Of Thousand Lives

Grand Siege of the Abyss - Chapter 10: Heir of Curses

"Put it down on this table, I'll take care of the rest.", Hope taps on a sparkling clean operating table a few times, indicating where he should put it. "Okie dokie, all done.", Theobold smiles beamingly. "How are you able to stand this smell, anyways?", the cat boy tilts his head to the side, looking at the doctor with curious eyes and hands on his hips. "Well, I have to work a lot with dead bodies. I've somewhat gotten used to stinky things.", Hope writes something down on a note and sticks it to a board with a pin. Theobold hums softly for a while, thinking of what he said, then nods, "Makes sense.". Hurlem then appears at the door, "Guys, the Lightbringers division have arrived. They're waiting for your instructions, Hope.". The kid then turns around slowly, not used to using crutches to walk, then he walks off into the hallway. "Alright, it seems like it's time to shut down this siege.", Hope pulls one of his drawers, getting out a fresh pair of medical gloves. He takes off his mask, his back faced towards Theobold. "Hey, Hope.. I have a question for you.", Theobold lowers his voice. "Yeah?", the medic pulls out his handkerchief to wipe off the dust from his mask. Shining it under a light, the mask glitters cleanly. It's made out of aluminum, and very lightweight. The mask can cover all of his face. It's white, with a wide line of grey running vertically across where the missing hole for an eye should be. The mask has only one hole for Hope's right eye to see through.. "Why do you want to hide your face?", the curious boy asks, wanting to learn. "As a Valkyrie, who I am doesn't matter, it's what I do that leaves a mark.", The doctor says, putting the mask back on, turning to the boy behind him. "So.. you're just shy.. yes??", Theobold scratches his head, innocently smiling. "Yes. You may believe so.", Hope nods, wanting to end this conversation quickly, before leaving the room, Theobold follows him out of the place as well. All that is left in the room, is the presumably dead amalgamation of flesh and metal.

So.. this is Hope's Lightbringers division. What a plentiful number of troops. From the names of it, I'm guessing they specialize in Light magic. If I'm correct, they are mainly used in battles that include Void enemies. The men line up neatly in rows at the courtyard, awaiting their captain. Very well disciplined as well, they're not moving an inch. They remind me much of the Templars in my world, but they can actually do some magic this time. Oh, there's the doc. "Alright, hope I didn't make you guys wait for me for too long.", the medic steps out of the building, alongside Theobold, who's carrying Hurlem on his back and holding his crutch for him. Pretty adorable how Theobold cares for the child. "Okay, we will be working in unison with the Assault division and the Watchers division to make quick work of this Siege. You have all been trained thoroughly for this day. Now listen carefully: We will set off from here and split into two to sweep the streets with more ease. Once that's done, we will meet up with the Assault team and the Watchers. Locating the rift is the Watchers' job. The Assault team will clear out a path for you and the rest will be all yours. I will be coming, as well. So will the leaders of the Assault division and the Watchers.", Hope walks around the squadron of men, eventually standing behind them all, as they still face forward, waiting to heed his next instructions. "Lightbringers! About face!", as soon as the medic finishes his command prompt, the men all turn around in one quick motion. "Pretty cool, right? His troops are very disciplined, they don't take orders from anyone else other than him.", Theobold nudges my elbow, chuckling softly as he watches the Lightbringers follow Hope's commands. "Mhm.", I nod. "Say, who's the leader of the Assault division?", I then look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, that's me!", the cat chuckles confidently in response. "Shouldn't you be where your division is, then?", I put my hands on my hip, frowning. "Doesn't matter where I am, I can always find them in under 10 seconds, by running around the city until I find them.", he pats my shoulders with a dumbfound smile, stoutly replying. I guess he can do that.. He's fast anyways. "Let's make history.", Hope begins marching out of the base as his squadron follows him out into the streets. As they progress deeper into the city, more and more shadowlings show up to stop them, yet they could not be touched. Being around them seems to give us some sort of layer of protection. As for the monsters that tried to lay one finger on our skin, it immediately dissipated. Though they prove no harm, the sheer number of them is slowing us down. "Were the first and second siege like this?", I ask, looking at Hurlem, who's resting on the cat boy's back. "Yes. But on a bigger size. The first time this has happened, the entirety of Iazhioria was affected, not just Thannatopia. But then again, magic in the olden times was more raw and untamed, meaning the mages back then could easily put out a siege.", the kid turns his head to me, snuggling Theobold's warm back. "I have an idea. When winter comes, maybe I can make a business out of the flame user's body temperature. It's very warm.", Hurlem continues, patting on Theobold's back to get his attention. "Hopefully not.", the cat nervously chuckles, shaking his head. After a bit of walking, we eventually make our way to a crossroads. "This is the rendezvous point..", Hope holds his arm up, signaling his men to stop here. There's an uncomfortable silence in the air. After a few seconds, Vurul pops his head out of the window of a building. "Oh. It's you.", the bird mutters. A few more Watchers step out from the shadows of the buildings, and the few members of the Assault division steps out as well. "Hi guys.", Theobold waves hello at his division members. His followers also wave back. "The portal is about 7 klicks away from you all. Very heavily infested with shadowlings. No signs of mutated monsters, as of now. It's about to get wider. Immediate interference required.", Vurul stands on the open window frame, crouching down as he explains the surroundings and the current status of the portal. After that, he flies away to where the portal is immediately. The Watchers then step back into the shadows, fading away to the surroundings of the area. "You heard the man! Form a wedge on the Lightbringers, Assault division!", Theobold then shouts, pointing a finger at the direction they need to be facing. Almost immediately, they get into position. "Begin the last stretch of the mission!", the cat boy signals them all to get going. "Let's go!", Hope also shouts, commanding his Lightbringers division to charge ahead. Like an arrow, the group plows through their enemies like an unstoppable force. We reach the portal in no time with the combination of the two divisions. As we get closer to the rift, the air becomes heavier and the ground becomes more unstable. The road below us slowly becomes disoriented, as if it's missing its textures. "Is this.. natural..?", I look briefly at our surroundings, disturbed by the sudden changes. "It is. This is happening due to the unstable nature of the Abyss. Nothing in there is the same as before once you've put it through the portal.", Hurlem nods, tightening his grip on Theobold's shoulders to brace for whatever happens next. After getting close enough, the Assault division splits into two, creating a gap for the Lightbringers to circle around the dimensional gateway. Vurul is watching from up above to see if everything goes well. Right now, the shadowlings have been cornered back into their place of origin. Hope lets out a pleased laugh, looking at the easy victory that's right in their grasp. "Not so tough now!", the medic lets out a small sigh of relief. As the Lightbringers close in, their Light aura overwhelms the Void that emits from the portal and slowly dissipates into nothingness. "That was.. easy..?", Hurlem raises an eyebrow, looking around the place to make sure that this isn't a trap. The bird suddenly dives down. "MOVE!", his voice echoes in the air, notifying us of incoming danger. "Wha-", Hope mutters, looking up at Vurul, then looks around the place. Out of an alley, a flying pike comes whizzing to the group of occupied Lightbringers. The sharp tip pierces through the armour of a Lightbringer, then he gets pulled back, screaming in pain, then disappearing into the shadows of the valley. His screams quiet out after a loud crunch. The rest of the group stared in shock and disbelief. This action proves to be a fatal mistake for the squadron as the gate suddenly bursts wide open and a strong aura pours out like a flood, then follows an explosion. The soldiers get knocked back immediately from the shockwave. Standing from quite a distance away, the effects of the explosion doesn't have much of an impact on us. The Valkyries stand their ground, looking at the rift whilst staying cautious of the danger hiding in the shadows of the streets. "Fall back!", Hope lets out another command, this time, he's retreating from unknown danger. The group tries to retreat, but the majority of them instantly collapse from the mere existence of something. Some manage to escape, returning back to their leaders as they watch their comrades fall unconscious. "Back away from the portal.", Vurul mutters, slowly stepping back.

