Chapter 302: Shattered Jar

Cerlius frowned as he knocked on Doevm's door for the third time. "Are you in there, brother?" There was still no response.

'He must still be angry,' he thought. There was even a new crack in the door, as if someone had struck it with all their might.

"Cerlius," Eric called out as he walked down the narrow halls of the Draken household. He always strutted around the place as if it was his home too. It practically was. He spent more time there than he did at the War Monks' monastery. "Are you as bored as I am?"

Eric pulled his white hood back. Two bags sat below his tired brown eyes. Cerlius never asked how Eric had gotten his many scars. The apprentice War Monk had accidentally let it slip while describing how he had painstakingly built up his large muscles. The bald head and pale skin on the other hand, Cerlius always made sure to poke fun at them.

Cerlius shrugged. "How can I not be bored? Father said his lecture would take an hour. It's been two. Your masters must have a lot of questions." He knocked for a fourth time on his brother's door but all was quiet. "Come on brother. I know you're just studying and trying to ignore me."

"He's probably still mad after the prank," Eric shrugged. He motioned for his friend to follow and walked away.

"Probably," Cerlius kicked the door before following his friend over to the vacant classrooms. He sat in his usual spot, in one of the desks at the back. Eric, however, didn't sit. He pried open a hidden hatch in the floor, the one only he and Cerlius knew about.

"You coming?" Eric asked. "You and I didn't make this for looks."

"Where are we going?" Cerlius asked. He walked to Eric's side and peered down the old hatch. "Father grounded me for our prank. He'd kill me if I went to the Underground."

"He can't get mad if we're not going to the Underground." Eric tapped the side of his head. "Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do since only War Monks and the goddess are allowed to watch your father's presentation."

"This only leads to the Underground," Cerlius grumbled. Eric ignored him and dragged him by the wrist. They had dug the secret passageway at age six using their respective abilities, but a year's passage had made it tougher for their bulkier bodies to squeeze through.

"You will want to hurry." Eric pulled at Cerlius's thin wrist as they maneuvered through dirt and jagged stone.

"I'm more focused on the pain," Cerlius groaned as he tried to yank his arm free. "You're going to break my arm with that gorilla grip of yours. I'm a normal mage remember."

"Oh, sorry." Eric's grip lessened but he didn't let go.

They traveled onwards. Their limbs bruised and their clothes dirtied. They cut through blockages, overgrown roots from the many swamp trees above. Eric would frequently look back as if Cerlius would vanish at any moment, but never seemed to look him in the eyes.

"Just you wait Cerlius. You won't regret the trip." Eric could run a mile without getting sweaty. Cerlius's reddened wrist was slick with the War Monk's cold sweat. Or that may have just been the occasional pool of swamp water.

Cerlius knew their secret tunnel as a one-way path to the Underground. The path however, branched off. Eric turned down the unfamiliar opening and slid down a large cave wall. From there the new path forked. To the left was back the way they came, a direct route back to the house. Straight ahead, Cerlius had no idea where that went.

"Damn," Cerlius's voice echoed. "How long did this take you to make? It seems almost unnecessary how huge this is, since it'll only be the two of us using it. Why didn't you ask me for help?"

Eric sighed and a small magic circle appeared over his shoulder. He pushed mana through it and a small orb of holy light emerged on the other side. "I had all the help I needed. Cerlius, what did your father tell you about his discovery? What do you think of it?"

Cerlius took a few more moments to look around. "All I know is that it's not really magic, even though it's called soul magic. He doesn't let me learn about it. To be honest I'm not as passionate about the arcane as him or Doevm." He got into a stance and threw a couple punches into the air. "I think I want to try my hand at the sword and go into a dungeon or something. Maybe become a knight."

Eric slowly pulled his hood over his face. He seemed to stand there, contemplating something in the darkness of his own white robe. He stepped closer. The orb grew brighter. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you sure that's all you know? You never asked him or anything like that?"

Cerlius gently pushed the hand away, remembering the painful grip. "What's with you? This tunnel must have taken you months, yet you'd rather talk about soul magic than show it off. I want to see this to the end."

"Very well," Eric smiled and stepped back. "You're right. I can always ask my mentors later about soul magic. Why would your father give a lecture if not to share that kind of stuff?"

Cerlius nodded. "Exactly."

"So swords huh?" Eric chuckled as he resumed his walk down the perpendicular path, away from the house.

"What?" Cerlius sounded indignant. "Swords are cool."

"If you say so," Eric shrugged with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I don't need one but you definitely will if you're as good a swordsman as you are at magic."

"Hey I'm good at magic," Cerlius suddenly thought of tripping the War Monk, but Eric would always win if it was a physical altercation.

"You can't even sense other people."

