Greetings everyone. I am the creator of Dark Messiah II: Ashes Anew and I adress you directly to inform you on behalf of my absence.
I believe its been a year and a half since I published chapter 10 of this fantastic fanfiction. I appologise for this huge delay. I am entirely to blame here as I prefered playing games instead of continuing a fanfiction I personally wanted to see completed. And I am certain many of you did as well.
Thing is, I already know how the story goes and what happens in it till the end. The path has already been built in my mind.
The only problem was the fact that I had been incomprehensibly lazy. I did not find the will to write it all down.
And for that, I appologise.
Furthermore, regarding the future, I am uncertain how often I will be able to post chapters. Much of my lazyness appears to have vanished, but there is still the matter of my life being somewhat complicated right now.
I must find a job and earn money is the short version.
As it currently stands regarding this story however, I started looking through its chapters some months ago and correcting what I think needs correcting. Some segments have been tossed out in favor of reworked fragments. Certain events play out differently but end at the same conclusion. You are not required to re-read the entire fanfic in order to enjoy the content up ahead.
I am saying this to show that I am not afraid to remake or even toss out complete stories if I deem them unsuitable for my readers enjoyment. This is something I am certain a large portion of writers don't do.
Alas, please leave reviews and give me your feedback on the story, if for no reason other than it pumps me full of adrenaline and the desire to continue wanting to write the story.
… I believe that is all I wanted to say. Without further ado, enjoy!
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
PART ONE:
In this world, few were those who could ever hold truth over the claim that they'd done battle with a dragon and emerged victorious. It was a precarious and bold allegation that even fewer were willing to believe, with and without solid evidence, and the reason for it was painstakingly clear: One simply had to be absolutely, supremely, maddeningly, bat shit crazy to even think of going up to a dragon and challenge the horrific monstrosity to a one on one fight.
"Over here! You witless worm!"
Or at least… That held true for most of humanity and those of a similar stature.
The one whom was so obnoxiously suicidal as to walk up to a dragon and challenge it to a fight was a warrior that went by the name Reilight. The dragon he was taunting was located in a lake of lava, onto a platform of molten rock, inside of a volcano.
Its scales were a fiery red that pulsed with heat and anger. Its head rose on top of a long neck and twisted from its position until the foolish challenger came into view.
It appeared that Relight was disturbing the beasts comfortable rest. The warrior was dressed in his black leather armor, with cape and all.
The only missing thing was his weapon.
But such was not an issue because that was exactly the reason why he was there.
"Dragon! I'm here to make a weapon out of you!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" It bellowed in an angry voice.
The platform started shaking as the massive beast rose from rest to face this challenger. It then extended its wings wide and roared most loudly in preparation for combat. Even the lava beneath the rock erupted into motion at its scream: several geyser like break outs pierced the ground, but it didn't matter.
The only thing that mattered was if the beast would be able to put up a decent fight.
The distance between the two was of roughly fifty meters.
Reilight stomped forward and crouched. Immediately after, he bursted forth into motion.
The dragon's response was that it inhaled air and exhaled flame. Its breath engulfed the entire platform into a blazing inferno.
The flames swallowed Reilight whole, before the beasts own eyes. This caused it to snicker in disappointment.
And yet, it was interrupted when a powerful blow landed at the back of its head. Its massive cranium was thrown onward and its front legs scrambled to stop its fall.
Without a doubt, the hit came from behind.
The dragon immediately asserted one very important information from that fact: This was no regular opponent.
He was not the usual daring warrior come to fulfill some sort of ancient prophecy or up their position in society. Those types of fighters were much weaker that this.
What it was facing that very moment was a true challenger. One capable of inflicting real damage.
The dragon truly thought that the flame swallowed him whole, but was proven wrong nary a moment later.
So, how could it combat an opponent seemingly capable of moving at speeds faster than its eye could track?
The beasts response was to light itself aflame.
With or without a weapon, be the warrior however fast and strong, the flames this dragon covered itself with could consume even other dragons full should they be foolish enough to attempt to touch it.
All it had to do now was wait. If it could not spot its adversary, it simply chose to stand still until its foe met his demise.
Due to the fact that the flame eating away at the platform of rock faded, Reilight was able to land in front of the monster once more. He felt its eyes set upon him with utmost curiosity. They both knew what was going on at that very moment: by simply standing watch, the Dragon was daring him to attack it.
The human took a step back and entered a stance. His left hand was extended forward into a palm, as if to catch an opponents attack. His right was drawn back, at chest level, and cobbled into a fist that gathered strength.
