The darkness on the way down, let alone the path forward, had been emphasized many times over. It still did no justice to the actual sight, or lack thereof, that greeted Octavia at the bottom of the stairs. Velpyre had never been a bright place to begin with, a city cursed by a kidnapped sun. It was only the crumbs of sunshine that tumbled through the stone ceiling, on occasion, that offered any semblance of salvation from damnation to eternal darkness. She didn't even have that. There had been streetlamps, scattered and dim in their own right. Octavia didn't bother trying to look for them, given her exceedingly poor visibility. That option, too, she lacked.

It was a darkness she could never have fathomed, a Hell of another kind augmented by the unbearably loud tell-tale screeching that enveloped her on all sides. She couldn't see the Dissonance. If the way her head spun and her useless vision blurred were any indicators, it was there without question. It wasn't nearly enough to deter her. It wasn't enough to deter those who'd streamed down en masse behind her.

She couldn't cling to Josiah for long, not given the way her plummeting visibility instantly warranted the light she so desperately needed. He was close enough, and Octavia could hear his labored breathing as he trailed her every footstep hurriedly. Already, her ears were giving way to sounds all around, foreign and beautiful in equal measure. The vast majority were unrecognizable, if not notes and harmonies she could pinpoint to specific instruments--presumably.

River had a point about the glistening treasure that was a luminescent legacy down below. Those blessed with both crackling flames and spearing lightning alike flashed their strengths in her peripheral vision like fireworks. Octavia, too, exploded to the best of her ability, fighting with every slash and swish of the bow to weave melodies of her own luminescence. They were precious, swirling and searing as they surged deep into the mist unseen. It was a beacon, a pulsing guide that parted the way forwards just a bit at a time. Now, more than ever, she offered thanks to her own efforts in learning to play effectively while mobile.

"Are you there?"

"I am!"

It was with significant effort and stray ribbons of radiance that she could see Josiah's face in passing, illuminated for a brief moment at her side. Even if there was no sigh of relief to breathe, Octavia offered silent thanks for that, as well.

"Alright, I know you said it'd be dark, but damn!"

Octavia couldn't fully see his partner, not with the vivid clouds of violet that veiled his visage. Still, the flames Francisco brought to life with his resonating chords were explosive, pulsing and swirling in a way that was as gorgeous as it was effective. The quantity alone spoke to his possession of power she knew to belong to an Apex, and it was well at home in his deft hands. It was a kind of harmony she wasn't privy to often, his song fast and flawless as his fires surged forth.

It was through him that the Ensemble was clear, roughly ten feet to her right as they stuck close to one another. At their center, Celestina sprinted with everything she had, perfectly ensnared in a triangle of powerful guardians. Each and every time the Dissonance threatened to close the small window of visibility between the Ambassador and the former acolyte yet again, Francisco cut it down in the most mesmerizing way. Octavia tried not to trip. If she really, really squinted, she could make out the strings flicking against his bare fingers--buried in flames as they were. For only the passing glance she'd stolen earlier, distracted as she'd been, she made a mental note to figure out what kind of wood that was, later, too.

"Can you see us?" she heard River cry.

If Octavia narrowed her eyes and stole the very edges of Francisco's flames with her eyes, she could find him at the head of their unit. "I see you!" she called back urgently.

"Are you alright?" he asked above the screeches.

"I'm fine!"

"Where's your circle?"

Octavia had a split second of panic, her eyes darting beyond the edges of her ambling light with horror. There was a moment during which she feared the worst, and she fixed her terrified eyes on Josiah. His own, not nearly as worried, scanned the dark for much the same as her. Octavia opened her mouth to cry out, to plead for them one name at a time.

When she found swirling flames aloft to her left, as well, her heart crawled its way out of her stomach. They weren't the flickering, powerfully-delicate chords and notes of a guitar. They were notes she knew by heart, and the sight of Harper's face brought with it the very faintest images of more yet around him.

"Okay, this kinda sucks," Renato complained loudly.

"Where's Josiah?" Madrigal called.

It was a question Octavia hoped she wouldn't have to ask too often, if at all. "I'm here!" Josiah called calmly, raising his hand through the dark.

"Remember to breathe once in a while," Viola chided, unseen.

And Harper did, gasping as Royal Orleans left his lips for a moment. "Easier said than done!" he cried.

The moment his embers began to flicker and fade in the open air, he went right back to the same with what oxygen he'd gathered. Between the five of them, this was going to be a problem. At the very least, Francisco didn't need to rely on his breath. To Octavia's credit, neither did she. She pushed down on each string just the slightest bit harder, praying for the radiance in her blood to burn just the slightest bit brighter.

