Here we are with a nice filler chapter with nothing important happening.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Dishwasher1910
Book 6: Chapter 8
Waiting was the hardest part.
I didn't relish the idea of a proper fight between our group and Roman's. What we'd had before, the stalling action, was all well and good, but in a real fight we'd need to address Watts and not just ignore him, and I still had no idea how to go about that. Mobbing him was the only obvious choice but we'd all but certainly take some casualties. I'd considered the possibility of us stealing Roman and Neo away, but that faltered for two reasons. Firstly, I didn't think we could capture them and evade Watts while carrying captives, and secondly, we didn't know what Watts wanted in this ruin, but I was sure that whatever it was, we didn't want him to have it.
That left dealing with him the only choice. Everyone realised it, evidenced by the overwhelming silence as we sat in our hidden alcove, no fire to warm us as the sun set and the chill came out. The light from a campfire would bounce off the walls and signal our location for anyone with a pair of eyes. We huddled instead, wrapped in blankets for warmth while a rotating shift kept watch over the alluring bait we'd left out hours before. With the sun set, not even the map worked, so we couldn't use it to gauge how close the enemy were.
As if summoned by my thoughts, Blake crept back into our camp, as silent as the grave. "The supplies are gone," she whispered.
Ruby looked up. "They're here?"
"Must be. I didn't see them take them, but one second the cart was there and the next it wasn't."
"Neo," I said. "It must be invisible."
"At least we know they took the bait," Yang said. "Do we go in?"
I shook my head. "No. Let them have it for now."
"Why?" Yang asked. "We could strike while they're still hungry, thirsty and injured. We're not going to get a better shot than this."
"They're still invisible," I pointed out. "Neo is active and there's no way they won't have set a trap up of their own. They might not even be there, and Neo might have just cast a spell on the cart." Yang grumbled but understood my reasoning. "We wait for them to make camp," I said. "Ideally, they'll go to sleep at some point."
"And we hit them then?"
"Yes."
It was enough for Yang, and by the looks of it everyone else, too. We all wanted to get out of this in one piece, which was why Yang wanted to strike while they were exhausted from the desert. If they'd been visible I might have gone along with it, but Neo really was too much of a risk. Watts was strong, but it was the Illusionist who would allow him to land the first blow. More than Watts, I wanted her to be asleep before we attacked.
As the others settled down to catch a little rest of their own, I found myself sat by a back wall, resting my head against it and using it as a barrier from the gentle, but very cold, breeze that washed over us. Sand and fabric shifted as someone sat down beside me. I was both surprised and pleased to find it was Blake.
"It's not a bad plan," she said.
"Thanks."
"Cautious, but that's not such a bad thing. I think they understand," she added with a nod to the others. "It's just that no one likes waiting."
"Me least of all, Blake. Honestly, I'm nervous…"
"I think we all are. I certainly am."
"You?" I asked, surprised. "But you're the highest level here."
"And that won't mean much compared to Watts. But in truth I'm more worried for what will happen to the group than myself." she admitted. "If all goes badly, I can escape; the same can't be said for you."
The way she said it caught my attention. She probably meant all of us, but she said it as if it were just me she worried about. Our eyes met for a second, and though there was some distance there still, it seemed not quite so insurmountable. Her fingers brushed against mind on the sand. She didn't pull away.
"I'll be okay," I promised. "We're going to play this safe. As safe as possible."
"In that case when they make camp, let me be the one to go in first," Blake said. "Let me go in alone."
"As an Assassin…?"
Blake nodded, and I wasn't sure how to respond. I'd thought she hated that expectation, that she was only good for stabbing people in the back or taking advantage of those who were weak. Maybe she counted this as being an exception, either because of the threat the enemy posed or because if her actions might remove the need for a protracted fight that would place us all in danger. Either way, she met my gaze with deadly focus, pleading silently for me to agree.
I didn't want to. Putting her in danger was the last thing I wanted, and not for entirely selfless reasons. Blake was still too important to me.
I let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay…"
"Okay?" She seemed surprised. "You agree!?"
"I don't agree and it's not okay," I said, "But I can see the logic. And I trust you. I trust you to know if it's too dangerous, and to back out if it is."
