Chapter Twenty-Four

The sun shines its rays of light through the open ceiling of an abandoned and broken church of Dwelleen. Eden follows behind Cyrus as their footsteps echo against the wooden floor and rustle against the weeds that grow out between the boards. White doves rush out from the roof as they closer towards the center. Eden brushes past Cyrus to a broken statue of the goddess Dwelleen behind a wooden rotted podium; moss had grown all over her and the stone had corroded into a dark green hue like it’s made of verdigris. Her half arm stretching toward the sky, probably was raising her sword but that limb and her shield are on the floor in pieces.

Eden looks around and doesn’t see any indication of a door or a passage to get into the Thieves Guild. There is ever only this sacristy upon entering the small church; it seems to be nothing but a dead end. “So is this really where the thieves guil-” From the corner of Eden’s eye, the dark violet blade of Cyrus’ Armament rushes toward his throat. His body twitches instinctively, yanking his body away from having his head lopped off. Cyrus rushes in on him with the dagger pointing directly at his heart. Eden thrusts his hand to hold off Cyrus’ attack then shoots his other arm and slams his palm against Cyrus’ face, making him grunt as he rolls across the weeds. “What in Goddess are you doing!”

“Killing you!” says Cyrus as he draws his broadsword, reverse gripping it and his dagger Armament and crosses them, then he lunges.

“Fine! Bring it!” Eden immediately draws his sword and shield and charges. He thrusts his shield against Cyrus’ sword then raises it and blocks the dagger with a clang and sparks flying. He swings his sword but the blade whiffs over Cyrus’ head as he sways back. Cyrus’ dagger comes racing toward Eden, and he quickly counters and thrusts his elbow and bashing Cyrus’ arm against his face. With the thief stunned from that attack, Eden sweeps his leg and knocks Cyrus off his feet; he follows with swinging his sword down on the thief with a guttering roar.

“Phase!” Cyrus shouts out an arte. Eden’s blade passes through his body and slams against the floor, sending chips of wood flying, then Cyrus dives into the ground.

Eden backs away and flints around while eyeing the spot the thief disappeared. Where’d he go?! His heart pounds against his chest as the sounds of footsteps and rustling grass come from all over the small church. “Come on and fight me, you coward!”

A pew launches from a dark corner of the building; Eden gasps. There isn’t enough time to dodge that enormous seating, so Eden punches the pew and breaks it into pieces. A sudden sharp pain lashes across his abdomen, making him yelp; blood immediately soaks his navy blue tunic, turning it into a dark violet stain. Eden flints around again, searching. His eyes widen as he catches Cyrus lunging toward him from the shadows; he tries to counter but the thief makes another clean cut across his body. He’s fast!

Cyrus pounces on Eden from the ground and the blade slices across his back, feeling the cold from the steel dagger and hot from his blood spilling.

Again and again, Eden is lacerated from all directions. He yelps at every slash on his body. His ribs, back, and legs are sliced open, leaving the wooden boards below him to turn red from every drop of his blood.

Almost got it! With every cut Cyrus lands on him, Eden is slowly picking up on the timing of his attacks. Cyrus is not wasting any second at all and is seemingly trying to overcome him with a barrage of minor cuts. There! Eden meets Cyrus’ cold glare; he swings his sword and shouts.

But the face of the blade passes through Cyrus’ face like he’s not even there. This time the violet dagger slashes deeply across Eden’s body and sends him rolling; he immediately rises to his knees and grips the blood burning gash and groans. How can I hit him if my attacks just go through him?

Cyrus drops below ground again. Eden grits his teeth and forces his crying body to stand. If he cuts me, can I also strike him at the same moment? Grass rustles from behind. Eden tightly grips his Armaments. Rubble falls from a nearby broken wall. Only one way to find out! A creak to his right. There! Cyrus is charging in with his broadsword, readying for a wide swing.

The steel blade touches Eden’s abdomen. He shouts and swings his fist downward with explosive speed; the shield finally bashes against Cyrus’ face and slams him down.

Cyrus quickly recovers and rolls away. His face, looking flabbergasted as if he’s questioning how he got hit. Eden lunges forward, not giving Cyrus time to react; he shouts and swings his sword, slamming the flat side of his blade across the thief’s face and sends him flying across the church.

Eden’s chest bursts in and out as he’s trying to catch his breath. He treads toward where Cyrus had crashed; the thief struggles to get back onto his feet, glaring at him. “Enough!” Eden points his sword at Cyrus’ face. “This fight’s over.” The thief lowers his guard, and Eden drops his sword then offers to pull him up. Cyrus seems hesitant as his eyes flint from the hand and back at him with narrowing eyes. “Can you stop being so hostile? I only beat you up because you attacked first”

“You got lucky. I would’ve killed you.” Cyrus slaps away Eden’s hand and rises on his own.

“I still won, so stop crying about it.” Cyrus doesn’t reply and instead scoffs at him. “Now, tell me where’s the thieves gui-”

“Why are you so obsessed with playing a hero, One Star?”

“What?”

“You know that you’ll never reach fame. They’ll only show gratitude to your Five Star friend and leave you in the dirt.”

Those words echo in Eden’s mind with a sting of truth to them that he is now speechless.

“That’s how the world works, they favor the strongest and the richest. Peasants like you and me don’t get to stick our grummy fingers into the pie. They shun us and leave us with scraps while they party and dance in their glorified spotlight.”

“Still… this is my dream.”

“Dream?” Cyrus scoffs again and continues as he picks up his weapons from the ground. “You’re wasting your time with the duke. That old fat stone only cares about money. You should see his vault.”

“I want to help people, and he requested-”

“He requested your friend.”

Eden clenches his fists.

“You know how I know that? Because you’re a One Star.”

“Forget it! Just take me to your little hole and find Marek!”

“We are here.”

“What?”

“And they’re here.”

Eden spins around looking in the shadows to find someone, then he looks up. His heart sinks. A group of figures in black and purple robes perch themselves on the roof, staring down at him like he’s a rabbit. They all jump down toward him; Eden reaches for his sword lying on the floor, but Cyrus grabs a hold of him and pins him down to the ground, locking his arm.

“Let me go!”

“This. Is where you’ll die. One Star.”