LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 86: Drain
"Wake up!"
A loud voice shouted in panic.
"Wake up, Aldric!"
Jolting into a stance, Aldric assessed the situation immediately. His battle-hardened instincts on high alert.
With [Insight] screaming nothing of immediate danger to him, the leader did not rush to meet the situation but responded in a calm manner.
Equipping both his [Mantle of the Underworld] and his [Sundered Sorrow], Aldric exited his tent in the dead of night.
Looking at who woke him up, Kura looked extremely panicked for whatever reason. Sweat dripped down his face with wide, dilated eyes.
"What happened?"
Aldric asked. Keeping his communication clear and simple.
"Look at the boundary of the temple... Something happened."
Kura responded in a nervous voice. The type that reflected just how alien and surprising the current situation was to him.
In the darkness of night, most people would not be able to see a thing; however, the expansive light-emitting memories were bright enough to cover the temple as well as the open area that surrounded it.
For the eight days that they had been staying inside the temple, the boundary of fog that was ubiquitous in the Phantom Verge only covered the surrounding jungle. Leaving the temple and the open space around it clear of any fog.
However, it seemed that something changed.
The temple seemed to glow.
The archaic monument shined with a dark blue light. Like streams in an estuary, webs of flowing light spread across the temple and the surrounding area. Reflecting a blue hue into the air above.
From the roof of the temple down to the very last step and into the surrounding open space, the nerve-like streams covered everything.
That was not all.
A thick miasma of fog spilled into the open space. With only a metre of clear space surrounding the temple, the fog nearly met the temple at the foot of the stairs. Encroaching deep into the territory of the temple, devouring a radius of over 30 meters.
"Has anyone gone near the fog?"
Aldric asked. Silently looking at the glowing ground beneath him.
"No, only I and Marielyn are awake, and we haven't approached it."
Kura responded immediately.
"Ok, maintain the area. We need to investigate this."
Aldric spoke as he went to check on the condition of the researchers. With their tent closer to the temple in case of an attack, he stood at the foot of their tent and was about to knock before Judas sprang out.
"What happened?! I heard a large commotion."
He shouted.
Aldric assessed the old researcher. It was clear to anyone who saw him that the old man was just asleep and woke up. Dressed in a flannel-patterned pyjama set.
"Wake everyone up; we have a situation."
Just behind the tent, Aldric noticed a worrying sight.
The large stone doors to the temple were wide open.
'What on earth is going on?'
A shroud of darkness emanated from his feet. As if it was rising from the depths of hell, a black shape emerged.
A titan of darkness bled into existence, a familiar knight stood tall.
However, it seemed that there were some changes to the Oathbound Knight.
His overly large stature of 2 metres grew even more, standing over 2 and a half metres tall. The previously archaic armour that covered the apostle was now covered in thick black tendrils interlocking around his figure like thick chains. Each tendril was filled with an opaque black liquid. The familiar red flame still remained, blazing through his eyes as well as now emanating from his heart. Forming a vermilion circle on his chest.
His previously battered and aged knightly armour looked pristine. A mirror-like black surface that reflected everything that looked at it. It reminded Aldric of the reflective abyss of the dark sea when it was sealed. Even his old helmet was now wrapped in thick tendrils, wrapping around his head like a bandage.
A similar change occurred to his greatsword. A red flame burst from the centre of the sword above the handle with cracks reaching the tip. Lines of red jetted across the cracks like a lava stream.
Overall, it was safe to say that the wraith had undergone a significant change.
"Bael, keep an eye on them and make sure no one enters the temple."
THUD
The wraith dropped his great sword onto the ground while gripping it tightly. Standing like a monolith in front of the researchers.
Aldric left to complete an initial observation. With Kura and Marielyn to his left and the now-awake Iris to his right, they descended the steps and met the boundary of the encroaching fog.
"Let's start."
Aldric secreted a thick layer of darkness into his palms. Bringing his hands together, a shape began to take form. Where desire and intent met ability.
Opening his hands to the sky, he commanded.
"Fly."
