Inside the , a robed man sat behind a low desk, counting silver scales into a coffer. He didn't even look up as the hooded group entered.
"Put them in the other room," he said, jerking his chin toward a side door.
The room beyond wasn't empty. Two men were tied to chairs, their heads slumped forward but faces still recognizable in the dim light, Hugh Mardane and Oradien Veynar.
After handing over the children, the hooded men took their payment and left through the left-hand tunnel.
Seren pulled us into the shadows before they passed by again, waiting until their footsteps faded before she turned back toward the room.
Inside, the robed man stood, walking over to Hugh first. Without a word, he drove a fist into his stomach.
BAM!!!
Hugh gasped, chains rattling as he doubled forward, but the man caught his chin and forced his head back.
"What do you want?" Hugh rasped, his voice raw.
No answer came. Instead, the man struck again, this time across the face. Blood welled from a split lip and dripped onto the floor.
He moved to Oradien next, pulling his head up by the hair. A sharp backhand left a red streak across Oradien's cheek.
The man didn't speak, he only kept hitting.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Blood dripped steadily, spotting the dust beneath the chairs.
Beside me, Elara shut her eyes and turned her face away. Her hands trembled where they rested against her knees, but she didn't speak.
The man didn't stop at blows. He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small, flat metal wedge.
Hugh's eyes widened. "Wait-"
The man gripped Hugh's left hand, forcing the fingers apart. The metal slid under the nail of his index finger, and with one move, he pried it upward.
"ARRRGH!!!" Hugh's scream tore through the chamber, echoing against the stone walls. Blood pooled instantly at the nail bed, dripping down his wrist.
"You skimmed the tithes," the man said, his voice cold and steady. "Dozens of gold marks that never reached the temple coffers."
He moved to the next finger. Hugh thrashed in the chair, but the chains held. Another sharp pull, another scream.
"You falsified healing records for the Lowrise quarantines. Claimed you cured the sick while they rotted in their beds."
The man dropped Hugh's hand and turned to Oradien. He didn't waste time, his grip clamped down on Oradien's wrist, the wedge digging beneath the nail of his thumb.
The nail came free with a snap, and Oradien's breath caught in a choked cry.
"You took bribes to look the other way."
The next nail came out, and Oradien's head jerked back, eyes glassy with pain.
Blood from both men dripped to the floor, soaking into the dust in dark, spreading stains.
Beside me, Elara kept her eyes shut, her lips pressed together. Her shoulders trembled as she turned her face toward the wall, unwilling to watch.
But my attention wasn't on the torture anymore. The blood running from their torn fingers was dripping down the chair legs, pooling on the uneven stone. It slipped into thin cracks in the floor, winding together into lines.
Lines that connected, curved, and joined until they formed the beginnings of a rune. This wasn't just torture, it was preparation for a ritual.
The man wiped his bloody wedge on Hugh's tunic before stepping back. His gaze moved between the two prisoners.
"Tell me," he said slowly, "what has all your wealth bought you? Comfort? Power?" He gestured toward their mangled hands. "All I see is pain."
He crouched so they could see the sneer on his face. "You clung to the light, and it abandoned you. The blessings you served mean nothing down here.
You should give yourselves willingly… and have faith in Umbralis, God of Shadows."
Hugh spat weakly in his direction, blood mixing with saliva, but it barely reached the man's boots.
The man straightened, ignoring the spit, and began to speak.
"Umbra dominus, lumen interficere,
Tenebrae servos tuos excipiunt.
In sanguine nos ligamus,
In umbra nos liberamus."
Each time he spoke the name Umbralis, the sound felt heavier, like it was pressing down on the air around us. The blood on the floor thickened, the rune lines turning black as if swallowing the light.
The man looked back at the two bound men. "Now… forfeit your faith. Say it. Sacrifice your ego. Give yourself to Umbralis, and you will know true happiness."
Elara's hands tightened around her catalyst. Her lips moved, barely above a whisper, "Lux superna, arde tenebras."
Light flared at the catalyst's tip before she thrust it forward, sending a sharp beam straight toward the man.
He reacted instantly, shadows twisting up from the floor to form a barrier in front of him.
BAM!!!
The impact cracked the surface, and a blinding flash burst out, lighting the chamber for an instant.
In that moment, Seren moved, her dagger flashing as she slipped low and fast along the man's blind side.
I was caught off guard by the speed of her strike, but I couldn't waste the opening. I pushed forward from the opposite angle.
The man spun toward me, his hand snapping up.
A coil of darkness whipped outward, but Seren's blade slashed across his forearm, forcing his arm down.
I drove my shoulder into his chest, the impact jolting through us both. He stumbled back, but his free hand shot up, and shadow tendrils whipped toward us.
Swossh!!!
I ducked one strike.
BAM!!!
I bent low as a tendril sliced past my head, the air hissing where it passed. Another lashed in from the side, catching me in the ribs, like ice biting straight into the bone.
My breath hitched, but I didn't stop. The pain is nothing compared to ouroboros side effect. I grabbed his sleeve with both hands and pulled hard, dragging him off balance.
Seren came in again, stabbing for his gut, but he twisted at the last instant, the blade scraping against the ribs instead.
He snarled, his knee driving upward, catching me in the thigh. Pain shot down my leg, but I gripped his robe tighter, refusing to give him space to recover.
Seren's dagger flashed again, this time slicing along his jawline, leaving a thin, bleeding mark.
The man's shadow barrier tried to rise again, sluggish under the disruption. I braced myself, ready to hit him before it could solidify.