[Outer-Sector: Outskirts of Corzox]
RRAAANRRGH!!!
The mighty roar of Dragon King Varcielle and his six dragon sentinels resounded across the battlefield, as the war commenced.
Hermes and Phobos hovered, rooted on their spot. They observed the roaring dragons and their rift-borne armies approaching them.
Hermes sighed and Phobos groaned as they prepared for battle. The horde of rift-borne swarming them from all directions.
Hermes sped towards Dragon King Varcielle slaughtering any rift-borne who dared to stop him with extreme precision and gore. Heads were torn, hearts were impaled, necks were snapped and bodies were ripped apart as Hermes made his bloody path towards Varcielle and his Sentinels.
BOOM!!!
Hermes struck a powerful blow to Varcielle right on his face. Crack!!! Dragon King Varcielle's skull cracked upon impact, as he flung in the opposite direction.
Varcielle's blood red eyes opened wide with a vicious glint in his slit iris, a bloody aura shrouded his existence.
[Reconstruction]
Dragon King Varcielle's draconian form started morphing and warping with his back bulging. His chest broke open and hands turned into vines grabbing hold of Hermes and dragging him away.
The bulge on Varcielle's back morphed into an identical clone, who charged alongside the Sentinels towards Phobos.
"I will stall Hermes for as long as I can!!!", Varcielle roared across the battlefield as he dragged Hermes away from his army. "Repel Phobos with all your might."
The Sentinels nodded as they followed Varcielle's clone, speeding towards Phobos. They charged their breaths. Surrounding Phobos, together they unleashed an immensely powerful beams of energy aimed at him.
Phobos's face broke into a wide, unnerving smile. His grim and creepy white halo iris gazed upon the Dragons and their armies. He opened his vicious fanged mouth wide pouring out pale grey mist. The mist crept across the battlefield surrounding the armies and shrouding the Sentinels along with the clone.
The rift-borne army was completely trapped inside the mist along with their dragon Sentinels and Varcielle's clone. The beams of energy they had unleashed warped around Phobos and dispersed inside [The Mist].
His eyes started to glow with an unusual shade of gray and white, glaring through [The Mist]. He took out a metal Aulos ,(Xyrak: It is kind of a flute, but has two pipes instead of one), it was obsidian black in color with shadows emanating from it. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. [The Mist] spiraled around him in a serene and Harmonic manner. He played a serene tune with his ominous Aulos. Entrancing the army trapped inside. Fear crept in their spines, making their skin crawl, gnawing at their deepest and darkest secrets, their insecurities as they ran rampant inside [The Mist]. The Sentinels dispersed trying to get out of the illusion, but several apparitions of Phobos appeared surrounding each one of them. Hidden by [The Mist] these apparitions appeared as bleak shadows, drifting around the rift-borne army.
Varcielle's clone blasted a powerful beam of energy at the apparitions and roared a command to his Sentinels-
"FIGHT THE ILLUSIONS, PROTECT OUR PEOPLE!!! LEAVE PHOBOS TO ME!!!"
The Sentinels nodded as the rushed towards the frantic rift-borne army, preventing them from killing each other in fear and anxiety.
[Reconstruction]
[Reconstruction] is an intricate ability that allowed Varcielle complete dominion over his existence. It allowed him to shape himself to whatever form he desired to be.
Varcielle's Clone expanded his head, duplicating his brain constantly. He kept transmitting information to the duplicated brain from his original brain. This is how he countered Phobos' illusion and maintained his sense of reality. The memories that got tampered by Phobos' illusions got stored in the duplicated minds, while the original kept tailoring the clone's memories to keep them free from influence.
The clone rushed past several apparitions of Phobos while producing more clones of Varcielle. These clones kept roaring inside [The Mist] weakening it's effects over the rift-borne army to some extent. Some of the stronger Rift-Borne snapped back to their senses and actively helped the Sentinels in protecting their brethren.
The clones banded together at one point still multiplying in numbers, as they charged their breaths.
BOOM!!!
An immensely powerful beam of light shot forth dispelling a portion of Phobos' mist.
The Sentinels rallied their armies as the six of them rushed out of [The Mist]-
"A WAY OUT! FOLLOW US!!!"
The rift-borne army followed The Sentinels outside. Varcielle's clones remained inside helping those who could not escape. Still multiplying in number, occupying the entire [Mist] of Phobos' illusions.
