A wavy raven haired woman with deer antlers and red roses decorative wreath. She wore a black dress with green embroidered embellishments which accentuated her curvy figure. She stared at me for a moment and whispered in my mind directly. She wanted to know if I knew what I was getting myself into. Because once I am a part of this little merry go round. The only way out is certain death. I told her to cut the nonsense and get to the point. The horned one got her horns reattached. She came back into view and didn't look too pleased with me. She tried to send a flock of bats at me but the barrier held on. She shrieked and I felt a shot of pain for a few seconds before Erebus threw fireballs at her. The skeleton king showed me where the Talons were. It was hidden in the underverse. The path was a dark forest with a luminous blood caked road leading to a crumbling castle on a cliff. The sky was bright orange and the red moon looked like it was going to start bleeding. The road is actually soaked in blood. It seeped into the path and leaked down hill too. The smell is rust and salt is making my nostrils flair. I thanked him for the location. But I have no idea how to reach that castle. What I get lost? What if I find myself in front of the ranger? The skeleton king actually flinched at the mention of the glowing fur cloak. I smiled internally. When this is over I have to read about him in the Grimoire.
The skeleton king pressed his boney finger on my forehead and gave me directions. To get there I must first go through a petrified forest. There I must wade in snow about three feet deep. At the edge of the forest I will see an ornate copper mirror that has started to turn green. Once I go through the mirror I will have to drag my leg traversing a luminous blue stream till I reach the dark forest. In order to enter the crumbling castle I must pay the toll. I had to go to the back entrance and wait till the fog cleared. As the fog clears I would see a shadow of a large man wearing a duster. I had to give him something I will not miss and will try to retrieve again. In exchange he will open the door. I would go through several flights of stairs that turn into a slide and a maze-like corridors. I would finally reach the guest room. I would find a skeleton covered in cobweb sitting near the window. It will turn its head the moment I enter the room. I saw it was wearing a wreathed silver tiara that was made to look like a pair of skeletal hands wrapping his head with the tips slightly interlaced together while being shackled at the wrist. The eye socket glowed and a worm slithered out and fell on to the floor. I noticed the floor was covered in maggots. Black adders began moving out from underneath the chairs and tables. One decided to slither up my leg.
I was ripped out of the vision as another woman stepped forward and knocked the horned one to the ground with a gloved hand. She was wearing a dress made entirely from black cobwebs which contrasted her chalk white skin. She wore a cloak that looked like it was woven from midnight itself but the inner lining was bright red. The hoodie partially covered her curly chestnut hair and the rest of her body. She wore a slightly rusted iron crown with seven filigree arrowheads pointing upwards the tip had a smaller arrowhead studded with red rubies. She wore an obsidian necklace made of thorns with a dangling ovular ruby pendant glowing on and off. Also a head band made from gold leaves with glittering rubies studded every few centimeters on her forehead. She stared at me with a vacant expression. She tried to possess me and Tiberius crossed the barrier and he stabbed her abdomen and cut her from the belly to her chin. She writhed in pain as he stared at her with disgust. Everyone stayed still until she was completely still. He came back after he wiped her blood and entails off his sword using her tattered dress. He gave me her cloak and told me to put it on since it was about to get really cold. The others didn't say anything but stared at him. Erebus asked him not to give it away. He will regret it. Tiberius answered with an inhuman roar. Everyone else flinched as they backed away.
There was a subtle vibration and the nearby Aspen trees started to bleed. I noticed the bark had markings resembling eyes and it was exactly where the red liquid was coming out of. The fountain changed to its macabre form and the blood poured out too. The people on the other side watched with delight till the portal caught fire. I heard screams and the scent of burning flesh as the portal was sealed. I looked back to see the woman who took my oath as guardian stare angrily as the residents of the other side writhed. She ordered all non-combatants to go home or the next rift will kill them. Everyone walked back to their home single file. The ex-military wanted to stay to help but they didn't have abilities so they were told to pick a home and guard the ones living in it. They better be inside because Hexa will unleash her fury and it won't be good if they are dead. I asked who Hexa is. Tiberius answered in a disgusted tone, "One of the deadliest casters I have had the displeasure of fighting. She sleeps most of the time but when the Yami is in danger she would unleash the spell called death freeze. She will turn the atmosphere into an absolute negative zero. The air will feel like a thousand daggers stabbing. Your lungs will start to freeze. The heart slows down. Your muscles start to overheat one last time before you see your eyes turn into ice."