Out of one of the alleys, the monster from before steps out of the shadows then stands next to the portal. It's limping, perhaps it's still damaged from the last battle. After the monster arrives at the portal, it steps aside, then abruptly drops down on one of its knees, facing his head downwards. This pose.. It's.. greeting someone..? "Ah, yes.", a voice from the portal speaks out. "It's refreshing to see such a well-mannered being in these days.", a short kid walks through the portal, he's holding a staff that's twice his height. "Hurlem.. Do you know who this is?-", I quickly turn to him in search of an answer. The child on Theobold's back is staring at the one that came from the portal with widened eyes and terror on his face. "R-", Hurlem attempts to speak, but stutters due to the feeling of fear that's flooding over his body. "Run.. RUN! RUN AWAY!", the boy finally is able to scream. Almost immediately, seeing how shocked Hurlem is, we all begin running away from the figure. "Aw.. Okay.. I guess I'll have this part of the road all for myself then.", the abyssal child sighs, shrugging to himself.

After running for almost an eternity, we all stop and take shelter inside an empty apartment. The young Hurlem is burying his face into the cat's back. "Why..? T- The books.. They.. Didn't write anything about..", Hurlem mutters to himself, unable to believe the appearance of that other child. "What's with that kid?", Hope sits down on the floor, leaning against a wall, catching his breath as he asks. The child fades into an eerie silence, trying to believe the presence of that kid who stepped out of the portal. "I.. don't know how to put this. This is the first time Iazhioria has been raided by a creature of such degree.", Hurlem lightly pats on Theobold's shoulder, signaling him to put him down. Hurlem seems much calmer now, perhaps he found a good lesson in the last encounter with Raven..? The boy lets out a sigh, curling up his undamaged leg. "I don't want to alarm you all. But that child.. He is the Demigod of Curses, Suvdar. One of the strongest pieces that the Abyss has to offer.", the boy says with his head down, pessimistic of what's about to come. The whole place then goes quiet again as everyone takes in this moment of silence as the room begins to fill in with a soul-crushing pressure. "Is this it for Iazhioria.. then?", Hope asks, he doesn't seem to be doing his best right now. "Probably, but there's still hope if there's.. Raven.", the boy says, reluctantly uttering out the last word of the sentence. "Right. Has anyone seen Raven around ever since this entire thing started? At least Astrid and Patricia are leading the citizens to safe spots of the city.", Hope stands up, looking around the room for our answers, which are all shrugs. "Of course. Someone as rich as him only cares about bagging the money and running away whenever something happens.", the medic crosses his arms, shaking his head in disappointment as he paces around the room. "Now is not the time to blame each other. We have to think of something to do to get out of this situation first.", Hurlem looks up at the annoyed doctor, attempting to calm him down through reasoning. "He's right.", Theobold immediately nods, agreeing with the child. "We should trust each other in these trying times. I'm sure Raven's doing something out there.", the cat continues, putting his trust in the elf. Hope sighs, shaking his head, then steps back down, knowing that it's better to keep his cool for now. "Hey, wait. I can feel something coming. It has a strangely strong emittance of Light magic.", the medic suddenly looks around, trying to find the direction of where the aura is coming from. Though, it's already enveloping him, and dulling his magical senses. "M- Me too.. I have a feeling that it's..-", Natalia nods her head, slowly standing up from her sitting position. The window of the room suddenly slides open, hitting the frame with an audibly loud sound. Everyone in the room turns towards the noise, taking their fighting stances immediately. The person kneeling at the window frame is none other than Raven. His white plague doctor mask with a sleek look entirely encases his face, showing only his hair and his elf ears. The wind is blowing softly on the tail of his coat, making it float in the air miraculously. "I would like to apologize for the delay.", Raven speaks, his voice altered by his mask.