Shock fell across the town, everyone staring slack-jawed at the top of the hill. The building that housed the portal had been eradicated, nothing remaining of its existence except the foundation. Grant noted with a part of his brain that the space that had been the inside of the house that the door was attached to seemed odd somehow. He wasn’t sure what exactly made him feel that, but it was almost as though he was looking at something that shouldn’t have existed. It wasn’t an illusion, as he still had his magical vision active and felt he would be able to see that, but just… an oddity. As though the building had never had an inside, occupying the space without having any volume, and reality was now shifting to accommodate the fact that there must have been something in the space the four walls had contained. But the part of Grant’s brain that was noticing this was a dim, far away corner of his mind, as the rest of his awareness was focused solely on the monster that had appeared.
At first glance, it seemed almost normal. Humanoid in shape, the usual two arms, two legs, a head. Dressed rather plainly in a worn tunic fastened with a belt, plain cotton trousers and leather boots, its clothes could have come from any mediaeval village back on Earth. Oddities began to stick out the more he studied it, though; its legs were a slightly odd shape, longer than normal and thinner than one would expect, its hair was gathered in thick coils, almost like dreadlocks, but each coil pulsing and dripping with green fluid, and its eyes shone slightly in the dim light. It was tall, but not monstrously so, about half a foot higher than Grant’s own six-two stature. Its skin seemed to be covered in a very, very faint pattern reminiscent of scales on a reptile, but formed by veins running underneath the surface rather than any protrusions on top.
Overall, Grant surmised it was male, some kind of snake-related being, and almost certainly the most powerful creature he would ever encounter.
He didn’t know if everyone else got the same impression - looking around, while he saw shock, confusion and fear running rampant amongst his fellow humans, he didn’t see what he was sure was displayed on his own face. Not fear, but pure, primal, abject terror.
On the surface, the monster may not be that intimidating - but Grant could see further than the surface. He could see the magic in the air, feel the presence of the Numen residing in the nearby hosts - and he could see the monster behind the vessel before him. The true power behind the mask. A sight he knew would be seared into his brain for the rest of his life.
The first thing that struck him was the size. It was enormous. Enormous didn’t really do it justice. It was not enormous on the scale of animals, or planes, or buildings, but on the scale of mountains. The being that Grant saw was so huge that he could only see clearly up to its chest, the rest vanishing behind the clouds that flowed around and through the incorporeal form of the monster. In its true form, it was unclothed, and Grant could see that its legs were not legs at all, but a huge, dense mass of writhing, bulging green serpents, millions of them, packed together so tightly as to become a solid object. The serpents began to merge together towards the thighs, forming scales that continued upwards to cover the creature’s bulging, pot-bellied gut.
The rest of the body was out of sight to Grant, but he could see faint, vague outlines moving through the clouds, belonging to what, he didn’t know.
The second, scariest feature was one that he felt, rather than saw. Somehow, despite being able to see the magical aspect of the monster in all its mind-boggling scale, there was yet another layer behind that one. He could tell that if he focused, if he really tried, he would be able to see yet another layer beyond the titan before him. And that if he did, the sight would crush his mind like he would a bug.
Grant processed all this in moments, as everyone around him remained frozen at the unexpected turn of events. As his mind began to adjust to what he was seeing, the initial wave of terror beginning to fade, he felt something welling up from Ki that made his gut twist all over again.
Ki was terrified.
One of the Forsaken, someone Grant didn’t recognise, was the first to emerge from her stupor. A tall, muscular Asian woman wearing a bright kimono let out a bellowing roar, and Grant saw power begin to swirl through the air around her as she leapt through the air towards the monster, an axe that seemed to be made of pure light forming in her hands. Grant couldn’t tell for sure exactly how strong she was, but based on the energy he felt the woman wielding, she was at least as powerful as Fyodor, one of the oldest people in Sanctuary. The axe came down, aimed directly at the collarbone of the creature, a blow descending with such power that Grant was sure that even if he had fully imbued his body to protect it, he would come out the other side with severe injuries.
The blow landed, and did nothing.
The woman landed on the ground, breathing heavily, eyes wide as she stared at the axe of light that had frozen the moment it made contact with the being. The unknown monster stared at her, then at the axe, and tilted its head slightly as it studied the magical weapon.
The axe vanished, and the woman screamed.
