"Are you ready son" his father's voice sounded nervous. "Yes father, I will not be more ready than now and we have no more time to give of the week he gave me ends today." replied Karl.
His parents had gone and become more and more nervous as the week went on. "I have to be ready, she's waiting for me." muttered Karl as he inspected the enormous ritual he had made ready in front of him. it was a huge piece of technical machinations.
With the help of index and shadow, it was possible to combine the tracking ritual with a teleportation system and a shield system. The ritual had ended up filling way too much for it to be on the attic floor. They had ended up having to move it down into the gravel pit.
"Shadow, sure we made the fusion here between the shield and the portal right?" Karl asked quickly. "Yes yes Karl you have checked it at least 20 times now, you have practiced this so many times along with index that it should not surprise me if you could do it in your sleep now." commented shadow gnavent.
"Yes yes I just want to be safe, think if it does not open up around us when we arrive and he has then installed some security systems." Karl interjected nervously. "Don't worry Karl it should work" shadow replied calmly. "And as the index very nicely pointed out, it's usually warlocks who make traps and not the demons, it's very few of us who think of that kind." commented shadow calmly.
A little away from the great ritual that was almost 100 meters in diameter, Karl's parents stood next to Amira's parents who had spent almost all of their time with Karl's parents. Next to them sat Andreas' parents watching the ritual.
"It's incredible to see what incredible power and magic the old families have at their disposal." begin Andreas' mother. "It's unbelievable to watch." agreed Andreas' father. "How long must it not have taken and discovered how they can combine such rituals." continued his mother. Andreas just sat and studied Karl.
Think he had tried to win over a warlock that could do that kind of thing. Combining a portal with a tracking and a shield. It was so far out that it could be done that others had a hard time grasping it.
"Hey Andreas, Gabe, are you not coming over here?" cried Karl from the other end of the ritual. "Yes, come now" Andreas replied quickly. With a few quick steps they were over and standing next to Karl.
"Okay I have two things I want to hear from you" started Karl. "I want to hear if you want to come along and keep watch at the portal." Karl asked quietly "You do not have to if you do not want to, I know it is your brother Gabe, so can well understand if you do not want to stand in his way" Karl concluded.
"It may be that he is my brother, but mother and father threw him out many years ago because he can not control his ego and temperament." Gabe's answer. "We will come and stand guard." Andreas replied, "what was the other thing?" he asked as he looked at Karl.
Karl hesitated a bit before asking. "Gabe any idea what to expect on the other side?"
Gabe stood for a while, looking into the air. "My brother has always been too proud to accept help, so it's probably just him we'll meet." Gabe replied quietly. "Okay it's to deal with." replied Karl. "Hi everyone take some steps back I am ready to start the ritual." shouted Karl after a short pause.
Everyone quickly took a few steps away from the area, there were not some who would enjoy anything from being sucked in if anything happened. Karl took a deep breath. and fill his voice with mana
"I Karl Valantius am going to do something I do not know if I have the strength for." started Karl firmly “Therefore I will ask my ancestors if they will lend me a hand. I know you enjoy eternal rest, but I ask you as your descendants, help me now to save her I love. ” the next time karl opened his mouth it was with the same ancient sound as when he called shadow out of the void.
a dear is taken from me.
a dear I want back.
a picture taken by Karl and Amira when they were little, suddenly rose from the ground and began to shine
two parts beaten by the same whole.
two parts which are now far apart.
two siblings can find each other again.
two halves can be brought together again.
The small green crystal that matched the one Amira had around her neck, hovered up next to the picture. When the image and the crystal touched each other, they were surrounded by a golden ring.
we know where we're going, but there's a long way to go.
we do not have time to travel, but we must be there.
we have to be there now but can not.
we must open a door, but not a normal door.
we make a door through space, but also time
we step through with courage, but with caution.
suddenly there was a loud scream, as if the world itself was screaming in pain. in the middle of the ritual, a slit begins to open in front of them.
The people present could not grasp at all what was happening right before their eyes. Not only did Karl track down a person with only a picture and a crystal, but he also made a portal for her.
now I step deep into the territory of the enemy.
I would like to arrive safely.
therefore I take with me a shield.
I also take a small team with me.
let them also enjoy my shield.
