The Shrine of Ash, The Profaned Valley
Arche looked to Maeve's retreating back and felt a sense of loneliness, she was leaving her old life behind to begin something new. She turned back to face the smiling Shrine Maiden and saw a small smile graced her lips.
"You are one of us now child. You now walk the path of ash, come touch the flame and link with the fire." the Shrine Maiden said
Arche gulped as she gazed at the massive purple flame, strangely she felt no heat from the fire. It looked equal parts horrifying and inviting, she extended her hand and reached for the flame. The moment she touched it she felt the voices in her head scream in rage as a surge of power flooded into her being. She felt indescribable pain as the energies flowed into her core, she could feel it. Her magical power was surging by leaps and bounds, whatever the flame was doing it was strengthening her. The voices surged in earnest intent on controlling her to take her hand out of the flame. She felt her control slipping, as her consciousness faded.
Was she going to go hollow right here?
No…
Arche thoughts returned to her family and felt a surge of strength. Then she remembered what Maeve said, hold onto something dear to you. It will give you the power to resist. She tried to picture her sisters faces in her mind and she remembered her promise to them. She could feel Kuurderika's pinky wrapped around her own and she felt another surge of strength.
NO DO NOT DEFY US!
"I'm the master here…" Arche shot back in her mind as she warred mightily with the four creatures in her mind
NO!
"Yes…" Arche muttered as she realised she could hold them back
All the hours of meditation she underwent were finally paying off. Initially she wondered why no matter how hard she tried she couldn't wrestle control back from the voices. She did as Maeve said, she emptied her mind every night learning to control her thoughts and emotions. However, when the voices returned she always lacked the strength to push them out. Initially she thought it was a technical problem, that she lacked the skill and mental dexterity to do so. Now she realised it wasn't her skill that was holding her back, it was her just couldn't maintain her concentration long enough because she would tire out too soon. Now with the power of the flame her mind felt sharp, sharper than she had ever been.
You think your family cares?
They sent you to your deaths while they lived in luxury…
"So wrath then? I don't think so…" Arche muttered as a smile formed on her lips
Look at everyone else…
They live normal lives while you struggle in this bleak cold world…
"Envy? Try harder…" Arche mocked
Why do you try so hard…
Just rest…
No more struggles…
No more pain…
Just peace…
"Sloth now I suppose, not good enough." Arche said smugly
The dark one lied you know…
And so did you…
You promised you will return…
Your promised your sisters…
You have no idea where you were sent to don't you...
At those words she felt a slight chill, where was this place? She came on the blind hope that it would save her. She even promised her sisters she would return, it was such an empty promise.
Hahaha you think you will ever return?
You will die in this cursed shrine…
You will fade into nothing…
Soon no one will even know you ever existed…
Arche felt a thrill of fear as she felt uncertainty take hold, she felt her control slip for just a moment. She felt the voices surge in desperate fervor and she lost control of just a moment. She then felt a searing in her hand that was in the fire and she was blasted back across the plaza tumbling head over heels before grinding to a halt. The voices retreated from her mind and she felt a searing pain in her arm. She looked to her arm and saw it was horribly burnt, the fire and seared away all her skin leaving only charred mass of flesh.
Arche looked down at her hand in horror, this wound could kill her. If the wound doesn't get her the rot will, in her panic she felt a power surge from within and a tingling sensation in her arm. She looked on in mute fascination as her arm healed itself before her eyes. The skin appeared over her flesh, her flesh stitched itself together. Soon her arm was as good as new and she moved her arm testing it. It felt perfectly fine now, Arche breathed a sigh of relief and reached up to cover her face. When she touched her face she froze, she felt something cold and smooth was covering her eyes. She touched it and found that it covered her eyes and extended to the sides covering her cheek and eyebrows in a fan like shape.
Arche continued to explore the strange thing on her face when she realised what she was wearing was a bone mask. The same one Maeve was using albeit a lot smaller compared to hers. She saw the Shrine Maiden slowly approach her.
"Most impressive child, thy has a most beautiful mask." the Shrine Maiden said as she knelt down
The Shrine Maiden reached into a hole in reality and pulled out an ornate mirror with a silver handle and faced it towards Arche. Arche gently touched the mask on her face, it was a beautiful mask in great contrast to the ones she has seen so far. Maeve's mask looked like it was cut from a piece of the fires of hell itself. The mask she saw on Horace looked bestial and feral as if he was an apex predator come to claim his prize. Her's however looked beautiful and graceful, it's structure looked like a pair of butterfly wings, with gold and pink accents in weaving patterns. The area around her eyes was blood red which accented the red glow in her eyes.
