12/26 Ethereal Moon
"This place looks emptier than usual. I wonder if they are still hanging out or enjoying the aftermath of the night" Byleth thought as he was heading to the main hall when he was stopped by Alois, which had a worried expression on his face.
"Byleth, I was just searching for you! Have you seen Jeralt?"
"My father? No, the last time I´ve seen him was last night when he left accompanied by you. Has something happened?" It was unusual to see Alois so worried so he sensed that something important must have happened.
"Then I will have to count with just you. Some students were still missing since last night. At first I thought that it was just business as usual since it hasn´t been the first time that students "got lost" with all the celebrations, but a patrol spotted a group of students heading to the old chapel. Some of the soldiers tried to get in contact with the students when suddenly a monster appeared. We have to hurry up if we want to save them!"
"A monster appeared?" asked a familiar voice behind him. Jeralt was wearing his usual clothes, although the look of his face was serious.
"That is what I was told"
"How could a monster appear in the same area where the students were? There aren´t any reports of sights of monsters in the grounds of the monastery since two months ago. Could it be that the students and the monsters are…Now we don´t have time to waste in this chattering" he then looked at him. "Tell your students, we have to hurry up. With good mounts we will arrive in no time, but time is against us. Alois, go and inform Seteth and Rhea, we might need reinforcements. You know where we will be"
"No problem, Jeralt. Leave it to me"
"Understood father"
He rushed to the dormitories of the students, knocking the doors of all of them.
"Professor, what is going on?" asked a confused Caspar as he left his room.
"Monsters have appeared near the monastery. Some students appeared to be trapped with them. We have to hurry up and save them" he then looked to Edelgard, which has just left her room. "Make sure that everyone is prepared for the incoming battle. My father will provide the mounts. 5 minutes and we will leave"
"Understood. You have heard him. We have to hurry up!" Edelgard said looking to the rest of the students. Understanding that the situation was urgent they diligently appeared in the main entrance of the monastery with their battle equipment in no time.
"Sorry for ruining the aftermath, but I will pay to all of you a worthy meal after we save everyone. What a day to have a problem like this" his father sighed as he leaded him to the path to the old chapel. "Monsters appearing so close to the monastery? I don´t have a good feeling about this"
"How could they suddenly appear there? You were just patrolling the area a few days ago"
"It is certainly a fishy matter. Students going to an abandoned place without a proper reason, monsters appearing from nowhere. Coincidence? I don´t think so"
"If we don´t go faster they will get killed" He didn´t know the identity of the students in trouble, but he would do everything he could to avoid ending the day with a new tragedy. "This might be related to the events of the last months. They might have acted again"
"In that case we will stop them, let´s see if we get one of those bastards if we catch them" Jeralt said with a reassuring smile, although his expression darkened as he thought about something. "I´m sorry son"
"Sorry for what? You have done nothing to me"
"I´ve lied to you for a long time about you to protect you, but I think that you deserve a proper explanation. After we save the day come to my room to have a long talk and after that if you want to punch my face I won´t mind"
He wasn´t completely certain about he was talking about, although his evasive answers when he talked with him months ago came to his mind. "Even if you have lied to me I know that it was for a good purpose. We will talk later then, but instead of punching your face let´s share a cup of your favorite beer" he said smiling.
"That smile of yours, it is certainly a treasure" Jeralt laughed. "Thank you, we will talk after saving everyone" he said as he prepared his lance, the sight of the abandoned chapel already at sight.
"Battle formation! Check your surroundings. We don´t know their numbers"
"That doesn´t sound very encouraging, but I will do my part of the job" Linhardt said as he checked his surroundings, his white magic tomes already prepared.
They were already preparing their battle formation when they suddenly heard a roar coming from the small forest surrounding the chapel, a few moments later a gigantic beast appearing in front of them. The beast had on its face what it appeared to be a crest stone.
"The crest stone, it is somehow similar to the beast we killed in the ruins of Zanado, although the shape of the crest stone appears to be more regular as if a mold was employed to shape it" he thought as he looked at the monster.
