Kai planted his foot and twisted, his wings beat with the clap of thunder, his right hand tightened around his scythe while his left hand wrapped around the ornate hilt of a beautifully crafted black sword that had just materialized. “Blade of inevitability deliver your eternal promise.” Scythe and sword cut through the body of the man and then the ant.
Kai glanced down at the magically enhanced metallic skin of the man and the ant that had been causing him so much trouble. His left hand closed all the way as the ornate black sword fractured in thousands of small shards. Looking over his shoulder Kai saw Seth moving towards him.
“You will need to use your spell soon. My crops are almost ready for harvest which will allow you to keep going for a little while longer but you still need to be careful. Taking this army out to the last man is unlikely to be possible but that isn’t what we need to do. All we have to do is make absolutely sure that they don’t have the confidence to continue.” Seth said before dissipating.
Kai nodded to himself, he knew that he would need to use it soon but it wasn’t time just yet.
Kai shot up into the air with a clap of thunder as he beat his wings. Three bolts of lightning slammed into him, refreshing the lightning he had used up earlier. Kai gazed down at the army below him and then up at the creatures flying above. With another flap of his wings Kai shot up and into the horde of flying creatures.
A massive bird-like creature dove down at Kai as arcs of electricity shot off him, frying all of the lesser creatures surrounding him. Kai gripped his scythe with two hands and slashed. A phantom blade shot out bisecting the bird. The blade continued on cutting a path through the creatures.
Slowly and methodically Kai began hunting down the stronger creatures. While strategically directing the bolt of lightning to hit the spots most densely packed with both flyers in the air and troops on the ground.
Bolt after bolt swing after swing Kai decimated the army. With the help of the mantises and scythe wielding figures that Seth had summoned Kai cleared everything out.
With a couple more phantom blades Kai cleared out the immediate vicinity of flying creatures. Turning to examine everything below and around him Kai saw that there were still plenty of people on the ground as he had expected. Yet the air had gone from densely packed and almost impossible to see to almost clear. Looking around Kai saw a couple strong creatures flying about but none of them were targeting him so he ignored them.
“Now Seth.” Kai said in a voice as cold as the emptiness of space.
Behind him Seth manifested. Seth reached down and grabbed the scythe out of Kai’s hand before turning to look down at the ground and people that were almost a solid eerie black. A wide smile spread across his lips.
“Land splattered with the crimson life of the fallen. Fields barren of all but the corpses of the departed. This is where your crops grow best. The place where the large harvests can be found. The fruits have ripened, the stalks golden, the warm glow of life is fading. The chill of death’s winter is setting in, it is time for the harvest. Reap the harvest of lives past. Harvest of death fields.” Behind Seth a large hood figure wielding a massive unadorned scythe appeared. In front of him phantom crops began to grow up from the ground. The crops took the form of everything from stalks of wheat to stem of a potato to fruit bearing trees and everything in between. The large figure swung its scythe. Fruit fell out of trees, stalks of wheat were cut at the base and fell over, and potato-like plants were uprooted. The figure reached out with its free hand and all the crops streamed upwards and into its hand where they disappeared.
Kai let out a sigh as he felt his mana being partially restored. Seth floated down and into Kai. Kai allowed the scythe to return to its medallion form as he prepared to cast the spell he had been saving.
“Chill of final dea-” Kai was cut off as everything went dark. All of his senses were cut off and words refused to take shape no matter how hard he tried to speak. Kai flooded his eyes with the mana he had just gained causing them to start burning. Kai’s head whipped around as he tried to see anything but he couldn’t.
Kai commanded lightning to strike him yet nothing happened. Kai could hear the clap of lightning or see its flash. The only reason Kai could get a sense of time was because of the mana draining out of him powering his spells.
Kai flapped his wings flying in the direction that he thought was up. Kai gritted his teeth as he felt a blade cutting into his arm. A blade sliced up his leg, as another stabbed into his chest. Blades cut into Kai from every direction slicing small cuts into Kia.
Kai’s wings folded around him, encasing him in a cocoon. Blades scraped against his cocoon as they tried to pierce his cocoon. Lightning arced off his lightning feathers every time he was hit.
