The crack in the ground sealed up as soon as Lucien was dragged down. Stone-like liquid flowed over the open chasm and solidified, drowning the world in darkness.
Lucien struggled against the grip of stone, but it wouldn't budge. A shower of sparks momentarily lit up the world, allowing him to see the disembodied hand holding him.
Holding the Storm Blade with both arms, he brought it down on one of the fingers. The dark metal bounced off it harmlessly.
A feeling of dread crept up on him. Shaking his head, he tried it again. This time, imbuing the blade with all the storm in him.
Only for it to bounce off again.
'N-No way…'
For his attacks to have no effect whatsoever…It had to be at least a Corrupted Beast. If not stronger.
Just what kind of abomination had been whispering to him?
At least it didn't seem to hold malice towards him. He didn't know if that was good or bad. Resigning himself to his fate, Lucien dismissed his memories and waited.
Somewhere below him, a tiny source of light was getting closer and closer. Squinting his eyes, Lucien tried to get a proper look.
The first thing that caught his eye was the titanic corpse lying on the ground. It was curled up in a foetal position, hands on its knees. Its ruby-like eyes had lost their fire. Its stone-like armour had suffered devastating blows,; entire chunks of it were missing. The pale white skin underneath fared no better; deep cracks marred the once smooth stone. Still, it was nothing compared to the gaping hole in its chest, right above its heart.
A shiver went down Lucien's spine. He recognized that body. How could he not? After all, he was the one who killed it.
In the nightmare, of course. But that begged the question,: How did it get here?
The Stone Goliath was the Awakened Terror responsible for destroying the city of the Stormforged. That was in Storm's realm. Could his theory of the Forgotten Shores being from her realm actually be true?
As he got closer to the floor, another figure finally became visible. This one was much smaller than the goliath; in fact, it was only a little bit taller than him. But that wasn't to say it wasn't terrifying.
Because it absolutely was.
Wearing armour similar to his own, it blended into the shadows cast by the light. Its ruby-like eyes stared at him as he descended. Lucien could swear he saw a hint of satisfaction in them.
The stone arm holding him gently dropped him to the ground and disappeared, absorbed back into the mountain. Finally free from it, Lucien immediately activated his aspect and stepped away from the being.
"Are you the one whispering to me?" He asked as his memories manifested in a shower of sparks.
I don't know, am I?
He walked into the light, his arms spread wide. Lucien was sure he would be grinning if he had a mouth.
Welcome Stormborn, your destiny awaits.
"And what is that destiny?" Lucien asked warily, raising his spear up between them.
The being scoffed and spoke in a normal voice, "Please, if I wanted to hurt you, you would be dead already."
"And I should definitely believe a nightmare creature like you." Lucien retorted.
"Right, and a nightmare creature would be having a civilized conversation with you. Do you even hear yourself?" He ridiculed, "I'm not a corrupted being, I'm transcendent."
Lucien frowned, flaring his storm sense. He could clearly sense his bio-electricity and the taint of corruption within it. It was much weaker than any other nightmare creature he'd seen.
"Are you quite finished analyzing me?" There was a hint of irritation in his voice. "Is it so hard to trust me?"
"Yes," he said without missing a beat. "But I'm willing to trust you if you let me go back to my cohort."
He shook his head, "No, not yet."
"What do you mean 'not yet'?!"
"I brought you here for a reason. Once you have fulfilled it, I will take you back outside." His tone left no room for negotiation.
That only left him more confused. What kind of reason could he fulfill? He was just a sleeper. Albeit one with a divine aspect, but still. What could a sleeper possibly do for a corr- transcendent being?
"Why?" He asked, "Why are you so hellbent on getting me to 'embrace my destiny'? What could you possibly hold to gain from it?"
He shrugged, "It was the last command I received from my creator. I plan to honor it."
The creator of the stone children? There was only one being that fit that title.
"Nether?" Lucien said incredulously.
A daemon was interested in him? Why? Was it because he was a Stormborn? Or was it something else?
Something suddenly struck him.
Was that why his mother flinched when he mentioned Nether's name?
The sound of something cracking forced him out of his train of thought. Rays of white light suddenly fell upon the ground in front of him.
Frowning, Lucien stared up at the cracks. An incandescent source of light was shining through it.
'Nephis' white flames!' He realized, a kindling of hope making its way into his heart.
"Colour me surprised," The being said, staring at the ceiling, "They actually managed to break my seal."
