Mas Bagus

Into the Land of Twilight

The Gray Flame

---

"I have. They were in one of the ruins I had to go to for a job. It helped me gain a spell to protect others; it nearly killed my party at the time. Taking out the eye is priority for sure. It can't target properly if it can't access your signature. Unfortunately, since it's magic.. it won't be going down easily either."

She looked to the group. "I recommend a spread out approach and one to two people taking out the eye while others provide distraction. If it fires up the beam, then.. the library will be in flames, but.. it's either that or.. get sliced by a beam." She offered a shrug. "I believe once the eye is taken care it, it has something on its body to completely.. disservice it. This is also information based on the ones in the dungeon I've been to; not on a custom-made one, but I believe it might have the same basic structure. At least I hope."

At Roxas' explanation, Gray Flame nodded in acknowledgment. If he had a notebook, he would write it down, even.

Still, there were a few things that he learned; that Roxas expertise as their backup shielder could prove useful. This was not her first time fighting a golem, and of course, there were few speculations, but Gray wasn't feeling to lecture anybody at the moment.

"Be ready to use your defensive spell when it starts to focus its beam. That's the cue before it unleashes its laser attack."

Then he turned to Fia and Carnathia.

"So, what do you think?"

Carnatia replied, "I do have experience disenchanting magical construct in general, though I'm not sure how effective it would be on a golem.

"Honestly, What concerns me more is engaging that thing in melee combat, something that a golem is purposely created for. I will not recommend it unless you see an opening."

"That glint, its weapon is entirely metallic. If it can swing it effectively, even a glancing blow will be devastating." Engelbert observed, sizing up the silent guardian. Actually... looking at the door behind him, and then back at where the golem stood, the thing must be at least half a fold larger than a regular human. He increased the potential threat level of the golem up by a notch, the more mass it could move around the deadlier it would be. "I've dismantled my fair share of golems, but it mostly bears down to giving them severe enough beating until they stops moving. Golems usually still have more vulnerable precision parts to help them move efficiently, these can be damaged even if the outer shell is tougher."

It's more energy efficient to make use of mechanical advantage than to magically animate an empty shell after all. Not to mention how the latter was vulnerable to disruption, physical and otherwise. He wondered how the elven golem would fare after millenia of neglect, but considering how well-preserved everything seemed to be... they'll have a fight in their hands soon."I can keep it occupied, does anyone have heavy enough attack to properly damage it?"

"Definitely not from me, not soon anyway," Gray Flame rubbed his wrist lazily. "I can fire a devastating shot at its core, but I doubt something as advanced as that would expose its weak point without a countermeasure."

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "This is sensitive information, but I will choose to not earn more ire from Carnathia this time. The Military doesn't usually build one with exposed Crystal like that, and destroying that crystal could either shut it down or make that thing self-destruct and destroy the entire facility. It's Theriadore's creation after all, and obviously, that thing is here to protect a secret."

When the party's Main Fighters were busying themselves with their petty plan, the beautiful Sorceress told them her experience.

“I have experience with them as well. Not exactly first hand, if I’m being honest.” said Fia, “I know this sweet kid who travels with one. It looks nothing like this though. It's pretty strong despite how it looks. If this one is as impressive as it looks compared to his, then we should be careful not to anger it, darlings.”

"Well unless one of us is Theriadore, I think we have angered that thing already. Look!"

Vesemir pointed at the stone guardian. It started moving, and from it, everyone could hear a clicking sound, like a busy and dusty clockwork suddenly in motion again after centuries of inactivity.

The moment Engelbert finished talking, a bright red light flashed out from the Golem's crystal eye, followed by a robotic announcement.

"ꜱᴄᴀɴɴɪɴɢ... ᴜɴꜱᴄʜᴇᴅᴜʟᴇᴅ ᴇɴᴛʀʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ..."

Another flash of light suddenly exposed the entire hall, and before anyone from the party could discern the meaning of the voice earlier, another announcement followed suit.

"ꜱᴄᴀɴɴɪɴɢ... ᴜɴʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪᴢᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴɴᴇʟ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ. ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇ ꜱᴀᴍᴘʟᴇs... ᴍɪꜱᴍᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ, ꜰᴀᴄɪᴀʟ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪꜰɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ... ᴇʀʀᴏʀ."

