Chapter 112: Frozen Court
From the ground rose a terrible stench, as if it came from a macabre battlefield. The heavy smell of iron, with the putrefaction that attracted the crows.
Eternal penumbras covered and surrounded the terrain, hiding their damned secrets.
A fight of hungry crows reproduced in the distance, fighting for what was supposed to be dry meat.
A figure walked with bare feet through those fields, humming a small melody.
Decrepit and miserable.
"The terror, the terror. Who has known the true terror? No one! They are all ignorants, ignorants, ignorants." He murmured trembling.
It was very evident by his posture and behavior that his mind was not extraordinarily well. He hid a malaise very deeply.
His walk did not stop until he finally found himself in front of a lagoon. He tensed his posture, recovering seriousness.
The rest of the aesthetics of the site discorded with the lagoon.
It was pristine and static, shining with soft milky softness in the darkness. Its reflection was tenuous, almost imperceptible.
With a macabre smile drawing itself on his face, the water began to vibrate until going mad. From one moment to the next its surface began to react as if it were boiling under an extremely hot temperature.
"Who will survive? Who? The stars in the sky will blink, trembling with fear, and will lose their primordial light. The source will return."
An incredible and horrifying change occurred, when the lagoon began to exude blood and the flesh began to grow like a living extension.
The stranger clenched his fists, with his gaze acquiring a degree of gravity. At no moment did he stop perceiving the state of the lagoon.
"The connection has begun to engrave itself. When destiny loses the course and chaos becomes the new law, the genesis will be even closer. Soon we, the servants, will descend."
Suddenly the water began to recover its purity, with the flesh that had grown over its surface disappearing. The silhouette that had acted as its master began to clarify.
It had always been that handsome man, who had entered into conversations with the survivors of the Infernal Circles.
***
The surroundings were desolate. An abnormal silence extended through the ruined landscape. The houses were practically abandoned, accumulating garbage and humidity on their walls.
Abyss guided him rapidly through secret passages, cold and monochromatic, until finally a plot opened before them.
It was another property that belonged to Charles in the Frozen North.
"This is a nest especially reserved, Jester. Without any word."
Gabriel remained in silence, sharing a mutual understanding. Revealing that class of secrets would only bring fateful consequences, and only a fool would do it.
The hallways became less and less numerous, until they entered into a garden. The air was clean and the atmosphere ordered.
Definitely it was not exactly equal to the place he had imagined. It was different as refreshing.
"The lord has motives to request your presence." Said Abyss without an apex of fraternal pity. "They will not cause you any harm. They are only motives that need to be explained. You have my word and my confidence."
With those words he was withdrawing in silence, respecting the necessary privacy in each session with Charles, leaving some last words:
"Remember to always be useful."
His words were practical, not a decorum destined to appease rebellion. A reminder engraved in stone through his extensive experience.
The thanks were not necessary, only the lasting favors. With new ideas forming in his mind, he turned halfway and deepened even more through the garden.
It was frankly beautiful, with flowers that survived the eternal winter of Bérsaic, small statues and stone paths.
Charles found himself comfortably on a chair of fine wood and feather cushions, extremely comfortable considering the situation.
"Charles." Said Gabriel with the gaze fixed on who was one of his greatest threats.
You continue being a ruthless mafia boss with cruel methods. Capable of inspiring fear in the most seasoned men.
"You are always so silent, Jester! If they cut your tongue, only say it, we will fix it." Said Charles among laughs.
Immediately he stood up and shook hands with Gabriel. Looking him from top to bottom with attention.
"You have not changed absolutely in anything. That is surprising. Alfred has a pair of new dark circles."
"I have an excellent sleep routine, Charles." Answered Gabriel, while taking a seat in front of him.
The seats had an evident order, carefully chosen and placed.
"That is the surprising thing, Gabriel. Can you still sleep? Your soul must be horrifying to observe." Said Charles with a low laugh, almost diabolical. He was mocking with lightness of his condition.
"My soul? I do not understand. It may be that I am not a saint, but I am not a criminal."
His confusion was genuine, stemming from the strange conversation. There existed secrets that were difficult to glimpse.
"Let us talk of Abyss, well, Abyss... He in the last nights has had a recurrent sensation of malaise. It is the torment." Said Charles, beginning to spin a long history. "The torment of the dead gods. Their name, their meaning, their history... It is their metaphysical weight over a mortal."
The confusion under his mask was not for less; suddenly he had been bombarded with concepts that he did not even know their meaning.
Name, meaning, and history.
It was not the first time he heard them. But he was still a total unknown of such distant concepts. And much less he knew about gods and their relation with the mortals.
"You will understand it, you will understand it. You are intelligent; even a pea has its value. But you must know it... Because you are part." Said Charles, unraveling the ignorance of Gabriel. "These are powers that envelop their divine existences. Intangible but real. Therefore you must not pronounce their names, think of them, or invoke them."
At that point he was practically dizzy, widely surpassed in knowledge. Feigning composure before him.
His last instructions were like a lifeline, from which he did not dare to detach.
"Is that the motive of the suffering of Abyss? This torment?" He pronounced slowly.
It was a connection directly with the source. A bridge that guided them until a dead god, in a condition or unknown spaces. Provoking an unbearable weight in his life.
It began to make sense, lightly.
"It is the direct consequence of the ancient legends. Names that are not worth repeating, in an era that has changed. In the darkness, the light always finds its path." Said slowly Charles, studying the composure of his companion. At no moment had he moved an unnecessary muscle.
"You have involved yourself fatally in this destiny. You surprise me, I thought you would be foliage rapidly eliminated. But you survived, therefore you have the opportunity to participate."
"How can I win?" Asked Gabriel, deciding to ignore how his life had been threatened without any importance.
"Win? No one wins. You are only a worm, we are worms; but we can learn to fly. Strong, only the transcendental strength can face this end, the end of the men." Finished Charles, with an enigmatic smile.
His words were covered by a strong density of mystery, without allowing that any crack permitted the entrance of the light.
"For what do you need me?" Asked Gabriel, preferring to keep silence. He had nothing significant to contribute.
"From today you are part of ours, Gabriel. Of the fundamental link of this city, the Frozen Court. It is necessary." He said surprisingly, with a sudden imposition.
"The Frozen Court? Am I a member of your organization?"
"If you do not want to die cruelly, of course. Your name has begun to resonate... The jester. You need protection and I need brave men like you." Said Charles with conviction, without delivering another option.
His words managed to sound logical. His constant feats would naturally begin to stand out and undesirable persons would begin to recognize him.
Without a support, it would become bothersome.
But Charles also could be lying.
"From today, you are part of ours, Jester." Suddenly he stood up, crossing a few meters. "That statue is very useful. You must strengthen yourself even more. There will be other challenges on the path."