The monster shaped shadow gave chase. Both of them ran as fast as they were able. The rush of adrenaline caused them to lose their balance and fall. Sky’s leg pain had returned. He couldn’t move anymore. The entity, like an eagle about to pounce, was now upon them.
Sky turned to face it, fearing he would meet the same fate as Zain. A blast of energy surged from the gemstone, warming against his chest, creating a shield of pure golden light that enveloped them in a protective ethereal glass, flinging the surrounding debris outward. The entity attempted to breach the shield, first using its speed and then its weapons. The shield deflected each attack, sending the energy outward and blasting open the surrounding areas. Wrapped in the warm glow, Sky and his mother felt a moment of peace. Seeing that it couldn't break through, the entity hovered in place, waiting for the shield to drop before shifting its attention elsewhere.
The being floated in silence, processing what it had consumed, its head tilting as if searching. With Zain’s soul now a part of it, it began searching through its memories. It experienced his perspective, witnessing his orders to gather the other refugees to the vessels before returning to the present. Its head turned in their direction. Rather than wasting time, it wouldn’t miss a chance of taking more people.
It flew with great haste upwards, ascending through the ceiling, phasing through the stone rocks above. The golden shield that enveloped them dissipated as soon as it left them.
Maia and Sky backtracked to their entry point as the entire structure began to shift and tilt against the mountain walls. The broken, crumbling rock structure that collided with the rock wall created a make shift stairs on which they could climb upon. They figured it was their last chance to get out of the chasm. With Sky’s arm over Maia’s shoulder, they began climbing. Their added weight caused the structure to crumble, but Maia refused to lose her son again. She helped him onto the safety of the ledge before climbing up herself. She leaped just as the floor beneath her crumbled, clinging to the ledge with her fingers. Sky helped her onto the ledge, both of them breathing heavily from adrenaline and shock. They were both still reeling from the fact they were still alive. They couldn’t afford to wait. Rushing through the opening in the wall, they scoured the caverns for their ship.
The refugees grew restless, with some resorting to fighting the crew for the chance to leave. As an enormous shadow appeared at the cave entrance, the infighting ceased, all eyes turning towards it. The creature soared toward the ship, landing precisely amid the crowd. Fear transformed into panic as it struck the ship with its weapons, cleaving the vessel in two. They screamed and scattered from the towering dark figure, some fleeing along the beach while others sought refuge in the depths of the mountain.
Following the screams, Sky and his mother backtracked. They now stood at the entrance and saw the entity wrecking havoc upon the vessel, their one escape from this island was gone. There was no way out.
“Mom, what should we do now?” he asked, lost and unsure of their next move. Sky feared the water. He couldn’t swim. Everyone they saw on the beach was getting slaughtered and picked off. Several of the refugees ran past them, knocking them off their feet.
The beach resembled a slaughter, with people grabbing at anything for salvation, only to be extinguished in an instant. Their dreams, ambitions and hopes had become nothing more than abandoned corpses on a desolate beach. A woman, the last survivor on the beach, fell while running for her life, her chest impaled by the khopeshes as she tried to get up. Tears streaming down her face, her cries of quiet desperation begging to be spared. Her soul sucked out and now onto the next.
The entity, turning to the entrance, noticed several people had taken refuge back in the cave. They had traded an open area for a closed labyrinth maze of caverns and chamber. When the entity spotted Sky and his mother, they took off running. They knew their time was at an end. They couldn’t hide, but they had to try.
As Sky ran, he caught glimpses of several refugees alone hiding out in whatever tomb they could find, hoping it wouldn’t find them. He tried to help them by telling them that staying where they were was a death sentence. Everyone had succumbed to desperation. No one was listening. He couldn’t help them and continued running.
“We have to keep moving. We can’t stay still.” His mother saying as they ran through the caverns. She thought the refugees would buy them time to escape, somehow.
She was determined to get her son off the island, no matter what.
One refugee, lost in panic, found a corner to hide in. His breathing was profound, puffing like a wild animal. Fear had taken over him completely. Hearing the banshee screams of the entity nearby, he stifled his breath, hoping it would pass him by.
After seeing blood splatter from his body, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw the sharp end of the khopesh impale him from behind. The entity passed through the walls, undeterred by the maze. He saw terror on the man’s face as the entity lifted him, and he gurgled blood, his soul being sucked out. His corpse dropped when there was nothing left to take. Every corner held a danger, leaving everyone exposed.
The refugees fled their hiding places, scattering to find any safe spot. Hoping to swim out on their own, people headed back to the open beach. But fear disorientated them and got lost in the maze, rushing into the entity. People scavenged for weapons to fight with.
