Eye Of The Eclipse - 35 Brothers

Less than five minutes later, after a tense yet un-suspenseful journey, Robin unceremoniously jumped over the ledge and into the dark expanse below. While Loki and Rykar were still hesitating and internally question what was going on, the three figures behind them staggered past them both without a word while, much more gently, beginning to lower themselves over the edge too.

First was the one which Chance had been holding on to. Despite a swollen hand, he wasn’t hindered as he hopped over the ledge in a similar yet more restrained manner to Chance. After he was out of sight, the uninjured member began to lower the figure which Rykar had been choking. He remained unconscious as the figure below held him in order to stead his decent. The final figure then sat on the edge before sliding his body over and disappearing.

As the last two left above, Loki and Rykar both rushed towards the edge which was still shrouded in darkness. Quickly eliminating his sense of unease, Loki climbed over the side ahead of Rykar. Shrinking to his knees, he lowered himself over while tightly holding onto the edge.

The lower he went, the faster his heart beat in his chest as he couldn’t feel anything below him to land on. Even after fully extending his arms, his feet kicked around fruitlessly as he dangled hopelessly.

“Help me back up.” Unwilling to release his grip and embrace the leap of faith, he called out to Rykar while applying strength to his arms. “Hurry up!”

Fear descended like a brick in a pond. Although he wasn’t going any lower, the gurgling sound of the waste below him was louder than ever and paired with the tangible darkness that enveloped him, his body was rapidly becoming weak under the mental stress.

While trying to brace his feet against the wall in front of him, he quickly realised there was actually nothing there! The underside of the path they had been walking on was surprisingly hollow underneath.

Looking up, Rykar had already rushed over about to grab onto his hands in a bid to pull him up when Loki felt a hand clamp over his leg. He his stomach felt like it slipped out of his mouth as he was dragged under the walkway in a sharp but fluid movement with no regard for comfort.

Despite seeing Loki’s hand disappear, Rykar only felt a little caution towards the edge of the pit before steadily lowering himself in a similar fashion. After extending himself as far as he could, he resolutely let go of his grip on the ledge above.

Although, after seeing everyone climb down one after the other, he was certain that it was safe, his eyes still flew open as he scanned the darkness fiercely in the brief moment he was falling. Less than a second felt like it was being dragged on for years before his foot found stable footing.

The small protrusion he was now stationed on was only slightly extended out when compared to the edge of the walkway he had fallen from. Although usefully finding the footing, his heel hung off the side while the balls of his feet supported his entirely.

Looking ahead, he found himself to be at the mouth of another passage which was around three metres wide. The floor of the passage immediately reminded him of the beautiful yet intoxicating starlit sky that he had seen as he left the fragment just a few hours ago.

Stone which resembled those on the walls of the tunnel outside were scattered along the ground like pebbles. Some were so small that they seemed almost like a fine grey dust, while the larger pieces were as large as a thumb with obvious signs of being smashed off from a larger piece.

Together, these pieces mimicked starlight as they cast milky light over the floor of the pathway. This light being more than enough to make out Loki panting on his knees in a bid to recover from the hock of the sudden fall.

The others, including Chance, had already made their way further in while disappearing one by one into an archway which had a frame that was similarly embedded with these milky stones.

After a moment of respite, the twins followed the others along this short but dreamlike pathway and through the gate of stars.

The dull milky light immediately dispersed and was replaced by a warm glow which spilled out from all corners of the room. Contrary to the expectations of the twins, the sudden change didn’t cause any discomfort to their eyes in the least as the soft light covered them.

“Ahahahaha no way!” Without a chance to take in their surroundings, a peel of laughter tore through the silence as multiple figures rushed over to embrace Chance. “You son of a bitch, how the hell did you get out?”

“When has anyone been able to keep me locked up? More importantly, I see that all it took was three years for you finally some facial hair huh.” Chance began chatting with the others as though nothing had happened outside.

Outside of the three they had come in with, there were three new faces in the room which all carried huge smiles as they gathered around two in the centre. In their black robes, the whole scene looked suspiciously more like a cult meeting than a friend’s reunion.

As they continued to chat, names and memories were quickly thrown around but Rykar and Loki used this time to take in the room they were now in. It was more like a small hall rather than a room.

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There were clear dividing sections between areas used for the living, sleeping and storage spaces. It was hard to believe that such a warm and comfortable space existed just below the eerie pathway they had been walking along for so long.

The walls were clearly the same stone construct as the rest of the tunnels, but the floor had been thoughtfully covered with a light brown carpet which only complimented the sun-like glow coming from the sun stones in the corners of the space.

Despite the styles of the furnishings being mismatched, they all looked comfortable. Beds, tables, chairs

“Loki… Can you smell that?” Rykar asked while sniffing at the air like a hungry dog.

“What are you doing? It doesn’t smell like anything.” Loki answered while looking at his brother as though he was crazy.

It was only after he finished speaking that he realized that the rank smell that had assaulted them from the moment they opened the manhole had actually disappeared. Throughout the journey, the smell had become more and more tolerable to the point that they had thrown it to the back of their mind completely by the time the confrontation with the three figures had passed.

However, the ever-present smell still left a sinking feeling in their chests. Now, after entering the hall, it was almost as though they had entered a totally different space all together. They both began to think back to the cabin within the tree instinctively and started to compare the two.

“And these are?” Although initially forgotten, the short conversation between Rykar and Loki immediately drew the attention of the entire group, halting their conversation immediately. Even knowing this must be company brought by Chance, those that hadn’t seen them before tensed up slightly while the three which were already familiar with them showed traces of fear.

In their sights were two devilish looking boys sniffing the air strongly enough for whistling sounds to be heard as their red and grey eyes darted around the room seemingly in contemplation. Their feet being only bound and lacking proper shoes only added to their wild and beastly appearance.

“These are my little brothers. From now on their a part of this family.” Chance introduced the twins with a laugh as he glanced over the boys then the three that had ambushed them in the passageway. The final member who had been unconscious from the clash had awoken and joined in the circle shortly after entering the room yet he weakly shuffled closer to the man in the centre after noticing Chance’s eyes passing over him.

“Rykar, Loki come over and introduce yourselves. There’s nothing to worry about here, the situation earlier was my fault, a joke gone a bit far.” He then shrugged off the previous matter.

“Hold up brother, its great that you’ve brought back some… new friends. But I’m not sure this is the best place for them.” As the twins began to move in their Direction, the man standing next to Chance took a step forward while staring down a them.

Despite the smile on his face, his dark eyes looked at the pair with a deadpan expression for just a moment before turning back to Chance as though they didn’t exist.

“Mmm I see. So, remind me, when exactly did I ask for your opinion?”