Chapter 166

Mephiles the Dark

"Shadow." The name echoed through the temple, reverberating in the air without a clear source. Mephiles spoke without a mouth. His voice emanated from the clouds of swirling purple smoke attending him like a royal retinue. The aura of darkness crackled with shocks of blue and white electricity. A tremendous pressure flowed out of him making the hairs on the back of Shadow's neck stand on end. He's gotten much stronger.

Mephiles raised a hand with four diamond claws instead of fingers. "Our battle is not over, Shadow. Did you think you had defeated me so easily?"

His voice was similar to Shadow's but a note deeper and carried an unnatural reverb leaving a spine chilling echo in the listener's ear. "What do you want, freak?" Shadow took a step forward to shield Amara. He was still exhausted from the day of travel, and in no condition to fight, but he could not let Mephiles know that.

"I am here to bring the princess home." Mephiles turned to Amara. "Our master calls you. There is a cell that longs for you to return. You cannot imagine the torments the dark lord has in store for those that would try to escape him."

Amara's face drained of color. Her chest heaved as she began to take rapid breaths. She let out a small moan of terror and collapsed to her knees. Her terror only delighted Mephiles who laughed deeply. "Save your tears. You will need them later."

"Burn in hell!" Mephiles had taken his attention away from Shadow and that had been a mistake. Brandishing the Ring of Kings, Shadow dashed forward and fired a jet of orange fire.

The attack caught Mephiles off guard, but with a mere swipe of his hand, a shield of black diamonds reflected the flames. "Die!"

And Shadow nearly did. A spear of crystalized energy broke through the shield and would have skewered Shadow through the heart, had not the Reditus allowed him to dodge. Mephiles whipped back his arm, and Shadow saw that the spear was merely an extension of Mephiles' own body. The weapon detracted back into a clawed hand.

"Your fancy toys cannot save you," Mephiles mocked. "These instruments may have spared you from me in the Boneyard, but that won't work again."

"I don't need these to kill you," Shadow said fiercely, though in truth, he was already at the limit of his strength. His legs were already threatening to give out on him.

"You are defiant in the face of obsolescence, but that will not matter. I am the only Shadow this world needs."

"Wanna bet?" Shadow held up his hand and summoned the very last bit of energy he had left. "Chaos blade!" The blue sword manifested into being. It hummed with a vibrant energy and gave some life back into Shadow.

Mephiles stuck out his arm and his hand transformed into a white sword of glowing diamond. "I have been waiting for this moment."

There was no contest. Depleted as he was, Shadow was no match for Black Doom's demonic spawn. Shadow's blade slashed forward only to be deflected with contemptuous ease. Shadow was rocked back by the force of the blow, and only just managed to get his sword up in time to avoid being decapitated. The save cost him his weapon which dissipated into blue sparks. Mephiles reached out with his free hand and caught Shadow by the neck, lifting him clear off his feet.

Shadow kicked but his blows glanced harmlessly off of Mephiles' rocky body. Laughing gleefully, Mephiles reared back and threw Shadow like a ragdoll. He slammed his back into one of the temple pillars and slid down to the floor.

His vision blurred as he attempted to pick himself up. Near the statue of Eryndor, Amara had collapsed to her knees. She trembled as she fought against her body in an effort to draw a complete breath.

Hovering above him, Mephiles retracted his blade. "All traces of you shall be wiped out, and I will remain as the one uncontested Shadow."

"Go to hell." Shadow pushed himself onto one knee and spat out a glob of blood. This was his second brutal defeat in under a week. His head was aching horribly, and the fatigue was so deeply set in he had to fight the temptation to simply lay down and pass out.

"I am hell," Mephiles announced cryptically. "I am Oblivion. I am the darkness at the bottom of the pit. I am-"

Crack! The statue of Materna wobbled as the fissure running down her side suddenly expanded. Debris exploded outward and the statue leaned forward and fell with a thunderous crash! Mephiles had been so focused on Shadow he barely managed to turn around in time to cover his head with his arms before he was buried beneath the collapsing statue.

"Come on!" Shadow was suddenly lifted to his feet. Howl carried Shadow in one arm, and held the still panicking Amara in the other. He carried them away, racing behind one of the grim faced statues. Howl kicked at one of the marble stones near the point where the temple walls connected to the floor. The withered stone gave way and Howl managed to create a gap. He pushed Amara into the hole and she crawled down into a deep pit beneath the temple.