All of a sudden there was light as Kai exited the darkness. Kai unfolded his wings, stopping his falling. Down he saw a massive cloud of absolute darkness beneath him. A man cloaked in darkness shot out of the cloud a knife in each hand. Kai smiled as the man shot up at him. “If you want to lurk in the dark then I will show you true darkness.” Yet again Kai’s wings wrapped around him creating a cocoon except this time he didn’t fall.
“Chill of final death, black waters of stygian depths. You are that which awaits all after their final hour has passed. Warm caress of life's golden radiance. You are that which embarrassed all, before they pass. Cold chill comes after the passing of comforting warmth. Deep black is left behind after the retreat of golden radiance. Life inevitably leads to death. Death is ending, yet nothing can end if nothing existed. This is the discord of existence. I call upon the paradox of the cyclic cycle. Avatar of the eternal cycle’s discord.” Liquid metal streamed out of Kai creating a cocoon. Once the second cocoon was done Kai retired his wings to his back. As he was doing that the cocoon started filling up with black stygian water.
A crack formed in the cocoon and the stygian water started leaking out along with beams of black nothingness. More cracks spread across the whole cocoon's surface and out of the cracks water and nothingness spewed forth.
The man wrapped in shadows struck out at one of the cracks. His dagger plunged into the cracks causing pieces of the cocoon to fall off. The man was instantly killed as stygian water cold as death and black nothingness shot out freezing him to death.
All of a sudden stygian water became life filled sap and black nothingness was replaced by golden radiance. The cocoon finished falling apart. Before the life sap, beams of golden radiance could hit the ground and streams of liquid metal could hit the ground they twisted together into a stream and shot upwards. In the sky they formed into a massive cocoon that blotted out the sun.
The cocoon rippled as it gained a faint pattern. The cocoon expanded outwards as it revealed itself to be eight pairs of angelic wings that radiated golden light. In the center was a massive angelic being. Behind its head was a pure and golden halo, the being had a kind and loving smile.
The golden light fell down onto the people below. It sank into their skin, healing up their wounds and washing away any exhaustion.
“Relax children, for you may enjoy my comforting embrace.” The soft soothing female voice of the angelic being voice drifted through their ears like a gentle wind. “Take comfort in the soothing embrace of your final demise as it lulls you into eternal slumber.” As she said this the golden radiance wrapped itself around the people below. The angelic being reached her hand. From down below strings of golden radiance rose from everyone. The strings gathered together into a small neat ball of string. She closed her hand, crushing the ball of string.
Golden radiance changed to deep stygian black. As she said that the halo behind the woman cracked and crumbled. Behind the woman the pieces of the now black halo floated.
She floated down, settling beside Kai. As she floated towards Kai she shrunk down to the size of a normal person. She reached out and cupped Kai's face with her hands.
“Your life has been harsh but remember that my comforting embrace always awaits your return. That said your time has not come to return and you still have things here. Your goal is within reach, you simply need to reach out and grasp it.” With that the woman stood back up. Floating away she returned to her previous size.
Reaching out her hand another ball of strings formed this time made of the black nothingness. She gently cradled the ball of string in her hands before pushing it into her chest “Return to my comforting embrace.” With that the black nothingness dissipated and the angelic being shattered into thousands of small fragments.
Kai allowed his eyes to close after looking over the battle field and seeing partially no one was alive. Kai started to float down towards the ground as his mind started to go blank, happy to be able to go and make sure everyone had left.
“SWING RIGHT!”
In an instant his eyes snapped open and he swung his just formed scythe to the right. Scythe met claw and Kai was blasted back by the force of the impact. Kai looked up to see a massive scaled creature with two claw tipped wings for forearm charging at him. The wyvern opened its mouth and let out a shrieking roar at Kai. The roar impacted Kai with a weight that his aura and not body could feel.
Kai swung again using the remnants of his mana to unleash a black phantom blade. The blade created a small cut in the wyverns scaled but it continued forward undeterred.
Blade slashed and claws flashed as the two of them fought in the air. Kai used his wings for mobility and scythe to attack. While the wyvern easily took Kai’s attacks and lashed out with its powerful jaws and claws. The two of them battled in air trading blows; the only thing preventing Kai from being too damaged was his armor that was getting ready to give way and the throne that kept on striking them with lightning.
