Ynixia treaded carefully amongst the silence, herding the shadowed mist in her wake with every unheard step. Her surroundings drowned the chaos of her mind, unresistant to the castle void’s embrace.
Wearing a solemn expression, she strolled further and further into the decrepit, mist-ridden corridor—the darkness was offering no answers for her mind’s endless questions.
Questions like, Why has this castle aided , despite its attempts to also silence ?
It felt as if the living shadows that hoped to feast on her flesh were nothing more than a al themselves. As if, the castle knew of her power and was purposefully sending them toward their demise.
Though, more importantly, she wondered about sothing else that seed much more simple on the surface:
Why have I not reached my destination yet?
It was true that her mories were fragnted—there were many pieces she had yet to truly uncover or learn about.
But that didn’t an she was fully in the dark.
Every corridor she had passed through so far had uncovered nurous scenes of the past—this was a castle she frequently visited in the past after all. As long as she thoroughly explored it, mories would imdiately begin to resurface, no matter how many centuries had passed.
But it seems this effect had already begun to wane. The dark halls she was crossing no longer gave her the sa sense of nostalgia. It almost felt as if she had already passed by them monts prior…
No, perhaps that really was the truth.
“Is the castle ssing with my sense of direction?”
The subspace was clearly being manipulated, she was just unsure how. Sensing the surrounding void was practically impossible with how layered the mist was woven.
But before she could ponder over her predicant further, Albert suddenly stirred awake—the shadows surrounding her signalling his presence.
Ynixia froze, “An enemy?”
The mist shifted in response, prompting her to click her tongue. “It truly never ends…”
She stood still for a while, unwilling to move even in the slightest. The mist around her continued to churn in silence, as if they were ocean waves slamming into the shore in a distinct rhythm. Ynixia knew the tide would soon rise, alerting her to the arrival of sothing…
And sure enough, her instincts were correct. In just a fraction of a second, the mist surrounding her shifted out of rhythm—she swiftly moved her head slightly to the right in response. In an instant, Ynixia felt a sharp sting coming from her left cheek.
She had felt it intrinsically—an arrow of darkness had passed by without leaving behind a single echo!
Clicking her tongue, she shifted her gaze toward the source, noticing a charred skeletal creature holding a mist-woven bow. His hollow eyes watched her from a distance in absolute silence, like a hunter eyeing his prey.
Then, before she could observe him further, the cloak of fog he wore made him vanish once more from sight.
Ynixia cursed inwardly. “Screw this, we’re running.” She grasped her left hand tightly while sprinting forward, feeling the familiar shape of the skull ring mounted on her ring finger.
Several more tis, arrows of darkness flew toward her which she sensed with her control over the surrounding shadows. Each ti, she would either shift slightly away to dodge or duck, letting the strange projectile pass over her. Corridor after corridor passed by as she changed course multiple tis, but it seed losing the creature was a lot more difficult than she had expected.
By now, the castle’s familiar layout had beco a maze not even she could fully grasp. It was just as she had assud—the subspace was indeed ssing with her.
“Damn it!” She cursed her luck while attempting to dodge another shadowy arrow. Because of the strange nature of this castle, sensing anything beyond her purview was essentially impossible. In essence, this was now a battle between two forms of the Naless Mist—one which hoped to erase her senses, while the other attempted to counter that effect. Only, the latter was far more limited than the forr.
Think, Ynixia, think! She tried to refocus, What exactly is the subspace attempting to do? I need to find the pattern so that I can break through it!
As she pondered over this, she sensed another arrow coming towards her. Strangely, the mist was signalling that it was arriving from her front!
Ynixia’s eyes widened. In less than a second, the bolt of darkness raced toward her forehead—she tried to shift away, but it was too late. She was certain it would reach her before she could dodge!
But just as it felt her life was about to end, the mist surrounding Ynixia stirred, manifesting a colossal charcoal skeletal arm that blocked the arrow’s path.
