The first thing he wondered was how in the Realm he was going to be able to get into the castle.
The island fortress was a hulking monolith of power and madness. Black stone was built into everything, from the towering spires to the impassable walls. Before them stood massive metal doors adorned with spikes and other deadly aesthetics. Banners portraying the visage of the master of the castle hung from the windows, the man's deep red eyes piercing into all of their beings even in a fabric likeness. Creatures loomed overhead, looking out every crevice and fixing their monstrous gazes on every man and woman that were stationed outside of their fort. Grotesque and huge, they snarled and hissed and jeered at all of them, crying out proclamations of death and destruction upon their souls.
The waves crashed upon the rocks, the roar of the violent surf mingling with the booming thunder that completed the scene. Thick sheets of rain pelted the ground and all of the men and women cluttered together, leaving a haze before them. Lightning flashed overhead and the man winced prematurely; he hated thunder so much.
A firm hand rested on his shoulder. "This is what all of our effort has resulted in," the hand's owner said. The voice was smooth, yet firm and full of conviction. His chainmail tinkled as he moved. The metal helmet that rested atop his head shone against the light of the deadly jets of energy from the sky. "Every battle, every kill, every near death experience. All of it was for this. Freedom for the Realm." The warrior clenched his other fist, shaking it at his eyes bore into a banner hanging from the castle. "That man will rot in the hell he has created for all who oppose him, and we will finally be at peace."
The wizard idly clenched his indigo robes. "I am not so sure," he said, concerned. "This...thing has reigned for an eternity. All who oppose him are struck down, and even when he is backed up against a wall he never perishes. What if he cannot die? What if our efforts were all in vain?"
The man stared at him for a moment. "Perhaps it is so. Perhaps we will be locked in combat with this heartless monster for the rest of time." He set his jaw. "...but if that is the case then I will give him hell for the rest of my life! I will not let him dominate me!"
"Serl..." murmured the wizard. "You possess far more bravery than I."
"Nonsense!" the warrior named Serl told him, aghast. "I owe you my life many times over!"
The man smiled. "Thank you, friend."
"No thanks are ever needed, Yimi," Serl answered with his typical cocky yet friendly grin.
Yimi shivered; suddenly, all had gone silent. The monsters on the battlements had ceased their enraged shouting, the tense chatting between the members of the brigade had quieted. Even the waves and the rain and the thunder itself had lost all sound. In the air hung an unbreakable stillness, and a tension had set upon them.
"May whatever deity exists have mercy upon our souls..." a priest whispered, his face white with fear.
"YOU!" a voice boomed all around them. It was deep, commanding, and absolutely terrifying, and the mere sound of it made the wizard's heart skip a beat. "YOU DISGUSTING BAND OF RATS! YOU HAVE DESTROYED MY MINIONS! YOU HAVE LAID WASTE TO MY PRECIOUS REALM! FOR FAR TOO LONG YOU HAVE BEEN THORNS IN MY SIDE, BUT AT LONG LAST YOU WILL MEET YOUR ENDS!" Sweat barrelled down Yimi's face; gods above, that voice was absolutely horrifying. He found his eyes drawn to the image of its owner on the banners and he suddenly wanted to flee. "HOWEVER..." The voice took on a pondering tone. "PERHAPS IF YOU AGREE TO JOIN MY FORCES, I WILL LET YOU LIVE."
A ripple of angry dissent went through the group. "You monstrous brute!" a stalwart knight roared in rage. "You have tormented us since our very births and you expect us to lay down our weapons and serve you?! We will never surrender! Our blades will shine with your blood!"
"YOUR CHOICE WILL BE MET WITH YOUR DEATHS, WORMS! YOU CHOOSE NOT TO FIGHT BY MY SIDE? VERY WELL!"
There was a horrible, sickening pause in the creature's tirade, a respite from a conclusion they knew was coming. Yimi's grip tightened around his staff, a long, wooden weapon topped with a glittering blue crystal, covered from base to tip in runes that the wizard knew spoke of horrible things. It seemed like only yesterday that he had wrestled it from the dead hands of a wicked medusa, and yet at the same time it felt like an eternity had passed. He hoped that it would guard him as he guarded it.
"COME!" the fearsome voice bellowed. The sounds of chains cut through the silence as the gigantic doors to the castle rose. The whole group yelled a war cry, a cascade of voices exploding forth, their anger rolling out to all of their enemies. Despite his fear, Yimi yelled with them and raised his staff in the air, which crackled with magical power; Serl had been right. This was it. The mad god was going to pay.
The group surged forward and raised their weapons; a torrent of magical blasts erupted from all of the magic users, energy attacks of every colour and variation exploded against the walls of the castle, spraying chunks of stone and dust outward. Yimi himself raised his staff and added his own effort to the shower of magic, feeling power flow out through it as the runes that decorated the wood glowed brightly. The magical assault descended as the group of fighters ran as one across the bridge, the stone barricades breaking away like cardboard against their power.