Phobos shot forth from [The Mist] confronting the Sentinels and their armies. He dismissed his Aulos, and summoned a baton and a leash.
"Hmm...", mused Phobos gazing upon [The Mist] he had cast, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. "These pesky clones have rendered [The Mist] useless."
The Sentinels charged at Phobos yet again from all the directions, swarming him with their armies. Phobos deftly dodged them with great elegance and poise. He grabbed the tail of one Sentinel and flung him away, while smashing the head of another with his cane. Two extra arms popped out of his back. One carrying a leather bag, while the other carried a bell.
The rift-borne swarmed Phobos endlessly, as he kept bashing, thrashing, whipping and flinging them around. No arcane used, no power exerted, just pure brute strength. With pure brute strength he kept overwhelming the mighty rift-borne army. Laughing like a maniac he kept killing one rift-borne after another. Smashing their heads in with his cane, choking them using his leash, flogging them in his bag, always ringing his ominous bell.
"Hahahaha!!!", he kept laughing as the rift-borne were being slaughtered by his hand. Eerie bloodlust emanating from his eyes.
RRAANRGH!!!
The Sentinels roared in rage as the six of them desperately fought back. Their bodies bruised and battered, bloodied and in agony. But Phobos did not relent, he kept bashing and thrashing them.
It was a bloody battle. The rift-borne kept falling down to the arena below, while some lost their heart, their will to fight.
Phobos did not shed an ounce of his ichor. The army retreated back inside only the Sentinels remained.
Looking at their dwindling numbers Phobos could barely hold in his laughter.
"This is what your might amounts to, Hahahaha!!!", he mocked them. "Your arrogance is astounding, you cannot handle two [Incarnations] of [MYRIAD], and yet here you thought you could have survived the onslaught of our supreme faction."
The Sentinels groaned as they hovered above the dull, gray arena. Their eyes burning with rage as they charged up their aura. Their bloodlust soaring as it shrouded Phobos. They circled around him, slowly. Their huge draconian forms bloodied and bruised. They lunged at Phobos with their arms outstretched.
Phobos just sighed as he prepared to strike them again but this time The Sentinels deftly dodged his strikes as they started cornering him with vicious coordination. The Sentinels relentlessly attacked Phobos with arcane magic and powerful beams of energy. Circling around him with immense speed. Their attacks became more and more precise and deadly. When Phobos struck one Sentinel down, four of them surrounded him trying devour him whole. Their vicious maws, their ferocious jaws biting and snapping at Phobos.
Phobos was still unphased. He kept evading them gracefully. And even when an attack landed on him, it didn't seem to hurt him. Not a scar, not a wound, not a single drop of his ichor was spilt.
Dismissing his weapons, Phobos grabbed the maws of the two Sentinels snapping at him, and hurled them away. He simultaneously he bashed the skulls of two other Sentinels together. Grabbing their horns he lunged at the remaining two Sentinels who were charging at him together. One of the Sentinels swiped his mighty claws at Phobos, slashing him.
Skrrrt!!!
That did nothing to Phobos, who just smiled brightly at the attacking Sentinel. Phobos flew over the Sentinel, stomping him right on his face, sending him crashing down. Right then, The last Sentinel lunged at him. Phobos turned his head to face the final Sentinel, only to be met by a flaming and ferocious draconian fist punching him straight in his face.
BOOM!!!
Phobos was sent whirling across the battlefield. His face still adorning an eerie smile, as he stabilized himself.
"Do you need my help?", Hermes asked Phobos.
"No.", Phobos curtly replied.
"Suit yourself", Hermes said as he resumed his fight with a furious Dragon King Varcielle.
The Sentinels hovered at a distance, helping each other up as they prepared to fight yet again.
Phobos immediately flew back towards the Sentinels, once again engaging them in a vicious battle.
"You could have saved yourself and your people, had you just surrendered.", Hermes taunted, backhanding Varcielle.
Tanking the attack with his face, Varcielle swung back at Hermes from all directions with several mutated claws.
Hermes just glared at Varcielle in frustration as a golden glint appeared in his eyes. Next moment, Varcielle's the mutated claws pulverized only to be healed again and relentlessly strike Hermes.
