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Chapter Notes:
-Spoiler Warning for ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐-
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Into The Breach
First Multiversal Jump
Chapter 30: The Fall of the High Heavens
โโโโโโโโง๐ โงโโโโโโโ
"๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐, ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก... ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐'๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐๐๐ฌ."
โCo-Head Archivist Leah Cain of the Nightwing Dominion
โโโโโโโโง๐ โงโโโโโโโ
๐ โ๐ โ๐ โ๐ โ
...
-Jaune-
...
-Two years of travel later-
Fallingโฆ
He slowly opens his eyesโฆ Only to feel himself fall rapidly from orbit.
He panics and flails his small arms around, making his fall unstable. His suit takes the heat of reentry without even a scratch, but that doesn't register to his mind as the only thing he can hear and feel is his uncontrolled breathing echoing in his helmet.
Jaune breathes out and pushes his biotic into overdrive as his cells already start reabsorbing his spent energy from the star this world orbits.
A flash of light followed by an explosion catches his gaze, somewhereโฆ Another place, here but there, at the borders of this dimension. Realities that are somehow interconnected. In a way able to coexist adjacent to each other, but separately.
He truly opens his eyes and sees beyond the Veil. A structureโฆ a shining towerโฆ No, a floating city hangs in the sky. "Where the hell am I!?" The displacement has been jarring, too much to be natural. Something or someone used a lot of power to bring him here, but for what reasonโฆ Kal just hopes that whatever it is, that this time - it is not a space octopus.
He slowly glides towards the city and the place where the light came from. Little by little he starts to feelโฆ foulness. Corruption.
His sidearm appears at his right hip. A small, semi-automatic plasma weapon, capable of discharging powerful blobs of matter hotter than stars at hypersonic speed and with enough kinetic energy behind each shot to send flying something as big as a car a few meters away. This energy pistol was the standard sidearm of officers in the Kryptonian army, but this one has been modified by Kelex to fit Jaune's hands. He will need a few minutes to make some adjustments and improve it.
He focuses on his landing zone and seesโฆ Demons?
"What theโฆ" He whispers, preparing himself to make landfall in the midst of a group of hell spawns. He can feel the EVIL emanating from those beingsโฆ He then makes a choice. He crashes feet first, discharging a powerful biotic blast, turning every demon around him to dust like they aren't even there. "I didn't think that they would be so weakโฆ" He says, orienting the barrel of his pistol and disintegrating a demon's upper torso and head who was charging him. He turns his eyes toward his small gunโฆ and sees that the thing is at its lowest setting. "Really weak."
Jaune scans the whole place beyond the shattered gate and sees twoโฆ Humans? ...No. They look humans, they even have the same organs, butโฆ everything about them is different. Stronger, fasterโฆ they even shine brighter than simple mortals. They cut through demons and abominations with insane ease, Kal can even see what look like Angelic beings fighting hordes of hell spawns and other strange demons.
He takes a few breaths and heads for the rubble of the destroyed structures, but stops when he sees the shaft of a broken spear. He bends down and grabs it. Jaune reads its historyโฆ its name isโฆ Solarion. Forged in the heart of a dying starโฆ Just like Mjรถllnir was. But unlike the hammer, this weapon's materials are kind of weak if it is able to be broken so easilyโฆ or the Archangel who forged it, Imperius, is a shit blacksmith.
The weapon vibratesโฆ at these thoughts. "Strange." Kal thinks.
"Oh!" His eyes find the other part. Excited, he takes it too. Another vibration before something hits his mind like a hammer thrown through a fragile mirror.
.
...
"... ๐๐ง๐, ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ, ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ
๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง.
๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ก -
๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ซ.
๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก, ๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ -
๐๐ฌ ๐
๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ."
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ...
๐๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธโฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ.
~๐๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐!~
The weapon screams at what its wielder has become - directly into Kal's mind.
...
.
Kal reels from the weapon's residual feelings. He understands why the spear broke, not because of its composition and the quality of the craftsmanshipโฆ but because the weapon, which was a part of Imperius, has now rejected its wielder. What a sad fateโฆ
He digs his senses deeper into the weapon and smiles. This is no mortal alloy. This is a steel he has touched only onceโฆ in only one weapon, a set; Crocea Mors. A sword and a shield whose steel was gifted by an Angel to a certain pucelle of Orlรฉans, after being betrayed and then burned alive for her faithโฆ because others believed that she was a deranged little girl, a witch, a threat.
A girl who was deemed worthy of being saved and then brought to a world where creatures of darkness were fought by elite warriors called Huntsmen and Huntresses.
