Chapter 14 :The Kingdom of Diamond: The Sacrifice
They had nowhere left.
Naz carried Chimini on his back.
She was light… but the responsibility was heavier than anything he had ever carried.
"Where will we go, brother?"
Naz looked ahead.
"I don't know… but we'll go together."
He whispered to himself:
"We have to leave before sunset."
In the darkness… the pen stopped writing.
"Zehahahaha… he adopted her? Good… now he has something to lose."
The pen moved again.
Three Days of Walking
They left the kingdom before the first sunset.
Naz did not look back.
Neither did Chimini.
They walked.
No direction.
No clear goal.
Just… getting away.
During the day, they ate what remained of the fruit and vegetables they had taken from the prosperous kingdom before leaving.
At night, Naz slept with one eye half open.
And the katana beside him… warm… alive… watching.
On the second day, Naz asked her quietly:
"Chimini… where are your father and mother?"
She was silent for a moment.
Then she said in a faint voice:
"I never saw them."
Naz said nothing.
"My aunt raised me…"
She stopped.
"But she was… cruel."
Naz looked at her.
"Who broke the vase?"
Chimini lowered her head.
"…It was Ivaria. But my aunt never believed me."
Naz tried to smile:
"So you're innocent?"
She suddenly raised her head and hit his shoulder with her small fist:
"I am always innocent!"
Naz laughed for the first time in days.
Chimini hit him again.
"Why are you laughing?!"
He didn't answer.
But he felt something light… warm… in his chest.
Day Three – The Kingdom of Diamond
They arrived at sunset.
A place they had never seen before.
High black walls.
Rusty iron gates.
Behind them… silence.
"What is this place, brother?"
Naz didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the sky.
The clouds were thick… but he saw something.
Heavy energy… suffocating.
They entered.
The people were gathered in the main square.
Naz approached.
Chimini on his back.
He saw a man and a woman… crying.
Between them was a small child… no older than seven.
He was screaming:
"Father… Mother… don't leave me… don't throw me away… please…"
Naz froze.
One of the men said in a cold voice:
"The Current is rising. If we don't offer a sacrifice, the entire city will be devoured."
The child crawled toward his parents.
"Please… I'll be good… I won't break anything… please…"
The mother cried silently.
The father… looked away.
Naz whispered:
"A sacrifice… children…?"
He gripped the katana.
Before the child was thrown…
Naz's hand covered Chimini's eyes.
"Don't look."
Chimini trembled but obeyed.
The man raised the child high…
Behind the wall, the Current began to roar… to move… as if it were alive.
"In the name of the kingdom… we offer this gift…"
The child screamed with all his might:
"Fatheeeeeeer!!"
Suddenly—
The katana ignited.
A red… black glow… pulsing.
Naz understood.
He did not hesitate.
The Cutter
He jumped.
Cut through the air.
The katana split the Current itself.
SHHHHHHHHH——!
The Current split in half.
A moment of silence.
Then… it began to heal itself.
Quickly.
As if it had never been wounded.
But…
The child had fallen to the ground.
Naz caught him before he could crawl away.
Then—
A laugh.
Coming from everywhere.
From the Current itself.
From the shadows.
From the sky.
"Chirichichichichi… chirichichichichi…"
Naz froze.
The Current began to take shape.
Gathering.
Taking form.
"You are here again… human…"
Zagred.
But he was not as he was before.
He was bigger.
He was the Current itself.
His body was merged with black energy.
"Chirichichichichi… you thought you killed me?"
His laughter filled the place.
Stones
Suddenly—
A sound of impact.
A stone hit Naz's back.
He turned.
The people of the kingdom… were throwing stones at him.
"What have you done?!"
"The Current will devour us now!"
"Because of you… because of you, stranger!"
Another stone.
And another.
Naz did not move.
He was protecting the child in his arms.
And Chimini on his back.
Zagred was laughing.
"Chirichichichichi… even the humans reject you… human."
The child was trembling.
Naz looked into his small eyes.
Into the fear inside them.
Then…
He placed the child on the ground slowly.
"Chimini… take care of him."
Chimini nodded.
She was afraid.
But she held the child's hand.
Naz stood.
Faced the Current.
Faced Zagred.
And faced everyone who had thrown stones at him.
He raised the katana.
And said nothing.
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End of Chapter 14