For a deserted castle, the Hellinger Castle did not look anything like the stereotype: the sky was clear and blue with white fluffy clouds floating around, the grass around the perimeter of the castle was green and gave off a fresh smell, and the castle itself looked clean and bright on the outside.
The castle itself was located in a small and hidden realm that was very close to the earth, but was always positioned on the back side of the earth so that it stayed in the shadows. There was another magical artifact placed on a small asteroid in space rotating around the sun, which would absorb the sunlight radiated from the sun and transported the light to this very realm, acting as a source of light.
The walls and towers in the building was created using a special kind of stone material with a high concentration of metal, which was then treated with one specific kind of magical fire before shaping. After the construction of the castle was finished, reinforcement and coating the exterior with a kind of mineral oil created by the Hellingers’ own recipe had become a regular maintenance operation, which was often carried out by a group that consisted mainly of the Hellinger family members that were deemed insufficiently talented, since it involved mostly tedious busy work.
Assistant Professor Vyn was not one of this branch, but he volunteered to do the work every time. On the other hand Lucias Vyn, who was deemed powerless and almost completely talentless, also volunteered every time. This gave them a lot of chances to work together and socialize as brother and sister. And it was also due to these experiences, they got the chance to learn and understand more about the castle than almost anyone in the family at the time.
Now, standing outside of the outer ward in front of the metal fence gate were the teams of both Lucias Vyn and Lady Marza O’Gul. Lucias Vyn brought a few dozen individuals under her employment, a lot of which were wearing all kinds of face covering; while Lady Marza O’Gul brought along some of the most loyal and elite witches from her coven.
“That’s an interesting story and all.” Lady Marza O’Gul asked with a wide smile, even her face mask covering half of her face was not able to cover it: “But I wonder - how did you get the nickname ‘Mama Reaper’?”
“Through brushing with death, of course.” Lucias Vyn answered without even turning: “One time, this piece of shit little brat tried to take a present of mine. I fought tooth and nails to hold onto it, and in the struggle, I was kicked in the stomach and back for god knows how many times. I died for a few minutes, until a family healer brought me back. But like they said, sometimes life and death triggers your inner potential.”
“What was this important gift?”
“It’s a single petal from the blossom of the Crystal Lake, enclosed inside a hand-made ball of amber.” Assistant Professor Vyn said: “I gave it to her as a present. Aside from the usual internal power calming and growth-inspiring properties, it is also said to have the power to help one find their hidden potential. And as a matter of fact, it did work.”
“The area is clear, should be safe to enter.” just this moment, the head of the scouts came back and said to Assistant Professor Vyn: “Like you ordered, we didn’t enter or disturb anything.”
“The area is clear, just like we predicted.” Assistant Professor Vyn turned back and said to his and Lucias Vyn’s team, and the team led by Lady Marza O’Gul: “Now, I am going to open the gate. Be prepared.”
Assistant Professor Vyn stepped forward towards the metal gate, took out a small dagger to slash two crossing wounds on it, and then extended his right arm forward with his palm facing the metal fence gate. A shining bright blue symbol appeared before his palm, and a symbol that was the mirror reflection of it appeared on the central seal of the metal fence gate.
The sound of gears turning came from the central seal of the fence gate, then after a small puff of smoke, the metal fence gate opened, not by swinging towards both sides, but by the metal bars and plates gradually retreating back to the positions of their hinges.
When the gates opened, the color of the sky and the clouds changed color: the sky became dark blue like it was close to night time, and the clouds had become blood red. If one paid close attention to the sky and the cloud, they would see that there were dark cracks in the sky, and the clouds were much thicker than they looked before, and there were shapes of crying and screaming human faces on the surface. The building of the castle also revealed its true look: broken walls everywhere, a lot of places were cracked up, some of the tall towers were even completely missing.
“Even after death, the Hellingers are vain.” Lucias Vyn scoffed as she followed Assistant Professor Vyn through the gates and into outer ward.
“Stay in the central pathway behind me. Don’t touch anything. Don’t fixate your eyes on anything for too long.” Assistant Professor Vyn said to everyone coming through the gate: “If you triggered anything, you would put everyone in danger. Remember, we are Hellingers, we know the way, but we can’t save you if you ticked off something dangerous.”
Camile Jensen walked in behind Lady Marza O’Gul, and she still couldn’t help but look around her: there was burnt dirt, strange and even creepy looking vegetation, patches of charred land and debris from the tower and ruins of the smaller buildings surrounding the castle everywhere. On their left, there was a swamp with several different colors of tar that was still bubbling, and on their right there was a broken building like the entrance to an underground mausoleum, standing in front of which was a tree with no leaves but many blood red flowers on its branches.
“Tears in the wind, tears in the wind. Mama’s crying and there’s tears in the wind...” when Camile Jensen walked closer to the main gate to the inner ward and the castle building itself, she heard some faint voices of children singing in the air: “Daddy asked: ‘why’d you cry?’ And Mama said: ‘My stumps hurt my love, can’t you just end me? ...’”
