The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 80: Lord Vao Dusty Branwen, Part One

Crreeeaaaaaakk...

The heavy doors resisted the push of the Heroes, requiring nearly all of their diminished strength to push open the entrance to the castle of the Gods, and reveal to them the grand golden corridors. But when they stumbled inside, their hearts sank when they saw what awaited them.

"S... Souls... We need..."

The groans of the Failures reached their ears as the dead Celestials staggered towards them. The Heroes had been hoping for a straight shot to him. If they had to fight their way through these halls, they wouldn't have the strength to fight him.

The Heroes drew their weapons and braced themselves, praying silently that there wouldn't be very many left. But by now they knew better; if the corridors had enemies, there were bound to be a lot more waiting. The Failures reached out for them, their mutilated faces twisted in hunger...

SPLAT.

In an instant there was a flash of Darkness, the Failures dropping to the ground, dead. The Heroes stood frozen, the sounds of their breathing echoing in the vast halls. And finally, a soft, raspy voice called out to them.

"... You've done enough fighting... Keep going... I'll take care of them for you..."

He was watching them. But when they looked around, they couldn't see anyone hiding in the shadows. Their weapons dragging across the marble floors, they stumbled deeper into the castle.

As they thought, more of the Soulless husks of the Celestials waited. Before they could even move, they were skewered on the shadowy tendrils, none of the Heroes stopping. If they stopped walking, they feared they'd collapse. The high of their adrenaline was dwindling, and unlike ever before they were tired.

"... Wot an adventure... If you told me when I was young that we'd meet here after such a nightmare, I'd have thought you had more than a few screws loose."

Salem's eyes scoured the halls in her search, her grip around Yin's hand tightening. "W... Where are you...?"

"... Just ahead. Don't keep me waiting, eh? D-don't rush it, though... You've still a ways to go... N-nyahaha..."

Was he trying to tell them a joke? His laughter was awkward, quiet. But they didn't smile.

They didn't even see the next group of Failures die. They were already dead long before they reached the next hallway, their corpses torn to pieces by the shadows. The voice of the Lord of Grimmore continued, growing quieter.

"... Come on... One foot in front of the other..."

The halls were coming to an end, a stairwell waiting for them. But before they could begin their ascent, the ground underneath them cracked off the floor, the Darkness lifting it into the air. The shadows tore apart the ceiling and lifted them through the hole like an elevator, gently tipping to the side to let them slide off.

Sasha caught Vao when he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground, the elf looking up at the ceiling. "Why are... Why are you helping us...?" She asked softly. "I can get Sapphire... She was a... A part of your Cult... But me...?"

"... I don't know anymore... It felt like the right thing to do. All I know is how to kill... How to destroy... I think... Think I just wanted to do one thing right... To save just one person... Becoz in the end, I couldn't even save myself."

It was the first time they heard every bit of the guilt he carried on his shoulders in his voice. For Mono, it was not the first time. But for everyone else, it was jarring.