YOU FOOLS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I'M ABOUT TO BLOW YOUR MINDS?! ಠ_ಠ
norozco772- Hello again Supreme, Navarro here, just saw you recent entry in this story of yours. So to answer your questions my friend, well, in my honest opinion, for the 1st one, I guess she was in-between was & wasn't being ridiculous in not take Gwyndolin's catalyst, despite the fact that victory was being handed to her. 2nd, I think that the two gods attacks should've been a bit grander in scale. Lastly, I think that Kaylen appearing at the last 2nd does somewhat come off as somewhere in-between a bit too lackluster & not a bit too lackluster. So I think that's pretty much all the questions that I've answered for you, so I hope it helps. On that note, I wish you the best of luck on having a productive day in the morning, while working on the next chapter & keep up the good work buddy. ;)
*Flips coffee table*
Ladies and Gents, I have re-done the Gwyndolin vs Velka chapter SOLELY to spite my good friend norozco772! This guy called the fight "In-between" and I sure as heck couldn't take that sittin down! Good sir, consider my timbers shivered!
*Flips my dining room table with outrage*
You want grander scale?! You want to two gods fighting to be more epic?! Well, get ready to have a spectacle of writing prowess knock your socks off and steal your wallet when you're not looking!
*Performs Serious Series: Serious Table Flip to ensure I have flipped all the tables*
Everything has been revamped, turned up to eleven and empowered with demon magic!
Hope you all enjoy the read. (P.S. BTW, don't worry, Norozco772. In case it comes off any other way, it's all good fun and I was glad for the honest feedback. Thanks, bro.)
Warning: Due to not having sufficiently flipped enough table to satisfy his outrage, any and all readers of this chapter are susceptible to his mad table flipping rampage. You have been warned.
In the majestic moonlight, Anor Londo's streets twinkled like strings of illuminated jewels.
Its monuments towering over the horizon inspired reverence and awe, their grandeur befitting a paradise where mortals dreamed tread. The midnight glow cast enchanting shadows that captivated any who sought to gaze upon its splendor, beckoning them to forget the world and make this realm of magnificent spires and picturesque plazas their home.
It spoke volumes that, as her pitch black wings carried her high above the city's golden spires, Velka felt nothing but a deepening dread in the pit of her stomach.
The incessant voice in the back of her head refused to be silenced, tormenting her with the horrific image of her champion clinging desperately to life, his fragile body battered and broken.
"The pain he must be enduring…He'll die suffering, cold and alone...I need to do something!" Her heart ached for immediate action.
The goddess grits her teeth in frustration and balled her fist. "No. Rushing in blindly won't do anybody any good." She reasoned, trying desperately to contain the fire of emotion within her soul that raged against reason. "I am not afflicted with the Undead Curse as he is. I can't survive without food or water, and the cold would see to weakening me by the second. Even if I could, the trek through The Painted World to reach him would take days. Nevermind even trying to find him amidst the chaos of it all."
Though she told herself this, all the while, a fire stirred inside her soul, threatening to burn away every ounce of rational telling her to remain calm.
"I sent that thing to await him-what if she can't be trusted? She could easily kill him while he's still hurt and vulnerable! I should be there instead- I could clear the building and secure a perimeter around the painting in half the time. With the Prophets injuries, a single wasted second could mean his death."
Velka's brow furrowed as she fought with herself-wavering between rational logic and emotion- before allowing determination and focus to reign over doubt.
"No," She took a breath to quell her rambling thoughts, determination replacing doubt. "Priscilla is too attached to wish him any harm - with her strength and speed she will protect him he exits the Painting and sees him to safety. I must not allow emotion to guide my hand."
After everything she'd already done, the bitter irony of "not allowing emotion to guide her hand" was not lost on the goddess. She'd long since passed such a point of such things. Despite her own inner council, she could do nothing to bury her distress.
As she soared through the air, the wind screamed in her ears and pulled at her clothes. Time seemed to slow down as she focused on extending every second of flight so as to buy as much time as possible for her champion to free himself.
When she eventually did decide she could stall no longer without raising suspicion, she made her way towards the hallowed ground she knew her former lord awaited, walked upon the carpet just outside the entrance and kneeled upon it.
"My lord, I answer thy summons." The goddess said, her words not sounding as sincere as one would hope.
"….."
"….Lord Gwyndolin, you summoned me. Is it something urgent?" There was a subtle hint of impatience in her voice. She didn't have time to waste with kneeling in silence.
"….."
"….There is much preparation to be seen too, my lord. If you have no need of me, then I shall take my-"
"I sense that your covenant with the human remains unsevered." Gwyndolin's voice echoed through the chamber as he spoke, his tone steady and unwavering.
"Yes. As I spoke before, he is dear to me. Though I know his chances of survival are still slim, it aids me to know that I have done something to try to protect his life." Velka countered, forcing the topic to be about her rather than Kaylen.
"Yes…I suppose you did say as much." Gwyndolin spoke slowly, his voice thick with a strange tone that Velka couldn't quite place. "Tell me about him."
"What?" the goddess responded with a raised eyebrow as she turned her gaze towards him.
"Tell me about this human that seems to have earned such care from you." Gwyndolin pressed gently, looking at her with an unreadable expression. "What is he like?"
"Well…as I've already informed you, he hold the unnatural ability to-"
"No. Not that. I'm not asking about his abilities, or his skills, or his knowledge." Gwyndolin interrupted. "Tell me of his character. What is it about him that has earned your affection?"
