Chapter 15: The Kingdom of Worth
There is a city—no, a kingdom—bigger than any I've ever seen. Gold statues and guards, knights in white and black, streets filled with people and the sweet smell of good food.
Yeah"Maddox! I'm sooooo excited!" Melody said, jumping in the air. "It's been so long since I've been outside!" she shouted, raising her arms into the sky.
"Mel, you do know this isn't a field trip, right?" I said dryly.
"Pshhh, yeah, I know that. But still, Maddox—can't you smell the air? It's sooo sweet. It's been too long."
The story of Veloria begins
A wolf howled from the dark woods. Melody froze, her confidence evaporating instantly. She quickly chased after me, her fear obvious.
I couldn't help but giggle at her reaction.
"Don't laugh at me, Maddox!" she shouted, stomping to catch up.
"It could be the Shadow Man, here to finally take your soul," I said, laughing out loud now.
She tried hiding her fear but only lasted a second before breaking into laughter too.
We walked in silence for a while.
"Hey, Maddox... are you ready to talk about Stone?" Melody asked, her excitement barely contained.
She didn't wait for an answer.
"It was so cool—the way the mist shot out like boom! Then Stone was all, 'no, no, no,' and you were like, 'yeah, yeah, yeah!' Then boom—the sand disappeared, and you were like, 'Ha, it's over, I have the high ground!' Then you grabbed him with your freaky shadow hands and ripped his soul out! Maddox," she said, catching her breath, "you froze him and ripped his soul out! Like some kind of freaky reaper!" She stared at me, wide-eyed with amazement.
"Well, it definitely didn't happen like that," I said, smirking. "But yeah, that battle was intense. I knew we'd have to face people eventually, but I never expected it to be that soon."
"Yeah—and you heard what he said. He said he was sent by his father and he knew who you were, which means..."
"Magnus sent him," I said, anger creeping into my voice.
"We don't know how many more he sent," I added, deep in thought.
"Don't worry," she said, slapping me on the back, knocking me out of my thoughts. "I've got your back," she said, smiling, skipping ahead.
I smiled. "Yeah... Well, I've got yours too."
We emerged from the woods and in the distance, there it was—the Kingdom of Veloria. Even from this far, you could see the gold shimmer, the massive towers and mansions sparkling in the light.
"Hey, hi," a voice said.
"What brings you to these parts?" added another.
I looked over and saw two people. One was a short, skinny boy with blond hair and glasses, looking a bit nervous. Beside him stood a girl , no taller than him, with green hair and freckles. She stood proudly in front of the shaky boy and repeated:
"What brings you to these parts?"
"Oh, me and my sister came to buy some herbs," I lied quickly.
"Oh?" the girl asked. "Would that be the Murabasa herb, by chance?"
"Uh... yeah," I said, not having a clue what that was.
"Well, it makes sense. A lot of people have been looking for those lately."
Lilith told me to come up with a cover story—something solid. She trusted me way too much with that, and to be fair, I had all the time in the world to prepare. But I didn't. That one's on me.
"Us included," the girl said, looking down. "But that... that dumb, no-good king won't give any out anymore!" she snapped, clenching her fists.
"Shhh now, sis," the skinny guy said, trying to calm her.
"No, Neptune, look at you! You don't have much time," she said, tears in her eyes. "All because the damn king sees no worth in us. Goddammit," she sobbed, collapsing to her knees.
"It'll be okay, Kimora..."
"You're too late," she said, sounding defeated. "The king ordered the plants be dug up and sent to the castle," she said, pointing to the mountain.
"They've started growing them in Bountyreach," Neptune added. "So now the king controls who gets them."
At first, they just seemed strange—dirty, malnourished. But then I saw the bruise on Neptune's back through his torn shirt. He looked sick, just like Kimora said. On a good day, cleaned up and fed, Neptune looked a lot like Isaac.
I don't know if it was guilt or something else, but in that moment, I really wanted to help them.
"I'm sorry to tell you," Neptune said, wiping Kimora's tears, "but it's nearly impossible to get those herbs."
"Take me to the king," I said.
"Wait, what?" Melody blinked.
"Look, they—no, we—need that herb. And I can be very persuasive when I need to be."
Melody looked at me, then smiled. "Yeah. You're right. Let's go then."
"The king will not see you," Neptune replied.
"He will," Melody said firmly.
"If you wish, we can guide you... but it may not go as you hope," Neptune warned.
