Dragonfire II: The Twilight Invasion

Chapter 8: In The Footsteps of Ancients

Albedo found herself in a dark castle. Rain pelted the windows, while all else was silent. She walked down an eerie hallway, noting its emptiness. Aside from the dull stone, there was no color. There were no decorations or lights. Only the dim rays of moonlight shining through the dark clouds in the sky. As she continued walking down the hall, strange whispers began to emerge from all around her. She stopped dead in her tracks, a familiar heat rising in the back of her neck. She slowly turned around, a voice filling her ears. "To victory or death." It felt as though the voice was a part of her - as if it were her own thoughts. Perhaps it was, as these were the very words she lived by for most of her life. As she fully turned around, her eyes landed on a staff. It had twisted bones making up the handle, with a large humanoid skull atop it. The skull had dark glowing crystals emerging from it. It was the very same staff the Dreamweaver used. Merely seeing it was enough to make her tremble in fear. The crystals in the staff began to pulsate, spreading some kind of dark mist. She took a step back, then another. All of the sudden, a hand gripped her shoulder! She jolted awake, finding herself in bed. Kei's hand had made its way to her shoulder. It was still the middle of the night. Albedo gently pulled away from Kei's hand, sneaking out of bed. She put on some black silk pajama bottoms, as well as a matching top. She then put on some sandals and exited their chambers. Occasionally she would wake up from a nightmare and take a walk around the castle. The halls were strangely peaceful at night. Though this night, in particular, it seemed something strange was about. As Albedo turned a corner, she noticed Asami walking down the hall ahead. 

"Huh...? Asami? She's usually asleep by this time..." She thought to herself. She approached Asami, though she didn't seem to notice. She just kept walking down the hall. She turned a corner, walking down yet another hall. She was walking rather quickly as if she were trying to get away from or keep up with something. After a few more turns, Asami entered a graveyard within the castle. Albedo followed, shivering a little as the cold air reached her. Asami stopped in her tracks, looking around in confusion. Albedo stepped up to her, reaching out to grab her shoulder. She made contact, causing her to jolt. "Asami?" She asked, "Fuck!" Asami shouted. Her sudden shouting caused Albedo to jolt away! "Wh-What?!" She asked, "Don't...don't scare me like that!" Asami answered, "S-Sorry..." Albedo said. She looked Asami up and down, noticing she wasn't wearing her glasses. Furthermore, she was wearing identical pajamas to Albedo! They both had their hair fully down, making them completely identical aside from their eye color. "Hey...we're matching!" Albedo exclaimed. Asami narrowed her eyes. "Really? That's what's on your mind? Why are you out here?" She asked, "I could ask you the same thing." Albedo answered, "I...had another vision." Asami said. Albedo nodded, putting a hand on her hip as she leaned to the side. "So...do you always visit the graveyard when you get visions?" She asked, "Do you always ask stupid questions before letting people finish?" Asami asked in response. 

Albedo went to answer, but Asami stopped her. "Don't answer that. I know you do." She said, "...Rude." Albedo responded, "Anyways, the vision was much clearer. It showed the guy they're usually about walking through the castle. He came here...then..." Asami stopped herself. "...I probably sound crazy." She said, "Well, you always sound like an idiot, so sounding crazy isn't that bad if that makes you feel better." Albedo responded, "Says the person who can't even speak or read Elven..." Asami said, "Okay...? You can speak more than one language all you want. You'll just sound like an idiot in both." Albedo responded. Asami let out an annoyed "tch," though she did not take the matter any further. "So...what did he do here, exactly?" Albedo asked, "Well...he went into a strange tomb or some kind of crypt. But...there's nothing here." Asami answered, "Huh...maybe it's hidden?" Albedo asked, "And you just believe my vision is real, just like that?" Asami asked in response, "Well, I've got nothing better to do. And I know you definitely have nothing better to do. So we might as well try to find out, right? Maybe we'll discover a secret!" Albedo answered, "And how exactly do you plan to find something?" Asami asked, "I don't know...what did it look like in your vision?" Albedo asked in response, "I don't know...a cube with stairs going down?" Asami answered, "You don't know, or you know that's what it looked like?" Albedo asked, "What do you want me to say? It's an entrance barely bigger than a tent! That isn't much to go on!" Asami answered, "Well, at least it's something. Maybe we can cast a revealing spell? It could be hidden by magic." Albedo said, "And I suppose you just happen to know a revealing spell?" Asami asked, "Of course! I learned it in the army." Albedo answered, "Well, by all means." Asami said.