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Magpie stared at the shut violet marbled door for what felt like an eternity. She heard her heart throbbing at the ears, anxious of Ravage's return and her inhuman voice echoed in her mind with that intimidating look. It was a look she had seen before in Shadow and from a few men she encountered in her home. The evil intent and readiness to kill was clearly sensed in their eyes. An icy shudder ran through her body and sort of woke her from her trance and train of thoughts. Magpie blinked as she realized she was lying on the ground and slowly stood up, her left arm burned. A cut Ravage gave with her sword. She placed a hand over the wound, and her eyes wandered down to her belt. Her sheath was there but no sword.
Magpie flinched at the sound of a sharp whisper, but she couldn't find out its source nor make out the words. She blinked as she found herself standing in the midst of some path with very tall dark bushes, a few bare trees and branches covered in moss and chequered tiles as floor. There was a full moon shining in the starless sky, and thin mist floated around the moon and lurked in dark shadows. A faint hiss made Magpie turn and looked up; there stood a long piece of metal with a lantern on top (old petrol street lamp), emitting a faint warm orange light. That light reminded her of Ignatius and his magic. Immediately she recalled what happened; he changed into a gryphon and communicated with his telepathy. His magic has changed since he rescued her, grown stronger and-
The sharp whisper made her flinch. What am I doing? This is no place to be lost in thoughts. Magpie collected herself and started to walk the only path laid out before her while trying to locate the whisper that grew louder and clearer as she walked deeper. The sharp voice slowly turned to a man's voice and grew softer as Magpie walked further. Oddly it sounded familiar, but she can't recall having heard that voice-
Suddenly there was a snap of a twig; rapidly, Magpie turned around to see. There was no one there. Soon she heard silence and the soft hiss of further lanterns, providing a bit of light in dark corners. She sensed the silence heavily around her. Something wasn't right. Abruptly a loud crack emitted from the bushes beside her, a few meters in front of her; the bushes grew together from both sides, closing the path, and sharp purple thorns revealed from beneath the dark leaves. Giving her no chance to climb over it or, in short, no turning back from here. Soon a cloud of a strange metallic scent penetrated her nose; as she followed the scent, it came from the purple thorns, and the black leaves began to ooze as if drenched, but it was a dark thick substance. What is this? Poison? No matter what, I won't take my chances of letting that plant touch me. I need to get out of here quickly. There must be another way out; I'm sure Ravage is waiting at the door, like a cat in front of a mousehole.
"Magpie." Whispered a man's voice from the path further ahead. It was the same voice she heard before that sounds oddly familiar. Cautiously Magpie walked further but kept throwing a glance over her shoulder. The place became stranger and stranger as Magpie walked on. The moon never wanders across the night sky, there are no stars to navigate, and the bushes are anything but normal with their black leaves, oozing like ink and grow purple thorns with the metallic scent of poison. "Magpie." Whispered the voice.
She halted and closed her right eye to see better with her left magical eye. She gasped as she saw everything was magical, down to the very fibres of the leaves in the bushes. Everything glowed brightly in purple, and it pulsated, but there was no heart in sight.
"Magpie." Whispered the man's voice, and it sounded very close by. She froze in terror and felt how her heart pounded away in fear. "The missing piece, whose time has passed. A haunting sensation that lasts. The goal of the outcast. The question is within, and the answer lies in the past." The last word was so clear it felt as if whispered into her ear. Magpie tensed her shoulders and slowly found the courage to turn around. A bit beyond an arm's length stood a young man with long straight copper-brown hair to the elbows, but what made him unique was his large almond-shaped eyes, and his irises were violet-like amethysts. His hair has the same colour as Magpie's, and his ears long and pointy. An Elvanshee? (elf) Magpie blinked as she couldn't believe what stood before her. She never met one but only heard of them from what Ignatius told her. One can always recognize them by their pointy ears, large violet eyes, sharp reflexes and sensitive senses. This one had his hair tied to a ponytail and wore a long dark brown leather duster. He was a head taller than Magpie and smiled down at her warmly. That smile woke within Magpie an old warm feeling she hasn't felt for a long time, so long she didn't know it is a part of her. She blinked and took a few steps back. "Who-who are you?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that until you've solved the riddle." He spoke softly as velvet.
