Pantheon Online

230  Shrouded Moon Festival (Part 3)

Exile cursed as he looked around for a solution to their situation. He attempted to cast other miracles, but the dome suppressed his divine power!

The warriors fought on, stumbling backwards to place their backs to the dome so they could not be taken from behind. Exile felt useless in that situation as he watched even Ania struggle to hold off the onslaught. 'Is this it? Am I going to lose her?' Exile's rage flared at the thought. However, he could only watch as more of the warriors fell to the attack.

Something burned in the back of Exile's mind. As if he had witnessed a key detail, but failed to fully register it. 'What is it? What did I miss?' A few more minutes passed before he spotted one of the foxfires going out.

Exile's eyes narrowed as he looked around to see there were only two of them left burning. 'It's a goddamn survival trial!' Exile cursed when he realised the nature of what they were dealing with. 'They just need to survive til the last two burn out!'

"Skovi! Help them regroup to protect each other! No matter what, make sure Ania survives! They just need to last a few more minutes!" Exile roared as his heart raced.

The warriors and Ania heard his outburst, and determination flashed in their eyes. They gave the fight everything they had now that they knew it would be over soon. Exile could only clench his jaw and glare at the fires in the hope that would make them burn out faster.

'Come on!' Exile cursed as his eyes darted from the group to the last remaining foxfire. There were only thirty-seven members of Fenrir left. Skovi suddenly howled, drawing Exile's attention in that direction. Two more warriors had fallen, and Ania now stood on the frontline.

Exile closed his eyes when he saw a sword aiming for Ania's exposed neck as she pierced as a draugr with her spear. Suddenly, all Exile could hear was silence. He slowly opened his eyelids to see the draugar turning to dust in the wind as the dome faded into nothingness. He heaved a sigh of relief as he felt his heart rate slow down. 'They made it.' He thought as his gaze turned to the gateway.

It still shone, which meant it was still active. Exile cursed at that sight as he debated what to do. 'I guess we have to go through it to shut it down.' Exile grimaced as he wondered if they could survive that. There were so few of them left, and if they ran into another situation like the one they barely survived, it would be the end for everyone.

Exile groaned as he decided to abandon the gateway. They had suffered too many losses, and he could not guarantee Ania's life if they proceeded. Exile barked the order for the remaining warriors to search the graves for any treasure before Skovi quietly padded over to him.

"Master, Lady Ania is infected," Skovi growled in a low tone. "I can smell it. One of the draugar must've got her when I wasn't looking."

Exile's eyes widened as he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. The warriors shivered as they felt the tension rising in the area. They quickly diverted their gazes from Exile's face as he stormed toward Ania.

"Let me see." Exile hissed as he glared at Ania.

She froze under that gaze for a moment before removing her helm. Exile's eyes narrowed as he studied the black lines running up the side of her neck and spreading onto her face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Exile asked as his voice broke slightly.

It was only then that Ania realised he was not angry at her but angry with himself. She had seen how his lightning had been unable to come to their aid, and she could only assume he was blaming himself for her fate. 'I guess there are some things that even the gods can't control or know.' Ania sighed to herself as she saw Exile more as a man than a god.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she reached up to caress his face. "All I ever wanted was to be closer to you. You have no idea how much it hurt me to find out I could never carry your child. But I guess that doesn't matter now."

Exile went silent as he wrapped his arms around her slim frame and drew her close. He let her sob gently into his chest as he quietly attempted several Miracles to heal her. However, the infection seemed to attack those miracles and destroy them. 'This whole Shrouded Moon Festival stinks.' Exile thought as he studied that event.

'They didn't give us any warning as to how difficult this would be. The dome could block Miracles, and this infection goes beyond reason as well.' Exile frowned as he went over the details in his mind. 'Day turned into night, and even Valheim turned dark. This whole thing reeks of being a test.'

His eyes darted to the gateway once again. 'If this is a test, it's probably been set up by an old god. Just like Allevia's inheritance.' Exile felt his view over the in-game event broadening when he thought that. 'Which means beyond the gate probably holds the cure! If I'm right, then this part was to test our followers. Beyond the gate should be a personal test!'

"Hold that thought, Ania. There may be a way to save you yet." Exile whispered as he slowly released her and gazed into her eyes. "I swear I'll do everything in my power to save you."

He leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead before turning toward the gate. "Skovi, come."

"You three, watch over her. If she dies before I return, you'll feel my wrath!" Exile growled at a group digging around in one of the holes as he passed.

Ania sobbed as she watched Exile test the gateway by moving his hand through it. He felt a cold sensation on his fingertips as everything up to his right wrist disappeared. Exile nodded as he felt sure the gateway would prevent Ania from following him.

'I won't let her die.' Exile fixed a determined expression on his face as he stepped through the shining light.

As Exile disappeared from view, Ania finally let go of the pain she was holding back. Her shield and spear clattered to the ground as her body began to spasm!

Her eyes became blurry as a sharp pain ran through her head. When her vision cleared slightly, she was looking at the gateway from her place on the ground. Blood trickled from the side of her head, where she slammed it against the ground without realising she had collapsed.

The three members of Fenrir that had received Exile's threat rushed to her side. She panted heavily as sweat drenched her hair. The three warriors struggled to undo her armour as they emptied their water flasks in turns onto her face to cool her down.

The black lines bulged and throbbed as they spread further across her body. A foul black liquid trickled from her ears and nostrils as they watched on helplessly. They were at a loss as to what to do. This had not happened with the other victims before they turned into a draugr themselves.

Exile became enveloped in darkness as he entered the other side of the gateway. His sense of direction disappeared as there was nothing around him to base his position on. 'What the hell is this place?' He wondered with concern that it actually could be a version of hell in the game.

He seemed to float in that endless nothingness. There was no ground beneath his feet to walk forward on. He twisted his body to look in every direction, only to spot a purple star in the distance, far behind and above him. Exile snorted as he understood the nature of that trial. Of course, he would not bother wasting his DP now that he had another method at hand.

Two majestic wings sprouted from his back as flames danced upon their feathers. 'There's no better time than now to test these.' It was a strange sensation to Exile whenever he tried to flap them. It took a fair bit of concentration, but that was only to be expected since he was using something he was not born with.

He had to imagine muscles he did not have and how they would contract and release to make the wings move. He lost track of time as he gradually moved through the void. He looked like a clumsy bird who had no idea what its wings were for. While being surprised it could fly at the same time.

He gradually got the hang of it and even felt like his speed was increasing. The purple light of the star reflected in his eyes as he shot in its direction. 'How long has it been?' Exile wondered as he realised he had completely lost track of time. He could have spent months in there for all he knew.

At some point, he became too tired to continue to use the wings and changed to his levitation rune. He carried on for what felt like a few more weeks in that manner before switching back to his wings. As he continued his journey, he was eventually forced to use his symbol to recover his DP. Another period of time passed by before he could finally see that the star was no star at all. It was a miniature dark world, and Exile marvelled at what he saw beyond its sky.