Chapter Three: Whispering Shadows

    They spiraled up the endless ascent, tired, barely breathing, hearts punching, yearning for discovery, for redemption. To redeem themselves, to prove their worth. The tower felt like it would go on forever. The duo proceeded with utmost caution. Thinking that there would be little traps set up to scare. Ohh but she plays far too well then that. If she set up this wretched metropolis, she could've set many traps irreplaceable. Yet she assumed no one would ever even get this far. Let alone free him. "What's the deal with that shadow guy?" Johanne rolled her eyes after asking such a benevolent question. But she kept moving. Her goal? To not look back to where she came from. To do something that would get her at least a little bit of recognition from her ignorant father. "Whatever his deal is, that guy saved our lives twice now, we gotta be grateful" Oliver whispered, while keeping his pace steady, to not stop when he has come so far. "Who do you think it could be?" Johanne gracefully asked. Finally turning her head back, too curious to let go. "At first I thought that the forest was somehow sentient, but I have come to realize that a forest cursed to fool and drown us would not be protecting us. Then I thought it could be a loose string. Like a spell gained consciousness. But that is highly unlikely  because as far as I have studied about magic from ancient manuscripts, spells cannot gain consciousness unless programmed to do so. Neither can they possess such power all at once. So my current guess is..." He paused for a mere moment. To reflect on his thoughts. To examine, to rethink what it could've been. "Nothing.". "What do you mean nothing? So shall I say, nothing is helping us? Nothing saved our lives twice?" She turned back, eye to eye with Oliver, "I think it's a wizard" she hastily whispered, like something was watching. "Why would you possibly think that?". "I mean, the guy has a long cloak, magic chains, teleportation, illusions, why would he possibly not be a wizard?!" . "Just when I started to think you couldn't lose more sanity". Johanne, busy wondering of the shadow, hit her head on the roof. “Ouch” She sarcastically exclaimed, rubbing her head. “Look! There, it’s a hatch!”. “Jee, I know Olive, I just bumped my head on it.”. “Open it you idiot!”. “Okay Okay wait.” Johanne pointed the match towards the top, “How do I open it now Oliver, there’s no handle?”. “Oh you royal freaks” Oliver frowned, “Just push it up, hatches don’t have handles on the bottom”. Johanne finally opened the hatch, light, for the first time since they started scaling the mountain at sunrise. The air around felt…mystic. As if it was whispering secrets not meant to be deciphered. It smelled of delight. Whether it’d be the smell of freshly baked cookies from childhood, or the aroma of your favourite fragrance. It was…ethereal, surreal, beauty not in looks, but in spirit. This was fate. How these outlandish fools managed to surpass explorers older than age that had worked their lives off just to discover this very place. To their spirits, this would be of utmost disrespect, yet somehow, fate allowed them to proceed. Were these children, somehow, special? Perhaps it was the courtesy of the cruelest jam of all, ambition. These morons held what those prodigies lacked, ambition. They had a purpose. A flame. A flame the rain couldn’t blow out. Every gust, not weakened it, but lifted it into something greater. They stood out the hatch, stealing glances in awe, in wonder of what they had come across. And what these idiots discovered…was truly special. I had heard her talk about him. But I never thought I’d come to free him. The poor beast. Johanne and Oliver stood at the gate of the prison. A prison such beautifully staged, everything was a sculpture to her wasn’t it? Every imperfection she could edit. The dusk just made it more elegant. Though this fake elegance never pleased me. “What now, Johanne?” He whispered, still gazing upon the temple, like a child stares at his trophies after a victory. Johanne shared similar feelings. She knew nothing of what lay beyond that gate. But she sure hoped her voyage would not be over. “We move forward!” Johanne whispered back, with the flare in her eyes burning brighter than ever, she was a child that had just received her prize for endurance. Endurance to hatred. Endurance to neglect. Endurance to rejection. Could I ever achieve something like this? A time where my assistance would be appreciated and not just left in the shadows. No, this was never meant for me. Not every soul can be so blessed. Not every soul brings light to this world. They proceeded, pushing the gates of the guard. Together, united, like ever before, their unity waas their strength. I would not know of course. They opened a gate untouched in millennia, seemingly untouched by time as well. And inside, behind the veil of shade, lay a beast, a giant beast with claws bigger than any animal that had roamed this planet. It seemed like a bear. Yet it stood on two legs, Like mankind. It was humongous. “Whoa whoa whoa Johanne, slow down, you sure you wanna go forward?”