A Bit Of Encouragement

Detor sets his jaw, knuckles turning pale around the shaft of his spear. A long, heavy silence bears down on the dark dungeon. Green light from the lanterns flickers on the black stone, and a few prisoners shuffle into the corners of their cells, whispering prayers to the twelve saviors, staring at Ludan through wide eyes.

Ludan stands emotionless, silver eyes almost glowing in the shadows as they scan over the shocked and tense expressions before him. Finally, his eyes land on Detor, "No excuses? No pleas of innocence, that you were forced to obey the commands of the evil criminals?" He asks, voice void of any spikes of disappointment or anger.

"No," Detor says, his unchanging scowl nearly equal to the Epoch's lack of emotion, "We both know that it would do me no good, Father."

Cage snaps his eyes to Detor. Father? Cage never knew that the Epoch even had children. And as he looks around at Kyro, Ingen, and Yoru, Cage finds that he is not alone in his surprise. They all stare at Detor with wide eyes, mouths agape and sweat beading on their foreheads.

"It seems you have learned something from me, then," Ludan says flatly, eyes pulling from Detor and sliding over the others. He snorts, "Oh, come now. Is a man not allowed to father children? He certainly does not hold a candle to Betor, but he is my blood all the same."

"Betor is your son?" Kyro asks suddenly, voice practically overflowing with incredulity.

Ludan stares at Kyro, but says nothing. Suddenly, he peeks over the group and at the iron door that they came through, "Why don't we take this outside? It's been some time since I've truly embraced the beauty of my city, after all," Ludan says.

Silence. Cage, Kyro, Ingen, Yoru, and Detor all stare back at the Epoch, frozen in place. More shuffling can be heard from some of the cells, the uncomfortable, heavy air seeming to reach even the prisoners. Though it does not press upon them as much as the group. It tugs at their bodies, and pushes them down with a mighty weight as if beckoning them to kneel before their king. Their god.

"Don't trust me? Can't say I blame you all," Ludan shrugs, that wide and unnatural smile stretching across his crimson skin. The Epoch raises his arm, bracelets pinging on his wrist, four rings shimmering in the light of the green flames, "Perhaps you need a bit of encouragement."

Suddenly, from where Ludan stands and behind him, all the way to the back of the hall, the flames of the lanterns vanish. Cage stares into the pitch-black space with wide eyes, hands trembling. Then, he sees it, the rings on the Epoch's hand take on a bright glow, every color imaginable sliding across them in the darkness.

"Run!" Cage yells, turning and pushing Kyro and Yoru away. They all scramble through the narrow, still lit part of the hallway, heading for the iron door at the end. Ingen leads the way, warhammer in hand, and Kyro, Yoru, and Detor follow in turn.

Cage runs at the back of the back, glancing back into the darkness. Those four glowing rings finally settle on a bright green, and the next moment, green flames explode from them, filling the hall to the brim and barreling toward Cage quick. Prisoners scream bloody murder as the flames pass their cells, their bodies instantly bursting into flames with even the slightest touch from the green fire.

Cage spins to face the approaching flames, summoning his black arm. He hears the iron door open behind him, but he knows that he can't go through yet, not with these roaring flames tailing him. He raises his black arm, and the hand expands into a massive shield that stretches from wall to wall, ceiling to floor.

The torrent of green flames sinks into the darkness, disappearing into nothing. Cage grits his teeth, his body like a balloon being filled with violent streams of air. Same as with the Massor, and with Grish's eels. It is bearable, partly because Cage knows the feeling, and partly because the bloating is not nearly as terrible as with the Massor.

The hall stills suddenly, the bloating feeling inside Cage slowing. The flames stop, and the black hand returns to its original shape. Cage peers down the narrow hall—all of the lanterns now void of flames—and struggles to see anything even an inch ahead. Then, he sees something. Those rings glowing green again, approaching slowly, "So that's how you eliminated the Massor. I should thank you," Cage hears Ludan's flat voice ring out through the darkness.

