There were now only five of them left. Including Lyrin, the only templars still alive were Angelina, Guntar, Rachel, and Yates.
Lyrin stood just outside the building where Porter had met his end. The way forward was unclear, as the city was extensive, with roads stretching in every direction. He was amazed that something this large could have been concealed beneath the cathedral for so long without ever being found.
Angelina stood at his side, her sword drawn. Ever since Porter had died, she had refused to sheathe her sword. It was a sentiment that the other templars had also mirrored, each of them carrying their swords in their hands. This place was more dangerous than even the countless battles Lyrin had been in. At least when he was fighting Shuryo, it had been an enemy that he could see and respect, not a nameless horror that stalked the empty streets of a forgotten city.
"I guess we should get moving. If we stay in one place, it just makes it more likely that…whatever is here will find us," Yates advised. Lyrin nodded, returning to reality from his thoughts. Their objective was Terraform. He couldn't afford to let himself lose sight of that, otherwise everything would be lost.
"This way," Lyrin ordered, choosing a random path forward. If anything, Terraform would be in the heart of the city, perhaps in some sort of command structure, like a city hall or palace.
"Do you have a plan?" Rachel asked nervously, looking around as she and the other templars followed the former Seraphim General obediently.
"First, we need to find out where we are going. Therefore I suggest we find a tall building upon which to stand," Lyrin replied. The streets they walked on appeared to be calm for now. There was no sign of any movement, or even that breathing sound, thankfully. All Lyrin could hear were the echoes of their footsteps rebounding off of the cavern walls.
"You think we can find Terraform that way?" Guntar asked next. Lyrin shook his head.
"No. I'm assuming Terraform will be sealed in a recognizable place. According to the story, the dark lord battled the gods in his dark palace. If we assume he was sealed in the same place, then I'm hoping we will be able to see the palace from higher up," Lyrin explained. The other templars nodded, satisfied by his answer.
They walked in silence for a good half hour, searching for either a high building or a place that matched the description of a palace. However, it seemed to Lyrin that they were currently walking through what seemed to be the poorer district of the ancient city. Barely any of the buildings rose above a single story, and those that did didn't offer much of a view.
When they reached the end of the poorer district, they found themselves blocked by a curving, stagnant river of the same reddish water that had claimed Terag's life. There was no clear way across, which posed a real problem to them.
"I'm not going near that water!" Rachel asserted, retreating away from the edge and hiding behind Lyrin. Completely disregarding her presence, there, Lyrin moved closer to the water, straining his eyes to try and see to the bottom. However, it was impossible to see more than a few inches into the murky surface.
They were standing in a small clearing surrounded by decrepit market stalls decorated with decaying fabric and dust. More skeletons like the ones at the city's entrance littered the ground, indicating that this market had been the site of a pitched battle. Lyrin noted that the fallen soldiers wore the same attire. That made sense. Lyrin couldn't imagine that shades would leave much behind when they were killed. As there was no longer any flesh on their bones, it would be impossible to determine cause of death for each soldier. It meant little, however, but Lyrin couldn't help but admit to himself that this cavern fascinated him.
Like the other templars, Lyrin had grown up listening to tales about the olden days, when mankind was in a golden age, led on by Krysan himself, who was said to frequently visit the mortal plane to spread his teachings of good and evil, soon gathering many followers. Lyrin was never told how, but at some point Terraform emerged, and Krysan stopped visiting the mortals, leaving them to their fate. Terraform supposedly ruled with an iron fist, controlling the nobles through the force of his will and enslaving the peasants, forcing them to build his cities and improve his palace. For soldiers, Terraform used shades, demons created with his own power. Lyrin had no idea what a shade looked like, and the older templars had never elaborated, but they made up the bulk of the dark lord's force. Finally, Terraform's forces and the gods' followers met in battle at the dark capitol, while the gods themselves engaged Terraform in a battle that was said to be so destructive, that the entire city sank beneath the earth's crust.
If Lyrin accepted the old legends as being true, then he was standing in the dark capitol himself. If he thought about it, it was no surprise that dark creatures and forces prowled this ancient place. Only the gods knew the extent of Terraform's depravity.
Not for the first time, Lyrin wondered if what he was doing was truly the right thing to do. Perhaps he was overestimating the Emperor's power, and Terraform would simply annihilate the usurper and subjugate the land like he had once before. In that case, the world would truly end, and it would be Lyrin's fault. However, Lyrin hoped that Terraform and the Emperor's power would be nearly equal, and as such the two would destroy one another, and leave the land to them again. It was wishful thinking, but it was all he had. Even if Terraform took over and brought a dark age to Mercadia, it would still be better than letting the Emperor and…Shirako… live. Lyrin's blood boiled simply thinking of that accursed demon.
"It's your call, sir. How do we proceed?" Yates asked, snapping Lyrin back to reality. The former general regarded the reddish water, his mind working hard on finding a solution. Something was in that water, though its nature eluded them. It devoured the flesh on Terag and left only his skull. Suddenly Lyrin had an idea.
Lyrin drew his sword and got down on his knees, so that he could easily reach the water's surface. While the other templars watched, he stuck his sword into the water and fished around, hoping to find some trace of whatever was in there. As he had expected, nothing happened. Whatever was in the water had no interest in cold steel. However…
Next, Lyrin grabbed the leg bone of the nearest skeleton. With his blade, he cut it off at the knee and lopped off the foot, leaving him with just the lower leg bone. If his guess was right, then the thing in the water had left Terag's skull because it had no real bone marrow in it. If he assumed that the creature's diet was bone marrow, then even a long dead bone such as this should still provoke a reaction from it.
The templars watched curiously as Lyrin dipped the bone into the water. At first, nothing happened, and Lyrin grew disappointed. However, when Lyrin moved to pull the bone out, the surface of the water began to roil furiously, and something grabbed onto the other end of the bone. Lyrin jerked forward, nearly falling into the water. When the other templars saw him unbalance, he felt strong arms grip him, keeping him on dry land.
"Not this time!" Lyrin heard Angelina say in his ear. When he had regained his balance, Lyrin grabbed onto the bone with both hands and tugged. It did almost nothing, and the tug increased, drawing Lyrin back towards the water.
"Haah!" Lyrin roared, and a white aura exploded from around him and streamed into the air. The ground cracked around his feet as the aura intensified. Lyrin felt strength running through his body, which he then used to pull on the bone. He felt something give way, and then Lyrin reeled backwards as the bone came flying out of the water, with something attached to the other end.
Lyrin was shocked to see that it wasn't a creature. It wasn't even alive. Clamped onto the end of the bone was a human skull. The skull was making odd hissing sounds as it chomped deeper into the bone, searching for the marrow. Lyrin's eyes widened, and then he hurled the bone to the ground and impaled the skull with his blade. The skull's hissing and thrashing intensified, before it finally grew still.
"Holy hell…how many of those are in the water?" Angelina gasped, gazing at the skull. Lyrin looked at the skull in confusion. This was nothing like what he had been expecting. A creature would have made sense.
