The Darkened Sanctum

IX: "Wisdom Sleeps Deep…"

"Lin…? Did you…?"

"…No." She sighed, walking besides Ryu and Nina, with Cheryl over her shoulder, "I… put a hole in his foot, that's all. He'll just have something to think about for a while. But… if I had we'd have even more people chasing after us, so I held back."

Nina let out a sigh, then looked ahead- at least, now, she knew she'd NEVER come back to this foul place. Trying to keep Cheryl out of her vision, the young girl tried to also keep all related thoughts out of her mind. It was the same: the same table, the same man, the same procedure. At least the girl didn't get her vocal chords severed like Nina had; vivid memories of sitting upright on that table, those hands reaching down her throat and- "AH!"

"Nina?" Ryu found her to be clinging close, burying her face against his side, trembling. "Are you okay?"

She nodded a bit, still clinging.

"…I just can't imagine." He let out a sigh, getting down to his knees and hugging her. His head was still in pain; his thoughts only loosely connected.

"…What are we going to do with her?"

"Huh?" He looked up at Lin, figuring out she was referring to Cheryl, "…Proper burial… I would prefer that at least… better than leaving her here to be cut open again."

"I wonder who she was…" Lin sighed, moving the cold body a bit in order to keep it properly held, "I think they just swiped her from somewhere. Carting her about like some lab rat, those sick bastards…"

"…" Ryu stood up, letting go of Nina, staring at the girl. He tried to think; she had orange hair. Who was it again he was looking for with orange hair? Through the mists of pain, thoughts began to connect and formed into a name: "Cheryl!"

"What?"

"Cheryl! T… The faeries' girl!"

"Cheryl 1/286… No longer does she live, Elyon. You can focus on your main task now, mmm?"

"She isn't dead," Elyon glanced back at Hortensia, the woman standing in the doorway to the council room, "Her body may no longer live but her soul is still alive."

"You're obsessed with a thought and a dream," The woman had a stern look on, eyes closed, "You will never see the original Cheryl revive, Elyon. She tore herself apart when she linked with Chetyre; the child, though alike in name and number, will never be like that woman you seek. It is unhealthy for you to obsess over it; nobody, not even a god lives twice."

"…Living is easy with your eyes closed, misunderstanding all there is to see, Hortensia."

"Are you suggesting that, though I can no longer see with my eyes that I do not understand that which is around me? Or perhaps are you suggesting that since you are older than I am you're automatically correct?"

"…"

"Let it go. For now, our concern should be that dragon… we should hold another meeting. This has fallen from mortal hands and needs to be dealt with in another matter. What will happen when they come across Vyzhit…?"

Elyon let out a sigh…

"…the last one who saw the Sky?" Hortensia continued, her rich voice filling the room, "Oh… now I see… you refer to the sleeping dragon; her heart has stopped but only until she awakes. Are you suggesting…?"

"No. The girl's body wouldn't handle it."

"Then don't worry about it." Hortensia smirked; she knew better. Elyon would somehow meddle with things, but there wasn't a thing she could do to stop him. "Now, let us hold another meeting and discuss what to do with our current dragon problem, mmm?"

"…Round everyone up. I'll be waiting."

"As you wish…" She turned and walked out of the room, shoes hitting lightly against the marble floors, "…As you wish."

"…You're not good at hiding things," Elyon spoke after Hortensia had left, "But neither am I… But I musn't meddle in this again, for this whole mess was my fault to begin with… wasn't it?"

"Well… I suppose she belongs to them then…?" Lin continued through a hall, keeping close to the party.

"…It seems like… that's where she would want to be, don't you think? I mean… that picture… all she wanted was to have the sky for her and her friends." Ryu stared at the floor as they continued, silently contemplating things, "All she wanted…"

"Was to be known by her name. I'm sure almost everyone with half the sense living in this place wants to be known by a name instead of a godforsaken number." Lin added, under her breath, "I sure did."

"What is your number?"

"I'm not telling you!" Lin's nose went straight into the air as she continued; "You'll turn me in and perhaps get the rest of my family when you're at it, punk!"

"Lin, I'll never GET the chance to!" He came to a halt; not realizing his hand was tightening around Nina's, "None of us will! Our faces have probably already been seen by every eye in the Shelter- we can't ever go back!"

"So we'll just have to move forward…" She smirked, continuing, "…And leave the numbers behind."

"…" Ryu sighed, then noticed Nina was tugging at his hand. "Oh! Sorry!"

She pulled her hand away and rubbed it a bit as they continued, and then took his arm instead. Nina watched Lin in the lead, focused on the woman's tail that so elegantly waved about in the air- for some reason, Nina just wanted to hug it to see if it was as fluffy as it looked. She didn't have the chance, though, as she stepped back a bit when a door opened, a cool blast of air rushing in.

