Chapter 21: The Velvet Cage (Part 2)
Location: The Royal Palace, The Grand Ballroom.
Time: 8:30 PM.
Status: The Dance of Lies.
The waltz began. Hundreds of nobles swept across the marble floor in a sea of silk and jewels. The music was hypnotic, designed to lull the mind into complacency.
Ren stood by the chocolate fountain, watching.
Sister Silence stood ten yards away. She hadn't moved. Her veil obscured her face, but Ren felt her gaze like a needle against his skin. She was the lock on the cage.
Dantalion (the demon child) was skipping through the dancers, giggling as she touched nobles, whispering nightmares into their ears. She was the guard dog.
"Two monsters," Ren whispered. "One enforces silence. The other spreads chaos."
He looked at Caelum.
"Caelum," Ren whispered through their comms earpiece (a simple magical artifact, passive, undetected). "Ask your sister to dance."
"Lyra? Are you crazy? She hates me."
"Exactly. A public argument between the Arken siblings will draw eyes. I need everyone looking at the center of the room."
Caelum sighed. "If I die of embarrassment, put it on my tombstone."
Caelum walked onto the dance floor. He approached Lyra, who was holding court with a group of Solaris admirers.
Ren didn't watch. He moved.
He didn't use [Flash Step]. He didn't use [Stealth]. Those were active skills. Sister Silence would drop him instantly.
He used Social Stealth. He picked up a tray of empty glasses from a side table. He hunched his shoulders. He became invisible by becoming a servant.
He walked toward Dantalion.
The little girl was currently tormenting a fat Baron, making him hallucinate that his wine was blood.
Ren walked past her. He "accidentally" bumped into her shoulder.
"Watch it, clumsy!" Dantalion hissed, her eyes flashing black.
Ren dropped a spoon. He bent down to pick it up, bringing his face close to her ear.
"Your disguise is slipping, Dantalion," Ren whispered. "I can smell the sulfur."
Dantalion froze. She looked at him, her innocent mask cracking into a rictus of rage.
"You want to play, Null?" she giggled, the sound distorted. "I can turn your insides into snakes."
"Do it," Ren challenged. "Cast a spell. Or are you afraid of the nun in the corner?"
Ren pointed subtly at Sister Silence.
Dantalion sneered. "A Commandment? She holds no power over a Pillar of Solomon."
Dantalion raised her small hand. Dark purple energy gathered at her fingertips.
[ Spell Detected: Mind Flay. ]
Ren smiled.
Gotcha.
The moment Dantalion channeled mana for an active skill, the air in the ballroom snapped.
Sister Silence turned her head. Her veil rippled.
[ Ability Triggered: The Fourth Commandment. ]
[ "Thou Shalt Rest." ]
A wave of grey suppression magic slammed into Dantalion.
"AAAAH!" Dantalion screamed. The spell in her hand shattered. The demon child clutched her head, falling to her knees. "What... is this... weight?"
The suppression didn't stop at Dantalion. It washed over the area.
But Ren wasn't using a skill. He was just a servant holding a tray. The wave washed over him harmlessly.
"Now," Ren dropped the tray.
CRASH.
The sound of shattering glass coincided with Caelum shouting at Lyra across the room. The distraction was total.
Ren sprinted for the Throne.
Prince Morpheus was slumped in the velvet chair, eyes half-closed, drooling slightly.
Ren ran up the dais steps. The Royal Guards crossed their halberds.
"Halt!"
Ren didn't stop. He didn't fight.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of [Void-Chew] (Stamina Gum).
He didn't offer it. He threw it in their faces.
The guards flinched.
Ren slid between the halberds. He grabbed the Prince by his expensive collar.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Ren grunted.
He hauled the Prince out of the throne. Morpheus was heavy, dead weight.
"Wha... who...?" Morpheus slurred.
"I'm your designated driver."
Ren dragged the Prince behind the heavy velvet curtains behind the throne.
"Assassin!" A guard shouted. "The Prince is taken!"
The ballroom erupted.
Valerius Arken drew his sword. "Seal the doors!"
Sister Silence turned her attention to the throne. She raised her hand to cast a massive sleep wave.
But Dantalion, enraged and humiliated, wasn't done. The demon child stood up, her skin cracking like porcelain, revealing a monstrous form underneath.
"NO ONE SILENCES ME!" Dantalion roared.
She unleashed a chaotic blast of psychic energy. It wasn't a spell; it was a raw explosion of demonic aura.
Sister Silence was forced to shield herself.
The two monsters clashed.
Ren used the chaos. He dragged the Prince to the servant's service hatch behind the curtains.
He kicked the hatch open.
"Down we go."
He threw the Crown Prince of Oakhaven down a laundry chute.
Location: The Royal Laundry Room (Basement).
Time: 8:45 PM.
Ren slid out of the chute, landing in a pile of dirty linen. A second later, Prince Morpheus landed on top of him with a soft thump.
Ren pushed the Prince off.
"Caelum," Ren tapped his earpiece. "Package secured. Meet me at extraction point Beta."
"Beta? That's the sewers again! Why is it always sewers?"
"Because nobles don't look down," Ren said, hauling the Prince up.
Morpheus was awake now, but his eyes were glassy. He looked at the laundry machines with mild confusion.
"Are we... in a cloud?" Morpheus asked dreamily.
"We're in the wash," Ren said. "Walk."
They moved through the basement corridors.
Suddenly, the shadows stretched.
A figure stepped out from behind a steam boiler.
It was Vargo.
The merchant was panting, holding a jagged dagger. His eyes were wide with panic.
"Master Raven!" Vargo hissed. "We have a problem."
"Vargo? You were supposed to be securing the carriage."
