CHAPTER 25: DO NOT STIR UP OR AWAKEN LOVE

Thane kicked furiously, letting the river drag him deeper into the labyrinth. The current surged, tugging him past shoals of translucent fish and long, eel-like serpents that shimmered with faint bioluminescence. They slithered aside at his approach, their instincts warning them not to test whatever predator had suddenly joined their waters.

His wound burned, but he pressed his palms to his mouth, releasing another puff from the Compressed Air Pocket. Spirit Breathing flowed, stabilizing his lungs as he drew the precious air through his makeshift "hand-nozzle." Each breath gave him back a fragment of clarity.

Thane recalled how the Orgrath managed to quickly heal one of its eyes.

"Thinking back, and the fact that the eye was gouged out when I threw the knife and made him kiss the floor, his healing was not complete. Still, he could focus regeneration on one body part... I wonder..." Thane thought as his scuba diving adventure added some ease. He focused the spirit on his right hand and could feel his arms tingle.

Thane found a small chamber that could resist the strong current, and Thane decided to hide in the crevice.

It was strangely calming.

Thane turned on the TV.

FWIP!

"Good... No warnings." Thane relaxed. It would show a notification if there were secret predatory creatures close by that he would have to fight. Since there was none, Thane was confident he was safe. He then saw the notification.

[New Trait Unlocked: Birthing Energy Flow Focused Recovery Achieved]

[Spirit Energy focuses healing on one body part. Increases Vitality recovery by 10% for the duration of the flow.]

[Duration: Dependent on Focus.]

"Nice! I’d better keep this up for a time to heal... Hmm... Should I enter the Channel World?" Thane thought.

But the cold water that showed traces of mana was so soothing, and Thane’s position allowed the current to push on him like a soothing hydrotherapy massage.

"Ah, I’ll just watch here. Besides, it consumes a lot of mana, and it takes me more than two hours to recover all that mana! Might as well watch here. Besides, I don’t have anything to bring to the Groundling Dungeon that could be of good use to them. I’ll go in there when I have more stuff, and I can spend hours extracting the core on those Oroks and Orcs... That will make it efficient!" Thane decided.

Then suddenly, Thane felt a small fish bump on him.

"Hmm? A fish went to me...?"

...

...

...

"Hehe. A fish went. Efficient. I gotta use that pun next time."

Thane thought and decided to remain in the water and do the most logical thing any bible-believing, grace-driven Christian would do in his situation.

Watch TV.

Thane turned on the television and felt really good with his position. The cold stone walls felt strangely comfortable and secure as the waters pressed on him. The slowing of time allowed Thane to feel the pressing force of the waters like a massage.

"Now, where was I...?" Thane thought.

For some odd reason, the HOT! and Recommended channel list changed. It now had an episode from the History Fantasy Channel.

"Huh...? The Sanctus Scandals: Saga of the Weeping Princess

..." Thane saw the episode.

"Sanctus? As in Sanctus Lumiara, the kingdom that worships God?" Thane was amazed.

"To think a kingdom of such holy power would have scandals." Thane decided to give that episode a go.

The screen lit up.

The first image was glorious...

The kingdom of Sanctus Lumiara stretched across the land like a jewel set in gold. Marble spires pierced the sky, each crowned with radiant mana-crystals that bathed the streets below in holy light. Banners bearing the golden cross sigil fluttered in the wind, and in the center, the Grand Cathedral blazed like a second dawn.

But as the narrator’s voice entered, the brightness soured, the tone heavy with dread.

"Sanctus Lumiara. A kingdom blessed with holy radiance, famed for its devotion to the Almighty, and known as the jewel of the continent. But beneath its marble towers and glittering sanctuaries... darkness stirred."

The colors shifted to grainy black and white. Castle corridors filled the screen, suddenly cold and menacing. A hooded figure appeared, their face blurred and voice twisted into an eerie distortion.

"I never thought it could happen here!" the person said.

"Sanctus was supposed to be safe. But these people... they had power over me. Over all of us."

Another blurred figure followed, this one trembling as they spoke.

"It was all about ego. That man wanted the princess. When she refused him, he turned to her brothers, men who lusted after the throne. He twisted their envy into betrayal."

The documentary shifted to a reenactment. A young warrior stood in an arena, his body lean and powerful, his movements so precise that even stone dummies shattered under his strikes. A glowing number hovered above his image: Level 21.

