The Enemy Is...:
The Stone Gemstone room was a vast and spherical chamber much like the Fire Gemstone room from the Fire Shrine. The chamber was very dark, even with the strange neon lightstones. It was almost as if the lightstones were amplifying the ominous ambience that had fallen over the land. As the four warriors walked into the enclosed expanse, they noticed that the walls towards the back of the room had a section loaded with writing in some sort of ancient dialect. Also in the back of the room, underneath the writing and sitting right on top of the structure where the Stone Gemstone rested was the figure clad in dark blue that the fighters had encountered after the battle at the Fire Shrine.
"We made it here," Daisy announced in a tone that matched the room's atmosphere. "So are you gonna tell us who you are and what you're up to or am I gonna have to beat the information out of you?"
"Arrogant little runt," said the dark blue figure. "You speak with overconfident threats when you know that you know not who or what you're dealing with."
"That's because you won't tell us!" Daisy snapped.
"I had said that you must prove you are worth my time," stated the dark blue figure. "Then, if you are worthy enough, if you insist on putting yourself headfirst into the path of an unstoppable storm, if you feel your insignificant powers can stand against and rival an overpowering divine presence...then and only then, I may tell you who I am. But I also said, if you die, then your demise is solely on your own hands and you have no one for you to blame but yourselves for thinking you could handle someone way out of your league."
"Well, I'm not dealing with someone out of my league," Daisy said, crossing her arms and putting her back in a comfortable arch.
The dark figure sighed in boredom. "Maybe I should kill you first for your insubordination."
"I'd like to see you try!" Daisy shot back.
"Once again, you don't listen," the figure replied with a hint of irritation. "You're the smallest one here and you're the only one that's been vocal so far."
"That's only because you're running your mouth instead of letting your fists do the talking!"
"I will repeat for the last time – you must prove your worth if you even hope to have the opportunity of challenging me."
"Why do that when we can settle this now?" Daisy asserted. She had not backed down one bit at all and seemed to be getting even more riled up with each statement made.
"Is she always like this?" Athelstan asked to finally break the two-person exchange.
"Apparently," answered Warra.
"She's going to get herself killed like that," the stone wielder commented.
"Probably," added Bowser.
The dark blue figure zeroed his eyes in closer on Daisy, focusing on her face. "What is your name?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
"I'm Daisy Sarasa!" the earth wielder announced, assuming her battle stance. "And you're finished!"
The figure ignored the threat. "I thought you looked familiar..."
Daisy suddenly calmed down after hearing that statement. What, she thought. I've never seen him in my life before yesterday...
The figure perked up. "Ah yes, I see I finally have your attention now. The resemblance between you and your father is undeniable. Your father was really something else...and still is, unfortunately."
Daisy's tone returned to mirroring the quiet and dark environment. "What's that supposed to mean?" She then added with confusion in her voice, "How do you know my father?"
"He has a notorious reputation," The figure responded. "But you should know this already; you are his child, aren't you?"
Daisy clenched her teeth and began to tremble in quiet anger.
"Not that it matters if you know your own father or not," the dark being continued. "I know who he is. He is a prime example of why I am doing what I am doing."
"You're not making any sense here," said a perplexed Daisy.
"You simply just don't understand what I am trying to do," said the figure. "And you never will."
"Bold statement," said Athelstan.
"Just look!" the figure yelled, gesturing to the wall behind him. "Have you not noticed the ancient scriptures along the walls of this room? Of course not. You can't even read them. You could not even hope to understand their meaning."
"You've got to be kidding me," Bowser groaned. "Are you and Rosalina best buds or something? I've had enough of your and her prophetic crap already!"
"Oh, this is no prophecy," the dark blue being assured. "This is history...from the very beginning. Valuable ancient records that were kept in secrecy here. We are standing in the very first elemental shrine that was created by the great beings. These ancient scriptures are worth more than all the wealth in the world, and yet the world is too immature and selfish to recognize it. That's a surprising response coming from you Bowser, especially considering all that you've experienced first hand..." He paused before finishing with emphasis, "The pains of your people..."
Bowser's eyes grew wide. "What?! You know of myself and Daisy? Explain!"
"I don't have to," the figure said. "The ancient scriptures themselves explain. They explain my purpose. Allow me to key in on a particular piece to translate: Let stone be the world's mold. Let earth be the harbinger of life. Let fire bring heat to the land. Let water nourish the surroundings. Let air inspire motivation and freedom. Let ice instill cold and preservation. Let light be the energy and guidance for all. Let shadow bring relaxation and rest. All eight shape the world. All eight are reality."
"That didn't explain anything," the Koopa King said in disappointment.
"It's not my fault you don't understand," the dark being condescendingly replied.
A sudden shift occurred. Daisy, Bowser, Athelstan, and Warra all looked up to see that the remains of the mountain ceiling were ripped off and floating away, turning the cave into an open ground. Then what was left of the mountain walls fractured into various pieces and moved away. They now stood on what remained – a plateau several hundred feet high, the rest of the Stone Shrine down the wall they had just climbed.
"I'd had enough of that accursed mountain anyways," the figure nonchalantly said.
"Is this how you get off? Contorting reality in such a destructive manner?" asked Daisy. "You don't care at all what happens to the world do you?"
"It would take far more time and effort to explain what I'm trying to do than I am willing to spend," the dark being declared, levitating into the air. "Your ignorance is painful, your presence here is unnecessary, and you still wish to oppose me. For those reasons, you must perish."
Daisy's eyes perked up. I'm starting to sense something, she thought. Something different. A slight breeze picked up.
"Unfortunately for you, the Flame Behemoth was by far my weakest enlistment," the dark being said. "The first ones in a quest are always the easiest; you will not have nearly as easy a time facing what I have in store for you here..."
The figure flew into the sky and made a sweep with his arm, creating another dimensional rift. A rapidly revolving lavender vortex formed overhead, directly in line with the circular plateau. Once it achieved a certain speed, a portal emerged in the center of the vortex and a bolt of electricity came through to strike the ground in front of the four elemental fighters. Then the strangest possible event so far began to take place. Wandering lost souls from all across the landscape gathered themselves around the portal and entered it in droves. None of the four elemental wielders could tell why the spirits were being drawn towards the portal nor could they even tell whether the spirits were being forced inside or entering on their own accord. Thousands made their way through before the exodus ceased. The portal then closed, but the vortex remained overhead and looked to now be a permanent piece of the area.
Two frightful beings emerged from underneath the ground where the electricity had struck, each freakishly horrific in nature. The first, was in a fitted, knee-cut blood red robe that was torn all around the bottom, black pants and boots, a black cowl neck hood, and black forearm gauntlets, all topped off with a golden staff. The second being was in black cargo pants, brown boots and a lightly armored sleeveless shirt. This second one was bald with ancient earrings, and had ancient markings on both shoulders, gunmetal wrist wraps, and a thick-bladed scimitar sheathed to his shirt's back. They were absurdly lean, as if they had no body fat whatsoever and were running on sheer will alone...or something other. They looked human, but their flesh was gray with semi-visible crimson veins. Neon blue orbs occupied where their eyes were supposed to be.
The figure loomed overhead, admiring his summoning. With a thundering voice, he announced in reference to the newly summoned beings, "Meet Necromancer...and Necropaladin."
"What are they?" Bowser asked in shock.
"The result of reanimation," the figure responded. "Much more resourceful than resurrection."
"Absolutely insane..." Daisy said under her breath.
The Necromancer appeared closer in stature to Warra, while the Necropaladin looked closer in form to Athelstan. Each breath the two reanimated fiends took was easily audible.
"Kill them all," the dark being ordered. "Do not lose this shrine."
"Understood," Necromancer replied with a cool, metallic voice.
"I may as well tell you since you will not last more than four minutes," said the dark figure. "I am Elkon. I will be the one to usher in a great change in this world. You who wish to oppose this change will be executed by Necromancer and Necropaladin."
Necromancer and Necropaladin both spread apart and shifted to offset stances. Stoicly furious expressions made up their faces.
"Enjoy death," Elkon said. And with that, the being flashed and disappeared in a burst of pink light.
"Damn it!" Daisy shouted. "He got away again! Stop doing that!"
"Never mind him," said Bowser. "We have two formidable entities here to deal with that we cannot ignore."
"I'll take a crack at 'em!" Daisy eagerly announced, stepping forward.
"Let your arm heal completely first," Warra said. "Or did you forget?"
Daisy frowned, but stepped back. Her arm was still injured from the day before and although it wasn't serious, it was still moderately painful and tender. It was in everyone's best interests for her to sit this one out in case the pain became a hindrance.
