Chapter Twenty-Four: Veiled Nightmares and Cloaked Hearts

Aslan slashed another Terras's neck before breathing out brutally. Black blood and sweat coated his skin but he didn't allow himself to think about it. With his grasp tight on the hilt of his ebony sword, he allowed himself to look up at the veiled night sky and offer himself a moment to breathe.

The night was still very young but for Aslan, it seemed neverending.

Behind him, a muffled 'thud' was heard.

He swiftly spun around to see Rydan remaining close to another slain demon on the ground. It was the last Terras surrounding them. Black blood and sweat coated his friend's skin too.

It was too late before they realised that they had utilized almost all of their energy in slaying down these vicious beasts. Aslan contemplated taking a quick rest but he immediately erased that thought.

They had no time to spare.

"What a pain." Rydan spat, staring down at the bodies lying dead around them.

Almost fifty of these ancient creatures surrounded them, dead eyes open and dark blood spilt on the ground; a cruel and a contrasting shade against the mist surrounding them.

"Are you finished there?" Rydan slightly limped towards Aslan. He gripped his right arm, and Aslan noticed the painful laceration there.

"Yes. Are you okay?" Aslan nodded at the injury, his tone stern but eyes filled with worry.

Rydan waved him off. "It is just a cut."

"Looks painful."

"I couldn't care less." He protested and Aslan stopped speaking. His comrade was still suffocated in rage and however Aslan shared similar suppositions, there was a distinction in their execution. Rydan seethed while Aslan didn't.

"We need to find the others. Fast." Rydan looked at him, eyes still sharp and focused even when his body looked so drained with fatigue.

Aslan wiped the blood down his armoured suit and nodded. That should be the first thing to do before finding a way out of this horrendous labyrinth.

They slowly walked forward, eyes and ears and mind honed with acute alertness and vigilance.

But they abruptly stopped at what awaited in front of them.

A shadow. A shadow remained behind the mist, keenly observing them.

"Who's there?" Rydan yelled, already taking a defensive stance at whatever lay ahead of them. Aslan mirrored him, eyes fixed ahead.

The shadow gradually ventured forward. The mist danced as if it was welcoming the stranger.

Aslan narrowed his eyes.

It was a man. Slim and broad. Tall and sharp. Clad in the same dark cloak as the other one. As the other Deminus.

Aslan did not doubt at all. The predatory stillness, the unnatural gaze and the otherworldly beauty could only belong to one being. One devilishly immortal being.

A Deminus.

Aslan cursed out loud before clenching the hilt of his sword.

"Impressive.'' The man said, walking towards them. "Absolutely impressive. Fifty Terras dead and gone in under forty minutes."

With an expressionless face and glittering eyes, the demon spoke,

"So, this is what one must except from the Guardians. But I suppose it doesn't matter."

Rydan and Aslan stilled, quietly observing every breath the Deminus took.

"It was a waste of time." The Deminus commented impassively, smoothening the fabric of his dark cloak.

"I told Druu that I would be able to finish you off myself but he refused. It was rather unfair but I finally get to play a little now." He said, eyes darkening as he gazed at them.

A chill erupted down in his spine. Aslan raised his sword a bit higher.

Rydan growled. "Try us, demon. And you won't return alive."

The Deminus just stared at them.

Rydan bared his teeth at the demon's unruffled, aloof conduct. At the inhumane nothingness that displayed on that pale, beautiful face.

"I don't know what you filthy demons want and I don't fucking care. I'll just end you and make you fucking pay for all the innocent lives you took."

A slight predatory tilt.

"Brave words for a brave soldier." He lowered his eyes. "Although I don't know if you'll be able to kill me, I'd still like to see you try."

Rydan growled like a feral beast and before Aslan could stop him, the Guardian took off.

Time slowed down as Aslan witnessed the demon slightly smirk and flick his hand.

The mist suddenly thickened and grumbled. Heavy and unnatural. As if a beast had just awakened again. One moment, they could see everything and the next, it was nothing but just white. White and foggy and hazy everywhere. It blinded their senses and Aslan couldn't help but feel a slight panic rise within him on instinct.

"Rydan!" He called out for his friend.

But there was no response.

His eyes moved around frantically, trying to find Rydan. And his enemies. But the mist veiled his eyes from his surroundings and Aslan was rendered helpless.

In his wild attempt to calm down and draw a plan, Aslan Dragonus had overlooked the vile and abominable capabilities of the mist.

Aslan was forced to realise it when a low, dangerous growl rumbled behind him.

He grew completely, feeling the warm breath of a creature behind him.

He slowly and carefully turned around, heart halting to a stop as he did so.

A dragon. A dragon breathed down at him.

"Brother..." He whispered, eyes taking in the familiar beast in front of him.