"Some students appeared to have their paths blocked!" Jeralt shouted next to him. "Don´t let the beasts approach them. Catch their attention and kill them" he said as he threw a javelin to the beast which had just appeared in front of them.
"Edelgard, Ferdinand and Hubert to the left! Bernadetta, Dorothea, Caspar and Petra to the right! Linhardt and Flayn, stay in the middle and make sure to keep everyone save. The front is for me and my father!"
"Understood"
The beast was quickly approaching them, with its jaws wide opened, but it had two objectives and it missed the attack as it tried to hit them both. Changing to his main weapon, his father used his silver lance to pierce the beast´s hind legs as he used the Sword of the Creator to cut through the flesh of the chest.
The beast roared and tried to burn them with the flames it was pouring from its mouth, but their mounts were faster and they were able to avoid the retaliation. With a quick movement of his wrist he turned the Sword of the Creator into a whip piercing through one of the beast´s eyes, the beast roaring with a cry that it was almost human. Taking advantage from it his father used all the strength of his arm to make the lance he was holding pierce the throat of the beast in front of them. As he did so the beast stood up on its hind legs, but it couldn´t make any sounds before it collapsed to the ground. When they approached the corpse of the fallen beast it started to disintegrate leaving behind the corpse of one of the students in a deplorable state.
"What the hell? The students have turned into monsters. The crest stone they had on their faces must be related to this event…" his father´s words were interrupted when they heard the scream of one girl. "We have to hurry up, before they get killed by them!"
They quickly approach to the source of the scream. One of the demonic beasts had one of the students in its claws and was opening its jaws to devour her. They shouted to catch the attention of the beast, but it just ignored them as it closed its mouth, a stain of blood appearing around its jaws, the cries of the poor student suddenly stopped.
"Curse it! We were too far away!"
Using the powers of Sothis he turned back in time to the moment when the beast was starting to open the mouth. As it did so he used the Sword of the Creator as a whip biting the area of the stomach with it. The moment it felt the attack the beast focused on them as it released its grip from the student, who ran away to the place where Flayn and Linhardt were casting healing spells to keep the rest of the students save.
The beast was charging at them, the inner area of its throat a vivid red when a giant fire ball hit his mount from one of the sides, sending him to the ground as the horse he was riding panicked engulfed in fire.
"Careful son! There are two of them. I will take care of the one in front of me! Keep the attention of the other one"
The beast to his right was preparing another giant fireball, but this time was alerted and could avoid it. As he approached the beast avoiding its attacks he used the trees near the beast to climb the back of the monster. As he did so the demonic beast tried to get rid of him smashing the ground with its back, but he jumped to its face stabbing one of the beast´s eyes as retaliation. "I´m sorry, but I cannot allow you to cause any harm" he thought as he did the same to the other eye, leaving the beast greatly injured and blind. The beast tried to hit him with its claws, but his movements were clumsy and it couldn´t counterattack properly the attacks of his sword, the poor soul finally succumbing to its wounds.
….
"Come over here! Leave while we fight against the monster!" she shouted to the student who was about to get quarreled by one of the demonic beasts. When one of the spells from Hubert impacted on the beast´s flesh it lost the interest on its prey as it focused on its new adversaries.
"How beasts like this can appear so close to the monastery" Ferdinand said as he avoided one of the physical attacks aimed at him.
"We will have to find about it later, Ferdinand. For now we have to make sure that there aren´t any casualties among the students" she said as she released a potent blow to one of the beast´s limbs, cutting through armored skin, muscle and bone. With an unnatural roar the beast tried to set fire to the area surrounding it, but it was stopped by a potent spell from Hubert.
