The faceless moved, its coat billowing dramatically as it advanced.
Raelus bobbed his head to the right, narrowly dodging the oncoming strike. Pivoting swiftly, he followed up with a diagonal slash aimed at the creature's neck. The faceless pulled back with a vertical dash, the tip of Raelus' blade grazing its flesh but failing to bite deep. Its other arm twisted, shifting into a jagged spear-like weapon.
With a quick jab, it shot forward, aiming to skewer Raelus just beneath the chin. Raelus reacted instantly, pulling back just in time to avoid the blow—but the sudden shift in weight cost him his balance. He stumbled. The faceless wasted no time, twisting its body as its free arm morphed into another blade, thrusting straight for Raelus' heart.
His mind raced.
He knew he couldn't dodge this one. With no other choice, he widened his stance for balance, angling his sword skyward. As the faceless struck, Raelus brought the pommel of his blade down, deflecting the attack to the side. The jagged spear missed his heart but pierced his side instead. Raelus jumped back, jolts of shock shooting up his arm from the earlier clash of steel against bone. He winced at the pain in his side, but adrenaline dulled the worst of it. His grip on his sword tightened. He exhaled sharply. Then, he moved.
They met mid-charge.
Steel clashed against bone in a rapid flurry. The faceless was fast—far more agile than Raelus—but it lacked raw strength. Raelus had power, but his speed fell short.
He poured more force into his parries, forcing wide deflections that made it difficult for the faceless to chain its attacks. Raelus shifted stance slightly, bracing himself before launching an upward parry. His blade struck hard, knocking the creature's arm high into the air. Seizing the moment, he followed up with a diagonal slash—severing the remaining limb completely.
The faceless countered with its other arm, aiming for a brute-force strike against Raelus' shoulder. But he had already anticipated it. Pivoting smoothly, Raelus positioned himself to the creature's side, eyes locked on its still-regrowing limb. He struck. His blade sliced through the faceless at its waist, cleaving its body in two.
As the upper half began to slump forward, Raelus wasted no time—his final slash was quick and precise, severing the creature's neck in one clean motion. All three pieces hit the ground simultaneously.
Raelus stepped forward, driving his sword into the faceless' head, ensuring it stayed dead. Then, the bottled-up pain surged through him all at once. His legs buckled. He fell to his knees, supporting himself with his sword. The backlash from speaking earlier triggered violent spasms. His body felt as though it was being torn apart from the inside.
Then—movement in the darkness.
Three more faceless emerged from the shadows. The one in the middle was different. Unlike the others, it wasn't entirely faceless—it had two hollow, white eyes that bled from their sockets, the crimson trails streaming down to its chin. The creatures flanking it were the same as before—silent, featureless, and deadly.
Raelus tried to push himself up, but his body refused to move. His vision swam
. Then, a hand rested on his shoulder. Something ephemeral seeped into him, numbing the spasms, though the wound in his side continued to throb. Boots clattered against the cobblestone.
"This is why I hate babysitting," Alkiad muttered, stepping forward.
He didn't summon his armor. He didn't draw a weapon. He simply vanished.
Before the two-eyed faceless could react, Alkiad reappeared in front of it, his hand gripping its head. Then, he crushed it. The creature's skull shattered into smithereens, its body collapsing with a heavy slump. The remaining faceless hesitated. One took a step back. Alkiad moved again.
His hand shot out, vibrating with sheer force as he backhanded the closest creature. Its head exploded on impact. The last faceless turned and fled into the darkness. Alkiad stretched out his right hand. The Arcane churned at his fingertips. A firebolt roared to life. The flames shot forward, illuminating the alley as they struck their target.
The fleeing faceless burst into fire, its body disintegrating in the blaze. Alkiad turned to Raelus. Agony flogged him, dragging him toward unconsciousness. His sight blurred. The last of his strength gave out, and he crashed to the ground. The final thing he heard was Alkiad's cynical voice.
Sleep was steadily pushed away. Fatigue and pain washed off. With each passing minute, he grew conscious. He came to. His field of vision filled with white spots and slowed down as he trailed his eyes around his surroundings. Then came sound. His eyes finally met Cian's, his lips moving quickly, but he could only hear some slurred words which became mumbles, then full-blown complaints followed up with questions, then silence once more.
The room smelled of sweat, rust, and hopelessness. Raelus shook his head, chasing the groggy feeling camouflaged within it. A sharp headache rocked his world and brought him back fully. He stood, his hands on the rough stone walls before turning to Cian.
"Where are we?"
"Brehonic cells," Cian sighed,"So you can talk?"
"Just as shocked as you are?" Raelus chuckled.
"Oooh, you funny too," Cian fake-laughed, "My humour is rubbing off on you."
Raelus sat next to Cian, staring into a hollow window-shaped aperture. The sun was rising, the morning cold soothing. They sat in silence for a while.
"Now, where are you from?" Cian asked.
"I cannot talk about that. The same way I should not be speaking,"
"Any particular reason?"
"Giesa. Familiar with them?"
Cian pondered for a while before it clicked, "You mean gessa, like the binding vows bound to mythical heroes?"
"Heroes that I don't know. Where I'm from, anyone with the right knowledge can."
"Can you?"
"Not exactly, I get the gist of it," Raelus saw Cian's eyes sparkle with curiosity, eager to learn more, but he was not the only one. He had so many questions to ask, and thankfully, he could.
"Where is it exactly?" Raelus frowned at the ambiguity of the question. "Home?" Cian added.
"From here, I can't tell, but it's far," Raelus stared into the distance, "Too far."
They sat in silence. Having a conversation, the first time in a not-so-long time, felt relaxing. He felt relieved despite not talking about the ailments of his mind. He needed that.
"How do you manipulate emotions?" Raelus asked. Cian was shocked that Raelus could tell.
His best-kept secret was not so safe anymore.
"I just do. I tap into the emotion I need to channel and channel it."
"Hmmm, interesting,"
"What?" Cian said as if on guard.
"Seems pretty similar to what I read," Raelus did not wait for Cian's response. "Telepathy is one of the three talents a mage or druid can possess."
Cian felt his chest tighten under the weight of the discovery, "So you mean I am a fucking mage!" His voice raised in disbelief.
"Probably," Raelus thought Cian was overreacting, "It's not a bad thing. My father was one." "Whhattt was his talent?" Cian stammered.
"Telekinesis," Raelus said, "Teleportation is the final talent." He cured Cian of his curiosity.
Cian lost his smile and cheer, drowned in the thoughts and streams of endless possibilities. He ran his hand through his hair before shifting uncomfortably, then finally resting his head on the wall with his eyes closed. Raelus let Cian think about it.
The sun had already risen, and from the noise, the building had come to life. The shuffling of feet or crumpling of papers, even the low and distant murmurs, left Raelus anxious. The insecurity brought by the lack of a weapon was flaring. Cian's grumbling shook away his nervousness, as it was almost funny at this point how incapable he was of taking the news, but all would be well in due time.
The floorboards just at the door wailed to announce their aggressors. Raelus' heart paced, and the same seemed for Cian, who sat up straight. The handle clanged, then turned, the door swung inside, presenting two newcomers. Raelus was already familiar with both.
Grianne closed the door behind her as the behemoth settled against the wall, leaning as he watched them. The clanks of her boots as she clattered her feet towards them robbed them of their breath, strength, and courage. Gathering back all three, Raelus stood, ignoring Cian as he tugged his shirt to sit. Grianne smiled, not menacingly, just a simple smile—one showing interest.
"I won't apologise for last time. So man the fuck up, then sit the fuck down," Her smile gone. "Don't make me repeat myself."
Raelus conceded. Cian was lost; he had enough for one day. He stopped trying to understand what was happening.
"You can talk?" Raelus nodded his reply.
"Your name?"
"Raelus De Aeracura," his voice dripped with pride as he spoke of his heritage.
Fucking keltoi, Grianne muttered as she turned to Phecda, "Nessira's?"
"Probably not," his voice reverberated." She would have know."
"Where are you from?"
"Not liable to say."
"Where did you learn to fight?"
"Not liable to say."
Phecda approached. His armor glinted as light bounced off it. His imposing figure right before them. Grianne paved the way for him. Phecda placed his hand on Raelus' shoulder. The ephemeral power from before surged profoundly, then stopped once Raelus felt his soul quake in resistance. His body shuddered as the power withdrew, and Phecda paced a step or two back.
"He is bound to gessas," Phecda said.
"Multiple?" Grianne's head craned to the side, her brows raised as if itching to experiment on him. Her eyes glowed golden, then dimmed back to their natural hue.
"He has soul damage. He broke one. Most likely involving talking,"
Raelus' face betrayed him, forcing a smug look from Grianne.
"You are awakened, yet you don't draw from the arcane?" Grianne moved back towards him.
"I don't know how," Raelus said, his gaze falling to meet hers before settling on the floor instead.
"Then how in hell did…"
"Enough," Phecda interrupted.
Grianne, frowning and glaring, went to the side with the behemoth.
"This is way above our paygrade. Let's do this: release the street rat, then leave the keltoi to Nessira and Gillian." "Okay," Phecda beckoned Cian.
They left and closed the door, leaving Raelus at the whims of Grianne.