Chapter 3: - Is it not Virtue?

Hell had nights. Nero didn’t know if that was refreshing or horrifying, but it did, and in this case it was an advantage he made sure to leverage.

They weren’t like earth nights, the purple clouds still retained their hue, only dulled and two moons hung in the heavens, one silver and the other a sickly blue.

He didn’t know how dark it would get nor how long that dark would last so he decided to make his move as soon as the world became bathed in shadow enough for an advantage. Nero hated working on incomplete information.

He was wearing stockings and a tunic now, gifted to him by the Inquisition. Nero was thankful as they were far more mobile than what he’d had.

Finally, once he’d gathered up enough courage, Nero made his way out of the library. He slipped past a patrolling guard and slid into the next hallway. Ah, yes, there were patrolling guards now.

Alisan in her helpful nature had ‘noticed’ his concern about security and relayed that information to Atix who doubled security around the building.

A slight miscalculation on his part, and one that had larger consequences than he could have anticipated. He supposed it was the novelty of dealing with zealots that caused it and Nero made a silent note not to make that same mistake again.

He’d corrected it as much as he could by memorising their schedules, and so it was no surprise when a man popped up from the corridor next to him and walked past, none the wiser that he was coiled into the shadows of a corner.

It wasn’t long before he was at the door leading down to the tunnels. It was then that a thought occurred to him, one that filled him with dread.

What if it’s locked?

Nero decided to know his fate. He wrapped his hand around the handle and twisted downwards. The door slid open but not without making a painful creak that screeched through the air.

Shit!

Nero slid into it quickly and gently shut the door behind him.

Before him was a set of stairs so ancient they made the tower look like a springy youth. Not a trickle of light sank into the passage and the only reason he could see as to why was Ember’s bright, flickering glow.

Said source of light floated around Nero’s head now. She’d been talking since, asking questions and Nero had been doing his best to ignore her while banking on the fact that no one else could hear her.

“Where are we going Nero?!” Ember asked, arms folded with an expression that he knew was her trying to look intimidating. She looked more like a pouting bunny instead.

“I’m exploring.” He whispered to her and began walking down the steps.

“Exploring?” She asked and seemed to be recalling the meaning of the word. “Ah exploring, yes, but isn’t this dangerous, shouldn’t you call Atix to come down with you?”

“Yeah, but Atix is sleeping and I don’t want to bother him.” He replied, not meeting her eyes.

“Still, I think it’s dangerous down here Nero.” She said, a soft tremble to her voice. “I think we should wait till tomorrow.”

Nero was starting to suspect that God was taunting him by making him lie to the most undeserving people imaginable. He hesitated then spoke. “Ember… I’m not actually exploring.”

“What- what are you doing then?” She asked, puzzled.

They had reached the bottom now and were walking through the narrow tunnel.

“I’m getting us out of here.” He told her.

“Getting us out? But we’re supposed to stay here, the Demons lurk everywhere else, the tower is the only place we’re safe in.”

“Well, I don’t feel safe here, the Inquisition wants to enlist me into a war they’re losing and make me the most important target for the winning side.” He said, perhaps more edged than he would have preferred.

Ember’s face darkened. “But it’s the only way to save humanity.”

“What if I don’t want to save humanity!” He hissed and watched as the Imp flinched back from him. Nero shook his head. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just… This is hell right? So maybe the people sent here are here for a good reason.”

“What do you mean?” She coked her head to the side.

“I mean… I’m not a hero… I’m not anything good at all.” His reply turned to a half-audible mumble by the time it was done.

Ember frowned in thought for a long moment and then smiled. “Well, I think you can be…”

He sighed. “Well of course you do, you’re a child.”

Ember huffed. “I’m three hundred thousand years old!”

Nero blinked. “Well… that’s news.” He admitted. “But you behave and look like a child and hence should be treated as one. Anyone who would disagree is either a liar or a weirdo.” Nero shrugged.

Ember, thankfully didn’t push it, only glared daggers at him.

“Listen, I’ve thought this through.” He explained gently. “You see this sack in my hand?” He raised it. “It contains a shitload of fruits, I said I needed it for research and they gave me enough for a whole week.” He explained. “There’s also a map in here and a few other tools that’ll help with survival.”

“The forest is large but not that large, I reckon I could make it to the nearest town in seven days.” He told her. “From there I’ll figure out the rest.”

“Please don’t do this Nero.” Ember whispered.

“It’s already done.” He told her.

The rest of the walk was one of silence and Nero hated it. He’d already gotten used to Ember’s constant buzzing about but now she was quiet as still water, and her glow was a dull thing, like the light of a dying flame.

“It’s happening again.” She whispered, but Nero didn’t prompt her to elaborate.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

It broke his heart, it did. But it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t on him or anyone to join a fight against literal fucking Demons, frankly it was an insane ask and an insane thing to even consider.

