Disclaimer: chapter one
Chapter Eight
Harry, Silena and Beckendorf were on edge as they approached the almost empty area from where the gigantic dark pillar was visible. The place they were in seemed to be transformed into a completely different area.
It did not resemble anything that was in this town they were in. The floor was made entirely out of stone, but the most glaring out-of-place structure was the giant stone pyramid that was the apparent source of the dark light pillar. Despite the fact that it seemed like it was still night time, there was somehow enough light and they could see everything very clearly.
"It's almost like we have come to another country," Beckendorf muttered as he readied his battle-axe.
"Yeah... I think this temple has overwritten this land's original buildings and landscape," Harry said. "Remember, we were at a slight slope when we entered this place, and suddenly everything is even. It looks Aztec, or perhaps Incan? It may come across as a surprise, but I am not too keen on architecture. But who..."
They were interrupted as the dark pillar, which was at the center of the pyramid, suddenly disappeared. A lone figure came out of the pyramid, which they all recognized as the same mage who was attacking them the previous day. She was dressed in all black, and had the same mask she wore on their last encounter.
"Welcome, demigods," said the mage, dropping the mask, much to their shock.
Silena gasped, her eyes widening as she saw a very familiar face. Beckendorf almost dropped the axe he was holding as he recognized her as well.
Harry was the quickest to get over his shock, eyes narrowing in suspicion. There were, after all, numerous methods to assume the face of a friend, and a god could do it very easily.
"Who are you?" Harry questioned, brandishing his sword. "The Laura we know died. The only explanation is that you are either possessing her dead body or wearing her face."
Laura's face twisted into a smile. "Oh? And how would I know about her?"
"Any one can simply take her identity based on our memories," Harry said. "For a god, which I presume you are, it would be super easy."
"Oh no, I am not wearing her face at all, son of Athena," Laura said. "You missed her by about a few minutes. I know that she would be delighted to meet her friends one last time."
"H-how?" Silena asked. "Laura died! Luke told us about how she was killed by Ladon!"
"I know. The truth is she had technically died." the being possessing Laura explained. "The best I could do was implant a part of my divinity into her body to anchor her soul for a few extra years. It was enough for me to prepare this ritual. It wasn't enough, however, to give her an entire life, no matter how much I wanted to."
"You almost sound remorseful," Harry noted, his eyes burning in anger. "You are either attached to her, or a very cruel being who intends to use her against us."
Laura gave a small laugh. "Cruel? No, son of Athena. This isn't cruelty. The way her mother essentially threw her aside was cruel. The way your own mother took all the knowledge of my people without permission is cruel. The way your gods usurped my lands, and the way my people were destroyed was cruel. This… this is justice."
"I was right then," Harry said. "You are not a Greek entity."
"Right you are. I am not Greek," She said. She waved her hand, as the very same mural that this god was trapped in materialized in front of them. "Do you recognize this mural? It depicts two… I suppose we are called Mesoamerican gods. Well, it depicts me and my greatest rival in combat. He would never have resorted to this, you know. He loved you humans. To the point where he essentially ensured that no human life would be sacrificed to the gods! To me! ME!"
The immediate tone of anger and fury put the three demigods on edge, with all of them readying themselves for combat.
They were expecting an attack at any moment, but their adversary simply sighed and visibly relaxed. "But none of that matters now. The only things I regret, truly regret, is that your friend Laura had to die...and that none of your gods would ever know that I am the one ending them. Shame… I would have loved to see their reactions if they knew that Tezcatlipoca is the one who will bring them down."
This time, it was Harry who could not hold his tight control on his emotions as his eyes widened and mouth dropped in shock and slight fear, even as Beckendorf and Silena looked at him and Laura, or rather Tezcatlipoca in confusion.
As soon as Harry recognized the god possessing Laura, he couldn't help as a small breath escaped him. It suddenly made sense. The Fidelius. This faked night. The people in stasis. And finally, Tezcatlipoca's motivation. He did not want to accept it, but now that he had all the pieces, assembling the puzzle was all too easy.
"Of course you recognize me, do you not?" Tezcatlipoca said. "The people who were all slaughtered by the invaders… they hailed me as a god of knowledge, amongst other things. No doubt the child of a goddess of knowledge has heard of me."
Harry sighed. His mind tried to search for what he could do… no, wait. That was it. Keep him distracted, and perhaps he would not notice the build up of energy within Harry.
