Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my OCs.
Chapter 14-Breaking point
At last they have consummated their union. The two Keepers are now joined, body and soul forevermore. Their bond will only be strengthened by this. However, I foresee future hardships for them because of this event. Will the Black Keeper be able to control his jealous nature? How will this affect his ties with the Blue Keeper?
"Happily ever after" is not in these
two's future.
So, the Keeper of Black Mana has finally taken his bitch, eh? It was only a matter of time until it happened. I suppose I'll have to accelerate my plans due to this...unfortunate series of events.
The time has come for him to prove his worth.
The One entered the room. It was a long room tiled in black marble and his footsteps echoed thought the cavernous space. The roof was vaulted and supported by richly molded ribs. Thin windows high above the floor let in shafts of light that formed white strips on the black floor. Tall stone columns lined the walls, each decorated with intricate carvings of mythical creatures.
He cared little for the room at this moment, for more pressing things troubled his mind. They had summoned him, which was most odd, since he was usually the one to contact them to request a meeting. He had to heed their call though; he needed them after all.
At the far end of the room was a long obsidian table surrounded by ebony chairs. They were already seated around the table, waiting for him. They spoke not as he approached nor as he passed by them, heading for his seat at the head of the table; he could feel their eyes following him. Taking his seat, he gazed around; a sense of dread filled him as he met their piercing glares.
"I trust you are all doing well on this fine day," he said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that hung in the air, reminding him of a thundercloud ready to burst forth in lightning and rain.
"Cease the pleasantries," snapped one of the men "We did not come here to listen to you babble; this is about business."
"You have failed to deliver us what you promised; the power of the Keepers of Mana. You have broken our agreement," said a woman.
"Henceforth, we will no longer be employing your services," said another woman "We will deal with the Keepers ourselves."
"No!" said the One, paling visibly "You cannot do this! I almost have the Keepers; they are within my grasp. I just need more time. Complications have arisen."
"We tire of your excuses," said another man "We have waited long enough. Since you appear to be inept at the task we assigned to you, we are taking matters into our own hands."
"This cannot be happening!" exclaimed the One "I have invested so much in this project. I have helped you all along and now you're abandoning me?"
"We still plan on acquiring the power of the Keepers, but your aid won't be necessary. You've provided us with enough information that we know what they are capable of and where to find them."
"But…"
"The issue is closed. We will be on our way," said a man. They stood up with a clatter of chairs and left the room, leaving the One alone in the room in a state of distress.
"They can't do this to me," he wailed, his cry echoing around the room "I'm so close…so close…mustn't lose hope. The Keepers are in my grasp, yes, they are. They want them. They're going to try to take them from me, but the power is mine! Mustn't let that happen. They think they can outsmart me, but I'll beat them to the punch. Centuries I've tried now. Many attempts; many failures, but I've never gotten this far. This time, the Awakening succeeded, yes, it did."
Muttering madly to himself, the One pulled out a clay pipe and a sachet of herbs. Packing his pipe nervously, he lit it up and took a few puffs, exhaling a cloud of smoke. Sitting back in his chair, he took a few more puffs and gradually began to calm down. He remained in the room for hours, planning his revenge. When his pipe became empty, he merely refilled it with more herbs.
They would pay. He would show them that the One did not take lightly to betrayal.
Chihowaido, the Keeper of White Mana was sick. This wasn't some bug that gave him a runny nose or a cough; this was a full, blown-out plague.
It had started with a fever accompanied by stomach aches a week ago. Chihowaido had taken a Healing Salve, and the symptoms having disappeared, he put the illness out of his mind. However, it returned with a vengeance. The white Keeper had awoken with an upset stomach and had just the time to rush to the window before regurgitating the contents of his stomach. He had spent the next two hours vomiting intermittently.
The Keeper was presently buried under a mountain of blankets with a roaring fire in the chimney. He was shivering madly, despite his covers. His entire body was wracked with pain and he sporadically coughed up blood. Added to this were a blurry vision, molting, and boils that had begun appearing all over his body, oozing with pus.
He had tried everything he could think of, even casting a Beacon of Immortality on himself, but to no avail.
"Chihowaido!" barked Lu Chao, entering the room "What are you still doing in bed? We have much to do today!" He flung open the drapes, the white Keeper moaning in pain as light flooded the room.
"Fuck off, Chao," he groaned "I'm sick."
"You're the Keeper of White Mana! You can't be sick!" said Lu Chao in disbelief.
"Obviously, I can."
"No, no, no! This is bad! What happened?" asked Lu Chao.
"I was feeling fine one minute and like shit the next," said Chihowaido.
"It is as I feared," sighed Lu Chao, examining Chihowaido "You are experiencing the effects of your forced take over of your hosts' body. The body recognizes your spirit is not its rightful owner and is rejecting you."
"How do we stop it?"
"The only way is to get your host to formally accept you."
"That will never happen," grunted the white Keeper "He hates me."
"Well then, it looks like you will have to persuade him to accept you," said Lu Chao "If he does not, you will continue to deteriorate and eventually die."
"How can I accomplish this?"
"Your host has a strong will: you must break it," said Lu Chao.
"You mean…torture him?"
"As you see fit," said Lu Chao "You care not for your host. He only impedes you and prevents you from achieving your goal."
"This will cure my illness?" asked the white Keeper.
"Yes," said Lu Chao "Once your host has accepted you, the body will accept you."
"It shall be done then," said Chihowaido, closing his eyes and entering his Soul Room.
