The weakened giant roared and managed to break free from the struggle with Heishe. Sensing his weakening, Heishe saw the approach of Vallynor and Ashley, after which he sent them a mental message:
"Run. Run! He's coming..." Roaring, the giant caught the serpent by the head and tail, attempting to stretch Heishe and turn him into two gigantic snakes. In spirit, he was slightly smaller than his original size.
"We cannot allow this giant to get close to the city. We will freeze time and help you," Ashley shouted in response to Heishe, while Vallynor tried to understand what Heishe meant.
The giant's roar made everyone turn in his direction. They saw Heishe torn in two, and then the giant lifted Heishe's head and opened its mouth.
"NO!" exclaimed Ashley, and Vallynor felt the same in his heart, even though they had only recently met.
"Run, fools... he's coming... he's... already here..." The giant thunderously bit off Heishe's head and sucked his soul, then threw his body and roared.
At the same time, in the distance, a new roar, even more horrifying, echoed, penetrating to the bone. It was followed by, "I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!"
Upon hearing this roar and these words, Vallynor felt his soul starting to ache, and dark threads began to surge. Ashley saw Vallynor in such a state and abandoned her previous plans, directing her energy into his soul to calm him down a bit.
Coming to his senses a bit, Vallynor immediately created a huge army of undead and ordered them to carry Ashley and himself.
"Forget about the giant plan. We need to quickly get back to the city," Ashley shouted, so that Vallynor would not continue approaching the giant.
The giant received new spells towards him, but he ignored them and looked strangely at Vallynor and the approaching enemies. Then he heard a command in his head.
"Attack the boy."
Receiving this command, the giant attacked Vallynor and Ashley. Ashley began casting various spells, both offensive and defensive.
"Darn, darn," cursed Ashley, regretting her weakness and that she had been lazy for too long. But now was not the time for regrets. She took out a magical stone from her ring, in which a spell created by her father was sealed.
When the giant lifted his foot to attack, the magical stone broke and activated the spell of temporary substitution. It was the same spell that Ashley wanted to cast herself, but her father's spell was several levels higher than she could create herself.
The giant, who was about to lower his foot, froze in place, and everything around him, including the undead and Ashley, also froze. Only Vallynor looked around, not understanding what was happening. He turned his head in different directions, trying to understand what had occurred.
All the sounds suddenly ceased, and the light disappeared, as if it never existed, as if complete darkness had taken over. But, not knowing why, I did not feel fear, only pleasant sensations. Looking at myself, I immediately understood that the reason for this pleasant feeling was the soul rune received from the Soul Butterfly.
So, all this is connected with time. Everyone stopped because of it, but who would have thought that even light would cease to exist.
Feeling a sting, I quickly turned towards where the roar and the cry "I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!" had recently come from. Thanks to the spell of temporary substitution, I could see a huge, ugly dragon approaching rapidly.
Vallynor leaped among the undead, shattering their limbs, and grabbed Ashley to start running towards the city. That's what Vallynor had in mind with the spell of temporary substitution. Everything around turned into stone. So those perverts violated stones, not girls. Perhaps even broke his buddy.
Why am I thinking about such foolish things now, running across the battlefield? We encountered many fallen warriors on our way, trying to catch up with us, but they couldn't. And we did.
Because of the huge accumulation of living stones, as I call them because they are still alive, although as solid as a rock. I wonder how I managed to break the undead's arms. Damn, run!
But it was already too late. I didn't even have to turn around to understand that he had come. With him came insane pain and hatred bordering on madness.
***
Caesar quickly cast spells, analyzing everything in his mind in search of a solution to the current catastrophe. He immediately thought of Gabriel and Alexander. The former was at the base of the barrier, fixing all its defects and preventing destruction. If he knew that his daughter was now in danger, he would have abandoned this barrier and plunged into hell itself to save her, without even thinking twice.
As for Alexandra, she was nowhere to be found. Caesar used the power of his soul to locate him but couldn't. Therefore, Caesar began searching for him in the city and finally discovered him in his daughter's dungeon. How inconvenient.
