Part 1
Warm. That was what he felt.
As his face embraced the hard, earthen ground. As the smell of dirt and iron began fading from his nostrils.
As the rumbling from the thunderous laughter of gods know what become an ever-distant echo. All he could think about was how warm it felt to lie in that crimson pool while his consciousness faded off.
It was comforting. It was soothing. It was likely the last thing he would feel.
At least, it would have been…
“STAY UP!!! DON’T GIVE IN!! THERE’S STILL TIME!!!”
Gesa’s uncanny vigor roused the young shaman up for one final gambit. He channeled the last of Gesa’s aura still coursing through him. He focused it into using another aspect of Gesa’s authorities.
If Gesa is the god of land and sea then it isn’t simply the earth that he controlled but water as well.
Gesa’s golden aura wrapped and engulfed three of the elixirs in Oraki’s pouch. Mwana had given these to Oraki before embarking on this journey.
It then subtly but promptly drew out their sacred waters and brought the contents of one elixir to his mouth, after which the other two acted on the gaping hole in his chest.
Their blue tinted aura was proof of their innate healing prowess imbued by Lady Tana herself. However, in order for Oraki to rapidly heal the damage that he had sustained, it was necessary to complement their power with Gesa’s divine aura.
This would require rejuvenating his mind and allowing more of Gesa’s aura to be safely channeled. Hence, the purpose of the first elixir going to his mouth.
The site was as shocking as it was miraculous to behold. Especially for the Ox King that had just finished celebrating his victory.
He saw the explosive burst of aura followed by the increasingly rapid healing. Rather, the complete regeneration of the wounded chest from moments prior…
“HRAGGGGHHHH!!!!”
He could not help but let out a cry of frustrated rage. As if he was offended by the very idea of Oraki’s continued survival. It was as if he was saying…
“Why? Why won’t you just die!!!”
Such were the sentiments that his eyes exuded. Observing this, Oraki couldn’t help but remark on it.
“Quit complaining. You get to do this trick for free. If I didn’t have these bottles, I’d be dead.”
As Oraki said this, the gaping hole was fully sealed off by regrown flesh. It was a tedious task that still left him rather exhausted in spite taking an elixir to refresh his mind and stamina.
The fact of the matter was that he had lost a great deal of blood and energy. As renewed as his mind was, he could not maintain final state for too long.
Still, without further ado, he trained his eyes on the Ox King.
Oraki’s golden eyes seemed like daggers to the Ox king as he felt their aura pierce through him. It felt like everything that the Ox King was had been laid bare for Oraki to see. In a sense, it was true. The Ox king no longer had any armor to shield him from Gesa’s gaze.
A thousand images flashed through Oraki’s mind as he saw a tale of fear, a tale of carnage and a tale of fate. The fate of a certain boy that challenged a raging storm. As well as the horrid voices that spurred it on.
After seeing all this, Oraki could not help but give a gentle but somber smile.
“I see. It seems fate truly is a fickle mistress. To think I would misjudge a ‘calamity’ before me a second time…”
“Oraki…” Gesa seemed to follow suit in Oraki’s melancholy.
He would have wanted to give him words of comfort. Reassurance that things were different. That they themselves were also different. He could not.
For the streaking light of lilac flame had made itself a more dire priority.
The Ox king had frantically unleashed a flaming strike guided by an earth-shattering whip. It engulfed everything in its line of attack in destruction and flame. Except for Oraki, the true target of his wrath.
Riding on a launched boulder, having evaded the Ox King's assault, Oraki’s thoughts shifted to the task at hand. To end the arduous 'calamity' before him.
"Mad about me peeking, eh? Why not blast a hole through me? Or do you need me to hit you again?"
Oraki’s surprising taunting was not far off.
The Ox king’s attack was surprisingly similar to Oraki's own attack on him. The natural conclusion was that it was a reflective curse that forced the exact kind of damage you delt to him onto yourself. Albeit at ten times its potency.
