The Gates of Cardel

To The End - Part 1

The blood-red haze of the void that distorts the eerie silence touches the nothingness of everything.
    We travelled across the void staying close to each other so we don't get separated.
    From the distance, a little dot gets bigger and bigger, details getting clearer and clearer as we get closer to his castle.
    Medola signals us to stop before we step into firing range behind some rock formations.
    "Sin, you see what I see?" Medola asks.
    "Yes, I do. A Castle." Sin replies
    "No, you idiot." She hits him, "the lack of security and guards."
    "Oh yeah, that."
    "Gods have mercy on us." Alixane prays.
    "Hey, we'll be alright."
    "Oh, I'm sure we will, with you leading us, oh observant one."
    "Ok, shut it, zip."
    "Well, what are we gonna do?" Lilith asks.
    "Well...."
    "We're gonna split up into two teams, ones gonna sneak into the third floor from that window." Medola interrupts as she points. "While the other distracts the front door."
    "Sounds great," Sin states.
    "You and Codias will be distracting the castle, while the rest of us break in."
    "What!? Why me?"
    "Well, as big and tough as my little puppy is, he's not built or well-equipped with being sneaky. As for you..."
    "You're the most distracting one out of all of us." Fil mocks.
    "Ouch," Sin reacts. "Harsh, alright, I'll show you."
    "No you'll be showing the guards - that should be there." Alixane states, "That's the whole point of the plan."
    Sin stands up mumbling some sort of words as he walks away. He taps codias on the shoulder to follow him and off they walk.
    Out loud Sin says "You know, in these situations, it's always polite to knock."
    A loud bang echoes everywhere as the doors get blasted into a million pieces.
    I mean that is one way to do it.
    "Ok, time for us to go," Medola commands.
    We start running towards the castle's side walls. The deafening sound of bells alerted the dark lord's army.
    Medola is the first to jump up over the walls.
    We're not all assassins here.
    Lilith flies over, dragging Phil and Zodiac with her magic.
    Right, magic. Of course.
    One after the other, we make our way over the wall, across the balcony, and through a window.
    The window leads into a long hallway. Lined with lots of shades of red and black.
    The carpet stretches on forever, while the tapestries dress the walls.
    I'm the last one through the window. Landing on the polished hardwood.
    "Where's the window!!! Medola concerned.
    I turn back and it's a hallway now, just like the one in front of us.
    "Wait here!" She says as she lowers herself preparing to sprint.
    I feel the wind rush past me as she disappears before our eyes.
    A few seconds pass and she appears right where she left.
    "It's a curesed trap. The place loops around." Medola claims.
    "Seems as much." Alixane agrees. "Which means one of these doors leads to a way out or a way in."
    "I say we split up, pairs of two. Would be quicker." Lillith suggests.
    "Would it not be safer to stay together." Fil protests. "We're in the Dark Lords' domain. No one knows what could happen."
    "I agree with Lillith," Amadaia says.
    "Can I just stay here?" Eemilis comments.
    "Fil and Eemilis, Lillith and Jelira, Medola and Alixane, Me and Nia." Amadaia rallies.
    "Guess not...."
    "Use the hive mind network and alert each other if you find something. Check-in every 5 clicks. Let's find a way out of this place."
    Amadaia and I walk to our first door. Turning the golden handle the door creaks open.
    The dark eerie room shadows around us. Amadaia closes the door behind us and locks it. She looks my way with a hint of bloodthirst in her gaze.
    "Now that it's just the two of us, some things need to get settled straight."
    "Amadaia what are you talking about!? Why did you lock the door!?"
    She steps into the dark shadow of the abyss behind her disappearing from my sight.
    I feel this presence behind me as I turn around and see the red haze of two red eyes glaring at me.
    My heart is about to stop, my hairs are on end. I can't move my legs, they're frozen still. My breath is unsteady my knees are wobbly.
    "There's just one, little thing, that you need to know. Something that could be the difference between your life and your death."
    I can't even speak or scream for help, all that can be heard is my whimpering breath.
    "Adoasin is MINE. You get in between us and the dark lord won't be the only person you'll need to worry about. Death will be a courtesy."
    "Y..y..yes M..m..ma'amm...."
    "Good, glad you understand."
    She steps back and walks towards the door. I'm hesitant to follow her.
    She jumps back into my face. My body tenses up.
    "And don't ever call me 'ma'am' again."
    "Yes m... Yes, ok."
    She walks back and opens the door and with a smile she says "next room."
    As I go to close the door I see a little movement in the shadows.
    A little furry monster was shivering in the shadows, sulking in a puddle.
    Poor thing. I feel your fear.
 

  "You find anything? I hear Medola ask.
    "No, sadly. Was just a dark room with a few critters in it." Amadaia replies.
    "Really!? We somehow found ourselves in a desert."
    "Half your luck," Jelira scoffed.
    With a wet dishevelled look and makeup dripping down her face, she picks off seaweed out of her travel.
    Although Lillith doesn't appear to have a single drop on her.
    "We found ourselves in some old ruins," Fil said. "Found some markings that didn't belong there so we took a magi-scan of it."
    A magic window pops up in front of the rest of us.
    "Neither of us could understand it. Thought either Lillith or our resident bookworm could decipher it."
    I am not that much of a bookworm thank you. Well, I guess I did just admit it to myself just now.
    I take a look, "I don't know that language. I've never seen it before."
    "That's because it's using letters from the Demon's alphabet., Lilith states.
    "You can read that!?"
    "Oh heavens, no. I just recognise a few letters."
    "Anything that you can make out Lillith?" Media asks. "Might be a clue to getting out of here."
    "Hmm... All I can make out is; eternal... beasts... take... power... attack... end... gone."
    "Great we have to fight an immortal beast that takes our powers and uses them to attack us, till we're dead and gone, absolutely lovely." Fil worries.
    "We don't know that" Jelira exclaims. "It's just pieces of a puzzle we dont have a picture of."
    "Wow, thanks. That's very helpful."
    "We'll have to show Sin. He's the only one of us who could possibly read this. " Lilith says.
    "We have to get out of here first., Medola suggests.
    "And how do you suppose we do that?" Alixane asks. "You gonna smash through the floor?"
    A moment of silence as everyone looks at each other with the same idea.
    Medola looks to Jelira and with a single word, "Jelira!"
    "On it., she replies. She gets into a sword stance and starts flowing red.
    The floor beneath her starts creaking as if she's getting heavier.
    She opens her eyes and with a single swing breaks through the floor.
    That was a thinker floor than I thought.
    Jelira jumps down first followed by Medola and Alixane.
    "Before you go Lillith!" I ask, "What exactly just happened?"
    "Oh, you mustn't have caught on just yet. Jelira can max out one of her stats at any one given time. Just now she maxed her strength and broke through the floor that way."
    "Ah, I see. Makes more sense."
    After that, the rest of us fall through and land on the rubble below.
    The dust still filling the room half-settled slowly moves in front of us.
    "That way!" Alixane suggests. "There's an air current."
    We take off running down some stairs to a large open room.
    The floor segregated and cracked with lava seeping through.
    A figure stands before us looking away from the entrance and in a soft echoing voice he says, "My, you guys got here a lot quicker than I thought.  I must apologise I didn't have enough time to clean up. Oh well, I'll just have to do it after your corpses scatter the room. First, let me introduce myself. I am one of the Dark Lord's Primordial Generals, Icradoth the Puppeteer."