231 Shrouded Moon Festival (Part 4)
Exile’s gaze scanned over the many sights he would expect to see in the mortal realms. Then he glanced at the things that were out of place. ‘Rivers of blood, dead forests, purple waterfalls, crystal mountains, black flames… What the hell is this place?’
His gaze eventually landed on the tallest structure in a ruined city. It was a flat-topped pyramid with a steep staircase on each of its four sides. However, Exile’s eyes narrowed when he spotted five other players sitting around a table and being waited on by several different types of undead.
However, he recognised three of the figures. Parthus, Arthur, and Merlin were seated there with two players he did not recognise. One of them was a beautiful woman with black scales on her pale skin, and the other looked to be a man influenced by a culture similar to what was seen in ancient china.
The woman glanced in his direction with surprise on her face before she smiled at him as he hovered in the sky. The others glanced in his direction when they saw her reaction. Parthus looked relieved, and Arthur seemed happy. However, Merlin sneered at him before ignoring his presence completely.
Exile controlled his rune to descend toward them, choosing to land next to Parthus. He had a loose alliance with Parthus after the events of the war, so he felt it was appropriate to show his stance in that meeting right from the get-go. Exile could not help but notice Arthur’s disappointment as he sat in the high-backed chair to Parthus’ left.
A draugr brought a cup of mead to him while a mummy brought fine wine to Parthus. Exile sniffed at the cup, but Parthus drank his right away as he nodded to Exile. It was his way of telling Exile that alcohol was fine to drink. ‘I guess they’ve already had a few before I arrived.’
Exile shrugged as he took a large mouthful of the mead and immediately felt its benefits. He became less tense and seemed able to think faster than before. Parthus chuckled at his surprise before leaning in to whisper to him.
“Be careful with what you say or do. You can’t fight here unless you want the undead to attack you.” Parthus shot a glance at their macabre waiters. “There were two more of us, you can guess what happened.”
Exile slowly nodded to show he understood. However, he could not understand the meaning behind what he thought would be a trial. The undead suddenly bowed as a deep voice came from everywhere around them.
“It seems we won’t have any more visitors.” The disembodied voice sounded disappointed. “Let’s not waste any more time.”
Black smoke rose from the pyramid to form a dark-skinned man wearing an animal hide waistcoat over his bare chest and trousers. Various bones, flowers, and herbs hung from the waistcoat and his belt as he adjusted the face of a human skull that he wore as a mask over his own.
“Welcome to my festival! It’s been a long time since I had visitors!” The man said as he took a seat at the head of the table. He clicked his tongue when he noticed that nobody present seemed to know who he was. “Forgive me, where are my manners? I am Amari. The will left behind to manage this place.”
Exile glanced at those around the table to see if they had learned anything from the name. However, everyone looked just as confused as he was. Amari gave a long sigh when he realised his name held little value to those present.
“Has it really been so long that my name is no longer known?” His eyes turned toward Exile. “You seem to have Skardian followers. Does my name mean nothing to you?”
Amari groaned as Exile shook his head and turned toward Parthus. “Our people are practically neighbours! Your people must have tales about my greatness.”
“I’ve never heard of you.” Parthus replied with a frown.
“Bah! Shows what you young gods know!” Amari drummed his fingers on the table with displeasure. “Very well, let’s get on with it. Each of you is here to seize the inheritance I guard, correct?”
Everyone nodded to Amari’s question. It seemed that everyone present had reached the same conclusion as Exile before entering that place.
“Then we shall begin with a simple test of compatibility.” Amari waved his hand a black set of scales appeared before everyone. “It’s quite simple. These scales will determine if you’re worthy of receiving something from me. But, I can already tell that none among you are yet worthy of my greatest treasure.”
Exile suddenly felt his body freeze. He was unable to move at all as tendrils of black smoke slithered through the air, originating from Amari’s body. Exile could see that nobody else seemed able to react in that situation as a tendril pierced each of them.
Exile felt a tingling sensation as the tendril moved toward his heart. He felt hollow as it wrapped around something there before retreating from his body. The hollow feeling lasted only a moment before it disappeared as Exile saw the tendril holding a dark red orb.