"Shut up!"

The passageway continued onwards, never changing, never ending. Somewhere along the line, something tugged at the back of Cerlius's mind. It was like there was something hiding in the darkness, just outside of his view.

"Ok I give up. Where does the tunnel lead to?" Cerlius slowed down and rubbed his sore feet. "Father might be done with his presentation any minute now, so we should head back."

Eric stopped and put his hands on his hips. He looked ahead into the unending darkness, and his orb of light dimmed. "There is no place where this tunnel ends. There's just a rock that covers a hole to the surface."

"For a stupid rock?" Cerlius cocked his head to the side. "Is that where you're taking me? That doesn't sound very fun." He let out a nervous chuckle and took a step back.

"We're friends right?" Eric asked, his voice shaking.

"Y-yeah," Cerlius looked around. No one was there. No one knew where he was.

"Keep walking." Eric said, but it was more like an order. He walked on.

Cerlius followed five paces behind. It wasn't out of trust. In fact he could barely stop himself from turning around and running back home. He rubbed his sore wrist and his hand curled into a fist. 'I've never seen him so distraught before. Whatever happened, whoever did this to him, I need to find out. He's always been there for me, and now it's time I be there for him.'

Ten minutes passed.

"Do you need help?" Cerlius asked. "Did you get in trouble with the War Monks? I can help if something's wrong. Talk to me."

Eric let out a sad laugh. "There is no help now. Keep walking."

"No," Cerlius stopped. "You need to explain why this tunnel has been going on for so long yet we're not even close to the end. Let me help you. Whatever this is, you're going about this in the wrong way."

"I never expected us to get out of this tunnel." Eric replied, his head lowering. "The exit is a hundred miles away."

"H-hundred?" Cerlius could hardly believe he was friends with such an idiot. "Why the hell did you dig a tunnel for so long? There is no way you did this on your own. Who helped you do this?"

"My masters," Eric said as he finally turned around. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "They wanted to get you as far away as possible so that your father couldn't detect you anymore. I begged my masters to give you a chance."

In a single leap the War Monk closed the five pace gap between him and Cerlius. He grabbed his friend's wrist, hard, and looked him in the eyes. Cerlius witnessed pure fear, fear which had been beaten into him. "Please." Eric sounded as though he was begging for his life. "Just give me a little more time. Tell me everything you learned about soul magic right now!" His grip tightened until Cerlius's bones creaked.

"Alright. I've had enough of this. You're freaking me out." Cerlius went for a shove. Eric stepped to the side and used the momentum to slam him to the ground. Before Cerlius could call upon his magic, something harder than flesh clamped around his wrists. His mana was sealed. "Eric, what are you doing?" Cerlius struggled and flailed and screamed. "Eric? Eric! Get off of me!"

Five towering figures dressed in red robes emerged from the wall. They were surrounded. "Cerlius..." Eric was shaking. "just tell me what you know about soul magic and you can be spared." He knelt in front of his only friend, only needing one hand to keep him down.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry this had to happen, but you can save yourself." He forced a smile through all his tears. The small orb of light floated to the ceiling. Cerlius didn't see his friend's face any longer, just a dark hood, just like the rest of red robed War Monks.

One of the red War Monks stepped forward, dragging behind a beaten and bound Doevm - alive, if just barely. "The goddess shall not listen to this boy's half-truths," his bellowing voice echoed loud as thunder. "No threat to her life shall be allowed to live."

"Brother!" Cerlius screamed as the War Monk slipped a gag over his mouth.

"Liars!" Eric stepped in front of Cerlius and got into a stance. "You said you'd hear him out. You all swore on your lives, on the holy book!"

Another War Monk stepped forward and a golden life essence emanated from him: "Our lives belong to the goddess, the very being threatened by this "soul magic". Eric Guildri, unless you wish to join the Draken siblings in their fate, drag Cerlius along. We need to interrogate him."

Eric looked down at his friend. Cerlius struggled against the bindings. Eric looked back to the five War Monks, his masters. He slowly got out of his stance, knelt next to Cerlius, and reeled back a fist. "I'm sorry," he cried. "Sleep now." The fist cracked against Cerlius's skull. Everything went black.

…

"Does anyone see that black thread?" Thomas asked. The three disciples were covered in muck from the tunnel below. They had snuck through the Underground, and subsequently the tunnel in the dead of night. He didn't know where he was, but he recognized Doevm's magic in the black thread. He looked to both Elero and Frey, who shook their heads. Thomas took a deep breath, aimed his crossbow at one of thousands of jars spiraling high above his head, and fired.

The damaged jar, which had slowly been tearing itself apart over time, finally shattered. At that very same moment, the beam of destruction hit.