Chapter 35: The World Beyond Death
"So, where to first?" Patches asked.
"Maybe we should split up?" Emilia suggested. "It would be faster."
"Think we can each handle one?" Serana looked a bit skeptical.
The Dragonborn was certain. "I know we can."
Patches grinned. "Alright, let's do this."
So, the three decided to split up to take down each Guardian.
"Now, where are you hiding?" Patches asked himself.
The bald Undead's eyes soon took notice of a... floating island? Curious, he decided to investigate.
"Hmm… How can I get up there…?"
He noticed a small well-like structure directly underneath the island. Deciding to investigate, he put one foot on it and was immediately teleported to the island.
Patches shrugged. "Huh, that was oddly easy."
Using his incredible stealth skills, Patches easily makes his way through the tiny island, picking off foe after foe. Finally, he got as high as he could, and noticed something... peculiar. The best way Patches could describe it was a humanoid figure made of a black mist and violet eyes, wearing strange armor made of bone. Patches guessed that this was one of the Guardians.
"Alright, how did Subaru do this, again? Speed is distance over time, so… if I wanna kill him quickly from where I am, my spear will have to go… ehh, this fast!"
Patches, after taking time to analyze the trajectory and necessary velocity to kill the Guardian, threw his spear at said Guardian and force no ordinary man could achieve.
CLANG!
Unfortunately, Patches forgot to take the armor into account, the spear couldn't pierce it.
"Uh-oh."
Now, the Guardian had taken notice of Patches' presence and pulled out a bone battle axe, ready to split the undead in two.
Patches sighed as he readied himself for a fight. "Hope the others are doing better…"
The only thing that could be heard, aside from the clopping of hooves, was Emilia's voice.
"Here, Guardian, Guardian, Guardian…" Emilia called out to the nothingness. "Come out, come out, wherever you are… I promise I won't bite…"
Thanks to Arvak, Emilia didn't have to waste precious energy trying to find it. Although she wouldn't admit it to the others, Emilia was feeling weary from having her soul split in half
Emilia groaned in discomfort. "Mmm… better hurry… The sooner I get out of here, the better I'll be able to keep Subaru and the others safe…"
Yes. She had to get the scroll, get out of here, and get the other half of her soul back. She had to. She was the Dragonborn, and she would not allow a wasteland to be the end of her. She refused to lose everything again. They were hers and she would not let go.
"Ugh… why do I feel so weird…?"
It was not a physical strangeness she was feeling, but... an emotional one? A mental one? Emilia didn't know. However, she did know something. This... this weakness, along with being so far from the others... she hated it.
The amethyst-eyed girl huffed. "Darn it, where is that Guardian?"
Getting frustrated, Emilia used Aura Whisper to locate any creature, living or not. Suddenly, she was a red aura a few hundred feet from her, larger than the skeletons.
Emilia narrowed her eyes. "That must be it."
Serana wandered through the wasteland of the Soul Cairn, looking for any sign of the Guardians her mother mentioned. For a few moments at a time, Serana occasionally used Detect Dead to locate any sign of these Guardians, but little came up besides the weird skeletons.
Serana grumbled to herself, "This is going to take forever…"
Serana was getting frustrated at the constant distractions and requirements to get the Scroll. Of course it wasn't that easy! Not only did they have to travel to the Soul Cairn, but they can't even get the Elder Scroll until they kill these Guardians!
"Typical... just my luck," the Vampire groaned.
Suddenly, she heard something. A roar.
Her Vampiric instincts kicking into overdrive, Serana immediately ducked for cover in one of the many ruins scattered around the Soul Cairn. Peeking out from her hiding spot, Serana saw the Undead Dragon, Durnehviir, flying overhead.
It doesn't look like he's looking for anything, or anyone, in particular. Probably just flying around and keeping watch… Serana thought to herself, making sure to stay hidden.
However, instead of disappearing overhead, the dragon landed near the crags of the sands, as if looking for something.
Shit!
Serana immediately put her back to the wall as she tried to hide.
The dragon sniffed around, before suddenly roaring, but weirdly enough, at the opposite direction Serana was hiding at.
It... left? Why?
Patches, meanwhile, was having his own problems.
"Hey, buddy! I was giving you a love tap! Can't we talk this out?!"
"GUGHRARAAA!"
Thanks to his agility, Patches was able to dodge the attacks of the Guardian, but his spear wouldn't do much good against the Guardian's armor.
"Hey! Look!" he shouted, pointing behind the Guardian. "Something shiny!"
Unfortunately, the Guardian didn't even seem to acknowledge the weak attempt at a distraction, and continued its assault.
Okay, that didn't work... there's gotta be some way to hit him hard!... Wait a minute... I'm on a floating island. Maybe I can't hurt him, but gravity can!
Patches grabbed the spear that was still lodged in the Guardian, and shook him off of it, while still on the island's edge.
The Guardian was about to attack Patches, but he used the Guardian's height to his advantage and rolled under its legs. Using all of his inhuman strength, Patches kicked the Guardian off the island and watched as it plummeted to the ground below.
"HAVE A HAPPY LANDING!"
"SHOW YOURSELF, GUARDIAN!" Emilia shouted into the sky.
As if accepting her challenge, the Guardian made itself known, looking identical to the one Patches fought. It pulled out its own Battleaxe and charged forward.
"BRING IT ON! AL HUMA!"
Immediately going straight for the kill, Emilia launched an Al Huma spell, which the Guardian attempted to parry with its own strength. However, the force of the attack caused it to stagger. Something Emilia capitalized on.
