Chapter 6: Tangled Fates

Chapter 6: Tangled Fates

Sylvan's Tower (Inside)
Quest: Despair

The mysterious blood continued to rise, soon it was at a level above their heads. It was thicker than water, which made it harder for Marlow and Luc to swim in the red fluid. To escape being drowned in the pool of blood, Marlow and Luc had to climb up the stairs. But as when they finally reached the top, they found themselves staring at a solid wall.

It was a trap. There was no way out of the tower, all the doors were gushing out overflowing levels of blood and there were no windows that led outside. The walls of the structure was impenetrable to their weapons. Little by little, their packet of air was shrinking. Soon they were forced to hang on the walls as their mouths gasped for air on the ceiling. They had inches left of breathing room, which was going to disappear in a few seconds. The two men took a deep breath as they were forced to submerge into the vile crimson liquid.

A man could only hold his breath for so long before the urge to breath becomes overpoweringly irresistible. Seconds turned into minutes. The two men were at their breaking point. But just as their faiths seem certain, a ray of hope shines in midst of despair.

A warm ray of light shines on their faces, wiping away all the fear they had inside their hearts. Suddenly all the blood was gone, not even a trace of it. The veins on the walls turned into vines and plants. It felt so real, yet it all seems like a dream now. Luc finds himself standing face to face with a large red orb, floating some feet off the floor. Marlow was nowhere to be found.

The Sphere resonates and lets off a resounding hymn, which penetrated through Luc's heart. Suddenly, all of Luc's wounds, his scars and illnesses were gone. The fingers and toes he lost to the frostbite had been restored. His body has been fully purged of past injuries and restored to full health.



Through the orb, he saw a reflection of himself. But something wasn't right. His reflection was smiling at him. It wasn't an ordinary smile, there was something dark and very sinister with his smile. Then the reflection turned it's hand up towards Luc, gesturing him to reach for it.

He who is without

(is restored)

Death had come for Luc once again. The very fluid which our hearts pump to give us life, was now about to drown them. It was truly a task maneuvering in the pool of blood. The thickness of the liquid made it nearly impossible to swim in it. Luc felt the cold grasp of Death gripping at his lost and empty heart.

Hope.

Luc has abandoned all hope in his heart, but that didn't mean that he had given up on his quest for vengeance. Suddenly his emptiness faded away and his heart was filled with DESIRE, the desire to carry out his revenge,. He blames the Delvic army for the death of his beloved, Polethea. Had they not have come and forced them out of their homes, she would still be alive.

"I cannot die here. I will make them pay first! I will make them all pay!" Luc's thought to himself.

Then a miracle happened. The blood had vanished and Luc was magically standing upright and in front of a large oval shaped thing. The red orb was shinny enough to cast a reflection of Luc. Yet something was amiss. Instead of showing his external appearance, the orb showed Luc his inner self, the man that he truly is.

"What in the?" 

Luc saw the reflection reach out for him. Normally Luc would be more cautious and would think twice before engaging in anything as mysterious as this. But he was desperate for power, he knew that whatever doesn't kill him will only make him stronger. 

"I will become stronger!" He said to himself as he took the other Luc's hand.

Chapter 6: Tangled Fates

Sylvan's Tower (Inside)
Quest: Despair

When the raven haired boy's hand met with the red sphere, the massive object vibrated and turned into a liquid state. Luc's hands went through the crimson orb like it was water. His reflection faded away in the waves from the vibrations emanating from where his hand is touching the sphere. The vibrations became more intense, then suddenly the sphere sucks in Luc and transports him to a mystic dimension beyond time.

It took less than a second before the ride was over. Luc was now standing at the bottom of a very long stairway leading up to a throne. On the throne sat a shadowy figure garbed in a dark armor.

