Chapter 16 - Immortals?

"Ahh, you fucking ghost. You failed your one job. I ordered you to butcher the boy and you fucking lost him!" A man's raging voice boomed in a dark space.

The tall white man with apricot hair stared at the silhouette of the female creature in the mirror. He couldn't believe how such a monster was so useless. 

Fisher growled at the entity, "I cannot, for the love of the devil, comprehend how you can tear into anyone, even those stuck-up nobles. Yet, you failed to kill a mere child. The child of Kase was to be the trigger for my plans! We had only one chance and you fucked it up, royally! Bravo monster."

The female creature donned a silent gaze, not bothered by horrible words thrown at it. 

Fisher became infuriated as he saw the lacklustre expression on the female creature's face.

"Say something, you insect. I know you understand me." Fisher crushed his desk in a fit of anger and growled, "Oh, I get it now. You don't fear me. Good. Good. You are this close to extermination. Nothing is unkillable. I hope you remember that. Now, out of my sight!"

Fisher broke the mirror, banishing the female entity away. Behind him, his two sons approached carefully. They knew of the complicated relationship between Fisher and Kase. It mirrored the rivalry between the Von Foundation and the Serpents.

It could not be put into simple words. It was a battle of domains. Two apex clans vying for supremacy of the underworld.

The youngest son, Carver, shook his head. 'The Serpents always mock us by rejecting our legitimacy to the throne,' 

'They deign to become the true underworld king yet they deny our claim. How dare they? Nosy pricks with no ambition.'

Growing up, Carver had heard and seen a lot of the pompous serpents. At the young age of eighteen, he was already disgusted by even the slight mention of their names.

The eldest son, Vester, voiced, "Father, it is just one boy. We don't need the ghost to kill him."

"The boy is not ordinary. He is treasured by Kase and Blaike. Someone like that has to be special. Remember, Kase hid him for years which speaks to the lengths of how much he cares for the boy. Do you understand? That is his reverse scale. His weakness. If we kill the boy, we hit Kase where it hurts the most. But we must do it right or it will all be for nothing."

Vester and Carver nodded attentively.

"Ahh, forget it. The boy can be dealt with later. It is good enough he is missing. Hahaha. I bet Kase is shitting his pants right now."

Vester asked, "What about the ghost? Her control over her instincts wanes. She's becoming a liability. Should we return her?"

"No, she still has uses. How else are we to take care of the serpents?" A smile formed on Fisher's face as he looked at his sons.

"Father, you mean…"

"Heh, they won't even know what hit them."

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Astral Realm, the Wildlands.

"Now what?" Raven narrowed his eyes at his surroundings.

The path of the white trees led to a narrow passage blocked by an ancient stone door that towered over him like a giant. Raven wasn't even sure he could see the top edge of the door.

'It has a thin slit in between. So that means it does open, right? Or should I just go back?'

He shook his head. There was no use going back at this point. He had to come too far to retreat now.

Instantly, the pull of the beacon flared, releasing whispers into his ears as he thought of going back.

"Sinner…"

"Heritage…"

"Soul…"

"Bone…"

"Blood..."

"Nature…"

"Karina…"

"Lorelei…"

"Thorne…"

Raven clutched his head as he felt tremendous pain surging within. Voices of different origins screamed in his head and he fell to his knees with blood cascading down his eyes. Their range of emotions overwhelmed his mind in a dominating tone.

"I get it alright. I'm not going anywhere. It was just a thought. Stop, please!" screamed Raven, hitting his head.

"Stop!!"

The voices ceased, disappearing into oblivion.

Raven released a breath and wheezed, "What the hell was that? Now I can't leave… Can I?"

"Alright. Let's leave what this door is all about."

If his guess was right, there was some sort of magical mechanism that held the door shut. He imagined even a giant would struggle to open this stone door.

As soon as he got closer to the door, an area of mystical symbols appeared on its rough surface. Oozing with an ancient aura, the symbols transformed into other forms until they settled into a set of characters that Raven was familiar with—English. The most common language in the Order. Growing up in the old world, Raven had naturally learnt English as well as some other major languages.

The symbols settled, and a stone basin appeared in front of the door.

Raven spoke the words presented to him;

"Through sin, we are shaped.

Through blood, we descend.

Unveil truth thicker than water.

Eternal we are, Children of the Damned."

The symbols pulsed as Raven finished chanting. Feeling he might be on the right track, Raven chanted two more times and waited. But nothing happened.

The silence was an answer in itself. Raven quickly understood that mere chanting wouldn't open the door.

 A thought hit him. 'Oh…it can't be that right.'

He gazed at the ancient passage and studiously deciphered it again. Immediately after, his eyes locked onto the sacrificial stone knife beside the basin. The knife reminded him of what his father used to kill him in the old world. Blades like that had only one perverse use.

Without hesitation, Raven grabbed the knife and slashed at his hand, opening a slit on his skin. He squirmed and squeezed his hand, widening the cut further.

Blood spilled from his hand into the basin. It emitted subtle chimes as the blood sizzled in the basin as though it was placed on a hot pot.

The door slowly jarred open.

'Bingo. They couldn't have been more obvious.' Raven smirked, feeling a wave of excitement.

He appeared in a narrow passage with glowing rocks leading the forward. Etched on the walls was the same ancient passage, written in red as if to leave an everlasting impression.

Raven mused, 'Eternal we are, Children of the Damned… is this some old cult? Really, why am I here?'

Minutes passed by, and Raven finally exited the passageway. His mouth gaped widely as he gazed at the hall.

It was beautiful, adorned with beautiful flowers of varying colours and tall statues with robes that had a mystifying feeling. Raven felt a tremendous sadness overwhelm him, transmitted undoubtedly from the very unnatural presence here. Were the statues depicting fallen members of this fellowship?

At the end of the hall, a throne made out of vines shone. Suddenly, an ethereal visage descended into the room. The beautiful lady in grey robes sat on the throne and gazed at Raven.

"Time has not favored us well, little bird." 

"Aren't you immortals?" Raven couldn't help but ask.

"Our immortality exists in blood bonds. The lineage. The clan will always stand. Eternal we are, Children of the Damned."