He focused as hard as he could, but nothing happened. He tried to growl and kick, but all his efforts were futile -- he was trapped in an eternal nothingness.
A vision of a purple evening sky appeared and a voice resonated inside of him.
“Hunter was right. We were fools. We’ve spent all these years waiting for a chance to redeem ourselves. Now it is here. Enjoy this temporary eternity, think, remember and see all that you missed. This is a gift.”
The sky disappeared and Jack was left confused in nothingness. After some time, he decided to follow the instructions and think through everything.
A picture of a black cat devouring hordes of soldiers and deadmen in the depths of the Hall of Ceremony appeared.
Huh… I see what I think about?
What’s Guardian doing right now?
The scar-covered bald man cried on the shoulder of his servant.
No, that’s impossible… This must be all made up, right? Um… where’s Nite?
His horse decomposed on the road to Villered -- no one had even bothered to move the corpse out of the way.
Well, some of these pictures seem true, but I really don’t want to believe Guardian can cry...
Here -- the day Guardian took me into the Swords?
There was a massive temple in the middle of a dense forest. The sky above it swiftly switched from day to night, night to day. On the ground near the temple’s grand entrance, a familiar face stood, confused.
Old Kreedence?
What the hell is this vision showing me? What is this temple?
Inside, Guardian bowed, surrounded by a dozen powers that be. Two children with empty eyes stood beside while one laid limp in his grasp. That kid had curly black hair and was the most familiar of all.
Suddenly, Jack’s memories changed. He’d thought that he was an orphan and that Guardian had bought him into the Swords of the Guardians from an uptight orphanage keeper. Now, his memories showed that--once his parents died--a group sorcerers kidnapped him and used his soul for their power. Guardian captured the orphanage and felt a little sad for him. Most importantly, he saw an opportunity. So, he took little Jack on a trek to a temple far from any town. Guardian made a deal with the powers that be--including Hunter--and saved Jack along with a pair of other children. The powers used their sorcery to unenchant the kids. Hunter even gave Jack some of his blood.
Shivers would’ve gone down Jack’s back and his jaw would’ve dropped, but he had no physical body in the nothingness.
Everything makes perfect sense, he floated in bedazzlement. I’m cursed. I’m powerful. I’m predestined.
It’s like, every second, my mind is exponentially expanding…
Jack focused on remembering: Guardian giving him the quest for the purple rose, reaching the cemetery and entering the Hall of Ceremony. Pictures of every moment appeared with perfect clarity and all the dots connected with lightning speed.
You knew me better than I thought you did, Guardian. You made a deal. The powers saved us. In exchange, either you or me, had to, two dozen years later, return and serve the powers. Obviously, you tricked me.
They wanted me to return because the blood Hunter gave me brewed and grew into an immense amount of power.
Hunter didn’t run once Everia attacked because he had to save Helen. He knew I would return with strength able to destroy that creature.
I thought I’d work hard, run away and then make my destiny. Once I entered the Hall of Ceremony, I thought I could become an explorer, discovering incredible new things. But I could never understand that my destiny was already decided for me.
I’m the gambit in Hunter’s game of love.
Why did the powers that be give me this “chance”? What do they want from me?!
They understood that Hunter was right and that they were fools, but why’d they put so much focus on me…
This doesn’t make sense. Unless…
...Unless they need me to kill him...
The nothingness started to move and pieces of reality slipped in.
If what I just realized is true, I can break through the Gunpowder of the Deal and destroy Everia with the right curse from his book.
Jack arrived in a familiar place. Fallen and deteriorated statues lined the walls of the magnificent chamber. Behind, the portal disappeared and--in front--Hunter drew his weapons. They were in the Grandest Chapter.
Everia stood, holding the urn while servants surrounded her.
“Sure, sure,” Hunter said. “This is it. The end. What we’ve been fighting for.”
“No it’s not!” Jack raised his voice. “We have to talk.”
