On the other end of the portal was a vast plane surrounded by large mountains, pools of water formed at the bottom with sand and shore for miles. They followed through several portals after that, following the direction the seashell led them as Artemis acted as their guide, before eventually the seashell stopped moving and merely vibrated in the air right above a small patch of beach next to a thin shoreline. There was a tiny wooden cottage in the distance, a certain friendly-looking home built in a place where one shouldn’t be. Trivanma was known for its natural disasters and floods, so having your house built right at the bottom of a geyser was not ideal. Its harmless appearance greatly contrasted with the inevitable feeling of it being unnatural and out of place, but Lavimo carefully shifted around in his satchel for the very final clue… a single silver key.
“Do you think this might unlock the house?” he offered, looking in between his three companions as Artemis began walking ahead.
“Only one way to find out!” she announced bravely, stomping closer towards the foot of the mountain as she placed her hand on the door handle, before giving a mighty pull as the door swung on its hinges, completely unlocked and free to enter. And the woman smiled at the newly revealed inside, which really did look identical to a cozy cottage. No one was inside, but as the four of them slowly entered, Kal had his shadows at the ready as Lavimo placed his hands on the straps of his satchel.
“This is obviously a trap,” Haven decided to speak up, sliding on inside as they took an apathetic look around. They didn’t really care about anyone in this group other than Lavimo, so they didn’t care if Kallan or Artemis got stuck somewhere, but they knew they’d have to keep their eyes on their lover. He was the only one they prioritized, so they found his recklessness irritating when he turned to give them a grin.
“Maybe we can find something in here that this key unlocks! Wouldn’t that be cool?” Lavimo asked, happy for reasons Haven couldn’t fathom as they gave him a glare.
“You should be on your guard. As I said, this is a trap, dumbass.”
“Yeah, but I feel like we’re close to figuring something out! I don’t mind walking into a trap.”
“Seriously? You’d risk your life just for a few answers you can’t even guarantee will be honest?” Haven grimaced, only becoming further annoyed when Lavimo’s smile widened.
“Yes, I would! Thank you for tagging along with me, Haven, I feel a lot safer with you here,” he thanked them genuinely, the small person stiffening at the open compliment as they continued to give him a hard stare.
They would never understand him. Even watching him turn around and start tearing the room apart for clues felt foreign for them to watch. They loved Lavimo, yes. They loved him more than anything and wanted him to be safe. But they didn’t understand him. Though it wasn’t like that was unusual for them in the first place... Haven didn’t understand anyone, really. Ever since they’d been young, empathy had been a difficult thing for them to grasp. They understood the definition of it and what it should entail, but they could never feel it. Sympathy didn’t come well to them, either, making them seem often cold and detached. A lot of the time, Haven didn’t know how to properly care about things. They really didn’t know why Lavimo had taken such a liking to them in the first place, considering their nature compared to his.
At first, they’d never reacted to his emotions and had even treated him cruelly in order to test and see if that eager kindness he’d always shown them was real— because to Haven, the concept of someone being truly kind was foreign, so they tried breaking Lavimo’s every boundary to make him flip. Cruelty, anger, and selfishness made a lot more sense to them, after all. They deemed those to be basic human traits. Traits they themselves could relate to. It took a long time, and a lot of watching and observing Lavimo interacting with others, before Haven learned the ability to mask as a semi-nice person.
Maybe that’s why they loved him so much, and why he’d turned into somewhat of a craving. Lavimo was the opposite of them, someone who wasn’t cruel, angry, or selfish. He could be immature, yes, and he was often illogical in the favor of being overwhelmed by useless emotions, but he was generally kindhearted and had strict morals that were often black and white. He was the type of person Haven liked most. They didn’t understand what it meant to want to help others just for the sake of it, so they appreciated Lavimo, who did. Though on the other hand, his naivety and vulnerable aspects also made Haven want to lock him up in a cage and never let him out. They wanted to possess him, to own him like he was theirs and only theirs, and they knew they were selfish for that. They were aware that by the average standards of humanity, that wasn’t okay. So they didn’t do that. They didn’t want to be forcefully separated from Lavimo just because they got too possessive. Haven wasn’t someone controlled by their desires and impulses anyways, so they weren’t about to let that happen. As long as Lavimo let them be beside him, they didn’t care about anything else.
And they would indulge him and listen to him talk about all his interests and they would reign him in with logic he didn’t have, all in exchange for him teaching them what it was like to be kind. A concept they still didn’t quite understand, but something they could pretend to be if the situation called for it. Lavimo had taught them a lot of things, so they were naturally indebted. And they loved every kind and selfless thing about him, watching him with soft green eyes as Lavimo suddenly gasped.
“Oh! Wow! I found something!” he exclaimed giddily, his three companions all turning to see what was making him so excited as Lavimo stuck the key into what looked like a music box. He twisted the key inside it, before the small, white box suddenly made a click, and all of a sudden there was music playing.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Haven wasn’t very fond of music, but they knew Lavimo always liked listening to orchestras and the such, so they’d gone with him to a few events where music had been played. So they weren’t surprised with the way he seemed entranced by the sound of melodic chimes, before spoken words suddenly began overriding the gentle music, a woman’s regal voice being heard somehow through the music box’s system, which Haven was really curious to figure out how that worked.
