Secret Hallway

The door slowly opened with a squeak. Taking a peek inside, he illuminated the entrance with a ball of fire. “Anybody at home?” He whispered. Proceeding to open the door wholly as a breeze made a dust of cloud cover his face. Coughing, he swung his arm around for a while. Eventually the dust settled and a giggle made him direct his eyes towards the source.

It was Rin standing outside at the orange sky with watery blue eyes, she was covering her mouth with a smile as bright as the sunset.

Turning back towards the darkness, face burning yet fingers icy cold, he thought. So much for telling her to be as stealthy as me…

Shrugging, he stepped inside first without care and with each footstep he took, a loud cracking sound squeaked from the brittle wooden floor.

Looking around, he found parts of the ceiling covering the floor with thick wooden pillars. It seems that the ceiling of the second floor had crumbled into the old house. Stepping over the pile, he searched around together with Rin who followed him, Rin who didn’t have her blindfold anymore as they walked into a dark hall.

“Find anything?” He asked, peeking through the tiny gaps of the barricaded doors in the hall.

“Nothing yet” she answered, scrubbing her nose from the tingling dust and then sneezed.

“Shorry”, She sniffed.

He chuckled, “I know, it’s hard to breath and even my nose is starting to run from the thick dust. But you’ll get used to it... Besides, it seems that no one is here”. He said, taking another step deeper into the hall. A lightning then struck through his mind, causing him to mutter. “Dust… hmm... Dust?.”

He crouched down, inspecting the dusty floor with his fire, he smiled. “Good work apprentice. Now follow me” he beckoned Rin with a tilted head, realising that they didn’t have to search throughout the whole house at all. They entered one doorless room after another, eventually standing at front of a door with wooden planks barricading it.

“The footprints leads to this place” he said, inspecting the door as Rin held his cloak, hands shivering as she gazed into the darkness behind them once in a while.

“Afraid?”

“Uh, no… Just imagining things”

Eyebrows raised, he faced the door and inspected the wooden planks. Covering his body in mana, he tapped the door a few times whilst glancing at Rin once in a while. He had to make sure that there was no trap, though Rin’s actions worried him as she was still peeking into the darkness behind them, the darkness that was soon after scorching with blazing fire.

“No one is there, besides… I believe we have found the entrance.” He said, extinguishing the flame and gently pushed the door open.

“It seems that the barricade was a camouflage.” He pointed at the end of the wooden planks, the planks which were nailed onto the door frame and was not connected with the planks stuck on the door.

Nodding, she held his hand as he casted a new Fireball as a torch hovering above his other palm.

Standing there as a gentle gust of cold breeze blew past them, he pondered, Imagining things? Has it something to do with the Royal Eyes? He shook his head and brought the flame forward. Revealing a circular staircase, leading further into the depths shrouded in darkness.

He took the first steps down, hand still holding Rin’s as he illuminated the stairs. Not noticing that Rin once again took a look behind them, behind at the door that closed with a gentle and silent thud.

She tightened her grip, causing Tony’s hand to redden. Yet he continued to walk down the stairs without glancing at her. Mostly because he could not shake the recent thoughts out of his head. While the other reason was that he was now in full alert. Making sure to sense if there was any disturbance with the flow of mana within the vicinity.

Everything has mana in them, if I cannot see what she can see, I should be able to sense it… Hopefully… But it still hurts...

With each careful step that echoed into the depths, the ball of fire flickered, whilst the chill covering his skin got colder. Cold enough for his breath to turn into vapor of white smoke, they eventually took the last step onto the underground floor.

He fired the fireball slowly forward into the total darkness. Revealing a half crumbled hallway with walls made out of cobblestone and a smooth floor yet filled with cracks and footprints from the dust.

Taking a look behind them before venturing forth. Rin asked “Where are we?”

“I’m just as confused as you are, apprentice. But it seems we are in some kind of underground pathway?… No matter, we’ll just have to tread carefully.” He said, frowning as he burned down the spider threads that tingled his cheeks.

Nodding, she followed beside him through the hallway with a few wooden doors at the side. Walking on the tattered and dusty red carpet, they passed a few statues covered in dust together with ripped paintings on the floor beside the wall. As they did, they silently opened one door after another, which all revealed to be mostly the same, in a worn and broken state just like the hallway.

“Apprentice, let’s ignore the rooms. And don’t forget to tell me if you notice anything” He said, deciding that searching through the rooms were just a waste of time.

She nodded and they kept walking through the dark hallway, eventually they stood at the middle of a crossroad. Crouching down, he inspected the footprints as a hot breeze behind his neck made him shudder towards the source. It was Rin who hugged him as she threw glances into the darkness around them.

He sighed, The unknown is man’s greatest enemy? Should I call it a day and find another way to earn some money? No… half of the day I’ve spent shouldn’t be for waste.