Suddenly, a transparent bubble flashed around the entire ritual. "lets go." Was the only thing Karl said to Andres and Gabe before stepping through the new portal. Andres and Gabe looked a little nervously at each other "after you" Andreas laughed and slammed his hand against the portal. "Chicken" grinned Gabe before stepping through the portal. "We will be back as soon as we can" Andreas shouted, to the others before he too disappeared through the portal.
In a swamp laid somewhere in Brazil, a bright light and a small crack appeared in time and space. From the slit, complex patterns begin to crawl and spread out into the swamp. After a few seconds, a bubble appeared around the new ritual complex that had drawn itself into the swamp.
From the crack in the air, Karl stepped out with a face laid in deep folds of barely controlled hatred. while he stood looking around, Andreas and Gabe also came through the portal. "Okay boys Amira should be in there" said Karl pointing to a ruin of an old fort.
"If you get ready here, I have an appointment with a demon." said Karl firmly. before he could walk up to the fort Andreas shouted "hey man why didn't we just open the portal next to Amira?" Karl pointed angrily at a large stone with a symbol engraved on it
"It may be that he has a big ego but he is not stupid. He has set up an anti-portal barrier so we could not get any closer. ” Karl replied angrily as he began to walk up towards the fort
"Then it's finally time Karl, second round and let's make sure it does not end like last time." Even Shadow's mental voice sounded furious. Karl did not value shadow an answer all he did was direct his hand towards the gate that stood in his way.
"The power of a thousand men shockwave" hissed Karl, smashing his hand against the gate. The old worn gate did not stand a chance against the force of a Category 2 artillery incantation. Had it been a well-kept gate, it might have just managed it, but not this old dilapidated thing.
When the dust settled again, a large open space came into view. Karl stood for a while debating with himself about which way to go when the answer came to him from above. With a bang, a cobblestone landed hard next to Karl.
"Well then the little warlock actually dares to come" laughed the yellow ironskin demon scornfully. “But just because you have reached this point does not mean that you have won. I have a couple of friends who would like to be allowed to greet you. If you are still alive when they are done with you, then you can come up here so we can end this as real men, ”he shouted scornfully.
Karl just stood and stared up at the demon, "Where is Amira" he shouted loudly before the demon something to go his way. "Amira? ... well you think of the stupid girl, she's right here" the demon replied and lifted Amira up in her arms so Karl could see her. It was not a pretty sight what met him.
Her beautiful dress was torn to pieces, her beautiful face was smeared in dirt and her hair lay smooth against her sweaty skin. "Hold on Amira I'll come right away" Karl shouted with a mixture of hatred and fear in his voice.
The next thing that happened, the demon had clearly not anticipated. Amira suddenly opened her eyes wide open. Suddenly, the almost dead girl he had as a prisoner the last few days suddenly went up and showed how much power she actually had in her. before the demon had grasped what was happening he had a new bite mark on his arm and a heel planted right in his left eye.
When the pain was first registered, Amira had fallen the first 10 meters down the fort. Karl was immediately about to run towards the wall and was about to get ready to grab her when a black ball hit him hard in the side. at the same time as he was hit in the side, the demon telported himself down and captured Amira again.
He landed 10 meters next to where he stood and just managed to notice that Amira had been captured by the demon again. Karl had not seen how he had done it. What Karl had seen was that he was no longer alone in the courtyard. Out of one door of the fort came a serpent demon with long slender legs, and a bosom that was too large for her small shape.
"Beware Karl it's a succubus they are known for hypnotizing people and their shadow balls which can destroy even the strongest shields. They can easily achieve a category 3 destruction magic." sounded the shadow warning.
"Then it's good that you can help me see through the illusions and as long as I am not hit her shadow balls do no harm" Karl thought quickly.
"Before you start trying to kill me, may I ask what I did to you?" Karl asked cautiously. "It's easy you send my beloved Gabe to the hospital for days." she replied with a smile resembling what the cat gave a mouse just before it jumped on it.
