The moment June sat down, his attention left the hall, and he dove within himself. He needed to address these lingering feelings and desires within him. Even if he had gotten them from the visions, they existed now, embedded deep within his heart and mind, their claws digging in and latching on like a leech drinking his blood.
Whenever he laid eyes on Reyah and Yisha, his heart would flutter and his stomach would twist. The irrationality of these feelings left him wanting yet angry, not at anyone in particular, but with himself. It felt like a betrayal to Natalie. These wanton feelings of love, lust, and longing frayed his mind and emotions.
How could he love them? Even if it wasn't real, his heart still desired it. Yet it was reprehensible. To desire more than one woman went against his very core as a husband loyal to his wife. His dead wife.
June's heart fell once more at the reminder, his anger rising. It hadn't even been an hour since he discovered her fate, and here he was, arguing with himself over fictional feelings for women he didn't even know. But they weren't fictional, not anymore. Not to mention that they were both exquisitely beautiful women; in fact, every woman he had met on Syrova thus far was beautiful.
It was like a cruel joke. Or a test from God. Maybe even both. One hundred fifty thousand years trapped within the Dungeon repository had forced celibacy on him. Now, temptation surrounded him, driven worse by his grief. He remained strong, but his will was crumbling. He had to tread carefully, lest he give in to his desires.
He sighed as Hivengel's Aura brushed against him. It was so weak that he didn't even acknowledge it, choosing to remain engrossed in his own brooding.
However, Sarah's sudden voice cut through him like a tolling church bell, breaking the somber silence of a funeral.
I understand what you're going through, June. But wouldn't it be easier to accept these feelings as they are and either pursue or ignore them?
Her question elicited a light chuckle from him.
That's easier said than done, Sarah. We humans are ruled by our emotions.
He could feel her rolling her nonexistent eyes at him.
Could you not remind me? Two centuries of your life wasted because of some fickle and fleeting emotions. If you weren't in the Repository, that wasted time really could have affected your Cultivation path.
A light smile fluttered across his face.
Maybe, but these emotions we have, no matter how fickle or fleeting, are an intrinsic part of who we are. And that's the beauty of it. All the negative emotions we have are closely tied to the positive, just as the Concepts of Duality are. You can't have one without the other.
Even if it were true, it's still one of life's many fallacies.For example, your inner turmoil. Why go through all this for the sake of love, especially for a deceased person? It all seems counterintuitive.
June scoffed.
Believe what you want, but it's my inner turmoil that breathes life into my love for Natalie. I know it was real—is real, because of it. Now, these feelings for Reyah and Yisha were conceived in the visions, not organically. They're more like ghosts from a distant future, sent to torment me. And maybe they are; who knows what goes on in the mind of an Abyss Dweller?
Sarah went quiet for a moment before speaking again.
If you already know that, then why struggle to discard these feelings?
Like I said, that's easier said than done. The mind knows one thing, yet the heart will feel another, as you would say, another fallacy of life.
Sarah sighed audibly.
There are just some things about living life forms that I'll never understand.
Even after having spent all these millennia with me, you haven't picked up on anything?
Only that you humans are full of contradictions.
Of course we are.
However, before he could continue his conversation with Sarah, Reyah called out to him, a question in her beautiful, sultry voice. "Why is she still alive?"
Her slight accent reminded him of several Scandinavian accents blended to form her own unique voice.
"I thought you, of all people, would understand," June said, rising from his seat. "Were you not once a prisoner in your own mind, compelled only to please your Master?"
Reyah shrank back a bit at his rebuke, her face morphing from disgust to a pained grimace.
June already knew how the battle ended the whole time, even though he was deep in thought, so the sight of Hivengel's headless corpse didn't surprise him. One of the many perks of having a mind in the Divine Realm.
Instead of immediately leaving the throne, he turned to Keyvarah. She was a mess. She sat hunched over, tears and snot dribbling down her pale, sweat-soaked face as she emptied her stomach onto the floor. Her body visibly trembled while her voice grew hoarse from the crying and vomiting.
June knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, infusing her with Life Essence. Life returned to her face, and her shaking body settled. Her crimson eyes rose to meet his, and he produced a handkerchief from his spatial dimension. With his free hand, he moved her auburn hair out of the way before gently wiping her tears with the handkerchief.
His actions left her speechless as he continued to clean her face. It was only when he brushed against her lower lip that she came out of her stupor.
"Are you a knight sent by my father to rescue me?" she asked in a light and breathy voice.
"No, Lady Oltharin," June said with a warm smile, "I'm just a traveler."
A thin smile spread across her face as she gazed up at him. But then her eyes suddenly shifted down, and her face scrunched up in disgust when she saw the pile of puke before her.
"Oh my," she said, backing up slightly. "How unseemly of me."
June chuckled as he moved to the side, avoiding the mess on the ground, and continued to clean her face. "Not at all, in fact, I'd say it was an appropriate response to what you've had to endure for the past two years."
Her smile fell at his reminder, yet that didn't deter June. "Besides, you'll come out of this stronger than before."
"How? Because I'm now a Vampire?" she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
June shook his head. "It's not what you are that makes you strong, but who you are."
Tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes. "I can barely even recognize this… this monster I've become."
June finished cleaning her face and soaked the handkerchief in water that he summoned with Water Essence. "That's not who I see when I look at you."
Her eyes narrowed skeptically at him. "And who is it that you see?"
June stood and offered her his hand. She graciously accepted, and he pulled her to her feet. She wobbled, unsteady, for a moment. But June held her tight, her hand in his, and his free arm wrapped around her back, hand on her hip to steady her. "I've got you."
When she regained her balance, June released her and took a step back. "I see a woman who is a fighter and a survivor."
He gave her arm a good squeeze, then released her and turned to leave. But before he could leave, she grabbed his hand, preventing him from going. "What is your name?"
June clasped her silk-smooth hand in both his and gave it a slight shake, throwing her a charming smile. "It's June-Tae, but you can just call me June."
He released her hand and bowed. "My lady."
He turned and walked by Reyah, sending her a telekinetic message using Psionic Essence.
Keep an eye on her.
Before she could even answer, June walked past her, collecting the Soul Crystals from the dead Thralls. He walked a few feet from them before opening a portal back to the Shining Arrow Guild's camp.
He stepped through and found Urzenkeil sitting by a campfire with Quin. They both rose to their feet, each with very different reactions to his appearance. Quin remained stoic, unsurprised by his return. Urzenkeil, on the other hand, had pulled a sword from his spatial device, readying himself for a fight before realization hit him.
"June?" Urzenkeil asked, the sword disappearing. "What are you doing coming back so soon?"
"It's done," he said, stepping through. "I need you to grab your men and follow me."
Confusion fell over Urzenkeil's face, but he did as June asked, gathering the remaining members of the Guild. June turned to Quin and sent her a telepathic message.
Stay here and watch over Yisha and Draxxus.
Quin gave him a nod before he led the Guild through and into the castle.
On the other side of the portal, Keyvarah stood near the throne, observing as he returned with the Shining Arrow Guild. Reyah stood a few feet away, also watching as the Guild members summoned their weapons from their storage devices; their eyes locked onto the two Vampires.
"Whoa there," June said, stepping in between the Guild and the Vampires. "These two are good."
"What do you mean?" Urzenkeil snarled, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"Yeah!" Merriam pipped in. "Why are you protecting those two Vampires?"
"These two were not here of their own volition," June said, stepping up to Urzenkeil and Merriam. "They were just as much prisoners here as those below our very feet are right now."
Urzenkeil looked down at his feet in confusion. "Prisoners?"
"Yeah," June said, leading them toward the doors. "There's a dungeon down there packed full of people."
Urzenkeil's face morphed into rage incarnate as he stomped over to the open doorway. "Which way?" he bellowed.
"It'll be that way," he said, pointing down the hallway to the left. "Head down that hall and it'll be the next left."
Urzenkeil led the way as he and his guildmates went to rescue the prisoners. June turned and gave Keyvarah and Reyah a thumbs-up before following them.
