“An issue?” Remley asked, pondering the question with one of his own. “No, certainly not. Why would I have an issue with a thieving bastard destined to dwell in only the darkest corners of this godforsaken realm?!”
The entire area went silent as the words rolled off Remley’s tongue, and even the flame adept himself seemed taken aback by his own outburst. However, the person who seemed most taken aback was Jekken himself.
“Well, well, well...” Jekken said as he hopped in Remley’s direction. “Looks like someone had some balls hiding under their coat, didn’t they?”
Varyon immediately rushed forward, taking a defensive stance between Rem and the approaching adept. “Leave him. He does not know what he says.”
“Oh, he damn well knows what he says,” Jekken replied, displaying a grin that carried ill intent. “And he’s going to pay for it in blood.”
An instant later, Jekken stepped forward and threw an empowered strike, launching a glowing fist directly at Varyon, a strike that landed true. Normally the blow would’ve done little to deter the temporal adept, but without his spirit aura flowing through his body, he could do little but absorb its full force on his tempered flesh.
A growl of pain left Varyon’s lips as the strike slipped past his defenses and landed true on his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of his lungs and forcing his body to recoil in pain. A second strike came in with lightning speed, leaving an impression in Varyon’s cheek and sending his body careening through the debris.
Slowly, the temporal adept pressed his palms into the ground, forcing his face out of the dirt as he reeled from the strike that he had little chance of defending. Sure, his body had been tempered and his resolve was unmatched. However, Varyon’s skill set relied heavily on his aura. Without spirit energy coursing through his channels he was merely a husk, a shell without the ability to empower, enhance, or reinforce his techniques.
Varyon’s ears were ringing as he tried to climb to a knee, though he still managed to hone in on a horrific sound, a sound he tried so desperately to prevent... the persistent thud of Jekken’s fist pounding against Remley’s body. Over and over the warden struck the man, beating Remley until he was nothing more than a crumpled heap.
The flame adept’s cries of pain echoed through the area, creating a sense of dread in the already defeated adepts. Many of the other prisoners looked away, unwilling to witness such wanton brutality... but not Varyon. He watched every second of it, allowing the image to imprint in his mind. For when the time came and he did escape from his shackles, he was going to put his assassin skills to use and remove Jekken’s head from his shoulders.
****
Later that night, Varyon sat against a large piece of broken wall, a tattered hood cast over his face. In one hand he gripped his abdomen, still sore from the strike he’d taken. And in the other hand he held an old rag pressed tightly onto Remley’s lacerated eyebrow.
After Rem’s beating, the flame adept had drifted in and out of consciousness, occasionally letting out a groan of pain as he nursed tender ribs and a bludgeoned body. However, his flame-imbued body had begun its natural recovery process, dragging him back to their dark reality.
The pair sat in silence as daylight waned, making way for night and the coming veil. Soon their silence was broken as the wales of darkbeasts began to permeate the air, signaling their arrival. However, the heavy presence of the dark guilds in Shadowreach, ensured neither man would have to worry about an errant attack. For as vicious as the creatures were, they appeared to be under the dark guild’s influence, acting as their menagerie of twisted shadow and chaos.
The sounds of the grisly creatures continued to haunt them throughout the night. However, Varyon soon noticed another sound reach his ears... the soft sound of weeping.
The temporal adept turned, removing the rag from Remley’s face to find tears streaming down the man’s face, leaving thin lines in his dirty cheeks. “Rem...” he muttered, unable to find words of solace, unsure if he even knew them.
“It’s getting harder, Varyon,” Remley muttered, gazing off at something insubstantial in the distance. “It’s getting so damn hard.”
Varyon furrowed his brow. “What is?”
“To wear the guise,” Remley replied. “To smile and act like this whole damned realm isn’t going to burn in underworld fire. Ya know, I’ve taken everything this life has thrown at me... the death of my parents, my guild, my brother. I’ve taken it all and in the end, I came out with a grin on my face. I smiled, not because I found joy in this miserable existence... gods no. I smiled to bring hope, because if I’m not strong enough to take the brunt of this on my chest and keep smiling, then who is? The moment I let that go, the moment I show the others that weakness...”. Remley’s words drifted as the tears continued to swell in his eyes.
