The following morning, Aurora left, showing no penitence that she had left her allies in the outpost, for after all, they would be fine, right? Do not doubt yourself Aurora, the strong voice inside of her told her, you have made it this far, which is better than many. The Sun had just risen. A breeze of cool air swept her cheeks. Her feet trudged through the desert, sand covered her toes. As she was walking, a vulture swooped at Aurora, knocking her over. From her maroon-coloured bag, came a magical artefact, rolling on the ground. It made its way toward the nearby ravine. Shit. Aurora jumped up from the ground, grains of sand in her mouth, and ran after it.

‘No, no.’ It rolled more quickly once the land was flat, making it impossible for the girl to catch it before it fell into the bottom of the ravine. Sprinting, Aurora chased after it and picked it up before it fell. Phew! However, just as she thought she had overcome her problems, the vulture came behind her and knocked her into the ravine. God, please do not let me die, at least not now. The drop was about fifty feet high, which should have killed her but did not. Instead, she fell into a river. The girl checked her hands only to find that the artefact was not there. All that hard work had been wasted. Aurora paddled with her arms, trying not to be swept by the current, which was incredibly forceful and strong. The artefact had disappeared. Eventually, the current ended; by then it was too late. Aurora scraped the dirt and soil from her tongue. She coughed. The current had taken her somewhere unfamiliar, a cave. The girl studied the engravings on the wall. They had dated back thousands of years ago, for Aurora recognised them from the Y’ruil. These same markings had been there since the Dios had arrived.

‘Is this real?’ Aurora wondered if the high drop had affected her mentally. She could not believe what she was seeing.

As she observed them closely, the explorer realised that they were not just markings, but drawings. Each drawing intertwined, to form a bigger picture altogether. It depicted a ruined world, with vivid drawings of flames, but the worst of all was that the Temple of the Dios was on fire. As Aurora touched the drawings, she felt a pulse going through her spine, working its way up to her brain. She could hear the screaming, and the shouting too, however, she also saw someone she had not expected: herself. As she tried to take her hands off, it was as if her limbs were frozen.

‘Let me go!’ The girl tried to kick the wall, but all it did was dislocate her leg, leaving her in extreme pain.

‘Ow!’ She cried out in agony. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Coming here was a mistake. The cursed wall finally released her, but not in the same form she had been before coming there. Now, her leg was dislocated, her face was horror-stricken, and her perception of the cave had changed.

‘Foolish girl.’ Aurora turned to face whoever was addressing her; there was no one in sight. Where was the voice coming from? Then, she felt a pulse. It was the same pulse she had felt when she touched the wall. Something or someone was there.

‘Who are you?’ Aurora faced the wall, clutching her fists.

‘Your worst nightmare.’ The voice was like a constant splinter in her mind. The girl heard scurrying on the bare ground. Maggots and cockroaches swarmed her body. They crawled up her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. Aurora’s arms could not move. That thing had done this: paralysing her while parasites climbed up her skin. Oh, how she wanted it to end! The constant misery, and pain! They were now gnawing at her bare skin. Suddenly, her heart stopped. She fell to the ground.

⤖

It was over. Currently, Aurora Arkov found herself confined to a ragged bed in a small room that was unfamiliar to her eye. The walls were brick, unlike most buildings in the kingdom, however, this was not a building, it was? At that moment in time, the recently-awoken girl did not care, for it was the artefact she cared about. The door was crimson red, twice the size of anything in the room. Drawings of the human anatomy were on the oak table beside her. She needed answers, for everything about this place screamed evil.

‘She has awoken, High Lord.’ She heard the monotone voice through the thin walls. It seemed they were speaking of her. Who was the High Lord they spoke to?

‘It is too soon. Her conscience has not fully developed since the incident. We need more time, or else it may go catastrophically wrong. Her weak mind will not be able to handle it at the present moment. Give it until tonight, then she will be ready.’ Aurora presumptuously assumed that the voice was the High Lord’s, for it was more majestic and rich. At that moment, the girl heard the doorknob rattle. Fearing for the worst, Aurora hid beneath the bed as the figure came in. The figure was dressed in grey robes, with a mask in the shape of a skull. He pulled the covers of the bed down.