"That doesn't make any sense. Skulls don't need sustenance, so why is this one attempting to eat human bones?" Yates pointed out, giving voice to Lyrin's thoughts. Before anyone else could formulate an answer, Lyrin grabbed the nearest skeleton and tossed the whole thing into the water. The surface of the water was disturbed immediately. Lyrin could see hundreds of skulls break the water's surface to reach the bones, clamping onto them with sharp teeth and dragging it to the bottom, leaving the reddish surface undisturbed once more.
"That's what killed Terag," Angelina observed. "But Yates is right, it doesn't make sense."
"This is more than likely a defense mechanism," Lyrin deduced. When the other templars looked at him, he continued. "No doubt these skulls are being controlled by an ancient enchantment that forces them to reanimate and chew the flesh and bones from any that would intrude here."
"That seems like a reasonable explanation, but who would have put them there? Terraform? Or someone else?" Rachel inquired. Lyrin thought about that. He had assumed that perhaps it was to keep people from foolishly resurrecting Terraform, but then that seemed useless because of the blood seal.
"Here's a few possibilities," Yates began. "Either Asmodeus himself put the spell on these skulls to keep people from doing what we're trying to do, or it is a left over spell from Terraform's defenses that were meant to keep out invaders."
"Either way, that water might as well be an acid. Step one foot in there and you're dead," Lyrin pointed out. The other templars nodded. "But we still need to cross."
"Using your whips is out of the question this time. The buildings on the other side are much higher than the ones on this side," Yates observed.
They lapsed into silence, as each of them wracked their brains for a solution. This continued for several minutes until Lyrin heard the sound of footsteps.
"Templars," Lyrin hissed immediately, grabbing his sword. The others did the same, immediately becoming alert when the heard the urgency in Lyrin's voice. "Something's coming."
The footsteps grew louder, until Lyrin was able to detect their source coming from a dark tunnel nearby that was cut into an outcropping of rock. Lyrin could see stairs leading up into the darkness, likely to another structure on the inside.
He held his blade up in a defensive stance, preparing himself physically and mentally for whatever was coming through that tunnel. For all he knew, it could be Terraform himself.
To his shock, Porter walked out of the tunnel, still very much alive. The other templars were also surprised to see him. Porter's armor was covered in streaks of blood, although there was a piece missing – the very same piece that Yates had found back in the house where he was supposed to have died. His hand was also gone, but it was bandaged up tightly, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped.
"Wait up guys. Don't leave me behind." Porter greeted them happily, smiling. Rachel was the first to run to him, hugging the man tightly. "Whoa, hey Rachel."
"Thank Krysan you're okay! I thought…I thought…" Rachel cried. Porter patted her on the head assuredly.
"That I had died? Please, as if something like that could kill me," he said, grinning. Yates appeared suspicious. The older templar stepped forward and approached Porter, who waved his hand in greeting.
"Porter…there was so much blood…is it really you?" Yates asked. Porter looked down at himself, comically checking to make sure he was still there.
"Seems so. Don't worry, that wasn't my blood. Turns out old Terraform left one of his shades behind. I ended up having to kill it. Who knew that an ethereal spirit could carry so much blood?" Porter explained. Lyrin heaved a sigh of relief. It felt much better to know that he hadn't lost two people after all. Porter had lost a hand, but he seemed to be fine.
"I was actually starting to worry," Angelina remarked. "I thought something was in these ruins, killing us off."
"As long as we don't touch the water, we should be fine," Porter assured her. "Speaking of which, we need to cross this river. Any ideas?"
"We were just thinking about that." Guntar answered. "So far, we haven' come up with anything."
"Porter, get this. There are freaking man-eating skulls in the water!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing at the skull that Lyrin had stabbed. Porter knelt down beside it, a perplexed look on his face.
"You don't say? That's something you don't see every day," he commented. Lyrin scoffed at that. Porter seemed awfully carefree, which was odd considering how desperately the man had screamed for help. Either way, Lyrin was just relieved he was alive.
"There's got to be a way across this river, I'm sure of it," Angelina said. "Perhaps we should try circumventing it and searching for a bridge?"
"Good idea. Say, how about we split up? We could cover more ground that way," Porter suggested "There were many different paths back in the tunnel I came from."
"Sounds good. Do it. Stay in groups of two," Lyrin ordered. "Angelina, come with me. The rest of you, pair off. Don't ever be alone."
The other templars nodded, and moved to do as they were ordered. Angelina joined Lyrin, while Guntar and Yates paired up. Porter smiled at Rachel when he realized that she was going to be with him.
Lyrin took the lead, walking into the tunnel, with the others close behind. Old dark torches on the walls ignited as they passed, filling the passage with a warm orange glow. He noticed multitudes of skeletons filling the tunnel, which made it clear to him that Terraform's shades must have made a stand here. Lyrin was walking uphill and the tunnel was narrow, which made this a perfect choke point at which to hold the gods' followers.
The path soon split, and so Guntar and Yates left the group to travel down the new tunnel.
"If you find anything, signal us by raising your magical aura. We'll be able to sense you," Lyrin had ordered. The two templars saluted him, and then disappeared into the darkness.
They traveled further for a few minutes before reaching another fork. Porter and Rachel traveled down this one, leaving Angelina and Lyrin alone. They continued unperturbed until the tunnel opened back out into the main chamber, only they were higher up than before.
They were in another section of the city that was carved into the rock wall above the main city, creating a makeshift balcony that overlooked the noble district that Lyrin was trying to reach. This also doubled as an opportunity to search out the location of the palace, where Terraform was likely to be sealed.
"Angelina, watch my back. I'm going to take a look over the edge," Lyrin commanded. Angelina nodded and saluted. She turned the other direction and watched the abandoned streets closely.
Lyrin peered over the edge, and immediately saw what he was looking for. In the middle of the district across the river, he could see a massive dark castle that towered over the other buildings. The architecture was different than any other he'd ever seen, being even stranger than Cerynthian architecture. The walls of the place were angular and topped with large battlements, upon which were perched statues of strange creatures at regular intervals. The keep, which Lyrin could see was taller than the walls, was not low and square like typical fortresses, but was instead a twisted dark tower that towered above the walls and rose all the way to the top of the cavern before finally terminating in a wicked point. The tower was heavily defended, with deadly ballistae lining the exterior and wicked spiked battlements preventing those who would try to climb it. Lyrin could see torches burning from all the way over here as tiny orange dots that covered the tower. He marveled that none of them were able to see it from the ground. It was massive.
"We can probably call the others now. We are significantly higher than the buildings down below, such that my whips can provide us a way down," Lyrin said, breaking the oppressive silence. Angelina nodded, and was about to raise her aura when they heard a faint scream emanate from the tunnel. Lyrin whirled around immediately, recognizing whose voice that was.
"Rachel!" Lyrin shouted, drawing his sword. Without waiting for Angelina, he sprinted back into the tunnel, heading towards the passage that Porter and Rachel had taken. He couldn't imagine what could have happened. Porter was one of the stronger templars among them, and should have been able to protect her, even with only one hand.
"Wait up, General!" Angelina called, running after him. Lyrin was too worried about Rachel to bother correcting her about his title.
