29 Darkness inside the Ligh

"Finally, some signs of life" John muttered. He was walking for at least one hour until he heard some noise from the distance. He took the compass again from his pocket to check his coordinates and only then he decided to rest for a little.

'I am lucky that Elven's magnetic field is similar to that of the planet in my memories or else I would have never managed to create this invention. I thought that maybe I would need it in this forest, but how could I expect that it would help me so much' he thought and then he took a glass bottle from his backpack. He seemed to hesitate for a little whether to open it or not. While he was struggling to make a decision, sudden shouts sounded near to him.

"First lieutenant, it seems that there is nothing here" a voice was heard.

"Alright... Let's check one more time before we return. You don't have to be in a hurry, the princess told me that we'll pass the night in the forest."

Upon hearing what they said, John finally opened the bottle and he placed it carefully on the ground. He counted silently to ten and then he opened his mouth...

"Help! Help me!"

It didn't take more than two seconds and in front of him, several knights had already been gathered.

"It's the brother of that guy!"

"The one who had disappeared? What is he doing here?"

"Enough! Move over and let me see" a loud voice suddenly interjected. John looked carefully at the approaching man. He was familiar with him so he didn't have any problem recognizing him. The moment he saw his blond hair as well as his arrogant expression, he immediately knew that it couldn't be anyone else other than the first lieutenant of Company A, Bryan de Bruce.

"You are alive?" Bryan asked with some amazement.

"Cough... Cough... Please, give me some food or water" John begged as he fell on his knees. The knights were dumbfounded. It shouldn't be more than six hours that the boy had disappeared, but his miserable appearance made him look like he had been missing for at least some years.

Bryan shook his head with doubt before turning his head towards one knight

"Tell Mac and Jake to come here with the supplies"

"Yes sir" the knight replied with a loud voice.

They waited for a few minutes when the three men appeared, carrying two large bags. After giving some food and water to the boy, Bryan couldn't endure it anymore and he opened again his mouth.

"Can you talk now?"

"Yes sir, but maybe it would be better to talk privately..."

The first lieutenant nodded almost immediately and then he signaled to the surrounding knights that they should move a little farther from them.

"You can start..."

"Honestly sir, most of my memories have already been erased, but it seems that at least Ι managed to find my way in time. The only thing that I seem to recall was a strange symbol that portrayed a strange black gate wrapped in flames..."

"What! What did you say?" Bryan's face changed color when he heard what the youth said

"I said that I saw a strange symbol that portrayed a strange black gate wrapped in flames... It seems that the first lieutenant knows what it is?"

"Shut up! I ask the questions. Do you remember anything else?" the knight asked angrily.

"No..." John replied as he shook his head.

Bryan closed his eyes for a little and then he shouted.

"I have determined that the person here is an impostor. He probably has something to do with the disappearances. Kill him immediately" the moment he said that, he unsheathed his sword and got into a fighting stance. The rest of the group were perplexed by the command they were given, but they had to follow it with no questions.

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"Why?" John asked in fright

The blond knight didn't answer, he slashed the youth's body without the slightest hesitation, but his sword passed through his body like it was made of air. The boy that until now was standing in front of him, disappeared like he was a ghost.

"Where is he? Everyone, be careful.."

The knights didn't need the instructions of their lieutenant to see that something was wrong. Everyone was alarmed by what transpired previously. A soft voice suddenly sounded in the area.

"The past three days, many things happened that were out of my expectations, so I started to lose confidence in myself, but at least you didn't disappoint me, Bryan de Bruce"

"Shut up and come out" Bryan shouted anxiously, but in reality, he was calm inside. He tried to determine the position of his enemy from the direction of the voice, but the fog was making it difficult for him. What made him truly realize the gravity of the situation was what transpired next.

"Cough... Cough.."

A knight suddenly started to cough violently. When he finally stopped, a stream of blood was flowing from his mouth. As an experienced warrior, Bryan naturally didn't think that it was a coincidence.

"Its poison. Stop breathing and retreat immediately."

Unfortunately, it was too late. They didn't even have time to be organized before they started to collapse one after another. By now, Bryan had already realized that he fell into a trap. He tried to support himself with the help of his sword and with some difficulty he managed to slowly open his mouth.

"Who you truly are?"

The boy slowly emerged out of the fog and talked.

"It doesn't matter who am I, but what your real identity is... For now, I will ask you some questions and you'll answer them. I know already that you are a member of Erebus, but considering how easily you were exposed, you shouldn't be in high position. How about telling me who gives you orders?"

"I was exposed? How?" Bryan asked in shock

"I am the one who asks questions, but since I am in a good mood, I'll answer this as your last wish before you die. When I revealed in public that I was a servant of the Marquess House, I was expecting someone like you to try to prize information out of me or even worse, attempt to bump me off. Naturally, since you were the one who tried to interact first with me, you were the most suspicious one. Honestly, I wasn't sure about my conjecture, but your previous actions verified it. You didn't suspect me until the very end. Do you want to know why?"

John didn't wait to receive an answer as he was the one who replied to his question.

"It was because of my brother. He is a person that for better or worse, he attracts too much attention. Someone who wants to hide something, wouldn't stay near to somebody like him, right? That's what you thought subconsciously and that's what your mistake was too. The best way to deceive others is not to stand out in any way, but I can tell you that this is impossible. Even if you try to hide in the darkness, you are bound to be discovered one day. However, if you stay near to a light that is so bright that it's glaring the others, it also prevents them from noticing your existence. Vladimir is the light and me the darkness. I am the darkness inside the light...."

The blond knight looked at the youth with horror. He had never expected that he would play into the hands of someone.

"You can't kill me! I am the son of a Duke!" Bryan shouted with desperation.

"We are in the Forest of the Lost Memories, a place where anyone can disappear at any time. The question is if you want a painless death or..." the moment he said that he took out another glass bottle from his backpack and showed it to the powerless knight.

"Its name is ambrosia. I am sure that you know what it is since its a specialty of Erebus. A miraculous drug that makes its victim to hallucinate. The problem is that when you are affected, you see your worst nightmares. I have been a professional assassin for ten years and I have never met anyone that managed to resist its effects. All of them answered hurriedly to our questions so that we could put an end to their misery. Shall we begin? What will you choose..."