Author's note: Damn, summer heat is melting my brain cells… This chapter is a bit short but it took me forever to translate it (sorry Darjedi for the wait). Many thanks to my betareader CloudFactory who proofread it faster than ever! :D
Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I'll be leaving shortly for some vacations in Italy and Slovenia so I won't be writing or translating anything until I come back on september! See ya!
oOo
Within the walls of Camelot
"Camelot…"
Barely above a whisper, Arthur's voice broke as he stared in shock at the vision from the past.
Bathed in a pale glow and outlined against the dark sky, towers and bulwarks were crowned with the blazing ring of the eclipse. Where Arthur had only found ruins buried under a forest, the castle now stood as if it never fell and thousands of years never passed.
Arthur tightened his grip on the sword's hilt when he came to realize how powerful Sigan had to be in order to conjure up Camelot's remains from the ground. His eyes hardened and he chased every last regret and doubt from his heart, leaving only a cold hard resolve to fight until the end with honour and bravery. He would free Merlin from Sigan's hold whatever it took. He would keep his promise.
Just like the night before Camlann's battle, he was ready to die fighting. With this difference that instead of an army of loyal knights, the only person at his side now was a High Priestess of the Old Religion.
"I cannot go with you beyond this point, Arthur Pendragon."
Arthur tore his eyes off the castle. The torchlight he was holding was casting red shadows upon Eleanor's face. She tightened her grasp around her staff so hard her knuckles blanched while her eyes darkened.
"His influence is too strong. I can feel his power from here, and it's growing with every minute…"
With a soft crackling sound from his torch, Arthur turned to face the old woman who was starting to tremble like a leaf.
"Go back to your people, Eleanor. This is my battle to fight."
Her gaze sharpened on Arthur's face.
"Is this truly what you want? If you go in there, you will not make it out alive."
"I know. But I have to do it."
"You don't have to sacrifice yourself for us. Killing Sigan won't save the Druids from extinction. We are destined to perish along with magic."
It wasn't for them but for Merlin that Arthur was about to march to his doom, but he chose not to tell her.
"I'm in no place to tell you how to rule your people, Eleanor, but you should tell them the truth. They deserve to know what's going to happen to them."
A gust of wind ruffled his hair and puffed up Eleanor's cloak. She shook her head sorrowfully.
"A long time ago, when I was just a little girl, Emrys told me once his greatest regret was that he had known where and how you would die. As a seer myself, I know there is no cruellest fate than to know something terrible is going to happen, and be powerless to prevent it."
Arthur peered down at her silently as she trembled even more, fighting against Sigan's power. There were so many things he'd have wanted to ask her. So many things she could have told him about Merlin, about the past and the Old Religion. But time was running out, and nothing mattered any more.
"Thank you for bringing me here."
Arthur held out his gloved hand to her and she feebly shook it.
"Farewell, Arthur Pendragon. May the old and the new gods be with you."
With a short nod, Arthur released her hand and walked away without turning back, disappearing into the dark woods. There was no bird, no bug to be heard anywhere under the tree leaves. It was totally silent. The only sound was the metallic clicking of his pauldron sliding against the breastplate. The heavy weight of the chain mail and the armour was a familiar but distant feeling, like the reminiscence of bygone days.
As he came closer, the castle's bulwarks and walls seemed to grow taller and towered over him threateningly. Soon, he reached the citadel and then the courtyard. It was cobbled with the same stones he had walked upon since he was a little boy – the feeling was exactly the same under his feet. But the castle might have looked like the one he had known and loved all his life, it lacked the constant humming from the lower city, the comings and goings of servants and guards, the chattering of noblemen and the clattering sound of hooves. Everything that had made Camelot alive was gone. The walls were encrusted with roots, dirt and broken twigs, as if they had risen from the ground by devouring everything, like some kind of beast from the mists of time.
On his guard, Arthur came to a halt before the flight of stairs leading to the entrance. A rush of memories overwhelmed him, and he had to painfully swallow back the emotions choking him. When he had left the castle with his army to head for Camlann to fight the Saxons, he hadn't known he would never get to come back. Of course, he had been aware the chances were high he would not make it alive, but he had been too preoccupied with strategic considerations and Merlin's hurtful absence to fully realize it. It seemed like fate was giving him one last chance to properly bid farewell to Camelot, a thousand and five hundred years later.
