Amortal Song

7. Haunting Words

Calypso

Light broke through the darkness, mere seconds after, and worked to fill the new landscape of mossy green. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things as the throne room vanished from sight, Neortis and his haunting words gone.

Set in its place was a tower, made of stone that had a worn look to it, ivy draping from the sides that looked a vivid green in the tinted environment, a ghostly pale green color. The woods surrounding where I stood were black, pitch-black that seemed to swallow all the noises you would expect from a forest- not like Arden's cottage with its chirping birds and buzzing bees.

This place was touched by Neortis. Dead silent. A creeping silence that could play tricks on the mind.

"It's eerie, isn't it?" Arden's voice cut through the silence, making me jump with surprise.

I turned around to look at him, noting the streaks in his hair were no longer the deep purple but more teal, like the color of sea glass and less like his usual blue shade, in the green landscape. His eyes were narrowed at the tower, all humor missing from it. A coldness seemed to lurk in him now like the underworld was messing with his personality. The thought made a chill scurry down my spine as I turned back to the tower, biting my tongue at all the things I wanted to ask.

If he didn't tell me then, he surely wouldn't tell me now.

"So, Odysseus' spirit is in there?" I questioned Arden, unsure if I should just walk into the tower.
"Yes, as he died most recently, he's getting a final glimpse of life in there. "You might want to get him out of there before the day's end."

"End?" I whipped my head around so quickly I felt dizzy.
Arden grimly nodded, "Time fluctuates in the many levels of Umbeunter."

"Levels?"

"I'll explain later after you get him out. The time on this level is fast, and faster in the tower. You don't have much time, to begin with. One week is next to nothing."

Maybe you should've bargained, whispered the voice in my head and I pushed it away as I set out toward the tower, Arden following close behind.

"Do I just enter?"

Arden nodded again, "I'll stay by the entrance as I won't be much help. I have to warn you though, Calypso, it's a hard task to convince a spirit to leave. He's going to be lost in another world, in the sea of memories of his life so he won't be too willing, more of a dazed version of who he once was. The tower has that effect."

I was by the tower now, pressing my hand against a rune pressed into the stone to steady myself. I turned to ask Arden one last question, "Is it safe?"

"Reasonably." was the answer, not a no but not a yes.

I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw hurt and stepped onto the first step of the stone steps that spiraled up the tower. Not looking back at Arden, I began my climb, wondering how far up it went. Engraved on the walls were different runes I couldn't make out that seemed to glow a greenish color, an emerald shade. Alongside them were different gems encrusted into the stone that seemed more vibrant than any others I had seen.

Despite the rugged look, I had the coldness brushing my spine- giving me the feeling that I wasn't welcome in this place, a living being in the realm of the dead. I involuntarily shivered, brushing strands of hair out of my sweaty face as the climb grew steeper, the chill never leaving even as my legs burned and my neck got sticky with sweat. Pushing away the thought that spiriost was the cause of this unwelcome feeling, I climbed higher.

Up.

Up.

Up.

The journey seemed to last forever until I came to a window. A large window that was gilded with silver and surrounded by glowing green stones, some larger than my fist. And standing in the middle of the window was him.