Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 216: Virtue of patience

A tall man with greying hair stood in front of a large fireplace. The flames dancing in the fireplace reflected somberly in his cold grey eyes.

In one hand, he slowly swirled around a fragrant red wine in a crystal clear glass, the sweet smell gently piercing his nostrils.

The fire crackled wildly, several embers rising into the air.

Just then, the flames trembled, surging briefly before settling into a low, uneasy glow. Out of the surrounding darkness, a pair of red eyes appeared first, burning faintly in the gloom. Then their owner stepped forward. A man clad in a suit of absolute black emerged from the shadows, his very presence repelling the light in the room.

There was something ethereal about his presence, something that made the air feel subtly vibrate with barely restrained energy.

"Lord Damien..."

Damien continued staring somberly into the fireplace with an inscrutable expression.

"Luke... what brings you here..."

Damien let out a sigh, then slowly raised his glass to his lips taking a small sip.

He turned taking in Luke’s appearance.

" Tell me Luke, did I fail? Where did I go wrong?"

Suddenly Damien appeared much older than he actually was. The man seemed to visibly age in the warm firelight.

Luke stepped forward, taking a seat. He draped his arms across the sofa, crossing his legs.

Looking up to the ceiling, his eyes soarkled strangely, his lips slowly curled into a small sad smile.

Several mysterious etchings adorned the ceiling in an otherworldly dialect. In the dimlight, the old characters glimmered faintly, at times seemingly moving with a life of their own.

Eventually Luke spoke.

"We are guilty of only one crime, you and I. And that is not being strong enough to protect the things we must protect..."

His gaze drifted to Damien for a while before shifting back to the mysterious etchings.

" You know, if Conrad hadn’t brought me back when he did, I’d have probably died then..."

Damien downed the remainder of the drink in one gulp.

In the next moment, a soft melodic tinkle and mechanical crunch echoed through the room.

Damien opened his palm, allowing the finely crushed crystalline dust to flow through his fingers into the fire.

Damien calmly wiped his fingers and then sat behind the enormous desk.

He let out a weary sigh.

"Do you think Morgan is still alive?"

Luke Sanguine grinned, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the light.

"As long as there is a surviving member of the Thane bloodline, I cannot truly die. The enchantments that keep me alive in this place are bound to the Thanes after all."

He sat up straighter, his eerie crimson eyes piercing Damien with a cold steely gaze.

"You should prepare. Now that the boy is out of the picture, several wolves will be snapping at your heels."

Damien stared at him for a few moments then suddenly smiled.

His entire demeanor transformed until it almost felt like a different person say before Luke.

The crimson-eyed man inwardly grinned.

" Now that’s more like it..."

Damien spoke evenly, his previously somber and nearly lifeless eyes now brimming with vitality.

" That’s already under control," he said smoothly.

" There’s nothing to worry about. Of course, we’ll have to make preparations on our end to try and track down this place that the other survivors spoke of, Azaroth, yes..."

Luke stood up, his lips curling into a wicked smile.

A ripple of unnatural cold swept through the room, revealing the presence of a third observer.

The flames in the fireplace flickered wildly, their sharp crackling suddenly louder in the still silence. The light trembled against the walls as though disturbed by something unseen.

"Conrad," Damien’s voice broke the stillness, calm yet edged with quiet amusement.

"I take it you’re interested in this as well..."

Another figure emerged from the darkness his steps softly echoing in the massive room.

Clad in a stylish black T-shirt and black pants, the librarian, seemed to be one with shadows.

Faint echoes of umbralis swirled through the room at his arrival along with several flakes of snow.

The flakes of snow swirled around him without ever touching his skin.

The elusive librarian curtly nodded.

His dark eyes flickered, briefly turning an ethereal golden colour.

"Its the least I can do. Besides there’s nothing much to do at the Varas Stronghold in Tenebris. The place is a literal fortress. My help is much more needed here."

Damien shook his head.

" While I’m tempted to take you up on your offer, I’m afraid I must decline your request. "

A dark blur moved across the room, an unnatural wind following in its wake. A split second later, Conrad plopped into one of the other chairs in the room.

" And why would you refuse my help at a time such as this..."

Damien stared at him for a few moments then calmly leaned back in his seat.

" You know very well why..."

His grey eyes hardened.

" We need the alliance with the Varas, and with the Spectre out of the picture, there aren’t many that Vincent can count on to keep an eye on his niece. From what I’ve heard, preparations are nearly complete and it was only thanks to your efforts that those kids were found near Varas stronghold..."

Damien leaned forward.

" And that works to our advantage... You keep an eye on her, and Luke stays here, he’ll cooperate with the efforts to..."

Clucking his tongue, Conrad rolled his eyes.

" You don’t need to explain everything to me...I understand. "

Rising to his feet and hands in his pockets, Conrad slowly walked toward the door.

He paused for a moment.

"For both of our sakes, I hope you don’t regret this decision."

With that, he vanished into the shadows.

Luke chuckled, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement and barely restrained power.

Sighing, he turned.

" I guess I should get going as well, this may turn out to be quite the journey."

Damien nodded.

"Very well, you have my permission to use any artifact that you think will increase the odds of success on this mission."

Luke raised his eyebrows at that.

"Does that include the three?"

A faint smile appeared on Damien’s face.

"You may use them if you wish but we both know full well only a true Thane can use them. No exceptions."

Luke laughed, his eyes gleaming.

"Of course, I was only joking.

Behind him, several fractures appeared in the air merging to form a vertical rift.

"I’ll get going then."

With that, the rift widened slightly and Damien was once more the only figure in the room.

Leaning forward, he steepled his fingers staring somberly into the distance.

"Now we wait..."