Chapter 28: "The Master’s Judgment"

While we were falling, the Adept attacked us with bloody ferocity. With one blow, he slammed us against the catacombs’ wall.

The metal tore my muscles; I could barely stand.

Zera was in the same condition: on her knees against the floor.

Jix created a barrier of trees and scorpions, trying to buy us time to escape. However, it was in vain: the Adept responded by closing his fists, conjuring a black light that, upon contacting Jix’s life, made it writhe in pain.

“He’s using a curse! That’s how he stops the growth of my creations.” Jix explained. “I won’t be able to do anything unless his chains are cut.”

Danm it! He put us out of action too quickly! How will we attack him if we can hardly get up?

Zera used her gift and invoked an Intermediary.

“I wish you to heal us.” She ordered firmly, determined to…

“The price will be the fingers of your hand.”

The Intermediary coiled around Zera and ran over her from head to toe. Then a black cloud detached from it and with it Zera’s fingers.

It was a horrendous scene to see.

It turned my stomach.

“Don’t worry.” She said once the Intermediary vanished. “I think I already know how my gift works: once I make a pact and the price is taken, I recover completely.”

Her fingers grew back in a macabre way, as if they had been reborn. I saw her blood, her fibers, her muscles and her skin fuse into a tangle of twisted flesh.

Is this what it means to be a Son of Silence? To have that gift… To be able to use the Feather… Seeing that makes me feel tiny: it reminds me there are powers that surpass human limits.

The Adept extended his chains, making his claws reach the vegetal barrier Jix had created. Then the power of the curse increased, toppling the trees.

We both ran along one of the corridors that connected the towers. Zera put on her gloves and I drew my sword. The serpent bared its jaws, ready to sink its fangs into me at the appointed moment.

“Focus on his arms. If we cut his chains, he won’t be able to activate his curses and Jix will be able to use his powers again.”

“And who allowed you to do that?” said my master.

Just before jumping on the Adept, he appeared from the shadows. Hooked to his arms, complex mechanisms released ropes that, as they tangled in the structure, caused it to crumble.

Despite not wearing armor, he moves in a way that does justice to his title as a Knight.

He was so fast that we couldn’t react. We fell again, left at the mercy of the Adept.

He fights just like during my training: using artifacts and objects, fighting with tricks and deception.

The Adept charged with his body while we were in the air. However, we defended ourselves with our weapons. Upon landing, Zera and I separated: we would attack him from two flanks.

This way the master won’t be able to stop us. One of us will strike the Adept, no matter what.

Zera jumped from the top of a tower, using the momentum to deliver a lethal blow. As for me, I slipped through the ruins and attacked his chains.

“Who is he?” asked Zera. “Why does he seem to know you, Darek?”

“He is Corin, Zenith’s right hand. He was my master during my childhood: he taught me how to wield a sword.”

“Darek, I know you feel deep hatred and resentment toward the Knights, but I repeat it. Under no circumstances kill him. Not at least in my presence.” Zera ordered in a serious tone.

I don’t plan to kill him; I just want answers.

At that moment, the Knight released a net into the air that I couldn’t cut with my sword: a viscous liquid prevented it from being pierced.

Fuck it, it caught me! That bastard…

I fell to the ground in a horrible posture, splitting my shoulder. Meanwhile, Zera faced the Adept head-on.

She limited herself to dodging, running in circles from one side to the other, searching for his weak point. The brutality of taking a direct hit would make anyone falter.

I must hurry: she won’t withstand this creature alone, especially if Corin helps him.

Once I freed myself, my master threw blades that grazed my face. He hid in the ruins of Kaleron, patient, waiting for a moment when we were distracted to strike.

Zera invoked more Intermediaries: one strangled the Adept’s chains, immobilizing his arms. The other improved Zera’s gloves, imbuing them with a mysteriously sinister element.

What will they ask for in return? What horror, she accepted two Pacts in a row. Is our situation really that dreadful?

Renewed, Zera surged at the Adept from multiple angles, leaping from diverse platforms. The creature limited itself to defending and counterattacking from time to time with its claws, so deadly and swift they even shredded the air.

Focus, she will be fine: I know her, I trust her abilities. My priority must be Corin.

“Jix, come with me.” I ordered. His body settled on my shoulders. “You can’t use your body against the Adept, since the curses cancel it, right? Well then, use it against the Knight.”

If he can play dirty with his tricks, then I can also crush him with numerical superiority.

I delved into the ruins, chasing his shadow. Every time I entered a room, every time I ran down a corridor, an explosion chased me, a new trap threatened my life.

Nevertheless, I did not worry: I trusted Jix, who took care of protecting me with his tangle of brambles and bushes.

You’re finished, you won’t be able to run forever.

Jumping between buildings, I felt like a free hunter, where the difficulty lay in that the prey was more elusive than dangerous.

However, trusting myself was my mistake. In one of the chambers he ambushed me from above, exactly where Jix’s blind spot was (the mask covered it).

“Do you think I can’t defend myself with a sword? You’re underestimating me!” I shouted furiously, piercing his body in a storm of thrusts.

It’s a straw doll.

“No, you are the one underestimating me, inept pupil,” he said, detonating the decoy.

