Soulburned: The School of Souls

Chapter 6: The Fires of Apathy

The pathway leading to the Sanctums had been dark and narrow. Adler had navigated entirely by feel and the echoing voices of the Hur and woman ahead of him. Fear. Anxiety. Stress. His suppressed emotions continued to stoke a flame in his chest that he was unable to temper.

Now, standing just behind the doorway of the Smithy, Adler chanced another glimpse into the brightly lit chamber. He took in the Fountain, Anvil, and Brazier quickly, but he found that his gaze lingered on the Forge. He could feel something shift inside his Thymos as he looked at the relic. Something was being added to the dammed-up power, but it wasn't coming from him.

Destroy it.

Hope.

He was so close.

It's going to be worth it.

Guilt.

After months of planning and clandestine coordination, Adler could finally see his goal.

It's all going to be worth it.

Destroy it.

Hur and the women stood in front of a large pool of silver liquid beneath the floating fountain. Hur held the base of a large chalice against the woman's forehead. The woman writhed in pain, crimson blood dripped down her face around the base of the Chalice. Hur was chanting some spell, but Adler couldn't hear any of the words over the woman's pained cries.

Adler grimaced. He didn't like the sight of blood.

After a few more moments, Hur helped the woman to her feet and began leading her to the Logos marked door, turning his back towards the entrance.

Move now. Destroy it.

Slowly Adler crept into the Soul-forge, careful to keep the Brazier between him and the duo as they moved.

The hammer. Destroy it.

Adler began moving towards the golden hammer lying atop the Anvil.

Hur and the woman walked into the Logos Sanctum, leaving the Soul Smithy unoccupied, save for Adler.

Now alone, Adler dashed to the Anvil and picked up the hammer. It was unbelievably heavy. He had to carry it in both hands.

Cast it into the Void! Destroy it!

Adler turned to face the Brazier. As he peered into the empty nothingness burning behind the flames, his scarred Brand began to burn and itch.

Adler grit his teeth and walked towards the Brazier. Each step seemed harder to take than the last, the Hammer seemed to grow heavier, and the burning around his scars became more and more intense. As he reached the Brazier, the burning reached its peak, and Adler almost collapsed under the intense pain.

Destroy it! The voice in Alder's mind demanded.

He cast the hammer into the Brazier. It disappeared in an instant. Given back to the Void. Burned from existence.

Something that had been weakening for years finally broke. Adler gasped as the knot of Thymos in his chest thrummed. The burning in Adler's chest abated, returning to the dull ache that was normalcy. He shivered.

Good. The voice sighed, Now the fountain. The Chalice! Destroy it!

Adler moved to the fountain. He felt lighter than he had since his childhood. Like he had just put down a weight that he had been carrying with him for a decade.

He had just picked up the Chalice when the Logos door once again began to open.

The Wizard returns!

A physical engagement wasn't viable. Adler was certainly more physically imposing than the aging professor, but Hur was a Wizard. While Wizards weren't as battle-oriented as Mages, even the lowest-tiered pupil of any Soulmancy could easily trounce a normal human in a fair fight.

There was little choice. He had to act now or he'd be seen.

Adler dove into the silvery pool just as Hur re-entered the Smithy.

The pool was deep. Even submerged up his neck, Adler's feet did not touch the bottom.

There is no bottom.

Hurridly, Adler latched onto the edge of the pool and submerged completely, save for the fingertips of his free hand.

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How will I know when I can leave the pool? Adler thought. He heard nothing, and his eyes were clamped shut .

With the weakened brand... I can show you.

An image of the Soul-Smithy appeared in Adler's mind, tinted slightly as if seen through a red mist. His point of view now floated several feet above the silver pool, as if he was standing on the liquid's surface.

Surprise. Awe.

Adler held his breath for what felt like an eternity as Hur began walking towards the entrance of the Smithy. The viscous liquid made his skin tingle, and the pressure was immense. It was almost as if the fluid was trying to breach his skin. His lips and lungs burned, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut.

Do not breathe. Do not drink.

The Archmage appeared in the chamber with a crack, His feet landing on a glyph inscribed into the tiles specifically for the purpose.

"Hur," he said,

Adler's throat burned.

"Archmage," Hur replied.

"Have you seen the boy?"

"The... boy?" Hur asked confused. " I've just led young Lyra into the Sanctum, I think she-"

"The Sorceror. He hasn't returned to his quarters. I thought he might be heading here."

"Here? Why? He couldn't have opened the doorway if he tried."

