Chapter Forty-Nine
The room was a boss room, if Jackson ever saw one, which he couldn't remember if he had or not, either way, it was obvious to him. That was what he noticed first. It was a large square room with silver walls that had pulsing red runes etched into them. In the middle of the silver flow was a pedestal carved from white marble. Set almost delicately on a cushioned pillow was a golden seed. The seed seemed to glow, casting a rich yellow light onto the walls and surrounding area.
Standing directly behind the glowing seed was Lazarus.
Jackson's old friend looked much the same, his features still noble and strong, and the same air of wisdom and nobility surrounded him. Every inch the warrior king. That was where the familiar ended and the new and sinister began. His once pale skin was now a sickly purple, which Jackson had come to associate with demons. It looked wrinkled and distorted, not unlike the skin of a rotting apple.
His eyes were a sickly yellow and filled with the madness Jackson had come to expect from demons. He wielded no weapons that Jackson could see; his hands didn’t even have claws. Other than the madness in his eyes and the purple skin, Jackson would have thought he was normal. Except he was undeniably here. He was no longer a spirit; he was very solid and physically present.
Sure, Jackson would dread what he would see, so he analyzed him.
Once known far and wide as Lazarus, the Vampyre Lord of Blood Sands, the once proud warrior renowned for his unarmed combat ability is now a demonic abomination. An agent of corruption. He is at level 80, though his power is rising with each passing hour.
Jackson blinked. That was more information than he had ever gotten from the Judge before. He almost thought there had been a twinge of sympathy from the Judge as the notification had unfurled in his mind. The demon, Lazarus, cocked his head as Jackson took a deep breath and stepped forward. Lilith had vanished; she was somewhere deep in Jackson's Domain. She claimed she had no wish to distract him, and he was thankful for that.
Though he knew his friend and mentor were no longer there, Jackson tried to reach him anyway.
“Hey Laz. Are you in there, you old bastard? It’s me, Jackson. You’re a hopeless student, remember?”
Head still cocked, Lazarus’s yellow eyes swam. Not with memories, but with frenzied madness. He heard Jackson, but he hadn’t actually heard him. Instead, he blurred forward with shocking speed.
Jackson cursed and activated Blood Lord's Gaze.
Demon Lazarus’s willpower is too high. Blood Lord’s Gaze has been resisted!
There it was again—more information than Jackson had ever gotten before from the Judge. If he didn’t know any better, it was almost like the supposedly neutral, all-powerful being was trying to help him win this fight. His chances seemed dubious, though, even with the Judge's help. Especially when Demon Lazarus’s fist slammed into Jackson's chest with all the force of an avalanche.
Jackson flew back, slamming against the wall with a sickening crunch. His head whipped backward from the motion, and he felt his skull quite literally crack from the force.
You have been dealt a critical blow! However, your phoenix regeneration has activated, and you will be healed shortly.
Jackson groaned as his skull knit itself back together and his shattered ribs repaired themselves. In the meantime, he activated Ebon Eruption, making it much easier for him to track Demon Lazarus. The demon did not speak, but Jackson's former mentor’s eyes swam with an ocean of madness and rot.
A second later, Jackson stood up from the ground, just in time to meet the demon’s charge. There was no doubt that Demon Lazarus was using the sanguinary arts. Luckily, Jackson didn’t think it was capable of the proficiency that the original Lazarus had. If the abomination that was his former friend had been, Jackson likely would not have lasted long.
Yet, Jackson held up well enough, blocking or ducking under blow after blow and responding in kind. They became a dancing blur, the monster and Jackson. It was a beautiful symphony of violence. Jackson could even feel a pulse of grudging respect from Lilith in the back of his mind. Normally, Jackson would not speak when fighting, but he was still trying to get through to his former teacher.
“Lazarus, listen to me. This isn’t you. Fight it. Fight. It. Laz.”
Jackson may as well have been talking to a wall for all the good it did him. All he succeeded in doing was making Lazarus appear to be more mad, if anything. Sorrow was building in Jackson, and he began to weave Veilstrike around his blows. He managed to connect one, and not at all shockingly, he got the notification he expected.
Demon Lazarus’s willpower is too high! He has resisted the effects of Veilstrike.
There was no easy win here. Jackson got the message, though he wasn’t happy to receive it.
Jackson shook his head sadly.
“I’m sorry, old friend.”
He manifested his wings, violet fire flaring wide, crimson flames weaving through them, and highlighted streaks of dark red. A burst of power crashed through him, and he was too fast for Lazarus to handle. Jackson's fist slammed into him, a hammer blow of such strength that he too was blasted backward as if he had been hit with an explosion.
The resulting impact against the wall echoed throughout the room. Unphased, the demon hopped back up, and Jackson groaned.
