AT LAST! I HAVE RETUUUUUUURNED!
Ladies' and gentlemen, boys and girls, cats and dogs, I have returned with a new chapter to the god-dang story.
It is currently 12AM because I refused to go to bed before posting what I cooked up, so I'll keep this header thing short, but MAN did i have a heavy case of writer block to work through. After leaving to California, coming back from California and the long ass time I took off before then, I seriously couldn't think of the way I wanted the next chapter to go.
But I finally did it and I can now beat the Kingdom Hearts series with complete focus! Hope you guys enjoy the read!
Warning: Due to this FanFiction receiving over 1K followers, all readers who have made it to this chapter are entitled to one voucher for a 5 minute cuddle session with either Ranni the Witch or Rya. (Supreme Gamer is not responsible for any transportation to the Lands Between or any dangers faced upon reaching it.) You have been warned.
Velka moved the halls at a somewhat easy-going pace. She had no idea what Gwyndolin was summoning her on the eve of Oscar and the others arrival, but she wasn't going to rush to meet him.
Better to assume that she was helping her efforts by delaying any orders to be given to her. Even if she was only stalling for a scarce minute or two.
"Kaylen's not here yet, but he wasn't far behind that infernal crossbreed. He'll run into trouble sooner rather than later when he's free. Should I stall until he's free and regroup with him immediately…or make use of the element of surprise to try and get close to Lord Gwyndolin before he grows wise to my betrayal?" Velka thought with clear focus, understanding that her decision could be the equalizer of the entire conflict. "Hm…maybe it would be better to do both. Create a big enough distrubance to follow and the Prophet will coming running without question. But I need to ensure Oscar and the others don't come. If Ornstein, Smough or the Darkmoon Blades join the fray alongside Gwyndolin, then we won't stand much of a chance with their numbers. Better that Oscar focuses on keeping them busy, while we-"
Velka stops mid sentences and halts in place.
"Wait…something's off."
That's what her instincts suddenly whispered in her ear. And if there was thing she'd learned to trust in her life, it was her instincts.
Her eye's scanned the hall she stood in for the slightest hint of even imagined movement or sound. Ready to scorch her surrounding at a moments notice if it turned out that her foe was of the invisible variety.
But after feeling things out for a time, nothing came for her, and nothing seemed to call for her to be on edge. So she continued to walk onward, keeping he wits about her for any disturbances.
It was only went the goddess felt a particularly annoying twinge crawl through her mind, did she close her eyes and try to will the feeling away with a shake of her head. When she opened them again, she was more than shocked to find herself within what appeared to be a blackened void covered in drifting snow….
….and kneeling in the center of it all was a man she was quite familiar with….
"Prophet?"
It hurts.
God, it hurts.
More pain than he can put into words searing the right side of his body. But even still, through pure grit and seething rage, he was moving before the explosion of black and crimson pyromancy finished erupting.
Within her first bound, Pricilla was outside the range of his sorcery and was long gone, having fully bought the story he'd told her to convince her to leave. If he wasn't so single mindedly focused on rushing through the mass of smoke and flame to reach the source of his ire, he might have taken a split second to be thankful she was as fast as she was.
Unfortunately, no such thought crossed his mind amidst the conflict he made his way towards.
He could make out the red cloaked man's form and position within the graveyard through his magic, but everything was a little fuzzy when he tried to do so with the cloud of smoke around them both. Not to mention the fact that half his body was covered in fire and lava mere seconds ago hindered him greatly.
The exposed flesh along his arm and parts of his face was seared nearly to the bone. Every minuscule muscle movement sent ripples of pain through his body and mind. It hurt so bad he could hardly focus on maintaining his sorcery and navigate the frozen landscape that strobed in and out of focus all around him.
To even maintain consciousness and push forward through it all, Kaylen couldn't just be pain-tolerant, or pain-resistant—he had to be pain-defiant.
However…
"COME ON!" Kaylen bellowed loudly as a massive coalesce of flames swirled into his hand and was thrown blindly through the smoke, with yellow eyed warrior trailing behind it like a shadow.
None of the pain he felt meant was short on willpower or wrath to be given.
BOOSH!
Due to his covenant with Velka, the injuries Kaylen suffered across his body swelled his pyromancy's potency more than even he realized. With the red cloaked invader dodging ball of flame at the last moment, only for the following explosion to rent the air behind him and sent vibrations along his skin.