"Fuck this is not good" thought Karl as he swallowed a lump that had settled in his throat. "Karl, maybe it's not as bad as it looks, I think I have a plan" Shadow interjected. "Okay let me hear"
"Shadow ball" shouted the succubus and Karl only managed to dodge it. Another shadow ball came flying a few inches from Karl's head, while he responded again with his own mana ball. It quickly developed into a dance. The two parties take turns shooting each type of maneuver one after the other. After a while, Karl started to get streaked by the balls, though not something that shadow could not compensate for.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“How long are you going to take against these blows? or you may not see where they come from anymore? ” asked the succubus scornfully. She was quite right a normal opponent would have a hard time seeing where the balls were coming from at the moment.
Most opponents, as the succubus assumed, would probably not be able to figure out where they came from, because they would see a whole bunch of her now. She had very cunningly intertwined illusions between her attacks. But now it was not a normal opponent she was up against. With the help of shadows, Karl could see through the illusion enough to see where she really stood. Reasons why he was hit were a whole different one.
During the last 10 minutes, Karl had slowly removed the distance between them, so it was due to lack of time to react that he could not manage to move completely anymore.
"You have missed something important" Karl laughed confidently, "and what should it be" she asked confused. I never shot far beside you, zenith siesta" before the demon could grasp what was happening, Karl disappeared and the next thing she heard filled her with fear. "Look up! Arcane arrow" of course she was stupid enough to obey and the last thing she saw was the blue light from an arcane arrow as it hit her right between the eyes.
Karl landed with a quiet tug. and looked back over her shoulder, and could see that she was still breathing. It was amazing how much you could survive as long as you have mana in your body.
It was incredible how easy it was to cheat demons, index had well explained that demons were so confident that they rarely double checked their stuff. but really? a master of illusion as she would Karl had thought was paranoid enough to check if her victim had actually fallen into the trap.
"It was the guard so there is only the boss left." said Karl aloud. "You're right," the shadow replied quietly.
After an unnaturally high number of wet and very slippery steps. There were no one to ask how many times Karl had slipped down a few steps. "Why can the evil demon not choose a cozy warm place with lots of sunlight and butterflies to hide his fort?" Muttered Karl as he pushed another old rusty door open.
The room Karl entered entered differed drastically from the staircase he had just found himself in. Instead of being darkly laid out and almost impossible to see anything in, this room was lit up by lots of candles. They hung everywhere and also stood scattered on the floor.
All that light made it clear to see that it was an old throne room, if otherwise Karl had to guess, from the large open space and the many stone pillars that hold the ceiling up.
There were two things that caught Karl's attention in the room beyond the lights. On a large elevation at the farthest wall stood a large throne on which Gabe's brother sat. The other Karl's gaze landed on was Amira who was sitting chained to the foot of the last stone pillar.
"Well then you survived" laughed the demon. “Yes and now I want that rematch. Unless you just want to let Amira go, ”Karl replied angrily. “Haha as if I would let such a slut go, she really has a spark without equal. She has bitten me 5 times now ”the demon laughed scornfully as he showed the marks from where she had bitten him.
“Dam girl, I knew you were cool, but to bite him 5 times? If at some point I get naughty then remind me of what you have done with his hand while you yourself were in chains okay ”exclaimed Karl and felt a lot of pride he could not quite understand.
Amira slowly raised her head and smiled at Karl. "I should, but shouldn't we just get out of here first?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, yes, we have to do that too, I have learned a few new tricks since last time" Karl replied and turned his gaze to big yellows as he had begun to call him in his head.
"When are we going to get started, let me open the ballet" Karl said loudly, pointing to large yellows. "Arcane arrow" Karl said coolly and a blue arrow sprang from his finger and drilled into the throne next to big yellow.
It would have hit right between his eyes if he had not moved his head. "I can see you've gotten better, but as long as it's not more than that, I'm still winning easily," laughed the big yellow.
"It was just the beginning, you can come down from your throne and see if you still think it's fun" Karl replied calmly. "Are you ready shadow" he asked quickly while keeping an eye on big yellows. "I'm quite ready nopoint in wasting time let's give it our all right away as long as he underestimates us then we can win easily" came the reply quickly
"Well then, let's see what you can dish up with your little worm" laughed big yellow as he rose from his throne. Before Karl had anything to say, big yellows were all over him and were about to hit him right in the face. Karl could see the confident smile creeping up on big yellow faces and knew that he thought it was too easy to beat him.
