The Darkest Hour

By Ultima66

Chapter 4

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A true friend does anything for their friends, they say. Sadly, not many people can make that ultimate sacrifice for the ones they care about, but luckily, some can.

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I quickly stepped out of the valley. I needed to make haste. Moving as fast as I could, I got out and headed to Euclid. I had to get to my own time, but it would be easier to get past the mountains just north of Totus first.

I made a stop in Euclid. It was really busy as always, and their was the usual assortment of kids racing in the streets, as well as the group of musicians that always performed in the city square. No one suspected me, though, since I basically looked like the generic traveler that often passes through these parts. I knew deep down, though, I was far more evil than any generic traveler, far more darkness inside than anyone here could imagine.

Of course I chose not to show it, as that would be really disastrous. I knew I could attack the town, but it was neither strategically sound nor needed. It was going to get dark soon, but I couldn't stay in Euclid, since Arche and Klarth would definitely be found soon, and there would be a lockdown on all the cities, so I had to get to my own time as fast as I could. I continued moving on south.

What is it that makes us do the things we do anyways? We may say our minds, perhaps our souls. Who can tell? It doesn't seem right that a soul has so much power, even more so a mind. People say that you obtain energy and use it to move, and your brain is just the control center for senses that cause a reaction in you making you have different choices and choosing from them. But what gives us our soul? Souls are so powerful. It's almost like on this earth there are billions of different gods and they all rule over a body. It seems hard to believe everyone is just that powerful. And then there are the ones that question whether having a soul means you are not evil. I know I have a soul, as I am sure something is driving me to kill, but on the other hand, souls are supposed to be good, not corrupted with the blackest form of darkness.

I arrived at the mountains as the night dawned. I could have just gone on to my own time, but I decided to just rest first. When it come to time travel, it doesn't matter how long you take anyways. I climbed up the small hills, then set up a fire and lay down on the ground. I knew there wouldn't be a messenger coming all the way to Totus, seeing as they kept their affairs separate. It was rare for people to go to the Valley of Wind anyways, seeing how the sylphs guarded it. I soon fell asleep as I was tired after taking out Klarth and Arche.

"I know what lay ahead for me. My life will end, but that is not end for me. I cannot say the same for you, however. A plagued soul does not rest, and sooner or later, you shall be no more on this earth. Did you ever consider that?"

I felt light shining down on me. I woke up, seeing the sun up, and got up and ready to move on. What was it about that? What did it mean? Do I really have no soul? I was confused, and for the first time in my life, I felt lost, unsure of myself. I knew I had to finish my quest, but I didn't know why. I thought that I might not even have a soul indeed...

I perished the thought. It was imperative for me to get moving. Attempting to focus, I created a spell circle around me. It was weak for a while, but I continued to try to focus, and it finally got to the point where I could time travel. Anyone could tell my mind was bothered, but I couldn't do anything about it. So through the time warp I went. The world spun out of control for a second, then I fell into a seemingly endless tunnel, constantly falling, until I hit the ground. I was now in my own time.

"Finally, I'm back to my own time to finish this," I said

I headed south down the mountain. The terrain showed obvious signs of wear, being not nearly as new as the time of the past. The path was smaller, because parts of the path had broken off and fallen down the cliffs. It wasn't dangerous by any means, but it could still be obviously seen that the mountains were wearing down.

I moved on southward. I was intent on ending this as soon as possible, so that I could go on. Unsure of what there was to continue on, I pushed on ever harder for some unexplainable reason. I crossed the plains between the mountain and Totus, sword at my side, tense, but without fear.

I unusually tense. That dream, why did it continue to show up? Dreams are supposed to be about your thoughts, but nothing like this had ever happened, to my knowledge. My head felt like it was spinning out of control. I held up my hand to my forehead for a second, closed my eyes in thought, took a deep breath, and tried to focus.

"I'll just do this. I feel so weird right now," I said to myself in a whisper.

Totus was a small, contained village. Miguel and Maria, however, two of the original warriors who sealed away Dhaos, lived here, as did Cless, their son, and Chester, the two of which were one of the ones to finally defeat Dhaos. As I knew, Mint was staying here, as her mother was no longer around. I suppose I should have felt sorry for her, dying in a dungeon to one of Dhaos' servants, but I didn't. I didn't care about anything right now but my goal, and I never did.

Looking around the village, I found out that all of them were south of the village, in the woods nearby.

I headed south, hoping no one caught on, but not really worrying, since it didn't matter. If I had to, then I would just raze the entire village, even though it wasn't for the best of my interests.

The woods here housed Yggdrasil, the mana tree. This alone was the source of mana for the entire world, and was almost destroyed with the activation of the mana cannon, forcing Mint to have to protect it. It was only a short walk away, and Cless and Chester would come here to hunt often.

Upon entering I instantly felt an energy surge through me. I heard a calm, gentle voice.

