Chapter 21: Prelude
"I thought you wanted to cure the world of its Darkness, not become it." Grunted Tahir, barely standing after the chain spears hand punched through his body, hearing a dark chuckle as Dane spoke.
"I have erased it. And from it, I have created a power that not even the gods can defeat. There is one last thing I need, and it will all be over." Willing every last bit of strength left to him, Tahir stumbled to Dane, latching on to his cloak so as not to fall.
"You were the White Mage, the one who would save us. You can't do that as a black mage." Dane looked down at him, grabbing his shirt and hauling him into the air.
"I am saving you by getting rid of it all. And please, call me Magus Sloe."
12 hours earlier
"What do we do now?" asked Will once Ariel and Rhinne were gone. Tahir sat beside him on the medical cot, leaning on his knees as he rested his nose on his laced fingers.
"We have to get Mars or Vieren on our side. I'll take care of them. You need to gather as many Acolytes and Clerics as you can. I have a feeling this will tear Aurora apart in a civil war."
"You want to start a mutiny? The world is in grave danger! How can you think of something like mutiny?" Will asked, throwing on a new shirt and grabbing up his staff.
"The world has been inching closer to disaster every day. It's only now that we've seen the path we were taking and how close we are to it. You heard Ariel confirm my theory; Master Dane is creating these more powerful Omens. He nearly killed you, for Minerna's sake!" Will's head dropped, and his shoulders slumped.
"What about Lotus and Orchid? Aren't they almost as powerful as Master Dane? If not more so?"
"They aren't here anymore."
"What? What happened to them? Where are they?"
"No one knows. They left soon after telling us about Dane beginning to go mad. If they were here, I'd be more at ease." Will's entire being looked to slump, sighing hard and shaking his head before leaning down and covering his face, rubbing his eyes, and pinching the bridge of his nose,
"All this time, I've been training to rid the world of the Omens, to one day help the world heal. I still want to believe in that mission." Will sighed as Tahir laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.
"You still can, Will. But if we don't do something, that mission will be lost to us. Gather Eleanor and Xenos and have them help you as well. If they have any misgivings, tell them to come to me." Will picked his eyes up, steeling his expression and pulling his body to ridged attention when he realized that Tahir called him by 'Will' for the first time.
"Aye Commander. You can count on me." Tahir nodded, jerking his head and telling Will to get going. Once alone, Tahir let himself think: if Dane were the one behind the Omens becoming more powerful, he would have informed the rest of the Aurora, right? Why keep it a secret? The only reason to keep it secret was so that no one else would have to be so close to Darkness all the time. Unless…
"Unless the Darkness has infected and controlled him all this time!" Tahir thought. That thought alone drove him to direct his convincing to Vieren first. Vieren seemed like he would be at least open to the possibility. As Tahir expected, he found Vieren within the Knowledge Depository.
"Master Vieren." He called, trotting up to him, making the other Clerics and a few of the acolytes snap their attention to him.
"Commander Tahir. What's the matter? You look pale." asked Vieren. Speaking low, Tahir leaned in so that Vieren was the only one to hear.
"I need to speak with you in private. There is an imminent threat to the Aurora," He muttered. Vieren smiled and spoke openly.
"There is no need to be so secretive, Commander. I'm sure that-"
"No." retorted Tahir in a dull hiss. Vieren lost his friendly expression, his brow lowering and his shoulders stiffening. Holding out a hand, he escorted Tahir to his office, shut the door, and cast a spell to keep anyone outside from hearing.
"What is so urgent that you need to speak only to me, commander?"
"I have reason to believe that Master Dane is creating the stronger Omens. As a result, he is amplifying the Darkness currently in the world. I also believe that the Darkness is controlling Dane to push the world closer to a state of disaster." Vieren lowered his brow further, squinting his eyes and tilting his head while stepping closer.
"Are you certain, Commander? If this is some kind of joke-"
"I assure you, Master Vieren, this is no joke. I would go to Mars, but I don't think he would believe me. He seems willfully blind to what is going on here." Vieren sat down, setting his staff on the table and gripping his chin.
"What evidence do you have to prove this?"
"Very little. Most of what I have to offer is only speculation. The only solid thing I have to offer is that the goddess Ariel warned me that Darkness has begun twisting Master Dane beyond saving. The only way to confirm or deny my suspicions is to talk to Master Dane himself."
"Then why are you coming to me? It sounds like you have a planned course of action."
"Because I must convince Master Mars to let me see Master Dane. Without your help, I doubt I would be able to do so. As I said, either he knows what is happening and has kept it hidden or is willfully blind." Vieren pushed his tongue into his cheek, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Have you told anyone about this?"
"The only other one who knows is Will. I have sent him to gather Clerics and Acolytes who would stand against Master Dane if this is true." Vieren dropped his forehead into his hand with a heavy sigh, staying that way for a long while in deafening silence.
