The Necromancer's Matter, Part 11; The Beginning of the End, Part 1; Ancestry (Part 2)
After receiving Llewella's reaction, Ryan turned back to the part of the Order he was with. "Come on guys," he urged. "Time to rally."
They all nodded their affirmation while Llewella and Destiny D. remained confused. Quickly they ran off.
Ryan shortly skidded to a halt, looking up. Perhaps the top of the gates that surrounding Headmaster Ambrose's tower would do for a makeshift podium. So he jumped and quickly seized the black bars with a little grunt.
His fingers embraced the bars, unembraced, embraced again as he steadily climbed, cautious about where he left his feet. But once he finally pulled himself up to the top, he quickly surveyed the Commons and shortly noticed that numerous Ravenwood students were staring at him, wondering what the heck he was doing.
Ryan took a deep breath. Now or never, this was it.
"Wizards of Ravenwood!" Ryan called out, and by then he had gathered the leftover, formerly unnoticed attention. "I know that you probably may think that I'm a crazy person or something as of the moment, but soon, soon we'll all have to fight!"
Wondering murmurs flooded the Commons instantly.
"Out there, in Dragonspyre," Ryan pointed towards the tunnel leading to Ravenwood for exaggeration, "there is something that, in short, will end the Spiral and all life as we know it!" Ryan took a deep breath. "Vladimir Thorn. Who knows his name?"
Numerous hands raised in response.
"Well, that person, Vladimir, if he succeeds in his goal," Ryan straightened his back, "Spiral help us all. So that's why, we need you, you guys- to help us stop him and save our worlds! If we lose- than it will be the end of all of us, I guarantee you that."
A voice resolved to challenge him. "Why should we believe you? How do we know that this isn't some stupid act by a stupid diviner eager for attention?"
One by one, other wizards agreed with the other wizard, looking to be a necromancer. Figured. Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly hesitated, unsure. How was he supposed to convince a bunch of wizards that they would face life or death?
The words arrived to his mouth before his brain. "How would you like to know the answer to different questions and mysteries in Ravenwood?" Ryan inquired, once again earning the wizards' attention. "Is there something that you would like to know, but it seems as if you could never find the answer?"
All that followed was a stunned silence.
Ryan drew in another deep breath. "Well, if you come with us- I guarantee you that you'll be able to immediately find the answers to these mysteries. But for the moment, right now the Spiral is in immediate danger. The only way to stop this new force is to combine forces, school with school, and fight all together. Now," Ryan prayed that some would join them in response. "who's with me?"
At first, no one said anything. The silence continued for a minute, the only thing offering to be heard was the blowing breeze. Finally, just as Ryan was about to climb down the gates again and walk out of there with reddened cheeks, a sorcerer's hand slowly rose. "I believe you."
A wave of semi-relief crashed over the Descendant of Storm. Well, at least he got one volunteer out of this. "What's your name?" Ryan inquired.
The girl's eyes seemed to be tightly tied to the grass in embarrassment as multiple sets of eyes observed her. "Cheyenne Wildfriend," she admitted.
Ryan nodded towards Cheyenne. "Thank you," he said to her. Then he tore his gaze from Cheyenne and looked towards the rest of the crowd. "Is there anyone other than Cheyenne who would be willing to join us? You will be rewarded, I promise you."
Slowly and steadily, more hands came up. One by one they rose, finally accepting and deciding to submit themselves to this unknown diviner who claimed he'd be able to answer their questions if they fought in turn.
Ryan felt his heart raise and his shoulders slump in happiness as the hands rose. Then finally, over half of the wizards had raised their hands and volunteered. Then quickly the other half, submitting due to the heavy amount of volunteers, pressured to do so, did the same.
Soon Ryan had all but one wizard offer to help him, the final wizard being the necromancer who had challenged him. His dark eyes swept around, combating against the pressure. But when he eventually came to see that the efforts were somewhat useless, he finally sighed and almost involuntarily raised his hand.
The Descendant of Storm's eyes bulged. He had hoped for a few volunteers… but everyone in the Commons? That was more than he had bargained for.
