Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 971: The Fae Mothers

When one mentions the Spine of Atlaris, they imagine the vast expanse of the frozen mountain range that reaches impossible heights at the end of the world. Never had the hero expected it to be a spine in the literal sense; underneath the earth and in the ethereal plain, it was the dead carcass of Nerva, and above, a mountain range with its foundation being the goddess’s spine itself.

"We’re almost out of time..." Standing at the curve of the goddess’s back, Raven looked down and saw a faint golden glimmer as well as many others like it–albeit of different senses and forms. "We have to jump to get to the inner section of her body; everyone ready?"

Looking back, he caught a glimpse of exhaustion waving across everyone’s faces. They’d been climbing for a while and even fighting the peculiar horrors trying to pull them off. Unable to harm the creatures, their struggle to get up had been a sheer vertical climb.

"How is this more exhausting than fighting angels and demons?" Erika huffed, wiping a trail of nightmare sweat off her deep cleavage.

"Like trying to run in a dream," Melicia said, pinning down a finer point on why every movement, every thought, was so tiring.

"Our time’s running out, so I need an answer here quickly." Snapping his fingers, Raven conjured a pair of dark wings. "The fae should be down on the other side, so it’s now or never. Athenia might’ve already escaped with Aradin’s group, so we gotta find a way to get out of here on our own too."

"Fuck me..." Glancing down in the ever-reaching dark, Amedith felt a shudder shoot through his spine. "No better moment than now, I suppose."

Closing his eyes, he too sprouted golden wings of pure holy magic and took the plunge by allowing himself to fall headfirst. Following his example, everyone else did the same, with Aria relying on Mel’s wind magic to get them down safely.

Their descent was full of growling horrors and the moaning of long-silenced voices–trapped in this cage of unbeing that was slowly devouring them as it was Nerva’s carcass. The smell of rot and spoil, however, quickly gave way to a more pleasant odour of many different shades. Following it with their wings and magic, the group–led by Rave–arrived at the bend across Nerva’s spine where, chained up in a row, were giants so large that the single eye that they could behold of them was larger than the scope of their entire field of vision.

Some saw Illumina; others were looking at Natura, and the light for the rest was being consumed by Umbra. There were others, a total of eight, but only three of them were visible to the group, as the rest of them were hidden behind the trio.

"So you came." A gentle voice brushed across their cheeks. "Tatiyana Illumina, tis is I–mother of light, hope, and the burden of holy magic used by the mortals of this world."

As her golden eye dilated, the group felt it in their hearts, trembling. Their ears pricked up to the sound of her moving irises as if an earthquake had just hit them. The rattles of chains, however, quickly overshadowed the mother’s scale and sounds.

"Excited are we, Iumina?" Another much darker voice whispered like a breath down the heroes’ necks. Their bodies shivered at the voice–all but one person–someone who was already familiar with the low cadence.

"Umbra..." Filling his lungs with air, Raven prepared himself to scream so that all may hear. "We’re here to free you all! Come while Nerva’s gone!"

A chuckle left the mouths of all mothers. The fae were fond of jokes and mischief, and escape from the spine of the world may just have been the greatest joke they’d heard in eons. Thumbing from the reverberation of their laughter, Raven’s heart was set off its course. Neither beating nor stopping, it was locked yet attempting to pump until the moment the fae’s laughter was gone.

The shooting pain through his chest had brought the taste of iron to his lips, and despite being only present in spirit in the damned place, he knew that they were all risking their lives and thus, no damned faeries were gonna take their help as mere humor.

"I don’t care if you plan to stay here imprisoned forever, but if you wanna fucking leave–now’s your chance to accept our help and get the hell outta here!" Putting his foot down, Raven squeezed his hand around the glowing orb Athenia had given him. "Laugh all you want, but Nightsilver wanted me to help you–and from what I know of the man whose memory and soul still linger within me–I know that he wouldn’t send me here if rescuing you was impossible!"

"He saved the world once, for god’s sake!" Aria yelled from over Raven’s shoulder, her eyes narrow at the sight of Umbra in the distance.

"If you truly are what makes this world bloom," taking a step forward, Erika added. "Then come live with your children above the surface. They can all use some warmth before the storm comes eventually."

Emboldened by everyone’s words, Liliyana took the next step forward. Clenching her hands by her chest, she timidly stared at Natura–the woman who’d given her Will-O and a part of herself as well.

"Mother, please...come with us."

"I wouldn’t hear the end of it as an elf if I didn’t rescue the mother of all elves," Mel smirked, though her heart remained anxious.

Silence curtained over the darkness, gripping the hearts as they awaited an answer with bated breath. As the chains rattled once more, Umbra was the first to break the silence.

"What did I tell you? I have my own plans." A smile rested on her lips as she stared at the party, but her words weren’t meant for them; instead it drew the attention of the fae towards her. A moment passed as they stared at her, eyes wide with bafflement. "Nerva, oh Nerva, the moment I saw my son again, I knew you’d drive him back to me."

"What?" The fae made little sense to the man she was talking about. Despite his flesh being made by her, Raven was still at a loss as to what went on inside her twisted head. "What are you talking about?"

"You skank! You could’ve told us!"

"Mother of bastards! What else was I expecting from you?"

"By the creator’s word, I wanna choke you, you harlot!"

"And here I thought you’d finally warmed up to us all."

The fae mothers showered Umbra with complaints, but their contorted expressions didn’t last long. Replacing them were reluctant smiles as the fact that they had a chance of being set free finally became a real possibility for them. Even Raven finally realized how long Umbra had been playing this game. The give-and-take of powers was nothing but a show to save face under Nerva’s observant eye.

Deep within, he felt both joy and anger clashing like two swordsmen. On one hand, he was happy that Umbra had a plan that eventually led him to this place, but on the other, the manipulation wasn’t something he was a particular fan of.

"Enough chatter! We gotta leave now!" He announced angrily.

"Fae mother’s due, remember that, Raven? It’s time for you to take our dues on our behalf." Once again, Umbra’s words made little sense, but there was no time to question her–after all, Nerva was on her way back home.