Chapter 38 - Streets and Shadows (Patreon)

The vision of Umbra continued, “You will need to prove yourselves. Lightbringers patrol the streets on this, my most holy of nights. Do not get caught, do not shed their blood, and arrive through the roof. Do this, and I will speak of an alliance.”

The shadow vanished and the room brightened once more.

Rose smirked, “Well, look at that. It appears someone got the attention of an Artificial Goddess.”

Echo and Fumi shared worried glances. They were warned by Malvir not to attract the attention of Artificial Gods.

Rose seemingly read their minds, “Not to worry. Umbra is…how shall I put this…the black sheep of the family.”

Echo swallowed the lump he just realized was in his throat. “That’s somewhat reassuring.”

Fumi frowned, “It’s a trap.”

Rose shook her head, “If she wanted you dead, that letter would have done the trick. Speaking of-” she wheeled on Narya the pixie. “In the future, have a guild attendant open the mail before you bring it here.”

Narya nodded as her body shook with fear before she dashed to her Ironwood house and sealed it up tight like a fortress.

Fumi gripped Echo’s arm, “I trust Rose. We should go.”

Rose cocked her head sideways for a second, “This would be the best time. It is Darkest Day, and in about thirty minutes, it will be the darkest time of the year.” Her icy façade cracked a small smile, “If you really want to impress her, get there exactly at midnight.”

Echo nodded and retrieved his equipment, gearing up alongside Fumi. He slotted the shield onto a hook on his back and sheathed his blade – reaching into a pocket dimension for his gear each time he needed it seemed foolish, given that they could be attacked at any moment while outside the Guild Hall.

The duo descended the stairs. For the first time since they had become adventurers, they were witness to a near-silent guild hall. A handful of adventuring companies were seated at tables, but they were speaking in hushed tones. Even the room seemed darker, with the shadows lengthened and murkier.

Rose told them of their destination – The Conflux of Creation. The first building on Heimfold. It housed the thrones of the Artificial Gods, and they rotated each season through who would have access. It was the only time that the Artificial Gods were supposed to be on Heimfold.

The two left the main double doors which opened into Saint’s Hold. The streets were empty, and the shadows moved about as if they had a mind of their own.

They made their way South of the Guild Hall’s doors and crept along the street – taking care to remain as silent as possible. With his Detect Abilities and Detect Magic, Echo could see several other people skulking about in the darkness, in the alleys, across the roofs, and even occasionally through a sewer culvert.

Worshippers of Umbra.

Rose had explained that Darkest Day was spent in contemplation. Normally, silent meditation on Umbra’s teachings whilst indoors at the darkest location possible. But, some risked their life and limb to see Umbra and her gathered high priests at The Conflux of Creation.

And it was a risk. The Lightbringers – Lux’s fanatical, martial church – would actively try and hunt down these worshippers of Umbra. And if those aspirants were found, they would be arrested, judged, and sentenced to a punishment – if not just killed outright.

Echo recalled that warning from the head of the Imperial Legions, a new God named Liam Swathmoore. He had told the two monsters that the Imperial military only kept the peace from other regions. The Holy Empire doesn’t interfere with the Gods.

The presence of these worshippers of Lux was just a constant reminder to Echo.

Lux wants us dead.

Rickard was hard at work once more.

On The Sun, Lux’s Afterlife, he toiled away not only for his own strength, but that of a new group of paladins – chosen clerics who were to be granted Lux’s radiant might just as he had.

They can enact my vengeance.

He was banned from going after Echo himself, being an angel and therefore considered direct intervention if he tried.

But these fanatics. These zealots. These Lightbringers would be his tool for vengeance.

“Come on! In her name! Lift!”

The varied-race clerics each put themselves to the task of pushing enormous boulders up alongside Rickard.

“If you want to serve her works, you must keep up!”

You need to be stronger than I was.

The two monsters continued their slow journey, creeping through the darkness. They had to duck into an alleyway, and they peered out as a group approached. Down the large boulevard, a sizable procession of fifty people wearing white robes and dressed in monk cassocks made their way towards the two.

Just like the Catholic Church back on Earth.

They carried bright, white lanterns on golden rods that blazed with divine energy. Echo could feel the Heat from their hiding spot a hundred yards away. The divine energy blazing and sapping his strength.

Damn, it’s those lanterns.

Rose had warned them of this – Sunburst Lanterns. Ten artifacts made by Lux herself that repressed all Quintessence, to the point that only divine magic fueled by a god’s Heat could work in the radius.

He waved Fumi back and they slinked down the alleyway. She tapped his shoulder, and once she had his attention, pointed straight up.

Echo nodded, and the two walked up the wall and stood on the three-story roof a few moments later. Leaving the proximity of the Sunburst Lantern, they both felt their Quintessence come back to them and heaved a sigh of relief.

They leapt from rooftop to rooftop, heading towards the largest building in Saint’s Hold. Far ahead, in the distance and illuminated by another procession that seemed to be standing guard, was a titanic structure. The facade was covered in Ionic-style columns. The white stone was the same as The Holy Wall. The Conflux of Creation.