"Thou has a butterfly mask, a most rare occurrence. Thou must possess a gentle heart. There was once like you long before, she was one most kind." the Shrine Maiden said gently
"Who was she?" Arche asked looking away from the mirror
"She is The Weeping Widow, The Abyss Lord Friede, she is the one who mourns for all the lost souls in this place. She was a child of ash who ascended to the title of Ashen One. Sadly in her love for another she lost her flame and was cast into the Profaned Valley. Within she endured and became the fourth Abyss Lord." the Shrine Maiden said
"She lost her flame? What does that mean?" Arche asked
"It would be better to show you." the Shrine Maiden said as she reached out and touched Arche's face. Arche felt reality dissolve around her as she was hurled into some unknown reality.
Arche landed hard on a solid white floor, she scrambled to her feet and looked around. She found herself once again in the white misty world of her soul. She looked around to see the Shrine Maiden standing there next to her.
"Come child let us see your core." the Shrine Maiden said as she took held out her hand.
The moment Arche touched her hand she felt the landscape change with a jerk and she toppled to the ground again. She got up to see the Shrine Maiden standing there as if nothing happened. Arche really wanted to know how they could keep their balance after that…
Arche looked around and saw her core, it looked different now. Previously it was blue now however it was purple with a dark aura emanating off it. It was also surrounded by a purple flame that burned with a vengeance. It was also much bigger now, now it was the length of a small wagon. The cracks were gone instead the core was mass of whorling purple energies similar to Maeve's just much much smaller. She also noticed that the the four shadowy apparitions were no longer here.
"What happened to it? It was blue before… where did the apparitions go?" Arche muttered to herself
"The Profaned Flame will change your mana core. To survive the abyss thou must become one with it, bend it to thy will. The abyss consumes so you must consume to survive, there is no other way. The Profaned Flame has fused your core with your abyss apparitions. Now you must face them and bend them to thy will or risk losing all that you are." the Shrine Maiden said
"How do I do that?" Arche asked
"A question is posed, the answer comes another day. For now we return you should settle into your new home." the Shrine Maiden said as she waved her hand and found herself back in the shrine.
"Now then child training will begin soon please wait here, speak to the other children. Often children of ash find comfort in each other's companionship." the Shrine Maiden said as she stood up and turned away.
Arche sat on the cold stone floor as she gazed at the Shrine Maiden's retreating back. She numbly sat there and reached up to touch the butterfly mask on her face. It was the same mask as an Abyss Lord? Is that good? Arche thought absentmindedly to herself as she touched the mask on her face. Arche closed her eyes and peered within using her mind's eye and found the voices absent… she only felt lingering anger and malice deep within her. This mask was odd, she couldn't even feel it on her face. It was like it was a part of her, like how you wouldn't feel your hair or your skin. She tried to take it off but found it was stuck to her face and she could feel a deep sore like sensation when she tugged on the mask as if the mask was now part of her body.
"You can't take it off like that." a voice said
Arche turned to see a teenage girl with brown hair and eyes standing to her right. She was wearing old tattered robes that looked a few sizes too large.
"I am Anri." the girl said
"Arche." Arche replied as she watched Anri take a seat next to her.
"You have a very beautiful mask." Anri said her voice sounded serene as if she was not completely here. She sounded like her mind was in the clouds never truly at earth.
"Thank you… but I can't seem to take it off." Arche said as she tugged on it
"Look within and find the source of your power… and cut that power" the girl said airily
"Erm ok… I'll try…" Arche said as she closed her eyes and tried to find the source of her power. She concentrated and tried to search within herself and found nothing…
"Anri stop confusing her." Arche heard another voice from behind her.
She turned to see a boy in his late teens with hair white as snow standing there. He had bright cerulean eyes and a pale complexion. He also wore tattered robes and was rather tall. He walked over and sat down on Arche's other side. He looked at her and stuck out his hand, Arche reached out and shook it.
"I'm Nicodemus Sullivan, most just call me Nico." the boy said
"I'm a Arche Eeb Rile Furt, you can call me Arche, a pleasure to meet you Nico." Arche said
"Wow you have a fancy name, you some noble or something?" Nico asked
"Well I was." Arche replied uncomfortably
"Well we all used to be something before we ended up here." Nico said wistfully
"Yes I suppose, how long have you two been here?" Arche asked
"I've been here for about 2 months, Anri never gives me a straight answer when I ask her but she's been here a long time. Anri and Horace are the oldest here, they've been here for thousands of years at least." Nico said as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head.
