Chapter 19: The Crystal's Calling
Aalik was getting close, he could feel it. The pulsating call of the crystal was now all but unbearable to his weary mind, its wails becoming a cacophony of otherworldly, hungry voices that would have most surely sent shivers down anyone's spine. They spoke not one language Aalik could recognize, but they all sang in perfect harmony, a melody of unspeakable joy and desire not meant for the ears of men.
But Aalik pushed all those fears aside and followed the trail insidiously set out for him, unafraid of what was beyond. He had to reach his destination, he had to make this journey and his friend's efforts matter. However, just as Aalik began to hear the far-off sounds of a snowstorm coming from the end of the tunnels, something else caught his attention.
It was a trail of blood flowing from one of the tunnels many branching paths, glistening through the darkness, as well as the sound of low, heavy breathing. Aalik broke off the path and ran towards the source of the sound, using Inigo's sheathed sword as support for his injured leg.
Bodies of soldiers lay sprawling over the rocky floor, each one adding to the trickle of maroon beneath Aalik's feet, and besides them was Inigo, slumped over the tunnel wall, holding onto one of the dead soldier's bloodied sabers, the rising of his chest barely visible.
"INIGO!" Aalik screamed as he stumbled his way to him. He knelt, grabbed and shook Inigo while calling out his name, earning no response from the wounded man. Aalik frowned, muttering in denial as the knot in his throat grew. That was, until Inigo groggily opened his eyes.
"It's you," Inigo whispered faintly, wearing the ghost of a smile, one that Aalik gladly returned tenfold before hastily showing Inigo his sword.
"…How…how did you," Inigo asked with awe and disbelief as he took in the sight of his precious blade, only for him to shake his head in order to collect himself. "Where…where's Esben?"
But Inigo's question died out as soon as he saw Aalik's forlorn face, traced heavily with guilt and sorrow. It told him all he needed to know. There was a moment of silence between the two, as Inigo took in the unspoken demise of his friend, frowning deeply, before putting his grief on hold and gaining a look of undaunted resolve.
"Help me up," Inigo said and Aalik complied. With much effort, Aalik and Inigo were soon standing side by side, using both swords, the tunnel's wall and each other as support.
They moved on, led by Aalik's ingrained directions towards the end of the caves. The path, though short in distance, forced them to draw from their innermost wills, in order to fight back the pain of their wounds and souls.
It did not take long before a foreboding green light shone at the end of the tunnel, flickering due to an incessant snowstorm outside. The bone-chilling winds could be heard and felt, even from within the tunnels, and the closer Aalik and Inigo got to the end the more their bodies violently protested against they paid the cold no heed, for nothing would deter them.
Darkness, snow and lightning overpowered Aalik and Inigo's senses, leaving only the sight of the green glow of the spinning crystal hovering above the crater-like mountaintop, glowing ever brighter with each step they took towards it. Their life slipped away the farther they went, but the thrall of sleep would not capture them, they were mere steps away from of their goal, and that alone was enough to keep them going.
Soon, their efforts bore fruit. They were at the entrance of the mountaintop and right before them was the clear image of the gigantic spinning crystal, shining with its unnatural green light, which pierced through the shadows of the eternal blizzard.
Inigo held back a twinge of fear as they neared the massive object, feeling its insidious energy crawl deep inside his skin, but his dread came back again just as easily, when Aalik froze on the spot.
"BEHIND YOU. BEHIND YOU. BEHIND YOU!"
Aalik tried to scream out in rage when he heard the map's warning and the sound of tensing bowstrings, but he found no strength to do so. It had all slipped away by now. All he could do was look back at the approaching soldiers, their longbows nocked and ready. They showed no signs of wear outside of their manic dispositions, harkening him back to the jarring, uneven state of Flemming and his underlings back at the tunnels. However, out of all of them, one remained unchanged.
The King stood unflinching in the face of the terrible weather. He walked a leisurely stroll towards Aalik and Inigo, all the while gazing at the crystal in complete and utter admiration, as if facing the meaning of life itself. Then, in one blinding flash of lightning, the King was now facing straight towards Aalik and Inigo, bearing his inhumane sights at them, betraying any form of emotion but that of the cold itself.
The King stood beneath the crystal as he held and analyzed the squirming map, admiring its every detail, before lowering it to give Aalik and Inigo a look of twisted gratitude.
Inigo struggled and huffed in defiance but it was for naught, the remainder of the King's army had him and Aalik fully disarmed and pinned down on the snow, many of which ignored the mortal wounds dealt by his own hand. The fact that the King had commanded the soldiers not to kill him and Aalik outright, but rather to restrain them, as to view the momentous occasion, only added insult to injury.
