“In the icy fields the battle raged, the two locked in an unbreakable stalemate. Buffeted by the chill winds of death, they fought. For minutes, hours, days, they fought. The sun rose and set; the moon waxed and waned. Snow, ice, hail and rain poured upon them as if the Goddess herself willed for it to stop. But this was a battle between brothers, between two who would never give ground to the other. Only one would leave alive. Not even the Gods could stop them now.”
- Gunmar and Aurelia, Volume 18, “Beyond the White Frost”
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Her muscles throbbed in agony when she awoke again, but this time she felt different. Though the sheer amount of pure mana she had absorbed meant her entire body still trembled no matter what she did, her limbs felt a fair bit light and she could actively move properly this time. She sat up and immediately was brought back down as she smacked her head against the rubble once more. Fortunately, some ancient rock dustings came down alongside the blow and she could at least identify which way was up.
“Ughh.” She groaned.
Sophie tucked her legs in and shielded her face with her arms before she threw her weight onto the rubble. After a minute, she fell back onto whatever she was leaning on and grunted, exhausted from the effort. She let herself replay the final moments of the explosion in her head, the knights marching towards her and then the starstone shattering with a brilliant blue. Sophie was worried that she might’ve done something irrevocably dangerous, she was, after all, acting in accordance to the will of some unknowable being the likes of which defied all understanding. A being that potentially even challenged the Goddess at one point.
“Hah.” She sighed. No use worrying about that now.
Her mind had been pushed far beyond its limits in comprehension of the day’s events, much less the condition of her body or the mana that still hummed within it. She felt tired, yet she could not stop moving. Her eyes grew heavy and she found the idea of taking a small nap in this little alcove within the rubble somewhat comforting in its snugness. Stop it, she slapped herself, focus. Stretching however she could, she braced herself for another attempt and pushed. She pushed and pushed to no avail until she heard the tiniest noise.
*tink*
The cascade of moving rubble and debris began without warning and Sophie was almost swept alongside it. Bracing herself against the worn stones, she threw everything she had to slide the biggest piece above her just enough for it to join the rest. Something beyond her line of sight crumbled and the large stone piece that blocked her exit slid off to take its place.
A dim orange glow filled her vision and Sophie felt a wave of relief wash over her, the crystal is gone. She cautiously clambered her way out of the rubble pile, grabbing onto the edge of the opening and heaving herself over it. She landed on her back and laid there for a quick second, a little stunned from the impact. Wiggling around to confirm she still had control of all her faculties, she pushed herself up and staggered away from the rubble, temporarily blinded by the light around her after her extended stay in the dark little alcove. When she could focus on the world around her once more she found herself in the middle of a scene out of her nightmares.
The ruin was now more rubble than anything. All around her, the buildings that were once near the town square had simply collapsed in on themselves from the force of the starstone shattering. Rubble lined streets led to where more buildings had suffered major structural damage despite being outside the blast zone. Whereas previously some of the buildings in the cavern still stood somewhat sturdily, most of them had even more chunks missing than before.
The cavern was also noticeably dimmer. Though the light shaft from the mountains still remained, she could tell the explosion had shaken even that as bits of snow and rock had joined the waterfall, casting eerie shadows as they came. Many torches had also been snuffed out and only a few scattered dots of orange remained in the streets. The bonfire too had been knocked over, but some had evidently caught fire judging from the blaze near the ruined pavilion. Bodies from the corpse pile had been flung everywhere, now with the addition of robed cultists and even the occasional knight or two strewn about amongst them. Her stomach lurched as she trudged closer to the epicenter, the people who had been closest to it had been torn to shreds. Armor had been pierced and riddled with crystalline fragments, knights died where they stood as the mana triggered some adverse reactions and only blooded chestpieces remained. Cultists had been burned by mana and their charred corpses were engulfed by pale blue flames. Men and women alike were missing most of their body parts, those who tried to shield themselves from the blast had their corresponding halves turned to mush whilst their other half simply died where they stood.
At the center, where the pavilion had been, she saw that it was there not longer. She breathed a disgusted sigh of relief, it was done, the portal was no more. A sole dark knight had been the last one to try to cross, the fool likely entering just as the blast hit. Half his body had been burned beyond belief, a charred husk within his blackened armour. His other half had likely been left on the other side of the portal. Sophie shuddered at the thought, helluva way to go.
Giving her ears a quick scratch, she looked around to find one of the Myndiri cylinders and had a horrible realisation that she had lost most of the Myndiri artifacts. Damnit, how the hells can I find any of the evidence in this mess?
Before she could fully comprehend the situation, she heard the distinctive heavy clinks and thuds of metallic boots slapping hard against the streetstones. Without thinking, she instinctively ducked and watched as an axe sailed over her head and slammed into the rubble beside her. She spent a second just staring in shock before her body took over and she started running down a random street. Sparing a quick glance behind her, she noticed with alarm that around a dozen of the black armoured knights had appeared from the rubble and began chasing her. Shit, shit. They’re still alive. Some of them are still alive!
Sophie could hear the rapidly approaching boots and quickly searched for a way out. She clambered over some rubble and caught the briefest glimpse of them hot on her tail, struggling to climb up the rubble in their armour, heh. Reasoning that they’d headed immediately towards the exit, she hurriedly ran down the street a bit more before ducking behind some rubble and slowly scooting her way back towards the town square. She hoped to throw them off her trail and found some success. She heard more than a few boots race straight down the street she was on, disappearing into the labyrinthian streets. After them, a few more boots plopped down and though she could not hear the words that were spoken amongst them, she could tell something was wrong.
Not intending to find out or be found out, she grabbed a small piece of rock and hurled it towards some other street. It was a stupid trick, one of the oldest ones in the book, but it worked. Though they were still cautious, she could hear the ones nearby freeze mid step, before they carefully made their way towards the noise. No way, that worked. Hah! That worked?!
Sophie waited for her moment and then quickly scrambled away in the opposite direction. She stopped a few more times to scan the terrain before finally reaching the town square again. Crouching down behind some rubble to plan, she tried thinking of where everything could’ve gone after the blast. Anything on that offering table have likely been flung away somewhere. The few artifacts they set up around the place must've been flattened by nearby buildings, damn.
She made her way back into the town square and anxiously started looking around for the corpses of cultists. Her body still trembled albeit less so from the mana over exposure, and she could barely keep herself steady as she embarked on this macabre task. She remained low to the ground and tried to keep herself from being spotted in the open square, moving from rubble pile to rubble pile as she searched for the Myndiri cylinders. Sophie tried her best to avoid rummaging through the bodies but every once in a while, she would have to move a body or two. Their faces of pure anguish as they perished making her shudder. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a glimmer between the corpse of a knight and villager. Slinking over, she gingerly pushed the bodies aside to find a second cylinder. Holding it in the air, she examined it and found it fascinating how this centuries old object still seemed relatively intact. Impressive engineering.
On the dull yellow casing of the little cylinder, illuminated by the tiniest wisps of orange flame, Sophie saw the shadow that appeared to be reflected on it. Widening her eyes at it, she immediately jumped backwards and found herself face to face with the winged dark knight. Before she could even yelp in surprise, the knight grabbed her by the throat and tossed her into the center of the town square. Sophie skidded to a halt, gasping for breath and in surprise. Pushing herself back up, she found three of the dark knights rounding up on her. In the center stood the undecorated dark knight, his arms folded across his chest as another dark knight and the winged knight rounded up on her. The unmarked knight raised a single gauntleted fist and pointed at her.
“You…” His quiet but hated filled voice pierced the tense silence.
Don’t engage, just run. Don’t engage, just run. Curiosity can come later, curiosity can come later. “M-me?” She pointed hesitantly at herself and nervously smiled. Idiot! Stop standing still! Pretending to still listen, she started backing away, one tiny step at a time.
