The Ghost King's KeeperCh87 - Ruzen receives official Status

~ Bonus Chapter ~

“Please step forward for your ceremony, Keeper Ruzen.”  DWXws4

Ruzen followed the instruction, but his eyes were stuck on the King standing right in front. Although the hood of his robe was too big and blocked the sharp light from catching his features, in the hue of the arena, the bouncing illumination reflected back his sharp teal gaze.

Pointed and dominating. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Getting closer, Ruzen was reminded why he was so transfixed by this King the moment he met him.  

It wasn’t only the eyes and the presence, but also the tightly wrapped authority that made him who he was.   7ny0N8

“Please lower yourself and kneel in front of his majesty.” 

Ruzen blinked, trying to look away from the King so that he could kneel. A faint excitement grew within him, he wanted to kiss the other, the urge was so strong, he was eager and barely holding in. 

It must be the magic of this place, because why else was he so flustered. 

“Ruzen, Our Keeper,” the king acknowledged, his voice resounding in the arena full of council members and others. He stood tall, broad, and majestic.  

To others he may seem domineering, but to Ruzen, his mere voice was comforting. He felt safe again, his body giving into tiredness as he trembled with the effort to keep still. 

“Strength, Protection, Weapon, Shelter, Security, We part you with the remaining gifts of Honor. What you decide is your desire, what you seek is your wish, but what We share, We gift, We part, it is for Us to decide. We don’t bind you, your soul is free, show Us faith, your worship, your respect, We will take your hopes as ours to reach.” 

Ruzen had heard a similar chanting before but he didn’t remember it very well. 

He felt a soft haze take over his senses as his gut trembled and his heart shook. He could feel his vessels broadening, his senses taking over, as his body felt intruded by something foreign.   MQu5hd

“Call it forth, your weapon.” 

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.

As if on command, Ruzen stood up and instinctively summoned a morphing weapon, it was black, curved and short. It was a curved dagger, with no other features, but its body was beautifully black, as traces of his King’s energy flickered with bluish hues on its surface.  

Ruzen flipped it by the plain handle, as if he knew how to, and watched as his dagger morphed into something of a staff. 

On another action of Ruzen’s wrist, the staff as well morphed, this time it became a sharp bladed fan.  dsuV6Q

“This is a weapon of Desire, use it wisely.” 

Ruzen bowed right away after diffusing his weapon back into his body, he could feel it now, the presence of his weapon inside his soul. It felt overwhelming. 

“Stand straight.” 

Ruzen did, and was baffled when he felt the King covering him with a fluffy blue material, which belatedly he realized was the official blue robe. It covered him for head to toe, it was long, but also warm and comfortable.  CKUFsv

“You are now part of the Council of this King. Your position rests above those present here. You command them at your wish, but judicious use of your inheritance is a must.” 

Ruzen looked over at the King, trying to read his sharp gaze, but he only felt an overwhelming urge to hug him, so he looked back down, feeling sensitive and emotional. 

Chrysanthemum Garden.

His position was above the rest. Right.

He felt dazed.  xcH9Fk

“Now We fulfill the contract as your Kept.” With that, the King summoned a tall menhir, which stood taller than 60 feet. It was a wide upright stone carved with indents and relief paintings. 

“We, the King of Manjo, and the Protected lands, as of today, ordain Ruzen, the position of a Keeper.”  

Symbols too small to read started to revolve around Ruzen, making his skin tingle, he was aware that something foreign was suppressing his strength, but it was not harmful or dangerous. 

“In light of Our decision,” the King’s commanding voice chanted softly, the echo of words heavy and solemn, “We present Our essence as a marker,” he raised his thumb as a small black tar like substance seeped out of it, almost the amount of a drop; that drop kept floating above the revolving symbols as he continued, “and Ruzen presents his Blood.”  epWM7a

Ruzen hurriedly raised his own thumb as a helper came rushing in form somewhere, carefully cutting the skin for a small amount of blood. It was quick and fast, but it did leave a stinging feeling. 

The blood from the cut floated upwards, as it managed to mix with the King’s blood, forming a maroon-black combination of substance. 

