Author's notes section:
[2023-01-26]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
[2023-01-29]: Hey, a small update.
[2023-02-05]: Hey, a small update.
[2023-02-21]: Hey, I have a decent update for you. It should be the last update related to the preview. The next time I will update this piece, it will be the final version. However, I'm not entirely sure how much of the piece's content would be changed as I'm not 100% satisfied with what I have come up with.
[2023-03-15]: Hey, the chapter is finally concluded; I'm sorry for the delay.
Info: As I promised, the preview of the next `Last Christmas` chapter. Enjoy, and don't forget to tell me what do you think.
Info: Ok, let me start with what I promised in the last chapter of `My home is where my heart lies`. So, I often find myself not motivated enough to progress through the story, to write something refreshing and good. And thus, I feel like I will be splitting the story into 3 parts, aka the initial story will be split into 3 separate works. It will allow me to finish one part, re-read it, and think about changes that are necessary to take place. Furthermore, I feel like I have made a lot of mistakes throughout these nearly 3 years of writing this story. And... a lot of these come from a simple concept; I have started too many stories, and I have not been able to conclude virtually any of these. Moreover, my writing style and English proficiency drastically changed/evolved throughout this time. As you might know, I'm a perfectionist; I would love each and every one of my chapters to hold the same standard, to be simply the best. And... yet, with my knowledge of language broadening, it would require me to completely rewrite the story to maintain more or less the same level. And, as you might expect, it would take me ages to do so. So, as I have said, I will try to conclude the first part of this series as soon as possible. Nevertheless, I expect that I will need at least 3 - 5 chapters to do so.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-01-26]: A preview has been released.
[2023-01-29]: I have managed to update the chapter, adding around 600 words.
[2023-02-05]: I have managed to update the chapter, adding around 800 words.
[2023-02-21]: I have managed to update the chapter, adding around 1100 words.
[2023-03-15]: The chapter was concluded; I have managed to add around 600 words.
Schedule:
- The silence of the shackles (new chapter)
- The Breaking Point (finish the WIP)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (finish the WIP)
- My home is where my heart lies (finish the WIP)
Info: As promised, here is the preview for the next chapter. I will try to finish it asap, but as nearly always, I can promise you when the piece will be finished. Anyway, Enjoy :)
Info: Overall, the current plan is for me to write 'My home is where my heart lies' and 'Family tree' alternatively. Between the updates of these stories, I will try to upload other texts. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finish some of the short stories. However, I truly doubt that. It seems that most if not all of the stories will be extended both in terms of the time and the number of chapters.
Info: I will try to rewrite some of the older chapters between releasing new ones. I expect to start working on that goal in the middle of January. So, please be informed that the new chapters might take a bit longer to be finished and published.
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even 2 stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
Judas Priest - Out in the cold
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.
Akali's POV:
An hour had passed since the council's leader had arrived, accompanied by the small team of her choosing. Whilst Duncan and Loghain momentarily approached the already-gathered RDT officers, the white-haired woman decided to work independently for the time being.
Another thunder split the darkened skies, lighting it in the process. Its sound was overwhelming; one could describe it as cacophonic. In the meantime, the heavy rain continued, successfully flooding the contaminated city. Regardless of these circumstances, Miss Tepes lazily paced around the building for an extended period.
The warehouse, or a crime scene, as it should be righteously called, was a vast complex of buildings. It consisted of one central, circular hub and two much smaller adjacent rectangular constructs. As a whole, the complex resembled the letter `U` in its shape. As far as Akali managed to notice, there were at least two entrances to the warehouse. The first was placed at the end of the narrow passage between the adjacent constructs. The second was located approximately in the middle of the left wing. Even though its frame was significantly damaged, the vampire managed to enter. Then, she stopped for a brief moment to think. As far as she remembered, most of the constructions in this area were planned symmetrically. Hence, it appeared suitable to speculate that the same entrance could be found on the warehouse's other side.
A few moments later, Akali looked around, finally paying attention to the room she had walked into. It was an antechamber, a relatively small, rectangular room with no furnishing whatsoever. Considering the number of cracks in the plaster and their extension, the building must have been abandoned. But, for how long, she could not say with certainty. A year, perhaps a couple of years.
Nonetheless, the vampire resumed her walk, intending to delve deeper into the warehouse. Utilising the other doors in the antechamber, she entered a vast room filled with heavy racks. As one could have predicted, these numerous furnishing pieces were arranged in longitudinal rows, leaving a relatively small passage in the middle of the room. Once upon a time, the shelves must have yielded under a heavy load. But, currently, most of these regals were empty and dusted.
A few extra moments were spent searching through the room. But, in the end, the endeavour seemed fruitless as the white-haired woman found nothing of value. Hence, she left as soon as possible, heading toward the central hub, most likely.
