By the time I woke up, I had done my routine and training. But as the time for departure was getting nearer, I stayed at my sanctuary, getting ready. I checked everything and wore my prepared suit. I heard the door opening, and the familiar presence I knew well—my wife.
"You're ready," Mirxalyn commented, eyeing me from head to toe as I put my weapons on my waist before grabbing my crafted coat. "I see that's new."
"I made it for this, whatever it is," I answered as I wore the coat, and my wife assisted me with care before kissing my forehead tenderly.
"Come home to me as soon as you're done." Mirxalyn's voice was filled with worry and hope as she held me closer to her chest.
I closed my eyes, savoring the faint beat of her heart, and I answered. "Yes, I will."
The family saw me off to the Knightrose mausoleum, and by the time I set foot inside, I felt the coldness wrapped around my ankle. I sighed and pulled out the letter from the old man.
Stay for a minimum of two nights or a maximum of three inside the crypt.
Your main objective: Find the oldest tomb with an infinity cross on its stone coffin. Say your prayer. Leave a drop of your blood and an offering. Then leave.
Note: Before entering, drop a golden token with a tiny drop of your blood. There will be a black boat with a soul reaper waiting; it will take you to the inner crypt.
Good luck.
The old man, Gilmesh Knightrose.
PS.
If you're looking for a way out, remember what you prayed to the dead and the promise you made to your wife before entering. Again, best of luck, young lass.
I folded the letter and burned it in the torch where gold tokens awaited. "Hm, this is a family ritual," I mumbled, grabbing the token and putting a little blood on it before dropping to the opposite side, where the air began to shift. "It's here."
I passed the entrance, and in eight steps downstairs, there was the same black boat that the old man indicated in the letter. As soon as I hopped in, the boat moved without a sailor. The sailing was not peaceful because I could sense the eeriness coming from the souls either trapped inside or sealed for good. The lights were on, and some creeps began crawling to the walls. I shivered, but instead of focusing on them, I was more interested in what lies deep in the crypt.
"I wonder what I will find there," I mumbled, holding my bag tightly until the boat stopped. "Thanks for the easy travel." I thanked the soul reaper who had been sailing like a ghost. The reaper looked at me, saying nothing, but it gave an acknowledging bow. "I'd better get going."
By the time my feet set on the ground, I shivered again, and it was not because of the eerie vibe but because of the enormous energy flowing around the place. I took a deep breath and began walking. I let my feet take me to where I should go. I had no map, except for an intuition and sensitivity I had in me.
I walked carefully, creating a mental map in my head when I felt something. There were small, hideous creatures beginning to show up in my peripheral view. I sighed, ignored them, and continued on my way. The steps were rocky, so sometimes I had to either climb from an old stone coffin or jump from one rock to another. But the creeps were at my back. It made my intuition spike, signaling me to move faster, and I did. I speed up, moving from one stone coffin to another, to rocks, to the water flow in some areas, and back again. But the creeps were persistent. I moved faster, and with my activated Sigbin malice, I didn't hesitate to cross a huge hole. I landed smoothly on the other side, where the ancient tomb was hidden.
"Wow, that's exciting?" I chuckled, dusting myself. But the energy from the old tomb began blowing. I shivered from the eeriness it emits, but as soon as I made a step closer to it, I was ecstatic. "This is going to be fun."
As I passed the gate, I was welcomed by an enormous two-tailed cat, which I immediately anticipated by showing my acrobatic stances at each attempt it made. My movements were fast enough to mask the counterattacks that I was silently sending back to the creature. The countermeasure was precise, and when I passed its guarding space, the two-tailed cat began whining in pain until it reduced its size to a cat-like figure.
"Cute," I mumbled and left a small portion of a can of tuna before continuing on my way. But just like the first guardian of the old tomb, there was another one that came rushing to me, a two-headed minotaur, fully armored with an axe and a dagger. "Oh my, this is huge."
I grinned and faced the creature. I moved the same, but this time I used my whip blade for my defense and countered its attempt by charging as soon as it got distracted. But like with the first creature, I didn't kill it; instead, I tamed it by wounding it, and before I could show the power of my Sigbin malice, the two-headed minotaur cowered, showing respect all of a sudden. I was confused but didn't ask. I passed through the creature.
In a few more walks, I heard some hissing sounds from a snake. I stopped, feeling my surroundings, spreading my senses widely, and found how huge it was. I carefully put down my bag on my side before stepping forward when an armored half-woman and half-snake showed up.
I frowned, not because of the creature but because of what crossed my mind. "Why am I facing guardians instead of the Knightrose vampires?"
'Because you had it in you?'
"Whoa, it spoke," I muttered softly before asking the creature, "What do I have inside of me?"
'Spirit Wolf.'
"I don't." I didn't believe the creature before I reasoned with the truth. "I'd lost my wolf before I came to the Knightrose family."
'Is it? But your energy flow doesn't lie. It may waver, but it doesn't speak anything else aside from it.'
