Chapter 197 - Eclipse ( Part 1 )

The royal caravan set off from Seraiya in the morning.

The rays of the rising sun colored the eastern sky with pink and orange hues, creating shadows that reached far. The entire city still slept in silence. Merchants had not yet opened their shops, children had not yet started their playing, and the guards at the palace had not yet rubbed the sleep from their eyes. However, the royal caravan was already moving — a group of thirty-two armored knights, a luxurious carriage, and a supply of food sufficient to last for a month for a small army.

Jennie sat in the carriage and watched through the window at thirty-two royal guards who were surrounding them.

Her face was completely blank.

"This is ridiculous."

Roxy sat opposite her and let her ears twinkle with joy. Her silver-white hair shone brightly under the rays of the morning that passed through the carriage's windows. She relaxedly leaned on the luxurious velvet, feeling perfectly comfortable.

"Not to become a princess."

Jennie looked at Snow. "I am a maid already."

"Even worse."

The white wolf was lying on the velvet seats with a closed eye. His tail was swinging in satisfaction.

"Not to become a maid."

Jennie smiled.

It was not a pleasant smile.

"I have thought about it since yesterday."

Snow immediately stood up and turned towards the window. His ears stood up straight, and his eyes opened widely.

"Escape?"

"Escape."

Roxy grinned. Her ears flatened, showing excitement.

"I knew it."

Jennie took out a small crystal from her maid uniform. It was a communication crystal — a magical device allowing short-range transmission of thoughts and images. She was saving it until an emergency. And now she was treating it like one.

"Roxy."

"Yes?"

"Can you make a large illusion?"

Roxy's eyes sparkled. The crimson depths of her irises seemed to dance with the uncontrolled glee.

"How large?"

Jennie smiled.

"Thirty-two people."

Ten minutes later...

All the royal knights suddenly were encircled with ten giant dragons.

They appeared from nowhere — huge creatures of sparkling scales and shining eyes, spreading their wings and opening their jaws in silent roaring. Of course, all those dragons were nothing else but illusions — Roxy's creation that could not be distinguished from the real ones at a glance.

"DRAGONS!"

"FORMATION!"

"PROTECT THE CARRIAGE!"

Lucas drew his sword. It rang brightly as it left its scabbard, gleaming in the rays of the morning like a fragment of a captured ray of sunlight. He quickly scanned illusory dragons for any weak points and calculated possible ways of attacks.

"Nobody panic!"

The carriage suddenly vanished.

Lucas froze. The sword was hanging in the air — frozen in a half of the movement while he was trying to understand what happened.

"...Wait."

A knight showed them a direction with a shaking hand and a trembling voice.

"Commander!"

The carriage has gone!

Lucas' face became pale. He slowly put down his sword and widened his eyes in growing horror.

"Raven."

Meanwhile, several kilometers away from the royal caravan, three travelers calmly walked through the forest.

There were old and tall trees, and their branches were intertwined above them, making a ceiling of greenery. The sunrays were shining between the leaves, creating bright spots on the floor. There were distant sounds of birds singing and somewhere near — a murmuring of a stream.

Roxy laughed. The sound rang brightly through the forest.

"I cannot believe that it worked!"

Snow proudly raised his tail. The white wolf's fur was shining brightly in the dappled sunlight and his eyes sparkled in self-satisfaction.

"My illusion was excellent."

Jennie looked at him. She was frowning in an unsatisfied way.

"Roxy created the illusion."

Snow paused for a moment. His tail went down slightly, and his ears became flat because of embarrassment.

"I supervised."

Jennie sighed. The sound contained thousands years of fatigue of a warrior — tired of wars and battles, and then defeated by her own companions.

They continued going to the north.

Their destination was the Kingdom of Nocturne.

And for the first time after she became the maid of Lilia...

Jennie traveled freely.

At least for now.

Several days later, the landscape changed.

The sunlight became weaker. The sun did not disappear — it was still there and shining brightly, but somehow its warmth faded with each mile. The colors of the nature changed too — from the sunny ones to gray and purple hues. The air became colder, and a constant twilight seemed to cover the land.

Black mountains surrounded the horizon. Their peaks were sharp and jagged, reminding of the teeth of some beast, and casting long shadows on the valleys.

The forests became strangely quiet. The birds stopped singing. The animals disappeared. The wind was holding its breath.

And eventually, Jennie saw the walls of Nocturne.

Nocturne kingdom was different from Seraiya.

The constructions of the kingdom were made of dark stones — obsidian and basalt, polished to the mirror shine. Purple magical lamps enlightened the streets, casting everything in an eerie purple hue. The people were moving in the shadows with hidden faces and hushed voices.

Some had spellbooks. Others had concealed blades.

Roxy looked around with shining eyes. "Wow."

Snow's ears twitched. The white wolf's fur was bristling slightly, and his nose wrinkled in disgust. "I do not like this place."

Jennie smiled. "It might be a good sign."

They entered the capital.

