Chapter 6- Jailbreak

In the north outskirts of Silvize city, far away, lies a domain which consists of only sand and dirt. A large black, rectangular building stood firmly in the middle of this plain outskirt. Since dark colours do not reflect light, prison-breakers from the outside will find it hard to locate the Procantus Maximum Prison in the middle of a desert.

The Procantus Maximum Prison is a detention centre where the most dangerous criminals in Fonte Maximus are jailed up. Sometimes even high danger level Bandakoys are sent to this prison to keep it away from causing death. The Procantus Maximum Prison consists of 37floors above surface, and 100 floors below surface. The floors below the surface indicate the increasing danger level and the higher level of security.

The 37 floors above surface are guarded by Cryptors, lizard-like assassins in tight white suit and a snout helm; the Cryptors usually stay invisible during their stroll, with the scythe they wield, they could easily chop of the intruder that manage to enter the building without any permission. The first 25 floors below surface are guarded by Wargons, huge green dragons that stand on their hind legs; they wear heavy chain mails and hold two scimitars. These creatures have been known as the most intelligent dragon among their species, intelligent and strong enough to obliterate enemies with just a swipe of their scimitars. The next 74 levels are guarded by Crusagons, quite similar to Wargons, they are the intelligent dragons that wear huge white plates on their body and legs, and they have a huge white helm to shield their scaly dragon-like head; they wield a long pole with a battle axe attached to its end. The only difference Crusagons had with the Wargons is the blue colour scale they have and the fact that they are twice the size of Wargons.

At the last level lies the most dangerous criminal at all time, Lucifer the Doombringer. As pictured as a great red beast that commands an army of skeleton warriors better known as the Doom Marchers, he was defeated and thrown down to the maximum level of the prison, where Commander Cryptors guard. They are not much difference from the Crptors, except for the red and blue stripe they have on their suit and the variety of weapons they acquire. For 17,562 years, Lucifer has never been out of its prison and no one attempted to set him free as well, until now….

Scythenesis stood far from the Procantus Maximum Prison, admiring the view of the black building standing firmly on the life-less land. Debris and sand brushed against the lower part of its robes, it stretched a smile across its burning skull and stepped forward, towards the direction of the prison. As it walked towards the building, the colour of Scythenesis’ robes slowly fade and soon became transparent as the same outcome to its skull and its skeletal body. Scythenesis waited for the Cryptors guarding the entrance to take shift as it slipped into with them. It darted across the marble floor as all the Cryptors turned to his direction, as if they sensed something invisible in motion. Satisfied that the Cryptors did not spot it, Scythenesis found a flight of wide stairway as he went down to the underground prison.

The same results were shown by the Wargons and the Crusagons, they looked at his direction but did not react. Scythenesis darted from floors to floors, going deeper and deeper into the earth. The heat soon came to a critical temperature that Scythenesis started to feel rather uneasy, it walked so fast it seemed as if it practically glided across the floor smoothly.

At last, Scythenesis reached the 100^th floor, the last floor in the prison. The level has a larger space than the 99 floors above it; it was far larger than those above it. At the end of the giant room is a cave, long steel bars sealed the entrance of the cave, four white figures stood along the path towards the cave, they had red and blue stripes on their suit and they were each wielding different weapons such as the knunchucks, wrist claws, kantana and a war-hammer. Scythenesis walked towards the cave, one of the commanders actually followed Scythenesis as they sensed the presence of an unknown force. Carefully, Scythenesis slipped through the space between the steel bars and looked into the darkness of the cave: A bald and skinny man, bounded in chains, kneeling with his head looking down on the rubble floor. He was naked except for the brown leather shorts he wore, he had a piece of paper tapped onto his forehead and soft mutters came from the slowly moving mouth of his, the man raised his head, as if he felt someone coming through the entrance, a pair of cold blue eyes locked at the unknown presence. Scythenesis walked towards him, it stretched its skeletal hand out of its sleeve, and jabbed into the man’s for head. There was a flash of light and space and time warped in an instance.