"Woah…" Ryu looked through the door at the ice-coated walls, "Where…?"

"Frozen road. We head through here quickly and pop! One step closer to home for me. However, we'll have to go quickly or poor Nina will freeze off her tootsies."

Ryu glanced down at Nina who now looked worried after this statement. He suddenly picked her up, holding her securely, then walked in, "Not if she never touches the ice, right?"

"I suppose… Man…" Lin grumbled, then added, so quietly none could hear, "And I have to drag this dead body the entire way… Hmph. At least she won't decompose in here."

"Did you say something?"

"Nope, I'm coming." She pushed off the wall with a foot and glided across the ice past Ryu effortlessly, "Now I'm going!"

"Hey!" Ryu moved forward, then found his footing wasn't as sure as Lin's- stumbling a bit, he fought to keep Nina upright and wound up falling onto his rear end, Nina safely on top (though rather surprised). "Ugh…"

"Careful, buddy," Lin laughed, coming to a halt farther in the cavern, "The ice can be vicious if you don't respect it."

"Ha ha… very funny." He sat up, carefully taking Nina. Trying to get up again, he found it nearly impossible so he started to inch his way, his bottom getting very cold, over to Lin, who was laughing her tail off. "Quiet, you…"

"What an incompetent Ranger, squeaking along the ice caves on his tush," Lin laughed as she pulled him upright, "Better not get frostbite; having that stuff down there would be harsh!"

"Oh yeah? How do you stay upright in here?"

"Simple." She pushed off and glided about, twirling in a circle before scooting back, "Natural elegance."

"It's that tail of yours."

Nina nodded in agreement at this observation.

"It's not my fault you weren't blessed with a tail, mister pureblood human-man…" She teasingly pushed him, causing him to stumble but eventually regain his balance, "I'd give you one but I don't have any spares!"

"Well, let's TRY to get through here before I break something," Uneasily shuffling across the ice, Ryu grumbled, "How long is it?"

"Luckily, not very," Lin started skating in circles around Ryu to his great annoyance, all with extreme ease, "Good thing these shoes slide well on ice!"

"Cut it out!" Ryu frowned, staring down at his feet, focusing on not falling. He could see her pass by every single time she circled, though, and it really annoyed him, "God, do something useful like help me!"

"Okay!" She slid around behind him and suddenly started pushing him, causing him to panic a bit (as well as Nina who promptly hid her face against his shoulder) as he moved along. "Mass transit system- one way only, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times; please put your tray into the up position and enjoy your trip on Lin Railways."

"GAH! WATCH OUT FOR THE WALL!" He tried to skid to a halt and wound up falling onto his side, holding Nina up so she didn't get hurt. Lin tripped over him and wound up laughing, though Ryu wasn't too amused as she revived his headache by stepping on his head. "You suck at driving!"

Nina nodded several times, trying to keep her feet away from the cold ice. She even shook her finger at Lin, staring with a stern expression.

Lin continued to howl with laughter, slowly cuing the upset, weary, but amused Ryu to do the same. Nina just watched in confusion as both went into hysterics in the pile across the ice. Looking down, she noticed a faint crack in the ice was growing. "Ah!"

"W-what is it?" Ryu swallowed back some laughter, focusing on Nina.

"AH!" She pointed at the widening crack, but just a little too late. With a loud shatter, the ice gave in and all three wound up falling down a hole that was slick with ice and rocks. Startled beyond belief, Nina found herself on top of Ryu, Lin sliding down before them tail-first. Looking ahead, there was a rock, so with a sudden swing of her staff, Nina created a curve in the ice and they all swung around it. Coming to a halt on very thin ice stretched across charcoal-colored rock, the startled crew got upright. Cheryl's body was also down here as well, having been dropped with the initial collision; she had slid and come to a sharp halt before a rock, lying limply across the dark ice.

"Where are…" Lin had just brushed herself off and couldn't finish the sentence; she was gazing into the huge, ice-covered cavern at a giant beast. The body was covered in scratched, dull silver scales, a white mane drifting down around it. The massive creature had been pinned to the ground by huge and heavy chains, its wings torn and its neck rubbed raw by the entrapments. Its head, sporting great, downward-curved horns was resting against the ice, eyes closed. It did not breathe nor stir, suggesting it had been dead for quite a long time. "…Holy…fuck."

"…A… another dragon…" Ryu had gotten up, holding Nina close. She was frightened, but somehow, he was not. Moving closer, he found himself to be as tall as one of the graceful horns; stopping before the nose, he slowly extended a hand. As soon as his fingers touched the cold scales, the blue eyes shot open, startling him as he stumbled back.

Raising it's long neck and head up high, the chains shifted and fell across its neck but still hung heavy from its horns; it stared down at the frightened party, then grew a fanged smirk, "Well well, it's been many a moon since a human has touched my flesh. The last time they came I had to destroy them…"

Frightened out of his wits, Ryu drew his sword, "W-who are you?"