There was a most pleased grin on the dragon's face as it awaited the warrior's move with baited breath. In its minds eye, the blow already struck and the human was swallowed whole by a fire worse that the lava of Sheog itself.
Reilight shot forward like a cannon ball and slammed fist first into the dragon's chest.
The attack hit with such force that it instantly blew away the fire which engulfed the entirety of the scaled beast. The power behind the strike was great enough to even push the dragon off of its front feet and knock it flat on its back.
A roar of pain was loosed from its large mouth.
The dragon truly did not expect the outcome which came. It thought the warrior would end up as ashes decorating its bedrock. Yet instead, it found itself pitifully laying knocked down on its wings, with an aching sensation of pain in its chest.
PART TWO:
Reilight wasted no time and made his way towards the monstrosity's mouth while it was still down. The gaping abyss of teeth and fire stood open due to the confusion which boiled in its mouth.
The human intended to extract a tooth from it.
When he said he'd make a weapon out of the dragon, he was in fact only taunting. The goal was to rile up the beast so as to have it put up more of a fight. And that plan succeeded.
Reilight thrusted both his arms to grab one of the beast's front teeth and began to pull. He had not much success in this regard.
Really should have picked an axe or something to bring with himself earlier…
Having recovered from shock, the dragon gathered an inferno of flame into its mouth and spat. The entirety of its front side, including mouth, chest and a good portion of the air space, were incinerated. It however received no damage.
Reilight landed a good fifty meters away from the beast. He had avoided the attack by a hairs breath.
Quite literally in fact, as he raised his left hand and put out a minor flame that dangled by one of his hair strings above the forehead.
Once more, the arena of molten death shook as the dragon rose to an acceptable stance. Its eyes were now filled fully with hatred and fury. There was nothing it wanted more in that moment than to see the insolent challenger burn for his transgression.
The only response Reilight cooked up, was a grin.
The beast raised its head skywards and began breathing fire towards the volcano's cap. The platform began shaking once more, but the warrior didn't care.
He waited patiently for the monster's attack.
Its retaliation came in the form that the entirety of the volcano erupted with hot lava. The foothold of rock was destroyed and Reilight was left with little breathing room as literally everything sunk in lava.
Large quantities of magma rose from within the volcano and bursted upwards most spectacularly.
This time, for sure, the human was dead, the dragon thought.
Yet it was once more proven wrong when the flame cleared the night sky: Reilight was up high into the air.
And what more, he was engulfed in blue fire and was approaching the scaled beast fast.
The warrior's right hand was gathered into a fist and aimed at the adversary. His impact was destined to cause a magical release capable of possibly shattering the volcano.
The dragon was completely stunned at not only the human's survival, but at the incoming counter attack and permitted the blow to land virtually unopposed.
Reilight slammed with the entirety of his force into the beasts mouth, passed right through its neck and crashed onto the lava lake.
A momentary roar of pain occurred. Shortly after, the dragon melted into lava and sank into the volcano.
The foe was defeated.
From under the lava, a blue bubble of magic emerged that revealed to have sheltered Reilight. This was his doing.
Besides the warrior, one of the dragon's own teeth surfaced from beneath the smoldering lake, it too enveloped in magic. This was what prevented it from liquefying.
Reilight stepped closer to it, not bothered at all by the fact that he walked on lava to get to it. If the dragon couldn't kill him… Burning water wouldn't either.
The magic continued to lock the tooth as Reilight reached out and picked it up, driving it onto his shoulder. Its length was slightly bigger than Reilight, but its weight was without a doubt more than ten times his own.
Possible… Weighed more than a ton.
Magic gathered at Reilight's feet and engulfed him entirely. His vision was darkened.
Next, he was transported through time and space to a place he hadn't before visited: Tor Myrdal, the capital of Grimheim, homeland of the dwarves.
The place Reilight appeared into was one of the many rooms in the pillared halls of the dwarven capitol. His rather stylish and unexpected arrival left all the occupants there shocked.
Not only did his magic create a wave that knocked back any and all nearby dwarves, but it also brought about a man with a giant tusk on his shoulder.
Where he arrived was a smithy room that contained fourteen or so dwarves, all of which gawked speechlessly. They were equipped for working steel, not fighting intruders.
The one guard that was ready for combat did not engage due to being flabbergasted. The man that appeared out of nowhere, unannounced, with a giant tooth on its shoulder gave off a dangerous aura.
Yet also, inexplicably inspiring.
Reilight let the tooth fall onto the floor, which produced a loud, echoing noise throughout the halls. Dwarves far and wide were alerted that something heavy fell and mayhaps they had to stop what they were doing and investigate.
