Her lack of response was enough. "Don't worry, as a faithful pet, I'll make sure that you're up to code." His words promising more of his games. Sadistic, cruel and laced with mockery at the thought of resistance. "If the darkness can see those lost in it then what about the light meant to illuminate those in need?"
She asked, the sound of the two making their way through the forest nonexistent. The two had sensed something off a few meters away, their demeanor spoke of sloth as they lazily made their way over. "The light you speak of is long gone, extinguished at a time when this veil of reality had yet to form. There's nothing left in the planes above."
His words drawing intrigue making Callista wonder. "Don't you think for the darkness to exist then light needs to be present? After all how will the darkness know that it's not it's polar opposite." A light chuckle escaped his lips, his fingers stretching out revealing his glyph.
"Well when there is no light the darkness grows into something far greater, the abyss capable of swallowing light itself and making it a construct, a toy to pass time." Callista's frame shuddered at the implications. "Don't you think that there'll be someone ready to light the flame and clear the darkness?"
Jarren tilted his hand,the glyph in his hand morphing into something familiar to his figure. His shadow glimmered and rippled in space time as if a flaw never meant to exist. It glared at the two before heading at their destination. "I'm actually wishing for someone to light that candle, after all how will the darkness be known that it has grown into something far more dangerous?"
It was clear that he was thrilled if anything with the resistance that she showed. "I think that the dark has a hubris that succeeds it's actual strength." The branches swayed lightly in the wind, the aura now growing far darker. The Dreadhorn demon they were meant to hunt now reduced to background noise.
"Hubris would implicate the attachment to trivial formalities. I'm sure that you can relate with that." His smile now gleaming into something far darker. The air around him started to churn, not into something far older than time but wrong. An edge that never left his being and made her wary of him.
She grit her teeth, aware of the joke behind his cruel words. 'Trivial formalities...' His perception of emotions was nothing more than performance. "Then why are you still here? You could have it all with the snap of your fingers I'm sure." A strange silence followed by the sounds of screams.
The dreadhorn locked in a fight with his puppet. Jarren brushed it off. "Your mind is truly interesting Callista. My attempt with the emotions I detest is to please one of my toys. To show that I fancy them. Nothing more." The two finally arrived at the scene, neither seemed ready to fight the beast.
The air was lingering with a dark aura emitted by the dreadhorn, it's figure massive as it loomed over them all. And yet despite it's imposing stature it was riddled with injuries, clean and precise. Before it could shift it's attention to the pair, it met it's end at Jarren's shadow.
[{Ding, you have acquired 2,000 merit points}]
The bracelet ticked for Jarren who didn't mind. The shadow moved forward onto another target. "If you want to show that you fancy them then why are you treating them like toys?" Her words dripping with curiosity. Her ash eyes met his, the second felt like an eternity.
"Because that is what they wished to be seen as. Those lost in the dark lost in their own minds come on as game for me to play with. If they presented themselves to me as equals then that is how I would treat them and yet, none of those in my hands yearn to break from their limits and become more than just a trick."
His words calm with no ripple, Callista fell into contemplation at his words. "Would that mean that you would treat them better?" His head tilted in amusement. "I would treat them the way they would wish to be treated. As a servant, friend or something more..." His words directed at her making her scoff.
"For you to see the relationship than just a game, you would have to feel. Maybe you're just afraid of exuding emotions." A baseless accusation he ignored. "I may perceive it as trivial but not out of reach. Besides I have yet to see a reason to show them." In her mind she was shocked with his words.
At first her perception of him none other than than a sadistic horror but now, something far more closer and she wished that she didn't. 'Am I not enough for you to care about?' A thought that lasted for no longer than a second in her head. "If you weren't important, you'd be far less than what you are now. But you have yet to show me why I have to care."
Her logic rang clear in her mind. "If I have to prove to you, what would make this any different from the games you play?" His face showed a look of amusement, pleased with such a question. "A fitting question that will be answered in due time. Till then try to hold onto your sanity and lose what is left of you."
"What you're playing with is darkness, still teetering between the edge of light and darkness while the abyss beneath is watching, eternal and waiting for you to make your move." With that his figure warped out of her sight, appearing elsewhere in the mountain.
'Teetering at the edge of light and darkness with the abyss still yet to dive into.' She looked at the glyph in her hands, once a feat she was proud of accomplishing now an act she could execute with no thought. 'Though Jarren stepping out his games and treating someone more than just a pawn is still implausible to think.'
She balled her fist, her face now burning with a newly found determination. 'Would you still be able to kill her?' His question from before still stuck in her mind. She knew that the path to come for her would only get harder, playing the game wrong would have consequences.
