Faded Shadows

Chapter 12

"I think they've all retreated." said Agliss.

It's about time." replied Azure Phoenix. "I was starting to wonder if they had a death wish."

"We should report to Leo." said Agliss as he started to walk to where he last saw Leo.

"How do you think Zhane did?" asked Azure with a slight laugh.

Agliss rolled his eyes.

"All he had to do was guard the High Priestess. I doubt the rebels would go through the trouble to attack us just for her or Zhane."

Azure was about to reply but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leo surrounded by his troops. Azure bumped Agliss' leg with his wing and turned towards the King.

"Agliss, Azure!" called Leo as he approached the two. "Did you have any trouble in your area?"

"Not at all." replied Agliss. "We made sure they couldn't advance at all."

"Excellent." said the King. "I'll leave a detachment in the city and we'll head back to the castle. I'm just really glad we kept the rebels out of the more populated areas of the city."

"How many civilian causalities?" asked Azure.

"Around 46." replied Leo. "That was before we got here. None were killed once we started to fight."

"That's good." said Azure. "I guess."

"Yes, now, we should get bu..."

Leo trailed off as he was interrupted by a quickly approaching guard. The three turned towards the griffon to see that he was part of the High Priestess' Guard.

"Sir!" yelled the griffon as it approached.

"What's the problem?" asked Leo.

"Two enemies got through to the High Priestess. They've been dealt with but we have injured."

Leo got wide-eyed as he heard what the guard had to say.

"Medic!" yelled Leo. Almost immediately, two griffons with small crosses on their armor approached.

"Sir!" they replied.

"You two are going with us to the castle." said Leo. "Some of the enemies got through and attacked the High Priestess. They have wounded."

"Lead the way." Leo said as he looked back and motioned at the High Priestess' guard.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Bloom as she looked at Zhane's unconscious body.

"He got thrown into a wall twice." replied the High Priestess. "I would imagine that he's got some broken bones and internal bleeding."

"Maybe he's just tired?" asked Bloom. "I'd be tired after fighting something bigger than me."

The High Priestess laughed slightly. Bloom innocence was certainly a nice break from the hell that just occurred

"Maybe." she replied. "We won't know until someone comes to look at him.

Just then there was a quick knock at the door. It open revealing the guard the High Priestess sent for help as well as the King, Agliss, Azure and several medics. They walked into the room and gazed upon the cold body of Solomon, who blood had now made quite a mess on the floor.

"That's Solomon." started Agliss. "That's one of the ones who saved Scarhide from Zhane and myself."

"Who killed him?" asked Azure.

"It was Zhane." replied the High Priestess. "Somehow he was able to kill that beast." The High Priestess moved to the side to allow the ones at the door to see Zhane on the floor. Both of the medics rushed over to him and began to examine him while Agliss, Azure and Leo went to examine the gnoll.

"Damn." said Azure once he saw the gnoll's eye. "That had to hurt."

"How did he do this?" asked Agliss in disbelief.

"He used deceit and trickery." replied the High Priestess as she approached the three. "He was able to dodge all of Solomon's attacks but had to block one. He was sent to the wall with great force. He was able to trick the gnoll into thinking that his injury made him very slow. Zhane used that chance to stab him in the eye. Solomon died when he grabbed Zhane which allowed Zhane to kick the sword further into the beast's eye."

"That guard said something about two enemies." said Azure. "Where's the second one?"

"There was a green unicorn with the gnoll that called herself Melody." replied the High Priestess. "She teleported away once Zhane killed the gnoll."

"Looks like Zhane still has it in him." replied Azure. "Do you think they were after him?"

"No idea." replied Agliss. "At least our job just got a little easier."

"I hope so." replied Azure with a sigh.

Agliss broke away from the group to go check on Zhane. He approached the two medic that were tending to him.

"How is he?" asked Agliss.

"He's unconscious." replied one of the medics. "From what the High Priestess told us, some part of his spine might be damaged. It was a miracle he was still standing after the first time he hit the wall."

"Humans are more durable than you think." replied Agliss. "Anything else?"

"Maybe some broken bones in his right arm." replied the other medic with a questioning tone. "We won't know until we can examine him thoroughly."

"I can help transport him where ever you need him to go." said Agliss as he slowly lifted Zhane's body off the ground.

