Even though countless horrifying things were happening inside the royal chamber, not a single sound escaped outside. The thick black walls surrounding the high windows swallowed every scream, every cry, and every laugh as though the castle itself wished to hide the madness within.
Meanwhile, below near the ritual grounds, life continued strangely.
The gathered people, the so-called free men whose slave status had recently been revoked by the king, stood around those counted figures, lights, and whispered among themselves, trying to ignore the suffocating atmosphere surrounding the ritual.
Some spoke excitedly about the future they wished to build after tonight.
"I will open a small food shop near the lower docks," one man said hopefully. "No more mines. No more chains. I will finally live peacefully."
Another laughed bitterly.
"A food shop? With your cooking? You'll kill customers before hunger does."
Several nearby men chuckled softly.
One broad-shouldered man crossed his arms and said proudly,
"I'm going into the stone business. After years of carrying rocks for others, I know enough to sell them myself."
Another nearby person replied,
"If we survive tonight, I'm joining a noble family as a bodyguard. At least guards eat properly."
"Hah!" "Better become a rogue hunter," someone from the back interrupted. "Dangerous work, but the pay is worth it."
Another older man quietly muttered,
"I'm tired of blood and labour. I am keen to join a residential seminary and study nature's laws."
Some mocked him lightly.
Others nodded in understanding.
The flare lights flickered softly around them while countless small conversations mixed together like the murmuring of restless spirits.
For a brief moment, it almost felt normal. Humans are hopeful creatures.
But suddenly—
A strange oppressive wind swept through the entire ritual ground. The temperature dropped instantly. The conversations stopped one after another.
Everyone slowly raised their heads towards the upper ritual platform.
Six figures had appeared around the pale, moonlit veil.
Those men narrowed their eyes.
At first, many could not understand who they were beneath the distorted flare light and drifting smoke. But once the six glowing symbols floating behind them became visible, realisation spread rapidly through the crowd.
"The Six Commanders…"
Someone muttered in shock.
Each commander stood around the moon veil while six glowing fragments floated above their palms like pieces of a shattered relic.
A man suddenly shouted from the crowd,
"Those are the skull fragments!"
His voice trembled.
"The same ones some of us went to retrieve with the soldiers and commanders…"
He swallowed hard.
"But none of them ever returned."
Another voice immediately rose nearby.
"Wait… aren't those the six relic pieces Boku, Kamis, Komon, and Tigar went after?"
Someone else added quickly,
"And those two brats went too… Commander Sipit was with them."
"Yeah, you're right…"
One man frowned deeply while staring upward.
"But I don't see Commander Sipit among them."
A brief silence spread.
Then someone from the middle muttered bitterly,
"Then maybe those are the other commanders. The ones who rarely come here except to force us into more work and punishments."
"Hah… true enough."
He squinted his eyes towards the platform.
"Why can't I see them clearly?"
The firelight distorted strangely around the six figures.
Another worried voice rose.
"What about Tiffan and Nimor?"
"Yeah…"
"Where are they?"
Several people started looking around instinctively.
"The only one I saw was that boy selected for the ritual," one man said uneasily. "And the other boy… I haven't seen him at all."
A nearby older man immediately clicked his tongue.
"Don't speak carelessly about people."
The others turned towards him.
"From what I heard," he continued in a quieter voice, "their slave status was lifted completely. They were sent away towards their own lands."
A few people looked surprised.
"The king even provided ships, food supplies, and navigators for them."
"Where did you hear that?" someone asked suspiciously.
The old man shrugged.
"Some soldiers were drunk and talking too much."
Another nearby laughed bitterly.
"Really? Then I should've gone with them when they invited me."
He smacked his own forehead dramatically.
"Ahhh… what a wasted opportunity."
Several others nodded with regret.
Soon more conversations spread through the crowd.
Some shared resentment-filled stories about the missing people.
Some spoke warmly about how certain boys helped them survive harsh labour.
Others talked about punishments, old memories, fights, dreams, and rumours.
The atmosphere slowly became noisier again.
Whispers turned into discussions.
Discussions turned into arguments.
And gradually, countless small stories spread among the gathered free men like wildfire beneath the flickering flare lights, slowly softening the atmosphere.
For a brief moment, the ritual grounds no longer felt like a place of death.
Laughter appeared here and there.
Some exchanged old stories.
Some argued over rumours.
Others simply stared towards the sky while dreaming about lives they had never been allowed to live before.
The gloomy silence and suffocating fear that had covered the area earlier gradually weakened beneath those small human voices.
But then—
"KAAAHHHHH—!"
A sharp, ear-piercing sound suddenly exploded from above.
It was neither a scream nor a beast cry nor even something human.
The sound felt as though metal, bones, and souls were being crushed together at once.
Instantly, the atmosphere shattered.
"AHHH!"
People grabbed their ears in pain.
Some collapsed directly onto the ground.
Several men screamed while blood began flowing from their ears.
Others rolled across the earth desperately trying to block the sound, but it pierced through flesh and bone alike.
Even the floodlights trembled violently under the pressure.
For several moments, nobody could properly see or hear anything.
Then slowly…
As trembling eyes opened again...
Everyone stared upward in horror.
The six floating fragments had begun rotating around the pyre at equal heights.
Round and round they moved silently around the moonlight veil.
Below each fragment, glowing rings of different colours had appeared.
One burned crimson like blood, one glowed deep blue like frozen oceans, and another flickered with pale violet light.
The remaining rings carried strange colours that no ordinary person could fully describe.
The entire ritual ground became illuminated beneath their glow.
Then, suddenly six fragments slowly moved towards one another.
A violent brilliance erupted.
Light exploded across the entire area.
People instinctively shut their eyes as the radiance blinded everything around them.