Animalistic, shadowy creatures leapt over the barricades, running on all fours and charging towards them, their white horns pointed towards the humans, red eyes glinting bloodthirstily. Yimi saw Serl charge ahead of the group, brandishing his dark blue sword, which shone with a dim, magical sparkle. He cleaved one of the creatures in two, its halves splattering dark goo against the bridge floor. A brightly-armoured paladin joined his side, swinging a dark red sword and taking out three with one swipe. "For peace of the Realm!" he cried. Yimi blasted one of the black animals, making it skid across the bridge and over the side into the churning sea. He heard a cry behind him and spun around, attacking another animal that had quickly gored a fellow wizard, this one clad in purple robes. He turned his attention to the skirmish at hand; he couldn't pause for anything.
They blew past another stone wall on the bridge. Yimi saw knights dressed in black armour and horned helmets dash down the bridge and lock swords with the other melee fighters. They snarled with ire. "Tassste the sssteel of our cursssed bladesss!" one hissed, driving its sword through the eyes of another armoured knight, not the one who had spoken before.
"Radph!" a woman clad in green clothes cried, gritting her teeth in fury and loss. She nocked an arrow and let it fly; it embedded itself in the neck of the black warrior, who stumbled off of its feet, clutching the arrow protruding from its throat. A huntress covered in leather armour jumped onto one of the blockades and let fly arrows of her own, leaping down and driving a knife into the face of a knight she had knocked off balance.
Yimi felt the wooden bridge give way to stone as he reached the doorway of the castle. A one-eyed, humanoid monster, protected by the same black armour, charged at him, disgusting teeth jutting out from its mouth. The wizard shot spiralling energy blasted at it; it slowed and buckled but remained charging all the same. He felt his heart leap and he blocked a sword swipe with the wooden body of his staff; the runes glowed, protected against the steel of the blade. He backed up and swung his staff at the thing, the blue crystal shining; it brought up its shield, which bore the brunt of the magically-enchanted impact. Suddenly, a rogue appeared behind the thing, his cloak's invisibility having concealed him. He drove a dagger into the back of the thing's head, making it start and spin around. Yimi slammed his staff into its armour, the magical energy making it explode where it stood.
The rogue tugged on the red bandana covering his mouth. "Thought you could use some help," he told the wizard.
"Thanks," Yimi said, flashing a quick grin. The rogue threw his cloak around himself and vanished from sight once more.
The stone wall separating them from the inside of the castle was easily torn down. Yimi turned his staff on the floor; eyes gazing out of the stone fixed them with their gaze, lobbing globules out of their irises. Avoiding the spray of harmful shrapnel that they released upon detonation, he destroyed the eyes and entered the castle, turning left and running down the hallway.
The inside of the castle wasn't any less grim as the outside. Suits of dark armour lined the walls and torches bathed the stone walls and tiled floors in flickering light. A long, red carpet covered the floor, muting the mob's footsteps. More black-armoured fiends met them and were cut down by the wave of fighters.
A priest came up beside him, dressed in flowing white robes, now dirty from the scuffle. "Yimi!" he cried, extending a wand adorned with a purple gem. A blast of light shone out from the jewel and the wizard added his magic to the attack; they felled another one-eyed warrior. "How are you faring?"
"I haven't been harmed yet, Lorz," he answered. "And you?"
Lorz turned to a combatant and, reciting an incantation, healed the woman of her wounds. She nodded her thanks and returned to the fray. "I have taken some damage," he replied, then tapped the tome which he kept with him at all times. "Specializing in healing has its definite advantages."
The two ran down the hallway and through the remains of another stone blockade which once had barred the path, but was now a pile of rubble. A loud growl sounded from in the room and a massive, dark brute converged on them. A swing of its massive fists was enough to instantly break the bones of a huntress who had ran ahead to take it on, flying through the air like a ragdoll. "Oh. Blast." Yimi stared up at the thing. "This...will not be good."
It roared and ran at them alongside the iron-clad fighters who aided it in its battle against the castle's intruders. Yimi and Lorz scattered, showering it with a hail of blasts, but it shrugged off the blows and grabbed Lorz with its meaty hand. A grey-clothed trickster slashed at the thing's leg with her dagger and the brute cried out in pain, dropping Lorz, who backpedalled and pointed his wand at a knight who had come up behind him.
"Watch out!" the wizard cried when the huge foe spun around and threw a punch. The fist went right through the trickster, which began walking away from the brute. "Oh..." Yimi allowed himself a small smile. "A decoy."
