Chapter 116: Cha.115 The Lantern

In front of a familiar castle stood Qasim and Yasmin with Cici. They were all wearing the same white Light Warriors’ armor, with Qasim carrying his spear.

*It’s lighter than I imagined…*

Qasim moved his spear around, examining it.

Its heel, the bottom part used for balance, was made of an unknown silver-like metal cap. The shaft, the long pole that held the weapon together, was made of a white, marble-like material. Finally, the sharp, pointy tip was curved like two separate blades in the shape of leaves and made of the same silver-like metal.

Qasim was amazed by the beauty of the weapon and the shocking aura radiating from its tip.

*Electric Spirit, huh…*

Usually, he would ask to see that spirit, but not today.

He slowly swallowed as he looked at the castle in front of him.

He knew this building. After all, he had teleported here the first time.

He turned toward Cici and asked,

“So the princess you’re talking about is…”

“Yes. She’s the lady living inside this castle.”

Cici adjusted her glasses.

“Before the curse, the princess was a sweet little child of merely fifteen years old, but…”

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her head before speaking in a low tone.

“She had an even worse fate than the rest of us. Her body became unnaturally large for a human, and her face lost every feature…”

Qasim nodded as he remembered the emotionless, diamond-like blank face.

“After the fall of the capital, she kept moving from castle to castle until she ended up here, where the last castle existed…”

Cici then raised her head, looking at the windows with eyes full of respect.

“But that curse gave her the power to create one of the most critical tools we use…”

She pulled out a dark-framed lantern shining with white light.

“This is the Hope Lantern, as she calls them. With it, we can fight another enemy of ours…”

Cici looked up at the dark sky.

“Alongside the monsters, there are also the true Crimson Forest and the Dark.”

Qasim raised an eyebrow.

“The Dark, like the sky above us?”

Cici gave him a small smile before shaking her head.

“Not exactly. And honestly, I don’t think you two are ready to hear this information. But once you rank up and begin traveling deeper into the empire, just know that this lantern is a must-have tool.”

Qasim nodded, holding himself back from asking more.

“But honestly, the lantern is something we all want to have, even normal people, because of its second use…”

Cici then slowly and carefully raised her lantern.

“C’mon, look closer and tell me what you see.”

Qasim tilted his head closer and looked at the light inside.

At first, it looked normal.

But upon focusing more carefully, he began to see a shape inside.

A human shape made of white light, as if dancing inside the lantern.

“What is that…?” he asked.

Cici took the lantern back and smiled warmly as she looked inside.

“This is my mother. One day, my father went to help with an expedition and never came back, so my mother and I decided to join so we could search for him.”

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, as if remembering a long-ago memory.

“We did find him… transformed into a monster.”

Qasim’s eyes widened.

“Despite her grief, my mother managed to put him to rest herself, but she was getting corrupted. So I used my lantern to put her inside.”

Cici then turned her face toward Qasim with a tired expression.

“That’s why all of us want the lantern. It can trap a corrupted person inside, making them live inside the light… peacefully, until we can finally break this damn curse and free them.”

Silence took over the place as Qasim didn’t know what to say.

“Anyway…”

Cici was the one to break the silence with a cheerful smile.

“Here is your lantern frame. Now you need to go inside and ask the princess to light it up for you.”

Qasim nodded, then turned to tell Yasmin what they should do.

“Oh, but you have to go alone. It’s your lantern, after all.”

Qasim turned back, confused.

“Isn’t Yasmin having one too?”

Cici chuckled.

“She already has one. The captain will give her an already prepared lantern.”

She then narrowed her eyes and gave him a sinister, playful smile.

“As for you, the captain wants you to get your own lantern. So, good luck!”

She placed the obsidian frame in his hand before grabbing Yasmin’s hand and walking away.

Confused by the sudden closeness, Yasmin turned her head to look at Qasim before the two girls disappeared from his view.

Qasim took a deep breath before entering the cold castle again.

…

After passing through the cold, empty hallway, he finally reached the two heavy doors.

*So, should I knock or…?*

Qasim touched the doors and found them extremely cold.

He tried pushing them with force, but they didn’t move the slightest.

He then tried knocking, but got no response.

Out of fatigue, he leaned back against the doors.

Suddenly, they moved open, causing him to fall onto his back.

*There is no way this wasn’t intentional!!*

Qasim thought angrily before standing up and turning to face the tall lady comfortably leaning on her bed.

He bowed respectfully and opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke first.

Her emotionless voice echoed inside his head.

“Why didn’t you mention Uncle Osly before?”

Qasim blinked a couple of times before apologizing.

“Excuse my rudeness when we first met. A lot has happened in such a short time that I forgot to mention his name in my confusion.”

His words were polite, but in his mind, he couldn’t help but get upset by that kind of question.

*Maybe because I was forcibly teleported into an unknown place, you? Of course I wouldn’t think of him!*

The princess’s voice echoed again in his mind.

“I heard that…”

Qasim’s eyes widened in shock as he realized that it made sense for her to be able to read his mind.

“M-My apologies!” he said nervously.

But the princess’s voice rose again inside his head.

“Why are you covered with death?”

Qasim took a step back.

*Is she an Irada user?*

“I don’t know what Irada is. I just read fragment of your fate…”

Qasim blinked as he heard her answer, but now he was curious too.

“I’ve heard this phrase before, that death covers me… But I don’t know why. Can you—”

“I know many things that will melt your bones, rot your flesh, and destroy your soul into tiny fragments. But no, I don’t think I can help with your condition.”

Her direct and emotionless response left the boy disappointed, but it also made him even more eager to learn Irada and see for himself what this layer of death meant.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Qasim then cleared his throat and bowed again.

“Your Majesty, I’m actually here to—”

Suddenly, Qasim felt something pulling at his clothes.

He lowered his head and was stunned to see the dark frame of the lantern floating in the air.

Then the princess raised a finger.

A brilliant light filled the entire room before being swallowed by the lantern.

Qasim gently took the now-working lantern as he felt excitement rising inside him.

“Leave now.”

The princess ordered as the door opened.

But Qasim opened his mouth when he remembered something important.

“Please, Your Majesty, help my friend understand this empire’s language like you planted it inside my mind!”

Qasim then felt an unseen force slowly pulling him out of the room.

Then he heard the princess’s voice again.

“I didn’t plant anything inside your mind. You already knew our language. I only awakened the sleeping connection in your consciousness.”

“What?”

Qasim raised an eyebrow. He didn’t fully understand what the princess meant, but before he could ask anything else, he was thrown out of the room.

He watched as the door closed behind him.

He stood there speechless before scratching his head.

*I already knew the language? How can this be possible? Does this body’s mind know it?*

Qasim felt uncomfortable as a new secret emerged about the true identity of the previous owner of this body.

But he quickly shook his head and looked over at his lantern.

The obsidian frame trapping the white light looked unreal and stunning.

He smiled in satisfaction before deciding to head back outside.