A couple of days later (it's funny to say this when the passage of time is very different from ours) Eclip left Sankh's castle. He wandered through the silent streets of the kingdom of shadows, illuminated by neon. And soon he came out onto an empty road. It, like a corridor, led only to one end - to the Ghost's castle. The road was empty: no flowers grew on it, no lost souls wandered. There was only a feeling of anxiety, growing with every step. Eclip reached a huge door. It opened itself, and the young man went inside.
-----
The inside of the castle was very different from everything outside. If the outside of the castle looked like something from Xentaron, then inside everything was reminiscent of an ancient castle. All these tapestries and stained glass windows depicting bygone days were reminiscent of the Forbidden Realm, of which Eclip once became a captive against his own will. A trembling went through his body.
"Feeling familiar?" Dean's voice was heard very close
"It's you again..." Eclip sighed "I thought you were really upset that I didn't listen to you, and you decided not to show up again"
"Oh, no, this is nothing. After all, if it weren't me, who knows where you would be now." he laughed
Eclip understood what Dean was talking about, but pretended to ignore the last thing he said.
"So what about the deal?" Hermes stood in front of Eclip and looked at him intently. "You know, I don't save souls for free"
"No." the answer was short and sharp. Eclip felt that Hermes wants to deceive him, so he tried to prevent unwanted results from his adventures.
"Well... You know better. But if you ever change your mind, I'm always here... Watching..."
The latter at first seemed like something metaphorical. Then it turned out that this was not a metaphor, and he was speaking seriously... But let's not get ahead of ourselves
------
Wandering among the gloomy corridors soon led him to the throne room. Everyone present immediately fell silent when the door slammed behind the young man. All eyes (if you could call it that, because among the faceless souls there was no one who could have a face) were directed towards the mysterious guest. A whisper was heard next. It seems that they asked each other questions about who Eclip was - a new god or an accidentally lost living soul. Feeling strange pressure from the faceless inhabitants, the young man tried to take a step back. But it was as if something was bothering him. There was only one way - the path forward, to The Ghost. Taking a deep breath, Eclip walked to the center. Seeing the strange guest, the Ghost rose from the throne and, like the wind, approached the young man.
"Your face... It looks familiar to me" he said looking at the boy. "It's like... I have seen you before"
"It's me" young man smiled "Eclip. John, don't you..."
"What? How did you... But this... Just can't be... How did you know this name?"
"Have you forgotten? Xentaron? Home? Your daughter...?"
"My daughter..." John thought for a while, and then it seemed to him that it dawned on him "Of course! How could I forget all this. Time spares no one, but... What are you doing here?" John took a step back.
"I'm here" he began, gathering his strength "I stand before you and, bowing my head, I call on you with a song of the most fervent prayer... Although myself neither dead nor alive..."
At that moment The Ghost understood everything. He understood why the young man came here... Or rather... For who.
"Eclip, my boy..." he began holding back tears. "I can't let her go."
"But why? I know that she, like me, is alive"
"History repeats itself, eh?" Dean intervened in the conversation, who continued to follow Eclip, wherever he went. "John, don't make the same mistake as the one who came before you. Remember the chaos that boy caused. It took you a long time to clean that mess and..."
"SILENCE!" John's voice rang out like thunder throughout the Empire. "How dare you come here and confront me with the mistakes of the past!? Who do you think you are?!"
At that moment, a strong wind mixed with snow rushed into the throne room. Small snowflakes, like millions of sharp blades, caused many cuts both to the surrounding surfaces and to everyone present in the throne room. Fear and panic gripped everyone. Many tried to escape, but the door was covered with a thick crust of ice. One thing became known: it was a trap.
The whirlwind of snowflakes created a feeling of infinity and hopelessness. This outburst of The Ghost's rage caused Eclip a strong feeling of anxiety, and immediately he created a barrier, trying to protect those who were still alive in this blizzard. But it turned out that dragon magic was useless in the kingdom of shadows.
"John, stop" two voices echoed through the blizzard
The voices seemed to stop time in the throne room. Snowflakes froze in the air. The young man noticed that Dean had long since disappeared, leaving everyone to die in the snow. But John wasn't there to protect him either.
Anxiety and fear gripped the young man
-----
Two guards flew into the throne room, completely different from each other: the first girl resembled a raven because of her appearance - her short dress seemed to be woven from raven feathers, and a strange hairpin resembling a wing was visible in her short hair. Behind the girl's back were two large raven wings of black and scarlet colors. In the girl's hands were chains made of an unknown material. Those were glowing in her hands
The second girl, her sister, was like the opposite. She resembled a beautiful swan. Her moon-colored hair fell to her shoulders. Her blue eyes matched her long, light dress with a cape that seemed to shimmer with millions of stars. However, instead of white feathers, behind the girl's back there were two metal wings, inside of which there were seven gears with crystals of different colors in each. The girl held a one-handed sword in her hands. It was again created from sapphires. The hilt of the sword resembled either a dragon's or a bat's wings.
The girls silently sank to the icy floor and immediately turned their gaze to Eclip. Of course, the two goddesses knew about the intruder in the Empire of Steel. Eclip froze in place, not even daring to take his eyes off the girls. He felt like if he looks away he will lose his own soul, forever becoming the prisoner of this silent place. The girl in white pointed the blade towards the guest's chest and looked intently into the young man's eyes. At that moment, all the gears shone with a bright light, and the young man was thrown back into the wall.
His vision grew dark, but the young man tried to get to his feet. But he was immediately lifted into the air by a small whirlwind. The girl in white approached him and looked into his eyes again. This time, the gears made a terrible grinding sound, and the young man's body seemed to be pierced by many blades. A loud scream filled the throne room. The whirlwind disappeared and the young man fell to the floor.
He tried to get up again, but the pain prevented him from doing it. Eclip turned over onto his back with difficulty so that he could see his executioners. At that moment, the girl in red came and sat next to him. Realizing that he was having a hard time breathing, she placed her hand on his chest as if relieving the pain. Then she looked at him.
She realized who this man was and immediately jumped away from him.
"Mistress will be furious," was the last thing the girl said before her younger sister teleported them to the dungeons of Sankh's Castle.
YOU ARE READING
Ashes
FantasíaAn unknown virus that came to the city began to gradually reduce the large population of two large cities - Enia and Xentaron. Wanting to save people, the ruler of Xentaron asks a young scientist to invent something that can save everyone. But the e...
