Art: CloudSorcerer28
Song: Dark Mystery by Jason Shaw
______________

"The coming darkness. War is coming."
-Grayson, The Haunted: Episode 11, Infiltration
***

Nathan's point of view-

I often patrolled around the palace, searching for riots in the distance of the city that the castle overlooked or to protect the area. While I was not exactly a guard, it did help to clear my mind to do their work. Ever since the earthquake that occured a little over one hour ago, something has been eating at me that I can not exactly point out. It seemed to come out of the blue; apprehension, memories of my past that I had tried to forget. Why is this all coming up so suddenly? The worst of it was the doubts gnawing away at my head.

  "You can't protect anyone."

  "You'll always be weak, a coward."

  "Your father was right..."

I shook my head, trying to push everything back. Thoughts like those have not come up in so long. Why now after years of isolating them in the corners of my mind? Walking around was allowing me to relax here and there, however the thoughts would always return. I let out a sigh, deciding that I should probably head to Emmit and call it a day. I have been training for hours on end, bags beneath my eyes and tingling running through my feet on the edge of going numb. Perhaps that is what was wrong. I was just tired.
When I began to see figures out of the corners of my eyes, turning to find nothing, I was more convinced that I was seeing things due to exhaustion.
Perhaps it was more than exhaustion, I have worked more before, gone days without sleep, so perhaps it was my will finally cracking under stress from my coming deployment into the battle zone. A shudder sparked, fading gradually down my spine.
Never say that a soldier should be resilient to pressure. Never expect them to know the ins and outs of every fight. I should not assume that others do, and while I enjoy seeing the bright eyes of the crowd cheering our victories over the enemy, I can not help but to feel sombre and perturbed. Just as myself had as a child, do they forget that loved ones and valiant heroes had died out there in the field? Do they forget that we return scarred with physical and mental wounds? Even myself can forget how difficult it is to sleep at night when I am wondering through the day, the nightmares and restlessness from phantom screams that I know are not real. I am glad to have Nobel by my side in my salem hours, to feel those licks and his resting, curled up form atop my chest to give me reassurance and to watch over me like a loving, loyal guard dog. A loving family member.
With that thought, an orange glow emitted from against my chest, my own smile spreading across my cheeks. I had expected him to form on the ground, instead greeted by those puppy eyes staring into my own eyes right in front of them, lapping his tongue against my face. I laughed and stumbled a step or two back, stopping him from licking me.

  "Nobel! What are you doing out buddy?"

Nobel replied by spinning in circles with his bushy tail wagging furiously from side to side. I giggled and laid a pat on his head before he flew down to sit, yawning despite being a spirit with no need to sleep. I smiled, picking him up in my arms as if he were a puppy, though I suppose that he is. If he's just a regular fox, he's quite small and playful, a bit too much to have been fully grown, and if he is a kitsune as Mia thinks, then him only having one tail could mean that he may be around a hundred years old, still like a baby in kitsune years.

  "Trying to tell me to get some sleep?" I giggled as he gave a tiny yipping sound. "Why don't you and I go home and get some rest? It's been a long day." He nodded, snuggling up against me and curling his tail around himself.

It was then that I saw something out of the corner of my eye, instinctively looking around despite believing that it was my own mind playing tricks. Once Noble lifted up his head, digging his claws into my sleeve and he growled, I became less sure of my assumption. He jumped away from my arms, stepping in front of me as if to protect me from an unseen force. At that point, I had my sword drawn and poised for attack.
I began to feel dizzy and a bit nauseous, a ringing rising in my ear until it sounded like whispering. My heart thumped at too fast of a rhythm for me to count, my body going stiff as my breathing became shallow.

  "Y̵ơú ͘cóu̴l͡d̨n't͝ ͜ev̶e̛n̨ ́p̶rǫt̛ec̡t͟ th̕e̶m҉...̷"

I began to see image after image of people I knew dying out in the battle field. It was not some nightmare, they were real people I had watched die in war, real people that I was mere inches away from saving, soldiers and civilians alike. I suddenly felt like vomiting.

  "Yo͏u'll͝ néver ̨b̸e l͘iḱe̴ ͡Dra̷k̢e,̵ ͢you̵'ll̕ ̶n̷ever e͢a͢ŕn͜ he͠r a͢ff͟e͠c͢t́i҉o̢n͝, yo͘u'̷ll̕ n̸èv͢e͞r ̶d͠e̕s̵e̶r͠ve̶ ͢t̨h̀i͟s͠ ̡j͠o̴b ͡t͜h̵at t̡he em͜p͝eror has͡ giv̧en̕ ̛to y̷ou j̸u҉s͘t̶ ͜be͡caus͢e you̶ a̷r͟ę ́f͝r̀i̴end̶s.͘ ͝Ỳou͠'͟l̡l n͘év͟er ̛amo̵un͢t́ t̸o̶ aǹythi̧ng.̨"

  "Shut up!" I screamed at the voices as I held the sides of my head. So this is what Drake has to deal with on a daily basis?

