CHAPTER 29: THE BRINGER OF CHAOS
We traveled to the lava like wastelands that stood in our path to Rautsen. As we made our way through the volcanic mountains, I found a ledge that dropped off into a pool of magma. Ephraim, Knoll, Myrrh, and I gathered around the edge. I took the Devil Axe from the convoy and chucked it into the lava. "Good riddance, Devil Axe." I said as I watched it sink into the lava.
"Never again shall we be chased by the innocent shop keepers you attempt to corrupt." Ephraim added.
With that little bit of business taken care of, we continued on our way. As we traversed through the mountains, we noticed purplish eggs that stood at about three feet tall. These eggs were lined up everywhere along the path.
"Wonder what kind of chicken will hatch from those." I said.
"Probably some demonic ones." Artur replied.
"Those are Gorgon eggs." Lute explained. "When they reach a certain temperature, they hatch."
Joshua and Colm investigated them. Colm poked at one a few times. Then there was a faint breaking sound that emitted from it, and small crack formed on the egg's smooth surface.
"What did you do?!" I demanded.
"I didn't mean to!" Colm cried out. A few more cracking noises came from the egg and we watched in horror as it began hatching.
The other eggs around it began hatching as well. "Er...Looks like it's time to get to work?" Joshua asked as the grotesque creatures from the eggs surrounded us. They stood at seven feet tall, had the upper body of a woman but the torso of a snake. It had snakes for heads and deep golden yellow eyes.
"To arms!" Ephraim commanded. "Destroy them all!"
We drew forth our weapons and charged for the monsters. I took the head off of one of them then I turned to my friends to see how they were fairing as well. To my horror, I watched as one of the Gorgons let out a wretched burst of gray smoke from its mouth that surrounded Forde. He and his horse cried out in shock as they began to turn to stone. I ran over to the Gorgon who was doing this and sliced it in half but it didn't stop the petrifaction process one bit. Forde had turned to stone.
Vanessa, Kyle, and Gilliam the Tank had seen what had happened and rushed to the caviler's aid. I helped defend him from the oncoming Gorgons. I shifted to my dragon form and attacked any creatures that stood in my way,. We managed to stop the monsters from petrifying any one else. Their numbers were beginning to shorten and the monsters were forced to go on the defensive.
I looked around to see if I could help any one else. I then noticed Eirika was staring at something in the distance. I realized what that something was; Prince Lyon. He was standing at the edge of the cliff staring at the volcanic wasteland.
"Lyon!" Eirika cried out as she took off running towards the edge of the canyon. Ephraim and I chased after her. Everyone else was too distracted with the battle against the gorgons and other monsters to even notice us leave. We found ourselves near the edge of the canyon. Beyond that was a sea of molten lava. Lyon was by the edge, staring off into the distance.
"Lyon!" Eirika said gently as she approached him. Ephraim put his arm up and stopped her.
"Careful." He warned. "He's not the same any more."
Eirika looked angered at what he said. "How can you say that?"
"He's possessed by the Demon King now." I joined in.
"He's still our friend. He's in their some where."
Lyon wore the same pained expression that he had when we saw him before. "Eirika. Ephraim...And Darian too." He said weakly. "Please. Help me." He let out a horrible cough.
"How? How can we help?" Eirika asked.
"The Sacred Stone." he replied. "Give me the sacred stone. It's the only thing that can destroy the demon king inside me. Please, hurry!"
"Will...will it really help you?" She asked.
"It's the only thing that can repel the Demon King." Lyon said. "Please. Eirika, Ephraim, help me."
Eirika turned to Ephraim. "Brother, give him the stone." she begged.
"Don't give it to him!" I shouted. "It's only a trick. The Demon King is using your friend as a disguise."
Prince Lyon shot me an angry glare. "My dear Darian, it seems your not the bumbling idiot I came to think you were." Said the Demon King's horrible voice. "I suppose I have underestimated you. I couldn't have expected less from the Cathriana's Chosen One."
I watched him cautiously. I drew my axe and moved closer to him. "I was brought here to destroy you. I'm going to get it over with right now." I then charged for him.
"Darian!! NO!!" Eirika cried out, but before my weapon could collide with him, he teleported behind me at the last second.
"Yes, it's true that you were summoned to end me." He said. "But I shall not be your opponent today. You and I shall do battle at another time."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He laughed. "Today, you will fight your true enemy. Don't you recall the prophecy? You believed for the longest time that you were the one to end the world. Today, the Warrior of Salvation shall battle the true Bringer of Chaos!"
Before I could question him further, he began chanting a spell. He raised his hand into the air, and someone teleported in front of him. There was a flash of silver as the person he summoned rushed up to me and swung a sword at me. I had just enough time to block him off with my axe and see who the attacker was. To my horror, it was the silver haired warrior, Kaede.
"It's Kaede?!" I cried out. "Kaede's the Bringer of Chaos?!"
"That's correct. He is my chosen one." The Demon King cackled.
Kaede broke away from me, and pulled out a black stone from his pocket. The stone began to glow and he became engulfed in a red light. When the light had faded, Kaede had been replaced by a black dragon, similar to the dragon form I had.
The black dragon let out a horrible roar. "He wishes to challenge you." The Demon King said in a sinister tone.
I shifted into my dragon form and he charged for me. He bit my neck and a slashed at his face with my claws. I countered him by whipping him with my long slender tail, knocking him back. Then I shot a blast of light energy from my mouth.
"Give me the stone." The Demon King said to the Renais twins.
"Never!" Ephraim exclaimed. Then Ephraim began to tense up.
"Brother? What's wrong?" Eirika asked.
"My...My body! I can't move!" He cried out.
