~~~===~~~
Chapter Nine: War on the Horizon
~~~===~~~
Cecil, Kain, Rosa, all three were looking at me as though weighing the truth of my words. Kain was the first to accept, sitting down and looking at me expectantly. Rosa followed next, having already seen the power that Dragonheart wielded, and knowing that it wasn't entirely his own. Cecil, while he was already 'sitting,' seemed to be the slowest to accept that I needed to speak with them quickly. How can I blame him? The only time he had known me before was in battle.
"Good. The first thing you have to know is that I'm not the only one still alive - Dragonheart resurrected all four of us using the dark matter that I destroyed today. He also increased the power of the other three, and I honestly don't know how strong they really are. Valvalis would have killed me, or worse, while I was trying to rescue Rosa. Fortunately, Callista interfered."
"Should she be here," Kain asked.
"I don't think that's necessary. There's some bad blood between the two of us, and it probably wouldn't do any good to tell her this anyways - she'd forget it by morning.
"At any rate, with the four of us alive again, that makes for some very powerful servants on his side. Our best hope is that, with the drain on his powers from losing the dark matter, they've deserted him. Scarmiglione's up to something, though - he's not much for intricate plans, but he's a patient little bastard. He'll probably still be working with Dragonheart."
"We can take him," Kain said confidently. "That much I'm sure of. What's this about dark matter, though?"
"As I told you before, it enhances the power of certain entities - at a great cost to mortal beings, but it's more than worth it. Master Zemus had a piece, and you saw what he was capable of doing with it. Combining black and white magic for incredibly destructive effects, creating the four of us in the first place, resurrecting us, building the Giant of Babil - all of that would have been impossible without the dark matter. Dragonheart was using it to channel mystical energy from a remote source - and to invoke the Rending of the Mind. With it, he was capable of using the most destructive spells known to creation without tiring, and ripping the life and knowledge out of a person. That, Lady Rosa, is how he stole your magic, am I right?" Rosa nodded silently, before explaining further.
"Right now, my apprentices know more magic than I do. I'll have to work with Porom to relearn my spells, unless you know a faster way."
"Only by killing Dragonheart," I replied. "And, while tempting, I'm not sure it's possible for us to do, even with his reduced power. He made references to serving the Lord and Lady of Darkness. I know little about them, only that they aren't of this world. What I do know is from the times when Zemus referred to them, generally in a tone that said he feared them greatly. I found him, when I was much younger, destroying his notes on temporal magic. When I asked him why, he said that the entire project had been a grave mistake, that if the Lord and Lady ever found his notes, the entire lunarian race could be annihilated in the backlash. That was when he decided to train the four of us as his assassins, and the first time I rebelled against him. A long story that isn't particularly important at the moment.
"The fact is that I think the Lord and Lady have enough power to prevent Dragonheart's death if they want. And if they're really that evil, then they would almost certainly be willing to do so in order to keep Rosa's magic from being released again." Rosa nodded quietly, before speaking up.
"There's another issue to consider about Dragonheart and his masters."
"What might that be," I asked, looking at her.
"The Lady is his mother. I learned that much during my imprisonment. Several weeks of listening to his gloating taught me quite a bit about him that I didn't want to know."
"I'm sorry, Love," Cecil said quietly. "I should have come after you when he kidnapped you."
"You wouldn't have known where to go. But let's listen to the rest of what Rubicant has to say."
"Thank you, Lady Rosa," I said, glad to have some semblance of control over the conversation again. "The most important issue is that, without his dark matter, Dragonheart doesn't have his direct link to his Lord and Lady. Which means he'll be desperate to get more." The blood drained from the faces of the three warriors as they realized what that meant.
"Good lord - Eblan." I nodded quietly, frowning.
"It makes the most sense. They have the dark matter that Master Zemus used, and the only warrior who might be able to resist them there is Prince Geraldine."
"Not by the time they get there," Cecil said, leaning forward - just before his ribs shifted, dragging a ragged hiss of pain from the paladin.
"Even if you could get there in time, you wouldn't be in any condition to fight. Neither would Rosa."
"Then you and Kain can go. Having the Fiend of Fire on their sides should turn the tide of the battle." Kain nodded, staying quiet as he weighed his own strategies. I laughed bitterly.
"You're right, the Fiend of Fire probably would turn the tide of battle. But me, I would be little change. My powers were spent to destroy the dark matter than Dragonheart had here. I'm as mortal as any of you, now. Though, I confess, I have the benefit of my training. The last thing Dragonheart would expect is a rune knight - but the other fiends are well aware of my powers. I used them to become the strongest of us, after all."
"You're a rune knight? But I thought the order was extinct?"
"When I defied Zemus, I took a mortal guise for some time. That was when I found my honor, so to speak. But like I said - that's not the important part. The fact is that there's only one person who has the means to reach Eblan before Dragonheart does. Your caller friend - she lives near here, doesn't she?" Kain nodded.
"The Village of Mist. I'll go tell her what happened - hopefully she won't try to kill me this time." Cecil shook his head stubbornly.
"No - I'm not putting Rydia in that madman's path."
"Fine," I said. "Then you condemn Eblan - and likely the rest of the world - to his domination, once he finds the dark matter. Tell me, what's better? She was strong enough to destroy me - hell, to destroy Valvalis and the others - with a little help. And I have no doubt she became stronger after that. She's the best hope you have of making sure that Prince Geraldine wins this battle." Cecil frowned, but Rosa nodded to Kain, giving him her permission. With that, Kain left, leaping out the window of the room towards the chocobo forest, no doubt intending to cross the mountains later on. I watched him fly through the air with the grace of an eagle, smiling slightly as he faded in the distance. Then I turned to the others.
"I had best be ready for his return. If I'm right, he'll have a journey of his own to embark on when he gets back - I suspect he'll need help. If I might ask, King Cecil, do you have a sword that I could borrow? It has been quite some time since I've needed a weapon, but I suspect that I'll need full equipment rather soon." Cecil nodded.
"Go find Cid - tell him that you have my permission to take the Genji raiment, and the Defender sword." I bowed politely before turning to find Cid. I certainly did have a lot of re-training to do - I just hoped that I wasn't completely out of practice..
~~~===~~~
Fortunately, Mist wasn't far away - a day's ride by chocobo, if you pushed the bird through the night as well. Even more fortunately, Rydia was willing to listen to me when I got there.
"You need me to go to Eblan?" I had just finished explaining the situation to her, at least as well as I understood it. The duels, how Rubicant had rescued us, and what he had said afterwards.
"As quickly as possible. The man who kidnapped Rosa is probably after the dark matter Edge stole from Zeromus."