Looking up, Arthur saw a faint glow flickering through the throne room's windows.
The throne room, where any enemy of Camelot would want to assert their domination, just like Morgana did.
Arthur's thumb traced the smooth lines on his sword's hilt as he took a deep breath. He braced himself and climbed the steps to walk inside, feeling like countless eyes were following his every move. He raised the torch high above his head to light up his surroundings. It smelled like damp earth and raw sap in here. Stripped bare of its pieces of furniture and wall hangings of the Pendragon crest, Camelot was but a shadow of its former self.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the corridors bathed in the eclipse's pale glow. He walked up the stairs and finally reached the doors to the throne room. With barely a brush from his fingertips they opened wide on their own to let him in. Arthur stepped inside, trying his very best to look confident as the floor made of rough bark creaked under his feet. The throne room and its high ceilings were every bit as impressive as he remembered them. His eyes darted right to the throne across the vast empty space and his heart skipped a beat at the sight that greeted him.
Hands clenched on the throne's armrests, Merlin was sitting there, his boot pressed on the giant blue dragon's head lying at his feet. Behind him, two fires were burning in the grates Arthur had never in his life seen used for that purpose. Their light bathed the throne room in golden colours and shifting shadows that enhanced the sorcerer's sharp features. His hair was pulled back and his shoulders draped in a dark cloak that made him look morbidly pale.
"Merlin…" Arthur raised his voice as he made his way across the throne room. "If you can hear me…"
The sorcerer only tilted his head, looking down on him. Arthur slowed his pace and came to a stop, feeling like his heart was about to pound right off his chest. He lowered his torch, loosening his grip until it slipped from his fingers – it fell on the ground with a clattering sound he barely heard, his eyes and attention dead set on his friend.
"… know that I'm here to honour the promise I made to you. I will free you from this nightmare."
"Merlin cannot hear you any more."
It was Merlin's voice, but the low tone and coldly articulated words were definitely Cornelius Sigan. Arthur slowly drew Excalibur out of its sheath.
"I'm giving you one last chance to release my friend."
The fire's bright light caught on the blade and the golden carvings glistened as if the sword were coming to life.
Sigan removed his foot from Ghalini's head and leaned forward on the throne with a sneer on the face he had stolen. Growling, the dragon straightened out until his unfurled wings touched the vaulted ceilings.
"Your friend, you say? How touching… I saw with my own eyes how you mistreated Merlin, always demeaning and disregarding him to the point he would not dare tell you his secret."
Arthur tried hard not to let the words get to him. He regretted his past behaviour since the moment he had come to realize everything Merlin had secretly done to protect Camelot. And he didn't need Sigan to remind him he had wrongly treated his most loyal ally and closest friend.
"I don't expect you to understand, I care about Merlin more than anything in the world. I would give my life for him without a second thought."
When Sigan stood out of the throne with hatred flashing in his eyes, Arthur stiffened, expecting an attack.
"Do not pretend to care!" Sigan hissed with barely contained rage. "The kings of Camelot have always used sorcerers as weapons when they needed help to conquer a land or win a war, and oppressed them when they became hindering or too powerful! When I possessed Cedric, I saw what an arrogant and unfair king you were to become, and I tried to free Merlin from your influence. I never understood why he refused to join me only to remain in your shadow. He denied his true nature and chose to live in servitude when he could have ruled the world with me!"
The articulate way he enunciated words and his rigid posture were so different from Merlin it changed him beyond recognition. Ghalini's mouth shone with flames as the dragon glared at Arthur with deep black eyes.
"Merlin is the most courageous and loyal man I've ever met, he's stronger than you'll ever be! He's worth a hundred, a thousand like you!"
"Merlin was WEAK!" Sigan roared, and his voice blared like thunder in the throne room.
A drop of sweat rolled down Arthur's spine under the chain mail and the rough fabric of his tunic. Sigan walked down the dais step by step, never taking his eyes off Arthur.
"You say you want to free him? You fool, he was never free! Merlin spent his entire life doing the will of others, whether it was the Pendragons, Druids, or prophecies…"
The sorcerer was now circling him like an animal of prey, staying out of reach of Excalibur. Arthur widened his stance into a defence position, slowly turning on himself to keep facing the enemy.