She had a point, but I'm stubborn enough not to believe it easily without proof. Then I reasoned, disbelieving, "Still, it doesn't make any sense. Why would I have a spirit wolf when I'm just a nobody?"
'Everyone is somebody. Everyone is different from one another and unique, but that doesn't make them nobody. It's just that everyone had a different path to take.'
I tried to come up with something, but my words caught in my throat before sighing, "You had a point there. But I still don't believe it."
'Shall we test it then?'
I smirked, amused by the creature's respectfulness. "For a guardian, you speak well. You're respectful."
But I couldn't let my guard down for a second.
'Because I knew a person's spirit as soon as they stepped in here.'
"So you knew me before I even entered here?" I guessed, and the creature nodded, smirking, amused at me. And maybe because I was not trembling in fear, but my bones were feeling the threat.
'Every one of us does. Every Knightrose's guardian from ancestors was waiting for your arrival.'
"That sounded like you prepared something for me," I guessed again, and it chuckled.
'We do. All you need to do is survive this meeting. So, shall we before the others get bored and interrupt us here?'
"If you put it that way, then we should," I agreed, amused and excited because I hadn't met any creatures like this one before.
As soon as I agreed, her tail began attacking me. Although she was huge, she moved fast and with complete precision. I had to block it where I noticed how hard its scale was. I let myself be beaten only to check how she fights. From what I've learned about them with Lady Lunaria, they were the kind of creatures who think carefully to win a fight. It was true. This creature knew how to take advantage of its surroundings, like rushing water.
It was so fast, to the point I felt like drowning. It made me lose my stance—almost. But she's a snake, and when I fatally hit her tail, she began weakening. I quickly used my whip sword for distraction and defense as I began charging at her. But even as she was weakening, she tried to fight back. It was still strong, but not fatal like her first attempts, so I had to take that opportunity, move faster, and invoke my Sigbin malice on my weapons.
When she flipped her tail where I was running on, I was tossed in the air, and I angled myself and made a circular motion as I swung my sword at her. The Sigbin's malice burst into black flame and struck her.
We both collapsed on the ground, and I was giggling before saying, "That was a nice fight."
'You…you didn't kill me…'
I frowned. "Why would I?" I asked, confused a little by her words, before stating my reason for visiting the old tomb. "I didn't come here to kill anyone. I was just sent here to pay respect to my wife's ancestors."
'HAHAHA! You're different from the others who were sent here.'
"What do you mean?" I wondered, curious about what she meant there.
'Those people mostly came here to seek power; some asked for soul guardians, while some were sent here to be punished.'
I nodded, understanding it, as the family had already briefed me about it. Then I said, "I heard some of them died here."
'You're not wrong about that. They died because they could not handle the creeps or us before they could even reach the core of this crypt.'
"About that, can you show me where it was? This crypt is a huge maze," I requested politely, but the creature laughed.
'HAHAHA! This place isn't huge or a maze. What you see, where we are, is a timeless void to challenge whoever entered the Knightrose ancestors' tomb.'
"It's put here because the ancestors were fallen vampires?" I guessed.
'To everyone, yes, they had fallen, but to us, they were people who weren't given a chance to redeem themselves from the crimes they had committed. Nobody believes in them anymore or has already given up on them.'
"Why?" I wondered as I sat beside her.
'Because they were too much to handle. Too much power could make anyone fall, either for good or bad. That's why the next generation decided to ask a shaman and made a trial area here. It served to test any chosen one in the Knightrose family. They were not only clever vampires; they were bloodthirsty vampires, which also confused me as to why you were sent here. You're not a vampire; you just smelled like one.'
"I thought you'd been expecting me here," I teased.
'Not before you stepped inside the mausoleum.'
I laughed. "Fair enough," I said softly before answering her, "I'm married to the family head, Mirxalyn."
'You are what? Her second chance mate? You're not kidding, right?'
I shook my head, confused, but still answered, "No, why would I?"
'There's only one mate she ever loved, and having you as her second, something is about to happen.'
I frowned over the mysterious message before asking, "What do you mean?"
'Her first mate was never sent here, but you, on the other hand, were sent here. What did Gilgamesh see that we couldn't?'
"Does my golden light answer it?" I guessed, letting my coat spark a little, but the creature shook her head.
'No, your baby is your soul guardian, and your Reaper is your Knightrose guardian. There is something else in your spirit wolf.'
I sighed before asking, "If what you're saying is true, that I had a spirit wolf, would it be harmful or not?"
'It will be up to you. How will you handle it.'
"Sounds tough." I sighed as I started stretching before getting up. "I should keep going."
'No need to rush. Stay here; they'll come to you.'
"You just want my company here." I rolled my eyes, hitting a point because she chuckled.
'Well, I'm so bored talking to them.'
I giggled before wondering about the other creatures I might meet along the way, "How many are left who want to meet me?"
'A lot, but it will depend on the core if they are allowed to meet you.'
I became serious when she mentioned the center of the crypt. With my dropped voice, I asked directly, "Who was the Knightrose in the core?"
'Someone almost killed Mirxalyn.'