Though he had no time to dwell on the shaking of his very bones as a black cloaked form rushed through the smoke toward him with an ethereal blue spear in hand.
Kaylen thrust forward towards his foes chest, hunting him with each step forward as the phantom backpedaled to avoid the spears tip. Though Kaylen was quick to notice that not a step was wasted in the invader's movements, even while on the retreat.
Just as Kaylen took note of his enemies movements, the Phantom avoid the spear one final time before turning on a heel, igniting a burning swirl of flame in his hand and sweeping it in a wide arc. Causing the Prophet to gasp sharply before ducking the surging whip of fire that suddenly lashed out.
The very second the flames passed him by overhead did Kaylen charge forward and slam his ignite palm to the phantom's bare chest. Causing an eruption of fire to ring out and him flying backwards until his body collided with a particularly large gravestone.
With surprising haste, the phantom regained itself, before extending it's whip to full length and lashed out in retaliation of the blow.
WHOP-EESH! WHOP-EESH!
The whip was a blur as it moved through the air. It's barbed body breaking the sound barrier and sending a harsh ringing into the Prophet's ears with its crack as he evaded the strikes. He could see them coming through his magic, but the effects of the sound where no less abrasive.
"Are you screwing with me?!" Kaylen said with clear, grating irritation as he used his sorcery to feel out the whips place in the air as it was cracked at him once more.
Then, without second guessing his decision to do so in the slightest, he took sharp breath and left a mirage of himself in his previous position in the snow, before taking a single step forward and altered the whips momentum with a swiping grab of his hand just as it was lashed towards him.
Halting it from cracking as intended and taking hold of the body of the whip in hand, Kaylen pulled it taut with a grit of his teeth as its spikes stabbed deep into what was once his remaining uninjured hand.
Soon enough, a blue aura begins to quickly trail along the whips it's form.
"String? You chase me here to play games with fucking string?!" Kaylen said as the aura of magic finished enveloping the whip in its entirety and the memory of the thorny whip was imprinted on his soul. "Fine! Then let's play!"
"DMMMMH!" The Red Phantom screamed in agony through it's cloth covered mouth as newly formed magic whips shot from Kaylen's arm and stabbed deep into his hand all the way to the wrist, each one moving like invasive parasite digging deep between muscle and sinew.
Willing the magic weapons to twist his fingers painfully to force the phantom to relinquish his hold on the whips handle, Kaylen pulled the weapons thorny bard from his hand, charged forward.
The Phantom hastily ignited its uninjured hand in a blazing flame and swung it towards the Prophet in an attempt to defend himself. Unfortunately, the Prophet felt this attack coming with perfect clarity.
Willing a broken blade to fly past his head and impale the invader offending hand into the gravestone at his back, Kaylen immediately followed behind the counterattack by summoning another broken blade into his palm and stabbing the phantom deep in his kidney.
Giving it a sharp twist for good measure.
"DMMMMH!"
"What's the matter? Upset because you got a little red on you?!" Kaylen said with clear animosity as he twisted the blade that much further, earning another scream of pain, before harshly yanking it free and placing a hand upon the bloody wound. Without a single ounce of remorse, he then proceeded to will his newly acquired whips to travel from his hand and invade the Phantoms gullet. Piercing straight through to the opposite side of his body, the vine like whips began to shred and slither the red Phantom stomach from the inside.
Needless to say, the screams that followed were blood curdling and the blood that began to seep from the large ball of yellow cloth atop the phantoms head was a clear sign that heavy internal bleeding.
"DMMMMH! DMMMMMMH!" the Phantom struggled in a panic, but with one hand pinned with a broken blade and the other being held aside by the magic whips, there was little he could do.
"Choke on it, you fuck!" Kaylen said as he felt not an ounce of pity for the man before him. "Am I funny enough for you now?! SPEAK UP!"
BOOSH
Kaylen slammed a palm into the Phantoms body, causing a powerful eruption of flame him that blew his form clean through the thick concrete of the tombstone.
He didn't have time to drag this out. If he was being hopeful, he had maybe two minutes before the hordes of monsters and undead overwhelmed him through sheer numbers. But the Prophet couldn't help but want to do everything he could to make this hurt as much as possible.