Velka paused, a bit surprised at such questions. Especially In the midst of the humans looming approach. It was only when the silence between them prolonged and it became clear that he truly wished for an answer, did Velka shake away her confusion on the matter.
"Sen's Fortress has been conquered and those that have accomplished the task are on the way. We don't have the time to discuss this right now, my lord." The goddess exclaimed.
"I'm making the time for it. Not only as you're your superior, but as your friend." The Dark Sun said, not relenting in his inquires. "I would hope that these dark times have not made you forget that I am your friend."
"I haven't forgotten, Gwyndolin. I..I just..." Velka's voice trailed off as she found words of friendship more than a little bitter upon her tongue after everything she's done to betray him. "I struggle to find the right words for Kaylen, but if I had to sum him up, it's that he is a complete and utter fool. He rarely takes no for an answer, trusts too easily, promises too much and throws himself into whatever he pursues. He's just...a complete buffoon."
"I see. Then if he is truly as flawed as you claim, then why do you seek to protect him?" Gwyndolin questioned further.
"Because he's mine. My damn fool, my loveable idiot." Velka replied firmly, a part of her finding it insulting for anyone to ask her such a thing. "Yes, he is flawed...but he's tries. No matter what the world tells him, there's nothing more important to him than stopping any suffering of those he loves. His promises, even if beyond his means, come from the depths of his heart. He may be far from perfect, but I doubt that I will ever meet another man as caring or as painfully idiotic as him again. That is why I choose to protect him."
At this, Gwyndolin pauses for a time, taking in even word spoken, before placing a hand upon his sun shaped helm and releasing a tired sigh.
He seemed almost disappointed, if not frustrated, by this answer.
"I just don't understand." Gwyndolin said with a shake of his head.
"Truthfully, neither do I. But maybe there is no right answer. Maybe what Kaylen and I have is little more than two idiots who don't know a damn thing expect that we're willing to figure it out together." Velka replied.
"No, Velka…" Gwyndolin says as he raises his catalyst and then with the barest gesture, a portion of the world at Velka's side seemed to fade away before her very eyes as the illusion was dispelled. Leaving behind a familiar firekeeper dressed in brass gold armor. "…I truly don't understand."
Velka froze at the implication of what she was seeing and came to the only conclusion that made sense. The worst-case scenario had come to pass and the firekeeper had lost her nerve.
"Tell me it's not true." Gwyndolin said, his tone of voice looking for any reason to deny what he'd been told. And telling the goddess before him that he had been made aware of everything.
At this revelation, Velka should have felt her heart sink-should tensed with dread at the thought of being found out and having to scramble facing her to defend herself and escape to buy time.
But instead...she felt a sense of relief wash over her.
Standing tall from where she'd knelt and releasing a small breath, a part of the goddess was grateful that her façade had shattered. That her intentions had been laid bare and that she could finally be free of the burden of secrecy.
"Tell me you didn't do as she claims." Gwyndolin spoke once more.
"It is true, my lord. She-" The Firekeeper started.
"Silence! I wish to hear it from her." Gwyndolin commanded, his voice tightening. "Tell me none of it is true, Velka. That you took the lives of your own, that you scavenged their bodies for humanity, that you've betrayed everything you stood for in some mad attempt to be with a human….tell me it's not true and I'll believe you."
She almost smiles at this. He really did want to ignore what was said of her. But with it being asked so directly, Velka found that she didn't want to lie any further.
"….It's true, Gwyndolin. All of it."
The words echoed through the chamber and left a tense silence in it's wake. With the truth spoken aloud at last, Velka felt as if an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders, yet the guilt over what she had done was still present. Gwyndolin's gaze softened beneath his helm and, though only half of his face was visible, the sorrow he felt at hearing the admission of her sin was plain to see.
"Leave us." The Dark Sun commanded the Brass armored woman, who bowed before making to do as she was told. Making her way through the entrance where the Goddess of Sin stood.
Just as she was about to pass by, Velka's voice filled the hall, stopping her in her tracks. "Keeper…" she said lowly.
The two women locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Velka's gazed burned with hatred at the sight of the Keeper, her blood boiling and brow furrowing as she imagined all that had happened because of her. She could feel an urge within her to end the Keeper's life right then and there, a death that would be earned for all the wrongs she had done.
And yet Velka recognized something in her that made her pause; a connection with the Keeper rooted in their shared understanding of what it was like to do whatever it took for love. Hers for Kaylen and the keepers for Lautrec. In that moment Velka realized that judging the Keeper now, after everything, would make her more than a hypocrite; it would make her worse than the woman before her.
So instead, in a voice thick with emotion, Velka uttered only one sentence to the Keeper.
"…May you live forever."
An emotionless goodbye; from one sinner to another. Velka smothered her hatred for the Keeper and sought neither to condemn nor condone her action any further. But something told her that these empty words cut deeper than any blade could have.
No reply came as the keeper silently left the chamber- her head held low to the ground- leaving only the two gods remaining inside.
Gwyndolin removes his sun shaped helm and locked his gaze upon the woman before him, the disappointment evident in his eyes and he gave a small sigh.
"I assume that burn on your arm is the medium you're using to maintain the covenant. How very crude." The Dark Sun remarked calmly as he looked upon the injury with his own two eye's. "Is there a reason why it blackens and taints you so?"
"I'm not quite certain. It doesn't hurt or bring discomfort, but it's without a doubt brought on because of him somehow." Velka responded just as calmly.
"I see….come here then. Let me get a look and make sure it's nothing serious for the moment at least." Gwyndolin said with a sigh as he raised his hand beckoned her to come further into the chamber.