"I would hate to think this is all some elaborate ruse, Commander," Vieren growled, snatching up his staff and standing to his full height, squaring his shoulders before motioning him to follow.
"If this is true, you were right to come to me, but you were hasty in trying to recruit members of the Aurora before doing so." He sighed. "What's done is done; If Cleric Will does gather any that would be loyal, gather them in the forest to the south. I will come for you after reviewing a few things in the Depository." He commanded. Tahir nodded his understanding, leaving with hurried steps to complete what could either be a near miss or a great tragedy.
9.5 hours earlier
"He should have come already." Will bellowed, looking north as he stood with his back to the small staging camp in the forest.
"Vieren said he would come for us when he was ready. I just told him something that rocks everything he believes in, so I think he must first convince himself by finding a pattern. Would you have believed it yourself had you not lived through it?" Tahir asked, looking over to Eleanor as she leaned against a tree on the fringes of the firelight.
"It still doesn't seem right. Why would Master Dane be the danger we are trying to prevent?" she asked.
"You weren't there, Eleanor. You didn't feel the haunting, soul-chilling Darkness that came with him. He's been using Darkness so long that it's begun to become a part of him." Will answered.
"I thought he knew the dangers of messing with it from the start?"
"That's the thing about Darkness, Paladin Eleanor." Another voice said, making her draw and hold her sword to Vieren's throat, flames thundering around the cutting edges.
"Master Vieren, I-"
"It's alright. But to answer your question, Darkness is not something that takes you over all at once; it is a slow process. This is something that Master Dane wrote in the earliest days of his research: 'It has no form yet it fills the world; it has no substance yet it taints even the purest of hearts; it has no will, yet all who see it succumb to it.' Later writings say that if one is constantly aware, Darkness will touch you, and if you let it, it will grow in power at a nearly undetectable rate. But it will almost certainly be too late when one realizes how much control it has."
"But something has to let it in first, doesn't it? As long as you pay attention, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Xenos asked. Vieren shook his head.
"I think there has always been a spot of Darkness within him that was never fully dealt with. In his middle writings, Dane speaks of someone named Menodora. It sounds like she meant a great deal to him, but there is no mention of what happened to her. With that spot still within him, there is already a foothold for the Darkness to latch onto. Working to make Darkness stronger only made it worse." Silence hung thick between them, the only sound being the crackling of the fire. Vieren broke the silence, turning to Tahir with questioning eyes.
"How many of the Aurora were you able to gather?" The four of them hung their heads, and their shoulders dropped.
"We are all that are here. The Acolytes laughed off Will's efforts, and the other Clerics blatantly threatened to have disciplinary action brought against him for speaking such slander." Answered Tahir, reaching for his dagger and balancing it on the tip of his finger.
"I had a feeling this would be the case," Vieren quietly muttered, shaking his head.
"But still, there is a grave danger that we must stop. Xenos and Eleanor, I want you ready to rally and organize the Order should chaos ensue. I will take Tahir and Will to see Master Mars and, ultimately, Master Dane." Xenos and Eleanor nodded understanding, gathering their belongings and putting out the fire.
"Good luck to you both," Will called.
"Good luck to us all," Tahir continued, waving as he turned. As he walked, a wave of calm came over him, much like he had felt before Dane found him in the forest so long ago.
"Talea, I'm sorry you had to wait. I think I'll be coming home this time."
8 hours earlier
Pacing near the door to Dane's Lab, Mars tried to appear calm. Something was going on in the ranks of the Aurora, and someone was spreading rumors about how Dane was causing more trouble than he was fixing. Yes, he knew about the Omens, but they were directly related to researching the Darkness and finding the Ultimate Darkness, weren't they?
All the same, small doubts began to leak into his mind: had he been complicit in allowing the Master to continue as he had? Had he been willfully ignorant of the worsening of the world's Darkness through the Master's research? Had the Master's recent enriching experiments affected him more than he had seen? But they were so close to creating that Ultimate Darkness, and with that, they could make the Ultimate Light!
Mars jumped when Vieren called to him, clearing his throat and straightening his shoulders. There was also that mercenary and Will with him; the mercenary could be the one starting the rumors.
"Yes, Vieren, what can I do for you?"
"Commander Tahir needs to see the Master. There is something urgent that we must discuss with him." Mars raised his eyebrow, looking at Tahir while taking a breath with feigned calm.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow the master to be disturbed at this time. We are close to finding what we have been after all this time." He replied, pulling his arms behind him as if to appear more authoritative.
"Have you not seen what has been happening all around us? Have you not heard what the Acolytes and the Clerics have reported in their findings of the Omens?" Vieren bellowed, loud enough to disrupt the nearby acolytes in their studies.
"The strength of the omens is because of the strength of the Darkness. We knew this would happen when we left the world behind to complete our research here. Do not lose faith now, Vieren, when we are close to achieving our goal!"
