Ashes

Arch I. Enia and Xentaron. Story 4. A New Hope

Tracking down the Darkness, a wanderer arrived the Capital. Her blue hair fell over her shoulders, and her golden eyes sparkled in the moonlight. Those who saw her felt a sense of fear. No one knew exactly who she was or why she was here.

Out of the corner of her eye, the girl saw a shadow flash between the houses. Perhaps this is the creature she is hunting for. Raising her gun, she began to pursue the monster again. So she ended up in the castle. It was quiet here. It seemed as if there was no one inside except her and the creature.

"Could it be these halls are echoing... Of death?" the girl suddenly started to speak. She talked to herself. "We'll see"

Moving from corridor to corridor, she was overcome by a feeling of déjà vu.

"In all my dreams I see a maze of halls with bloody walls and countless scrawls reminding me it's me."  She was still talking to herself.

A sudden rustle behind her made the girl turn around. She immediately pointed the gun at the man. He raised his hands, staring at the stranger in surprise. Realizing that he was absolutely not the one she needed, she lowered her weapon and sighed heavily. The Mayor of Xentaron stood in front of her.

"This is the first time I've seen someone break into my castle so unceremoniously." Deimos' voice sounded calm. He knew that the girl is not dangerous, but he didn't want her to feel the danger from him.

"I am very sorry for that" the girl tried to speak so that the Mayor would not suspect that she was from the nobility "I am chasing someone, so I..."

"I see" Deimos interrupted her "What is your name?"

"Hope, Your Grace" she replied shortly.

"Great-granddaughter of Mist. Interesting..."

"I didn't say  that!" she almost yelled.

"No. But you're not happy about it, I see. Anyway" he tried to change the topic "You have some skills in hunting, right?" he asked and, having received an answer in the form of a nod, continued "Wanna stay here?"

"Um... No. I escaped one castle not for starting a new life in another. But thanks for offer"

"Think about it, Hope. If you'll ever change your mind, the doors of this castle are always open for such talented hunter as you" he smiled.

-----

For the next few months, the girl lived in the Workshop, located almost in the center of the Capital. By helping people replace missing parts, she has made significant advances in the field of biomedical engineering. People who came here were often satisfied. There were also bad days when "big people" burst into the Workshop, who considered it necessary to destroy this or that work created by Dave, the owner of the Workshop. With Hope's arrival, such clashes became less frequent.

But the Workshop was hiding another little secret. Under one of the machines there was a hatch that led to the lowest floor of this place. Dave's other team was working there. They developed Pantum. What is Pantum, you ask. This... A drug that included witch root, dragon scales and flickering bells, which by their nature could not get along in the climate of the Capital. Pantum was originally created to relieve the pain of hopelessly ill patients. But each body reacted to the drug differently. Often people died. And those with whose blood Pantum mixed without consequences acquired superhuman strength. You can guess what this led to in the future... Did Deimos know about this? No, until a certain moment. But, having seen what was happening in his city, he managed to find those who create this rubbish. Promising to pay well, he forced Dave's team to remake the drug, removing one component - the flickering bells. They were the ones who caused the body's reaction to the drug. Dave agreed, but he still kept the laboratory away from the eyes of the Mayor and his guards.