On the hour before the last drop of rain fell from the skies, Altair Blackwood awoke, his eyes trembling as he struggled to open them. The pungent stench of dical herbs emanated from his flesh.
"What happened?" he strained, sensing an unfamiliar presence in his room.
"Young Master Nox," said Kegan softly.
His features were blurred, but Altair could vaguely rember his voice. 'He was the one from House Nier.' he told himself, staring unblinkingly at the stranger.
"Your eyes are dilated. How are you feeling? I—" Kegan frowned at the sudden sense of foreboding. He gulped, sensing the Regal Aura emanating from the Young Lord before him.
Even withered, Altair emanated a force that made Kegan want to be made to bow and whipped for his transgression. He trembled, lowering his head to his belly, and began explaining all that had occurred. "Right now, you cannot fight. And should avoid using any skills until you enter the realm of Transcendent or fully recover."
In a hoarse whisper, Altair asked, "Where is Nia?"
"Preparing you a al," The darc said. The Soul of Nox De Nier is currently unburdening the strain on your soul, but the tether we place is weak and can be easily broken. In the anti, you'll need to constantly consu sustenance to gain energy. Right now, you're in a fragile state."
Altair did not look surprised that the darc learned of his identity. He was sure his shadows and his devil did what they needed to do to keep him alive. Your journey continues on empire
In a few breaths, Nia returned to her master's chamber with a bowl of hot creamy rice soup. She nearly yelped, spilling the soup. Altair nearly cried a silent prayer at the loss of his al. He hadn't even noticed how starved he was until he caught a whiff of it.
'Damn this woman! Traitor! How could she spill the blasted—' His thoughts were interrupted by the spry shadow leaping into his arm, bellowing a thunderous cry that shook the walls. More and more people flooded the room, to Altair's dismay. Tasha, Alyssa, Elena, and even the horse, Cloud, sauntered in.
Tasha giggled, seeing her master's frustration. She returned with another bowl and placed it by his bedside.
Altair followed her movents, his gaze latching onto Gram on her back. He had never seen Tasha possess any blade on her person before. For a mont, he wanted to question her reasoning but decided against it. He was too tired to question her sches.
His stomach rumbled, leaving the won smiling. Cloud neighed, licking his face, before propping his large fra onto the bed. Nia and Alyssa shouted loudly for the stallion to get down, but he ignored them, laying its head next to Altair, silently amused.
"It's fine," he said, brushing a palm through its mane. "where are we…" his voice trailed off as Gram's soul reached out to him, releasing an insatiable hunger. It was starving, demanding sustenance.
Before he could question Tasha, she spoke up first. "We need to leave. Are you able to ride, Master?"
Altair looked at her calmly, his thoughts as unfathomable as they were dark. He lifted his palm, and in a re second, Kirr, Jorm, Aurora, Talia, Vaiga, Hilda, Cedric, and dusa pierced the Tower of Babel to appear before their master.
"We will not run," Altair told her. The room burned with hoarfrost as his intent punctuated the air. "We shall lay waste to any and all who would dare challenge . I—"
"Idiot!" Kegan snapped, bonking him on the head hard. "Didn't I say not to use any skills? You're very fragile! Can't you see—" he caught himself when he saw Tasha's infernal eyes lock onto him. dusa tilted her head, her reptilian pupils writhing dangerously as she stared intently at the darc.
There was no malice in her eyes, and yet the world was brought to silence.
Altair touched the small contusion on his head, almost laughing. Perhaps he deserved that. It was a bit reckless, but how could he allow himself to be hunted like a dog?
He opened his hand, and dusa's attention was drawn. A bright smile pressed against her lips as she took him by the palm. Nodes of erald light pressed against his flesh, sinking to his heart.
"I'll tell big sis Hestia to grant you her blessing. It can't do much for the soul exhaustion, but it should help nd the fever you're carrying."
"You needn't bother I—"
"I must!" dusa insisted. "Soul Exhaustion of this level can kill you."
