Ina's perception of the world expanded far beyond what it had before. The inner sanctum fell away, and in its place she saw a complex web of color. Bright, vibrant, violent color.
There were so many shades that she'd never seen before. The monsters became grotesque, muddy smears. The power flowing out of her tome was a cosmic kaleidoscope. She could see the chanting growing louder and louder as a dark stream spreading across the web. All of it–saturated, desaturated, and everything in between–swirled around her. She could barely comprehend it.
She might have been overwhelmed had it not been for the voice coming from the grimoire. Even in her ascended state she couldn't understand what it was saying, but its whispers guided her hand. It beckoned to her as well, urging her to pull more and more power from the book.
It wanted her to transcend her mortal self and join it.
If she did, she could probably end this fight right away. That realization weighed heavy on her mind as she struggled to contain the seemingly endless flood of monsters. She spoke a word her mouth couldn't form and a stellar burst of energy rippled across the web, dispersing much of the grotesque shade of the things scrambling up the dais. Their nauseating color surged again though, staining the web just as thoroughly as before.
The temptation to give in to the tome grew stronger. It showed her visions of the web painted in the sparkling grandeur of their shared palette. It was beautiful.
That cosmic tapestry appeared to have every color she could imagine and many she could not, but there were some missing. Important ones. A glittering splash of orange shot across the web on a wavelength below the rest. The tome's palette didn't have that color.
Motes of blue, pink, and yellow entered her perception and spread through the colorful void. Those four colors were important, more so than the otherworldly sorts she could see in the vast expanse that the tome offered.
The monsters saw those colors too, unfortunately. Their smear reached out and threatened to consume Ina's friends. She wouldn't let that happen.
Ina waved her arm and a plethora of tentacles sprouted in a line reaching out to where Gura, Calli, and Amelia were. Another wave sent the tentacles into a frenzy, bashing and beating the monsters gathered in their way to clear a path. That may have been a mistake, however.
The tome's pull became stronger. It wasn't just beckoning her anymore, it was actively reaching out and trying to take her. The web of colors grew evermore vibrant and breathtaking, saturating all of Ina's senses. She wasn't just seeing the colors, she was hearing them, tasting them, smelling them, feeling them. They appeared in deeper parts of her perception as well, lighting up senses she didn't know she had.
The world around her wasn't just being buried under the web, it was dissolving completely. Her mind was still there, she still knew her purpose, but the sensation in her physical body started to disappear.
Then she heard a voice. Blue. She was too far gone to understand the language, but she knew who was calling out to her.
It was Gura. She was safe. The others managed to bring her back. The color of relief washed over her, but the tome was still pulling. So she pulled back. Instead of simply limiting the flow of power through her she tried to reverse the flow, calling the power to recede. It resisted at first, gushing out from her like a geyser, but she did not give up. It was her power as much as the tome's.
With stern determination Ina cowed the eldritch energy back through the book. The web of colors began to fade and the inner sanctum appeared again. She blinked, readjusting to the simplicity of human vision.
When she looked down over the edge of the platform, she saw colors gradually resolve into her friends' faces. They looked awful, but at least they were in one piece. Ina couldn't contain her smile as she summoned a stand of tentacles to lift them up onto the dais.
She opened her mouth to say so many things, but as soon as they reached the top of the platform, a wave of dread washed over them all.
Ina turned towards the source of that unbearable feeling as it scraped her nerves. A geyser of darkness that she could see with the naked eye bloomed from the hole in the center of the dais. It was so much darker, so much more real, than even the monsters they'd been fighting all this time. When she was neck deep in the grimoire's power she glimpsed the void that trapped her and stole her friend so long ago. What she was seeing right in front of her . . .
That was the void. Or something so similar as to be indistinguishable. The vastness was certainly the same. It wasn't empty though.
Something was moving inside of the billowing black pillar. It was enormous, with eyes that started to glow in the darkness. A deep, sinister red glow.
The monster in the darkness raised a colossal arm and the chanting grew so loud that Ina's ears began to ring.
Amelia cried out, "We need to move!"
Ina flicked her wrist without even thinking about it. The same tentacles that had ferried her friends onto the dais flung them off the edge. They'd have to handle the landing, but at least she'd gotten them out of harm's way.
She frantically swung her arm to launch Kiara as well, but the monster in the darkness was faster. A shockwave slammed into Ina with an ear-splitting crack, and she tumbled over the edge of the dais, shooting through the air. She spun wildly, consciousness flickering. The sound of falling rocks and screeching monsters accompanied a persistent ringing in her ears.
The ground approached too quickly for her to react. Ina would have surely died then, if not for Gura leaping up to catch her. The shark girl set her down gently.
"Where's Kiara?!" Ina said, searching the air around the platform. She didn't see any trace of her.
Calli shook her head, staring at the dais just as intently. "I think she's still up there," she said.
"But that's . . ." Ina held her breath. The dais had collapsed. Half of it was settling into a mountainous pile of rubble, dust rising in an equally sizable cloud. The inner sanctum had fallen silent in the wake of the destruction. There were no monsters coming after them; they'd all been crushed. It couldn't be over, could it?
Castor appeared at the edge of the still standing half of the platform. He took in the destruction, his head turning slowly to get the whole picture. Ina watched, her stomach doing somersaults, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"It is done," he said. His voice was quiet, tired, but Ina could hear him clearly. "We have crossed the threshold. There's no turning back." He opened his eyes and looked directly at Ina. "The advent of the Ancient Ones is at hand."
The chanting resumed, but it had changed. Where once it was ordered and droning, now it was frantic, almost wailing. And it was so loud! The entire chamber–no, the entire mountain shook. Ina tried to cover her ears to block out the cacophonous noise, but the volume remained the same. She wasn't hearing it with her ears, she realized.
The destroyed half of the dais shifted. The pile of rubble seemed to inflate as something rose from beneath. The shifting stones scattered across the chamber floor revealed the pulverized corpses of countless monsters. And then, a flash of orange.
