Chapter 13: Descent

Jamal slumped in a chair beside the luxurious bed provided; it was nothing like the staw mats he slept on in Arentia. The previous few days had been the roughest for him; he'd been asked to relive and face the pain of losing loved ones to those monsters. Doing so would often result in his lashing out against the clerics trying to help him. In the back of his mind, he knew healing his wounded heart was their goal, but he wasn't ready to forgive them. Not yet. It'd been a day since his last "conversation" with the clerics, which gave him enough time to steel his resolve and make them pay for the deaths they could have easily prevented.

The sound of the door opening made him sit up, staring in its direction from under his brow. No sooner had the door opened than he ran to it, reaching out to grab whoever was coming in. Instead, he was hurled to the wall, supplies crashing all around him.

"What was that?!" he thought as his vision steadied. Standing before him was a man with long, white hair.

"Master! Was that necessary?" another voice asked. The white-haired man glared, his crystal blue eyes dark with anger.

"It is my understanding that you are one of a band that attacked my clerics?" the man finally asked, his jaw flexing in restraint with each word.

"What is it to you? You and your sect claim to be helping us. Instead, you help the wealthy!" the mercenary spat. The man stepped closer, kneeling to his level and extending a hand, but still tense.

"I am Dane Altoor, Leader of the Aurora. We cannot be everywhere as the trained clerics are few. You might have seen some acting as an escort to the Prince of Arentia meeting with the Emperor of Usoria…"

"Again! What are you doing to help us?" Dane wiped the spit from his face, breathing long and slow before continuing.

"The failing crops have affected everyone. The prince is securing food for Arentia in this trying time. We have escorted a merchant or two, but they were merchants of grain and meat, not luxuries."

"Then why did my brother and father have to die?! You have the power to protect us, to protect them, yet did nothing!" The words echoed hard in Dane's mind; the same words he had screamed in rage to Ariel. Dane's hand flew to the mercenary's throat, pinning him to the wall as his skin creaked under his grip. Black mist filled the air around them while a voice thrummed through Dane's mind.

"Well, well well, look at you. Succumbing to the darkness so easily?" The voice asked as two eyes appeared in the shadows surrounding him.

"I have succumbed to nothing." Dane sneered, his forearm rippling as his grip tightened.

"Is that so? Then why did you latch onto his man's throat? Did he say something? Say someone's name that is dear to you?" Dane lowered his gaze away from the spectacle of the choking man before him.

"No, he hasn't said her name."

"What then, little mage? Why attack him like this?" the cloud asked, moving to better see his eyes before continuing with a smirk in its voice.

"He reminded you of yourself all those years ago, didn't he? He reminds you of how powerless Ariel was to save her." The shadow hissed. Dane remained silent, closing his eyes and trying to block out the cloud's words as tears stung his eyes and his chest felt heavy.

"That's it, isn't it? You're now on the other side and loathe what it sounds like, don't you? To have power that could save another and yet be unable to do anything to prevent what happened. How fitting, isn't it little mage?" The shadow prodded. Dane felt its size growing behind him, pressing down on him like a weight.

"You channel me through your disgust so easily while trying to appear saintlier. Such hypocrisy will lead you nowhere." Dane grit his teeth as he listened to this cloud, this Darkness, expose his deepest hurts before him as though it were a spectacle.

"I do not channel you!" Dane roared.

"Is that so? Then what is this?" The shadow asked, a part of it passing over his arm revealing veins of silver and black ooze flowing through his skin to his hand around the mercenary's throat. The strength roaring in his arm didn't feel like his own; it was brutal, primal, vile.

"MASTER!" a voice cut through his rage, allowing Dane to regain control. As the rest of his senses came back to him, he felt the point of Vieren's staff pressed to his neck and the heat of a spell blazing atop it.

"Master, I beg of you to release him! I do not wish to harm you, but I will if I must!" Vieren commanded. Dane fought to release his grip, letting the man drop to the ground, spitting and coughing for air.

"It's alright, Vieren. You can stand down." Vieren dismissed his spell, shooing those who had gathered with a stern word.

"Would you rather I continue in your place, Master?"

"No Vieren, I will continue. Thank you for bringing me back to myself." Dane turned his attention back to the mercenary, this time keeping his distance.

"I apologize for my conduct. I was… not myself. What is your name?" Dane asked. The mercenary took a minute to catch his breath, rubbing his neck where Dane's fingers had left red marks.

