CHAPTER 102: CHAPTER 102: THE RETURN OF CALITHAR.

Three years had passed in Calithar’s world, though for him it felt like an eternity carved out of suffering. Time had stretched and folded in the forsaken void where Xavriel had sealed him; an in–between place, neither part of his world nor the human realm.

A barren chasm of shadows and choking magic, meant to suppress him slowly rather than kill him outright. The barrier was meant to weaken him and restrict his movement to only the void while also suppressing his powers.

While in that abyssal void, his mind never had a minute of rest. He had wondered countless times why Xavriel had decided to come at that very moment. It was too specific to be ignored as a mere rebellion.

Even with his absence, his kingdom moved on without him... or tried to.

During those years, the elders of the High Court took control, scrambling desperately to maintain order.

They sent scouts across borders, combed through forests, paid oracles in gold and blood, and still found nothing. Their young, powerful,king, bounds to the gods themselves had vanished without a single trace, leaving them with no one but themselves.

He had no heir.

And no other royal blood that they could call on.

No explanation.

Nothing.

Only a silent throne and an anxious nation on the edge of an internal war with their rulers.

Calithar felt every passing time like a knife twisting deeper in his chest, because while his people suffered without him, Elena was somewhere he could not reach. He worried for her the most, thinking what awful atrocities Xavriel would be doing to her.

gods how I want to hold her again.

And that helplessness was worse than the seal itself. It wasn’t like he had just sat all through those years doing nothing.

The minute he had landed in the void, he had mindlessly fought for his freedom.

He needed to get out as soon as possible. Knowing his brother, he would do anything, anything at all to get what he wants.

Despite all his efforts, Calithar had only succeeded in making himself weaker and weaker. He was no fool. This was all a part of Xavriel’s plan; to make him a mindless, worrying bull, draining himself of his scarce energy.

But after the third year, the spell began to weaken.

The barrier around him shimmered one day and cracks began to form in his black surroundings. Tiny fractures danced across its surface and his senses sharpened instantly from his sleep.

He flew to the other side and pressed his palms against the confinement. The magic that once trapped him now flickered faintly, lacking the stability of its original caster.

Xavriel’s dark magic was slipping.

Now.

It had to be now.

Summoning every last drop of energy, Calithar gripped one of the cracks and stretched it. His skin broke in faded lights and his veins illuminated with pale gold but he couldn’t care less. It was now or never. He was done allowing his brother play mind games with him, manipulating his subconscious to no end.

With one final burst of energy, the confinement shattered, the lights speared through and then everything stilled.

A blast resulting from his forced freedom surged outward, and Calithar was hurled forwar through the crack. Darkness thicker than darkness swallowed him whole, sending him spiraling down in a never ending black hole.

The fall lasted, each second earning it a different kind of velocity when all of a sudden, a blinding light appeared as he fell, crashing down the darkness that once shrouded him.

He crashed onto soil, landing on the familiar damp earth of the magical forest. Calithar jumped to his feet the minute he landed, inhaling deeply the scents of the worldamd allowing it flood into his lungs. The grass, wind, dew, wildflowers...

He was home.

He looked around and immediately recognized where he stood. It was the outskirts of the kingdom, the enchanted gateway where he first met Elena during his spirit bath. A strange wave of nostalgia washed over him and the kicking urge to grab her tugged at his heart.

"I need to find her and I will. Wait for me darling. I’m coming for you."

His longing was followed swiftly by something harsher. Panic, desperation and urges.

"Elena," he whispered to himself. He could literally smell her in the air. He didn’t care if he was hallucinating or not as long as he believe it.

He needed to see her. Needed to know if she was safe, alive, breathing the same air he breathed again. Throughout his torturous stay in that darned bondage, she was the only one on his mind.

"Xavriel you damned bastard. Wait till I get my hands on you—"

Before he could take a single step, light burst open above him.

A pillar of shimmering gold descended, and a form materialised within its wings stretching outward, luminous eyes and a halo-like glow outlining her hair.

Seraphine.

His ever-interfering, ever-judgmental celestial tether. He couldn’t call her a friend neither could he call her a lover.

She was more of someone who he never really knew.

But this time, Calithar felt only relief at seeing a familiar face.

Her angelic, bright face turned to him and a warm smile appeared soon after.

"You are alive," Seraphine said. "Against all odds as always."

"You knew of my bondage?" Calithar asked, already getting annoyed.

"Of course. I am clairvoyant after all." Seraphine replied in a celestial voice that sounded rather pitched and deep for a delicate looking woman.

Calithar shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to whine about this. It was in a past he got out of

"Where is she?" he demanded immediately.

"Where is Elena? And where the hell is Xavriel?"

Seraphine’s expression darkened. "Calithar, listen—"

"No," he growled. "Three years I was locked away. Three years I couldn’t protect her. Do you even know how insane that drove me? Huh?! Tell me where she is Seraphine. Is she hurt? Or with Xavriel?!"

"You mustn’t —"

"Answer me!" Xavriel bellowed out, angry red streaks of white flaring dangerously around him.

