As the dark figure entered the light of the room, Cypher saw that he wore a cloak emblazoned with the insignia of the Order of Eternal Night. His hood rose just enough as he walked to see that the member was a middle-aged man with a series of odd tattoos on his aged face but nothing more. A simple-looking sword hung naked at his waist, and his robes had a light plate armor woven into the fabric.
He was large and imposing as he moved through the room. His boots clacked as he walked across the floor toward Cypher, and he knew he was in serious trouble. This guy was clearly ready for a fight, but Cypher was hardly in the position to return that sentiment. What bothered him even more though was how familiar this man appeared to be. Cypher couldn’t place where he had seen him before but he was certain that he recognized him.
In any event, he knew he had to buy some time and come up with a way out of this mess. He cursed in his mind, why had he been so curious? Had he really needed to find out why Alvin had seemed so strange? Obviously yes, but why hadn’t he just put a stop to this right then by trying to get some help?
Cypher gritted his teeth, this was no time to wonder about the past, he needed a way out. He also needed to warn somebody that an intruder was in the deepest part of the Academy. Someone had to know they were down here right? A place as guarded as this not having security like that was impossible in his mind.
Then again, wouldn’t a security system only go off if someone had broken in? As far as he could tell their entrance to this place had been far too easy. This whole situation was strange as far as he was concerned. But right now there were more important things to worry about. Cypher stopped struggling and trusted his instincts as he began talking to buy some time, “Who are you?”
Cypher watched as the man started pacing around the room. He was lifting the fire of each candle from its wick and placing them in a flaming ring around his waist. “Silence boy!” the man replied in a harsh tone.
He continued about his work and Cypher sighed, ‘Okay, plan B,‘ he thought to himself. “What are you trying to do here?” he asked, but the man remained silent.
After a moment though, and several more questions from Cypher, he let out an annoyed sigh and finally answered, “A curious one, aren’t you? You haven’t changed one bit since you went into hiding I see. Well, I suppose since you obviously aren’t going anywhere, and since you’re going to die soon anyways, I suppose I see no harm in telling you if it will shut you up. Perhaps I can even sway you to our cause.
“Several millennia ago my master was the head of a powerful organization, that sought to unify the races of the world under one glorious banner.”
The man continued his work as he spoke and Cypher listened intently as he struggled to think of a way out of this mess, “We were to be the unofficial rulers of the continent of Demilnoxis, that is until those meddling Guardians defeated my master, and sealed him away within Dark Void.”
“D-Dark Void?” Responded Cypher with a twinge of fear and confusion in his voice.
“Oh, that’s right. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? Dark Void is a realm where countless horrors await all who enter. It lies just beyond the boundaries of our own world and is truly a fate worse than torture or death. One is incapable of doing much of anything other than suffering in such a place.
“Those who have committed the most terrible of crimes, those who have broken the very laws of the universe… Dark Void is a place set aside for all those who dare to stand against the status quo. It is a place where those who claim to work for justice and order banish anyone who would stand against their ideals.
“But now, after years of waiting and planning, I’m finally in this forbidden chamber with the seal, and I can release my master! Truly the wait has been worth it! Together, we will complete his ancient task at long last! Oooh, it’s all very exciting! Oh, so many people will perish and suffer…” The man stopped and shuddered a bit as he stared lovingly toward the ceiling with his arms outstretched, engrossed in his own deluded fantasies.
“No longer will the wielders of light have the only say in the matters of the world! No longer will misunderstood arts deemed evil or foul be forbidden! Soon, all will bow before him and worship him as the God that he is! Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it a cause worth fighting for? Worth dying for?” He cackled as a wide, insane smile broke out across his features. As he laughed his hood fell, and Cypher got a good look at his face.
His jaw fell open as he recognized the man at last. He had indeed met this man before. In fact, it was because of this man that he had been allowed to enter the Academy so easily all those years ago.
Elder Fergus turned to face him with malice and dark glee burning in his eyes. His appearance had changed quite a lot since Cypher had last seen him and it was no wonder that he hadn’t recognized him sooner. Gone was the long flowing blonde hair and handsome features that the Elder had once possessed. In their place were the strange tattoos and wrinkles of old age.