Varcielle kept conjuring new mutations to target Hermes and Hermes kept destroying them. The two were stuck in a frustrating and infuriating stalemate.
And so the ferocious war continued.
******** ******** ********
[Kingdom of Corzox- Inner City]
"Surrender now, intruder.", commanded Typhon, a mighty Sentinel of [Corzox]. He hovered in the sky glaring at Akelus who stood below.
Akelus frowned with a grim expression on his face. The guards surrounding him grew tense as they gripped their weapons.
"It would be wise to co-operate with us, my guest.", spoke a raspy voice, it was Adanis. "We would prefer not to make things difficult in these sensitive times. Surrender."
Typhon perched over a tower at some distance from Adanis' cottage named [Phalaris].
(Xyrak: I am taking the liberty of disclosing the name of Adanis' cottage, though the big guy doesn't like it when I do this.)
Akelus turned back facing Adanis and casually unsheathed his sword. The guards promptly wielded their weapons closing in on him, but none of them engaged Akelus in combat. They closely circled around him.
[Pathfinder]
"An aide to break into the ancestral plains.", Akelus thought as a golden arrow formed around him. Pointing him towards the cottage.
Akelus took a deep breathe as he calmly opened his eyes. With a swift movement, his nemean body lunged over the platoon of rift borne soldiers standing between him and Adanis.
Adanis was caught off guard as Akelus spun himself mid air swinging his blade with precise motion, slashing Adanis.
"Gaaahhh!!!", Adanis groaned and fell down. There was a clean cut slashed across his abdomen with green blood gushing out of it.
Typhon dove down, chasing after Akelus who deftly dodged him sliding across the pavement in front of the cottage [Phalaris]. His muscles bulged as he got up and sprinted towards the cottage door. Charging his stygian blade with pure gold qi, sent forth a crescent arc towards the door. The door was cut in two, as Akelus rammed himself inside [Phalaris].
Typhon gently landed on the pavement before an agonized and injured Adanis.
Adanis ignoring his pain and agony turned back. Reaching his hand forward he formed an arcane sigil shaped like blue slit eye doused in shadows on his palm. He twisted the sigil. [Phalaris] rapidly began reshaping itself into a dome trying to seal Akelus in. Akelus charged his blade with golden qi and wedged it against the ceiling creating an opening, preventing himself from getting trapped in.
Adanis strained his hand trying to turn the sigil with all his might, but the blade refused to budge and the domed cottage remained stuck. Frustrated, he smashed the sigil against the pavement, unleashing torrents of violet arcane magic, shrouding [Phalaris]. The interior of the cottage enlarged as it roared to life. The bamboo shelves inside uncoiled itself slithering across the cottage in a bizarre and random manner, as it started coiling around Akelus.
Akelus quickly let go of his sword and grabbed hold of the coiling bamboo shoots. He tore them apart with shear strength while following the golden trail of arrows. The furniture inside the cottage started assaulting Akelus as well, harassing him with a flurry of harmless yet annoying attacks. But he kept going deeper into the cottage while constantly tearing down bamboo shoots that endlessly regrew, flinging and bashing every piece of furniture that attacked him. As more time passed inside more vicious [Phalaris] became.
His eyes glowed bright gold.
[Pathfinder]:
A golden trail of arrows were pointing at a bright ethereal orb that kept zooming across the cottage hall.
The ethereal orb was safeguarded by the ever-growing bamboo shoots. Akelus kept dodging the furniture, sliding across the room. But, everytime he got close to the bright orb it would swiftly fly away from him, this would be followed by several bamboo shoots lashing out at Akelus only to be torn down by him. Akelus relentlessly chased after the Bright Ethereal Orb, grabbing and lunging from one bamboo shoot to another, darting across the room with immense speed. He kept marking the room with several sigils shaped like a Dice, simultaneously drawing lines of Golden Qi connecting the sigils across the room as he chased after the Bright Ethereal Orb.
Meanwhile, the stygian blade remained remained stuck in the ceiling consistently charging itself with golden qi, which got stored inside the pommel of the sword.
Outside the cottage, Adanis patched his wounds and drank a healing potion.
"That should hold him for a while.", he muttered.
"Why didn't you warn us about him sooner?", asked Typhon.
"Because he bought my silence and partly my support.", replied Adanis, as he showed Typhon the pencil case that Akelus had given him. "He was trying to stall for time and reason with me."