The memory of all the Phantom had done kept replaying over and over in his mind. How he killed Anastacia and tried to steal her soul, how he beat him bloody and strangled the life out of him in the cathedral, how he somehow stole robbed him of his memories and made Velka kill to keep him alive.
It was all this son of a bitch's fault and Kaylen had every intention of making him pay for everything. With interest.
Unfortunately, his intense desire for retribution made him sloppy.
If Kaylen still had his memories intact, he would have been privy to the golden rule of never assuming that you've won. Even if the enemy has been backed against the wall, even if they're but a single strike away from death, even if it seems that the battle has practically been decided, one must continue to treat the enemy before them as if they are in perfect condition.
Because it's always right when you think you've won and have grown conceited in that assured victory is exactly when unthinkable happens.
For Kaylen, it happened as he willed a spear to form in his hand and stomped forward to the Phantoms prone form. Wanting to end this with piercing him straight through the heart with his own two hands.
"What's wrong, huh? Is this a bit harder than killing a firekeeper cold blood? Or did you think I wouldn't pick up a few new tricks after our last fight?" Kaylen said as he stalked toward the would-be murderer, who only just barely manage to roll on his back and place a hand upon the open wound on its side. Standing above him with weapon raised, Kaylen gave but one last parting comment before the finishing blow. "You deserve a lot worse that just a spear, but it'll put a smile on my face to see you di-"
His words freeze in his throat as he suddenly felt the Phantoms body tense up. Then, as particularly violent surge of chaos flame ingulfed his hand entirely, he raised his palm into the air faster than one would expect with his injuries and he slammed it to the earth beneath him.
At first, there was silence. Lasting only the barest whisper of a second. Though he no longer had knowledge to tell him exactly why, a part of Kaylen's very being told him with perfect clarity that it was too late to avoid what was coming and another screamed at him to strike with his spear now.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere near enough time for such a strike.
Once that miniscule speck of time had passed, a pillar of fiery, chaotic pyromancy erupted from the earth with a mighty roar. The flames spiraling upward with such intensity that it became nothing short of a pillar of surging chaos great enough to melt even boulders.
He feels the heat first as his mind tries to understand what's happening…and then the pain hit.
A scream is torn from his throat as the flames rush over his body and incinerate all that he was. His skin, searing and cracking, was charred a crusted black within moments. His internal organs were cooked beneath his armor and his the moister in his eye evaporated as the heat burned them to their very core, blinding him. Even his very lungs and throat, having breathed in the flames, suffered scalding burns along every inch.
The screams fell silent long before the pillar of flame died down and faded away, leaving behind a pool of magma along the earth at both men's feet.
With nary a sigh that he was even breathing, Kaylen fell to his knees as an unrecognizable object of commingled flesh and steel. His body scorched almost into a new state of existence by the searing heat which, even after the flames had fallen back, still ate him.
With a single attack, just as victory was within his grasp, Kaylen had lost. Soon enough, he felt himself begin to sink under the cloak of death. The encroaching end of his life washing away all his and anguish and woes as easily as dirt washing away with the splash of water.
He continued to sink and sink, until there was nothing but darkness all around him and he felt as if he was leaving his body behind.
And then….
…..
…..
…..
…..
"Dying…What?...No, I…I can't die yet….Everyone's waiting for me…I can't…"
The words were spoken in vain. A tired last effort of his will to keep fighting. But there comes a point where the human mind accepts that the end is coming whether they wanted it too or not. And so too inevitably did Kaylen's mind reach the point as the last vestiges of his life slipped from his grasp.
And with it, the realization that he'd be losing a lot more than just his memories this time and that failed to honor the promises he'd given to those he cared about.
"But…it's not my fault…" Kaylen thought as he felt himself slip further away. The feeling of the end coming upon him sending vision of his action flashing through his mind. Forcing him to see the truth of his failure. "No…It is…I'm the one to blame…I'm sorry everyone…"
"…."
"…."
"…."
"…."
"It took a lot of blood for you to learn that lesson."
The words came as a voice that was soft and feminine, seemingly walking alongside his thoughts as death was closing in. The tone sounding as if it was both consoling and mocking him at the same time.
