Another month passed, and Faith still hadn't solved the equation of restoring the Balance. War hadn't time to monitor her work, nor ascertain that she was taking better care of herself. He was too busy keeping all manner of entities from entering the Chancellor's castle.
Wave after wave of enemies stormed the elven city. Strife's departure from the realm had invited swarms of mercenaries. The Fae dealt with those who'd come via the forests, then sent some warriors to aid Chancellor Ruah in defending his people and home. Even War left Faith's side to assist the elves. The druids' barrier around the city gradually shrunk inward. More and more soldiers fell each day, and the enemies just kept coming.
Faith provided strategies between her calculations. When commanders and generals entered her workplace seeking counsel, she stopped her work to help them. War gave the soldiers strategical orders on-field, even leading the squadrons when necessary. The elves followed their instruction and gained victory. But the enemies kept coming, and strategical advantage quickly lost sufficiency.
It was then that Faith told the soldiers to retreat and let War wreak havoc unrestrained. The elves and Fae followed her advice and barricaded themselves within the castle. The foes continued their siege, arrogantly believing themselves triumphant with only one opponent keeping them from the prize.
The Horseman quickly proved them wrong.
Unleashing his power and battle lust, he and Ruin plowed through the enemies' numbers with brutally graceful ease. He called upon his Chaos Form only when needed, which was very little. Chaoseater hummed with all the carnage wrought, the corpses and pieces of corpses quickly piling up. Within a day, the remaining mercenaries fled in terror. By next sunrise, the message was delivered: Faith was protected, and those who came to steal her would die.
That same morning, an hour before sunrise, Faith opened the window to her study and climbed down the castle wall, avoiding her phobia by keeping her gaze on the stone. It was difficult in her weakened state, but not impossible. She had in fact been taking better care of herself since War had beaten it into her, strengthening her muscles and stamina every morning before working on her equations. Now, sneaking out without letting War see her, it was paying off.
When she reached the ground, she kept low and to the shadows, maintaining her stealth as best she could. Her knife and shotgun were strapped to her person, her breathing mask in her bag. She took out the mask and put it on to ward off the stench of the carnage, then continued maneuvering through the piles of bodies and limbs and headed for the woods.
Fenrir intercepted her when she passed the tree line. The girl was ecstatic to see him, unbothered by his torn ear and missing eye, save that she felt responsible for them. The wolf looked at her curiously, questioning where she was headed. She explained, and Fenrir let her climb onto his back and escorted her the rest of the way. She climbed down when they reached the Serpent Hole in the thorns.
Vulgrim quickly appeared, scowling when he saw her. "Oh, it's you." He clearly didn't like her. "What do you want?"
"Good to see you, too."
"Don't tell me you're here for your vault?"
She cocked her head. "Why? Did you sell it?"
"It was destroyed."
"Ah. Don't worry about it." A question itched at the back of her mind. "You never explained how you found it in the first place."
"Hmph. I thought you knew everything."
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Darksiders: The Seed of Knowledge
FanfictionFaith had always been different. All her life she'd known the truth about her world, and all the worlds beyond it, her mind privy to secrets that helped her survive the End War and the century that followed. Now that the Seventh Seal is broken, th...