"If he had joined me, together we would have been able to open a new era where the Old Religion would have ruled the world, where kings and emperors would have bend their knees before us and tremble at our voice! We would have been gods!"
His heart pounding, Arthur was tempted to attack Sigan while he was talking to use the element of surprise, but he thought better of it. The sorcerer's posture offered many openings and weak spots for him to strike, but he gave off the confident vibes of a giant looking down at an ant at his feet.
Sigan came to a halt and stared unblinkingly at Arthur with his eyes filled with darkness.
"According to the ancient prophecy, you are Albion's last bulwark, brought back to life to protect the magic of this world. I wonder what Merlin and the Old Religion see in a powerless petty king such as you…"
"I wonder too," Arthur mumbled, the leather of his glove creaking as he tightened his grip on the sword's hilt.
Arthur had often wondered why Merlin was so ardently loyal and devoted to him. He prided himself on being a good king and a skilled warrior despite the errors of judgement he had made and the betrayals he had suffered, but he never once felt worthy of whatever Merlin seemed to see in him. Of what the Druids now expected from him.
"… but it does not matter," Sigan said contemptuously. "I will kill you, defeat the prophecy, and nothing and no one will be able to stop me any more."
Sigan held out both his hands, his black cape blowing up in the nonexistent wind.
"I control the movements of the stars and I hold a power you cannot even begin to imagine, Arthur Pendragon. No prophecy will help you now. However, I will grant you a quick and painless death if you bow down before me and admit defeat."
Arthur scowled at the insult, deeply offended. The outcome of the fight seemed obvious but he had every intention of fighting according to the Knight's code he had sworn to live by, with bravery, to honour the promise he had made to Merlin.
"Never!"
He dashed to the enemy like a hawk to strike and–
"I was hoping you would say that."
Arthur opened his eyes wide. His sword had slashed through the empty air just where the sorcerer should have been standing, and Merlin's cold voice had said those words just behind his back. Like a flash from the past, he remembered his fight against Anhora in disguise, a long time ago, when he was only a young prince finding out his actions could have dramatic repercussions.
He whirled around to lash out with his sword, but instead of slaying Sigan, the blade clashed against an air shield harder than stone – the impact was so violent, the shock shot up to his shoulder. The blade was stopped just a few inches from the sorcerer's face. Sigan hadn't even flinched. Arthur froze, staring in shock at Merlin's angular face. It was the first time he was standing so close to him since Sigan had taken possession of his body, and he couldn't take his eyes off him. The straight bridge of his nose, the curved line of his eyebrows, the plump softness of his lower lip and his sharp cheekbones were a familiar sight to him. It was the same face that had greeted him every morning for ten years. The same face that always managed to reassure him and make him feel better whenever he glanced at it.
But the eyes, filled with terrifying darkness, the eyes were different.
"Try not to die too quickly," Sigan enunciated, his mouth twisting into a grin. "I have waited for so long to finally get my revenge on the kings of Camelot. Make it worth my while."
Sigan waved his hand, and a burst of energy struck Arthur right in the chest, throwing him violently across the throne room. He crashed into the wall and collapsed to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, struggling to breathe as every gasp of air he took shot a sharp pain through his ribs.
His hand clenched around the sword's hilt and he wiped the blood streaming down his face, blinking to clear his vision. He saw Sigan standing in the middle of the throne room, shaping fire in the hollow of his hand. The flames grew exponentially, circling the sorcerer with a blazing swirl that rose like a tornado. Only a lifetime of training and fighting allowed Arthur to roll out of the way of the torrent of fire that suddenly lashed down at him. The spot where he had been standing just before was now burning and emitted an intense heat. He had been half a second away from being burned alive. The fight was so unequal it was absurd. What the hell could he do against that kind of power with just a sword?
But a knight of Camelot never gave up, even when faced with certain defeat. Arthur's jaw set and he ignored the iron taste of blood in his mouth and the burning sensation on his smoking thigh. He took a fighting stance and grabbed Excalibur with both hands to move toward Sigan.
