Page 3946 -- CCCXVII.

“Is that a Hun’kui?” said Nicholae.

“Indeed it is,” said Vasiliy.

“Why is it here?”

Vasiliy moved closer to the large tank. “Some months ago, one of our sects discovered this poor bastard on the surface. He was thought to be dead, and since Hun’Kui are rather rare specimens, he was taken to another facility for testing. But then he was discovered to still be alive, albeit just so. Therefore, a recuperation chamber was deemed necessary for him.”

“Wow...”

“Anyway, the technology is the interesting part, yes? The seals used on this chamber might be precisely what you need. Would you like a better look?”

“Ah--um, but, er... I’m sorry, Grandfather. W-why is this fellow being kept in some backroom storage like this?”

“Oh. The tests conducted on him were completed in short order, since we didn’t want to do anything too invasive and risk killing him. And his recovery should be complete by now, too. But we can’t simply cut him loose, either, because unfortunately, he makes for quite a good hostage.”

“Hostage? What do you mean?”

“Well,” said Vasiliy slowly, “as it turns out, this isn’t just any old Hun’Kui. This one’s a prince.”


Chapter Three Hundred Seventeen: ‘In the land of ancient Death...’
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The world shifted into brilliance. Light and colors, wind and movement--Hector could see and feel more things in these moments than he could possibly comprehend, even with multiple thought processes trying to capture it all.

It was almost like it was resisting perception. Purposely eluding his attention.

Playing with him. Happily. Warmly. Childishly.

That was the brief glimmer that he managed to catch within the aura of the Gate--or rather, of the path within the Gate after it opened. There was something more in there. Some kind of presence. An awareness. Was that the Gate itself? Or something on the other side?

It was gone too quickly to tell.

Hector was left standing there in complete darkness as the strange world of lights vanished totally.

But the new questions in his mind about the true nature of Rathmore’s Gate did not stay there for long.

The aforementioned darkness soon took precedence.

With the Scarf, he could immediately tell that everyone had made it--aside from the intangible reapers, of course. But thankfully, their glowing skeletal faces were always visible, even without light, so he didn’t have to worry about them, either.