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Chapter 88: Haunted Halls
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 89: Vengeful Spirit
“You really do cling to life like a parasite, Chiri Krane.” A man’s voice remarked from near to where she laid. Chiri’s eyes still clamped shut against the pain as she remained sprawled on her side. The voice playing out many times through her subconscious in recent months, she did not need to open her eyes to know to whom the melodious voice belonged. Recognizing that its meter had been thrown off mildly by his apparent vexation towards an issue she was not yet aware of, Chiri remained unapologetic for her tenacity. Her skin cold and coated with dried blood, she pried open one eye. Finding herself lying on the cold cobble stones of what appeared to be a cavernous cellar. There were many arched doorways, which led off into secret corridors in the oval shaped convergence that surrounded her. Their darkened gateways peered at Chiri’s agony indifferently from their regimented positions along the foreign dome of the space. Only able to make out the rogue leader’s face partially in the gl
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 89.5: The Story of Ryker Crouse
Hardly a sound to be heard aside from the rustle of trees and the melodious chorus of birdsong in the grounds of the estate. The serene garden, whose buds relished the comfortable heat of summer, seemed at odds with the sullen entity they concealed. His form sat slouching against a pillar of the stone gazebo located near the center of the garden. Conveyed to him by the gentle current of a warm breeze, Ryker Crouse breathed in the sweet scent of the roses that encompassed the little structure. The flowers fragrance reminding him of the alluring decay of perfume, the boy screwed up his nose upon taking in the garden’s pungent bouquet. However, still chose to occupy himself with the slow whittling of a piece of wood. Scraping away at the thick branch he had taken from one of the trees with a pocketknife, Ryker paused to inspect the progress of his crude carving. Looking upon it critically, he observed that Its outline, whilst suggesting something of a bird, bore no resemblance to the bl
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 90: Guardian of the Moon Gate
The swirling mass of a dark cloud arising from one of the arched doorways in the underground catacombs, a bottle of partially consumed liquor was thrown towards it in frustration. Its glass, shattering on the coarse stones behind Chiri, after having narrowly missed her head. The Guardian pressed her lips together gravely as she materialized to perceive this unfriendly reception from the leader of the Moon Gate faction. Glaring at him from the large frame of the dreary opening, Chiri could guess at the reason behind Ryker’s hostility towards her and maybe even his drinking as she viewed him for the first time since her mission. The destructiveness of her powers, whilst sizable, was now known to be inconclusive. Although accomplished in the act of reducing her childhood home to a pile of dust. Chiri had failed in the ultimate goal of her deployment, which was to bring about an end to the shrewd and formidable Xavier Crouse. The feat attempted and nearly achieved, Chiri had found hersel
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 91: Broken
The chairs and wardrobe pushed aside to accommodate its thick gilded frame; a large mirror had been propped against the bedroom wall. Ancient symbols scrawled over its reflective surface, it hummed with the lines of a spell that was being spoken in a long dead tongue. The glass beginning to reverberate from the collective force of the enchantment, it shuddered violently in the confines of its wooden support for some time. A faint ringing eventually heard emerging from the mirror. It was abruptly followed by the harsh pang of cracks forming across its surface. Ceasing in his recitation of the spell, Cazer growled at the sight of his splintered reflection mixed among the sigils on the mirror. His own disdainful eyes glaring back at him, they mocked his failure as he sat on the cold tiles of his chambers. Their orbs bloodshot and surrounded by the dark shadows of several a sleepless night, he loathed their stark portrayal of the desperation and desolation he felt. Their blatant ridicule
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 92: Ruined
The floor like a chessboard of immaculate black and white tiles laid out in front of him, Allen found that the halls of the Crouse’s Vemery estate presented themselves with a forthrightness he had not been expecting. No secretive dark passageways or domineering ancestors looking down from the walls, there was not much apart from his own shadow to cast a dark outline upon the unambiguous tiles. The corridors, light and airy, it seemed that the only mystery they held was how they had managed to evade the oppressive heat of the day outside. However, the events of the tragedy that had taken place at the Crouse’s main country estate over a week ago, lacked this same clarity. Pondering the incident repeatedly in his mind during his journey there already, Allen Pierce had been sent to the opulent property in the city to investigate what exactly had transpired that day. Not engaging in many active missions of late, Allen had been deployed to the capital in order to gather a statement from Xa
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 92.5: A Partnership Ended
A spherical ornament on the desk jumping at the sound of Harry's pistol being slammed down on the surface directly beside it. The little trinket with its overlapping parts and gears continued to shake and roll uneasily on the bureau as Harold Pierce glared at the man seated opposite him. The dark wooden furnishing formed a barrier between the two men as the gun was thrown down out of frustration. The barrel of the weapon still pointed directly at his partner after Harold found himself incapable of pulling the trigger, it stood by in order to witness the argument that was about to unfold. The man’s dispassionate yellow irises analyzing him in the same way that a snake might its prey, there was not a shred of doubt in Harold’s mind that Xavier Crouse deserved at least one bullet placed in him. However, despite the feelings that had provoked him to barge into the Crouse estate unannounced, Harold had found that his fingers resisted the action that his mind could so easily justify. His p