Kai finally found his opening. The wyvern had gone all in on an attack leaving its wing open. Kai struck out at it his scythe aiming to tear through the membrane. Something struck Kai before he had the chance. The attack shot Kai down and into the gore covered ground. Kai’s hands closed it fist and he shoved himself up and out of the couple inch deep blood while ignoring the strange feeling of something in his hand.,
Looking up Kai saw a man with red membranous blood wings flying next to the wyvern.
“For slaughtering my army you will die.” The man said imperiously while glaring down at Kai.
Kai coughed out a mouth full of golden and crimson mixed blood. “If you're so mad about it why weren’t you out here earlier protecting them. Or were you too scared of a ten year old boy and waited until he was mostly dealt with already.” Kai said while glaring right back up at the man. Kai felt his hatred of this man boiling over. He hated that this man was willing to let his own sacrifice themselves while he did nothing and then claim to care.
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Kai could feel that he was basically out of mana and his spells would fail at any moment. Kai pushed himself the rest of the way and out of the blood as his fists tightened. The pain of something sharp digging into his free hand didn’t even register as he spoke words that held no meaning to him but felt as if they held infinite weight. “The will to sacrifice everything.”
With a single thought the armor covering Kai crumbled and the chain cage fell away, fueling his spells only leaving the cracked and crumbling halo, the wings and the throne behind.
Kai shot up into the air with a crack of lightning, his scythe in one hand the other clenched into a fist. Kai slashed out with his scythe. Black and red scythe met the general's crimson blade and this time it was the general who was thrown back. Kai chased after him ignoring the wyvern that was trying to attack him.
Kai’s attacks were wild and fierce, only bothering to dodge the very worst of hits that would have heavily damaged or outright killed him. Quickly Kai’s body was covered in wounds big and small dripping with golden blood.
As Kai attacked he quickly burned through them mana that he had managed to get back by cannibalizing his spells. Kai dug deeper reaching for something that was not mana, prawna or aether. It was something more, something primal and precious. Kai felt as if using it was a sin and would desiccate himself. It whispered that using it was the worst thing that could happen.
Kai crushed those whispers because to him the worst thing he could do was watch his loved ones get killed again. There was no sin he would not commit and he was willing to desecrate anything if it kept his loved ones alive even a second longer. Kai pulled on whatever it was, ripping it out of his blood and using it to fuel his spells. Kai felt a massive source connected to him and pulled on it.
Kai attacked his scythe and its phantom blades slicing through everything the general sent at him. The general dodged while trying to get an opening to attack but Kai threw himself at the general with the zeal of a fanatic.
The general raised his hand and quickly chanted out a spell. “Be bound by the crimson you spilled.” Chains of crimson blood shot up and wound themselves around Kai holding him in place. “Someone only fights with this amount of suicidal fervor when they have something to protect.” The general glanced over towards Emberwood. “Either there is someone or a person there you want to protect or you're one of those that wants to protect everyone. If that wasn’t it you would’ve just waited for the army.”
Kai trashed in his chains as a snarl ripped its way out of his throat.
The general grinned at him. “So it seems that I’m right. Well I can’t beat you, at least not without going down with you but clearly that is acceptable for you. So the best way to strike back is to kill those that you wish to protect.” With that the general jumped onto the wyverns' back and shot off towards Emberwood.
With a thought Kai directed the throne to use itself up, summoning a bolt of lightning to destroy the chains. The world turned white as a bolt of lightning descended destroying the chains and slightly scorching Kai’s skin.
Kai started picking himself up when the world turned crimson. An absolutely massive crimson red lightning bolt descended. As color returned to the world Kai could only see one thing. A crimson scale that was so big it took Kai looking around to even realize it was a scale and not a strange after image of the lightning.
Kai flapped his wings and shot backwards gaining some distance. Only to realize that he had to be at least fifty miles away from the scale he had first seen. Looking up he realized just what he was looking at and an aura that could match that of the gods he had met descended on him urging him to kneel to submit.
Kai looked up and up at the massive western style dragon. It had an immense coiling body with four legs. Its head was draconic and on top of its head was a pair of massive crystalline electric blue veined crimson antlers poking out from a mane of crimson hair. It released a breath of crackling crimson energy that Kai knew held enough power to easily destroy the man he had just been fighting five times over.