Kiara stood in the middle of the devastation, facing the ethereal thing rising out of the rubble. She wasn't crushed, thankfully, but Ina gasped as she realized how small a comfort that was. Kiara's clothes were torn, revealing bloody wounds and dark bruises. She was standing, but she probably couldn't do much more.
"Kiara!" Calli cried out. She took a few steps, trying to cross the chamber to Kiara's side, but Amelia held her back.
"Don't rush in blind! We don't know what's coming!" she said, gripping Calli's wrist tightly.
"It doesn't matter! She needs help!" Calli tried to pull away, but Amelia's grip was too tight. She struggled to escape a normal human's grasp. Ina hadn't noticed just how badly injured the others were.
Gura stepped forward. "I'll go," she said. Amelia opened her mouth to argue, but Gura cut her off, "I'm not in nearly as bad a shape as you two. I can at least get Kiara and bring her back here."
"I'll go with you," Ina said. Her injuries were far from severe, though being flung off the platform had left her with a stiff, bleeding leg.
Gura nodded and turned to sprint to Kiara's aid, but the bubble of rubble popped.
Chunks of rock of all sizes soared into the air and crashed down around them. A roar that vibrated Ina's very soul shook the chamber. And finally, it emerged.
Shadows spilled out onto the sanctum's floor as the enormous phantasm took its first step. Its skin looked like a thin, transparent membrane filled with smoke. Its entire body pulsed with a violent red glow. Its tail–thick at the base and tapering off to a thin point–slapped the ground, silencing the chanting altogether.
Ina couldn't move. She couldn't look away. She couldn't breathe. It was like that monster's presence held everything in suspension, both space and time seizing up.
Amelia withered, her face deathly pale. "How . . . can that be?" she muttered. There was a look in her eyes, like she recognized the dark beast looming in the distance. Gura seemed to know it too as she took a fearful step back.
Ina also felt an odd sense of familiarity from the thing. It was different from what she felt from the book, but close enough for her to understand. She was looking at the manifestation of an Ancient One.
She dove head first into the deepest depths of the tome's power, immersing herself in the higher plane of color. A rough voice escaped her throat as she dragged dozens of giant tentacles into the world. Some of those massive new extensions of herself wrapped themselves around the monster's limbs and body. Others slammed into the beast.
The feedback she received was confusing. Its body was there, but also not. It was like she was striking a cloud. For the time being though, it seemed to be working. The monster wasn't able to take another step. But she couldn't tell if she was damaging it at all.
Ina's breath caught. The power she was pulling from the tome elevated her awareness. The world she knew fell away, just as before. But the monster still appeared as it had. Only, the red glow was much more intense, outshining the smokiness of its skin.
"There isn't much point in resisting, Ina'Nis." Vibrations from Castor's dull, muddled color communicated his voice to her. "Your destiny is at hand. Once you join with the Ancient One's avatar, their arrival will be complete."
"I thought Gura was the avatar? What is that thing?" Ina's words rippled through the colorful void. Castor's color flickered and waned. She could overwhelm him with a word, she realized. But what good would that do now? "Answer me!"
"The shark was indeed supposed to be the avatar," Castor said through clenched teeth, "but you and your friends kept her from us. We had to improvise." Even as he reeled from the pressure she was placing on his soul, she could sense his smirk. "What you see before you is the collective effort of the heralds. Their souls became the catalyst, replacing the one you stole."
Ina shook. "How could you? How could you do such a thing?!" She screamed through the void. Castor's color blinked out for a moment. It came back much, much dimmer than it was before. He was insignificant.
She turned her attention back to the Ancient One. "I won't let the order have its way! I won't let any more lives be sacrificed for some cosmic prophecy!" More gigantic tentacles emerged and started firing concentrated blasts of energy at the monster. "I will protect my friends and our world!" Her power surged, taking her further and further away from the realm of humanity.
The monster looked at her.
It saw her.
Overwhelming hopelessness pierced through Ina like a spear. The kaleidoscopic realm melted away, and with it, the power the tome offered. Ina fell to the ground, her power and strength fleeing from the otherworldly despair. Her heart creaked under the weight.
The beast roared again, tearing through the tentacles as they fell to dust. It took a step, then another. It was coming towards them. Ina could still feel its eyes on her.
She needed to do something. She needed to stop it, at least long enough for her friends to escape. Maybe if she gave herself entirely to the power of the tome she could best the creature . . . but no. She couldn't even hear the book's voice. She was cut off.
She was useless.
The Ancient One reached the edge of the destroyed dais in just a couple of steps, then it stopped. Why? Why wasn't it still coming for them? Ina strained her eyes and saw Castor lift himself off the ground. He spoke to the beast standing beside him.
"Ancient One! The form we have prepared will not last long. Please, incorporate my soul as well! Together, we can secure a more viable vessel!" He called out the thing, raising his hands as if in prayer.
Ina watched in horror as the creature reached over and picked Castor up. He threw his head back, laughing as he sank into the smoky red flesh. The red glow within pulsed and the monster's smoky skin suddenly appeared much more solid.
What was Ina supposed to do? Kiara was too far away to reach without the tome's power. Her injured leg refused to bear any weight. Calli didn't seem to have strength enough to do more than stay on her feet. Both Gura and Amelia were frozen on the spot, their eyes wide and unblinking.
Everything was falling apart.
Ina looked up at the monstrosity. There had to be something they could do. It couldn't be over yet. The five of them together could stop the order.
But the Ancient One's themselves?
A small ball of darkness drifted up beside the beast's head. It was the pitchest black Ina had ever seen, so dark it looked like a hole in space. A direct portal to the void itself. Ina tried to pull her eyes away, but her attention was being drawn to it. It was . . . speaking to her.
You made a good effort, but it is over now, it said in a soft voice Ina didn't recognize. It was soothing. It is time to accept your fate. There is nothing more you can do.
Ina felt a weight lift off of her chest. She breathed easily despite her exhaustion. Was she relieved? Why? It couldn't have been because of that little black dot. As soft as its voice was, it was still oozing with a dread that made Ina want to vomit.
But the things it said . . . was it really alright for her to give up? If she stopped trying, would the peace she was feeling persist?