Velka stepped past the threshold and into the chamber without a hint of hesitation to be shown. With a composed and poised demeanor, she made her way to stand before the snake legged lord. Once she stopped in front of him, she freely presented her arm.
A puckered scar—the lasting impression from an old burn–marred her otherwise flawless complexion.
Gwyndolin gently cupped her elbow in one hand and as he examined the tainted wound closely. Though she knew his soul was unique and powerful, Velka couldn't say exactly how he was able to sense things beyond the flesh. Only that he knew how.
"Hm. This is anything but harmless. Whatever this...thing is, it is spreading further within you." The Dark Sun spoke with calm concern. "Whatever it is, and whatever will wrought, it will only grow to overtake you with time."
"Heh, well, that's not very helpful. I could have guessed as much on my own just by looking at it." Velka responded with a halfhearted chuckle and a smile. Unfortunately, as he gently ceased his hold on her, Gwyndolin did not share in her humor.
"Velka, this is no laughing matter!" Gwyndolin exclaimed as his expression shifted to one of clear disapproval of her reaction. "Since when is the patron of a covenant the one to be effected by it? You've already spoken that that human is not natural, and this only makes it more evident. Whatever he is, whatever his true nature may be, it is seeping into your being- Infecting you right down to your very soul."
At this, Velka seemed hesitant for a moment before responding with an exhale of acceptance.
"I see...Truly, if it's not one thing with him, it's another." she said with a sigh, her tone neither surprised nor particularly disturbed by her former lord's words. If anything, she spoke as if she was only inconvenienced.
At hearing her words, Gwyndolin looked at her solemnly, his eyes searching for any hint of doubt or fear— but all he saw was a stillness and resolve in her eyes.
"….Don't do this, Velka." The Dark Sun said softly. "It's not too late and I know you don't truly want to walk this path."
Velka only gave him a faint smile and shake of her head; "Is that right? I can't seem to imagine myself choosing otherwise."
"If that were true, you would take this chance to attack me with everything you have. Yet you've made no move to do so. Your inaction speaks louder than any words could have." Gwyndolin's voice was cold as he forced himself to look her in the eye, covering up the hurt caused by her words with an icy veneer.
"Right. As if this is truly your real body and not an illusion.
I'm not so far out of my prime that I'd fall for such an obvious-"
Her words were cut off as Gwyndolin took hold of her hand and sat one end of his catalyst into her palm. Causing Velka to look upon him with clear surprise at the gesture.
"This is my real body and that is my real Catalyst in your hand right now." Gwyndolin said as a pair of piercing silver eye's lock with her deep yellow ones. "If you truly mean to turn your back on everything you've stood for and the friendship we've made, then here's your chance to prove it."
He pushes the Tin Catalyst towards her, purposefully giving her more than enough leeway to take it from him.
"Take the Catalyst from my hand. I'll be powerless and you'll get to be with your human. If that's truly what you want, then I'm handing you victory on a silver platter. It doesn't get any easier than this. But I know you won't do it because this is not the path you truly seek to walk."
At this, Velka looked deep into her friend's eye's before shifting her gaze downward towards the Catalyst in her hand.
It felt real, right down to the curves of its body and the pure gold of its color, but there was no way for her to know for certain if it was anything more than an illusion. However, the look of pleading within her former master eyes told her that he was being genuine.
This was the source of his power and the greatest obstacle between the life she sought beyond her past. It was right here in the palm of her hand, and she could have it with but a single action of grabbing hold of it firmly and pulling back.
Gwyndolin was right, it doesn't get any easier than this. Everything she'd killed and fought for was directly within her grasp….which would only perplex one further to see that she would relinquish hold of it so easily and push it back towards it's wielder.
"Heh. You've certainly always had a flair for the dramatic, haven't you." She said with an apologetic smile on her face.
"You have my thanks, Velka. I knew you wouldn't-"
"Defeating you like that would hold little meaning." Velka interrupted, much to a wide-eyed Gwyndolin's surprise and confusion.
"Defeat me? If you wanted to overcome me, you would have just taken the Catalyst! As you did not, it means that you don't truly want to-."
"Goodness. I wonder if I sounded just the same to Kaylen before he left. So certain that there is only one path. Not believing in anything but what was in front of me."
At this, Gwyndolin's confusion began to slowly turn to anger and aggression. It would hurt less if she was just a traitorous heretic, but instead she stood before him wearing the calm face of a friend and acquaintance.
"That's enough, Velka. You're going to sever the covenant and you're going to aid in repairing this world because it's us." Gwyndolin said firmly, his voice thick with emotion. "The people- our people- who have sacrificed, bled and died for the greater good of all. You're going to stand by us because, through it all, we have always stood by you. And you'll do it because….because I don't want to see you gone."
The Dark Sun's eyes scanned the marble floor at his feet for a moment, as if his next words escaped him and he was desperately trying to put them back together. He only managed to do so as taking in a breath and releasing it calmly.
"You are needed, Velka. Not just for the cause or the city, but because I am running out of those that I might call a friend." Gwyndolin spoke with complete truth of things as he met her eyes once more. "I know it's been hard, believe me, I know. But don't throw away all that we stand for the fleeted care that you have for a human. Nothing has been done that cannot be made right if you just do as I ask...and severe the covenant."
At this, a heavy silence fell between the two gods. One begging for his friend to stay at his side and hold strong despite the hardship of it all. And to this heartfelt plea, Velka's response was quite a simple one.
And one she spoke with just as much heartfelt sorrow and earnestness.
