"What do we do now?" Eli asked."We retreat," I said. "There"s something about this dark thing. Let"s retreat and talk in peace. I can"t concentrate while I get the feeling it"s watching me."
Eli eagerly agreed. We walked back to the wall painting. I sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to regulate my breathing.
"What are you doing?" Eli asked.
"Trying to concentrate," I said. "The way I see it now, there"s no beating that thing. I think it feeds on fear, or something similar. It attacked the banshee the moment the latter showed the slightest bit of fear."
"It doesn"t make sense," Eli retorted. "We were both scared out of our wits when we saw it for the first time."
"That"s why I need to concentrate," I said. "Sit, why don"t you join me?"
"You"re too relaxed for someone who"d just witnessed a banshee get eaten by darkness." Eli crossed his arms and observed me with a stubborn look on his face.
"It didn"t attack us," I said. "Maybe it really wants to play, who knows?"
"If we stayed within range, we would"ve have been devoured. What do you reckon "play" means to it anyway?"
"Maybe scare us some more," I said. "I don"t know Eli. All I know is that I need to freaking concentrate, meditate for a while too. Give me a minute, would you? We have to get out of here fast, and I think I have an idea on how to do it."
Eli reluctantly gave up. That was also because I stopped answering his questions. I concentrated on my breathing and shut everything out. It was hard with Eli bellowing at me and the thought of the dark ent.i.ty in the distance, but I managed it in the end. I was finally in my s.p.a.ce.
My Essence was flowing through my Conduits just fine. I hadn"t used much of it, nor did it collide with Eva"s. I drove my consciousness toward the empress and entered her own s.p.a.ce. She was there, lying on the bed, waiting for me. We had convened we needed a longer talk after the banshee was defeated. We needed a new strategy, a way to get out of this.
She was wearing a red velvet gown. Her short black hair emphasized her strong spirit, or it was maybe my cognition of her. She stood from her four poster bed and approached me. Her wide hips swayed left and right as she advanced.
She reached me then put her slim fingers under my chin, and lifted it toward her face. She giggled then, as her eyes met mine. They shone brightly. I could feel the l.u.s.t in them, the desire to throw me on that bed and f.u.c.k me senseless. It was all surreal. It didn"t affect me as it used to though.
"Something"s changed," she said after an exasperated "humph!"
"Everything"s changed," I said. "We need to break that thing open."
"At least give a lady the courtesy she demands," she protested.
"We"ll have plenty of time for that later," I said.
"Tsk!" she said. "Since when have you begun rejecting the invitation of a lady?"
"Since that black thing invited me to play," I said flatly. "Now will you help me?"
"Do you think we have enough time to do all of that?" she asked.
"We either do it or die," I said. "Somehow, this became my life"s motto."
"Fine!" Eva yelled. "I"ll do it, but you owe me one Stalwart!"
"Thank you," I said. "I won"t forget to repay the debt."
"You"d better!" she said. Her tone, although playful, was quite threatening.
"I"ll let Eli know of my plan," I said. "I won"t go into the specifics, but I need to give him a heads-up."
Eva grunted. "Alright," she said. "Don"t take too long. I might change my mind."
I glared at her but didn"t comment. I willed myself out of her s.p.a.ce.
Before I went back to the world of the living though, I risked a gentle approach toward the Fragment of time. Dif had gone silent despite all the dangers that surrounded me. I needed to try at least, before I went ahead and executed my reckless plan.
I approached the Fragment and felt its foreboding aura, threatening to invade me any second. I persevered and got closer. I projected my thoughts toward it, one word repeating over and over: "DIF!"
The old man didn"t reply. I tried to get closer, but the energy from the Fragment was too strong for me to take it head on at that point. I needed to reinforce my Essence even more. I opened my eyes to see Eli sitting in front of me, cross legged as well. He was looking at me. Fat creases had formed on top of his nose bridge.
"I"m going to meditate for a while," I told him. "I might be gone for quite some time. Don"t worry about it though. It"s just part of the process."
"What process?" Eli asked. "Why do you insist on sitting on your a.s.s instead of doing something?"
"I am doing something," I told him. "You could sense me when we met beneath the necromancer"s tower for the first time, right?"
"Yes, I felt your senses extending toward me," he answered.
"Was this something they taught you in that city?" I asked.
"They discovered I had some latent talent with magic, yes. They decided to teach me the basics, but we didn"t have enough time for it. The necromancer happened."
"All you learned was how to sense others," I concluded.
"I only began learning," Eli said. "You can do that sensing thing better than me."
"It just happened," I said. "No one taught me."
"I thought the witch showed you how to do all that stuff," Eli said.
"No. Anyway," I cut him before he asked any more questions. "I have a theory about that dark thing. But your inability to control your Essence will complicate matters."
"I"m listening," Eli said.
"I can"t tell you about it," I said. "It might be listening in on us now. We can"t stay here too long though."
"That"s for sure," Eli scoffed.
"I will meditate now. It may be our only way of getting out of this place alive. Just keep an eye out for any sudden movements, alright? Call out to me if anything changes. Just don"t shake me."
