56. The End Chapter 1

Omen's POV

I took a shaky deep breath as I stared at the unopened portal. This is the door to Dark Shadow's castle. There were still a few hours left before the lunar eclipse happened. We were really going to war.

"Scared?"

I glanced at Mike, who was preparing his bow and checking his armour. I nodded my head while rechecking my gear.

"We will do it like usual. I will watch your back while we charge forward."

There was a sudden neighing behind us. Sharon came with Xerxes while bringing in her unicorn. Equus was a fearsome black unicorn with a mane of purple flame. Purple flames came out from where he stood, and he snorted out a puff of smoke while staring at us with its violet eyes. Sharon had earlier briefed us that Equus would work with us, especially Mike (given his similar powers), to get us as close to Dark Shadow as possible.

Our priority is to stop him from using Imagination to make his wish.

The castle where Dark Shadow made his abode used to be one of the Guardians' strongholds. So it was easy to acquire the blueprint for it. However, since it has been hundreds of years since it was lost in his hands, there would have been some changes in the rooms. Mike and Equus would teleport us into one of the rooms before Equus returned to Sharon. Sharon and Xerxes could not follow us on the reconnaissance mission because of the war. Instead, she would stay as the army commander while Xerxes would lead the Dark Horse members to fight against the Laughing Clowns.

"Speaking of the Laughing Clowns, how did Dark Shadow recruit them?" I asked her as I recalled the ones that I fought back against in the World of Young Sherlock Holmes.

"Have you seen their faces before?" Xerxes asked. I nodded, unsure of what kind of answer he might provide. "They are side characters or cannon fodders from all the stories. Particularly, he finds those with a tragic end because they are much easier to manipulate. So, it can be any character. A child, a young man or an old lady."

"Moreover," Sharon continued darkly. "With the Shadows he is working with, he can put those into the characters. So they can never die and never betray him. They would essentially be the most obedient puppets he would ever have. Still, he can't control the characters because Shadows are known to be very volatile to their hosts."

"The Black Pearls!" Mike gasped. "We found traces of something similar to Shadows being encased into a pill to feed people. He was working with a character to create those."

Sharon and Xerxes shared a look before asking if there was an antidote. Upon hearing that the World of Black Butler was where the Black Pearls were discovered and the cure was formulated in the World of Harry Potter, they breathed a sigh of relief. Mike also explained that Sebastian mass-produced it in the World of Black Butler, and the antidotes would be sent here soon.

Equus's neigh brought me back to reality. I gripped the hilt of my sword as I watched Mike and Xerxes exchange some words.

"It is time, Omen." I looked away to see Sharon looking at me. There was an expression on her face that was indescribable. "May you succeed."

I touched the Library's leaf brooch on my cloak. "You too, Sharon."

The portal whirred to life. Equus nuzzled against my shoulder while snorting at Mike in disdain. In response, he rolled his eyes at the fiery unicorn before touching it. The moment the portal was fully opened, and I saw Mike's eyes turn black (as a sign of using his Dark powers), we were shrouded in darkness.

In a blink of an eye, we appeared in an empty room.

I turned towards Equus to thank him for getting us here before getting him to return to Sharon's side. He had a pivotal role on the battlefield because his ability allowed him to transport people from place to place. Plus, Equus would not be useful in our mission too.

"Remember, try not to engage in any fight," Sharon warned. "Stopping Dark Shadow from using Imagination is the top priority."

"Let's go."

Mike whispered after he confirmed that the coast was clear. Wielding our weapons, we slowly stepped out and followed the map to the main hall. Many of the rooms were unused because dust gathered in these areas. However, as we walked into the heart of the castle, we started to see newly polished furnishing and portraits hanging on the walls.

"Is that a Guardian?"

Alarmed, we turned towards the source of the voice with our weapons raised. A withered old guard stood there. Behind him was an impressive sculpture of a lion carved into a set of heavy doors. It was so life-like that it felt like the lion was about to pounce out from the doors.

"Do not fear, young ones." The old man chuckled. "I am the gatekeeper of these doors, and this lion is my friend. Unless you intend to go through these doors, I have no wish to fight you. It has been a long time since I have seen Guardians. For what purpose do you have in this castle?"

I glanced at Mike, unsure of this strange situation. Since he had guaranteed that he would not harm us because we were not going though these doors, it would not hurt to ask for assistance."

"We wish to find the master of this castle. His name is Zacharius S…"

"He is not the master." He interrupted. "This castle was besieged by them, so you can say they are the intruders of this place. The master of this castle is no more."

The old man sighed, his hunched back seemed to hunch further.

"If I am not duty-bound to these doors, I would have departed early with my master…" A flash of regret and nostalgia crossed his face. Looking at us, he smiled wryly. "If you wished to find that scum, go down this path. You would not miss the carnage along the way. He has been growing more erratic of late."

"Thank you, sir," Mike said.

"Such politeness from the Successor of the Library. Once this is all over, come find me."

I stared at the old man while Mike pulled me away. Given that the old man replied in a whisper, Mike must have missed his words. As we walked further away from the mysterious gatekeeper, I could hear the deep rumbling of an animal and whispers of talking.

"Did you hear…?"

"Yes, but that's not important. We are reaching there soon."

It was hard to miss the sickly squelch and the stickiness of the floor. Pools of red puddled the floors, streaks of red across the walls and paintings, and scattered body parts across the hallway.