Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[adwarf]

Chapter 1, Part 2.5: So, This Is Death ...

"Let's finish this." you reply to the King, and he gives you a small nod before taking a battle ready stance. You quickly dash into the area behind him, and watch as he brings his sword to bear. In one swift motion he slams the blade into the ground, and over a dozen rock pillars burst forth from the ground smashing together where Alexander once stood, but instead of finding him crushed you see him crouching down on top of the pillar. Within seconds there is a flurry of motion in front of you, and the King appears beside Alexander, with another quick movement the King smashes the flat side of his blade against him, and Alexander is sent flying through the wall into the third floor. You take your eyes off of the fight as you realize you don't have much time before Alexander wins.

With the sounds of fierce battle raging in the back ground you bite down on your other finger, and once again draw blood before bending down to draw the summoning seals. In moments you have three ritual circles constructed, and are using your other hand to prepare the Fire Toss seal. The air where your finger moved is replaced with red, orange, and yellow sparks, you mana taking physical form. Within another three minutes you have the seal right in front of you, it is about the size of your body, and consists of numerous circles, and hundreds of runes to draw the power from your Fire Elementals.

In the next instant pieces of rock fly by you, and a flash of movement, black armor, and a massive blade zooms by you. A thunderous series of cracking sounds, and crunching comes from your right side. You turn to see what happened, and find the Lost King barely standing, blood pours from numerous new gashes on his armor, and two holes are seen in his right wing. Once again his voice calls out to you, but this time it comes from his mouth not your mind, "I am sorry young one, I have done all I can, but I can last no longer. Forgive me." With that he turns into a black shadow, his presence disappears, and the shadow suddenly breaks into a million pieces before dissolving into the ground. Alexander walks out of the gap in the rubble, and comes to stand face to face with you.

Some blood drips from small gashes on his arm, and a small trickle flows from the corner of his mouth, yet he still manages to laugh into the air around him. In the windows you can see the faces of other students, and you begin to fear this is the end for you. You reach out your hand, and place your palm in the middle of the spell circle before you. Your voice rings through the air, and Alexander gives you a cold grin as he hears it, "Come Spirits of Fire, Burn My Enemy, and Take What You Will. Power of Death, Power of Light become one, and unleash the Holy Blaze of the World. Lend me your hand, and guide my path Flames of Death." As your words ring out, and three Fire Elementals burst into being you see Alexander's eyes widen in shock, but he has no time to react.

A ball of fire the size of three houses forms in your hand, and the Elementals are dragged into it. As the last bit of their essence combines with the fire it turns a bright white color, and shots forth at Alexander. You are thrown back into the wall by the explosion, and you hear two more snaps, then suddenly pain, immense pain, flows into you. You start to scream into the air, and tears flow down your cheeks, but your vision does not fade. The power of the Song of Pain takes its grip, and you begin to suffer for the actions you had taken. You look to see if you had won, but find Alexander standing perfectly unscathed by the fires, though you do manage to see a flicker of a claw, and scaled arm before it changes back to normal.

You watch as he approaches you, and your screams of pain still fill the air. You feel fear, you know he is going to kill you now that you have failed, but something surprising happens. He kneels before you, and you hear his voice through your cries of utter pain as he says "Why do you move me so much? A mere mortal can wield such power, and goes to such lengths for more. I guess I am an idiot aren't I the Lost King, Dragoth Durnslayer?" He places his hand on your chest as a massive amount of mana fills the air you can hear his voice once again "Power of Nature, that which protects, and heals return this being to its former glory, and heal the damage that has been done." A massive green light feels you vision, but you agony continues on, and you only manage to scream louder as more of the pain enters your mind.

"Damn it!" You hear him curse, and feel him flip you over on your back. You feel something moving across your back, and a sudden growth of power once more. As it reaches its peak amount you feels the darkness take you in, and you find yourself falling away further into the shadows. You have one last thought before your consciousness fades, 'So this is what death feels like is it? Its peaceful now, no more pain, no more burdens.'

You find yourself walking through endless darkness, seemingly never-ending, you have no idea why you do this, but you just feel you must do it. After what seems like months of walking through endless darkness you come upon an large area of stone. You step onto it, and begin to check it over only to fine a complex series of seals, runes, symbols, and more seals. You see feel a presence gather in the middle of the circle, and an orb appears in the middle. It seems to shift between a black darker than the shadows, and a red deeper then blood. You watch it find the orb entrancing as it draws you closer, and closer, you feel power from it, and it seems to be physically calling you "Katrin ... Katrin ..." The words continuously flow through your mind, and you since it is the orb doing this.

You walk up to it, and touch the floating orb, it feels warm to the touch one moment, and then cold the next. As you feel the waning heat it in, and feel the darkness contained within the orb shatters. The darkness contained inside rushes into you, and you fall to the ground writhing in pain. Before your eyes a pale nearly invisible being appears before you, it is a simple figure as it appears only as a cloak before you, but the voice that comes from beneath the raised cowl makes something stir in you. "What is it you desire?" it asks, and you feel you have heard the voice before. Once again the voice asks "What is it you desire?"

[fergus]

"Who are you?"
"Where is this?"

[Dermonster]

"I wish to know, and in knowing, comprehending, and in comprehending, understanding. I want to be all that I am, and more."

[adwarf]

The being waves you first questions off, and says "No, no, what is it you seek power for young one?"

[fergus]

"I didn't think we were."

[adwarf]

"Every human seeks it, no matter who they are their darkest desires strive for power. Either it is known to the human completely, as it is with you, or it is hidden in your darkness. You have much to learn young one, now I ask you answer my question, we have no time for petty questions at the moment."

[Dermonster]

*Pokes adwarf with his clearly suitable reply.*

[adwarf]

>.> I am working on the update. That was my way of telling you the being will not answer your questions.

[adwarf]

You look up into the darkness of the being's cowl, and say "I wish to know, and in knowing, comprehending, and in comprehending, understanding. I want to be all that I am, and more." As the last word drops from your lips a scaled claw burst forth from the shadow of its cloak, and clasps around your face. You start to cry out, but find it is simply just resting its hand on your face not crushing it, and before long a faint red glow radiates from the hand. You fall back gasping as it releases you, your face feels as if it is being burnt to a crisp, but shortly after it fades away, and you begin to take deep shuddering breaths.

Its voice reaches your ears once again "I see you also seek power to over come the trials the Gods have given you. You wish to become on who can walk the border between life, and death being unable to be consider fully alive, or fully dead. You wish to be, and that is what I can give, but you must overcome the dark desires that lie within you. I will not give my power to those who are clouded by the darkness. Look, and you shall see." At the end he points to your arm, and when you look down you try, and jump away from the horrifying image, but find that horrifying image is a part of you. Your left arm is moving up, and down, beneath the skin it looks as if something is trying to escape. The entire arm is a dark black, but it seems to be semi-transparent, but you can still not see what is writhing beneath.


It sits down beside you, and says "You must overcome that darkness. I will summon it forth, so you may slay it, but be warned if you fail you will become an Abomination. You will still be alive, still be conscious, and you will be forced to watch as you slaughter everyone. If that comes about I shall kill you. Now remember this, this is being is an incarnation of the darkness hiding within you, to slay it means you are slaying apart of you. Do this head held high what you will see is, but a mirror reflecting what could have been." With that the being disappears, and the edge of the stone circle bursts into the air before expanding into a massive room. A burst of pain fills your arm, and you hear a tearing sound, as you looks something claws its way out of your arm, and scurries over to the far side where it turns into a black egg. Blood runs down you arm, and as you stand runs steadily onto the stone below.

Despite the blood pooling on the floor under your feet you feel no pain, and as you begin to wonder what is going on your arm knits itself back together. The voice once again rings through the room asking you "What are you willing to give in exchange for power? Give your life, your arms, your vision? How far are you willing to go?"

[Dermonster]

"To achieve power? I would give a millenia of research. The energy to move a hundred thousand mountains from practice and effort. But only at the pace of a Human. To make for myself what I can by my own ends, and by my ends only. I would not sacrifice my vision. I would not make a tribute of my mind. My heart, my soul, none shall be traded. I would not sacrifice anything, but I would instead gain my own power through my will, for which by that alone I could achieve greater than anything anyone could possibly give me."

[EveryZig]

I am curious how he would respond to that.

[Dermonster]

I think I may have interpreted the question a bit differently than adwarf meant it.

[adwarf]

You told me how you would obtain it, not how much you would give, and risk for it

[Dermonster]

Givings in the first three sentences. Risking, however... didn't think much on that.

[adwarf]

I just realized not once have I described what Katrin looks for ... I might want to fix that soon