"Cage!" A voice calls out from behind. It's Ingen, holding the iron door open with a scowl. He waves Cage forward, grinding voice booming through the black dungeon, "Get your ass moving!"

Cage nods, sprinting for the door. He takes one last glance back and sees Ludan's impossibly wide smile, then flames. Cage kicks into another gear, bolting through the threshold. Ingen slams the iron door behind him, shoving the bar lock quickly and following behind Cage.

The flames slam against the door soon after, the monstrous sound like a boulder slamming against the iron instead of flames. Looking back, Cage sees Ingen running with long strides behind, and past the big purple Rajin, the Iron door melts like a napkin in a campfire.

Cage curses under his breath as the green flames light up the hallway, barreling toward him quick. He stops, turning toward the flames, black arm appearing again. Ingen stops beside him and grabs his arm, but before the Rajin can say anything, Cage looks up at him, "Help me out," He says, throwing his black arm out and spreading it to cover the hall again.

Cage absorbs the flames again, and when they stop, the hand of his black arm forms into a giant sphere. The blackness pulls back, leaving behind a boulder that touches both walls and nearly reaches the ceiling. Cage looks up at Ingen again, gesturing toward the boulder, "It'll at least slow him down," he says.

Ingen nods, grip tightening around his warhammer. He steps up to the boulder, the big spiked heap of iron pulled over his shoulder. Ingen lets out a guttural cry, and slings his warhammer forward. The spiked face slams into the boulder, sending it rolling and bouncing down the hall, the sound of crashing stone nearly deafening to Cage's ears.

Not waiting to see the result, Cage and Ingen set off in a frantic sprint down the hall again, their speed causing them to slam into walls as they turn left and right. Soon, they reach the intersection just before those long and winding stairs. Kyro and the others stand there, each seeming to shake with anxiety as they watch Cage and Ingen come into view. All save for Detor of course, that man is as rigid and angry looking as always.

"He following!?" Kyro yells out as Cage and Ingen come closer.

"Probably!" Cage yells back, though he could have talked in a normal volume with how close they are now. He waves a hand forward, glancing past as the set of stairs ahead, "Go! No point in waiting to find out!"

Kyro nods, turning as Ingen runs between him and Yoru. Cage stays in the back of the group, just in case another volley of iron-melting flames come charging at them. If any of the were to be touched by those flames, Cage can imagine that they wouldn't even last as long as that door did.

The group begins to hurry up the spiraling stairs, Kyro and Ingen leading to fend off any threats that may come from the front, Detor and Yoru in the middle, and Cage in the back. Yoru scrambles up the stairs with her shoes in hand, leaving Detor as the only one with covered feet.

Yoru looks back at Cage, thin silver brows drawn together, mouth wide, and taking in heavy breaths, "We're not actually going to wait for him, are we?" She asks through quick pants.

"No," Cage responds, breathing hard, but not nearly as much as Yoru, "He'll have to catch us if he wants to talk."

Yoru nods, gulping, "Where will we go if we make it out of the city?" She says, a close call of her face nearly meeting the stairs causing her to look forward.

"The forest. Alyra's waiting for us there," Cage says.

She doesn't look back again, but Cage sees the woman bob up and down in response. After several minutes of bare feet and boots patting against the stone and a collection of heavy breathing, the group finally reaches the iron double doors that lead out of the tower.

Kyro and Ingen lead the way out and into the garden, the statues on either side of the door looking down at them. Then, all movements stop. Cage nearly slams into Yoru with the sudden halting, and he looks ahead to see Kyro and Ingen staring at something, silent.

Cage's eyes widen as he looks to see a giant wolf step over the wall surrounding the tower as if it were merely a fallen tree in a road. At least twelve eyes span across the white, smoky head of the beast, its long snout scrunched in a snarl. Between its lips, sharp, jagged teeth jut out from its face, "So close," The Spider-eyed wolf rumbles, its many eyes twitching as it looks down at the group.