"You know the Herald." Anri suddenly stated
"Yes I do, she… helped me get here." Arche replied finding it extremely difficult to speak to this strange girl.
"Well that's quite something, Anri was here when the Herald first came here to train." Nico said
"Maeve came here to train?" Arche asked
"Who?" Nico asked
"Maeve that's her name, the Herald." Arche said
"Oh so she has a name… she never told us anything when she was here…" Anri said as she absentmindedly looked around the room
"How long was she here for?" Arche asked
"I don't know…" Anri replied as she began playing with the fringe of her hair
"Don't worry about it, you get used to it. Anri's not very good with time... or memory for that matter. From what I heard is that the Herald was around for about a month. She was the fastest ever to master the abyss and ascend to the title of Ashen One, or so the legend goes." Nico said
"What do you mean by ascend?" Arche asked
"You ascend when you master the abyss within you, it takes awhile for most. Some get hard stuck like Anri and Horace, too strong to fade but for some reason they can't completely master their inner apparitions thus they are stuck here. Horace thinks he just needs more power, Anri is well just being Anri I suppose. The thing is there is a test you have to take in order to leave. We don't know what the test is and only the Shrine Maiden may allow us to take it. She will tell us when we qualify apparently." Nico said
"How long does it usually take?" Arche asked
"It varies from person to person, some have a natural talent for it and some are just plain bad so they take awhile. There are those that can't control their inner hollows or they start losing their grip after being here for too long and they start going hollow. We all will have this thing called a flame inside of us, the fire lets us control the hollows. However, the fire needs fuel to burn, we get the fuel by devouring the hollows outside. Problem is hollows fight back, so you need to learn how to fight like a hollow if you want to survive." Nice said
"So we have to kill hollows?" Arche asked liking this place less and less as she listened
"Yea… the sad part is most of the hollows out there used to be the children here. Some can't bear it and are devoured by the hollows outside when they freeze up in combat." Nico said with a sigh
"What happens when a hollow gets you?" Arche asked
"It eats your soul and you become a hollow yourself." Nico said
"A hollow must feed on living souls and we must feed on hollows or go hollow ourselves. A never ending cycle of hatred and destruction." Anri said
"How many hollows have you killed?" Arche asked
"I've devoured one, Anri here… doesn't remember." Nico said
"Your mask is very rare." Anri said absentmindedly
"Is it? What determines what our masks look like?" Arche said trying to adjust to the sudden change in subject
"Your soul, our masks are a reflection of our souls. The deepest darkest parts of our personality, the masks show the worst parts of us." Anri said as mask formed on her face. She turned to face Arche.
Arche looked to see her bulging spherical eyes with hexagon patterns, from her forehead extended two curved antennae, her mouth had a circular hole and two pincers on each side. The mask was white except for the mouth which had a crimson pattern that made it look like it was dripping blood. It was a mask that looked like the head of a common house fly.
"What does your mask mean?" Arche asked as she gazed at the odd mask
"It means I am a parasite, a carrion creature, I survive by eating the scraps from other tables." Anri said
Arche gazed dumbfounded at Anri, it was quite a self loathing thing to say to call yourself a parasite.
"It's not just her, we all have masks that show the worst side of us." Nico said softly as he conjured his mask.
Arche turned to see smiling mouth with upturned eyes giving the appearance of a radiant jovial smile. However there were black tear streaks running down the face of his mask and as Arche continued to look on she found herself unable to determine whether the mask was smiling or weeping.
"My mask is a Harlequin mask, it means I leech off the happiness of others. I make people happy just to take it for myself. Mine is considered unformed, a formed mask looks like yours and Anri's it has a specific shape to it. An unformed mask is like mine just plain face with markings and holes. Most of the children here have unformed masks, it means we are much weaker than you." Nico said as he waved his hand over his face and the mask crumbled away.
