After receiving information about Cassandra's Whisper gift, Alexander turned his attention back to the skulls. He looked at the other skull, and this time Cassandra's Whisper sounded in his head, like a quiet breeze, which this time whispered: "Fireball." This name sounded powerful, causing Alexander to remember Roman. It was his comrade who dreamed of possessing a power similar to that of the heroes of his childhood.
After thinking a little, Alexander turned to Charon:
- How can he take Fireball with him? - the guy pointed to the corresponding skull. “I don’t want to master a new gift now, but I don’t intend to leave it either.” And in general, is it possible to transfer it to someone? How to do it?
Charon smiled, his smile flashed with cunning and confidence.
- As a gesture of goodwill, I will tell you, my serious one, but as soon as you receive this information from me, the deal will be completed. - he answered, his voice sounded deep and mysterious. Alexander nodded in agreement, showing his readiness to do what was required.
- But I want to try to do it before that. - Alexander inserted his two cents, not thinking of believing the merchant.
It's coming. To take the gift with you, surround it with your soul power and place it in your solar plexus. Then, when you need to give it to someone, just take out the item and dispel the power. - Charon explained. These words sounded like simple guidance, but they contained deep wisdom and knowledge of the secrets of the Edge.
Alexander nodded, after which he concentrated and directed his soul power towards Fireball. He felt the energy gently envelop the skull, forming a glowing cocoon around it. He then carefully moved this luminous sphere inside his solar plexus, where it settled safely, as if it had found its destined place. Alexander was even surprised that the skull decreased in size without interfering with the movement of the body.
- Maybe this item is generally ephemeral? - he thought. At this moment, the judges of the Edge marked the completion of the deal and, with the sound of a crow's wing flapping, disappeared into space.
As soon as the Edge judges disappeared, dissolving the barrier, Alexander felt the tension in the air thicken. Surrounded by a crowd of the Dead, he instinctively created a soul shield. This protective sphere sparkled around him like a silver halo, creating a barrier between him and nearby souls.
Charon, watching what was happening, laughed sincerely. His laughter sounded deep and mysterious, spreading throughout the Border Valley. Then, in a powerful whirlpool, he disappeared as he had appeared - suddenly and mysteriously. Left alone, Alexander felt a wave of panic sweep over him. He stood alone with a hundred souls, each of whom peered at him, as if the embodiment of their last hope or fear.
The feeling of being surrounded by undead souls was both frightening and fascinating. They stood in a dense mass, their faces expressing a variety of emotions: from furious anger to deep despair. Some of them tried to reach him, but the soul shield pushed them away, creating a safe space around Alexander.
- Don't make me kill you! Let's go away! - his cry was drowned in the noise made by the crowd. Alexander was ready to fight. At a minimum, the space he had was enough to dispel the shield and instantly create a sword that could cut through a dozen Dead Ones with a circular blow.
Alexander felt mixed emotions, wavering between the need to protect himself and not wanting to harm the people around him. He was not a psycho seeking power, he was not a maniac thirsting for blood. He had many souls in reserve that he did not have time to master. But circumstances evoked difficult thoughts in him.
His spherical shield was effective at keeping the crowd at bay, but he knew that in this confusing situation, the only way out was to use force. About to turn his shield into a lightsaber, Alexander suddenly felt the ground tremble under his feet, and then the sky opened up and a rain of black flames fell on the ground.
- What the…?
The people around, having come under terrible fire, filled the space with their cries of agony. They began to disappear one by one, as if the flames were consuming their existence. Alexander, meeting the attack of the flame with his shield, felt his defense gradually being corroded, as if under the influence of acid. However, the continuous replenishment of soul power helped restore the defense, maintaining the barrier intact. It seemed to last a minute, but the result was monstrous.
As soon as the flames died down, Alexander felt a strange relief, but at the same time a growing anxiety. The emptiness left after the destruction of souls was filled with silence, broken only by the steps of the Skeleton Executioner. On the platform where hundreds of souls and Alexander had just stood, only he remained. And the creature that almost killed the guy earlier walked steadily towards him.
With every step the Executioner took, the air seemed to condense, creating a feeling of pressure and inevitability. His figure, lost in the folds of a gloomy cloak, seemed to Alexander the embodiment of death itself. Alexander, looking warily at the approaching figure, dispelled his shield, creating a one and a half meter blade and turned to the Executioner:
- Didn't you die there? Or are there many people like you? Why are you bothering me anyway?
The executioner stopped five meters from Alexander and answered dryly, but it seemed that the air was trembling from what was said:
“I’m the only one, and you can’t kill me.” Now you are my goal. For your deeds, for helping a lost soul and for the shame caused to me.
