The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

-- POV General --

From the ceiling, Trioa had just announced to everyone what this room really was. Unlike the previous room, the pillars that supported it were engraved with symbols whose meaning was only revealed from a certain point of view. The half-wyvern who was the only one to search from the air had been the only one to discover this particularity before informing her comrades.

"The only way to be able to see the symbols in their entirety was to have a high and global view of all the pillars that, placed side by side, form the message !"

The symbols were very similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics, as no words were written and only the arrangement of the engravings gave a message. At the beginning, there was a square representing the room with small characters enclosed inside just like the soldiers of the Empire. Then, continuing from left to right like a comic strip, the square shrank and the torches representing the light disappeared.

The further Trioa went in her speed reading, the more she could see the fate of the losers. She deduced that there must be a time ordeal because the symbol of a still full hourglass was above the first square and empty in the last. The torches that were also disappearing in the last squares allowed her to deduce that light played an important role.

Once the light disappeared, the squares shrank before engulfing the small figures killing them instantly in that dark room. There were many other important elements, but at that moment, Trioa was realizing something and giving instructions to the other Commanders left on the ground.

"I think...once the time runs out, the walls of the room will start to close in before crushing us all. There...there should be clues in the room to give us an idea of how much time is running out, maybe an hourglass or something. Look on the walls instead, every crack, every nook and cranny !"

After the Air Section Commander continued to try to figure out the rest of the symbols, the others rushed to the four corners to search. Their time was running out, but at the moment no one knew how much time they had left and what they should be looking for. Suddenly, while everyone was on their mission, Ynir's voice rang out from the right side.

"Here ! There's an hourglass ! I haven't touched it and based on the grains already gone...if Trioa's reasoning is right...we have maybe two hours before the walls start moving."

All of the Commanders had walked up to the young half-butterfly woman and could now see this hourglass embedded in a wall, very small and inconspicuous. It was made of white stone and black grains fell from it every second, emptying the upper part and representing the passing of time. Trioa, who had her eyes riveted on the thing, spoke then, still in her serious yet panicked voice.

"It's...it's exactly the same as the one in the symbols but...would there be a mechanism that can turn off the torches at the same time and activate the movement of the walls ?"

The young woman couldn't understand how this simple hourglass, once it ran out, could cause the room to fall into darkness and shrink. On the pillars, darkness symbolized death, and while everyone was thinking, one thing was certain : light played an important role.

"As long as the light remains...we have time. Which means...as long as the torches are lit we have a chance."

Nixia, had a hand on her chin and began to watch the torches more carefully. Time was running out and they had to find a way out of this room that had no door. Suddenly, the black-scaled lamia raised her head while tying her hair in a ponytail.

It was a habit she had had for a very long time that was now no longer unknown to the other Commanders. When Nixia tied her hair back, everyone knew she was ready for a tough challenge. As the lamia straightened up, a serious gleam burning in her beautiful grey eyes, her voice echoed again.

"The torches are not mechanically connected to the hourglass but burn at exactly the same speed. When the time runs out, all the lights here will automatically go out. Let's keep looking for other clues in the room, there must be something ! Trioa, if there's no other information on the pillars, keep searching from above."

Indeed, when seen up close, the torches burned like candles whose ephemeral flame still shone with all its beauty. The whole room was a riddle and seemed to have been made to make this deadly game as effective as it was intended to be. Everything had a purpose and nothing had been done at random. The room was a huge game board where the prisoners were both the players and the pawns. It was now up to the soldiers who were still standing to unravel all its secrets.

Everyone agreed with Nixia and as the Commanders returned to their missions, the Lieutenants who had heard everything drew closer. It was easy to see that a camp in this room was useless and everyone now wanted to participate in the search. Caipy, still close to Freya, stood up and whistled to get the attention of the soldiers who didn't know how to approach their superiors before speaking.

"Go ahead. The more of you that search, the faster we will move forward. Don't be afraid to let people know what you want because after all, you are also part of the Imperial army's leadership."

The elf had said this with a smile and a nod, eliciting a perfect military salute from the Lieutenants. So far they were acting no different than soldiers without a particular position and they should also be aware of the role they had to play. Hierarchy did not have to mean separation, because basically all soldiers were free to express themselves.

"Thank you very much Commander Caipy !"

Everyone except for Caipy the elf and Nina the dryad, had started looking with one goal in mind : to get out. Again, with so many people milling about the room and watching every spot, it didn't take long for clues to be discovered. The voices of Persea, Naia, Ralph, and Thorunn echoed from the four corners of the room, seeming to have found something similar.

"I found a phrase written down ! It...doesn't really make sense but I think it might be useful to us !"

"It's exactly the same for me !"

"Here too !"

"So do I. I think we need to understand the meaning of this to continue. Isn't there anything else to find here ?"

At Thorunn's question, no one spoke because for the moment there were no other leads. The room was large, but after inspecting every corner, nothing else had caught their attention. Gathering in the center, the 17 people waited for the four young women to explain one by one the words they had read. The first to speak was Persea.

"In the left corner, at ground level is a sentence written in red color like blood. It says : waits - the - Under - blood-tinted - it - moon. At the moment it doesn't make sense but I'm sure it's a clue."

The dryad's words were indeed meaningless, and while the Lieutenants were already thinking, Naia was speaking up as well.

"It's exactly the same for me so I guess the other two sentences are written the same way. However, my words are different : it - sparkling - Adorned - lies - lights - with."

