Introduction

Welcome back to Maledicturs Terra. This is a Chain Story between myself and @lex-zaiya, meaning that we each write the parts alternatively.

I have not written any Maledictus Terra since my PC died. Well... that ends now. Time to get back into it!

If you have not read Maledictus Terra Book 1: Mortis Custos yet, it starts HERE at Part 1 and ends at Part 101 HERE. At the end of the Part 101 post you will find links to all 101 Parts!

Maledictus Terra Book 2: Sanguifex started HERE with Part 1 and ends at Part 111 HERE

The previous part by @lex-zaiya can be found here!

Part 54

Nidal had followed the Magister up the stairs and past the guard. Now that she was in the gallery and looking down at the King she had a deep sense of unease.

She had never seen King Djonn before in the flesh and she had heard many stories about the King who had been a dashing Prince before he had become King. This was not what she had expected.

She had expected a handsome but aged man with noble features. A man who would be able to charm anyone and who would have scores of lovers flocking to him and competing for his attention.

Instead the man that she was looking at looked at least 2 to 3 decades older. It was as though something had drained the man of life. He did not look... tired was not correct... nor was defeated. But he did look apathetic.

"Hmmm... definitely seems like something untoward." She said to herself softly. She drew on her magical powers to allow her to see that which cannot be seen by mortal eyes. This was a Hiral-Kai specialty that most of her Temple possessed but few could master properly as Hiral-Kai herself had.

She stared at the King and was amazed.

She could not find anything.

She had to look away and searched the rest of the room to make sure her Sight was activated. There was a guard halfway to the door that had an enchanted dagger in a sheath at his boot.

Good, my Sight is working then.

She looked back at King Djonn. Nothing. It struck her then that there was also an absence of thoughts and emotions, the general mood or opinion of something the Sight scries is meant to appear visible to her.

And yet there was nothing.

Suddenly the light in the whole Throne Room dimmed. It was impossible, there were no windows to this room. The structure had ventilation holes along the roof and the floor to control the flow of hot or cold air depending on the comfort of the King. She looked up and down the room, trying to see the reason for the gloom.

None of the candles, chandeliers or lanterns had been put out. She noticed too that none of the people in the Throne room seemed to react to the change in the room.

It was getting darker still and she could no longer see the floor of the throne room. The people were beginning to fade and disappear. Nidal raised her right hand and let her long sleeve fall away. She focused for a second and brought forth her magical light so she can illuminate the darkness.

Nothing happened.

She stared down at her hand. There should be a point of light created above her palm, but there was nothing. The darkness was so deep that she could barely make out the walls, floor and seats of the gallery.

She tried again to create the light and nothing happened. She attempted to bring forth a small flame. This too did not manifest.

Suddenly she felt incredibly cold. There was movements from the Throne Room. She stared hard as a massive movement demanded her attention. Rising up slowly but steadily was a massive form. Large and bulbous, it was larger than a horse.

A deep sense of foreboding chilled her to the core.

The shape's form tapered off and then widened again. Now much larger than any creature she had ever seen, she realized that the shapes were that of a head, a neck, then shoulders and a part of the chest. The man-like shape was massive, it was standing on the floor of the Throne room below and yet it towered over her.

Its eyes were two holes of pitch black darkness. Nidal felt tiny before this figure, a helpless feeling that started in her very core.

The gloom was consuming, dark, and stifling. But the darkness of the figure standing before her was darker. It was as though the figure was responsible for consuming all the light in the room and the darkness had concentrated there.

None of her magic was working.

She reached for her two-edged fighting dagger she kept hidden under her cloak. Her breath caught in her throat. The holster was there, but the blade was gone. Had she forgotten to take it with her? Impossible. Had someone taken it?

The massive figure leaned forward. Her composure finally cracked and then shattered as she leaned backwards away from the monster she fell on the stairs between the rows between the benches. She screamed. Her throat and lungs burned with the exertion of creating as much noise as possible.

In terror she realized that there had not been a sound. She was breathing hard, not even that was making a sound. Nobody would be able to hear her. If anyone else was actually still there. If they were not all dead.

Dead... the thing was still coming toward her, the face leaning into the gallery seemed to take up the space above her now. The two terrible pits of darkness that were its eyes were staring at her.

The coldness and the terror seeped through her bones and into her flesh. She was crying, sobbing, she could not find the strength to stand. This thing... it was going to end her... not just her body but her very soul.

A new point of pitch black darkness appeared above her and with soul-consuming dread she realized that it was the creatures mouth. It was larger in proportion than that of a man's

It stretched open and became larger as the head came down.

Nidal shrieked, or she would have if she could make any sound. She threw her hands over her head and ducked her head to her chest. Her knees came up to protect her stomach.

Darkness descended and the dread covered her completely.

So... that's what had happened to Nidal...

Thank you for reading!

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