Anteks eyes were locked onto the portal as he completely ignored Harken's question, a mixture of curiosity and fear etched onto his face as fumbled about in his pockets.
Due the the many decades of intense mental training that was required to become even the most bog-standard of adepts, some of the older mages began recovering from the terrifying aura that was emitted by the portal.
Brightly coloured domes appeared around the summoning array, significantly reducing the effects of the aura as the mages started to cast spells and consume ancient, valuable-looking scrolls, turning to dust after they had exhausted their magical power. As the aura lessened, the rest of the mages managed to regain their wits and joined their companions in setting up defensive spells and formations.
Rynheart's heart lurched as he watched the mage's panicked movements and desperate, almost forlorn expressions. His deep, commanding voice echoed outwards. "Groups one and two, form up around the king. Group three secure the entrance and make sure nothing leaves." His voice snapped the knights from their daze as their rigorous training and discipline kicked in, executing his commands without hesitation.
Checking Harken and noting that he was tightly holding the dark green crystal, Rynheart started to look for his brother as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening. In all my years I have never seen something shake a mage to this extent, let alone a room full of them. Their mental strength is unparalleled, and their ability to keep calm under any amount of pressure is legendary. I need to get Harken and my brother out of here.
Antek distracted Rynheart from his thoughts when he found what he was looking for, pulling out a crystal nearly identical to the one Harken was holding. Revealing a mirthless smile, he turned his head towards the two. "Ever heard the story about the boy who took a dragon's egg, tripped on his way home and dropped it off the edge of a mountain?"
The pair nodded their heads somewhat absentmindedly. Rynheart from debating whether to get Harken to use the jump stone, the transportation array, or escort him to the surface, whereas Harken was still fighting the dread that had taken hold of his heart.
The story was well known in the human kingdoms, mainly because it was a legend of how the human race fell into such dire straights after being one of the most prominent species on Accoria. When the mother dragon found out about her offspring's death, she was enraged and tried to turn the whole continent to ash.
Eventually, with great sacrifice, the Kingdom of Man managed to kill the dragon and her mate, earning the hatred of the other dragons and the two species were soon locked in a bitter war. After hundreds of years, the Dragons were finally defeated, removing them from the continent, but the damage the Kindom of Man suffered was too great.
Not even two decades later, when the Great Cataclysm destroyed the main continent, refugees from the other races flooded to Malthasia, overwhelming humanities still-devastated forces and eventually conquering everywhere but the Antaeth Basin.
“I hate it when I am right,” Rynheart grumbled as he clicked his fingers in front of Harken's face, gaining his attention, finally coming to a decision. “Use the crystal and go... I will bring who I can with me through the portal and order the rest to escape and seal the entrance.”
Harken’s knees almost buckled at the terror he was barely repressing. “W...we can't leave something like this; we have to stop it.”
Another wave of hot air blasted past them as a white orb, much larger than the black hole, started forcing its way through, drawing the black bolts to it like a lightening rod.
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The rift was too small, and soon the soul began forcefully enlarging it as it pushed its way through, releasing a bone-tingling, tearing noise as the door around it continued to crack and splinter.
The face of Antek appeared to age instantly and spoke in a dead tone. “Even with the summoning portal being overloaded with the blood energy of all those dominant species, whatever is forcing its way through is too powerful. When it gets through, it's going to be impossible to stop until the portal runs dry or it strays too far. If that wasn't bad enough, and I really hope I am wrong about this, but only an old soul would have the power to force its way through dimensions without our assistance, and it would need an incredibly compelling reason to do so."
Swallowing hard, Antek continued. "Best thing for the world, but worst for us, is if the creature absorbs all the rampant energy before it explodes, but that would be impossible; for that you would need a body on par with a nep-"
Antek’s pupils shrunk as he saw the three remaining jars, their contents beginning to boil, indicating the body formation was about to start. “Dragon, Angel, Devil… No… that... that's impossible. After the Cleansing, the gods ensured those bloodlines would never be able to mix again, repelling each other at a fundamental level. Only demons were spared from the purge. This... this is absurd. Life and Death energy… the power of a consumed soul… a rift in dimensions… chaos energy… an ancient?”
The final pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place causing the mage to spin around and smash his bare fist into Harken’s hand, crushing the crystal held inside causing Harken to disappear in a green mist, his eyes still wide with surprise.
Without pause; he turned towards Rynheart. “GET YOUR BROTHER AND AS MANY AS YOU CAN AND GET OUT OF HERE NOW!”
Rynheart was taken aback by the panic, bordering on madness, in Anteks voice but before he even had time to comprehend the words, what could only be described as a tyrannical, soul-shattering roar caused the room to violently vibrate, dislodging large chunks of rock from the ceiling.
As people dodged the falling debris, the three remaining jars exploded with a thunderous bang, but unlike the others, where the portal absorbed their contents, the blood flew towards the pulsing, white soul before circling it, creating a mini blood hurricane in a gruesome, otherworldly spectacle.
Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to get out of there as fast as he could, causing Rynheart to burst into a sprint, running towards his brother at such a speed, that the ground beneath his feet exploded into fragments. His brother was cowering on his knees with his hands blocking his ears, next to the yellow transportation array only a couple of dozen meters away.
Even though he was moving at such an incredible speed that he was barely visible, Rynheart was still far too slow. The defensive shields collapsed one by one at a startling rate, causing the men around him to stare dumbfoundedly in horror. The ritual segments, which had taken dozens of minutes in the previous summonings, were being completed in mere seconds in front of them.
Fully formed, eight-year-old bones appeared, seemingly out of thin air, with muscle and flesh growing at an incredible rate, weaving around each other as they gruesomely combined to form a body.
The ice-white bones were nothing like the bones of the other summoned. Ignoring the fact that they were not red, they appeared to be scaled and heavily reinforced, groves and ripples running across them, resembling magical formulas while small outcrops of bone protected the areas where the muscles connected.
The difference between this body and the others was startling. Ignoring the difference in appearance due to the variety of species, the body being constructed in front of them was, without a doubt, that of a predator that excelled in close quarters combat and would become a highly dangerous existence.
Rynheart had taken two steps forward, his eyes widening at the speed of the body's formation, but his heart almost stopped when hellish red eyes with black, reptilian slits locked onto him the moment they formed.
At that moment Rynheart felt his soul shudder and his previously unshakable will falter, feeling like he was staring into the maw of a monstrous dragon that had come to devour him and all he held dear. All he could do was bite his cheek, the pain bringing him back to his senses, and use everything he had to try and reach the portal.
The eyes were terrifying enough, but that paled in comparison to the loathing and hate that dwelled deep within them. Immediately, whether it was instinctual or by some divine grace, Rynheart understood what had happened. The meaning behind the eyes was evident, and one that he had felt far too often. It was the look you got when you killed a person that was irreplaceable to another. A look that promised eternal vengeance. The weakened soul, he thought bleakly.