At least that was what he told himself.

Nero made one more corner through the tunnel and found himself at the exit door. It was wooden like the other one and even if it was locked it looked flimsy enough to break through with a simple kick.

His exit was there, so why was he hesitating?

Was it courage? No, he searched for it and found none there, it was in fact the opposite. Always the opposite.

So focused on getting out of Atix’s grasp, he hadn’t even considered what outside actually was. It was a world of monsters. He’d seen that dragon thing, how many more of them were out there? And how much worse did things get?

Sure he had seven days of food, but that wouldn’t help him if he became food. Then there was the town, he didn’t know what these people customs were, fuck he didn’t know anything about them, he barely knew anything about this place at all.

No, no, he couldn’t just leave, he needed to prepare more. Atix said he had magic, he could train that, he could learn how to fight, learn how everything worked. The man wouldn’t do anything to put him in danger so quickly right?

No he won’t, he needs me.

So all he had to do was stay by his side, learn all needed to and then, when the opportunity arose, dip under circumstances he had more control over.

But this could be his only chance to escape. He didn’t know what resources Atix had, he didn’t know what the man was capable of. For all Nero knew the trusting complacence that had let him get this far was only because they knew he needed their knowledge of everything.

I really, really hate working with incomplete information.

He was stuck at a crossroad, but still there was some good here. He hadn’t shut the door on either choice just yet. He could step out into the wilderness right now, or he could turn around and slide back into the library with no one being the wiser.

At least that was true before he heard the voice.

“Lightweaver?” Nero turned to see Alisan standing behind him, torch in hand. There was a mix of panic and confusion in her features.

“Hey!” He smiled. “Alisan, didn’t expect to see you here.” He said, perhaps the first and last truth he would be telling her.

“I didn’t find you in the library and then I remembered hearing a door creak.” She said, “Wh-what’s going on, what are you doing here?”

She’d probably woken up from sleep and wanted to check on him. The fact that she was the only one here meant that she hadn’t told anyone else that she was down here. That meant if he wanted to escape all he’d need to do was kill her.

“I found what looked to be a passage the enemy could come from.” He told her. “I was checking it out.” Nero did well to slide the sack containing all his escaping material behind his leg.

“You’re lying!” Ember cried out, but Alisan didn’t hear her and he ignored her.

“Oh.” Alisan looked at the door and nodded. “Good catch Lightweaver, I’ll go tell Atix and he’ll position some guards here, come, this place isn’t safe, anything could come through that door.”

She turned and began walking away.

Alisan had her back turned, relaxed. She was vulnerable like that and he had a kitchen knife in his sack. There was no good way to knock a person out, not without having them wake up near-instantly or drop dead. He had no choice but killing. It would have to be quick, painless and silent. He could manage that.

He’d regret it, yes, loathe himself for it, but what was self loathing if not a way to reassure yourself you’re still human after doing something heinous? Finally he’d move on, like he always did.

With that, it seemed his decision had been made for him.

Nero began walking towards her.

“Tell Atix I want to begin learning magic tomorrow.” He told Alisan.

“Of course.” The woman smiled, beaming. “You’re going to love it, I assure you.”

He wasn’t a killer.

Oh, but you’ve killed more than enough people already for that to be true. But doing it face to face is where you draw the line huh?

He’d stay with Atix, learn what he can learn and then when the time was right find a way out of all of this.

There was a creaking noise, and for a second Nero thought it was coming from the door he’d been through. But this time he heard it behind him.

He turned to see the door ajar, purple light spilling into the tunnel.

Five figures spilled into the tunnel, there could have been more for all he knew, it was so narrow that they all had to stand in a row.

Most of them wore armour, plate armour to be exact, though designed with runes and glyphs similar to those on Atix’s sword. The metal was blood red and their faces were covered by helms.

What sent a true chill through him was the figure at their head. Nero had first thought it was a trick of the light, but the colour of his skin truly was blue, his eyes an empty crimson red and atop his head were two pitch black horns.

The man- no, the creature- had a grin that showed off his needle sharp fangs. He wore a dark fitting suit that seemed made for a noble ball rather than a monster.

“Well, I was working under the assumption that there wouldn’t be guards down here.” He said, voice both smooth and sharp.

Nero blinked. “Who are you?” He managed to ask.

He hadn't known when Alisan had stepped in front of him, but she was now. The woman had her hands splayed forwards, teeth grit and seemed to be exerting force at some unseen force. “Run, tell Atix the Warden is here!”

He half bowed, a motion so filled with grace it barely even seemed natural. “You may call me Mercury and I am here to kill every last one of you.”

The demon pulled out a sword from its sheathe. It was a needle-like thing, a fencer’s blade. And then he was sprinting towards Nero as fast as a blur.

“Nero!” Ember yelled, but she couldn’t do anything, and neither could he.