Shadow of the Colossus
Terrestris veritas (Gaius)
Wander once more felt a sea of dark surrounding him...
Two Shadows now stood over the unconscious warrior, they looked down as though in mourning while the statue of the second colossus exploded and fell into ruin. Wander awoke, and was alone, save for the lifeless form of the young woman placed on the alter. As he stood, the thundering voice of the Dormin spoke from above. Wander gazed up at the stone hole in the ceiling...
Thy next foe is... A giant canopy soars to the heavens... The anger of the sleeping giant shatters the earth...
The voice trailed off in that same echoing roar, leaving Wander again with a vague clue to his next 'foe'. He turned as he heard the galloping steps of Agro, who appeared on the left exit ramp of the shrine. He walked over to his good steed and patted him on the nose. "Thank you, my friend. If it weren't for you, I'd have been squashed." He said, indeed, the horse proved useful in keeping distance from the colossus and getting close faster, the horse grunted in reply. He then climbed up onto Agro's back and gave a gentle kick, guiding the horse down to the field before the shrine.
'Now, onto the next one!' The young man thought to himself. Raising the sword towards the heavens a beam shone forth, pointing beyond the area of the second colossus, a mountain path it anointed as the next destination. Wander then gave a kick and Agro sped off, as they rode across the same land bridge, Wander beheld an eerie sight. On the beach where he fought the colossal bull, was what appeared to be its remains, but the disturbing part was that the body was now made of stone and covered in grass and small plants. It looked as if the body had always been a part of the earth and had not just previously been a sentient giant.
Wander knew it had already been several hours since his arrival, and yet noticed that daylight was still ever present, as though the moon were afraid to show it's face in this realm. And as he took notice of the sky, another strange sight greeted him. Beams of light, two of them to be exact. One hung ominously over the domain of the second colossus, and another where Wander's first challenge was located.
The horse and rider traveled along and Wander could see an odd contrast in the ground, to his right, was a vast desert, and to his left an open plain, much like the one near the shrine. The land was indeed a wondrous place to have such diverse landscapes. Wander shook his head and refocused his attention on the sword's light and followed it to a path in the mountain.
Dark shadows hung like a cold blanket within the path, woven from the dense clouds fleeting overhead and the high range of rock that surrounded it. As the rider and his steed ventured further, a light vail of fog greet them. As Agro raced past a small arching rock, he stopped as he came to a lake, where in the center was a massive stone platform. The round top was slanted, like a table with a short leg. It was as though the platform had once reached for the skies and was struck down. Wander surveyed the dais through the shroud and spotted a descending path that rose from the depths of the water and curved around the dais.
The young man stepped off his horse and gave it a pat before he dove into the serenely calm lake before him, he shivered momentarily as the cool murky waters greeted him. He swam forward until the stone slabs neared, carefully he walked out along the submerged stone and upwards. The path appeared to be once some kind of stone ring, a formation of sorts that perhaps once surrounded the now crumbling structure. Wander climbed the ascending structure and came to a halt, before him was a deep gap, and across another crumbling structure. It looked as though it had broken off from a greater construct, moss grew over several spots and cracks lined the stone like wrinkles in aged face.
The youth made a daring leap and caught the jutting edge of it, then hoisted himself along the rim until he was directly perpendicular from the dais. With a another leap he land soundly on the platform, taking a moment to breath from those harrowing leaps, Wander stood up and immediately took to the path of the dais. Ascending a set of steps he came to a stop as he reached the very peak of the dais. The center of the dais was a smaller disc that glowed it the obscured sunlight, while rock and dirt made up the rest of the surface. Across from Wander lay his latest target, from afar it looked like a mass of fallen structure.
A strange and yet wondrous construction of earth, architecture and fur lay motionless. Jutting poles like columns and circular platforms in various stages of decay adorned its frame. Two globular orbs were the things answer to feet, while an oddly jumbled left hand that resembled a mossy ball of rock. Wander slowly walked further onto the platform, keeping silent...
Then it moved...
A thunderous creak screamed through the air as the form shifted and moved, an enormous slab served as the right arm and hand, which the colossus used as support to heft its bulk up from the ground. Wander stood in awe as the knightly being rose to its full height, towering higher than even the first colossus it set its gaze towards the tiny flea of a man that invaded its domain. As the giant shifted, small chunks fell like dead skin off a sunbaked back.
Without warning it raised its right arm high and Wander only barely dodged out of the way as an earth shaking crash rocked the very foundation the two stood on. Earth and rock were kicked up as the massive slab struck the surface.