“We’re about to change the damn world and you’re questioning me?!”
“You’re about to have a fight you’ll lose.”
“How are you--” Hunter froze then laughed. “Well, let’s talk, Everia will wait.”
“I’m more powerful than you. I am a god on the level of Everia. Why didn’t you tell me you were scheming this all along?”
“If you used that power, you would’ve killed her. I’ve spent all these years weakening her and waiting for Guardian to bring you to me. I couldn’t let you take her from me. Indeed, she destroyed my power, drove away the other gods and took the Hall of Ceremony, but I would have gotten it all with your help.”
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“No, you know this place in and out, and every command there is! You could’ve killed Everia and gotten everything back.”
“You’re curious, but that doesn’t mean you’re not stupid. If I kill Everia, I won’t be able to return the urn!”
“What are these lies?!”
“I am the urn.” Everia spoke, its inhuman voice echoing through the half-destroyed Grandest Chapter. “If he killed me, what would he return?”
“T-that means,” Jack stuttered. “It means Helen--”
“Helen was a fool for not cutting me out of her body. Hunter was a fool for being too gentle and using untested sorcery to save her.”
Oh… fuck…
“We have no time!” Hunter slapped Jack’s shoulder.
“You have no time,” Jack and Everia said at once.
“You’re right.” Hunter shook his head. “We can’t win unless you use your power. Take my journal, open the dictionary and read the fifty fifth line.” He chucked the leatherbound book at Jack.
Jack opened it and started flipping through the familiar pages. As he landed on the dictionary of the tongue of death, Hunter stepped towards Everia, keeping a cold face.
“Coradefos ma v’blogisare!”
All the servants disappeared and Everia squealed.
There’s no one left to take out! Jack thought then took his words back. Why would I--
Out of the endless rows of entrances, doorways and dark pits in the ground, countless deadmen emerged, all servants of Everia.
Jack’s eyes swiftly went down to the fifty fifth line and he spoke the command. “Hor ga icora--”
Wait… that doesn’t mean what it should!
A shaft of light rose from his bust and he grabbed his chest, struggling to keep it in.
“You bastard!” Jack said. “You thought I’d fall for it?!”
The old man stopped intensively staring at Everia and cackled. “Sure, sure… You didn’t realize what was going on around you. Why should have you realized I’m trying to steal the power back?”
“Because now I understand what’s really happening!”
“You thought that many times!” Hunter laughed harder. “Each time you were a fool!”
Jack growled and his fingers twitched. He wanted to grab his fernolock pistol and shoot what bullets remained into the old man’s back then stab him with the dagger until he was mush. But Jack contained the anger and stared back in the journal. It contained lines upon lines of commands and curses in the tongue of death. It was the most powerful weapon there ever was. And it was in his grip.
Jack read the words, making sure to memorize at least some, then spoke what his eyes saw. The words gave him more power, spewing destructive bolts of black void which turned thousands of Everia’s servants into dust.
“Yes,” Jack mumbled under his breath then tried another pair of commands and curses.
This time, the journal combusted into flames. Jack dropped it, stomped out the fire and picked the hot book back up. Only coal and ash remained of the dictionary. Jack cursed, bringing Everia’s attention to himself.
Hunter used the moment and shouted a curse. Everia fluttered and parts of its humanoid shape dissipated.
Sighing, Jack took out his dagger and charged Everia. He had no clue how to fight a god, apart from screaming at it in an ancient tongue, but he tried nonetheless -- everything was in his hands.
Everia turned to Hunter and shot countless aura tentacles at him. They wrapped around each of his limbs, smashing him into the ground then raising it up to head level with Everia.
“Everia!” Jack said. “Let go of the ancient fool!”
The creature turned and fired a streak of smoke at him. Jack made a step right then a step left, perfectly dodging and grinned. He became pretty good at predicting the projectiles of unfathomable evil forces during his journey through the Hall of Ceremony.
