After traveling for a few more hours, the distant sight that once required keen eyes could now be seen far more easily. Hyades Castle stood proudly above an abyssal plateau, high and mighty were its towers and anchored walls. It weeped an ocean of shadows as it overlooked the surrounding ruins of a past civilization.
Sitting atop a colossal skeletal creature, Soren watched the depressing canvas of dark paints unfold before his very eyes. He could see the colossal ionic marble pillars rising like trees in a dark forest, desperately struggling against the passing of history. All of it reminded him of the architecture he had seen in Celestine Citadel, but far more faded and decayed.
With his arms crossed, he surveyed the strange ruins surrounding the dark castle. From their secure vantage point, he could see multiple points of interest.
Sowhere up north, a gathering of fragnted inhabitants could be seen dancing and singing in a circle. At their center, a mysterious bonfire was lit ablaze, pushing back against the inescapable dark mist.
To the east of them, a strange outgrowth of webs had spread between the remnants of mired buildings and marble pillars. Strange shadows crawled across these webs like monstrous spiders, acting similarly to an insect colony.
As for the west. . . Soren didn’t even dare to look in that direction. The entire western half of the village had been destroyed beyond recognition. All that rested was a lake of darkness that seed to shift in response to his curious gaze. He knew that whatever rested there was far too dangerous to confront.
As he sat there silently for a while, Ynixia couldn’t help but voice her annoyance.
“Why must we deliberate over this matter for so long? Hyades Castle rests just up ahead! We must hurry before. . .”
“Because we’re weak.” Soren cut her off imdiately, his frown growing deeper. “Surely you haven’t forgotten your current status, princess?”
The dark mist stirred around them for a mont before returning back to normal.
“And what about you? How can you call yourself my knight when you are this cowardly?!”
Soren chuckled. “Since when did I beco your knight?”
“S-Since the day you accepted my request for help. You are my loyal knight! You should feel honored!” Her voice was a concoction of panic and frustration.
Hearing this, Soren couldn’t help but shake his head. He knew from his ti traveling with Ynixia that she was extrely intelligent. This was especially true in the field of magecraft—if not for her assistance, he might have never been able to co up with Prismatic Reflection. And yet. . . despite it all, she was still nothing more than a simple child.
A child who seed to have lost far more than he has.
“Before making any decision, one must understand their own advantages compared to their enemy’s advantages. And the sa must be done for one’s limitations. Surely soone as smart as you can grasp such a concept?”
“Of course I’ve grasped it,” she said while clicking her tongue, “Pendragon instructed in a variety of subjects. However, I am certain the danger isn’t as great as you estimate it to be, this ti!”
“Pendragon?” The na instantly drew his attention, making him forget their argunt completely. He felt as if he had rembered sothing crucial.
Sensing the depth in his gaze, Ynixia slowed her pace. “Do you know Him?”
He searched for the right words, unsure of how much to tell her. “I read a book a long ti ago. He was the author.”
“I see. . .” Her tone seed to relax a little. “Pendragon was known to write a lot back then as well. If only he was here—I’m sure we would have already freed this mired land from its own shadow by now.”
Watching the black coffin enveloped in dark mist, Soren couldn’t help but frown even deeper. This was the first ti he had heard her express such emotions.
“Pendragon. . . Was he only your teacher?”
The mist stirred. “No. He was more than that.” She chuckled, “So even think he was my father.”
What?
His lips twitched slightly before asking, “So who is your real father then?”
No response.
“Aely—Ynixia?”
He was once again t with silence. Soren simply shook his head and sighed. “Fallen asleep again. . .” Glancing up at the shadowy eyes that filled the sky, Soren noticed so of them were on the brink of closing. Indeed, the ti for silence was finally upon them once again.
In these strange lands called Carcosa, night and day don’t exist. The world perpetually exists in darkness, unanchored from any warmth.
However, every so often, the eyes watching from the shadowed heavens above begin to close, signalling the end of another “day.” It was hard to predict, since the cycle seed to depend on the geography itself. So regions in Carcosa might experience the end faster than others do—all depending on which shadowy eyes succumb to the drowsiness.