The fact that Oraki saw through it to such a degree made the Ox King's discomfort all the greater as he tried to knock him out of the air. To no avail.
“Still. The technique he used on me was quite a power. That thing’s aura suddenly came out of nowhere and then I had a hole in my chest.”
Even though Oraki defended himself with all he had at the time, it wasn’t enough.
Even if Oraki had decided to utilize less than thirty percent of his capacity on that attack, it would still have been reflected back with a far greater effect than he could ever protect against. The result was plain to see.
“If I hadn’t focused all of my aura on defense and resisting the effect. It’s likely my entire torso would have been blown off.”
This grim thought made Oraki realize how fortunate he was. As for how the behemoth did it, one thought came to mind.
“Did he place it on me when he grabbed my spear? Why didn’t I notice it? That kind of potent aura doesn’t come out of nowhere unless it was…through the Astral Corridor?”
“It was much simpler than that.” Gesa reassured Oraki.
“He had made the aura too fine to be observed regularly thereby making it visible through only one way. By looking through the Inner Sea, the inner world in all physical things.”
“Which explains why it felt like it was rising out of nowhere. Because it was expanding out from the Inner Sea.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I’ll just have to work around that.”
As Oraki hovered above the carnage of scorching trees he evaded the whip a final time while circling round the Ox King.
He promptly launched the boulder he was riding along with several others that he drew out of the ground. All of them trained at the Ox king's face.
The Ox king placed his arm up to guard it. However, the hardened stone impact he was anticipating was changed into a fluid mud at the last instant. A delayed effect that wrapped the earthen substance onto his raised forearm and looped round his neck. Leaving his lower left side vulnerable.
The horned giant thrashed about but the lock held. He finally melted through it but it had served its purpose.
No sooner was he free than he beheld a streaking light aimed straight for him. Rather, the ground beneath his feet.
There was no time to even ponder its intent as the ground beneath him turned into a sinking abyss. The scorching foliage around him seemed to rise up in retribution as it engulfed him.
In truth, the foliage was being raised alongside the ground that their roots had been fixed into. A mound of earth wider than the widest building and taller than the tallest tower had sealed the beast in its overwhelming embrace.
Oraki had successfuly trapped his enemy without causing any direct harm to him. Surrounded by reinforced earth more than twice his size. It was an impressive binding.
However, Oraki was no fool. He knew that a small hill such as this was nothing to one who could set mountains ablaze. The faint red glow of melting rock was already beginning to emerge on this earthen wonder.
" I only have a little bit of time but it's all I'll need. Now that I know the truth of this beast I no longer need to hesitate about what comes next."
Part 2
Rena couldn’t believe her eyes.
The underground labyrinth extending before her was littered with swarms of man-eating rodents. A rare type of demonic beast that worked as a colony. In truth, it was like a small calamity or a child’s nightmare was standing before them.
And yet, what truly shocked her was how fearlessly and quickly Matuzo dispatched all of them. The flames of Degir cleared a path straight through any large onslaught they faced.
His blade would then cleave away any remnants that would stand in his way. Never stopping for a second.
Rena struggled just to keep him within her view as she trailed behind him. The other mercenaries with her didn’t fare much better.
She had always known Matuzo was a powerful warrior but this was the first time she had seen him fight so desperately and concisely. Not wasting a moment of time.
Looking at him like this brought so many questions.
What was this place? How did he even know where exactly he was going?
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It was always one mystery after another when it came to him.
However, the biggest mystery soon came into view. A stone door at the hallway’s end.
“Is this what he was rushing for? What on earth could be behind that door that couldn’t wait until his seven minutes were up?”
Rena’s thoughts were well warranted. Matuzo still had three more minutes without Mawazo’s prowess. He could just bide his time and then face whatever lay beyond with his full capacity.
The answer to her query would soon become apparent for all to see.
Part 3
“How? How could this happen!? Why won’t they just die!!!”
She was beyond livid. All she had planned. All she had built. Even her strongest gambit had failed.
