Idilia: The Dark Kingdom - Part 1

XXXVII. Last Words

The air was thick with the stench of blood and death, a grim testament to the devastation that had swept through the town. Ashana stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest as she surveyed the massacre before her. Bodies lay strewn across the ground, twisted and broken, the life torn from them by some dark force. It felt unreal, like stepping into a nightmare, but there was no waking from this horror.

Behind her, the rest of the group—Dagda, Pontha, Sylvan, and Aeliana—stood in a stunned silence. The flickering light from Dagda's flames danced on their faces, revealing their wide, disbelieving eyes. The earth beneath them trembled slightly, as if even the ground was unsettled by the bloodshed that had occurred here.

"No... Grandma..." Ashana's voice broke as her eyes darted across the battlefield, desperate to find Elara among the fallen. Her feet carried her forward before her mind could catch up, stumbling over the bodies of people she had known, their lifeless faces haunting her.

"Stay close," Dagda warned, his voice low and tense. His hand gripped his sword tightly, his knuckles white. The eerie silence that followed the slaughter felt like the calm before another storm, and none of them were willing to lower their guard.

Ashana ignored him, her heart racing with panic as she rushed deeper into the ruins. "Grandma!" she screamed, her voice cracking as her eyes scanned the carnage. Her breath came in ragged gasps, the bitter taste of fear thick on her tongue. The metallic scent of blood filled the air, each step taking her further into the abyss of despair. She couldn't lose Elara—not like this.

Then, amidst the broken bodies and debris, Ashana spotted her. Elara lay crumpled on the ground, barely recognizable under the blood and dirt that covered her. Her once vibrant eyes were dull and unfocused, her body broken and torn by unspeakable wounds.

"No!" Ashana fell to her knees beside her, her hands trembling as they hovered over Elara's battered form. "Hold on, Grandma! Just hold on, I can heal you!" Her voice shook with desperation as she called upon her magic, channeling every ounce of energy she had into her friend. Warm light poured from her hands, but no matter how much power she summoned, Elara's wounds were too grievous.

The others gathered around, their faces pale and stricken. Aeliana covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes as she watched Ashana struggle against the inevitable. Sylvan placed a hand on Ashana's shoulder, his touch firm but gentle. "Ashana," he said softly, his voice full of sorrow. "There's nothing you can do."

"No, I won't let her die!" Ashana cried, her hands pressing harder against Elara's chest, willing her magic to work. But even she could feel the futility of it now. The light dimmed, her power faltering as the cold grip of death tightened around her friend.

Elara's eyelids fluttered open, her breath ragged and shallow. "Ashana..." she whispered, her voice barely audible, like the last whisper of a dying wind. She reached out, her bloodied fingers brushing against Ashana's hand. "It was... the Non-creation," she gasped. "Astra... commanded it."

Ashana's heart dropped into her stomach at the mention of Astra's name. "Astra...?" she echoed, her voice trembling. "Why? Why would Astra do this?"

Elara's body convulsed with pain, her face contorting in agony as she struggled to speak. "I don't... have much time," she rasped. "Did you... find it? Did you find... what you sought?"

Ashana glanced back at the others, unsure, but Sylvan nodded, holding up a weathered scroll they had retrieved in their previous journey. His amber eyes were somber. "We opened it and we found the second scroll."

Relief washed over Elara's face, though it was fleeting, replaced quickly by a grim realization. "You seemed disheartened. Did something happen in the city?" Elara coughed slightly.

Ashana leaned closer, her heart aching as she tried to understand. "We opened the first scroll at a great cost and discovered that Astra is not the reincarnation of Etherium. He died while attempting to reincarnate, so we don't know who or what Astra might be."

Elara's eyes, once filled with clarity, clouded over as her last moments approached. She trembled violently, as though some dark truth had taken hold of her. "Astra... isn't... Etherium?..." she whispered, her breath shallow, her lips barely forming the words. Ashana's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Then who—?"

Elara's body spasmed, her final breath escaping her lips in a ragged exhale. Her fingers tightened on Ashana's hand for just a moment, as though trying to convey one last, crucial piece of information. But her strength gave out, and the life in her eyes dimmed as she collapsed into Ashana's arms, her final secret untold.

For a long, agonizing moment, the world stood still. Ashana stared down at Elara, her vision blurring with tears. The words Elara had spoken echoed in her mind like the tolling of a death bell. Astra isn't Etherium then who.

Around her, the others knelt in stunned silence. Dagda's face was grim, his jaw clenched as he turned away, unable to look at the scene any longer. Pontha knelt beside Elara's lifeless body, bowing his head in silent prayer. Aeliana wept softly, her grief overwhelming her. And Sylvan... Sylvan's gaze was fixed on the scroll in his hand, the weight of Elara's dying words hanging heavy in the air.

Ashana closed Elara's eyes, her hands shaking as she did so. She whispered a prayer, but it felt hollow, meaningless in the face of such loss.

"What do we do now?" Aeliana's voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

Ashana wiped her tears, her face hardening with resolve. "We keep going," she said, her voice steely despite the pain in her chest. "We find Astra... and we make him answer for this and everything else he has done."

As the group began to gather their things, the scroll still clutched in Sylvan's hand, an eerie silence filled the air. The ground beneath them seemed to hum with an unseen energy, as if the very earth itself was mourning the loss of Elara. The once-vibrant forest now felt heavy and oppressive, the trees casting long, ominous shadows.

A sudden gust of wind rattled the trees, sending leaves swirling around them. As the wind died down, a faint, mournful howl echoed through the forest. It was a sound that chilled Ashana to the bone, a sound that seemed to promise more darkness to come.

With a heavy heart, Ashana turned to her companions. "We have a long road ahead of us," she said. "But we will not rest until justice is served."