Chapter 101: The Sound Of Returning Footsteps

The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry. The full man will get the world and still call it bad news. But for a hungry person, the good news is simply bread.

Zane had declared so many things in the last minutes.

There will only be darkness.

Welcome to the age with the death of reason.

He accepted the fact that he didn’t know what he was saying but what he did know was that he had the intention.

And to show that intention, he revealed the first step while walking on the velvet red carpet and standing in front of the Cathedral’s doors.

"I will devour Kairon right in the presence of God to show the supreme existence the extent of my hunger I developed after being starved my whole filthy life."

He dropped the threat while looking in the Emberlord’s eyes.

Coin showed nothing on his face and the Halocrats watched Zane, eager to see his next step. Eager to see where this trial would end.

Not once had they seen something like this happening. They never could have guessed they would receive so much entertainment seeing a trial.

Many of them had taken out some rectangular crystals and stood in the sunlight while pointing the crystal towards Zane.

Occasional flashes came towards Zane but he had no idea what it was. He would have stopped them but the flashes weren’t hurting him so he let them be.

Zane gave one last look to the Emberlord and faced the doors again.

He reached out his chained hands towards the round door handles.

He held one handle with both his hands as he couldn’t separate his hands to hold each handle.

Nevertheless one handle would do just fine so he wasted no time.

He inhaled deeper and was just about to pull them when...

THUK!

THUK!

The door received two knocks.

Zane’s heart sank.

The whole Citadel was inside the Cathedral.

Only one man had gone outside and if the door received knocks, it meant only one thing.

Kairon had returned.

With Milo.

Silence reigned in the Cathedral.

Tesla shook his head.

Xavier punched the Enforcer harder.

The Emberlord waited.

The audience watched.

Zane gripped the handles with all his might as he could never imagine what Milo had gone through when Kairon came to her.

Tears fell on the red carpet as the Gutterborns standing beside Zane could only watch him.

They couldn’t even place their hand on his shoulders as they weren’t strong enough to become the enemy of the owners of Dwarkam like Zane.

But Zane was never in the need of hands on his shoulders.

He could carry it alone. He could carry the hatred and fight alone.

If anything that gnawed at his heart was the fact that he was late.

He wasn’t able to leave the Citadel on time and stop Kairon from stepping even on Milo’s shadow.

If the Enforcer had returned, then certainly he had Milo with him.

Zane’s hands trembled, holding the handles.

But how long would he keep holding the handles and not pull the doors open?

The longer he waits the more Milo stays with Kairon.

Zane had to do something.

He had to answer the knock.

He had to open the door.

"You can’t even open the door and you will devour him? Pathetic."

Zane turned around.

The Enforcer fighting Xavier had shared his thoughts.

Xavier punched the guard but his words stayed inside Zane.

Why wasn’t Zane opening the door?

He wanted to hurt Kairon and he would be able to do that only when he opens the door. So what stopped him?

Zane looked deep inside himself to know the reason.

He would lie to the whole world but he would never lie to himself.

And it didn’t take him long to know his hesitance behind opening the door.

It wasn’t because of Kairon’s fear.

Zane was afraid to open the door because he didn’t know what would be Milo’s condition.

He was afraid to see what became of Milo when the Enforcer came near her.

She was already afraid of uniformed men as it was. She was sick. She was weak. She was a child.

Zane didn’t want to see something he would not be able to handle.

He didn’t want to see Milo covered in her blood calling for her brother behind that door.

He clenched the door handle with all the strength his broken wrists could muster and the fighting inside his mind ended up with the handle coming off from the door.

"If you don’t open the door, I will rule it as an interruption of trial, Zane Atlas. Let the man enter."

The Emberlord spoke and whether Zane liked it or not, he had to open the door.

Tesla watched Zane’s back and Xavier would have opened the door himself if not for him being busy with the Enforcer.

All eyes stayed on Zane and the gutterborn finally made his mind.

"So be it, Emberlord. I will open the door. But if there is even a drop of blood on my sister, the oceans will run short with the amount of blood I will drain from Kairon."

No one said anything. They lost the count of Zane’s threats since the trial involved his sister.

Zane couldn’t care less about their silence as long as the Emberlord heard what he said.

He faced the door again, held the other handle and this time, he finally pulled it.

But as the door opened, he also moved with it.

With one door, the other door also opened but Zane had hid himself in the corner, behind the door.

He would pounce on Kairon from behind if Milo’s condition wasn’t completely fine.

But the door remained open and Kairon never came.

The Enforcer didn’t enter.

Zane watched the eyes of Tesla and the man was terrified.

Tesla had the clear view of the outside and by his face, Zane figured that he could see Kairon.

Zane’s toes curled inward and he decided to take a look outside as well.

But before he could move...

THUD!

Something came flying from outside.

Someone came flying from outside like a sack full of scraps.

It landed on the red carpet and when Zane saw the black dress with red roses on it, he recognised it.

It was Milo.