And the big yellows were also right in thinking, for the split second before he hit Karl, Karl disappeared from sight. Big yellow did not react fast enough and got an arcane arrow right in the back. "Damn it hurt" shouted big yellows as he took to his back.
"I'm smashing you," he shouted furiously, striking after Karl again. Again, with a wordless dawn, Karl disappeared. "The power of a thousand men shockwave" roared Karl and planted his fist in the back of large yellows, which fell forward with a bang. "What is it, you can not react anymore, you are getting old" teased Karl.
It was not because big yellows had become slow that he could not hit, it was Karl who had become so good at dawn flicker that he could both do it without calling its name, but could do it without any mistakes which cost him milliseconds , which big yellows had used to get to react to before.
With a roar, large yellows waited around and buried an arm deep in Karl's stomach. There was a bang when Karl broke the sound barrier and again when he hit through one of the stone pillars that carried the ceiling.
"It hurt your little satan" shouted the demon furiously. Amira just sat totally shocked. It had just looked like Karl was winning. But how were there to be any who survived that kind of thing.
Before Amira could panic, there was another bang from the pile of stones and rubble Karl was buried under. "It hurt," Karl's voice sounded weak.
Out of the mountain of dust Karl came staggering, but there was something different about him. Karl's figure was surrounded by a constant darkness, it almost looked like he was wearing armor.
“You survived it too? what the hell are you made of kid? ” asked the big yellow sour. "Right now ... A combination of bone, meat, mana and shadow element." Karl replied after a short hesitation.
"But enough about that, now that I'm fully charged, we can end this fight." with these words, Karl begins to walk slowly towards the great yellows. "Hahahaha what could you do to me, I can see you can barely stand" laughed the demon scornfully.
He was absolutely right Karl could only just stand on his own two feet, it had taken much more out of him to survive that blow than he had anticipated. "Yeah yeah you just laugh, but let me show you why it's a bad idea." muttered Karl as he stopped a few yards from big yellows.
Slowly and gently, Karl slid down into a wide battle stand, but both hands hanging loosely down his side. "The third dance of the shadow twilight deception" while Karl said these words he began to sway back and forth on the spot.
It had the effect that the shadows around his arms and legs began to become difficult to define. Suddenly it looked as if Karl was torn in the middle, where before there was a large shadow, there were now two smaller pieces. The two new shadow figures took a small step away from each other and begin to grow again. When they were both full size, they parted ways again. Big yellows just stood there staring at what was happening in front of him. "Don't you think I can see through the illusion of a simple duplication?" he asked angrily.
Karl could not let go and smile grimly at big yellows. That smile shook even large yellows in its foundation. Had it been just a normal smile on a human it would not have touched big yellows, but when it turned out to be a white chopped line in male shadow form it was the worst he had ever seen and he had seen a lot of suffering.
For a moment he saw the monster from his mother's stories. She had often told of the fearsome shadow demons. His mother's insistent voice sounded clear in his head when he saw that smile. "Never look too long into the void, you just risk it looking back at you one day" It was the beginning of an old story that parents often told their little ones if they would not hear.
The story was about how one day in the void the world itself had turned against the greatest and strongest demons. Only a few had survived the wrath of darkness. The only thing the survivors could tell was how the shadows had risen from the ground and smiled at them.
Here he stood now, watching the vision that every demon learned to fear from a very young age.
Karl's voice sounded distorted and gruesome from all the figures around big yellows. "I HAVE TO LEARN YOU TO FEAR THE SHADOWERS AGAIN" laughed Karl and his voice resounded throughout the throne room. Both Amira and the big yellows kept being in deep excitement at what would happen now. With a bang, large yellows were hit in the back by a mana ball. "I THOUGHT YOU CAN EASILY SEE THROUGH A SIMPLE ILLUSION" Karl laughed scornfully as big yellows began to stand and turn around to constantly see all the many versions of Karl now.
What big yellow did not realize was that Karl's shadows had gone and drawn on the floor under him "WHEN I THINK I HAVE TAKEN SOME VENGEANCE NOW AFTER THE TIME you gave me, goodbye" Karl laughed the next thing that came out of Karl's mouth got big yellow to freeze. all the way around him a chorus of voices sounded, and at once the symbols on the floor began to shine brightly.
you took my dear.
you took my one and all.