"No, he couldn't." The Archmage said, "But I don't believe he's working alone, not anymore. Herclis intercepted messages from him to the Kovites a few months ago. I believe this attack was coordinated. A distraction."

Adler's body began racking and shaking with the effort of holding his breath.

"Attack?"

"Void Hur... Didn't you hear the alarms? The Soul-Eater?"

"Soul-Eater?!" Hur exclaimed.

"The Wall of Light slowed it down, but only a moment. Magnus and the other Tower Guardians have engaged the beast in the Second district... I've just come from the Crytalarium."

"So it's done, then?" Hur asked, "Did it work?"

Adler's lungs rebelled against him, desperate for air. With one finally choking clench, he failed.

The red vision vanished as the viscous liquid rushed into his lungs. It burned and seared his throat and lungs. With an instinctual lurch, he hauled himself out of the well.

The two elderly wizards started in alarm, and the air seemed to grow sharp as both readied defensive spells.

Adler coughed and vomited, spewing silver liquid across the floor. His head felt like it was going to explode. He pressed both hands against his temples in agony. Magical pressure had immediately begun building in his head.

Then his mind exploded. A power Adler had never been aware of raged in his skull, desperate to escape.

"Archmage?!" Hur shouted.

"We've invested too much in him just to watch him die... Mark him."

Adler thrashed and writhed, sending silver liquid flying around the chamber.

"Mark him?! Are you mad?!"

Someone stomped on Adler's hand, sending the Chalice he had still clutched skittering across the tiles.

"Mark him, damn it!"

Hur scooped up the Chalice and rushed at Adler. The man crashed into him right as Adler managed to expel the last of the vile liquid from his lungs.

Adler struggled against Hur as the Wizard bore down on him.

Something cold, hard, and sharp was pressed hard against Adler's forehead, drawing blood immediately. The pressure in his head vanished almost immediately.

Adler spasmed and managed to wretch the Chalice from the old man's hands.

He flung it into the Brazier.

"NO!" The Archmage shouted.

The Chalice disappeared into the Void-fire.

"Finally!" The voice shouted from Adler's throat. The voice was a deep baritone, much deeper than Adler's own.

Fire erupted from Adler's palm, burning at Hur's face as he tried to push the Wizard away.

Hur fell back from Adler, screaming and clutching at his ruined face.

"Adler, stop!" The Archmage shouted.

"Adler's gone!" The voice boomed from Adler's throat.

A fireball erupted from Adler's palm and launched itself at the Archmage, who managed to dissipate the fireball with a wave of his hand. The knot of Thymos that had been slowly building in Adler for years vanished, consumed in the blink of an eye.

"Bind!" The Archmage shouted.

Two ethereal chains sprang out from seemingly nowhere, one wrapped itself around Adler's neck, the other around his torso.

The entity possessing Adler began pulling the chain away from his throat.

"Bind!" The Archmage shouted again, and two more chains appeared and wrenched Adler's hands away from the first.

"Bind!" Two more chains wrapped around Adler's legs.

"You are a fool, Karolus!" The voice no longer in Adler's head boomed. "You will doom them all! I've already destroyed your precious tools! You NEED me!"

"Silence!"

Adler's mouth continued to move, but no sound escaped.

"Yinstrad, get up!" The Archmage commanded. "I need you. I can't hold him and do this."

Hur whimpered but stood, clutching at his ruined face. He whispered a few incantations.

"I have him Archmage. Void... he really did destroy them, didn't he? What are we going to do?"

"Later." The Archmage said. "Brand."

The Archmage conjured a large black branding iron and plunged the end into the Brazier.

Fear flooded Adler. He wrenched and pulled against the ethereal chains, the rush of emotion driving the entity out of his flesh and back into his mind. The chains dug harder into his flesh as he struggled but he didn't care. He had to get away.

Not again. Void not again!

Tears began to stream down his face, mixing with the silver liquid and his blood, as he realized that he felt it. The fear was real, and he felt it.

He felt everything.

Rage and grief wracked through his body as he was overcome with emotions he hadn't felt since he was a child since he had first been Branded.

Adler sobbed, but the sound couldn't penetrate the Silence spell.

Not again...

Destroy him! Destroy them ALL! The voice raged in his mind.

"I'm sorry Adler," The Archmage said. "I promise you, we will fix this."

The Archmage pressed the Brand against Adler's chest for the second time.

Adler's budding emotions were burned away to nothing as he was returned to apathy.

The voice fell silent.

Destroy them all... Destroy them all. He thought as he passed into unconsciousness.