Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 157: The Fog

‎Morgan was slowly losing his mind. And his companions didn’t seem to be faring much better.

‎Each sat they spent in Azaroth was a test of mental fortitude.

‎With each passing day, their already small stock of supplies dwindled even further.

‎Deep within the city, ghostly pillars glowed like beacons in the dark.

‎The thick fog obscured the light of the pale moons, throwing the city into a seemingly endless cycle of oblivion. Azaroth felt like one gigantic maze, with no end.

‎"Sarenus, are you there?"

‎A moment later, the drayghar’s voice resounded through his head.

‎" Of course, young master, is something the matter?"

‎"Earlier in the Realm Between, the creature you confronted, a Veliscera, was it... the creatures moving in the fog in this place seem to bear a striking resemblance to it. How is this possible if this is Tenebris? Isn’t it supposed to exist only there? Does that mean the Realm Between is broken as well?"

‎In truth, it was something that had been bothering him for a while.

‎"According to the knowledge I possess, Velagrew’s realm should be intact."

‎The youths had settled into a routine of moving throughout what they assumed was the day, and at night they’d retreat into the slowly crumbling structures, as they today could only assume had been the residence of the city’s previous inhabitants.

‎Surprisingly, some of the houses with strange-looking sigils even kept out the nauseating fog. Of course, it was Serena who had noticed and pointed out the serials, but there wasn’t any other way of informing the rest of the group without looking a little mad.

‎ From time to time, vague figures could be seen moving elusively through the thick mist, sometimes in the shape of a man woman, and even small children.

‎At times, these creatures would eerily come just close enough to get noticed, and then simply vanish into thin air.

‎Morgan was slowly learning to ignore them. Even worse still, the spectral creatures seemed to umbralis.

‎Lucian was the first to notice it.

‎As usual, the heir of Ash’s intuition was spot on.

‎"From what I can tell, whatever these creatures are..."

‎"Veliscera..."

‎Luchan turned to Morgan with a surprised look.

‎" What was that...?"

‎" Veliscera, the creatures they are called veliscera."

‎Lucian gave him a curious look.

‎The brilliant scion looked haggard and utterly exhausted, but despite his appearance, a determined fire still burned in his eyes.

‎"How do you know that?"

‎Morgwb wearily looked up, throwing him a tired glance.

‎"Well, believe it or not, I dreamt it."

‎The rest of the group looked at him either varying expressions.

‎The group had settled down into one of the ruins with a sigil on it for the night.

‎Morgan had been using the excuse of dreams to point out some of the information that Sarenus was giving him. I guess it’s a quirk of his Awakened ability," he’d said when Lucian had asked him about the strange dreams.

‎"Every time I have them, it feels like I’m using my ability in my sleep."

‎To make the lie even more believable, he’d used his ability in his sleep, a sight that was quite eerie considering his glowing eyes beneath his eyelids.

‎****

‎" Is this even normal?" Talia asked Lucian one time, staring at Morgan sleeping firmly.

‎His golden eyes shifted restlessly behind his eyelids, giving the impression that he was in the middle of an incredibly vivid dream.

‎Lucian stared at him expressionlessly, then shook his head.

‎" While it’s certainly not normal, I do think it’s completely unheard of. After all, Awakened assassins have been said to have incredibly rare and strange gifts. Gifts that defy even what we know to be common logic. Not much is understood about them."

‎"And as far as I’m concerned, these dreams of his have helped us," Emily said quietly.

‎Talia turned to the green-eyed girl in surprise.

‎"One could even argue that they’re the only reason why we’re still alive."

‎Emiky shrugged, meeting her gaze.

‎"Who knows how long we would have even lasted without them, so I guess it’s probably a good thing."

‎Cassius nodded

‎****

‎Lucian let out a weary sigh.

‎" And how long ago did you have this dream?"

‎Morgan shrugged listlessly, ravenously tearing into a piece of dried Bretnar meat before speaking.

‎"Obviously, it was quite the weird dream. These things tried to kill me, and then there was this tall figure. A man from the looks of things...

‎" I’m not a man!"Sarenus hissed in his kind.

‎"I’m the all-powerful lord of the Drayghar."

‎Morgan’s expression grew strained, one of his eyes twitching slightly.

‎"or a creature of sorts.... shrouded in darkness that called them that and repelled them." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

‎Lucian frowned slightly, staring at him for a moment.

