[https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png]

A PALACE BEYOND

PLACES BELOW, FOURTH RING

[https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png]

The palace died with one final rumble. Its stone walls groaned as the last of the golden pulses ran through it. Annabelle felt a strange sense of sadness. The core-spirit, however, showed her a mocking grin and went on the offense. Something metallic buzzed right past her face, she leaned back and barely dodged the sharp snap of a chain. A second already came flying, the spirit used it’s former binding as weapons and Annabelle blocked the swipe with her Scythe. A faint trace of golden dust lingered wherever the chains passed. She paid no attention to it and concentrated on deflecting another quick blow.

Her negligence cost the goddess dearly. After several swipes, the elemental suddenly floated into a sitting position two meters away and clapped her hands. That very second, the golden dust caught flame and exploded in the shape of snaking fire. The inferno scorched her Scythe into two and licked for her clothes. A sudden intense heat radiated from the core room that made it difficult to breathe. The sprite gave her no quarter.

While Annabelle still reeled from the explosion, it floated back in range. The Scythe re-materialized just in time to block the next attack. Two metal chains wrapped around the handle and locked it down. The goddess was so focused on observing the body movements of the sprite, that she didn’t see a third chain move on its own. With confusion, she felt a sharp pain on her left shin and hobbled away. She had to let go of her weapon again and dodged away from the spirit. She was fast enough to not be hit by the fourth metal-chain but not fast enough to avoid the dust spraying into her face. Annabelle felt panic rising up within, she quickly tried to rub the dust off with her sleeves.

The sound of a finger snap rang out. Too slow. Annabelle saw stark flames scorch away her sleeves and felt fire singe her face. An ugly smell filled her nostrils. She yelled out in pain and stumbled further back. The elemental left her no quarter at all. The next strike of a chain clipped her already hurting cheek. Intense heat radiated all around her, the room was on fire and so was everything within a several meter radius. She heard the mocking voice of the elemental.

“I thought gods were stronger”, it said, “This is pitiful. Fight back. Not once have you attacked me yet. Here, I’ll allow you one free hit”

Annabelle watched the pyre with the shape of a woman sit down on thin air. It crossed the legs in a provocative gesture and taunted Annabelle with a nudge of a finger. The elemental then pointed towards one of its cheeks and grinned.

“Just this second, your friend is dying to meet you again. Tell me, do you actually feel something at this... hah!”

The rest of her sentence turned into a laugh as a suddenly headstrong Annabelle rushed straight into an attack. She used her right hand to swing the Scythe at the elemental. Cold anger twisted in her stomach. But emotions and wishes rarely translate into success and this time it didn’t either. Her weapon was effortlessly blocked off by one of the chains and the grin on the spirits face widened.

“Got you”, it said.

Seven more chains appeared from behind the floating woman. They whirled a web of golden dust around Annabelle, before moving in for a strike. Yet instead of flinching back, Annabelle too showed a slight grin.

“Same”, she said

Annabelle snapped her left hand forward, she felt the rope tug on her fingers as she war-fan described a long arc and smashed straight into the head of the elemental. The flames sputtered out and the woman shrunk just a bit. The impact threw the spirit onto the ground. Annabelle took stock of her surroundings. A wall of gold dust blocked her path forward and to the sides. The only way out was to move back. She let go of both her weapons and hopped back. Another finger snap ignited the air where she had just been. Flames washed over her, thanks to her foresight they were mostly ineffectual but the sheer impact of displaced air wasn’t. She tumbled several meters before her body hit the wall.

Clenching her teeth and ignoring the pain, she got back on her feet. Her armor looked scorched in places but it had done well to protect her. Her breathing still came ragged. It was far too hot to breathe.

The core-room was aflame. One very angry elemental walked towards her in a sea of sentient flames. They were like a nest of snakes that bit at everything they could. Even the walls of the palace melted away under the heat.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

Tharia had tears in her eyes. She hadn’t realized just how much of a fixture the barrier had been in her life until she saw the blue figure sprawled on the floor with a golden figure sitting on top. There was no more life in her Bethany and at that moment the blue figure shrunk to the size of a hand. It revealed a tiny woman with delicate wings on her back. She was barely breathing anymore.