My breath was then torn from me, seeing Mia, Drake, Xavier, Grayson...my friends bloodied on the ground, my pendant shattered on the bloody grass. That was the last thing that I saw before a bright flash of white enveloped my vision. I screamed, falling to my knees, the dreaded pounding in my skull distracting me from Nobel's cries and whimpers as he scratched at me, trying to get my attention to know that I was alright.
I tried to open my eyes to allow them to adjust and see that those images of my dead comrades was nothing more than an illusion, but I saw nothing but pure darkness. That was all I could see no matter how much or long I tried to regain my sight. No...no, no, no, I can't...I can't lose it again...I-I can't allow that bloody massacre of my friends to be the last thing that I see.

  "N-Nobel?" I knew that he was there, listening to his desperate cries as I too began to weep. Why is this happening? What's going on?! "I-I can't see anything."

I could hear chirping and clicking, slowly getting closer, though it sounded nothing like what I had ever heard before. I took the hilt of my sword, ready for any attack the opponent may bring. I've been blind before, and while still terrified, I have learned to live with the fear. I listened, waiting to make a move, practically able to hear my own tears hitting the ground beneath my feet.
As I blinked, my vision cleared just a bit, the world still blurred and clouded, however I could make out shapes and the bright amber colors swirling around me as Noble desperately attempted to give me back my sight. Unfortunately, it went back to black rather quickly since Noble was incapable of healing blindness.
Nobel was growling and snarling afterward, barking to call my attention to something behind me. I spun around and swung my arm, jumping to hear an inhuman scream like that of an Enderman. The ringing died in my ears, my vision slowly clearing to restore my sight. I blinked away the tears, a wave of relief washing over me to see the grass and the sky, to see the palace and Nobel and my own shaking hands. I sighed, holding my chest which now ached from the sudden spike in fear I had felt.

  "What the h**l? What was that thing?" I looked to Nobel, who looked up to me. His ears stood up straight before barking and running to launch a small orb of fire into the air.

As I turned on my heels to see what he was attacking, my lungs clenched once more, unable to draw breath. It's horns were like that of a fawn, and the skull of a man with eyes gleaming of silver and violet placed into its sockets. It wore a cloak of shadows, with legs resembling the hind legs of a goat. It's mouth opened up reveal jagged lips sharp as blades and an elongated forked tongue with deep violet hue. It towered over us with a swaying reptilian tail on it's backside, ringing filling my ears, causing my head to feel as if it were being crushed.
It let out a mighty screech, plugging my ears to avoid going deaf. As it lifted it's hand with red bands around its wrists, I could see an extra pair of glowing red and purple eyes on its hands before it swung its extended appendage to strike me.
It moved with such speed that I had not a single moment to defend myself. A burning pain shot up in the right of my chest, cheek and chin. A grunt after a cry of pain slipped out of me after I was struck to the ground, red liquid running from my stinging wounds that it's claws had left behind.
Noble fought against it, using his own magic to defeat it, only for the enemy to vanish into thin air. I got back up as fast as I could, kicking my legs in unison to force my body to its feet. I held my sword out, looking around frantically for the beast. One of those things must have been what I had killed before regaining my sight, but...what the h**l are they? How could they have done that, made me feel those emotions?
Hearing groaning from behind, I spun around and swung while simultaneously pushing myself back to avoid further injuries. I was able to land a hit on the foul creature, listening as it screeched in pain, stepping back as it's skin sizzled as if drenched with acid. I lifted my sword, prepared to bring the final blow until it faded into the shadows cast by the palace wall.
A small gasp fled from my throat, looking around in hopes of spotting it with no success. I kept having depressive thoughts, my own mind repeating over that I was useless, that I should have died long ago. I was crying all over again, screaming for it all to leave me be.
I could hear an external laughter, pulling my attention towards a balcony by opened windows, the monster standing there with a jaw unhinged, opened wider than a normal humans with it's long tongue swaying, staring me down as if to mock my inability to reach it; to mock my weakness.
With a growl, I demanded for Noble to retreat back to the pendant, the fox spirit refusing to instead lay on my hat so he could heal me as best he could. I had no time to argue with the familiar, needing to get into the palace and warn everyone of what was waiting inside of it's corridors.
...

Third person point of view-

Xavier bowed before his superiors, waiting to be instructed to rise up before continuing with his message. "Armen came to us and said that he spoke with Grayson. He has ordered that we begin making preparations to evacuate the people of Iron mere southeast away from the war." He explained.

He stood before Emmit, Tylar, and a few other generals of the imperial army who could be found on such short notice. Emmit instructed the commanding generals to inform the troops, adding that he would speak to the council on the arrangements of the evacuation and determine the risks of doing so. With he and Xavier being the last two standing in the grand hall, Emmit turned back to Englishman.

  "Did Armen say anything about how everyone was on the expedition? Any injuries or casualties? Anything useful for us in the war?"

