#iqrus

Sasin

Dawn teased the grey horizon’s edge as Fang stopped the automobile near the soon-to-happen robbery.

Metalsea

Darmon had witnessed the fall of Onidiarath, The God of All Truth, in paralysing terror.

Lonel

The wolf didn’t move from before the grave.

IQRUS

Lero stared at his gold-blood drenched hands, horrified.

The Attraction of Quiet Violence (Metalsea side story)

Looking down from the path to the flying city of Phravan was as utterly terrifying as thrilling.

Infernal Intricacies - One She Had Found, One She Had Lost

Kilion had about two to four hours before he would bleed to death.

Infernal Intricacies - Tidemaiden’s Reprieve

Belathine whirled on her father, wholly prepared to be struck.

The Lad Of Tears (this is actually wholesome okay?)

A Soulbard’s job had never been particularly easy.

Heavenly Decay

A faint whirl of gathering ash drizzled from the black sky.

Her Howl, Her Grief (Lonel in-world short, actually posted here)

Flesh was never meant for worship.

All We Have Is Now (IQRUS short)

Water had always been a pragmatic murderer.

Rot Next To Me (retitled Lonel side story)

The rising sun reminded Salvatore of blood spilt onto the horizon.

Why Does It Taste So Sweet? (Lonel short)

The one thing they most curious about is always the why.

Is It Still You? (Lonel short)

Howler had always been a silent boy.

Dread & Diadem (Lonel short)

Mieselle did not know what it meant to be devoid of emotions.

No Surprises

The historical wine-growing area of Tokaj sprawled before Nóra in an astonishing fusion of rich green flora and pure white wedding ribbons.

Magic Vinly Short (no title yet)

Adran’s jaw – that nauseating, deformed piece of his face where his sharp, shark-like teeth slumbered – clenched together with an ear-shattering crunch. His Evolved hand closed over Dane’s neck with ease. It seemed so tiny compared to his clawed arms that Dane tried to draw blood from with his weak fingers. To no avail, however. The scales that grew over Adran’s translucent, slithery skin could stop lasers from slicing them through. A mere scratch of a human being was not near to harming him.

Adran’s neck twitched as he saw his brother’s tears escaping from the side of his face.

“Ad…ran…” he forced out the letters with the air that rushed out from his lungs but couldn’t get back anymore. His face slowly turned into the purple of the sunset behind him. “Fight… it…”

ɪᴛ ɪs ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ɪɴsᴇᴄᴛ.

He watched Dane struggle, desperation and terror pooling into his ocean-blue eyes. No. ʏᴇs. His brother let out a gutwrenching cry as Adran’s claws tightened, his neck bruising visibly. No! NO!

ʏᴇs, ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴍɪɴᴇ. ɪᴛ ɪs ᴛɪᴍᴇ.

Electric shockwaves ran down across his skin, right into his bones, the little sparkles popping up here and there in the ooze that dripped from his whole body. His mind had been out of his reach, thick fog and froth washing Adran farther away from himself. Numbness sunken him deeper and deeper locking him into a dark corner of his existence. He’d seen his grotesque, eight feet tall self lifting Dane higher through an old screen, not his eyes. He was lost. He was doing what was best.

It was the best for Her. And so it could be the best for the world as well.

Adran saw what he was doing. Through a screen. Through… he saw his arms and a scar on the sensitive skin between two lines of scales.

A scar.

ɴᴏɴsᴇɴsɪᴄᴀʟ.

His scar.

ᴀsɪɴɪɴᴇ.

The scar he got when he saved Dane. From falling. From dying. He stirred in his numbness. Adran looked down at Dane’s remnant of his mechanic leg. He ripped it out of their fitting. He trashed in the shadows of his mind, trashed for air and freedom.

He was choking Dane. The one he saved and has scarred himself for. Dane lost his leg that day, the day he got his scar. When they were kids. He saved him. From falling. From dying. His Dane.

Adran looked at his gagging, deepening red face.

At his little brother.

NO!

Adran’s mind buzzed and whirled, it melted and bled as he screamed his throat raw when he finally forcefully took the control back over his body. He immediately let Dane go, then with his eyes jumping everywhere at an insane speed, he turned around to look at the source of this bone-crushing unease, this madness.

At Icharo Astin, The Golden Prophet.

