Duel Of The Gods

Gold light shimmered down the wide, long metal corridor, illuminating the wide glass elevator. Zyhara stood nearest the massive door, her dark skin and gold arm leave shining, her hair and gold makeup shimmering. Besides her, on the left stood Hera, her dark figure rising and falling as she heaved, covered in cracked dried blood, her eye wide. Nameless stood beside Hera, his silver armor dented and cracked, golden sparks dancing off his form.

Rachel stood on Zyhara’s right, with General Lion, Julia, and Aj following. The rest of the vagabonds stood behind them, Spider standing above them in the back, his armor buzzing, and whirring.

As the elevator climbed, Rachel’s abilities clawed at her mind. Every ounce of her wanted to assume Death, take on the mantle, and become the very physical embodiment of the concept. But she fought it, staying in human form. Regardless of her responsibilities and newfound power, Rachel was still human and wanted to remain so, even if in only appearance. It was better if they all saw her as normal.

As the elevator climbed higher and higher, Rachel studied Zyhara. She gently extended a hand, holding Zyhara’s. The princess silently jumped, her darting eyes turning and gazing at Rachel.

“It’s going to be okay,” Rachel murmured.

“Part of me wants to believe that,” Zyhara sighed.

“Maybe your dad is just a pawn; he might still be saved,” Rachel whispered.

Zyhara shook her head.

“Even if he is just a servant, too much blood is on his hands. The Dark Axium has done too much damage to prove he didn’t help them every step of the way,” Zyhara said.

“You don’t have to take him on by yourself,” Lion sighed.

“Yes, I do. Mortals can’t challenge higher beings; there are ways and secrets my people have guarded for millennial engrained in my blood. It doesn’t give me relief or joy to use that against my own kind, but someone has to stop this cycle,” Zyhara seethed.

“We will be right beside you,” Nameless nodded.

Zyhara slowly pulled her hand away from Rachel and pivoted, facing them. She gently smiled, clasping her hands.

“Thank you. Thank you, Rachel, for saving my life and standing by me every step of the way. Thank you, General Lion, for helping and saving me multiple times. Thank you, Captain Spider, and General Hera, for holding the line while my people fled. Thank you, Julia, for being the voice of reason during the chaos. Thank you, Aj, and Sammy, for always bringing a smile to our faces and being pillars amongst the darkness. Thank you, Mai and Anatolievich; your pain and sacrifice held back the dark side; I will not forget how you stood to the last to defend my craft on Talabor.

“I was taught from the moment I sparked into being, that humans, and all non-advanced organic life was mere cattle. Every battle and experience I have had with you all have proven otherwise. Each of you, tiny finite beings whose entire existences are but a breath in my lifetime, had stood by and defended me when my own kind fled. I will not forget this.

“I understand now that all life is the same, shaped by our own perspectives and unique experiences. No matter how evolved or advanced we are, we are inherently worthy of free will and can change the future with our own choices.

“Thank you all for standing by me. I am honored to have warranted your loyalty and steadfastness; I only hope I can prove to be worthy of such endeavors. None of my kind has ever commanded this kind of respect from mortals. I don’t know what awaits us, but I know we will win,” Zyhara said.

“You can pay us back by being the queen we know you can be, kiddo,” Rachel said gently.

Zyhara smiled faintly, nodding. The elevator jolted, slowing down.

“Prepare yourselves,” Spider’s voice echoed from the armor.

Each person bore their weapon or ignited their energy. The black flame danced around Rachel as she aimed her drawn bow at the closed door. The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. In the blink of an eye, Rachel let loose the arrow.

The dart of black energy screamed through the air and into the enemy shield wall awaiting them. The arrow erupted in a fireball, sending the Axium warriors flying. Rachel formed her bow into two dark short swords and charged forward, Nameless and Lion on either side.

The vagabonds poured out of the elevator. It was clear now they had entered into some form of a lobby, the enemy trying to block the door that led out to the open field beyond. The particle manipulators crashed into the enemy, dueling to the Death, the nonenhanced taking cover behind the massive white marble pillars that held up the glass ceiling.

With blood-curdling screams, the smashing of bone, and tremendous gunfire, the vagabonds cut down the fifty or so enemy to the last. As they fought, Zyhara calmly walked with her hands behind her back through the chaos. With a glimpse, Rachel saw an odd shimmering orb forming around the princess, enemy projectiles bouncing harmlessly off it.