Maybe it would.
The Ancient One resumed its march. Each step shook the ground beneath their feet. The monsters from before were scattered about in messy pieces, but as they came into contact with the beast's flesh, they were drawn up into it. The more it absorbed, the darker the dot became, and the lighter Ina's chest felt.
Lightness turned to breathlessness as Ina witnessed Kiara hobble into the beast's path. It didn't make any sense. Why would she continue fighting in that condition? What could she do, so tiny and ragged? Watching her friend stand against that unstoppable foe was a living nightmare.
A quick flash brought Ina's attention back to the dreadful spot. It had only been in the periphery of her vision, but she could have sworn she'd seen a bright light in its place for a split second. Suddenly, breath returned to her. The weight came with it, but it was warm. Not exactly comfortable, but grounding.
How could she have doubted her friend like that?! Someone who fought so hard by her side? Someone who accepted her so completely? Kiara was choosing to continue the fight. She wasn't backing down.
It wasn't so obvious a few seconds ago, but Ina needed to follow Kiara's example. She couldn't give up, not while she was still alive. And certainly not while her friends were still in harm's way.
She hobbled to Calli's side, lending her a shoulder. It wouldn't be fast, but they could get to Kiara if they supported each other. They paused next to Amelia and Gura, whose faces were still pale. There was still a great deal of fear in those wide eyes, but their expression told a different story now. They shared the newly ignited determination that Ina felt.
The four of them were still in bad shape all around, but they could at least believe in Kiara and try to support her as best they could.
The Ancient One kept moving towards them, not noticing Kiara at all until it was right on top of her. She raised her sword, igniting a small but intense flame. The beast wasn't impressed. Its skin bubbled and squirmed. Chunks of its flesh dripped onto the ground around it and then formed into smaller monsters. The melted offspring lunged at Kiara all at once, trying to bury her.
She fought, hard and desperate, cutting some down but more often batting the things away. All the while she received new cuts and bruises. Still, she did not falter. Her brave display energized Ina, and she tried to pick up the pace, but her injuries wouldn't allow for it.
The giant beast swung its arm high over its head and brought it down like a guillotine. Kiara raised her shield against the smoky red fist, and Ina held her breath. The monster's attack collided with Kiara's defense . . . and stopped. They were still, Kiara's determination holding the massive blow at bay.
Ina's heart beat, and that briefest of moments passed.
The Ancient One's fist slammed the ground, throwing up a plume of dust and shaking the entire sanctum.
Kiara was gone.
Ina collapsed, dragging Calli down with her. She gasped for breath, but the air burned her lungs.
It was her fault. If she hadn't run away from the order the others never would have made it to this place. The heralds, her friends . . . none of this would have been necessary. If only she'd accepted the inevitable from the start.
Tears slid down her cheeks and her chest heaved. Her voice, entirely human and loaded with all of her regret, rose in her throat. Before she could cry out, though, Calli clapped her on the shoulder. She choked back her wails and turned to comfort the reaper. The look in those magenta eyes stopped her.
Calli's body quivered. She was biting her lip so that she wouldn't cry out. The hand gripping Ina's shoulder trembled, but her eyes looked straight ahead. Defiant. Determined. Hopeful. She still believed.
"It's too early to give up," she said.
It hurt all the more seeing her deny the reality in front of them. Ina wanted to embrace her, to tell her it was alright, but she couldn't speak without sobbing. So she placed a hand on Calli's and turned back to the Ancient One. To where Kiara had been.
Warmth washed over her like a summer breeze. Despair shriveled in the heat.
It wasn't just her, she realized. The horizon shimmered. The temperature was rising throughout the sanctum.
Rapid flashes drew Ina's attention upwards. The dot was pulsing, rapidly oscillating between pitch darkness and blinding light.
Ina clenched her fist and prayed silently. She couldn't explain why, but she didn't want to give up. She didn't want to run away. She didn't know if it was because of the heat or the light that the dot was shining in bursts, but she was sure.
The fight wasn't over just yet.
+ Shift +
It was dark. She was weightless, floating through negative space. She could not open her eyes because she did not have them. She could not breathe because she did not have lungs. She could not feel without her body. Kiara knew this lack of sensation very well.
Death was no stranger. In fact, out of all the people she'd met throughout the years, no one had done it more than her. She couldn't count the number of times she'd floated in this exact same way.
Normally, she'd accept her fate and look forward to the next life. But this time . . .
There was so much left unfinished. Too much. And so many regrets. The world was at stake. Her friends might've still needed her. Were they going to make it out alright?
So much left behind.
A shiver ran through Kiara's disembodied soul. That was odd. She'd never felt like that with just her soul. And to think she'd felt cold.
The soul of a phoenix was much the same as any other living thing. It carried the culmination of a being's experiences and thoughts into death and deposited that information into the afterlife. At least, that was what Calli told her. Kiara hadn't experienced that last part.
The unique thing about a phoenix's soul was that it was never extinguished. The culmination of her existence wasn't ferried to the afterlife. It was, instead, transferred into a new vessel, where it would continue to experience and think. No matter how many times she died–or how many times her soul was reaped–she would always be reborn. The fire that was the essence of her being would always burn.
So why did she feel so cold? The fire was still there, she could sense it, but it was almost as if it were outside of her soul. Its warmth receded as if it were being drawn away from her. Kiara had never been crushed to death before, but she was certain it shouldn't be like this.
A new sensation raced through her soul. Motion. She was moving through the nothingness of death. That really shouldn't have been possible. There was nothing to move through. No space. No time. It was an intermediary realm for housing her soul.
But now she saw. Light! In the solitary realm of death! What started out as tiny pinpricks in the distance quickly became an ocean of sparkling points and glittering swathes of color. It was beautiful; like a photo of nebulas in deep space. Only, the colors were all wrong.
Amazement turned to panic as those lights and colors started pulling on her. Her very soul was being dragged into the darkness between. She was stretching, deforming, warping along the event horizon of the stellar abyss
She couldn't cry out without a mouth, but she screamed anyway. The flame within her, her flame, flickered. Her whole self was being smothered. Her light was going to go out!
