《A World Without Reflections》 Chapter 1鈥擣all
The wind howled like a hungry beast, tearing through the frozen wilderness. Snow whipped across the desolate landscape, stinging like needles against Chael''s battered face. He had a very slender build and he looked no older than seventeen. His silver hair, undone and messy, clung to his blood-smeared skin, strands whipping wildly in the storm.
A once-pristine white fur cloak draped over his shoulders, now tattered and stained red, hanging heavy with the weight of battle. He stood alone with boots half-buried in the frost and his breath ragged clouds in the freezing air. Around him, the mercenaries closed in, their grins hungry and their weapons glinting under the pale moonlight.
Chael''s grip tightened on the broken sword in his hand, or what was left of it, anyway. The jagged edge of the split blade still gleamed with blood, though whether it was his or theirs, he didn''t care. His chest rose and fell with each breath, pain gnawing at his ribs from earlier blows. He was outnumbered. Badly.
One of them stepped forward. He a wiry man with a patchy beard and a dented helmet. His lips curled in a sneer. "Ain''t no more runnin'', eh?"
Chael spat blood into the snow and growled, "That''s what your buddy said before I split his skull open."
Another of the mercenaries, with a crooked nose, sneered. "Watch your mouth, princess."
Chael''s breath was growing more and more shallow. These mercenaries, the Mongrel''s Vow, had hunted him the entire night and they had finally caught up to him. No matter how formidable a warrior he was, taking on an entire band of mercenaries was near impossible.
Chael''s breath was laboured and shaky but he firmed his stance on the earth. Weather it was his final one or not, he did not know. He wouldn''t have minded either option. "Come at me then, you mongrels."
And then, they rushed him.
Chael''s eyes glinted and he immediately ducked under the first swing of an axe, feeling the air split beside his ear. His broken sword lashed out and the jagged edge carved into a mercenaries throat, hot blood spraying across the snow.
The next attacker lunged. Chael twisted, slammed his boot into the his knee, shattering it sideways. The mercenary collapsed with a strangled scream. Another swung a club at his head. Chael barely ducked in time, feeling the wind rush past his scalp.
He was fast. Almost as if he was a ghost in the snow. But they were too many.
A club slammed into his ribs and Chael staggered, coughing blood, but still slashed out, catching another man''s cheek. Someone grabbed him from behind. A sharp pain flared as a dagger buried itself into his shoulder.
He growled like a wounded beast, elbowing the mercenary in the gut and ramming his broken blade into his stomach. The bandit choked, blood bubbling from his lips, but before Chael could pull free
A massive hand clamped onto his right arm. Chael''s face fell as he realised what was about to happen.
A moment later-
SNAP.
White-hot pain exploded through Chael''s body as his arm broke over a knee. A strangled yell ripped from his throat, but he clenched his jaw, refusing to give them the satisfaction of a scream.
"Curse you!" he snarled, spitting blood. His vision blurred with agony, but he still glared up at the one who had done it.
The brute who had just snapped his arm was massive and towered at least a foot over him. His beard was thick and unkempt, his head bald and glistening with sweat despite the cold and his eyes were small, piggish and full of cruelty. He grinned down at Chael.
"You''re a tough one," the brute rumbled, "But that arm''s pretty useless now ain''t it, princess?"Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Chael''s teeth clenched, his breath shaky from the pain. But even as his right arm hung uselessly at his side, even as the mercenaries loomed closer, he refused to kneel.
Clap. Clap
"Took you bastard long enough to catch this brat." An unamused feminine voice called out following a slow clap that echoed through the snowy landscape.
Chael looked up at the woman standing on top of a boulder.
She stood with the air of a queen among rats. Her black hair was tousled by the wind and her black cape flared behind her. A nice tricorn hat shadowed her sharp, scarred face, but he could still see her eyes. They were cold and bored, like she had already decided how this would end. A pistol rested in her gloved hand, her fingers idly tapping against the polished wood.
Chael growled, "Echinda..."
"Pleasure meeting you again, Chael. How was your little trip back from the city?" The woman known as Echinda smiled innocently before she pulled out her pistol and aimed at Chael. "Forgive me. Or not. This is very personal."
Chael''s breath hitched and his heart leapt as he braced himself-
Bang.
A gunshot split the night.
The impact slammed into his shoulder like a hammer, ripping the breath from his lungs. His legs buckled and he felt himself falling to the floor.
Chael dropped to his knees for the first time. Blood seeped from his wound, warm against the cold. But he forced himself to lift his head, his glare burning through the pain.
"You''ve killed nearly ten of my men so far. I had to get back at you somehow." Echinda said lazily as she approached him.
"Bitch." he spat, blood dripping from his mouth. That was the only thing he had to say to her.
Echidna rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."
She blew the smoke from her pistol and flicked the pipe between her lips. "Tie him up."
The mercenaries grabbed him, forcing him onto his back in the snow. His body ached. His arm was ruined. But still, he fought, thrashing against their grip.
"Bastards..." he snarled, "You raid and loot my clan when they were inthatstate... then you lay a trap for me like the damn mongrels you are!"
"I dunno what you''re talking about." Echidna tilted her head, exhaling a lazy puff of smoke, then turned around to her men, "If he escapes again, I''ll kill every one of you bastards myself. Do you understand?!"
"Yes, ma''am!"
The mercenaries grabbed him and dragged him across the snow as he left a bloody trail on his wake.
Echidna had taken a couple of steps forward then turned around once more, "Actually, break his sword hand."
Chael''s vision blurred with fury.
The towering brute loomed over Chael, his massive shadow swallowing him whole. His thick, scarred hands reached down, wrapping around Chael''s right wrist like a steel trap. The same hand that had snapped his arm.
"Let''s make sure you never set foot on the battlefield again, princess." The brute''s voice was almost amused, his breath hot against Chael''s ear.
Chael''s body jerked as he fought against the iron grip, but his strength was failing him. His limbs felt like lead, his vision swimming in pain and blood loss. Still, he gritted his teeth, his silver hair hanging in blood-matted strands over his eyes.
"Fuck you," he snarled.
The brute grinned. "Nah."
Then he pressed down.
A sickening crunch split through the air as his thick fingers drove Chael''s hand into the frozen ground. Searing pain ripped through his nerves like wildfire. Chael''s breath hitched, his body seizing as agony shot up his arm.
Then came the first finger.
The brute grabbed his pinky, twisting it in a slow, deliberate motion before
SNAP.
Chael''s scream tore through the icy night. His body arched and his breath ragged and shaking.
Laughter echoed around him. The bandits watched with grins and their faces twisted in sick amusement.
The brute wasn''t done.
"C''mon now," he chuckled. "You got four more."
Chael panted, his forehead pressed into the snow. Blood smeared across the ice as he gasped for breath, but he still managed to spit, his voice a broken rasp.
"Rot in hell."
The brute grabbed another finger.
Another snap.
By the time the fifth one broke, Chael''s voice was hoarse, his throat raw from agony. His entire hand was ruined with fingers bent at sickening angles, swelling already setting in. Blood dripped from his palm, staining the frost beneath him.
Echidna stared in twisted amusement. She walked up to Chael and crouched down and grabbed a fistful of his silver hair, forcing her piercing gaze onto Chael''s deep blue pupils.
"Now that the Ashwara Clan is no more, and their mighty leader is defenceless in my hands" Her lips curled into something cruel. "Wonder how muchthosebastards at the city are willing to pay for the brat who''s been a thorn in their side for so long?"
Chael''s breaths came in ragged gasps. He tried tocurse at her but no words came out.
Echidna grinned in response. "Drag him to the hideout." Chapter 2鈥擬ongrels Vow The journey back from Enir-Ilim had been long, but uneventful. The crisp air of the tundra and the sight of the mountains cutting into the sky had all felt the same. The same as always. He had returned home expecting warmth, laughter, the scent of meat roasting over fire pits. But instead, he was met with a long and deathly silence. He had slowed his horse to a trot, then to a stop, his heart drumming a uneasily. Before he had even arrived he sensed something was amiss. The village stood before him and it was untouched by flame or ruin. The houses stood firm, their doors open, lanterns still lit. Snow had piled on rooftops. His clansmen and warriors were there. But they did not move. They stood frozen in place with their backs rigid and their weapons gripped tight. Chael had called out to them yet no one answered. He had dismounted, his boots crunching against the snow as he ran to them. He had shook their shoulders, grabbed their hands and looked into faces. And saw nothing. Their eyes were hollow. Their skin pale as death. Their bodies husks, almost as if whatever life had once burned inside them had been snuffed out. He had gripped the shoulders of one his clansmen, shaking him hard. "Wake up. Wake up, damn you-!" The man''s body however did not move. His eyes stared at the empty sky above and body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Panic clawed at his throat. Chael turned and reached for another warrior. The moment he touched them, they fell. Before he even had time to process everything, however the whistling sound of an arrow, the hiss of blades being unsheathed and the stampede of humans reached his ears. **** Chael gasped as he was jerked forward, pain slicing through his broken body. The memory faded into the freezing night and the present swallowed him whole again. The taste of iron in his mouth, the sound of his own ragged breathing, the laughter of the mercenaries around him. Echidna walked ahead with her boots crunching in the snow, her long black cape trailing behind her. She didn''t even glance back at him. They weren''t even wary of him anymore. Chael clenched his teeth as his shattered hand twitched against the snow when a shadow loomed over him. "Damn shame, huh? Whole village. Just hollowed out like that?" Echidna mused. Chael turned his head, forcing his bleary eyes to meet hers. She then raised her musket. "No hard feelings. It''d be a pain in the ass if you locate our hide out." "You" She cut him off with a swift strike to the temple with her musket and the last thing he saw was the smirk on her lips before darkness swallowed him whole.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. **** Chael stirred. Pain was the first thing that greeted him, gnawing at his body like a rabid beast. His right arm was broken and uselessly sat by his side. His fingers were all broken and mangled at ugly angles. His shoulder throbbed where the bullet had torn through, the wound wrapped in crude bandages. The scent of rusted metal and damp stone filled his nose. He sat up slowly, feeling the heavy weight of iron chains digging into his wrists and ankles. A metal cage surrounded him, the bars thick and bolted into the rocky ground. Beyond them firelight flickered against stone walls and illuminated the underground hideout of the Mongrel''s Vow. Mercenaries littered the cavern. Some were sharpening blades, the metallic shhht of whetstones scraping steel filling the air. Others drank greedily from stolen wine barrels, laughter and crude jokes bouncing off the walls. The scent of roasted meat mixed with the stench of unwashed bodies. Chael exhaled through clenched teeth. His fingers twitched and a fresh surge of agony raced up his arm. He bit back a snarl. He stared at his sword hand. He had always been confident in his abilities as a fighter, but now who knew how long it''d take for his arm to heal before he could pick up another weapon. Chael gritted his teeth. Not that it mattered anymore, anyway. Carefully, he ripped the bottom of his tattered tunic with his teeth and teared it up into strips. Each movement sent lightning bolts of pain up his arm, but he forced himself to keep going. He wrapped the makeshift bandages around his mangled fingers, pulling them tight to keep the shattered bones in place. He worked in silence with his jaw clenched and his forehead damp with sweat when he heard a distinct voice cut through the noise. "Storm''s rolling in faster than expected," said a deep, gravelly voice. It was a bastard known as Garren - the one who had broken his arm and mangled his hand. Chael teared him apart with his gaze as he continued talking, "We''ll need to hole up here for another night or two." Chael''s eyes flicked at this information. Echidna stood near a fire pit, arms crossed with her black cape draped over one shoulder. Garren had a giant mug of ale in one hand, his other scratching at his thick beard. "A Black Storm, no less," Garren grumbled. "Hate those damn things. Wind howls like a thousand demons, makes the horses skittish." "We''ll manage," Echidna said lazily, taking a drag from her pipe. Smoke curled around her lips as she exhaled. "It just means we''ll be stuck in this shithole a little longer." Chael closed his eyes briefly. A Black Storm. A cursed blizzard that tore through the northern wilds of Mirelia, and drowned everything in ice and wind. It was impossibly difficult to survive out in the open once it hit and it would last at least a night or two. The sound of boots approached his cage. Chael opened his eyes as Echidna stopped in front of him with a pipe still between her fingers. She studied him for a moment with her gaze trailing over his makeshift bandages, his stiff posture, his bloodied face. Then she smirked. "You look like shit." Chael didn''t respond. Echidna leaned against the bars. "You don''t talk much, huh? Not as fun when you''re not spitting insults." Still, he said nothing. She sighed. "Well, whatever. You''ll be alive long enough to entertain me, at least." Chael slowly turned his head, his blue eyes cold as steel. "You should kill me while you still have the chance," he said in his low, raspy voice. Echidna raised a brow. Then she grinned. "Or what?" she said with amusement dripping from her tone. "The Ashwara Clan is no longer. What could you possibly do? You''re just a lost dog without a home now." Chael''s jaw clenched. He knew what she was trying to do. Chip away at him. Mock him and break him from the inside out. He refused to give her the satisfaction and instead, he straightened. Despite his wounds, the blood staining his skin and the chains weighing him down. His gaze burned as he met hers. "As long as I''m here," he said, voice like a blade scraping against stone, "Ashwara exists." Echidna''s smirk faltered for half a second. "Tch. Dramatic little shit." The hideout was alive with drunken chaos. Laughter, the clatter of mugs, and the sharp scrape of steel against whetstones filled the underground cavern. The Mongrel''s Vow drank like pigs, eating up the spoils of their raids, their voices loud and slurred. The air stank of alcohol, sweat, and burnt meat. Chael sat in his cage, silent, watching. His fingers twitched against the iron floor, sending a dull throb of pain up his ruined hand. He ignored it. He was used to pain. Then- CRASH! A glass bottle shattered against a man''s skull. Chapter 3鈥擱ing of Death
The man didn''t even see it coming. One moment he was laughing, the next he was on his knees, blood dripping down his face. His attacker was another mercenary - a burly one with a missing tooth. The man staggered back, eyes wild, as he held the broken neck of the bottle like a dagger.
"You fucking cheat!" he slurred, pointing at the bleeding man. "That was my coin, you rat!"
The injured mercenary wiped blood from his forehead, blinking at his fingers as if confused. Then he roared and tackled his attacker.
Tables overturned. Ale splashed across the ground. Men scrambled out of the way as the two crashed into a pile of stolen crates as their fists swung wildly.
Chael exhaled slowly as he saw the men scrambling over each other. No particular emotion crossed his eye but something kept calculating deep within his mind.
The fight turned into a mess of flailing limbs and drunken curses, boots slamming into ribs, mugs flying through the air. More men joined in, whether out of loyalty or boredom. Someone got slammed into a barrel so hard it cracked open, spilling dark wine across the stone floor.
Then-
A massive hand grabbed one of the brawlers by the back of his collar and yanked him off the ground like a misbehaving pup.
It was Garren.
The brute stood in the middle of the chaos, holding the struggling man up with one hand while kicking the other square in the chest, sending him skidding across the ground.
Silence settled over the hideout.
The fighters groaned, panting where they lay in the wreckage. A few men chuckled, others muttered complaints, rubbing their bruises.
Garren let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Well, well," he mused, dropping the man onto the floor with a thud. "Aren''t we lively today?"
Chael narrowed his eyes.
There was something in Garren''s tone-something smug. Amused. Like he''d just thought of something particularly cruel.
The brute stretched his thick arms and cracked his knuckles. Then he grinned then shot Chael a sneer.
"How ''bout we have a real show?"
Chael''s stomach twisted.
The mercenaries perked up, their drunkenness fading in an instant. Grins spread across filthy faces. Some of them laughed, low and eager. Others pounded the tables in excitement.
"Ohh, now that''s an idea," one of them cackled.
"I do love a good show."This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Chael knew what was coming before he even heard the cage door unlock.
The lock clicked. The door groaned open. Hands grabbed him and yanked him forward. Chains rattled as he was hauled out onto the cold stone floor. His body screamed in protest, his broken arm burning, but he refused to let out so much as a grunt.
As he was dragged there his gaze met Echidna''s.
She was leaning against a pillar of stone, her black cape draped lazily over her shoulder, her tricorn hat tilted just enough to shadow her sharp, scarred face. A pipe rested between her fingers, the ember at the tip glowing faintly.
As their eyes met, she mouthed two words mockingly.
"Good luck."
The men dragged him forward as the echoes of their laughter bounced off the cavern walls.
The real show was about to begin.
The mercenaries dragged Chael across the cavern floor, their laughter ringing in his ears. His boots scraped against the cold stone, his broken arm throbbing with every jolt. His entire body screamed at him to stop moving, but he didn''t have a choice.
They pulled him toward an open space where the ground had been cleared and they had formed a makeshift arena, surrounded by a jeering crowd of filthy bastards eager for blood.
A pit fight. A ring of death.
Chael clenched his jaw.
In the center of the circle stood a man-broad-shouldered, grinning, still wiping the dried blood from his forehead.
The same bastard who had smashed a bottle over his fellow mercenary''s head.
Chael was shoved forward, stumbling as he hit the center of the ring. His knees barely caught him before he collapsed entirely.
Garren let out a booming laugh, stepping into the circle with his arms wide.
"A little restless tonight, aren''t we?" He turned to the gathered mercenaries, grinning. "Well, gentlemen, how about a real fight? Since our friend Merken here is so eager to throw fists-" he clapped the big mercenary on the back, "-why not let him have a proper match?"
The crowd cheered. Someone whistled. Another slammed their mug against a table.
Garren''s grin widened. "And who better to fight than our esteemed guest - the princess of once powerful Ashwara clan! Oh- wait. Did I say that right?"
The other mercenaries laughed hard at the petty insult. He gestured toward Chael, who remained silent and still on one knee. Chael slowly got up, his breathing shallow.
"Bit unfair, isn''t it?" one of the men laughed.
"Fair?" Garren scoffed. "Since when the fuck do we care about fair? We''re mongrel''s ain''t we? The man himself said so!"
More laughter echoed around him.
Chael''s left hand curled and gripped the stone floor of the cavern.
He could feel their eyes on him, waiting for some kind of reaction.
He gave them nothing.
Garren pulled a thick coil of rope from his belt and stepped toward him. Before Chael could react, the brute grabbed his left wrist and yanked it forward.
The other end of the rope was already tied to Merken''s right wrist.
A tether.
Chael''s stomach twisted.
He was already crippled. His dominant hand was shattered, his arm useless, his body barely standing. now they were tying him to this oaf, making it impossible to gain distance?
Garren yanked the knot tight, making sure there was just enough slack for movement but not enough to escape.
"Now," Garren drawled, stepping back, "let''s see how long he lasts."
The crowd roared.
Merken grinned down at Chael, cracking his knuckles.
"Gotta say," the mercenary said, his voice thick with amusement, "I almost feel bad."
Chael exhaled slowly and positioned himself so that the left side of his body was forward. He had no choice but to fight with his non-dominant side.
Though Chael''s body was in the fight, his mind certainly wasn''t. He was using this moment to observe everyone and everything around him besides the man in front of him.
The fight then began. Chapter 4鈥擝loodsport
Merken moved first and yanked on the rope, trying to throw Chael off balance.
Chael twisted and let the force pull him forward instead of resisting, narrowly dodging a punch that would''ve probably knocked his out cold. He ducked, feeling the air shift as a fist swung just past his temple.
He wasn''t fast enough to dodge the second.
A knee slammed into his ribs.
Pain exploded through his side and his vision flashed white for half a second. He gasped, stumbling, but he forced his body to move.
Amidst the cheering crown Chael''s free hand masterfully moved over the man''s belt - but before anyone noticed anything, Chael staggered back, gasping with his fist clenched.
Merken laughed, clearly proud of himself. He raised him arms and turned around to look at his buddies cheering him on and banged his chest twice with his fist before turning his attention back to Chael, "Y''know, if I had met you under different circumstances, I would''ve thought you were a tavern wench or a brothel harlot." Merken teased, trying to get a reaction out of Chael.
Chael remained unreactive. His mind was completely elsewhere. Observing the structure of this cavern, how many of them were asleep and how many were up, how much ration and water they had, their weapons and much more.
Another punch came and he barely leaned back in time. The tether jerked, forcing him closer. His broken arm ached, his fingers screamed with every twitch. He couldn''t block. He could only dodge.
''Damn, that hurt...'' Chael thought to himself though gritted teeth as he staggered back after a kick landed on his rib, finally being bought back to the present.
"C''mon chief! I thought the Ashwara were more fiersome than this! Gahahaha!" Garren rumbled in laughter.
"The notorious young princess - I mean, prodigy of the Ashwara Clan is getting his ass beat by a loser like Merken. Who would''ve thought!" Another one laughed.
Another swing, which Chael barely ducked. Then, a fist grazed his cheek.
Chael was barely retaliating. Instead he watched Merken''s every move, trying to look for an opening. Under normal circumstances he would have no problem trading blows and swinging to his hearts content, but every movement caused him unimaginable pain.
"Show us what you got, boy!" A mercenary laughed.
Merken was grinning as he came for another swing, "C''mon! Let''s get serious here-"
Just as he entered Chael''s range, his body twisted with unnatural speed - just enough to shift his weight.
Then he struck.
His elbow slammed into Merken''s throat.
One calculated strike was all it took.
The mercenary staggered, choking and instantly dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
The entire room went silent. Echinda who was watching lazily finally raised an eyebrow. She muttered to herself, "That''s Ashwara for you."
Chael''s pulse pounded. He had to follow up. He pivoted and used the tension of the rope to snap his body forward-
But before he could land another hit, the entire crowd rushed him.
"You bastard!"This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Tch. Some of a bitch! How dare you, it was just a show!"
Several of them jumped on him. Chael''s entire world got disorientated as boots slammed into his side. A fist cracked against his jaw. Someone grabbed his hair and yanked him back, throwing him to the ground.
The beatdown was only amplified by the intense pain from his shattered bones and wounds he had recieved earlier, as. they reopened and soaked his clothes with more fresh blood.
Fists. Boots. Elbows. Chairs.
Pain rained down on him from every direction. His vision blurred. He tasted blood. His ribs felt like they were caving in. His limbs refused to move. He curled inward, instinct screaming at him to protect his head.
The pain was distant now.
Then-
"Enough."
The kicks stopped.
Through his swollen eyes, he saw Garren step forward, looking down at him like a man admiring a broken toy.
"Tch. Lasted longer than I thought." Garren snorted. "Alright, toss him back in the cage before he dies on us."
They grabbed him-his body barely responding anymore. His feet dragged uselessly as they hauled him toward the cage.
Through the haze of pain, his fingers on his left hand twitched as something went up his sleeve.
Something was there.
It was tiny arrowhead he was swiped from Merken''s pocket, the price he paid being a vicious knee to the ribs.
They threw him back into the cage. The door slammed shut and the lock clicked. Chael lay there with his breath ragged and blood dripping from his mouth..
But beneath the pain, but beneath the agony and exhaustion, he curled his fingers around the arrowhead.
"Wow, they really did a number on you, huh?" Echinda trotted up to his cage again, smoking her small pipe.
Chael groaned when he heard her voice. Without bothering to conceal his displeasure, he shot her a glare, "What do you want now?"
Echinda exhaled puff of smoke and smiled at him, "Nothing much. Why? Am I not worth the Princess of Ashwara''s time?"
"Kill youself."
"How rude." Echinda made an mock expression as though she was offended.
Chael didn''t respond and simply lay there like a sack of potatoes, revelling in the pain of his broken body.
"Do tell me though, what were you doing in that fight?" Echinda''s face then grew serious the next instant as though she had taken off a mask. "Those fools didn''t notice but I picked on some of your weird movements here and there."
Chael maintained eye contact with Echinda for a while before he simply saying, "Sun Tzu once said, ''Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.''"
Having bought up as a Village Chief, he was forced to study a majority of his day alongside training and other things. Though he hated studies in general, he had learned to find battle tactics and strategies interesting. Amongst his favourite historical strategists was a man named ''Sun Tzu'' and Chael enjoyed his teachings a lot.
Echinda looked at him dumbfounded then chuckled, "Fine, keep your secrets, you little shit. You''re not leaving my clutches anytime soon, anyway."
"You seem insanely paranoid." Chael sneered at her. "You shoot me while I was already subdued, you break my dominant hand so that I can''t wield a weapon. And now you observe my every move like a little fangirl while I was fighting that oaf."
Echinda''s smug smiled slowly melted into a cold emotionless look.
"If you''re so afraid of me escaping, why don''t you just kill me right here?" Chael said smugly but behind his expression lay a cynical insanity.
"In fact, I''m asking you to kill me," he added, tilting his head. "Not that it''d change anything. It''s not like my life''s worth anything now, anyway."
He didn''t mean it in the way some men did. He wasn''t pleading or desperate and he certainly hadn''t even resigned. He just wanted to mock her.
Because whether he lived or died, it wasn''t going to be on their terms.
Echinda furrowed her brows coldly, "Like hell I will. I didn''t go through with that hunt and lose two handfuls of men just to get your useless corpse."
With that, she turned and left.
Chael looked at her retreating figure then let out a long sigh. The arrowhead peaked down from his sleeve and glinted with the orange hue of a nearby flame.
The hideout was quieter now.
The fire had burned low, casting flickering shadows against the cavern walls. Most of the Mongrel''s Vow lay sprawled across makeshift bedrolls, their snores mixing with the occasional crackle of embers.
Chael sat motionless in his cage, his back against the cold iron bars. His body still ached from the beating, his ribs throbbing with every shallow breath. But his mind was clear.
His fingers curled around the arrowhead he had swiped, its jagged edge rough against his palm. It was small-barely larger than a coin-but sharp enough to do the job.
