Seventy

Amon crashed onto the floor, wincing in pain as he felt his shoulder nearly shatter.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to linger on such things, as in the next moment, he was assaulted by an ungodly pressure that drove him down onto his belly, unable to move as he felt the weight of an elephant applied on every part of his being.

Though he couldn't see it, he'd landed in the middle of a circular room, surrounded by six floating thrones of gold.

Upon those thrones, figures shrouded in mantles of blue aura could be seen.

"An otherworlder from a newly awakened planet has appeared. It seems the third child has found him first."

"Mhm, he's been lapping his brothers recently, I suppose he truly will be the one to inherit his majesty's throne."

The room became silent.

"Either way, this little thing he found is rather weak and apart from his gifts, there seems to be no peculiarity with him. His aether sensitivity is rather high but nothing noteworthy."

"I cannot access his status, which means that their planet already has a defense system in place."

"Or that he has an Innate System."

"No, his soul gives no fluctuations and seems dried out, like most mortals, so it'd be stupid to assume this."

Amon was lost as countless voices intermingled and talked at once, at speeds he could barely compute.

This went on for what felt like hours until suddenly, the room became quiet once more and all gazes drilled into him.

"Young man, choose a number between one and a hundred."

Amon was even more confused but aware he was at the mercy of these figures, he acquiesced and spoke through gritted teeth.

"S... six... sixty!"

A series of chuckles echoed, but none seemed born out of amusement but rather out of pity.

It reminded him of the look he'd gotten from Abel when they'd neared the third prince's estate.

"Well then. Your fate was within your hands and you have decided."

The thrones began to vanish, one by one, and as that happened, golden chains manifested around Amon, slithering around his body to tightly bind him.

"We, Royal Council of Kandria, sentence you to sixty years of Mortal Shedding under the hands of the Third Prince of Kandria, Lord Kuwan."

Before Amon could react or even try to fight back, the chains around his body fully tightened and another portal appeared below him, taking him further down his spiral into hell.

Amon, once again, crashed down, his bones cracking as he landed, but this time, he immediately stood up, ignoring the pain that coursed through his body as he looked around in alertness.

As he did so, the chains around his body became illusory and fused into him, becoming tattoos that covered his body.

'Mordred... what the hell is happening? How do I get out...'

Currently, he was alone in the middle of an arena. To his left, there was a rack of weapons and to his right, there was a grand door.

It was opened, allowing him to see the inside, which contained countless tools of torture as the smell of blood that came from it was thick.

[Master, remain calm. We evidently have been tricked and sold off by Abel and Sarah. I apologize, I should've known that being from other worlds like us would be valued. I apologize.]

'It's fine. Now's not the time to-'

Prince Kuwan appeared, floating in the air, and right in front of Amon, on the other end of the arena, another chained man appeared.

"Welcome, my little whores! This truly is the beginning of something glorious!"

Prince Kuwan laughed.

"Let it begin!"

[Master, grab a weapon, quick!]

РАН!

A fist slid across Amon's face, tearing off a few of his teeth as he was sent crashing into the rack of weapons.

Before he could stand up, a hurling ball of flames slammed into him.

"Arghh!"

Prince Kuwan's sick laughter echoed as his body faded away.

The man, or rather, the boy that'd attacked Amon was young, just as young as him.

He had short dark blue hair and pupils that swirled with colors of red and gold.

His body, toned to the possible zenith, rippled with power as within the palm of his hand, dozens of balls of fire could be seen.

WHOOSH!

Amon slid and rolled to his right, dodging another ball of fire as his hand had instinctively grabbed onto a spear. Using it, he stood up, but contrary to what his opponent had expected, he threw it, mustering all his power and using it like a lance.

The boy was forced to dodge, but just as he did so, Amon was upon him, his gaze maddened as without care, he bit his jugular, biting down with full force before he pulled and blood sprayed, showering him with its warm crimson torrent.

The boy gasped, his vision blurring and his knees buckling as he dropped down, gasping for air. He clutched his neck in a futile attempt to stop the flow, but he soon found himself entirely covered in his own blood.

PAH!

He fell, face first, and at that moment, the last echo of his heartbeat resounded.

Amon stood over him, his face entirely covered in blood and his gaze full of rage as his chest heaved up and down, seemingly attempting to suck in all the air of the arena.

His body felt alive, adrenaline coursing through his body as his heart fiercely thumped against his chest and his pupils narrowed under the rush of it all.

But at that moment, just as weakness began to creep up on him, another portal opened and another enemy, wielding more esoteric abilities, appeared.

[Mas... Father, remain strong. Grab your spear!]

With shaky hands, Amon bent down, grabbing another spear as his stance widened and his core lowered.

With his lungs burning, his head pounding, his bones creaking, and his muscles aching, he faced the new enemy that'd appeared, his gaze unwavering despite the insanity of it all.

BANG!