Lory had run forward and started slicing the smaller geese with her moon blade. She dodged and twirled around devilish beaks of horror while slicing the geese at their vital parts. Funk had run to the side and started shooting the smaller geese, covering Lory. Harry walked over towards me, it seemed he had some beef with me.
I called out, “Keep the smaller ones busy, I am going to go hammer time on this goose.”
Harry ran forward with his sharp beak forward while holding a huge black knife. Harry, this time, looked much darker and sinister than before. As Harry slashed his knife down, I jumped aside and drew a hammer from my inventory. As Harry slashed his knife down, a few black feathers fell to the ground, one of them hit a small bush and that one got cut to shreds. Harry made a slow turn and readied another strike.
I infused myself with energy and ran towards Harry, I jumped aside from the incoming sword and threw tentacles around the sword that got stuck in the floor. I used the sword as a way to launch myself into the air and readied my hammer. With a loud thud, it landed on Harry’s side and he fell over. I landed on the ground with a roll. Harry started to struggle to get up, but I ran towards him and wanted to smash my hammer on his side, but I got hit by a webbed foot.
In the distance, I saw Lory handling a small army of tiny geese, trying to get to me and Harry. Funk kept shooting at the smaller geese. As I got up, Harry scrambled up as well, ready for another round of getting pummeled.
When Harry came closer, I spawned Angels wings and jumped over him while throwing my hammer into the air. Then I drew the shotgun I had put on my back and fired downwards, instead of blood when the bullets hit, shadows splattered out of Harry. The shadows seemed to be monsters, they shot towards me and grabbed my leg. I got slammed down on Harry’s giant back. The shadow tried to crawl over my leg, I fired my shotgun at it, which was a terrible idea.
While the shadow on my leg got startled and hurt. They stray bullets made more holes and other shadows appeared. My hammer came down and I caught it.
With my hammer, I started smashing the shadows away while holding the shotgun with my other hand, Harry just looked over his shoulder at me. It seems the shadows are controlling him, and right now, those shadows are hell-bent on taking me out. I kept on whacking them, but more shadows came my way. I let some tentacles come from my body to slap the shadows away.
Funk called out, “Are you holding up over there?”
“I am fine, Funk, just some shadows that want some of my hammer! How are you and Lory holding up over there!?”
Lory yelped in pain, “Goddammit, one of the smaller geese just bit in my tail.” When I looked at her, she decapitated him in one smooth motion. Some blood dripped to the ground, it seems they are holding them off for me, now I just need a plan to finish Harry off. Stabbing him spawns more enemies, and they are coming out of Harry.
I sighed, “Captain, I hate your logic sometimes, but damn, you are right.”
“You are welcome, Steve, get ready for a dive. We will shield you from the shadow’s control.”
I ran over to the largest hole that I had made with the shotgun, I fired again, but I miscalculated the knock back since I did not fire like I should have. That was a rookie mistake. I had no time to think about it, I slid towards the hole I had just made bigger. With ice magic, I blasted away some shadows while I launched myself into the hole, darkness covered me.
As I landed somewhere, I used red energy to shine a light. Around me, I saw many shadows and tubes, these tubes had people in them, and a lot of them were being drained. It all led to some kind of dark core. This is what is powering Harry, a monstrosity back from the death, something from the beginning of my journey. Slowly I walked over to the dark core. “Rose, are you seeing this?”
“Yes, why do you ask me?”
“Well, you are bringing some smarts, should we blow it up?”
For a moment, Rose did not answer. “Yes, blow it up, Harry is being charged with these dead people, they seem to be souls. If you destroy the core, then Harry and his minions will power down.”
“Alright, then let’s blast this thing.” I grabbed the scepter and infused it with red energy. Then I threw it into the dark core. A gigantic explosion occurred and the tubes shattered. A purple hole in reality opened up and started sucking up the souls.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
J called out, “It is the ethereal vortex Steve, hold on, we should not get sucked into that, it will be certain death.”