Patting Rin’s head, he picked her up onto his arms and continued deeper into the unknown hallways as the fireball flickered above his head. Moving around for another minute a noise of someone speaking could be heard from the distance. It sounded like a speech that echoed through the hallway, but they could not or rather he could not hear what it was about, since it was still too far to make out the content of the voices. Luckily, Rin confirmed that someone was holding a speech.

Nodding towards her, he gently put Rin on her feets and extinguished the fire. Light could be seen. The speech louder than before. They hid behind stone railings carved out to look like angels holding the rails itself. Peeking through the gaps, they gazed onto the floor below filled with people praying in a large nave before the altar as if it was a underground church.

“Look at her! Shivering on the holy altar, excited to be part of our plans!”

Tony gazed around from the side of the room, finding the missing citizens tied near the corner with a rope, also stuffed with their own dirty clothings in their mouth. While a large group consisting of men and women, all clad in brownish robes below the balcony, stood in a rows watching the man at front of the altar who seemed to be of higher status.

A man with a smile and a black robe that clearly differentiating him from the others. His ribs could be seen through the robe and with a face that seemed to have not been stuffed with food for month. He walked around the platform with a altar held by a pair of statues of angels, waving his hands around as if he held a bowl above the air. Ignoring the girl dressed in a white dress that shuddered with her eyes streaming of tears.

Mouth blocked with a piece of cloth, she struggled to get out of the chains that made her wrist burning red. Yet, he continued his speech.

“For years we have covered ourselves in shadows. But that shall be no more comrades! Now that we have finally obtained one, one with their sacred blood flowing through her veins. We can now continue with the next step of our plans!”

He stretched his hands out to the sides behind the altar, the altar surrounded by walls with torches that illuminated the room. “Oh great lord who have been banished, what thou have foreseen, the prophecy given from one follower to the other. Thou wilt that gave our lives meaning! I present thee our sacrifice and savior. Thee sacred blood of the royal bloodline!”

The public cheered as the man swiftly drew a dagger made out of bones. The girl trembled and shook her head, trying to scream to no avail as the chains echoed through the nave.

Twitching, Tony or rather anyone could guess about what they were about to do. He had to take action before the situation become the inevitable. Slightly standing up he found himself still crouching on the floor. Trying to force his body to stand up from the weird gravity that held him in place. He discovered that his hand was stuck tightly with the cold floor.

“What the ****?” He muttered to himself. Frowning, he grabbed the wrist. Using all his strength to pull himself out, he eventually noticed that it was not his palm that was stuck. It was the delicate hands of someone he thought was helping him. Rin who used unimaginable strength held him down, yet also watched the man on the altar.

But before he could question her, he turned his vision towards the man, the man in a black robe had caught his attention.

“Oh great lord! Thou return from banishment has come! Take revenge on those who oppose Thee! I present thee the sacrifices!”, he said, hands above the air with the dagger that left a few red marks on the floor. He then smiled towards the trembling citizens.

Gazing into the gap, he sighed out of relief. It was a wound that Tony could easily heal. The man only slightly cut her wrists, causing the red liquid to drip onto the altar whilst tears gushed out of the girls eyes. Even the stone angels were crying with red tears, as if there were a hidden mechanism that connected the eyes of the angels with the top of the altar.

Either way, he had been given more time. As the blood dripped from the angels, it started to form a pentagram with the help of some carved out path around the altar. He glanced back at Rin, Rin who still held his hand on the cold floor and gazed with tears covering her eyes towards the girl in pain.

He rose his hand that was once glued to the floor. Testing his fingers, he wondered if it was just him imagining that Rin held him down, or that an unknown sickness had taken hold of him, paralyzing him without him knowing.

A breeze made him shudder as he shook his head, he did not have time to ponder about the recent event. He had to save the girl before his reward would be taken away. Shrugging Rin’s hand off with his finger resting on his lips. Rin nodded as he rose from his crouching position and jumped over the railings. Landing beside them, he left Rin safe at the balcony as he confronted the people in robes at front of him. Hoping that he could reason with them.

Gathering mana on his arms beside the group of cultist, he awaited their response. Yet none even threw a glance at him, rather they stood there frozen with their mouth gaping, as if they were an ice block in the middle of a snowstorm.

They were not alone. A cold chill gave goosebumps to Tony as his chest tighten, a rustic smell of blood covered his nose as he gazed upon his trembling arms. The mana on his arms started to waver, flowing towards a disturbance near the altar as if it was being drained. Urged to turn towards the source, the world fell away, drained of all the colors but the source at front of him.

Isn’t that?! I’ve tried to cast one myself, but I could never give it a form! How?

