by Brandon Chen
The boy sensed something slithering in the thick fog around him; a creature was watching him. Disconcerted, Yuri started through the mist, stepping around the dozens of stone gravestones that covered the dirt ground.
His stomach twisted when he felt the stare of his stalker intensifying. Glancing over his shoulder, he turned and saw a blurred silhouette of darkness in the fog. The creature’s red eyes glowed through the haze, making it look like a demonic being.
Fear seized the boy and his body froze. “Is that you, Malyios?” Yuri croaked, staring at the mysterious entity. “Why … why did you show me all of that?”
“I am helping you realize who your true enemies are to help you stay alive, so that you will not be killed before you reach the Oblivion Portal,” Malyios’s familiar voice grumbled. “Understanding your enemies is important.”
“When I enter the Oblivion Portal … what will happen?”
“Nothing. It will be the same as if you entered a portal to anywhere else. You’ll be whisked to a far-off land. You will arrive at Oblivion and then our accord will be complete. Once you walk through, you are immediately free to turn around and leave, should you decide to do so,” the Titan said. “But you are also free to walk amongst the realm of those who are lost in Oblivion. You may recognize a few souls that are wandering there.”
Yuri suddenly saw that another shadow had appeared to his right. The figure was walking towards him, the silhouette’s figure unfamiliar at first. But within moments, the stranger came into view. It was Beo.
The deceased noble calmly strode through the gloomy mist, his eyes darting about as he scanned the fog for any signs of life. His gaze went straight through Yuri, as if the boy was transparent, and he continued forward.
Yuri watched as the sojourner disappeared as quickly as he had come. The next figure that walked forward was someone that the werewolf recognized immediately. The shape of the man’s body had been burned into Yuri’s mind since he’d last seen the person years ago. “It can’t be—” Yuri said, his eyes going wide with disbelief. It was his father, a parent that had perished a decade ago. But … he looked the same, as if he hadn’t aged a day.
“Dad?” he said, taking hesitant steps towards his father. But the man did not acknowledge him. He was looking about frantically, his body trembling with terror. He looked exhausted. There were heavy bags underneath his dark eyes, and his skin was covered in bloody lacerations.
“Please, look! It’s me, I—” Yuri exclaimed, reaching out to his father. Then the man phased straight through Yuri’s body, stepping out on the other side of the shocked boy. The distraught werewolf spun around, staring at his dad. His eyes glistened with tears and his quavering hands clenched into fists at his side. Biting his quivering lip, he glanced at Malyios. “Why can’t he hear me?”
“Because he is in Oblivion, while you are still in the material world. You can see and meet him again in Oblivion,” Malyios said. “I believe there have even been occasions when souls have escaped Oblivion.”
“Escaped Oblivion?” Yuri echoed. In other words, Malyios was saying that it was possible to bring people back to life. Could he do that too? Images of his deceased family jolted through his mind and he clenched his jaw, knowing that he would do anything to bring them back. Even if it was just one of them … he would pay any price to resurrect them. “Why are souls put in Oblivion?”
“When a person dies, their soul is judged. They are either placed in Heaven or condemned to Oblivion for eternity. However, your father is special. He was not judged,” Malyios said with a chuckle. “Certain individuals are chosen by the gods of death. These souls are given the option to participate in a test known as the Oblivion Trials. Survivors of these trials, regardless of their morality while they were alive, can have any wish granted. They can even be revived into the world of living, if that is their wish. However, those that fail the trials are condemned to Oblivion, even if they were meant for Heaven.”
Yuri looked at his father, who had just vanished into the fog. “My father participated in those trials?”
“He did.”
Yuri sighed. Could this be some kind of trick? Was Malyios merely trying to lure him deeper into Oblivion? He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Even if there was the slightest chance that he could bring his father back to life, he needed to pursue that path. After all, Yuri knew that he wouldn’t be the person he was today without his dad. “The accord hasn’t changed,” he said. “After I complete my task and retrieve the Phoenix Hearts … I will enter the Oblivion Portal.”
