Chapter 23: The Temple of Shadow

 ...

Mount Karaskai, at the foothills, Tira village.

A little girl with a sun-tanned complexion, her clothes stained with dust, was poking at a cicada on a tree branch with a thin twig. The weather at dusk was not very clear, with golden-edged clouds piled atop the treetops, looking as heavy as stones.

At this moment, as if emerging from the sunset at the end of the horizon, squads after squads of cavalry thundered towards her.

The little girl opened her mouth wide, her eyes sparkling, watching the disciplined soldiers march past. The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves under the glow of the setting sun resembled a boiling river, rolling along the path of the march. She took a bite of a black rye pie filled with onion, gently stepping with her bare brown feet among the trees, moving closer, her breathing quickening with the heavy sound of hooves.

She wiped the dust off her cheeks, her eyes stopped blinking—a young soldier sat upright on his saddle, his golden hair shining in the dusk light, his resolute expressions making her feel her cheeks burning.

A countryside maiden with budding affections.

The dusk light faded as the army passed, perhaps this scene would be the most profound in her memory, or perhaps not.

The girl seemed to want to get closer, but a hand wearing a black soft leather glove stopped her. The hand landed on her delicate shoulder, and with it came an abnormal chill, spreading like a bone-chilling river in the deep winter as the last rays of the sunset were about to fade, making her shudder violently.

"Relax, little girl," a gentle voice said, "It seems—you are very admiring of those cavalry under the jurisdiction of the Free Cities Alliance? Just like the dreams every little girl has, right?" She shrank back and looked up. A man shrouded in a black robe and cloak was looking down at her, his entire face hidden under eerie black mist.

"Mis...Mister" the girl stammered in fear, stepping back, "I should go home, my mother and sister will soon..."

"Don't rush, little one," the man said softly, his hands in black leather gloves passing under the girl's armpits, lifting her up. He let her panic and kick her bare brown feet for a while before bending down to let her sit on the ground, "Please forgive me for having to show you a unique play," he said, raising one hand towards a nearby cavalryman, "But, grand spectacles are always intoxicating, don't you think?"

"What are you doing!" the approaching knight shouted.

He was the one the girl had been watching—soft golden short hair, a young and resolute face, along with a beautiful half-armor, easily capturing the heart of a girl with budding affections. He might be a commanding officer with status, possibly even a noble descendant.

"Don't touch that little girl, you rat hiding under black cloak!"

"How ugly," the man in black slightly smiled, letting the knight roar as he approached, his gaze still on the girl cowering by the tree trunk, "One should never insult others, little one—only those with a superficial understanding and self-importance do that. Those who practice etiquette spend more time mocking themselves than mocking others."

Then—a colder, more ominous darkness descended. Threads of black smoke crawled along the ground, like countless tiny venomous snakes—they converged in the air in front of the girl, forming another man in a black robe.

"Sacolas, can you put your interests aside for a moment?" he said.

"When the stage play is performed—having more spectators makes the performers happier, I've always believed that."

The first man removed his hood, black smoke pouring into his eyes—revealing his empty eye sockets. His expression was serene, his face wearing a strange smile, but his blind eyes seemed bottomless, like dark pools. The smoke swirled in his eye sockets, as if it would never dissipate, like windows to some ancient maze.

"What happens next is not very polite," Sacolas said slowly, "I should repent for that." He bowed to the girl, turning his empty eye sockets towards the knight—

The air tore. Bones trembled. Thoughts paralyzed.

Gray-white beams shot from the man in black's eyes, like ribbons woven from dark clouds, sweeping across the knight's entire body. He didn't even have time to scream, everything under his skin completely decayed, his withered body flung high like chaff from a threshing floor. When he landed, only a lump of shriveled skin and bones remained, shattering all over the ground with a snap.

The girl suppressed a scream deep in her throat in extreme fear, her body shaking like a sieve.

"There are always those eager to seek death," he said in a tone of condemnation and disgust, "When the dungeon gates leading to the Dream Warren will soon close. Although I have no intention of stopping the steel inquisitors leading their Holy Cross knights, sending an army—seems a bit excessive," Sacolas smiled and turned to the girl, "Do you agree?"

"Priests of the Temple of Shadow! Form a line!" someone shouted, "Priests of the Temple of Shadow!"

Deafening shouts, and the sudden acceleration of hooves.

"Charge!"

"Prepare the demon-hunting crossbow bolts and flintlocks!!"

Another priest removed his hood.

Black mist swirled, the priest let out a chuckle. On other side of the road, people were shouting and preparing crossbows and flintlocks, while silence here enveloped the girl like an invisible bag.

Black mist swirled, like countless dead eyes staring at her.

Black mist swirled, like countless forked snake heads probing in all directions.

Black mist swirled—

Countless gray-black beams,—gray-black beams more oppressive than dark clouds swept across the sky and earth.

Rows of four-cornered crossbow bolts shot like locusts, but before they could hit the ground, they turned to ash in the beams that swept across the sky. The priests of the Temple of Shadow stood expressionlessly, their black mist-filled empty eye sockets sweeping over the hastily formed military lines. Wherever their gaze turned, heart-wrenching screams and violent tremors rose. The roar of guns firing was like the whisper of mosquitoes in the echoing beams of terror, skin withering and cracking, flesh falling from bones, invisible whips lashed the earth, flinging steel and horses into the air like leaves in the wind...

The cavalry charged forward like madmen, their hooves crushing their fallen comrades in the front—perhaps knowing that those who flee would only die faster—they shouted, cried out—"Glory to Gerdan!" launching a charge soaked in fury and fear from the depth of their souls. They crouched on their horses to dodge, afraid of being hit by those evil beams, yet roared defiantly to cover their fear. 

Metal bullets from the flintlocks flew over the swirling dust, hitting the protective shields around the priests, turning to dust. Sacolas raised his right hand expressionlessly, black mist rising like dark clouds, pouring out beams of almost solid shadows, smashing into the ground, spreading into a sinister lake, seeping through armor into skin, causing the flesh of the charging warriors to lie scattered like a lover's clothes.

Death came with a kind of eerie beauty.

And they were still charging.

At that moment, a huge demon appeared behind the priest, the hideous monster let out a piercing laugh, and with a claw, it struck.

"Ah, what a nice surprise, the accompanying mage is actually a demonologist," Sacolas clapped his hands.

In that eerie moment, the air suddenly ripped like tearing cloth while surging darkness descended. A three-headed black hound jumped out from the demon's shadow, biting its head and two arms. The beast's eyes were also swirling with black smoke, its gaping mouth extending below the neck, its white, densely packed fangs surrounded by the terrifying divine power, a high-level hound of the Temple of Shadow.

"We've all been impatient, haven't we? Go, crush this Khalibaral demon, then crush those little things." 

It roared, its voice like thunder from the depths of the earth, biting off the demon's limbs and head, tearing it apart. Its size was not much different from the demon's, but it swallowed the spiky monster in a few bites, crushing it to pieces.

"What about the village over there?" the other priest asked him.

"Feed them all to the hounds," Sacolas said in a matter-of-fact tone, "After all, we lived there for a while. Eliminating witnesses is quite important."

The girl shook her head in despair.

⏴ Previous chapter 丨Main丨 Next chapter ⏵

🔮Discord