Carefully, he shifted forward, eyes flicking to the lock on his cage. His heartbeat slowed. His focus sharpened. He inserted the tip of the arrowhead into the keyhole and began working it, twisting, feeling for the mechanism inside. Chapter 5鈥擴nshackled The minutes stretched. His non-dominant hand was weak and his movements were clumsy. He grit his teeth and forced his fingers to stay steady. ''Come on'' Click. The lock gave. Chael froze, listening. No one stirred. Slowly and silently, he pushed the cage door open. The rusty hinges let out the faintest groan, but the snores of the mercenaries covered the noise. His gaze flicked to the guard standing just a few feet away his back turned and his arms crossed. He let out a monsterous yawn and muttered to himself, "Only ten minutes left till my shift is over..." Chael moved like a shadow. Step by step he moved silently and slow and he crept forward, keeping low and keeping his breath quiet. The guard shifted slightly but didn''t turn. The moment Chael was close enough He struck. His left arm snapped around the man''s head in a vicious twist and a sickening crack echoed in the dimly lit cavern. Eclipse''s right hands, despite being mangled, covered the man''s mouth so he couldn''t as much let out a single noise. His body simply crumpled to the floor with his neck facing an unusual angle. Chael exhaled through his nose, steady. He wasn''t used to taking human life, and he''s rather avoid it unless it was completely neccesary but this was a situation which required no other alternatives. One thing Chael came to realise growing up was that cruelty springs from weakness. If he had absolute power over these mongrels right now, he''d never have to resort to such tactics, but because of his vunerable state, if he wasn''t going to kill, he was going to be killed. He quickly knelt and searched the body. A knife sat sheathed at the man''s hip. Chael took it and slid it free and tucked it into his belt. Chael then crouched behind the cage and looked for anything that might be of use. To his side he saw a bag filled with Cinderfoil leaves. Leaves of the Cinderfoil Tree which was naturally high in oil content and thus very flammable. During travels, travellers of often carried bags of Cinderfoil leaves for ease of starting fires. They were a much better alternative to wood which is difficult to set aflame in this unusually cold climate. Chael stealthily attached the bag to his waistband and then his gaze flicked across the hideout. A few mercenaries were still awake, standing at the cavern''s entrance, keeping watch. He counted three. Too many to take head-on in his current state. He needed to move carefully. Then- A voice. From deeper inside. Chael crept forward, keeping to the shadows. The dim firelight barely reached this part of the hideout, but he could hear Echidna''s voice, along with Garren and a few others. They were gathered around a rough wooden table, a map spread across its surface. Echidna leaned against the table with her arms crossed and her black cape draped lazily over one shoulder. Garren stood nearby, arms folded, eyes scanning the map. "We''ll move at dawn," Echidna was saying, tapping her gloved fingers against the paper. "If the storm lets up, we take the eastern pass. If not, we head south through the crags." Garren grunted. "You sure about this? The south of Enir-Ilim''s crawling with those bastards." Echidna took a drag from her pipe, exhaling a slow plume of smoke. "That''s the point. We''re not sneaking in-we''re selling a high-value prize. We want them to know we''re coming." Chael''s eyes narrowed.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Enir-Ilim. They were taking him there? ''Shit. Of all the places...'' Chael gritted his teeth. As Chael neared edged closer to them, his gaze flicked to the table not far away. There, was Echidna''s pistol. It was long, polished wood with a silver barrel. The same weapon she had shot him with. Chael''s fingers twitched. He looked at the pistol. Then at Echidna, who was now only several metres away. The table was right behind Echinda. A cold sneer spread across Chael''s face as he moved like a ghost. His breath was slow and steady and his body ached, his broken arm throbbed, but he ignored it. It was now or never. Echidna stood before him, her back turned, still focused on the map. Garren and the others were locked in conversation. With a sharp, sudden movement, Chael lunged. In an instant, his good arm snapped around Echidna''s neck, yanking her against his chest, while his broken hand ripped her pistol from the table with what little strength he could muster from it and pressed it against her head. The entire room froze. For half a second, silence reigned. The crackling fire was the only sound in the cavern. "The fuck?!" Chairs scraped against stone as Garren and the others surged to their feet and heir hands flew to their weapons. The moment stretched, thick with tension. Garren''s face twisted with pure rage, his fingers twitching near the axe at his belt. The other mercenaries were the same-waiting, ready to pounce, their bodies coiled tight. Echidna, for her part, remained eerily calm and silent. Her silver hair was tousled, her tricorn hat knocked slightly askew from the sudden grab. She blinked once, then exhaled a soft breath, as if mildly inconvenienced. "...Well," she muttered, "this is new." Chael tightened his grip. "Don''t move." Echidna gritted her teeth. "Tch. You bastard." The rest of the mercenaries slowly inching forward, like a pack of wolves closing in. "Back up!" Chael snarled, pressing the pistol harder against her skull. "Or I''ll blow her head off." The room stilled again. No one backed up. But no one moved, either. For the first time, Garren spoke. His voice was low, simmering with fury. "You little shit," he growled. "Let. Her. Go." Chael bared his teeth. "Or what?" Garren''s knuckles went white over his axe handle. "Or I''ll rip you apart myself." Chael ignored him. His attention was on Echidna, who still seemed way too relaxed. Chael couldn''t tell if she was just feigning her non-chalant attitude, or not. Regardless, they was inching closer and closer to the exit. "This is a bit dramatic, don''t you think?" She said again, reluctantly following his steps one by one. This time, Chael caught onto a tremble in her tone and he grinned menacingly, "Not as dramatic as your face when I pull the trigger." "That pistol''s got a nasty kick. Sure your wrist can handle it?" Chael clenched his jaw. His fingers twitched slightly on the pistol. His fingers were initially twisted in very unnatural angles after Garren had broken them, however he had taken time to put them back in their place as best as he could. Even holding the gun up was causing unimaginable pain and taking insane willpower. He edged toward the cavern exit, inch by inch, dragging her with him. The mercenaries followed, around twelve of them, and matched his steps, like predators waiting for their moment. The closer he got to the exit, the more the cold wind howled, sending chills through the cavern. The Black Storm was raging outside. Echidna seemed to get more and more concerned the closer they got to the door. She tilted her head slightly toward him, voice dropping lower. "You''re not actually thinking of going out there, are you?" Chael didn''t respond. Her lips curled slightly. "You''re not that stupid, right?" He yanked her closer, forcing another step toward the door. The cold was biting now, creeping into the cavern, mixing with the fire''s warmth. She sighed. "Look, kid" Chael snapped. "I''m not a kid." His voice was sharp, venomous and filled with hate. "And I''d rather take my chances with the storm than rot in this shithole with you mongrels." The mercenaries were too close now. A few more steps and they''d have him. He had to move faster. More and more of them were waking up and they were joining the others. No one dared to make noises or sudden movements, though. Garren growled, patience snapping. "Enough of this bullshit" Garren was about to move forward but Chael''s grip tightened on the pistol, insantly causing him to stop in his tracks. He glanced at the guard by the door - the only thing standing between him and the storm outside. "You," he barked. "Open it." The guard hesitated, glancing at Echidna. She arched a silver brow, still somewhat calm despite the barrel of her own pistol resting against her head. Chael jerked her forward, just enough to make the guard flinch. "Now." The man swallowed, then reached for the door latch. A deep click. Then- ROOOOAAAAGHHH! The moment the door creaked open, the Black Storm howled inside like a living beast. A violent force of wind and ice exploded into the cavern, slamming into everyone. The fire in the hideout flickered wildly, nearly extinguishing under the sheer force of the blizzard. Snow poured in, whipping through the air, turning everything into a white abyss. Men staggered back, cursing, shielding their faces. Chael barely saw Echidna''s mouth move. It seemed as though she was shouting something but he couldn''t hear her with how loud the storm was. Chael lifted up his head then- CRACK! His forehead smashed into the back of Echinda''s skull in a brutal headbutt with every ounce of strength he had left. She then went limp in his arms. Garren roared in fury, but in that instanly, Chael lifted her body onto his shoulders and bolted through the door. And the second he stepped outside he had disappeared into the storm. Chapter 6鈥擳he Black Storm The cold hit like a war hammer, an all-consuming force that numbed his skin within seconds. He couldn''t see. Nothing existed except for an endless white void which swirled and screamed around him. The howling wind drowned out everything, turning the world into a chaotic, frozen nightmare. Behind him, distant voices barely managed to cut through the storm. "FIND HIM!" "He''s not getting far in this shit!" Chael didn''t slow down. ''I''ve already slipped from your grasps, you mongrels.'' Chael muttered to himself and he tread in the snow with Echinda''s unconscious figure over himself. ''No chance in hell you''re catching me again.'' The Black Storm wasn''t just any blizzard. It was death itself, a force of nature that swallowed up anything foolish enough to wander into it. Even the mercenaries knew better than to chase blindly. They would stumble, get lost, maybe even freeze to death. But Chael knew these storms. The Ashwara Clan had trained him for this since birth, drilled survival into his bones. He had hunted in these very conditions, learned how to listen to the wind, how to feel the land beneath the snow, how to move when his eyes could see nothing. That didn''t make it any easier, though. His body was breaking. His arm was ruined, his fingers shattered, his ribs burning with every breath. Each step through the snow felt like wading through thick, icy mud. He could barely move his legs. His breath was coming too fast, too ragged, and Echidna''s weight was only making things worse. He considered dropping her and just going on his own more than a few times, but he decided against it. He still had questions to ask her. The voices behind him were already fading, drowning in the storm''s endless howl. The cold had seeped deep into his bones when the memory surfaced. His father had died in front of him when he was eight. Cut down in the snow. He still remembered how the he had fallen silently and how the blood had pooled in the ice, staining it dark. After that, Chael had been forced onto the Ashwara throne. Not because he wanted it or because he deserved it. But because he had been born into it. He could''ve run, and thinking back, he should''ve. Just like his mother had. But Chael was young and gullible which was exactly what the Ashwara elders wanted. He had played his part well in his role of the perfect figurehead for their ambitions. Until he understood the game. Then, he had ruled them out of nothing but pure, calculated spite. He had sat on that throne not because he believed in duty, not because he cared about legacy, but because it had pissed them off. The elders had wanted to use himso he had crushed them under his heel before they could.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. That had been the extent of his rule. Not a leader. Not a savior. Just a man too bitter to let others win. And now? Now, he was the last one left. A bitter smirk twisted his lips. How poetic. Somewhere in the white abyss, a deep, guttural growl rumbled through the wind. Something huge. Something ancient. Only the deadliest beasts thrived in the Black Storm. Chael clenched his jaw and pushed forward. If he stopped, he was dead. **** He was currently in a stretch of land known as the Silver Expanse in the northern part of a continent known as Mirelia. The Silver Expanse was a land of endless ice and frozen tundras, where winters never relented and only the strongest endured. It was a land of warriors, nomads, and war-born tribes like the Ashwara, who carved their existence from the ruthless frost. Yet, at Mirelia''s heart stood Enir-Ilim - a sprawling city that stretched for thousands of miles and it was a kingdom disguised as civilization. Chael knew the truth. He had walked its streets and had seen its filth beneath the gold and stone. From the outside, Enir-Ilim was an empire of grandeur, power, and wealth. But Chael had seen what lay beneath the mask - the twisted, rotting core that no one spoke of. Mirelia harboured a human civilisation of roughly one billion. This continent was the sole landmass that existed in a vast ocean known as the Primordial Sea, so vast that it''s rumoured that Mirelia makes up less then one percentage of this world''s structure. Beyond Mirelia''s it was unknown what lay in the endless depths of the Primordial Sea, or what was at the other side of this vast world. Not many people had tried to find out and those that did never returned. But right now, none of that mattered. Because right now, Chael was dying in the Black Storm. The wind screamed in his ears, a howling force so powerful it nearly lifted him off his feet. His legs burned and his body was frozen and stiff. Every step through the knee-deep snow like dragging himself through iron chains. It was as if the storm was alive and it swallowed everything in a curtain of white death. The world no longer existed - there was no sky, no ground, no horizon. Only cold and ice. Echidna''s weight was slowing him down by a huge margin. The right decision to ensure his survival was the drop her and move forward on his own. But something in him wouldn''t let him. Maybe it was the fact that he no longer care about his own life. It''s been long since he had left the Mongrel''s Vow in the dust. They voices had long since faded into this unmerciful Black Storm. He could hear nothing beside the howling winds and the growls of beasts from a distance that was caught up in this storm just like he was. He walked. One step. Then another. Each footfall a war against the storm. Then, he heard it. "...the...flection...will...be..." Chael squinted. It was a very unintelligible and muffled noise and he wasn''t sure where it came from. Perhaps it was from somewhere far away or perhaps, it was simply at the back of his own mind - he couldn''t tell. Chael let out a pained grin, ''Haha... have I started to go insane already?'' His fingers throbbed and every broken bone screamed. His breath came in sharp gasps, burning his lungs from the inside. Then- Darkness. This was one of the only scenarios in which darkness would actually be comforting. Chael knew he had stepped into a cave. He staggered inside, the storm screaming behind him. The second he crossed the threshold, the wind dulled, muffled by the stone. It was still cold as death, but at least he could breathe. His knees almost buckled and his broken fingers burned from the frost and pain. But he kept moving deeper into the cave, past the howling winds, until he knew they were safe enough. Then, finally, he dropped Echidna onto the ground, who was still out cold. His breath came in harsh gasps and his vision swimming but he was still alive somehow. Chael moved quickly, despite the way his body screamed with exhaustion. He grabbed the tether still attached to his wrist, the same one from his fight with Merken, and looped it around Echidna''s wrists, binding them tight. The knot was sloppy and his fingers weren''t working like they should - but it would hold. Satisfied, he exhaled a slow breath and reached into the small pouch tied to his belt. Inside were Cinderfoil leaves. Chapter 7鈥擸ou Talk Too Much With slow, methodical movements, he gathered dry twigs from deeper in the cave and formed a small pile. Then, he crushed a few Cinderfoil leaves amd scattered them across the wood. Taking two stones, he clashed them together - once, twice - until a spark fell. The tiny embers landed on the leaves, and within seconds, a small fire flickered to life. And illuminated the cramped cave. Chael let out a slow breath, the fire''s glow casting sharp shadows across the cave. There was a much deeper pathway to continue going into the cave but know who what abomination lied there at the end of the cave? Even stepping into this cave was a risk as beasts would often come and seek shelter from the Black Storms, much like humans. But thankfully everything seemed safe, and Chael hoped it would stay that way. He sat back on his heels, watching the flames for a moment, feeling the first bit of warmth since the storm started. His gaze flicked to Echidna''s unconscious form, still lying on the cold stone floor next to the fire and smirk curled his lips. With one boot, he shoved her over, rolling her body away from the fire''s warmth. ''Stay cold, bitch.'' Chael muttered with utmost pettiness. Just then he noticed something strange. There was a sharp open wound on her left palm. It was pretty fresh, too. Chael narrowed his eyes. Strange. Could her hand have been cut by some sharp edge while he recklessly carried her? He thought for a moment, then a gloomy expression casted over his face. He glanced back at his pouch, pulling out the rest of the Cinderfoil leaves. There was still quite a few left. His fingers turned them over, his expression unreadable as he stared at them. Then he stood and walked toward the entrance and one by one, he scattered the leaves across the cave floor and spread them across the cave''s entrance. His intentions were unclear but there was something cold in his gaze. Once he was done, he stashed the last few into his tight waistband in case he needed it for the future and he returned to the fire, lowering himself onto the ground with a tired grunt. But not before he tucked Echinda''s pistol into the waistband of his garment away from sight. The flames crackled softly, their warmth easing the stiffness in his limbs. His body still ached, his wounds throbbed but he sat meditatively and indulged in the flames comfort. Minutes passed. Chael sat in the dim light of the cave with his body aching and his mind heavy with exhaustion. His fingers idly traced the hilt of the knife he had taken from one of the mercenaries, the blade still slick with dried blood. He turned it slightly, letting the faint firelight catch on its surface. But there was no reflection of him. His breath stalled. The metal was polished enough to clearly show the stone walls behind him, yet it reflected nothing of him at all. As if he didn''t exist. There was just an empty, depthless void where his reflection should have been. A cold feeling crept into his chest. His fingers tightened around the handle. Was he losing it? Had the pain, the exhaustion, the sheer insanity of the last few days finally begun unravelling his mind? Before he could dwell on it further, Echidna stirred, a faint groan slipping past her lips. Chael''s focus snapped back, his grip firming on the knife as his eyes narrowed. Her breath hitched as the cold finally registered. Her silver lashes fluttered and her brow furrowed. She then woke up with a shudder, her body curling instinctively against the cold. The stone beneath her was freezing and her limbs stiff and her fingers numb as ice. The Black Storm still howled outside, a constant, ear-splitting roar, but inside the cave, a soft orange glow flickered nearby. She turned toward it, only to realize she couldn''t move her hands. Her silver eyes snapped open fully. She yanked her arms, but the rough pull of rope bit into her wrists. She was pretty tightly bound, and right in front of the flames, staring at her in dark amusement was none other than her ex-captive, Chael. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Good morning. Sleep well?" The sarcasm and hate in Chael''s voice was tangible. A sharp, furious exhale left her lips, "Oh, you''ve gotta be fucking kidding me." Chael''s handsome face was half-hidden in the shadows, the warm light of the fire casting sharp edges over his already angular features. His blue eyes - like frozen steel - held no warmth. His messy silver hair sat on his shoulder, and stands of his long fringe clung to his face, damp with sweat and moisture. Echidna let out a slow and heated breath, her expression dark. "Untie me." Chael didn''t answer. She shifted, testing the ropes again. "I said-" "I heard you." His voice was flat, emotionless, barely above a whisper. But something in it made the fire''s warmth feel colder. Echidna''s lips pressed into a thin line. She looked around and took in the surroundings. The storm outside was still raging and was thick enough to swallow the world whole. She was trapped with him. She gritted her teeth and with a defeated exhale, she leaned back slightly against the stone wall, forcing herself to calm down. Getting mad wouldn''t help. Instead, she tilted her head, her silver hair falling over one shoulder. "So," she mused with an irritated edge, "this is your plan? Drag me out into a storm, tie me up, what? You gonna kill me?" Chael didn''t blink, "I''ll get to that." Echidna rolled her eyes and her shoulder rolled forward and she let out a sigh, "You got us well, you bastard. Damn it - my head still feels like it''s been split open..." Silence stretched. The fire crackled softly, but it did nothing to ease the tension in the air. After a long while, Chael spoke. "Answer this question." His voice was barely a murmur over the storm''s howl. Echidna''s brow furrowed. "What?" "Did you have any idea what caused my clan to become that way? You were there before me. " Chael narrowed his eyes at her. Echidna met his stare, unflinching and then she laughed. Not a mocking laugh, just a dry, tired chuckle, like the very idea was absurd. "Listen, kid." she said, shaking her head. "I hate to say it but the Ashwara Clan was a superpower around these parts. Only high level Harbringers have what it take to pull off something like that over your entire clan, let alone Unveiled like me, you and the rest of Mongrel''s Vow." Chael''s jaw clenched, his fingers twitching slightly. Echinda continued talking hovering her bound hands over the flames for warmth, "It''s either the doing of a high level harbringer, or its some sort of an unnatural phenomenom. You know, this isn''t the first time something like this has happened..." Chael raised an eyebrow, "It isn''t?" Echinda nodded, "It''s happened to Garren''s ancestral tribe, a small tribe at the borders of Enir-Ilim... around a hundred years ago while his grandparents were away at the city." Chael absorbed this new information with a frown. "A hundred years ago?" "That''s right... I got this information from Garren himself so its not just baseless rumor." Echinda paused, then continued, "But I do recall a rumor that something like this happened to another little society two hundred years ago. Clearly there''s some kind of trend here. The gods only know what''s causing this." Chael remained silent, unsure of what to think or what to do with this information. She watched him, her expression serious now. "My men came across your village already like that. I was told something was wrong - that it wasn''t normal. We went in to loot whatever we could." Her silver eyes locked onto his glare. "You?" She smirked faintly. "You were just the biggest prize we could find amongst all the loot. Who knows how many silver, or even gold shards those guys will pay for you." Chael''s scowl deepened, his fingers curling into a fist. Echidna let out a slow breath, rolling her shoulders against the stone wall. Her wrists were still tied, her fingers tingling from the cold, but at least she was warming up now. "So then." Echinda smiled, "Just what do you plan to do with this knowledge? Are you going to go on walk on some heroic cause and get to this bottom of this or will you just start anew." Chael''s jaw tightened, but he didn''t respond. Echinda gave him a dark and knowing look with a hint of mischief, "After all, I know how much you hated your position as chief. " Chael remained silent and stoic. Echinda continued to talk with a smile, "Why don''t you join me at Mongrel''s Vow? If you do we can erase our grievances and-" Chael shut her up with a sudden fierce glare. "I''d rather die a thousands deaths than join a legion full of you dogs." Echinda shrugged, "Suit yourself." After a while, Chael spoke again - his voice quiet and as sharp as a blade sliding from its sheath. "I left for Enir-Ilim for a single night. A single night... to take care of some business." His fingers curled against his knee, knuckles white. "And when I came back my whole clan my whole purpose..." He didn''t finish the sentence. He didn''t need to. Echidna''s smirk faded slightly. She studied him, her silver eyes sharpening. Then she snorted. "Hold the hell on." Chael didn''t look at her. "You went to Enir-Ilim?" she asked, incredulous. "Are you insane? You? The guy who''s literally banned from there?" His frown deepened. She let out a sharp laugh. "Ahaha. No, seriously. That city wants you dead on sight. And you-what? Strolled in to ''take care of business'' like you own the place?" He sighed, rubbing a his left hand over his face. "That''s none of your business." Echidna grinned. "Ohhh, it is. It really is." Chael turned to her slowly, his blue eyes like frozen steel. Then, without a word, he pulled out the knife he had taken from the guard he eliminated. The firelight glinted off the blade, its edge dull but deadly enough. Echidna''s smirk wavered just slightly. She shifted against the stone as he stood up, rolling his sore shoulders, the knife loose in his grip. He took one step forward. Then another. Echidna swallowed, her confidence flickering just for a second. "Now, listen-" she started. Chael tilted his head. "You talk too much." Another step. "You think I brought you here to keep you alive?" His voice was calm, almost bored. "I just needed to ask you one question. And now that I got my answer..." Echinda shifted, but just then a low, gurgling growl echoed through the cave. Both of them froze. The firelight flickered violently, the entrance darkening. And then- A creature stepped into the cave. A dire wolf. Chapter 8鈥擠ire Straits The beast crawled towards them menacingly and they dared not to move. Beside''s the fact that it looked menacing beyond belief, this beast was half-dead, its spine twisted grotesquely, its lower jaw missing, leaving behind a ragged, gaping maw that dripped blood and saliva. Its flesh was torn and it was still bleeding freshly but its eyes still burned with rage, filled with an unnatural fury. It glared at them with nostrils flaring. Then- It snarled, taking a step forward. Echidna let out a slow, whistled breath. "Well," she muttered, voice low. "We''re fucked." Chael''s face darkened. Of course. His worst fears had come true Predators and prey alike always sought shelter during a Black Storm, and not just from the storm itself, but from other monsters lurking in the dark. And this one Chael didn''t even want to imagine what could have had done this to a dire wolf. Dire wolves were apex predators in the northern most part of Mirelia. They were fast, powerful, and built for the ice. Their instincts were sharper than steel and their hides were tougher than chainmail. Not to mention their bite which was strong enough to shatter bones. And this one? Its lower jaw was missing, its spine grotesquely twisted, its flesh barely clinging to its bones - and yet, it still moved. It should have been dead but it wasn''t. Chael slowly turned his body towards the beast from Echinda. It walked up to them slowly, its glowing, bloodied gaze locked onto them with pure, violent hunger. Chael slowly reached for his knife as he let out a heavy exhale ''Just my luck.'' Echidna, still bound against the cave wall, let out a sharp breath. "What," she muttered, eyes sharp, "the hell is that?" Chael''s fingers tightened on his knife. "A dire wolf," he said grimly. "And an unusually strong one." Dire wolves were already a nightmare - but this thing wasn''t normal. Its movements, unnatural resilience, and it''s sheer size... Chael had a gun-wrenching premonition that this thing was likely a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm, or even higher. The Veiled Realm was the lowest rank of Harbingers - and that was bad enough. Because Chael was even lower than that. He was an Unveiled much like the vast majority of humans on the Primordial Sea. Harbingers. The chosen of the gods. Or rather, what remained of them. There were several billions of gods in the Timeless Era - far outnumbering the humans today and unknown reasons led to them being sealed or dying. It was agreed amongst historians that the same event which was led to the end of the Timeless Era had caused the Primordial Sea to become so empty with such little land mass. When their age ended and the age of humans began, their remnants clung to mortals, marking them as Harbingers to inherit their prowess and become their incarnation. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. No one could predict who would be chosen by a one of these gods or under what circumstances it happened, as gods, much like humans, had different criteria as to what they deemed worthy of their inheritance. And humans are too weak to handle the power of gods so they had to do so gradually, across nine great realms, each realm giving them more and more power and abilities until they were strong enough to fully inherit the extent of the prowess of the god who had chosen them. As far as Chael knew, there was not a single human through history who had reached the ninth realm and ascended to godhood. Unfortunately it wasn''t limited to just humans who would inherit a god''s powers. Chael steadily analysed the stalking beast''s every movement, as it crouched and approached the duo like a starved beast seeing fresh food for the first time. Unfortunately for Chael, He had no god''s blessing and yet, he was about to fight something that had stepped into a realm beyond human limits. The dire wolf moved first. One second, it was standing still and the next, it lunged. It was a blur of blood and ice and moved much faster than it should in it''s condition. Chael barely had time to react. His knife flashed up but it wasn''t enough. Chael wanted to use Echinda''s pistol but who knew what other abomination was sleeping at the end of the cave? The last thing he needed was to be trapped with not one but two beasts with a deathly Black Storm outside. The beast''s massive claw tore through the air, aiming straight for his throat.It''s massive, clawed paw tore through the space where his head had been just moments ago, slicing clean through the stone wall behind him. Ice and rock exploded outward, sharp shards cutting against his skin. Chael hit the ground hard, rolling away, barely managing to keep his breath steady. His broken arm screamed in agony, and every movement of his shattered fingers sent lightning bolts of pain racing through his nerves. His knife felt pathetically small in his grip. The beast was simply too fast and too strong. He was sure now that this beast was a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm. Even at his prime, this would have been a suicide mission. But now? Now he was barely surviving. The dire wolf snarled, its half-missing jaw twitching grotesquely, saliva and blood dripping from the ruined mess of flesh. Then it attacked again. Chael threw himself backward, twisting just in time to avoid the deadly snap of its remaining fangs. But he wasn''t fast enough- The beast''s shoulder slammed into him as it passed, sending him crashing into the stone wall. Pain immediately exploded in his ribs. He choked, his breath leaving him in a sharp, ragged gasp. His vision blurred for half a second, but he forced himself to move, to roll, to get back on his feet. He barely had time to register the growling laughter from the other side of the cave. "Y''know, I hate to say it, but you might have to untie me, Chief." Echidna. She was still tied up and her face was warped in a sneer at his predicament. Chael didn''t look at her. His focus was completely on the abomination in front of him. If this beast was this powerful in such a ruined state, how strong would it have been before it got to this gory state? The dire wolf lunged again. Chael dodged barely dodged death butt this time, the claws grazed his side, cutting through his tunic, warm blood dripping instantly into the snow-dusted ground. It was simply too powerful for him. If this was going to keep on going he''d definitely die. Every movement was a struggle and his right arm was useless, his left was slow, and his body was already broken from his escape. This was a death sentence, not a fight. "So? Gonna stop being stubborn now, or are you just planning to let it eat you first?" Echinda voice came in from the other side. Chael growled, pressing a hand to his bleeding side. His mind was screaming. Letting her loose was a risk. But if this kept but he''d die before it even mattered. "Tch." He kicked a boot toward the cave''s corner, sending his knife which had fallen off his hand during the onslaught of the dire wolf sliding across the stone floor, right to her hands. Echidna blinked, then grinned like a wolf. "Well, well," she mused, gripping the knife between her fingers. "Guess you''re not as stupid as I thought." Chael didn''t respond. Because he was already moving again- The direwolf struck again. It was a blur of muscle and its ruined maw dripping blood. Its massive body moved faster than anything that size and state had the right to. The storm outside howled through the cave''s entrance, a distant echo to the storm raging inside. Chael barely moved in time. The beast''s claws ripped through the air, missing his throat by inches. He threw himself back, his feet slipping slightly against the icy stone, breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. His ribs burned, his arms screamed, and his fingers throbbed. He was going to die here. Just then, a sharp whistle cut through the air. Then A flash of silver appeared beside him. Echidna. She moved like lightning, fast and fluid, her knife flashing as she slashed deep across the beast''s side, cutting through fur and flesh. The dire wolf snarled, spinning with unnatural speed, its glowing eyes locking onto her. Chapter 9鈥擱oaring Flames The direwolf lunged. Echidna barely dodged, twisting her body just enough to avoid a direct hit, but she wasn''t fast enough. A clawed paw lashed out mid-motion, raking across her thigh with a wet, brutal rip. She stumbled, a sharp curse escaping her lips as blood poured freely down her leg and pooled on the frozen stone and mud. The gash was deep and her knee almost buckled under the pain. A normal person would have collapsed. But not Echinda. She was a mercenary band leader with years of experience across hundreds of battles. Gritting her teeth, she planted her feet, shifting her stance even as the dire wolf snarled and charged again. "Oh, fuck off-" She ducked low, barely slipping under another brutal swipe, then flipped her knife in her grip and drove the blade straight into the beast''s front leg. The wound wasn''t fatal, but it was deep, and the dire wolf reeled back with a piercing howl, fresh blood splattering against the stone floor. Chael didn''t hesitate. He moved as soon as he saw the opportunity. Before the beast could recover and before it could shift its weight to attack again, he rushed forward. His entire body screamed at him to stop, to pass out - but he ignored it. With what little strength he had left, he threw himself at the beast. The dire wolf turned sharply, sensing his movement, but it was too late. With a brutal and powerful wrestling, he got on top of the beast and his instinct completely took over. What happened next completely dumbfounded even Echinda. Chael opened his mouth and gnashed his gaws down on the beast''s throat. His eyes were frenzy with rage and his teeth sunk in deep. The dire wolf howled in pain, and Chael pull himself up with all his might, a piece of the wolf''s throat quivering and twitching his jaw. It''s blood ran down his mouth like a fountain but he didn''t care and pieces of it''s raw flesh stuck between his teeth. He sunk his teeth into the beast''s throat again feeling it''s warm flesh and blood gushing into his mouth, and teared off another yet another piece. He did this several more times until the beast no longer moved. The corpse lay sprawled on the ground. Its glowing eyes flickered one last time before fading into lifeless emptiness. Chael staggered back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had never done something this insane before but here he was, just having bitten a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm to death. The beast''s body twitched one last time before going completely still. For a moment, there was only silence. Then- A sharp, burning pain erupted in his side. His vision blurred as his knees buckled beneath him. A ragged, pained grunt left his lips as he glanced down at his side. And saw the blade buried deep in his flesh. The knife he had sent over to Echidna. His breath shuddered. His fingers twitched. "You wench" A sharp laugh echoed from behind him. She was grinning, her silver eyes glinting with satisfaction, her injured leg still shaking slightly, but she looked far more alive than he did. "Oh, come on," she teased, tilting her head. "Did you really think I''d let you walk away after all this?" She yanked the knife out with a brutal twist, and fresh pain ripped through Chael''s body, stealing his breath for a moment. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "You should''ve taken my offer to join us, y''know." She said with a smile, "We''re pretty nice once you get to know us." His hand clamped over the wound, warm blood spilling between his fingers, but he refused to drop. "Unfortunately, the offer is off now." Echidna took a slow step forward, flipping the now bloodied knife in her fingers, then pressed the cold steel against his throat. "Now, let''s wait for the boys, shall we?" she said sweetly, her lips curling in amusement. "They''re quite adept at tracking," she continued mockingly. "Even in these conditions." Chael''s eyes flickered. He knew exactly what she meant. The Black Storm was raging outside and no sane person would be able to track footprints through that hell. His eyes moved down to the the gash on her palm. He had noticed it before - after dragging her here. But at first he had assumed it was from her other injuries on his reckless journey here. But that wasn''t the case at all. Echidna had cut her own hand back at the hideout while Chael held her at gunpoint. She had been bleeding on purpose and left a bright red trail on the pure white snow. His jaw clenched. His breath slowed. He still felt the pistol he has hidden in his waistband. The wind howled through the cave entrance, the storm outside raging on. Chael knelt in the pool of his own blood, his breath shallow, a fresh wound in his side, and a knife pressing against his throat. Echidna''s grip was firm, her smirk sharp as the blade against his skin. "You played us real nice back at the hideout, princess. But your waltzing ends here." Soon, the sound of boots crunching through the snow at the entrance of the cave echoed into their ears. The swirling white parting just enough to reveal dark figures moving toward the cave. Mongrel''s Vow. Only a handful. Chael counted maybe ten or eleven with his blurry vision. The rest had probably stayed behind at the hideout, but these men were the ones who had tracked him through the storm.. Merken, whistled low as he stepped inside, shaking the frost off his shoulders. His eyes trailed over the dead dire wolf, then to Chael kneeling there, bleeding and at Echidna''s mercy. "Well, well," Merken drawled, grinning like a jackal. "Look at this shit." Garren nudged the dead beast with his boot then gave Chael a deathly look, "Damn shame. I''d love to tear you apart right now but you look like you''d die from a scratch." A few of them laughed, stepping deeper into the cave. Chael could feel their eyes on him, hungry with mockery and satisfaction. "Thought you were tough, huh?" one of them sneered. "Big, bad Ashwara chief?" Chael''s breath was slow, controlled. His fingers twitched slightly, but he stayed still. Another mercenary, a lanky bastard reeking of alcohol, grinned. Chael recognised him as the man who had gotten into a fight with Merken, and had an alcohol bottle smashed on his head. "Bet he cried when you turned the situation against him, eh, Echidna?" Echidna tilted her head, her silver eyes glinting with amusement. "He whined a little," she said casually, pressing the knife a little deeper against his skin, just enough for Chael to feel the sting. They laughed. Instead of despairing at his predicament, Chael''s lip curled as he analysed their positions. "Laugh while you can." Their smirks faltered. "Because the only thing waiting for you here" His left hand moved. Fast. Too fast for them to react. His hand shot into his belt and pulled out Echinda''s pistol. She had only kept the knife against his neck as a threat so he wouldn''t move, but they both knew she wasn''t going to kill him here. Her eyes widened in shock, her grip loosening for just a fraction of a second. She looked ahead and her eyes widened in horror. "Move!!!!" Echinda screamed at her fellow mercenaries, but it was too late. BANG! Before any of them could move, Chael fired. Not at them. At the ground beneath them. The Cinderfoil Leaves he had scattered at the cave''s entrance when he got here. The moment the bullet struck, the pile of scattered leaves ignited in a violent explosion of flame. FOOOOM! Fire erupted at the cave entrance, a wave of searing heat consuming everything in its path. The mercenaries barely had time to scream. One of them - the mercenary who had been doused in alcohol from his earlier fight went up like dry grass. His entire body ignited instantly, flames crawling up his arms, his face, his chest. "AAAAAAGGHHH!" He staggered back, screaming, clawing at his own burning flesh, but it was too late. The fire spread fast, crawling along the cave floor, catching on clothing, hair, boots The Mongrels screamed, stumbling away. It all happened in the span of a single second. Using her shock to his advantage, Chael pushed Echinda back with what little strength he had remaining and twisted, slamming his elbow directly into Echidna''s injured thigh. Her body seized, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as the pain stole her balance. In the same motion, Chael shoved her off him, sending her stumbling back just as another mercenary rushed past, already on fire. Echidna hit the ground, cursing and clutching her leg. And just like that Chael had disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Chapter 10鈥擜 Shadow Chael bolted deeper into the cave, his body screaming in agony, but he didn''t stop. His breath tore through his lungs and his legs burned with every step. The stab wound in his side throbbed and his broken fingers barely able to curl into a fist. His arm hung limply at his side, useless, broken beyond repair. He was running on nothing but instinct now, his body long past its limit. Behind him, the flames roared, wild shadows dancing across the walls. Most of the Mongrel''s Vow had now gotten out of the fire besides an unfortunate two or three that burned to death. Some had dropped, rolling desperately to smother the flames while others had managed to escape unscathed, their boots pounding against stone as they chased after Chael. Garren''s furious voice cut through the chaos. "Get him!" The mercenaries surged forward as their heavy steps echoing through the twisting tunnels. Echidna, still clutching her bleeding thigh, gritted her teeth as she watched them go. Her breath came fast and frustration flashed across her face before she let out a low curse. "Idiots! Don''t just rush in-" But they didn''t hear her and chased after Chael while completely blinded by rage. With a snarl of irritation, Echinda pushed herself up and followed. Chael kept running, deeper and deeper into the unknown. His vision blurred at the edges, the cavern stretching endlessly before him. The air was damp and silence pressed in, devouring the sound of his own footsteps. The deeper he went, the more the tunnel seemed to swallow him whole, wrapping him in its suffocating darkness. He should have been afraid right now. Any sane person would be. He was running blind into the abyss, into a place where no light reached, where creatures older than human memory could be lurking in silence. But neither, nor hesitation, nor human instinct that screamed at him to turn back around came. Because in this moment, for the first time in his life - he was free. Not just from his captors. Not just from the Mongrel''s Vow. From everything. The burdens, the responsibilities and the chains that had bound him since birth were gone. His life had been one long march of obligation and of expectations placed on his shoulders before he was even old enough to understand them. He had never been given a choice and he had been born into a the clan and raised as a chief before he had even become a man. A slow grin spread across his lips. His chest burned with exhaustion and his limbs barely held him up but none of it mattered. If he lived, so what? If he died, so what? It was all the same. If a beast that had been hiding in the shadows suddenly clawed his head off, he''d be perfectly fine with it - after all at least he was dying on his own terms. Behind him, the shouts of the Mongrel''s Vow grew distant, drowned out by the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears. He could hear their fury and their desperation but they didn''t matter. Nothing seemed to matter at this moment did at this moment. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Because this was the closest thing to freedom he had ever known. As he stumbled across the cave tunnel in pure darkness, he heard it again. "...You... the reflection... what... will be..." Chael''s eyes narrowed in exhaustion. This time Chael was sure it came from the back of his own mind. There were no echoes to this muffled, unintelligible and ancient-sounding voice whatsoever. It sounded like someone was talking to him from under the water. ''Yeah, I''m loosing my mind, alright?'' Chael said as he trudged forth, his boots stomping on the stone floor, ''I probably won''t live long enough to see it through though.'' Suddenly, the ground wasn''t there anymore. One moment, Chael was sprinting forward and the next his foot hit nothing but empty air. His stomach lurched as gravity seized him and yanked him into the abyss. The world twisted violently around him, stone walls flashing past, jagged rocks scraping his skin as his body flipped and rolled through the darkness. A sharp impact slammed into his ribs knocking the breath from his lungs. Bam. He crashed hard against the cavern floor, rolling from the sheer momentum before slamming into a rock wall. The pain was instant and all-consuming, like fire spreading through every nerve in his body. His ribs ached with sharp, stinging pain. It was probably cracked again. His broken fingers throbbed mercilessly and blood spill pooled beneath him from the wound Echinda had inflicted with her knife. For a few long moments, he just lay there and tired to catch his breath. But the air down here was thin. It was barely breathable. His chest tightened and his lungs struggled to pull in even the smallest gasp of air. Every inhale felt like dragging a blade against his ribs. It wasn''t just the lack of oxygen - something was wrong. This wasn''t just another cavern. This place felt... different. Small vestiges of light peeked through tiny cracks in the ceiling above, their dim glow barely illuminating the space. The cavern stretched outward, vast and suffocating, yet the darkness seemed thicker than it should have been. The air itself felt alive and heavy, like it was pressing in around him. It was silent. Not the peaceful kind of silence... but complete silence. No distant echoes of dripping water. No skittering of unseen creatures. Not even the distant howling of the storm above. It was completely dead. Chael exhaled slowly, his breath feeling like it barely carried beyond his lips. He forced himself to move, to push up from the cold stone, but his limbs felt heavier than they should. His body was wrecked but something about this place made it worse. Suddenly, Chael felt a shadow shift. His breath caught. It wasn''t just the darkness moving. Something was watching him. He wasn''t alone. A presence loomed from the depths of the cavern, where the light didn''t reach. He didn''t see eyes nor did he see it''s form. He just about made out a shape. For the first time since falling, something colder than the air crept into his bones. The shadow shifted again, as if it was coming closer. A twisted sense of irony rose at the edge of his thoughts. Funny. After everything, after surviving what should have killed him a hundred times over, maybe he really was about to die here - in the belly of something he didn''t even have a name for. And yet, a small, bitter smile pulled at his lips. There was something freeing about it. The idea that this was it. That he had outrun every hell thrown his way, only to meet his end in the unknown. Not at the hands of men who wanted to control his fate, but on his own terms, against something no one would ever know existed. For so long, he had survived purely out of spite. Every step forward, every breath he had taken, had been an act of defiance against the world which was trying to drag him down. He should have died with his clan. He should have died in Enir-Ilim. He should have died back at that cave, or in the storm, or beneath the weight of his own wounds. But he hadn''t. And maybe that had been the joke all along. Not that he was destined for something greater but that he was never destined for anything at all. That he had lived and continued living purely because he refused to let the world take him. And now? Now, maybe he was ready to stop running. He sat there, back against the stone, staring into the abyss, waiting for whatever it was to make its move. And soon, a hand that was long and twisted with far too many fingers came into the light. It reached for Chael. Then- A distant sound broke the silence. "Where the fuck did he go?" The shadow froze. Bootsteps and loud voices soon echoed through this cavern, and soon, the several mercenaries who were chasing him fell one after the other into this pit. Chapter 11鈥擲piteful Laughter The darkness shifted. At first, it was subtle as if it was just a trick of the light. it was a mere a ripple in the shadows, the kind that made men second-guess their own senses. But Chael felt it. Something moved beyond the edges of the dim cavern. The weight of the air changed, thickening with something unseen but suffocating and pressed into his chest like unseen hands. His breath slowed. A shape stirred in the blackness. Chael''s heart hammered against his ribs, his body tense and his instincts screaming at him to move. But he didn''t move. He barely breathed. He stayed frozen with eyes locked on the shifting void in front of him. Then, it emerged. The first thing to breach the dim light was a hand or, at least, something that resembled one. It was too long, too thin, clawed fingers dragging across the cavern floor with a slow, deliberate scrape, like it was savoring the feeling of stone beneath its nails. Then came the wings. They were tattered, blackened things that stretched too far and brushed against the cavern walls as if they were feeling their way forward. Finally, its head came into view. Chael''s stomach twisted. It was grotesque and elongated - almost human in shape but unmistakably wrong. Its skull was smooth, featureless, except for two deep slits where a nose should have been. No eyes. No mouth. Just an empty face, peering into the world without seeing. But Chael knew that it could see. Just not with it''s sight. A slow, rasping inhale filled the cavern as if it was tasting the air. The massive frame hunched lower and its entire body quivered. The cavern itself seemed to shudder around it, as if the beast''s presence warped reality itself. Chael knew this thing. A Veyrith. The Screeching Death. A creature whispered about in old northern tales, the kind of horror meant to keep children inside at night. No one hunted them nor did they try to fight them. Even the highest-ranked Veiled Harbingers would rather avoid them altogether. Chael''s fingers curled into fists and his nails dug into his palms, but he didn''t move. Then, someone did. "Ouch, what the fuck, man. I didn''t see that fall coming at all." "Of course. We rushed blindly into the dark looking for that bastard! Where the hell-" The mercenary stopped talking and he simply stared at the create not too far of him in sheer horror. The remainder of the Mongrel''s Vow beside Echinda made their way down to the pit. "Dumbasses, watch where you''re-" Garren was just about to finish his sentence when he saw the creature under small fractures of light coming from above. "What the fuck..." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. A second stretched unbearably long, the entire cavern holding its breath. Then, it screeched. It wasn''t just sound it was a force. The very air shuddered, the cavern walls trembled, and Chael felt it slam into his ribs like a physical blow. It rattled his skull, sent a sharp, piercing pain straight through his bones, made his vision blur at the edges. The mercenaries around him weren''t as lucky. Some staggered back while others fell to their knees, clutching their ears as the sound tore through them. But the Veyrith didn''t wait. The instant its screech ended , it moved with inhuman speed. The first mercenary barely had time to react before claws tore through his torso. Blood splattered across the stone as his body was ripped apart in one clean motion, his severed halves hitting the ground with a sickening splat. Another man tried to retreat, his sword half-raised, his face twisted in terror but he didn''t even finish his swing. The Veyrith whipped around, moving like a shadow, its skeletal wings folding as it slammed its entire weight into him. The mercenary was thrown against the wall with such force that his bones shattered on impact. His lifeless body slid down the rock and left a smear of red in its wake. The rest tried to fight but it didn''t matter. They spread out, surrounding it, weapons drawn, eyes filled with desperation but the Veyrith was erratic. It crashed against the walls as it moved. It was reacting not to sight but to the tremors in the air. One swung a blade and missed. The Veyrith dodged, then retaliated. A claw sliced through armor and flesh alike, cutting the man down instantly. Another tried to fire a crossbow, but the moment his fingers twitched on the trigger, the beast turned on him. Before he could even loose the bolt, it lunged with it''s teeth tearing into his throat, ending him in seconds. **** Chael sat against the cavern wall, watching the massacre unfold with a slow, creeping grin. And he laughed. It started as a quiet exhale, barely more than a breath, but it built from a low, sharp, bitter chuckle then to a louder, raw, unhinged laughter. He laughed at the mercenaries who thought they had control over him. He laughed at his clan that had perished without him. He laughed at the storm that had tried to swallow him whole. And most of all - he laughed at his own fate. Soon another set of bootsteps echoed into the cavern desperately. Echidna. She had finally caught up. Her breath was ragged, her face pale as she staggered into the cavern, taking in the carnage. Her silver eyes locked onto the Veyrith, now circling its last two victims, wings twitching, claws dragging against the stone floor. Her breath hitched. "No..." For the first time since he had met her, Chael saw it - real fear in her eyes. Echidna had seen men die before. She had killed more than she could count. But this? This wasn''t a fight. It was slaughter. Merken barely had time to scream before the Veyrith ripped him apart, its claws sinking into his torso and tearing through flesh and bone like it was nothing. His blood sprayed across the stone in a sickening wet sound that filled the cavern as what was left of him collapsed in a heap of gore. Garren was the only one left. The cavern shook violently as another section of the wall collapsed in a deafening roar. Dust and stone came crashing down and sealed off the entrance completely. There was no way out now. Echidna staggered back, her body rigid as her breath came in quick, sharp gasps. The Veyrith turned toward her, its head tilting at an unnatural angle, sniffing the air. Its fanged maw twitched, hollow sockets locking onto her despite its blindness. A primal fear gripped her spine. The kind that made her blood run cold and made her body refuse to move. Her mind screamed at her to run but her legs wouldn''t listen. Then a hand grabbed her. Garren. He shoved her forward, his massive form blocking the beast''s path. "Run!" he roared, swinging his axe with everything he had. "There might be a pathway up ahead!" The Veyrith lunged. The last thing she saw before turning to flee was Garren''s axe clashing with the beast''s claws and the collision causing a violent explosion of force reverberating through the cavern. She didn''t wait to see the outcome. She ran. She hated it. She wasn''t someone who fled and abandoned her own. She had fought alongside her men in the worst of times and had stared death in the face and laughed. But this was different. This thing wasn''t just strong. It was something else entirely. Something that wasn''t meant to be fought, only survived. Garren had given her a chance to live so she took it. She ran past the bodies with her boots sloshing over the shallow pool of blood and deeper into the darkness - toward the sound of laughter. Chael''s laughter continued. He was still slumped against the wall, still bleeding and still grinning. His lips were split and his skin pale from blood loss, but his expression was one of pure amusement. Chapter 12鈥擨 Permit You To Take My Life Echidna''s breath caught as she turned back just in time to see Garren''s final moments. For a second, it looked like he was holding his own. He fought like a man with nothing left to lose, his axe flashing in wide, brutal arcs, forcing the Veyrith back. But it wasn''t enough. It was never going to be enough. The Veyrith tore through him like he was nothing. One second, Garren was standing, swinging with all the force of a desperate man. The next, his entire body jerked violently as the beast''s claws sank into his chest. The impact sent him flying against the cavern wall like a broken doll, his axe slipping from his fingers as blood trailed through the air. He crumpled to the ground. Echidna felt her throat tighten. Her fingers twitched, but she didn''t move, didn''t scream, didn''t do anything. It was over. It was just her now, trapped in a cave with this vicious beast and a madman. She turned to Chael, her chest still heaving from exhaustion and her pulse still hammering in her ears. He was sat with his back against a boulder, his entire body ruined, and yet, he looked completely at peace. The Veyrith turned toward them and tilted its grotesque head. Then it sniffed the air. Its jagged claws clicked against the stone as it took a slow step forward. It was done playing. It had killed every other moving thing in this cavern. Chael was next. And still, he did not move beside the shaking of his chest from his furious laughter. Finally, his laughter died down to a chuckle and then soon, a slow, cold grin stretched across his lips and there was something sharp and unbreakable behind his eyes. He lifted his chin slightly and straightened his posture as if standing to greet an old friend. And then he opened his arms. "I permit you to take my life." His voice was raw and hoarse from laughter, but there was no fear in it. Echidna''s breath hitched. ''What the hell is he doing?!'' He grinned with hellbent insanity as he watched the Veyrith lunge toward him, its massive form blotting out the dim light. He closed his eyes. It was the last act of a man who had nothing left to lose. Then he heard it again. "You are the reflection of what was and what will be!" The voice wasn''t a whisper this time. It sounded like a command. Almost as if it was an undeniable force that filled every inch of his mind. It vibrated through his very bones. It wasn''t just sound. It was something more and it resonated with his existence itself, almost like it had always been there and was waiting for him to hear it. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. His body seized and the weight of the words crashed into him like a tidal wave. His vision darkened at the edges and his limbs went numb. Chael blacked out completely. **** When he opened his eyes, the world was wrong. Everything was cast in an unnatural purple glow and the very air was thick and humming with something unseen but present. It was like the entire space was breathing. Chael was lying on a cold stone, but when he tried to push himself up, pain shot through his body. It appeared that his wounds were still there. That was the first thing that felt off. If he was dead and this was some kind of limbo on his way to the afterlife, shouldn''t the pain be gone? His body still ached, his ribs still felt fractured, and his fingers still refused to move properly. The stab wound in his side throbbed in sync with his heartbeat and every breath felt like dragging knives through his chest. This wasn''t death. Chael was sure of it now. Chael forced himself to stand. Crystals jutted out from the earth like jagged spikes - some as small as his hand, others towering over him like ancient monuments. They were all mirrors. Because when he looked into them, there was no reflection of himself. They reflected everything else in front of them - just not him for some reason almost as if they refused to acknowledge his existence. A chill ran through him, but he ignored it. His gaze lifted to the sky, and that was the second thing that felt off. Two moons hung above him, glowing with the same eerie purple light that bathed the landscape. They looked impossibly close, their surfaces cracked like old stone, radiating a faint pulse like a heartbeat. The sight sent a strange unease crawling up his spine. This place wasn''t real. And yet, it was. He began walking. There was no direction, no clear path, just endless stone, and mirrored spires reflecting everything but him. Every step echoed unnaturally, the sound swallowed too quickly by the vast emptiness. His wounds still burned, but they no longer felt like they belonged to the world he had left behind. Like they were echoes of pain rather than real injuries. Then he saw it. A gate. It stood alone. I gave an ominous and foreboding aura. its towering frame was made of obsidian-like stone and it was carved with shifting patterns that seemed to move when he wasn''t looking directly at them. The top curled into jagged points, almost spiked like a crown, and across its surface, veins of violet light pulsed faintly. It looked somewhat alive. The entrance itself was concealed by a veil of thin, fog-like mist. Chael exhaled, steadying himself. His hands twitched at his sides, aching, but there was no turning back. He had no idea where he was or why he was here, but there was one undeniable truth. He hadn''t been given a choice. And whatever was beyond that gate was expecting him. Chael let out a deep sigh and walked through the veil. **** Stepping through the gate, Chael found himself in an empty courtyard. The air felt heavier here as if it was thick with something unseen and ancient. The sky above remained the same. The two massive purple moons hung low, their eerie glow drenching everything in violet light. The strange mirrors lined the courtyard walls and like before, they reflected everything except him. He saw an altar at the center of the courtyard. Chael took another step forward. And a surge of power slammed into him like a tidal wave. His entire body seized, his breath hitching as an overwhelming force spread through his veins. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Not strength from training. Not the rush of adrenaline in battle. This was something, completely unnatural to him. For a moment, even his pain had vanished. The agony in his broken arm, the burning throb of his gunshot wound, the deep ache of his shattered fingers - all of it dulled beneath this newfound energy. He felt stronger than he ever had before. Stronger than he had any right to be given his condition. His eyes widened in shock. "The hell?" He turned around, looking back toward the gate he had walked through. But it was gone. Not just closed. Not just hidden. It was gone like it simply did not exist and it was as if he had always been in this courtyard. Chael took a step back, staring at the empty space where the gate should have been. His heart pounded in his chest. A realization crashed into him like a hammer to the skull. "This this is the Veiled Realm." It wasn''t just some fever dream. It wasn''t an illusion. He had stepped through a veil - and now he was here. As a Harbinger. Chapter 13鈥擬ay Your Own Hand Deliver Your Ruin The thought made his stomach twist. His hands clenched into fists as the unfamiliar power still coursed through him, refusing to leave. He let out a slow breath, his lips curling into a dry, humorless smirk. "Veiled Realm?" His voice was quiet, almost disbelieving. Then his smirk dropped, his expression darkening. "Of course. Of course, even after everything, I''m still a pawn in someone''s game," he muttered, his voice filled with bitter amusement. He turned back toward the courtyard, exhaling sharply through his nose. No god appeared before him. No celestial being whispered words of fate into his ears. There was nothing. Only silence. Only the moons. And the altar. Chael''s gaze flicked back toward the centre of the courtyard toward the single stone structure which stood alone beneath the violet sky. It wasn''t large, barely waist-high, and made of the same dark, obsidian-like stone as the gate had been. Strange runes were carved along its surface which glowed faintly with a soft white light, pulsating like a heartbeat. Something about it felt wrong. Not dangerous or threatening. Just wrong. Like it shouldn''t exist. Like it had always been there, waiting for him, and him alone. Chael exhaled sharply and started walking. His boots made no sound against the smooth stone beneath him. The closer he got to the altar, the more he noticed something strange. The far end of the courtyard was supposed to have another gateway. It was bigger than the first. More massive and towered everything and was sealed off by another swirling veil of fog. He had seen it the moment he arrived. But no matter how much he walked- It never got any closer. But the altar did. He continued walking and the altar got closer and closer but the large gate opposite him stayed the same distance away from him. He wasn''t an idiot. If this was the Veiled Realm, then there was no doubt in his mind that beyond that gate was something else - something higher. The Ascended Realm. That was the natural order, wasn''t it? Veiled, Ascended, and then Eclipsed. If he passed through this gate, he''d probably find himself in another courtyard, another altar, and at the end of that courtyard, another gate leading even higher. The Eclipsed Realm was the second highest stage he knew of, though there were whispers of something beyond even them. But those were just rumors and half-truths passed between mercenaries and scholars who thought they knew more than they did. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chael had never met an Eclipsed Harbinger. He didn''t know how many even existed. But in the higher societies of Enir-Ilim? He was sure there had to be a few. His steps slowed as he reached the altar. He stared deeply at what was shown to him. The carvings on it were unfamiliar and the language ancient, but somehow he could understand it. "The Legacy of the Blind Prophet." The Blind Prophet, huh? Chael stared at the words for a long moment. "Just what the hell kind of deity chose me?" he muttered, shaking his head. Harbingers were chosen by remnants of gods long forgotten, long sealed away. They weren''t divine in the way most people imagined. They weren''t benevolent. They weren''t saviors. They simply were. And now, one of them had picked him. Chael let out a slow breath and lowered his gaze to the altar''s surface. An ancient-looking scroll rested there, its edges frayed, the paper yellowed with age. Something about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It felt alive. Still, he picked it up. The moment his fingers brushed against the parchment, a sharp pulse ran through his head. His vision blurred for a second, his surroundings darkening, as if the world itself held its breath. Then the words appeared. "The First Legacy of the Blind Prophet: Illusory Echo..." He couldn''t read them because they weren''t written in a language he knew. But somehow, he understood. "What seeks to strike shall falter, what dares to cut shall bleed..." The more he read, the wider his eyes became. Each line carved itself deep into his mind, embedding itself into his very being. His hands clenched around the scroll as the final words etched themselves into him. "...may your own hand deliver your ruin." A sharp breath left him. "What is this?" There were more words at the bottom and the more he read the more serious his face had become. This was an incantation gifted to him by The Blind Prophet. The power behind the incantation was unreal. He had never seen or heard of anything like it and he understood exactly what it did. And he understood the price. Or for better definition, a curse. It was said that all deities that roamed the Primordial Sea years ago were cursed at some point in time. What caused the curses and the eventual downfall of the deities remains a mystery, but it appeared that remnants of these deities that would cling to humans also brought with them a fraction of the deity''s curse. The curse would take effect once the Harbinger uses their deity''s legacy. A bitter chuckle left his lips. "Tsk. Such a horrendous curse for one stupid incantation." It was laughable, really. Just when he had finally reached the end of it all, when he was one step away from vanishing completely, some god had decided to throw one last responsibility onto his shoulders. And it didn''t come without a huge price to pay. He exhaled sharply, staring at the altar, at the words that had now been burned into his memory. "How about I go through with it anyway?" His lips curled into a smirk, empty and sharp. "I want to experience being a Harbinger at least once," he muttered, rolling his shoulders despite the lingering pain. "Then what if I kill myself? How funny would that be?" No fate. No destiny. No grand divine mission. He would take this power, use it once, and then throw it away just to spit in the face of whatever god had chosen him. The thought alone made him laugh. After having read through the entire scroll, Chael dropped to the ground, crossing his legs in front of the altar. The stone was ice-cold beneath him, but he didn''t care. His hands rested on his knees, fingers twitching slightly as he exhaled through his nose. Then, he closed his eyes. The moment he did The mirror world shattered. The moment the mirror world shattered, he was back. No time had passed. The bodies were still there and the walls still trembling. The Screeching Veyrith was still lunging toward him. It all happened too fast. The sheer speed of it distorted the air, a force so raw and violent that it sent sharp gusts of wind tearing through the cavern. Chael sighed as one single thought crossed his mind. ''I wish the last thing I saw was the beautiful gardens of Faer''lenis.'' he thought, ''Not this ugly creature in this shitty dark cave.'' With that, right as the creature was about to swipe his head off, a single thought flashed in his mind. ''What seeks to strike shall falter, what dares to cut shall bleed. May your own hand deliver your ruin...'' The world collapsed. His vision fractured. It was like glass breaking behind his eyes, like reality itself had been pulled apart and reassembled wrong. A ringing exploded inside his skull. Every nerve in his body seized, his skin turned ice-cold, and for a split second, he felt everything. Every reflection. Every angle. Every unseen thing. Then - Darkness. He had gone blind. Chapter 14鈥擝lind Seer Echidna barely had time to breathe. The Veyrith was too fast and it moved in a blur of claws and wings. Its entire body whipped forward like a thrown spear. She had already scrambled back knowing she was useless against something like that, and knowing Chael was about to die. Then a mirror appeared. It was small, almost fragile-looking, and formed right in front of Chael in the exact instant the Veyrith''s attack should have torn him apart. Blood sprayed across the cavern floor as its own attack was reflected onto itself. A deep, vicious gash opened across its throat, and blackened blood poured down its mangled chest. The impact sent it crashing against the cavern wall and shook the very foundation of the earth. The force of it knocked Echidna off her feet. A deep, guttural screech tore through the air. The beast was hurt, its hollow eyes burning with hateful rage as it staggered back up, wings shaking, claws twitching, ready to strike again. Echidna turned to Chael, her breath catching in her throat. He looked dead. His body was slumped, unmoving. Blood was pouring from his closed eyes. She had seen men wounded in battle before, had seen them stabbed, crushed, torn apart. But there was something about this - about the way his eyes bled and the way his face was completely slack that sent a cold chill down her spine. And yet, the power around him was much different. His presence somehow felt stronger and heavier. The Veyrith, bleeding, and furious, let out another deafening screech. It staggered forward, preparing to lunge but in that moment, the ceiling split open. A massive stalactite broke free from above, plummeting like a spear from the heavens. The beast barely had time to react before it was pierced through the chest. The weight of it crushed the already weak stone beneath, and in an instant, the ground gave way. Echidna barely had time to curse before everything collapsed beneath them. **** Chael felt himself fall for a really long time before he hit the water hard. The icy cold stole the air from his lungs instantly and pain seared through every nerve in his body. His limbs felt sluggish like he was sinking through oil instead of water. But nothing compared to the pain in his eyes. It was as if they were on fire like something had been ripped out of him, leaving only raw, exposed wounds in its place. Blood streamed freely from his closed lids and darkened the water around him. That''s right. This was the price. The First Gate of the Blind Prophet''s Legacy: Illusory Echo. And the cost? Blindness. Chael felt his body drifting deeper, his strength failing, his mind slipping in and out of focus. It was different from before. The cavern above had been suffocating, but this was a quiet kind of death. This was the kind of death he had yearned for, however, something deep in his mind decided that he wasn''t done yet. It was just a minuscule thought as he sunk deeper, but it was enough to make his fingers twitch. His body fought against the pull of the abyss and kicked upwards He was no longer just a broken warrior now. He was a Harbinger. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He forced himself up, struggling against the freezing water, kicking, pushing, and dragging himself toward the surface. When he finally broke through, he gasped. His lungs were burning and his entire body trembling from the cold. He dragged himself onto the cold stone, blood slowly still dripping from his eyes, and merged with the frost on the stone. He had cheated death yet again. If Chael had to count how many times he did so over the past week, from his ''trip'' to Enir-Ilim to this moment, it''d be impossible because he didn''t have enough fingers. He lay there for a while, his breath ragged and his body aching from head to toe. His eyes burned with a pain so intense it felt like fire had been poured into his skull, but he didn''t dare touch them. He could feel the blood still dripping from his lids, warm against his freezing skin. Eventually, he forced himself to move. It was slow and agonizing, and every inch of him protested, but he gritted his teeth and crawled forward. Blind. That was the first thing he had to accept. There was no more seeing in the way he always had. No more relying on his eyes to guide him. He was moving through pure instinct, his hands dragging against the cold stone, his body trembling from the aftermath of what had just happened. His palm brushed against something solid. A wall. He exhaled sharply, leaning against it, pressing his forehead to the damp rock as he let himself fully feel the pain. It was unbearable. It wasn''t just his eyes. His whole skull felt wrong, as if something had been ripped out of him as if his brain was struggling to adjust to a new reality. For a long while, he simply sat there, letting the pain consume him. Then, slowly, his fingers went to his black waistband. A habit of the warriors of the Ashwara Clan was that they always wrapped their midsections in a tight waistband before battle in case they were cut open and their organs tried to spill out before the fight was done. Chael unraveled his waistband and ripped a long piece of it off the edge. The fabric was warm with his body heat and damp with sweat and blood, but it was cleaner than anything else on him. He brought it up and tied it tightly over his burning eyes. The pain didn''t lessen. If anything, the pressure made it worse. But it was grounding. It reminded him that he was still here. Hours passed. Maybe. Time had no meaning in this place. The pain was still there, deep and throbbing, but eventually, it dulled. It was only then - when his mind was no longer drowning in agony - that he realized something. He could see. And he couldn''t. It wasn''t a vision in the normal sense. There was no color, no shape, and there certainly wasn''t any clear images. But he could perceive. Faintly and blurrily. The cavern above was broken, its jagged edges casting light down onto the water. And the water - the water reflected it. Chael could see the reflection. Not the world itself, but the world reflected upon the water''s surface. It was dim and faint. But it was there. "I thought fate was laughing its ass off when it made me an Unveiled, only to make me blind," Chael muttered, adjusting the black cloth over his bleeding eyes. "This isn''t so bad, after all." His words were half-hearted, but there was truth in them. The more he focused, the clearer his strange new sight became. It was still blurry and warped and barely usable, but he could perceive the cavern through the dim reflection on the water''s surface. Not perfectly, not even close to being as good as real vision but the vague, shifting outlines of stone, ice, and distant light were much better than being completely blind. But it was useless like this. If he wanted to rely on this strange ability, he needed more light. A thought struck him, and he slowly searched through the rest of his waistband, fingers searching through the damp folds until he found what he was looking for. Cinderfoil leaves. They were crushed and half-ruined from the water, but if they could still burn, that was enough. Carefully, Chael gathered them on the stone floor and reached for a loose rock nearby. With slow, precise movements, he struck stone against stone, sending tiny sparks over the crushed leaves. It took a few tries and soon he felt a small flame flickered to life. The moment it did, Chael froze. Because suddenly, he had another perspective. His breath hitched. He could see the fire. The place he was in. The jagged walls of the cavern. But not himself. His own body wasn''t there. Like the mirrors from before. Chael''s hands curled into fists. This perspective - it wasn''t from the fire itself. Slowly, carefully, he turned toward it, adjusting his focus. The reflection was coming from something nearby. His fingers twitched. He crawled forward, carefully feeling across the stone until his hand brushed against something cold, metallic, and broken. A spear. Or at least, what was left of one. The shaft was cracked, but the spearhead was intact. And when he turned it toward the fire- He could see through it. Clearer than before. The moment the fire''s glow hit the steel, it reflected the cavern back to him. The jagged walls, the distant dripping water, the ice clinging to the stone. The spearhead was acting as his eyes. Chael''s heart pounded violently in his chest. He turned his head slightly, adjusting the angle. His surroundings shifted as if he had a completely separate pair of eyes within the metal. "What the hell." He crawled back to the fire, still clutching the broken spear in his grip and his hands shaking. Because when he moved it and when he tilted it, shifted it, turned it to the side- He could see. The world bent and warped in its reflection, but it was there. He was connected to it. To mirrors. To reflections. And yet, even now, somehow his own body did not exist within them. The realization sent a shiver down his spine. Chapter 15鈥擶ake Up, Bitch Another two hours had passed. Chael had spent most of it adjusting to the pain in his skull and his newfound blindness, to the way his body felt both weaker and stronger than before. More than anything, he had spent that hour thinking. Thinking about what he had become. Thinking about what he had lost. Thinking about what the hell he was supposed to do now. He had always lived for spite rather than survival. And yet, here he was, still breathing and still standing despite every reason not to. Chael clicked his tongue and shook the thoughts away. His head was already aching pretty badly and now it was being amplified from his overthinking. He lifted the broken spear in his hands. It acted as both a weapon and his only guide. In these two hours, he was also moving the spearhead around and playing around with it from different angles just to get used to his new version of sight. He realized two things. The first one was that he could only see through reflections which were in his vicinity. Chael estimated that the vicinity ended at around fifty meters. Second and most importantly was that it was very difficult and disorientating and he had no idea how he was going to fight like this. His only hope was to get used to it as soon as possible. The wooden shaft of the spear was too short to be useful in a fight, but at least it had a sharp end and a reflective surface. That was all he needed for now. Crouching near the small fire, he lit the tip of the broken shaft and let the flames catch onto the dried wood. Slowly, they crawled upward, creating a tiny but steady torch. Perfect. Now he had both light and sight. Chael gripped the spearhead and stood up. His fingers adjusted the angle of the silver spearhead, tilting it left and right, scanning his surroundings through its dim reflection. It felt very strange and surreal, as if he like disconnected from his body and was seeing the world through someone else''s vision. Although that was pretty close to the truth. The images in the reflection bent slightly, warped along the metal''s edge, and stretched whenever the light shifted. Chael walked, carefully navigating the cavern floor. The ice beneath his boots was uneven, cracked in places where the stalactite and the dead Veyrith had shattered the ground. He could hear the faint drip of water, the cold air still thick with the stench of blood. He kept moving forward while sweeping the spearhead from side to side like a man testing the depths of a river. The world shifted within the reflection as jagged stone, distant icicles hanging from the ceiling like frozen fangs and even further down was darkness his makeshift torch couldn''t reach. Then he stepped on something soft and squishy. Chael frowned. ''Another one of those bastards'' corpses.'' he thought, and without hesitation, he kicked it aside. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But the moment he took a step forward- The reflection in the spearhead changed. It showed a human with silver hair. Chael''s entire body tensed and his head snapped toward the image. His grip on the spear tightened. It was Echidna. She noticed the faintest of shifts in her chest so he assumed for a moment that she was alive. Chael didn''t hesitate. He turned sharply in the direction of where she was and walked toward her with quick steady steps. When he reached her, he nudged her with his foot, but not before coldly saying, "Wake up, bitch." No response. He crouched down and brought the spearhead close to her face. Her clothes were torn, her silver hair matted with blood and dirt, and her entire body half-buried in the icy slush of the cavern floor. If she was alive, she was doing a damn good job of looking dead. Chael sighed. ''What a pain in the ass.'' He raised a hand and slapped her. Not too hard. Just enough to get a reaction. Nothing. He slapped her again. Still nothing. He let out a slow breath, then narrowed his eyes and slapped her a third time. This one was a little harder. No response. "Tch. She''s dead," he muttered. After all, unlike him, she didn''t fall into the lake. For a moment, he considered checking for a pulse but he realized he didn''t care as much. Just as Chael was about to sigh and move on, Echidna moved. Like a coiled viper, she lunged up from the ground, her body twisting as she brought a knife straight for his throat. If it had been the Chael from last night he would''ve definitely not have gotten away unscathed and might''ve even perished right there and then. But now? Now, her movement seemed laughably slow. His hand shot out and he caught her wrist with ease. Her fingers trembled as she tried to push the blade forward, but her strength was nothing compared to his now. Chael''s grip tightened and he twisted her wrist slightly until she let out a sharp hiss of pain. Then, just for good measure, he slapped her across the face. She hit the ground with a dull thud. "Try that again," he said coldly, "and I''ll turn you into a red smear on the ground." Echidna groaned, rolling onto her side, and cradling her wrist. Her silver eyes flicked up toward him. When she saw him, her eyes widened. His silver hair was damp and sat on his shoulders and his several strands of his fringe was stuck to his face. Chael''s skin was pale and looked very sickly, much more than before. And rightfully so. He hadn''t had anything to eat in over two days now and his body had been battered and thrashed. And now he was blind and his headache simply refused to go away no matter how much time passed. The thing that caught Echidna''s attention was his blindfold. It was black and was wrapped neatly around his eyes, but from beneath them, blood continued to trickle down slowly. Especially in nothing but dim firelight, it was a harrowing and terrifying sight. Her lips parted slightly, "...You''re blind." Chael didn''t respond. She sat up a little, rubbing her cheek where he had struck her. "And you caught me easily. Not to mention you sent that creature flying back..." she muttered, almost to herself. "So that means..." Again, he said nothing. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "You''re a Harbinger now, huh?" He remained still, expression unreadable. For a long moment, she just stared at him, her amusement slowly fading. Then, with a sharp exhale, she dropped her head back onto the ground, closing her eyes. "Great," she muttered. "That''s just great." Chael crouched beside her, resting his broken spear across his knee. "You done talking?" Echidna opened one eye. "Depends. Are you going to kill me now?" "If I was," he said flatly, "you''d already be dead." She snorted. "Then what? Keeping me around for entertainment?" Chael''s expression didn''t change. "Not exactly." He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. She winced, barely managing to stay on her feet, her body swaying from exhaustion. "I''m injured, asshole." "So am I." He turned her toward the darkness ahead. "Now walk." She blinked at him, then glanced at the cavern ahead. A slow realization settled in her eyes. Chael watched as the understanding dawned on her, as she put the pieces together. He was keeping her alive. It wasn''t because he cared or he didn''t have the heart to kill her, but because if something was waiting in the dark, it was going to eat her first. Her smirk returned, bitter and tired. "Using me as bait now?" Chael tilted his head slightly. "You not worth much else here." Her lips pressed into a thin line. Then, with a tired sigh, she turned forward and started walking. Chael followed, holding the torch-spear aloft, watching the world through the flickering reflections. They walked in silence. However, one question hammered Chael''s mind. If she didn''t fall into the lake like he did, how was she alive? Chapter 16鈥擮ops. The tunnel stretched on endlessly and twisted and narrowed at points which forced them to squeeze through jagged rock formations. The air grew colder the further they went and the moisture clung to their skin, soaking into their wounds. Echidna slowed her steps. She raised the torch slightly. Her eyes narrowed as the light illuminated a massive hole in their path. It was massive a hole in the ground on their path. She then turned slightly toward Chael. "Down is the only way. But there''s a creature there." Chael looked ahead and frowned, positioning the spearhead so that it reflected everything visible in the pit. But there was no creature. "I don''t see anything." Chael said, suspiciously, "If you''re playing some game, just know that I can snap you in half right here." Echidna frowned, turning back toward the pit. "I didn''t see one either, I just have a really bad feeling that-" She was about to say something else when they saw it. Down at the bottom and barely visible in the dim light, a dog crawled out from a hole in the wall. Given its appearance, it could hardly be called one, though. Its body was thin and malnourished with its ribs pressing sharply against its frost-covered skin. Its fur was patchy and white and blended almost perfectly into the frozen ground. It stood motionless, its dull, sunken eyes staring up at them. Its breath was misting faintly in the cold air. Something about it was wrong. It looked almost ghostly - like it had been trapped in this place for far too long. Echidna narrowed her calculating eyes. "It''s weak," she murmured, "We can kill it. But we''re in no condition to fight recklessly. If we- " Before she could finish, she felt something slam into her back. Her body lurched forward as the ground beneath her vanished and soon she was falling. The last thing she heard before hitting the ground was Chael''s voice. "Oops." Echidna hit the icy stone hard and the impact rattled through her bones. The air ripped from her lungs as she tumbled, rolling onto her side. Pain flared in her leg and her wounds screamed anew, but she barely had time to process it because right in front of her, staring menacingly was the dog. It let out a low, guttural snarl. Echidna froze. The creature moved first. It didn''t lurch forward like a normal beast. Instead, it t blurred, its limbs snapping unnaturally into motion and its thin, rotting frame surging toward her with unnatural speed. Echidna barely rolled aside before its fangs snapped inches from her throat. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. That was far too close. Her heart pounded violently as she kicked out on instinct, her boot slamming into its ribs. The creature skidded across the ice, but it barely reacted. It was all felt so wrong. The way it moved, the way its sunken eyes twitched, the way its body didn''t crumple like a living thing should. It was like a corpse refusing to die. Echidna scrambled onto one knee and her fingers desperately grasped for her knife but the creature was already lunging again. She barely raised her arms in time as claws tore through her sleeves. A hiss of pain escaped her lips, but she didn''t falter. Gritting her teeth, she slammed her knee into its stomach, using the force to shove it off her. She rolled to the side as it crashed down, its limbs twitching and its jaw still snapping even as it sprawled across the ground. It got back up. Its sunken, yellowed eyes locked onto her, its jaw twitching, like it was barely holding itself together. It lunged one last time. And before it could reach her, a spearhead with a flaming broken shaft buried itself in its skull. The beast stiffened mid-air and let out a violent jerk of its body, then collapsed at her feet with a sickening thud. Echidna sucked in a breath, her chest rising and falling fast as adrenaline still coursed through her veins. Then, a shadow dropped down beside her. It was Chael. He landed effortlessly as if he had simply stepped down from a ledge rather than having just kicked her into a pit. His posture was relaxed despite the black fabric wrapped tightly around his ruined eyes. He didn''t look at her nor did her acknowledge her. Instead, he stepped forward and gripped the shaft of the spear, and yanked it from the creature''s skull casually. Strangely. there was no blood. It was as if the creature wasn''t even alive in the first place but Chael didn''t think much of it "You absolute bastard..." Echidna growled in rage, still injured and shaken. Chael''s lips curled slightly in something mocking and cruel. "That''s for earlier." Echidna stared at him. For a moment, her mind blanked, then she remembered what happened some hours ago back at the cave''s opening, and how she had stabbed him. His expression didn''t waver and they didn''t even seem to hold an ounce of real malice. It was mocking yet indifferent like she was nothing more than an amusing inconvenience. Her body shook with anger. She wanted to hit him and wanted to throw him into a pit next to see how he liked it. But she knew down to her bones that she was absolutely helpless in the hands of a Harbinger. Echidna exhaled sharply through her nose and pushed herself up onto her shaky, wounded legs, and said with suppressed rage, "Whatever, Let''s keep going." They walked through this cave a little while longer. It was progressively getting colder and colder but they pressed on. The air grew colder and colder with each step, the icy stone beneath them making every movement feel heavier and sharper. The torch in Chael''s hand flickered weakly and cast stretched-out shadows against the cavern walls. Chael''s spearhead reflected nothing but endless stone, jagged formation, and the occasional glint of frost beginning to form on the ground. Still, something gnawed at the back of his mind. "How did you know?" His voice cut through the silence. Echidna frowned. "Know what?" "That the dog was there," he said. "You saw it before it even came." She grimaced, turning her head slightly as her silver hair fell all over her face. "Did I?" Chael stared at her. A long, drawn-out silence followed. Echidna didn''t elaborate nor did Chael press further. They continued forward, their breaths turning visible in the frigid air. The cold was almost unbearable now and the tunnel seemed to narrow. The frost thickened against the walls. Then a thin veil of fog ahead appeared. The moment they passed through it, a wave of freezing air crashed against them. Echidna sucked in a sharp breath, pulling her tattered cloak tighter around her shoulders. Even Chael, despite his Veiled-Harbinger constitution, felt the chill seep into his bones. But neither of them said anything. Because before them, stretching out under the dim glow of a pale moon, was something impossible. It was a city. It wasn''t ruins nor was it an abandoned husk of stone and ice. A vast, sprawling metropolis carved into the side of a mountain, its towering spires glowing faintly under the eerie sky. Thin streams of mist curled through the air, illuminated by countless lights lining the winding streets. Bridges of stone arched over frozen rivers, spiraling towers stretched toward the heavens, and layered rooftops jutted out in elegant, impossible formations. It looked like something out of a myth. It was something that should not exist here, buried beneath the ice. Echidna exhaled, her breath shuddering. "...Holy hell." Chael said nothing. But for the first time in a long while, he felt small. Chapter 17鈥擜 Mighty Dragon Echidna exhaled, her breath misting in the frigid air. Her silver eyes roamed the impossible sight before them, taking in the sprawling city of towering buildings and frozen bridges which was bathed in the eerie glow of the twin moons. It stood etched into mountains quite a distance away from them. "Where on the Primordial Seas are we?" she muttered under her breath, her voice filled with something between awe and unease. Chael remained silent. Because he had no answer. Growing up he had been taught the geography of Mirelia as that knowledge was one of the foundations of being a clan chieftain. He knew of almost all cities and major settlements within Mirelia, but this - this was completely foreign to him. "We might not even be in the Silver Expanse anymore." Chael sucked in a breath of cold air as he looked at the twin moons. The last time he saw twin moons was in that weird purple realm where in which he inherited the Blind Prophet''s Legacy. "How peculiar." Echidna followed his gaze to the twin moons with narrowed eyes, "I''ll take it a step further and say we might not even be in Mirelia anymore." "A sky with twin moons and a vast city buried in frost..." Chael muttered thoughtfully as he looked at the city that stretched out far beyond what their eyes could see, layer upon layer of ancient structures, interconnected streets, and towering statues half-buried in frost. The sheer scale of it was staggering. The city almost looked alive and yet utterly lifeless at the same time. "Did we accidentally enter some kind of portal?" Echidna said thoughtfully, "I thought those things were mythical." Chael didn''t respond, his gaze drifting beyond the edge of the stone path. Below, which was at least a fall of several kilometers, was another immense city sprawled across a white sheet of snow. He had almost not noticed due to just how far down it was. It had towering spires and ancient structures etched against the pale void. But even from this distance up, Chael could see a rolling white fog which seemed unusually thick and unnatural surging through the streets like a living thing and swallowing buildings and bridges in its relentless advance. Shadows flickered within the mist. They were distant movements, or perhaps tricks of the light, before vanishing into the choking whiteness. Within moments, the city was fading, consumed by the creeping shroud, leaving only silence and an eerie sense of something unseen watching from the depths. Chael''s grip tightened around the spearhead. "No way, it''s another city." Echidna exhaled. "...Yeah, I see it." They walked forward with their steps slow and careful. The path beneath them was carved from smooth, pale stone, winding along the mountainside which led them deeper into the heart of the unknown. The silence was absolute and there was no wind, no rustling movement and no signs of life. Just then, a shift in the reflection of his spear caught his perspective. Chael turned fast instinctively, his body already reacting before his mind fully processed what he had seen. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Echidna noticed immediately as well. But there was nothing. Or rather, the tunnel they had come from was gone, as if it had never been there. Echidna took a sharp step back. "What?" Chael''s expression darkened. "It''s gone." Echidna stared at the spot where their only way back had been, her lips parting slightly in disbelief. "That''s not" She stepped forward, running a gloved hand along the stone frozen stone. There were no cracks and no indication that there had ever been an entrance here at all. "That''s not possible." Chael''s fists clenched at his side. It didn''t matter if it was possible or not. It was real. Echidna turned toward him, her jaw tight. "Tell me you have some explanation for this." "That veil fog that we came through on our way here... might''ve been a portal after all," Chael said. He then shifted his grip on the broken spear and faced forward. "Or it might''ve happened earlier than that. At any rate, forward is the only way." Echidna took off her tricorn hat and dragged a hand through her tangled silver hair before she sat it back on her head. "Yeah. Figures." They continued walking for a while along the frozen pathway. Everything was so still and silent but for some reason, Chael was much more anxious here than when he had hunted in the frozen wastelands of the Silver Expanse. Chael''s grip was right on the spearhead. He wasn''t the only one feeling like this. The further they traversed into this place, the more unbearable the silence became for Echidna. After a while, Echidna''s frown deepened. "This place" Her voice was lower now and much more uneasy. "I''m getting a really bad feeling about it." Chael''s head tilted slightly at that. She also had a premonition back at the cave, right before the dog thing had appeared in the pitfall. He narrowed his eyes but didn''t press the subject. Not yet, at least. They walked in silence. Every step forward felt heavier as if the air itself was pressing down on them. The weight of something ancient settled over them like a curse. Not to mention the silence. Chael had spent his life in the frozen wilderness of the Silver Expanse, where blizzards howled and the wind was never truly still. But this was different. This was unnatural. It was the kind of silence that made the world feel dead. Echidna''s breath came out shaky, her arms wrapping tighter around herself. Then, a sound cut through the silence. It was low and barely perceptible at first but it grew. A distant, eerie screech that cut through the dead air echoed across the vastness of the frozen region. Chael and Echidna both stopped dead in their tracks and their bodies tensed instinctively as the sound grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. Soon, they saw it. A massive shadow swept from over the city below and blotted out the light of the twin moons. Chael''s grip on his spear tightened as his breath caught in his throat and Echidna stiffened completely, eyes wide. A white dragon. It soared past up past them and through the air, its enormous wings beating with such force that the sheer pressure of it sent gusts of frigid wind rushing down the frozen landscape below. Its pale, armored body stretched impossibly long, its scales glistening with the reflection of the moonlight. It was enormous. Chael had encountered his share of beasts before, but this was something else entirely. The dragon''s body moved with an unnatural grace and its presence was so overwhelming that every instinct in his body screamed at him to run. Echidna stood completely paralysed and her face was deathly pale. Chael gritted his teeth. This thing this was no ordinary beast. It was powerful. Far beyond anything he had ever faced. If he had to guess - it had to be at least a very high-ranked Ascended Harbinger - the kind of monster that entire armies would struggle to kill. They were standing directly in its path. The dragon let out another piercing shriek, but it did not descend. It didn''t even seem to notice them. Instead, its massive form continued in its path and disappeared beyond the rocky cliffs. The weight in Chael''s chest did not lift. He and Echidna remained frozen, both of them staring at the place where the creature had vanished. A long silence followed. Then, Echidna let out a sharp breath and laughed weakly. "Alright," she muttered with her voice shaky. "What a time to be alive." Chapter 18鈥擳he Treacherous Wretch The two walked in silence for a long time. The pathway led them through another veil of fog which was curling unnaturally in the freezing air as if it were breathing. At the next turn, kneeling on the frozen ground, was a withering, ghost-like figure. It didn''t move nor did it acknowledge them. It didn''t even seem aware of their presence. Its form flickered like something caught between worlds and its body was thin and draped in what might have once been ceremonial robes. It was now nothing more than tattered strands swaying in the cold. The figure was bowing. Its head was pressed to the stone and its hands clasped together in prayer. Though its voice was barely above a whisper, it somehow reached them with eerie clarity. "Please forgive our sins Lord of the Bleeding Moon" Chael and Echidna froze in place. "Oh, please forgive the blasphemy the treacherous wretch our clan brought upon this sacred land" The ghost trembled, pressing its head further against the stone, repeating the words over and over, its voice hollow and filled with despair. "Please forgive us, Lord Bleeding Moon" Echidna inhaled slowly and her fingers twitched toward her knife. "What the hell..." she murmured under her breath. Chael said nothing as his grip on the spear tightened and his pulse thrummed low in his ears. There was something very wrong about this. Not just the words or the presence of the figure itself, but the way it kept repeating the prayer like a broken echo. It was like it had been kneeling there for centuries, caught in an endless loop of regret and reverence. Beyond this figure, was some kind of a settlement. Chael''s spear reflected the pale light of the twin moons and showed stone structures layered over each other, built into the side of the mountain. They were connected by crumbling stairways and narrow bridges. The buildings were carved with intricate designs and were covered in frost and veiled by the mist, their windows hollow and empty. It looked empty yet not entirely lifeless at the same time. The ghost didn''t stop mumbling. "The wretch the treacherous wretch our clan our sins please please, Lord of the Bleeding Moon, forgive us" Chael and Echidna exchanged a glance. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Neither of them spoke, but the message in their eyes was clear, ''What the hell is this?'' Echidna stayed where she was with her fingers brushing the hilt of her knife, but she made no move forward. Her instincts told her not to go anywhere near it. Chael, however, ignored every instinct. Slowly, he inched forward. His grip tightened around the spear shaft and his breath was steady. The torch at the end of the broken shaft flickered against the mist. Every step he took made the air feel heavier and colder like the very ground beneath him was rejecting his presence. The figure kept speaking. "The wretch the wretch cursed be the treachery of that evil wretch" Chael stopped right beside it but the ghost didn''t react seem to react to him. It didn''t seem to acknowledge him at all. It just kept kowtowing, its skeletal fingers digging into the ice and its forehead pressing so hard against the stone that it looked as though it was trying to sink into the earth itself. Chael frowned. His foot lifted slightly then nudged the figure''s shoulder. His boot passed straight through the figure as if it were a mere illusion. The air rippled and just like that, the ghost was gone. Chael''s jaw clenched slightly as he stared at the empty space where it had been. The only thing left behind was the echo of its voice, fading into silence. Echidna finally moved, cautiously stepping up beside him. "That was creepy as hell," she muttered. Chael didn''t respond immediately. His blindfolded gaze lingered where the figure had been with his fingers still tight around the spear shaft. "It was either a ghost," he finally said. "or some type of illusion." "I caught on to that much." Echidna''s eyebrows furrowed and she folded her arms. "Just what could ''wretch'' and ''Lord of the Bleeding Moon'' even mean?" Chael turned slightly, facing her through the distorted reflections of his spearhead. "Sounds like he was still alive before this place turned into what it is now." Echidna clicked her tongue. The silence between them stretched for a moment before Echidna huffed, kicking a stray chunk of ice across the stone. "Well, whatever. Not like we''re gonna get more answers standing here." Chael turned his head toward the settlement beyond them, its hollow windows watching them like empty sockets in a skull. He exhaled slowly, "Let''s go." They walked forward, leaving behind the spot where the ghost had once knelt, its whispers now nothing more than a fading echo. The settlement before them loomed larger with each step, its towering stone walls jagged with ice, its rooftops layered and sweeping, built in elegant yet rigid formations. The architecture was unlike anything Chael had seen before. It wasn''t entirely foreign but at the same time, he wasn''t familiar with it either. The buildings were stacked atop each other in winding tiers, their sharp, sloped roofs glistening with frost, wooden support beams carved with intricate patterns that had long since begun to wear away under the weight of time. Some structures had collapsed inward, their walls shattered, leaving gaping holes where there were once homes. Others stood eerily intact, untouched by whatever disaster had turned this place into a graveyard. At the heart of it all, an enormous archway stretched over the main street, its entrance flanked by two statues of cloaked figures, their faces chipped and broken, their gazes fixed downward in silent mourning. Beyond the archway, narrow bridges connected different levels of the settlement, their railings adorned with thin, dangling wind chimes and yet no wind blew through them. Everything was still. So still it made the duo uncomfortable. Echidna gave a sharp exhale, hugging her arms against her chest. "I wonder how long we''ll be stuck here before we find a way back." Chael barely reacted and kept his pace steady. "What makes you so sure that we''ll find a way back?" She scowled at him. "I actually still have a reason to live unlike you." Chael didn''t bother responding. He adjusted the grip on his spear and shifted the angle slightly. The reflections of icy rooftops and broken lanterns flickered across the silver spearhead. It was still hard to make out details and the images in the reflection were hazy and stretched at the edges, but he could perceive enough to see where they were going. Chapter 19鈥擸ue Clan They walked through the main street, their boots crunching against the frost-covered stone. On either side of them, merchant stalls stood abandoned with their wooden frames half-rotted and fabrics stiff with ice. Some had bowls and plates still sitting out, their contents long gone. Others had old scrolls which were brittle and peeling, laid across polished wooden tables. Echidna reached out and tapped one of the bowls with her knuckle. It made a hollow sound. "This place looks like everyone just up and left," she murmured and tilted her head as she scanned the empty streets. Chael shifted his weight slightly. "Who knows? Maybe they didn''t leave at all." Echidna frowned at him. "That''s a comforting thought." They moved deeper into the settlement, the fog rolling in heavier and curled around the buildings like it had a will of its own. Somewhere in the distance, a faint chime rang out. It was a single note from one of the frozen wind chimes. The sound shouldn''t have been possible because almost everything here was clad in ice, and Chael was sure the chimes would''ve been no exception. Echidna stiffened but didn''t stop walking. The street narrowed ahead and led into what seemed like a courtyard. The area was lined with tall stone pillars - each one carved with swirling patterns of what might have once been moonflowers, their shapes barely recognizable under layers of frost. An altar stood at the center, its surface covered in what looked like old offerings - frozen fruits, vials of colored liquid, and delicate porcelain bowls arranged in a precise formation. Chael slowed. His fingers tightened around the spear shaft as he turned the spearhead slightly, scanning the area. The reflections showed nothing unusual. There were no movements and no figures. Just the ruins and the pale light of the twin moons overhead. But something felt wrong. "This feels like a graveyard." Echidna must have sensed it too, because she moved closer and kept her voice low. "It probably is." Chael didn''t like that answer. They walked past the altar, their boots silent against the frost-covered stone. Further ahead, a set of staircases led to different levels of the settlement which split off into separate districts. Some buildings were taller, marked with sigils above their doors, while others were smaller and clustered together like homes for the common folk. Chael glanced at the sigils. They weren''t readable, but he recognized it as the same language he came across in that strange purple realm. Except this time, he didn''t understand them. For some reason, it seemed that he only understood it there, and not in the real world. Echidna touched one of the carvings, brushing away the frost. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Some kind of clan marking?" she narrowed her eyes and looked hard at it. "Yue Clan?" Chael turned towards her slightly, "You can read that?" "I used to be an archaeologist." Echidna simply said, but her gaze grew heavier with each second that passed. "It''s a language called Shan''thura whispered by the deities that ruled the Primordial Sea several millennia ago. Echidna shot him a solemn look, "The most recent use of this language was found in the ancient catacombs of Enir-Ilim. And that was a thousand years ago." The silence hung heavier after Echidna''s words. A thousand years. This place had been thriving once, its people walking these very streets, whispering in a language that only the dead now spoke. And then it was simply gone. Chael exhaled slowly, his breath curling in the frigid air. His grip on the spear tightened. Ahead of them, the settlement split into two paths. One led east. Down a wide stone street, flanked by layered buildings, their rooftops curling at the edges like the temples of the old world. Bridges arched over narrow canals, frozen solid beneath the weight of time. This path led deeper into what remained of the Yue Clan''s domain. The other led north. It was toward what appeared to be a plain frozen expanse. They could just about make out a colonnade. Frozen Pillars holding up a roof of sorts stretched far beyond what they could perceive. The mist there was thicker, curling unnaturally around the ruins. Chael spoke first. "We go east." Echidna frowned. "Why?" He tilted his head slightly, the reflection of the streets shimmering in his spearhead. "It leads deeper into the city so there''s more to come across. Maybe we''ll find a way to get out." Echidna didn''t respond immediately. Instead, she turned her head toward the northern path and stared at the eerily broken pillars, and the swirling mist, and something in her posture tightened. "...I think we should go north instead." Chael turned to her, his blindfolded gaze unreadable. "And why would we do that?" Echidna pressed her lips into a thin line, then sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don''t know," she admitted. "I just-" She stopped, frowning deeply. Chael studied her. "Just what?" Echidna exhaled sharply through her nose, pressing her fingers to the bridge of it like she was fighting off a headache. "I don''t know. I just I feel like we shouldn''t go east." Chael remained silent, his grip on the spear shifting slightly. Right now, the logical thing to do - to avoid danger as best as possible would be to go north as that was a near-empty expanse with seemingly no beasts or monsters as far as their eyes could see. And towards the east, which led to the heart of this ancient clan, were countless structures, and who knew what horrors like that dragon had hidden themselves in there? Chael sighed and turned away from her, "We''re going east." Echidna scowled. "You really don''t listen to people, huh?" "No," Chael said simply, already walking. "I don''t." Echidna groaned but followed after him anyway. The mist curled behind them, swallowing the northern path whole. The silence stretched as they walked through the abandoned streets of the Yue Clan. There was no wind and no rustling movement. Only the soft crunch of their boots against the frost-covered stone and the distant creaking of old wood as the frozen structures settled beneath the weight of time. Chael''s grip on his spear remained firm and his blindfolded gaze shifted slightly as he tilted the spearhead from side to side, scanning their surroundings through the distorted reflection. Everything was still. Echidna walked a few steps behind him, her arms wrapped around herself as if warding off more than just the cold. "This place is massive," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. The Yue Clan''s domain wasn''t just a collection of abandoned homes. It appeared that it had once been a fortress. Tall watchtowers lined the streets and bridges connected different levels of the settlement, weaving through the air like frozen veins. But no matter how far they went, they saw nothing besides these ruins. Chael was starting to get bored about now. It appeared there were no dangers or monsters in this location but there was something very eerie about that fact. There were countless ruins and abandoned settlements in the Silver Expanse, but almost all of them were now crawling with beasts and other dangers. Perhaps there was a reason for why there weren''t any monsters here? Chapter 20鈥擶ere Going North Chael came to a stop at the base of one of the watchtowers, its wooden frame half-broken, its stone foundation cracked but still standing. "We''ll get a better look from up there," He said and tilted his chin toward the tower. Echidna glanced up at it, "Good idea." They started up the narrow stone steps. The staircase wound tightly around the tower''s outer wall, the frost-covered railing crumbling beneath his fingers as he ascended. Echidna followed behind, cursing under her breath every time the structure groaned beneath their weight. When they finally reached the top, they were met with a breath-taking, yet haunting sight. The Yue Clan''s domain stretched as far as they could see. Ancient pavilions and tiered mansions, their rooftops layered like the temples of forgotten gods, stood against the eerie glow of the twin moons. Bridges arched over what must have once been flowing rivers, now frozen solid. Some structures had collapsed, and their walls crumbled, leaving behind only empty husks of what they used to be. And at the heart of it all, there was a mansion. Larger than anything else in the city. It sat at the center of the Yue Clan''s ruins like a throne, its gates broken open and its towering pillars covered in intricate carvings of moons and flowing rivers. Chael stared at it, his grip tightening on the spear. "That must''ve belonged to their leader," Echidna muttered. "Or whoever was in charge of this place." Chael nodded slightly. That was their destination. But as he turned his head slightly and shifted the spearhead toward the north, his expression hardened. The colonnade was still there but it remained completely concealed in fog. Even from this height, they could barely see past a few dozen pillars before the mist swallowed everything whole. As he continued staring into the mist, he was brought to reality with a start as a thunderous crash resounded across the clan. The ground trembled violently, sending splintering cracks racing through the ice below. Echidna almost stumbled, cursing as she gripped the wooden railing for balance. Chael''s head snapped toward the mansion. And there, at its entrance - The white dragon. The same monstrous beast from before. It had crashed down in front of the massive gates, its enormous claws sinking into the frozen stone and its massive wings unfurled as it lifted its serpentine head toward the sky. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Even from this distance, its presence was suffocating. Chael''s lips curled into a bitter smile. Of course. Of course, it was here. Echidna grabbed his sleeve and yanked him down, pulling him lower into the shadows of the tower. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "It''ll see us!" Chael allowed himself to be pulled back, his body lowering behind the railing as he kept his head tilted toward the reflection in his spear. The dragon remained still, its piercing crimson eyes scanning the ruins as if searching for something. Echidna exhaled sharply, gripping her dagger tighter before turning to him with an expression full of irritation and something close to exasperation. "I told you we should''ve gone north," she muttered, glaring at him. Chael smirked slightly, "You did. You should''ve fought harder to convince-" Suddenly a shriek came. It was so piercing and raw that it felt like the sky itself was being torn apart. The sound slammed into them like a physical force, shaking the very foundation of the tower. Chael''s vision blurred as a violent ringing filled his skull, his hands flying to his ears in a desperate attempt to muffle the unbearable noise. The tower trembled beneath them. The city itself seemed to quiver as if recoiling from the sheer force of the sound. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, there was silence. Echidna, still recovering from the auditory assault, was the first to move. She peered through the wooden railing, then her breath hitched in her throat. Her entire posture stiffened and her fingers gripped the ledge with white-knuckled tension. Chael forced himself upright despite the lingering ache in his skull. "What-" His words died in his throat. The dragon was dead. Split in half. The same beast that had terrorized them before, the same monstrous entity that had descended upon the mansion like an apex predator, now lay as nothing more than a desecerated corpse. Its massive body had been cleaved clean down the middle as if it had been butchered in a single strike. Blood was everywhere. It filled the entire courtyard, pooling in the cracks of the ancient stone and even steamed faintly in the frigid air. And standing in the middle of it all what seem to be a knight. A knight would be an understatement. It was a monstrosity in armor. Towering at least eight feet tall, its entire form was encased in thick, jagged plates of black steel and what appeared to be black mist seeped out of the cracks in its armor. The helmet it wore was shaped like a demon''s visage with two massive, curved horns protruding from either side and where its eyes were supposed to be, two red slits burned with an unnatural, smoldering glow. And it was not alone. Beneath the monstrous knight stood an equally terrifying steed. It was a massive warhorse and it was black as night. Its muscles bulged beneath a coat of black silk draped over it. Its eyes were similar to the knights, with twin slots of searing crimson that burned with the same malevolence. Each breath it exhaled came as a slow, heavy snort of thick mist. Chael couldn''t breathe nor could Echidna. The two of them were frozen in place, utterly paralyzed as they watched in stunned horror. The knight held a thick greatsword made of jagged iron that was still dripping with steaming blood. Chael''s grip on his broken spear tightened as realization dawned on him. Two words rang in his mind. ''Eclipsed Realm.'' The Veiled Realm was where Harbingers were born. The Ascended Realm was where the strongest of them reigned. But above even that was the Eclipsed Realm - the kind of power that ruled entire nations and could turn armies into dust. And this thing had killed that monstrosity of a dragon without so much as a single clash. No wonder this city was empty. Not a single beast would dare to step foot here. Either they had fled, or they had been slaughtered. The knight sat atop its steed, motionless. It didn''t glance around nor did it didn''t react to the carnage it had caused. It simply loomed there like an ancient executioner. Its sheer presence was more terrifying than the dragon had ever been. Then, slowly, it turned. Chael and Echidna ducked instantly and pressed themselves flat against the tower floor. They held their breath and their bodies tensed as they dared not to move. Below, the knight paused. The eerie glow of its eyes burned through the mist, and for a brief moment, it felt as if it was listening. Then, without a word, it turned back toward the mansion. Each of its steps was slow and steady, the blood of the dragon sloshing under its boots as it disappeared beyond the ruined gates. For what felt like an eternity, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the dripping of dragon blood pooling onto the frozen stone. Chael exhaled, sucking in a slow breath of cold air. His voice came out quieter than he intended. "We''re going north." Chapter 21鈥擳he Foggy Colonnade Chael slowly pushed himself up from the tower floor with his muscles tense and his heart still hammering in his chest. Echidna exhaled sharply and shook her head in disbelief. "A dragon," she muttered. "The king of the skies. Just just like that." The knight''s steps had faded into the depths of the mansion, but the tension in the air remained palpable. Going anywhere near that mansion was a death wish. "Let''s go," Chael said simply, gripping his spear and turning toward the stairs. Echidna hesitated for half a second before following. Neither of them spoke as they descended the frozen steps, their movements careful, precise. Both of them were injured so movements that required a lot of effort like these steep and slippery steps put quite a bit of strain on their bodies. Once down, Chael pivoted and started back toward the northern path. Echidna huffed, quickening her pace to catch up. "So now you want to listen to me?" Chael kept walking. "I didn''t say that." "You didn''t have to." She shot him a look, finally having caught up. "What, suddenly that creepy mist looks more appealing than whatever monstrosity lay in that mansion?" Chael exhaled through his nose, "No. I just don''t want to end up like that dragon." Echidna let out a breathy chuckle. "So you do listen to reason." "Not yours." She rolled her eyes but didn''t argue. They both knew the truth. She had been right. The northern path may be unnatural and possibly crawling with unknown dangers, but that should also mean they wouldn''t come across anything that would make them feel hopelessly powerless. At least not on the same level as that knight. They walked in silence, retracing their steps back through the settlement. The streets were as empty and silent as before, the fog rolling lazily between the structures. Chael flicked his spearhead from side to side, watching the reflections for anything unnatural. Echidna''s posture hadn''t relaxed at all. If anything, she looked even more tense now than before. Soon they reached the split in the path once more. The east stretched before them - a vast city of ruins, temples, and watchful spires which all led back toward that cursed mansion. The north remained shrouded in mist. The colonnade stood tall, its countless pillars stretching into the unknown, their forms barely visible through the thick white fog. Without a word, he stepped into the mist with Echidna closely behind him. The first thing Chael noticed was a blur in his perspective. Of course. This was a fog after all. Though his vision was much more blurry, he could still make out the shapes of Echidna and the pillars. At the very least, he''d still be able to defend himself with what little he could make out. Several minutes into the path through the colonnade, voices entered his perception. It was similar to the ghost that they had encountered when they first entered the Yue Clan''s territory. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Soon enough, Chael saw a blurry figure on their path. A wispy shape flickered against the pale mist, its form barely distinguishable from the fog itself. It was on its knees and it rocked back and forth with its hands clutched to its chest that had long since withered away. Its voice was quiet and trembling. "The Saintess of Carnage the scion of the Yue Clan... She hasn''t perished. Oh, she has fooled us! She walks among us still bathed in the curse of the sacred one" Chael''s fingers curled around the shaft of his broken spear. Saintess of Carnage? The name meant nothing to him, but the weight of reverence and the sheer contradiction in its meaning made him awe-struck. Before he could dwell on it, another voice rasped through the cold. "The sentinel that Hellfire Sentinel He walks again He will not stop He will not die He will not rest We will all perish beneath his blade We will all perish" Echidna stiffened beside him, and Chael''s face too grew solemn. ''Sentinel? Hellfire Sentinel? They all perished under his blade?'' "It must be talking about that monstrosity guarding the mansion..." Echidna finished his thought. "Just what the hell happened in this place?" Chael furrowed his brows in thought and continued walking. And then, a third voice which was filled with bitterness, rage, and sorrow appeared. Though this voice was vastly different from the others. Echidna''s breath hitched. "The Lord of the Bleeding Moon He has forsaken us He has forsaken the Crucible of Light...The sacred land of Nytheril is abandoned Cursed be his name Cursed be his blood Curse him curse him curse all of them!" Chael''s head snapped toward the source of the voice. This figure was different. It was not as ghostly as the others and its body was more solid and much less withered. Unlike the other wailing specters, it twitched and jerked violently as if rage alone had given it life again. It stopped moving suddenly and turned to look at Chael and Echidna robotically, its head twisting in a very unnatural way. Its eyes glowed azure and its teeth chattered. Echidna drew her knife and Chael braced himself. And then it lunged. Chael''s arm snapped forward, and the spearhead flew through the air, its silver gleam catching the blurry moonlight for a fraction of a second before it slammed into the figure''s face. The impact sent it crashing onto the frozen ground. Its body convulsed violently for a moment before finally going still. Silence. The other wailing spirits vanished instantly as if snuffed out by the force of the attack. Echidna exhaled sharply. "No way," she muttered, dragging a hand down her face. "That one actually moved." Chael approached slowly, his boots pressing against the ice. He crouched beside the fallen figure with an unreadable expression beneath the black cloth covering his eyes. The spearhead was still embedded in its skull. But there was no blood. Not a single drop. Chael exhaled through his nose. That confirmed it. This thing, whatever it had been, was not alive. Not in any way that mattered at least. His voice was low and steady. "...What is this place?" He asked the twitching figure. There was no response. He pressed his lips into a thin line, tilting his head slightly. "Who is the Lord of the Bleeding Moon?" A crooked, broken laugh bubbled from the figure''s unmoving mouth. Then - silence. It stopped moving. Chael exhaled sharply and reached forward, pulling the spearhead from its skull. He didn''t flinch at the wet, fleshy sound it made as it came loose. Echidna finally stepped beside him, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "This place" she murmured, her breath misting in the cold. "It''s called Nytheril." "So it seems." He turned the spearhead in his fingers, its surface catching the dim glow of the twin moons. "The Lord of the Bleeding Moon..." Chael stood silently for a moment then said slowly "I want to know more about him." "Well, whoever the hell he was, his kingdom''s a pile of corpses now." Echidna scoffed, crossing her arms. Chael said nothing. He reattached the spearhead to the broken shaft as best as he could. He wasn''t sure why he felt the need to do it. "Let''s go." They continued walking. The colonnade didn''t seem to end and though she didn''t say anything, Chael could see her face getting more restless and pained the longer they walked through the reflection of his spear-head. It seemed her injuries were putting more and more of a strain on her. It wasn''t surprising, really. After all, she was still a normal human being and though Chael''s injuries were worse, his constitution now was a lot better since he was a Harbinger. The fog was finally starting to lift and Chael''s vision grew clearer and clearer. Another lamenting ghostly voice cut through the eerie silence. "Once, the Hollowed Coir sang in praise of the divine now their voices are but hollowed wails, a hymn of decay in service to the Saintess of Carnage." Echidna looked at a ghost that came into their sight. It was knelt against one of the pillars and repeatedly bashed it''s head against it but it vanished as soon as they got close. Chael ignored it and simply continued walking. Then, he suddenly stopped on track. Because somewhere further down, he saw a reflection. And it sent a cold shiver down his spine. Chapter 22鈥擲aintess of Carnage Chael stopped in his tracks and a sharp unnatural stillness settled over him. Because somewhere ahead, within the shifting mist, he saw a reflection. It was faint, hazy, and barely distinguishable at first. But something about it sent a cold shiver crawling down his spine. It was like a buried instinct clawing its way to the surface. "...What is it?" Echidna''s voice was quiet but tense. She had stopped beside him, watching him carefully. Chael said nothing. Instead, he simply kept moving. But slower and more cautious. The stone colonnade stretched forward endlessly with its towering pillars rising into the fog and fading from view. The mist was finally starting to lift, clearing away in wisps and revealing more and more of their surroundings. Soon, a colossal shape began to emerge in the distance and Chael''s entire body stilled. Echidna squinted through the thinning mist, trying to make out what he had seen in his reflection. And then she saw it too and momentarily stopped breathing. "No way." A cathedral rose before them. It was massive and much larger than anything Chael or Echidna had ever seen. Its towering spires stretched into the frozen heavens above and disappeared into the clouds. Its architecture was ancient and its stone walls were carved with intricate, swirling patterns that seemed to shift under the moonlight. Its windows were tall and narrow, lining the structure in uneven patterns. They should have been stained glass, but instead, they were pure black and mirrored, like pools of ink. They reflected the world wrongly and distorted the sky. The surrounding ruins had bent everything that touched their surface. At the very top, where a bell tower should have been, there was only an archway. Chael noticed something else beyond that archway, but he wasn''t exactly sure what it was. He couldn''t see clearly and even if he had perfect vision, it''d have been too far up to see anyway. Echidna''s voice was barely above a whisper, "What kind of place needs something this big?" Chael''s blindfolded face was still turned toward it, his grip on the spear unmoving. Because the closer they got, the more they could see just the insane scale of it. It wasn''t just a cathedral. It seemed almost like a huge fortress and it loomed over them, its very presence suffocating, as if the weight of its history pressed down on everything around it. Chael and Echidna approached the final stretch of the colonnade with deadly caution. Their movements were slow and calculated, and their senses were honed on the massive structure before them. The last two pillars stood before them and framed the entrance to the cathedral. There were stairways leading up to the colossal double doors. And at the base of the stairs, standing atop a weathered altar, was a statue. It was huge and stood mighty and seemed to be carved from some type of a dark stone. Chael guessed it would be a little over fifty meters tall. The statue depicted a woman with her long hair cascading down to her waist. One fist was raised high in the air as if her stance was frozen in an eternal battle cry. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But her face was broken. A deep crack split it open and revealed the white marble beneath the surface. Chael and Echidna stood silent before it. It was difficult to tell what this statue represented. A queen? A warrior? A saint? The way she was posed though - it was not a figure of peace. "Hide!" Echidna suddenly whispered in quiet desperation and hid behind the pillar closest to them. Then, a low, groaning creak echoed into their ears and Chael immediately tensed. The double doors of the cathedral, which was taller than any gate Chael had ever seen began to open, their immense weight sending a deep vibration through the ground as they parted. Chael didn''t hesitate. He quickly slipped behind the pillar with Echidna. From their cover, they watched as the figures emerged. Their first instinct was that they were people. But as soon as they descended down the steps, it became painfully clear that they were something else. These figures were clad in black robes and they moved with slow and steady steps with their heads slightly bowed and their movements synchronized. Ice poured out of the hollow sockets in their skulls as if something had long since eaten away their eyes. A majority of them were draped in flowing capes that were as black as an abyss, their garments concealing most of their forms. Their hands, with what little could be made out, were skeletal and their fingers were long and twisted as if frozen mid-decay. But they weren''t alone. Among them walked taller figures, clad in deep purple robes, and their presence was infinitely more menacing. They carried staff topped with jagged shards of ice which pulsed with a frozen light of sorts. Their robes bore intricate, swirling patterns, unlike the plain black ones of the others. Even their movements were different. It was more rigid and more intentional as if they alone were leading the procession. What came with them was a low chant. At first, it was a mumble and could easily be passed off as silence, but the closer they got, the louder the chanting was. Their voices rose and fell in a twisted hymn as if it were a prayer to something unseen. Soon, they reached the statue. As soon as they stood before it, the entire procession dropped to their knees. It wasn''t a slow, reverent motion. On the contrary, it was very unnatural. Like they were puppets whose strings had been severed all at once. Chael''s jaw tightened at this sight. Their hands pressed to the frozen stone, their bodies completely prostate, heads bowed so deeply that their foreheads nearly scraped the ice. The taller ones in purple did not kneel. They remained standing and simply their staff toward the statue in absolute devotion. The chant became clearer. Echidna squinted her silver eyes, her lips barely moving as she listened. "Shan''thura," she muttered. "That''s the language they''re speaking." Chael turned slightly toward her. "What are they saying?" She didn''t respond immediately. She was straining to catch the words, her brows furrowed in deep concentration. Chael''s frown deepened. "Can you understand it?" Echidna tilted her head slightly, still focused, "...Only bits and pieces." There was a tense silence between the two of them, and then Echidna finally spoke, "Yue Yuelian." Chael stilled. Echidna glanced at him, her voice quieter now, as if saying the name itself felt dangerous. "They keep repeating it," she said. "Over and over again." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Yue Yuelian, Saintess of Carnage." Chael''s face grew solemn. He immediately recalled the words of the last ghost they had walked past on their way here. "Once, the Hollowed Coir sang in praise of the divine now their voices are but hollowed wails, a hymn of decay in service to the Saintess of Carnage." ''Hollowed Choir? Could they be referring to these creatures?'' He kept the spearhead angled carefully and let the dim reflection guide his sight. Every detail - the kneeling figures, the towering cathedral, the unnatural way the ice bled from their hollowed sockets. All of them flickered against the silver surface. He remained still with his breath measured and every muscle poised for the slightest shift in movement. One of the robed figures twitched and its body locked up mid-prayer. The pale moon glow reflected in the ice of its hollow eye sockets, and for a brief second, it seemed to shimmer strangely, as if it had caught sight of something it wasn''t meant to. Chael tensed. The figure remained still for a heartbeat longer and with a slow and steady motion, it turned its head. Not toward the cathedral. Not toward the statue. Toward them. A cold and creeping sensation crawled up Chael''s spine. His grip on the spear tightened as he watched, unmoving. The figure''s posture had stiffened unnaturally as though something inside of it had woken up. Then without sound and without hesitation, the others followed. One by one, the worshippers stopped praying. Their heads, hidden beneath their hoods, twisted toward the same direction. Their movements weren''t natural. They didn''t turn like humans reacting to a sound. It was as if they had received some silent, invisible command guiding them toward a singular focus. Echidna''s fingers twitched toward her belt and her stance shifted ever so slightly. Chael exhaled through his nose. They had been seen. Chapter 23鈥擮verwhelmed The figures didn''t move immediately. They remained kneeling with their heads twisted unnaturally toward the reflection, their bodies rigid and unmoving. The ice continued to pour from their hollow eye socket, but their chanting had stopped. An eerie, deafening silence followed, pressing down on the air like a heavy weight. It was as if the entire world had gone still and was waiting for something to happen. Chael''s grip on the spear tightened and his pulse was steady but alert. He could feel Echidna tensing beside him, her breathing shallow and every muscle in her body coiling like a spring. They were still concealed behind the pillar with the cold stone pressing into their backs, but the illusion of safety was rapidly fading. Then, one of the taller figures in purple robes slowly lifted a skeletal hand. Its bony finger which was long and gnarled, extended outward and pointed directly at the pillar they were hiding behind. The movement was deliberate and excruciatingly slow as if the creature was savoring the moment. Its hooded head did not turn and its body did not shift. It simply pointed without uttering as much as a single word. One by one, the rest of the Hollowed Choir began to rise. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, each one standing without so much as a whisper of sound. Their robes glided over the stone, the fabric never touching the ground, moving as if they were floating rather than walking. About now, they were facing the duo all at once. Their hollow sockets of ice stared out from beneath the shadow of their hoods, their eyeless faces locked onto the pillar as if they could see straight through it. The temperature plummeted as cold air pressed against Chael''s skin as they moved forward. It was their silence that was most unnerving. There wasn''t a single footstep nor was there a single rustle of fabric. Just the eerie, deathly quiet as they glided closer with their heads tilting at odd angles and their empty sockets fixated on the intruders. A shiver ran down Echidna''s spine. Her body pressed closer to the stone, her fingers twitching over the handle of her blade. She leaned closer to Chael and said with her voice low and urgent. "We need to get out of here. Now." Before Chael could respond, her breath hitched. Her eyes widened in horror, her face going pale as she stared past him. Chael''s body went rigid. He followed her gaze and his blood ran cold. One of the creatures was fading into existence. It was barely ten paces away, right behind them. Its body shimmered like a mirage and the air around it rippled as it slowly phased in and out of reality. First, its head appeared, it''s hollow eyes pouring ice and twisted mouth frozen in a silent scream. Then the rest of its body materialized until it was fully present. It didn''t make a sound nor did it even move. It was there, yet it hadn''t been mere seconds ago. Echidna''s face contorted with fear. "What what the hell?" The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The shadows shifted. Chael''s head snapped to the left. Another figure was emerging, fading into existence the same way, its body flowing out of the fog like a wraith. Then another. This one stepped out of the shadows beneath the archway. One by one, they materialized from the mist as they faded in and out before solidifying completely. There were too many of them. Chael''s spearhead reflected their shapes, the blurry images revealing at least a dozen and all surrounding them. A cold knot formed in Chael''s stomach. They were surrounded before they even had the chance to run. The air grew colder. Chael''s grip tightened around the broken spear and his fingers trembled as the temperature dropped even lower. The mist around them swirled unnaturally. They were surrounded. Chael''s mind raced as he calculated distances, escape routes, and numbers. But no matter which direction he turned, the figures were there, silent and unmoving. One of the Hollowed Choir stepped forward with its unnaturally smooth movements. It opened its mouth. A thin, black mist seeped out and swirled around its face before drifting toward him. It was colder than anything he had ever felt. The air around him grew heavy with a thick and unnatural chill. His body reacted on instinct. Chael''s arm shot out and the spearhead sliced through the air in a swift, brutal motion. The sharpened edge tore through the creature''s neck and cut through its rotted flesh like paper. The head jerked to the side and hung limply, the black mist spilling out in waves. Then, it screamed. It was a hollow, shrill screech that pierced the air and vibrated through his bones. The sound was wrong and not human. Not even an animal or a beast. It was something else entirely. It echoed across the colonnade and rattled the stone pillars, the creature''s body trembling violently as it began to fade. Despite its head hanging on the side, it didn''t fall or bleed. It simply shimmered with its form rippling like water, and it faded out of existence. Chael exhaled sharply. His heart was pounding and his blood rushed through his veins, but he didn''t let himself pause. Another figure lunged from the left, its skeletal arms reaching for him and its fingers crooked like talons. Chael turned sharply, his broken arm searing with pain as he pivoted on his heel. He swung the spear in a wide arc and cut through its torso. The creature shuddered and let out another hollow scream before fading away, its body rippling out of existence. But the moment it disappeared, two more took its place. They came from every direction, fading in and out of the mist, moving without sound, their hollow sockets locked onto him. They didn''t hesitate and they didn''t falter. They just kept coming. Chael''s body moved on instinct. Slash. Stab. Turn. Slash again. His dominant arm hung uselessly at his side, the bones still broken and the fingers shattered. Though they were starting to heal up well now that he was a harbinger, making strenuous combat movements hurt him like hell. He fought with his non-dominant arm, the spear shaft in his grasp and his movements awkward and unbalanced. Every motion sent a new wave of pain through his body. Chael''s breath came out in harsh gasps and his broken ribs ached but the creatures didn''t stop. They continued lunging, shrieking, and fading out of existence with each blow, only for more to appear. Echidna was beside him, her blade flashing as she cut through the creatures with brutal precision. Her movements were swift and calculated with every strike aimed for a weak point. Since she was still an Unveiled, she was getting fatigued and overwhelmed a lot more quickly than him. "This isn''t working!" she shouted, her voice raw with panic. "They just keep coming!" She was right. No matter how many he cut down, more kept materializing and appearing from the shadows. The only saving grace was that they were weak. They moved slowly and predictably with their clumsiness and straightforwardness. The issue was their sheer and overwhelming numbers. Chael''s arm was burning, the pain in his broken limbs intensifying with every movement. The creatures were pressing closer. He turned and stabbed the spearhead into another hollow skull and watched as it shimmered and faded. And then he saw them. The taller of the Hollowed Choir in purple. They stood at the base of the statue, watching. Their faces were hidden beneath their hoods, but their eyeless sockets glowed faintly, an icy blue light flickering within. They weren''t moving. They weren''t joining the fight. They were controlling the ones in black. Chapter 24鈥擥hosts From The Past Chaels eyes narrowed. One of the purple-robed figures slowly lifted its staff and raised it high above its head. The crystal atop it pulsed with a cold, blue light and sent a faint shimmer through the air. The figures Chael had killed began to reappear. One by one, they faded back into existence, their bodies reforming from the mist and taking shape once more. Echidnas eyes went wide with horror. No no, thats not- But there was no mistaking it. The Hollowed Choir were coming back and this time, their movements were faster. No matter how many Chael cut down and no matter how many times his spear sliced through their hollow forms, they would not stop. Their bodies shimmered and faded out of existence, only to reappear moments later, crawling back from the shadows like nothing had happened. Chaels breaths came out in ragged gasps and his body burned with exhaustion. His broken arm hung uselessly at his side and throbbed with constant, pulsing pain, and his other arm was starting to go numb from overuse. Every time he struck, a shock of agony ran up his shoulders and his fingers struggled to maintain their grip on the broken spear. He was getting slower while they were getting faster. Echidna was barely keeping up. Her movements were wild and desperate with her knife flashing through the air as she slashed at the creatures with all the strength she had left. But it wasnt enough. These things werent just ghosts or spirits. They were solid with their forms tangible and unyielding. Their limbs moved with an unnatural strength, their bodies radiating a cold so intense it burned. Echidnas breaths were labored and her shoulders heaved as she swung her knife again, the blade cutting through another creatures neck. It let out a hollow and echoing screech as it faded away, the black mist pouring from its mouth spiraling through the air. Echidna slashed at another one, her knife barely cutting through its body. Her arm was trembling and the sheer force needed to slice through them straining her muscles. They were too solid and too heavy. It was like trying to cut through iron with a piece of glass. She gritted her teeth, her eyes wide with panic. I cant I cant keep this up. Theyre too strong. And those those bastards at the back The taller figures in purple were still standing at the base of the stairs, their icy blue eyes glowing beneath their hoods. Their skeletal hands were lifted high, gripping their staffs with the jagged shards of ice at the top pulsing with cold light. Theyre controlling them, Echidna hissed. Theyre the ones theyre the ones bringing them back. Chael had already figured this out. The shorter, black-robed figures were nothing but puppets. They seemed to be hollow vessels being manipulated by the taller ones. Thats why they moved so unnaturally and it was also why they kept coming back no matter how many times he cut them down. Because they werent the real threat. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The masters were. Chael exhaled slowly and his mind raced. If he could just get to the purple-robed ones His thoughts were cut off by a low, rumbling sound. It came from everywhere at once. It was a deep vibration that shook the very ground beneath them. The air grew colder and heavier with the temperature dropping so rapidly that ice began to form on the stone floor. Chaels breath froze in his lungs. The black mist was growing thicker. It poured from the mouths of the fallen creatures. The air around them was soon stained with the black mist. It was quickly spreading across the courtyard in spiraling tendrils. It swirled around their bodies and clung on to them as if it was seeping into their skin. Chael tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy and his head spun. The black mist was in his lungs. Soon, a new change began to appear. The world began to twist. His vision blurred as the reflection in his spearhead warped and bent. The ground felt like it was shifting beneath his feet, the shadows stretching and dancing in impossible shapes. His fingers trembled and his breath came out in ragged gasps. He felt like he was falling and his body was growing weightless. His mind slipped further and further away from reality. Then he heard a voice You let them die Chaels heart stopped. He knew that cruel voice. It belonged to his father. Chaels blood ran cold. He spun around with his eyes wide behind the black cloth covering them, his breath catching in his throat. There, standing behind him, was his father. His eyes were hollow and his face twisted in anguish, his body covered in blood. You let them die, his father repeated, his voice broken and harsh. You werent there you werent there to protect them Chael stumbled back. His chest tightened. No no, thats not You abandoned them. You abandoned your duties like the coward youve always been. His fathers face twisted in fury. You couldnt even protect her - your own mother! Chaels breath shallowed and he started to rasp as another memory resurfaced. It was of a woman with silver hair walking into the depths of a snowstorm one step at a time. His fathers body contorted and twisted unnaturally, his bones cracking as his arms reached out with his fingers stretching like claws. His mouth opened wide and a hollow screech poured out, his face melting into something grotesque and monstrous. Chaels knees buckled. His head was spinning and the world was fading in and out. He couldnt breathe nor could he think. The black mist was everywhere, curling around his body and slipping into his mind, dragging him down. Beside him, Echidna was screaming. She was thrashing, her knife slashing at the air, her eyes wide and unfocused. Her voice was raw and her words were tumbling out in a frenzy. No no not again please stop make it stop Her body trembled violently and her face was contorted in terror, her eyes fixed on something only she could see. The black mist was in her mind too. All around them, the Hollowed Choir were closing in, their hollow sockets glowing with cold light and their bodies moving in eerie synchronization with their mouths hanging open and black mist pouring out. There was no escape. The black mist was everywhere. It slithered along the ground and curled up Chaels legs, crawling beneath his clothes and seeping into his skin. It was so impossibly cold and it clouded his mind and twisted his thoughts into dark, spiraling shapes. The world around him felt distant and unreal like he was watching a nightmare unfold from within his own body. His head was spinning. His chest felt heavy. His limbs grew sluggish, his movements unsteady. Then, his own perspective brought him back to reality. It was a flash of reflection showing the position he was standing on, and it closed in rapidly. Chael barely had time to react. He moved on instinct and his broken spear clashed against the blade inches from his face. Sparks flew as metal scraped against metal, the force of the impact rattling through his already-aching bones. He was crossing weapons with Echidna. Chapter 25鈥擝reaking Point Echidna''s face twisted in fury. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her pupils were blown out in terror. Her expression was wild and her lips curled back in a snarl as she swung again, the knife slicing through the air with deadly precision. Chael grunted and twisted his body to the side as the blade narrowly missed his throat. "What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped with a voice that was raw and strained. Echidna didn''t respond. Her eyes were hollow and empty. She moved with a viciousness that was almost animalistic. Her body jerked unnaturally and her limbs trembled as she swung the knife again, this time aiming for his chest. Chael blocked her again, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his shattered arm. He gritted his teeth as he deflected another strike with his muscles screaming in protest. "Snap out of it!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the colonnade. But his words didn''t reach her. Echidna''s face contorted with hatred. She lunged again, her blade aimed directly at his heart, her movements wild and desperate. Chael sidestepped just in time, the blade grazing his ribs and slicing through his coat. He hissed at the sting of pain but didn''t hesitate, and with his body reacting purely on instinct, he slammed the spear into her wrist and knocked the knife from her hand. The weapon clattered to the ground. Echidna didn''t even flinch. Her head snapped up, her face twisted in rage. She bared her teeth and her body lunged at him with bare hands, her fingers clawing at his throat. "You lied to me. You LIED to me!" She screamed. Chael''s back hit the pillar behind him, but before he could orientate himself, Echidna was already on to him. If he was fighting Echidna under normal circumstances, he would''ve had no problem at all dealing with her. But now with countless of these horrific creatures, the black mist which made his own senses betray him and his fatigue, Chael was struggling. He slashed his spear across the throat of another one, causing them to shimmer out of existence. However just as he had done that, two more came after him. But it seemed Echidna wanted him all to herself. "Get the hell off me!" He kneed her off him, his arm throbbing with pain and his movements becoming more erratic and much more desperate. Her body jerked unnaturally and she hit the ground. She got up once more, however, with her limbs flailing as she came at him again and her fingers curling like claws. Her eyes were filled with nothing but hatred and fear. She was screaming. It was a hollow, broken scream with a cracked voice and her words a jumbled mess of panic and fury. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "No! No, dont shut the doors! Let me back in! Im your daughter!" Chael''s stomach twisted. He could see it in her eyes. The way she wasn''t looking at him, but through him. It was as if she were seeing something entirely different. Something only she could see. A shadow moved behind her. One of the creatures stepped forward, its body gliding silently across the stone, its hollow eyes pouring black mist. Its skeletal hand reached out, fingers stretching impossibly long as it wrapped around Echidna''s face. Chael''s eyes widened. It opened its mouth and the black mist poured out. It let out a shrill scream, a sound like a thousand dying voices all wailing at once. It pierced through the air, the force of it sending tremors through the ground which caused the temperature to drop even lower. Echidna''s body went rigid. "The chains theyre too tight...please, Ill do anything!" Echidna was half-sobbing at this point. And soon, her eyes rolled back and her mouth opened in a silent scream as the mist poured into her mouth, her nose, and her eyes. Her body convulsed violently and her limbs jerked as if pulled by invisible strings. Chael''s gritted his teeth. He was swarmed, the creatures descending on him all at once with their bodies moving in perfect synchronization and their hollow eyes fixed on him with a cold, unfeeling stare. There were too many of them. They grabbed at his arms, his face, his torso, and his legs with their skeletal fingers digging into his skin. He struggled and his body twisted, his broken arm screaming in agony as he thrashed against them. He swung the spear and cut through their bodies. They let out hollow screams, their bodies trembling before fading out of existence... Only to reappear moments later. They were endless. Relentless. Chael''s breaths came out in panicked gasps, his body growing heavier and his vision blurring. He was exhausted. His injuries, the cold and the black mist were all weighing him down. He felt his knees buckle, and slowly but surely, his body collapsed under the sheer number of them. Their hands were everywhere as they dragged him down, their hollow mouths pouring mist. Then they stopped. All at once. The creatures froze, their heads snapping up and their bodies going rigid. The taller ones at the back, with their purple robes billowing with cold air, slowly turned their heads toward the horizon. Chael felt the pressure lift. The remnants released him, their hands falling limply to their sides as they turned in unison, their faces tilting upward and their empty eyes fixed on something he couldn''t see. Echidna crumpled to the ground, her body twitching, her breath shallow and uneven. Chael forced himself to his feet with weak limbs and he watched in confusion, his chest heaving as the creatures began to move back. Just like it had been before, their movement was slow, methodical, and in perfect synchrony. They turned and glided back toward the cathedral with their bodies moving with that same eerie, weightless motion, their robes trailing behind them. The black mist receded, spiraling back into their hollow mouths as they ascended the steps. The double doors creaked open once more, the massive stone slabs groaning as they parted. The creatures filed inside. Chael''s breath caught in his throat as the last of them vanished through the doors. Then, the cathedral shut. The doors closed with a heavy boom, causing the ground to tremble beneath them. At last, they have finally had time to rest. But something told Chael that something much worse was heading his way. Chapter 26鈥擳hats My Face, You Bastard! They lay there for a long while. Chael was with his back against the frozen stone, his breath slow and shallow. His body ached down to the marrow with exhaustion clinging to him like a heavy shroud. His broken arm throbbed painfully and every movement sent fresh waves of agony through his nerves. His muscles, battered and torn, screamed in protest with every shallow rise and fall of his chest. Echidna was worse. She lay motionless beside him with her body curled slightly and her fingers twitching against the stone. Her breathing was ragged and uneven. The fight had nearly drained her completely. Unlike Chael, her body wasn''t built for this. She wasn''t a Harbinger. She didn''t have the unnatural endurance, the enhanced strength, and most importantly, the forced healing that had kept him standing through sheer willpower. For a long while, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched on, the only sound between them the distant howling of the wind through the ruined city. Then, a ragged cough shattered the silence. Echidna stirred. Her entire body shook violently as she pressed a hand to her chest. Her breathing was sharp and broken, and each exhale was filled with strain. She coughed again, harder this time with her shoulders trembling. Chael turned his head slightly and watched her through the blurred reflections of the spearhead. Her face was twisted in discomfort, beads of sweat forming on her brow despite the biting cold. Chael sat up slowly, ignoring the way his bones screamed in protest. His instincts were still on edge. The fight had ended too abruptly. The Hollowed Choir - they had all stopped at once, turning toward something unseen before silently retreating back into the cathedral. That wasn''t a coincidence. Something had driven them away. Chael exhaled, his breath misting in the frigid air. "They left for a reason." Echidna, still hunched over, let out a low, bitter laugh between coughs. "Seems so." Chael''s blindfolded gaze shifted toward the vast open space ahead of them. His mind went back to the white city they had seen earlier when they had first arrived at Nytheril. That sprawling abyss which veiled in mist and stretched far below the cliffs. That''s when Chael saw it. A rolling, thick, and white fog. The same white fog. Chael''s stomach twisted. That massive white dragon which had met its ends to that monstrosity guarding the central mansion of the Yue Clan. It had come out from that same fog when they saw it initially. At first, Chael had been oblivious to why that dragon had come out of the city in the first place. But now the truth pressed against the back of his mind in a creeping, cold realization. The dragon hadn''t come from the fog. It had been escaping from it. Just like the Hollowed Choir just now. Chael''s expression darkened. Far into the distance and rolling toward them like a creeping tide was a massive wave of snow-white fog that stretched out across the ruins and swallowed everything in its path. It moved unnaturally, not like regular mist but more like it was alive somehow. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "This isn''t good." Echidna, still catching her breath, slowly sat up. She followed his gaze, and when she saw the sheer immensity of the fog, a hollow chuckle escaped her lips. "What a way to die," she muttered and wiped the sweat from her brow despite the freezing air. Chael didn''t answer. His mind was already racing. He glanced around and assessed their surroundings, searching for anything at all. The massive cathedral stood behind them, its jagged edges rising into the sky and its towering walls untouched by time or ruin. Its doors were sealed shut. Chael clenched his jaw. The fog was closing in fast. He shifted his focus upward and scanned the cathedral''s outer walls, its ledges and its jagged protrusions. His eyes narrowed at a little archway past what seemed to be a ledge a couple of meters above the giant statue. It was risky, but It was their only chance. Echidna caught the look on his face and groaned, tilting her head back against the stone. "You''re thinking of something crazy, aren''t you?" "Sun Tzu once said," Chael exhaled sharply, his breath visible in the freezing air as he forced himself to stand up, "''In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.''" Echidna, still catching her breath, barely had the energy to move, let alone entertain whatever madness he was about to suggest. "You''ve already told me that." Chael''s blindfolded gaze lifted toward the towering walls of the cathedral. The jagged edges and the protruding stone architecture. It was scalable. One single misstep - which they were very likely to make in their condition, may very well be the end of them. "Let''s climb," he said simply. Echidna laughed bitterly. Not because it was funny, but because it was insane. She pushed herself up onto unsteady legs despite her body screaming in protest. She then asked incredulously, "Can we make it...?" "I don''t feel like dying today so I''ll make it." Chael turned toward her, his expression ice-cold, "But you can die here if you want." Echidna clenched her fists. Chael was already moving. Ignoring the pain in his body, he marched toward the base of the cathedral and felt along the wall with his fingers, searching for the best place to start. He planted his foot against a lower ledge and tested the grip before pushing himself up. The jagged stone cut against his fingers as he reached upward, grabbing onto an uneven outcropping. His broken hand protested immediately, a fiery jolt of pain searing up his wrist, but he gritted his teeth and kept going. Echidna let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Oh well," she muttered under her breath before forcing her exhausted body to move. Her muscles were on fire, but she followed him anyway. The first few feet were manageable. The stone was rough, uneven, and perfect for climbing. But the higher they got, the harder it became. Chael relied heavily on his left arm since his right was almost useless. Every movement sent blinding pain through his body, but he ignored it and pulled himself up inch by inch. The frigid wind howled around them and made each hold treacherous, his fingers barely able to feel the stone beneath them. Echidna climbed just below him, her breathing ragged and her arms trembling from sheer exertion. "You know," she muttered, "you''re a living contradiction." Chael grunted, focusing on finding the next ledge. "Yeah? And why''s that?" "You clearly don''t care about living... I mean, you told me to kill you back at the hideout, and in that cave, you were laughing like a madman while you waited for that abomination to rip your head off... And yet here you are - climbing a damn cathedral to avoid death." Chael grunted, his broken arm throbbing with every pull. He let the silence hang between them for a moment before growling through clenched teeth, "If fate wants me to die in that fog today well, I don''t feel like it." Echidna glanced up at him with eyes flickering with something unreadable. Then, she sighed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable." They climbed higher, each movement harder than the last. The rough stone bit into their hands, their fingers growing raw, their shoulders burning with exhaustion. The cold was unbearable now. The higher they climbed, the more the wind battered against them as if trying to shake them loose. Chael''s grip slipped for half a second, his broken fingers failing him, and his heart lurched as he barely managed to catch himself on another ledge. Then- His boot slipped. His balance wavered for half a second, and in the scramble to regain his footing, he accidentally stepped on Echidna''s face. A muffled snarl came from below. "That''s my face, you bastard!" Chael stared down at her coldly. "Oops." A second later, he deliberately pressed down again, grinding his boot against her face once more. Echidna let out a murderous growl. "What''s that for?!" Chael sneered. "That''s for attacking me earlier." Echidna would''ve bit his ankle and pulled him down but she didn''t even have the strength or willpower to consider that. "Spiteful bastard." Through the burning pain, exhaustion, and biting cold, they kept climbing. The fog was much much closer now. Chapter 27鈥擲caling the Cathedral The wind howled like a wounded beast, its icy breath clawing at their skin as they climbed. The cathedral''s jagged walls stretched endlessly above them and disappeared into the frozen night, while below, the ruins of Nytheril were sprawled like the remnants of a forgotten graveyard. Chael''s hands were raw and his body screamed in protest with every movement. His left hand, the only one he was using now, was numb from the cold and his grip weakened with every ledge he pulled himself onto. He was quickly running out of strength. Echidna wasn''t faring any better. Her bones creaked with every motion and her limbs trembled from exhaustion. The fight, the cold, the brutal climb, it had drained everything out of her. Her arms felt like lead. She barely had the strength to lift herself anymore. And then, the fog came. It was less than a kilometer away now and rolled across the ruins like an unstoppable tide. It was extremely thick and it certainly didn''t move like natural mist. It pulsed and its edges twisted unnaturally, reaching forward in shifting tendrils as if it were alive. It wasn''t just closing in, it was rising too. Chael stole a glance downward through the reflection in his spearhead and cursed under his breath. The fog wasn''t just swallowing the ruins below. It was climbing the walls of the cathedral. And fast. Echidna''s fingers tightened around her ledge and her breath came out in ragged gasps. Her vision was starting to blur, the weight of her own body growing unbearable. After all that had happened so far, her limbs simply refused to move any further. She blinked down at the rolling mass of fog and smiled bitterly. "What a joke..." She muttered after a self-deprecating chuckle. She wanted to move, but her fingers loosened. And then, a rough grip tightened on her arm. Chael''s fingers wrapped around her wrist. He was already on a ledge above, his breathing just as labored and his body was in a much worse condition than hers, but his grip on her was ironclad. His blindfolded face tilted down toward her. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was sharp and steady. "After all you put me through, I''m not letting you die this easily." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Echidna stared at him. She didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, she sneered coldly, "Sentimental brat." Chael ignored her and with a sharp and painful pull, he hoisted her up onto the ledge beside him. She gritted her teeth and hissed as pain shot through her limbs, but she didn''t fight him. She let herself be dragged onto the narrow platform, her breath coming out in sharp, exhausted bursts. Then she saw it. Right in front of her was a wooden door that was wedged between the jagged stone of the cathedral wall. It was ancient, its iron hinges rusted and its frame barely holding together. Chael turned toward it, just as the fog roared toward them. It was mere meters away at this point. There was no time to hesitate. Without thinking, they lunged toward the door and slammed into it with their combined weight. The brittle wood cracked, the hinges screeching in protest, but it burst open beneath their force. They tumbled inside, landing hard against the cold floor. Chael turned immediately and shoved the door shut just as the fog crashed into the outside. The wood rattled violently and the iron hinges creaked. The force of the mist hammering against the other side. But the door held. Had it been any normal fog, it would''ve seeped in through the door however, in an ounce of luck, that didn''t seem to be the case with this fog. The roaring wind outside faded into muffled silence. Chael let out a slow breath, forehead pressing against the wood for just a second before he turned and let his back slide down against it. They were safe for now. The room was pristine. The pale light from the twin moons seeped through the fog and the dark window to illuminate the floor. He saw unblemished smooth-cut stone beneath his boots. There were no cracks and no uneven surfaces worn down by age. Unlike what he had expected, no dust clung to the walls and no cobwebs stretched from the wooden beams above. A single bed sat against the far wall, its frame was unblemished and the sheets were taut and clean as if someone had just left it that morning. Against one wall, a suit of knight''s armor stood upright, its metal gleaming and polished. Beside it, a weapons rack leaned against the stone and held an immaculate set of weapons. Unlike what he had expected, there wasn''t a single weapon that bore rust. The swords gleamed beneath the dim light, their edges sharpened. The spears were perfectly aligned and their shafts were smooth. The sheer lack of human presence in Nyrethil since he had come here led him to believe that this place was abandoned, however, that didn''t seem to be the case at all. This room was clearly owned by a human, and they were still living here. Chael took his eyes to the singular window which was reinforced with thick, crisscrossing iron bars that was built more for defense than aesthetics. Beyond the glass, there was nothing. Just pure, endless white of the rolling monstrous fog. Chael exhaled slowly and pulled his gaze away from the window. His attention shifted to the only other door in the room. Unlike the one they had just forced their way through, this one was larger, sturdier, and reinforced with iron bands. It stood at the far end of the chamber, clearly leading deeper into the cathedral. Echidna groaned softly beside him, still catching her breath. She was slumped against the floor with her arms resting on her bent knees and her head tilting back against the stone. Despite the exhaustion lining her features, her sharp eyes roamed the room carefully and took in its details just as he had. Then she frowned. A slow, wary realization flickered across her face. She had noticed it too. "Someone...''s still living here." "Yeah." Chael sighed. Her muscles tensed. "Chael," she muttered, her voice quieter now. He didn''t reply. But he knew what she was thinking. If this room was not abandoned If this room had been kept intact Then where was the one who lived here? Chapter 28鈥擣ood and Water Chael exhaled sharply and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned back against the door. He was too tired for this. The last few hours had been nothing but pain, blood, and the constant edge of survival, and now, standing in a room that shouldn''t exist in this condition, he was expected to care about yet another unseen threat. Whatever. "If a human comes in here, we can try to talk to him," he said casually. "If they try to kill me, I''ll kill them first." Echidna huffed, shaking her head as she pushed herself up. Her movements were sluggish and her limbs trembled from exhaustion as she dragged herself toward the bed. "Your optimism is truly inspiring." Chael ignored her. She didn''t bother removing her coat or adjusting the sheets. Instead, she just collapsed onto the mattress with a heavy sigh with her arms spread out, and stared up at the ceiling. The bed barely creaked beneath her weight, as if it had been made yesterday. Chael remained by the door with his back pressed against the cold wood. Chael was still extremely wary about this place. The Hollowed Choir. Those very creatures that had given them hell just a while ago were in the same building as them right this moment. And who knew what other eldrich horrors lurked in this cathedral? And there was still the roaring wind outside. Even through the thick wooden doors, he could hear the sound of the fog thrashing against the cathedral like an untamed beast. It wasn''t fading and if anything, it sounded angrier. They lay in that uneasy quiet for some hours. Not quite asleep, but not fully awake either. Chael''s mind drifted between thoughts and between pain, exhaustion, and the sensation of his body slowly recovering but never quite healing. His hand and arm were still only barely useful, even as a Harbinger. The wounds were mending, but nowhere near fast enough. Not to mention his hunger... Just when was the last time he had eaten? If he wasn''t a Harbinger, he would''ve long since shriveled away by now. "Tell me about it." Echidna''s voice cut into his thoughts. Chael didn''t react at first. "What?" "Being a Harbinger? What''s it like?" Chael let out a low sneer and turned his head slightly in her direction. "If only I became one the night you bastards caught me." Echidna sighed, "Hey, I know you hate me, but I''m just trying to make my time here less unbearable." Chael rolled his head back against the door in annoyance. Echidna shifted her weight slightly against the bed. "You should''ve just let me fall if you hated me so much." Chael turned his head toward her, his expression unreadable beneath the blindfold. The words that had left her mouth lightly were almost teasing. "Don''t get comfortable with me, mongrel." Chael''s glared at her. "I''m only keeping you around because you''re still somewhat useful. The second I feel like you''re dragging me down, I''ll end you myself." Echidna brought her tricorn cap down to her face and concealed her eyes with them. She lay like that for a while before she began to talk again, "Mongrel, rat, thief. You have every right to call me all that, Chael. I don''t expect forgiveness. Every sin I''ve committed is mine alone. If only fate had been kinder to me, I wouldn''t even have looked at the path that I''m on." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chael raised his eyebrows. He didn''t expect this kind of talk from Echidna. He studied her face from the reflection of his spear but saw couldn''t see what kind of expression she was making because of the tricorn cap. He recalled the way she had screamed when they were swarmed by the Hollowed Choir. ''No! No, don''t shut the doors! Let me back in! I''m your daughter!'' ''The chains they''re too tight...please, I''ll do anything!'' Echidna continued, almost as if talking to herself rather than Chael, "But my life is bound to a duty darker than any monster lurking in these halls. And until that debt is repaid, I gave myself no right to yield, even if it meant dragging another soul through hell with me at his darkest moment." Chael remained still. It was impossible to tell what was going through his mind right now. The winds and the rolling fog outside kept roaring. Echidna finally let out a long breath before pushing herself up and she winced as pain flared through her body. "Ouch," she muttered, rubbing at her sore ribs. From beneath her cloak, Echidna pulled out a small leather pouch. It was worn but well-kept and its seams were stitched with intricate silver thread. She loosened the drawstrings and reached inside -deeper than should have been physically possible. And then, she pulled out a massive bottle of water. Chael furrowed his brows, "Is that an Interspatial pouch?" Echidna grinned and shook the water bottle playfully. "Yeah." Chael was shocked beyond belief though he didn''t show it. Interspatial Pouches were rare. A luxury only the extremely wealthy could afford. They were crafted by Enir-Ilim''s top artificers, each infused with spatial magic, allowing them to store far more than their physical size would suggest. There were some that could hold entire armories, vaults of gold, and even livestock. Only the most powerful or the most wealthy in Enir-Ilim owned these. Even when he was the Chief of Ashwara, Chael couldn''t get his hands on an Interspacial pouch. His frown deepened. "How does someone like you have one?" Echidna opened her mouth to reply - then suddenly stopped. Her brows furrowed and her fingers tightened around the pouch. A long silence stretched between them. Echidna then pinched the bridge of her nose, her breath hitching slightly. "I I don''t remember for some reason." Chael''s gaze lingered on her for a moment longer before she shook her head as if forcing the thought away. Echidna uncorked the bottle, took a long sip, then tossed it toward him. He caught it without hesitation. "Don''t lose that pouch," he said, tilting the bottle back and drinking. The water was cold and fresh. This was the second most refreshed he had felt in the past couple of days, the first being when he first stepped into the Veiled Realm. After guzzling down nearly the entire bottle, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shot her a look. "And if you''re going to let yourself die like when we were climbing the cathedral, give it to me first." Echidna snorted. "You''re a bastard." She then reached back into the pouch and pulled out a small loaf of bread. "This is all I have left," she sighed, tossing it up and catching it. "Those bastards were insatiable." Chael didn''t need to ask who she meant. The Mongrel''s Vow. Mercenaries were a rowdy bunch and they needed a lot of food to keep their energy. She tore off a quarter for herself before throwing the rest to him. Chael still wasn''t looking in her direction, but he caught it effortlessly. He saw it coming not with his eyes, but through the reflection of his spearhead, which was pointed at her. Echidna noticed. Her lips quirked slightly, but she didn''t comment on it immediately. Instead, she bit into her piece, chewing slowly. Chael frowned but said nothing. "Don''t think too much about it," she muttered after a moment. "You''re doing most of the heavy lifting anyway." Chael simply ripped off a piece of the bread and ate it, chewing slowly. It was a bit stale and hard, but to Chael who didn''t have much to eat for days, this bread was the first proper meal he had in a long time, and he was savoring every bite. "So," she said, her gaze flickering toward his blindfold, "reflection, huh? You can see through reflections. That''s a pretty handy ability." Chael stiffened slightly. He didn''t want to talk to her. He still hated her with an unending passion after all, not only had she dared to attack him at his lowest, if it wasn''t for her, they''d never be in this situation in the first place. But she''d given him food and water. And in a place like this, that meant something. After a long pause, he sighed. "If you haven''t figured it out already." Echidna hummed, leaning back against the bedpost. "What kind of deity chose you?" Chael finished the last of the bread and dusted the crumbs off his hands. "You talk too much," he muttered. "Boring." Echidna groaned. Neither of them spoke for a while. Then, Chael turned his head slightly. "How did you survive that fall in the cavern?" His voice was quieter and thoughtful this time. "You didn''t fall into the lake like me." Chapter 29鈥擬y Instinct Echidna studied him for a long moment, her sharp gaze flickering across his face and took in his posture, his expression, or what little of it she could see beneath the blindfold. Then, she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "Do you expect me to just spill all my secrets to you while you refuse to tell me yours?" Her voice was light, but there was a quiet challenge beneath the words. Chael furrowed his brows. He hated that she had a point. With a sigh, he leaned back against the door and his fingers absentmindedly ran along the shaft of his broken spear. "It''s a strange bastard called The Blind Prophet," he finally muttered, voice low. "When that creature at the cavern was coming for me, I lost consciousness. Or at least, I think I did. My mind was transferred to some kind of courtyard. There were countless mirrors and they all reflected everything except me. There were also two purple moons shining down. I saw a large gate that was covered by some obscure fog..." His fingers twitched slightly at the memory. "I walked through that veil of fog, and suddenly, I felt stronger. Stronger than I ever had before. Despite my injuries, despite everything. That''s when I knew I had stepped into the Veiled Realm." He left out the details about the Illusory Echo. There was no need to talk about everything. Echidna hummed and tapped her fingers against the edge of the bed. "The Blind Prophet, and the power of reflections," she mused, her tone laced with curiosity. Then, her eyes flickered toward the small window, where the soft glow of the twin moon could be seen even through the fog. "But those twin moons doesn''t that seem awfully familiar to this place?" She was right. In Mirelia, there was only one moon. There may have been more beyond the Primordial Sea but no one knew for sure. But in that strange, dreamlike realm there had been two. And now, here, in Nytheril - two moons again. Echidna watched him closely. "Do you think it''s connected somehow?" Chael didn''t respond immediately. His mind tried to piece together fragments of a mystery that felt too big for him to grasp. There was so much he didn''t know - about this city, about the Veiled Realm, about why he had been chosen at all. After a long silence, he let out a quiet sigh. "Maybe." That was all he could give her. Then, after a moment, he turned toward her. His voice was steady and cold. "Your turn." This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Echidna''s fingers absently tugged at something beneath her collar and she pulled out a thin chain. A pendant that took the shape of a red apple slid from beneath the layers of fabric and caught the dim light of the twin moons outside. Chael''s frown deepened. His blindfolded gaze lingered on the pendant, the reflection of its silver surface flickering in his spearhead. It wasn''t just jewelry. He could feel the energy woven into it. Echidna traced the edge of the apple pendant with her thumb. "This, too, is a magical artifact. It''s called the Redfall Talisman," she said, her tone quieter than before. "It protects me from high falls." Chael''s fingers twitched. A thief with not one, but two magical artifacts? That wasn''t normal. Even among Veiled Harbingers, magical artifacts were rare. They were reserved for the highest echelons of power such as lords, warlords, and the nobility of Enir-Ilim. Not even trained warriors of the empire had regular access to them, let alone some mercenary who had been scraping by with a pack of mongrels. "You" Chael muttered, his voice edged with suspicion. "How is this possible? Where did you get it from?" Echidna opened her mouth, then hesitated. Her brows furrowed, and her fingers tightened around the Redfall Talisman. "It''s something precious to me. Well, it was" Silence. Something shifted in her expression. She frowned deeply and pressed a hand to her temple. "Where? Where was this from again?" Her breath hitched slightly, and she clutched her head with both hands. "Wait I can''t remember much about my past all of a sudden. Why is my memory so hazy?" Chael''s fingers curled against the floor. This again. First, she couldn''t remember where she got the Interspatial Pouch. And now this? He regarded her with cold scrutiny, watching as she rubbed her forehead, her body visibly tensing as she tried to recall something that just wasn''t there. Was she faking memory loss to avoid telling him about her past? No, that doesn''t make sense. If she wanted to avoid this subject then she wouldn''t have told him about her artifacts altogether. He scoffed. "Do you have the memory of a goldfish?" Echidna didn''t react. She was too focused and too agitated, still clutching her head, as if trying to force her memories back through sheer will. "No" she muttered, voice tense. "I just... I can''t remember it for some reason" Her shoulders rose and fell unevenly as frustration bled into her voice. "I know it''s something important, but I just can''t." Chael exhaled sharply through his nose. He didn''t like it. Something about this felt off. His fingers drummed against his knee. After a long moment, he sighed and leaned his head back against the wooden door. "You''re awfully trusting of the man you tortured just a day or two ago." Echidna finally let go of her head, her expression returning to something closer to normal. She gave him a lazy, half-hearted smirk. "Oh well. You''re not the type to steal, anyway." Chael turned his head toward her with an unreadable expression. "Where did you get that from?" "My instinct." Of course. Instinct. She had trusted her gut before, multiple times, and each time, it had turned out to be right. She had sensed the danger before the dog thing attacked. She had a premonition about going east through the Yue Clan. She had sensed something was wrong in the ruins before the Hollowed Choir appeared. And now this? He didn''t respond. Instead, he simply shifted against the door and adjusted his position slightly. His body was too battered to stay tense for long. He had spent too much time at the edge of death, too much time ignoring pain, ignoring exhaustion, and ignoring the pull of sleep. And for the first time in what felt like days, he finally allowed himself to relax. Echidna exhaled, rolling onto her side, and pulled her cloak tighter around her body. She was still worn down was still recovering, but the tension in her shoulders had eased - if only slightly. The wind outside continued to roar and clawed at the cathedral walls, howling through the cracks. But inside, within the walls of this strange, untouched room, they finally drifted into sleep. Chapter 30鈥擟ruelty and Weakness The snow stretched endlessly in all directions. It was the kind of white that swallowed everything - the kind that made it impossible to tell where the ground ended and the sky began. The wind howled and carried with it a hollow, distant sound like whispers just barely out of reach. Chael stood in the middle of it all, his boots sinking into the deep frost. The cold was sharp and he could almost feel it cut through his clothes and biting against his skin, but he couldn''t move. He couldn''t even shiver. Because in front of him, just barely visible through the whirling snow, was her. A woman, her long silver hair flowing like strands of moonlight and the edges of her cloak dusted with fresh frost. She wasn''t looking at him. Her back was turned and her figure was distant, slipping further and further into the white void. She was leaving. Chael tried to speak. He tried to call out, however, his voice didn''t come. His throat was dry. His chest was hollow and his heart ached with something he couldn''t name. Then, another figure appeared beside her. It was a man dressed in red. His presence was wrong. He didn''t blend into the snow like she did and he didn''t fade into the cold like she was meant to. Instead, he stood out, his crimson robes bleeding against the pale white. Chael couldn''t see his face. A dark feeling clawed at his gut. "Mother...!" He tried to shout but no sound escaped his throat. The silver-haired woman kept walking, the man in red following. The snow rose, the wind roared and the landscape twisted. Chael woke up. **** His breath was slow and controlled, but his body was tense. The first thing he noticed was that the roaring white abyss of a fog was gone. The second thing he noticed was that he had fallen asleep when he shouldn''t have. Chael''s lips twisted into a scowl. Damn it. He was supposed to be watching and keeping guard in case the owner of this room had returned. He never should have let himself fall asleep. His fingers twitched against the stone floor as he sat up. Everything was too quiet. Slowly, he turned his head, his blindfolded gaze shifting toward the bed. Echidna was still asleep. She was curled up beneath her cloak, her expression peaceful in a way he hadn''t seen before. Seeing her so vulnerable, a dark thought crept into his mind as he recalled the way she had tortured him. She had his arms broken, his finger broken, she had shot him, stabbed him, and watched with a smirk as he was getting beaten up to a pulp by her men. He remembered the way he laughed like a madman at the sight of the Veyrith tearing apart the Mongrel''s Vow. He was laughing out of sheer spite and hatred. It was such a hatred that if he were to feel it right now, he''d slash Echidna to shreds before she could even wake up. But that was also when he was in a position of powerlessness. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Now that he had stepped into the Veiled Realm, and was in a position of power as a result, he did not nearly feel the same amount of hatred at all. Otherwise, he could''ve killed her back at the cavern. He would''ve watched in glee as that dog tore her apart. He would''ve gladly pushed her off the cliff onto the city below where that white dragon had risen from. And he certainly wouldn''t have saved her when she was about to fall to her death while climbing the cathedral. But would it have been the same had their power balance been the same? If he had never become a harbinger or Echidna had become one at the same time as him? If that had been the case, would he still not have tried to kill her yet? ''All cruelty stems from weakness.'' Chael recalled a teaching from his past. For some strange reason, he couldn''t remember who taught it to him exactly, but these words passed across his mind. Chael exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind. His body ached as he pushed himself up and tested his limbs. His right arm, the one that had been broken, felt different. It hadn''t healed. But it did feel a lot better. His fingers flexed, stiff and sore, but no longer useless. The pain in his wrist had dulled into something manageable, and the constant throb in his bones was no longer unbearable. So that was a major difference. As a Harbinger, healing was faster. It wasn''t as if though being a Harbinger gave him instant regeneration, though he wouldn''t be surprised if some of them possessed that ability. His body repaired itself at a speed beyond that of a normal human. It made sense. If Harbingers were meant to wield the power of long-forgotten gods, then they needed bodies capable of withstanding it. Chael clenched his fist, testing his grip. Then, he turned toward the weapon rack. The polished metal gleamed beneath the dim glow of the twin moons filtering through the window. The weapons were still immaculate and untouched by time. He reached for a spear. It was well-crafted. The wooden shaft was smooth yet sturdy and the silver spearhead was sharp and clean, unblemished by rust or wear. As he lifted it, the weight settled into his hand with perfect balance. It was neither too heavy nor too light. Chael tightened his grip and gave it an experimental swing. Pain shot through his arm immediately. He winced and almost dropped it. His muscles locked up from the strain. "Still can''t fight properly," he muttered under his breath and lowered the weapon. With a sharp exhale, he switched to his left hand instead. The difference was immediate. No pain. No struggle. The weapon moved easily in his grasp, gliding through the air as he swung it in a slow arc. The silver spearhead caught the dim light, its reflection clearer than anything else in the room. Chael tilted it slightly, watching the way the world shifted through its surface. The reflection was sharper and cleaner. His lips curled slightly. "Looks good," he muttered. He gripped the shaft tightly, adjusting his stance. Then, with a quiet finality, he murmured, "You''ll be my weapon for a while." Chael turned toward the small reinforced window in the room. The fog that had swallowed the world outside had retreated and revealed the ruins of Nytheril with clarity. Frowning, he stepped toward the larger wooden door and slowly pushed it open. A cool draft rolled in and brushed against his face as he stepped out onto a narrow balcony. His breath came out slow, measured, as he took in the sight below. From here, they were slightly above the massive statue that stood in front of the cathedral. The cracked marble, the raised fist frozen mid-battle cry. It seemed even more monumental from above, its presence commanding yet eerie in the half-light of the morning sky. Beyond it, the vast colonnade stretched outward, the pillars standing tall and unyielding. His gaze drifted toward the frontmost pillar on the right, and there was a dark stain on the stone. Blood. The floor near it was marked with old smears, either his or Echidna''s. He couldn''t tell anymore. His fingers tightened around the spear as his gaze moved beyond the cathedral grounds. To the east, he saw spires that were tall and elegant as well as other structures piercing the sky. They stood at the heart of what had once been the Yue Clan''s domain. Even from here, he could feel the remnants of something grand and powerful lingering in the air. But it was to the west that his eyes truly lingered. Beyond the cliffs, where the fog had once swallowed the land whole, he could see a city sprawled below. It was vast, its layout complex and twisting, buildings stacked upon each other in a seemingly chaotic pattern. The structures were built into the land itself, following the natural dips and rises of the terrain, as if the city had grown from the earth rather than being constructed upon it. The absence of the fog made it so much clearer now. Even further beyond, in the mountains far west, something else caught his eye. It was hard to see and barely distinguishable from the jagged peaks, but there was something there. A settlement. Not a city. A fortress. From this distance, he couldn''t make out the details, but its placement was strategic. It was high in the mountains and built into the stone. Chael''s lips pressed into a thin line. So much had been hidden by that fog. And now, it was all laid bare. A soft sigh came from beside him. Echidna had stepped out with her arms crossed. Her sharp gaze scanned the distance. The wind ruffled her cloak slightly, her silver hair catching the dim light. She let out a quiet chuckle. "What a pretty view." Chapter 31鈥擣eigning Cruelty Chael turned his head slightly, adjusting the angle of his spear so that the reflection shifted. Through the gleaming silver of the spearhead, he studied her. Echidna stood beside him with her arms crossed as she gazed over the expanse of the ruined city. Her silver hair was messy with strands slipping loose from beneath her tricorn hat. Her expression was unreadable. It was calm and collected, but her silver eyes looked a little hollow. Like she was here, yet not. Chael exhaled, turning his attention back to the vastness of Nytheril. "Nytheril" he muttered after a long silence. "It appears this place was once as mighty as Enir-Ilim." Unbeknownst to Chael, the faintest flicker of something crossed Echidna''s face. Shock. Unrecognition. She was staring at him. It wasn''t just a look, but a long and shocked stare. It was as though, for a brief moment, she didn''t recognize him at all. Her gaze was too intense for what should''ve been a casual conversation. Then, she shook her head. She furrowed her brows with her arms tightening over her chest. "Nytheril?" she echoed, her voice uncertain. Chael frowned and turned toward her fully. "Yeah," he said slowly. "That''s what this place is called." Echidna''s frown deepened. "How do you know?" Chael gave her a flat, unimpressed look. "What do you mean, how do I know?" His brows furrowed further. "We heard it yesterday from-" He stopped abruptly. A cold silence stretched between them. The words had come instinctively, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn''t actually remember where he had learned that name. Chael''s jaw clenched. His mind raced backward, combing through the past day, searching for the moment he had heard the name Nytheril. Then, his gaze drifted toward the colonnade. "That''s right," he muttered under his breath, the memory slotting into place. "That half-ghost who attacked us yesterday - he said it." His eyes flicked toward Echidna, his voice sharper now. "You were there." Echidna stared at him. Something passed over her face. She then pinched the bridge of her nose, her expression twisting slightly. "Was I?" Chael''s breath slowed. There was no humor in her voice. Nor did Chael hear any sarcasm. She wasn''t mocking him. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She genuinely didn''t seem to remember. And for the first time in a long time, that unsettled him. For a long while, neither of them spoke. They simply stood there, staring out over the ruins, taking in the view of a world that had long since been abandoned. Then, Echidna lifted a hand and pointed. "That statue," she said, her voice quieter now. "It reminds me of Drakos." Chael tilted his head slightly. "Drakos?" Echidna nodded. Her silver eyes flickered with something unreadable. "A warrior from Enir-Ilim. A prodigy. Twenty years ago, they built a statue just like this one in front of the Vel''Kor Estate." Chael''s spear reflected light off the twin moon and shone down onto the statue of the Saintess of Carnage. He had heard of Drakos before. It was impossible not to if you lived anywhere near the empire. Drakos - the Draconic Knight. He was the youngest Harbinger to ever step into the Veiled Realm at fourteen. Then, at only eighteen, he reached the Ascended Realm. His rise had been unlike any before him and he was a prodigy in every sense of the word. Not only had he dominated battlefields, but he had also become a legend in his own time. His name was synonymous with heroism and his deeds were etched into the annals of history. And then, one day, he vanished. No body. No final battle. No farewell. He had simply walked away from history. Echidna crossed her arms. "I always found him interesting. He wasn''t born in Enir-Ilim, you know. He just showed up one day. Came to the city when he was fifteen with no memories of his past, no idea where he came from. A wanderer." Chael didn''t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze drifted toward the horizon. The ruined city below. The spires of the Yue Clan in the east. The fortress that lay far in the mountains. How many warriors had bled for these lands? How many forgotten names lay buried beneath the snow and stone? A wanderer. His lips parted slightly before he even realized he was speaking. "Sometimes I feel like a wanderer too," Chael muttered, his voice edged with something distant and cold. "Like the world is a place I''m only passing through. Unlike Drakos, though, I''ve lost the map to where I belong." Echidna turned her head toward him, listening. "I don''t know what to fight for anymore," he continued, gripping the shaft of his spear a little tighter. "Except to make sure I survive, scrape together some peace, and maybe find some purpose before fate decides to swallow me whole." The wind howled softly around them. Echidna turned her head to the ruins of Nyrethil stretching endlessly before them. The crisp wind cut through the air. Neither of them moved to leave the balcony. Then, finally, she spoke. "That works for you," she murmured, her voice quieter now. "I guess you can get out or die trying, and either would work for you." Chael smirked faintly. "You''re starting to understand me." Echidna let out a dry chuckle, but there was no real amusement in it. Just exhaustion. She tilted her head back slightly, looking up at the twin moons as if searching for something beyond them. "I have a reason to get out too," she admitted. "Everything I''ve done in my life - being a slum thief, joining the Mongrel''s Vow, feigning cruelty, and eventually becoming their leader and scraping together as many coins as I could - it was all for a reason." She hesitated. Her fingers twitched at her sides. "But" her brows furrowed. "I can''t remember it for some reason." Chael didn''t react outwardly, but something in his gut twisted. "Feigning cruelty?" Chael frowned, "The hell does that mean?" Echidna let out a shaky sigh and clutched her head, "I... don''t know..." He recalled the way she had shot him even though he had already been subdued, broken his hand even though he had been outnumbered, and watched as an idle bystander as her men beat him to a pulp. He had thought Echidna was a psychotic and heartless woman, but now, as he recalled the way she had screamed when fighting the Hollowed Choir it seemed like there''s a lot more to her story. "You really can''t remember?" Echidna let out a slow exhale. She pressed her thumb against her temple and rubbed small circles into the skin. "No matter how hard I try," she muttered. "It''s like trying to hold onto mist. The more I chase it, the more it slips through my fingers." Chael sighed. "Maybe it''s just a side effect from the black mist that the Hollowed Choir screamed out." Echidna rubbed her forehead, "Maybe..." The silence between them stretched, heavy and unspoken. Chael turned away from the balcony, his grip tightening around the shaft of his spear as he strode toward the door at the far end of the room. He had seen enough from the outside. Now it was time to move. "I''ll go and scout," he said flatly. "I''ll try to learn as much about this place as possible so we can make a plan to leave unscathed." Chapter 32鈥擱edfall Talisman Behind him, Echidna stirred. "I''m coming with you," she said almost immediately. Chael didn''t even look at her. "No." Echidna scoffed. "What do you mean ''no''?" "You''re in no condition to fight after everything that happened just yesterday." His voice was as cold as ever. "And you''re still just an Unveiled, so you''ll just get in my way." Echidna opened her mouth but stopped. She then let out a slow breath, her eyes narrowing. Chael could tell she knew he was right. She could barely stand without wincing. Her body was covered in bruises and cuts, her clothes still damp with dried blood and her muscles still trembled from exhaustion. If she followed him, she wouldn''t last long. Instead, he turned his focus inward. His right arm still wasn''t completely functional, but it was far better than it had been. The accelerated healing of a Harbinger was making a difference. He rolled his shoulder experimentally and felt the stiffness. The pain was still there but it was manageable. Slowly, he reached for the door handle. The cold metal pressed against his palm, and just as he was about to turn it- "Wait." Chael stilled. His blindfolded gaze turned toward her, the reflection of Echidna''s silhouette flickering in his spearhead. She had stepped closer. Her silver eyes were strangely unreadable. Then, without another word, she lifted a hand and pulled the apple-shaped pendant from around her neck. Chael raised his eyebrow. "What are you-" She pressed it into his palm. "You need this more than me," Echidna muttered. Chael''s fingers curled around the pendant which was warm from her body heat. For the first time ever, when he looked at her, he didn''t feel any hatred. He didn''t feel the simmering rage that had burned within him ever since she and her mercenaries had dragged him through hell. Instead, he didn''t know what he felt. There was something strange about the way she looked at him now. There was a hollowness in her silver eyes. Like something was missing. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He swallowed the feeling down and silently slipped the pendant over his neck. Without saying anything, he turned away and faced the door once more before twisting the handle. The hinges barely made a sound as it swung open. **** The corridor stretched endlessly ahead. Its vast emptiness pressed against Chael like a heavy weight. The dim beige glow from the walls pulsed softly, almost like a faint, eerie heartbeat within the cold stone. There was no dust. No lingering scent of rot, no dampness, and no signs of time eating away at the structure. It was immaculate. And completely lifeless. Chael exhaled through his nose as he moved forward. His boots barely made a sound against the stone floor, each step swallowed by the silence. The corridor''s ceiling was very high, almost a couple of meters up. The walls on either side were smooth, unblemished by cracks or wear as if they had been built just yesterday. Initially, since the hallway was very very dim, Chael was walking mostly through spacial awareness with what little he could see from the reflection. Then, his perspective grew brighter. Chael''s steps halted. Because further down the corridor, there was a burning torch placed on the wall. Chael was instantly dumbstruck. A burning torch? So this place was being maintained, after all. But by who, or by what? The thought was both frightening and somewhat comforting at the same time. Chael slowly carried on walking except this time he was a lot more cautious, down to the very step. Occasionally, he would pass doorways. Some were open and some shut. And each time, he would pause, listening carefully before stepping inside. And what he found only deepened his unease. Every room was pristine. Just like the one he and Echidna were staying at. He had come across a chamber filled with chairs and a long wooden table that was completely untouched. There were no scratches and no dust layering the surface. The chairs were perfectly arranged as if a meeting had ended just minutes before, yet there were no signs that anyone had ever been present. Chael ran a hand along the surface of a nearby dresser. Nothing. No dust. His frown deepened. It was as if the place had been preserved in a moment of time and was eternally waiting for its occupants to return. But there were no occupants and yet, the glow remained. Chael''s spearhead reflected what little light pale moonlight came from the window as he looked around the room. Where was its occupant? Why hadn''t they returned? Chael was sure that he and Echidna were in that room for more than twenty-four hours, yet no one came in. And if this place had been abandoned long ago, why was it still functioning? Who, or what was keeping it this way? Chael exited the room and continued down the endless hall. The unsettling uniformity of the corridors made it difficult to tell if he was going deeper into the structure or simply walking in circles. The architecture was impossibly vast, the ceilings stretching higher and higher the further he went. The hallway finally opened into a larger chamber. It was a sitting area. Plush, velvet couches were arranged in a perfect semicircle around an unlit fireplace. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling and the crystals hanging off it shimmered in the firelight. Chael stepped forward, the eerie glow flickering slightly across the reflective surfaces of the chandelier''s glass ornaments. He adjusted his grip on his spear and his gaze flickered around the chamber. Still no signs of life. And no answers. His muscles tensed slightly. He had encountered abandoned ruins before. He had seen the remains of fallen settlements that had long since been touched. But this was not one of them. This place was not abandoned but rather, it seemed waiting. Chael exhaled slowly before pressing on. He needed to know more. He wanted to understand what this place was and why it still stood, untouched and preserved in unnatural perfection. So he continued forward, into the heart of the silent, immaculate halls of Nytheril. After what felt like forever, he finally stopped. Not because of something he saw - but because of something he heard. A sound. Metallic footsteps. Chael froze. Chapter 33鈥擠esecerated Prayer Hall Chael extended the tip of his spear and angled it slightly so that the silver reflection revealed the corridor ahead. And then, he saw it. A figure emerged from the adjacent passage and moved with slow, controlled steps. It was a knight clad in full metallic armor, its surface rugged yet reflective and caught the dim glow of the torches on the walls. A metal helmet obscured its features and Chael almost thought it was human, but what made him stop in his tracks was the faint red glow where its eyes were supposed to be. It also held a sword in one hand and a metal shield in the other. Chael watched carefully with his heart drumming in his chest. He recalled the Hellfire Sentinel that had eviscerated that white dragon. He remembered the same red glow from where its eyes had been. The knight''s movements were unnaturally precise and not in the way of a living soldier, but in the way of something bound to a duty it could not abandon. It walked with mechanical repetition with steps echoing faintly through the silent corridor as if it had been following this path for centuries without pause. There was no hesitation and no deviation. Chael pressed himself into the shadows and kept his presence low as he traced the knight''s movement through his spear''s reflection. Then, it turned a corner. Without thinking, Chael moved. A tattered curtain hung along the side of the corridor. He slipped behind it and pressed his back against the cold stone just as the knight came into full view. Its steps did not falter. It did not turn its head and it did not pause to observe its surroundings. It simply walked. Chael could see the curtain he had hidden himself in through the reflection of the knight''s armor. He could also see the rest of the corridor in the perspective of the knight''s armor. It almost felt like he was the knight because every part of the knight had some sort of reflection. This might turn out to be very useful. The knight continued forward, its footsteps never breaking rhythm. The sound of its armor barely made a whisper, and the moment it passed, the silence of the corridor returned. Chael waited for several moments before he stepped out from behind the curtain. He glanced down the path the knight had taken and considered his next move. Fighting it here wasn''t an option. The corridors were too quiet. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The clash of steel, even if it was just one strike, would echo through these halls and alert not just other knights that might be here, but whatever else lurked in the depths of this place. He recalled the Hollowed Choir and shivered. No. He needed to be smart. Instead of engaging, Chael trailed the knight from a distance. His footsteps were soundless and his presence was as controlled as ever. The knight never looked back. It simply followed its path, turning corners with methodical precision, and navigated the halls as though it had walked them a thousand times before. From the reflection of the knight''s armor, Chael saw the corridor begin to open up. They soon appeared in what seemed to be a grand prayer hall. The ceiling arched high above and vanished into shadows. Massive pillars lined the chamber, each carved with intricate reliefs depicting scenes of war and worship At the far end of the hall, a massive altar stood beneath a shattered stained-glass window. The knight did not enter. It continued down another passage and deeper into the cathedral. Chael, however, didn''t follow. Instead, he slipped into the prayer hall and disappeared into the vast, empty space. The vastness of the grand prayer hall stretched endlessly before Chael. Towering pillars loomed with their surfaces engraved with intricate carvings of forgotten deities. The faint torchlight barely reached the high ceilings which left the upper reaches shrouded in darkness. An altar stood at the far end just beneath the shattered remains of a stained-glass window. The room reeked of something old and stagnant. He felt a lingering presence thick in the air. Then, he heard it. It started off as soft, breathy moans. Chael''s froze as unease settled into his bones. The sound echoed through the hall and weaved between the pillars like a sickly hymn. It wasn''t the sound of someone in pain. No, it was a noise very unbefitting of a place like this. He stepped further into the shadows, moving carefully, his blindfolded gaze turning toward the altar where the sounds grew louder. A priestess, or a ghost that resembled one, was bent over at the foot of the altar, naked except for the religious headpiece that crowned her head. Her hands were clasped in mock prayer as she muttered softly to herself. "Ahh Blessed be the halls of the Crucible of Light. May the Mothers of Flesh heed the call of the Whore-Saint. May we bathe in devotion in surrender in ruin... ah..." Behind her, a knight loomed. It was clad in the same faceless armor as the patrolling knight he followed earlier, its every movement was slow and unnatural as it thrust its hips forward and backward. The only difference was that the lower portion of its armor was missing. It didn''t move like a man, nor did it move like a beast and it moved like a thing bound to a purpose it no longer understood. Chael''s stomach twisted as he listened. There was something deeply wrong about this. The priestess let out another trembling moan. "Ohh Mother Mother have you forsaken me, too? The Whore She calls She calls" Chael fought the urge to get out of there as fast as he could. Discomfort overwhelmed him. Whatever this was, it wasn''t for him to understand. He took a slow step back, angling his body toward the opposite side of the chamber. There was another exit across the hall. If he could just slip past- "Ah" The woman''s voice slithered through the air and curled around his ears like a dying breath. "A new pilgrim" Chael froze. He hadn''t made a sound. He hadn''t even let his breathing change. And yet, she knew. Slowly, his head turned toward her. The priestess remained bent over, but her body no longer shook. It appeared that the knight had stopped its movements. Her pale lips curled into something between a smile and a grimace and her breath slowed as if she were savoring the moment. "Does the Whore-Saint call to you, too?" Chael didn''t answer. Then, a sharp movement. A low and unnatural creak filled the silence as the knight''s head twisted toward him, its faceless helm locking onto his position. And then, its hollow sockets glowed. A deep, crimson light flickered to life within the slits of its visor and burned dimly at first, then grew stronger. Chael''s pulse hammered. The priestess let out a shuddering sigh and turned her body entirely toward him, her voice dripping with something sickly sweet. "Ahhh we are watched" And then, the knight moved. Chapter 34鈥擶hore-Saint Chael barely had time to register it before the appeared in front of him with its sword raised high. The crimson glow in its visor burned like embers in the dark and its faceless gaze locked onto him as it swung downward. But Chael didnt need time to react because he had already seen it. Through the knights own armor, through the gleam of its polished plates, and the reflection caught in its raised blade, he had already witnessed the attack before it even fell upon him. It was as though he was the knight itself. Chael sidestepped effortlessly and the massive sword cleaved through the spot where he had stood just a fraction of a second ago. The blade hit the ground with a thunderous crash and split the stone beneath it. Dust and debris scattered, but Chael had already moved again, stepping back just in time to avoid the sweeping horizontal slash that followed. Chael backed up to gain some distance, his eyes analyzing the knight''s fighting style as well as it''s armor to see if he could exploit any weaknesses. The knight was relentless, striking again and again, but Chael danced between its attacks, weaving through the gaps in its attacks as if he had rehearsed them a hundred times before. Chael didn''t attack yet and simply observed, the teaching of his favourite strategist flashing through his mind, ''Sun Tzu once said, "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."'' The more he danced with the knight, the more he realized that the reflections in its armor gave him every advantage. The metal gauntlets, the smooth curve of the shoulder guards, the gleam of its blade, and even the twisted shapes reflected in its helmet - they all showed him something. To anyone else, this knight would have been a formidable opponent. To Chael? It was an open book. After a few more dodges, a sharper look appeared on his face. About now he had fully memorized a majority of the knight''s attacks, and he even noticed that the knight had a small gap between its helmet and the upper-body area of the armor. If he wanted to eliminate this knight as quickly as possible, then exploiting that gap might be his best bet. The knight lunged again with its sword thrusting forward, but Chael countered in an instant and slammed his spear straight into its metal torso. The force of the impact sent the knight staggering back, a deep dent now carved into its breastplate where the silver tip had struck. Chael glanced at his spearhead and was surprised to see that it didn''t even have a single scratch. He let out a low whistle. "Damn. Sturdier than I thought." The knight began attacking again, its blade slashing in a brutal arc. Chael spun his spear and deflected the attack mid-air, the broken side of his body aching from the sheer force behind it. Chael used the momentum of the attack to gain some distance. The knight seemed more or less on his level, so Chael assumed it was also a low-level Harbinger. This was his first real fight since he had become a Harbinger and it wasnt going so bad. Chael was actually quite confident in the outcome of this fight because he was the worst type of enemy these knights could come across. The knights only had one set of eyes, but they gave him multiple. Chaels eyes drifted to the darker corners of this prayer hall where the dim firelight didnt reach. If the fight happened there, Chael would be in a lot more trouble but thankfully, the knight didnt seem intelligent enough to drag the fight over there. Chael panted lightly as he saw the knight advance slowly. The reflection from his own spearhead showed the knight and its armor missing its lower half. Chaels expression twisted into a look of sheer disgust. "Tch. Have some shame, will you?" he scoffed. "Fighting with your dick hanging out? How disgraceful." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The knight pressed forward with brutal and ceaseless strikes, but Chael moved in perfect rhythm, blocking, dodging, and weaving through the openings its own body revealed to him. The sharp clang of steel against steel echoed through the prayer hall. Through the gleam of its sword, he saw the next swing coming before the knight had even begun to move. Through the curve of its helmet, he saw the subtle shift in its footing and predicted the feint before it was executed. One thing Chael had thought about during the time he was recovering in that cavern after going blind was that an area full of light and reflections must be his strongest domain for combat, but he thought hed need a lot of time to get used to it. Only now did he realize that these movements came naturally and instinctively as he saw the world through the mirrors around him. Chael sidestepped another blow and pivoted sharply as he drove his spear straight into the knights abdomen. The force of the strike sent it reeling back again. With a burst of speed, he lunged forward and closed the distance between them in an instant. His spear shot out, aiming for the gap in the knight''s throat. The knight dodged. Chaels brow furrowed slightly. Its sword came down toward his shoulder, but Chael twisted his spear and caught the reflection of the blade mid-swing, and ducked at the last moment, feeling the cold air brush past his cheek as it narrowly missed. The knight tried again and swung in a wide arc. Chael smirked. Mistake. He stepped into its guard and twisted his spear, and drove the blunt end straight into its knee. The knight buckled. Chael wasted no time. He spun the spear around, gripping it near the base, and with a single, powerful thrust, he rammed the silver tip straight through the knights throat. The impact sent it crashing backward. It convulsed for a moment, body twitching as black mist poured from the wound. Then, it fell still. Chael exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulders as he stepped over the body. He nudged it with his foot once, making sure it was truly down. After a few seconds, the crimson glow in its visor flickered and died. "Good riddance," he said coldly. Despite fighting with his non-dominant hand, his spearmanship was great. As the chief of Ashwara, Chael had been made to undergo rigorous combat training almost every single day. When he finally had a decent grasp of all combat weapons, he decided to pick up the spear and make it his specialty because of its better reach, versatility and tactical superiority over other weapons. Chael glanced at the priestess. She hadnt moved. She remained kneeling before the altar, her pale lips still curved into that eerie smile. Chael narrowed his eyes. "Still here?" he asked. The priestess tilted her head. "Ahh the pilgrims touch is cruel" she murmured before her figure glowed slightly and soon began to fade away. "The Whore-Saint will return We are all bound We are all faithful." A sharp exhale left his lips. It seemed that she, too, was a ghost like the many they had encountered on their way to this cathedral. Theyd vanish as soon as he tried to interact with them. "Will return" The Whore-saint? Just who or what was it? He shook his head. It didnt matter. At least, not right now. Chael moved deeper into the prayer hall. His gaze shifted across the chamber, and in the details he had ignored due to the sheer shock of what had happened just before. The architecture here was ancient, yet strangely untouched by time. The walls were lined with faded murals depicting strange, twisted figures draped in white veils with faceless heads bowed in reverence before a great altar. He moved forward slowly towards the door at the other end of the prayer hall. A couple of steps forward- he saw it. At the far end of the hall, towering above all else, stood a statue. Even in the dim light, it was nearly impossible to miss. It depicted a woman who was draped in flowing robes that clung to her figure in ways that seemed almost obscene for something placed in a place of worship. Her hands were raised, one in prayer, the other extended outward as if beckoning someone forward. Despite the craftsmanship, there was something deeply unsettling about it. The statues face was serene and its marble lips curved into the faintest smile. But her eyes- They were hollow. There were deep, dark pits carved into the stone, as if whatever had once been there had rotted away long ago. At the base of the statue, an inscription was carved into the stone. Shanthura. Chael was certain it had something to with the Whore-saint, but there seemed to be more written down. Having Echidna around to translate would have been useful about now. Not that he cared too much about it, anyway. He was just a little intrigued. His blindfolded gaze lingered on the statue for a moment longer before his lips curled into a humorless smirk. "Religion here really was something else," he muttered under his breath. Then, without another word, he moved forward through the doorway and left the prayer hall. Chapter 35鈥擝eneath the Armour Chael moved through the corridor with silent steps against the stone floor. The fight had left him more aware of his own strength. His body, senses, and the unnatural awareness granted by his Harbinger abilities. For the first time since his transformation, he acknowledged a truth that had been creeping at the edges of his mind. Being a Harbinger wasnt half bad, after all. He had taken down that knight with ease and without too much difficulty by reacting to attacks before they even fully formed. Even now, as he walked, he could still feel the rush of battle lingering beneath his skin. It was intoxicating, and unlike anything he had felt before. Sure, Chael had fought before tens of times with opponents of varying strength, but his first proper fight as a Harbinger with an opponent of similar strength was a thrilling new experience. After all, his heightened senses, strength, and speed was on a whole different level compared to what he had ever been before. His fingers lightly traced the black-stained windows lining the corridor, their surfaces warped and cracked with age. The glass was murky and barely letting in any light, but through the distortion, he could just barely make out the world beyond. And what he saw made him pause. Far in the distance, beyond the cathedral walls and deep in the snow-covered mountains, stood a fortress. From what he could see, it was surrounded by other little settlements, and the fortress itself was black, as if it was made of dark stone or iron. Chaels eyes narrowed beneath his blindfold. Huh? Since when was there a fortress here? His fingers curled slightly against the glass as a strange sensation settled in his chest. It felt familiar for some reason, like something he had seen before. Or maybe something he should have seen before. Something about it felt wrong. It was like a dj vu that never quite settled. But before he could dwell on it further, he heard it. Metallic footsteps. Chael didnt react immediately. Instead, he shifted his grip on his spear and adjusted his stance. Slowly, he turned the tip of the spear outward and angled it just enough to catch a reflection. The polished silver gleamed faintly, and within its fractured surface, he saw the knight. It was patrolling up the corridor and moved at the same measured pace as the one before. Chael sighed through his nose. Another one. He remained still and watched through the reflection as the knight continued its advance. **** The knight moved forward with mechanical precision. Its footsteps echoed through the empty corridor in a steady rhythm against the cold stone floor. Its armor reflected the dim glow of the cathedrals eerie torch light, every polished surface gleaming faintly as it passed. It did not think. It did not pause. It only walked. As it rounded a corner, its faceless helm turned slightly and scanned the space ahead. There was nothing. The corridor was empty. The knight did not stop. It took another step forward- And then, a silver blade thrust through the gap in its armor and pierced clean through the back of its throat. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The knight jerked, its body stiffening as the crimson glow in its visor flickered. The weight of its metal frame crumpled to the ground with a dull thud. Its sword clattered uselessly beside it. The light in its eyes faded into nothingness. Chael lowered his spear as he stepped into view. That had been too easy. His blindfolded gaze flickered over the knights corpse. He wasnt surprised not see his own reflection. This was a mystery he wanted to get to the bottom of. He had noticed this before he had become a Harbinger at the cave he and Echidna stayed at to seek shelter from the Black Storm. It definitely had something to do with the Blind Prophet as this phenomenon had only taken place when he heard the muffled voice which he would later come to understand as You are The Reflection of What Was and What Will Be - whatever that meant. Either way, Chael knew hed make sense of all of this sooner or later. He crouched beside the body and ran a hand over its tarnished chest plate. These knights werent difficult opponents for him. Especially not with his ability. Their armor, their weapons, and everything they carried reflected light. That meant he could see through them, and track every movement with every shift in their stance. And that got him thinking. If their armor was so useful why not take it for himself? Chael reached for the knights helmet. He gripped it firmly and pulled, but it didnt budge. His brows furrowed. Frowning, he braced one foot against the knights shoulder and tugged harder. The visor was stuck, almost as if it was fused to the body beneath it. With a grunt, he gave one final, forceful pull, and the helmet came loose. For a second, he felt triumphant. Then, he saw what was underneath. And his stomach turned. The knights face was unrecognizable. Where there was supposed to have been flesh, bone, and skin, there was instead a grotesque fusion of metal and human remains. Silver had seeped into the ruined tissue and spread across the surface. The eyes were long gone and replaced with hollow sockets where the crimson glow had once burned. The mouth was twisted, with the lips melted into an eternal grimace and fused with the remnants of the visor. Chael felt bile rise in his throat. This had been a man once. Chael was already aware of this fact but because of their soulless and unhuman nature, he didnt really care much about it and pushed the thought to the back of his mind He dropped the helmet with a quiet, metallic clang. Chael took one last look at the grotesque remains beneath the discarded helmet, and then he let out a slow breath and pushed himself up. The nausea still clung to his stomach, but he forced it aside and gripped his spear before stepping forward. He needed to move. Dwelling on this horror wouldnt change anything. But just as he began to press on, something stopped him. Standing directly ahead, in the center of the corridor, was one of the taller Hollowed Choir. This wasnt one of the black-robed figures that he had fought. This was one of the figures that stood at the back and controlled the smaller ones. It was clad in deep violet, its tattered robes flowing around its skeletal frame like a shadow-given form. Its hollow sockets were filled with seeping ice pouring out from beneath a black hood, and in its withered hands, it clutched a twisted staff of pale wood which was crowned with a pulsating blue crystal that flickered eerily in the dim light. Chaels grip on his spear immediately tightened. Back at the entrance of the cathedral, their chants alone had nearly killed him. But now, he had one of them alone. His lips curled into a sneer and his voice carried a sadistic edge. "Not so terrifying without your little choir, are you?" He took a slow step forward and raised his spear, closing their distance slowly. But before he could take another step, the creature opened its mouth. A guttural and inhuman chant poured from its throat. Shanthura. The words slithered through the air like a physical force and it seemed to fill the corridor with a chilling resonance. Chaels eyes narrowed. The words meant nothing to him since he didnt understand this god-forsaken ancient language, but the power behind them was unmistakable. Chael''s ears suddenly perked and picked a faint shift of metal from behind. Every muscle in Chaels body went rigid. His breath caught, and in the fraction of a second, before he turned, a terrible realization struck him. He knew what he was going to see. He whipped around. And there, rising from the cold stone floor, its body twitching with unnatural spasms, the knight stood again. Except now, its visor was missing. Its hollow sockets glowed with a haunting red light which was much brighter than before. Though it wasnt as bright or menacing as the Hellfire Sentinels, it still burned like coals from a fiery abyss. The melted silver that had fused with its flesh now pulsed with an oily black aura and seeped like smoke from the cracks in its armor. Chaels eyes quivered, his heart pounding in his chest. This wasnt just resurrection. The knight had become something far more dangerous Chapter 36鈥擟ursed Knight A cold and suffocating sense of dread wrapped around Chaels chest the instant the knight rose again. He could already tell that this was no longer going to be like the predictable and effortless fight he had at the prayer hall. The way it moved was different. It didnt seem to have the same monotony as before - not to mention the way its aura pulsed black. A purely instinctual fear gripped his throat, and his body acted before his mind caught up. He turned back, and his spear shot forward toward the Hollowed Choirs throat and aimed to sever the creatures hold over the knight. However, before his spear could reach it, he saw a flicker in the reflection of the knights armor. Chaels heart slammed against his ribs. The knights blade was already inches from his neck. Too fast! Gritting his teeth, he abandoned the strike and dropped his momentum completely as he twisted his body downward. The deadly arc of the blade whistled over his head. It was so close he could feel the cold wind of its passing. His feet barely touched the ground before the knight came for him again. The sword slashed in a brutal and relentless storm of attacks, with each one aimed to kill, not just wound. Chaels eyes flicked between a dozen reflections at once: the metal greaves, the polished vambraces, the warped curve of the chestplate Each reflection showed him a fragmented glimpse of the next strike. But, even with his ability, he could barely keep up. The knight was faster. It was much more aggressive and reflexive compared to the one he had fought earlier. The difference was staggering. If the earlier knight was a patrolling guard, then this one was a hunter. The Hollowed Choirs influence had twisted it into something beyond what it once was. It attacked with precision and ferocity and pressed forward without hesitation, forcing Chael onto the defensive. Chael parried the first blow, his spear catching the knights sword just in time. The impact nearly tore the weapon from his grasp. His muscles screamed, his still-broken right hand burning from the sheer force. It was way too fast! The attack patterns were the same, but the speed, the aggression and the power were nothing like before. Another swing came through. Chael barely deflected it in time and twisted his spear at the last second to redirect the blow, yet the knight didnt falter. The instant its strike was blocked, it moved for another. Chael blocked. Again. Again. Again. His arms shook with the effort, and his stance tightened as he dodged the rapid succession of attacks. There was no room to counter, nor were there any openings. The knights movements were too precise and even more relentless. Chaels teeth clenched as he pivoted, barely ducking under a ruthless diagonal slash. The air itself seemed to shudder from the force of the attack. If that sword so much as grazed him, he knew it wouldnt just cut, it would eviscerate him. The realization sent a sharp pulse of unease through him. He was dancing with death with each cross of weapons. He tightened his grip on his spear, and he kept moving, not allowing himself to be distracted or be shaken by fear. Chaels mind worked even faster than this relentless knight. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Every angle, every reflection, the swift movement of the knights armor, the flicker of its blade, the shifting of his own spear. He calculated all of it in an instant. He crossed weapons with the knight a few more times before he finally saw his opportunity. The reflections aligned perfectly, the gleam of metal revealing the knights next movement. Chaels grip tightened, preparing to land his first attack. Then, his spears reflection shifted and showed a flicker of motion behind him. His stomach dropped. The Hollowed Choirs robed figure had raised its staff. The pulsating blue crystal at its tip glowed with an eerie light, and cold mist curled from its surface like breath on a winters night. Chaels body reacted before his mind could catch up, his muscles coiling in an attempt to dodge, but he was too late. A sharp, deafening crack split the air as jagged ice erupted from the stone beneath him and wrapped around his boots and ankles in an instant. Chael grimaced as he felt a cold so bitter it felt like his bones were shattering from the inside out. His leg movements were instantly sealed, trapped in the ice. Then Chael heard a twisted, guttural, echoing chuckle as the Hollowed Choir sneered. Shit!" Chael gritted his teeth hard as the knights blade fell. Dodging was no longer an option since his movements were stolen. With a surge of instinct, he raised the shaft of his spear and angled it just right so that the force of the impact wouldnt shatter the wood outright. The knights blade clashed against the reinforced shaft, the impact sending a brutal shockwave through his arms. Chael held firm. His fingers dug into the wood as he used every ounce of strength in his body to hold back the blade that threatened to split him in half. The knight pressed forward, and the deadlock intensified, the force behind its sword pushing harder, harder against both of Chaels arms. If he werent a Harbinger, Chael''s arms wouldve probably broken from the impact and the strain. Through the gleaming reflection of its weapon, Chael locked eyes with it. He saw the soulless, burning red glow of its gaze glared back at him. Its grotesque face which was half smeared with molten scrunched in fury. Something boiled in Chaels chest. It was a dark, consuming rage. The same rage he had felt when his oppressors held power over him not too long ago. He clenched his jaw and then slammed his forehead forward. A sickening crack echoed through the eerie torch-lit corridor. His skull collided with the knights face with crushing force, the impact reverberating through its body. The knight staggered back, its head jerking violently from the blow. After all, Chael had used all his Harbinger might to crush it''s only exposed part. The knight''s blade lifted from the deadlock, and Chael didnt waste a second. He thrust his spear downward, and the tip shattered the ice at his feet. The frozen binds splintered, and fragments of frost scattered across the floor, but the damage had already been done. A numbing cold shot up his legs, deep into his bones, and his movements suddenly sluggish. "Shit" Chael exhaled sharply, forcing himself to stay upright. He could hardly feel his feet because of the cold. The knight was already charging again. Chaels breath hitched, and with what little strength he had left, he braced himself. Chaels body screamed at him to move. To dodge. To block. To do anything but what he was about to do. Every instinct in his body told him he was about to die. And yet- He turned his back on it. Chael twisted his body sharply and spun sharply on his frozen, barely functioning feet, ignoring the wild hammering of his pulse. He then hurled his spear with everything he had, the silver tip cutting through the air in a perfect, deadly line. The Hollowed Choir had no time to react. The moment the spearhead pierced its throat, a twisted, unearthly shriek tore through the air. It was a sound so sharp and so inhuman that it felt as though the very walls of the cathedral trembled at its cry. Chael barely had time to process it. Because in that same instant- The knights blade met the hairs on the back of his nape. And stopped. Chael stood there, his breath shallow and his shaking, as the sword hovered against his skin, unmoving. For a single, stretched moment in time, he remained frozen as he stared at the creature now dissolving before his eyes. The Hollowed Choirs body wavered, and its form broke apart like mist caught in the morning light. The moment it disappeared completely, the twisted energy holding the knight together vanished with it. The blade slipped from Chaels throat, and he felt a heavy thud behind him. Chael didn''t turn immediately. He was still shaking, and his mind was still catching up to the fact that he was alive. Finally, after what felt like forever, he exhaled shakily and turned his head. The knight lay motionless at his feet, its body lifeless once more. The crimson glow in its eyes had faded. For a long moment, Chael simply stared. His spear remained on the ground, a few feet away, and acted as the only proof of what had just happened. Slowly, he let out a shaky breath. And then - he started laughing. It was a dry, hollow laugh filled with exhaustion, disbelief, and a sharp, bitter amusement. That was the stupidest thing hed ever done. But it had worked. Chapter 37鈥擳imeless Library Chael remained where he stood. His breath was still uneven, and his body still trembled from the near-death gamble he had just pulled. His hands twitched slightly as the last remnants of adrenaline coursed through his veins, his mind catching up to the fact that he was still alive. He waited, his blindfolded gaze sweeping over the corridor. He was watching through the faint reflections in the broken stone, the armor behind him, and the blade of his own weapon. Nothing moved. He sighed. So far, it seemed like there werent any more of those things nearby. If they were here, they would have already attacked. As far as he had observed, the knights patrolled specific areas and were bound to a singular path. Had they once been guards of this cathedral when they were humans? The face behind the visor had unmistakably been human, which indicated that it was human at one point. The even more disturbing question was what had happened to reduce them to mindless husks, making them wander the same halls they had sworn to protect. The thought sent an unpleasant sensation curling in his stomach. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he moved. The numbness in his legs had started to fade, though every step still felt like he was stepping on stone with feet that werent entirely his own. As he walked forward, his steps brought him to the very spot where the Hollowed Choir had stood. The air was still cold, and an unnatural chill lingered where its presence had been, as if the very space had been tainted. The Hollowed Choir. It appeared that there was more to their ability than just resurrection or some type of necromancy. They possessed some kind of ice magic. Though magic wasnt too common in this world, this had been the first time Chael not only saw magic with his own eyes but became victim to it. His fingers absentmindedly mulled over it, but another thought surfaced, one even more unsettling. Where had this specific Hollowed Choir even come from? One moment, it was simply there. But he hadnt seen it before that. There had been no indication of its approach and no flicker in the reflections. There was no sound either. His mind worked through the details until finally, his jaw clenched. These bastards can teleport. Of course. The smaller of the Hollowed Choir had appeared in front of them at the Collonade. If they could, these purple ones surely can. Something about that thought made his skin crawl. The fact that these unknown creatures could just appear in front of him at any moment. He turned his gaze toward the corridor ahead. Then, his eyes caught something. It was a subtle break in the otherwise seamless stone. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. At first glance, it was nothing, It appeared to just be another worn section of the cathedrals endless halls. But now that he was paying attention, he understood. It wasnt a hidden passage. It was simply blended into the walls so well that he hadnt noticed it before. His brows furrowed, and he stepped toward it. "This isnt even hidden," he muttered under his breath. "It just blends in." Chael pressed his lips into a thin line as the realisation struck him. The Hollowed Choir mustve been loitering around through here before appearing in front of him. No wonder he hadnt seen it coming. Chael stepped closer carefully. The last thing he wanted to do right now was fight another eldrich horror. The opening led into a small chamber. It was nothing grand like the cathedrals vast halls - just a simple room. But something about it unsettled him. It wasnt the usual eerie, rotting emptiness that filled most of this forsaken place. It was too normal. His gaze flicked back to the entrance. The way it had blended into the stone walls at the fact that it wasnt hidden, just unnoticeable. He tried scanning the space ahead for reflections, but there were none. That meant one thing - it was completely dark inside. Chael exhaled sharply through his nose. Even so, he wanted to check it out. Most of the rooms he had seen so far in this cathedral seemed to be empty, so this was probably the same. Probably. He glanced around and spotted an old torch mounted on the corridor wall not too far away from him. Chael walked over there and pick it off its holding and carried it back over to the opening. The warm glow pushed back the suffocating darkness just enough for him to see. With the torch in one hand and his spear in the other, he opened the door. The moment the space opened for him, Chael pointed his spear forward, both as a defensive measure and to catch any possible reflections in the polished silver of the spearhead. But what he saw wasnt a lurking monster or another Hollowed Choir. It was a library. His brows lifted slightly. A genuine library here, in this cathedral? The torchlight flickered over rows of dark wooden shelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, packed neatly with leather-bound tomes and scrolls. The walls were lined with intricate carvings, faintly visible in the dim glow, depicting celestial symbols and strange glyphs. At the center of the room stood a reading desk. It was untouched and pristine, as if someone had only just left it moments ago. A chair was tucked neatly into place. Everything here was well-kept and untouched by time. But at this point, Chael wasnt surprised at all. This was a common theme in this cathedral, after all. For a brief second, a spark of accomplishment flickered through Chaels chest, "Finally... Something useful." Maybe, just maybe, he could find something here that would explain what the hell was going on in this place. The history of the cathedral, the truth behind the ghosts, the Hollowed Choir, and the Saintess of Carnage. Any piece of information could be valuable. He walked slowly and carefully as he scanned deeper into the library, his footsteps muffled by the thick, dark-stone flooring. The warmth of the torchlight cast flickering shadows against the towering shelves. Through his reflections, he saw that some of the books and scrolls were marked with strange patterns of an ancient language. Shanthura again. Of course. It seemed he needed to go back and grab Echinda if he wanted to actually understand whatever was written in these books. Then, he stopped. At the far end of the room, behind the last row of bookshelves, the walls shifted from smooth, plain stone to something far grander. Chaels brows furrowed as he stepped forward, lifting the torch higher. What he saw made his breath hitch. Murals. There were seven large murals that stretched across the entire wall. They were massive, intricate, and impossibly detailed. Chael felt something in his chest tighten. The carvings were ancient. The craftsmanship was unlike anything he had seen before, and yet, there was something disturbingly familiar about them. Thats right. Some of them showed the figures of the statues he had encountered so far. What what the hell? As he studied the murals in order, he felt an odd chill crawl down his spine. Chapter 38鈥擣ragmented History Chael stood there as he took in the towering murals before him. The sheer scale was overwhelming. Each carving was impossibly detailed, as though they were etched into the stone by hands that had known exactly how this story would be remembered. He stepped closer, lifting the torch higher. The first mural stretched across the farthest end of the library, and its imagery was so vivid it almost seemed to glow beneath the flickering light. His eyes narrowed as he traced the scene. It depicted what looked to be Nyrethil in its prime. From the looks of it, it had once been a kingdom. The cathedral stood at its heart. It was more like a royal palace; the mural depicted nobles, princes, princesses, and an army of knights situated on the areas around it. The cathedral rose so high into the heavens that its summit seemed to merge with the sky itself. At the very top, a brilliant light shone, its glow cascading over the entire realm. Its almost like another sun, Chael thought. It shone so brightly that it reached every part of this realm like an eternal blessing. To the east, it showed the Yue Clan, including the mansion at its heart. It looked almost exactly as he remembered. The only difference was that in the mural, the Yue clan was thriving. It was full of people, poets, and nobles doing their everyday tasks. Below the cliffe beyond the cathedral, the vast cityscape of the City Below was carved in intricate precision. Streets lined with towering structures and people existed in perfect harmony beneath the cathedrals light. There was no war and no unrest. And yet, something was missing. Chaels gaze darted across the landscape, and then he furrowed his brows. "Where is the Fortress?" He muttered to himself. He had seen it with his own eyes, far beyond the cliffs. The huge fortress that was seemingly made from dark stone or some type of iron carved into the distant mountains. Yet here, in this mural, it didnt exist. Lower on the mural, something else caught his attention. A massive being rested beneath the City Below. Its form was etched into the very foundation of the city. The way it was carved, it looked as if it had been slumbering for an eternity. Its presence beneath this realm was unmistakable, as if its very existence was tied to the kingdom above. A deity? Chael questioned for a brief moment before he shook off the thought. That was impossible. The dieties thousands of years ago didnt co-exist with the humans, at least, not like this. Chael looked deeply at the first mural. A kingdom flourishing, a slumbering entity beneath, and a light burning bright atop this cathedral which provided light to the entire realm. But then, everything changed. The second mural was starkly different. The cathedral still stood with its summit glowing, but something was brewing beneath the surface. A gathering of people had formed. From the structures around them, Chael concluded that it was in the Yue Clan. Their figures were distinct from the worshippers in the previous mural. These people did not kneel, but rather, they stood tall and defiant. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. At the center of them, Chael saw a woman. She was clad in darkened armor, a massive greatsword slung across her back. Her long, black hair was braided over one shoulder. And that was the only part of her appearance that could be seen. The rest of her face had been left unfinished.. Beside her stood a towering, muscular man. Chael narrowed his eyes. That man looks familiar but from where? Something about him felt familiar. His stance, and the shape of his body. It was like something he had seen before. He felt as though the memory was in his grasp, but something was blocking it, and the more he tried to think about it, the more his head hurt. Chael sighed and let go of the thought. His eyes darted back to the woman. It was obvious who she was because there was a massive statue of her right outside the cathedral. The ghosts feared and revered her. The Hollowed Choir worshipped her. The Saintess of Carnage. Yue Yuelian, the scion of the Yue Clan. She was gathering people, but why? What kind of a movement was this? Everything looked so perfect. Why would anyone plan conflict? He moved to the third mural. And suddenly, he couldnt breathe. Everything was in ruin. The Yue Clan and the cathedral were amidst the flames of conflict. Smoke and fire consumed the area, and bodies lay strewn across the ground, as if a war was taking place. The towering cathedral stood tall. At its summit, the radiant light that once shone so brilliantly was shattered, its fragments raining down like dying embers. The divine beacon of Nyrethil was now destroyed. There was no longer a shining bright light but rather a pale and ashy atmosphere. Much like the atmosphere outside right now. Chaels hands trembled slightly as his gaze lowered. The Saintess of Carnage stood over the corpse of the king. His crown was split in two, and his body was discarded. This wasnt just a conflict, it was a coup. His pulse pounded in his ears as he scanned the figures surrounding her. Among them, the tall, built man from earlier stood proudly, but what caught Chaels attention were the cloaked individuals who wielded staffs, their faces obscured beneath deep hoods. Chaels blood ran cold. He knew exactly who they were. The Hollowed Choir. His breathing slowed, his mind racing as everything started to piece together. They werent just mindless phantoms wandering the ruined halls of this cathedral. They had been real. No wonder they were worshipping the statue of Yue Yuelian. They had fought for her and possibly worshipped her. And they had helped her tear this place apart. A bitter taste filled his mouth as he steadied the tremor in his hands and moved his gaze to the fourth mural. The story wasnt finished. His eyes swept over the scene before him. This mural was a continuation of the last. It was a depiction of the aftermath of Yue Yuelians rebellion. The battle had been won, and the victors now stood over the fallen. The people who had once resided in the cathedral were being pushed out, forced to retreat into the mountains as the Saintess and her forces drove them away. Chaels eyes narrowed as he looked at the cliffs and the jagged peaks. Then, realisation struck him. They were being driven toward the very place where the fortress stood now. Ah, so they mustve built a fortress in the mountains! Chael thought. The ones who had once ruled here had been exiled and driven into the harsh wilderness. There, they must have started as a small settlement and later down the line, build a towering and ominous fortress. But then what? Did they survive? Did they wait in the shadows for the chance to reclaim what was lost? There was no answer in the stone. Chael swallowed and moved to the fifth mural. If the fourth had unsettled him, this one unnerved him even more. Chapter 39鈥擳he Fate of the Saintess The fifth mural showed twin moons shining down from the sky, casting their pale glow upon the new world that had been left in the wake of the rebellion. The city had changed. The streets were filled with people who seemed to be laughing, embracing, and celebrating. There were no signs of battle and no grief for the fallen. At the heart of it all, the Saintess of Carnage stood among them with her fist raised in a battle cry. She was no longer just their leader. Chael could tell that the people had started to see her as something more. Chaels gaze drifted lower, and a flicker of recognition cast across his face. There it is At the very edge of the mural, carved into the stone outside the cathedral, stood a statue of her. It stood as massive and commanding as he remembered. His gaze drifted to the base of the statue where countless people were knelt, worshipping her. Strange Chael thought with a frown, Why turn her into a god? Something about that made his stomach turn. He understood that they may have respected her greatly, but worshipping her - another human being - with religious devotion was something Chael had never heard of before. He turned his attention to the next mural. And then, he froze. The sixth mural was broken. The stone was shattered, with deep cracks running through its surface. There were entire sections missing as if someone, or something, had deliberately destroyed it. The previous murals had been perfectly preserved without a single mark of decay. And just like everything else inside this cathedral, it seemed untouched by time. But this? This had been defaced. His chest tightened painfully. It seemed that someone had wanted to erase this part of the story. But why? And for what? He couldnt see what it once depicted, but he knew that whatever here was meant to be forgotten. Chaels gaze lingered on the broken mural for a while, then stepped toward the sixth. The unease from the broken one still gnawed at the back of his mind, but whatever had been erased, this next carving was left untouched. And when Chael saw it, he involuntarily took a step back and almost dropped his spear. The scene had changed again, but this time, it wasnt a depiction of war, victory, or celebration. It was suffering. The denizens of Nyrethil, the very people who had once praised and worshipped Yue Yuelian, were clutching their heads in agony. Their carved faces were twisted in expressions of madness and their bodies were contorted in unnatural shapes. Some of them were changing. Their limbs were stretched and twisted into grotesque forms. Some figures no longer resembled people at all, and their silhouettes warped into the shapes of monsters. Others were barely human, their bodies flickering as though they were slipping in and out of existence. Almost as if they were Ghosts Chaels stomach tightened. They strongly resembled the nature of the ghosts that he had encountered so far. His mind reeled as he stared at the broken and tormented figures. He had encountered both spirits and other creatures in this place. He had always suspected that they were once humans, but now now it was horrifyingly clear that they were. His breath felt cold as it left him. His eyes turned to the fifth mural. Just what had happened in that mural for such a drastic change? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Had the citys fall been more than just a change in rule? Had something else taken hold after the Saintess had won? Had she done this? Chaels expression darkened as he turned to the seventh mural. This was the final depiction. The Saintess of Carnage, the woman who had been worshipped, celebrated, and praised as a hero, was being burned at the stake. The flames consumed her and licked at the air as it swallowed her figure whole. She stood bound and unmoving. The people who had once hailed her now surrounded her in a circle, their faces twisted with rage and despair. Chael stared coldly, "So this was how it ended for her?" He should have felt nothing. And yet, he felt anger. Hatred. For her. This is what you brought upon them? She had led them into war, shattered the kingdoms foundation, and cast down its rulers, and for what? To curse her own people? To drive them into madness, to twist them into creatures of nightmares? Chael was sure the answer wouldve been in the broken mural, but one thing was certain. She deserved this. He inhaled deeply and stepped back. His heart was still pounding, and his hands still curled into fists. His eyes went back to the first mural, showing the thriving kingdom Nyrethil had once been. The people seemed happy. There were no wars and no conflict. And this Saintess had bought carnage upon them damned even after death. Her followers who had once fought for her devoutly, among them the Hollowed Choir, were now undead and couldnt find peace even after they had lost their humanity. Chael sighed and finally turned his back to the murals. This trip had been useful, most certainly. He now understood what has transpired in this place, more or less, which led it to become the way it is now. But none of that information gave him a lead on how to get out of this godforsaken place. The faint fire light he was holding illuminated the thousands of leather-cased books stacked in these dark shelves. Chael pressed his lips as he walked towards the door. For now, his place was to get back to the room and bring Echidna over here and have her look at some of these books. If they were lucky, hopefully, they might get a lead. Else? Well The attack came fast, but not fast enough. Chaels instincts flared the moment he heard the faint shuffle of movement from behind the bookshelves. Before the assailant could even get close, Chael sidestepped effortlessly, spun around, and drove his spear forward, and stopped just short of pressing it against the mans throat. The bald man stumbled back with his hands immediately raised in surrender. His breath came out shaky, and his wide eyes darted from the spearhead to Chaels blindfolded expression. "Alright, alright! Lets all just relax for a moment, yeah?" the man stammered. His voice was half-playful and half-rough. Chael didnt move. His grip on the spear remained firm, and his face was ice-cold as usual. Internally though, he was shocked beyond belief, A human? Here? His blindfolded gaze narrowed. No, something wasnt right. The bald man cleared his throat nervously. "Listen, I didnt mean to startle you, friend. Im just a humble merchant, nothing more!" Chaels brow twitched. "Merchant?" He lowered the spear just slightly. "A merchant? In this place?" The bald man straightened and brushed off his worn coat as if he was trying to regain some dignity. "Thats right," he said proudly. "A proper merchant, at your service! Names Patches." Chael simply stared at him. Patches spread his arms as if that explained everything. "You never know when someone might need a good deal, eh? Lifes all about opportunities!" Chael scoffed. "Opportunities? Who the hell are your customers in this forsaken place?" At that, Patches had the audacity to look offended. "Now, now, lad. Thats a rude thing to ask a businessman!" He put a hand to his chest as if personally wounded. "A trader never reveals his clients, after all." Chaels patience was already hanging by a thread, and this idiot had the nerve to act like he was running a proper shop in the middle of this cursed cathedral? Patches, sensing the tension, quickly raised his hands again. "Look, no need to get all grim! I swear on my good name, Im just here to make a living like any honest man." Chael gave him a long, hard look. There was something off about him. Not in the way the Hollowed Choir or the knights were off. No, this man was off in a different way. He was too confident and too at ease, almost as if he belonged here. Chael slowly withdrew the spear, but his stare remained calculating. This man was obviously not as strong as him, so regardless of who he was, he didnt pose an immediate threat. Patches grinned, rubbing his neck where the spear had just been. "See? No need for all that violence, Miss! Lets talk business, eh?" Miss? Miss?? Did this bastard think he was a woman? Chael resisted the urge to punch this fool in the face. What the hell had he just walked into? Chapter 40鈥擯atches "Well now, youve got quite the sharp reflexes, dont you? Nearly had me sent off to the next life." Patches chuckled and shook his head, still rubbing his neck. "What a shame that wouldve been, eh? A poor merchant, cut down in his prime." Chael said nothing and merely watched him with an expression that was hard to read. Patches took that as an invitation to keep rambling. "Ah, but where are my manners?" He clapped his hands together and grinned. "I should be offering you something for the fright, no? A little goodwill, a little hospitality." He reached for the small, tattered pouch at his waist and opened it before reaching inside much deeper than should have been physically possible. Chael''s gaze narrowed. An Interspatial Pouch. Another one They were super rare and expensive. Only the wealthiest in Eldermire City carried them. And yet, here it was, dangling from the belt of some rat-faced merchant squatting in this forsaken cathedral. First Echinda, a petty mongrel. And now him?! Where were they getting it from?! Patches, oblivious to Chaels scrutiny, continued rummaging through his pouch. "Lets see, lets see Ah!" He pulled out a few dry ration packs, which were wrapped tightly in waxed cloth. "A fine meal for weary travelers!" He tossed them toward Chael, who caught them without much thought. "No charge, of course! Consider it an act of goodwill, missy." Chaels brow twitched. Missy? He briefly considered correcting him. Then, he decided he couldnt be bothered. If this idiot wanted to assume, then that was his problem. Instead, Chael studied the rations. The smell was faint but familiar; it was that of salted meat which was preserved well enough to last for months, possibly years. There were also dried fruits and what looked like a type of hard-baked grain biscuit. Survival food. Patches, meanwhile, had already moved on and pulled out a small wooden box. He flipped it open and revealed several tiny glass vials filled with a thick, golden liquid. "Vitality Vials," Patches announced proudly like a true merchant, tapping one of the vials. "A rare commodity, these. Restores stamina and helps with wounds. Keeps you from keeling over too soon, if you catch my drift." Chaels eyes flickered toward them. Potions, essentially. They weren''t as powerful as the healing abilities of a high-ranked Harbinger, but they were very valuable nonetheless. Before he could say anything, Patches reached into his pouch again, only to freeze. For a moment, his entire demeanor changed. His fingers had brushed against something, and when he pulled his hand back, a strange, red orb slipped out with it. Chael caught only a glimpse before Patches immediately shoved it back into the pouch. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Patches then let out a forced chuckle and the back of his head. "Oops! Didnt mean to show that one." He laughed it off, waving a hand as if it were nothing. "Just a little keepsake of mine. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over." Chaels brows scrunched lightly at the sight of that orb. Had he still been an Unveiled, he wouldve passed it off as a normal gem, but now that he was a Harbinger, Chael sensed the faintest of resonance from it in the split second that it was out. A magical artifact? He thought. But before Chael could press the issue, Patches moved on quickly and changed the subject. "Now then! How about a meal, eh? Its not often you get free food in a place like this!" He gestured toward the rations and threw a pack at him. "Go on, have some!" Chael caught the packet nonchalantly. He wasnt too bothered by the magical artifact, though he was slightly curious. He didnt press the issue; after all, he wasnt the type to steal or entice violence. But if Patches had any ulterior motives, then itd be a different story. Chael tossed a pack at him. "You eat first." At the back of his mind, he prayed that Patches did have ulterior motives because then he could not only beat him up but also take his pouch and that other magical artifact. Patches blinked. Then grinned. "Ah, smart girl! Smart girl, indeed." He chuckled, opened the cloth, and pulled out a piece of dried meat. He took an exaggerated bite, chewing loudly before swallowing. "See? No poison. No tricks. Just a humble merchants generosity!" Chael remained silent, but in his mind, he had already murdered Patches three times. Patches wiped his mouth, still grinning. "Untrustworthiness, my dear, might just save your life one day." Chael''s gaze flicked toward the Vitality Vials. He hadn''t been thinking about them at first, but now, after the fight with the Hollowed Choir and the knight - not one but two - he was painfully aware of his bodys condition. His arm was still broken, his dominant hand was just barely usable, and though the pain had dulled significantly since becoming a Harbinger, it was still there. Healing as a Harbinger was faster than that of a normal human, but if he had one or two of those vials it would speed up the process significantly. Patches, ever perceptive, noticed his lingering stare and grinned. "Ah, now youre interested." Chael didnt respond. Patches leaned forward slightly and shook the small wooden box so that the vials clinked together. "These dont come for free, you know." "I dont have anything to trade." Patches whistled, and his eyes flicked over Chaels torn and bloodstained clothes. "Now thats a shame! Youre dressed like someone worth robbing, but these are in absolute tatters. Wouldnt fetch a single coin!" Chael gave him a dry look. "Flattering." Patches laughed, but then his gaze landed on something else. The Redfall Talisman. The small, apple-shaped pendant Echidna had given him. For the first time since theyd started talking, Patches expression shifted. He studied it carefully with something calculating behind his eyes. Chael didnt like that look. Before the merchant could say anything, Chael shook his head. "Never mind." Patches let out a dramatic sigh. "Suit yourself." He then tossed a Vitality Vial toward him anyway. Chael caught it with his good hand and raised an eyebrow. "I thought these didnt come for free." "Youre wounded," Patches shrugged. "And generosity is good for business. Besides, I like my customers to stay alive. Hard to make repeat sales when people keep keeling over." Chael didnt bother questioning it. He popped the cork off the vial and downed the golden liquid. It was thick, strangely warm, and had a faintly bitter aftertaste. Immediately, he felt his body react. The ache in his limbs eased, and the dull, constant pain in his broken arm softened to a manageable level. His ribs felt less bruised, and when he tested his fingers, there was already more mobility than before. The effects were gradual, but they were working. He sighed, rolling his shoulder slightly before speaking again. "So, what about you?" Patches blinked. "What about me?" "Youre here, a human, selling goods in the middle of this cursed cathedral. I want to know how you got here in the first place." Chapter 41鈥擳eeming With Horrors Patches rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful. "Ah, well, now thats a story! I was just a humble wanderer, see? Traveling the world, making an honest living, and then, bam! I stumbled into this place!" Chael gave him an unimpressed look. Patches grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "I walked into a prayer hall, you see, and there she was, a priestess! Oh, what a beauty, lying there, so still. So inviting. And then a knight came and took her, and I thought - well, maybe it was my turn next!" There was a long, heavy silence. Patches suddenly coughed. "Wait, no! No! I mean, I went to her to pray! Yes, thats it! And then that knight got up and chased me all the way here! Scary bunch, I tell ya!" Chael''s left eye twitched at least once or twice while he listened to him. A long sigh then left his lips, "Liar. There are a lot of knights wandering these corridors. Not to mention a monster right outside this door." Patches grinned shamelessly. "Liar? Ive been told that before." Chael pinched the bridge of his nose. "I tell ya, though!" Patches continued, "I slayed all of those Hollowed Choir! Took ''em down one by one, fearless as can be! It seems like I left one alive - and right outside the door, no less ahahaha silly old me." Chael wasnt even remotely convinced. "Right." But a question appeared in his mind. How did Patches know they were called the Hollowed Choir? Chael had gotten it from the ghosts in the Collonade. Had Patches taken the same route? Whatever, it wasn''t important. Patches waved a hand, clearly not bothered by the skepticism. "Believe what you want, friend. But in the end, Im standing here, and that means something, doesnt it?" This man was ridiculous. But he was also, somehow, alive. Chael barely survived, and he was a Harbinger. Patches, on the other hand... If hes here unscathed, that means he was either very lucky or much more dangerous than he let on. Patches leaned back slightly and crossed his arms as he studied Chael. "So, howd you end up in this delightful little hellhole?" Chael kept his expression neutral. "I stumbled through an underground cavern and ended up here." Patches nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Ah, yes, yes! Same here, more or less! I was, ah - doing some very serious research on the Silver Expanse, you see. Important stuff. Absolutely critical, world-changing, really." Chael lifted an eyebrow. "You were scamming someone, werent you?" Patches gasped, placing a hand on his chest as if deeply wounded. "Now, now! Lets not throw such accusations around! I was merely expanding my business ventures!" He coughed. "But, yes, I was, ah, running away from some angry - no, wait I was investigating some rather fascinating ruins when I found my way here." Chael said nothing and let him ramble. Patches gestured around the library with a sweeping hand. "And isnt it just marvelous? This place. It almost seems like its trapped in time." Chaels expression immediately sharpened. Trapped in time. Something cold curled in his stomach. His blindfolded gaze narrowed, and his voice came out calm but firm. "Where did you get that idea?" Patches tilted his head. "Oh, just a little observation of mine!" He tapped his temple. "Nothing here seems to age, does it? The stone, the walls, the books. There''s no day and night cycle... even the damn air feels untouched. Its as if everything in this city is stuck." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chaels thoughts raced. Patches shrugged. "Ive spent some time wandering. Call it a merchants curiosity! But everything Ive seen so far confirms it: this place isnt just abandoned. Its frozen." That made too much sense. Everything here: the buildings, the murals, the armor of the knights. They all looked pristine. Not preserved, not carefully maintained, but as if they had never decayed at all. Not to mention what Patches said about this place having no day or night cycle. Chael had fallen asleep and woken up to the same twin moons outside. He had his doubts, but he also considered that he might''ve just been asleep for a long time. Chael had his doubts that time in this place was a bit funky, but now that he really considered the idea that this place was actually frozen in time, it made so much sense. No way Chael muttered with furrowed brows as something else came into mind. The Twin Moons. His mind flashed back to that moment when time itself had seemed to pause before he stepped into the Veiled Realm. That strange, otherworldly space bathed in a deep purple glow, the twin moons hanging over him. Time in the real world hadnt moved when he was in that domain. Was that what the Twin Moons meant? An indication of frozen time? His fingers curled into fists. "So thats it" he murmured, his voice quiet. "Im trapped in a city frozen in time." His mind was still reeling from the implications of what this meant. If time wasnt moving normally here, then how long had these spirits and monsters been trapped like this? Had the Saintess rebellion happened yesterday? A decade ago? A century? The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Patches, seemingly oblivious to Chaels internal storm, casually dusted off his coat. "Of course, not all of Nyrethil is a death trap! Theres a place, a little sanctuary, if you will, where there are still people. Actual, sane, breathing humans." That snapped Chael from his thoughts. His blindfolded eyes turned sharply toward Patches. "What?" Patches smirked. "Oh yes, friend. Not everyone in this city is a raving phantom or an undead horror." He leaned in slightly. "Theres a safe haven. A place where the monsters dont tread. And humans still have their sanity intact." Chael exhaled slowly, trying to process this new piece of information. A safe haven. A place where real, living people still survived. That changed everything. Chaels interest was piqued instantly. He had spent hours, or maybe days, wandering this cursed cathedral and fighting its horrors, and now, for the first time, he had a destination. "Oh?" His voice was calm, but the sharpened edge in his tone betrayed his focus. Patches grinned, eager to share his so-called knowledge. "The Ironspire Fortress!" he declared and spread his arms wide. "A city thriving with life! A city full of humans! A proper civilization, if you can believe it!" Chael narrowed his eyes. "Youve been there?" Patches hesitated. A little too long. His hand went up to rub his nose, his eyes darting to the side. "Uh yeah! Of course I have! Lovely place. Grand walls, real streets, real people." Chaels silence made him ramble. "I got lost in a snowstorm, you see. Passed out. When I woke up, I was outside the fortress gates! Just lying there, freezing my ass off in the cold. So, naturally, I got up and started wandering around, trying to get my bearings. Walked a little too far, took a wrong turn, and lo and behold, here I am! In this-" he waved dramatically at the ruined library, "This accursed place!" Chael looked away from Patches, his gaze drifting back toward the seventh mural. Whether Patches was lying or not, it all made sense. The people were pushed into the mountains. The fortress they must have built to survive. That was the last remnant of what once ruled Nyrethil. That was where the survivors had fled. And if this place was truly trapped in time, there must be people there. "The Ironspire Fortress That settles it. Thats where I need to go." He turned back to Patches, his mind already working through the logistics. "How do I get there? The cliffs make it impossible to reach." Patches clapped his hands together, grinning. "Ah, see, thats the tricky part! Theres an underground passage leading to the City Below. From there, well, you just make your way across to the fortress." Chaels gaze darkened slightly. "The City Below?" Patches nodded. "Yes, yes, thats the only way! That''s how I got here. Climbed up that tunnel while I was running away from a Gravewarden - I mean, after killing that abomination." ''Gravewarden?'' Chael sighed internally, ''Is this idiot creating monsters in his head?'' Then, as if realizing something, he laughed nervously. "Ah, but theres just one small, tiny, insignificant problem-" Chael didnt move and waited. Patches cleared his throat. "Its suicidal." Chael raised an eyebrow. Patches gestured vaguely toward the cathedral walls. "You see how empty this place is? How there arent many monsters around?" Chael did. And he already knew why. He thought back to the Hellfire Sentinel. That monstrous presence looming in the Yue Clans territory. Even the ghosts, the spirits, and the Hollowed Choir had stayed away from it. And then there was the White Dragon. The one that had emerged from the City Below. A shiver tingled down Chaels spine. If that mighty dragon had emerged from the City Below, who knows what other dangers and terrors walked those streets. Not to mention that rolling white fog. This cathedral gave him some sort of protection from it at least, but in the City Below, hed be taking shelter with demons and devils alike if a dragon had tried to escape it. Patches shivered theatrically. "The City Below is teeming with horrors. This place?" He gestured around them. "Its practically a vacation in comparison! Down there, though? You wont last. I tell ya, its a graveyard! A deathtrap! You cant seriously be considering going!" Chael looked unfazed. "Where is the tunnel?" Patchess jaw nearly hit the floor. His eyes widened in genuine shock before he clutched his head as if Chael had just suggested throwing himself off a cliff. "Oh, for the love of - youre actually considering it?! What part of ''teeming with horrors'' did you not understand?!" Chael remained silent, his expression unreadable. Because the truth was, he had already decided. Chapter 42鈥擟rucible of Light (1) Patches still looked at him like hed lost his mind. The merchant had seen plenty of reckless idiots in his time, but this one took the cake. "Youre really going down there, huh?" He let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "And here I thought Id finally met someone with a good head on their shoulders. Then again, what do I know? Im just a lowly merchant, haha" Chael remained silent with an impassive expression on his face. Patches continued, "Seeing as how you managed to survive this long in the Crucible of Light, you might last a whole day in the City Below. Maybe two if were really pushing it. But sure! The tunnel youre looking for is in an obscure storage room to the very north of the first floor." Chael took in that information. The first floor? The memory of the Hollowed Choir retreating into the cathedral played into his mind and sent a chill down his spine. Well whatever. He already knew how their powers worked, and he had already slain one, so it wouldnt be as nerve-wracking as fighting them the first time. "If this City Below is so dangerous. Chael finally said, How did you survive through it long enough to get here? Didnt you come all the way from the Ironspire Fortress?" Patches visibly tensed. His grin stiffened just slightly before he gave an exaggerated laugh, "Oh, that? Hah! Well, you know, a man of my talents knows how to slip through the cracks! The monsters down there? Pfft, they never even saw me coming!" Chael said nothing. Patchess laugh grew more nervous. "I mean, it was a bit of a close call! But, uh, well, there I was, just minding my own business. Before I knew it, I stumbled upon a nice, convenient little entrance that led me right into the Crucible!" "Convenient indeed," he repeated flatly. "Very!" Patches nodded rapidly. "Some might call it luck, others divine intervention! Personally, I like to think the world just has a soft spot for me." Chael let the silence drag on with his unreadable gaze locked onto Patchess increasingly restless form. Finally, Patches let out a dramatic sigh. "Alright, alright! So maybe I had a little help. Maybe I, ah, borrowed something that helped me get through." For all his charm and theatrics, Patches didnt exactly seem like a warrior. Chael understood that much with how floppy his movements were when Patches attacked him. There was no way hed fought his way through the horrors of Nytheril. He had to have had some kind of protection. Chaels memory flickered back to that strange red orb hed seen earlier, the one Patches had immediately shoved back into his pouch. "Something like that red orb in your pouch?" Patches entire body stiffened. For a fraction of a second, his eyes flickered toward his pouch before snapping back up. "Wha-? Now thats just ridiculous! What red orb? I dont have anything like that!" Chael shook his head. "Right." Patches cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "ANYWAY! Enough about me. What about you? You here by yourself?" An indistinct flicker passed over Chaels blindfolded gaze. Yeah. Im alone." He didnt feel the need to bring up Echidna. "Ah," Patches nodded. "A lone wolf type, huh? I respect it. Theres honor in that, you know! Its a shame that you wont be alive to tell your tale - if youre really set on descending into the City Below." Chael glared at him. "If I die, I die. Id rather die fighting on my own terms than rot away in cowardice." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Patches grinned. "Goodness, thats grim. You always talk like that?" Chael ignored him. Something else gnawed at his mind. Patches had mentioned something. Crucible of Light. Chael frowned. Hed heard those words before. The spirits, the priestess, the half-ghosts, they had murmured about it. He hadnt understood what it meant, but now he had an idea. "You mentioned the Crucible of Light." Chael said, Does that refer to this cathedral? Patches froze just for a second. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "Ah! Yes, yes," he said quickly and waved a hand as if it were nothing. "Thats the name of this grand little cathedral, you see! Quite the fancy title, dont you think?" It made sense. It was pretty simple, in fact, if he had thought about it a bit more, he couldve come to the same conclusion. Patchess grin twitched just slightly. Chael opened his mouth to ask about something else, but then Patches talked over him. "ANYWAY! About that tunnel, friend, are you sure you dont want to reconsider? Maybe take a nice vacation instead? Somewhere that doesnt involve, you know, certain death?" Quit it. Just show me the way. Suit yourself, lady. Patches then made a grand gesture toward a bookshelf pushed up against the wall. He was grinning as if he were presenting some grand treasure. "And here we are! The ways up!" Chael raised an eyebrow. "Thats a bookshelf." Patches scoffed and waved a hand. "Ah, but a bookshelf with secrets, my friend! Behold!" With an exaggerated flourish, he grabbed the side of the shelf and pulled. It creaked slightly before shifting just enough to reveal a ladder hidden behind it. Chael walked up to the ladder and inspected it. It was of nice and polished wood. It led to some sort of an opening in the ceiling, likely leading to the floor above, "So youve been snooping around this place, huh?" Patches grinned. "Oh, a while! But not without care. You know, with all the-" he gestured vaguely around, "-horrors roaming about. Now, up you go. Careful, though, theres a knight up there." Chael steadied himself on the ladder. Then, without another word, he climbed it. The air grew colder as he ascended. Soon, he reached its top, and he pulled himself up onto the next floor. He immediately took in the surroundings. The room was smaller than the library below but still grand in its own way. It had the same eerie, untouched quality as the rest of the cathedral. There wasnt a speck of dust and no sign of decay. Of course. No surprise in that. This place was trapped in time, after all. The floor was polished stone, and the walls were adorned with faded tapestries that depicted knights and moonlit landscapes. A single window cast pale, dim moonlight across the room, which stretched elongated shadows across the floor. The light barely illuminated much, but it was just enough for Chael to perceive faint reflections in his spear. There wasnt a door to this room, only an open archway. And standing in that archway with its back turned to him. A knight. He shifted his perspective and let the vague reflection in the knights armor reveal the corridor beyond the archway. Nothing moved. No immediate threats. That didnt mean there werent any. Patches climbed up behind him, muttering under his breath as he dusted himself off. "Still here, huh? Ah, well, I suppose it makes sense. These big bastards never seem to leave their posts." Chael turned his head slightly. "Youre coming with me?" Patches beamed. "But of course! You wouldnt want to leave a poor, helpless merchant all alone, would you?" Chael stared at him. "Youre not helpless." Patches coughed, but in a whisper. "Ahem, well. Helpless enough!" Chael shifted his attention back to the knight. "Whatever. Youll save me a bunch of time looking for that storage room. How far is the travel?" "Ah! Now thats the tricky part," Patches said, rubbing his chin. "See, the room is tucked away in the lowest level. Lots of stairs. Quite the journey, really!" Wow, you seem to know the ins and out really well, Chael whispered with an unimpressed look. Patches grinned. "Because Ive been around a few times." Chael narrowed his eyes. "A few times?" "Got chased by a few unpleasant sorts," Patches admitted. "Decided, ah, not to push my luck, which is why I decided to stay in the library for now..." "And now youre willing to go back?" Patches puffed up his chest. "Well, my dear friend, fortune favors the bold!" Chael didnt believe that for a second. "Youre hoping Ill clear the path for you, arent you?" Patches placed a hand over his heart. "Oh, the slander! The accusations! Here I am, simply offering my guidance out of the kindness of my heart!" Chael shook his head, turning back toward the knight. "Stay quiet." He stood up silently and slowly moved towards it. Chapter 43鈥擟rucible of Light (2) The knight stood motionless, its form rigid and unnaturally still. Its eerie silver armor gleamed faintly in the dim light. Every plate was polished to a haunting shine and reflected the dim moonlight in cold glimmers. Chael moved swiftly with near soundless steps as he approached. He raised his spear without hesitation, and in one clean motion, he thrust it into the knights nape. The blade sank deep and pierced the narrow gap between the armor plates. A faint, strangled hiss escaped the metal shell, and the knight stiffened violently, its fingers twitching against its swords hilt. Then, it fell. Chael pulled his spear free as the knights body slumped forward and collapsed silently onto the stone floor, and the red glow in its eye slits dimmed instantly. A whistle broke the silence behind him. "Now that was impressive," Patches whispered, stepping up beside Chael and staring at the fallen knight with wide eyes. "Didnt even give the poor bastard a chance, huh?" Chael didnt respond and simply wiped the blood from his spear. Patches kept talking. I like it! But if you could just give me a little warning next time before you skewer a bloke, thatd be grand! Almost had a heart attack back there." Chael shot him a flat look before continuing forward. Patches followed. They left the room in silence, and stepped through the archway and into a vast opening. Suddenly, the space before them swallowed everything. Chael stilled. The true scale of the cathedrals interior stretched before them. It was akin to a towering abyss of ancient stone and endless darkness. The ceiling loomed so high above that it nearly disappeared into shadows, yet faint rays of pale moonlight spilled through the shattered glass windows, giving the entire space a dim and spectral glow. Beyond the massive railings at the edge of their walkway, the cathedral dropped down into a seemingly bottomless chasm. At the very bottom, Chael saw hundreds of glowing blue dots. His breath hitched slightly as he realised that he recognised the glow. The Hollowed Choir. Chael could hardly see, but from what little he could make out, there were countless Hollowed Choir cultists standing in eerie formation. Their robes pooled around them like blackened shadows, and their hollow sockets leaked streams of pale, icy substance. Three hundred, at least. Chael thought to himself with furrowed brows. The fight back at the Saintess of Carnages statue had nearly killed him. He had struggled against just a handful of these things, their necrotic whispers and illusions nearly breaking him apart. Had it not been for the rolling white fog, he wouldnt have made it out of there. Now, there were hundreds. Stolen novel; please report. Patches let out a long, low exhale. "So," he muttered as he peered over the railing. "Thats a lot." Chael didnt respond. Patches rubbed his chin. "I dont suppose youve got some grand, masterful plan to deal with all that, do you?" Chaels expression remained blank. "Im not stupid enough to fight them." Patches grinned. "See? Thats what I like about you! Common sense. Refreshing, really. So many people out there just throw themselves at death, but you-" he clapped a hand on Chaels shoulder. "You know better." Chael shot him a brief look, You really just talk for the sake of talking, huh? His gaze drifted back down to the eerie mass of the Hollowed Choir, and beyond them, he made out something obscured. In the dim glow of the moonlight, he could just barely make out a massive structure. Another statue, maybe? But its features were blurred and hidden behind layers of shadows and mist. Something about it unsettled him. What was with the Hollowed Choir and their obsession with these statues? Several had come out of the Crucible to pray to the Saintess statue, Chael had caught one loitering around the library which held the statue of the Whore Saint, and now there was another one where most of the Hollowed Choir seemed to flock to. Patches followed his gaze, squinting. "What are you looking at?" Chael didnt answer immediately. After observing a while, he turned away. "Doesnt matter." Whatever was down there, it wasnt their problem. For now, they had to find the tunnel. The Hollowed Choir seemed to be at the centre of the ground floor of the Crucible, but the room they were looking for was far towards the north. If all things went well, they should be able to avoid them. No issue. Patches led the way with all the confidence of a man who had no idea where he was going. "Right then, lets see If memory serves me right - which, mind you, it always does - weve gotta take a right up ahead." Chael walked silently beside him. The Crucibles interior stretched endlessly. It was a world of towering stone pillars and arched ceilings that were carved with designs so intricate they seemed to shift in the dim glow of the moonlight that was filtering through the stained-glass windows. The air was thick and heavy. It almost felt ancient despite how pristine everything looked. It felt so wrong and unnatural. The farther they walked, the more Chael felt it. Patches, of course, was completely unfazed. "And after that, my friend, you should find a lovely little Fortress! Granted, theres a few minor complications - yknow, things like monsters, death, curses, possibly eternal damnation - but all in all, not the worst odds!" Chael exhaled sharply through his nose. "Right, right, I can see youre a man of few words, but you know, conversation is important! Builds morale!" They reached another corridor. It stretched long and empty, the flickering torchlight casting elongated shadows against the walls. The silence had deepened even further here, the Crucibles vastness swallowing all sound. Chaels steps slowed to a stop, and he focused. He heard it a second later. The faintest clank of metal approached from the opposite end of the hall. Another knight. Without a second thought, Chael grabbed Patches by the collar and yanked him back, pulling him behind a long velvet curtain. Patches let out a strangled sound of protest, but Chael immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. The footsteps grew louder. The knight entered the corridor, its heavy boots striking against the stone floor in slow, methodical steps. Its armor gleamed under the dim torches and reflected distorted images of the Crucibles walls. Chael remained perfectly still. From the slight shift in the knights reflection, he could tell it hadnt noticed them. Good. His hand eased off of Patches mouth. The merchant let out a silent huff of irritation, mouthing something undoubtedly sarcastic before adjusting his coat. Chaels blindfolded gaze never left the knight. And as the armored figure passed them, Chael moved. It was the flicker of motion that Patches barely noticed. Just the slightest shift of Chaels fingers, a near-imperceptible flick against Patchess belt - a sleight of hand so subtle it was almost nonexistent. Chapter 44鈥擟rucible of Light (3) Then, in a single smooth movement, Chael slipped away from the curtain. The knight continued walking, oblivious, and Chael closed the distance in an instant. With precise ease, he thrust his spear into the gap of its nape. The knight jerked violently, and then it collapsed. A long silence followed. Patches peeked out from behind the curtain, staring at the fallen knight. He let out a low whistle. "Now that," he murmured, "was cold." Chael ignored him. Patches stepped out fully, shaking his head in mock dismay. "Just how strong are you to skewer these knights so easily? Blindfolded, no less. Its a grand mockery, really. Come to think of it, lady, why are you even wearing a blindfold? Surely, you can still see; otherwise you" While Patches rambled on, Chael pulled his spear free. This had been the fourth knight he had killed today. Now that he understood the undead nature of these knights, was the word killed even appropriate? Chael didnt know how many more he had to slay on his way to the City Below, but he hoped that these knights were the only creatures that would cross their paths for now. Their movements and attacks were more or less basic, and they certainly didnt have occult spells or powers - like the damned Hollowed Choir. Besides the knights and the Hollowed Choir, Chael did not know what other creatures must be lying around in the Crucible. He hoped hed never have to find out. If it were up to me, Id avoid these abominations altogether, I tell ya! Patches said dramatically. "Honestly, traveling with you is terrible for my heart. I can feel the stress shortening my lifespan." Chael shot him a look. "Youll live." Patches grinned. "You say that now." Chael didnt respond. His attention had already shifted back to the corridor. They had to keep moving. **** They traveled for what felt like hours. The Crucible stretched on endlessly, its vast, winding corridors weaving through grand halls, shattered sanctuaries, and forgotten chambers. At times, the silence was broken by the distant echo of unseen movements such as a soft shuffle behind a door and the faint creak of weight pressing against ancient wood. But nothing ever emerged. Chael didnt know whether that made it better or worse. He had killed several more knights along the way, his spear thrusting cleanly through the gaps in their armor. A majority of the time, he hid behind curtains or corners and waited for the knight to emerge and walk past before dealing a fatal blow, but occasionally, he had no choice but to fight them. While Patches trembled in a crouched position while clutching his head, Chael would battle the knights. Their attack patterns were very predictable, and the reflections in their armor gave Chael every advantage, so he had almost no trouble dealing with them even in fair combat. Thanks to the Vitality Vials, he felt a lot better. Much stronger, too. This was mainly due to the fact that he started using his dominant hand to wield the spear. Though the pain was still there, it was much more bearable now. The Hollowed Choir had appeared twice, their hollow sockets weeping frozen mist as they chanted in that cursed tongue. Each time, he cut them down before they had a chance to hit him with any spells or try to revive a knight he had slain. Chael realised that the Hollowed Choir were fairly easy to deal with when they were not in numbers or hiding behind an object of their necromancy, or whatever it was. It wasnt easy, but it was getting easier. His body moved faster, and his senses felt sharper, thanks to the Vitality Vial. Patches, of course, was useless. "Amazing," the merchant marveled as they passed through yet another deserted chamber. "Truly, I have never seen a man so eager to throw himself into certain death. A privilege to witness, really." Chael ignored him and adjusted his grip on his spear to shift the reflections. Patches sighed dramatically. "Oh, dont mind me. Ill just be back here, admiring your absolute lunacy. Do go on!" They continued forward. At one point, Patches tripped over a loose tile and nearly fell into a pit of rusted pikes. Chael caught him by the back of his coat at the last second. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Patches, pale-faced and breathless, slowly turned to look at him. Chael let go. Patches hit the ground face-first. "You," he wheezed from the floor, "are a very, very cruel person." Chael stepped over him. Patches grumbled the whole way down the next corridor. At another point, as they passed by a seemingly empty hallway, Patches suddenly froze and placed a hand over his chest. "What is it?" Chael asked, frowning. Patches expression darkened. "I sense a horrible presence. Something unspeakably terrifying. Something" He turned his head sharply. "...that is definitely not something I can fight." "Then lets keep moving." "Ah, but you see," Patches held up a finger, grinning slyly. "If you go that way, Ill be forced to give my expert tactical advice, which is: Good luck! I will be running in the opposite direction." Chael stared at him. Then, he turned in the opposite direction. Patches exhaled in relief. "Smart lass." Eventually, they reached a grand, spiraling staircase. It stretched downward into darkness and disappeared into the unknown depths below. Patches came to a dead stop beside him, peering down into the abyss. "Ahhh" he murmured. "Now, this is a sight that screams: Go back. I have another route in mind that avoids this creepy abyss. Might be a tad bit longer, though." Chael didnt move. His gaze remained on the steps. Patches let out a dry chuckle. "Right, right, I can see that look. Youre thinking, Patches, what could possibly be down there thats worse than what weve already seen? And to that, my dear friend, I say: Everything. If I were you, Id simply be Patches the Merchants bodyguard and simply avoid all this death-courting nonsense." Chael exhaled. "Still dont get it, huh?" Patches scratched his head. "The horrors of the City Below are beyond description. You think what weve seen up here is bad?" He let out a hollow laugh. "This is a paradise compared to whats waiting down there. Its like a great wind swept every abomination here right into the City Below!" Chael remained silent. He had thought about this before. Why were there so few monsters here? Ever since he came into Nyrethil, and everywhere they went in the Crucible, it had been almost empty. The knights were here, yes, and the Hollowed Choir, but compared to the sheer vastness of the Crucible of Light It felt so wrong and empty. Why? Chael tried to think back. He tried to remember what he had been so certain of before. He tried to recall the answer he knew he had already figured out. Nothing came. His mind was blank. A deep, gnawing absence swallowed the thought, leaving behind only a hollow echo where certainty should have been. Chael frowned. Patches watched him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. After a long moment, Chael sighed. "I dont remember." Patches blinked. "Remember what?" Chaels jaw tightened slightly. "Nothing..." Patches raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Convenient." Chael didnt respond. He looked down at the spiraling staircase again. The feeling hadnt gone away. Something was wrong. Something had been taken. He just didnt know what. But right now, it didnt matter. He was going down either way. **** They traveled for what felt like several more hours, the grand staircases and winding corridors twisting in on themselves like an endless labyrinth. Chael was no stranger to difficult terrain, but this place was a nightmare. The architecture seemed purposeless, hallways leading nowhere, stairways that climbed for eternity only to spiral right back down. At one point, they entered a passage where the walls were lined with massive stained-glass windows, yet not a single shard of light seeped through. It was as if the outside world didnt exist. Patches, for once, had gone quiet. Maybe it was the growing tension, or maybe it was the fact that Chael had nearly shoved him off a ledge for talking too much earlier. Either way, the merchant seemed content to let him focus. Eventually, they reached a halt in a dark, storage-like chamber. Patches stepped forward with a grin. Ah, here we are! The City Below is right down there. Chael stepped inside. The room was wide and shadowed, with dust swirling in the dim light of pale moonbeams filtering through a single high-up window. Wooden crates and rusted barrels were scattered carelessly, some overturned, their contents long since spilled or stolen. Iron chains hung from the ceiling, their links swaying slightly despite the stillness of the air. But in the center of the room, there was a huge pit. Chaels brows furrowed. It was massive and stretched across nearly half the chamber. Its sheer edges were vanishing into a seemingly endless abyss. The bottom was completely obscured by thick, white fog. Chael approached the edge, gripping his spear. He peered down. Nothing. The fog was too thick, but even without seeing the bottom, he could tell. It was a long, long way down. "This is a fall." Chael frowned, inspecting the edges and trying to figure out how to climb down this. "You said it was a tunnel-" He never finished the sentence. The world tilted. There was no warning. No shift in movement and no flicker of motion behind him. A boot slammed into his back. And suddenly, he was falling. The air rushed past Chaels ears as his body plunged through endless white. His stomach lurched violently, and his limbs were weightless as he tumbled deeper and deeper into the white abyss leading straight to the City Below. Above him, standing at the edge of the pit, Patches sighed, arms crossed over his chest. "Aaaah, dear me," Patches lamented. "So full of suspicion, that one. So quick to assume the worst in people. Its really quite tragic." He shook his head with mock regret. "Still, its always nice to see a fool take a leap of faith." He grinned. "Say hello to the bottom for me!" Then, he turned and walked away.