It looks just like the Acropolis or a Roman temple.

More evidence towards Echo’s theory that some super-power creator deity – maybe one of the Prime Gods – had a hand in making both Earth and Heimfold.

The Lightbringers at the base of the temple posed a small problem. The light of the lanterns they carried extended well above the rooftops. Just being near the ledge sapped Echo’s strength.

He ducked down with Fumi to stay in the shadows. “What do we do?” he asked her.

Fumi glanced over the waist-high wall for a moment. “How high do you think we can jump?”

“Not sure. But we can’t use space spells – we don’t have the range to get from here to there.” The gap was easily one hundred meters across, and if they jumped, they would have to also arc well above the lantern-light.

“Want to try flying?” Fumi asked.

Echo chuckled, “Is that an option?”

She shrugged, “You never know until you try. Tell me how to make a spell.”

Echo walked her through the steps: Tap into the Quintessence within, envision the effect desired, determine an Affinity, name the spell.

Fumi looked into his eyes and breathed deeply. And what he saw shocked him. As their gaze met and she gathered her Quintessence, the black part of her eyes that surrounded her gorgeous green irises sparked with crimson light – the same flecks that marked Echo as a mage. Crimson, not prismatic – a reflection of her monstrous nature.

I guess she’s a mage, too, now.

He reasoned it must be because she had used enough spells that her body had undergone some sort of metamorphosis that only the eyes reflected – some transformation enacted when willpower shaped Affinity enough times.

“Flight,” Fumi whispered.

A billowing gust rose up around the two of them as Fumi’s green Quintessence vanished, replaced by a swirling tempest that surrounded them and lifted them into the sky.

“You did it!” Echo said as they soared higher and higher – well above the lantern’s radius.

Fumi looked at him with delight which quickly turned to panic. “I don’t know how to go sideways!”

“Just…think about going that way,” Echo said, trying to remain calm as he pointed to the Conflux down below that continued to shrink further and further from the two.

Fumi closed her eyes and the tempest lessened – the two floating gently downwards, and angling towards the Conflux.

Several tense minutes passed as her brow beaded with sweat from concentration.

They gently alighted on the top of the Conflux as Fumi cancelled the spell. She sagged in Echo’s grip, and he held her upright. “Good job, honey.”

Fumi grinned ear to ear, “That was tough. But…fun. I want to get better at flying.”

Echo smiled and kissed her gently.

“Ahem,” an unknown figure coughed next to them.

Echo whirled on the person, drawing his sword as he pushed his tired love behind him. “Who are you?”

The man raised his hands, “Calm. Just gatekeepin’.”

Echo nodded, sheathing his blade. “Umbra summoned us.”

“Oi, she did?” The man pulled a small black pouch from his waist. He put his hand inside and withdrew it, holding out a small, black rock. “Hold this. If ye be called by her, that’ll glow.”

Echo held out his palm and the man dropped the rock into it. The obsidian chunk flared with black energy that erupted in fountain of liquid shadow before sucking back into the rock.

“Ayup, you’re good.” The man gestured to a rigged rope that led down a hole into the building.

Fumi walked over and descended, Echo following shortly after.

“Damn your weakness!”

Rickard beat one of the paladin candidates.

“You push that boulder up that hill!”

The Green Scale Axan trembled under his withering glare. “I’m sorry! I can’t-”

Rickard reached down, lifting her up by the neck.

“No. Excuses.”

He squeezed, feeling satisfaction as her life slowly left her body.

He tossed the recruit to the side, and the rest redoubled their efforts.

You will be strong enough.

It was the only way he could get his vengeance.

The duo slid down the rope and landed in an enormous chamber. They alighted on a pedestal that was naught but a bronze-colored disc. An empty dais at the farthest end from the entrance – the light of the Sunburst Lanterns stopped by some entropic force at the vestibule.

Amidst the milling hooded and cloaked patrons of Umbra were six enormous thrones – easily twenty meters tall apiece with a plaque depicting the name of the represented Gods. Three thrones faced another three, and each was uniquely designed to reflect the Artificial God who sat in it.

The first on their right was a circular seat, bright as the azure sky and deepening to the darkest near black. A stool of sorts, nestled in a large pool of water girded with sapphire and fractal patterns of silver inlay. The plaque read Aqua, lady of waves.

Next to it was a throne of red quartz, hewn from a single titanic slab dredged from the bowels of the ground beneath. Inlaid with precious gemstones and rubies, jagged and sharp with angles that imposed a sense of danger. Terra, the mountain.

Last in the row was a throne of white marble, resplendent with gold inlay; a pristine and modest, but regal design with a flared back. Lux, the lady of light.

On the opposite side of the blue stool was a simple wooden chair, but in front of the seat was a brazier and anvil. Ignis, the fire of ingenuity.

