Chapter 31

Standing in front of me was an exceptionally tall, and terrifying entity, swirling in black flame, and staring at me in what I could only assume would either be irritation, or anger. “So, this is the little rat who snuck in huh?” Without waiting for the monstrosity to kill me, I tossed my Molotov cocktail on him, shattering the glass, as bright flame spread all over. Without waiting, I rushed towards the ledge, but the monster that I had just set alight had other plans. Almost as soon as I set the entity alight, the dark flame began swallowing the light, and devoured it completely. The whole thing took less than a few seconds, as he turned to see me running. Almost making it to the ledge, my surroundings went dark, and I was taken to a plane of darkness and silence.

Looking around, I could hear nothing, see nothing. I could not see my hand in front of my face, nor hear myself screaming. It was as if I no longer existed. I stayed in this hell for what seemed like an eternity, until I felt the cold eyes of the being who sent me here, appear in front of me. I do not know how I knew he was there, but it was like sensing a predator, hunting in the dark. “Gaze upon us Ishar, for I have your warrior. He is so close to you too, but you can’t do anything, can you? How tragic! Tell me, if I kill him would that make your passing easier for you?” Feeling electricity running through my body, I began to speak, but it was Ishar speaking through me, “Child of darkness, I may have fallen for your deception, and you may have me trapped here, but do not forget whose house you are in.”

Out of the darkness I began to see green lights poking through the darkness all around me. Looking at my feet, I could see bright grass blades growing around me and flowers blooming everywhere. I saw an area ahead of me that was covered in bright flowers and growth, and began racing towards their direction. “NO!! Damn you!!” I could hear the evil being crying, and screaming in anger behind me, but I dared not look. I made my way through the darkness, finally reaching the flowers and bursting through, back to reality. Unfortunately, I was also back to reality above the ledges that I had planned to grapple down. Feeling myself falling, I smashed my hip on the ledge of a cage, and cracked my head on the ground falling. My head was spinning, and I knew I had a massive concussion as my head was bleeding onto my armor and body. Picking myself off the ground, I made my way towards the cage holding the forest god, and the tribe’s medicine man.

Rushing forward, I found the medicine man chained in a cage with metal gloves over his hands to stop him from casting any magic’s or curses. Rushing to the cage, I pulled out my sword, and using the bottom pummel, smashed the lock off and made my way into the cage. The man was deformed with a hump on his back and a cleft foot, but looked strong with two massive arms and a noble looking face. I pulled his iron gloves down and swung at them, with my sword causing the man to wince in pain, and the metal to spark and twist. After a few more cuts I finally managed to hack the lock off of the gauntlets, and free his hands. Making our way out of the cage I could hear the remaining tribesmen hitting the cell bars and making noise in celebration and happiness that the holy man had gotten free.

We made our way to the forest god’s cell where we were blocked by one of the creatures that had been feasting on everyone. The medicine man looked to me and grabbed hold of my sword blade, cutting his wrist. Dipping his fingers into the blood he made a marking on my blade and stepped aside. Looking at my blade and the 11 foot monstrosity in front of me I knew that this might happen sooner or later and got into a defensive posture. The beast was the first to strike running at me with insane speed and clawing into my right arm sheering some of my armor off of me. I quickly got back up and I knew I couldn’t fight this thing like I would a person. I set my strike in advance, deciding I would do a downward slash regardless of what the creature does. Its reflexes were so fast, I knew I couldn’t react to it, but I might get lucky, and get it to run into my strike. Fortunately the beast didn’t catch on and rushed at me again, and I slashed down, carving out a big chunk of its neck and chest. Once it was hit I pulled the blade back and kept stabbing at it until it stopped moving. Covered in blood, the medicine man came up to the beast and pulled out its eyes and crushed them. Adding blood into the eyes he made a symbol on his head and then mine and wiped the blood juice into our eyes. I was about to become angry and yell at the fool, but I noticed everything began to slow down. Looking around, I realized I could see the monsters even with their speed. Looking back at the man in appreciation I nodded with a thumbs up, and continued forward.