"Damn it - I knew we should have left that crap on the moon." I shrugged.
"He wanted a trophy, seemed harmless enough at the time. The fact is that we need to stop him. How quickly can you get there?"
"On Bahamut's back? A lot faster than any airship I know of. Should be fast enough to beat this Lord Dragonheart bastard, unless he's there already." Rydia spoke a few words, and Bahamut flew into the clearing outside the village from his new home in the mountains. The two of us ran up to the great dragon, who lowered his head to speak to us.
"I take it you have need of my services, young caller?"
"Yeah - Kain and I need to get the Eblan by the fastest means possible, teach some bastard who thinks he can push the world around a lesson." Bahamut looked at me, his great serpent's eyes boring into my soul. I had never felt even half as comfortable around him as my comrades had. Strange, really, since I was supposed to be one of his devotees. But I had met Bahamut after my dishonor - after Zot. Ironically, he seemed to understand how I felt, even without condemning me.
"The Dragon Knight has another duty to perform, I believe." I nodded obediently.
"Yes, Lord Bahamut - I take it I am to keep my word to Lady Reis before I help with this?"
"Precisely. Climb on my back, little one - your friend should be on his way once we leave." Rydia looked at me curiously, and I shook my head.
"Remember, I promised to meet Lady Reis on Mount Ordeals once the duel was over. I suppose I have delayed long enough." Rydia climbed up, straddling the back of the King of Dragons, nestled between two great spines that would serve to keep her from falling off. Bahamut chuckled as he spread his wings, and I suspected that I knew what amused him - it had been long since he had flown into battle with a rider. And this rider was only planning on using him to reach the battle, not using him as a mount. They flew up into the sky, before a flash of light heralded their departure into the shadowy realm that ancient texts spoke of as the Realm Between, used by dragons to cover incredible distances in emergencies like this one.
With a silent prayer that they reach their destination in time, I turned and started the journey back to Baron. Once I let everybody know where I was going, I would take the Serpent Road back to Mysidia, and be on my way to meet with destiny.
~~~===~~~
A matter of minutes later, Rydia and Bahamut had reached Eblan. The great dragon dropped down into the courtyard of the castle, as Edge ran out to meet them.
"Rydia! What are you doing here?" Rydia shook her head and sighed mentally. The last time they'd been together, they'd gotten into another fight. Granted, that wasn't unusual, but coming to meet him in Eblan afterwards was. After all, it was his turn to come and apologize.
"There's no time for your nonsense, King Geraldine," Bahamut rumbled. "You must have your warriors make ready for battle against the Fiends of the Elements, and a warrior who could annihilate your army with hardly a thought."
"What?!? You've got to be kidding me - the Fiends are dead, and there's nothing alive that could do that." Rydia jumped down from Bahamut's back, loosening her whip from its place at her hip.
"Forget the bravado, Edge, he's serious. The Fiends are back, though Rubicant doesn't seem to be working with them. And the warrior he's talking about is a dark knight who kicked Cecil and Kain's collective asses. And he's the guy who kidnapped Rosa a few months back." Edge growled, and pulled a small glass globe from his belt.
"Good - I've been wanting a chance to discuss a few things with that bastard. Thanks for the warning, Ryd - I'll meet you in Mist when this is all over."
"Like Hell you will! Edward Guillaume Geraldine, if you think I'm just going to warn you and leave, you've got another think coming!" Edge winced as Rydia shouted his full name - dammit, there was a *reason* he didn't use it if he could avoid it!
"Look, Ryd, we'll have it under control. The Fiends aren't anything to worry about, not with our magic, and the dark knight'll have to deal with a hundred fully trained ninjas, to say nothing of me," he said, pulling out Masamune for a quick flourish with the two lunarian-forged blades. Rydia snorted, while Bahamut simply raised an eyebrow.
"Like I said," she explained quickly, "this guy kicked Cecil's ass in a one- on-one fight, almost killed him. Dropped Kain too, before Rubicant slowed him down a bit. If you think I'm going to hide back at home while you get your face rearranged and he steals the power to take over the world, you're wrong. Though he might be able to fix up your looks a little if he beat away at you long enough. I'm staying. Bahamut, I might need some help later on - would you mind waiting in the Realm Between? It's not much faster than waiting for you to get back from Mist, but.."
"But this abomination needs to be dealt with, and if you do need my help there may not be enough time to wait. Understood." Bahamut lowered his head to the ground in a bow, and disappeared from the castle courtyard. Edge looked at Rydia, to continue the argument, but recognized the glint in her eye that said there was no way she was leaving willingly. And he didn't have the resources to send her back if an attack was coming. He threw the glass globe to the ground, and an ear-splitting din filled the air.
"Fine, Rydia," he shouted over the noise of the alarm, drawing Murasame. "But you're staying at the back of the fight." Rydia nodded, and ran towards the room where the dark matter would be, working her way through the crowds of warriors running into the courtyard of the castle. Just as she got inside, a great shadow fell over Castle Eblana.
Lord Dragonheart had arrived..
***
On the great airship, Lord Dragonheart looked at his troops. Caignazzo and Scarmiglione would both lead a number of the skeletal warriors that powered the ship. In the chaos, Dragonheart would make his way to the dark matter. Then, he would make an example of the ninja homeland. If they thought Rubicant's attack had been devastating - they would remember this day as the apocalypse.
"Are the two of you ready?" The two fiends nodded.
"Then Caignazzo, move yourself and your troops to the teleportation stone." The gargantuan turtle and his skeletal followers trundled onto the giant red stone, and disappeared in a flash of light. Scarmiglione followed suit as his brother materialized in the courtyard of Castle Eblan..
***
When Dragonheart materialized, he was in the midst of a raging battle. It seemed that somebody had been able to warn the ninja-king that he was coming. No matter - his forces were holding their own quite well. Despite the gouts of flame that were incinerating his skeletons, Scarmiglione was barely scorched by the attacks of the novices who were fighting him. And as soon as one of Eblan's defenders fell, his body rose to fight against his comrades, animated by the very presence of the Fiend of Earth. Caignazzo was doing better still - the only ninja magic that could cause him serious harm was a technique so advanced that only a handful of the warriors could perform it. Dragonheart smiled grimly. This would be a fine day indeed.
The dark knight spun around, thrusting his spear through a young warrior who had tried to come up behind him. Pulling his spear close, he planted his foot in the lightly armored stomach, and pulled his spear free before starting for the keep, leaving the disemboweled ninja to rise and join the undead servants that were beginning to outnumber the living defenders of the castle.