“Hello human child. Kneel down and accept your fate.” An arrogant female voice reverberated throughout his head filled with weight only the gods could best.
“No.” Kai growled out his eyes burning with rage and determination. “I will kill all of you even if I have to give myself over to the stygian depths. Now get out of my way or die.” Kai said as his knees began trembling under the strain of keeping himself up even if the weight wasn’t physical.
“You are a feisty one. Good if you want even a chance at proving yourself worthy of bonding with my child then you will need to fight for it. Child if you live long enough research to crimson plasma dragon.” Something froze Kai in place as a small blood drop shaped egg floated over towards Kai and then into him.
Kai felt his heart beat once, twice, thrice then shatter. Kai fell over as excruciating pain shot through him. Kai screamed as it felt like lava was poured into his veins and his very marrow. The pain was easily a match for what he had felt under the mountain when he had been experimented on. Slowly the egg settled in as the pain faded leaving numbness in its place.
Slowly Kai pushed himself up. Looking around Kai found that the dragon was gone. Kai reached up and placed his hand over his heart. Or where his heart used to be, Kai couldn’t feel his heart beating but there was something there pumping his blood throughout his body.
Kai decided to ignore it as he dug into himself reaching for the energy that he knew was a sin to use. Kai grabbed on and pulled a chunk of it out. With a flap of his wing and clap of thunder Kai was mid air, with another flap he was flying towards Emberwood.
Kai pushed as much of the energy into his wings as he could flying as fast as he could towards Emberwood. As Kai neared the town he funneled a bit of the energy to his eyes to enhance his senses. As the energy reached his eyes Kai felt an explosion of pain as it felt like his eyes had been lit on fire.
Kai pushed the distraction to the back of his mind as he used his enhanced senses to learn everything he could. He could hear the crackling of lightning and fire and the screams of men, women and children. In the sky the wyvern was fighting with some kind of large bird-like creature.
There was an explosion of fire and lightning mixed with the crimson glow of blood. Kai’s eyes narrowed and he shot forward hoping to find him here. As Kai flew there were more explosions and the faint sound of words. Kai focused completely when he managed to barely make out the sound of the general's voice.
For a second Kai was able to see the man until he dodge to the side and a mass of lightning and fire hit a house causing it to explode. Kai shot through the explosion with his scythe already swung. As Kai shot out of the smoke coming from the collapsed house his eyes focused on the general. Kai’s scythe hit flesh and the man’s leg was cleanly chopped off.
“Roaring tide of sanguine death.” All of the blood around them gathered together and struck out at the young man that Kai just noticed who had been attacking the general. The man was blown back as a large young was opened in his side.
Kai ignored everything but the man in front of him and the scythe slicing at the general's neck. With a flap of his wings the general dodged Kai’s attack. His hands were splayed out to either side of himself and masses of roiling blood were flowing towards him. As the blood reached him his wounds were slowly knit back together.
Kai continued on, never stopping for a moment as he constantly swung his scythe. Kai managed to create a couple small wounds on the man but nothing that couldn’t be quickly healed up. Kai growled as yet again he grabbed onto a chunk of the power and ripped it out and channeled it into his spells. A lightning wreathed phantom blade formed on the end of Kai’s scythe and he attacked. As Kai scythe neared him a woman with short black hair appeared out of a puff of darkness daggers in hand. The woman attacked the man forcing him to choose between taking her attack or Kai’s.
The man continued dodging out of the way of Kai’s attack and into the womans. Her daggers dug into his chest. Jagged barded blades of darkness sprouted from her own and the woman wretched, ripping out a mass of flesh and a couple ribbes exposing some of the man's insides.
As the man had dodged towards the woman a ball of roiling crimson mana had gathered in his hand. As the chunk of flesh was ripped off his chest he touched the woman and the crimson ball exploded sending her flying backwards.
Again Kai swung his scythe, the phantom blade detached from his scythe and was sent flying at the man. The blade hit him, cutting a gouge in his chest. Kai flapped his wings charging towards the man. At the same time the man flapped his own wings fleeing from him. As Kai chased him he sent more blades flying.
