The Refuge of Fate

Chapter 141 - A Test of Beliefs (2)

A/N: Hey, guys! The song for this chapter is "Paint it Black (Epic Trailer Version)" from the Hidden Citizens. You can listen to it on repeat while reading for a better experience. Enjoy! 

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He watched as the swordmaster mounted the black beast, the silence between them thick with unspoken tension. The air seemed to crackle with the intensity of the aura emanating from the man before him—an aura that spoke of one thing.

Wrath.

Ronnovian had only seen Gideon like this once before—when the knight learned of his master's disappearance from the Taron Kingdom. But this time, the anger was different, sharper, more dangerous. This wasn't the same Knight Woodlock who couldn't defeat Prince Asher in a duel. This was a sovereign, a man who had reached the pinnacle of power through sheer will and his master's cunning ways. A sovereign so powerful that Ronnovian had never imagined he would see anyone ascend to a higher seat of power than his own.

Gideon must have felt his stare because the knight turned to look at him, their eyes locking in a silent battle of wills. The tension stretched for several heartbeats before Gideon broke the silence.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Gideon's voice cut through the air like a blade, sharp and cold. Ronnovian remained silent, his expression unreadable. Gideon chuckled, a dark, humorless sound.

"Of course. That's what you always do—watch as things fall apart around you." With a harsh tug on the reins, the black dragon turned towards the wall where Finley had fled.

"But time is running out. Every second you stand idle, the world is changing. People are either growing stronger or dying." He spoke without looking back at Ronnovian, but his words were heavy with a finality that left no room for response. As the dragon prepared to take flight, Gideon delivered one last blow.

"The Greatest Magician of the Eastern Continent is no longer you, Ronnovian."

With that, the black dragon launched into the sky, its power so immense that the walls of the throne room cracked under the strain, leaving Ronnovian alone with the Sovereign Phoenix guarding the statue. As Gideon disappeared from sight, Ronnovian's gaze shifted to the burning creature perched atop the golden statue of Silas.

He could feel the creature's gaze upon him, like a weight pressing down on his very soul.

"You—" Ronnovian began, but Melfar cut him off with a voice that rumbled like distant thunder.

"I am not in the mood to entertain questions, mortal." The mythical creature spoke with an air of indifference, its wings wrapping protectively around Silas' statue.

"Especially from a human who sold his soul to the devil for power."

The clouds raged, thunder roaring like a beast unleashed, and lightning slashed through the sky, turning the world into a chaotic blur of light and shadow. Visibility was near zero, the dark skies pressing down like a suffocating blanket.

Finley scanned the stormy expanse around him, his heart pounding as he searched for any sign of pursuit. When he saw nothing, he exhaled a shaky breath.

'I ran away...' The thought gnawed at him, shame tightening his grip on the reins of his dragon.

He had fled. He feared for his life in the presence of the four mighty sovereigns who had appeared in the throne room, along with Pier Belmiunde. Even the mere sight of a single sovereign emerging from Pier had driven him to abandon his empire.

He was a coward. He had left his people to burn, his empire to crumble into dust. He didn't even know what was happening in Belmaid anymore, the storm clouds below blocking his view of the territory he had once ruled.