“Albert!”
The impact was deafening—the Radius and Ulna splintered as the bone fragnts flew everywhere. Ynixia was pushed back as well, shielding her eyes from the shrapnel.
She grit her teeth. “How dare you!”
But her anger was practically short-lived. Three more arrows were shot toward her—all from different directions. She swiftly dodged the first two with the surrounding mist’s warnings while deflecting the last one with Soren’s shadowed dagger.
It was only then that it finally dawned on her. Her eyes widened.
“I see… I get it now,” Ynixia froze, letting the surrounding mist churn freely.
“This maze… It was never the castle’s doing—you were the one responsible all along.” Her eyes sharpened. “You’re nothing like the other living shadows. That dark, misty cloak… I rember it now. You’re an elite mber of the Death Empire’s Shadow Legion, right? The Night of Terror’s famous Sleepless Squadron.”
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No answer arrived. But the silence itself felt akin to one.
Ynixia shook her head. “To think soone like you would turn against their own master. What treasonous behavior… If King Arthur knew of this transgression, many heads would have flown off their bodies by now.”
It felt strange for her to say these words—she loathed the empire and its ways completely after all. But, it seed to have worked regardless. The Sleepless Prowler, as they were called, had ceased all attacks. It seems to have confused him greatly—the Sleepless Squadron were known to serve as Guardians of the Temple so attacking the Holy Maiden, of all people, went against his duties.
Taking advantage of the mont, Ynixia took a deep breath as she stood there amidst the dark silence, pondering over her next move.
From what she knew of the Sleepless Prowlers, all of them were usually equipped with Magitech relics crafted with the power of the Naless Mist imbued within them. The one standing before her was no different—his cloak was simply a manifestation of the surrounding dark mist that had engulfed Ynixia without her awareness.
Inside this isolated bubble, reality continued to present itself as normal. She had walked through several corridors attempting to escape the attacker’s presence, but it was all useless. The sa gloomy halls would continue to present themselves again and again, making her assu that the castle’s subspace was attempting to trap her in an elaborate maze.
Although her assumption was indeed correct, the true reason behind it wasn’t. The castle was never responsible—if it had the capability to do sothing similar, it would have already tried doing it to her from the very start of her exploration.
Indeed, it was all due to the Sleepless Prowler’s cloak. She smiled softly. He had surrounded her in its presence, making her believe she was traveling the castle freely. That was why he was able to attack her from all angles and directions, despite her attempts at running away. His presence had been surrounding her from the very beginning.
She shook her head. If it wants to trap within its own pitiful influence over the Naless Mist, then I must drive into its skull that my authority will always dwarf his! Otherwise, my title as Holy Maiden wouldn’t be worth anything.
She opened her eyes, staring deeply at the edge of the shadowy mist. She watched it churn around her, like makeshift foggy prison. No doubt, the Sleepless Prowler was hiding within its illusive embrace.
She smiled, “If you want to consu so badly, I will gladly feed you.”
As she said this, the shadows surrounding her began to expand explosively, as if a dam had broken, spilling everything it was previously containing.
In an instant, the corridor she had been sprinting through transford into a complete void—erased by the Naless Mist under her control. The world then began to shake as the two Naless Mists clashed against each other. But despite the Prowler’s resistance, Ynixia’s darkness continued to pour out endlessly, building more and more pressure.
It didn’t take long for the ‘bubble’ to shatter. Ynixia watched as the flood of darkness broke through the surrounding mist, consuming it in the process. Her eyes imdiately noticed his presence in the distance, holding his bow in a battle stance but unsure of whether to continue attacking or not.
“Allow to take care of that cloak for you from now on.” She chuckled, “Not so hard to read anymore without it, right?”
But the skeletal creature only stood there in silence, unable to answer. But before Ynixia could think over her next move, a solemn but lodic voice reverberated all around them:
[You’ve tried your best, Forgotten Prowler. Stand down.]
