King Under The Mountain [/Plot]

I strenuously opened my eyes with a strange ticklish sensation on my back. When I turned around I saw a huge rat jumping off from the small of my back and running toward a dark corner. I shuddered my head and looked around. I was sleeping on a rock floor. It was damp from the slime covering the rock floor. That was all I could see from my short first scan of the surrounding. I couldn’t see anything clearly since it was a bit too dark and there wasn’t anything like a window from outside in this cube which seemingly was a cave room. I felt something dripping down along my right cheek, something warm and sticky. I wiped it with the tips of my fingers and took my hand very closer to my eyes to see what that was.
“Solomon!”
It was bright red hot blood dripping along my cheek. My whole body jolted at the sight of blood and quickly I lifted my body out of the ground and supported my back against the rock wall behind me.
“How is this possible? what happened to me? Why’s there blood on my face?”
I questioned myself unable to realize anything and fully confused. No matter how grown-up I am the slightest drop of blood can trigger a panic attack in me. I simply hated to see blood out in open. Blood means pain. I hated pain, not just on me, on anyone! I have always been a virtuous man and my most important belief is no one should inflict pain on anyone.
Well, without further delay I figured out from where it was bleeding. The unbearable pain coming from the corner of my forehead like something piercing through my skull into my brain started aggravating with each second passing by. I pressed the palm of my right hand sharp onto the area and tried to stop the blood flow. All these happened within a millisecond and I still had not processed why I was there or what was happening to me.
I pushed my hand against the floor and stood up while still holding to the bleeding point of my forehead from my other hand. I slowly took few steps around and tried to sort things out. Although the surrounding was not at all familiar after few seconds gradually the lost memories started to flood into my empty subconscious brain. Then only I came back to my senses and became fully aware of what was happening.
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I was kept captive by my grandfather the “imp demon”. I know, how the very name would make someone’s heart sink in agony and terror. Generations of humans lived in terror and fear, held down by his wicked domination. He was the former witch king of the world. He had manipulated the world in his hand and I have heard how he made it a living hell on earth.
What terrified me the most was how my other clan members had acted alongside him and helped him torture innocent lives up to the past 400 years. I was like the only witch from my whole clan: “The witches of fate” who was against this violence. But over the years our race was now coming to an end making it a pleasant place for everyone else to live. I was blissfully looking forward to seeing how the world would become a better place after all these years.
But I didn’t have the slightest idea that I was their only hope in leading our clan back to the so-called glory. I was the only male child born with the king’s blood in our clan over all these years. Therefore, what was expected from me was to become the Witch king and to continue the dominating terrifying ruling. But ironically I happened to be the most crimeless magician that ever existed in our clan. I promptly refused the request as soon as they brought it to my attention.
It was simply a nightmare for me. I loved my solitary life: living as a carpenter in the corner of the village uphill, without disturbing anyone or getting noticed at all, well that was the life I wanted. But everything changed the moment the “imp demon” showed up. He didn’t even know what someone’s willingness meant. He just wanted to coronate me as the next wicked king somehow or other. He was ready to shove it down my throat by doing whatever needed to be done. First, he asked me kindly. But after my initial rejection, it didn’t take me that long to understand that he was ready to go beyond the limits to make me do it. It didn’t matter to him how physically damaged I was before he could convince me. He just needed a breathing male soul to take upon the crown so that he can make me his puppet and do whatever he wanted.
I was once captured by him and I managed to run away. I was kept in my own home’s basement back then over days, to starve until I agreed with him. I somehow broke the door and ran away to the small woodland behind my home. I suddenly tripped over something and fell. A massive noise came from behind me like the sound of a hurricane. I turned around and saw the imp demon looking at me full of rage and anger. His eyes were burning with ferociousness. His red suit made it look even worse. His horns were glistering from anger radiating rays of heat throughout the forest.

He was floating right above my head and his legs hanging just a few inches away from my nose. I felt the knots in my stomach tightening and sweat drooling down my neck. I slowly gave a fruitless attempt to crawl away from him along the ground. I knew that it was stupid to even think that I'd be able to move away from his vicinity while he was watching me like that. I just wanted to get away from this uncomfortable closeness between his feet and my face at least by an inch. My body was flat on the ground and my weak hands tried it's best to carry my body away from him. My elbows moved back sweeping the rough ground beneath me. Suddenly I felt a ripping pain on the back of my elbow. I didn't have the nerve to take my eyes off from him to look at the elbow, but I realized that something very sharp on the ground must have cut through it.
“Where do you think you are going little bastard?”
His roar rippled across the forest. Even the birds on the trees around got scared and started to fly away making mourning chirps. I started shivering. Although I was kept captive for endless days this was the first time I saw him this angry. This was also the first time he had ever been physically this close to me. Despite his small imp body, he looked very frightening. Before I even twitched a muscle, the pointed heel of his red and black shoe came straight in-between my eyes and I turned my face away to cover my eyes. A stinging sensation came from the corner of my forehead and that was the last thing I remembered.
               