A rather obnoxious silence ruled over the place. But, of course, the statement was true if the sounds of the heavy rain were entirely omitted.
Soon enough, a new set of sounds was added to the already present muffled sounds of the raging weather outside. Akali heard numerous heavy footsteps coming from the adjacent room. For a split second, she wondered whether to follow this new source or proceed as planned. But then, before the decision could be made, the vampire realised that there was a tingling sensation that she had omitted so far. A smell she was so familiar with, blood. Usually, she could sense it from a significant distance, but this time, her focus must have been somewhere else, clouding her senses and judgment.
So, in the end, the decision was made without Akali's participation. Then, with a new, clear goal in mind, the vampire headed toward the source of that oh-so-familiar smell. For a change, it was so effortless to follow her own instincts.
The white-haired woman found the door relatively quickly. However, by utilising them, she would have ventured into the primary hub, which was different from her intention. So, she decided it would be worth trying to find a different exit. In the best-case scenario, the vampire would have stuck near the wall. But, in reality, it was not possible. In approximately 10 or so steps to her left, the layout shifted. Up to that point, the racks were placed in a coordinated and organised manner. But not anymore. The heavy frames were utilised to create a virtual maze. Driven primarily by her curiosity, the council's leader pushed forward, entering an extremely narrow path between the racks.
It was the right path; Akali was sure of that. Yet, with every step she took, the stench of blood intensified, making her wonder what she would uncover when she finally arrived.
Finding the other door took the woman the better part of the next five minutes. Finally, the passage led her to a broader corridor that had seen better days. Once upon a time, these walls must have been painted in some bright and striking shade of yellow. But, looking at them now, you could see numerous spots where the paint had peeled off. And… what little remained was as putrid bile strewed along the walls.
Nonetheless, it mattered not. Akali spared one last glance over the damaged surface and then resumed the walk. Even though her movement remained as quiet as ever, she no longer paid that much attention to her surrounding. This apparent omission was mainly affecting her vision of the floor.
It took the council's leader only a short time to notice the effect of that omission. The woman might have taken five or six steps before she stepped onto something, crushing it in the process. Then, instantaneously, she backed off, preparing to defend herself. Well, it was an apparent overreaction. After all, it did not precisely affect the vampire physically, but the avoidable noise stirred her out of her thoughts.
A silent curse was mumbled under the woman's breath. Then, she looked at what caused the whole passage of events. In its current state, it was nothing more than a small pile of nearly grind-to-dust stones. So, her focus was lazily averted and relocated to the ceiling. As expected, some pieces were missing from the overall well-preserved surface.
"I am wasting time," Akali commented, allowing her voice to sound if only as a whisper. "Get a grip, Akali," she added, mumbling another silent curse afterwards.
The council's leader was displeased with her own shortcoming. But, there would be time to focus on these later on. Now, all that mattered was to get to the source of that stench. Even though it might be a coinflip, it would allow her to progress. The stagnation would not bore any desirable fruits for her. So, without further ado, Akali confidently stepped over the stones she had crushed, delving deeper into the facility.
To the vampire's dissatisfaction, the corridor was extensively long. It took her about 200 to 300 steps to reach the turn and then an additional 100 to 200 for it to finally reach its end. Throughout that unnecessarily prolonged stroll, not much had happened. The woman's surroundings barely change, if at all. Regardless, she pushed forward as it was the only logical option at her disposal. Hence, she utilised it without hesitation.
At the corridor's end, the white-haired woman found a locked door. Considering that the stench massively intensified, the source must have been close. So, she pushed the decayed wood the entry was made of. But sadly, all she accomplished was making a hole in the rotten mass. Akali wanted to sigh, to let go of that pesky frustration, but she forced herself not to. Instead, the woman ripped the remaining wood from the attached frame and entered the room.
At first, the rubbles scattered all over the room caught the woman's attention. Then, however, it was only a moment before she noticed a hole punched through the far wall to her left. So, as she ventured forward with her sight fixated on the far end of mostly devastated space, she stepped into something. A silent curse was mumbled as the white-haired vampire looked down. As expected, a decent pool of blood was found only a few steps past the entry. However, most of it had already dried out. And even though its smell still affected the vampire's nostrils, obviously, it was not the source she sought. Still, there must have been a correlation between the hole and her current findings. Hence, she started looking around. Then, she spotted precisely what she was looking for. There was a bloody trail deviating from the said pool. If she were to guess, someone or someone's corpse had been dragged toward the messily made passage.
It was apparent to Akali that she needed to follow the trail. However, before she continued the investigation, she pulled a small yet undoubtedly sharp blade from her coat. Then, with the weapon ready to use at a moment's notice, she stepped through the rubbles, entering the hole.
