"What do you mean 'it's not going to be easy?'" I asked, touching my chin and looking at the light curiously. "Are you somehow not able to detect them efficiently from here?"
<No, master,> replied Ciel. <The weapons radiate energy strong enough for me to detect even on the other side of the planet, and relocating our dungeon to that place is something that can be done in the blink of an eye.>
"Then, what's the problem?" I leaned forward, placed my palm beneath the light and wrapped my fingers around it. "Is there something you haven't told me yet?" I brought it close and whispered gently.
<Yes, I will explain it to you shortly.> In a few moments, its colour changed to a sparkly yellow. I gently let go of it and it lit the area around us in an everchanging spectacle of Gorgeous hues. It filled the dark, empty darkness surrounding us with a new life of joy.
"It's beautiful..." the words escaped my mouth involuntarily.
<Of course> the smug voice said confidently. <I shall continue with the explanation.>
The Eternium Weapons are exceptional and differ significantly from ordinary weapons. Firstly, they are elusive to the average eye; the unworthy can't even bear witness to their magnificence in their entire lives, let alone recognize the cause of their end when struck by one.
The lore of the Eternium weapons runs far deep into the past, weaving its way throughout the hundred millennia of history of civilization after we got sealed. During this time, the number of people able to awaken and conquer these weapons was few and far between, and the weapons themselves could be counted on both hands and feet. Needless to say, much was still unknown about them; at least to the adventurers, weak and strong, who aspired to someday find one and engrave their names in gold for the generations to come- just like the ones that came before them.
Among the countless mysteries and marvels surrounding the weapons and their lore, there was one characteristic that ran rampant among them and all Eternium weapons followed with no exception so far. That was- all of these weapons remained in a suspended state for most of their lives, unrecognizable from ordinary pieces of jewel or just weirdly shaped trinkets or rubble.
Strange as they were, while in the suspended state, some of them could work to hide their user's presence- their true powers and aura, luring the enemy into deception, a trap, unless, of course, they had an Ultimate skill. For one who didn't possess an Ultimate skill, awakening the weapons was beyond comprehension— a nigh impossible task— although, there were some exceptions or rather, certain conditions that one needed to fulfil to achieve this incredulous feat.
The explanation was long. Some of the information was already known to me, some explained to me by Ciel and the rest she found out by analyzing bits and remains of the weapons procured by her over time. But the insight provided by them was nowhere enough for us to deduce the kind of civilization flourishing in this era- their history, their culture, their average power levels, and most importantly, whether any of our friends still lived to tell the tale.
*
The Midnight train- one of the fastest trains in the nation that carries illegal goods, both living and non-living, to be sold in various underground societies. Highly fortified defences with well guarded with soldiers and hired mages and swordsmen, it was a moving fortress impenetrable for even the toughest warriors should they dare a direct assault. Needless to say, even for a half-human child, the task was akin to counting stars in broad daylight.
"Heave ho! Heave ho!"
"Hurry up, hurry up! We gotta load all the cargo before noon!" A grey-haired, tall guy named Jack shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Yes, sir!" The men in black all replied in sync. They were engrossed in picking up the heavy, wooden boxes and throwing them in the bogey as if it were their daily routine. "One more, one more."
"Move your hands faster, you bigots!" said Jack, pointing his metallic fingers towards a huge pile of boxes still left to be carried. "If ya don't make it, you break it. Rally ho! Rally ho!"
"Sir, we got company." Suddenly, a tall white man in a butler outfit, but not taller than Jack, appeared before him. "We caught a rat sneaking around in the back." He shoved a little child tied up in blood towards him. "Seems like a tough kid, half-human, will be worth our while."
"Hm-umm" Jack anazyled the kid from top to bottom. "How did ya brat find the way to this hidden tunnel, eh Marcel?" he snarled, putting his arms on the waist and bending down to get a closer look.
"I... will... kill." The kid lifted his feet, created a bubble of lava and flame and burst it. The cinders rushed in all directions, raring to engulf the entire wood storage in flames. "Ahhhhhh!" One quick chop at the knees was all it took. The kid couldn't feel his legs anymore.
Marcel fixed his tie and lifted the child with his throat. "Must have come for one of them," he said, pointing towards a pile of labelled boxes. "Rose, Pincer, Sargo, don't know why they wanted us to label those boxes with the names of those filthy creatures. The kid had some fight left, struggled, got beaten to the crap, turned out he's one of those half-humans, will land us a good fortune."
With one eye closed, Jack gave a final look to the kid and moved back. "Fine, throw him in with the others. Level 5 threat. Lock him accordingly. What are you looking at, maggots? Start moving!" He turned back to shout at the men who had temporarily stopped to look at the commotion.