Coldness overwhelmed her. She had frozen to death before. Many times, actually. This was similar. Her capacity to process what was happening dwindled. Her consciousness dimmed, turning inward and backward. She saw her friends. Their smiles. And not just Calli, Amelia, Gura, and Ina. She saw all of the people she'd known and loved throughout all of her lifetimes.
Those loved ones, those memories, were being snuffed out.
She was dying. A true, final end.
. . .
. . .
She peered into the void between the stars, into the darkness consuming her, and she raged. Forget a mouth and lungs and whatever else she lacked without a body, she screamed and shouted and gnashed her nonexistent teeth. She wouldn't go. Not ever, and certainly not now! She wouldn't leave all that she'd experienced behind!
She hadn't lived so long just to have some otherworldly force take it all away. She wasn't going to leave her friends to fend for themselves. She wouldn't abandon them in their time of need!
She couldn't!
Kiara reached out towards her receding flame with all of her will. Limbs be damned! She grabbed hold of that fire and wrenched it free of the consuming void. Heat returned to her soul, but she wasn't out of the woods yet. The darkness still pulled.
It would learn how dangerous playing with fire could be.
Her soul became a conflagration that grew and grew. The stars and nebulas began to twist and bubble. They couldn't take the heat of her being and so were melting, but she wasn't done yet. Hotter and hotter she burned.
Another source of heat entered Kiara's periphery then. It startled her, but the warmth it emitted did not interfere with her's. If anything, it fed her fire. The other source glowed bright, washing out the stars and illuminating the endless darkness between until Kiara's soul was floating in a different kind of abyss. One that was devoid of darkness.
That helpful source of warmth and light receded, leaving Kiara alone. No, not alone. Her flame burned brighter and hotter than ever, and she felt a connection. She couldn't explain it, but she could feel the body she'd just evacuated.
Kiara reached out towards her physical form, towards the world and her friends. Power enveloped her soul and she grew even hotter.
That heat coursed through her veins. She took a breath and the air around her body ignited. There was something on top of her, but she stood anyway.
And then she spread her wings.
+ Shift +
Flames erupted from beneath the Ancient One's fist, and it was no ordinary fire. Its radiant oranges, reds, and yellows were mixed with soothing shades of green and blue. The blinking spot hovered close enough to be licked by the flames. It spun around the beast's arm and then flew up over the monster's head. The flames chased it, consuming the gigantic arm in a pillar of fire. The Ancient One cried out and shrunk back from the heat.
Ina was mesmerized. The brilliant colors visible without the tome's influence and the cosmic deity's pained cry painted an entirely different picture from the one the tome tried to show her. It was a terrifying display.
But it was also incredibly beautiful.
As the pillar of flame grew, the temperature in the sanctum rose exponentially. Ina's skin tingled, and she shielded her eyes. If this kept up, she and the others would be burned up too! Except, her skin wasn't burning. Her eyes didn't dry out. Her clothes and hair were thoroughly unsinged. If anything, she felt . . . refreshed? She uncovered her face, opening up to the wave of sweltering air.
She saw something deep within the inferno. A familiar silhouette.
Calli stood up at Ina's side, eyes wide. Ina gasped as she watched the injuries covering the reaper's body recede. Bruises vanished and cuts closed cleanly. She looked completely revitalized. Ina herself felt the exhaustion of the fight evaporate. She could move her leg without issue again.
Gura and Amelia stepped up beside them, looking similarly restored. Their injuries were gone and the defeated shadow in their eyes was nowhere to be seen. Together, the group looked into the fire, embracing the heat that burned away despair.
The pillar of flame split, bursting into thousands of glittering strands and revealing the friend Ina had thought gone.
Kiara was ablaze with fiery energy. She hovered in the air on truly brilliant wings. Her sword and shield were transformed, enlarged and radiating the same awesome power. The Ancient One roared at her, swiping at her with its remaining arm. Was it afraid? Either way, Kiara wasn't interested. She turned in the air, easily avoiding the massive limb, and descended towards Ina and the others.
"Are you guys okay?! Did anything happen while I was gone?!" She frantically checked Calli over, then moved on to Ina. The tears in her eyes made her look like a benevolent goddess.
Ina smiled, her own tears hanging precariously at the edge of her eyelids. "We're okay, but what about you?" she said as Kiara moved on to Amelia.
"I'm just fine!" Satisfied with Amelia's well-being, Kiara turned to Gura. "You guys are . . . also good, yeah. We're all good, then?"
Calli chuckled. She threw her arm over Kiara's shoulder, heedless of the burning wings folded on her back. "As you can see, the whole team's in good shape." She pulled Kiara close, "You gave us a pretty big scare there, Kusotori."
"Kuso . . .?" Kiara grunted as Gura slammed into them, throwing her arms around them.
Ina looked at Amelia, who shrugged. They joined in, enclosing Kiara in a group hug. They squeezed together close enough that it was hard to breathe, but nobody let go. They were alive and revitalized. All five of them.
The monster roared, but they ignored it.
"Thank you all," Ina said, "for coming this far with me. Thank you for helping us."
Amelia smiled ear to ear, "Thank you for fighting for the future. I couldn't have made it this far without you guys."
Gura squeezed her eyes shut and practically shouted, "Thank you for saving me from myself!" Her lip quivered, but she was smiling too.
"This job has been way more than I expected, but it was worth it. Thanks, everyone," Calli said.
Kiara spread her wings, enveloping everyone in their gentle warmth. "I'm so happy to have met all of you. Thank you for making a mark on my life!"
If Ina could perceive the higher plane, she knew for sure she'd see all of their colors fused. A mixture like that would be beautiful. Much more so than the twisted hues of the Ancient Ones.
"Just a little further," Ina said. She looked into everyone's eyes and knew that they felt the same way. They knew what she was going to say, but she said it anyway, and they listened. "There's just one more obstacle to overcome. Let's put an end to the order, once and for all."