As Dragonheart walked into the castle, a flash of light heralded the changing of the battle's tide. As the last of the ninjas fell, Bahamut returned from the Realm Between. The two Fiends cried out in terror as the King of Dragons opened his mouth, and the flame began to build..
***
Deep inside the castle, the stone walls shook with the burst of fiery death from the great dragon's mouth. Edge closed his eyes as he realized what it meant - that his men had been slaughtered, whether by the troops this Dragonheart or by the backlash of Bahamut's vengeance. At least they would rest in peace - there was no way that anything of this world could have survived the hellish inferno that had been unleashed. Hell, the only reason Rosa and Rydia had survived long enough to convince Bahamut to help them was because of Rosa's protective magic. He felt Rydia's arm around his shoulders.
"You know he wouldn't have attacked unless there was no way they could win without his help." Edge nodded and prepared for the battle that would likely follow.
"I know. At least I learned from our mistakes against Rubicant - had the civilians and half the army evacuate." Rydia nodded and cracked her whip experimentally, taking quick stock of how much of her mystical strength remained. If anybody would be coming yet, it would be Dragonheart - and she wanted to be sure she was at full strength when they fought him.
"You did everything you could, Edge. Now, what remains is to make sure it wasn't in vain." She turned to look at the glass case holding the dark jewel. Such a simple gem - almost like a black pearl - but she could sense the power it held. Power enough to easily destroy the dark knight who was approaching - reduce him to ashes, then go out there and finally destroy whatever was left of the two Fiends. If they'd survived the holocaust of Bahamut's wrath, then she could make them wish they hadn't..
The young caller tore her eyes away from the gem with a shudder. Every time she looked at it, she felt a sudden urge to take it, tap into that power. She'd spoken with King Odin about those feelings, and he said that it had something to do with her mastery of black magic. All she knew was that she didn't like the way it made her think. She'd overcome that decades ago, hadn't felt like that since her mother had been killed. The thought that she could still go berserk like that, still enter the cold rage that was her family's curse, bothered her.
The sound of an armored figure walking towards the room snapped Rydia out of her thoughts. There wasn't time to worry about the dark matter, just enough time to prepare for Dragonheart to walk in here and try to take it. The two heroes stepped back from the door just as it burst open, revealing the spear-wielding figure in midnight blue armor.
"Turn over the dark matter, and I'll let you live," he said darkly. "Resist, and you'll join your subjects in death."
"Funny," Edge said, his twin blades glittering in the torchlight. "I was about to make you a similar offer." The two warriors took up attack stances. "Image," Edge shouted, diving towards the dark knight as two mirror images appeared beside him. Dragonheart swore, jumping to the side as he slashed at one of the three flickering images. He swore again as his spear passed harmlessly through the false ninja. Edge and his other 'twin' spun around, bringing two glittering katanas crashing into Dragonheart's armor. The dark knight snarled and jumped back, bringing his hand to his wounded arm. When he pulled it back, Edge paused for a moment. He'd been expecting blood - but what was on the hand he saw was a thick black sludge.
"What the hell are you," he asked, transfixed. Dragonheart smiled grimly.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Maybe I'll tell you once your corpse is powering my ship! Damnation's Lance," he shouted, pointing his spear at Edge. The ninja-king leaped to the side as a dark bolt passed through the place he'd been standing at. The wall behind him was blown away, a ragged hole all that remained of a solid foot of stone. Dragonheart's jaw dropped as the second image faded from existence. He'd never missed a standing target before!
"How did you dodge that?"
"Easy - the way you won't dodge this!" Edge lunged for the dark knight, stabbing with Masamune. Dragonheart easily sidestepped the attack, but missed the last-second flick of Edge's other wrist, that brought the blade of Murasame up to catch under hand guard of the dark knight's spear, sending the weapon rolling along the floor. Edge jumped back, and kicked it through the hole in the wall. He glanced over to where Rydia had been standing to make sure she hadn't been hurt in the blast. She nodded quickly, still focusing most of her attention on preparing a spell. Edge wasn't sure what she had planned, but he knew it had to be big if it was taking this long.
"Well, well," Edge said, smirking. "Looks like somebody lost their lance! Don't worry, I'll make sure your head joins it soon enough." Dragonheart rolled his eyes.
"Oh, just shut up. Holy!" Edge dropped, and rolled to the side as the blast of energy annihilated another chunk of the wall, silently thanking whatever gods were listening for the dark knight's miss. Tumbling to his feet, Edge spun around looking for his foe. He scowled as he realized that, somehow, he'd disappeared. Then he smiled grimly, remembering what his father had taught him about fighting foes you couldn't see - just hit everything.
"Blitz," he shouted, calling down thousands of bolts of lightning to blanket the area, only narrowly avoiding his own crouching form, and stopping just short of the caller on the other end of the room. Again, the dark knight's cry of pain filled the air, reaching the ninja above the crack of thunder his spell had created. The smell of burnt flesh mingled with the heavy smell of ozone as Dragonheart faded into sight, his concentration broken. The dark knight was on his knees, knocked off his feet by the blast that had enveloped him. Edge walked over to him.
"Not too tough without your dark matter, are you?" Dragonheart chuckled, and turned his head to look at the dark gem at the back of the room, still in its glass case.
"I guess you've bested me," he said, a bemused tone to his voice that Edge didn't catch.
"Yeah, I guess I have. Hope you've made your piece, asshole, because I'm about to send you back to whatever Hell spawned you." The ninja raised his sword for the final blow - and recoiled in shock and pain as Dragonheart turned and thrust upward, driving a dagger through Edge's light armor and into his leg, cutting a long path through powerful muscle. Edge staggered back and fell to his knees, dropping his katanas and pulling the dagger free, holding his free hand over the wound. Dragonheart leaped to his feet and ran towards the dark matter even as Rydia moved to get herself between the dark knight and his goal. Edge gritted his teeth against the pain, instinctively switching the dagger to a throwing position, and hurling it at Dragonheart's back. The blade struck perfectly, driving the point deep into Dragonheart's back as he cried out, but kept moving. Edge could feel his life flowing out of him, but he didn't have time to bother with a potion. Steeling himself for the pain, he summoned a burst of flame to his hand, sealing the wound. The flow of blood stopped, he rose to his feet and started after the dark knight, each move raising a new burst of agony in his leg. Unfortunately, it meant he was slow enough that Dragonheart could easily outrun him.
Fortunately, Rydia finished her spell just as Dragonheart reached her.