Scythenesis was standing in a void, bright colours rained down the emptiness where it stood. For a second, a huge red image blurred in front of Scythenesis, it formed into a massive form of a red demon, large devil-like wings spread across the empty void, an burning club in one hand and a ring pierced through the hog-like nose it has on its face. A thundering voice boomed in the space, “Who are you? How dare you enter my subconscious?” Scythenesis looked directly into the demon’s face and asked, “You are Lucifer, correct?” “Answer my question!” the voice boomed again, even louder this time. “I am Scythenesis, one of the four notorious Condarynus and I am here to seek your assistance, Lucifer the Doombringer.” Explained Scythenesis, “Condarynus, eh? Why do’ you need my help? The Condarynus I remember work within their own members, they don’t go out asking help from weaklings.” Taunted the Doombringer, “Things have changed over time. My siblings have been banished from this world, so is my master. That is why I need your help now, I need your help to help my find the location of my brother and kill the chosen child, William Rosewood.” Said Scythensis, with a hint of humbleness in its tone, “This all sounds like a dirty plan set up by your ‘master’, why must I help you? And can you not see that I’m imprisoned?” asked Lucifer, “Well, you like destruction, don’t you? If you help me with this, I guarantee you that many lives will be lost due to your wrath. This prison is nothing, as long as you assist me in this, I will get you out of here.” Offered Scythenesis, there was a moment of consideration before Lucifer spoke again, “Many lives will be lost, under my wrath?” Scythenesis nodded, “Alright then, I will help you just this once, now get me out of this wretched jail.” Said Lucifer as there was another flash of light and space and time turned back to normal again.

Scythenesis slowly turned visible again, the commanders outside the cave twitched an inch of surprise and got their weapons ready. The paper that Scythenesis jabbed its finger on burnt as Lucifer gave a great roar, the cave shattered as the entire floor shook. Scythenesis turned around to face the commanders, it raised its left hand towards them and its right hand to the ceiling. A deafening explosion shook the grounds of the desert as the prison burst into flames, Scythenesis and Lucifer walked out of the burning building, unharmed by the fire of the guards that were patrolling inside, which are probably burnt to death by now. The man was dragging a Cryptor out of the building, he took the suit out of the Cryptor and wore it, satisfied, he walked alongside with Scythenesis and left the burning building to collapse by itself…

Chapter 5- The Night Before School Starts

Elena entered through another door, a man and a lady sat beside a patient, who is currently lying on her bed. The man and the lady stood up after Elena approached to them, Monique has a concerned expression on her face while Bruce remained emotion-less. The patient on the bed looked at Elena and managed to pull a slight grin on her face.

“I see you treated the mission seriously, Amelia.” Said Elena as she gestured Bruce and Monique to their seat, “What matters is that now the kid is safe with us, away from most of the harm.” Replied Amelia, “But now that he’s at Fonte Maximus, it will be much more dangerous for him, wouldn’t it? I mean, now that he’s about to become a Hordical and go on missions?” said Bruce as Elena nodded, “He will have to learn to protect himself, now is his greatest opportunity to get ready before the war starts.”

“The strangest thing was, when we arrived at the scene, there was a big hole at the wall and the place was covered with ice.” Said Monique as Bruce agreed, “It was William, he made the hole on the wall, and it was him who conjured all those chunks of ice.” Replied Amelia as the three of them looked at her, eyebrow raised, the expression on their faces were clear that they think she is lunatic. “I saw what happened.” Amelia quickly added, “But how is that possible? He never went through any training before, and conjuring ice out of hot air? That requires a lot of energy to do so, even for an Elemental Mage.” Said Monique, “You think he’s a to-be-Mage?” asked Bruce as Elena shrugged, “He’s too gifted to be just an ordinary Mage, Granedos said that there’s a chance of him to be an Immortal, could he?” she thought.

“Alright, now that our conversation is over, it’s time I give you your next mission now.” Elena cleared her throat as the other three people in the room looked at her direction, “I’m putting you three in for teaching.” Said Elena, “What?” the three of them said together, “No way, teach’, you can’t do this to us. We’re field operators, we don’t teach people.” protested Bruce, “No, you’re my student and my teammates, and you’ll have to obey my orders as a teacher and a captain.” Replied Elena, “You all will be assigned to keep an eye on William for the next 6 months until he finally get use to the environment, only then you will be resigned from your mission.” She continued, “Any questions?”

“No questions? Good, your mission begins tomorrow except for you, Amelia; you’ll stay in bed for the week before you’re fully recovered.” Said Elena as she stood up again and reached for the door, “I shall see you two tomorrow.” she smiled and exited the room.

