bookpower Chapter 83 Inside the Castle — The Silence
Chapter 83 Inside the Castle — The Silence
Scared as hell.
Because this wasn't normal.
There was no sound. No sign of struggle.
No movement.
It was as if Zareth and Vynesaa had simply ceased to exist.
No. No, they're still here.
They have to be.
But where?
His fingers clenched around his sword hilt.
He forced himself to breathe, to push down the rising panic in his chest.
Think.
What do I do?
Standing still wouldn't help.
He had to move.
Had to find them.
Had to get out.
He didn't know how long he wandered.
Minutes?
Hours?
Every corridor looked the same.
Every doorway led nowhere.
The castle shifted around him, the hallways stretching longer.
His breath came in sharp gasps, the cold air burning in his lungs.
"...Zareth?"
Silence.
"Vynesaa?"
They were nowhere to be find.
There had been no sound, no struggle.
Just—gone.
The castle's silence pressed in on him, thick and suffocating.
His thoughts raced.
No. No, they're still here. They have to be.
But where?
His pulse pounded in his ears.
And then—
His eyes were drawn forward.
Down the hallway.
To a large, broken window.
The same one from before.
The one where he had seen the figure.
He swallowed, moving toward it with cautious steps.
The wind howled through the shattered glass, cold and biting against his skin.
And then—
He looked down.
And froze.
Because down below—
At the entrance of the castle—
He saw them.
Himself.
Zareth.
Vynesaa.
Standing outside.
Just like before they had entered.
Just like before everything went wrong.
His breath came out uneven. His fingers twitched at his side.
And then—
Ed's vision blurred.
His breath hitched.
His body wavered—
Then, suddenly, he was standing at the entrance of the castle.
Just like before.
"Huff... Huff..."
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Cold sweat clung to his skin.
His hands trembled as they curled into fists.
"Ed, what happened?"
Then—
A voice.
Soft. Familiar.
"Break these branches, dear."
His blood ran cold.
It was the village head's wife.
But her voice—it was wrong.
It wasn't the same warm, kind voice that had spoken to them earlier.
It was... hollow.
THUMP!
A dull pounding rang from the outside.
'What the hell is happening?'
Ed's breathing turned shallow. His muscles tensed.
"Break them quickly, dear," she urged. "Our mind control won't last long."
THUMP!
'Our mind control?'
Ed's heart skipped a beat.
She wasn't talking about the person who had trapped them.
She was talking about our.
His fingers dug into the bark.
The truth hit him all at once.
They were the ones who controlled our minds.
They trapped us here.
But why?
His breath came fast and uneven. His mind reeled.
THUMP!
A laugh—**deep, twisted—**broke through the trees.
Ed froze.
The village head.
He was laughing.
"Good, good," the old man said. "It's been a long time since we've had ones so young."
"You did well, dear," his wife cooed. "They'll last much longer than the others."
Others?
Ed's stomach turned.
"Come now," the woman said sweetly. "Before my life force fades completely. The younger they are, the better the sacrifice."
Sacrifice.
His vision blurred.
A sickness crawled up his throat.
It wasn't just about mind control.
It wasn't just about trapping them.
They were going to steal their life force.
But why was all of them were trapped in tree branches.
The realization hit Ed like ice water to the face.
His hands trembled, his breath sharp.
The branches.
The damn branches.
They weren't traps.
They were protections.
Vynesaa's bloodline had saved them.
The forest itself had reacted to her distress and cocooned them away—locking them inside to keep them safe.
Which meant—
THUMP!
The last strike landed.
The branches cracked, snapping apart.
Ed's vision filled with torchlight.
And standing there, grinning through rotted teeth—
Was the village head.
Laughing.
Like this was all a joke.
Like he had won.
Ed's hands clenched at his sides.
Rage.
Betrayal.
A deep, gut-wrenching hatred.
His body moved before his thoughts even settled.
His sword was in his hands.
And he was ready to kill.