[The Infirmary]
Ten minutes had passed.
Marie’s green eyes were fixed on the three people sitting on the floor, still and unmoving. At the same time, Morgana was diligently drawing more symbols on the cube with a small piece of charcoal. She immediately recognized the runes; the same runes used by the people of the Golden Reed. Then again, it was no surprise since they were the first people to discover Spectral Voyage.
A few seconds later, Michael entered the room holding a mug of steaming hot coffee.
Marie glanced at him, asking, “Will they be alright? I read that the Spectral Voyage can be a taxing experience to one''s mind and body.”
Michael took a little sip of his drink, and replied, “That is what those extra runes are for. I had to tweak the formula, of course. The people of the Golden Reed didn’t usually use the Spectral Voyage to venture into the Subconscious Realm.”
“What the doctor meant to say was they’re going to be fine,” Morgana interjected.
Marie let out a sigh of relief after hearing the assistant’s reply.
“What about you, Strelitzia? What’s your angle in all of this?” Michael inquired.
“What do you mean?”
“It is seldom to see the Goddess of Anguish to be so invested with a group of novices. Something tells me it is not because they rescued the Empyreans.”
“It’s been a while since I heard that pompous name,” Marie exhaled. She placed her hand over the handle of her claymore, and a tiny smile appeared across her face. “Let’s just say I’m doing it out of curiosity.”
“So, all those rule-breaking are out of curiosity? I find that hard to believe,” Michael scoffed.
“I don’t see any other reason to make it easier for you to comprehend.”
“Of course not. Your motive is constantly changing; it makes you unpredictable…and annoying.”
“That we can agree with,” Marie happily affirmed.
“Doctor,” Morgana called. “The supplementary runes are completed.”
“A fine work, Miss Tanager. Now we just need to make sure there is no unnecessary distraction that could compromise the runes.”
KRIK!
Several tiny cracks appeared on the cube’s surface, causing the symbols to flicker.
“Speak of the devil,” Marie asserted, and she could hear the doctor grumbling.
***
[Meanwhile…]
[The Subconscious Realm]
The trio walked down the stony path accompanied by snow flurries and the sound of their heavy footsteps. The once faraway wall was now closer and taller; nearing the height of the Tower of Nexus. To their relief, the pack of wolves was nowhere in sight and they hoped it stayed that way.
“So, what does this Tree of Vigilance look like?” Rupert asked excitedly.
“It’s…difficult to explain. You’ll know when you see it,” Sam responded.
“May I remind you we’re not here for sightseeing?” said Lucy.
“Cheer up, Luce. I’m just trying to lighten the mood. We barely escaped an avalanche and a hailstorm, after all,” the elder Nightingale recalled before letting out a loud sneeze.
“See? That’s why I said we’re not here for sightseeing,” Lucy added as she rubbed her palms together.
“We’re here,” Sam announced.
The trio stopped in front of the towering wall. Taking a closer look, they noticed the entire structure was composed of bricks of ice. Sam wiped off the condensation with his hand, and though it was a tad blurry, he could see the silhouette of the Tree of Vigilance beyond the frozen wall.
The Nightingales followed suit; both were in awe at the sight of the great tree.
“Wow, that is… certainly different,” Lucy remarked.
SMACK!
Rupert suddenly plunged one of his sickles into the wall, causing Lucy to shudder with shock.
“Holy-! A heads-up would be nice!”
Ignoring his sister’s rant, Rupert kept on striking the wall. However, he is action barely left a dent. “Damn, it’s like hitting an iron wall,” Rupert pouted.
“Well, it is made of ice, right?” Sam unsheathed his blade, and carefully placed the sharp end near the base of the wall. It did not take long for the tip to emit a sizzling sound, followed by a cloud of steam rising from the blade. Sam moved his sword upward, creating an outline of a triangle large enough for a person to pass through. “There,” said Sam as he put his katana back into its scabbard. He then pushed his body against the block of ice but soon realized it was too heavy.
However, the Nightingales rushed to his side without uttering a single word. The trio nodded at each other and they instantly gave the block a push. Little by little, the block slid out of its place, causing some of the cold fog to slip between the cracks.
“Just…a…little…more,” Sam groaned before the block of ice toppled to the ground.
The Tree of Vigilance was now visible to their eyes, but Sam quickly noticed something strange about it. Half of its pure white trunk was black and wrinkling as if it was rotting. Its spindly branches loomed over them like a cage with dark glistening liquid trickling down from each one of them.
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“Look!” Lucy pointed upward.
Hanging from the tree was Adam; his body was wrapped in a red throbbing cocoon. Both of his eyes were shut, but the trio could see his chest moving up and down.
“We should get him down-.”
“Wait,” Sam cut Rupert off after smelling something foul in the air. “We’re not alone in here.”
As soon as Sam finished his sentence, the dark liquid rained down on the area, creating puddles of tar. The entire place reeked of sulfur and rotten flesh, and Lucy could not help but gag as the odor hit her in the face.
The puddles started to pulsate before coalescing in front of the trio, forming a large black pool. Goaded by their instincts, the trio drew their weapons simultaneously, readying themselves for what was to come.
The pool rippled exuberantly as if reacting to their action; from its inky surface, a giant skeletal figure slowly rose to its feet. The massive humanoid had the head of a wolf and the arms of a bear; the tar-like liquid flowed smoothly along its limbs, mimicking the blood vessels.
“Lucy, any idea what that is?” Sam quizzed.
“I’m afraid not. Whatever that thing is, it is not a Distorted,” Lucy replied.
The monster clumsily dragged itself forward, its hollow eyes were fixated on the trio.
