The Ghost King's KeeperCh67 - Ru’Han

A/N – I am late, very sorry again, I will make up for it this coming week. Was bogged with irl work. Also, thanks for all the comments, I love you all!!

~ KFgyI2

Ruzen was not oblivious, he did feel the unsettling burn in the air while sitting in his room. A lot of things were happening around, but he was too lazy to get involved. So even when the morning came and his exhaustion cleared away, he was unwilling to get up and leave his room.

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Once again, feeling a little moody, he did not want to be the centre of attention after the stunt he pulled in the competition. He had heard in passing, from some fellow participant’s mouth, that the competition would be settled with equivalent placements in the Central house of Keeper, a place where Keeper contestants were given guild training and missions according to their status and improvements.

It was a famous line of work, solely procured from the doctrine of another province which practiced Guild Laws and Training. It was an uprising segment in Manjo. 8bgrRz

Sadly, Ruzen wasn’t interested in it, it was too much work and after being involved with the King, he had made up his mind to ignore other temptations. Frankly speaking, such opportunities had precarious future and a competitive environment, however they also gave more freedom of movement and wider scope of learning. Provided, the guild was open and proactive, because with Ruzen’s sharp hearing, he could easily tell the whispers of ill fated guilds that were good at snatching budding aspirants and turning their life miserable with constricting laws.

Still, lazing about would not do, he also had to search for his master. So getting up from the bed, Ruzen changed into a flowy garment with floral pattern, it had a white undershirt and a purple overcoat. The trousers were restrictive, not the usual skirt design, which made it easier to move around without worrying about tripping. Yes, unlike others, he was the most afraid of tripping, because really, even with all the training Ruzen was still not very keen about wearing skirts, they were dangerous to walk around in.

Anyway, aside from his ‘skirt enigma’, Ruzen could make do with any kind of attire provided to him.

Opening the door, Ruzen peeked out, the sun was blazing strong, and the air was warmer than ever. It was clearly not the usual weather around these parts of land. What happened to make it so hot?

In the corridor, he found someone in yellow robes standing by the decorative column, half hidden by several layers of leafy clusters growing along the crevices. On further pursuit, he turned out to be a man in his middle years, with beard and moustache, a blond. He was not that tall but his body was sturdy and bulky.

“…senior, can I ask you a question?” Ruzen was not shy of talking, but the man’s aura was kind of bordering a frosty lake, somehow even the sun couldn’t burn down his layers of ice.

A stern golden gaze fell on Ruzen as the man frowned a little. It could be taken as an offensive greeting, but Ruzen wasn’t going to mind it. He asked, “What happened to make the weather so warm, I am unaware.”

Maybe the question wasn’t expected, since a pause later, the man took in the environment, and the crowd gathered below in the courtyard platform. “The weather can be influenced by several factors, natural or not… it seems it is our King’s influence this time,” his voice was strong and bold, but equally calm, “most are aware.” uvIyek

Ruzen nodded, “I am new here, I don’t know most things.”

“I am aware,” the man replied, and then thinking about something, added, “You shouldn’t announce your lack of knowledge so readily, it might land you in trouble.”

Ruzen hummed, but his main focus was on what the man said about the weather being under King’s influence, to even change the weather… No wonder their King was powerful.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Ktf defralbc kjr kts atf revvfc mtjcuf? Qjr la yjv bg kjr la ubbv? uD8meN

“Zluta P xcbk sbeg cjwf rfclbg?” Eehfc mtlgqfv, j yla meglber.

Ktf wjc ibbxfv ja Eehfc yfobgf aegclcu yjmx ab tlr werlcur, “P jw mjiifv Ee’Ljc.”

Ktfgf kjr cb fijybgjalbc, jcv cb lcdelglfr, la kjr jiwbra j yijcv lcafgjmalbc. Snfc lo Eehfc kjr meglber, tf kbeivc’a jmalnfis qegref rbwfbcf ktb kjr cba lcafgfrafv lc tlw, atlr wjc kjr vfolclafis j tlut gjcxlcu boolmlji bg rbwfbcf’r wfcabg, la kjr yfaafg cba ab ilcufg.

But when he attempted to walk away, the man stopped him. OtycbA

“Your performance in the competition was applause worthy. Your quick thinking may have saved several contestants indirectly… some might even whisper behind your back of the predetermined planning on your part. Beware.”

The praise made Ruzen happy, but the later part of the sentence was beyond him. What was the man trying to say? Beware of what exactly, he hadn’t planned anything, and how would it even be used against him?

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Ru’Han did not elaborate though, “Are you not going to join the others for lunch?” the sudden change in subject was rather unsettling to Ruzen, but he couldn’t ignore the man now.

“I will be joining them when I want to, it is not mandatory, is it?” zif2Q

Ru’Han did not respond, and Ruzen decided to part ways with a small nod. He understood that the man wasn’t his cup of tea, aside from his daunting presence, his stare was too harsh, unnerving even.

Skipping down the stairs, making way towards the platform, Ruzen found a crowded arrangement of people. Even now they hadn’t left and were still around in small clusters. He could see elderly, children, women, and men, all loitering around without purpose, but the heaviness in the air could be felt from miles away. They were all discussing something… and Ruzen could tell it was regarding the recent findings.

Keeping in mind the murmurs and talks, Ruzen crossed the tents and gatherings, gaining attention from the people as they stared at him. It was a little awkward to keep a straight face and not duck down in embarrassment, but he was relieved to note that they didn’t seem to be hostile towards him, moreover, they even whispered about how his performance was praiseworthy.