"Meteo," she cried out, praying that Edge was far enough from the dark knight that the spell wouldn't hurt him too. A great flaming sphere crashed through the ceiling, striking the dark knight and driving him back as hundreds more followed, some finding their marks, but most simply turning the walls, roof, and floor into a treacherous pattern of ragged- edged holes and relatively solid stone. "Titan," she shouted as the spell ended, mentally sending her orders to the Lord of the Shaking Earth. She felt the weakened floor suddenly stop collapsing as the giant's mighty back began to support what was left of it. The immediate threat of the room collapsing averted, Rydia looked to see what was left of Dragonheart - to see him picking himself up and starting his run again.
"What the hell?" Meteo was the strongest black magic known - how could he still be moving!
"You don't have the power to defeat him on your own," an alien voice spoke into her mind. "You need my aid!" She knew that she was hearing the voice of the dark matter, the voice that had been subtly trying to make her use it for years.
But, unlike the dozens of times before, she knew she needed the help this time.
Turning, she knocked the glass case aside, and grabbed the black stone, gritting her teeth at the bitter cold. She felt her flesh freeze almost instantly as the stone pulled warmth and life from her body. With a prayer that she might live through this, she turned to face Dragonheart, whose charge had been halted when he saw her grab the dark matter. She felt her sense of self fade, mingling with the mind inside the stone. Before she was lost completely, though, the boiling rage inside of her broke loose. Her features contorted into a frightening mask as she thought of all the good people who'd died because of the dark knight's attack. For a fraction of a second, the warrior's dark helm shifted slightly to the image of Cecil's old helm, the face that had brought death to her village and family. But, as quickly as it had changed, it returned to normal. A face she hated far more than the one she had just seen.
"All right, you bastard," she snarled at him. "You want this power so badly - I'll ram it down your damned throat!" She instinctively tested the reserves of power that had been built up - the spell she wanted to use drew on so much energy that she wasn't sure she would have enough to use. But she was pleasantly surprised to find that the stone had just enough power to fuel another meteo, even if she did rip the power out faster than she should. The burning cold spread up her arm as she pointed her arm at Dragonheart and screamed:
"Meteo!" Again, the hail of flaming spheres that tore the rest of the walls down and destroyed the ceiling. She saw a flash of light, heard Dragonheart scream the word 'Exit' even over the deafening cacophony around her, but she couldn't stop the spell even if he had run - the power she had summoned couldn't be dispelled, only spent. She felt Titan flee just before he would have been annihilated by the hail of death, and silently thanked him for saving both their lives doing so. She saw Edge dive out the hole in the wall quickly, just before one of the death-orbs smashed through the place he had been standing. She felt the cold lump in her hand fade as the spell ended - the power had been ripped loose so quickly that the stone hadn't survived the strain. Somehow, she knew that the only thing left of the dark matter was her frozen hand and arm. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath as she supported herself with her good hand - and realized that she was sitting in a death trap.
Standing, she saw that the wall behind her had been ripped away, leaving her an obvious route to escape by. Praying that she didn't land on her frozen arm, she jumped away from the castle just as the floor collapsed, starting a chain reaction that only ended when the keep had completely collapsed. Rydia landed hard, screaming as she felt her arm snap beneath her weight. Edge limped over to her as quickly as he could as she rolled to a stop.
"Are you all right?"
"My arm's frozen and broken you ass," she snarled at him, "do you *think* I'm all right?"
"Well," he chuckled, "at least you're yelling at me. Means you should get better." Rydia didn't say anything to that, focusing instead on sending a plea for help to Asura, Queen of the Summoned Monsters, and a skilled healer. A flash of light heralded her arrival. She ran to Rydia's side, her eyes revealing a strange mix of anger and concern.
"What were you thinking, child? You should know better than to use something like that," Asura said worriedly as she placed a gentle hand on Rydia's arm, allowing some of her healing energy to flow between them. The caller felt warmth flow into her arm immediately, and her arm began to knit perfectly soon after.
"I'm sorry, Mother," she said, using the affectionate term she had taken to using during her years in the strange realm Asura ruled. "But it seemed the best way to make sure that he was defeated." Edge kept his mouth shut and stayed out of the way, looking at the damage done to the castle rather than drawing Asura's attention while she was helping Rydia.
"That sort of thought's dangerous, and you know it. The end only rarely justifies the means, and these were very dangerous means. I would think that Odin had taught you that much, once he found out the dark matter was here." Rydia nodded as she tested her arm.
"If he'd gotten it, though, then we'd all still be dead - and he'd have the power he needed to take over the world, from what I've seen. This way, there's no more dark matter here for him to use."
"Child, when was the last time I let excuses make up for something like this?" Rydia shrugged as she stood.
"I am an adult, by human standards if nothing else. Besides, the risks were worth it - even if I'd died driving him off, I'd have saved something worth my life," Rydia said quietly, nodding towards Edge. Asura frowned, but shook her head and kissed Rydia on the cheek.
"Just think about how he'll feel the next time you try getting yourself killed," she whispered to Rydia. "King Geraldine," she said to him, "I believe your leg is injured." Edge nodded and started walking towards her, but she reached him almost instantly. She placed a hand on his thigh, over the cut, and scowled at him when she felt the burned skin.
"Crude cauterization, Edge - you should be more careful about your little 'quick fixes.' You're lucky you didn't get into a fight after this - you'd probably have burned yourself to ashes healing your injuries."
"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "But you should see the other guy." Asura rolled her eyes, and pressed on the injury, causing the ninja to wince as it began to heal.
"Now," she said, when his leg had healed. "I suggest the two of you go check on the survivors. I must consult with my husband and Bahamut - the events of today are disturbing, to say the least." With that, she disappeared. Edge and Rydia looked at what was left of the castle. The keep was demolished, and most of the other buildings were damaged. There were scorch marks on the walls from Bahamut's breath, and the nearly incinerated remains of skeletons and zombies were mingled with the stones.
"Well," Edge said with a shrug. "We've rebuilt it from worse." Just then, almost as if on cue, the outer walls collapsed..
***
"Damn it," Dragonheart snarled as the last of his wounds healed. Caignazzo and Scarmiglione were both in their own chambers, healing from the wounds they had suffered during Bahamut's part of the attack. A caller - there had to be a caller present. One who could use black magic at that. Honestly, though, it wasn't the loss of the dark matter here that bothered Dragonheart the most. It wasn't even the fact that he had lost it when it had been used against him - without garnering a new convert to the cause. No, not even the fact that his plan had been set back by weeks, maybe even months, was what really bothered him.
What bothered him the most was the fact that now he had to return and ask the Lord and Lady for another piece of dark matter.
With a deep sigh, he made the order to depart. Hopefully they'd see the importance of this particular mission..
