The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 254: Find Him ()

Darren nodded his head, his expression grim.

"At the time, it was the only way. With the help of a Fae, a witch... and dark magic, the Crimson Alpha bound himself to the darkness, sacrificing his humanity to attain a second element... the element of darkness."

"Because it was an act that was sure to be greatly frowned upon, it was kept a secret closely guarded, known only to a select few of the Crimson Alpha’s most trusted, but the Fae involved in the procedure kept records and Queen Heveneth laid her hands on it." Darren related to Zariah.

"The procedure was recorded in such detail...it was horrifying. I... could not bear to leave the record intact, Queen Heveneth is not aware that Eloneth and I took a few pages." Darren muttered, pulling out a small bundle of torn pages yellowed with age, which he handed to Zariah.

Zariah glanced through the strange drawings detailing an excruciating and sinister magical procedure to bind souls and she could not help the shudder.

It was difficult to imagine that anyone would choose to undergo such a procedure themselves, Zariah could not begin to imagine the pain of having one’s soul torn and ripped to reform something new, an outlawed and malicious magic art. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"The days of the war against the forsaken were desperate times...far more desperate than this generation could ever understand. The entire realm was close to extinction... Zari, if this was the only way..." Allen trailed off, also examining the procedure.

Allen’s words were said in the defence of the Crimson Alpha and Zariah knew they were meant as a comfort.

"Destroy this... every trace of it. Lest anyone holds such a horrible idea again." Zariah muttered, unable to conceal her disappointment at her own bloodline.

"After the procedure, the Crimson Alpha was recorded to be the first forsaken to retain his awareness and physical appearance." Eloneth continued the tale this time.

"But the merging with darkness achieved a great feat and he acquired something that was thought impossible... control over the forsaken." Darren added.

"For this, the Crimson Alpha was secretly known to be the Alpha of the Forsaken, though this title was long wiped from history." Darren said.

"For the force of darkness that was a natural and uncontrolled power, the Forsaken having neither leader nor limits, the Crimson Alpha was now the key to end the war. Using his command over the Forsaken, he banished them to the blessed land where the element seal was created by the sacrifice of many Crimson wolves."

"Thus the war was won...not by the Crimson Flame, but by the great sacrifice of his own humanity and the emergence of the Alpha of darkness, the Alpha of the forsaken." Darren told.

Zariah’s hands trembled, she could not have imagined there was such a great and treacherous secret in her own bloodline.

It was no wonder Queen Heveneth had constantly argued that the Crimson Moon were nothing but hypocrites.

"That was not the end, was it?" Zariah asked knowingly, her hands clenched.

"No." Darren admitted sadly.

"With the forsaken banished, the power of darkness in the Crimson Alpha began clashing with the Creator’s flame within him, both of contradicting origins...darkness and light. This resulted in insanity and a creation of a different entity within him...a beast he could not control..."

"Killing rampages by his hands became the order of the day when the beast took control, and most fearsome was the fact that by his blood, one would be turned forsaken." Darren said, his tone low.

"Just like it happened with Askel..." Zariah murmured in horror.

"The Crimson Alpha was becoming the very thing he feared and with each episode where he lost control, the element seal weakened and the forsaken stirred. Fearing he would again unleash an evil he had sacrificed greatly to seal, the Crimson Alpha came to a decision." Darren said.

"The eye of chaos...it has the ability to bind magic. He must have believed it was his only way out." Allen guessed.

"Indeed. The eye of chaos made its appearance, with the assistance of an earth witch, the very same that had aided in the first procedure, the Crimson Alpha extracted the darkness within him and sealed it away in the orb."

"But the second procedure was too tasking on him and knowing he did not have long to live and the orb was the very power that could not only control but create even more of the forsaken..." Darren trailed off.

"He shattered it." Zariah completed.

"And divided the pieces to his most trusted, sending them away with it so the orb could never be put together again." Zariah muttered.

"The first piece was entrusted to the earth witch... and the center piece of the orb, the largest and most powerful was entrusted to... the Royal Lycan Alpha King." Darren said grimly.

"The piece in Askel’s body!" Zariah hissed.

"It is in Askel’s body?!" Darren asked in alarm.

Allen quickly related all Zariah had told him to Darren, including all she had heard Morden and Queen Sancia discussing.

"Then...Morden must know what the orb truly is and what it is capable of. But it was such a closely guarded secret, even Queen Heveneth was not aware of the full details encoded in the secret scroll... how could Morden know?" Darren asked in bafflement.

"His mother was an earth witch." Zariah muttered, exhaling heavily at the predicament.

"Then... she must be of the bloodline of that earth witch that once served by the side of the first Crimson Alpha. Thus Morden inherited the first shard and has since sought out the others." Allen pondered aloud.

"Queen Sancia has no knowledge of what the shards truly are. She would give them to Morden without a second thought!" Eloneth said in horror.

"And if all the shards are in his possession, his only obstacle would be the Crimson Moon keeping him away from putting them together at the element seal. Thus he must get rid of us..." Darren muttered.

"Not only that..." Zariah said with a wince.

She had already figured out why Caedmon had gone after the staff of authority of all the element lords of Crimson Moon, including Nile.

It was not about the staff...but what it concealed within. Amongst the most trusted of the original Crimson Alpha, the ancestors of each element lord were his confidants.

It was unlikely he would trust the shards to outsiders over them.

"What more?" Allen asked warily.

"The remaining shards unaccounted for...they are in Crimson Moon." Zariah revealed bitterly.

"Then...if Queen Sancia gives him Caedmon and Askel’s shard, and Morden can get to Crimson Moon territory, he would have..." Darren trailed off.

"Everything...all the shards and the element seal to put them together. The eye of chaos would be whole again."

"He would have the power to command and create forsaken, the power to rule not just the Ethereal domain...but the entire realm." Zariah said, her hands clenched tightly.

"We have to stop him!" Eloneth exclaimed urgently.

"Thankfully, we have already secured Caedmon’s shard." Zariah muttered, glancing over at Allen.

But Allen’s expression told Zariah there was more to worry about.

"Where is the shard, Allen?" Zariah asked warily.

"I entrusted it to Nile. He has been tracking down those that possibly came in contact with Askel." Allen reported.

"And where is Nile...?" Zariah asked.

"I... I have not seen him since yesterday." Allen admitted.

Zariah’s hands clenched even tighter and she released a grunt of annoyance.

"Find him! Now!" Zariah hissed.