A lithe man ran up behind the brute, clutching a small vial of poison in his hand and a mithril dagger in the other. Burying the dagger into the thing's shin, he backed up as the enraged and pained monster turned to face him. The assassin hurled the poison into its face, the vial shattered and bathed its face in potent poison. The thing began to convulse and shake, gurgling sounds escaping from its mouth. Yimi blasted the brute, taking advantage of its weakened state; it crashed to the ground, dead.
The assassin retrieved his dagger from the body. "Nasty, aren't they?" The wizard nodded in agreement.
Another stone wall, easily broken, had been keeping them out of the courtyard. Yimi felt grass under his bare feet and the pelting of the rain against his body once more. Another group, the second of the four that had gathered at the castle's different entrances, had combined with their own and doubled their numbers. The wizard welcomed the reinforcements; his group's numbers had dwindled and he felt a pain in his chest at the losses. He hoped that Serl was alive; he had lost him a while ago and hadn't seen him since.
"Watch out!" a voice cried through the sounds of rain and battle. "The armour!"
As Yimi rounded a corner, he saw to his horror the inanimate, hulking suits of armour begin to move, heaving their great swords and shields with them and cleaving down anyone who stood in their way. The bloodstained corpses of fallen heroes littered the courtyard ground, their blood washing away in the rain. Lightning flashed overhead, followed almost instantly by a crack of thunder, and Yimi tightened his grip on the staff, his knuckles white. Damn him...! he thought, gritting his teeth.
The crystal and runes on his staff glowed and he called upon a spell; swinging his weapon in a wide arc he blew a torrent of flame at a group of armour suits assailing a green-haired mystic dressed in robes similar to his own, blowing them off of their feet and melting the armour that made up their form. The hissing and bubbling sounds of heated metal filled the air.
Yimi ran up to the mystic, who was covered in gashes and beaten badly. "My friend," he greeted worriedly. "Were your spells not effective?"
The mystic gripped his staff tightly; it was made of smooth, untarnished wood and topped with a pulsating purple crystal. An agonized expression was spread across his face. "They are immune to the effects of stasis," he grunted, wincing at every movement. "If you hadn't come I would be dead for certain."
"What is your name?" he asked.
The mystic rubbed a wound. "I am Itani. I do not believe we have acquainted before."
"My name is Yimi." The mystic gave a forced smile. Yimi reached into his robe's pockets and pulled out a red container filled to the brim with liquid. "I am afraid I do not have much to spare, but you may take this."
Itani quickly took the bottle and downed its contents. It wouldn't restore him to the prime of his health, but it would do something at the very least. "Thank you very much." He straightened and lifted his staff. "We are almost at the mad god's chamber itself. I can feel it."
They walked across the pathway to the castle's innermost sanctum, stepping over the remains of enemies and allies alike. The wizard noticed a four-armed creature lying on the ground, limbs splayed out at odd angles and covered in the dead carcasses of enormous, red hornets. "I can't see those monsters that were here before..." he muttered, remembering the jeering creatures up in the castle.
"I would expect our ultimate foe will have some reinforcements of his own," Itani replied. "The other three groups have converged. Let us join them."
They entered a large room, lined on both sides by the suits of armour which Yimi knew could attack if necessary. The combined masses of the four separate groups had combined into a potent squad of attackers, a motley crew of many different shapes, sizes, and abilities. Some held staffs like Yimi's own, others swords, more with bows and arrows. All of them were facing the two massive, stone statues at the end of the room.
"Yimi," said a hushed voice, and the wizard felt a tap on his shoulder.
Yimi turned to see his friend, his chainmail covered in black guck and red blood. "Serl, thank goodness," he sighed.
The statues sprang to life, raising their swords and slamming them to the ground. "Attack!" cried the very same knight who had spoken prior to the assault, and the entire group launched into the fray. Yimi, Serl, and Itani separated, raising their respective weapons.
Screams of pain filled the air and more than a few of their fellows were instantly cleaved in half by the huge blades, bathing the stone guardians in splatters of scarlet blood. The upper half of a paladin thudded to the ground at Yimi's feet and he yelled, leaping back, waving his staff in front of him. A hail of arrows assaulted the statues, some bouncing off with loud clangs, others lightly cracking the stone but doing no more damage than a pittance. A knight and warrior both ran up, their swords drawn, slashing at the stone creatures, magical blades sending tremors through their enemies. One reared up and brought down its shield upon the knight's head, cracking the skull through the helmet; he crumpled to the ground in a heap.
"Wizard, behind you!" Yimi couldn't recognize the voice, but he turned and barely missed blocking a slash from a smaller suit of armour that had come to life from the side of the room. He had been too transfixed by the carnage the statues were bringing upon them. He slammed his staff against its shield; it broke into pieces and the arm tore right out of its socket. Bringing it forward again punctured the thing's chest, burying the crystal in the armour itself. Yimi heaved the armour off of the ground and blasted it as it arced overhead, sending pieces of metal flying throughout the room.