We made our way to the last and largest cage and began to examine its intricate locking system. This thing was completely different that the other containers. It had mystical symbols throughout the cell and strange magical items reinforcing the symbols. I stepped back and allowed the medicine man forward to examine it and hopefully find a way to free his god. Standing this close the god I could finally understand why they would worship it. It was easily the size of a house and was as majestic as anything I had ever seen. The spirit looked at us with its loving gaze and I knew that from that moment I would live and die for the creature. However, Awe and love was soon replaced by desperation and fear as the entire area began to shake and the houses around us began falling one by one. Suddenly we heard a powerful and angry voice shouting out from the area, “Damn you Ishar! You nearly trapped me! I have had enough of your playing! Fortunately for me I know someone who owed me a favor! HAHAHAHA!”

The entire area suddenly began to snow. However, the snow looked polluted, burnt, and…black. The snow began to settle on every surface and stick to every wall, and everywhere there was a living being it began to grow quickly into different sizes. Some were as big as a garage and some were as small as a basketball, but the snow voids weren’t the big problem, the problem came from the tentacles and ink creatures that were spewing out of the voids. The tentacles would reach out and grasp ahold of anything with a pulse on the other side and dragged them into the void to their demise. The creatures varied and could be as small as a fairy swarming as groups and devouring anything it could find like locusts, or were as big as bears, crushing, and tearing off limbs and devouring the people to the bones. The forest god began to cry again and but no longer looked to run away from the gods eviscerating its chosen. The massive elk spirit looked towards the medicine man and then towards me before making up its mind.

The Great Spirit took a deep breath and began a bizarre whaling siren breathing outwards and shattering any window or glass in the area. The entire area began to vibrate and the ink creatures began to fall apart and could no longer keep form. The transformed tribesmen began running away in fear as the sound caught up to a few rupturing their heads and popping them like a balloon. The sound grew louder and louder and began heating up the cage bars, melting them and allowing any of the tribesmen who were left out. The cage holding the forest god began to float into the air and lightning began to surround the area crashing into the voids and damaging the void god. The cage itself began to shine and vibrate as it too finally exploded into pieces shooting towards the cultists still in the area. Finally finished the great spirit settled to the ground where I couldn’t help but cheer in our victory, but as I was cheering I felt the medicine man’s hand on my shoulder where I looked back to see the man in a deep grief.

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Looking back to the spirit, I finally noticed its beautiful face melting away as the flesh began to drip from its skull. Looking around I could see the remaining tribesmen kneeling down in grief, but before anyone could see what was happening, a void appeared directly above the Great Spirit, and a bloody, black dagger came down, and stabbed into the god’s left eye. Screeching out in pain, the god began crying tears of blood for itself and its people. “No!” The tribesmen all around us became overcome in grief and despair. Looking towards the medicine man, not even he had the power to help the god now. HAHAHAHHAHAHA!! How could you possibly be so stupid Ishar, you knew that using up all of your power and ripping off your restraints would maim and kill you, but you did it anyways! And for what? These people are all going to die anyway you fool, but I’ll show you something for all the entertainment you have given me. Snapping his fingers, voids began growing in the area again and re-started the killings of the tribesmen. Looking at the heartbroken and dying god, the medicine man looked to his people and said something in their own language that I didn’t understand. However, immediately after, the tribesmen seeing no way to defeat their enemy, seemed to desire not to injure their deity after their death and began cutting their throats and wrists.

The medicine man, seeing his people killing themselves in mass, walked over to an area where he found a jagged piece of metal, and stabbed it straight into his eye. Pulling out the eye, he began to whisper to it, and then started dancing and singing as his brethren dropped dead around him. After the first few tribesmen fell, the eye began to glow a strange golden color, growing brighter with each passing death. After the last tribesman passed, he threw the eye towards the dying god, and watched it rush and disappear into its skull. Once the eye rushed into the skull of the forest god, the surrounding area began pulsate with magic and the forest started to grow, and then die, and then it would grow again, and die again. The god rushing towards it stopped almost immediately once he noticed his flames were beginning to smolder and die off. The elk creature began rotting and his eyes became joss flames from undeath. The dagger in its eye began to slide forward, and pushed in until a sharp, “crack” could be heard. From this, a massive crack with golden light pouring out from underneath formed, pushing to escape from the skull of the god. With one last pop, the skull of the god was completely split open, and an embryo of a creature that looked identical to the original god was formed. The new entity looked holy and radiated a bright golden light much stronger than even the original god. It stood still for a moment examining the area, floating next to the old god.

