12/27 Ethereal Moon
There wasn´t too much difference between day and night in the Abyss, the torches the only source of light. As she followed the leaders of the Abyss, she couldn´t avoid thinking about the strange tale she had heard last night. "A chalice capable of bringing back the dead? How can something like that exist in this world?" If something so powerful could exist it was obvious that there would be more records about it, yet apart from that strange tale everything remained in the shadows. "How did he know about it?" If a cardinal knew about that tale, the archbishop must know about it too.
"What are you thinking about, Edelgard?" Byleth asked her as they continued walking. All of them appeared to be tired, yet she was a bit relieved to see her Professor with a neutral expression again.
"I was just thinking about how many mysteries are still unfolded within this monastery"
"We have the same opinion on this matter, Edelgard. When I first arrived to the monastery, I already knew that it was bigger than it appears to be, but I didn´t expect something like this" Claude said as he observed his surroundings.
"There aren´t any recordings of the initial stages of the monastery. The only thing clear is that it was specifically chosen to worship the Goddess. However, Enbarr also has important bonds with the origins of the teachings of the Goddess, yet this place was chosen, in the middle of nowhere" Linhardt said with a pensive glare.
"Well, not exactly in the middle of nowhere. The ruins of Zanado are close enough. I didn´t have the honor to accompany all of you, but I´ve heard that it isn´t a conventional place. Am I wrong?" Claude said, joining the conversation.
"You aren´t. That place must be the silent witness of an ancient civilization, but the design of the ruins is completely different to this place. The monastery must have been a later developed building, although its origins remain in the shadows"
"Are you sure we are heading in the correct direction, Constance?" she asked
"Don´t worry, Lady Edelgard. I am completely sure that this path will guide us to our objective. If you take a closer look to the walls of this area, they appear to be older. Without a doubt we are entering the oldest part of these tunnels"
"They look the same to me, though" Balthus yawned.
"That´s because you aren´t paying attention at all. I feel a subtle energy ahead of us"
She could feel it too, although she could just feel a faint energy coming from the shadows. When she was already wondering that the path they were following didn´t have an ending they suddenly arrived to a dead end.
"I guess that this is the end of our little expedition"
"You are wrong, this is exactly the place we were trying to find. I can feel a strange energy coming from the other side" Constance said as she touched the wall. As she did so, strange glyphs appeared on the wall. In the center of the wall a chalice appeared, the glyphs slowly moving around it"
"These are magic runes" Linhardt said, taking a closer look. "The path is blocked unless we can deactivate them"
"Let me do my little trick of magic" Balthus laughed as he approached the wall. "Take this!" he shouted as he brutally punched the wall with his relic, although the wall appeared to be unaffected by the brutality of the attack.
"It is done"
"What are you saying? The wall hasn´t moved an inch"
"My hand is done. I think that my bones are broken. This wall is really hard"
"How troublesome" Linhardt said, casting a healing spell. "Give me some time to read the glyphs. Most of them aren´t used anymore so I need some time to figure them out"
As Linhardt sat in front of the wall they didn´t have too much to do. She could also feel a strange power coming from the other side of the wall, although she had doubts if it was wise to unseal whatever was waiting to the other side. Next to him was Constance. As they walked through the walls, she had the opportunity to talk with her. She was eager to recover the position her family had lost as a consequence of the last Dagda-Brigid war, but she couldn´t simply trust her words. "She appears to be a capable mage, but I won´t consider her propositions until I know more about her" she thought.
"Balthie, how about you return to the surface and pay a visit to my brother? I´m sure he will pleased to see you again"
"I´m planning on doing that, but first I have to get rid of some of my debts. I was planning to work as a mercenary or something"
"As a mercenary you would spend most of your life working and you will have plenty of debts to pay"
"In that case I should sell that cup. In case we find a treasure to the other side of this wall I may be free of most of my debts" Balthus laughed.
"I think that I have discovered how to unlock the path" Linhardt said, standing up again.
"What should we do?"
"We must pay a price to enter"
"I´m sorry, I´m broke" Balthus said, checking his pockets.
"I don´t mean that kind of price. This wall demands life" he said as silence spread among them.