"Please, don't do what you're about to do. I am here to protect you, and I must do that no matter what."

"Martel, don't even try it," I said, "Let me do what I'm going to do, and don't interfere. You know better than to mess with the course of nature."

Martel was the guardian of these woods, and she was the protector of Yggdrasil.

"Just because I didn't interfere when Dhaos attacked doesn't mean I'm not afraid to stop you. You'll know better eventually, but as of now, I can't tell you anything," she said.

"I know you won't try to stop me. It's not because you're afraid to do it, but I know you won't harm me. You created this world, so you created me. You have never done anything to harm any of your creations, have you?" I replied.

Upon these words, I felt a sense of shock in the surrounding energy.

"Maybe I have never done so before, but I'll be watching you, and don't push my limits," she said.

"Oh whatever do you mean? Just leave me alone and let me do what I'm going to do. Martel, I'm not scared of you. Just because you have far more power than I will ever hope to dream for doesn't mean I don't know that you won't use that power to stop me. You'd never harm anyone," I said confidently.

"You're warned," she said, and the energy was gone.

I moved on. Talking to Martel was a waste, nothing more. She meant nothing to me, and of course she was never going to try to harm me. Such a naive goddess, I thought, caring for everyone. So useless, so inane... Who needed a goddess that did none but protect the mana of this world? No one needed mana to survive, all it really did was to cause the firing of the mana cannon, causing widespread chaos.

I finally found the three in the woods, just talking. It was soon after the fight with Dhaos, and it was indeed hard for any of them to get over it. They just wanted to relax, unknowing of their fate of a rest that had no end. I walked up and spoke.

"So there you are. I am here because it is time for me to end your lives, and you won't be getting away," I said deliberately.

"What are you talking about?" asked Cless. The three of them were now facing me, questioning looks on their faces, unknowing of what to think of me.

"You heard me, did you not? I am here to take your lives," I said.

Cless pulled his sword. Seeing he was still questioning me, I pulled mine. Actions really do speak louder than words, and with my charge, there would be no more question what my intention was.

"Cless, Mint, Chester. It's over," I said.

I slashed, as Cless jumped out of the way. It was somewhat apparent he couldn't match my skills, and I was using a lighter blade. Chester nocked an arrow, aiming for me.

"Get out of here, you two! Cless, you can't handle him. Get away!" yelled Chester.

"No. We have to help," said Mint, "We can't let any of us get hurt."

"Look, maybe you can't tell, but just by looking I know this guy is dangerous. You guys have to run of you're going to get away with your lives," said Chester.

He fired. I dodged to the side and slashed at the arrow, cutting it in half.

"So one of you can tell it would be a good idea to run. Too bad it won't do anything," I said.

"Get out!" said Chester.

Cless nodded, and grabbed Mint's arm and started running away from the forest.

"Chester, don't do this..." said Mint, tears now in her eyes. She was weak. She couldn't handle losing any of her friends. Typical of healers, so connected to everyone else, still so pointless.

"I'll be fine, you two. Trust me," he said.

"Really? I beg to differ," I said.

He turned his attention to me. "Look, you. We all knew you were coming. We heard about Arche and Klarth, and we all know you're nothing but a lowlife bitch."

"Fighting words, eh? Let's do this," I said.

I started dashing through the trees. Chester pulled his bowstring back, nocking another arrow. He kept his aim on me as I ran, a blur in the trees. He fired right in front of me.

The arrow shot so fast it could hardly be seen. Still, I knew it was going to hit me if I didn't do anything, so I plunged my sword in the ground, jumping over the shot. The arrow went into a tree as the sword lifted up, cutting it in half. Landing on the ground, I continued dashing. I was going in a circle, slowly closing in on him. That was the number one rule with attacking someone with superior range: close in while avoiding their attacks.

Chester responded in kind. Jumping into the air, he pulled several arrows from his quiver, then fired in a rapid flurry at me, Leaving a trail of arrows behind me. I jumped to the side to narrowly avoid one, allowing him to aim right at me.

Just as several arrows were about to hit me, I released a spell circle, creating a barrier. The arrows bounced off, almost breaking through, and flew dangerously fast into the ground nearby. He focused, and used his own magic to fire off a huge arrow. It smashed through the barrier, forcing me to jump to the side again.

I went on the offense now. I created another spell circle and fired a lightning blade at Chester, which he met by shooting an arrow into the ground and creating a small wall to block.

"You're good," I said.

"Likewise," Chester responded, "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you beat me. I refuse to let you win, for everyone's sake."

"Your fates are already sealed. You three are the only ones left, why try?"

"Because I know what being a friend is about."

"Is it really so important?" I asked, "You'd rather die than allow your friends to die? I'd say you were naïve, since Cless and Mint aren't going to live either way, but then again, I'm here for you too, and picking a fight with me just makes my job easier."