Grant saw what happened in the magical spectrum, though he didn’t understand what he saw. A bright green, sickly bolt of energy had leapt from the beast and struck the axe, and from there, leapt to the woman who had summoned it. Grant stared as she screamed, watching with horror as veins of the same noxious colour began to cover her body as she convulsed, wracked with pain. The monster stared at the woman for half a second, almost clinical in its gaze, before twitching a finger, causing her to pass out, alive but taken out of the fight immediately.
All hell broke loose.
The air began to crackle with energy as the Forsaken snapped into action upon witnessing their fallen comrade, too quickly for Grant to process everything that happened. All he saw was the figure upon the hill being bombarded by bolts of lightning, energy, ice, fire, spears of rock, arrows, even gravity itself being brought to bear against him.
All of it did nothing.
The thing just stood there, not moving, letting attack upon attack crash against its skin, occasionally twitching a finger here or there to send energy streaking through the air, crashing into some of the purely magical attacks and tearing them apart effortlessly. Nothing that reached it did anything, so Grant wasn’t even sure why it bothered - something to consider later, he thought to himself.
Grant gritted his teeth. He was certain, more certain than he had ever been of anything, that this creature was beyond anything that the combined might of the Forsaken could face. He also, despite the carnage that its appearance foreshadowed, was hesitant about revealing his own power - but neither could he stand by idly and watch everyone around him die. He clenched his fists, beginning to tap into his source, until he was interrupted by a message that spread through the air telepathically.
Forsaken. The creature we face is beyond any of us. We cannot beat it. But, just maybe, we can survive it. I am in my abode preparing a spell that I believe will give us our best chance of survival, but it requires time.
Ed’s voice, even telepathically, felt strained, tense. Grant guessed that he was actively working on whatever this spell was, and that he was dedicating the majority of his attention towards it.
Damn, he’s fast. He got all the way home that quickly? He thought as the message continued.
Two minutes. That is what I require. You must prolong this battle for two minutes. Do not try to fight the beast, for doing so will result in nothing but death. Delay it. Avoid it. Outlast it. Survive, and Sanctuary will survive with you. Good luck.
The message cut out, and Grant could tell that everyone around him had received the same message by their reactions. But, whether Ed was distracted, thoughtless, or had somehow intended for his message to only be sent to the Forsaken, it was not.
Slowly, the creature on the hill, still ignoring the final attacks from the opening salvo of the defendants, turned slowly, orienting itself towards the back of town.
Towards Ed’s house.
Grant saw a ripple pass through the Forsaken, everyone realising in an instant that the monster had also heard the message and, somehow, knew its origin.
The creature raised a hand, in a surprisingly human gesture, and tapped its chin thoughtfully.
Then it moved.
Thunder cracked the air as the beast leapt forward through the air, hundreds of metres above the Forsaken below. The sonic boom shredded what little remained of the hill it had appeared on, the force sending the body of the incapacitated Forsaken tumbling through the air. The snake-like being moved with more speed than Grant could have guessed possible, though he realised quickly his expectations were thrown off by the size of its magical presence, rather than its physical form. But, as fast as it was, Fyodor was faster.
Thinking back later, Grant realised that Fyodor had begun his spell the instant that Ed’s message had concluded, before the creature had moved, but at the time, he thought that the short, muscular man had simply godlike reaction speeds. Before the monster had soared more than a few hundred metres, it hit a wall.
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Not a magical wall, but a literal wall.
Fyodor slid backwards along the ground from his position, the force of the impact transferring through his spell to him, although highly weakened and dispersed, else he would have left nothing behind but a red streak. As it was, he still coughed out a spray of misty blood, clearly injured.
But the wall held.
It didn’t look like much, just a plain, red, brick wall. But whatever Fyodor had done when he summoned it, it was apparently strong enough to bring the monster's leap, an action that must have held enough force to rival large meteors, to a dead halt. Not only that, but as the monster stumbled backwards, the movement identical to if it was on the ground, despite standing in mid-air, it raised a hand to its nose in confusion. As it drew its hand away, the focus of every single Forsaken narrowed, their enhanced perception granting them a crystal clear view of the happenings regardless of the distance. The creature studied its hand, frowning.
The tip of its forefinger had a tiny, bright blue drop of blood.
Grant felt the mood in the air shift, the despair that had begun to fill every Forsaken as they saw their strongest attacks do nothing lifting as they saw the injury.