I watched as spikes made of ice started poking their way towards us. I made a fist and my palm caught fire. I threw the fireballs and Erebus joined me. The yellow lady used her gifts to thaw the street so it wouldn't spread out and kill the people living in the town. Tiberius took the stringless bow and fired several rounds. Edgar sat on my shoulder as the others were airborne for safety reasons. I asked where Hexa was and the answer was simple. She stays hidden so no one can kill her to stop her spell. I asked Erebus if she could suck the biting cold into a vial or a box or something. She cackled as she sucked the spell into a vial. The place was sweltering hot. There was a shriek and sound of several items smashing and going boom. Tiberius laughed menacingly as did Erebus. The portal reopened again on the exact same spot and I saw an elf with dark skin, long silver hair bloodshot eye and sharp teeth. He was holding a bow and arrow too. Moments later an army of dark elves showed up behind him. The skeleton king stood in front of us as the elves got ready to make it rain arrows. The skeleton army covered us with shields as the red arrows came down. None of them got through. Erebus summoned large black arrows and sent them hurling in their direction. They impaled them six at a time and the wounds started to infest with some sort of rot. Once all were skewered like kebabs she waved her hand. The arrows turned white hot and the elves screamed in pain as they died.
A woman wearing a pale lavender belly dancer outfit came closer to the opening and asked Tiberius if he was bored. She missed playing with him and he was supposed to spy on everyone and come back. He stared at her with boredom. "I left that dismal place because they had nothing to offer. I was promised but they never delivered. Here I am satisfied." She gave him a sullen look before her jaws opened abnormally wide. Her eyes turned gray and all her teeth turned into fangs. Her skin became white as a corpse as her nails became talons. She charged forward only to be sent back with a flick of his wrist. She let out a growl and jumped up in the air. Her dress dissolved as they changed into wings. She looked like was wearing a tight fitted full bodysuit made from white clay. She flew away saying something in a language I have no clue exists. Tiberius answered in the same language and stared angrily. I took his hand and his breath hitched. He gripped me tightly before ordering Hexa to shut the rift or he will personally cut off her head. She cackled as she responded. Her answer was carried by the wind. It was a low pitched voice that clearly had teeth. Her answer was simple, "Bite me" The rift wasn't going anywhere as night fell. Hexa was heard muttering something repeatedly in language that was making me dizzy. I asked Erebus if she could make Hexa so tired that she would go back to sleep. She laughed merrily as she sent a green fireball towards Hexa's location. A moment of silence later we heard a yawn and the fog which was heading towards us receded.
A huge black cloak floated in our direction. It twisted and folded like origami. It kept folding and twisting till it formed a calla lily. The petals opened to reveal a thin woman wearing a black wedding dress. She wore a necklace of black roses and tiny skulls. She wore a black lace eye mask. Her raven hair was twisted into a bun but it was slowly coming undone. She walked as though she had been a ballerina her entire life. Her right eye started to glow yellow like the sun and her skin started to turn dark. Zilmera transformed into Medusa and tried to turn her into stone. She failed miserably so she changed back and fired an arrow from her quiver. It hit her in the chest and she fell backwards and shattered like glass. The shards moved like liquid and started multiplying. The yellow lady screamed something and Erebus pulled us out of the way as the matte colored liquid surged forward. It pooled just outside the rift. Suddenly ten foot spikes shot out trying to impale us. Erebus pulled out a snuffbox and stuffed it inside. The box exploded as it poured out and spread even faster. I asked her to summon frost and she threw the vial. It hit the liquid and turned it into solid ice. The fountain changed back to normal and trees stopped bleeding. The asphalt absorbed the liquid and the place was bone dry. There was a shadow figure. It looked like conjoined triplets. The closer they got the greater the dread they seemed to induce.