“What is this?” David asked, staring at the door of the chamber Ignis had pointed him toward. It was brown wood with an etching on the edges. He placed his hand on the smooth wood and hissed, stepping back from it. The etchings glowed for a moment and the light ebbed until there was nothing again. They were in a strange language. It was both familiar and ineligible to him. As though he was looking at Latin—something he learned when he was young, but never committed to.
Dragon tongue, Ignis said, a silent growl rumbling in David’s mind, carrying the dragon’s irritation. An inept mage must have done this because it is a crude form of sealing magic. But it is a seal created in a dragon tongue, so it is stronger than pure essence magic.
“Can I break it with my gauntlet?” David asked, approaching the door with his left hand stretched out.
Not alone, Ignis said. I doubt your understanding of Chaos can combat the potency of dragon tongue.
David hissed and summoned his sword again. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he could see a shiny surface under the wooden cocoon. The cracks were getting wider. Soon, he’d have the actual sword in his hands. This lifted his mood a little. Yet he had to face this door, which meant he needed the cooperation of the mediator.
“You can call my name instead,” she said, forming beside him. She was taller now, older. David stared at her for a moment, taking in the change. Her smile was wide and her black hair fell around her face, short bangs stopping just above her brow. Its black was shiny, like hot tar. Her dress covered her feet, spread like a pool of green.
“I don’t know it,” David said. She frowned, shaking her head. David shrugged. “I do not. I tried.”
“You didn’t,” she said, her smile still in place. “It is right there, just out of reach. If you tried, you’d see it and you would be well-linked to me. You wouldn’t need me for things like this. Same with that dragon you talk to all the time. You are using half of the power you can use. And soon you will be overwhelmed. The world you walk on n—”
She stopped when David put a hand up to stop her. “I just need this door unlocked now. Soon there will be more of those.” He pointed to the priest’s corpse. “And I am not sure about you, but I want to be out of here before they come looking. Out of this damn floor.”
The mediator shook her head. When she moved, she seemed to float. David felt like he’d imagined it because it was so subtle, easily mistaken. But then she was the manifestation of his spirit, his connection to essence. He wouldn’t put it past her. He stepped back to give her space to work, but she caught his hand and pulled him forward. There was no force in the pull, but David felt something pull him. Or perhaps he’d forcefully shoved himself forward. She placed her hand around his, so they were both holding his sword.
It is a shame that you can’t directly feel the flow of essence from her. You would have understood her role in your growth.
“It is a shame,” the mediator said, and that surprised David. If she could hear Ignis, did that mean she was in his head too?
“The spell,” The mediator said, turning to him with a smile. “And prepare the gauntlet. Your will and the power I can channel through you will not last against a dragon tongue spell.”
David nodded and summoned the gauntlet. His breath came out labored, ragged. David frowned. He’d expected the essence to drain him, but he was still shocked by how weak he felt. He put away the random thoughts and focused his will on one spell. After using it once, he could visualize it better and that helped the potency.
Spell: Arcane Whisper
He made the slash with the mediator holding his hand. The etching on the door shimmered and faded. David placed his gauntlet on the door quickly. The magic on the door tried to resist but David felt it give under the force of chaos’s control. The essence that made up the spell was in disarray and David was sure the sloppiness of the spell helped. He felt the door shudder against his palm and then it started crumpling like molded sand. It fell back into the chamber. Slowly at first, and then the whole thing crashed into a heap of sand. Inside was dark as far as David could see, but there was a sinister and familiar pressure pushing against him. It stung, like a million tiny needles pricking him. Shoved against it, but all his effort amounted to nothing.
“You are growing, David, but you are still too weak,” the moderator said before she disappeared. Immediately she left, the World Tilter armor wrapped around him, the helm covering his face. David sighed as the pinching sensation faded. He stepped over the heap of sand, crossing the threshold into the room. Ignis chuckled, and quickly it progressed to a full-blown mocking laughter. David frowned, confused. But that only lasted a moment as torches hanging from sconces on the wall lit up one after the other. The walls were dark and damp. The place was high and wide. The lights stretched into the distance. It seemed like a different place, a pocket space that wasn’t part of the temple itself, only connected. The size was breathtaking, but what stunned David was what was chained in the middle. Her eyes opened to stare at them, fierce slits of gold spotted with black. The eyes were just as large as the ones he remembered. But something was lacking, a refinement of power? It was strange, but he didn’t feel as threatened as he felt before. Perhaps it was because he’d gotten stronger?
No, Ignis chided, this is only a part of Ziel’s soul. A large part, but not as vast as what you met before. This is what she wants. Look how weak you look, Child. Chained in the under-room of some human god. You disgrace your kind, my dear.
The dragon seemed to have heard because she lifted her head, her mouth opening wide. David watched the flames build in her throat and his heart raced violently. He wanted to take a step back or run away.
You stood before a god, David. This is a baby’s mimicry of power compared to that. Hold your ground.
David stayed, but his mind raced with possible counters for the flames. But he didn’t have to do anything. The walls of the large room shone as identical etchings as those on the door came alive. Then the ground did the same, glowing with symbols and words. Ignis growled, his annoyance flowing into David. He hated the use of dragon-tongue to trap a dragon. And he hated Balek a little more. But not as much as he enjoyed the effect of the spell on Ziel.
Ziel's jaws clamped shut and her face slammed down as if pulled by an invisible force. She writhed, her body spasm again and again. The chains clinked and shook as she roared in pain. David frowned. He didn’t like the dragon, but this… this was cruel. They were torturing her soul. Perhaps this was why she hated humans. The glow faded and the dragon settled down, breathing audibly. David watched her, wondering how he was supposed to break through something so strong. He could barely affect the spell on the door.
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“How do I do this, Ignis?”
I say you don’t, Ignis supplied. If you have to, I won’t be helping. You can—
He stopped and at the same time, a memory filled David’s mind. It was a whisper of a voice, something he hadn’t even thought about in so long, but the voice filled his head now. Veenar had whispered it to him, like a secret. David frowned, stretched out his hand, and whispered the word. It scraped his throat raw, tore his tongue, and almost choked him, but he said the word.
That vile filth planted the spell in you! How ingenious. She knew I wouldn’t help you free her, so she planted this path in you.
David grunted, his head spinning as he struggled to breathe. Blood filled his throat, taking life away from him. Ignis sounded undisturbed, not even the mediator appeared. He was going to die. He fell to his knees, cursing Ziel. She had planned to kill him after all. Ignis was right, she was vile. Perhaps this fate had been fitting. His vision dimmed, cropped in black around the edges. Death was frustratingly slow and rife with pain. His head felt heavy. He didn’t see the working of the dragon tongue spell he’d made. It sparked into life in front of Ziel’s soul. It blazed into life in one rush—one moment there was nothing there, and the next there was a door, a portal to a wasteland.
The light was the last thing he saw.
Ignis’s laughter echoed in his head. A mocking farewell.
“Not yet,” a voice said, pulling David out of the clutches of that absolute darkness. He blinked, adjusting to the solid light pulsing over him. A face came into view, a familiar smile. And then the bald head. Nurend grinned down at him, shaking his head sympathetically. David glared at the dragon, a flash of rage fogging his mind. He made to charge at the dragon but manacles made from the conjured earth held him in place.
“Fair reaction if I am being honest,” Nurend said, his smile softening. “What Veenar did was unkind. And she apologizes. She didn’t mean to do it. Mother’s methods are…cruel and self-serving. But she sent me.”
“Curse yo—”
I wouldn’t, Ignis warned and David bit down his swear. Instead, he sneered at the dragon healing him. Behind Nurend, the portal still burned. He was able to speak, but his voice was gruff and raw and came with a bit of itching. He wished he had ignored his promise, but then he was sure what would have happened to him, or what else Ziel had placed in him, waiting for the right time to spring the trap to catch him.
“Release me,” David growled. Nurend looked at him for a sliver of a moment and nodded, stretching his hand. Then he stopped, his face splitting into an infuriating smile that David wished to punch badly.
“Swear you will not charge at me. While you can’t kill me yet, I am sure you can make lasting bruises.”
“I will not swear, but I will not attack you either,” David said, his voice getting better. “You were not the one that burned a dragon-tongue spell into my mind. I have paid Ziel her due. I owe her no longer.”
“Yes, you have,” Nurend said. With a wave of his hand the shackles dissolved to nothing. “And you have to hurry back to your family.”
The dragon walked back past the portal to stand in front of his mother. He stretched his hand until he was touching her rough face. She couldn’t move, but David saw that there was no recollection in Ziel’s eyes. Only fury. She wanted to burn Nurend as much as she had wanted to destroy him.
“How long you have suffered, Mother. I will free you now. You will be whole again, and they will know your glory once more.”
Ignis snorted. David felt the disdain he felt for Ziel. It wasn’t complete hatred. It was a mixture of regret, anger, and envy. David wanted to ask many questions, but he had the feeling the dragon wouldn’t answer any. He watched Nurend conjure a small box of brown steel. On each side of the box were those symbols. He felt the power in them when Nurend poured essence into them and then threw the box at Ziel. The dragon raged against it, but the box pulled at her, the space around her warped, bending as if folding on itself as it was pulled upward toward the box. Slowly, the box sucked in Ziel and the chains fell, creating small craters where they crushed the ground.
Nurend turned to meet David, another box in his hand while the one with Ziel floated beside him. He stretched it to David.
“Ziel said you’d need this soon,” Nurend said. He pulled back when Davit tried to take it. “You can’t use it now. But when you get the final insight and fuse with Ignis, you will need it to wield the power you get. I hope it serves you well.”
David accepted the gift. He expected Nurend to leave, but the dragon opened a second portal.
“You should use this. I can only create a path close to the raging essence I can feel. You should get to her fast. I hope you can stop her. She is stronger than before. But she needs someone to teach her, or she will destroy herself before she wields the power properly.” He turned to the other portal, the one David had made. It sputtered, unsteady. “I shouldn’t be here. Bye, for now, David. It has been interesting watching you all.”
David watched him jump through and the portal zipped close, the light vanished almost immediately. David stared at where the dragon had been. He felt extremely exhausted, but he wasn’t done for the night. He could guess who Nurend had meant from the worry line on his face. And the dragon was right. No one else could stop Chloe, not even Elisha.
There are other people stronger than you and your family, Ignis warned.
David nodded as he stepped through the portal, coming out in a street torn with screams and fleeing watchers. A pillar of golden light pierced the sky overhead, and David heard the cacophony of strings. The tune was without rhythm. There was no flow to it, only the crashing of notes. He ran for the source, pushing past people as he reached the field. Zoey and the others stood to the left, outside a dome of pure essence protecting Chloe from the others. There were bodies around. David couldn’t tell if they were dead or not. Next to Chloe was the corpse of what had been a woman. Chloe was a few inches off the ground.
“David!” Zoey called as he reached them. “She won’t stop. And look, something is happening to her.”
David followed Zoey’s finger and saw that she was right. Chloe’s face was gaunt, her skin shone against the dome’s light, but he could see her skin was drying up and her fingers were bleeding.
“Can you stop it?” Frank asked. David shrugged and summoned his sword.
“Mediator,” he whispered as his gauntlet appeared.
“You can affect that,” the mediator said, and David felt pity flow from her. “Nothing you can do right now but watch her suffer and die. This, you could have avoided with a little more diligence.”
“Are you asking me to give up on my sister?” David asked, grinning wickedly. “Then you don’t know me yet.”
He approached the dome with his gauntlet reaching out. The essence storm pushed at him, raging violently. He touched the dome, reaching through it for Chloe, only to be pushed out. He staggered back, regained stability, and pushed forward again. He cloaked himself in essence, pushing back against her. The dome collapsed against his touch, exposing him to the stinging lashes of power spreading from the pillar of essence. Her head turned to him, her eyes wet with tears. David saw the pain on her face, the toll of the spell. He felt his skin tear as he pushed forward. Small gashes opened on his face and widened as he got closer to Chloe. The pain was searing, but he held on. His face, arms, and chest were bloody when he reached her. He placed a hand on her head, tears burning his wounds.
[You have tamed chaos]
As the spell dispersed, shattering into a million splinters of light, David fell forward.