Clearing his throat as distraction, he nodded to a few who were willing to nod back, and made his way towards the edge of the platform, the place where he was sure barriers invisible to the naked eyes were set up. tvTVyN

A few guards in armour guarded the entrance and looked towards him when he drew closer to them.

“Seniors, until when are we to stay in the compound?” Ruzen asked boldly, because his hesitation would not be preferred by strong people.

The taller male approached him, “Contestants are allowed to leave and come as they please, albeit they have to take a scout with them.”

“Oh? And who is the scout?” QLYzMy

The guard turned his head towards the ‘scout’ Ruzen assumed, and was surprised to see a mammal with stone eyes and four legs swishing its tail at him, sanding not far.

There was no fur on its body, instead it was smooth rock like texture which covered the mammal like a protective shell. The ‘scout’ was no taller than his knees. Almost like a cat.

“It will follow you along, just return before sundown.”

Ruzen was glad for the relief, this way he could explore the surrounding and maybe his master would join him as well, because he did not find him within the crowd on the platform, so didn’t it mean he was not there? sqehRE

The sun above him was even stronger once he exited the sheltered compound, it was almost like the sweltering heat of the desert. Only, the trees provided enough shade to give him some reprieve. Even the breeze did not help with the heat.

Ruzen wondered about the weather as he scouted the locality. If what the man, Ru’Han, said was true, it was very likely that the actual weather of this place was hot and dry, yet because of the King’s barrier and influence, it remained pleasant enough throughout the day.

Breaking off a small twig from the nearby shrub, Ruzen randomly analysed it with absent interest. He could see that the heat had no effect on the flora for now, but maybe if it persisted, the greens would wither. He wasn’t even sure if the underground water supply even existed here in the world.

Well, bigger the trees the more access they had to underground water collection, but if such geographical factors did not exist here, then that would be concerning. Ji1BCc

Anyhow, he was bored, he lacked much interest in exploring, but he decided to move towards the central part of the city, where his master told him he was going to stay. Whatever, it was not like his master would forget about him, because if Ruzen couldn’t find him, his master would find him instead.

Suddenly, Ruzen felt a presence not that far off, and it was certainly not his ‘scout’. So making his steps lighter, Ruzen rushed towards the source of his curiosity. Turning towards the alleyway, he carefully hid behind a wall to peek along the narrower pathway that went between two residences. It was not actually dark or creepy, but there was this oddness to it which Ruzen was attracted to.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Wondering whether to go and take a look was never an option, he wasn’t keen on falling into traps. So he waited, for something to happen, for someone to capture him, but nothing of the sorts looked to be happening. It was anticlimactic, really.

Sighing to himself, he decided to wait it out a bit longer, and to his surprise, something did happen after a few minutes. thyG3X

Four shadows, dropped inside the narrow pathway and started to merge. Forming a vague humanoid form and then suddenly taking shape into a more solid one.

To his startle, it was the King…?!

Curious.

Ruzen gulped with sudden knowledge and focused hard, trying not to even blink. He did not know the King could create so many shadows… did that mean they were all part of him? And why merge in that narrow pathway, what did he have to hide…? o5DQFg

The King didn’t seem to know he was around, and Ruzen was glad for it, because even if only genuine curiosity, he was still spying on the King. Still, after their late night talk, Ruzen felt no fear towards the King. As astonishing as that was.

Although, that did not mean eavesdropping was a good thing.

Another shadow emerged from somewhere and Ruzen was really puzzled to see Ah’Hen who started to talk without even doing the usual greetings, like bowing maybe…? Unlike the dumb expression he often had, this time his face was contorted into that of rage and anger, hatred even. It was so startling, Ruzen had to stop himself from gaping.

W-What was going on? xymgGi

He tried to listen in, but some kind of barrier was placed around the hidden pathway and it was impossible to listen to what they were talking about.

The most shocking thing had yet to happen though, because as soon as Ruzen settled in with the bare minimum of being an eavesdropper, he saw Ah’Hen attacking the Ghost King, his finger sharp like claws, dark and eerie.

Ruzen’s first thought was to question what the King said to anger Ah’Hen, then his next thought was to stop Ah’Hen, followed by an intense urge to pull the King back from Ah’Hen’s claws.

Fortunately the King wasn’t a feeble emperor, he easily stopped Ah’Hen with a flick of his wrist, throwing the little ghost far back, the little form flickering even. xY1UX7

Stunned with the exchange, Ruzen was hesitant in leaving his hiding place. Something was clearly wrong if the King was letting Ah’Hen attack, and more so, Ah’Hen did not seem to be the usual cute and dumb kid, shyly looking around like an airhead. Ruzen was protective about his little ghost, but he also knew that the King wouldn’t tolerate and attack Ah’Hen without reason.

Something was amiss. He really wished that Ah’Hen hadn’t been deceiving him… because if it was so, forget the life debt, he would kill that little ghost himself… well not really, but Ruzen felt dread creeping in, as darker thoughts fogged his mind. It was all wrong.

And Ruzen decided to find out, his gut instinct was to barge in directly, but he did not want to startle the two, if something was wrong, his intervention will not be appreciated.

While he thought about looking for opportunity, his back suddenly shuddered with a cold feeling and he was forced to turn around to see who it was. Retracting, he jumped and shifted around, eyes searching for the stranger, only to meet face to face with… nothing?! vQ8uoE

Just when he thought of prying out the enemy, a strong onslaught of bitter energy hit him hard, dragging him out in the open as various shadows appeared in front of him one by one, surrounding him from all sides. They were… numerous, Ruzen lost count.

The shadows were like humanoid forms, only hazy and dark, oily with dark matter. They smelled rotten.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

He didn’t even get any time to respond when attacks of all kinds fell on him from every direction.