“This path ends”, the golden figure said and turned its nondescript face in her direction, “Are you actually crying for one of my kind?”

The short-haired woman got back up on her feet and felt her fingers lock in place around the rapier. The barrier started to falter and the first of the tendrils made their way in. The young Miss Verholden lunged forward and drove the tip of the weapon straight through the golden figure.

“Such an unruly child. Wasn’t I like a mother to you?” the spirit said. Even without any facial features on her adversary, Tharia knew she was being mocked. The woman in gold floated upwards and the rapier simply slid back out. It had done absolutely no damage at all. If only she still had her pistol. All she had was the rapier and a dead barrier chain.

Tharia had rarely felt hatred like this before. She clutched her hands around the barrier chain and got back up from the ground. If the rapier had too little range, maybe the chains would do. She took aim for the floating golden figure and saw that it was strangely floating still as if distracted. It rubbed its head too. Eight chains smashed into it and dissolved it into a cloud of gold light. Tharia had no idea why the barrier chain had hit when the rapier didn’t, but she had other problems to take care off.

Once she had picked up the chain, the rest of the barrier broke away. It was an odd sight to see letters pour onto the ground and drift away like water. No time for that. There was a murderous torture flower all around her. She kept the metal chains in motion to slash away at unruly plants reaching for her. The motion quickly tired her out but she had no choice but to keep going.

Several cheeky tendrils had reached for her ankles but found themselves torn to pieces. The whole of the flower shivered and Tharia expected one of those golden pulses to heal it back again, but none came. That was some small solace, at least.

With renewed vigor, she stepped forward and let her arm rotate along with the chain. Pieces of greenery were tossed aside like weed and she made a good way towards where she assumed the core to be. A sudden snap on her back let her tumble forward. A sneaky tendril had attacked from behind. The light armor took the brunt of the hit but the momentary distraction was enough to bring her off balance. More tendrils suddenly shot forth. Ropes slung themselves around her neck and pulled tight.

Her consciousness was quickly fading and she was running out of ideas. She tried to cut away the plant fiber with her rapier but a thrusting weapon is ill-equipped for slashing. The spark kicked into overdrive and worked it’s best to counter-act the crushing force on her throat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the body of the holy bethany was nowhere to be found.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

Annabelle ran as fast as she could. She had no qualms with cowardice when the situation demanded an expeditious retreat. Only idiots would run straight into a walking pillar of flame. And this pyre was proper angry. It flew after her, the shape of the woman swayed from side to side in a strange dance-like motion. They had ended up in the hallway. The beds to either side went up in flames and the flower bulbs withered from the heat.

“These were all my children”, the elemental screamed and suddenly lunged for Annabelle. The goddess felt an oddly physical impact as her body was thrown to the side. Gold dust stuck to her armor and the floating woman hovered just above her with self-serving smugness. Annabelle wouldn’t get this off in time, no chance. Instead, she opted for the idiot option. The silver-haired woman stepped into the flames that surrounded the spirit. Almost immediately, heat danced across her skin and scorched the upper layer of her clothes and armor.

She was sweating and aching but she could not allow her opponent to either clap or snap her fingers. Two War-Fans appeared in her outstretched hands and her wrists quickly accelerated them into a spin. One strike to the left side, a single chain was all it took to deflect the blow. Another strike on the right, quite predictable really and it was no surprise that the living core blocked this one off as well. But Annabelle wasn’t waiting for the impact. She re-summoned the weapons as quickly as she let them go, always using them for precisely one strike on the sprite.

One more attack! Another! Ignore the unbearable heat! Like this, she managed to lock down the sprite in a flurry of blows that quickly tired her out while the elemental looked more amused than threatened. This was the moment she had waited for! Instead of another War-Fan, she brought out the Scythe and slashed it directly for the neck of the sprite. It hit and cut into the flames. Feeling the impact of the strike all the way down to her own bones, Annabelle followed it up with another swipe of the war-fan.

