Kaechia stepped between the crazed demon and the portal that the darkness poured from. She twirled her staff and pointed it at him, "That's enough Xerxes."
"Enough?" Xerxes cackled, "But I'm just getting started!"
Images flew through the ice mage's mind. She saw what the Oracle had shown her. It felt like so long ago.
Darkness gushed out of the portal, blocking out the sun. Xerxes stood face to face with his sister, Nadia. Nadia pointed her lance at him, "Again? You will willing allow the world to be thrown into chaos and possibly destroyed because of your own ambition?"
"Ambition? Dear, dear sister. This is more than ambition this time." Xerxes leaped forward.
Nadia dodged him.
Xerxes transformed into incorporeal darkness. Nadia did the same with light. The two of them moved at lightning speeds, their forms unclear. Exactly what was happening did was unknown. The two of them solidified. Nadia's lance clattered to the ground nearby.
Xerxes held his sister by her hair and wrenched her head back, "Dear sister. This is me reclaiming what you stole from me so long ago." He leaned in close to her, grinning psychotically, "This is me destroying everything you hold dear."
Nadia bit him.
Xerxes went to plunge a shadowy blade into her chest.
Nadia rolled sideways, slicing her hair off as she went.
Xerxes moved to take advantage of her sloppy unsteady finish but Nadia was knocked aside.
"Empress are you alright?"
Nadia stared past the archon in shock, "Will she be?"
Phoenix had blocked Xerxes' blade with one of her own.
The archon turned, "I...do not know. She has Shadowbane."
Phoenix knocked the blade back, "Really Xerxes? You'd destroy this entire world simply because your father chose her over you?" She leveled the blade at him. She already had multiple bruises and seemingly small cuts all over her body from previous fights.
Xerxes sneered, "You're tired assassin. Are you sure you can keep up?"
"I'll be dead if I can't," Phoenix said confidently.
Xerxes leaped forward.
Phoenix played it defensively. She blocked most of his attacks with the powerfully light aligned blade she was using. She used a dagger to wound him when she could.
The fight ended with Phoenix getting her head chopped off.
The image changed.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty."
Jace skidded to a halt and turned around just in time to dodge an arrow. He stumbled back. Three figures approached him. All of them had deep purple glowing eyes and shadows flowing off of them in wisps. One was a mage. The other two he couldn't identify anything about. He fell into a defensive stance.
"I think we'll play with you for a little bit. Right, Sister?" one of the obscured ones turned to the other.
"Why not?"
Jace swallowed nervously. He was sure he would be able to handle one of them. Two he might be able to handle but three he was sure he couldn't. He dodged around the twin blades of one of them.
Her eyes glittered with malicious intent.
"Assassin." Jace whispered aloud.
"Correct. I'm surprised. How could you tell?" She continued to attack him.
Jace continued to dodge and remained silent. Her and her sister must be assassins. The other one is definitely a mage. He ducked under an arrow and knocked the feet out from under the one with the blades. He back flipped and landed neatly. He knew illusions wouldn't work on them. They seemed to have similar mental blocks to some of the older Black Lotus that he had run into. He'd rarely ever actually interacted with them. If they were with the Black Lotus why'd they go dark? He felt his connection with Phoenix suddenly cut short. She had been halfway through mentally cursing before suddenly being cut off.
"Oh look at that. Xerxes actually managed to kill the poor exhausted little fire mage."
"What a shame. We wanted to play with her."
HOW?! Jace put a barrier between himself and a lightning spell from the mage. That...isn't...shouldn't be...how? He barely managed to get out of the way of an arrow. Focus, dammit. You can check the validity of their rambling later. He shuddered as the one with the blades laughed. It sounded like a child but crazed at the same time.
"I'm bored with you."
"You aren't any fun."
"Remember you two. We have orders to collect, not destroy," the mage spoke for the first time.
"Collect?" Jace repeated.
The one with the bow and arrows grinned, "Right." All three of their eyes glowed brightly unnervingly purple.
Jace stepped back defensively. He could feel a dark ancient power permeating through the air. Everything faded to black and white. The power took the shape of flames that were not visible normally. The flames were blindingly bright.
They became visible and leaped out towards him.
Jace's mind raced. Any power that ancient and powerful would eat through any force field I could create in an instant. They've already tuned it to me so even if I ran it would follow me. I'd constantly be running and inevitably caught in them eventually. Dammit.
Black and purple flames consumed him quicker than flames even Chandra could create. He blocked off his mind and personality in a last desperate effort to defend himself against whatever they would do to him. Searing pain wracked his body and mind. He could feel similar symbols to the three in front of him being written into his skin like an acid being traced along it.
A dark overpowering will started whispering in his mind. It pushed at the thick walls he'd put up in mere moments.
The pain afflicting him increased exponentially. He could hear Jayden crying out in the back of his mind.
"I'm amazed he's fighting it this long."
"The longest anyone has."
"Our light selves included."
Light selves? Jace's pain addled mind barely comprehended the words he was repeating in his mind. A part of him wanted to give in if only to end the pain. However he knew that giving up would not end well for him. He could feel the barriers in his mind weakening with every moment.
Ral jumped as Jayden suddenly started screaming. He turned and stared at the kid as he erupted into black flames. For a moment the lightning mage was frozen in horror. He then hurried over to Jayden.
"Don't...touch me." Jayden hissed through gritted teeth, "Don't..."
Ral lifted his hands in the air, "Then what am I supposed to do?!"
"Ja..."
"Jace?" Ral finished.
Jayden nodded, "He...help. Help...Ja...Jace."
Ral hurried back to the computer and scanned the battlefield for Jace. His leg bounced violently as his anxiety increased. C'mon Cat Ears. Where are you? He bit his lower lip until well after it bled but didn't notice.
"This is my destiny," Kaechia shaped an ax head onto the end of her staff and slowly but steadily drove Xerxes away from the portal. I will protect them. I will prevent that from happening.
"Oh but you're running out of time," Xerxes grinned.
Kaechia remained stoic and calm. Xerxes had destroyed his mortal form in the opening of the rift. If he didn't have an entity to attach himself to then he wouldn't last long. She sent a wave of ice in his direction. She had been trained to fight fire mages. Xerxes was less than challenging. Like Kurai he used taunts and jibes to disorient his opponents before closing in for a brutal finish. However Kaechia ignored him and so he didn't have the advantage over her. She barely heard the things he said.
Xerxes snarled, "How could you catch an incorporeal being in such a simple spell."
"Simple. I manipulated the ice's properties as I created it," Kaechia shrugged. She turned her attention to the rift. The ice would hold until Xerxes' form disappeared. She drew a circle of symbols around the edge of the hole in the realm. Closing the rift would destroy her but she had faith that the others could continue. She stood and spread her legs out to just past shoulder width. She held her hands out over the rift. One was palm down while the other was palm out. Her arms were parallel to the ground and shoulder width apart, fully extended. She took a deep breath and started drawing on mana. "I sacrifice my being in the closing of this portal. Repair this realm and banish the darkness to the realm from which it came." Her body started turning to ice and cracking. She flipped her hands, "Close!"