A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 38: A Losing Battle?

A swarm of dark things that moved like erratic shadows, changed their direction instantly as if pulled by invisible, frantic threads. They emerged like ink stains on the sky: Bats

The dark, lethal demons of the night. They swirled around the forest like vultures staring at decaying flesh.

Deep within the forest, a few paces away from the church, Zhuo and Jian Yue crossed paths with a large palace surrounded by tall, black walls.

The windows of the palace seemed to stretch the lantern’s flame. The fire brightened, illuminating the place.

"Jian Yue..." Zhuo pointed at the gate. It was made of steel. Yes, but not as old as if someone had built it recently. Jian Yue reached out. His palm pressed against the cold metal. He peered inside at the courtyard.

It was empty. Someone removed everything that had ever been here. Except for the well. It stood in the center. The stones were dark with moisture that never dried. From its depth came a cry for help... Or what it was they could not quite understand yet.

"Do you think we should check this place?" Jian Yue looked at Zhuo, waiting for a response. Zhuo shook his head and looked inside.

"I don’t sense any sign of a page. This place gives a vibe not to go there." Zhuo took a few steps back and tapped his feet twice, a habit since childhood to avoid fear. Jian Yue glanced around the palace once, then turned to leave.

The slow, deliberate thud of boots approached them, and echoed through the ground. Jian Yue grabbed Zhuo and lunged behind the tree. The footsteps stopped just before the gate.

A lady stopped in her tracks, wearing a long, regal black dress, her face hidden behind a thin veil. Her long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders. She had deep, light purple eyes, slightly larger than those of an average person, adding gem-like brilliance to her face. Her skin was as pale as the moon. She wore a grey ringed sleeve with white stripes outlining her slender hands.

On her back, the robe had a prominent dark red mark: a hand gripping a skull entwined in chains, with a centipede coiled around it like a snake.

The lady put her hand on her hip, grasped the door with one hand, and then pushed it open. The door opened smoothly. She scanned the surroundings, and her gaze finally landed on that tree, and walked in.

"Who is she?"

"A witch," Jian Yue replied. His gaze was fixed on her gradually disappearing figure. "She might be the Mistress of Misfortune." Jian Yue pointed out.

Zhuo turned and said. "We shouldn’t take unnecessary risks. Let’s find the page."

Jian Yue’s focus briefly turned to Zhuo. He took a few steps forward. "How do we find that page in the forest? That’s the concern, Zhuo." That was one district; there were hundreds of such districts in that country.

The gate slowly emitted a harsh sound as it started to close. Zhuo’s eyes lit up. He jolted his head toward the gate, but it was already closed.

"I felt it," Zhuo said quietly. "The page is inside. It’s my Authority’s page."

Jian Yue peeked through the gap. "You didn’t feel it before."

"Yes... I can’t now either. But for a matter of seconds, I did." Zhuo stared at the gate, then closed his eyes, shutting off the Arbiter’s Eyes. "Something in there repelled it."

"We are in the her territory." Jian Yue murmured, his thoughts racing for a less risky way. "Then we go. This is what we came for... leaving without it would be meaningless."

They stood before the gateway again. This time, with a clear goal and a clear escape plan. The palace had a back entrance. It was a servant’s door, half-hidden by weeds. Jian Yue pressed his ear against the wood... no voices. He pushed. The door opened without a sound.

Inside, as soon as they stepped through it, the temperature dropped. The air was colder than outside. Zhuo’s breath fogged in front of his face.

"This way," Jian Yue whispered, leading Zhuo through a narrow corridor. The walls lined with paintings. Portraits of people Zhuo didn’t recognize. Their eyes followed them as they passed.

Zhuo turned away. They took hesitant and measured steps, their bodies rigid and ready to spring back if needed.

***

Elsewhere, footsteps echoed in the temple before stopping near the room. Knock. Inside, Lin gave permission. "You can enter."

Yi Jyuhan entered. His gaze swept over their faces before landing on the children lying on the floor, who stared at the ceiling.

Mo Fei let out a brief and weary yawn. He stared at Yi Jyuhan with dark circles under his eyes.

Yi Jyuhan put on his fan, hiding his face before casually whistling. "Oh, you are a cosplaying raccoon." He stifled a chuckle.

"You can’t be serious."

"Oh, come on, that was a good one."

"Whatever makes you sleep."

"It certainly would."

Mo Fei put his hands on the ground. "Why are you here?" Mo Fei asked. Lin remained silent, watching them talk.

"It’s about the Cursed Womb." Yi Jyuhan stated. He didn’t waste his time. Yi Jyuhan’s playful light shuffled out, leaving them as hard and cold as flint.

"What?" Lin joined in.

"This is worse than before," Yi Jyuhan began in a matter-of-fact tone. "We lack the power to stop the Fleshweaver cult."

Mo Fei’s voice was somewhat strained. "Are you implying that..." His palm pressed against the floor.

"Indeed... This is a battle destined to fail." Yi Jyuhan confirmed the fear. He snapped his fan shut with a sharp clack.

