“You will have to face your fears for you to get through it. They will manifest in a way that feels so real to you, but remember when you experience it - it is all an illusion.”
“So is there any real danger or not?”
“Your fears can kill you just like in real life. You have to be brave and fight.”
“Fear never hurt me before,” Crinnan rolled his eyes at the idea, “I’m doing fine so far. Whatever that castle has in store for me, I doubt it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Sure man,” Lucaas let out a hesitant laugh, “I guess just do your best. I have to go, but we will talk again soon.” At that, the channel closed and Lucaas was gone.
Milinka gave Crinnan an odd look and he sighed, she had clearly just seen what appeared like him talking to himself.
“People from home. They are communicating with me for some reason, they are guiding us out of here. You will soon be able to fight demons as we do.”
“Good,” her upper lip curled into a snarl. Crinnan could only imagine the fury-filled thoughts of revenge that were pulsing through her head. He felt pity for the former Vice-Commander for what she had endured.
Crinnan turned his head and watched her march alongside them. She was older, grown, more mature… and though adorned in rags and covered in filth, she was twice as beautiful as he remembered. He wondered how similar she was to the girl he had once known in the Kamlotiaon Woods.
As he watched her, he could not stop the rush of memories from flooding in and sighed as he once again felt the feelings he had felt nearly a decade prior. When she turned her head and looked at him, he realized he was smiling like an idiot. He shook his head and turned his eyes forward.
The trio approached the gate of the castle and Ander looked to the others, “Whatever you may find inside,” he advised, “Remember you must face it. I know of this instance, I have heard of how to complete it. You must conquer your fears otherwise they will obliterate you.”
“What do you mean?” Milinka asked.
“This is Dread’s Keep,” Ander sighed and placed his hand on the tall, thick wooden gate. “Behind these walls, you will face your greatest fears. Many have been transformed within the confines of these stone walls; some have left completely unrecognizable.”
“I am ready,” Crinnan insisted, glancing over at Milinka and ultimately locking his eyes on Ander.
Ander nodded and the gate before them raised, “We will all face our own fears in our own way. we must all promise to wait for each other on the other side, for the castle’s lord will await us at the end. When we vanquish him, we will gain the key to the portal. He has great power, ten-fold what we have faced thus far and we all must fight him together… stand together, the army of the lord of Dread’s keep awaits.”
“Army?” Crinnan repeated, “Wait, there’s an army?”
The gate stopped and Crinnan groaned with dismay as he looked into the courtyard of Dread’s Keep. Dozens of ghoulish looking monsters turned their heads his way; he saw skeletons, horned beasts, and the shambling undead. They all held weapons of varying sizes, and Crinnan let out a long sigh.
“Okay, so we can just cut a path through and…”
“Alas, no,” Ander cut him off, “The door to the keep will only unlock when the courtyard is clear. I fear to say it, but we must fight.”
“Well, let’s do it then,” Crinnan looked back to Milinka, “You stay back, stay out of the way.”
“Like Hells,” Milinka spat as she stepped forward, “I cannot fight other people but I can fight the monsters. I killed one of the spider things when I first got here. You kill one of the ones with a sword, and I will help out.”
“Are you sure you are able, madam?” Ander inquired, “To keep up with Crinnan and myself I mean?”
“What do you mean by that?” Milinka snorted.
“Well, I mean you are a…” Ander seemed for a moment to be at a loss for words, “And we are…”
Milinka nodded her head and licked her lips. She didn’t seem happy with Ander’s comment, “We can discuss sexism in survival situations when this is over.” She quipped as she pushed Crinnan forward, “For now, get me a sword.”
“I do declare, she is a squint testy is she not?” Ander leaned into Crinnan and whispered.
“Yeah,” Crinnan smiled boyishly as he thought about her. That much about her hadn’t changed, “She sure is.”
The monsters growled as they shambled forward toward the trio. Crinnan held his blade at the ready and Ander's feet lifted off the ground as his hands were enveloped with black pulsing energy.
