Abad was filled with an immense sense of euphoria as he cast the spell. He reveled in it as he watched the woman standing on the other side of the river struggle under the force of his will. His aura slammed into hers. For just an instant, she resisted. Then, his strength and power forced her body to comply. He heard her knees crunch into the stones lining the river. She looked down in disbelief, her mouth hanging open as if trying to deny what had happened. Her eyes narrowed into a hateful glare as she stared up at him, then looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Tendrils of darkness spread around him, pulling in the night.
His scroll unfurled. The page was stained black. This time, the words didn't etch or burn onto the page. Instead, they stained the page like ink spilled on paper.
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By discovering the source of conflict in the Nolei region, you have completed the quest [Echoes of the Empty].
You reach Level XVII
Your talent [Embrace of the Abyss] becomes [Embrace of the Abyss II].
[Embrace of the Abyss II]: Darkness and shadows strengthen you. When in darkness or shadow, you gain an increase to your physical abilities equal to two ranks, and existing enhancements grow two ranks stronger. You also gain the become difficult to detect with both physical and magical senses as long as you’re in darkness, stacking with ranks of the [Stealth] enhancement. All shadow-based attacks and spells gain a boost in power.
You gain the [The One Who Rules] quest.
[The One Who Rules]: Helia, your former apprentice, has grown bold—too bold. She claims power that was never hers to wield and stands as a rival in a world that should bow to you. The dark essence stirring within your soul commands you to act. You cannot allow her defiance to go unchallenged. Strength is justice, and your strength is absolute.
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He heard Zethari gasp beside him as she read the words, but he ignored her as the beast within him rose from the depths of his soul. Its screams of triumph filled his ears, overwhelming everything else as the bloodlust he'd repressed for too long consumed him.
"Nightstalker." Her voice was cautious.
He looked at his vassal. She needed to leave. "Go. Now. Go back to the caravan. Lead them away from here. And tell your pack to do the same. Quickly, before it's too late."
He heard her approach. "Nightstalker... I cannot leave you."
He saw movement across the river. His vision went red.
"[Kneel]."
Helia struggled against his repeated command. The veins in his face bulged as he exerted his will upon her. He could see her resistance, and body, buckling. Her body trembled as his words filled her spirit. His soul's dark magic radiated, wrapping himself and Zethari in shadows as it devoured all nearby essence.
"[Prostrate Yourself]."
He smiled as, with a cry of anguish, Helia's head was thrust downward, until her head buried itself into the rocky bank. She shrieked as she fought his power, but it was useless. He was lord here.
A glimmer of realization struck him. He had a deja vu. Had he seen this scene play out before since he'd woken up?
It didn't matter. She would learn her place, or she would die.
He heard Zethari step closer. "Abad-Shai." Her voice was firm.
He looked at the woman with barely restrained violence. "Leave. Now."
He looked away from his apprentice. The wolves around him were staring at him, waiting for orders from their fallen master. They paced and shuffled as they took in the horror before them.
"They can't stay here. Tell them to run and never look back." He ordered her.
"But—"
"[GO]!" His word thundered through the area. The sound shook the ground and caused dust to rise. His vassal was thrown backward like a doll. The beastkin across the river staggered under the weight of his magic as the compulsion washed over them, compelling them to obey, and Helia was thrown from the riverbank, landing with a thud on the grass beyond.
For an instant, his mind cleared. Through the fog of bloodlust, he felt his mind resonate with theirs. He heard his command reverberating in their minds and souls. He could feel the black knots within their brands unravel. He tore the black magic from them and devoured it. In turn, essence pulsed through every living thing around him. He could feel the trees, the grass, the stone, and every mortal, te'ra, and fey'ra around him. And he could feel Helia. The darkness he'd placed within her soul centuries before.
It was his. It was all his.
He felt essence pull from every living and nonliving thing around him. Trees shattered. Grass withered. Several fey'ra buckled and fell to the damp ground, groaning in pain as he stole from them everything that fueled their being.
He felt something slam into his back. White arms wrapped around him and forced him off his feet. The pitiful thing carried him several feet, but that was far enough.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He fell to the ground and swung backward, striking the attacker's face. He heard a woman's voice cry out as she was thrown to the ground. He turned to find Zethari. He took a single step back, and a voice within told him to stop. He crushed it.
As his magic rippled through the area, he turned to see the fey'ra retreating, fleeing into the trees without a glance backward. Howls filled the night air, likely calling their fellows to flee. Within moments, he was alone, save for the battered woman across the river, and Zethari, who stepped to his side once again.
He could feel his muscles swell. His eyes burned. His mana flowed through his entire being. His bones thickened. His skin grew leathery, and the misty cloud that had formed over the river grew thick. Feathers sprouted from his arms as his bones snapped and popped.
He howled into the night. The sound was warped, inhuman. A cross between the roar of a bear and the screech of an eagle. His shadow, cast by the light from the fires beyond, swelled. In the darkness, its wings spread behind him, casting the world around him in pitch-black darkness.
"Leave," he whispered.
His vassal grabbed his arm with all her strength as his body warped and shifted. Then, she, too, began to transform.
He shook his head. An inhuman laugh emerged from his throat. She was nothing compared to him. The fey'ra's transformations were but a pale facsimile of his own.