“Elder Fergus?” Cypher muttered. “But… how?”
“Oh come now boy, you must know by now that nothing in this world is as it seems.” With a wave of his hand across his face, Elder Fergus’s features returned to the ones that Cypher was familiar with. Just as quickly they vanished and Fergus began his work again.
This didn’t make any sense though, why was Elder Fergus working for the Order? What had been happening here since he had decided to leave? Beyond that what was he even talking about? Alvin had said that the Guardians had destroyed the leader of the Order long ago. How could he be sealed away here then? A horrible thought occurred to Cypher then and he tensed up in fear.
The only being that had been sealed away in Alvin’s stories about the past was the dark God Satis. But the other divines had been the ones responsible for that, not the Guardians. In any event, Cypher knew that he couldn’t allow this to go on. In the worst-case scenario, a dark God could be reborn into this world, but at the very least this could potentially start up a whole new Arkwar!
Cypher wasn’t about to stand by and let it happen. But with his level of power, what could he even do?
“You could be a part of this you know, all you have to do is help me finish the ritual! It does require a living sacrifice after all. Oh! Tell you what, you can be the one to put an end to that fool over there! Consider it your… initiation…” Elder Fergus said as he pointed towards Alvin and flashed a wicked smile.
“You’re insane!” Cypher replied.
“Am I? Or is it the world that is insane? Surely you must have seen how corrupt this world can be? Think of Eiden, think of his rotten parents! Surely you can’t think that the world is fine the way it currently is. Change is in order and only Gods can truly alter this world of magick and mayhem. The Divines have abandoned this world to its fate. Why not turn to the only one left who still lingers in these mortal lands? One who can tip the scales in our favor!”
Cypher gritted his teeth and began to struggle with all his might against the spell Elder Fergus had cast upon him.
“You’ve completely lost it! Nothing good can come from doing what you’re suggesting. How many people will die? How much chaos will come from releasing an evil like that back into the world?”
“Surely you know that in order for things to change, sacrifices must be made! Many will die you are correct about that, but think of all that we will gain! Is it not a fair trade? Would it not be worth it for the greater good? The betterment of all of mankind? Our species has grown weak and pitiful in this time of peace.”
Cypher spat at Elder Fergus and continued to struggle against the spell holding him in place.
“Oh, I see… What a shame. You could have gone far in our organization. I thought that perhaps you could see the worth of changing the current order of the world and retaking it from those in power. Oh well, I suppose I’ll just have to offer up two lives to the great seal instead of one.” Elder Fergus said in a sarcastically sad tone as he punched Cypher in the stomach to take his breath, and stop his struggling.
“On second thought, if you’d really like to leave all you had to do was ask. Allow me to show you the exit,” he flashed Cypher another sinister smile as he coughed in pain. With a wave of his hand, Cypher was sent flying through the air again and into the wall behind him.
Cypher narrowed his eyes and at the very last second was able to muster up enough strength to form a small pointed barrier around his body. It wasn’t a powerful spell, but through it, he had avoided being splattered against the unmoving stone wall.
His body was durable sure, but he was inside a mountain, and the speed he had been traveling at was terminal even for him. He smashed through the wall, the tip of his quickly summoned barrier acting as a drill as it bore through the mountainside. He continued flying out into the open, suddenly realizing that he was now above the nothingness of a very long fall. With another twisted smile, Elder Fergus stared into Cypher’s eyes and released his spell.
Cypher plummeted to the ground at high speed. A fall like this normally wouldn’t be fatal on its own for someone at his level, but something was draining away Cypher’s strength and emptying his Orrium. Without his Zight he wouldn’t be able to reinforce his body against the impact. He hadn’t been able to notice before due to the spell of Elder Fergus, but now that he was free of it he could tell that his Zight had dropped to under a quarter of its maximum.
He now had two options, surrender to the death that awaited him on the ground or find a way to save himself. But whatever had been draining his power had also dulled his mind immensely and he was still connected to it. He could faintly make out a thin strand of Zight that connected him with the chamber above.
