‎Lucian stared at Morgan in silence.

‎The rest of the members similarly focused on him with rapt attention.

‎"Who is that?"

‎Morgan simply smiled and gestured for them to follow him.

‎ The small group arrived at an obscure, dimly illuminated chamber.

‎Tenebrous statues filled the room, giving the whole place a hallowed feel.

The ground at the centre of the room was violently cracked, with a small crater in the middle.

‎"What is this place?" Amanda asked.

‎Turning around, Morgan offered her a smile, bowing slightly.

‎"Allow me to introduce you to the bestiary."

‎Her face wrinkled up in confusion.

‎" The what now?"

Morgan gestured slightly, pointing at the sculptures.

‎" The statues in this room, from what we can tell, depict the different creatures in Tenebris," Emily spoke, stepping forward.

‎Talia scanned the room, her eyes roaming over the ancient statues with a look akin to awe.

‎"This place... It's wondrous. I've never seen anything like it."

‎Morgan stared at them in amusement.

‎To be honest, the whole thing was still quite surreal to him.

‎He was still processing the fact that they were all gathered together in one place.

‎" Look at them."

‎His eyes ran across the room, taking in each of their faces.

‎He glanced at Lucian, smiling briefly.

‎" Sammie, Cassius, even Talia...strange."

‎Coming across the group had been a coincidence.

‎The commotion of the large gathering of screeching Bretnars had attracted his attention.

‎He'd been seated on the gilded temple steps when the commotion broke out.

‎A dark mask adorned his face, a souvenir from one of the vaults they'd discovered within the temple.

He'd also discovered the gilded hood shrouding his head in the vault.

‎Somehow, the outfit felt form-fitting.

‎He'd found the mask quite pleasant.

‎Emily chose that moment to step out of the temple.

‎"What, so you suppose is happening over there?" he asked quietly.

‎She stood next to him, staring off into the distance.

‎" I'm not quite sure. It's almost as though something has captured the Bretnar's attention."

‎Morgan nodded, rising to his feet.

‎He checked the strap of his scabbard, slightly tightening it, then turned to Emily.

‎" Want to check it out?"

‎Emily shrugged nonchalantly.

‎" Why not? "

‎The two quickly arrived.

‎The sight that met them was quite startling to say the least.

‎The Bretnar were besieging a group of four youths.

‎Bretnar streaked incessantly through the air, screeching wildly.

‎Morgan's eyes darted around the place, searching for one particular creature.

‎" Where is it?"

‎The creature was the Bretnar king.

‎That Bretnar in particular was a menace; in fact, it made even Morgan wary.

‎" Is that Lucian?" Emily whispered.

‎Morgan's head whipped around at the question, focusing on the ensuing battle.

‎" It's him!"

‎A heartbeat later, he dashed forward, throwing himself into the fray.

‎ The wolves posed the biggest threat, so he decided to take them down first.

‎As he approached, he quickly noted the wraith-like properties of the spectral wolves.

‎" Let's try something then."

Focusing within himself, he drew on the dark foreign energy of the drayghar in his chest.

A dark mist slowly flowed from within him, appearing outside his body.

‎Coating the Blood Reaper blades in the drayghar's dark mist, the two blades blurred through the air, sowing death and chaos amidst the pack of wolves.

‎A moment later, Emily joined him, shooting icy spears through the air.

With her arrival, a chill permeated the air.

Her powers had been steadily growing stronger with the passage of time.

‎The spears impaled the Bretnar, freezing them from the inside out.

‎The creatures fell to the ground convulsing wildly from the excruciating pain of their organs freezing over from the inside out.

‎The duo's cohesion in battle had grown from fighting side by side several times while testing out Emily's newly activated Talented ability.

‎

‎What followed was a swift and decisive victory.

To be honest, he was still quite surprised to have met the rest of the gang here.

‎Lucian strode up to him, quietly standing beside him.

‎" Honestly, it's been quite rough the last couple of days. We've almost died several times over and now... we're here."

‎Morgan chuckled lightly, patting him on the back.

‎" I totally get you. It was the same for us. I found myself in the middle of nowhere, and then shortly after that, I met Emily. And we've moved together ever since. But first, I'll show you one of the vaults," Morgan said, beckoning to Lucian.

‎" There should be something in there that you'll like."

‎The rest of the group followed them to a different part of the temple.

‎The place was like a large closet.

‎Several different outfits were inlaid within metallic cases.

‎" Wow, these look amazing!" Cassius said while admiring the sleek suits.

