Chapter 180: Chapter 180

True to her word, Sylph finished up in the shower within a few minutes. Damien took on the daunting task next, washing himself in record time to minimize the amount his feet would have to spend on the rug.

When he finished, Sylph had already slipped under the covers of the huge bed. Damien fiddled with his collar, struck with indecisiveness. The bed was massive, but it was still a single bed.

“Stop that,” Henry snapped, giving him a mental flick. “You are manifesting displeasing things in my safe space. Just go to bed, the damn thing is as big as Delph’s ego.”

Damien opened his mouth, then closed it when he realized that Henry was right. He hopped onto the other side and tucked himself in. It sank under his weight, enveloping him in a warm hug. It was, without a doubt, the most comfortable thing he’d ever slept on.

“I’m still going to kill Delph,” Sylph said as if she’d read his thoughts. “The rug is unforgiveable.”

“Agreed,” Damien said, shuffling to try and see if he could somehow get even more comfortable. The good thing about the enormous bed was that he could stretch out in every single direction and still wasn’t even close to touching anything. Compared to the tiny bed in their room, this was almost like a different thing altogether. “I don’t think I’m going to need any dinner. There was more than enough food at the tournament. What about you?”

“I’m fine as well,” Sylph said. “I’ve gotten enough control over my power to restrict it from healing me unnecessarily, so I didn’t use up too much energy.”

“Goodnight, then,” Damien said, finally settling on a position on his side facing the huge stuffed animals along the walls. “Wait, how do we turn off the lights?”

No sooner than he had spoken did the lights blink off automatically.

“Oh. That works.”

“Goodnight,” Sylph said with a laugh.

Damien allowed himself to relax and close his eyes, snuggling deeper into the bed. With the lights off, the room wasn’t all that bad. It was almost completely black aside from the faint shimmer of light reflecting off the stuffed animal’s eyes.

He paused, then opened his eyes again. There was no light to reflect in the room. He made eye contract with the large teddy bear against the wall in front of him.

A minute passed in silence. Damien let out a slow breath, dismissing the irrational fear. There was no way that –

“Sleep well, my little munchkins,” the teddy bear sang, its head bobbing up and down. “Strike down your foes with the force of your passion.”

Damien threw his hands up as Sylph bolted upright. The other stuffed animals joined in the song, but Damien couldn’t even be bothered to get up.

“We’re killing him,” he said, snatching a pillow and pulling it over his head to tune the animals out.

***

Ashes marred the pure white scarf wrapped around Moon’s neck. He sat on top of a blackened ledge at the edge of a room the size of an amphitheater. At the room’s center was a huge hole, easily big enough to fit a mansion into.

Wind howled through the room, ruffling Moon’s clothes and shooting into the hole. He cocked his head to the side.

“Is that all?” Moon asked. “It’s been a long time since I was last here, but I expected more.”

“You do not belong.” The words came in a faint whisper, echoing up from the hole and around the room. “Your presence will bring destruction upon us both. Leave.”

“Destruction?” Moon let out a mirthless chuckle. “I very much doubt it. Your ego has been inflated by preying on the weak. “If you want me to leave, you’re going to have to come up here and do something yourself.”

A rumble shook the room, knocking debris free of the ceiling. It peppered the room around Moon, but he didn’t even budge.

“It approaches,” the voice whispered from the hole. “You must flee before it is too late! If you wish death, do not bring me with you.”

“I’ve grown attached to this ledge, unfortunately,” Moon said, supporting his chin with an open palm. “Besides, if something wants to meet me so badly, it would be rude to leave.”

The wall exploded, showering the room with stone once more. A reptilian head snaked into the room, huge eyes fixed on Moon shining with unrestrained malice. The monster’s head was the size of a small house, and its neck snaked back and disappeared behind the wall.

Its tongue flicked out and black miasma started to seep out from its scaly skin, filling the room like a dark sea.

“A pleasure,” Moon said. “As much as I’d like to exchange pleasantries, I’m afraid I’m on a schedule. I need you to do something for me.”

The snake opened its mouth and a hiss echoed through the room. Ice crystalized over the ground and the temperature dropped sharply. Moon glanced down at his hand as his clothing stiffened.

“Am I to take this as a refusal?” Moon asked. “I haven’t even had a chance to ask you my favor yet.”

Waves of black miasma surged forth, reaching for Moon and enveloping him. The walls crumbled as the snake slithered into the room, crushing anything in its path. Its head snapped forward as it made to swallow Moon whole.

“Stop,” Moon commanded.

The snake’s head slammed into the ground with a deafening crack. A powerful thrum shook the room and a violent gale erupted around Moon, dispersing the miasma in instants.

“That was rude. We weren’t done talking,” Moon said. The ground crunched as the snake’s head was forced through it. Cracks raced through its scales as they started to shatter and crumble. “Now, let’s continue our conversation. I have a favor to ask.”

The force relented, allowing the snake to raise its head. It hissed and spat a blob of green acid at Moon. A black shield enveloped Moon and the attack splattered harmlessly against it. He dismissed the spell and sighed.

“Very well. I don’t actually need you for this,” Moon said. He raised a hand, splaying his fingers out. Ether gathered around his hand, warping the air unnaturally. It wasn’t just dark. It was the complete absence of light. Of everything.

“Immolate,” Moon said. The snake froze. Shadows washed over it, turning the cracked green scales black. They crumbled, turning to ash and blowing away. Within moments, all that remained of the snake was a cloud of ash.