"Then it isn´t worth the try. We aren´t here to do such things" Hapi said looking to the rest of them with a serious expression. "If the thieves are so eager to take the Chalice, then let them be"
"She is right. There is no point of doing something like that. I don´t want to lose any of you" Dimitri said with a serious expression.
"How about we find another entrance. We could destroy the walls next to it"
"It would be a meaningless task, Claude. I can sense a magic barrier extended through all the area. The person that prepared this barrier knew what they were doing. If we tried to do something like that, we would only waste or time or worse we could die if the area crumbles"
"Then there is no point…" she was starting to say when Byleth approached the wall. As he did so he took one of his gloves off and unsheathed the dagger she had gifted to him a lifetime ago.
"My Teacher, what are you…" With a swift movement her Professor made a cut in his hand, blood pouring from his wound. As he touched the wall with his hand stained in blood the glyphs turned crimson red and the stoned Chalice started to fill with the blood of the Professor as if the wall was actively drinking the blood of his hand. When the stoned Chalice was filled by his blood, the wall before them disappeared, a new passage opened in front of them.
"How interesting, Professor. Most of us considered that the wall demanded our life, yet it is true that the blood within our bodies is the true source of it. How could you figure it out? I didn´t expect something like this to happen"
"I just had the feeling it could work" Byleth said looking at his wound. Blood was still pouring from it, although he didn´t seem to mind too much.
"Linhardt, apply healing magic to the Professor"
"Said and done" Linhardt said placing his hands on the Professor hand, but nothing happened. "Eh, how strange? No matter how much magic use, nothing seems to happen"
"Could it be a curse?" Hapi asked, her eyes alerted.
"If it was something like a curse the Professor would be already dead. No this must be something different. Perhaps the strong magic that I sense here is acting as a barrier to my own. In that case we don´t have other option but to continue our path. Don´t worry Professor, to die from a wound like this you would need several days"
"Those words are encouraging at all" Edelgard sighed. "My Teacher, the next time you do something like this, please tell us in advance. Something worse could have happened"
"I will remember it. I´m happy to know that you worry about me" he said with a look that made her blush.
"That look on your face is really strong, Teach" Claude laughed.
"A-Anyway, since we are here, we should continue to find out what is awaiting us"
With nothing else to say they continued through the new tunnel opened before us. It didn´t take too much time until they found a staircase that lead them to the surface.
"What is this place? I haven´t seen a place like this before" Balthus said as he looked to his surroundings. They appeared to have arrived to a forest, yet she could feel it wasn´t an ordinary one. Strange statues were scattered between the trees, signs of excessive use among them.
"This place stinks of magic. I can feel it" Hapi said. "I don´t have a good feeling about this"
"I must agree with you, even my pathetic magical capabilities are able to sense a strange energy coming from this area. I apologize for guiding all of you to such a dangerous place"
"Constance, why are you talking so strange?"
"You don´t need to worry about someone so pitiful as I, dear Balthus. I beg you to place your worries on a person that deserves it more"
"Dear Balthus? This place is really strange if she is saying something like this"
She was about to say something when she saw something that caught her attention. In front of them was a cliff with a crest carved on it. As she took a closer look, she realized the crest represented there was the Crest of Flames. She wasn´t the only one to realize this as the Professor approached her.
"Why is the Crest of Flames here? Is this place related to the origins of the crest?" she wondered as she looked at her surroundings. Apart from the rusted statues there was nothing in the forest, as if nothing else was there.
"There aren´t even birds singing. This place is highly unnatural" she thought when she was suddenly pushed to the ground. As she was pushed to the ground an explosion happened, covering the area next to them in debris.
"Are you ok, Edelgard?"
"I am, thanks to you" she said as she stood up again, her weapon ready for combat.
"Those who dare to enter this holy place deserve no compassion" said a mechanical voice from the deeps of the forest, a few seconds later its owner appeared, leaving everyone speechless.
"What kind of creature is this?" a surprised Dimitri asked.
"In any case it doesn´t appear to be from this world" she thought as she analyzed it. It had the appearance of a human, but no human was even taller than the trees around them. The creature was wearing a battle armor and its face was covered by a golden helmet.
