Chapter 969

Chapter 969: A prayer

“Bury the sarcasm,” said Kaleem. A great big divide warned, a cautionary sign built on the essence of those left in torment. Cora intercepted many enemies. Patrol through the hallowed cave turned lines of cells was gently mild. A putrid odor rose at times. They caught whiffs; Yuria’s handsome face would crinkle, her nerves blotted, and her breaths minimum. “-Our mage’s unable to breathe?” added Cora maliciously.

“Ha-ha,” she returned a dead expression, “-I’m laughing.”

“Enough fooling around,” gritted Kaleem, “-look ahead,” a concealment spell hid their presence. ‘Weird,’ thought Cora with a rifle at the ready, ‘-if they were taken captive, where are the ring-leaders. The monsters have been easy. Suppose our gap in strength is to be considered.’

“Don’t be smug,” said Yuria, her tone had a chilling effect.

“Mind read again?”

“No, it’s experience.”

‘I guess she did have an affinity for observation.’

.....

The somber innards were a task in itself. Night vision or spells of clarity did naught. The shadows felt alive – a curtain of dark mass hung at the start or end of their current path. Screams of the innocent did echo. Young and heart-tearing in nature, “-Kaleem?”

“Let me think,” he hushed, ‘-go in head first or send Yuria?’ as he were to check on the latter, she quietly hid in Cora’s shadow. The confused man watched as she snuck, “-no,” affirmed Cora, “-we’ve used her as bait enough today.”

“Damn it,” he cried with a gambler’s sportsmanship, “-what then?”

She took initiative, “-why are we even hiding,” she stood and stretched both palms to the heavens. Her pose was that of a sister awaiting a divine revelation, *Goddess Miira, my one and only guardian, shine thy light upon thy humble student. Reveal to me the secrets of time and reality. Unravel the lies and show what lays ahead,* her incantation was definitely a prayer, not a spell. It lacked the usual flashiness with which Yuria prided herself. An orb flickered into existence. Her marred visage; brought upon by Kaleem’s leadership, distracted a real sense of relief that filled her mien. The light descended upon her heart – wherein a gentle mist bellowed. Black turned gray, “-let’s go,” she walked confidently, “-we’re blessed by my goddess.”

‘A blessing?’ narrowed Cora, ‘-no, it’s far more than a blessing. We’re in a cloud that’s broken space and time, we move according to our will, and reality’s unaware of our presence. This is the same if we were to erase ourselves from the weave of destiny.’

Shadow before the exit entrance grew to have lines and a pulsing dot. “Shadow was indeed an entity,” said Yuria. They passed through into a sanctuary. Compared to the prior ritual hall, the area stood stoutly. A similar arrangement of altars, and cages of chained prisoners. Ritual men, dressed in heavy black hoods, made their moves on those they fancied. The unfortunate lads and lasses were thrown onto concrete slabs, the altar. There, the cold roughness of the surface cut lightly at the bare skin. The discomfort seemed purposeful. Heavy robes laid over their victim, many of whom screamed and cried. The forceful ones were tied – no use of torture devices. A man in darker overalls bearing the reddish crest of an unknown faction stood at the center. Beside him were the remains of a body, “-night is upon us, gentlemen.” Forceful fornication halted, the robed servants slithered from their prey – latter drenched in sweat and tears. Some bled from their orifices, others contemplated their situation. In all, a heavy cloud of despair topped the sanctuary. “Let us begin the ritual,” they undid their robes to an appalling sight of naked men. New blood was pulled from the cages, and thrown into the center at the leaders’ feet. He gave a lustful smirk, grabbed the first of four, and pulled her head near his crotch. What followed couldn’t be described, Yuria had no stomach for such a scene. Minutes passed and the first offering received everyone’s seed. Her cries had etched themselves within Cora and Kaleem’s wavering hearts. Various short glances were exchanged; ‘-should we save them?’