The spy took in a deep breath. "A few guards lost their lives, along with that, we have major issues." Emmit lowered a brow, curious as to what issues could have arisen.

Xavier explained everything to him that Armen had told of, how Drake could have been on the verge of death and that enemy forces had released a demon to aid them, including the possession of Jeremiah and betrayal of Dante. Emmit seemed concerned and expressed so with an anger in his voice, stating that he will get Grayson to execute him if ever located. He sighed, stating with an almost enlightened tone to mask his frustration that he knew Xavier never trusted him and that from now on if Xavier did not trust someone he would have Grayson put them under investigation. The chestnut haired gave a faint smile, happy about Emmit's trust in him, thanking him for so but telling him not to be too drastic, giggling softly.
The doors then opened, the guards opening it to allow in Lalea, Landen, Endy and Jane. Xavier smiled, excusing himself for a moment as he ran to the girls down the long length of the room however as he got closer to them, he noticed their fearful expressions. Once before them, he asked what had happened, alarmed by the bloody dressing on the hybrid child's arm.

  "We were attacked," Endy began, keeping an eye on Lalea who was still shaken, holding Landen against her chest. "By some strange creatures. They...they kind of looked like Nightmares however their appearance varied and...they tried to take Landen."

Xavier growled. "What? How could they have gotten passed all of those magi?! What could they have been?"

  "We don't know! Xavier, there was black magic throughout the guild. We couldn't sense them. I should have been able too, but..." Lalea bit her tongue.

  "Black magic?" Xavier turned his head to glance back at Emmit, as if he would know any answers, despite knowing otherwise. He looked back to the girls, clearing his throat. "You say they were like Nightmares? Corrupt spirits? If that's the case, then what if someone was controlling them like Herobrine controlled the Nightmares?"

Endy looked him in the eyes. "You're suggesting necromancy. The only necromancers we know of are...in the cult."

  "Dante tricked many people as well. If need be, I could help snuff out anyone with treacherous intentions."

The blue haired shook her head. "No need. I think we will be prepared now."

The spy did not seem satisfied with the answer, gazing to the floor before nodding and stepping aside for them all to approach Emmit. They told him about what had happened at the magi guild hall and notified him of their suspicions of necromancers among their ranks. Emmit at first was in disbelief, denying possibility of that happening when the magi could sense the corruption in the auras of people who use spells such as that.

  "You guys should have been able to sense them if a necromancer truly was in the guild. I'll look into it, however I do believe that something else is at play here...I just don't know what it could be."

Their attention turned back to the front doors, Nathan bursting in, stumbling and short of breath. Jane would have laughed at the way Nobel was perched on his hat if not for the panicked expression on the man's face.

  "Nathan, we were looking for you-" Emmit stopped mid sentence as Nathan stumbled up to them. "You're bloody! What happened?"

  "Emmit, we have a problem." He paused, taking in deep breaths. His wounds were healed but the blood remained, staining his face and coat. Of course this made the others alarmed, Emmit asking what it was that had attacked him. The general continued. "I-I...it was a creature, one that I've never seen before. It had the head of a skull and the body almost like a deer or goat but with massive claws instead of hooves draped in shadows. It can fade into shadows like a Nightmare...it seems that these things are capable of manipulating people. Memories, emotions."

He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Quite possibly, it can manipulate the body or at least the mind to make one imagine injury,...it-it...one made me go blind until I was able to kill it."

The girls and Xavier exchanged shocked glances. Endy added how those sounded to be a description of what had attacked them at the guild. Emmit demanded to know how many there were and if he had killed all of them.

Nathan shook his head. "One managed to slip past me. It's in the palace. It could be anywhere by now."

Eyes grew wide, a sense of panic setting into the others within earshot. Emmit released a growl, turning sharply with a wave of his arm to point to the guards. His booming voice echoed throughout the grand hall, ordering everyone to head out and find this beast. Emmit turned to those before him, informing them that he needed to speak to the council about the evacuation and that they needed to be cautious. Xavier and Nathan insisted that they would protect the girls, Lalea and Endy growling.

  "We can take care of ourselves, you know?" Endy huffed.

Xavier giggled. "We know you can, but that doesn't mean we can't help you if things go wrong."

Emmit excused himself, the small group heading to library to research there as the guild was currently too chaotic. Not to mention that Lalea now felt too exhausted to head back, wanting to just be somewhere she could relax. Yet how could she relax when a demon was roaming the palace then?
The uneasy feeling never left from Lalea; her eyes scanning around in a constant anxiety. She had already felt on the brink of breaking down from the events of today, and the entire situation with this potentially dangerous creature was not helping by any means. Landen noticed this, tugging at her mother's dress to draw her attention towards her.

  "Mommy, are you okay?"

The mother forced on a smile, holding her daughter firmly. "Mommy is just a little stressed, but I'm okay."