“Got any plan to deal with this guy?” Rupert nudged Sam’s shoulder.
“I’m still working on it.”
The giant dropped on all fours and let out a thunderous roar that shook the whole Tree of Vigilance.
“Spread out!” Sam yelled, prompting all of them to run in different directions. As a response, the creature let out a gurgled scream and began chasing after him. Of course, he’s going after me, Sam shouted inside his mind. He could hear the monster’s gravelly voice growing louder with each passing second. Realizing he was running into the ice wall, an idea instantly sprung to mind. He made a sharp right turn and darted off toward the tree.
The monster followed Sam’s movement, but due to its weight, it was unable to stop in time and inevitably crashed into the wall. Sam turned around to see the opening made by the monster and to no surprise, he saw the chasm both he and the Nightingales crossed earlier.
“That was too close for my liking,” said Lucy as she ran up to Sam.
“But, you’ve got to admit. It’s a pretty ballsy move,” Rupert added, suddenly appearing behind his sister.
“It’s not over yet,” Sam reprimanded the siblings, just before he heard a gurgled scream from beyond the wall.
The monster crawled back into the compound with a tiny crack in its skull. There were also shards of ice sticking out of its body; dark sticky fluid spewing out of its veiny skin.
“Lucy, can you use that black liquid to hold it down?” asked Sam.
“I can do more than hold it down if you could distract it long enough,” Lucy retorted before unsheathing her dagger.
“Let me see what I can do.”
A few seconds later, the monster’s body began to twitch uncontrollably. Its bones cracked and twisted, subsequently reassembling into a new form. The once bulky creature was now replaced with a towering, serpentine figure.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Lucy grimaced.
The giant snake slithered toward the trio with stupendous speed, leaving behind a trail of tar. Sam immediately pulled his katana out, conjuring a whip of bright red flame. He lashed at the monster, stopping it dead on its track.
“Rupert, distract!” Sam ordered.
“Aye, aye, cap!” The elder Nightingale grinned. He lifted his scythe and rushed toward the serpent without a shred of hesitation.
The snake’s jaw snapped wide open and tried to chomp down on Rupert. However, the elder Nightingale nimbly leaped over the monster’s head before bringing his scythe down, driving the blade into the creature’s skull.
“Come on now, a little bit of sightseeing might calm your nerves,” Rupert asserted as he directed the monster’s head away from Sam.
“Now that is something you don’t see every day,” Sam commented.
“He’s just showing off at this point,” Lucy rolled her eyes. She held her dagger forward, allowing some of the dark liquid to land on the transparent blue blade; its color gradually turned black. “This will be enough,” Lucy further remarked.
“Hey, guys!” Rupert exclaimed from the top of the monster’s head. “Can you hurry up with whatever you are doing?”
“What the matter, brother? I thought you were having fun?” Lucy yelled back.
“I was! But it’s no fun anymore!”
Lucy twisted her blade, causing the tail of the giant snake to fold like a piece of paper. The serpent yowled and started thrashing around in pain. Unable to hold on much longer, Rupert released his grip on the monster and crash-landed near Sam’s feet.
“How’s it going down there?” Sam asked casually.
“Not bad,” Rupert replied while still lying on his back. “Just, um, give me a moment.”
“Was it fun?”
“It was, except for the last part.”
“But something tells me if you’re given a chance, you’ll do it again,” said Lucy before lifting the dagger over her head, folding another section of the serpent’s body. She then swung it down and the entire serpent’s torso was folded, leaving its head unscathed. “Ugh,” Lucy dropped to one knee after feeling a bit lightheaded. “Damn it, not now.”
“You’ve done enough,” Sam stated as he slowly approached the incapacitated serpent. He stared at its eyes, expecting some kind of a reaction. But all he saw was pure darkness; still and cold. Without saying anything, he thrusted his katana into the serpent’s snout.
In a blink of an eye, the entire creature burst into flame; scorching its bone beyond recognition. He gazed upward and noticed the branches shrinking; returning to their former shape. The black liquid also disappeared along with the foul-smelling puddles. He turned his attention toward the Tree of Vigilance; its trunk reinvigorated. All that was left of the infection was a small black spot in the middle of its body. Moreover, the cocoon that encased Adam began to descend; only releasing its prisoner once it was close to solid ground.
The trio immediately rushed toward the unconscious man, and as soon as they reached him, Lucy crouched down to take his pulse. But, as her finger touched Adam’s neck, his entire body collapsed into a pile of snow.
“What the-! Oh no, what did I do?” Lucy panicked.
“It’s fine,” Sam quickly calmed her down. “I can’t really explain why but it is supposed to happen.”
“Jeez, you could have told me earlier,” said Lucy, relaxing his tense shoulders.
“By the way, sis. Since when can you do that…folding thing?” Rupert inquired.
“I’ve been working on it since last month. However, as you can see, I’m still having trouble controlling my stamina.”
“Can you use it on humans though?”
“I can, but for the sake of my sanity, I would prefer not to.” After brushing off the snow on her pants, Lucy got to her feet before casting her eyes on the Tree of Vigilance. “Was it like this? When you’re in Jason’s Subconscious Realm?”
“Pretty much, minus the snow – and that,” Sam replied while pointing at the black spot on the tree trunk.
“What the heck is that? It seems to be alive,” said Rupert.
“Whatever it is, it must have something to do with the Fenrir.”
“Wait, your hands!” Lucy blurted out.
Sam looked down and realized his entire arms were fading away. He looked over to his friends who were also in the same predicament.
“What’s going on? Are we dying?” Rupert remarked.
“No,” Sam calmly retorted, “We’re simply returning to the real world.”