Sky ran, finding a path up the mountain and crossing previously unexplored chasms. He heard the screams echoing throughout the chambers.
They discovered a stone staircase leading to the mountain's summit, blocked by a heavy steel door. A door that wrenched and creaked like the bellow of an enormous whale as they pushed it open. Realizing the noise they were making, they listened. They heard the ominous silence; the screams had stopped. They sensed it—there was no one left but them. The entity knew where they were, and it was coming for them.
At the summit, the mountain opened into a vast space, plummeting straight down to the ocean. Dagger-like rocks lay along the mountain base in the surrounding area at the bottom. They could hear the echoing screams of the entity closing in on their position. Rather than frantically chase them, it took its time. It relished in the pleasure of making its prey squabble. Sky felt a chill envelop him, his body shivering. He did not know what to do. His mother took out her sword as she comforted him.
“My son, don’t be afraid. Get behind me.” Knowing she wasn't a fighter, she resolved to do whatever it took to save him.
The door they had closed began seeping with black smoke. Coming through the door, the entity seeped in. Its weapons glistening with the blood of its victims in the moonlight. Its black aura of smoke obscuring their focus. Maia stood firm, the sword clenched in her hands.
As the shadow approached them, Sky’s talisman began glowing. It passed its power into the sword she held. The entity swung its attack overhead. Maia could deflect the attack, it astonished it. Impossibly, she could finally interact with it. This stunned the entity for a moment; it continued swinging relentlessly, with overhead attacks overwhelming her until she fell. It swung her to the side, knocking her out; she hit the ground into a daze. The sounds of the weapons clashing ringing in her ears. She saw her son, dwarfed by the giant shadow of the entity, hovering towards him. She screamed. “Run!”
Sky’s gaze fell on the door; escape was impossible. He couldn’t leave her. He snatched a shield from nearby, nearly his height, to shield himself. The talisman still glowing in his neck, empowering whatever he touched. The entity began toying with him, lightly swinging its khopesh. Despite growing smaller and weaker with each attack, Sky blocked them all and held tight to his shield.
With one hand, the entity grabbed the shield and tossed Sky across the ground; it threw him with unbelievable force, causing him to flip and tumble in the air and finally landing on his face. The impact broke the talisman’s chains; it fell out, bouncing off the ground, landing in front of Sky’s mother.
Feeling heavy, he tried crawling away. The blows had left him beaten and battered. A cold frost hovered over him. Turning over, he saw the entity was right on top of him, freezing him in place.
The entity sought to extract as much terror from Sky as possible, impaling his injured calf with the sharp point of one of its khopeshes.
As it lifted him off the ground by the neck, Sky’s heart raced, not just from fear, but from an unsettling feeling that coursed through him. The entity paused, its glowing eyes narrowing as it inspected him closely, as if searching for something within him. A flicker of recognition crossed its shadowy features, and Sky felt a chilling sensation creep down his spine.
“Why doesn’t it just kill me?” he wondered, his thoughts racing. The entity seemed to scrutinize him, as though it could sense a connection, a hidden truth that tied them together. The terror he felt intensified, not only because of the danger of the creature’s grip but also because of a chilling realization that he might not be a stranger to it after all.
It took the time to savor this. With its other hand, it reached down into his being and began dragging out his soul. His essence glowed with thin white strings, like cobwebs coming out of his body and floating into its own. He gritted his teeth as hard as he fought to keep consciousness. His hearing became muffled and his strength waned.
Maia, now coming to her senses, saw the gemstone in front of her and reached for it; it glowed like a condensed star in her hands. She heard the voice speaking out to her, urging her on. The sword she had carried also began emanating energy on its own. Sword in hand, she ran toward her son. With the entity’s back turned, she saw her one chance.
She longed for the nightmare to end. As she came within striking distance, she whispered a prayer to the talisman. “Please whoever you are, please take care of my son.”
As she poured all of her strength, dreams, love and hopes into this one strike, she let out a mighty battle cry roar. The swing was swift, its impact ferocious.
At the last instant, the entity caught wind of the oncoming attack and barely having enough time to raise its arm to block. An explosion reverberated across the island and surrounding waters as light and dark clashed. The entity’s aura blew back toward Sky, its essence briefly washing over him and releasing him from its grasp. The explosion tore apart the misty veil concealing the island from the outside world. Returning after an earlier lull, the ferocious ocean storms once again raged. An escape opened up.