Endy looked over her shoulder at the two, forcing on a smile to calm them. "It will be okay, Lalea. We'll figure all of this out and get that thing Nathan told us of. I'm sure that the royal guard has taken care of it already!" In reality, the raven haired was not too sure of her own words, however she wanted to believe it. She kept telling herself those words in hopes that she would eventually trick herself into the belief.

In a sudden instance, the two magi felt like vomiting, barely able to keep themselves from gagging. The children and two males felt it as well to a lesser degree, however more startled and distressed by the presence than the adult females. One by one, they felt their legs go stiff, trembling beneath their own weight like flimsy twigs. Nathan, in his tired state, nearly fell over if not for regaining balance in the nick of time. They were struck by chills and ill feelings in their chests, heavy and aching. Tears dappled the corners of their eyes, their entire body's intoxicated by phantom weakness. If they had not stopped, Jane was sure that she would have fallen over.
Their eyes traveled to one another, being sure that they were not alone in their experiences; seeing and hearing memories and developing their own toxic thoughts. Even Landen was hugging her mother for comfort.

  "That feeling...it's what I felt outside." Nathan stopped, drawing his sword with the blade hissing against the scabbard. "I think it's here."

  "This is what we felt at the guild." Endy found it difficult to breathe in the abrupt thickness of the air.

Lalea jumped, turning around startled as she listened the clancing of metal from behind, eyes meeting with that of an imperial guard. She released a sigh of relief, the guard with a visor over his face do to his helmet, blocking his eyes and muffling his voice.

  "Lady Lalea, pardon for my sudden coming forth, however we found the creature!" The guard looked up, catching the attention of the others as well.

  "You caught it? Where?" Xavier asked, furrowing his brows. Something about this situation wasn't right. For a moment he saw something peculiar, a glow behind his helmets visor. Nathan noticed this as well.

The guard turned, leading the way, "Just over-"

Everyone was caught off guard, splatters of red raining upon the carpet, a single scream filling the corridor, surely alerting others nearby. Nathan stood behind the guard with a puffed chest and a blade piercing the weak point of his arm between the man's shoulder and elbow. The young general reached up, tearing the helmet off if the guard as he pulled his sword out from his body, the six staring into its purple and silver eyes.

  "I thought I saw a glow beneath that helmet." Nathan snarled, placing his two hands over the hilt of his weapon that he kept before himself. "You'll have to try harder than that."

Endy's point of view-

The guard began to laugh hysterically, sending chills to my core, enough to make my blood run cold for a few moments. I gasped, flinching when Nathan dropped his sword then suddenly collapsed onto the tiled floor.

  "Nathan!" We called out. We wanted to run to his side, but we dared not get any closer to the glowing eyed being.

He was gasping, as if trying to call out or to scream in agony. If I was hearing correctly, I could have sworn he was saying something along the lines of "I'm sorry." He repeated it over and over, his body lurching as a new wave of pain came over him each time.

Next, Xavier fell to the floor, hurling and gasping to the point that his pale complexion had gone red, tears falling from his eyes until eventually his body had nothing left in his stomach to dispose of, falling over onto his side, struggling for breath.

  "Dad!" Jane called out, myself screaming out his name, both of us running to his side.

We shook his nearly unconscious body and called out to him in order to bring him back to his senses, all to no avail. His bright green eyes had glazed over, however not to a deathly appearance. We moved him onto his side to keep him from choking on whatever vomit may have been left in his esophagus, though he continued gasping, trying to speak but having all of his words coming out as stutters and illegible. My eyes quickly shed tears as we watched him convulse, hastily growing feverish.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I could have sworn that I saw something moving in the shadows, or rather, the shadows themselves moving about. I could not bother my own thoughts with looking up to investigate, holding my husband's hand tightly to let him know that I was beside him, as he seemed to be unaware of reality based on the small phrases I could decipher coming from his mouth.
Lalea had dropped to her knees with a cry, holding her arms over her chest after releasing Landen rather reluctantly. It was then that I also felt a deep, intense ache, the pain radiating up and down the nerves of my right arm. The aching shifted into a sharp pain, my left eye feeling as if it were on fire. I let out a single scream, my good arm not knowing rather to claw at my eye or to grab hold of my other arm which felt as if bone had shattered beneath my skin.
Lalea forced herself up to her feet, blue magical energy coursing down her arms.
It was mesmerizing to watch as the creature shed it's human vessel like a snake shedding its skin, though significantly difficult to see when my good eye was blurred with tears. The body of the guard collapsed, not a single amount of energy from his life force to be felt. He was long dead. The black magic in the corridor became stronger than ever before to the point where I felt nauseous, or was that because of the numbing pain in my arm? Wave after wave of pain washed over me as if I was being beaten by fists and kicked, having the wind forced out of me which I struggled to regain.
We watched with a mixture of astonishment and terror as the shadows began to move around us like bats in a cave, chirping and screeching until my ears rung. Amongst the figures in the dark cloud, a tall figure with jagged teeth branching from it's lips and long horns stemming from its head stood, encaptivating eyes like that of silver emitting a dull white glow with a hint of blue.
As it stared Lalea and I down, we found ourselves screaming out in pain once more. Landen was weeping, clinging to her mother's shaking legs. Jane tore the chakram from Xavier's belt, turning around to the silver eyed demon with eagerness to protect us, tears falling from her eyes.
I knew that even with the three of us fighting together, we stood no chance. We were outnumbered, over powered. Even if we fought to our last ounce of strength, we would all inevitably meet our end. I cried out as demons came in left and right at Jane, clawing at her body as she took out as many as she could before losing her footing and falling over. I stood up, a burning in my chest, watching Lalea firing bolts of lightning which chained from one demon to another with little effect, using other ill efficient magics as well.
We can't die this way... I know how to fix this.
...