He couldn’t describe the guttural loathing that his form presented under the golden robe, and he didn’t try to. With the thin thread he could grab of his sanity, Adran charged towards The Golden. The vessel’s floor thumped under his large, oily feet, the air around him resonating and tearing apart. The Golden did not move as if he was sculpted from stone-cold confidence. He stood there as the grand statue of lunatics. He was indestructible. Death couldn’t lay a hand on him.

Adran, however, was worse than death.

And so he broke through the invisible, yet crushing resistance that this man’s, this monster’s cosmic protection had lifted before him. There was a slight hint of surprise in The Golden’s unreadable, faceless expression when Adran soundlessly roared at him and began to rip him out of existence. He surprised a God, after all. ᴅᴇsᴛʀᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ᴅᴇsᴛʀᴏʏ. ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟꜰ. Adran felt an endless shock of pain in his core, in his bones, in his mind. He started bleeding from everywhere as he sucked the skin, the bone, the life out of The Golden before him.

What he was consuming, was a part of him already. And he couldn’t bear it. It was too much for his body.

Jarring gurgling exploded from The Golden’s mouth. Deafening agony resonated in the air, as both he and Adran shrieked.

Vibrant red and sparkling gold blood bled onto the floor, pooling under them.

Yet, Adran had only one thing stuck in his mind. One thing he was holding onto; that last thread of sanity. Golden-red blood oozed from his face as tears, when he looked at the terrified Dane from the corner of his eyes.

“Save them,” he… forced his mouth to form the words.

Then, with the thought of his little brother, Adran howled in sync with The Golden one last time, before he tore every part of him out of the worlds and destroyed himself in the process.

Adran’s Deep Sight suddenly shut off, leaving him with nothing, but his own eyes to navigate in the Everocean’s endless depths.

“Thad, the… “

“Yes, I know. No Sight, no Vision. Even Zynx doesn’t answer, something might be blocking her signals.” Thaddeus needed to be close, because Adran could slightly feel the swaying of the water through his suit. “I don’t like the look of this, Captain.”

Adran couldn’t help but agree with his comrade’s crackling voice through the microphone. Somehow, even the sounds got confused, making the other’s voice feel distant and machine-like. They’ve met nymars that could perplex their devices for a little while, but the one they’ve escaped from wasn’t that kind. Which meant the only thing that could mess with them was their objective – that lonely, lightless cave that’s circular, yawning entrance reminded Adran of a black hole that Dane showed him in a picture a long time ago.

“Me neither, but that’s why we’re here. It turned into a Blind Mission then, that’s all. If we stick together we should be fine, as always,” he said, while his hand found his pendant under his suit. He needed to trust the Almighty’s guidance on this mission. They were no more than any man this time.

Buzzing and whirring made Adran grimace; he could best interpret the noise as a scoff, before a big hand grabbed his forearm. The faint light of their swimming suits shone bright enough to reveal Thaddeus’ slowly wrinkling face.

Their closeness made the sounds even worse for both of them.

That meant one thing.

“Communication off.” The words rolled off of Adran’s tongue heavily. All the connection broke in a blink of an eye, making place for that sightless, deafening silence the soldiers were trained for in the practice chamber. Sunken in a weighting liquid, trapped in a too open space. Feeling, hearing and seeing nothing, but their own projection of things they’ve expected to find.

There was no practice chamber, however. The threat was real around them somewhere, which if they wouldn’t want to bring upon themselves, they couldn’t use any more light then the suits’.

Thaddeus slowly blinked, signaling his agreement on Adran’s decision, then looked at the direction in the dark where they’ve seen the cave’s entrance the last time. It was unmistakable; a restless, unsettling pull emitted from it which might have felt insignificant if they would just swim by it.

But not this close, not this time.

Adran knew Thaddeus felt it too, he needed to. There was nothing like that feeling. And that was why he needed to know what’s inside that cave. Everything he’d done so far, those terrible things he was suspected with – all of it led to this place.

After setting a rope on his and his comrade’s belt, they began to swim towards the objective.

Without the sight of any rock, seaplant or sea life, Adran’s focus never wandered, so he could notice the difference when they finally were inside. The sensation of the pull became stronger, while the darkness somehow turned even darker. He experienced a completely blind state before, but not this thick, oily blackness that not only surrounded them; it swallowed them whole.

Guide me. He saw the cave outside, it was deep, but straight. There was no other sign, only that and only there. He needed to go forward, no matter what.

