Myth//OS - Chapter 81 (Patreon)

“Aylin? Hello? Are you there?” A gentle voice called to me. A hand touched my gauntlet, drawing my focus onto a laser’s edge.

I blinked several times, and the world slowly came back into focus. The royal carriage hit a particularly nasty bump, and my heavy armor clattered noisily. The bells attached to the pauldrons and waist rang with a series of light dings.

”Ah, there she is. My Night Halo’s finally awake.” Elysia snickered lightly and covered her mouth with her fair hand. Her blonde hair caught the light streaming in through the shudders of the carriage, making her glow with a soft golden light. 

“…” I tried to speak, only to remember far too late that my voice was entirely gone. A bolt of confusion laced through me. Wasn’t I just talking—?

“My lady.” A cloaked figure in the corner of the carriage bowed his head as soon as my eyes snapped to him. The cloak covering his head trembled and swayed for a moment. I didn’t remember him boarding the carriage with us. “W-we’ve almost arrived.”

“Thank you, Aesop.” Elysia’s voice was even more pleasant than the soft bells chiming across my black armor. “Are you ready, Aylin? Once more into the breach, my faithful knight.”

I pulled my helmet off and rubbed at my head. The bells curling off it like horns rang in warning, though I ignored it for a brief moment. The air of Serhymn poured past the seals of my voidal armor, and steadily started to suffocate me. 

Miasma flooded out in a thick cloud for a moment. Eerie laughter rang out, echoing through the carriage in overlapping waves. For the briefest of moments, I felt a connection form and a voice whispered, “Oh! How fun! Heheha—!“

My helmet plopped back on, and the voice abruptly cut off. My head throbbed even worse now. My memory felt like it was even worse than usual, too… I shouldn’t have taken off my helmet outside of the castle’s wards. I knew better than that. How could I forget?

I looked up to see Elysia’s sorrowful expression, and Aesop’s terror stricken one. I bowed my head in apology. “…”

“One day.” She sighed wistfully and patted my gauntleted hand. Her finger brushed along a spike of the metal where it’d been warped out of position. “When we get back, go by Andre?”

“…” I thumped my fist to my chest.

The carriage slowed to a halt underneath us. I stood up and slipped out of the carriage to look around the village of Valthune. Knights of the Thorn silently scattered around us to root out any traitors or cultists. One of my captains waved an all clear sign at me, and split off to head for the mines to the north of the town. 

Pling-Pling! Plung, plang-plang, Pling Pling!

Ether surged through me, and I plucked a series of strings to cast Ur-Well’s Protection across us once more. The soft sounds of the seven-string magic rang out across the small village. With that taken care of, I turned back and offered my hand to Elysia. “…”

”My faithful knight.” She chuckled softly and took my offered hand, stepping out of the carriage. Aesop followed a moment later, though the hood remained low and drawn over his head. “Shall we stay here for the night?”

“…” I hesitantly nodded. That was the plan. Although my memory was a little faulty today, there was a cult active somewhere around here—

White flashed in my eyes, and a splitting headache speared through me. By the time my vision cleared up, it was night time, and I sat in front of a bonfire on the fringes of the village. We decided not to stay in the inn tonight just in case. The team that went north found suspicious signs around the mine. Not to mention Elysia forced her way into this investigation shortly before leaving the palace.

A servant formed of Ebonshroud stirred a pot just over the fire. The pure black mass of ooze neatly took care of all the menial labor while one of my knights actually did the cooking. 

“Do you see this every night?” Elysia’s voice had a tinge of wonder to it as she looked at the star filled sky. She sat back with her head on her arms, staring upward. Even after hundreds of years, she still found such simple glee in it.

A soft smile filled my lips, and I settled back to stargaze alongside her. Back in the capital, the constant lights and smog blotted out the night sky. Ebonshroud flowed out through the cracks in my armor, and formed a pillow under her head. “Thanks.”

I watched her, and the smile slowly faded. The cooking food and scent of smoke drifted away from me, and the whole world narrowed onto her face. A face I promised I’d never forget. Even when the end came, I gave her my word—

What end? I blinked, and the air in my lungs turned to lead weighing my entire body down. The forest and camp surrounding me flickered and tore at the edges. A heavy presence descended, and the rips spread to cracks. The forest entirely shattered, revealing a broken throne room filled with blood. 

The walls were lined with pockets of distorted flesh, and crying voices. Agony laced through my head—

”Why—?“ Aesop’s voice called out, and the scene blurred into a white mass once more. The splitting headache returned in full force—

[Nighteye—]

“Aylin~!” Everything drowned out under her voice once more. “Thanks for coming for a walk. Sitting around there can be so stuffy!”

”…” No problem. I tried to speak, but the words suffocated in my throat. Instead, I simply nodded once more and eyed the forest around us. The rest of the knights were out investigating the cult. I should’ve been with them…

I watched her walk ahead of me. Not that I blamed her, but… well, more and more towns had been falling across Serhymn. Something was giving me a bad feeling. My knights would be fine, though. I’d picked them out from the best of the best. Yep, they’d be totally fine.

Crack!

