Chapter 27: Dead Kingdom freed - Or is it?
Oran and the Lost Temple's Warden crushed most parts of the City of the Dead and Corrupted Crystals with their feet and arms.
City of the Dead
"FULL FORCE!" Chris commanded as the Dead Lords brandished their weapons and charged into the fray.
Oran delivered a swift left hook on the Wailing Host's chin. The Cthulu -like abomination roared in pain as it attempted a swift right hook straight towards Oran's face.
"ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!"
The Lost Temple's Warden unleashed a powerful voice that shook the ground and staggered the Wailing Soul, cutting its attack short.
"C'mon, you Dead King! Come and face me, you scum!" Death snarled as unleashed a powerful Harvestor Revenge straight on the Wailing Host's attempted left punch.
The strong arcane magic of Death's Possessed Scythe sliced past the strong, leathery skin of the abomination. Chris did the same, and unleashed a powerful ice wave that brought a huge gash on the Wailing Host's right knuckles.
The Wailing Host keeled, allowing the Constructs to land in a one-two punch straight towards the abomination's belly hard! Bones and fleshes snapping and tearing apart echoed throughout the dusty skies as the Wailing Host wailed.
"It fits you perfectly; you are a Wailing Host because you wail when you are losing!" Death taunted.
The Wailing Host roared; his rune on his mask glowed as he summoned ten skeletons on each sides.
Draven, Chris, and Lifebane tore through the weak skeletons like thin paper within seconds. The skeletons shattered like crisp glass.
Death summoned three ghouls to lure the skeletons in, leapt out of the fray and towards the left arm. The pale Rider quickly sprinted, jumped in the air, and quickly plunged his possessed scythe into the Wailing Host's Mask.
With a grunt, Death did a suplex and tore the abomination's mask down, revealing a hideous pink face with green eyes and no nose.
"Ewww...you're ugly!" Alito drew a face of disgust.
"Pink is a cute colour...well, not this time!" Chris shrugged.
"Well...I have met uglier beasts than this..." Draven chuckled.
"To be honest, I thought the Host is kinda cool looking at first!" Alito sheepishly chuckled.
The Wailing Host, however, managed to knock the Constructs down by sweeping the battlefield. Oran and the Lost Temple Warden fell down, but the Four Dead Lords, Death, Chris, and Alito managed to jump off the constructs and landed safely.
The Wailing Host summoned many skeletons once more. Death teleported to several skeletons at once and tore them apart.
Chris punched the floor, summoning many ice spikes that surrounded both her and Alito and shattering the skeletons.
Chris shattered the ice spikes and formed many ice blades. Alito unleashed a burst of wind and materializing highly pressurized air blades.
Both women simpered and nodded as they unleashed a blizzard blade storm towards a horde of charging skeletons. Chris and Alito synchronized their dance moves as the ice and wind blades intertwined together side by side, crossed over in a powerful cross slash attack, and ending off with a powerful blizzard drill that devastated the entire horde.
Draven charged into his horde and unleashed powerful streams of sword energies. The energies sliced through the skeletons' rib cage and skulls like silky paper, all while nodding in content upon seeing Chris and Alito's beautiful co-ordination.
"Their calmness and co-ordination is perfect. It seems that the two years they have claimed while perfecting their swordplay really paid off." Draven simpered.
The Four Dead Lords charged towards their share, brandishing their weapons and smashing the skeletons' body like a bat shattering the fragile glass.
The Wailing Host summoned two ghoul serpents in an attempt to distract the team, but Oran and the Lost temple Construct managed to grab the ghoul serpents with their big, strong hands. Using the serpents' tails as a batons' handle, the Constructs battered the Wailing Soul and smacked its face.
Death quickly climbed on top of Oran just as the latter delivered a solid right punch towards the Host's face. The Pale Rider sprinted across Oran's right hand, leapt towards the Host's face and unleashed a powerful flipsaw attack. The scythe sliced across the raw flesh of the abomination's face.
"Oran and the Lost Temple Construct, pin the Host's hands down!" Chris and Alito shot out.
The two constructs nodded as they quickly grabbed the Wailing Hosts's hands and pinned them down into the cold, hard ground like a nail upon a wooden plank.
