Artemis Unveiled:The Descent

Untitled Part 3: Night Beast Curse

As time flew by, two months had passed since Hawk's departure.

Every day, Aria would come to care for the small plant. She usually chose dusk for this task, when the dim light made it easier for her to blend into the crowd. Besides, dusk was also the time when she delivered messages for Sovereign Bastion, a duty she had taken over from Oliver. Before leaving each time, she would remind Oliver to take good care of Xander.

One evening, Aria set out to deliver a message. Unfortunately, she was caught in a downpour again. Unlike before, this time the rain was relentless, continuing well into the night without any sign of stopping. With no other choice, Aria had to spend the night in the small cottage that had once belonged to Hawk's attendant. She tidied up the room a bit, preparing to make do for the night.

However, Sovereign Bastion's nights were never without unsettling experiences.

Late into the night, Aria was abruptly awakened by the sound of low murmurs. Hawk's cottage was in a secluded corner, surrounded by dense woods. The night was so quiet that she could almost hear the echo of her own heartbeat.

Aria instinctively held her breath, her heartbeat pounding in her ears like a drum. Her fingers unconsciously clenched the blanket, her thoughts instantly overtaken by tension and fear.

"Keep your voice down, do you want everyone to hear us?" a man whispered urgently, his voice tinged with anxiety.

"You think I want this?" another voice responded irritably, seemingly struggling to suppress some emotion.

"This is the king's order; we have no choice," the first man said, lowering his voice, his tone filled with helplessness.

At the mention of her father, Aria's heart skipped a beat, as if someone had grabbed it tightly. She quickly sat up and quietly walked to the window. The rain had stopped, and the lights of Sovereign Bastion flickered faintly in the darkness. She saw two figures in the distance, dragging a heavy bundle through the woods, slowly making their way toward a carriage.

"Shut up! If anyone hears us, we're done for!" one of the men's voices was filled with caution and barely concealed fear.

"This thing is a real pain, always jumping out and killing our horses," the other voice grumbled, laced with fatigue and frustration.

"Of course, Boris's horse," the first man replied, his voice dropping lower until it was almost inaudible.

Aria gently pushed the window open, creating a faint creaking sound. She immediately pulled back, holding her breath as silence fell over the night once more.

After a moment, one of the men's voices broke the silence again. "Stop being paranoid. Hawk left long ago."

They began lifting the large bundle onto the carriage with some effort. Though they moved cautiously, the carriage still creaked under the weight. Just then, something unexpected happened—the heavy bundle had just touched the carriage bed when the horses suddenly became agitated, rearing up and nearly overturning the carriage.

A dark object tumbled out of the bundle, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Aria's heart pounded wildly. Through the crack in the window, she saw that the bundle contained a terrifying corpse. The shriveled black skin clung to twisted bones, and sharp teeth glinted ominously in the faint moonlight. It looked like a ghastly creature drained of blood, sending shivers down her spine.

"I touched it!" one man's voice was filled with fear and trembling, as if he had just witnessed a scene from hell.

"It's just a Night Ghoul's corpse, no need to freak out," the other man tried to calm his companion, though his voice held only a veneer of calm. "These creatures are common in the woods."