Chapter 107: Back together (2)
Arhur went on to tell Aziel everything that happened after his disappearance. His voice, though steady, carried undercurrents of exhaustion that pulled at each syllable like leaden weights. Aziel listened with uncharacteristic patience, his sharp eyes narrowing at particularly troubling details.
Chasing after Aziel which led him to the altar room, the brutal confrontation with the sheepman that followed, and Jonas’s devastating death. His voice faltered slightly when describing how he died, but he pushed forward, detailing his discovery of the ability that he obtained during the battle.
"It was like the darkness itself responded to my desperation," Arthur explained, flexing his shadow-wrought fingers experimentally. The appendage moved with unsettling fluidity, too perfect in its mimicry of human movement while remaining distinctly other. "One moment I was certain I’d join Jonas in death, and the next... power surged through me like lightning through a storm rod."
He continued with newfound animation, describing the revelation about the sheepmen—how they weren’t truly living creatures but hollow constructs, sophisticated puppets animated by some sort of spell as well as being the totems to the castle’s spell. Arthur gestured expansively as he detailed the ancient story he’d discovered etched into the walls, fingers tracing invisible patterns in the blood-soaked air between them.
When he finally finished, silence claimed the chamber for several heartbeats. Aziel’s brow furrowed deeply, creating a labyrinth of creases across his forehead as he attempted to process the deluge of information.
After what felt like an eternity, Aziel’s features cleared, and he asked with almost childlike simplicity, "So... we just gotta kill the sheepmen?"
Arthur sighed heavily, shoulders sagging as he rolled his eyes skyward. "Yes, pretty much." The oversimplification bordered on painful, but wasn’t technically incorrect.
Curiosity prickled at Arthur’s consciousness as he realized he knew nothing of Aziel’s experience after their separation. "What happened after that thing—the monster of the halls—sucked you out of the laboratory?"
The question struck hard. Aziel’s entire demeanor transformed instantly—shoulders hunching forward as if bracing against an arctic wind, eyes dropping to study the stone floor with sudden, intense fascination. The confident set of his jaw dissolved into something tremulous and uncertain.