Cyrus Solaris
Three days to complete the task; otherwise, I will be killed.
I looked at the member of the Atë; he was sitting reclined, his face still hidden by the hood of his cloak.
"Why is there a time limit to the task? You aren't going anywhere."
"Are you afraid that you can't get it done?"
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do?"
His eerie smile widened, stretching further than a human's would.
"You will need to travel far east of the rift to the Blood Chateau. It is just outside the eastern pyramid," the Atë member said as he plucked a dragonfly out of the air with his hand.
He brought the dragonfly toward his mouth. When it opened, a set of pincers and mandibles emerged, crunching down on the small insect.
A cold shiver washed over me.
"Excuse me, where are my manners? Would you like some?" the Atë member said, wagging the tail end of the dragonfly.
I was still processing what I had seen.
Why did this echo choose this form? It couldn't be drawing from my memories; is there someone else around?
I scanned the room, searching for something that would give a clue as to why. But nothing jumped out; gravisense didn't tick me off to anything else either.
"Fine, more for me."
The echo continued to crunch on the dragonfly's tail, chewing obnoxiously, snapping me out of my shock.
"What am I supposed to do at this Blood Chateau?"
The Atë member sat up a bit in his throne.
"I need you to dig up a body and bring it to me."
"A dead body?" I asked, my brows furrowing at the request.
Has this man gone insane?
"Yes, that is what I require of you. There is a tomb with a winged idol carved atop it. Dig up that tomb and bring it to the pyramid a few miles north of here. Then I will give you the answers you seek."
I really am dealing with a madman. How long has he been trapped in this rift for him to start asking me to desecrate people's graves?
"What do you intend to do with this corpse?"
The echo paused before he leaned back in his chair.
"How often do you study the stars?"
"A lot. What does that have to do with my question?" I asked
"What do you feel when you look upon them?"
"Admiration for their grandeur and their beauty."
The echo sighed.
"You are young and naive. Stars are none of those things. Stars are stagnant, stars are ruthless, stars are jealous." The echo said, plucking another insect out of the air.
"This Era has no clue what it has lost."
My blood began to boil, cosmic energy leaking from my body as my anger grew.
"Stop playing these games with me! Just tell me what you plan to do with the corpse."
The echo smirked.
"Settle down. All you need to know is that I am settling the score. So what will it be?"
This echo seemed to have the knowledge I needed, and my mom would never lead me down the wrong path.
Now I did understand why Mom had warned me to be wary of the echoes of the Atë. This one was tricky, and made me wonder what they must have been like when they were alive.
Were they rulers, warlords, or criminals?
He was clearly vindictive and wanted some form of revenge against someone.
I also wondered why we never learned anything about the Atë, not in history class or even a folktale. Even when I was young, Mom never told me about them. But has seemingly known about them.
I'm gonna have Mom tell me the truth behind her history, her abilities, all of it, because it feels like I'm in the dark with all of it.
But now I had only one choice here today.
"Fine, I'll go dig up this little corpse for you, and bring it to your desired pyramid. But if I catch you trying anything funny. I promise I will find a way to end you."
"Sounds like a true Atë already. I wouldn't have it any other way, Little Prince."
"Don't call me that. I'm not a prince anymore. My clan is gone, and it's never coming back. I'm just someone who seeks to spill blood.
"As you wish. Cyrus Solaris."
I got up out of my seat and walked around this echo's hut.
"Three days, right? That's the amount of time I'm given to complete this task?"
"Correct."
"See you then."
Stepping outside the hut, I pulled out my telescope and pointed north of this hut. I spotted the large pyramid I was supposed to return to. Then I pointed to the east.
All I saw was casting and vegetation for miles on end.
There was no shade, no shelter of any kind, and no water.
This might be worse than traveling through the Golden Desert outside of Arthenos. I need to get through this as quickly as possible, but how can I do that without exerting myself physically?
At a time like this, I wished I was Starbound, connected to the Solaris constellation. Being able to fly in this rift would have resolved more than half the issues here.
I looked at my moon and sighed.
"Guess I'm gonna have to do this old-fashioned way," I mumbled to myself, charging my legs with cosmic energy, and began sprinting east.