When they neared the tunnel where Porter and Rachel had gone, they ran into Guntar and Yates, who had heard the scream as well. They joined together immediately and ran down the passage, searching for any sign of the other two templars.
The tunnel soon opened out into a small cavern. The first thing Lyrin noticed was the blood that covered nearly the entire room. Lyrin froze in place, hardly able to believe his eyes.
Porter stood completely still, his sword hanging loosely by his side. The blade was clean, indicating that he hadn't used it. His head was hung and his eyes were oddly blank.
Upon seeing Rachel, Lyrin was horrified and distraught. There was nothing left of her apart from a bloody skeleton covered with bits of flesh. Every single internal organ had been crushed and spread across the room. However, what was even worse was that Rachel's head was still completely intact. Upon her lifeless face was stamped a look of extreme terror.
Lyrin knelt down, covering his mouth as a wave of nausea struck him. This was too much, even for him. Never before had he seen someone killed in such a gruesome way. Next to him, Angelina was devastated. She stepped forward, glaring at Porter with teary eyes.
"She…she didn't even want to be here…she…you son of a bitch…WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT HER?!" Angelina demanded, running up to Porter and punching him in the face, hard. Porter reeled back, but didn't react, still wearing that oddly blank expression.
"What could have done this?" Yates snapped angrily, looking around the cavern. Guntar was still in shock, his shoulders shaking.
"Porter…tell us…what happened," Lyrin ordered weakly, stumbling to his feet. Porter didn't reply. Lyrin's eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer. His voice snapped like a whip. "Porter! That was an order!"
Now Porter reacted. The templar turned in place to view Lyrin, his movements jerky and slow. His gaze met Lyrin's. Lyrin could tell by the glazed look in Porter's eyes that the templar had been dead for a long time.
Porter began to laugh. It was a horrible, twisted sound, one that grew deeper in pitch until it sounded unearthly and demonic. Lyrin reeled back when the former templar's skin began to sublimate, evaporating off of his bones along with everything else. Even when his face evaporated, the demonic laughter continued until there was nothing else left of him but bones. Porter's bones fell the ground and scattered, inert.
None of them said anything. There was nothing to be said. All of them were dealing with their feelings, which threatened to overwhelm them. Rachel had been the most timid of them all, but she was sweet, willing to follow them into hell itself if it would put an end to this war. No one deserved to die like that, especially Rachel.
"Come on," Lyrin finally said. "We have to keep going. Everyone that died here today will be remembered. I swear it."
"When we free Terraform…I'm going to bomb this place into oblivion," Yates growled venomously. Guntar grunted in agreement. He was currently kneeling by what was left of Rachel, crying softly.
Suddenly, Rachel's bloody, skeletal hand shot up and grabbed Guntar by the throat. Guntar let out a choked gurgle, alerting Lyrin to what was going on.
"What the…" Lyrin gasped, rushing over to them. Rachel's head lifted up, her eyes blank and listless. Her mouth opened, and she emitted a terrible inhuman shriek that seemed to tear right through Lyrin's skull. Lyrin dropped his sword and clamped his hands to his ears, but even that wouldn't completely block it out.
Angelina was the first to reach Guntar. With a nearly inaudible grunt, she sliced through Rachel's arm with her sword, which allowed Guntar to remove the bony hand from his throat. Then, as the thing that used to be Rachel oriented on its attacker, Angelina slashed furiously, cutting it into multiple pieces. Then, she released a wave of light energy from her free hand, incinerating the skeleton. There was now nothing left of Rachel except for a pile of ashes.
Guntar was in shock. He knelt there, looking at the pile of ashes, unable or unwilling to move. It wasn't until Yates lifted him up by his arm did he start moving, although it was easy to tell that Guntar would be forever marked by this experience.
"This cave is evil," Lyrin grunted, getting up from the ground. He grabbed his sword and held it by his side. Then, he moved back towards the tunnel that would lead back to the upper city. "It's killing us off and then using our own dead against us."
"Yeah. The sooner we find Terraform, the better," Yates added. With that, the group of four traveled back down the passage until they again found themselves on the upper city, overlooking the noble district where the dark tower could be seen.
"I'm assuming that's our destination," Yates observed, watching Lyrin for confirmation. Lyrin nodded, and then allowed a particularly long whip of light to extend from his hand. "Good idea, sir. We can zip down there from here."
Lyrin took a step forward and then hurled the whip with all of his strength, adding more and more of his power to the whip to lengthen it, until it was long enough to reach the roof of one of the buildings in the noble district. Like before, he anchored it in the building's foundation. The other end he anchored into a nearby building.
"I'll go first this time. If there's any surprises waiting for us, I'll be ready for them," Lyrin decided. The other templars nodded and allowed him room. Using the same strip of fabric that he had used the first time, Lyrin climbed over the edge and zipped down the line towards the noble district.
He had only been traveling for a few seconds before he could feel a significant difference in the aura of the air. The air was filled with so much evil magic that he could almost feel it, crawling on his skin like some sort of infernal insect. Its source was definitely coming from the dark tower. It was so strong that Lyrin realized it had been covering the entire cave, at differing levels of strength. Here, the evil was at is strongest. No doubt there would be even more diabolical threats waiting for them.
Lyrin landed on the roof smoothly. He took a few steps forward in order to scout ahead, as well as give the others room to land. When he reached the edge of the building, he noticed that there was practically a straight path between the buildings leading directly to the gates of the dark tower.
Yates, Guntar, and Angelina soon joined him on the rooftop, allowing Lyrin to dissipate the whip.
"Just a little farther everyone," Lyrin attempted to reassure them. He didn't get a reply from any of them. He couldn't blame them. In a situation like this, all of them just wanted it to be over. Even he was scared. This place was worse than his darkest nightmares.
Lyrin descended the rooftop, with the templars close behind. All that was left was to walk towards the tower. Terraform would no doubt be inside, and this nightmare would end.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that easy. Almost immediately after they started walking down the street towards the tower, Lyrin could detect something wrong. He could hear faint whispers coming from seemingly every direction. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was enough to set the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Does…does anyone else here those whispers?" Guntar asked nervously.
"Yeah, I hear them," Yates replied. Lyrin kept his eyes forward. The whispering was certainly unsettling, but he was keeping his eyes peeled for signs of any material threats.
Lyrin suddenly noticed something terrifying. In the alleyways between buildings, the shadows were moving. They weren't moving like something living, but instead they were flickering and dancing like fire. Lyrin's grip tightened on his sword.
"We need to move faster," Lyrin hissed, breaking into a run. None of the templars questioned him, matching his pace without hesitation. Lyrin did not know what the moving shadows meant, but he wasn't sticking around to find out.
As they drew closer and closer to the dark tower, the whispers steadily grew in volume. Lyrin began to sweat furiously. It took all of his willpower not to panic. He shouldn't have to fight things he can't see. This whole thing felt so unbelievable to him. Never in his life would he have believed that a place like this could possibly exist.
