Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 154: Malinla

Emily stared at him for a while then silently took a seat next to him.

Morgan observed her for a while then expressionlessly turned away.

"Well, that was close..."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Why do you seem surprised?" Sarenus asked, his voice sounding a little bit too smug.

" You do realize there was no need to speak out loud, like that..."

Morgan quietly rolled his eyes, staring into the distance.

" What’s the matter, you couldn’t sleep?"

Emily nodded, casually forming a small icicle in the palm of her hand.

The brilliant blue pice of ice morphed, first into a sharp arrowhead, then a small blade before lengthening into a long stiletto.

Morgan stared at the transformation s, a hint of fascination and amusement dancing behind his eyes.

"I couldn’t sleep," Emily spoke quietly.

Morgan raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for her to continue.

After a long silence,she eventually spoke.

"Why didn’t you tell the others about everything we’d seen in the vision?"

Morgan let out a quiet sigh.

" I figured there was no need."

Emily turned fixing him either an icy glare.

Morgan promptly ignored her, continuing to stare into the distance.

In the vision, he’d seen a hooded figure, one similar to Alsterius, with burning violet eyes.

They both had.

"That woman, so you know who she is?"Emily asked, drawing with the small block of ice on the ground .

Morgan silently shook his head.

"I’m just as clueless as you are."

"So you’ve also already met her..." Sarenus voice echoed in his head.

Morgan frowned slightly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"You know who the woman is?"

" Of course," Sarenus said smugly.

The darkness subtly shifted, almost imperceptibly.

Emily leaned forward, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Her gaze was intently fixated on the ground, where Sarenus was.

Morgan turned to her in surprise.

" What’s the matter? Have you seen something?"

After a few moments, she leaned back silently shaking her head.

"I’m not sure..."

Sarenus turned subtly his gaze on her, observing her more intently.

"Well, that’s certainly strange..."

Morgan felt the subtle shift through their connection.

Morgan turned back, inwardly continuing his conversation with Sarenus.

"Is something wrong with her?"

Sarenus abruptly went silent.

Emily stared at the depleting block of ice in her hand, her eyes glowing faintly with emerald light.

"Why won’t you tell the others?"

The silence stretched between them.

Eventually Morgan spoke.

"You should know why. After all you’ve been inside my head."

The Talented girl had glimpsed his memories, seeing some of the things he’d gone through from a first person point of view.

She’d essentially lived his entire life within a save of a few moments.

One could even argue that at this point she knew him best at this point.

But the same could be said for him.

He’d also glimpsed her memories, bits and pieces from her life at the orphanage.

Emily stared at him, for a while then turned away, manifesting another block of ice.

"As you know, the only other time, I’ve come into contact with such power is when I met—"

" —Alsterius," Emily spoke completing the sentence for him.

Morgan stared at her silently for while then nodded.

" Exactly. And if by any chance that woman is in charge of this place like we saw, then we definitely do not stand a chance against her."

" The best order of action would be to avoid encountering her at all costs. Telling the others would only cause unnecessary alarm and worry."

"Malinla of the Beast realm," Sarenus’ voice suddenly echoed inside Morgan’s head.

Morgan listened without betraying any emotion.

"Is she like Velagrew and Alsterius?"

" Yes..." came the answer.

Morgan thought back to the time they’d seen the mysterious woman.

When he’d touched the altar, his mind had been transported through to another time.

He’d stood watching the the flow of tibe reverse in that moment, only as an observer, a spectator to things that had already taken place.

He’d touched the altar instinctively but nothing prepared him for what woukd happen.

When he regained his senses, Emily stood a short distance away.

The dark haired girl was still frozen in the same place, akin to the unknown temple back in reality.

Blue light slowly streamed out of her eyes and mouth.

Slowly, cracks appeared in her skin from the massive flow of power raging through her.

"Emily!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, he ran forward grasping her outstretched hand in his own.

His own eyes lit up with an ethereal blue light, his mind briefly going blank.

In that moment, their minds, melded, their memories flowing through each other seamlessly.

Morgan opened his mouth in a soundless scream, the agonizing pain of seeing and reliving a life that was not his own, rushing through him.

His mind struggled to comprehend the years of life that’d passed before him within moments, stretching to it’s limit.

After what seemed like an eternity, the light receded leaving both of them breathless and stunned.

Morgan stared at Emily in shock, staggering back slightly on his feet.

"What was that?"

Emily watched him with a similar expression, tenderly grasing her head.

" We’re those...was that..."

She tried to speak, failing to come up with the right words.

In the next moment, a bright light enveloped them transporting then to a different place.

A plain of sand loomed before them, the vast desert stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

In the distance a tall mountain range stood, just barely obscuring the sun.

Morgan’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"This is..."

Emily knelt silently grabbing a handful of sand, then slowly raised her head staring at the distant mountain range.

"It’s Tenebris..."

Morgan closed his eyes, concentrating on the familiar energy of umbralis.

After a few moments, he opened his eyes, staring at the strange place with a quizzical look.

"I don’t think this is Tenebris."

Emily friend slightly raising her head.

" Why do you say that?"

" You can’t feel it but this place has no umbralis."

Emily frowned, rising to her feet.

"What do you mean by that?"

Morgan shook his head slightly, turning spinning around in place.

"Tenebris had massive amount of umbralis. But with this place there’s nothing."

In the next moment, a whirlwind of sand rose up into the air.

The sandy plain began to spin, revolving wildly.

With a shout Morgan lunged, grabbing onto Emily.

The two of them frantically spun through the air, he violent movement raising a large cloud of dust.

The space above them shimmered then rippled fluidly, turning glassy.

The chaotic hurricane of wind stilled leaving them gently floating mid-air.

The two bewildered youths stared at the rapidly transforming landscape in disbelief.

Within moments, the space cracked then shattered revealing a new sight.

The sandy plain turned to rich brown earth.

Within moments, green stalks of grass rose through the ground, covering the land as far as the eye could see.

Lush forests and crystal clear rivers wrenched free of the soil climbing seamlessly into the sky and flowing through the fertile ground.

A heartbeat later, buildings began to rise quickly marring the landscape.

" What’s happening?" Emily whispered.

Within moments, a magnificent castle formed, literally appearing out of thin air.

" I think," Morgan spoke, his eees darting around the still transforming landscape.

"We’re going back in time."

With the appearance of the massive keep, grotesque creatures appeared roaming it’s massive courtyard.

Bizarre winged creatures and gargantuan behemoths that shook the ground with their passing.

Moments later, the two youths were transported, levitating through the air on the strange force, to the castle’s interior, moving unseen, through several hallways until they arrived at what could only be the throne room.

Contrary to the rest of the keep, the throne had no ceiling to speak of.

At it’s centre sat a single throne with a single figure.

Clothed in a flowing red robe that covered her completely, the most striking thing about the woman had been her eerie violet eyes.

Golden locks of hair spilled from beneath the elegant red hood covering her head.

The woman was seated on a giant throne, surrounded by thousands of Bretnar and other grotesque creatures.

The Creatures were so many their sheer number even blotted out the sky.

Even from the distance they were standing, the two of them felt the raw power emanating off the woman in waves.

Behind her throne, massive statues of Bretnar and other creatures towered, stretching almost endlessly into the sky.

In front of the throne massive Bretnar kings fell to one knee, genuflecting before the woman.

From the looks of things, she wasn’t yet aware of their presence.

Morgan’s mind worked furiously, his eyes sweeping over the entirety of the place.

" Damn, damn, damn it!"

Just then, a surge of energy ripped through the throne room.

The large doors opened a d a humanoid creature swiftly stepped into the room, genuflecting before the figure on the throne.

"Your Highness, we have a guest."

She lazily cocked her head to the sight, leaning her cheek on the palm of her hand.

" Let him in."

A moment later, a familiar dark robbed figure stepped into the room.

Golden etchings and embroidery adorned his dark robe.

his golden eyes lingered on where Morgan and Emily floated, a faint smile briefly touching his lips before he continued forward.

" Malinla, it’s been a while."

" To what do I owe the pleasure, Alsterius?"