***
Some time ago, when the giant had not yet appeared, Alexander sat by the wall, taking a break, watching the battlefield and Black Tooth. Occasionally, he glanced at Vallynor and his music lessons, straining his hearing and filtering out all unnecessary sounds. He began to listen to Vallynor's music, who played on a musical instrument. Most of them were similar or even identical to the music of the world, but there were also a few completely new ones. He even played a song that he performed poorly, so it was ear-piercing, but instead, it elicited a silly smile.
Listening to the music, the stone around his neck shattered and caused a small explosion, but it didn't harm Alexander. The stone around his neck was a warning spell drawn on a mana stone. When something happened, it was supposed to warn Alexander. In this case, the warning manifested as a small explosion. Because Alexander, being a warrior, trained his body to the limit. And during isolation from the outside world, he began to explore other paths of development. But his true essence was that he always had to be attentive to his surroundings. It didn't apply to himself. Because of this, several times, he didn't notice warning signs, and when he realized them, it could already be too late. It's like a phone that is charging and in silent mode. Maybe your mother is calling to inform you that the house is on fire and so on, but you don't know because you're sitting at the computer with headphones.
To avoid such situations in the future, when he fights to the death, sleeps from exhaustion, and the like, he learned instantly because even the slightest pain was a sufficient warning of danger and the like.
Understanding which stone exploded, Alexander instantly jumped up and swiftly ran to the secret room where his daughter was imprisoned. Now he didn't care what was happening on the battlefield and if someone encountered Black Tooth. His only concern was for his daughter.
Alexander had already lost both sons. The elder began to rebel and gathered all the youth into a group that refused to reconcile with their fate. They were ready to make any sacrifices to escape from this cursed world. And the second son, the most fearful, empowered by his second wife with the lineage of the White Rat, ran away and hid in the forest, where until today, they cannot find him. And it is unknown whether he is alive or dead.
Only the daughter, the youngest, kept silent about her fall, and when the process was supposed to finally cast her down, she escaped and hid in the accursed forest. Alexander blamed himself for thinking only about his sons and not even attempting to check his daughter's soul.
And now something happened to his daughter, and he could not leave her. This time he will always be there and do everything possible to save his daughter.
When he forcefully opened the door to the room, he saw blood everywhere and scattered pieces of flesh. And in the center sat his daughter, feasting on the flesh and soul of the maid Dorlisa.
The girl, almost half covered in black resin, tore the meat and drank the blood along with bits of the soul. Until she stopped, sensing a new victim. Stronger, more fleshy, and tastier.
She raised her head, and her mutilated face, covered with scars and wounds, testified to the freshness of the injuries. Her black eyes, the same as those of creatures of darkness, made Alexander slightly afraid. These eyes were black from the dirt of her soul. She looked at him and smiled.
***
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"I am the chosen one!" - a powerful cry echoed across the entire battlefield, attracting the attention of all the warriors. The mages looked on with complex expressions on their faces.
The enormous, grotesque white dragon with red stripes all over its body lunged at the giant with tremendous physical force, destroying the temporary protection that froze everyone except Vallynor.
Vallynor realized that the spell would soon collapse, and Ashley would be in danger. In the next moment, everyone started moving, including Ashley and the giant himself. Ashley looked around, not understanding how they had moved.
"How did we..." - Ashley wanted to ask Vallynor, seeing that he was confidently running away from the giant, but she was interrupted.
"I was not frozen in time, so I could take you and run away," explained Vallynor quickly, not even looking at her.
"How?..." - Shocked, Ashley looked at Vallynor. - "Only some creatures can ignore spells related to time magic. But for that, you need to be connected to time by family ties... How do you have such connections?"
"... I think it's related to the soul of the time butterfly, which became a rune on the path of my soul," at first, I thought to remain silent, but... she is Gavriel's daughter. Gavriel and Alexander were friends with Caesar, and he probably knew about it. So she must know the truth. Therefore, I decided to tell her.
"Soul of a butterfly?..." - Ashley fell silent and plunged into her thoughts.
"I am the chosen one!" - shouted the dragon, followed by the giant. Vallynor fell to his knees, screamed in pain, and convulsively contracted.
After a few seconds, the giant turned to Vallynor and took two steps to reach him, but then he was attacked from behind. It wasn't a flying spell; it was that same grotesque dragon that fell on the giant and began attacking with its ugly hands.
Caesar, seeing the Chosen One attack the giant, turned to Vallynor, who was lying and screaming in pain. The cursed children, merged with Vallynor's soul, began to go mad when their true culprit appeared.