"That crest on its face…it is highly unnatural" she thought. The structure of the crest stone on the beast´s face was extremely symmetrical, but it appeared to have been built using different materials. "This must be the final objective of their investigations" she thought. "Monica must still be here in that case. I will make sure to end her miserable life here and now" she thought as she released a critical hit to the beast´s head, crushing it to the ground and stopping its moves. As the beast died it dissolved, the corpse of one of the students of the lower levels appearing instead.
"A student? How can something like this happen? This can´t be true" asked a shocked Ferdinand.
"This is not the moment to question the origin of these beasts, we have to make sure to save as many students as we can" Hubert said as he looked to one of the students that was running from a pair of beasts. As she looked to her surroundings she could see that Petra´s group was advancing in the opposite direction, although there were still many students that needed to be saved.
"With me!" she shouted as she approached the two new beasts.
….
"Are you ok Father?" he asked as he applied some healing magic in one of his arms.
"Don´t worry it´s just a scratch" he said as he picked his lance again. "We have been lucky, but there is still a pair of beasts over there, we have to make sure to get rid of them too" he said as he prepared to fight again. He had been forced to use most of his divine pulses to make sure that some of the defenseless students could survive before they could arrive, although the situation was getting better as the number of beasts started to reduce. His students were approaching them as they defeated the beasts on their way.
"How many monsters have we already got rid of? This is so troublesome. Be careful with the divine pulses that you still have. Remember that my power isn´t limitless"
"Don´t worry, I know it" he said as he released another hit to one of the beasts standing on its way. "Students turned into beasts" he thought as he continued fighting. It was obvious that the crest stones that he had seen on its faces had something to do with it. Could it be that the tragedy of Remire was the final stage to fulfill this situation? In that case he needed to make sure that they caught the responsible of it, alive. "I must know more about our enemy and their objectives"
"Careful son, this one is particularly big" Jeralt shouted as he avoided one attack of a beast remarkably bigger than its counterparts. Its skin appeared to be better armored than the monster they had fought so far, but they had to take it down if they wanted to save the remaining students. He was awaiting the incoming attack when a magical spell impacted into the beast´s face, spoiling its aim.
"Enough of this madness! Why something terrible like this has to happen?" Dorothea said, her face saddened as she charged another electric spell. "They are students, yet now they are beyond reasoning"
"Even it is a regretful event we have to push forward if we don´t want to worsen the bloodshed" Edelgard said as she attacked the lower half of the beast.
"Unforgivable. Those who had committed this atrocity deserve no mercy!" Ferdinand shouted as he charged toward one of the beast´s hind legs.
"Today´s menu won´t be students, only a bit more and everyone will be safe!" Casper shouted charging too.
With the support of his students they attacked the giant beast from different angles. Being overwhelmed by all their attacks the beast had no opportunity to counterattack and in a short while it was put out of its misery.
"You, over there, come here!" his father shouted waving his hand to the group of students they had just saved.
"Thanks for saving us!" said one of the students, his legs trembling out of control.
"What were you doing here? What had just happened here?"
"I can´t properly remember. All I can remember is that we entered the tower over there and then suddenly some of the students turned into…How could something like that happen? My friends…" said one of the students while crying.
"These students will need some help" Jeralt said with a worried expression on his face.
"Linhardt, Flayn, take care of them" Byleth ordered to his students. "The rest secure the perimeter, there aren´t any signs of beasts wandering around, but we have to be sure. I will go with my father to the old Chapel"
"Understood" his students said as they obeyed his orders, although Edelgard appeared to be more alert than the others.
"Keep your sword unsheathed. We don´t know if there is something lurking there" His father said as he got off his horse and carefully approached the abandoned tower.
There were signs of footprints that headed to the abandoned building, but none of them appeared to be from monsters. The gates of the building were wide opened so they didn´t have any problem to enter. The insides of the tower were completely silent, only the sound of their breaths could be heard.
"Look at the floor, son" Jeralt said examining the floor of the base of the tower. Some areas of it had been darkened as if a fire had been placed there. There were also strange symbols scattered around, one of which recalled his attention. "This eye… I´ve seen it before. This is of their doing, but for what purpose?" he thought as he looked to his surroundings, expecting to see the pale people appear around them, but nothing happened.