All of a sudden, the whispers grew deafening, and then Lyrin heard Guntar scream. He whirled around immediately, just in time to see the templar being dragged into a pitch-black alley by seemingly the darkness itself. There was a claw shaped cloud of black smoke clamped onto Guntar's leg, but Lyrin only saw it for a split second before Guntar was gone.
"Guntar!" Lyrin roared, and moved to pursue, but then Angelina slammed her elbow on his back, pushing him to the ground. Lyrin rolled over and was about to shout at her when a wisp of black smoke similar to the one that had taken Guntar grasped at the very location where he had been standing. Angelina roared and brought her sword down, only to see the blade pass right through the smoke. The darkness withdrew back into the alley.
Yates frantically slashed at another claw of darkness that was coming for him, but it was in vain. Lyrin leapt to his feet to try and help. He was rushing towards Yates when the shadows assaulting him at last took on a form.
Lyrin couldn't see it very well, instead only seeing the glaring red of its eyes and the flash of light on its teeth seconds before it clamped its jaws right over Yates' middle and drew him into the darkness. Lyrin stopped at the entrance to the alley and screamed in frustration. He was losing everyone, and it was killing him inside.
Angelina grabbed him on the shoulder and pulled him towards the dark tower. He tried to resist and go back for the two templars, but she smacked him hard, causing him to turn and glare at her.
"Leave them! We can't fight something we can't hit! Let's go, it's just a little farther!" Angelina shouted at him. Lyrin hesitated, but then he heard the sound of whispering approaching them from behind, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He sprinted towards the open gates that led to the dark tower, hoping to find sanctuary from the horror that pursued them. Angelina was right beside him, her dark hair flowing behind her.
The gates in front of them slowly began to close, causing adrenaline to shoot through Lyrin's veins. He let out a cry and sped up, using his powers of light to boost his speed. He sped through the gate and stopped, turning around to make sure Angelina was behind him.
To his horror, the gate was closing and Angelina was nowhere near as fast as him. Angelina's face adopted a look of horror when she realized that she wasn't going to make it. Then, she became calm, acceptance crossing her face. She stopped at the gates, which were too close together for her to get through. She met Lyrin's gaze and gave him a small smile.
"No! Angelina!" Lyrin shouted, and tried to go after her. The last thing he saw of her was a crisp salute just before the gates shut with a thunderous boom. Lyrin hit the gate pointlessly, frustration and despair threatening to overcome him. They had all come here because of him, following him because they trusted him, and he had lost them. All of them! He was the only one left. What was the point of all this?
"Why am I alive? Why me? Why do I deserve to live when six good people didn't?" Lyrin asked himself despairingly. He almost wanted to join them in death, leaving this terrible world behind. But he couldn't let himself do that. Terraform couldn't be far away. All it would take is a climb up that tower. Lyrin tried to gather up the courage to move.
"Lyrin…" a soft, strikingly familiar voice called from behind him. Lyrin froze dead, unable to believe his ears. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped in terror. It couldn't be. Lyrin begged whatever gods there were not to do this to him. He had already gone through so much in this damn cave. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to take it.
Lyrin turned slowly, not wanting to see what he knew would be there. As he did so, the nostalgic smell of honeyed strawberries filled his nostrils. He began to tremble. He finally saw it. He locked eyes with those soft golden brown eyes that he knew so well. He could never forget them.
She tilted her head to one side, her lips curving into a smile. Lyrin stumbled, barely able to keep his feet. Suddenly, light filled the cave.
Lyrin looked around to find himself not in Terraform's dark cave, but instead in a small cabin. He was standing next to small double bed with soft feather pillows, the lilac covers slightly disturbed, showing signs of recent use. He was standing on a soft green carpet, which conformed to the shape of his toes. This led him to realize that he was barefoot.
There was a small desk tucked in one corner of the house, upon which he could see a desktop computer and keyboard, along with a filing cabinet next to it. The perfect office set up. He could see a door leading to a kitchen just next to it, like he had always wanted. It made it easier to grab something to eat or drink while working. Through another door, Lyrin could see two small, unoccupied beds that were neatly made.
Standing in front of the front door was the girl for which he would have given up everything to spend another minute with her. She looked into his eyes, and Lyrin knew that it was over. When she opened her arms, Lyrin couldn't resist. He walked forward and fell into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder and crying soundlessly. She smiled and caressed his head gently.
"Welcome home, my Lyrin," she cooed to him lovingly. Lyrin was crying like a baby. It was too good to be true. He knew it was likely an illusion, but he couldn't help it. After everything he'd been through, he could think of no better way to die than in the arms of the one he loved.
"I love you, Rianna," Lyrin sobbed, his grip around his lover tightening. Rianna laughed a little, that blush that she tended to wear appearing on her cheeks again. She kissed him gently on the forehead, and then released him. Lyrin stepped back reluctantly, wiping the tears from his eyes. He hated how his tough exterior had melted in an instant just by seeing her, even if it wasn't the real her.
The front door opened with a bang, and sunlight streamed through. He could hear the sound of children laughing, and Lyrin soon saw a boy and a girl running into the house, smiling and laughing happily. Rianna's smile widened and she knelt down, grabbing one of them in a loving embrace. The girl ran towards Lyrin, her youthful eyes meeting his, her arms raised upwards, begging for similar treatment.
Lyrin knew who she was immediately, even if she had never existed in reality. If they ever had children, Rianna had told him that she wanted to name the girl Larissa, and the boy Raven. Therefore, when Larissa reached him, Lyrin gave in and reached down, allowing her tiny hands to cling to his. He lifted her up, hearing her laugh happily in his ears. He carried her gracefully, and then looked over at Rianna, who met his gaze. She gave him another smile.
Then everything changed. Gone was the simple cabin, to be replaced by one of the bottom floors of Krystmar in the catacombs. Engraved on the ground was an old blood seal, covered in spatters of blood. It had been unwittingly opened by none other than Lyrin himself.
All of the happy feelings that Lyrin had been feeling after witnessing the future that had been stolen from him were completely snuffed out in a second, to be replaced by one of horror and despair. Lyrin collapsed.
"No…no…please…don't…don't show me this," Lyrin whimpered, holding his head in his hands. Then he snapped, looking up. "DON'T SHOW ME THIS!"
The second he looked up he heard it. He heard that noise that had changed his life forever. It was simple noise, consisting of nothing more than a small shik. Lyrin looked up to see Shirako standing there, his rapier buried deep into Rianna's chest.
She had done nothing to him. All she did was apologize for waking him and politely ask for both parties to forgive and forget. She was always the peacemaker. She was always the one to step in the middle of arguments and break them up in such a way that both parties walked away happy. To her, Shirako was just another argument that needed to be settled.
Instead Shirako had murdered her without a second thought, or even a reply. He had destroyed Lyrin's reason to live in less than a second, and then had the nerve to laugh about it. Just after Lyrin had just recalled that horrible laugh, he heard it. The Shirako that stood in front of him laughed derisively, kicking her body off of his blade. Lyrin rushed forward and caught her, just like he had all those years ago.