"Tezcatlipoca…" Harry said. "The Aztec god of sorcery, night, and according to their myth, a god of creation. It makes total and complete sense that you want to destroy us all. After all, your own civilization was destroyed as a consequence of Europeans colonizing this continent."
"Oh no, no, no. I do not want to destroy you all. I only wish to destroy the gods," Tezcatlipoca answered.
"Isn't that the same thing?" Silena spoke up. "If you destroy the gods, we would soon perish as well!"
"Do you honestly believe that humans need the gods? What foolishness. My plan simply involves destroying the gods. And I'm sure that your boyfriend knows how I plan to do that."
If the situation wasn't so serious, both Harry and Silena would have blushed. But the former kept his gaze fixed on Laura's face even as Silena and Beckendorf looked at Harry.
"Of course… I was hoping that I was wrong. But I am not, am I? You plan to sacrifice this entire city, turn their very beings into pure magical energy and simply shift the focus of the Fidelius onto something that normally can not be put under the Fidelius," Harry said. "After all, easier to do so rather than cast a Fidelius anew. And say, if Mount Olympus itself was placed under the Fidelius… with all humans and demigods forgetting about the gods, they would lose a lot of their power. Perhaps enough that they would fade."
"Close, but not quite. And just how long do you think you can stall me by making me talk?"
Harry was not surprised that his gambit was caught. After all, his opponent was doing the same thing. But did the god notice the build up of power or was it something else? "However long it takes for them to notice. And you have yet to gather enough magical energy from the ley-lines you've erected your temple on."
Tezcatlipoca chuckled. "It seems we're at a stalemate. You are well aware that you cannot stop me, and are hoping that the gods would notice this anomaly that I have created. After all, if you were sent here by one of them, it is but a matter of time before the others notice, yes? But that does not matter."
"No? Then why hurry?" Harry asked. "Ancient Laws bar them from direct interference in human lives, but to them, you are a foreign entity actively trying to kill them. You have no such protection. Your tone and nonchalance suggests that you have already planned for such an occasion."
"Like I said, that does not matter. I simply need enough to apply the Fidelius onto, like you said, something that normally is impossible to be put under the Fidelius. Such as, say, the very concept of Mythology." Tezcatlipoca said, enjoying the horrified expression that formed on Harry's face, even as the other two were confused.
"B-But if you do that, you will also-"
"Of course I will also fade. But my time was always limited here. I have no worshipers, no one who is left of my civilization. My brethren, even the very god who sealed me, have all moved on. I have absolutely no reason to stay behind. The funny thing is, had I stayed in that mural, I would still be immortal," Tezcatlipoca's voice turned sad at the end of his explanation.
Unfortunately for Harry, Tezcatlipoca noticed the subtle, yet rather powerful build up of energy inside Harry. Inwardly, he narrowed his eyes. 'I see… you plan to use all of your magical energy to completely obliterate the temple and this body. Shame… if I hadn't noticed, it definitely would have worked.'
Temples were the basis of a god's power. In many ways, they were symbols erected in their name, housing their divinity. To destroy a temple was akin to striking a blow directly against them. Tezcatlipoca could not let that temple be destroyed. It was erected so that he could gain more footing in this world, get some more time before the World itself would get rid of him.
However, he continued to talk.
He needed a little more time, and if Harry were to attack him, or gods forbid, destroy this vessel, his work would be incomplete and they would get away scott-free. No doubt Harry realized this as well. He did not want to use it, but this was his trump card. "Do you even know where you stand?"
"What does that have anything to do with this?" Harry questioned.
"Not surprising given that the Fidelius has taken that knowledge from your mind. But at this very spot, innocent blood was spilled. Not because of war, nor because of disease. Simply the acts of a bloodthirsty, ignorant crowd who persecuted and hung numerous witches, at this very spot."
"And your point?" Harry asked. The spell was almost ready. It was one of the most destructive spells he knew, but it required a lot of 'charge time.' He wasn't simply stalling for the gods to notice, after all. Only a fool would make a singular plan. With one attack, he could-
"As they died," Tezcatlipoca continued, completely uncaring of Harry. "They cursed this land, the very people who condemned them. And as enough souls cursed the same people and lands? Unknowingly, where seven ley-lines intersected? Eventually it manifested as the ultimate curse, a curse against… magic."