But regardless, Soren was still able to manage with the knowledge [Eyes of the Fairy] granted him. Albeit, with a sowhat low success rate. . . His prediction this ti was off by a couple hours.
Stepping off of Albert’s back, he landed on the ashen soil below sowhat ungracefully. Dusting his robes, Soren glanced up at where he was monts prior—the terrifying skeletal creature was shaking slightly, as if sensing sothing. Its dark, abyssal tail rocked back and forth anxiously.
The Silencing has begun. . . Soren glanced into the distance once more, watching as the dancing fragnted inhabitants slowed their rhythmic movents. One by one, they all paused, staring up at the enchanting bonfire in silence.
This. . . This was another signifier of the day’s end. When the strange heavenly eyes close, the inhabitants themselves also begin to change. He didn’t really understand what this ant at first when Ynixia explained it to him. Only after witnessing it first hand did the truth beco undeniable:
The strange living shadows roaming Carcosa. . . They grow stronger every “night.” All while their fragnted selves lose more and more of their existence.
And indeed, it was happening once again. He watched the strange phenonon unfold before his very eyes:
One by one, the strange bonfire dancers slouched forward, as if their puppet strings had been cut. Then, a strange mist began to seep from within their bodies, flooding the entire illuminated plaza in dusk.
Toward the east, the strange web of darkness stirred from rest. Strange shadow creatures prowled within their hidden hive, as if awakening newfound strength. The sa phenonon occurred to the west, where the abyssal pool rested. Its surface began to form strange ripples, as if sothing was preparing to rise from within.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Soren quickly steered his gaze in another direction. His instincts from before told him that ssing with whatever rested there was beyond foolish. He glanced at Albert, who seed to be shivering in fear and sighed.
“When will your master awaken?”
The skeletal creature looked at him with an unchanged expression. The darkness seeping from its skull’s eye-sockets seed to have grown even more unsightly than before.
“Right. I forgot you can’t talk.” He shook his head slightly. This was also another major issue with the Silencing. Ynixia, unlike the other inhabitants, was sowhat different. She did not seem to possess a living shadow—Albert was akin to a summoned creature ford from her authority over the Naless Mist. However, each “night” forces her into a state of total slumber, leaving her vulnerable to outside threats.
In fact, she had only awakened fully after eting Soren. And with her body still restricted to the coffin, it was fair to say that control over her own actions was severely limited. Of course, she had been able to resist the forced drowsiness more easily thanks to all the living shadows he had helped her hunt, but it was still nowhere near enough to afford her total freedom.
She did say her dreams were extrely wonderful, though. . . I wonder what it is she dreams about.
The thought crossed his mind for only a mont. He quickly regained focus and glanced toward Albert, who still seed to be shivering from the strange transformation happening to the distant inhabitants.
“Aren’t you glad I didn’t listen to your master and rush into the ruined village? We might already be dead by now if it weren’t for my patience.” He grinned toward the creature, unsure if it even understood his words.
Soren chuckled. “Anyway, let’s quickly find shelter. We’ll wait until the shadowy eyes open again.” Although, he wasn’t sure if crossing by then would be an effective strategy either. Since the shadows roaming around would likely be much stronger compared to now.
Soren sat peacefully amidst the darkness, sensing the surrounding ashes swirling around him hypnotically.
“My love, where have you gone?”
“O’ Serpent! Save us all!”
“The tragedies of the past must not be forgotten, child!”
“When will the rchant caravans arrive?”
“Those damned dragons!”
Whispers and murmurs filled his every mont. Their echoes forming ripples, soundless to all but him. Then, the surrounding ashes began to exude a nostalgic scent—one that could never be fully recalled, like a lost childhood mory. . .
After sorting through the invasive whispers and sensations, Soren quickly opened his eyes, letting his Soul Realm expand once again. He watched as the color of his anima began to twist and churn, shifting between several states.
On one side, he could see the violet colored butterflies coming in and out of existence, illusory yet real enough to feel their presence. On the other, white scribbles shaped also into butterflies could be seen. The tangled strings of their existence would vibrate in their own rhythms, matching the strange whispers he could hear.
The two colors of his anima mixed in the center, like two oceans eting for the first ti. He sat there in silence, watching them swirl into each other as his thoughts churned with new ideas.
