Alaris has been very busy lately.
There was no spell that he knew and hadn't tried yet in order to create his portal, no required hearts he hadn't sacrificed, no blood he hadn't given, even his was in the mix. Everything he had known, he had tried but none of it was working.
It was getting really frustrating.
Time was very crucial to his plan and the more he was delayed in this Human Realm, the more the possibility of him ever attaining his aim, wandered to absolute futility and impossibility.
That wasn't the only thing frustrating him, however.
The thought of the kiss wandered to his mind constantly and despite how annoying it was, it lingered for too long in the trains of his thought.
It bothered him.
Even right now, the thought ambushed him.
"Fuck." He groaned, displeased at how everything wasn't working successfully for him at the moment.
Angry, he gave up; Only for now though.
Feeling a need to fan his ego, he went to Eli's study so he could once again see the painting of himself, how elegant he was and the greatest that even just a mere illustration of him commanded.
He pulled the cloth covering the painting aside, and smiled when he realized that his memory hadn't failed him in finding it.
Of course, his memory hadn't failed him.
"I'm marvelous. Glorious." He said.
After some moments of admiring himself, he wondered how much more of his paintings filled the study.
If that were to be true, then his "Brother" has spent so much time missing him.
How adorable that pretty little thing was.
That didn't dissuade him from still wanting Eli's death though, his forgiveness for his captivity of more than two hundred years, along with the death of his parents, couldn't be easily attained by a few silly paintings. Still, that didn't stop him from wanting to see.
So he proceeded to the next couple of paintings, but what he had seen left him scarred.
Without looking back he dashed out of the room, ensuring to leave it locked this time.
What sort of madness had he just witnessed?!
The torture of trying his failing spells was even better than this. So that was what he had gone back to.
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Chains weighed heavily around Kestra's hands and legs. When the others moved, she was forced to move too.
There was a certain unity that existed in their bondage, and the silence they conveyed was heavy.
There was a boat at the bank of the Red River. It should be too small to contain them all but with every addition, there seemed to be even more space.
Nothing here was normal.
Nothing was as it should be in Thanatou's Realm. The air smelt like death, the sky was like an ocean of blood above them, the people here were strange, they spoke through clickings and their bodies were different.
Despite how strange it was here, however, she knew that getting on that boat would be even worse.
She had heard from one of the Guards when the boat had arrived, that the Boat's rider was Death.
"Death is here."
The lanky and towering figure on the boat was covered completely with black tattered robes and a hood. There was a long scythe in his hand, one which he drove through the chest of each person before they were pulled into the boat.
Their screams would always break the silence harshly and Kestra could only imagine how much pain that was brought them.
He was probably severing away all their connections to the living Realm, ensuring that would never be able to go back.
She had read tales but she never knew that it was real.
The man who had screamed was dragged into the boat, his gaze met hers and he froze.
That was Kenji, her lover, at least that was what he used to be when he was alive.
Her heart sank a little but that was as far as it went.
She felt no guilt that his death had come through her hands. What she was certain of, however, was that she didn't want a likely fate.
This just couldn't be how it would end for her.
It was impossible.
Eli was still there, just in a different Realm and she would go back to him. She still had a string that connected her and gave her a chance. That scythe would sever it. She must find a way to get out of here.
The harsh hissing and clickings of a Thanis came from her right, and she rushed forward, taking close note of how closer she drew to Death.
Ever since that Thanis had dragged her through the ground, she had appeared here, but she had been kept locked away in a dungeon along with many others.
Thanatou's Realm was a middle ground, many souls that died from other Realms appeared in the dungeon, awaiting their final conveyance.
By Ignas, this could not be it!
She gritted her teeth as the cold of death descended upon her.
A scream pierced through the night and she looked, her gaze clashing with Nadia's who seemed to be blaming her for everything that had ever happened in her life, while she looked at Kenji with regret.
But Kestra's eyes held no guilt, to each their stupidity was to be blamed.
It wasn't her fault that her daughter wasn't as smart as she should be. If she had been the one to train her, such a mistake would never have happened.
Without a word, Nadia joined Granny and Kenji on the boat, the light of life no longer in her eyes.
There went her body, such a terrible loss.
At that moment, something clicked.
Before she had been sent to that dungeon to await her everlasting doom, the Thanis had taken her somewhere to separate her and her daughter, this had made her privy to some discussion. The Thanis that had possessed Granny's body had been taken away for failing to fulfill her duty, something had been said about bringing a "Bride" to take away the barrenness of the land.
Something had been said about a war with "The Mother" too, whosoever that was; However, that wasn't Kestra's business.
Her heart was racing, and now her teeth were clattering slightly.
She couldn't get on that boat no matter what. She had to fight it.
By Ignas, think! Think! Think, Kestra!
The Thanis had put up a fight and tried to speak in her favor that she had tried her best to lead them here using Granny's pearl necklace.
"She is a stubborn and a powerful mortal. She had magic. It was very hard to even gain control at the times I did. I was trapped in her body." She had clicked.
But that wasn't the important part!
Think, Kestra!
Her feet dragged through the sand as a Thanis pushed her forward, snapped clickings, and hisses at her. The clanking of the shackles mixed with it all.
She shivered, feeling the cold settle in her bones. When she looked up, she froze, her eyes beholding the complete darkness that was present between Death's hood.
Fear like she had never felt before coursed through her veins.
Different clickings rushed through her mind in the form of words.
"We need a Bride."
"Bring me my Bride!"
"We need a portal."
"---Someone with a link."
Her face hardened with determination at that last thought. Taking the bull by the horns, she charged towards Death, screaming and crying. "My daughter! No! Please, she didn't do anything wrong! Take me instead, get her off that boat, and take me as a sacrifice. Please, I will do anything for my daughter."
With her outburst, different Thanis rushed to the scene but before they could get to her, Death got to her first, raising his scythe to take her as she had begged.
By Ignas, this wasn't going as planned.
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((Do you think there might be a way for Kestra to wriggle her way out of this one or is it time to finally say goodbye to this bone in the neck.))
((Today's Update - Posting it now because I'll probably get busy soon. It's my birthday!))