"Oh, put that thing down," A heavy claw suddenly came down on the blade, pinning it to the cavern floor, "I have no quarrel with you, for you do not come with intent to kill. Or do you… that fire in your eyes… you must be carrying the first one with you…"

"…" Staring up, Ryu slowly nodded, "Odjn."

"I pity you." The dragon spoke, hardly moving its mouth, with a rich and deep feminine voice, "Those who come down here usually know who I am and only wish to kill me forevermore; my memories are dangerous to this underground world. I am Vyzhit, a created weapon for you pathetic humans that used to live on the surface until you took away the skies. So, let me see…"

Her giant head came down close to Lin, startling the woman a bit, "A female, half-blooded Woren with mud-colorations, and…"

The head moved over, staring at Nina who was still in Ryu's arms, "Another female, child, with a curious, manmade attachment. She reminds me of those that used to freely dance across the skies; they were the first to fall to the poison, dropping like flies. Ah, but you brought another one…a deceased one…"

"Cheryl?" Ryu tried to scoot back to her before the dragon could reach out a wing and pull her over, but couldn't without falling. He watched helplessly as Vyzhit pulled the girl closer across the ice, "She… she needs to go to the faeries…"

"I know, I know, I'm not going to hurt the thing… not that it would matter. So, tell me, children… you are the ones reaching for the sky, no?" Vyzhit continued to stare down at the body as the others nodded, "So, Odjn, is this of his will or yours?"

Foul beast, how dare you inhabit this place!

Ryu suddenly winced, a sharp pain running through his head.

"You are more foul a creature to be taking up space in my presence."

We will destroy you!

"No… I don't want to…" Ryu winced painfully once more, sweat starting to roll off his forehead, "I don't…"

"There is no use in killing me anyhow, boy, I am as good as dead down here. I have starved for a thousand years, my last snack being that foul, one-eyed blonde man and those twins… foolishly sent by the Origin. But a few humans are meager rations; I am dying as we speak. By the time you are done insulting me, I'll have closed my eyes for the last time. Spare the boy the pain."

The pain slowly died away, Ryu relaxing a bit. He shifted Nina in his arms, letting out a sigh, "Sorry… I…"

"I don't care, child. I am ready to close my eyes and release my soul, so even if you did I would not care." Vyzhit kept a wing over Cheryl's body, almost as if holding a stuffed doll close, "However it is not fitting for me to die in these depths. For a creature that once knew the Sky, it is a disgusting thought to die in the dark, only to return to the dark."

"So… what… what happened, exactly?" Lin looked up, straining her neck, "Why are you down here?"

"During the great wars, I was meant to do nothing but destroy. I gave up this task because I was blessed with free will; I fled underground as the sky started to wane and the earth began to rot. But then they followed and sealed the entrance, trapping us underground forevermore. My eyes, weary, wish to see the colors my mind can barely remember once more, but it is of no use. I have no future. Then I suppose you are fool enough to climb to the heights and revive the heavens; that is not your intent. You will destroy the world as soon as you reach the blue… there is power within your title, child."

"I don't want to destroy the world!" Ryu looked up sorrowfully, "I just want to bring Nina to clean air…"

"You cannot avoid that which is destined to you, but you can rise to meet it. If you let it find you first, you will perish in the dark depths of this world forever. But if you find it, the world will belong to you children once more." Vyzhit closed her blue eyes, letting out a hot sigh, "This task is difficult… but not as much as it seems. Before my time is up, I suppose I should help those undertaking the massive task… So listen well, I will only speak this once before I become eternally silent."

The dragon sat up, the chains snapping, causing the party to back up. Rust and dried blood fell from the snapping metal, which all slid to the iced ground with a large amount of noise. Shaking out the snow from her mane, the dragoness sat up on her hind legs, wings folded neatly on either side of her painfully thin figure.

"I am the second smallest of the dragons inhabiting this underground labyrinth. The smallest one you've passed; Odjn, the deceased one who hangs as an effigy in the lower laboratories created by the humans. After me, the next is Dva; beware of him, for he sleeps in the deep and will awake with fury as soon as you step foot within his domain. He does not take kindly to other dragons, able to tear you asunder with a single blow. Finally, the black dragon Chetyre; his path seems to cross with yours in the future, but I focus not on this dream. You, child, this is your enemy; he is Odjn's rival, and though defeated by the smaller dragon, he continues to burn and writhe with hate in past his death. But there is one more; the Origin, the only living creature who knows I exist. He spared me from death for one mere moment, but only to let me waste away in this foul chamber. He may rise to stop you, but his power is limited for his heart rules his soul; still, do not take him lightly. Now… I ask you of a favor…"

"Uh… what?" Ryu stared up, slowly absorbing all he had just learned.

"Send me to the eternal sleep!"