Chapter 4: A Deadly Smile
It was several hours later before the carriage eventually came to a halt.
It’s wheels groaned one final time before silence descended once more. For several moments, no one inside moved as the sound of pounding hearts echoed across the silence...
Rainwater still dripped softly from the wooden roof while the cold scent of wet iron lingered heavily within the quiet interior.
Then...
CLANG!
The carriage doors were violently pulled open. Pale light spilled inward instantly...
"Out!" A voice, sharp enough to cut through flesh, sliced through the silence enveloping the carriage.
The group turned the carriage exit and saw an armoured knight standing next to it. Then one by one, the forgotten children of noble Houses stepped down from the carriage...
Chains rattled softly around wrists and ankles as boots touched ancient stone. Regaleon descended last and the moment his feet touched the ground, his eyes narrowed at the structure around them...
They appeared to be in the ruin of some abandoned military outpost built upon a barren cliffside. Crumbling towers stood nearby while rusted weapons littered corners long forgotten by time...
The atmosphere was thick with some unknown energy as it pressed upon them. Even the guards accompanying them looked eager to leave...
But all that didn’t have anything to do with Regaleon as he studied the platform at the center of the ruin...
Massive circular runes were carved into the stone beneath the platform, glowing faintly with pale blue Aether. Ancient symbols spiraled outward in layered rings while towering crystal pylons surrounded the structure like silent guardians.
Regaleon recognized such platforms. They were known as teleportation platforms. Only Kingdoms and Great Houses possessed resources to maintain and use them as teleportation across long distances consumed terrifying amounts of Aether.
Which meant one thing... The Nether Lands were very far away. Farther than most people could possibly imagine.
"Move!" The knight barked harshly as he shoved a boy by his arm.
The ten exiles obeyed instantly as they began walking towards the center of the platform...
The chains around their limbs clicked with every movements as they walked. It wasn’t comfortable but no one complained. At least, no one dared to.
Once all ten stood upon the platform, three knights finally approached and began unlocking their restraints one by one. Metals shackles crashed against the stone floor as they were freed...
Regaleon rubbed his sore wrists slightly. Although the chains have been taken away, the freedom still felt strange and unfamiliar because no comfort came with it...
Everyone understood that they weren’t freed because of mercy, they were simply freed because there was no need for chains were they are about to be sent to.
After unlocking the last chain, the knights stepped backward. Far backward. As though afraid to remain close...
"Activate the teleportation array!" The knight who opened the carriage door ordered in his rough voice.
One of the armoured men placed his hand upon a nearby crystal pillar and immediately, the runes beneath the platform began glowing brightly...
A low hum spread through the air as the Aether around them thickened heavily and that was when something happened...
One of the boys amongst the exiled broke down. It was the boy who was quietly sobbing back in the carriage...
His breathing became frantic as he said, "No..." Then panic flooded his face as he stared wildly around himself. "No,no, no... I am not going there! I don’t want to die!"
At first, no one paid attention to him as his reaction was entirely normal. Then, without warning, he turned and ran. He moved desperately and madly as he ran towards the edge of the platform...
Like prey fleeing toward impossible salvation.
But he had barely taken a single step off the platform when something cold flashed. Like a meteor in the night sky. There was a silver streak and...
THUD!
The rest watched grimly as the boy’s body collapsed forward lifelessly. His head rolled separately across the stone floor...
The younger sister screamed, her face turning pale instantly as she witnessed the gory sight...
Regaleon watched as warm blood spread across ancient runes. He was still expressionless but his gaze betrayed the swirling emotions he felt within...
The knight who threw the blade did not even blink. Instead he spoke indifferently, "Do not attempt anything foolish..."
Then his cold gaze swept across the remaining exiles, "... because none if you are valuable enough to preserve."
Silence crushed the group afterward as fear settled deeply into their bones. The younger sister clung weakly to her older sibling while the failed Alchemist turned white...
Even Regaleon felt his stomach tightened slightly and it wasn’t because of the death. But because of how meaningless it had been.
The boy’s life had ended in less than a breath. Like throwing away trash, there was no hesitation or remorse afterwards. Only indifference.
Then the teleportation runes brightened further as the air itself began vibrating violently now...
"Good riddance." One knight spat with disdain.
Another laughed quietly. "Don’t worry. The Nether Lands will finish the rest soon enough."
Regaleon heard them, but said nothing. There was no point as the world had already decided what they were...
And the world those not care what it does to broken things. Things that would soon be forgotten anyways.
Then, the light erupted. It was blinding and cool as the world twisted violently around them.
Regaleon felt his stomach lurch as space itself seemed to fold inward. The sensation was unbearable, as though his body was being dragged through frozen water while burning simultaneously.
The younger girl cried out weakly while several others nearly collapsed. Then... Everything vanished.