Third person point of view-

Drake watched as the apparition of Herobrine walked slow and steadily to his bedside, the parts of his body that were not currently paralyzed twitching spastically, not even finding it in himself to call out for help. The hybrid only growled and snarled, demanding explanations as to what all he was speaking of from the timelines to paradoxes that the fallen god had mentioned in their entwined ethereal state. Herobrine simply chuckled as a response, leaning over the end of Drake's bed, staring down at his weak form with smile. His lips twitched, as if his body per say did not know rather to smile at Drake's state or to be angered at what had occurred at the island. Perhaps it was neither.
Drake simply turned his head away to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

"Just a hallucination?" The demon laughed. "After eight years, you're still going with that lie. Pathetic."

"I thought you said to be patient. Why are you bothering me now?"

The demon shrugged. "Nothing better to do."

Drake whimpered, wanting to toss a pillow over his head to block it out, however knowing better than to tune out something from his own mind. It never worked.

"I don't want-!" He tried to sit back up, only to scream out in pain and fall back, spitting up blood that remained in his stomach from the brutal attack. Cecile on the bed next to him groaned, staying mostly asleep aside from a stir. Herobrine sighed.

The demon tilted his head, face devoid of emotion. "I am not messing with you, Drake. For once, I have a valid reason for you to listen."

While reluctant, Drake knew that he had no choice but to hear his enemy out. He could not move to fight or use his magic to shoo the image away. All he could do was lay there and listen. He only muttered something near incomprehensible, something along the lines of "What do you want now?"

Herobrine huffed, tilting his head back slightly as if hurt by the lack of trust, though it was just his cocky act that he enjoyed doing. He knew very well that he did not deserve trust, nor did he care for having it or not.

"You want to know more about what you'll be fighting right? So shut up."

Drake growled, not in the mood to be toyed with nor spoken to in such a way. Herobrine continued. "Without me around, demons and my followers alike will be praising what you released as their new god. I'm sure that as we speak, they are sending demons to deal with your allies."
...

The energy coiled inside of her, building up for release. Her head throbbed, muscles clenching as the energy coagulated inside of her body, using every ounce of her own focus to keep the energy inside of her until she knew that there was enough to get them out of this.
Jane watched from the ground as a violet light grew until it engulfed her stepmother's entire body, the towering silver eyed demon screeching as it lunged at her. A blue light struck it from the side, knocking it away from its target. With Lalea distracted, the silver and violet eyed demon took the opportunity to ambush the mage. Lalea rose her arm to defend herself and her child, knowing what her friend was doing behind her, firing a blast of magic which pushed the creature back just enough to give her the opportunity to shield her child in her arms.
They faced away from the raven haired, shielding their eyes as magical energy blasted in all directions around Endy. It tore away from her own body and expanded outward in every direction. The demons cried out as they evaporated in the intense violent light, the elite multi colored and silver eyed demons leaping to take cover in vessels, nearly possessing the deceased guard and Xavier who was still convulsing on the floor, fortunately blasted away from the powerful energy before even touching the vessels. The corridor shook and windows cracked, though Endy made sure not to make it too powerful as to hurt her friends and family or destroy the decor, though the second factor was not of her concern.
As the magic faded, Endy collapsed to her knees, panting and weakened but remaining conscious. Her mana was drained, leaving her silently praying that no more of those creatures were around to attack.

"Endy! Are you okay?" Jane ran up to her, immediately embracing her and thanking her stepmother for saving them, tears in her eyes from what had happened. Endy returned the tight hug.

"I'm fine, honey." Endy forced with harsh breaths, her own eyes releasing tears inspecting her step daughters injuries up close. "You were very brave doing that."

The girls turned their attention back to the boys coughing on the ground, groaning in pain. They spent no time discussing the attack, Endy and Jane rushing to Xavier's side while Lalea and Landen ran to Nathan.
...

"Demons? I thought you controlled demons?" Drake became less annoyed, now more confused.

The faint silver pupils hidden in the white glow rolled. "I can't exactly control them, not all of them at the least. H**l is a monarchy where I am the emperor," He smiled with pride, placing a hand on his chest as a gesture to himself. That smile was quick to drop, a growl coming from the beings throat and hand falling into his lap. "Which means that there are rebels, those who want to defy me." He spat.

