Chapter 75: Throne
The arms of the throne chilled his bones. The thick shroud wavered and churned about him. It choked everything around his body. His legs. His arms. His face. Left only his eyes in the open.
Where am I? What is… happening?
He tried to move, but his arms were pinned down to the throne. His whole body nailed into it as though a corpse propped by invisible strings to remain seated. He couldn’t move, but they were staring at him, demanding in silence an answer to that question.
No, wait… Not all of them are staring at me. The woman who spoke just now, she is looking at that old man… Is that Baht?
Valens opened his mouth, but words refused to come out. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move an inch as the six people stared at him.
What the hell is going on here? Why can’t I speak? I can’t even move.
“We should first acknowledge the statue,” said the old man. Valens couldn’t see the entirety of his face, but the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes matched the tone of his voice.
Hold on. He said statue. So that means… I’m the statue?!
“But how?” said the one across from him, a young woman with sparkling blue eyes, still staring at the old man as if spellbound. She was the same one who asked the first question. “Baht, you were taken--”
“As much as I’m flattered by your genuine inquiries about my situation, I presume we all would rather prefer to be seated comfortably before we move on with this conversation,” the man said, and smiled. “Shall we?”
“Ah… Yes…” the woman mumbled.
The others remained silent.