Note: Cussing.
Alaric
I stood before the two pillars, looking up at the last rays of sunlight disappearing below the tree line; it was time.
Kimbra, Quinn, Reid, Barrett, Blair, and Nolo were already in position behind me as I cut the palm of my hand and allowed the blood to drip onto the stone before the pillars. Three drops fall onto the carved symbols and the air goes silent.
It was like everything froze in one moment.
I could feel my heart start to pound as the stone seemed to suck the blood into itself and the ground starts to shake. We braced ourselves as the pillars start to hum; the shaking intensifying as a black and purple vortex appears between the two pillars- the entrance to the Demon Realm.
I quickly heal my injury and stepped though the vortex, the sensation of being spun around before crashing onto my feet into the ground. I managed to keep my balance but when I looked behind me; I could tell that the others had some trouble.
Kimbra and Nolo seemed to have no problems and were dusting themselves off as Blair was quietly cussing underneath Reid who looked a little pale. Barrett had fallen to his knees but quickly stood up to pull Reid off Blair while Quinn seemed unfazed.
I could still hear her muttering behind me as I started forward, following the thin thread attached to my ring after opening the small box that Ilin had left to me. A light appears from the open box and settles on my hand, causing my skin to glow red.
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It was strange. The Demon Realm seemed normal but it was like all the colors were off; except for the violet sky. It was extremely unsettling and I could tell that I wasn't the only one who thought so.
"This place is giving me the creeps." Blair shivers, rubbing her arms as we all kept watch on our surroundings.
"It's lifeless." Nolo seemed to agree, his impassive face showing a rare frown. The rest don't say a word, though Quinn seemed more and more agitated with each step.
"It's there." I stopped and looked up to the place were Celestia was.
Before us was a large outcropping of jagged rock with a castle perched on top of it like a vulture on a tree branch. It was extremely unbalanced with towers in odd locations and seemed to lean to one side: like one good breeze and the entire castle would fall down into the deep chasm below.
It didn't look like much, the aura surrounding the place was enough to make even Dragons hesitate before it. Truly a place worthy to reside in the Demon Realm.
"So we can just walk up in there?" Blair crosses her arms with a huff. "Piece of cak-......"
I could hear everyone groan as creatures seemed to rise up out of the black ground and stood between us and the castle.
"You just HAD to say something." Barrett grumbles as we got into formation, as the number of creatures grow.
"Lets make a path." I shout as a creature lunges at me.
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3rd person observer
"Hmm." Radna stares down at the small group of people surrounded by creatures. "He came later than I thought."
He turns to look into the shadows with a smirk. "But it's already too late isn't it?"
When he doesn't receive any response from the hidden person, he returns to look back out the window.
"It's too boring to have them die on our doorstep." He waves his hand. "Let's give them a little hope before crushing it." His face twists into a evil grin and laughs as the hidden figure gazes down at Alaric and the rest of his party fought their way into the castle.
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Alaric
"Almost there! Get the door!" I yelled, holding back a creature with it's oversized jaw around my sword.
What Ilin had said was true, time ran differently in the Demon Realm and the light on my hand had faded significantly as we fought. I barely even registered the number of creatures that fell by my blade and focused on pushing through to the castle.
Barrett was on my left and Kimbra on my right as Reid and Blair struggled to open the large stone doors that blocked the entrance to the inside of the castle until Quinn joined them. Nolo used his bow until the string snapped and pulled out his sword, seeming to be dancing instead of fighting.
"Got it!!" Reid and Blair holler back, both ready to shut the door once we were all inside.
"Barrett, Nolo, Kimbra! Fall back and start shutting the door." I step forward, swinging my sword in a wide arc, killing five creatures with one sweep. I held back the creatures until I heard Kimbra shout my name before sprinting towards the stone doors and sliding in to the room as the others slammed the door closed with a resounding thud.
The only sounds in the room where of Reid and Blair panting as I stood up and looked around. The inside of the castle was empty, dirt covering the floor and stains on the walls that reached up to the ceiling, any painting that hung on the walls were either peeling and extremely faded or missing from it's frame entirely.