"I tried!" Vargo trembled. "But the exit is blocked. And not by guards."
Vargo pointed down the hallway.
A thick, grey fog was rolling toward them. It moved against the draft. Where it touched the stone, moss grew instantly.
[ Hazard: The Fog of Sloth. ]
"It's here," Ren whispered. "The infection isn't just in the Prince. It's manifesting physically."
"If that fog touches us, we sleep forever," Vargo whimpered. "I saw a rat run into it. It just... stopped. Laid down and died."
Ren looked at the Prince. Morpheus was staring at the fog with longing.
"It's calling him home," Ren realized.
"We can't go through it," Ren said. "Do you have the Alchemy Kit I asked for?"
"Yes," Vargo handed over a satchel.
Ren opened it. He pulled out the Jar of Famine.
"Vargo, Caelum... put on your masks."
Ren pulled out a gas mask (invented in the Workshop). He shoved one onto the Prince's face.
"What are you doing?" Vargo asked, fumbling with his mask.
"Sloth is a stagnation," Ren said, placing his hand on the wax seal of the Jar. "It creates a world where nothing changes, nothing moves."
Ren looked at the buzzing jar.
"Famine is the opposite. It is the desperate, violent need to consume. It is kinetic energy incarnate."
Ren broke the seal.
BUZZZZZZZ.
A black cloud shot out of the jar.
It wasn't smoke. It was millions of microscopic flies. The Swarm of Beelzebub.
"Go," Ren commanded, pointing at the Grey Fog. "Eat."
The Swarm surged forward.
They hit the Fog.
The Fog tried to put them to sleep. The Flies tried to eat the Fog.
It was a war of concepts. Stagnation vs. Hunger.
The Flies swarmed the mist, devouring the magical particles. The Fog recoiled, hissing.
A tunnel opened up in the mist. A clear path.
"Run!" Ren shouted.
He grabbed the Prince and sprinted into the tunnel of flies.
Vargo followed, screaming as flies bounced off his mask.
They ran through the laundry, through the boiler room, and burst out into the cool night air of the palace gardens.
Ren slammed the Jar shut, recalling the swarm with a burst of [Mana Drain] to pull them back.
He corked it.
"We're out."
Location: The Void Walkers' Safehouse (An abandoned clock tower).
Time: Midnight.
Prince Morpheus sat on a wooden chair, tied up. He wasn't struggling. He was asleep.
Ren stood over him. Caelum and Kaelith were guarding the door.
"He's deep under," Ren said, lifting the Prince's eyelid. "The parasite has rooted into his brain stem. Physical alchemy won't work."
"So we failed?" Caelum asked.
"No," Ren said. "We go to the source."
Ren turned to Kaelith.
"Kaelith, I need you to watch my body. If I stop breathing, punch me."
"With pleasure."
Ren looked at the Prince.
"I'm going inside."
"Inside?" Vargo asked. "Like... surgery?"
"No," Ren touched the Prince's forehead. "Into his dream."
Ren activated [The Index].
He didn't borrow a skill. He opened a connection to the Heart of the Void Beast in his Archive.
The Void could traverse dimensions. Dreams were just another dimension.
"Grim," Ren commanded. "Bridge the connection. Target: Morpheus's Mindscape."
[ Warning: Entering a Mindscape affected by a Sin is extremely dangerous. If you die in the dream, your mind will be trapped in the Continent of Sloth. ]
"I know," Ren said.
He closed his eyes.
"Dive."
Location: The Dreamscape.
Time: ???
Ren opened his eyes.
He was standing in a field of white flowers. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. The sun was warm.
It was beautiful.
And it was terrifying.
Because nothing moved. The wind didn't blow. The flowers didn't sway. The sun didn't track across the sky.
It was a painting of a perfect world.
Ren looked down at himself. He was wearing his armor. He had his Shiv.
"Hello?" Ren called out.
"Shhh," a voice whispered from the flowers. "You'll wake him."
Ren looked down.
Prince Morpheus was lying in the grass. He looked happy. Young. Unburdened.
Curled around the Prince, like a massive, scaly cat, was a creature.
It had fur the color of storm clouds. It had no eyes, only a mouth that smiled eternally.
[ Boss Encounter Initiated ]
[ Monster: The Dream Eater (Avatar of Sloth) ]
[ Level: 30 ]
[ Ability: Eternal Slumber. ]
The creature raised its head. It sniffed Ren.
"You smell... loud," the creature whispered. "You smell like work. Like pain. Why are you here, little noise?"
"I'm the alarm clock," Ren drew his Shiv.
The creature yawned.
"Then I suppose... I must hit the snooze button."
The field of flowers turned into quicksand. Ren sank to his knees.
"Sleep," the creature commanded.
Ren's eyelids felt heavy. His weapon felt like lead.
[ Status Effect: Supernatural Drowsiness. ]
[ Willpower Check... Failing. ]
Ren bit his tongue. Hard.
Pain keeps you awake.
Blood filled his mouth. The copper taste cut through the fog.
"Not today," Ren spat blood onto the perfect white flowers.
He charged.
End of Chapter 21 - Part 2
Summary:
The Extraction: Ren creates chaos by provoking Dantalion (Demon) into using magic, triggering Sister Silence's punishment. In the clash, Ren kidnaps the Prince.
The Escape: Ren discovers the palace basement is filled with Sloth Fog. He uses the Jar of Famine (Flies) to eat a path through the fog.
The Diagnosis: The Prince is in a magical coma.
The Dive: Ren uses his Void powers to enter the Prince's Dreamscape.
The Boss: Ren encounters the Dream Eater (Avatar of Sloth) guarding the Prince's mind.