As much as the strange feeling felt as a pulling, Adran never met water this heavy, this… resistant. It almost seemed as if they tried to swim against a current.

Forward.

His helmet’s weak inner glow let him see his reflection on the translucent part of his gear. The face he saw had deep wrinkles on the forehead, lips forcefully pressed together, eyes desperately trying to find something to look at. He couldn’t see the ears, but he could feel and hear the pumping of the blood in his eardrums. That look on the reflected face and the sound of his own throbbing blood flow reminded Adran of someone who was afraid.

He almost stopped from the realization. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt fright in the water. No, of course not. This was his job, his domain. He knew the Everocean as someone knew his own home. He's been on Blind Missions a million times now, and however unusual this sensation felt, there was nothing he couldn’t handle. He needed to remember his training.

If you can’t see, you listen.

And so he listened. The murmurs of his and Thaddeus’ gear almost sounded calming despite their distant echoing. Echoing. There was no such thing like that underwater.

Shiver ran through Adran’s spine when the temperature dropped. There was no transition, one second to another, he just found himself inside an ice cold darkness with no room for the heating layer of his suit. A thousand ants scuttled around on his skin, their hurried steps hurting more and more as the cold bit into every inch of his body. Then, it was as if something had brushed past his arm.

Adran tried to turn on his Frost-Vision by squeezing his eyes, while his hand automatically pushed the water farther from himself.

He did not get back his sight, nor he encountered anything in the water. Nothing attacked him.

But he couldn’t be sure.

Adran panted in his helmet, blood loudly drumming in his ear, while the cold tried to trick his mind again. Or something was brushing past his body every second.

He needed to remember his training. He's done similar things hundreds of times now. He couldn’t fail now.

Adran pulled on his rope twice, not slowing, nor stopping to let his helmet clear from his breath. The rope almost immediately moved twice again with a little force to pull him backwards.

Thaddeus was still here and okay.

The captain closed his eyes, as he always did in the chamber too. He needed to feel. He felt the brushing on every part of his body, an attempt to scare him, make him change direction. He felt it. It wanted to… guide him.

All the constant crawling on his skin wanted him to let his resistance go. This thought made Adran very aware of the pendant pushing into his chest. He squeezed his eyes even more together, holding onto the holy symbol, and then, he let everything go.

Guide me.

The sensation embedded into the strange pulling. They made Adran feel dizzy, his stomach hurled back into the pit of his core and twisted so tight, he could sense bile rising up in his throat. It lasted for seconds or minutes, he couldn’t tell. Ghostly pulling sensation swayed him left, then right, to every direction it wanted to. His throat began to dry out from the freezing cold, he was gagging, choking as if every air would have left the suit.

Then, the coolness started to melt away with a faint, dim light that hit his closed eyes.

He did not open them, so long as he finally felt the pull release his bones, scamper out from under his skin and let him reach the surface.

Adran emerged from the water so quickly, he almost fully leaped out from it. His eyes shot open as his helmet pulled back into his suit, and he hurriedly gulped down air like he’s tasting it for the first time in his life. He did not look around so long he could hear the throbbing in his ears and feel the bits on his skin.

A short time later the rope loosened on his belt and Thaddeus arose from the water beside him.

He reacted the same way, jumping out as if something was chasing him. So he felt it too.

Adran couldn’t deny the relief of not being the only one, while he scrambled towards his comrade, grabbed him by the neck of the suit and with a powerful yank, he helped him get out of the water before he followed him.The movement came to him instinctively, not caring what they crawled up onto.

Both of them breathed heavily, laying on the ground, trying to collect themselves.

Thaddeus looked up at Adran, leaning on his hand beside him.

“This is no simple Blind Mission, Cap. That path was worse than those grosslings’ inside. Are you sure you want to proceed?” His face seemed to be made from shadows under the strange, blue-orange light that lit the space. Adran gave this a little thought, but he already knew his answer. He nodded eventually. “Fine. Don’t waste any more time then.”

Thaddeus was clearly deeply concerned, which Adran understood completely. He had a lot to lose if something turned out to be dangerous. He, unfortunately, was also the only one who the Captain could fully trust to make this mission through with him. Adran debated a lot to include him, but he also knew if Thaddeus wouldn’t be here, then he could never find out the truth about all the confusing things recently – and about himself as well.

They both gave themselves an extra moment, before they got up and took a good look at where they were exactly.