It was unnaturally cold and I could see my breath fogging up into the air each time I breathed.
"Can we get some light?" I hear Blair ask, it was extremely dim inside the large hall we stood in- I could barely see silhouettes of each member of my party.
They all huddled around Reid as he started to conjure magic from his staff as I took a few steps towards the dark end of the hall.
"Alaric?" Kimbra calls to me as light floods the hall, chasing away the darkness. "What's wrong?"
I stared at my ring, seeing that the thread had become stronger- which meant that Celestia is nearby.
"Tia?" I looked up, seeing something flash by in white. "Tia!"
"Whoa! Alaric!!" I could hear the surprised shouts behind me as I started sprinting, following the link between us. "Wait for us!"
We chased the figure through a maze of hallways which was impossible considering the size of the castle from the outside. Finally, we eventually caught up to the figure who was standing in what seemed to be an old throne room with tattered drapes hanging over a once-grand throne with faded cushions.
The floor and walls were almost identical to the hall we had entered into with a slight metallic and musty smell to it. The ceiling had what used to be a grand chandelier but now had dangling crystals hanging off of tarnished frame.
"So... Dizzy..." Reid pants, holding onto his staff like a cane. He wasn't the only one who was feeling like that, since the rest were also pale.
"Tia?" I stared at the figure in white, her long silver hair fell down her back like a waterfall; shining in the torches that were lit on the walls.
"I... don't think that's Tia." Kimbra came up to me and put her hand on my should seeming like she was ready to hold me back at any point, Quinn standing on the other side of me: strangely quiet. "Something feels off."
I knew that she was right, my mind was telling me that something was wrong but my heart didn't care- it wanted to run to Celestia and take her into my arms. As much as it pained me, I had to listen to my head this time.
"Your right." I finally agreed after a long pause. "Keep an eye out."
We all stared at the figure still standing in the center of the room, facing the throne room and lightly swaying to some invisible music. She raises her arms and starts dancing, her hair covering her face each time she spun, spinning faster and faster until her feet leave the ground and she seems to be floating in the air until abruptly stopping in midair.
I started to open my mouth when like a marionette getting it's strings cut, she falls. I lunge towards her, catching her before she hit the ground.
"Are you alright Tia?!" I ask, brushing her hair out of her face and pause as I could see that her face was completely gone, leaving only a mouth that opened up with sharp pointed teeth.
I quickly drop the creature as Kimbra swings her sword at it and daggers followed it as it retreated.
"First- a creepy old castle." Blair grumbles. "Now a freaky doll thing? Why do I still hang out with you all?"
"Cause we're your friends?" Barrett jokes, elbowing her as we circled up- looking for the creature. "No one else is as cool as we are."
"Since when were you cool Barrett?"
"Quiet." Kimbra hushes the two as we all listened to a strange metallic screech coming from above us.
We all looked up and quickly scattered; the creature had been swinging from the chandelier, causing the blots that held it to the ceiling to break and crash down on the location we were all standing.
"Everyone okay?" I call out, coughing from the amount of dust that flew up into the air. They sound off as we regrouped, double checking to make sure there were no injuries.
"Did you like my welcome committee?" A voice rings out, coming from the throne. We all tense, glaring at the man sitting in the chair. "No? Too bad."
"Radna." I said his name like a cuss word. "Where is Tia?"
"Of course." He reaches back as a hand appears from behind the moldy curtain, taking his. "Right besides me- where she'll be staying."
He leads out Celestia who was wearing a sultry black dress cut tanglizingly low down her breasts and hugged her curves. It contrasted against her pale white skin and silver hair; but I could tell that she had lost a lot of weight.
"Master!" Quinn confirmed my worst fear as we stared at Celestia who was made to sit in his lap.
"Tia." I called her name, waiting for any kind of response. "Tia!!"
But it was in vain; Celestias eyes were complete vacant and dull- almost like a puppet.
"What the F*CK! Did you do to her?!?!" I cussed, unable to remain calm causing Radna to grin wickedly.