As they arrive near the tomb's location, they witness the source of the corruption spreading throughout Mortmundus.
The sky above the tomb was entirely black [https://img.wattpad.com/63d15cca5fa0ec0dcf79dce0806e3b5a89a0d8f0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47325933394e6934685f77656d773d3d2d313232333431323535362e313732623763366536316463316564393437323338313338343037372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The sky above the tomb was entirely black. Watchers flocked to their deaths, their blood fuelling the very destruction of the world. Nine undead floated around the tomb, arranged in a circular pattern, each the same distance apart from one another. Together, they had concentrated their power and fired a beam of energy from each of their weapons into an undead that was floating in the middle of the circle. This undead was convulsing in agony, letting out ear-piercing shrieks.
Bazren: No...
Xayn: Tentoria...
A beam of dark magic had shot down from the skies, painfully piercing her. It had landed directly on Raxyas' tomb. It was this beam the watchers flocked to, dying as they came in contact with it. With each dying watcher, tar poured out of them. The void was seeping out and, once in contact with the beam, seemed to displace space and time themselves. Unfortunately, some of the tar was caught up in the beam and sucked into the skies above, causing it to rain down from the skies and infect the inhabitants of Mortmundus. Moreover, with each dying watcher, Tentoria's mind overflowed with her lost memories, causing her to become completely disoriented and overwhelmed. They had to rescue her, and soon.
Suddenly, one of the nine undead seems to notice the trio.
Zank (Naizk): Ilka! They are here!
Ilkatorza turned to him and answered.
Ilkatorza: So. It would seem all the pieces fell to their places in the end, didn't they, Raxyas?
He descends to greet them, leaving the other undead to continue channelling energy into the portal.
Raxyas: The eyes... A different goal... Having dozens of members... It was all a hoax. Wasn't it, Zal'kator? Aborbing the shards of my soul even managed to nullify my attunement... It has been your group all along.
Zal'kator laughs.
Zal'kator (Ilkatorza): You've grown taller, Raxyas! Well, at last you see us for who we are. You sure took your time... I cannot begin to fathom the hatred you must have against us. But know this: from the beginning, our goal was one and one only: rev-
Raxyas steps closer to him. He towered over Zal'kator.
Raxyas: Revenge. Right? With a pinch of "fuck everyone else", too. Even if what it takes to punish those who wronged you is the souls of everyone living in this world it still doesn't matter. You'd gladly pay any price.
Zal'kator grins.
Zal'kator: True.
Raxyas: Well all your boxes, all your plans... They will all be for naught. It all ends now.
As Raxyas attempts to grab Zal'kator, he dodges and jumps backwards.
Raxyas: ... Last time I saved you for last. This is only one of the many things that I'm about to do differently.
Zal'kator: Well then, it will be your funeral... Pharisee, get down here! The rest of you, keep that pillar up!
One of the undead descends and joins Zal'kator. It was one of the members they hadn't met yet. He, too, had two weapons.
Raxyas: Get ready, guys.
Bazren and Xayn assume combat positions. Xayn uses his boots to position himself above the battlefield, while Bazren takes Raxyas' side.
Zal'kator: It's a shame your new vessel will be utterly useless, Raxyas... Pharisee, begin summoning them.
One of Pharisee's weapons was a book. He opens it and begins chanting. As he does, two massive portals open up on each side of the battlefield. They led directly into citadels infested with corrupted undead, which now poured in from the portals.
Xayn: Shit...! Bazren, take down the ones coming from the right portal. I'll do my best to keep the ones coming from the left occupied!
With Xayn and Bazren keeping the corrupted undead at bay, Raxyas was up against Zal'kator and Pharisee on his own.
Zal'kator: Divide and conquer... As I reap the rewards.
Zal'kator summons his counter. The number was going up rapidly, as Bazren and Xayn took down more and more foes. Raxyas tried to move toward his opponents, but couldn't. It was as if his vessel was frozen. He notices Pharisee casting a spell from his other weapon, a magical staff.
Raxyas: Grhn... Zal'kator, you coward...!
Zal'kator: What's the matter, Raxyas? Playing on an uneven field again? Hahahah...
Raxyas: I'll show you... Uneven... Xayn, Bazren! Let the corrupted undead attack me, focus on taking down that spellcaster instead!
Xayn and Bazren trust Raxyas' command without questioning it, and immediately shift their focus to Pharisee.
Pharisee: Zal'kator, I can't keep the spells active if I need to worry about those two!
Zal'kator: Take it easy, I got this.