Chapter 4- Reanimating Ceiling

A familiar smell lingers the air; William’s senses slowly come back to normal as he stretched his eyes open. The first thing he saw was the fan spinning high above him, and a rather interesting ceiling. Up above him is the scenery of a night sky, filled with stars and perhaps a comet or two glittering through the heavens.

William got up from his bed and looked around, a cosy atmosphere surrounded him, with a fireplace just across his bed, the room was dim. The only source of light was the fireplace and the torch that are fixed at the sides of his bed. William spotted a small table beside him, a tray was placed on top and a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of melted cheese toast.

“I see you’re awake.” The wooden door opens as a man in white robes came in, he dressed like a doctor and perhaps he is one, William shook his head to clear his mind. “There on the table is a commentary snack to regain your health status, Mrs. Cornelia suggested we serve you the mortal meal instead of our world’s traditions.” Said the doctor as he gestured the tray of food, “Where am I?” asked William, “Ahh, yes. You are now in Fonte Maximus, child.” replied the doctor, “You’ve been brought here from your home, Earth because you’re our last hope. Don’t you know?” asked the doctor as William shook his head.

“I’ll take it from here, Dr. Renold.” Said a female voice as the door opens again, a fine woman came in as the doctor bowed to her and exited through the door. The woman looked like a 40years old adult, she wore a white layered dress like a bride and walked gracefully across the room. She has waist-length brunette-coloured hair and fair skin colour; she has a pair of sapphire-coloured pupils and a Christian necklace dangling around her neck. “Who are you?” asked William as the woman took a chair from the side table and sat beside William’s bed.

“Seems like I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?” asked the woman as William nodded, she cleared her voice and started: “My name is Elena Cornelia, but everyone address me as Mrs. Cornelia;” “you are now in Fonte Maximus, a neighbouring planet in another dimension better known to your people as parallel universe.” “Here in our world lives all the magical creatures that migrated from your planet since the creation of Man.” Elena continued, “Here is also where we imprison most evil so they won’t harm the mortal’s living basis. We also have Hordicals, which means ‘guardian’ in Grandous Rune, the ancient text that was once the national language of this world;” “we brought you here from the human world because we think that you’re fit to be a Hordical, a gifted one as well.”

“What makes you think I can be this guardian person? I’m just a kid, and yet I’ve stumbled onto this mess. What the hell is going on?” asked William, there was a hint of anger in his tone, “As I said, this world is like a prison that stores all evil from destroying your home, a shield made by the gods to prevent anymore evil to enter your home. But every year this shield is getting weaker and weaker and eventually it’ll reach a critical point;” Mrs. Cornelia’s tone changed suddenly, “and if all the Condarynus is awaken, they will bring back the most powerful person ever lived- Fonte Maximus.” “Who’s this Fonte Maximus person, and who are these Condarynus anyway?” asked William, “Evil takes form of demons, and these demons have three classes, or danger level as some may say- the lowest level of demons are the Furtrollia, mostly consist of trouble-making yet harmful creatures. The second level is the most populated one, which is the Bandakoy, they are the intermediate level demons which can harm and even kill people. Then there’s the Condarynus, which has only four of them, they are the second most powerful demons in Fonte Maximus. Scythenesis is one of the four, the weakest to be exact.” Said Mrs. Cornelia, “While the other three Condarynus are banished, Scythenesis is the one who escaped and is attempting to free his siblings, and eventually, free Fonte Maximus from his other-worldly prison.”

“Who’s this Fonte Maximus, then? Why is his name the same with the name of this world?” asked William curiously, “Historical events, hard to explain if you don’t know your purpose being here.” Said Mrs. Cornelia as the conversation ceased, “So….. What exactly do I do here?” William shifted in his bed uncomfortably, “For now, get use to the environment you will soon be in. Trust me, things here will keep amazing you.” Said Mrs. Cornelia as she rose from her seat, “I’ll check you out of the hospital tomorrow, you’ll rest here for the night.” She said as she headed towards the door she came in; she turned around and smiled at William, “If there is any problem, you can always come and fine me, alright?” William nodded numbly and a sudden urge of curiosity hit him again, “Mrs. Cornelia, why does the ceiling looks like a clear night sky, it’s even moving!” “Like I said, things here will keep amazing you.” She replied as she exited the room, leaving William in his thoughts, pondering. He grabbed the mug and took a sip of hot chocolate, and slowly sank back into his bed, admiring the stars in the heavens above.

