Ashoka woke up the next morning—what he thought was morning—feeling the cold cobblestone floor pressing against his cheek.
Groaning, he sat up slowly. His body felt like crap at the moment, as if he'd been put through a meat grinder—not that he knew what that felt like. He was sore all over, in places he either hadn't known about or didn't have a name for.
'Where the hell am I?'
Dazedly, he looked around, and the first thing he saw was a wall stretching before him, made with the same stone below his palm.
There was a window at the top of the wall, barred with thick metal bars. There wasn't a sky beyond them but just a dark vent leading to who knew where.
Then, he turned around and saw similar walls on his left and right as well. Finally, behind him, there were columns of metal bars standing between him and a dark hallway.
Realization finally came to him.
"I'm dead, aren't I?"
He was in a goddamn cell!
For a moment, his face paled yellow before an unnatural strength came to him like a dying beast.
He hurriedly stood up and dashed towards the bars. There were similar cells on the other side of the hallway, but all were empty from what he could see.
He finally remembered what had happened right before he was knocked out. The unpleasant feeling of his spine being caved.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it!'
Who knew his life could go so terribly?
Had he already been found out as Gaius's accomplice? Had he been declared a traitor by the Hand of Order already? That would completely decimate his plans since they entirely depended on the fact that he was a Royal heir to the Crown. Becoming a Traitor would remove that title, which basically meant he would fail this Nightmare!
He banged on the metal bars desperately, making the cell door rattle against its hinges and noise to echo across the hallway. When there was no reaction, he strained his head between two bars, trying to look outside.
There was a guard room at the end of the hallway, and a guard was sitting next to the gate, eyes closed as if sleeping. Another guard was inside the room, doing something.
Ashoka called out, somehow managing to keep his voice calm and measured.
"Hey, Mister! Mind answering some of my questions?"
The hallway remained dead silent, and the guard too sat motionlessly.
Ashoka tried again, but the result was the same. The guard seemed to truly be asleep.
Or at least that's what he wanted Ashoka to think. The bastard was definitely awake!
Gritting his teeth, he spoke one last time.
"Answer me, you bastard, or I'll curse you to be an enunch for life!"
Ashoka suddenly heard a few chuckles escape into the hallway, and then a nasal voice spoke from the cell beside his.
"You better answer, mister, or the boy will gobble up your cock and bite it off."
A chorus of laugher filled the jail.
Ashoka's expression twitched, but he didn't direct his attention to the insult. He had heard much worse in the outskirts, back when he was working as a bouncer for one of the local bars.
The guard who had been acting asleep finally opened his eyes and stood up languidly. Walking towards Ashoka's cell, he dragged his baton on the rows' bars before standing right in front of him, looking at him with a snarl as though he had just stepped on shit.
He probably wanted to look intimidating, but since Ashoka was taller than the guard, it had quite the opposite effect. Eventually, he huffed.
"It is by the King's will that you are imprisoned, and only he will be letting you out. So, till then, don't ask me anything."
Ashoka barely suppressed a grimace.
"And I am his advisor. Who the hell is supposed to help him run the kingdom then?!"
The guard didn't answer, instead walking away as if without a care in the world.
Ashoka's face finally twisted like a wet cloth, and he took a step back from the bars.
'I'm doomed...'
He looked around his cell for a bit before finding a place to sit near one of the walls and grabbing his head. The jail or dungeon, whatever it was, was cold, and Ashoka felt a chill creep into him. Once again, the feeling of unease returned, this time turning into a sense of imminent doom.
"Hey kid," a voice called out to him, the same one that had spoken before. "Why's someone so high and mighty as you in this prison? You didn't swindle the king, did you?"
Ashoke shook his head before realizing the gesture was meaningless. "I've got no clue! The last thing I remember is being knocked out by some awakened."
There was a snort as a response, but nothing else. Seeing that, Ashoka asked a question of his own, intending to collect some information.
"Say, have you heard of anyone named Ashoka?"
The man's answer was a no, which made him, who was named Ashoka, sigh in relief. If he had truly been marked a traitor, the Hand of Order would've made a declaration for all to see. A mention in such an unforgettable announcement would definitely not be something forgotten so easily, so he was assured that he at least had not been revoked of his title as an Heir.