"MARS! We need to speak to the Master to either refute or confirm a grave matter!" Tahir thundered, beginning to draw more people around them.
"That is MASTER Mars to you. And what would this grave matter be?" Asked Mars, looking down at them from over his nose.
"That Master Dane has been the one creating and strengthening the Omens and, as a result, has been taken over by the Darkness itself!" Will finished. A hush descended over the crowd, Acolytes looking back and forth between Mars, Tahir, Will, and Vieren.
"Is this true, Master Mars? Has the Mage been creating stronger Omens?" asked a young acolyte. More of them began to press in, asking the same question, demanding some kind of answer, shuffling Will to further back in the crowd.
"If you have known about this, then you are no master of mine!" Vieren howled. Mars sighed, holding up his hands to quiet them all. Swallowing hard, he hung his head, sucking on his upper lip hidden under his grand mustache.
"I've known. I've known since we first retreated to this forest. The Master has been creating stronger and stronger Omens, enriching them to create the Ultimate Darkness, from which we can use the Ultimate Light! The Master is so close; we cannot start letting doubts cloud our minds. I choose to believe in the master until the end." All the acolytes stood stunned, unable to speak, when Tahir broke the silence, pointing to him with a shaking finger.
"You knew about the Omens? People were suffering worldwide, and you knew who created these monsters?"
"Omens have been appearing long before The Master began his research in earnest. The Omens appearing recently are the doing of the Master. Yes, it is a great evil, but a necessary one if it means that Darkness will be wiped from the face of Usoria."
"'…a necessary evil'? You would put your Clerics and your own Acolyte's lives at risk?! What of the people that have died in the world to these Omens? What of the Clerics and Acolytes who were injured while fighting them? What would you say to those that lay their very life on the line while you sit back and watch?!"
"We all take risks, Commander Tahir. That is what we of the Aurora are for."
"CALCULATED risks! Not blind warfare with something far more dangerous than we imagined!"
"It is still a needed evil, Commander." Tahir's face shifted through shades of red, reaching for his dagger in a blur.
"Open the door, move aside, or I will go through you and open it myself." Mars' brow became set, lowering over his eyes as he held his staff forward.
"You are not thinking of the grand picture, Commander."
"Mars! The world is in a grave state. Who knows what will happen if Darkness completely corrupts Master Dane," Shouted Vieren. Mars clenched his jaw tighter, his knuckles whitening on his staff.
"Neither of you are seeing the larger picture!" Bellowed Mars. Tahir tried to duck around him, bolting for the Laboratory door when a wall of opaque white appeared before him. Metal slapping metal echoed through the hall as a box made of white light surrounded him. Vieren was about to move to counter until three other Clerics trained their staves on him, each glowing with golden light.
"Take him to the Brig and confiscate Vieren's staff. Vieren, I am confining you to quarters. I will be by shortly to speak with you." Mars commanded. A Cleric came forward, holding his staff towards Tahir's box and directing it out of the room. An Acolyte reluctantly took Vieren's staff away as two more burly Clerics came in and escorted him to his room.
"YOU ARE MAKING A GRAVE MISTAKE MARS! LISTEN TO ME! THE MASTER MUST BE STOPPED!" Tahir screamed, but Mars turned away, stowing Vieren's staff on the wall next to the Lab's door.
7.75 hours earlier
Gathering the latest cores, Dane dumped them into the large jar, shaking it around and pouring out the large lump within. For a long while, he stared at it, watching as it swirled within its glistening skin.
"Is it almost complete?" a voice within Dane's head asked.
"No, it is complete. I must only direct this mass through a single emotion, and I will have my Ultimate light." Dane muttered to himself, reaching for his staff when he felt something holding him back.
"There will be no need for that staff from now on, Little Mage." The voice in his head boomed, making the reach for his staff harder and harder. Inch by inch, Dane moved his arm, legs, and body closer to the staff. When his finger was about to touch it, Dane felt his body freeze, unable to move any closer.
"You may have found your Ultimate Darkness, but what good will it do to turn it into your Ultimate Light? Nothing will be left once you've used this Darkness, much like paper to a fire."
"Paper will start a fire, not sustain it," Dane grunted, trying to close the tiny gap to his staff.
"Exactly. Ultimate Darkness can only start the Ultimate Light; it cannot sustain it."
"Then what should I do? I have everything I need to finally rid the world of Darkness." Deep within him, an uncomfortable stirring writhed so wildly that his stomach churned. His head felt light, and his vision blurred for a moment. It was almost as if the voice within his mind was growling in anger.
"You have found a way to momentarily 'scare' it away. You should remember from your past that darkness is not so easily vanquished."
"NO, you're wrong. The Ultimate Light that I have carried with me all this time, given to me by Menodora, will be the light that cleanses the Darkness from-"
"YOU WILL CLEANSE NOTHING!" the voice boomed, throwing him to the ground in a lifeless heap.
