The Skull Warrior by Yajat Sharma (popular books to read txt) 📕

at the village in front of him.

“Oh, no.” Matt pointed towards him and said to Archer, “Now that is one big problem. Lynx has warned us not to touch him.”

Archer shook his head. “Wait and watch. We will get the Crown from his head. You are about to see the epitome of stealth.”

Archer walked up to Aronicle from behind. As he neared him, he quickly swiped the Crown from his head.

As Archer turned to smile smugly at Matt, Aronicle pitched forward and fell from the roof.

“Epitome of stealth,” Matt mouthed at Archer.

The two boys rushed below.

Aronicle was lying on the ground, seeming, by all accounts, dead.

Archer and Matt sat down beside him.

“Look at his neck,” Matt said. “There’s a wound there.”

“It seems to be made from this knife.” Matt pointed towards a knife dangling out of Aronicle’s pocket. “There are two possibilities. One is that he was killed by whoever controls him, and the other is that he suddenly became a psycho and committed suicide.”

“The first option appears to be more reasonable.” Archer shuddered, “Don’t touch anything. Let’s go back. This scene is creeping me out.”

“Me too,” Matt quipped.

Archer stood up and started walking away from Aronicle. “At least we found all the things we were told to get. That’s good, isn’t it?”

There was no reply.

“Matt?” Archer turned.

Matt had disappeared.

Archer’s hand crept towards his sword and he pulled it out. He looked around warily.

“Matt?” he called again.

No reply.

He was sweating and was feeling very scared. Where was Matt?

Then he realized that Aronicle’s body was missing too.

Suddenly, something struck Archer’s head. He fell to the ground, dizzy. The world spun around him.

And he got knocked out.

Matt opened his eyes slowly. He was in a dimly lit room.

His arms and legs were numb and his head was hurting. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by something and then being dragged on the ground before fainting. He couldn’t even shout for Archer.

Matt looked up and saw that his hands and legs were tied to shackles, which were in turn bound to the wall.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw that he was not alone.

Archer was bound in the same way as Matt on the opposite side of the room. His head was down and he appeared to be unconscious.

Aronicle was standing at the side. At first, Matt didn’t even see him; but his brightly coloured clothes gave him away.

“I thought you were dead,” Matt croaked out. His throat was dry, and he desperately needed water.

Aronicle didn’t reply.

“That cut might be fake,” Matt went on. “But how could you survive the fall from the roof to the ground? That is impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Aronicle finally spoke. “You should have understood that by now. You didn’t notice me hovering an inch above the ground.”

“Oh. But still... Are you the evil Aronicle speaking?”

“I don’t understand.”

“The one who controls you is the one who is speaking, isn’t it?” Matt asked again.

Aronicle remained silent.

“He’s the Skull Warrior, isn’t he?” Matt was relentless.

“Who?”

“The one who controls you.”

“You don’t need to know.”

Matt was silent. Of course, it had to be the Skull Warrior. Who else could it be?

After a few seconds of silence, Aronicle spoke again.

“He’s not the Skull Warrior. Rather, I have captured you two as a gift for the Skull Warrior. He will be so happy,” Aronicle said with excitement.

“What? Then who controls you?” Matt was getting desperate.

“Why should I tell you that?” Aronicle laughed. Matt noticed that Aronicle’s face was changing expressions very fast, and he was visibly uncomfortable.

Matt spoke. “You are a good soul, Aronicle. Come on, be strong. You can defeat your controller. Try hard. Do something.”

Matt was right. Aronicle was struggling. He said in a desperate voice, “I cannot do anything.”

Matt found a ray of hope. He continued, “Of course you can. You had the power within you to awaken your Elemental Powers. You can break your controller’s control if you try hard enough.”

Suddenly, Aronicle twitched. His head shook and he shuddered.

He looked around. “Where am I?”

Matt was hopeful. He persisted, “Are you the real Aronicle speaking?”

“Yes...” Aronicle looked at him and a flicker of recognition shot through his face. “Matt? But... what are you doing here?”

“You were in control of someone else, and -”

Aronicle shivered again. “Yes, he controls me… but I keep struggling. I just pushed him back for a while. I hope I haven’t harmed you.”

“You have,” Matt said, shaking his head sadly. “You took our Elemental Powers back.”

“Oh, no. He’s coming back.”

“Who?”

“Listen quick. Greater forces are interfering. Dimensions are broken. Strands of time are random. The fate of the universe lies in oblivion. Liberate me and get back your powers. I don’t know where my controller is. If you succeed in finding him, his control will be broken, but I will be trapped. To free me, approach me in the Brentinute.”

“But who controls you? Please tell his name,” Matt pleaded.

Aronicle tried to speak but couldn’t. Suddenly, there was a loud sound and ‘evil Aronicle’ returned. Matt cursed silently. He was so close to knowing the controller of Aronicle, but luck wasn’t with him.

The evil Aronicle spoke, “You know too much. I had decided to offer you as a gift to the mighty Skull Warrior, but I have now decided that it will be your dead bodies. Your presence is hurting me. You are inciting Aronicle to fight back. You don’t deserve to live.”

Archer was still unconscious. Aronicle moved towards Matt with a sharp knife in his hand.

Matt’s heart skipped a beat. He started getting a sinking feeling.

The concern for Archer and Matt was enough to spring the Scavenger, James and Daniel on their feet at once. Lynx quickly made a portal, and the trio jumped into it.

They landed in front of a house. The Scavenger turned to James and Daniel. “You two search this house, while I burn the other houses down.”

“What?” James exclaimed. “What do you mean by that?”

“If I burn them, I can easily see if Matt