right hand, though. And it all happens even before I am able to struggle for freedom.

“What are you doing?” My scream comes out raspy as I try to hold the pain to stay inside.

“Removing the tattoo. What? You hate it, don’t you? So let’s just say that I’m doing you a favor, along with mine.” He kisses the back of my palm as the last cut disappears. And it’s true; the tattoo of my engagement with Link has gone. But that means....

“ Link! I have to cure him. He must be in great pain right now. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! ” I can ’ t help but to scream out loud this time when Lulu break my ribs. His strong arms catch me in time before I can fall to the ground, though. “ What the ─” Blood flows out from my lips. “ What ’ s the meaning of this, Lulu? ” I look up to see him smiling as if this is just one of his morning routine of walking in his beautiful garden.

“You finally called my nickname out loud, My Dear Arsene.” He sings cheerfully. “Don’t you know how lonely I had been since you left? You never even address me with my name. I want to know what you’re thinking, but all I can see is your flawless face every time I look at you. Say, why don’t you just marry me instead, so that no one can separate us in the future?”

I can see how piercing his violet eyes are, and how his dark hair match them perfectly to describe horror.

“Are you nuts?”

He only chuckles and tighten the hold he has of my waist. I don’t even expect how hard warm he is when my body is being forced to press against his.

“Of course not, My Dear Arsene. We were much close before when we were children, so why can’t we marry now? We used to plan invasions and war strategy to conquer the world, don’t you remember? I know very well how you told me that you wanted the world under your hands, so that they couldn’t take anything away from you anymore. You love your family very dearly, that you even want to destroy the world and rebuild it just to make sure that they can stay safe. Don’t you remember all of those things? I also remember when we took down numerous cities one by one. Oh, the fun of destroying all evilness. You always said ‘A shadow is a shadow, wherever it comes from,’ every time the whispers of tormented souls tried to bring you down about how evil your powers are. Oh, the good times; we were always together. What’s wrong with joining our future now?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What is wrong now is how corrupted I am! How can you say such irresponsible thing, when you know that I couldn’t even do my job properly? I am a Court, Lulu, and I wanted murder. I always am, even before we met at that garden of yours! I couldn’t control my lust for killing wizards in such a savage way, even though I knew that they were wrong. I wanted them all to rot in hell, just as how rotting I am in this living world, Lulu. And that’s why I came here. To quit from being one of your justice’s pawns.”

“ But it never bothers me, My Dear Arsene. Your powers, your desires ─ it does not matter. Besides, there ’ s nothing wrong with enjoying killing guilty wizards. ”

“It’s....not?” I look surprised for the first time in ages.

“No. It’s acceptable.” Lulu smiles at him, and this time, I reply it with my own.

“Thank you,” I say, hugging him. “For always being at my side. I can’t believe that we’d been strangers for the years since that night.”

“And finally, we can be together again. We don’t have to pretend, Arsene. Because all of the witnesses that had helped separate us have been gone. They all had died, by natural causes of course. So there’s no restraint to stop us from conquering the world again, that is, if you still want it,” he tells me.

I try to hold my laughter. “No, Lulu. We are Courts now; we can’t do such thing.”

“Yes, we can. I’m the creator, remember? So I can dismiss it anytime I want to,” he answers optimistically.

“Link. How about him?”

“What about him?”

“Is he gonna be alright?”

“Of course. I did the removal carefully so that he couldn’t even notice it.”

That’s a relief.

And as I feel myself calmer in peace, I lay into Lulu’s embrace.

“It’s so nice that we clear that out, Lulu. We can’t live like out past, but at least we won’t be some wizards that know each others’ names.”

“Me, too, My Dear Arsene. Let’s not quarrel anymore in the future.”

I silently agree. But after that, I can ’ t hold myself any longer. I ’ m so tired ─ perhaps it ’ s because of the rollercoaster disaster that had been dropped like nuclear bomb in front of my life, or it is because I had finally found a perfect conclusion towards everything, but whichever the reason is, I lost sight immediately and fall into the endless abyss of darkness. The last thing I can hear is Lulu ’ s glutinous humming.

“Sweet night-dream, Arsene.”

- END OF BOOK TWO -

Book 3CREATURES OF THE MIST

Life is absurd without an enemy. They can be anywhere, be anything. But a true enemy may always be by your side, even in sweet dreams. So when will the mask of mist be revealed? It's not like a bleeding heart can be stopped when there’s no scar.

Stella Purple presents.... The Creatures Series continues in this third book, Creatures of the Mist. Follow Arsene’s story in this not-so-fairytale world of mist.