Far to the north of Ariel’s Gate, beyond the perpetually snow capped Skytooth mountain range and deep within the trackless Ochtue tundra, a collection of nomadic tribes had put aside their old rivalries and joined together for survival. More than half of their warriors had been taken by the terrible demon in red armor, and the deep winter had not been kind to those that remained.
A council consisting of the various leadership of the remaining eleven thousand or so people huddled in a large central semi permanent yurt made of frozen blocks of mud and giant caribou hides. The nine elders and one young girl representing her bed ridden grandmother sat in a morose silence after dismissing a messenger that had come bearing more awful news.
“Why now, of all times?” A battle scarred man with leathery, tan skin whispered in a shaky voice. “Have the gods not punished us enough?”
“Such words are what invite disaster in the first place.” Admonished a stocky woman wearing a strip of leather over her left eye. “The red demon and his armies have left the land ripe for them to ravage, why would the beasts stay in their mountain holes?”
“Run south and seek aid, or stand against the horde?” An ancient woman leaning against the mud wall with both eyes closed cut to the chase, silencing the growing discord. A dark shafted spear leaned against the wall at her side, sporting countless notches and a vicious looking barbed tip crafted of dull yellow ivory. “The seer claims the horde is ten thousand strong. We may put them down, but the losses will be terrible. The defenses we have built here will be wasted if we run, but the thought of another day of building pyres tears at my heart.”
“The south holds enemies worse than yetis and ogres.” Another matriarch sighed. “Better to fill a beast’s belly than slowly bleed our souls to nothingness as slaves.”
“Spread word of the truth.” The young girl finally raised her voice with surprising authority. “Some will choose to flee and face the unknown, others will choose battle. Neither choice is dishonorable, and those that stay will buy time for those that retreat.”
“We must urge solidarity, young Redsnow. Your place at this council is a mere formality, keep your impulsive ideas in check.” This came from the scarred man that had first spoken.
“It is you that should mind their tongue, Freder.” The ancient woman growled. “You have become a defeatist coward since your son was taken by the red demon. The granddaughter of the mighty Kaya Redsnow has spoken wisely, and you have no right to stifle her.”
The man leaped to his feet, standing tall and broad shouldered with rage contorting his bearded face. Then a realization seemed to strike him, and he visibly paled.
“Oh?” The ancient woman cracked an eye open, and a soft blue glowing line appeared between the sagging eyelids. “You’ve found your feet before the jug has been passed. What next, defeatist coward? You now face the same choice as our people. Flee through that door and never return to this council, or put a hand to your weapon and finish what you’ve started.”
“S-She provoked me!” The man looked around at the stony faces and found no sympathy.
“Being so easily provoked is no trait of the wise.” The young girl spoke up, drawing a venomous glare from the standing elder. “I thank you for your intervention on my behalf, great Enchantress, but my words are mine to defend.” The girl looked from the ancient one back to the standing man. She resolutely rose to her feet, a head shorter than the towering man. “I am Elspeth Redsnow, and I declare that Freder of the Bonesplitter clan has abandoned his duty in this council. He has chosen to belittle my circumstances, rather than debate my suggestion. Now that he has been rebuked for doing so, he stands to threaten violence. It is my request that I be allowed to discipline him personally in the stead of my grandmother.”
“You should flee, defeatist.” The ancient woman known as the Enchantress advised with a wry grin. “That girl is not what you think.” She added, noticing hopeful wheels turning in the man’s eyes.
Freder slowly lowered his hand to the rough wooden slab which served as the meeting table, where his heavy axe rested.
A bright light from outside interrupted the tension, turning night into day for a few seconds. A terrible booming noise like thunder followed along with a gust of wind so strong that the caribou hide roof was ripped away from the council building.
Every world weary face in the camp turned their eyes to the northern sky, where a cluster of giant fireballs streaked down like meteors and erupted on the distant tundra. Each concussive explosion was as powerful as the first, and they were all forced to take what cover they could against the stinging waves of wind and force. Ringing silence and darkness finally returned after several seconds of the apocalyptic bombardment.
“I’ll never get used to seeing that.” A feminine voice from overhead chimed from above the wind damaged central yurt. “Everyone okay down there?”
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The elders were gathering themselves and looked up as the silhouette of great wings blotted out the stars above. The mysterious figure lowered slowly into view, and several gasps of shock erupted.
“I know I look frightening, but I’m not here to hurt you.” Meri waved her black clawed hand as she alighted. “Sorry to arrive unannounced like this, but I must deliver a message from my lord.”
“You are the Cardinal Cambion, mistress of Shadow Devils.” The Enchantress said uneasily after her left eye flashed with a strange light. “There is one you would readily submit to? Might they be the one that destroyed the northern plain?”
“I am...?” Meri asked quizzically, somewhat tarnishing her mystique. She hadn’t realized her little evolution came with such a title. “I mean, my what a learned woman! Indeed my lord is my life, and no, that display was the work of Yugal, an ally.”
“I am familiar with a giant of that name, though such a feat of destruction is surely beyond any mere mountain giant.” The Enchantress shook her head, gazing to the north where the horizon still glowed with the aftermath of the fiery onslaught.
