Chapter 14 - Shadowhaunt

August stepped past the illusory gate made of dark light at the edge of Naasis's lowest floor. This was Shadowhaunt, a strange dungeon that had appeared far below the palace many years prior. None of his scholars had been able to determine where it had come from, and he was only apprised of its existence when he had returned ten days prior.

As it hadn't done anything particular special in the years it had existed, they had simply blocked off any access to it using the seal of a certain Archknight's Spirit Contract. That and a constant guard, and it was put deep in the back of their minds.

Why had it chosen to act up now?

Because the Blackbaast was essentially a floating continent, its depths were only so deep. Most of the undercity was built at this bottommost layer of the Blackbaast, including the lowest floors of Naasis. But that meant that Shadowhaunt, which extended even further into the depths, couldn't possibly exist in the space that was left. It would have extended into the obsidian sea underneath the Blackbaast! 

This meant that Shadowhaunt, however it was possible, was a separate space from the world they inhabited. 

Needless to say, it was something that they were approaching with caution. That was why, for once, August had brought more than a single member of his household guard with him. Alongside the Archknight Gwennaude, whom was known most to him, always by his side, was also a senior member, the Archknight Lysia Elleste.

Lysia, holding a dagger in his teeth as he used both hands to drape a fur over his King's shoulders, murmured through the steel, "stay warm, your Grace. Just because you are 'the light' does not necessarily mean you are a stranger to illness."

"But I am, Lysia." August teased in response. "All illness fears me in the way that you fear small dogs."

"That's not true at all!" Lysia scoffed, humoured. "Only the one that Ellia leashes..."

"Ellia herself is a beast of a woman. When will you tame her, Gwennaude?" 

"Ellia is not a beast. And I do not wish to tame her." Gwennaude's eyebrow twitched instinctively. 

"Right, you only wish to lie with her." Lysia laughed aloud as they stepped further into the depths of the strange dungeon.

"Stop." August raised a hand to cease their movements, grimacing. He raised his free hand, blazing light dancing at his fingertips as their surroundings were illuminated.

A snarling beast lay face-to-face with August, its shallow, weak breaths exhaling clouds of smog past his form, miniscule in comparison. It was towering, resembling some strange mixture of a wolf with the many eyes of a spider, and claws as long as blades. 

Lysia and Gwennaude both drew their blades in an instant, their silver gleam reflecting the harsh glare of August's illumination, but he held his hand up yet still. "I don't think it will attack. You're too eager to kill, I think..."

While its front legs were certainly intact, wielding its fierce claws, there was certainly a reason why it was lying alone in the dark, its breathing growing soft and faded. Its back legs had been torn off, thrown to the side, with large streaks of crimson leading in between its missing appendages and its main body.

"What could have harmed you to this extent, I wonder? Are you the sort of creature that travels alone, or in a pack? Did your comrades abandon you after you grew unable to carry your own weight? Or were you alone from the start, and the fate you suffer is due to your solitude?"

The wolf-like creature just stared back at August, making no attempt to move forward to harm him. It whimpered slightly, placing its nose between its remaining paws. There was blood on its claws, various stains not matching its missing legs scattered around. It was strange...

"I'm sorry, but I just found myself a dog, I can't afford to rehabilitate another. And you, a wild beast, might not even like my company..." August bit his lip, reaching forward and placing a hand on its snout. It snarled slightly, but couldn't bear even that, and returned to its hushed and staggered breathing. Its eyes were weak, but they were filled with life. August could see that clearly, it was unbearable.

Gwennaude and Lysia began to chuckle as they looked at this. 

"Again, your Grace? Can't you bear to put it down? Look at its suffering." Lysia teased. 

August walked over to the limbs that had been tossed aside, sighing as he picked them both up, carrying them over to the dying beast.

"Perhaps I am weak-willed, dearest Lysia. Perhaps I don't have the heart necessary to allow someone or something to die so easily. Am I a fool? Perhaps. Maybe this beast will attack the moment it becomes capable, but I remain able to put it down without lifting a finger. Maybe my foolishness is born from my strength, perhaps it is the case that all men with strength are idiots."

"No, I think it's just you, your Grace." Gwennaude shook his head. 