"Waoh! That guy would be as strong as the Orgarath!" Thane exclaimed.

"Ebenzer Glashold!" the narrator intoned.

"A warrior of unmatched promise. Young, strong, handsome... He is a man said to rival knights twice his age. But beneath the brilliance lay an ego that could not be denied."

The screen cut to a woman. She was breathtaking. Golden hair woven with silver threads, a gown that shimmered like moonlight, and eyes so gentle and resolute that even Thane forgot to breathe. The woman was shown in a close-up view. Her beauty somehow called out to the distant desires of Thane in his sinful mortal shell.

"Oh, be still! My young, innocent, Christian heart... O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases!" Thane recited the verse from Song of Solomon.

"Lord, you know I can’t take such a view!" Thane held his chest and pleaded that the thorn of his flesh be removed.

"Princess Seraphina Lumiara," the narrator continued as her beauty continued to stir Thane’s Christian heart.

"The most radiant woman in all the kingdom. She was also next in line to the throne. Not only by birthright, but she was also loved by the kingdom and had magical talent and an innate Holy disposition!"

The scene showed Ebenzer stepping toward her, hand outstretched in arrogant expectation. Seraphina turned away, her face calm but firm. The rejection was final.

The narrator’s voice darkened.

"He sought her hand. When she refused, his heart twisted to hatred."

The reenactment changed again: Ebenzer slipping gold into armored hands, whispering into the ears of princes cloaked in jealousy. The half-brothers of the princess, eyes clouded with envy, nodded in secret halls.

The show went on in detail, showing the many plots and meetings that Ebenzer had.

"Why did you allow it?" The narrator interviewed a fat merchant.

"Money! I love money!"

Many other interviews were shown, with some of those involved in the grand scheme being forced to participate.

"In his fury, Ebenzer bribed officials, silenced rivals, and, most damning... turned her own blood against her."

The screen swept to maps of the Forest of a Thousand Form Beasts. Armies marched. Adventurers donned gear. Banners lifted in triumph.

"The kingdom declared a campaign. A great crusade to crush the rising dungeon breaks and to clear the weaker dungeons was called. This was an event that became a contest in the kingdom every two years. Adventurers rallied to the call; among them was the would-be Holy Dragon Slayer of Thane Weakarm." A close-up shot of Thane appeared, marching with the familiar group of mercenaries.

Thane blinked, pointing at the screen.

"Hey... Nice! A cameo! But don’t spoil my season arc, please!"

The narration pressed on.

"The information given to each company was poisoned. Their paths marked with lies. At the heart of the deception, Ebenzer Glashold, who allied with a necromancer to rouse the Orc King, made an incredible change in the forest. The Orc King, who mainly focused on the other kingdoms to the east, now turned towards the forest and sent forces to the north... From the depths of his dungeon, an army of monsters moved towards the forest before the region of Sanctus Luminara..."

The TV displayed the monstrous giant, tusks glinting as it roared, scattering adventurers like ants. Several Orgarath marched with an army of Orcs. A campaign was set to these orcs to hunt the adventurers and find the dungeon cores in the region that had grown abnormally high.

"Hey! That’s the Orgarath I fought!" Thane was amazed.

"What was meant to be a contest to make the forest safe for adventurers... became slaughter."

The scene turned grim. The princess’s party was under siege, her banner falling into mud, soldiers screaming as they were cut down. The screen shifted to another blurred figure, this one a knight whose voice shook with grief.

"We tried. God help us, we tried. But the beasts were too many. The Orgrath alone... we couldn’t even wound it. We lost her in the chaos. One moment she was with us... the next, gone."

Images flickered on the TV showing adventurers limping back to the capital, wagons dragging the wounded, the castle gates closing on a kingdom in mourning.

The whereabouts of Princess Seraphina Lumiara remain unknown. It has been three weeks since the tragedy. Whispers of betrayal stain the kingdom’s marble walls. And the once-glorious Sanctus now weeps."

The final shot showed the Sanctus Cathedral at night, its bells tolling across an empty courtyard. The light that once symbolized holiness now flickered dimly, like a candle in the wind.

Text appeared across the screen in stark white:

The Princess has not been seen since.

"Bruh... That sucks." Thane sighed.

He then noticed a notification interrupting his show.

[Enemies approaching within range]

"Ugh... Just when it was getting good!" Thane complained.