This time, Rianna was dead when he caught her, and did not hang on to life as she had originally. Lyrin began to cry again as he looked at her face, which permanently wore an expression of surprise and disbelief. He gently lowered her to the ground, and then reached for his sword.
"You won't be needing that," Shirako told him, his red eyes narrowing evilly. Lyrin suddenly felt that his sword and sheath were gone. "Looking for this?"
Lyrin saw his weapon in Shirako's free hand. Lyrin lunged for it, only to feel the demon's fist plow right into his jaw, snapping his head to the right. Lyrin stumbled backwards, holding the affected spot. He could hear Shirako laughing hysterically.
"Look at you. I kill one girl, and you're a wreck for the rest of your life. I'll never understand you humans. You're useless," Shirako spat. Lyrin didn't reply, because he knew the demon was right. After Rianna's death, Lyrin had promptly left the church after a brief crisis of faith. His entire life had changed, as had he. No longer was he the carefree child that had asked Vicard how to use the light. No longer did he run around with his friends in the gardens of Krystmar.
"You don't need this blade. You already have a weapon, buried deep inside of you. Hate. I'm certain you hate me. Use that hatred as your strength," Shirako advised him. Lyrin looked up at him, taking in his words. "How do you think you will ever be able to challenge me if you don't?"
"Look at me, mortal. Show me the hate that you feel. What's the matter? Don't you care that I murdered your girl? Ruined your life?" Shirako continued, a wicked grin crossing his pale face. "You're a useless waste of space, a failure of a human being. You're nothing but a disappointment. I wanted a real challenge from you, but instead I get a sniveling wretch unable to harness his own power. How will you ever…"
Lyrin couldn't take it anymore. Shirako continued to fill his head with poisoned words, denigrating him. The more he talked, the angrier Lyrin got. Finally, Lyrin let go. It was like there had been a dam in his mind, holding back a flood of pure power. With every word Shirako said, the dam crumbled, until the light flew forth.
"SHUT UP!" Lyrin roared, and then light erupted around him, filling the room with holy light. Lyrin began to yell, feeling his body changing, growing larger and taller. He held up his right hand, and a massive blade of pure light appeared there, in the shape of a cleaver. In his other hand, a thick, corded whip extended from his wrist, trailing along the ground. Lyrin's body began to glow with golden light. His hair broke out of his standard ponytail and became stiff and spiky, turning pure silver in color. It lengthened until it fell down to his waist.
Once his transformation was complete, Lyrin lashed out with all of his newfound power. Shirako's eyes widened, but not in horror. An ecstatic grin crossed his face as he was engulfed with a massive shockwave emanated from the impact of Lyrin's blade and the ground. There was an explosion so large, it broke the entire room, and seemed to even break the entire world, as Lyrin's surroundings shattered like glass. Everything went white for him, yet he was still conscious.
"Excellent," Lyrin heard Shirako whisper.
When Lyrin could finally see again, he found that he was back in the courtyard, just in front of the entrance to the dark tower. He looked down at his body, noting how different he looked. He had done it. Martin and Vicard both had a transformation that they called "the ascended form." According to them, it was a form that granted a templar a significant boost in power and speed. The catch was that it was nearly impossible for a templar to achieve without several decades of training. That being said, Lyrin felt accomplished for having achieved it so early.
"I knew you could do it." Lyrin growled as he heard her voice again. He turned, still in his ascended form, to see Rianna again. Why more illusions? He knew it wasn't the real Rianna, and he wouldn't let her take him off guard again. When Rianna took another step closer, Lyrin stabbed his cleaver into the ground between them, blocking her progress.
"Not another step. I'm tired of this place and its goddamn illusions!" Lyrin roared. Then, Rianna appeared in front of him suddenly, a knowing smile on her face. She flicked him lightly on the forehead, like she always used to.
"Does that matter?" Rianna asked. Lyrin wanted to knock her away, but he couldn't. No matter how much his brain screamed at him to destroy the illusion, his heart wouldn't let him. "I want to talk to you."
"I'm listening," Lyrin grunted in response. Rianna smiled again.
"Okay. Why did you break our promise?" she asked innocently. Lyrin froze. He had never broken their promise. He had dedicated his entire life to achieving peace so that her spirit could be at rest!
"I never did! Why do you think I left the church? The only way to bring peace to the world was to end the war!" Lyrin shot back, though he realized how foolish he sounded. Rianna looked sad.
"Violence only brings more violence, Lyrin. I wanted everything to be peaceful, so that we could enjoy the beauty of nature together," Rianna continued. Lyrin realized what she was getting at, and he was distraught. His body reverted to its original form, leaving him at the same size as Rianna again. She ran a hand along his cheek, cupping it. "My fondest wish was for you to continue to enjoy life in my stead, even as I died. But you didn't. You did the opposite."
Lyrin couldn't respond. She was right. All he had done was do the exact opposite of what she wanted. He had never taken time out of his day to enjoy life, instead spending every hour of every day planning strategies to destroy Perosia in battle. He had convinced himself that the sooner Perosia fell, the sooner the world would be at peace. He now realized that that had been a lie. He was ashamed of himself. He had lived his entire life defying Rianna.
"You need to move on, Lyrin. Bring peace to the world, as we promised," Rianna told him, bringing her face to his, while wrapping her arms around him. Lyrin gazed into her eyes. He never wanted to look away again. Suddenly, Rianna's body began to fade away. Lyrin started, but then relaxed. He knew he couldn't keep her here. She belonged in heaven, with Krysan. "Move on, and find another to love as much as you loved me. Don't live life alone."
Lyrin felt a soft kiss on his lips just before Rianna faded away completely. Lyrin stood in silence, watching the spot where she had stood only a few moments ago. He did not understand at all what had just happened. Was the Rianna that had just spoken to him an illusion? Or was it actually Rianna's spirit, utilizing the immense magical energy in the place to speak with him? He would never know.
Suddenly, the wall that Lyrin was facing broke open with a crash, a blaze of light magic shooting through it. Lyrin was on guard immediately, raising his sword that had reappeared back at his side. He didn't know what devilry was going to present itself to him next, but he would be ready.
He certainly hadn't expected Angelina to come tumbling through the wall, light magic licking up the blade of her sword. She turned around and cleaved right through the ribcage of a skeleton that had been chasing her. She gave a battle cry, and then slammed an orb of light directly into the skeleton's skull, shattering it. The bones fell to the ground, inert.
Angelina turned around, and was visibly surprised to see Lyrin. She ran towards him, only to find Lyrin's sword pointing directly at her heart. "Lyrin…wha...?."
"Not another step," Lyrin snapped, his voice harder than steel. "I am tired of this place and its cursed illusions! You will not kill me like you killed Rachel!"
"Lyrin, I'm not like Porter was! I'm still alive! See, I can use light magic!" Angelina pleaded with him, summoning another orb. Lyrin wanted to believe that it was actually the real Angelina in front of him, but he had seen her being cornered by shadow just before the gate had closed.
"Prove it!" Lyrin spat. Angelina nodded furiously, backing away from the point of Lyrin's sword.
"Um...how do I …oh yeah! Terag was the one who found the blood seal in the first place, remember? He was being lazy but ended up finding it because he broke the floor with his sword!" Angelina told him. Lyrin paused, and then lowered his sword. That had been when they were out of the cave. The dark magic had been held back by the blood seal, which he hoped meant that it couldn't emulate such memories. Even so, Lyrin wasn't taking any chances.
"Fine. You walk in front of me. I'm not going to risk getting stabbed in the back," Lyrin shot back. Angelina nodded again, and then stepped in front of him. "Let's go. The entrance to the tower is just ahead."
Angelina led the way towards the tower, walking carefully. Lyrin never sheathed his sword. This place had made him paranoid of everything he took for granted. He wasn't about to fall victim to this place.
Despite his trepidation, Lyrin felt relieved to know that he didn't have to continue on alone. He wasn't sure that his mind would have been able to take solitude in this cursed place.
They entered the tower, and noted that a giant spiral staircase rose only a few meters ahead of them. That was what they wanted, because more than likely Terraform would be sealed at the very top.
It was oddly quiet as they climbed the dark staircase. Neither Lyrin nor Angelina said a word. They all knew what they had lost just getting this far, and as such there was no need to put it into words.
How many steps had they climbed already? Lyrin had lost count around a thousand. For every hundred or so, there was a doorway that led out onto another floor, with many different rooms whose purpose Lyrin could not guess.
Lyrin didn't know how long it took, but soon they stood in the top room of the tower. It was unique from the other floors in that it consisted of just one massive room.
Several pillars were in the room, arranged in a circular pattern. Upon each of these pillars were engraved many different archaic runes that Lyrin couldn't even begin to understand. The pillars did not span the height of the room, instead terminating at about halfway up.
From each of these pillars, a groove was cut into the ground that headed directly towards the center, where a large sarcophagus stood upright. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the sarcophagus must be the resting place for Terraform. That hypothesis was compounded when Lyrin spotted the extensive blood circle that was engraved upon it.
"This is it," Angelina whispered, walking up to the sarcophagus. She ran a hand across it in awe. "Terraform is standing right in front of me."
"Get back. I'm going to have to use blood magic to open this," Lyrin ordered. Angelina nodded and put some space between her and the sarcophagus. She stood next to Lyrin. He found that she was standing too close for comfort, so he stepped away from her. Then, he lifted his hands and formed the crimson circle that was the releasing spell. He was about to cut himself when blood streamed into the circle. He looked to see that Angelina was giving blood to him from several fresh wounds that she must have received from fighting the undead.
The entire room began to shake violently as the crimson circle began grow. The blood seal on the sarcophagus began to glow brightly, reacting to Lyrin's blood magic.
Angelina fell to her knees, and the stream of blood from her wounds ceased. Lyrin grunted worriedly, but he could tend to her later. She had given him more than enough blood to release the seal.
The tremors increased to a point where Lyrin could barely keep his feet. Even so, he refused to budge. The crimson circle grew larger, until it encompassed the entirety of the blood seal. Then, it shrunk, taking the lid of the sarcophagus with it. The tremors ceased immediately and everything seemed calm once more.
When the dust cleared, Lyrin peered into the sarcophagus and saw a dark figure inside. Lyrin tensed. If this was Terraform, then their mission was a success. He took a step forward.
He saw the skeleton of an impossibly tall man standing upright in the sarcophagus. Upon its skull was a headdress made of golden fabric that cascaded over its shoulder blades, adorned with dark blue stripes. Worn around its neck were several jeweled necklaces that still shone brightly despite their age. Beneath the shoulder joints and around the wrists were similarly jeweled bands. For clothing, it wore very little save for a kilt that was colored gold, brown, and blue. At the skeleton's side was an ornate staff covered with the same runes as the pillars, and topped with a sculpted cobra, depicted with its jaws open.
"Is…is that Terraform?" Angelina asked timidly. Almost immediately after her voice sounded, the skeleton burst out of the sarcophagus, planting a bony fist directly into Lyrin's face. There was so much force behind the punch that Lyrin's neck nearly broke, and would have killed him if he hadn't transformed to his ascended form just before impact.
Lyrin skidded backwards, holding his face where he had been hit. Growling, he retaliated at the skeleton with the powerful whip, only to discovered that the skeleton was not there anymore. Lyrin felt an impact on his stomach, followed by so many more that Lyrin doubled over in pain, seeing the skeleton hammering away at his midsection.
He tried to swipe with his cleaver, but the skeleton calmly blocked the blade with the back of its hand and forced it away like it was nothing, and continued to assault Lyrin, beating the powerful templar into the ground easily. Lyrin suddenly realized that he had never been more outmatched in his life.
The skeleton grabbed Lyrin's face and slammed him to the ground, earning a pained cry from him. Then, Lyrin felt a hand constricting his throat powerfully. He was lifted into the air by the overly strong skeleton, his feet kicking uselessly in midair. His vision began to narrow as he struggled to breathe. After all this, was he going to die here?
Then, Lyrin managed to notice something on the skeleton's rib cage. Engraved upon the bone was yet another blood seal, though this one was significantly smaller in size. Did that mean that the skeleton wasn't even at its full power, even though it was tossing him around like he was nothing?
"Wait!" Lyrin choked out, fighting to keep himself conscious. The skeleton paused, ever so slightly loosening its grip so Lyrin could speak. "That seal…we came to break it!"
The skeleton's empty eye sockets started into Lyrin's eyes, as if searching for signs of a lie. When it found none, it threw Lyrin effortlessly to the ground.
"Are you all right?" Angelina asked worriedly, running to Lyrin and helping him up. Lyrin nodded, trying to regain his breath. The skeleton stood completely still, waiting for Lyrin to break the seal on its ribcage.
"We have…one more seal to break," Lyrin informed Angelina. Angelina was about to open her bandages again when Lyrin stopped her. "No…you've given enough. It is my turn."
Lyrin formed another circle of blood magic, causing the blood seal on the skeleton to react and glow faintly. The blood from the wounds inflicted upon him by the skeleton streamed to the circle.
As the blood seal was much smaller than the first two, it only took a little blood before the seal disappeared from the skeleton's chest. Lyrin watched the creature carefully. He had no way to know what it would do now that the seal was broken.
The skeleton did not move. Lyrin was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong. However, suddenly he heard the sound of something beating. Almost like a heartbeat.
Lyrin's eyes widened. It was true. A heart had formed inside the ribcage of the skeleton and was beating rapidly. Blood traveled from the heart, forming blood vessels as it went. It only took a single minute for the blood to circulate the entirety of the skeleton, weaving a network of veins and arteries. Lyrin blinked. He just watched the entire cardiovascular system reconstruct itself in front of him.
That wasn't the end of it. The skeleton continued to regenerate, forming internal organs, muscles, and at last skin. Tanned, unmarked skin flowed across its body, completing its regeneration.
The man, for that was what it was now, stood tall, looking over his regenerated body with interest. The man's eyes were colored an emerald green, and the headdress largely obscured his hair. His eyes were slim and lined with black eyeliner. His nose was sharp and his mouth twitched, like there was a smile just waiting to form.
"Terraform?" Lyrin asked nervously, as the man had said nothing since his rebirth. Before answering, the man lifted his arm and opened his hand. The staff in the sarcophagus flew to his hand immediately.
"No," the man answered at last. Lyrin's spirits plummeted. After all of that, it wasn't even Terraform? Where was he then, and how could they unseal him? The man noticed Lyrin's distraught look and chuckled. "You are close, though."
"If you aren't Terraform, who are you?" Lyrin demanded, frustrated.
"I have no definitive name, as I have been called many things. I am the will of Lord Terraform, the one who gives voice to his commands," the man explained enigmatically. "You, however, may call me Pharaoh."
"With all due respect, Pharaoh, I came here to release Terraform, not you," Lyrin growled. He was getting very frustrated with this whole situation. He just wanted to free Terraform and get out.
Pharaoh's eyes narrowed, and he adopted an annoyed expression. Lyrin then heard a crack, and then his head snapped to the side. Did…did Pharaoh just backhand him?
"Patience! You will refer to him as Lord Terraform, and you will speak to me with the respect I deserve!" Pharaoh snapped, his gaze thunderous. Lyrin reeled back, realizing that he was in the presence of someone thousands of times older and stronger than him. "You should not speak about things you do not understand. I was sealed here as a final defense mechanism against Lord Terraform's rebirth. They hoped that in my confusion, I would kill whoever released me before they could unlock the second seal on my powers."
At that, Pharaoh turned the other direction and lifted his hand. Clenching it into a fist, he punched the air, which actually dilated and cracked underneath his fist. Lyrin watched the spectacle, shocked and perplexed. Allowing his staff to float in the air next to him, Pharaoh widened the dark hole made in midair with his hands, until it was large enough to be considered an abyss. Lyrin realized, when he looked inside to see a completely different world, that he was staring into a portal.
"Lord Terraform was sealed away in the Interdimensional Rift, as his power would corrupt and pervert anything in a certain proximity to him. Even so, you should have been able to feel the effects of his power." Pharaoh continued, stepping aside so that Lyrin could take in what lay on the other side of the portal.
He could see a strange stone shrine standing in the middle of a green field, with forests surrounding it. Strange angelic statues surrounded it in a circular pattern. Lyrin decided that it must be a place of worship, though if Pharaoh was to be believed, then he was also looking into the Interdimensional Rift itself.
"I don't know what to say," Angelina breathed beside Lyrin, gazing through the portal with wide eyes. Pharaoh took a step inside the portal, and then beckoned for the both of them to follow.
"Come. Lord Terraform's seal will no doubt require our cooperation," Pharaoh ordered. Lyrin walked towards the portal tentatively, realizing that by taking this path, he was giving up his command for good. There was no way that Pharaoh or Terraform would ever respect his authority.
"If only the others were alive to see this," Angelina whispered, following Lyrin closely. Her words caused Pharaoh to look at her curiously. When she noticed his look, she elaborated. "We came here with five others, who perished on the way here."
"I see. Do not worry. Lord Terraform is not the kind to disregard valor where it is given. He will no doubt honor your fallen companions," Pharaoh reassured her. This confused both Lyrin and Angelina.
"But, how can you honor them? They are dead," Angelina pointed out. That earned an ominous chuckle from their guide.
"So?" Pharaoh uttered that one chilling word in such a way that a shiver ran down Lyrin's spine. Neither Angelina nor him could bring herself or himself to respond to that.
The three of them entered the Rift at last, the portal closing behind them. Pharaoh didn't seem worried about that at all, as he did not react.
Pharaoh led them up to the entrance to the shrine, and then through an arched doorway into what looked to be a place of worship. Lyrin could see an arrangement of crumbling pews, facing a shattered altar, which had a bowl of tarnished silver sitting atop it.
Lyrin became unsettled when they walked past the pews, as he could see many human skeletons sprawled across the ruined pews, charred and blackened beyond all recognition. Pharaoh paid no attention to either of them, instead walking up to the raised platform where the altar was. Instead of climbing to the top of the aforementioned platform, Pharaoh placed his hand on the side of it.
"At long last, the voice returns to the throat of the speaker," he declared in an official tone. Lyrin watched in awe as the bricks that made up the platform began to rotate and peel away, until a perfectly rectangular doorway had appeared there, leading into the darkness.
Pharaoh stepped into the doorway, the tip of his staff igniting with a white flame. Lyrin and Angelina followed him inside, barely able to see anything except Pharaoh, his body outlined by white light.
"The seal ahead will be slightly more complex than a simple blood seal. The gods wished to ensure that it couldn't be opened by a one foolish man that happened to know basic blood magic," Pharaoh explained.
"Understandable. What does it entail?" Lyrin replied as they traveled through the dark passage. He realized that this was the first time he had spoken since entering the Rift.
"The original seal could only be opened by the consent of two followers of each of the gods, as well as a practitioner of blood magic. There is also an incantation that must be recited," Pharaoh explained. "It is fortunate that the two of you can utilize light magic, which is the essence of the god Krysan. Otherwise, we would not be able to break the seal."
"Here we are," Pharaoh at last said, stopping in the middle of a moderately sized room, where a single stone monolith took up the entirety of the back wall. Engraved upon the center monolith was the image of a cloaked figure, superimposed against the same sun and moon motif that they had seen at the entrance to the dark city. Just beneath it were the sprawling crimson grooves indicative of a blood seal.
To the right of the blood seal was another seal, only this one gently pulsated with a golden light. A similar seal was on the left of the blood seal, only this one was a dark violet.
"Leave the incantation and dark magic to me. You, man. Work your blood magic. Woman, I want you to blast the light seal with your magic. Only when all elements are working together will the seal break," Pharaoh instructed. Lyrin gave him a flat browed look.
"My name is Lyrin, by the way, and this is Angelina," Lyrin told Pharaoh, even as he prepared to do as he had been ordered. Pharaoh did not reply, instead holding up his staff. The white fire there turned black, and shot forth in a stream of black energy that collided with the dark seal. Lyrin sighed and opened up his wounds once more, creating another crimson circle. As blood streamed into the circle, Angelina shot her palms and fired a powerful blast of light magic, smashing into the light seal violently. The monolith began to glow, and the ground began to shake, cracks appearing at the base of it and spreading outwards. Lyrin could feel the ground shift beneath his feet, but he gritted his teeth and continued to cast the spell.
"Krysan forgive us," Angelina yelled over the sound of the combined magics. Pharaoh stepped closer to the monolith.
"Dominus tenebrarum, de somno excitaret. Krysan, Dominus lux, et Asmodeus, Domine inferni, exprobrandum enim sumus te. Non est tibi colluctatio adversus nulla dignissim velit," Pharaoh began, speaking in a language that Lyrin could not understand. The tremors intensified at his words, and the monolith glowed so bright, that Lyrin could hardly look at it. "Dominus Terraform, formam in tenebris omnia, tua venit tempus. E somno excitare!"
