[Malik, Salyan Kingdom.]
What they saw inside made their blood turn cold.
The corridor was long, narrow, and unnaturally quiet.
The corridor opened into a vast chamber the mont they stepped inside.
The air grew thicker, heavy with a strange warmth and the faint scent of iron.
Akamir led the group forward, and what they saw made them all stop in their tracks.
Hundreds of elves stood throughout the temple hall.
But they were no longer themselves.
Their skin had turned into a twisted mix of bright red and sickly yellow.
White veins glowed beneath the surface, like tiny stars trapped in their flesh.
Their limbs were stretched and malford, so twitching uncontrollably, others fused into the floor or the walls.
Their skin moved like parasites were crawling all over their bodies.
Most of them simply stood there, heads bowed or rocking slightly.
Mutated, broken with no hope in their eyes, but sohow still breathing.
"What the hell happened here?" Viros whispered, barely able to look at them.
’...Is this the curse?’
Akamir thought grimly as Reagan’s heavy breaths echoed in his ear.
Akamir stepped forward, ignoring the others.
His eyes caught a girl sitting against a broken pillar.
Her arms had beco long, limp tentacles, swaying slightly even though there was no wind.
Her eyes were dull, barely blinking, but she looked up when she saw him.
He knelt down carefully, keeping his weapon sheathed.
"Hey," he said gently. "Can you understand ?"
Her voice was raspy and quiet, like it hadn’t been used in days. "Who are you?"
"I am here to help," Akamir said softly, "What happened to you?"
The girl looked confused as her eyes were unfocused. "Help?"
Akamir nodded once, giving her a gentle look. "Yes, can you tell what happened?"
Her body began to tremble as if she was going through imnse pain.
"They... injected it. Over and over. Blood... dark blood. It burned. It kept burning... still burns."
Akamir tried to comfort her, reaching out without thinking.
The mont his hand touched her skin, a sharp sting surged through his fingers.
"Urgh."
He hissed, yanking his hand back as red welts began forming on his skin.
"Don’t," Reagan said firmly as he stepped beside him.
The teddy bear climbed down and approached her slowly.
He placed a paw on her forehead, and her trembling eased slightly.
Akamir didn’t know what he did, but the girl began to fall asleep.
While Reagan handled her, Akamir turned and approached another elf nearby.
He was an older man with a hunched back and a face covered in pulsing white veins.
The man looked up at him as he approached him.
"Hey, can you hear ?" Akamir whispered, looking at him. "Do you know what happened here?"
The old man looked at him with trembling eyes, one pure white and one black.
"It ca from the sea," he whispered, voice breaking. "A... was a body.... body.... Huge, glowing dead body."
The old man began to cough violently as he struggled to breathe.
Akamir brought a bottle of water from his space ring, but the old man shook his head.
"Dead, but not dead," he continued in a whisper. "...It floated in through the river. We told the empress. We thought she would help."
"What did she do?" Akamir asked.
The elf’s eyes darkened.
"She sent soldiers, ard from head to toe...They locked us in. Sealed the village. Then they slowly began to take us in the temple one by one."
Akamir felt his gut twist. "They experinted on all of you?"
The man nodded slowly. "For weeks. They kept speaking of ’awakening’.... Of the great power.... Said it was her will."
’The Empress’ will?’
Akamir couldn’t help but feel more and more disgust.
Once a king himself, he despised those who use their subjects for inhumane things.
He never liked to do that and would never like those who did it.
’I am going ahead of myself.’
Akamir quickly cald down as he looked at the man once again.
Akamir leaned in. "Where is the body? The one from the sea.... The Great One, Kros."
The man lifted a trembling arm and pointed to the far end of the hall.
A large set of black stone doors stood there, sealed by chains that looked ancient.
"Behind there, they kept it with us so we can awaken even further."
Nayomi, who had been floating in the corner, reached him slowly.
