THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 359: 359: INSANITY

Zaira roared. The sound was enough to shake the ground and enough to stop the thousands of arrows that were being launched at them.

Its master had gone crazy with pain, and the beast had gone mad with him, perhaps or perhaps I could feel his pain. Anyway, that was hours ago, and now it was dawn, and her master was headed to the heart of Tagayia. By now, all the warriors situated at the southern border of Tagayia lay dead.

Sagiri had gone mad. He only asked them to back down once before he flattened the whole garrison. By first light, the whole Tagayia would be aware of what had happened. And yet he was not stopping. He was going to the very heart of Tagayia.

Now, at the very crack of dawn, Sagiri stood before the great garrison protecting Alika City, the morning sun creeping over the horizon behind him. Thousands of soldiers lined the walls, yet an unnatural silence hung over the battlefield as every eye fixed upon the approaching figure.

Sagiri no longer looked like the young man. His face had become gaunt and pale, his cheeks hollow, dark circles resting beneath eyes that burned crimson like open wounds. Her hair had gone completely red with only a few strands of black in it now. His clothes hung loosely from a body that looked as though it should have collapsed long ago, and yet the terrible intensity in his gaze made him more frightening than ever.

He looked less like a ruler and more like a crazy man who had abandoned everything except a single purpose...

To kill.

Beneath him, Zaira seemed to share in his suffering. The beast’s immense body radiated a suffocating darkness, black mist leaking from between its scales and drifting across the ground like smoke. Its golden eyes had become wild and bloodshot.

The pain consuming Sagiri had somehow become fuel for the creature, feeding its fury until it appeared larger, darker, and more monstrous than ever before. Together, they looked like a nightmare given form, master and beast bound by grief, rage, and purpose.

As the first rays of sunlight illuminated the walls of Alika, the soldiers watching from above felt a chill run through them, before they saw a beast standing in front of the gates of the garrison. Zaira rose until he was standing eye to eye with them, high above the garrison and even higher, so he was looking down at them. The last defence of the city was a war fortress in itself.

For several long seconds, neither side moved. Then Zaira lifted its massive head toward the brightening sky. The beast’s chest expanded. Darkness seemed to gather around its body as if the shadows themselves were being pulled inward.

Then the beast roared.

The sound exploded across the plains like the wrath of a god. The earth shook violently beneath its feet. Stones cracked. Dust erupted from the ground. Men on the walls lost their footing and crashed to the battlements. Several watchtowers groaned under the force of the sound alone. The roar rolled onward across the countryside, racing through valleys and over hills until it reached Alika itself.

Citizens were jolted awake from their beds. Children cried. Birds exploded from rooftops in panicked flocks. For one terrible moment, the entire city seemed to freeze beneath the weight of that sound. Then the first war horn sounded. A deep blast tore through the morning air. Another answered it. Then another. Then dozens more joined in until the entire garrison was screaming warnings across the battlefield.

Archers immediately flooded the battlements. Defensive arrays flickered to life across the walls as the signal for war spread through Alika faster than wildfire. Yet through all the chaos, Sagiri remained motionless atop Zaira’s head. His crimson eyes stared at the city beyond the walls. Unblinking. Unwavering. Waiting. As though the roar had not been a threat. As though it had merely been a warning that vengeance had arrived.

For days after leaving the N’folu homeland, Sagiri had remained trapped between two battles. Only rage within him. Every instinct screamed at him to move. To march. To hunt. To make someone answer for the blood that stained his memories. Yet he forced himself to remain still.

The Archive had shown him enough to know that acting blindly would only satisfy his anger, not his vengeance.

Then, three days ago, early in the morning, like a good coincidence, when he could not take it anymore, the message arrived. A black-feathered desert hawk descended from the sky and landed upon a broken pillar overlooking the ruins. Sagiri immediately recognized the markings tied around its leg.

His eyes narrowed. The bird had come from the North. More specifically, from one of the few people he had trusted enough to place within Tagayia itself. The hawk remained motionless as Sagiri untied the small message tube.

He opened it. Read the contents once. One of the pieces he had been searching for had finally been found. Then he slowly folded the message and closed his hand around it. The paper turned to dust. Behind him, Zaira stirred. The beast had been resting among the ruins, but the moment it sensed the change in its master, it rose to its feet. Its massive head turned toward him.

"I think it is finally time to send a warning," he said quietly, a sadistic smile taking over his face. The first part of his plan could now be set in motion. And oh, what perfect timing.

Zaira lowered itself. Sagiri climbed onto the beast’s head without another word. Then the monster turned north.

It was now a week shy of the three months he had expected, but his pain had been waiting for this moment. He had finally begun to master the relics, and the pain had lowered to a constant pulsing one. It was unbearable, and Koru insisted he wait six months, but they both had a role to play. He trusted Koru to do his part fully. He had made alliances in the south, too. Though still unstable, having them nevertheless was the only necessity.

The archers knew better than to fire, but they still held the line. They were, of course, the most seasoned of Tagayia protecting the city that guarded the Supreme mandra himself.

"Aren’t you going to fire and give me an excuse to kill you?" Sagiri asked.

The man clearly in charge stepped forward. It was clear he was an Askana by mere size.

"What do you want, Southerner?"

"I see you know me," Sagiri said.

"We have all heard of the new supreme chief and Mfalu of the south." The man said.

"I see my reputation precedes me. You should know then that I am not a patient man. I made a deal with your shadow general. I took out his trash, but he has yet to honour his end. Tell Tsaka that he has three hours to bring my parents here, or your families will be holding a funeral for you by sundown.

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