Being part of Illya's world introduced Tekina to things she'd only ever get to read about in books, but now that she could experience it first hand, she wasn't about to let a single opportunity slip away.
"So Erebus...how did you become the administrator of time? I didn't even know the void had an administrator."
Erebus chuckled. "I'm more of what you'd call a gate keeper. I watch over the gates to Henaer's void. My predecessor was fired and ever since I've had this role. "
"Really? Why was he fired?" Questioned Kaito.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say."
Tekina examined his features, or at least tried to. He wasn't exactly making it easy for her seeing as the only visible source she had was his exposed left eye. Despite his white hair, she could tell he was fairly young, at least not old enough to be going gray.
"So....are you human or are you something else? We haven't met too many humans since coming here."
Erebus sighed. "Perhaps I was at one point in time..."
Kaito raised and eyebrow. "What do you mean."
Erebus' eye rested on the curious couple. He very rarely ever talked about himself, mainly because it was never cause for discussion, but he figured that if they were Illya's friends then they could be trusted and so, he took a breath and began to speak.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
In a time's long past, Erebus, or the man now known as Erebus was a brilliant researcher and scientist, even finding himself as part of Myahm Agana's most prestigious organization, The Kishan Apparatus. Despite it's name, over time, exceptionally genius researchers who weren't of the Kisha clan were allowed into the organization. Erebus performed his own private investigations and experiments in his own personal quests for absolute truth. In his research of Henaer itself, he created a machine with the power of extracting life, turning inside out, and creating new life. This device, he called the "Seed of Life". Knowing the implications of this device, Erebus decided to seal it away in a place nobody would ever find it.
In the end, his research would have consequences. As his research in Henaer's void cultivated and beard its fruits, he was thus punished by Goddess Henaer's older brother, who deemed researching anything related to Henaer, forbidden. Because Erebus had pierced the veil of the void in his research of Henaer's darkness and time distortion, he was sealed off and sent to the void, to maintain the gateway of the place he broke through to. In the process he lost a woman, someone dear to him, as well as his emotions and real body.
While he became tied to Henaer, he laid witness to a crucial event for the Apparatus researchers working underneath the tower in the place now known as the Celestial Capital. Their experiments in Celestial tower resulted in the group accidentally opening a passage to the core of Henaer itself. Trapped in Henaer, Erebus saw what the scientists had done from the inside. The energy spewing forth from open rift, destroyed the machine that opened it. The researchers were promptly consumed by the darkness and torn apart. Erebus, using the power he absorbed from the void, managed to shut the portal and regain some sort of tangible form, but because the void had damaged his shi so badly, his body was deformed and hideous to look at. So he dawned a mask and heavy cloaks to cover himself.
In the much distant future, Erebus as the gatekeeper of the void would allow adventurers into his realm to do battle with powerful foes that materialized in the dark dimension.
It was partly to find someone strong enough to face Henaer herself, allowing him some kind of twisted revenge for all the pain he had to endure and the friends he had lost. He got his wish eventually, with his most noteworthy participant being Illya. Her service provided the ancient man with some form of entertainment as he continued to protect the seals between the rest of the world and Henaer.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
"I don't know much of my predecessor but I do know that he is much more powerful than I am and of course, much much older than I am."
Erebus finished his story and raised his hand. In his palm two small, glowing cubes with markings of Henaer. He began to toss them around in his hand, a kind of nervous tick he developed to distract himself. Tekina leaned back, taking in all the new information.
"Wait, how old are you?"
Erebus laughed. "Who knows. I stopped keeping track. was it two hundred? Maybe three hundred years, I'm not sure."
Just as he finished speaking, Ein stepped inside."Mistress has entered the void?"
Erebus nodded. "She has..."
Ein was clearly concerned for her. Now that he was there, Erebus took the opportunity to pull off Ein's gloves and show Tekina and Kaito his arms. "This is what Henaer's corruption will do to you."
Ein flinched when Erebus ripped the gloves off. His hands were black and ridden with Henaer's markings. His left arm seemed to be covered fully, leading to his chest while his right arm had a few breaks in the patterns.
"Gods...how on Earth did that...happen..." Tekina mumbled.
Erebus handed back Ein's gloves, which he angrily snatched and slipped back on. Erebus patted his back and turned back to the couple. "Ein here is a fallen angel. Was corrupted by Henaer's darkness. This is what it does to the body. Though I have to say, he has it easy with just this."
Tekina and Kaito exchanged glances, briefly turning their attention to Erebus' long black cloak. With a comment like that, they couldn't begin to imagine how much worse the things he hid under it was.
Ein sighed. "Instead of waiting around , we should do something to help the mistress!"
Erebus scoffed. "All we can do right now is wait Ein." He said sternly.
Ein lowered his head. Tekina would be lying if she said she didn't feel bad for him a little bit. He was after all, just concerned for his master. Nevertheless, all they could do was wait for a sign.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Astrid opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by darkness. Though her eyes were wide, if was as if they had never opened at all. "Uh...Mr.Spy?" She called out warily.
"....cess...."
There was a faint calling from in the distance, but which way was the distance? she couldn't see anything. For all she knew, one wrong step could mean the end of her. "Hey is that you?" She called again.
She could feel that beneath her was water, or at least a liquid of some kind. She lifted her hand in a fluid motion and it created a platform of "water" for her to walk on, just to insure she didn't accidentally fall into a trap.
"Prin.........cess!"
She began running towards the voice. It became louder and louder until she finally collided with something, or rather, with someone.
"Ugh....that hurt...." He grumbled.
"Sorry Mr.Spy!" She exclaimed as she gripped his hand, pulling him up.
"Will you stop calling me Mr.Spy! My name's Tobi."
"Then you start calling me Astrid. Not that woman's daughter or Princess!"
Tobi sighed. "What are we doing....we're sitting here arguing about something so stupid at a time like this."
Astrid laughed. "At a time like this? Please, it's just a little dark."
Though her words were uncaring, his heightened senses in the darkness allowed him to pick up on the subtle way her voice quivered. He couldn't quite see her, but he could tell that she wasn't shaking from the cold.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"I think we're in Henaer's void. Those markings we saw in the pond, I saw those in one of mother's journals. She wrote about aunty Henaer in there."
"A-Aunty?"
"Yeah...."
"If she's your family why don't we just ask her to take us back?"
"I've never met her...but from what I heard, I don't think she's very...friendly..."
Tobi gulped. "Great..." He murmured.
They stepped along in the darkness, Astrid holding onto the hem of Tobi's shirt so as to not get separated or lost. They walked for what seemed like an eternity. The never ending darkness was beginning to take it's tole on the pair. Exhausted, they decided to stop and listen for anything that would give them some type of hope...but nothing came. At least that was until a faint blue glow appeared a few feet away.
"Welcome children."
A female voice echoed in the nothingness and although it held no malice, it still sent shivers down their spine. They remained silent and watched as a form began to materialize from the shadows. Soon a tall, lean woman with flowing pale blue hair, eerie luminescent eyes and clad in a long black dress stood in front of them. Her dress trailed behind her, like it was part of the darkness itself. It was so dark Astrid felt like if she were to reach out and touch it, her hand would go straight through it, as though she were reaching up towards star soaked skies.
The woman's smile was empty and unnerving. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
****Author's Note****
Hello Hello! Did you enjoy this chapter? If you did please leave a comment and vote! What do you think of Erebus? What do you think will happen to Astrid and Tobi? I'd love to know! If you would like to ask any one of the characters a question, please head over to Agu-Teasers and leave a comment to be answered by them. As usual thanks for reading!! （⌒▽⌒）