Chapter 49

Tears streamed down Secundus's face, the sight of her brother's body driving her to despair. She lurched forward with a small whimper, intending to remove him from the obsidian prison., Wil's iron grip gripped her shoulder and halted her before she could take more than one step forward.

“Be careful, Secundus. A single drop could see you joining their number. Promise that you will leave this to me." Wil said, his piercing gaze pinning her to the ground. With a hesitant nod, she assented to his demand.

Wil stepped forward, cautiously observing the imprisoned gods. Each wore an expression of despair and agony, silently staring at nothing as if they were frozen in time.

He walked down the line, pausing at the Elvish Goddess. Carefully, he reached forward, placing his fingertips gently against her pale skin. Her flesh was cool and felt like stone beneath his hand, lacking in mana and vitality. It could have been a statue if it wasn't for the tar leaking from a wound pierced into her side, from which rivulets of black liquid ran down her legs, combining with the Obsidian, before flowing to the ocean.

Closing his eyes, Wil focused his senses, seeking a connection, attempting to follow the link between this elvish Goddess and Erebus. He would not attempt to remove them until he was sure of the consequences of his actions. He sought to close the portal, not alert the Outsider of their meddling before they were prepared.

The creature from beyond the Aether was already pushing towards their realm, the barrier nearly failing to keep it out.

Questing with his senses, he searched, aware of the crying Secundus behind him. Wil stood with his eyes closed for long minutes until he finally found what he was looking for. Severing the connection, he stepped backwards, opened his eyes, and rushed to Primaris. Repeating the process, Wil found what he sought much more quickly.

"They're alive." He whispered, disbelief tinging his tone.

"What?" Secundus asked, about to step forward when she remembered her promise to Wil.

"They’re alive.” He repeated. “They’re in some kind of stasis, kept on the edge of death.” Wil said, stepping away and returning to the Goddess.

“We must free them!” She said, looking to Wil with urgency.

“They’re linked together with Erebus, and through her, to the Outsider. I could feel its presence lurking in their shared connection.” Wil said, his voice trailing off as he examined the problem.

“If it will alert the Outsider…” Secundus said before her voice filled with resolve. “I will hold the Outsider off while you free the others. Take them away. With luck, they will recover, and you can all end this.” She said, already gathering her power around her. Blue light covered her body, her pale skin glowing in the light.

Wil looked up from his contemplation with alarm at her actions. In a blink, he was beside her, his hand pressing down on her shoulder.

Secundus wasn’t sure what he did, but his power suppressed her, disrupting the flow of her mana. The light surrounding her winked out, leaving them both in darkness again.

“I won’t let anyone else I care about die, Secundus. There is another way that doesn’t involve sacrificing yourself.” Wil said his voice firm.

“What way? Leave with the others while you face the Outsider? I cannot break the connection between Erebus and her captives. Only you can accomplish that task. It has to be me, Wil.” She whispered.

“No, it doesn’t.” Wil said, wrapping his mana around her. It pressed against her like a heavy blanket, restricting her movements and leaving her powerless. Secure with the knowledge that she could not interfere, Wil stepped towards the Goddess of the Black Moon. Behind him, Secundus struggled against her restraints, her calls to him unheard.

Erebus hung suspended in the Obsidian, her beautiful face filled with rage and pain. He couldn’t muster any pity for the trapped Goddess as her betrayal had brought this disaster upon them. Wil wasn’t sure of her motivation. For what price had she sold out her realm?

Standing below her, he slowly reached out, brushing his fingertips lightly against her skin. Immediately, he felt the life pulse within her, nearly entirely subsumed by the connection to the Outsider. It had infected her, granting her additional power to maintain the portal before slowly drowning her in tar.

She was alive, like the others, trapped in stasis, her consciousness gone and fled deep within her. For Wil’s plan to work, he would need to replace her link with the Outsider with one of his own.

“Erebus,” Wil whispered, his voice carrying through the darkness. At his call, the ocean of tar rippled. It plunged through her subconscious, ringing through the blackness and attempting to dislodge the infection's firm hold over her.

“Erebus,” Wil repeated, this time louder. The tar boiled, and waves began to form, crashing onto the shore. The Obsidian surrounding him began to hum and vibrate. The trapped Goddess’s face, fixed and unchanging, slowly softened, and time began to affect her once more. In the blackness of her thoughts, lights sparkled, gold and crimson.

“Eerebus!” Wil shouted, and geysers of black tar exploded skyward. The black moon rumbled, the earth shaking all around them. Cracks formed in the Obsidian, and splinters of black rock crashed to the ground. The wind howled, sweeping across the sky, creating a keening wail that oscillated with the stones humming.

Suddenly, the sounds quieted, the shaking ceased, and the howling wind died. In utter silence, Erebus slowly open her eyes, seeing the world around her again.

Before Erebus was a white-haired young man wearing beautiful robes, unstained by tar or dirt, he was elegant and handsome, a noble who seemed untouched by the corruption around him, ethereal and ghostly.

“I know you.” Erebus whispered through parched lips. She winced at the unfamiliar feeling of speaking.

“Brookmoor…you are the one who we were warned of.” She said, staring at him in confusion. Why was he here, on her moon? What had happened? Did he trap her here? As if reading her thoughts, Wil answered her silently asked questions.

“Your master has betrayed you, Erebus. The Outsider is responsible for your current plight. I’m here to offer you a Pact.” Wil said, his face expressionless.

“You lie…” She whispered, trying to put anger and hatred in her voice, but she was too weak, too tired to feel those emotions. Why would her master do this? She had given the Outsider everything, all that she was. What purpose would trapping her here serve?

“Regardless of whether you believe me, I will offer you a Pact,” Wil said, his eyes flaring crimson in the darkness. His face took on a more devilish demeanour, his slightly open mouth revealing pointed canines and a double row of teeth. Within him, his hunger roiled, urging him to feed.

“You’re going to die, Erebus. Even if I do nothing, your time has come. Our Pact is this. I will free you, purify your divinity, and take it into myself. You will die to be reborn through the endless cycle of reincarnation. In return, you will show me how you opened the portal, allowing me to take control of it.” Wil offered.

Erebus scoffed, her voice tiny against his. She knew who he was. How dare a mortal offer her a Pact! She was about to retort when he continued.

“If you do not accept, I will consume everything you are: your body, mind…your soul. I will devour your divinity, leaving you with nothing. You will exist…as a part of me.” Wil said, and he smiled. Erebus shivered at his expression. The horrible teeth, the lack of emotion, and that feeling of hunger beneath it all. All consuming, unending desire.

Erebus shivered, turning her eyes from the Devil before her, seeing her sister behind him.

“Secundus! Please, sister, help me! Free me, and I will help you. We can stop this creature and serve the One together! Please!” She whimpered. She lost hope as Secundus turned away, tears leaking down her cheeks. Secunudus knew Erebus was beyond hope. There was nothing to be redeemed.

“Choose, Erebus.” Wil said, his eyes never leaving her face.

“The One will destroy you, Brookmoor.” She spat. She struggled to move, to strike him down. At her response, Wil smiled, his hunger howling with delight.