A young girl namedโฆ Jeanne d'Arc. The first ancestor and founder of the Arc family of Remnant.
When Vulcan explained to him and his father what the sword and shield were actually made of, after Kal started playing with the thing, Nicolas, his dad, was beyond amazed that day.
Empyrean steel, the celestial metal that Angelic weapons and armor are fashioned from.
He puts his forehead to the two parts of Solarion, "๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐, ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ, ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ก๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐, ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ค, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐๐ค, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ค ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ."
The weapon vibrates approvingly but tiredly in his hands before entering its long sleep. Kal looks aroundโฆ and puts the two parts in his personal Tesseract, chuckling at the idea of another semi-sentient weapon joining his growing arsenal.
"That Imperius seems like a dickโฆ" He sighs and turns toward the gates.
...
...
"INCOMING!" He jumps, laughing, between the two warriors fighting against the evil that plagues this place.
He aims his pistol at the large creature in front of him after crushing one of the small things crawling on the ground.
"๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-" A shot to the face makes the demon's head disappear.
"โฆ Seriously?" Jaune says looking at his pistol. "That was likeโฆ super anticlimactic." He puts his weapon away and looks at the two women behind him as one of them has the tip of her enchanted maceโฆ who can transform into a flail? under his chin.
"Rudeโฆ" He says while effortlessly pointing the weapon with one finger in another direction, causing the tall, blonde, knightly-looking woman to grunt with effort as her feet slide on the marbled floor.
He clears his throat, hoping that the All-Speak works in this universe.
"Hi!" He smiles in his helmet.
"... Who and what are you, creature?" The armored one asks, her stance flawless. Her tone makes him roll his eyes.
"It doesn't seem hostileโฆ?" Whispers the other one.
...
...
-Johanna-
-Minutes Earlier-
They have failedโฆ
Diablo is now free - while the gentle soul of a child, Leah, is now lost to them - sacrificed to unseal this monster by Leah's own mother.
They were fools to trust the witchโฆ After Adria revealed her true colors, her true allegiance and purpose for the Black Soulstone, as well as the identity of Leah's true father, she used the cursed thing on her own blood and flesh. Bringing Diablo back into this world in a new vessel, as the First Evil, the embodiment of the seven Great Evils within a single being to then lead an invasion into the High Heavens.
But now is not the time to dwell on the past... but on Diablo and the creatures that stand in their way.
"๐ด ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐." The demon named Iskatu mocks as he disappears out of sight, unleashing hordes of Shadow Vermin, gathering together in a cloud of sludge and death to attack them.
Iskatu himself tries to flank her small group in the fray as the vermin rain from the sky. Eirena does her best to push back the monstrosities as Johanna's shield bashes Iskatu in the face.
"INCOMING!" A strange laughing voice is heard behind them.
A smallโฆ boy? in odd, black garments, his face and head hidden behind an eerie skull-like helmet, lands in front of them, turning a Shadow Vermin into vapor while cratering the ground under his small feet. He points a strange contraption at the tall demon.
"๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-" A blue flash of light along a strange soundโฆ and then Iskatu finds himself without a head.
"โฆ Seriously?" Sighing, the small creature brings his contraption closer to his face as the dead demon's body falls to the ground, disintegrating. It looks like a small crossbow but without strings. "That was likeโฆ super anticlimactic." The small thing says. Johanna can only agree.
He turns toward her and Johanna instinctively puts the sharp point of her flail, now in its mace configuration, under his chin. Even behind his black helmet, she can feel the judgmental gaze directed her way. That was maybe not the best of ideas.
He puts his left hand's index finger on her weaponโฆ and pushes.
"Rudeโฆ" He says in an odd but understandable language while she grunts, surprised by the sheer strength that the little humanoid in front of her casually displays. Her feet slide on the floorโฆ Her eyes widen, after all she is the one over seven feet tall and wearing heavy armor.
The boy clears his throat.
"Hi!" He says in the same language she has never heardโฆ but strangely understands, she can also hear the smile in his voice.
"... Who and what are you, creature?" Johanna asks. Thatโฆ makes the being sigh under his unclosed helmet, making her cringe from her own lack of tact.
"It doesn't seem hostileโฆ?" Whispers Eirena behind her, uncertainty in her voice. She eases her stance, partially lowering her weapon. Johanna calms her mind from the fury of battle and speaks.
"My apologies. The last few months have beenโฆ strenuous, to say the least." Johanna sighs, her mind exhausted from all the running, losses and betrayal. "I am Johanna." She taps her shield to the ground.
