The Princess of Wrath

Chapter 1 - Part VII: The Stranger & the Ambition of a Princess

Asura's eyes widened, startled, as she partially remembered the mortal danger she had been subjected to. A firm hand squeezing her shoulder prevented her from moving with the natural abruptness with which she had reacted; the bearded and slightly gentle face of her great-grandfather could be made out in the dimness that dominated the interior of her cabin, thanks to a couple of recently lit candles.

"Calm down, girl. Take it easy... The Bride in Black is no longer here," Argus told her as he helped her to her feet. "You are safe."

"B-Bride in Black?" she repeated. Anxiety dropped and her breathing returned to normal, stripping her of that pressure that was concentrated in her chest. From all of her physical exertion, her limb joints were sore and both her thigh muscles and her forearm muscles trembled spasmodically. "That thing? Those chimes?"

Just remembering that ethereal, otherworldly sound was enough to make her cringe in terror.

"That entity is a herald of the Eldritch Truth. Of the same nature as those monsters that lurk in the most unexplored corners of our Continent and those that hail from the Forbidden Continent," he explained, leading her to the table that had been pushed almost to one of the walls, taking several works of art along the way. Argus cared little for the conditions of his cabin; he was more interested in offering his great-granddaughter a glass that he filled with water from a dried clay vase. "Drink."

Asura noticed how dry her mouth was and she indulged in three fills of her glass. She was still trembling from the chills of that encounter with that creature: it was the same terror she had experienced when the Shifting Horror had deceitfully led her into a trap.

The fate of her family, tied to the Eldritch Truth and the perpetual harassment of its agents.

"You were very lucky... Had you looked that demon in the eye, you would have faced a fate worse than death," her great-grandfather explained, with the seriousness he required when reporting the events that took place. "Her bell calls all souls, tempting them with the out-of-this-world sound it produces. Once the Bride catches you, there's no going back."

"That sound...did nothing but freak me out." Asura left the glass on the table, her gaze lost and trying to control the urge she had to cry. She rubbed her hands together gently, as if the slight warmth they produced worked as some kind of comfort. "You guys have to put up with the harassment from that thing?"

"The presence of the Bride in such a short time is not normal: we expected her visit next month."

"Then why...?" The Princess was going to ask, but the answer came before she could finish formulating the question. She had already experienced it, just like her ancestors. "The Curse of the Old Gods."

"Exactly. The Curse is like a fire to which these creatures try to approach like moths. Now that there are two of us here in End-World, we attract the presence of the Eldritch Truth even more. Unless..." The girl frowned at her great-grandfather, attentive to her mysterious gaze. "...you have resigned yourself to death."

As if she was being accused of a crime committed, Asura lowered her head. It was a gray thought... The duality she had been facing in the last few hours. As she regained her strength, and as she faced the pain that assailed her heart, the desire to fade into oblivion receded.

Perhaps it was human nature itself that led her to fight to stay in the light.

"I think you already have the answer to my riddle," Argus told her, taking her chin with his index finger and thumb to make her look into his eyes. "There is a place I want to show you, a couple of hours' walk away. There we can continue chatting."