And before Aslan could even blink, the giant beast launched at him.

ווו×

Rydan clenched his teeth and furiously looking around for Aslan.

But his comrade was nowhere to be found. It was as if the mist had swallowed him up and had left Rydan to face it all alone. It was as if the mist was toying with him as a predator toying with its prey before attacking it nefariously.

He gripped his fists and breathed through his nose, trying to calm down and focus on the appalling reality. His blood boiled and his heart raged, however, anger will get him slaughtered to nothingness in this situation and Rydan sure as hell didn't want to kick the dirty bucket because of a young boy. Demon or not.

He closed his eyes and pulled at his magic breathing within him, slowly rooting it deep within the soil beneath him and spreading it out like a sheet of enchantment.

It was dead quiet for some time, Rydan didn't sense anything moving above the ground near him. However, a beat later, he sensed something.

Rydan sharpened his focus, trying to pinpoint the area of movement of the land secured by his enchantment.

But when he did find it, Rydan immediately pulled away. Because his powers told him that something moved a few feet behind him.

"Aslan!" He yelled and whirled around.

But it was not Aslan.

A lifeless creature stood in front of him. A lifeless, clay creature that awakened from the surface of the Earth.

Rydan grew cold when he realized it was a Golem.

A memory harshly pulled him in at that. It came out of nowhere and swallowed him in its abyss of misery and pain.

Rydan saw it again. Saw it all.

A burning village. Dead children. Lifeless bodies of men and women. An old man.

And Golems.

Rydan clutched his chest as he took a staggering step back.

Golems after Golems after Golems came from the shadows of the mist and surrounded him. Caged him in ways one could never imagine.

He stared at them breathlessly. He felt it. Felt that raw fear seep into him and coat the skin of his younger self hidden within him. That tiny part of him that he could never lose, no matter how he tried.

No matter how strong he was, that part would always overcome him and secure it with fear.

Rydan felt small. and weak.

And pathetic.

Again and again and again.

Rydan clenched his shaking fingers around the hilt of his blade raised it weakly at the Golems surrounding him.

And with a choked sob, he faced his nightmare again after twenty whole years.

ווו×

The night was somewhat restless. And very cold. The kind of coldness that nipped at your mind rather than your skin. And the same emotions silently raged inside Elder Mikael's chest.

Mikael gazed out the enormous window, eyes focused on the words weaving inside his head rather than the scenic moonless night breathing outside.

It had been a couple of days since the wizards left for the mission. Nothing has been heard of them yet and Mikael wondered if everything was going according to plan.

His eyes grew sharp. He'd be damned if the mission failed.

Mikael mentally sighed when he sensed a presence behind him.

"Why are you awake?"

Soft hands snaked up to his bare chest from behind.

"Not sleepy," Kyra whispered.

Mikael didn't respond.

"What are you thinking about?" Kyra whispered in his ear before lightly biting it.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about."

The grip around him tightened.

"Aww, don't be like that now."

Kyra crooned and slithered in front of him, pressing herself a little too tight against his bare chest. She snaked her arms around him and got on her toes, gazing deeply into his dark eyes.

"Are you worried about the wizards?" She brushed her nose against his and smiled sensuously at him.

"Or are you just concerned about that Stormbreaker from the Academy?" Her voice turned slightly sharp. She smirked at him, gently sliding her fingers through his dark hair.

"I saw the way you looked at her, Mikael."

Mikael smirked and grasped her jaw.

"Say it directly, Kyra. It is pathetic when you act like this."

Kyra slightly gasped when he pulled her closer.

"She intrigues you." She breathed out, "And I hate that you're intrigued by that....bitch.''

He tilted his head, bringing her face closer to his.

"Such venomous words from an Elder. What would the others think, I wonder?"

"I don't fucking care. You are mine. And mine only." She snarled.

Mikael softly pressed his lips against her ear and dug his nails into her cheeks,

"So jealous." He whispered, nipping at her lobe.

"It's your fault." She looked at him from under her lashes, "So do something about it."

Mikael smirked before pulling her closer, eyes not straying away from hers. He slowly, very slowly, dragging his hand from the side of her waist to the back of her head.

Kyra shivered, fluttering her eyes close.

He fisted her hair and harshly pulled it back, exposing her neck to him. He clamped his teeth down and Kyra immediately wrapped a leg around him, letting out a soft gasp in response.

"Mikael..."

He swiftly lifted her and she immediately wrapped herself around him, pulling his face closer to kiss him on the lips.

"I need you, Mikael. I need you right now." Kyra exhaled harshly.

Mikael just smirked in response.

With her legs wrapped tightly around him, Mikael carried her to their unmade bed.

The night grew lush. And deep.