“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
The demon's answer was to rip purple lightning out of the air with a swipe of his hand and hurl it towards Jackson. Lightning was fast—so fast, in fact, he couldn’t dodge. Jackson simply brought his arms together in a kind of V block and let the lightning crash into them, crackling with mad, corrupting power. It ate at his skin, and he should also mention that it hurt. A lot.
However, it was nothing compared to the pain he had felt from merging with Lilith, and so it was easily ignored.
Corruption is interfering with your regeneration! Regeneration time slowed!
Well, now that sucked. Demon Lazarus cocked his head as he regarded the way Jackson healed. Jackson thought he decided that he didn’t like that very much because he flung another lightning bolt at him. Jackson was on guard this time, and not wanting to get hit with another bolt of that corrupted lightning, he dodged. It cracked into the wall, exploding outward in a sizzling, hollow boom.
When Jackson dodged, he also pushed himself towards Lazarus. Somehow, the demon had anticipated it, though, because he blurred, and Jackson felt his air cut off suddenly. The bastard had him by the throat!
Lazarus's madness-filled eyes regarded Jackson like an interesting bug he had found. He held Jackson up with one hand, and from the looks of it, the effort it took him was non-existent. He merely squeezed, attempting to suffocate Jackson. It was working, too, as Jackson was choking from the struggle to breathe.
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Coming to the conclusion that trying to pry his fingers from his neck was as useless as a regular man trying to remove bands of steel, Jackson raised his right hand and wove Bloodfyre Blades. The bloodfyre formed at a downward angle, and he used his Bloodfyronesis skill to shape it into a dagger of bloody flame, which he then plunged into the demon’s eye.
Purple blood burst from the eye as if Jackson had stepped on a grape.
Lazarus dropped him. Not even this monster could ignore that pain; though he clutched at his eye, he made no sound. Jackson did not wait around. He wove more Bloodfyre Blades and flicked a finger, causing blade after blade to slam into the demonic Lazarus.
Jackson was certain it was over as the demon’s life force flooded into him. Lazarus had fought well, but Jackson had caught him too early.
Jackson shouldn’t have gotten ahead of himself. Demon Lazarus began to warp as a dark purple aura exploded from him, the sound of a roaring lion splitting the air and literally causing it to vibrate. Oh, fantastic. He could manifest his spirit.
Now Lazarus was moving as fast as Jackson was, ignoring the blades that were leaching his life away and crushing fist after fist into Jackson with all of the force of a massive hammer on an anvil. The booms that echoed did not just vibrate the air but also the walls and floors themselves. Jackson didn’t just allow him to do it; he tried to block, but the increase in Lazarus's power was too much.
Grimly, Jackson tapped his own spirit, something he had not done since the merger. A dark, crimson aura erupted around him. Hunger, terrible hunger, radiated from Jackson. It was a hunger to destroy and consume life, and it had no effect whatsoever on the demon.
It did make Jackson faster, though, as he empowered his wings and ebon cloak. He was burning mana at an impressive rate, and yet it didn’t appear to be enough. Jackson was able to block the demon’s blows and land a few of his own, but Lazarus simply shrugged everything off. In the meantime, he waled at Jackson like he was his new favorite punching bag.
As the fight raged on, the demon appeared to learn, and Jackson found fewer and fewer openings in his guard. He became more aggressive and smoother in his fighting. Jackson cursed, and though the sanguinary arts weren’t really meant for it, he switched to defense.
Lils, I need you.
Don’t ever call me Lils, boy. I will flay you alive and savor your agony like fine wine.
There was no time for the violent and disturbing imagery. I need you to help put him down; he’s too much, and the longer this goes, the more outclassed I become.
There was a pause, as if the angel was thinking. Something Jackson did not have the luxury of as a demonic fist broke one of his ribs with a sickening crack. Jackson ignored the notification that flashed in front of his eyes. His regeneration was taking care of it, even if it was slower.
Finally, Lilith spoke.
There is a way.
Tell me! Jackson pleaded loudly in his mind.
It has a cost; you aren’t ready for it.
Just tell me!
Fine. Do not say I did not warn you, vampyling. You could use Domain Expansion.
Jackson blinked. A mistake as a blow across the jaw spun him to the floor. He was up a moment later and launched himself into the air. The Demon Lazarus didn’t seem to have an answer for flight. Jackson launched a few Bloodfyre Blades at him, but he simply flared his aura, and the blades stopped cold. Jackson swore. You couldn’t teach me that before you became a homicidal demon abomination, huh, Laz? Jackson kept it up just so he could think.
A Domain Expansion? You mean what Delathorn did? How can I do that? Why should I do that?
Lilith sounded annoyed.
Because in your Domain you may as well be a god. You have utter mastery there, utter control. Normally, you need to be a high-level journeyman to manage it, but I can supplement the power.
How? What is the cost?
I am an angel of desolation, boy. I gain power through the destruction of things. Through the feeling that permeates the air after something is destroyed. If I destroy one of your skills, I will have enough power to expand your Domain.