With the enemy dead, they pushed on into the open field. The field was a great garden, as wide and long as the eye could see. Gold-leaved trees were neatly organized into two columns on either side of a perfect white marble road lined with gold. The rest of the expanse was a magnificent garden, with fauna from countless worlds and dimensions. The air was sweet and filled with the gold blossoms gently flowing in the wind.

“Skien!” Nameless roared.

Rachel walked beside Zyhara, the other scourges forming an arrow-like formation before them. The non-enhanced people took on the wings of the arrow, with Spider in the back, loudly stomping forward.

A majestic domed palace stood at the end of the long white road that looked like the Taj Mahal but far grander in scale. As the vagabonds advanced, a new group of the enemy charged down the marble steps of the palace towards them.

As the enemy approached, Rachel recognized Maruintor and several other bald-headed people with black makeup.

“Darktars!” Anatolievich called.

“Stand by; I got it,” Spider boomed.

A thump rang out, and Rachel saw an odd cylinder object race towards the enemy. The Darktars ignited their energy, bat wings and wire lines zapping and twirling as they flew forward.

“Brace!” Spider roared.

The scourges took a knee and activated shields, protecting themselves and those who didn’t have energy. The cylinder popped as the Darktars hurtled towards them, emitting a bright white flash. The air buzzed, and the Darktars screamed, hurtling to the ground. In a millisecond, the wave hit the vagabonds, and each person’s energy barring Zyhara’s, flickered as they yelped.

“Yo, warn us next time you throw an emp!” Nameless whined, pulling out his rifle.

“I did say brace,” Spider chuckled, twirling his sword.

“Let’s fucking go!” Hera screeched.

As the Darktars flailed on the ground, the vagabonds closed in. Nameless planted his boot onto one of their chests and fired into their face point-blank. Lion swung down on another with one of his energy axes, cutting them open as they shrieked. One of the Darktars managed to get up, and Rachel sent an arrow straight into her jugular. The last Darktar attempted to flee, but Hera sprinted forward, tackled him, wrestled him into a chokehold, then slit his throat with her combat knife.

“Damn, that’s cold,” Lion murmured.

Slow clapping caught their attention.

All looked up to see Maruintor hovering in front of a dozen men in black robes.

“So valiant, the insects protecting the runt of the cosmic litter,” Maruintor grinned.

“I think you will find me more than a worthy opponent,” Zyhara snarled.

“You are nothing more than a putrid and spoiled brat attempting to undermine our master’s will. Your father saw reason; a pity you could not join him in meeting the Lord of Order,” Maruintor cackled.

“Alpha Centurion will never return so long as we fight,” Nameless barked.

Maruintor grinned.

“We’ll see how brave you are when Zion arrives at his threshold,” Maruintor mused.

Rachel’s stomach dropped. So that was the Dark Axium’s plan. Why bring the big bad guy to them when they could just teleport the entire seat of power to him? With the access Zion had to the galaxy and its resources and knowledge, Alpha Centurion could waltz across the stars like a hurricane, and the local powers would be isolated and cut off.

“We need to stop this, now,” Rachel grunted.

“Agreed,” Zyhara said grimly.

The princess walked out in front of the skein, her body shimmering. Rachel could see the princess’s energy building, her life force doubling, tripling, her physical form almost tearing, trying to hold so much power.

“Die, forsaken princess,” Maruintor smiled.

Maruintor darted forward, her body a shimmering white light, her rapier of energy extended. Zyhara’s closed her eyes, lips pursed as the goddess barreled forward. Lion and Nameless jolted forward, but Rachel stopped them, holding out her arm. Rachel could sense what was about to happen.

Zyhara opened her grey eyes, looked at Rachel, and mouthed thank you.

The princess then faced the barreling goddess. Her body cracked, white light breaking through the dark skin. Zyhara slowly rose in the air, arms extended, chunks of skin falling away, light shining underneath. As more and more of her human form cracked and fell away, what lay beneath lit up the chamber. The vagabonds shielded their eyes as Rachel gazed through her energy with wonder.

The human body that Zyhara had worn was gone; in its place was what could only be described as a galaxy in human form. Planets the size of apples drifted inside the human outline, her limbs and appendages made of stars, and constellations. The human outline expanded, growing bigger and bigger. Zyhara stood now fifty feet tall. Her hair was made of golden light, her eyes were black holes, her entire body a glimpse into reality itself.

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Maruintor stumbled and faltered, scampering away, her eyes wide.

“Your father said you haven’t ascended yet! You are still a child!”

