Chapter 78: Confronting the Elder

The night air was thick with tension as Abel and Gravedigger made their way through the quiet village streets. Shadows danced along the walls of the cottages, the faint sounds of villagers sleeping or murmuring to themselves within. Each step felt like a risk, each creak of the wooden pathway like a signal for discovery. The village, once a serene place, now felt suffocating, its cheerful facade masking something sinister.

Gravedigger's voice was barely a whisper. "Stay close. We can’t afford to be seen. If they realize what we're doing, everything could unravel."

Abel nodded, his senses heightened by the strange magic that lingered in the air. He kept glancing at the sky, where the stars were hidden behind a veil of mist. He felt disconnected from them, but there was still a faint pull, guiding him, keeping him steady. Tonight, everything felt wrong. The joy in the village was too forced, too fake.

Gravedigger summoned the bones of a rat from his pouch, letting it skitter ahead as a scout. The tiny creature vanished into the shadows, its bony frame clattering softly on the cobblestones. Abel watched as it disappeared around the corner, their only assurance that the path ahead was safe.

As they moved deeper into the village, every creak of a door or the sudden flutter of a curtain felt like an impending threat. Abel's pulse quickened. The villagers were all under the spell of the nectar, but what if they woke? What if they realized what was happening? His mind buzzed with worry, but he forced himself to focus.

"We're almost there," Abel whispered.

The garden loomed ahead, its fence silhouetted against the moonlight. Abel led the way, retracing the path he’d walked with the village elder before. The garden was strangely beautiful, with tall, wild plants twisting upward, their petals glowing faintly. At the center was the plant—the source of the nectar. Even now, without the drink clouding his thoughts, Abel couldn’t deny the plant’s allure. It was mesmerizing.

Gravedigger moved to the side, hiding in the shadows just in time. Footsteps approached—slow, deliberate. Abel tensed, trying to act naturally as the village elder appeared. His eyes glowed faintly in the dark, a predatory gleam to them.

"Abel," the elder said, his voice soft but sharp. "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be preparing for the next ritual?"

Abel forced a smile, playing along. “I... I had to see the plant again. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s beautiful.”

The elder’s eyes narrowed. "Is it, now? Or have you forgotten your place?" His voice was laced with suspicion. "Do you really want to betray your God?"

Abel's heart pounded in his chest. His mind scrambled for a response, but before he could think of something, the elder took a step closer, eyes gleaming with a piece of dark knowledge. "Do you truly wish to go against the will of my God? If you want to prove your devotion, become the sacrifice of The Night Sage of Forgotten Growth." he hissed, his tone shifting from friendly to menacing.

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For a moment, Abel's vision blurred, a sharp pain shooting through his mind as if the elder's words carried some dark power. Even Gravedigger on the side experienced intense head pain as the name sounded out. It was as though the very mention of the god’s name was designed to break his will. But instead of succumbing, Abel focused on the stars above. He remembered their guiding light, the way they had broken through the illusion. Slowly, clarity returned. He steeled himself, ignoring the elder’s dark stare.

"You’re making a mistake," the elder whispered, his voice full of venom. "My god will return, and when he does, no one will stand in his way. Not you. Not anyone."

Abel took a step back, his hand instinctively going for his dagger. “I don’t care about your god,” he spat, “or his return.”

With a roar, the elder lashed out, summoning dark tendrils of vine magic, aiming directly for Abel. Abel jumped back, his advanced agility helping him evade the initial strikes, but the elder was relentless. A vine caught him across the chest, knocking him to the ground. He gasped, the wind knocked out of him, but before the elder could strike again, Gravedigger emerged from the shadows, his bone spear ready.

“Sneaking around, boy?” the elder sneered, summoning more vines from the earth.

Gravedigger didn’t respond. He simply charged, summoning two skeletal warriors to his side. The garden erupted into chaos as the elder fought back with terrifying force. Vines lashed out, wrapping around the skeletons, crushing them with ease. Gravedigger thrust his spear forward, striking at the elder, but the man dodged with surprising speed. Abel could see the fury in Gravedigger’s eyes—the apostle wasn’t used to being pushed back.

“Your god, our god ruled this world once,” the elder sneered, deflecting the bone spear with a swipe of his hand. “He had millions of followers before he was betrayed. Expelled! But soon... soon he will rise again.”

Gravedigger gritted his teeth, summoning more bones to form a barrier between him and the elder’s onslaught. Abel, still dazed from the attack, pushed himself to his feet. His fingers glowed faintly as he summoned his connection to the stars, feeling their pull grow stronger. The lights that left his fingers began to around the garden almost in a planned formation. With a wave of his hand, the gravity in the garden shifted, causing the elder to stumble slightly.

Gravedigger took the opportunity and lunged, his spear cutting through the air, but the elder wasn’t finished yet. His body twisted and contorted, his face splitting open as eyes sprouted across his head. A massive mouth opened on his torso, lined with jagged teeth. The abomination roared, shaking the very ground beneath them.

Abel and Gravedigger fought with everything they had, but the elder was stronger than they expected. Vines and bones clashed as Abel used his gravitational abilities and some of the star beams he had learned to distort the battlefield and frustrate the abomination, while Gravedigger summoned more skeletons to join the fray. But it wasn't enough, as both members of the tower were blasted away, as they coughed and gasped for air. This new transformation from the Elder made him quite powerful.

Then, without warning, the ground trembled, a low rumbling sound coming from the direction of the lake. The elder paused, his grotesque form twitching. "No..." he muttered, his voice distorted and terrifying.

Without hesitation, the elder scooped up the plant, cradling it in his vine-covered arms. "It’s not time yet! I need more time, this ritual cannot be disturbed!" he screeched, his voice full of desperation. The abomination bolted from the garden, rushing toward the lake with frightening speed.

Abel, still reeling, forced himself to stand. He couldn’t let the elder escape. Gravedigger, bruised and battered, picked himself up from the debris and followed closely behind.

“What’s happening?” Abel muttered, his eyes wide with confusion.

Gravedigger’s expression was grim as they ran. “I don’t know,” he said, “but we have to stop it.”