"But what of-"
"Your precious light is nothing before Darkness. You have studied my properties and used me to create and refine a Darkness that not even the gods can counter. You shall be my emissary of justice to deliver that which those who live rightly deserve."
"And what is that?" Dane asked.
"Vengence; Justice. Destroy everything they hold dear. There is no Ultimate Light." He felt himself say with a malicious growl. His eyes widened, wanting to reach for the lump of Darkness he had created to destroy it.
"You're wrong." He whispered, a spell of light flaring in his opposite hand, ready to purge this Darkness he had created.
"Am I? Tell me then, what has Light ever brought you?"
"It brought me Menodora."
"And she is dead because of it."
"It has brought me the acquaintance of Deities."
"They used you before you were even born."
"I have found friends in that same search to understand Light and to find the Ultimate Light."
"They only stay because they need you to teach them. Once they are masters, they will all abandon you!"
"Light has brought me the love of Ariel when I thought I would never be able to love again."
"Like the other deities, she uses you only for her goals. Anyone can speak sweet words of love and care; Light has yet to bring you a single thing. It has only shown you who is afraid of the Dark."
"It has brought me my daughter."
"You use her for your own goals. She is a tool."
"But what about-"
"The Ultimate Light? A Farce. The world only appears lighter because you aren't focused on the Darkness. If you want to be truly strong, then forget them all. Show them just how powerful your Darkness really is. Show them, Magus Sloe!" With heavy arms, Dane pulled himself up, picking up the lump of Darkness from the floor and watching the swirls of black and grey within it, dissipating his Light spell. All at once, he reached for the tome given to him by Arkarium. Setting the book on its spine, it fell open to the center page, depicting an alchemic circle labeled the Gran Umbra Arca: The Great Circle of Dark Alchemy created in collaboration between him and Arkarium. He cleared the floor of any furniture, swept it clear of dirt and dust, and then began to etch out the pattern in the stone floor.
"There is no Ultimate Light. It was only a lie to make the world seem less lonely. The only constant in this world is pain and, thus, Darkness. I will give them the Ultimate Darkness if they all want to fear something. They shall have Magus Sloe. The pursuit of Light has brought me nothing but pain!"
"You may be able to create a power that towers even gods by combining Anti-Magic and Darkness, but even that will not have the power to destroy it all."
"Then I will absorb all the world's Darkness!" Dane seethed.
"Even by taking me in, you still will not have the power to eradicate everything. There is still that which exists beyond our little planet."
"Then I will take the power of Rhinne. Ariel wants to create a new world? That is what she will have!" Shadows hissed around Dane as he carved, turning his eyes a glowing red. His hands and arms became thin and bony but still held great strength within them as he carved out the stone faster and faster.
"There is no Ultimate Light; it is a myth. There is, however, Ultimate Darkness. And I will show it to them!"
5 hours earlier
Will ran as fast as he could back to the meeting spot, looking over his shoulder periodically to make sure he wasn't being followed until he ran into something solid. As he fell back, he panicked, convinced another cleric found him until hands with an Iron grip wrapped around his arms and caught him, breathing relief when he saw it was Eleanor.
"Will! Where have you been? Xenos and I have been so worried." she exclaimed, setting Will down. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Will leaned against his knees.
"The Commander… was detained. Master Mars Admitted… to all the Clerics and Acolytes… he's known… what's been happening."
"And he sees nothing wrong with that? And what about Master Vieren?" Eleanor questioned as Will shook his head.
"I lost track of Master Vieren in all the chaos. But Master Mars claims that Master Dane's making the Omens more powerful is a necessary evil. I don't even know what I've been fighting for anymore." Eleanor set her brow, her eyes narrowing to slits as a low thrum gently thundered from under her breastplate.
"You said Master… no… You said that Mars confessed to the whole of Aurora?" Eleanor asked.
"Just about." Will sighed, finally catching his breath and standing up once more.
"Then all we need are Vieren and Commander Tahir back. Without them, I doubt any Acolytes or Clerics will align with us."
"Why don't you lead them, love?" Xenos asked as Eleanor shook her head.
"Tahir was the first to see it; if anyone can make them understand, he can."
"Well then, whatever you have in mind, it's going to take all three of us." Will chuckled as Eleanor smiled.
"I know, and here's how it will happen. Will, you, and Xenos will go to the holding area. I'm going to break the wall down, and when I do, knock out the guards." reaching to her belt, Eleanor grabbed her jailer's key and handed it to Will.
"I will be outside preparing to break down Tahir's Cell wall. I doubt they would have put the two of them together."
"And how do you know which one they'll put him in? We have four cells." Will countered as Eleanor held up her sword, revealing her pommel's flat end.
