Artemis Unveiled:The Descent

Untitled Part 8: Shadows of Hope

Aria quickly threw on her cloak.

"There's one more thing, about Xander..."

"I've already heard, we'll talk about it later," Hawk interrupted, his brow furrowed with concern. "Where is the demon-repelling candle?"

"I hid it in the Echo Tower. Thanatos has searched there, but I'm not sure if he found it," Aria replied, her worry deepening.

A flicker of unease passed through Hawk's eyes. "If the candle has been taken, we'll be in trouble," he said, his voice tinged with nervousness. "So, we need to leave Sovereign Stronghold now and head to the Echo Tower to find the candle. Luckily, I'm quite familiar with the layout of the royal city. Let's go, quickly."

Following Hawk, Aria left the room, feeling a newfound admiration for the astute strategist. His abilities far exceeded her expectations, seeming to have the situation under control at all times. She wondered how he managed to put four fully armed guards into a deep sleep. They stood straight, snoring softly.

"It's just a small trick, come with me," Hawk said quietly.

They avoided the patrol guards and made their way as quietly as possible to the end of the corridor in the North Tower. Finally, they stopped beside a lion statue with closed eyes. This location wasn't far from where Aria had been held captive. All they needed to do was traverse the corridor of the bedrooms and then turn into a wider hallway at the end. Stone lion statues lined both sides of the corridor.

"Yes, this is it, the lion with closed eyes," Hawk said, approaching one of the statues. He turned a hidden switch located under its tail, and a faint creaking sound followed. Behind it, there was an inconspicuous small door on the ground, blending in with the stone floor.

Before climbing down, Aria quickly glanced at the other statues, surprised to find that the eyes of this lion were tightly shut.

With a slight friction sound, the door closed behind them. The tunnel was pitch black, but Hawk skillfully lit the prepared oil lamp. "This is a passage in Sovereign Stronghold, closest to your room. It was prepared for special circumstances, like now."

The narrow stairs twisted downward, and after several turns, Aria had lost track of where they were. Despite Hawk mentioning that there were many tunnels in the royal city, they weren't interconnected. At least, the one Aria traversed was an independent passage. The tunnel was narrow, damp, and the exit seemed distant.

"Hawk, do you know about the seal?" Aria asked anxiously.

"There's a magic array there, but it can't last long."

"Is it because the king isn't here?"

"Others are controlling the array. They are proficient in magic arrays, and they can complete the task even without the king. I guess he returned only after entrusting them with it. He couldn't just watch his people be innocently killed. So, he accepted Thanatos' terms, exchanging his life for others," Hawk said sorrowfully, holding up the lamp and striding forward. Aria followed behind, feeling heavy-hearted. "But what puzzles me is that Thanatos is different this time; he actually honored the treaty. Moreover, his army didn't go towards the seal but stayed here."

"Why would he want to break the seal?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, the seal of Phoenix City is his masterpiece. I guess he has a pact with the devil, so he and his army can escape unscathed when the devil arrives."

"A pact with the devil?" Aria murmured to herself, suddenly recalling the scene when she first encountered Thanatos. The Night Ghoul seemed to have encountered something even more terrifying, prompting it to flee.