The huge statues pressed their weapons against their chests and began to spin; waves of white flames blew out from them and he saw several robe-wearers turn into balls of fire, screaming in searing agony. The magic-users collectively showered them with magical attacks and they froze under the strain of it. A sorcerer, dressed in a red cloak, raised a sceptre and blew a magical blast of electricity at them, a crackle filling the air and sending a static buzz up all of their bodies.
A necromancer, a very pale, bony man dressed in purple robes, approached him. "We are nearing the end of our rope," he muttered.
"Can you not extend the rope then?!" Yimi demanded, both of them turning to take out another suit of armour that had set its sights on them. "You're a necromancer, isn't life force your specialty?"
The necromancer nodded and wordlessly took out a crystal skull, light purple and cracked all over. A beam shot out of it and at the statues, a pulse of energy spreading out and glowing powerfully. The statues seemed to wince, if it were possible, and inexplicably Yimi found himself becoming more invigorated than before. The wizard ran into the fray, blasting one statue furiously. Serl raised his sword and leapt at the statue, burying his blade in the thing's chest. Yimi swung his staff and attacked the statue with another powerful fire spell; it crumbled and fell apart.
At the first statue's destruction a ripple of energy and triumph passed through the group; they roared with adrenaline and strength, ripping into the second statue with all of their might. Alone, the statue buckled against the tidal wave of force, meeting its end.
All went quiet.
An entranceway appeared in the centre of the room. It was small and unassuming, but there was no mistaking where it led. Yimi looked around him; the room was littered with metal, stone, and human body parts. Among the dead he could see the knight who had rallied them, a gaping hole in his chest, as well as Lorz, his head hanging on by a mere thread. The necromancer who had healed them had an almost relieved look in his eyes, as if the sight of so much death was more comfort than pain.
A mystic was the first to enter. Then a huntress. Then a knight. One by one they walked in, Yimi and Serl passing the threshold with pounding hearts and shaking bodies.
They emerged in a massive stone chamber, circular in shape, with eight pillars rising up to the ceiling, which hung over them from a height which made Yimi feel like a mouse. They walked in towards the centre, to the figure standing in the middle of the room.
He was a hulking colossus of a man, covered from head to toe in thick, pure black armour which looked as impregnable as the castle he lived in. A shield as large as a human being was hooked around his left wrist, made from metal the likes of which Yimi had never before seen. A sword that was easily large enough to flatten him laid on the ground, shining majestically in the light of the chamber and humming with magical power. His helmet looked like a demon's head; horns twice the girth of Yimi's arm jutted out from the sides, sharp enough to impale him and more. What looked like a gaping maw took up more than a normal mouth should on the face, pitch darkness shielding the owner's visage from view. The most terrifying thing, though, was the pair of glowing, crimson eyes, radiating with centuries of utter malice which pierced Yimi's soul and laid it bare for all of the Realm to see.
This was Oryx. The mad god and the creator of the Realm they had grown up in. The one who had caused them torment throughout their lives for his own amusement. The one who let them into his castle, knowing full well the strength and numbers of those who had opposed him. The one who had watched them fight and die all for the sake of meeting him here.
Oryx, who had been sitting cross legged the entire time, rose to his feet, towering over them at more than double Yimi's height. He grabbed his sword and scraped it across the ground, the screech of metal against stone pounding against their ears. The enormous monster inhaled deeply, then let out the air, which echoed ominously through his helmet. Those eyes. Even though it couldn't possibly be true, they seemed to stare directly at him.
"YOU HAVE COME SO FAR." The voice was even worse in person, and Yimi felt like he had shrunk to the size of an ant under its intensity. "AND NOW YOUR FIGHT IS AT AN END." Dark, forbidden power radiated from him like smog. He raised his sword in the air, and as the wizard felt the evil force growing stronger it finally hit him.
They couldn't win. It was impossible. No matter how powerful they got, no matter how insanely strong they made their weapons, no matter how many of them assembled at the gates of his castle, they would never come close to matching his power. They would never be more than dust mites to him.
"YOU."
Yimi dropped his staff on the ground, but he couldn't hear it make contact. All he heard was the voice.
"WILL."
He looked sideways at Serl, who despite the fear that was written all over his face had his hands firmly clenched around his bloody sword.
"DIE!"
"Serl—!" he cried, seeing the man run towards their unbeatable foe. A flash of light exploded from Oryx, engulfing them in its brilliance. A wave of unimaginable heat washed over him, his final cry completely overshadowed by the deafening noise of the light. Yimi was torn to atoms by the light.
They had failed. He was doomed. They were doomed. All those who would come after them were doomed. Doomed to live out their days in the eternal shadow of Oryx. Doomed to a life in a never-ending hell.
The realm of the mad god.