The heavy door behind Juran opened with a 'click'. "Honourable Elder! Greetings from Astor!" A deep voice resonated through the room as the man who had just entered, stood in front of the door and bowed to Svald slightly. Juran turned to look at him and recognized him immediately. It was none other than the mysterious dark rider at the battlefield who had been controlling the gloams. The whip still dangled from his waist, its ebony handle tucked in his sash. His tall and muscled body was clad in black entirely, giving him quite an elegant air. In the eerie red light of the room his face looked indefinable, vague.
'Who could this man be? He must be someone very close to Svald, or he wouldn't be coming here without even knocking once!' Wondered Juran. He had neither seen him before nor had he ever heard of the existence of such a man in Svald's inner circle.
"Astor? Where have you been? I had sent for you at least an hour ago," Svald said.
"I am just coming up from the 1000 Miles cave!" Astor said in an apologetic tone. Then he turned his gaze to Juran. "So you are already up?" He asked. But before Juran could say anything, Svald said, "What did you see there?"
The note of eagerness in his voice didn't escape Juran's ears. He was surprised. The 1000 Miles cave or simply the Cave was the powerhouse of Anakra. Lying 1000 miles deep within the mountainous heart of the city of Sun, this place was where the Cerulean Light, the source of all energy in Anakra was found. 'What could have happened there?' He thought.
"Same as before," said Astor, his eyes still fixed at Juran. "Can I talk to him now?" He said. "We don't have much time in hand."
"Of course you can. Take him with you," Svald said and stood up.
"Come with me," Astor said to Juran who also stood up, facing him. "Why should I go with you?" He asked.
"Because it will take some time to explain it to you and perhaps some display, too," Astor said. "Let's go!" He started to move towards the door. Juran followed him without further argument. He was curious to know more about Astor. The two walked down a long corridor which ended in a cavernous opening. The floor beneath their feet was rough and uneven. The shadowy walls tapered off to form a dome way up above their heads. An eerie silence reigned there.
Juran was taken aback. This place was the entrance to the Cave. Though he had never been to this place before, he knew its descriptions minutely. But before he could say anything, Astor spoke up.
"Aren't you surprised that I have brought you to this sacred place?" He asked. "I need to show you something, but before that let me tell you a few things." He paused for Juran's response and when there was none, resumed his narrative.
"You know well that Gloams appear as freak accidents when too much Cerulean Light is concentrated at a certain point. But recently this chance incident has increased so much that it has turned into a matter of grave concern. We can create and control some low level Gloams now but there are fierce and intelligent ones which are beyond our control. In the last couple of months they have started to appear more frequently."
For a second the image of the fierce monster at the desert flashed in Juran's mind. 'That's it, then!' He thought.
"It's your hankering after more and more power that has destroyed every balance in this world," Juran said bitterly. "Why did you have to create Gloams? Wasn't there enough powerful weapons at your disposal already? Why did you have to bring this upon us?"
Astor was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Juran, you know who is responsible for this mess. I can't oppose him. But I'm doing everything in my power to find a solution to this. That's why I'm seeking your help."
Juran was surprised by the sudden change of tone in Astor's voice. He actually sounded sincere and ardent in blaming Svald! 'What does it mean?' He thought.
But he didn't say anything. In a world where greed led to wavering and conflicting loyalties it was wiser not to make any commitment before understanding what lay beneath the façade. He waited for Astor to explain himself more.
But Astor wasn't talking anymore. Signalling Juran to follow him, he had started walking towards a metal structure standing near the wall at left. The huge metal structure looked like a glistening cage. As Astor touched it, a red button glowed on its metal body and a part in front of it swung open like a door. As the two of them entered it, the door swung close on its own. In an instant the cage was flooded with a soft blue light. Then it turned dark. For a few seconds Juran felt weightless and dizzy. 'What is happening here?' He thought with some apprehension.
'We are inside the Cave now.' Astor's booming voice sounded muffled and far-off in Juran's ears. He took a few seconds to take in what was going on around him. "Why do you have to bring me here in the Cave? He asked.
"Wait for a few seconds. You will see by yourself," Astor said. Sure enough, as Juran's eyes got accustomed with the darkness he was able to see a faint light swirling in the deep darkness below his feet. He had a strange feeling that he was just floating and hovering over a volcano that had been brewing a fire of a strange blue hue.
"The Cerulean Light!" Juran gasped. But Astor didn't speak. Staring intently at that swirling, churning column of light, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
Then, all on a sudden, the air around them resonated with a long deep howl. It seemed as if the gates of Hell had opened allowing the growl of Cerberus to reach them in this uncanny Cave!
Juran felt a chill down his spine. He glanced at Astor only to find that his face was ashen with a wild look in his eyes.
"Did you hear it? Look, it is taking form now!" He exclaimed.
From the blue glowing pit, a shadow was slowly emerging. It looked like a giant beast trying to drag its body out of that cavernous pit of cerulean fire. As the two of them stared in awe, it slowly dismantled and merged with the light again.
"It is still unable to gather its form, but once it fully emerges from there, all hell will break loose, for the source of the Cerulean Light will immediately shut down and the Arcus will no longer function. Can you imagine what's going to happen then?" Astor said in an imploring voice.
"The Doomsday will arrive!" Juran couldn't help being vicious. "What were you guys thinking when you first started breaking the rules?"
"Don't blame me! I've only done what I was ordered to do. But now I'll try to redeem myself. Look, Svald wants your knowledge of Dark to control gloams and I need it to stop them from appearing. Do you get what I'm saying here?" Astor said.
"Is it even possible for you to oppose Svald?" Juran asked.
"No! And I'm not opposing him." Exclaimed Astor. "I'm asking for the same thing; the control over the Gloams. It's only that I want to stop them from appearing at all."
"Why should I trust you? You are already betraying your Honourable Elder. Why should I start believing that you have the best intentions here?" Juran asked.
"Do you have another choice?" Astor flipped it back at him. "If you want to save your beloved Anakra you'll have to support me here," said Astor in a passionate voice.
"Perhaps you are right," Juran said, his mind still occupied with the image of the monster he saw moments ago.