A large black shape darted in the air into the wall of fog. Defined feathers could be seen on a pair of dark wings. A raven took flight.
Blitzing through the air, it dived into the thick fog.
A secondary effect of Aldric's awakened ability was that he could now mildly sense and feel his darkness after it had left his body. However, he was unsure if it was a growth of his dormant ability of manifesting darkness.
With a faint feeling extending into the fog, Aldric could not hide his sudden shock when he felt the raven disappear.
It was akin to the experience of suddenly losing feeling in your arm or leg, the profound emptiness.
Only for the feeling to return immediately after but spatially displaced behind him.
With a shocked look on his face, Aldric swiftly turned backward. Only to see a familiar shape darting in the air.
"Damn!"
He shouted.
Quickly grabbing a stone off the ground, he threw the stone with his dark, essence-enhanced body. His arm blurring at the throw. The stone submerged into the fog.
Only for a familiar tug to draw his attention behind him.
SMACK
Turning around with a raised hand, the stone slammed into his palm with a sound.
"We are stuck inside a spatial distortion. Iris, send your echo straight ahead."
With a nod and a dust of soul essence, a dormant mount formed.
The domesticated lizard completed the same strange, distorted journey. Walking straight through the fog and walking out the other side.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Kura shouted. Watching the strange sight made his heart sink.
'How the hell are we going to leave this place?'
He thought to himself.
"By the gods!"
Marielyn said in alarm. The sight put her on her edge. Tightening the grip around her mace.
Iris kept quiet as her mind raced to analyse what she saw.
"Spread out and try to look for any weak points. Do not even touch the fog; we don't know what it will do to you."
With that, the investigation began.
Heading back up the steps of the temple, Aldric had someone to question.
At the gate of the temple, he could see his apostle. However, kneeling in front of him was Judas. The elderly man was muttering strangely, as if he was having a panic attack.
"No... not again... not this time."
A spark of anger filled Aldric. Blinding his senses for a moment before he took a deep breath. Connecting the dots, what was happening was not good for him or anyone else at all.
Gripping the man's shoulder, the silently furious man lifted Judas into a standing position.
A disturbing coldness leaked from his palms, chilling the man's body in seconds, followed by a heavy weight.
"Listen to me, Judas. Tell me everything that you know about the current situation."
His voice shattered whatever illusions and stories that were playing in the man's mind. His survival instincts awakened him to the subtle danger emanating from his escort.
With sweat dripping down his face and with an expression of pure terror. Judas gripped Aldric's shoulders and shouted.
"Aldric! I promise it wasn't me! I know. I know!"
He shouted and communicated as if he was talking to himself. This version of Judas was a far cry from the veteran researcher from before.
"I would never wish this on anyone, let alone myself! Not again!"
His erratic body language and shaking body transferring through the grip on his shoulders.
Aldric's patience was waning. From being awoken in the middle of the night just after finishing his guard shift to having to deal with a threat on him and his team.
"Judas! What is happening?"
Aldric spoke. Emitting a sudden spark of killing intent. Just enough to focus and alert the man but not enough to stun his nerves.
Removing his hands from Aldric, the man lifted his palms and showed them to the hunter. Like a subservient animal showing its stomach in the face of a true predator.
"Ok! Ok! Someone activated the defence mechanism of the damned temple!"
The elderly man began to walk around in a circle erratically as he communicated his thoughts. His hand rested on his chin as he thought of what he was about to say.
"I told them not to touch it! Who the fuck dared to play with a millennia-old ruin?"
His panic-ridden talk continued.
"It had to be intentional! It obviously wouldn't engage the defence mechanism if it was just the doors that were opened. Who was it?!"
'So touching the door was a ruse to limit everyone's contact with the temple.'
Aldric thought.
A pair of glittering black eyes stared at the spiralling man. Recognising the gaze, the elderly man finally took a deep breath and centred himself.
"I'll show you."
Walking ahead without looking back, the man attempted to enter the temple. Only for Bael to block his movement.