The next few minutes was spent in learning names of the wizards. Now Ryan experienced the teachers' pain of having to learn a million names within a day or two.
Andrew Watertail, Myrna Hexriver, Dakota Sunshield- those were just a few of a million names that arrived to him and asked him to memorize them.
But luckily, everyone in the Order was relieved to find Alexis walking towards them with Noah hinging on her shoulder as they recruited.
Alexis smiled somewhat wearily after she poked Ryan, having earning a jolt of shock from him. "Guess who just returned from the Ordeal?" Alexis asked with a toothy grin.
Noah smiled wearily as he waved slightly. "I think I'll be fine," he dismissed.
Natalie smiled a smile that would belong on the face of a joyous giant. "Good to see you again!" Natalie cheered.
Once the Storm Siblings, the Balance Siblings, Alexis and Noah were finally done memorizing the names, Ryan looked towards the Ravenwood tunnel as he vaguely heard Cheyenne. "So what do we do?"
Ryan took a deep breath. "We go to Dragonspyre," he answered. He turned back to the crowd- the crowd of lives he was leading, the crowd he had under his command, the crowd that would now face what the Order had faced.
As Ryan led them, he felt sick to his stomach. What would happen if there was another repetition of Nicholas within the crowd? Was he just leading all those wizards, who all held potential, who held futures… was he leading them all to their deaths?
Ryan tried not to think about whether or not he would be the one responsible for many innocent lives taken.
"Neela!" Jason sneered, and just like that, his Dragon Rider's Staff flew out and quickly pointed to Neela.
Neela smiled evilly as the rest of the Order followed the pyromancer. "So close, weren't ya?" she inquired. "So close to crushing our years' worth of work, so close to forging the Blade of Seven- so close to succeeding." Neela spat out the last word, as if were a curse that needed to be disposed of immediately. "But get this- you are in no way creating that stupid sword without going through me!"
Cody snickered. "Like we're scared of you!"
Neela's head swerved to her former comrade. In her amber eyes was a flash of something… like grief, or sorrow. But whatever it was, Neela quickly dismissed it, as if deciding then and there that there would be no more sorrow in her life.
"Look at you, being buddy-buddy with the Order," Neela sneered to Cody. "You little, good-for-nothing, traitor!"
Destiny laughed nonhumorously. "Speak for yourself!"
Neela's rabid eyes whizzed towards Destiny. "So that's how you want to play it, eh?" she asked.
Immediately a black sword was pointed towards them as the Thorn insignia took formation in the air- out popped out a Death Meteor. But Neela wasn't the only one who was quick- Jessica was the first one to react. She also began tracing the Black Magic Symbol, creating a shield that was resistant to other Black Magic spells, it popping in front of her just in time and reducing the effect on her.
However desperate Neela was to hide her shock, she wasn't able to. Her eyes grew to twice it's size. "How did you-"
But quickly Neela figured out an answer for herself and looked accusingly towards Cody. "You! You told them!" Neela screamed.
Cody shook his head. "Believe it or not, I didn't."
Neela snarled in frustration of her and Vladimir's secret weapon being exposed. "Dirty little liar!" she accused as a wraith shot out towards Cody, embodying her anger.
Within seconds, all the Order was attacking Neela, Jessica constantly trying out her new Black Magic Spells with Death Leprechaun with an added Deathblade that actually seemed to work somewhat on the spell. Jason summoned a fire trap on Neela before adding a Fire Dragon to the mix. Quickly recovering from the wraith, Cody resolved on using Death spells and attacking with Skeletal Pirates and Wraiths, one time using a scarecrow. Chris focused on protecting himself and his partners from Neela, taking his time to add shields onto everyone before summoning a minotaur. Destiny used a combination of Death and Fire spells aimed at Neela, occasionally using a pixie in her deck to heal someone when they appeared to be drained of energy.
