Lord of the Mysteries - Fountain of Blood (Fanfic)

Lex followed Nigel through the narrow hallway toward the receptionist's office. The low, flickering light overhead seemed to stretch the shadows, and the hum of the heater created an uncomfortable background noise. She couldn't shake the eerie stillness of the place, the silence pressing in on her like a weight. As they reached the office, Lex couldn't help but glance at the strange man sitting behind the desk. Mr. H was shrouded in darkness, his face hidden by a hood that seemed to consume his features, leaving only the faintest glint of something unidentifiable beneath. It wasn't just his appearance that was unsettling—his presence filled the room with a heavy, oppressive energy.

Nigel moved toward the desk, his movements almost reverent. Without a word, he bent down and pressed his forehead to the floor, a fresh pool of blood forming beneath the wound on his head. It was an act of submission, though whether out of fear or respect, Lex couldn't be sure.

"Mr. H," Nigel spoke in a low voice, his tone trembling slightly, "we've come to seek your help with something… rather superficial. Lex cannot enter Backlund without something to cover her eyes. What would it cost us to ask for your assistance?"

Lex felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the sight of Nigel's submission. Her mind raced. Am I in some twisted psyche ward? She couldn't help but think. Nothing about this felt normal. But before she could fully process it, Mr. H's voice cut through the tension, low and deliberate, making her attention snap back to him.

"Hmmm… Well, her potion does impose a physical curse early on. Odd, for a potion to impose such an immediate curse. I haven't heard of any pathway that works in such a way, so my knowledge on this is limited," Mr. H mused, his voice cold and distant. "I doubt there's any way to change her eyes."

Lex's stomach sank. So, there's no cure. No way out. She had already known, deep down, that this was a permanent part of her now—her eyes, forever altered, hiding her from the world. The Oracles, or beings higher than them, might have answers, but they were unreachable. The silence in the room seemed to grow even more suffocating.

"I still haven't given you a gift for joining us, Lex," Mr. H continued, his voice like ice. "And I believe I have something that will be of use to you. It will solve your problem with the eyes. But remember this—" His tone sharpened slightly, making the words sting. "You will owe me a favor. A favor that will come due when I ask."

Lex's heart skipped a beat. A favor. The last thing she wanted was to owe someone like Mr. H anything. But there was no denying the urgency of her situation. Her eyes had made it impossible to move through the world normally. She needed a solution. Fast. She had no other choice.

After a long, heavy pause, she nodded slowly. "Okay, Mr. H. That's fair. Thank you."

Mr. H did not respond immediately. Instead, there was an eerie stillness, as if he was considering something far beyond her understanding. Then, without warning, a maroon wooden box appeared on the desk in front of him. It was unadorned, save for the fine craftsmanship of the wood. The lid remained shut, but it seemed to pulse with some strange energy.

"This is your gift, Lex. You may take it," Mr. H's voice was flat, almost mechanical.

Lex didn't hesitate, though a small part of her wanted to back away. She reached out with trembling hands, lifting the lid of the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of dark velvet, were a pair of white bandages. The edges were inlaid with intricate gold thread, their fine pattern delicate and beautiful. At the center of each bandage were two small splotches of blood, not fresh but dried into the fabric.

Her fingers brushed over the bandages, and as soon as she did, symbols began to appear across the surface—an eye, with a swirl in the center. The symbols flickered and vanished almost as quickly as they had come, but not before Lex had seen them. A chill ran down her spine. There was something ancient about these bandages, something she couldn't fully grasp.

"These are the Bandages of Combat," Mr. H explained, his voice unwavering. "A mystical item. When placed over the eyes, the bandages become see-through for the user, allowing one-way perception—meaning, you can see, but others cannot see your eyes. These bandages came from a Sequence 8 Melee Scholar. They grant one ability—Combat Mastery."

Lex watched, fascinated, though her heart pounded. Combat Mastery? What did that even mean?

Mr. H continued without waiting for her to ask. "Combat Mastery allows you to pry into the knowledge of melee combat, granting you temporary enhancement of your skills. You may use this ability twice a day, for no longer than ten minutes at a time. Any longer, and you risk being consumed by corruption. The downside is that you will occasionally hear murmurings of corrupted information—visions, whispers, unhinged thoughts. You will never know when they will come."

The words hung in the air, the weight of them pressing down on Lex's chest. She absorbed the explanation with a quiet nod, even as a knot formed in her stomach. There was always a price for something like this. There had to be.

Without another word, Lex took the bandages in her hands. She moved slowly, carefully, as she wrapped them around her eyes. She aligned the bloodstains over her eyes, feeling the fabric pull tight as she tied the knot at the back of her head. When the bandages were secured, the symbols reappeared on the cloth and vanished again, leaving only the white and gold pattern.

To her surprise, she could see perfectly fine. There was no distortion, no blur. It was as if the bandages weren't even there at all. Yet, there was a peculiar sense that something was hiding her from the world. The sensation was unsettling, as though she had become invisible in a way she couldn't fully understand.

"Thank you for the gift, Mr. H," Lex said, trying to keep her voice steady. Her heart was racing, but she masked it with a smile. A mystical item, a real artifact, she thought. She had something powerful now, something that could help her.

Nigel had remained silent throughout the exchange, his posture stiff as he knelt on the ground. He stood now, moving quickly, his body jerking in an almost unnatural way. The grin on his face widened even further.

"Lex. Let's go," he said, his voice smooth, the words dripping with something that felt wrong.

He turned, opening the door, and Lex followed him into the dimly lit hallway. The door slammed shut behind them with a finality that echoed too loudly in the silence. The air felt colder now, and the shadows in the hallway seemed to stretch and twist, as though they were alive, pulling at her.

Nigel led the way toward the staircase. Lex's gaze followed him, her eyes instinctively drawn to the spiral of stairs at the end of the hallway. The staircase was the same as before, but it felt… wrong, in a way she couldn't fully articulate. It seemed to stretch unnaturally, its steps at odd angles, impossible to make sense of. The shadows clung to it in a way that made the entire structure feel as though it was alive.

Nigel stepped forward, his movements eerie and unnatural as he ascended the first step. Lex hesitated only for a moment, then took a breath and followed. As her foot touched the first stair, she felt a strange shift in the air around her. It wasn't just the weight of the staircase itself—it was something deeper, something darker. The steps felt like they were pulling at her, as if they didn't want her to step onto them.

But there was no turning back now.

She followed Nigel into the madness of the staircase, the shadows thickening as they moved deeper into the impossible structure. The air was heavy, thick with something she couldn't identify. She gripped the railing tighter, trying to steady herself, but the sense of unease continued to build.

The stairs seemed to stretch out forever, bending and twisting as they descended into something beyond her understanding. The world around them shifted in ways that made no sense, but she didn't dare stop. She couldn't afford to.

And still, the whispers didn't come. Yet. But Lex knew—she was heading somewhere where the rules of the world no longer applied. And there was no turning back.