Emilia launched herself like a rocket off of Arvak. She quickly cast Ironflesh to enhance her durability and pummeled the Guardian into the ground.
Thanks to a combination of her Elven Strength and Mana Enhancement, Emilia was able to keep the Guardian on the ground. Emilia instantly used her ice magic to trap the Guardian's limbs, leaving it unable to move.
"Alright, now… how to kill you?"
That was the question. Despite her abnormally large reserves, Emilia wanted to conserve as much mana as possible for her very likely fight against the Dragon.
Snapping her fingers in realization, she created an icicle blade, placed it on the Guardian's head… and pressed down.
The Guardian's body struggled for a few seconds before it went limp. It's body decayed into smoke before disappearing.
Emilia couldn't help but… smile. "That… felt… good."
Normally, Emilia wouldn't feel so good, but it was an Undead creature that was getting in the way of their objective, and it wasn't even something worth crying over. It was just in her way.
"It was just… in my way…"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Emilia called Arvak over, who came strolling over to her and allowed the half-elf to get on his back.
Emilia pet the Undead horse. "Good boy, Arvak."
Serana was being more careful after nearly encountering Durnehviir. She kept using Detect Dead before finally picking something up.
"Found you."
Serana ran to the source, which was in one of the ruins. She took note of the Guardian sitting on its throne, almost as if it was waiting for... something.
Serana called out to the Guardian. "Um… hello?"
The Guardian took notice of Serana's presence, and pulled out its battleax, ready for combat.
"Do we really have to fight?"
The Guardian did not seem to acknowledge her response, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Doesn't even respond... is it like the Draugr? Actually, it's acting more or less like the Gargoyles Mother usually summoned. It only acts to fulfill its purpose. Serana thought to herself.
"Alright, then," she said, getting into a fighting stance. "En garde!"
Serana launched multiple Ice Spike spells towards the Guardian, who's armor easily tanked the spells, allowing it to charge forward unimpeded.
"Okay… new plan."
Switching to Shock magic, Serana dodged the Guardian's attack and blasted it with twin Lightning Bolts. The attack did seem to stun it for a quick second, but the Guardian continued its assault regardless.
Seeing how her attacks had little effect, Serana knew she had to use… that power.
She was reluctant to use her Vampire Lord form, but it seemed she had no choice. Serana convulsed and began to emit black mist. Suddenly, like she burst out of her own skin, Serana stood as a Vampire Lord. She looked similar to the Vampire Lord her friends fought a few days ago, but she had a more feminine build along with clothing that covered her sufficiently enough.
Serana couldn't help but smile. "OHH… YEAH…"
Fueled by her own Vampiric bloodlust, Serana launched herself to the Guardian in a surprising burst of speed. Grabbing the Guardian by its head, She immediately forced it to the ground, causing an imprint to form.
After that, she clawed and punched the Guardian's face over and over again.
The Guardian tried to retaliate, but Serana used her Vampiric Grip to telekinetically toss the Guardian into anything she could. Walls, pillars, the floor, anything to cause blunt trauma.
She kept slamming the Guardian all over the walls, painting them from gray, to the color of the Guardian's insides.
Finally, Serana launches a powerful Life Drain spell directed at the wounded Guardian, which was enough to break it apart and cause it to disappear.
Serana let all of her emotions out with a loud and ferocious roar that echoes throughout the Soul Cairn. After finishing, Serana changes back to her regular form and surveys the damage. Taking a few deep breaths, Serana finally relaxed as she leaned against a wall to regain her breath.
Patches looked back as he heard that roar. "Damn."
Everyone in the Soul Cairn, including Emilia, Patches, and Valerica heard the roar. However, only Valerica knew who it belonged to.
"This is all my fault…" The Vampire Queen looked down in shame.
Thirty minutes later, everyone met back up at the Castle, where the barrier was gone.
Emilia couldn't help but say, "We did it."
Serana had to agree with her comrade. "Yeah… we did."
"Please, follow me. I'll take you to the Scroll." Valerica gestured to them to follow.
"Okie-dokie!" Patches said, giving her a salute.
Valerica took them into the Castle, they realized that there was no roof or floor making it, making it more like a Courtyard.
"Not what I was expecting," Emilia said.
"What were you expecting?" Patches asked.
"Less... exposed," the Half-Elf said.
"Weird choice of words, but okay."
Valerica began to say, "The Elder Scroll is right near my lab here, so you can —"
"RAAAWWWRRR!"
"You've gotta be kidding me," Patches groaned.
Valerica went even more pale than she already was as she heard that roar.
She recognized the roar of her jailor.
"Durnehviir…"
Author's Note: I'm not sure if Serana's "Oh, yeah" is a reference to Abomination from the Incredible Hulk movie, but whatever, we've got bigger things to talk about.
(So, the hunt for the Guardian's began and ended. Thankfully, three people made it a bit easier and quicker. Now, the trio has one final challenge before they can leave the Soul Cairn.) And now for my weekly challenge, writing responses to your comments!
5queso: Yeah, we've both got college to deal with, with me having come back from vacation literally yesterday (by the time this comes out). The last chapter was just a taste of all the hugs and comfort Serana is going to receive, so stick around for that!
Bakenekon: Yeah, Radhahn is an absolute unit among men, and it was probably for the best that Patches ran away, but that's pretty much all the mentions he's getting.
Kifhjoofff: ¿Te golpeó en las sensaciones?
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian