Captured Sky

‘I’ll be direct; I want you to save me,’ the blonde woman said.

Havoc had not moved from the cavern grotesquely adorned by human heads, and yet he was somewhere very different. Moments before his abrupt arrival, the world sank into itself, his head spun, and then he was there. It was a nearly empty tearoom, and he was sat facing a beautiful woman. When he had seen her in the wall, her features were marred by blood and unsightly veins protruding from her neck, but in the café, her allure was untarnished.

Havoc ignored the woman’s words and looked around. Only Lord-Mayor Kaine’s dwellings could compare to the opulence of the room. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling; their twirling candlelight danced across the walls. Though he was alone with the woman, there were many exquisitely presented tables, such as those he had only seen in the half-ruined pages of discarded society papers. The marble floor was a spotless white, and great arched pillars lifted from the ground, separating the dining area from a cream-white staircase. He could not guess at where the stairs could lead, but he did not doubt it was somewhere equally luxurious.

He had kept his composure. When facing the unknown, he believed it was prudent to act as though it was familiar territory. In truth, since entering The Chamber of Inheritance, his sudden transportation was not the most astounding he had experienced. Nevertheless, he was astounded. More so than he would allow a potential threat to uncover.

‘Where are we?’ Although his voice was steady, he could not quite extinguish all embers of trepidation from his tone. However, if the woman noticed, she did not betray her perception.

‘That isn’t important.’

‘I admire your boldness.’ At Havoc’s words, the woman’s golden eyebrows lifted in what appeared to be genuine befuddlement.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Its just a little strange how you can be so daring to ask for my help and then refuse to answer a simple question. It’s admirable… A little short-sighted, but I wouldn’t have the guts for it, that’s for sure,’ he said before narrowing his gaze. ‘You want me to save you? Fine; that’s great. But my help comes at a price, and it doesn’t come ill-informed. So, I’ll ask you again, where are we?’

For a moment there was silence. The woman’s ruby-painted lips parted, and her eyes went wide, displaying her ocean-blue irises in their full splendour. Seconds ticked by, and the silence was broken as her melodic laughter lifted to the ceiling.

‘By the Hosts of Harmony! Even with foresight, I couldn’t have prepared myself for you,’ she chuckled, raising a palm to cover her lips. ‘Fair is fair. I’ll answer your questions so long as time allows, but in return, I want you to take my request.’

‘I’ll hear you out. If its within my power to save you without sacrificing myself, I’ll consider it,’ Havoc replied, inspiring a renewal of musical laughter.

‘Then we have a deal. As for where we are, physically we’re still in the cave. We never left. I’m still embedded in the cavern, and you’re right in front of me. However, our minds are inside The Fair Lady’s Teapot. It’s my anchor. It allows me to conjure this mental space, and I can even draw others inside.’

The woman’s identity as an Inheritor was not a surprise, and Havoc had deduced her anchor’s ability from the context of their present meeting. Nonetheless, it was difficult to reconcile the casualness of her speech with her dire predicament. She was bound to a wall in a human larder, helpless within a cave infested with horrors. But she spoke with the ease of one attending a friendly meal. In a sense, that was the most unnerving thing about her.

‘Annalise, by the way. Although feel free to call me Anne. Like you, I’m an inheritor, but while you’re of the Servant rank, I have ascended to the Soldier.’ At her words, Havoc’s eyebrow lifted. He had known that not all Inheritors were equally powerful. The mysteries of inheritance, too sacred for the bereft, was a closely guarded secret in Stone Garden. Graceless had imparted some knowledge, enough to prepare him for his trials, but try as he did, Havoc could not pry the finer details of the world he had now entered from his tutor’s lips.

Questions began to form in his mind. It started as a trickle, but before long they descended as a torrent. He attempted to weigh their importance, but before he could give voice to his enquiries, Annalise, seemingly picking up on his confusion, had begun speaking once more.

‘Right, I almost forgot you’re from that city… Tell me, Havoc, how much do you know about the world of Inheritance?’

Havoc considered lying. He did not think it wise to lay his ignorance so clear for observation. Ultimately, he dismissed the thought. He did not fully trust Annalise, and while she was the more immediate threat, his lack of knowledge had hounded him since entering the Chamber of Inheritance. An opportunity to cure such defect would likely not arise during his trials again.

The risk is worth the reward, he concluded

‘I know that Inheritors are chained to The Dungeon, and that we derive our power from remnants. I also know that we have magics flowing inside us, and we use those magics to summon our remnants. Beyond that, I know nothing at all.’

Annalise leaned back in her chair and sighed. She closed her eyelids and massaged them with her fingers before returning to her upright posture.

‘You know, not every human settlement is like Stone Garden. I don’t know why they keep their bereft population so clueless on these things… Okay, we won’t have time to cover everything, but I’ll teach you enough so that you’re not so much a mystery to yourself. Now, where should we begin?’ Annalise asked, her face tightening to a pout.

‘The magics we use, is there a way of increasing it?.’ Ultimately, it was Havoc’s most pressing question. Violence had been a consistent companion in the forest, and he did not believe it would soon leave his side. Without the strange powers within his core, he would not have survived the ordeal.

‘Okay, sure. First of all, the power we inherit is called Harmony. Through its use, this Dungeon-world came to be. As you said, when we inherit, we’re bound to The Dungeon. It is through that link that we are able to wield remnants.’

