A Failed Hero's Voyage Chapter 17: Chapter 17: When it Stares Back

Read chapter 17 of A Failed Hero's Voyage by churro on NovelPedia.

Atherius remained seated atop the wyvern, his posture steady but his gaze lingering on the elder below. For a brief moment, the world seemed to narrow to that single point of stillness, and then his eyes shifted, drawn inevitably to Sefyr as the boy disappeared into one of the modest village homes. Something tightened in his chest, an unfamiliar weight he could neither ignore nor fully suppress. He had already accepted the possibility that this might be the last time he would see him, yet acceptance did nothing to dull the sting of it. He exhaled quietly, then inclined his head toward the elder. “Thank you,” he said at last, his tone controlled but sincere. With a light tap against Azure’s side, he signaled departure. The wyvern responded with a low, rumbling breath, spreading its massive wings with deliberate care so as not to knock the nearby villagers from their feet. Then, in a single fluid motion, it launched skyward. The ground fell away almost instantly, the village shrinking beneath them until it became little more than a scattering of shapes against the earth. Within seconds, they were once again suspended high in the air. Atherius tapped Azure’s scales once more, and the creature adjusted its course, surging forward toward the distant mountain range where the marked location awaited. The wind howled past them, violent and unrelenting, tearing through his white hair as the wyvern cut through the sky like a living projectile of steel and sinew. For a time, there was only motion, speed, distance, purpose. Then a sudden pain came. It struck without warning, sharp and invasive, blooming from his draconic eye like a blade driven into his skull. Atherius let out a low groan, instinctively raising a hand to it. When he pulled his fingers away, they were stained with blood. His expression hardened. The pain was different from what he had felt before, not the profound, almost enlightening sensation Mordor had forced upon him, but something harsher, more insistent. It throbbed with intent, as though it carried meaning beyond mere sensation, as though it were urging him toward something… or warning him away. Nonetheless he endured it. If anything, he accepted it. Pain, after all, was something he refused to reject. As the wyvern pressed onward, the sensation intensified. The closer they drew to the marked location, the sharper it became, evolving from a piercing ache into something bordering on unbearable. It clawed at his mind, demanded attention, whispered without words. Yet Atherius remained unmoved in his resolve. Whether it was a warning or a manipulation, he would not turn back. He would force the truth from the devil, or end it, regardless of what that truth might be. Eventually, as they reached the exact point marked by the coin’s projection, then as suddenly as it came, the pain ceased. Atherius frowned, glancing downward in confusion. The silence in his mind felt unnatural after such intensity, almost hollow. Why now? Why stop when he had finally arrived? He lifted his gaze, but only one eye followed his command. The draconic eye remained fixed below, unmoving, as though drawn by something unseen. His expression darkened. 'Am I being controlled?' The thought surfaced unbidden. Had Mordor deceived him after all? The possibility clashed violently with everything he had come to believe in that final encounter. Mordor had spoken of truth, of trust, if that trust had been a lie, then everything unravelled. And yet… if it had been genuine, then this could not be simple manipulation. Atherius clenched his jaw. Without another word, he rose to his feet atop Azure’s back, balancing effortlessly despite the speed and altitude. “Azure,” he said, his voice steady, “return to the kingdom.” The wyvern glanced back, wings beating against the air in a questioning rhythm. Atherius allowed himself a faint, almost reassuring smile. “I’ll take it from here.” Then he stepped forward, and dropped. The world vanished into rushing wind as he