“My father does not know me,” female voices echoed in all of their minds. It was not a singular voice, but a choir of dozens of female voices synchronized and spoken as one cascading ensemble.

The giant made out of space held up its hand and inspected it. She snapped her fingers, and every dark robed Axium member erupted into ash. Maruintor cowered on the ground, shielding her face.

“I am Zyhara, firstborn of the regent family, heir to the Ethereal throne. The bloodline of stars courses through my veins; I am descended from those who forged the very fabric of your reality. I am Queen of Zion.”

Zyhara produced a lightning bolt in her hand and smote Maruintor, sending the lightning bolt crashing down into the goddess’s body. Satisfied with the new pile of ash, the giant contorted and shrank. They all watched in amazement as the stars faded, skin reforming. Zyhara twirled in the air, the human skin and clothes returning. Her bare feet touched the ground, and she gasped, patting herself down. She looked at the vagabonds, her face paling seeing their expressions.

“I am so sorry. Are you guys okay? Did I hurt any of you?” Zyhara panted, her eyes wide.

“I shit myself,” Lion moaned.

“Da, me too,” Anatolievich murmured.

“What the hell was that?” Julia gasped.

Zyhara meekly held her hands behind her back, leaning forward like an ashamed child.

“Told you guys I wasn’t human,” Zyhara murmured.

A hiss caught their attention; Spider had climbed out of his armor, grinning. He walked up to the princess.

“Your majesty, it is well to see your true form,” Spider bowed.

“I love how he’s the only one not shaken by that,” Nameless chortled.

“Because this isn’t his first time, is it?” Rachel asked softly.

Spider smiled, and Zyhara’s eyes widened.

“I knew I recognized your energy; you have passed the master’s trials, haven’t you?” Zyhara asked.

“The master?” Rachel asked.

“She is not the only one of her kind which has taken a likening for humans,” Spider nodded with a twinkle in his eye.

“This shit keeps getting weirder and weirder, man,” Hera sighed.

The building shook.

“Mount up, people; this isn’t over yet,” Nameless barked.

Spider bolted back to his armor, and the rest picked up, sprinting towards the palace. As the magnificent building drew closer, bright energy coursed from the court, feeding up the long pipelines building into the massive chamber walls.

The vagabonds charged forward, closing the distance to the temple steps. They went up the steps, entering the temple's main chamber. Inside, a massive column of light was twirling like a tornado. A circle of bald humans sat, swaying, and chanting around the twisting column of light. Scryers it would seem, as they prepared to jump Zion. A bald woman in an orange robe slowly circled them. Rachel recognized her form the database, it was the Great Scryer.

On the dais high above the portal were a dark-skinned man in bright white robes and magnificent jewelry, studying something on a table.

The group stopped, all energy and weapons drawn.

“Father! Stop this now; we can end this before any more blood has to be shed,” Zyhara called.

The man straightened and turned. His veins were glowing purple, his eyes bloodshot.

“Zyhara,” The man murmured, walking down the dais.

“It’s me, father!’ Zyhara called.

“Careful,” Nameless grunted.

Rachel drew her energy bow, aiming at the grinning bald woman in the orange robe who was beginning to circle them.

“Why have you betrayed me, daughter?” the man called.

“The only traitor here is you. You killed our own kind and seized power, for what?” Rachel shouted.

“For everything. When we reach the inner circle, he shall restore order. No more war, famine, the insects will truly be happy, and our people will be set free,” The man called, drawing closer, his eyes glowing purple.

“Shepherding the lower species is not a burden, father. It is our duty; we are stewards; we are not meant to rule but to guide!”

“Foolish child, always so naïve. If only your cowardly mother was here to see this, then I could remove both thorns from my side. Though, trimming two weeds out of our family’s garden would be too tiresome,” The man called.

The sitting humans all stood up, their bodies contorting and mutating. Rachel felt sick to her stomach, seeing their skin boil and shred, replaced by black scales as they moaned and groaned.

The Lord of Zion stood before them all.

“This begins a new age for our people. No longer will we be shackled with lower life. Under his tutelage, we shall prosper and set out to rule the stars, as we are truly meant to,” The Lord smiled.

“His kind was the ones who gave us this burden you complain about so much. What makes you think such a vicious soul would ever help you?” Zyhara spat, her body glowing.

The Lord laughed, gripping his face with his fingers.

“I have heard his voice,” The Lord mused, swaying in place. “He has whispered to me, guided me. I have found his message among the ruins of the stars and headed his beckoning. He will greet me and welcome me as his loyal servant when we arrive. Together, we shall rectify this disgusting universe.”