Marcel dragged the kid through a dark hallway with a reddish hue in the midnight train, spread across a large area with huge, steel prisons containing elves and dwarfs and chippers and rovers and many other rare and exotic species. "Now stay there quietly, if you don't wanna get hurt." He locked the door behind after shoving the kid behind one of the sturdiest-looking bars and walked away.
The child, Sahas, dragged himself to the bolted door and looked left and right. After he was totally sure that no eyes were on him, he took a sigh of relief. "Yosh, that went well." He glowed bright red with a dazzling, blinding light; his wounds filled up and his legs bent back to shape. He stood up and jumped and hopped and exercised and moved his body all around. "All fine and well, I am fully healed." The Phoenix, one of his Unique skills, was capable of healing the deepest of wounds, but that's not all his skill was capable of.
"So the boxes with Larry and other monsters are in that direction." He heated the bars to a temperature of three thousand degrees and shattered them with a swing of his blazing sword. The Pheonix's subskill, 'trailblazer,' is capable of marking any objects its flames connect with and tracking their trail. "Good thing the flames managed to land on the right spots. Just wait some more, Larry!" He said to himself as his feet carried him to his destination as fast as they could.
"Hey, did you hear something?" a short man named Owen, wearing a green uniform and holding a spear said while glancing at the dark hallway. "I believe I just heard a voice."
His companion, a fat man wearing the same uniform, crumpled near a wall, half asleep, replied softly "Huh? Wha... I didn't, um, eat the chipper pie... Owen. You did, I think..." He opened one eye, glanced at his mate, and dozed off.
Owen walked to him and gave his face a couple of tight slaps, but unable to see any movement, gave up and walked away. "Tch, lazy bastard. Fine, I will check it out my- Huh. What's that?"
He raised his spear, the tip of which radiated a bright yellow beam of light, and pointed it at a weird object three feet away from his leg. Reddish brown, five digits, blood pooling at the entrance. "A severed hand!?" He exclaimed alarmingly and flashed across the hallway. "No one? But then how-" He looked down again, only to find the severed hand disappear without a trace. "Wher the- AHHHHHH!" The next moment, the hand grabbed his neck from the back.
sizzle
Before he could realize what happened, Owen's body had turned red and black, and smoke and vapour rose from it.
"W-what's happ-" And his comrade followed suit.
"Filth like you deserves to die," were the last words they would have heard, had their ears not turned to ash.
*
Sahas POV-
"Ahhhh!"
"H-help!!"
"Move it! Let me esca- Ahhhh!"
One by one the dark inferno engulfed all soul and matter in its wake, reducing them to scorched dust out of a blast furnace. Leaving behind a trail of death and destruction, I moved forward, not looking back at the hell I created.
"Just the next door!" I said while blasting away the layer of steel that separated me from my goal. "There they are! Larry, I have come to save you!" I said to myself and jumped at the pile of boxes, darting through the labels, searching for the name so dear to me.
"Corey, Rose, Pincer, Sargo... where is it? Where is Larry!?" I shouted, rushing through the array of boxes for the third time. "Larry isn't here!" My head fell into my arms, my mind racing through all the possible solutions. Where could it be? Remember the layout. The train is divided into 5 levels with ten compartments each, ranging from threat levels 1 to 5 in the descending order of severity. Usually, weak monsters like Larry are considered level 5 threats and placed here, in the last cabin right before level 4 begins. But in extremely rare cases, they may get classified as level 4 and... In that case, it's gotta be-
"Looks like we have quite a pest on our hands." A tall, dark man in a green suit, necktie and belt said, walking through the blazing dark and red flames and carrying a black sword in his left hand. "Bearer of the peculiar dark and red flames, well versed in martial arts- perhaps a natural, and was somehow able to fool that moronic idiot into believing he's a mere level 5 threat." The steps came to a halt. The man adjusted his collar and scanned me from head to toe. "No hesitation in killing even at such a tender age. Blasted half-humans. What a pain," he sighed. The air felt thinner and more difficult to grasp by the second, and a mysterious pressure enveloped the area.
"W-where have you hidden Larry?" I collected my words and spoke while releasing a breath I didn't realize I had held. "Is it the 4th level secret ward or the last chamber?"
The Dark man widened his eyes and placed his hand on his chest. "My, for someone your age and status, you are quite well versed about this train," he said. "It is very intriguing. May I inquire as to the source of your information?"
"Answer my question!" I said with a sharp, piercing glare, conjuring up a sword and pointing it towards the enemy. "Unless you want to meet the same fate as your companions."