Typhon took the case and opened it, his face broke into an expression of shock and awe. Quickly closing the case he looked at Adanis with wide eyes.
"He managed to procure it from the prime universe, Archangel Michael's universe.", Adanis sighed. "The least I could have done was hear him out. We need to detain him, we need him alive."
"Did you disclose anything to him in exchange?", enquired Typhon.
"No, nothing of value. Even though he had a lot of questions.", replied Adanis, pointing at the cottage. "We will detain him after [Phalaris] is done processing him."
"As expected of our spymaster.", commended Typhon.
Inside the cottage.
A bloodied Akelus was still fending off the arcane magic of [Phalaris]. The furniture kept tripping him over and knocking him down and the bamboo shoots lashed at him trying drain his Qi as they slithered around his body. The ceiling started caving in trying crush Akelus, but the Stygian blade held it in place by unleashing torrents of Golden Qi. Grunting, Akelus pulled himself away from the bamboo shoots. Staggering, he dragged himself towards the Bright Ethereal Orb.
His eyes twinkled and his face broke into broad smile as he clenched his fist charging it with Golden Qi and struck the floor of the cottage. The furniture and the bamboo shoots got swept away by the shockwaves as Akelus sent immense waves of pure Golden Qi. While the furniture were getting smashed and shoots were getting uprooted Akelus snapped his fingers. The Dice shaped sigils that he had marked across the room whirred to life as they started surrounding the Bright Ethereal Orb, binding it with the Golden lines of Qi anchoring the Orb in place.
Akelus casually walked towards the Orb, Gold ichor dripping from his bruises. He held the Orb in his hand as his wounds quickly healed. The Stygian Blade that he had wedged to the ceiling was still charging itself with Golden Qi.
"Shou, decrypt this.", he commanded.
"Yes master.", replied Bangshou, his assistant. A die shaped spirit.
Bangshou appeared beside Akelus and latched on to the Bright Ethereal Orb, shrouding it in a tangerine aura.
"Master this orb seems to be a commune connecting several realms together.", said Bangshou, as it's aura gently pulsed across the Orb, decrypting it. "Which realm would you wish to interact with?"
Bangshou meticulously shattered the Ethereal Orb which created several spectral threads leading to different sub-domains.
[Pathfinder]:
"An aide to help me break into the [Ancestral Planes].", murmured Akelus.
One of the spectral threads shined brightly.
"So this is where you were hiding boy.", Akelus sneered as he instructed Bangshou to suppress the sub-domain while simultaneously entering it.
The sub-domain was a vast and seemingly endless plane, with a deep navy blue sky. No stars, no clouds, just a subtle and serene shade of navy blue light. A trail of golden arrows were pointing at a young boy, some distance away from Akelus. He was Xylus, the kid who was raised by Adanis as his protege. Cowering in anxiety as he saw Akelus' nemean form approach him, snarling and growling. Bangshou appeared behind Akelus raising a translucent orange barrier across the whole sub-domain. Akelus summoned several spectral steeds around him.
Xylus quickly got up crawling away from Akelus, transforming into Dragon flying away, trying to escape from the sub-domain only to be blocked by Bangshou's barrier. Akelus' spectral steeds chased after Xylus taking the form of a shadow surrounding him. Xylus frantically tried to escape from them, only to be knocked down and pinned against the ground.
"Get away from me!!!.", he screeched at Akelus, who was ominously walking towards him. "Don't come any closer!!!"
Akelus ignored his frantic cries as he got near the boy. He pointed his golden ring at the boy and stored him inside, his cries fading away.
"Shou, let's return.", he ordered.
Bangshou promptly warped Akelus back inside [Phalaris] the cottage. The Stygian Blade was pulsing vigorously with it's pommel brimming with Golden Qi.
"Unleash.", Akelus commanded.
BOOM!!!
The blade unleashed an extremely powerful and magnificent beam of light, tearing through [Phalaris] which wheezed in agony, startling the rift-borne army stationed outside [Phalaris]. Akelus grabbing the stygian blade jumped out of the opening flying away from Typhon's rift-borne platoon.
The rift-borne army along with Typhon and Adanis were stumped for a moment, grasping what just happened, then-
"AFTER HIM!!!", Typhon roared together with Adanis as they chased after Akelus.
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