Next to it, a throne of bark and branches seemingly formed from a single mighty oak tree that has been shaped and bent into the form. Spectral green animals slept at the foot of the tree. Caeli, the wind and the wilds.

Opposite Lux’s throne was a throne made from smoky black crystal. No inlays, no fancy designs. Pure, simple, crystalline darkness. This seat was occupied by a woman with skin black as the night sky, her eyes an unsettling red with no iris, and a mischievous smile belying her sweet and cruel nature, Umbra the lady of shadow.

One of the Artificial Gods in the flesh.

Echo felt a chill run through him. Her presence alone commanded attention. But the shadows that wound through the air and coiled around him were frigid.

Both Echo and Fumi craned their heads toward the ceiling. Above them was a black span. At the center was a three-dimensional representation of Heimfold. Swirling about it was a vortex of green-colored wind that turned the planet.

Throughout the miniature galaxy, a blue ribbon wended its way past several celestial bodies. Most prominent were a yellow, calm orb, and a blazing red orb. Accompanying those were three moons of varying shades – black, grey, and silver. Last, but most certainly not least, was the enormous asteroid belt that encircled the whole galaxy.

The different Afterlives

He couldn’t help but wonder if the various planets in Earth’s solar system were also Afterlives. Not just celestial bodies, but places where souls went when they died.

He looked down and was startled for a moment as they had become surrounded. He nudged Fumi and she brought her attention back as well.

A young man in a black set of clothes, brimming with daggers and vials, stood in front of them with his arms crossed, and said some nonsensical pass phrase.

Echo shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t understand.”

The man smirked and threw a vial into Echo’s face.

Echo caught the vial with ease, but the weak glass shattered in his grip, and a green powder flew around his head. “Poison...really?” He waved the substance away as the man drew back – as did the rest of the circle. “You haven’t heard of us?”

The circle quickly disbanded, but the one who had thrown the vial stood his ground. “Who are you? And how come your skin didn’t melt?”

Fumi stepped forward and unsheathed her blade with blinding speed, holding it up against the man’s throat.

“We’re the monsters of the Adventurer’s Guild. The Undying.”

She let the phrase linger in the air for a moment as the man’s face went pale. He quickly ran off as Fumi sheathed her weapon.

The two monsters walked to the end of a queue that led up to Umbra’s throne. It was going at a good pace – several black, deep blue, or purple robed figures were standing at her feet and receiving parishioners.

Echo saw Umbra’s lips moving, but no words came to his ears.

A squat man came up. He looked at Echo, “Whatever you do, do not address Umbra herself. Only the priest that receives you.” He walked along the line that had continued to form behind him, providing the same set of instructions in a bored monotone.

Fumi gripped Echo’s arm, tugging him down slightly. She whispered, “…We’re being watched.”

Echo frowned, “Well, we are outsiders here. And you did pull a weapon on one of them.”

Fumi shook her head, “…I only did that because they attacked you first.”

They slowly moved forward until, finally, they stood at the foot of Umbra’s throne. She looked down at them with a bemused expression. A Spriten with billowing, black flames for hair, and ashy skin waved them over.

The figure bowed slightly and gestured to a small container adjacent to him. “Please, your offering for the Goddess.”

Echo reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew two small, wooden blocks. “Alter Substance.” The wooden blocks shifted color and turned to Ironwood. Echo dropped them in the container as the Spriten’s mouth went agape.

“How…erm, thank you for your donation. What do you ask of our lady of darkness?”

Fumi spoke with confidence, glancing up at Umbra but directing her words to the priest, “She called for us.”

The priest nodded solemnly, “I will notify her you have arrived.”

He turned to Umbra and a stream of black energy flowed from his mouth to her ear.

Umbra immediately locked eyes with Echo and smiled, “I’ve been expecting you, little monsters.” Her words were sweet and dripped from her lips like honey. But there was venom there as well, a dire intent. A cunning wit lay behind the sweet tone.

Umbra gestured and a wave of Heat flowed from her. A black, spectral hand of shadows gently lifted both Echo and Fumi to her eye level.

“The monsters of the Adventurer’s Guild. The Undying, as you call yourselves.” She smiled; her words sounded as sweet as honey but carried a hint of malice. “Thank you for coming.”

Fumi nodded, speaking with no hint of fear despite being in front of this titanic being. “What did you want?”

“To test you.”

Echo swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, fear gripping him as he could feel the hostile intent and sense the overwhelming difference in power between them. Gripping Fumi’s hand steeled his resolve, and he nodded, “What type of test?”

Umbra’s red eyes seemed to pierce into Echo’s mind. “I want to see if you can overcome your greatest weakness.” She set them on the arm rest of her enormous throne before raising a finger over the two. “Pass my test. Or die.”

Echo felt his strength sapped away as he collapsed prone – his body unable to support himself anymore.

His grip went numb as panic raced through his mind.

No! I don’t want to die again.

He tried to squeeze Fumi’s hand futilely, but it was too weak to even feel her presence.

Darkness took his sight as he passed out.

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