Lyon began to walk over to them. I landed before them and raised my clawed hand, ready to bring it down on Lyon. Kaede landed next to me, grabbed my hand and threw me back. He lunged at me and scratched at my face with his talons. I managed to kick him off and launch another beam of light at him. He staggered backwards.
"Great job, Darian!" Ephraim praised me. "Keep it up! I know you can beat that thing!" I felt a small surge of power suddenly coarse through me. I let out a triumphant roar.
"I'm afraid it's a bit early for celebrations." The Demon King said as he pulled out the Dark Stone. The stone began to glow faintly, and a black aura surrounded Kaede. Then his body began to mutate. He grew a few feet larger. Spikes began forming on his back and neck. Odd, red markings appeared all over his body and his claws and teeth grew longer.
"He used the Dark Stone to strengthen the black dragon?!" I heard Eirika cry out.
Kaede flew up to me at an even faster speed than before. I was caught a bit off guard and he managed to punch me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. As I was doubled over in pain, he grabbed me around the neck and slammed me into the side of a cliff.
I hit the wall hard and fell to the ground. I tried to stand again, but when I looked up at my foe, Kaede had launched a beam of darkness that was twice, no, three times more powerful than mine. The beam completely enveloped me and I screamed in pain as I took the full force of the attack. I collapsed and turned back into my human form.
"Kaede, finish her off." The Demon King ordered. He turned to the Renais twins and said in a sinister tone, "Or, I can call him off but only if you give me the stone."
Kaede landed right beside me and reverted back to his human form. He pulled out his sword and put it to my neck. He raised it up and held it there for a moment, waiting for the Demon King's orders.
"DON'T DO IT!!" Someone shouted as they shoved Kaede away from me. It was Zel. He stood between me and the Bringer of Chaos, his arms stretched out.
"Don't do it, Kaede." Zel said defensively. "Darian's not the enemy."
"Zel." Kaede said emotionlessly. "Stand aside."
"No! I won't! Darian's my friend. You're my friend too, that's why there's no reason to fight."
Kaede began laughing. A terrible laugh. "You're no friend of mine." He said. "Haven't you realized yet who I am?"
"You're my best friend." Zel said. "That's enough for me."
"I am the Bringer of Chaos. I don't have friends. Not anymore. You've betrayed me by siding with my enemy."
Zel's eyes widened. "But...Kaede! I thought-"
Kaede seized Zel by the throat, lifted him into the air, and held him there. Zel struggled against his grip but it was useless. Then Kaede tossed him aside and the silver haired warrior raised his sword up once more, ready to bring it down on me this time.
"STOP!!" Eirika cried out. Kaede halted his attack and all of us turned to her. Then she began searching her brother's pockets.
"Eirika?! What are you doing?!" Ephraim demanded. She pulled out the Sacred Stone and walked over to Lyon.
"If this will cure you Lyon, then take it. But stop attacking my friends." She said.
"Eirika! Don't do it!" I shouted. But it was too late. She handed him the stone and he began to laugh evilly.
Kaede sheathed his sword and changed into his dragon form. He flew up and hovered over the lava. Lyon teleported onto his back and tossed the stone into the lava. We could only watch as the stone melted into the magma.
"Now, only one stone left to destroy." The Demon King's voice said wickedly.
"But...Lyon you..." Eirika began to say. She was too shocked by what happened.
"Your friend is gone." The Demon King said. "I devoured his soul a long time ago. Now Kaede, we fly to Darkling Woods."
With this said, Kaede flew away and disappeared into the distance. Ephraim fell over, finally regaining control over his body. He stood back up and went by his sister's side. She stood still as tears streamed down her face. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, brother." She sobbed.
"It's all right." He replied gently. "You were trying to help Lyon and Darian." Then he turned to me and Zel. The recruit was helping me stand back up. "Are you all right, Darian?" The prince asked.
"I'm fine." I said as I began to stand but quickly collapsed.
"You're far from fine." He said. "You need medical attention immediately.
The rest of the army had finished off the Gorgons and were now rejoining us. Before I knew it, my friends were surrounding me. Selena began to cast a healing spell on me and I felt my energy slowly return to me. When I felt strong enough, I stood up and walked over to the Renais twins.
"I need to talk to you both." I said. "If something like this happens again and I lose to Kaede, I want you to keep fighting without me. Leave me behind if you have to, but never sacrifice another sacred stone for me again."
"Abandon you?!" Eirika shouted. "We can't--"
"No, you can. If I can't defeat the Bringer of Chaos, then I'm unfit to inherit the power of Cathriana and I deserve to perish."
Ephraim was silent at first but then said, "We will not abandon you."
"You don't seem to get the point." I argued.
"Where in the prophecy does it say that you have to save this world on your own? You are not alone in this fight."
L'Arachel stood in the center of all of us and said, "There's no cause to be discouraged. Beyond these mountains lies the heart of Darkling Woods. Before we enter, we must head north to Rausten. After all, we still need the Sacred Stone of Rausten. As long as even one stone remains, all hope is not lost. Come on. We cannot give in to despair when victory draws so near!"
What she said was right. We still had one last stone and one last chance to succeed. But I couldn't feel all that hopeful at the moment. I kept feeling the shame for my defeat. The only thing that was coursing through my mind was I failed.
I failed...
((Author's Note: And so, the true Bringer of Chaos is revealed. Kaede has a bit a backstory to him, but it's hard to cover it in Legacy of Chaos sinse the story is told by Darian. I have made a few chapters in a story called; Legend of Night, which follows Kaede's story. I'm debating as to whether I should put them up after Legacy of Chaos has ended, put them up in a seperate story entirely, or don't put them up at all. I feel like Kaede's perspective is fairly important to the story, so I may put them up eventually.))