"Don't tire yourself out!" she called to Harper. "I'm here, too! Just stay close to me, all of you!"

"That was kind of the plan!" Viola half-teased, her voice taut.

"River," Josiah shouted, "it's a straight shot to the church! Stay on the main road and you'll be fine! The whole city leads to the church naturally, so keep going forward and you'll hit it for sure!"

Distantly, on the cusp of Francisco's flames once more, Octavia saw the Spirited boy nod. "Got it!"

"If we get separated, meet us there! We'll be right behind you!"

"Understood!"

The darkness was only half of Octavia's problem, given the way the other half was its catalyst in the first place. It was exceedingly difficult to avoid touching what she could hardly see. Any attempts to ascertain the quantity of Dissonance in any given direction were mostly futile. True, natural darkness had intertwined so closely with that born of pain and suffering, and there was no point in searching for violet where color would escape her regardless. The idea that desperate flames and a guiding light were the only things between her and being swallowed by vicious smoke was downright nauseating. The actual nausea wasn't helping.

"You're there?"

"I'm here," Josiah offered again.

"I can't tell where any of it is!" Viola cried.

Even if Octavia could hear the shrill screams of Silver Brevada, the screeching was far too loud for her to capture the sounds of crystal sailing through the air. She knew it to be true, for how hard each note was pushed from Viola's lips. Where she was aiming was anyone's guess.

"It's gonna get worse the further we go!" Josiah called. "The closer we get to the residential areas, the more--"

"Move!" Octavia screamed, nearly barreling into him as she lunged. It was a miracle that she'd noticed the fast-moving trail of mist gaining on him at all, poised to crash into his side without hesitation. She was as quick as she could be. Her heart pounded as her blood surged and the brilliance beneath her fingertips followed suit. Her rays took flight, spearing through the air and sinking deep into the writhing agony that targeted Josiah. Without a moment to spare, it had burst with an intolerable shriek that made her dizzy. It was distressing, in a way, that she'd gotten so used to it over time.

Her sudden attack was enough to thoroughly rattle Josiah, and his breaths were rattling just as severely. He recovered from his stagger as quickly as possible, stumbling somewhat as he pressed onwards again.

"Are you okay?" Octavia cried.

"I-I'm fine!" he called back.

She winced at the wobble in his voice. "Where's the residential area, then?"

"I-I can't tell where we are!" Josiah admitted. "I'm trying not to look down too much, but this still looks like the main road!"

"Get behind me!"

Again, she'd hardly had the time--or the visibility--to notice the speed at which the Dissonance had closed the gap between her and whatever room she'd had to sprint. Octavia's heart nearly stopped, for how close her face had come to the tide of blackened fog swirling ruthlessly before her. It was sudden enough, too, that Josiah had nearly slammed into it in turn. She skidded to a stop, her boots chafing the ground below with far too little friction as she spilled her pulsing brilliance onto Stradivaria's strings. Again was she spared by the tiniest of windows, her light quickly swallowed by the surging Dissonance in turn. Just as the rising mass screamed, she wanted to do the same.

"Where's River?"

"What?"

That was exactly what she'd been worried about. It finally happened.

Even if Josiah couldn't explicitly prove that they were entering an area he'd come to fear, the ever-thickening artificial darkness was serving as a highly suspicious indicator. The moment she ceased to witness Francisco's bursting flames, his searing song stolen from her ears, Octavia began to panic somewhat. Keeping up her light in the face of pure terror was a struggle. Her fingers trembled against the strings.

"I-I don't see him! Where are they?" Octavia shouted, her voice wobbling.

"It's okay," Josiah reassured. "We planned for this, remember? They know where to meet us! They'll be fine! Keep going!"

Again was she besieged, although this time from the right. Again was her reaction time pushed to the limit, a trial by fire as to how quickly the stars could burst from her blood. Octavia fired every ray she could fabricate in such a short window, spearing the Dissonance that set upon her without mercy. Once more, it screeched, and once more was she forced to battle the dizziness that came with its all-too-close presence.

Running was getting difficult. Where she'd been blessed by speckled fireworks on the edges of her vision before, the most luminous of legacies sparing her from the depths of darkness, she was now finding less of the same. Octavia could've sworn it was getting darker, if that was even possible. If Josiah's words were to be believed, it was perhaps the Dissonance that was growing thicker, instead.

