The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 59

The warlock took a step back from the dead man. When he entered this room, Logain couldn't sense anything inside with him, but now that the man had his eyes open, there was an intense energy in the room. It wasn't anything hostile, though. This was something that Logain had never felt before. It wasn't like divine or dark energy, but something in between. It was almost calming to the warlock, which made him skeptical. Nothing in the shadow realm was friendly.

At least, that's what he was always taught. This wasn't Logain's first time in this realm, but this was his first time coming across something like this. Before Logain had the chance to turn and run, the man tried to open the casket. However, he couldn't do it on his own. Despite his better judgment, Logain approached the casket and helped the man. Together, they were able to get it open. Once the man was free, Logain could feel his presence much stronger than before.

The men looked at each other, and Logain was the one to break the awkward silence between them as he said, "Um, hi."

The other man looked around the room he was in, confused by what he saw around him. However, it took a moment for him to realize what was going on. He noticed the casket first, realizing that this belonged to his family. It was the casket his father planned on using when his mother passed away, but that never happened after the events that transpired. Then, the prince turned his attention to the warlock in front of him once more.

It had been a while since he spoke to anyone. His mouth felt dry, and his voice was quiet as he asked, "I'm dead, aren't I? This isn't Zuvelia anymore."

Logain nodded. "This is the shadow realm, and you're a shade. Shades tend to cling to things from their past lives, but they usually do so in the realm of the living. If I may take a guess, are you Prince Dante?"

Logain knew what happened in Zuvelia over a year ago. While the warlock spent most of his time alone in his secluded home, he heard what happened in the fallen kingdom. Most people knew the story from plenty of the survivors who fled the kingdom when it was falling into corruption. Dante was at the center of it all, and he was the one to blame for the kingdom's downfall. Yet, many of those people didn't know about the curse the prince was under. Most people believed the prince did it out of insanity or because he was a cruel person, but they didn't know the whole truth.

The warlock also recalled the story Tristan told him. This was the man Tristan wanted to bring back to life. If he were lying in a crystal casket in this realm, then he must have been there in the living world as well. His sacrifice back then must have been the reason why Dante ended up in the shadow realm. The prince was a shade, but there was something more to him as well. He wasn't a demon like the shade Logain met back in Cordea. Dante's spirit was stronger than that. Something was keeping him tied down in this world. Otherwise, his spirit would have lingered in Logain's world.

The prince nodded to Logain's question about his identity. "I am. And you are?"

"Logain. I'm a warlock from Ambria," the warlock introduced himself.

Logain offered his hand to help Dante out of the casket. Slowly, the prince took his hand. Standing on his feet after lying down for so long felt odd to Dante. He felt stiff, but Logain held onto him until he was steady on his feet. Usually, shades didn't have a corporeal body, but Dante was solid. Logain was able to grasp him tightly until the prince didn't need his support anymore. This only further proved that Dante wasn't like other shades.

Dante looked at Logain and asked, "Why are you here? You're still alive. Not only that, but how were you able to wake me? I don't know how much time has passed, but I can tell it's been a long time. I don't understand what's going on."

The warlock wasn't able to sense the demon that chased him, so perhaps he still had time to explain things to Dante. He felt bad for the prince. He might not have known the whole story, but he knew that what happened in the past wasn't entirely Dante's fault. Talking to people like this was beginning to grow easier for Logain. He had Casimir to thank for opening him up a little bit.

He took a deep breath and began his explanation, "Well, to make a long story short, I was chained and forced here against my will. The High Priestess of Ambria is corrupt and evil, so me and a few others made plans to take her down. However, I was betrayed by one of my 'comrades'. He took me to the High Priestess, pretending to be on my side, but it was his plan all along to get rid of me. I was grabbed by a demon that the Priestess was summoning, and it brought me to this realm. It chased me, so I ran here, and since then, it seems that the creature gave up the chase. As for why I was able to wake you, I don't have the answer to that. Usually, the person or object you were holding onto in your previous life is the only thing that can wake you up. Perhaps you were able to because I am connected to the person you're holding onto."

Logain knew about Dante's past relationship with Tristan. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was the reason why the prince couldn't rest in peace.

"You're connected to him? You're not . . . seeing him, are you?" When Dante asked the question, the warlock could hear the pain in his voice. Over a year passed, but for Dante, it felt like only yesterday when he gave his life to save Tristan. The feelings were still there.

Quickly, Logain shook his head to clear up any misunderstandings. "I'm not. I'm actually engaged to the crown prince of Ambria. Tristan is one of the men I'm working with to take down the High Priestess. He's cursed, and she has an object that he can use to save himself from his curse. An asshole clergyman is the one who betrayed me because of my relationship with the crown prince. I can assure you that nothing is going on between me and Tristan."

Hearing that was a relief to Dante, but his smile was sad as he looked down. "I see, and I'm sorry for what happened to you. Since you're alive and are a warlock, you can return to your world with a bit of magic. But . . . if it's not too much to ask, is Tristan doing well? I know that I'm the reason why he's cursed. He tried to save me from my curse, but in the end, I died and made things worse for him."

"You saved him as well, though, and Tristan is currently trying to find a way to save you. With the object we're trying to get from the High Priestess, he will not only be able to cure himself of his curse, but he will be able to bring you back to life," Logain said.

He thought his words would be reassuring to Dante, but they weren't. The prince shook his head. "No. I can't go back. After everything I did to him and my kingdom, I don't want to go back. Death is something I deserve after everything I did. I love Tristan, and I don't want to make things hard for him again. Besides, by now, I'm sure he's moved on."

The warlock grabbed Dante's hands. "Stop it. You didn't deserve to die, and what happened isn't your fault. You were cursed by a powerful entity. What happened was out of your control. Once we save you, everything will be okay again. If he didn't still care about you, then he wouldn't be trying so hard to save you."

"Logain . . ." Dante began to say, but a roar above them made the prince come to a halt.

The warlock couldn't sense the demon before, but somehow, it made it inside the castle. Logain was out of time.