"This place appears to be completely empty, but that doesn´t mean that our enemies aren´t around. Signal this place to make sure that the forces of the Church know about our location. We will have to investigate everything that has happened here and interrogate the students to know what the hell is going on"
"Father, look at the marks of this are. I´ve seen these marks on the scythe that the Death Knight was wielding back in Remire. Hanneman has told me too that the scythe appeared to be produced by methods completely different to the ones we use to produce our current weapons"
"That means that the events that have happened are related to each other. If Solon is around here we have to make sure to trap him. Those bastards are definitely up to something. They are experimenting with us like we are just a bunch of defenseless animals" Jeralt said, his eyes filled with fury. "Let´s leave this place already. There aren´t any signs of students here"
….
"They must be near here, watching us" Edelgard thought as they walked around the area surrounding the old chapel.
"After all the fight this place has turned unnaturally silent. I don´t have a good feeling about this" Dorothea said as she worriedly looked to her surroundings. They have split their forces in two; Linhardt and Flayn were leading the students to safety and they were covered by Ferdinand, Caspar, Hubert and Bernadetta. The rest of their forces were with her, making sure that there weren´t any enemies around.
"I won´t let you be hunted, I will protect you with my life, Dorothea"
"Thank you Petra, but don´t sacrifice yourself, let´s survive, all of us"
"They must have created those crests" she thought, recalling the peculiar forms they had. "But doing this in a place so close to the monastery…I need to trap her before she worsens the situation"
They were walking next to a group of bushes when she heard a faint cry. Rushing to the area, she could find one of the students from the lower levels, which appeared to have been stabbed in the stomach.
"Dorothea, please apply some healing magic on her. She is injured" she said as she examined her looking for more possible wounds, but she found nothing. The face of the student was pale but she recovered some color as Dorothea started to apply her healing magic.
"What has happened to you? These wounds are too small for the beasts we had been fighting until now"
"I was stabbed. I was running away from the old Chapel when some of the students started to transform into monsters, I took a different path and hid myself into these bushes. I thought I was going to be ok, until I was attacked"
"Who is responsible of such attack?"
"By Monica, I thought we were friends, but she didn´t appear to be her usual self. She was mumbling something about how they dare to ruin her fun. I was so scared…I pretend to lose consciousness in the hope she would leave me alone and after a while she left"
"Monica? I know she was a bit strange, but I didn´t expect something like that to happen" Dorothea said with a worried look on her face. "Edie, where are you going?"
"Take care of her. I need to return to the old Chapel" she said running as fast she could. Knowing her it was clear that the aim of her anger would be Byleth, since he was the one responsible of interfering with the plans of their kin.
…..
"At least we could save all the students that didn´t transform. No sign of those that are responsible of all of this, though" his father sighed as he looked to the sky.
"Wait a second!" said the voice of a girl coming from one of the bushes.
"Monica, what are you doing here?" His student was nowhere to be seen when they rallied the students to aid those who were trapped by the monsters.
"I don´t know why I´m here, but when I came to my senses some of the students turned into horrifying beasts" she said sobbing. "I was so scared"
"Don´t worry little girl" Jeralt said rubbing her hair.
"Byleth! Stop her before…" Edelgard was shouting as she approached them, but he couldn´t hear what she was saying as he watched horrified what had just happened. His father was on his knees, blood pouring from his mouth, stabbed from behind by Monica.
"You are such a nuisance. How you dare to spoil my little experiment here. You should know your place old man. The fact that you are dying of such a little wound means that you are monster too" she cruelly giggled as she looked at him. "I´m sorry Professor, but it seems that I have just killed your father. My hand moved on its own, I promise"
"No, this can´t be happening" he thought as he used the power of his divine pulse to turn back in time.