The high priest of Gesa stood alive and well. Her allies were falling in record time and the glasses-wearing shaman responsible was making his way to her.
Horrid news on every front. She focused her power to free the one thing she knew she could place her bets on.
The pinnacle of her demonic guard. The Ox King. Trapped in an earthen mound but soon to be free.
Controlling the Ox king required influencing both the host and also the entity known as The Ox King. She had managed to come to an amicable agreement and they even dealt a lethal blow to her enemy. Sadly, to no avail.
Nevertheless, she would push forward for the sake of her ambitions. She funneled her power into the Ox King. This aided him in forming a weapon powerful enough to cleave away at the earthen prison.
Seeing through his eyes, she saw the lilac light of his axe carving a searing path through the earthen mound. It revealed the form of the divine vessel that had sealed him inside of it.
Without further ado, he attacked the shaman as was expected of him. Normally, Latisha would greatly approve of such a prompt action.
However, she was too busy being dumb founded by the spectacle before her eyes. A crystallization of divine power unlike anything she had ever seen had been manifested by her enemy.
“What is that? What in blazes IS that!?”
Part 4
Oraki focused Gesa’s aura into his Rungu staff. It shifted form from its white stone appearance with vibrant decoration to that of a three meter- long, onyx glazed staff with a spherical, bud-like front end.
This was followed by two other bud-shaped rings below it. The only part not laced in onyx stone was the grooved hand-grip forming in Oraki's palm.
As he held it out taking a readied stance, he then uttered the hallowed words that gave rise to this sacred treasure’s true form.
“NKUKI LAGESA [GESA’S SPEAR]”
The onyx bud like head sprout open revealing a well carved, long, silvery-white, stone spearhead.
This was Gesa’s Spear. One of the three Sacred Spears of Vutenia. It was the ultimate crystallization of all of Gesa’s authorities over the land and sea itself.
As such, while it was indeed shaped like a spear, it was actually a tool of creation itself.
It was said that this divine spear was used to separate the heavens from the earth. That it gave rise to the very horizon. It even set the boundaries and form of both the physical and spiritual.
The three bud-like shapes represented three different levels that Gesa’s power could be manifested. At his current state, Oraki could only open one of them but that was more than enough for his intended task.
In the distance, the red glow of heated stone switched to a vibrant orange. It was the final sign of impending doom as the large mound burst open.
Oraki was unperturbed by this development. His goals were as clear and as piercing as the searing light of the setting sun.
As soon as he came into view, the Ox King wasted no time in lowering his axe at the approaching shaman. Oraki met it head on.
The axe in question clashed with the sacred spear for but a split second. It was more than enough.
The mountainous edge seemed to instantly collapse into a fluid state before ultimately fading away in the intense golden aura emanating from the divine spearhead.
It wasn't intense heat. This was something far more complex in its conception.
Having swiftly dealt with the axe, Oraki ran up the Ox King's forearm in equal fashion.
The Ox king instinctively sensed the danger in having him in such close proximity to his vitals. His frame ignited in defensive flames that thankfully seemed to chase him off his body.
However, this did not mean he had been given reprieve. In truth, Oraki was exactly where he wanted to be. High above him and brandishing his spear in unbridled eagerness.
The Ox king had two paths; to retreat from the oncoming onslaught or to face it head on. Retreat was impossible while still surrounded by the mound of earth that previously sealed him.
Thus, he prepared to clash with the descending vessel of divine prowess.
The Ox king’s hand morphed into a large metallic gauntlet that covered his forearm. It also had immense beast-like claws.
It was likely the closest thing to a shield that a calamity like him had. After all, the cursed power of the Ox King could only manifest tools of bloodshed rather than protection.
The metallic gauntlet reached out to block the descending 3-meter-long spear that was now growing to twice its size. A thick coat of lilac light served to bolster its defenses.
Demonic and divine. For an instant, time seemed to stop as the two strongest forces clashed with thunderous might.
