Returning A Favor

"Why… you don't recognize me anymore, Uncle?"

It was just a question. A simple one. Yet, her voice reverberated coldy against the prison walls. It was akin to a distant echo that brought about a muffled cry of terror in the shrill night. Evie, who wasn't the recipient of the question, shuddered ever so malevolently, not to mention the great sorcerer, Dozahr.

His body was honest as it quivered like a brittle dry leaf in autumn. His pupils shuddered and his scalp tingled in fear. He felt numb all over with large beads of cold sweat treading down his spine in a slow gentle motion.

What kind of aura could be this frightening? Both of them questioned in fear.

Dark mist swirled, ebbing around the young witch like children playing around. But instead of innocence, Dozahr felt the scent of blood thickened with every motion. With every gaze and gesture, they felt the absence of light and the setting of dusk.

"Uncle…" A merry grin split her black stained lips as Kalliope took another step closer to the pale-faced Dozahr.

At that moment, the old man himself was shocked senseless by her words. He was knocked out of his daze, staring dumbfoundedly at Kalliope in realization.

"W-Wh-at…?"

"K-Kalliope?" Evie had been hesitant at first but now, hearing her voice, she was certain that the nightmarish figure in front of her was none other than Kalliope. She couldn't help but widen her eyes when Kalliope turned her head slightly to face her.

Tilting her head up, a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "You shouldn't eavesdrop on someone else's family matter, Love."

Following that, the dark mist floating around Kalliope rushed towards Evie.

"Eekkkk!!" Evie shrieked as she stepped back to avoid the eerie black smoke. However, her cry was soon buried inside the darkness. The smoke swirled, creating a sphere with Evie in its captive.

The siren witch slowly opened her eyes to a magnificent bedroom. Roses were littered on the bed and across the marble floor. The row of silk curtains floated against the night breeze as the windows and the door to the terrace were left open to let the moonlight shine in. Then, in the middle of this dazzling sight, four men with impeccable features emerged from behind Evie.

"What's happening?" She was completely puzzled by the situation. Wasn't I inside the dungeon?

But soon, she couldn't think much more as the four beautiful men began to undress her and laid her on the bed, driving her into a wild ecstasy.

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"Kalliope, what are you---??" Dozahr pointed at Kalliope in surprise. His finger trembled nervously.

"Hah, even a stranger could recognize me right away," she sighed in disappointment. Then, she slowly opened her eyes to stare narrowly at the old man like he was a lamb ready to be slaughtered. "Yet, you...the same flesh and blood...but fail to do so."

"W-What uncle?! More importantly, what did you do?!" Dozahr tried to disregard the family ties right away and focused more on the dark power within her.

She let out a ridiculing chuckle. "You still don't understand the groundwork here. So, let me explain it to you." Kalliope raised her hand slowly in elegance before spelling out, "Blood Manipulation." And her hand swiftly clenched into a fist.

BA-THUMP!

In that moment, Dozahr felt his heart pounding wildly as his blood stopped flowing all of the sudden. He could feel it backtracking slowly. Then, as though it had a life of its own, it turned and struck the walls of his arteries and flesh like a thousand needles raining on his body. Dozahr immediately collapsed onto the ground howling a painful groan.

He only got louder as Kalliope tightened her fist. The pressure she gave caused her nails to dig into her skin, and that resulted in an even more tyrannical oppression weighing on Dozahr.

Blood dripped down her palm. Drop by drop, it smeared the old man's sunken cheek sending it sizzling under the contact with dead mana.

"AARRGGGHHHH!!!" He started experiencing a seizure brought by the pain from his freezing blood and the dead mana that seeped through his pores.

Kalliope bent down as she watched him whimpering like a tragic lamb. She chuckled. "Now, you know. I'm the one who's asking the question here. And you...are only responsible to answer."

Dozahr tried his best to look up as his body continued to spasm violently. His eyebrows scrunched up. Even amid the pain, his consciousness remained intact. Truly deserving as a great sorcerer. If only he had mana, he would have fought back. He just couldn't understand how Kalliope could use magic here.

"You look confused. Ah…" she gasped suddenly. "Are you wondering how I can wield magic against your anti-magic field?

She chuckled ever so melodiously. "Easy enough. The runes etched on the magic artifacts only carried the mark of earth magic, but nowhere did it point on black magic."

"Such irony...your own downfall is the result of your carelessness." Kalliope watched how Dozahr's eyes reddened with both anger and hatred. The amusement in her face vanished in that instance. She tipped his chin with her finger. "Hmm...is this how you look at your brother, my father?"

Dozahr parted his lips trying to force an answer but failed to voice out anything. However, her next sentence landed a huge blow on him and his expression turned ghastly.

"...from below or should I phrase it more accurately, 'from his shadow'?" She guffawed as she slowly let go of her clenched fist. "I can see how frustrating it must be."

Dozahr breathed out a heavy sigh of relief the moment Kalliope lifted her spell. He coughed continuously for a while before stopping. However, he couldn't feel any energy in his body. He laid pathetically on the ground.

Through his gritted teeth, Dozahr gushed, "You…"

"I've always been a grateful person, Uncle. I would return a favor tenfold. And I am here now to 'return' that favor." Kalliope smiled in mockery. That arrogant and proud expression reminded Dozahr of Valkyrie. The hatred in his eyes intensified.

Nothing plagued Dozahr more than the title 'the younger brother of Valkyrie Serphent'. He experienced love, education, wealth and special privilege just the same as any other member of the household.

But, one thing he could never gain and that was recognition. Recognition entitled to his own name, to his own self as 'Darnell Serphent'. For as long as he could remember, he had always been the little brother. The shadow that lived behind Valkyrie.