"Jamal." He growled, his piercing gaze blazing under his brow. Dane sighed hard, calming himself as he felt the Darkness within him flare.

"Who was it that gave you the ability to drain Life Forces?" Jamal raised his brows and shook his head.

"We were given no such thing. Some time ago, those of us that had lost family to those monsters gathered at a tavern to reminisce. As we spoke, a woman dressed in a cloak asked about our losses. She then told us of a sect responsible for their loss, offering us the chance for revenge. She even gave us the weapons and told us that two of your clerics would be coming in a short time. But she never gave us any magic." Dane narrowed his eyes, growling in the back of his throat.

"What did this woman look like?" The man still rubbed his throat but thought hard.

"She didn't take the hood from his head. But I do remember a strand of hair fell from under it. I only remember because it was the color of blood." Dane sighed in dread, slamming the door as he left.

"Master?" Vieren asked. Dane stormed through the halls to the kitchen.

"Have arrangements made to take that man back to Arentia." He commanded flatly, gathering a small sack and packing a few loaves of bread.

"It shall be done, master. When do you plan on returning?" Vieren asked. He knew that Dane would be leaving, especially now that it seemed he had an urgent matter to attend.

"I should be back by last light." He answered, walking to Lotus and Orchid's room.

"Come, we are retrieving Mars," Dane commanded.

"Do we have to? He's such a stuffy old…"

"Orchid, now," Dane barked. Orchid huffed, grabbing her cloak, followed closely by Lotus as he grabbed his coat and headed out the door. The twins tried to talk to Dane, asking him meaningless questions. But Dane kept his gaze forward as he traveled outside the Forest of Peace, activating a transportation spell that took him and the twins to Arentia. Upon walking into the city, Dane was greeted by people he had helped before starting Aurora. When asked if they had seen Mars pass through, some did remember seeing him, noting the cleric seemed to stare at something in the sky constantly. When asked which way he went, it was all Dane could do to keep his composure as they all pointed him in one direction: due north of Arentia. To the Buried City, Azwan.

"Why do we need to come along anyway? He's your friend, not ours." Lotus scoffed. Dane kept his gaze forward as they trekked through the endless billows of sand.

"It is not Mars that I want your help with. A man far underground has maintained a mass of power for the city. You are to rescue him. I will find Mars." Orchid and Lotus became unsure if they wanted to help or not. But it had been some time since they had anything of interest to do, and this would be the next best thing. The trio made it to the city's front gate by sunset, where heavily armored skeletons waited.

"Well, we're not getting it that way." Orchid sighed with feigned disappointment. Dane strode forward in stoic ire. The Skeletons caught sight of him, their eyes glowing white as they clattered towards him. Dane swung his staff as a wave of light obliterated the soldiers to pieces.

"Find a way below the city towards that Obelisk," Dane commanded, pointing towards the spire behind them, walking deliberately through the gate and to the stairs that would lead him into the chamber of Hilda. What he could only guess to be former soldiers of Azwan rushed at him with lowered spears, blown apart by pulses of light from his staff.

With each soldier that fell, Dane cursed himself for not returning to this city and instead pursued his quest. Even if Haim had directly told him that rescuing his grandfather would have only been to bury him, it would have been better than letting him suffer. So why didn't he? What Hilda sought after was impossible to be sure, but even back then, he had the power to stop her.

"You're jealous of her progress, aren't you?" a voice in his mind growled.

"No. Eternal Life is impossible. And in the method she peruses, the life of another is only used to extend her own. She cares nothing for her fellow man."

"It isn't eternal life that aggravates you, it's her lack of care. If only you could bring yourself to do that, you could advance your understanding of me much more quickly. Hilda disposed of her moral shackles and advanced her quest by decades."

"I will not lower myself to think that way!"

"You deceive yourself, little mage. The freedom is inviting, and you are not immune to its lure." Dane swung his staff hard behind him, finding no one. Was he tempted? Did he want to toss aside his morals and pursue the darkness with abandon? Shaking his head, he stilled his mind and pushed through the doors where a small battalion of skeleton soldiers waited. Dane swung his staff, the skeletons broken across the floor, revealing Hilda lounging in her chair. Her eyes had become darker and more sinister, but she was still as attractive as he remembered.

"White Mage. I'm glad you could make it." Hilda smirked with a magnetic tone. Dane's face remained flat as he entered the room, bones sweeping aside from his path as power billowed around him.

"Where is Mars?" He demanded, walking to the center of the room and setting down his staff with a soft, metallic click.