She felt a breeze, far too distant for her liking. It was residual, not meant for her vicinity. The singular, strongly-audible swear that came with it didn't match. They were puzzle pieces of a voice and a legacy she couldn't put together. They weren't necessarily coming from the same direction.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Madrigal!" Octavia called desperately. "Renato!"

For a moment, a singular icicle finally made it past her head, cutting through the pitch-black agony that challenged her northwestern flank. It sailed clear past one of her braids, and she was thankful that it had missed by several inches. Josiah's concern regarding friendly fire, it seemed, was also not without reason. If Octavia pushed hard enough, if she let the luminous pulsing beneath her skin burn hot enough, she could just barely see the satin bow that bounced with every frantic footstep. The Maestra struggled to keep up, and Octavia lamented her inability to slow down by much.

"Viola!" she cried anyway.

"I'm here!" Viola called back, her voice far more level. "She's over here!"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't even know where I am!" Octavia overheard.

"Play so I can see you!"

Granted, the raging flames of Royal Orleans, for as vivid and bright as they were, were at least enough to challenge the opaque veil of violet with a scarlet glow. Octavia could hear enough subsequent shrieking that she assumed Harper had hit something, if nothing else. Whether or not it was intentional remained to be seen.

"I don't know how that's supposed to help me figure out where you are!"

"Where are Madrigal and Renato?" Octavia asked with panic.

Viola shook her head, her face still just barely visible. "I don't know! I think I heard them, but I don't know where they ended up!"

Octavia's breath hitched in her throat. "Neither of them can see!"

"They'll be fine!" she reassured. "Worry about yourself and we'll figure something out!"

"Josiah!" Octavia called, her voice wavering once more.

"I'm still here!"

His words were close, borderline glued to her side. For that, she counted at least one blessing.

"Keep playing!" Viola shouted.

"I'm trying!"

Harper's voice was fainter, the glow of his flames through the writhing clouds of Dissonance weaker. His melody was nearly inaudible, swallowed by the song of agony itself. At the very least, Octavia could imagine that Renato and Madrigal had each other. In the worst-case scenario, one had an Apex. One had a legacy crowned by incredible power. If Harper ended up alone, she feared the worst.

"Don't stop!" Octavia screamed. It took effort to steer the flight of her luminous attacks, channeling what little resistance she'd offered in front of her towards the direction of his dim glow instead. Over and over, she hurled ray after ray into the murky fog. Every screech was far from a victory, even as it gave way bit by bit. She chipped away at the writhing wall with everything she had, adrenaline flooding her veins and her fingers trembling as she slashed her bow across the strings desperately. "Keep playing! Don't stop playing!"

Her light outlasted Harper's. Her voice did the same. When Octavia could no longer find the little glow that had grown so distant, she wanted to cry. Viola gritted her teeth.

"We can't leave him alone!" Octavia wailed.

"Someone will find him!" Viola attempted to reassure once more, doing what she could to assault much the same clouds as Octavia. "There's Maestros everywhere, even if we can't see them!"

"There's not that many! Please, we can't just leave him there!"

Josiah grabbed her wrist and pulled. In her surprise, Octavia forgot to fight back.

"Remember why we're here!" Josiah chided. "Trust him! Trust all of them, okay? Trust that they can fight for themselves!"

In reality, they hadn't actually made it more than roughly ten hasty steps forward, as frantic as each step had been. They were quick. Viola was not. It dawned on Octavia far too late. In the five seconds it took to sink in, it wasn't enough to yank her wrist out of Josiah's grip.

Octavia sprinted in reverse, claiming the steps she'd just surrendered with frantic desperation.

"Viola!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Octavia!"

"Where are you?"

"I can't see you!"

Octavia played for her life, undaunted as she charged directly towards the thick, rolling mass of smoke that had barred her path backwards. Even as she poured her light into it time after time, her hands shaking as her blood bubbled and radiance blasted forth from every string, her efforts were futile in the face of concentrated agony. She knew the Soulful Maestra was there. She could hear Silver Brevada screaming on the other side, a hellish partition crashing between them that she couldn't force her way through.

"Octavia!"

"Viola!"

It was fainter. Octavia had surpassed desperate. Closer it came, wisps of violet stinging the tips of her boots. She didn't budge, stinging the wall right back.

"Keep playing! I can hear you! I'm still here!" Octavia cried, her voice cracking.

"Keep going!"

"Don't stop playing!"

"I'll find you, just keep going!"

"Don't stop playing, okay? Don't stop! Show me where you are!"