~~~===~~~
End of Legacy of Kain Chapter 9: War on the Horizon
~~~===~~~
Chapter Nine: War on the Horizon
~~~===~~~
Cecil, Kain, Rosa, all three were looking at me as though weighing the truth of my words. Kain was the first to accept, sitting down and looking at me expectantly. Rosa followed next, having already seen the power that Dragonheart wielded, and knowing that it wasn't entirely his own. Cecil, while he was already 'sitting,' seemed to be the slowest to accept that I needed to speak with them quickly. How can I blame him? The only time he had known me before was in battle.
"Good. The first thing you have to know is that I'm not the only one still alive - Dragonheart resurrected all four of us using the dark matter that I destroyed today. He also increased the power of the other three, and I honestly don't know how strong they really are. Valvalis would have killed me, or worse, while I was trying to rescue Rosa. Fortunately, Callista interfered."
"Should she be here," Kain asked.
"I don't think that's necessary. There's some bad blood between the two of us, and it probably wouldn't do any good to tell her this anyways - she'd forget it by morning.
"At any rate, with the four of us alive again, that makes for some very powerful servants on his side. Our best hope is that, with the drain on his powers from losing the dark matter, they've deserted him. Scarmiglione's up to something, though - he's not much for intricate plans, but he's a patient little bastard. He'll probably still be working with Dragonheart."
"We can take him," Kain said confidently. "That much I'm sure of. What's this about dark matter, though?"
"As I told you before, it enhances the power of certain entities - at a great cost to mortal beings, but it's more than worth it. Master Zemus had a piece, and you saw what he was capable of doing with it. Combining black and white magic for incredibly destructive effects, creating the four of us in the first place, resurrecting us, building the Giant of Babil - all of that would have been impossible without the dark matter. Dragonheart was using it to channel mystical energy from a remote source - and to invoke the Rending of the Mind. With it, he was capable of using the most destructive spells known to creation without tiring, and ripping the life and knowledge out of a person. That, Lady Rosa, is how he stole your magic, am I right?" Rosa nodded silently, before explaining further.
"Right now, my apprentices know more magic than I do. I'll have to work with Porom to relearn my spells, unless you know a faster way."
"Only by killing Dragonheart," I replied. "And, while tempting, I'm not sure it's possible for us to do, even with his reduced power. He made references to serving the Lord and Lady of Darkness. I know little about them, only that they aren't of this world. What I do know is from the times when Zemus referred to them, generally in a tone that said he feared them greatly. I found him, when I was much younger, destroying his notes on temporal magic. When I asked him why, he said that the entire project had been a grave mistake, that if the Lord and Lady ever found his notes, the entire lunarian race could be annihilated in the backlash. That was when he decided to train the four of us as his assassins, and the first time I rebelled against him. A long story that isn't particularly important at the moment.
"The fact is that I think the Lord and Lady have enough power to prevent Dragonheart's death if they want. And if they're really that evil, then they would almost certainly be willing to do so in order to keep Rosa's magic from being released again." Rosa nodded quietly, before speaking up.
"There's another issue to consider about Dragonheart and his masters."
"What might that be," I asked, looking at her.
"The Lady is his mother. I learned that much during my imprisonment. Several weeks of listening to his gloating taught me quite a bit about him that I didn't want to know."
"I'm sorry, Love," Cecil said quietly. "I should have come after you when he kidnapped you."
"You wouldn't have known where to go. But let's listen to the rest of what Rubicant has to say."
"Thank you, Lady Rosa," I said, glad to have some semblance of control over the conversation again. "The most important issue is that, without his dark matter, Dragonheart doesn't have his direct link to his Lord and Lady. Which means he'll be desperate to get more." The blood drained from the faces of the three warriors as they realized what that meant.
"Good lord - Eblan." I nodded quietly, frowning.
"It makes the most sense. They have the dark matter that Master Zemus used, and the only warrior who might be able to resist them there is Prince Geraldine."
"Not by the time they get there," Cecil said, leaning forward - just before his ribs shifted, dragging a ragged hiss of pain from the paladin.
"Even if you could get there in time, you wouldn't be in any condition to fight. Neither would Rosa."
"Then you and Kain can go. Having the Fiend of Fire on their sides should turn the tide of the battle." Kain nodded, staying quiet as he weighed his own strategies. I laughed bitterly.
"You're right, the Fiend of Fire probably would turn the tide of battle. But me, I would be little change. My powers were spent to destroy the dark matter than Dragonheart had here. I'm as mortal as any of you, now. Though, I confess, I have the benefit of my training. The last thing Dragonheart would expect is a rune knight - but the other fiends are well aware of my powers. I used them to become the strongest of us, after all."
"You're a rune knight? But I thought the order was extinct?"
"When I defied Zemus, I took a mortal guise for some time. That was when I found my honor, so to speak. But like I said - that's not the important part. The fact is that there's only one person who has the means to reach Eblan before Dragonheart does. Your caller friend - she lives near here, doesn't she?" Kain nodded.
"The Village of Mist. I'll go tell her what happened - hopefully she won't try to kill me this time." Cecil shook his head stubbornly.
"No - I'm not putting Rydia in that madman's path."
"Fine," I said. "Then you condemn Eblan - and likely the rest of the world - to his domination, once he finds the dark matter. Tell me, what's better? She was strong enough to destroy me - hell, to destroy Valvalis and the others - with a little help. And I have no doubt she became stronger after that. She's the best hope you have of making sure that Prince Geraldine wins this battle." Cecil frowned, but Rosa nodded to Kain, giving him her permission. With that, Kain left, leaping out the window of the room towards the chocobo forest, no doubt intending to cross the mountains later on. I watched him fly through the air with the grace of an eagle, smiling slightly as he faded in the distance. Then I turned to the others.
"I had best be ready for his return. If I'm right, he'll have a journey of his own to embark on when he gets back - I suspect he'll need help. If I might ask, King Cecil, do you have a sword that I could borrow? It has been quite some time since I've needed a weapon, but I suspect that I'll need full equipment rather soon." Cecil nodded.
"Go find Cid - tell him that you have my permission to take the Genji raiment, and the Defender sword." I bowed politely before turning to find Cid. I certainly did have a lot of re-training to do - I just hoped that I wasn't completely out of practice..
~~~===~~~
Fortunately, Mist wasn't far away - a day's ride by chocobo, if you pushed the bird through the night as well. Even more fortunately, Rydia was willing to listen to me when I got there.
"You need me to go to Eblan?" I had just finished explaining the situation to her, at least as well as I understood it. The duels, how Rubicant had rescued us, and what he had said afterwards.
"As quickly as possible. The man who kidnapped Rosa is probably after the dark matter Edge stole from Zeromus."