When he awoke, he felt completely cured. Since he was now in his spiritual body, he was free from the pain imposed by his physical body. Opening his door, he crossed over to Erik's door and wrenched open the metal bars closing it. Kicking the door open, he was confronted by his other self.
"What do you want?" snapped Erik. In response, Chihowaido sunk his fist in his hosts' stomach. Erik's eyes went wide and he doubled over in pain. As he gasped to catch his breath, Chihowaido kicked him in the face, sending the human flying onto his back, blood spurting from his nose. Chihowaido stood over his host, wings fully spread out and a mad look on his face, making him look quite like the angel of death.
"What are you doing?" yelled Erik, trying to mop up the blood with his shirt.
"Shut up!" snapped Chihowaido, kicking Erik in the ribs. The Keeper went down, coughing madly. Chihowaido grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him into a wall with ease. Erik cried out in pain as he hit the wall and fell heavily to the floor.
"What has gotten into you?" he asked, staring at Chihowaido with fearful eyes.
"I've had it with you," said Chihowaido "You will accept me or suffer the consequences."
"What?" asked Erik, confused, before screaming out in pain and Chihowaido stepped on his hand, putting his full weight on it. The sound of bones snapping could be heard throughout the room. When the spirit removed his foot, Erik gazed in horror at his mangled hand.
"Accept me," said Chihowaido, grabbing Erik by the throat and slamming him against the wall.
"If you kill me, you'll die too," gasped Erik.
"I'm not going to kill you, idiot, but by the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you were dead." With a wave of his hand, Chihowaido cast Pacifism on Erik, the Keeper going limp. He then cast several Healing Salves, watching as Erik's wounds healed over. "I didn't enjoy doing that," said Chihowaido "It doesn't have to continue. Just say the word: will you accept me?"
"No," said Erik, shaking his head "You expect me to forgive what you did to me so easily?"
"You could be making this a lot easier on yourself," said Chihowaido "I know what you fear most is a gruesome death. That is why your strategies have always been based on immortality. Well, now is the time to face your greatest fear."
With a snap of Chihowaido's fingers, Erik found himself strapped on a wooden frame. His hands were chained to a roller at the top of the device and his feet manacled to another roller at the bottom. A ratchet with a handle was attached to the top roller.
"I'm sure you know this little device," said Chihowaido "It is called the rack." He cranked the handle, Erik letting out a scream of pain as his joints were stretched to their full extent. "Here is how this is going to work: I will ease off if you accept me but, for every time you refuse, I will increase the tension that's pulling you apart."
"Stop this!" said Erik.
"Shut up," snapped Chihowaido, rotating the ratchet. Erik howled in pain as the chains bit into his wrists and ankles. "Now, your body is going to be in constant pain, and this will only continue increasing as you refuse, so I'll ask you; will you accept me?"
"Why are you doing this to me?" demanded Erik, clenching his teeth against the pain, his eyes tearing.
"I need you to accept me," said Chihowaido "Your body is rejecting my spirit."
"After what you did to me, that's not surprising!" snapped Erik. Chihowaido shook his head and pulled the handle again, eliciting further screams from Erik.
"A great artifact, the rack, isn't it?" said Chihowaido, circling around Erik. "In ancient times, the mere menace of being put to the question was enough to make even the most hardened criminals talk. You, on the other hand, have actually had a taste of the rack. Do you wish to stop now? Will you accept me?"
"Bite m…" Erik broke into a howl.
Frowning, Chihowaido interrupted him, increased the tension. "The victim was often placed on the rack half-naked," said Chihowaido, ripping off Erik's shirt. The Keeper's taunt skin was glistening with the sweat of his agony. "One of the main purposes of this was that it left the victim completely defenseless against other methods of torture," he added, digging a claw into Erik's flank and leaving a long red gash in his skin, the Keeper screaming in distress. "Why do you persist in opposing me?" asked Chihowaido, shaking his head "We should be working together against the Keeper of Black Mana. Think about it, ever since he came into your life, you've been miserable. Wouldn't you like to get back at him for all the trouble he's caused you?"
"He saved me from the Slivers," grunted Erik.
"One good deed cannot redeem a lifetime of evil ones. We cannot allow him to continue. Accept me, and we will defeat him together."
"I'll never accept you!" screamed Erik.
"As you wish," said Chihowaido, turning the crank. A loud, gruesome popping noise echoed through the room, coupled with Erik's renewed screams. "That would be your cartilage snapping," said the spirit "If I continue, your limbs will eventually be ripped off."
"Stop!" yelled Erik; his face contorted with agony "I'll do whatever you want! Just get me off this thing!"
"So you accept me?" asked Chihowaido, his eyes gleaming.
"Yes! I accept you!" sobbed Erik. Chihowaido snapped his fingers and the rack vanished. A white glow appeared around the wounded Keeper and he felt his pain vanish as his wounds healed.
"You must now enter my Soul Room to officially accept me," said Chihowaido. Erik nodded, not daring to look at the Keeper. Leaving Erik's room, they crossed the hallway and entered Chihowaido's room. As soon as Erik entered, he felt a great rush of power. Suddenly, he knew who he was; the Keeper of White Mana. Large brown wings sprouted from his back and feathers grew on his arms. His ears shriveled and disappeared into his head and his nails turned into powerful talons.
Back in the real world, Erik's eyes opened and he sat up, startling Lu Chao.
"Is it done?" asked Lu Chao.
"You said we had much to do," said Chihowaido "Tell me more."
To be continued…
Author's note: Can't really seem to think of anything, except that I seem to have gotten my inspiration back, so hopefully, the next chapter will be around shortly.
Until next time...