Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 51: City Lord’s Apprehension

In a mansion deep in the city, the city lord, who is responsible for the management and safety of everyone present in the city, was writing on a scroll and recalling his tasks when suddenly he felt dread. His hair all over his body stood to the end.

He started feeling anxiety, which is not possible for someone of his stature, he tried sensing where this feeling of dread was coming from, but he couldn’t find the source, no matter how much he tried the feeling of dread wasn’t stopping.

He wondered if he was the only one feeling this way. "The front lines are really abominable. No one can be safe here, but after this term ends, I will be free of such responsibilities."

"Where is this premonition coming from, is it because of the Nyx knights who were escorting that young girl, but they have already left for the Nyx family estate, I should call for Hog, he must know about every change happening in the city."

Calling upon his butler, the city lord instructed him to call for Hog the head administrator of The Wailing Shadow City.

Meanwhile, Hog who was leisurely drinking, with his maid sitting over his lap, groping her with his greasy thick hands all over her body, while the maid just kept quiet and her head lowered, with a hint of red shade on her cheeks.

A man in a completely black attire, which looked to be of martial clothing, was bowing in front of him, and recounting his findings.

Listening to the man, and enjoying himself on the side, brought great pleasure Hog, but as if recalling something, his face turned dour, he asked, "What about those, who came from the Starfall Family, is there any news about them."

The man replied, "Yes my lord, we located a tavern on the outskirts of the city, from what we have noticed, the security there is quite lax, even non-existent, while it is also a Starfall Family’s lodging, it is more like for their servants, none of the descendants must be living in such a place with low security."

Hog scoffed, at his spy, "If there was any real descendant living there, I would have to give my own head in a platter to the Starfall Family, that Rhydian has irked me on many occasions, finally I can have my way with him, for such a lowly slave of the Starfall family, if he cannot even protect himself, he will be considered a waste either way haha."

Hog then waved at his spy, who lowered his head and disappeared into the darkness behind him, meanwhile after having fun with the maid, he sent her outside, because what he was about to do, cannot be known by anyone.

Opening a secret compartment on his desk, he pulled out a scroll, on which there was some scribble written on it, it was in a coded language that only he and the one receiving the message could understand.

After opening the scroll, he found that there was no reply, "These incompetent bastards cannot even cherish an opportunity being given to them, and these trash beasts dream of ruling over the human race."

The ones who Hog was trying to connect with were none other than the beast race’s spies who were hiding near the city, but unbeknownst to him, every safe house of the spies had been turned empty by them, without even taking a thing from their safe houses, they have all escaped outright from The Wailing Shadow City, because of the impending calamity that this city will face.

While Hog was irritated by the lack of response from the scroll, he could only gnash his teeth and put it back in the secret compartment in his desk, suddenly his door was knocked.

Hog was already irritated by the beast’s lack of response, now getting his door knocked on made him distressed, "who dares to disturb me at this hour."

Opening the door, he was going to scold, when he saw his maid, who had her head lowered in respect, and a man behind her who was wearing a regal suit.

"Ahh Head Butler, I didn’t know you were here, may I know how can I be of service to you," smiled Hog.

The Head Butler of the city lord just said, "Good, come with me, City Lord has called for you."

Hog was stunned that the City Lord was calling for him at night, there must be something of utmost importance, nodding towards the butler, Hog went back to change his clothes, and then went to the city lord’s mansion with the head butler.

At that very moment, while Hog prepared to leave with the head butler, far beyond the southern edge of The Wailing Shadow City, the sky began to fracture into swirling plumes of shadow, not clouds, not fog, but complete darkness, it was devastating and unnatural, the moon above flickered as though veiled by a shifting hand, and then it disappeared entirely beneath the crushing dark.

Lyneex was coming.

Her form was no longer human, no longer beast. It was an amalgamation of grief and fury, shadow and soul, a colossal silhouette that towered above the mountains, she moved like a tide, her every step blotting out stars, her shape a maelstrom of shifting limbs, screaming wails, and serpentine darkness, entire ridges collapsed beneath her arrival, trees vaporized without flame, animals fell dead without sound, the wind itself reversed, pulled toward her with a keening howl.

Villages between her and the city were the first to disappear, they were not crushed, nor were they burned, they were simply unmade.

Herds, homes, and fields were gone in silence, swallowed by the ink of her presence.

The people had no time to scream.

The Wailing Shadow City, a place known for its cruelty and iron-fisted order, could have never seen this coming, from the outer patrol towers to the lowliest tenements, hearts seized in chests, breaths turned shallow, every guard stationed on the high walls instinctively reached for weapons, only to freeze as they glimpsed at the thing approaching from beyond the horizon.

It was not a march. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

It was not a siege.

It was a calamity slithering its way towards them.

Inside the city, the City Lord had only just left his study to pace the hallway, his expression grim and distant, the cold sweat on his back had not dried since the sensation first overtook him, as Hog followed behind the butler toward the central chamber, he too paused mid-step, hand twitching to his side.

A terrible pressure.

It had arrived.

The walls of the mansion shook faintly, a rumble, not from within, but beneath and around them, as if the foundation of the city itself was beginning to collapse.

The City Lord turned, and in that instant, his pupils constricted to slits, a whisper ran through his soul.

Then it came.

A soundless roar.

A presence like the descent of an eternal eclipse pressed down upon the entirety of The Wailing Shadow City.

Outside, the colossal form of Lyneex stood just a few miles from the southern gate, her shadow body towered until it pierced clouds, trailing wisps of her long tendrils, shaped like wings, like chains, like writhing serpents of anguish, the stars behind her blinked out, where her form touched the ground, reality shimmered as though rejecting her existence.

The city had long been protected by an invisible barrier, an artifact crafted by the heroes and gifted to every city in the front lines imbued with runic encryptions, that very barrier now flared to life, radiant golden-blue lines sketching themselves into view, forming a massive dome over the city.

Lyneex stopped just short of it.

She raised no hands, for she had none.

She spoke no words, for she had no mouth.

Yet her will was clear, she would enter, she would tear this city from its foundation, and she would find the ones responsible for her son’s death.

Her power surged.

A massive pulse of shadow condensed around her form, the center of her swirling form darkening until it was deeper than black, a colorless void, she launched her power forward, a spiraling mass of mourning and hatred, slamming it against the city’s barrier.

BOOOOOM.

The sky shook.

The barrier shuddered, runes rippling and flickering violently.

From every inch of the city, people fell to their knees, commoners, soldiers, nobles, and children clung to walls, and fireless lanterns cracked from the resonance alone.

Inside the central mansion, the chandeliers swung wildly, the floor cracked, paintings tore from their walls, and the City Lord stumbled and grabbed a pillar to keep himself upright.

He finally understood.

His eyes widened, lips parting. "The Wailing Shadow, why is a monarch here, this city is named after her, for every warrior in the city it is a dream to slay the creature because of whom the city was named, and only then it will be named after the heroic human who slays the monarch, yet why was she here."

He turned to Hog, who had entered behind him, face pale and drenched in sweat. "You felt it too?"

"I... my Lord, that... that isn’t a beast. This isn’t even time for war," Hog stammered. "That’s... Lyneex, what is she doing here."

The City Lord didn’t respond immediately, he walked towards the balcony, flinging open the tall, arched doors, and gazed toward the sky.

There it was.

Just over the southern horizon.

The impossible figure.

A being not born of flesh but sprouted of darkness, despair, and vengeance, a shadow with a thousand eyes, none of them were open yet.