"Then what does mine mean?" Arche asked
"You have one of the better ones, one of the best actually. The best are the butterfly, the hawk, the plague doctor, the owl and the wolf. The worst are the housefly, the ape, the vulture, the serpent and the demon." Nico replied
"The butterflies are believed to guide souls to the afterlife, it implies a strong magical aptitude but a lack of will to use it. It means you are very capable of solving problems but you choose to ignore them and run away. Your sin is sloth and self deception, you have the power but lack the will to wield it." Anri said
"I… that's not true…" Arche said defensively
"These are just stereotypes Arche, everyone is different but as far as your mask is concerned it's pretty good. Butterfly masks are powerful, you will be tearing hollows to pieces with your spells before long." Nico said a tinge on envy in his voice
"Well I am a magic caster of the fourth tier…" Arche said slowly
"Fourth tier? How old are you?" Nico asked eyes wide
"I'm 15." Arche replied
"Wow that's really young, are most people good mages where you come from?" Nico asked
"No, it's just me. I studied at a magic academy most of my peers are 10 years my senior." Arche replied with a hint of pride
"Wow I guess the stereotypes are true, that's the butterfly mask for you I suppose." Nico said
"Thanks I guess, but I still don't know how to get this mask off." Arche said
"You said your're a caster right? You just need to find the source of power and learn to control it. How I did it was I tried to find the power in my mask and I worked backwards. Once you find your flame with your mind's eye you will be able to start to manipulate your powers." Nico said as he raised his finger and explained in a scholarly like voice.
"Ok… let me give it a try." Arche said as she crossed her legs and sat up straight. Her let her arms rest together on her lap fingers slightly interlocked. This was the pose that she used when she meditated.
Arche started the breathing exercise and cleared her mind. She shunned away all emotions and distractions focusing inwards. First she tried to sense her mana pool, it was there but it felt different. It felt bigger… much bigger it also felt hot… it must be the flame...
Arche tried to find the source of heat but found nothing, she looked aimlessly and found no source. She then tried to focus on her face hoping she would sense something from the mask, again she found nothing. Perhaps a more direct approach… Arche reached up and touched her mask. She focused on the strange sensation of touch that came from her mask, then she felt it a thrum of power. It felt strange, almost alien, it was like nothing she had ever experienced. Following Nico's advice she tried to trace the power back and found it led back to her mana pool. Perhaps the fire is within the mana pool… Arche took another deep breath and heightened her concentration prepared herself for the plunge…
Nico looked on at Arche as a purple aura started to form around Arche, wisps of darkness started to emanate from her form as air started to feel heavy. This was way too fast, most took weeks to find their inner flame let alone manifest their aura. She was doing in minutes what some would take months to accomplish.
"How is she doing that so quickly? It took me two weeks to even find my flame, I slept with that stupid mask for a month." Nico said incredulously
"Butterflies are masters of technical skill, they lack maximum power potential but they make up for it with unrivalled mastery of their abilities." a voice said
Nico turned to see a robed man standing in front of them. His hood was down revealing his grey hair and kind twinkling eyes. His eyes however was milky and white, having been blinded by some unknown event.
"Hello Father Gabriel." Anri said
"Greetings Anri, Nico do not fret over her. Butterflies are both blessed and cursed beings. They burn bright but only briefly, a flame that burns too hot runs out of fuel before long. I expect her to be out of here in a few months but whether she can control her growing power is up to her. Butterflies often grow too confident in their abilities and that is their ultimate downfall. They reach for the sun and end up burnt to a crisp.' Father Gabriel said
"Father Gabriel is it time for class?" Anri asked
"Soon child, I wish to see how she does first, the class can wait." Father Gabriel said calmly as the other children started to gather as they watched Arche.
Arche found herself in a cold dark world, she could see a purple light in the distance. With nothing else in sight Arche began to walk towards it. Soon she saw a large purple fire burning in the sky and the temperature in the surroundings started to feel just a bit warmer. Then she saw it above her family's summer home was a huge purple fire. She saw a silhouette appear in the window before vanishing, strangely the shadowy apparitions were nowhere to be found.
Arche walked to the door and opened it and to her surprise she saw the apparitions sitting sullenly around her living room. Her family was nowhere to be found only the apparitions, where here.
"What do you want girl." her dark mother said
"Came to visit, not going to attack me?" Arche asked eyebrows raised
"If we destroy you this house disappears and we get burnt to a crisp by the profaned flame." evil Kuurderika grumbled
"Ah I see." Arche said as she stepped into her home and looked around. Everything looked the same except that her family was gone leaving these shadowy apparitions.
