Sleep with the Lights On ✔️

25. Moving Again

They were still in the empty void. "We need to keep moving." Cassie announced. They were alone now, as they hadn't been for weeks.

"Are you okay?" Peros said, keeping hold of her hand as they began to walk forward again.

"I don't think we should have stopped that long." Cassie wondered aloud. Her body still pulsed with energy, still glowed adding to the eerie light in the void.

"How do you know so much about where to go, and what to do?" Peros asked.

Cassie shrugged. "I just have this feeling..." her voice trailed off and they walked for a moment in silence. She turned back to face him, a weary but blissful smile on her face. "I feel great."

"That's how I felt after... after Essylt's soul." Peros mumbled. He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, they were still running the trial but at least Evander, the cause of all of it was dealt with.

Cassie frowned and they walked on. "I didn't mean to... I didn't even think..." She was still giddy with power but realization of what she'd done was starting to dawn on her.

"You said before, if it was going to be you or him, you'd do what you had to. Evander was going to kill you, I'm sure of it." Peros said squeezing her hand, trying to offer some assurance.

"It seems clear now, now that I've got all the power." Cassie hung her head and laughed. "He was going to take my soul to ascend to Valhalla."

"I'm sorry Cassie." Peros said.

"Theres nothing to be sorry about." Cassie whispered.

The mist began to rise again. Cassie and Peros grasped their hands firmly together, refusing to be separated in the dense fog. A loud bell began to toll, making the fog quiver and change colour.

"It's really over now. Cassie, We have to run. Before it's too late." Peros' voice cut through the fog, accented by fear. They set off running, as fast as they could through the mist as the bell grew louder and louder, the mist became darker and darker.

"You've made it." The Archeron's voice drowned out the toll of the bell and the darkness flashed back to the regular grey light of the underworld. "Mortal, Renegade." The hooded figure nodded to Cassie and then Peros.

The Archeron Janus appeared beside the unnamed one, rising from a shadow. "I have been sent, by the Angel Ignatia to retrieve the mortal Cassia." Janus spoke slowly, almost as if he was bored.

"I won't come without Peros." Cassie said firmly.

Janus looked at her, "You're stronger than you were last time. Did you devour one of those fools during the trial?" Janus looked from the unnamed Archeron back to Cassie.

Cassie frowned, she was more than done with being treated like a child, taken different places by people she barely knew. She could still feel the power inside her bones. It wasn't like the warmth she'd shared with Peros, or the warmth from the violet fire. It was a cold, sharp feeling that made her alert, keeping some kind of cold fire burning inside her. She'd never felt this powerful before.

"Very well." Janus said. He bowed to his peer and turned to Cassie and Peros. He waved his arms, he was incredibly tall, at least eight feet tall. He seemed to be drawing symbols in the air.

"Where are we going?" Peros asked Cassie, they were still holding hands.

"I don't know, but we're leaving the underworld aren't we?" Cassie whispered. "Angel's can't come down here, right?"

"No." Peros responded. "I don't think they can." He'd felt stronger ever since he'd absorbed Essylt's soul but the thought of leaving the underworld made him itch with excitement. It was the only thing he'd ever known, but his father had made it clear that the upperworld was different. But, after meeting Cassie he'd realized how different, how much better, it must be.

"Angelus Ignatia"  Janus spoke with a booming voice, Cassie and Peros cringed with every syllable, huddling closer together. Janus repeated the words with his arms raised above Cassie and Peros' heads.

A bright light radiated from Janus' hands as his voice echoed and became louder.

Cassie ground her teeth and dug her nails into Peros' hand as the light became overwhelming.

Lol, hello world. I am going to finish this story I swear.