Chapter 21—The Foggy Colonnade 

Chael slowly pushed himself up from the tower floor with his muscles tense and his heart still hammering in his chest.

Echidna exhaled sharply and shook her head in disbelief.

"A dragon," she muttered. "The king of the skies. Just… just like that."

The knight's steps had faded into the depths of the mansion, but the tension in the air remained palpable.

Going anywhere near that mansion was a death wish. 

"Let's go," Chael said simply, gripping his spear and turning toward the stairs.

Echidna hesitated for half a second before following. Neither of them spoke as they descended the frozen steps, their movements careful, precise. Both of them were injured so movements which required a lot of effort like these steep and slippery steps put quite a bit of strain on their bodies.

Once down, Chael pivoted and started back toward the northern path.

Echidna huffed, quickening her pace to catch up. "So now you want to listen to me?"

Chael kept walking. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." She shot him a look, finally having caught up. "What, suddenly that creepy mist looks more appealing than whatever monstrosity lay in that mansion?"

Chael exhaled through his nose, "No. I just don't want to end up like that dragon."

Echidna let out a breathy chuckle. "So you do listen to reason."

"Not yours."

She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. They both knew the truth. She had been right. The northern path may be unnatural and possibly crawling with unknown dangers, but that should also mean they wouldn't come across anything that would make them feel hopelessly powerless. At least not in the same level as that knight.

They walked in silence, retracing their steps back through the settlement.

The streets were as empty and silent as before, the fog rolling lazily between the structures. Chael flicked his spearhead from side to side, watching the reflections for anything unnatural.

Echidna's posture hadn't relaxed at all. If anything, she looked even more tense now than before.

Soon they reached the split in the path once more.

The east stretched before them - a vast city of ruins, temples, and watchful spires which all led back toward that cursed mansion.

The north remained shrouded in mist. The colonnade stood tall, its countless pillars stretching into the unknown, their forms barely visible through the thick white fog.

Without a word, he stepped into the mist with Echinda closely behind him.

The first thing Chael noticed was a blur in his perspective.

Of course. This was a fog after all. Though his vision was much more blurry, he could still make out the shapes of Echinda and the pillars. At the very least, he'd still be able to defend himself with what little he could make out.

Several minutes into the path through the colonnade, voices entered his perception. It was similar to the ghost that they had encountered when they first entered the Yue Clan's territory.

Soon enough, Chael saw a blurry figure on their path.

A wispy shape flickered against the pale mist, its form barely distinguishable from the fog itself. It was on its knees and it rocked back and forth with its hands clutched to it's chest that had long since withered away. It's voice was quiet and trembling.

"The Saintess of Carnage… the scion of the Yue Clan... She hasn't perished. Oh she has fooled us! She walks among us still… bathed in the curse of the sacred one…"

Chael's fingers curled around the shaft of his broken spear.

Saintess of Carnage? The name meant nothing to him, but the weight of reverence and the sheer contradiction in its meaning made him awe-struck.

Before he could dwell on it, another voice rasped through the cold.

"The knight… that frozen tyrant… He walks again… He will not stop… He will not die… He will not rest… We will all perish beneath his blade… We will all perish…"

Echidna stiffened beside him, and Chael's face too grew solemn.

'Frozen tyrant? The knight? They all perished under his blade?'

"It must be talking about that monstrosity guarding the mansion..." Echinda finished his thought. "Just what the hell happened in this place?"

Chael furrowed his brows in thought and continued walking. 

And then, a third voice which was filled with bitterness, rage and sorrow appeared. Though this voice was vastly different from the others. Echinda's breath hitched.

"The Lord of the Bleeding Moon… He has forsaken us… He has forsaken the Crucible of Light...The sacred land of Nytheril is abandoned… Cursed be his name… Cursed be his blood… Curse him… curse him… curse all of them!"

Chael's head snapped toward the source of the voice.

This figure was different.

It was not as ghostly as the others and its body was more solid and much less withered. Unlike the other wailing spectres, it twitched and jerked violently as if rage alone had given it life again.

It stopped moving suddenly and turned to look at Chael and Echinda robotically, it head twisting in a very unnatural way. It's eyes glowed azure and it's teeth chattered.

Echinda drew her knife and Chael braced himself.

And then it lunged.

Chael's arm snapped forward, and the spearhead flew through the air, its silver gleam catching the blurry moonlight for a fraction of a second before it slammed into the figure's face.

The impact sent it crashing onto the frozen ground. It's body convulsed violently for a moment before finally going still.

Silence.

The other wailing spirits vanished instantly, as if snuffed out by the force of the attack.

Echidna exhaled sharply.

"No way," she muttered, dragging a hand down her face. "That one actually moved."

Chael approached slowly, his boots pressing against the ice. He crouched beside the fallen figure with an unreadable expression beneath the black cloth covering his eyes.

The spearhead was still embedded in its skull.

But there was no blood.

Not a single drop.

Chael exhaled through his nose. That confirmed it.

This thing, whatever it had been, was not alive. Not in any way that mattered at least.

His voice was low and steady.

"...What is this place?" He asked the twitching figure.

There was no response.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, tilting his head slightly. "Who is the Lord of the Bleeding Moon?"

A crooked, broken laugh bubbled from the figure's unmoving mouth.

Then - silence.

It stopped moving.

Chael exhaled sharply and reached forward, pulling the spearhead from its skull. He didn't flinch at the wet, fleshy sound it made as it came loose.

Echidna finally stepped beside him, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"This place…" she murmured, her breath misting in the cold. "It's called Nytheril."

"So it seems." He turned the spearhead in his fingers, its surface catching the dim glow of the twin moons.

"The Lord of the Bleeding Moon..." Chael stood silently for a moment then said slowly "I want to know more about him."

"Well, whoever the hell he was, his kingdom's a pile of corpses now." Echinda scoffed, crossing her arms.

Chael said nothing. He reattached the spearhead to the broken shaft as best as he could. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to do it.

"Let's go."

They continued walking. The colonnade didn't seem to end and though she didn't say anything, Chael could see her face getting more restless and pained the longer they walked through the reflection of his spear-head. It seemed her injuries were putting more and more of a strain on her.

It wasn't surprising, really. After all, she was still a normal human being and though Chael's injuries were worse, his constitution now was a lot better since he was a Harbinger.

The fog was finally starting to lift and Chael's vision grew clearer and clearer.

Another lamenting ghostly voice cut through the eerie silence.

"Once, the Hollowed Coir sang in praise of the divine… now their voices are but hollowed wails, a hymn of decay in service to the Saintess of Carnage."

Echinda looked at a ghost that came into their sight. It was knelt against one of the pillars and repeatedly bashed it's head against it but it vanished as soon as they got close.

Chael ignored it and simply comtinued walking.

Then, he suddenly stopped on track.

Because somewhere further down, he saw a reflection.

And it send a sent a cold shiver down his spine.