"Where is my family?" Arche asked coldly
"Who?" her father asked
"The people who were here first." Arche said icily
"There was no one here when we arrived." her father replied
"You lie! Where are they? Did you devour them?" Arche hissed
"There was no one here brat! Once you touched that damned flame we were brought to this accursed house" her father roared
Arche furrowed her brows as she looked at the dark versions of her family sulking around her living room. They seemed to be telling the truth but what did this mean? Her core has changed significantly, the serene landscape of her summer home was all gone except for this house. Now only these shadows remained where her family was…
Was all of this just in her mind? Logically this place was a construct of her own mind or personality. That would mean… in here she should be able to manipulate reality…
Arche walked towards one of the glass windows and placed her hand on the window and concentrated. She thought about the window cracking, she pictured it in her mind and imagined it in her mind's eye. Nothing…
Perhaps it's more primal nothing logical… perhaps she needs to believe it not just want it. Maeve had said this place was the deepest darkest parts of her soul. So she tried to make herself believe the window would crack, she tried with all her might to believe. Yet… nothing once again…
Arche was starting to get frustrated this was her own mind, her own soul. Why was she so powerless in here? It was like she was a spectator to her own mind, it was absurdly insulting to her. Arche was a mage, a master of her own power, of her own mind and of her own fate. As the anger boiled she noticed the window cracked…
"Oi what the hell are you doing?" her father shouted.
Arche ignoring him continued to focus on the window.
Emotions… that was it… you couldn't reason yourself into loving someone, you can't persuade yourself to believe anything. Everything you are is because of your emotions, you love your family no matter what, there is no rhyme or reason to it…
Then would other emotions work? She tried to picture her sisters and let the warmth she felt when she held them close flood her mind. She tried to use that feeling to shatter the window but instead found the cracking stitching itself together...
Different emotions have different effects? Yes it makes sense love heals it does not destroy, envy, wrath, pride those poisoned the soul and caused destruction. She thought about how those four behind her had changed her life so drastically for the worse. She wished them dead…
Then the window was blown outwards as a gush of heat flooded into the room and the dark versions of her family screamed in agony as they buckled to their knees. Arche turned to gaze upon their writhing forms and found a dark sense of satisfaction as she watched them suffer on her living room floor.
"Please stop…" Kuurderika weeped
"Stop we beg of you…" her mother wailed
Arche turned back to the window, she thought back to her sisters and watched as the window reassembled itself. She turned back to the four vile creatures on the floor as they shakily stood back up.
"I have the power here, you will serve me." Arche said coldly
"You are weak girl you think you can command us?" her mother hissed
"You will obey or I will be doing some renovating." Arche said
The four apparitions screamed in rage and pounced on her, as she fell back onto the floor she let her rage surge forth again and the entire front wall of her house was blasted open flooding the house in a searing heat. The apparitions screamed and staggered back as they fell to their knees. Arche calmly rose and dusted herself off, she took her time readjusting her clothes and smoothing out her hair as she listened to them scream.
After she decided it was enough she reassembled the wall and and coldly looked on as the apparitions trembled on the floor.
"On your knees where you belong." Arche said coldly as they tried to rise
She watched as the four froze and looked up at her hatefully. Arche felt her eye twitch in annoyance and she heard the window behind her crack. The apparitions immediately fell to their knees in fear.
"Who do you serve?" Arche asked
"We serve you mistress… for now…" they said hatefully
"If I ever catch wind of any betrayal I'll come back here and blow the roof off." Arche said coldly
"Yes mistress." they said reluctantly
Nico watched as the pressure disappeared from around Arche. Then he saw her open her eyes and a fierce red glow emanated from her eyes. He watched as Arche slowly stood back up and uncaring of the crowd standing around her.
Arche closed her eyes as she stood up and felt the power within her. It was a fiery and wrathful power, filled with malice and vengeance. Not at all like her normal magic which felt cool and calming. Now that she had the cooperation of the squatters in her soul she found she could instinctively control the powers she possessed.
She raised her hands and channeled power into them, she looked down to see a black fire ball in each hand. She brought them together and merged the fires together, she channeled more power into her hands and shot the fire in a stream towards the ceiling.
So powerful… control comes so easily now… it was like instinct, it came as naturally as breathing…
Arche banished her mask and felt the bone crumble down her face. She looked to the crowd around her and saw the old man standing there gazing at her with a smile.
"Very impressive child, truly butterflies are gifted. Now come class is starting." the man said as he turned and started walking towards one of entrances into the hall.
Arche watched as the other children followed after him, she turned to Nico and Anri who were silently staring at her.
"Well I suppose not everyone is created equal." Nico said with a shrug as he grabbed Arche's hand and started leading her along.