"Crusader of the Zakarum church." She says with pride before pointing to Eirena. "Me and my-"
"๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ, ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ." The voice of Diablo is heard. Johanna knows that this Devil is rightโฆ they have no time to lose.
"We'll talk on our way!" She states, making Eirena and the boy nod.
"Lead the way!" He says, Johanna can hear the smile in his voiceโฆ No normal child should react this way to such an environment. But she will have to ask her questions later, now time is of the essence.
"My name is Eirena!" Says the enchantress at her side.
"Greetings, sorceress!" The small boy says. "I am Kal-El." A name that sounds likeโฆ Starlight to Johanna's ears and soul. "But you can call me Jaune Arc. Both are equally valid." That name makes her nearly stumble.
"Are you alright?" Eirena asks with her accent.
"Yesโฆ I was just surprised by your name." Her eyes on the boy as he follows them without any effort, his feet nearly gliding on the ground at their side.
"Johannaโฆ Jaune Arc." He says in a huff. "It is a strange coincidence. You would fit in my family quite well!"
"And why is that?" She asks as her senses are on high alertโฆ Until something alien enters her mind. Thoughts and memories tainted by longing, confusion, sadness andโฆ shame. The young boy's very mind whispers at hers.
She knows that sorcerers of the mind are rare, so rare that she never met one during her travels.
She sees a family, a large one. Two mothers, both sorceresses, along with their husband, a blonde knight and forge master. With them are their seven daughtersโฆ and a small, fragile looking boy.
The tall crusader of the Zakarum church slowly smiles as time seems to slow down around her. The boy is right, Johanna could have fitted into his family quite well.
Johanna mind's eye can hear their names, see their blonde hairs and each of their faces with perfect clarity, except for the small boy, as his blurry features keep changingโฆ The boy feels so close, yet so very far from them. She knows that there is history behind those very thoughts and emotions, and more than probably - even trauma.
They cross the steps of a staircase and see a crossing - an angel descends from the sky before them, greatly surprising her and Eirena.
"๐ธ ๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐." The being presents himself, making the boy respectfully bow in greeting. "๐ธ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐. ๐ฑ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐โฆ ๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐-๐ฒ๐๐๐๐." Itherael states, his hooded head turned toward the boy.
"You are the one who brought me here." The boy sighs.
"๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐."
"... Well, at least it could be worse. Could be space octopuses." He whispers, making Johanna freeze at those strange wordsโฆ She shakes her head.
"I care little for destiny. Will you help us, or should we stand here and watch the Heavens fall apart?" Johanna says, removing the grime covering her face with her armored hand.
"๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐โฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐! ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐๐." Itherael tells the group before flying away in a beam of light.
"Very dramaticโฆ" Whispers Eirena.
"Yeahโฆ I understand why Lady Gaia really doesn't like destiny and fate that much." The boy shakes his head. Johanna sighs and then speaks;
"She will be free. Perhaps that will bring hope back to these Heavens." Johanna says as she steps toward the next area, clenching her fingers around her weapon, now understanding why Tyrael doubted himself.
...
...
"These are the Gardens of Hope. The Archangel Auriel cannot be far." Eirena says as they walk into Auriel's domain. The gardens seem to stretch on forever.
The ground is sprinkled with flowers made of multi-colored petals that contrast with the growing corruption that litters the floor they walk on. The gardens are constantly changing, with flowers fading and others bursting into now faded color. Broken reflective pools surround the gardens' fountains of light and sound. Johanna hears fading music dancing and echoing through the air.
Not far from them is a trio of angels battling against a large demon, a foul Oppressor. She once read about those terrible demons in Cain's journal. Even now she can remember these texts as if Cain himself speak to herโฆ
.
"๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ."
.
She also remembers the book left behind by the traitorous Adria.
Johanna prepares to charge only to see the creature lose its head by the light coming out of the strange weapon the child bears. The angels barely seem surprised by the rapid death of the demon. One of them even nods his head at them.
"๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐." The angel warns them before her group continues to march on.
It is only a few hundreds steps away that a demonic horde meets them. Some Armored Destroyers fall from the sky, cratering the ground with earth-shattering force near them. Cain's written words echo in her mind.
.
"๐๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ.
๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ธ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ'๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ, ๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ด."
.
While others, mostly bile crawlers along vile temptresses with a few oppressors, charge them on foot or using their wings.
The first oppressor turns into a red mist of blood and limbs and then dust and ashes as another demon is sent through it at blinding speedโฆ Johanna turns her wide eyes to the humming young boy who, even now, takes another whimpering and upside down Armored Destroyer above his head before launching it at the second Oppressor like a meteorโฆ
She has so many questions.