"I will go with you and assist in the healing." said the High Priestess as she approached Agliss. "He was injured because he was protecting us."

Both medics looked at the High Priestess with shock and then to Zhane with a look of envy.

"What's with the looks?" asked Agliss as he looked at the medics.

"Having the High Priestess participate in a medical procedure is something that very rarely happens." replied one of the medics.

"Hush with that." said the High Priestess. "Let's get Zhane to the medical wing."

I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of the ceiling above me. I should probably start counting how many times this happens to me. I let out a small groan as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. The last thing I remember happening was killing Solomon and watching Melody teleport away. I figured that I probably passed out from the pain in my back, which seemed to be gone. I started to move my head around and began to lift myself up from the bed I was on. Once I was sitting up, I got a good look at the room I was in.

The bed I was on was in the back corner of a rectangular room. Besides the bed, the rest of the room was empty. At the end of the other side, there looked to be a large metal door, like something you would see in a prison. I pushed myself off the bed and stood to my full height. Every pain that I had before was now gone and I was feeling better than ever. I turned towards the door and walked towards it. I reached the door and opened it with a small push. The outside was quite different to the inside of that room.

It was bright in the hallway, quite contrast to the room. Also unlike my room, the hallway walls were lined with bright, white wallpaper while the room looked as if the walls were made of crude concrete. The hallway was filled with several tables that held flowers and a couple of chairs. Also, several more doors like my own appeared down the hallway.

"Hello?" I called out. There was no answer. "Hello?!" I almost practically yelled. Still no answer.

This made no sense, why would the griffons leave me unguarded in a place where I could easily escape from. I ran my fingers through my hair as I proceeded up the hallway. I thought that there might be someone in one of the rooms down the hall. I approached one of the doors and looked inside, it was a room exactly like the one I was in except no one was inside.

"Can I help you?" said something behind me. I jumped and turned as quickly as I could to see a woman dressed in a nurse outfit.

"Yes I..." I said as I trailed off. I had quickly realized what was standing before me. "You're a human." I said with a surprised tone.

"Of course." she said in a rather monotone voice. "What else would I be?"

I blinked several times then rubbed my eyes, this woman had to be another trick. I removed my hands to see that the woman was still standing there.

"Where am I?" I asked as I looked around.

"Is it not obvious?" she asked in return.

"No, it's not." I replied.

"You're in a safe place." she replied back. "A place free from corruption and harm. A place of your own creation."

I paused for a moment, utterly confused about what the woman had said.

"I created this place?" I asked her.

"Yes." she replied. "Follow me."

As quickly as she arrived, the nurse turned and began to walk down the hallway. Out of curiosity, I began to follow her until we reached another door at the end of the hall. The nurse took out a large ring of keys and proceeded to look through them until she found the one that she needed. She put the key in the door and turned it, opening the door as she did that. Inside was nothing but pitch black darkness.

"What are you trying to show me?" I asked as I looked into the room.

"This was once a room for a guest we had long ago. From this room, he was able to do many frightening things to this place. However, he left one day and I haven't seen him since."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"He made you do some very dangerous things, Zhane." she replied. "His essence still resides in this room, slowly leaking out."

"Wait, are you talking about Umbra?" I asked.

The nurse simply nodded as she closed the door and locked it.

"Is Umbra's essence the reason why I saw Poison Spectre that night?"

The nurse nodded again.

"Umbra tricked you into using Soul Magic." said the nurse. "Magic of that magnitude is known to drive those who use it insane. That combined with his essence, the visions that you see will only get more violent."

"Is there any way to remove it?" I asked desperately

"There might be." replied the nurse. "However, I have no idea how to do it."

I let loose a sigh.

"Can you at least tell me where this place is?" I asked softly.

The nurse walked over to me and placed one finger on my forehead.

"This place is a safe place, Zhane." she said. "Because no one else can get you in here."

"This...is …..all in my mind?" I asked her.

"Correction." she replied. "This place is your mind."

Yup, that's right. I'm not dead and neither is this story. A while back, I had decided to take a rather lengthy hiatus and now I'm ready to continue that story. This chapter along with the next several chapters have been pre-written for the past several months.

I do apologize for making my hiatus rather long. I had originally planned to only have last a few months but I began to let it drag on. I'm now ready to continue the story so I'll attempt to began a weekly release of chapters.

Other than that, I hope everyone has a great day!