"Thank you," she whispered, obviously relieved, "And I'm hardly going to risk my own life, either. If I'm discovered, I'll flee. You don't have to worry about that."
"We'll have to wait until they make camp."
"The Illusionist can't keep up her spells forever. She has to sleep. I'll go in then." Blake's hand wrapped around mine with more confidence, our fingers intertwining. "Thank you," she said again, "For trusting me to do this."
"I do trust you, Blake."
"I know." Her eyes didn't quite water, but her smile turned watery, vulnerable. "That's what drew me to you in the first place, that you could look past what I am and see who I am. Now… well, playing the assassin once more won't bother me. Not if it means keeping everyone I care about safe."
"And you won't be killing for profit," I pointed out, knowing the stereotype was what she truly hated. "You'll be doing it to save a Kingdom."
Blake laughed. "I guess that's true."
I laughed with her, though we kept our voices low nonetheless. In a way, I realised that Blake was doing what she wished I would do with her, confide in her my plans ahead of time so that both sides could know what they were and how to adapt if something went wrong. Where she would make me aware of what was going on, I'd made a habit of pushing ahead foolhardily without doing the same.
"Just keep being the Knight," Blake said. "I'll handle the darker side of things."
My smile faltered. Should I tell her the truth? Ruby had to me and learned mine in turn, all without revealing me or freaking out. Surely Blake could be expected to do the same. A part of me wanted to tell her, a big part.
But we were in the middle of a Quest…
It would just make things difficult.
"Yeah, I'll do that," I said. "Get some sleep, Blake. You'll need all your energy."
/-/
It was a giant crack that awoke me. It woke up everyone else too and sent Sun – currently on watch alongside Pyrrha – scuttling to his feet, staff in hand.
"What's going on?" Nora hissed.
"I don't know," Sun replied. "I-"
There was another crack, a guttural sound like rock snapping in two, yet deeper, seemingly from within the ground itself. Something shifted, and sand began to sprinkle to the side, as if the very ground beneath us was tilting on an axis.
"Sun!?" I gasped.
"I don't know, man. This isn't normal!"
We all stumbled and fell to our knees to try and keep balanced. The world didn't flip as I'd feared, but the platform we were on was revealed to be such, as it rose some fifteen degrees at an angle and eventually stopped. None of us fell or slipped away but the sudden change in orientation was awkward to say the least. Sand rained down on our heads.
Another crack sounded, and then a groan – long and arduous, punctuated with the occasional pop or snap of rock splintering. It wasn't close to us by any means but rather… it was over by the main entrance Sun had shown me earlier.
"I think they've opened the temple!"
"How?" Yang demanded. "I thought you said it took sacrifices!" The latter was aimed at Sun, who held his hands out placatingly.
"I did. It does. At least… that's what the legends claimed."
I shared a look with Blake. "Do you think they sacrificed Neo or Roman?"
"I wouldn't put it past them," she replied.
"They might also have another way in," Weiss offered. "A key of some sort. Just because Sun's legends say sacrifice is the main way in doesn't mean there are no alternatives. Perhaps they were looking for the ruin this key of theirs worked on."
Damn it. If I'd known that, I might have taken the risk and had us attack before and damn the consequences. Was this why Roman was so important? Did he have a way inside? I had no idea and it was all we could do to hold on as the temple groaned and shifted under the sands, moving in ways I'd never seen any other building move. I couldn't tell if it was actually moving of its own volition or tipping over or what.
After what felt like an age, but was more likely two or three minutes, the movement stopped. A vast expanse of sand around the temple had been pushed away, revealing more of it going deeper. We'd been on ground-level before but were now on what would be the first floor of a normal townhouse, with a long but hardly fatal drop below us.
"Sun…?"
"I don't know," the Monk replied. "This… This might be the first temple, the originator. The legends spoke of it, but we never knew where it was."
"What is the first temple, Sun? Speak simple please!"
Sun recovered, recalled we weren't a part of his tribe, and quickly explained. "It's where the King of Ashari was said to have conducted the ritual that brought about the End. It's where Salem was first summoned into our world."
"Fuck," Yang accurately summarised.