As one, they cheered. Ina raised her voice alongside her friends, letting herself get caught up in their current. She cheered louder, prompting the others to do the same. She wasn't just getting swept along. She was part of the flow.
As one, they resolved to free themselves and the entire world, present and future, from a dark fate.
The Ancient One shrieked, shaking the entire inner sanctum. Its power spilled out, flooding the chamber. Smaller monsters dripped off of the great abomination's body like beads of melted wax. They spawned so quickly that the army from before was born again before Ina and the others could turn to face them.
Compared to the start of the fight, though, it didn't compare. Ina wasn't intimidated. She wasn't uncertain or afraid. She was awash with warmth from her friends. She believed wholeheartedly in their power, and they in hers. Although, she wasn't sure if she could use the tome anymore.
It didn't matter. Even if she couldn't fight, she would support her friends as best she could.
A new, bright sensation washed over her. She was curious about where it was coming from, but it filled her with a confidence that told her she didn't need to see. She could trust it. It was on their side.
The tome felt heavy in Ina's hand. Revitalized as she was, she'd still been fighting nonstop for a while. The others were just as exhausted. But that was fine. All they needed was one good push.
She opened the book, searching for the power it usually offered. It didn't respond, but she wasn't the only one looking this time. The will of five reached into the void and took hold of the eldritch power of the Ancient Ones. Despite their disparate origins they were of one mind and purpose. The cosmic power couldn't help but bow to their desire.
Otherworldly energy surged through Ina's body, filling her veins and lungs. She burst alight and levitated off the ground. She was ready.
As if her empowerment were a signal, the group started running towards the army of monsters and the Ancient One behind it. The creatures cried out all at the same time as if to challenge their unity, but they couldn't even come close.
Calli took off, becoming a streak of pink with a blue tail; Gura was keeping pace with her. Kiara grabbed Amelia's arm and they took to the sky together. An abominable wall rose up to challenge them, so Ina waved her hand. Scores of weaker monsters burst then and there. The ones that survived had to face a barrage of lasers and massive swinging tentacles. In one move, Ina broke ground on a path directly to the heart of the army.
The beasts would not stand in their way. Not again. Ina would make sure of it.
+ Shift +
Gura crashed into the monstrous forces alongside Calli. The reaper's scythe spun, cleaving creatures with ruthless efficiency. Gura grimaced, pummeling monster after monster with her bare fists.
Something inside urged her to find her own weapon–she'd dropped it nearby– but she ignored it. That voice inside her mind wasn't so convincing anymore. It was dull. Muted. It couldn't hope to beat the thrumming of her friend's souls.
She was done being influenced by the things it whispered. She didn't need the trident right now. Her own two fists were more than enough. She pushed herself to keep up with Calli, beating dozens of monsters to a pulp at a time. Together, they cleared the path through the army that Ina had started.
They cut through the army of pawns like a buzz saw, making it to the king commanding them in no time. The big loser didn't like that, so it swung its only arm at them. Gura jumped, slapping the ground with her tail, and stopped the attack dead with one of her own. She didn't have to be a giant to deliver a little overwhelming force.
Calli seized the opening and sliced one of the thing's legs out from under it. It wobbled, tilting precariously, but it did not fall. A new leg sprouted from the stump almost immediately. The arm that Kiara burned away regenerated right after.
The Ancient One didn't waste any time in using its regrown limbs, dragging the fresh arm in a wide arc across the ground. Gura stopped it by slamming into it, but when she tried to tear through it, she met considerable resistance. The flesh was tough. The beast roared and pushed through Gura's defense, sending her sliding. She might have been crushed if Calli hadn't leapt to her rescue.
The new arm was severed in a bright pink flash. It didn't stay gone for long, though. Before Gura could right herself, the monster was whole again.
"That might be a problem," Calli said.
"That arm was tough, right?" Gura said.
Calli nodded. "Odds are good it'll get tougher and tougher every time we cut a piece of it off."
"Great," Gura smirked. "Guess we'll have to take it down before it gets too hard then." She sprinted at the monster and Calli followed close behind. Together, they raced up the giant's legs.
The thing's flesh rippled and jumped trying to shake them off, but they clung to it like suckerfish on a shark. Gura punched a hole in the monster's side and dragged her fist through its flesh, widening the hole all the way up to its shoulder. Calli crisscrossed the trench, slashing perpendicular gaps and expanding the hole even further.
The monster practically came apart like a peeled banana. Unlike a banana, though, the Ancient One was able to stitch itself back together. Gura tried to repeat the process, but the monster's skin resisted her attempt to pierce it. A massive claw rose up to grab her, so she changed tactics.
As the enormous hand closed around her, she leapt at one of the fingers. It was bigger around than she was, but so what? Grappling a single finger would have been silly anyways. She jumped instead, planting both of her feet just beneath the first knuckle. The digit cracked and flopped against the back of the monster's hand.
Gura raced through the opening and up the monster's arm. Its head was her target. She licked her lips, picking a sweet spot. The temple was an obvious choice, but it was high up. She'd have to jump, so she couldn't put all the force she wanted to behind the hit. The chin was another easy one. Tons of creatures were weak to a good brain jolting, but she wasn't sure this thing was one of those.
The snout was boring. So was the cheek. The eyes were out of the question; too straight forward. The top of the head would be funny, but she was in the mood to send something flying.
Gura zeroed in on her final target. The spot just behind the jaw, right under where an ear would be on a person. That should make for a good launch.
The Ancient One turned its head so suddenly that Gura barely registered it looking directly at her. It opened its mouth, showing off a row of enormous, glassy teeth that crackled with a disturbing red energy. The back of its mouth started to glow and the hair on Gura's arms stood on end. The monster's mouth grew brighter, dying its teeth a savage red.
Calli appeared beside Gura, snatching her up and racing down the beast's body just as a blast of energy shot out of its mouth. The crimson beam crossed the expanse of the sanctum in an instant and struck the wall. The explosion was huge.
Calli set Gura down on safe ground and said, "I'm having a lot of trouble cutting it already."
"Then just cut it harder," Gura said. Calli shot her a flat glare, so she smirked and held out her hand. "Let me borrow your scythe, then. I'll show you what I mean."