Zal'kator holds his counter up. It read 501,673.
Zal'kator: Sacrifice counter... 300,000.
The number drops. Chains fetter Xayn and Bazren to the ground. They were unable to approach Pharisee further.
Bazren: What...?! I can't get close like this!
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Raxyas: No... NO!!! Xayn, shoot Pharisee! SHOOT HIM!
Xayn fires three arrows simultaneously from his bow, which Zal'kator was prepared to block.
Zal'kator: Sorry, Xayn. Sacrifice counter. 25,000.
A wall of light was cast in front of the counter, large enough to protect Zal'kator and Pharisee against the three arrows.
Xayn: What are you apologizing for, underestimating me...?
In the air, the arrows break in halves, which break in halves, until an unblockable wall of arrows fly towards Zal'kator and Pharisee .
Zal'kator: Crap...
Some of them hit his barrier, but a good number of them end up piercing Pharisee. His spells are disrupted.
Zal'kator: Sacrifice counter. 50,000.
From the counter, countless rays of light begin shooting forth in Xayn's direction. Constricted by the ethereal chains that were binding him, he had no hope of dodging.
Raxyas: XAYN, DROP DOWN!
Zal'kator: That won't save him...
Xayn deactivates his boots, but Zal'kator easily adjusts his aim to follow his drop. Except...
Xayn: Raxyas...!
Pharisee: Zal'kator, he's...!
With Pharisee's spell disabled, Raxyas could move again. He had already re-positioned himself between Xayn and Zal'kator.
Zal'kator: Do you have a death wish, Raxyas?! You know your puny whip won't save you!
Raxyas was bombarded with Zal'kator's attack, without so much as an attempt to block it. Countless holes now riddled his vessel... Though he was able to protect Xayn from getting hit.
Zal'kator: PERISH, RAXYAS! Pharisee, join me!
Zal'kator slowly walks towards Raxyas while attacking him relentlessly. Behind him, Pharisee was also firing orbs of energy that exploded upon impact at Raxyas. In the meantime, both Xayn and Bazren were powerless, as circular walls had already formed around both of them. Zal'kator's attack was nearly complete, the same one he had used to defeat the dragon in No Man's Shore...
Zal'kator: Say goodbye to your allies!
Raxyas struggled to hold himself upright. His vessel was almost completely destroyed. Then, Zal'kator stops the barrage on Raxyas.
Zal'kator: Look at them, Raxyas! Look at them, as they are about to be impaled!
Large glyphs had appeared above both Xayn and Bazren's head... Raxyas knew what came next.
Raxyas: Kneel, Zal'kator... Kneel.
Zal'kator: Kneel...? Hahah...
Suddenly, the glyphs began waning. Zal'kator couldn't stand on his own two feet anymore, and fell down on his knees. Shortly after, the same thing happened to Pharisee.
Raxyas: Behold... Your uneven playing field.
Zal'kator had failed to notice the lines that were linking him and Raxyas. The more Raxyas was attacked, the thicker these lines grew.
Zal'kator: What... Armour, is that?
Raxyas: A gift... From my third shard.
Pharisee: Three... Shards?!
Raxyas: Also... You weren't the only one keeping aces up your sleeve...
Raxyas begins using his gauntlet to heal his vessel.
Raxyas: This gauntlet is my second weapon... You know, the one that never came to be.
Zal'kator: Hah... Hahah... Three... Weapons...
By now, the walls and chains around Bazren and Xayn had completely disappeared. They joined Raxyas by his side.
Raxyas: This is the end, Zal'kator.
Zal'kator struggles, yet still manages to stand up.
Zal'kator: Indeed it is...
He holds his counter up.
Zal'kator: Sacrifice counter...
Bazren: Can he still...?
Zal'kator: Limitless...
The counter starts going haywire. The number rapidly rises from 126,673... All the way to 999,999. Ilkatorza's soul leaves his vessel, and enters the counter itself. The lines between his vessel and Raxyas dissipate completely.
Raxyas: Shit... We have to move. NOW!
They tried to escape, but couldn't. Pharisee was downed, yet he could still use the last of his energy to keep them frozen in place. There was no dodging Zal'kator's final attack.
Pharisee: Yours was a noble effort... But there's no hope of evading Zal'kator's last attack...
With much struggle, Bazren places herself in front of Raxyas and Xayn. Her shield ready, hungry for blood.
Bazren: Evading? Who said anything about that?
Pharisee: What...
From Zal'kator's counter, comes a massive blast of energy.
