Seth Chapter 92

Chapter 92

“May the light of Luxfuria look over the spirit with warmth and show her the right direction! May it forgive her sins and praise her for the good! May it heal the wounds, regrets and desires she might have kept in the deepest corners of her heart!”

A man with a long white beard growing through his chin looked over at the body on the platform. He wore a white robe with distinct patterns in yellow growing on his arms. As he said those words, a golden light flashed over the body before enveloping it and staying there for a few seconds before vanishing.

Once it was done, the old man looked over at Rebecca who stood right behind him.

A flicker of unease passed by his face. “The girl you bought, she seemed to have gone down a strayed, dark path that hadn't ended well for her.”

“Yes.” She nodded her head, her eyes looking over at the body of Cyrla.

“A lot of times I come across things like these, but fret not, Luxfuria looks over all and doesn't discriminate against someone who has taken a wrong path. She would find her peace for sure. Are there other people who would like to look over the body before we begin with the cremation?”

Rebecca hesitated. Thinking back to it, Cyrla was an orphan and she never talked about any relationships she might have.

Although there were people in the academy she was friends with, she didn't know any of them and even if she did, there was no way to contact them on such short notice.

“No, there's no one I know.”

“Then, I will give you your time with her. Call me whenever you are ready.”

The priest walked away, disappearing into one of the gates into the back of the room.

Standing alone in the wide room, she frowned, her eyes moving to the large area beyond her, stopping at the statue of Luxfuria, spreading her wings and her followers around her, looking at her with reverence.

She stared at it for a while before locking onto the body of Cyrla which looked serene now.

As the Church of Luxfuria in Nightshard City was one of the biggest in the kingdom, there were a lot of large rooms available for stuff like doing the final rites of a body.

It was an easy process and once she had conveyed it to the priest, he had promptly brought her to this empty room.

Fortunately, she remembered Cyrla talking about praying to Luxfuria a few years back and brought her here. She knew her faith in the goddess must have faltered for her to become the servant of The Abyssal One, but she couldn't do anything about it.

Walking towards her body, she looked down. Her closed eyes, wavy hair and just the peace on her face made her feel a lot of things, but Rebecca held it back.

A part of her knew that it was something that would've happened when she had appeared in the ruins, but she also blamed herself for not being able to do anything against it.

“Cyrla, I'm sorry,” she spoke. “I wish things had ended differently. There were things about you I didn't like back in the academy, but I know you weren't being deliberate. I didn't know why you chose this path. Why did you give up your humanity? Maybe power, maybe wanting to look more into the structure of the universe. I think about those too sometimes…”

Her words died in her throat as she felt parched, not knowing what else to say to Cyrla.

Before she knew it, tears flowed down her cheeks like early drops of a rainfall. She rubbed her eyes to stop them, but it wasn't possible.

“I… I am just sorry. I wished it had ended differently. For you and me, I'm sorry. Really sorry!”

Standing in the church, she kept crying as she held the cold body of Cyrla.

The goddess looked down upon her, a sad glint in the statue's eyes.

***

“I think you need a new set of armour, kid,” Kalrus said, looking down at Seth’s tattered armour who was gulping down a health potion. “Seems like the trip to the ruins wasn't as easy as I expected.”

“Easy? I lost my life like thrice,” he replied, frowning.

When Seth had knocked into his room, Kalrus had been surprised to see him, but it turned to a pleasant one as soon as he saw what was strapped on his back.

Taking him in and giving him a health potion, they were now standing in the upper floor of his place as the Weather Staff sat on the side.

From time to time, Kalrus would glance at it, but Seth knew he was curious as to what happened. By his words, it was clear the man never expected him to return in such a condition and looked concerned with the absence of Rebecca by the way he tapped his cane around.

“So, Rebecca… Is she…?”

Finally hearing the question he was waiting for, Seth smiled. “No, she's alive. There were just complications, so we parted ways as soon as we reached the city.”

Kalrus took a sigh of relief and put his cane away. Getting a chair for him to sit, he stared at Seth.

“What type of complications?”

“At first, it was the guardians, golems that the Stormweaver had made for the protection of the ruins, but then as we ventured deeper…”

He slowly talked about the challenges. Starting from their first run of the ruins to getting stuck due to the wrath, then going to find an adventuring party to go back. He didn't left out the record of the lesser abyssal horrors appearing and how they had dealt with it.

When he first talked about his, Kalrus's eyebrows had knitted together like he had been in some sort of a thought, but he soon focused on what Seth was speaking.

Slowly, Seth moved to the final battle, discovering the Weather Staff, then the lesser abyssal horrors bursting in and finally, he talked about Cyrla.

When Kalrus heard that name, he frowned.

“That girl, I know her,” he grunted. “She used to be a bright student and was in the same year as Rebecca. I saw her around campus recently. I had no idea she had gone down this path to advance her studies into the universe.”

“Maybe, it was just for power,” he argued but Kalrus shook his head.