I jumped and grabbed some kind of vein that leaked black fluid. Slowly I started slipping as the black fluid made my hands slippery. The purple hole in reality kept sucking up the souls and pieces of flesh. Even the dark core got sucked up. One of my hands slipped and Rose’s form is not very heavy, it started pulling on me, but I don’t have the time to switch forms.
My hand slipped, and I flew towards the purple hole, quickly I shot tentacles and grabbed the farthest piece of flesh. Khione made ice hooks in my hands, I threw them into the flesh and used it to hold myself steady. A lot of flesh got sucked into the ethereal vortex, and I saw light appear. My ice hooks shattered, and one hand slipped away. With my tentacles, I tried to push myself to the exit. Everyone in my mind cheered for me, as I looked back, I saw Harry slowly getting sucked up through the purple hole in reality.
One of my tentacles shattered by the sheer force of the purple hole, and then I hung there by one tentacle. Eris screamed out loud and infused my tentacle. Everyone started sending energy, but the pull of the hole in reality is too strong. My tentacle shattered, and I was out of ideas of what to do next.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm just as I thought it was going to be the end of me, and everyone inside of me. At first, I thought it would be Lory or Funk, but when I looked at the woman pulling me out of Harry and into the light. I stammered to get words out, “You are dead.”
“For a dead woman, I just saved your life.”
“But, I killed you.”
“Yeah, a bullet is not going to stop me. I promised I would not interfere, but, this seemed like a good reason to interfere.” She started walking away,
“Wait, I have questions.”
She looked over her shoulder, “And I have no answers, I saved you, even if I hate you, thanks for naming your daughter after me.” Haley, my ex-wife, left through a rift of some kind. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps.
Lory ran over, “Steve!?”
“Yeah, here.”
Funk ran over, “Thank god, we thought you would be sucked up by that purple hole.”
Lory looked at Funk, “You did not seem to have any problems with that hole. I had to run away, you just stood there.”
When I looked at where Harry used to be, he was gone, and his minions too. Lory put her hand on my shoulder, “Are you alright?”
“You look like you have seen a ghost.”
I stared at her, “I think I just saw a ghost. No, I am pretty sure I got saved by a ghost. Please give me a moment.” I closed my eyes and looked at everyone in the command center. “Rose, play that back.”
She nodded and pushed some buttons, I looked at Haley saving me, my ex-wife. She has the same curves she used to have, the same smile. Her eyes are golden now. “Pull up, Alice, put the pictures next to each other.”
Rose did so. Captain looked at the screen and fake gasped, “Well, holy fuck.”
I nodded, “Indeed, holy fuck, they almost look identical. How is that possible? How did she have enough strength to save me, with her left hand no less? Is, Naomi alive?”
Eris walked over, “I have no clue what is going on, but you told us, you shot her. I did, and she died.”
Angel crossed his arms, “For a dead woman, she is looking good.”
I opened my eyes and looked at Lory. She smiled, “Is everything alright?”
“No, Haley saved me, my ex-wife.”
Lory blinked a couple of times, “But, she died, right?” I stretched my hand, she took it. Lory looked at everyone as we appeared in the command center and waved. “Rose, please play that again, from the moment Harry imploded into that purple hole.”
Rose did so while Khione walked over, “Sorry that my ice hooks were not strong enough.”
“No worries Khione.”
Lory looked at the screen, “You are right, this thing plays back all your memories.”
She looked at Haley saving me. Lory gasped, “Is that Alice?”
“No, that was my ex-wife. And I have no clue why she isn’t dead anymore or something like that, or why she looks like that, I am perplexed She said something about that she is not supposed to interfere.”
Lory sighed, “This complicates things, is she just a figment of the shadow world, or was she really here?”
“I just don’t know, Lory. What I do know, is that I need to find out, why she looks like Alice.”
Captain looked at me, he did not say anything, but his look said enough, he must know what was going on, he might have shared a few things, but he had a lot more secrets!