CHRONICLES OF AZARATH
CHAPTER FOUR
Annihilation
Azrael walked down the corridors of the uninviting castle that he had once called his home. The gold runes that lined the walls, floor and ceiling flared silver as they tried to suppress the magical aura that was Azrael and failed. He walked briskly towards the spire that once held his king. There was no resistance as he walked down the warded hall, they were expecting him and they expected him to fail at what he hoped to accomplish.
He continued to walk down the hall and soon he found himself at a grand double door entrance that was made out of wood but not of any known wood. There were silver runes and symbols on the two doors that seemed to make any sentient life form that approached calmer in both mind and spirit.
The warrior burst through the grand entry way shouted, "Karo zu facias grё féy açwe Akaröth." Your reign of terror ends here Akaröth.
The king in question stood up from his golden throne that was decorated in jade pictograms and spoke in a language that even the Azarathians considered ancient. He was wearing the finest robes of a black reflective material that had red runes and characters elegantly printed on the fabric of the material. His hair was silver and reached down to his waist. His skin was of fair complexion and his vibrant orange eyes scanned the intruder that was known as Azrael with acute precision as he sized up his opponent.
Azrael answered in the same ancient language that Akaröth had used, he was one of the few left alive that actually knew the language. Akaröth smiled and discarded his fine robe and weapons, Azrael did the same. Akaröth slowly walked up to his opponent and with lightning speed, he was upon Azrael in a moment.
Azrael managed to dodge the unarmed strike and formed spheres of black energy around his palms. He attempted to attack at direct range with his energy but only managed to block a vicious attack from his "king." Akaröth used his unknown form of magic to enhance his physical abilities ten fold. He used his newfound agility and attacked Azrael with a powerful right hook.
Azrael flew the length of the throne room and slammed into the beautifully decorated pearly white marble wall. As he wrenched himself from the indention of the wall, he coughed up blood. He managed to duck as an energy-covered fist slammed into the spot he once was. Azrael twisted in a most unnatural manner as he dropkicked his enemy. He stood up as Akaröth used the opposite wall as a launch pad; a loud pop issued from his spine as he put it back into its original configuration.
Azrael put up a black energy shield as Akaröth came rushing toward him. As the two super powers met, stray bolts of power leaped off the shield that Azrael fought to hold. He dived to the right, abandoned his shield and formed a sword of pure black energy. He struck at Akaröth who used his arm to block the attack; blood spurted from the wound as the energy blade stopped halfway through his arm.
The King narrowed his eyes as he examined his shocked adversary. He whispered in a language that was common on his home planet, "You should know that this does not hurt me." He took advantage of his enemy's lapse of concentration and brought his energy-covered fist into the gut of his rebel subject. As Azrael flew into the magnificent wooden doors, he summoned the Sword of Dark Demise and let its power flow over him.
As Akaröth slowly walked toward his next victim, Azrael summoned his sword and charged toward the king that had started the mess he was in. The foreigner blocked the assault on him with well-practiced ease. He quickly released them from the block and sharply pierced Azrael's side then followed through with a blast of strange, raw magic.
Azrael struggled to get up, blood was pouring from the wound that was healing slower than normal. Akaröth pointed a finger at his enemy and he was transported into a pocket dimension. Strange magics were at work here as they attacked him from all directions, the color of each magic was different and confused him slightly. Suddenly, they gathered into his heart and the area around him went black. Then the focused magic exploded in a myriad of colors and transported him back to his native plane.
Azrael wheezed as he got up from the unknown magical attack. His body burned with leftover pain. Akaröth loomed over him and said, "That should have killed you." He shook his head and struck the prone form of Azrael across his head with the flat of his powerful blade.
Azrael slowly and painfully woke up. His slowly focusing vision told him that he was in a chamber that had not been used in a long time, not since his King came into power. It looked like it had been hastily cleaned and made ready for something. Then he realized what this room had been used for as he seen a chain glint in the dim light.
"You are awake," the King whispered softly. He made a small gesture with his hand and the lights blared to life. "You will tell me where the other four Keys are." He said again in the same deathly whisper.
As a form of reply, Azrael spat in his face. "IMPUDENCE!" Akaröth shouted and gouged out a hefty piece of flesh from Azrael's shoulder with a small dagger that he held in his hand. Azrael snarled in pain, the large lump of bleeding flesh fell to the floor unnoticed; his arm slowly regenerated the missing tissue.
"As I thought," Akaröth said to him, "you have already lost everything dear to you." He muttered something and Azrael was transported to a distant memory that did not belong to him.
