Hello, I'm back! I have yet another new chapter. I do hope this isn't too long… unfortunately (or not, if you like it, eheh) it will go on for quite some time.
Thank you so much again for the reviews. I am shamelessly repeating myself here, but you still all deserve a thank you for bringing joy to my heart :-) Now the following for you, my readers:
Chapter 5. Vulnerable
Cain turned anxiously as he heard the sound of an opening portal. Atsanit stepped out of it, on her feet and calmly. Cain thanked Heavens that she was not on the threshold of death yet again. He walked to her, as he saw her unmoving for a second. After an instant she dropped the Infernal Hammer on the ground; it could be nothing else, as everything from Hell to Heavens had shook from the destruction of the Lord of Hatred's Soulstone.
She was looking at a handful of gems in her hand. Cain stopped a few paces from her. She looked so much as when she had emerged from that town portal in Lut Gholein, after defeating Duriel and meeting Tyrael.
"I am not feeling well," she said. She knelt slowly. "I think I will faint, although I do not know why," she added, stating it very calmly.
Cain rushed forward, and held her shoulder. Her right arm was surprisingly weak under his hand.
"What is it, my friend?", he asked.
She said nothing. She kept staring down, and the gems escaped her hand, rolling on the floor in front of her in a clinking sound.
Cain then felt Tyrael's wing loosening his grip of the Sorceress' arm, and he let go of her, stepping aside. The Archangel gently held Atsanit's shoulders with his wings as he floated closer. Jamella was looking, apparently thinking her healing skills were not required.
"I used its magic, Tyrael," Atsanit confessed then, slowly lifting her head. Cain saw with a shock that she was crying. "I did not mean to. I did not even realize it until after I let go of it." She took a shaking breath, and let out her first sob. "Did it taint me permanently, Tyrael?"
The Archangel kept silence as his wings gently lifted Atsanit to her feet. She was shaking, and he could see she was fighting back her tears. She was shaken beyond reason, but he was reminded once again that she was only a mortal, and much too weak to be expected to go through all she was going through, much less unscathed.
"No, Hero," he answered kindly. "The Hammer's magic was the only magic in all the worlds that could destroy a Soulstone binding one of the Three. You did well to use it, and you managed to let go of its power once your task was accomplished." He said three words, weak power words, in his angelic voice, and touched her forehead. "You are blessed by an Archangel's hand, and the Hellhammer's power will hold no sway over you."
She felt the numbing of her hand disappear instantly, but she broke up crying. She could not help herself or explain to herself why. She just felt shaken to the core, terrified of wielding the power of Hell, and her last resistances snapped, like she had gone beyond what she was.
Tyrael observed, unsure of what to make out of what he felt of her emotions with his angelic senses; she was totally confused, lost even, and he could not discern any particular reason he could reassure her about.
Come on, Tyrael, I know you can hear me when you wish it. She's done something no mortal should do, and she did it before she was warned of what it did. Can't you see she's terrified and she needs a hug?, Jamella thought fiercely.
The Archangel slowly pulled the Sorceress, still in his wings' grip, closer, as she was covering her face with her hands and sobbing painfully. Then he floated closer to her, and took her in his arms, whispering weak power words in his Archangel's voice.
Well, I was thinking of her friend Cain or me, but… obviously this will do, Jamella added in an afterthought, a little surprised.
Atsanit abruptly stopped crying, as soon as Tyrael's arms closed around her shaking form. She stayed in his arms, shaking still, too shocked and confused to react. Tyrael's words held power, she knew, because instantly she felt warmer, and stopped shaking, and her terror and weakness and utter exhaustion all vanished. She blinked behind her hands, then uncovered her face to look up at the Archangel sheepishly.
"Rest, now, Hero," he said, his voice not devoid of compassion, and she fell asleep.
Jamella and Cain watched as Tyrael lifted the sleeping young woman in his arms. They saw his wings starting to unbuckle her armour and remove it gently, not disturbing her sleep. Then the wings laid the armour at Jamella's feet, apparently to be repaired while the Hero rested. And after that, Tyrael entered Atsanit's room, and he went back out a few seconds later only. Jamella and Cain did not ask questions, and the Archangel suddenly shot upwards towards Heavens, flying with full speed out of one of Pandemonium's windows.
ooooo
She woke much later, yet again. She was tucked in her bed. She felt some confusion for a second, then it started to come back to her; her arrival at the Hellforge, the breaking of the Soulstone, and her use of the Hammer. Her return here, how weak she had felt, certain that the dark magic of the Hammer was going to corrupt her, and irremediably change her. She remembered Tyrael blessing her so that it would not happen, and consoling her… of she knew not what.
