"Is something wrong, my child?"
The Void Queen didn't really care, but she felt the need to ask.
The sacrifice lady didn't respond. She simply shook her head slightly, side to side then closed her eyes, as if submitting to the fate the Queen has forced upon her.
"What was that?" Alexander asked.
"I might need a moment. The queen is going to try to hypnotize you into killing me, then killing yourself. But deception is my forte. I'll block her influence from your mind in a way she won't realize, until it's too late."
"And how exactly do I buy time?"
"I don't know. You seem like an intelligent young man, so figure it out."
Alexander was speechless. But he didn't have time to argue, because the next moment, the Void Queen made her move.
"Once again… let us begin."
She began to conjure strange symbols with her hands. Alexander was bewildered, she was clearly using essence, and the symbols looked like sorcery in the forbidden tongue.
He couldn't believe what he was witnessing: a lost archaic art, performed by one of its greatest masters, unfolding right before his eyes.
The wonders of the Tower truly are beyond logic.
Then, the other monarchs began to join her. One by one, almost like they were following an ordained pattern.
Swoosh.
The first guard dropped his spear. It pierced through the sacrifice in one fell swoop, she didn't even try to resist.
Blood soaked the ground in seconds.
But that wasn't all, just as the sacrifice lady had said.
The guard then bent over, drew a dagger from his boot, robotic and sloppy, he slit his own throat without a moment's hesitation.
Alexander's eyes went wide.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt whatever mystic or spiritual journey you're having inside my soul, but a guy just murdered himself over here."
The sacrifice lady opened half an eye, then closed it again, her expression composed, almost like she wasn't on death row.
"Stop freaking out. I need a moment. There are so many interesting things inside you... I might need you to buy me an extra minute."
Swoosh.
The second spear hit its mark. The sacrifice slumped forward, her life extinguished.
Without fail, the second guard drew his dagger and slit his own throat.
Thud. His body dropped.
The altar lit up with a blood-red hue. The ritual was working.
Alexander didn't like that. Not the ritual itself but because somehow, he was part of it. One of the sacrifices.
The third guard didn't hesitate. He drove his spear through her chest, then drew his dagger.
Alexander watched as the blade sliced open the guards neck. Blood soaked the guard's armor. The next moment, he slumped to the ground.
Breathless.
"Oh fuck no… any luck?"
"I still need a moment."
Alexander was about to lose his mind, Old man Jerry did mention how unpredictable the mysteries within the tower can be.
Alexander was still contemplating how he went from walking aimlessly to a blood sacrifice.
"I'm afraid we don't have a moment."
"Then make one."
He was at his wits' end. But staying still wasn't an option. If she realized her hypnotism was being blocked, she'd use force to take over his mind.
And Alexander wasn't sure he could withstand a monarch's sorcery, not even with the strange sacrifice lady's help.
Then, without thinking, Alexander's mouth opened.
His voice rang out, clear and audible.
"Fuck it."
The monarchs paused.
The guards froze.
The knights stiffened.
Did the hypnotized kid just speak?
Without hesitation, Alexander yanked his spear back, raised it high, and hurled it straight at the Monarch of the Void.
None of the monarchs saw it coming.
The spear tore through the air with shocking force, even Alexander hadn't expected that much strength.
The Void Queen instinctively raised her hand. But golden essence suddenly burst from the spear, it sped up.
Like lightning, it tore past her guard.
The monarch's cheek split open, a fountain of blood gushed from the wound, splashing the monarchs beside her.
The Void Queen shrieked in pain. She clutched her cheek, stumbled back, and nearly fell.
She pointed at Alexander and roared:
"Kill him!"
Swords were drawn. Spears leveled. In seconds, Alexander was surrounded.
"I thought you said you couldn't use essence?" the sacrifice lady shouted excitedly in his mind.
"I didn't think I could! Must've gotten caught up in the moment!"
"Well, you've done enough. Let me take it from here."
Her lightless eyes snapped open, She shot to her feet.
Grabbing the chain around her neck, she poured the golden essence she got from Alexander into it, snap! the chain broke.
"Damn, this feels good."
Her fingers moved elegantly, gracefully, Alexander might say, recreating symbols like the ones the monarchs had just used.
But these weren't the same.
Their function was different. Their intent, unknown. Sorcery was myriad in its forms, but always followed certain rules.
She swung her arms. A sonic blast tore through the room, smashing the knights into walls.
Most of them coughed blood and collapsed, never to stand again.
The remaining knights used their swords to block. The swords had enchantments carved into them, but blocking was all they could do at the moment.
Before the monarchs could respond, the sacrifice lady slammed her foot into the floor. A runic circle bloomed beneath her.
The symbol spun like a wheel, faster and faster, until the runes became a blur.
BOOM.
The ground exploded.
Everything happened fast. All Alexander felt was a massive drain of energy from his head.
The monarchs began to form runes of their own, but before they could complete the sequence, another explosion shook the chamber.
A crater formed.
The floor caved in.
The knights fell. The monarchs rose into the air, their presence still grand and imposing.
By the time the dust cleared, Alexander and the sacrifice lady were gone.
Suspended mid-air, the Void Queen hovered, cheek wound still raw.
Her blood slithered like threads, knitting itself together like a living tapestry. Her skin stretched, sealing the wound until not a scar remained.
In seconds, she had restored herself to perfect form.