Bell clamped the edge of the bed until her hands turned red. She struggled to lift herself up, the morning weighing down on her more than she had anticipated. With a thud, Bell fell to the ground, grunting in pain before turning to face the ceiling. "Mummy," she softly called out, but a moment later, a resolved expression appeared on her face. She clenched her fist and said adamantly, "No, Liam is still out there. I need to overcome this if I wish to face off against the gods that walk amongst us and any other monstrosity that stands in my way." Bell clenched her jaw and forcefully raised her petite body up. She limped to the door, bent the handle until it opened, and pushed forward with the resolve to face the mysteries of Castle Deasil. --- Moments later, Bell and Harper sat face to face at the familiar dining table. Harper gloated condescendingly, "I see you've finally calmed down." Bell didn't respond to that. Instead, she swallowed a massive bite before drinking a cup of f
Golden pillars that seemed forged from pure gold stood tall and gracefully, holding up the massive ceiling. The interior of the room Bell had found was unlike anything else in Castle Deasil. It was as if this room existed in a separate space of its own.Not that Bell would know, but it surely seemed that way to her."Woah," Bell exclaimed.The room was over a hundred feet tall, adorned with ancient carvings in a strange language unknown to Bell.Bell tried studying it, but all she could discern was that it was definitely not of this world. She opened an ancient tome, hoping to find something related to the language. After a moment of searching, she found a reference, but unfortunately, the book couldn't help her translate it.For starters, the language was called Soul Tongue."Where's the rest?" Bell flipped through the book, but the name of the language was all she could find.She eventually gave up on studying the ancient carvings and focused her undivided attention on the pedestal
Bell decided to return to her room for the time being. She once more passed by the familiar portrait of the duchess and, as usual, stopped to admire it for a brief moment before entering her room.She sat cross-legged on the bed with the ancient book in front of her, but her attention wasn't on the book at all. She was preoccupied with something else, The forgotten God and the new God in the house with her, Harper."Harper couldn't remember the God carved out from wood. Wait... was he carved from wood as well? Doesn't matter," Bell muttered to herself. She opened her palm and stared at the words she had written there."Is he different from Harper? If Harper, a self-proclaimed God, can't even remember him, does that mean gods have levels or ranks and he's just stronger or more of a God, if that made any sense?" Bell was starting to realize that she was thinking more and more like a crazy person, as if gods could have levels like in a video game."It's possible Harper isn't as strong as
The weather today was mild compared to the previous day. Harper, as the master of the castle, didn't really need to do much apart from perusing the beautifully sculpted altars scattered around the castle or maybe even enjoying the serene scenery of the garden out back. Today, Harper found herself sitting in a little canopy in the middle of that very garden, with Bell right opposite her. The sun above radiated clear, bright rays, illuminating the world around them. Bell was still studying the ancient book while Harper simply sat there enjoying a cup of afternoon tea. "Ahh, it's days like this that make you forget all about this cursed place," Harper said lightly. Harper was wearing a straw hat with a purple bow tie on it, a short decorated purple dress with a beautiful golden belt around her waist. Bell glanced at Harper while pretending to read her book. Harper was beautiful. Bell even compared herself to Harper and found that they were more or less evenly matched. Bell, w
With a wave of his hand, Liam sheathed the crimson sword and asked the one question that had been bothering him since the previous day. "Jacky, I was wondering, apart from the usual ranks like City, County, and the rest, are there other divisions for the blessed?" Jacky looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I believe you're referring to the concept of true names. To a certain extent, a blessed with a true name from his or her deity should be stronger than a blessed without one, much like how Hypnos and Thanatos had true names." He paused for a moment, as if to give weight to his next words. "There are blessed with ordinary true names and then those like Hypnos and Thanatos with divine true names, essentially names of their respective gods granted to them. When a god grants his very own name to the blessed, it elevates them to the unique class of apostles." Liam nodded in satisfaction at Jacky's explanation. "So, Hypnos and Thanatos are powerful
The sun hid behind the magnificent buildings, Bell was in her room, standing beside the window, longing, maybe even praying for salvation from this cursed place. As for who she was praying to, Bell wasn't sure herself. Was it the ancient gods littered all around the castle, or maybe even the true God in the golden room? It could be the new gods; she was certainly praying for Harper to lend her assistance, so maybe that could be a form of worship, she thought. Bell smiled derisively at herself. Her dinner was already on the study table, and it was only several seconds till seven pm sharp, and then her next miserable night would begin. Bell didn't let the horrors of Castle Deasil deprive her of her appetite. She walked over to the table, the wooden floorboards creaking ominously under her feet. The aroma of the meal was faint, almost as if the scent was being swallowed by the oppressive atmosphere of the castle. She sat down and began to eat, her eyes flicking nervously to the door e
Bell slumped to the side, dodging as the shadow aimlessly walked past her. The shadow was actually human, and seeing that, Bell visibly relaxed. Although it looked human, it seemed soulless, almost like a moving corpse. The figure’s movements were slow and mechanical, its eyes void of any light or life. Bell didn't wait to confirm and immediately went the other way. She walked for what she assumed was thirty minutes before she once more saw another shadowy entity. Just like the previous one, it also ignored her and walked in the direction the first one went, its footsteps echoing hollowly in the otherwise silent expanse. Bell was still not ready to acknowledge the elephant in the room and kept walking in the opposite direction. The oppressive atmosphere seemed to weigh her down with every step. Eventually, she came across more and more shadowy entities, and just like all the previous ones, they were walking in a fixed direction as if they were being called toward a central point
Bell took a heavy step back, her name echoed from within the abyss, calling out to her, telling her to dive in. She glanced back at the still shadows before hardening her heart and taking a step towards the abyss. Bell stopped several steps away from the abyss gate and proceeded to gaze into its dreadful maw. ~Bell, come to me, I miss you... we all miss you. Why did you leave us, Bell~ The echoes started to replicate the voices of Bell's loved ones, trying to draw her closer. But it didn't work. Bell took a step back and continued to scrutinize the abyss. ~Get in here, for fuck's sake!~ The voice in the abyss suddenly roared, causing the white wooden chains to rattle and the ground to shake. Bell stumbled back in fright and fell on her butt. "What the hell?" Bell exclaimed in shock. "Who's there? Show yourself!" she yelled, shifting all the way to the edge of the slope. She waited quietly for a reply, but it never came. She slowly crept back to the edge of the abyss and o