Staring at the large circle at front of the altar. The purple flames on the edges fluttered around as a breeze was sent from the dark hole. Forcing Tony to cover his eyes from the dust as it extinguishing all the torches of the large room, causing the cultist to step backwards together with the wind as the darkness shrouded everything in pitch black.

Taking a peek, he covered his arm in new mana. The portal at front of the altar started to pulsate as it illuminated the room with purple light. Giving the cultists a bright smile as they got down on their knees, praying before the portal that somehow worked for them.

Yet, Tony frowned, slightly bended his knees and pulled his arm together with his upper body backwards. His red cloak started to flutter with wind pulsating outwards from him. With his arms extended towards the floor behind his butt, his eyes bulged with a raging shout. He slashed the air sideways as if he was about to dislocate his shoulder. Creating a crescent as bright as the sun but with a blue tint of the hottest flame.

It soured through the room, pushed everyone backwards and hit the portal.

Panting with his hands resting on his knees, he rose his head and took a peek towards the portal. Did it work?

Eyes wide, a blazing paw had extinguished the spell with its large black claws. A second after the hand extended out of the portal, grabbing the edge to push itself out, giving the cultists tears of joy as Tony trembled. This isn’t good, if what the books in the library says is true, the banished creatures are the worst! What do I do!?

Throwing glances around, he took a step forward but then backed away. Turning to the left, he then turned back and stood at the same position as before. Holding his head, he could not decide if he should confront the unknown creature or leave before it was too late. What made it worse, the creature denied his strongest close range spell.

“Tony! The girl!”

Snapped out of his thoughts, he gazed towards Rin who pointed towards the bleeding girl at the altar behind the portal. Nodding, he used wind magic to run swiftly towards the girl who laid silent on top of the altar. Using precise fire magic, he melted through chains and then created a swirling green ball of light that closed the gaps of the wounds and healed a few burn marks temporarily. Nodding towards Rin, he threw the petite girl towards his apprentice.

Now heading towards the citizens, the cultists stood before him blocking his way with their daggers drawn. They aimed it towards his throat as they bended slightly towards him. The cultists have finally decided that they couldn’t ignore him anymore and tried to retaliate.

Stomping the ground, the floor cracked and extended outwards towards the cultists, causing them to fly back first onto the walls. Sliding slowly from the wall onto the floor, they slept quietly out cold on the floor.

Glancing behind him, another hand had extended out of the portal. Grabbing the edge as it tried to push the rest out.

Clicking his tongue, he cut the rope holding the citizens quiet near the corner. Their eyes glittered as they removed the clothings blocking their mouth. Soon after they started to throw glances around, trying to find a way to escape.

“Help the girl!” Tony shouted, throwing the somewhat confused citizens one by one upwards towards the balcony through wind magic.

Rin who tried to catch them, sidestepped left or right, yet failed miserably as the citizens landed stomach first beside her.

They soon after stood up, checked their stomach with tilted heads, unharmed as Tony had coated their body with a temporarily wind magic that served as a cushion.

Throwing the last person onto the balcony, Tony took a last glance around if he had missed anything. He only found a few wobbling cultists that tried to stand upright, recovering from their slumber.

“Die!” Someone screamed, forcing Tony to turn his sight to the left, finding the cultist of higher status charging towards him with his bloodied bone dagger. Where have you been?! Tony thought, thrusting his hand forward, creating a wind spell that blasted the cultist away.

Or so he thought. The wall to the right shattered, bricks of stone and dust scattered everywhere and stung Tony’s arms that covered his upper body and eyes. Warm liquid covered his hair and cheeks. Something soft bumped onto his head and landed beside him. Taking a peek, a large skinny beast with molten skin whipped arounds its tail as its head was stuck inside the wall. Barely scratching Tony’s cloak, the beast had also created a trail of blazing fire.

Taking his chance, be brushed the blood off his face. Hand covered in red dye, he rocketed himself towards the entrance they came from, leaving the cultists to their doom.

“What are you waiting for?! Go, quickly!” He shouted at the civilians of the slums that held the blonde girl, whilst Rin stood there quietly waiting for him. Yet he quickly realised that it was not pride or honor that caused them to stand there. Without light inside these dark hallways, there was no way for them to return back, at least not unscathed.

Clicking his tongue, he took a last look behind him at the molten like beast, the beast with four blazing paws with claws twice the size of Tony’s head. Skinny yet had a broad upper body filled with muscles and a sharp thorny back. Currently the only source of light in the room, as the portal was gone.

Creating a ball of fire, he grabbed Rin’s hand and ran straight through the civilians. “Follow me! Quickly!” He shouted towards the civilians that would have followed him even if they were not told.

Running away from the depths of the unknown structure, a shriek sent a wind through the hallway. Causing the floor to tremble and the ceilings to barely crumble. It was the start of a race towards the surface.