Sky hit the floor and was coughing with a gasping voice. He felt mentally drained and had lost all his strength. He heard the screams of the entity as it shriveled in pain, its arm cleaved in two. It wailed like the screams of swine, its open wound was bleeding ink shadows. It now focused on them, its playful demeanor now turning to rage.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The sword Maia held had now broken. She picked her son up, holding him close. This moment was their last chance.
“Son, we have to jump!” she yelled.
“But I can’t swim.” Sky trying to focus and see again but could hear his mother’s voice.
“Don’t be scared. I’ll hold you up.”
The entity, unwilling to lose its prey, fought through the pain, grabbed its weapon, and dashed toward them. Sky looked over the edge; it seemed an almost impossible jump.
“Son, trust me.” She said, grabbing his hand. They took a deep breath and jumped.
The entity, with a wailing scream, swung a desperate last attack but in its weakened state too slow, just barely missing Sky. It cried like a banshee as they both escaped into the plunges below. Sky shut his eyes before he hit the ocean. Entering a realm of slowness and darkness. He could see the moonlight above the waters and desperately wailed his arms, almost as if trying to climb up the water. The currents tossed around his body, pulling him out further toward the sea.
As he felt himself sinking, a hand grasped his, pulling him back from the brink of drowning. It was his mother who, in all the chaos, had found her way to him. They reached the surface, hanging onto a piece of floating debris from the ship.
The island was still in sight, and the wind still carried the entity’s echoes from afar. Pulled further away from the island by the strong ocean currents, they were now free from its clutches. The waves began obscuring the island from view before dissolving away into a mist of black smoke. Vanishing from view as mysteriously as it had appeared.
He looked at his mother. She looked drained and pale. Only noticing the unmistakable signs of blood bleeding from her back, he had realized what had happened. There was a deep gash across her back and she was losing strength. He shook her, trying to keep her awake.
“Mom! You’re hurt!”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing…its nothing.” Her voice was becoming weaker with every breath. He looked around, praying for someone to come help them. She cradled her hands around his as she passed onto him the one thing that had saved them. Sky opened his hands to see the talisman resting.
“Sky, do you remember the way to Elysian?” Her voice waned.
“Why do I have to know? You’re coming with me.”
“I’ll be with you, even if you can’t see me.”
“But mom, I don’t know how to get there all by myself.” He pleaded with her to stay awake.
“My precious son,” she whispered, her voice trembling yet filled with warmth, “When you find yourself lost, seek the city made of gold.” She said, her voice getting weaker. “It’s a paradise, a place where dreams come to life. You will find friends who will stand by you, and perhaps even someone who will love you as I do.”
She paused, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, reflecting a lifetime of love. “Remember, when the weight of the world feels too heavy, listen to your heart. It will always guide you, even in the darkest moments. It whispers of hope, so listen closely, my darling.”
With that, she smiled gently, the smile that had always brought him comfort, a light that would forever illuminate his memories. As she closed her eyes, resting her head against the debris, Sky felt the sharp daggers of loss pierce through him. Her absence was a chasm, a void that threatened to swallow him whole. His heart felt unbearably heavy, as if it could drag him deep into the ocean’s depths. Desperately, he shook her, pleading for a sign for any response, but the silence that followed was deafening.
“Mom?” His throat went dry, his voice breaking up. He held her hands, not wanting to let go.
There was an oncoming wave. The oceans struck the debris, drifting his mother away into the ocean. He dove, reaching for her body, but he couldn’t swim.
As the icy waters closed over his mother, a chilling realization settled in: he was truly alone. His surroundings grew silent, time seeming to stand still. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart, each beat echoing the void left by her absence. He was stunned as her warmth vanished, replaced by a chilling emptiness.
He blinked rapidly, trying to will her back into existence, to grasp onto the love and safety she had always provided. But all that remained was the dark, unyielding ocean. The memories flooded his mind—her laughter, the gentle way she would brush his hair from his forehead, the fierce hugs that made everything feel right in the world. Each recollection was a dagger, twisting deeper into his heart as he fought to accept the truth: she was gone, lost to the depths, leaving behind an unfulfillable chasm in his soul.
Sky strained against the currents, he stretched out his arms, fingers trembling with desperation. The water swirled around him, cold and unforgiving, each wave lapping against him as if mocking his efforts. “Mom!” he cried out, his voice a choked whisper swallowed by the darkness of the ocean. The distance between them seemed to stretch impossibly, a chasm of despair that he could not bridge. He could see her—her form, though pale and weak, still radiated the warmth of love he had always known. But as he reached, the icy grip of the ocean tugged at him, dragging him away from her, the weight of loss crashing down like the relentless waves. It felt as if the sea itself conspired against him, pulling him into its depths, deeper and deeper, where light faded and hope flickered like a dying flame.