He had apparently removed her armour, and laid her to sleep in her bed after he had forced slumber into her. She was not going to protest. The horror, and the toll the events had took on her, seemed a lot further away now. She took a breath, and sat in her bed. She stayed there a while, considering what had happened and what she had done.
Mephisto's Soulstone was finally destroyed.
It was sinking in slowly. Her first great accomplishment in her quest after the Wanderer. There had been the Monastery's conquest, the defeat of Duriel, the death of Sankekur's incarnate, Izual's freedom; but still, nothing of it was as concrete and as definitive as the shattering of the Lord of Hatred's Soulstone.
But there was still Diablo to stop, and he needed to be stopped before he rained death on the mortals' planes. She dragged herself out of bed, washed, and changed her clothes for clean ones, before she put her armour back on; it had been repaired, obviously, and she needed to pay Jamella for the service. Then she got out of her room, looking for Jamella, who also happened to be the food provider of Pandemonium fortress.
She noticed that the light coming from Tyrael was notably absent from the floor of the hearth, higher in the fortress. She frowned, wondering where the Archangel might have gone, and started downstairs towards Jamella's spot.
"Good morning, Jamella," she said when she came within range. " 'Morning Halbu," she added, nodding to the paladin. Both answered with a nod of the head.
"Thank you for repairing my armour. What do I owe you?"
Jamella stated her sum and accepted a few more gold pieces, handing Atsanit a basked of bread, cold meat, cheese and fruit.
"Thank you for the breakfast also. Do you know where Tyrael went?", Atsanit asked.
"He went up to the Heavens, as far as I can tell," Jamella answered simply.
"Why? Did he have a special business? Is there any news from the demons, threats of invasion or armies to the mortal realm?", Atsanit instantly started to worry.
Jamella sighed. "I think not, Atsanit. I believe he was full of righteous fury to be twiddling his thumbs here, and he went to vent his anger on some celestial clerk."
Atsanit looked at Jamella, completely bewildered. "What?", she asked.
"Tyrael believes the Heavens should take a more active part in the Sin War going on between Light and Darkness. This is a secret to no one. He flew out up to the Heavens yesterday, and I think it was to express once more his anger for Heaven's inertia."
Atsanit considered in silence. She was too embarrassed to ask Jamella if it had anything to do with her, and even considering that it might be so was so arrogant that she pushed the thought aside in her head.
"Well… good luck to him. Thank you again, Jamella."
She turned and went back to her room, eating while standing in armour in front of the working table. She emptied the basket, then got out of the room, and took a few minutes to warm up. Then, she took her shield and Jared stone in defensive position, and marched onwards to the stonegate, which she activated to the last point of the River of Fire, and walked forward towards the Chaos Sanctuary, the great Hell fortress, Diablo's place of power and hiding.
Demons circled her. She sighed, lifted her stone and sent out Blizzards and Ice spikes all around.
ooooo
Tyrael suddenly flew back into Pandemonium. Bells rang, somewhere higher, to announce his return. Cain watched him arrive and resume his silent standing near the hearth showing the weapons of defeated angels. His wings were moving differently now, not only undulating from side to side, but snapping at the air forward and backward. Cain studied his books in silence, trying not to attract the Archangel's attention.
Tyrael stood there a very long while, using his extra senses in an attempt to learn something of what was going on deeper in Hell. His conscience was aware in an instant upon his return that the Hero was outside the walls of Pandemonium. But she was too far, and there was nothing for him to learn about her progress. He could not even tell if she was dead.
His anger burned in his heart, the arrogance of the others of the angelic council mocking his love for mortals, saying that this one had already served much, that it would not matter if she died, that she had scored great points in their battle against Darkness. That she would be recompensed properly if she died. That it was her role, and not Heavens' angels', to battle demons. That they could not intervene directly. All of their usual excuses for cowardly weakness. The weakest of them had thrice the power that the Hero could wield, and yet it was her that had the courage and the integrity to face demons for the good of the world, and she was paying day after day with her blood, innocence and lost youth. Yet Tyrael could hardly disobey their order. He had already intervened beyond their usual acceptance just in feeding her a potion and telling her what was going on in Tal Rasha's tomb. And there was truth to their statement that if Tyrael was to descent to Hell to battle demons on their own ground, the world's balance would be shattered forever. So Tyrael waited in silence, keeping his wings from snapping at the walls around him, for the long hours as the Hero was out of Pandemonium battling demons.
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Edit: fixed (or at least tried so for the fourth or fifth time) the separator sign which was 3 asterisks that just wouldn't put on screen no matter what I tried.