“I understand.” Yuri couldn’t quite tell through the thick fog, but he could’ve sworn that the god was smiling. “I will be waiting.”
***
Yuri suddenly jolted awake, his eyes snapping open fully. He was breathing heavily, his shirt completely soaked in sweat. There was a wet towel on his forehead and he gulped, understanding that he was back in reality. Scanning his surroundings, the boy saw that he was in a room entirely made of sculpted ice. He was on the ground, lying on a warm mat made from the hide of some hairy animal. Sleeping soundlessly beside him was … Violet?
The boy covered his mouth with both of his hands, nearly crying out with surprise. His face turned as red as a beet. He heard a light chuckle and turned to find Archerus, sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. The man was studying a map of Lichholme, attempting to memorize it.
“Another dream?” Archerus said, prying his eyes from the map to look at the boy. He lowered the piece of parchment and nodded in Violet’s direction. “The princess cares a great deal for you. She’s been by your side from the moment they pulled you from the Lake of Eternity.”
Yuri blinked. He wanted to ask how he had survived the freezing temperatures of the lake, but there were too many mystified thoughts rushing through his mind. “Where are we?”
“Lady Amara’s fortress. She’s a Frozarian, a humanoid descendant of the frost giants. The Frost Mistress has been kind enough to let us take refuge here from the bitter cold while you recover. How are you faring?” Archerus said, standing up as he walked over to Yuri.
“I’m fine, but we need to get going immediately!” Yuri said, attempting to lean forward. There was a surge of sharp pain that jolted through his joints and he winced, finding it difficult to even move. Most of his bones were tremendously sore and the majority of his body ached. Gasping, he collapsed back to the floor.
“You won’t be able to move for a while,” Archerus said. “Look, I understand that we’re in a rush to get these Phoenix Hearts, but pushing yourself too hard isn’t going to help anyone.”
“You don’t understand,” Yuri growled, shaking his head. “Etaon is in trouble! Malyssa is going to attack it and have all of the engineers there murdered. We need to ride to the gnomish fortress with all haste so we can warn them of the oncoming danger!”
“And how is it possible that you can foresee such an assault?” Archerus said curiously, raising an eyebrow. “You just know, is that it? Just as you knew of the Phoenix Heart field and its exact location, despite never having set foot on the mainland. I am tired of the act, Yuri.”
Yuri averted his gaze. “It’s difficult to explain.”
“We have time,” Violet said, her voice gentle. She rubbed her tired eyes with the back of her hand as she leaned forward. “Especially since you’re temporarily paralyzed.”
Yuri stared at the princess and let out a defeated groan. Perhaps it was time that he was completely honest. He didn’t like leaving his friends in the dark about what was happening; he just thought that it would be bizarre to tell them about an ancient deity that was contacting him through his dreams. The very idea of it all seemed insane. Nevertheless, he started talking. He told them everything that he knew, from the existence of the Bount organization to Malyios’s accord, and all of the nightmares that he’d had.
When he finished his explanation, Yuri was surprised to see that neither Violet nor Archerus disbelieved him. Then again, he suppose
d that they’d been through enough unusual experiences that perhaps a Titan contacting him through dreams wasn’t the most preposterous idea around.
“So, this Malyios wants us to succeed in our quest,” Violet said, clapping her hands. “I mean, that can’t mean that he’s malicious, right? He’s forewarned us of the future attack on Etaon.”
“You don’t know what force you’re dealing with, Yuri,” Archerus murmured, his expression grim. “Malyios doesn’t want us to succeed. He wants Yuri to succeed; that’s the only reason he’s granted Yuri precious information regarding Faelen and Malyssa. For all he cares, the rest of us could perish. Not much is known about the ancient Titan. We only know that he’s a god of darkness, and at one point, he was the most dangerous deity on Terrador and Heaven alike.”
“Look, I can’t do anything about the accord that I’ve made with him. It’s already been done,” Yuri said. “I know to be careful when dealing with him.”