"I'll be using a little magical radar trick Xenos taught me. Once I break down the wall, everyone will no doubt be on high alert, so we need to move fast." Will and Xenos nodded in understanding until the latter added to the plan.
"I think I'll go into the temple first and busy myself in the depository. I can remain behind as your eyes and ears for what's happening."
"Xenos, that's too dangerous." Eleanor pleaded as he patted her hand.
"The whole world's at stake, love. Like it or not, we're all in danger until this situation is resolved. I'll be careful." Eleanor's breath hitched and pulsed as though on the edge of tears, closing her eyes and pursing her lips hard until Xenos' touch on her cheek made her face him.
"Alright, but you better come back." she smiled, kissing him firmly as the small troupe raced back to the temple.
3 hours earlier
Ariel was watching the world far below; there was something different about it. It was as if the planet itself were suffering from a bad case of the jitters waiting for something to happen. Rhinne stood beside her, focusing on Will as he moved through the Forest of Peace. After telling her what had happened, the little goddess paced and impatiently watched the world below, turning to her mother for the 1000th time.
"Please, just let me go back there. Something is happening; I can feel it," Rhinne begged, shaking Ariel's concentration.
"I've told you, it is too dangerous for you to-" Something interrupted her and caught Ariel's attention: a pull. No, this wasn't a pull but a call to her: a prayer. She had ignored it for so long before she met Dane that she had almost forgotten what a prayer felt like. With a command to Clank to keep Rhinne from leaving the Temple, Ariel followed the call to a fountain spewing darker-colored sand than the rest of the fountains. Wiping her hand across the bench, she cleared the dust and grains away to see a title etched into the marble: Pantheon. With a wave of her hand, the fountain's streams formed a circle in midair, showing a view of a warrior dressed in heavy red armor, kneeling at his immense sword and holding his wings low.
"Goddess Ariel of the land called Usoria, please hear my prayer that I may tell of danger in your presence." Ariel grinned, thinking back to the days when the people of Usoria used to pray to her like that.
"I am here, Warrior. I have heard your prayer and I answer. What is it that you beseech?" she asked, a glow lighting the area around the man. He looked up, stunned, putting a hand before his eyes before bowing down again.
"Goddess, I am a humble servant of my people. I am Keiser Vulcurion, Master Guardian of the Dracova. I come to you to warn you of one that has strayed and thus was banished from our lands. I fear he has gone to Usoria and will do whatever it takes to gather power. Beware of him, for he is formidable."
"Be at ease, Vulcurion. What is this man's name?" smiled Ariel.
"I knew him as Macross, goddess. But he has since abandoned that name and chosen Magnus." Ariel tilted her head in interest.
"And what did Magnus do to deserve banishment from your lands?"
"Magnus is a Dracova of strong body and stronger will. He sought the title of Keiser and its power to overthrow neighboring countries to expand our territory aggressively. The title of Keiser is a great responsibility to the Dracova as Master Guardian, not Conqueror. The previous Keiser thus chose me as her successor, but Magnus would not accept this and slew the Counsel of Ten, demanding that he be named Keiser."
"And so, for his crime, you banished him, and now he seeks power to take the title by force."
"Yes, goddess."
"I thank you for your warning, Keiser Vulcurion. I shall keep my eyes on the world for him." Vulcurion bowed his head lower, touching his fingers to his forehead before standing from his knelt position. With another wave of her hand, Ariel allowed the sands to collapse back together. So many things were happening in Usoria. It was a wonder that everything hadn't fallen apart already. She walked back to the Balcony that was overlooking Usoria when she heard Rhinne let out a shrill scream.
"NOOOOOOO!"
1 hour earlier
For the third time, Tahir had counted the bars in his cell. For the third time, The Guard told him to stop tapping his finger against them as he counted, and for the third time, he didn't abide. How could the Aurora be so blind as to what was happening? Mars admitted that Dane was creating the stronger Omens and had known about them for some time. And still, he saw no problem with it.
The weight of what he knew had to be done kept mounting on his mind, losing track of time after four hours. Tapping on the bars of his cell seemed like a way to bring in one of the Clerics to stop him and thus allow him to knock one out and escape by using their key. But they seemed to have an endless well of patience. Will, Xenos, and Eleanor were still on the outside, but he didn't know what they were up to since they parted ways near the beginning of the day.
"I have to get out of here NOW!" Tahir thought, looking at the lock on the cell door. If it were an ordinary lock, he could pick it in moments. However, this lock was magically enchanted, so even if Tahir could pick the physical lock, magic would keep it shut. From outside, he thought he could hear a hammer tapping on the stone approaching him. After a few moments, the sound stopped moving on his wall and became more of a pattern. When the tapping stopped, he thought about what the pattern was trying to tell him until he heard the familiar sound of Light Magic charging.
No sooner had he dove to the side of his cell then a blast of light and sound ripped through the back wall. Instantly, the guards sounded the alarm, one running for reinforcements and the other coming to the cell's door. Tahir heard the running guard being hit, and soon after, someone knocked the second guard to the ground, unconscious.