"Is that what that demon at the crypt was? Just a rebel?"

Herobrine waved it off. "Yes and no. It's a bit...stronger than average."

Drake finally looked up to him, confused. "But you're a god, he can't possibly be stronger than you."

"..."

It was then that Drake realized, he was wrong. It was then that he realized what he had felt while he was unconscious, that fear. It was not just his own, it was both of their fear and worry. That itself was frightening, just to imagine the all powerful fallen god being scared. A part of him wanted to laugh yet another part of him knew that if this thing was a formidable enemy to Herobrine himself, then what horrors did Dante release into the world?
...

Nathan gasped and coughed as he recovered, finally pulled out of his disconnected state. He scampered to his knees, his eyes shifting frantically as his breathing came out quick and harsh. His body remained tense, holding onto his arm tightly to gain some sort of comfort as his thoughts swarmed and buzzed in his head. Where was he? Where was-

"Nathan, are you okay?"

The general looked up, Lalea and Landen seated beside him on their knees in tears. He was at the palace? It...it wasn't real? A warm feeling came to his chest, tears of pain replaced by ones of joy, grateful to see people he cared for...people who he knew would never him.

"G-guys? You..." He found himself hugging both of them for a brief moment, at least until he found that he was able to speak.

Nathan pulled away, reversing the original question and asking if they were okay. Lalea answered that they were fine, well aware of what he was doing. Drake had done it many times before, never answering as to rather or not he was okay and turning the question around. Thinking back to his state, he was not blinded as he had previously experienced with these creatures, but rather his body was lurching and he appeared to be in pain to the point where his screams went silent. During the ordeal, he seemed petrified.

"Nathan, what did you see?"

Nathan shook his head. "Nevermind that. It's come to pass." He got up to his feet. "What happened to the demons?" Lalea explained to him about what Endy had done, still worried about him.

Xavier took in a large gasp, he too coughing to bring oxygen back into his aching lungs. He stopped shaking as violently as he was, his body slowly cooling from it's feverish state. He gagged at the taste and smell of his own vomit, wiping the saliva and tears from his face. Endy and Jane raced over to help him up, falling and hugging him tightly, crying out their thanks to God or Notch that he was alive and seemingly now well. Xavier tried chuckling, biting his lip, coughing until he caught his breath. As Endy pulled him to his feet, a hiss moved past his teeth, holding his throat.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." He forced himself to smile to convince his wife of so, his voice hoarse until clearing his throat. "I have had worse." He hissed through the pain with a halfhearted giggle that was cut short by his own groan.

She slowly shook her head, more tears coming on before pulling their bodies back together. As he wrapped his arms around her back, the chestnut haired asked what had happened to the creatures and if everyone was okay.

"I wish you could have seen it dad," Jane began, aware that he was disconnected from reality at the time. "Endy blast them all away with a huge burst of magic! It was awesome!"

The wife and husband once again pulled away from one another, a proud smile stretching on Xavier's face, a worry behind it. "Dear, that's amazing! Though...back in the day when Drake used that he hurt himself doing it, are you okay?" He kept asking, not satisfied with a simple "I'm fine".

"No, Drake was sick then so it hurt him more. I'm just a little weakened and dizzy but I am fine. I promise."

Xavier wiped away the tears she had, his attention shifting to Jane and bringing out a gasp to see her injuries. "No, no, sweetie. Y-you're-" He pulled her in close, examining her wounds and insisting that they needed to be treated.

"I'm fine, dad! They're not urgent!" Of course, trying to compromise with an overprotective father was more than challenging, though in a way comforting as he pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her just away from areas that could hurt to touch.

It was not just because she was physically injured, but he was also worried that she could have felt similar to what the demon had put him through. Did she see Sylvia? Was she forced to relive that night as well? Even if he had moved on, the guilt for not saving her never fled. It still plagued his nightmares.
Nathan called to the group, asking if they were alright. Xavier answered that Jane was a bit hurt, but otherwise fine. Endy could see in his eyes that something was not right, that he was troubled deep down, yet she did not bring it up then, sure that he would continue hiding it at least until they were alone. She huffed, holding her arm with the memory of her own pain.

Her eyes moved to the corpse of the guard lying motionless on the floor which Lalea tried desperately to shield Landen from. "Why do you think no other guards came? I'm sure we caused enough commotion to draw attention to ourselves."

Lalea nodded in agreement. "You're right. Something is still wrong about all of this."

It was then that Lalea noticed a blur from down the hall, quickly getting closer with loud taps beneath it as the person ran. The cloaked magi was in a hurry, panicked. He stopped a few feet before the group, gasping and out of breathe.

"Luxes, what's wrong?" Endy asked.

The mage shook his head, a small wheeze leaving him before he could finally speak. "W-we were at the library here, a-and... You all need to see this. Come. Please."