“Please, Mom!” The desperation in his voice echoed back at him, unanswered. Every inch he tried to gain felt like a mile, each fleeting moment dragging him further into the cold embrace of the abyss. He watched in horror as her figure dissolved into the darkness, her bloodied back vanishing beneath the surface like a cruel illusion. The realization hit him with the force of a tidal wave: he was losing her, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
The pain was sharp and all-consuming, a white-hot spear piercing through his chest. It felt as though his heart was being ripped from his body, leaving only a hollow ache in its place. In that moment, he was not just losing his mother; he was losing the last fragment of his childhood, the last piece of a family he had fought so hard to hold on to. As the distance between them grew, he felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness wash over him. He was powerless against the currents, powerless against fate. With every futile kick of his legs, every desperate reach of his arms, he could feel his resolve crumbling. His tears, as salty as the sea, mixed with the waves, and for a brief instant, he wished he could drown, joining her in the watery abyss rather than living in a world without her.
“Don’t leave me!” he screamed, but the ocean answered only with the silence of the void. His hands clawed at the water, grasping for her, but it was like trying to catch smoke. As she faded, so did the promises of safety and love that had been his compass during the storm. Then, as if the universe conspired to amplify his torment, a powerful wave surged beneath him, lifting him away just as he reached out one last time. He watched, paralyzed by grief, as she drifted further into the abyss, her body swallowed by the shadows of the sea. The last flicker of hope extinguished as he felt the icy waters pull him into their depths, leaving him to float in a world now devoid of the light that was his mother.
As Sky clung to the debris, the icy grip of despair tightened around his heart. His mother, the one person who had fought so fiercely to protect him, was slipping away into the dark abyss. The shadows of the night loomed larger, each wave crashing against the debris, echoing the loss he felt. He had already lost so much: his grandmother, the only other family he had known, who had filled his childhood with warmth and stories; his home, which now lay in ruins, a mere memory of safety and belonging; and now he was losing his mother, the last thread tethering him to hope. The sight of her drifting further into the depths tore through him like a knife. The sight of her blood-stained back and the understanding that he would never hear her voice again hit him with the force of a thunderbolt. Panic surged through him as he reached out, his fingers grasping at the empty air, desperate to pull her back from the clutches of the ocean.
“Mom!” he cried, his voice cracking with desperation. His pleas against the encroaching darkness were futile, each syllable swallowed by the growing darkness. The salt of his tears mixed with the taste of the ocean on his face. The once-familiar sound of the waves now transformed into a haunting lullaby, lulling him into a cold acceptance of his impending loneliness.
At that moment, the world around him faded. The chaos of the night, the terror of the entity, and the cries of the dying seemed to dissolve into silence. All that remained was the heart-wrenching vision of his mother, her figure becoming smaller, more distant, until the churning sea swallowed it. He had faced dangers before, but this was an insurmountable grief that crushed his spirit.
Losing her buried a part of him beneath the waves, leaving him adrift in a world that felt increasingly empty. He was now truly alone, a boy with no family, no home, and no guiding light. The gemstone pressed into his palm, a weighty reminder of the burden he now carried. He floated in the dark waters; the realization settled over him like a shroud: he would have to navigate this desolate reality without her. The world felt impossibly empty now. But in the depths of his sorrow, a flicker of determination ignited within him. He aimed to honor his mother’s memory not only through grief, but by embracing the life she envisioned for him.
He took a deep breath, feeling the gemstone still clutched in his hands, a weight both heavy and reassuring. It was a symbol of her love and the promise of a future, even in the face of despair. He felt its cool surface warm under his fingers, pulsing gently like a heartbeat. It reminded him of her embrace—secure and unwavering, a lifeline in the chaos surrounding him. As Sky floated in the dark waters, the realization settled over him like a shroud: he would have to navigate this desolate reality without her. He could almost see her there, her smile warm like the morning sun breaking through a foggy dawn. She always believed in me, he thought, the memory wrapping around him like a comforting blanket.
In his mind's eye, he envisioned the city made of gold, its towers shimmering like sunlit waves, inviting and distant. A paradise where laughter echoed through the streets, and friends waited with open arms, ready to share in the journey ahead. But now, the ocean stretched endlessly before him, a vast expanse of uncertainty mirroring the chasm within him. He felt like a ship lost at sea, tossed by relentless waves, with no guiding star to light his way home.
With every pulse of his heart, he vowed to carry her spirit—a beacon in the enveloping darkness, illuminating the path through his grief. No matter how heavy the shadows became, he would let her love guide him forward, a flame flickering defiantly against the night.