Infinity Blade - The Secret of Castrair

Chapter 5: The Past

While I wait in the Hideout, I practice with the swords, until Isa gives me Siris' dual weapon he never used, the Infinity Swords, and I thank her and switch. I can feel the energy these weapons contain, energy that impresses me greatly. I feel powerful with the weapons, as if I was born to use them. 

I practice until my shirt is sticky with sweat, and I'm too tired to keep going. Then, a ship comes and docks, and Isa walks on. I board it as well. A dark-skinned lady waits for us on it, and proposes a few weapons at a reduced price. 

I look around, but nothing sparks my interest. Half-hearted, I leave the ship. I sit down, and think. Siris hasn't come here for seventeen years. He's Deathless. He lives at the Hideout. 

I'm seventeen, and... Isa calls me. She tells me Siris might be somewhere in the Seccian Desert. I nod, and, using the map, we teleport to the storage of the Worker. Then, we move quietly to the place where the Infinity Weapons were given to receive the real Infinity Blade. Inside, nothing. 

I scrutinize the walls, looking for a clue. A scratched message on the wall, "Seventeen..." I look around, searching for another clue. What could seventeen mean? I don't understand. 

I turn around, and see something. The Worker? What's he doing here? Isn't he dead? Stunned, I whirl, feeling an odd paralysis, partly stopping my movements. 

Ausar stands behind me, dressed in Vile armour. I draw my blades, but he doesn't move. I look around. 

My surroundings changed. I'm in... No, not there. The Vault of Tears. I'm in the Vault of Tears. I run towards Raidriar the God King, brawling with him. No, this isn't me. Isn't it?

Now, I'm somewhere else, in the hideout, with Jensen, a blacksmith, and Tel, Siris' companion. How do I know their names? I never saw them before. 

Then I'm in the Dark Citadel, fighting Raidriar, then dying, and then coming back as a different bloodline. 

Why am I living these events? They're not my memories! They're something I've never lived before! Why?

I'm suddenly brought back to reality by Isa's voice. She's asking me if I'm alright. Blinking, and with a pounding headache, I get up. "You were having a lot of powerful spasms, and you were muttering to yourself as you were unconscious," she explains urgently, "But we have another problem." She points to the exit of the room, and I notice a man with a golden mask on. A Deathless.

He carries a mace, and swings it around quickly. The fat monstrosity has skinny arms poking out from where its neck should be. Vague shapes like faces accompany the skinny arms. A crown rests on the head of the beast. "Thane," I hear Isa mutter. 

Thane, the High Lord of House Ix, guardian of the Worker, is now reduced to this. I chuckle despite the tense situation. The mace flies at us while Thane leaps into the room. I barely dodge the giant club, but Isa attacks the former Deathless with the Infinity Staff. 

I follow suit, using the Infinity Swords to strike the Deathless. My powerful blows combined with Isa's quickly get rid of the former Deathless. It roars, and stumbles, falling back, and then Isa stabs it. The giant monstrosity goes limp, and dies.

Panting, I stare at the beast. A memory flashes through my brain. Me, defeating the original Thane, then going into the Vault of Tears to free the Worker, only to be betrayed by him.

Finally, we get back to the hideout where I go to sleep.

I wake up, only to find another messily scrawled word a the rocks. "Remember... Warlord..."

Warlord? Does that mean? How can warlord relate to anything? Maybe a warlord is approaching the Hideout, and we're in grave danger? 

My thoughts are again brought back to reality as Isa waves at me, saying, "Earth to Castrair!" over and over again. 

Once again, I find myself distracted, only this time, it's not me in the Plains of Koroth, but it's my own brain I'm lost in.

I get up, and then I realise the message was right. A warlord is coming. But I don't think it's a real one. It's probably a soulless version of Ausar, remade by another cult. 

A boat docks, and down comes a troup of soldiers dressed in iron armour. Each holds a spear, but we manage to take them down relatively easily. 

Only the last one is a challenge. He is wielding a sword, and swings it, just as I dodge, and then use my new blades to slice mercilessly through the armour, defeating the soldier in a matter of seconds.

Then, Ausar the Vile stepps off the boat, dressed in the Vile Armour. This one isn't a hallucination. I can tell. His presence iss more imposing. He draws the Vile Blade, and then charges. I manage to block his initial strikes, but his finger starts glowing faintly. I realise too late he wears a ring, the Holy Band. A blast of white comes from the sky, singing my skin and burning me to the core. I scream, and yell, dropping my swords, until Isa strikes Ausar, disrupting the blast. 

I sigh with relief, and Isa manages to toss me a ring. Assuming it's a healing ring, I slip it on, and summon its power. Instantly, I feel my burned skin mend, and return to normal. Ready to switch with Isa, I wait for the opportunity.

She jumps, but Ausar pushes her off balance. Seeing my chance, I charge, stabbing three times before slashing twice that. Stunned, Ausar barely has time to parry my last attack before Isa joins me, and we attack together, slicing and cutting at the armour, and parrying Ausar's blows. Finally, he falls, and I sink to my knees; I'm so tired! 

However, Ausar jumps up, and stabs down at me. I barely manage to roll out of the way, even though, once again, Ausar stabs downward. This time, I get hit, and blood spurts from the wound. It's okay, I tell myself. If I am a Deathless, I'll be reborn in this same body right next to here. 

And everything goes black.

I wake up. Gasping, I notice my clothes are already on. Has Isa fallen? No, she'd be here. I dash outside, and grab my dropped swords before helping Isa, who struggles to defend herself. Ausar now backs away, and I stab, opening his defences.

Another onslaught. Ausar falls for good this time. I know it. Finally, Isa sits down, panting, sweat glistening on her forehead. I decide to board Ausar's boat. Inside, I find many gems and items worth at least a few thousand Gold. 

Apparently, Ausar travelled with his goods. Sitting down next to Isa, she says, "You can keep the Vile Blade. I don't like that type of weapn."

"Me neither," I reply, "But I guess I can try it. I take the sword, along with the shield, but then I notice a prize wheel next to the body. I take it, and spin it. Amazing items spin past my eyes, and it ends on...

The Vile Thorn! Lucky! It's a dual weapon, and it's extremely strong! Plus a dark energy stat. I let the Vile Blade clatter to the ground.