"Do me a favor, okay? Don't just sit there wallowing in your own guilt. That's not going to change anything either." The voice said, causing Kaylen's heart to clench and moister to well up within his eyes. "You've got a problem with that, you know. Too complacent. Heh, you won't change or adapt in the way that truly counts. That's why you're at fault and why you failed."
He sinks further and further.
"What a tragedy. You chose to die fighting before, but didn't count on surviving afterword. So now we're left with nothing but the weak resolve to neither commit everything to those around you or too yourself."
"What?...I don't understand…"
"That much is clear. You chose to fight through the Painting for the sake of those that mattered, but then decided that revenge for what you suffered mattered more and decided to stay within. You lied and told Priscilla to leave because you cared about her, but then decided that you didn't care enough to try to follow. The contradictory nature of your choices goes on and on."
The voice almost breathing upon his ear now. Each whisper making him crumble just a little further.
"Selfless or self-serving….You could have chosen one of these paths and kept something. But you failed to follow through on either and now leave behind nothing but a trail of broken promises and pained hearts." It said with equal part disappointment and despondency. "Oh, but you tried you're best in the end, right? Do you think Anastacia or Velka or Priscilla will be happy with that thought when it turns out you won't be coming back? Or do you think it more true that they will despair when they realize you offered nothing more than fleeting love and hope?"
Hearing this, flashes of the blonde firekeeper, the black winged goddess and the white haired crossbreed shot through his mind. Each of them smiling and happy. He couldn't help the moisture that welled up within his eyes and the sobs the slowly began to wrack his body.
What did anyone want him to say? He would undeniably miss each of them and it pained him to know the hurt he would leave behind in their hearts with his death.
"No…No, I…I didn't mean too…"
"Why are you crying? This is your doing. You didn't choose who you wanted to be, instead deciding to remain but a shadow of who you once were. Neither survivor, nor someone who could protect. In not deciding to be either, you chose to remain neutral. But do you know what happens when you try to play both sides?"
"Stop it…"
"In the end…everybody loses. You have to see that now."
"Shut up!"
He cried out, silencing the voice. His heart filled with regrets and sorrow, the Prophet didn't fight the sadness and tears that fell over him. So easily was he snuffed out, so easily did he fail. He didn't want to hear anymore of these ramblings.
It was only when another woman's voice began to cry along with him did his breath hitch.
He recognized the voice as soon as it reached his ears…
"*Sniff* Kaylen….why?…"
"Anna?" he said as the name squeaked out of his throat as nothing more than a whisper.
"I wish…I wish that you were still here with me. I'm afraid to be alone again. Please…*Sniff* I miss you…"
He tried to move. With whatever he had left he tried to move forward through the dark that surrounded him and comfort the Firekeeper calling out his name. He couldn't take hearing her crying, he couldn't take imagining her being left alone in the dark.
But no matter what he did, there was no strength in him left to reach her. And so, he could do nothing but listen and sink as she broke down further and further. Her voice becoming equal in grief and misery alongside the feeling of unfettered contempt.
"Why?...Why did you lie? Why couldn't you just live for me? You had a choice! Why didn't you choose me?!"
"But Anastacia…I did chose you. I-" Kaylen started, trying to stop the keeper from breaking any further.
"Is this what a promise is worth to you?"
Another voice interrupts. This one more stern, but no less pained and dejected. He could hear the whimpers in her voice and knew that she too was shedding tears. He recognized who it was just as quickly as he did Anna's.
"I gave you everything. My skills…my loyalty…my knowledge…my heart…my power. And all I asked was for you to come back to me! To deliver on the promises you gave! To choose us!"
"I DID, ALRIGHT! I CHOSE YOU! I CHOSE YOU BOTH! EVEN IT COST ME EVERYTHING, I'D CHOSE TO PROTECT YOU BOTH!"
A crack form along his soul.
Chose them? How could they say that to him after everything he's lost for their sake? Everything he's endured for their happiness. His guilt, his grief, his regret, his sorrow all took hold of him within the shadows.
And the dark answered his words in kind.
"Even if it meant forsaking yourself?"
"EVEN IF IT MEANT THAT!"
"Even if it meant you'd suffer?"
"IF IT HAD TO BE DONE!"
"Even if meant giving everything?"
"WHATEVER IT TAKES!"