They descended two flights of stairs, and the farther they went, the worse the smell became. The scent of excrement mixed with blood, and the rancor of unwashed body odor assaulted their noses. June covered himself in a thin layer of Wind Essence to keep the scent from reaching him. The Shining Arrow Guild didn't have that luxury as their eyes watered and they gagged with each step. Some even stopped and emptied what remained of their stomachs.
Before long, they came to a long hallway lined with rows of barred doors on either side. June steeled himself, masking his disgust with stoicism, and took a deep breath through his mouth before entering the hallway.
Flickering torchlight lit the passage in an eerie glow as the sight before him made his blood boil. He had already seen it through the Vampires' memories, but it was a whole other thing to witness it himself. The Vampires had crammed dozens of Althori and Vyshtani men, women, and children into the twelve 8x8 cells. Their state was pitiful. They were all in rags, with most having no shirts, and as thin as bones.
The women and children shuffled to the back while the men stood in front, trying to protect them from their captors. However, their defiant faces broke when their eyes landed on the group that entered, turning to confusion before shifting to hope.
One of them, a tall, wiry Althori man, stepped forward. His low rumbling voice didn't match his current appearance of a man starved half to death. "Who are you?"
Urzenkeil stepped forward, his voice commanding yet solemn. "We are of the Shining Arrow Guild, and we're here to rescue you!"
"The Shining Arrow Guild?" someone asked, hope in their voice.
Merriam approached one of the prison doors, her hands glowing a dull blue light. "Yes."
With a single punch, she shattered the cell doors with ease. The door fell off and rattled loudly as it landed on the cold, stone hallway. That was all it took for the group of prisoners to erupt in a chorus. Cries of joy, relief, and even sorrow echoed through the hallway as the other members moved to open the other cell doors.
June silently walked past the prisoners streaming from their cells, making his way toward a metal door at the end of the hallway. He knew what lay beyond, having seen it already with his Aura Sense, but still prepared himself before opening the door. The hinges squealed loudly as he pushed the door open.
The room itself wasn't all that big, the size of an average bedroom. Tables lined the walls, which held many instruments and torture devices caked in dried and fresh blood.
Standing in the center of the room was a rack where an Althori woman dangled, completely nude. Except that wasn't all. Her torturers had completely flayed off her skin, leaving her flesh exposed. Blood dripped from her and pooled beneath her.
The steady rise and fall of her chest showed she was still alive, but he had to hurry if he wanted to save her. He encased her in Life Essence, healing her injured body. The sudden rush of vitality startled her awake, and she screamed in agony as her skin regrew.
"It's okay," he said to her, trying to soothe her pain, "just focus on me and not the pain."
As he healed her, he could sense someone approaching him from behind at a rapid pace.
An Althori man roared in rage as he rushed into the room and swung a fist at June's head. Having seen the attack coming, despite not even looking, he caught the man's punch with ease, not even deigning to look away from his task.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the man shouted, trying to wrench his hand from June's grip, but failed to do so.
Two others came into the room as June spoke. "I'm healing her, so can you please not attack me?"
He released the man's hand just as he pulled once more, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backward into the other two who had entered.
"You Gods-forsaken monster!" the man started, but one of the two, an Althori woman, grabbed him by the arm.
"Stop it, Jezaiah! Calm yourself! Can't you see he's healing Andrasta?" the woman asked, trying to hold him back.
Jezaiah, however, ignored her, struggling even more. She looked at her companion in frustration. "Stop staring and help me, Cama!"
Cama, a tall Vyshtani man with the eyes of a wolf and the ears and tail to confirm it, glanced between the pair before grabbing Jezaiah's other arm. Together, they held him back as June healed Andrasta. Within seconds, her wounds had fully sealed as if they had never been there to begin with.
After finishing, June stood and backed away from her. Only then did the two release Jezaiah, who ran over to Andrasta's side. He knelt and cradled her in his lap, trying desperately to wake her.
"She's just asleep," June said, drawing all their attention. "Her body needs time to recover."
He turned to leave the room, but before he did, he stopped and looked at Jezaiah. "I could take away her memories of the ordeal, if that is what she wishes."
Jezaiah only glared at him, so he shrugged and left the room.
But he didn't make it far before the woman came rushing out after him. "Hey, wait!"