30 meters ahead, The golem's head twitched left and right, and the red crystal in its face suddenly emitted a wide, cone-shaped dim light that spanned over a wide area. It straightened its posture and redied its weapon as it diverted its red spotlight on everyone, before finally focusing on Engelbert.

"ᴀꜱꜱᴇꜱꜱᴍᴇɴᴛ - ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʙʀᴏᴜᴛɪɴᴇ... ᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛʀᴜᴅᴇʀs."

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hall as the construct advanced towards the party. It had finished its winding up and was ready for battle.

At that moment, Gray Flame looked at his Iron-clad buddy and sighed exasperatedly as he drew his bow. "Well, what do you think? Can you keep it busy?"

Into the Land of Twilight

“I hope you will enlighten us to what exactly that was, and why it hasn’t been dealt with when we get out of here, darling.”

To that question, Gray Flame didn't seem very happy hearing it. After briefly shifting his stony-cold masked face toward Fia, he quickly moved toward the lantern, picked it up, and handed it to Vesemir with nary a word.

Returning to Fia in a similarly enigmatic fashion, the monocled elf smiled. "I would ask for a pardon, that these are the questions that best discussed when are... not here, Dear Fia."

Surely that wasn't much of an answer for someone like Fia, but let it be a problem for another time. What mattered now was they were moving again, and the urgency to do so was at least acknowledged by everyone else. Tillius showed that by giving a solid nod at Vesemir when the elf took his position as their rear guard.

"If anyone is injured, go in the middle." The orc said.

Thankfully nobody was severely injured, despite that, Fia jogged past him to catch up with Carnathia, asking about the orb of light.

The middle-aged elf was carrying both a shining lantern and a thin, straight sword. It was revealed that the sword was his unsheathed walking stick all along. Although the sword may not have been able to harm any lingering phantoms, it seemed the elf wanted to show that he too was capable of fighting.

And so they marched again, a bit more careful than before despite the additional light. Vesemir told them that their destination was the city Library, but Gray further clarified that the building used to be Lasse's municipal office, and located a bit east of the city.

It was a long march, but it seemed they were no longer at the epicenter of Lasse's past tragedies. The shadows were almost non-existent here, and if they did appear, they were no longer manifesting on the path, but rather, shyly peaking from the windows and doors of the abandoned houses.

The municipal office was a large, slightly elevated building with two pillars flanking its entrance. Despite clearly showing signs of neglect, the building seemed intact; though it was hard to guess the color in this darkness, the roof was still neatly pared, and the two large pillars and tiles were still in good condition. Only the supposedly wooden frames of its doors and windows had already rotted away by the passage of time.

"This is the building." Said Vesemir enthusiastically.

He then spared a moment to speak to Forbann, telling him that he could rest here and keep watch. The Armored Oni agreed with that plan.

"When the Prince of Isrion attacked the City, dozens of Lasse residents took refuge here." Rambled the elf as they climbed the stairs. "Theriadore was indeed a powerful magician, the record said the Human Prince tried to besiege this building, but the Magistrate's enchantment made it impenetrable."

Pausing to sigh and caress the pillar, Vesemir spoke again, his tone changed from somber to utter disgust.

"Makes you wonder if things could have ended differently if he was here, rather than be seated in Alkautsar Council. It happened generations ago, but my blood boils whenever I think about this piece of history. The sheer incompetence was infuriating, and all of that was just for political gain. Luithiel did nothing wrong! She did what a leader was supposed to do, to make That accursed Black Armored prince pay the ultimate price. Mark my words, she was sentenced as a hero."

"Though, someone might argue that she was too excessive with her method," murmured Gray Flame as he followed the monocled elf into the building.

"True, I must admit that Theriador too would definitely agree with that proposition, but in Luithiel's defense, excessiveness was the response to the inadequacy of those who are supposed to be in charge. Lukman's death was unfortunate, but Varenheim's inability to see things perspicaciously was not without blame either..."

"Anyway." Vesemir suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "The place is safe, theoretically... the enchantment spell wears out over time, and my calculation said, even if he did not deactivate it, Theriador's spell had expired a century ago. Just don't stray too far from this corridor if you doubt it."

Following Vesemir and Gray's recommendation, the party skipped other sections and walked straight until they reached a cross-corridor. One to the south had a stone plaque that reads archive room, and the other, which led to the north also had a plaque that read "library". Needless to say, the group took the north path.

