Master of the Loop Chapter 127: Buried in the Mountains

Chapter 127

Buried in the Mountains

Yeah, this was a shit idea, Sylas mumbled and closed his eyes. Soon after, darkness descended and the boiling burn won.

You have died.

Save point Death has been initialized.

AAAAGGHHHHH!!!

Sylas was looming over a table--specifically, a leather map laid out on the said table, his eyes laser-focused on the rugged and mountainous west. There were no indications of any traversable path anywhere, and instead even a warning that effectively forbade any movent west outside of first ripping south out of the massive valley that the castle inhabited.

Taking a sip of wine, he sat down and sighed. He wasnt even certain how far up Agnes and he were able to climb. So two weeks into their journey, they were hit by a massive blizzard and effectively buried. She was the first to go--rather quickly, actually, within a few hours. On the other hand, he managed to survive a few extra days before finally succumbing. It wasnt a pleasant way to go and he didnt want to go through it again.

Doors to the room suddenly opened whereupon Ryne and Valen walked in, the forr pushing the latter with the Prince giving her precise instructions. Sylas paused, sowhat gobsmacked as he had never seen this before. It wasnt strange; its been years since he interacted with them deeply within the loop.

Oh. Didnt know you were here, Valen exclaid. Whats wrong?

Nothing, Sylas said. What about you two? Whats going on?

Oh, this? both Ryne and he chuckled. We both got tired of being pitied, Ryne said as Valen directed her to sit down. And figured wed band together against the voices.

"You look cute," Sylas smiled gently at Ryne's blushed cheeks and Valen's faint smile. "And smart. Guys."

Hm?

I want to apologize, he added. Ive been... distant. I know it sounds strange and confusing, but I had to get it off my chest.

Well, if you had to get it off, Ryne said. Why are you here, anyway?

Observing the map. Ah! Sylas suddenly exclaid. Ryne, are there any talismans that help against, like, the cold? I dont mind mild winter--I an biting, burning, deathly cold?

Uh... sure? I think? Ryne replied. Why? Even if its a Cold Snap, the castle does decently enough in protecting while the clothes take care of the rest.

Its not for that. Anyway, Ill need you for a few hours tomorrow to make so, he said. If you arent otherwise occupied, I an.

No, no, Im not! Uh, sure. We can make so, she said, smiling.

What do you need them for? Valen asked.

"Oh, I'm trying to break into the west," Sylas replied.

... but why? Valen asked with an incredulous expression.

"Would you believe if I said 'adventurous spirit'?" he grinned. "What do you know about the west, anyway?"

"West of here? Not much," Valen said, pouring himself a cup of wine. "Mountains, mountains, and, yeah, more mountains."

Entirely inhospitable, huh?

Yes, the Prince nodded. I read so records about a few expeditions, he added. But most were either lost to the cold or returned within a month or departure. The overall sentint was if there is hell, it cant be much worse than trying to cross those mountains.

Wow. Damn.

Yeah. So, again I ask--why?

Suspicions, Sylas said, taking a sip. And wanting to root out all possibilities. They were a bitch, gotta admit.

What?

Nothing. Anyway, nothing else to add? Is it possible to cut through them so other way?

"There's no known path," Valen replied. "In fact, the route directly west of us is probably the most traversable one."

Wait, what?

"Hm," the Prince nodded. "The further south you go, mountains beco giant, deathly canyons and chasms with huge, jagged spires acting like spears. There are a lot of legends around those places and just as many nas--Infernal Spires, Ghostlands, Haunted Hollows, so even claim that it is the wall between our world and the paradise beyond. Of course, none of it can be confird since anyone who goes there never cos back."

My Master said sothing similar, Ryne added shortly after. She said that even the Prophets and all the Gods love for them would not be enough to survive. According to her, the connection is the thinnest along that line, as though there is a rip disconnecting realities. So, even you... will not be well, Sylas. Please, dont go.

... are you worried? Sylas asked, ruffling her hair. She kicked his arm off and replied sternly.

Of course I am! Dont think for a second we dont know why youre doing this.

Why? Sylas asked genuinely.

Because of guilt, she said. Youre trying to look for anything palpable. Going so far to go to the effective ends of the world for sothing tangible. You dont have to.

