Guardian(Part II): Soulborne

Chapter 15: Madelyn

Once the members of Fireteam Pegasus had equipped themselves with more ammunition for their weapons, I led them west, towards the source of the frightening aura of darkness I passed on the way to Bastion. It was approximately seven-thirty PM when we reached it. A small hill with a dark, stone doorway with no door in it. When I stepped forward, my foot landed on the fragment of a stone brick. The odds that it was not a piece of the door that used to be there were three million to one. I picked it up and analyzed it. A scan with my eyes revealed a tiny etching in the stone. An Ancient Tongue warding sigil.

"What's that?" asked Morgan. I handed the fragment of brick to her, and she looked at it closely while the other members of her team looked at it from over her shoulders.

"It's a piece of the door that used to be here, with an Ancient Tongue warding sigil etched into it," I reported.

"I don't see anything," said Penny.

"It's etched with the smallest possible marking," I enlightened. "Possibly only visible under a microscope."

"To keep us out?" Morgan guessed. I looked back to the doorway. There were more fragments in the corridor beyond it, but they were inside of the tunnel, not outside. Someone had broken into it.

"To keep something else contained," I concluded.

"Uh-oh," Zephyr whispered.

I began to sense nervousness from the Guardians, even Morgan. The aura of darkness hanging over this place was more powerful than any demon I had ever fought against. I formed my makhaira-shaped aura blades, and all of Fireteam Pegasus raised their assault rifles, as we began down the corridor. At the end was a circular platform with a smaller circle protruding from the center. I recognized this sort of contraption. It was an ancient elevator mechanism, undoubtedly built by Ilentia.

"Is that... safe?" asked Penny.

"It is an ancient elevator design built by the Ilentia," I informed. "It is safe."

"Alright," said Morgan. She and her team stepped onto the platform with me, and I pressed my foot down on the round button. The platform trembled for a brief moment, then began to lower down its shaft. The darkness hanging over the dwelling began to grow more powerful than before as we descended further. I thought about igniting flames around my aura blades, then we passed small lights on the walls of the shaft. More of them illuminated the shaft as the elevator went further down, but the aura of darkness hanging over the ruins still grew stronger.

"How far do you think this goes down?" John wondered. I quickly scanned the depth of the shaft. We had approximately two more miles before we reached the bottom.

"Two miles," I answered.

"Wow," Morgan gasped. "The Ilentia must really have wanted whatever they buried here to stay here. What do you think it is?"

"That is unclear, I'm afraid," I answered. Approximately an hour went by before we reached the bottom of the shaft, and a door split opened in front of us. We stepped into a chamber lit white lights on the walls and ceiling. My focus was immediately taken to an Ancient Tongue word above a large sarcophagus sitting against the wall of the back of the chamber. Similar sarcophagi were along the walls. Three were on the left side, and three were on the right, with all of their lids removed. A few were cracked in half, while the rest were only slid off the containers. Whoever was buried in them before were free. The etchings in the wall above them told me why, and I would tell Fireteam Pegasus why.

"Wrath. Pride. Lust. Sloth. Gluttony. Greed. Envy."

"The Seven," said Morgan. "This is their tomb."