At the end of that corridor was an antechamber with spiral stairs made of concrete that ended in another corridor that was part of an underground complex. After yet another boring descent, the party was stopped in front of a large door, it was locked.

But that door wouldn't be locked for too long. The eccentric elf Jovially took out a rectangular card made of silky material from his pocket and rubbed it like a precious thing. Then, he inserted it into a slit under the door's metallic doorknob and waited.

There was the sound of a lock being disengaged, and the heavy door slowly swayed open with a rumble.

"Years of scouring Casediar Black Market is finally paying off!" Chimmed the archeologist, reclaiming his partially ejected card from the socket and giving it a peck.

Behind that door was a cavernous hall with many supporting pillars, bookshelves, and seating furniture that looked oddly preserved. There were four crystal lamps on the ceilings, they were unlit and hung by metallic chains.

As the party walked into the library, they noticed there was another door at the other end of the hall, it was guarded by a silhouette of a hulking humanoid entity, that upon closer observation seemed to be a motionless statue resembling a fully armored human knight with a helmet visor divided into four plates that house a pale, ruby-like crystal. It stood menacingly next to that door, like a steadfast sentinel protecting a precious treasure.

Appropriate to its size, the statue was armed with a heavy Warhammer that curiously, was made of proper metal; clearly, it wasn't intended for decorative purposes.

"I think that door is Theriadore's workshop," Vesemir said, raising his lantern to find a hanger on the pillars. Fortunately, he found one, and as he hung the magic lantern higher, the illumination was reflected by the nearby crystal lamp on the ceiling. The lamp, in turn, reflected the light to the other lamps, providing enough illumination to light up the entire hall.

"Friends! That will be our next destination."

"Heads up! It's not an ordinary statue." Warned Gray Flame, raising his hand to make everyone stop their advance.

"A golem?"

"Looks like it. And the expensive one at that, they made a few of it in Nuria to guard important facilities. This one was custom-made, kinda what to expect from someone like Theriadore. It's still on standby mode, see that crystal on its head? It glows with a faint light, which means it is saving its power, but the battery capacity is still adequately loaded. The crystal serves as its eye, the targeting module, and in battle mode, it can be charged up to fire a powerful energy beam."

"Awfully knowledgable about this kind of thing, aren't you?"

The Masked elf, with his masked face, could only stare at Vesemir with his trademark blank expression. "Only a bit. Anyway, what do you think? Do you have a century-old-something from the black market that we can use to get rid of that thing?"

He then turned to everyone else. "What about you guys? Ever had any experience with a magical construct before?"

Into the Land of Twilight

And soon, the whole world seemed to be fading in the intensifying light. The whispering too suddenly ceased, and as they opened their eyes, the world was dim again, and they found themselves returned, to the same place, but this time no more cries, anger sadness, or pain could be heard, and no more trees, blood, corpses, soldiers, or burning houses could be seen.

All they could see for the first time, in this normal world was Vesemir checking them one by one, faint hazes of mysterious smoke emanated from their bodies, and they felt rather lightheaded.

To their surprise, they were still in the same position as before, as if the whole experience were happening outside their physical body. But the mark from that battle seemed to be carried over. Roxas could still feel and see a trace of pain and blood on her arm, and those who clashed their weapons with the enemy could still feel the fatigue.

"Sir, Vesemir, are they all right? We must move now. The tranquility wont last for too long." someone said, and it was Gray Flame, with Carnathia standing between them and the lantern. A white, refined blaze danced on his palm, providing additional light that also seemed to be keeping the curious shadows and malicious darkness at bay.

"You heard our Ranger." said the monocled elf, patting Tillius's shoulder and subtly indicating the ever-present shadows surrounding their illuminated path, like they were on a small island surrounded by an abyssal sea.

"I bet you all have plenty of questions as big as a pyramid in Abydos, but it is ill-advised to discuss it hither---

As he said that, howling winds, sounded more like a horrifying moan blew from one of the nearby ramshackle houses.

"Let's go for now, until we find a safer place. I will take the rear guard this time, Mr. Gray Flame and Sir Engelbert, you two take points."

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Better, Rezello reasoned, not to leave any loose ends. Advancing towards the captain, messer angled and ready to block any desperate attacks he might try with his longsword, Rezello raised his morningstar in the air and swiftly brought it down upon his staggered enemy's helm.