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 93: Presumed Dead
The ruby gleaming from amongst the books and pages on the desk, it winked knowingly up at Cazer. A crack marring the otherwise perfect surface of the memento that was left to him by his wife, his brow scrunched together as he considered its meaning. However, increasingly uncertain whether there even was a message to be deciphered from the accessory’s presence there, it had come to instill in him a constant sense of inadequacy. Desiring to have more of Chiri than just this trinket alone, Cazer realized that it would require more than just his power alone to recover her from the place she had gone. Not seeing his departed wife again since their dream-like encounter, Cazer had found the earring presented sparse answers to his many questions. Her indefinite existence in this plane and the manifestation of her powers upon their brief reunion, confirming nothing other than the supposition that Chiri had now somehow become a part of the Moon Gate as its gatekeeper. Cazer pinched at the br
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 94: Misleading
The path long and sinuous, there were few who were likely to travel along it despite its shade and relative serenity. Coiling along the outskirts of Ineset, the route was too small for carriages and housed only a small enclave of select residents whom Allen had no desire to happen upon as he progressed along it mindfully. Air shaking the leaves, their shadows created waves of movement on the dry dirt of the walkway ahead of him. The motion of the branches, unsettling what tranquility he had managed to find, Allen’s tentative steps were further interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping underfoot behind him. The sudden alarm, causing his feet to halt abruptly in the center of the path and head to jerk toward the noise. Allen sighed in possible relief and definite frustration once the dark figure that had crept up behind him revealed himself. His tall slender shape merging out from behind the trunk of one of the thick trees that provided the path with shade, Cazer Krane barely deigned
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The office filled with the serenity of the subtle white noise of each person’s solitary or otherwise mundane activities. It was the frustrated sigh which stood out amongst them as Chiri stared at the black and white squares of the board in front of her. The mild amusement that her opponent as he derived some enjoyment at her expense, evident by the sly smirk on his face. Chiri finally plucked her bishop from the board, her brow furrowing as she placed the piece in the last movement available to her, she slouched back onto the soft leather couch in resignation.Aware of her defeat without him having to state it, Cazer still smiled as he declared smugly, “Check mate.” Sulking as she sustained another loss, Chiri crossed her arms in front of her chest as she muttered back at him sourly, “I hate this game.” The smirk of confidence he possessed from beating her repeatedly at chess that morning, unrelenting as he continued to stare back at her. The expression would have irked her more had s
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 101: Battle for the Moon Gate
The smell, like death and decay condensed. It seemed to cling to the walls of the tunnels and hang in the air as repugnant as one might find a corpse which still swayed in its noose. The heinousness of the scent, only becoming more egregious as they continued further into the catacombs beneath the bustling streets of Ineset, Allen found that each breath he drew provoked a repulsed churning in his stomach.A rat, made fat by feasting on the bones of the deceased and the other hapless creatures that might live within them, brushing past his foot. Allen released a mild gasp, before recoiling back against the wall of the tunnel in disgust. Already traversing the morbid labyrinth for at least an hour now, he began to hope for any sign of the rogue mages’ hideout to be uncovered soon. Whilst acknowledging that their unlit corridors and seclusion were perfect for those who did not want to be found, Allen could not fathom how it was inhabited by any member of the living for long.Their route,
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 100.5: What Could Have Been
The small wooden frame of the bed moaning as someone shifted on its lumpy twin mattress, the noise prompted Chiri’s eyelids to flutter open slowly. Awoken from her deep sleep, she rolled onto her back to observe the person who sat on the edge of the bed they had shared. Her long hair tangled beneath her, she watched his broad back silently as he pulled on the few articles of the uniform that had been scattered about the floor during the night. Her gaze, apparently felt by him after a while, Allen Pierce turned. Greeting Chiri with an affectionate smile as she blinked the sleep away from her eyes, the skin around his blue gray irises crinkled from the extent of the contentment within this moment. The springs of the mattress displaced again as he leaned towards Chiri, Allen cupped her cheek tenderly in his hand to say gently, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” His thumb caressing her cheekbone lightly as he spoke, Chiri smiled back at him tiredly from the pillow. Her hand, rising
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 100: In the Absence of Virtue
