Chapter 53: Harper's Big Day Pt.1

Within the cold Northern Wilderness.

“Any sign of her?” A man clothed in black asked as he surveyed his frozen surroundings. Hundreds of coniferous trees stretched as far as he could see, providing many spots to hide or set up an ambush.

“None.” A similarly dressed man responded.

“Shit…We have to head back before it gets dark. It’s the third day in a row and she’s killed a lot of us.” The man turned around to look at his partner, who was staring at the sky.

“What is it?” He said as he looked up only to fall silent and for good reason.

The sun was a steak. A giant steak. Anyone who witnessed something so odd could only fall silent.

Just then, one of the men snapped back to reality. “I-Illusion! It’s an illusion! She’s here!” He drew his sword before running over and shaking his companion, who also drew his sword.

A cracking sound could be heard as the sky shattered and the scenery changed into two separate moons.

One of the men spoke with disbelief, “It’s already night…”

“Shit…” The other cursed.

Loud footsteps suddenly emerged from the brush as a tall, pale blue, Phantom rushed toward the men with weapons held in its six arms.

“Shit!” One man dug into his pocket for a whistle, but dropped it in his haste. When he looked up, the Phantom was already swinging a two handed axe. Before he could even react, his head left his shoulder and his body fell limply into the snow.

His companion tripped over himself and landed in the snow, crawling backward in horror.

“Hey!” A childish voice resounded from the trees above.

He looked up to see a small girl illuminated under the moonlight. Her features consisted of three black dots between her brows, pale blue eyes, and hair that had black roots but was mostly blue. Other than her head, the rest of her body was hidden in a cloak.

“It’s you…” The man said in a defeated voice.

“Yeah, it's me!” Harper jumped down from the trees and landed in front of the man causing some snow to fly into the air.

“Where is he?” Harper asked as she cracked her neck.

The man laughed dryly as he recalled the way his comrades were found over the past three days. Coincidentally, they would be found one of three ways, dead, tortured to death, or with their minds shattered.

“If I tell you...make it quick.” The man said as his face darkened.

“Ok.” Harper nodded as her phantom moved closer.

“Not too far to the East, there is an old church...You’ll find Sin there.” The man said.

“Sin?” Harper furrowed her eyebrows curiously.

“It’s what that brat calls himself...It’s funny how my life was ruined by kids, you and him, I mean. He killed anyone in my hunting village who wouldn’t join...so what was I supposed to do!” The man released his pent-up emotions at the end as tears and snot fell down his face.

Harper just looked at him before nodding toward her Phantom. It moved closer and raised its halberd.

The man cursed aloud as he could practically see his death looming over him. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He wouldn’t even attempt to beg for mercy, not because of the things he had done, but because he knew the little girl in front of him didn’t seem familiar with the concept.

“Do it! Fucking do it!” The man screamed.

The Phantom thrust the halberd into his skull and ended his life immediately.

Harper looked up into the sky and saw small flurries of snow falling. “Let’s go,” She said before hopping onto her Phantom’s shoulders.

…

Inside of a ran down cathedral, nearly a fifty men grouped together in front an oddly shaped chair.

“Sin...we haven’t been able to find her for three days, even if we know her general location she only appears at night...maybe we should move our base for now and focus on the ritual later.” A man reluctantly gave his opinion to a boy that looked to be no older than 12.

The boy had small brown eyes and dark brown hair, there was an overall ordinary look about him. That is, if one were to ignore the black clothes he wore, the chair decorated with human skulls, and the 6-foot scythe leaning right next to him. Obviously, the scythe was the most disturbing part. The blade was standard, but what was holding the blade looked to be an abnormally long spinal cord.

“You want to...run away from her?” Sin asked as he cocked his head.

For some reason, the man felt threatened and lowered his head. “N-Not run away...I just think that the way things are progressing at the moment, we may need to hold off for a few days. It looks like it’s gonna snow tonight, so it’ll be even harder to find her.” he hurriedly said.

“Hmmm.” Sin seemed to take his words into consideration as he showed a thoughtful look. “So...How many of you think we should hold off for a few days?” Sin asked.

Those who were smart or at the very least, attentive, caught the subtle emphasis on “hold” when Sin spoke and knew better than to raise their hands. Those who were too eager didn’t realize anything and raised their hands.

“I see.” Sin said with an accepting nod.

“Then should I send someone to the basement to go tell your uncle?” The man asked.

“That won’t be necessary.” Sin grabbed the scythe and swung it, splitting the man in half before he even noticed.

There was a moment of shock that rendered everyone silent, but Sin didn’t halt his actions. Sin swung once again and it extended across the room taking the lives of all who agreed with the man who advised a retreat. Not so surprisingly, the scythe made of spinal vertebrae wasn’t an ordinary weapon. The vertebrae spread apart and stuck together like magnets, allowing more reach than a normal scythe.