"Master smithy dwarf!" Reilight began pleased, not addressing any particular person. "I have brought you a tooth. Make me a weapon out of it!" His words were quite shocking.
Magic gathered in his right hand and gave birth to a moderately sized bag of gold, which he then threw at the first, still stunned, dwarf in front of him.
The bag was caught reflexively and the smithy shifted eyes to look at it. Hesitantly, he opened the bag and sent his left hand in to inspect its contents. The dwarf pulled out a handful of golden coins and stared.
Confusion was still present.
Not at the fact that those were the only coins in the bag, no, there were many more where those were unearthed from. But from the fact that this… Stranger… Showed up seemingly out of nowhere, handed them a giant tusk and paid them handsomely to forge a weapon out of it.
"I will return later." Those were his final words dedicated to the dumbfounded dwarves before magic once more engulfed Reilight in a sphere of power.
PART THREE:
Mermen were not so good with humidity. Summer had hit hard right as Davion and Freyda had been moving their goods across Ashan.
They were on a convoy of merchants headed towards Tor Myrdal, the capital of Grimheim, homeland of the dwarves.
Davion thought he'd test the quality of his shark metal with that of the sons of Arkath. At the time, him and his wife were in a carriage covered from the sun's wrath. Even so, the air was infernally hot.
The wanizame was sat on his box of tools, near the back end of the carriage. Freyda was sat across him, her lower snake body coiled as best it could to try and be efficiently packed in that small vehicle. She had a fan in her hand with which she was constantly generating wind for her face as she watched Davion sweat.
"You know you're only causing yourself to heat up even more?" The merman asked his wife. She hadn't responded due to lack of hydration.
Freyda only nodded to what he had said and continued to waste her energy on hand motion.
Their water supply was low and the head merchant, who was a human, refused to give them more because they simply required too much.
There was a relief however: they were soon to arrive at a city of the holy empire. There, they could purchase all the water they needed.
… It was funny that… People getting along as such when they should have been chopping each other's heads off…
The merchants present there that day were humans, mermen, undead and dark elves.
Granted, not all of them were going all the way up north, but it was better than traveling by their lone selves. And being taxed everywhere they arrived…
"How long had the human said it would take to reach city Horncrest?" Freyda finally spoke, probably out of want to get there already.
"Half a day." Davion responded. "Were about three quarters of the way through."
"I hope we get there quick. I-"
"WERE UNDER ATTACK!" Interrupted her.
Both their awareness levels spiked. Screams began to erupt throughout the convoy.
Davion reached towards his craftings and grabbed a dual edged blade. That sword in particular was the smith's master piece. Its length was two meters, its thickness resembled three entire blades put together.
It was this very prize he wished to measure up against the work of the dwarves.
"I was hoping to avoid this situation."
Freyda reached out and caught his hand. With weak eyes and voice, she said: "Be careful."
He looked to her and smiled, probably for the last time.
When the smith had got out of the carriage, he could peer upon attackers: the horrid spawns of Sheog.
The wanizame and his goods were in the middle of the whole convoy. Towards the back could be seen undead and dark elves fighting the demons. Towards the front were his naga brethren and some humans doing the same thing.
The numbers appeared to be even.
Quickly, two skinny demons with chains wrapped around their hands and face charged at Davion. He merely gripped his long sword tight and swung it horizontally when they had gotten close enough.
The two foes had been chopped in half at the middle.
The warrior smith had now noticed the attacking force was using an uphill to rain down fire upon his allies. He took it upon himself to deal with them given that he could make a bee line unopposed.
"Davion!" Freyda's voice had been heard behind him.
The wanizame did not turn head to look at her. His wife had done something to help: she used her magic to have their remaining water supply form a barrier around her husband.
This was mighty helpful to Davion, who started to charge the enemy's position.
The uphill was about twenty meters away and was filled with succubae that conjured flames.
The merman was quickly noticed and shot at with fire, but the water barrier did not break.
Four seconds later, the smith was amidst the foe, hacking away relentlessly. One demon fell with each swing.
His allies down below could more effectively fight if there was no fire raining down upon them.
But at that point, about ten fire bolts had hit his shield and the water fell to the ground. Yet that was not as bad as it sounded, as there remained merely one succubus left.
She appeared to be casting, or at least pouring her magic into something. Davion rushed to interrupt whatever it was, but he was blow back by a powerful gust of air.
The demon had begun to decompose rapidly and then be reformed into a bigger shape. What used to be a small succubus had been altered with magic to resemble a near stone like foe driven by strength and rage. She had given herself in exchange for a juggernaut.