"Keep in mind," she whispered in his ear. "The Great One isn’t sothing you can fathom right now."
"So, what the hell am I supposed to do?" he asked, glaring back at her.
Nayomi didn’t say anything as she looked at the gate as well.
"Let see the dead body first," she replied, looking back at him. "Maybe I can help."
Akamir drew in a deep breath as he stood up.
He looked over his shoulder to the other two frozen boys.
"Viros, Luca," he said. "Help Reagan and do what you can for the others. Get them stable."
They nodded their heads as they ca back to their senses.
Akamir turned and walked alone toward the sealed doors.
His footsteps echoed as he moved, the lantern on his waist flickering along the carvings of the god on the walls.
With every step he took, Akamir felt his head getting heavier.
...Like soone was hamring him again and again in the sa spot.
By the ti he reached the door, the whispers had returned.
But now they were louder, almost chanting.
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached for the handle... then paused.
"Keep it on," Nayomi whispered.
He nodded and adjusted the mask Zaina had given him.
The mont his hand touched the door, it clicked open with a deep, groaning sound.
A rush of cold air spilled out, making his body feel a chill.
Taking in a deep breath, he stepped into the room.
It was dark, and there was nothing to light up the place except his lantern.
And the other source of light was... Her.
A soft glow from the center, where sothing long and shining lay beneath layers of cracked glass.
Kros.
The Great One.
Her body was imnse, stretching from one end of the chamber to the other.
Pure white in color, like polished bone and pearl.
Her form resembled a jellyfish, with long tendrils curled around her sides.
....But the body had been mutilated.
Her abdon had been cut open completely, organs removed or lted.
Her spine was visible, thick and coiled like a twisted tree root.
Despite the damage, there was still a strange beauty to her.
Like sothing ancient that had been caught mid-dream.
"She would try to harm your brain and body," Nayomi said, her voice soft. "All Great Ones do that to those below them."
Akamir kept on walking towards her without replying.
He stepped closer, his breath catching in his throat.
....Slowly, he reached out to touch her dead body.
"Hm."
"Oh, lord saviour what have you lost~."
...Just before his fingers could brush her skin, music began.
Soft, eerie humming.
It ca from behind him.
...He turned sharply.
A group of won had entered the room even though they weren’t here just a second before.
...Dressed in long white robes stained with red.
Their eyes were closed, and they began to dance slowly in a circle, humming a song that made the air around him ripple.
...Akamir’s skin crawled.
’The Servants of the Skinless.’
He backed away from Kros’ body, drawing his weapon as the humming grew louder.
The won’s dance beca faster, more violent, their feet barely touching the ground.
Then he heard the crash.
Back in the hall, shouting erupted.
"They found us!" Luca’s voice rang out.
Heavy boots thudded against the floor as soldiers stord in from the temple’s front gate.
Their armor was darker than before, covered in black runes.
Akamir ignored the won as he ran past them.
They didn’t even try to harm him.
As he entered into the main chamber, just as Viros threw a dagger into one of the soldiers’ necks.
Reagan was trying to shield the mutated elves, while Luca fought near the pillars with his axe, blood splattering around him.
"They’re too many!" Viros shouted.
Akamir didn’t hesitate.
He raised his hand and released a blast of wind magic, knocking several soldiers off their feet.
He rushed into the fight, blades forming again in his hands.
The room was filled with chaos.
Soldiers shouting, steel clashing, mutated elves screaming.
The dancing won moved closer, their song infecting the minds of the villagers.
So collapsed and others began convulsing.
Akamir slashed through one soldier, spun, and kicked another into the wall.
Reagan stood near the entrance, holding the charm that had opened the door earlier.
"We need to fall back!" he called. "We can’t win here!"
Akamir hesitated, glancing back at Kros.
....Then he nodded.
"Retreat! Get them out of here!"
But before they could even move out,
More soldiers had already surrounded them from all directions.
...They were already trapped.
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