"Whack!"
The head of the last zombie was cleaved off its decomposing body with an effortless slash of the enchanted gladius. With a satisfying thud, the remainder of Mantarok's twisted creation fell to the ground. Alex knew that if she waited long enough, she would see the remains of the shambling corpse blink out of existence in a wave of golden light. However, she had no time to lose in this, the final fight against the encroaching darkness. Plus, she had been traumatized enough by her first experience watching a zombie flail about on the floor until it had vanished. If only her grandfather, Edward, was still alive to provide the psychotherapy needed to remove those images seared upon her retina. In fact, she was going to need either some major cognitive behavioral therapy or a large dose of Edward's liquid courage to forget about the whole blood-filled bathtub fright.
Pushing such thoughts out of her immediate consciousness, Alex dashed through the narrow corridor in the library that lead to her grandfather's secret study. Once inside the room, she slammed the door behind her and locked it to prevent any more monstrosities from surprising her. She didn't need any more bonethieves leaping out at her just as they had done when she had finished re-living the awful acid trip that was Maximillian's memories.
After conjuring a barrier by the door for extra protection, Alex sat at the ancient desk and pulled out the Tome of Eternal Darkness. With one hand on the withered book cover and her eyes closed, she envisioned herself at her desired destination. A moment later, she opened her eyes and found herself standing in the Temple of Light facing the statues of her heroic predecessors.
This was it.
One by one, Alex tapped each statue, willing its representative agent of light to return. The time had finally come for the forces of good to gather together to vanquish the terrible evil that had been released upon this ignorant world millennia ago. Pious and his Ancient would be stopped by the most courageous and capable group of individuals of all history. Of this, Alex was sure. They were humanity's best, no, only hope.
"Heroes of light! With the alignment of the planets, the way to Ehn'gha has been re-opened. As I now prepare to engage Pious in battle, I call upon your collective counsel to defeat him. Please enter this edifice and impart unto me of your wisdom!"
Nothing happened.
Alex pursed her lips. Maybe the spirits of the dead needed time mustering the energy to manifest themselves, she thought. Reassured by this thought, she repeated her proclamation and waited for several tense minutes. However, she was met with nothing more than the screams emanating from the floor.
Perhaps a less formal approach would do the trick. "Um, heroes? You know Pious, that creepy half-dead corpse with no respect for personal space? Yeah, I'm going to fight him relatively soon and I need your help."
Still, nothing happened.
The screams of the damned were starting to increasingly grate on Alex's nerves and she began to angrily tap her feet. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. "Guys! I swear if you don't respond to me, I'll hack away at your statues until even an enchant spell won't be able to repair the rubble!"
That seemed to get their attention. Slowly, blue light started to flood the room. "What sorcery is this that awakens me from my slumber?" came the groggy voice of Anthony as he floated out of his statue, his transparent hands rubbing his eyes. The others followed suit, each one displaying some form of sleepiness. Karim released a mighty yawn as he strode confidently from his statue while Ellia lightly descended from hers. A very dazed Paul lurched from the stone, a bewildered expression upon his face. Bianchi somehow managed to trip as he lumbered out, a feat Alex would have thought impossible for a spirit, and practically rolled the remainder of the way to Alex. Finally, Max gingerly poked his head out and cast a furtive glance around the room before joining the group near the temple's entrance.
"As I was saying, I'm about to make the descent into Ehn'gha and face Pious. Before I do that, I need information that any of you may have pertaining to Pious's potential weaknesses. I also have no clue how to deal with Xel'lotath once Pious has summoned her or it… er, whatever that thing is."
She looked expectantly around the assemble of heroes. No one spoke, and Karim stifled another yawn.
Alex was incredulous. "Seriously, guys? Nothing? None of you have even a shred of ancient knowledge to offer me in a fight that will decide the fate of this planet?"
"What about the demons!" Bianchi exclaimed. "Many lives will be lost if you continue your path."
Huh? What on earth was he talking about? "Um, did you hit your head when you tripped, Bianchi? Potentially all human life will cease to exist if I don't continue my path. As for the demons in Ehn'gha, my grandpa obliterated them all when he activated the array in the necropolis." Alex paused. That reminded her of something confusing her. "Speaking of which, where is my grandpa?"
"Edward Roivas?" replied Karim. "He left the spiritual realm hours before you arrived, saying something about stopping the forces of evil in their tracks."
Alex felt a twinge of worry. She had counted on her grandfather appearing and wanted his advice more than any of the other heroes. Something terribly important regarding Pious must have demanded his attention. Otherwise, he wouldn't leave her at such a pivotal moment with a group of individuals who were appearing increasingly more incompetent with every passing minute.
"But the demons!" yelled Bianchi, snapping Alex from her thoughts.
Ellia made a loud sound of annoyance. "Ugh, will you stop going on about those stupid monsters! You wouldn't be so terrified of them if you could attempt a semi-proper jog that lasted more than twenty seconds and didn't leave you bending over and wheezing. Really Bianchi, how many Venetian desserts did you gorge yourself with when you were alive?"
Alex sighed. Somehow, she just knew that this wasn't going to end well. She turned to face the others and found Paul still standing in the same place and looking utterly confused. Well, I guess I can't really blame him, thought Alex. Having your head blown off by Xel'lotath's black guardian would do that to a person. Anthony, on the other hand, was warily watching Max as her ancestor examined the young messenger just as he would perform an autopsy.
"They thought I was insane, heh heh! Insane, I tell you!" Max muttered as he slowly circled Anthony. "But they were wrong. I had to kill them! They would have turned against me!" There was more than a mere glint of madness in his eyes. "You…you might be another one of them. You've also been possessed by one of those infernal creatures!"