The spear in Oraki's hand scratched against the metallic surface of the demonic gauntlet. By all rights it should have dissolved it just as well as all the other weapons. However, the power behind it was now primarily focused on resisting the effect that the spear was invoking rather than just making the gauntlet stronger.
He could see the creeping aura nestled in tendril-like pathways through the Inner Sea. How they desperately tried to break through the defensive barrier around Gesa’s Spear.
It was a desperate bid at placing the reflective curse before any damage was made. This would allow the Ox King to counter just a split second before receiving any fatal damage.
As a demonic force he had more leeway in that regard when compared to Oraki. The curse could turn a stab through the hand into Oraki losing his entire arm and nearly dying from blood loss. In an instant at that.
Luckily, Oraki had set the spear to defend against such encroachments from the Inner Sea. The real difficulty no longer lay in the reflective curse but overcoming the gauntlet’s defenses. But this was not because of its resistance to the spear’s effects.
It was the voices. The rage filled voices of the cursed spirits empowering the great beast and the gauntlet he wields.
Oraki could hear the lamentations through his connection with Gesa’s spear. He could see the unjust suffering they had endured only to be sacrificed for the sake of defeating him.
Nonetheless, Oraki pushed on. He thought of why he had come here. He thought of the sister he had journeyed all this way to save. He thought of the boy once called a cloud of mist and his unfortunate fate...
"I…I won't pretend to understand your pain but...the boy...that boy should not bear that weight for you!! This destiny…isn't…his!!!"
He wasn't sure if they could hear his pleas. He didn't care. His words were to raise his own resolve more than anything else. He pushed forward focusing all he could muster into the spear. Risking his very being in the process.
The sudden rise in power broke through the gauntlet, pierced through the Ox King's palm and unraveled its existence just like the axe from moments prior.
It proceeded to tear into his forehead right below it; Oraki’s true target.
The Ox king let out a painful cry. He violently writhed in desperation trying to shake Oraki off as golden light emanated from his veiny neck down to his heels. It seemed to emanate from the veins through his entire body.
He violently broke out of the remaining mound debris as he darted around and tried to grab onto Oraki. All this effort was only for his arms to dissolve before he could have the chance.
Eventually, he stopped struggling. His eyes no longer had the sharp and fearful hunger for carnage that had seemed so commonplace. They were wide and calm…as if realizing a certain truth.
Slowly, his body began to shift into a fluid form. From the base of his toes to his shoulders, all of it unraveled in Gesa’s light.
As his head sank in the shifting fluid mess that was once his body, the so-called Ox king closed his eyes in resignation. However, the spear that had sealed his fate was pulled out before Gesa’s light could fully engulf him.
This was not a killing blow. For it was never intended to be.
It drew out the fluid mass of the giant’s head and left behind a frail form lurking within.
A boy. No longer a cloud of red mist but now free from the raging storm.
This had always been the goal. To save the boy within.
The colossal mass faded away in a flash of Gesa’s light. The divine spear soon followed suit as it reverted back to the Rungu-shaped staff that was Oraki’s scepter.
However, Oraki had let go of the weapon entirely as he focused on more immediate matters. They were still more than five meters above the uneven ground littered with rocky edges across its surface.
Any normal person falling from such a height would not be left unscathed. An unconscious child even more so.
Oraki grabbed onto the boy’s descending frame without a second’s delay. They landed unceremoniously on the ground below.
As he stumbled in exhaustion, he managed to set the boy on the ground with acceptable grace. His breathe erratic but his mood ecstatic. He had done it. He had beaten the calamity before him. The one that mattered.
All that was left was to regroup with the others but it was impossible. His body was beyond exhausted. Gesa’s spear was difficult to handle even in Oraki’s peak condition.
As he waddled back in vain, he found himself falling to his knees before dizziness and exhaustion finally caught up to him. And so, he too would lie on the ground drained of most of his vigor.
“Damn…it…I suppose this is all I …heh… I’ll leave the rest to you, Matuzo…”
These words ended the great struggle between Gesa’s most proficient shaman and Latisha’s strongest weapon.
