Chapter 25—Decisions

The full darkness of the Overcast shrouded the towering Castle Cerulean, making Sector Two invisible to Three and One. Standing at the border as she was before, Celine felt the disconnect like an arrow through her heart. She was taken too far back—taken twenty-two years back to when it all happened before. However, the darkness felt more accursed now. Back then, it was the weakness of humanity that let the city fall, but the fate of Castle Cerulean partially lay in her hands. The researcher finished what she was doing and escaped during the fight. Fiona, however, didn’t make a hasty retreat, choosing to leave Celine in the grasp of despair instead. The Crimson Prophet might have been the truest threat tonight, but the princess would not soon forget the woman who preceded its arrival.

She gazed up to the Light of the Arbiter, shrunken down to a mere twinkle in the sky. At least she could see it, but it was flickering green throughout her fight. It was like the Fiona poisoned it, and the Princess was confident that played a role in this loss. Castle Cerulean was so close to achieving the Almighty Want, but everything about this moment told her it was back to square one. It was hard not to be frozen with so much on her mind, but the twinkle called out to her—a lingering light fighting back the darkness. She swallowed her despair and spread her wings. Now wasn't the time for defeat; it was time to make decisions.

She answered the urge that pull her the most, taking off toward the cathedral where she found the doors wide open. She swooped in and saw the source of her mother's panic, and dropped quickly to Brigid’s side. This was significantly worse than she imagined. They all knew how to hide from their parents' connection, but it was more like Brigid was lost. She still bore the warmth of life, but God's power strayed away from her. Celine peeled open an eyelid and almost gasped at the dark sphere staring back. She produced her sword and pierced Brigid's chest slightly. Light dripped into her from the tip, but seemed to disappear as if it was swallowed. Turning to the steel wall next she slashed and brought it tumbling down. Valerie rushed forward, blood-staining her back. Celine swallowed hard as she took Brigid from her.

Valerie held her face with hands alight, but tears ran from her eyes as Brigid remained still. She pulled her into a hug, her gaze turning up to Celine. The Princess shook her head, just as confused.

“What happened here?” Celine asked. Valerie took a moment to wipe her tears, becoming the Priestess Queen again.

“An Intruder invaded the cathedral during my sermon. I tried to pull memories from her soul, and I fear what I saw. That girl cavorts with dark forces, Celine. She used wicked powers to taint the light, changing my vision to suit her design…” Celine noted the pause there, her mother wasn’t entirely sure. “Perhaps I should say it gave me a new vision. The darkness lives in that girl and it hungers for Cerulean light.”

“What happened to Brigid?”

“She came to my aid after I was wounded. I spoke to her soul to warn of the danger, and to hide the truth from that girl. Beyond anything Celine… beyond my life, your father’s, and maybe even Castle Cerulean, that girl must not be allowed to live!”

“We may have bigger troubles, mother. I don’t believe father survived his fight with the Crimson Prophet.”

“No, Celine!” Valerie shook her head firmly. “That girl was a practitioner of the Dark Arts! When I was still young I read of such wretched people. In a world of God’s Light, they must absolutely be slain! If she is allowed to come into her power she will unleash vile beasts into this world! There will be no peace for humanity under any god.”

“But mother...you feel that the Cerulean Arbiter has weakened, right?”

“I do, but the Decisive Day was foretold. Celine, we must do whatever it takes. Failure is not the end, it is merely a road block.”

Whatever it takes…? Celine already had an idea to answer some of the questions. With her mother here as well, the option might be safe. The Cerulean Arbiter couldn't answer her troubles, but hadn't she heard there was another choice? She raised her rapier, pointing it up in a stance of prayer. She'd do this first and then call upon her attendants.

“I call thee God dwelling on the edge of the court. I stand outside and wait for thee, asking that my words be heard. I know that I am not worthy of thy eyes, but may I still have thy ear?”

“Yes my child?” A voice answered back.

“Have you not been well fed on this wretched day? Have you not spawned wild detritus in the form of prey? Have you not shown yourself to bear more power than you ever should?" No Words came back, but Celine felt the air grow denser. "Then you can stand before me, right? Let us talk, God dwelling on the edge of the court."

A bead of light dotted the air before her and rapidly grew bigger. It expanded until it was a bubble as big as her, and something split it like a knife. A hand pushed out, leading a lithe cerulean body with its head wrapped in a frigid mist cowl. The bubble liquefied and poured into the hood, making a swirling light that dimmed and brightened. Celine nodded as she noted its missing hand, understanding a part of the prayer. This “god” had not mastered a human form. It was young and fed with sacrifices, perhaps only tamed by the light of its origin. It would do.

“What are you?”

“I am the Cerulean Captive. Unjustly imprisoned by the Arbiter.”