Seraphine looked on, not bothered by his intense show of power. She sighed and took a step forward.

"Xavriel has not been seen," she admitted softly. "Not in the mortal realm. Not in the celestial gates. Not even in the underworld. His magic is... impure. Too dark it hides him from me. He could be anywhere."

"Aren’t you clairvoyant? What’s so hard in finding another being."

She maintained a straight face. "Xavriel uses black magic. The kind that stems from the very roots of satanism. It takes a true, pure being to be able to see him."

Calithar scoffed. That was the thing with gods. They were just never enough.

He walked towards her, closing the gap between them. "But he has her, doesn’t he?"

Seraphine hesitated. And that hesitation was enough to confirm his fear. "I can’t tell you that."

His eyes hardened.

"I am going to her. Now."

He shot into the air with tremendous force before Sera could say anything else only for reality to twist around him. Something pulled him back and his body slammed into the ground, dust exploding outward.

The impact crushed the earth beneath him, sending debris flying into the mystic river.

"What is this?" Calithar hissed, scrambling up. Pain rippled through his limbs like invisible shackles bound him.

Seraphine hovered silently above him, sadness heavy on her face.

"You cannot reach her," she finally whispered.

"What do you mean I can’t reach her."

Calithar’s temper snapped. "Tell me WHY!"

"Elena did not leave through the normal route," Seraphine said gently. "She was taken through a rare portal. A... tear between worlds. You can follow her only by finding the portal’s anchor. Find the transparent object she last interacted with. It will lead you."

Transparent.

Something she touched before being taken.

Then it hit him. The clothing shop. The servant had said that was where she was last seen. Clothing shops had transparent objects right?

Seraphine’s wings folded slowly. "Find the anchor, Calithar. It is the only way. It seems I can no longer talk you out of it."

"You’re darn right."

Calithar didn’t waste a second. He snapped his fingers, disguising himself immediately. He pulled the hood over his silver-streaked hair, masking his aura and teleported directly to the shop in the marketplace.

A soft sigh escaped from her lips. Their story had been a wonderful tale till it wasn’t.

"I really hope you find what your heart desires and finally be at peace after so long of pain." With that, tiny sparkles of light overshadowed her and she disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The small boutique was quiet when Calithar barged inside. The owner startled from his sleep violently.

"S–Sir? Can I help you—?"

Calithar ignored him, scanning the room.

Shelves of fabric and rows of gowns with fittings, ribbons, jewelry lined the entire boutique.

Then his gaze settled on a tall mirror leaning against the back wall.

There.

Without hesitation, Calithar strode forward, yanked the mirror off the wall, tossed a pouch of gold onto the counter with careless force, and stormed out of the shop.

He teleported again to his hidden shelter deep in the woods, a small cabin hidden from the outside world. He had to move fast if he ever wanted to calm his heart that had been anxious for god knows how long.

He dashed into the small cabin, set the mirror down and stared at it with determination.

"Wait for me my love. I’m coming for you," he muttered. He stretched out his hand, about to conjure up an opening when he suddenly paused.

If I leave through this, will it be the same as when I leave through the normal route? He was so excited finally being able to get back to her that he had forgotten that one important detail.

Another thought popped up: Xavriel could still be in this world . If I leave now, will I ever get a chance to return?

For now, he would keep it safe. He raised his hand and light wrapped around the mirror, pulling it into the palm of his hand, storing it within his magic.

He would return for it...surely.

But first... he needed to go back to the palace. He had wondered why Xavriel needed him gone when he knew going to her world would weaken him. He had a bad feeling that his crazy brother had some scheme to carry out in his world.

With a flick of his wrist, he vanished from the cabin and reappeared in front of the doors of the grand courtroom in the royal palace.

A meeting was underway with the ministers, generals, scholars, all dressed in ceremonial garb. Calithar barged into the room without a care in the world.

The voices stilled instantly. The room froze and jaws dropped.

"By the gods... it’s the king!"

"If that is the king," one man whispered shakily, "then who is sitting on the throne?"

A slow creaking filled the silence as the throne that was turned backward rotated.

Calithar’s heart slammed once then stilled.

The man who stood up had his face; an exact, unmistakable imitation of him. His eyes. His posture. This impostor had everything.

Perfectly mirrored.

Calithar inhaled sharply through his nose, forcing his surprise down. But inside, burning rage spread through his veins. So this was his plan all along.

There was only one person capable of creating such a flawless imitation.

His brother.

Xavriel.

And the worst part?

The imposter smiled at him with the ease of a man who had planned his reunion for years.

"Welcome home, brother." Xavriel said with a mischievous smirk, rising slowly from the throne. The members of the court swayed their heads to and fro between the two identical men.

"Took you long enough. Why are you looking at me like that?" he chuckled, pocketing his hands. "Someone had to hold the fort down while you were gone on your little hike right?"

Calithar breathed once. Then twice and in the deadliest voice a fallen god could ever have, commanded this Satan of a little brother.

Xavriel, get out.