Back within the cave Ivan continued to stay immobile before hearing a dark voice whisper its name to him.
The voice that whispered in his ears shook his body even more and began to affect his mind. ``Why don't you come in here child``; echoed in Ivans head but he refused. The voice shifted into the voice of his mother and began speaking to him.
``Dear i'm here``
His eyes widened and he lowered his hands. ``Mom!``; Ivan shouted, still shaken up but now with a lowered guard. ``Dear i'm here, please help me``; the voice whispered. Ivans pupils went blank and his body began moving towards the door. It was uncontrollable and all Ivan could hear was the soft whispers of his mom which clouded his mind. The closer he got to the door the louder the voice became.
Ivan arrived directly in front of the door and extended his hand forth. The voice told him to touch the door and he complied. His palm rested against the doors center and in an instant it began lighting up with a red aura. The doors opened inward and a cold gust blew forward.
On the ground was the frame of a woman chained with the voice of his mother leading him in.
``Im here dear, help me!``
The naive child ran forth screaming for his mother but upon reaching close the frame vanished but all that stood in front of him was a singular creature, an unidentified monster.
A monster with cooled molten flesh that had magma leaking from its cracks, iron armor burnt to its body, green cloth and a crown made from bones fused with iron. It was around 8 feet tall and towered over the small child with a large axe in its hands.
The once blank pupils of Ivan darkened as fear shook his body. The bloodlust was more intense than outside and began suffocating the child. He fell to his knees and began patting his chest aggressively.
The monster looked down on him and grinned. ``It had been so long since I've seen a mortal``; it said in a deep tone before lowering its bloodlust. Ivan was now able to grasp for air and finally breathe. With every intake he found himself dripping saliva, knees planted to the ground. The monster pointed the tip of its axe at Ivans chin and lifted it up.
Suddenly the monster's eyes widened and its grip became tighter. ``Ive been stuck here for centuries and this is the mortals the gods send. Those immoral bastards``; the monster said to itself before bringing its axe in and raising it.
``It would of been fun to talk to someone after so long but you MUST die``
The monster's axe suddenly was brought down sending a strong gust down that pushed Ivan down. He could do nothing but tear up and close his eyes, knowing this might be his last.
A stary aura began popping up in the air before completely masking the entire room with stars. Tiny pebbles began shaking on the ground as a singular person burst forth. Just as the axe came down it was suddenly stopped by an upward force. It was then propelled back along with the arm that brought it down.
Ivan, who was on his knees, head down and hands clasped over his head felt a warm hand on his back. His eyes opened as a reaction to this sudden touch and he turned his head towards them.
It was the mysterious woman, the one that led to this happening by scaring the already shaken up boy. ``Are you alright ``; she asked just like before but something was different, this time it felt like genuine concern. ``Yes``; he muttered before she nodded and turned to the giant monster.
It stared at her and began smirking.
``How long has it been since we met like this? Like 2000 years ago, I lost count``
``Why are you doing this, Joğundar? Killing a child is beneath you``; she questioned, hands by her side. The large monster stared down at the woman and laughed.
``Child?``
``That child will cause massive catastrophe if i don't kill him here and now``
``I won't allow you to do so``; she commanded before pointing at it. ``You don't have a chance of protecting it ``; the monster replied before raising the axe in the air. The axe began heating up, leaking magma from every cooled baseplate.
A starry aura formed around the woman's hands, her cloak sparkling in the same pattern. The two stared at each other ready to engage.
A battle was about to start in that enormous room while in Randu panic ensued. Liona ran down the halls in her nightgown with knights trying to keep up with her. Her agility was surprising for a woman of her social standing. As time went on her speed increased, tiny flames being generated from each step. Soon the large door came into view but was no match for her. Using her increased speed and surprising super human strength she knocked down with a light bash of the shoulder and proceeded to run. Within the minute she made it to the room housing the injured Arthur.
Several high ranking knights stood at the door, protecting their king. Liona continued moving forward with a serious expression on her face. The same doctor from earlier appeared, gripped her arm and told her not to enter but was tossed aside like a dirty rag. His body slammed into one of the walls upon being tossed, knocking him unconscious.
The knights looked at the now unconscious doctor before panning back to their queen. ``MOVE``; she commanded as a fiery monster made from only her generated flames appeared behind her. Flames sat on her shoulders and on her legs as the monster grew in size.
Fear struck the knights and they fell to their knees, bowing.
``As you wish, your highnesses``
The door opened and she entered. There laid the scorched body of Arthur, barely recognizable to his own wife. His hair was completely burnt off and rotten flesh covered his exterior. His body was constantly switching from the state of life and death as several healers stood around him desperately trying to stabilize his body.