Valerie scoffed. “What is this falsehood? Do you presume to stand before the Priestess Queen and share such lies? I knew of the Arbiter before the Priest King could draw upon his power. You are a fiction made bold by his current weakness!”

Celine lowered her sword. “And you’re limited by the paths you took. The reason the Prey was so wild tonight was because of people praying to you. You tainted the material, but your connection to the Arbiter meant it could slip past our safety measures. The more trouble spread through the castle, the more loose batteries you made, feeding on the light of the people. It seemed sensible to you, but look how small you are. We’re better suited to help you grow when the castle runs smoothly.” There was no face to watch but she took the dimming light as a sign it was listening. “However, our castle is weakened now, and with so many deaths, you’re at a disadvantage. You call yourself the Cerulean Captive, right?”

“Yes, my child.”

“No, that is no longer your title. You are the Cerulean Heir now. This is also your castle, and you will do what it takes to save it.”

Both Valerie and the Captive stared at Celine. That was fine, her mother would understand in a moment and the Captive would have no choice but to agree. This was one of those necessary decisions for the future of Cerulean. The captive was a predator, and it’d starve without its prey. There were still people who’d offer prayer, but how many casualties remained uncounted? More Baleful would have to be transformed. That meant making Cerulean a place they could flock to. The Captive needed this, and the terrified survivors needed a god. Their terror had spread the crimson rot through the sky. Leaving it unanswered would worsen the castle's future. Hadn't it already?

“The people will pray to you and we shall share a part of the food as we restore the Arbiter. You have your own objectives, surely, but it’d be better if you worked with us, rather than against us.”

“I see.” The Captive replied. “Then I am the Cerulean Heir. I have inherited the will of the Arbiter, and shall move our castle forward.”

Valerie stood. Celine took that to mean she finally caught on. “I shall begin a sermon.” The Priestess Queen said. Celine nodded.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“We don’t need to wait for their prayers, Heir. The first order of business shall be removing the threats from the castle!”

⁘⁛⁘

Ace saw the red in the sky and his heart swelled at the possibility. When he saw the battle between the two colors he took off, racing through the castle to where he thought it fell. He touched his diamond, reaching out, feeling the bite of crimson light against his own. The Crimson Prophet was here, and after his battle with Christoph, he was ready to face it. He pierced the veil of darkness between One and Two and found his foe standing over a prone body. If the creature had eyes they might have widened as Ace came cutting down. A clawed crimson hand rose to meet him, and his blade sliced down its arm.

Corrosion tore it off and tossed it aside.

Spikes erupted, and it grew another as Ace swung again. Suddenly, an arrow hit his face. It didn't break his Luminance but did send him flying.

As he bounced across the ground he shifted into a flip, springing at the woman who landed and loaded. He dipped past arrow after arrow as they flew, confused about her involvement but determined to get her out of the way. He went for her face but a chain whipped around his arm. It snatched him toward a broad-shouldered figure with a chainsaw sword in hand.

The sword came down and Ace blocked it, noting how it tore his Luminance away. He tried to pull back but the chain held tight, forcing him to break it with his umbra blade. Two more arrows flew and he leaped, letting them hit his attacker. Instead, the figure caught them on its blade, increasing the chain sword's size as he swung for Ace's body.

The brakes of the mobile lab squealed as it pulled up and King shot out. His glaive came down, shattering the chain sword before it hit. Ace took note of his new armor as he spun, knocking another arrow from the air.

"I see." Corrosion hissed, its eyes upon King. King shot a glare at it and then blocked a slash, raising his glaive as the chain sword reformed.

“Wait! You’re supposed to be cool!” Micaela called from the window as Fiona prepared to shoot again. The woman’s eyes widened as she looked over, and Ace went for the kill.

Teeth sank into his arm as a glowing hound bounded forward. He tried to stab its head, and another bit his shoulder, yanking him to the ground. A third jumped in, pinning him down as it went for his neck. It stopped just short of sinking in, as Rashawn flew forward and abruptly stopped.

“Wait. I’m confused! Ain’t these guys with you?” He turned to Corrosion. The Crimson Prophet locked its teeth in a sneer.

“No. But they are useful!” It looked at them both, feeling Ace’s flaring rage.

“Maybe,” Fiona said. “But they’re very dangerous too.” She let her arrow fly for the back of King’s head.

A dark tendril snaked across the ground, snatching it from the air. As the arrow pulled into a shadow a Lycan form rose, leaping toward Ace. It batted one of Rashawn's dogs away, and he pulled back the others before claws swung down. His eyes lingered on the shadowy wolf, as Fang joined the fray with her sword prepared.

Fiona trained her arrow on her.

Ace set his eyes on Corrosion.