The council's leader found herself in a corridor once again. However, this time, its condition was far worse. Throughout the passage's middle section, the trail she followed only widened, leaving more blood stains behind. She must have been close, she concluded whilst slowly prowling forward.
Soon enough, the white-haired woman reached a restroom of a sort. Akali stopped for a moment, inspecting the space before her. Its floor was made of small green tiles that mostly passed the test of time. However, its mark was still clearly visible. The dust covered everything in various states.
Nonetheless, the area was most likely useable if dust was disregarded altogether. Still, the woman found her current finding dissatisfying. Hence, she delved deeper into the room. To her utmost surprise, the trail she followed ended at the restroom's entrance. From the woman's point of view, it was a weird decision that made little to no sense. After all, why bother hiding something if you have already left so many traces?
To some extent, it was a bothering question that Akali could not find an answer to. But, all things considered, it mattered not. So, she continued her investigation. And soon enough, she finally found the source.
The restroom had a segmental design. Each section was separated by a relatively thin wall where the showers were installed. All these things were useable but less fancy than the current trend.
The stench source was found in the 4th section. Unfortunately, the vampire's speculation had come up to be correct. Someone installed a steel bar a tad below the ceiling. By the looks of things, it was done barbarically by pushing the rod into the wall forcefully. From the bar, three corpses, impaled onto the butcher's hooks, dangled. As expected, the blood had been splattered all around, covering most of the available space.
It would have been a futile wish even if someone had hoped these corpses would not be the missing officers. Even though the bodies were severely mutilated, someone purposefully left their right arms intact. On the wet and bloodied skin, the imprinted logo of RDT was still clearly visible.
Akali was utterly unphased by what was presented before her. However, for a brief moment, the council's leader paused, focusing on the surroundings. But, to her dissatisfaction, she did not find anything she hoped for. Hence, without wasting time, she approached the corpses to inspect them as much as possible.
The white-haired woman could have sworn that she saw something disturbing when she glanced at the dead for the first time. But, driven by unnatural curiosity, she finally closed in. It took her only a few moments to confirm that her senses were right from the start. After all these years of being a vampire, Akali should have trusted them more.
Someone had made a mistake while mutilating, cutting the abdominal tissue too recklessly and deeply. For one of the corpses, it revealed the abdominal cavity that should, in theory, still contain the dead man's guts. But, as the vampire expected, it was not the case. At the very least, the organs had been extracted for one of these men. But, it would have been worth the effort to check whether the same had been done to the other two. Hence, Akali took her coat off and threw it onto the dusty floor without care. Nextly, she put on a pair of surgeon gloves she had previously taken from one of her many pockets. Then, once the sleeves were rolled up, she was ready for the inspection.
A few moments later, the remaining carcasses were opened, lifting the veil of secrecy. Akali wondered whether she was surprised or not with what she had uncovered. Then, as she exhaled heavily, she concluded that it was to be expected. However, regardless of the verdict, she continued, seemingly desperately trying to spot some clues or details previously omitted.
Ultimately, the white-haired woman must have admitted that her effort was mostly fruitless. Everything she had managed to notice was apparent, left in plain sight. She wanted to swear, but what would it have given her? The answer to that question was simple, nothing. Hence, after a few additional minutes of internal struggle, she decided it was high time to stop. There was no point in further wasting time.
"Aria?" she called out, her voice barely audible.
"What would you need of me, Miss Tepes?" the AI responded momentarily as if she was waiting for the vampire to summon her.
"Please, contact Loghain and Duncan," the white-haired woman started, then paused, gathering her thoughts. "Please, tell them that I found the missing officers. They were brutally murdered, and afterwards, their bodies were savagely mutilated. Whoever has done that removed all organs from the abdominal cavity, leaving it completely empty," she finished, heading toward the nearby sink.
"I'll inform them immediately, Miss Tepes," Aria said instantaneously. "Is there anything more I can do for you?" she questioned.
"Yes," the council's leader sighed before continuing. "Send me the dead officers' data files. Once I am back, I will visit their families. That is the least I can do now," she added in a whisper-like manner.
"Affirmative, miss Tepes," the artificial construct commented. "Duncan and Loghain were informed about your findings. They'd like to know where the bodies are held."
"Please, provide them with the route, Aria," Akali said, turning the tap in the meantime. "I will join them in the primary hub in a few minutes. That is if they do not come here faster. For now, it is all I have for you, Aria. Thank you. Please, turn off the connection. Once I need your further assistance, I will switch it on," she informed the construct.
"As you wish, miss," Aria emotionlessly complied with the given orders. "Before I go, the data banks have already been transferred to your personal feed."
"Thank you," the vampire hollowly whispered.