The firmness of her voice stunned the Young Emperor. When he found himself again, he grinned. "Then will you take care of ?"
dusa flushed, though nodded all the sa. "Of course! I don't like fighting much anyway! Plus…" her palm reached forward, pressing through space as though it were tangible. Slowly, she pulled out a herb, which no one seed to recognize but the darc present. "This is—
"Elysium Root!" Kegan shouted. "One survived the Great Ruin?"
"You know this?" dusa asked suspiciously. " Hesita gifted it to , alongside a hundred other herbs and fruits from her garden."
Kegan gulped. The Root of Elysium, as so often called it, was an herb that echoed from the distant past of the Twelve Realms before it fell to ruin due to the Madness of the Eighth Monarch of Hell.
It was a rare root that had been said to not only cure most poisons and forms of exhaustion but also make one so sensitive to the Arcana around them that it granted a hundred years of cultivation with each use. It was the drink of Celestials of Elysium, the sunken Realm that fell from the Heavens into the mortal plane after the First Sin.
"If you consu that, your soul and cultivation will grow sevenfold!" he said. You'll be a fifth Circle. And with constant use, you'll be a sixth circle in a month."
"It's not quite a cure," dusa began. "But with your soul stronger, the soul exhaustion will seem smaller."
"But that isn't to say the Soul Exhaustion will lessen," Kegan warned. "So don't overdo it."
"It would seem a lot of things happened while I was unconscious and away." He glanced at Aurora apologetically. Despite the lack of expression, he could still sense her discontent over the matter. It would seem he had taken her from an important assignnt.
"Nia," Altair said, looking at her. "You'll lead the charge." Tasha frowned but held her tongue. "Prove yourself to . Mistakes were made. That can be forgiven, but not without a trial. Show you belong amongst my Pale Knights.
Hunt those who would have my head."
"Yes, my Master," Nia said, falling to one knee. She lingered there for a while, eyes pressed shut, her heart hard as stone. "I shall not fail you."
"Tasha…"
"I will obey her lead, your grace," she said coolly.
"Then begin the hunt. Take no prisoners," Altair decreed. He glanced at Cloud, running a palm through its shadowy mane. "Go with Nia."
The horse licked his cheek, rising with the shadows around him, bowing its head.
"May The Tear of the Black Moon Pierce The Vale!" they saluted, leaving the room with a murderous glow in their eyes.
With a cunning smile, Altair closed his eyes to sense Therion's position when he felt another soft blow pull him from his thoughts.
"I swear I'll knock you unconscious myself!" Kegan snapped, once more receiving a stare from dusa. "I…I'm sorry, but if he keeps using his soul, he'll fall into a coma."
"Its fine, dusa," Altair responded. "He's just worried and passionate, it would seem. Tell , darc. What is it you seek in life?"
dusa stared. She had never t a darc but had heard the rumors: Imperial scholars who focused on dicine of all kinds. It was said they were without emotion to better allow calculations without the slightest deviation that ca with emotions. They were the best healers of the realm, performing miracles wherever they were deployed.
Still, she'd never heard of a rogue darc. They were conditioned from before they were born through genetic reconstruction.
"I haven't any plans other than to pay back what was owed to the dutches for taking in. I haven't any aspirations other than that. I live a quiet life, your grace, studying dicine in peace. What more could I want?"
Altair stared, glancing at dusa. She had a peculiar gleam in her eyes. Envy.
"Then would you mind teaching dusa what you know? She's lived a hard life, and I'm sure she'd rather learn to heal than kill.
dusa serpentine eyes t Altairs. "Your Grace?"
"I did say I'd never force you to fight. You like tending to the garden, and it seems you'd like to learn about dicine. Was I mistaken?"
dusa hastily shook her head. "No!" she exclaid happily. I-I-I'd love it, too! T-T-Thank you! "
"Will That be an issue, sir Kegan?"
"None, your Grace, though it might be difficult for her to grasp as she and I don't share the sa physiology. I'm more than willing to impart my knowledge."
"I wouldn't worry about it. dusa is a genius the likes you've never seen."
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