The cognate Empress

Chapter 11. The guardians of the dawn

The deep crimson colored liquid kept slowly seeping through her fingers unobstructed, as she felt too lost inside her mind to notice it, due to the rapid moving images that appeared and disappeared before her very eyes. It seemed the instructions were once again triggered by the sight of her own blood. And alongside them, like a whisper in her ear, a clear slow voice was heard, one she could not ignore.

"Find the guardians' chamber and wake up Tristitia. The one who longs for nothingness will fulfill our inherited wish."

Listening to the direction, Nova, as if guided by an outer force, rose up on her feet, and moved towards the center of her room.

She felt compelled to do what the instructions had said, even if she wouldn't have really wish to. But at this moment, seeing as the guidelines were the only ones she could follow, she let herself be controlled and guided through the process.

She did not even have the opportunity to check her room more, her entire attention was captivated by the characters aligned in a circle, just in the center of the room. The letters, if she could call them that, were exactly as the ones which flashed before her eyes some moments ago. She was certain of this as she slowly lowered her body, crouching near them.

At the same time, reflexively raising her hand, she slammed her palm against the exact center of the characters, with the ruby red blood, which still lingered on her hand, harshly splashing on the alien design before being quickly absorbed by the floor.

Filled with power perhaps, the characters lighted up, and the floor, where she was crouching on, cleanly separated itself from the rest of the ground, but oddly enough still remained hovering at the same level.

The circle like platform, with its edges just until where the characters were inscribed, large enough to only barely sustain Nova above it, then lowered itself with her on it, just as all the blood covering her hand disappeared entirely.

Even though the platform descended until several feet underground, until the light from the room above barely offered her some possibility of seeing the dark surrounding, Nova was still not frightened. It was as though such feelings had nothing to do with her even if she would see death in front of her eyes, the only human like feelings at this moment being a deep curiosity and an ardent nostalgia.

Sensing the platform not moving lower, she rose on her feet from her crouched position and stepped down from it. It was so dark, that the floor did not even appear to be present as far as her eyes could see, but it did not stop her from descending nonetheless.

Not that she could stop herself from coming down even if she wished this. The instructions were still the one in control, and so she would have left the platform's certain solid floor even if she did not desire it.

Fortunately, it was just as she thought, descending was nothing to be worried about. It took only one step on the unknown room's floor, for a multitude of lights to appear in response to her presence.

Mesmerized by the faint gold colored rays that fell upon the room, her eyes focused on the massive chamber in which only seven large object like tombs could be found.

The seven coffins displayed in a circular form around the cylindrical room, several feet away from the walls, strangely did not feel eerie at all, even though she knew for certain that they all housed a slumbering being inside of them. Do not ask her how she knew of this, it was just a knowledge inside her head, no different from knowing the way towards her room.

Looking directly to the black characters inscribed on the dark stone objects which were standing towering above to almost twice her size, did not instill fear in Nova. Even though the sinister words written in the archaic language would normally make the hair on the back of one's neck stand up... even though one would feel a shiver travel up one's spine, if they could understand their meaning, to Nova they only felt lonely. And if she were to be even more exact... If she would put her finger on the definite feeling, she could even say they felt forsaken.