No, I STILL do not own.
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I walked into the courtyard with the five orbs in my possession. The five colored pillars, which corresponded to the orbs, began to shine brightly, and suddenly the spell-circle protecting Walter's door faded and vanished. I glided up the stairs and at last entered the Pagoda of the Misty Moon, for the first time since I had been forced to leave.
The first room stank of pain and death. I reeled back a step, momentarily overwhelmed. I looked around, seeking to find the source of the stench, but I saw nothing. There was no blood on the white marble, no nicks or cracks in the wood barrister. Cautiously, I inhaled again. I was able, now, to distinguish three scents; a mortal, a vampire and… something in between. Leon, Walter, and…the prize, I decided, strangely sorrowful.
A few rooms further in I was still thinking of how the hunter had met his death. Almost as if summoned by my thoughts, Leon appeared, blue tinged. He smiled at me, and I stopped. For a moment, I truly thought this was Leon, turned perhaps by Walter, but then he moved, and my better judgement returned. This was not the hunter, merely the doppelganger that I had fought in the sewers. The battle was even easier then before, and this time the creature had nowhere to run.
The other monsters I fought, while the hardest in the castle, were not a match for me. Finally I climbed the stair to the death-head door that lead to Walter's throne room. It was the only room in the castle that I had not searched, and therefor the only place he could be. I waited a long moment, wrestling with my fears, before I finally reached out and opened the door.
"What did you do to the hunter?" I asked as I entered. Walter sat in his throne, looking out the window. He turned as I spoke.
"He didn't kill you?" he sneered angrily. I didn't answer, and Walter shrugged slightly. "He wasn't pleased when I returned his beloved to him, so I killed him."
I had already known that. I wanted to know how Leon had died. Walter wasn't going to tell me, though. Still, I was unexpectedly angry, angry that Walter should kill such a man while hiding behind his Ebony Stone. I wondered if that stone would save him from me. "Damn you, Walter! Your life has reached its end!" I howled in hatred, launching myself at him.
As my first volley arched toward Walter I saw fear in his eyes. I knew in the moment before my swords sliced into him that I would be successful. The blades bit into his white skin, and blood splashed onto the floor. The battle was won at that moment, though I still had to fight it.
The fight was far less difficult then I had expected. Walter was out of practice, used to hiding behind the power of his Ebony Stone. My swords pierced him all at once, twisting him on five steel spikes. He screamed, then began to laugh.
"You may have defeated me now, but my soul is eternal. I shall regenerate, and come for you, Joachim!" Walter gasped out in a kind of manic joy. He faded into mist while I watched, helpless to stop him. The mist was drawn upward, and suddenly a black hole appeared in the roof. The mist drifted toward it, seeming to …fight, to pull away. A loud mental screeching began, and continued until the mist was pulled into the hole.
A rather cold laughter began then, and a man I did not know came through a window, carried by a bony hand. He was pale, with long dark hair and sickly frame. "Good, good… I knew you could do it." He stopped laughing and looked at me, confusion suddenly showing on his face. "You are not Leon. Where is he?"
"Dead, by Walter's hand. I have avenged him." Inadvertently, maybe, but I still had. "Now, who are you, and what are you doing in… MY castle?" Ah, but it was sweet saying that…
"It is mine. I am owner of the Crimson Stone. I… I am your master, Mathias Cronqvist!"
I snarled. Another alchemy orb, and a fool who would master me! "You are master of no one, Mathias! I shall defeat you, as I defeated Walter!"
Mathias' pale eyes narrowed. "The Crimson Stone gives me power over Death. If you do not bow to me, then Death shall feast upon your soul!"
I laughed at him. "I have no soul. Too weak to face me yourself, you send a proxy to fight for you! I do not fear Death. Let it come!" Brave words. I didn't care. If I lost to Death, it did not matter. Better that then to live under another.
Death began to manifest in the throne room. Mathias was laughing again. "If you beat it, I shall leave you in peace," he laughed. The world faded out, and I found myself in a nether realm, standing on a spell-disk. Death circled just beyond the disk. I sighed, slumped for just a moment, then straightened and launched myself into battle.
I was tested to the limits of my ability. Death's scythe chilled my bones, and his attacked threatened to melt my skin away. He called self-destructive minions that exploded in my face. And even worse, my attacks seemed not to touch him at all. Despite my brave words, I doubted my ability to beat Death.
I called my swords to surround me, to pull power from the air and give it to me. Once more using my own body as a focus, I collected the power and shaped it, sending the bolt at the bony specter. At long last, he showed pain, running from my blow. I re-directed my attack, hitting him again before I ran out of power.
Death re-doubled his attacks, calling fire from the skies and sending me running. Even running, I countered, and this time my swords obviously bit into Death. The specter screamed and sent his scythe spinning after me. I back-flipped over it and ran closer to Death. His attacks seemed hampered when I was close. It still wasn't easy, but at last he faded. The throne room returned and I knelt on the floor, panting.
I had beaten Death. I…had beaten Death! I had won. I was my own master. I stood up and stumbled to the door, out to the balcony. I looked out, over the castle. It was mine now, all of it. The moon shown on my face, caressed my hair, and I felt a new strength fill me. I felt a weight on my chest, and I looked down. A black orb hung from a pendant around my neck. I took the stone and held it up. The moonlight filled it with a smoky luminescence.
"The Ebony Stone…" I murmured. I didn't know how it had come to me, or from where it had come. It was enough, for now, that it was here. It was mine. I was master of the castle and beloved by the night.
I turned away from the balcony, returning to the throne. I felt like a play-acting child as I sat on the throne. I settled into it, sitting like a king. A smile began to play along my lips, and I shifted, sitting negligently. This was mine, and I would sit however I wanted. A lock of white hair fell into my face, and I brushed it away. "Ha," I chuckled. "Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" My laughter filled the empty room, echoing off the stone walls.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
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Well, that's it for this fic. To all my reviewers, thanks! Feel free to leave a last review. ...please?
Kitala: I do like your name. And yes, having to fight a double would be -way- messed up. But if you play as Joay, look to the lower right (Better yet, have someone ELSE look) while fighting 'yourself'. The name IS dopleganger. (The 'dopleganger' is now 'Fake Belmont'. Go figure.)
Daenis TooShy: I can't end the fic without mentioning all your great reviews. After all, you and Kitala are the only long time repeates I've had!
Once more, thanks to EVERYONE. Ja ne!
