Angelica POV
The room was tense, the remaining commanders of the expedition sat around this long table, their expression unreadable and their bodies still as if they were statues. Turning to my side I found Razark unbothered by the situation and was just staring at them, but he seemed a little off, as if something was bothering him and he's in pain.
"So, how are you all with this request?" I asked and again received no answer, letting out a tired sigh I slammed my palms on the table.
"Listen here you fuckers, you're commanders. Not mutes. You're leaders, not dolls. So when I asked for your opinion, I expect a fucking answer," I spoke in a dangerously low tone, accompanied by my killing intent.
All of their bodies visibly tensed and soon they started moving, their eyes met with one another, but didn't utter any words, as if they were communicating telepathically.
Soon all of them began to nod and all of them stood up, unsheathing their weapons, placing it on the table.
"Our weapons are for you to command. You are our leader. Wherever you go, we will follow behind you," One of the female commanders spoke, her fiery gaze returned and the previously dim eyes sparkled in determination. The others also had similar responses and I couldn't help but smirk.
"Good. But before we accept, I would like your input on how we'll do this. For what Our dear Vice Commander managed to gather was something about a being that controls undead that are in the numbers of thousands," I spoke, not wanting to beat around the bush and just present the bad part of this request.
"Well that is troublesome, but the villagers would also be helping us right?" One of them asked and I nodded in confirmation.
"Then we can infiltrate the main base of the enemy, whilst the ones here prepare. When we enter we will map out every inch of the castle and its guards, how strong they are, how many there are and their abilities," One of them spoke, but Razark stood up.
"So you're asking us to sneak in what I can guess is a highly protected base and map it out? Are you even listening to yourself, they said there are thousands of entities, it could take months to map out every inch of the place," Razark argued with the suggestion, but the man shook his head.
"No logically speaking the place shouldn't be too big, undead are not creatures that require rooftops above their heads, they're probably all wandering outside," Camy said, she is one of the most logical members of our group and the most perspective, so most people would follow her.
"Fine, I ask permission to depart tonight with four other members to see the infrastructure of the place, if it's just a singular building we can go along with the first plan, but if it's an entire city, we need to reconsider our approach," Razark spoke, but I halted him.
"What about the village chief, does he have no information to share?" I asked and Razark also thought about it before letting out a sigh.
"Apologies for my hasty attitude, I will try and gather some information from the locals," He spoke and immediately left the room. I tried to stand up to catch up to him, but remembering we were in a meeting all I could do was just wait for him to return.
What the hell was going on?
Razark POV
Before The meeting
As I looked around for further clues I could find myself slowly losing my sanity as voices, whispers started to resound in my head.
The only word to describe my current condition was insanity. I was slowly going insane.
"Come" The voice once again spoke.
I kept on walking and wandering until I found myself in front of the designated meeting location. Entering the hut my mind was still on that voice, trying to make it go away.
We all met and sat down. I didn't hear much about the meeting, besides staring at them all, until they started to discuss how we'll approach, that's when I joined the conversation.
We argued a bit before I excused myself to talk to the village chief. I left the building and the voices returned.
"Come find me," A dark whisper resounded inside my head as I drunkenly walked through the village.
"Come," The voice once again spoke and I could feel the back of my head throb.
"I pray to the Goddess Alexia to dispel any curse that has come to my way," I prayed and it didn't lighten up the pain, but it was still there.
Using this chance I picked up my phase and started running towards the chief's hut. As soon as I was in front of the front door I frantically knocked on the door in a rush.
"Anyone in there?" I shouted and a loud yell resounded from inside the house, stepping back from the front door I could hear footsteps and soon the sound of a lock being unlocked before the door finally opened.
"Sir Razark?" The chief looked at me confused, but placing both my hands on his shoulder for support I asked him.
"You mentioned that you and him had a deal right?" I asked hurriedly and he nodded.
"Where do you meet?" I asked and he pointed here.
"Do you know how big his base is?" I asked and to my disappointment he shook his head.
"Sir Razark may I ask, are you feeling well?" He asked, my mind was not in the present, nor was it one with my body. Feeling myself being pulled towards a certain direction.
"Tell the captain that I'll be back," I told him, but he opened his mouth probably to ask something, gripping his shoulders tighter I stared him dead in the eye.
"Tell her," I spoke sternly and he nodded, letting the chief go. I started to head east from the village.
"Come find me," The voice kept on whispering inside my head.