Then, with a wave of his hand, he closed the crack again. Lucien's shoulders slumped down, and that spark of hope disappeared.
Sighing, he turned to his captor and said:
"Can I at least send them a message to let them know I'm alright?"
The being stared at him for a while before nodding. With another wave of his hand, a stone pipe descended from the ceiling, curving as it reached Lucien, and stopped right in front of his mouth.
Lucien stared at it in confusion, and then at the ceiling. There was no way his voice would reach that high.
"Just speak, they will hear it."
Nodding, he opened his mouth and began speaking.
Effie could do nothing but watch as Lucien was dragged away. The colossal stone hand was like a blur as it snatched him away into the deep crevice.
By the time they had reached it, it was already sealed. Even as she struck it again and again, its surface showed no signs of giving in.
It was hollow, that much she could tell. A mere wall of stone covering up the wound in the ground.
Then why did it remain unbroken even after all her strikes?
An incandescent light fell upon her, and she felt the power of the Dawn Shard wash over her. Nephis was standing beside her, sword in hand.
The rest of the cohort followed, and in a shower of sparks summoned their memories.
They had to break through and bring Lucien back, they would not just leave one of their own behind.
Summoning the Dusk Shard, Effie began her barrage of strikes once more. Her cohort did the same, some with their memories, some with their bare fists.
Soon a single crack tore through the stone. And then another, and another. Little by little, the ground began giving in.
And then it happened, a portion of the stone crumbled away to reveal the endless darkness underneath.
Nephis held her blazing sword above the opening, but she could not see very far.
"Sunny-"
"On it." Sunny interrupted, his shadow had already detached from his feet and was about to enter through the opening.
But before it could, the stone suddenly rippled and the hole was sealed.
"No!" Effie exclaimed, they had come so close to finding a way in!
In her frustration, she struck the ground with her shield once again. This time, it did not resonate with a hollow thump, instead a solid thud answered the blow.
The wall had gotten thicker, much thicker.
"No..." She echoed in a whisper. Just like that, their chances of breaking through had been destroyed.
Sunny on the other hand had a completely different expression. Right before the opening was sealed, he had managed to get a glimpse through the eyes of his shadow.
There, at the bottom of the ravine, something was looking up at him. It's ruby-like eyes stared through his shadow and right at him. It seemed to be taunting him, daring him to come down. There was a glint of intelligence in those eyes, intelligence that nightmare creatures didn't possess. In a way it sort of reminded him of Saint, and by extension that fallen bastard inside the cathedral.
And that terrified him. So much so that he almost commanded Saint to step back. He wanted to run away…again.
'Damnation.' He grumbled silently, 'Just what the hell have you gotten yourself into now Lucien.'
As if answering his thoughts, a stone pipe suddenly rose from the ground, and a very familiar voice came from it.
"Hey guys, I'm alright down here. Only been kidnapped by a Corrupted… what class are you again?"
Another voice could be vaguely heard in the background. It almost sounded…annoyed.
"Right, a Transcendent Tyrant." He said in an exasperated tone, but then his voice turned grim. "He's not someone we can fight right now."
Then he sighed, "At least he doesn't seem to want me dead yet, so that a silver lining. But he's also not going to let me leave. Something about embracing my destiny?"
"On the bright side," Lucien continued, "He says that if I successfully embrace it, he'll personally guide me out. Now I am not one to trust the words of a nightmare creature, but he claims he's not one of them. To his credit, the corruption in him is incredibly faint. Regardless, there is not much we can do, as I said we cannot hope to beat a saint as mere sleepers."
There was a pause, as if he was contemplating something. When he finally spoke, his voice was apologetic and sorrowful.
"I'm sorry for lying to you Effie, I didn't think the voices would lead to this. Ask Kai to explain later, I told him everything."
Sunny frowned. Voices? What voices? Had the peculiar hunter finally gone mad?
The voice from before returned once again, its words ineligible to the cohort.
After a while, Lucien sighed again, "He's growing impatient, I don't have much time left. So I'll make this quick. Leave me here and go back to the Dark City. I'll come back on my own. Trust me, I know my way around these parts."
And then his voice started distorting as if the connection was being interrupted. Sunny could barely make out three words:
"I won't die."
Then, it was gone, and the stone pipe crumbled to dust, leaving the cohort in silence.
It was Nephis who broke that silence first. Turning to face Kai, she asked:
"What did he mean by the voices?"