Both Chris and Alito quickly jumped off from the Warden's left hand and nodded to each other.
Alito transformed into Lifebane as Chris unleashed powerful flurries of slashes in mid-air, a strong flipsaw, and a twirled her dual Lifebane with both hands. A huge circle of icicle and wind energy extended the dual Lifebane's attack range, slicing through the tentacles and face with ferocious tenacity.
The Pale Rider assisted Chris's attack by riding upon the Host's head and stabbing the abomination repeatedly with his possessed Scythes.
Death planted his scythe deep in the Wailing Host's forehead, dragged his scythe down, and delivering a huge gash across the abomination's face.
The Wailing Host's eyes glowed green with anger, green flames erupted out of his shoulder blades as it roared and imbued his fists with green fire.
"DEATH, NOW!" Draven shot out.
Knowing the Wailing Host was grievously injured after multiple battering and a gash across its face, Death summoned his Harvestor and pinned the Host's forehead.
Death quickly sprinted towards the Host's face, grabbed the Harvestor, transformed into the Reaper Form, and slashed the abomination several time across its face. Burning anger flowed through Death's glowing Harvestor as each swing left a deep gash upon the Wailing Host's face.
The Wailing Host retreated into his hole, but Death was not about to let sleeping dogs lie.
"GET BACK HERE!" Death angrily powered down and jumped into the hole before anyone could warn him.
The team waited with bated breath as distorted screams from the Wailing Host pierced the dark, cloudy skies. The green mist gradually turned red as blood, vital organs, and tentacles erupted from the hole like a fountain.
"This is for your accusation towards my brothers!"
"This is for your accusation towards me!"
"This is for tarnishing the Four's name!"
"And this is for you being a complete asshole towards my brothers!"
"Wow...Death seems to take no crap from people." Alito looked on amusingly.
"He's certainly not someone you can easily mess with. No matter how powerful an enemy is, he will do something just to bring that ass down." Draven nodded.
"He doesn't stand there and wait for something; he doesn't take crap from people." Chris followed.
Death jumped out of the hole, doing a lethal suplex with his scythe, and tore the Host's head off with a deep scream, effectively ending the Dead King, Chancellor, and the Wailing Host's reign over the Dead Kingdom.
"Okay...that happened." Alito's eyes widened.
"Surprised? I have fetched bigger heads than this." Death frowned.
"Who?" Chris wondered.
"Leviathan." the Pale Rider replied.
Death stood up as he dusted of the blood on his body and steadied his breath.
"The Dead Kingdom...is finally free." the Soul Arbiter smiled.
"Eons after eons...I have to agree with you, brother." Phariseer nodded.
"Thanks...Although it's kinda disrespectful of me not to know your full names - a warrior must remember their allies for the help they contributed, eh?" Draven smiled.
"Chris. Chris 'Quattro' Fuschia." the Icy Maiden simpered.
"The name is Alito 'Ventus' Gnade." Chris's confidante bowed and shook Draven's hands along with Chris.
"I have introduced myself before, but my full name is Draven Blade. And thanks for helping me; there couldn't have been a greater honor than for us to work together and tear down the corrupt Dead Kingdom" the Master of Blades grinned.
"As long as you are free from the Dead King's grasp, and as long as the Kingdom isn't ruled by Hate and Fear, all is well." Chris simpered.
Just as the team celebrated their victory of overthrowing the corrupt Chancellor and the Dead King, the Adjudicator shook his head; he was not happy with what happened to the souls.
"There's nothing to celebrate just yet..." Adjudicator frowned.
"Huh?" Chris wondered.
"Since the Wailing Host, the Dead King, and the Chancellor were killed, the souls should have been freed. Yet I can hear their souls still crying deeply in torment; they have further descended into madness..." Adjudicator reported.
The Icy Maiden widened her eyes and then clenched her fists.
"How can this be? There must be something wrong!" Chris frowned.
Death looked around the destroyed City, knowing that someone could explain the entire trouble.
"We need to find someone. We need to find the Crowfather." Death replied.
"But he's dead, isn't he?" Alito wondered.