"Damn it - I knew we should have left that crap on the moon." I shrugged.
"He wanted a trophy, seemed harmless enough at the time. The fact is that we need to stop him. How quickly can you get there?"
"On Bahamut's back? A lot faster than any airship I know of. Should be fast enough to beat this Lord Dragonheart bastard, unless he's there already." Rydia spoke a few words, and Bahamut flew into the clearing outside the village from his new home in the mountains. The two of us ran up to the great dragon, who lowered his head to speak to us.
"I take it you have need of my services, young caller?"
"Yeah - Kain and I need to get the Eblan by the fastest means possible, teach some bastard who thinks he can push the world around a lesson." Bahamut looked at me, his great serpent's eyes boring into my soul. I had never felt even half as comfortable around him as my comrades had. Strange, really, since I was supposed to be one of his devotees. But I had met Bahamut after my dishonor - after Zot. Ironically, he seemed to understand how I felt, even without condemning me.
"The Dragon Knight has another duty to perform, I believe." I nodded obediently.
"Yes, Lord Bahamut - I take it I am to keep my word to Lady Reis before I help with this?"
"Precisely. Climb on my back, little one - your friend should be on his way once we leave." Rydia looked at me curiously, and I shook my head.
"Remember, I promised to meet Lady Reis on Mount Ordeals once the duel was over. I suppose I have delayed long enough." Rydia climbed up, straddling the back of the King of Dragons, nestled between two great spines that would serve to keep her from falling off. Bahamut chuckled as he spread his wings, and I suspected that I knew what amused him - it had been long since he had flown into battle with a rider. And this rider was only planning on using him to reach the battle, not using him as a mount. They flew up into the sky, before a flash of light heralded their departure into the shadowy realm that ancient texts spoke of as the Realm Between, used by dragons to cover incredible distances in emergencies like this one.
With a silent prayer that they reach their destination in time, I turned and started the journey back to Baron. Once I let everybody know where I was going, I would take the Serpent Road back to Mysidia, and be on my way to meet with destiny.
~~~===~~~
A matter of minutes later, Rydia and Bahamut had reached Eblan. The great dragon dropped down into the courtyard of the castle, as Edge ran out to meet them.
"Rydia! What are you doing here?" Rydia shook her head and sighed mentally. The last time they'd been together, they'd gotten into another fight. Granted, that wasn't unusual, but coming to meet him in Eblan afterwards was. After all, it was his turn to come and apologize.
"There's no time for your nonsense, King Geraldine," Bahamut rumbled. "You must have your warriors make ready for battle against the Fiends of the Elements, and a warrior who could annihilate your army with hardly a thought."
"What?!? You've got to be kidding me - the Fiends are dead, and there's nothing alive that could do that." Rydia jumped down from Bahamut's back, loosening her whip from its place at her hip.
"Forget the bravado, Edge, he's serious. The Fiends are back, though Rubicant doesn't seem to be working with them. And the warrior he's talking about is a dark knight who kicked Cecil and Kain's collective asses. And he's the guy who kidnapped Rosa a few months back." Edge growled, and pulled a small glass globe from his belt.
"Good - I've been wanting a chance to discuss a few things with that bastard. Thanks for the warning, Ryd - I'll meet you in Mist when this is all over."
"Like Hell you will! Edward Guillaume Geraldine, if you think I'm just going to warn you and leave, you've got another think coming!" Edge winced as Rydia shouted his full name - dammit, there was a *reason* he didn't use it if he could avoid it!
"Look, Ryd, we'll have it under control. The Fiends aren't anything to worry about, not with our magic, and the dark knight'll have to deal with a hundred fully trained ninjas, to say nothing of me," he said, pulling out Masamune for a quick flourish with the two lunarian-forged blades. Rydia snorted, while Bahamut simply raised an eyebrow.
"Like I said," she explained quickly, "this guy kicked Cecil's ass in a one- on-one fight, almost killed him. Dropped Kain too, before Rubicant slowed him down a bit. If you think I'm going to hide back at home while you get your face rearranged and he steals the power to take over the world, you're wrong. Though he might be able to fix up your looks a little if he beat away at you long enough. I'm staying. Bahamut, I might need some help later on - would you mind waiting in the Realm Between? It's not much faster than waiting for you to get back from Mist, but.."
"But this abomination needs to be dealt with, and if you do need my help there may not be enough time to wait. Understood." Bahamut lowered his head to the ground in a bow, and disappeared from the castle courtyard. Edge looked at Rydia, to continue the argument, but recognized the glint in her eye that said there was no way she was leaving willingly. And he didn't have the resources to send her back if an attack was coming. He threw the glass globe to the ground, and an ear-splitting din filled the air.
"Fine, Rydia," he shouted over the noise of the alarm, drawing Murasame. "But you're staying at the back of the fight." Rydia nodded, and ran towards the room where the dark matter would be, working her way through the crowds of warriors running into the courtyard of the castle. Just as she got inside, a great shadow fell over Castle Eblana.
Lord Dragonheart had arrived..
***
On the great airship, Lord Dragonheart looked at his troops. Caignazzo and Scarmiglione would both lead a number of the skeletal warriors that powered the ship. In the chaos, Dragonheart would make his way to the dark matter. Then, he would make an example of the ninja homeland. If they thought Rubicant's attack had been devastating - they would remember this day as the apocalypse.
"Are the two of you ready?" The two fiends nodded.
"Then Caignazzo, move yourself and your troops to the teleportation stone." The gargantuan turtle and his skeletal followers trundled onto the giant red stone, and disappeared in a flash of light. Scarmiglione followed suit as his brother materialized in the courtyard of Castle Eblan..
***
When Dragonheart materialized, he was in the midst of a raging battle. It seemed that somebody had been able to warn the ninja-king that he was coming. No matter - his forces were holding their own quite well. Despite the gouts of flame that were incinerating his skeletons, Scarmiglione was barely scorched by the attacks of the novices who were fighting him. And as soon as one of Eblan's defenders fell, his body rose to fight against his comrades, animated by the very presence of the Fiend of Earth. Caignazzo was doing better still - the only ninja magic that could cause him serious harm was a technique so advanced that only a handful of the warriors could perform it. Dragonheart smiled grimly. This would be a fine day indeed.
The dark knight spun around, thrusting his spear through a young warrior who had tried to come up behind him. Pulling his spear close, he planted his foot in the lightly armored stomach, and pulled his spear free before starting for the keep, leaving the disemboweled ninja to rise and join the undead servants that were beginning to outnumber the living defenders of the castle.
