Chapter 700: Nocturnal’s Key

A/n: 700 Chapters… Dear Lord, what have I done? 😂😂😂

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There was a story passed down on the eastern docks of Tamriel that originated from the Tang Mo of Akavir that two Monkey Sages once argued about Life and Fairness.

Is Life Fair? Asked the First Monkey Sage.

Life is definitely not fair. Replied the second Monkey Sage.

The First tilted with obvious surprise written all over his face, for the sophisticated people of Tang Mo would never answer a question in philosophy with this level of confidence since it was the norm of their race to argue to no end about one point until they reach the truth… or the closest thing to it.

How so? Asked the First Sage in wonder.

Aren’t people unequal? Answered the Second Sage with a question of his own, a question that would lead to another paradox of questions about equality and civility.

People are supposedly equal but the matters of worth and status change the whole perspective depending on the variables of life which depend on the greater good for certain groups.

So is life fair? The quick answer was no.

People would be born at different levels of status and wealth and some would start their journey in life with nothing while others would start with education and funds. Some would be lucky from the start and others would be miserable.

Life is not fair… or is it?

The First Sage seemed willing to take that argument to a new depth while the second sage, who stated that life isn’t fair, looked at him with absolute patience. Surely a Tang Mo would argue a blade from slitting his throat to the bitter end so long his tongue can utter words. So far, the First Sage seemed to be willing to keep arguing just for the sake of argument.

But Life is obviously Fair in my opinion. Said the First Sage in a statement that made the Second Sage tilt his head. The first said “obviously” and was sure of what he was saying.

How so? Asked the Second.

The First Sage smiled and said that people are born with the same characteristics, he also stated that the racial differences between the people aren’t that big of a game changer and can’t make one race ultimately superior to other races. He said that by the most basic observations, one can dictate that all people were given their worth equally since they were all born naked, bloodied, kicking, and screaming. We all come to this world in an equal state and once we leave it, we are still equal since whether it is rich or poor, king or slave, all rot in the ground and get eaten by worms beneath the dirt.

A fair point. The Second Sage nodded and started to reevaluate his thoughts.

But that conundrum you started is based on Life. In other words, the whole thing speaks about how people live, not how they come to the world and how they go. Stated the Second Sage.

Go on. The First Sage narrowed his eyes and started listening.

Simply put, you asked whether life is fair or the opposite. We may all be born the same but we are still born as either kings, commoners, slaves, rich, poor, privileged, or oppressed. We don’t get to choose how to start in life and we can’t predict how the future takes us. We are not in control of our fates as much as we think we can… ultimately Life is Unfair. That’s how the Second Sage responded.

But the First Monkey Sage clapped his hands in the wild way of a Tang Mo.

You said it, here it is. We aren’t in control of our Fates. The First Sage said while grinning.

Yes… I just said that… and I stated that so leads to unfairness. The Second Sage narrowed his eyes and replied… slowly.

But the First Sage laughed.

So one may be born a king but ends up a slave, and one may be born a slave but ends up building an empire. The First Sage stroked his monkey beard while saying. There are no constants in life.

Oh! Frowned the Second Sage.

Life and Fate, we have no control but we simply live on the flow and embrace the unpredictable chaos. Those who try to control Fate and Life create Unfairness.

Ultimately Life is not Unfair… People are.

“End of the story!” Jon said with a wide smile.

“Horseshit!” “Guarshit!”

While the story was quite entertaining to Jullanar, the other two didn’t share Jon with his opinion. Jullanar would kill the two if she wasn’t ordered by Jon to not kill anyone unless he says so but that didn’t stop her from glaring at the two of them.

Mercer was surely captured by this point. He was tied, dragged, and humiliated as Jon was giving the speech about Life and Fairness

The second objection came from Karliah, who was being dragged along with Jon and Jullanar since they made a deal with Nocturnal. First of all, she couldn’t wrap her head around why Nocturnal let Jon and Jullanar off the hook regarding the service of life and death thingy and even for Jon speaking so casually to Nocturnal.

Was this the power that lies in the students of Divayth Fyr, the Sorcerer who is known for his epic battles against Daedric Princes and otherworldly demons? She wasn’t sure but she was still vexed by something.

Just a few minutes ago, Jon was tipped off by Nocturnal on Mecinar’s location and he teleported right on top of Mercer’s head. From the very start, Mercer had no way of fighting back despite his prowess as the holder of the Skeleton Key and eventually got his head on the ground with Jon’s foot pressing it down.

Meanwhile, Jullanar and Karliah took care of Mercer’s brainwashed subordinates whom he manipulated by the Skeleton Key. Jon may have not thought about this before but it was actually a brilliant idea to convert some people and influence their wills by “opening” their minds to new opinions and possibilities, that’s how Mercer got his hand on a small force of weak-willed bandits which Jullanar was happy to slaughter.

“And in the end, I have it back in my hand.” Jon said as he held the Skeleton Key and let it hover above his palm.

“Back?” Mercer repeated that particular word Jon said and turned his eyes to see the grin and the cold eyes on Jon’s face.