“It was foolish of you to make such a deal with him in the first place,” Archerus said harshly, causing the boy to lower his head. “I knew it was suspicious that you’d gained absolute control over your werewolf powers in one night. You shouldn’t have made such a bold decision without consulting me first.”
“I’m sorry,” Yuri said, closing his eyes. “But—”
“Apologizing won’t help when you walk through that Oblivion Portal and end up condemned there for eternity,” Archerus snapped, exhaling his frustration through his nostrils.
“A-Anyway,” Violet said suddenly, trying to change the topic. “We should focus on the information that Yuri got from Malyios’s projected visions. If there is going to be an attack on Etaon soon, we should send some messengers to tell them to bolster their security so they can defend themselves against Malyssa and any possible incursion.”
Archerus and Yuri nodded in agreement.
“Now we also know that there is a werewolf approaching Lichholme that will be searching for the Oblivion Portal and the vault full of Sacred Treasures,” Violet said, tapping her chin with her index finger. “That’s certainly an issue.”
“Right,” Yuri murmured, running a hand through his hair. “Now we also have to worry about stopping this Bount, Tanya. We have to assume that she has the incantation needed to get into the Oblivion Vault.”
“But doesn’t Tanya work for Faelen? I thought that she would only be retrieving a potion for him, so that he can return to being a human,” Violet exclaimed. “S-So maybe we don’t have to regard her as a threat?”
“Wrong,” Archerus said. “She will certainly take the potion for Faelen, but I believe that she is subordinate to the Bounts before Faelen. There is no doubt that she’ll attempt to take other Sacred Treasures from the vault, items that will pose a great danger to the world. We’ll need to stop her.” He turned and started to walk towards the doorway. “But for now, she’s still searching for the Oblivion Portal, and it’ll take her some time to find it. We’ll use that time to complete our quest. Hopefully Yuri can fulfill his end of his accord with Malyios without dying.”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Yuri said with a weary chuckle. “Where are you off to?”
Archerus waved to Yuri and Violet over his shoulder. “I’m going to get a small party ready to ride at full speed for Etaon. Get some rest, Yuri.”
Yuri watched as his friend left the room and sighed, leaning back into the soft, furry mat. He gazed blankly at the flat icy ceiling above him. There was a moment of awkward silence between him and Violet, but he finally mustered the courage to speak his mind. “Given the opportunity to revive someone that you love, you would grasp it, wouldn’t you?”
“I would do whatever it took to bring that person back,” Violet said, initially thinking of Yuri. But she quickly realized what he was talking about. “But what if that opportunity wasn’t real? Yuri, you don’t know if Malyios is telling you the truth or not. You can’t be sure that your father can be brought back, or if he’s even in Oblivion at all! Malyios might be just trying to lure you into some trap. Why else would he just ask you to enter the Oblivion Portal? That seems too easy, doesn’t it?”
“I would be free to leave Oblivion whenever I like,” Yuri said, wetting his lips. “I know that it’s risky and that this whole situation is dangerous, but there is a slim chance that he could be telling the truth. I would forever live with regret if I simply left Oblivion without knowing if I really could bring back my dad.”
Violet lay down, folding her hands over her stomach and looking up at the blank ceiling. The boy’s mind was made up and she knew that there was no way that she could change that. She liked that Yuri’s decisions weren’t swayed by the opinions of others, but she truly thought that this time his choice was too dangerous. “What was your dad like?” Violet asked.
Yuri looked at the princess. It’d been a decade since he’d openly talked about his father. But maybe it was finally time that he told someone what Dad was like. He smiled. “My father was a kind man. More than anything, he cared about our family. Our household was poor, and scraping by was sometimes hard. But Dad would often do whatever it took to get the money that we needed to survive.” He closed his eyes as he spoke, his mind whisked away by the fresh memories of his father that flashed through his mind. “He worked during the day, but his wage was only enough to support him, not a family of four. On some days, I was surprised that he stayed with us instead of running off to live on his own. For most of my early years, I felt like a burden to him. He’d sacrifice so much for us … he always put himself last, even though he was the reason we had food to eat in the first place.