Moon brushed his scarf off. It had gotten even more ash on it now, and it was almost impossible to make out the original snow white color. He shook his head in disappointment. “Not even enough Ether to actually burn. What a waste of my time. Oh well. I’ll settle for you, hole dweller.”

There was no response.

“If I have to come down there to find you, I’m going to be very displeased,” Moon called.

“I respond to your call, Great One,” the voice whispered up to him in reverence. “There are none within the Crypt that could stand against you. You have struck down the most powerful guardian. What could we possibly do for one such as you?”

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“A boy will be coming into the Crypt tomorrow,” Moon said. “He’ll wield Space magic and go by the name of Damien. A girl named Sylph will be accompanying him. I have arranged for them to arrive here.”

“You wish for their safe passage?”

“No,” Moon said. “On the contrary. The Crypt follows rules, if I’m mistaken. You send monsters to scale with the mages that enter it, correct?”

“Yes, Great One. It is to –”

“I don’t care why you do it,” Moon interrupted. “You will treat Damien as if he is at my power level.”

“Forgive my presumptuous question, Great One, but is he? The loss of our greatest guardian will take much time to recover from. If he has your strength, countless of our greatest warriors will perish.”

“He does not,” Moon replied. “Not yet."

“This is a relief. We shall do as you ask, Great One. Damien will perish within the Crypt.”

Moon didn’t grace the voice with a response. A dark portal stretched open behind him and he stepped into it, vanishing.

***

Damien woke the following morning, well rested and ready to face the day. The stuffed animals had mercifully stopped singing after a few minutes, and the rest of the night had passed silently.

Sylph was meditating on her half of the bed. He slipped down, trying not to bother her, and padded over to one of the animals. Its head hung at a slight angle. Damien pulled it back, revealing a long slit running along its neck and through the runes that had been drawn on its inside. He glanced back at Sylph and hid a laugh. That explained why they’d stopped singing.

When Sylph opened her eyes, he pulled the room service rope. The well-dressed man from the previous night arrived a few minutes later, carrying a platter laden with food. Damien now entirely understood why the man reacted the way he had.

“Your teacher has passed along a message for you,” the man said stiffly, handing the platter to Damien. “The tournament officially begins in a few hours, but you should arrive at Kingsfront’s portal courtyard as early as possible to avoid trouble.”

“Thank you,” Damien said. The man nodded and closed the door as quickly as he could. Luckily, it didn’t look like Delph had given any instructions to ruin their breakfast. The plate was laden with scrambled eggs, bacon, several types of sausages, and two large glasses of orange juice.

He and Sylph ate quickly, polishing everything off before heading downstairs. They bid the man farewell, not receiving a response, and left the Mighty Willow.

“I hope we never see him again,” Sylph said. “He’s going to be telling stories about us for years.”

“If you don’t think about it, then it didn’t happen,” Damien said. “It was all just a bad dream.”

The sun hung low in the sky, illuminating Kingsfront in pink and orange hues. The streets were already starting to get busy, but it was a far cry from the massive crowds that had been present for the first half of the tournament.

They reached the portal courtyard after a few minutes of walking. A few students had arrived before them. Damien spotted Nolan and Mark in a corner and made his way toward them.

“Dare I ask how your night went?” Nolan inquired. “Or were Mark and I the only ones that drew Delph’s ire?”

“He put rug in our bathroom,” Sylph said flatly. “Bright pink rug.”

“Inside the shower,” Damien clarified. “Have you ever sat on a fuzzy toilet? It’s not an experience I’m keen to recreate. I hope you two had better luck.”

“Delph decorated my stable,” Mark said. “I just got a normal room, though. It wasn’t very hard. Why didn’t you?”

“We forgot to bring money,” Damien said with a sigh.

“So did I,” Mark said.

“Then how did you get a room?”

“I just climbed through the window of an empty one,” Mark replied, giving him a baffled stare. “What else would you do?”

“Never mind,” Damien said. “What about you, Nolan?”

“He hired a dozen prostitutes to sing me happy birthday and then leave immediately after,” Nolan said. “I have no idea how he got them past Kingsfront’s security or into the dorms, but I suppose it was pretty much fine aside from that.”

“He’s gone mad with power,” Sylph said. “We need to figure out just how much money he bet on us.”

“All of it, I think,” Mark said. “I overheard him speaking with Whisp. She banned him from betting with the other professors because he keeps putting up everything he has on bets, then winning and draining them dry.”

“I knew it,” Damien said. “He’s a psychopath.”

“I trust you’re all saying good things about me?” A hand fell on Damien’s shoulder as Delph formed behind him, his cloak fluttering. “I did just spend so much coin to make sure you’re all nice and excited for today’s half of the tournament.”

Four glares pierced him. “Hmm. It feels like it’s getting colder.”

“Professor, we haven’t sparred in a while,” Mark said. “How about a warm up?”

“I’d like that as well,” Sylph said. “It’ll be a good way to get the blood flowing.”

“Nonsense,” Delph said. “If you want to spar, I’d be more than happy to take you on after the tournament is done. Although, I do have quite a few things on my plate. If we don’t win this half of the tournament, Whisp is going to have me pushing papers for weeks, so you’ll have to wait until after that. I might even need to find a professor to take over the class until I can get back. Of course, if you win…”

“You aren’t going to be seeing a single piece of paper when we get back,” Mark promised. “Enjoy watching the tournament, Delph. You might want to hope that one of us gets injured so we don’t all try to spar you at once when its over.”

Delph smirked. “Looking forward to it. Good luck.”

He shrunk down into a mote of gray light and vanished as quickly as he arrived, leaving them to wait as more students slowly arrived.

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