Fire Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-659

Chapter 659: A Shadow

In the center of the city, on Noble Street, stood the Royal Palace, an impressive building with a shiny white dome. It was much taller and more grand than the other nearby buildings, clearly showing its authority and power.

The palace had a strong castle-like protection wall, and the elite Karr guards were responsible for security. They were stationed at the four entrances, looking tall and watchful, with spotless uniforms and gleaming weapons in the sunlight. They seemed fully dedicated to their duty.

However, if someone observed closely, they would notice something odd about the guards. Despite their calm appearance, their expressions and body language clearly showed worry and concern. They occasionally glanced toward the palace's interior, seemingly more focused on what was happening inside than any external dangers.

Perhaps something of great importance was occurring within the palace walls, causing tension and apprehension among the guards. It was evident that the situation inside was of paramount importance, and even the stalwart protectors of the palace could not hide their unease.

At that moment, Charles, Elre, and Griven arrived at the palace's northern entrance and were slightly startled by the guards' anxious look.

"What's happening? Moreover, why there are so many guards stationed outside?" Charles asked as he realized a little abnormality.

'As far as I know, only a handful of guards are stationed at each entrance all the time, and even that too for a formality. But why did they strengthen the security?'

Meanwhile, Griven hurriedly ran towards one of the guards, asked him about the situation, and returned with a grim look.

"It doth appear that two Celestial Guards, tasked to venture beyond this realm and vigilantly guard the slumbering heroes, hath vanished into the abyss of mystery, leaving nary a trace to unravel their fate," his voice carried the weight of solemnity and concern.

"Celestial Guards? Slumbering Heroes?" Charles made his face innocent and asked curiously.

"They are the selected 'Guards' chosen by our Divine King and are responsible for guarding the entrance and exit to the outer world. Without their permission, no one can enter or leave this world. Even we knew nothing much about the Celestial Guards, and only our Divine King has full control over them." Elre said while gripping the silver staff and walking toward the entrance.

'Hmm, even the disappearance of two legend rank guards make the guards restless, huh?'

On the other hand, Charles walked closer behind him and decided to probe him more.

"Outer World? What is that? You mean there is another place similar to where we are staying, Teacher?"

At that moment, a trace of confusion appeared on Elre's face.

"Outer World means the world outside this one. Although I haven't gone outside, I heard lots of tales about the dangerous monsters and nightmare beings roaming over there. Even our Divine King told us about the dangers lurking in that place and warned us not to even talk about it to anyone." He froze for a moment and soon muttered.

"But what's wrong in learning about it?"

"What about other Saint Heroes, Teacher?" This time, Griven asked while showing a trace of confusion.

"No, they also haven't gone to that place either. Only our Divine King's Celestial Guards went once in a moment to check the place and return after two or three days through the ancient teleportation circle placed near the 'Temple of Dreams.' This has been happening for centuries but no one cared much about it. But this is the first time death happened." Elre spoke thoughtfully and noticed they had already walked past the courtyard and fountain, reaching the palace's main building's entrance door.

"From now on, refrain from talking about that topic. Talk anything after entering the Hall of Poetry." Saying so, he crossed the reception room, entered the long corridor, walked past many large halls like the Dining Hall, Banquet Hall, Music Room, Hall of Poetry, and Library, and finally arrived in front of a three-meter tall metallic gate.

"Griven, bring Visryn to the Hall of Poetry and introduce him to all other Sage Heroes. Meanwhile, I'll go and greet our Divine King."

As he said, he walked closer to the three-meter-tall metallic door and pushed them open.

Although Charles was eager to look into the Throne Room, he refrained from acting rashly and quietly followed Griven.

The Hall of Poetry greeted Charles with an atmosphere of reverence and camaraderie. The walls were adorned with beautiful tapestries depicting scenes of poetic inspiration, and soft candlelight bathed the hall in a warm, inviting glow.

A large wooden round table was placed at the center of the large hall, and around twenty Karr beings sat in their respective seats and appeared to be in the middle of fierce discussion.

As they stepped inside, the other Sage Heroes focused on the newcomers. Each was a master poet, renowned for their exceptional literary prowess and artistic accomplishments. Their faces carried the weight of wisdom and experience, yet they looked upon Charles with curiosity and intrigue, sensing a new presence among them.

'Among them, there are eight Expert level Legend Rank powerhouses. The rest are only around Rank-4 and Rank-5.' But Charles wasn't intimidated by them at all.

