Heleion Archives

“Could have only happened with me.” Valindra’s words became jumbled for a moment as she tore off a wide strip from the roll. With haste she sealed the lips and cheeks of the dark elven guard quite unevenly, even getting a few of her loose locks under the clingy side.

Immediately after seeing the memories of Wilhelmiira, she left the two inside the wardrobe and hurried towards the lower open level where the largest diner area was located. Before she could continue her descent towards the lower levels where the primary nexus engine powering the enchantments and inscriptions woven into the myriad mechanisms of the Academy, said dark elven guard called out to her, finding it quite suspicious of her Sister to climb down at the hatch.

Though she felt a bit of regret – not towards the guard – she decided to just leave the guard in the somewhat open where any possible guard, teacher making rounds could find her. Time was no longer on her side she was aware of that, and became even more aware when she found the limp soratanese guard whose voluminous, tousled hair spread out across her dark, bewitching form on the cold, dim floor. It took her no more than a few glances to see no life had flown anymore within the tender vessel honed for war and service, though it took her a bit more to find the wound inflicted without harm on the sleek garments and the unblemished skin.

“In a hurry it seems…” Valindra thought to herself looking at the corpse left in the dimly lit cellar after rolling the corpse on its sides. “…still quite adroit as expected.” Looking at the bosom, where ghastly particles mingled with spatial suggested the preferred method of assassins wreathing their blades in high grade phasing spells, whilst this one also suggested a death spell negating the winds of death blowing through the ethereal layer of reality. A high grade one too as she unraveled the remains of the inscription constituting the particles.

With conflicting sensations in her heart, she leaned the corpse against one of the freezer boxes and offered a prayer to the deceased guard, to have a serene and easy passage throughout the realms leading to the brilliant fields of Myelia where the joys and bliss of the souls awaited all her followers. Then continued her way across the corridor until she reached the tracks, keeping to the shadows as the conflicting feelings evoked by the corpse strengthened along her unimpeded journey.

On one hand she felt a strange attitude that made her question her sanity, a gratitude towards Agent 026 who left behind a grizzly trail of dead guards hunted down in various ways. In the next stop, the corpse of a merfolk guard greeted her hidden behind a tall counter, reeking of necrotic energies that made her blood run cold, her spine shivering as it brought back memories from the last stages of the war. Namely the time she was sent to eliminate a necromancer of Daemerios holding one of the cities Legate Arcturus of the Second Legion desired to be part of their long supply line.

The malodorous stench of the undead still lingered in her nostrils evoking the memories of slipping through the shadowy alleys of the city no longer welcoming to the living. She could still hear the creaking of tainted bones; the squealing of decaying flesh and garments ravaged by the dark energies of the accursed realm where the dead never find rest. Though she dwelt not for too long on these memories, instead moved on from the corpse and pondered on the spell that may have brought a swift end to the merfolk.

As she stepped into the elevator bringing her down to the next level, the piece of engineered marvel bumped and the ceiling hatch opened, with another corpse swinging towards her face, scaring the living hell out from her. And bringing a minor revelation that the spell itself was what the dark grimoires referred to as the Winds of Finality, a spell of air element combined with necrotic energies to drain the life out from the victim whilst also erasing the faint motes of the winds of death created upon the soul leaving the body.

Still, she knew it will cause a minor headache after she will be done here, she still felt glad that her way down was so far impeded by nothing. She zipped down the Veurrieth Type-IV coat and draped it over the merfolk’s corpse before moving on, heading for the elevator taking her down to the teleportation room, from whence she shall have a clear way towards the Nexus Generator.

**

Azure particles floated through the air as Valindra manifested on top of the disk-shaped platform amidst a minor arcane explosion devoid of a shockwave. Before she stepped on, she clasped her hands around the handle of her wand pistol, but now she felt a bit foolish as three corpses decorated the room on the bottom central level. A stygian whose neck completely twisted as she laid on her abdomen; a fellow skielfrith who emanated necrotic energies left behind by a death spell and a naurdian whose eyes were bleeding with her brain juice and a hole adorned the center of her forehead with a few burnt snow blonde tresses.

She quickly passed by the corpses, sensing hideous energies lingering, wafting through the air fresh and mountainous as if she still stood outside thanks to the vast duct system and the filter enchantments woven into the galvanized metal they are made up of, creating a pleasant temperamental climate within the recesses – now littered with the gorgeous corpses of the Black Roses whom Agent 026 mowed down like an agitated bear or dragon.  

Walking through the wide section leading straight towards the thick metal gate separating her from the Nexus Point, Valindra ditched the suffocating necktie and unbuttoned the luminous red shirt while raising her Aurdini Type-IX wand pistol with a mahogany frame which stretches from the handle up to the half point of the pistol’s dim purplish metallic frame of angular contour. On the sides feathered carvings decorated the sides while the rectangular barrel was engraved with a strengthening enchantment besides the silencing, an enchantment which elevated spells to a higher grade.

With her index finger wrapped around the trigger, mana flowing into it, her eyes lit up and at once she saw a faint silhouette of a wicked, infernal red crouching down, busy with assembling something on the ground beyond the thick door of pure adramantyrium. A metal used for protective measures as it can withstand the onslaught of multiple high-grade spells; nearly impenetrable by spatial magic and it even contains the tempestuous energies occupying the Nexus Generator – the little that slips past the rune carven glass and metal container.

Knowing the unstable nature of the core, Valindra aimed downwards at Agent 026’s ankles. The high-grade mana bullet silently exited the rectangular barrel and soared through the air, tore through the layers of adramantyrium within seconds. Seconds which proved enough for Agent 026 to notice the harmful arcane object of a pure arcana approaching, its speed picking up every two meters until it resembled a miniscule falling star soaring across the night sky. And like one it landed in the metallic floor creating a noticeable crater where Agent 026’s boots slit at the toes adding to her bestial appearance.