Despite the odds being five against one, Neela actually seemed to be doing pretty good in defending herself. She easily combated the Death Leprechaun with a Helephant, then turned around to stab the Fire Dragon before it seized the chance to spew fire out at her. Neela had a tiny bit of difficulty combating Cody's vigorous chain of spells with a sudden addition of Chris's minotaur, but Neela wasn't a Grandmaster for nothing. She thought fast and ducked behind the minotaur at the last second, forcing Cody's wraith to stab the minotaur. In outrage, the minotaur drove it's axe into the bony body before they both disappeared, and Neela was easily able to parry with the skeletal pirate for a few seconds before ducking and chopping off both its legs in a swift, fluid motion. As for Destiny's attacks, Neela easily killed all those.
However, despite the fighting, Chris remained as logical as always and nudged Destiny. "I can see what she's doing," he commented. "Neela's distracting us to prevent us from creating the Blade of Seven. So which is why us both need to go, right now."
"Why us?" Destiny hissed as an attempted phoenix fizzled.
"Because we were the only ones who could see the lines on the chalkboard!" Chris responded after aiming a Cerberus at Neela. "And, well- that's gotta count for something."
Destiny racked her brain quickly to make sure that they weren't missing anything. "What about Neela?" Destiny inquired.
Chris just chuckled in amusement at Destiny's comment, obviously not taking much worry. "Don't worry- she's already got Jessica, Jason and Cody to worry about us. They'll distract her while she's distracting them- if that makes any sense."
The corner's of Destiny's mouth suggested a tiny smile. "It doesn't," she admitted. But after casting another phoenix, making up for the failed spell, she turned back to Chris. "What about the Shards?"
"I have them all right here."
After thinking for a bit despite the chaos and the sound of spells, Destiny nodded. "I suppose that we have come here for a reason. Let's do it."
Chris nodded. "Let's just hope that this will go quickly. Last I checked, it can take a little while to forge a weapon."
"But this isn't an ordinary weapon," Destiny pointed out.
Chris shrugged. "True."
Both Destiny and Chris took deep breaths- then quickly sheathed their weapons as they suddenly turned around and ran as fast as their legs allowed to the other side of the room.
Neela wasn't dumb. She noticed Destiny and Chris running almost headfirst in the forging area. "Oh, no you don't!" Neela snarled.
Neela's comment urged Jason to turn his head around- he quickly spotted Destiny and Chris heading to forge the Blade of Seven. Jason longed to be with them both, but he knew that keeping Neela away was just as important as creating the legendary weapon. But to keep Neela away, Jason had to conclude to rather drastic measures.
Jason turned towards Neela, relaxing his Dragon Rider's Staff, aimed an open palm at Neela- and just like that, fire squired out of it, pointed at Neela.
But Neela merely chuckled in faint amusement as the fire just seemed to stop, right there, in midair, as if a large, invisible shield were protecting Neela. "Don't even try to use your pathetic auras," she reminded.
Jessica nodded, confirming Neela's comment. "It's true. At Thorn Manor, Esmee's Aura wouldn't work on her."
Neela smiled slyly. "Thank you, Jessica."
Jessica smiled aggressively, her eyebrows trying to reach each other. "My pleasure," she said sarcastically while deciding to use a Storm spell and pointed a Kraken at her opponent.
While Jessica, Cody and Jason fought against Neela, Destiny and Chris quickly arrived at the forging area.
"So, great, what do we do now?" Destiny asked, sweat beading on her forehead and sticking her robe to her body as a result from both the heat and the situation. Her heart leapt at astonishing rates, blood pumping harder than usual.
"Lay the pieces out," Chris suggested as he dumped all Seven Shards on the anvil and began to piece them together, trying to make them fit, like a puzzle. And soon, when he found edges that suggested the Life and Storm Shards fit together, he brought them closer together, and once they were close enough- the Shards sent sparks of energy floating up to the ceiling as Life and Storm zapped into one. Now the Life and Storm Shards were combined- a chunk with mixing purple and green energy swirling throughout it, lightning zapping in between and leaves gently swooning at the same time.
Destiny bit her lip as she brought the Myth and Ice Shards together- they fused together likewise Life and Storm. Destiny squinted her eyes and they slowly readjusted again as bright yellow and vivid blue mixed in together, snowflakes dancing in a field of yellow.