“You really could just stay back,” Ander told Crinnan, “I am capable of taking care of this for us.”
“Yeah right,” Crinnan said back, “Just shut up and let’s get to it.”
At that, Crinnan charged forward. He swung his sword through the head of one of the ghouls and spun out of the way of an axe that was aimed for his chest. A horned, black-skinned devil leaped at him and Crinnan thrust the blade upward and into the monster’s mouth. Milinka quickly ran up behind him and picked up the axe that the devil was wielding and nodded.
“Just like Kamlot, right?” She asked as she hacked into the skull of one of the skeletons, “The good ol’ days.”
“Shut up and fight,” Crinnan snapped back as he pulled his blade from the meaty chest of another horned devil, “We don’t have time to catch up.”
“Oh, we just have time to silently reminisce and smile like idiots then right?” Milinka slammed the blade of the axe into a ghoul’s belly, separating its top half from its lower, “Do not think that I haven’t been watching you. You and your goofy looks.”
“Stop it,” Crinnan groaned as he thrust the point of the blade through the previously bisected ghoul’s head. He thought for a minute as he planted his boot into the chest of a ghoul, and spoke, “Why did you never come see me?”
“I was not aware I was supposed to?” Milinka replied as her back bumped against Crinnan’s, “Why did you never come see me?”
“I’m a Centurion,” Crinnan called back as the guts of a leaping and lacerated horned devil rained down on them, “I’ve been busy.”
“And I am a Vice-Commander,” Milinka sneered as she batted away a skeleton, “I am busier.” She smashed the skeleton with her axe and seeing that there were no more monsters on her side, she turned around so that she was side by side with Crinnan.
“I waited for you, you know,” She spat as she hacked into another ghoul, “For seven years. I thought you would come. I thought you would keep your promise.”
“I did!” Crinnan snapped back, pushing Milinka out of the way of a sword swipe and cutting through a horned devil’s throat, “I found you here. I didn’t mean to but… looks like I kept my promise.”
“That does not count,” Milinka blurted as she spun and cut down a skeleton, “You know I loved you, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Crinnan asked as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into him. The monsters had stopped coming, for the moment Ander was finishing with his and they were alone. Crinnan looked into Milinka’s eyes and she looked into his, “What changed?”
“You never came,” Milinka raised her eyebrows as she pulled away and turned to join Ander. Crinnan was left alone and shook his head as he frustratedly ran his tongue across his two front teeth. For a moment he stood silently and pondered what his life could have been had he gone after her after Kamlot. She was right; he never went after her. He loved her too but he was a soldier, his life was about fighting, and love didn’t suit him. Killing did. He cursed under his breath and with a sigh, he ran to join the others.
Crinnan reached Ander and Milinka just in time to cut down the last skeleton. Ander smiled and as his feet returned to the ground, the pulsing energy in his hands extinguished. He nodded to the others and looked to the keep ahead of them.
“Forward then,” He declared as he stepped toward the door, “Resilience is key my friends, for as soon as you walk across the
threshold your trials will begin.”
“How do you know all this?” Crinnan asked, “You seem to know so much about this place, about the Hells. Why?”
Ander stopped walking and pursed his lips together as he turned toward the others. Milinka seemed interested in an answer as well and as Ander faced them, he nodded slowly.
“You may recall me mentioning that I was once employed by Life Links?” He answered, “Well, child, that is only part of the story. To keep it short, I was dismissed from Life Links by the president himself and went on to found a corporation called LL Industries. When the Church declared war on the Corporations, we were initially a part of the Alliance of Corporations, however as we suffered many losses, we eventually switched sides. When the Church won the war, my corporation was employed to… redesign the Afterscape according to their specifications.”
“So your weird ass created the Hells?” Crinnan asked, “You did all this?”
“Essentially, yes,” Ander nodded, “We were forced to, we did not have a choice in the matter.”