With each word, a cold dark could be felt wrapping all around him like so many hands pulling him under. Their grasp holding a silent promise that need not be spoken.
It felt relieving. As if even among his shouting, someone was taking in all his anger and grief….and was draining it from him. Like another person was taking the wheel and carrying all of his burdens in his place.
Then came the feeling of being very tired. Tired to the point that if he just relaxed and let his eye's shut, sleep would take within moments.
"Good…now you understand. You've learned the lesson that had so eluded you. That sometimes to protect one thing, you have to have the resolve to let go of another. So let go now. Give yourself completely to one path and you will protect them. Know with certainty, that your salvation can only be gained when "Kaylen" goes away and leaves behind the one who chose."
He was being held closely by so many hands now. Too deep in their clutches to escape by his own strength, even if he wanted too. But he was at peace with it. He didn't struggle as he felt one last hand begin to fall across his eye's and give him that final push into a deep sleep. Nor did he fight the sinking feeling of being pulled underneath a heavy blanket of darkness.
It was too peaceful a feeling for any such resistance.
"The one who chose…I see. I go and leave him in my place. His salvation is nothing but sleep and sweet dreams. I'm the sweet dream. He'll wake up and cry for a moment that I'm gone…but he'll be strong enough to keep them safe no matter what. If "Kaylen" is the cost for that….I don't mind disappearing."
And so, the hand falls and Kaylen is pulled under within the dark. Leaving behind something else filling his body. His final thoughts being that he'd caused a lot trouble for everyone. Anna was probably worried to death, Priscilla was probably hurt that he'd lied to get her to leave him behind and Velka…he regrets that he may have hurt her most out of all of them. How many times has he made her sacrifice for his sake? How many times did she have to step in and save his life? Truly, just how much of a burden had he really been?
"No more…It's better this way, you son of a bitch."
"AND WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE THAT?!"
Suddenly, with a touch that warmed his body upon contact, Kaylen was grabbed by pair of hands and wrenched from of the multitude of other hands that had embraced him. The new pair yanked and fought with all their might before forcing him free of the blanket of darkness, before pulling him close in a tight embrace and refusing to let go.
He couldn't place what it was that told him exactly that this touch was something real and true. But Kaylen knew this was the case.
"Prophet, you damned fool. I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you getting the stupidest ideas in your little head. Who ever said that I was tired of watching out for you?! When did I ever speak that I resent you for coming into my life?! Tell me when did I say any of that?!"
"Velka? But…you and Anna…you said I didn't choose-"
"You can't possibly tell me you believed a single word that thing has spoken. Anastacia knows you left because you had too. The thought of resenting you for it would never enter her heart. And the same is true for me." the goddess said, having heard every word of what transpired in this…place. "Lean on me as much as you need to. Become the biggest headache I'll ever receive if you must, but don't you ever think that I'd rather be protected by whatever shell of a thing that seeks to take your place than deal with the troubles of the man I chose. You aren't the only one who cares and wants to do the everything to hold on to what we have!"
He couldn't see her with his sight lost to him, but he could feel her trembling as she held him. But still, she was trying her best to stay strong for the both of them. In her hold, he could feel the desperation she felt in this moment to convince that he was wrong.
"….I'm sorry, Vel."
"If you're going to apologize, you do it in person. Not wherever the hell this is. Come back."
"…Too burned up….I can't-"
"Don't even think of finishing that sentence. If there is breath in your lungs and a single beat left in your heart, your duty is not done. Crawl back inch by inch if that's what it takes, but don't you dare tell me you can't. I won't accept that, you hear me?" Velka exclaimed, wholly unwilling to be told that he wouldn't be unwilling to fight for every moment until his death. "Forsake these pathetic shadows, fight with the strength we've built together and come back to me."
A hand lays upon his burned cheek, this one feeling far different and more loving than the ones that came before. So much so, that he could almost swear it melted through a layer of the pain he felt.
"I know it hurts. But until your heart beats no longer, until that last whisper of breath leaves your chest, I need you to keep fighting. I promise I will be waiting for you on the on the side ready to treat your wounds and hold you close when you arrive. But please don't give up." the goddess swore, pouring her heart out to the burned form of her champion. Almost pleading with him even.
And Kaylen?
How could he respond in any other way but to comply with her heartfelt wishes?
