Amaranthine: The Angellius Demesne

Chapter 7

The surprise from Lailius's revealing his heritage does not last long as Lius leisurely pushes back the sheets and angles himself to get out of the bed he is in. However, strength has not returned to him and he helplessly falls over without warning. Nil, the one who is quickest to notice Lius's error, hurries to his brother's side, swooping him into his arms, and securing him around his shoulder.

"Oddly, I still feel extremely weak," Lius tells with little energy behind his words.

"It is because your entire being is fighting to comprehend the cracked unsealed parts of yourself," Lailius explains.

"Rest on my shoulder's younger brother," Nil instructs, appreciatively. "Strength shall return to you shortly."

Lius is noticeably drained of energy to even properly reply. All that he is left with is feeling the weight of the world upon his eyes; forcing him to close them. Distinct chatter soon becomes distant sounds of muffled conversations. His breathing returns to a slow-paced hibernating state, his body surrenders to the stronghold, and his self-being drifts to a deep necessary slumber...

I am in the world of the unsealed once again.

The three crescents hide behind dark blanketing clouds. The sun is apologetic and pleads for reason. Even the stars that normally light up the skies refuse to be found. They see that I am unforgiving. I am unattached to the bare display, and I care nothing for the repenting ways of the heavens.

I close my eyes and center my emotions, orchestrating my profound plummet into the corners of my soul. My mind guides me, showing me the many facets toward my new sense of self. I feel my body's temperature rising, anger and frustration is excruciating, betrayal and deceit is unendurable, and I am in incomprehensive misery.

The winds whisper to me, begging me to tell them my true burden... and so, I oblige the request.

"My inner peace has been destroyed," I explain to the imploring winds. "I have been withered to nothing. I have come to see that my purpose in life was a mere mirage to a meaningless end. How could you have not shown me this truth? Why did my path desire to lead me toward... emptiness? Is this all I mean to the Angellius demesne? To this world? To all worlds? To Amaranthine?"

The winds lift and swirl wildly around me, desperately pleading, hoping I will gain appreciation for its reasons... however, my ears are deaf to the draught's cries. I inhale the winds. I yearn for it to no longer petition me but understand me, and grasp my reasons.

Therefore, I breathe in heavily.

I force the gasped breeze to recognize all of me and reach down until it touches all of my existence. It sees my aura now and watches the emptiness inside of me fill with genuinely enlightened purpose. The winds begin to take in my meaning, and it is quick to apologize. This time it is sorry for not trying to grasp my truth and acknowledge who I am sooner.

The winds invigorate my reimagined purpose, directing my aura on how to flow within it. My aura, black still but no longer thin, swivels through my body and entices all of my hairs to stand on end.

I release the trapped winds from inside me, and so too, does my enriched black aura follow. My resolved energy first touches the quaking grounds below me, soothing its concerns. Then, it spreads out to the uneasy heavens above and caresses it, returning colors of sincerity.

My eyes open and I see that I am engulfed with the black energy of my resonant existence. I look around; behind me is the numerous layered lies of the Eldest Castle and in front of me is an entire demesne, the Angellius demesne, which I utterly loathe in its deceiving imagery. I sense it all; every shade of falseness casted from overhead, each spiteful tone vibrating the heavy seals across the lands, and all parts of why my mentor gave his life for me... for us.