A QUEST OF DEATH : Dawning Darkness

23 | Clouds • Part 2 (new.unedited)

Ada had been everything Auden ever wanted to be -- strong, brave, and unshakably confident in the face of chaos. As a big sister, she had been his guiding star, the one who knew how to handle every situation with grace, even when their world seemed to spin out of control.

He remembered how she always stood up for him when others sneered at his soft-spoken nature and his gentle demeanour. He wasn't like the other heirs-he didn't have their coldness or their hunger for power.

People would question his strength, mock him for not being "manly" enough. He cried when he was hurt, laughed heartily when he was happy, and didn't hide his emotions behind the stoic mask they all seemed to wear. For some, it was a sign of weakness. They couldn't understand how a boy like him-someone who refused to harm even a fly-could ever be the Heir to the Romersai. To them, his kindness was a flaw. But Ada had never seen it that way. She saw his heart for what it truly was: a strength most people couldn't comprehend.

He missed her terribly when she was expelled. It was as if a vital piece of his soul had been ripped away. He had gotten so angry at her for falling into the guilt trap that the Romersai elders had set for her. She was so much stronger than that, stronger than anyone he had ever known.

And yet, she had been cast out, forced to carry the blame for things that weren't hers to bear. Auden had cried so much back then. Pretty much every night, his mind tortured by the absence of the one person who had always made him feel safe.

He knew the truth of the Romersai clan better than anyone. They weren't the pure, soft clouds and rainbows that they projected to the outside world. Perhaps they had been once, long ago during Aku Romersai's reign, but that was centuries in the past.

Now, the descendants of that bloodline-and the three children Aku had adopted-had turned inward, fighting over power, influence, and the right to control the clan. It wasn't done with fists or weapons, though. It was done with words, sneers, rumours, and cruel punishments. Subtle, cutting. Deadly in their quiet way.

Auden had been spared some of that venom because of his pureborn status. Sea, however, hadn't been so lucky. She wasn't pureborn, and that made her a target. That was why no one ever knew about them-about him and Sea. Romersai wouldn't have accepted it. And in their eyes, Sea was a danger simply for existing.

If it had been a different time, a different world, things might have been different. Maybe he wouldn't have been trapped in this endless cycle of duty and deception. Maybe Ada wouldn't have been expelled. Maybe the Romersai wouldn't have collapsed under their own weight.

But there was one thing Auden didn't regret. He never wished Aku Romersai hadn't adopted those two sons and that daughter because, if he hadn't, Auden never would have met Sea. And that thought was enough to quiet the bitterness in his heart, even if just for a moment.

Sunk in thought he walked backed through the sanctum, his eyes scanning the dimly lit corridors as alert as ever. He expected the Pasuzu to be waiting for him near the pyre, exactly where he had left the ominous creature. The thing had been following him around like a shadow, sticking closer to him than his own had ever managed. Auden couldn't blame it. It didn't want to be near himself either. But Pazuzu was bound to him by duty, not by choice.

He turned down the final stretch of walkway that led to the pyre, the faint smell of ash and charred wood filling his nostrils. The rain had lightened to a drizzle, barely audible now over the quiet hum of the sanctum. As the familiar shape of the pyre came into view, he spotted Pazuzu lurking at its base, the creature's form barely visible in the mist. Its eyes glowed faintly, watching him with the same unnerving stillness it always held.

Auden approached slowly, his cloak brushing against the wet stone as he stepped closer. He didn't speak to Pazuzu; there was no need. The creature knew what was expected, just as much as Auden did.