Aldric nodded at the apostle to move aside and walked beside the professor.
At the foot of the gate, a singular stream of blue light flowed into the temple. Flowing like magma, the stream was protected by a glass-like barrier. All the cracks of flowing light coalesced at the entrance of the gate. From all four sides of the temple, they returned to their source or arrived at their destination.
Entering the temple, Aldric had no idea on what to expect. Unlike the cathedral in the Forgotten Shore, this temple was magnitudes smaller. Like a small pyramid placed at the top of the stairs, it did not scream magnitude or size.
It was the size of a cafeteria. In the shape of a square, it was filled with open space. No statues, no figures. The insides of the walls were covered with murals and runes.
A strange replica of the temple outside was in the centre of the temple. Standing over one story tall and the width of a small home, the replica was not made of stone.
Instead, it was made up of the same glass-like substance that transported the mysterious glowing light. The light flowed so smoothly that Aldric thought it was a liquid, similar to a lava lamp.
It seemed that the glass structure was a basin to hold the viscous light. With over two-thirds of the glass completely filled.
A terrible feeling went through Aldric's system as he noticed the strange system increasing in volume.
'What will happen when it is full?'
Staring at the researcher, it was to his surprise that the man was not focused on the ancient knowledge that lined the walls of the temple. Staring at the basin of light, he began to finally explain what he knew.
"It was here 25 years ago that the government's third archaeology team was wiped out. Never to be heard from again."
Aldric kept quiet.
"I was just outside the boundary of the temple before a sudden shroud of fog engulfed the area. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get past the elusive barrier. It was as if it was cut out of space itself."
He began to step forward, walking slowly to the centre of the room.
"Luckily, our escort had someone with a telepathy-related aspect in the group. With the fog not interfering with the range of her ability, it was my job to do whatever I could to help them from the outside."
The old man let out a small chuckle. A look of helplessness was etched on his face.
"But what could a young awakened who survived his first nightmare by hiding beneath a carriage do? All I could do was listen to their last words as they were drained of their essence."
Aldric listened closely to the man's monologue, but his heart dropped at what he just heard.
"What do you mean by that?"
Aldric shouted. Losing his calm at the look of hopelessness on Judas' face. As if he had given up completely.
"There is no off button. There is no pause or reset. This temple will siphon the essence of every living being in its vicinity until we are all dead."
Judas admitted.
"Why do you think there are no nightmare creatures or wildlife surrounding the temple?"
He questioned.
Aldric thought back to the cathedral. He thought back to the Crimson Spire and the Catacombs. Every single one of these areas was devoid of life. All because there was a bigger monster claiming the territory.
"So that's why there isn't a guardian nightmare creature defending the temple. The temple is the guardian."
Aldric spoke out, connecting the dots.
Judas' face grew even more tired at the mention of a guardian.
"All the evidence points towards that, but that is not the case."
Alarm bells began to ring as soon as Aldric heard that. The biggest reason as to why they took this contract in such dangerous territory was due to the lack of a guardian. From the Crimson Terror to the Guardian of the Nameless Temple, anything that protected a monument was horrifically strong.
"When the basin fills up with sufficient essence, it will begin to actively drain our essence. With only a single hour of survival for awakened ranked humans."
A weight sunk so deep inside Aldric's stomach at the mention of such a slow but silent death. What was an Awakened without any soul essence?
In their short conversation, a burst of light engulfed the entire room. As if the sun was bottled indoors, the contraption was awake.
RUMBLE
GRIND
THUD
At the foot of the crystal that was now filled completely with the ethereal light, a set of stairs leading deep into the base of the temple revealed itself.
"And a pathway will unveil itself."
The sight of the exit lit up a part of Aldric's primal brain; however, the contemporary part of his mind recognised it for what it was. A challenge. A danger.
The guardian.
"Whatever that thing is, it is in a deep slumber. 25 years ago, they chose a slow, painful death over fighting that thing."
Aldric's mind was in complete disarray. While he knew of potential dangers going into this expedition, it seemed that everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
'This feeling. This dread.'