"Commander, are you alright?" Eleanor called, setting a heavy foot on the rubble of the back wall. Tahir coughed as he pushed out of the wreckage, waving his hand back and forth to clear the dust away from his face.
"I'm fine. Try to leave more time between your warning and your breaking of walls next time."
"I doubt there will be a next time. Master Mars has locked down the entirety of Aurora. He's even gone so far as to declare you a radical non-conformist." Will answered, grabbing the keys from the guards and unlocking the cell door to allow him and Vieren inside.
"There's a giant hole in the wall; why did you need to open that?" demanded Tahir as Vieren closed the cell, locked it, and then brought the keys inside, dropping them in the middle.
"So it'll be harder to follow. Come on." Vieren urged, handing Tahir his dagger.
"What about Xenos? Where is he? And where have you been?" Tahir demanded, motioning to Will.
"Xenos is remaining as a scout; he'll let us know if things get worse. The shuffle of the crowd moved Will to a safe distance when we confronted Mars. Using that shuffle, he was able to escape and warn the others." Vieren explained as they ran to the woods and their gathering place where a dozen Acolytes and Clerics were waiting for them.
"We managed to convince a few of them to join us after they witnessed what happened in the temple," Will explained, introducing them all to Tahir, who began drawing out plans to infiltrate the Aurora and stop Dane once and for all. Just as they were starting to move out, all of them felt a wave of instability flood over them.
"What is this?! I'm standing still, but the ground is moving!" one of the Acolytes exclaimed. Two others fell to their knees and wretched hard, shutting their eyes to ease their sick feeling. Tahir and Will both steadied themselves against a tree while Eleanor struggled to keep her eyes open and not feel her stomach churn.
"What is happening? It's like the world is spinning in its skin." Eleanor muttered. Vieren slammed the end of his staff down as light exploded around them, only to die away just as quickly.
"This is all Darkness. All the world's darkness is being drawn somewhere."
"I know where it's headed," Tahir growled, drawing their attention to the woodgrain-like appearance of the ground rushing in the same direction as the Aurora temple.
Present time
With urgent steps, the small troupe hurried through the woods. As they ran, the whole world around them suddenly felt lighter, brighter than it ever had been in their entire lives. Their momentary happiness shattered when an explosion ripped through the air, blowing through the trees and tearing branches and leaves from them. The force threw them all to the ground as a cloud of dark purple flames rose above the canopies.
"What was that?!" an Acolyte called. No one said anything as they regained their footing and balance and ran for the temple with more urgency. What greeted them was not the grand white and gold building they had known. Instead, they all stared in disbelief at the mountain of rubble. The surrounding trees had splintered, and the grass burned away, leaving nothing but ash and dirt behind. A cold feeling descended as they neared, making them all break out in goose flesh. Near the center of the building where the knowledge depository used to be, crouched a lone figure. Smoke-like aura poured from his back, surrounding him in black flames. Coming even closer allowed them to see dozens of the Aurora Clerics, some crushed and half-buried under rubble while others were impaled on the gold rods decorating the building.
A noise at their feet made them all begin digging through the rubble, keeping an eye on the figure in the center, seeming not to care about their presence. A heavy mist began to fall on them as they dug, dampening their hair and clothes. Finally, they pulled back the stones to reveal Mars, battered and bloody. Eleanor lowered herself into the hole they had created and reached for his neck, barely able to feel a pulse. The touch made Mars open his eyes and roll onto his back.
"Oh… it's just you," the head cleric wheezed, a fountain of blood dripping down his cheek as he coughed.
"Mars, don't speak. Will can fix you right up," Eleanor commanded, but Mars dropped a hand on her foot.
"There's no time. Run. Run! The Darkness has consumed the master. There is no hope for him now." he said with a strained whisper. Turning his head to the sky, he closed his eyes, coughing again as blood soaked his magnificent mustache and ran down his face as the rain fell.
"I knew The Master was dabbling in the dangerous. But I wanted… to believe in the future we hoped to create… I wanted… to… believe." His head slumped to the side as the crystals in his Shining Rod lost their glow. Eleanor's vision began to distort when she looked up and frantically searched over the rock piles, seeing something that made her chest heavy and her breath hitch. With desperate stumbling strides, she went to the lone shining rod standing amid the rubble, digging frantically, hurling great slabs aside until she uncovered Xenos' broken body. She nearly fell as she reached for him, cradling him against her leg and brushing away his blood-soaked brown hair, her quivering lips contorting as she broke. With an earth-shattering wail, Eleanor held Xenos to her, balling into the crook of his neck. Tahir came over to her, kneeling beside her to offer his comfort until he heard her breathing steadily becoming harder and quicker. Growls thrummed over her breathing as she looked up, locking her fury-filled eyes on the figure.