June came to a stop, partly because of her and partly because of the growing mass of people shuffling out of the cells. Urzenkiel and his guildmates were busy organizing the group to leave the cramped quarters.
She caught up with him in no time, and he turned to look at her. "Yes?"
He hadn't gone very far, maybe about ten feet, but the woman was already out of breath by the time she caught up with him. It hadn't been the distance that caused her shortness of breath, but rather the altercation with Jezaiah and her time spent imprisoned.
She hunched over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "Thanks…for healing…Andrasta."
"It was nothing," June said, really taking in her appearance for the first time.
Her matted black hair clung to her sweat-soaked forehead and shoulders, a testament to her unfortunate situation. All she had for clothing was a band that bound her chest tight and some brown, torn-up trousers. Her amber eyes met June's, and a pearlescent smile spread across her face.
She straightened to her full height of 6'9'' and extended a hand toward him. "I'm Jemia."
June clasped her hand and shook it. "I'm June. I'd say nice to meet you, but…" he cast his gaze about the dungeon. "If only it were under better circumstances."
"If only," she repeated, nodding her head before gesturing behind her. "You've already met my brother, Jezaiah, and his wife, Andrasta. And the other guy is Cama. We're what's left of the Crimson Veil Guild."
With that last sentence, sadness filled her eyes, her smile fading.
"I'm sorry for your loss," June said, patting her arm. "Just know that I'll do everything within my power to find them."
Jemia frowned when he said that. "What do you mean? They're dead, having become food for the Vampires."
June shook his head. "There was a deeper operation going on here than just Vampires hunting for food."
Jemia's frown deepened. "Like what?"
"I'll explain back at the Shining Arrow Guild's camp," June said, turning to the growing crowd.
The prisoners took their time ascending the stairs, probably not fully believing that he had dealt with the Vampire threat.
"I'll meet you upstairs," June said to Jemia before floating up and phasing right through the stone ceiling.
In the room above, the men and women who had first ascended were busy outfitting themselves in armor and weapons. His sudden appearance startled them so severely that a few of them instinctively attacked him. However, their weapons slipped harmlessly through his corporeal form.
June didn't even bother waiting for them as he continued to ascend to the next floor. Finding the room empty, June re-materialized and headed for the stairs. Arriving, he called down for the men to hurry up before heading back to the great hall.
There, he found a furious Keyvarah stomping out Hivengel's decapitated head, swearing up a storm. A far cry from the prim and proper woman who had been crying just a few minutes ago.
The wet squelching of her heels smashing through bones and brain to hit the stone floor echoed in the empty hall as Reyah stood back and watched Keyvarah with a forlorn look on her face. The head was nothing more than a puddle of goop as June approached the pair.
Keyvarah looked up from her handiwork, and the anger in her eyes instantly melted away when they landed on June. A flush crept up her neck and flowed all the way to the tips of her ears. She turned away from him, rebuking herself as her hands ran down the chic black dress she wore, smoothing out any creases. The dress was as thin as it was revealing, doing very little to hide her hourglass figure and showing off as much skin as possible.
June's eyes couldn't help but follow the curves of her figure, lingering on her plump ass for a moment. Realizing that he was leering, he pulled his eyes from her only for them to land on Reyah. She stared at him with a single eyebrow raised. There was a teasing glint in her eyes as her lips parted in an amused smile. He raised his own eyebrow at her in question, but she only responded with a shake of her head and a light chuckle.
Keyvarah whirled around, her hair flowing with the movement, face alight with a radiant smile. "You've returned, June!"
"I have, Lady Oltharin," June said with a slight bow.
"Enough of that," Keyvarah said, stepping up to him. "Just call me Keyvarah."
"Of course," June said, straightening only to find the swell of her supple breasts in his face. His throat went dry. Her mounds stirred a beast within him. One awakened by these conflicting emotions, and his being surrounded by beauty beyond imagination.
However, his love and grief for Natalie and his children helped him temper these emotions as he pushed them deep down within him to deal with later.
He cleared his throat and took a half step back. "Is there something I can help you with?"
She stepped in time with him, the concept of personal space lost to her. "I'm sorry to impose, but would you mind if I drank some of your blood? I promise not to drain you, but I'm actually quite starved after the night, no, the past two years. And… your blood smelled so divine."
