"Regain your senses, call yourself back, and once again wake up. Now that you realize that only dreams were troubling you, view this 'reality' as you view your dreams."
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
‘Something is wrong…’
“Hmmm?” Brull opened sleep caked eyes, body tired from a full day of training. “What’s up, Excalibur?”
‘Ven and his new demons were engaged in a battle…’
“What!” Brull forced himself to his feet, armour formed around his undressed body. “Why didn’t you say so?”
‘It was little more than a test between them,’ Excalibur ignored his concerns. ‘But Ven’s power has become erratic, uncontrolled.’ A flicker of mist floated from his sword, the face of a woman on a cloud. ‘I can feel Cain’s struggle to shield the realm from the side effects.’
“What should we do?” Brull squinted at the sky. “I don’t know If I’m strong enough to help with those two newcomers…”
“We shall help shield Cain’s world from Ven’s power,” Excalibur’s mist formed body gestured to the land. “Call on the might of Avalon and raise a shield to protect the innocent!”
Brull frowned. He was connected to all the land that Avalon covered. The needs and fears of the people rode his heart whenever he touched too deeply on the bond. It was a barrier that had destroyed Arthur, a wedge between him and the real power of his sword.
“I’m not sure…” Brull chewed his lip, hand on his sword. “It’s so hard to stay… myself, the unconscious will of the people is so strong.”
Cain’s barrier, the wall between this world and the black ocean above, trembled. The realm shifted, a move that strained Brull’s knees. The common people would have been dropped to the ground.
“You can do it, you’re not Arthur,,” Excalibur smiled, a hand on Brulls forehead. “His weaknesses aren’t yours.”
“I’m more worried about my strengths…”
Brull straightened his back and pushed his fear aside. A knight didn’t flinch from his duty. He looked to place within, a mysterious well, the roots of Avalon. Iridescent water rippled, a mirror to the terror of the people.
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‘Give your doubts to the water, as they do,’ Excalibur’s voice joined him beside the well. ‘Avalon supports her master…’
Brull smiled as his fingertips brushed the water’s surface. Excalibur was right. Behind the wails of countless citizens, a deep resonance carried on, unhindered. The song of Avalon, sung to all her children. It spoke of peace and hope, a future where all stood equal, free before the gods.
“What’s the deal with you and Vivian?” Brull hesitated. “You’re both connected to Avalon, and now so am I… who is actually in control of this place?”
‘You’ll come to know more in time,’ Excalibur sighed, a whisper against his cheek. ‘We are who we are, sisters of the same mother, first children of Avalon.’
Brull plunged his hands into the waters, eyes closed against the rush of senseless thought. In the end, it didn’t matter who, or what Avalon was. It gave him the power to protect his friends. A safe place where the enemies of justice couldn’t stand against the followers of light.
“I’ll try!”
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Hunger.
The creature before him barked out, words that failed to translate in his mind. The six winged fly dodged his grasp, a shard of light gripped in its tiny hands. A grin split his face, a hinge that opened to swallow the world. Everything was food. The fly was no different.
Oceans of black water filled his belly, the sweet tang of life muddled with the oaky bitters of death. This food was his. He squinted at the fly and its companion. These creatures both consumed the waters as well. His water!
The Giant bellowed his anger to the heavens, foot raised in a heavy stomp. These insects should die, or better yet, become food for his belly! His heel shattered space, stopped by the palm of the little fly. It buzzed at him again, senseless noise that only deepened the Giant’s wrath.
His body trembled as a mist seeped from his shadowed chest. Formed of countless inverted stars, it devoured the tainted ocean, targeted onto the rebellious fly. This insect would die. Everything would become a harvest, fuel for his ravenous need to consume. This was his purpose. The path that every cell screamed to follow.
The fly unfolded an aura of its own, white light that was also somehow black. It restrained his shadow, hampered the flow of energy into his body. Mindless rage pushed the Giant forward, hands extended to snatch his aggravations from the air.
“THAT IS ENOUGH,” The words crashed through the Giant’s…Ven’s mind, bellowed by the battered fallen angel. “CONTROL YOURSELF OR FACE YOUR DEATH!
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Sword raised, Lucifer bellowed his complaint to the abomination before him. Nothing had prepared him for Vendak’s transformation. The man was full of mysteries. That star within his soul was impossible enough. Until he could find out which one this strange creature held, it was better to play it safe.
He lifted his sword, a beacon that both split and birthed the darkness. A line that divided one end of heaven to the other. The test was over. This creature had stolen enough of his precious divinity. Even now, it tugged at the spark within him, greedy hands, sticky and cold.
“Let’s see how you deal with this,” The Devil scoffed as he lowered his sword, barely a slash, before he returned it to the void. Light pulsed, a conductor to an unheard orchestra. The world collapsed, directed at Ven from all directions.
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‘Not good…’
Lucidity had returned to him, but Ven’s grasp on sanity slipped with every second. Lucifer had swung his sword and everything vanished. His aura screamed, pushed to the limit. Pressure filled his world, the only sensation left to him as he struggled to raise a hand.
‘I need to break through this attack, my aura won’t hold for long…’
Thoughts raced through his mind, dozens of useless plans. He despaired, until a kernel, a possibility, lit a spark of hope. His consciousness connected to his pouch and a silver-black coin appeared in the air. It hung, unaffected by the silent pressure, a single point of light in the dark. A ripple of black slipped from the coin’s surface, followed by a deep, satisfied sigh.
“Now this is what I call an offering of power!”