Unbroken

Chapter 7: Ceaseless

10 years.

A decade. It is a long time for this story to continue, but nonetheless, it has. No-one would have ever thought that the Tidesinger could pull off this endeavour for 10 whole years, and yet, here we are, in that moment.

You don't need to know what happened in that time, just yet - that will all come to light as we continue to follow what has come of the here and now. For the time being, we shall walk you through the depths that is this secret. Not everyone remained unbroken in that time

Author's note: TIME JUMP! XD

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Ardonia believed a thousand lies for almost 10 years as the Tidesinger continued to be illuminated in the hero's light, beaming down on him as though the stars themselves worshipped him. In that time, his team had dwindled as people mysteriously disappeared the more that they questioned his motives and his methods, contemplating if the fall-out would be worth it all in the end. No-one knew where they went. They were simply never heard from again.

That was when the rumours started.

Suddenly those people weren't the only ones questioning the Tidesinger, but others that did kept to themselves so as not to make matters worse. It was the only thing the missing Ardoni had in common – they were all somewhat close to Achillean. They knew about the secret mine network, about his hidden secret regarding the Aggressium Prime Song, and they knew about the man he truly became following the Great War; but most of all...

They knew about the Deathsinger.

For the duration of those 10 years post-war, Ardonia had believed the Tidesinger when he promised them that he had killed Ingressus Voltaris on the peak of Mt Velgrin in his bid to save them all, to end the war. Even after all this time, they had no reason to believe otherwise – there was not a hint of the Deathsinger, even in mutterings. Achillean had made sure of that.

Unfortunately, that was why he had to make those Ardoni disappear. If they were questioning him after all this time, letting them go with the knowledge of everything that had happened in that mine network – the torture, the abuse, and the truth about the Prime Songs – would have compromised everything that Achillean had worked so hard to try and hide. His secret would be the very undoing of the Ardoni, and he simply could not let it happen, especially after this long keeping everyone in the dark.

He had come too far to falter now.

Some would argue that there was still some good in the Tidesinger to think like that – that, if he were really the evil monster that he had believed himself to become, he would have come forwards and proved himself to be that monster before his entire species and show his true colours – to give the world something to hate, something to fear; but 10 years later, that Prime Song had long deep-rooted in the corners of his mind, holding his conscious captive, bending and twisting his soul in ways never before thought possible.

If there was previously still good within the heart of the Tidesinger, after all this time, it would have long been crushed. Shattered. The golden glow of the Nestoris would only be heroic to those in the dark.

Once upon a time, those markings resembled something special to someone else. To Master Aegus Nestoris, that golden glow was once the boy he watched grow up into the man he knew he was supposed to be – to grow into his father's shoes and then some. He also watched as that same man plummeted into the darkness ever since he refused to give up the Aggressium Prime Song. There was nothing that Aegus could do except keep a watchful eye on this once innocent boy and hope that he was there to catch him when it all fell apart.

What he didn't know, however, was that Achillean had already fallen too far.

Aegus knew not of Ingressus' life after all these years, but every so often, he grew suspicious of Achillean's late night escapades, wondering just what he was getting up to during the unholy hours of the night and for so long – just not enough to question him about them. He left the boy to have his space, understanding that grief can take its toll on even the strongest, most hardened of minds, especially the longer that it lingers undealt with.