Finding little value in this conversation, Alex returned to the others. Remarkably, Karim had come to Bianchi's rescue. "How could you even begin to understand the terrors of the Forbidden City, Ellia? Your task in Mantarok's dwelling was a simple chore in comparison to the literal horrors we faced in that cursed city hidden beneath the sands."
"A simple chore!" Ellia nearly screeched. "You try running around in poisonous fog while whirling blades nearly shave your limbs off! Oh, and don't even mention Mantorok's lair. I had to harbor two hearts for more than eight hundred years with that pulsating pile of goop until someone finally found me!"
"I don't know, Ellia. I think you received your first heart when you were given Mantorok's." Karim muttered under his breath.
Ellia screamed something in Cambodian as Alex turned to see Max chasing Anthony around the chamber. By means unknown to Alex, the crazed doctor had managed to lose his wig and was currently shooting Anthony with invisible pistols. "May the rats eat your eyes! Come face me, ye vile human-wearing beast!"
Alex couldn't handle any more of this. "Enough, everyone! Billions of lives hang in the balance of my actions and I need your advice!" No one seemed to pay her any attention. Ellia was still calling imprecations down upon Karim and Bianchi while Anthony narrowly managed having a ghostly eye jabbed by one of Max's guns.
Okay, Alex. Just take a breather and restore some much-needed sanity before you do anything else. She walked a few paces away from the noisy bunch and tried casting a spell to recover her sanity. However, the runes flickered out as soon as she summoned them. Alex swore under her breath. She had forgotten that magic couldn't be used within the temple.
Another look at the ghostly group showed the same chaos. Humanity's only hope? Alex thought. More like humanity's demise! I'd be willing to bet Pious is summoning his master at this very moment to reign destruction upon us all. Please, Grandpa. Please, succeed in whatever you're attempting!"
Meanwhile, somewhere (?) in space
As Pious finished speaking the words of the summoning, a brilliant emerald light filled the portal before him. The sickening green hue was followed by the appearance of an enormous eye, signaling the presence of his Ancient, Xel'lotath.
"Great master!" proclaimed Pious as he bent one knee in a show of respect. "The time is nigh at hand when your power will once again pervade this world. Despite the setbacks we have faced, our foes have cowered from your magnificence and have ultimately been consumed by the night. Please, grant your vigilant servant the incantations he needs to secure your gate."
Xel'lotath's eye stared unblinking at him. "He asks us what to do, thinking himself worthy enough to make a demand of us." "The fool." Xel'lotath's double voice whispered. "He already knows what he seeks within his mind's recesses…"
Pious gave a long mental sigh. It looked like it was going to be one of those conversations again, which was to say nearly every conversation he had engaged in with the insane Ancient since its first appearance to him. If only he could have picked another floating essence on the daises that fateful day. In fact, the only thing preventing him from grabbing another essence and serving a different master… "I can hear you thinking, Pious!" came a shriek from before him…was that. Heck, he would gladly swap sides and join the Roivas line if his life force wasn't tied to Xel'lotath.
It didn't help either that Pious had a very limited source of conversation. The guardians were completely mute, owing to their lack of heads. That sort of thing tended to make friendly conversations difficult. For what seemed like the millionth time, Pious pondered again why Xel'lotath was considered the embodiment of mind when many of her creations lacked the semblance of a brain.
As for the other creatures, the black guardian was vocal, but Pious's conversations with it were almost as nerve-racking as speaking to the Ancient itself. Plus, he harbored a grudge against the entity for the whole Brother Luther fiasco centuries ago. At the time, the other monks had been kept busy removing any suspicion raised by Paul's sudden disappearance. Consequently, Pious was forced to clean-up the Franciscan brother's remains while the guardian mockingly laughed at him from above its pit.
For a time, Pious's loneliness had abated when he surrounded himself with several bonethieves. Not only did they make faithful pets, they did an exceptional job at espionage missions. Even so, seeing them contort their human shells made even Pious's stomach lurch, which was remarkable considering the last contents of his stomach had turned to mulch millennia ago.
Suddenly, Pious felt a surge of excitement as he remembered what could cheer him up. Leaving Xel'lotath to endlessly chat to itself, Pious crept down the staircase and started to speak the words of a spell. For several days, he had been playing trapper tag with a certain spirit as a means of reconciliation. The premise of the game was simple: summon a trapper and use it to teleport your opponent into the trapper dimension. So far, he had lost every game, but the alignment of the planets made Pious feel that today would play out differently.
"Tier, Aretak, Xel'lo…" Pious began until he suddenly found himself losing his grip on his staff and being whisked away by a teleportation. Moments later, he landed on one of the floating segments of the trapper dimension and shrieked a curse against his opponent. With a dawning sense of horror, Pious realized that without his staff, Xel'lotath wouldn't be able to pass through the gate and begin its mighty reign.
Meanwhile, Edward materialized into existence next to Pious's portal and picked up the unsightly staff. Initially, he had imagined a more dramatic end to the liche's plans, such as a nail-biting fight involving his grand-daughter. However, having recognized the incompetence of her supportive agents of light, Edward decided to implement another strategy. Oh well, I suppose this will need to suffice, he thought as he made his way to the portal. Xel'lotath, for all its wisdom, was still speaking gibberish despite the disappearance of its only way into the corporeal world.
"Oh, put a sock in it you psychotic loony!" yelled Edward as he plunged the staff into the portal. The Ancient gave a few last cackles before the portal exploded in a rain of tiny green spheres that gradually evaporated. And then there was silence.
The End!