“Anyone else?” Sin asked. As the scythe reassembled it emitted a sound reminiscent of bones rattling.

Those remaining stayed silent, as it was obvious what waited if they were to speak. Sin spoke chanted some words before a white fog spilled out of the bodies of those who had recently died. With heavy groans, those that were intact began to stand. Some of the members flinched, while others were unphased at the sight.

“Haaah. Some of you go stand guard outside and the rest go look for her. We’re gonna finish the ritual tonight, so we can’t let her interrupt.” Sin ordered as he opened a hatch that revealed a staircase.

“If the ritual fails, most of you are as good as dead, so make sure she doesn’t get any further.” Sin said before he descended.

Even though Sin didn’t give direct roles, it was obvious who was going to do what as the undead moved to stand in a semi-circle with their backs toward the cellar. Those who were fast enough, took up positions outside of the cathedral, while the others reluctantly started their patrol into the darkness.

Most people paired up and took torches as they trudged through the snow-covered forest. After they moved far enough, a few began talking while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

“What do you guys think?”

“About what? Sin?”

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“No...The ritual.”

“What about it? If it succeeds we’ll be beyond powerful and we can live like royalty.”

“Yeah, it isn’t fair how some random street urchins are being blessed with power, but we aren’t.”

“You hear about Yellow Eyes?”

“Who?”

“I’ve heard of ‘em. Supposed to be the strongest man in the whole Kingdom.”

“Man? I heard he’s just a kid.”

“Like Sin?”

“No, a bit older. Barely eighteen.”

“I’ve seen him once.”

“Stop fucking lying.”

“I’m not. Seen him in the Capital a few months back when we were getting materials for the ritual. Black hair, yellow eyes, his face reminded me of those handsome nobles who can’t even fight properly. I almost thought he was one but...”

“But what?”

“I don’t know. He still looked dangerous. I mean...They say he’s the best mercenary, but he wasn’t wearing one shred of armor, just a sword on his hip.”

“It ever occur to you that he might have just left it home? Since, you know, the Capital is the safest place around.”

“Was the safest place.”

“Yeah, I heard about those monsters running around.”

“Wait…”

“What is it?”

“Just quiet down for a second.”

The group stopped in the middle of the forest and looked around cautiously.

“I thought I heard something.” One said as he cautiously surveyed the treetops above. The snow began to get heavier which worked to obstruct his vision.

“There!” Someone shouted, which caused the group to look up. The clouds parted for a moment, highlighting a translucent figure on a branch above.

Seeing that it wasn’t the little girl they were looking for, the men calmed down a little, but still drew their weapons.

Suddenly, the pale blue shaped pushed itself from the branch and fell at a great velocity.

“Move!” The group of men shouted as they dove out the way, but one was unlucky enough to trip due to the snow.

“No!” Was the only thing he was able to say before he was crushed under the weight of the blue phantom.

The first one to recover was surprised to find a chain wrapped around his neck. He tried to shout, but the chain tightened before he was pulled into the darkness.

“Torches!”

“Someone get the torches!”

“Hey!”

Confused voices resounded in the dark before someone managed to re-light a torch.

“What?!” The man shouted as he looked around the dark. He couldn’t see anyone from his group other than the unfortunate guy who was crushed to death and there was no sign of the blue phantom from earlier.

“Come out!” He shouted fearfully as he saw fresh blood soaked in the snow. The man only took a few steps before he felt a sharp pain pierce his chest. He lowered his head and saw a translucent blue sword going through him. He tried to speak but the blade twisted before it was yanked from his chest, causing him to collapse onto the ground.

“Alright, time for the next group.” A childish voice was the last thing he heard as he struggled to breathe and his vision faded.

Harper looked at the dead man before she jumped onto her Phantom’s shoulders.

....

A few hours later.

Sin stood next to a feeble man dressed in black robes adorned with ornaments made of bone. The history between Sin and his uncle was spotty as they hadn’t known each other for long. Sin’s parents died under “mysterious” circumstances and he spent most of his childhood in a cold orphanage, until his uncle, Oren, came to recruit him for his cause. Under Oren’s guidance, Sin served as the figurehead of the Emissaries Of Death and his old name was thrown away completely.

Unknown to Sin, Oren originally planned to sacrifice him and was literally a few days away from doing it until the Red Moon and Golden Aurora happened to grant him power. When Sin awakened to his new abilities he became the proper head of the “religious” movement.

“Uncle...is it ready?”

“Almost,” Oren said patiently. On the floor were fragments of bones crushed and arranged into the shape of a star and at the point of each star was a skull with ominous fog spilling out of their eye sockets.

Sin froze and then turned around. “That girl is here, Uncle Oren.” He felt his connection to his undead disappear and immediately realized that Harper had come.

“Damn it! Hold her off! Don’t fail, Sin. Especially when we’re so close.” Oren shouted angrily.

“I won’t Uncle.” Sin nodded with reverence before climbing up the cellar stairs.

…

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