"You are very good at this." Anri said as she walked beside her
"Yeah, no kidding, I can barely cast any spells and you manage to cast one so big right as you get here." Nico said as he walked in front of them still pulling Arche along.
Soon the trio arrived in what appeared to be a sparring arena, Arche saw to her left at the door was sitting what looked to her was the laziest skeleton in existence. She pulled her hand free from Nico and stopped to look at the strange skeleton. It was sleeping reclined in the chair with it's skeletal legs kicked up on the table in front of him. It wore this strange puffy outer cloak with a white under shirt and black shorts. It had strange furry slippers on its feet and it's build was squat. It looked like a dwarf turned skelton.
Then she saw a strange white eyes appear in the eyeholes of his skull. It looked to her before stretching and sitting back up.
"Heya kiddo, never seen you here before. You new?" the skeleton asked
"Yes I just arrived today." Arche said as she continued to observe the strange skeleton
"Arche come on, everyone's waiting. Stop wasting your time with lazy bones over there." Nico said as he grabbed her hand again and began leading here away.
"See ya kiddo, try not to have a bad time." the skeleton said as his put his arms on the table and laid his head on them before falling back asleep.
Arche continued to look back at the strange skeleton as she was led away, something felt off about the skeleton…
Arche sat down among the other children as the old man stood before them and calmly waited. The silence dragged on as the children silently waited for the Master to speak. The master walked up to Arche and gazed down at her with his milky unseeing eyes.
"Come forward child, introduce yourself." the master said
Arche rose to her feet walked up to the master to face the rest of the children. She looked to the faces of the children, some were curious, some were fearful, others were filled with hatred and a few wore blank expressions as if they were already broken by the trials of this place. She felt a hungry gaze on her, she turned to see the boy called Horace gazing at her with bestial hunger. Arche locked her gaze on the boy for a moment before looking away and facing the class.
"My name is Arche Eeb Rile Furt, I look forward to getting to know all of you." Arche said calmly
"A pleasure to meet you Arche, I am Father Gabriel now then let's find out a bit more about you." Father Gabriel said
"What would like to know?" Arche asked cautiously
"Here in the Ashen Shrine we speak with our actions not words, come who wishes to meet the newest to addition to our shrine." Father Gabriel said
"I will." Horace said as he raised his hand, a wicked grin on his face
"Lay off Horace, she just got here!" Nico shouted angrily
"Shut it sheep, the wolves are talking now." Horace said as he walked in front of Arche and gave Nico a very rude hand gesture.
Arche looked to Horace as his mask appeared, it was a simple mask with black markings running down it's length in strange black lines. On his right chest and arm was a layer of bone forming armor. Arche conjured her mask and immediately heard a voice in her head.
Careful girl, this one lacks talent but has devoured many hollows…
"Pretty mask you have there, I heard a lot about the primal five, I have always wanted a taste…" Horace said as he licked his lips
"Primal five?" Arche asked
"Yes, the five strongest masks, the butterfly, the hawk, the plague doctor, the owl and the wolf. If I devour you I will become stronger than ever before." Horace said with a mad glint in his eyes
If one of Ash devours another they become one stronger than either…
Such is the way of the abyss…
Kill or be killed…
Devour or be devoured...
"You want my essence?" Arche asked eyes narrowed
"Naturally." Horace said as he took a stance
"If you want it, come and take it." Arche said as she channeled spells in both hands
Horace let out a primal roar as he charged straight at Arche, he ran on all fours like some beast. Arche calmly looked on and waited for him to get too close, once he was in a close enough range she released the spell in her right hand. [Lightning] she intoned as the bolt of black lightning shot out at Horace. Arche wondered which way would he dodge, he chose to jump up into the air. The worse choice available…
Horace leapt towards her, he saw no fear in her eyes, then he saw the other hand point at him. [Fireball] she intoned as ball of black fire shot towards him, with him being in the air he had no way to correct his path and he jumped right into spell.
Arche watched as he took a [Fireball] to the face and was blasted back rolling across the sparring grounds burning in black fire. So predictable… it was like fighting some feral beast. It looks like her time as an adventurer was paying off. Twin casting was a skill she was uniquely talented at, it gave her a slew of tactical options at the cost of spell power.