Soon enough, the ethereal multiple forms of the thorny whip snaked from his hands. Each one acting as if they had grown a mind of their own, began to envelope his form. By his will, the whips seeped beneath the surface of his flesh and trailing themselves along the entirety of his muscle and bones.
But even more than that, he felt the cold touch of the dark take hold of his hand once more. The touch not unlike something one would receive from a concerned friend.
"Dammit…how's a guy supposed to croak when a beauty like you says something like that? I'd look a complete chump if I died now…." Kaylen spoke in a joking matter through his suffering. His chest rose as a deep breath entered his lungs, far more of an intake than should be possible with his injuries. And even with his burns and the clear sense of harm he'd suffered, Velka could swear it almost seemed as if the Prophet's body was changing before her very eyes. Not healing in any sense of the word, but plainly growing stronger.
"Don't I get a kiss for good luck? It's kind of tradition for moments like this, right?"
He figured she would oblige him. Instead, she ran a hand along his chin and tilted it upward. Bringing her lips just out of reach and locked her yellow eyes with his own.
"Come back alive and with something stupid to say to make me smile. Then we'll see."
Hearing this, Kaylen actually gave a genuine pause of surprise, before chuckling with clear amusement at the lighthearted comment thrown his way. His laughter was like ripples in a still pond after a stone has been thrown in. Radiated outwards through the darkness who had up until that moment been quite silent. Now it too began to give off the sounds of faint chuckles.
It was difficult to tell what followed within this moment of mirth.
He was still very much blinded and scared all over with burns, but as if he was easing his awareness back into what was real and moving away from the lie, the pain of the burns he felt seemed to become thrust to the forefront of his consciousness.
"...Heh…Heh, heh, heh…"
He gripped the snow that at his back tightly between his fingertips, before willing the whips that ran through his body to force his limbs to move. No matter how much his burned muscles protested against it.
He rolled himself onto his hands and knees, before having his magic raise him up like a puppet on invisible strings. Without his eye's, he had to rely solely on his magic to "see" his surroundings.
As he held expression of amusement contrasting with the severe physical anguish of his experience, the Prophet hobbles on legs that can barely support him, refusing to fall back down. He nearly chokes as he lets out a cracking fit of laughter. His teeth are red with blood and every fiber of his being screams in agony, but he still couldn't let go of the moment of Velka telling him to be ready with something stupid to say when he escaped.
The sting and warmth of his fresh wounds on his face opening up did nothing to stop his chuckles that shook his shoulders. Neither did the sensation of his lung feeling as if he was inhaling glass with each breath.
Neither did the arrow that he caught in hand just as it was about to strike his head. Neither did the first wave of crow demons that descended upon him with claws extended like a pack of starving vultures. Neither did the hollows, armed with broken weapon and run-down bows that were about to try to attack him like rabid dogs. Neither did the towering behemoth of a knight that was charging through all of them with a shield that was larger than he was and a sword that looked big enough to cut Kaylen in two with a single swing raised up to do just that.
Absolutely none of it stopped his laughter.
And the last thought he had before his pyromancy shrouded the area in such heat that it melted the very snowflakes from the air and his world became nothing more than slaughter and bloodshed was…
"Until my heart beats no longer and that last whisper of breath leaves my chest, huh?"
She didn't know where she went, how long she'd truly been there or even how much of what happened could she consider "real"….but Velka was shaken.
The Prophet couldn't see it because of his injuries, but she did.
She saw a small glimpse of the thing trying to take hold of him. Or rather, she saw what it deigned to reveal of its form as if crawled out.
A great void of writhing darkness filled eyes peering out of it. It's form so deep and large within the shadows that it seemed as if it had become them.
The goddess was not one to be frightened easily. She'd faced all manner of demon and seen many an earthy horror that roamed this world, but that thing...It petrified her to her very core. It struck such fear in her very being that she found herself unable to move a single muscle to act and comfort the Prophet until he was on the verge of allowing himself to be taken into its shadows.
Looking down at the palms of her hands, she saw that they were still shaking at the thought of it. But why? She was the Goddess of Sin. Facing the nightmares and the sinful was her trade. So why did that darkness strike such a deep, lingering fear within her very core?