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It took me few minutes to recollect all the memories from before I passed out. So the imp demon must have brought me here after I passed out. I knew that it's not going to be easy for me this time. He was already insanely mad at me. I couldn't even imagine how he would act when he was that mad. I was just thankful that I was still alive after getting caught while trying to escape from him.
Now the pain from the wound on my forehead plus the pain on my ankle was throbbing. I grinned through the pain and stood up. I touched the walls around to get more details of the place. It was more like a rock chamber. Then I saw a small ray of light stripping from a corner. I slowly walked towards the light. But I couldn’t walk more than few steps, there were huge iron poles put across to close the chamber. So it was a huge rock chamber with one wall closed with iron rods.
“So where’s the door? How did he put me here in the first place?”
I walked all around like crazy looking for a door. There wasn’t even a hunch. So there’s no way out! I’ll have to wait here until the imp demon comes and takes me out himself. Well does that mean that I'll have to agree with his suggestion?
"No way! That's not going to happen." I determined.
I didn't have the strength nor the energy to keep standing for any longer. I needed some rest. I thought to rest a bit and then get back to my escape search in a while.
I sat there for few minutes only a faint noise came from a distance. It was like the gliding of two rocks together. Then it went all silent. I got closer to the iron poles and tried to see what was beyond my sight. I saw a gleam of light gradually extending towards the chamber. But the pin-drop silence around made the whole situation hair-raising. I awaited covered in sweat. Deep down I knew who would show up but my mind was still not prepared to accept his presence.
"Hello, there little Rascal! Having a good time with the rats?"
Yes! It was him! The imp demon! The last witch king of the clan! I shrugged at his voice and crawled back into the chamber as far as I could.
" How about a little chit-chat boy? Oh, don't go away from me. I'm your Grampa I'm not going to hurt you; you know it right? "

"Yes, I know it!"
I said in a sarcastic tone while pointing to the wound on my forehead. It was really stupid to tempt the demon like that. But I had this assurance like I'm protected from him when behind these iron bars. That was the stupidest thing ever to think.

" Oh that my boy is just a small scratch. As the future king, you can't be such a crybaby to complain about a small scratch. Common boy, I thought you are tougher than that' the demon said while scoffing in sarcasm.
" So speak quickly! Have you made up your mind for the coronation?" He roared.
" What coronation? I told you already I would never want to be the wicked king. I just want to live my life. Just let me go. I'm not made for this." I cried and moaned.
.
"ha. ha looks like you haven't had enough Ghost. Just give it some time you will mourn with that same mouth begging for me to coronate you. It's just a matter of time. You just need to stay here a few more days and then you'll come to your senses."   He spoke with confidence.


At this point, I was super mad and most probably must have been out of my mind

"Yeah try me you crazy thing. You'll never get what you want"
I shouted stupidly. That was utter nonsense. I was just a scared rabbit in front of me. All I did was provoke him to torture me further by shouting and resisting like this. He got really furious this time. He pushed the fire torch he was carrying into the chamber through the iron rods.

"Who do you think you are to talk to me like that little brat. I'll show you who I am"
His voice was bursting. His eyes were shining through the fire so red and furious. I moved back as far as I could. The chamber wasn't as large as I thought. He could still stretch his hand and reach me even when I moved to the most distant corner of the chamber. He pushed the fire torch to my face. It was red hot and I moaned in pain. My face was only a few inches away from getting burnt.
I begged him.
"No! no! I will think this through I will consider the coronation. Just give me some time. I will let you know"
"ha-ha”. He burst into laughter.
“It didn’t take that long. You are even weaker than I thought. Of course, no wonder why you are like this you little bastard. Your father must have been some human creep. It's a shame that we have to make a king out of a cowered like you" He spat.


The flame was still burning close to my face. I pulled myself away from there and ran to the other corner. He pushed the fire torch away and placed it closer to the chamber but outside the iron rods.
"I'll be back in few hours. Be ready with a good answer. Don't try to play me, kid. You know who I am. You won't even get to blink before I chop your head off" he threatened.
This time he left the fire torch and illuminated his horns and lighted his pathway. I could see the whole rock canal which lead to my chamber. I took a good look at the canal and everything I could see. He vanished into the thin air in a blink of a time and everything went dark except for the fire torch he left.

I hadn't had anything to eat since I had a piece of bread at my basement the last time I was kept captive. This time he made sure not to leave me any food at all. I was thirsty as hell. There was some water dripping from the corner of the rock floor into the chamber. Drop by drop it fell on the ground making it more damp and slippery. I stuck my tongue out and let the drops of water fall into my mouth. I didn't even know where they were coming from or whether they were clean but surely they felt like drops of heaven in my mouth. My dried-out sore throat was relieved a bit.