"We are ready!" - a nun appeared, bowed, and awaited Caesar's response.
"Begin," he said.
"Yes," the nun replied shortly. Then she turned and headed towards a group of similar nuns. Caesar glanced briefly at the departing nun and noticed latex clothing under her attire.
The monks emitted bright beams of light that spread everywhere. When the light touched the fallen, they began to glow, and then their souls were sucked into a sphere. Magical barriers hindering movement also disappeared.
The giant and the dragon fought each other, roaring and occasionally casting spells at each other. The Chosen One tore pieces of flesh with his ugly uneven hands, and his tentacles growing on his neck and back enveloped the giant's limbs, while the giant himself tore the tentacles and hands of the Chosen One.
Ashley, falling, watched Vallynor with excitement, trying to get closer to him and understand what had happened to him. Suddenly, an old man with a flying eye emerged from the ground. He carefully looked at Vallynor, then turned to the Eye and asked with a glance, "Is this him?"
The Eye looked at the old man, then turned and looked at Vallynor.
"Hmm... He has a dreadful soul, a mixture of such different things. The soul of a human, a dragon, fallen children, and demonic energy. He will never be able to develop normally... I hope you are right along with her," the old man said, pulling out a needle and approaching Vallynor. Ashley wanted to stop him but didn't have time as the old man pierced Vallynor's heart with the needle.
"I hope I didn't give away my treasure in vain," the old man said, then began to laugh self-destructively and turned towards the city.
Those who saw the old man and his new form, or rather, his true appearance, began to scream, demanding to know where he got the wealth and that he should pay for it.
***
Pain, emotional pain, filled with cries of suffering. Hatred... Anger... Fear. Different emotions engulfed him, and all of them were directed at this white dragon calling himself the Chosen One.
In a moment, everything fell silent. The pain that was tearing him apart from the inside subsided. But the negative emotions only intensified, and they were already directed at him and the others.
"Why are you stopping us?" "Why interfere?" "Let us revenge, scum!!" "Damn virgin, kill him"...
Strange thoughts appeared in my head, directed at me. Some were questions, others were insults. These were not my thoughts. No, these were someone else's thoughts, filling my head, trying to manipulate me and make me fulfill their desires.
"Silence!" I shouted, no longer able to endure all these thoughts. And, fortunately, everything fell silent.
Opening my eyes, I didn't see the battlefield where the city dwellers fought the fallen ones. There was no giant and ugly dragon. Not even distant cries of warriors and wails of the fallen who only wanted to devour souls and defile the remains. They were like undead, directed not at life but at the soul. Looking around, I realized that somehow, I found myself inside myself, where my soul was, sitting on the platform I created. Noticing the only soul rune belonging to the soul butterfly, I noticed that it had dimmed.
The panic that began to engulf me subsided. I realized that it had slightly weakened and would recover over time. This proved that this rune was to blame and that the time-stopping magic didn't affect me.
While I was contemplating, foreign thoughts began to appear in my mind, interrupting my reflections. Raising my head to finally see my soul and the source of my pain and these foreign thoughts.
After merging with the soul of the Forest Queen, my soul had increased several times. The threads that enveloped my entire soul turned black and clung to it. They penetrated the soul and tried to possess it. Because of this, the fragile balance was shattered.
Everything began to shift. Before, my soul, the soul of the Forest Queen with her son, the fragments of fallen children who were united together, and the piece of the soul infected with demonic energy were connected like cubes.
Connected with saliva and duct tape. And with faith so that they wouldn't fall apart. It was a true Frankenstein in the world of souls. And now the balance was broken, and the pieces of the soul shattered, trying to break free, pushing away everything that resembled themselves. The crowd of fallen souls of children who were guilty held these pieces of the soul, or more precisely, their shattered parts. This made me think. Did the soul get into the soul blender? Watching as the soul weakens, a thought sneaked into my mind. And these were not foreign thoughts, but my own: "Am I going to die?"
Recalling my entire life, I thought that I had not lived in vain. Yes, I was a scumbag, a terrorist, a sect leader. I hit women... of course, if they tried to kill me first. And now, after the pathetic death that was with every hero, I found myself here, where I lived a dangerous but fascinating life. I even started studying necromancy. Except that I didn't learn to fight; otherwise, everything was like... a needle?