"Razark,"
"Imperator,"
"Ve.." It cut off
"Arghhh" I kneeled and screamed to the top of my lungs as if I was some wild animal, no I was in a condition worse than a wild animal, I was a wild beast.
After a while of kneeling I forced myself to stand up. Focusing on the voice in my head I kept walking just straight, through the burnt fields of what I assume was a forest in the past. The only thing that could be seen was black soil and burnt wood.
"Closer," It's dialogue changed and I looked around to see if I could spot anything, but nothing. Just empty burnt badlands.
I kept on walking what feels like days, with the voices chanting inside my head over and over again. The never ending whispers and screams inside my head are making me crazy. Soon enough I saw a burnt down shack and walked, or rather dragged myself towards it.
"Close," It's dialogue changed once again and I didn't even bother to look around and kept on dragging myself to the shack.
Using some force I forcefully entered the shack to find it empty and empty, other than a lot of destroyed furniture I couldn't see anything else around. I laid my eyes upon a very beaten down sofa and the thought of sleeping was tempting, but I marked a few defense runes of the seventh rank all around the shack before sitting down in a lotus position and closed my eyes.
"Body technique, realm beyond consciousness. Body separation," As soon as those words were uttered I could feel myself getting lighter and the vision around me was black, gray, and white. I levitated upwards phasing through the rooftop of the shack and up to the sky.
Once I was high enough I saw that the area around us was just burnt wastelands, but from afar I could see a black castle. I wasn't sure of the true color of the castle though. I flew towards the castle and when I looked down I saw that there were creatures lurking around a tall grassfield.
"Those must be the undead," I thought and flew lower to check.
When I landed I was only met with tall grass all around me, subtle rustles could be heard all around me and when I turned around I nearly jumped as I was met with the face of an undead, mere inches from my face.
Its low, guttural moaning and sometimes groaning sound could be heard clearly as if I was there.
"Okay focus, let's find.."
"Come," The same voice resounded in my head accompanied by a heavy headache.
"Argghh," I groaned as I knelt down to the ground and my vision became blurry before I was met with the wooden walls of the shack.
I had to rethink my approach, the voices were very annoying.
The orb.
Quickly I took out the white Orb Moria gave me and channeled some mana into it.
"Let's just hope this works," I prayed and soon the orb glowed bright white and a figure appeared on the top side of the white orb.
Placing the orb onto the ground I took a kneeling position to the Goddess in front of me.
"I humbly present myself to thy benevolent Goddess of Protection," I spoke and a soft hum could be heard in front of me. Standing up with my head still lowered down I took a deep breath.
"You may raise your head Razark, you know that out of my contractors out there you are by far my most favorite," She spoke in a soft, and elegant tone that could seduce even the coldest man.
"As you wish," I replied and raised my head to meet her eyes. The same bright blue eyes like Moria stared back at me, her long blonde hair that stopped at her waist was as if they were glowing. Her hourglass body that is able to seduce any man. Shaking my head away from those thoughts I immediately distracted my mind with the thought of her being the ex wife of the old man.
"I'd appreciate you not to do that Razark," She spoke up and without even getting surprised I just hummed.
"Sorry, you know that I have to distract myself, since you yourself earned the nickname seductress all across the land," I replied respectfully and she just pouted and huffed in a cute manner.
"So what do you wish to speak about my dear contractor, seeing that you are yet to leave this cracked space means that you need assistance," She commented and I nodded,
"I wish for something to suppress some voices in my head," Before I could continue she clapped her hands.
"So those were the annoying voices I've been hearing in your head," She exclaimed and as expected she managed to sense its presence. It saves me a lot of time.
"About that, I'm not sure that is my field of expertise, how about you wait for a while whilst I call for my daughter. I'm sure you've met her," Her reply was something that I was not happy with, not because she can't help me, but because now I have to bargain with another God which sometimes can get pretty annoying.
"Alright I've called her, whilst we wait is there anything you wish to ask?" She asked and one thought popped up immediately in my head. A question that's been bothering me for days.
"How long since the expedition?" I asked
"It's been a year," She answered with knowing eyes that understood the point of my question.
"How's the condition of the Red Sun territory?" I asked and her face turned grimm.
"It's not looking any good, the Red Sun and the other factions have been pushed back by the infected, the Red Sun has lost two cities in the past year and rumors of monsters mutation because of the infected started to spread," She gave me a short summary, one that I did not want to hear.
"How's…" Before I could even finish my sentence she answered.
"He's safe and in command of one of the safest city the Red Sun Owns,"
"The cities we lost. Which ones?"