Magpie drew out her dagger from her corset and pointed the sharp tip at him. "I'm in no mood for any games. Are you from Shadow?" She hissed.
The man remained calm but was surprised for a moment before continuing to smile. "Solve the riddle, Magpie, and then we can talk." He paused. "The missing piece, whose time has passed. A haunting sensation that lasts. The goal of the outcast. The question is within, and the answer lies in the past."
"What happens if I don't solve the riddle?" Hissed Magpie.
"Then you'll wander within this infinite maze forever."
Magpie stared at the elvanshee wide-eyed.
"Solve the riddle, Magpie." He repeated with a concerned look.
Slowly she lowered her dagger, sensing from his eyes it is the truth and he won't cause any harm. "And if I do solve it, besides talking with you, what else will happen?"
"The opposite of when not solving the riddle."
Magpie scoffed with doubt. Why am I trusting him? Where's proof of him lying or not? Not to mention if he is one of Shadow's creations like Ravage? "I'm taking my chances." She paced down the path and kept her distance from the oozing bushes. As soon she turned her back against the stranger, the whispers started again, and this time they were clear, repeating the riddle that the elvanshee mentioned. As fear seized Magpie, she started to jog for a while further down the lonely path and heard numerous twigs snapping and bushes growing, closing her path behind her. She halted as her lungs and legs began to ache to catch her breath. Briefly, Magpie looked over her shoulder to see if the stranger is still there or the bushes closing in on her. There was nothing, aside from the whispers.
Suddenly a bare moss-covered branch twirled around her waist and arms like a rope and lifted her from the ground. Magpie had no chance to its sudden appearance and struggled to liberate herself. She can't move her arm that holds her corset dagger, and her boot dagger was given to Ignatius. "Damn it!" She cursed while trying to slip or squeeze past, but the branch held her tight. The whispers around her intensified with the riddle.
"Magpie! Solve the riddle!" Called the stranger but he was nowhere to be seen. The branch started to move her towards the bushes and revealed its purple thorns as if it sensed her presence. Magpie fought harder to free herself, but it made no difference. She saw no other choice. The past? What past? My past? A missing piece? From me? I was a slave, an orphan. No one wanted me. My parents? No, they never wanted me. Wait, the riddle says a missing piece. Could this be one of my parents? Magpie blinked as she scented the poison and her answer readily in her mind. Is that stranger, my father? "Wait, I think I have the answer; it's father."
The branch froze on the spot and loosened its grip, and Magpie fell onto the tiled floor. She landed clumsily on her bottom and grimaced in pain. As she wanted to get up, the stranger stood before her, offering his hand to help. Hesitantly she took it and got up. He smiled at her warmly.
Rapidly Magpie made distance from him and held up her dagger at him. "Tell me, who are you, and why did you help me?" She hissed.
The elvanshee remained calm and scoffed amused. "The name's Kieragh Flehann; I'm an elvanshee, as you've noticed and am your father."
Magpie tried to suppress her laughter of surprise and bit her lower lip but smiled broadly. "Yeah, right, and I'm the goddess of distrust." She teased and rapidly turned grave. "I prefer to go with your name. So, Kieragh, what gives you the impression that I'm related to you? No one wanted me since I can remember."
Kieragh smiled. "You have your mother's sharp tongue and her eyes. I am not surprised that you can't remember me. You were an infant, barely a few days old before being handed over to the slave traders."
Magpie stared at Kieragh wide-eyed speechless.
A soft, warm breeze blew the few dead leaves away between the gravestones. On one tall stone sat Ravage, dangling her feet while singing herself a melancholy song. Her eyes wandered between the shut marbled door and Magpie's sword in her hand. She's noticed the sky above her turning redder and heard multiple rolls of thunder but no lightenings. Magpie is taking her sweet time. Hopefully, she'll return soon. She mused to herself and jumped off the stone. I'll find someone else to play with. I hope Blue has recovered well. Ravage smiled broadly to the thought and gripped tighter to the sword. My mark on him will lead me to him. I think I'll give him a heads up; it doesn't make any difference if I come announced or not. She giggled gleefully. Soon she held up a finger to her sharp teeth and pricked it; ruby-red blood oozed, quickly she brushed the bloodied finger along with the tattoo on her other hand and held the hand up. The tattoo and blood glowed in red. "Blue, I'm coming for you. Let's play" She sensed Moryuu's location and in what condition he was in. She saw what his eyes saw and recognized the environment.
