Sacrifice

"Incredible, isn't it?" Queen Ilphine asked, getting back to her feet. "A mere shell of its previous glory, but still so beautiful."

Lucas slowly turned to find the Queen pulling the sword from the pedestal and pointing it in his direction. A wall of jade colored vines stood behind her, like a horde of pythons prepared to strike.

"Please, let me go! I- I really don't have anything to do with the Lost!" Lucas said, his eyes darting around as he searched for a way to escape.

For a brief moment, he even considered jumping out the door, but without a pair of wings, he'd only be leaping to his death.

"Enough of your nonsense," Queen Ilphine said coldy, narrowing her eyes. "Do you truly think I'd be so easily fooled by your lies?"

Unwilling to hear anymore, the Queen stomped her foot against the ground, and sent the vines flying forward.

Unprepared for the sudden attack, Lucas was swiftly caught, and thrown to the floor. After binding his legs and torso, the vines began to drag Lucas back across the floor.

In a desperate attempt to break free, he stabbed the amber dagger into a crack lining the floor, but alas, the attempt was futile.

For while the dagger held, his grip did not, and like a flag representing his surrender, it stood there, getting further and further away by the second.

The Queen, noticing Lucas failed attempt to escape, laughed and had the vines tighten their grip.

"It's pointless to resist, child. For even if you somehow managed to escape, there would still be no where to run," Queen Ilphine said. Then she raised her hand, and with it, the vines holding Lucas.

Feeling his body leave the floor, Lucas doubled his efforts to escape, only to freeze when he came face to face with the Queen.

So close, were they, that her flaming eyes seared his skin, and her rotten bones left his nostrils twitching.

"I can sense it, you know," She said, caressing his chest. "The corruption of the Lost flowing through your veins."

Her touch contained a wisp of aura, which cracked the obsidian gem, and brought forth a pain worse than anything Lucas had ever felt before.

A piercing scream sprung from his lips as his back arched and his face contorted. Wrought with convulsions, he soon lost his grip on reality, and fell into a dark abyss.

"A pity. I'd hoped he'd last a little longer," Queen Ilphine said, dropping her hand. Sighing, she stepped back and raised the stoneoak blade, its tip pointed towards Lucas's chest.

"In life, you took, in death, you give."

With that, Queen Ilphine thrust the sword forward, and pierced Lucas's heart.

At least, that was her intention...

'BOOM!'

A flash of golden light sent the Queen flying through air, but by throwing out her vines, she was able to keep from slamming into the wall.

Dropping to the floor, she turned her fiery gaze onto the intruder, only for her body to go rigged.

A man cloaked in gold knelt before her, surrounded by shards of glass and rubble. Above him, the glass dome which had survived the past ten centuries now laid shattered, allowing strands of light to creep into the room.

"Who... who are you?" Queen Ilphine asked, keeping a wary eye on the man while also searching for her sword.

The man's sudden appearance had knocked it from her hand, and now she didn't know where it went.

Ignoring her, the man stood and turned to Lucas, whose body still hung suspended by vines.

A pained expression masked the man's face as he pulled a sword from his back and severed the vines in a single stroke.

Catching Lucas's limp body, the man glanced one final time at the Queen before leaping into the air, and disappearing through the hole.

It took a moment for the Queen to process what just happened, but by then it was already to late. Her sacrifice had escaped.

...

"...cas! Lucas, can you hear me?"

One sharp clap and a stinging cheek later, Lucas woke up. Squinting his eyes, he found a man kneeling over him, covered in golden scales.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked again, but all that remained was the wrinkled face of an aging man.

"Osyras... Is that you?" Lucas asked. He shook his head to clear the fog, and looked around.

A stone courtyard met his gaze, its land bare of all but moss and roots. Near the far end there rose a spire, it's base lined by sparsly planted shrubs and unkempt weeds. An arched door revealed a spiraling staircase within.

"Where are we? How did you..."

"There's no time to explain. Can you stand?" Osyras asked, offering Lucas his hand.

Lucas took it and wobbily got to his feet. His body felt weak, but by stretching out his hands, he managed to keep his balance.

"I can stand."

"Good. I've discovered the exit, but in order to get there, we'll first need to cross through the city. If you can, we should start moving."

Lucas gritted his teeth and nodded. "I'll do my best to keep up."

Osyras frowned, but said no more. Together, they made their way across the courtyard and into the spire.

Fortunately, it's walls were inlaid with thin windows, which allowed beams of light to guide their journy up the stairs.

It took them fifteen minutes to climb the strenuous steps and reach the next door, beyond which laid a narrow bridge leading deeper into the city.

"Watch your step. There are bound to be parts of the bridge broken. One wrong move, and even I won't be able to save you."

Lucas peered over the edge and gulped. A long journey awaited him if he wasn't careful.

'It's fine. I got this,' Lucas thought, pulling back his gaze.

With one step in front of the other, he followed Osyras onto the stone bridge, doing his best to avoid looking down.

It was then that he noticed the floating temple overhead, hanging by a chain of threads.

Suddenly, a pulse of green light exploded from the temple and washed across the city. Lucas gasped and clutched at his chest, feeling his heart stop for a moment.

"Hey, are you alright?" Osyras asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I'm... I'm fine," Lucas said, rubbing his chest. "What was that, anyway?"

"I'm not sure, but for now we should increase our pace."

With that, their walk turned into a brisk jog, until finally, they came to a stop above a palace with its roof right beneath them.

"This way. We'll use the streets from here on out," Osyras said, dropping onto the roof and from there, into the nearby street.

Lucas was about to follow him when a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Turning his head, he felt the blood drain from his face, and his heart stop beating all in one go.

"Dra- Dra- Dragon!"

His shout alerted Osyras, who froze for a moment before turning and rushing back. In two leaps, he was back by Lucas's side, and grabbing his collar.

"What did you say? A dragon? Where?"

Still in shock, Lucas could only raise his hand and point. Osyras followed his hand, his gaze widening at the sight of a beast flying through the sky.

"Gods above... What has she done?"

It took Lucas a moment to realize what Osyras meant. Narrowing his eyes, he realized the dragon flying towards them wasn't actually alive, but a beast made from bone and vine.

But worse than that, was the fact that the dragon seemed to be leading an army of similar creatures, all of which were now entering the lower levels of the city.

"Come on. There's no time to waste."

Osyras quickly returned to the street with Lucas right behind him. Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they raced up the street, their destination getting ever closer.

Finally, they burst free of the city's cramped confines, and onto a platform which led directly to a split in the Stoneoak Origin Tree's roots.

"There. Inside is a gateway which will lead us out of the Stoneoak Jungle," Osyras said, explaining as they ran.

Had it been any other time, Lucas would have been shocked by what he just heard. In order to craft a Gateway, one needed a core containing spatial aura, but few were ever born with such a powerful ability, and those who were were often killed by those in power.

Unfortunately, Lucas didn't have the time to revel at the rare opportunity presented before him.

In fact, he didn't even know if he was going to be able to reach the Gateway, as the moment before they got inside, a dark shadow slammed into the ground before them, relasing a shockwave with enough force to send them flying back.

After bouncing to a stop, Lucas grogily sat up and looked around. A cloud of dust obscured his vision, but as it faded, he felt his heart quicken.

"I'm afraid neither of you will be leaving today. At least, not with your lives."