SLAYING GODS (I)
Eastern Wastelands weren’t always called that, nor was it always a place of utter desolation and chaos. Long, long time ago – before the First Men walked the plains of the World – Eastern Wastelands were known as Heavenly Gardens. The far east of the continent housed some of the rarest and oldest medicine in the world, and was guarded by none other but True Dragons and Phoenixes.
For as far as the eye could see, medicines that could cure any disease – deadly or not – grew from the perfect soil, with wind carrying their scent across the land. Back then, there were no Mortals – only beings that were born from Knowledge itself. Still, even before the dawn of man, wars still raged on like rivers, and countless fell like flocks from the sky.
Much like most of the World, Heavenly Gardens were eventually caught up in the flames of war. True Dragons, Phoenixes, Serpents and countless other divine beings fought, bringing forth carnage that would last all the way until the present. In the end, seeing her countless brethren fall, True Dragon of Flames, know simply as Ly at the time, burned the sky and earth as she swept across the land, leaving nothing but ashes behind, which eventually turned to sand.
When first Mortal Races appeared, they found Eastern Wastelands to be the endless river of death and nothing, but underneath the hilltops and sandstorms lied history so profound that it would terrify even the bravest.
Still, because of its nothingness, it became the most favorable place to lead wars and battles at, and ever since then had seen more blood than any other place in the realm. Rivers and oceans of it doused the sand, but nothing had changed. From the reaches of the north to the bottoms of the south, no life could grow within Eastern Wastelands – whatever was sown, could never be reaped.
Lynne, as all others, was unaware of this, but the desert remembered. And now, with yet another beckon of war, it wept deep beneath its soil. All it could remember were wars and corpses falling in its embrace… and it was about to happen again.
The sky was stormed with beasts and people alike, bloating out the vast sun in the horizon. Lynne gazed at the distance with a frown, unsure of the exact number. He sensed several dozen extremely powerful Auras, no weaker than his own, really, and finally realized that this wasn’t just another battle – but an all-out attempt at slaughter.
“Men, take your positions!!!” Commander’s hoarse and deep voice echoed out through the silent encampment, startling the soldiers awake. Soon, the ground began shaking under their movement as they went to their pre-designated spots. “Bowmen, archers, hide behind the Shield Battalion! Supporters, begin preparing extra arrows and make sure no one ever runs out! Set hay on fire and burn the fuckers down from the sky!!!”
“Vanguard forces, with me!!” Chief Trios followed shortly after with his own roar, causing heroic hearts to burst out in ecstasy. “Whoever lets one fucker pass will get a spear shoved up his ass once we win!!” EEEEEHHHH?!
“Mages,” the Commander and Chief Trios then turned to Lynne, Thalia, Fen’er, Parsia and Gru, their eyes filled with plea. “We’ll be counting on you to deal with the difficult ones.”
“Leave it to us,” Thalia casually replied as she furrowed her brows. “How should we split, Parsia?”
“They vastly outnumber us,” Parsia grunted lowly. “And we only have four in the Grand Realm. By my account, each of us would have to take at least six of them at once. And that includes Fen’er.”
“Lynne, any brilliant, sporadic idea?” Thalia then turned to their last resort.
“Just go all out and mow the fuckers down, right?” Lynne said casually, smiling.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“PREPARE FOR IMPACT!!!!” Chief Trios suddenly roared as the first wave of Beastkin birds dove down from the sky towards the encampment.
“I’ll try to drive ten of them or so down to the ground battle,” Lynne said as he extended his right arm, causing scythe to appear in it. “There’s something odd going on with the desert.”
“… and your first instinct is to go investigate while fighting to death?” Thalia rolled her eyes.
“Hey, youth is all about curiosity and adventure!” Lynne said, grinning as he took to the sky. “Let’s meet after and drink till we bleed alcohol from our holes!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The first wave of Beastkin clashed against the Chief Trios’ Vanguard unit; gawks and screeches echoed out into the sky, mixed with grunts and agonizing screams of the men. Shields blocked the first wave as swords, axes and spears fluttered from behind the formation, cutting down the birds one by one.
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At the same time, a hail of arrows took to the sky; all – to the last one – were ablaze as they arched over the sky and fell directly towards the next wave of the Beastkin. One by one, the birds began falling from the sky while some grew frenzied and dove down in madness, not willing to die in vain.
“PROTECT THE ARCHERS!!” the Commander roared as he himself hoisted a ballista and began firing as his men slowly reloaded it.
Lynne ignored all normal birds, and they all ignored him, as he moved directly towards the humans in the group, on the far back. Parsia and Gru flanked from the left while Thalia and Fen’er flanked from the right; Leana and Ryn also moved under their cover, seemingly prepared to strike when all the focus was on the prior ones.
Whenever Lynne passed, he left behind a distinct boom that roused winds around him, causing his robes and hair to flutter. His lips curled up in a strange grin as his heart began beating fast.