For a time, there was a peaceful lull. All that remained was a howling wind. A testament to the stalemate that was their struggle.
Only for a time…
As the young boy lay there, his body dyed in the forest of shadows cast by the setting sun, something soon rose from their dark embrace.
It began with a mark appearing on the boy’s cheek and with it a dark form manifested right next to him.
It was a mud-like burst from the shadowed earth that revealed a woman of elegance and stature. A woman of unbridled power. At least, she was…
The look in her eyes was that of exhaustion. The look in her eyes was that of desperation. The look in her eyes was red with livid fury.
She drew out a dagger. Her target was only a few paces away. As haggard as she was, she still managed to place herself atop the resting shaman.
Tightly and swiftly. Her blade cut through the air in a streaking light…
Part 5
She had tried to stop it. She gave it all she could but that golden light was far too bright, far too unyielding.
She ran out of most of her power before losing control entirely.
To add salt to the injury, without the Ox king's aid it was impossible to turn things around.
It was over but she would not fall without taking one trophy.
The High Priest had given his all to defeat her. He was exhausted. No longer a threat.
Between facing the oncoming army lead by Mawazo's vessel or taking out Gesa's strongest shaman while in retreat, the answer was obvious.
"DONGO UZI... [Bind and rend...]"
She gleefully whispered the chant that gave rise to an engulfing burst of black mud. It submerged her form into an infinite sea of darkness.
She travelled through a path nested between the spiritual and physical realms in order to reach a destination she had bound to her very being. One that placed her in front of her goal.
With bated breath she approached the sleeping prey.
The source of her troubles started the moment she became distracted by the existence of the man before her. His power was a constant worry. An approaching omen.
Now, with dagger in hand, her malevolent thoughts could be made manifest.
“Him. Only him. If I can kill just him then I can still win this.”
She couldn’t move.
“Is that what you were thinking?”
Her wrist registered a sharp pain that ran through her like a bolt of lightning.
“AARGH!!! H...How…?!”
Her words were directed at the figure that seemed to parrot exactly what she had been thinking seconds prior.
“How am I here? It’s really simple. I just followed you.”
The shocked visage on Latisha’s face faintly reflected on the glassy surface of Matuzo’s spectacles.
“No. I closed it before you could reach me…”
“Indeed, you did. It was quite the technique. That cursed mud you make use of acts as a medium linking multiple locations to each other.
It then allows you to transport yourself across vast distances by taking a path through the Astral Corridor. It’s how you managed to drop 6-meter ogres on us seemingly out of nowhere.”
Latisha tried to free her hand but his iron grip only got tighter.
“In this boy’s case it seemed you fused it onto his very being and used it to manipulate him. Efficient but rather cruel.”
“What would you know about cruelty?”
She tried to muster some strength for a basic curse but was soundly pacified with another shock.
“More than you think.”
The cold reply came.
There was no mistaking it. Lightning was somehow being run through her.
It would have killed her if its strength wasn’t being lowered.
The only reason she was alive was due to Matuzo’s leisure.
“In any case, to answer your first question. I simply used basic deduction to narrow down the path you took. After that I latched onto some of your mud and opened a path of my own to said destination.”
“Impossible. That mud is a witch exclusive secret. You don’t have Mawazo’s power right now. I can feel it. So how could you have…”
The answer was in plain sight. The book on Matuzo’s waist. The crest was not of a divine institution but of a demonic one.
“You mean you’re…” The shock in her face was terrifying.
“What I am is not your concern right now.”
A final jolt of lightning. A final cry of pain. And so, the cult leader of 100 witches was put to sleep.
“I have a lot of questions for you but that will come later. For now, I have to take care of these two.”
Matuzo looked at the other two parties having a premature nap. A look of relief on his face from seeing the peace in their own.
“Hmm. Looks like Oraki might’ve won this time. Good for him.”
And so, the last ray of ephemeral twilight sank into the curtain of trees. And yet while the sun had set, a new dawn still seemed to ‘rise’ with the moonlit sky.