Chapter 39: Bone and shadow

The agent drove Xander back to Ordeli Avenue, leaving him in front of the blind alley which led to the Shrine of Mordred.

To have any chance of defeating that monstrous eye, Xander needed to stock up on cards, and unlike the other Dreamwalkers, he couldn't retrieve them from his Guild House. Instead, he had to enter the dark deity's shrine every time he needed to switch cards or weapons.

As Xander walked up to the minacious wonder carved out of polished marble, its open doors abruptly shut in his face, and a dark aura enveloped its bulging black dome.

"Open up. I need my cards!" Xander shouted, banging his fist on the door. "Let me in!"

Even after repeatedly slamming his hands on the heavy wooden frames, they refused to budge. He tried using the skeleton key again to unlock the door, but this time it wouldn't even turn inside the keyhole.

All his attempts to twist the key ended in failure, leaving him covered in sweat and staring hopelessly at the dark wonder.

Infuriated by this sudden trickery, the Dreamwalker stepped back from the door and landed a heavy kick on its wooden frame. As soon as his boot touched the carved surface, a powerful shock pushed him away, throwing him back into the dark alley.

"Argh! God damn it!" Xander groaned as he felt a sharp pain flare up in his right arm. His veins started glowing red under his skin, and his fingers looked charred. He realized it had been caused by touching that accursed door.

Frustrated and struggling with an unbearable pain, Xander gritted his teeth and approached the shrine once more. Holding his right arm behind his back, he muttered angrily at the door. "Why won't you open for me? I am the herald of Mordred!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, a demonic head appeared on the door. It was that same sinister face which had welcome Mordred the first time.

"This shrine is only for the faithful. A Dreamwalker who strays from the path of my Lord cannot be permitted to defile His sacred abode with his tainted footsteps," Gamkin remonstrated in his guttural voice.

"I'm not in the mood to figure out your stupid riddles. What the hell did I do wrong?" Xander asked.

"My Lord has chosen you as his herald and given you a second chance so that you may serve him well. Yet you refuse to fulfill your duties toward him," Gamkin replied.

"Oh, so it's about the Mystic Souls. I knew your master always had ulterior motives," Xander snapped back at him. He clenched his teeth tightly to suppress the pain before continuing. "I never agreed to use the Altar of Corruption. It wasn't part of our deal."

"This isn't about the altar!" Gamkin growled, his eyes spewing infernal fire. "You have failed to stop the cultists. A Gate has already appeared in your world and the ones responsible are nowhere to be found."

"I'm doing my best to find them. I need more time," Xander muttered.

"If you fail to put an end to their ambitions, they will not stop until they have summoned all of Shamura's generals. And when that happens, Shamura will walk upon your world and claim it as her domain. My master would not be happy about that."

"Do you think I want that to happen? This is my world. I live here, in case you haven't noticed," Xander scoffed in his face.

The demonic skull flew out of the door and rushed at him. Floating inches away from Xander's face, it spoke in a hoarse voice. "I know what you've been up to, Dreamwalker. You keep trying to walk away from your problems. That won't do anymore. You must accept the duties of a herald and smite the Ethereals in His name. Close the portals in your world and destroy that Gate!"

"I don't need you to lecture me about how I should handle things," Xander retorted sharply. He was in no mood to let Mordred's lackey lecture him about his duties.

"My master does not like—

"That's the thing, Gamkin. I answer only to Mordred, not to his little pet. So, get the hell out of my way and let me do my job," Xander retorted, cutting him off.

The demonic skull turned blood red and started fuming from its mouth. Flames erupted from its eye sockets as it rose higher and higher still.

"Your pride will be your fall!" historical

As Gamkin shouted his final words, the skull burst into flames, scattering embers all over the dark alley.

The doors of the shrine were flung open once again, and the dark aura dissipated like mist. Xander touched his medallion to cure his burnt arm before heading inside the shrine.

Now that Xander had upgraded Dealer's Gift to level 2, it allowed him to carry all five cards he had in his possession. Without a second thought, he picked up the entire deck floating before the statue.