Howl gestured for Shadow to go after her. He hesitated, not understanding what had happened. Roran arrived a second later, the priest's face red with effort. "Go!" Howl hissed and he thrust Shadow into the gap. The fit was tight, but Shadow managed to wiggle forward. Repositioned by centuries of erosion, a small pit had formed beneath the temple which could only be reached by a breach from the inside. Howl, Shadow, Roran and Amara managed to pack themselves into the hiding place.

No sooner had the hem of Roran's robes vanished into the gap, then there was a loud cry of rage. The debris that had buried Mephiles was blasted backward as he rose high into the sky. "Where are you?" The aura around Mephiles burned a dark shade of violet as he circled around.

Shadow could just watch him through a tiny hole. Mephiles was searching around the broken shrine, clearly thinking that Shadow had somehow been responsible for its destruction. "You cannot hide." Mephiles' voice carried throughout the temple. "I know that you did not have the strength to escape. You are here, hiding like the rat you are."

Mephiles' search brought him within a few feet of where they were hiding. However, amongst the ruins and general dilapidated state of the temple, Mephiles did not notice the crack.

The puppet of Black Doom lacked the patience to root them out. His energy swelled as his frustration grew. "Come out." Mephiles spoke calmly, so the suddenness of the attack caught Shadow off guard. He aimed his palm at the statue of Eryndor and sent out a blast of swirling black energy that instantly destroyed the shrine. The resulting debris buried the bodies of Gwelda and Eskel. "I will destroy this entire temple and bury you in the ruins. But I would prefer to watch you die. Come on out, and face your end with some dignity."

Shadow didn't move. He was far too firmly squeezed in with the others to even make an attempt.

"Perhaps you're wondering how we found you so easily. All of these temples are rigged with silent alarms to help us track down heretics." Mephiles continued to float in a wide orbit, appearing even more like a puppet held up by strings. "Once the hidden mics picked up your voice I knew I had to come myself. I could not pass up the opportunity to test myself against you. But perhaps that was a challenge not worthy of my time. Here you are sneaking into the darkness like your very namesake suggests. Come out Shadow, you cannot hide. The darkness betrays you because it belongs to me."

Mephiles stopped. His pulsing magenta eyes swept the temple. Shadow cringed when his gaze passed over their hiding place. But Mephiles still did not seem to notice them. After a minute, Mephiles returned to his original position near the broken statue of Eryndor.

"Very well." Mephiles floated higher into the sky and raised up his hand. He formed a swirling sphere of black and purple energy which crackled with frenetic bolts of magenta lightning.

Shadow and Howl both instinctively wiggled forward so that they were the ones closest to the blast zone. They held their arms out as a makeshift shield. "Once the blast hits," Howl whispered. "We break through the back and make a run for it."

This was assuming that they would even survive the attack. Mephiles' ball of energy continued to grow until it was nearly twenty feet across. It's too much. Shadow thought despairingly. Such an attack at close quarters would destroy the entire temple grounds, not just the central cathedral.

"Time to die!" Mephiles reared back and prepared to launch his ball of destruction when a portal of black smoke appeared out of nowhere. One of those strange cyclop starfishes floated out of the portal and swam freely in the air towards Mephiles.

"Stop this!" The creature obviously had no mouth, but the voice that issued from it was unmistakably Black Doom's.

Mephiles hesitated. "Shadow is here! I can destroy him now once and for all."

"And kill yourself in the process." The starfish swam up until its huge red eye was face to face with Mephiles. "Stand down."

Mephiles dropped his arm. The sphere of energy vanished without a trace. "I have him. He is still here."

"Maybe, or maybe he has you. It was foolish to rush after him without support. If you had waited we could have formed a squadron and called in the imperial legions."

"I don't need help," Mephiles hissed. "I am superior to him in every way."

"Do not underestimate him. We cannot afford to take any risks."

Mephiles scoffed. "Nothing on this planet or any other planet can rival the power at our disposal."

"Don't be a fool." The starfish extended its long tentacle-like arms and rotated in a rapid circle. "Arrogance will spell our demise. Have you forgotten what happened to Mesto?"