Kimora tried to hide it, but as she stood up, I saw her wipe away a smile of relief .
I was going to help these two—no matter what.
We walked toward a stone wall. To my surprise, Neptune struck it with his fists. I panicked, trying to stop him, but it was too late.
"Hey, man, why would you—" I began, but the sound of a bell rang out. The wall vibrated and split open like a door.
Blinded by sudden light, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. A massive golden statue of a man stood ahead—clearly the king. Beside him was a stone tablet engraved with symbols. They looked familiar, like the ones in the Codex. I wanted to ask the codex about them, but with Kimora and Neptune here, I held back.
The streets were packed with people. Houses stretched for miles—some straw, some brick—but most were worn-down, ragged. The people looked just as bad—blank expressions, no joy.
"Welcome to Malina," Kimora said dryly.
From outside, the kingdom looked massive, full of energy. But from here... it was a sad sight. People in tattered clothes shuffled by. Hungry children cradled by starving mothers. What was going on?
"The gold statue ,That's the king," Neptune said with disgust.
"And beside it, an old piece of literature from someone long forgotten," Kimora added.
"It's a lost language—no one's been able to translate it," she said.
"I've seen those runes before," I said. "Not sure where, but they look familiar."
"Don't mention that to anyone," Neptune warned.
"Why not?" I asked.
"The king values knowledge above all—even more than human life," Kimora said, fists clenched. "If he knew you could read one of those tablets, he'd kill for it. A man like that should never know the secrets they hold. Never."
"Someone wrote them, though," Melody said. "So who was it?"
"God," Neptune replied.
Melody laughed, then stopped when she realized he wasn't joking.
"These tablets were based on the Great Bible that was burned at the beginning," Kimora explained.
"Why was it burned?" Melody asked.
"No one knows for sure. But there was one story—a man who could read the words went insane. He claimed we were in a prison and the only escape was to dig out. He built a staircase to the sky... then tried to dig through the sky. He fell and died."
Melody glanced at me. "You plan on building any towers?"
"No, not really," I said dryly.
"And listen better. You need to understand the runes—not just look at them, dumbass."
"Hmm. Fair," Melody replied.
I rolled my eyes and ignored her.
"The castle is this way," Kimora said, laughing awkwardly.
We walked down the street. The castle loomed ahead—gold-engraved walls, white-uniformed guards bearing snake emblems, wands at their waists. They stood stiffly, saluting as they watched us pass.
The further into town we went, the more everything changed. The houses improved. People looked fuller, happier. Desperate cries turned into arrogant laughter. As we entered Veloria's heart, the streets grew cleaner, the shops fancier, the energy... richer.
"This is New Malina," Kimora said. "We're approaching the estate of the king—Perri sal Vermont."
A fat man in a suit greeted us at the gate. He had a monocle, thinning hair, and was chewing loudly on a bone.
"And who are you?" he said, pointing at me. "What're you doing here? Kimora, who's this little man?"
"He wishes to see the king," Kimora replied with a bow.
"Ahh, another desperate ploy, huh? Filthy brat—the king already told you you're of no worth."
"No, I simply led the way. He's the one who wants to see the king."
The man studied me—until he caught sight of Melody.
He licked his lips. "Oi, little lady. You're too pretty to be hanging around this guy."
I stepped forward, ready in case Melody snapped.
"We'd like to see the king about the Murabasa herbs," I said.
"And who says you can just see the king whenever you want, brat?"
Before I could answer, Melody stepped in.
"Listen," she said, firm. "We came a long way and fought hard enemies for those herbs. I don't care if your king shits gold—we will see him and get what we need."
"Well, I don't defecate gold, young lady," said a new voice, "but I like your passion. Allow them in, Miland."
The fat man stepped aside, bowing mockingly.
Kimora and Neptune dropped to their knees as the king approached, who waved them to rise.
"Welcome to Castle Perri sal Vermont," he said. "My name is King Vermouth. You may address me as Your Highness."
The king was tall, with black locs falling to his shoulders, deep brown skin, and piercing red eyes. He wore a black-and-red cape, a neatly trimmed beard, and a gold crown that nearly blinded me.
Behind him walked the queen—proud, elegant. Her long black hair flowed behind her, eyes as black as the night . She wore a deep crimson gown, matching lipstick, nails, and a towering tiara.
"So, what brings you here, Maddox?" the king asked with a smile.