Disclaimer: I don't own Drakengard. Nor anything related. I do however own all original characters such as 'D' in chapter two. All characters that are made by me serve to the plot, or as ways to the story. They aren't Mary Sue.
Warnings: Spoilers for Ending one, and how they left it off in a continuation possibility. So I naturally took the torch and ran with it ...
Caim screamed in rage and sorrow as the ball of spiritual light that was Angelus floated higher, slowly disappearing. The final seal was finally safe. But at what cost? Ciam had lost everything. Everything! His sister, parents. A friend for half his life. His home, his people. Even his Pact. Dead, all dead save for him.
Verdelete stayed back wisely. Letting Caim mourn the loss of everything. But Caim didn't have long as the old man gasped, his head shooting up and to the east; where Leonard, Seere and Arioch had been holding off the red eyed army of possed humans and other creatures of the army for the Watchers and Manah.
"What is it old man." Caim snapped out, the twenty-ish year old once again showing disrespect toward his elder. But Verdelet didn't register the comment as he all but ran off. Leaving Caim alone and the young man narrowed his eyes and was about to follow when a cold blast of air brushed past him.
Wraiths. How could he not expect that!? This place was crawling with them! But due to the breaking of his bond with Angelus, he had lost the ability to see these spectors. His breath caught at the thought. Even though he remembered Angelus's snapping, biting words on how to deal with wraiths; Slow movements, shallow breaths. They could still attack him if he was moving, and they bumped into him they would know he was alive and kill him.
Caim was a sitting duck, unable to advance unable to retreat.
"So finally the annoying interlopers are dead... or soon to be!" A deep voice snarled out, echoed by a lilting tone of a child. Caim snapped his eyes to the right but was unable to turn his head to glare at Manah, sweat had started to bead down his brow. Hadn't Verdelet sealed the soul of whatever the Watcher had been away? As if reading his thoughts, the possesed Manah threw her, his, its? head back and laughed loudly. Deeply, the echoing it did shook Caim to his soul and he felt weaker than he had ever had before.
Was this ... was this what it felt like to fear for your life?
"Your weak priest with his asinine spells... he couldn't even keep a wraith like this away ... akthough he peskily enough was strong enough to seal the seal away. But that does not matter now-" Manah's voice broke as the pitch changed from deep baratone to her normal, almost identical to Seere's, voice. "I am loved, you were wrong! Mother loves me! They all love me! My lovely dragons, my lovely warriors! My lovely bond! They ALL LOVE ME!! Not Seere! Not you Caim! ME!" Manah screamed out, her pale blonde hair making the small child look as dead as half of her army. Pale skin glew red from the setting sun as her blood red dress didn't help that effect. She stalked around Caim, no fear of the wraiths as her bond kept her safe from them.
Caim could only glare at the small form before him, loathing rippling off his frame from this stupid girl-child's actions. Although in the back of his mind something told him the Dragon wouldn't have done this, that it purely wasn't the child's fault. But Caim didn't care. His upper lip curled into a silent snarl of disgust at Manah as she screamed and ranted on about being loved by everyone. Caim was now unable to speak least one of the Wraiths hear it or Manah get angered and sick the fould things onto him.
Manah prattled on, and her eyes flashed an insane red as glee came over her eyes. "You ... you will help us Caim!" Manah declared and a large power ring erupted around herself and Caim. Startled Caim let out a curse and tried to lift up his war axe; Foul Blade. But the heavy iron tool fell from his grasp the moment he took it from his hip. Laughing outright, Manah gloated. "See Caim! Even your weapons abandon you!" Manah spat out, pointing out as all but two weapons seemed to just fall off Caim or disappeare althougther. Startled, scared and unsure, Caim took a step back, but his armor covered body met an ice cold, rock hard shield.
"Now Caim, suffer. Like you have made me suffer! And when you are nothing but a gibbering bag of flesh the power will be mine!" Manah threw out, her voice thickening as the Watcher added its glee to the childs decleration.
Manah's sick laughter continued to fill Caim's ears as three magic circles, smaller than the one Manah had first summoned, formed inside the larger ring and three shadowed shapes drifted up. One, with red hair, burned clothing and a ragged look about him started with dead, cold eyes. A tattoo encircled Inuart's neck and the dead man's eyes, still blood red. Wounds from their last battle dripped with blood and gore as his eyes turned towards him they blazed bright with hellfire. "Caim." Inuart hissed, malice and hatred dripping from his tone.
"You aren't real." Caim spat out, pressing himself flat to the barrier preventing him from escaping as he dragged his cobalt blue eyes from Inuarts form and they landed on the second figure rising from the spell ring. Hair only a darker shade of dark brown, eyes the same blue, her clothing much like what she normaly wore; a long white dress with an armor wrapped around her waist that held two long bars that stretched down to protect her legs when she was standing still. But the picture was marred as her eyes too held that same dead look and from her brest blood flowed; staining the white dress a visious red.