"It will make no difference."

"It already has!" Black Doom's voice thundered throughout the temple. "Killing that princess has nearly cost us everything! The emperor's power has been crippled drastically. Without the Sol Gems we are no longer invulnerable."

Shadow heard Roran let out an involuntary whimper. He kicked the priest in the rib to keep him quiet.

"What does it matter?" Mephiles argued. "This whole world is doomed for oblivion anyway."

"Only if we win. Those that stand in the way of the Realm Lord's ascension must be destroyed first. The emperor has commanded that we mobilize our forces. You are to lead the armies."

"And what about Shadow?" Mephiles persisted.

"Leave him for now. He can do nothing on his own. The emperor demands that we focus all our efforts on killing that blue hedgehog that followed him from earth."

"Why can't the emperor do that himself?" Mephiles raged.

"It is not our place to question the emperor," Black Doom threatened. "We have our orders. Now is the time for cool headedness, not for bravado and personal vendettas. Shadow will die, as will all the rest. In time, every living thing on this planet will be destroyed. The Realm Lord will return and his coming will be the unmaking of everything that is. We shall be a part of that absolute nothingness, and be reborn in eternal darkness."

The starfish's red eye pulsed and a beam of red light burst out of the iris. The light burst asunder to form a new portal. "Come, we have much work to do."

Mephiles hesitated. His eyes swept the temple again. As a sign of defeat he lowered his arms. Black Doom's avatar floated through the portal. Mephiles followed, but just as he was about to vanish he stopped. His rocky body glowed white and he turned back. Mephiles raised his hand and fired a blast of pearl colored energy.

Shadow and Howl covered their faces just as the blast struck the center of the temple. BOOOOOOOM! The ground thundered and dust sprayed into Shadow's face. His teeth clenched so hard that Shadow felt his jaw pop. The temple itself screamed as its pillars snapped and the part of the roof caved in. The roar of demolition sounded so loud that Shadow's ears started ringing.

The force of the blast kept him paralyzed as he waited for the tremors to stop. Shadow covered his head, hoping that the foundation above them wouldn't collapse. After several long minutes, there was silence.

Even when the shock was over, no one moved or spoke for several minutes. Shadow was the first to stir, shaking himself from dust and squirming towards the front of the pit. The entrance had been sealed by fallen rubble but luckily it wasn't too much. Howl came up beside him and together, the two of them were able to push it aside.

Sunlight streaked into Shadow's face. The temple ceiling had nearly been completely destroyed. Most of the pillars and statues were in pieces along the floor. A deep hole marked the location where Mephiles' attack had struck the ground.

Shadow's mouth tasted foul. He spat out a mixture of phlegm and blood. Roran and Amara crawled out of the hiding place. They both coughed and sputtered as they struggled to their feet.

Roran emerged with a face red with tears. Shadow expected that the priest would start wailing and sobbing, but his expression was completely neutral. "It is true then," He said weakly. "The princess is dead. I…I did not want to believe it." Roran looked up at the shattered roof of the temple, his gaze piercing beyond the walls towards the stars above. "Ever since the night of the Blood Moon my heart has warned me of such a tragedy."

"I am sorry," Howl offered. "Princess Blaze was a proud and noble warrior."

"Aye." Roran's voice broke. "She must have known what her death would provoke. Perhaps at last my people have awoken."

Shadow said nothing. He watched impassively as Amara walked away from them and towards the rubble. She knelt down and moved away some of the stones until she unearthed the bodies of Gwelda and her grandfather. Amara tried to drag the bodies away, but they were buried beneath pieces that were too heavy for her to move.

Wincing as he did so, Shadow stood and felt his legs totter beneath him. He limped over to Amara. "We don't have time for this," He said bracingly. "We should get out of here, before Black Doom sends someone else."

Amara shook her head. "I can't leave them like this." She resumed her effort with extra ferocity. Many of the broken stones were jagged and Amara cut her hands on the edges, but she took no notice of her injuries.

Shadow tried to help, but his exhaustion overwhelmed him. He rested back on his hands and watched as Howl and Roran came over. With their help, Amara was able to free the bodies. Howl lifted both corpses easily over his shoulders, and they all left the temple. Amara spotted a spot of broken up ground near the gates. The others watched as she knelt in the grass and began to dig furiously using her hands as shovels.

