Chapter 54: Embracing The Dark Side
Ka’z inwardly let out a slow sigh of relief.
It had been nothing more than a gamble.
He had wagered everything on the assumption that the mysterious Red Scripture had been written in English, the language of his previous world. Judging from Rok’s reaction, his gamble had paid off perfectly.
The humans of Athedal spoke English or at least, the noble who authored the Red Scripture had.
"How..." Rok’s breathing became uneven as he stared at the writing carved into the stone. "How do you know the language of the Red Scripture?"
A faint mocking smile spread across Ka’z’s lips. At that moment, he understood something important. The Red Scripture was not merely a source of knowledge. It was the foundation upon which the Ashmork Clan had built its entire rise to power.
Every advantage they possessed all depended upon that one book. And because of that, it had become their greatest weakness.
"I saw it in a dream," Ka’z lied calmly. "Since then, I’ve learned the language. Now all that’s left is getting my hands on the Red Scripture itself. The knowledge your clan spent decades struggling to decipher I’ll understand within months."
Buzz!
Rok’s breathing completely stopped.
His eyes continuously shifted between the strange writing upon the wall and the young kobold standing before him.
Impossible.
His people had spent years painstakingly translating fragments of that sacred language. Entire generations of shamans devoted themselves to understanding a few pages.
Yet this child was claiming he could achieve this in months. And strangely he believe him.
Something the prison guards had been whispering over the past day resurfaced in his memory.
The Child of Prophecy. The one who foresaw the disastrous losses during the night raid. It was said that same child defeated Boi.
His gaze immediately darted toward the familiar staff planted into the stone floor before slowly returning to Ka’z.
His entire body trembled.
"Shit..."
His voice became hoarse.
"You’re... that Child of Prophecy?"
Ka’z nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"I already foresaw your clan’s destruction from the very beginning. So I’m merely carrying out what I’ve already seen." His voice remained calm.
Ka’z slowly walked toward Rok until only a few steps separated them.
"The hundred goblins marching into this southern region will become fertilizer for our fields."
"After that we’ll invade your village. Slaughter your warriors and enslave your women and children."
"And finally... I’ll claim the Red Scripture. From there I’ll build a kingdom inside Evergreen Forest. I’ll map every region and every piece of this forest will belong to Vaal’kor."
His gaze slowly lifted beyond Rok as though already seeing a future invisible to everyone else.
Buzz!
Silence consumed the prison chamber. Even Tong’a and Lan’ka found themselves staring blankly at Ka’z.
Neither had expected those words.
He did not speak of building a larger colony or creating a village. He had jumped straight to a kingdom Not merely claiming the southern region but the entire Evergreen Forest.
It was a dream so absurd that even Grash himself likely had never dared entertain it.
"Bastard!"
Rok’s expression twisted violently.
"You think anyone can accomplish everything you just claimed?"
Ka’z answered immediately.
"And do you think anyone can master hundreds of runes after seeing them once?"
Rok’s jaw tightened. He had no response. Reading runes alone was extraordinary. Pronouncing them correctly was even harder.
Even Grash, the greatest Battle Shaman of the Ashmork Clan, only knew a handful of complete incantations by heart.
Yet Ka’z had cast one spell after another without hesitation as though the Language of Power had always belonged to him.
The terrifying part he had only been studying it for two days.
"This is the jungle."
Ka’z calmly spread his hands.
"You either adapt with every changing season or you disappear alongside everything else that refuses to evolve."
His expression slowly hardened.
"Now. Tell me everything you know about arrays."
For the briefest moment, fear appeared inside Rok’s eyes. Then it disappeared and his breathing steadied.
He slowly forced himself upright despite every wound covering his body. He had already betrayed his people by revealing when the Ashmork army would arrive.
He would not sink any lower. If preserving the Red Scripture demanded his life, then so be it.
Ka’z quietly watched him and a disappointed sigh escaped his lips.
"I expected you to be smarter than this."
He slowly extended one hand.
"Zehr Dren."
Lightning Magic: Lightning Bolt!
Blue light exploded within his pupils. Lightning surged across his arm before condensing into a brilliant azure spear that instantly shot forward.
Crack!
The Lightning Bolt struck Rok squarely in the chest and his entire body convulsed violently. Every muscle seized and his scream echoed throughout the prison as electricity danced beneath his skin before throwing him onto both knees.
Smoke drifted upward from his scorched body and his breathing became ragged. Each gasp sounded as though his lungs had forgotten how to function.
Before the pain could even settle, Ka’z calmly spoke again.
"Lumen Carn Kael."
Soft golden light flowed over Rok’s body. Slowly, the burns disappeared and his breathing stabilized. His muscles relaxed and even the damaged flesh repaired itself before his horrified eyes.
Rok looked down in disbelief at his healing injuries.
"Torum Dren."
Earth Magic: Earth Spear!
The earth beneath him exploded upward and a sharpened stone spear pierced directly through his abdomen.
Blood sprayed across the prison floor.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Rok grabbed the stone desperately while screaming. Ka’z slowly approached him. Without the slightest change in expression, he rested one hand upon the goblin’s shoulder.
"Kryos."
Ice rapidly spread across Rok’s shoulder, freezing flesh, muscle and skin into a solid mass.
Ka’z calmly grabbed the frozen section.
Rip!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
Rok’s scream became almost inhuman.
The frozen flesh tore completely away from his shoulder, exposing fresh muscle beneath while chunks of frozen blood shattered across the floor.
Only then did Ka’z turn around. His expression immediately softened into a polite smile.
He looked toward Tong’a, Lan’ka and the guards.
"Please excuse me. May I speak with this prisoner in private?"
He bowed his head slightly.
Rok’s face instantly lost every trace of pride and tears mixed with blood streamed freely down his cheeks.
His breathing became frantic as he desperately looked toward the kobolds standing at the doorway.
"No... Please... Please don’t leave me alone with this monster!"
His voice cracked
Bam!
The heavy stone door slowly closed and the lock slid firmly into place.
Outside... Tong’a, Lan’ka and the guards stood silently within the corridor and not long after rhe screaming began. It echoed endlessly through the underground tunnels.
Every cry sounded more desperate than the last. Even the veteran guards subconsciously swallowed.
Lan’ka found himself unable to say a word. He no longer understood the child standing beyond that stone door.
Tong’a slowly closed his eyes.
"That child... I no longer understand him."
He let out a weary sigh and his gaze lowered toward the stone beneath his feet.
Ka’z was changing far faster than anyone had anticipated. Every day revealed another side of him as his strength grew.
Perhaps that was simply the will of the Greater Kobold. After all it was the Greater Kobold who supposedly sent this child into the world. It was the Greater Kobold who granted him visions no one else possessed.
If Tong’a stood against Ka’z now would he truly be any different from Tud’or and the warriors who mocked the prophecy before the night raid?
"Tong’a..."
Lan’ka called quietly.
The old oracle merely shook his head. His tired voice echoed softly through the corridor.
"Let the child walk the path laid before him by the Greater Kobold."
He slowly turned away.
"Perhaps... he truly is the one destined to lead us out of this calamity."
With those final words, Tong’a quietly walked away, his staff tapping rhythmically against the stone floor while the agonizing screams behind the prison door continued to echo throughout the depths of Vaal’kor. Even after everything he had witnessed today...
He still could not find the words to describe the child the heavens had entrusted to them.