The Warmth of the Hearth

Where am I? A sound echoes across Luke as he slowly regains consciousness, the screams of metal clashing with one another as he feels himself suspended in the air, his wrists tied up above him. He could not see, something similar to a cloth wrapped around his eyes as he tries to rely on his other senses in searching for a clue as to where he might be.

“Luke... are you finally up?” A familiar voice calls out to him from below, accompanied by the rattling of what seemed to be chains. “Where is Nieko?”

“Souyer? He’s safe with the others.” Luke is suddenly overcome with a sense of worry. The old man sounded weak, his voice frail as if he was exhausted. “What have they done to you?”

Before the old man could answer, Luke hears the grating of heavy metal scraping across the floor in front of them, followed by sets of footsteps. “The boy is awake. Do what you must to locate the others.” A gruff voice speaks, booming with echo as the walls feel a light shiver from above. Is there fighting above us? “Make sure he stays alive.”

“Yes sir.” Another man responds, much younger than the first. “And what of the old man?”

There is a pause, complete silence surrounding them. Luke hears the heavy breaths of Souyer as his mind runs in figuring a way out. They might be able to lure them into a false sense of security and find a gap there. But if so, will they be able to flee? He had no strength left in him, no more energy to spare. He had no idea how Souyer’s condition was as well. There’s no way out...

“Keep him alive and sane, we might be able to use him for future negotiations.” The first person speaks once more, his tone flat and uninterested. “However, don’t allow me to keep you from having fun.”

A maniacal laughter escapes from the second person, his presence could be felt and a strong sense of intimidation hits Luke. “Tell me...” A sharp, cold object presses against the skin of Luke’s neck. “How many cuts would your body be able to take?”

Carson, a body now owned by Megon, sits upon a small meadow somewhere within the forest. There was a cold breeze about, the moon above him shining as he finds ecstasy in sensing the wind brush against his human skin. Such bliss! “The time has almost come. This world will once again know what it feels like to be shrouded in darkness.” He picks himself up, a maniacal grin on his face as sheer excitement and expectation floods him. “Aren’t you in luck, Carson Blaise?” A thousand stems of pitch-black smoke rise from the ground beneath his feet, the grass around him shrivelling up as the mist passes them. “You get to see such wonderful destruction up close.” The elusive branches become solid in an instant, revealing people who were once citizens of Ezicion, now mindless souls serving under the Accursed. “All in time...”