Oh, that was a fantastic solution! All it would cost is one of Jackson's hard-earned skills!
What about a weave? Will that work?
A pause, and then a mental nod.
Yes.
Though their conversation was at the speed of thought, Jackson still rained down blades of bloodfyre. He figured it would be enough to keep the demon busy, but Lazarus decided he was done with the charade. The demon's aura expanded upward, reaching for Jackson, and he knew that being touched by it was a supremely bad idea. He tried to avoid it, but with viper-like speed, the aura accelerated, and Jackson was engulfed.
You have been exposed to a continuous stream of corruption! Escape the stream, or you will lose access to your Domain!
Jackson cursed and snarled, especially as his wings vanished and he began to plummet to the ground.
Lilith, destroy Veilstrike and expand my Domain! Do it now!
Lilith wasted no time as Jackson felt a burning in his chest, similar, though lesser, than the all-consuming fire he had felt during the merge. The fire launched towards the part of his mind where the Veilstrike was located, not that he could say precisely where it was. He knew it was there, though, and the fire was a hungry maw of flame that chomped down on it and tore it to shreds, swallowing it and turning it to ash as it did so.
Jackson screamed in pain and defiance. Into that scream, he poured his anguish and grief at what had become of his friend.
Something inside of Jackson responded to that primal scream—that was not a scream at all, but a call. A primal call came from within him.
A phoenix cried, and there was a pulse of crimson light from Jackson's very center that began to expand outward, covering all. Suddenly, as if they had been teleported, they found themselves in Jackson's Domain. Ash fell to the ground like tears from a weeping sky. The blood phoenix formed in the air, and the desolate landscape pulsed, and swirling vortexes of crimson bloodfyre mana scorched the lands below. The wind was a song of destruction, of impending doom.
The Demon Lazarus, for the first time, looked something other than mad. There, deep in his eyes, was a flash. A flash of undeniable pride.
Jackson looked at him sadly, and with a wave, he tore the madness from him. It was an insidious thing. A writhing mass that looked like some kind of undulating vermin. A purple rat, or, if Jackson had to put a name to it, a deformed purple rat, but one all the same.
It squeaked pathetically, a cry for help, but with a thought, Jackson's winds of desolation tore it apart; its ashes feeding the cycle of his Domain.
Clarity came to Lazarus's eyes, and suddenly, Jackson had his friend back.
Lazarus shook his head, looking down at himself, before backing up at Jackson. His eyes were filled with sadness.
“Oh, Jackson. Fledgling. I am so sorry.”
Jackson blinked, his eyes shimmering with crimson tears.
“You’re sorry? I am the one who failed.”
Lazarus was shaking his head.
“No, you aren’t. If I had just told you more... no, never mind that now. You can’t keep this up for long, and you still need to kill me. No, don’t ask any questions; just listen. When your Domain Expansion fails, I will have to be dead, or else the madness will return. You can contain it here, but the seed within me will simply make more of it. You must kill me. Before that happens, I have to tell you where my family is. It’s a lost realm, hidden within the Blood Sands. You’ll be able to track it and feel it out due to your connection to it through your vampyric bloodline. Find my family, Jackson. Like I requested of you at the start of our journey together. Find them, and tell them... tell them I loved them.”
Lazarus choked up and then violently shook his head. He looked at Jackson again, and the pride Jackson had seen within his eyes before was back, shining forth like the dawn of a new day, breaking the darkness that had come before it.
“I am so proud of you, Jackson. I am proud to have met you and to have known you. You are such a fine young fledgling—no. You are such a fine young vampyre. Come now, it’s time.”
Jackson was openly weeping now, sobs wracking his chest. Lazarus did not respond to them; he merely stared at Jackson as he raised a hand, his chest tight with grief and hot, bloody tears streaming down his face, falling to the ash below.
On the winds of desolation came the bloodfyre vortexes of Jackson's Domain. They cut into Lazarus, and he began to chip away. Bits and pieces of him just floating away from him, ashes on the winds.
The phoenix cried. Lazarus smiled, and it wasn’t just sad; it was knowing; it was proud; it was content.
Jackson watched as his friend was turned to ash before his very eyes. He watched, knowing that he was the one doing this to him. He watched as the light of his friend's eyes faded and vanished entirely.
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul.
Lazarus's windows were empty now.
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There was a portal shimmering where Jackson's former mentor had been standing originally. The seed lay there, waiting for him to claim it. He didn’t analyze it. He didn’t open the blinking notifications that wanted his attention. He simply stood, head bowed, shoulders slumped, his mind blank.
Lilith’s voice came to him.
“This portal leads to Aetherius, my host. It is where your lady love was taken, is it not?”
Jackson didn’t answer her.
He just looked up.
And he took a deep breath.
THE END OF BOOK ONE OF THE GREY FILES- A LitRP