“You… it was you… all this time.”

Mercer screamed and struggled to stand but the pressure coming from Jon’s foot on Mercer’s neck was nothing he could simply fight. More to it, Jon immediately crouched down, and instead of his foot, he used his knee and hit Mercer right in the back, causing the cracking sound of breaking bones.

“ARGH!”

“Yes, it was me.” Jon said sinisterly, “I was the one who stole the Key from you a long time ago, I am the one who used it for my gains for four years, and I am the one who returned it back.”

Mercer couldn’t help but feel powerless. His spine breaking wasn’t as painful as the realization that he was manipulated by a kid from Riften’s back alleys.

Jon was there on many occasions, he stole the Key, misled Mercer that day when the key was stolen, took the key for himself, returned the key to Mercer before joining the Nightingales, led the Thieves to expose Mercer, and led the Nightingales to hunt him down. He reaped all the benefits and earned all the rewards.

“You… what are you?” Mercer asked, knowing who Jon Dare is, but not what he is.

“I am the Unfairness of your Life.” Jon replied and slapped Mercer on the back of his head, “Just like how you were unfair to many others.”

Knowing that Mercer is walking no more, Jon stood up and left him as he wailed from the harrowing pain.

“He’s all yours.” Jon said to Karliah and walked away with his loot.

Initially, Mercer Frey was raiding the old Dwemer ruin of Irkngthand with his group of bandits to access an old Falmer ruin beneath it. His goal was a shrine that belonged to the Snow Elves which had a colossal statue of a Snow Elf, this statue was a subject of a legend that stated that two of the largest known gems in the world were used by the Snow Elves to make eyes for the said statue and it was something akin to myth in the lore of the Thieves Guild.

Mercer seemed to have been hunting that myth for a long time and when he put his hand on the two gems, Jon was there putting his hands all over him.

The room collapsed as soon as the eyes were taken out but Jon teleported the group, along with Mercer and his loot, far from the collapse site.

And now, what is Mercer’s belongs to Jon.

The two large gems, known as the “Eyes of the Falmer”, were immediately hidden away by Jon who seemed to have a different plan for them and he left Mercer to Karliah after promising her to deliver the Skeleton Key to the Twilight Sepulcher. On the other hand, Karliah had a long-awaited reunion with Mercer, the man who killed her lover and chased her out of Riften for 25 years.

***

The duty of delivering the Skeleton Key was passed to Jullanar, it had to be her who received the credit for taking the curse off the Thieves Guild. This decision was made by Jon and Karliah especially when Karliah stated that she wanted Jon as far from the Skeleton Key as possible.

While Jullanar was Jon’s lackey, she was not as powerful as him to freely mess with Daedric Princes and so Karliah thought of keeping Jon away from Nocturnal that one time.

In her mind, everything was still going as it was supposed to.

As Jullanar entered the Twilight Sepulcher, she had to navigate her way through a maze of old ruins and find her way to a chamber where there was light and darkness. In that chamber, one must walk the path of Nocturnal and never step into the light. I was also known as the pilgrim’s path.

Due to the fact that the Nightingales haven’t been maintaining the Twilight Sepulcher for 25 years, they have lost access to the Inner Sanctum of the Twilight Sepulcher and so Jullanar had to take the long way of proving herself to Nocturnal until she finally stepped into the Inner Sanctum.

Along the path inside, ghostly Nightingale Sentinels would appear to Jullanar and madly fight her to stop her from proceeding but she was cunning enough to hunt them down before they get the drop on her.

Just before the Inner Sanctum did those sentinels stop chasing her and she had to take a drop to enter a circular pit in the ground where there was a skeleton and its belongings.

Jullanar couldn’t figure out how to proceed from that point and thought about climbing the pit but once she thought about it, it must have been the pit that killed the owner of that skeleton by hunger. This may be an indication that she mustn’t go out but rather go deeper.

With the Skeleton Key in her hand, Jullanar barely touched the ground with it and the whole thing started to come apart like dispelled illusions. She took another small fall that led her to the central area of the inner sanctum.

What she saw there was another room veiled with darkness and surrounded by the illusion of a starry sky. On the ground, there was a large circle that had three phases of the moon and in the center of that circle was a keyhole. That keyhole was fit enough for the Skeleton Key to go in and once that happened, the room started to change drastically.

The hard ground started to shift up and down with the motions of rippling water. A well called the Ebonmere appeared in the ground surrounded by three large spikes. From that well, a figure emerged.

That figure was that of a woman who looked human but was anything but that. Her appearance was illustrious and her gown was erotic as it displayed her voluptuous body and the entire chest area while barely covering her breasts. Her fine pair of legs were on full display from the hips down to her feet and she floated above any mortal height while looking down on the mortal in her presence.

Her words were spoken in a grand and seductive voice.

{My, my. What do we have here? It’s been a number of years since I’ve set foot on your world. Or perhaps it’s been moments. One tends to lose track.}

Being in the presence of a Daedric Prince, Jullanar was quite shaken but that wasn’t her first time. She knew that she can only lower her head and wait.