This thing, whatever it was, was undoubtedly powerful. It was terrifying, as even if the rest of Sanctuary didn’t see what Grant saw, the aura of power the creature emanated was unmistakable, each person present knowing beyond a doubt that this foe outclassed them. It was in control of magics none of them understood, magics powerful enough to destroy the only known entrance or exit to Sanctuary.
But however powerful it was, it bled. And if it bled, they could kill it.
Ed’s message of evasion and survival was forgotten as everyone around the valley began to draw in their power once more, preparing to unleash a second, desperate round of attacks upon the creature, to seize the weakness that Fyodor had exposed. But they froze in place as laughter began to ring out over their heads.
The thing was laughing, joy apparent in the sound. It shook its head, staring down at Fyodor, having no trouble identifying him as the source of the impossibly strong wall that had impeded its dash. Then, it spoke
“That is the first drop of blood I have shed in millenia,” it said, happiness radiating outwards as the creature sounded almost giddy at the thought. Despite the fact that it seemed overjoyed, not trying to hurt anyone, its voice was still overflowing with energy, each syllable sending out a pulse of energy so strong that it disrupted all the works of magic in progress, even Fyodor’s wall vanishing as the sound swept over it. “The first time in the entire existence of this Vault that I have been injured. I thank you, host of Aditi.” Its voice dropped slightly, the joy fading as it grew serious. “I am sorry for the fate that must befall you.”
An invisible pulse rang out, accompanied by a high, sharp chime. A ripple went through the creature,from head to toe. In its wake, the thing seemed more… snake-like. The veins that traced out the scales on its skin seemed thicker, more prominent, accompanied by a faint green tinge, almost unnoticeable, and the drop of blood that had coated its fingertip was gone.
To Grant’s magic vision, however, the change was far, far more noticeable. The colossal spectre, the magical aura of the beast, the image that represented so much power as to dwarf even Grant’s new understanding of gods and magic, rippled in sync with the physical body, as though a drop of water had disturbed a reflection.
Then it doubled in size.
Grant’s heart dropped even further as he beheld the transformation, the thing now so huge that Grant could barely make out the top of its knees before clouds began to disrupt his view. And as he stared, he understood.
That power, that titan, that image of dominance… it wasn’t a representation of the monster’s true power.
It was just a fraction of it.
Whatever this thing was, wherever it had resided, wherever it had come from, it held so much raw power that it restricted itself. Somehow, it allowed only a small percentage of its energy to exist at any time. And why wouldn’t it? Even the miniscule portion of its true being that was before them had been enough to withstand the full force of the Forsaken’s attacks, and the only injury it had received had been due not to a direct hit, but because it itself was so powerful that the backlash from its movement being halted like that was enough to give it a mild nosebleed.
But now it had upped the game. The tiny, tiny part of its power it had manifested was still far, far more than enough to destroy Sanctuary without sustaining barely any damage. But barely any was still too much.
So it let another drop of power through.
Fyodor screamed. The beast had moved again, faster than before, moving at such speeds as to make it seem like it had teleported, vanishing from the air and appearing in front of Fyodor and the group surrounding him, arm buried up to the elbow in Fyodor’s stomach, its blood-covered fist sticking out of his back. Everyone was sent stumbling back, the gust from the monster's movement sending dirt flying through the air and the Forsaken stumbling back from the red mist that filled the air from the attack. Fyodor grabbed the arm that impaled him, letting out another scream of pain, before gritting his teeth and meeting the creature’s gaze.
The thing frowned slightly as Fyodor did something to the limb he gripped, the thing trying to tug his arm free, succeeding only in causing Fyodor to scream in pain once more, though his grip never slackened for a moment.
The monster rolled its eyes. “Less impressive, but a nice effort to delay me. Consider yourself fortunate I do not aim to kill yet.”
Another spark of green magic leapt from the creature, striking Fyodor between his eyes, immediately knocking him out and releasing whatever magic he had invoked to prevent the beast from moving. It pushed Fyodor off its arm, shaking off the blood as it did so.
Fyodor’s companions were not standing idle during this time, however. While Fyodor had immobilised the creature, they had immediately struck, sending magic arcing through the air, a cavalcade of various attempted attacks striking its back. None of them had any effect, however, and as the thing turned around after dislodging Fyodor, it twitched a finger again, sending the same spark of magic through the air towards the rest of its aggressors, knocking them out as well.
It looked around at its fallen foes, then towards Ed’s house, before turning back to the rest of the Forsaken, studying them.