Nocturne was infamous across the entire continent for many reasons. First and foremost, it was a kingdom of shadow magic – a place where the most evil magic was born, a home of ancient assassin clans. Its underground city – a network of tunnels and caverns that had been built millions of years ago. Its libraries were full of forbidden magical knowledge in the form of books that could make a person go insane or spells that could break the fabric of reality. Outside its territories were monster-filled forests – homes of nightmare beasts.

And also the ruins of an unknown civilization that had been wiped from history for thousands of years ago could be found in the kingdom.

Roxy seemed really excited. Her ears perked up and her eyes gleamed with excitement. "Let's explore everything!"

"Absolutely not," – Jennie grabbed her collar.

"But… why?" – Roxy protested.

"No." – Jennie repeated.

Snow nodded. "She is going to destroy the kingdom."

"I heard that!" – Roxy replied.

They kept moving through crowded streets.

However, something was wrong.

All people seemed to be in fear and all of them were staring at the palace of kings – the huge construction made of black stone and purple light. Fearful look and hushed conversations among them ceased if they saw strangers.

Merchant whispered to another man. It was hard to hear his voice but Jennie could catch every word he said because of enhanced hearing.

"Did you hear it again?"

"The crying?"

"Yes, last night."

Jennie stopped moving.

"What is it, Jennie?" – Roxy asked.

Jennie looked at the palace of Nocturne. Her eyes narrowed and she subconsciously grabbed the hilt of Excalibur.

"Something is happening underground in this kingdom."

Jennie started investigating.

She visited pubs – dimly lit rooms where hooded men were drinking and whispering about anything. She visited markets – crowds of people who were selling cursed items and potions that shouldn't exist. She visited magic shops – dusty shops that were filled with ancient tomes and unusual ingredients. Even the poor districts of the city that were filled with darkness and secrets.

And everywhere she heard the same story.

A sword is crying in the underground kingdom.

For some it was a cursed blade that had been created by demons and sealed by ancient heroes. For others it was an immortal soul of a dead warrior that was doomed to cry forever.

However, one woman revealed the truth to Jennie.

She was really old – so old that her skin became like parchment and her eyes – milky white. This old woman was sitting in the corner of the pub and no one paid attention to her.

But when Jennie approached, the woman looked at her.

"It had been crying for centuries."

"What kind of crying?" – Jennie asked.

Woman became frightened. She started shaking and talking in a whisper.

"Like someone was waiting for their master."

Jennie's face changed. She began to tremble and her breathing became shallow.

"Does it have a name?"

Woman whispered, "Eclipse."

Jennie froze.

Roxy opened her eyes wide. "It is one of the Divine Swords."

Immediately woman told them to leave. She went back to her corner and hid in her rags saying nothing else.

Later that day, Jennie stood near the palace of kings.

The streets were empty and purple lamps were throwing their gloomy light onto the stones of the streets. Jennie closed her eyes and expanded her magical awareness – trying to sense what is happening under the streets of the city.

At first…

Nothing.

But then she heard it.

... clang ...

Faint metallic noise. It echoed across the dark and silent street, sounded like a beating heart or a deep sigh.

And then another.

Clang.

Jennie closed her eyes. "There."

Snow growled. He became agitated and exposed his fangs. "Something is down there."

Jennie looked at Roxy. "Stay here."

Roxy crossed her arms and looked determined. "No way."

Jennie sighed. "I expected it."

Snow got up. His tail wagged slowly and eyes were filled with determination. "Then we're all going."

Jennie looked at the entrance to the underground kingdom. It was hidden behind some old house – a dark hole in the ground that swallows the light.

"Fine."

They descended.

Underground Nocturne was another world.

Ancient streets stretched into the darkness, cobblestones were polished by centuries of feet. Old houses surrounded the streets, dark windows and doors were opened. Broken towers were standing on the streets and huge statues were watching over empty squares.

Remains of an underground civilization.

Roxy was amazed. Her voice reverberated in the deserted streets.

"This city is enormous."

Jennie touched the wall. The stone was cold and smooth – it was cold from the centuries of darkness.

"It is older than Nocturne."

Snow sniffed the air. His nose twitched and he flattened his ears. "Someone had been here recently."

Jennie looked ahead. Darkness was stretching before them, thick and impenetrable.

Then…

Clang.

Jennie began walking forward.

They were passing old murals where warriors with Divine Swords were depicted. They were old and fading but the images were still readable – warriors with pride in their faces and raised swords.

But something was wrong.

Swords on murals had been scratched out.

Roxy saw it. Her voice sounded worried and confused. "Why someone erased them?"

Jennie did not answer.

They kept moving.

At some point, they came to an enormous stone door. It was immense – taller than any building in Nocturne and wider than any gate. Runes were written on the surface of the door, glowing with purple light.

Single word was carved into it.

ECLIPSE.

Jennie touched the door.

Entire underground city started to tremble – dust was falling from the ceiling, walls were shaking. The runes were blazing with light on the door.

Cold and hollow voice echoed in the darkness – voice of something that had been alone for too long.

"Leave."