After a few seconds, the boy, Kal-El if she remembers correctly, walks to a weapon rack and starts rummaging in it.
"Oooh!" The boy says excitedly after taking an angelic sword nearly identical to the one belonging to Tyrael.
"Uh! It is named Skycutter. What a strange name." The boy whispers.
Johanna can feel the Holy energy the longsword emanatesโฆ She can only smile as the boy holds it like a Greatsword. She loses that smile when the boy pushes someโฆ strange soul energy into the blade. Something she has never feltโฆ Something powerful and brighter than a star.
Kal-El then swings the sword, making an ethereal and spectral angelic being into existence. The winged, transient facsimile then kneels to the boy.
"๐, ๐๐๐-๐ผ๐, ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ธ๐ฃ๐, ๐ก๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ค, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐๐ค, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ค ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ." The boy swears a Binding Oath to the construct in front of him. The spectral creation nods, satisfied, and then its light vanishes in the ether as its ethereal armor grumbles into dust.
"What an odd weapon." Eirena says, making the boy snort in amusement.
"I have seen much strangerโฆ believe me." He chuckles before taking another weapon from the rack, an angelic crossbowโฆ one she never saw before. "Nameless. Fires Mystical Photonic bolts. Cool." Johanna clears her throat. He turns toward her and quickly understands that this is probably not the time for enjoying his new loots. "Sorryโฆ" he apologizes.
...
...
The boy is a thief... Johanna has no other words, except maybe compulsive looter, to describe him as he takes everything that catches his eyes... May they be nailed to the ground or not.
And Johanna means literally that; EVERYTHING.
She is sure that he even took some of the glowing trees and pillars. Where does he put them is still a mystery to her.
"Lookโฆ" Eirena points to an impaled but still alive angel in what seems to be corruption.
"Sacrilege." She says, not losing anytime and charges the demons around the tormented angel.
The boy behind them, sword in hands, takes a step and moves so fast that he seems to disappear from their sights. She then sees him fight for the first time in melee combat. The boy is a master swordsman, that she cannot deny, and yetโฆ it feels raw. But those questions shall have to wait.
It only takes a few seconds to eliminate the spawns of hell. Johanna steps toward the angelโฆ not knowing how to free the celestial being in front of her. "Maybe by destroying the corruption?" She ponders. Her question is answered when the boy puts his small hands on the angel's chestโฆ and gives the same energy she felt him used earlier to the angel.
In a deflagration of power and light, the angel frees itself from its prison. The being looks at its hands and the power contained in itself in what Johanna is sure is wonder. Its gaze finds them before nodding to their group before taking to the sky.
"What was that?!" Asks Eirena.
"Aura. The Light of the Soul." Kal-El responds with a smile, letting his hands glow with said Aura.
"Incredibleโฆ" Johanna surprises herself by the word that just exited her mouth.
"Do you want me to unlock yours?" He smiles again, confusing them even more with his words.
"Now is not the time." Johanna sighs. "We have a mission to accomplish." She says as they get closer to the next area and the doors to the Library of Fate.
"I miss Leah. She was a sister to me when all my sisters were gone." Eirena tells her, "I wanted to protect herโฆ butโฆ it was not meant to be." she continues as her lips quiver.
"Leah?" whispers the young lad. Eirena then starts to discuss in hushed tones with him as they walk, explaining who the poor girl was. Johanna decides not to join Eirena in her tale. Although Johanna herself too mourns the passing of Leah, now is not the time for lamentation as they must save the High Heavens and free Auriel from the grasp of Rakanoth, Lord of Despair, who no doubt holds Hope captive.
As they enter the Library of Fate, Johanna, for a moment pauses and marvels at the beauty of the Halls of Fate. Light wisps up in tendrils around them as the calm and serenity permeate the very architecture. Yet, EVIL somehow emanates to the North West.
It is there that their group finds Auriel bound by the malice and corruption that holds her, and a captor, Rakanoth himself.
"๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐, ๐๐๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ. ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐จ!"
Johanna, even now, perfectly remembers Cain's writings about Rakanoth.
"๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ช๐ณ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด."
But her moment of reminiscence does not last longโฆ as the Lord of Despair's gaze finds the boy at her side.
"๐'๐๐!" Rakanoth shouts, hate and fury in his voice, while pointing his sword arm at Kal-El's chestโฆ "๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐๐ซ!"
"I think something got lost in translationโฆ" Kal-El whispers at her side. "Was it my father or my mother? Or another Heir before them?!" He asks the demon, walking toward the Lord of Despair.
