Night VI

The Scribe of Darkness

Bang! The sound shocked the duo out of their conversation.

Anubis felt a hand wrap tightly around his mouth as his mother instantly quieted him, protectively holding him in her guarded embrace. Acknowledging the situation, he tapped on Iliana's hand and pointed at it, signalling that she could release him. She seemed to get the meaning as she complied, her brown eyes shining with worry.

Sharing a nod, the two made for the open door, listening to see if any other strange noises would follow. Together, they peeked out the doorway, watching for any signs of movement down the hall.

Both took a sharp intake of breath at the sight.

Floating further down the passageway, was a strange cloud of darkness, obscuring all that lingered behind it. Warily, Anubis laid a hand on the black hilt of his sword, ready to spring into action.

He glanced at the fearful gaze she tried to keep hidden beneath her composed exterior.

It was as he had guessed. Anubis decided that if worse came to worst, he possibly might have to resort to using his unreliable power to save her, refusing to let her come to harm. Iliana Ilistaire was not a fighter, no matter how tough she tried to seem. Her abilities were of the healing variety and highly unsuitable for combat.

Therefore, he would have to protect her if it came to it. Fortunately, Anubis had started to carry his sword around, ever since the whole Ravaihn debacle. He had learned that he shouldn't take its presence for granted any longer.

A thump sounded down the corridor, in the space where the darkness was at its thickest.

His eyes widened in realization. It was his room.

Recalling the evidence he had left strewn all over his bed, Anubis jolted into action without thinking, his mind entirely centred on not losing his only clue. His mother tried to grab him back, barely missing him as he shot out into the hallway.

"Anubis!" she called in concern, grabbing up a kitchen knife and running after him.

As he approached the darkness, Anubis began to wobble slightly, thoroughly disoriented by its putrid smell. He leaned on the wall, barely managing to keep himself upright as he took a deep breath, before plunging straight into it.

Anubis felt like he was drowning once he had stepped into the darkness, grabbing his throat as he gasped for air. The cloud seemed to extend into a dark sea, something one would only notice from inside of it. Fearfully he called out to his mother, sacrificing his last breath.

"Stay back, it's a trap!" he gurgled out, trying not to swallow as the slimy liquid swam down his throat.

He could only hope his mother had heard him.

Anubis could feel the tension slipping out of his body as his eyesight dimmed, black dots dancing before his eyes in his exhaustion. His lungs burned as he attempted not to intake the tainted water's lack of oxygen. Black hair drifted at his side as his braid was tugged by the flowing waters, pulling him deeper within. He could tell that he was losing his grip on reality as the current seemed to call out to him, whispering into his ear.

"Sleep," it said.

It lulled him, getting through his weak defenses and leaving him with a false sense of security.

He could trust this voice. It didn't seem like it would lead him astray.

With that, he gave in, his vision going dark as he floated along the ocean floor.

"Honestly, I leave you alone for a few days and this is what you've gotten yourself into," a familiar voice rang, the sound reverberating within the confines of his head.

Opening his eyes, Anubis could see a bright light emanating from his broken watch, watching in awe as the hands began to spin to life, in a clockwise direction. The top glowed as sparks of gold ignited suddenly, like the strike of a match. Triumphant violin music echoed through the depths of the waters as a rune appeared, a familiar symbol printed in the centre.

"Lachesis," the voice continued, "Third Night; Clarity."

Anubis could feel his body become rejuvenated as he was covered with a golden glow. His vision cleared as he was finally freed from the grips of the ocean, observing his surroundings. Indeed, it did look like the bottom of a water body, stones and coral reefs lining the floor in a haphazard fashion.

Experimentally, he tested his hands and feet, glad to see that they were slowly returning back to their previous state of functionality. The water around him began to evaporate, dispersing into tiny particles of golden light.

He found himself landing on the ground in a daze, stunned by the current turn of events. Holding up his hand, he watched as the rune rose out of his watch, flipping upright before materializing a figure in front of him.

Speechless, Anubis recognized the individual as Ravaihn herself appeared, dressed rather strangely.

Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, golden eyes twinkling with amusement at his expression. She wore a brown jacket, buttoned over a light yellow dress shirt, along with black pants and brown boots. White gloves covered her hands as a cravat of the same colour blew around her neck, in the wind.

She looked like an orchestra conductor.

Footsteps pounded behind them as the two turned to see his concerned mother's approach. Seemingly pitying her, Ravaihn materialized a cup of water in her hand as she neared her, offering her a drink.

Iliana took it gratefully, gulping it down with satisfaction.

"Thank you very much—" she paused to think, "—Ravaihn. Right?"

"Yes," the musician nodded, slightly distracted.

Turning back, Ravaihn turned to face the other side of the hall as she created another rune, reaching in and extracting a conducting stick from it. Similar to what she had done the last time, she swept the tool in a circle, uncovering what had been hidden there.

"What is that?" his mother gasped at the chilling sight.

Before them, across from his room, was a large purple rune of epic proportions, blocking the end of the hallway. An eerie looking eye, sat on a pair of crossbones as waves crashed against it in the background. Shivering, Anubis glanced at Ravaihn, awaiting her explanation.

"That is the scribe of darkness, possessing the essence of water," she elaborated.

"The signature symbol of the Erebos family— and the Third Executioner," the girl explained without hesitation, certain of what she was saying.

Anubis raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "I thought you said that you'd need to look through some files. You didn't even hesitate when you were pointing that out."

Ravaihn stoically met his gaze. "That is because I am not entirely who you think, Anubis."

"What?"

"What do you mean?" Iliana inquired.

The conductor turned to face both of them.

"What you see before you now is a mere fragment of my power. The real me is currently far away in the Phaiona Empire, vaguely aware of your situation," 'Mirage Ravaihn' informed them, surprising them both.

"I see," Anubis processed the information.

"So 'Mirage', do you think you could get rid of it?" he gestured towards the rune, "I mean you left the other one last time."

"I'm sorry— what?" the being was bewildered.

"You did say that you weren't Ravaihn, didn't you?" he pointed out, shrugging.

"Yes but—" the girl sighed, choosing not to address it, "I can destroy them if that's what you wish."

"Yes, please," his mother affirmed with slight uncertainty.

Nodding silently, Ravaihn hefted the stick in her hand, altering it so that it was held like a gun, with her hand on an invisible trigger. She aimed for the centre of the eye, steadied herself and fired.

Bang! The makeshift gun sounded, sending her hair flying up at the sheer force. The rune shattered, breaking into tiny bits and pieces as they fell, disintegrating.

However, it was what was behind it that truly shocked them. In the wake of the last rune's destruction, was an identical one, slightly smaller in size.

Irritated by the outcome, Ravaihn resorted to rapid-fire, clicking away in midair as she started to skid backwards from the force. Circle after circle disappeared as a new one replaced it, only to continue the sequence.

"What's going on?" Anubis was bewildered, "Why are there so many?"

Even Ravaihn seemed miffed by their current predicament.

"This is my take on it," his mother spoke up, getting their attention, "It's likely that it took a lot of power to create such a vast dimension like the one that Anubis ended up in. Unlike the fire, water wouldn't simply grow with time. Each circle is probably amplifying the other's output."

"What do you suggest then?" the conductor inquired, genuinely curious.

Iliana put a hand to her chin. Once she had gotten the answer, she clenched it into a fist, hitting the side of it in her palm with a smile.

"Hit it once from the other side," she ordered, "That should destroy all of it. Careful not to hit us though."

"Mom, you're a genius!" Anubis complimented her, hugging her tightly.

His mother didn't seem to think so. "That was just a perspective from an outsider to magic," she informed him, "I don't know if it'll even work."

She was right. As a civilian on the outskirts of the Aeiytia Kingdom, Iliana naturally didn't have any true magical abilities. She could only use Commoner's Arts, which was nothing more than a sheer imitation of the real magic that both he and Ravaihn wielded.

It was strange that he even wielded it at all.

Mulling over the idea, Ravaihn tapped her foot methodically before arriving at her answer.

"It's worth a shot," she decided, turning to him.

He released his mother instantly.

"Hey, Anubis."

"Yes?" he turned to face her.

"Are you any good at all at bowling?" the young woman asked with a smirk.

***

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