{So… once again the Key has been stolen and a “champion” returns it to the Sepulcher. Now that Ebonmere has been restored, you stand before me awaiting your accolades; a pat on your head… a kiss on your cheek.}

The shadows seemed to be awakening around Jullanar who was still unshaken, the attitude that piqued Nocturnal’s interest but as a Daedric Prince, she was still immersed in her own arrogance.

{What you fail to realize is your actions were expected and represent nothing more than the fulfillment of the agreement. Don’t mistake my tone for displeasure, after all, you’ve performed your duties to the letter. But we both know this has little to do with honor and oaths and loyalty. It’s about the reward; the prize.}

Nocturnal extended her hand in a motion to invite Jullanar ahead.

{Fear not. You’ll have your trinkets, your desire for power, your hunger for wealth. I bid you to drink deeply from the Ebonmere, mortal. For this is where the Blessing of Nocturnal is born.}

But just as Jullanar was about to play along, a voice vibrated across the room.

“The deal has been struck, Nocturnal. I hope you are pleased with our performance.”

As this voice echoed, the sound of footsteps started to dissipate the illusions cast around the Ebonmere as Jon walked into the room. Karliah was there following him and she kept muttering how disrespecting Nocturnal would be the end of him.

Still, Jon walked and stood around the Ebonmere with Jullanar and Karliah while carrying the two Eyes of the Falmer on his arms like how someone would carry two babies.

{Jon Dare, the man who walks the path of Fate like a Jester walking a tightrope.} Nocturnal finally moved her attention from Jullanar and stared at Jon, {A Jester may never expect that his tightrope can be tied into a noose one day.}

A jester? A tightrope? A noose?

While Karliah and Jullanar weren’t as proficient in speechcraft as Jon is, they could tell a threat is a threat when they hear one. A threat thrown at Jon by a Daedric Prince.

“That’s why I came, Nocturnal.” Jon replied, “I knew the powers of your Skeleton Key and how it can be applied. The applications of the One and the None are some things that have fascinated me ever since I held it. While I don’t want to make enemies, I came bearing gifts… offerings.”

Jon said so with a cunning face but Nocturnal didn’t reply. Karliah, on the other hand, laughed at Jon.

“You think Lady Nocturnal would be won over by riches? Jon Dare, you are indeed a fool. You have to offer what She desires most, but reject the material. For her greatest want is that which cannot be seen, felt, or carried.” Karliah said.

Jon’s smile only grew wider and he spoke the answer to that conundrum.

“Darkness.” He said.

Darkness cannot be seen, felt, or carried.

He knew the answer rather well and the Eyes of the Falmer were obviously not darkness. Still, they were good mediums and a medium is used to deal with something that was hard to be seen, felt, or carried.

The Mystic Tattoos around Jon’s body were activated and the Chaos Infection invaded the Eyes of the Falmer. It was darker, stronger, and deeper than anything that ever existed in this world.

It was something beyond that of Darkness.

Jon couldn’t maintain the Chaos Infection outside his body for long and in a couple of seconds, it returned back to his body.

Karliah was silent, not because she was shocked or anything since this type of magic seemed like the usual shadow magic, but because of the face Nocturnal was making.

A Daedric Prince, always calm and collected, was shocked and in awe right in front of three Mortals.

{What was that?}

The Daedric Prince even asked a question as if there was something that she hadn’t heard about ever before.

“My big manly balls.” Jon said while juggling the Eyes of the Falmer from hand to hand.

There was no need for words after that, Nocturnal simply waved her hand and two dark crows appeared above Jullanar and Karliah.

“”The Queen of Shadows shall grant you your reward after hearing out the mortal.””

As the two crows the same line, the crows immediately snatched Jullanar and Karliah before teleporting them outside the room.

{I promised you a Key for your trouble if your actions were worth it.} Nocturnal spoke but as she did so, the space around her seemed to be distorting and she walked out of the radius of the Ebonmere well.

She was there right in front of Jon walking towards him the same way mortals walk towards each other. She even took a look at him up and down and even circled around him.

{So…}

“So?”

{That Darkness you had…}

“The Chaos, you mean?”

{I’d like to have some.}

“Well… the thing is… it’s in my body… I can’t get it out of me easily since it lives inside but I can give you some.”

{Great.}

“You just have to find a way to capture it once I get it out.”

Nocturnal thought for a while before her eyes got fixed on a certain thing.

{I believe we have a way.}

Jon followed the direction of her eyes and his smile slowly grew wider.

***

*A long while later*

Jon walked out of the chamber of the Ebonmere with his upper half exposed. Out there, he ran into Karliah and Jullanar who were standing there waiting.

Seeing Jon fixing his pants, the two ladies looked at him with different expressions yet the same level of shock.

With utter disbelief, Karliah pointed at Jon…

“He didn’t…”

“He did…”

But Jullanar had her eyes wide open as well as she pointed out.

“Ladies!” Jon walked past the two of them while still fixing the bulge in his pants.

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