||| THE PATH OF THE INFERNO: SAMUEL EDELWEISS |||
The Subconscious Realm -- the physical manifestation of humanity’s psyche.
Sam grimaced, still finding it hard to believe that such a place could possibly exist. He spent nearly a decade living inside the Tower and never once he heard about this realm being discussed among the other Faceless. But honestly, he felt a little underwhelmed – for a place called the Subconscious Realm, it was rather normal.
“How is Aria and Theo doing? I could tell from your face that they gave you a lot of trouble,” Jason said suddenly, there was a hint of pride in his voice.
“Troubles,” Sam sighed, recalling his battle with Theo, “We nearly got ourselves killed trying to stop them; so, I don’t think ‘troubles’ is a suitable word to explain everything that has been happening.”
“Yet, here you are, still alive and kicking – which means whoever possessed my sister and Theo have no intention of killing you and the Nightingales.”
“So, you know what their true intention is?”
Jason stopped dead on his track and for a fleeting moment, Sam could see the scowl on the prince’s face.
“Are you aware of the reason why the Cerulean Mausoleum was built in the first place?”
Sam’s tilted toward his left shoulder, slightly curious by the question. “Is this some kind of a trick question?”
“No,” said Jason before looking over his shoulder, “It is an honest one. Generally, the Cerulean Mausoleum is known as the final resting place for the kings and queens of the Opal Sun. However, don’t you think it is unusual for such a location to be hidden in the Coniferous Forest instead of inside the citadel?”
“I did, but I assumed it was to deter anyone with malicious intents especially those who lived through the reign of the previous king,” Sam replied. Shortly after, he began remembering his encounter with the lone obelisk in the pine forests. Coincidentally, a similar obelisk was also found within the mausoleum. He wondered if those two structures were connected somehow. “Wait, back in the forest, I found some kind of a weird tower,” Sam brought up, “It has these strange drawings and writings carved all over it. There is this one with a woman, and she was staring at four distinct shapes which I’m guessing were the Four Royal Jewels. Does that have anything to do with this ‘reason’?”
Jason’s eyes widened as if he was surprised by what he had just heard. Then, he let out a chuckle; a reaction that baffled Sam greatly. “Perhaps I WAS right about your presence here not being a coincidence,” the prince asserted.
“Um, should I be thankful…or concerned?” Sam remarked worriedly.
“Pleased, for you are correct regarding the obelisks, or as I called it, The Vestiges,” Jason further added, “Those structures were built by the First Opal Sun King; they serve as a warning to his progenies on the danger of disunion and greed.”
“Let me guess, there is something else on them? Something that is only visible to your eyes?”
“You are half correct,” Jason corrected, “There is indeed ‘something else’ on the obelisk, and it is visible to all eyes – if they know where and when to find it.”
“What is it then? What is this ‘thing’ that is so important that they’re willing to sacrifice hundreds of lives without any shred of hesitation?”
“The location of the Imperial Crown, or more specifically, the Harlequin Opal fitted to it.”
“Harlequin Opal? Do you mean, that Harlequin Opal? One of the Four Royal Jewels? That’s quite bold of them…or foolish,” Sam uttered, “So, does that mean we’re dealing with some thieves or perhaps an enemy of the Opal Sun Kingdom?”
Jason shook his head left and right and replied, “Neither. Whoever did it is not after a few gold coins or the total annihilation of my homeland. You see – before your arrival, I did a bit of digging myself, and found out that in the past, the Four Royal Jewels acted as keys to a weapon of mass destruction – a weapon powerful enough to wipe out all living things from the face of the Earth.”
“Wipe out all living things,” Sam murmured before lowering his gaze to the ground. “The end…of mankind.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, it’s uh…I’m just wondering what made you think me being here is not a coincidence.”
“Well, I’m glad you asked,” the prince responded with a lopsided smile across his face, “Come, we’re almost there.”
***
“What in the world?” Sam gawked at the sight of the tall black wall towering over him. The colossal structure extended far into the horizon and the top nearly touched the sky itself; dwarfing the sea of pine trees behind him. Furthermore, he noticed the surface of the wall was moving or more accurately, swaying around like the wave of the ocean.
“I’ve been trying to get around this barrier for some time now,” Jason explained, “Perhaps you could provide a new insight into our predicament.”
“Me?” Sam blurted out, “I don’t think it is smart to place your faith in me. Compared to you, I’m nothing more than a novice.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Sam. Markus did not choose you solely because of your power. He saw something in you – a destiny, perhaps greater than mine.”
“No pressure, huh?”
“Nothing that you can’t handle. So, go on,” said Jason, gesturing at the wall, “and let me know if you see ANYTHING suspicious.”
Sam sighed – he could already feel his shoulders grow heavier from the sudden expectation. However, he had been entrusted with heavier responsibilities before, so checking out some walls should be fine. “Fine, I’ll go take a look. Just don’t get your hopes up.”
“Understood,” Jason nodded his head solemnly, though Sam could see a glimpse of optimism in the prince’s eyes.
‘Well, there’s no going back now.’ Sam slowly made his way to the wall and as he got closer to the wall, he saw some kind of smoke floating in front of the barricade. With his curiosity piqued, Sam reached his right hand out and the smoke instantly coiled around his wrists like a piece of rope. He quickly pulled his arm away, causing the wispy strand to revert to its gas-like state.
