Sun had reached for his weapon as he stared up at the brother gods, totally unaware that it hadn't manifested along with him. He groped ineffectually as he watched the dragons come to blows in midair, suddenly feeling very stupid that he had tried to affect the outcome at all… and that the others might have seen him do so. With a frustrated grumble, he focused his full attention on the Maidens as they each began to engage in combat in their own way.
Celes continued to rain furious blows up at the sky, unleashing magical barrages with each punch and causing an elemental rain. The projectiles bounced harmlessly off the quarreling dragons, and she seemed to only be getting angrier as the deities continued to ignore her efforts. Lora had all but given up on trying to save her sister and had instead closed her eyes, trying to focus over the din as she summoned up an ever-expanding portal. The dimensional gateway was slowly widening, allowing bright light to spill through it as it connected to some other location.
Astrid charged in alone, making her way closer and closer to the battle in the sky. As she ran, her crown and blade crackled with deep red energy, searing her skin as she kept in contact with the Relics. Her forehead and palm were smoking as she ran, though the woman seemed to be completely ignoring the pain. Upon reaching a point on the dais not quite beneath the dragons, she lifted her blade and glared into the gleaming crystal.
"Apoph and Pela, lend me all you have left! Show me how to use these weapons to slay a god!"
From the metal tiara, the spirit of a burning serpent emerged and wrapped around Astrid's forehead before coiling down to speak into her ear.
"We are weakened, child… but by our powers combined, there is an opportunity. Focus on getting closer. I will change the sky itself to allow you to ascend."
Shortly thereafter, a voice resonated from the blade as a distorted face manifested within the crystal.
"To slay a fellow god… it is within my power, but in this state, doing so will drain what magic I still possess significantly… and I can only offer forth such power once."
"Do it," Astrid ordered as she flourished the blade and held it at a diagonal down at her side. "They call us playthings. Expendable. They manipulated and betrayed you… their reign of deceit ends here and now."
"Astrid," the blade called as she began to run, sprinting up into the sky as floating stones began to manifest beneath her feet with each step.
"What?" the woman asked, keeping her focus on the targets above as she continued to ascend.
"Do not miss."
The hairs on the back of Sun's neck stood up and began to tingle as he watched and somehow felt an unstable, rippling energy gathering around the blade of the sword. Even through an illusion, he could practically taste the raw magic in the air as Astrid came closer and closer to the clashing brother gods high above. By the time she had ran up almost halfway between the dragons and the ground, the gathered energy had become vicious and bright enough to alight the entire dais in deep red as the fragments from the shattered crystal began to attract to the blade. A larger platform of stone appeared for the Maiden to step onto, and she anchored herself in a wide stance before drawing the blade back and narrowing her eyes at her targets. Astrid's arms shook with rage and grief as she readied herself and then mouthed two words that Sun couldn't make out over the flaring, crackling energy around the sword.
As Astrid dragged the blade forward through the air with all of her might, a formless, pulsating wave of black and red flew forth and up into the sky. The release of energy was absolutely deafening as it careened toward the clashing dragons, causing Celes and Lora to cover their ears and avert their eyes as Astrid let out a cry of effort and fell to the platform in exhaustion. The God of Light saw the beam and accompanying crystal fragments coming and slipped backward, away from its brother.
The God of Darkness did not.
A squelching, crackling sort of noise rang out as the projectile tore straight through the stomach of the beast, bisecting it at a diagonal. The spinning, unstable energy continued on through the dragon's body and spiraled up into the sky, losing no speed and seeming to gain in ferocity as it continued to travel. As the uncoupled halves of the God of Darkness began a rapid, bloody descent down toward the stone platform, a brilliant light overtook the whole sky. All parties involved looked up just in time to see the beam of destruction collide with the moon, splintering it and scattering celestial rock into the void. Glittering speckles flashed violently out in space, and several began to careen straight for the planet as the God of Darkness' body finally fell to the waiting stone, scattering gore across the platform.
"We… are not…expendable," Astrid declared defiantly as she dragged the blade upward once again and leveled it at the God of Light. The sword was still glowing, though far less intensely than it had before. "A sibling for a sibling… and you're next…"
The falling meteors from the moon continued to approach, scattering around the crater and avoiding the mountain entirely as they collided with the earth in a series of deafening impacts. Smoke, dust, and dirt darkened the sky once again as yet more fragments fell in a seemingly endless stream from on high. The God of Light hadn't moved since he had dodged the initial attack… but its expression twisted into a fanged, predatory grin as it continued to levitate above the arena.
"…you believe this to be some great loss?" the beast asked as it turned its gaze down to the bleeding, singed corpse of its brother that laid in gory pieces upon the platform. "This was the inevitable result one way or another, and all you have done is accelerate the process while burning through the majority of what destruction magic remained within that crystal. Your family truly has been my most loyal group of supporters after all…"
The God of Light's claws began to radiate with raw magic as several things happened all at once. Wisps of jet black began to siphon away from the God of Darkness' body and into the God of Light, peeling the flesh from the fallen dragon's bones as it was slowly reduced to naught but a skeleton. As the power was transferred, the falling rocks from the crumbling moon slowed and stopped in the sky, collecting in a floating field of celestial stone high above and all around the arena.