As Jeralt was patting Monica´s head he unsheathed the Sword of the Creator and released all its power as a whip, aiming to Monica´s head. The Sword was just about to hit her when a shield of magic appeared in front of him, repelling the attack. The author of the spell was a man wearing a black armor which contrasted with his pale skin and eyes, a pair of eyes that could only be considered unnatural.
"Thales, what are you doing here?"
"I would be a fool if I let the secrets of our kin to be revealed to our enemy. Your purpose is yet to be done" he said as he warped them away.
"NO,NO,NO! It can´t end like this!" he panicked as he approached his father. "I need to turn back in time again".
"You can´t do it, Byleth. There is a limit to this power, if you do it…" but he couldn´t hear Sothis´s voice. His father, the person who had been his guide and pillar during his entire life was lying on the ground and he couldn´t do anything about it. "Even in that case, even if I have to pay for it, I need to, I need to do it!" he said as he forced the divine pulses to work again.
"NO!" Sothis cried, but there was no turning back. Feeling an increasing pressure on his chest he returned back to the moment when Monica appeared in front of them, pure ire clouding his mind. Charging all his vital energy into the sword he released an inhumane attack against her, although the mysterious man appeared in front of him again, casting his magic shield.
"I won´t let you get through this!" he shouted, giving even more energy to the Sword which shined as if the sun had descended upon them, the veins of his arms releasing a potent light as well.
"This power…ours will be the final victory fell star, doom of mankind. Kronya with me! There is no time left!" The mysterious man said, his expression full of hatred, but his magic shield was no obstacle to his fury. The sword torn through metal, flesh and bone as if it was butter, impaling the creature in front of him as a black mist covered them. As it disappeared only blood could be seen dropping from his sword, his weapon so incandescent that was painful to watch.
"Curse it, they escaped, but at least I got that one" he thought. Most part of his power has stroke down his foe as the lightning, even if he had survived the initial blow he was sure that he will die of his injuries.
"My son…" The weak song of his father damaged him more than the sharpest of blades.
"Father!" he said embracing him as he touched the area of the wound. Smoke was leaving the affected area and the blood had turned into pure black.
"I don´t think I will get through this"
"Don´t speak nonsense father. You will survive, I promise you!" using what he remained of his strength he channeled his vital energy into his father, even though the pain he was feeling inside his heart was achieving unbearable levels, but he was stopped by the gentle hands of his father.
"Byleth. I don´t want to die, but I couldn´t live in a world where you had to die in order to prolong my own life. It´s not worth it"
"But father, what will I do in this world without you? I will be clueless about what to do from now on. Please, don´t leave me!" the emotions he was experiencing were overthrowing him, the pain of his heart extending to his entire body.
"You are wrong about it son. I won´t be leaving you. I will be just here" he said touching the area of his heart.
"I wanted you to retire and spend the rest of your life enjoying the little things of life" he said as tears started to appear around his eyes.
"Tears" his father almost whispered. "The first time you cry and it is for me. I´m happy and sad at the same time. How strange. Take care of your kiddos; protect them as I did to you"
"Father, I will always love you"
His father said nothing but by the way he was smiling he knew that he had heard him as light finally left his eyes.
"I failed, even the use of all my power was useless against them…I´m clueless about what to do" he said as tears kept leaving his eyes. As he did so the first drops of rain started to fall as if the weather was sharing the same pain he was experiencing. The physical pain he was enduring was achieving inhumane levels as if his heart was pierced by several swords at the same time, although he felt a strange presence next to him.
…..
"Those disgusting creatures ran away again" she thought as the dark mist of their warping spell disappeared. "I should have been here earlier, I failed at stopping her" she thought as she rushed to Byleth´s place.
"My Teac…." her voice suddenly grew silent as she saw the extension of the tragedy that had happened. Jeralt´s light had already abandoned his eyes, a small pool of blackened blood extending around his body, but what really shocked her was Byleth. She had never seen him crying yet seeing him like that made her realize how damaged he was by the events that had just happened.
"I failed, even the use of all my power was useless against them…I´m clueless about what to do" he said, his eyes observing the body of his father.