Pharisee: Are you-
When it fires, Bazren holds her shield up with all her might. The blast hits it, creating a monumental explosion that obliterates Pharisee and sends the trio flying backwards. The explosion was so intense that three of the Thirteen members that were keeping the pillar of destruction energized were turned to ash. The beam piercing Tentoria seemed to glow fiercer than before, most likely thanks to all the energy that just had been released into it from this attack...
Xayn: Bazren... Bazren!
When they land, Xayn realizes that Bazren is unconscious. Her shield arm had been ripped from her vessel, as had one of her legs.
Raxyas: Let me see...
Raxyas heals her vessel, but she remained unconscious.
Raxyas: The strain on her soul was too much. It'll take some time for her to recover...
Xayn: That's fine. The two of us are more than enough to take on the remaining four.
The four undead that were still keeping the pillar up were struggling. It wasn't so much that the pillar need to be kept up anymore... It rather seemed like it wanted to consume them. Some were attempting to escape, but were slowly being pulled into the pillar instead.
Aena (Eanai): What are you doing, you cowards?! Keep the pillar up!
Zank: Fuck this! We're all gonna perish at this rate!
A bubble of energy bursts near the pillar, sending one of the undead crashing into the ground.
Val'ens (Linvaes): Jangu...!
Jangu, also known as Gunjia, had shot down from the sky and landed next to the redeemers. He could still move, although only barely.
Jangu (Gunjia): Raxyas... Please... Help us... It wasn't supposed to be like this!
Aena: What are you saying, you fool?!
Aena gets distracted looking at Jangu, and is swallowed up by the pillar. When she enters it, a blast of energy hits Linvaes and sends him crashing down, as well.
Naizk: Fuck! Let me go too, let me go PLEASE!
Naizk attempts to escape, but is also swallowed up by the pillar.
Xayn: Raxyas... Is it too late...?
Jangu: It's not... It can't be...!
Val'ens managed to land while enduring minimal damage and made his way to the surviving group of undead. He turns to Raxyas.
Val'ens: YOU'RE THE HERO, AREN'T YOU...?!
His voice was shaking.
Val'ens: Aren't you...?!
He falls down to his knees.
Val'ens: So please... Please... Save us...
Val'ens kneels next to Jangu. He places a hand on his comrade's shoulder.
Jangu: I know you probably don't believe us... But this isn't what we wanted. This isn't what Zal'kator promised... We genuinely thought we would be freeing Mortmundus... Not condemning it to be destroyed... I know our methods weren't the best. I know we did many despicable things.
Jangu hangs his head in shame.
Jangu: But it was supposed to be for the greater good...! Not so that we could save our skin and leave everyone else to rot...!
He smashes his fists on the ground, in frustration.
Raxyas: Is this truly the end...?
Xayn: I think there's only one way to know for sure. We need to get Tentoria out of there.
Xayn looks at the pillar of energy.
Xayn: But it's impossible... If we get anywhere near that beam, we'll be swallowed up...
Raxyas: I think there's a way... Tentoria hasn't been swallowed up, has she?
Xayn takes a closer look at Tentoria. She was covered in tar.
Xayn: No...
Val'ens: The tar... It protects her from all that energy. But Raxyas, if you're thinking of coating yourself in it, please reconsider... Your soul will be broken. It will be doomed to the void...!
Raxyas walked closer to the tomb, where large puddles of watcher blood had formed. As he got closer, Xayn tried to stop him.
Xayn: RAXYAS, PLEASE! You can't! Not after all this! There must be another way...!
Raxyas: Xayn... Look at the state of Mortmundus. Everything is... Crumbling. Our master has probably succumbed and turned into a monster, too... All the people we were supposed to protect are already gone. Frankly... I don't care what needs to be done to prevent the destruction of Mortmundus. Whatever price I have to pay will never be greater than the price everyone else is already paying...
Xayn looks back at Val'ens and Jangu.
Xayn: There has to be another way... Right...? RIGHT?! SAY SOMETHING!
Both of them hung their heads in shame... There was no other way. Chances are, there wasn't even any guarantee that this would work... That Mortmundus could still be saved...
Raxyas: Xayn.
Xayn looked back at Raxyas. He had placed his hand on his shoulder.
Raxyas: Thank you. For being by my side during our time here. I'm sure things would have been far more tedious without you.
Xayn grabs his arm, and pulls Raxyas in for a hug.
Xayn: This isn't the end... I won't accept it. We will meet again one day, Raxyas. Free. Finally free.
Raxyas smiles.
Raxyas: Tell Bazren I said goodbye...