. Her celestial gaze met his, her eyes screaming just how absurd they perceived this question to be. “Yes Oliver, we’ve come this far, what’s the point of running back now?!”. The beast was in chains, nothing like I’d witnessed before, but thanks to her, I knew more than anyone. These chains were not the real obstacle. Yet they were perceived as binders to the ordinary. A chain for his arm. A chain for his leg. A chain for his neck. A chain reserved for every limb. They bound the body…not the soul. “Hey shadow man. I know you’re here. If you really want to help us, now would be a good time to show up!” she exclaimed as if she knew the shadow was watching. How could she not. The figure had made it ever so clear. “What are you doing Johanne?! Outta all your crazy whack ideas, this might just be the worst of them all. You’ve seen how powerful that…thing is. It can—”. Cracks. Thunderous cracks were heard. No visuals. Just sound. The mountain breathed. Shaking, shivering to the cold of a being of ice. Emotionless, frozen heart. The ground trembled as a massive earthquake hit them with such force that it placed a crack in the very mountain that housed a million lost souls. And the chains? Shattered to bits. Pieces unobservable by human eyes. With such precision that it could scare even a surgeon’s scalpel. There was nothing to see. These flashes of thunder were blinding. This force was…fueled. Fueled by hatred. By distance. By the absence of love. By torment. By time. By life. By meaningless haunting existence. Could that be true? It sure was. The ground shook once more. Glyphs on the walls of the temple glowed with violet runes. Ashes from purple flames lit around the ground rose up into the air. The fire, burning heavier than ever. Last time I presume, it burnt 2000 years ago. The beast began changing. Rapidly. Once a beast. Now a toad. Then a jaguar. Now a dog. Now a giant tree. Now a stone boulder. Until finally settling as a boy. One not older than 17 in form. But a soul as old as ancient Qurem. An empire fueled by war. Long before Voxerena took the throne. A place fed by power. The boy was its final, original form. Nothing new. Nothing old. Nothing big. Nothing bold. Just pure wicked vulnerability. The boy wore silver robes. They were made of fabric that age could do nothing to tear. It was impenetrable to time. Yet somehow softer than silk. The boy lay in slumber, not awakened by the havoc wrecked around. Of course, her majesty’s curse could not be so easily broken. She had planned something else. “The shackles…” The voice whispered, low and eerie as ever, “Those cursed shackles…take them off!” Joahnne and Oliver were more frightened than ever. They could not comprehend what was going around them. They were never meant to. Somehow they got this far…and it doesn’t look like they’ll get further. “Hey Oliver! I think the shadow guy is trying to tell us to take off those things around his hands!”. “Roger that!” They both ran towards the boy, and began removing the shackles on his wrists. They slid off like bracelets. They were never meant to be hard to remove. No one was ever meant to reach this far. Never. These shackles were cursed. The wearer would be cursed to eternal sleep. To never be able to awaken himself. Only to be awakened by another. Oliver and Johanne both sat by the boy. “What now Joe?”. “I don’t know. I guess something’s supposed to happen.”. “I’m telling you Johanne if this guy is dead then—”. “Look!”. The boy’s hand twitched. He started opening his eyes. He sat up the speed of thunder. Like he had just awakened from a nightmare. “What is this place?!” “Who are you?!” “Relax dude, at least show a bit of gratitude” Oliver was a little disappointed at their discovery. No ground breaking treasure. No giant beast. No gold, no diamond, no jewels, no power, no magic, just a boy. “Look, we don’t know what happened to you, but you were kind of asleep for a long long time. And you’re gonna tell us why”. The boy was confused. Almost lost. He did not know who these people were, neither did he know how they knew of him. He looked surprised. But not vulnerable. “Tell me who you are first!”. “Ahem, we just saved you from a long nap. Do you know how much struggle this quest put us in? Whether you like it or not, you are coming with us!”. Johanne’s fierce facade could fool almost anyone. Even I fell for it the first time I saw it. The boy hesitantly agreed. He did not trust them. How could he? Someone betrayed by his most trusted people. Someone who only wanted the best but got traitors instead. He had every right not to trust them. “You gonna tell us your name or what?” Johanne asked with that very same fiery look. “Ithair” He whispered. Lowering his head, as if he did not perceive this name as pride anymore. 

