Chapter 9: Calamity
I've probably butchered this chapter to the point where it is going to kill my FPS, but oh well, if you wanted realism you would be reading Broken Perceptions by SKdaGamer, not the graveyard of words known as 'Accursed Fires'.
Oh, and to SKdaGamer, I'm afraid your latest review only showed up in my Email box, not in the review box, and due to the size of it, I was not able to fully read it. However, most of the review went through, and I am making a special effort to take your advice with this chapter. If possible, could you PM me the whole review you left? I'd like to read the whole thing, if you wouldn't mind.
With everything out of the way, on with the show, and enjoy.
Good and evil. As different as black and white, in the eyes of the public. Good people help others. Bad people kill others. It seems so simple, doesn't it? But the harsh reality is that it is never that simple.
A good man may be forced to kill others in order to protect his daughter, who is being held hostage by criminals. But the public may not see it that way. They will think that this man kills out of spite, because they don't know the whole story.
So, you see, it is never a good idea to pass judgement until you have the whole story. No-one even knows half my story, and yet I do not need people to tell me whether I am a good or a bad person. Because, out of everything I have done, one deed still haunts me to this day.
The deed sitting on my claw.
(Obsidian's POV)
Kalameet. The black dragon of calamity. So powerful that not even Anor Londo dared provoke his ire. And here I am, with Winter and Morris beside me, engaged in a staring contest with the unblinking dragon. For a few, precious seconds, everything is still.
And then the world explodes. Kalameet launches himself forward, charging at the three of us. Both Winter and Morris get clear, but I stand still, almost taunting the charging creature. I leap to the left moments before impact, attempting to slice Kalameet's front leg with Myrglaw, my renamed glaive. Unfortunately, my attack draws no blood, and doesn't even stagger the dragon. He whips around mid-charge, using his tail to whip me. In response, I duck, while going for an overhead swing with Myrglaw. The blade connects with the tail of the black dragon, but fails to do anything other than superficial damage.
I don't have time to react. Kalameet brings his head around, before standing on his hind legs. Before I know what is happening, I am levitating in the air. I attempt to thrash my limbs, but an invisible force is preventing me from moving.
And then, the pain comes. A powerful, overwhelming, burning sensation spreads through my entire being, starting at my limbs and quickly working towards my main body. Through the pain, I manage to hear an extremely high-pitched screech coming from directly in front of me... and, for the first time in months, a terrible fear grips my mind.
After what felt like years, but could have been moments, the invisible force holding me in the air disappears, along with the pain. Gravity suddenly kicks in, and I hit the ground wings first. A sickening crunch is heard, in time with a blast of pain, and I know for a fact that I have just broken at least one of my wings, probably both.
I manage to roll onto all fours, despite the pain, and get up. My joints feel dangerously loose, but I ignore the feeling. Gripping Myrglaw tightly, I use the pain throughout my body to set the blade of the weapon alight. Orange and black flames burst from the weapon, and blood flows to my eyes. I snarl, before running directly towards Kalameet.
The black dragon spots me coming, but thankfully a couple of ice spikes hit the everlasting dragon on the neck, impaling Kalameet on his neck, and staggering him before he can launch a stream of fire at me. The black dragon roars in surprise, unfortunately confirming that his throat wasn't pierced, but that gives me the opening I need. Still at a distance, I throw Myrglaw at Kalameet, aiming for his eye. Annoyingly, my aim was off, because the glaive impacts the black dragon on the left wing joint instead of the eye.
Kalameet doesn't even flinch, once again charging me. Learning from my mistake of standing still, I leap above the charging behemoth at the last second, enhancing my jump by flapping my broken wings. Pain launches through my body, almost blinding me, but I ignore it. I grip the shaft of Myrglaw while in midair, and I rip it out of Kalameet's wing joint with a sickening twist.
Kalameet roars in agony, and he whips around. The tail of the everlasting dragon hits me mid-fall, although I manage to twist myself partially out of the way. Despite this, I am sent flying several metres, before I hit the ground hard, landing on my back. A jarring pain flows through my spine, followed by nausea. I am vaguely aware of Kalameet moving towards me, likely to finish me off. I open my eyes, hoping that I'm mistaken. I'm not. Kalameet stands in front of me, his singular eye flaring bright orange. I close my eyes, bracing for the pain...
But it never comes.
Opening my eyes in confusion, it would seem like Winter and Morris decided I was having too much of the fun. Winter is flying circles around the black dragon, launching ice spikes at him. Morris, on the other hand, is lobbing lightning spears at the dragon, each spear seeming to burn the scales off Kalameet's flesh. I'll have to thank those two later.
I get onto all fours, despite the pain, and I take a moment to look over myself. My wings have been torn completely to shreds, my armour is digging into my flesh as usual, and my head is still spinning. No matter.
I grab Myrglaw tightly, before properly getting up. Nausea assaults my mind, but I ignore it, focusing entirely on the everlasting dragon in front of me. I take a single step forward, before my legs give way. I attempt to signal Morris with a raised paw. Fortunately, the cleric notices, and rushes towards me. Morris gets on his knees, before chanting a soft prayer. A golden glow envelops my body, and my limbs snap painfully back into place. I growl in pain when my wings are fixed, the bones painfully being forced to meld together.
After a few seconds, Morris gets up, and rushes back into the fight. I follow suit, the majority of my limbs now functioning at 100%, and I run back into the fight.
