105 Awakening of Sinhold (1/2)
With all the resources invested, both from Ashera and himself, Kilian couldn't bear destroying the fine specimen, planning to devour him at a later date. Satisfied, the Mark of Greed and Eye of Fehl stirred, silently reaching new levels.
At that time, the Sura Plane shook under unprecedented tremors and a dark-purple light column shot into the sky. All eyes turned toward its origin and witnessed the emergence of an ancient, jet-black fortress so large that regardless of where they stood, all could see it.
A hypnotic call spread around the Sura Plane, driving the weak-willed toward the fortress' doors.
Over one kilometer tall, the fortress appeared like the devil's residence, breathing thoughts of depravity into all that glanced toward it. From its doors came a drawbridge that stretched and buried itself in the ground—welcoming everyone into the fortress' corrupt halls.
Kilian's face twisted into a frown. With the Sura Queen in his hands and the councilors under his nose, why was the fortress rearing its head? Wasn't the key in the suras' hands. Moreover, although not fully independent, the castle seemed animated with a will of its own, enabling it to spread its influence toward the weak-minded.
”It's Ashera's lingering will. Before robbed the fortress from her and sealed it for the suras' sake, Ashera managed to impart it with a trace of her will. It seems that over the ages, that will not only didn't vanish, but grew increasingly stronger. My guess is that it feeds on a vast source of fehl corruption, perhaps ancient legions buried just in case by Ashera to maintain her hold over the Fortress.
However, if she could control it, it'd have long since returned to her side. If anyone can reach the control center before the Fortress forms an independent consciousness, they can suppress its budding individuality and take full control,” said Eleonora who appeared at Kilian's right.
”Urag, meet me inside the Fortress.”
Realizing that someone had already outpaced him and seized the key from the fehl suras' hands, Kilian wasted no more time, gave Urag a mental order, and alongside Eleonora, rushed toward the focus of his greed. Others had similar reactions.
”We can't allow such a terrifying relic to fall into Kilian or the technocracy's hands. Otherwise, the von Skoll dynasty's 3,000 years of hegemony will end in this era,” Ayden declared, and alongside Tristan and Estrella, raced toward the Fortress. Agreeing with the words, Hanns followed them.
Unwilling to let such a force fall into the outsiders' hands, the sura councilors readied to join the fray. But before the spectacle of 297 exarchs' erupting dra could alarm all sides, an amethyst crystal formed before them, and Kilian's voice resounded.
”As long as you stay put, your queen is safe. But once you join the race for the fortress, I cannot guarantee that she won't fall to some unexpected accident,” Kilian said, and instantly the councilors halted all moves.
”Despicable!”
Curse as they might, the councilors didn't dare put their queen's life at risk, and begrudgingly chose to stay put. With the strongest force kept out of the game, Kilian had more confidence in seizing the prize. But when he thought of the one capable of forcing 300 exarchs to hand over the key, that confidence turned into doubt.
”Could it be…”