Pictures of Karl and Amirar's date materialized around big yellows.
you will be punished.
you will feel the wrath of my family.
you will see why we are feared.
Lots of blood-red chains shot up from the symbols on the ground.
you have done your last deed.
you have seen the light of day for the last time.
you have no one to come to your rescue.
you have lost your right to the life that was given to you.
all the different versions of Karl raised with one hand against big yellows who were too shocked to flee just stood there staring at what was happening around him.
blood style arcane arrow
Before big yellows could react, he was pierced by over 30 blood-red mana arrows. Suddenly all but one of the shadows disappeared. Karl was still standing with his hand outstretched, closing it abruptly. At once all the arrows exploded in the body of large yellows. Instead of standing and watching the dead demon, Karl quickly turned to Amira.
Quietly, Karl walked towards where Amira was still sitting chained to the stone pillar. But every step Karl took, it was as if the shadows that had embraced him fell off in clusters. When they hit the ground, they turned into black dust. Halfway down the floor, Karl begins to limp sharply. It was clear to see that he was not feeling well. A few steps before he reached over to Amira his leg failed and he fell to the floor with his knee first and there was a crunch. Karl's face twitched in a grimace which made it impossible to misunderstand how bad he was.
Karl slowly got to work on his legs again while Amira just sat there still in shock over what she had just seen. "Are you okay?" Karl asked quietly as he began to open the chains.
"I'm fine. He would not hurt me. He had plans to use me as his sex slave if you did not show up and he would not harm his new property. ” Amira replied and a lot of bitterness squeezed into her voice at the end.
"Are you okay, you look like something the cat has dragged in" she asked as she tried to get the feeling back in the skin where the handcuffs had tightened. "I survive I'll probably just have to spend quite a few days on a bed while my body recovers." Karl replied and started to stand and sway again. Amira quickly got an arm around Karl. "I have you" she said quietly as she began to support Karl.
As they carefully worked their way around the remains of the demon, Amira could no longer keep her mouth shut "is it wrong of me that I'm glad he's dead" she asked as she looked angrily at the body.
"No, that's completely understandable." Karl answered distantly. Suddenly he became much heavier to support than before. "Karl ... Karl… okay he's not here anymore" mumbled Amira to herself. "Let me help" it suddenly sounded from shadow. With shadow on one side and Amira on the other, they quietly got Karl's unconscious body working down the stairs and out through the courtyard.
When they came through the gate that Karl had smashed on the way in, Andreas and Gabe came running to them. "Hey what's up with Karl" Andreas shouted in panic. "Don't worry he's still alive he just took some hard blows while he rescued me." Amira replied.
“Gabe we have him here you must also go in and take care of your girlfriend she had joined your brother. She was still alive the last time we saw her. ” Insert shadow. “Thank you for letting her live shadow. I have to take care of her and have a long talk with her. ” Gabe replied. "Wait it was your brother!" Shouted Amira Shocked "yes" Gabe replied
"I should apologize for his death, but I can not find it in me to be sorry that he is, but I can apologize for your loss" Amira said again with a lot of bitterness in her voice. "You must not be, he himself sealed his fate when he laid out with a Vale and took one they hold dear from him." Gabe replied before disappearing into the yard to find his girlfriend.
"Shall we see Karl get back to the others. Gabe manages himself here ”Andreas asked quietly. “Yes let’s face it, he really needs medical attention. Amira replied wearily. With mutual help, they all managed to step through the portal.
On the other hand, they were greeted with a lot of worried faces. The first to respond were Karl's parents who came running to them. "Karl!" his mother's voice sounded panicky. Before Andreas and Amira could do anything else, they had been pushed away from Karl and tumbled a few steps before finding their balance again. Karl had already been lifted up on a stretcher and Karl's mother was shouting at the demons who had been named by Andrea's family that they just had to fix her son right now.
Amira's parents had also almost thrown themselves at her and fussed about her in panic. Amira was asked to tell what happened while they were on the other side of the Portal. She ended up retelling everything she had experienced several times during the night. First to her and Karl's parents and again when some demons appeared who presented themselves as being the closest void came on an actual police.