From Evelyn’s strange death to the inexplicable event that followed it, everything quickly turned for the worst. Arthur still wanted to question the Undead Jester and learn the entire truth, however, he was unable to resist or do anything.
Unlike the other three, whose bodies seemingly stopped responding, Arthur’s situation was slightly different: He lost ‘connection’ with his host, meaning that he could no longer control it. He felt his vision twist and blur and then transform into complete darkness. He returned to his original minuscule body, which was still inside of the host.
Even then, Arthur could hear a ringing sound inside of his head followed by a flashing of his memories in a disoriented and disorderly manner. He saw his childhood with Chris; A glimpse of what happened that night, screams of dying children and caretakers, and the cackling of that hideous gargoyle.
‘Don’t look at me like this. You literally asked for this!’
‘Arthur! Wake up! Arthur!’
Chris was calling for his name while the gargoyle kept laughing, its grotesque body letting out a foul stench of blood.
..
Arthur wasn’t the only one that was caught up in his own memories. Charles was clutching his head and groaning while Chris silently laid on the ground, foaming in his mouth.
For the first couple of breaths, at least, Isabella went through the same thing as them, however, she quickly regained her senses while gasping for breath.
With great difficulty, she was able to sit up and wrestle back control of her body. She unconsciously touched her chest, from which emitted a warm heat that resisted the unknown force spread from under the mansion.
Slowly but surely, the heat started getting more intense as it sought to protect its host. Isabella started coughing and wincing in pain as a multi-colored light flashed in her eyes.
The orb that ‘X’ had given her, previously dormant inside of her body, was reacting in a strange way. Isabella’s surroundings were filled with half-visible silhouettes, all equipped with a distinct yet fearsome type of energy.
[Detecting interference from ?????]
[Initiating self-protection protocol in… 3…2…1]
As if someone stabbed her brain with a knife, Isabella let out a harrowing scream before falling unconscious.
…
Three minutes ago
“What are you doing here?”
The Minstrel of the Ages approached the room while staring at the eerily silent undead.
Mort was standing at the entrance, his eyes fixated on the interior of the room. Besides the statues and some empty wooden boxes, there was nothing of interest there.
The anomaly that had been weighing down on Aerin’s mind was invisible and barely noticeable.
More surprising was to see this zombie here of all places, especially since he was so adamant on not helping.
“I remembered something.” Stated Mort as he raised his hands and looked at them.
“...”
He turned his head and looked at Aerin.
“I know who this body belonged to.”
“You remembered who you were?”
“No.” Mort shook his head, “He and I are not the same person. He was a Sword Saint.”
“Alright…” Aerin frowned, still not understanding what that had to do with Mort being here.
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“His name was
Giichi.”
Mort stuttered and lowered his head, seemingly in pain. After a brief silence, he asked,
“Who’s Eliminator?”
“What are you doing here, Mort?”
Mort, who was clearly befuddled, didn’t give a response. He kept mumbling incomprehensibly before extending his right hand.
“What are you doing?”
“I… I can’t control my body. No! Get me away from that!”
Against his will, Mort’s body acted on its own; A two-edged straight blade made of condensed light-blue radiance materialised in his hand, and before Aerin could react, Mort performed a quick swing.
There was no explosion nor sound, the burst of energy unleashed by the magical sword shot toward the anomaly, causing tense vibrations that, upon contact, transformed into spatial fluctuations.
Reality itself seemed to crumble as the burst of light vanished into nothingness. The room, as well as everything surrounding it, was swallowed.
Aerin hastily took out a feather, but before he could use it to pull Mort from danger, The Undead Jester appeared.
“Aerin!”
“Grab him!”
“I can’t. We can’t stay close!”
Aerin was pulled backwards as a formless force, akin to a black hole, swallowing tangible and intangible matter around it. The gravitational force coming from the anomaly made it extremely difficult for the Undead Jester to gain some distance.
Fortunately, after two minutes, everything returned to normal.
----------------------------------------
It’s been a while since Lucy and Feylord followed Leiu out of Wilsden. They’ve been heading West and would soon reach the Western Coast.
“Where exactly are we going?”
Unlike Feylord, who remained obedient and silent, content with following the Nameless Knight, Lucy was different. She was afraid of him, but his refusal to elaborate on anything did irritate her.
Instead of responding, Leiu raised his head and motioned for them to stop, then he started looking around haphazardly.
“This should do it.”
“Are you going to explain now?”
Lucy crossed her arms and gave him a cold look that demanded an answer.
“Primordial Light has been accumulating in an isolated space. I’ve come here to get rid of it.”
In fact, Leiu had another motive. He wanted to use that Primordial Light to quicken his recovery. As an opposing energy, his Darkness should react to such intense Light.
After giving a shallow explanation, the Nameless Knight let Primordial Darkness, which spun like a whirlpool before forming a somewhat stable portal.
“There might be Lost Virtues around. Be ready to fight.”
“Wait. Why did you bring me along? What do you want from me?”
“I want your help.”
Again, Leiu did not elaborate. He stepped into the portal without looking back, followed right after by an anxious Feylord.
Left alone, Lucy grumbled and scanned her vicinity. The Nameless Knight was gone and, now, there was nothing stopping here from escaping. Feeling restless, she thoughtfully looked at the portal.
Just as she finished her deliberation and was about to flee, both the bracelet and the ring she was wearing pulsated with distinct lights.
The bracelet let out an icy-cold aura along with an azure light while the ring emitted a bit of heat coupled with a faint golden shine.
Dumbstruck, Lucy’s eyes alternated between the artifacts and the portal.
‘He knows something about me.’
Determined, Lucy rushed into the portal and was soon welcomed by a canopy that was enveloped by a glaring white light that, rather than beautiful, was domineering and highly-unsettling.
She stood on a gargantuan platform that seemingly hovered in an empty space, which had countless debris and rubble floating around.
The Nameless Knight and Feylord were also present, though the former didn’t look particularly happy.
Lucy felt as if her whole body was blanketed by a soul-tearing pressure. The Primordial Light in this isolated dimension was truly terrifying.
As she approached Leiu, she felt the touch of the Primordial Darkness, which leaked out of his body and was actively opposing the dominant energy of this place.
“W-where’s the Lost Virtues?”
Even though Feylord didn’t even know what Lost Virtues meant and was, he concluded that the absence of anything and Leiu’s deep frown meant that something was off about this place.
Feylord was given no answer and the Nameless Knight suddenly looked to the left.
Out of nowhere, he leapt toward a particular spot, extending his hand and grabbing the air itself.
There was a deafening shattering noise as a large creature was pulled from invisibility.
With bat-like wings, a scaled black-colored body, and a monstrous face, the Gargoyle couldn’t even resist as the Nameless Knight smashed its body on the platform.
“W-wai-”
It didn’t aggressively retaliate, instead, it tried to talk only to be punched in the face multiple times. Leiu showed no hesitation as he beat the Gargoyle to an absolute pulp. Even though it boasted a resilient body, further strengthened by Primordial Light, it was still akin to a helpless chicken in front of Leiu.
Only when most of its scales were broken, its wings ripped apart, and its body bloodied and grievously injured, did Leiu let go of it.
“Why is a Gargoyle like you here? And why can you absorb Primordial Light? Speak.”