The spirit slumped to the ground with the flames once again sputtering out. It looked smaller still. Inside of the pyre, there was a human shell and deep within that shape, there was a smaller one still. A hand-sized figure rested at the center of the flaming body. Its tiny face was distorted with madness. Not wasting the opportunity, Annabelle stepped in and sunk her scythe into the arms of the outer shell. Almost immediately, the intense heat faded away until all that was left was a tiny ember.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Annabelle coughed as intense smoke burned in her lungs. The palace was burning as far as she could see and the heat had melted holes into the ceiling. The blue glow of the mushroom-colonies and their dance of glowing spores lighted their way inside. The fog around her grew in intensity, yet instead of leaving through the holes, it appeared to be rather heavy with some weirdly colored lightning within. The light was mostly golden but she also saw a trace of blue here and there.

The goddess quickly brought up the Scythe again and hammered the handle towards the tiny elemental inside the outer body. She suddenly saw the broad grin on the fire sprite. It clicked its tongue. The gold shimmer within the smoke ignited into a cataclysmic explosion, just as a blue shimmer sprang up around her.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

Tharia was sweating profusely. Smoke had rolled in from somewhere deeper within the palace and the infernal sounds she heard, made it obvious a grim battle was taking place. She desperately clutched the plant fiber with her hands, the spark was growing weak and the air inside her chest was almost gone.

This was the second time in a single day that she was about to suffocate. She tore at the fibers with all her might and was dumbstruck when they easily tore apart. Air rushed into her lungs, along with intense smoke that made her cough. She blinked her eyes several times until she could see more clearly. The flower withered under the heat, barely able to control its many tendrils anymore. Tharia collected enough air to bring about the vilest of curses.

“Crrrnkkk”, was all that came out. Bloody smoke had to ruin everything. She grinned and then picked her rapier up from the ground. Three quick steps forward and she plunged it deep into the flower bulb. The withering plant made no effort to defend itself and died with one final shiver. She cleared her throat.

“Maybe things can go my way for once”

The regret came instantly. The palace suddenly shook as if hit by the fist of a titan. One second, she was inside the plant room. Yet a breath later, there was no more room left around her. She found herself on the floor and stared up at the mushroom covered ceiling of the cave. Somehow, she had survived whatever that was with little damage. Still, the cavern was on fire. Spores in the air were burning and they brought their spark to the mushroom colonies on the wall. Before long, the flames started to bite into the mucous membrane that kept the water away. Tharia was shocked at the destruction around her. Half the palace was gone in an instant. It took a lot of strength to get back up on her feet, the numb feeling inside of her wouldn’t leave. What about Annabelle? Was she safe? She had to be. She better be safe or Tharia would drag her back to life and slap her silly.

Tharia picked up what remained of the barrier chain and staggered in the direction where the fighting had taken place. With no more wall or door or really anything to block her path, she found a floating woman with golden hair. Flames licked over her nude shape and the hair still managed to cover the more interesting spots.

“You gods are fools”, the figure said and looked up at the cavern ceiling, “but maybe, so am I”

The burning woman then looked at Tharia “Your friend is no more. I might have overdone it a little. It’s been centuries since I danced free. What a rush this is”

A rumble ran through the ceiling of the cavern. At first, there came a rivulet of water, then an entire river, it poured down into the Understadt as the membrane no longer kept the water above - the fire had burned it away. It felt like it was raining and the cold touch of the water brought with it a solemn mood. Tharia felt nothing anymore. She walked over towards the flame with unsteady steps.

“Today I’ve killed one of my kind. I’ve killed a goddess and I will kill one of my children. Tis a fitting end”.