Zyhara ignited her energy, her skin falling away.

“Alpha Centurion is the reaper of worlds, the enslaver of our people. How many of our kind did he slay in the great wars? How many dungeons has he packed with our family? He is our jailor, a servant of a cruel god.”

“Do not speak of what you do not know! You insolent, miserable child! The stars wept when you were born; the sears told me to kill you off and spare us all of your ilk! It was out of love and mercy that I spared you! I shaped who you are today!”

“Mercy?! Love?! When have you ever shown me these things, father?! I walked alone among our subjects, and I have found them worthy. I rebuke the old ways, may this love for the boot that has crushed our necks since the dawn of time comfort you, for you are alone in thinking the tyrants will save you!”

“I will enjoy this far more than I enjoyed watching your pathetic mother flee,” The Lord shouted.

The man’s body vanished, replaced by a fiery collection of burning stars, collapsing super nova’s, wings of flame erupting from his back, his feet covered by tiny wings, thousands of eyes made of orange light bursting from his head. Behind the Lord, the humans also erupted, turning into dark scaly lizard-like men, with talons and teeth that glowed bright red, fire lapping from their mouths as they greedily chomped and licked their snouts.

“I am Dahgorhan, Lord of Zion, King of our people! How dare you challenge me, you putrid, impotent weakling! Who are these insects, who are you, to stand before me!”

“I am no longer your daughter,” Zyhara seethed.

Zyhara exploded into a cosmos, a lightning bolt in both hands, and charged forward. The burning collections of collapsing stars that was her father roared, a long whip made of fire, and a jagged mace formed in both hands as he swung at his daughter. The vagabonds opened fire, Anatolievich, and Mai protecting the non-scrouges as Rachel, Nameless, Spider and Lion sprung forward.

The black-scaled lizard men charged at full force, fire emitting from their hides as they hacked and slashed. Rachel fired an arrow point blank, but it bounced off the lizard’s face. The heaving creature swiped, its claws raking Rachel’s arm, tearing the armor, and peeling her flesh. Rachel roared and plunged a bright lance into the creature's body, melting his chest.

Overhead, the Etherals danced in a molten cosmic duel of heat and energy, smashing into one another and striking so quickly it was impossible to tell who was winning. Overhead, the bald woman in the orange cloak cackled loudly. Reality bent and shimmered around her as she flew. Balls of purple fire emerged from the warped and bent reality around her, crashing down among the vagabonds.

Aj caught on fire and shrieked in pain as Sammy jumped unto him, extinguishing the flame. Anatolievich emptied his magazine, drew his purple sword, and clashed with two lizardmen. One of them plunged their claws into his ribs, and blood sprayed from his mouth as his face went pale.

Mai was dancing with his grey energy glaive, lizard arms and hands flying as he sliced and twirled away. Julia was standing with her back pressed against Hera’s, fighting for their lives. Lion was shouting, his energy fully deployed as he hacked and slashed. He killed several lizardmen, but more kept appearing. Nearly a dozen had surrounded him and whittled away as Lion huffed and heaved.

Nameless had plunged his lance into the chest of a lizardman and was using his shield to protect himself as he emptied the Beowulf point-blank into the approaching enemy. Spider was slashing wildly as several lizard men climbed the armor, pulling out wires and gnawing at joints.

Rachel took in the destruction; they were losing. Something had to be done. She locked eyes with Nameless. His eyes were glowing gold, but his features were stark. She could see a hint of fear in his eye. The two broke their fights and plowed through the battle until they directly faced each other.

“I dunno bout you, but I think it’s time we show them what we’re capable of,” Nameless huffed, using his shield to thwart an incoming attack.

Rachel looked at the vagabonds, several bleeding, Aj on the ground motionless, Sammy desperately shaking him crying, Julia and Hera back-to-back, Spider pulling lizardmen off himself. Lion had disappeared underneath a pile of black scaled bodies, and overhead, the red galaxy body seemed to be bashing in Zyhara’s blue celestial body.

“Are we really the King and Witch?” Rachel asked.

“Might as well be, for them.”

“I’m not ready for this; I’m fucking human,” Rachel panted.

Nameless grabbed her shoulder with a hand.

“Look at me; we will always be human. Okay? Fuck whatever your past life said, we got each other, and we got these guys. That’s it, we’re the fucking vagabonds, and this ends here!”

Rachel nodded.