As Dragonheart walked into the castle, a flash of light heralded the changing of the battle's tide. As the last of the ninjas fell, Bahamut returned from the Realm Between. The two Fiends cried out in terror as the King of Dragons opened his mouth, and the flame began to build..
***
Deep inside the castle, the stone walls shook with the burst of fiery death from the great dragon's mouth. Edge closed his eyes as he realized what it meant - that his men had been slaughtered, whether by the troops this Dragonheart or by the backlash of Bahamut's vengeance. At least they would rest in peace - there was no way that anything of this world could have survived the hellish inferno that had been unleashed. Hell, the only reason Rosa and Rydia had survived long enough to convince Bahamut to help them was because of Rosa's protective magic. He felt Rydia's arm around his shoulders.
"You know he wouldn't have attacked unless there was no way they could win without his help." Edge nodded and prepared for the battle that would likely follow.
"I know. At least I learned from our mistakes against Rubicant - had the civilians and half the army evacuate." Rydia nodded and cracked her whip experimentally, taking quick stock of how much of her mystical strength remained. If anybody would be coming yet, it would be Dragonheart - and she wanted to be sure she was at full strength when they fought him.
"You did everything you could, Edge. Now, what remains is to make sure it wasn't in vain." She turned to look at the glass case holding the dark jewel. Such a simple gem - almost like a black pearl - but she could sense the power it held. Power enough to easily destroy the dark knight who was approaching - reduce him to ashes, then go out there and finally destroy whatever was left of the two Fiends. If they'd survived the holocaust of Bahamut's wrath, then she could make them wish they hadn't..
The young caller tore her eyes away from the gem with a shudder. Every time she looked at it, she felt a sudden urge to take it, tap into that power. She'd spoken with King Odin about those feelings, and he said that it had something to do with her mastery of black magic. All she knew was that she didn't like the way it made her think. She'd overcome that decades ago, hadn't felt like that since her mother had been killed. The thought that she could still go berserk like that, still enter the cold rage that was her family's curse, bothered her.
The sound of an armored figure walking towards the room snapped Rydia out of her thoughts. There wasn't time to worry about the dark matter, just enough time to prepare for Dragonheart to walk in here and try to take it. The two heroes stepped back from the door just as it burst open, revealing the spear-wielding figure in midnight blue armor.
"Turn over the dark matter, and I'll let you live," he said darkly. "Resist, and you'll join your subjects in death."
"Funny," Edge said, his twin blades glittering in the torchlight. "I was about to make you a similar offer." The two warriors took up attack stances. "Image," Edge shouted, diving towards the dark knight as two mirror images appeared beside him. Dragonheart swore, jumping to the side as he slashed at one of the three flickering images. He swore again as his spear passed harmlessly through the false ninja. Edge and his other 'twin' spun around, bringing two glittering katanas crashing into Dragonheart's armor. The dark knight snarled and jumped back, bringing his hand to his wounded arm. When he pulled it back, Edge paused for a moment. He'd been expecting blood - but what was on the hand he saw was a thick black sludge.
"What the hell are you," he asked, transfixed. Dragonheart smiled grimly.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Maybe I'll tell you once your corpse is powering my ship! Damnation's Lance," he shouted, pointing his spear at Edge. The ninja-king leaped to the side as a dark bolt passed through the place he'd been standing at. The wall behind him was blown away, a ragged hole all that remained of a solid foot of stone. Dragonheart's jaw dropped as the second image faded from existence. He'd never missed a standing target before!
"How did you dodge that?"
"Easy - the way you won't dodge this!" Edge lunged for the dark knight, stabbing with Masamune. Dragonheart easily sidestepped the attack, but missed the last-second flick of Edge's other wrist, that brought the blade of Murasame up to catch under hand guard of the dark knight's spear, sending the weapon rolling along the floor. Edge jumped back, and kicked it through the hole in the wall. He glanced over to where Rydia had been standing to make sure she hadn't been hurt in the blast. She nodded quickly, still focusing most of her attention on preparing a spell. Edge wasn't sure what she had planned, but he knew it had to be big if it was taking this long.
"Well, well," Edge said, smirking. "Looks like somebody lost their lance! Don't worry, I'll make sure your head joins it soon enough." Dragonheart rolled his eyes.
"Oh, just shut up. Holy!" Edge dropped, and rolled to the side as the blast of energy annihilated another chunk of the wall, silently thanking whatever gods were listening for the dark knight's miss. Tumbling to his feet, Edge spun around looking for his foe. He scowled as he realized that, somehow, he'd disappeared. Then he smiled grimly, remembering what his father had taught him about fighting foes you couldn't see - just hit everything.
"Blitz," he shouted, calling down thousands of bolts of lightning to blanket the area, only narrowly avoiding his own crouching form, and stopping just short of the caller on the other end of the room. Again, the dark knight's cry of pain filled the air, reaching the ninja above the crack of thunder his spell had created. The smell of burnt flesh mingled with the heavy smell of ozone as Dragonheart faded into sight, his concentration broken. The dark knight was on his knees, knocked off his feet by the blast that had enveloped him. Edge walked over to him.
"Not too tough without your dark matter, are you?" Dragonheart chuckled, and turned his head to look at the dark gem at the back of the room, still in its glass case.
"I guess you've bested me," he said, a bemused tone to his voice that Edge didn't catch.
"Yeah, I guess I have. Hope you've made your piece, asshole, because I'm about to send you back to whatever Hell spawned you." The ninja raised his sword for the final blow - and recoiled in shock and pain as Dragonheart turned and thrust upward, driving a dagger through Edge's light armor and into his leg, cutting a long path through powerful muscle. Edge staggered back and fell to his knees, dropping his katanas and pulling the dagger free, holding his free hand over the wound. Dragonheart leaped to his feet and ran towards the dark matter even as Rydia moved to get herself between the dark knight and his goal. Edge gritted his teeth against the pain, instinctively switching the dagger to a throwing position, and hurling it at Dragonheart's back. The blade struck perfectly, driving the point deep into Dragonheart's back as he cried out, but kept moving. Edge could feel his life flowing out of him, but he didn't have time to bother with a potion. Steeling himself for the pain, he summoned a burst of flame to his hand, sealing the wound. The flow of blood stopped, he rose to his feet and started after the dark knight, each move raising a new burst of agony in his leg. Unfortunately, it meant he was slow enough that Dragonheart could easily outrun him.
Fortunately, Rydia finished her spell just as Dragonheart reached her.