Peter put some distance between himself and King.

And Rashawn pulled his gaze away.

“Y’all ain’t gonna believe me, but I don’t think we’re enemies!” Crystal spikes flew through Corrosion, emphasizing his point. They were easily absorbed but all eyes turned toward Sector Three.

Thousands of soldiers drew closer, led by a few hundred loose batteries. Angels flew above them, led by Jacque and Luca. It seemed the remains of the Cerulean army were here. For a moment, the two forces forgot each other, suddenly faced with the might of their mutual enemy. Weapons turned, and Khalaf rose like a ghost from King's body.

“I’m going to agree with Rashawn here.” He said as he leaned on King’s shoulder.

Rashawn’s eyebrow raised. “Khalaf?”

“Hello, Rashawn. You fill your role quite well.” Khalaf’s eyes moved to Corrosion. “And Savior, I have to say I like the new look. Honestly, I’m jealous.”

“Legend.” Corrosion growled in response. “I am Corrosion now.”

“Yes. I one-hundred percent believe that. Savior felt like a younger brother. You feel more like the end of a kingdom.”

The Cerulean army stopped as Celine flew to the frontline.

“Although, maybe not this kingdom. Maybe not today. I believe in the confidence of you all, but you’ll forgive me if I’m a little hesitant. I just got my freedom after all, and I’m not looking for a refund.”

“I’m with Khalaf here. I’ve already died today. I don’t want to do it again.” Micaela called.

"All in favor of saving the bloody moment for another time?" Khalaf looked around. They didn't look at each other, but the army's approach spoke for them. "Great!" He clapped. “This is going to take a lot out of me, King, I’d appreciate another drop of Luminance when you have some to spare.” He swung his hands and glyphs etched circles around them. A line linked Rashawn with Corrosion, Peter, and Fiona. Another linked the Numbers with the mobile lab.

One after another they disappeared in flashes of light. Celine soared forward. Jacque landed beside her, mostly confused about the loose batteries in their ranks but confused about her as well. He nodded with deference as he turned to face her, and her eyebrow raised at the words in his eyes.

“Why didn’t we attack? We had the advantage?”

Celine looked down. “Because I didn’t want my father’s body to suffer anymore damage.”

A van rolled up and Francis jumped out, running to the Priest King’s side. He checked his pulse at both his wrist and neck, then looked with horror at the wound in his chest. He looked up to Celine who shook her head at the worry in his eyes. He swallowed, but rose to his feet, understanding exactly what the Princess’s gesture meant.

“You have a plan to fix this, right, Francis?”

“Yes, princess. While it is a little risky, I think it is the best move to get us back on track.”

“What the hell happened here?” Elias called from above.

“Perfect timing. Prince Elias, you will be necessary for the next step.”

⁘⁛⁘

The mobile lab flashed into place on the ramp leading out of the castle. The Numbers were inside, moved there by Khalaf sitting exhausted on a bench. Ace and Fang looked at the strange new addition to their party, and then turned to Micaela, standing rigid with a salute. Her expression returned to something easy as theirs remained the same, and she sat on the bench beside Khalaf, equally exhausted by the effort. Fang crossed her arms, and that made the woman smile.

“So, I found out a lot about the castle after my trip back, and I was wondering if your team needs another researcher.” She looked to King. He gave her a nod.

“Because I’m a Dark Disciple, there are things I’ll never be able to do with the light, even with Khalaf’s help. If Micaela is willing to join us I think we should let her.”

“Are you sure you want to?” Fang asked. “My time in the castle showed me that our future with them will be a hostile one.”

Micaela sighed. “From what I saw, the castle’s past is a hostile one. I can’t keep supporting it, you know? But maybe I can change it in the future.”

“That’s assuming we’ll see the future.” Ace said.

“We have Khalaf here now, could we turn the cryptic lines down a bit?”

“Hi, I’m Khalaf! And I think what she means to say is, where are we going next?”

“The Spear of Hell.” Fang answered.

“The what?” Micaela gasped.

“The obelisk.” Khalaf smirked, and Micaela headed to the driver’s seat.

“You know, just the Spear of Hell. How bad could it be?” She started the engine. As the lab began to move, the Numbers sat down.

“Let’s go over what we discovered in the castle. It feels like we all have learned more.” Fang said. The boys nodded, but Ace turned to Khalaf.

“What did you do with Corrosion and the others?”

“Same thing as us, I moved them somewhere else in Castle Cerulean.”

“Will they make it out alive?”

“I’m going to say yes. The armies in Two, after all. They’d have to throw a party to give their location away.”

“Good.”

“Oh? Did you have a change of heart?”

“No. I just want to make sure I’m the one who kills the Crimson Prophet…”

[Chapter 25 ends...]