Will of a Prince

The structure in front of them was made out of dark, polished stone from the surrounding area. There wasn’t as much as a crack on any of its smooth surfaces. The structure itself was circular and was about half the size of Iron Kingdom in terms of circumference. Massive arches surrounded the outside, possibly indicating entrances for any who came from a long journey. Stone spikes littered the top of the walls, all pointing outward into the desolate landscape. All of them slowly crept around the back of the building, allowing Squabee to lead them to an entrance that would take them right to their friends.

"Are you sure this entrance won’t alarm anyone?"

"I’m sure. If you would like, I can put on my mask to scout out the way to the prisoners."

"Are they being held above or underground?"

"They are all above ground. They tried making cages underground, but the surrounding area was too hot, and most prisoners suffocated from the heat."

"I see."

They all approached an oddly shaped door with massive iron handles on each side. Squabee threw up her hood and covered her face with the skull mask. She gave the group a nod before pulling open the massive door.

"If you all want to watch, you should be able to poke a hole through one of these walls or doors. Just in case you all don’t trust me still."

Slimo gave her a thumbs up.

"Way ahead of you."

As the door creaked open, dust seemed to fall off its hinges, as if the door hadn’t been used in a long time. Slimo took note of that and quickly made a small hole with his finger in the wall when it closed. He peeped through, watching Squabee walk down a dimly lit hallway. As she walked, it seemed like a few epigones took note of her arrival and approached her steadily. Even though he couldn’t hear them, it seemed like they let Squabee pass by with little to no issue. Slimo announced to everyone around him with a smile on his face.

"She’s in. Now all we have to do is look for an opening to follow her."

When Slimo turned around to see their reactions, he noticed that all four of them had magically disappeared without a single sound. Slimo looked all around him trying to see where they could have gone. Panic started rising in his chest.

"Did Squabee betray us?! Is that why they let her through so easily?!"

Suddenly, a long skeletal hand rested on Slimo’s shoulder. A dark, cold voice echoed into his brain behind his ear.

"Never trust an Epigone of Calamity, you fool."

Slimo turned around to face whatever put his its weird looking hand on his shoulder. All he saw was a familiar skull mask with dark robes covering its entire body. Without any hesitation, Slimo threw a punch right into the mask, cracking it across its surface. The creature seemed to be a bit shocked seeing Slimo fight back. It looked down at its hand with the same emotionless expression through its lightless eyes of the mask.

"Interesting. Do you not carry a Zalo? How is it you’ve made it this far?"

Slimo didn’t answer kicked the cultists head against the wall of the prison, sending massive cracks across its once perfect surface. As he moved his foot away, it seemed like whatever was underneath the dark clothes had turned into dust, leaving only the clothes remaining on the ground. Slimo panted heavily and stared back through the hole he made in the wall to see that Squabee was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit."

As Jacob slowly came to his senses, he realized he was in a massive, glowing cage. It seemed to be made out of the same stone as the building, but it had small sparkles run across its surface. However, he also realized he wasn’t in this cage alone. Sitting right above him, studying his features, was none other than Luna Katra, Mr. Katra’s wife. She was looking at him in disbelief.

"Jacob?! Is it really you?"

Jacob rubbed his eyes and sat up, staring at Luna with an incredulous expression.

"Mrs. Katra? You’re really alive? Or did I just die?"

Luna laughed and gave him a massive hug.

"We’re all so glad you’re here. We thought we would never see you guys again."

She let go of him and studied him once more.

"Where’s my husband? Is he okay? He shouldn’t be too far away, right?"

A dark memory surface in Jacob’s brain of what happened with Zeke. He refused to meet Luna’s desperate gaze. Luna seemed to notice his sorrowful expression and slowly gave him space.

"Oh. I see."

Jacob held Luna’s hands, his eyes full of tears.

"He saved hundreds of thousands of people. He was a truly generous man. I’m so sorry."

Luna comforted Jacob and lightly cried next to him.

"I understand. That sounds just like him."

After a short while, she looked at him again.

"Who else?"

Jacob took a moment to steady his breathing before continuing.

"Maddy, Slade, and Cane, all sacrificed themselves so we could escape. It wasn’t my dad who they were trying to hold off, it was my uncle. He crossed us right as my dad passed. Without their sacrifice, none of us would be here."

A sudden realization came into his head.

"Wait, where is Maria, Doc, Lidia, and Slimo?"

Luna looked at him a little confused.

"Lidia, Maria, and Doc are all in the cells next to us with the others. And who is Slimo? Was he apart of the Rose Clan?"

Jacob rubbed his face.

"He’s someone we met on our travels here. He’s extraordinarily powerful. We couldn’t have made it here without his help."

"I see. I think you should talk with the others. I am sure they have all missed you guys in one way or another."

As Jacob looked around his own cell, he saw a thin man with a sharp jaw, subtle facial hair, and dark black hair. Jacob almost didn’t recognize him from his looks.

"Gabriel?"

Gabriel refused to meet his gaze. He kept staring at the bars of the cage with an expression of deep malice. Jacob walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Gabriel immediately shook it off.

"Don’t touch me."

Jacob questioned if this was really him for a moment. Both his looks and mannerisms had changed drastically since he last saw them. Jacob respected his space and simply sat close to him.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get caught so easily. I was trying to help you all escape. We never once forgot about you, even while we were being held prisoners in the palace."

Gabriel seemed to finally be affected hearing his words.

"What do you mean you were held prisoner? I thought this is what you wanted? To get rid of the noble clans and take over the throne?"

"I never wanted any of this. In fact, I wanted to create a council consisting of all the clans so everyone could have a say in authority. However, my uncle seemed to have other plans. He killed almost all my friends right in front of my face. He starved us in cages, splashed us with cold water relentlessly, and messed with us mentally. We were lucky to escape with our lives. Our next step was trying to find you all and help you out."

Gabriel seemed to calm down a bit hearing Jacob’s story.

"These bastards are going to pay. I’m sick and tired of being weak. These cultists will wish they never messed with the Katra Clan."

Hearing these words come from Garbriel shook Jacob to his core.

’What kind of things did they do to him to make him change this much?’