With that, a purple wave of magical energy hit them all. Harry fell to his knees as he felt his magic leave him. Sweat began to pour down his face as he shivered. This wasn't magical fatigue. It was almost as if his magic was taken from him, and now there was not a single ounce of magical energy left in him. No, that wasn't accurate either. To best describe was akin to losing a limb.
Tezcatlipoca heaved a sigh. Taking away someone's magic using the various curses that he had accumulated within himself, and now by extension, within Laura's body, wasn't something he wanted to do. Those curses would have overpowered the Fidelius further, which was why he needed them. But now, some of that extra energy had been sacrificed. No matter; he could always gather more from the ley-lines they were on.
Silena and Beckendorf were unaffected, but they could feel the chill run through them as the cursed energy washed over them. They immediately rushed to Harry, helping him stand. Looking at Laura, who's face was expressionless, they knew that they had to do something quick. Harry looked at them before he whispered something.
Harry waved them aside as he stood. "Relax. Only my magic was lost. However, that is not my most powerful tool that I have."
"Oh?" Tezcatlipoca said, with mild interest. He watched as the other two demigods circled around him, readying their weapons. So, a three pronged attack, then? As a last resort? They were getting desperate.
Or perhaps that is what they wanted him to think. Removing his magic must have been getting to Harry, Tezcatlipoca noticed. As a mage's body was quite accustomed to having magical energy, removing it all in one go would always have various side effects. Harry was getting fatigued, and was no doubt making hasty decisions. It would not be long before he loses consciousness and, possibly, his life.
"Despite losing your magic, you still stand? Praiseworthy. It is a shame that you have to die here. I still possess a substantial amount of curses that were left behind. Know that your lives will help usher in a new age for all of humanity. One that is free of gods and their oppression."
"You could have just ended us all with multiple spells that ensure our deaths, yet you went to remove my magic instead… you need us alive, don't you?" Harry asked, readying himself to attack. "After all, you won't kill us directly. You'll let the ritual do it. That way our souls get added to it rather than them entering the Underworld. And… therein lies your error. I wasn't just letting you talk for stalling purposes."
Harry chuckled weakly. The fatigue from losing his magic was beginning to set in. Tezcatlipoca narrowed his eyes as Harry continued to talk. "I was hoping you would slip up somewhere, somehow, in your explanation. And you did. If only you had corrected me on the spell you were going to use rather than what you were going to use it on. The major drawback of the Fidelius. It requires a secret keeper, who must not be the spell-caster. Laura's soul is still somewhere in there, you did not kill her entirely. No, you plan to make her the secret keeper, and then, put her soul in a place where none may reach. A place that once held something far more powerful. Like… the very mural you were trapped in."
"To figure out all of that despite the state you are in is nothing to be scoffed at. But… you've lost already,"Tezcatlipoca said, as another circular wave of energy was released from Laura's body. Beckendorf turned his ax around to defend himself, letting the energy hit the ax. The wave also hit Harry's sword and Silena's daggers.
To their very surprise and fear, the Celestial Bronze crumbled, destroying the 's and Silena's weapons also suffered a similar fate.
Magic could not affect Celestial Bronze...unless the being trying to do so was a god.
Harry cursed. Sure, Tezcatlipoca may be on borrowed time, however it did not change the fact that he was still a god. He could do that and a lot more. Harry shuddered to think how this could have gone if he didn't need the three of them to be alive till the ritual was complete. Demigods had souls that were a lot more powerful than regular mortal ones. Three demigod souls? No doubt that would compensate the energy Tezcatlipoca was spending to keep them at bay.
Which still did not explain why he did not just… render them unconscious, mutilate them or even render them unable to do anything. Harry did not question it; it might just give the god ideas.
'Unless… That can't be it… he is that vain?!' Harry thought as he realized why they were still conscious. For all his planning and figuring out whatever Harry wanted to do, Tezcatlipoca had kept them conscious for one reason and one reason only.
The god wanted someone, anyone, to witness his deed. Even if it was for a fleeting moment, Tezcatlipoca wanted them to watch in despair.
"Now just stay there, like good little children, till I am done," Tezcatlipoca said, his tone clearly conveying his confidence in his victory. It truly was a shame that they had to die. Though the other two were not doing anything, Harry had accurately figured out what Tezcatlipoca wanted to do.
"Tell me something," Harry said tiredly as he tried to step forward. "You claim to be a god of knowledge, yet you would readily remove millennia worth of it from humanity. Every thing we did, all of our progress, has its roots in myths, no matter how little inspiration they may have in said myths… removing all of mythology from humanity, you would doom us all, no matter what," Harry breathed heavily. "Without that knowledge, we may as well just wait for our deaths. But… you know that, and yet you claim that you work in humanity's interest!"