"He's dead, where better to look? Every soul, except the ancient Makers, will pass through the City of the Dead before channeled into the Well of Souls." Adjudicator replied.
"Why aren't the Makers allowed?" Chris wondered.
"Makers have souls that are far too ancient for the City of the Dead to accept. That is why we have the Makers' Stone and the Constructs. A Maker channeled their life force into a Maker Stone when they reached their end of their lifespan." the Lost Temple's Warden spoke.
Death's eyes squinted when he saw a glowing mass of flame at the far end of the City.
"What is that?" Death asked.
"It is a portal where most spectral souls gather to be channeled into the Well of Souls. That may be where you can call forth the Crowfather's spirit. Only souls were allowed, though." Basileus explained.
"Well, let's go!" Death shot out, eager to know why the souls of Humanity had not been released yet.
Chris, Alito, Draven, the Four Dead Lords, and the two Constructs followed Death as they approached the far end of the City where the flaming gateway resides.
The seven figures upon the Constructs landed on the City's floor and looked around the area for any signs of the Crowfather. Death, too, assisted in the search.
A huge burst of light shone through as the eight figures shielded their eyes with their hands.
A sagely, yet familiar voice rang in Chris, Alito, and Death's ears.
"Horseman...I believed you called."
As the piercing light faded, the eight figures set their sight upon a green, spectral crooked figure wearing a furry scarf, a robe around itself, iron cuffs around his arms, and a long shawl. The figure still had the same wrinkled, white beard face and green eyes that Chris, Alito, and Death recognised.
"Crowfather?" Death asked.
"Crowfather!" Chris and Alito called out and bowed.
"The Keeper of Secrets...what a mysterious title indeed." Draven spoke.
"Draven...the Master of Blades. I suppose you are enjoying your new-found freedom after the Dead Lord is gone for good?" the Crowfather asked.
"Never better, Keeper of Secrets." Draven chuckled.
"The Four Pillars of Argul, finally reunited. It seems as if the City of the Dead King's tyranny has ended." the Crowfather nodded softly as he stroked his beard.
The Dead Lords bowed.
"Ah...so you are the two women who followed Death in his journey to destroy Corruption and save his brother War. I'm sure we have met before in the Icy Veil?" the Crowfather asked.
Chris and Alito nodded.
"Yes...yes...my memory serves me better now; both of you teleported into my portal to the Forge Land before I close it, yes?" the Crowfather simpered.
"Of course, Crowfather. But why aren't you grumbly or angry anymore compared to what happened at the Icy Veil?" Alito wondered.
"The amulet shattered upon my death, allowing me to regain peace once more while untroubled by the Nephilims' screams for revenge. That is not why I am here though. You wanted to seek me because of the Well of Souls, yes?" the Crowfather asked.
The rest nodded.
"The Well of Souls is a place of unimaginable power...the key to life and death, of creation itself. And that is why the Well has a key of its own...one that was divided long ago. The Angels keep one half, and the Demons the other. And never shall the two meet. Unless, Death, you truly mean to save your brother." the Crowfather explained.
"To save War, I would storm the White City." Death frowned.
"Of that, I am more than certain. But there is no need." the Crowfather nodded while stroking the feathers of Dust, Death's pet crow. "The Angels have realms beyond the White City, as the Demons do, beyond their Dark Kingdom. All will be clear you all reach the tree." the Crowfather replied.
Death became frustrated at needing to make another trip to the Tree of Life after travelling to the Dead Kingdom to seek the Well of Souls. Chris, however, remained calm. She knew that the Keeper of Secrets was wise beyond words - where else would he have the moniker?
"We have already done that, Crowfather." Death frowned.
"Nevertheless, you must find the tree again. And go wherever it takes you. Besides...the Well of Souls will be the least of your problems. Absalom lives and he shall pose your greatest threat yet." the Crowfather replied calmly.
"So...he lives? As Corruption, right?" Chris asked.
"Yes. Absalom lives on. His rage and agony spread as Corruption and he will unmake all of Creation to destroy the Balance." the Crowfather nodded.
"I killed Absalom once Crowfather - if I could go back, I would see him spared." Death sighed.
