Page 40 of Chaos Unleashed

“Farren?” I hear Xerxes ask, “Is everything okay? Are you feeling weak?”

His words confuse me for a moment until I remember that no one else can see him. I never got around to asking him what Oryn is, and now isn’t the time to bring up that conversation.

“Yeah, a friend showed up; he’s been here the whole time apparently and must be linked to me in some way, I guess because it appears that he suffered along with me.”

“Why can’t I see him?” Xerxes asks and then adds, “I can see everything.”

“I don’t know. He came back with me from the Void before the last battle at the stronghold, but I lost track of him during the fight. I kind of assumed that he’d gone back to the Void, and then I had my throat slit and ended up here. I guess I was wrong.”

I hate that he’s experienced everything that I have and that I had absolutely no idea that he was here, I couldn’t try to comfort him or anything. I have a feeling that shielding him would’ve done nothing and that, somehow, he experienced what I did when I was experiencing it. I need to know how that’s possible and if it’s something that I should be concerned about.

“Wow, that’s actually incredibly interesting, and I couldn’t tell you straight off the top of my head what kind of creature he is, but I'll look into it when you can give me some more information about what he looks like. For now, how are we getting out of here?”

I smile, “Thanks, Xerxes. Well, I have all of my magic back, and my instinct is telling me that I can use it to get out. Failing that, I’ll wait until one of the fuckers turns up to torture me and then flip it around on them.”

“Okay, let’s try it then,” he says. He shrinks down to his tiny size and adds, “For this bit and maybe all the blood and gore that’s going to follow, could you maybe put me in a pocket? I’ve seen enough for a lifetime.”

I grimace, knowing exactly what he’s seen, “Yeah, I get that. Are you sure though? My clothes may be somewhat intact, but I am literally soaked in blood.”

Xerxes' pages flap, and I equate it to shrugging. “I don’t care.”

“Well, okay then,” I reply and pluck him out of the air, putting him in my pocket.

Checking over Oryn to make sure that he’s really okay now, after everything that he’s experienced with me, I stride up to the bars, and my magic surges, with slight hesitation since it hurt like a mother fucker last time I touched the bars, I reach out, and my magic chews through the spells keeping the door locked like its chocolate cake. It’s too easy, far easier than it should be. As I step through the cell door without even opening it, I wonder if it's because my magic spent so long on the other side of the wall trying to unravel the spells that were keeping it at bay. It's almost like it got a major workout while it was trying to do it, and now it's supercharged.

As I step through onto the other side, I reach my hand into one of my pockets in the Void and pull out two of my favourite swords. Twirling them around in my hands, joy fills me. Being without my weapons always leaves me feeling vulnerable, and I hate feeling vulnerable. It makes me feel weak, and it brings up memories that I'd rather forget. Not only that, but my weapons are like an extension of myself; they’re like extra limbs; I’ve missed them more than I probably should, considering they’re inanimate objects.

The door at the end of the stone corridor opens, and instead of fear, excitement fills me; I’m mildly surprised that it’s a Hellier who walks through the door. I haven’t seen them since I arrived, and they haven’t come down here. I’d be willing to bet that it's because they’ve been ordered not to. Glancing down at an excited-looking Oryn, I say, “Let me handle him; I don’t want to risk you; would you like to go back to the Void?”

Oryn growls, the sound echoing through the atmosphere, and the Hellier charging me pauses. He looks around like he’s confused about where the sound is coming from and looks scared as hell as well. I don’t think the Hellier can see him, and it makes me curious about what exactly he is; I need more information about his species.

I chuckle as I spin my sword once again, “I’m going to take that as a no. You got my back?”

His lips curl up, and I take that as a yes.

“How did you get out bitch?” the Hellier asks, before deciding to think better of it and shooting a stream of magic in my direction.

I don’t move; I don’t dodge it. Instead, I reach out and catch it; my magic hums happily as it absorbs it, and the Hellier’s eyes open wide, shocked, and starting to panic at the ease that I was able to harness his magic. I don’t give him a second to build another attack or to get to me. I have bigger fish to fry, and this one is barely worth my time. I allow my magic to attack, and it releases in a burst, piercing through him in multiple places and making him look like a damn pin cushion.

Wasting no more time on him, I step over his corpse and head toward the door at the end of the hallway. Once again, I’m stopped in my tracks, but I am more than happy to be interrupted in my search for retribution.

“Poca!” I cry and hear a muffled voice question from my pocket; I pull Xerxes out as I crumple to the floor and wrap my hands around a smouldering Poca. My hands brush against something, and I glance around him to find Meri, “Hey buddy, I’ve missed you both so fucking much.”

I’m immediately covered in kisses from both of them, kisses that should kill me but that just tickle. Unfortunately, our reunion can’t last much longer. The princes would’ve felt the spike in power that we both kicked off, and while it's not unusual for power spikes to happen in the castle if they’re clever enough to trace the spike and realise that it's coming from near my cell, then I’m about to be swamped with princes, and although I am strong, I think even stronger than I was before all of this happened, I’m not sure I can take them all on even if Meri, Poca, and Oryn were to help me.

“Alright, guys, I’ve got some princes to end and a key fragment to find. Have my back and kill anything that you see, apart from the princes and the innocent, got it?” I say to all of these weird and wonderful creatures that I’ve managed to gather around me.

They all show their acknowledgement of my words in some way or another.

“I’m surprised that they’ve managed to show up here; I mean, we’re not in the realms. We’re in the Underworld,” Xerxes says, “they shouldn’t be able to follow you here.”

“Yes, but I shouldn’t be able to survive here, and I do,” I point out. It's something that has bugged me since the first time I was dragged here, but it's something I’ve never looked into. “Maybe whatever makes it okay for me to be here extends to them since they’re connected to me.”

Xerxes hums, “Hmm, maybe. I’ll add it to the list of things that I need to look into.”

He shrinks back down, and I put him into my pocket where he’s safe. Then, I head out of the door, this time grateful that I’m not interrupted again. I really want to get this done. That brief moment of use to take out the Hellier has made absolutely no difference to my levels, and I’m starting to get twitchy. I get my head back into the game as I stalk the hallways. Xerxes didn’t even attempt to tell me where the key is, he knows I want to find the princes first.

As I walk the halls slowly, taking out the Helliers as I go, it occurs to me that it would actually be better if they had picked up my magical signature and were coming for me. It would mean that I wouldn’t need to go and find them; they’d find me with this in mind; the next Hellier that comes to me, I kill him with more magic than I need to, which pretty much announces my presence.

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