“You could have fought back, you could have stayed with the AOC and helped them win the war,” Crinnan was disgusted. How could anyone just so willingly allow themselves to be subjugated, “You always have a choice. Seems to me like you made the wrong one.”
“Spoken like a true idealist twenty-something,” Ander snickered, “I did what was best for my people. Survive for a millennium and then offer me your wisdom.”
The trio approached the door to the castle and Ander reached out and placed his hand against it. He paused before pushing and looked back at the others, “I remind you, this will be no easy task. The last time I went through here I… lost myself. There is no telling how long we will be inside but remember. We must wait for each other at the end.”
Crinnan and Milinka nodded at him and Ander took a breath and pushed the door open. The inside was pitch black; nothing could be made out in any direction. As they ventured forth the doors slammed behind them, and all that was left was to wait for something to happen.
“Ander?” Crinnan called out as he lost his companions in the blackness. He spun in a circle and reached out his hands to try to locate either of them, “Milinka?”
He realized he was alone. He stood in place for a moment and waited. The castle was darker than anything he had ever encountered and quiet enough for him to hear his own heart beating. He breathed steadily as he waited but felt his heart begin to thump harder. Finally, he heard a voice.
“C... Crinnan?” It was a voice he had known since he was seven years old.
“Elia?” His eyes scanned the area nervously. He thought back to what he was told about Dread’s Keep, that he was going to face his fears. What could Elia possibly have to do with any of it?
“Crinnan,” She wheezed. A spectral blue light formed in the background and Crinnan saw Elia sitting on the ground in front of him. She held her hands to her throat, blood ran over her fingers and drenched her body, ultimately, pooling beneath her.
“Crinnan,” She choked, looking up at him.
“You’re not real.” He looked down at her and marveled at how realistic the image of her seemed. He did instinctively feel compelled to help her.
“I never liked you,” She snarled as she removed her hands from her throat and pushed herself up off the ground. Blood ran down her neck and chest and dripped onto the floor, “I always used you to stay close to Alec. I put up with you. You and your whining emotional bullshit. By the goddess, I hated dealing with you. Alec has it together, you never have.”
“Fuck off,” Crinnan turned away. As he did, he saw his friend Alec standing in front of him. He had a large gash in his head and blood ran freely over his cracked visor.
“You will get us all killed,” Alec declared, “We are searching for you Crinnan. We will all die horrible deaths because of you… because you were too fucking weak to stay alive.”
Crinnan snickered and turned again. This time his father stood before him.
“You are nothing but a failure and a disappointment,” his father shouted, “I never felt a connection to you. You are the most disappointing of all your siblings, you have been since the day you were born. I despise your existence; you have brought me nothing but shame in this life. You had may as well not be mine.”
Crinnan closed his eyes and shook his head.
“None of it is real,” he repeated to himself, “It is all an illusion.”
“Face us you pussy,” his father demanded, “Stop running from what you know is true!”
Crinnan stood silently with his eyes closed and waited for it to be over. The apparitions were tugging at his emotions but he knew they were not real. He knew he just had to get through it. Finally, he heard nothing else and opened his eyes.
“Hello Crinnan,” his own voice said. Crinnan gasped and stepped backward, nearly tripping over his own feet. Before him, he saw a mirror image of himself. It was bleeding from its side and mouth and sitting at a table. The illusion held out his hand and invited Crinnan to take a seat across from him. Crinnan approached slowly and cautiously sat down on a wooden chair.
“You are not real,” Crinnan repeated. “You are an illusion.”
“You keep saying that. Does it make you feel better? Do you not realize that you are merely data?” The other replied, “You are numbers, I am a picture. Who is more real? I have your memories, your thoughts… I know your darkest fears and your deepest desires. Tell me though, Crinnan, what do you hope for?”
“What do you mean what do I hope for? What does it matter?”
The other shrugged and leaned back in his chair, “You fight a war you can never win,” he wrung his hands together and drilled his eyes into Crinnan, “You fight for people that hate you, who will always hate you! You fight for people who are doing just fine without you, and who would much rather you and your stupid fucking army just go away. Do you even have a reason to keep fighting or is this all just the life you were born into? Is this all circumstance?”