It was burning her face. It was searing her skin, hot and cold all at once. Even in the dark, Octavia knew it was there, staring her dead in the eyes and awaiting her with agony's kiss. She'd felt it before, and she knew it would hurt fiercely. She refused to move.

"Viola!"

There was nothing. It was starting to burn.

"Viola!"

Octavia probably would've let it swallow her whole, had the collar of her dress not been yanked backwards sharply enough to choke her. She stumbled into firm arms that grasped her tightly through her tears, Stradivaria trembling in the confines of either hand.

"You have to trust her, too!" Josiah reminded, holding her close. "They'll all be okay!"

"She can't see!" Octavia sobbed. "She can't see anything! She can't run! She can't breathe!"

"She's a Maestra, Octavia!" Josiah argued. "She made it this far! Don't underestimate her! You're better than that! You absolutely have to trust them--all of them!"

"Josiah--"

"Please!"

The look in his eyes hurt. Somewhere between confident and fearful, his gaze as he met her own was punctuated by shaky breaths and equally-shaking hands clamping down on her shoulders. Octavia found eyes that she hated more than the ice that had frozen her blood solid. She hated them more than the lightning that had threatened to strike her heart. For all defensive intents and purposes, she, too, was now technically alone. There was little a humble knife could do to strike back against agony.

Protect him.

There was one singular person that she absolutely could not afford to lose in the dark.

Octavia swallowed what burning sobs she could, nodding without the hope and resolution she wished she could carry. Josiah couldn't take her hand, settled upon Stradivaria as it was. Regardless, he still stuck tightly to her side as they charged onwards. Octavia's own footsteps were shaky and hesitant, laced with a drive to plunge into the darkness and scream for what had been lost. Josiah alone kept her facing forwards, the afterimage of sharp, stinging eyes on her own fresh enough to burn. He matched each of her steps almost perfectly, and she clung to his voice in desperation above the screeching that assailed her on every side.

"I can still see the road," Josiah called, even close as he was. "We're still going the right way! How are you holding up?"

It was taking effort to balance offense and defense alike, punching deep into the mist that skirted far too close to her arms and ankles for comfort. Octavia's typical method of building a radiant reserve was fruitless. The degree to which all of her light was so frantically needed quashed any concept of clinging to her luminous arsenal. The swirling ribbons and pulsating orbs that typically orbited her with patience instead were put to use instantly, one after another.

Time and time again, it was hardly enough, and carving a path forward alone was a feat in and of itself. The battle to steady her breathing was far more tethered to panic than any true threat to her stamina. Even so, the latter wasn't flawless. She gritted her teeth.

"I'm okay!" she half-lied.

It wasn't as though she had an alternative. They were already in peril just by virtue of being here in the first place. To come to a stop now was to seal their fate once and for all--his, especially. Octavia was aware Josiah knew better than to offer a reprieve, regardless. She still did the same.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine!"

Octavia hated that she couldn't keep her eyes on him at all times, her attention torn between survival and companionship. She'd stopped counting the searing rays that had launched from her speedy fingertips, the awful dichotomy of her luminous melody and the sounds of suffering incarnate cursing her ears ruthlessly. It was on her left. She blasted it back with sizzling slashes of her bow once more.

"How close are we?"

Her divided light laid claim to as much of his face as possible, and even then found far too little of his visage for comfort. Josiah shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "I can't tell! We haven't been going for that long! It's still at least another--"

It was on his right. With her blinding blasts came raging fear, eating away at her heart. She regretted how close she'd had to aim, just barely missing his shoulder. Octavia wondered if she'd burned him in the process, a thought that made her heart beat ever faster. Josiah's wide, alarmed eyes did little to confirm or deny her suspicions.

"I-It's still at least another ten minutes' worth of running at this speed, at minimum!" he continued, his voice shaking.

"Ten minutes?" she repeated with shock.

"At least! I-I can't make out any landmarks in the dark, even with your light!"

It was at her back. Was there a point in striking through it if she sought to flee from its vicious grasp? Octavia could feel the scathing, icy sensation licking at her ankles once more. She had to be faster. She prayed he could, too. Was this what he'd felt like, in his darkest hour?

"Don't turn around!" Josiah yelled.

"I know, I know!"

It was far too close, tangling with her braids and kissing the back of her neck. Even if she couldn't see it, the screeching burrowed deep into her eardrums. Octavia had to fight to keep her eyes open, what little visibility she had already succumbing to the blurring and spinning she loathed. Her fingers felt sluggish. It was Hell. That was ironic.

