You exit the house, and take a walk towards the road, you see the village beasts, most of them dead, and others, mourning the death of their beloved, some bury them, some cry at them; and some burn them to sparkle their ashes in a special place.
You continue walking, looking around the Village, until you see the same tour guide that was following you, alive, in a fine shape, like a perfect flower in a burnt field of flowers; how lucky...
He gets near, with a peculiar look in his eyes, leaning towards you, with a shaky tone, he mutters.
"A-Ah.. Thou havt v-visited Scholar...Aurelius?"
You nod, you can see how tremulous he feel, his eyes are open for you to read.
...A strange sign, how he survived the hunt?
You don't ask him anything, you don't care, you tilt your head to him, his voice is quivering, and body is shaking, the hunt affected his face.
"I...I will take your silence as an agreement."
"...Why thou ran and left us with the hunters?, why so selfish, Traveler?"
You are standing still, staring at him, a cold stare, faceless; careless, with no emotion at all.
You walk away from him, without even glancing at him, he just stares at you as you leave.
You exit the village to the other half, empty, lifeless, bodies with no blood; Chiyo took all their blood by a single stab, what about her sisters?
You see a familiar face in the middle of the village, an insolent face, a cheeky one, you approaches them.
He is Cassius; the sorcerer you've met in the Cavum hamlet, he questions your presence, while not changing his nasal tone.
"Ah, there you are, my apprentice, I was wandering here, to find you."
"That woman told me you'll be at the Lakes, found nothing to my interest."
You look at him, he's smirking, he looks like showing you something, and he can't wait for it, like a toddler.
His voice is as cocky as always.
"Oh, I almost forgot, my new sorcery!, that Cavum's scroll have opened my mind!"
He snaps his fingers, showing a small fireball in his hand.
"See here, this fragment of fire was stolen by the Cavums, the fire of Deimos, the ancient spirit of regret, known as a demon from the abyss."
"Demons are spirits created by the abyss, representing people feelings, to feed the abyss with those feelings."
He makes the fireball bigger, and lifts his hand, facing the sky.
"Deimos was the last Spirit known by humanity, the other spirits were vanished by the Dragons in their own battle, care to listen, my apprentice?"
You nod slightly.
He blows off the fireball, and gaze into you.
"In the time ot havt and hath, the Demon's fire made the Dragon's breath fade, the power of Demons was rising more and more, there was no coming back at all."
He moves around his hand towards the sky, with an open palm.
"The Dragons saw the Demons power, that they will put the world at risk, a flame that was not seen before, the flame of the Abyss."
He lowers his arm, pointing at you.
"All, generating from the feelings of men, hatred, despier, agony, all of them, in one's own soul."
He clinches his own fist.
"To feed the abyss with humanity sins."
"The Dragon king Attor, feared the might of the Demons, and commanded the Dragons to attack those souls of humanity, in a Land of nothing, a battle of ancient beings of immortal souls, and beings of the abyss."
"The Dragons shreded the Demon's fire, only leaving one being, the Demon of regret, Deimos, that ran away from death, making it his biggest regret."
He makes a fireball in his hand again.
"See how red this fire is, almost a star in the sky, a fire that can melt the nature of humans, everything it touches will turn into nothing, with no dust, nor embers."
He blows the fireball off.
"Enough talking, my apprentice, now you deserve this power of Deimos, take it, treat it with care."
"To summon a Fireball in your hand, believe in the power of yourself, and the will to use the fire, try it now."
You stare at your empty palm, clinching it, you feel a strong feeling, like melting, just like Snow in Summer, you feel like turning into ash, something strong building around your vision, you hear a voice, whispering in your ear, speaking slowly, in a Orotund, deep voice, speaking through the throat, Rough, like Rock, you hear it, asking about your decision.
"Human... no one can baer.. the Fire.. the Fire of I, Deimos..."
You fight the feelings, even though your soul is turning into flame, you battle it, with all your will, this power of flaming fire is unmatchable, your soul is turning into cinders.
Your body is accepting the suffering, the voice is speaking yet again questioning.
"Thou... art a mighty human..but why choosing... the Flame of the abyss?"
You stay silent, not a single word nor breath coming from your lips, your eyes are burning, and your nose only have fog inside, your lungs are packed with mist.
The voice hmphs.
"No... answer?, suitable...for a human... worthy... Thou deserve the power of Fire."
...
You fell normal again, in a matter of second, you've gained back your body heat, hot blood rushing through your Veins and arteries, a warmnth comes to your body, like fire now is in your blood, gaining immunity to the freezing storms in the land of Frozen.
