Lucien's smile...and hair *faints* ^_^

The gray sky was still in its early hours of the last few dwindling minutes of night it had, barely any sunlight penetrating through the rather thin fog that surrounded the desert tribe ground.

It was a rather cold morning, the howl of the wind sweeping past the pebbles that littered the rough earth and the tumbleweeds that made their way across the dry sand to the other side of tribe ground.

Towards the beautiful miniature castle, where the guards stood still behind the closed double doors and inside the structure where the red-carpeted hallways were silent as the souls that rested inside of them was a shadow, a whispering soul lingering throughout the second floor, hard footsteps brushing past the cleaned floors.

His long fingers closed around the front of his jacket, his nails digging into the black polished buttons of his newfound comfort. His usual cloak, the color of a dark ocean storm held together by a sapphire barrett swept past the floor, the edge of the material brushing past his black boots.

With ease and grace, ice-sculpted eyes taking in the beauty of the walls that surrounded him, Lucien Northorn walked in silence as he made his way towards the tribe leader's chambers, his steps soft and careful as he made a turn on his left.

The castle was surprisingly quiet today for such an early morning, the usual scuffling of feet pattering against the floor seizing and the light aroma of food wafting in the air seemingly evaporating into thin air as the Hell Siphon made his way down the narrow hallway to the door at the end.

A feeling of unwantedness slivered up his spine, strands of his bone-white hair falling into his eyes as he stopped his quick strides near the door. The double door was a white structure plated with gold, the delicate curve of the doorknob biting into his palm as his hand made contact with it.

A sigh left his lips, his white hair falling right into his eyes as he stood there by the door, contemplating on whether he should step foot into his friend's room or turn his body back to the secluded hut he came from.

He wasn't supposed to be here judging by all the books he hid in the front of his jacket, the leather-bounded bricks pressing into his chest with a heavy weight. His mission was with a specific witch inside her hut, scanning through the books to make sense of everything they had found the night before.

Lucien wanted to leave, with all his heart he wanted to convince his feet to turn around and flee from the castle and into the safety of that hut with a creature he was warned to stay away from. His soul, heart, mind ached to seclude himself inside that confined shelter and let his mind stop slow down.

Yet as he turned the curved doorknob of the handle, the click of the lock ringing through the tiny space between him and the door, he knew for sure that if he didn't let himself check up on Rheynoak, the tribe leader would suspect his behavior and hold him by the edge of a sharpened knife until the truth spilled through his lips.

Although, that was starting to sound like an option as soon as he entered the room, a musky, thick smell wafting through the air. The aroma of burning sage and lilac greeted his nose, a powerful fragrance that nearly knocked the Hell Siphon off his feet.

The room seemed the same, the walls decorated with badges of honor and weapons and the skimpy lace clothing of the women he slept with slumped in the corner of the room. The books on the shelves and the bottles of his collection assorted into one neat row seemed alright, not a single on touched.

And of course in the midst of it all was Rheynoak, his tired body slumped in the soft, creme sheets of his bed as he slept peacefully to whatever end. His light snores could be heard throughout the room, his head buried underneath the silk pillows.

Lucien, running his fingers through his soft strands of hair, made his over the edge of the bed, his blue eyes drifting past the wrinkled sheets to the calm, sleeping figure of his friend. A smile seemed to poke its way onto his lips, seeing how his friend's true form seemed to be masked underneath the calm demeanor of slumber.

Looking over at the tray he had left beside him, the Hell Siphon examined the tray, noticing the kettle of tea was empty and the bowl of hot water he had left was all gone. In fact, everything, even the ointment he had left, was empty, pushed back to either side of the tray.

In the middle of the silver tray was a stack of notes, all piled up on top of a book in numerical order. Bold, dark words were printed on sheets of white paper. twenty pages notes signed off with the tribe leader's signature.

Curious, Lucien squatted down to the level of the tray and let his fingers brush against the edges of the papers, sharpened corners of the paper cutting through the delicate skin of his fingers.

The amount of reports that had been received over the past few weeks were more than enough to keep even the powerful tribe leader at bay and working for a day or two yet the reports laid still on top of the book, held together by a carved barrett on top of the pages.

An idea conjured inside the Hell Siphon's mind, his stomach churning with the consequences of his possible actions as he eyed the stack of notes with a serious complexity in his cold eyes. His tongue lapped over his dry lips, his gaze traveling to the sleeping tribe leader and the stack of notes sitting in front of him.

It would be wrong, betraying his friend for his own curiosity. He would be breaking one of the oldest rules of being a Hell Siphon which was to never stab a knife of betrayal in another's back.

He would be putting not only himself but everyone else around him in danger.

His idea screamed all types of wrong.

But even as the logical side of his brain whispered to him to take a breath and walk away, the questions and the unanswered possibilities swam through his mind, the suffocating feeling of not knowing drowning him.

He had questions that needed to be answered. And if Rheynoak was hiding something from him, he needed to know.

So without a second thought into his logical side, Lucien Northorn reached over and wrapped his hand around the stack of notes, gently taking them off their original place on the hardcover book.