Annalise began slowly, but as she continued to talk, she did so with vigour. Her beauty was magnified by the enthusiasm and joy which brighten her face as she spoke. Havoc paid attention to her words; they were too important to ignore. However, it was an active effort. Through will alone did he pull his focus from her captivating lips to concentrate on the words she formed with them.

Though it was an unexpected challenge, he did hear her words. Through them, the dark clouds of ignorance which had continuously promised the storm, dispersed. Anne bounced from topic to topic. She had started on how an inheritor advances in ranks through conquering Dungeon Cells which correspond with their chosen anchor before deciding that her explanation would make no sense before providing some detail about the will of the Dungeon. She circled back to make sure that Havoc well and truly understood that it was not about strength of even exploration, but rather that the Dungeon had expectations of every Inheritor, and it would not permit progression until its criteria had been met.

‘… For instance, if the Dungeon wills that you slay one hundred abominations in one hundred different ways, it will not matter how many monsters beyond that number you kill. Unless you meet the Dungeon’s criteria within a compatible Cell, you will never reach the next rank. Which reminds me, it is crucial that you understand the distinction between a dungeon spawn and a dungeon Abomination-’

‘Wait, slow down!’ Raising both hands towards the rambling beauty, Havoc shook his head as he attempted to organise the details Anne had scattered across his mind. Visually annoyed, Anne pouted in apparent frustration, and paused her lecture.

Havoc began to weave together the disparate threads of details Annalise had spun, and before it unravelled, he was determined to comprehend its design. From her speech, he had come to understand that Inheritors were divided by ranks, and each rank consisted of three steps. Every step permitted the forging of a new spirit link. And with each new spirit link forged, an Inheritor could bind to themselves an additional remnant. Every step required an Inheritor to defeat and absorb an increasing number of enemies leading to their capacity for Harmony to grow. However, each rank represented a qualitative enhancement in an Inheritor’s power. It permitted the use of more powerful remnants and further integrated an Inheritor's anchor, strengthening its original powers while also unlocking unique abilities to be mastered. Havoc learned that increasing ones rank required bespoke accomplishments within the Dungeon Cells. Each one tailored by the will of the Dungeon to each Inheritor, however…

‘You haven’t explained what these Cells are or how we’re supposed to know what the Dungeon expects from us.’ Havoc said. Annalise leaned back in her chair and a mischievous smile lifted her lips.

‘I’m glad you asked. Cells are areas of the Dungeon separated from space and even time. Within a Cell, an Inheritor is pushed to their limits and often far beyond. You’ll come to learn that soon.’ She paused. ‘This entire forest is a Cell, and you’re barely past its entrance. As for the Dungeon’s will for you, that couldn’t be more simple. The Dungeon wants you to save me.’ Anne’s words lingered in the silence. They were deafening.

From the beginning of their meeting, Havoc had felt ensnared. With every detail Annalise revealed, he could feel the trap tighten. With her latest revelation, he felt utterly bound. He did not believe she was lying. In fact, he knew she was not. When she spoke the Dungeon’s will, he heard the Dungeon confirm her words. It was the same whisper that had thrust him into combat outside of the cave except that whisper was now a shout.

What is this? Like an ant enslaved by giants, oppressive was the feeling baring down upon him.

‘What have you done?’ Havoc’s eyes burned into the oceans of the woman sat opposite. She looked away, but her mischievous smile did not leave her lips.

‘I can’t say I know what could have you so upset.’ Annalise replied.

When she had first requested he save her, he had not felt any resonance with her plea. It was a request he could accept or refuse. Only after Annalise had detailed the world of Inheritance did he feel compelled. Havoc did not know how, but he was certain, by her actions, words, or deeds, she had bent the will of their world.

‘Oh lighten up, would you. Did I not give exactly what you asked for? You lacked knowledge of how this world works, and I told you everything you wanted to know and more. Did you imagine that wouldn’t come at a price?’ Her face stern, Annalise met Havoc’s gaze.

‘How?’

‘The Dungeon’s will isn’t static, it’s reactive. With enough foresight, it can be enticed to one’s favour. By talking with me, and learning from me, you received assistance of which you were not entitled. Now you need to earn that entitlement. How better than saving the very damsel who relieved your distress?’ Anne replied.

Havoc had been weary of the blonde woman before him, but that caution bellowed into crashing tones of alarm. Behind her innocent façade, she was dangerous. Far more dangerous than the dungeon spawn he had narrowly survived. Bloodied and battered, waiting to be devoured, yet she could manipulate his destiny…

‘If it’s any consolation, I’m not in the most ideal position either. The Dungeon wills for you to save me. If you cannot, you will never advance beyond a Servant, and you will likely never leave this Cell. But to get what I want, it demands that I be saved. We are both prisoners of this world; bound to its will.’

‘What is it that you want?’ Havoc asked.

Annalise’s smile widened, and an intensity burned within her eyes. Havoc’s best guess at interpreting the expression was desire, but he could only reach that conclusion by peering through the madness.

‘What I want?’ Lifting a hand, the deranged beauty began to twirl her hair with a finger. ‘Oh, nothing much. Nothing much at all. All I want is...

‘The power to destroy this accursed world.’