Slowly and methodically, Varyon reached over and placed an arm around the flame adept’s shoulder, holding him in a strong embrace. “You’re an excellent leader and an even greater friend,” Varyon said softly. “I can see why I chose to serve your family those many years ago.”
Remley chuckled, pointing to the spirit shackle around the man’s neck. “And we can see how well that turned out for you. Shackled and beaten.”
Varyon replied with a simple grin. “I’ve suffered worse. Nevertheless, I won’t stop following you. I’ll ensure your soul is freed from this wretched place and the Sky Wolves are reunited under the worldstar’s first light.”
Remley let out another chuckle, turning to Varyon as the despair in his gaze began to dull. “Perhaps my optimism merely wore off onto you… You’re a better man than I thought, Varyon Risen, and I’m glad to have by my side.”
Varyon gave him an affirming nod before tossing away the bloodstained bandage in his grasp. He scanned the nearby rubble, searching for a replacement until he spied a crimson cloth dangling from a warped piece of metal.
Not thinking twice, Varyon reached forward and plucked the scarf out of the air, ready to use it as gauze for one of Remley’s many wounds. However, that plan quickly changed. The moment his skin touched the scarf, he felt a rush of energy by the likes he’d never seen. It was as if sealed within that thin piece of fabric was the raging soul of an all-powerful warrior, a wanderer with twin blades... the soul of one of Eon’s legendary rogue celestials.
Without hesitating, Varyon grabbed the scarf and tucked it into his belt. Now it was his turn to smile.
Chapter 13
Sky Wolf Street Team
The ruins of Shadowreach, Eon
On the opposite end of Shadowreach, a very different situation had begun to develop. A pair of adepts from the spider guild made their way through a rather desolate street, patrolling the walkway for any souls foolish enough to linger in the city’s shadows.
By now, most of the city’s inhabitants had been either captured, converted, or slain. The few holdouts that remained were dwindling by the day, falling to the blades of dark guildlings or the gnashing teeth of darkbeasts. However, a small group of adepts refused to give up the city so easily...
“Did you hear that?” one of the spider guild members muttered, pausing as he took a quick glance through the line of abandoned buildings.
“I think your damned nerves are just gettin to ya,” the other replied, rolling his eyes before motioning him along. “There isn’t anything left in this city except the master’s beasts and a few -“
The man’s words were cut short as a razor-thin line of wind energy came blazing out of one of the empty buildings, slamming into his throat and quickly taking away his ability to breathe, much less speak.
The dark guildling opposite him shot the man a perplexed look, oblivious to the silent strike he’d just absorbed. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be long before he received some pain of his own.
In the breath of a second, the second dark guild member fell to the ground as a bestial figure leapt onto his back and sunk its claws deep into the man’s flesh. The first guild member turned, clutc
hing at his throat as he watched his partner be torn apart by the muscled beast adept now clinging to him. He tried to call out, tried to scream for help but his voice had been rendered all but useless by the wind energy that had damaged his throat. Even worse, by the time he realized what was happening an attempt at escaping was all but futile...
The spider guild member turned on his heel, pausing as a second attacker rushed his flank and slammed a bone spire directly through his chest. He gasped, eyes wide as he met his attackers' unfaltering gaze, as he felt his lifeblood pour out into the cold stone. Then his eyes flittered and his soul left his body, destined to meet his god.
A mere breath passed before the second member of the spiders succumbed to his injuries, leaving the pair of attackers alone in the street. One of them was a beast adept from another world and the other was a dread hunter with an arsenal of bone. And in the shadows...
“You were supposed to leave one of them alive!” Leila growled, half-shouting and half-whispering as she emerged from a nearby broken window, wind aura still dancing across her knuckles.