The man flew around a corner and Kai darted after him. Kai ripped out another chunk of energy and used it to ready another phantom blade.
As Kai turned the corner he saw crimson balls sinking into the people that hadn’t yet fled. As the balls sank it the people were quickly drained of all the blood in their body. “Come to me, crimson life. Blood drain.” More balls formed and were launched at more people.
Kai’s eyes flickered over to see who had been targeted as he prepared to send the blade at the man. Kai’s mind went blank, the force pumping blood through his body stopped, and the rage burning within him died down before flaring up with greater force than ever. Kai swung his scythe sending the phantom blade to intercept the balls targeting five people that Kai would rather never see again than see here.
Phantom blade met balls of roiling crimson and stopped them from hitting Thane, Tom, Bear, Nixie and Sarah. At that moment both Kai and the general paused, both frozen in place their gazes flicking between the five and each other.
“This whole time you have never acted to save the people I have targeted except for this time.” The general said slowly.
“I don’t want you healing yourself.” Kai said quickly before cursing at himself as a large smile spread across the man's lips. Kai reached out towards the remnants of the vast consciousness sleeping in his bones.
“No I don’t think so.” The general said while shaking his head. “This is what you have been trying to protect.” A wide smile crossed the man's face.
Kai readied himself prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him from killing them. He grabbed onto the consciousness prepared to give himself over to it, to embrace the end and take this general with him.
Kai’s eyes met Thane’s “Kai, I know that you will try and save us But leave a way out for yourself.” Kai’s gaze wavered as he released the consciousness. He wanted to, was willing to sacrifice himself but he was unwilling to go against their wishes. Kai’s gaze swept over the five of them pleading for one of them to give him permission, to allow him to take this man with him into the grave.
Sarah smiled a kind smile at him. “Kai, whatever happens today, live and live happily.”
The general's smile grew. “As I thought, they are who you’re protecting.” The man's eyes glinted in a way eerily similar to Kai’s. “I’m going down and I’m taking them with me.” A mass of mana and an energy almost exactly the same as what Kai had been using gathered inside the man. “Crimson retribution.” A beam of crimson red mana shot out of the man towards the five.
Kai’s mind went into overdrive as he flapped his wings. Kai would do everything he could while leaving himself a chance at survival just as he had been asked. Kai’s gaze met Tom’s and in that instant he knew who Tom, Thane and Bear would want him to protect above all but himself.
Kai put his body right in front of Nixie with Sarah only to his side. His four pairs of wings stretched out as far as they could managing to partially cover everyone. The beam of crimson mana slammed into Kai’s chest. The mana dug into Kai like thousands of tiny ants made of fire, slowly eating away at him. The mana slowly started to infect Kai moving throughout his body eating away at it.
All of a sudden the beam got larger and stronger. It hit him with greater force Causing him to stumble back. Slowly it ate away at his body and his wings started to go dull and lose their feathers. Kai felt weakness creeping in, sores appeared on his skin and pus filled boils formed and popped. Kai’s skin turned pale, his knees buckled and he collapsed. Something in his chest thudded and the sores and boils faded leaving behind pale skin.
Muffled screams rang out from the sides as Kai’s wings slowly began to break apart. Kai held in his own screams as pain racked his body and he did everything he could to keep as much of himself in between the beam and the others as he could.
Kai’s knees gave out and he collapsed. His head against the ground in such a way that allowed him to see the only thing left between the beam and Nixie was a black cracked and crumbling halo.
Slowly the beam faded and Kai’s mind started to go blank. Kai reached out trying to claw his way towards Nixie and the others.
The general fell out of the sky barely managing to keep himself on his feet. “I-” the general let out a hacking cough that almost caused him to fall over. “I… will… kill them.” The man managed to wheeze out. “Scraps of mana and that other energy gathered together into a roiling ball of crimson. “Die.”
The man was cut off as a river of lightning crashed down onto him. In the middle of the lightning was a handsome young man wielding a sword that Kai instinctively knew was a bond armament.
Kai reached out with the control over lightning that his crown offered. With a thought Kai caused the lightning to explode completely annihilating the general and slightly singling the young man. Then everything went black.