"Eleanor, stop. If what Ariel said is true, you won't be able to-" With an almost dragon-like roar, Eleanor took up her sword, charging over the piles of rubble toward him, swinging her sword so hard a contrail hung in the air as it whistled. Spear-tipped chains burst from under the ground catching the blade as sparks flowered all around him, bursting across the rubble, some of them rushing the paladin as she deflected them with her shield and attacked again.
More chains blocked her every swing; her heartbroken screams nearly in time with the clap of her sword against the chains until Eleanor was thrown back, disappearing in a cloud of dust. Tahir ran for her, trying to wave aside the dust to find his friend, when he saw her leaning against her sword on one knee, blood flowing down the side of her face.
"Eleanor, please stop! We need to retreat and regroup." Tahir commanded, wind rushing by him as Eleanor charged again, dropping her shield and jumping high, holding her broadsword aloft as golden light tinged with red burst around the blade.
"I will sunder your soul and drag your corpse through Helsion!" She bellowed. As she swung with a pain-filled bellow, the figure looked up at her, turning her scream to one of fear. Her terror blinded her to chains coming from her side, driving through her tough armor, and skewering her from all sides, holding her aloft. Silent shock overtook the group, as the sound of blood hitting the ground made them all pale. Eleanor wheezed and moaned, tears staining her face and streaking the blood on it as she struggled to move, lifting her sword up to strike, despite being so far away from her target.
"I'm sorry, Xenos. I'm sorry…" In a blur, the chains swirled, ripping her body apart and showering the rocks with her blood before it all disappeared into a cloud of ash. A stunned silence fell over everyone until an acolyte gripped his staff harder and shouted over the quickly building rain.
"We have to stop him here. WE HAVE TO STOP HIM! HE CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE!" An Acolyte shouted, spurring the other Acolytes and the few remaining clerics into action. Light hummed on each of their staves, cutting through the nighttime air like a knife as chains appeared and broke the beams like glass, sweeping across and throwing them all to the ground. Everyone scrambled to their feet again, charging the figure as they unleashed bursts of light and sweeping arcs that cut through the chains thrown at them, sparks raining all around them.
Within moments, the figure had been surrounded by a containment spell powered by the four Clerics who decided to follow Tahir. But their victory was short-lived as the figure lowered his head, the shadows of the cloak's hood pulling back just enough to reveal the smirk on his face.
"Pointless," he growled, chain spears bursting from the ground, shattering the containment and driving through the surrounding team, tearing their bodies apart as they disappeared into a cloud of ash. It happened with such speed that the containment spell hadn't fully dissipated.
Tahir, Will, and Vieren only stood in disbelief and terror, unsure what to do as they were the only three left alive from the Aurora. After a moment, Vieren began to franticly look around, pointing in directions as though trying to remember where specific halls used to be, running for the living quarters with Tahir close behind. Once there, Vieren anxiously looked around, trying to remember where his quarters had been, only to find it as a mountain of rubble. Tears ran down his cheeks as he began to dig through it, calling for Tasia.
Tahir also began digging through the rubble, knowing the panic-driven fear Vieren felt. It was the same he'd felt when the Omens attacked and killed Talea and his daughter so many years ago. In his heart, Tahir prayed that he wouldn't be the one to find her, and in the end, he didn't. But when Vieren did find her, she was already dead. With tender care, he lifted the last of the rubble from her broken body, screaming into the crook of her neck while cradling her in his arms and rocking back and forth. Beside him, Tahir noticed that his Shining Rod's glow began to intensify, lighting the dark area with an angry white light as dark mist rose from his back.
"Vieren, whatever you're thinking, you must stop now." But Vieren ignored him as he lay Tasia down, grabbed up his rod, and charged the man sitting in the center.
"VIEREN, STOP!" shouted Tahir, reaching for him but missing as he teleported away. Will saw what was happening and tried to intercept him but was thrown aside as Vieren shattered Will's entrapment spell. Teleporting into the air, Vieren raised his rod above his head, unleashing an enormous wave of blinding white light.
"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD WHITE MAGE!" The wave hit Dane hard, shaking the ground with its force. The dust cleared in a flash as Dane threw his hand out, spear-tipped chains bursting from the ground. With another broken-hearted scream, Vieren loosed another wave of light that shattered as the chains punching through it, and Vieren holding him in the air. Silence hung thick as Tahir, and Will looked on in horror; the glowing links nearly replaced all of Vieren's body as so many pierced through his torso.