“Welcome, my fellow patrons, to the cottage of the Oracle. I am the Oracle Orvana, and I am here to guide you to the impending darkness that sits within us all. If you are here, I assume you are interested in my teachings. If you’re not, then I ask that you leave. Though according to my vision, the four of you will come inside regardless of my grievances… Lavimo, Kallan Sanguin, Artemis Canasettia, and Haven… welcome to my humble abode. There is an underground facility right beneath you. Have your leader, Kallan Sanguin, teleport your lovely selves down below and I will meet you there. It will be a pleasure meeting you.”
And silence stretched out in front of them as the music slowly twisted to a stop, the strings being plucked in the tiny contraption coming halted while Haven grimaced. “...that’s suspicious as hell,” they relented in their annoyance, Artemis giving a short laugh as the music started playing again, the air being filled with a rather peaceful lullaby that made them want to hit something.
Yet the messy woman just continued chuckling into her hand, not able to stop herself as she leaned on Kal’s shoulder. “Wow, hahah… the impending darkness that sits within us all, oh god… do you know what she’s talking about, Kal? Being a wielder of the concept of darkness and all that?”
But Kal just shot her a disgusted glare, swiping her arm off his shoulder as he stepped to the side. “If enough darkness sat inside everyone to make it a cult teaching, then I think everyone should be able to use the concept of darkness. Obviously she’s spouting bullshit.”
“Of course. And you’re just our resident dark lord, aren’t you?” Artemis kept cackling, Lavimo’s brows squinting as he tried to process the joke.
“Um. I don’t get it,” he eventually piped up, looking towards Haven for an explanation as he gave a small frown. “People can only harness the concept of darkness if they’ve had multiple suicide attempts. It’s a concept that plays and feeds on how much the person has begged for death, which causes the darkness to grow in their hearts until it’s usable power. That doesn’t make Kallan a dark lord.”
“Don’t worry, she’s joking,” Haven explained patiently, Kal’s face falling into one of his hands as Artemis tried to stop herself from giggling further at such a dark topic that was probably inappropriate to laugh at. “She was just calling him edgy as a satire, because this oracle woman seems to think that’s all it takes to wield darkness.”
“Oh, I see! Thank you, Haven.”
“Mhm, sure.”
“Ugh… I’m surrounded by fucking kids,” Kal cursed, Artemis reaching out again to give his back a firm pat, smile still bright and bold on her face as she applauded him.
“Hey now, you’re only two hundred and five years older than me, so don’t act like you’re an old man or anything. You’re not even in your thousands yet, so you really need to stop acting like you’re about to fall over any minute from being ancient. Now c’mon mister dark edgy edgelord, stop dawdling and teleport us down below!”
“Whatever, fine. Call me whatever you want, why don’t you?” he huffed, but a portal of shadows swirled open from the tip of his finger regardless. And just the same as last time, Artemis walked through first, Haven quickly following suit with vines and thorns already growing along their arms just in case they found themselves needing to fight immediately.
But when the four of them appeared directly under where the cottage sat on unsteady ground, they found themselves surrounded by molded dirt that looked ready to collapse at any moment. And in front of them, they were met with two people. One was a tall man wearing a deep violet butler’s uniform with long, silver hair tied into a thin ponytail over his shoulder, with pale white skin dotted with soft freckles. And then there was the other, a woman of robust figure wearing robes upon robes of lavish purples and blacks, expensive lace and silk draping over her shoulders with a thick black sash tied tightly around her waist. She had wavy platinum blond hair that flowed down the sides of her fair face, complexion a soft peach as she smiled at them with intense violet eyes, the very color of the flower itself. Everything about her was vivid from the colors she chose to wear to the brilliant makeup covering her skin to the cane she was leaning on in front of her that had an infant’s skull on the very top, her soft yet stern hands wrapped firmly around the smooth of it.
“Why hello there, welcome to my humble abode,” she smiled welcomingly, meeting the four of them with a carefully polite smile with rosy pink lips covered in gloss. “I am the Oracle Orvana, and it is my honor to serve you as my esteemed guests. I do apologize for this shoddy setting, I would much have preferred to eat and dote on you in my lovely cottage up above, but I’m afraid the things I am to show you today are all down here. I do apologize,” she chuckled, hand going to the side of her face as black painted nails contrasted greatly with her light skin. But her expression quickly steeled, her vibrant violet eyes flickering towards Lavimo within mere moments as she aimed her smile towards him, all of Haven’s alarms being set off at once as they reached an arm in front of him. But that didn't stop Orvana from addressing the man they loved so dearly.
“Though, I'm sorry to say it, but I’m afraid only one of you may proceed past this point. Lavimo, seventh prince of Viscendant and future king of your corrupted kingdom… only you may proceed past here. I know you seek answers, and I am willing to give you them all. So follow me, and I shall enlighten you,” she extended her hand, turning to smile at the rest of them the moment the atmosphere tensed. “Oh, but don’t worry, I promise to bring him back in one piece. You three can just wait here, and we’ll be back within the hour, I swear it. So what do you say, my precious Lavimo? Do you care for more of the knowledge that you so desperately seek? All of the answers are right here at your disposal, if only you are to step out and take them for yourself. So the question is, my dear…” she smiled, expression turning more sly as she set her hand back on the skull of her cane. “Lavimo my dearest, will you take them? Or leave them out to rot in this desolate plane? The choice is yours, and I encourage you to choose wisely.”