"Not a chance," Calli said without even thinking about it.
Before Gura could reach to take the reaper's weapon, an annoying swarm of monsters surrounded them. Gura cracked her knuckles, ready to tear through the chaff. A flash of fire drew her attention skyward as she crashed through the swarm.
Kiara flapped her brilliant wings amidst a cloud of winged creatures. Each slash of her sword cleaved through the crowded airspace, turning the monsters to ash. Any that managed to escape cremation met a stranger fate. Amelia was up there too, hanging from Kiara with one arm. Her free hand held a weapon that Gura hadn't yet seen.
It looked like a gun, but when it fired there weren't any bullets. Instead, the creatures it struck froze in place like statues, making them easy targets for Kiara's fire.
They broke through the aerial barricade and dove towards the Ancient One. It swung at them, teeth bared, but Amelia's aim was impeccable. It took a couple of shots, but the thing's massive arm froze mid swing. The rest of it could still move though. To Gura, it looked like the monster's arm was stuck in a vice and it couldn't pull it out. It struggled and eventually managed to pull itself free.
The frozen arm didn't go with it. It hung there in the air, suspended in space. Amelia didn't waste any time repeating the process. The Ancient One pulled free a few of the fingers on its other hand, chunks of its torso, one of its feet, and even a couple of teeth. The beast's body parts littered the open air. Kiara incinerated all of them.
The Ancient One screeched and the air in the sanctum shifted. As if they were caught in a rip tide, the monsters around Gura and Calli tumbled across the ground towards the giant that spawned them. The remaining flying monsters followed a similar trajectory. They collided with the Ancient One in waves and sank into its flesh. The more monsters it absorbed, the quicker it regenerated.
Calli took the lead, which, in this case, involved her disappearing before Gura's eyes and reappearing right in front of the giant. The shark girl scrambled to catch up. Their best shot of defeating the Ancient One was to break it down before it could regenerate completely.
The beast spun, dragging its tail across the ground. Gura hopped over it, barely cresting its girth, but large swathes of monsters weren't so agile. The tail swept over them, drawing them into the Ancient One.
The enormous creature's missing parts grew back in the blink of an eye, but it didn't stop there. More and more monsters were drawn into the smoky red body of the Ancient One, and with each new addition it grew even larger. What was once a modestly tall skyscraper with legs became an absolute leviathan by the time Gura caught up with Calli.
The Ancient One looked down on them, rage pouring out of its eyes and rising off of its skin as if the smoke underneath had escaped. It opened its mouth revealing a blinding red glow building in the back of its throat.
Gura shivered. The beam Calli rescued her from earlier was frighteningly powerful, so what would it be like now that the beast had grown so large? Red light filled the Ancient One's mouth. It was about to blow.
A tremendous blast of violet energy beat it to the punch, however. The light from the beam left a shadow in Gura's eyes, but that didn't stop her from seeing where it came from.
The way Ina was now put the brilliance of her cosmic attack to shame. She was radiant, blooming in much the same way Kiara was. Except, rather than glowing with an awesome flame, she was wreathed in a light pulled straight out of a religious painting.
"The gang's all here," Gura said, waving to Ina.
Calli gave a signal to Kiara and Amelia. "Let's finish that thing off, then," she said. "Don't hold anything back now."
Gura laughed. She hadn't been taking it easy, and she knew Calli hadn't been either. They were both scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point.
If there was nothing left on the bottom they'd just have to chuck the barrel.
Calli shot forward, shrouded in waves of black and pink. She'd barely slid to a stop when she drew her scythe back. Her blade seemed to catch on the fabric of reality itself when she swung. The air tore, and that tear acted as an extension of her weapon, ripping through the Ancient One's legs.
The scythe in Calli's hands splintered from the sheer force of the attack, but she got the job done. The monster began to fall. But before it could hit the ground, Amelia targeted its arms. She fired her mysterious gun until the giant was suspended on limbs frozen in space.
Gura rushed past Calli, putting herself right beneath the behemoth. She bent her knees, storing as much power in her legs as she could in that moment. She pushed off, demolishing the ground beneath her feet and shot straight up into the Ancient One's jaw. The thing shot upward, the force tearing its body free of its stuck arms.
Gura felt weightless. It was like she was floating after transferring all of her momentum into the giant. But maybe she was just dizzy from the impact.
A tentacle nearly as massive as the Ancient One rose out of the ground below. It coiled up into the air and wrapped around the thing's neck. Then it pulled. Suddenly, the giant monster wasn't flying away from Gura, it was careening towards her, and she had no way of avoiding it.
That was until Calli leapt up to catch her once again. As soon as the reaper wrapped her arms around Gura, the color of the world faded and the temperature dropped. For a second, they continued to fall, but then Calli kicked the air and pushed them out from underneath the falling beast.
Calli flipped, landing safely on the ground with Gura in tow. The color of the world returned to normal and the temperature rose. Gura gasped; she hadn't been breathing.
"What was that?" she said.
"Cheating," Calli said, pulling Gura further away.
More tentacles sprang up from the ground and Ina glowed brighter. A sound like discordant humming shook the sanctum as the eldritch appendages grabbed the monster and pulled it down faster and harder.
The impact knocked Gura and Calli off their feet. Fissures raced across the ground, threatening to swallow them up. Kiara swooped by and dropped Amelia off beside them. She helped them up, and they watched as Kiara ascended, her fire growing broader and more intense.
It was beautiful. Gura felt herself being pulled into that flame's warm embrace. She couldn't explain why, but it felt like she was up there too, sharing in the blaze. Her soul resonated with Kiara's and everyone else's as well. Their hearts beat as one, and with each beat the flame grew larger.
Kiara raised her sword overhead and it shone like a star. The blade grew wider and longer, matching the expansion of the fire. It cast the entire sanctum in a blue-green glow that reminded Gura of home. It hurt her eyes it was so bright, but she wasn't about to look away now.