No one spoke. They all knew that they were wasting time, and that it was extremely dangerous to hang around. Yet neither of them had the will to break the spell that held them still. Amara's fingers turned black with dirt and dried blood. After about an hour she had managed to dig a grave just deep enough to cover Gwelda. Howl joined in, and together they managed a second grave for Eskel.

Amara pushed the bodies into the holes and covered them with dirt. As soon as she was done she jumped to her feet and strode towards the forest. Shadow and the others followed after her. Amara, now leading, directed the group to a clearing only half a mile away from a rushing stream. Howl and Roran set up a campfire while Amara and Shadow went down to the water. Shadow ducked his face into the cold liquid and felt some energy return to him. He washed the grime of travel from his face and hands and then splashed himself to try and wake up.

Amara sat cross legged on the bank and slowly cleaned the dirt and blood from her hands. Most of her fingernails were broken and there were long cuts tracing up her forearms. Shadow watched as Amara poured water on a large gash near her elbow. Moments later, a dark gray puss seemed to fill the gaps between her skin and fuse the wound close. A scar remained, but it was no longer bleeding.

"I'm sorry," Amara said suddenly. She was not looking at Shadow, but continued to wash her wounds. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you back there. I can't help it. When I think of Black Doom my body just locks up…"

Shadow was flooded by a sudden and unnecessary surge of annoyance. "You will have to get over yourself," He said harshly. "Everyone has suffered, but we don't have the luxury of collapsing like frightened children."

Amara did not argue. She dropped her head and turned away slightly, no doubt hoping to conceal her tears from Shadow. However, instead of prompting pity, this only made Shadow more angry. "No more crying," He snarled. "You can cry after you've helped us split up the imperial army. Once that's done you can go ahead and die if that is what you want so badly."

Again, Shadow hoped that Amara would scream at him, that his words would ignite a spark inside her. Instead, she curled up and buried her head beneath her arms. Multiple instincts raged for supremacy within Shadow. He did want to comfort her, but another part of him loathed the necessity of such empathy. She's weak.

There did not seem to be any reason why her reactions were making him so angry, but Shadow found that his hands were shaking. He jumped to his feet and stormed away, not wishing to lash out at her again. When he returned to camp he ordered Howl to the bank. "Make sure she doesn't run away again."

Howl seemed on the verge of protesting Shadow's attitude, but thought better of it and went meekly towards the stream. Shadow carried his rage with him as he sat down in front of the campfire. The embers crackled in front of him as he gazed down into the burning depths.

"Are you alright?" Roran offered. "Were you hurt?"

"Just my pride," Shadow admitted.

"These abominations just keep popping up," Roran said contemptuously. "First Infinite and now this Mephiles creature."

"Power always invites challenge," Shadow explained. "As our powers grow, so do our enemies."

"But there has to be a limit," Roran quavered.

And I think I've found mine. Shadow flexed and unflexed his hand. Though he had become far more powerful, none of his gains seemed to matter against the nearly godlike foes he was faced with fighting. Even with the Reditus and the Ring of Kings to balance the scales, Shadow wasn't sure how he would fare against Mephiles in an even fight. He knew that it would have been a closer contest had he not already been exhausted, but that was no guarantee that he could win if rested.

Shadow stretched out beside the fire and looked up into the sky. A cold air swept through the forest and made him shiver. Mesto, Infinite, Black Doom, Mephiles, even Robotnik himself, neither of them were the true threat. Beyond all of these great powers there was one hand pulling the strings. Was Shadow merely a rat on a wheel? Were all of his efforts ultimately futile? Every leak that was plugged only served to reveal a dozen more.

The Realm Lord has had nearly infinite time to plan this. Shadow thought defeatedly. Any move that Shadow made, any variation to the plan could have been accounted for. Even the defeat of Iblis could not, in itself, avert the destiny that the Realm Lord had decreed.

The pressing weight of these depressing thoughts fell on Shadow to serve as a makeshift blanket. Each crackle of the nearby fire played in his head like a lullaby rocking him to sleep. His eyes drifted shut and he fell through the grass beneath him and into a realm of dreamless sleep.