"Furiae." Caim forced out, his voice breaking as his mind teetered dangerously on the edge. This couldn't be happening!? Where was Verdelete? Arioch, Leonard or Seere even? Anything, even that vain Faries prattling about how the human race should end was better than this!
"Caim." Was all Furiae said, taking a step forward, arms wide, eyes holding something still human in their depths as she invited him to come with him. Fall like she had. Caim shook his head, no, he loved his sister, wanted to see her again. But he did not want to fall from grace yet. "You aren't real." He snapped out, threw out. Wanted to bellow and scream out repeatedly. This wasn't happening. They weren't real. Where was Angelus? The red dragon, where was she? Had she abandoned him too? Had they all abandoned him?
Caim's body shook as if he was a leaf in the wind. No, no no no, this wasn't happening.
What happened next broke Caim completely. As he sat there on crumpled legs, trying to block out Manah and her laughing, gloating glee. Ignore Inuart's furious screams of rage while Furiae bade him to come. Join her and Inuart in the bowls of hell, the third shadowed figure formed. It was shrunken, and grossly disorted. Like a child had placed it together. But that was only because it wasn't the right size.
"Foul human!" The golden wyrm god screamed out in rage as fire streamed from her mouth but it never breached the seal surrounding it. Membrainless wings flapped as hind legs clawed at what held it back. A tail slammed repeatedly into the barrier as the golden wyrm continued to rant and rage, furious at the human. "You are damned! All damned! You and that tainted pact beast of yours!"
Manah giggled. "Oh silly dragon god. Caim's partner is dead."
Caim blinked. No. No Angelus wasn't dead. Was she?
Was she!?
Caim screamed, everything in him breaking as he grabbed his sword; the one his father had given to him when he was old enough to handle a weapon. With another war like decleration of rage, he swung. At anything that moved. The sword glew brightly as he hacked at the barrier, Manah squealed as the thing she had bonded with forced her through their link to duck and get out of Caim's range.
"YOU!" Caim bellowed as he swung the glowing sword. It cut right through the barrier witholding Furiae, she gave a silent scream as the sword slashed into her frame, the spirit crumpled to the floor, eyes holding pain. "ARE NOT!" Continued Caim as he hacked into the golden wyrm's barrier. She cursed out insults and screams of rage as the sword also tasted her spiritual flesh, slicing a wing clear off her body and with a howl the miniature beast fell to the ground; writhing in pain. "REAL!" Caim finished as he attacked Inuart, eyes blazing with insane light as the spirit was unable to dodge as the sword bit into his flesh. A gak like erk escaped Inuart and he fell over.
Caim backed up, taking in the carnage before him. "Stay away," he demanded, but vile laughter came again. "Lovely Caim, you unlocked the sword!-" Manah was cut off as Caim whirled, lunging at her and she screamed, dodging it barely. The shield was dropped in her haste and voidance of being killed and Caim over shot his target, landing into a crumpled heap outside of Manah's power circle. Eyes wide, face taut from fear among other things, Caim picked himself up, his eyes darting everywhere. He could see. Oh what he could see! Everything! Dead or alive!
And it did not help Caim. The wraiths were revealed to be what they had been before being enslaved or ensnared by Manah, spirits of innocents; Sons, mothers. Fathers, daughters. Even several babies. All souls stolen by Manah.
Caim's breath caught in his throat and he backed away, not caring as the eyes of those damned wraiths turned onto his form. Not caring as undead moans and groans escaped them and they started forth slowly. Shaking Caim whirled again, and bolted. This wasn't real this wasn't real this was not real!
Angelus! He screamed inside his mind, but nothing answered. He was alone. Had everyone abandoned him? Was everything dead? Caim didn't know, he couldn't understand anymore. The deaths of everything, the trauma of everything was finally setting in now that his pact partner was no longer there to tie him to reality. To keep the nightmares away and help him stay sane. Death was one thing, Caim had seen it. Tasted it, felt it and dreamed of it. But what he had been through, what was going on. This wasn't carnage, this was utter insanity.
Verdelete panted as he finally came onto the scene, and was shocked to death nearly, Arioch lay knocked out, Seere was no where to be seen and Leonard sat in a corner of the rubble, rocking back and forth as the Farie taunted him, teased and flaunted about how weak he had been. Above Arioch circled the twin elements Undine and Salamander, worry coming from them as Arioch was slow in responding to their headings in waking up.
