Raquelle's Resurgent

Crossroads

Being afraid of the unknown or panicking wouldn't help at the moment. If anything, after all the gruesome trainings she had endured, Ishilda instilled within herself the sense of calm and focus. She knew that it was only with a level-headed mind would she be able to get through this.

When she was first brought in, Ishilda kept quiet and limp, acting out her part as a fainted victim. While it was a fact that she was currently imprisoned, it was by choice that she had put herself in this situation.

Truth to be told, when Ishilda had spotted Vanessa, she knew she was up to something. After all having known each other for so long, Vanessa would have come up to her directly instead of acting out so inconspicuous.

To add further, how did Vanessa knew that she would be there, at this particular place on this specific day?

Because of her identity as a Vanguardian, rarely anyone within or outside her family knew of her real occupation. She had chosen to be merchant for her disguise so that she can freely travel around the Empire while fulfilling her mission in secret.

This time however, she had left Lynevan quietly, only telling her grandfather of her destination. Hence when Vanessa saw her in the crowd, it was as if she was waiting for her to return home. To be precisely where she was at this specific time could only meant that Vanessa was watching her. Ishilda had so many burning questions she wanted to ask. If her gut instinct was true, then it would mean that Vanessa had betrayed her. And if she did, why?

Sitting down here won't get any answers. Ishilda had heard some voices in the distant but they were muffled as if there was some sort of barrier in between them. The atmosphere felt quite damped and there was no warmth, suggesting that she might be somewhere underground since she was kidnapped near the back alleys. Although it was vital information, it didn't exactly give her an exact location.

Hidden to the rest of the Empire, the lower levels of Lynevan had hidden an intricate system of labyrinths and few undisclosed catacombs called the Viodivion.

No one knew who had build them but judging from structure of the main entrances, the Viodivion was speculated to have exist for more than a few centuries. It was because the building materials used was made of a unique and very impenetrable stone, Mallevol which could only be shape through magic. And since magic no longer existed, it could only meant that it was created during the time of magic.

There were many theories of course regarding the Viodivion. Some say through its endless corridors, they might be one that actually lead to the gates of Hell and others would say it could lead to buried treasures of the ancient past. Despite all the speculations, no evidence was found at all regarding the purpose of the Viodivion.

Even the rumours of it being a catacomb was solely due to the fact that the Black Merchants had used the Viodivion to bury their victims. Due to the numbers of illegal activities happening there, the Vanguardians took charged and sealed off the main entrances to the underground.

However to seal the Viodivion permanently would be literally impossible as no one knew how big or how deep the layout of the underground. Throughout the years, numerous entrances had resurfaced allowing the Black Merchants to utilise them for their own sinister purposes.

For Ishilda, this never-ending mission of the Vanguardians would need to be settle some other day. Right now, her priority was escaping.

She waited until there was total silence in the room, nothing except for the dripping water droplets from the ceiling, before she acted.

Feeling the texture of the rope against her wrist, she lifted both her arms closer to her mouth. Luckily her captors didn't had the foresight to tie her arms behind the chair. If not, she would need to break both her arms to release herself.

She used her tongue to separate the ropes in between, picking one to chew on it. Although the taste was horrible and her jaw was getting numb, Ishilda endured through it, knowing that she will be free in a few moments.

True enough, once that single string was broken and the grip on her wrist loosen, she removed the blindfold and immediately pull herself up. She looked around the room, it was a prison cell. There was nothing except for the chair she was on and a small gap of light which leaked from above. It was just a tiny hole, barely enough to fit a child and was barred with thick metal poles so she needed to think of something else rather than stuffing herself through the small hole.

Luckily, she could peek from inside the room to see whether there were any guards around which surprisingly, there weren't any. Maybe they were doing their rounds or preoccupied with something else other than her. Whatever it was, Ishilda wasn't going to waste this chance.

With no one stopping her except for the door, she knew it was now or never. She dug into her hair and pulled a hidden hair pin. She twisted it in such a way that it fit the key hole. She placed her ears on the door as she fiddled inside until there was a 'click' sound. Picking up locks wasn't a skill befitting a noble lady like her but as a Vanguardian, it was a necessity especially in situation such as this.

Opening the door slowly and quietly, she took a quick look around and left the prison room behind her.

Making her way through the uncharted territory, Ishilda used her instinct to guide her way through.

Seeing that she had no idea where the exit was, she couldn't risk herself getting caught again. For every sound she heard in front of her, she hid herself in the darkness of the empty corridors, waiting for the guards to walk passed her before moving ahead. It happened quite frequently and Ishilda knew she needed to hurry. It could be any given minute now before her captors find out that she escaped and all hell would break loose.

Her weapons were confiscated so she could only rely on herself. Although was she was trained in martial arts, she didn't like the odds of fighting in a narrow corridor where she could be cornered at both ends. It didn't take long after that when she felt a sudden rumble coming from behind her.

"Find her! She couldn't have escape far!"

And true enough, time wasn't on her side. She didn't know how far away she was from her cell room but judging from how long it took for their voices to echo through the seemingly long corridors, Ishilda could only assumed they were a quite a distance away. Which meant she needed to cover more ground to hide or possibly escape from the underground which seemed highly unlikely at the moment.

She was too preoccupied with the surroundings around her that she forget to tune in to her senses and made a wrong turn. Now it felt as if the voices were gaining closer than ever before and with the echoes bouncing off the walls, she didn't knew where they were coming from.

She took the risk and carried on where at the end of the corridor was a crossroad.

This was a new development.

Having spend quite some time in the labyrinth, Ishilda only managed to came across junctions of corridors. This was the first time she was given two choices. Both looked the same yet one was lighted and the other was not. It was literally a choice.

Any wrong path taken could not be undone once she decided on it. It felt weird to be standing where she stood because it felt like a defying moment where her decision might affect the outcome.

But then she thought otherwise. Was it really? What were the chances that this was really the moment in her life where everything could change and the choices were laid right in front of her.

But then it hit her.

She was a warrior and when everyday was a battlefield for her, it was during those times that she remembered that she live in the moment for every choice she made could have lethal consequences. She woke up each day not knowing whether it would be her last but she tried to live her life to the fullest. To live a life with no regrets.

She didn't know what might happened next but she was confident that today won't be her last. She still had a mission to complete and there was still the matter of Rowen.

As time was depleting and the heavy stampede was drawing nearer, she took a leap of faith using the same approach of life she adopted which led her to this very situation.

It felt as if the answer was all along inside her and with that she took a step into the darkness, not knowing what laid ahead for her.