"๐๐จ๐ซ-๐๐ฅ!" The demon lord yells before teleporting to the boy, swinging both of his armsโฆ Only for the attacks to be stopped in their tracks. The lad, catching with the most absurd of ease Rakanoth's right blade between the fingers of his left hand and stomping on the left blade arm with his right foot, driving it deeper into the ground, gives a chuckle.
"My father thenโฆ" He whispers as his fingers slowly start to dig and bend the Hellforged steel of the demon's arm, while his new sword, now over his right shoulder in a wrathguard, starts to shine dangerously. The demon's surprised gaze finds the glowing and holy sword, frozen by the energies contained within it.
Johanna uses this opportunity to attack the monster with all of her strength. Bending her knees while breathing in, she jumps through the air like a comet, cratering the hallowed ground under her feet as she leaves it, to then give the demon lord a taste of her enchanted mace. The air shakes as the demon flies through the air and then a pillar. Rakanoth grunts as his fall destroys the floor underneath him.
Johanna charges again, not giving the Lord of Despair any moment of respite. She sends her massive shield like a discus right at the arm that the demon uses to try to get up, making him crash back into the ground face first. The demon yells in anger as she catches back her shield. Rakanoth's anger becomes agony as an angelic blade pierces through his neck, the boy on Rakanoth's back.
Johanna swings her mace to the demon's head with a roar, separating said head from its body. The demon, in a flash of Unholy Light, ceases to existโฆ Making the boy who was until now still on the demon's back fall with a high pitched squeal.
Now on his behind, the lad looks at her. Johanna, even if his face is still hidden behind that eerie helmet of his, can feel him narrowing his eyes, she only gives him a shrug and a grin.
"๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐!" Diablo taunts them.
As he gets up, the boy's foot touches something, some kind ofโฆ bladed tonfa?
The boy takes it only to drop it nearly immediately.
"Yew! Nop, nop, nop-nop-nop-nop!" He says in disgust, kicking the Hellforged weapon away from him. "Do all demons drop things like that?" He asks, looking at the weapon and then the pile of loot dropped by the demon with what Johanna can only guess is disgust.
"Yesโฆ When a creature is destroyed, the space they use to store their possession collapses, spilling what is contained in them back into our reality." Eirena explains while taking the few gold coins from the ground. "This is where the invention of our bag came from." She says, showing him her small bag before placing the weapon into it.
"A primitive form of Hammerspace technologyโฆ I have seen this kind of enchanted bag only twice before." The boy tells the enchantress as he looks at her carry bag. Johanna clears her throat, pointing to the still imprisoned Auriel. "Sorryโฆ" The young lad apologizes, walking behind her as she steps closer to the bound Archangel.
The boy puts his hands on the Angelic being and pushes what he calls Aura into Auriel's body. In a gigantic deflagration of power and light, the Archangel frees herself, purging the corruption around her Gardens.
Itherael who descends from the sky looks at the radiating body of his sister in silence for a few seconds before turning to the young boy at Johanna's side and nods gratefully.
"๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐." Auriel says, still panting from her imprisonment. Her gaze then finds the boy. "๐๐๐๐-๐ฒ๐๐๐๐. ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐." She nods before continuing.
"๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐." She says, standing now taller. "๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐, ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐." The Archangel then sighs. "๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐." Auriel turns her head back to Johanna. "๐ธ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐."
"I will be worthy of it." Johanna responds with pride.
"๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐?" Auriel asks the boy at the Crusader's side. The boy nodsโฆ and then his helmet strangely opens. She and Eirena both gasp when they see his faceโฆ and his eyes.
Johanna was rightโฆ a young boy. Around 12 or 13 years old, one who still has baby-fat on his face. The Void dancing under his translucent skin and behind his eyes make it clear that he is far from being human.
"I will." He responds to Auriel's question without hesitation.
...
๐ โ๐ โ๐ โ๐ โ
Chapter End Notes:
We are in the ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. For those who have not played it, it's not bad. The story is a little weird at first... but you get attached to it. :)
The sword and even the other artifacts truly exist in the games. Skycutter is a Legendary sword in Diablo III. It uses the same model as the blade wielded by Tyrael in the game, only the name has changed. This item's Holy theme includes bonus to 5 to 20% holy skill damage, plus a legendary affix that occasionally causes an Angel to appear and fight by the character's side, for a brief time.
Be ready to see Jaune/Kal loot the sh!t out of what he can see in this universe.
If you want more information for ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ Universe, the wikis are good sources of knowledge if you want to go deeper into Diablo's lore.
I will post the next chapter tomorrow or the day after, when I am satisfied with the modifications.
And on that note; have all a formidable night or day, you sexy mother-lovers.