Ascension Of The Villain

Three hours before the explosion.

A brown-haired knight clad in his royal red uniform strolled down the dimly lit tunnel, his bouncing steps echoing against the cold stone walls.

Raith hummed a cheerful tune, a catchy melody he had picked up from a bard during a family outing last week. Since it was a rare opportunity to spend time with his family, he was still wrapped in a bubble of happiness.

With one hand, he pushed a wheelchair that had seen better days. Its creaky wheels groaned like an old man waking up from a nap. Raith didn't mind, though. He had his own rhythm going.

As he approached a heavy steel door, he fished out a key from his pocket and gave it a spin in the rusty lock. The door creaked open to reveal a small cell with a metal bunk bed.

Inside, slumped against the wall on the bed, was his long-term 'client.' Raith flashed his brightest smile, his teeth practically gleaming in the dark. While he did feel bad for the man deep down, he had learnt to quiet his moral voice quite early on in his career as one of the Shields of the Imperials of Haynes.

"Hello, there. Guess what time it is? Court o'clock!" he chirped, but seeing the blank response, his shoulders slumped. "Yes, yes, I know. It's always the same time for you," he let out dryly and once again tried to smile. "Anyway, your hair is looking lovely as always."

He pulled out a small box from his pocket, opening it to reveal five glimmering rings. "Come on, let's see your hand." One by one, he slipped the rings onto his client's fingers, each one glowing faintly as it settled into place.

Raith tilted his head, studying his work with the focus of an artist adjusting his masterpiece. "Hmm, your nails have gotten a little longer. I will try to cut them some time around this week. You see, it's a little busy, with all the heir-apparent transitions and all that."

Raith guided Aster's unresponsive form onto the wheelchair with gentle, practiced movements. He cuffed his wrists with the handcuffs made especially for Aster—block his body from using his own mana but let it be possible for transfer.

"Between you and me, I have never liked the way His Majesty always favored only Prince Easton. I mean, I personally could never differentiate between my kids, even if I tried. You know what I am saying?" Raith leaned in with a casual grin but got no response.

"Oh, forget it. Enough about me. How are we feeling today?" he asked, but once again, he got dead silence feedback.

"Same as always, I see." He paused, his expression softening into a mock-serious frown. "I know, there's not much to do in a solitary cell. Sometimes, I think, 'Wouldn't it be nice if I could take you for a stroll in the gardens? Let you feel a bit of sunshine?' But then I remember my boss would have my head on a pike for suggesting that."

He chuckled to himself and closed the back door to the solitary cell. He gave Aster a once-over to check if everything was okay. He no longer bothered tying the cloth around Aster's mouth; there hadn't been a word from him in years. No cries, no freaking out, no whispers—just silence. Not even the mice were that quiet.

Raith shook his head, more to himself than to his invisible audience. "See, this is why you can't walk anymore. No sunlight, no exercise... It's not great for the ol' bones. But I can't seem to convince anyone about it." He sighed dramatically. "But I promise I will try again.

Wyatt is about to have his ears bleeding from Ray nagging him, just you see."

Just as Raith maneuvered the wheelchair into a turn in the tunnel, a sudden thwack landed on the back of his head. Stars exploded in his vision, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Aster, who was staring at his lap, heard the dull thud of a body hitting the ground and slowly glanced at his unconscious body over his shoulder. His almost alien-like rusty voice came out as he called, "Ra…ay…?" His voice was croaky and hoarse, like someone dragging a sword against stone.

"Wow, you are so beautiful," a masculine voice full of awe came from behind Aster. "Err, I mean handsome. I can see beauty runs in the Ashstone genes. Though I suppose that's not something I should say to someone who has been imprisoned for sixteen years."

Aster's gaze shifted upwards, his bangs moved out of the way of his wine-red eyes focused on the sight of a smiling gray-haired man standing over Raith's limp form.