"Then come and get me," he said, as he started dashing to my side. I gave chase, with a fireball constantly ready to throw at him whenever I had an opening.

Tossing several, he simply avoided every hit. We were both just as fast, and neither could outmatch the other in this chase. He suddenly jumped onto a tree, vaulted backwards, and fired at me upside-down. In my momentum I couldn't do anything, and an arrow shot right through my shoulder, but not before I fired at him with my fireball. He landed several feet in front of my and I landed on my knees, both from me trying to stop so fast and from me grabbing my shoulder in pain. Pulling it out, dark blood flowed out. I threw the arrow wildly at Chester, now trying to get up.

He caught it, shocked at the feel of my blood on the arrow.

"It's... cold," he said, tensely, "What kind of a person are you?"

"How should I know?" I said, laughing, "I know I'm here. I know I'm here to kill you, and that's it. I don't know anything about my history, but I know my present, and that's it. I know my heart is nothing but pure darkness, and my soul's guidance only plunges me farther and farther into evil."

"You're a monster, nothing more," he said, "A monster!"

He nocked the arrow he had caught from me, and shot it right back, with me still on my knees. I held up my sword to block the shot, but suddenly I saw a glint of green in it, and I dodged to the side, the arrow grazing my arm.

"About time. Martel, I told you not to fucking interfere," I said angrily.

"Why would Martel waste time talking to a worthless bitch like you?" Chester said.

"If only I knew, I'd tell you. Martel, get out of here. You're just being annoying, and I know you're not going to really going to do anything to me," I said.

I felt Martel's presence leave. I got up, and saw Chester dash off. I followed again, since I knew that fireball took quite a bit from him. After a few seconds of chasing, I saw it: Yggdrasil. I stopped in my tracks.

"Chester! What do you think you're doing? You think Martel will help you just because you're here?" I said.

Chester turned around, "You think Martel won't help me?"

A beautiful figure appeared in front of us, with long green hair and beautiful green eyes that could make you lose yourself in them. Martel wore a long white robe and was surrounded by a glowing aura of light. She held a long staff, and she had two leaves on the side of her hair, giving her the obvious look of a nature spirit.

"Martel," I said, nodding my head in recognition, "So what then?"

"Martel, I know you're not going to let this monster take my life. Martel, stop him. Don't let Mint's kindness to you go unnoticed," said Chester.

Martel looked at us with a sad look, worry and confusion deep in her eyes.

"Sorry," she said, "Both of you."

A tears dripped down her face, and she looked away, leaning on Yggdrasil and sobbing. I never knew she could be like this. Martel was supposed to be strong, she was the spirit of Yggdrasil, the mana tree.

"Martel... get up. If you're not going to handle your fucking problems with me don't get all miserable about it. It's your fault," I said coldly.

"How dare you say something like that to Martel!" yelled Chester.

"Chester, don't worry," she said, "Look, I may have my problems, but if you were me, you'd understand. If only you knew..."

With that, Martel disappeared into Yggdrasil.

"Martel..." Chester said lightly, "You drove Martel away. I can't believe you."

I held up my sword and started moving towards him.

"What?" he said, blankly staring at me.

"Come on, you know you're going to attack me sooner or later.," I replied.

"Go ahead, kill me. I don't care any more," he said, "Look. Seeing Martel so weak made me lose hope. If she were going to help stop you, she would have done it already. I'm going to die, and that's that. Sorry, everyone, I let you all down. Cless, Mint, Arche..." he closed his eyes as tears flowed down his face.

"Arche, eh? So you really did like her. That's a laugh. She was nothing but loud and obnoxious, I can' believe you saw anything in her," I said.

"How would you know? You don't know anything about it! You don't have a damn heart!" he yelled, more tears flowing, now falling on the ground, Chester on his knees.

"Get up. Stop acting like such a wimp. You could at least not fucking act like a girl when you're about to die," I said heartlessly.

He wiped away his tears and stood up, looking down, breathing heavily.

"Do it," he said, "Now."

I walked up to him, sword to his chest. He stared at me for a second, with no hope in his eyes anymore, and then dropped his bow. I sent the sword into his chest and then pulled it out, letting the blood flow all over him.

"Goodbye, everyone. I'm sorry I let you all down," he said, as he fell over backwards.

Martel reappeared. "Are you happy now?" she said, "So you've defied me. What do you have now?" she asked, "Just... just leave. You knew I wouldn't stop you, but I am indeed upset. You've let me down."

"What? Since when did I have to do anything for you? I'm out of here, you stupid bitch," I said coldly to her.

As I walked from the forest, I could tell Martel was burying Chester. Chester would forever be with her in spirit, and even though she knew she wasn't going to stop me, she would forever hate me for committing murder in front of her very own tree.

It was time to take out Cless and Mint. The darkest hour was still high, and there would be more suffering, but it was going to end soon, and everyone knew it. The end was nigh, and there was no denying it.