Chapter 160: What It Costs to Be in Charge
There was now sound in the jungle.
Wolves were making faint, drawn-out and guttural calls in the distant woods. The voice drifted through the forest, making the air thicker and giving Natasha goose bumps. It wasn't the monsters she was most afraid of. This was what they praised.
Everyone was exhausted after the battle was over. Her robe was soaked with sweat and blood and her eyes had become sunken because of all the magic she had used. Eldric sat against a tree, his midsection swathed in soaked red bandages. Dren still stood firm, yet Natasha could see that he was tired inside. He kept his hand near the hilt of his blade as he walked with Alison close by his side.
They struggled to take a break. Not yet.
In front of us were the ruins, looking like a forgotten god. Slowly, the red symbols on ancient stones moved in time with a force far below the surface. The evil energy that had invaded the jungle now gathered here and Natasha realized this was its center.
"Let's get in there," she suggested, whispering.
She looked steadily at her, her eyes showing concern. "You're not fully recovered. Nobody is. A plan is necessary—
I don't have the time. The fear lifted a bit as Natasha's eyes narrowed to a razor-sharp focus. Should we hesitate, they will finish their ceremony. You were affected by the same thing. Energy is on the increase.
Alison came up beside her and put a hand softly on her shoulder. We do as you suggest. You have too many things to think about, Natasha. Let us take some of the burden together."
She really wanted to accept his invitation. She was ready to depend on them. However, the vision she had in the relic chamber had not changed.
She kept seeing the nightmare where her brother, held in crystal, cried out for her and darkness finally took him.
This was what she had to carry. Her fight.
They crept quietly into the ruins. The vines in the stone corridors moved like the veins of a twisted muscle. The further down they descended, the colder the air got, so that not even Dren's gloves could stop their breath from turning to mist.
In front of me was a round doorway covered in seven blood-red runes.
Ira paused. The seal is the main feature here. A sound one."
Natasha got closer and looked at the symbols more carefully. They went beyond being magical; they felt like they were alive. Each pulse trembled through her, as if it were noticing her presence.
"They are reacting to what you're doing," Ira told her.
Natasha nodded. "I'll see if I can do it."
She stretched out and laid her hand on the middle rune. The stone felt very cold, yet it was alive beneath her touch.
There was a gentle rumble and the runes grew brighter.
That was followed by the voice of the killer.
A person carrying the mark from the game. You have the nerve to come back.
Natasha suddenly became stiff. The voice did not seem to come from anywhere in the physical world. The idea was playing with her thoughts, bringing a sinister amusement.
"I'm here to pick up my brother," she stated out loud. I am not going to go without my friend.
The laughter in the chamber was as sharp and loud as broken glass on metal.
"Then watch how your decision affects you and your life."
The runes spread out in a bright glow. Natasha was able to see her brother hanging in the air, enveloped by dark threadlike strands, for just a moment. Tattooed symbols on his body, he looks full of anguish.
And as he looked, he saw his reflection, but it was distorted. A figure of herself with eyes as hollow as her soul, black veins on her skin and a knife made from bone.
She took a step backward and gasped.
She was there to catch Alison. "What was your impression?"
She said, her voice rough, "There is something you ought to know." Or, at times, it may be a promise.
The seal made a clicking noise. The door opened with a squeak and I saw a staircase going down into the dark. He and the other man looked at each other. There is no way to turn back.
Gradually, they went downward. The walls dripped with black liquid and each breath felt more and more thick.
After descending the stairs, they reached a huge round area, where there was a shining altar at the middle. Energy in the form of chains came out from the altar and held one person in place.
"Ren!" Natasha sobbed and felt her heart leap with upset.
Her brother barely came back to consciousness. The tight chains pulled energy from his body.
Still, there was something else that came between them and the altar.
A character wearing armor made from white bone. Its face was hidden by a helmet, but the monster seemed full of dread. Four glyphs were spinning around it, resembling blades.
"I am the Herald," said the figure. Natasha, you have made great progress. This is the last step you can take.
Alison took a step, her sword in front of her. "Do something or fail."
The Herald looked up with curiosity. I thought I would be more afraid.
"Disappointment's mutual," Natasha said, stepping beside Alison.
Herald raised her arm and the crowd of glyphs surged forward.
The combatants started fighting.
Dren caught one glyph and broke it by punching it with great force. Sparks exploded. Eldric and Ira joined forces, using their magic and shield together to stop the last glyphs. Natasha and Alison brought a lawsuit against the Herald.
Both sides fought very hard.
The Herald struck as exacting and even as a weaponized machine on the battlefield. Both fighters were dead even, yet every effort by Alison made her more tired. At the side, Natasha moved and her sword began to glow with magic.
And after that, the Herald spoke up once more.
"It means you will have to sacrifice something to protect him."
A crack opened in the surface. Ren's chains flared brightly and he gave a loud, terrified shout.
Natasha froze.
"Natasha, don't!" Ira shouted. "It's trying to break your focus!"
But the voice in her mind got stronger.
Could you give up your powers if it saved his life? Are you willing to lose your soul?"
She dropped to the ground and her head burned with pain.
Alison yelled to the daughter, yet the struggle continued.
The world divided in her mind. She was alone and was gazing into the mirror, reflecting. She felt the dark side within her trying to contact her.
"You are strong," the reflection murmured. However, having strength and not giving anything up is pointless.
Natasha clenched her teeth together. "I can do without your abilities."
"You've already eaten it."
A forgotten moment from the trial of the Mark suddenly came to mind. She had seized the authority. To survive. To win.
Payment became necessary now.
There was a crack in the scene.
Natasha actually got to her feet and her aura changed from gold to black.
Alison looked at her with her eyes wide open. "Natasha…?"
She advanced toward him. Let the person move on.
Noticing the shift happening in her, the Herald held silence.
Now, for the very first time, it bowed down.
The Mark allows the system to continue.
The chains were broken.
Ren fell into her arms after what happened.
As the chamber shook and the Herald vanished in smoke, Natasha sensed something else about herself change.
Something vital.
Something pure.
Light veins appear on her wrist and disappear after a while.
She whispered "I'm fine," as she clung to her brother.
Inside me, however, there was now a spark of something different.
Expectations that would rise as the book continued.