"Oh, hello, Lord Aster," the stranger said, his voice brimming with mischievous charm. "You don't know me, but I am very close to your brother. You know Vyan—Vee?" Aster's eyes lit up by the smallest fraction in recognition. "Yes, yes, you know, don't you? I have been sent here by him to take you out of this miserable, dreary lifestyle. The name is Clyde."

Clyde smiled widely and crouched beside Aster. "Alright, my lord, let's get these off you," he murmured, carefully removing the rings from Aster's fingers one by one. Each ring seemed to resist for a moment, a faint glow pulsing as Clyde slipped them off, but he handled them deftly.

"Your mana… it's so much like Vyan's," he mentioned in a low voice, smiling fondly. He could sense the overwhelming mana flowing through Aster's body just by barely grazing his fingers. His eyes fell on the black cuffs around the wrists. "I will break off these handcuffs later when we get home, don't worry."

"For now, stay put, I will be back in a few minutes," Clyde said and gave him a smile, stashing the rings in his pocket.

Leaving Aster where he was, Clyde disappeared further into the dark tunnel. Soon, he stumbled upon Vyan struggling with two large, bulging sacks.

Vyan was dragging them along like a determined mule pulling twice its weight. "Oh, for the love of— geez, come on!" he cursed as the sacks screeched against the cold stones.

"Need a hand there, my lord?" Clyde quipped, grinning.

Vyan rolled his eyes, pausing to catch his breath. "I am already handling two bodies. Do I look like I need a third one to drag around?"

"My, you possibly aren't threatening to dispose of me in this place, are you?" Clyde gasped, feigning to be scandalized.

"If I didn't put you in charge of getting my brother to safety, I would really consider that," Vyan barked, annoyed.

"Come on, don't lie. You love me way too much to do that," Clyde teased and reached into his pocket and tossed the five rings to Vyan.

"How about you be satisfied with Thea's love, lover boy? Don't come after mine." Vyan rolled his eyes and caught them effortlessly. He dropped off the sacks and began slipping the rings on his own fingers. In order to fool the emperor, they needed to keep the mana supply on. Hopefully, Edgar wouldn't be smart enough to sense the difference.

"Aww, such a miser," Clyde pouted and turned around. "You better not be like that with your brother," his sing-song voice echoed off as he hurried back toward where he had left Aster and Raith.

Vyan shook his head in exasperation. "As if I am that insensitive." A smile crept onto his face at the thought of meeting his older brother soon. He couldn't wait for all of it to be over. "Let's hope the court session doesn't run too long today."

Taking a deep breath, he resumed dragging the two sacks. He followed the winding tunnel until he reached a hidden alcove near a path leading up to the chamber behind the throne room. He stashed the sacks there, ensuring they were concealed in the shadows, and took a moment to gather himself.

Vyan muttered an incantation under his breath, and his appearance began to shimmer and distort. His black hair turned into a light shade of brown, his red eyes morphing into amber.

Moments later, Raith's visage stood in his place. He adjusted his uniform to match Raith's neat style, glad for that book where he found about the depths of mana transfer. Edgar shouldn't be able to detect whether his partner was using his own or not.

Ready as Raith, Vyan peeked his head out from behind a thick, velvet curtain, his illusioned amber eyes scanning the throne room.

He realized with an oops that he was late. The imperial court was already filled with people, while Edgar slowly climbed the small stairs leading to the throne with Storm following behind.

He plastered on a cheerful smile as he spotted the white-haired captain right near him, already standing close to the throne. As everyone else's head was bowed in respect of the emperor, Vyan took the chance.

"Ray reporting to duty, Captain," he called out discreetly, mimicking Raith's familiar upbeat tone.

Wyatt barely turned his head over his shoulder to glance at Vyan with an expressionless face. He was a stoic man with an intimidating aura. Vyan was a little nervous inwardly as Wyatt's narrowed gaze briefly swept over him.

He was aware it wouldn't be easy to fool the captain. He has always been wary of Wyatt from the first time he saw him behind Edgar, following him like a shadow, almost unnoticed but always present.

As Wyatt continued to stare, Vyan almost felt himself twitching in internal panic.