The trek through the chasm didn’t take much time. Hex and Silvera were behind the baron, swiftly scaling over the uneven ground and walls.
Silvera used her silvery chains to drag the other Knights along. Experienced and strong as they were, they were obviously not used to moving through tears in the ground.
Within a few minutes, they reached the other side. Hex climbed behind Silvera out of the chasm. The moment he stepped onto even ground, he felt the turbulent air blow in his face.
The rumbling of the clouds thundered in his ears. He looked up. Up close, the sight of the massive clouds coiling with flashes of lightning between them, made him shiver unconsciously.
When he looked around, he saw the devastation left by the strike. The southern tower was half gone and the main building was scorched black.
As they hurried toward the southern tower, he saw the servants spread over the castle ground. But they didn’t seem burnt or wounded.
’They look as if they were knocked unconscious.’ It left him confused but he didn’t say anything. They had to prioritize their efforts for now.
Just as they were about to reach the southern tower, he heard a faint sound coming from outside the castle ground. He halted and peered in the darkness.
’What is he doing?’ The sight of the old gardener digging around left him stumped. He didn’t even consider why the old man was still conscious. The man worked without minding the rumbling skies and the torn grounds.
He was thinking whether to check up on the old man or not when he heard someone call him. He looked in the direction the voice came and saw a tall and beautiful girl waving at him worriedly. Her beautiful hair fluttered in the blowing wind.
’I will check later on him. Hopefully he stays safe.’
Hex jogged toward the girl. He saw the baron disappear in the tower, followed closely by Silvera. The Knights had joined with their old teammates.
He was about to greet Althea but the budding smile on his lips froze when he saw the person lying on the floor. He wasn’t moving. The old Knight’s expression was contorted in shock and pain.
"What happened to Old Man Ivran?" He asked with gritted teeth. He wasn’t too close to him but he liked the old man and his stories.
"Briella. That bitch betrayed us." Hestia cursed angrily. The image of the beautiful Knight appeared in Hex’s mind. She always looked sweet and full of life.
"Why?" He asked, unable to understand why people were willing to harm others they had known and or loved just to go against the Heavens.
"Envy is a strong motivation," Wallen said when the others remained silent. "As the daughter of the Commander, she didn’t like the attention on Althea. Perhaps she felt neglected and unjustly ignored. It drove her to seek another fate for herself."
Hex looked at Althea. Her expression was calm but her drooped shoulders and unwillingness to look straight at him betrayed her emotions.
Without saying anything, he approached her and amidst the thunderous noise, hugged her. She protested weakly but Hex didn’t let her go.
They held each other for a moment, till they heard someone scrape his throat loudly. With some reluctance, he let Althea go, who turned quickly away from the others.
"We need to help the baron," Wallen said, signaling Hex to follow him. This confused the others, especially Hestia.
"Why him? This is not a fight we can participate in!" She said, appalled by the absurdity of letting a kid join a fight of monsters.
"You guys can’t help but he can," Wallen said with a sigh. "I wished to prevent it but now he has to."
Seeing Wallen display a rare moment of emotions on his face, made Hex realize that the baron may have instructed him to do so. ’Does the baron need my heart or is there something else at play here?’
"You guys, try to save as many people you can while we engage with...her," he said. The Knights hesitated.
"Go," Hex said. "There is nothing we can do than follow the baron’s order. Let’s trust him to save us."
The baron was indeed the only one they could trust in a moment . Hestia came up to Hex and hugged him. "Be safe," she whispered.
Althea stared at him for a second...then left with the others. Hex exhaled and entered the tower with Wallen.
The sight inside the tower was unrecognizable. The tiles were gone, the walls were shattered, and the air felt different.
Suddenly he saw an infant on the floor, lying still. It shone with golden light. But before he could ask Wallen about it, he saw a woman crouching beside it, giggling and cooing at the baby.
’Lira?!’ Hex barely recognized her. She was smeared with blood and her hair was falling out. Her beautiful face looked gaunt. Her eyes were deep into her head.
Out of nowhere, the remaining part of the tower exploded. Wallen pulled Hex closer to him. It was then that Hex noticed a full circle glowing on the back of the butler’s hand. The debris of the tower fell around them. Not even dust reached them.
Hex looked up and saw three figures hovering in the sky.
One was the baron, looking calm as always. His golden hair fluttered wildly. He was wrapped in layers of golden fire.
Beside him stood Silvera. The Templar’s silver hair was wrapped in a knot. Her chains slithered in the air, staying close to her.
Opposite them stood a woman clad in a black robe. Even from a distance, her beauty was apparent. She was radiating like a moon on a full moon night. But Hex’s attention wasn’t drawn by any of these.
His mind went blank when his eyes landed on her hair that fell around her shoulders, looking smooth and silky. It was the second time in his life he had seen someone with hair in the color black.