A bright yellow orb came out of Parthus’ chest. Arthur’s was a bright brown. Melin’s was a dark yellow colour. ‘Are these the colour of our elements?’ Exile wondered as a bright blue orb came out of the male player and a dark blue from the woman.
“Disappointing,” Amari said as he studied those orbs. “You made it this far so you deserve something.”
A pouch full of the event’s tokens appeared before Parthus, Arthur, and the player with the bright blue orb. The three of them and their pouches disappeared with a wave of Amari’s hand. Exile frowned as he noticed only those with bright colours were deemed unworthy with that test.
The only possibility that Exile could think of was that Amari was testing their compatibility with the darkness element. He remembered from his meeting with Allevia’s will that every god could become a dark or light one, depending on their actions. ‘What have I done to turn mine a darker shade?’
There were no solid guidelines apart from how they were viewed by their followers. As far as Exile was concerned, he had only done good things for his people. He suspected there had to be other factors in that decision since his own orb had come out a dark shade of red.
“Now, we measure your souls.” Amari grinned as he placed each orb on one side of the scales in front of their respective player. Exile felt the restraints on his body vanished as he turned his head to watch his set of scales.
“I would like to withdraw.”
Exile’s gaze shot up in surprise to stare at Merlin’s solemn expression. Questions raced through Exile’s mind as he stared at him. ‘He doesn’t want it because it would expose his dark side to Arthur!’ Exile sneered at Merlin as a black tome appeared in Merlin’s hands before he vanished.
Exile cursed as black walls appeared to separate him from the woman. It was clear Amari did that so they could not see the results of each other’s test, but Exile could still see Amari through the darkness.
Two tendrils carrying an orb of half dark yellow, half dark brown, and black core each came out of Amari’s chest. Exile watched as one of them placed its orb on the empty side of the scales before him. Exile watched as the scales tipped heavily toward Amari’s orb. However, it did not go so far as to touch the base of those scales.
Exile was unsure as to what that meant regarding his result. But time suddenly seemed to stop flowing around him as Amari appeared next to him!
Amari leaned in and examined the scales with a slight smile. He muttered to himself a few times before nodding enthusiastically.
“Excellent,” Amari said as he turned to grin at Exile. “Will you accept my gift?”
Exile hesitated for a moment. “Will it allow me to cure the infection you plagued my followers with?”
Amari’s eyes went wide as a jovial laugh escaped his throat. A mischievous grin spread on his face as he fixed Exile with his gaze. “You needn’t worry about that. When you leave this place, the festival will end. As will my influence on the mortal realm.”
“If my followers will be cured then I’ve already achieved my goal.” Exile sighed as he gazed back into Amari’s eyes.
“I see,” Amari hummed. “You are afraid of the darkness. There is a duality in your soul.”
“I see two paths before you. Darkness blinded by the light, and the light that shines brighter the deeper the darkness.” Amari chuckled as his eyes shone with a bright blue light. “A red mountain stands over a sea of corpses. An army of statues stands ready for battle for all eternity. A white sun burns in the void as you rest on your throne, surrounded by the bones of your enemies. You need not fear the dark, for the dark shall always be your constant companion.”
The light in Amari’s eyes dimmed as Exile tried to make sense of his ramblings.
“I will now teach your body to feel the element of darkness. You need not fear that this will make you an evil god. The elements themselves are not inherently good, or evil. Only your choices can lead you down that path.” Amari grinned as a black tome and a pouch of tokens appeared in Exile’s hands. Amari placed a hand on Exile’s head when he saw the latter did not outright refuse his gift. ｂ𝚍𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｎｔ
Exile felt something heavy, like a dense liquid flowing through his body that originated from his heart. ‘If I can learn how to sense the dark element from this, then I can use this to learn about the light.’ Exile smiled as he thought that.
“Go, my child. And may your darkness smother the mistake of the light.” Amari chuckled. “And do visit me again next year. Don’t disappoint me.”