"We have to get in there," Ruby said. "Risk or not, if they summon her…"
She didn't have to finish. Blake was already at the edge of the precipice and leaping down. Nora and Ren were quick to follow, and the test of us behind. We sprinted toward where we'd left the caravan, which was now visible and broken, and further, to a steep staircase that led up to the main entrance that had been right at ground-level before. The staircase must have been buried under the sand. At the top, the door was open, revealing blackness within.
"Not good," Sun cursed, taking the steps three at a time.
"No blood or bodies," Pyrrha noted at the top. "Weiss was right, they must have a key."
"I didn't know of such a thing's existence," Sun said. "I promise you this."
"It's too late to play the blame game. We have to go in." Pyrrha brought out a piece of firewood and wrapped some cloth around the edge. She held it out to Weiss, who lit it with a spell. Casting the light inside revealed a long corridor leading in, with several branching paths less than thirty feet in. Pyrrha was the first to enter. I followed behind with the others.
The interior was dark and cold, colder than the outside air even in the middle of the night. It was the first thing I noticed, along with how clean the air was. There was some kind of ventilation in place circulating fresh air from outside.
What also surprised me was just how clean the area was – and not just in terms of there being no sand inside, but also that the walls were free from dust or signs of ageing.
"It's said the Ashari mastered many of the secrets of architecture," Sun said. "Their towers and buildings gleamed in the sunlight and could stand for an eternity."
Considering all the disasters that wrecked Vacuo, I was inclined to agree. One problem of the lack of dust, however, was that there were no convenient footprints to tell us which way Roman and the others had gone. That became an immediate problem when the path ahead split in three directions.
"What not?" Pyrrha asked. "Nora is our best tracker. Do you see anything?"
"No," Nora replied. "I've got nothing."
"I don't think we should split up," I said.
"That's a given," Yang said. "Whatever we pick, we need to go together. How about the middle?"
"Reasoning?" Weiss asked.
"Most buildings would have the side passages lead off to or around the building," Yang explained. "If you were making some kind of temple or place of worship, you'd want it to be pretty self-explanatory for anyone coming in. My guess is that the place they did all the worshipping would be right in the middle."
"It makes sense," Ren said. "But the problem is, we don't know what Watts is after. It might not involve the main worship chamber."
"It's even less likely to involve cloisters and bedrooms, though," I said. "I think Yang's got the right idea. At least if we take this path and they took a different one, we'll be more likely to hear them and react if we're in the middle."
It was a weak reason, but it was all we had. Pyrrha nodded and moved into the tunnel, casting more light onto walls that were painted in intricate patterns and shapes. They didn't seem to form images or murals, but rather flowed like water, creating an odd forward motion to the corridor. I could easily imagine the area being lit by torches and sunlight, casting light on the paintings and making the walls seem alive and beautiful. In the dark however, and with the flickering embers from the torch, it felt ominous and claustrophobic.
Without really meaning to, I loosened Crocea Mors in her scabbard, and was immediately hit with the sound of everyone else readying their own weapons.
The corridor came to a sudden end, opening up into a wide, circular room. The central platform stood tall, with two staircases leading up to it, curved like a spiral. The middle floor, which we stood on, continued under and around it, but the edges of the room – the outer circle – were also hollowed out, with staircases on the other side leading downwards, as if the whole room was a multi-tiered cake of some kind.
The room was empty, or at least appeared so. Blake motioned with one hand for us to stay and stalked towards the stairs leading up. She crept silently, the rest of us waiting with baited breath as she moved out of sight.
She appeared at the edge above us a few seconds later, weapons slack at her side. I relaxed the breath I'd been holding. They weren't here.
"This looks like where people would worship," Ren said. "You could have a choir and the main speaker up on the main platform, and the congregation on this one. It's too dark to see, but I guess there could be paintings or sculptures on the roof, and there would have been windows too to let the sun shine in."
"What about the stairs downwards?" I asked, making some room as Blake leapt down from above. I considered catching her, but she didn't need it and I'd have likely just messed it up.
"Hard to say without looking. I suppose we'll have to."