"You must be humans, although I sense something strange" the giant golem said as it looked to Byleth. "Human or not this place will be your final resting place. The crime for entering this place will be your life. No mortal shall use again the ancient treasure"
"The ancient treasure? Then that story was true" Yuri said as he unsheathed his sword. "It seems that this thing won´t let us peacefully return. It is time to show him some manners"
"A fight? I´m with you Yuri" Balthus said as he prepared his gantlets.
"So arrogant, your death awaits" the Golem said as some of the ancient statues around them returned to life. Among them she could see humans, although their faces were blurred, as if they weren´t completely real
"Battle formation now! Mages, stay in the middle. We will cover you as we advance. We have to take it down, before everything gets worse" Byleth shouted as he unsheathed his own weapon.
They didn´t have too much time left as the first wave of enemies attacked them. The ancient statues were slow and clumsy but the humans were compensating for their lack of speed. An armored knight tried to smash her head with its great hammer before she counterattacked and smashed him to the ground. As she did so it disappeared as if no one was there.
"There are illusions, yet they are capable of fighting. This kind of magic its really advanced. In that case there must be some truth behind that story" she thought.
The illusions weren´t that durable as their human counterparts, but they had the numbers.
"They are trying to surround us. We have to avoid it at all costs" Byleth shouted as he destroyed a group of illusions.
"Said and done" Balthus laughed as he opened a way, punching his foes to oblivion.
Jumping to a side she avoided an attack aimed to her. Some of the statues were almost on them and no matter how many magic explosions hit them they continued to advance.
"I´ve never seen something like this" Claude said as he tried to hit the statues in the limbs and arms.
"We will have to overcome them with our sheer strength. Dimitri, Claude help me!" she shouted as she charged against the closest statue to them.
The living statue was well protected, but its close distance attacks were too slow. Attacking with brute force, she destroyed one of the limbs of the statue as Dimitri did the same with the other one. Falling on its knees, Claude pierced one of the statues eyes, making it stop for good.
"That´s what I call teamwork, we could do it more frequently" Claude laughed.
"Even if I appreciate your suggestion now isn´t the time for chattering. There are plenty of enemies left to defeat" Edelgard said, her eyes alert.
The other side of the battle field was covered by Byleth and some of the leaders of the Abyss. Advancing from two different flanks, the tactic of surrounding them proved to be ineffective. However, enemies kept appearing around them, showing no signs of exhaustion.
"No matter how many we take down, they keep appearing" she thought as she caught her breath. Her axe had cracks all over the surface, a few more uses and it would surely shatter.
"We need to defeat that Golem!" Byleth shouted as he unsheathed the Sword of the Creator. Blood was still pouring from his injured hand, but the look of his face was filled with determination. "Attack with all your might and cover me, I will strike it down!" he said as he ran against the next wave of enemies.
"Charge!" she shouted, following his command. Alongside her she could hear the rest of the students chasing them as they attacked the illusions and statues that stood on their way. Byleth was few meters ahead from them his sword spreading destruction among the enemy lines. Mere meters were separating him and the Golem, although he had the risk of being overwhelmed by the surrounding statues.
"One more push!" she shouted as she smashed to the ground another illusion, her axe already menacing to break.
"Humans are really interesting creatures. Your desires will be your undoing, yet I sense something strange in you. Were we made by the same creator?" she could hear the Golem ask with a mechanical voice.
"I don´t know what you mean, but I will stop you here and now" Byleth said as he jumped on the Golem, his sword piercing through the golden helmet that covered its head.
"Coming from a human this amount of power is impressive, but only a fool would defy me" the Golem said as spear of light pierced her Professor´s body, sending him to the ground.
"No!" she shouted as she tried to approach him, but a new statue was already blocking her path. Blocking the incoming attack, her axe finally shattered, only her dagger left to face the giant statue in front of her. As she was prepared to face another attack her attention was suddenly caught by a sudden light.
"This is not the time I will fall; I will continue fighting with everything I have!" Byleth shouted as he stood up again, green sparks released from the Sword of the Creator.
"Humans are more interesting that expected, but your path ends here" the Golem said as it released another spear of light. Avoiding the attack Byleth jumped on the Golem once again and with his sword he pierced through the inner mechanism of the Golem. As he did so, the illusions around them started to fade away and the remaining operative statue started to collapse.