The three meters beast was even bigger than Davion.
The wanizami quickly began to get up, yet this foe roared aggressively and charged furiously. The gap between the two was traversed quickly, its arm came crashing into the naga.
Davion had been sent flying back a few good meters. He wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard his name called by the sweet voice of Freyda.
Nonetheless, the foe had slowed down to savor the moment. It approached slowly.
… By some miracle, a large mass of magic suddenly formed and erupted between the downed naga and the approaching demon. This event also produced a lot of noise. But most curiously, it had brought about a man…
Davion and the juggernaut looked gawking.
How the hell had a human appeared out of nowhere?
After this individual had gotten a look as to where he was, he beckoned the demon to come charging at him.
"Come on." He spoke full of smarminess.
The foe roared aloud and trampled the ground to get its hands on him. Yet as soon as it approached, it was hit so hard that it immediately shattered.
The merman was beyond shocked.
This warrior looked at his feet. There, waited motionless Davion's greatest blade work.
The human bent down, picked it up and inspected it.
By this point the smith rose to his feet.
"Nice sword." Was perhaps too unsatisfying of a compliment for the naga, yet he took it nonetheless.
"Who the hell are you?!" This voice was heard from down below, spat out the mouth of an approaching demon. This one was fully clad in red armor.
"Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" The human started boldly. "Thing is, I heard some Sheog dogs were skulking about and I just had to come see it for myself."
"You… How dare you… I'll have your soul for this!"
"You'll die trying."
The shock of that event never really left Davion's mind. This was the wanizame's first meeting with the crazed warrior Reilight.
PART FOUR:
In all her years of living, the one thing that intrigued her most turned out to be the one with whom she now rested in bed with.
The Empress did not know what to make of it.
This Reilight… Was a giant mystery to her.
He showed up at one of her ceremonies and she challenged him due to having overheard of his 'capability to battle armies by himself'.
They fought, she lost.
'How could it happen?' She wondered.
"You still don't know?" His voice broke the eerie silence which permitted her to think the situation and its outcome through.
Fact was, she accepted his proposal of 'have sex with me to gain my allegiance'. Or rather, she was forced to.
Initially, she refused with a daring 'Certainly not!'. But then, almost as if having known her deepest fears and all of their consequences, Reilight spoke words of a future where her efforts ended up in vain, all for naught.
She would lie defeated, surrounded by the corpses of her naga brethren and the victorious demons of Sheog. And in that silent and detestable moment, she'd wished she'd taken his offer that day, so long ago.
His words pushed her against the wall and he took steps forward to emphasize the situation: She needed his help, desperately.
"You are a… Cruel man." She whispered with frail lips.
He was cruel in the sense that he outplayed her so brilliantly and maliciously.
The Empress lay facing the left side of the bed with whole body. Her legs were drawn up, hands rested close to her face. The blue blanket covered up to the waists of her naked self.
Reilight lay on the bunk as well, behind her. He turned towards the Empress, united his front with her back, placed his right hand on her abdomen and drew his face closer to hers. His gesture was to represent a hug.
Even though she wanted to distance herself from his touch, she had not. The Empress merely sat there, contemplating the situation she was in.
"Such is the nature of the world we live in." His words were spoken softly into her ear, yet held power and truth. "But, despite all this, we seek salvation. This life is an intricate and well thought out lie, and yet, for some, it provides a world full of warmth and resplendence."
She knew. She knew what he meant. What he thought. But most importantly, how he though.
Though it was brief, during their time united in love, she saw a vision, a glimpse of what he truly was, and was stunned.
It intrigued her to no end.
A complex web of gates and plains, some filled by wrath and fury, others by myriad depths of peace and tranquility. All of which were meant to hide something away. But was he aware of it?
Reilight was not a regular human, that much was certain to her.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, curiosity stroke her: She wanted to know what was it that was sealed and protected so vigorously within Reilight. For, without a doubt, it was that certain something which enabled him to best her in the ring of honor.
She needed her womanly charm, a thing which she had not employed in several centuries at least. Could she do it like she once had?
The Empress placed her right hand on top of his and gently spoke: "Will you remain by my side? Please?"
"Our deal did not include additional cherishing. Are you that desperate for my attention?"
This man… She once more felt fury beginning to boil within her. Not only was he not thanking her for gracing him with her divine body, but he was also insinuating that she desired him?!
He planned to make her work for her prize. After all, women most of the time enjoyed a challenge in claiming their man. It was part of one of the main drives that led a female of any kind to picking her most suitable mate.