"Is that so?" the man said with a smirk. "It seems you are quite ignorant about the adversary you face, little boy. Let me enlighten you. I am Lestrade Green, an S-class magic swordsman and the bearer of- Ah, even if I don't reveal my skillset, I don't believe you are foolish enough to misjudge the enormous gap that stands between us. It is in your best interest to simply surrender." He strode towards me nonchalantly. "That way, you will at least live your life, even if as a slave."
Lestrade... where have I heard that name before? Ugh. It's a pain, but I can think about it later; there are much more pressing matters to worry about right now. An S-class magic swordsman. Sure enough, even in a dream, I can't hope for victory. Just injuring him minorly would be an achievement on its own. But I can't turn back now; even if it's the end for me.
I held the sword in my left hand and rushed forward, aiming for his head. Suddenly, the flames that had been lighting the place till now, vanished. An eerie, haunting darkness engulfed the area. I tried to struggle, to swing my blade and fight, but to no avail. It felt like I was standing at the bottom of a deep, dark ocean, unable to see or move.
Eventually, the pressure lifted and the lights returned. My body could move again, but for some reason, my sword could not, and neither could anything beyond my left shoulder. "It's over." The words echoed in my ears. Sure enough, I couldn't fight anymore, not with a missing arm and a deadly blade pointing at my neck.
"Give up kid, it's over," Lestrade said. "If you move, you die."
"'Yeah, right. I should give up now.' Is what you thought I would say?"
"Huh?"
The next moment, catching him off guard, my severed arm grabbed Lestrade by his neck and exploded with a dazzling blaze. This was my chance, and I will make full use of it. The 4th level secret ward, the one next door, is my destination. Within seconds, I was sliding through the hallway and breaking through doors, making quick work of the guards and other obstacles. Finally, I broke into the secret ward and rushed towards the labelled boxes placed in the middle. "Jason... Punchin... and Larry! There's no mistaking it. It's Larry. I can even feel his aura!" Now all that remained was to slice the box, pick Larry up and make a run for the exit, all the while hoping Lestrade would take his time recovering from my little trick.
I immediately sliced the lid and looked inside. "This sweet alluring smell, this mesmerizing aura, this soft, smooth texture. Say, Larry, why does this white powder resemble you so much in every way?" I filled my fist with the mysterious white substance lying before me and slowly released it to form a heap.
"You were late," a silent, ominous voice entered my ears. "There's no one there left to be saved."
There's no one there... There's no one there... There's no one there...
"Lestrade... so it's you," I said expressionlessly, not moving an inch.
"So you finally remembered," said Lestrade. "Honestly, I expected you to have died a long time ago. To see you here alive and well is a big surprise," he continued while lifting his sword. "Too bad, it's all gonna end right now."
There's no hope... It's all over... My life was about to end, but somehow, it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. This feeling of emptiness, of a deep dark void in my heart, came back to me along with some missing pieces of memory.
My mind was a whirlwind of emotions swirling erratically. It felt like something deep down in my soul, a part so unfamiliar was summoned and brought into the light of day, what was meant to remain forever hidden in the depths of the dark room. What is it? I don't get it. I don't get anything. I don't want to get anything.
With incomprehensible thoughts and feelings clouding my mind like a darkened sky, my hands reached out for the singular piece hanging down from my neck, the golden-blue trinket, and held it against the advancing paces of doom.
"Hoho? And what do you suppose to do against me with that tiny little um... mace-looking thing?" said Lestrade with a stroke of laughter. "Perhaps I should entertain you and- Arrrghh!"
Suddenly, a brilliant golden-blue light dazzled from the trinket, blinding anyone who dared to look at it with the naked eye. The tiny little trinket which I had been wearing on my neck till now, turned into a live-sized mace with a mesmerizing cerulean blue head and a white gold haft.
"So that tiny trinket was actually a weapon." Lestrade rubbed his eyes and brushed his shoulders. "Do you seriously think you stand a chance against me just because- Ah! What is it?" Lestrade put one hand on his ear and shouted. "I am in the middle of something important right now... What do you mean the train is derailed!? How does that even work with a magitrain that runs through a subspace dimension- hey, wait! What's happening over there? Hey!"
Lestrade bit his lip and stared at the ceiling, his face reddened and forehead wrinkled. "What in the world is happening?" he mumbled something under his breath. The next moment, a strong current blew behind me, raring to unplant my feet off the ground and throw me away like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT!?" exclaimed Lestrade, his eyes fixated behind me and his jaw dropped down like a trapdoor into a bottomless pit of astonishment.
Clearing away the dark mist a little and finally coming back to my senses, I turned around and gazed at what could only be described as a phenomenon out of the realm of mere mortals- a divine spectacle to be looked at in wonder and awe. A supermassive, dreadful abyss shimmering with a mesmerizing shade of deep celestial blue void, a cosmic chasm that seemed to swallow everything in its path.
Author's note: As always, share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading.