A whole week had passed since the night of the auction, but for Omar, it was as if time was still frozen that night. After going into a frenzy over Karyne's death, he invaded the Garden of Beasts and managed to avenge the young woman by killing Old Daran, but he couldn't get away with that battle. He had lost his dominant arm, and had suffered for the last 7 days the after-effects of some virulent poison that the snake-man used on him while he was locked in the dungeons of the Garden of Beasts...
"CREAAK"
Turning his attention to the cell door that had opened, he saw Rafael and one of the apprentices from the tower. It seemed like he was finally going to get out of this place, but Omar didn't think he deserved it. He could barely look Rafael in the eye now. He should have acted with a cool head and thought about the consequences of such an attack...
"Why are you holding your head so low?" His friend asked as he smiled and comforted him by patting his back.
"I'm sorry, Rafa, no, I'm sorry, leader of the Order… I caused trouble for everyone…"
"What? If you hadn't killed that old man, I would have broken into this place and killed him myself! How dare he experiment on my sisters-in-law?"
The disciple from the Garden of Beasts broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing the conversation, and Omar finally relaxed a little. At the same time, he finally dared to ask:
"How is Katya? I abandoned her at the worst moment of her life… I'm really bad at making decisions when I'm angry, I should have stayed by her side…"
"Let's get the other brawler out of his cell, I'll answer you everything when we're back in our tower."
"Another brawler?"
When they arrived at another part of the prison, a young Arthur, all dirty and beaten, was there.
"Arthur? How? I left silently without you noticing…"
"My Lord! You are alive! It's a long story… I had an item that allowed me to know your location and if you were in danger… I'm sorry for failing to protect you." Said the loyal knight of the Velaryon house, as he looked at the place where Omar's arm should be.
"It's okay, I'm alive and so are you, that's what matters…"
"Arthur tried to invade the Garden of Beasts while you were fighting Old Daran; luckily, he didn't kill any of the disciples who stopped him. So it was easy to get him out of here along with you."
After leaving the Garden of Beasts and finally returning to the Yin Yang Tower, Omar looked at Rafael, waiting for the details.
"Katya is fine, she will live, except for her altered appearance, her talent has been greatly improved, she has gained a new affinity, and her affinity with water has had several improvements too…"
Still looking seriously at his friend, Rafael understood and continued.
"It is possible to change her external appearance using blood magic, but she refused; it seems she wants to remain that way, as a… A form of punishment for what happened to Karyne. It was not possible to measure her lifespan, but her race qualifies as a new, lower-grade race, not a mutant."
Omar was finally relieved and asked: "Can I see Karyne's corpse?"
"The corpse has already been cremated, the ashes are in Katya's room, but I saved this for you, here take it!"
A semi-transparent square crystal was handed to Omar. When he understood that this was Karyne's soul, he finally burst into tears…
"Your items are in your room, including your sword. I also left a new item there for you… Take a bath and take care of your injuries; don't let your girl see you like this. About that matter, the culprit is already dead, and we made a peace agreement with the Garden of Beasts, so don't let this affect you anymore, okay?"
"Thank you, Rafa!"
"We are good brothers, since when do we need to exchange thanks?"
After Omar and Arthur were taken to be healed, Rafael went to meet Natasha on the top floor of the Yin Yang Tower, his face was very dark, different from what he had shown Omar before.
"Was the deal with the Master of Beasts so bad?" Natasha asked worriedly.
"The deal was partially fair, it was Jhon's interference that worried me, he didn't give details, but he stressed the importance of maintaining peace with the Garden of Beasts."
"Well, we've suffered a lot of losses recently, and we're about to start an exploration of the Great Dungeon tomorrow. We'll also have everything ready for the expedition to the Shadowlands in two more days…"
"Yes, in the end, it was the best solution. Remember to give good compensation to the students who were expelled from the Garden of Beasts."
"And Jhon? Do you suspect that he might be leaning more towards their side? Do you want me to ask Jack to observe him?"
"There's no need, I trust him, and Jhon told me a very valuable secret, that shows how much he trusts me. As for—"
"BANG"
"BANG"
"BANG"
Three loud knocks outside the tower interrupted Rafael's conversation with Natasha. Rafael sighed as he lamented that the problems of this week would never end. Natasha moved, opening the huge window where they were, and a giant man almost 3 meters tall squeezed into the room.
"Master Invincible, why don't you use the door like a normal person?" Rafael asked, still frustrated by the man who had been visiting him every day since the auction ended.
"HAHAHA, I already told you, we don't have the habit of using doors where I came from!"
"Did you bring the Flight Relic I want?"
"HAHAHA, aren't we friends already? Leave the body's primordial item to me, I'll bring the Relic as soon as I get back home and settle some matters…"
"I can't trade on credit, not even for a king, King Kane…"
"Credit?"
Rafael sighed and thought about finally giving in. It wasn't that he gave up due to pressure, but simply no one other than this Master was interested in the body's primordial item, so he decided to make the risky deal in exchange for a Relic he wanted.
"Alright, I'll give you the primordial item, but you'll have to bring me the Flight Relic within 10 years, and you'll have to sign 3 blood contracts."
"HAHAHA GOOD…VERY GOOD! I WAS NOT MISTAKEN, YOU ARE A TRUE FRIEND…"
While the muscular Master signed the contracts and even left a few drops of his blood as collateral. Rafael repeated a question he had asked every day:
"Then why do you need this so desperately?"
The King, who was always haughty and smiling, finally put on a serious face and spoke:
"There is something bad spreading throughout Ulthos. I need a new innate spell, just to investigate the area where it started and find out what is causing it…"
"I understand, there is no need to go into further details, if you cannot bring the item, you can send someone you trust. As long as it is delivered, I will not make things difficult for you."
"Thank you, I will remember this help. Now I need to return quickly; these 7 days of absence may have already placed a huge burden on my people. Come visit me in the future when you can."
Rafael just waved and watched the man jump out the window again as he quickly flew towards the mysterious continent…
***
Meanwhile, in the Garden of Beasts. The Master of Beasts looked at the corpse of a snakeman, split in half and covered in several burns and cuts. A smile formed on his face as he asked a question:
"How long are you going to play dead, Daran?"
***
Humans have turned into zombies, animals have turned into monsters, the weather has gone crazy, and all technology has stopped working. The worst possible apocalypse was about to overwhelm the humans of Jyera, when suddenly time rewinds to 7 days before it began, and now Rick has a system and memories of everything that will happen... But something has happened... The apocalypse is different... People other than Rick have systems, too. And a new threat now stalks the survivors of Jyera from the shadows...
Don't forget to check out my new original book: Jyera World Apocalypse! Available now here on the site.
Last week, I also released The Stygai's Necromancer!
Follow Zhang's journey as he learns Necromancy in the dangerous Stygai - The Corpse City...
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magical Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, and Niteo akuma!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley!