Cervato - Rise of the Phoenix (Part 2 of Cervato's Saga)

Losing Game

"Cervato...oh how I've missed you."  Sa'am's words murmured against her as his dirtied hands squeezed about her wrists allowing his nails to dig deep enough to draw blood.  The quiet sob from Cervato sounded in reply.  Oh, how she longed for death.  If the Gods existed, let them kill her now.  The memory was so vivid she could even smell the damp cavern he had trapped her within.  Feel the weighted manacles clasping her wrists together.  Hear as Sa'am released a low groan of satisfaction and bemusement.

Waking from the nightmare in a cold sweat and tears already formed within her eyes, Cervato immediately ran to the shower within the  home, praying her unrest hadn't disturbed Mandel this time.  Turning the knobs over and over to get the water to start, a presence stood behind her. 

"Del...I'm sorry, I didn't mean---!" Cervato gasped as she saw Sa'am standing before her.  The long unruly hair, the stained robe, her nightmare was living and breathing before her.  Grasping for anything within the bathroom, a small ceramic cup was thrown across the room at Sa'am's sinister visage.  The sound of it shattering against the wall awoke Mandel, rousing him from his sleep as he immediately jumped at attention, calling out for her.  The phantom of Sa'am disappeared.  Yet Cervato, was still shivering terribly.

This is your fault.  Remove the ring.  Until you do...This is what you will continue to face.

Baset's voice whispered inside Cervato's mind.  Though her magics could not fully grasp Cervato's form due to the enchanted stone ring about her finger, the demon could still manipulate her thoughts and memories.  The torture all too familiar to when Sa'am temporarily occupied her mind. 

~~~

Sneaking out to meet with Marcus made her feel guilt as she explained to Mandel that she just needed to run an errand.  Yet, she knew Mandel would stop her if she told him the truth.  That they were going to find a demon that perhaps could help them eliminate Baset's influence.  Discover more of her origins.  Something.  Anything.

Marcus and Cervato met just outside the hospital within Salma.  There, she was introduced to Inari, a beautiful Elonian necromancer that Marcus had become acquainted with and who had agreed to help them reach the Mists.  At least, a manner in which she knew how.  Leading them through the hospital, they arrived within a small room, where a young man was taking his last breaths.  The poor Seraph soldier had been injured so terribly that it was impossible to save him from his fatal wounds.  Inari explained that they needed to anchor themselves to a spirit traveling to the Mists. 

Cervato felt repulsed by the very act.  Use this young man's dying spirit to travel to the Mists?  Was this necessary?  Yet it was the only way.  For there were no guides to assist them if they chose to enter by alternative means.  Rafiq surely would never agree to such tactics as well, and may very well kill her if he knew she was willingly trying to seek out demons to help in their dire situation.  Baset's amusement lingered within her mind as she placed her hand on the poor dying man's shoulder.  Marcus joined her. 

As Inari's magics began to link them all together, Cervato felt that incredible pull.  Suffocating, she felt like her lungs were unable to breathe, gasping for air as a great weight pulled Marcus and herself deeper and deeper into darkness.

Eventually, all three of them arrived.  The young man's spirit apparently confused by their presence alongside his soul as he came to terms with his death was nearly too great for Cervato to handle.  Apologizing, she and Marcus left them behind, continuing their journey through the darkness.  It was like they were within a deep abyss sealed within a mountain.  Weak flames emitted from her fingertips in an effort to illuminate the space, but it felt so cold that she struggled to maintain it.