Kieron checked his fragments.
Soul Fragments: [5535/6000]
'It looks like all of them had fully saturated cores. Good for me.'
Kieron wanted to escape, however, he couldn't afford to.
Not just yet.
What Kieron had hypothesized was that Mordret would be in a big rush right now, because unlike the novel, Saint Cormac is said to likely return within one to two weeks.
It gives him much less time to weaken the morale of all the sentinels. He won't be free to play with their fear.
And this makes it much worse for him.
This is not to mention that the people of the Night Temple will also go for a better strategy this time.
Unlike before, where they try to entrap Mordret, this time, they will just remain as a defensive unit, until the saint arives. A much lower risk for them.
Which is why, currently all the Sentinels and Masters must be working on creating that.
What further proved his theory was that Welthe did not come to question him. She was busy.
Which is why Kieron doesn't go out to actively search for them. At least not right now. Not until the defense is ready.
Mordret will likely, eventually, brute force his way into the inner sanctum, where they are likely making their temporary base of operations, after realising that he can't manipulate them so easily.
That will be Kieron's chance to go and infiltrate as well.
'It may take a day of two... I won't take risks this early. I'll just stay here for now.'
Another reason he stays here for now is that he wants the conflict with Mordret to worsen up. This will make decieving the Master's — for what he has in plan — much easier.
Kieron sat down on the floor.
'I have basically nothing to do...'
And so, he got lost in thought again.
***
Two days had passed since Mordret getting unsealed. Kieron was getting impatient. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't risk it.
Nobody came to check on him either, which meant that they either forgot about him or were too busy to check up on him.
They didn't even come to check up on the missing Lost that he killed so it was clear that they were just simply busy fighting Mordret.
Kieron was really conflicted. He didn't know if it was a good enough time to leave or not. If he left too early, it might not be able to control this place properly.
He'd been hearing a lot of screams and thundering sounds, implying that the battle was going full force between the two sides.
Soon, the sounds died out, signifying to him that the battle must have died out for now.
He decided to wait a bit longer, to see if someone would come check on him.
An hour passed like that, but no one came to him. So he decided to leave finally.
Stepping over the corpse laying at the doorstep of the cellar, Kieron entered the dark, empty corridor and stopped for a few short moments. He listened tensely to the echoing silence that reigned over it, and then cautiously moved forward.
He felt a little lost in the impenetrable darkness. He could summon Cruel Sight for some light, but he decided not to, because even though he wanted to have a soul battle with Mordret, having it right now wasn't ideal.
If it was upto him, he would turn Fourth Wall back on, and use Cruel Sight, but it doesn't suit his plan.
Reason for that being that Mordret would likely become way more cautious if he finds Kieron to have some sort of soul protection. That way, he might not even try to take his body over, making his entire plan go to shambles. Not to mention, switching fourth wall on and off constantly is really draining. It's easier to jsut keep it turned on or turned off.
Currently, he was at the lowest levels of one of its seven belfries, deep below the outward ring of the main structure. There were two other belfries in the outward ring, and both the ring itself and the three towers descending from it remained uninhabited.
He moved from one level to another, not meeting a single living soul. Here and there, signs of battle could be seen — the furniture was smashed to pieces, the walls scraped by sharp blades or cracked, a few of them completely shattered. The floor was stained with blood, but there were no more corpses around.
As soon as he found himself between the black walls of the main structure of the Night Temple again, a terrible smell assaulted his nostrils.
This was the familiar, vile smell of death.
Just like the belfry, the outward ring was submerged in darkness. No one had bothered to change the oil in the lamps, and there were no windows to let in the light. The corridors here were wider, and their adornments richer. However, just like before, everything was silent, and there was nobody around.
The Night Temple seemed completely deserted.
Moving slowly, he cautiously headed in the direction of the gates leading to the outside.
…It wasn't long before Kieron noticed a trail of dried blood on the stones beneath his feet, as though someone dead or dying had been dragged across them. Coincidentally, the trail led in the same direction.
He entered the hall separating them from the gates.
Before the gates of the temple, a large hall stood, submerged in darkness. The air was permeated with the smell of rot, and at least a dozen eviscerated bodies lay on the cold stones, staring into nothingness with their empty eyes.
Kieron, unlike his usual self, did not even get phased by that scene.
It could be said to be a culmination of his terrible, terrible, experiences at the forgotten shore, and the fact that he was already expecting it this, but it was still unusual for him to not get phased by it at all. He wasn't a cruel person after all.
Each of the fallen sentinels was killed with one precise, fatal strike. However, most of them were terribly mutilated and covered in multiple wounds — none of them lethal, but all aimed at inflicting the maximum amount of pain.
"Where the hell is the gateway... Do I need to go deeper?"
