Crown King: Return of The Labyrinth | ✓

Chapter 18: Starscourge

Dusk wasn't a time of peace for Nyx. He knew that at that moment, the daemons would activate and swarm surrounding the city's walls. He couldn't help but look out the restless city slowly being conquered by shadows. There was something off; he knew he was right with what he's feeling when he heard his fellow glaive call out to him from behind.

There was something in the male's voice that Nyx already could feel what's happening. "What happened?" He turned around, already knowing there was fright in the male's eyes.

"There's a boy down the hall. He's looking for His Majesty. I told the others to hold him for a while until I go back."

"King Noctis . . ." Nyx trailed off. Everyone inside the palace knew about the king gone missing, and he also thought the news had already been spread to the people. What he feared—he knew it would soon happen. One day the barrier would break. Nothing could stop the enemy, even worse that Noctis was missing under uncertain circumstances.

"What are we gonna do to him?"

He looked at the male, taking a moment's pause before sending him a nod, gesturing for him to follow. He descended the stairs; it surprised him since he didn't know how they found themselves in the hall instantly.

"Where's the king? I want to meet him!"

Nyx' could see a boy, no more than nineteen yelling the guards. He could see through the boy's eyes a mixed feeling of desperation and fear. The guards were still holding both of his arms as he was knelt down on the floor. He glanced at the boy's uniform.

Black stains were all over it.

A daemon's blood—it undermined him.

"Get off him!" He ordered, the guards obediently following; they let go of the boy. He walked towards him, "Stand up."

The boy was already weak, but he tried his best to stand on his feet. His breathing was getting slow. Clearly to show that he was traumatized. Nyx could see it but he knew he shouldn't be giving the person a blanket to calm down or anything.

"W-Who are you—"

"What happened?" Nyx cut him off. He was getting impatient and raged at the same time. He couldn't believe it's happening. Right now.

He seemed to stutter. "M-My mother . . . S-She's . . . She's gone and . . ."

"How did it happen? What did you see?" He stepped forward. Through his peripheral view, he could see the palace people gathering around as they watched curiously the unsettling scenario, the others mumbling in fear to each other about what they predicted—the daemons invading the city.

"I-I was on a train with my friend. We t-talked about my other friend C-Carolina–"

Nyx flinched. "What did you just say?" He looked at the other glaives who had the same wide eyes reaction, then he turned back to the male. "Carolina Ross. Is she who you're implying to?"

"Y-Yes."

"Go on."

He took a deep breath. "W-We talked about how she changed so much. Her mother told me one time she seems to avoid everyone, always locking herself in her room. My friend told me I should give her sometime. Then we talked about the weird sickness present in my family, even hers. I feared that it was a plague. Then I was running home. I felt strange . . . Then I . . ."

"You what?"

"I o-opened the door and . . ." The boy trailed off, burying his face into his hands as his whole body shook, his muffled cries the only thing that could be heard in the hall. He wiped his tears. ". . . M-My mom . . . I saw her dead. Her body was . . . corrupted . . ."

I knew it. Nyx gritted his teeth. He heard the other people gasping and almost panicking. "Can you describe what the body looked like?"

His eyes showed how terrorized he was. He couldn't bring himself together as of what he just saw. "I'd rather run to my mom and hug her and cry on her . . . but I ran away . . ." He paused for moment. "Because her body . . . it was covered in pitch black liquid."

He maybe haven't noticed the same stain on his uniform, Nyx thought.

"It was all over her. I wanted to scream but I can't. T-Then I realized she's gone . . . my m-mom's gone. I blinked and saw a monster staring at me. Its noise even scared me so I ran as fast as I can. I ran back towards the train station and as I went on my way I could hear screams of people from the distance. I-I couldn't help them either. I-I was running for my life."

"What's your name?" Nyx asked.

"Ci—Ciel. Ciel Moore."

He glanced at his fellow glaives. "About your friend Carolina . . . she is also one of us. A glaive. We haven't seen her for a week now. Did you see her while you're running?"

Ciel shook his head. "She told me the day before she started avoiding me, that she wanted to avenge her brother's death. How she didn't really want to join the Kingsglaive. S-She was angry about it."

The glaives furrowed their brows, looking at one another in disbelief. Nyx was even surprised, but he realized that it made sense. The last time he saw her was when Noctis had called for a meeting. Carolina had been angry about how they didn't even give recognition to her brother's death in the battle against Niflheim.

A glaive broke the silence. "I don't know, but Nyx. If Carolina's gone, and now that the daemons are here—"

"Lock the doors, windows, everything. Now! Protect yourselves," it seemed like in the blink of an eye people were running in various directions, following his orders. The only ones left were he, the glaives and Ciel. "All the females, gather outside and make the barrier as strong and wide as you can. Whether we accept it or not, the Starscourge is spreading in the city. People's minds are corrupted. We have to save the others before they get infected by the plague, or worse killed by daemons."

"And what about our family? The rest of the people?" A female glaive asked.

"We'll save and bring everyone here inside the palace," he turned to the males. "Men, go and do your duty. I'll catch up."

They nodded simultaneously. All of them, including the females stormed out the hall and closed the door shut. It locked automatically, the hall echoing with silence.

Nyx turned to the last person with him in the hall. He set his hand on his shoulder, looking intently at him. "Ciel, I know you're traumatized about what happened to your mother. But I want to tell you how strong and brave you are that you went all the way here on your own to tell us. Let me give my condolences to your mother. She'll be in peace."

He looked down. "T-Thank you, Sir."

"Just call me Nyx," he made a tiny smile and retracted his hand. "By that I can make sure you'll do what you can to protect the palace."

"I won't let you down." Ciel nodded, a sense of duty now in him. He thanked that there was someone like Nyx to save the city. But then, he was now certain that the king really was missing, and that meant the daemons really were breaking through the borders.

He looked up; he was the only one left in the hall now. The glaive was nowhere to be seen.

°

EDIT: /I read this part and thought it kind of looked like a filler? But anyway, I still think it's necessary to show what's happening in Insomnia.

—abel