"Libraries or study rooms," Sun answered. "Temples were often for more than just worship, and those who lived here would have been busy interpreting texts or making records for the people."
"Would those libraries have information on Salem?"
"Not the ones open to the public, but there are bound to be some restricted ones. Hard to say what they would and wouldn't have, though."
"Either way, it's not a risk we can take," Blake decided. "We'll have to go down."
We'd barely set foot on the staircase when the temple itself seemed to shake once more. There was a mighty groan, followed by a roar – an actual, bestial roar. There was something down there, still a fair way away, and by the sound of it, incredibly angry.
"Sun, you said these ruins can act as Dungeons, right?" Blake asked.
"Yeah."
"So, they're normally filled with Grimm?"
"Normally, yes." Sun's eyes widened. "And we've seen none…"
"Which means we're on the right track," Ruby realised, "Because Roman, Neo and Watts are killing them all ahead of us. But if this is an actual Dungeon…"
"Then that roar might be the Boss of the Dungeon," Blake finished.
And Watts was already on it. Shit. I was the first to leap down the staircase, clearing a good twenty steps or so – but the others were fast behind. Blake surfed down the railing, overtaking me, and rolled on the floor as she hit the bottom. Pyrrha was a second behind and charged ahead with her torch in one hand, sword in the other.
Another roar – this one in obvious pain. Watts was too high level for this place; he was tearing through it and would likely kill the boss soon. Apart from that meaning he would win whatever loot was here, which we needed for the Festival of Peace, it would also mean that there would be nothing else to distract them from summoning Salem.
I pushed myself to run just a little faster.
Another staircase ahead, this one set into a stone alcove with some tapestries on either side. It spiralled down, and I took it as quickly as possible, almost tripping. A frustrated growl escaped me on the other end as another empty corridor lay before us.
Below, the beast roared again. How far down was this bloody thing, and how had Watts and his group managed to make it through so quickly? We hadn't been that far behind them.
We came to another staircase, and then a second, descending two more floors in quick succession. On the next, there was a mighty crash from just below, and the entire temple building shook. There were no more roars, no more sounds.
Suddenly, a gust of air shot through the tunnels, emanating from below. As it passed us, the unlit torches that lined the walls burst to life, dousing the room in a hearty golden glow. The wind continued behind us, lighting up every torch it passed.
"He's killed the boss," Yang gasped. "They're cleared the dungeon!"
"We have to-" Weiss' words were cut off by a high-pitched scream. This one was unmistakably different from the roars before, because it was human. A human had just been killed, and by the tone, brutally.
My eyes widened in horror. "Sacrifices."
"No!" Ruby snapped, already moving. We hurried after her. "How!? They didn't have anyone with them! We'd have seen if they did!"
"Portals?" Nora threw out the idea.
"They don't work that way," Weiss replied. "You can only create a portal to a location you know of explicitly, from its geographical position to how it looks. You need to understand the location. No one could do that for a Dungeon, let alone a temple some thousand-years old. Neither a Paladin, Thief or Illusionist could open one out, either. It's impossible."
Another scream proved the hole in Weiss' theory, and it was followed by several more cries of pain and fear, more than two. This wasn't Roman or Neo being killed.
A cloying feeling washed over me. It was like a sudden punch in the gut to me – one that filled me with nausea and made me want to be sick. I staggered and only just managed to catch myself on the wall.
Blake paused. "Jaune? What's wrong?"
"C-Can't you feel that?" I rasped, fighting past the bile in my throat. "I-It's so heavy…"
"I don't feel anything," she replied. Blake looked back, but the others shook their heads, some more impatiently than others. "Are you sure you don't just have cold feet? We need to keep goin-" She was cut off as I wretched and threw up on the floor. Blake hopped back in alarm. "Jaune!"
The amulet on my chest was burning. It was burning cold, threatening to cut a hole in me with its icy grip. Another wave of nausea hit me, and I stared ahead, wide eyed.
"She's here."
"What?"
"Salem," I rasped, recognising the feeling. "She's here."
"Shit," Yang cursed.
Ruby grabbed my arm. "Can you move?"