The new god looked to his fallen people, the druid, and then to me. Turning away from his former shell, he cut the air, and created a portal leading somewhere. Looking back at me and the medicine man one last time, he made a loud sound like an elk call, and Janet’s body appeared. Nodding its head, it enveloped her body in magic, and she was left breathing. “She’s breathing!” I almost went mad with happiness seeing my wife coming back to life. Looking to the medicine man next to me it looked like it was communicating with him as it began to nod its head again. However, this time, the magic enveloped the medicine man and the old forest god. His left arm began to wither and his body began to deform and shrivel. Then, the old god skull mended back together and he awoke. Seeing the deed complete, the new god began to enter the portal to leave but was suddenly pulled out by a massive inky tentacle.

The new god, sensing something it feared, began to struggle intensely, but was swallowed up in the darkness. HAHAHAHA! Well, I guess my jobs done now, rest assured little ones your god will be in good hands. The entity who hired me desperately needed a creation god of this world, and there is no way he would kill it and lose his chance to come down here himself. Well, I’m off to go get paid by that giantess now, no harm getting paid twice, you can keep the undead god. HAHAHAHA! The void god shrunk into a void and then shrank into a point and disappeared. Once the new god left the area, the old god made an otherworldly screech as it was reborn. Gathering the remaining monstrosities formed from the death of its tribesmen, it began leaving the area. Unsure of what to do I turned to the medicine man of the tribe. Listening to his words he began to speak, “Our tribe has given everything for this chance.” “The god is now split, but one day I will find a way to make him whole.” “As long as the forest remains, the new god will remain and the old god will not be forced to stay in undeath forever, but we must stay vigilant.” “The undead god will not protect the forest and will even hope for its destruction so it can become a true god of death.” “If that happens, it will truly be lost and we will have sacrificed in vain.” “If you feel gratitude for the god giving you back your wife then please help us in protecting this forest.”

Sitting in the burnt out home of the family as we finished our meal, I looked to terry and his wife as we finished our meals. “So, you are staying on the outskirts of the forest waiting for a means of rescuing your benefactor?” Looking at me in sadness terry spoke, “We have been staying here waiting for something to happen, but time moved on and I no longer know if it is even possible for the forest god to be brought back together. The druid comes by and keeps us company sometimes, but we are not welcomed by the death god so we stay here.” Looking in confusion I asked, “Why are you not welcomed? Did you not help to bring it back?” staring at his empty bowl in a deep sadness, he looked as if he would cry. “We are not welcomed, because if the god is brought back together, then the death god would cease to exist. Also, the death god is not the forest god, he may have his temperament, but he also has a death gods proclivities. The creation gods gain power from creation, growth, new life, and fertility. The death god gains its power from death, destruction, and sacrifice. If you look at its actions you would notice a couple of, strange things. The first being, it desires the destruction of the forest so it can become a true god of death. Second, it keeps humans around, but not out of kindness.

Thanking the family for the company and information I began to walk back to city. Taking my ring off I felt better in my taller form. Making my way past the outskirts I walked to the hut of the shaman. However, he did not seem to be at home during my visit. I continued my way past the tepee and walked towards the town. From the distance, I noticed something was off. New smoke stacks were burning all over the town and forest as I made my way towards it. A few miles from the town center I found mutilated animals and destroyed homes. Moving forward I began to hear muffled booms and screaming until I discovered the troll with Kristina on its shoulder running in my direction in fear. Seeing me in the distance, they began rushing towards me screaming something in a panic. Leaning my head to hear her, I finally noticed a massive giant chasing them.

This giant was like nothing I had ever seen before, with hundreds of heads, and thousands of arms and legs. Each of its heads was screaming in despair and pain, but the center, largest head, was grinning from ear to ear and laughing as it went crashing into its enemies. Along its path was a human fleeing from the creature, but the human was too slow, and the giant slammed into him. However, he did not get crushed from the weight and die, but instead began wailing in despair and pain. The giant’s skin and body reached out and enveloped the man. His head detached from his body, slowly floating to the creature’s chest where the other heads were, screaming in despair. The giant turned back to the troll, finally noticing me and shouting, “Found you!”