At last, they arrive at the end of the long tunnel. It led to a chasm, at the bottom of which rested what seemed to be an entire underground citadel, much like Ragma, although ruined and abandoned. Ear-piercing shrieks came from below.
Raxyas: Did you hear that...?
Bazren: Whatever that is... I'm not sure it belongs in this world...
Raxyas feels something in his head. The curse.
t̴̤̟̜̬̲̥͈͓̫̏͒͒͜r̶̥̫̗̯͔̟̜͖̀̌́͂̋̅i̸͇͇̠̐̾̉̔̇̔͒͝n̵̙̤̿͂̽͒̚͠͝ͅi̸̡̧̧̼̼̞̩̯͐͑̈́́̀͊t̸̢̡̨̨̨̤͎̠̗̯͋̔̐̾́̌̕y̸̡̨̨̹̭̰̟͙̾̅̓̚ : these ones... they were never meant to be. they are an abomination... be careful...
It's gone. Raxyas notices something below.
Raxyas: Wait... Down there, look!
Raxyas points towards an amalgamation of wandering souls, concentrated on a specific part of the abandoned citadel.
Raxyas: Whatever destroyed their vessels must have done so around that area... We should investigate.
They make their way down some long stairs leading to the streets of the citadel. Every once in a while, they would hear those shrieks. They arrive at the bottom and stop to plan their next move.
Bazren: We should stick together, no matter what... At least until we get a feel for how strong these monsters actually are.
Raxyas: Agreed.
As they walk through the streets of the citadel, the desolate look of the ruined buildings makes them feel uneasy. The closer they got to the area they saw, the more destroyed the buildings were. Broken vessels littered the way. They weren't quite as large as the vessels of redeemers, and yet were unmistakenly bigger than the vessels of regular citadel inhabitants.
Bazren: This is odd... Were undead in this citadel more powerful than the ones in our current time? Why were everybody's vessels so oversized...?
Raxyas: And look at these buildings... The size of whatever did this...
Bazren: It's fine. If they are that large, chances are they must be rather slow. We should at least be able to escape if we are spotted.
Raxyas: I hope you're right...
Bazren: Raxyas, look... Is that...?
In front of them was a large crater. A single, broken vessel laid there, its still intact hands both gripping an ornate key. The vessel was large, almost as large as Raxyas' current vessel, which already surpassed his own when he was a redeemer.
Raxyas: There's no way a vessel such as this belongs to one of Nu's soldiers, with how old it looks... And yet, it seems powerful enough to have somehow maintained most of its shape over the course of time. One of the redeemers of this citadel, most likely... Impressive. Bazren, this seems like an ideal vessel for you. Let's see...
Raxyas pries the key from the vessel's hands, and then uses his gauntlet to heal it. Soon, the vessel is in pristine condition once more.
Bazren: We shouldn't linger here. Let's bring it back up the stairs and I'll transfer to it there.
Raxyas: Wait, Bazren... This key. Does it remind you of anything?
Bazren takes a closer look at it.
Bazren: It seems like the keys only masters have... They're to be used in emergencies only. That the master itself would have someone take the key out of his own cathedral... He must have wanted to warn the other citadels. Something dire must have happened.
YOU ARE READING
Tales of Undeath: Renegade
FantasyIn a universe where rebirth is as unavoidable as death, to be ripped away from the circle of life and forced to live in limbo is a fate that no soul would wish ever to befall itself. Yet, that is the story of Raxyas. His is one of the many souls con...
