Against the Shadows|| A Zodiac Story

One

"You may think that you have completely gotten rid of us all..." The king grabs the man's arms and grips it tightly.

"But that is where you are mistaken..." His eyes are completely fixated on the man towering over him while blood continues to drip from his chest.

"From this day forward, as the moonlight dims and the night sky loses its light, you will bear the pain of all the kings that have died by your sword." The king tightened his grip further and looked deeply into the man's eyes.

"You don't believe me, young king, do you?" The dying man flashes a wicked grin upon seeing the indifference on the man's face.

"Your majesty, the castle has been secured." A knight disrupts their conversation causing the young king's attention to shift to the knight.

"Very well." He finally stood up from the ground and threw one last glance at the dying king on the floor. "Take care of this mess." He ordered the knight before turning his back on the king and walking away from him.

"Mark my words, Scorpio! You will suffer every pain imaginable and we will be the ones who'll be laughing in the end!!" The king yelled as the man walked out of the throne room. "MARK MY WORDS." The dying man's cackle echoes throughout the room before he starts shouting in a different language but the young king remains unbothered.

"Congratulations, your majesty. That was the fourth and last one of the kingdoms." As Scorpio exited the throne room, his right-hand man and royal adviser, Virgo, came to greet him.

"After 5 years." Scorpio sighed as he walked down the corridor with the royal adviser following him.

"I still think it was odd that the other three kingdoms declared war after the first one was defeated. All because of what? An alliance?" Virgo frowned.

"An alliance can go a long way," Scorpio replied to which Virgo just shrugged. 

"Anyways, let's wrap this up quickly and go home." Scorpio continued as he watched the chaotic aftermath of the war that just ended from a window.

"You're finally coming back!" Virgo exclaimed upon hearing the king's words. "Thank goodness! Managing the kingdom for the last five years took years of my life. Sitting on the sidelines is way better than being nagged by that council of nobles."

"Yes, I trust that you can fix the loose ends here." Scorpio shifts his gaze to Virgo.

"You are coming back first?" Virgo frowned at the king's words and Scorpio only responded with a small nod. 

"The council has been expecting me. I received a letter a day prior that they want to speak with me after the war ends." Scorpio explained.

"I see. Very well then, Your Majesty. I will take care of the rest here." Virgo lowered his head briefly as they exited the castle.

"Your Majesty, Royal Adviser." A tall knight greeted them with a stern bow.

"Captain Capricorn." Virgo returned a bow to the knight as well. 

"We have seized the remaining royal family and they are awaiting their judgment by the royal gardens," Capricorn reported in a monotonous voice.

"I see, I should give them a visit first before leaving," Scorpio replied. They were then led by the captain to the garden where the remaining royals were being held. And to their surprise, no one was begging for mercy or forgiveness. They were shouting gibberish with bloodshot eyes while barely being suppressed by the knights watching over them.

"Get rid of them. Then put them up the castle gates as a warning for those who try to get any ridiculous ideas." Scorpio ordered with an icy voice as he watched them almost going feral.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Capricorn nodded and turned towards the knights giving them a signal.

-+++-

After weeks of travel, Scorpio is finally back in the kingdom of Calaestia, his kingdom. As his royal carriage traveled to the heart of the kingdom, the main city, people were quick to step aside and shiver in fear. Some of them are whispering to themselves and all of them are lowering their heads to avoid meeting the king's gaze.

Scorpio was aware of the rumors about him so he shrugged it off and leaned back to his seat until they arrived in the palace.

"Glory to the son of heavens, Your Majesty, King Scorpio." The head maid and butler of the castle lowered their heads and curtsied to welcome the arriving king.

Scorpio dismisses them and walks inside the castle while the butler, Horologium, follows him behind. "Send a letter of invitation to the council. I will meet them tomo---" Before Scorpio could finish talking, he suddenly dropped to the ground of his study with an immeasurable pain taking over his whole body.

"Your Majesty!!" The butler quickly came to his side while he tightly clenched his fist through the pain. "Call the royal doctor now!!" The butler shouted at the men guarding outside so they quickly rushed to get the doctor.

Scorpio's breathing is shaky and he is barely conscious when the doctor arrives to examine him. But to everyone's surprise, the doctor found no wounds, illnesses, or health conditions that could cause this to the king.

The doctor tries to retake the tests while Scorpio's body sinks further into complete pain.

"From this day forward, as the moonlight dims and the night sky loses its light, you will bear the pain of all the kings that have died by your sword." As Scorpio suffers in unbearable pain, the king's words echo in his head.

"You don't believe me, young king, do you?" The king's wicked grin flashes in his mind.

"Mark my words, Scorpio! You will suffer every pain imaginable and we will be the ones who'll be laughing in the end!! MARK MY WORDS." The king's cackle rings into his head. The king's dying words continued playing on his mind over and over again. And as he weakly opens his eyes while agonizing in pain, he notices something that causes everything to make sense.

The night is completely dark and the moon is not in the sky.

~###~

WC: 996

Welcome to the first chapter of my new book! This is a zodiac story in a somewhat historical fantasy setting. And our first characters have already been introduced!

What are your thoughts on:

Scorpio: the King of Calaestia,

Virgo: the Royal Adviser, and

Capricorn: the Captain from the Royal Knights.

Stay tuned for the next chapters and the introduction of the rest of the characters! Cya~