As they scanned his body with their wisdom power, Charles also released his wisdom power and scanned them. Some thought of his action as rude, while others brushed it off. After all, they hadn't faced any betrayal or wicked schemes, resulting in them not even thinking of the possibility of him being an imposter.

Although Griven was startled by his action, he also didn't say anything and grasped his shoulder to inform him to retract his wisdom power.

On the other hand, Charles utilized this chance and started casting the [Curse of the Overlord] spell on every one of them.

Some showed a trace of curiosity at the sudden disturbance in their emotions, while the rest didn't even notice the effect of the spell and slowly focused their attention on the newcomer.

Griven took the lead, introducing Charles to the esteemed poets individually. "My esteemed Masters, allow me to present Vesryn Miramaris, a prodigious poet whose eloquence and depth of insight have already impressed our revered Master Elre Sylcyne."

'He is speaking normally now?' The corner of Charles's lips twitched.

"A prodigy? Moreover, Elre was impressed by his poems?" A shocking gasp echoed within the hall, followed by whispers.

Meanwhile, Charles bowed respectfully before each of the Sage Heroes, showing a humbled look to be in the presence of such literary luminaries. Their gazes scrutinized him, evaluating the young poet who had captured their colleague's admiration.

One of the Sage Heroes, a man with an aura of grace and gentility, smiled warmly at Charles. "Welcome, young Vesryn. We are delighted to receive one with such poetic promise. May your words be a symphony of inspiration that resonates with the hearts of all who hear them."

"Thank you, esteemed Sage," Charles replied with genuine gratitude. "It is an honor to stand before all of you, who have woven verses that have touched the souls of countless hearts."

Another Sage Hero, a man with a distinguished air, spoke with a twinkle in his eye. "Ah, the enthusiasm of youth, eager to set forth on a poetic journey. Embrace your passion, for it is the beacon that will guide you through the realms of verse."

Charles nodded while hiding his true intention. After a short introduction, Griven arranged a seat for Charles and sat beside him.

The gathering continued with discussions about poetic styles, the interplay of emotions and imagery, and the delicate balance between structure and creative freedom. Charles found himself fully immersed in the conversations. Occasionally, he voiced his opinions and started getting everyone's attention. Even though what he said were mere blunt verses, all of them strangely got impressed by each one and felt a sense of insight and enlightenment.

A strange weave of spider webs crept into everyone's mind and started manipulating them under the will of Charles.

Three hours passed in a blink of an eye.

At that moment, Master Elre Sylcyne returned, his presence commanding attention. The Sage Heroes greeted him with respect, and Charles noticed a contemplative expression on Elre's face.

"What happened, Teacher?" He asked.

Elre was about to say something but soon shook his head and approached the seat beside him. Then, he sat beside him, leaning on it with a confused face.

After his arrival, the Hall of Poetry also turned solemn. Strangely, a Sage Hero named Elred suddenly voiced out his thought.

"Although we never involve ourselves in the outer world's matter, I'm really curious about what happened to the two Celestial Guards. Are they really dead?"

His words caused everyone in the hall to go into abrupt silence. Slowly, everyone looked at each other and turned their attention toward Elre Sylcyne.

"What do you think of this matter, Elre? I heard you went to make an audience with our Divine King a while ago. Did our Lord say something about this matter?" Elred asked, his expression showed curiosity.

A deep sigh leaked out of Elre's mouth.

"As usual, he told me not to talk about it. I'm feeling our Divine King is hiding something from us." Even though his voice appeared very low, everyone in the hall heard it clearly and felt a strange eeriness.

A smirk appeared on Charles's face.

"I don't think our Divine King hide it to fool us. He might be worried about us and thought of prioritizing our safety first." He turned his face seriously and spoke.

"But we should at least know the root cause of this problem, right? We are not some commoners but Sage Heroes who hold the position to even appoint a new Divine King. We have every right to know of this matter." Another Sage Hero interjected.

"Orist, don't say some absurd thing like commoners and Sage Heroes. In the presence of Divine King, we all are the same." Elre said sternly.

Although he spoke firmly, a strange doubt on their DIvine King started to etch in the deepest part of his consciousness. Elre and everyone in the Hall of Poetry started to doubt Divine King's action.

A shadow of darkness sprouted even within the Royal Palace on that moment.