“Come on Johanne, let’s get going.” Oliver leaned in closer, “You sure taking this bozo is a good idea?”. “Oliver, come on. You know better than that.” The ground started shaking again. But not quite like before. A subtle, elegant, quake. The air gusted across, the fires burnt out. The gates quivering, trembling, as if wind was knocking on the door. The rubble scattered around, now turned into lilac petals,lifting up into the air. A beautiful dance of mystique. Boom!. The gates sprang open. With wind fiercer than ever. It rushed inside like an uninvited guest at a family reunion. It was a guest indeed. Someone uninvited. Someone cruel. Cruel enough to make a prison out of glass and drain you like you’re no being. Just a source. But it’s fate. Some were luckier. The violet petals rose up, swirling in the air, dancing with such elegance, they were flowing in a tide, beautiful as ever, just like last time. The petals gathered, the wind obeyed, something more powerful than shadows and light, she was the embodiment…of control. Her face covered. By a hood older than time. She wore dark, abyssal robes, highlighted with cosmic purple threading. It was majestic as always. And even more frightening. She lifted her head up. “Tsk tsk tsk. Children. Oh you silly kids. Don’t worry. I know, children make mistakes.” She softly chuckled. Ever so blood-curdling.  “Now hand the beast over to me, and I shall forgive you. Do we have a deal, my child?” Her smile turned to a smirk. Her eyes, glowing in the dark with a celestial glow. Deep as the abyss, lighter than shallow waters. Beauty? She was always the master of it. Nothing had ever been more majestic than her smirks and smiles. Or maybe I’d grown obsessed. “Now way, woman! And who are you to question us?”. “Silence! I am the keeper of power, The master of control, the sorceress of 50 lifetimes, the eternal force that keeps balance. And your actions threaten my motives. I am not bound to explanations. Hand the boy to me! Or perish here. Lost to time.” Her voice unscathed. Nothing scared her anymore. She had seen it all. Beauty, ugliness, bad, better, worse. She had seen the fall of empires. The grotesque nature of power. The reality of community. The corruption power could grant. She took it on herself. Nothing could escape her grasp. She was control. “No.” Johanne looked her in the eyes. Unscathed. She might’ve seen eternity. But Johanne? Oh she was the flame that could burn through time. “Make me.” She knew exactly what kind of choice she had made. These could very well be her last words. Yet she said them like they were just another drop in the ocean. She challenged the flow. She challenged the Cascade. “Ohh,” she chuckled, harder this time, “Show me what you’ve got” “Dear sorceress, how long I’ve waited for this moment. Revenge…” Ithair looked the woman dead in the eye. Such courage. Or maybe…he yearned for vengeance.  The sorceress waved her hand in the air. The dust turned violet, tendrils, freed from the cosmic abyss behind her gaze. Violet in color, violent in nature. Ithair tooks form, a giant bear, then a cryptid led by fury, a tiger that scratched through space, a falcon that saw through dimensions, a beast that could tear through vision. Johanne and Oliver stood behind to watch. Oliver, ever so sly, took out a weapon. It was a shooter powered by one of the cubes they called, mystek. “Wait a second! You had that thing in your bag this whole time!”. “You never know when you’ll need it” Oliver began aiming for the sorceress, yet her stare gazed through hearts, a gun was no obstacle for the queen of control. Her magic tendrils grabbed onto Oliver, strangling him like a serpent hungry or far too long. Another snake slithered through the dungeon and wrapped itself around Johanne’s neck. Oh she was furious now. Johanne and Oliver were no match for her. And the beast? She manifested a titanic snake larger than any serpent to have ever roamed this wretched planet. The tendrils strangled Johanne and Oliver, and the serpent now suffocating Ithair. The trio was losing badly. If this were to go one any longer, then their lives would be done for. “Sha-a-dow” Johanne called, struggling to even get air. The witch laughed. Not maniacally, but with elegance. And that was the frightening bit. Her elegance was worse than