The elemental swiveled around until it completely faced Tharia. She was now within five meters of range and felt the heat wash against her cheeks. Thick smoke prevented her from seeing anything but the fiery figure. The barrier chain in her hand vibrated ever so slightly, so she wrapped her fingers around it and fixed her gaze on the floating foe. She saw the eight chains of the core snap into a star-shaped pattern. They shivered and shuddered as if hungering to strike out. This felt like a final stand, Tharia stared at a peak predator until a sudden sound changed everything.

“What does the fire care for a drop of water”, a strangely squeaky voice rang out. The smoke cleared out and revealed a blue dome with letters that vanished from the girl’s sight. Tharia felt a lump in her throat at the sight. Inside of the tiny dome floated a hand-sized blue figure. It was terribly weak and barely afloat but it kept up the barrier even without a chain.

“Sorry boss, she needed the protection more than you did”, the squeaky voice said. Tharia saw a humanoid shape in the smoke with silvery-hair fluttering in the wind. More of the smoke cleared and revealed Annabelle kneeling on the ground. The blue barrier enveloped her and had protected the goddess from the blast. Tharia’s heart leaped with joy. The fire spirit however showed an ugly snarl on her face as she looked down on what Tharia had once called the holy Bethany.

“I killed you”, the sprite said.

“And I was saved by the power of love and friendship”, the tiny blue girl said and stuck out a tongue, “Nah, bullshit. To quote something my protégé would say, you didn’t finish the job you lumbering idiot uh, hive of ahem idiotic things”

Tharia had never felt so proud to hear a tiny being try to curse. Admittedly, she had never experienced it before either. Bethany was alive? True, she had disappeared earlier but she thought it was because she died. So she had abandoned her to save her friend? Ouch. She'd have done the same.

“Hey, you! Girl with the nice chest, you ready to fight?” the blue-skinned spirit said towards Annabelle. Tharia felt a bit embarrassed by what her protector had picked up over the years. Was she really that crass? Annabelle stood up from within the barrier and nodded. She smiled towards Tharia and the short haired girl was too giddy to react properly. It wasn’t romantic but it felt damn good to see her love again. Suddenly, the tables had turned. The squeaky voice rang out again.

“Good. Take care of her, because I’m fu...”, the tiny figure said, its voice trailed off and suddenly sagged downwards. Blue dust peeled off Bethany until there was nothing left of her. The chain stopped vibrating and Tharia realized that her long-time silent companion had truly perished this time. A bitter smile crept onto Tharia’s lips.

“Fucked. Yes”, Tharia said and directed her eyes towards the fire spirit in a way that made it clear the part referred to the elemental instead. A thundering rumble announced a new storm of water pouring down. It doused the flames of the fire spirit. Annabelle and Tharia exchanged a look and then both went on the offense.

Annabelle fell into a running attack, the Scythe she brought out looked damaged but did the job either way. It struck the dumbfounded fire spirit in the side and threw it onto the ground. Gold dust puffed up and Annabelle jumped back that instant. Some of that dust reached Tharia. She had no idea what it did but reacted simply because her friend had done so. There came a clicking noise and a wall of fire blazed where the dust had gotten.

The goddess was already on the attack again and Tharia had a sudden idea. She too approached the spirit with the chain in hand. But she kept quiet and headed for the back of the fire spirit. Annabelle pressured the spirit with a barrage of attacks, Tharia had never before seen her friend bring out this many war-fans one after another.

The spirit struck back with her own chains and even managed to stab her friend two times. Tharia grit her teeth but kept silent as to not betray her intent. She felt blistering warmth wash over her as she got close. Annabelle scored a lucky hit with a war fan. It smacked the head of the spirit aside just enough that she could look into Tharia’s eyes. Realization dawned but it was too late.

Tharia suddenly lunged forward, pain in her back be damned and slung the barrier chain around the neck of the creature. She then pulled more and more chains around that neck and simply pulled with all her force. The outer shell shriveled under the assault, Tharia felt a creepy grin creep onto her face as she chocked the life out of the palace core. At some point, the chain fell to the ground as there was nothing left of the shell. All that remained was a tiny golden figure lying on the ground, looking pitiable and miserable.