You summon a Fireball in your palm, a large, hot Fireball, a shock comes to Cassius, surprised by your Flame, but trying to show no such emotion.
"I thought you would do better, you cannot be better than your master!", he griped, holding the shocked face that you can see in his eyes, as clear as day.
"Now now, my apprentice, let me explore this village for more information, begone now!"
Chapter 5.1: Semifer.
You leave the place, going to Pictor's house, you walk through the place again, passing by the dead bodies in the village, and the rotten swamps of the Lakes, no one will clear this mess, why will they?
You wander along the road, you don't seem to remember correctly where Pictor's house is, but you have to walk, nonetheless.
You catch the sight of a Draconic Beast from afar, one of a special variety, a half transformed dragon with one Wing and one Arm, having the face of a human, surrounded by scales in all of his body, with a rather Coltish body, the "Armata bestia", you hear the howl from this monstrous being, Lector's blood sure had an affect on the Town's folks.
You advance through the road, getting closer to this unsightly Beast, his screaming is ringing on your ear, a voice as ugly as sin, you approach him from the back, trying to pierce through his scales, but unfortunately, he hears you, and turns at you, growling like an animal.
A burst of fire comes from his mouth, whirling towards your direction, there's no time to evade, you wrap your arms around yourself for protection, you feel burned by the fire, but a strange feeling strucks you, you feel like your body absorbing the fire.
You feel more fire running through your Veins, a strong flame is formed in your palm, you cast it at the Dragon, you feel the fire inside you now fading, and weakening.
You see the Dragon now burning, screaming in agony by the Flames, you glance at the Dragon, this power of Flame is powerful.
The Dragon dances from burning, you walk near him, his scales now falling off, showing his true skin, a blackened colour of red, his screaming is ringing in your ears, you wish that you was deaf right now.
You rush towards the Unscaled Dragon, stabbing his skin, the screams is only getting louder, and more raucous, you step back.
The Dragon is still standing, now the fire had fade, he moves his Wing in front of him, acting as a shield, he rushes towards your direction, you roll away from the charge, he moves the Wing away towards his back, and hurls a fireball towards your direction.
You take the Fireball with open arms, the fire extends towards your soul, you form a fragment of fire in your hand, and draw upon the rapier you have, a flaming rapier.
The dragon seems frightened, he bounce towards you, clinching his only fist, holding his fear, you evade the attack, and pierce through the Dragon's flesh, he yelped from the fire, his screaming is now a far cry, far cry from earlier.
You walk off him, his flesh is burning, like a tree that was set on fire by thunder, he stands up, growling, rushing towards you like a bull, his keen, razor nails are ready to pierce through anything, and everything.
You quick step to the side, but you got hit by his Wing, you lose your balance and fall off, he howls and gaze at his wounds.
You see the whistle, you dropped it when you fell, you take it and whistle, you can only hear the screaming of this Savage Dragon, you stand up and pierce him from the back, the screaming now go louder...
You exit from the side, making the wound larger, the bloodshed is far worse than the screams.
The blood was numerous, The beast falls to the ground now, lifeless, the blood is covering all your body, you wipe the blood out of your blade.
Chapter 5.2: Tutum loctum.
You walk off the corpse, you hope that you don't encounter this Half-Dragon ever again, but you feel like something far worse will district you from your unknown purpose, "Thou shalt acquire the Blade of Mercy.", Scriptor clarified, Notwithstanding, you don't know anything about that specific blade.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Nonetheless, you feel like you should do it, there's nothing better to do, you do not want to rot in this forsaken frozen peak of "Boreas" as the word goes.
You make your way out of the Lakes, to the house of Pictor, no one is outside, Maria nowhere to be seen, Gabriel is the only one standing in the snowey land, and a familiar face of a hunter, you proceed towards this new face.
It's Albert, sauntering, heavy-footed, moving his head around.
You face him, just so he notice your presence, he is searching for something, something important, that's what you can tell by looking at those blazing eyes of his.
"Oh, Thou art here?, welcome", he quizzed your presence, his voice however, smoky, yet having something strange around it.
He glances, awkward silence between the two of you, you did not think about saying anything, you just gaze into his eyes, trying to read those eyes of a predator, a bizarre feeling comes when staring at them.
He decides to speak first, "I wast wandering here, searching for Maria, I hath asked everyone there and there was no such answer to mine own question, that red-dressed woman didst not say a single word", he grumbles, now revealing only little, you can see, there's more and more that what he did sayeth.
You do not have anything to do with this, Nevertheless, your own curiosity has been fed, just like an empty cup, now filled with water.
He looks in the distance, still having those unpleasant eyes, still trying to find Maria, with no purpose, nor an idea to do so, just like you do, how amusing, as the word might say.
