Oceanum Collis

•Chapter 44• The void

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Serena yelled at the man holding her arms firmly. Orlando walked in front of her. A large group of men surrounded them. They all held deadly weapons, like crossbows and swords, in their hands. The young man glanced over his shoulder. Erix was watching them both closely. He had learned from his mistakes. Once you capture what you want, do not give it a chance to escape. Not even the slightest bit of hope. The two prisoners were forced up the stairs. Serena quickly remembered where they were led to. She turned her head to glance over her shoulder. Behind her, Orlando looked at her with fear in his eyes. He, too, was frightened. Serena's hair was pulled, making her look at the guard next to her. "Keep your eyes in front of you, elf!" He barked at her. Serena glared at him with her doe, green eyes. Usually, any man or woman that looked directly into her eyes would've been enchanted. But the look she gave him was life-threatening. It didn't take long for them to reach the top of the tower. Orlando and Serena stood next to each other in front of the door. Erix appeared on their left. "Here we are," he smiled. He leaned forward slightly to look at Serena. "Back again, sweetheart." He added. Serena spits on the emperor's shoes. All the weapons were now aimed at her. But Serena didn't flinch or move. She just coldly stared back at him. Erix stepped closer to the elven princess. "Think your tough, huh?" He asked her. Serena chuckled. "Oh, no, I don't think I am. I know I am." She tells him, "I'm a woman." She added. "You're a fraud," Erix replied. Orlando looked at Erix. "And you're frightened." He said. The emperor turned to the young man. "The worm speaks." He taunted. He stepped closer to him. "What makes you think I'm frightened, my boy?" He asked. His voice was calm and peaceful. "Do you want a normal answer?" Orlando asked, "Or a sarcastic one?" He added. Erix hit the boy across his face, hard. 

Serena glared at the emperor. "Wow, you're so tough. Please don't hurt us, oh powerful emperor." She said. Orlando was pulled back onto his feet by the guard behind him. Ignoring the pain, he actually felt quite proud. He had passed on his sarcasm to her. Erix looked at Serena. "I could kill you if I wanted to. I only need your blood." He said. Serena tilted her head. "No man could kill me." She spoke boldly. Orlando believed her. She's strong. She's powerful. She could take on an entire army if she had to. "You need to get your ego checked," Erix said as he pointed a finger at her. "Says the man who literally named himself emperor," Orlando said. The emperor turned to the young man. "You knew I was an Adelio." Orlando continued. Erix let out a low chuckle. "That's why you hunted me, right? Every single night, I would run as if my life depended on it," he said. Erix sighed. "And I almost had you." He replied, "If those fools hadn't let you escape." He added. He grabbed the boy by his shirt. "I wanted you dead for years, but then I found out that I needed your blood to get what I want. And I hunted you, day and night, just to get it." He continued. "Well, then why didn't you use my parents? You killed them. You could've used their blood!" Orlando exclaimed. "Well, where would be the fun in that?" Erix questioned. Orlando frowned at him. "I thought I could convince you to come and side with me once your parents were gone. If Basil Adelio had one secret hidden in these walls, he must've had more. And I imagined they all would've been sealed in the same way. Because it would be the safest way to seal them away. And if I could turn you around and have you by my side, I would have all the power in the world." He explained. "You killed my parents... to turn me into something like you?" Orlando questioned. Serena looked at him sadly. "You killed them for nothing!?" He yelled. "I did it for a good cause, my boy. You never would've agreed to just cut open your hand or be a prisoner here forever. Giving you some sort of trauma to turn your purpose around seemed... easier." He explained.

The poor man was driven to insanity by the loss of the love of his life, Rachel. He had searched for years. He had done terrible things. He had taken this poor boy's life. Serena could see Orlando's heart shattering by looking into his eyes. "So this has been your plan all these years?" Serena asked Erix. The emperor looked at her. "Well, it didn't go exactly as planned. As he is here, with you, tied up. So, I decided we should hunt him instead. I send out my guards every single night to look for him, but they never brought him to me." He explained, "So, I focused on the other part of my search. The elf I required. He or she had to still be out there." He continued. The emperor stepped closer to her. "So, I searched for months. I burned part of the outside world to the ground just to find them. But I never succeeded. I felt like a complete failure. If I couldn't find two people, what kind of emperor would I be?" He said, "A couple of years went by and there was no sign of him or you. Until! He escaped from this prison and I captured that old man on the streets." He added. Orlando looked up at him. His eyes had become darker. "It took a while, but eventually I got it out of him. I send my guards out to find you, and there you were. Saved by an elf. A royal elf. Daughter of the great elven king, Callodir. Someone who could open the door for me. And now, here you are." The emperor tells. Suddenly, from behind them, the guards reached out and grabbed their arms.  Erix used a blade to slice open their hands. The two of them whined and cursed under their breaths. They were then forced to place their hands on the wooden material of the door. It opened within seconds. The emperor's eyes widened in shock. He pushed open the door. There it was. The magic mirror with the gemstone was made by the elves. Orlando and Serena were pushed inside. Erix was standing in front of the mirror. He placed his hand on the glass. "Finally," he whispered.

He then reached up and placed his hand on the gemstone. "No! Don't!" Serena exclaimed. She moved, about to attack him, to stop him, but she was held back by the men behind her. They forced her onto her knees as she continued to resist. "You don't know what you're doing!" She yelled at him. The reflection in the glass disappeared, turning to darkness. Only darkness. Orlando's eyes widened. "The void," he whispered. Erix looked down at the gemstone in his hands. "Please, put it back! You have no idea what power that stone holds. Please, listen to me!" Serena pleaded. The emperor looked up at the she-elf. "That place is dangerous. You need to put the stone back before anything bad happens. You have to listen to me." She tells him. But, of course, he didn't. He looked at the men behind her. "She says it's dangerous." He chuckled. The guards joined in with their laughter. Erix walked towards her, leaned down, and grabbed her chin. He pulled it up gently and looked into her eyes. "Let's test that out, shall we, sweetheart?" He suggested. Orlando shook his head. "No. No!" He yelled. The elven princess was pulled onto her feet and moved towards the mirror. Orlando tried to fight out of the guard's grip. "Erix don't! Please!" Orlando pleaded. "No one comes back from that place," Serena said. "Let me guess, you'll fall to your death?" Orlando asked. Serena shook her head. "No," Valeria spoke up. Orlando looked at her. Her blue eyes appeared to be cold. Extremely cold. The only emotion they showed was fear. "Yes, you'll fall. But you will fall for the rest of eternity." She said, "You will die in The Void. Not because you hit the bottom. No. You'll die because you won't hit anything. You will see no end. No light at the end of the tunnel. Like a blank space." She explained. "You know, sweetheart, I had hoped for you to live longer," Erix tells her. Serena spits at him again. "You'll die for this." She tells him. "Oh, and who's going to kill me, huh? Pretty boy over there?" He asked her as he pointed his finger at Orlando. "I will." Serena threatened. Erix chuckled. "Not if you die." He replied. With that, he yanked on Serena's arm, pulling her from the guards. "Thank you again. For your corporation." He said. He pushed her through the mirror. "Serena!!" Orlando screamed.