Chapter 3- His Fancy Breakthrough

Time is running out. The noise on the floor below is getting louder, causing panic to rush in William’s head. He looked at Amelia for a second and looked back to the floor; she seemed to be calm in the current situation, not showing any signs of panic like him. William bit his on lips and looked up, “OK, I’ve made my decision.”

“Oh really, that fast? Alright then, let’s hear it.” Replied Amelia with a hint of sarcasm, “I’m coming with you guys, I want to learn more about my past” said William as Amelia nodded. “Hmm, good choice. Come’ on, let’s get out of here.” She said as she climbed up the edge of William’s bedroom window, she gestured William as he gulped. “William, we don’t have much, take my hand and let’s get out of here!” she demanded, “But this is the third floor, I could break my bones if I jump out of-” Amelia jumped off the edge, drew her sword and pointed at William, her eyes were cold and merciless, “Alright, alright, I’ll jump with you but there’s no need to bring out your-” “move aside, William.” Amelia cut his sentence as he obeyed, only to find Scythenesis at the door.

‘It’s… it’s him…” muttered William, a smile some how stretched across the burning skull. “It’s been a while, William. I hope you’re prepared for what’s coming for you.” Scythenesis took a step forward, “Take back that step, or I’ll have you ripped to pieces.” Threatened Amelia, “Don’t give me that crap, Ms. Grayflower, how can a person at your rank even think of killing me?” replied Scythenesis, not effected by the threaten at all. The tension was huge, the heat of the flaming skull made the room comfortable, but soon William found himself unable to move in his spot, his nerves were numb as if some unknown force is pressing against his very nerve. “Heat, something is different about the fire on his head….” Thought William as he panicked even more, he struggled to move his body but it won’t listen to him, Scythenesis was walking closer to him, its right arm raised and its bony fingers inches away from William’s nose and he felt a sucking sensation in his face. It felt uncomfortable; it felt as if something inside is trying to burst open his face. His lungs were screaming, a cold sensation boiled his stomach as he felt his entire body is finally giving up….

There was a sudden movement so fast it seemed as if time stopped for a second, and Amelia was right in front of Scythenesis, a long slim blade sliced through the air as it dodged swiftly, immediately William was free from the invisible grip and the sucking sensation was gone. Amelia fell down on her knees and gasped for air as William got to her side and helped her to her feet, but it seemed like she is too weak to even get up on her feet. Across the room, Scythenesis landed on its feet calmly and smiled. “What did I say, Ms. Grayflower, do not act as if you are the hero here when you can’t even release yourself from my paralysation.” Taunted Scythenesis as it raised its right arm, “Shall I kill you first, Ms. Grayflower? Since you like to mind others’ business?”. Blue fog began to appear between the paths of Amelia and Scythenesis, making a flowing motion that seemed to be rushing into its’ palm.

It was obvious that the blue fog was not a good sign. Gathering all his might, William snatched the sword from the ground. He charged towards Scythenesis with the sword held high, he saw Scythenesis raised its left hand as he ran faster. “William…. don’t….” muttered Amelia under her breath, but obviously he couldn’t listen through all his battle cry. William lunged the sword towards Scythenesis, and the moment the sword was a few inches away from the flaming skull, ice formed from the blade as a giant block of cool ice slammed squarely into it’s body, sending Scythenesis crashing out of the room and out of the second floor. The floor in front of William was covered with debris and ice shards, shocked by what he did; he turned back and helped Amelia. Bruce and Monique entered the room quickly, body was bruised and slightly bloody, they were fine.

“What happened there? Are you OK, William?” asked Monique as William nodded quickly, “I’m fine, but we have to get Amelia out of here, she’s weak after fighting with that skull person.” He replied quickly as the two of them nodded, Bruce carried Amelia on his back and signalled Monique, she took out a branch from her pocket and stretched her hand out to William. “Hold my hand, we’re about to depart soon.” “Wha-” Before he could ask another question, Monique grabbed his hand and broke the twig into two with the other. All of a sudden, William’s vision turned blur as colours in abstracting form swirled around him and then something hit his head hard as his vision slowly black out….