Pharaoh's voice grew in volume until it was nearly thunderous. Lyrin watched the monolith even as he grew lightheaded from blood loss. The monolith grew brighter and brighter, until it finally exploded, causing Lyrin to black out.
"Why do you persist in fighting?" Emperor Mateus hissed, effortlessly avoiding Archbishop Vicard's every attack. Vicard was breathing heavily as he slashed again and again at the Emperor, sweat pouring down his brow. The Emperor was stronger than anything he could have ever imagined. He was being toyed with, and he knew that.
"I…will never…give up!" Vicard gritted out, but then a powerful cyclone of winds tore into his skin, shredding his robes and drawing even more blood. Vicard screamed in pain, even though he knew the Emperor was holding back.
Mateus was suddenly behind Vicard, hovering with his back to the archbishop. Vicard felt pain explode in the back of his head as the Emperor smashed it with his demonic fist, without even looking. Vicard fell to the ground, holding his head, which was now bleeding as well. His head swam; he could hardly stay conscious. At this rate, death was beginning to look much more appealing.
Vicard felt even more pain, beyond anything he could have ever imagined, as the Emperor sent a wave of crimson blades flying towards him faster than his eye could follow. However, Mateus was deliberately aiming the blades so that they wouldn't inflict fatal blows, instead slicing and stabbing through non-vital areas to cause as much pain as possible. Even so, Vicard refused to die, forcing himself to his feet, staggering as he fought to keep his balance.
"I grow tired of this. It is time for you to die, Archbishop," the Emperor snarled, his demonic mouth opening in a roar. His hand shot out, the palm arching upwards as lightning sparked on the tips of his claws. The infernal lightning bolt streaked down and electrocuted Vicard, causing the archbishop to fall to the ground and writhe in agony. "Lowly worm! Die like the insect that you are!"
Vicard felt death swiftly approaching as the lightning coursed through his body. There was nothing to be done. He could not win. It was time for him to accept his fate.
Just as he came to this conclusion, the ground several decimeters away exploded with a force unlike any this world had ever seen. A pillar of magical power a mile in diameter erupted from the ground, breaking through the ceiling and destroying a massive portion of Krystmar itself. The pillar itself was colored a mix of black in white, the two colors interweaved with one another so that it was impossible to tell where the one color ended and the other began. The pillar of power even penetrated the cloud level, evaporating it and traveling so far up that it pierced the atmosphere in its entirety.
Even the Emperor was surprised enough to break off his electrical assault as Krystmar crumbled around them, unable to remain standing after the punishment it was receiving. Vicard sighed in sweet relief from the pain, and he collapsed on the ground. Mateus gazed in wonder at the incredible spectacle, no doubt wondering how such power could exist. It was immeasurable; the Emperor couldn't even feel any kind of pressure at all. That usually meant one of two things: either the magic power was so weak it had no pressure, or it was so strong it was out of anyone's comprehension. The Emperor's power was of the latter, but he had never felt anyone else with that kind of power.
"They…they did it…" Vicard murmured weakly, barely able to move from his position on the ground. "What is the meaning of this?" Emperor Mateus questioned curiously, watching the destructive wave of magical power.
Something was inside the light. Two reddish points of light flickered into existence, glowing malevolently. The Emperor felt a wave of evil energy pass over his form, the likes of which he'd never felt. A cloaked figure materialized inside of the pillar.
Terraform was reborn.
Fucking hell, this was an incredibly long chapter, compared to my usual. By the time I hit my 9000-word minimum, I was at the part where they were meeting Pharaoh, so I had to keep going. I had the goal of resurrecting Terraform in this chapter, so I did it. It's done! The dark lord Terraform is reborn, mwahahaha!
So how mindfucked were those templars? Hell, I was even mindfucking myself trying to imagine the situation they were in. God, I'm glad I'm not in their situation. It was like something out of a horror movie. I had originally planned for everyone to die but Lyrin, but I hadn't planned to have them get royally mindfucked in the process. That part sort of wrote itself.
By the way, the cave, the city, and the reddish water and the skulls all came to me in a dream a long time ago, when I was a kid. Needless to say, I woke up bawling, traumatized because it had been horrifying. Which of course, made it perfect for Terraform's tomb.
Though out of all of them, I tortured Lyrin a lot. I took inspiration from many different things in the making of this mental torment. I took some inspiration from my dream, this one Teen Titans episode where Raven gets literally mindfucked (don't judge me, that show is still the shit), and also the movie 1408. Which mindfucks the hell out of that poor man. I really wanted to make this scene horrifying to the characters as well as the readers.
Oh, and remember that fight between Exdeath and the Lich in chapter one? They were standing right on top of Terraform's resting place! How ironic is that?! I did that on purpose.
Next chapter, I will describe Terraform and Mateus' initial battle. The story will not end that chapter, so don't worry. I still need to expand upon Claire and Tidus' relationship, as well as the invasions of the other regions. There is still a whole war to go.
Shoutout time!
Justyoumi: Indeed, Vicard had to be strong when I created him so that he could hold back the Emperor long enough for Lyrin to complete his mission. Of course, he is nothing compared to the Emperor's Power of Hellfire form.
Fadedsolitude28: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wasn't that satisfied with how it turned out myself, but I'm happy to hear that it went over well with at least one of my readers.
Karthik9: I guess that's one way of doing it. Thank you for the compliment though.
Tintti: When you get an account, you send me a private message. I feel like I could have an enjoyable conversation with you about this story. Anyhow, I'm glad you can see my FF2 references. I wanted to tie the Emperor's back-story in as much as I could. I realize inserting the generals and expecting people to integrate them with their experience of the canon is hard, but I did try and stay true to the canon as a whole. Firion was still there, Leon was mentioned, and of course, Pandemonium itself. Can't have the Emperor without his fabulous pink and blue castle.
"NO ONE MESSES WITH THE SEXY AND ALMIGHTY EMPEROR!"
I am guessing you are a huge Emperor fangirl. Or it's a man crush. Either one. I can't tell because I'm an idiot. Moving on.
I'm glad you enjoyed Terraform's tomb. Porter's hand ripping off was supposed to be disgusting. In fact, everything about this tomb is supposed to be horrible and disgusting, hence all of the blood and undead motifs. I hope it achieved that purpose in this chapter, and I'm sure I can trust you to tell me if it did or not.
I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on FFX, because I loved and always will love the game and its characters. Not to mention I think I spent countless hours training a blitzball team…fun memories.
Lastly, I find your explanation of the Emperor rather intriguing. He did not have much dialogue in FF2 apart from claiming his supreme power and that no one else could rule, so all I had to go on was his personality in both Dissidias, and I never really attached a shallow part to him, though I have to agree with you about that. However, I watched the remake of FFII for the playstation with the CG opening, which is partly what inspired this story. The Emperor's appearance there looked fucking amazing, and I drew inspiration from the demonic knights that appeared there as the basis for the dark knights featured in my story. I'll do my best to have a few comical moments involving the Emperor, but there are not many occasions that calls for comedy here, save for the interaction between Tsumire and pretty much anyone.
Anyhow that's all I have to say.
Keelah Se'lai,
The Proud Quarian,
Terran34.