For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence in the air between Cordis, Talon and Ignatius. With a deep sigh, Ignatius dared to break the heavy silence and spoke through his telepathy. "Remember why we are all here in the first place. What good will it do going at each other throats? The loop will continue at that point, would it not?"
“I’m pretty sure I told you to stay out of my head, you overgrown turkey,” Cordis chided as he twirled the scythe overhead. The weapon was then pointed at Ignatius. “Plus, what if the loop continues? It’ll be your first time repeating anything.” Gold eyes then panned over to the portal maker. “And I think he deserves to be a part of this maddening cycle since he wanted to take his sweet time getting here.”
Talon scowled as the tentacles held tighter. “That’s not my fault!”
“Oh, yes, and sending dolls is so much better than a note or hidden message, right?” Cordis scoffed before dashing at the man with the scythe raised. “C’mon, let’s get you initiated into this hellhole!” Cordis stabbed the blade downwards before chuckling as Talon managed to roll out the way. Retrieving the weapon, the blonde repeated the previous action before jumping back as a portal appeared. Twirling the scythe as the edges of the portal warped, he grinned before slashing through it to rest the edge of the blade beneath Talon’s chin. Stepping closer, he rounded the man until his weapon sat snugly against his opponent’s throat before bringing it in closer to draw a line of blood. As Talon stared up at him wide-eyed, Cordis flashed a maddening grin.
The attack never happened as Cordis was knocked back hard enough to offset his balance. Once corrected, Cordis set off again before stumbling at what felt like a powerful punch to the stomach. As he went to glare at the gryphon, Ignatius' eyes glow like embers in a fire; a third blow sent the man careening into the side of the warehouse before dropping to the ground. Ignatius observed the prone man some distance away before walking over to Talon to help him to his feet once the tendrils around his legs had been severed and the others had retreated. “Are you alright?” He noted the look of apprehension before turning his attention back to the reaper that was slowly picking himself. “Wait here.”
“Where are you going?” Talon questioned as the gryphon made his way over. “Wait! Are you crazy?!” Ignatius didn't look back at him and approached the other man that appeared to be vomiting the same black substance he had seen previously. Slowing his pace as the other finally got to his feet, the caster was taken aback at how the blonde charged at him before something seemingly knocked the man back to the ground. Ignatius took a step forward when Cordis started vomiting more of that substance before the man charged without warning. This time Cordis managed to close the gap, but something was off with the way he held the scythe. Sharp eyes could see how the blade gave the slightest tremor before reeling back to swing. The attack never came.
The scythe trembled before the blonde growled, “What are you doing? Knock it off!” Ignatius could see the substance leaking from the corners of the other’s mouth and nose. “If you let me kill them, you’d feel way better! You wouldn’t have to be a reaper anymore! Trust me! You want to go home just as much as I do!” Cordis turned his attention back to Ignatius as he tightened his hold before letting out a frustrated growl as the scythe clattered to the ground. He then doubled over to vomit for a third time before dropping to one knee. Ignatius then bided his time before approaching the man. “Jayden…?” He noted the flinch before seeing a pale face looking back at him as more of the dark liquid leaked from the corners of his mouth. “You are Jayden, correct?” He looked up to Ignatius and, while panting for air and couldn't believe what he saw.
Ignatius wasn't in his gryphon form but his natural human and shimmered in orange, his magic. He was offering a hand to him with no hint of resentment, but his expression was hard to read.
"Ignatius." Gave Jayden surprised and weak. "I thought you couldn't change?"
The moment it was mentioned, Ignatius gasped and look at his hand orange shimmering hand. "I-I don't understand. I thought the same as you that I can't change for whatever reason. Maybe my magic hasn't finished its progress. Perhaps now is the best time to heal you and Vandal. It will cost a great amount of my energy, but it's worth a try." He offered his hand anew to the blond and forced a smile. "We are in this together and will get out of this, together."
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