The Ocean Siege | Vol.2, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

27.

Sebastian's legs had stopped working.

As soon as he, Imogen, and Remy entered the mansion, they gave out. He had collapsed onto the white floor, his entire body was rife with pain. More spots obscured his vision and he let out an agony-filled groan.

Remy and Imogen hoisted him from the floor. They draped his arms over their shoulders and lugged him along.

"We've got you," Remy told him as he strained to hold the older boy up.

Sebastian tried expressing his gratitude, but he couldn't make any noise apart from a few low groans. His words died in his throat, which kept constricting as if there was a boa coiled around it. Cold sweat coated his chalky skin. His eyes drooped; he could barely keep them open.

His time was almost up.

The poison was spreading. Fast. If it had already immobilized his legs, it wouldn't take long for it to attack his heart. Once it did, his body would begin to shut down completely. He grimaced at the thought. It would be a slow, painful death. He felt his eyes misting.

The thought of death didn't scare him. Well, not as much as he thought it would. He always knew his time would come eventually. Death always came. No one could escape it. Not his mother. Not those who died in the city. And certainly not him.

Death wasn't what he was afraid of.

He was afraid of failing. He had thought he was destined for something more. Ever since he was a child, he dreamt of being some revered hero, like Zoran Lumai—the first leader of the magicians—or his ancestor, Obscurin Tenebris—founder of the dark arts. When he learned of the Prophecy of Eight and started having those strange dreams when he was nine, he was sure he was destined for greatness.

He thought he was the one.

Now, he knew those dreams were nothing more than that; just dreams. Pathetic images put into his head as some sort of sick joke. His wasn't meant to become a hero. He was meant to die, scared and helpless in the palace of a burning city.

He dropped his head, his legs dragging behind him as his friends pulled him along.

"We need to get him downstairs," Imogen said breathlessly. "That's where Sirus and the others are."

Remy nodded and pushed a few curly strands of damp hair out his face. "Good idea."

Sebastian coughed and groaned. A burning hellfire spurred within his chest cavity. The silverbane was filtering through his veins like toxic ocean water.

His eyes widened as he thought of something.

Ocean water...

He thought back to his talk with Siren and Ajax on the beach the previous night. He felt the soft sand under his feet and sound of the waves crashing in his ears. At that moment, he would've given anything to be back there again.

The princess' words returned to him. An idea sparked inside his head.

"S-Siren," he croaked, his lips dried and chapped. "She...she can help."

Imogen furrowed her brow. "Help? Help how?"

"She's a healer. A prodigy, even." Remy's eyes lit up. "Sebby, you're a genius." He continued carrying Sebastian down the hall with a confused Imogen shooting different questions at him.

The corridor led the trio to a spiral staircase that led down into the basement. As they passed through the floor, the white walls shifted into dark stone with glowing, azure bricks interrupting the bleak pattern every now and then.