Quinn sighed, releasing his bone spear with one hand before running his fingers through his thick beard. “I was going for non-lethal Lei, but he was moving around too much.” As he spoke, the dread hunter drew in his fallen opponent’s soul essence, bringing himself ever closer to his next rank.
“The debate will have to wait,” Kai interjected, morphing out of beast form. “I smell more of em close by.”
“Then let’s snag one,” Leila said, raising a clenched fist into the air. As she spoke, her dark passenger began to swirl around her form, making its way around her appendages like a black liquid before pausing at the base of her neck.
“There may be just a few too many to do that,” Kai replied, already on his way back to the nearby alleyway. “Now let’s move.”
Reluctantly, the trio made their way back into hiding as the echo of footsteps began to reach their ears, dragging the bodies of the two downed spiders along with them. During the fall of Shadowreach, each of the three adepts had found themselves in dire situations, though each of them found a way to evade captivity when the dark guilds moved in. Leila and Quinn used the fall of Seline’s tower to mask their escape, fleeing into the slums as those damned spirikai tore their new home asunder. However, they didn’t go unnoticed. Tracking them with his supernatural senses was none other than Kai.
After reuniting, the three adepts fled to the shadows as the city fell to the dark guilds, eluding the waves of darkbeasts and dark guild intruders as they ransacked the city. Unfortunately, their time was growing short and their resources scarce. So, with the precision of a seasoned strike force the trio went hunting, taking down outliers in search of information on their missing companions.
“Hold here,” Kai whispered, peering through the cracked wall of a now-abandoned shop as an entourage of dark warriors marched down the broken pavement, a pair of ravenous darkbeasts in tow.
“You think they’re onto us?” Quinn asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“Doubtful,” Leila replied, eyes locked on the passing group. “With the spiritual turmoil in this place it’d be almost impossible to track even a spirikai.” It was true, all of the death, all of struggle and upheaval in the once-great city had begun to take on a form of its own, altering the atmosphere and making it nearly impossible for one to reach out with their spiritual sense. It was almost like a palpable sense of chaos had replaced the once cool northern air. And though it left Leila with an uneasy feeling of dread, it did allow her and the others to move around undetected.
Kai let out a grumble, nose twitching in the air as he used his beast senses to draw in the surrounding scents. “It’s been days and I still haven’t picked up the scent of Roy or any of your compatriots. Odds are that they’ve moved on by now. That or...” The beast adept let his words linger in the air, unwilling to finish his sentence, to speak the ugly truth of what may very well have happened to Roy and the others.
Quinn sighed. “For being a Justicar of your realm, your investigative skills are rather lacking.”
“I was a police officer,” Kai corrected. “And a damn good one at that.”
Quinn smirked. “Then tell me how you missed that?”
Kai’s gaze shifted beyond the troop of dark adepts, beyond the vile darkbeasts and the line of broken buildings to something else... to a shining beacon of light.
Chapter 14
Untimely Interruptions
Blackstar’s Stronghold, the fallen city of Shadowreach
At the center of Shadowreach city in a jagged building made of darksteel and glass, the umbral council convened. A large, round table sat at the center of a hollow room, surrounded by four shadowy apparitions representing the leaders of Eon’s dark guilds. A fifth man stood in the flesh... Jeryn Blackstar, lord of spiders and new ruler of Shadowreach. And hovering above them all, looming like a shadow ready to consume the realm was the avatar of Arachnifax, dark god of the veil.
Blackstar shifted his weight from one foot to the other, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to exude an air of confidence. After all, his recent actions were the largest steps any of them had taken in reclaiming the realm since the bounty of blades.
Slowly, Blackstar’s gaze shifted to the room’s center as the shadowy avatar lowered itself onto the table, allowing its power to blanket the room in a sign of sheer dominance. However, the avatar remained focused on a single member of the umbral council... the spider guild leader himself.
“Jeryn Blackstar, it has become apparent that you’ve taken a great step in securing a stronghold for this council. Speak.”