He spun around, this time around walking with hastened steps rather than running as before. The group exchanged glances, anxiously thinking about what could be awaiting them in the palace library. Endy and Jane helped Xavier back to his feet, assisting his first few steps as he quivered. Lalea helped Nathan up to his feet, Nathan tugging away and insisting that he needed to help the guard.

"Nathan, he's..." She did not want to finish her sentence in her daughter's presence.

Nathan froze, looking back to her as he understood. "Then...I'll go get Emmit. He needs to know of this."

Lalea nodded before turning to follow the others. The man dressed in red hesitated to walk away as he watched the others leave, praying that they would be safe. He shook on his near numb feet. Even after that jolting experience, he was still exhausted from work but knew that now was no time to call it a day. He knew that he had to push through and find an end to this.
...

"What about what you were saying about timelines?" Drake changed the subject, this time trying to talk hushed enough to not disturb his friend next to him.

The demon only gave a soft growl, his eyes gaining a faint red fading to a pink hue around the edges of his sclera. With failure to receive an answer, Drake rolled over onto his side in annoyance.

"Ten years since you first got into my head and the one time I actually want you to talk, there's dead silence. Yeah, thank you so much. Appreciate it." The hybrid huffed.

A few minutes of unnerving silence passed by, Drake not able to stand it, especially with Herobrine staring down at him the entire time as he was. It made him increasingly uncomfortable and unsettled. He kept tossing and turning beneath the covers, not sure rather to stop to make the pain go away or to keep moving to keep feeling the pain. Eventually he finally stopped, looking back to the demon who remained expressionless in his features. Fortunately his eyes had reverted back to their normal fully white hue.
Drake looked back down to his bandages, his attention setting on the black lines peeking out from beneath the white, glowing faintly.

"Fine then. Explain to me what those lines are. I wasn't stabbed on my hips." The stubborn hybrid once again made an attempt to lift himself up, finally finding success in lifting his back up against the backboard of the bed, which much agony to be had in the process.

Herobrine levitated upward, hovering over Drake with a wide smile while poking at his chest a few times. It did not hurt since he was an only an image in Drake's mind, but rather an annoyance as Drake imagined what it should have felt like, flinching.

Finally the fallen god spoke once more. "Your body is decaying. That is what I am preventing. All you need to stress yourself with is the witches blood. That will leave you feeling miserable for a while." His smile grew, finding delight in the thought.

Drake simply groaned. He continued to not know rather to be fearful, annoyed or...thankful. The thought of being thankful to this monstrosity was enough to make him want to throw up. This was wrong. Herobrine is a manipulative demon and Drake knew that whatever was playing in the demon's head was nothing of good intentions. He demanded to get back to the questions at hand, to explain to him what Herobrine was going on about while he was out cold.
Herobrine sighed, his smile setting as he levitated upright, floating down with crossed legs to sit at the foot of the bed next to Drake's feet previously poking out from beneath the covers. His amused and concerned demeanor vanished, left with furrowed eyebrows and lowered, twitching lips. His form flickered and flashed.

"I would rather stay a neutral party in all of this." He appeared disgusted with his own words before shrugging his shoulders. "Either way, whatever happens, happens."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Drake snarled, leaning forward which hit him with a wave of regret and pain. He arms flung over his stomach, hunching over while closing his eyes tight and gritting his teeth.

Herobrine straightened his back, his expression suddenly blank and dead. Once Drake had opened his own eyes and saw this, he flinched, a shiver running down his spine from the dread that deathly gaze had inflicted him with. The demon's semi transparent body flickered and flashed with more violence, a white glow increasing around his body.
Cecile sat up, a look of irritation on his face and bags beneath his eyes. The blonde sighed and asked Drake what was wrong, trying not to get irritated. Drake looked to him, opening his mouth to speak a lie, that he was fine. When he turned back to face Herobrine, he was gone.
Drake looked around frantically to find him, until he snuck down into the bed, his feet emerging from the bottom of the blankets and placing his head back onto his pillow, growling in pain and annoyance.

Cecile sighed, looking down at his arm that had yet to regain feeling. It was still sore, however he did not want to concern himself with his own issues. "You were seeing things again I assume?"

Drake gave no response, a sigh leaving from the mortal. "When we get back, I'll see if I can do anything to help with those, okay?"

The hybrid almost smiled and quite possibly would have if not for the demon's little visit. "...Okay."
...