Liona walked towards her husband as once again many questioned her reason for being there. She suddenly gently clasped both her hands around his left hand and placed her head down.
``Please don't die on me Arthur, I need you``
She closed her eyes and the world around her went silent. A tingle was felt on her forearm before both her and Arthur's veins began glowing. Hers the colour of her flames and his the colour of his light.
The enclosed heat trapped under the hunks of rotten flesh began being drawn out. Steam rose from the scorched body mesmerizing the healers.
What was happening and how was she doing that?
No one knew quite what this was but the closest one could think of was a gift. A gift also known as a god given power. It is given to a family and is bared on for generations. In one generation many of the same family members can have this gift but the power is limited or spliced. The gift that Liona holds is unknown but was said to have spectacular feats BUT this was still not enough to save Arthur.
As the heat was drawn out suddenly Lionas hands combusted in a burst of flames that scorched her. She quickly pulled it back in and looked at her scorched hands in confusion and fear. Her eyes then panned back to Arthur, tears forming under eyes and her body began shaking.
``Why didn't it work?``
``It was supposed to work!``
Liona fell to her knees and continued to cry. The pain of losing her brother was still tearing her up inside and she could not afford to lose anyone else that day.
Minutes soon passed by since the attempted healing by Liona. Her arms now covered in gauze and her head perked down as she sat in one of the hallways of the enormous castle, crying. A maid with long dark hair would stumble unto her while making her way around the castle. Upon seeing her queen broken down in tears she knew not what to do. She looked left and right before taking a handkerchief out her left pocket and approaching Liona.
She stuck her hand out towards Liona before asking;
``Are you ok your majesty ``
Liona lifted her head up revealing mascara running down her face due to the tears, a messy front part of her well kept hair and tears continuing to build up under her eyes.
She sat silent for a moment before replying with a worrisome NO. The maid stood awkwardly at first before asking if she wanted to talk about it. Suddenly she found herself on the ground, hand resting upon Liona's back.
``He's not waking up and my magic isn't working. What if he dies? I can't lose another person``; Liona muttered while wiping her tears with the handkerchief. The maid suddenly gripped both of Liona's cheeks and turned her face towards herself.
``Don't think like that, the king will live and I'll help you find a way``; she proclaimed. Liona stared at her with a blank expression. The maids cheeks suddenly reddened finally realizing what she was doing and took her hands of Lionas cheeks. ``What am I doing, I'm so sorry my queen``; she panickly said before hearing the soft chuckles of Liona.
``Do not worry, I very much needed this…uhh``
``Cynthia``; the maid replied
``Thank you for that Cynthia BUT there are no healers left in Randu to help Arthur``
Liona stayed with a more lifted expression on her face but she was still very much still breaking down inside.
``Wait``
The maid said before speaking of a way that might help Arthur. ``I have a friend of sorts that's an excellent mage. She's so good that she was able to restore a half dying man to full health. Maybe she could help``; the maid proclaimed, knocking the curiosity of Liona. It seemed sketchy since it came from someone she only just came in contact with recently but what choice did she have. Liona decided to ask this mystery friend for help but before going she had needed to get ready. She informed the maid she would get ready and hurriedly walked off.
Hope had returned to Liona's heart but in that large room Ivan heart felt petrified as he looked at the enormous monster that was Joğundar, fearful.
The mysterious woman stood idle before Joğundar suddenly swung its axe downward, attempting to destroy both Ivan and the woman in one swoop.
As the axe came down a stary aura formed around the woman and in the blink of an eye she was out the way of the axe and near the door, holding Ivan. She placed him down before ordering he stayed right there.
Her head panned towards Joğundar, arms and legs embedded with unknown power.
Her legs implanted within thw ground before she suddenly catapulted herself forth. The giant monster rose its axe up and horizontally swung it in the direction of the woman. As its tip drew near to her body she slammed both palms into the top of it and flung herself over the attack. Her body, now casually soaring through the air landed atop its forearm. Like a runway she ran down it and towards his head.
Joğundar attempted to crush her, raising its mighty fist in the air and slamming it right down. The woman was too fast to be caught and within seconds she was beside its head. She wounded back her hand and in a sunglar jab the entirety of its cooled molten jaw flew off, its body being flung to the ground by the pure strength of the punch.
Shed then leap off its falling body, hovering for a while before crashing down a top of its torso which increased the speed of its fall. BOOM, a sound that echoed in the room upon Joğundar falling. The fall sent debris in every direction but when it cleared it revealed the woman standing at top its body, hood off revealing her short dark hair resting a top of her head.
From the other side of the room Ivan stared in shock before slowly approaching. As he approach a question escaped his mouth.
``Who are you?``
She turned around revealing her name with a smile.
``Aria, Goddess of time and space``