Horace rose coughing out soot as the fire died out, this girl was an experienced fighter. Typical of the Herald to bring one such as her here. No matter, he had devoured all of the ones she sent here so far, this one would be no different…
Arche readied more spells [Spell seal: Teleportation] [Spell seal: Magic Mine]. She watched as Horace started to run in a zig zag pattern to try and make himself harder to hit. A typical strategy, most beasts started doing this after getting hit by her spells. So far he was playing to the script quite nicely. [Spell seal] was a type of magic augmentation that allowed one to hold a spell to be released at the perfect time. The catch was that the longer the spell was held the more mana it drained when casted. [Magic Arrow] she intoned as she released a group of weak magic arrows form her right hand at him, predictably he dodged and dashed the moment he cleared the hail of arrows. [Release seal] Arche intoned as she teleported behind him as a [Magic Mine] appeared under her.
Seeing the arcane circles appearing where the girl was Horace ground to a halt and whirled around to see her standing a few metres behind him. Arche was glad she took the time to study the spell [Teleportation] even though she lacked the power to cast such a spell. Now with this dark power enhancing her abilities she could cast this one tier 5 spell, in her mind she had already planned how to use this most useful mobility spell.
Horace laughed to himself, did this stupid girl think that such a simple trick work on him. For one such as her to defeat him was a hundred years too early. [Shockwave] she intoned as Horace felt a wave of force slam in him and he was blasted back right into the [Magic Mine] behind him.
Arche watched as he was consumed in an explosion, [Douse] she intoned as a stream of high powered water blasted him back. Now soaked and stunned from the explosion Arche started her closing act. [Lightning] she intoned as the dark bolt of electricity stuck him, electricity combined with water causes a [Paralysis] status effect that stops all movement for a period of time. [Acid Arrow] Arche intoned as a green arrow shot out and struck him. The acid started to dissolve away his defenses, now that he was crowd controlled and debuffed she could use her more hard hitting spells. [Twin cast: Burn Lance] as a pair of flaming lances shot out and struck Horace. The fire ignited the acid coating him creating a [Miasma] that blinds and reduces defensive stats. [Maximise Magic: Shock Lance] a large lance made of dark lightning struck Horace refreshing the paralysis effect. [Oil Bomb] she intoned as ball of black liquid flew and splashed against his face, coating him in a layer of oil. Now for the coup de grace, [Maximise magic: Grand Fireball] Arche intoned as she launched a massive black fireball at Horace, the fireball exploded with a loud crack as air was sucked towards the fire to help fuel the flames. When a target is [Oiled] and hit with a fire spell it causes an [Ignition] effect that causes a damage over time burn effect. On its own it's not very powerful, however when [Ignition] is combined with [Miasma] it turns into a new effect called [Conflagration]. The fire ignites the [Miasma] causing a secondary explosion that deals a large amount of damage and causes a slew of secondary effects, such as [Blind], [Silence], [Deafen] and [Stun].
Arche stood gazing intently at the cloud of smoke and waited to see if he would be able to recover from her combo attack. Arche was feeling really drained, that was her most powerful combo of spells. If he wasn't down for the count she wouldn't be able to cast that many more spells. As the smoke cleared she saw him lying face up on the ground, his bone mask gone along with his armor. She watched him unsteadily lift his chest up before collapsing back down.
"I yield… please no more…" Horace said
Arche walked over and looked down over him. He was uninjured mostly, which was not surprising considering she knew the abyss helped to heal the bodies of the host when injured.
"You fought well… mind helping me up my legs aren't working at the moment..." Horace said with a smile as he weakly raised his left hand.
Arche although a bit suspicious decided to approach and offered her hand. Horace weakly took it, suddenly however the grip turned into a vice and bone covered hand shot out and grabbed her throat. Arche was thrown onto her back and she gazed at the smiling face of Horace as his mask reformed on his face.
"Rule number one of the profaned valley Arche, no remorse and no mercy." Horace said as he grabbed Arche's throat with both hands and began to strangle her.
Arche tried to channel a spell in her hand but Horace sensing this lifted her up and slammed her on the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her. Her spell fizzled out in her hand as she struggled to catch her breathe, soon she started to feel her mind start to cloud as the lack of oxygen started to kick in.
Need some help girl?
Arche denied the voice with whatever will power she had left, the last thing she wanted was to give power back to the hollows that lay within her soul. She felt the world going black as the hands around her throat continued to tighten.
"Horace that's enough!" Nico shouted
"Quiet sheep, this bitch need to pay for all that hurt she did." Horace raged as he squeezed harder and Arche's head started to loll to the side.
"Father Gabriel!" Nico shouted as he rose to his feet.