One by one, the Shards slowly mixed in together, until finally two big chunks were slowly brought together…
Destiny and Chris weren't the only ones witnessing this transaction. Neela's eyes broadened, and, in a split-second decision, broke a floating V and started running towards Destiny and Chris as the spell unlocked.
Jason gasped. "No!"
In the rush of the moment, already forgetting about Neela's defense against Auras, Jason once again held out his hand and squeezed a thick ray of thrashing fire out of it, directed at Neela. But quickly seizing a chance, Neela ran towards Destiny, then dodged at the last possible second to ensure that the fire Jason had produced would hit Destiny.
Jason's eyes grew. "Oh crap, oh no, no, no, no, no!"
As she heard the fire come towards her, ready to burn, Destiny swiveled, around, eyes bulging, then snapped her eyes shut, preparing for a heavy burn mark to arrive…
It never did.
Once Destiny trusted herself to open her eyes, the first thing she saw was the fire attempting to reach out to her- but it was prevented by an unseen force. It just floated there, a foot away from Destiny- as if an invisible force field were protecting her.
Surprise clogged Neela's eyes. For Destiny and Neela to have the same Aura…
"No," Neela breathed. "Vladimir… he was… right."
Then, amidst all that was going, Neela slowly thought. "Or… was he?"
While the setback was being dealt with, Chris was not one to waste time. While Destiny was staring in wonder of what took place before her eyes, Chris quickly brought the two pieces of the blade together-
Chris shut his eyes, and even then immediate light radiated his vision completely, in an explosion leading from the anvil. Finally he lifted open his eyes bit by bit to see it- the blade. It was holographic almost, different types of energy swooning in and out, dancing and thrashing. Color after color appeared after the next, representing all seven original schools.
Most of it was done. But it still wasn't finished.
Chris looked to Destiny. "What now?" he asked.
Destiny desperately racked through her brain for an answer. What did swordsmen do after making the red-hot blade…
Red-hot. It needed to be cooled down.
"Get it into the water!" Destiny shouted as she ran up to the water tub, not so eager to place her hands on the heated blade that didn't have a handle attached to it yet. Her mind in a rush, once Destiny had brought the tub close enough, she quickly used the edge of her robe to push the blade into the water.
Destiny and Chris watched almost mesmerized at the magical blade sinking in the water as Jason and the other two necromancers locked Neela into combat once more. The curved blade swayed as it sank, heat rapidly fleeing it and into the water. Part of the bright colors almost seemed to die down a bit.
Destiny held her breath, barely breathing. Then, once she felt it was safe, she slowly leaned forward and picked up the blade, carefully cradling it in her hands. Gently she dropped it on the anvil. Her next concern was the hilt for it.
Luckily, that question didn't need to wait long to be answered. Chris had quickly grabbed a hilt while she had received the blade again. Quickly Chris grabbed a thick hammer after setting the hilt next to the blade. Then Destiny could only watch as Chris hammered the hilt onto the blade.
The hammer's pounds were loud enough to grab Neela's attention. "No!" she cried out… but it was too late.
Quickly Chris was done with mixing the hilt and the blade together. Once he was done finally, he picked up the newly-fashioned sword and with that, the battle stopped. It's as if the world had stopped moving.
No one spoke, not even Neela. No one dared to. All of them just stared at the most powerful weapon in the history of the Spiral.
Chris watched the colors repeat on the sword he had created. "The Blade of Seven," he finally breathed.
The weapon of the Legendaries had been reborn.
Jason laughed. "Woo! We did it! Chris and Destiny are the next wielders of the Blade of Seven!"
Jessica set her mouth into a pout. "No fair," she grumbled, and Cody nodded in agreement.
Suddenly a voice sliced his way through their triumph. "What'd I miss?"
Destiny spun around to see Vladimir joining Neela, in his usual Valkyrie armor, but this time, instead of a sword, Vladimir supported a black staff.
"Too late Vladimir," Chris smiled. "We won. It's too late!"