Kai was staring at the ground with a guilty expression on his face. If he had broken their promise and told the rest of the cohort, would this still have happened?
"Kai," Changing Star called him again.
Tearing his eyes away from the stone, he turned to face her.
"Lucien told us to ask you about it, what did he mean by voices?"
By this point the rest of the cohort had gathered around him, their eyes demanding an explanation. And so he told them what Lucien had told him.
Effie cursed loudly when he was done.
"That damn fool!" She exclaimed, "Why does he never take care of himself!"
Sunny nodded in agreement. What sort of madman would put others before themselves? He knew he wouldn't.
"All we can do now is trust that he will survive this." Caster joined in, although he wouldn't be too sad if the mannerless rat did die.
Throughout it all, however, Cassie remained silent. She was surprisingly calm, almost as if she expected this.
Sunny stared at her silently. Did she know what would happen? No, she wouldn't just stay there and let Lucien be taken…right?
As if sensing his gaze, the blind girl turned towards him and tilted her head in confusion.
"Is something wrong?"
Sunny shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong."
In the end, they decided to listen to Lucien and head back to the Dark City. Although none of them wanted to leave a man behind, for different reasons.
Nephis needed his strength for the upcoming coup after all. She was reluctant to leave one of their strongest members behind.
Effie simply did not want to abandon her oldest friend. One she saw almost as a little brother. She did not know how she would face Aletta once they returned to the city.
Kai had a similar reason. Although he had not known the mysterious hunter for long, he had still considered him a friend.
Although Caster was glad he was gone, he couldn't deny his usefulness. Their return journey would be tougher without him. They could not hitch a ride atop the walking statue again, so their only way was through the coral labyrinth. That, over anything else, would be a test of their endurance.
Cassie, on the other hand, seemed to hold a heavy weight on her back. The end was swiftly approaching, and her vision was on the cusp of fulfillment. Lucien's abduction was just the beginning.
And finally Sunny. He had always been a cynical person, growing up in the outskirts had made sure of that. As a result he did not have many friends. In fact, he had none. It was only after he became a sleeper that he managed to form a bond with other humans. As badly as that turned out. And although he was reluctant to admit it, Lucien had managed to squirm his way into that list.
The one person who kept him company even during his exile, and now, he was leaving him behind. Alone with a Corrupted Tyrant in the depths of the Hollow Mountains.
'Some friend I am.' He scoffed at himself. But that was just who he was, he ran in the face of danger. He hid in the shadows and acted only when it was to his advantage.
'Damnation.' He grumbled, shaking his head to clear these thoughts. 'Since when am I this depressing?'
Taking one last look at the sealed ravine, Sunny followed the rest of his cohort. It was time to leave.
The stone pipe crumbled before Lucien could finish his words.
"Really? You couldn't let me finish?" Lucien said, annoyed at the saint.
"Oh I'm sorry, do you want me to get you some tea and cakes as well while you have a pleasant conversation with your friends?"
Lucien looked at him strangely, "How do you even know what tea an-You know what, I'm not gonna ask."
Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, he said:
"So, what do you need me to do exactly?"
"Get through those doors to begin with." He said, pointing behind him.
Slowly turning around, Lucien found himself face to face with a massive stone door. It towered above him, at least a hundred meters in height. It was made of the same black stone as his now altered armour.
The strangest thing about it was how plain it was. If his companion hadn't told him about it, he probably wouldn't even have noticed it.
The doors had nothing on it, no handle, no keyhole, not even a seam. It seemed to be carved out of a single block of black stone. He couldn't even tell how it was supposed to open.
None of that concerned him at the moment, however. Because he had been warned of this door before.
"If you see a massive stone gate. Run." His mother had said. "Run and don't look back. Nothing good awaits you there."
But there was nowhere to go. Behind him, the corpse of the Stone Goliath rested against the wall of the ravine. The only way forward was through the doors.
'I'm sorry Mom, I'm going to have to break that promise.'
Uncaring for the turmoil in Lucien's mind, the Saint walked past him and placed a hand over the smooth stone.
Almost immediately, a thin vertical crack appeared in the ancient stone. Then the gates silently opened, and his companion looked back.
"Welcome, to the Citadel of the Underworld, where your destiny remains to be claimed."
Lucien steeled himself and walked forward into the darkness. And as he crossed the boundary of the gate, the ring on his finger shattered.
A choice was made, and a Daemons carefully crafted plan had finally begun.
End of Vol 1: Of Storm and Darkness