Chapter 1393 – Within the Sanctum part 3

The Nameless who had been Emelia allowed her senses to roam across the room, taking in every possible spectrum of sensory input. Like a hawk, she watched, like an owl she listened, like an ant, she scented.

There was nothing, of course. The Nameless were not so careless as to allow the slightest hint of their presence to escape. Controlling body temperature was just one of the tricks they had learned under the guidance of the Sanctum, and holding themselves so still they did not shift the air was a rudimentary exercise.

She moved slowly, in the way of the Nameless. Not even the air stirred at her passing, nor the dust on the stone floor.

Even so, she was detected.

A blur from her right, shadow morphing into a leg that arced down from behind her head. Emelia twisted her body and used her forearm to deflect the blow, then leapt backwards to gain space. This was a gamble, after all, she still didn’t know where the other combatant was hidden.

As it turned out, she had lost that bet. No sooner did her feet touch the floor than a hand darted out from the darkness, latching onto her leg and pulling.

More limbs extended from the shadow, trying to wrap around her leg and bring her to the ground, but Emilia was quick; snapping out with both fists, she struck multiple times in quick succession. The first hand slackened around her calf, numbed by the pressure point strikes, and she freed herself, spinning away from the first attacker, who had attempted a low-risk strike as he approached.

All three were exposed now. Even in the perfect darkness, they were totally aware of each other. They felt the movement of the air, the resonance of the slightest sound, even their sense of smell strained to its limits to track the movements of the others.

The three-way stalemate ended quickly. From her left came the first attack, and Emelia danced backwards, drawing the assailant in front of her to pursue. They were too wise to fall for such a shallow ploy, and restrained themselves, stepping quietly as each of the three tried to position one of the others in the middle.

Again, they did not wait for long; the moment the slightest opening was sensed, the battle resumed. Short, sharp exchanges followed, but none of the three was able to find a significant advantage.

“Break,” the command came from nowhere, but everywhere at the same time, and the three sprang away from each other and waited.

The shadows gathered and resolved themselves into an ant, the Nameless One, who watched them calmly, but did not speak. The three continued to wait, and the darkness shifted once more. Immediately, they could sense a presence gathering in the chamber around them, an endless hunger, a fathomless rage, filling the space. The darkness itself was watching them.

All three bowed low as they felt the presence focus upon them. A moment later, it reached out to their minds.

[You are doing well.]

Stolen story; please report.

The three Nameless felt gladness well in their hearts at this praise. To hear such affirmation from the Shadow herself was… beyond words. Thin tendrils began to extend from the walls, lines of darkness that reached out to caress their faces.

[You have become connected to Him, and you must prove yourselves worthy of it. Doing well is not enough. You must be perfect, or as close to it as you can be. I do not want to ask of you more than you can give, but to achieve this standard, you must pull out all of your ability.]

Each of the Nameless nodded; they were ready, more than ready. Whatever the Shadow demanded, they would give. From the wall, the weapons rack was revealed, and each of the Nameless walked forward to take their armaments of choice.