"It wanted the Prophet. Hungered for him insatiably. Tried to manipulate him when he was weakened and confused. Why?" Velka question as she clenched her fist and wretched control of her body from the fear placed within her. Somewhat enraged by her own weakness. "His soul…the covenant links it with my own. That must be why I was able to intervene. A sort of plane within his being then? An attempt to claim him from the inside?"
She mused on things a bit further. She was aware of the Prophet unnatural ability to change and wondered if that had something to do with it. That thing in the dark wanted to change him and used his desire to protect her to mislead him….but it helped him too?
She saw it make its way into his hand at the end. How it made his body stronger.
"That doesn't make sense. He rejected it, so why would it still-?"
Her voice stops as she looks to her arm and see that signs of black trailed from the mark she'd burned into her in forming her covenant. The strange blemish mystified and gather her full attention for a time.
But soon enough, she found herself scoffing at the markings. As if she'd been challenged by some unseen force.
"Tch, I suppose it would only be expected that it might try to stain me as well. Might even attempt to take me as it tried with the Prophet."
Turning on a heel back the way she came, Velka frow burrowed as the image of the blacked creature looking upon her remain imprinted in her mind's eye.
"So be it. Do your worst, monster. I'm not going anywhere, and my covenant will remain. If you wish to corrupt the Prophet, I'll be there every time to pull free him of your grasp. And I won't be alone…"
Velka opens the door to her room with a bit more force than was necessary, startling a certain snow-white crossbreed.
"Hm? Thou hath returned? I thought thee-." Priscilla stops as a particularly familiar scent reaches he senses. One that caused her fur to stand on end instinctively and makes her eyes dilate. "Wh…Why doth thy body exude the faint scent of the Prophet?"
"The Prophet's scent? You can feel him on me then?" Velka questioned as she approached but looked away from the beast form. "Are you certain it's the Prophet that you feel?"
"It may not be as potent and come off rather queer when melded alongside your own, but I would never mistake his fragrance." Priscilla responded lowly, seemingly locked in a trance slowly began to reach a hand towards the goddess with the smallest bit of drool seeping from the side of her mouth. "That aroma truly seduces…."
As Velka quickly shot a wary look toward the crossbreed at mesmerized tone of her word, Priscilla was quick to retract her hand and place it over her mouth to hide the slobber that had trailed down.
Seeing that the creature was acting strangely but knowing there were more important matter to deal with, Velka ignored her odd choice of demeanor and spoke calmly as she looked away.
"Things have changed. I need your help, creature." Velka said plainly, much to the genuine surprise of the crossbreed before her.
"Thou wants me to help thee?" Priscilla said with a clear bit of displeasure of her own at the idea. "Not but a short while ago, thou spoke that I was nothing more than a complication thy did not want."
"I know what I said before, but listen to what I'm saying now. I need your help to keep the Prophet safe and I've been made to realize that refusing aid from an at least partially trustworthy ally would be foolish by this point." The goddess exclaimed without missing a beat, never one to hold back from following the path she believed was right. "You don't have to do it for me. I understand that there is no love between us because of our history, creature. But I ask that we put any distaste to be had behind us and work to-"
"Wha-, Thou attempt at making peace is horrendous! My name is not "creature" and I will not be regarded as some "thing" that you've deigned to make use of in your time of need." the Crossbreed said with clear offense with confidence in herself that almost felt foreign. It seemed that her time with the Prophet had granted her a newfound sense of self worth that came to surprise even herself. And this new sense of self worth told her that she didn't appreciate the goddesses tone towards her in the slightest. "My name is Priscilla and if thou wished to seek cooperation, then why doth thee not simply allow the two of us to apologize for what we've done to one another? It would hardly repair the harm done, but at least it would be a start, you-...you-…rude bird person."
Now it was Velka's turn to pause with surprise. Bird person? Bird person?!
The insult was a simple one, but for some reason the goddess felt as a very personal slight. As if the crossbreed had the insult in her mind for quite some time, but only just now found the courage to speak it aloud.
Such was her outrage at such an insult that a pulsing vein of anger arouse upon her head. It took a vast amount of willpower for her to bite her tongue and halt every intent of retaliation that came to her in that moment.
Instead, choosing to focus on what's important, the goddess took a deep breath and stuck her hand out towards the crossbreed, before speaking with clear restraint in her voice.