"I hope you know what you"re doing," Eli said.
"I hope so too," I said, grinning.
I closed my eye and went back to Eva"s s.p.a.ce. I had to complete the a.s.similation if I was to execute my plan. What I saw the darkness achieve earlier crossed the idea of fear and light off my mind. I couldn"t shield myself from it with fire, it could easily extinguish it.
This place was a prison, a well where they threw the unwanted criminals. By the looks of it, n.o.body bothered to check in on them. I didn"t know how the old Sebyan managed to survive for so long. He mustn"t have used magic in here, except to heal Eli. He didn"t even use it when I threatened to strangle him.
Perhaps, this place was a prison for magic users. It all made sense then.
Fighting the banshee twice in that place made things clearer for me.
Eli was right, that thing didn"t feed on fear. It fed on Essence. If you get injured, it will rip your apart and take it all from you. When I injured the banshee, her Essence leaked out of her. The dark thing leapt and devoured her, extinguishing everything on its path.
I couldn"t risk walking through it either. I was slightly injured, and I was its target already. Eli was injured, but the darkness didn"t target him right away. That was why Boon had treated Eli"s wounds. He didn"t want to awaken the beast. I had to get stronger in order to deal with it.
I still had to learn of Eva"s darkest secret, and getting into the deepest parts of her consciousness was more difficult than antic.i.p.ated.
***
"Myles," I heard Eli call out. His voice was distant, as though I was in the bottom of a well and he was on top, tentatively calling my name. "Myles, get up!"
I opened my eye reluctantly. I saw Eli on his feet, looking up toward the vault. I stood up.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Monsieur Myles!" Lemien"s voice reached me from up top. He had opened the vault and was looking at us. "When Ofelia had reported she"d found you here, I couldn"t believe my luck." He roared in laughter.
"What do you want Lemien?" I asked.
"Where"s my fairy?" he asked.
"You know where she is," I said.
"Don"t play games with me Myles," Lemien hissed. "I know you have her. I don"t know how you managed to cut my link to her. But I know she"s down here, with you."
I had to weigh my words carefully here. Lemien had given himself away. He knew of this place, but didn"t know about the darkness in this place. Maybe he thought the magic seal on this prison had worn off.
"How about you get us out of here?" I said. "I might be inclined to give her back to you."
Thank the G.o.ds Eli didn"t react to that. He must have read through my mind.
"I want to see her first," Lemien said.
"No can do old friend," I said. "You know she"s here, why do you need a confirmation?"
"Do you really want to stay down there forever?" Lemien said. "You can"t last long without food or fresh water."
"Tell you what," I said. "How about you come down here, make sure your banshee"s okay. Then you take us all up."
"I can"t do that!" Lemien barked.
"You can"t come down, or you can"t take us up?" I asked.
Lemien remained silent.
s.h.i.t! I knew there was no way for him to bring us up. I had no other choice then, I knew it.
"If you want to see your dear old fairy, I"d suggest you bring us a rope or a ladder."
The necromancer didn"t reply. He was mumbling incomprehensible words to himself.
"Do you think he"s talking to that thing from earlier?" Eli whispered.
"Oh! Maybe all hope isn"t lost after all…" I said. I looked up at the necromancer who was still mumbling inaudible words.
"Lemien!" I called out.
"What?!" he barked at me. He was definitely in a bad mood.
"Your master can sense the fairy down here, right?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
Lemien didn"t answer. He started whispering fervently.
"I can"t hear you," I said. "Would you mind speaking up?"
"Mortal!" a presence reached out to my consciousness. It felt oppressing. My Essence, although greatly strengthened, was now out of control. "How dare you negotiate with me?!"
"TAO ZHAR!" The voice of darkness boomed across the entire building. "YOU"RE STILL ALIVE!" It was ecstatic. It roared and the pillars around us started shaking. The entire place was about to collapse.
The presence immediately withdrew from my mind. I saw Lemien hurriedly get up and leave the vault. I looked to the side, torches around us were extinguishing rapidly. Darkness was about to spread everywhere. Pillars were now shaking violently.
"Eli," I turned to my friend. "It"s now or never."
"What"s happening?" Eli asked.
"Two old friends reuniting I guess. We don"t have time for this," I said. "Lemien left the vault open. You can get out from there."
"What? How?" Eli said.
I crouched and extended my arms forward. "Step on my palms," I said. "I"ll make sure I don"t miss."
"What is this Stalwart?"
"You survive, okay?"
Everything was getting darker. The thing was approaching us rapidly. "Put your G.o.dd.a.m.n foot on my palm Eli!" I screamed. "We don"t have time."
Under the pressure of impending doom, Eli obeyed. I concentrated my Essence on my arms then shot them forward. It was the same concept as punching someone hard enough with arms reinforced in Essence. I sent Eli flying upwards. He shot up like an arrow and easily reach the vault. He clambered up and looked down at me.
"Go!" I screamed. "I"ll find my way up."