"I guess there is no way to find Maria hither", he gripped, "What dost I have to say to him?", you tilt your head, him, he says?, your curiosity needs to be fed again, but you don't dare to ask, you leave him be, his secret will reveal itself by itself.
You move to an area besides the house, a place devoid by life, with nothing or anything to see, flat and shrinked, you glance and notice the presence of Chiyo right there, you decided to approach her, to know more about your next opponent, Katsu, the Geisha that Chiyo ordered you to set her free, from her own maddnes, that's what she said.
Chiyo tilts her head, and stands gently, facing you in said area of snow, The sun hiding behind the clouds and the snowy storms, swarming the sky, like the sparkled ashes of the beloved, whirling in the winds, you get near, and stand still in front of her.
"Welcome home, Chosen one, speak thy desire, if thou need", she speaks in gentle way, her honyed tone is still ringing in her voice, you close your lips, and just gaze into her, she yet speaks again.
"I have to bid thee about something, about the knight outside, Gabriel, as he disguise to be"
You wonder what do she means, so you wait for her to finish what she said, "Thou should see him, shall thee?", she chuckles softly, and gaze at you behind her mask, you can imagine how her eyes look now, beautiful, like an ocean full of life, like a star in the sky, that lights more than any other light, you can imagine the sun's jealousy because of those bright eyes behind this mask, but her mysterious honyed tone make it worse.
"Ah, I remembered, that hunter outside havt asked me about Maria, I did tell him that this place accepts no dwellers such as them" she giggles, "Why art them is interested in Maria, My dear?", she puts one hand on her chest, waiting for a response to her answer, you simply stay silent, you do not have any answer, while you are looking for one yourself.
"Every answer have a question, but not every question has an answer, I presume", she lightly chuckles, you feel like she have a lot of questions with no answers as well, just like you do.
An silent moment fall between the two of you, the fire in your veins increasing in the snow, and it reached out to Chiyo's body, a feel of warmth, like a sudden embrace of a lover, she looked away, only managing to utter these words from her lips.
"That sorcerer did tell me about discovering the fire of Deimos, doset that mean..."
She stops, the sudden pause made you wonder about her, what did she know you did not?
"Deimos is alive... thy soul is lit by Deimos, the fire of the abyss..", she's awed by the surprising fact of Deimos, the soul of regret is alive somehow.
"Thou know about the Demons, correct?", she questioned you, like she will tell a story, you nod, waiting for a response, "Deimos traveled to the Frozen peak after his defeat, and rised two crossbreads between humans and demons, creating a cursed bread, than he fleed to the Land of Blood, our Land to stay there...", she looks down at the ground, still awestricken, "They say that he passed away, and thrown to the Beasts, but he was living, after all."
She pulls her head to face you, "Enough talking, thou should seek Katsu, she lays in the Lakes, no questions allowed", you leave her be, you should seek Katsu.
Chapter 5.3: Pictors canticum.
You pass by the house of Pictor, to only hear sudden coughing and singing, you did not hear such thing, an angelic, yet wobby voice, like a heartbroken melody, you only wonder about the abrupt singing, you only hear those words, as you hearken besides the door.
"Vita, vita, vita male tractavit nos."
"Fatum nostrum, Fatum in uno positum ests."
"Soror, Soror, Soror ignosce mihi."
"Soror, Soror, Soror relinquere voli."
"carus, carus, carus egous vobiscum sum."
"Ego moriar in manibus tuis..."
You open the door, and see Pictor coughing, while singing to her young sister Scriptor, while laying on Pictor's lap, a moment of beauty, yet the pale face of them tells a different tale, Pictor is shocked by your sudden approach in the house, her face change colours immediately, she gasps, she pulls her head out from the ground to look at you.
"..Dear Chosen one, thou have gone for too long, the place have gone dead", she coughs, you can feel her pain in her coughing.
"How can I help thee, Chosen one...?", she asks calmly, her tone of voice changed from your last visit, you tilt your head, thinking about her sickness, and how can she help you, she only glance at you, as she cannot move her eyes from her slumbering sister.
She coughs even more, you can see her eyes, fading away, "Chosen one, I cannot help you today, I'm...", she gasps, for another barrage of coughs coming from her throat, she fell to the ground, fuzzy and haggard, you gaze at her sallow face, you feel that she will not wake from her sleep, you only hear her soft snoring.
You decides to leave, as you cannot do anything to her, nor her sister, you only think about how they got ill, they did not show any sign of sickness when you first met, her eyes is like a deep hole in a snowy land.