However, an issue began to form quickly. One that couldn’t be ignored. . . The violet colored anima was beginning to attack the radiant white anima!
Soren grit his teeth through the pain, trying his best to focus. He quickly controlled his Channels of Willpower to let the outflow be balanced between the two affinities. Though, it proved futile in the end.
Before he could even blink his eyes, srism’s color of anima grew monstrously large, instantly swallowing all of Ephera’s presence within the Soul Realm.
The backlash was imdiate. Blood dripped from Soren’s eyes as he collapsed to the floor in agony. The world spun around him, leaving him unable to move.
“Fool. Absolute fool. . .” A distant voice broke through the nausea. He quickly recognized it.
“Aelyne. . .”
“I told you it's Ynixia! Get it right!” The surrounding mist shifted in anger. “And who the hell told you to use a technique like that anyway? Affinity Mixing is a path only taken by those who wish for an early grave!”
Rubbing his temples, Soren replied through the agony. “I wasn’t trying to do Affinity Mixing. The opposite actually. . .”
“Yes, yes, I know,” He could almost feel her rolling her eyes. “You were attempting to balance the two affinities, right? I’ve had the displeasure of eting a few other fools who tried to do the sa thing in the past.”
Soren nodded. “If I can establish a balance between the two affinities, I might be able to discover a new definition for my anima. I need to reach the Kindled Stage as soon as possible.”
“Except, you are doing it completely wrong.” She answered back promptly.
“Huh?”
“Your sanity is being lost actively through the activation of your Soul Realm. That is why a definition is needed—a replacent to what is lost must be achieved.”
Soren’s frown deepened. “So then—”
“But your way of doing it is laughably simplistic. You are simply hoping for the ergence of an idea through the perpetual balancing of the two affinities. By letting their corruptions grow evenly, you can find sothing comparable between the two that can be used to anchor them together to the sa definition.
“Such a thod relies far too much on luck, and as you just saw, might even result in severe consequences. If you hadn’t controlled the clash between the two affinities as carefully, you might not have even been talking to right now.”
Soren remained still for a while, unwilling to say anything. He glanced toward the glowing book—the Records—and frowned.
Truth be told, this was indeed a gamble from the very beginning. He and Biblion created this strategy after brainstorming countless ways to achieve the Kindled Stage. Out of all their theories, this one was simply the most logical at the ti.
Of course, if they had prior knowledge on this subject, it wouldn’t have required this much effort at all. . . Alas, his ti with Solyara was far too limited—She was never able to fully teach him about the subject.
“So what exactly should I do instead?” His eyes locked onto the nearby coffin, hungering for new revelations.
The dark mist churned excitedly. “Simple. Rather than trying to find balance between the affinities, beco an authoritative dictator instead.”
“What?”
She coughed. “T-that’s how Pendragon described it, at least.”
Soren squinted his eyes. “You. . . You don’t actually know the full thod, do you?”
“. . . . .”
“Ynixia?”
The surrounding mist beca heavier. “I do know it! It just ans you have to make the definition yourself, rather than letting them decide it for you!”
Myself. . . The words made him think back to when he achieved Affinity Fusion. Back then, the two Affinities—Wards and srism—were fighting a chaotic battle after each trial, making any attempt at bringing the two together impossible.
Eventually, however, Soren figured out sothing crucial. Rather than trying to build harmony between them, Soren simply gave them what they wanted, albeit, on his own terms and conditions. The trial ended in a success after he decided to help srism consu Wards entirely.
So what if he were to do the sa thing in this situation as well? If he could simply declare a definition on his own that both parties will accept, then the issue of creating balance would disappear as well.
He would essentially be exerting his own influence upon the affinities, rather than letting them influence him instead.
“Let’s leave that for later,” Ynixia’s voice broke through his reverie. “We should probably get going—the shadowed eyes have begun to open once more.”
Soren glanced toward the cave entrance and found Albert standing there alone. His colossal skeletal body acted as a shield, letting nothing pass through.
Ynixia chuckled. “My dreams helped rember sothing crucial as well. I finally know how we can cross through that strange village.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers