“I am Zernac the Calamitous,” he picked his sword up with a single hand, “and you, are souls to be collected.” In an instant, he appeared before us and his sword was ready to sever us in half. Divergence pushed his sword’s path upward and made him miss, then pushed him away.
I stepped forward, “Your oppone–”
Without waiting for my words, he targeted Ren and August. I guess I wasn’t much of a threat. His sword swerved for Ren’s neck, but of course, he missed. Ren simply did his teleport thing, as did August for the demon’s blade would’ve eventually struck August.
Well, since he’s fixated on those two… I figured I’d cast Exile like I did the high-ranking demons on the outside, but he sensed it and attacked me. Gravity Field made him smash to the ground.
Compared to Yraz, he was much simpler in battle. However, I remembered clearly that Yraz warned us about him, so I chose not to underestimate this Zernac the Calamitous. He grunted, and suddenly gained quite the strength. He began pushing against Gravity Field’s effects, slowly standing up. So, I added some manipulation onto him and pushed him right back down, his face thoroughly embracing the ground. Yet, he didn’t give up, and let loose a seething battle cry of rage. His eyes glowed a beastly red, we could almost feel the fury inside him. He struggled, getting stronger by the second, standing up once again.
Something was strange about this demon. I began getting wary. Maybe the foresight of mind magic showed me why I was so wary. The demon suddenly yelled, “Calamity! Calamity! Release me! Release me!”
Suddenly, the clone from the void plane where Yraz lurked came out, “Dudes, you should kill him as quickly as possible. Yraz said the angrier he gets, the more powerful he gets.” After his warning, he returned to the void.
Interesting. Well, that makes sense. He’s fighting against Gravity Field and void manipulation as well. Not worried about him overpowering me because I got Purist, but if we delay it long enough, he just might be too much for us. Hmm…
My eyes turned to a spell I somewhat forbade myself from using. I took a deep breath, and cast Banish on him to forcibly send him into a void plane temporarily, then I had a clone enter into it and cast Black Hole.
Some seconds passed by, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s go.”
“What?” August asked. “That’s it? What happened?”
I looked to August, not very happy about using the spell and it was seen in my face. He tried to tell me it was okay and I didn’t have to say anything, but I thought it best that I explain it to him anyway. “I, undid him. It’s a spell that creates an immensely strong vacuum that can consume all types of matter, even myself.”
“The clone died…” August surmised, and prodded no further for he understood the reasons behind my solemnity. It was like experiencing death myself because the memories transferred back to me. “Alright then, let’s go.”
We walked farther into Hellsnare Fortress. Are you comfortable? I pondered, thinking about Flynn. From what little I saw of the afterlife, I knew it was a pretty chill place. My gait zeroed-off. I felt like his death just hit me. My fists clenched in silent ire. Was it the right decision to let Sven live? Would his death have appeased my heavy heart?
Why did she pick me? I rued the witch’s decision to leave her duty to me. Balance? What the fuck is balance anyway? My father died in the name of it and I’m not sure if it’ll make this world a better place anyway. What am I doing here? I gave a look at my life from far away, trying to behold every little aspect of it. Why did he have to die and not me? I’ve done so much worse.
Small embers of doubt burnt dimly. I doubted the witch’s intention, I doubted the gods’ intention. Hell, I doubted myself the most. Ugh, I had a look at my hand and remembered Celosia wasn’t with me. I wondered what mischief Aviana was brewing. Anjali’s health crossed my mind; I hoped she wasn’t pushing herself too hard. A deep breath was taken. I want to go home.
“Hey, you okay, buddy? Why don’t you go back to your family?” August asked. “Sit this one out. You’ve done a lot.”
A snigger pushed through my teeth, “Man, are you fuckin’ psychic or what?” I threw an elbow on his shoulder. “Let’s see this through to the end, Aug.”
We entered the third room. In that room stood a throne, imposing and grim. There was a dark figure on the throne, a silhouette that felt cryptic. However, that was not what had our attention. A beast of a hound, musclebound and burning with the fires of the demon world. From its head running along its back was a path of fire. Its teeth were scary, multitudinous, and sharp. Its blackened and furless skin wore several battle scars. The long and pointed claws were about the size of my forearm. The low growl from it indicated an unsettling hostility.
“I suppose it’s my turn now,” Ren walked forward and unsheathed his black lightning-soaked sword.
In this room, the painting on the walls showed the great demon army facing off against just one measly demon. He was smaller than the rest, looked different, and didn’t seem as aggressive as the rest.
The hound took my attention away from the murals by letting loose a harrowing howl. Ren charged in, piercing the demon’s thick hide and continuing to cut upwards. It swung its claw but Ren disappeared and reappeared above the gigantic hound, sticking his sword into the nape of its neck. Its body quivered a little until it finally dropped unconscious.
Ren was blaringly different compared to August and I. He seemed to lack some compassion, but I didn’t question it. For a man who begged a being from another world for power to save his own, only for that power to be misused by his own world in bad faith and to merge with a demon and not even be allowed proper death, I couldn’t question it. He had his fair share of problems.
“An elite,” a voice sounded right behind us, “of the Dark faction, dead so easily.” When we looked back, there she was. “Useless. But I suppose it’s unfair for me to cast insults when I can be described the same.”
The woman, dreadfully pale in complexion, almost unnaturally white, had her amber hair loose and her red and black strapless dress properly emphasising her cleavage. If it weren’t for her black sclera and red eye-colour, I wouldn’t be sure she was a demon.
“Here for the soul well, am I correct? Come,” she strolled slowly towards the side of her throne.
Ren suddenly unsheathed his sword again, and for good reason. The elite demon hound was alive again. None of us even noticed when that happened.
“Oh, calm down,” the Dark faction leader sounded tired of fighting from her tone. “I’ve already surrendered. Must you take my pet too?”
She wasn’t lying; Mana Perception saw to it. “It would be great if this wasn’t a monologue. Could you tell me your purpose for seeking the soul well?”
“We have several,” I replied.
“Oh, the mage speaks? For a second, I thought I was alone.” She threw jabs at our silence thus far. “Come now, A to Z.”
I felt Kar’thuz trying to get out the void, so I took him out myself, “Perhaps the local should go first.”
“Drak’ka, your Dark faction has reigned too long, has accumulated too much power. You hog the well for yourselves and feed crumbs – if anything – to other factions. When other factions do get the power of souls, its leaders and high-ranking demons swallow them up, leaving nothing for their subordinates. The balance of power continues to fall, and so does T’Ghuuz’s trust in our leadership.
Our forced contracts with the accursed warlocks that summon us to do their bidding is because of a deal you made. Our low-ranks and mid-ranks are being slaughtered just so you may collect the souls of the dead. Your decisions have proven you unfit to rule, but I fear any other who may come after you will fall into the same pit of avarice. The masses of T’Ghuuz has reached a consensus – the soul well must be destroyed. That is my purpose for being here.”
Drak’ka had long stopped walking near the beginning of his explanation, silently taking in every word. “Yes, I am aware of the general outlook of the masses.” She continued walking, “I am aware of my poor choices as the leader of the most powerful faction. You will get what you want; that is,” she looked around, “if you possess the power to destroy the soul well yourself. I surely cannot.”
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“Then the power of the souls will be distributed evenly depending on rank,” Kar’thuz explained. “The lower-ranks will get the most, enough to put everyone on an equal playing field.”
“Ah, ignorance is bliss,” Drak’ka somewhat laughed. “My dear, souls rebuild their energy overtime. They do not disappear once you consume their energy. The soul well is here to stay, which means some demon will eventually attempt to claim its power again.” She looked at the rest of us, “Is that it? What are your other reasons?”
Melissa’s turn was next, “I-I’m just here to get the souls of my parents back.”
Drak’ka continued walking in silence for some time, “I fear true resurrection is impossible. Only the high beings can perform such an act,” she said. It was exactly what Yraz mentioned. “However, losing two souls is of no dire consequence. You may have them before the soul well’s power is distributed. Though, you should know, the souls that fuel the soul well are not your parents’ real souls. None of the souls we use are the actual souls that move into stasis, or the afterlife.” Again, exactly what Yraz said before. “You can rest easy knowing that the real souls are unaffected.” Even though she looked forward, I felt like her eyes were on us, “What of the other human? What is his reason?”
“I’m just here to get her what she wants,” August spoke of Melissa, “so you can skip me.”
Finally, we arrived at a door barred with magic, which Drak’ka opened. We went down some dark stairs and entered the actual soul well. You were actually able to see the pale green streaks of light flying about. They lit the place up immensely. They were so many that it was hard to tell just how many lives were snuffed out for this.
“So, my turn now, I guess,” I looked down into the terrifyingly massive hole in front of us. It was so big we couldn’t see the other end of it. You could barely see where the hole curved in the first place. “Drak’ka, there is a being which you used to blackmail another of its kind into sending you the souls of holy warriors from the world of Hyzek. I want that being.”
“It resides at the top of Hellsnare Fortress, in a magical cage powered by the soul well. You shall have it after the energy is distributed, mage.” Her eyes squinted at me, “I sense you have more questions…”
I sighed mentally. “Yeah, a couple. What’s with the murals in the elite demons’ rooms?”
“A mere prophecy,” she revealed. “Would you like to know more about it?”
I didn’t really care much until she asked me like that. I nodded at her to continue as I sensed there was more than meets the eye to this prophecy.
“The first one you saw, would be us demons consuming many creatures from other worlds. What do you think this represents?” Drak’ka asked me.
“That you have a healthy appetite and you like meat?” I shrugged.
She chortled, “Well, you’re not exactly wrong, in a way. Those other creatures represent souls, mage. The second one you saw would simply be a gathering of a large legion of demonic forces. It is us, buffed by the power of the souls we consumed.”
“And the third is demon-kind against a single foe…” I continued for her. No fucking way! Could it be? “Is that single foe, Apollyon?”
Her eyes opened wide, “You know of its name? Only a chosen few are privy to such a detail.”
“Wait, wait, hold the fuck on,” I squatted down to think. “So, all of this soul gathering was so you could have the power to fight Apollyon? You were trying to fulfil the prophecy?”
“Y-yes. Why? You sound like you know something,” she surmised and came even closer to me.
“No, nothing more than you, I think. In fact, you probably know more than me. It’s just that, the avatar of mind magic had foreseen the coming of Apollyon and warned me about it. He placed his faith in me defeating it and stopping the collapse of the world, but since you also know of it, I’m wondering just which world he meant. Or, maybe he meant all the worlds.” I laughed out at the comical situation, “So my goals line up with a grand and evil demon lord. Wait, so if you were trying to fulfil the prophecy, doesn’t that mean you planned on distributing the power evenly anyway?”
She tittered, “Yes. I was simply collecting them for now, but I suppose it doesn’t matter when the power is distributed. The witch’s protégé advised me that the prophecy was real, so I did what she asked and tried to make it true,” Drak’ka shrugged.
“Time out!” I stood up again. “Hell do you mean by the witch’s protégé? Which witch are you talking about?”
She looked puzzled, “There’s more than one?”
“Not that I know of, but I just want to make sure. Did that witch have a birthmark under her eye that looked like a crescent moon?”
Drak’ka was even more confused, “I never personally saw the witch, only her successor. But it was mentioned that she created a following called the Crescent Moon, so maybe we speak of the same witch.”
What in ass’ name is going on here?
Donna came out soon after, clearly perturbed by this revelation. “That can’t be right, Drak’ka. I am an Apostle of the Crescent Moon, and I can confirm that the witch’s successor is this man,” she pointed right to me.
“Huh?!” The demon’s arms dangled at her side, stupefaction about. “Then who was that person?”
“Well, either the witch actually had another she chose or the person is an imposter. But then how did they know about Apollyon?” Donna stroked her chin in thought.
Ah, this is unsettling. If it’s true, then why would you not tell me? Are you testing me? Is your role of guardian too great to be held by one person? Ugh, yet another mystery. “Do you know where we can find this person?”
“I’m afraid not,” Drak’ka shook her head.
I grunted in vexation. Why are you such a pain in the ass, Emily? Well, no matter. I’ll figure out a way to find this person. Maybe once I master mind magic, I feel like I’m on the cusp of it. “Well, Ren, your turn.”
“Ah,” Drak’ka circled around him, “so Ren is your name. You made a deal, and now you want out. Intriguing. Your soul is incomplete, corrupted. You are barred from the afterlife, yet you cannot die.” She smirked wickedly. “There is a way; a way to claim the part of your soul which you lost and make it whole again; a way in which to separate that which have merged. Come,” she said, walking towards a small room off to the side.