“Yes, my lord,” Jeryn replied, his tone just smug enough to creep under the skin of his counterparts. “The city of Shadowreach has been secured, in your honor of course. In addition, the spirit magus, Argo Zael has been slain and the rebel, Seline Bonaduce has been captured.”
“You haven’t killed her?” one of the other guild leaders interjected, drawing a smirk from Jeryn.
“I don’t intend to waste valuable resources,” he replied, switching his focus the shadowy apparition. “Unlike some of you, I have the ability to separate my personal hate of the Bonaduce clan with the practicality of having such a high profile prisoner on hand.”
“Fool spider,” another guild leader snorted, throwing his shadowy arms into the air. “You failed to end the Bonaduce line once before.. yet now you suddenly think it’s a good time to keep one around?!”
“Don’t you dare try to mock me!” Blackstar roared, allowing his shadow aura to flare despite his powerful company. “The Thousand-legged Spiders have slain more Bonaduce than any of you can lay claim to!”
“Enough,” the Arachnifax avatar said, drawing all of the energy out of the room with a single spoken word. “Jeryn Blackstar has done enough to earn this gamble. We cannot lay claim to Eon without taking some chances.” The avatar paused, returning his gaze to Jeryn. “And if Blackstar fails then he will pay the appropriate price. But for now, we must-“
Suddenly, the walls shook as a burst of energy erupted somewhere outside the building, bringing the god avatar to an abrupt pause... a pause that was followed by an uncomfortable silence.
“What was that?” the avatar finally kissed, centering its gaze on Blackstar. Despite the energy was burst being felt throughout the room, Jeryn Blackstar was the only one that was actually present in physical form.
The spider guild leader began to respond, but a second blast of energy quickly stole his attention, rattling the walls and causing the spiritual apparitions of his fellow guild leaders to shutter. A breath later, all eyes shifted to the shadow adept, causing an uncomfortable heat to build on the back of the Blackstar’s neck.
“It appears things in Shadowreach may not be as secure as you let on, Lord Blackstar,” the Arachnifax avatar said. “Perhaps we should adjourn so you can take care of these... annoyances.”
“Very well, my liege,” Blackstar replied, speak
ing through clenched teeth.
Slowly, the apparitions representing the other guild leaders faded, leaving only Jeryn Blackstar and the mighty Arachnifax avatar standing face to face. Soon, the avatar began to fade as well, though it left Jeryn with a final statement. “You assume you’ve done well spider, but don’t grow careless. The price of failure does not diminish because of some ill-gotten gains.”
And like that, Jeryn Blackstar was once again alone, standing at the center of his darksteel structure as chaos erupted just beyond his doors.
With a scowl the spider lord threw his arm into the air, causing his long, black cloak to float behind him like living shadow. Then he let his spirit aura erupt, filling the room with his dark energy as he made his way towards the door.
He worked too hard to claim this city, and he’d be damned if he let that slip through his fingers. It was time to unleash the darkness once more.
Chapter 15
Standoff at Landing Bay Seven
Shadowreach City, the realm of Eon
Varyon Risen stood at the center of a torn sector of Shadowreach city, completely awestruck. Moments ago, the temporal adept had held in his grasp a pristine, red cloth. His intention was to use the garment as a simple bandage, a mere rag to help with Rem’s wounds. However, once the piece of fabric had touched his flesh, its true power had been revealed.
Sealed within the threads of that scarf was the spirit of An’Habar, one of Eon’s mighty rogue celestials. The creatures known as celestials were beings created by the gods, forged by starlight and used to exert their will on the mortal world. For some time, the gods used the celestials as mighty tools, weapons even. That is until they deemed the creatures undisciplined and inefficient... beasts unworthy to carry their name. So, rather than allow their failures to roam Eon, the gods sealed their creations within trinkets, lavish garments, and other items, storing them away to be used as they saw fit. However, even gods can grow careless and one such item found its way into the hands of the spirit magus Argo Zael... and now, to Varyon Risen.
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