Kalameet's single eye glows angrily, before an orange glow, accompanied by a high-pitched screech, is emitted from the gem-like eye. Winter is grabbed from the air by the same orange glow, which moves her in front of Kalameet's glowing eye. The screech gets louder, forcing Morris to cover his ears, although I manage to ignore the noise. All of Winter's limbs are stretched painfully, the everlasting dragon's glare focused entirely on the young dragoness he is torturing.
A sudden realisation hits me. This is the same invisible force that gripped me earlier in the fight. And Winter is likely experiencing the same agony.
Rage, the likes of which has only gripped me once before, fills my mind. Myrglaw bursts back into flames, and I charge at the black, everlasting dragon. Kalameet notices, and drops Winter on the floor. A sickening crack is heard upon Winter's impact on the ground, and if it weren't for my anger, I would flinch.
When I get close enough to kalameet, I leap into the air, before using gravity in an attempt to impale Kalameet through his spine. The dragon leaps out of the way, and I hit the ground hard enough to create a small crater. Ignoring the pain, and ignoring the blood flowing through my eyes, I take to the skies. Kalameet, seemingly bored by the fight, simply launches a black fireball at me. Thankfully, the fireball is too slow, and I am able to dodge it with ease. In response, I once again dive bomb Kalameet. Only this time, I'm using my wings to control my dive.
Kalameet, instead of dodging like I expected breathes a stream of black fire out of his maw. Moving too fast to dodge, I move the tip of Myrglaw in front of me, meeting the black fires of kalameet with my own cursed flames. Black and Cursed flames mix, and for a split second, I'm afraid I might have done something wrong. That fear passes when the flames clear, and the head of Kalameet is a few metres in front of me.
I impact the Black dragon on the head, burying Myrglaw deep into the top half of his skull. Kalameet thrashes in pain, before taking to the skies in an attempt to be rid of me. I grip my glaive tightly, somehow managing to hold onto Kalameet through all of this.
After a few seconds, Kalameet stills, giving me the opportunity I need. I plant my hind legs firmly on the skull of the everlasting dragon, before ripping out Myrglaw with a sickening twist. One of the horns on the head of the great dragon comes free, and Kalameet, it, and I fall to the ground.
I land on my hind legs, implanting the bladed end of Myrglaw into the ground as I land. Kalameet lands shortly afterwards, fortunately not on his feet, and his severed horn lands in between the two of us.
Kalameet manages to get to his feet, except he has two problems. One of his legs seems bent slightly, and blood is flowing from where I severed his horn. The everlasting dragon snarls weakly, and that is as good a signal as any.
I throw Myrglaw at the black dragon, who, in his weakened state, cannot dodge. The weapon embeds itself deeply in the left shoulder of the dragon, causing a slight crack to appear in Kalameet's scales. I charge at the dragon, using my pain and anger to set my claws alight. When I reach him, I go berserk.
I slash Kalameet left, right, and centre, at speeds even I can't track. Blood flies everywhere, some of it getting in my eyes. I don't care. All I care about, is killing the creature who so nonchalantly tortures others with his telekinesis.
Eventually, I calm myself, and in front of me... Kalameet is barely alive. Blood flows from multiple wounds, especially from the latest one caused by Myrglaw, which is still stuck in the shoulder of the beast. I walk towards the left shoulder of the downed dragon, and I wrap my right paw over the shaft of the weapon. I tense my muscles, ready to pull the weapon out... but I hesitate. I can hear the shuddering breaths of the downed creature, and feel them through my weapon. A wave of guilt rushes through me, as I realise that, in my rage, I condemned this creature to a painful, slow death.
Without twisting, I remove Myrglaw from the shoulder of Kalameet. The dragon exhales sharply when I remove the glaive, and blood pours out of the now open wound. I slowly walk towards the head of the felled beast, and a single orange eye meets both of mine. In that single eye, I spot a single emotion. Fear. But beyond that... a faint sadness. I solemnly raise Myrglaw above the head of Kalameet, before bringing the blade down as quickly as possible.
Kalameet died instantly. No pain was felt from that final blow. I sit down next to the head of the dragon, watching as the body slowly evaporates like most things in Dark Souls do when they die. A single tear of guilt escapes my left eye, hinting at the hidden remorse I am currently feeling.
After about thirty seconds, the body of Kalameet has fully evaporated... except for one part. The orange eye Kalameet used against us in the battle is intact, glowing slightly, like a gemstone refracting light. I pick up the eye, surprised that it feels more like a finely cut stone than flesh, and the eye glows brighter. Before I know what is happening, the gem-like eye changes shape, turning into an intricately designed black ring, with an orange, eye-like gemstone. And I recognise the ring.
Pocketing the ring, I stand up, before turning to Winter and Morris. Morris is sitting next to Winter, who is bleeding from multiple wounds, and seems to have dislocated multiple limbs. Morris chants softly, before a familiar golden glow encompasses the three of us, healing any wounds we may or may not have sustained. Winter's limbs snap back into place, and her wounds heal... but scars are left behind.
I turn away from my two companions, and I walk next to a waterfall, before collapsing in exhaustion. I take out my newly acquired ring, and, knowing that it will only hinder me, I place it on a claw on my left paw. A feeling of weakness floods my body, and I almost black out from the sudden feeling. But I manage to remain conscious.
And, in that moment, a sudden feeling of kinship with the dead black dragon hits me.
Well... THAT only took a few days to write and edit. Yay.
So... for those of you looking for clarification, the ring Obsidian got from Kalameet IS the Calamity Ring. Although, you need to be aware, I have a bit of a theory involving the Calamity Ring, and I will be using it in this fanfiction. Don't like it? Go write your own fanfiction.
I am still accepting requests, since there are likely at least another 50K words to go, but I am not accepting OCs any more.
Until next time...