'And yet fear claims me every time I'm in his presence.' She knew that the little emotions that she would exhibit would serve to sabotage her and yet if she were to give them up, would she still be human. 'Humanity?' She let out a chuckle, strange but natural. 'Nothing about me is humane and yet I cling to the dreams of regaining my humanity. I guess I'm a fool and he treats me like one.'
She let out a breathe, slow and long-winded but with purpose. 'The further I sink into the darkness, the less of my former self I'll retain till I'm swallowed whole by the abyss underneath.' She almost broke into a laugh however the reality of her task made her focus. 'Jarren, let's see how how deep you really are.'
And with that she made her way to her mark. The dreadhorn, a feared and revered beast now met it's end without notice. It's throat slit with a crystal thread no wider than a millimeter. Silent and lethal. She dismissed the notification as she went on with her spree. This time there was more than just skill in her movements, they radiated life.
Minuscule and easy to overlook but she could feel it. Her corpses kept on piling, those back at the facility baffled with her prowess.
***
"To think that these two would be capable of clearing so many Dreadhorns so easily." Eric's subsidiary mused,a stand in while he was gone. She look at the tally, Callista with seven and Jarren eight. One more involved than the other but their prowess couldn't be overlooked.
"Should we inform Eric, Maeve?" One of her member staff asked. "No, it would be better to tell him when he makes his arrival back at the Ark. Just keep a close eye on these two." Her voice stern and sharp as her beads never once left the two. The dreadhorn they faced weren't the ones out in the wild.
These were newly ascended Dreadhorns and it showed. Usually such beasts by now would have unlocked an elemental affinity, the one that Reynolds faced related with fire but none of these portrayed any. They still resorted to physical attacks which were stronger than that of a Wrymkindled but weaker than an actual dreadhorn.
'I wonder how they would fair when faced with the real deal.' Maeve had thought that it would take at the very least a pair to take one down but the two had no issue taking them down solo. Her mind drifted to their speech, baffled with what the two rambled about.
***
The chopper finally came to land, it's graceful descent greeted with operatives that were quick to open the door. "Welcome Sir Eric, the royal court has been waiting for you." His alight carrying power as he looked at the structure around him. It didn't have the medieval thematic to it, the place glistening with fountains, well trimmed gardens and servants moving about.
It felt more like a luxurious private estate than a bastion for the heads of the kingdom to align. However amidst all the glamour that greeted him, he knew the malevolence that nestled within. "Please follow me." One of the servants posed to which he followed.
Floor to ceiling windows glistening with the sun's rays, rich opulent air that filled the halls and a quiet weight that hung in place. It was more than enough to make Eric aware of the people he would be dealing with. At first it was behind neon screens but this time it would be face to face.
The doors opened with glamour, a wave of cologne hit his nose, the scene nothing short of immaculate. Classy furnishings draped in gold, white sofas and a light warmth filled the air before the eyes in the room shifted to his arrival. "Eric Polker, I'm glad that you could make it."
One of them mused, their face smooth as he held a glass of wine. Churning it before taking a light sip. "But of course, it is my duty after all." His words clear and concise as he made his way into the room. An invisible pressure pressed his figure but his face remained calm as he took his seat.
"Would you like a drink?" Another suggested, their voice light as a maid made a move to pour. "I don't drink but I do appreciate your consideration." The maid made a bow before stepping back to her place. The one at the middle of the room finally gulped his goblet before gesturing the maids to leave.
"The king won't be with us as he's preoccupied with the death of her majesty. It's a shame that she met her death so suddenly." His name carried weight as the rest fell silent. His name was none other than Lord James Vaewlyn, the internal counselor of Reuthar spoke.
His voice heavy though carried an edge of familiarity and warmth towards Eric. "It is truly a shame that such a travesty fell on the kingdom." Eric mused blankly, his eyes locked with the rest of the ministers. Some showed looks of worry that flashed for no longer than a minute before shifting to the main topic.
"As for Othera, the other kingdoms have come to a unanimous decision of wiping it off the map. It poses way too many risks that we can accommodate. If such a virus were to come into contact with the rest of the world,it would sheer chaos." Toren Durne, the minister of security and defense mused.
"If it is for the better then it should transpire." Seris Gale interjected, his words slightly slurred from intoxication. The minister of technology and development in the kingdom. He was a bit of a party goer at that. "But what really interested me was the death of the head of the elves. Overnight with no logical sense behind it is baffling don't you think?"
"To have the elites dead overnight along with their military down is no easy feat that can happen in the span of a day. It's clear that it was planned ahead of time, whether by the same people is still a mystery." Toren sighed as he grabbed a glass of wine for a drink.