Some even thought the sun itself had descended upon the ritual grounds.
For several breaths, nothing could be seen, like a pure burning white light illuminating the whole place.
After a moment, gradually light weakened, and the people slowly opened their eyes again.
And what they saw made the entire crowd fall silent.
Floating above the pyre is a gigantic, cracked, ancient beast skull. Every inch of its surface was covered in deep fractures glowing faintly beneath the moonlight.
No commanders remained visible anymore.
Beneath the skull, a massive glowing ring slowly rotated in silence.
The air itself felt heavier now.
Then suddenly, shocked voices erupted everywhere.
"What… what is that?"
"What did I just see?!"
"Can something like this truly exist?"
Several people stared upward with trembling devotion.
"Divinity…"
One man whispered in awe.
"So this is true divinity…"
Another fell directly to his knees.
"You cannot understand divine things unless you witness them yourself…"
But not everyone shared that belief.
Some stared at the floating skull with disturbed expressions.
Inside their minds, only one question echoed repeatedly.
"Where is the divinity in this?"
"That thing is just a beast's skull…"
Another muttered quietly,
"Is this really a holy ritual…"
"…or a sacrifice?"
Nearby, others immediately began chanting praises towards the floating skull.
Some bowed deeply. Some cried in worship. Some even started reciting prayers towards it. Yet for many others, a terrible uneasiness began crawling slowly through their bones.
Suddenly, something strange happened.
A dust-like substance, invisible to most people present, drifted down from nowhere above and landed softly upon the skull.
The instant it touched...
BOOM!
Blue fire ignited inside its hollow eye sockets.
The flames spread wildly across the cracks of the skull like living creatures awakening after endless sleep.
Then red glowing lines began spreading rapidly across its surface like roots or veins, or better to say, many tiny devilish branches carving themselves into the bone.
The glowing lines connected every fracture together; the broken bones slowly began merging, and air trembled violently as a deafening beastly roar exploded from the skull.
ROOOOAAAAARRRRR—!
It sounded ancient, hungry creature awakening from slumber after countless ages buried beneath darkness.
The ground shook beneath the sound; several people collapsed immediately from fear, and some stepped backwards instinctively.
Then something even more horrifying happened: violet and blue energy began gathering around the skull's horns. The horns slowly expanded outward while crackling with strange fire, and the skull itself started growing larger.
...
Suddenly, from the upper chambers where no sound had previously escaped, a voice echoed across the entire ritual ground.
A mad boy's voice.
"Mahangira… Mahangira… come out quickly!"
The voice carried strange excitement.
"Don't be late like last time."
A low laugh followed.
"We still have to begin the holy ritual of ascension…"
The sound echoed unnaturally from every direction at once.
"Hehe… it's finally going to start."
Then again...
"Where is my bloody rum?"
Laughter rang out once more.
"Come here. Your punishment isn't over yet…"
The voice turned playful.
"Quickly distribute them…"
The moment people heard those words, another wave of uneasiness spread through the crowd.
The atmosphere became restless again.
Some immediately began chanting prayers louder than before as though trying to suppress their fear through devotion. Others lowered their heads with pale expressions.
Inside their minds, dangerous thoughts slowly surfaced. Some even shouted towards that skull...
"Was my bad premonition true?"
"This… doesn't feel holy anymore…"
"Is this truly a sacred ritual…?"
"…or something demonic?"
The murmurs spread rapidly.
But suddenly whispers died instantly as a soft chuckle slipped through the silence.
"Demonic?"
The same boy's voice sounded again, amused this time.
"How quickly humans name things they fail to understand."
His voice remained smooth, far too smooth...
"Of course this is holy",
A pause followed.
"What else would it be?"
In the midst of the conversation, fire burning within the floating skull intensified.
"Holiness is not decided by trembling voices or frightened eyes", with a deep tone, "It is decided by faith."
The gathered crowd unconsciously fell silent.
"And faith…" A strange laugh escaped him. "Isn't that what all of you claim to possess?"
The boy's voice softened. "Tell me… Does your devotion waver so easily? Or is it merely your courage that fails you? You pray every day either to be blessed or to be remembered or to matter."
The flare lights around the arena flickered violently with no response.
"Then be grateful." The boy's voice became quieter. "Very few are chosen for something this eternal."
The floating beast skull above the pyre suddenly burnt brighter; blue flames roared within its hollow eyes. He continued...
"Mahangira sees beyond your doubts. He shall bless you…"
"Your ancestors…"
"And even the blood yet to be born."
The words echoed unnaturally long through the ritual grounds and then finally, in a near whisper—
"Simply cleanse that final stubborn knot within your heart…"
The fire crackled loudly.
"And surrender."
Silence followed.
Then...
BOOOOM!
The flames around the skull surged wildly higher. At the same time, more flares ignited around the seating areas where the soldiers were gathered.
One after another, without understanding, without sound.
Even the soldiers looked visibly shaken by everything unfolding before them, yet strangely, not a single voice from their side reached the ritual grounds below.
Only then did many begin realising something shocking: they were actually inside the arena, being sat in their own positions, as someone already knew that they sat here every day. Also understood the surrounding soldier seating areas are now being isolated from the others by unseen walls of silence.
Even screams could not properly pass through anymore. Meanwhile, darkness continued covering most of the gigantic circular arena itself.
An arena once used for slave battles. A place where chained men fought beasts, blades, and one another for amusement.
Some won freedom. Some won temporary glory. Most won, death. For nobles, it had always been entertainment, a place to laugh, or drink, or bet lives against lives. A stage built from blood and suffering to cure their endless boredom.
For slaves, this place had always meant only two endings.
Freedom from chains.
Or freedom from life itself.
TBC...