The changeling assassin wore a tight fitted bodysuit resembling at first glance the old, boiled leather panoply of assassins except it had the fluidity and durability of modern ones. A one piece ending dull – compared to the Black Roses’ dragonid leather – garment piece with a collar, vaguely furling while the shoulders a bit over extended at the edges where they stiffly hung over and cast their menacing shadow over the sleeves’ tightly brushing against the pallid arms. At the ends of those, a glove grew forth the round, vambrace ornated cuffs, ending in infernal metallic, coarse claws. Just from looking at them, she knew and regretted discarding the borrowed coat.

“It seems like I missed one.” Agent 026 said in her sonorous, raspy voice. Her eyes – two white pearls in a pond of abyssal darkness – focused on Valindra entering through the aperture created by her mana bullet. A miscalculation and another regret as she hastily left out from her calculation that whilst the mana bullet would remain silent, the door it tore through not so much. Valindra remained silent, a deeper, almost boreal blue joining in with the icy shade of her face as she neared towards the engine.

For a moment, one of her eyes averted its vigilant gaze from Agent 026 and onto the small device containing a piece of reviling stone brought forth the Stygian Realms. A shard which emanated wicked miasma seeping into her soul and elevated her primal desires, anger and bloodlust over common sense, her remorse and guilt hiding in the recesses of her mind, walled off by her duties. “Isn’t it wonderful? A piece of my Patron brought forth the Obsidian Wall those deplorable Gods erected thousands of years ago. Give in and let your true self be free from the cage placed upon by your slavers.”

As she resisted against the taint slithering its way into her mind, smothering her thoughts, her finger slipped onto the trigger and with the last ounce of her will, poured enough mana to conjure forth a medium grade mana bullet within the chamber of the pistol. A mana bullet which quickly penetrated through the thigh of Agent 026 who let out a sibilant growl unbecoming of her handsome face.

Though the wound remained not for long as her dark flesh beneath the pale skin grew back, the shattered bone rejoined into itself whilst she got down on all four like a great beast exuding a menacing aura. “So be it!” Both aware that soon the trail of corpses shall be discovered prepared to finish their bout with one strike.

Agent 026’s eyes darted left and right, up and down as she pondered on the target of her killing strike. The thought of using death magic lingered in the far threshold of her mind, but her bestial instincts alerted her, telling that Valindra was more than a guard of the Academy. She felt a familiar, infernal scent lingering in her soul, one not latched onto by another infernal lord. One greater than her Patron.

Valindra herself calmed herself, and readied her arm. Her decision came onto the forehead as that was always a sure point to end one’s existence. Mana formed, swirled within the arcane point occupying the anima space of her astral head, from there it flowed down towards her arms, pouring a few myriad inscriptions into the pistol’s handle, including an eidetic spell which augmented the forming bullet with a honing trait as she gaged the soul wave-length of Agent 026.

Minutes passed which felt like an eternity to Valindra as the two stood face to face like statues frozen in time. Agent 026 twisted and overlapping layers appeared on her arms while a bestial growl and saliva dripped from her darkened lips while her teeth grew into jagged fangs. Within seconds, she leapt across the long distance between themselves and landed atop Valindra who missed her shot.

Then blood mixed in with her saliva whilst the pain of cold metal gnawing slenderly through her tendon and bone spread across her body. Her lids slowly grew heavier and it proved a struggle to keep them open as she stared down at the dagger which materialized in Valindra’s free hand, piercing into her right bosom. “Disgusting.” In her vain efforts to congratulate Valindra, she spit an unhealthy dose of blood on the skielfrith agent before her soul was dragged away by searing hands.

She threw the corpse to the right and swiftly got on her feet whilst a layer of cleansing water – a bit gelatinous in appearance – poured forth her pale palm. After she cleansed her face, she grabbed the small device and pressed the pentagonal button closing it down, then heaved a sigh whilst walking towards the elevator. Though before she could step into, her hands clamped over her ears as the alarm began its near deafening tune awakening the remaining guard.

Reaching into her personal pocket void, she pulled out a small device which hurled her across space in a stomach-churning fashion…

Author's Note:

And the last one for this story. With Valindra following a trail of Black Rose corpses and finally confronts the hunter, a changeling - because the one thing I forgot was coming up with a race for Agent 026.

Also, originally I was thinking of just her following a trail of trussed up Black Roses, but I wanted to add a bit of layer to Agent 026 - eventhough she ended up dead in the end. But still, it will serve as a sort of framework how I shall proceed with the agents, spies and assassins working for the Cabal [will probably have a different name in the future].

Speaking of ideas, at some point I was also thinking of connecting a bit more firmly this story to Merry Times, making Agent 026 to be the one working with the Golden Dawn. And there are similarities, but for the moment I leave this question unanswered.

Now for the future. For the end of October I have the four short stories, each varyingly horroresque and three inspired by some of my favorite horror short stories, one an introduction to the Azure Peaches, the franchoin military sect of Myelia with a returning villain protagonist both running into each other in one of the many former residences of Daemerios.

Beyond that, as mentioned, these types of long stories will come somewhat out of the blue, and will focus on the Cabal and the various spies like Astrydril or Valindra and co thwarting them [or not] whilst the shorter long stories will focus more on expanding other facet, organizations, characters, events of the world.

And with that, I shall conclude the rambling. Thank you for reading this all and hope you all have a nice day, evening and october till I upload again!

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