With a wave of Dane's hand, the chains all spread, ripping Vieren's body apart before it all evaporated as a cloud of ash. Whispers filled the air as The White Mage turned his torrid red gaze to them, chains rushing from under him toward them. Will summoned his Aurora staff, a wall of light appearing, blocking the chains but cracking the spell with the impact. Tahir grabbed his dagger, rushing at Dane as Will dismissed the wall. Chain Spears rained all around Tahir as he ran, jumping from rock to rock to avoid the weapons as they obliterated boulders around him. As Tahir neared, a chain swept across, hurling Tahir into Will, who fought his own battle against dozens of chain spears swarming around him. With the two of them together, Tahir and Will fought back the swarn easier, but with each minute that passed, their bodies began to tire, and an ever-growing fear built within them.
The chains gathered into one large group, hitting Will hard enough to throw him aside, ripping the rod from his hand. Will ran for his rod after landing, jumping to grab it, but as he was about to touch it, chains exploded from the ground through his body, halting him in mid-flight. He could hear the commander call to him from far away as a frigid feeling swelled within him.
He could feel the chains beginning to pull in all directions, pulling sinew from bone and muscle from muscle, but there was no pain. Instead, he felt as if he were simply disappearing. Somewhere in the far distance, he thought he heard a woman scream. He knew that voice; It was Rhinne's voice. But she was back in the Temple of Time with her mother. How could he hear her? All at once, he saw Tahir's dagger spin through the chains under him, cutting him down to the ground. As the chains within his body dissipated, the blood began to flow, deepening the cold.
From the ground, chains rose, aiming down at him. Tahir forced his tired body to move, running to his downed friend. Just as the chains began to drive down, Will heard thuds and squelches, making him look up to see spearheads and chains poking through Tahir's chest and gut standing over him.
"I thought you wanted to cure the world of its Darkness, not become it." Grunted Tahir, barely standing after the chain spears hand punched through his body, hearing a dark chuckle as Dane spoke.
"I have erased it. And from it, I have created a power that not even the gods can defeat. There is one last thing I need, and it will all be over." Willing every last bit of strength left to him, Tahir stumbled to Dane, latching on to his cloak so as not to fall.
"You were the White Mage, the one who would save us. You can't do that as a black mage." Tahir hissed. Dane looked down at him, grabbing his shirt and hauling him into the air.
"I am saving you by getting rid of it all. And please, call me Magus Sloe." He growled, throwing him aside, pulling the chains from his body one by one before carving up his body and vaporizing it into a cloud of ash.
"Thank you for all you have done. But your services are no longer required," Sloe barked, walking to Will, who lay heaving for breath. Ash swirled from each of the wounds in his body, unable to move. Sloe stood over him with blank, uncaring eyes glowing in the dark of his hood.
"You were never worthy of my daughter, child," He whispered, walking away to the west. He had the power to go where he needed and obtain what he required, but he could not do it alone. No, it's not that he couldn't do it alone; he just didn't want to expend the energy unnecessarily. He would need Soldiers, Commanders, and Generals. A dark smile spread across his face as the first names came to mind: Arkarium, the Master of Dark Alchemy; Hilda, the Reaper of Azwan; and her half-dragon lover, Magnus, the Dracova Exile.
The rain steadily poured down harder and harder, wiping away the blood from Will's face. With each breath, staying awake became harder and harder, turning his vision skyward as drops would hit his eyes. Thoughts of Rhinne mocked him, his body having gone numb and no longer feeling the agony that plagued him moments before.
"I'm sorry, Rhinne. It looks like we won't be able to see that sunset after all," he whispered, swearing he could see the hazy outline of Rhinne kneeling beside him, her face stained with tears and her failing smile twisted in grief. Will thought he could see her trying to say something but couldn't tell if he couldn't hear her ethereal form or that, in his last moments, he'd gone deaf. Regardless of the reality, Rhinne stayed near him, setting a hand on his chest until the raindrops all around them slowed to a crawl while the hazy image of Ariel appeared next to Rhinne with a smile. Ariel also said something, waving her hand as Rhinne turned back to him with slightly more hope in her red eyes.
"Will? Can you hear me?" She asked. Will could barely muster the strength to nod, reaching for Rhinne's hand, which she took in earnest and moved close enough to whisper to him.
"I'm sorry, Will. I'm not strong enough to save you this time. Please, forgive me." she whimpered as Will patted her hands, struggling to smile as the last of his strength ebbed away. Within moments, Will's sight was gone, and his breathing slowed, letting out one last breath that only Rhinne could hear before his body fell limp.
"I love you, Rhinne," Rhinne tried to answer, but as she mouthed the words, his face and skin greyed, crackling and falling apart as his body disintegrated into a cloud of ash, and his glasses fell into her hands. Trying to reach out for any part of him that was still solid, Rhinne tried to capture as much of the ash as she could, but each catch only released what she already held until there was nothing left. Slumping on her knees, the rain's hushed roar was drowned by her scream of agony, clutching Will's glasses to her chest as Ariel went to her, kneeling beside her. Rhinne buried her face in Ariel's chest, muffling her cries as Ariel embraced her; it was the only thing she could do to comfort her daughter in her time of immense pain.