'This thing isn't playing around.' Wander thought inwardly, but his shocked was replaced with realization, the stone warrior was stuck, it's sword jammed into the earth. This was an open opportunity, but as Wander surveyed the possible path onto the colossus, a dead end appeared in the form of a stone guard that completely covered the great figure's forearm.
Soon the colossus freed its sword and eyes that burned a hateful orange once more set onto the young man. Wander ran around, his mind racing through countless strategies that centered around getting by the beast's stone protection. He pondered and realized that it was crumbling, much like the others before it, and that if the right shock were applied, something would have to break. A plan was set into motion, and Wander dashed for the stone disc in the center.
The colossus turned around with frightening dexterity and trained its eyes on the puny insect before it. As the minuscule form came to a halt, the lone occupant of the dais again raised it's sword. Wander waited with quickening breath and a heart that wanted to eject from his very throat as he stood still as the colossus hoisted it's weapon again. Once the slab began its descent, momentum creating an equally powerful howl as it fell, Wander ran for all he was worth. The colossus again missed it's prey and paid a greater price this time around.
The sword crashed hard and bounced only slightly off the disc, but damage was done nonetheless. An enormous portion of the stone guard that shielded the great stone giant's arm broke off and crashed to the ground. A resounding howl of pain and anger rose from the colossus, its eyes taking an even deeper shade of orange. Eyes filled with bloodlust and hatred...
Wander knew that he had stirred up a rage akin to a god now, and his resolve was being tested more greatly than ever. The colossus lurched forward, ready to strike once more and end the battle with the intruder. As the familiar attack of the raising slab entered the brave warrior's eyes, he thought; of a warm smile, one that was now dead and cold and longed to restore.
This time was closer than ever before, his momentary lapse in concentration nearly took his life as he dodged the crashing slab for the third time. Once it was seen that the beast was caught in the ground, Wander took no time in stepping onto the stone blade and racing for the forearm. Drawing the sword, Wander caught a glimpse of a weak spot out of the corner of his eye. It glowed warmly in the center of the giant's abdominal region.
Before Wander even reached the fur, the giant shook loose its weapon and nearly the warrior ascending it. Taking a firm hold of the blue-green fur, the young man began yet another harrowing climb on the body of a giant. As the beast came to realize that simply moving it's arm wasn't going to dislodge the invading assailant, it began to stomp loudly across the dais. Wander climbed up to the top of the broken guard and carefully circled around, then leapt from the swinging arm to the crumbling belt-like platform the covered the giant's lower half.
Once more he took hold of the fur and climbed around to the front, all the while the giant stood in place and thrashed wildly by shaking its great form. Holding on for dear life and determination, Wander aligned himself over the glowing mark. Then he violently stabbed at it, groans of pain echoed out across the gray misty area as blood jetted from the wounded spot. Wander coughed and spitted as gore doused him in the black ink-like substance. After another hard and powerful jab, the mark slowly faded, but yet the beast was still in motion.
Knowing from experience, the young man made his way to the giant's side. Then leaped back onto the right arm and instantly climbed upward, he knew that like the first two, the final mark was on the head, the death mark.
The colossus became ever more enraged as the unwanted pest scurried along it's body, but the young man would not be so easily removed. Just as the beast equally wanted peace and life, the man also wanted life to return to a young woman. Though, did he ever consider the fairness of this action?
Wander soon reached the top of the giant and stood up straight, he nearly let his mind sit in awe as he looked out across the expanse of land that could be viewed atop the shoulders of the giant. Duty took over once more and Wander jumped onto the creature's head, this time malice was the word this beast would cry if capable of speech. Thrashing to and fro, the giant tried to send the tiny man flying from it's cranium. Wander hung on for all he was worth and readied a strike, with a defiant cry he jammed the blade into the skull of the giant.
Black blood signaled a direct hit and that overwhelming feeling of guilt wracked the young man's soul. A death rattle that could be only summed up as traumatic rung out in the dreamy gray air. Wander was soaked with blood and breathing haggardly as the colossal frame fell to it's knees. The young man was so tired that he was taken by surprised when the giant tossed its head backward as one final cry crept from its form, sending him flying high into the air and over the dais. A scream of terror wasn't even able to come from the tired lungs of the youth as he landed in the lake below.
A black shroud of washed blood surrounded Wander as he painfully reeled from the sudden shock. He nearly drowned, muscles almost too tired to support him. He let himself float atop the surface of the water before a horrifying sight grasped him. The same black tendrils were diving downward like black crows upon a corpse and Wander was too exhausted to swim away.
Wander felt his body forcefully pushed into the water's depth as the tendrils penetrated his body, forcing precise air from his lungs. The warm embrace of sleep took hold of the man as before and he slipped into darkness.
That tunnel, light, dancing like rain, and a voice...
"Wan..."
