"Everything is possible as long as you follow what I say, My Child.
Now, if you wish to escape,
Then nod your head."
Zylarithâs words echoed in Sharnothâs head.
Nux, who was seeing everything from Sharnothâs perspective, could see his âdear fatherâ as well. He was just like when he first met him, in his translucent, ghost-like Soul Form.
âSo this is how she met him, huh...â
Nux realized it.
He had already guessed that this was the case, but seeing it with his own eyes gave it an entirely different meaning.
Before, he only thought Zylarith saved Sharnoth from imminent death, but... seeing everything Sharnoth went through,
Nux realized it was much more than that.
Zylarith didnât just save her, he appeared when Sharnoth needed someone the most; rather than a life, this man gave Sharnoth something much more precious.
Hope.
A Second Chance.
A chance to take Revenge.
And Nux, who knew the current Sharnothâs mindset, could see how Zylarithâs help would make her absolutely loyal to him.
âNo wonder she refused to cooperate with me the first time I met her.â
Nux nodded to himself.
Soon, however, another question popped in his mind,
âI wonder what made her change her mind.â
Of course, Nux knew he would get the answer to this question as he continued watching, so that is what he did.
He watched in silence.
After the initial conversation between Zylarith and Sharnoth, Zylarith disappeared. Even if he promised to let her escape, he didnât move instantly,
"Wait and observe, child.
Endure everything they do to you in silence, show me your conviction, show me that you are worth saving."
With those words, he disappeared.
For a good while, Sharnoth believed she was hallucinating, but she didnât give in.
To the eleven-year-old, this was her only chance, so she did exactly as she was told. With a cold, terrifying look that didnât suit a child her age, she started to observe and endure everything these people threw at her and her mother.
The public cleansing was not the end.
It was only the beginning.
After the ritual was done, the Queen of Nightfall and her daughterânow labeled Heretics of the Lightâwere not granted death.
No, that would be mercy.
Instead, they were bound in chains of radiance, paraded once more before a crowd that was now numbed to cruelty, and loaded onto a Sanctum Ship that was headed for Aurendor.
Yes, Vexarion Aurendor had decided to take the mother-daughter, the trophy of his victory, back to his world.
The journey took days.
Inside the luminous prison, Sharnoth and Isaveth were separated, not through walls, but distance.
Every night, Sharnoth bled.
The Cage of Radiance continued to suppress her abilities, paralyze her voice, and tear her body apart. She wasnât even allowed to sleep as the cage reacted the instant she closed her eyes for longer than a minute.
Honestly, at this point, both Sharnoth and her mother had gotten numb to this torture.
Bored by this sight, the guards decided to play another sick game, they decided to describe each otherâs suffering to the other and every time the two reacted, they sneered victoriously.
They âpunishedâ the evil successfully.
They could now sleep with a blessed, righteous heart.
This continued for days, but even after they arrived and were imprisoned in Aurendor, nothing changed. These people continued to find new ways to âtorment the evil.â
After many trial and errors, they found one great way to make this game a lot easier.
Crushing the Queen of Nightfallâs pride,
The Queen was stripped, raped, and humiliated every day, to make this agonizing for both of them, Sharnoth was made to forcefully watch all this.
There were even times when the Queen was made to do unspeakable things as the guards threatened her with her daughterâs life.
Her pride was trampled through and through, every single day. The once respected, feared, and graceful queen had disappeared and was turned into a plaything whose sole purpose of existence was to entertain the different guards on different days.
Sometimes, even the Herald of Justice came to observe and participate in this game. Sharnoth watched as these people laughed at the expense of her motherâs tears,
What made her feel even worse was how her own life was being used to do all this to her mother, but again,
Sharnoth did what that being told her months ago,
She observed.
And as she obeyed, it was finally time to be rewarded.
"Are you ready, child?"
The voice returned on the twelfth month.
Yes, a year had passed, the torture had continued till this day, every time, with a new batch of guards, but Sharnoth wasnât broken.
Not yet.
Not before she got her revenge.
"You nodded. That means you wanted to escape no matter what it took.
I hope you meant it."
Sharnoth stared at the translucent being standing in front of her and nodded. Seeing as how her mother wasnât reacting despite him being right in front of her, Sharnoth quickly realized that only she could see him.
Sharnoth didnât know how this was possible and she didnât care,
She just nodded at the being, who smiled at her as he then raised his hand, and in it, appeared a box.
"Tonight, you escape."
He spoke and the box opened.
Sharnoth frowned as her eyes fell on different objects that fell in front of her lap.
A cloak, a dagger, a liquid eye suspended in a jar, and finally, Black-Purple Keys.
These objects...
Sharnoth knew what they were.
Relics.
As the Princess of a High Level World, Sharnoth knew what Relics were, this wasnât her first time seeing them, but...
Something was different.
These Relics...
They were different from the Relics she had seen before.
Not just her, even Isaveth, who could now see these strange relics appear in front of her daughter, frowned.
"Shaâ"
She wanted to ask about them but Zylarith didnât care about her and started speaking, cutting off Isavethâs voice from Sharnothâs perspective.
"Grab the Dagger."
He ordered.
Sharnoth did as she was told and moved to grab the dagger, the simple movement crushed her very body as the Cage of Radiance reacted, but Sharnoth didnât care, she grabbed the dagger and stared at Zylarith, her crimson eyes shining with strong conviction.
"Good, now cut the cage."
Sharnoth didnât ask if this was possible or not, she just did as she was told and surprisingly, with one single slash, the cage was sliced in half, shocking both Sharnoth and Isaveth.
"Now cut your collar."
Zylarith instructed and Sharnoth followed, within seconds, the girl was now free.
"S-Shar."
Isaveth smiled at that sight, this was the first time the woman had smiled after months, Sharnoth smiled back, her joy couldnât be hidden at the thought of being able to escape from this place with her mother,
But thenâ
"Kill her."
The next order was given.