Death loved a challenge. Loved the burn of her muscles as they worked. Loved the sting of pressure in her lungs. Loved the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She was a creature born to dominate, to exert her will over the lesser. It had been ages since she’d been called on to do battle in such a way.
With blades trying to kill her, and sweat burning her eyes, she realized how much she missed epic fights. On the battlefield, the scent of blood and magic hung heavy in the air. It had been too long since debris crunched underfoot, or the heat of destructive fire caressed her skin. It was invigorating, intoxicating, and inciting. Because she was Death! She was a horsewoman of the apocalypse. She rode the pale horse and brought terror wherever she went.
With a mighty blow from her scythe, she cleaved through three shadow men, their forms rippling and vanishing. Growling, she cursed as they reformed.
“We can’t keep this up forever,” Shinigami spat as he launched another ball of light at a demon before twisting to attack several more shadow men with his Katana.
“No,” Caleb said, blocking a blow with his shield. “They’re like damn zombies, always there.”
Nyxen laughed as he directed more shadow men towards her. “They are the monsters of old, fueled by powers beyond your understanding.”
Death grimaced as a blow glanced off her back. The reverberation rattled her bones and brought her to her knees. Caleb shouted and jumped to her aid. Sending the offending demon staggering under a series of rapid blows.
For a mortal with no battle experience, he was picking it up nicely. It probably helped that Karen and the soul shield were powerful, magical devices. They’d give him the edge that he’d need to stay alive. Hopefully.
“Death,” Future yelled. “If we don’t change something, we will remain trapped like this until we’re destroyed!”
Styx ducked as a shadow man swung a double-handed sword at her face. The blow would have easily decapitated her had it struck. She twisted and slammed her scythe into the creature’s midsection. It dissipated only to form again.
“Take Caleb, find a solution!”
“Hey! I don’t wanna leave you,” Caleb shouted. “That’s totally and utterly and completely unfair! I don’t wanna go! You can’t make me!” He winced as a sword narrowly missed slicing his leg off.
“You’re the scholar!” She blocked a blow with the shaft. The enchanted materials groaning under the immense power of the blow. “Not the warrior. Go find an answer.”
“Right. Right. Play to your strengths.” Caleb struck a shadow man in the face, pivoted on his heels and darted away.
Future swung her huge battle ax at a group of shadows, the glimmering metal slicing through. Then she turned and followed Caleb. Styx let out a breath. Future would protect him with her power, and hopefully they would solve this problem. Because it was imperative that they figure out a way to stop these damn magical shadows.
Like ink spills given form, a dozen shadows detached from the smoldering rubble and encircled her. She barred her teeth in a gruesome smile, fingers tightening on her scythe. It awoke to its mistresses' thirst, dark purple running up and down the shaft.
The figures rushed her, their ephemeral blades singing as they slashed the air. Twisting, her scythe whirled to meet them, to give them a proper underworld greeting. The shear force hewed shadow-stuff as they exploded into rolling darkness. But already they began to re-coalesce.
“We will show you how the righteous prevail!” Past shouted.
Death pressed the attack, ducking under savage strikes, twisting to avoid perilous slashes. The keen edge of her weapon found more targets, making the air reek of acrid smoke as they dissolved.
Claws raked her shoulder as a shadow reformed faster than anticipated. She hissed, more at the affront than the pain. In return, darkness unfurled with a mere thought—swallowing weapons, forms, even the stones beneath them. The shadows flickered like dying bulbs. Reformation delayed precious seconds.
“You’re no match for that magic, Death!” Nyxen shouted.
Death caught a cursed dagger against her scythe’s haft, the black metal sizzling where it laid a hair’s breadth from her neck. Wrenching the offending arm, she drove the blessed steel through the attacker’s core. Howling a victory as the shadow disintegrated.
“No! They’re going for the inner sanctum!” Anubis shouted.
Anubis moved with a predatory grace, divine muscles sliding fluidly under lustrous fur as he guarded the doorway. Twin flails whistling, the Sun God deflected a hissing berserker’s axe. With a crushing riposte, Anubis crushed the demon in a spray of blue. Another fiend swept in low, blue fire daggers scorching glyphs into the floor. The jackal’s head lunged, horns goring while a flail struck the demon’s back.
“Embrace the void!”
The villain staggered forward, spitting boiling blue onto the stone. Styx yelled a warning as four new demons emerged from the rolling darkness. Anubis pressed the attack, his golden weapons alive with righteous fury. But these adversaries wielded vicious powers—cursed lightning set scrolls alight, parasitic spells leeched from devoured deities. Verdant flames narrowly missed singeing Anubis as he slashed at a demon.
