The Phantom's Gambit-Chapter 53: Confrontation 3

Octavius had a habit of letting Void roam free in any animal form Void desired before bed. It was a way to give Void some autonomy and not make him feel too controlled or tamed. By doing so, Octavius aimed to preserve the delicate balance in their bond.

On the fateful day of the purification rites, Octavius was roused from his contemplative state by Void’s gentle whispers in his ear, urging him to wake up.

Though he hadn’t been truly asleep, Octavius’s mind had been preoccupied with strategizing his approach to the impending rites. As Void’s soft promptings pierced his reverie, Octavius sat up, his thoughts refocusing on the day’s events.

[Get up, you’ve got to see something,]

"What?" Octavius asked, his brow furrowing in confusion, as Void - in Amy’s sleek cat form - darted out of the room without waiting to see if he would follow.

[Hurry, ] Void’s voice echoed in Octavius’s mind, the urgency clear despite the feline vessel.

Octavius turned to his roommate Otto, who seemed blissfully unaware of the sudden departure, before hurrying out of the room himself.

Upon exiting, Octavius scanned the area, his eyes scouring the dimly lit corridor, but there was no sign of the cat. However, he noticed that the windows were open, the cool morning air wafting in, indicating that Void must have leaped out.

Octavius attempted to tap into the cat’s abilities, hoping to replicate its agility and jump out of the window without drawing attention to himself. But he was uncertain about the extent of his feline-inspired abilities.

Cautiously, Octavius approached the window and peered down at the ground below. The two-story drop made him hesitant. "I could sprain an ankle - or worse - if I jump," he thought to himself, weighing the risks.

Just as Octavius steeled himself to jump, a voice appeared from behind, making him freeze. [What in the world are you doing?] Void asked, looking amused.

Octavius’s leg hovered above the windowsill as he turned to face Void. "I thought you went out this way," he explained, feeling a bit foolish.

[Again, let’s dispel the notion that we share a symbiotic brain. Mine’s fully functional, whereas yours seems to be...still in beta testing.]

Octavius shrugged off the confusion, as he brought his leg down from the windowsill and turned to face Void. "You were in a cat, the option seemed plausible," he said wryly.

[Just because I’m in a cat doesn’t mean I’ve lost all sense of self-preservation. Heaven forbid I risk harming Amy’s precious pet and miss bathing with her. Come on now, I’ve found a better way out.]

As they reached the door, Void darted forward, his slender feline form slipping effortlessly through the sizable hole at the bottom. Octavius was left standing alone, his eyes fixed on the empty space where Void had just disappeared. He bent down, his hands on his knees, and peered through the hole. "This is your ’way out’?"

Just as he turned to head back to his room, the creaky door swung open, its hinges groaning in protest. Void, who had somehow managed to climb up and manipulate the door handle, leaped down and darted out into the night, his voice echoing back to Octavius. [Hurry!]

Octavius followed, quickening his footsteps as he went after the fleeing cat. They weaved through the darkness, and the trees blurred together as Octvaius followed the cat.

Finally, the cat stopped running on it’s paws and when Octavius caught up with him, he noticed they arrived at the banks of a narrow stream. One they hadn’t noticed resided in the area before.

"What were you doing all the way out here?" Octavius asked Void.

[I was just out for a prowl, doing my usual surveillance in the girls dorm… cause someone’s has got to keep them safe and watch over them.]

Octavius rolled his eyes.

[Anyways, while rendering my service I noticed her sneaking out at this odd hour. Naturally, I followed her.]

Void’s gaze drifted toward the stream, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. He pointed a paw at the water, and Octavius turned to follow his gaze. That was when he saw her – Nadia, floating serenely in the center of the stream. Her slender form lay gently with the current, as if she were a leaf on the water’s surface.

Her cloak was gone, revealing a flowing white gown that shimmered in the moonlight like the gentle ripples on the stream. But it was her hair that truly left Octavius breathless. A wild tangle of ethereal white locks spread out around her, merging seamlessly with the water as if they were one and the same.

The effect was mesmerizing, it looked as if Nadia had become an integral part of the stream itself.

Void subtly nudged a nearby rock with his paw, catching Octavius’s attention. As Octavius turned to look at Void, he noticed a fleeting glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned back to the stream, Nadia was gone.

But before he could even process her disappearance, Octavius felt a sharp sting on the back of his neck.

He tried to spin around, but a warning whispered in his mind stayed his movement.

[She has a sword pointed at your back, ] Void cautioned, his feline form remaining still and silent, as if afraid of alerting Nadia to his presence.

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Octavius slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I mean no harm,"

"I can’t say the same for you."

"I didn’t see anything, I swear on my life."

"Your life is hardly a valuable oath, considering it’s currently in my hands. One push—" She pressed the knife a fraction deeper into Octavius’s neck, and a trickle of blood seeped from the wound, staining the sharp edge of the blade. "And you might just catch a glimpse of your reflection from the front."

The cat hurled a stone in Nadia’s direction, and she dodged it with ease, but the brief distraction was all Octavius needed. He seized the opportunity to grab Nadia, spinning her around and pressing the knife to her neck to hold her still.

"Who are you?" Octavius demanded. "What are you doing here? And why do you have white hair?"

"You summoned me, with the Kyrium box, remember?"

Octavius’s mind reeled as he tried to recall when he had done that. But before he could respond, Nadia’s hand shot down, gripping his member with a painful intensity. Octavius’s eyes widened as he crumpled to the ground, clutching at himself and groaning in agony.

Nadia swiftly regained control of the knife, its blade glinting in the moonlight as she pointed it at Octavius’s prone form.

"Good to know that works on your kind," she said with satisfaction.

"You summoned me, just like your father did with our queen, using the Kyrium box. I’ve come to take her back. Where is she?"

Octavius winced, still trying to catch his breath. "I don’t know who you’re referring to," he grunted.

"Queen Alma... my mother."

The pain Octavius had felt just moments before vanished in an instant, replaced by shock and confusion. The revelation that Nadia claimed the same mother as him left him reeling.

Void, who had been observing the commotion from a safe distance— noting the tension had lessen and they were now staring at each other— leapt down from his perch, his eyes shining with excitement.

[What did I miss?] he asked, his mental voice bubbling with enthusiasm.