Aalik did not struggle against the soldier's hold however, opting instead to channel all of his hatred at the King in one stone-cold glare.
These reactions earned little more than an emotionless head tilt from the King, who simply turned around and became lost in the spinning crystal above him once again, admiring its erratic release of energy as it prickled his skin. "It's beautiful is it not? Words do not make it justice," the King reveled, his voice unobstructed thanks to the crystal's aura repelling the snowfall of the mountain peaks. "I must thank you all. Your efforts shall not be in vain."
In one swift motion, the King released the map and threw off his gauntlets, allowing the parchment to float, encased by the crystal's energy and revealing something horrifying to Aalik and Inigo's eyes. There were grotesque markings all over the King's arms, their scar-ridden designs echoing Aalik and Inigo to memories of the indecipherable hieroglyphs, from the underground city.
The markings were as much wounds as they were runes, festering and tortuous ones that would never heal, but to the King, they were merely stepping stones, no more bothersome than a scratch. With his smile ever-present, the King began to speak.
It was a tongue unknown to all but himself and Aalik, and Aalik only recognized it vaguely. It was almost identical to the melody of the crystal's voices, a melody beyond comprehension, a melody that wronged life itself. In cue to the King's unfathomable words, the crystal's spin slowed to a crawl and its luster became dim glow, but this façade of tranquility did little to appease the map's cries of terror, cries that Aalik heard perfectly, a terror he felt down to the marrow.
The King smiled. In a flash of unspeakable might, the crystal resumed its spin and unleashed a barrage of devastating bolts over the parchment, its agony shared by Aalik during seconds akin to millennia.
However, Aalik did not give in, not a scream came out of him. He endured the process until the map was no more, fully consumed by the monstrous crystal, until it would eventually reform and realize its unending task, as it had countless times before. Then, suddenly, the crystal began to rumble violently, as if in protest, sending further bolts of energy all over the peaks. A stray beam instantly carbonized many of the King's men, though unfortunately, none that were restraining Aalik and Inigo, nor the King himself.
"It appears that my sacrifice is not enough," the King stated, never taking his eyes off the crystal, his icy stoicism nearly betrayed by his contempt. "Bring me the boy."
The soldiers obeyed and lifted Aalik off the ground, ignoring his meager struggles to break free of their hold, as they took him to their King.
"LET HIM GO!" Inigo roared, shaking with such ferocity that he nearly toppled one of the soldiers pinning him down. However, this act of defiance was short lived, as was his burst of adrenaline, for they easily pinned him down again on the snow-covered floor. Inigo watched, powerless, as Aalik was taken away. Failure overcame the sheer cold of the mountain, dousing the flame of his soul, for what he knew to be the last time.
Aalik, who was still trying to free himself of the grasp of his captors, shot a look of pure hatred at the King, who calmly returned it with an earnest, inhumane smile.
"Rejoice for you are most apt. It is by your hand that this kingdom will be reborn. From ages to come, your tale shall be remembered, your sacrifice honored, and yourself canonized," the King proclaimed with utmost formality, as if performing a knighting of the highest honor.
The crystal boomed in cue to the King's words, its reverberating wave the mockery of a heartbeat. Aalik ceased his struggles as an orb of lightning appeared in front of him.
"Rejoice, for your journey will not be meaningless. It is because of you that this forsaken land will be reborn. No more shall we suffer through nature's fickle whims, no more shall we stand by menial catches and living as mercenary dogs, of other prosperous kingdoms, no longer shall our stunted legacy drag us down!" the King stated in a crescendo of emotion, displaying more anger and distaste the more he went along.
The crystal pulsated in quicker succession. Aalik felt the caress of sleep as the sphere vaporized the soldiers holding him, before it lifted him off the snow with its grotesque energy.
"Rejoice my people, a king of flesh and unrealized ambition you shall endure no longer, for I will become much, much more."
The crystal called and Aalik moved no more, allowing the sphere to engulf him entirely. Inigo screamed.
"Fear not the claim of death young man, for the life it will bring." The world stopped and all became silent. Then, the crystal roared. Mightier than any thunderstorm to have ravaged the earth since its inception, the crystal's booming energy ran through hundreds of thousands of miles, reaching the skies of all corners of the globe. It left behind an awe-inspiring image, now ingrained in the minds of men, for ages to come.
"CRYSTAL OF POWER! I BESEECH THEE!" the King roared, his voice now one with the crystal, as its energy flowed through him.
Lightning crackled.
"GRANT ME THE POWER TO MAKE A KINGDOM MOST GRAND!"
Thunder rumbled.
"A KINGDOM WITH NO ILL, NO FAMINE NOR COLD! A KINGDOM FIT FOR THE KING OF ALL KINGS!"
The heavens split.
"A KINGDOM FIT FOR ME!"