"…I'm tired, Gwyndolin." The goddess said softly, her words carried a note of finality as they spilled from her lips. She could have given a number of reasons why she wouldn't abandon the Prophet, or why the conflict between them was inevitable, but this was the real truth she owed him. "I think I've been tired for a long time now. Tired of this city, tired of sacrificing, tired of…killing for a world that's long dead. Kaylen isn't just some human to me. For all his flaws, he takes all the sorrow I've felt away and makes me dream of a life beyond it. One where I'm happy with him."
It felt good to speak these words out loud. To just say the truth of how she felt, even knowing the weight of what they meant.
"When nearly gave his life to protect those within this city and was almost lost to me forever, I came to realize I was empty without him…That I had been before I met him and that I became even more so when I thought he'd died. When I got him back, I knew with certainty that I did not wish to relinquish the life we may yet have together." Velka said, trying her best to convey why she couldn't turn back. "So the answer is no, Gwyndolin. I will not sever our covenant and abandon him."
"You can't just-!" Gwyndolin started, his mask of calm cracking for but the briefest of moments before he immediately swallowed his emotions and buried them back beneath it. Though he could do little to stop his brow from furrowing. "You sound exactly like Gwynevere. Being nothing but selfish and abandoning those that you were meant to protect. Willing to let them all suffer, so long as you get to be happy. What exactly even is this humans plan that grants you such faith in him? I'm certain he must have presented himself as quite the savior in his "prophecies"."
At this, a smile of pure endearment and affection found itself on Velka's face as her gaze lowered in thought for but a single moment. Thinking about it, the answer to that question had to have been the most humorous part of it all.
"Heh, you know….I never even gave him the chance to tell me." the goddess said with a chuckle.
Unfortunately for her, that was the last straw for Gwyndolin.
Not only have she betrayed his trust, not only did she kill her own and scavenge their humanity, not only did she forsake her duty over a human she's known a few weeks max, not only did she commit one of the greatest taboos of forming a bastard covenant….but she did it all without even knowing the humans true intentions.
"I had prayed it not true…but you have gone mad, Velka."
the Dark Sun said as he raised himself up higher using his snakes, casting a menacing shadow over the Goddess of Sin. "I did not wish it come to this...but you stand to jeopardize everything we've sacrificed for. And as you are unwilling to repent for the sins you have committed, I will do what I must."
A shimmering wave of light illuminated the hall as Gwyndolin slowly raised his hands, and the walls of the corridor began to ripple as if they were underwater. Velka felt a strange sensation of vertigo as the walls around her began to blur and melt away. All at once, the corridor at Gwyndolin's back begins to extend and stretch far further than the building would have allowed. Becoming an eerily unending stretch of hallway that just seemed to go on forever.
"Mark the words of mineself, Gwyndolin! Thou shalt not go unpunished!" Gwyndolin said as he raised his catalyst, and the light of an incantation enveloped him.
Velka knew this spell was to teleport him further away. For a moment, she acknowledged that if this truly was his real body, she had just enough time to strike at least once before he could get away.
But she did not. For even if she understood the stakes and the side she'd chosen, the Goddess of Sin still hesitated in truly finding the will to strike out at he who she considered her friend.
And so, with a small swath of air rushing against her, the light carried Gwyndolin far further into the depths of the extended hall and out of reach.
Within moments, several Silver Knights faded into reality along the corridor to impede the path forward, each one armed with either greatswords or mighty spears within their hands.
The air around the Goddess of Sin froze as a sixth sense screamed at her and her body reacted without thought. In a blur of motion, Velka spun with the grace of an assassin and narrowly evaded the incoming blade of a silver knight that had suddenly materialized behind her. The knights sword had barely finish clipping through the strands of hair that lagged behind when her wings erupted in brilliant blue light as sorcery surged through them.
In an instant, the magic had sharpened her wings into razor edged weapons and without hesitation, Velka cleaved the knight in two at the waist with a single swipe.
No time to waste - Velka pirouettes and charges towards Gwyndolin. The remaining Silver Knights within the hall surge forward to defend him.
As the first knight met her head on and swung his sword at her, she stood firm and dodged it with incredible speed. Before the knight could even recover, Velka had already created a rapier out of pure magic and plunged it deep into the knight's throat through the smallest opening in it's helmet.
Two more knights charged her with their blades raised high, but they were no match for her lightning reflexes. With fluid motion, she darted in between them, evading each of their strikes with ease. Her arm shot out to the side and a shimmer halberd materialized from thin air off to the side and crashed into both knights simultaneously, skewering them against the wall out of the way in a spray of blood and violence.
"What purpose does this serve? Striking down my illusions avails you nothing, Velka." Gwyndolin spoke coldly to the goddess telepathically as countless other knights filled the space of the hallway between the two gods.
Velka felt the air around her tremble and her heart begin to race as an endless swarm of knights surrounded her, armor reflecting like a million shards of glass in the moonlight. Clenching her fist, she allowed her wing to unfurl. Glancing skywards, she allowed her wings to unfurl and channeled every bit of strength, sorcery and magic within her until they glowed with crystalline light - a beacon of defiance amidst the sea of steel.
Raising her arms high above her head, she summoned multiple weapons of purest sorcery that hung suspended in mid-air for a moment before hurtling towards the enemy ranks. Piercing through armor and flesh, Velka charged forward with an icy calmness as each knight was struck dead and she leapt forward atop one of their bodies. Using its crumbling form as a makeshift springboard, the goddess kicked off its shoulders as a means to gain hasty momentum as she soared forward into the air- — higher and higher until reaching the zenith of the never-ending corridor.