Once again, the words had been mixed up and as Thorunn followed by Ralph quoted their sentences, everyone sat down.

"As far as I'm concerned it's : pillars - the - over - guarding - Fire - and - gates"

"And I : rests - you - at - skies - answer - Fight - starry - the - beneath - last - what."

As Ralph finished her sentence, Emilia suddenly stood up. A detail had not escaped her mind and she was convinced that the words of her friend were the most important.

"You...did you say "answer" ? We should start with that sentence !"

The sentence that Ralph had pronounced was the longest and contained certain key words as of more than important in a moment like that. Emilia was more than determined to leave there and the idea to imagine her new fox girlfriend dying crushed by a wall in the darkness made her cold in the back. At her words, the others thus nodded the head, conscious that to divide the task was the most important to gain invaluable minutes.

Time was still running out and it was not wrong to say that there were less than two hours left to find a way out. Therefore, little by little, four groups were formed, each with the task of putting each sentence back the right way. Everything had been organized to save as much time as possible, and even Caipy and Nina, who were watching over Freya, took the time to think about it.

All the sentences had been spoken and everyone was thinking of a way to put everything back in order to create a new message. However, this was easier said than done because there were so many unanswered questions. Were these word sequences to be treated independently of each other or together ? Is this the last clue or will there be more puzzles ?

___

The wood of the torches was melting away by the minute and without realising it, they now had less than an hour to succeed. Their light still illuminated the blank ceiling but shadows had appeared everywhere, stretching as the torches crackled. After each group had reflected, it was now time to gather once more to discover the secret of these phrases.

The first was Thorunn, Trioa and their Lieutenants who had taken care of the words : pillars - the - over - guarding - Fire - and - gates. The two Commanders had easily found the hidden phrase and were writing it on the floor for all to see. The groups took turns writing their respective phrases and it was Thorunn and Trioa's turn to start.

[Fire and pillars guarding over the gates]

The second group was dealing with Naya's sentence and was composed of herself, Nixia and their Lieutenant and Emilia accompanied by Zak. For long minutes, they had finally managed to find a meaning to all these words, although the three Commanders did not know their deep meanings yet.

[Adorned with sparkling lights, it lies]

Persea and Ynir, with the help of Itham the elf who was their second in command and the assistance of Caipy and Nina, had worked on the words : waits - the - Under - blood-tinted - it - moon. Just like Thorunn and Trioa it had been easy to find but again, the elements described there did not fit with the current situation.

[Under the blood-tinted moon, it waits]

And finally the last group had taken the longest due to a longer sentence that perhaps included the solution to their problem. But the two Commanders Ralph and Luna, accompanied by their Lieutenants, had still managed to get there.

[Fight what you fear, the answer rests at last beneath starry skies]

All the words had been put back in order but now they only had 30 minutes left before they felt the walls move. The idea of having made even a little progress was incredible for everyone, but the pressure was still beginning to take over the room. Which sentence was first ? Did the order matter ? Nixia suddenly raised her voice to offer her version of this little text.

"I don't think the order is really important because the message although unclear remains the same. However, every sentence ending has a word that rhymes with at least a second, which is why..."

Without saying anything more, the lamia with the black scales and tied hair, began to write on the ground with a spear of black fire, burning the slabs allowing her to trace by leaving black marks. Everyone looked on with seriousness and curiosity and the more Nixia wrote, the more everyone's eyes shone and faces smiled.

Put together and in the right order, these sentences made sense and revealed a new message. It was vague and didn't seem to belong underground, but it was all together that they had managed to get here. All eyes were riveted on the inscription left by the snake Commander, which at that moment represented the hope of escape.

___

Under the blood-tinted moon, it waits

Fire and pillars guarding over the gates

Adorned with sparkling lights, it lies

Fight what you fear, the answer rests at last beneath starry skies

___

Shadows danced in the room, the torches disappeared little by little, and the soldiers had only 30 minutes left to find the answer. No one spoke, everyone watched the phrases written on the floor without understanding their meaning. Breaking the silence, Luna the half-panther knelt down and pointed to the first and last sentence.

"Why is there talk of a blood moon and stars ? We are underground with no way of knowing how long and no light can reach us. Neither the sun nor the moon are visible so why the words ? And then "fight what you fear" is far too vague...we have little time left and yet we are no further ahead.."

Luna had said out loud what everyone else was thinking and without meaning to, she had partially rekindled the flame of doubt, fear and panic. At that moment, another person was thinking, whose voice startled everyone.

"Fight...what you fear...fight what you fear. Fight...what...you...fear. What do we fear here ? Monsters ? No there aren't..."

Ynir thought aloud and repeated the words that seemed to be most important to her. She didn't know why, but this particular phrase resonated with her for some unknown reason, and as everyone looked at her, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"I...I think I got it !"

There was not much time left and the invisible chains of fate held their lives hostage and yet for the first time Ynir was sure of herself. The beautiful half-human butterfly had a proud smile on her face and as she lifted her head, all the soldiers in the room could hear four crazy words they never thought they would hear.

"Turn off the torches !"

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Empress of the three colors

Level : 40/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 41 000

HP : 150 000 / 150 000 MP : 75 000 / 75 000

Strength : 510

Defense : 510

Agility : 516

Endurance: 513

Speed : 512

Intelligence: 510

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 300

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]