“We are the good guys,” Crinnan declared, “We want to free everyone from the oppression of the Empire.”
“That is the corniest most unoriginal thing I think I have ever heard anyone say. Do you really believe that? Do you understand how many stories have been written about the same theme over and over again throughout history? You have been skullfucked with this propaganda, with these ridiculous ideals and illusions that make you feel tingly inside. I guess if you feel warm, then it must be right?”
“Now, here you sit.” The other continued, “You fight the powers that be, merely and simply because you do you suddenly think that your side of the table is the correct one?” The other scoffed and rolled his eyes at Crinnan, “What a complete load of garbage, Crinnan. I would expect nothing less from someone so worthless and insignificant as you. You see, your feeble attempt to validate your existence by claiming you are good simply because you rebel against the Empire is utter lunacy. Have you ever questioned your own motives? The motives of Black Knight? Who on this planet could possibly have ambitions so pure?”
“I do,” Crinnan replied confidently.
“Do you?” The other snickered, “Or do you just want to believe you do. Tell me your own thoughts, the real ones, not those that have been shoved down your throat and pounded into your brain since you took your first worthless breath.”
“I just want peace,” Crinnan admitted, “No more fighting, no more war. I want the world to find some kind of common ground.”
“You will never find that you fool,” the other laughed, “Everything you do is in vain if that is what you fight for. As long as everyone has their own goals, desires, and ambitions, there will never be peace and you know it.” He stood up and drew his sword, “Everything you do will affect everyone you love.” He walked over to Elia and thrust his sword through her heart. She screamed and wept as she fell backward and writhed.
“Stop,” Crinnan whispered.
“Your choices follow you eve
rywhere you go!” the illusion’s voice seemed to surround Crinnan. It echoed off walls that weren’t there and rattled every bone inside of his body. The other stepped over to Alec and swung the sword, removing his head. Alec’s body fell to the pitch-black ground and the other snorted at it.
“Your past will die,” It cut his father’s throat, “And your future…” A spectral image of Milinka materialized and the Other pointed his sword at her.
Crinnan quickly stood up and found his own sword in hand. He violently tossed the chair aside and stepped toward the Other. He had been pushed too far.
“What will you do, puppet? You already abandoned her once. You promised you would come back to her, that nothing could keep you apart.” He stepped toward Milinka. Crinnan’s nostrils flared as he felt the anger set in. He gripped the sword tightly and the other smiled.
“Why, even if you do get out of here, you know she is engaged. You know she is going to marry Vice-Commander Card,” The other laughed menacingly and took a step closer to her, “Not that it would matter anyway. You didn’t go after her. You are too much of a coward to let her back in.”
“Get away from her!” Crinnan shouted. He tried to run forward but his legs felt locked in place. It was all like a dream; he could not move or fight. He could not protect those he loved or even himself… he realized that was what he was afraid of. Of being too weak to protect them, of not being able to save everyone
“Even if you were able to strike me down, I would remain. You manifested me, I exist, I always have. I am a part of you! Your own cold heart formed what I am… Now, when will you quit being a little bitch, when will you let your actions reflect your choices and not those of everyone around you? And what price will you pay?” He thrust his sword through Milinka’s skull and she fell to the black ground.
Crinnan’s heart felt like it had snapped and he somehow managed to move his legs. He charged forward and swung his own blade at the image of himself. The Other blocked the attack and smiled.
“You think you have found it? Your fear?” He laughed and shook his head.
Alec’s headless body arose, axe in hand. He charged toward Crinnan but Crinnan broke free and spun, slicing the back of Alec’s thigh. Alec fell forward and vanished just as Elia thrust her sword into Crinnan’s back. Crinnan groaned and slammed his elbow into her face, knocking her backward. He spun around and hacked at her, cutting multiple times into her chest. She looked at him, blinked, and vanished.
The Black Knight Box Set Page 41