Chapter 53: Lust
Before the Demon King passed on his remaining power to Kael, he told him to go north—so that’s what Kael did.
He followed the path, pulled the Helm of Darkness over his head, and walked forward. The helmet swallowed his presence completely. No sound, no light, no weight. He wished he could fly with Cyrus, but he wasn’t sure if it would hide them both. And the last thing he needed was to get spotted from the sky.
So he walked. Slowly. One step at a time.
The gloomy territory behind him started to fade. The black stone turned to dirt. The rotten air lifted. Even the sky began to change—from dead gray to a washed-out blue.
Farmland stretched on both sides of the path. Crops swayed in the breeze—golden, ripe, alive. The sun was sinking behind him, casting long shadows across the fields. For a moment, the air didn’t feel heavy. It brushed against his skin, light... almost soft.
But the people did.
Humans and elves worked the fields, dragging their feet through the soil. Their backs were bent. Their eyes were sunken. And standing over them—watching every move—were men in black robes. Silent. Unmoving. Whips in hand.
Kael’s pace slowed.
He saw one of the robed men strike a worker across the back. No reason. Just power.
The man fell. Tried to stand. Failed.
Another was beaten while pushing a cart filled with vegetables. The worker gasped, but the robed man just laughed.