Divine or not, Anubis visibly tired, reflexes slowing against the endless tide. Styx knew they needed a break, a chance to regroup. Past screamed a warning, and she turned. A hulking, horned horror was already mid-strike. She could anticipate the trajectory. It would slice through her collarbone, continue through her chest and exit just above the opposite hip.
It was a killing blow.
But before the strike impacted, a dozen razor sharp branches split the air, sliding into the shadow and it dissipated.
“You all will perish,” Nyxen shouted. “We’ll ensure that death in all its forms will end today.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Present hissed.
The two fates came close. Past’s thorny frame trembled, fracturing further as brilliant azure radiance built within. Present stomped, her verdant antlers branching wildly as howling winds carried the scent of new spring growth.
“Chronos the guardian of time! Tear apart the sky!” they chanted in unison, the very essence of space-time manifesting raw and unbound. Glowing tendrils erupted to entwine the sisters, an infinitely accelerating helix shining with all disregarded presents and forgotten pasts.
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With a deafening crack, two gigantic intertwined spectral dragons burst forth, golden hourglasses blazed within their chests. Jaws stretched wide to swallow the tide of shadow and demons, they spun faster and faster matter itself blurring.
“Don’t you dare unleash that beast in the archives!” Anubis yelled.
The temporal vortex inhaled scores of shadow men, centuries flashing as the entire archive shuddered. Papers and books followed, wreckage and stone vanished. Then it collapsed inward with a silent implosion as the dragon guardians vanished. Now only scorched rubble where enemies once stood, blotted from this plane completely.
Although weakened, the demons in its path remained. Because of the spell, the entire area became caught in a time paradox. The evidence was in the details. Dust hung suspended in midair, trapped in nothing. The raging fire stopped, the usual flickering motion eerily still. Even the dark smoke was stationary, curled and twisted.
None of the demons, shadow men, or heroes could move much. Any movement would be slow and exaggerated, elongated like an experimenting film maker. Styx sagged against her scythe. It would be precious minutes before the time warp eased.
At least now they could all rest, gather new power, prepare for the next stage.
“This won’t save you, Death,” Nyxen said. “This is just a temporary lull.”
“You’re right,” Styx said. “It is, but it will give us the time we need.”
Nyxen snorted. “Doubtful, you’re just delaying.”
“Sometimes a good delay can turn the tide of battle,” Past said. “I can think of countless examples.”
“Even ads have their uses,” Present said. “It’s the only time to make Hot Pockets!”
A thought struck Styx, and she glanced around. “Where is Asher?”
“He is performing a vital task,” Nyxen said. “Blocking the other horsewomen from getting here.”
Styx startled, she was wondering why War, Pestilence, and Famine were still absent.
“What do you mean?”
image [https://i.imgur.com/1l6ruHJ.png]
Nyxen licked a line of blood from his finger. “While we lacked the power required to seal this realm entirely, we devised a partial seal. It will prevent anyone from entering or exiting for a time.”
“You demons suck,” Shinigami groaned. “Always so annoying. Like come on!”
Nyxen waved him off. “We didn’t ask to be sucked into this wretched world, we didn’t ask to be polluted by the sunshine or the air. This is just a natural consequence of the arrogance your people displayed.”
“We’re aware of what happened that day,” Present said.
“Then you know it’s the druids who deserve to be condemned and cursed for this,” Nyxen motioned around the destroyed room.
“The druids aren’t here,” Anubis said. “Destroying the sacred Elysian Archives and tainting the past, present, and future.”
Styx pointed her scythe. “You’re the ones who are responsible.”
Nyxen examined his blade. “It’s a demon’s nature to destroy, to relish in the destruction. You should see our home realm. I doubt any of you would last a day, powerful or not. Our realm is nothing like yours. It’s harsh and strong. While these realms are pathetic and weak. Which is why we can dominate so easily. We are vastly superior.”
Shinigami laughed so hard he started coughing. “We are vastly superior. Sounds like you’re vastly cheesy.”
Then, with a shudder, the aftereffects of the spell relented. Now the tide would rage again, and they would have to continue fighting for their lives.
Nyxen only grinned, and that was Death’s only indication of what he planned. She barely had enough time to brace as Nyxen was upon her. Like twin storms unleashed, Death and Nyxen collided in a maelstrom of warring power that bowed stone columns and cracked foundations. Her scythe screamed defiance as she carved relentlessly, only to meet his hellbade in eruptions of sparks and magic.
Their weapons locked, and her muscles strained.