August threw the limbs beside the beast, raising his hand as a brilliant light twisted in strands as it erupted from his open palm, embracing the limbs and curling around the body of the wolf-like creature. Dozens of bright, radiant flowers began blooming on the surface of its body, sprouting between the tufts of fur before letting off clouds of dazzling spores into the air. Slowly, the strands of light retracted, bringing the severed limbs closer to the wounds on its hind before gradually reforming tattered flesh. 

Bones which had fractured were gradually replaced, and sinew and muscle which had been torn and warped weaved itself back together, until the beast's hind legs had been healed completely. 

Gwennaude sighed, watching this event. "I just feel its a waste of time. We could have eaten good."

"Would you like to eat a strange beast from a dungeon that does not even exist in a physical space, Gwennaude? I didn't take you for a man of risk. What if you caught some strange illness from it?"

"You forget, your Grace. I have you. If I stick close, all illness will be scared away." Gwennaude grinned. 

Lysia scoffed, glancing away. "You fools."

In an instant, as soon as it had adequately recovered its strength and acclimated to the reappearance of its limbs, the wolf beast scrambled to its feet, dashing away into the distant fog. August was almost sad to see it go, but was glad it hadn't been a threat. This was certainly closure for his aching heart, weak in its will.

But there were more important issues ahead!

"I'll be doing some scouting ahead, so watch my body." August said casually as he sat down, lying on his back on the cold rocky soil below before closing his eyes. He soon fell into a deep slumber, his Archknights rushing to kneel beside him as they drew their blades. 

August became innately aware of his surroundings in his sleep, and using this opportunity, began to utter words unconsciously. 

"The Master of the Blackbaast, Outerborn of the Sea who embodies the waters, the Last Lord of Light and Shadow."

These words had an illusory, incomprehensible quality to Gwennaude and Lysia, as if they had been spoken in a completely different language. Still, they watched as August arose from his slumber, standing straight up as he glanced around. Yet, his main body remained on the floor of Shadowhaunt, fast asleep. 

This was his secondary scouting form, the Avatar of the Blackbaast!

[+++]

Masha rushed through the dilapidated stone fortress, thick moss and briars threatening to entrap his steps below as he let out exhausted pants. Corrin clung to his back, and Eshent, his head still pulsing with pain, tucked underneath his left arm. His right arm, missing almost in its entirety, was left in tatters, the sleeve of his shirt coated in thick stains of crimson. 

Corrin had already tied the lace from her hair around his wound, but even that proved futile. Masha could feel his strength ebbing with every step. He had injured the beast that had followed, that damned wolf...

Still, he knew there was danger about! He had to find a way out, and quick, before he could no longer move, and Eshent and Corrin were left to their own devices in the strange hellscape they had appeared in.

When he was able to recover some of his senses, only in short periods before he was racked with intense vertigo and agony, Eshent managed to choke out a couple of questions. "You're a Spirit User?" Eshent exclaimed, grimacing.

"Both of us." Masha spoke through gritted teeth, bearing the pain in his harsh, long strides. "This was the extent of our father's obsession!"

His left eye had begun to glow a stark, violent brown, intermingled with specks and swirls of crimson red. The upper-half of his face had been obscured by a half-mask, resembling a bear in its metallic embellishments. For a period of time, he was able to exhibit inhuman strength, akin to ten-times what he would normally be able to do. Since he had trained his body with extensive physical labour, this amount was exceedingly impressive, but its cost was dire. 

Any injuries he suffered would be grave, his Spirit was simply a sadist! This was what had gotten them into such a precarious situation...

"Those 'images' you see, those 'names' you learn, all of those daydreams... I'm positive they will all become real, become true in your future! I had hoped it would be free of danger, I didn't want to tell you this much..." His breathing had grown staggered, stumbling as he tried to move forward. In the center of the city, Masha dropped to the floor, his body feeling intensely heavy. Each muscle spasmed, an agony unparalleled, and he couldn't bear his own consciousness much more. 

"I saw this place!" Eshent exclaimed, grasping at his own head. Countless images still paraded through his mind, shouting and murmurings erupting like a dissonant cacophony inside his head. "If- if you had told me I could see things like this... would we have ended up like this!? You- you might not be..."

Corrin fell from Masha's back, rushing to her older brother's side. 

"Masha!" 

Blood spilled out onto the stone paving of the fortress below, their older brother's eyes glassy and hollow. No breath escaped his lips, his chest unmoving, his voice silent.

Masha had gone far away, as he had promised their life at the cost of his.