"It ended" she thought as she observed how Byleth landed next to her. "My Teacher, are you ok?" she said as she approached him.
"All of you did a wonderful job. I´m proud of all of you" he said with a faint smile as he looked at her, although what froze her wasn´t his smile but his eyes. Emerald eyes were looking at her, the very same eyes of the archbishop. Before she could process it, he collapsed on his knees, exhausted. Rushing to his position she couldn´t avoid thinking about those eyes.
"You shouldn´t have overcommitted" she said as she gentle placed her hand on his chest. As she did so a strange feeling traversed through her hand. The moment she looked at her hand, she realized she must have had casted a spell.
"Thank you Edelgard" Byleth said as he opened his eyes again, their color its usual self. As she helped him to stand again, she observed her surroundings. Most of the students appeared to be exhausted, but they were alive.
"That was interesting, Edelgard. I didn´t think that you were able to cast spells" Linhardt said with an analytical look.
"Me neither, I just felt a strange energy through my body"
"That means that you have a natural synergy with magic. Perhaps your emotions allowed you to release your hidden talent. Anyway, thank you for doing my job, I guess. I´m completely exhausted so don´t get into trouble until I get a good nap" Linhardt said as he yawned.
"The forest has returned to its usual self, although I still feel a strange power near us" Hapi said as she approached a pillar. "There are three pillars that are releasing a strange energy"
"Could it mean that the Chalice is hidden in one of them? In that case we just have to check one after one" Balthus said as he approached the nearest pillar.
"Wait Balthus!"
"What´s the matter, Claude?"
"Don´t you think it is really strange that the three pillars look the same? If I were to place a treasure and wanted to make sure that no one could access it I would place a trap"
"So, you are saying that two of these pillars are traps that are waiting to be triggered?" Dimitri asked as he prepared his lance for combat.
"That´s the feeling I have. At least I would do something like that"
"I agree with Claude. Even if we have destroyed our enemies, that doesn´t mean that we are free of any risks"
"In that case which one is the one we have to trigger? They look the same to me" Balthus said scratching his head.
"Apparently yes, but there must be differences since I highly doubt that a protective mechanism like this could lack any logic behind it" Linhardt said as he touched one of the pillars. "This one is definitively a trap"
"I had the same feeling as you, but comparing my knowledge to you would be insulting to your intelligence"
"Constance, you always act really weird when the sun is out" Balthus sighed.
It took several minutes until Linhardt finally stopped in front of one of the stone pillars. When he placed his hand in a small hole of its surface it reacted to its touch, revealing the thing it was protecting.
"The Chalice…it was real after all" Yuri murmured next to her. The Chalice was of a magnificent color, rubies, emeralds and sapphires on its sides, but what caught her attention the most was the golden light that was emitting of its own.
"It really is a magnificent object. I understand now why they wanted to steal it" Claude commented next to her. "Well, let´s take it and leave, I don´t like this place a bit"
"Claude is right, we should leave, there is nothing left to do here"
"Do you really think that you can simply escape from us? An unforgivable sacrilege has been committed in this sacred land. All of you shall perish under the fair judgement of the eternal light" said a mechanical voice from the depths of the forest.
"Another Golem? You must be kidding"
"Run! There is no point in fighting again. Secure the Chalice and leave this place!" Byleth ordered. "I will protect the rearguard"
"You have heard him, run!"
They ran through the forest avoiding the projectiles aimed to them. The Golems were slow, but the illusions were quickly approaching them. She felt that one hand grabbed her from behind, but the grabbing suddenly disappeared.
"Keep running" Byleth shouted as he ran as well a few meters behind her.
Most of the students had already entered the tunnel again. "Only a bit more and this will have end for good" she thought.
"Dammit! My leg!" Claude cried, a spectral arrow piercing his leg.
"Claude!" Byleth shouted as he approached him. "Only a few more meters, I will carry you" But the illusions were almost on them.
"Dimitri, help me buy them some time!" she said as she unsheathed her dagger.
"Of course, I won´t leave them in peril" Dimitri said as he repelled an attack from one of the illusions. Golems were already appearing in front of them, some of them already preparing its magic attacks against them.