"Am I not?" Tezcatlipoca asked. "There would be no need for conflict, as all humans won't have any different religious beliefs. No one committing horrible sins in their name. No one misinterpreting the words of a saint or a prophet to fit their own agendas. How is that not a good thing?"
Harry could only walk ever so slowly towards Tezcatlipoca. He no longer had magic. His body was getting more and more tired by the second. His vision was growing hazy, to the point where he could not even see what Silena and Beckendorf were doing.
But unknowingly, Tezcatlipoca had revealed another weakness he had in his current form.
The body he was possessing still had its original soul. That body was still, by all records, still mortal.
Harry could still kill Tezcatlipoca.
He closed his eyes. 'Doing so would kill you, Laura. But… you could not understand. Otherwise you would never have done so.'
Tezcatlipoca truly believed that he was working for humanity's best interest. But… gods weren't human. They could never understand human struggles, no matter how much they tried to blend in.
They may have created humanity. They may have given humanity all the tools to survive.
They would never truly comprehend the struggles and conflicts of a human. On the flip side, they will also never truly comprehend the pleasures and happiness of a human.
"I see," Harry said simply. "You cannot understand humans, can you? Yes, we despise all of that… but… you would also readily remove all of the happiness from this world. No stories will be told that regale the ancient heroes. No child would have anyone to look up to. No one would be inspired by those who came before. And without that, what makes us who we are? To a god, given you have outlived every single human ever… that is unthinkable. After all, you aren't human. You could never grasp what makes us human. So even though you may have effectively crippled us, you believe that I would just give up. That is why you lose."
"Lose? You can hardly stand. Your friends are confused as to what to do, and I have almost gathered all the energy I need. How am I going to lose?" Tezcatlipoca asked.
Harry continued to walk, somehow feeling as though he had strength to do so. "Like I said: you fail because of your inability to understand humanity. All we need to do to defeat you is to kill your body."
Taking that as a signal, Beckendorf jumped to action. He still had a weapon: the shaft of the ax that was destroyed. He was not sure if he could just kill someone, especially when that someone was technically Laura. But at the very least he could hope and disrupt the god.
"You know what would help?" Silena said as she tried to put as much emotion in her words as possible. "If you could fix the weapons you destroyed. That would make me soooo happy. You want to make me happy, do you not?"
Displaying a surprising amount of strength, Tezcatlipoca simply threw Beckendorf when he got close, throwing him at Silena. He collided into her, sending them both tumbling down.
"Admirable. But you forgot one aspect of Charmspeak. It only works if the victim displays an attraction to you." Tezcatlipoca said.
Harry tried to formulate a plan. He was somehow regaining strength, but it was too slow. He would need to direct them both in a way tha—
'It seems I need to play a more active role. I was hoping I would not need to. I may not be able to restore your magic fully from here, but I hope this shall suffice.'
Harry barely had the time to react as the mark on his palm began to glow brightly. By their own accord, Harry's fingers moved, as if they were grabbing something.
He felt the hilt of a sword before it appeared in his hands. The sword was pure white, a little over a 30 inches in length. It radiated with a yellowish white glow before said glow died down.
Tezcatlipoca's eyes widened as he saw that weapon. "How?! H-HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT?!"
Harry did not waste any more time. Feeling as though he was quite energized, he charged at Tezcatlipoca. The god sent another wave of cursed magic towards him, intending to kill him this time instead.
However, the sword simply cut through the cursed wave, leaving Harry completely unaffected.
Harry went for a stab as soon as he got close enough, but Tezcatlipoca dodged. He had sent the wave completely on instinct, and now that he had seen that sword up close, he knew that a single cut would spell his doom.
He could not let Harry know that. All he could do was dodge Harry's swings.
Tezcatlipoca cursed as he ducked under yet another swing. To an untrained eye, they seemed desperate, wild swings. But he knew better. Harry was slowly, but surely learning his patterns and changing his stance and attacks accordingly. Harry was not even letting him counter-attack, no matter how much he wanted to push Harry away.
Without concentrating on the ritual, he could not perform the necessary magic, despite now having gathered more than sufficient energy.
Beckendorf and Silena watched this, before Beckendorf got an idea. He told it to Silena, who nodded.
While Harry and Tezcatlipoca fought, the two of them rushed over to the mural.
Tezcatlipoca grinned to himself as he realized that Harry was slowing down. That energy boost he received from the sword was no doubt running out. He just needed to continue to be on the defensive, avoid the attacks and then he wo—
CRACK!
Tezcatlipoca turned in horror to see that the mural was now cracked in two, and the two remaining demigods at a considerable height, having climbed up a few feet on the pyramid that was his temple. They had no doubt carried it up there, and then dropped it.
In that momentary distraction, Harry slashed Tezcatlipoca's stomach open. The cut was not too deep, but it was enough. Instead of blood, the wound started to leak a purplish black essence that evaporated as soon as it came out of the wound.
Tezcatlipoca screamed as an unimaginable pain surged through him. The cursed energy that he had stored up in this body was his undoing, especially when struck by that sword. Said cursed energy was leaking out of the stomach wound, and was being instantly purified, once again, because of the effect of that sword.
"Y-You!" Tezcatlipoca tried to say, but it was getting hard to speak. He may have just lost, but at least he could try and take Harry out with him. Yes, a simple spell to turn this body into a bomb! One simple explosion, and they'd both, well, three of them, considering Laura, would go out in a blaze of glory.
Not all of the stored magical energy had left this body yet. He could still trigger the explosion with the amount he had left. Purple veins began to appear all over his body as he cast the spell.
Harry's eyes widened at that. He was now too tired to do anything. He looked at Silena and Beckendorf, who had now left the temple and were running towards him. If there were any regrets he felt, it was bringing them along. They didn't need to die here. The second regret was not telling Silena how he felt about her. Sure, she might reject him, but at least she would know.
'No… you will do no such thing!' A voice screamed inside of Tezcatlipoca's body. No! That was Laura! How?! That cursed energy leaving his body, his mural getting destroyed, and the wound from that sword… it was weakening him greatly, to the point where he could no longer keep Laura unconscious.
'Wait! What are you—' Tezcatlipoca tried to ask as he realized something. He began to run, towards the temple. This did not make enough sense! How did she have enough strength in her to do so! And now she was making her own body run towards his temple!
Beckendorf tried to stop her as she ran straight towards them.
"Don't!"
Laura's voice gave him pause, but that was all that she needed to duck under him and keep moving till she was close enough. Laura leaped into the temple, just in the nick of time as her hold on the spell ran out.
She could only hope that Beckendorf, Silena and Harry were far enough away.
White light covered her eyes as the explosion finally happened, destroying the temple along with her.
Harry's expression was rather grim as he saw the temple explode. He knew that Laura had somehow managed to regain control for just long enough. A tear formed in his eyes, knowing that Beckendorf and Silena were not far enough away. The explosion would kill them.
His own survival was iffy at best, but it would not be the debris from said explosion that would get to him. It would be the resultant shockwave.
Or at least, that was what would have happened had time itself had not stopped.
Unlike the time stasis that Salem was put under, time had stopped for everyone, but himself. Harry could see Beckendorf and Silena trying to run away as fast as possible, their bodies frozen mid-sprint. The temple itself was half-destroyed, rocks floating in air, and light from the explosion covering a considerable portion of the temple.
"That was a close one," A voice next to Harry said. Harry turned around tiredly, to see Merlin standing besides him.
"You were observing the whole time?" Harry asked.
Merlin waved his hand. A flowery smell filled Harry's nose as he felt himself get revitalized.
"Don't ask questions you know the answer to," Merlin replied. "I was hoping that I would not need to send you that sword. But… I suppose I had to."
"This sword?" Harry asked as he looked down at the pure white blade. He did not know what it was made out of. It wasn't Celestial Bronze, Stygian Iron, or any other metal that Harry knew of.
It was then Harry noticed the inscribed name on the flat of the blade.
Caledfwlch
The sword Harry was holding, the one he had used to defeat Tezcatlipoca, was perhaps the most famous sword in all of legends. The very sword that a legendary king pulled from the stone: Caliburn.
A/N: Tell me honestly, how many figured out that Harry was getting Caliburn even before reading this chapter? (no, guessing while reading the chapter does not count) All of you who are still reading? Okay, I need to work on whatever twists and turns I wanna add.
This quest is almost over; just the final chapter that 'ties everything together' so to speak. And if you're wondering if I hate myself for going full anime, yes. Yes I do.
Hope you all enjoyed!