“You cannot hope to best me,” Nyxen hissed, his eyes alight.
“I am eternal!” The dark purple power inside of her launched outward. The inky tide shredded reality, blurring time. But Nyxen stood firm, blue blossoming around him to withstand the magic.
Styx startled, realizing her mistake a moment too late. A second blue blade ripped open her side. Hot blood coursed down her side, zapping her strength. Death embraced the pain, letting it stoke fury’s flames. With a shove, she sent Nyxen staggering back as her scythe moved. Shadow and steel tasted demonic flesh. Boiling blue blood sprayed, and Nyxen barred his teeth in a menacing smile.
Like judgment’s specter, he advanced. They parried blow for blow now. Ravaging columns, destroying tables and rock. Desperation warred with rage within her. She barely deflected the hellblade as it came at her once again. A second bloody injury soaked her chest, leaking magic out from her core.
She prepared herself for a mighty blow, but Nyxen was faster. His powerful strike hammered through her guard and snapped the blessed steel of her scythe. She glanced, disbelieving at the two pieces in her hands. Dark purple magic sputtered from the severed ends, spurting and sparking.
Weaponless, she staggered backwards as he readied himself to attack again. It should be impossible to break her scythe. She created it from star dust and meteors. Holy men blessed it and priestesses anointed it.
With a snap, it dissolved, the magic that held it together vanishing in an instant. Was it a sign? Did the destruction of her weapon mean she was a now a fallen god?
Blue metal slammed against her forearms, testing her cloak’s defenses to the brink. She could almost feel the crack of steel against the magic woven into the fabric bend. Gouts of blue fire licked at her skin, the power biting into her flesh with painful sizzles.
Each blow sent her reeling backwards as flames turned marble to glass. Countless shadow men pressed closer, separating her from her companions. Ravenous magic tugged at Death’s form, blow after blow weakening her already failing strength. She knew that at any moment it would fail, and that blade would end what Nyxen started.
A hard strike forced her to her knees, one wretched gasp from eternal nothingness. She stared up into the demon’s handsome face. Wondering how in the hell she got here. What events led her to this stage?
Was this what fate intended all along? Was this her destiny?
image [https://i.imgur.com/KKsvkgI.png]
Nyxen smiled, a joyous expression reserved for absolute domination. His arms reached the climax of the swing and began its downward arc. Styx whispered her goodbye, suddenly sad that she’d sent Caleb away to research. It would have been nice to be with him for one last second.
Like an errant spell, everything froze as a figure barreled into Nyxen. Karen came swooping down, and the soul shield slammed at the same time. Blue blood splattered outward, scorching the floor as Caleb struck the demon. Once. Twice. Three times.
Finally, Nyxen freed himself from the rapid blows and darted away. Caleb stood over her, his chest heaving before he finally, almost reluctantly, peeked down at her.
“Are you okay? I’m not sure I can handle it if you aren’t.”
“I’m okay. I’m okay.”
Now he looked at her with no reservation. With a strangled cry, he dove into her. She winced as his weight struck her injuries. Yet, this is exactly what she needed. Him close to her, feeling the heat of his body, hearing the singing song of the soul bond.
“I’m okay Cal.”
He burst into tears. “When I saw that sword coming at you, I nearly lost it.”
“I know.”
“It was so scary, and I wasn’t close enough.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t think I’d make it in time, and I’d watch you bleed to death.”
“I know.”
“I couldn’t handle it!” He cried harder.
“I know.”
She held him now, clutching him tighter. The chaos of the fight and the ringing steel and the spitting flames faded. They were the only ones that mattered. Caleb held her as the din of battle receded, a realm away from the madness. Here only his shaking exhales, and soothing whispers mattered. Where warmth of life sustained.
She could feel the magic of the soul bond healing some of her wounds. The power working to prevent her death. Behind them, the Fates had worked a spell, a temporary shield to allow them some precious time.
“I did it,” Caleb said. “Future and I discovered how to end the shadow men for good. It’s complicated. We need both a spell and a potion. We’ll coat the weapons and they’ll be able to sever the magic that’s controlling the shadows.”
“Good work. I knew it was the right choice.”
He smiled. “It’s sexy how smart you are.”
She nudged him. “Don’t say shit like that to me.”
He grinned again. She held Caleb tighter. The distant sounds of Shinigami roaring fury and Anubis bellowing for vengeance echoed through the shattered room. Even the cries of the Fates rippled about the room as their powerful essences surged with the fight. These demons would pay. She would spare none from her wrath.
“Let’s show these bastards who rules the Underworld,” Styx said.
“Hell yeah!”