The world did little to nothing to acknowledge the importance of this fight. As steel clashed, the sound the collision emitted was immediately muffled, fading into nothingness as if swallowed by the raging snowstorm. Yet, the significance of this encounter, of this battle, could hardly be questioned. When two entities of such unobtainable power and incredible potential faced each other, fate must have had something to do with that.
Arthas stumbled into a snow drift, desperately dodging a slash that could have very well finished his existence. Disregarding the cold and discomfort, he pressed on, charging into his opponent with his rune-engraved sword held low. The fallen paladin thought his life of constant challenges and tough decisions had prepared him to fulfil his destiny. However, mere inches away from his final destination, he found an obstacle he had no idea how to overcome.
The longer this encounter lasted, the wider the gap between them became. No matter how much energy Lich King pumped into Arthas, nothing changed. The death knight struggled against the demon-possessed elf. Illidan Stormrage was much taller than any night elf he had encountered, towering over the human. While looking at him, Menethil went back in time, replaying some memories thought long gone. Before his eyes, a virtual mausoleum appeared, filled with statues of both gods and heroes. The amount of work and hardship put into producing such details engraved in stone was unimaginable. Yet, the fallen paladin very easily – trivially even – noticed a similarity between these sculptures and his opponent. The demon hunter had what many would have called a peak physical physique, which consisted of massive muscle groups akin to thick sailor ropes.
Arthas's attack was nonchalantly blocked, apparently not affecting the elf. As Illidan allowed the human's rune blade to slide down the length of his left war glaive, he counter-attacked, making a decent dent in the opponent's left pauldron. Unfortunately, the armour appeared much more durable than the elf had anticipated.
As the snow kept falling down the seemingly endlessly frozen skies, their exchange continued. The situation could not be described as a stalemate, as the demon-possessed Stormrage had a clear advantage in multiple areas. Yet, the death knight had undoubtedly exceeded expectations repeatedly, refusing to lose and die. In fact, there was nothing else the fallen paladin could do. If he decided to run away, he would die once Illidan reached Lich King. Given the abysmal situation he was put into, he preferred to meet his end, fighting.
Arthas's breath was rugged and shallow. The seemingly unlimited endurance he was so proud of was finally put to the test. And … even though he could have made an entire litany regarding the results, it was sufficient to say he did not like meeting an opponent of his calibre. No, Illidan was a complete fighter whom he could not match.
Nonetheless, the death knight kept breaking his limits, pushing himself to continue the encounter despite his body telling him not to. Disregarding pain and exhaustion, he smirked as he realised something. Oh, how ironic was it? As apparently fated, he was to meet his demise the same way all of his previous opponents: outclassed and overpowered. After forsaking his humanity and ascending into the death realm, he felt invincible and untouchable. Yet, as he had been told repeatedly by his late master, his overconfidence and pride would be his downfall.
Widening his smirk, Arthas finally found a way to deal with the pesky demon hunter. With no regard for his life, he charged in, focusing the remnants of his magical energy to form a barrier around him. It would be foolish even to hope for this pathetically weak shield to last long, yet its only purpose was to buy the death knight a few precious seconds.
Author's notes section:
[2023-09-16]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-09-16]: A preview has been released.
Info: I have included more stories in the schedule as I'm not 100% certain what I want to write next. Please, keep in mind that I might add or remove positions from the list. I might rewrite some of the older stories or extract some of the longer stories from `The story of one lost soul`.
Schedule:
- Battle of fates (finish the WIP)
- My home is where my heart lies (finish the WIP)
- The shadows can be deceiving (new chapter)
- Hidden in the mountain's shadow (new chapter)
- The war call (new chapter)
- The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (new chapter)
- Black Diamond (new chapter)
- When the clock is ticking (Warhammer 40k new story)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (rewrite chapter 4)
- The heart not so cold (rewrite chapter 2)
- The family tree (revisit the previous chapters and apply adjustments)
- Will you look past my mistakes? (new chapter)
- The silence of the shackles (new chapter)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (new chapter)
- Lifetime of war (new chapter)
- Hope is the last one to die (new story in SW universe)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (finish rewriting the second chapter)
- Life is full of surprises (new chapter)
- Exiled you say? (new chapter)
- Until my last breath (new chapter)
- The family tree (new chapter)
- The story of one lost soul (new chapter)
- See the world through my eyes (new chapter)
- The broken heart (new chapter)
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even two stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
- Hoobstank - The reason
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.