"Byleth, I´m sorry I wasn´t able to come earlier. I wished I could, but…"
"This pain, I´ve never felt something like this. Is this the price to be normal? Why I heard nothing but my own voice? I must have failed you too"
"What are you talking about?" she said worried as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, the moment she saw his face those feelings turned into fear. The tears of Byleth had turned into blood; it was evident that he had sustained heavy injuries. "Byleth you need to have medical assistance as soon as possible. I don´t want you to die here!" she said as she tried to make him stand up again.
"I wished I could turn back in time once again, if I weren´t this weak…" he said coughing blood as she tried to make him keep walking.
"You aren´t weak, don´t blame yourself by the things that had just happened. I was the one that failed you, if I had arrived faster…" Byleth didn´t appear to be listening to him as if he was in a trance, but it was evident that he was greatly injured. "How much power has he used?" she was wondering as she suddenly heard a cry that made her blood freeze. As if he was pierced by an inhumane pain her Teacher cried touching the area of his heart as he collapsed to the ground.
"No! Stay with me!" she said in a panicked voice as she embraced his body. The rain that had just started a few minutes ago was menacing to turn into a storm, limiting her vision of the surroundings. "He needs help and now, if I knew healing spells…" Focusing her energy on her finger tips she aimed to the sky as she released a flame of a notable size to signal the place where they were in the hopes that someone could arrive.
"Lady Edelgard… I was….Is that the Professor?" Hubert said, freezing as he saw the unconscious Professor between her arms, luckily he was also accompanied by Linhardt and Flaynn.
"He needs help before it is too late"
"Leave it to us" Linhardt said as he placed his hands on his body as Flayn did the same, even Hubert which had a limited knowledge of healing magic did his best as he examined the Professor.
"We were searching for you" Alois said ridding a warhorse. "Byleth?! What had just happened?!" he shouted as he rushed to their position.
"Monica turned some of the students into beasts. The Professor tried to kill her, but he was stopped by another enemy as he tried to save Jeralt. He was able to injure one of them, but they escaped, but he was also injured and Jeralt…"
"No, that must be a joke. It can´t be real. How can Jeralt end his days like this…No, that is just absurd" Alois said in denial but looking at her he knew she was telling the truth. "We need to bring him back to the Monastery. Take my horse I will go to search Jeralt" he said as ran into the rain.
Placing Byleth´s body on the back of the horse Hubert lead the mount to the monastery as she made sure that Byleth didn´t fall. To their sides they were accompanied by Flayn and Linhardt, which continued to cast their healing magic, although by the look of their faces she knew that he needed a more powerful treatment.
"How did it end your little trip to the old Chapel? Wait… Is that the Professor? What happened?" Claude asked with a shocked expression on his face as she carried the unconscious Byleth to the infirmary.
"This is not the time to make questions, Claude. Please, tell everyone that can lend a hand to go to the infirmary"
"Understood" he said as he left the place running.
When they placed their body in the infirmary a group of people was already standing around him as the news of the events at the old Chapel extended through the monastery. Flayn, Linhardt and Manuela were applying their most potent healing spells as Manuela also applied potions of her own making on his body, her hands making sure that there weren´t any hidden injuries in his body.
"Leave way to Lady Rhea" Seteth announced as the group of people inside the room created an aisle before her. She worriedly rushed to Byleth´s position and placed a hand on his forehead, as she did so a green light extending through his body.
"He is exhausted, but I don´t fear for his life" she said after applying the spell during a minute. "Thank you for bringing him here" she said looking at them. "However, how something like this could happen?" she asked, looking at them.
As she explained the events that had happened at the old Chapel her face grew darker and sadder when she heard about the death of Jeralt.
"My dear friend. I never thought that a day like that could happen so soon. My heartfelt thanks for bringing him here, but he needs to rest now" she then looked at Manuela. "Dear Manuela, when they bring Jeralt, tell me. This day of sorrow won´t be easily forgotten"
"Understood" she said nodding at her.
