Vexien puts his leather boot on my shoulder and steps over me carelessly. He puts his left arm behind his back and points his sword outwards towards Blankk and Azeroth. I notice Warren backing away, but Kain is standing with his shield ready. Vexien sighs, almost instantly appearing behind Warren.
"Cowardice disgusts me."
With one swift swing, something compels me forward. As Vexien's sword slashes downward, I push off the ground as hard as I can. The building shakes as I force myself forward and slam my sword slightly in front of Warren, narrowly blocking the attack. Vexien darts his eyes towards mine, staring deeply at me.
"You forced yourself free, how intriguing."
I angle my sword sideways and cut through Vexien's fingers and stomach. His top half gets knocked up into the air, but blood flows between the two halves and pulls him back together. His body and clothes mending instantly. Azeroth runs over to Vex while Blankk walks over to me. Azeroth speaks up.
"Vex!"
Once again Vexien takes his attention from me, looking passed me to Azeroth and Vex.
"So he's Vex?"
Vexien whispers under his breath. He quickly points his sword at Vex and squints.
"You insult the memory of my goddess. Only the worthy may claim that name; and you, are most certainly not worthy."
Vexien starts to lunge towards Vex, but I turn my blade vertical and slam the flat side agaisnt his chest. He flies back against the stone wall, cracking it and shaking the room. Blankk walks forward, the blue markings on his suit starting to glow.
"Xa'Gorthep."
Kain pulls Warren down the steps as Blankk pulls back his right fist. Blue energy seemingly travels from his suit into his hand, the ground around him almost breaking up and floating around him. Blankk speaks up, but another voice overlaps with his. A deep, gutteral voice.
"For disrespecting an old friend."
Vexien drops from the wall as Blankk appears in front of him and punches him in the face. The entire wall behind him explodes outward as a massive blast of energy flows through the entire room. A storm of voices and screams seemingly echoing from the energy.
I look forward, the rubble and dust slowly settling. I notice there's another massive room through the wall. Vexien slowly stands up in the other room, blood rolling from the entire room and healing him back to full health.
"Xa'Gorthep? Did I hear you correctly?"
Vexien steps forward, his leg healing back. His clothes appearing over his skin as he heals.
"Vex? And Xa'Gorthep?"
Vexien seems confused, almost distracted. He slowly walks over the pile of stone and back into the room with us. I dash forward and slash through his neck, but he immediately heals. Vexien continues walking forward, slowly picking up pace.
"No, it's too soon."
He starts speed-walking towards the stained glass. We all watch him in confusion, his voice slightly shaking.
"My goddess, what does it mean?"
He stares out the glass for a moment, then turns back to us.
"No! It must be a trick, she wouldn't pick another follower. None exist as devout as I."
He glares at us, then seemingly erupts into a frenzy.
"You are nothing but fakes, deceivers, tricksters! You are nothing!"
Vexien holds out his hand, then plunges his sword through his palm. I notice Vex is fully healed and back onto his feat. Vexien pulls his sword from his hand and points it toward Vex.
"You disgust me, I will eradicate you and cleanse her name of your filth."
Vex pops his neck and sighs deeply.
"I want to know who this goddess of yours is. Should I be aware of her?"
Vex asks, Vexien clearly getting angry at his question.
"You dare share her name, but don't know of her! Disgraceful! Don't treat her so casual, she is the greatest creation on this planet. Don't disrespect the Maker!"
Vexien appears at Vex as we all react the same. All of us exclaim in unison.
"The Maker!?"
Vexien jams his sword towards Vex, but suddenly gets stopped. Ten arms extend from Vex's shadow and grab Vexien's limbs. In one swift motion, they rip him apart. The blood floating around Vexien heals him quickly, but he still jumps back.
"Finally going to use that army you keep in your pocket?! Even with all your might, you can't kill me!"
Vexien grits his teeth and stares at Vex. Vex lowers his head for a moment, then looks back to Vexien.
"Answer me this, how can you see them?"
A brief silence sweeps the room, then Vexien pulls his sword back.
"I can see magic, and magical effects. It's obvious to me, since your shadow is black enough to stretch for hundreds of miles. The only possible things in it could be an army. Nothing else would make sense. I have been named Lord of The Shadows, but I feel the name may suit you more."
Vexien dashes forward, Vex giving a nod to show he understands his answer. He speaks up, but much like Blankk. Another voice overlaps with his own. A female voice.
"Fine then, let's play seriously."
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of shadow-like people appear around the room. I watch as each shadow slams Vexien around like a ragdoll and tosses him away. Over and over, each shadow wears him out then passes him to the next one. Vex taps his shadow while Vexien is flying through the air.
"Merge."
I watch the shadows all slam together, forming one. White marks seemingly flash in and out of existence all over the new shadow's body. Vexien flips in air and glares at the shadow, blood still splattered all around the room. The shadow takes a single step forward, then hops upward. The floor cracks and explodes downward, but Vex pulls me and Azeroth out of the way of the massive hole formed by the shadow.
I look up to see it throw a single punch, Vexien seemingly explodes, the force shattering the stained-glass window and cracking the walls around us. I golden light shines into the room as Vexien starts healing while flying out the window. We all look over, noticing a massive golden egg-like structure floating outside.
We all move to the shattered window and see the castle built around the structure. The golden egg floats off the ground, and looks to be several hundred feet tall and wide.
I hear Vex laugh slightly, and look over to see him holding his hand on the shadow's cheek.
"You did amazing. Enjoy your rest."
The shadow falls to one knee, almost bowing before Vex, then seemingly vanishes into thin air.