“My father would give his portion of meals to Han and me. He always said that growing boys needed to eat, and insisted that we didn’t worry about him. But as the years went by, I saw him growing weaker and weaker. Eventually, he was fired from his job at Horux’s warehouse. Without income, my father became desperate. He felt that he needed to do whatever it took to survive,” Yuri said, his expression hardening. “The economy was in a recession and no one was hiring. My father assured us that he would find a way to make money. And so he became a thief, stealing from whoever he could in the streets.”
Violet bit her lower lip and said nothing, allowing Yuri to continue his tale.
“At first, he stole small things and sold them, making enough money to feed the family. But when the rent was due, he still couldn’t pay it,” Yuri choked out, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “We lived in a very dangerous area of Horux at the time. It was the fourth month that we couldn’t pay the rent, and my father refused to leave. So the landlord had one of Dad’s fingers cut off. He claimed that for every month that he didn’t pay the rent, he would slice off another.”
“That’s horrible! Why didn’t you tell the guards? I’m sure they would’ve—”
“The guards didn’t care about lowlifes like us,” Yuri murmured, shaking his head. “No one did. In their eyes, we were just dirty scumbags destined to perish in the streets, bathed in our own filth. After my father lost his finger, he realized that he needed to steal bigger things to get enough money to pay the rent. So, he did. He started sneaking into the Noble District and stealing from the rich. For several months, we lived better than we ever had. Then he got caught. As the princess, I assume that you know the names of all the nobles in Horux. My father broke into one of the mansions in the Wolf House … the home of Asmund and Beo.”
“The manor of your best friend?” Violet said with surprise.
“Yes, but we weren’t friends at the time. I didn’t even know he existed,” Yuri said. “Asmund discovered my father, who was trying to steal a valuable flower that they had sealed away in a safe. In desperation, my father tried to silence Asmund. But Beo appeared and defended Asmund, killing my Dad. For a decade, I wondered why it was that my father had to die for a mere flower. I didn’t even realize its value until I became a werewolf. It was a Phoenix Heart. If he’d sold that, my family would’ve never had problems
with money again. In my father’s eyes … that would have been his last theft.”
Yuri pressed his forearm to his moist eyes. “With his dying breath, he apologized to the nobles and asked them for a favor — to watch over my family after he passed. Beo arrived at my home several days later, explaining my father’s demise. I think that he felt somewhat guilty that he had taken my dad away, which is why he treated me like one of his own for the next couple years. Beo did as my father asked. He made sure that my family was financially stable through me. He understood that Dad was stealing out of desperation as opposed to malicious intent.
“There is one memory of my father that I’ll always recall, and it’s the one that helps me revert from my werewolf form back to a human,” Yuri said, smiling slightly. “On my seventh birthday, he brought me an entire baguette. He told me that I could have it all to myself, and that it was my day. I knew that he didn’t eat that day, and that he’d spent his earnings on that baguette and small portions of food for my mom and brother.”
Violet reached out and interlocked her fingers with his. She gave the boy’s hand a tight squeeze. “Your father sounds like a great man.”
“He was. It was his selflessness and determination to preserve the wellbeing of his loved ones that influenced me to become the person that I am today,” Yuri said, tears trickling slowly down his cheeks. “He would do anything for his family, I know that. That’s why I have to go to Oblivion. If there’s any chance that I can bring him back, I have to grasp it. He would do the same for me.”
“I understand,” Violet said. “I think you should go then. Just be careful. You’ve been close to death so many times that I’m surprised I haven’t had a heart attack yet.”
Yuri laughed. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
He grinned. “Everything.”
Fire and Ice
Moriaki had been watching over the peninsula’s entrance for several days, his heart full of worry for Zylon’s safety. The magical wall that the immortal had created was still in place, but the druid expected it to come crashing down at any moment. Faelen would torture Zylon to force him to release his magic. Moriaki had to be prepared to battle an army of werewolves when the wall finally faltered.