There he was, heading back to the one place he had hoped to never see again. It was as familiar as it could get and that was the problem.
He traced his hands along a familiar tree. He remembered climbing it but it was not upright now but burned and blackened. He shivered even though it was hot... too hot... even for Nestoria.
Ingressus did not know exactly where he was going... only that he was going somewhere and his feet seemed to be leading him, not his mind. He walked the familiar pathways... yet they were all different...
Fire had caught all of the trees and houses. The scent of iron, of blood was still in the air. He paused when he saw the first body, markings long and blacked out, yet still somehow bleeding.
Ingressus shivered as he recognized an old friend, but his legs forced him forwards and he kept on moving. The familiar pathways had stopped and he found himself near a small cliff. His mouth dried when he recognized familiar markings. He would recognize those markings anywhere, even when they were faded out.
"Master Aegus!"
Ingressus rushed forward and fell to his knees. To see if there was even the slightest pulse, the slightest bit of hope, but he was long gone. He pulled his hands away as they were now smeared in blood. "Why..." He muttered.
"I have the same question"
Ingressus whirled around to see another old friend. Acillean, wrapped up in a dark cloak and glaring at him with more hatred than he'd ever seen in those yellow eyes.
"Achillean..."
His old friend sneered at him, absolute disgust in his face, "Why did you do this? What was the point?"
Ingressus tried to keep his voice steady, "Ach- Achillean... I did not... I did not mean to-"
The Tidesinger cut him off, "Do not lie. You knew what you were doing. Deathsinger," He flinched as the name was spat at him, "We should have just killed you when we had the chance. You betrayed everyone. You betrayed me..."
His voice faded as he and Nestoria warped around him. Everything became bright and colourful, everything distorting.
Flashes of the Tournament.
Distorted Ardoni ready to duel... to wield the most powerful weapons in all of Ardonia. He fought the Ardoni who ruined his life. With the final shot of his Aggressium Song, blasting a warping Kaltaris backwards. He had won. He raised a rippling Voltar and his markings faded from yellow to red.
The Masters stared at him with disgust and fear.
Aegus and Achillean's faces remained neutral, hiding the fact that they knew him. Everything glitching and warping as they walk away. Leaving him to die...
His surroundings faded back to a burning Nestoria. He looked back to Achillean.
Achillean's disgusted expression warped into his fathers terrified face as he tried to get Ingressus to safety. Burning Nestoria changed into his snowy camp within the Barrier Mountains, smoke turning into falling snow.
They reached the cliff and Dominus suddenly stopped. He drew Voltar and handed it to his son. Ingressus looked down at it in his hands. He looked back up at his father and Dominus gently squeezed his shoulder. He gave Ingressus a small smile knowing this would be the last time he would see his son.
They heard the sounds of footsteps over the snow and battle. They looked back to see three Ardoni charging towards them. Dominus gestured for him to escape, "Take Voltar and run! With this you are now the Master of the Voltaris clan!"
And he ran, ran until he was out of breath and slid to his behind a rock. He heard his father screaming in pain and he looked over to see a Sendaris pulling his sword from his heart. His markings fading as he collapsed. Ingressus looked at the Sendaris, taking in the aqua markings that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He ran toward his father's crumpled form, pressing his hands on his markings, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, blurring his vision.He heard a noise and looked up into aqua eyes that suddenly turned red. Ingressus fell back with a cry at seeing his own markings ready to kill him.
Eyes filled with hate.
He was blasted off the cliff.
And then he was falling.
Falling...
Falling...
Falling...
Falling...
He hit the icy water below and sat up with a gasp. His eyes snapped open. He was breathing hard and fast.
Just a dream... It was just a stupid dream.
He quickly stood up, grabbing his weapons and sheathing them off his back. He headed over to the stairwell, doing his best to keep quiet.
The Deathsinger carefully climbed the stairs, quietly reaching the top. He made his way through the house, opening the door as a breeze of cool air blew across the doorway.
"Sleephooting... sleephooting... sleephooting..."
Ingressus froze at the voice, having forgotten about the infernal owl tube.
"Sleephooting..."
He released a breath he did not know he had been holding. The Deathsinger quickly left the house, watching the tube as he slowly closed the door.
He walked a little ways away towards the cliff near the house. He sighed as a quick image flashed across his mind. He thought about his final battle of the war, the final battle against Achillean.
Ingressus remembered how he threw him from the cliff, not unlike the one he was standing on. A quick pang of guilt hit him, before the lingering effects of the Prime Songs took over, diminishing it.
It did not matter, it was a necessary sacrifice.
The Deathsinger still found himself staring off the cliff and at the waves washing into it. The ocean below reminded him of another cliff, but that memory was equally unpleasant.
He absentmindedly touched his still wrapped up arm that had burned him. Yet another thing Ingressus would have to get answers from the odd assortment of people in the house later.
As he kept staring down at the cliffside a worse thought struck him. He had seen a battle before he had ended up somewhere else. The Voltais fighting the other clans.
I told them to keep a low profile...
Had the clans found them? Had they been raided? Had the raids started again and now that he wasn't there had they all been killed?
Deep breath , Ingressus... the Voltaris are trained warriors from birth... they can hold on a bit longer.
He took a deep breath, trying to make sense of the situation he was in. He was trapped in another world, with no way to get back.
A small thought came to the forefront of Ingressus's mind, What if Achillean did survive? It seemed impossible, he saw him fall, there was no chance.
He drew Voltar and examined the staff. He barely remembered his father wielding it, training him on how to survive.
The Deathsinger felt conflicted. Dominus gave him Voltar, making him the Voltaris Master. He always thought the war was the only way for the Voltaris to not have to live in fear. Yet now, without the effects of the Primes, he was having doubts. What would his father think of him, of what he's done?
The image of Aegus and Achillean walking away from him after the tournament, squashing any doubt he had been having.
It was the only way.
"Hey!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice. He was startled enough that he almost jumped into the boiling sea down below. He turned around to see the small rat...dog? Bird? Lizard? From earlier.
"Do not DO that"
The creature (Yes, he would call it creature until he got answers) shrank back.
"Eda said to call you back in... for breakfast..."
The creature scampered away back inside the house. Ingressus sighed and sheathed Voltar on his back. He then started heading inside before that INFERNAL owl demon started talking.
"Hoooooot new guy! What's your name! You wanna play a game? You wanna see this mouse I ate-"
The infernal bird started choking up something and Ingressus gagged at the sight. He forced open the door and headed to the house's living room before he had to see a digested mouse.