Leaving the scene of the cruel massacre behind, he headed deeper into the stone bowels of the Night Temple.
It took him a long time to cross the outward ring and enter the central temple. The distance itself was not that considerable, but the bizarre interior of the cathedral was disorienting and sprawling, resembling a vast, convoluted maze of black stone. He also had to remain cautious and move slowly so as to not walk into an ambush.
Eventually, he passed near the Shattered Gateway. It was covered in rubble, large pieces of black obsidian laying in piles where the black altar had once stood.
'I hear footsteps. Someone is finally coming.'
And soon enough, he saw human figures emerging from one of the passages, some of them limping, the others carrying stretchers with those of their brethren who were too heavily wounded to walk.
The Lost… they were the remaining guardians of the Night Temple. In front of them, a woman in a black tunic was walking, her red hair dirty and damp with sweat. There was a grim, dark expression on her face.
There were a dozen or so of the Lost and Master Welthe.
Soon, a lone figure separated from the group of battered sentinels and headed their way with measured, steady steps.
Master Pierce… the man was as rugged and severe as he had been when they first met, his steely eyes cold and hard. The stubble on his cheeks had turned into a short beard and his lusterless scale mail was damaged in several places, but other than that, he looked exactly the same. It was as though the weeks of bloody horror had no effect on him at all.
Master Pierce spoke, his voice dark and heavy:
"Well, well. What do we have here…"
Kieron kept his usual stern face and didn't seem to waver at all.
"Pierce."
In the next moment, a vast whirlwind of white sparks surrounded the platform. Kieron watched as ten human figures appeared from the sparks, surrounding them. In an instant, the number of his potential enemies almost doubled.
These humans, though… he had to suppress a shiver. Their empty eyes, their empty shadows… no, they weren't humans at all. Instead, ten Echoes were staring at him with lifeless expressions, each radiating an eerie, deeply disturbing, and threatening aura.
Pierce stared at them coldly.
"I see that you've escaped."
Kieron clicks his tongue.
"This is ridiculous mistreatment you know? I will talk to my lawer about this and sue you."
Piece didn't look to be in the mood to joke.
In the next moment, something cold touched his neck and a vaguely familiar raspy voice spoke into his ear:
"Don't move."
Kieron was certain there was no one behind her, but then she suddenly appeared.
The voice was of the sentinel that was guarding the gates when he arrived.
'Ah, there you are! The invisible sentinel. You're my lifeline, I need you.'
This particular sentinel was essential to Caster's plan.
"Yeah, yeah. Not moving. Pierce, I would appreciate it if you could give me shelter and explain what is happening."
He stared at him for a bit, then grinned.
"Give you shelter? That is a good joke. Give me one reason to not kill you, instead."
"You can try. But you won't succeed. Those echos don't seem very threatening you know."
Master Pierce opened his mouth, wishing to say something, but was cut off by Welthe, who had approached from behind. The second Ascended spoke in a tired voice:
"Enough. We can't spare anyone, or anything. I know this and you do too, Pierce. He... he is strong. You heard from Tracker already."
"What if that thing is inside him?"
Kieron cut their conversation by adding:
"I am a divine aspect holder. He can't take over me. Let me assist you in capturing him."
Welthe seemed to consider it for a moment before accepting it.
"Fine, we accept. Let's leave noe. We must return to the inner sanctum as fast as possible."
Pierce gritted his teeth, then snarled and dismissed the Echoes.
'They likely didn't go for me because of how big of a threat I am. They can't afford to make enemies of two divine aspect holders.'
Kieron finally felt the cold blade move away from his neck. In the next moment, the familiar sentinel appeared from the thin air beside him, holding a sharp dagger in her hand.
She smiled and winked at him.
"...Lucky you. Well, maybe next time."
'Huh? No next time. There won't be a next time.'
He wasn't too happy about how things had turned out, and knew that their conflict with the forces of Valor was imminent, but for now, he at least got access to the inner sanctum.
Soon Kieron and the Lost entered the inner sanctum of the Night Temple — its very heart — and bolted the heavy doors behind them. As soon as they did, a field of glowing runes flashed for a moment on the dark wooden surface, and then disappeared without a trace.
The area was not too large, but right below them was the main bell tower of the cathedral, which was taller and wider than the other six belfries.
The two Masters led their people through somber corridors to a spacious hall that seemed to serve as their current stronghold. There were guards keeping watch in front of the entrance, crates with food and water, a fireplace keeping the cold at bay, and makeshift bedding for people to sleep on.
'That's crazy... in just two days, Mordret went crazy and killed nearly thirty people?'
All in all, only about seventy Lost remained.
Mordret turned out to be more lethal and terrifying than his jailers or even Kieron had expected had expected.
The wounded were quickly tended to, and the Lost fell on their cots, dead tired. A few went through the familiar motions of maintaining the camp — cooking food, distributing water, and doing other miscellaneous tasks. Everything was performed swiftly and with trained precision, proving once more how experienced and professional these people were.
'Looks like they are not in despair yet though. Likely because they know Saint Cormac will return soon.'
After a while, the familiar female sentinel approached them and said:
"Sir and Lady wish to see you."
He was led to a separate room, where Pierce and Welthe were waiting for them behind a wide round table. Both of their expressions were grim.
Welthe gestured to a couple of chairs and, after waiting for a few moments, said:
"You will follow simple rules. From now on, you are under our command. You will follow any order either Sir Pierce or I give you. You will not use any Memory or item that can be used as a mirror inside the inner sanctum… or outside of it, if you wish to live. You will not conspire against your fellow soldiers or tell a single soul about what you have seen here in the Night Temple. If you disagree, leave right now. And tell us how you got into possession of that mirror. "
"Are you sure you can afford to have me leave?"
The two masters hesitated.
He then added:
"Or, if you aren't bright enough to read in between lines, can you afford a clash with me along with whatever that thing is?"
Kieron yawned.
"You can't control me. I will have the reigns here."
Welthe didn't like how this was going but she had no choice. She gritted her teeth and spoke again.
"Our plan is to hold the fort until the Saint Returns. He may return in just a few days, or a week at the latest. We'll try to be as defensive as possible and lose as few people as possible."
Hearing that Caster shook his head.
"That clearly isn't working out. Thirty people are already dead. But you're right, that is your best bet."
Welthe spoke up again.
"Yes, so-"
Caster interjected.
"I wasn't done speaking. Quiet. As I was saying, you're forgetting something. "He" knows all of this as well. You think he will allow that to happen? What gives you the confidence that he hasn't already invaded the inner sanctum?"
This time, it was Pierce who spoke up, his voice still sharp.
"We don't really have a choice. And what's not to say that it isn't you, that he's taken over?"
"You're really not a great listener, are you? I told you already. I am a divine aspect holder. He can't over take my body as he pleases. And you do have a choice."
After saying that, Caster paused.
"Well, what is it?"
"He has trapped a few people alive for certain reasons. We need to rescue them."
Of course, Caster was just lying right now, however the masters had no way of knowing that. And they had no reason to believe he could be lying right now.
The two masters didn't repond for a bit, but eventually Welthe spoke up again.
"It is not worth the risk."
"Ah but it is. They are basically backup vessels, so if we do not get them out of his reach, he will just have the capability to just go crazy with his vessels and kill more than just a few people before losing a single vessel. Essentially allowing him to play riskier."
Hearing that, Pierce spoke in a suspicious tone:
"If you saw that, why didn't you take care of it yourself, if you think of yourself to be so strong."
Caster shook his head in disappointment.
"I may be strong but I am not stupid. Of course I will be cautious of a being that requires a hundred awakened veterans, two ascended knights and a transcendent to be imprissioned. I don't even know what exactly his abilities are. I just know he can take over things and has mirror related abilities, as per my observation."
Welthe nodded hearing that. It looked like she was convinced.
"Where is it? This room with vessels trapped that you talk of."
"On the lowest belfry, the seventh one."
Pierce interjected in as soon as Caster said that.
"In that case we'll stay right where we are and maintain our current status."
Caster clicked his tongue.
"Did you not hear what I said? We need to take those people away from him, right now."
"We'll also likely lose more people in that struggle. It is not worth it. If a lot of people leave for that, it will weaken our fort here."
Welthe agreed with him.
Caster didn't like that.
"I just need two people. One of you two, and the sentinel with invisibility."
Welthe found it weird.
"Why that awakened in particular?"
"Because as long as she doesn't look into a mirror, she can sneak around as much as she needs to and the thing likely can't find her. As for between you two, I'd rather go with you Master Welthe."
Welthe gave it a thought and said:
"Fine, let's do as you say."
Pierce stood up, banging the table.
"What nonesense! Do no listen to that."
Caster didn't appreciate that comment but he kept quiet.
"Shut it, Pierce. All you know is to be hot headed. We'll go with his plan."
Luckily, Welthe was convinced at least.
Caster smirked slightly.
"We leave in an hour."
Welthe nodded.
This entire conversation with them had one role only.
Seperate Welthe and the familar sentinel from everyone so that Caster can make use of them later. It was mostly lies and deception to get them to do what he wants them to do. Using his strength and nature as a divine aspect holder as leverage only complimented his bluffs.
So far, it looked like his lies were working.
It was now only a matter of what Mordret does to hinder him.