This is a continuation of the Mortis Custos Part 39 by 
To start at the beginning of the story please see the links provided at the end of this post!
Viewer discretion is advised due to gory violence! Undead! Swords! Death! Beware!
He was tired of running.
There was no way of knowing how long he had been there walking up and down the corridors of the castle.
The shadow was following him. It was speaking to him, calling out his name, but also speaking in other languages that he could not fathom. Guttural, half unintelligible words tried to seep into his mind as if to pull him towards the Shadow's voice. Somehow he knew that he needed to stay away from it, for it was Evil.
He traveled up and down the corridors seeking for some way to escape the Castle or at least to have some sort of consolation.
Adrian was fairly sure that he was dead.
Perhaps not quite dead, maybe. He was somehow in between. How he knew this Adrian was not quite sure for he was not a mage or a priest. He always felt that he would be a better magician then he would make a warrior, and that is why he'd always seek out his uncle's council.
Yet his uncle had taught him nothing and the mages in the castle, afraid of his father, had also taught him nothing. Yet here he stood in an impossible place with the Shadow hunting him. He was tired of running
Nobody else truly walked these corridors, though sometimes he was able to see people. Most of the time the people that he could see were those that were praying or those that were lost deep in thought.
There had to be some sort of significance to this. Once he had walked into the Castle Chapel and he had seen his mother and a few others that were praying. Thinking back, he knew that the Chapel would usually be full. The way that the people sat made it made him feel as though the Chapel really was full but only some of them were visible.
If Adrian had to hazard a guess it would mean that some of the people in the Chapel would truly engaged in their religion or in their prayer. While others merely sat and mumbled words to no effect. Perhaps some Souls burnt brighter than others or perhaps some prayers will be more truthful and heartfelt than others. He was not sure.
If this was true, that only true prayers made them visible to Adrian then it was truly touching. Not only could he see his mother in the chapel, but he could also hear some of the words that she had said as well.
His mother was praying for his recovery and she was praying for Magna's safety.
Where had his sister gone? Why would his twin have left his bedside if he was sick and injured? He thought back upon the manner of his death or not quite death...
He had no idea how long he had been here in this in-between place. He had no idea what it was that he was supposed to do. He knew only that he was not able to pass on and he was not able to recover on his own.
One thing he knew, was that he needed to stay away from the Shadow. That alluring voice that spoke to him meant him harm... or something else. Sometimes it told him things, to come and embrace his Master but this did not make sense for he did not know any Darkness. It felt foreboding.
The shadow spoke to him as if it knew him. It spoke to him as if the two of them had already spoken before. Perhaps time was an illusion here and it was all mixed up. As though he had spoken to the shadow in the future but the shadow did not understand the time that it took for his mortal mind to comprehend - it needed to order events in a chronological pattern.
Did this mean that he would inevitably end up going to the Shadow? Or perhaps this in itself was just a trick!
This did however give Adrian a little bit of insight, for he had read many books. What these thoughts proved to him was that he was dealing with the supernatural and the celestial. There was a God involved in this place but it was not a good God.
"Adrian" The voice called again. "Come to me, Adrian."
He started jogging in the opposite direction. It was either that, or head towards the shadow's voice.
He was tired of running.
"Adrian! Do not run! We are bound together, Adrian! You are promised to me! Promised!" The Shadow was louder now.
Adrian's lungs were burning, a silly thought to have even gotten tired or pain in this place. Perhaps I should just get it over with and meet this Shadow. Perhaps it kills him, perhaps it heals him... either way he could stop running.
"Oh no, you don't!" A voice said suddenly from behind him. "Do not give up so easily! If you give up now, it will eat your soul and claim you for its own.
Adrian turned while he was walking and he saw there was a light behind him.
"Don't stop! There is no time for introductions. Keep going!"
The insistence in this new voice spurred him on.
"Adrian!" The Shadow pleaded.
Instead, he put his head down and ran.
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