Vladimir just shook his head, tsk-tsking. "I know that you guys are somewhat stupid, but certainly not this stupid."
Destiny paled. "What do you-"
"Mean?" Vladimir finished as Neela began to smile along with her. "What I mean is- by creating the Blade of Seven, all you've done is help us."
Vladimir didn't let the Order speak as he pointed the staff towards the Blade of Seven- Destiny also noticed that Cody seemed to be really trying to kill Vladimir with a glare. Vladimir closed his eyes, and then, as if on cue, magical energy started to swirl around the staff, a black light radiating from it.
The black light then grew to be almost so powerful, almost as powerful as the explosion of light that had taken place after the Blade of Seven was forged. But as quickly as the light erupted, it flickered down, slowly returning to its source until there was nothing left of it… and the source had changed.
Instead of a staff, Vladimir now held in his hands a sword. This sword was unlike the Blade of Seven in a lot of ways- the Blade of Seven's blade was curved like a scimitar while Vladimir's blade seemed to originate from not metal, but obsidian, thus giving it a sturdy, sleek, black pointed blade. Following the blade was the handle, which was painted a blood red with small onyxs decorating it, making a small border around an intricately painted V with thorns spreading throughout. Crystalline spikes flew out of the handle, bordering the first part of the blade.
Destiny gulped. She did not like the looks of that sword.
But Vladimir and Neela obviously did- their faces looked as if they had won a major contest promising a cruise around the Spiral. "The War Sword," Vladimir confirmed.
Cody smacked his palm against his forehead. "I told you guys!"
Vladimir ignored Cody as Neela spoke up. "Thanks to you guys for forging the Blade of Seven, you've also helped us create the War Sword, the final ingredient," Neela explained. "Thanks! Now- best we'd be on our way. You've completed your goal- now we complete ours."
As Vladimir and Neela turned around and headed out of Myth's Forge, Destiny's teeth attempted to grind into one another as she brought out her wand again. "Oh no you don't!" she muttered to herself as Vladimir and Neela slipped out.
"Destiny," Jason warned as she started to lose control of a temper she had hidden from them. "No Destiny, not-"
Destiny wasn't listening. Thinking fast, she yanked the Blade of Seven from Chris's hands, throwing her other wand on the floor and quickly started to head out after the duo.
"Destiny!" Chris attempted to give chase after her, but it was too late. Very soon Destiny was gone- and the Blade of Seven with her.
"Stop!" Destiny cried out as she exited the Myth School after Vladimir and Neela, thinking fast. Quickly she etched a death symbol in the air while she was running to give them a little death ball that usually came with wands and such.
Finally Vladimir and Neela took notice. Neela turned sharply on her heels and pointed her wand at Destiny while Vladimir kept running with the sword. "Don't worry, I'll catch up with you later!" Neela called out.
Vladimir looked back for a brief moment and nodded.
Neela was in the process of tracing a Black Magic symbol in the air before Destiny flung part of the Blade of Seven into the floating insignia, quickly dispelling it. Neela stood in shock while Destiny persisted running and kept flinging spells at Vladimir.
Soon Vladimir saw that Destiny was actually keeping up with him and quickly gaining on him. Vladimir used the War Sword to aim other quick, weak spells at Destiny as sweat took formation on his head. He couldn't lose… not now… not after all he'd and Neela had been through…
After a few minutes, relief overcame Vladimir as he arrived to a small building not so far off from Dragonspyre Academy. This was it, what it all came down to.
Vladimir pointed the war sword at the face of the house, and, as expected, a shape started to form on the face of the house he was standing towards- a burning black one with the Thorn Crest eventually showing up in the middle. Eventually, as if molten lava were seeping through the black lines, red overcame the purple stone and became solid, becoming a door. Immediately after it was created and the lines stopped glowing, the door swung open to reveal a steep tunnel leading downwards underground.
Vladimir smiled as he rapidly ran down the tunnel. Just as expected- things were working out perfectly. He would not have a meddlesome Seagem suddenly butt into it at the last moment!