Reaching the apex of her jump, she dived directly towards Gwyndolin's person further down the hall like an avenging angel. She willed her pyromancy forth and directed it to spread along her wings — igniting them in a blazing dark flame as she crashed against the earth before the Dark Sun in a explosion of heat and light.
Gwyndolin stood calm and motionless, his gaze never leaving Velka's direction as he brought forth his hand in one single gesture of power. Fading into existence, a wall of knights encircled him in perfect formation, their greatshields facing outwards. The clash of their shields felt like a thunderclap through the hall as they absorbed the violent explosion of pyromancy, protecting their master from certain incineration.
The flames barely dissipated before Velka rushed forward with an assortment of ethereal great axes and massive blades at her command and lashed out at the shield wall of knights with all her might. But it seemed impossible to penetrate-the impenetrable line remained steadfast, a solid barrier of steel against her fury-no matter how hard Velka raged against it no chink could be found in their armor.
"Foolishness..."
At this, a mighty THWANK resounded through the corridor. Velka gasped in surprise as she hastily retreated back, evading the massive Dragon-slayer arrows that violently crashed down upon the ground where she stood previously. The force of the impacts was immense-the arrows sunk one to two feet into the stone flooring of the vast hall and shattered into pieces against it.
She desperately scrambled backwards to keep out of their path, her heart pounding as she watched them descend closer and closer.
Behind her, the illusion of knights quickly closed the distance between them and began to attack in earnest, forcing her to attempt to fight them off while simultaneously continuing to evade the dragon-slayer arrows raining down upon her. She darted back and forth with a flurry of blows, conjuring up an array of spectral weapons to match them blow for blow as she was forced into a never-ending dance of movement.
Velka felt her stamina waning before the barrage of arrows and fierce onslaught of knights. She had no choice but to will her magic to harden and coat her wings like a protective shield. Summoning a deluge of greatswords from thin air, she stabbed them into the earth at her back, creating a thick barricade between her and the encroaching knight. She pressed her back against the wall of bladed and raised her wings to protect herself as the dragon slayer arrows crashed into her with explosive ferocity and force.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
"Guh!"
Velka feels a dull agony as a relentless barrage of arrows pummel her wings. Blue speck of sorcery break free from her wings as she grits her teeth and tries to bear the onslaught.
"All you've done is corner yourself." Gwyndolin spoke to the goddesses' mind as he willed more archers into existence before him, each one wielding dragonslayer bows and arrows in their hands. "You should have repented when you had the chance."
With a mighty strain of their muscles, the line of knights drew back their giant dragon hunting arrows that matched their bows and with a mighty THWANK sent them hurtling towards Velka with enough force to pierce the stone beast hides.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
Neither her wings nor her magic were not indestructible. As the arrow assailed her again and again, cracks began to form along her sorcery like glass about to break. With each successive blow the cracks grew wider, inching ever closer to shattering.
"You know you lack the power to defeat me alone, that is why you hid and waited. Even if you could, lets us speak plainly, your human is long dead and hollow, Velka." Gwyndolin's voice echoed within the goddesses' thoughts, causing her brow to furrow deeply. "You have lost. This struggling is meaningless."
The arrows relentlessly pounded against her wings like a relentless storm, while the knights' swords clanged and clashed against her greatswords at her back, leaving her cornered on both fronts. Soon enough, bits of her magic began to chip away and cut into her skin like little bits of glass. It was too much...
...No. Not yet. She wasn't going to just die here. Not without giving everything she had to give!
"It's not meaningless!" Velka shouted with uncorked anger.
With a single thought, the sorcery that coated her wings shattered into a million tiny shards of blue light and plunged into the earth at her feet. In that same moment, a wave of massive crystalline spikes violently erupted forth from the ground and traveled through the corridor impaling every knight withing the corridor. Gwyndolin calmly willed forth the shield wall of knights to defend him just as the magic reached his person. The crystal spikes glinted with a majestic blue hue as they shimmered in the light of the moon.
A blazing black flame surges across Velka's body as her yellow eye's radiant with power. Though, Gwyndolin appeared wholly unperturbed.
"Truly? Then what purpose does it serve, Velka? Your chance at victory was lost when you did not take my catalyst and your human is lost to you. Tell me, why do you persist in this?"
Velka's eyes burn like hot coals as flames surge all around her, searing the oppressive darkness of the eternal corridor. "Because it MATTERS, Gwyndolin! He showed me that." she roars, her voice thundering with conviction. " It matters how we do this- that we fight with all our heart and soul to reject the path of suffering! It matters that I refuse to give up the love I've found! And it matters that Kaylen is fighting with everything he has right now to come back to me. All of it matters! And all of it worth fighting for!"
Velka's pyromancy surged fiercely, encompassing the entire cathedral in a fiery embrace. The great spikes of pure, Crystallic sorcery, shattered and reformed into countless blades that filled the corridor at every angle. Swords, axes, spears, daggers, polearms - all formed with frightening speed and in countless number. In this moment, Velka was not merely defending herself, but protecting her love for Kaylen and Anastacia- fighting for the future they could have together.
Velka's sorcery crackled through the air, melting and forming hundreds upon hundreds of weapons within the corridor and even across the outside of the cathedral within the night sky. Gwyndolin watched in surprise as Velka pushed her power to its absolute limits, creating a devastating array of weaponry that seemed to stretch into the endlessness that was his illusion.