"Who?"

"Mars, the man that came here following the life force of my Clerics. Where is he?" Dane's eyes darkened, his hair caught in a draft around him.

"Oh, him. I put him in charge of maintaining the power of the Obelisk. Here is the life of those Clerics of yours. They were strong; I almost look like my teenage self again." Hilda smiled, holding up a small vial of pink liquid.

"Your murderous quest ends here, Hilda." Dane thundered. Hilda threw her head back with a faked laugh.

"Ha Ha Ha! What a lark. You tried and failed to stop my 'murderous quest' once already. Yet after all our little skirmishes, never returned to complete your task. Only when your clerics die by my hand do you decide to stop me?"

"That's Enough!" Dane growled, a pulse of light emanating from him. Hilda held her hand out as her staff raced to it in time to block the wave. The barrier disintegrated before her eyes, throwing her to the back wall.

"Even fighting my pet Blackheart, I could tell you were holding back. Why didn't you use your immense power to stop me then?" Hilda coughed, squaring her shoulders.

"It was my own ignorance. But I will not let you harm anyone else! Darkness is already draining the world of Life; there need not be another!"

"That's not it, White Mage. There's something else." Hilda chuckled, bracing for another attack. Dane lowered his head, his shoulders slumping.

"You're right; tossing aside your love for humanity and embracing this wanton slaughter for your own gain sickens me," Dane replied flatly, pointing his staff forward as another blast of light hummed towards her. Hilda teleported away, summoning her familiar Blackheart, only to be dismissed in a plume of smoke before she could finish. Hilda tried again, but nothing happened.

"Well, it seems that you too have learned…" Dane swung again, spears of light howling towards her. She drove her staff down hard on the ground as a blast of power threw the spears into the walls. Dane followed with another burst of light, punching through Hilda's defense like a knife. Surprised, Hilda threw her hand up as a wall of skeleton soldiers appeared before her, scattering into bones as it plowed through them.

Hilda reached to her belt, throwing out six small stones forming a barrier between them. The rocks began to absorb the energy, only for the barrier to shatter and drive her to the railing overlooking the silent city of Azwan below.

"You've grown cold in your years, White Mage. I expected you to try and convince me to abandon my wayward practices." Hilda wheezed. She tried to move, but something in her chest felt off.

"You were the one that decided that life had no meaning. You could have sought out healing for your pain. You could have left Azwan and begun life anew. Yet you held onto that pain, and now you are the only one left in a dead city."

"A city that has been rightfully judged! They have paid for the pain they wrought in making my life the least worthy in Azwan. I am the only worthy life of Azwan now."

Dane rushed to her in a blur, pointing his staff under her chin as blazing white light hummed at its end. Hilda tried to move away from the uncomfortably warm glow but felt a hot spear of pain stab her chest with each move.

"My mother suffered the same treatment, yet she moved on, found healing, and didn't let The Darkness consume her."

"Then you know of the pain I suffer from! Your mother was too weak to seek justice for her poor treatment!" Hilda shot back, wincing as pain shot through her.

"You took the lives of those who may have stood by you. You were loved by the people, from what I remember. And you threw that love away for what? Fleeting life, youth, and beauty?"

"Why not?! They took their affection for me away, affection that was rightfully mine! Their accusations drove me to the path I walk! And now, they have paid in full with me as their rightful queen." Dane's mind froze as her words sank in, bringing back flashes from long ago when he and Menodora found Russel trying to tamper with the Great Circle. That very tampering led to her death. He felt rage boil up his back, the room dimming around him as he dropped his staff away from her face.

Hilda took the opportunity to teleport away, reaching for a vibrant potion of purple. She pulled the long glass rod from within it and licked off the contents, instantly healing her broken ribs. Looking back, she could see the darkened air around him as he stood silently.

"Oh, come now, this city was at the end of its life. I did them all a kindness, really. If you think about it, they are still alive. They are just helping me stay young and beautiful in the process." She chuckled. A wave of hatred filled the room as Dane's hair was once again caught in the throes of power surrounding him. His grip tightened on his staff as the light began to hum in an odious hue.

"You are just like him!" Dane growled.

"Why should that make you angry? You may be a lost son of Azwan, but this isn't your home." Hilda scoffed, healing the last of her wounds, when she saw dark-colored chains explode from the ground around him tipped with large spears. A chain spear hurtled towards her forcing Hilda to teleport away just as another spear met her where she had gone. The tip sliced through her side, impacting the wall behind her with a hard clang. Another chain was nearing her before she teleported away, again met with more chains. After the fifth teleport, Dane met her, his eyes dark with rage as black mist billowed behind him.

"You are the reason she no longer lives!" Dane growled. Hilda tried to cast a barrier spell, but Dane smashed through it, grabbing her by the throat and hoisting her into the air. More chains snaked up from the ground, lowering their tips to her as she struggled to free herself from Dane's grip.

"Why are you so furious over people you've never known?" Hilda wheezed. Dane gave no answer as he tightened his grip around her throat, holding her higher in the air until her feet no longer touched the ground.

"You took away everything!" Dane hissed, his voice becoming layered. Releasing her, chains drove into her arms and legs, pinning her to the ground. Another chain snaked over her, pointing at her chest, coiling links that were readying to strike. As it howled down, the fear and stunned horror in her eyes caused Dane to shake himself awake, stopping the chain above her heart. In Dane's mind, a chorus of pain-filled wails and hisses of anger demanded that he end her life.

"Why not kill her and end it here, Dane?" the voice in Dane's mind returned, this time sounding more disappointed as the chorus died down to background noise.

"End it! End it now! She deserves it! She doesn't care about humanity! She only cares about herself!"

"No! Too many lives have been lost already!"

"Kill her! You could prevent further atrocities from being committed. If you don't, she will only continue!"

"I will stop her by another means!"

"Then you are a fool!"

"I will not succumb!"

"Oh, but you already have. Look. Can't you hear the swarm of voices crying for her blood? How could the Light you claim to channel create these chains?" Dane shook his head, coming to his senses and realizing it was no longer Light he channeled but Darkness. With this realization, he backed away from Hilda, the chains vanishing from sight like black sand.

"What's the matter? Couldn't go through with…"

"Dane! We found the old goat!" Orchid called as she and Lotus entered the room with Mars draped over their shoulders. When Orchid caught sight of the room, she paused, wondering why the woman on the floor was bleeding, and Dane was stumbling around.

"What happened?" Lotus asked flatly. Whatever happened, he and Orchid felt an unsettling presence digging around in their minds. Dane looked up from his hands, casting a horrified glance over to Hilda as she lay bleeding on the ground. He hurriedly walked over to the twins, picking up Mars over his shoulders and carrying him out of the city.

"Master… I apologize…"

"There is nothing to apologize for, Mars. We must simply get away from this city."

"Why? What's going to happen?" Lotus asked as they burst into the fading daylight from the front gate.

"If we do not leave now, all the power held in that obelisk will be released, and nothing within a 50-mile radius will survive." As they left the city, Dane could hear the power begin to sound strained as the stone making up the structure began to crumble. Hilda pulled herself to the front gate, her wounds still bleeding, with just enough conscious will to watch the small band disappear in a burst of light.

"Huh, what has the world come to?" She chuckled, closing her eyes with an almost contented sigh as the power within the Obelisk ruptured the stone. Light enveloped everything around it, kicking dust high into the air, shaking the ground, and tossing waves of sand through the desert like an ocean.


The group burst into existence within the center of the Aurora chapel. No sooner had they arrived than Dane could hear the far-off low growl quivering through the ground under his feet. He sighed to himself, quickly taking Mars to the infirmary, laying him on a bed, and beginning to weave a healing spell over him. As Dane empowered it, he could feel a new power weave through his body and arms, further enhancing the magic.

"This must be an effect of my contract with Ariel." He thought for a moment, swearing that he could see the hazy form of the goddess beside him when Mars tried to speak.

"M-master. You must flee! Hilda, she…"

"Stay still, Mars. I still must heal your wounds. Your life energy has been dangerously depleted." Mars struggled to keep his eyes open, feeling the energy slowly return before passing out. Vieren came in, quickly coming over and holding his hand over Mars to assist. After a short while, Tasia arrived and took over, giving him salves and tonics to help him rest. Almost an hour later, Tasia ushered everyone out of the room and quietly closed the door.

"How is he?".

"Yeah, is he gonna be ok?" Lotus asked while Orchid absently played with her hair.

"He's exhausted, but given rest, he should be back to normal. What happened to him?" Dane sighed hard, hesitant to tell her.

"He was maintaining the power of Azwan's Obelisk. My mother used to tell stories about how four high-level shamans were needed at all times. I can only imagine that any fewer puts an immense strain on the human body, and by extension, their Life Force." Tasia shook her head, hugging the documents she carried closer.

"I can't speak to his Life Force, but physically, he will recover. Just, try and keep him from doing something like that again." She smiled, escorting the twins away, leaving Dane and Vieren to speak alone.

"Were you able to determine how Hilda drained the life from our brothers?" Vieren asked.

"Unfortunately, I was not," Dane replied with an absent tone, his thoughts scanning over actions taken while fighting Hilda. Vieren nodded, still wanting to ask more questions, but Dane's absent stare told him that it would be pointless and left to tend to his duties.

Once all was silent around him, Dane felt the weight of Darkness within him. In his mind's eye, the sight of those dark, snake-like chains gouged into Hilda's arms and legs haunted him. Had he really given in to the power of Darkness? No, that couldn't have been it. He had used the power of Darkness in making the twins, but this: this was different. It felt like it had left a stain on his soul for all to see.

He hadn't thought about it thoroughly at the time, but he had directed all his hate and rage at Hilda. No, it wasn't his rage and hatred; it was from all the people who had perished for her potion. It was they who sought revenge for what had been done to them. But if that were the case, why didn't he notice it? Why didn't he see the Darkness take over until it was pointed out to him BY the darkness after stopping his assault? Why did it even overtake him? Could he use this new discovery to absorb and eliminate the Darkness himself?

"It could be a viable option." He thought, returning to the old cottage that had served as the beginnings of the Aurora. Here, he found one of his old journals containing thoughts Dane memorized from "The Ancient Mage's" journal. He knew this mage was never from his past, but it was easier to refer to him as such.

Near the center, he found an entry referencing someone the Ancient Mage was rather frustrated with. The Mage's words were cutting, describing someone that had attempted to cleanse the Darkness before him, but giving no name.

"He was a child! Such idiocy is attempted only by fools! A man of science ignoring testing before full-blown attempts is better off dead." Dane's brow furrowed; it seemed the person The Ancient Mage spoke of attempted to purge Darkness by absorbing it outright, thus leading to a catastrophic failure.

"If that mage failed, then I will make sure to perform extensive tests before such an act is considered." Dane entertained the thoughts of experimentation until late at night. Just as his eyes were about to close, he felt a soft touch on his shoulder as a bright but comforting glow surrounded him. He managed to keep his eyes open just long enough to see a hazy projection of Ariel carrying him to his bed in the cottage, laying him down and resting his head on her lap.

"Sleep my, love. Sleep. The journey is long, and what you seek will be better found in the morning." Her breathy voice calmed Dane, closing his eyes with his hand firmly clutched in Ariel's.


The old man walked the glassy desert sands of Arentia with slow purpose. The light evening breezes sifted through the drifts, grating against his pale skin and metal staff. His giant cobra familiar slithered from place to place, keeping its gaze fixed upon the sands as it moved.

"What are you wasting time for? Hurry and find her! I don't want to be here when the sun sets completely. It's already cold enough as it is." The cobra turned its yellow gaze back to him, spreading its hood and hissing loudly at him. Arkarium clenched his jaw, his eyes widening with anger when the cobra dove below the sands. The cobra burst from under the sand, a woman with blood-red hair rested in its mouth. She coughed and heaved, rolling onto her back and staring at the fire-painted sky, simply breathing.

"So, you did survive," Arkarium said with surprise and disappointment in his voice. Hilda rolled onto her hands and knees, steadying her light head before getting to her feet. The sticky, drying blood on her arms was infested with grains of sand, some of which irritated her wounds.

"Are you mocking the Grand Shamaness of Azwan?!" She answered, holding her hand out for her staff, but when it didn't come, she became uneasy. Most of her power was useless without the focus of her staff.

"Far from it. I am Arkarium of Kritas, Master of Dark Alchemy. I come to offer you a proposal, Hilda. I've heard of your research into eternal youth and have heard that you seek eternal life?"

"What is it to you?" Hilda growled, holding a weak healing spell over her arm, pulling the sand from it, and closing over the wound.

"In exchange for your knowledge of eternal youth, I will help you uncover the secret to eternal life using Dark Alchemy." Hilda had studied magic for breaking down the Human Life Force and using it as energy, but this Dark Alchemy sounded interesting. Magic and, by extension, Alchemy always had a root in science. It could even find the root cause for a Life Force burning out if used correctly. Something that could break down energy and magic entirely was terrifying and intriguing.

"Go on, Arkarium. You have my attention."