“What happened? Did you find something?” Jason inquired.
“Y-yeah, I think so,” Sam stuttered as he felt a weird tingling sensation in each one of his fingertips. Somehow, he felt it was meant to happen. Sam let out a short, dry laugh – there was no doubt in his mind that Lucy would disapprove of his next course of action. Nevertheless, he stretched out his hand once again, allowing the smoke to wrap itself around his forearm. Eventually, the palm of his hand reached the wall and to his surprise, the wall was not as rigid as he initially anticipated. In fact, it was springy – like pressing against a velvet.
“Wait, this is…” Sam’s eyes lit up with excitement after realizing something oddly familiar about the wall. Instead of bricks or concrete, the entirety of the barricade was made out of threads stacked on top of one another. “I think I found a way to get us through,” said Sam, smiling from ear to ear.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“That’s great news. So, do you need some help?”
“No. Just…Just be prepared for any sudden attack.”
“Be…prepared?” Jason’s brows snapped together, “Don’t tell me you’re going to bring that wall down on your own?”
“I’m not actually planning to tear the whole thing down – maybe at least create a gap large enough for both of us to pass through,” Sam further added before drawing out his katana. He planted the tip of the sword into the wall and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing,” Sam exhaled, tightening his hold on the grip. The blade was immediately enveloped in a crimson-red glow which rapidly spread all over the wall. “Oh, crap. That doesn’t look good.”
The barrier burst into a roaring flame, prompting Sam to back away from it as far as he could. For the entire wall to be consumed by the fire – it was not what he intended but it might be for the best – or so he hoped.
“Remarkable.”
Sam shuddered as Jason suddenly appeared next to him – his tangerine-coloured eyes were fixated on the burning wall. “I’ve seen some spectacular things; this might top all of them,” the prince expressed his amazement.
“Nah, I doubt it,” Sam retorted.
After waiting for about five seconds, the wall gradually melted like candle wax. Sam held his weapon firmly, waiting for the enemies to come rushing toward him and Jason. However, the only thing he saw was a humongous tree standing alone on a vacant yellow field with its branches reaching up to the sky. Aside from its abnormal size, Sam did not notice anything peculiar about the tree – until he focused on the trunk. Looped around its gigantic body were pulsing white veins which seemed to pump up a stream of black liquid to the offshoots above.
“`It is just as I suspected.”
Sam turned his attention to the prince who looked unperturbed by the scenery. “Mind explaining to me what that is?” he demanded.
“That, my friend, is The Tree of Vigilance, or so I was told.”
“The Tree of Vigilance?” Sam repeated with a baffled expression.
“I understand all of this is a bit overwhelming,” Jason responded; a hint of concern could be heard in his voice, “All I know is that thing is what keeps this realm intact – at least, my Subconscious Realm intact.”
“Sorry, you lost me again.”
“Let’s put it like this: the Subconscious Realm is much more complicated than other Realms that we know.”
“That’s obvious,” Sam responded.
“See, imagine a large bubble, and contained within it are hundreds of smaller bubbles. The inner bubbles represent different individual’s Subconscious realms. You, me, my sister, Theo, and even the Nightingales; all of us have our own distinct Realms, and as you may have guessed by now, our own Trees of Vigilance.”
“Hm,” Sam breathed out. He tried to process everything he had just heard: the Trees of Vigilance, the different Subconscious Realms – in a normal world, they might be considered as the rambling of a madman. “You said earlier there are two methods to reach this place. What are they?”
“The first one is, of course, through a Rift Gate, but even then, it is too dangerous. Every Subconscious Realm is constantly in motion, making it nearly impossible to establish a destination point. The second method is much easier, although it is a bit tricky.”
“Tricky?”
“One needs to be an Accursed who specialized in the matter of the mind and based on my knowledge, there is no such person in the Order. In other words, we’re dealing with a Faceless-level enemy,” as soon as Jason finished his sentence, he jumped over the pool of tar; an action that Sam followed shortly after. “Be on your guard from here on out. Things might get a little dicey,” the prince warned before pulling his rapier out of its sheath.
“Say, this Faceless-level enemy you spoke of, did they happen to wear a black mask?” asked Sam, causing Jason’s head to dart toward him.
“How did you know they were wearing a black mask?” said the prince with a scowl forming on his face.
“I saw two of them in the Desert of Ashes, interacting with the Disciples of Vidia,” Sam paused as Jason gave him a look of disbelief, “It’s a long story, but it is safe to say they were up to no good.”
GRRR!!!
Sam snapped his head toward the Tree of Vigilance after hearing a deep, loud rumbling coming from it. “What…? The branches, are they…,” he thought he was imagining it at first, but limbs of the tree were moving or to be exact, expanding as if it were attempting to engulf the sky.
“So, the noble mouse managed to escape from its little enclosure and brought along an interloper,” said a low, disembodied voice. A black mist appeared out of nowhere, swirling and congregating in front of the giant tree until a familiar humanoid figure emerged from it.
“A black mask, and a black hood,” Sam spouted, already he could feel the sweat beads forming on his forehead.
“Welcome gentlemen, to the Land of Eternal Slumber,” the figure greeted.