‎" That’s definitely strange... How did he repel them..."

‎Morgan let out a sigh.

‎" I’m not quite sure myself...he just...did...He was just that powerful, I’m not sure any of us can do what he did..."

‎" Of course you can...and I’m willing to bet that dark-haired girl can do something about them as well."

‎Morgan frowned slightly.

‎"You’re talking about Emily, right? What can she possibly do?"

‎Srenus hummed for a while before replying.

‎"Well, let’s see.

‎She can see me right, and she also has a strong connection to Asterix...if you ask me, that’s no ordinary girl...who knows what other powers she’s hiding?"

‎Sarenus mentally shrugged.

‎"None of you kids are normal. I certainly don’t think that any normal kid could have survived up to this point."

‎Morgan turned his gaze to the unassuming Talented girl, turning to each of the others and observing them for a while.

‎" Something on your mind?"

‎Morgan turned to Lucian. If he had to think, within the entire group, Lucian had been the most cool-headed and, other than Cassius, was the person who seemingly wasn’t even much affected by all they’d been through so far in Tenebris.

‎Even now, the formerly timid-looking scion was unusually calm, seemingly detached from all that was going on around them.

‎Despite how inhuman it felt, it was strangely calming. And in a way, Morgan also felt the same; of course, his circumstances were quite different because of Sarenus’s presence.

‎"I’m just thinking about how lucky we all are to be alive right now."

‎Lucian chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

‎He expertly flipped one of his blades, gripping it in one hand.

‎"Don’t think about it too much. One way or another, we’re getting home."

‎"That’s certainly easy for you to say."

‎A voice said quietly.

‎Morgan turned to the blonde girl seated a few feet away.

‎The once proud scion was covered in grime and grit.

‎Understandably, since the only water they had was restricted to drinking.

‎The light in her eyes had dimmed, but a spark of it remained.

‎"How the mighty have fallen..."

‎"How are we even supposed to fight these things?" Talia asked with a frown.

‎"If what Lucian says is true and each of these ’ Veliscera’s, she said venomously,’ is equivalent to a Bretnar king in terms of power, aren’t we essentially dead.

‎Our weapons don’t even work against them."

‎She stood pointing at the two of them.

‎"Apart from you two, the rest of us can’t even use umbralis. We’d be dead before we even knew what happened."

‎"That’d be true if you were almost," Morgan said quietly, his voice just audible enough for her to hear.

‎He looked up, meeting her gaze.

‎"But fortunately, you’re not. We’re here with you, and several things could change."

‎Stand

‎ding up, he walked up to her, briefly patting her shoulder.

‎"Besides, you too can. You just need to give some more time. And you’re also our best healer."

‎Sitting back down, he grabbed his blades, placing them in front of him.

‎"What you’re experiencing is a side effect of the fog. I think the fog is a power of the Veliscera. They want to see you despair and lose yourself. "

‎He stared at each of them in turn, his eyes boring into each of their own with a golden glow.

‎"I know that despair, I’ve felt it. Don’t give in to it."

‎

‎The fog’s influence spread slowly, insidiously, and the group almost failed to realize until it was too late.

‎Until one particular incident.

‎Surprisingly, it occurred during Cassius’s shift.

‎Because of the Talented’s unique senses, he was probably the most resilient out of the entire group.

‎His keen sense of smell and sight allowed him to differentiate between what was real and what was simply happening in his head.

‎Lucian yawned tiredly, wearily rubbing his eyes.

‎Cassius let out a sigh, walking up to him.

‎"It’s okay, Lucian, I’ll take it from here."

‎A few moments later, Cassius abruptly stood, his eyes glazing over strangely.

‎"Grandma, what are you doing here?"

‎The Talented boy promptly lumbered towards the exit.

‎Outside the door, several translucent figures stood with loving smiles, beckoning the young man.

‎"It’s alright, Cassius. You’re home now. Grandma is going to take really good care of you...."

‎Their voices distorted unnaturally, echoing through the night.

‎"Morgan... Morgan! "

‎A pulse of Sarenus’ energy roused him from his slumber.

‎"Your friend, if you don’t move now, he’s going to become Veliscera food..."

‎Morgan’s eyes widened in disbelief at the figure of the staggering Talented.

‎"Cassius!"

‎In the next moment, several pairs of pale arms reached out from the darkness to embrace the unconscious Talented.

‎

‎

‎

‎