Luc had stumbled upon the keeper of this tower. The figure was looking right at Luc, not saying a word at first. Then a huge dragon flew outside the window behind the throne. The Shadow started talking in a ancient language, but thank to Luc's "Gate Pass" (A magical spell placed on the Earthlings immediately after entering the portal to Lunaris, which allows them to understand certain languages in Lunaris)

"N'tata kot kaba s' Dilim?"
(Are you afraid of the Dark?)

As soon as he asked that, many more like the shadow started appearing around Luc. They were Shades, monsters born from the Deep City Ruins. They were once the citizens of the Nameless Kingdom, cursed and buried by their King's misdeeds. Surely, Luc had heard of these creatures before from tales and legends.

He who is without

(is received)

The feeling of darkness consuming him was more welcoming than frightening. The cold emptiness of the void warmed Luc's soul.

"Where?" Luc was puzzled. It wasn't the first time he was teleported anywhere, but for an Earthling, he could never get the hang of the feeling.`

He was taken to a strange place where an ominous figure, sitting on a throne, awaited him. It had skin which was pitch black and eyes that were as white as paper. Luc's heart raced, he thought he had to fight. He took a step back and called upon his energy based sword. 

But the creature did not even flinch. It just sat there doing nothing. But suddenly, a huge reptilian monster with bat like wings flew from outside the large stone carved window and then the creature spoke.

Fate surely has some strange and funny things in stored for Luc. It is funny because he's dreamt of this types of moments before. Everything felt so familiar to Luc in many ways. It was as if he had been here before in his mind. Strange because he didn't feel fear. Instead his heart was calm and at peace. So when asked if he was afraid of the dark, Luc simply said "No."

More of the dark beings came out from the shadows. Luc thought it was an ambush at first, but he felt different. When he looked into their eyes, Luc felt something else. A gentle breeze carried the song of their broken souls. A song that Luc resonated with. He withdrew his weapon and lowered his hands.

Chapter 6: Tangled Fates

Sylvan's Tower (Inside)
Quest: Despair

The Shades all gathered around Luc, moving close and closer till there was very little room between them. Though Luc didn't seem afraid, he stood comfortably around the converging darkness. The being on the throne stood up and then quickly moved, like a flash leaving behind a trail of black smoke, in front of Luc. It's eyes fixated on Luc's.

It was hard to tell what the dark being felt, or if it felt anything at all, because it's face lacked any expression. But if anything, the Shade looked extremely interested at the raven haired boy. Staring deeper into the Shade's eyes and Luc begins to see a vision. The story behind the curse that turned them into what they are now...


"Crowned Magus... Crowned Magus... Crowned Magus!" one of the young apprentices tried to snap the Crowned Magus of La'cour out of his blank stare. Sure enough, the Grand Magus was able to come out of his day dream on the third call.


"Grand Magus." the young boy repeated. The Grand Magus then angrily replied, "What is it boy!? Can't you see I'm meditating?" 

"It's the King sir. He demands your presence at once." the young apprentice replied. The Crowned Magus didn't seem too excited to meet with his King. He grumpily got up of his chair and walked towards the door.

M'racci Jyn was the Crowned Grand Magus of La'cour, was the greatest and largest Kingdom in the history of the planet. But after the tragedy that befell their world, this entire kingdom was buried deep within the ground, tens of thousands of years ago. For whatever reason, Luc was seeing this world through the eyes of M'racci. Luc could even hear the Alferian's thoughts.

"What does he want now? Don't tell me this is because of that thing he wanted!" M'racci thought to himself as he irritably made his way to the King's Throne room, an angry vein was visible on his head. He barged into the King's bedroom unannounced and shouted, "I! Will not do it!"

At the time, the King was busy playing with his less than a year old son. He was startled a bit by M'racci's entrance but was pretty much used to it after being with the person for so long. He turned and had an angry look on his face and said, "What do you mean you won't do it!? I'm your king! You will do as I command"

"I will not stoop below that level! You can't force me to do it!" M'racci insisted. There was some serious tension building up in the room. The two nearly butted heads in anger for one another. Then the Queen separated the two and said, "M'racci please... You're the only one who can do it. The success of tonight's event is up to you... Please do it for us."