His thoughts moved at a crawl, and his expression was nearly blank, but a sudden jolt from his saber snapped him out of his mental stupor and Cypher grunted in frustration.
“No! Focus!” he screamed as if to wake himself from a dream. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t give up now. He had so much left to do.
Before his conscious mind could even realize what was happening, he reached into his pocket and grabbed Alvin’s Ark in one hand, and his own in the other. As if by instinct, he began to chant, the words coming from a place that seemed far away.
“Divine Harmony, Verse 1…” The words and his actions seemed to be coming from some sequestered corner of his mind, and he couldn’t remember where he had even learned such a chant, but the saber on his hip pulsed in time to his words. His consciousness faded into blackness a moment later, and his Orrium emptied completely. The following words were lost to him, and in his hands, the two Arks glowed brightly as he hurtled towards the ground. Their central gems were radiating all of their energy to the point that they each lost their color and became as clear as glass.
Cypher’s eyes glowed white-hot with radiant light, and his descent suddenly stopped as the tether between him and Elder Fergus broke. He was not himself at this moment, something else had taken over and it was using his eyes to look up at the place he had fallen from. It was not to say that this force wasn’t Cypher. Bits and pieces of his consciousness swirled around inside his mind but none of them could be considered complete thoughts or truly his personality.
Some force from within him was guiding his actions, but his conscious mind was not the one in control. A shadowy figure stood at the steps of his Athenaeum, and Cypher struggled against the imposing blackness pressing in all around him. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t make out who the figure was.
There was a blindingly bright flash of light as Cypher’s body shot upwards towards the hole in the side of the mountain that his earlier exit had created, and a fierce visible aura wildly raged around him. Cypher’s consciousness faded again at this point.
The force controlling Cypher began to chant, swirling energy gathering in his hands, “Lu Dea, Sol Atzem… Karrim Sol, Sarrin…” Elder Fergus noticed nothing, as his back was facing a hovering, radiant Cypher. The Magick he was casting was practically singing in a chorus of heavenly voices that seemed to radiate throughout his entire being.
“Marrodio Mirraka, Sol Atzem…” This force was still controlling Cypher’s body, but his mind slowly regained awareness as more and more pieces clicked into place. He had always been able to ‘hear’ Magick but this was on a whole other level. At this point, he could also hear his own voice speaking, or rather singing, once again.
“Odora Nyynon, Bolorio…” Cypher became confused at the words falling from his lips and the energy he felt right now burned white-hot and threatened to consume his entire being. Elder Fergus stood before Alvin, a ceremonial dagger aimed squarely at his chest.
“ENICIORANO!” Bellowed the voice of whatever was controlling Cypher, and Elder Fergus turned around upon hearing it, a look of confusion, anger, and disbelief on his aged face.
He never saw it coming. Cypher was lucky, but Fergus was careless. The concentrated wave of Zight traveled through the dark of the room and hit the Elder, illuminating his entire body so brightly that his bones could be seen beneath his flesh. A dark fissure had begun to open up behind Alvin and as Elder Fergus’s body shuddered under the force of the spell, something radiated from him and was launched into the fissure.
Elder Fergus’s limp but still live body collapsed to the ground, and as all thirty black candles went out, the ring of flame around his waist dissipated and the dark fissure sealed itself shut with a loud ‘snap’. The echo of Cypher’s final shout rang throughout the room and back out among the mountains for miles.
The force that had been controlling Cypher quickly began to fade and his body floated inside the room. He began to lose consciousness once again and collapsed into a heap on the floor, the Arks still in his grasp clattering against the stone, their gems cracking. As he faded out though, he could still feel the threads of that power within him. They felt like hot embers in his mind and receded from every part of his body to condense into singular threads that swirled about his Athenaeum.
The figure vanished and he watched as those threads sank from his mental space, and came to rest within his Orrium. They quickly dipped beneath the waves of his lake of Zight and caused the color of that energy to shift through several different hues before returning to the shimmering grey that they usually were. Whatever that power was, he thought that it might be possible to harness it, but none of that mattered right now as everything went dark.