You see Gabriel at the end of the road, gazing at the snowy mountains above, no other thing to look at, you can tell the he haven't moved from his place, his presence is like your purpose, nothing, but a shadow in the darkness, nothing.
You set your feet and face his face, he smiles, his smile does not reach their eyes, "Oh, ya here, hunter-of-some-sort?, I did not see you in all day and all night", he bubbles, your vision landed on his eyes, only to see weary eyes, an eyes that did not rest for a long time.
"Here for a lesson?, a legend as I have less time to waste on teaching, only scrolls!", not like you need any of his knowledge, however, everything is usable in this land and can be proven handy, you take a scroll that was haphazardly chosen.
You glance at him, you're only interested on the scroll, "What a choice!, do ya know 'bout the art of the Flame?", you stare at him, something caught your impress, your willingness to know rised, Gabriel crosses his arms and stare at the blue sky, that was swarmed by the clouds and the snow.
Your utter silence made Gabriel continue his speech, "You don't?, great, I will explain", he prattles, "The art of the Flame is an art of conditioning the Flame inside your soul, to unleash it at it's full potential", a way to enhance your new power?, a great news to your uncaring ears.
You grab the scroll and peruse it, only to discover nonsense, things that are not made for the human body to perform and manage, you flee from the place, dissatisfied with what you have, a feel of Gluttony, you want more, in order to be filled.
Chapter 5.4: Deep into the Lakes.
You proceed to the road leading to the Lakes of the King, the rotted air: hitting your face, entering your lungs, you feel bitterness, yet you feel
at ease by looking in those ashes again, flying in the sky freely, you can't help but watch the mountains, the snow melting in their peaks, then fall to the musty ground.
You stroll across the road, now entering the other way of the lakes, you see a volcanic land from afar, and notice a large square infront of you. Traces of war, that's what you can note by observing the area.
A shadow of itself, the war had it's impact on the land, no snow falling in the place, only fire, surrounding the soil, burned human bodies in the ground, rusty weapons on the dirt, you only imagine the battle, the bloodshed sure were numerous.
You advance through the bodies, only to hear a headless body moving through the sand, they manage to stand up and pick up a weapon from the ground, the body of a hideous fighter, a beheaded warrior; a burly Gladiator.
They cannot see, they wonder alone in circles, you stay still in your place, they cannot sense your presence, you approach them at a leisurely pace, feeling is the only remaining sense in them, they sense you, and start running towards you, you stop at your place
They attack you with their sword; yet their lagging swing misses, they stop moving towards your direction.
You step further away, only to be noticed by the beheaded, as they swing their sword around your vision: you block it with your weapon and push them away; they get sent back instantly, as they still trudging around. They stop moving and stay away from you; they hold their sword to their chest, the distance between the two of you are small: yet he cannot see you, or sense you. You freeze in your place, a single move from you can be felt by them, they trampes towards you.
You take this moment to your advantage, you stab your blade right through their body; the blade pierced through their flesh, you see their sluggish blade moving towards your head; you crouch, avoiding the attack; and take away your rapier from their rotten meat. You take some steps back, as they fall to the ground, ready to be devoured by earth.
...
You walk through the bodies, nothing new to be discovered, bodies and blood, that's what can be seen, the roads are filled with headless humans and weapons of old, the scenery is mountains of the land, wind carrying blood; and freezing breeze coming form behind. You stop and think about the reason for such war to occur, nothing comes to mind; you continue your stroll, stepping on the bodies, they perform as a carpet for you to walk at.
A headless body from afar; wakes from the slumber, like there was a soul that was sent to them; and got their life back, they grab a spear that was beside other honoured warriors, he freezes in place, waiting for any act to happen. You observe a centipede crawling through the bodies, moving towards the beheaded knight; he stabs it right away with his spear, how deadly; a stab performed in such accuracy can kill the mightiest warriors.
Fight seems they only desire they seek, you prepare yourself, as you trudge through the bodies. The beheaded knight feel your steps; and trampes towards you shortly after. They charges at you while holding the spear, unleashing all their power that was extinguished from the battle, you evade the attack; and watch them as the they stumble and fall, they manage to recover from the fall. You sneak to them for a stealth attack; yet they sense your approach to them and thrust their spear, aiming for your head.
You parry the spear, the only response is a stab to he heart; you manage to stab the beheaded knight at the desired spot, and push them back away, they fall with the rest of the dead; you see their soul leaving the body and flesh.
You tramp through the bodies, you see a hunter from afar, wearing a feathered-hat of some sort; Maria, the hunter, she senses your presence, "Ah, thou art skilled in adventuring the Land of the forsaken", she welcomed you to the place, "Thou saw the Traces of war?, sinners judging sinners, for sinning differently, how desperate..." she laughs, you can feel grief, coming from her pale lips.