Looking at my resolving soul and the culprits of my misfortunes who were also trying to hold it, I noticed how a needle entered my soul. The silver needle shimmered and released golden threads that pierced every piece of the soul.
Connecting each of them, even the pieces of the souls of fallen children shattered and were pierced by threads. Then each piece connected with the other, like a fleshy ball.
Inside the soul, various colors were visible, and even violet and orange appeared. They weren't there before, but they were so insignificant that one had to look closely to notice.
The soul merged, becoming whole again, but this time it was like a mosaic. All parts were connected by transparent threads.
And inside were all possible colors. Remembering Caesar's lessons, I am now sure that all these colors are related to the elements. Like nature, death, and so on.
Looking at my soul, I saw a huge ball of mosaic filled with different colors, and I couldn't help but enjoy this unusual beauty.
"Hmm..." I pondered, looking at the pieces of the soul infected with demonic energy. Something strange came over me, as if I were looking at a dead monster.
"We... won't... get revenge?" a weak cry and question interrupted my thoughts, coming from the black pieces of the soul.
"Do you hate that white dragon calling himself the Chosen One?"
"YESSS!" all voices exclaimed, and the black pieces began to move, as if trying to break free.
"Then give me everything, and I will kill him personally."
"We have already made such a deal," all responded as one. It seemed to me that these cries sounded offended, as if they could harm Vallynor.
"While you're falling into madness just from his appearance, you think about how I can kill him. Don't forget that I'm still too weak; even the giant almost killed me and Ashley," I continued, not losing hope, trying to convince these children's souls.
"..." Silence fell. After my words, all the souls of the children fell silent, as if pondering. But the silence was shattered by hundreds of whispers. Some had questions, others had suggestions, and the rest only sobbed.
"We are ready to give ourselves up earlier than we should, to completely fall and go mad. But to be sure that you will fulfill the deal, we will leave our intentions. And if you don't fulfill it, the soul will be polluted with dirt from the outside world," a faint illusion of a child appeared before me. However, it was so weak and inconspicuous that I couldn't determine if it was a girl or a boy. Looking at it, I felt a strange feeling, as if this were a child hiding under the bed but died. Why didn't they resurrect? That remains a question.
"... Ready," thinking about the risks and rewards, I realized that it was better to kill the Chosen One in my mind than to be eaten in another fit.
The child tilted its head slightly and, before disappearing, said:
"We were all betrayed. We considered him one of us, weak like us, who just wants to live. But he betrayed... maybe not of his own will. But that doesn't excuse his actions: killing and devouring our flesh and soul. We are shadows of ourselves, choosing the path of survival and revenge. To become one whole... Remember that even if we as personalities disappear, you will still have to kill this enemy. Also, know that it's not so simple with the fall of the soul."
The illusion of the child disappeared, and following it, all the others began to cry and sob. Several of them even wailed. Gradually, the sounds of crying and sobbing subsided until they completely ceased to be heard.
Looking at my soul, I felt a stone lift from my heart. However, in its place, a ton of iron appeared in the form of the intention to fulfill the promise.
I felt that there was nothing more to do with my soul. I opened my eyes and saw the concerned face of Evelyn. There was such bliss in opening my eyes and seeing this beautiful woman who cares so much about you... Too bad we're not in bed.
"Are you okay?" she asked, still inspecting me, trying to detect something unusual.
"He should be as healthy as a bull. After all, my silver needle is in him..." said the skinny old man, confirming that I was okay. I turned my head in his direction.
"I, the Chosen One!" a joyful cry echoed, accompanied by a dying roar.
I tried to get up to see the source of the cry, but Ashley didn't want to let me go. Several times, trying to get up, I explained that I was half undead. Eventually, Ashley, sighing, gave up and helped me to my feet. When I saw that she had a stone leg created with magic, it alarmed me why she created it only now. Apparently, it was too heavy to do it earlier. That was the answer I would give if I were an ordinary person and if Ashley were nobody to me. But I didn't want to offend Gabriel's daughter. No, thank you.
Standing on my feet, I was surprised to see Glazik floating nearby. And I was amazed that we were still on the battlefield, surrounded by wars. Nearby, the white dragon tore the giant into pieces.