If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the foundation of all there lay only a wildly seething power which writhing with obscure passions produced everything that is great and everything that is insignificant, if a bottomless void never satiated lay hidden beneath all--what then would life be but despair?
"Fear and Trembling, the Sickness Unto Death" - Soren Kierkegaard
Fear and curiosity had led Vre to step into the dark room she had found at the end of the hallway, beneath Drake’s mansion. The rain men were most certainly still outside and Drake was nowhere to be found, but she’d heard the whispers coming from this dark alcove beckoning to her and found herself unable to resist.
The moment she entered the darkness she felt a touch on her arm, first from her forearm and then sliding to her shoulder with such gentle pressure it might have been mistaken for a cobweb. She couldn’t see, but she could feel. And she could hear.
“Hi, Vre,” said a male voice, no longer a whisper but a deep, resonant sound that seemed to bleed through reality.
“Who’s there?” Vre whispered, her voice trembling in comparison.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”
She stood perfectly still, her breath hitching in her throat. She felt another touch, this time on her cheek. The touch was gentle, almost reassuring, but it still sent a jolt of fear through her. Slowly, the darkness around her began to lift, just enough to reveal a faint, ethereal glow. The soft light outlined an extremely tall figure standing before her, his presence both imposing and otherworldly.
Vre's eyes widened as the figure became clearer. He had luminescent, light gray skin that seemed to drink in the darkness, and deep gold eyes pierced through the gloom, fixing on her with an intensity that was both unnerving and strangely comforting. His short, messy black hair framed a face that was as enigmatic as it was striking. He was wearing what looked to be a hard, leather armor outlined in gold with a high collar around his neck.
But it was his jaw that truly struck fear into her heart. Darker than the rest of his face, the skin around his jaw stretched up to his ears looked more like smooth rubber than skin. It gave him the appearance of a nightmarish creature, sharp and wicked, with teeth that gleamed ominously. Though he was smiling, he was terrifying. His fingers were long, ending in points that seemed more like claws than human nails.
“Who are you? What are you?” Vre managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I am Xerith,” he replied simply. His voice was like a low growl, vibrating through the air. “You could say…Well, I suppose you could say I am a guardian, Vre.”
She shuddered, not from cold, but from the sheer otherworldliness before her. “A guardian... of what?”
“Of the balance,” Xerith answered, stepping closer. His presence was overwhelming, a mixture of menace and an inexplicable allure. “Between light and darkness. Between order and chaos. Between life and the abyss.”
Vre felt a chill run down her spine. “Why are you here? Why do you know my name?”
“That is a good question indeed. I have been watching you for a very long time,” Xerith said, his golden eyes never leaving hers. “And I have been waiting for the right time to make myself known to you, especially now in light of the threat of those creatures outside. You have been tasked with understanding the nature of darkness, right? Of evil. Of the taint that pervades, that seeps through the cracks. I can help you.”
Perhaps it was the sheer shock, but she found herself saying, “Do you think you could have chosen a better way to show yourself to me and offer to help besides luring me into a dark room?”
To her surprise, Xerith laughed. “Possibly. I could have appeared to you in a different way, perhaps in your room or while you were out walking through the woods. But there was a part of me that needed to know if you would choose to come to me if I called to you, despite your fear of the dark.”
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He was smiling strangely at her. Affectionately, even.
Vre frowned deeply, unnerved beyond measure at how close he was standing to her. This was her first real interaction with a being beyond, a being not from this world or hers or any that she knew of. Why here, why now? A guardian? What kind of a being was that? Her mind was flooded with questions, but he was right - perhaps if he could help against the rain men, and help her understand the taint she had been charged with researching, perhaps he was worth hearing out. She didn’t know what alternatives she had, anyway. She could at least hear him out.
But he was standing so close… Like a viper in the darkness, daring her to ask more of him.
Outside in the hallway, she heard her name being called frantically by Drake. She wondered how long he had been calling to her. She could hear his footstomps approaching--he must have been running down the hallway.