In whatever Aldric had done so far and accomplished, there was always a layer of confidence. The feeling that everything would be ok. But it seemed that even that had its limits.
Judas' body began leaning on the strange contraption. Small light particles began to float from his head and shoulders. Wisps rising into the air like steam in a shower.
"So this is what it feels like."
He spoke guiltily. A slight grimace on his face at the feeling.
The next words that came out of Judas' mouth sounded so lifeless and dead. As if they came out a corpse.
"You know Aldric. I had to listen as they exhausted every single possible avenue of survival. Listen as they slowly lost hope. Listen to the agony of their soul core drying up and crumbling."
Slowly approaching the man, Aldric sat beside him on the steps of the contraption.
He spoke in a calm voice.
"Listen to me, Judas. Did they tell you anything? Any details that could have helped their situation? You have been reliving that day for over 25 years; have you not figured anything out?"
With a deep sigh, Judas was quiet for a moment as he reflected on something. Whether it was his question or something else, Aldric did not know.
But it seemed that the elderly man was thankful for the distraction.
"Well, I suspected that the origin of the spatial distortion relates to the Storm God. They were also known as the God of Travels. The contraption is run on the spirit essence of the Phantom Verge and the essence of those trapped inside it. Fuelling the system that condemns those trapped to never find the end of their journey. To never reach their destination."
The flow of essence leaving his body did not slow down. However, it did not seem debilitating enough to hinder him. A true slow death.
"You can't destroy the contraption, and you can't leave the vicinity of the temple. We are prey stuck in a spider's web, waiting for death to follow."
Aldric was beginning to lose his patience, and it seemed that Judas had served his use.
"Gather your team. Tell them whatever you have to, but make sure they don't panic. I'm going to fix this."
He ordered with authority.
Only to be met with silence and a face that was numb to the world.
----------
STEP
STEP
"So why on earth are we going into the monster's nest?"
Marielyn asked with a look of confusion and nervousness.
It had been 5 minutes since the essence siphoning began. Specks of light trailing from their bodies, but not from Aldric. With his dark essence, it seemed that he was safe from the strange essence drain.
All three of Aldric's cohort had taken the news as best as they could. With each of them being a survivor of the Forgotten Shore, death was never far away.
In Kura's hand was a soul shard. Slowly integrating the soul essence within it to counteract the passive siphoning of his own core.
A big part of their calmness was due to the large supply of soul shards that Aldric had gathered during their journey here. With his Dark Sprites and Dark Core, there was nothing to gain if he absorbed the shards himself. Luckily, his special constitution had bought the team much more time.
Aldric chose to not give any to the research team. Not yet, at least.
"We need to see if we can kill it. That would be the fastest way out of here."
Feeling a gaze on him, he looked to his left. A pair of glasses looked at him.
After gaining his attention, Iris began to speak.
"So who triggered the mechanism?"
Aldric looked ahead at the question. While it would not help him to discover the culprit, a part of his mind raced with theories and ideas.
"Judas hinted that it took more than opening the gate to trigger the trap. It was intentional. And we are the targets. I doubt they could get past Marielyn and Kura. Even Bael was guarding the door each night. Perhaps there was a delayed activation set during the day."
He responded. It was a complete mystery.
'I did not expect this so soon.'
While Even Horizon was not as strong as any of the legacy clans, what they had was potential. Potential that would not go unnoticed by the clans or even the great clans. Where the Firekeepers had joined Clan Valor, Event Horizon had remained independent. After all, you can have enough power, but you can never have enough control.
"Iris, it has started."
The young woman responded with a nod.
The long flight of stairs ended, leading to a long tunnel lit with small lines of blue light. Familiar repeating runes lined the walls.
A sharp spike of danger ran through his gut. Reminding Aldric of that night on the statue of the builder. That feeling of unescapable danger surrounding him.
Murmuring began to fill his ears.
"WEAK"
"DON'T BELONG"
"ALONE"
'That's not a good sign.'
Aldric thought.
But it did not stop there.
**********
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Till the next one.