The place seemed to be a round cavern, water pooling inside where they came in. The water’s crystal blue texture let Adran see the glowing of some kind of organism close to the surface, which apparently also brightened the whole place. It stuck to the rock formations… or it was part of them. There was no way to tell.

It shone in a faint blue-orange colour and unfolded a tunnel before the soldier’s eyes, as Adran realized little patches of the organism were trapped and attached to the walls in glass bulbs.

The walls also had a very unusual appearance. Adran thought what surrounded them was a stone he hadn't seen yet. But he soon realized, he saw no stone; not even close to any kind of rock.

What he faced was metal.

“What the hell is this place?” Thaddeus’ rumbling, deep voice echoed through the tunnel, while he frowned at the other side of the place, keeping a fair distance from it.

“I don’t know, but it’s sure far from natural.”

The two exchanged glances. Adran reached for his laser blade on his back, at the same time Thaddues grabbed a grip from his belt and let the massive Blastergun build up piece by piece, then fall into both of his hands.

Whatever layed far inside this place, better to be prepared.

The captain signaled with his free hand, what his comrade acknowledged with a nod before he began to creep forward. Adran mirrored him sticking close to his side of the wall, while he also brought up his arm to glance at the popped up holo screen. All the emergency bombs were intact on his suit, and the oxygen level in his tank barely dropped down. Which meant whatever he experienced in the water wasn’t caused by lack of air.

A familiar, sickening sensation pulled on his bones.

Adran jerked towards Thaddeus and he could see the big man tensing up everywhere. Something was wrong.

As they prowled inside carefully, this feeling only deepened. The cave – or more like a hallway appeared to be endless and empty. Yet, the pulling made it feel…full. Full of… something.

Little rocks rubbed against their feet, quietly crackling underneath. Adran stepped on a small pile of them one time, causing a slightly louder noise, when movement coughed his eye on his right.

Hand gripping his blade, he glared at the metal wall beside him. It beared the colour of bronze and gold, but the blueness of the glowing organism hasn't shown on it. In fact, when Adran inched closer, it seemed as if the orange part of the brightness was coming from the wall. But, what dried his throat out was the surface of the metal… which was waving.

Like water.

Adran felt sick. His mind tickled as if a finger just tenderly would have caressed it. The longer he looked at the wall, the stronger the pulling in his bones grew. There was something deeply unnerving staring at it. The colour, the material, the structure. The hue. Sinister, black hues gathered around where the light hit the metal.

Wrong. This place felt nothing, but utterly wrong.

“Captain.” Adran spun on his heels, striking down on the one who called after him. Thaddeus immediately leaned back and grunted while he caught the captain’s hand in mid-air, iron grip closing over the arm. There were mere inches between his face and the buzzing blade. “What are you doing?”

If he hadn’t been a much bigger and equally trained soldier, Thaddeus would be only half a man already. The hardening concern on his features, the shock and warning in his voice snapped Adran out of his state. Confused, he stopped resisting and let his comrade forcefully bring his hand down from before his face.

“It’s just… I don’t know. I got surprised by you. I was inspecting that wall and…”

For the Almighty’s holiest name, why did he do that? Was it instinct or a reflex because he called for him too suddenly? He couldn’t remember, nor could he feel anything else beside the shiver running back and forth on his spine and the wild rhythm of his heartbeat. Or that profound unease in his mind.

Whatever was the reason behind this, it just didn’t make sense. And it was dangerous.

Thaddeus’ frown deepened, yet he let him go.

“Right. Look, it’s okay, I believe you, but you’re clearly not well. I should probably carry the blade for you,” before you start a rampage again. The words hung in the air like lethally sharp spikes over one’s head.

“Those weren’t me. It’s just this place… something is not right here. If we stumble upon anything dangerous with me being unarmed…”

“Then I’ll pass the blade back to you, or deal with it myself. It’s not like you couldn’t fight without a weapon, either way, you brought me along because I can do things you can’t handle alone. So just let me do my part then, yeah?” Thaddeus said, then extended his free hand.

For all the resistance in his body, Adran knew his comrade was right. He knew how his recent doings looked and even though Thaddeus believed him not killing innocents for no reason, caution was the best he could offer. Reason. It was hard to grasp for Adran what that word meant at the moment.

“Here.”

He handed his weapon to Thaddeus anyway, who kept it safe on his back in the same way Adran would do it. Then, the big man put a massive hand on his shoulder, squeezed it reassuringly and nodded to their left with his head.