Destiny had witnessed the transformation, a bit taken aback by it. What- what was that? Where did it lead to? What did Vladimir intend to do back there?
Only one way to find out.
Destiny couldn't see Vladimir as she ran down due to the darkness, but she knew from the sound of gravel shifting ahead of her that she wasn't very far behind now.
Destiny quickly drew a Fire symbol in the air to light up her wand before proceeding, running as fast as she could go to make up for lost time.
But it wasn't very long before she had arrived at the destination- and so had Vladimir. It was a small, dimly lit room- two flickering torches with the Thorn Crest flickering inside hung at the right and left. It reminded her of a dome, and the wall and moist floor were composed of black dirt. The only thing in the room other than her and Vladimir creeped Destiny out. It appeared to be a large box made of obsidian, with the Thorn Crest engraved on it.
Something snapped in Destiny's mind. That's no box, she suddenly realized. That's a coffin.
Vladimir gasped after had placed three objects on the ground- the War Sword, an overlarge onyx that Cody had given him while she had been spying on Vladimir, and a helmet reminding Destiny a lot of a boy's Guardian's Helm- one that was draped in black and had red intricate curves placed around it, as if someone had strung a thin red string around it and it curved at random places. Destiny was guessing based on her knowledge that that was the Helm of Power.
"How did you get inside?!" Vladimir almost shrieked. "Only a true-"
Slowly with that statement Vladimir thought, and he nodded slowly with the idea he had produced. Destiny did not like what was coming next.
"What do you mean how did I get inside?" Destiny smirked. "There was a door, wide open for me to go through!"
"Yes, and that door just happens to be placed with a heavy amount of Black Magic that will let no one in," Vladimir persisted. "That is, no one that doesn't share my lineage."
Destiny froze, slowly remembering Vladimir's words back at Thorn Manor that one day.
"I don't know," Vladimir finally said. "One member of that group is quite resourceful."
"Who?" Destiny questioned.
"Destiny," Vladimir said, and for a minute Destiny was afraid that Vladimir had suddenly caught her. She relaxed when she heard him say, "Destiny's the one. She is very formidable. She won't give up easily, and holds her ground. She is very aggressive, clever, brave, she fights valiently for her cause, and competitive. Qualities I admire. Qualities of a true Thorn."
Vladimir's last remark scared her. Destiny laughed, trying to intimidate Neela. "She is but an initiate, a journeyman, maybe." She said, putting in that she was an initiate to support evidence she was Neela.
"Maybe of low rank," Vladimir admitted. "But I can sense she is getting stronger by the second, not just in rank, but in spirit." He turned to Destiny. "And what's odd," He continued. "Is that I feel a sort of-connection- to her."
"Connection?" Destiny questioned. Things were getting interesting.
"A connection," Vladimir confirmed. "And not just and rivalry and all that war stuff. I feel in my mind, I feel a connection flowing through my veins. Like, it's as if we were connected by blood. I highly doubt it's that way, but I just have this unusual feeling nagging through me about her. Something about her, I just can't quite put my finger on it..."
Suddenly Destiny knew what Vladimir meant.
No… oh no… oh please, Spiral help me no…
"Since you're here, I may as well reveal a thing or two," Vladimir began. "First of all- allow me to introduce where you're at. Here," Vladimir gestured to the coffin, "just so happens to be the resting place of Valkoor Thorn, the Ninth Legendary, Founder of Black Magic- my ancestor."
"…What?" Destiny gawped. She remembered what Cody had told her and the rest of the Order of the Spiral when he had joined them, about Vladimir having intentions to revive someone.
Something seemed to click not only in Destiny's brain, but her body. She found her legs rushing to Vladimir and quickly tackling him.
"No!" she screamed in his face. "You are not bringing Valkoor Thorn back to life! Over my dead body!" Destiny added with a snarl.
Vladimir just chuckled. "Quite really, I don't know why you're so upset about it," he mused, remaining calm while Destiny had him pinned to the ground. "Because he's not just my ancestor- he's also yours. Your ability to be here proved that."
