Guardians Of The Arcane Chronicles

Chapter 16: Not The End

Whitbourne street snuggled under the blanket of the cloud covered midnight sky, blissfully unaware of the horrors that had just taken place on the artificial island across the sea. Felix landed gently in front of his house and swept the broken pieces of his door onto the street. It was a miracle that no one had burgled his house yet, considering that he had not returned home in more than a week.

"Felix, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you here everyday- Oh gods, is that...?"

Felix nodded grimly as he lowered his sister's corpse to the ground. Orpheus burst into tears, wailing loudly as he fell to his knees. Pain wracked his heart as well, but Felix had no more tears to spill. He could only stare blankly into space as a dull numbness replaced what should have been pain and grief within him.

"Death is not the end, my friend." Orpheus wrapped his arms around him tightly. "Worry not. Marcia's soul is pure; she'll find her way to paradise."

"Death... is not the end indeed!" Felix piped excitedly. "Didn't you say that souls go to Purgatory before moving into the Afterlife?"

"Yes... but what has this gotta do with-" Orpheus hesitated, before his eyes widened dramatically in realisation. "No. Absolutely not. Don't. Even. Think about it, Felix."

"So it's possible then?" Felix said. "Marcia can still be saved if I retrieve her soul from Purgatory!"

"No! I am not letting you do this!" Orpheus shoved him to a wall roughly. "That is a violation of almost every natural law there is. You cannot bear the consequences, Felix! Please, listen to me. She's gone. The best we can do is honour her memory-"

"I can't!"

Felix pushed his friend away and fell to his knees beside Marcia, holding her hand to his forehead as he sobbed again.

"I can't, okay?" His voice cracked with emotion. "I can't let her go like this, not when I know there's still a way to save her. I owe it to her; I owe it to myself. I... I owe it to my parents to protect Marcia..."

"I know how you feel, but doing this might cost you your life." Orpheus knelt down beside Felix. "You haven't been inside that place. It's pure chaos, it'll drive you crazy! There are billions, probably even trillions of malicious spirits residing there. What are you gonna do if a whole gang of them shows up?"

"I'll figure it out, Orpheus." Felix sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, leaning against the wall. "Take care of my physical body, will you?"

Orpheus grabbed his hand and shook his head.

"No, I'm coming with you," he said. "I won't leave you to enter that accursed place alone."

"What? That's a violation of every natural law; you said so yourself!"

"I'd break any law for you, Felix. What kind of friend would I be if I left you to do this all by yourself?" Orpheus sat down beside Felix. "I can't exactly be your tour guide there, but be rest assured, my friend. A Necromancer's powers are drastically amplified when it comes to the matters of the dead. Give me a moment to prepare the incantations. Let's do this together."

"Thank you, Orpheus."

~ ~ ~

"Hey Sergeant. Do me a favour and get those media people out of here, will ya? Tell them we'll release a statement when we're ready."

The constable leader nodded and scurried off to the throngs of people struggling to lift their cameras above the technomagick barrier. The island was somehow still intact despite being lifted up and split in half, but he did not want to risk any further casualties before the Druids arrived to repair the land.