"Velka..." he whispers lowly as his hold upon his catalyst tightens somewhat and he sees that the black taint that once only stained her shoulder had suddenly spread across her entire arm. "It's no use. You can't-"
"RAAGH!" the goddess roars as she spread her large black wings wide and let the flames from her pyromancy swarm across her body like a blazing inferno. With a single thought, she gives it purpose and sends the mass of flame crashing toward Gwyndolin. It's form taking on an appearance that was not unlike that of a raging phoenix.
Gwyndolin gasp sharply at the calamity of power that surged through the hall, before hastily willing forth a line of shield bearing knight in front of him.
The mighty attack crashes violently against the Dark Sun's shield wall and explodes in a devastating display of power. Shards of flame and metal blast through the air like a tempest, leaving no part of the corridor untouched by its destruction. Through the chaos and destruction, before the smoke could even clear, Velka wills every last one of the magic weapons filling the cathedral, both inside and out, to crash towards Gwyndolin from every direction.
Hundreds upon hundreds of these magically empowered weapons surge throughout the cathedral with an intensity of a tidal wave. The sheer force of their number was so powerful that it shakes the very foundation of the cathedral and shatters any attempted illusions that was willed into existence by Gwyndolin as they come crashing down towards his person without mercy.
Gwyndolin desperately tried to counter-attack with every illusion possible, but it was no use. The assault was too powerful for anything he created to withstand. Desperately seeking to shield himself from the onslaught, Gwyndolin frantically wove together a sphere of solid stone all around himself, thick enough that his body was hidden completely from view.
Gwyndolin cried out and weaved illusions of solid stone to come together protect himself. Creating a wall that seemed unbreachable, thick enough that his body became completely hidden from view.
But even then, he could still feel the onslaught battering against his defenses like a relentless tsunami. The wall was crumbling faster than he could will it to be reformed, the sheer force of the attack taking its toll as chunks of stone flew away in all directions.
Velka was already in motion. She didn't think, she didn't hesitate. With a power she had never known before, she summoned two swords composed of pure sorcery into existence and charged through the raging chaos that surrounded her. Every footstep she took seemed to reverberate the air around her as raw energy poured off her spectral blades. She crossed her arms over body and closes the gap between them in what felt like an instant.
Then, with a final surge of power, she swings both blades with all her might and cleaves straight through the wall of stone, feeling their edges slice through the flesh and bone of the god within.
A distressed wail tore through the air as Gwyndolin's illusions broke apart, and the chamber was returned to its original length. Replaced by nothing but rubble and the still form of the Dark Sun himself. Velka stood heaving from exhaustion, her arms swords spread wide with swords still in hand, while her pyromancy continued to rage around her like an inferno - never quenching, never ceasing. The corridor seemed almost alive with its heat as its true length was revealed.
Gwyndolin stood motionless, a thousand unspoken words burning in his eyes, before he finally sank to his knees and his head toppled from his shoulders. The two slices across his throat were clean and precise; a testament to Velka's mastery of the blade.
His white dress and the floor beneath him quickly becoming stained a deep crimson red.
A deep and heavy fatigue overwhelms the goddess, draining her of all strength and vitality she had left. Her vision swims and flickers for a moment as she collapses onto one knee, feeling as though her body has been completely emptied.
In the past, she'd have been capable of such an attack and more with strength to spar. But with the fading flame, Velka was long since past her prime and performing such an attack took everything she had.
As it stood, the Goddess of Sins' lungs screamed in pain with each shallow, labored breath. Her body was sapped of energy from exhaustion as she clung to consciousness with what little will remained. All her muscles felt numb and feeble as she weakly stood upright.
For a time, she waits with her guard up for any sign of a trick or illusion meant to deceive her...but none came.
Velka stood among the shattered remains of the cathedral, overwhelmed by the desolation and destruction all around her. The once magnificent marble columns that lined the walls had been reduced to broken shards on the ground, and the vibrant stain glass windows which used to reflect rainbows through the sunlight were now smashed and scattered across the floor. In the center of it all, unmoving; Gwyndolin's severed form laying in a pool of his own blood.
A lump formed in her throat as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Gwyndolin…I did not wish it to come to this…" she muttered softly. Though no matter how hard she wished for a different outcome, the reality remained: She'd murdered him for her own selfish desires.
The fatigue set into her limbs like an oppressive blanket rendered them almost unresponsive. Yet even with exhaustion seeping through every pore of her being, Velka forces her tired limbs to move. She would morn later, but she still had to ensure the Prophet would be safe when he came back.
Turning away from the heartbreaking sight and wiping her eyes, she makes to leave the cathedral chambers with her heart heavy with sorrow...
….only for her gaze to fall upon Gwyndolin, standing just unbothered as he did before with an Infinite corridor still at his back.
"No..."
CRASH-CHING-CHING-CHING-CHING
A flurry of chains emerge from the dark abyss behind Gwyndolin like a thousand serpents, each one rippling and twirling in intricate patterns that made them seem almost alive. They swarm around the goddess like angry hornets with a seething desire to snuff out her life.
Velka musters up whatever strength she had left and attempts to take flight with her wings, but before she can get far her into the air, a single chain link shoots from the ground beneath her and tightly coils around her ankle like a python before tearing her back down to the floor with a violent jerk. A loud crash thundered through the air as she hit the ground hard. The force of the impact creating jagged cracks that quickly spread in all directions as if they were fleeing from the violence of her fall.