------
Several minutes later... The group reappeared.
The teleportation light faded slowly around them and immediately... Something felt wrong. Deeply wrong.
"Where the hell are we...?" The failed Alchemist’s voice trembled faintly as he asked.
Regaleon slowly lifted his gaze and for the first time since his exile, he truly understood the reason people feared the Nether Lands...
The sky itself looked dead. Unlike the blue heavens of Valoria, this sky churned endlessly with dark crimson clouds. Blood-red lightning flickered occasionally behind them, illuminating the world in brief flashes if scarlet.
The atmosphere felt heavy and... Oppressive. As though the very air wished to suffocate them. There was a faint metallic scent that lingered everywhere. It smelled like... Blood.
The ground beneath them was blackened stone mixed with ash-like soil. And surrounding the group was a forest...
Regaleon’s golden eyes narrowed slightly. The forest did not resemble any forest he had ever seen...
The trees were twisted grotesquely, their bark dark as charred flesh. Massive roots protruded from the ground like skeletal figures while black leaves hung limply from crooked branches..
Some trees appeared almost humanoid beneath the red sky. Like giants frozen mid-scream. The deeper darkness within the forest seemed alive somehow... Like it was watching and waiting.
Even the wind sounded wrong here. It whispered through the branches like distant voices murmuring beneath graves.
The teleportation platform underneath them dimmed softly. Its soft blue glow flickered for a few seconds and then it went dark. Like a fragile hope before a grim reality.
Their connection to Valoria had now vanished completely and this realization settled upon them heavily. This means that there would be no return. Not anymore.
Nine exiles stood together beneath the crimson heavens now. There were no knights, no escorts and no protection. Only suffocating silence...
At first, no one moved as fear of the unknown rooted them in place. Even breathing felt dangerous here as it seemed like they had to be conscious and aware of everything they do.
Then eventually, one of the boys spoke shakily. "We...we should rest for a moment."
There was no objection as the journey has exhausted them all...
The boy slowly lowered himself toward the ground. But he had barely begun sitting when... Something moved. Fast.
It was far to fast as a sudden blur exploded from the darkness beyond the trees. Then... A scream tore through the forest...
HAAAA!
Then, the boy vanished instantly. He was not pulled, not dragged... Just vanished. One second he existed. The next... He was gone.
The scream echoed briefly before being swallowed whole by the endless woods. Then silence followed. Horrific silence.
The remaining eight exiles froze completely as chills crawled viciously down their spines. The younger sister whimpered softly. "What...what was that...?"
No one answered her because they had no idea what THAT was. Slowly, everyone turned toward the darkness that devoured the boy...
There was nothing there. Nothing moved... And nothing breathed.
Only endless black forest beneath the blood-red sky. It looked like the threshold to an abyss...
Then the failed Gnost suddenly stepped forward shakily. "I-i can illuminate the area..."
His hands trembled as he summoned a Lantern. It was a strange relic of bronze and silver...
An Earl Tier Lantern. It was a relic the world had called defective. But here... Its usefulness became immediately apparent.
The failed Gnost inhaled sharply before channeling Aether into it. Then the Lantern ignited instantly and a warm golden light blossomed outward...
It was soft, sacred... And hopeful.
The glow spread nearly twenty meters around them, pushing back portions of the dreadful darkness...
And finally, they saw THEM.
The creatures surrounding the platform. A collective gasp escaped the group. There were dozens. No... Hundreds.
THEY hung silently among the twisted trees. THEY were tall and emaciated...
THEY were humanoid things with elongated limbs and pale grey flesh which stretched tightly over protruding bones. Their arms ended with horrifying claws while their faces...
Their faces had no eyes. Only massive mouths splitting unnaturally wide across their heads.
Rows upon rows of needle-like teeth glistened beneath the Lantern light as black saliva dripped slowly from their jaws.
Some crouched upside-down along tree trunks while others crawled slowly across branches like insects. THEY stood... Watching, waiting and hungry.
And within the mouth of one creature hung the severed arm of the boy who disappeared...
The younger sister screamed while the failed Alchemist stumbled backward...
The creatures tilted their heads simultaneously toward the Lantern light... Towards them.
Then, a sound emerged from the forest...
CLICK! CLICK!! CLICK!!!
Hundreds of teeth grinded together in anticipation as THEY watched...
Regaleon’s heartbeat slowed in his chest. It was not from calmness... But instinct.
Every part of his body screamed danger as he realized that death stood before them. It was raw, ancient... And merciless.
Then one creature stepped forward fully into the golden glow. It’s skin twitched unnaturally while it’s jaw slowly opened wider...
And wider...
Far beyond what any living thing should be capable of. Darkness spilled from it’s throat like living smoke...
Seeing the group’s fear, the creature smiled. A deadly smile... And the forest smiled with it.