But then why was he in a damn cell? He knew now that it was Eldrin who had ordered it, as he had seen him whisper into the Ascended right before, but why?
The answer? Well, he had no damned idea! He had not been joking when he had said those words to the prisoner after all.
The next line of thought was what he was supposed to do now that he was in a prison. The protests that he had so painstakingly arranged would begin by tomorrow at most, but without him as a leader, the entire protest was almost pointless to his plans.
Realistically, the thing he could and should do was to simply wait. In around two weeks' time, the Corrupted Devil would find its way into the heart of Casamir, and then—
He bit the inside of his cheeks, but the guilt and disgust from himself clouded his expression as the lines read in his mind.
And then, it would kill everyone, including Eldrin, eventually leading to the Crown being passed onto him...
Letting fate do its thing...
He had never really considered it an option before, because he knew that the chances of surviving the calamity were close to nearly zero. He had seen what it looked like, after all. Rivers of blood. A forest of fire. And a land covered in pale ash.
And amidst it all, the colossal Crown of Gems and obsidian, lying without a King to wear it.
But now that he really was incapable of doing, well, anything, it really seemed to be his only option.
He looked around the room.
'I wonder which of these corners is the safest...'
On that note, by now Meredith and Georgina—the wife and daughter duo—should have left the warehouse to finally reunite with Cathal. Ashoka hadn't met the Ascended after the day of Oswald's death, so he didn't know how much agony he had been in afterwards, but he at least wanted to see their reunion.
Slowly, his mind began to drift. Time passed as if in a crawl, and also as if a blur passing his vision. After what felt like both just a blink and also till the heat death of the universe, the evening call was made, and a guard slid a tray of food down his cell door.
Ashoka looked at it with an impassive look but didn't move an inch.
'Yeah, not in a million years!'
Even the synthpaste that he had eaten in the outskirts smelled better than this! Not that synthpaste had any smell in the first place.
Finally, night arrived, and the lamps in the hallway were sniffed out. Ashoka lay down not on the narrow stone slab supposed to be his bed, but simply in the middle of the stone floor with the thin cloth separating him from the chilled ground.
Perhaps because of these exact sleeping conditions, he hadn't been asleep when the sound of armored boots clanking against the floor met his ears. At first he thought it'd be a guard on patrol, since he didn't really know what guards here wore, but when the footsteps stopped right next to his cell, Ashoka sat up and turned around to see his visitor.
There was a man in intricate full-body armor standing in front of his cell, helmet by his waist and smooth pale gold hair falling down his ears and neck. Because of the bad lighting and the unfamiliar attire, Ashoka had realized it, but he soon recognized who it was. It was the Ascended of the Royal Palace.
And beside him, reaching barely his chest, was a young boy of around 13 years old, wearing regal and luxurious clothes so out of this jail's depressing look that it seemed to almost glow in the darkness. The Elegant Black Crown still rested on Eldrin's messy haired head—not that it could ever be taken off—and his head was dropped down, staring at his feet.
Ashoka slowly stood up, and this time it was his turn to be lowered by the Ascended.
"What are you doing here?" Ashoka asked the second question that came to him. He wanted to ask why he himself was in a cell, but his supernatural instinct told him that wasn't wise.
Eldrin's head sank visibly, lower than what he thought was humanly possible. The boy spoke, in a murmur, his voice like broken glass.
"I'm sorry."
Ashoka looked at him, confused, but hope began to grow in his chest. Maybe he wasn't so screwed after all! Still, he remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate...
And... Eldrin remained quiet as well, as if expecting a wall to suddenly break the silence.
'Well, this is getting awkward...'
Just as Ashoka was contemplating what to say first, the Ascended moved, pulling a key from his vambrace.
"I don't know about his majesty and you." He pushed the key into the lock before twisting it. "But I know I'm here to release you."
With a click, the cell door swung open, and Ashoka walked out from it.
"I guess we were supposed to talk about why I'm here in the first place."
The shadow of guilt passed over Eldrin, but he refused to meet his eyes. Ashoka continued, looking around the silent prison.
"But if we are going to talk, at least do it outside."
A series of curses and dejected sounds suddenly filled the hallway, and Ashoka's eyes twitched. He gestured around, as if to say, 'See?'
A few minutes later, they were once again in the palace, walking down a brightly illuminated corridor.
Eldrin swallowed hard, his fingers twisting into the gold embroidery of his sleeve. He still wouldn't look up.
"I-I am sorry," he stammered, his voice cracking slightly as he repeated his words from the last time. "After Uncle Gaius was exposed and then killed... executed, I remembered you two had been together after he came back from the expedition, and yesterday afternoon when you were supporting him. So, well... I was afraid you had been helping him all this time... and hastily ordered to catch you."
His fingers twisted desperately into the luxurious cloth of his robes, his knuckles turning white. He still couldn't bring himself to look Ashoka in the eye. "Everyone seemed to be lying to me... So I didn't know if anyone, even you, could be trusted..."
Ashoka looked at him deeply before turning his gaze forward with a strange, melancholic smile.
If only Eldrin had actually been wrong. But the boy was entirely right—no one in this place could be trusted. After all, Ashoka really had been working with Gaius, even if for the right reasons.
No, could it even be considered a just reason?
Ashoka felt a familiar pang in his heart. Tied tongue-bound by his own secrets, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Behind them, the Ascended bowed his head in apology, breaking the heavy silence. "I was only told that you might be working with Prince Gaius, so I wasn't sure of the danger. I hope you can forgive me for... manhandling you."
Ashoka turned to face the soldier, his dark smile returning. "Oh, I can forgive you. But only if you let me punch you in the face once."
The Ascended just shrugged. "Sure."
"How about two?"
"Next you're gonna ask for ten."
Ashoka let out a soft breath but didn't push the joke any further.
A quiet settling over them again, Eldrin softly requested the Ascended to leave them. The man nodded and stepped away, his heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor until Ashoka and the Eldrin were left completely alone.
A moment later, Eldrin broke the silence. He spoke, trying to keep his voice composed.
"You know, Ashoka," he mulled over his words, trying to keep his words composed. "Lately, I've been thinking if... if I really am built to be a King."
Ashoka didn't turn his face.
"What makes you think that?"
Eldrin just shrugged. "It's as Uncle Gaius said. It took me only a week without Uncle Alariv besides me, guiding me, for me to turn this kingdom upside down. So many things went wrong, first the court, and then everything after that. It was so bad that even Uncle Gaius thought better to just... kill and take the Crown from me."
A knot in Ashoka's heart tightened. "That's not true. It's only because you didn't have enough time to learn."
"Is it really?" Eldrin turned to look at his face. "You had been with Uncle for what? A year? Maybe half a year more? While I've been with him my whole life. But see who's better at all this. It's definitely you."
Ashoka grimaced, and to hide his face, he hastened his pace to walk ahead.
"But you're forgetting I'm also older than you. That matter of fact is more than you think."
Eldrin shook his head softly.
"No."
Then, he took a deep breath.
"Maybe I really am not suited to be a king." He said in a voice as if he was going against his very purpose in life. "Maybe... Maybe someone else should be wearing this Crown, not me."
Ashoka froze in step, mind gone cold. Eldrin, who had been keeping his eyes on the ground, collided with him and staggered back.
"Ouch... What was that for?"
When he looked up, the complaint died in his throat. Ashoka was staring back at him, his face twisted into such a violent distortion of features that Eldrin couldn't decipher a single emotion hidden beneath the mask.
Before he could ask what was wrong, Ashoka hurriedly turned around. A shaky breath escaped his lips, and his shoulder shook.
'Ah... I want to die...'
A memory passed by him, his first real conversation with Eldrin. He had looked so confident back, so full of life and smiles back then, with humor behind his facade of a mature persona, one that only a few ever got to see. He was so...
The Eldrin right now looked nothing more than a joke trying to imitate that person. The smile was gone, and so was the humor, the mask now turned into the weight of unwanted responsibility and shame.
This was what Ashoka had done. What his presence had led to, not just to Eldrin but to everyone he met. Alariv, Cathal, Corvin, and even Gaius.
It was as if he were a plague, slowly spreading his curse to anyone who he tried to approach.