The combination then rushed upwards, along with the symbols that revolved around Ruzen. They went and merged with the big menhir, as the same symbols started to engrave themselves on the stone wall. The color of the symbols appeared to be similar to the combination of maroon and black. 

“We both shall abide by the rules of the 3rd World and the present world, bestowing Peace and Serenity. Let the Cursed One be unmarked by fate, We shall protect his duty and his body as if Ours. Ruzen, the inheritor of the Cursed Pilgrimage, shall now be released from his perils and be Given to Us. Ke Ji guan urf Mozen.”  tvVMWw

Then, Ruzen saw something he couldn’t ever forget. 

The King bowed to him, his head lowering as his right fist came to rest at his heart.  

Then, Ruzen also heard something he would never forget. 

“Keeper Ruzen, please accept my presence as your kept.”  KeG5nB

The words were satisfying, but the term ‘my’ started to ring in Ruzen’s ears. He had never heard the King address himself like that. 

Startled, Ruzen hastened to bow as well, he didn’t know if it was the right step, but he needed to lower himself even more than the King… it was really unnerving to hear the King speak like that. “I will accept you as my kept with great honor and sincerity. Please take care of me as well.” 

A short while later both of them stood back upright, and the mellowed atmosphere started to ease out. The crowd present didn’t cheer but they had all lowered their heads as if in praying. 

“Come forward, Keeper Ruzen.”  bozjO1

Ruzen flushed a little as the King took off his Hood and carefully held out his palm for Ruzen to take. With the Hood off, his naturally pale beauty couldn’t be kept hidden, and Ruzen was deep in his heart thankful that the others were still praying. 

He felt slightly territorial, given that the King was now his to be with. He didn’t want others to look at his King with eager eyes, all they needed to do was listen to his command and orders. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Huffing at his wayward thoughts, Ruzen felt stupid, the King wasn’t a treasure that could be kept hidden, common sense told him that he should be happy that people would get to see his King in his full glory, but to be honest, he didn’t really want them to see his beautiful face, those sharp eyebrows, that straight long nose, or that intense teal gaze. 

“What is Our Keeper thinking to be flustered so?”  BQNsok

Ruzen was startled when the King addresses him so politely in front of the audience. It left him a little embarrassed, but he was feeling a bit light headed and tired, so his mind was a bit loose. “My King looks really beautiful today, I feel embarrassed to stand in front of my King.” 

When his voice fell a bit too heavily in the silence, he sucked in a warm breath. Probably… everyone must have heard. Still, what was there to hide, the King was his King, he was beautiful, he needed to be complemented as well. 

When he looked at his King, he saw a small smile appearing on his lips, which in turn made Ruzen more flustered. “Our Keeper is too kind.” 

The King then turned to look at the bowing crowd and spoke with a certain hint of enthusiasm, taking the crowd by a surprise, Ruzen could see it in their eyes when they looked up as the King started to speak. “Keeper Ruzen is tired and needs his rest. To complete the ceremony, Us and Our Keeper would stay in Sama’Ya for five days from today. Until then, everyone is allowed to enjoy themselves with local entices. Ensure disguise while interacting with the locals. That is all We have to say.”  7KvZH0

Then the King took hold of a mesmerized Ruzen, who was staring at the King as he commanded his men with a flawless fluency. Such epitome of a Being he was, Ruzen was starting to understand just why so many people listened to him, and feared him in equal measures. 

His words were like a command, flowing out seamlessly with a natural grace. 

A shift occurred and Ruzen found himself inside a well-lit hallway, as firelights and silk flags adorned the high ceiling. 

The hall had a colonnaded aisle which ran along the circumference, paved with stone and mortar, as a beautiful wall of shrubbery and creeper covered the entirety to block outsiders from peeking in.   uI8YPh

A shine of soft evening light feels from the sunlit cut out in the ceiling, otherwise the area had enough illumination for visibility. 

What was strange was that, in the center, sat a big bed, covered in soft pieces of fabric, lavished by a canopy bed curtain which was not fully opaque. While on either side of the bed was a pair of couch and table, which looked old but aesthetically rich. 

The setting was somewhat telling…  

And Ruzen felt the exact moment his daze vanished into thin air.  GXY6wQ

~~

Baz – Thank you so much dear, you made me very happy. This chapter belongs to you.