"I have a very high pain tolerance you know..." she muttered.
"I'm not doubting that for a second," the water wielder replied. "So save that pain tolerance for later on."
"I'll be glad to beat down these corpses," Athelstan declared, coming out to the front of the team.
"And since there's two," Warra said as he stepped forward. "I shall take up the fight as well." He unsheathed his twin daggers, and Athelstan pulled out his halberd. Daisy and Bowser backed up towards the gate to give space to what would be the battlefield.
"You mortal scum," Necromancer spat. "Your kind sickens me."
"You're just a walking cadaver, the both of you," Athelstan said, twirling his halberd in his hands.
"The quicker we beat these guys, the better," Warra said to the stone wielder. "Dead or undead, these are very powerful beings. I don't think we want to risk a mistake against opponents like these."
"Right," said Athelstan, who had pointed his halberd towards the sky. He was already gathering rocks and boulders from the lowland area surrounding the shrine, molding them all together directly overhead, piece by piece, chunk by chunk, until he had coalesced a large, hovering mass of what must have been fourteen tons of stone.
"Amazing," Bowser said in awe. "He was able to channel his elemental energy and focus through his weapon! I never thought of that."
Daisy nodded. "It must be to amplify elemental control and to expend less energy in the same way I have my ankle and wrist weights. I'm pretty sure Warra can do the same thing with his daggers, but this environment would be tough for him to use his element."
Bowser shrugged. "I already have excellent control over fire, so I never thought to use anything to enhance it. I don't think I even have room to enhance my control even if I wanted to."
"There's always room for improvement, Bowser," said Daisy, smiling.
"Catch," the brown-clothed warrior said, launching the colossal mass towards the two undead fiends. The sheer size of the projectile rock prevented it from moving very fast. Necromancer and Necropaladin both stared at the incoming projectile, appearing to be dissatisfied. Necropaladin dropped his blade and jumped forward to meet the heaping mass of stone. The fiend caught the mass with both hands and locked onto it, skidding across the arena until coming to a halt just in front of Necromancer. Then in one swift motion, Necropaladin tossed the mass high into the air for the fiend mage to fire off a bolt of energy from his staff, destroying the immense rock in midair and scattering it about all throughout the land.
"You mortals are so unoriginal," Necromancer flatly said.
"Well, I wasn't expecting that at all," Athelstan muttered.
"All you accomplished with that maneuver was a waste of energy," said Necromancer.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" said the stone wielder as he raised his halberd again and regathered some of the broken chunks of rock overhead. This time, he made the mass only about a fourth the size of the first. At that moment, the blade of his halberd gleamed for a half second, and the heap of stone began transforming and melding into a hulking formation of shining material.
"Try deflecting this – the advanced form of stone!" Athelstan shouted, sending the mass towards the undead fiends. "Metal!"
As the metal made its way towards Necromancer and Necropaladin, again, Necropaladin jumped forward and attempted to catch the attack. This time however, the fiend warrior could not catch the mass, and instead took it head-on. A large cloud of dust and debris kicked up into the air, momentarily occluding the vision of everyone.
"Alright!" Athelstan cheered. "Let's assess the damage." He then devolved the metal back into stone and shifted it all out of the way off to the far side of the battlefield for later usage.
"Metal, that's interesting," said Bowser. "But against an undead being..."
When the dust settled, a grotesque sight became visible. Necromancer was spared since he was a good distance behind Necropaladin. However, Necropaladin did not have nearly the same luck that his counterpart had. The attack left the fiend warrior's body laid out on the ground, his entire right leg disconnected and his left arm completely mangled. Random gashes littered his body and limbs, but the bleeding was absent. Necropaladin's blood couldn't bleed, for it was solid, not liquid.
"I think you overdid it a bit, Athelstan," said Warra.
"No, their decayed flesh just couldn't handle it," the stone wielder replied.
"That may be so," said the fiend mage. "But I am a necromancer." He turned to the ravaged body of his counterpart and raised his staff. The head of the staff began to glow a ghastly pink and started producing a dull humming noise. Within seconds, the dismembered leg of the Necropaladin slipped back into the hip socket of his body, and structure was restored to his crippled arm. The fiend warrior was brought to his feet, and, besides half the flesh of his left arm being gone and all the flesh from the top of his right leg absent as well, looked none the worse from his experience. Despite clearly showing damage, he stood as though he was never hit.