‘Please do not find me.’ Aurora hoped in her mind. Her breath was shuddering. She bit her fingernails, worrying that the mysterious person would find her. Whatever they wanted to do to her was not good at all. She had to escape but how? Her leg had dislocated only the day before, making her unable to run from the person without being caught. She heard the door shutting and came out from beneath the bed. Aurora felt a cold hand touch her. The girl had been caught.

‘You thought you could hide.’ Aurora could hear the evil from just his voice alone. She would have to pray that they did not kill her.

‘What do you want?’ The question had accidentally slipped from the girl’s tongue. She did not expect a response to such a demanding question.

‘Since you are not getting out of here, I may as well tell you,’ The figure continued, ‘You are getting ready to be the final sacrifice to our beloved leader. Soon, he will have replenished his strength and power. His might is extraordinary, like nothing you have ever seen before! You will be fit for him.’

Stolen novel; please report.

Just from what he had said, Aurora knew the twisted person they worshipped: the Dark Being himself. In a mere matter of time, he would awaken once again. Not even the Dios had been able to stop him the previous time, so how would the kingdom cope? I must not let them release him. The figure took Aurora to another room, which completely contrasted the last.

A chandelier hung from the raised ceiling. The floor was smooth marble. Mountains of food piled on every crevice of each wooden table. Wine was poured into every golden glass. Candles were freshly lit. Each plate and piece of cutlery was neatly laid out. If Aurora did not know anything better, this was a banqueting hall, the same one the Emperor had in his palace. The girl had never experienced such a moment of joy before. Never in her almost- twenty years of living had she seen such a beautiful place. Other members of the cult sat down, filling each seat on the three long wooden tables. They all stared at her in amazement. The final sacrifice.

‘Attention!’ The seeming leader of the cult shouted, tapping his glass. ‘Tonight is a very special night. Today, we give the Dark Being his final sacrifice and bring him to life once again! And to mark a special occasion is a very special person in the kingdom I have heard. Aurora Arkov. The most famous person in the kingdom right now. Luckily, they bury famous people!’ The crowd all laughed at the vile remark. If Aurora had the chance, she would murder him. This was it: the end. There was silence and what seemed like a box draped in white covers was hoisted from the ceiling. They dimmed some of the candles. The cult members watched in awe. Their leader would finally be free.

‘Presenting, the Dark Being!’ A cult member lifted the white covers from the cage, unveiling the horrific monster that lurked there. The crowd applauded, watching intently. Aurora glimpsed at the cage. It was several feet high and made of the finest silver in the kingdom: Gerisian Silver. Two cult members slammed the golden doors shut, and the sound of them shutting resonated in the great hall. Oh well, at least I get to revel in beauty before I am killed.

‘Everyone rise!’ The leader of the cult raised his hands and signalled to the member nearest the cage to open it. The creature leapt up at the member next to the cage. It sunk all of its razor-sharp teeth into the man’s stomach. Aurora did not look away. The creature’s teeth sank into the member’s stomach, killing him. Then, it crawled in front of Aurora. Now, Aurora had a better look at it. The creature had no eyes, long scaly arms, an elongated pointed tail, and a face made of bones.

‘Child.’ Its demonic voice was the same Aurora had heard before she had lost consciousness. That same creature had created a swarm of maggots and cockroaches from completely nowhere. ‘What do you fear most?’

‘Being killed by such a weak, pathetic piece of shit.’ The girl rolled up her sleeves and clenched her fists tightly. She reached into her pockets, looking for her blade, but found nothing. Fuck. The creature riled up and charged at her. The only response Aurora had thought of at that moment was to throw down one of the candles in front of her. That would buy her some time at least. The tables caught alight, forcing the cult members to move. It is now or never. The girl blended in with the crowd.

‘Do not let the sacrifice get away!’ The leader screeched. His plan had been foiled, the plan he had so carefully curated. The girl would pay the consequences of her actions.