“Centuries… centuries!” The knight roared, his voice unsteady, almost alien sounding trying to speak common.
Her eyes darted everywhere, trying to look for her way out when she felt the slight roll of her foot. When she finally comprehended that she was on the verge of tripping, her world seem to slow to a crawl as her vision switched from knight, to rubble, to cavern roof. She landed with a dull thud and there was silence as the knight stopped speaking for a moment. Taking that as her cue to go, she pushed herself up and snatched the trinket she had stepped on, the cylindrical object responsible for her downfall now stuffed into her pockets.
The first thing she heard break the silence were the strange words were spoken by the knight that Sophie didn’t understand. His shouting and rage filled screams however, she did understand.
“You won’t get away, despoiler!” Were also words she understood perfectly fine.
She ducked behind a street corner and started running. She had to clamber, hop, and jump over piles of rubble, each little effort wasting valuable time as the knights simply crashed through all the obstacles with an inhumane force. Shit, I need to make some distance. This isn’t going to work. Biting her lip, she made a sharp turn down an alley and hopped up towards a loose ledge, using it to pull herself up to the first floor of a ruined structure. She could hear the heavy clanking of armour following her and quickly searched for another path. Spotting some nearby buildings jutting out of the rubble, she leapt over the street below and landed with a heavy thud. Winded, she hung to the edge of the building for a moment before pulling herself up.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
She had hoped they would’ve missed the jump but a few shouts from below dispelled her hopes quickly enough. A sudden noise halted her movements and she turned to find black armoured gauntlets grasping onto a loose time. In her moment of indecision on whether to attack or keep running, she spied the winged helmet loom over the ledge and hoist himself up, a free hand pointing silently at Sophie. What the?! That’s full plate, all the sigils and spikes probably adds a few pounds to it too… and he just… jumped up here?! By the stars…
Doing the only thing she could at this moment, she turned around and continued running away. Leaping across another gap, she barely made it across and pressed on only to hear the sickening thump behind her. Like a boulder smashing into the ground, Sophie could feel the building buckle slightly as the winged knight landed. Before she could do anything else, she looked directly at the throwing axe flying at her skull. She hastily pivoted to avoid the blow and immediately dropped. Her stomach lurched as she accidentally stepped off the side of the building, clinging on by one hand. As the sounds of footsteps drew closer, she calmed her breathing and let go, bracing herself for the impact.
Sharp pains shot throughout her body as she landed on rubble before rolling off of it, somewhat staggered but still functional. To her horror, the knight also jumped and landed with a heavy boom, pulverising the rubble in his path. She backed away and continued darting between the streets, feeling more and more boxed in as her pursuer kept close behind her. Sophie mentally tried to pull up a map of the cavern that she had so far; if the ruin entrance was at the southernmost tip of this settlement, then based on where the beam of light was, she was somewhere near the eastern walls of the cavern. Just gotta keep going straight.
The winged knight was relentless though, and although Sophie was faster in a foot race, the dilapidated state of the ruins was proving a bigger hurdle than she had expected. She zigzagged through countless streets and alleyways in an attempt to lose him, only to find he was never far behind. She only paused when she heard the distinctive noise of more armoured footsteps from ahead of her and her heart dropped. It’s the guys I sent on a wild chase for the rock… I ran right back into them. She scolded herself for being so attentive that she had essentially doubled back on the path she took trying to escape in the first place. She had been right when she said she needed to keep going straight, for the cavern wall eventually connected with the ruins. But she had made a classic blunder; she had tried to keep straight after every turn or alley. She had made progress forward, but if her mental map was correct, she also cut a path straight towards the western wall after a few panicked turns. Stupid! It’s just like back in the forest, just run and no think! Stupid!
Knowing that both parties were just beyond either side of the rubble, and that the cavern wall had essentially boxed her into a corner, she finally unsheathed her blade after what felt like far too long without it. A little bit of the fear vanished as she held the weighty blade back in her hands once again. This time she felt something different, a small seed of fatalistic resolve had blossomed to life within her. Even if she were to fall, she would be back, that much she knew. Whatever strange void magic afflicted her was as much a curse as it was a boon. She had felt more pain than she suspected anyone would reasonably experience in one lifetime, let alone multiple. Yet, it was because of that same pain that propelled her to where she was now. That allowed her to see things and know people that she might never had the chance to ever experience otherwise. That allowed her to protect those she treasured. You win some, you lose some. Just some fucking idiot that keeps dying all the time, lovely.
With one hand gripped on the hilt, she straightened her back and pulled the sword close, holding it upright in front of her in a salute. Her panicked breaths slowly calmed and she forced her still jittery form to simmer down a little. She embraced the nothingness that was within her and allowed the mana in this little corner of the cave to be sucked in. Might as well make it a little harder for them. She channeled the excess mana all around her body and steeled herself from the coming fight.
The first to appear was indeed the creepy knight with the winged helmet. His studded armour and human skin like scarf still gave her the disquieting sensation of being within her nightmares once more. Upon seeing her pose however, his murderous charge seemed to slow slightly, coming to a halt just within proper duelling range. Heh, guess some things are just universal.
She looked up and found that he was staring straight at her, rage filling his eyes but also something else. There was no telling what his thoughts truly were behind his helmet but she knew enough that he too, would wait. She let out a deep sigh and held her pose, the two simply staring in quiet anticipation. Sophie wondered how this knight of her nightmares had arrived here, what purpose or role did they play in the greater picture? All she knew was that they were attached to the God Arantos, and that he and his compatriots were the same as those who had burned Mila's village. Why did the entity even show me Mila’s village and the horrors that befell it? Unless… Her eyes widened in surprise as she recalled the entity’s words. I’m not the heroine that defeats the darkness, I’m the one who’s supposed to kill the imposter. It told me that I’m the guide, the one to bring heroes together, does that mean Mila… Oh Goddess above, just what am I actually getting involved in?! Her heart started to race as she tried to process the newfound revelation, the grand picture beginning to clear in her mind.
“Calm.” The Winged Knight uttered from in front of her.
Sophie was momentarily shaken out of her mind. She stared dumbfounded before sucking in a deep breath and nodding. Right, right. Matters for another time. Focus.
The crowd followed soon after and the dozen or so remaining knights crested the rubble, ready to attack. The Winged Knight let out an inhuman beastial roar that echoed throughout the cavern. The other knights quickly scrambled to a halt, the unmarked knight giving the two of them a quizzical look before holding up his hand. He and the Winged Knight conversed in their strange language. Though it was more like one was speaking and the other one was simply letting out guttural grunts.
With a final growl, the Winged Knight pointed a strange looking spear at all of his compatriots before drawing it down to point at Sophie. “Os… Osh… Os-gil. Kind-Gos” The knight tried to say something before quieting down.
Sophie blinked back her surprise for a few moments before she realized it was her opponent announcing themselves. She quickly dropped her salute and pointed her own blade at the knight. “I am Sophie, the Lily Knight.” She declared.
Osgil nodded and pulled out a shield alongside his spear, beating against it proudly. Not fair, I don’t have a shield or even armor. Sophie hastily returned the gesture and used her free hand to grab one of the Myndiri cylinders and beat it against her own chest three times. The two then stopped their display and dropped into their respective fighting stances.
Sophie tried to figure out how she could attack the armoured beast when he charged. It was the standard attack for a spear and shield user, but something about it felt strange. Sophie trusted her gut and tried to avoid the attack altogether when he started launching a series of rapid jabs at her. But no matter how much she back pedalled, she found herself being pressured by his wild, almost unceasing flurry of attacks. Trying to turn the situation around, she managed to parry one blow and ducked to avoid the next, launching her own counterattack only to find the blade easily blocked by his shield. Her blade slid off the shield and she rapidly tried to follow up by running around his guard, attempting to hit where he couldn’t guard. He adapted however, and launched wild sweeping attacks aiming to slap her with the shaft of the spear.