Octavia felt a sharp tug around her wrist, at which she truly did stumble to the ground. It was more of an assault on her person than a guiding touch. She found herself violently yanked sideways, rather. She crashed to the ground below, and the rough texture bashing into her knees was enough to drag a cry of pain from her throat. Something--someone--was draped over her back, their body heat in stark contrast to the scalding adrenaline that besieged her veins. Octavia panted. So did they.

"Stay down!" Josiah ordered weakly.

It was by sheer luck that they'd dodged just enough to the right to seize a moment of safety, the smoky tide at their heels surging past without drowning them in turn. Octavia didn't want to look. She didn't want to hear it, although that part was inevitable. It surely wouldn't be the only instance of such rapid coagulation, and she didn't want to be prone for whatever instance targeted her next. In contrast to the shrieks of violet agony, she could just barely capture distant and beautiful harmonies unknown. They were scattered, granted, although she at least counted more than one.

"I hear Maestros," she offered, spared of the need to shout with his face so close to hers.

That didn't last long. Josiah jerked her swiftly to her feet, and she staggered into his arms. "Their job is to fight. Our job is to run. If we find one, we can pair up for an escort. Otherwise, we don't have the leeway to seek one out ourselves."

"How are you so calm?" Octavia asked, her hands shaking as she raised Stradivaria to her shoulder yet again.

Josiah shook his head, his face strained. "I'm not."

Octavia didn't get the chance to digest his words. The manner by which the horrifyingly-close screeches edged ever closer to their position shattered her one reprieve. Already, his hand was around her wrist, and the way he tugged her forwards was perhaps a reflex--Stradivaria be damned. "Come on!"

She didn't fight his spurning, although she was forced to at least reclaim her hand from his iron grip. Her light was as steady as ever, equally powerful and equally abundant. The issue laid not in her shimmering prowess, but in the plentiful false darkness that only continued to condense and swell. It was an endless process that felt useless. She repeated her eternal cycle of sprinting, firing, targeting, succeeding, and nearly succumbing. Octavia had pure adrenaline to thank for salvation. It was a hellish pattern only content to change directions with every radiant blow.

Josiah's singular, sharp swear startled her. He repeated it once over, then twice and thrice with panic and wide eyes.

"What's wrong?" Octavia cried above the audible agony.

His fearful gaze flickered forward and to his feet several times consecutively. "We're not on the main road anymore!"

"What?"

"I don't know how long we've been off of it, either!"

Her heart struggled to burst from her chest. "The city slopes downwards, though! Can't we just keep following what we feel?"

"We can try, but it's not overwhelmingly obvious on the outskirts!"

"And you think that's where we are?"

"I don't know where we are!" Josiah shouted. "I'm not sure what direction we're facing!"

Octavia could barely breathe. She doubted any amount of light, given their current situation, would be enough to gather a clear enough view for reorientation. "What do we do?"

Josiah paused. Octavia could hear him exhale sharply, even sprinting as he was. "We might actually need to find a Maestro at this point! Maybe several of them! It's probably gonna take more than just the two of us to find our way down there from wherever we are!"

If Octavia listened closely, she could still hear songs both sharp and soft alike, seemingly far-off in every direction. She swore, too, that she could capture the absolute faintest flashes of scarlets and golds through the billowing clouds. They were consistent. If she wished, she could select one alone and hone in on any given luminous target. The idea that one might be Harper gave her just the smallest smidge of hope, and she prayed with everything she had that each of them were safe--perhaps even together.

"There's ones with luminescence out there! I can see them! If we pick one and--"

Octavia had been distracted. It was absolutely, undeniably her own fault. It was her fault when her fingers just barely burst with radiance in time, and it was her fault when the light that the violin shot deep into the raging haze wasn't enough to stave off yet more that lay behind it. It singed her cheeks, it scalded her neck, and it stung her hands with such unforgiving brutality that she screamed.

It was a detriment of the worst kind that she'd learned to tolerate the numbing qualities of Dissonance, standing semi-strong in the face of vertigo and debilitating fatigue that once would've had her unconscious by now. It left her with pain, and she questioned whether or not such an experience was truly universal.

The force that repelled her was entirely tangible, bilateral upon both of her shoulders.

It was as gentle as it was desperate, as heavy as it was fleeting.

Unaccompanied by pleas for aid or cries of suffering, it was Josiah, instead, who silently disappeared into the dark on her behalf.

On the very last vestiges of her dying light, her burning fingers long since stilled, the fire bubbling in his eyes instead was doused only by the terror that it fueled. Octavia would never forget that look on his face for as long as she lived.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.