"Pale imitations of your mother," the God of Light accused as more of his brother's power was funneled up toward him. "And even she is of no concern to me, especially in her absence."
"My absence?"
A shimmering dome encompassed the mountaintop as Salem emerged from Lora's portal, holding the glowing Staff of Creation aloft. The witch had the Lamp of knowledge in her other hand, and her expression was one of rage.
"Mother," Lora said hesitantly as she looked up at the woman. "Fiorella is…"
"I know," Salem reassured, keeping her eyes locked upon the dragon above. Her face showed no emotion but hatred, and she gripped her weapons tightly enough that her knuckles were white. "I could feel it, even from the other domain. We end this here and now, with what remains of our family. For Ozma, Fiorella, and the sake of our kingdom."
"Kingdom?" the God of Light asked. "What kingdom?"
As the dragon raised its claw once again, the suspended meteors began to accelerate rapidly. Each and every rock began speeding away from the sealed-off magical dome, flying forward to strike somewhere out of sight of the mountaintop. The assault was swift and devastating, causing a series of deafening booms as they were directed to targets of the deity's choosing. The sky beyond the dome turned a sickening orange, reflecting the fires and devastation raining down upon the world around it as the meteors razed the landscape beyond.
Celes was the first to move, letting out a battle cry as she ran toward the God of Light. Astrid copied her movements, running forward while the platform of stone extended before her, creating a path through the sky as her tiara glowed. Lora rose up alongside Salem, the pair flying upward and rising to meet the dragon.
"Focus it down!" Salem ordered. "Leave nothing to chance!"
The God of Light didn't bother to move, looking down and past the charging crowd. A sudden rumbling tipped them off that something was wrong, but too late to for any of them to react. Celes' scream was sudden and bloodcurdling, causing Astrid to pause her advance as she looked down past the edge of her platform.
All around the upper half of the God of Darkness' corpse were threads of light clinging to its bones and shredded flesh. The beast had seemingly reanimated at its brother's call and seized Celes within its jaws, ripping her clean in half. A long smear of blood extended from the dead Maiden's torso, trailing back to the decaying dragon's mouth. Without hesitation, Astrid leapt from the platform, angling the Sword of Destruction beneath her as she plunged straight for the dragon's skull.
The blade cracked straight through the exposed bone as Astrid landed hard atop the reanimated head and drove the blade as deep as she could. A surge of energy gathered around the blade and pulsed downward, shattering the bone completely and causing the remains to topple down atop Celes' unmoving body. Astrid, covered in sweat, blood, ash, and tears tumbled down onto the stone and forced herself back up to standing. The Maiden raised the blade once again as yet more magic and meteors lit up the sky and the God of Light began returning fire on Salem and Lora.
There was a moment where the dragon's eyes locked with Astrid's as it was being bombarded with elemental magic from the mother and daughter duo. Though no words were exchanged, Astrid could tell that something was coming. Something terrible, and likely final.
"There is little more I can offer by way of magic," the blade warned in an echoing voice as the crystalline portion pulsed weakly with crimson light. "You are largely on your own, though I can subtly amplify your blows…"
"We need to do this together…" Astrid said breathlessly. "All four of your remaining energies, all three of us… Mother! We need to regroup!"
Shifting arcs of lightning flew from Salem's fingertips as she glanced over her shoulder, twisting in midair to look Astrid's way. The witch scowled and made a quick dive with Lora in tow, putting both of them on the ground on the blood-covered spot between the two halves of the God of Darkness.
"Nothing we've done thus far has made a dent," Salem spat as she kept her eyes on the God of Light readying a spell above. She reached down and secured the Lamp of Knowledge to her belt before holding out her hand. "You may be right. Give me the sword and crown."
"What?" Astrid asked incredulously. "But… we need to coordinate. I can… I can barely manage to use one of these at a time! You could die, or…"
"Give it to me," Salem ordered. "That was not a suggestion."
"We just lost Celes!" Lora said, her voice full of exasperation. "Taking risks right now isn't th-"
"Enough!" Salem roared. "Ready yourselves, and trust in me!"
Astrid's hand twitched as she weighed her options, only for her to freeze up as a golden portal opened before them. Slowly, a figure emerged from within the rippling magical gateway, their plated boots clanking across the stonework of the platform as they walked out into view. The figure carried a reflection of the Staff of Creation and Sword of Destruction, though both of their crystal portions were a brilliant white.
"Stop this," Ozma said authoritatively as he leveled the blade up toward Salem. "Or I will be forced to act in defense of the God of Light."
Author's Note:
Either the final or penultimate part of this arc next week…
-RD