Aurora rushed out of the doors of the banqueting hall, taking one final glimpse at it before she left. Behind her was the creature. The cult members had all put on a certain ointment to make sure that the beats would not attack them. She did not have such a pleasant thing.

‘You think you can run.’ The dark creature cackled and pushed the cult members to one side. ‘You will not escape, sacrifice.’

‘You think I am afraid? I can blow you up in less than a second.’ Aurora pointed at the barrels of gunpowder, set the barrel alight and kicked it in the direction of the creature.

‘No!’ The creature could not stop it, it had already happened. Boom! The ceiling of the cave collapsed, separating Aurora from the creature and the other cult members. It would only be a matter of time before they broke through. The girl darted down the long-winded corridors of the cave.

There was a room containing all of the weapons she had carried before she had woken up in the strange room. She saw a luminescent blue glow. The artefact, she thought. I must be quick, or else they will break through and kill me. Aurora ran into the room quickly, not expecting company.

‘The sacrifice?’ A look of perplexion and confusion could be seen through the eyes of the mask. ‘What are you doing here? The ceremony should have happened by now.’ Not wanting to waste any time, Aurora kicked him in the face. He stumbled over. ‘You dare harm a member of the great Cult of Darkness? I will feed what is left of you to the Dark Being. You may have escaped there, but here, you will be lucky to escape death.’ He held a long, pointed blade at her neck.

‘You will be lucky not to be sliced and diced.’ Aurora ran to the wooden table containing her weapons and picked up the sword and the artefact. The cult member shut the doors of the weapon room and bolted them shut.

For once, the young woman was not the first to attack. The two blades clashed. The cult member kicked her in the leg, forcing her to drop her blade. He sliced her shoulder with the sharp point of the blade. She screamed in agony as a meander of blood flowed from the top of her arm.

‘Weak child.’ The cult member kicked her as she tried to get up. ‘And they call you the leader of the Resistance. Pathetic!’ How did he know that? Unless they were a member of the Resistance. That cannot be possible, can it? Aurora got up from her knees and stood tall. She would not die here, not now.

‘It is called the Resistance for a reason!’ She faked a hit for the stomach and sliced the blade through his kneecap. He stumbled as Aurora had hoped. He is pinned to the ground now. She pointed the blade at his neck. ‘Tell me who you are, or the blade meets your throat.’

‘I would rather die!’ He kicked her blade away and punched her in the gut. Aurora deflected each hit from his fists. With her free hand, she got the blade from the ground and pierced it through his knuckles, a technique her father had taught her.

The cult member screamed in pain.

‘Please,’ He begged, ‘Give me mercy.’ Aurora thrust the blade into his stomach.

He made no noise, only staggered backwards. Aurora threw off his mask. It was none other than Doctor Moyokata, M, as Aurora had dubbed him. No, it cannot be him. That means that whoever is at the Outpost right now is not M. I have to warn Valentin.

‘Aurora, I am.’ He began to talk his final breaths, ‘Sorry for everything. Beware the Child of Ash.’ He looked around, however, Aurora had finally gone. The door had been busted open. Aurora ran to the stream where she had first discovered the cave. Footsteps were coming from behind her. They had broken free. A cacophony of noise erupted, mixtures of screaming, shouting and rage. She did not look back. Her hands gripped the artefact tightly. I am sorry, but this is the only way. She threw it down on the floor. A storm of magic broke out. Through the storm, she saw the creature. Aurora stuck up her middle fingers at it. Her feet paddled through the current.

‘Come on.’ She swam as fast as she possibly could.

The start of the river was just seconds away. Eventually, she reached it and began to climb the high walls of the ravine with her bare hands, not looking back at all. I am going to make it. The phrase echoed in her mind, as slowly, she ascended the walls of the ravine. Slithers of sunlight shone on her face. The storm had finished. Now, the creature was free, but Aurora Arkov did not have the faintest care in the world, for she had made it this far. Her hands tugged at the final rock of the ravine. Before she pulled herself up to the familiar desert, Aurora took one last look at the Dark Being. She could feel that they would once meet again. Aurora climbed up to the top of the ravine and stood up in the desert. Soon, she would be home.