The shock seemed to radiate from her knees, working her way up throughout her body. It etched its way up slowly, enough for Destiny to immediately let go of Vladimir, unwilling to even look at him.
"...Why'd you want to revive Valkoor Thorn?" Destiny finally asked.
Vladimir seemed glad to have an opportunity to explain his actions. "I had a little sister, Llewella. We were very close, you know. But one day... she was gone. Just like that. I thought she was dead, so I needed a way to bring her back. Then when I found out about my ancestry, I knew that I had to do it- Valkoor had the power to bring her back. That, and the Spiral just plain needed a leader. Llewella's disappearance proved that it was corrupted-"
Destiny's eyes flashed angrily as she whirled around to meet him. "The Spiral is not corrupted!" she yelled. "It'll be corrupted if you bring him back! What makes you think that Valkoor Thorn will serve as a leader?"
Before Vladimir could say anything, Destiny charged at him. Immediately Vladimir drew out his original black sword, knowing that he couldn't disturb the War Sword as it was a component.
Destiny had the intentions to draw out a usual spell, but she found herself using the sword itself for attacks. It met with the flat of Vladimir's blade, and quickly Vladimir broke out of the lock and lunged. Destiny ducked and swept in a half-circle with her sword, aiming for Vladimir's legs.
While Destiny and Vladimir began sparring, Neela arrived to the scene.
Neela knew there and then that Destiny was actually doing a fairly good job of keeping Vladimir distracted. So Vladimir wouldn't be able to complete the ritual...
But Neela would.
Neela immediately ran to the components strategically laid out in its proper places by Vladimir in front of Valkoor Thorn's resting place. Taking a deep breath, she searched her brain for the spell.
Meanwhile, Destiny aimed for Vladimir's shoulders, distracting him for a moment. Then, thinking fast, she kneed Vladimir in his 'special place'. The breath flatly knocked out of him, his hands flew to that place and grunted.
Now Destiny had him-
Suddenly a searing pain broke through Destiny's head. It was a migraine, but seemed to be tripled by a million or something. It was really as if something were attempting to smash out of Destiny's brain with a hammer.
Destiny clutched her head desperately, as if that alone would stop the pain. The world suddenly seemed to be rotating randomly, as if it were a rocking boat. Destiny soon felt as if she were trying to see the world on a very foggy day.
Soon Destiny could barely even think. What... what was this?
Before Destiny could clear her mind enough to figure it out slowly, her eyelids fluttered, finally resting on closing. Then she swooned slowly, Vladimir slowly rising as he saw this transaction, and before she knew it Destiny fell down to the dirt floor.
Neela smirked in relief as she witnissed Destiny fall to the Ordeal. Good...
Well, now there was no hope for that stupid Order of the Spiral. This was their moment!
Neela drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. What she had to say next was a little embarrassing she had to admit, but luckily no one was watching her but Vladimir, and he knew what she was doing.
"Power of Helm, Darkness of Onyx, Sword of War," Neela began. "Unite to bring Valkoor Thorn, the Ninth Legendary, back unto us!"
With the last three words, Neela swiftly brought her right arm up, as if she were trying to touch the sky. Then, immediately she felt a pain in her chest- as if a part of her was trying to tear itself apart from the rest of her body.
Neela let a scream flow out of her lips. Wha... what was happening? Sure, she had never gone through the Ordeal, but she had experienced enoug to know that this wasn't the Ordeal. Her hand flew to her hip, as if she had received a stab right there- it certainly felt like that.
Then, all at once, the pain ceased. But once it did, Neela felt... weaker. Her energy seemed to be reduced, and her capabilities felt as if they had actually reduced. It was all she could do to stand up.
"Neela! Y...you okay?" Vladimir jetted to her side.
Neela soon heard a thump on the ground, and slowly realized that that was her body. Her vision faded in and out, her eyes putting in their all to stay open, and Neela began to sank into unknown depths as Vladimir cried, "Neela!"
Her name echoed in her head repeatedly as the last light was eclipsed.
A/N: . . . I love that chapter. A lot. :D