any cruelty in this known universe. “Oh shadow,” She called, her voice, soothing like a mother humming a lullaby, and a child that had just won the game of hide and seek “I sense you, Dulmer” Her voice was slower this time. She had called someone. She called him Dulmer. The trio strangled in breathless torment, the sorceress, about to lock up the boy that slept for millennia. And the shadow? Oh he was watching. The wind rushed once more. The violet petals turned a darker shade of azure. They too lifted up into the air. But not with the same elegant flow of the sorceress. They were wild. They were free. They lifted up, and hurled around in the wind, like a hurricane unchained. The gust blew one last time.  The room was pushed into shadows. Everything, gone. Vision was all lost to the darkness brought by the veil of shadows that covered every square inch of the temple. “So you’ve come to fight me? Your captor? Your master? Your owner?” “Nothing…owns…me” The voice whispered, slow as time in the nether, saving up its anger for the right moment. And then it lifted. The veil lifted. The darkness…gone. Or maybe not. All the shadows gathered at one place, the sorceress’s grounds. And then tackled the witch, disappearing into thin air. All the tendrils faded. The serpent turned back into lilac petals. And all the tension was relieved in a moment. All thanks to the shadow. It took the sorceress and disappeared, just like the towering stone giant. It saved them thrice now. The shadow had taken her to another place. A place between dimensions. A pocket dimension. Empty spaces in space. Livable, but unreachable without magic. The shadow took form. The figure in stormy coats. The one with abyssal cloaks. And the one with blue chains. He wore not robes, but a modern practical outfit. Still maintaining its medieval look. He carried millennia in his eyes. He wore an abyssal black cloak, enough to hide centuries. “Why not let them live in peace Avaniya?!” He waved his hand, creating a window to the temple of Ithair, where Johanne, Oliver, and Ithair stood, breathless, unable to comprehend what was going on, “Why do the same to them what you did with me?!”. “Dulmer! What I did to you, was justified. And they threaten my mission. You of all people should know!”. “How was anything you did to me justified Avaniya?! What wrong did I do to you?! What did I do to deserve this?!”. “I had a cause. And you already know of it.”. “You locked me in a glass cage for nearly fifty lifetimes! There is no cause that could justify such actions. You stole away everything I had! Just so you could benefit from a curse that I carried? That was your ambition. And you stole my childhood for it!”. Dulmer stretched his arm, forming dark, sapphire chains, trying to capture the sorceress, but she? Oh she was faster than the thunder Dulmer carried. She dodged every single chain with ease. It was her turn now. She called out a million violet tendrils, all strangling, suffocating Dulmer. He was trapped once more. Just like last time. Or perhaps this time was different. He dissolved into the shadows. And thankfully, shadows were all that pocket dimensions contained. He disintegrated and reformed behind Avaniya. She was far too powerful to be defeated so easily. She looked behind from the sidelines of her beautiful, violet eyes, She foresaw it. She sent her magic tendrils after him, but he was agile too. He faded, then reappeared, closer this time. “I’m sorry, Dulmer. Our fight will have to wait. But don’t worry, we’ll be meeting again. Soon.” She waved her hand, ever so elegantly, and all the tendrils faded. She formed a new one, aiming right for his throat. He couldn’t transform this time though. She had flooded the place with light. A place that gave no shadows to hide behind. Only raw, natural power. She suffocated him. Then came more sorcery, this time, they weren’t tendrils. This time, they were vines with thorns, they enchained him, each vine digging deeper than the last. Making cuts throughout his body. He was badly injured. Out of breath. Far worse than the trio. For these vines…they carried hate. “Goodbye, Dulmer” Avaniya warped through space. She disappeared. Leaving Dulmer wounded, weak, breathless. He somehow mustered up enough energy to go back to the first dimension. He, too, faded.