June furrowed his brows, surprised by her forwardness.
"Sure," he said, going to pull his sleeve only for her to move in, trying to bite his neck.
He caught her face before she could even get close to his neck, covering her mouth with a hand. "Nah-ah-ah-ah. Nope! I'll have none of that."
He didn't want to risk her enveloping him with her luscious body.
"Here," he said, offering her his wrist, which already had a cut on it with blood dripping from it.
He released her, and she hesitated for a moment before latching onto his wrist and greedily sucked. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as a moan reverberated from her throat, and she fell to her knees. His jaw clenched as he turned to Reyah, trying his best to ignore the overt eroticism that Keyvarah displayed.
Reyah walked up beside them, her face a mask of emotionlessness. "Where are the prisoners?"
"They should be on their way up right now," June said before looking down at Keyvarah.
She was lost in her own world as she drank his blood. It was an odd sensation, having his blood as well as his True Soul drained from him by someone else. He found it quite hilarious, often forgetting that she and Reyah were dangerous predators.
However, he was far from being in danger. His body constantly healed itself, and the depth of his Core was vast, never-ending. What she drank was but a drop in a bucket in an ocean. She could continue to drink for a lifetime and not make a dent in his pool of True Soul.
June switched to telekinetic communication as he sent Psionic Essence into Reyah's mind.
How was she when I left?
Reyah glared at him, her lips parting into a slight snarl.
Stay out of my mind!
Right, he had grown so accustomed to using telekinetic communication with Quin that he had forgotten just how invasive it was to pry into someone's mind, especially without their consent.
Sorry. It would have been rude to speak about Keyvarah as if she weren't here. But now I've also realized how rude it was of me to intrude upon your mind like this. For that, I'm genuinely sorry.
Reyah continued to glare at him before turning to stare at Keyvarah—no, at his wrist—before answering. "She was… fine, I guess."
Her voice was hoarse and strained, her jaw tight as if she were holding herself back.
June then realized that she probably was. Her mental fortitude and force of will impressed him, being strong enough for her to be this close to his blood and still hold some measure of composure.
When she didn't continue, June didn't press, having made enough of a fool of himself already. Just as June thought she had had her fill, Keyvarah released his wrist of her own volition.
"Sorry," she said, standing. "Thank you for that."
"It was no problem," June said.
Just as he said that, clamoring came from behind them as Urzenkeil led the prisoners into the great hall.
Keyvarah stepped forward with a warm smile on her face, about to address the crowd, but Jezaiah's shout cut through the air, silencing whatever words were about to leave her mouth. "What is that blood-sucking monster still doing alive?"
June stepped forward, placing a hand in front of Keyvarah and moving her back. "There's no need for that. She was as much a prisoner here as you were."
"Lies!" Jezaiah shouted. "She's one of them and deserves to die with the lot of them!"
June sighed before gesturing at Keyvarah. "Does anyone know who she is?"
Merriam stepped forward, her face twisting into a frown. "Lady Oltharin?"
Keyvarah stared at her for a second before recognition clicked in her eyes. "Lady Milliadry!"
Merriam released a girlish laugh and bolted from the group, hugging Keyvarah tightly.
A smile broke across his lips as June watched the interaction, glad that there was at least someone whom Keyvarah could call a friend here.
"What happened? Why are you here?"
Keyvarah broke from the embrace, tears flowing down her cheeks. "During my trip to Kravengard, my escort and I were attacked by Hivengel and his coven. They killed everyone, and I was to join them, but Hivengel…"
Her body visibly shook as she relived the memory. "He took a liking to me, and instead of killing me, he turned me into a Vampire."
"Where is the bastard!" Merriam shouted, her head whipping around in search of the man.
Keyvarah pointed to Hivengel's body. Merriam snarled at the sight of it but held tight onto Keyvarah and turned to face the group. "I believe her. It's as June said. She was as much a prisoner as any of you, maybe even more so with what she was forced to do and endure."
The crowd remained silent, so June stepped forward and clapped his hand. "Now, with that out of the way. Who's ready to leave this place?" June asked with a smile on his face.