"Y-Yes." It was hard at first, but I managed to get the feeling under control. It was like the first time we'd been faced with Salem in Atlas, and again I felt the urge to curl up into a ball and not move. I wasn't sure why I felt it so early, however, or why no one else did. "I'll be okay," I said, forcing myself through it. "I… I'll be fine."
"Jaune, your eyes…"
My…? I clapped a hand to my face. Though it didn't let me see my own head, I could see the pale blue reflection on the palm of my hand. My eyes were glowing. Again. I still didn't know why. I ignored it either way and staggered up with Ruby's aid, waving a hand weakly for the others.
"Keep going. I'll be okay."
I wasn't sure if they believed me or not, but there was no time for anyone to hold back. We descended the final staircase and came out into a much wider room with a great wooden door before us, it being smashed off its hinges and now laid on its side. What lay beyond was a wide, low-roofed tunnel, almost like a sideways oval, and in the distance, further down it, pinpricks of light and movement.
There was a sudden flash from down it, followed by a muffled explosion of air and wind that pushed past us. The torches on the wall turned a sickly green. The amulet I wore was so cold I could feel my skin burning. I had to reach in and lift it off just enough for it to rest on top of my breastplate, and even then, there was a whisper of cold air as the freezing cold amulet froze the metal.
"We're too late," Ruby whispered.
"No. Salem always betrays her summoners," Ren said. "It is no accident we've managed to defeat each of them only after they have summoned her."
Yes, but we'd always had help for those occasions. Kaedin, Viktor and Penny in Atlas, and Qrow in Mistral. This would be the first time we had to face her and a summoner without assistance. Cinder might be en route, but she would be a day out. We couldn't hope to hold that long. This fight would be just us and them.
And Watts was a frightening high level.
We made our way hurriedly down the tunnel, hoping against all hope to catch them before a wish could be made. We passed Roman and Neo on the way, unconscious at the side of the tunnel and bleeding from a number of small wounds. They must have been forced against the boss and injured in the melee. They'd have been exhausted from our fight before. Further ahead, I could see a single figure standing before a bright white light.
I could also see the bodies, and the rivers of blood that spilled across the tiled floor. Twenty, perhaps thirty people, all slaughtered. And beyond that still, a dark figure vanishing into a swirling red mist. It winked out of existence, vanishing and leaving behind Watts, the bright light – and her.
Salem.
Everyone gasped as her presence hit them, causing them to trip and stagger for a moment, Ruby even falling to hands and knees before she tried to move, barely able to force herself up onto one knee. Blake was the best of them, high enough level to have some defence, though even then she moved with incredible difficulty, twin daggers pointed to the floor like they weighed a tonne or more each.
I was fine. I'd weathered the storm in the corridor before, and though the sight of Salem sent a thrill of fear through me, it did not weigh me down. I stared up at her defiantly, and scowled when she met my eyes, an amused tint in them.
Watts turned with a snarl of his own, reaching for the sword on his back – but paused when Salem took a step forward, moving in between him and us. She walked as though she were on solid ground, and yet her feet hovered a foot above the ground. Despite that, the ground beneath her scarred and smoked with every step. Her bright red eyes spanned over each of us in turn, before they came to rest on me once more.
"Such familiar faces. It is the third time I have witnessed you all now, and the first time any being has had the pleasure to lay eyes on me thrice. How fare you, Deceiver?"
"We're here to stop Arthur Watts," I said, ignoring her question. "Stand aside, Salem."
The monster chuckled in honest amusement. "And the first in which one has ever dared speak to me in such a fashion. You do so amuse me, Deceiver. Tell me, how is it you stand before me when all else kneel?"
I was about to ask what she meant when the clatter of Blake's weapons striking the ground echoed through the hall. She was on her knees, hands flat on the ground beside her. The Assassin's eyes burned with anger as she glared at Salem. Behind her, Ruby had lost the battle too and was on hands and knees, fighting not to lay flat on the ground.
"Such devotion pleases me." Salem took a step toward Blake and Ruby but floated back when I cut down in front of her. She frowned at me. "And yet you stand still. You do not supplicate. Odd. You did before, Deceiver. Though even then you were mouthier than most. I found it amusing once, but familiarity breeds contempt, and you and I have become rather familiar."