Sophie bobbed under the attacks, losing her momentum but able to scoot herself just out of reach. The spear had to go. He had the range advantage and she would need to somehow close the distance. She was almost caught off guard when he rushed her position, less aiming to stab and more just disorientate her. Sophie narrowly side stepped the attack but found herself almost gawking at the raw power behind how he smashed the shield into where she was, the explosive force cracking the street stone below. Seeing her chance as he recovered from the heavy attack, she lunged forward with one foot and launched a mini assault. Her strikes were meant more to disguise her own advance as they were easily blocked, but they allowed her to close the distance. He responded in kind by trying to bash her with the shield and she dodged, finding her an opening. With renewed determination, she slashed at his now exposed arms. To her dismay, her blade found little purchase and the angle meant that she had given him a small cut at best.
She had lost the momentum once again and this time, she wasn’t prepared to be on the defensive. His attacks only increased in frequency and she could barely dodge or parry most of them as he stabbed, swiped, and bashed almost relentlessly at her. Between his quick thrusts were now wide sweeps, he kept forcing her to move, lest she was caught blocking and got bashed by his shield when she was least aware of it.. She felt her muscles begin to burn as she jumped back from another thrust, the day’s exertion slowly catching up despite the mana present. She needed to remove his range advantage.
An errant swipe smacked her upside the head and Sophie practically crumpled into the ground. Battered but not stunned, she rolled out of the way as he slammed his shield against the ground, a fine dusting of loose mossy stone the only indication of how close she had been to death. Panicking, she ignored his shield and slapped his spear to the side with her sword and chucked the Myndiri cylinder at his face. Though there was a satisfying *thunk* , he seemed relatively unfazed. On the upside the moment given by the sudden distraction had allowed her to roll away and get back up onto her feet.
“No!” A shout came from somewhere above her.
She turned to find the Direktor looking horrified at the relic being used as a weapon. Damn, so he's still alive too. This intrusion did not go unnoticed however, and she saw the unmarked knight pulling the old cultist back. Distracted, she tried to return her focus to the fight only to immediately be sent reeling after her face met the metallic shield head on. She felt the blood roll down her nose and the agony that soon followed as her mind processed what had happened. Desperately trying to salvage the situation, she tried retreating and hastily flailed her blade around in a feeble attempt to hold him back. A single spear thrust penetrated her defense and grazed her, the outer layer of flesh splitting open on her left arm, the blow ripping off thin bits of her sleeve with it. Incensed at the injuries, Sophie reacted quickly and managed to barely grab the spear shaft in time before he could retract it. She threw herself at him and pressed her weight against the weapon, pushing it to the ground and feeling the jolt as it got stuck within some street stone or another in his hasty attempt to shake her loose.
He roared and Sophie found herself meeting the shield once again as Osgil used it to punt her away from him, sending her staggering back as she nursed the new pain in her gut. Taking a moment to lick her wounds, she thankfully found him doing the same and resetting his posture. To her surprise, he seemed to simply eschew using the spear and pulled out a strangely curved sword instead. Tch, a second weapon, figures it won't be that easy to disarm him. At least this means I don’t have to worry about closing the distance. Sophie wiped away the blood that had now trickled down and around her mouth before spending moment to assess her opponent, the two circling each other as they reset their positions after the chaotic melee.
Taking a pained breath, she understood that the situation would only grow ever more dire the longer the fight went on. Although he had lost his spear, thus removing the distance gap; he still had his shield. Worse, she could feel her own body not just feeling jittery from the mana, but now pain as well. Osgil on the other hand, seemed no worse for wear, having deflected all her blows and suffering no real damage. If this keeps going the way it is right now, I’m a goner. I just can't get a good hit in. The two locked eyes once more and Sophie found her doubts vanishing. Nothing left to do besides keep trying. When the two shared a quick nod, she could hear the pleased growl in his voice in knowing that she still intended to fight. Without a word spoken between them, their blades met once more as battle was joined.