But Gwyndolin was not done with her yet, as his chains ruthlessly ensnared her further, pinning her arms to her sides in an unyielding embrace as they dragged her across the floor like a ragdoll. Then, with each successive heave of Gwyndolin's malicious intent, her small frame was slammed against the walls, again and again, leaving behind streaks and splotches of crimson blood that resembled brushstrokes on an artist's canvas.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Gwyndolin raises Velka up to the sky and with one swift motion, and casts her down onto the hard stone ground below. The impact reverberates through the chambers like a thunderous roar, shaking the entire room with its force.
And thus, the battle had reach its end.
Velka lay twisted and broken on the ground, her frame jutting in unnatural angles. She was barely breathing, each shallow intake of breath accompanied by a shuddering gasp her ragged breaths delivered by punctured lungs. Her vision flickered between the darkness of unconsciousness and a searing white pain that she could not bear. Yet despite her now mangled body, she somehow still clung to the tattered edges of life.
Gwyndolin slowly approaches her body, his breath somewhat heavy as well and the faintest trail of red could be found across his neck from where Velka's blade nearly reached him.
It was close call. A little too close, in fact. Gwyndolin might even say that had he not garnered her full attention with the wall of stone and hesitated even a single second more in teleporting away, Velka would have succeeded in defeating him.
For a moment, Gwyndolin's vision swims and crumbles to a knee for a moment. Fatigue had finally caught up to him. Just as Velka had long since passed her prime, so had he.
Though his soul may have allowed him to wield great sorcery and might, but his body was too frail to handle its full power. Now to mention he was still recovering from the battle against the dark Wraith.
After a brief few moments to recoup himself, Gwyndolin regains his composure and stands solemnly above Velka's broken form. He looks at her with eyes filled with worry and distress at the sight of her devastated body. Trying to bury such concern deep with his heart, he shuts his eyes tightly and looks away from her.
The muscles in his jaw clenched as he fought to contain his emotions. He breaths in and exhales softly, his frustration building, before shooting Velka a cold glare filled with resentment.
"Damn you... Damn you for MAKING ME DO THIS!" the Dark Sun shouted at her, not at all willing to mask his emotions any further. "You're fighting so that you can watch everything around you be swallowed by the abyss! Do you not see that?! Victory against me would have mean nothing but death and darkness! And for what?! Your fleeting desires for a worthless human?! You're a fool! A selfish coward! You're-"
His words stopped as the goddess tried to make words through blood that soaked across her face. He could only just barely make it out through the wet gasp for air.
"…N-…t…er…"
Gwyndolin leans in closer, trying to make out the words clearly.
"…N-…Not…over…" Velka whimpered, her eyes streaming tears as the darkness threatened to swallow her whole. Her life seemed to play out before her like a nightmare; all the suffering she had caused, all the blood she spilled, all the anguish that weighed on her soul...No. It can't end like this. It can't have all been for nothing.
Her eyelids drooped shut and a broken smile graced her lips as a final whisper escaped from her quivering lips. "H…He'll...come…"
At hearing this, Gwyndolin's face contorted in rage. His teeth ground together while his fists clenched with white-knuckled fury. Even now, standing on the edge of death, Velka still chose to cling to her feelings for the human; she still sought to be with him despite it all.
For Gwyndolin, these words felt like knives cutting through his heart. Every one spoken nothing less than a betrayal of all those who had given their lives to protect this world and its people.
"He'll come? He'll come?! You think so, do you?" Gwyndolin said angrily as he willed the illusion of a Single Silver Knight to appear at his side with its Greatsword drawn. "Where is he then, Velka?! Where is the human who has gained such unwavering devotion?! If he truly loves you as much as you claim, why is he not here when you need him?!"
The knight advances forward and raised its weapon aloft to deliver the final decisive strike.
"Show yourself, pitiful human! Come now or your beloved patron will meet her demise! Step forward, confront me - be the hero valiant she believes you can be and save her!"
His words echoed through the chamber to no reply. Giving a sigh at the childishness of his outburst, Gwyndolin turned his back on the goddess and began to walk away.
"Childish nonsense...This madness ends here, Velka." He wills the knight to swing its blade to end her life.
"May you and your human find peace in-"
CLANG
A shuddering screech filled the room, splitting the air with an eruption of sound as steel shuddered against steel.
Gwyndolin perked up in surprise for a moment, before he turned on a heel to witness a gargantuan, ethereal greatsword hovering in the air and locking his Silver Knights blade in place equal force.
Peering ahead, he noticed someone kneeling before Velka, seemingly with little care of the silver knight standing directly behind him.
Gwyndolin recognized who it was immediately.
"No, no, no…It'll be alright, Vel. Don't push yourself." The newcomer said trying to console the goddess as he kneeled next to her.
The goddess let out a weak gasp as she looked up at the person now standing over her. For a long time, she took in the sight of him with a look of surprise. "P..Pro..phet...?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as her expression slowly shifting from surprise to contentment. "I see...W-..What a..wonderful dream..."
There was no telling where she found the strength to do so with her injuries. But Velka struggled weakly to raise a hand towards her champion, her mind already accepting that he wasn't real, and this was merely a figment of her fading life. But even still, she'd take the false sight without any complai-.
"This is no dream, Vel. I'm right here." Kaylen said softly as he took his hand in Velka's, solidifying the reality that he really was here by her side. "Just stay with me. I know more than a few places close enough to get you healed up and-."
"Enough!" Gwyndolin bellowed as the air quivered with invisible energy as countless chains materialized from seemingly nowhere and flew towards Kaylen in a flurry of aggression.
But Kaylen seemed unperturbed; he raised a single finger and created several shimmering shapes out of thin air—they looked like jagged, broken swords. The shards whizzed through the air and deflected each of the incoming chains one by one, creating a dazzling display of twinkling sparks until they lay shattered on the ground.