"Meteo," she cried out, praying that Edge was far enough from the dark knight that the spell wouldn't hurt him too. A great flaming sphere crashed through the ceiling, striking the dark knight and driving him back as hundreds more followed, some finding their marks, but most simply turning the walls, roof, and floor into a treacherous pattern of ragged- edged holes and relatively solid stone. "Titan," she shouted as the spell ended, mentally sending her orders to the Lord of the Shaking Earth. She felt the weakened floor suddenly stop collapsing as the giant's mighty back began to support what was left of it. The immediate threat of the room collapsing averted, Rydia looked to see what was left of Dragonheart - to see him picking himself up and starting his run again.
"What the hell?" Meteo was the strongest black magic known - how could he still be moving!
"You don't have the power to defeat him on your own," an alien voice spoke into her mind. "You need my aid!" She knew that she was hearing the voice of the dark matter, the voice that had been subtly trying to make her use it for years.
But, unlike the dozens of times before, she knew she needed the help this time.
Turning, she knocked the glass case aside, and grabbed the black stone, gritting her teeth at the bitter cold. She felt her flesh freeze almost instantly as the stone pulled warmth and life from her body. With a prayer that she might live through this, she turned to face Dragonheart, whose charge had been halted when he saw her grab the dark matter. She felt her sense of self fade, mingling with the mind inside the stone. Before she was lost completely, though, the boiling rage inside of her broke loose. Her features contorted into a frightening mask as she thought of all the good people who'd died because of the dark knight's attack. For a fraction of a second, the warrior's dark helm shifted slightly to the image of Cecil's old helm, the face that had brought death to her village and family. But, as quickly as it had changed, it returned to normal. A face she hated far more than the one she had just seen.
"All right, you bastard," she snarled at him. "You want this power so badly - I'll ram it down your damned throat!" She instinctively tested the reserves of power that had been built up - the spell she wanted to use drew on so much energy that she wasn't sure she would have enough to use. But she was pleasantly surprised to find that the stone had just enough power to fuel another meteo, even if she did rip the power out faster than she should. The burning cold spread up her arm as she pointed her arm at Dragonheart and screamed:
"Meteo!" Again, the hail of flaming spheres that tore the rest of the walls down and destroyed the ceiling. She saw a flash of light, heard Dragonheart scream the word 'Exit' even over the deafening cacophony around her, but she couldn't stop the spell even if he had run - the power she had summoned couldn't be dispelled, only spent. She felt Titan flee just before he would have been annihilated by the hail of death, and silently thanked him for saving both their lives doing so. She saw Edge dive out the hole in the wall quickly, just before one of the death-orbs smashed through the place he had been standing. She felt the cold lump in her hand fade as the spell ended - the power had been ripped loose so quickly that the stone hadn't survived the strain. Somehow, she knew that the only thing left of the dark matter was her frozen hand and arm. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath as she supported herself with her good hand - and realized that she was sitting in a death trap.
Standing, she saw that the wall behind her had been ripped away, leaving her an obvious route to escape by. Praying that she didn't land on her frozen arm, she jumped away from the castle just as the floor collapsed, starting a chain reaction that only ended when the keep had completely collapsed. Rydia landed hard, screaming as she felt her arm snap beneath her weight. Edge limped over to her as quickly as he could as she rolled to a stop.
"Are you all right?"
"My arm's frozen and broken you ass," she snarled at him, "do you *think* I'm all right?"
"Well," he chuckled, "at least you're yelling at me. Means you should get better." Rydia didn't say anything to that, focusing instead on sending a plea for help to Asura, Queen of the Summoned Monsters, and a skilled healer. A flash of light heralded her arrival. She ran to Rydia's side, her eyes revealing a strange mix of anger and concern.
"What were you thinking, child? You should know better than to use something like that," Asura said worriedly as she placed a gentle hand on Rydia's arm, allowing some of her healing energy to flow between them. The caller felt warmth flow into her arm immediately, and her arm began to knit perfectly soon after.
"I'm sorry, Mother," she said, using the affectionate term she had taken to using during her years in the strange realm Asura ruled. "But it seemed the best way to make sure that he was defeated." Edge kept his mouth shut and stayed out of the way, looking at the damage done to the castle rather than drawing Asura's attention while she was helping Rydia.
"That sort of thought's dangerous, and you know it. The end only rarely justifies the means, and these were very dangerous means. I would think that Odin had taught you that much, once he found out the dark matter was here." Rydia nodded as she tested her arm.
"If he'd gotten it, though, then we'd all still be dead - and he'd have the power he needed to take over the world, from what I've seen. This way, there's no more dark matter here for him to use."
"Child, when was the last time I let excuses make up for something like this?" Rydia shrugged as she stood.
"I am an adult, by human standards if nothing else. Besides, the risks were worth it - even if I'd died driving him off, I'd have saved something worth my life," Rydia said quietly, nodding towards Edge. Asura frowned, but shook her head and kissed Rydia on the cheek.
"Just think about how he'll feel the next time you try getting yourself killed," she whispered to Rydia. "King Geraldine," she said to him, "I believe your leg is injured." Edge nodded and started walking towards her, but she reached him almost instantly. She placed a hand on his thigh, over the cut, and scowled at him when she felt the burned skin.
"Crude cauterization, Edge - you should be more careful about your little 'quick fixes.' You're lucky you didn't get into a fight after this - you'd probably have burned yourself to ashes healing your injuries."
"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "But you should see the other guy." Asura rolled her eyes, and pressed on the injury, causing the ninja to wince as it began to heal.
"Now," she said, when his leg had healed. "I suggest the two of you go check on the survivors. I must consult with my husband and Bahamut - the events of today are disturbing, to say the least." With that, she disappeared. Edge and Rydia looked at what was left of the castle. The keep was demolished, and most of the other buildings were damaged. There were scorch marks on the walls from Bahamut's breath, and the nearly incinerated remains of skeletons and zombies were mingled with the stones.
"Well," Edge said with a shrug. "We've rebuilt it from worse." Just then, almost as if on cue, the outer walls collapsed..
***
"Damn it," Dragonheart snarled as the last of his wounds healed. Caignazzo and Scarmiglione were both in their own chambers, healing from the wounds they had suffered during Bahamut's part of the attack. A caller - there had to be a caller present. One who could use black magic at that. Honestly, though, it wasn't the loss of the dark matter here that bothered Dragonheart the most. It wasn't even the fact that he had lost it when it had been used against him - without garnering a new convert to the cause. No, not even the fact that his plan had been set back by weeks, maybe even months, was what really bothered him.
What bothered him the most was the fact that now he had to return and ask the Lord and Lady for another piece of dark matter.
With a deep sigh, he made the order to depart. Hopefully they'd see the importance of this particular mission..
~~~===~~~
End of Legacy of Kain Chapter 9: War on the Horizon
~~~===~~~