Yet, despite all of that, Reilight was once again right. The Empress had not found a suitable mate in all her centuries of existence. Absolutely everyone on Ashan were simply too frail, too mortal to prove compatible.
She needed someone who was almost as strong as she was, or better.
The issue she mainly suffered from was being superiorly designed compared to the rest. As an example, she guessed that her lifespan was almost endless, while a regular human did not even reach a hundred.
But Reilight was no regular human, as she already debunked. The Empress guessed that the thing hidden within him would permit him to become a suitable mate, capable of living at least for three hundred more years. And if it didn't, she was going to use her magic and alter him in such a way that it did.
Her head turned towards Reilight and they locked gaze.
For a moment, they waited as such, both peering from close proximity into the others eyes with no malicious intent.
But the wait began to feel excruciating.
Once more, the man besides her was right. She was afraid. Afraid of loneliness. Afraid of the sorrow of seeing her people dead. And most of all, afraid of herself dying alone.
She had already spent so many centuries in solitude and having witnessed generations after generations of lovers left its toll on her. It sparked emotions of both envy and grief. But most importantly, it sparked thoughts such as: 'Why do I not have someone of my own?'.
The Empress gave in and pleaded: "Remain by my side… Please..."
Realizing that it was best to end the joke there, Reilight slowly replied with kindness and empathy: "… Alright."
PART FIVE:
Beneath the Jade Palace, in the Empress's sunken chamber, settled a soul crushing atmosphere of guilty silence.
But what exactly was it that led to its creation?
In the room, at that time, three individuals were present.
The Empress that lay on her bed with inflated belly. A half woman half snake naga with a golden staff and a mermaid. Both of the aforementioned individuals were naked and their scales were dark green.
However, the mermaid had one distinct object in her hand: a crystal globe. The purpose of this artifact was to look into distant lands. It worked through a complex web of similar globes that when infused with magic, permitted the transmission of vision.
Even though it sounded great, sometimes, the visions it brought were not pleasant.
That was why the room was under such a deafening silence. It was so quiet that one could almost hear their own breath.
The Empress lay with her eyes closed.
The other two stood staring at her, shocked, scared and motionless.
Nobody could say a single damned thing and that was because of the apocalyptic event they all witnessed: Reilight's true identity... And death.
That was why everything stood as still as if time had stopped.
The one most affected by it was the Empress.
It was a hard thing that... To lose one's most dearest. One had to think the revelation was too much for her to endure.
Some people could bear it, after a while. Others could not.
Yet, she held on.
Without a doubt, the entirety of her being wanted to burst out and cry, but she held it in.
A single, lonesome tear dared to break the statue like immersion that formed in the room, and made its way down the Empress's cheek.
It felt like the entirety of the ocean surrounding the jade palace had shrank and darkened at the news of Reilight's demise. It was equally as hard to find someone worth suffering for.
Beneath her closed pupils, a memory sprang to life: the Empress and Reilight, above on the surface, amidst fields of green, but under the protective shade of a mighty oak tree.
Both of them without so much as a single piece of clothing on.
He sat laid on his back with her in his embrace.
However, the Empress focused on their conversation at the time: "I know you, Rei. You are not the type to stand idly by as something like that happens." She wanted to encourage him to do the right thing when the situation called for it.
"If you had any idea what I truly was, what I did, you would not be here right now."
Her past self, filled with worry, asked: "… What did you do?"
"Everything you did not. Everything you never imagined. And all of it evil." Her eyes widened at his response. Noticing this, he continued: "You should try fighting for what you believe in sometimes. Not for a dragon or a country or for anyone else!"
"And what do you believe in?"
"That might makes right."
As it turned out, Reilight was a man more different than anything she ever imagined...
"Sometimes, those who are heartless once cared too much… Who did you lose that you became what you are?"
"Myself."
The memory ended there.
It took one such conversation to allow the Empress to arrive at the root of his being. Only after she learned of his true identity, did she posses all of the pieces to his puzzle: Reilight was a man who continuously attempted to become that which he once was, and to be better than that. It was of great importance to him that he reach this long lost goal.
All that was left in that moment was the grotesque realization that the two of them could not have been more different: Where she restricted herself to a disciplined, ordered and balanced life stile, Reilight had done the opposite and indulged in every possible sensation and desire.
One wanted to protect. The other liked to usurp.
One loved life. The other saw its value and exploited it to its fullest.
One fought for noble cause. The other just fought.
The few months that the two had spent together passed away so quickly… And as simply as that, the eternity of loneliness and sorrow was back upon the Empress's shoulders...
