Bond

Aldric was in a world of pain. 

His left arm was bisected at the shoulder. 

Clenching his teeth so hard it might've shattered them, he was grunting and twisting in agony. He was drowning in waves of torment. The only reason he was still conscious was because of his [Tranquil Core] attribute and his strong willpower. He could faintly hear footsteps that got louder and louder. 

He was losing blood by the second; a small pool was beginning to form below him. Instinctively, he drew the last drop of darkness that he had and used it to cover the wound in a rudimentary tourniquet. However, the flow of blood was not as fast as it should have been for an injury of this scale. His [Red Spider Lily] had stemmed his blood from flowing freely out of his wound. 

His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar warmth erupted around his body. Opening his eyes, he could see Nephis standing beside him. Her face stuck in a visage of agony as she healed him. Slowly, his arm began to knit itself together in a glow of light. Bone to muscle to skin. 

The pain was starting to lessen in intensity.

He had seen this happen during the aftermath of the war for the castle. Nephis had healed many of her followers. Some of which were dismembered. 

Nephis spoke just when he felt the flame leave him. 

"I'm done."

Looking to his healer, Aldric nodded and collected himself. Now fully healed, all he had left was exhaustion from the battle and the phantom pains that lingered. Not registering that his arm had been restored.

Just in front of him lay the corpse of his opponent. Thinking of the damage he had accumulated, he quickly returned Bael to his soul sea to recuperate. Similarly, he returned the [Mantle of the Underworld] as well with its missing arm. It would have to reforge in his souls sea after the damage that it took. With a mental command, he was now cloaked in his [Silk Robes].

He could feel a familiar pulse from his core. The [Tesseract] was acting up. In typical awakened fashion, he harvested the soul core of the nightmare creature.

A blood-red orb. 

With 5 black dots rotating inside it in a dance. It reminded him of the soul core of Bael. His intuition told him to keep this safe. He quickly deposited it in his silk pouch. 

Looking back at Nephis, he spoke.

"There's a door in the part of the colosseum that's still standing. Let's go check it out."

With a nod, they both headed towards the door that was out of the arena. With their backs turned, Nephis did not notice a small black dot darting towards the corpse, and a second later, the corpse disappeared.

----------

A small room was what met them as they opened the door. Shaped like a jail cell, it was a mess. Debris littered the dust-covered ground. Only a large wooden chair and table remained. 

In a showing of insanity, blood was smeared onto the walls in weird shapes. Weirdly enough, small red dust was scattered over the blood. Aldric recognised them as runes from the nightmare spell; however, one needed to be able to translate runes to read them outside of memories and aspects. It was one of the bigger reasons as to why Aldric studied archeology back in the academy. What was the point of exploring the dream realm and all its unknowns if you could not understand the language?

The shape of the runes repeated themselves endlessly. On the ceilings, the walls, and the ground. 

He translated it in his mind. 

'I failed'

'I failed'

'I failed'

The phrase repeated itself indefinitely, with some even overlapping. However, there was a change in the runes in the furthest wall of the room. It read:

[ I'm sorry, Father. I have failed you. The seed has taken root.

I cannot fight by your side.

I cannot lead your army.

I cannot claim your legacy.

I'm sorry...]

A mixture of dried tears and blood made up the message; it spoke of pure sorrow and anguish. 

'Millennia of madness and corruption. How must that have felt like?'

Not wanting to be in the room any longer, Aldric left. There was nothing valuable to be found. Neither was the Tesseract acting up. 

He was hoping for artefacts from the past or even a passage of speech to draw conclusions from; however, it was not meant to be. Aldric equipped his [Cragborne Armor], not wanting to be left vulnerable to anything that might harm him. 

Nephis spoke out as they left the colosseum.

"Well fought. That was a splendid battle to watch."

The stoic girl complimented. 

Nephis did mean it. A duel to the death. It was not something she had seen in the Forgotten Shore outside of her duel with Gunlaug. 

'Is this what's waiting for me in the spire, Cassie?'

Aldric acknowledged the compliment with a small nod. 

"This was a battle that you sought out. What exactly motivated you to put your life on the line for something like that?"

She pressed, continuing the conversation. 

With a deep exhale, Aldric responded. 

"Yeah, it was a test for myself. To see if I was comfortable where I stood and with what I was doing."

Nephis was walking side by side with Aldric, looking ahead. She remembered their conversation by the bonfire during their expedition. How he spoke of doing whatever it took. To gain a deeper understanding, she asked.

"What exactly is your ambition?"

Aldric paused his step and turned to face her. Looking deeply into her grey eyes with his own starry pair, he spoke casually.

"Like I've told you before, I'll stop at nothing for my goals. As to what they are, just know they are beyond what's been done before. Beyond the waking world. Beyond the dream realm. Even beyond the Gods."

Nephis met his confident eyes with her own, slightly wide from his declaration of intent. Following up on what he said, she asked.

"Even the nightmare spell?"

With a small chuckle, Aldric responded immediately.

"That's a given."

Continuing their walk back to the castle, Nephis spoke in an almost relieved voice. 

"You know, Aldric, I used to think that you were an assassin. Some minion from the Song clan or even the House of Night. But from what you've shown and said, that can't be the truth."

She continued.

"For that, just like you've told me of your own motivations. I will tell you mine."

Thus, she began a long tale as they walked back to the castle.

A tale of betrayal and vengeance.

**********

Thanks for reading. 

What did you think? Poor guy right?

Yes Ballad, your locked in. 

Anywho, take care of yourselves. Till next time.