"Take a seat Nicodemus, I don't think she's quite done yet." Father Gabriel said with a smile
Nico turned and looked to Arche, as the last dredges of resistance fled her body and her form went limp. Then something changed the air started to get heavy as wisps of darkness started emanating off Arche's form. Horace paused as he gazed at the sudden change of the girl in front of him. Then he saw her open her eyes and a strong red glow started to emanate from her pupils. A wide wicked smile appeared on her face as she locked eyes with him, the wisps of darkness were starting to flood the area around her obscuring his vision.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he looked down to see a black blade embedded in his chest. He released his hands from her throat and clutched at the wound screaming in agony.
"You feel that… mmhhhh such delicious suffering." Arche said with a wide smile
Nico looked on stunned as the tendrils of darkness formed long tentacles that combined into a black blade. More tentacles emerged and lifted Arche up, the blade raised up at hoisted Horace up by his wound.
"You pathetic little insect, look at your pitiful mask. No form just markings, how much table scraps have you eaten to grow so much armor I wonder." Arche said with a laugh as the blade raised him even higher eliciting a scream from Horace.
"Who are you…" Horace gasped out as he grasped at the blade in his chest trying to shift some of his weight onto his arms.
"We are Arche, we are what she fears, what she hates, you should have just stayed down. However, I thank you, it's not often we get to take the reins like this." Arche said as she laughed and flung Horace to the side.
Horace rolled along the stone floor clutching his chest as blood pooled onto the floor. His chest was healing but slowly, it would take awhile for him to heal that wound.
"Such weak regeneration, you are going to go down just like that? The true denizens of the profaned valley will eat you alive you little pup." Arche said with a laugh as she brandished the tentacles forming the blade and severed her left arm at the elbow.
Horace watched in shock as her arm dropped on to the floor, he looked to see a new arm regenerate from the bleeding stump in a manner of seconds.
"Good as new…" Arche said as she tested her new arm by clenching and unclenching her fist.
"Wait…" Horace pleaded as Arche approached, the fear in his eyes now very real.
Horace tried to crawl back as he clutched at his chest, he got a metre away before he felt tentacles wrap around his ankles. He shouted as he was dragged back and hung upside down in front of Arche. He looked around and saw the tentacles with their gaping maws filled with serrated teeth surrounding him. The tentacles hissed and snapped at him as they hovered around him.
"We like that look in your eyes little lamb, the Herald you despise so much dislikes torture… We on the other hand have no such compunctions… tell me what would you like to lose first your tongue or your eyes…" Arche said with a maniacal laugh as the blade flashed and slashed Horace across the chest splattering blood across the stone floor.
"Please…" Horace gasped as his body now devoid of strength hung limpy from the tentacles
"I like that look of fear in you eyes… so your tongue it is then..." Arche said as the tentacles pried his mouth open and pulled out his tongue. The black blade changed form into a thin serrated blade. As the blade inched towards, Horace's tongue, the blade suddenly stopped and the tentacles dissolved into to wisps of darkness.
"Ah Mistress is home… lucky little lamb aren't you…" Arche said softly as she fell back to the ground and Horace collapsed into a heap on the stone floor.
Arche snapped back to her senses and looked to the brutalised Horace. She looked on stunned at his deep and grevious wounds. She turned to look at the gathered children who were all looking at her in abject terror. Nico was looking at her with his brows furrowed as he silently stood there watching her.
"Very impressive child, take a seat." Father Gabriel said with a wide smile on his face.
Arche gingerly walked back among the group of children and sat down next to Nico. The other children got up and ran off to the sides intent on keeping as far away from her as possible.
"You didn't tell me you have a sentient hollow." Nico whispered
"Huh what does that even mean?" Arche asked shakily
"Something possessed you just now, it spoke… most hollows are just bestial creatures, they can't talk." Nico said
"Mine started this way, I thought everyone was like this." Arche replied
"No it's not… most of us have a silent primal hollow inside of us." Nico said
Arche didn't say anything to that, she looked back to Father Gabriel and his smiling face. At first he seemed like a kind old grandpa, now he seemed like some demented psychopath as he asked another pair of children to drag Horace to the side and left him there on the cold stone floor to recover by himself.
Ok now who wants to go next…
Author's Notes:
So here is the first chapter of this short story following Arche's new life in the Shrine of Ash. This story will reconnect with the main story at some point in the future, it won't be too long about 5 - 10 chapters in total.
So leave a review if you liked it, any criticism is welcome. Also if you guys have any suggestions I would be happy to read it so leave it in a review or pm.
See you guys in the next chapter!