As she left the room behind her she couldn´t stop thinking about the events that had just happened. "I´ve proven to be useless regarding the control of their kin. I won´t forget the unforgivable crime they had just committed here" she thought as ire extended through her body.
"Edelgard" interrupted her thoughts Dimitri´s voice. "What had happened? The monastery is filled with rumors about the events that had happened at the old Chapel? Is it true that Jeralt has died?" Dimitri asked, accompanied by Claude.
"It is, he was killed by Monica"
"Monica? Isn´t she the girl we saved from the Death Knight a few months ago? And now Teach´s father is dead because of her. We should have let her rot under the ground"
"The damage is already done. The only thing we can do is to reduce it to the minimum. Were the perpetrators of such an unforgivable crime killed?"
"Regrettably not"
"In that case that should be the first thing we should be doing. Retribution for the crimes they have committed against the ones we hold dear. First Remire and then this. Such irrational beings deserve no compassion" Dimitri said, his blue eyes darkened by shadows.
"We have to keep an eye on the Flame Emperor too. We don´t know when they could strike again"
She simply nodded to what they were saying, her only hope was that the suffering of her Teacher wasn´t in vain.
….
"This injury. The energy emanating from it isn´t from this world"
"This is not the time to investigate about it, you have to help me, Solon" he said as he felt as the pain of his injury was extending through all his body. Using his powerful magic he had warped to a save place and from there Solon had brought him back to their base.
"No matter the healing magic that I cast into the wound, it reopens again" Solon said as he casted another potent spell, closing the wound, but as soon as he stopped casting the healing magic the wound reopened again as if nothing had happened. "We will need to use our entire technology to make sure that you survive, Master Thales. Was it wise to make such a move? A few more centimeters and you won´t be here anymore. This injury is truly evil; it appears to have a conscience of its own"
"The other option was to let them know the inner secrets of our body. That would have been a worse outcome. The moment they would open her body they would have realized the menace we are against their rule. I was a fool to entrust her with such responsibility. I didn´t expect her to overcommit like that"
"Kronya has always been a loose end and her attack against Jeralt and the Fell star was highly unexpected, but we can take some profit from the current turbulent times. One of the most powerful warriors of our enemy is no more. If we are able to get rid of the Fell star then the balance of power will be on our side. And I have the feeling that Kronya will come handy when that time comes"
"I hope so, but for now I will need time to recover from my wounds. How much time do I need to stay like this?" he asked as he entered the capsule that was prepared for him.
"Using ordinary methods I am afraid that will take years to recover from such damage"
"Years? I can´t afford to lose so much time, even if my life is at risk. Mutations are already happening within the host body. In no time he will lose his sanity or worse, the Fell Star will take hold of his body" he said, although the pain he was feeling twisted his face as he did so.
"Using all the power of our technology and base we can considerable reduce the period of time needed for your recovery, but you will need to cease your interventions for several weeks at least and you won´t be able to use the full strength of your powers until we get rid of the poison biting your flesh"
"Understood, I´m on your hands…for now" he said as the chamber prepared for him closed, exhaustion finally taking control of his whole body.
"Don´t worry Master Thales, I will make sure that your strength is fully recovered when it is required, until then leave the revenge against the fell star to me" Solon said, looking at him with a sinister smile.
"Fell Star, this won´t be the last time that our paths cross. I promise you that I will land the killing blow on your kin. Your rule must come to an end. For all the unnecessary suffering that you have caused to this world, for your self-righteous hypocrisy that made this world bleed" he thought as tiredness covered him.
….
"What has happened to the world?" he thought as he walked through a land scorched by flames. The land around him was completely destroyed and he could only see in the distance explosions of an intense light.