Amidst the forgotten streets and the forlorn inhabited who were relegated to their drenched cobblestones, was a place that remained far removed from the eyes of the public. The location of the business, only known to the few who required specialized or otherwise illicit magic items, Allen was perplexed to once again discover himself at the threshold of Ekral Manstein’s shop. The dismal weather, causing the gray steps that led down off of the street to become slick beneath his feet. Allen descended them cautiously, before finally arriving at the door. Issuing a knock, he passed a long minute or two out in the persistent drizzle, before the little compartment on the door slid open. A pair of dark and tired eyes revealing themselves to him, they scrutinized Allen, whose hair and clothes had come to cling damply to him as they grumbled, “What brings you here?” A few drops of rain from the mantle of the door, falling to slide down the back of his neck, Allen shivered as he replied, “I need
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 99: The Night Gate Guardian
The final weeks of summer saturated by a persistent drizzle, it left gray pools on the footpath. Branching out into different avenues between the headstones, Cazer did not pause to consider the names etched on each nor did he become weighed down by solemn reflection as he progressed past them determinedly. The patent leather of his shoes, marred by the dirt of the cemetery as he entered into the more ancient part of the Alliance burial grounds that was shaded by the gnarled branches of a few mature trees. Cazer proceeded past the mossy and worn graves until he came to the one he sought.A sandstone mausoleum to one of the Alliance’s founders, Regus Sieg. The foreboding bars, clamped shut over the structure’s hollow opening, were only made more grim by the effects that time had over its once pristine stones and columns. Weathered and darkened by centuries of dreary days, such as this, Cazer mounted the few steps that led up to its gates. Placing a hand onto its cold metal, there was a
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 98: Meeting of the Secret Alliance
The room, silent, aside from someone tapping out an odd stunted interpretation of time with their fingers. Allen discovered himself in the company of an unusual assortment of friends and acquaintances he had never once expected to encounter. All there under the reasonable assumption of what joined them together, Tristan Hurst, Morose Akena, Horus Crouse, and Lance Armistice eyed each other awkwardly from their varying positions amidst the office. Unsure of whether to broach their purpose for being there or to feign normalcy by engaging in small talk as they awaited the final members of their group, Allen found that his foot too now drummed along to the peculiar rhythm set within the room. The anxious wiggling not ceasing, he contemplated the wisdom of joining these diverse characters together in their mission. Although operating seemingly well in their exasperating partnership, Cazer and Allen acknowledged that their plans to launch an more offensive strike on the Moon Gate mages wou
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 97: Sympathy for My Enemy
The rank smell of decay and mildew immediately enveloping her, Chiri knew that she had rejoined the dark catacombs where the cohorts of the Moon Gate’s malicious hoard gathered. Hissing as her form solidified again in the tunnel, Chiri again grasped at her side. Unsteady, the weight of her body found some stability as her back slumped onto the damp wall beside her. Expecting to be met with some snide remark in regard to her injury instantly upon her arrival, Chiri was to discover instead that her entrance had hardly been noticed amidst the affairs that had preceded her. Voices heard in the large junction between the tunnels, Chiri turned her head lazily in their direction. Leaning wearily against the dark tunnel, her eyes pinched together mildly as she squinted at the figures in the opening. Most of them the usual suspects that collected around Ryker Crouse, there was one amongst them that was only vaguely familiar to her. The woman’s hair matted and clothes dirty and torn from the t
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 96: The Wrong and the Righteous
Hurried steps and panicked voices arising from outside the Dawn Gate, the source of their alarm was indeterminate from what corner of the empty ward Chiri occupied. Disinterested by the distant sounds of their mingled unease faded into a buzz of unrest as she closed her eyes against the persistent pain which plagued her. Clutching the saturated fabric more closely to the gouge at her side, Chiri grimaced as blood oozed out from between her fingers and onto the pestine floor beneath her. The wound, not having cut deep enough to touch any vital arteries or organs. It only posed the immediate threat of blood loss as she remained a solitary entity amongst the empty cots of the infirmary. The injury’s presence, no less vexing in the least, this was to be the reward Chiri enjoyed from another one of Ryker’s misguided assignments. Reclining against the wall slowly, she hissed an embittered curse through gritted teeth, “Sodded slug suckers!” Fortunate enough to find that no one else should b
Moon Gate Guardians Chapter 95: The Breakaway
“Those damn toothy bastards can burn in Hell for all of eternity!” Cazer roared, the doors slamming shut behind him in order to punctuate the vehemence of this outburst. They were then battered again as he landed a ferocious kick onto the barrier of the office. The eruption of his fury causing the solid doors to shake, Cazer barely regarded the man who sat observing the dramatic display from his position on the couch.Allen’s eyes following him warily as he stormed into the room, Cazer found the silent pressure of his judgemental stare of little consequence as he marched over to his desk. Breathing agitated and his hair disorderly, he jerked open a drawer on the bureau. Withdrawing a half-full decanter and wiping the rim of a glass on the desk that had previously been used for water, Cazer poured himself a sizable portion of the spirit. Not offering any to the Hunter, he waited for Cazer to down the drink before asking, “No luck, I take it?” In too foul a temper to accept the smugness