"Every sin sink down deep to the abyss, becoming a fragment of dark, to be a soul of undying fire, a Demon of some sort, our actions to our people are considered a help out of pity, or mercy, but for others, a sin that yet to be punished. Yet feelings are not the correct answer, and freezing in this damned land is not yet an answer", she clinches her fist, "In the name of nobility, it began with a sin from one man, and will end with a disgracful sin by a worthless being."
"My father is no more, so is my purpose, killing those ill humans made me think, ‘It's as similar as any other sin, it's sinners judging sinners for sinning differently, always paying the sin with a sin’, that's what I thought", she giggles, "I apologize for rattling about the matter, not like it will change how hopeless it feels."
...She looks down at the sand, no speech came from her mouth; as you stare at the sky, you leave her be, nothing more can be done.
Chapter 5.5: The Servant of Harmony.
The road ends with yet another large square, with a shack at the end of it, you see a sight of green in front of the shack; a colour so bright that make the plants feel jealous, you hear a nice flute coming from that green, you decide to get nearer; that flute is outstanding, it can make your ears deaf and you will not get tired of it. Bodies of dead surrounded the hut; but there was not a single drop of blood, the terrifying sight of the dead and the lack of blood, just like Chiyo when she killed the beasts...
You approach the hut, to see a woman wearing a green dress; with the same mask as Chiyo, she is the Geisha you're searching for; Katsu, the Green Geisha. She continues blowing in her flute, the sound of it makes the flowers grow again, you set yourself in front of her, invading her personal space.
"A traveler, art thee?, speak thy desire", her tone is beautiful and majestic, never heard before, just like Chiyo, you point your weapon at her. "A duel shall fulfill your desire?", she tilts her head and holds the flute to her chest, "Chiyo havt sent thee, hm?", you inspect her, no weapon in hand; she is hiding something.
"Sent by her or not, a duel is a duel, I shall teach thee the way of the Geisha", a Yari spear comes from the sky, summoned by the hands of the Green Geisha, she spins around and retrieves back, away from you; you ready yourself too. You watch they way she approaches, cautiously; and purposefully, she steps forward; unleashing a slash, a move so swift that it can cut heads effortlessly. You block it, there's no time to dodge, she steps away; her moves are like dancing in the pure rivers, under a waterfall.
She launches at you, piercing her spear to the ground; you move away from her spear, you observe her, she summons her flute, lifting up her mask, and blowing in the flute again; a strong wind is formed towards your direction, you shield through it, you hear the blowing of the flute again; a large bamboo stick unleashes, piercing through your gut, leaving a hollow hole in your body. Your grip in your weapon weakened after the sudden attack, you trudge through the pain, your legs feel numb. She waits for you to reach her, while she sings in her flute, a melody of harmony, of envy and jealousy. You trip and fall to embrace the earth, she walks up to you, crouching to your level, "Poor traveler, thy legs havt gone numb from traveling, take a rest, and enjoy the melody of nature in this damend land of snow."
...
You feel a sudden flame in your soul, a perfect moment for such power, you blow a fire in her face; burning her mask, she backs away with half of her mask burned.
"Th-the flame of Deimos??, the power of Deimos is in thy soul??", her voice changes, questioning you, a surprised look in her half-face, her eye is shaking, "I must extinguish thy flame."
You stand up; still holding your stomach, you cannot heal it, there's not so much time to survive, you can see how afraid she look like, you approach her as she stands still.
"Deimos is in thy soul?", she asked, "A servant like me did not see such power, a human being like thee have it, while a servant do not, how miserable the world we live in."
You point your weapon at her, "I seek no fight", she cleared her throat, "I want to die by their blade", she summons her spear again, ready for a duel, she thrusts her spear towards you, a slow thrust; that was made in purpose, you deflect the attack, your grip on the blade losses a little. She spins her spear around, a delayed attack, you only back away; you don't feel your hands anymore.
"A servant lacks humanity, me and my sisters do not deserve such fate!", she lunges forward, and trips on the process, all done by purpose, you get behind her; stabbing her gut, she backs away.
"I cannot express my feelings as a human, I do not feel human, a vile servant, that is what I am, traveler", she turns at you, "End my misery, traveler, tell all my sisters about mine own death."
You push a thrust towards her heart, piercing through it; you pull the blade away, and see her body fall, "Thank.. you, traveler", she says, you see her lifless body fall to the ground, not moving, in a place that no one will go to, a befitting fate to a Servant, you take the flute and leave.
End of Chapter 5.