Another few minutes passed. I constantly kept on thinking of a way to get out of the chamber. Maybe there's a magic door. I tried to touch through the rock surfaces smoothly to see any edges or ridges suggestive of a secret door. But there were none.
"Maybe he used his magic to put me in"
"Wait! Magic?
OMG, why didn't I think about it before."
With all the mess and torture, I totally forgot about my magic. Well, I wasn't physically fit to perform any magic by myself still there was a well-lit fire right in front of me. I must be really stupid! Why didn't I think about it before? I could use my magic to enhance the fire and maybe the heat can melt the iron rods a bit. I quickly moved closer to the iron rods. I stretched my hand to reach the fire torch. But its pole was too far away: only the flame burnt my skin as I stretched my fingers towards it.
So I had to fully focus on it and make the fire spread towards the iron rods while the torch was still outside. I closed my eyes and concentrated well on the fire. And stretched my hands towards the fire torch. I could get a handle of the torch this time. I directed the fire towards the iron poles.  It wasn't easy as I thought. I wasn't ready or fit for this kind of powerful magic. My whole body started shivering. Sweat drooling through my whole body making all my clothes wet. They plastered onto my body. My whole body started aching like I was burning inside a fire. Somehow I could hold it for around fifteen minutes. After some time, the fire torch went off. I was thrown away and hit on the back wall of the chamber. I knew I didn't have much time. I quickly got up and reached the iron bars. I can't let them cool down again. I had to expand them and make a hole while they were still hot and expandable.

It was harder than I thought. I mean those were melted metal after all. I had to touch the melted metal with my bare hands. I didn't have time to think. I held onto two iron poles and tried to stretch them apart. Yes! They were bloody hot. The heat cut deep into my skin. I heard the sound of my skin and flesh burning under the grip of the pole. I tightened my lips to stop myself from mourning. It hurt like crazy. Still, I could stretch them apart a bit. The iron was melted enough for them to be stretched. The hole was not big enough for me to creep through. I tried to spread them apart more until my hands were fully burnt and black like charcoal. I cried in pain. Well now the rods were fixed again I couldn't move them any further. I tried to drift my body out of the tiny space I created. I had to compress my whole body in between the heated iron rods. I slowly slid my body while the heated rods burnt my chest and my back. Finally, I managed to get out like a roasted chicken.
I ran through the canal with every ounce of energy I had left. The canal was very slippery and I fell on my buttocks three times before I could make it to the end. At the end of the canal, it opened into a small attic. There was a bed and a small lantern. That was it and everything else was just dirt and dust and some disgusting leftover food particles. I graceful put the leftover in my mouth and swallowed them.

Then there was a ladder which was the only way out of the room. I stepped down on the ladder. The led me to an empty hall that looked like an old haunted template. Yes, it was a temple. When I walked around I saw the old status covered in dust piled up in a corner. I quickly ran to the door and opened it.
“Sweet lord!”
The sunlight fell on my body making me cry in joy. I was happy like a bird and couldn't stop myself from crying out of joy. I was finally out and free after weeks of torture.  I lifted my foot and kept a step outside. That's all I knew, a huge lump came from above and pinned me to the ground. It was him! He strained my neck so tight that I gaged for breath. I grasped some air through my nose while he punched two fists at my face.
" You are dead this time" he should out. Now his demon face was well apparent in bright daylight. His red suit reflected the sunshine right into my eyes. I closed my eyes tight. He kicked me in through the door back to the hall. I don't know how such a small body could have so much energy. I turned around and tried to crawl away. But he pinned me to the wall and before I could even think of anything he had me tied to the wall with some heavy chains.
"Look Ghost, this would be my last warning and your last chance. Do you want to take the title and become the kind or not”?
"Please try to understand I don't want to be a leader. I just want to live my life alone. I don't want to torture the innocent like you" I begged as that was all I could do.
"Oh! You pathetic loser. You are such a coward. You are a shame to our whole clan. Even your mother Isys was courageous than that. Don't you even have a tiny bit of genes you carried from her? You disgust me!" He yelled.
He slapped my right cheek making it burst into flames of pain. His fingers were so slender and rough it must have surely left a mark on my face. I cried in pain. He then brought a whip.

