Jake stared agog at his hands.

  They’re…back.

  He practiced clutching with each, “Incredible,” they were as good as new. He could feel the hot blood flowing through them like never before.

  “I did say they’d grow back in a matter of seconds, didn’t I?” Asariel said with a smirk as he patted Jake on the back.

  “No, smug face, you didn’t…” Jake said while rubbing his wrist and neck.

  “Well now you know. At Least the neck chain had a key, otherwise you most likely wouldn’t have your head attached.”

  The sudden shift from insufferable pain to an eerie sense of bliss was a feeling unlike any other. It was as though his body itself was conflicted as to what to feel.

  “So now what? You’re really going to let me walk out as a free man?”

  Asariel didn’t respond, instead he just walked towards the door. His face was sedate, “If everything I heard from you is honest, then it’s safe to say you are currently in grave danger.” He lay his hand on the metal door. For a solid second, Asariel seemed to hesitate. Chances were he could turn around and kill Jake without breaking a sweat—or he could gamble and open the door, exposing Esterrosa to possibly an astronomic threat. Once opened, there was no going back.

  “I won’t hold it against you if—”

  The door screeched open, “Like I said,” he looked over his shoulder. “I trust you and I’m willing to bet this city over that very trust.”

  Jake smiled.

  Very stupid of you, but I appreciate it. Thanks.

  For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Jake felt the fresh breeze of the outside world.

  “Hello you,” he told the world with open arms. “I never thought I’d say this, but I missed you.”

  Yes, I missed every bit of you…

  He stepped out of the chamber and into a wooden haven. He enjoyed every detail of it, From the sun-dappled leaves to the tower-like trees that rose to the clouds.

  Nothing could possibly ruin this mome—

  “Asariel! What is the meaning of this?” Gellius said as he walked forward.

  When have I ever been right?

  Behind him were soldiers lined up in two rows and a chariot, with a beautifully bred horse attached. There was no doubt as to who it belonged to.

  Even his horse appeared gallant…

  “I’ve determined that Sir Jake poses no threat to Esterrosa.”

  “You’re putting the entirety of the city at risk!” Gellius exclaimed.

  “Gellius, my decision is made and it’s final.”

  Gellius, realizing Asariel would stand firmly by his decision, reluctantly yielded to his choice. “If it’s what you have decided then so be it.”

  The young lord thanked him for his understanding and mounted his chariot.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “So this is it,” Jake said, grabbing Asariel’s attention before he had the chance to disappear into the chariot. Jake bowed, “Thank you for everything. I’ll forever be grateful.”

  As Jake lifted his head, it seemed as though Asariel was holding back laughter, “Sir Jake, perhaps I hadn’t made myself clear enough when I mentioned your life being in extreme danger,” He paused and regained his composure. “From this day on, you shall live under my strict protection. My household will provide you with all the basic essentials from food to clothing.”

  Huh?

  ***

  Heavily—he sighed, as he sat in the chariot, that was on course to bringing him to God knows where.

  “Say, what exactly is the danger?”

  The question was expected by Asariel, “So you finally decided to ask.”

  “Yeah, I figured it’ll be better if I know what I’m running from exactly.”

  “Fair enough,” he tapped his book close. “300 years ago, that’s when it all began…”

  Oh boy, here comes story time.

  “Back when war still raged on between the East and the West. On one side was the Adwaeweth Empire and on the other, the west, was the Nodith Empire. The latter, you see, up until then had been by far the most feared and ruthless empire. They’d go so far as to impale every last one of their enemies on wooden stakes, and line them up along the border as scarecrows. Not just soldiers either… Women, children, babies, every last one of them. In the end, it totaled well over 10 million.”

  “10 million…?”

  “In short, it wasn’t a pretty sight. The Adwaeweth Empire, on the other hand, would be perhaps what you could call ‘the good guys’. Their king was highly favored by the people, one could even say their followers were the epitome of loyalty. But alas, all that loyalty amounted to nothing as the Empire was soon on the brink of defeat. It became apparent that their troops were slowly dying off. They were outnumbered.

  “While the Nodith Empire flourished, Adwaeweth only sank deeper into the pit of despair, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Adwaeweth Empire was virtually erased from the face of the world. Not a single empire could dare consider them as one of theirs and how could you blame them, right?”

  “Yeah, but that can’t possibly be the end of the story…”

  Asariel smiled, “I love your train of thought.” He leaned forward, “It fell.”

  “What fell?”

  “The Nodith Empire. Quite literally overnight, they fell. The Adwaeweth Empire infiltrated and killed every single higher-up in the span of 3 hours.”

  Silence followed. Asariel stared at Jake, no doubt to see if he could guess what would come next.

  Jake picked up the thread, “But all wasn’t as it seemed, was it? If they had the resources to conduct such an operation, why hadn’t they done it earlier in the war? Their downfall had to be a part of their plan from the beginning, it’s the only possible explanation.”

  “Precisely!” Asariel said with the satisfaction of a storyteller. “To think that people believed an act of desperation had the strongest empire of all time crumbling down…outrageous is it not?”

  “Yes, but still… How? Even with their guard down, how would such an infiltration go unnoticed?” Jake was now fully hooked into the story.

  “Here is where it gets interesting,” Asariel continued, “Our history books will tell you the attack consisted of about 500 extremely skilled assassins. In the span of a few hours, they went on to kill the most prominent figures of the empire, including the Royal Family, Nobles, and etc. Next, an additional army, of thousands, was used to capture the royal capital and control the pandemonium amongst the confused people. The allies of the Nodith Empire saw this as an opportunity. With the higher-ups eradicated, the first to recapture the Nodith Empire’s Royal Capital would surely proclaim themselves as King and with only a few thousand troops at the Adwaeweth's disposal, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

  “The Adwaeweth were full of surprises though, as they went on to defend the Royal Capital from hundreds of attacks. Soon after, a truce was called. After regaining its former glory, The Adwaeweth Empire still stands to this day, stronger than ever.”

  Jake sat there, almost amazed at the history of this newly discovered world, but then it struck him, “But what does any of that have to do with me?”

  “Well, shortly after the war, The 05 Council was formed. 5 Mages with almost absolute authority, appointed by the king himself, were in charge of protecting the Empire.”

  “And they’re after me?”

  “Yes, but of course, that in itself doesn’t worry me. As I said before, the story you were just told was from history books. Although not far from the truth, something else occurred 300 years ago. You see, when Adwaeweth captured the Royal Capital, they never had an army of 500 assassins or any troops. Instead, the thousands killed after the Royal Capital was captured, was the doing of 5 Mages. The now 05 Council.”

  Wait…

  Jake felt as though his mind had just been scrambled around, “What do you mean the now 05 Council? Was it not 300 years ago?”

  “They’re still alive. The strongest mages in existence. Sir Jake, by entering our world, you’ve committed the crime of Trespassing.”