"Leave." His distorted voice ordered. "Find your mate. Be free." He strained, using every ounce of willpower to hold the beast back. He didn't want to hurt her. "I release you from your service. Be free."
His scroll unfurled.
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Your vassal, Zethari, Lupana Fey'ra Warrior, is released from your service.
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He felt her grip tighten on his forearm.
"I refuse."
The creature he was becoming snapped its jaws at her. She shoved his head to the side, throwing him off balance. His wings flapped wildly, tossing dirt into the air behind him. He bellowed at the woman, but she didn't flinch. Her lithe body turned into a great humanoid wolf. Their eyes met. Her glowing yellow wolf's eyes bored into his.
She reached for his hand. He allowed her to wrap her clawed hands around his. For a moment, his vision cleared. Her warmth filled him. His mind quieted. He lowered his head. But his eyes fell on Helia, whose magic was swirling around her as she crawled along the shore to reach her staff. With her touch broken, the beast within him erupted.
In an instant, he towered over the fey'ra.
The rage rose in his soul. Unbound. Relentless.
He could feel it growing.
The hunger.
He would rend it all asunder.
They would all suffer.
***
Zethari held onto her patron with everything she had. Her heart warred with her. She wished to find her mate, but he master had given her a new life. She owed him a debt she'd never be able to repay. She could not leave him like this.
His flesh shifted and warped into a monster as tall as an oak. She had never known fear in her thirty two years on Reial. Not when she'd faced death countless times at the hands of men, monsters, and fell beasts. Nor even when she'd become a prisoner of the te'ra. But this... the creature before her scared her.
It screeched into the night. The earth cracked beneath it. Mist cloaked the air. The great bird-like creature was like a god made manifest in their world. She wrapped herself around its arm, and it wrenched her into the air as if she were nothing.
"NIGHTSTALKER!" She cried into the raging wind.
Its monstrous head turned to stare down at her. Great red orbs glared at her as its head snapped, a wicked black beak striking out at her. She kicked off its hip and leapt away a fraction of a second before its beak struck. She was certain she'd be dead had its blow landed. She twisted and managed to land on her feet.
She heard movement across the river. Darting around the raging monster before he, she watched has the hateful mage disappeared into the trees. Her heart ached. The woman deserved death for what she'd done. She'd die one day. Yet, today was not that day.
She heard cracking above and rolled just in time to see a massive talon land where she'd stood. She scampered away, her tail low against her back as the towering monster cawed. She rushed back in and struck the thing's leg, but it was like hitting stone. He felt a finger break. She hissed in pain. The monster moved forward to strike her, but it seemed weighed down, sluggish. It was hesitating.
She heard a noise behind her, but if she was to have any hope of surviving this fight, she had to remain alert and calm. A task easier said than done. Her skin tingled, and a shiver ran down her spine. She rolled to the side, dodging a massive bolt of purple energy as it crashed down where she'd stood. Before she could recover, a talon shot forward. At the last second, she reacted.
[Riposte]
She shoved its arm aside and launched herself at the monster's chest. She dug her fingers deep into the creature's tough feathered hide and struck its chest with her claws, leaving scratches across its chest and teared black feathers free. It screeched. She hung on for dear life as it thrashed, until she was thrown free. She skittered across the ground, until she struck her head on the rocks of the riverside. The world became a haze.
Pain spiked through her body, threatening to undo her. Just then, she heard a voice, and something snapped in the night. She watched as something streaked through the air. Followed them, they struck the monster's breast and stuck in its feathers. It bellowed.
"I don't know what's happened, but we have to save him! Snap him out of it!" A man's voice. The funny one. Hands grabbed her and hoisted her up. She felt something itchy in her head, and her dizziness faded.
"Be sharp!," a voice, feminine and strong, spoke. "I don't know if we can win, but we can wear him down a little before we go!"
Zethari looked toward the voice. It was the elf, the younger sister. Shani was her name. Zethari had finally decided to learn it in the past days. These ones weren't so bad. She'd enjoyed them.
She looked past the younger sister. The other te'ra were behind her. The funny one was at Zethari's side. He'd helped her up. He'd healed her. The elder sister stepped in front of her sister and drew her bow again. The stinky ones were approaching.
They'd all come to help. They showed more honor than most te'ra. She would need them this night.
"He has lost himself," Zethari shouted. Her head hurt. She looked up to see the massive beast bearing down on them.
She howled into the night, challenging the creature before her. Its red eyes narrowed on hers, and it hesitated. She knew those eyes. She could see something within.
He wouldn't kill her. Not yet.
"Spread out!" She ordered. "Surround it!"
Shadows of darkness reached beyond them, darting through the night. They reached toward the village.
"He's calling the undead to him!" Someone called. One of the stinky te'ra. Zethari couldn't tell who.
The elf unleashed arrow after arrow into the beast. Its toughened hide repelled all but the best shots.
She howled once again. His spirit soared. No single foe had faced her in battle and won. She refused to be defeated now.
To her surprise, she heard several voices join hers. Not the voices of te'ra. Her people's voices came from the forest. She looked to the sound. Her pack heard her call. They leaped across the river, rushing to join the battle. At their head was a familiar face. Her heart clenched. She would fight by her people's side once again. She would fight by Rennar once again. They would defeat the monster that had been her master. She would bring him back to himself. She would prove herself, or she would die.
Either was acceptable.