His eyes scanned over the first few words on the first page, taking in the information the other neighboring tribes had sent over. It was nothing exciting, just notes about several threats around the Rovien Sea that should be taken seriously.

But deep down, buried underneath hundreds of pages and thousands of words, Lucien knew there was something hidden beneath all this written knowledge, something even the Rheynoak himself wouldn't be able to face.

But to make sure he wasn't missing any detail, the Hell Siphon gently set the stack of papers down on the silver tray to open the hardcover book that sat in the middle. Flipping to a barred spot near the end, he gently lifted the stack of notes and placed it in between the pages before lifting the heavy cover of the book.

The pages concealed the stack of notes, the hardcover book growing to an extremely bulky appearance. Quickly, he wrapped his fingers around it and lifted it off the tray, keeping the book in his deadly grip.

Holding the book in one hand and the front of his jacket in another, the Hell Siphon was preparing himself to leave, beckoning himself to swallow down the guilt and focus on nothing but his mission.

Yet the thought of betraying Rheynoak, the only person that had stuck with him through heaven and hell despite his notorious ways sent a dark slivering feeling down the back of his spine, his bones practically shaking inside his own body.

The guilt shouldn't be eating him up like this, a fire that kept licking at his skin until he couldn't keep his lips sealed any longer. The guilt shouldn't feel like an ice sword running through his heart.

The guilt shouldn't be a feeling that hung over his head by a single piece of thread.

Yet it was something that stuck with him even as he made the first attempt to move towards the door, a burning, painful sensation running through his body and momentarily paralyzing him.

He knew what he was doing was wrong, betraying his own kind, his own brother to say. But he needed to know what Rheynoak was hiding if he was even hiding anything.

Turning around to see the tribe leader still soundly asleep, Lucien only frowned, uttering,"I'm sorry Rheynoak. I really am" before sighing and making his way out of the room.

But even as the door slammed shut, the guilt stayed with him until his heart bled.

"I think I may have found something."

A crystal clear voice, soft and tired from the lack of sleep the being had received rang through Lucien's ear, his ice blue eyes snapping open as he let his body fall to the floor, letting his fingers unravel from the front of his cloak.

His jacket laid discarded on the floor, once again abandoned and littered with papers. A headache formed in the back of the Hell Siphon's mind, thumping deep within his skull. "Let me guess. A spell to knock me out" he uttered, letting his words slur out of his lips.

A hum followed by the chuckle of a laugh escaped Venix Draywin's lips, her bone white hair falling over her pale face as a tired hand ran over her complexion, wiping the first bead of sweat on her brow. "Maybe another day Hell Siphon" she responded back, sliding off her bed to sit down next to the fallen figure of Lucien.

The two had decided to do more research ever since discovering the two books last night that somehow seemed to be connected. It seemed to be a work in progress, Venix learning about her kind while Lucien searched for answers to questions he has been asking for too long.

Since it was still relatively dark when they had emerged from the Treasury and the Hell Siphon's personal chamber was one too many walks away, the BloodBone had reluctantly allowed him to sleep in her hut, providing him with a blanket and a pillow.

It was a nice offer, a surprising one too coming from the same Witch that had threatened him earlier but he had been too tired and too anxious to speak out about anything. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep due to the hours he stayed up, letting his tired eyes trace over the pages of that old book until they practically fell out.

"Tired already Lucien?" she asked in a sarcastic tone, the sharp edge of her heel kicking his ankles as she attempted to wake him up. A groan escaped his lips, his fingers digging into his long locks. "Try numb. I can barely feel my fingers."

Another laugh fell from her lips and she uttered once again, "Here, just take a look at these. Then you can close your eyes to oblivion all you want" she teased, violet eyes flickering over to his still figure. A smile pulled on his lips, his palms flattening on the floor as he pulled himself up.

Sitting up, he brushed the notes nestled on his lap into his grip as he let his eyes look over the two books that laid still on the floor, both flipped to the back page so that the two connecting pictures could form together as half of a missing masterpiece.

The book from Aysein laid flat on the floor while the nameless forest green book Lucien had retrieved from the library kept popping up due to the broken spine, creating an annoying disturbance.

Shifting closer to her, the Hell Siphon let his eyes run over the numerous symbols she kept pointing at on the pages, his attention barely straying to the book in her lap. "This symbol is commonly used in the Witch community as a sign of rebirth" she explained, pointing at a dark moon sketched on the page of the Aysein book.

Sighing, Venix allowed herself to move closer to the Hell Siphon, her knees brushing against his crossed legs as she balanced the book of Witch Clans and what they were, who they were in her hand. Electric sparks shot up her fingers, sending her hand in a frenzy as she searched for the same dark symbol.

"Here, right next to the picture of the former queen of the Black Magru Witches" the BloodBone uttered, her long nails grazing past the beautiful woman to land on the same dark moon imprint that was sitting on the opposite side of the page.