“Do it”, the golden figure said with a squeak, “End it”

“You haven’t earned the right to die”, Tharia said and suddenly grabbed the spirit. In this form, there were no more flames to hurt her. She stuffed the struggling fire-sprite into the centerpiece of the core bindings and then locked her own barrier chain on top. Tharia felt a soft touch on her shoulders but a strange fever had overcome the short haired girl.

She had seen something like this before. Her fingers flew along the chains and the candelabras in the center. Something clicked in place, more things followed. With blanked out determination she braided the chains into a spiral shape on both sides of the centerpiece and with another click, they stuck in place. Her mind remembered things. Details, sketches, ideas, things the old one had locked away along with all the nightmares of this place. More things clicked into place. The human girl wasn’t aware of what she was doing, her hands worked on their own until a sudden blinding light concluded her efforts.

A long metal staff sat on the floor. There was a central cage with a very frustrated looking golden figure inside. Both ends of the staff were made of spiraling chains that remained locked in place, they glowed with a subtle golden light.

Tharia picked up the staff and ignored the squeaky protest of the fire spirit within. She slashed it to her right side and saw it leave behind a trail of golden dust. Tharia then flicked a finger against the cage. A very pouty spirit clapped her hands and a burst of flames ignited the dust in the air.

“If it is death you seek, spirit. Then you will accompany us while we seek it. Do that, and I promise you not only revenge but also peace”.

Tharia flicked the cage again. The small spirit nodded with the cutest of pouts. The human girl then straightened herself and hobbled over towards Annabelle with a broad smile on her lips

“Look, my own magic staff”, she said and then shook the staff, sending the sprite bouncing about in the cage, “it’s got wings too!”

Annabelle didn’t need to say anything. The look on her face was enough silent judgment. Tharia grinned and then rested her weight on the staff. A squeaky voice from inside screamed at the top of her lungs but the human girl simply wrapped her fingers around the cage, muffling the sounds.

“Guess we need a good binding at night. Are you okay Annie? You look like shit”

“I love you too”, Annabelle said and sighed. The goddess turned to look at the remains of the palace.

“Guess we won’t find anything about the Dreamreaper after all”

Tharia, however, shook her head. She put a hand on Annie’s shoulder and let a bit of healing magic flow into her.

“We learned more than enough. This was his palace and it was here that they were looking for ways to ascend children to gods. That’s a lot to learn. I’ll fill you in on the details later, there are things I remembered and things you should know”

Silence came over them and Tharia ran a finger along the new weapon. It was a barrier no more. Bethany’s sacrifice was a bitter blow. It was only now that she was gone that Tharia realized how much she had relied on her over the years without so much as a thank you. She had seen her as a tool not realizing the living being within.

A sudden change in perspective let her yelp out. She felt one arm underneath her leg and another holding her chest: Annabelle had swept her off her feet. Tharia’s complaint got stuck in her throat when she saw the ceiling of the cavern above.

The world was coming down on them. In truth, it wasn’t the whole world, but certainly enough water to drown out a city or two. The watery masses brought with them houses, temples, even entire streets. She saw a sogging wet teddy bear fall towards her in slow motion, it was followed by a flock of large aquatic beasts with very confused looks on their monstrous faces. They all were flushed down through the evergrowing hole above. Annabelle carried her along as she dashed towards the tower leading up.

“Our supply bags!”, Tharia protested but Annabelle was too busy to save them both from a watery grave. The short-haired girl sighed and made the best of the situation. She sneaked a peek at Annie’s quickly heaving chest and then snuggled her face against it. Yeah, yeah, the city was coming down but that was no reason to not take the opportunities offered.

“One day I’m going to paddle you”, Annabelle said while running.

“Promise?”

“Gods be cursed, Fairy! Not now!” Annabelle shouted with a strange tone in her voice. Tharia had noticed the inflection and chuckled, rubbing her cheek against the chest. It was only then that she realized the full extent of what exactly her friend had said. It killed the mood instantly.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

End: The last dance of the firesprite | Coming up: Drained