The atmosphere returns to silence once again, with Gwyndolin and even Velka appearing more than a little surprised at the level of precision that apparently didn't even require him to look what at he was doing.
Suddenly, Velka remember the words he'd spoken before entering the Painting.
"If what stands in the way is Gwyndolin and the knights at his side, then I'll fight to overcome them. I'll gain enough strength to turn this place on its head. But I won't allow their deaths to stain your happiness. That's a promise."
She looks upon his calm composer and worried eyes with fascination and near disbelief. When last she say him he looked as if he was dying, but now...could he really...
"I need you to bear with me, Velka. I'm going to get you out of here and I'll try to be as easy as I can, but it looks like moving you is going to hurt. But there's nothing to worry about now..." Kaylen says as he places a hand upon the Velka's cheek lovingly, before turning his yellowed gaze around upon Gwyndolin directly. "...I'll take it from here."
Priscilla darted between the shadows, her light steps barely making a sound as crept up silently up behind yet another hooded figure, preparing to make her move.
Standing tall, she surveyed the guard before her with a wry smile of satisfaction; she was making good strides in subduing the guard all about the building, piling them up one by one into a single room atop one another on a bed like sleeping dolls.
She thought she was doing quite the exemplary job. No one would be able to hurt the Prophet thanks to her efforts.
Now all she had to do was ensnare this man like the other and have him gaze upon her for a moment to put him under spell. Then it was a simple matter if striking him just once upon his head and-.
CLANG.
"Eh?..."
Pricilla's nose twitched, picking up on the slightest hint of something wondrous. A succulent whisper in the wind at that suddenly had her senses on high alert. Her muscles quivered and her breath quickened - she recognized this aroma, but held a far greater intensity than before - an aroma so intoxicating that it captivated her attention and tantalized all of her senses. And as the scent grew stronger and more potent, her pulse quickened with excitement for its familiar flavor.
The savory richness swirled on her tongue, feeding an earthy pool of saliva between her lips as her cells thrummed with an unbridled craving for the source of this blissful aroma. Unstoppable and irresistible, the depth and complexity of the scent consumed Priscilla's mind in an alluring trance, pushing back any sense of self control she maintained.
It was too much-Too delicious. Too mouthwatering. Too savory. Too enthralling.
Priscilla felt her scythe clatter to the ground as both hands clutched at her head, trying in vain to quell primeval urges bubbling from within. Her fur bristled against her skin as she took deep breaths to control herself, but each intake only served to intensify the smells grip on her.
The beast within was overcoming her sense of self. A primal rage coursed through her veins as Priscilla's sense of self slowly slipped away. Her eyes were wild and feral, absent of any recognizable emotion other than a deep, insatiable hunger. A violent, ear splitting roar bellowed from her throat as she lunged forward onto all fours like a ravenous animal-the need for sustenance dominating her every thought.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRR!"
With her savage cry echoing off the walls, Priscilla unconsciously wrapped her tail around the handle of her scythe so as to not leave it behind and tore down the hallway like a feral beast searching for its prey, her eyes blazing with an uncontrollable hunger that could not be satisfied until it was wholly annihilated and consumed.
Needless to say, this savage and bestial display completely terrified the Painted Guardian Priscilla was previously sneaking up on. Though the crossbreed didn't lay a hand on him, the guardian collapsed fell to the floor before her massive figure and was still screaming bloody murder long after she'd left.
WAAAAAAAAAIT! JUST WAIT A GOSH DANG MINUTE! I GOT THINGS TO SAAAAAY!
Okay, firstly, this chapter turned out WAY longer than I initially intended. Truly, I got that spark of writing back from you guys review about how I wrote things last time. I tried not to overplay my hand, as I want to save a few idea for the Gwyndolin's Vs Kaylen showdown, but hopefully I nailed the "God vs God" feel of things this time around.
Secondly, though I did take out and add a good bit, I'm hoping I didn't take away from the feel of Gwyndolin's not exactly being a "Villain" and kept him as more of former friend or someone just doing what needs to be done.
Thirdly, I touched up on Priscilla's inclusion in the chapter to REALLY hammer home that the Prophet's "esscene" REALLY drives her nuts. Now that he's gotten a bit closer to his inner self, I wanted to keep the inclusion of her going feral and coming for him in the story as I think i could make for an amazing inclusion to discuss if she's really changed or if she's just a ticking timebomb.
And lastly, thank you to all you guys that reviewed the fight previously. It really hammered in that spark of inspiration I needed to really give this chapter a kick in the pants. It's Gwyndolin Vs Velka, so it should feel like a real epic showdown.
But that's all I have to say this time around, ladies and gents.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Did Velka and Gwyndolin's interaction feel personal enough or was it a little too expected feeling? Was the display of power between the give "Godlike" enough or a little off the mark? Was Kaylen return a bit too lackluster or did it hit the mark?
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. I am positively DROOLING with excitement over writing feral Priscilla! Just imagine the possibilities and character interactions!
P.P.S. Okay-okay-okay, let me run an idea past you guys. Kaylen, with his newfound abilities, manages to slip past Gwyndolin while carrying an injured Velka. Kaylen bumps into the entire cast of team Prophet who just arrived to the city. Anna and Reah have to focus on healing Velka to keep her alive, the gods vs humans battle ensues, Feral Pricilla joins the fray weakening both sides and suddenly... Seath starts betrayin all over the place things!
I'm still on the wall about things, but how we feelin about that line of thinkin, guys? ヘ( ^o^)ノ＼(^_^ )