@Valkon

The Masked Rezello marched forth, and whatever observable reaction the Captain could muster was insignificant at best. Like... he was not even paying attention to his enemy's next move, and when he did, all he could do to anticipate was to raise his dominant hand, to weakly parry the strike, such a futile endeavor it was.

The morning star swung true, smashing the Captain's helmeted head and sending his already bent posture to slam down against the paved ground. The morning star's protruding spikes penetrated the metal helmet, and for a while, remained stuck on the captain's head until Rezello yanked it free.

It felt real; the impact, the recoil, the sensation when the spike hit the captain's head. The feeling when you were sure that man's head was already caved in like a watermelon. Yet, no trace of blood could be seen as the captain lay unmoving before him, and then for a while, all Rezello could hear was the cacophony of dark whispering that suddenly intensified, voiced by begrudging, shadowy spectators.

As if conforming, That the blow was fatal, the captain was dead, and there was no mistake in that.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Rezello felt the magic flow through him as the surge of electricity stunned the captain and his steed; with his opponent dismounted, their primary advantage over him had been taken away. As the captain lunged, a powerful but clearly telegraphed slash incoming, Rezello's weapon flashed sliver as he swung what was now a messer in his off-hand to deflect the captain's longsword up and over his head, shifting his stance to put as much distance between the blade's trajectory and his neck as he reasonably could.

Continuing the momentum of his parry and dodge, Rezello moved his other hand - now wielding his morningstar - to strike at the captain, his weapon seeking the gap in armor between the torso and underarm.

@Valkon

The deflection by Rezello was perfectly timed, the Captain had his arm raised above his target, leaving a gap in his armor under his armpit exposed. The blunder was quickly identified, but not quickly rectified, and as he was about to retreat from his awkward stance, a swing from a spiked heavy mace crushed his right ribs.

The sheer force from the blow pushed the dark captain sideways, stopping his advance, and now he was retreating, staggering to gain some distance, left hand clutching his crushed ribs. His red eyes were still fixated on the goblin-masked knight. Huffing and grunting as he struggled to keep himself from falling.

He still clutching his sword with his right hand, yet his posture was crooked. He was just two strides from Rezzelo's striking range, and clearly vulnerable.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

This looks like fun and cozy. I've been thinking about a character for this RP, but looking at the OOC section so far, it seems there will be a lot of things to know first before I jump in.

How many confirmed players so far if you don't mind me asking? And does this RP have a railed plotline, final goal, things the players have to achieve together, or just a slice-of-life RP?

Into the Land of Twilight

While making her way around the soldiers along with Tillius and Fia, it seemed Roxas had become injured. Some form of healing magic had been used on her in response to the wound, though it didn't appear to be her doing. The work of one of the party members outside the illusion, perhaps? Regardless of the cause, the light that had engulfed her as a result of the spell had drawn the attention of the captain and his soldiers; while the soldiers moved to attack Roxas, Tillius, and Fia, the captain charged on his horse towards Rezello and Forbann, wielding a blood-stained hatchet. Rezello held out a hand, a long line of silver light manifesting in his grasp before changing into his bec de corbin, the knight lowering himself into a defensive stance as he readied to counter the captain's assault, streaks of lightning magic running down his arms and into his weapon.

Galloping at full speed, the dark captain, whatever he truly was, seemed to be quite well-versed in knowledge of warfare. So, when he saw the masked knight summoned a type of polearm to anticipate his charge, rather than trying to face it head-on, he maneuvered slightly to his right and swung the back of his axe against Rezzello's Bec de Corbin to demoralize him.

Two weapons collided with a clang. What he did not anticipate was, that it only needed the slightest contact for Rezello's lightning spell to transfer its mighty shock toward the unsuspecting enemy, and it did. Maybe because the spectral captain was too careful not to have his axe snagging the polearm's namesake beak, the attack was clumsy and was easily countered, causing the Bec de Corbin to connect with the captain's iron greaves and instantly electrocute both the rider and the steed with paralyzing lightning.

Should Rezello look back to face the fallen rider, he would find him immediately crawling all four like a dazed beast, while his horse, still awkwardly trotting, mindlessly rushed into the profound darkness behind him and gone.

Two red eyes of his stared fiercely at Rezello, and he abandoned his bloodied hatchet for a longsword that rang as he drew it from his side. Then, with sheer hatred, he lunged forth, uttering words in a fashion that was more similar to shrieking and hissing rather than speaking.

There he cried: "Traitor! Here, your fate will be sealed!"