A miniscule smirk crossed its face before it waved a hand and blurred across the ground, faster than before, moving towards Ed while at the same time sending out dozens of thin, weaker magic bolts to strike every Forsaken it could see. Grant widened his eyes as he saw the bolt heading towards him, and raised his hands instinctively, channelling as much of his Source as he could into a shield. Luckily, he was fast and strong enough to block the attack, but many weren’t. Screams of pain and shock rent the air as dozens of people fell to their knees, bodies wracked with pain as the now-familiar green veins overtook their skin. Grant was still not used to fighting of this type or scale, and he cursed his lack of skill as he watched the creature run into the distance, crossing the kilometres to Ed’s house in seconds. From afar, he saw a scaled, clawed, four-fingered hand reach forward and tap a claw to the middle of the door.
A flash of green, a crack of thunder, and the high-pitched shriek of shearing metal occurred simultaneously, before the monster was sent tumbling through town, crashing through buildings without slowing down, seemingly not caring for the fact that Grant had been assured most of these buildings would be indestructible. It rolled to a stop, turning its momentum into a slide as it regained its footing, leaving a deep furrow in the cobblestone paths - not by shifting the stones, but just slicing through them as if they were made of mud instead of rock.
It stood straight, staring straight up into the sky.
“You called me too late,” it hissed, voice loud enough to reverberate throughout the town, speaking to everyone and no-one at once. “One of them has awakened! And now they protect the smith. I cannot stop his working.”
There was a beat, and then the mind that Grant had sensed prior descended once more. The sharp, inhuman sense of loathing invaded his mind once more, this time not as a direct connection, but a mere side effect of the mental spike of hatred directed towards Ed’s house and the man contained within.
And for the first time, Grant heard the voice of his enemy in his head.
He said two minutes. We have 70 seconds left. Weaken and capture them.
Cold. Alien. Implacable. And above all, hateful. If Grant thought that he had experienced the depths of the hatred that infected this mind just from its presence, he was dead wrong. What he had felt before was just the surface of the mind barely grazing his, but like an iceberg, the true scale of the emotion was hidden until it spoke. For a moment, just the briefest flash of insight was granted, and he glimpsed the roiled, corrupted ocean of emotion that hated Grant and all of the Forsaken with everything it was. If Grant hadn’t spent time setting up his mental fortress, he would have been crushed into the ground, as everyone around him was. But, dredging up strength he didn’t know he possessed, he stood tall, meeting the eyes of the creature. It stared at him, forked tongue tasting the air once, twice, before its eyes narrowed.
“Another. Two awakened. She has truly failed this time,” it said, hissing the words as it turned away from Grant, tongue extending once more. “Tell me, Outsider, where is your ally? Where is the god that protected the smith’s house?”
Grant just stared, confused, and he felt the same emotion coming from Ki.
Awakened? Is he saying that someone else has enough power to achieve consciousness? Ki asked.
I think so, Grant responded, eyes narrowing. Suriya, maybe? She’s one of the oldest. What should I say to him?
Unfortunately, while he was talking at the speed of thought, the conversation happening in a fraction of a second, he was still too slow to respond to the monster, who quickly gave up looking for Grant’s supposed ally and faced him once more.
“Nevermind,” it spat, its delayed anger from being stopped from reaching Ed finally hitting it. “I will just take you anyway.”
It moved once more, this time coming straight at Grant, claws beginning to grow green as it prepared to strike him. But as it drew closer, it began to slow. Grant had no idea why, but he tried to take advantage of the delay by evading the creature to the side… but he too, was slowed. It felt like he could barely move an inch a second, though his mind was working normally. He could see his own confusion mirrored in the creature's eyes as it slowly drew closer, but his answer arrived soon enough.
Done. Ed’s voice rang throughout the town, satisfaction and exhaustion layering it. Good luck, everybody.
Grant saw the creature’s eyes widen in anger, and felt the enemy’s mind begin to fall once more, before his vision lit up. Ed’s spell began to swirl through the air like a gentle wind, and Grant felt its effects and instinctively understood what was happening. Just before he lost sight completely, he reached out a hand, thinking of Kyra and Fyodor, hoping that he could change what was happening. His fingertips began to tingle as his magic responded to his will, four thin threads streaking from his palm to wrap around his hand, before flying through the air, seeking their targets. Just as he felt the magical strings reach their destinations and begin to tighten, Ed’s magic crashed down upon him, and he saw no more.