[Cards selected:]

[1.Eye of Truth (Dream Card)]

[2. Oracle's Protection (Dream Card)]

[3. Destiny's Child (Dream Card)]

[4. Beast Companion (Dream Card)]

[5. Arctic Kiss (Dream Card)]

These five Dream Cards were enough to deal with minor threats, but Xander wasn't convinced they would be effective against that monstrous eye he'd spotted outside the mansion.

The Altar of Corruption beckoned him with the promise of power. All he needed to do was sacrifice the soul of a Mystic in Mordred's name. It was a tough decision, but he decided to steer clear of the altar for now.

Having collected his gear, Xander approached the idol of the three-headed dragon on the other side of the room.

[The Herald of Mordred seeks his blessings.]

[Offer a sacrifice to awaken a new rank.]

"Of course," Xander muttered. Using the sharp claws of the statue, he slit his left palm open. Blood dripped onto the dragon's feet, dying it incarnadine.

A rumbling voice issued forth from the dragon's throat, and the stone statue's eyes lit up like burning coals. "The herald is blessed with fire. His binds burnt to ashes."

[New rank obtained!]

[Dreamwalker rank: Adept.]

[Skill tree partially awakened.]

Obtaining the new rank opened up whole new avenues for Xander. His skill tree expanded automatically, awakening a set of new skills that he could unlock by spending a single skill point.

However, currently, he didn't have any additional points in his inventory, so he had to wait until he reached a new level.

With that, Xander was about to leave the shrine when he remembered something. Instead of walking out, he stood there and pulled out the Dagger of Diminishing from inside his jacket.

The dagger's blade was no longer shining but had turned rusty and dull and its handle felt cold to touch.

[Relic drained.]

[New objective: Locate the Well of Despair to recharge the relic.]

As the glowing words floated in the air, Xander felt the ground trembling under his feet. The dagger slipped from his hand and fell on the tiled floor. Before he could pick it up, it slid across the floor and stopped behind the Altar of Corruption.

Xander followed the dagger as it led him to a foggy black tile. As he lifted the dagger from the floor, a runic symbol appeared on the tile and started emitting a ghastly green light.

Xander quickly pulled out his Chronica only to find that its hands were pointing straight at twelve. Putting the pocket watch away, he knelt and touched the glowing tile. As his fingers touched the runic symbol, the tile slid back to reveal a winding flight of stairs descending into darkness.

"Let me guess, the well's down there," Xander huffed, shoving the dagger back inside his jacket.

Plucking one of the torches mounted on the nearest stone pillar, Xander carefully made his way down the stairs, navigating his way through the treacherous darkness. The path led him to an underground dungeon with barred cells on each side.

Xander was about to take his first step when the floor collapsed under him and he fell through. He expected a hard landing, but luckily a bed of damp mosses and vines cushioned him from the impact.

The torch, however, had been extinguished, leaving him in complete darkness. Xander pulled out his Chronica again and let its glowing hands guide him forward.

Twenty steps later, the Chronica started vibrating in Xander's palm, but it didn't chime. Xander stopped at once and took a deep breath of the damp air.

"The sleeping child seeks woe, for his blade feeds on suffering," a disembodied voice whispered from the shadows.

"Who are you? Show yourself," Xander said, reaching for his gun.

Suddenly, a feeble light flooded the area. Xander looked up in astonishment and saw hundreds of white apparitions flying over him.

"The child of man fears what he does not comprehend, for he is as ignorant as the lamb bred for sacrifice," the same voice whispered again.

Xander followed the direction of the voice with wary steps and eventually came upon a skeletal figure robed in tattered gray rags standing before a well lined with human skulls.

"Welcome to the Inner Sanctum, Dreamwalker," the skeletal figure greeted him without lifting its head.

"And just who are you?" Xander asked.

"I am the one who guards the Well of Despair and shields it from the light of hope," the skeletal figure replied, looking straight at Xander through its empty eye sockets. "My name is Kokalotas, the undying," he groaned in a mournful voice.