Nameless stepped back, exhaled deeply, and fully ignited his energy. His body became a geyser of gold flame, the surrounding Lizardmen disintegrating. His energy was beyond anything Rachel had ever seen a scourge produce. He was a force of nature, a superweapon, vengeance, and retribution. He roared and charged forward, crumpling the enemy ranks.

Rachel exhaled and collected herself. The room disappeared, darkness consuming her. She reached deep inside, like a person plunging their hand into the dark depths of murky water. Something grabbed hold. She could feel her skin chilling; her breath danced before her like she stood in a freezer.

“Is it time?” a female voice said within.

“Give me your strength; I accept this mantle.”

She opened her eyes and looked down. Her skin was pale as bone. Her wings were massive, the largest they had ever been, the dark raven wings dripping with crimson blood. A hood lay over her head. The Zion champion armor had disappeared, replaced by a long, pitch-black robe.

The lizardmen shrieked and scampered backward. Rachel looked up and saw the floating sorceress in the orange robe, her face pale and mouth agape.

“What are you?” The sorceress gasped.

“Death.”

Rachel reached out, focusing on the sorceress. The woman shrieked, trying to flee, but fell to the ground. Rachel bent her fingers, clawing away. She could see the sorceress’s life force drain into Rachel's body, floating through the air.

The sorceress whaled and twisted her body. Her skin paled and withered aging decades. The sorceress aged years and years before Rachel, writing in a twisted fashion. The sorceress was now an ancient woman, her wrinkled and folded skin flapping. As she reached out, small patches of skin drifting away as ash. She shrieked as her body turned to ash, her skeleton falling to the ground.

Rachel held both hands out and marched forward, sucking the life force out of any unlucky enough to be in range. Besides her, Nameless spewed out fire like a dragon, melting the enemy, impaling the enemy warriors on his lance, disintegrating them.

“Forward Vagabonds!” Nameless roared, his booming voice filling the chamber.

The Vagabonds charged forward, firing wildly, hacking and slashing. Soon, all that was left was the dueling Etherals. Rachel watched as the enemy corpses turned to ash, their energy flowing into herself. All turned to see Zyhara and Dahgorhan locked in a stalemate.

Rachel extended her hands and began focusing entirely on draining the cosmic Lord. Nameless extended his lance and shot forward a massive beam of radiant gold energy into the collapsing star's astral body. Lion barreled ahead and began hacking wildly with his axes at the ankles of the Zion lord. Spider was firing every munition he had onboard the armor as the rest of them emptied their magazine and munitions.

Dahgorhan stumbled, taking a knee, his arms crossed as Zyhara pumbled him with an onslaught of energy.

“Mortals cannot challenge the gods!” Dahgorhan roared.

“We are not mortals,” Zyhara seethed.

She roared, reached over her head, and plunged her lightning bolts into his chest. The fiery red cosmic body sputtered, flickered, and slowly vanished. The chamber was silent as all stared. Zyhara gradually transformed into a human, standing and heaving as she stared at the scorched ground.

“Is that it? Did we win?” Hera panted.

Zyhara collapsed onto the ground, screaming, tears flowing down her face as she wept. Rachel slowly turned back to human form, everyone else’s energy dissipating. Rachel started to run towards Zyhara, but Nameless caught her with his arm.

“Let me go!” Rachel pleaded; she needed to be with Zyhara.

“Look,” Nameless seethed.

Rachel turned her head and saw a bright red mist floating in the far back corner of the room. Her skin crawled, the hairs sticking up on her arms and legs. A chill went down her spine. She thought it was just a mist; it couldn’t hurt her. Yet somehow, this looming red fog was more ominous and threatening than anything they had ever faced.

Slowly, Rachel, Nameless, and Lion crept towards the red mist. As they drew closer, a vague, barely distinct figure of a man formed in the red fog.

“It’s over; you lost! Zion is ours!” Nameless roared.

Low, guttural cackling crept from the mist.

“Is that?” Rachel asked.

“Get rid of that, now. The longer he’s here, the stronger he gets!” Lion bellowed.

“No,” Nameless grunted.

Nameless stomped towards the red mist, directly facing the man shaped fog. The red man had no discernable facial features, hair, or anything; it was just the vague frame of a human body. Small voices whispering things in a language they didn’t understand began to ebb and pry at their minds.

“We won. One day I will kill you, Alpha Centurion,” Nameless roared.

The red fog laughed, a deep, guttural, soul-scaring sound. Nameless roared, igniting his energy, and sent a fireball into the fog, dispersing it.