The vast palace shimmered under the ambient lighting, its grand facade radiating an almost ethereal glow. Two colossal guards stood sentinel at its entrance, their forms immense and powerfully built, enough to make anyone break into a sweat. Long katanas rested at their sides, their very presence emanating an oppressive aura that made the air heavy, dim, and infused with a palpable sense of dread that permeated the entire structure.
One guard, maintaining a formal posture, bowed his head. "Welcome, my lady. Master was worried about you." The other remained utterly still, a testament to his vigilance, ensuring no attack could appear on the castle unnoticed.
"Ray, come," Yuki instructed, her voice unusually neutral, devoid of emotion as she stepped through the grand entrance.
"Yes! I'm coming..." Ray stammered, a mix of awe and fear in his voice, stemming from the formidable guards. He hurried past Yuki and into the castle.
I don't know if Yuki sensed it, Ray thought, but these guards are incredibly powerful, perhaps even more so than Yuki in terms of raw energy. This place is truly frightening…
They began their journey through the sprawling castle, ascending grand staircases and navigating a labyrinth of opulent rooms.
"Hey, Yuki," Ray commented as they walked, "you're really very rich."
Yuki suddenly stopped, turning to him, her voice soft but firm. "Stop. Ray, stay here for a moment. I'm going into this room where my father is."
Ray looked around, confused. There was no door, just a seamless wall before them.
"Yuki, are you sure this is the way to your father's room? There's no door here."
"Don't worry," Yuki reassured him, a faint smile playing on her lips. "The room is right in front of us."
She moved towards the wall, placing her hand upon its smooth surface. As she did, a soft, magical light emanated from her palm, embedding magical energy into the seemingly solid structure.
"Dad, it's me, Yuki," she announced, her voice calm and clear.
The moment her words faded, a grand, nobly crafted door materialized, shimmering into existence from the previously blank wall.
"I'm going in," Yuki said, her tone businesslike. "You wait here for a while."
She opened the ornate door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her. Slowly, the magnificent door dissolved back into the wall, leaving no trace of its existence.
Her dad is incredibly cautious about his security, to setup such a system in a temporary castle, Ray mused, gazing at the now featureless wall. I can't imagine what Yuki's real house must be like!
He looked around the immense hallway. This place is so large. In my past life, I never even entered a house this big.
But, it looks like people here aren't as advanced in technology as in my past life. They primarily use natural energy from spirits…
Ray's eyes darted around, taking in every detail. "I wonder why this place is too silent," he murmured aloud. Only this place is silent. Outside this castle, I heard painful screams of people asking for help. His senses seemed to heighten. Also, this palace is full of natural energy. I can feel various powerful presences, including Yuki and her father.
"From his father's presence," Ray spoke softly, almost to himself, "I can feel both anger and worry for his daughter. What's going on inside...?"
After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Ray spoke again. "I'm slowly realizing that my senses are becoming sharper, or is this just normal in this world?"
Suddenly, the hidden door reappeared on the wall. Yuki emerged, her presence bringing a faint shimmer to the air, and the door slowly vanished behind her.
"I've asked my father," Yuki informed him. "You can stay here until the war is over."
The scene shifted. Yuki and Ray were now in a large, elegantly furnished room, where three other figures awaited them.
"Ray," Yuki began, introducing the others, "this is Aya." She pointed to a striking girl with fiery red hair and a generously proportioned figure, who appeared older than both Ray and Yuki. "This is Adam," she continued, gesturing towards a young man roughly Ray's age, with dark eyes and bright yellow hair. "And this is Kiara," she concluded, indicating a girl also around Ray's age, with black hair, black eyes, and a more modest physique.
"They will take care of you after me," Yuki stated, her gaze then turning sternly to Kiara. "Kiara, don't you dare do anything wrong with him. He is my friend."
"Who is he?" Adam scoffed, his tone arrogant, his eyes sweeping over Ray with disdain. "I'm sensing zero amount of natural energy from him. From where did you bring this weakling in a time of war?"
Ray met Adam's gaze, his thoughts racing. I can sense he's stronger, but all of them have low energy output compared to Yuki.
"Adam, watch your words," Yuki warned, her voice dangerously calm. "If I hear anything I don't want to about you, you'd better be ready for the consequences."
Adam offered a mocking bow.
"Don't worry, Princess Yuki. I will take full care of our new guest. Go to war without any worry about him. No, what was his name? Yes, 'Ray...'''
"Ray," Yuki called, her voice softening as she addressed him. "You also don't do anything stupid and take care of yourself until I return."
"Okay..." Ray replied, a hint of sadness in his voice as he realized she was truly leaving.
"So, I am leaving," Yuki announced. "I've received an urgent summons to the war. A very strong Curseuman has been unsealed..."
The scene changed, plunging into the grim reality of the war's frontline. The atmosphere was terrifying, thick with the tangible presence of released magical energy. Even in the daytime, it felt like dusk, the sky overcast by the sheer intensity of the conflict. A chilling silence hung over the battlefield, broken only by the crunch of footsteps on corpses.
Bodies were spread across the ground like a macabre bedsheet, leaving barely enough space to step without treading on blood. Among the dead were humans, Spiritumens, and Curseumans alike, their forms slowly disappearing as their souls were sealed. The air itself seemed charged with a palpable density of tension, panic, sadness, anxiety, cruelty, and every other form of malevolence, ready to invade one's senses, spreading from lungs to heart and mind, capable of making even the bravest wet their pants.
Suddenly, at a particular spot, a jagged, black lightning bolt tore through the air, surrounding a small, pulsating hole in mid-air. The hole expanded rapidly, growing larger within seconds. Finally, the swirling black lightning and the enlarging void coalesced, forming a humanoid figure that slowly materialized into full visibility.
"So, this is what it looks like when a Curseuman unseals," someone from the battlefield murmured, their voice filled with grim realization.
A black slash,formed of black curse energy ,thinner than air and impossibly long, flashed through the space, slicing clean through the head of a Spiritumen that stood in its path before dissipating into nothingness a considerable distance away.
The newly unsealed Curseuman let out a guttural roar, a sound of pure ecstasy. "Ahhh, this happiness! This sort of feeling!" he boomed, his voice resonating with ancient power. "After six thousand years of being sealed, I finally get to enjoy the fear of these wretched Spiritumens again!"