The god laughed with him and fired a boulder of void. He jumped back, his eyes widening. The ground he’d stood on a second ago turned to rubble. Taking a deep breath, he jumped over the pit, but stopped at the force of a hand on his shoulder.
A deadman had gotten through, stalling Jack for a moment. Only a moment, but that was enough for Everia to wrap around each of his limbs.
Jack screamed, but the curses had lost their strength.
“Help!” He fisted the ground, calling for Hunter. He knew it was hopeless. More and more tentacles of smoke caught on, causing more and more pain while a horde of deadmen climbed atop him.
Jack tried struggling out, but his limbs were locked by the creatures and burning from Everia’s auras, he tried screaming, but the white smoke swirled into his mouth, muting him. At least, from the corner of his eye, he could see Hunter still fighting.
The old man had freed himself, masterfully dodged Everia’s attacks and chanted commands. It was a fight between a husband who’d lost everything a woman overruled by power. The fight was less than fair, but Hunter knew her too well and managed to remain on top. Yet, he could only do that for so long. He had the shot to kill Everia countless times, but didn’t do it for if he did, he’d never see his wife. Well, her true, uncorrupted form.
You spent all these years, Jack thought, keeping your wife locked here, unable to kill her and reclaim your power, unable to see her true form for it would let the ultimate evil out.
But why did you do something once I arrived? I can’t change anything…
“Sure, sure… That’s enough!” Hunter said. “You can fight this evil side of yourself, Helen. Make it back off and let me bring you to the heart. That’ll be the end of this all!”
“Why are you like this, Hunter? What’s made you stay and believe in Helen, even after I destroyed it.”
“Because I know her better than you do, you sickness! I will free her and destroy you!”
“When you free Helen, we’ll also be free from the confines of the Hall of Ceremony.”
“Fool! You forgot Jack is here! I’ll free her and he will keep you in!” Hunter laughed, his voice cracking.
“Keep lying to yourself. If your boy is so powerful, why is he pinned down and on the verge of death?”
“Verge of death? Indeed, you are a fool.”
“This fight is over. You’ve lost your mind. You can kill us. But you won’t. So, you shall do as we say.”
“I will never!”
“Stop wasting our invaluable time and free your old wife, like you’ve always wanted. And while you're at it, kill Jack. You’re right, Helen has some force left in her and she made us fight you so she could see you and bring Jack closer to the Heart. He’s dangerous, full of your past power, but he’ll never be able to use it. We’ll let you kill him for… you’ll be more humane.”
“You never saw that I got a drop of his blood on the Gunpowder of the Deal. It brewed, even outside his body. You understand how many curses and commands it gave me?”
“Ah, every hour or two, a new line appeared? Oh, how much they’d hurt us if your errand boy didn’t accidentally destroy the journal!”
“That drop of blood is enough to destroy you.”
“You could’ve killed Helen before we grew in power, you could’ve killed us after you trapped her in the urn, you could’ve trained that boy and used him to kill us. But you didn’t and you won’t now.”
Hunter sighed. “Sure, sure… It’s time to stop this fighting. Let’s get it over. You’re not lying.”
Jack’s consciousness blanked out. He returned, floating in between Hunter and Everia.
“Why should we drop him?”
“I’m still the one in power. You’ve won only because I’m a weak man at heart.”
The white smoke around Jack disappeared and he fell to the ground, writhing and screaming. Hunter grabbed his forearm and tried raising him up. Where the old man touched, the pain became worse, but Jack managed to his feet.
“I’m sorry,” Hunter said, cutting Jack’s finger off. “You’re gonna have to lose another one soon.”
Jack screamed. Hunter slapped his cheek, took out a piece of paper and squeezed the finger until it dyed the whole thing red. Then, he whispered something under his tongue, the ground rumbled and the stone molded to form a tunnel.
Hunter hopped in and, dazedly, Jack stumbled after him. The entrance behind shut.