KHAAAA!
I fell down to my knees as the seventh sword pierced my back. This time it had pierced through something critically vital. I had gone numb to the pain a while ago but now, it was back with a vengeance.
A white searing torrent of agony spread once again throughout my back and my chest.
As I began coughing up an ungodly amount of blood, I slowly raised my head towards the backstabbing vipers that used to be my friends, rampaging fury radiated from my eyes-A manifestation of the internal ire keeping me conscious.
My lungs burned with every breath of air I tried to inhale. Even so I confronted them.
I needed to know!
"Why?! After everything we survived! After all the years of hell we have endured! Why you bastards?!"
I aimed my question to the one at the center, demanding answers. He simply responded with a sinister malice filled smile.
My best friend....How can I call him that after what he just did. Not only did he turn his sword against me, but he managed steal and turn both my lover Fate and my mentor Quinn as well.
Hate.
Boiling spiteful hate was building up inside me. The only reason I was still alive was because I was being consumed by this unbridled rage, rather than giving into the whispers of death roaming nearby.
Looking at the three of them and then at myself, I knew I was almost out of time. They stood tall before me while I was on the ground a mess. I was wounded beyond all sense of normalcy yet still determined to cling to life.
My only chance of hope would be to stall. Just a little bit of time. That was all I needed for this tiny seed of hope to flourish.
"Answer me Xavier! Why did you all turn? We were finally done! Ninety-nine floors of this hell that we cleared together. There was only one more floor left! One last floor boss, one final run alongside death! We clear that and finally get to go home so why!?"
"You don't get it do you Em?"
Xavier's deep voice boomed as he looked at me from rock he was standing on.
"We are the strongest here in Luna. The tower and its trials, we are the only ones in its history to conquer it all."
He motioned with his hand, pointing at the four of us. The other two started getting closer to him as he continued his rant.
"The years of sacrifice and loss we endured to obtain unrivaled power and world devastating abilities cannot be matched anywhere! And you want to give it all up? For what!? Just to go back to home! There is nothing left on earth! Get that through your head!"
"There is life Xavier! Have you forgotten of the peace that we had?! Everyday here in Luna has been a flirtatious dance with death! We finally have the opportunity to have peace you bastard!"
He squinted his eyes at me and spat at the ground.
Xavier was too far gone, refusing to see logic and reason. He was about to continue but, Quinn interrupted him.
"We were among the millions of people brought here to Luna, but we were the only ones who truly rose up through its trials and became untouchable. We are the pinnacle of this land so why should we leave?!"
Xavier motioned towards the other two and continued where Quinn left off.
"The three of us are staying here to rule as kings, never allowing the final floor to be cleared. Our rule will be eternal and you, well you were just in the way with your idealistic visions of leaving and going home. So you needed to be dealt with."
How long have they been thinking like this? Planning for this moment?!
I found myself gritting my teeth harder and harder with each word that rolled off his tongue. Pure anger flowed deep through me
Through the heady mix of emotions I was experiencing, I turned to the one who I thought loved me.
Fate.
Thousands of memories of us flashed through my eyes.
When we first met.
The time we cleared our first floor boss together.
Our first kiss.
The countless adventures.
Fighting for weeks on end to save her life after she was almost killed...
Too many emotions were trying to break to the surface, attempting to quell this burning hate I felt.
They almost succeeded and convinced me to ignore everything that just happened. However, as if to hit me while I'm down, Fate walked the last steps towards Xavier and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tongue filled kiss.
That whore!
Unable to keep looking I directed my newfound rage at Quinn my mentor. The one who taught me the joys of magic and took me in, allowing me to obtain unprecedented strength. She was the one who lied to me and brought me here. If She was going to kill me I expected her to stare deep into my eyes as I died!
The unfortunate truth is that while she had the gall to betray me, Quinn didn't even have the decency to look at me at this moment. It was almost as if she grew a conscious within the past few minutes and used it to look away.
It didn't take long to arrive at my decision.
They all needed to die!
I don't care how long it takes, I will survive as long as I need to in order to watch the light of life leave their eyes as I kill them myself!
Enough time had now elapsed and the final restriction on my power was lifted.
No more hesitation. I know what has to be done.
Shakily I rose, breathing heavier than before. This was going to be my last attack.
At my movement Xavier and Fate broke away and Quinn turned back to me. The three of them quickly raised their weapons ready to end it all.
I reached into my dimensional space and pulled out a unique looking sword. Uncertainty spread among the betrayers upon seeing such a weapon.
A black and silver ornate handle with a pale moon colored opal gem at its hilt. There was no blade attached to it. Anyone would be perplexed at its sight.
I however planned to clear that confusion up, right now!
Xavier spoke laughing.
"Have you gone mad Em, what are you going to do with that? You do realize that you will be dying soon and nothing you attempt will save you, not even threatening us with your empty hilt."
Ignoring them all I mustered the last of my strength and mana to cast the strongest bind spell I knew.
I began the chant. At my words, magic circles began to float around me. Filling the world with the brilliant light of my magic power.
"Shadows of perversity aid me in this wicked strife. Let your presence manifest and inspire true horror in the hearts of the unworthy. Forever bind the weak and bathe them in the black of your fear!"
[Presence of the Reaper]
At that instance, a dark entity cloaked in the purest ebony rose from their shadows and held them in place.
Slowly draining their life force as they were rendered immovable. Panic quickly rose in their hearts.
They thought I was finished but the opposite couldn't be more true. Seeing them in a state like this brought a wicked smile on my face.
"Xavier stop him now!"
Quinn shouted as they continued to struggle to free themselves.
Now it was my turn to take the upper hand.
"If we were anywhere else you would have won but you all made the mistake of bringing me here."
I pointed to a lone stone gazebo structure within the sea of trees. It was decorated with statues of dying angels.
The Grove of the End.
These idiots didn't know the true power hidden away in this floor.
"You wanted a poetic ending to me but unfortunately for you it's only the beginning. I swear on any and everything that can possibly be sworn upon, I will return! Once that happens it will be the end of you all!"
I spoke with hate, bitter spite, and a bleeding rage. No longer seeing them as friends or comrades.
This meant I no longer had to hold back.
At that instant, my aura exploded around me.
A purple ethereal flame surrounded my entity and it shone brighter and brighter. Burning tens of times wider and taller than my figure. This was the culmination of the last ten years of this hell.
My eyes changed from green to purple as I raised the empty hilt in my left hand.
This time I began a different chant. A more forbidden one. An ancient song of manipulation and existence.
" I Em, who have awakened the pinnacle of dominion and the authority of devastation demand that you honor our heavenly oath! With my sacrifice I entrust you with the eternal but know that surely as the leaves fall and the lakes freeze I will return to claim the undying soul. Until that day guard this blade from those who seek my destruction and turn back my flow of time!"
"Ahhhhh!"
I plunged the hilt deeply into my chest. A burning sensation began spreading throughout causing me to cough up even more blood than before. However, when I pulled it out, a blade shone forth. The empty handle had now found its weapon.
Ethereal and with my aura surrounding its majesty I held it up high and activated my final skill.
[Flow of Dissonance]
Unable to do anything, my enemies watched as I plunged the blade into the ground. Immediately an altar like pedestal formed underneath it. Ornate marble with runic carvings rose from the ground, almost as if to say that this blade was far too sacred to even touch the earth. Along with it a massive formless figure manifested itself and cast a barrier around it using its body as a medium. It encapsulated the weapon.
Protecting it.
Treasuring it.
Keeping it.
With a smile I looked at those who betrayed me and uttered my final words.
"I'm coming back...be ready."
With that I faded like mist into the cold wind.