As they made their way to the library, it was apparent that something had gone wrong. Guards were unconscious in corridors, though thankfully as they checked, they were still alive. Xavier remained cautious that they could spring up at any given moment, possessed, while Jane suggested that the demons simply knocked them out to keep them from interfering, but interfering with what? What did these things want? The black magic out pour was minimal to none in the corridors after their fight, leaving the team hoping that Jane was right.
They entered the library, passing by a few towering bookshelves before reaching an area where those in the library now lingered. Lalea and Endy, even Landen, could feel the magic energy, both light and dark. Their spines shuddered in anticipation and a sickly feeling that came with the unsettling atmosphere. Lalea had never felt uncomfortable in this library in the past, but now she felt uncharacteristically overwhelmed in this setting.
Luxes lead them forward, a bright glow becoming apparent in their view, people parting out of the way to allow the new arrivals to gasp in awe and shock. The creature was trapped in forcefield upon the floor, its tall body forced to its knees, it spine protruding from its darkened skin like the scaled spine of a dragon, and torn wings of a similar likeness to a dragon as well. Spikes decorated the sides of its head and upon its elbows, a pair of green eyes and a pair of orange eyes staring them down.
It growled and hissed, lunging at the shield to break free. Landen screamed and jumped, digging her face into her mother's collar, grabbing her hair and arm. Lalea held her tight, comforting her by telling her that it was okay and that it could not get out. The demon screeched out in pain upon touching the magic barrier, recracting its hand on which its sharp claws were no longer present, burned away by the magic energy.

  "A few of them attacked but we managed to catch this one. I-I don't know what they are but they were strong. A few of us were injured but we had zero casualties thankfully." Luxes clarified, the group looking around to the others, some bleeding or appearing exhausted.

  "What even are these thing?" One non-mage asked with shaking breath, holding a bleeding wound upon her arm, thankfully just avoiding arteries by the shoulder.

The ground shook as the monster let out a scream, curling itself up with anger glowing in its eyes. Lalea made an attempt to answer the question. "Perhaps...demons."

  "Demons?" One of the magi in the group questioned. "I've never seen a demon before." Her hands lifted to her chest, fear reignited in her amber eyes.

  "The closest we've seen to them is Herobrine, but he's gone." Endy shook her head.

Xavier looked to his comrades, asking with no expectation to receive a laginament answer, "Why would such creatures be in Segatara in the first place, and...are there anymore around the kingdom?"
...

After recovering from a wave of nausea and regaining his footing, Dante took a look at his surroundings. He found that he was in a sort of forest terrain, though it was apparent that they were close to Iron mere based on the luminous teal glow of a few plants and dull teal coloration of the grass. The leaves on the trees were of a variety of colors, primarily green, however there was an occasional orange grey wood native to this area, or a tree with yellow or pink leaves. The colors clashed, though remained nonetheless dazzling, especially at dusk when the glow of plants was only beginning to stand out.
Entity caressed a flower that stood all the way to his hips, an orchid of some kind with a teal stem and the head glowing a gentle pink. Dante watched this, curious in his superiors fascination with nature. The demon allowed his hand to drop, putting both arms behind his back as he looked down the hill. Dante walked forward to gaze at what his leader was attentive to.
Down below was a village, a gently flowing river splitting the village in two, connected by an elegantly crafted bridge. Farmers worked on mending their small crops, mother and children walking about to get home after the long day. Dante looked back to Entity, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

  "Why are we here? I thought you wanted to see the commander?"

The demon did not even bother to look his way. "I do, however based on your memory of conquered terrain, he missed this village, a little sanctuary in the hills. We can cleanse it."

The ex-imperial allowed confusion to come across his features, washed away by fear and surprise to hear the familiar sound of demon chirping and high pitched ringing like voices. He turned, jumping to see demons lingering all about in the clearing. The next thing Dante knew, he was standing in the village, flinching to hear the screams of men, women and children alike, homes and other buildings burning up in flames.
Entity stood before him, kneeling on top of a completely mutilated corpse, the body's clothes burned with the embers still sparkling like silver embroidery. A green light traveled up Entity's arm, fading into his own body.

  "Dante..." The mortal shivered to hear his own name spoken by the demon, a deity.

Tears formed in the mortal's eyes, taking in the bloodshed. He did not want this...he only wanted to stop Drake, he wanted the destruction to end! He did not want to kill. Why did he not expect this? He noticed the tear streaks staining Entity's cheek, his brown eye filled with tears. Jeremiah...

  "Don't you see it? You will get rid of all sinners. The world will be born again!" Entity laughed as he looked down at Dante, levitating, quickly lowering his voice to one more serious. "Know your place, Dante or else..."

Entity growled as screams and cries filled the smoke plagued sky. Tears fell from Dante's eyes, trying to block out the screams. His eyes scanned the chaos, demons flying and mutilating the innocent. His cheeks ached, trying to get himself to breathe at a regular rate. The sword that both of his sweating hands held in front of him trembled.

  "I-I...I can't..."

Entity let out a laugh that dragged on, drawing more tears out of his glazed brown eye. He twitched, his head looking back to Dante sharply with a crack. "You don't have a choice, do you?"

  "N-no...don't let-!" He froze, his eyes flickering red until the crimson hue was all that was left, his face deprived of all emotion for a few short moments until the crimson faded, leaving nothing but indirected rage.

Entity let out a chuckle at Dante's state, turning to look back at the city around them as buildings collapsed in the flames, civilians slaughtered left and right until the night finally went silent, nothing left but the crackling of dying embers.
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