Mo Fei’s hand locked against the cold ground. He didn’t take his eyes off Yi Jyuhan, but his breathing turned shallow, almost inaudible in the temple’s silence that was only broken by the drip of water somewhere in the rafters.

Yi Jyuhan placed the fan on the ground; it rested there quietly. Then he raised his hand in a gesture. "Curator has 3 royal guards and 3 lower-ranked royal guards, a total of 6, and then the Curator himself."

Yi Jyuhan moved his hand, pointing at them. Lin one, Zhuo two, Jian Yue three. He pointed at Mo Fei and said. "You are not as strong as a royal guard, but you can use your ability to hinder." Yi Jyuhan continued. "Three of you and two of my cult’s royal guards. Only 5."

Then Lin’s voice cut through the tension. "Why did you not count yourself?" She was right; he himself.

"I and Xue Lan have to deal with the leader... He is a ’demigod,’ and we can only hope to hold him off. The rest is up to you. Stop the Cursed Womb and fight the Royal Guards."

Lin’s brow furrowed, her mind clearly aware of the grim reality. "What’s your plan?"

Yi Jyuhan fell silent, a cunning glint flickering in his eyes. "Before God’s son is born, we will assassinate the royal guards one by one if we can."

"We can’t even find them how are we supposed to assassinate them?" Lin asked.

Yi Jyuhan’s fan opened with a snap. "No need to worry. I’ve already done it."

Lin’s mouth opened in surprise. "Wha–What do you mean? How did you do this so fast?"

Yi Jyuhan hid his face behind the fan and chuckled. "I take that as a compliment, beautiful lady."

Lin gave him a disgusted look. "You might not be completely useless, perhaps."

Yi Jyuhan tapped his hand on the floor. He fanned his face. "The first target is... the Mistress of Misfortune." He began. "She is cunning, even more than their leader."

Mo Fei nodded. "How? And who will?"

Yi Jyuhan pointed his fan at Mo Fei. "Rest well, pal. There is someone who already went to hunt her down. The perfect assassin."

Upon hearing this, Mo Fei scoffed. "Who?"

"Your friend."

"Not with that again... Oh," Mo Fei paused for a moment, realizing what he meant. "Xue Lan, huh?"

Yi Jyuhan slammed his fan on the ground. "Bingo! Smart man there."

Xin Yi and Hao Yu have been listening. Hao Yu sat up. The locket in his grasp reflected the light of the morning sun. "The lady with the purple eyes?"

Mo Fei turned to him. "Of course you have seen her."

The moth at window moved. It flew by the city, avoiding the shops and households. It went through a silent, narrow street. A few children saw the beautiful Luna Moth, and ran after it until it was gone.

Finally, the moth arrived at the entrance of South Cleveland. The talismans glued to the gate. They were the city’s fragile light. Following it, the moth circled a man before landing on his hand.

Xue Lan looked at the it. He began to walk out of the entrance.

The guard ran toward him and stopped behind him. "Who are you? Where are you going? No one should go out of the gate." The guard continued speaking, but Xue Lan entirely ignored his presence.

He stood in front of that Misfortune gateway. His gaze observed the entrance. At his waist, a dagger was tucked into his belt.

Xue Lan walked inside without hesitation. His eyes were calm. His robes brushed against the ground.

The moment he entered, a branch snapped at his feet.

The forest seemed to stretch to infinity. Images... like illusions dissolved with every step he took.

"Look who is there." A voice came.

"The Dreamer." Another followed.

Xue Lan darted his eyes at the trees. Their branches moved. Faces in those trees emerged. They were pressed against the wood as if in an attempt to escape. Their lips moved, but no voice followed.

The ground beneath him heaved. Roots burst from the soil. Xue Lan stepped over one. The ground trembled as the root attempted to escape, but his feet didn’t move an inch.

"I’m not wasting my precious time." Xue Lan murmured.

The faces screamed. Xue Lan moved with his calculated pace.

The mud was sticking to his robe. His eye twitched when the bloody mud clung to the fabric. Just a few meters later. He saw dead figures hanged by the trees. He didn’t bother to look at them, and they fell from the trees like fruit.

Some crawled toward him, some walked, while others rolled and dug into the ground to emerge.

A spirit appeared behind him. It had teeth over teeth. One eyeball barely attached to the socket, waving in the air. It lunged to bite his shoulder, but it fell through him.

"Pathetic attempt."

The spirits circled him. Then his gaze fell on something. The body was twitching as if it was trying to recover. The ’Crawler.’ It took out his tongue, leaving holes as if drilled.

Xue Lan noticed a symbol on its tongue.

"Interesting." He raised his hand. The moths that were scattered flew toward the crawler. A moth landed on his tongue, and two went inside the spirit.

His mouth curled in a smile. The crawler tried to scream. "Get your dreams working for you."

Snap!

He snapped his fingers. The body of the crawler exploded into pieces. The moths picked up the scattered chunks of flesh. They grabbed it and flew away.

"Give your mistress a good introduction of me."

The forest became silent and still. The faces’ bark faded, and so did their faces in the wood. The forest remembered fear, and only after decades did misfortune come to understand its true meaning.

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