“… you’re turning into one of those battle addicts,” the Spirit lectured. “They’re all just a bunch of crazies! You need to stay level-headed in the battle, otherwise you’ll die!”
“When have I ever been un-level-headed?” Lynne immediately lectured back. “All I ever think during the battle is ‘how the hell to survive this’. Watch me using the ancient art of Cowardly Fighting as I cause you to feel envy beyond the skies!”
“…”
“Damned monkey, bird-brain,” Lynne added, his expression serious. “Something feels off about the desert. Go down and investigate.”
“Off how?” the monkey asked.
“I… I don’t know,” Lynne said, frowning; it was truly an agonizing feeling, not being able to explain something that seems so simple. “Just watch out for anything unusual. That shouldn’t be in a normal desert. Or something like that.”
“…”
“Wow, Master sure is helpful.” the bird said.
“Just go, dammit!”
“Off we go!”
Just as the monkey and the bird dove down from the sky, Lynne felt a surge of immense energy coming at him from the front. He didn’t need to look at the source to know that he had finally found the humans behind the whole thing. He forcibly halted himself mid-air as he casually waved his hand, dispersing the incoming energy wave as if it was merely some flour.
“Oi, oi,” Lynne said, grinning. “If you’re gonna sneak attack, at least sneak, dammit.”
“You sure have so guts to beeline straight toward us,” a horse voice replied, mingling out from the shadows. It was a hooded figure with shadows dancing around his robe. “Ah, you’re the one that frightened my dear Lucela. Said something about having met the actual gods and whatnot.”
“Ah, you must be that pussy-brain claiming to be a god,” Lynne exclaimed. “Aii, I expected more. What’s with the ugly getup, huh? Are you going to war or to a funeral of your dear child? Ah, look at those weird shadows dancing across your robe. What are you trying to do? Look intimidating? Hah! You look like an edgy kid trying to be an adult! ‘Look at me, I’m so special, wowowowo’. Aaah, the cringe is too strong! Somebody help me!”
“How dare you mock the God?!!” someone else from the group shouted at Lynne who merely snickered.
“Mock? What mocking? I’m merely stating the facts,” Lynne shrugged it off casually. “What are you getting so hot-headed for? Just because you’ve got a throbbing something-something for this thing that wards off all evil with his ugliness doesn’t mean everyone else has. Haii, when did people lose all standards? To accept something so ugly as a god, I expect all Priests back on mainland would jump off the building and commit suicide if they heard.”
“You sure have a thick tongue,” the leading man interrupted the others from the group, raising his hand as he spoke. “Is this your way of stalling until your friends are in position?”
“Stalling? Ha ha,” Lynne burst out in laughter. “What do I have to stall for? Am I here or not? I sure am! Neither the illusion nor the clone! So come on, then! Attack me and end this ‘stalling’ you speak of. Do my words create a ward around me that blocks you from attacking? Although I’m as awesome as they come, I’m afraid my words aren’t that strong. They do slither in your veins and make your heart go ‘I wanna rip this kid’s throat out!’, but that’s really about it.”
“… you’re interesting,” the leading man chuckled. “A mere Empyrean Child bolstering before a God. You truly are interesting.”
“Oooh!” Lynne exclaimed as if he finally figured out something. “So you really are a God. Ha ha, I actually missed that one. Damn. God of what though? You gotta give me a hit. Ugliness? Depression? Cringiness? Edgyness? Haii, what a sad day it is. Come, then, oh the mighty god, and smite me down from the sky!”
“There’s no need,” the man replied as he turned around. “There are plenty others far more eager to do it in my stead.”
“Ugh, I’m not interested in brain-dead flock of morons,” Lynne grunted. “What use do I have of them? Your birds are already dying like orphaned children, and if I start killing your devout feces, what will come of your army? How will you wage war against the mainland?”
“Oi, idiot, stop being an idiot and start fighting already!” Fen’er’s voice echoed out into the sky.
“We’ll have to wash that mouth of yours with soap once this is over.” Parsia’s followed.
“I can’t believe I let you kiss me with that mouth…” Thalia’s joined in as well.
“You’re awesome Boss!!!” Thank you Gru!!! Lynne smiled as tears trickled down his face. “But you really do talk too much…” Fuck you Gru!!!
Just then, a gust of wind blew towards him as bolts of lightning coiled above him like serpents, ready to strike. Sighing inwardly, his indifferent expression was replaced with a stoic one as he gripped the scythe tightly. He flashed it upwards, dispersing whatever little lightning gathered to strike him, while his free hand made a fist and pointed it at the gust of wind; a mere second later, the wind exploded and was followed by a screech of agony as a body fell form the sky, still ablaze.
“Now,” Lynne grinned as he hunched forward, preparing to bolt. “Let me show you how a Child slays a God.”