Page 99 of House of Ydril

After only a couple of more turns, I barge onto an enormous clearing with seemingly no ceiling at all. Sprawled in front of me, I see what seem to be the ruins of some ancient castle. The air is heavy with mist and that mist feels so strange that I don’t even register the movement until it’s already happening.

A dark specter lunging straight at me. It grabs my waist and yanks me away from the ground, making me let out a muffled scream.

With my body in its firm grip, the specter starts circling the air high above the ruins below. I see towers, a throne room, houses and streets around the castle. I try to break free, planning to use Air Magic to help myself back to the ground. But the specter's grip is so strong, I can’t even break my hand free to use my runes.

Just as I wonder what the fuck this thing plans on doing to me, I notice where it’s taking me. To a nest atop of an old tower, filled with bones of other creatures it’s killed.

My heart swelling in my chest and leaving me breathless, I start thrashing like never before in my life. I thrash and thrash, but it’s not helping. And just as I’m about to be lowered into the nest, I see a shadow, as quick as lightning, dart through the air in front of me.

It takes a swing at the specter holding me, making it let out an ear-piercing screech and start flying away from the tower in a desperate attempt to save itself.

The next thing I know, I’m falling to the ground, trying to tap my Element Rune so as to avoid breaking all the bones in my body.

And I manage to do it, at least for the most part. When I push myself off the ground, panting and trying to stop myself from letting out a pained moan, I realize I’ve only broken a couple of ribs.

I quickly look around. The specter is nowhere to be seen and it seems to have dropped me onto one of the streets far from the castle.

To my surprise, the very next moment, I see Faust landing on the ground before me. He’s hurt, blood drenching his torn-up shirt.

I let out a quiet gasp and I move to get closer to him, but he just gives me a once-over and disappears.

And of course, I’m relieved that I’m still alive. But there’s also a part of me that’s scared that he’s dying and another part that’s pissed that he’s had to save me.

But to be honest, I’ve no time for feelings. I dust myself off and I go after him, pain making me wince with every breath of air I take. I can’t be sure where he’s disappeared to, but it seemed to me that he went straight for the heart of the castle.

And when you think about it, isn’tthatwhere a fairy tale stone should be hidden?

Holding my hand to my bruised chest, I start down the deserted streets leading in that direction. As I make my way, I keep looking out for another one of those specters, but I neither see nor hear any.

To my misfortune, I do seebones.

Bones all around me. Animal bones. Human bones.

It makes shivers run up my spine, but I’ve no choice. I have to keep going.

It’s only when I enter the castle grounds, crumbling walls shooting into the sky around me, that I see them.

Zelda and Leo.

Lying on the ground, their bodies mutilated by what would have to be either a shifter or a ginormous fucking animal.

For a second, I just stare at them, my chest heaving and my breathing erratic. With the corner of my eye, I spot Sarya and Harry, both covered in wounds, disappearing down some kind of cellar to my left.

I fight not to look at Zelda and Leo again. It won’t do me any good, to stare into their dead eyes. But I still do. I walk up to them and just keep standing there, fighting the onset of a panic attack. To think that I used to think that this guy lying in front of me was behind all this…

Then I hear it. The snarl.

My head snaps in the direction of the sound and I see a huge armored lion stalking straight at me.

My heart racing, I tap my Element rune, but it only makes the earth below me tremble a little.

The lion leaps and swings a paw at me.

All of a sudden, I’m on the ground, my arm all bloody and a lion growling at me.

I use my Element rune again and I send him flying back.

He falls to the ground a ways off, but quickly gets back on all fours.