The AI's voice faded away, making Akali's surroundings painfully quiet. The only noises disturbing the silence were the water running up from the tap. For a brief moment, all the council's leader did was listen to that spluttering. Then, she figured out that she could utilise the time much better. Hence, she slowly started cleaning her gloves.
There was bitterness inside Akali. She could wear a mask of emotionless bitch as long as she deemed necessary, but things were affecting her more than she was willing to show publically. If someone wanted to hurt her, the easiest way was to target her subordinates. Even though the white-haired woman was seemingly invincible, wounding or killing her people would have a lasting effect on her.
"I have failed them," she whispered after a few moments of silence. "Once again, I allowed someone under my command to be hurt," she continued. "It is unacceptable! Once... once I find the scum responsible for that, I will allow my inner demon to shatter its chains. I will allow it to feat upon them, feeding it with their pain and suffering," the woman started to growl.
Then, the vampire heard steady yet heavy steps coming her way.
"Ah," she thought to herself. "Duncan and Loghain decided to come at last," she concluded, trying to fix herself before these two arrived.
Akali's POV (15 - 20 minutes later):
Akali paced around the warehouse's primary hub, making little to no sound. Just like a cat, the vampire gracefully yet slowly stayed in a monotonous movement, wandering around and making a mental list of every detail she could have noticed. Nonetheless, what she saw did not please her. The coat she previously wore had been thrown into the car. Its fabric was covered in stains of mixed water and dust. And, all things considered, the vampire did not need it. After all, she did not really feel cold or damp.
Whoever ran the show from the shadows loved to toy with their own people and opponents. The more Akali saw, the more her vision of the puppet master blurred. To say that what that monster cooked up for the RDT officers was their biggest crime here would be as saying nothing. They had found more than thirty gang members' corpses scattered throughout the main hub and the other wing. The lion's share of these men were teenagers between 15 and 17. Even though these boys had chosen the wrong path in their lives, Akali felt a pang of sadness as these lives had been utterly wasted. It was one thing to deal with whatever she found during her walk. But trying to grasp the bigger picture was an entirely different matter. Perhaps in a different environment, these boys would have turned out decent citizens with work, families, and plans for the future. However, now, it mattered not as this illusive term, future, had been taken away from them.
Nonetheless, the council's leader should keep her mind on the matters at hand. After all, regardless of how influential and powerful she was, the power to turn back time was out of her reach. Hence, the woman stopped briefly to realign her focus. Whatever the mastermind's plan was, it was more than slightly chaotic. But there must have been some pattern underneath all of these events. Still, the white-haired woman seemingly was unable to dissect it. Moreover, with every step the mastermind made, whatever theory Akali had come up with must be discarded as more and more pieces contradicted themselves. It irritated her to witness all of her efforts going sideways. Still, the game she unwillingly participated in played out like a chess match against someone of the same skill set as herself. But no anticipation or excitement was associated with waiting for the opponent's move. Instead, there was a pang of frustration, anger, and other feelings that should have never affected Akali's decision-making.
As the white-haired woman exhaled deeply, she decided that continuing that train of thought would not benefit her in any way. Hence, she tried to focus on everything she had learned so far. So, it was more than likely that the puppet master had planned this massacre to occur. Whether it was a try to distract and confuse the investigators or simply a cruel way to show off his authority, she simply could not tell. The truth could contain pieces from both theses.
But, regardless of that aspect, the reality was that after butchering the RDT officers, some of these puppets were disposed of. Still, there was more to it, so much more. Considering what she had found, it was a wicked scheme indeed. It was sickening what had been done to some of these boys. As far as the council's leader counted, only 5 gang members were killed cleanly without unnecessary mutilation or cruelty. As for the rest, well, things did not look that pretty. It did not surprise the woman that some of these kids were missing organs or chunks of flesh. As disgusting as it sounded, the discovery only fortified the thesis that there were cannibals within the mastermind's troupe. Then, numerous baiting marks were found across the corpses. At the very least, some of these marks must have been left by werewolves, but the others could have been artificially made, or someone employed the degenerates. That speculation itself was a worrying matter. Still, it would be wisest not to delve into these before the group of specialists would carry on autopsy on these corpses.
"Aria?" the vampire called out rather quietly.
"At your service, Miss Tepes," the AI construct responded instantaneously. "How can I be of service?" she questioned.
"Please, wake up, Dr Michell and Miss Vayne. Then, please inform them that I want to speak with them as soon as I return," the white-haired woman said rather plainly.
"Noted, Miss Tepes," Aria acknowledged. "Would you want me to arrange anything else?"
"Yes, organise a vehicle for me," Akali exclaimed. "I am leaving Duncan and Loghain in charge of the further investigation here."
"Very well, eta 10 minutes," the artificial voice stated.