M'racci felt compelled to follow the Queen's request. After all she and him were closer as friends as compared to his King. M'racci nodded and said, "Alright... I'll do it. But I'm not doing it for this knuckle head, I'm doing it for you and your son." he said referring to the Queen and the young Prince.

"I don't care, so long as you're going to do it. That means I won. HAHAHAHA!" The King laughed.

That night, M'racci stood on top of the castle's highest tower and was focusing his powers to cast a spell. "I can't believe I'm doing this." he said to himself. M'racci collected a huge ball of energy above the castle. He held it there for a few minutes to charge it up before releasing it all at once. It turned out to be a beautiful display of magical fireworks, which the young Prince enjoyed as he stared into the skies, after all it was his birthday celebration.

The Shade showed Luc a glimpse of what it's life was like before the curse. It then took Luc's face and embedded into his eyes the red orb, 

"H'na pin mo ang Prinsepe. P'alaya in mo kami."
(Find the Prince and set us free)

He who is without


(is given the task)

The visions Luc saw felt surreal. He truly felt the moment, the emotions, the life. A world buried in the past, cursed by fate. The chain that links these remnants to this world was not darkness, it was hope. 


The curse must be broken.


But what curse?


Who was this Prince they spoke of?


How will he know?


Where will he start?

Too many questions had been left unanswered. Perhaps the gift that was given to him will be the Key to unlocking the solution. As far as he knows, Luc shared no known connection with these ghosts. However, he felt a certain familiarity with them. It's as if he had known them his entire life, the Darkness.

Do I have to do it?

An invisible force was driving Luc to do this. It was beyond all he ever felt, beyond his rage. It felt like destiny. All his life, Luc had always felt safe and at peace whenever he was in the Dark. When the lights are turned off, he couldn't see the scars left on his body by his abusive foster parents. All the abuses done to him, physically, sexually, they all seem to fade away in the dark.

What could he accomplish with this new power?

Luc was tasked by the Fades to free them from a curse. He knew the Vermilion Eye would guide him. But he had other things in his mind, things he must first attend to. The Delvas who inadvertently had a hand at his beloved's death must pay with their lives. They will bathe in their own blood and the last thing they'll see is Luc's Vermillion eye staring at them as the darkness takes them.

Chapter 6: Tangled Fates

Sylvan's Tower (Inside)
Quest: Despair

The Vermilion Eye is a magical artifact that uses the power of memories. It was crafted by the Crowned Magus, M'rraci Jyn. Originally it was a supposed to be a way to record memories and then later relive them, much like video recording on earth. But the artifact had a terrible side effects to the one being use on. Those who's memories are being accessed, become stuck in a paralyzed like state. The effects are temporary but can still cause severe harm to anyone if used maliciously. Unlike the modern camera on Earth, which uses a memory card to store data, the Vermilion Eye accesses time itself to review memories.

The Shade that gave Luc the artifact was none other than the Crowned Grand Magus. Naturally, these Shades attack living beings and drag their souls into the darkness. But the ones Luc encountered seemed more docile and intelligent.

The raven-haired boy was right to think that he felt some connection with the Shades and with the dark. For thousands of years, the Shades have been searching for the lost prince who is the key to freeing them from the curse. The Unnamed King's Son. The same person Eishi saw and helped in his time travelling adventures.

Before sending Luc away, M'racci's Shade activated the artifact inside Luc's eyes. Suddenly every Shade in that room froze up and stopped moving, even the M'racci. Then the Vermilion Eye accessed time to bring out a particular memory in Luc's life, that will show him his connection to this world.

(Details of the memory has been sent to Luc as a PM to prevent story spoilers)

When the artifact de-activates, Luc will find himself outside of Sylvan's Tower, Marlow will be unconscious on the snow just beside him.

(Luc, if you wish to pursue your quest for revenge, you may post at Silent Hall. But if not, you can go do the quest in the PM)