“He was ascended by the hand of our lord, just as i was. I shan’t disclose the details. Lord Gray wishes to tell you that many of your warriors have been taken in after our defeat of the Gault Kingdom. They are acting as laborers to repair the damage they were made to do by the Red Knight. Once their indenture is complete, they will be free to return home. In the meantime, lord Gray and Ariel’s gate have decided to offer our support in your time of need. All monsters and dangerous beasts in this region shall be purged over the coming days. Are there any in your number in need of urgent healing?”
“My grandmother!” The young Elspeth’s words flew from her mouth in spite of her instinctive terror of the demon. “S-she was horribly wounded by the red demon.”
“Miracles from the hells do not come cheaply.” The Enchantress warned the girl.
“Fear not.” Meri said. “I understand your caution, but with time you will come to see that lord Gray does not care for the sensibilities of this lowly world. Lead me to your grandmother, dear.”
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“Holy shit, Yugal!” I sputtered out loud as I choked on a sip of coffee. A massive surge of stats and experience flooded through our shared connection when he used his Widespread Destruction daily cooldown to obliterate a huge horde of monsters.
“It is done, my lord.” An unnecessary telepathic confirmation came from the titan.
“Great work, I could use a warning next time though.” I replied with a smile and shake of my head. “The surge made me choke on my coffee.”
“Apologies, I shall continue northeast from here. Miss Leifa has discovered a pack of white wyverns.”
I gave a mental thumbs up and stored my coffee cup back in my Astral Vault and looked down at the sea of bonfires in the secluded valley below my mountain perch. Our tengu scouts had shown their tremendous value once more.
This was a gathering undeniably orchestrated by Kutris. This horde of monsters and lesser demons from the deep southern territory were obviously plotting to take over the world eater carcass and the large settlement that had taken root around it. The mining operation was finally churning out materials that surpassed even the hardest natural metals and alloys, and were able to soak up all energy (except holy energy) like a sponge. Soon those materials would be transformed into weapons and armor that surpassed anything else known to this world presently. Needless to say I wasn’t about to let that be foiled by a paltry seventy-thousand enemies.
Since the competitive game to see which of us continental elites could purge the most monsters had begun, stats and experience had been pouring into me in a veritable flood from my soul branded followers. Every once in awhile, a massive surge like the one from Yugal earlier would nearly knock me off balance. I was overflowing with so much energy that I almost felt sorry for the unsuspecting horde down there, but I couldn’t just stand around while my friends had all the fun.
I had also learned a new trick recently, thanks to Raj and her Mimir’s Library skill. I had learned to internalize my menu system along with inventory navigation. I no longer needed to tap out commands on floating screens only visible to myself.
With a simple thought, Charon’s Call appeared in my right hand. The perpetually damp, rotted shaft of the mythical weapon radiated a comfortable chill up my forearm. Another thought brought a pulsing deep blue orb into my left hand. These two items had a hidden synergy (also discovered by the now practically omniscient Dark Phoenix, Raj). My heart began to race with excitement, my skin tingled, and I just knew instinctively that I was about to witness something truly incredible.
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*Used Item: Reforged Charon’s Call - Spear
(Item Score 999) Skin: Default
Damage (Physical): 585
Damage (Soul): 780
Indestructible
“And those living souls that would dare parade themselves before the sordid god Charon shall be regarded as the most unfortunate in all of Creation.”
Charon’s Call: Cooldown 23h:059m:59s
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The haunting disembodied chorus sung by the sirens of the river Acheron began to rise, heralding the summon of the colossal Charon himself. I timed the use of the second artifact, just as Raj had instructed.
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*Used Item: Core of Leviathus-Artifact
“Drink the Sea, Swallow the Sky.”
Duration: 4m:59s
Cooldown: 29d:23h:59m:59s
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As a tint of aquamarine covered my field of vision, I saw the clouds form above as the shining black skeletal foot of Charon began to descend. My body grew as the primal core of water began to transform my body. Aside from the core of earth, this one caused the most drastic transformation. A second storm appeared overhead, mixing and roiling violently with Charon’s. Black lightning violently cracked as the dueling storms began to spin into a maelstrom. Charon was nearly revealed, his two hundred meter tall body seemed even more fearsome since the spear had been reforged with a higher item level.
He sent his infinite seeking chains down, but now they acted as conductive wires carrying the destructive black lightning with them. Normally, they killed with suffocating friction. I saw the first links brush against the stupefied horde as they gaped at the spectacle above after being lulled into a stunned state by the Siren’s song. I also gaped in horror. The lightest brush with one of those countless chains caused a bolt of arcing black electricity to explode the victim to near nothingness before chaining to several of its unfortunate allies. This... was a hellish sight, even for me.
A stream of experience and stolen stats flooded in, confusing me. Charon’s attacks weren’t supposed to reward me like that. Then I understood. I was stealing Charon’s kills with the lightning from the storm caused by my orb. Torrential rain then began to fall in drops that could be measured in gallons, it was tinted black like the poisonous water that coated Charon himself. That rain killed slowly, and I began to feel better for the ones exploded by the lightning. The valley started to flood over the next couple minutes, but there were only a few small clumps of enemies remaining.
Charon’s eyes never glowed to indicate that the second phase of his summon was ready, and he instead slowly faded out along with his black storm clouds. That was to be expected since he never absorbed any souls in the initial attack. The shallow lake of death that had suddenly formed below was unsettling in its tranquility as the Core of Leviathus effect also faded away, and the reflection of the half moon on the still water was tinted red.