I had fallen into his trap: I approached what I believed was him so that the magnitude of the explosion would be more devastating.

At that moment, I lost consciousness amidst the flames.

************************

My fists managed to break the Adept’s defense. Despite being made of metal, I didn’t feel pain when I struck them, since the Intermediaries had done an excellent job reinforcing my gloves.

It horrifies me having to depend on them. After having seen what they did to Kui’s mother… No, I can’t; I refuse to remember that.

An explosion occurred in one of Kaleron’s buildings. From among the flames, I caught a glimpse of Darek’s figure.

His eyes were closed and his body seemed surrendered to nothingness. He had lost consciousness! Was there a less opportune moment for you to faint?

My fight against the Adept had become a war of attrition, where whoever first ran out of strength while attacking would be defeated.

However, I set the rules of this combat.

I dodged his attacks until I reached a slick net, which I hurled at his chains, tangling them in the act.

That will buy me time. Now, I must wake Darek. But how? Use another Intermediary? I’d rather not. Besides, I’ve already made a Pact with them that I haven’t paid yet — the one I used to bring Darek back. With what face can I ask them to wake him if I haven’t even settled the previous debt?

Nevertheless, Corin anticipated my moves. He leaped from the shadows and plunged me into a rain of blades.

Jix reacted quickly, extending a mantle that protected me. Then he simply forced the Knight to retreat to his hideouts with trees and roots.

He won’t be able to do that forever: once the Adept frees himself, the curses will end Jix’s powers.

I shouted at him, struck him in the face and even kicked him, all in vain: Darek didn’t wake. Then the Adept charged at us. The curses surged from the air, reducing Jix’s body to ashes.

His murderous gaze fell on me: I had to move, fight him before he reached my friend.

However, I underestimated his speed. In the blink of an eye, his claws split the space in two, separating me from Darek.

Taking advantage of my weakness, his master emerged from the shadows, walking slowly toward my companion’s lifeless body, delighting in a murderous grin.

No, I will not surrender yet. I will remain determined until the end. If this doesn’t work, I will have no other chance. Fighting those two is suicide, I would need thousands of Pacts to defeat them.

As I got back on my feet, as a last hope, I threw a stone that struck his cheek.

***********************

Upon waking, I saw Corin’s face in front of mine. I was sprawled at his feet, defenseless. He fired a projectile that detonated at my feet, causing me to lose my balance.

The Adept took advantage of my vulnerability, striking me with his hands from both sides, trapping me between his fists.

The pain was extreme; I felt my organs being crushed.

Damn bastard. What an idiot I was. How could I have thought we could face a Creation warrior alone? Without the Eternal Whisper and without Jix’s powers, we are nothing but mere humans. We face forces beyond our limits.

“I trained you to be a first-class swordsman, and you dishonor me with this pitiful display of combat?” Exclaimed my master angrily, emerging from the shadows. “Being so pathetic, you thought you could try to kill our Goddess again?”

“You have been lied to, Corin. It was Zenith who filled their heads with lies.” I replied, getting back up. “I never betrayed her; she condemned me, and that is why I will make her pay.”

Why do you look at me with that expression of anger and disappointment? Believe me, please.

Upon receiving the Punishment and Penitence with utmost diligence, Corin lost his arms. In return for such devotion, the Goddess rewarded him, granting him not one, but two pairs in their place.

“How dare you say that, after what you did. Aren’t you ashamed to be a liar?”

The Adept amused himself with Jix, applying various curses to discover which caused him the greatest suffering.

“That day I witnessed it with my own eyes. I was fulfilling my duty in the Hall of the Fallen. Zenith, high-ranking Knights, and I awaited your return; we awaited news that you had emerged victorious from your mission,” my master explained.

It can’t be, I’m still the same powerless boy as before. Why can’t I fight both of them? Why can’t I lift Jix from his misery? Why can’t I heal Zera?

“Then you arrived in a deplorable state: drenched in blood, covered in ashes, and plagued with ailments. Zenith understood what had occurred instantly, but we learned afterward.”

“That’s a lie, that’s not how I remember it…”

I was bleeding, losing consciousness.

“Silence!” shouted Corin, kicking me in the face. “Don’t interrupt your master, scum!”

They lied to you, they lied to you. In my memories, the story was different, I… I…

“We saw a creature emerge from your being, made of black smoke and destruction. It carried a piercing aura, worthy of a forgotten god who has waited millennia to reclaim its domain.”

No… I met the Eternal Whisper afterward, that’s what I remember… That is what I… that is what I lived?

“Finally, that creature attacked our Goddess, but its will stopped it.” he said, losing all reason. His slender, composed demeanor transformed into a whirlwind of hatred.

“What?… No…”

“Shut up!” he kicked me again, venting the disdain he felt toward me.

My breathing grew ragged, my body froze, and my muscles tensed: I was suffering the Adept’s curse.

My head hurts… Could it be the Wound...? Will my penitence be fulfilled?

“Stop acting like a victim. You were the deserter who nearly destroyed Aurethys. You have lost any right to call yourself human, and for that, you will be treated as such.” Corin pronounced, plunging a dagger through my chest.