“No! No! No! Noooooo………… you can’t do this to me. You just can’t. I’m your grandson after all don’t you have the least bit of sympathy? How can you…….” I shouted until my throat tasted like blood. But all he did was laugh out loud full of sarcasm.
“You little brat I’ll treat you like that when you act like my grandson. How can I treat a pathetic loser like you as a grandson”? He tied one end of the whip around his hand and started bashing me. The first lash cut through my abs sharp and deep while I wailed in pain.
“Do you want me to continue or do you want to be the king? It’s one simple YES and you can be like a King for the rest of your life. You are rather stupid that you are putting yourself through this”
“No! if I say yes I’ll have to put innocent people into this same pain in another few years. I can’t be that selfish. Just let me go” I begged.
This time he started hitting continuously faster and harder. The whip cut through my skin making my whole body ache in pain and agony. I felt the warm blood dripping down my clothes. I shouted and yelled but I was not ready to give it up. I knew it won’t make anything better just by agreeing with him.  I will have to work by his word. I’d rather die than do that.

But I couldn’t stick to my decision any longer. The bashing became severe and faster. His wicked crooked teeth grinned through his smallmouth. He wiped me like a machine for another few minutes. Now I was almost about to faint. I couldn’t take it anymore. Words slipped my mouth even without my knowledge.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll become the King. Just arrange the god damn coronation!”
I shouted in pain.
But that wasn’t the end. I wasn’t ready to give up that easily. I had a plan in the back of my head. His face changed suddenly. His boiling eyes started to settle. All the frantic energy started fading away. After few more minutes, he was standing in front of me short and small like a kid with his puppy eyes looking at me.
“There you go, my son. You could have saved us both sometime and done this in the first place.”
It was so unbelievable to see his transformation. He looked nothing like the imp demon now. He looked so innocent and harmless. I was surprised by his fake charms but was not stupid to fall for that.
He unleashed me and let me down. Then he escorted me to a much fancy room. The floors were carpet and the walls were decorated with some old-aged printed art. There were around four ceiling fans which were gold and fancy. And a fancy comfortable bed with clean bedsheets. But I didn’t care for any of those. All I saw was the table full of food. I ran to the table and grabbed everything I could in my hand and put into the moth as much as I could. I felt ashamed and turned around to see the demon. But it was all empty and the room was locked from outside.
Looked like he didn’t trust me a hundred percent after all. Well, what can I say, you can’t expect someone who lived almost 400 years to be that dumb? Anyway, I was satisfied with the food and comfort I got. For the moment all I wanted was to get away from the torture.
I finished eating all the food. Then there was a bathroom. God! I hadn’t seen a bathroom in like ages. I went in and soaked my body and cleaned all the wounds. It was hurt like knives when the cold water touched all the cuts and bruises. I washed and dressed up with some clean clothes.
When I went to the room before I could even think my body flattened on the bed.
“God it truly felt like heaven!” I closed my eyes for a moment…
When I opened my eyes again the room was completely dark except for the few candles on the table. I could see the dinner shining on the table through the candlelight. I hurried to the table and swallowed all the food within a millisecond. Now it was again the time for my escape mission. Just when I thought of it a sound of a doorknob came from the ground floor.
“Damn! Why did I sleep this long? Why didn’t I wake up sooner”? Now with the doorknob sound, I realized that I didn’t have much time left. I hurried to the window opened it and jumped out of it without thinking twice. I started running as soon as I got out without even turning around to see anything. I didn’t even know where I was as running.
Before I could run any further I heard the uttermost expected roar from the temple. I ran even faster.  I ran for a long time. I thought I was enough far from him. Just then I saw the sounds of leaves moving from behind. When I looked behind I almost peed on myself from what I saw. It was the two large hunting dogs of Imp demon running towards me with their glistering teeth full of hunger.
Usually, I would freeze on the spot in a situation like this but I knew it was a life or die situation. So I ran as fast as I could. I knew it’s just a mission impossible running away from two well-trained hunting dogs but I didn’t want to just wait around for them to come and rip me apart. I decided to fight till my last breath.

Unbelievably I could make it to the river edge. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Because it’s a known thing that the Imp demon nor the hunting dogs can’t cross the rivers or any water. It was their only weakness. I quickly jumped into the water and started swimming. I saw the dogs looking at me drooling with hunger. In a little while, Imp demon also joined them. I could hear his roar even from the distance. Still, he didn’t dare to risk his life by crossing the river. But with that last look in his eyes, I knew that this was not the end. Someday someplace he will come again for me. I will have to live in hiding for the rest of my miserable life. I knew it was just a momentary happiness. But it didn’t matter I was just happy for being alive for the moment.

Trait Name: Memory of the Mountain
Trait Tier: Omega
Trait Requirement:SoS
Trait Description: Through the shard of Solomon and the memory of animation magic from Ghost's family he has called upon ancient spells from his ancestor, allowing his will to continue temporarily after death.
Trait Effect: The user gets 5 free animation magic spells (still require a staff) and if their character dies a spell casted through their body allows them to revive tying their life force to their staff requiring them to pay 40 magoi at the beginning of each thread in order to stay alive.