‘No,’

‘How inhumane,’

‘I know,’

‘Let kill them.’

‘Not now,’ such were the silent conversations. The final piece of the puzzle; an unknown entity of shadowy properties loomed. “-My lord,” prayed the leader, “-please accept this lonesome offering,” the hand clasped, the temperature dropped.

Her face turned pale – the eyelids opened beholder to a darker tint, complete blackness, ‘-the same as earlier,’ went through their minds. The pale body sat upright, a smirk formed slowly to no avail – a snap threw her head backward, and a loud stomach-turning crack echoed.

“Another failed project,” gritted the leader, “-bring out the others.’ Pure fear washed the prisoners – witnessing what had happened and no prospect of a future, they pulled back through the limited cages.

“No point hiding,” they laughed, “-goblins are mercenaries. Here’s the deal, once my lord has a stable body for consumption,” the nature of the room changed. Just as Cora was to speak, an ethereal hand pulled Yuria from their cloud.

“YURIA!” cried Kaleem, “-GO!”

“No, we can’t... lest the cloud allows us to leave, we can’t. This is bad,” each pulse boomed, ‘hold in there, Yuria, don’t do anything rash, we’ll get out, just hold.”

“Master,” knelt the cultists, “-tell us, humble fools, who this lady is?” the leader nodded as if in full conversation, “-a suitable host?” the men rose lustful smirk. Consciousness was nay, for being pulled abruptly knocked her sense of orientation. The eyes blinked, the lungs rose, the heart pumped, and all subconscious tasks resume. Alas, in no way was she present. Yuria’s tall and slender frame, long legs hidden behind her adventuring robe came to be exposed. The leader couldn’t hide his excitement, “-SUCH A pretty visage,” he took no time and ordered chains, her unresponsive self was propped at the end of the table. A nasty lick of the lips foretold what was to come. Cora and Kaleem fought, they pushed and wailed – nothing was to be done. Yuria’s innocence was taken, her chastity robbed and her dignity destroyed. Her consciousness returned all-to-late, the sight rock of her body – silent tears fell, ‘-my goddess,’ escaped a defeated warrior, ‘-I’ve broken my vow of virtuousness. I’m not deemed to be called a follower of Miira,’ with what little strength remained, she rose her hands and tapped her symbol, “-release,’ Miira’s blessing shattered.

“She moved,” said one.

“Flip her over then,” said another, panting with sweat and pleasure, “-let us enjoy more.” They force themselves deeper, she could but remain silent, fighting in her own way. Where heroes would have swooped in and rescue the damsel in distress, hers was nowhere found. Cora and Kaleem’s presence faded, and the cloud she conjured disappeared. “I’m sorry,” she looked at the ceiling, “-I’ve failed.”

An explosion threw the duo onto grass, “-YURIA!” leaped Kaleem, “-where are we?”

“Shadow Realm,” said Cora, “-she sent us home. What the fuck is she thinking?”

Before another move was made, valkyries circled the duo, “-come with us,” they said coldly. A council room beckoned the four generals.

“Cora, Kaleem,” said their respective goddesses, “-what have you done?”

“My lady,” inferred Cora, “-if I may speak freely?”

“Go ahead,” said Gophy, “-don’t waste our time.”

“Yuria’s in danger, we must return.”

“She’s already gone,” thundered Miira, “-Cora, Kaleem, I’m disappointed. I thought I sent you expressly to protect my dear student, not throw her in the fray. She removed her blessing and spoke words of the dying.”

“Don’t blame us,” interjected Kaleem, “-I get it, we were supposed to help her. What the fuck are we supposed to do when a damn unknown entity casually breaks YOUR barrier and steals YOUR student. WE FOUGHT TO GET OUT, BUT NOTHING FUCKING WORKED. Do you think I ENJOYED WATCHING YURIA BE DEFILED? ANSWER ME? She’s like a sister, I treat her harshly because I love her so much. She’s precious to me, and then that happened, I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING. Power of the gods, what’s the point of having guardian deities when they won’t even HELP?”

