Chapter 112: Shining beacon in the dark

From that point onwards, Igor's memories were full of darkness and vile. The intoxicating feeling forever tainted his soul, and later he officially joined up with his mysterious employer, later becoming one of his Guard Captains when he opened up The Pit.

The memories kept flashing in front of Aiden until it finally got to the last day of Igor's life.

He watched as they brought his chained sister, Lily, and entered the Warden's office. He saw as the man tried to push himself on her but failed and got punished in the end.

He watched as they took her away and as the group of 7, the very same guards he just murdered, vented their frustrations on her for hours. They couldn't enjoy her body to the fullest as their Master has warned them that she has to be kept intact for the auction after the match, but that didn't mean they couldn't torture and humiliate her.

Aiden clenched his fists as the moments of her humiliation and torture kept playing to him. How they ripped off her clothes and beat her with a whip. How they kicked and punched her chained body until it was bloodied. How she could do nothing but hold her tears and voice, how she tried to defy them, and not give them any satisfaction, only to anger them further.

Eventually, the torture ended, and they threw a low-grade healing potion on her, that was just enough to put her in fighting shape, but not enough to remove the scars and bruises from her body. 

The scene didn't play for too long after that, it was just minutes before they heard his howling and rushed into their own deaths.

As the vision ended, his raging heart was interrupted by the sound of the System's notification.

[Assimilation complete! 

Memories processed, System updated!]

Although the message was relatively vague, Aiden still got the gist of it. As he consumed the guard captain, besides his life essence, he also gained his memories. 

As he checked the new Map, he also understood that as the System processed these memories, it also updated itself. 

'This whole thing is just way too bizarre…' he muttered. The System he was 'blessed' with kept making decisions after decisions without bothering to ask for input from his behalf. He previously thought that this was the work of Enya, but it seems that was not entirely true.

Regardless, this turn of events was beneficial for him in his current situation. He now had a complete layout of the underground tunnel system, with all the relevant names marked as well. 

He got more and more anxious, as the seconds passed, while he continued to scan through the names on his map. He couldn't find Lily's name anywhere! In the end, he found a cell named 'The Vigilante' that he remembered being mentioned in one of Igor's memories.

He wasn't sure who this nickname meant, but he could remember the bits and pieces where this name was mentioned in Igor's last days. His master wanted to capture this person, as it caused a significant setback for his business. 

As he concentrated on the memory, he also remembered how they wanted to lure this Hero of Justice into a trap by capturing the owners of the General Store behind the Marketplace. Aiden remembered that kind elderly couple that used to live there. He could only hope that nothing bad happened to them… The captain had no memories of them, so most likely he never went to that place. He wasn't part of that part of the plan.

As he finally settled the raging tide in his mind, Aiden stood up, and marking the location of this person, he stepped over the dead body of the guard captain, looking towards the direction of the open-space room, that they used to rest in-between shifts.

Taking a step forward, he once again stopped in his tracks and turned to face the mutilated carcass. Crouching down next to it, he took the set of keys that hung from his belt.

"Thanks!" He thanked the dead body and stood up. Although he could probably get into any door he wanted to, he didn't want to trigger any potential alarms or traps. Although, as he looked around checking all the carnage he left behind, people probably already know about his presence.

Turning away, he looked in the direction of the room once again. Turning his head sideways, he looked down at the ground, in the still open eyes of the man. Opening his mouth, he only whispered his next words.

"And I'm sorry for what happened to your family. Hope you could finally be reunited with them." 

Saying everything he wanted and with the keychain in his possession, he left the gruesome site and walked towards the guard's room. As he crossed the room, he grabbed the weapons placed in the room. A couple of bows, a few quivers full of arrows, pikes, halberds, a few round shields, and some short swords. 

Checking his map, he noted the route that he had to take to reach the Vigilante's location. 

From a slow leisurely stroll, he gradually increased his pace into a jog. He wasn't sure how much time he had spent processing the memories of the captain. From the plan they discussed, he knew he only had a limited timeframe to free Lily.

As he crossed the halls, his thoughts went back to the silver-haired boy that came for similar reasons. 

'I hope they are out by now… Sadly I can't check on them. Still, it's weird how deep and extensive this whole place is… How come nobody ever noticed it from the City Guards?'

His face turned glum as he remembered the Red-Haired, Freckled boy that caused so much misery to Igor. 

'Yes… Obviously they already know about it, they just chose to ignore it. Money? Power? Whatever the reason, they can't be trusted either.'

Turning right in the next corner, he further increased his pace, as if to vent the bubbling frustration inside his heart. As his thoughts kept running back and forth on these matters, unbeknownst to him, the eye sockets of his mask were tasked with the light coming from his eyes. Every now and then, a hint of red tainted the otherwise bright golden brilliance.

'They can't be trusted. Nobody can be trusted in this city. Everybody has his or her own goals, their own agenda, their own desires…'

Realizing the dangerous course of his thoughts, he slowed his jog to a sudden halt. The red tinge in his eyes flashed again as the anger in his heart erupted. He hit the steel door that was just next to him with a powerful blow, tearing a large fist-sized hole in the middle. 

Taking a deep breath, he forcefully calmed himself. The red faded from his eyes, returning to its 'normal' golden state.

"What is wrong with me?" He sighed to himself. 

Shaking his head, Aiden ignored the frightened look of the cell's resident, as he inched closer to the hole in his door. 

Picking up the pace again, he soon ran through the halls of the prison block. As he kept closing in on his destination, he was alerted that even though he crossed many hallways, and saw countless prison cells, he couldn't feel Lily any closer than before. He was hoping that it was just some sort of warding that blocked his senses from connecting with her, and nothing worse.

Eventually, he arrived in front of a thick black door that contrary to the others, it had no barred window to gaze into. On the map, he saw the dot that was supposed to represent the resident, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't feel any presence on the other side of this door.

'Hmm… I guess it is warded against such measures…' Aiden thought.

Picking up the crude iron key, he inserted it into the keyhole. As the satisfying loud clicking sound signaled that the door is now unlocked, Aiden suddenly felt a wave of nervousness wash over him. Grabbing the lever, he slowly pulled on the door, opening it slightly ajar with a loud creaking sound.

The dim light from the eerie hallway fell pale as revealed a dark and dusty room. As Aiden carefully peered through the gap, his eyes took a brief moment to get used to the darkness. As his [Dark Sense] automatically activated, the singular resident of the nightmarish void was revealed. 

In the far corner of the room, in chains sat a slender figure. Even though it was dark, he felt a vague familiarity with her silhouette.

Pushing the door further, Aiden stepped inside the chamber, his eyes resting on the person. As he took the first step in, the figure raised her head, looking at the new arrival.

As soon as she saw him standing in the doorway, she stood up. Although the chains kept her in place, she still slowly approached as far as she could. A warmth of happiness that she finally met her dearest brother filled her heart. She called out with a crackling voice. He finally arrived, he came to rescue her! Her hero, her shining beacon in the dark!

"Broother! You finally came!"