“Urgh,” Sam groaned, his right hand clutching his throbbing head. ‘Why does every one of his dreams need to end with an explosion of light?’ He quietly ranted.
“You looked like you’ve seen better days,” a familiar voice greeted him.
Sam cast his gaze forward and standing in front of him was the crown prince of the Opal Sun. He looked the same except for the black veins on his skin which had already disappeared without a trace. “Well, a certain someone tried to kill me. Thankfully, he failed to do that,” said Sam, prompting Jason to sit across him.
“You are one mad lad, you know? And here I thought you are far more rational than those Nightingales,” Jason retorted, “Thanks. You could have…killed me, but you didn’t.”
“Yet, you don’t look too thrilled to be alive,” Sam commented.
“Do I? It must have been the exhaustion,” Jason answered, but Sam could tell the prince was lying. “990 years – that is how old the Opal Sun Kingdom is. For more than 900 years it endured and I thought it would last for another millennium.”
“I’m sure it will…if you’re the king, of course,” said Sam.
Jason let out a short, dry laugh. “If only it were that easy, my friend. Even if the kingdom is ruled by the most shrewd and noblest king, it will not erase the rot hiding behind the throne.”
“Rot?”
The prince glanced left and right; his expression was a mix of concern and annoyance. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation at another time. There are eyes and ears everywhere after all.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. He looked over Jason’s shoulder, expecting someone to walk out of the trees behind him. Then, he remembered the shadows in the branches, speaking a song-like language. He was about to ask the prince about it but the latter was one step ahead of him.
“Don’t worry about them. They’re mostly harmless,” Jason assured.
“Mostly?” Sam repeated. “Who are they anyways?”
“They’re called by many names: Kodama, Dryads, Garkain – but they’re officially known as the Children of the First, the followers of Artemis, the first Moonlight Queen,” Jason explained.
THUD!
The sudden noise made both men jump to their feet. Moments later, a burly man glided out of the shadows, clad in a dark green outfit. Placing his right hand on his chest, the mysterious visitor bowed down and said with a breathy voice, “Your Radiance.”
“Forgive my intrusion,” replied Jason, bowing his head in return.
“Do not fret, Your Radiance. I’m here on behalf of the Children of the First to warn you of an impending danger,” the man retorted.
Jason’s face tensed up. “What kind of danger?”
“The same danger that once befell our Great Mother, Queen Artemis. I think you know what I am referring to.”
“The Whispers in the Shadows,” the prince mouthed. “So, they still exist.”
“They are, and they have wreaked havoc across the land of Discordania in the past. They would have succeeded if it weren’t for the first Opal Sun King and his companions' interference.”
“So, instead of facing us head-on, they decide to work in the shadows, scheming and sabotaging their enemies from the inside,” Jason remarked. His eyes then lit up as a terrible thought crossed his mind. “Huh, I see where this is going.”
“Whatever it is you’re planning to do, You Radiance, we wish you luck,” said the burly man before retreating into the darkness.
“Well, mind telling me what you two were on about for the past 10 minutes?” Sam asked.
“That depends. What do you know about the Harbingers?”
Sam heard of the name before. When Lucy was tending to his wound, she told him about her conversation with the Night Terror. “Not much.”
“Unfortunately, there is a reason for that,” Jason sighed. “Every information about them is either erased or kept in a high-security clearance archive accessible only to Faceless Lord.”
“But why? Why would Thomas keep that kind of information away from us?”
“The Accursed are both respected and feared by people across the world. How will they react if they find out there is another group similar to the Faceless Order except their purpose is to spread chaos and destruction all over the globe?”
Sam trembled. His mind returned to the Desert of Ashes -- to the moment he saw the two hooded figures conversing with the leader of the Disciples of Vidia. “I saw them before back in the Desert of Ashes,” he told the prince.
“Physically?” Jason replied, his eyes widened.
Sam nodded his head nervously.
“Then, it means they finally setting their plan in motion,” Jason mouthed. “Come, we need to get out of here immediately.”
“How exactly are we going to do that? The red string that guided us here has already disappeared.”
“You let me worry about that,” Jason said confidently.
***
||| THE PATH OF BEASTS: ZACK |||
[Meanwhile…]
[The Sapphire Star Village]
With his hood still up, the boy leaned against the warm, brick wall. He glanced upward, noticing the moon was nearing its peak and yet, there was not a single sign of life in sight. In less than a day, the once bustling village was reduced to a ghost town.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Judging from where this is going, there should be an ambush right about…NOW!” The boy spun around, expecting soldiers to surround him. However, there was no one there – much to his disappointment. “Well, that’s a bummer.”
Suddenly, his nose itched as an intense smoke-like odor filled the air. “Greysand,” he muttered. He instantly recalled everything he learned in the Academy:
‘Greysand: a highly explosive powder created by the people of the pre-Cataclysmic era capable of destroying an entire civilization.’
But not one soul in the entire realm knew how to synthesize the compound – until now. The boy looked upward toward Roc who was calmly patrolling the air. “No enemies around. That’s good,” the boy muttered. He followed the acrid smell which grew stronger as he approached the empty town square.
A fountain stood in front of him and looked like it had not been clean for decades. Moreover, it spouted a thick green liquid that gave out a sweet floral fragrance. Despite that, he could still smell the Greysand mingling with the mysterious concoction. “That’s kinda familiar,” said the boy, “Hold on, this is…Skyblood.”
Then, he heard Roc screeching.
Without wasting any more time, the boy climbed to the nearest house and peered at the village’s entrance. It was another convoy, only this time, he saw large silver vessels on top of the carts. The boy leaned against the brick roof as a group of armored soldiers approached the town square, trying to listen closely to their conversation.