"Palax and Leto,"
"One of your sources of resources and income," She continued and I simply nodded.
"How is Ashben?"
"It is under the rule of Morgoth, but I doubt he can hold her position any longer given the current state he is in,"
"How much longer will Moria take before she joins us?" I asked feeling a bit impatient but I was only met by a soft giggle.
"Apologies it seems like I've taken much of your time, I'll excuse myself for now and please do return safely Razark," She said goodbye? I was first confused before I felt a blow on my ear, but I couldn't move. It was as if I was held in place forcefully.
"So, you called?" I could hear a soft and seductive voice behind me, calming my thoughts. I cursed Alexia for not warning me.
"Yes, please to meet you again Moria, Goddess of Memories," I replied calmly, but I could feel that Moria had her hands intertwined with mine.
"So what is it you seek from me?" She asked, letting me go and taking a few steps back.
"Your mother said that you have something that can help me regarding this thing that keeps on invading my mind,"
"Well I do have it, but tell me why should I give it to you," She replied playfully, her presence suddenly behind me again and I could feel her finger tracing my spine upwards.
"What is it that you can give me?" She asked and I for the first time didn't have an answer.
But after a while I sighed.
"One service. I will offer you one service, you set up the duration, but it cannot be slavery or anything close to it, and the maximum I'm willing to serve you is one hundred years," I offered and without even looking back I could feel her gaze pierce my very existence but she just placed a hand on the back of my head and I could feel some kind of warmth radiating from her palm.
"Kra'thos ha thok motha'rak, Zal'than ha trak ra'nok, Brak'nu zel thra'kona mok, Zol'tekk shra'kil krak,"
"Done," She replied and let go.
"Remember. Call me whenever you feel that you're in a pinch. But remember as well that you will owe me more favors," She offered before vanishing completely.
I started to notice the voices in my head are no longer and the headaches are gone, letting out a sigh of relief and satisfaction. I sat back down in a lotus position to scout the area.
Even though the outer ruins could be explored with ease, the moment I tried to step through the gate I felt something preventing me, opening both palms I tried to push through but to no avail.
Returning back to my main body I hastily cleaned up the runes and prepared to run back to the village, but a loud howl could be heard outside of the shack and I froze, preventing any way to make noise.
Growls and snarls could be heard outside.
"Silent steps," I casted and slowly walked outside the shack to see that it was night time.
"Shit," I cursed and looked beside me, a long wolf-like beast was stalking beside me, it seemed to have not yet noticed my presence, but the beast was not alive either. Parts of its organs were visible, whilst half of its body had no skin nor meat making its bones visible.
Blood could be seen coming out of its bare teeth, the same kind of blood shed by those rift monsters. I watched as more followed behind it, their jaws carrying many dead rift monsters. They were akin to some kind of organized squad as the one in front of them was the leader or alpha, and the members followed the leader. I wouldn't doubt that if the alpha were to sense me and order the rest to drop the bodies and pounce at me, they would do it in a heartbeat.
"At least there are no undead dragons," I joked to calm myself as one wrong move could compromise the whole mission, I had absolute confidence that I could take them all down, but it would most likely alert their master, so I had to carefully distance myself from the group of undead beasts.
But is that really what you wish to do? A sudden dark will inside me spoke and I was surprised to even have that thought.
Shaking my head to focus I managed to sneak out and eventually started to make my way back to the village, hoping they wouldn't pick up my scent, because of their dead state. I've gotten what I came here for and I should return and prevent myself from getting too greedy. I've learnt my lesson in the past, I do not wish to redo past mistakes.
Feeling that I'm already halfway there, I took a short brake and turned around to see if I was followed in any way. I felt anxious standing still in this barren and open field, but forcing myself would not do any better either, so I tried hastening the rest process with a few positions and in the end I only got twenty minutes of rest before resuming my sprint back to the village.
I kept looking left and right, my head jerking as if some kind of pendulum clock, my focus on the area around me, my senses at its highest to make sure nothing was following me. Soon enough I could slowly see the village. Just a couple more minutes before I arrived, the small huts of the village were slowly getting clearer, but my blood froze as I was only a kilometer from the village. In front of me was a familiar female with red hair and waited for me to come closer, as if waiting for a prey to step in a trap.
"Oh Goddess Alexia. Please grant this humble servant of yours protection from the coming evil and if I happen to not make it out alive, please burn my corpse and scatter my ashes in the highest peak," Were my last thoughts before I warily approached the captain who did not look happy nor delighted by my appearance.