"Maybe you just don't frighten me anymore," I bluffed. I tried to see past her, to Watts. He was no longer watching us, instead focused on the burning white light beyond both he and Salem. Had his wish been granted? Was he waiting for it?
If there was a chance it could still be broken, I had to take it.
"I wonder if it is this," Salem whispered, and all of a sudden she was before me, one finger reaching out to touch the amulet that lay outside my armour. "You carry a piece of me with you, Deceiver. Has being with it for so long granted you some ability to resist my influence? Have you become inured to its effects?"
"It's effects…?"
"Why yes. Did you believe such a gift would come without?"
"Gift…? What do you…?" I shook my head. "You're trying to confuse me. I'm not going to fall for it." I hefted Crocea Mors once more to drive her back, but she caught it in one hand, gently pushing it away, even as her other reached to my shoulder, under my armpit, and drew me closer to her, close enough for her to whisper into my ear.
"A mortal should beware the words they whisper late at night, especially when there are those who might be listening. How many times did you wish to become a Hero? How many times did you despair at your impossible dream? Did you think no one would listen, child, or that no one would care? I care," she crooned, almost softly. "I have ever cared for those who long for more. I was there for you, Deceiver. Even if you did not realise it."
My body trembled. Terror ran through me.
"N-No. You're lying…"
"Did you think such a relic might be found so casually, Deceiver? How arrogant. Or is it that you refused to believe, that you refused to consider the possibility? Whatever the case, it seems you continue to amuse me. That is fortunate for you, as I do so often become bored of my little projects."
Impossible. It was impossible.
Salem's breath, cold as ice, washed across my ear as she leaned in to breathe the words directly into my soul.
"We have a contract. You and I."
My strength left me, and I collapsed to my knees. Not through the power of her aura, but from shock, terror and disbelief. I… I'd made a wish on Salem? All of this, everything I'd achieved, was but a result of that?
Ren's words, that Salem betrayed her summoners in time, they flashed through my mind, along with the way she had treat me, as though I were a curiosity and an amusement. Deceiver, indeed. Shed always known. She'd played with me.
"Ah, that is better. Yours was not so uncommon a wish, boy. That amulet has served three masters before you – and all have been brought to their end by it. That you have survived marks you as special."
An amulet that would change how your class would look but granted you no strength or benefits. Just like how I'd faced odds that nearly killed me, so too must the previous owners. Except that they probably hadn't been granted the lucky break of Blake saving me, of Pyrrha helping me, of Ruby's friendship and all the training and assistance that came with it.
Salem hadn't killed the previous owners like she had Merlot and Tyrian, and likely hadn't killed me for the same reason. Why would she? The agony of realising that you couldn't change your own fate and were now going to die for it was probably entertainment enough. She'd wanted me to die like the others had, crushed under the realisation that my dream was hopeless.
"Jaune!" Blake cried. She couldn't hear what Salem had whispered to me, but her voice was angry nonetheless. "Don't listen to her! Whatever she is saying, she's lying to you! You're stronger than that! You're stronger than her!"
"Is that so?" Salem asked, louder this time, so that Blake could hear her.
"Yes," the Assassin spat. "You're nothing but a demon and a liar. You betray everyone."
"I did not expect that I would be judged by one such as you, my dear. Tell me, what would one such as you know of betrayal? One that would carry the title of kinslayer."
Blake gasped. Her eyes grew wide, terrified.
"I… I…"
"Oh yes, I can smell the pain on you, child. Who was it that you-"
"RARGHH!" I slashed into Salem's back with all my might. There was a mighty crash when my sword struck, followed by an angry shriek and a flash of white light. The sword in my hand exploded, showering me with shards even as the force lifted me up and tossed me aside. I slammed into the ground and rolled away.
When I looked back, Salem was furious.
"You dare!? A worm will remain a worm. Dust will remain dust. I have destroyed entire kingdoms and shall do so again." Her breath caught, and she drew back, face settling back into something calmer, if not entirely so. Her lips peeled back as she snarled at me. "Consider yourself blessed, Deceiver. Thrice have you seen my face, and now you have the dubious honour of being the only one to have ever harmed me." She revealed her arm, to which the only damage was a line of white light, barely an inch long. It was so small a wound I could barely breathe. It also cost me Crocea Mors. "If only a little," she chuckled. "It might take me an entire day to heal this paltry cut. Now, in exchange for it, how shall I best hurt thee?"