"Wha, what happened?" The old one asked in a shaky voice, his robes shifting as he quickly knelt by Arioch, the fallen elf woman. Leonard was silent so it was Undine and Salamander that spoke up in unisision almost; "It was a trap." Undine started as The orb of water quickly was replaced in the shifting circle by her partner of fire; Salamander; "They were after Seere." Undine replaced Salamander as she neared Verdelete in the loop; fire and water mingled in the circle, a dance of life and death as the orbs shivered or quivered in places. "And Caim."
"Evil, they intend to unlock." Salamander added as Undine finished. "Rebirthing the world." Undine started and was finished by Salamander again; "The Blade. They seek the blade."
Verdelete's brows furrowed as he looked on with confusion. Blade? What blade, but before he could ask a scream resounded over the mental bond.
"Seere!" Leonard shouted out, the blind man scrambled to his feet, but before they could react, words came flowing next. From Seere, his bond beast; Golem and others. How could there be this many bonded? Wait, Verdelete shifted through the confusion and turned pale. This was why they had been unable to detect it. And it answered some of the questions on the old priests mind. How Manah had been able to throw off his spell, how she had become a giant sized child.
"Leonard, quickly! Go find Caim!" Verdelete snapped out, hands shaking from thoughts of death and destruction that he had heard promised to any living thing. The world was at stake!
Leonard was slow to move, and it wasn't untill the female Fairie started berating him did Leonard finally get up and move, using his bond's eyes to see where he was going. It was the only time her brash acting was of any use outside of taunting and arguing with the enemy to distract them.
The old priest shook with fright, his bond beast had almost died protecting him. That's why he was stuck in the desert, protecting that seal. The Beast had been a dragon. Much like Caim's had been. Only younger, more foolish. No respect towards anything. In one of the earlier battles for the seals, Verdelete had been attacked. And it had been the green to protect him. Sacrificing ever living beyond that moment.
And then the young dragonling had been frozen in time forever. As a statue.
A low moan came from Arioch.
"Arioch?" Verdelete asked, leaning closer to the elf. The elf snapped her eyes open, they were empty, devoid of anything. "My ... my children? Where are my children?" She asked, and then her eyes filled with hate, insanity, her face twisted and a scream of primal rage erupted from her. All thoughts of her family gone as she pulled herself up. "They stole my prey, my child! Seere!" Arioch hissed, her face pulled taut while the light reflected onto it made her look like some phantasam.
"Hurry hurry! Weak human, pathetic human!" The Fairie twittered out as she darted over Leonard's chosen path, spite and malace in her tone as the blind human followed dumbly, he was a lummox, and so loathe to spill blood of anyone that was so unselfish that it shouldn't be natural. Couldn't be natural. And the only reason she had bonded with the insolent thing was the possibility of him being the one.
The one that .... that thing that had ambushed them had claimed Caim was, that Seere was the key too. How? And why? Why did the Dragon have to get the good bond? Why did they all have to get the good ones? Hell, she wanted someone like Arioch, not Leonard the slow. Leonard the weak and pathetic.
And then she saw something that shut her up mid scentence in another scathing retort to Leonard.
"Leonard." The soft voice came. Surprisingly soft as it had been harpy cat calling and reckless teasing of a screeching bird before. Her eyes scanned the area and for once in the life of the Fairie, she was afraid.
Bodies littered the ground, dead, the dying. Those only unconsious, and .. others. Her eyes roamed over the carnage. Where was the building of the curch like place? Her head twisted and she felt Leonard tense behind her, grab her, scream out for mercy and if god had forsaken them all. And the fairie saw why Leonard had acted like this, his inner sight had given him a glimps into the future. And it wasn't pretty. The Fairie, normaly a ball of snapping, raging fire and insults cowered. She cowered in Leonard's hands as a roar so chilling, so death filled, so wrong tore into the air.
"May the gods have mercy on us all." Leonard whispered as the Fairie's eyes allowed him to see what it was. A golden dragon, half rotted, wings torn asunder, roared and took to the air. On it's back was someone taken for dead. And another person they assumed had been dead.
For what they had taken as the final fight wasn't.
The dead were rising....
Seere's eyes were filled with sorrow, but he did not cry. Even as Golem sleeping somewhere; out of his reach. Even with his back hurt from the sound whipping. Or the lack of food, or everything else. Deep down he knew he deserved it no matter what Golem, Verdelete or Leonard said. He was human, his mother had loved only him. Not Manah. And it was because of him that Manah had some how bonded with something bad. Something that wanted the world.
He sat in the corner of his dark cell, arms curled around his knees as he listened in on the mind speak traversing around where he was held. Others like him. Like Caim, were held here. Their Bond beasts imprissoned. None were bonded with a dragon like Caim had been though. But ...
Seere shuddered at a thought and closed his eyes, wishing he was brave like the little Hero. Wishing for one moment that he, and Manah, and Mother were happy again.
A single, lonely tear slipped out of his eye as he thought back; if only he hadn't made mother mad. Manah would still be with him.