Before he got here, Vre met Xerith’s gaze fully with as much muster as she could gather. “You said you’d help me?”
“That’s right.”
“And what is it you want in return?”
“The same thing as you, Vre. To help stop the taint from spreading further. There is an ebb and flow of things that must be maintained…but I’m sure you’ve seen and would agree, that the blemish of evil is everywhere and there isn’t much light to be seen right now. Not just here…but in all worlds. The good side is losing the battle.” He wasn’t smiling anymore when he said those words.
“Are you the good side?”
“No.” His eyes glittered. “I’m in between. My job is to maintain the balance. Nothing more.”
Well, at least he was honest. He certainly didn’t look like he would be one of the good guys. “And how will you help me? Will you just…come with me? What were you thinking?”
“If that would be agreeable to you, that is what I was thinking, yes.” A thin smile crept back onto that monstrous grin of his. “I would like nothing more than to accompany you while you are stuck here in this World Between. What do you say, Vre? Partners?”
He extended his long, dangerous looking hand towards her though the darkness, lit only by the luminescence in his eyes.
“Vre!” She heard Drake shout again. “Where are you!?”
She quickly took Xerith’s hand, sealing the agreement with a cold lump in her throat. She didn’t know if she was being a fool or just totally dumb, as shaking hands with this creature felt like something that could end poorly, but she found herself drawn to him regardless.
“Sure.” She said, “Partner.”
And just like that, Xerith vanished just as Drake opened the door and the light from the hallway came flooding in. The room she was in was not so dark now, and was simply a storage room where old furniture had been collected. Vre glanced around frantically, still feeling the lingering touch of Xerith’s hand on her own.
“What are you doing?!” Drake looked at her, bewildered. Drake’s eyes were wide with alarm, and he grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. “Vre, what were you thinking? The rain men are outside, it’s not safe to wander off like this!”
“I’m sorry,” Vre stammered, her heart still racing from the encounter. “I… I thought I heard something.”
Drake narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening for a moment before he let her go. “This place can play tricks on you. Come on, we need to get to the safe room.”
As he led her down the dimly lit corridors, Vre’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and questions. Xerith’s presence still lingered in her mind, his words echoing in her ears. She glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting to see his luminescent eyes watching her from the shadows.
They reached a small, reinforced room at the far end of the basement. Drake quickly secured the door behind them, bolting it shut with a heavy metal bar. The room was bare except for a few old chairs and a single lantern that cast a weak, flickering light.
“I secured the perimeter, but we should be safe here.” Drake said, his voice low and tense. “The rain men usually pass by if they don’t hear or see anything. We just need to stay quiet and wait.”
Vre nodded, though she was hardly listening. She had so many questions, but now was not the time. She needed to focus on the immediate danger and trust that Xerith would reveal more in due time.
The minutes stretched into what felt like hours as they sat in silence, the faint sounds of the rain men’s moans drifting through the walls. Vre could feel the tension in the air, every creak and groan of the mansion amplified by the quiet. She stole a glance at Drake, who was staring at the door with a grim expression. His face looked particularly gaunt, and his hair was damp. She wondered if he’d been outside.
Finally, the eerie sounds began to fade, and the tension in the room eased slightly. Drake let out a slow breath, standing up and motioning for Vre to follow him.
“I think they’ve moved on,” he said, unbolting the door. “We should be safe to go back upstairs.”
As they made their way back to the main part of the mansion, Drake turned to her, his expression stern. “You need to be more careful, Vre. This world is full of dangers, and we can’t afford to make mistakes.”
“I understand,” Vre replied, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. She thought about asking him about the guardians, but held off for now. “I’ll be more cautious.”
Drake nodded, his gaze softening slightly. “Good. Now, I’m going to check the grounds. You should stay here--get cleaned up. You're a muddy mess and your clothes are probably soaked through. The rain men should be gone now. I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Vre watched him walk off, his thin figure disappearing into the shadows of the mansion. She turned and made her way up the grand staircase to the second floor, the sound of the now gentle, normal sprinkle of rain drumming on the building outside.