"..." Sylas fell silent. In part, she was right. And in part, she was not. The guilt was still there, shallowly buried beneath the surface. Each ti he'd die and awake to the boiling scream of the young girl's throat... it would surface and burn all over again. And yet, go he had to. In part due to guilt, and in part not. "If Gods had live while the whole lot of finer and better people suffered, there is nothing in this world that can overco ."

Sylas--

Im serious, the both of you, he interrupted in a stern tone himself. I cant die. Not like you two can. Not like most of the world can. Here, he handed Valen the knife. Stab .

What?

Stab , cut , stab and twist the knife. Stab in the heart. Gouge my eyeball out.

Youre insane, Valen said.

I am, Sylas replied and took a knife. Before Valen could do anything, he slashed his throat--and blood began to pour.

WHAT THE HELL?!!! SYLAS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!!! Valen jumped, though imdiately fell--his body betraying his intentions. While the blood continued to gush and spray and while Ryne began to cry out in panic, unaware of what was going on, Sylas stood up and walked over to Valen who was crawling on the floor. He crouched and helped the Prince stand, holding him steadily while the blood continued to dye his body red. In the anti, Valen grew silent.

He watched in horror as the blood continue to pool... and yet the man in front of him remained standing, even smiling. Even Ryne eventually succumbed to the silence. It was heavy. Permanent. Disarming. Minutes later... the blood stopped. The wound was closed. And he was alive. Fine. Dyed scarlet... but fine.

See? Sylas said, helping Valen to the wheelchair. Ill be fine.

W-wha--how---wha...

Gods loathe , Valen, Sylas said, sitting down and gulping down wine as his throat was beyond parched. And they wont let die.

"What... what happened?" Ryne asked. She felt sothing slippery beneath her feet but dared not make a guess.

N-nothing, Valen replied, swallowing a mouthful. So... youre going.

Im going, he said. The reason why Im asking for the talismans is for my wife.

WHO THE HELL IS YOUR WIFE?!!

"And there she is," Sylas cracked a smile while both Valen and Ryne cried out in shock and horror when they saw a figure blur through a window. She landed and imdiately began staring daggers at Sylas. Valen found himself speechless at the sight--the woman was... breathtaking. But it wasn't the kind of beauty that floored a man and made him entranced. It was the kind of beauty that made a man feel strange, as though she were unreal, a ghost of sothing abstract. "The apple of ' eye. Welco ho, honey."

I swear, a thousand painful hives arent enough for you! Agnes cursed out, sitting down. I thought you were done with the whole wife shenanigans.

Why would I be? Sylas said, taking a bite of an apple. I only recently got to hold you tightly in my arms. Were making progress.

... I just may loathe you more than the Gods themselves, Agnes said with a sigh.

Wow, thats a tall order. I dont think even you can go so far.

Do you really think talismans will help? she asked, pouring herself a cup as well, but only taking a sip before recalling that the castles wine was awful.

I dont know, he shrugged. Im hopin and prayin. We do need sothing, though. Watching you shrivel up and die like that... yea, not gonna lie, it hurt. Otherwise, youll just have to stay behind with these goofballs.

Itll work, she said. It has to.

While your obsession with sticking with is cute and adorable and Im really glad we had a breakthrough in our relationship, he said while she grunted. You were the one who repeatedly criticized my banging the head against the wall approach.

... it will work, she repeated. So, this discussion is pointless.

Okay, I am so utterly, completely, unfathomably lost, Valen said, glancing between the pool of blood on the floor, completely fine Sylas, and the utterly confusing and breathtaking newcor. It felt as though his entire world was flipped upside down and everything he knew turned out to be a lie in the span of five minutes.

Treasure the feeling, Sylas said. Its the happiest a man can ever truly be.

I echo that, Agnes added. Before eting your friend over here, I thought n heroic and brave and courtly. Now I think you jaded, bitter, and corrupt. Sylas grinned and she grinned back mockingly, though his grin, for a brief mont, turned into a candid smile. A mory lingered, both harrowing and heart-cracking. At least he knew his heart wasnt a frosted rock no longer. It still beat.