- I helped the creature that saved me. Life for life, do you know what that is? And why can you, Executioner, judge me? Maybe we should call the Grani judges? – Alexander objected, feeling the tension growing inside him.
- Judges of the Edge are not a decree for me, Rejected. I have already given you the verdict. Accept death voluntarily, or hide from me like a lost soul for centuries, never knowing rest. – said the Executioner, his voice was cold and merciless.
Alexander thought for a moment, as if weighing his options, and then asked:
- It turns out that there are sisters left. Tell me, Executioner, if the sisters decide that I am not guilty, will you leave me alone?
- Know your place! You won't reach them, don't even dream! – was the Executioner’s answer, confidence was felt in his voice.
Alexander, gathering his will into a fist, deciding to fight or flee, after which he dispelled the power of the soul from the blade and turned sharply, and with all his strength jumped down from the hill. His movements were fast and precise. He grouped himself in the air, and upon landing, he instantly spun around to immediately begin to flee from the Skeleton Executioner.
The last time he was able to defeat the creature was only thanks to the help of an undead cat, and even that could hardly be called a complete victory. Without the cat's help, the explosion could have been his end. But now he was alone and the only thing he wanted was to return to the real world.
Before him was a view of the portals to which he was now running. The distance to the nearest of them decreased with each step, and when there were less than ten meters left to the spatial transition, a rumble was heard behind Alexander. It sounded like the sound of a helicopter taking off.
He felt his body spontaneously jerk to the side, avoiding the blow aimed at him. Alexander instantly turned around, preparing for battle. Where he had just run, the Executioner’s scythe rose in the ground. The executioner seemed to float through the air without touching the ground. He was approaching with incredible speed.
The young man was about to run further when he heard a roar from the sky. Alexander, turning to the portals, saw black flames raining from the sky again. He put up a shield, expecting another blow, but this time the target was portals. The black flame, like the scythe of Death, cut off spatial transitions, extinguishing their light and the energy emanating from them. Alexander uttered a loud curse, after which he turned to face the Executioner and said defiantly:
- You asked for it yourself.
Feeling a light breeze playing around, Alexander touched it with the power of his soul, collecting air currents in his hand. He slowly retreated from the scythe still stuck in the ground when the Executioner was already very close. At this critical moment, Alexander made a sharp lunge with his hand filled with the power of the wind. The executioner, deftly grabbing his scythe, held it out in front of him, and a bright white light burst out of the steel of the scythe, forming a shield of the soul.
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A powerful storm arose, which hit the shield, stopping only for a moment at this obstacle, and the next moment the Executioner himself was swallowed up by a powerful whirlwind, which carried him away, hiding his silhouette in the gray swirls of the storm. Alexander was left to stand alone with the destroyed portals and the roaring storm.
Thinking that the soul shield could not protect the Executioner from the wind, but could from the black flame, Alexander came to the conclusion that the secret of the soul shield’s impenetrability to the black flame lay elsewhere. Wind was not a gift, but a skill, where the power of the soul played the role of a controller, not a source of power. This discovery raised new questions and possibilities that Alexander decided to explore later.
Looking around, he saw in the distance destroyed columns, some kind of building, clearly from the real world, where the guy directed his steps. The place where he found himself was filled with the echo of antiquity: huge stone pillars, covered with lichen and cracks from time, rose above the broken stone floor, giving the impression of an abandoned temple or ancient sanctuary. Among the debris and dust lurked a mysterious glow, which, as Alexander assumed, could be from the portal. Light made its way through the cracks, but the portal was clearly somewhere behind these ruins.
As he approached the light, Alexander felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around, expecting that the enemy was already nearby, but he only saw a dot growing in size in the distance. It was the Skeleton Executioner, and its speed was incredible.
Having barely managed to duck behind one of the columns, Alexander hid and froze. At this moment, the Skeleton Executioner, like a storm in a dusty cloak, burst into the ruins. His bony feet made no sound, and his cloak kicked up dust and debris into the air, creating a whirlwind of destruction around him.
Hiding behind a column, Alexander strained all his senses to track the Executioner’s movements. Options for a plan flashed through his head on how to overcome the space to the supposed portal and avoid a collision with a force that, it seemed, could destroy everything in its path.
Alexander could hardly hold his breath, carefully following every movement of the Skeleton Executioner, who slowly and inexorably floated past the ruins, peering into every corner. Suddenly, Alexander noticed something strange: his gaze could not focus on his own hand. Trying to examine himself, he discovered that his gaze involuntarily slides to the side, making it impossible to concentrate.
“I don’t understand...” the guy thought and sensed danger.
A chill of fear ran down Alexander's spine when he realized that the Skeleton Executioner was towering right above him, near the column. His cloak almost touched the guy's legs. The creature's head moved slowly from side to side, as if searching for something invisible.