‎" I figured even this eerie, the assassins must have been quite advanced. These suits are really something," Lucian said, testing the fabric of a dark cloak draped in a metallic case.

‎" Try it on."

‎Talia stared at the excited youths in amusement.

‎An unusual set of throwing daggers drew her attention.

‎The daggers were inlaid in a Silviric case, gleaming invitingly in the pale light despite the dark casing.

‎" Interesting," she murmured.

‎" And you're sure there are no traps in here?" Lucian asked, raising his eyebrows.

‎" I'm positive about that. If there were any, we'd have triggered by now," Morgan said, shrugging in response to Lucian's question.

‎" Besides, " he said, taking a seat on one of the cases," the assassins that lived wouldn't have set traps for themselves. At least I don't think they would?"

‎Lucian frowned slightly, then broke into a smile.

‎" I'll have to agree with you there. It would seem like too much of a joy killer."

‎Amanda was interested in a pair of dark gloves, those gloves.

‎After everyone had gotten something to their liking, they set back out into the main chamber of the temple.

‎Morgan dragged out some of the meat that had been prepared and preserved earlier.

‎" I don't know about you guys, but that battle left me quite famished."

‎The youths dove into the meal gusto, taking turns at sharing their different experiences in Tenebris.

‎" Wow. You guys fought a Kravenar, too?"

‎Lucin and the others stared at Morgan in puzzlement.

‎"What is that?"

‎He stared at them in surprise.

‎" Oh, it's one of those giant spider-like creatures, with fur and several pincers and mandibles."

‎Lucian face-palmed.

‎Morgan smiled, chuckling lightheartedly.

‎"You guys will get time to examine the bestiary for yourselves soon."

‎The group shared several stories until the lights dimmed just enough for them to assume it was nighttime.

‎" So what do you guys plan on doing from here on out?" Lucian asked, stippling his fingers.

‎Morgan stared somberly into the distance in silence for a while before replying.

‎"This city is seated on another city. W discovered it a while back."

‎Most of the eyes in the large chamber widened, staring at him in a stunned silence.

‎A slight frown appeared on Talia's face.

‎"What does he mean there's a city beneath this one? That's impossible..."

‎She thought back to everything that had happened so far.

‎" Or maybe not."

‎She let out a weary sigh, focusing on the conversation with rapt attention.

‎"We've just about scoured every important thing that's on the surface," Morgan was saying.

‎" I'd like to check out what's underneath as well. See what we can find there."

‎Lucian nodded in understanding.

‎After a brief silence, he turned back to Morgan, piercing him with a calm gaze.

‎" Can we tug along for this journey?"

‎Mehan glanced at him in surprise.

‎" Of course, what kind of question is that? You're welcome to join us."

‎

‎After sharing a few more stories, everyone decided to call it a night, sleeping out on the open floor.

‎After a while, Lucian quietly spoke, his voice carrying through the darkness

‎"Hey, Morgan, are you awake?

‎Morgan stirred slightly.

‎"Yep,".

‎"How did you become an initiate?"

‎Morgan's eyebrows flew up in surprise.

‎"Why are you asking? Isn't it like public knowledge among the Great Houses? More do, I'd think it's supposed to be kept a secret?"

‎After a long silence, Lucian quietly answered.

‎"I guess you can say that I'm curious. You're certainly much stronger than any aspirants that I've ever seen. I think you'd even give some apprentices a run for their money."

‎Morgan fell silent for a while.

‎After debating for a while, he decided to tell him the truth.

‎" There were these instructions I found here, in the temple... I followed them and managed to tap into the umbralis."

‎Lucian gasped in shock, suddenly sitting upright.

‎Talia, who'd been eavesdropping, similarly sat staring at him with wide eyes.

‎"What?!"

‎Morgan turned, staring at the duo nonchalantly.

‎"These instructions, where are they?"

‎Morgan quietly shrugged, turning back to a more comfortable position.

‎" I'm not quite sure what happened. I blacked after mastering them and later, when I checked, they'd seemingly vanished."

‎Lucian turned, staring at Talia.

‎Both of them were thinking the same thing.

‎Morgan's story sounded eerily familiar to one that was passed down within the Great Houses. It was similar to how Alistair Thane and the founders of the Great Houses had gained their exalted power.

‎Of course, most of the people were told a plain story, one meant to sway public opinion, but the truth behind the technique required to wield umbralis was passed down within the Great Houses.

‎"Could he have stumbled upon an origin tablet?"

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