“I don't think so. From what I know, she was more interested to know how things worked. It's necessary for a Mage who's trying to be an academic, unlike Rebecca who studied here to be able to defend herself. A noble thinking, but not one good enough to be an assistant or I would have given her a position.”

Seth wanted to hear more about that, but he recalled the face of Rebecca on their way back. “She was upset by Cyrla's death. Even now, she's probably trying to bury her.”

“Yeah, she doesn't take it well, especially with people who she had more than a few conversations with, but don't worry, she will be okay. You did good if that girl was actually a servant of an abyss creature,” he said and maybe for the second time, Seth saw concern and worry on his face. “The cult. It seems like it's pretty bad if they are after you this bad.”

“It is. We have been running for a while. Sacria City was peaceful, but since we left it, they are after us. I'm pretty sure if I stayed there, they would attack me in the middle of the city,” Seth said, sighing.

Since Rebecca trust him, he was also doing the same, being careful enough to not spill too much, but giving enough information for Kalrus to understand what was going on.

“Yeah, they do love to create a scene if they are confident to fend off the guards. Are they after Rebecca too?” He asked, his eyes glinting.

“No, they are not but…” Seth thought back to Gabriel as his words trailed. “They had seen me with her, so even if I'm on my own, they would try to go after her for information.”

“Basically, she's a target too.” He frowned, giving Seth a good look. “What did you do either way? Stole that dagger from them?”

“No, I just found it and the reason they are after me is far more complicated. I don't know if I could talk about it with you, but it would be a big help if you can keep on your word and inspect The Dark Blade now.”

He took out his weapon from his scabbard and presented it to Kalrus who held it, his eyes looking through the runes carved around the blade and the material it was made.

Squinting at it, Seth felt his eyes shining as minutes passed by.

He sat quietly in front of him, letting him work around the blade, closely inspecting it and after about half an hour, Kalrus spoke.

“This blade is…”

***

In a darkened corridor only lit up by wisp of flames floating by idly like they were alive, two men walked through, their faces etched with curiosity and disbelief. They wore black cloaks, hiding their appearance as they stepped briskly.

“Is the news true?” One of them asked, stopping before a door and hesitating to knock at it.

“Yes, I heard it well and we can just confirm it beyond the doors,” the second one replied, his shoulders hunched and looking expectantly as to what lay inside. “I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time. Felt like I would never see it.”

“Have you crossed paths with him?”

“Yes, a long time back. I lost something precious to me then, and I still blame him for it.”

As the man spoke, he lifted his cloak to the side, revealing a scar running down his face. One of his eyes was missing alongside three tooths and it was a sight gruesome enough to scare kids.

Even his companion took a step back seeing it. “Is that—”

“Yes.” The man nodded. “I have given up on revenge, happy with keeping my life, but Lord Gabriel has fulfilled what I always wanted to fulfil.”

Nodding, the other man gave a grin before knocking on the door. They waited for a few seconds before sounds of footsteps echoed across the door and it opened.

Both of them bowed at the same time as a man emerged. “We bow to Lord Gabriel!”

Gabriel's red eyes bore through them as if appraising them and both of them felt an intense pressure on their backs. Only after a minute had passed that he turned around.

“Get up and follow me.”

They quickly trailed behind him, trying to keep their eyes from wandering around too much as Gabriel took turns, slowly stopping in front of a large room.

The door to the room was opened and as they entered, both the cloaked men froze, not in worry or distress, but in excitement and the sheer absurdity of the scene in front of them.

The one who had lost his eye glee internally, barely able to stop himself from rushing in with a dagger as he watched the scene.

In the centre of the room, chains held a man, his clothes tattered and hair dried with blood. A sharp wound went through his shoulders, blood dripping out of it slowly and a dagger pierced one of his legs.

By just looking at his face, one knew the man was in agony, yet he simply stared at Gabriel, a rage burning in his eyes that made the Sage frown.

“It seems like your spirit hasn't broken yet, Noah,” he said, scoffing as he took a step towards him. “How long are you planning to resist me? Soon, I would be putting you in front of the Seven Sages. They would love to tear you up more for being such a eyesore for so many years.”

“You… talk big for a cultist,” Noah said, his voice low and each word seemingly hard for him to pronounce as he looked up at Gabriel.

“Do I? Or is it you who have no idea of the consequences one goes through when they stand against the one that ruled the abyss?”

“I don't fear or serve the abyss like you.”

Gabriel frown deepened, but it soon turned into a twisted smile as he looked at the body of Noah. The battle against him had been tough and although he didn't want to admit it, he had been close to defeat more than once.

Still, he had persisted and gotten a win and now, the strongest adventurer was caged in a lock made by him.

Turning around to look at the two of his subordinates, he grinned. “You two know what to do. If you fail to make him cry, I will feed your bodies to lesser abyssal horrors.”

The man shuddered hearing that as Gabriel gave back a twisted, hollow smile to Noah and leaned towards him. “You would suffer the same things the vessel will. I know you are worried about him, but I would find him next and with you here, no one would be able to stop me.”

End of vol 2. Chaps will resume once I start vol 3.