“The Shroud of the Lost cannot hide you forever, the Rejected...” said the Executioner in a cold, metallic voice. - And don’t expect to find peace and tranquility in Grani, I will find you everywhere!
With these words, the Skeleton Executioner struck the column with his scythe, cutting it across, catching part of the neighboring buildings. The roar of destruction echoed throughout the space, and Alexander heard the stone crumble and fall to the ground. A couple of them brushed against him, but he didn't make a sound. The executioner listened for a moment to the echo of destruction, then removed the scythe and rushed away, leaving Alexander sitting, leaning his wet back against the remains of the column.
Alexander remained motionless, trying to regain his breath and calm his racing heart. His mind was filled with thoughts of how he could escape from this inexorable pursuer. He raised his head, looking around for another way to escape, realizing that he was now being pursued by a creature that could find him anywhere in the Edge.
“We’ll check this later, by the way...” the young man muttered with excitement, looking at the girl in the sky. - Well, what are you looking at? There are enough observers here even without you.
Alexander, feeling the gaze of the mysterious girl on his back, slowly crawled back. But it was only a short moment, making me wonder what kind of creature was looking beyond the Boundary from the heavens.
The guy took a breath, rose to his feet and wandered towards the source of light. He had to make his way through moss-covered rubble to eventually climb onto a platform with an amazing view.
It was a sunlit clearing, the foliage of living trees swayed smoothly in the wind. A dandelion field stretched out in this island of tranquility. Right in the middle there was a white table and four chairs. On one of them sat a woman with black hair, wearing a beautiful dress with shimmering crystals. She was reading a book without a title. Her cleavage didn't go unnoticed either. The neckline emphasized her gorgeous breasts. The table itself was covered with a small tablecloth, on which stood a porcelain teapot and cups.
The woman carefully grabbed the handle of the cup and slowly brought it to her face. Gently blowing on the drink, he drank a little, after which he looked at Alexander and, smiling, beckoned him with her finger. The young man was about to take a step when Cassandra’s whisper lightly touched his ears: “Dark Mirage.” Without completing his movement, Alexander clutched the dagger tighter, preparing for a possible action.
She laughed and then spoke and her words echoed in his mind:
“I guess it was either Cassandra’s gift or the Spider’s gift that drove you away from me.” It's a pity, I just wanted to talk with the Rejected One. Do you know how lonely it is here all alone? - her voice sounded soft and mysterious, like an echo from another world, but Alexander was on his guard, taking a step back. - Look, don't fall. Okay, go, but if you want to while away eternity, you'll find me here.
The woman continued reading the book, no longer paying attention to Alexander. The guy, feeling mixed emotions from the meeting, hurriedly headed to the side, making his way through the rubble and going down to the lowland, where he noticed a portal. There the young man noticed people fighting among themselves. The prize of this fight was sitting on the ground looking bored. Two guys, judging by the clothes of the military, and not Russian ones. They did not use daggers, but struck with their fists, as if practicing hand-to-hand combat. The girl herself was picking at her nails with the tip of her dagger. This contrasted greatly with the gloom and seriousness of the Edge.
- Hi, would you like to join us? (Hi, would you like to join us?)
- Yeah, hello to you too. - Alexander said heading past the strange trio to the portal. - A kindergarten that doesn’t even speak Russian.
- Hey, I don't advise you to go there, there was a psycho there and he almost cut me. (Hey, I don’t advise you to go there, there was a psycho there and he almost cut me.)
- Mine is yours not to understand.
Before entering the portal, he suddenly stopped and looked up to the sky. Where the girl had previously sung, there was now silence. She just silently looked at the Edge, at its destroyed worlds and abandoned lands, with a quiet smile on her lips, as if she knew something that was hidden from everyone else.
- I wonder what you're looking at?
Having gathered his strength and realizing that his adventures in the world of Edge were coming to an end, Alexander entered the portal. He felt the space around him distort, consuming his consciousness and transporting him through unknown dimensions. He ran through a tunnel illuminated by a white light that seemed endless and at the same time ended very close. In the end, Alexander reached the end of the tunnel, hearing Cassandra's familiar voice in this anomaly: “On the right.”
Alexander instantly filled the dagger with the power of his soul and struck directly at the wall of white light surrounding him. A man’s cry of pain reached his ears, and then the smoldering ash began to swirl in the whirlwinds of the portal. The energy that came next indicated that Alexander had just killed the Dead One, who was hiding near the very exit from the Border.
Having checked that nothing else awaited him, Alexander took a decisive step into the light haze, leaving behind him the world of the Edge, with its secrets and dangers.