Eccar's dimly lit chamber was oppressively silent. He can only hear the faint clinking of the chains that bound him. He sat slumped against the cold stone wall, his expression purposefully blank, concealing the sharpness of his mind.
He heard heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor. Moments later, Krevak entered, his imposing figure outlined by the light.
The warrior of gods carried himself with a menacing air as always, his eyes burning with suppressed fury. He stopped a few meters from Eccar.
"You," Krevak began, his voice cold and sharp as steel, "will be taken to meet the true gods and goddesses. They will decide your fate."
Eccar tilted his head lazily, a smirk curling his lips. Despite the bruises on his body he oozed confidence, as if the chains binding him were just inconvenience.
"True gods and goddesses, huh?" he said. "And what's the grand plan for little me? A sacrificial lamb to appease them?"
Krevak's jaw tightened, the fire in his eyes flaring momentarily, though he managed to keep his composure. Instead of answering he see Eccar with cold disdain.
"Come on," Eccar pressed, his voice mocking. "At least give me a hint. Am I to be an offering, or do your gods just have a thing for Dragonborn? Because I've got to say, all this fuss over me seems a little excessive because I'm not the Dragonborn that steal your mighty gods power."
The chain of Krevak's control snapped. His fist flew and hit Eccar's jaw with a brutal force that sent blood spraying across the cold stone floor. Another punch followed, and another.
Eccar's head snapped to the side, his smirk gone, replaced with a grimace as the sharp sting of pain exploded across his face.
"Shut your mouth!" Krevak roared, his voice echoing off the walls. He stood over Eccar, fists clenched, his breaths ragged as he struggled to contain his anger.
Eccar spat a glob of blood onto the ground but his gaze still sharp. "Well," he said hoarsely, "that hit a nerve. I'm guessing I'm onto something, aren't I?"
Krevak knelt down, gripping Eccar's face roughly to force him to meet his gaze.
"You may not remember your crimes, Dragonborn," he hissed, "but your blood will atone for them. Whether you like it or not, your kind's legacy will pay the price."
"My crimes?" Eccar echoed, his voice laced with defiance. "You think I did something to your gods? I wasn't even alive when they fell. I'm not the one you're angry at. You're just blaming me for something I had no business in."
Krevak's expression twisted with rage, and for a moment, it seemed he might strike again. But instead, he let out a cold, bitter laugh, releasing Eccar's face with a shove.
"Remember it or not, your blood will open the way to the Dragonborn's lair. That is where the gods' power will be restored, and your kind will finally pay for what they've done."
Eccar's eyes twitched slightly at the mention of the Dragonborn's lair. He calmed his expression quickly, but the words echoed in his mind.
"The lair? Is that a place where secrets about my kind might be hidden?"
He had never even know about a lair until now so he had to know more.
"Dragonborn's lair?" he said, feigning nonchalance. "Sounds like a cozy little hideaway. "
Krevak glared at him, his lips curling into a sneer. "Mock all you like. It won't change your fate."
He turned abruptly and stalked out of the chamber, the heavy door slamming shut behind him.
Left alone in the suffocating darkness, Eccar leaned his head back against the wall, his mind racing.
The Dragonborn's lair. If they're planning to use me to access it, there's something there they desperately want, something tied to the gods they serve and of course, to the secret of my kind that me and Erend didn't even know. I need to find out what."
Wiping blood from his split lip, he allowed a faint smirk to return. "I've got a feeling this is going to be fun."
Few minutes later, the chamber groaned with mechanical creak that reverberated through the walls. Eccar's sharp ears picked up the sound of grinding gears and heavy mechanisms shifting. The floor beneath him began to tremble with increasing intensity.
"What now?" he muttered under his breath.
The entire chamber jerked suddenly and Eccar's chains rattled against the walls. The chamber was being lifted.
Eccar shifted slightly, his sharp eyes narrowing as he focused on the sensations.
The chamber lurched again, rising steadily, until it came to a halt with a metallic clank. Moments later, there was a faint hiss as if a seal had been broken.
Eccar's mind raced as he pieced it together.
"An aircraft. They're moving me in something massive."
The chamber vibrated as if it were settling into place, and the low hum intensified into a steady roar. A sensation of weightlessness washed over him briefly as the aircraft lifted off.
"An airship," he murmured.
The thrum of engines melded seamlessly with the creaks and groans of the chamber, amplifying the sensation that they were traveling to somewhere.
He is being taken to the gods' world now.
He flexed his hands subtly against the chains. Testing. Calculating. The room might have been a prison, but it was also a stage. His mind sharpened with every passing second, dissecting the situation.
"I will let them take me and get to the gods and their plans and learn more."
The chamber shook slightly as the craft adjusted course, the vibrations coursing through the floor making it clear that they were moving faster now toward some unknown destination.
The rhythmic hum of the engines grew louder, signaling their ascent into a place where the gods' world awaited.
Eccar leaned his head back against the cold stone wall of the chamber, and send message to Erend again.
"Erend, I think this Krevak is taking me somewhere. I think It's their real world. The invaders' home base."