He wanted to be happy, should have been happy that the Nightmare was coming to an end. Eldrin had just shown his unwillingness to wear the Crown after all, and with this, it would be easier to get him to help him in his goal.
This Nightmare would end, just like any dream would, and everything here would cease to exist, perhaps remembered only as a dream should.
But how could he forget this? He didn't think he ever could. Because these fascimili, these imitations of people and the world, for some reason, felt more real than anything he had ever lived through, both for the outskirts and his life on his original world.
"There is a way." He eventually blurted out. Eldrin walked to stand in front of him, giving him a doubtful look.
"A way to give your powers to someone else, I mean." He explained, mindful to use 'power' instead of 'Crown.' The Crown and the Hand of Order often worked outside the will of the King, and even if Eldrin were to support him now, the Hand of Order could very well still brand him a traitor. He just hoped that Eldrin would pick up on the subtle meaning of his words.
"How?" Eldrin finally demanded, though there was a hint of expectation in his voice, hidden behind the narrowing of his eyes.
"It is simple, really," he explained plainly. "We just need to create a post akin to a duke or a prime minister, someone who's authority is second only to the king himself. Leaving the rest to me is enough."
By now, Ashoka didn't bother hiding.
As soon as Eldrin heard the familiar words, his eyes widened and shook as he took an unsteady step back. Eventually, he wheezed out:
"So you really were working with Uncle..."
Ashoka let the silence be his answer, since saying it aloud would let the Hand of Order collect it as concrete 'evidence.' Before Eldrin could say or do anything rash, he added:
"And how do you think he eventually got caught? You can ask Corvin and the others to see where the clues came from. The answer will be as you expect."
Eldrin seemed to turn into a statue, but after a moment, he asked, "So, Uncle Oswald, were you responsible?"
Silence settled in the hallway.
Eldrin's head sank. Finally, he asked through gritted teeth. "What about Uncle Alariv...?"
For a second, Ashoka's breath hitched.
"Gaius had ordered me to poison Sir Alariv," he finally admitted, face impassive. "But I had not gone through it in the end. My plan only required him to be far away in order to expose Gaius's scheme."
In the end, he decided to hide behind a curtain of lies.
The color returned to Eldrin's face slowly.
"So how do we go by doing it?"
Ashoka let his lips finally twist into a smile.
"It is simple, really. You just need to make an announcement explaining the creation of the new position and declare that I'll be appointed. Since tomorrow is court day, we can do it right then. The important thing is that there are citizens to witness the ceremony and that you use the Crowns verdict to create the rank."
Ashoka, for a second, expected Eldrin to say, "I'll think about it." But instead, the boy just nodded with a resolute expression.
That was good. With this, the protest wasn't needed, and he would be out of this Nightmare by tomorrow evening.
Soon, they both reached Eldrin's chamber, from where they bade each other farewell. After that, Ashoka went to his own room not far away.
As he climbed onto his bed to sleep, he expected the previous unease in his heart to settle down and dissolve.
But for some reason, the feeling of suffocation and the feeling of imminent doom only increased.
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[A/N: hello readers! How long has it been since I've talked in an author's note?! An enternity most likely!
This chapter, if I'm being honest, was actually something of a last second decision. There wasn't supposed to be any of the ashoka being knocked out and the jail sequence, but I think including it had been a wonderful choice for me. It gave more insight into Eldrin's current state of mind as more of a real reaction to the people and things happening around him, and his eventual choice and self loathing. This choice in turn gave more weight to Ashoka's own self loathing, and overall made it flow smoother. Well, that's atleast what I think, and I dont consider myself a credible source for my own thinking process.
Anyways, as you might have guess already, the nightmare is soon to come to an end, either by next chapter or the one after that, along with the conclusion of volume 1. Oh, man... Just how long has it been? *Starts counting fingers...* wait... Thi- this can't be! 8 months?? I can't say I'm proud of myself for this, but all I CAN say is I respect (and fear) all those who have stuck with me for so long.
The last chapter will probably come late, whether it's the next one or the one after that. Or I'll just have to split it and upload early.
Finally, thank you all for your generous patience, for being able to endure my HARROWING procastination till now, and so off we meet again on the next upload, peace✌]