“Are you sure these things can contain the Skyblood? I don’t want them to blow up in my face like last time,” said one of the soldiers.
“Trust me, you would rather have a disfigured face than be a part of the Vulture’s little freak show,” another soldier responded.
“What does he want with this gloopy mess anyway? I mean, it smells good but other than that, I don’t see how scooping it into the vessel will help us win the war.”
“It’s the Skyblood, idiot,” the second soldier scolded his friend. “It’s the only thing that kept the Sapphire Star citadel afloat.”
“B-but, what does that have to do with our fight against the Opal Sun Kingdom?”
“That is none of your concern,” a third soldier jumped into the conversation, his voice was gruffer than his two companions. “Your order is to retrieve the Skyblood and transport it back to the Fallen Star Valley. If you value your head, you’ll do as you were told.”
“Yes, sir,” the two soldiers responded simultaneously.
“Before that, take a few men with you and scour the area. The Vulture wants the place clear of any possible nuisances.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldiers saluted before leaving the town square together.
“The Fallen Star Valley, huh?” the boy whispered while keeping his eyes on the lone soldier.
The armored man glanced left and right, making sure there was no one in the vicinity. Then, he walked toward the fountain and pressed one of the tiles. A Rift Gate instantly manifested behind him, the portal’s surface was as black as the night sky. As soon as the soldier went through it, the Rift Gate crumbled into dust.
The boy carefully jumped off the roof, his mind focused only on one thing. He scurried toward the fountain and began inspecting the structure. It did not take long until he found a tile slightly jutting out of place. “Found you,” said the boy before pushing the button. Just like before, the Rift Gate opened up behind him but this time, he felt a cold draft of air blowing against his back.
“Sorry, Roc. Gonna have to leave you here for a while,” the boy smiled.
||| THE END OF THE PATH OF BEASTS |||
***
||| PATH OF ADAMANCE: ELISABETH ROSIER |||
[Meanwhile…]
[Realm of the Tree Dancers]
As soon as she stepped out of the Rift Gate, she felt the grass brushed against her hands. “Urgh,” Elisabeth complained as a tingling sensation ran up her arms. It was over three hours since her operation and unsurprisingly, her body was still affected by the anesthesia. However, the sight of the flower fields quickly melted away her worries – filling her chest with a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Then, she noticed someone wading through the field, heading toward her. It was a man in his 20s with light red hair and rose-colored eyes. She met him several times now but, he always had a melancholic expression across his face.
“Miss Rosier,” the man greeted her.
“Please, Ashton. Just call me Liz.”
“As you wish,” the man named Ashton complied with her request. “Have you come here to purchase another bouquet of flowers, Miss…I mean, Liz?”
“No, not today. I’m here for another reason,” Elisabeth said nervously.
Ashton’s eyes lit up. “I see. Are you sure about this?”
“I’ve been running away from the world for quite a while now. I think it’s about time I find some closure to my…past.”
“I understand,” Ashton nodded his head. “Please follow me.”
***
After walking for nearly 10 minutes, she finally saw the cemetery. The entire zone was enclosed within wooden fences and each grave had a white headstone.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Ashton after noticing the grimace on the woman’s face.
“No, it’s just…feels weird seeing a proper graveyard,” Elisabeth explained. “Your mother did a great job maintaining the place.”
“She tried her best.” After unlocking a small metal gate, Ashton led Elisabeth through the cemetery. Both of them did not utter a single word until the man stopped in front of a small grave. “We’re here,” said Ashton.
Elisabeth’s eyes settled on the headstone with the name ‘Anemone’ engraved on it. She kneeled to the ground and placed her right hand on the mound. “I’m sorry. I should’ve come sooner. And I’m sorry…for what I did to you. To all our friends,” Elisabeth mouthed before grabbing a handful of dirt. She sprinkled them over the headstone and muttered, “From the earth, we’ve come to be and into the earth we shall return. May your soul be free forevermore.”
“Is that some kind of prayer?” Ashton suddenly inquired.
“Something like that,” Elisabeth replied. “Strange. I thought making peace with my past would quell the uneasiness in my chest. Why won’t it go away?”
“It will only lessen but never disappear,” said Ashton. “There will be days when you’ll forget about that feeling and sometimes, it’ll come back worse. But one thing for sure, it will stay with you for the rest of your lives.”
Elisabeth turned around to face Ashton and noticed him looking around the cemetery uncomfortably. “You’ve lost someone?”
Ashton nodded his head and said, “Most of those buried here are my friends. They were slain by the Distorted when I was little – when there were no Faceless assigned to this realm.”
“But I thought you were protected by the Ancestral Tree.”
“The Ancestral Tree’s strength started to wane in the past ten years. We’ve tried everything but it was made clear that we cannot depend on its protection anymore,” Ashton explained.
“So, you joined the Faceless Order to protect your people. That must have been tough…and lonely,” Elisabeth responded.
“It has its moment,” said Ashton before dropping to his knees. He drew a small circle over the grave mound with his finger and suddenly, three stalks of white roses grew inside the circle. “Whenever your friends sprung into your mind, always recall the happy memories you forged with them. It will be difficult at first but it is not impossible.”
“Thank you for your advice…and for the roses,” Elisabeth expressed her gratitude. “If you don’t mind, I would like to come here again in the future.”
Ashton stood up and bobbed his head. “Not at all. You are welcome here anytime,” the man answered with a tiny smile on his face.
||| THE END OF THE PATH OF ADAMANCE |||