The strike was coming, wide yet powerful, seemingly intended to decapitate Razello with a single swing.

@Valkon

Into the Land of Twilight

Another light appeared in Carnathia's hand after she uttered the verses. But unlike what appeared in Gray Flame's hand, in Carnathia's the flame engulfed her entire palm. It was warm for a moment before the blaze stung her with a fiery heat.

"Steady," murmured the masked elf as she squeezed her left hand. The fire was warm again like there was a translucent barrier insulating her palm from the burning flame. However, true to his warning earlier, the mysterious power quickly drained her and the longer the fire remained, the more she felt like she was steaming from the inside.

"You are trying to invoke the power of those you never knew before," warned Gray Flame. "And without my barrier, that might hurt you. But my power can only bargain, not to repel this grace. So while the grace still tolerates you, you must pick those you deem worthy and give them the light. That would help them defeat the phantoms."

After saying that, the fire on Carnathia's hand swirled and concentrated on her palm before refining itself into a radiant glow. Gray Flame released his grip on her other hand and exclaimed.

"Go! Before you burn yourself!"
@Randomguy

Into the Land of Twilight

Gray Flame just stood there. He uttered no word nor spared a glance, not even when Carnathia asked for a solution. If one could figure out an emotion from his white mask, that should be of a man who is deep in thought, and troubled, not because he had no answer but because he had a lot, but all were his secrets, and he now pondered which one of it that he would share.

"Dear Carnathia, would you be so kind as you let me talk with Mr. Gray, thank you?" said Vesemir, who arrived behind her, smiling as he patted her shoulder and gently urged her to move aside.

None of them dared to move their lantern from its original position, which was now placed on the cold pavement, guarded by Engelbert.

Roxas had his eyes closed, like sleeping, but her breath was unsteady, the shadow was still clutching her arm, blood dripping steadily from her wound.

"Aim Mae! Séyan hûm urdagor anat ar faemor."

Said Vesemir. The Gray Flame shook his masked head and sighed.

"Im alat yakin," he said, glancing at the white lantern behind him in anticipation before taking out a bandage from his inventory and trying to apply it on Roxas's arm. It refused to be in contact with the healer's skin like there was an invisible barrier blocking it from setting in, and when Gray tried to force his attempt to have the gauze wrap around her arm, his hands got cut again. "Faya hûm alat órënya, im istamat."

"Haimanan, Nár'elda, séyan emme har feriap an falunn gorthob." The monocled elf shrugged. "Istama ada mala-alwë lyen difa, mal ada eith alwë dalam mestatië attima vare ḥayāt?"

Giving up, Gray Flame removed his glove and patched up his injury instead, tucking the rest of the gauze in his pocket when he was done.

Looking back at what he said earlier, his instructions were clear, follow the light and do not touch and stare too long. As demonstrated by Carnathia and that Samurai Guy, who easily escaped the phantom's treachery, the advice was proven sufficient, so why the rest hasn't returned?

Or, was it like Vesemir concluded? They were lured into a trap and deceived into fighting on enemy's turf. Roxas' injury seemed to reinforce that conclusion.

Fighting those phantoms was a solid option, true, but he didn't reveal that as a solution because the risk was too big, and their parties seemed full of hotheads who itched for a fight. Not to mention injuries received in the phantom realm damage not only the body but also the soul, and one will be powerless to do anything about your physical injury until the phantoms have been vanquished.

Unless...

Now he was thinking about what Vesemir said. Knowledge to safe life.

He approached Carnathia once more and spoke with a heavy heart. "If you believe I deserve those words of blame, then I accept it. However, there is a reason for my caution. We are not supposed to speak about the shadows in detail, especially not in this Land of Twilight. Discussing what they can do and how to counter them is like declaring an open challenge that might be answered by even more perilous treachery. And for that reason, I preferred to keep them away from everyone's mind by not telling, letting them not be engraved too deep in everyone's mind, forgotten and ignored."

Carried by the howling wind that suddenly blew around them, both could hear the whispering intensified into pugnacious curses and loathsome wailing.

"But my dear Carnathia, since we have opened Pandora's box and you asked if there is something we can do from our side..."

He beckoned the noblewoman to follow and offered his hand.

"Before we go further, A fair warning! This... what I am about to do will be very taxing for those who are untrained, and we don't know what's ahead of us after we escape from this darkness. Sieze my hand if you would not heed my warning, and repeat what I say."