I staggered back up.
"The one you love?" Salem asked, reaching down to cup Blake's chin. The Assassin could barely see anything. Her eyes were still wide, and to my shock she was crying. "Or should I go for something a little more interesting? How about the one that loves you? The one that trusts you?" She turned and took a step towards Ruby.
"Stop," I rasped
"Or I could look for the one you left behind, the one that adores and respects you. What if I told little Ellayne she must die for the sins you have committed? Do you think she would curse your name as I tear out her soul?"
"Stop it!"
"Or your sisters, perhaps. That would be interesting."
An explosion of white light erupted from behind her. It hurled me from my feet again, but this time it wasn't Salem, and the light seemed to surprise even her. She turned away from Blake and looked back to Watts, who had even now begun to laugh in absolute joy.
"Or perhaps I shall allow things to progress from here," Salem said, rising into the air. "Amuse me more. Play your games, Deceiver. Dance as that which you are not and never will be. Let us see how far your determination goes."
"YES!" Watts screamed, voice euphoric, filled with more emotion than I'd ever heard in him before. "It worked. My wish, the research – without consequence, without compromise. A foolproof pact that now even Salem herself can twist!"
The Paladin laughed again, almost bending in two from sheer joy and relief.
Had he really managed it, a wish that Salem could not twist? Was that the goal of the Greycloaks? To find a way to make a wish without it turning on them?
Watts walked back towards us, under and past Salem. His face was split in a wide smile, his moustache quivering with happiness. Where before he had looked at us with such disdain, now he smiled like a father might to some naughty children.
"It's good that you're here. I'm pleased. I would hate to not have a chance to celebrate, to embrace what we once had."
A wave of pressure pulled away from us. Everyone else was suddenly able to stand, reaching for their weapons and taking up defensive stances. I spared a glance for Salem, who stood in the air with arms crossed, watching our display. It was clear she didn't intend to interfere. Like Tyrian, she would let her summoner face us.
Swallowing my fear, I drew out a small knife I carried. It was all I had now. "Arthur Watts, we're here to bring you back to Vale," I intoned. "Give up now and we won't have to kill you."
He laughed again. "Do you think you can, Hero?"
"You're only one person, Watts," Weiss shouted. "High level or not, you can't beat all nine of us."
Watts buckled in two as he laughed, slamming his sword down to support himself. There was something more here, obviously, otherwise he wouldn't have been so delighted. He didn't look any different, though. The sword was the same as earlier, the lack of armour from the desert. If anything, he had a few more bruises and cuts from the fight against the Elder Grimm he must have slew.
But there was something behind him. Some figure that seemed to shine with white light. It stepped forward and coalesced into a human shape. It was a woman, tall and lithe, undeniably beautiful. She gripped a long, thin stave in one hand, and her flowing dress seemed to shine with a light of its own. Her features were clear and perfect, her eyes the palest blue I'd ever seen, her lips parted, her hair a crystalline white that fell in gentle waves behind her.
The resemblance was undeniable, even before Weiss let out a long, choked sob.
"M-Mother…?"
The woman smiled sadly. Oh, so sadly.
"I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm so sorry…"
"It's time!" Watts roared, drawing his sword from the tiles. "She has come back. She is mine again, as things were. As they were supposed to be before he interfered! Before he ruined everything and took her away from me!"
He swept his sword before him, and the Mage stepped behind, raising her staff high. Bright light washed over Watts, imbuing him with strength, surrounding him with mist. His sword caught fire, burning with arcane light.
Not one high-level Hero, but two – and two that had decades of experience fighting as a team. I fell back, but came to a stop before Weiss, who didn't have the sense to move. She stared at her mother with tears in her eyes.
"Now, come," Watts laughed. "Let us see how you fare against a Sentinel and his Mage!"
See? Nothing important this chapter. Much filler. Very wow.
Next Chapter: 6th August
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