A chill ran down Ynixia’s spine. She had instantly rembered who the voice belonged to.
Moreover, the shadows she had released were finally returning to her, revealing more of her surroundings. This wasn’t any familiar corridor in the castle.
This… was the throne room.
Indeed, reflecting in her eyes was a colossal structure made of crystalline, shaped into an enigmatic seat that radiated in power. The chamber expanded beyond it—decorated in countless banners and crystalized sculptures that were guarded by fierce, armored mannequins which all stood in unison on each side.
“The Throne of Glass…” She whispered.
That was what most in the empire called it. As the first bastion in His legendary conquest, Hyades Castle used to be the ho of King Arthur Himself. This was where He used to be seated. After the castle was handed to Duchess Cassilda, the throne room was forever sealed—no one was allowed to sit in it, not even the Duchess herself.
So then why… Why was Ynixia seeing soone seated there now. And not just any random person. But soone loathed by the entire Death Empire…
“The Lady of the Lake… Morgan the Fairy.” Her voice stamred on the na.
In the distance, the woman’s silhouette finally ca into view as more of the shadows receded. She crossed her legs suggestively as she sat upon the mythic throne, leaning on one side while observing Ynixia keenly.
The Shepherd also did the sa, capturing the mysterious woman’s every feature. Aside from Her silver hair being a similar color to hers, the woman wore an almost identical crown of pallid white flowers that went around Her tied-up hair. The only difference being… they seed to be drenched in crimson blood.
Her completely tattered pitch black robe also had a similar feature, but the fragnted patches of blood were shaped like butterflies, giving a distinct pattern to them. What drew Ynixia’s eyes the most, however, was the woman’s pale white skin beneath these loose robes.
It felt as if she was staring directly at a ghost or so terrifying umbral creature disguised in the form of a beautiful woman. The strangeness only beca more palpable the mont she noticed the greyish white spectral wings floating behind her. They were shaped similarly to that of a moth or butterfly, completely translucent in quality as they flapped gracefully behind her.
Ynixia clicked her tongue. “I should have known you were behind this. The Sleepless Prowlers are known for their loyalty to the empire. They wouldn’t be allowed to serve within the Temple otherwise.”
The woman sitting upon the Glass Throne smiled.
[I’ve missed you, dearest Ynixia. Have you missed as well?]
The Shepherd grit her teeth. “What the hell do you want?”
[How cold…]
Sharpening her gaze, Ynixia dragged her fingers across the Skull Ring as if striking at flint—igniting in a strange, black and white fla.
“O’ Black Stars… Heed my call,” the entire chamber suddenly dimd as the ancient Dulvali words echoed for all to hear. In an instant, everything had beco subrged in her Soul Realm’s presence. Ynixia watched as her palm beca engulfed in the strange, shadowed fla that radiated no heat. She clutched it tightly into a fist.
[Incantation magecraft,] Morgan whispered, but Her voice filled the chamber anyway. [Interesting, I thought you hated the teachings of the Temple.]
“I am facing soone I despise even more,” Ynixia suddenly waved her hand, letting the black fla form an arc that instantly morphed into nurous blazing arrows.
[Am I that depraveable in your eyes?]
Ynixia didn’t answer—she continued channeling her incantation, “Fly, Shadow Fla Arr—”
Before she could complete her command, the colossal chamber door that leads into the throne room suddenly began to creak.
Ynixia paused, turning to see who had arrived. Her eyes imdiately widened.
From the threshold of the royal hall erged a gargantuan dark knight clad in silent armor, his thorned shadow-sword dragging across the floor with a grating scrape.
Even more strange, He held tightly to the limp body of a young, unconscious woman, hanging over His shoulder.
[Oh my… You’ve arrived back here so quickly. And it seems you’ve brought another guest with you as well…]
Ynixia bit her lip, “Mordred…”
She once again rembered that common saying:
“Whatever the Weeping Lake reflects, becos infested in black thorns.”
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