"Very well then. I am sorry for what was done to you in the past, as well as any disrespect I have shown." Velka said, trying her best (And failing) to not let her boiling blood show on her features.
"And I, for my mistakes and the turmoil I have inflicted." Priscilla said as she took the goddess hand, holding it just a bit tighter than necessary one the faint sensation of the Prophet essence fell upon her hand.
So what the scene was left with was an incredibly annoyed Goddess of Sin and a Dragon Crossbreed that was silently contemplating whether said goddess would notice if she consumed just the barest morsel of the exquisite essence she held within her now.
Just as Priscilla predicted, the apologies given did little to mend any such rift between them.
"Now, if you are satisfied with this, we have no further time to waste. I need you to begin moving immediately."
"And do what?"
"Return to the area that holds the Painted world. Everyone within and around it, need to be taken care of. Your ability to become unseen should make it a simple task of incapacitating them one by one and sowing chaos among the ranks. Once the area is clear, you are to wait for the Prophet to return from the Paintings confines." Velka said as she retracted her hand and crossed both palms across her back. "He is gravely injured, so you need to be quick and expect to have to carry him somewhere safe. But I stress that you need to remain as discreet as possible, or Lord Gwyndolin will intervene before we are ready. Do you think you can handle that?"
The goddess waited for a reply of confirmation, but was met with only silence. Turning to where her new ally was standing once before, she saw that the Crossbreed had already left through the open door.
On paper, sending her on this task was a sound tactical move. But Velka's gut was telling her that it would not go smoothly when put into practice and that she was a complete idiot for setting it into motion.
As if she didn't have countless problems to manage on her plate, Velka was left wondering about a single oddity that the Crossbreed had spoken, before she left the room herself.
"Questions upon questions. She has no reason to lie and I have no doubt it was that thing hiding in the dark that has marked me…so why would it be that the scent its left upon me would feel the same as the Prophets to her?"
Right up until the moment she made her way to Gwyndolin's chambers to answer his call, this singular question would plague the goddess mind to no end.
NOW HOLD THE BEANS! JUST HOLD ON A MINUTE!
I just got a few things to say!
First, this chapter went through a whole bunch of different re-write and the such. At first I was going to have it be a combined arc of Kaylen fighting the painted worlds inhabitant and Oscar going back to Arch Dragon Peak to fight the snake lads and the Nameless King. a But I couldn't make it feel smooth or for it to not give of the feel of being too bloated, so instead settled for just focusing on the Prophet.
Not that I've set the stage for him, I think it might be a more fitting starting point to maybe show off both of their struggles against opposing forces if that's the route I want to take.
Second, I thought it was about time I started try delving into the more "Lovecraftian" side of things when regarding the Prophet. Try and touch on a bit of the deeper workings of what might be going on behind the scene's, ya know. I'd be glad to hear if you guys think I went a little far with things, but I think I'm going to try and walk the road of upping the tier of ability with things moving forward.
I want both Kaylen and Oscar to feel like freaking leviathans of power before all is said and done. Though I'll try to pace myself and not rush things to fast, II know I'm definitely looking to up their standings.
And lastly, I hope the fight with Jerimiah didn't come off as too one sided this time around. I figured with Kaylen's particular abilities, fighting him one on one would be something of an uphill battle without the proper power to compensate. The way I looked at it, Jerry had about one ability to take Kaylen down if he used it right and that was the Chaos Storm Pyromancy. So I went with that angle of things.
Alrighty, that's all I have to say this time around, dear readers.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Did Kaylen give in a little too easily when faced with dying on a failing note? Did the darkness that was talking to him come off as convincing or did it just feel like it rambled a bit too much? Should Velka have remained a bit more shaken or was her willingness to fight more on the mark for her character?
Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.
This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.
P.S. As a celebration for the 1K follows, I'm considering putting in for one art commission for the story and posting it on reddit, guys. So if you have an idea what you wanna see in art form, feel free to let me know. Cute poses, badass showing or even characters being a bit sexy. There are no bad ideas and it's on my dime, so feel free to let me hear what you guys have in mind. :)
P.P.S. Thanks to everyone who checked out the Art put up on the reddit page. You guys are the GOATS...as for the rest of you, you have failed me for the last time! *Insert Sith lightning here*