"Enter the tunnel now!" Byleth shouted as he carried Claude with him. Running as fast as she could she entered the tunnel as the magic attacks impacted on its entrance, making it collapse. The dust and rocks falling above them was menacing to suffocate them. She could barely see anything when she was hit by one of the rocks that was falling from the ceiling.
"I can´t end like this" she thought as her vision blurred when a pair of hands grabbed her. The pair of hands gently took her between his arms and they escaped from the crumbling tunnel before it completely collapsed.
"Thank you for taking care of me, my Teacher" she whispered, exhausted.
"I´ve already lost my father, I don´t want to lose you too" Byleth said as he carried her to where everyone was already waiting. He had blood on his face, but his breath wasn´t erratic. "Thank you for what you did before. I really appreciate it" he said as he gently placed her back on the ground.
The rest of the students were still catching their breath but it was only the House leaders and Byleth the ones which appeared to be the most exhausted.
"Thank you, Teach. I owe you one" Claude said with a serious expression, a bandage already applied in the area of the wound.
"This will buy us some time until I´ve rest a bit" Linhardt said as he examined the wound. "Anyway, that was pretty close, but we should leave this place we don´t know if they could chase us"
"The smart guy is right. Let´s leave already. Those who can walk by their own cover the rearguard and the front. Those with injuries, stay in the middle" Yuri ordered. As he said so they could hear explosions behind them.
"You must be kidding, they are coming" said an alerted Hilda.
"Don´t stop and don´t stay behind!"
"The Chalice must be a really powerful device if they are so insistent. Could it be that it can bring back the dead?" she wondered as she kept running away.
"This way, we have to get them lost" Yuri said as he entered an auxiliary tunnel.
The explosions had already stopped but the silence was worst than everything. She had the feeling they were approaching them, yet everything was so silent.
"There is a bridge a bit ahead of us. If we cross it then we will have nothing to worry about!"
"Your suffering has only begun" said a voice behind them as a magic spear impacted a few meters away from them.
The bridge was already in front of them. It appeared to be built hundreds of years ago, but it was sturdy enough to allow them arrive to cross it. Both sides of the bridge were surrounded by darkness. A fall from the bridge would lead to certain death in the case they would fall.
"Quick or we will be killed!"
Golems and illusions were already appearing, some of them were preparing their attacks.
"Constance, aim to one of the stalactites over us!"
Everything happened in a sudden. As soon as the spell impacted, the stalactites of the cave fell on the bridge, making it collapse and bringing with it the Golems and illusions, which suddenly fell to their doom.
"That was a really close call" Claude said, catching his breath.
"I thought we weren´t going to make it" a paler than usual Linhardt said as he sat down.
"We don´t know if there are more of them after us. We should take advantage of the situation and continue"
"The Professor is right; we should continue before they can reappear again"
The return to the Abyss took less time than expected. The auxiliary tunnel had led them to an area closer to the village and in less than an hour they could see the torches of the underground village.
"We got the Chalice and everyone is alive. I think we´ve earned a good rest. I´m overworking, Professor"
"Sorry Linhardt. I know that you have done your best"
"I can´t believe they chased us down to this place. They appeared to have a conscience of their own" Ashe murmured.
"The only thing clear is that they cared about this little cup. At least we are the ones to have it" Claude said as he cherished the area where he had been hit by an arrow.
"It truly is a dangerous device if it was so tightly guarded. We must never allow it to be misuse" Dimitri said with a tired expression on his face.
"We will have to talk with Aelfric about it. Those devices must have been developed by the Church. We need a proper explanation after everything that has already happened. How troublesome"
"Don´t worry, Hapi. I will make sure to contact him when we arrive"
The village was more active than usual with soldiers nervously talking between them.
"Why are so many of you here?
"Yuri, we were so worried. We feared that you had been abducted too!"
"Abducted? What do you mean?"
"We were making sure that things run smoothly here when we received this" the warrior said, showing him a bag stained in blood. "It contained a message. It says that we have to bring the Chalice to the assigned place before the sun sets. Otherwise Aelfric will end like this"
It wasn´t unnecessary to check the inside of the bag to know the content of the veiled threat, but how they could already know about it?
"There is a traitor among us" she thought, wondering what was the real purpose of those behind the Chalice.