Shattered Kingdoms | Book 2 ✔ (REWRITTEN AS 'THE EXILED KING')

Chapter 16 - A New Dawn

"Come, Jason. We must be hasty. Time moves as we stand still, and we can ill afford to wait," Reyneld Bladesworn said, "There are many things you must know, but now we must move."

He strode away, his cape billowing in the hot winds of the Ether. Reyneld never looked back to see whether his son had followed, but Jason scampered after the fallen hero anyways.

"W-What's going on?" Jason stammered.

Reyneld walked on, grimly, "Things that are for your ears alone, so come along now."

Jason narrowed his eyes, unconsciously lowering his hand to the hilt of his dagger, "Why are you like this? You're dead! It should be me who orders you around, not you... just a... dead specter of some kind."

Reyneld stiffened, then turned towards Jason.

"Look at me, Jason. Touch me. Cut me open and see if I bleed red. Am I truly dead? I've asked myself that question so many times," He said sadly.

Jason stepped forward tentatively, stopping a step away from the other man. He brought his hand up slowly, hesitantly, and touched the warrior's chest gently, as if afraid that if he pressed too hard, Reyneld would float away. Reyneld's chest was slightly warm and rose and fell with every breath. He looked real and felt real, but what color did he bleed?

"I-I can't do this. I can't willingly cut open someone! I can't!" Jason said, stumbling back.

Reyneld sighed, then moved. With lightning reflexes, he snatched Jason's dagger and laid open his arm. Immediately, bright blood welled up in the cut, running down. They fell, like sparkling ruby gems. Jason gasped.

"Why would you do that?!" He exclaimed.

"To gain your trust. I'm real. The world hangs in the balance, so might we proceed?" He asked patiently. The cut on his bronzed skin was already healing, a leftover from his Guardian times.

"Uh... yes. Of course!" Jason stammered. Reyneld had a commanding aura that made people want to look up to him, to follow him. Jason understood why he had been the most famous Guardian to ever have graced Dargon. Even in death, he stood tall and proud, bowing to none.

"If you're real, then why are you in the Ether?"

"The same way you are. Spirit. But my true body was killed, so my spirit remains trapped here, unable to fully pass on, unable to return. But I bear it willingly. It has given me this chance to see you, Jason, and for that I thank the gods."

Jason smiled.

"Come now. Tell no one of what you will see on this day. Do you understand? Everything lies in the balance," Reyneld said.

"Where are we going?"

They had been walking for a few more minutes before Reyneld decided to answer.

"We, my son, are going to pay a visit to a forgotten god. And the Bladesworn treasury," He said cheerfully.

With a pang, Jason realized that it was the first time Reyneld had openly acknowledged Jason as his son.

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The dark interior of the building stank. Dried blood stained the floor rusty red, and not even the walls or ceiling had been spared. A broken chandelier occupied the attention in the center of the room. At a closer inspection, Jason gasped in shock.

"It's a ballroom?!"

Reyneld's gaze swept the room, agony clear in them, "It was here that Jemery died."