CHAPTER 94: METALPEOPLE

Her eyes had spun, and when she opened them, Kael stood over her, a big fireball above him and his eyes glowing hot blue.

The heat from the fireball made his image shimmer before her eyes.

Taria grinned. "I lost."

Kaedros nodded in satisfaction and stopped the mana to his spell. The fireball flickered out. "You fought well."

It was better than he expected, truth be told, although he didn’t go all out. Her speed and strength were notches higher than his, that last punch was proof of that, and it would have done some damage if he hadn’t dodged it.

Her stomach warmed as Kaedros helped her up. It meant a lot to her, what he said.

"Good fight, both of you. Now let’s review how this fight..." Thalso said and began analyzing their battle.

And so their second month in Throne of Ruinlight continued, training, fighting, and more training.

Sometimes their instructors would train them slowly on particular spells or techniques, and other times it would be weapon forms or just hand-to-hand.

On some occasions, they would sit through hours of strategy training for battlefield use or one-on-one fighting. Either way, their days were filled with combat and discipline.

And after that, they still had to fight shadows at midnight. It was easier now with their mana cuffs removed, but still, it always wore them out to be fighting instead of sleeping.

But that was the castle’s way of keeping them on edge, making them sharp so that they’d detect enemies even in their sleep and react at the slightest change in the air.

This proved useful, because on the last day of the second month there, Thalso cut their training short and called them together.

"It’s time to enter and collect the stones," Thalso said after everyone gathered, except for Chef and Nyra, who had already left the training room.

"Stone? What is that?" Kaedros thought he had heard Thalso mention it once before, but he couldn’t be sure.

"It’s something you must have. It’ll increase your powers in just one particular way, and it won’t depend on your mana. It’s something that will gather mana itself as you breathe," Thalso explained.

They shared a look among themselves.

"You must also have it before you can go to Dream Prison, so let’s get down to it."

Thalso led them out of the training room and into the great hall. He chose an unmarked door and entered. This new door led them into a dark hallway.

It would have been pitch black if not for the little yellow light that barely lit up the darkness. It wasn’t a problem for them—the shadow blades had improved their eyesight.

They walked until Thalso stopped in front of a massive wooden door. On it was the image of men made of metal in different fighting poses.

Thalso didn’t say anything other than to point at the door, and then he walked away.

"Why am I not surprised?" Rauk said. His sword was strapped to his back, the hilt above his head. "Just point without telling us anything!"

Kaedros sighed. Sometimes Thalso behaved in such a weird way. "I assume we are meant to go in." Unlike the others, he wasn’t holding any weapons.

"And knowing the Castle, we won’t like what we find inside." Taria’s spear was on her back, and she wanted nothing more than to hold it. That wouldn’t be happening in this confined space, though.

Kaedros cast a small fire that lit up their surroundings. "Something unknown is waiting for us inside and we will have to earn this... stone."

"As we do everything here," Rauk said dryly.

Kaedros stepped up, his hand on the door. "Prepare yourselves."

The door swung open silently and revealed stone steps that led downward, the small fireball hovering ahead to light the way.

They walked down the stairs until they reached the bottom and stepped into a circular room. Silver light burned on metal torches, lighting the space.

The first thing they saw was a throne at the far end of the room, and huge shadows with their backs against the wall. It took them a few seconds to realize the shades were metal statues.

The throne was solid silver like the statues, and on it sat a man of silver metal. He was tall and half-naked, his long legs draped over the chair, chin resting on one hand.

Red eyes watched them as a slow smile twisted his lips. "So, you are the visitors that came to Throne of Ruinlight." His voice was cool and smooth, like liquid metal.

Immediately as he spoke, the eyes of all the statues in the room lit up red. They took a step forward and bowed to Kaedros and his companions.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!"

Kaedros’s reaction was instant, a spell already visualized and ready. He wasn’t the only one, Taria and Rauk were also prepared.

The man on the throne laughed. "Don’t scare them! They are our guests, until they earn their way out of here."

"Out of here? What do you mean by ’earn our way out’?" Taria demanded.

"Exactly what I said. You will either leave here alive and with the stones... or not at all." He spoke as if he didn’t care either way.

"Is this your room?" Kaedros looked around. Although it was large, it couldn’t compare to the likes of Thalso or Chef.

The man spread his arms. "Welcome to my room. It’s small, isn’t it? Well, that’s one of the rules here, you have to earn a bigger room. The stronger you are, the more you’ll enjoy here."

So he was right. This was also a room, Kaedros thought. He just wasn’t sure what type of room it was, except that they had to earn a stone.

"So, what are we going to do here?" Taria asked.

The man smiled, and the red fire in his eyes burned brighter.

"Kill each other, of course!"

Magic surged in the chamber, grey, yellow, and yellow lights intertwining as power radiated from Kaedros, Taria, and Rauk. The air swirled with their energy, rippling like wind in a storm.

"Kill each other," Kaedros said flatly, his tone laced with quiet menace. "Explain yourself."

The man standing before them laughed, a wild, unrestrained sound. "Challenge me, do you? Well, whether or not you like it, I’ll explain. This is my room, after all. You should know the rules."

Flames flickered to life around him, red and hungry, like a furnace igniting. His limbs moved with an unnatural grace as he stood. "First things first. My name is Gold. Yes, I know. Awful name. But my father’s even worse at naming things than Thalso is at using magic."

"You know Thalso?" Rauk asked at the same time Taria interjected.

"You have a father?"

Gold turned toward them with an exaggerated raise of his metallic brows. "Know Thalso? Trick question. Who doesn’t? His name echoed across worlds."

"You know him that well?" Kaedros asked quietly. He’d always been curious about their instructors, about the pasts they never spoke of bloodstained histories now bound to a forgotten castle and an unseen master.

Gold snorted. "That well? I wasn’t even born when he earned his name under the banner of the closing sun. Before that, he was one of the bloodiest outlaws alive. Eventually, he was made to kneel beside my father to..."

He abruptly narrowed his eyes, catching himself mid-sentence. "Wait. You’re making me talk!"

"I’m not," Kaedros said innocently, raising an eyebrow. "I only asked a question."

"And I answered..." Gold trailed off, his eyes going wide like a child caught misbehaving. "You tricked me! I’m not saying another word!"

Kaedros smiled faintly. He’d already learned more than expected though he still had no idea who this "Closing Sun" was. Perhaps their elusive master?

"You mentioned your father," Taria spoke up, curious. "How does a metal statue have a father?"

Gold’s expression twisted into one of pure offense as he stepped forward. "Statue? What did you just call me?" His voice rang like struck iron. "I am alive! Never call me that again."

Taria blinked, startled. She had assumed he was some enchanted construct. "So... you’re human?"

"Human?" Gold stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. "Do I look human?"

"Then what are you?" Her voice edged with impatience.

He didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he flipped his silver-metal hair back and struck a pose. "I am of the last Clan of the Metapeople! Beings of living metal. Once, our banners stretched across a third of the continent!"