This time, before he could even reach his target, Ghalini came roaring between them with one heavy leap that made the floor tremble. Arthur hurriedly backed himself and looked up at the huge creature that towered threateningly over him. As if everything had slowed down, Arthur saw the dragon's mouth fill up with raging fire. He saw claws as sharp and long as swords slash through the air to slice him. He threw himself to the ground and rolled out of reach, taking advantage of Ghalini's heaviness and slow moves. Without missing a beat, he let out a warrior cry and hurled himself at Sigan.
But again, when he went to strike, his blade only sliced the empty space. Sigan had vanished and reappeared a dozen feet away. Now holding out a hand in his direction, he hissed a spell – immediately, sharp stakes tore themselves from the wooden floor. Arthur opened his eyes wide as he watched them rise in the air and slowly rotate to aim at him. With a snap of his fingers, Sigan sent them flying at him, fast as lightning. Arthur reacted on instinct and managed to shatter several of them in mid-air with Excalibur, but he let out a cry of pain when a sharp stake stabbed him right in the stomach, cutting deep into his flesh.
Everything seemed to stop.
Arthur looked down to watch the piece of sharpened wood rammed into his body through the chain mail. He touched in disbelief the bleeding wound with a shaking hand and wrapped his fingers around the stake. Mordred had struck the fatal blow at the very same spot, a thousand years and a half ago… and just like on Camlann's battlefield, Arthur felt his vision blurry and pain radiate through his body like ice. He ripped the piece of wood out of his body with a groan and staggered back, struggling not to pass out. Taking short, laboured breaths, he managed to brandish Excalibur toward Sigan who was stepping closer. But his hand was shaking, and warm blood was streaming down his abdomen and leg to pool inside his boot.
"Dying already?" Sigan sneered.
A wave of hand from him, and Arthur felt himself being lifted up by some invisible power that raised him ten feet above the ground. Unable to move a single finger, he looked down helplessly at the sorcerer who glared at him with obvious contempt.
"I feel insulted that Merlin chose you over me and that the ancient magic of Albion deemed you fit to defeat me. No one insults Cornelius Sigan and gets away with it. You will pay for that."
A pain like none he had ever felt before ran through Arthur's entire body. It felt like he was being dismembered and burned alive all at once. The pain intensified and he heard himself scream for what seemed to be a long time. Excalibur slipped from his fingers and fell on the ground with a clattering noise.
The spell ended as brutally as it had started. Arthur collapsed on the floor, coughing blood and clenching his hand on the bloody hole in the chain mail. Every wheezing gasp of breath he took increased the searing pain shooting through his broken ribs. He could feel his life fading away like sand slipping from his fist.
He noticed Excalibur lying just a few feet away. He stretched a trembling hand to reach it, but his vision was darkening around the edges and he felt heavy and weak. All he managed to do was brush against the sword's hilt with his fingertips before he dropped his hand.
Sounds of footsteps coming closer.
Sigan's shadow fell over him.
The sorcerer nudged him with his foot to make him roll on his back. The throne room's high ceilings looked so far away above Merlin's face, who was looking down on him with black eyes.
"How disappointing. I expected better from the Once and future king whose name became a legend when mine sank into oblivion."
Sigan lifted his foot and pressed it down on Arthur's open wound, tearing a cry of pain out of him. Tasting blood on his tongue, Arthur watched as Sigan held out a hand in Excalibur's direction. He watched as the sword rose above the ground, its golden carvings glistering briefly.
"May the sword that forged your legend mark its end. This is how your destiny ends, Arthur Pendragon, last king of Camelot."
The sword rotated to aim its hilt at the sorcerer and floated straight to him.
Arthur saw all of this and gathered his forces in a final effort. It all happened very fast – he grabbed the ankle of the foot pressed on his wound and pulled hard to throw the sorcerer off balance. In the same movement, despite the agony of his broken ribs and his wounds, he bolted up to snatch Excalibur mid-flight and, from his sitting position, shoved the blade straight into Sigan's heart.
Stupor and rage flashed through his widening black eyes but Arthur held his gaze and pushed the sword even deeper, right to the hilt.
The dragon screeched furiously, but Arthur barely heard the sound. Time and space had shrunk to his friend and the pale veil of death slowly obscuring his face.
Sigan parted his lips and grasped Arthur's bloodslicked hand. His knee hit the ground, bringing him down. He was gasping for air now, eyes locked into Arthur's, burning with hatred even in his agony. They were so close that Arthur could see the liquid darkness swirling in the sorcerer's eyes, with a glimpse of blue here and there. He could see life fading away from there bit by bit.