"I doubt he would grant you the same courtesy." the Crowfather shook his head.
"How can we restore Humanity?" Chris asked.
"The Well of Souls is where all life begins - where the souls of the dead are born into their new lives." the Crowfather replied.
"So it is a natural cycle...We killed the beast that haunted this place. We freed the souls of humanity." Death concluded.
Chris and Alito's face lit up - they prevented history from happening to Death. However, the Crowfather shook his head and frowned.
"And in other times that would be enough. But something draws power from the Well, leaving only void where there once was life." he replied.
"We don't get you." Draven frowned.
"Chris, remember what you told Ostegoth about your aim in ridding Corruption, the perpetrator of the dimensional disruption?" Crowfather asked.
"Yes." Chris replied.
"What did Ostegoth replied in return?"
"He said that Death, Alito, and I must reach the Well of Souls. He never changed our destination when it comes to Alito and I...that means..." Chris's eyes widened.
"Yes. The Well is overtaken by Corruption, and I fear all of you have only released the souls into further torment." the Crowfather shook his head.
Chris and Alito's eyes drooped. "After all the crap we have gone through, and still none came to fruit..."
"Then there is no hope...Humanity is lost." Death shook his head.
Chris, however, quickly snapped back into a frown and clenched her fists.
"No! There must be another way to restore the innocent humans back into this world, besides killing Absalom!" Chris stubbornly refused.
"That's right, Chris. Even now Death carries with him the power to restore the Well." Crowfather nodded.
"The Nephilim?" Death wondered.
"If you sacrifice their souls - yes. They alone have the power to undo what was done." the Crowfather agreed.
"But I have to sacrifice the Nephilim - my kin - to restore mankind?" Death asked.
"The Nephilims are dead by your own hands when you killed me and shattered most parts of the amulet. That broken talisman is all that remains. Would you leave them to eternal torment in that cage upon your chest?" the Crowfather asked.
Death frowned. "This is for War. I want to save him."
"Then go as the crow flies, or else your brother is lost!" the Crowfather frowned.
"We'll need to prepare ourselves first. A night's rest should be enough, right?" Chris asked.
"It always pays to be ready." the Crowfather nodded.
Draven and Soul Arbiter approached Death, Chris, and Alito and extended their hands.
"It's been a pleasure to have you helping us to overthrow the Dead Kingdom's tyrannical King; now Argul will be at peace." the Soul Arbiter thanked.
"Without your knowledge of the past, the Dead Lords' knowledge of the Interdiction, and Draven's knowledge of the Bloodless, we will not be able to know that the Kingdom of the Dead is in serious trouble. To free the souls from the tyrannical Lord of Bones is an honor. Now all we need is to kick Corruption's arse." Chris simpered.
"Death, Chris, and Alito, you have freed me from the Dead King's whip and allowed me the chance to have the Dead King's head, there could have been no more comfort than this." Draven bowed.
"As long as I can seek justice against someone who accused me and my siblings for being responsible for something we did not do...that's fine by me." Death grunted.
Chris and Alito nodded and simpered. "All we want to see is a kingdom at peace and no innocent beings getting killed. As long as this happens, we will go through all lengths just to bring justice down!"
"All of Creation, even your brother War, will rest upon you three. Beat down the Corruption, and may the Stonefather be with you!" Oran replied.
The Four Dead Lords kneeled on one knee and bowed.
"We thank you for freeing us from the Dead King's grasp!"
Chris, Death, and Alito looked at one another and nodded.
This time, it was not just War...but the entire Creation and Balance were at stake.
As warriors who would put in their efforts just to see the Balance stabilized, there was no turning back...
However, Chris began to wander about what Death said hours later, just as the team was leaving the Kingdom of the Dead.
"I killed Absalom once Crowfather - if I could go back, I would see him spared." Death sighed.
"I doubt he would grant you the same courtesy." the Crowfather shook his head.
Chris shook her head...
"If there is a way...to go back in time. Then maybe..."
"Don't." a wise voice echoed behind him.
Chris woke up just to see the Crowfather beside him...
"C...Crowfather...?" the Icy Maiden sighed.