“Enough,” Cora rose, grabbed Kaleem’s head, and forced him headfirst onto the marble floor, “-my apologies, goddesses. He’s animated...”

“Is it true?” Miira flew from her seat, “-tell me, Kaleem, is it true?”

“Yeah,” he sobbed heavily, “-I couldn’t do anything...”

She shut herself, pressing her forehead in stress, “-if I may interject,” a dark-haired man approached, “-would it be alright if I were to join your students in their moment of plight?”

“God of War,” smiled Lilith, “-tell us, Formle, what’s the true intention?”

“Nothing much,” he returned, “-I simply wish to draw blood,” he smirked, “-the Shadow Realm is amazing. I’m fond of my newfound home. Therefore, I can’t sit back without avenging one of my own. Lady Miira, don’t blame yourself, nor do you, Kaleem, and Cora, no one needs to bear the blame for what has happened. Heed to the voice of one who’s familiar with Draebala. The place, I say, is worse than anything to have been created by the hands of a deity. No amount of preparation can rival what the domain throws. Remember, for tis not only a place for non-gods but gods and demons as well. The factions lie and thrive, everyone knows what needs to be done.”

Miira rose a stern gaze, her face refreshed from prior entanglement. “Formle, I humbly ask for thee to save my precious student. Send her home, no matter what state she’s in, dead, alive, I care not.”

A portal materialized, “-until we meet again,” they leaped through, leaving the guardian deity piercing Miira’s seat.

“Explain,” they demanded, “-we know a blessing can’t be refuted by the blessed. Tis the god who revokes said right. Miira, what have you done?”

“I followed the path of anarchy,” she said, “-to gain, one must lose. Formle is right; we checked on the trio from time to time. We don’t know what could happen. I knew what was going to follow, especially since the new addition of lady Violetta, weaver of destiny, to our arsenal of heavenly rescue. She foresaw a great tragedy and expression said that destiny was subject to change from those blessed by gods and demons. Strong emotion can change an entire world, such as the reason for gods like Formle’s birth – a collective thought gathered to bring an unknown into the very fabric of reality. What I mean to say is, that our children would have been crushed later. They now know the stakes of Draebala, my methods are unkind, however, I do not regret my actions. Yuria’s chastity was already lost when she arrived from the captured world. Overcoming thy weaknesses is the true purpose of adventuring, if they don’t understand that much, well, I’m afraid we’re bad teachers.”

“You make trivial matters so ambiguous,” yawned Lilith, “-the idea’s good, and they’ll learn a valuable lesson. Getting rid of softness early makes for a sharper sword in the future.”

“I suppose it’s normal,” said Intherna, “-lady Miira is known for her friendly demeanor and vile personality.”

“Correct,” chuckled Gophy, “-on that note, I suppose I should take my leave,” the goddess of destruction left.

“She’s acting weird,” narrowed Lilith, “-any idea, Intherna?”

“No, she doesn’t talk about her private life much.”

“Perhaps an old lover,” the room cleared, leaving Miira to teleport to her private estate – a manor built close to the temple of Kronos. ‘I’m sorry, Yuria,’ the hardened fa?ade broke, ‘-how can master do this daily. Picking the best option despite the happiness of the subordinate. One can’t truly be heartless, can they?’ her hands shook, ‘-I’m a goddess... look at me, shaking like a leaf, how pathetic,’ a subdued portal opened, ‘-I need to see him,’ she stepped through, her godly apparel changed for one fitting of the mortal realm. Sun quickly warmed her body, ‘Carne manor,’ written across a wall. Dry leaves and twigs crushed; her light blond hair turned with a woeful strain.

“Miira?”

“Igna,” she leaped into his arms, “-I missed you...” he calmly tightened the embrace and patted her back, “- shall we talk inside?”

“Yeah, let’s.”