Chapter 168: When the Smoke Ashened the Skies

Chapter 168: When the Smoke Ashened the Skies

Chapter 168

When the Smoke Ashened the Skies

The group of three spent quite a few days navigating the path around the village, having to abandon horses just halfway through that journey due to the terrain that was impossible to cross on the hooves. The ground was uneven and rough and covered with frozen roots with the trees spiking out in thick groupings, making it difficult to even trek on foot, let alone on a mane.

Sylas led the group silently, unbothered, occasionally stopping when he realized they were getting tired. He was growing calmer, and it was beginning to gnaw at him. It was growing more and more difficult, day after day, to rouse himself awake from the strange, quasi-slumber he was living within. It was eerily akin to how people grow immensely calm in the wake of their death when they finally make their peace with it. What worried him was that... he wasn't dying. Not anytime soon, anyway.

This was who he was becoming--a husk. He worried about it, but figured anger would be there to burn for all eternity. But even that... was waning. Though it was resurrected briefly each time he would die and find himself back on that fated day, it wouldnt last. It was like the wick of a candle thrashing about, fighting for the fire to burn. But the wax always runs out, sooner or later.

It was as though he was melting into a pot, the parts of him slowly being eaten by the beast that was time... and he was vanishing. He fought hard to keep his eyes open, but they were growing heavier. At the same time, he felt bitter--terribly bitter. He was human for so long, and through everything, and now that he saw the light, that he saw hope, that he saw the possibility of it all ending... he was more a wisp than a human.

He had dreamed of feeling this way for most of his stay in this world. He would have given anything to not have felt all those times that emotions burned and buried him alive. And yet... he felt it all, time and again. And now... and now he was turning hollow. All he wanted was to remain silent, give out orders, and push forward.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Hey, Av called out suddenly. You alright? You look an awful lot like some of my soldiers do after a long skirmish.

"... what's that look like?" Sylas asked with a faint smile.

Empty, mostly. Glazed, Av replied. Like someone ripped their soul out of their chest.

Were four days away at this pace, Sylas said. But I can already smell it.

Smell what?

The castle, he replied. Its been burned. People I supposedly care for and love are there, and they are dead or dying. And look at me.

Im sure they arent.

I butchered hundreds of people with the excuse it could be undone, Sylas rambled on again. Butchered. Men, women... children. That was my solution to everything, all the time. It could be undone. Well... one thing persists, it turns out. Me. And now... and now Im this. I need to rev my soul into being fueled by something. For so long, he added, lowering his head. I put anger forward. I forced it, because I needed it there. I couldnt accept the fact that it was disappearing. But... theres little there, I realized. Haah, Ive truly gotten old. Its difficult to care when youve seen everything. Difficult to pay attention to things that will pass.

The night passed and another dawn came, and with it, they rode. They rode in silence, the only sound the gallops of the horses and the melting snow. There were no words to say, though many questions still lingered on Avs mind. He kept them to himself, though, chilled by the glazed gaze that beckoned at him underneath the nightly campfire.

It hurts that you dont trust me.

Ive never trusted you, she said, turning after toward Av and Vanessa. You two must be tired. Ive just thought about eating if youre hungry.

Uh... sure?

Lets go, the woman walked toward the end of the castle, passing by the scorching trails of fire, blood, and ash, ending up in the nearby woods. There was a feast-like spread there, shocking the two, while Sylas seemed entirely accustomed to it.

Dont be so shocked, he said. Shes a Prophet. This much is nothing to ask of those who cursed her.

... seriously, what the fuck is going on? Av asked out of frustration. He figured the woman was something, though even he wouldnt have ventured a Prophet as even the first ten guesses. Did I see some entirely different sight from the two of you out there?

No, we saw pretty much the same one, the woman replied as Sylas began eating away immediately.

Then whats with the nonchalant attitude? Arent those your people?

Well have to go north the next do-over, Sylas suddenly spoke as the woman ignored Av and turned toward him.

Why?

I have to stop the brokered deals, he said. Im getting tired of having my home burned down time and again.

She wont listen, you know?

Then Ill raze enough land till she does, Sylas shrugged.

You think thats smart? Wont that just ignite another conflict? she asked.

Its worth a try, he replied, taking a sip of wine that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. If I fail, I fail. If I succeed, these little excursions will finally stop.

Silence, once again, fell over the tiny group. Av and Vanessa hardly had the appetite to eat, often glancing back at the scalding ruins of the castle, wondering why the two in front of them were so nonchalant about the whole ordeal. They also spoke of going north, but there was nothing north but the woods and the tall cliffs bordering the ocean. Nothing, it seemed, made any sense.

In fact, Av mused, he had more questions now than when he first walked into that room and saw the topless figure sitting there, oozing the kind of energy that carved out terror in Avs heart.