The room was plain, except for one thing, a cauldron. A cauldron, quite huge, was situated in the middle of the room. “You must submerge in demon’s blood and kill yourself. It is a trick of sorts, because you are surrounded by demonic blood, and half your soul is that of a demon’s, you will be viewed as a demon in the hour of your death. Demons, unlike other beings, do not go to an ‘afterlife’, so to speak.
We enter the border between life and death, we enter stasis. Stasis is where impure souls go, namely, demons. Go there, find the one you made the deal with. Kill the demon, retrieve the piece of your soul that it holds. Once you achieve this, an external intervention will be needed to bring you back here. You will return with your soul cleansed, you will be able to die and enter the afterlife. Though,” she sighed, “it’s only fair to warn you of the dangers.
Should you fail, your soul will be consumed and your body will be totally transformed into a demon. The demon you made the deal with will inhabit that body and thus be reborn. The chance of this happening is high. Furthermore, we here have no way to know if you’ve completed your task. Stasis is small enough to find that demon within a day, and it will also be drawn to you because part of its soul is in you. Therefore, in a day’s time, we will pull you out and you will forcefully be returned to your body. Hopefully you get what you need before that time. Knowing these risks, will you proceed?”
“I’ve nothing to live for. This is my fate,” Ren replied snappily.
“Hmph,” she shook her head, “everyone’s so reckless,” and commented under her breath. What a thing to say after she was the one who gave him the idea of entering stasis.
Ren removed his cloak and hood, showing the grotesque merger of man and demon. I conjured some ice and did some transmutation into herbs, and then a paste. The ingredients in this alchemical marvel were fine to consume separately, but when mashed together, they formed a deadly paralysing toxin that stops the imbiber’s heart. I paid particular attention to his dwindling life essence when he consumed it. In about a minute, he was dead.
So now, we wait a day.
“You two have fun. We’re going to sort out the soul well,” August said. He, Kar’thuz, Drak’ka, and Melissa left the room and returned to the soul well.
I stared on in silence at the hybrid laying motionlessly in the glorified black pot, but my mind was elsewhere. Well, it was in several places. The first, and perhaps the most worrying, was this talk of this unidentified successor. It irked me. However, I could not claim to understand the witch’s decisions. Hell, if I was her, I probably wouldn’t even choose me! It was clear that her cognitive abilities and knowledge far surpassed mine.
The second thing was, home. My mother, Mary. I chuckled a bit, remembering when Dawn first entered my house at the request of Mom. She told the young mage to babysit me because she was worried about me. Who could I send to babysit her? She lost her husband to murder and had to pretend it was natural causes. I wondered how she was holding up, how she was coping with it.
The third and final thing was Methelia on the whole. Aquan, the city of mages, home to the Order of Mages which joined hands with the Ingen tribe and the Tyrr populace. I pondered how the city fared as compared to before. My mind gazed upon K&A, my wife, my daughters, my little brother. I wondered how the housing estates that I spoke to my servant about was going. Were the people living there comfortably? How was Bad Ankle going? I hoped she wasn’t working as hard as before. Hmm, I should speak to Farron about straightening out Gassity.
There was a lot on my mind, all things I planned to address when I got back, and somehow, I’d try to complete mind magic and move onto nature magic.
After an entire day of mulling over interests, regrets, aspirations, and generally making a list of things I needed to address in the darkness and silence of the eerie room, a day had gone by. I enveloped Ren’s body in light magic and he reacted, suddenly springing back to life and coughing like there was no tomorrow. His breath was heavy and short.
“Hey, how’s it goi–”
Ren shot a blast of shadow magic towards Melissa. It hit her, full blast, and she simply fell backward. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I stood there, dumbfounded, shocked. I wobbled over to her and slumped to my knees. My composure was decaying just as fast as her body was. Luckily, my clone watching over Yraz in the void calmed me down with some light magic. I breathed, and stacked Timedial fifteen times, turning the flow of time in my favour by 80%. “Apothea,” I whispered her name and she answered, already knowing what to do.
I stood up and gave Ren one last look, for his life was already forfeit in my eyes. He was Banished into a void plane, with me as his captor. Thirty-two stacks of Purist heightened me, putting my mana power at 4700%. Void manipulation dragged him towards me, kneeling. His entire body that of a demon. I was furious, yet composed. I raised my palm up right in front of his face. “Burn.”
Voidfire big enough to engulf the Dark Basin left nought but ashes and cinders.