Their breaths mingled in the heavy smell of blood.
Holding firmly the sword piercing through Merlin's heart, Arthur brought their foreheads together. He cupped Merlin's face with his other hand, softly stroking the sharp curve of his cheekbone with his thumb, then slipped to the nape of his neck where dark hair curled up. The skin was growing cold already and he could feel him shiver under his palm. Arthur closed his eyes and didn't try to hold back the tears rolling down his face.
He had kept his promise. Everything would be over soon.
"Farewell, Merlin…" he forced the words through the lump in his throat, his voice barely above a whisper.
He heard a dark chuckle.
"Do not think you have defeated me so easily."
Arthur snapped his eyes open. Sigan was grinning and a glimmer of victory flashed through his dying eyes.
"This is only a vessel – you might have slain it, but my soul is immortal! In that case, I will take your body, and I will keep living and ruling the world through you!"
The sorcerer opened his mouth wide, and Arthur's blood ran cold as he stared in horror at the black smoke gushing out of it. He tore Excalibur out of the sorcerer's body and recoiled in a haste. He tried to get back to his feet but failed. Drained of all his strength, a searing pain ran through his entire body with every move he made and every breath he took. A sense of hopelessness took him over as he backed himself some more, looking up at the black liquid smoke swirling out of his friend's mouth. He tightened his grip on his bloodied sword's hilt, feeling on the verge of losing consciousness.
Emptied of Sigan's soul, Merlin's body collapsed on the ground with a loud thud. A thought chilled Arthur to the bone – Had he just killed his dearest friend for nothing? The smoke was rising up in the throne room like a giant snake, slowly making its way towards its prey.
Arthur tried to move further away, but behind him, the massive and hissing dragon was blocking the way.
Sigan's evil soul charged down at him, and Arthur managed to repel it once by wielding his sword, then a second time by rolling on the side – but then, Ghalini's clawed paws crashed down on each side of him to stop him from escaping.
Arthur was immobilized. This was the end. He had only one solution left.
Gritting his teeth, he rotated his wrist to aim the blade at himself. He pressed the sharp point against his own neck and shot a defying glare at the black smoke hovering above him.
"Don't think I'll hesitate," Arthur panted harshly. "I have nothing left to lose."
He was about to follow through with his threat when he heard a hoarse voice rising up: "… emois epe'essin hepesthai…"
That voice… "Merlin…?" Arthur breathed in shock.
His eyes darted in this direction and his hold on the sword's hilt loosened. Shivering uncontrollably, Merlin had pushed his weight on one elbow, a hand red with blood clutching at his heart. Raw anger hardened his sharp features and his eyes blazed like the sun. His voice raised in volume, powerful and thundering.
"… FTHENGOMAI AU SE KALON SU KATERKHEO DEURO!"
Arthur felt more than he saw the dragon flinch. And suddenly, the darkness vanished from Ghalini's eyes. The creature opened his mouth wide and–
Arthur braced himself when a torrent of white-hot fire rained down on Sigan's soul. The bone-chilling scream that rose in the throne room as the soul disintegrated in the fire barely sounded human – was it Sigan's real voice, the one he had during his lifetime? Curling up to protect his head with his arms, Arthur felt the blaze's intense heat nearly roasting him through his armour. A blast of light brighter than the sun washed off every single shadow around, radiating out of the castle and right to the outer reaches of the lands of Albion.
When the firestorm finally stopped, Arthur's clothes were smoking and a few strands of blond hair were singed. Sigan's soul was nowhere to be seen – only remained the fading echo of his scream, like a nightmare clearing away at dawn. Dazzled and exhausted, he looked up, eyes searching for Merlin.
His friend's trembling hand applying pressure on his heart couldn't stop the bleeding – a red pool of blood was widening on the floor. Arthur saw the golden glow leave his eyes that went back to their blue shade.
"Arthur…" Merlin murmured as his eyelids veiled his gaze.
Merlin's elbow gave way under his weight and he collapsed. His eyes were closed and his chest wasn't moving any more. Arthur shouted his friend's name in a hoarse voice and struggled desperately to stand up. But he had lost too much blood and could feel his conscious slipping away.
His vision went dark, and he sank into nothingness.