Humming, the Hell Siphon gently reached over, handing over Rheynoak's notes in exchange for the book. The heavy piece of literature weighed down his hand, the spine of the ancient book settling into his lap. "The dark moon symbol was famously used as a symbol of invincibility and power among the Black Magrus for hundreds of years" he read, his eyes running over the complicated calligraphy imprinted on the pages. "But when the time was right to expose another mortal being to their unknown powers, the symbol was used in a set of complicated designs written by the gods themselves in an ancient ritual. It is said that this specific symbol wielded so much power that just an utter of its name would be enough to bend the power out of the mortal's bones."

The words cut deep into Lucien's skin, his eyes running over the book and down to the bottom of the page to see the same sketch of the dark moon now carved with two red eyes shaped into half moons, boring into his soul with such hatred that the Hell Siphon dropped the book in shock, his fingers shaking as he gave that foul thing back to the Witch that had given it to him.

Venix accepted the book, her fingers still curled around the notes he had given her as her violet eyes ran over the two books on the floor, trying to make sense of the half-completed picture with ancient symbols that sat in front of her.

Yet the Hell Siphon sitting next to her groaned, his fingers curling deep into his long hair as his mind kept turning with ideas he couldn't get rid of, words he couldn't even say without hissing. It was a far stretch, a forbidden ritual yet it seemed like the only explanation to the situation in the first place.

"What is it? No one is holding you against your will to a knife" the BloodBone asked, a bit of spitefulness laced in her words as she watched him scramble towards the two books that laid on the floor, taking them both in his hands and turning them over so that it was only facing his eyes only.

His hands moved frantically, turning the two books this way and that way in his hands, trying to deny the idea in his mind as he rotated them vertically to make a picture. But there were too many obstacles and uneven sides to do so.

Groaning, Lucien humphed and crossed his hands over his broad chest, hard eyes concentrating on the two books as he conjured up mindless ways to make sense of something that wasn't supposed to exist. "Think about it Venix" he uttered, reaching over and turning the two books to their proper position. "Dark moon, a race of magical beings that wasn't supposed to exist, forbidden ritual. It all adds up to something huge, something that should have been gone."

The BloodBone listened with both ears, letting her fingers do all the work as she flipped through the pages of the Witch Clan book in her hand, her mind crashing against the walls of her skull to make sense of all of this too. Ancient calligraphy passed by her foggy eyes, meaning nothing to her as she flipped over to the last few pages.

Her eyes ran over the ancient symbols of the drawing in front of her, a sketch of a half-drawn circle in front of her. It was like the curve of a glass dome, elegant with no lines to mistake or no smudged lines to be seen.

Yet the more the Witch kept staring at it, the more her old soul understood the panic hidden with Lucien's eyes as something began to blossom within her, a seed of fear that made her hands clammy and her fingers shake. Licking her chapped lips, she sighed and looked over to the Hell Siphon, seeing how his eyes concentrated on the millennia-old words in front of him.

"I think I might have an idea of what this picture is supposed to be" she muttered, moving her body over to his. His body shifted, his fingers dancing on her knee as she placed the book in her hand on the floor. A mirage of scarlet hues coated her cheeks, ignoring the way his ice blue eyes stared at her with a dark intruigment as she positioned all three books together.

Aysein book, Witch Clan book, and nameless forest green book.

All three powerful documents of literature with great amounts of knowledge lined up together in their correct order, the picture sketched on each of their aging pages connecting together to create the half curve of a moon, each line filled with ancient symbols.

A gasp left Lucien Northorn's lips as he took in the half complete masterpiece in front of him, his throat feeling dry and slick all at once as his greatest, most terrifying idea came to life right in front of him.

"The dark moon is not just a symbol used as rebirth in a witch's point of view" Venix uttered slowly, crossing her hands over her chest as she took in the picture herself, the first bead of sweat forming against the base of her throat.

The Hell Siphon nodded his head to her statement, letting his fingers caress each of the pages. "Nope, it is much more powerful than that" he whispered in a tone only she could distinguish as audible. "Because if we find the other two missing pages, we will be staring at the one event that birthed the universe."

A pause, a stifle, a crack in the air as breathtaking icicle eyes met those of wild violet eyes, dark complexity dancing in both of their orbs before Lucien simply uttered, "The Catalyst Moon."

A/N: And that is the end of another chapter! I am sorry for the wait. I have been going through a little bit of stress lately and my life has been a bit hectic. But I will be more active now that things are much more tamed.

This chapter was a really quick one as I just noticed it when I was browsing through my drafts and realized this chapter was supposed to come before chapter twenty-two. So now I have to do a few rearrangement before proceeding on with the story but I feel like this chapter cleared some questions up.

Buckle up guys because this is when the story gets a bit complicated. The chapters begin to get really complicated and stuff from previous chapters as far back as chapter nine begin to be mentioned and explained. It seems complicated but it will make sense in the end.

I promise you that!

But for now, I suggest doing a quick reread of all the chapters to get your mind refreshed before you proceed on.

I personally feel like this was a bit crappy but at least there were a few Lunix scene and who doesn't love seeing those two together? TEHE!

Anyway, tell me your thoughts on this chapter and don't forget to vote and comment if you loved it!

Until next time Lovelies!

With love, May