Im liuth difyn anan Ar Malik faldirian
Uin sharri nan Së eän
Adh uin sharri ghāsiqin húrun
Adh uin sharri húnas caran núlëd
Adh uin sharri ḥāsidan malam ḥāsad

From Gray Flame's right palm, a small fire kindled, then started from its base, it changed color. White was the flame until it condensed into a dot of light, akin to a star that gradually grew brighter. The night became silent again, and the shadow writhed and slithered away before the dawning light as Gray Flame clutched Roxas' cold hand. For a brief second, the place was as bright as the day, and then the light waned again and the masked elf let go of his grip.

The light on Gray Flame's palm was still shining, but it was carefully adjusted so that it wouldn't be too bright and outshine the guiding lantern. It could also have been done to conserve energy, as everyone could see vaporized breath emanating from his mask and hear the sound of his breath up close.

A faint trace of light now surrounds the unconscious elven healer. The bleeding in her wound had stopped.
____
Meanwhile, inside the land of the dead, Roxas' injured hand regained its strength again, but the radiant light that surrounded her had somehow negated the veil that kept their presence invisible to the phantoms of the past.

Immediately, the soldiers abandoned their current blood sport. Their vicious eyes glared at a newfound opponent, eager for carnage.

"Lads! We find them!" one of the soldiers cried, his voice was unusually cruel, coarse, and amplified. Their weapons were drawn, sword and poleaxes, and soon they would initiate the skirmish by making a flanking move toward the party's frontline.

As everyone's attention seemed to be distracted by what was happening in front of Tillius, the captain had already galloped toward Rezello and Forbann, brandishing his bloodied hatched.

@Randomguy@Randomness@Conscripts
@Valkon

Into the Land of Twilight

The poor woman heard Tilli's voice and seemed to watch him come into view, but it didn't stop her from keeping her bow notched and pulled. Her arm trembled lightly as she stood there. Her eyes were still wide as she stared forward, looking at the shield and orc in her way, but not actually seeing him. Softly mumbled words escaped her as she trembled in spot, arms straining to keep the bow and arrow up and ready to fire.

"I can't.. I can't.. I'd rather kill myself.. Stay away.." Her breath had picked up after her words, likely an indication she was about to have a panic attack. In her panic, her hand let the arrow loose. Thankfully, with Tilli in the way, it seemed to just hit the shield, but being so close.. It bounced back; embedding itself in her arm.

A soft yell startled her out of her stupor, bow clattering to the ground as her hand moved to the arrow in her arm, which she looked to. Breath heavy as she looked around and up at Tili. She'd been entranced and thrown into a panic by the phantoms; but the pain pulled her out of it. "Apologies, Tilli.." She held a small face of pain, quickly breaking the arrow so it was shorter and then picking up her bow.

The pain she felt was sharp and real, jolting her out of her daze, but it didn't bring her back from this nightmarish landscape. The butchering soldiers were still there, with their captain and their gruesome handiworks, unbothered by Roxas' groan. Tillius was still there too, shielding her, and everyone else, and he too was ignored, as if the entire group was hidden in an invisible veil to them.

There was still some distance between Tillius and those massacring soldiers, who were now busying themselves with two mangled bodies their captain brought. The bodies were quickly disemboweled, their entrails were thrown into fire and the bodies became the additional decorations that adorned the tree.

The captain, who now had already dismounted from his horse, brandished his hatched as he approached the dying elven woman. Then he mercilessly hacked her, starting with her face, then slightly down to her neck. Only a short-pitched voice could be heard when the elf woman met her bloody demise.

Meanwhile, the pain in Roxas' wound intensified, and a series of agonizing whispers echoed inside her head, one of them inquired: "Help me! Help me! O' the Fair one! Why have you forsaken me?"

The elven healer felt the strength in her wounded arm gradually drained, and it wasn't because of just a panic attack this time.

___

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dark, The Gray Flame hurriedly approached Roxas upon sensing an increased shadow activity around her, and it was already upon one of her limbs, assuming the form of an elongated hand. It was already gripping her upper arm, that now red with blood dribbling out from a deep laceration on her bicep.

The moment the Gray Flame reached out to stop the bleeding, an incision appeared in his gloved palm as well, as if there was a very sharp scalpel made of pure shadow that lingered to harm anyone or anything that dared to interfere.