Achaté stood her ground as Varuna loomed closer to her. He gathered magic into his palm and attacked with out regard to his own safety and as a result, he had the upper hand. Achaté blocked the vicious energy with a green shield, all she wanted to do was keep him busy long enough for her lover to get Moya off world, after that, she did not really care.
The energy that she was blocking proved too much for her green shield and it broke down under the onslaught. She slowly got up as she recovered. She stood resolute, not wanting to yield to him for as long as she could then go beyond that. She formed more of her green energy into spheres around her palms ant sent a volley of it toward her adversary.
Varuna took the attack head on and smiled, the blow of magical energy did little to harm him. He formed his black energy into the shape of a sword and rushed up toward the woman that defied him. Achaté formed another green shield and put more energy than she thought she had in maintaining the powerful shield. Energy cackled and sparked as the two forces fought for dominance.
The green shield fizzled out and the black sword hit delicate flesh. Achaté cried out in pain as her arm was severed and burned shut. Varuna abandoned his sword and his hand was enveloped in black energy. He plunged his magically enhanced hand through the chest of his enemy. Achaté cried out in immeasurable pain; the hand of Varuna clasped the still beating heart of the woman that defied him.
Achaté choked as a torrent of blood escaped past her lips and covered her mouth. Varuna wrenched his hand out of Achaté, magically tearing her heart out of her living body, she gurgled more of her life giving blood out of her mouth. Varuna looked at his prize: the still beating heart of the woman that defied him. He smiled as his lust for blood was quenched—for the moment. Achaté fell to the ground, her body convulsing as she bled internally, her mouth spewed blood as her eyes slowly glazed over as death claimed her.
"Stop," Azrael slowly said as the memory faded away.
"Then tell me where the other Keys are!" Akaröth snapped.
"NEVER!!" Azrael shouted, anger causing his blood to boil.
Akaröth smiled and transported Azrael to the moment where Achaté met her end. "Stop…" Azrael said his voice barely audible.
"I will," Akaröth said with a sneer, "if you tell me where the other Keys are."
Azrael sighed in defeat. "Tamaran. I know that one Key is there. I know not where the others are at."
"Those peace loving fools?" Sephiroth asked himself, "I would have never known.…" Akaröth plunged the dagger into the body of Azrael and used a strange magic on him that lulled him into the realm of nightmares.
Strange crafts landed on the planet known as Tamaran. The human shaped people that exited the crafts were all wearing the deepest shade of black that was conceivably possible. They skulked through the shadows as though they were at one with them. When they reached the gates of the magnificent and splendidly lit castle, the robed figures blasted the door down with their magic.
There were terrified shouts as they inhabitants were attacked by strange beings. Akaröth shouted above the noise of the commotion, "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!!"
Akaröth walked toward the statue that was at the end of the grand hallway. The statue was made of silver and the man's eyes were made out of a fine jade. The sword he was holding was made of silver and had pairs of stripes of gold that ran on the side of the sword. He was carrying a magnificent platinum shield that was polished so brightly that it looked like a mirror.
"The Shield of Tsarus," Akaröth whispered as he gazed at the shield in awe. He walked up to it and wrenched it out of the grasp of the statue. He easily fit the shield around his arm. He felt the magic that was endowed in the shield flow into his body. He felt at least twenty times stronger than he had before.
With his newfound endurance, Akaröth attacked anything that moved and was not from the world of Azarath.
"We shall leave a calling card," Akaröth said, "bring me the bodies of the dead Tamaraneans. We shall leave when I have finished."
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Sorry about leaving you guys with such a short chapter. If I add any more, it will give away what Akaröth just did. I hope that you guys aren't too mad at me. Don't forget to review! Oh, please tell me if you think that this fiction has gone beyond the PG-13 limit. If it has, then I will change the rating as soon as I possibly can. If anyone has, problems with this story the can: A) Stop reading this story. B) Tell me what needs to be changed via e-mail/review and I will see to it that it is done. Or C) Just ignore the changes that need to be done and continue with their happy life by clicking on the Back button on their Browser.
If any of you see a problem so bad, in your opinion that this story needs to be removed, please E-mail me so that I can deal with the problem as fast as I can, just give me at least a week to fix it. I know that a week seems like a very long time but I do not know how often I will be able to access the internet, I am currently using my uncle's computer. My school has blocked e-mail from us students. The bastards.
Thank you for you time in reading this note,
Darkbusterrancher
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