"My head, it hurts" he thought as he witnessed the unnatural environment around him. As he did so the land started to tremble as if the land itself was starting to move on its own. As it started to move he could see a dark wall approaching him. When he realized that it was a wall of water of a colossal size it was too late as he was drawn away by it, only desperation left in his heart as he was drag away by the dark waters, the explosions of light from the distant lands the only thing he could see from the darkness of the waters that were trapping him.
"You are weak"
"What?" he weakly asked as he opened his eyes again, the apocalyptic surroundings nowhere to be seen.
"You are weak"
Looking at the source of the voice his eyes stopped at the stone throne he had got used to see, but Sothis wasn´t there. Instead of her an old man was sitting on the stone throne, his amber eyes looking at him genuinely interested.
"I´ve waited a long time to talk with you"
"You can´t be real, you died one thousand years ago"
"If I´m not real why are we talking, unless you are telling me that you are mad" Nemesis laughed as he approached him. "If I´m here there must be a purpose behind it, don´t you think?"
He was certain that he wasn´t real, but even now he could feel an unbearable pain inside him. "Could it be that in just mad?" he wondered as he looked to the man standing in front of him.
"What do you want?"
"As I was saying you are too weak, you aren´t using your strength to its full length"
"I did everything I could to save them"
"Everything you could do wasn´t enough, if you were powerful enough you could have been able to save everyone. You have the tools and qualities to achieve those things yet you are too scared to use your inner strength to its fullest"
"My father…"
"He is dead because you couldn´t save him and there is no turning around it, but I can offer you something different"
"What do you mean?"
"Retribution" Nemesis said with a sinister smile. "Accept your strength and avenge your father, a warrior´s honor is to avenge those who die to his side, unless you are a coward"
"I´m not a coward" he said, feeling an inch of ire as he looked at him. "But they ran away. They escaped and I don´t know where they are"
"They couldn´t have run away too far from the place where you faced them. They must be still around here, lurking in the shadows"
"Shadows..." he thought. During all these months strange events had happened within the grounds of the monastery. Shadows lurking in the depths, waiting for a chance to strike again…
"You seen to get it, this monastery is filled with rats, rats that deserve to be eradicated. However, in order to achieve that you need to use your powers to its maximum strength"
"I don´t trust you, I don´t even know if you are real" he said with a defiant look, although the pain he was feeling partially twisted his face.
"Illusion or not I´m just giving you council" he laughed. "Are you going to be indulging yourself by self pity until they kill someone else? If you are truly a warrior, be truth to your oaths, after all no one can return from the dead" he said as he walked away from him, mist starting to appear. He tried to catch him, but the pain he was feeling made him open his eyes.
"Where am I?" he thought as he looked at his surroundings, the place completely dark. As he got up his vision darkened but he continued, nevertheless. As he got used to the dark around him he realized he had been carried to the infirmary. Looking through the window he saw that most of the monastery was already surrounded by shadows, the light sound of the rain the only thing he could clearly hear.
A faint light caught his attention. As he approached the source of that light he realized it was the Sword of the Creator. "Even with the power of the sword I miserably failed" he lamented. As he recalled the events of that day the bells of the cathedral started to ring. Alerted by the song he thought they were under attack until he realized that they were playing a solemn hymn.
"The bells are ringing for my father" he realized as the sound pierced through his head, sending echoes through his body as physical pain and sorrow turned into one within his body. The rain and the bells made it look like the world was also crying for his death, but no matter how much he cried he knew that he was gone to a place where he couldn´t reach for him.
"I was so weak, but I won´t fail again, I promise" he said as he picked the Sword of the Creator once again. The sword reacted to the contact of his hand releasing small sparks from its body. Closing his eyes he retook part of the energy he had channeled into the sword and as he did so the pain was numbed, but not eradicated. "They must be still around here, lurking in the shadows. I won´t back down" he promised as he climbed to the window and jumped to the dark under him.
Now the DLC part shall begin. It will be darker, at least the final part is going to be, but don´t worry I won´t be unnecessarily cruel.
Also those in the States (well everyone in general), be safe!
In memory of Manchita. 15 years of undeserved loyalty.