The massive blade swung through the air as Kiara dove. She cried out as she closed in. Calli joined her, raising her voice until it cracked. Ina and Amelia added their voices, and Gura realized that she, too, was cheering Kiara on at the top of her lungs. Their voices combined and seemed to bolster the phoenix's flame even further.
Kiara hefted her flaming blade and struck. A blinding blue-green inferno sliced through the Ancient One, severing its head. Its limbless body convulsed and was quickly reduced to a mountain of ash. The monster's head shook, opening its mouth as wide as it could go.
Then it fell still.
The sanctum went silent. Kiara descended, landing beside the rest of the group, her flame dwindling. There were no monsters left to slay. There were no heralds to apprehend. All that remained of their enemy was that giant severed head.
Gura wanted to lie down right then and there, but something in the air kept her on edge. She looked more closely at the beast's head and shuddered. It was still moving. She could see its skin writhing and squirming.
The others weren't in good enough shape to keep fighting. Both Kiara and Ina had to lean on Amelia's shoulders, and Calli was leaning hard on her busted up scythe. Gura was exhausted too, but she still had strength left. She hoped it would be enough to finish the thing off.
She approached the head and braced herself for an unpleasant surprise. Unfortunately, she got one. The head itself was inert; its eyes didn't move and its mouth sat open and relaxed. All of the movement she had seen from a distance seemed to be coming from the creature's skin. The smoky red flesh churned like it was made of thousands of worms. It almost made Gura sick.
Then she spotted something out of place. The bulk of the head was a writhing mass, but she saw the distinct shape of a hand pressing on the skin from the inside. Her body moved before her mind could process what she was seeing.
It didn't take much strength at all to break through the skin. Barely any, in fact. Her hands dug through the flesh like it was sand. She grabbed the hand buried within–a man's hand–and pulled.
Castor Kaygill emerged from within the Ancient One's severed head. He gagged and coughed, vomiting a clear red liquid that seemed to also be coating his entire body. His hair and clothes were soaked in the stuff. Gura raised a fist. Every fiber of her being begged her to crush him right there, but she held back.
This man had wronged her, that was true, but she was partially complicit in that mistreatment. She hadn't suffered nearly as much as Ina had. She should be the one to decide his fate.
Gura carried the leader of the order back to the group and dropped him at their feet. He groaned, wiping his eyes and blinking. He looked like he'd just woken up from a really gross nap. The look on his face when he realized where he was filled Gura with an indescribable satisfaction.
He rolled over, getting up on his hands and knees, eyes wide, his expression anything but smug. "Priestess! You see now, don't you?" He stammered. The guy was begging. "The Order's ultimate goal! You've seen how vibrant they are! You must have at least glimpsed the truth, yes?"
Ina drew back. She was still afraid of this man, but the look in her eyes revealed a much stronger emotion.
Disgust.
"I saw it, yes. I experienced the color of the Ancient Ones firsthand," she said. Castor looked up at her, eyes gleaming. Ina scowled. "It was marvelous, truly, but it was terrible. Those colors are in no way compatible with our world. That power is beyond us. Your attempt to mix their hues with ours would have resulted in something muddy and ugly. I guarantee it."
The hopeful gleam in Castor's eyes darkened. He bared his teeth.
"I've seen it," Amelia said, her tongue dripping with venom. "The world you wanted to create? It was a fantasy. All you made was a pile of smoldering garbage. Your ambitions destroyed the world and left it gray."
"No!" Castor said, clenching his teeth. "The Ancient Ones would have made it colorful! You fools just refuse to see. Show them, Ina'Nis! Use the tome to grant them sight to see the brilliance of the cosmos! Then they'll–"
Calli stepped between Castor and Ina. She kneeled down and looked the herald in the eye. "You and I have some unfinished business, cult leader." She stood up and raised her scythe.
"W-Wait! We can–"
Calli swung and Castor fell limp. He didn't bleed and all of his limbs stayed attached, but Gura knew a corpse when she saw one.
"Did you . . .?" Ina asked quietly.
Calli nodded. "The Heraldic Order of the Ancient Ones is done."
The tension in the air broke. It felt like everything in the world, collectively, breathed a sigh of relief.
Ina and Amelia sunk to the ground. Tears rolled down their cheeks and they sobbed into each other's shoulders. Their entire lives were tied to the order in one way or another, and now it was gone. They were free.
Gura went to them, embracing them both. They leaned into her, and her tears started flowing as well. She was relieved, but she was also afraid. The order had been a dam keeping her worst memories at bay. And now that dam had been demolished. She'd have to deal with her past herself.
But that could wait because when Ina and Amelia raised their snotty faces and smiled at her, all of those memories seemed distant.
Her friends were happy, and so was she.
That was all that mattered.
+ Shift +
"I guess the case of the Holiv City cult is closed, huh?" Kiara said, wiping her eyes. The others were starting to calm down as well.
"I guess it is," Calli chuckled. Thinking of this whole affair as just another death cult incident made it seem so mundane. Few cults had been as stressful–let alone as physically demanding–to deal with as this one. "You know, I'm thinking it's time for a vacation."
Kiara's eyes lit up. "You mean it?!"
Calli nodded.
"So . . . does that mean we'll be staying in Holiv for a while?"
"It does," Calli said, smiling wryly. Her old friend hugged her and rushed to let the others know. Taking it easy wasn't the way Calli usually did things–there were always new death cults springing up somewhere in the world, after all–but this time she had reason to hang around.
The heraldic order of the ancient ones was a proper organization. It was old by human standards and had been spreading its roots in the city for as long as the city had been. Its collapse wouldn't happen quietly. There would be aftershocks, and someone needed to make sure those tremors didn't do too much damage.
Kiara embraced the others and they all hopped around excitedly. Calli hung back. She was content watching those sorts of celebrations from afar.
Her eyes flicked to the far end of the inner sanctum. Something was moving by the entrance. The doors opened slowly and a small group of people entered. They were dressed in drab robes and they looked around nervously.
The order's acolytes.
Calli didn't need to see their faces to tell that they were frightened and confused. How could they not be? She could only imagine how the fight must have sounded from outside. Not only the screeching of monsters, but also the quaking of the earth.
Calli started walking. She wasn't accustomed to informing those left behind, but somebody had to break the news. Their leaders were dead. Their cult was going to collapse. It was in their best interest to disperse and go on with their lives in some other way.
She stopped, though. She was a stranger to those people. Hearing about the dissolution of their way of life from her would be devastating.
Calli started walking again, but this time she approached her friends. She stopped in front of Ina. "I hate to bring the mood down, but we need to discuss something," she said.
Ina looked up at her, smile fading.
"I know you want to sever your ties to the order," Calli said, "but it isn't just going to disappear now that the leadership is gone. I reckon you're the highest ranking member left, seeing as you were their priestess." She pointed at the people slowly filing through the doors, "There are some loose ends that need tying up, and I think it'll be your responsibility to take care of them."
Ina's face went pale. She probably felt overwhelmed at the prospect of having to shoulder the order's legacy. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring it up right then.
"You're right," Ina said with a shocking amount of conviction. She was trembling, but she stood strong. She held Gura and Amelia's hands tightly. "The acolytes have looked to me for guidance all this time. I can't just abandon them right when they need me most, can I?"
"You're sure?" Calli wasn't about to trample on her sense of duty, but it was a lot of responsibility.
Ina nodded and took a deep breath. "I am," she said. "The order left an incredible mess behind. I don't have the power to clean it up myself, but I'm not the only one left. We'll manage, I think."
Kiara nodded, "And we'll help where we can, of course." The rest of the team agreed.
"Thank you, everyone. I'll be counting on you from now on as well," Ina said. She wiped her hands on her clothes and looked around the sanctum, pointedly avoiding the entrance. She was so nervous.
"I'll accompany you," Kiara said, grabbing Ina's hand.
"R-Right! Thank you!" Ina's smile was crooked, and Calli definitely saw beads of sweat on her face. But she still started walking towards the growing group of acolytes, if a little stiffly.
Calli didn't feel great about putting so much pressure on Ina, but death's apprentice couldn't fill a power vacuum. Only real, living people could. If she didn't push those involved to act before she left, then she would only ever leave destruction in her wake.
She watched them make contact with the acolytes, and besides a brief burst of panic, the conversation seemed to be going well. Gura turned away and started walking deeper into the sanctum.
"You aren't going to go with them?" Calli said, watching the shark girl out of the corner of her eye.
Gura stopped for a moment. "Oh, uhh, no. There's something else I need to do," she said and resumed her march.
Calli and Amelia exchanged a look. The direction Gura was going . . . that was where they fought her when she went berserk. It was a mostly empty part of the sanctum with just some scattered debris from when the Ancient One shattered the dais. There was only one thing that could draw her back there.
That trident.
Calli spared a glance for Ina and Kiara, then she and Amelia followed Gura.
When they caught up to her, she was standing just a few short feet away from the discarded weapon. It was an odd thing to look at with its crystalline surface and vibrant color. It almost looked like the deep sea was contained within it.
Gura's hand twitched, rising ever so slightly. Her fingers stretched towards the trident. There was an aquamarine glint in her eyes. She clearly wanted to take it up again, but she held herself back. What kind of history did that weapon possess for her to be this conflicted about simply holding it?
Calli stepped past her and picked the trident up. She turned it over, inspecting every inch of it. It was well balanced, but a little small for her hands. Oddly, it seemed like it would be just slightly too big around for Gura to hold comfortably. More importantly, it didn't give off any unpleasant energy. As far as she could tell, it was just a weapon. Plain and simple.
She held it out in front of Gura. "Go on," she said, "take it."
"But I . . ."
"If you aren't sure, we can get rid of it for you."
Gura breathed in sharply. She averted her eyes and twiddled her thumbs, but she didn't tell Calli to take it away.
"It'll be alright, Gura,' Amelia said. She patted Gura on the back and rested a hand on her shoulder. "If something bad does happen, we'll fix it. You can trust us." She smirked and winked at Calli.
"That's right," Calli said, smiling back. "This thing is yours. No matter how heavy it feels, we'll be there to support you."
Gura closed her eyes tight. When she opened them again, she quickly grabbed the trident out of Calli's hands. She gripped the weapon, squeezing tight, and stared at it for what could have been minutes. Then her eyes opened real wide.
She looked shocked to be holding the thing without any repercussions, excited too. That thrill faded almost immediately, however. "Thank you. Both of you," she said somberly. "It's important that I do this. Your support means a lot. Really."
"Don't sweat it, bud," Calli said.
The three of them made for the entrance together. The number of acolytes gathered by the door had diminished a great deal. Ina was guiding them back through the doors with Kiara's help. Calli recognized the old woman that they'd run into previously helping out as well.
Calli took up the rear as everyone shuffled out of the inner sanctum. Before she could cross the threshold, though, she got a strange feeling. It was a tingling on the edge of her awareness crawling up her spine. It stopped at the base of her skull, causing the muscles in her neck to twitch. It almost seemed like that tingling was trying to turn her head.
She stopped and looked back into the vast chamber. It was a wasteland now, littered with debris and piles of ash that were once monstrous creatures. It was eerie, but otherwise unremarkable.
"Something wrong, Calli?" Kiara said, waiting for her.
Calli shook her head. She was probably just tired. "I was just thinking, we're going to have to do something about that mess," she said.
Kiara laughed, agreeing.
They rushed to catch up with the others, letting the door close behind them.
+ Break +
The door shut, leaving the expanse of the inner sanctum empty. In that emptiness, a dim light shone, barely perceptible, as if it wasn't really there. It drifted across the ash covered floor and up over the ruined dais at the center of the chamber like a mote of dust.
It pulsed, growing ever so slightly brighter as it rose into the darkness above.
It pulsed again, brighter this time.
And again.
It continued to flash, the interval between pulses growing shorter and shorter. Each time it shone brighter. Each time it became more real.
It flashed frantically, faster and faster until it lit up the entire chamber with a blinding, unwavering light. That light crystallized, manifesting physically in the world.
And then it descended.
Strange Myth
Part 1
End