A branch cracked somewhere up in the trees above us. I drew my sword, and carefully positioned myself in front of Elysia. String magic erupted out of me, and magic flooded the forest. In mere moments, I locked perfectly onto the would be assassin’s position. There was only one other person in this entire section, unless they were using some kind of perception blocking magic.

I flicked out my hand, and two Ebonshroud blobs flowed out and launched at a tree. Two soldiers sprouted out of the dark ooze and grabbed the interloper off a high branch. They forcibly dragged him out of the shadows with swords pointed at his throat. “…”

“I-I’m sorry!” A boy cried and dropped to his knees. His clothes were simple and thread-bare, like those handed down over generations. A dirty mop of brown hair clung to his face, and a hunting bow sat perched on his back. 

“…?” I waved a hand, and the Ebonshroud puppets pulled back. Elysia didn’t like it when I threatened children. Still, I kept my sword out and ready.

“My knight’s asking who you are.” Elysia dropped her hand onto mine and pushed my blade away from the kid. “He’s just a kid.”

I was deaf, not blind. She had a soft spot for children, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be killers. Wouldn’t be the first time some cruel organization weaponized children to eliminate Princess Elysia.

 A flow of Ebonshroud moved down through the ground, creating a layer just underneath the kid as I sheathed my sword. On the surface, I was totally pulled back like I wouldn't do anything. If he made one wrong move…

”Al-Althas Rosworth.” The kid bowed his head. “I-I’m the baker’s thirteenth son.”

“Althas?” Elysia crouched down to get on the same level as him, and lightly ruffled his dark hair. “Why were you sneaking around here?”

“I… I wanted to see the Royal Knight Commander.” The kid’s head dipped lower and lower. “M-my dad told me tales of you during his time in the war.”

Rowsworth… oh, that guy’s still alive? A figure flashed in my mind’s eye, but it was gone just as quickly. I relaxed slightly, and the bells along my armor wrung lightly to dispel the setting Silence. The child of a former subordinate likely wouldn’t be an asssassin… unless the cult got to him.

”My, my, your myth grows by the day, Aylin.” Elysia snickered and stood up, offering a hand toward the peasant child. Even with the noblest blood in Serhymn, she never shied away from those of the lower class. Truly, she was a princess of the people. “Do knights interest you, Althas?”

”I want to be one when I grow up!” The kid’s eyes lit up, and his entire expression filled with intense longing. It faded just as quickly, though, and he seemed to remember the harsh reality. The thirteenth son of a baker likely wouldn’t get any backing to pursue such a career.

“Why not give him a chance? It takes a brave soul to approach the Abyss herself.” Although she looked like a goddess descended into Serhymn, her silver eyes were curled with mischief. “It’s been three hundred years since your last squire. Why not finally take one on again?”

Because my last squire nearly killed the both of us… I didn’t say that aloud, though. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to risk letting someone that close again—not when my judgement of people could be considered poor at best. 

A frown curled at my lips, and a sense of déjà vu washed over me. I’d been here before—had I? My hand twisted around the pommel of my sword, and I grabbed onto it tight enough for my gauntlet to creak.

Aesop groaned and rubbed at his head. Something was wrong. He shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here. This was a precious memory lost and gone. I drew my sword once more, and turned on the cloaked—

“Milady?” The world ground to a halt, and I froze mid strike. My sword stopped just short of cutting of Althas’s head. A thin bead of blood welled up where my blade stopped on his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his anxiety leaked through his smile. “Did I do something wrong?”

Did he? Why was I—? I dropped my sword and staggered back a step. My back hit the wall of a hallway in the royal palace, and I clutched at my head. Wasn’t I just in the forest—

“Sir Althas, Commander Aylin.” A cloaked figure appeared at the end of the hallway and greeted the two of us. “I feel much safer with both of you here.”

“Indeed, there’s are trying times.” Althas rubbed the streak of blood off his neck with a thumb, and offered me a hand. He was an adult now, and stood in the armor of the Thorn Order. Has that much time really passed? It feels like just yesterday he was scrubbing the wear out of my armor.

“…” I signed ‘sorry’ to him and accepted his hand. His skin felt warm against mine. My armor had been stripped away to formal attire at some point.

The knight pulled me to my feet, and bowed lightly to kiss the back of my hand. “It’s fine, my dear Commander.”

”Ahem.” Aesop coughed at the end of the hall and turned away—only for a flow of ether to force him back to watch. Why—?

Althas’s hand tightened around my own, and he pulled himself closer so that his body framed mine against the wall. For the first time since he became my squire, I became intimately aware of just how much he’d grown up. He wasn’t the awe-stricken boy anymore.

”I was thinking… after the award ceremony, would you want to go to the walls with me? I just got this new kite.” He offered. Although his posture was confident, a soft blush crossed his nose and turned his ears pink. It seemed he was still the same boy who created an entire language of hand gestures so his useless knight could communicate.

I stretched out a hand and ruffled his hair. ‘If the Queen doesn't have something else for us.’

”Of course, of course.” He backed away and ran a hand down the back of his neck. “I was just offering. No pressure.”

‘C’mon.’ My hands flew through the signs, and I moved down the hall. ‘We don’t want to be late.’