I left the room. I know Lucius had told me to wait, but part of me understood he was just talking big. That guy had used everything he had left; even someone like me, who wasn't good at communication, could tell that much. We left the room as Aeolus spoke next to me, "What now, Finn? I mean, we found them, but we were too late. Now it's just you and me."
I sighed. I wish I was stronger. I couldn't do anything earlier in any of the fights. Seeing friends I just started getting to know almost die twice in one afternoon was hard to take in. I had made up my mind; nobody was going to save us down here, and if I just left, my new friends would die. Nobody talks to me normally. I have always just been seen as that weird kid with the famous dad.
I spoke up, "Aeolus, I want to fight." Aeolus frowned, "Are you sure?" I nodded, "Yes, I want to fight myself. Please don't take over. I want to get stronger. I want to protect my new friends with my own power." I always relied on Aeolus to do my fighting for me. Basically, physically, I am weak, and mentally, I am a coward. I have only recently started to better myself, but I was still lacking in so many ways. I started walking forward towards whatever monster was waiting for me in the darkness.
Before Aeolus came into my life, I always just ran away from my problems. I might look like this, but I am actually almost 16, but I look so much younger and more fragile than that. I never made friends easily due to my immature looks and because I am not good with communication.
The day I accidentally freed Aeolus was when time finally began moving for me because he taught me how to fight. He offered me strength both as a friend and as a partner. I am still learning to be strong, and I might have just met Lucius and his group, but I won't forgive myself if I just run away. That will just be admitting that I haven't changed since I ran away to cry in the cave because I couldn't deal with my own faults.
I want to have passion like my dad wants me to, but I can't shake the mental block I have when I blacksmith. I love making swords and armor, but I never feel inspired by the items I make. I need to find my own inspiration, my own power; I need to be strong this time.
I reached a door once we had walked for a little while in the abyss. This place is massive; it took us so long to find the others. We had run away from the explosion from before, but we had to run around blindly to find this underground area. I admit it took some convincing from Aeolus to even come this far. My legs were shaking; this place is truly creepy. The voices didn't help; they kept saying nonsensical words. The door had a key in it; the key read "legacy," and it reminded me of myself for some reason. I almost laughed in self-deprecation; my father's legacy was famous not just in the town but across the country.
Everyone expected the great Tony Hamilton, my father, to have heirs that would match him in both skill and blacksmithing. You see, my father was once a famous adventurer too, but he has since retired from that line of work. You can say his legacy was almost suffocating for me, who was considered a disappointment to the other townsfolk.
Before I turned the key, Aeolus put a hand on my back, "Finn, you have that look in your eyes again. You always look like you're ready for the enemy to win. Have some confidence; you're in control, nobody else. Remember that." I nodded; he tried to help in his own way, but it was just hard. I have always compared myself to others.
I opened the door, finally inside. I was met with something horrifying; I almost had to step out, my stomach trying not to puke. The smell was horrible, like a corpse that had been decaying far too long was rolled through manure. I stepped out of the room for a moment, gagging and coughing, as even Aeolus physically reacted. He yelled out, "Oh my gods, what in the unholy hells is that!" I regained some of my senses as I steeled myself for a second look.
Inside was a seemingly empty room with one thing in the center—a rotting corpse. The corpse was so hideously rotten that I couldn't even tell from here if it was a man or a woman's corpse. A voice began to speak seemingly from the center of the room. The voice mocked, "Your friends, in some form or another, passed their trials. Even if some of them failed, not all of them did. That boy with the blonde hair truly put in the work for them. You two are the late ones; shame, really, you could have had a painless death otherwise."
The corpse in the room began to shift a little in a creepy manner as the voice continued, "You see, despite what you may think, I try to give my victims a peaceful death. The souls I absorb here will sustain me for years to come." The corpse stood up, this time unnaturally. The voice added, "Listen. You would do the same thing if you were in my place. I need souls to sustain myself; otherwise, I would slip into the afterlife." White magic seemed to join with the corpse as it changed and spasmed in the air. Finally, the shaking stopped from the decayed corpse as the age and wounds began to revert in an unnatural way.
The decayed corpse looked more alive now; it was nothing but bones before, but now it had white hair and flesh. The flesh was sticky and pale, and the hair was all grey; it still looked mostly unnatural, though. I could spot features, but the flesh looked more akin to some kind of undead monster than the human form it once had. The undead aberration raised its pale fingers as it pointed at me, "You don't understand. I need to live. I want to leave this place even just for a little bit. I need... I need to stop someone..." Aeolus warned, "Be careful, Finn; he is trying something!" The spectral being raised his hands, forming white orbs as he yelled out, "I was a god once. I had all the power! How could any of you possibly know what it was like when he betrayed me!"
He fired out the light orbs; they came at me with blinding speeds, but thankfully, with the make of the armor, I could nimbly dodge out of the way. I had no idea what this monster was rambling about at all, but he seemed like he had lost his mind a long time ago. He yelled, "I had to become this disgusting monster to tie myself to this world. I will leave this place, boy! My vengeance will be complete; I need to absorb you and that powerful soul you have with you!"
I tried to counterattack, my sword turning into fire, the only rune we had found in the weeks I had Aeolus by my side. Thankfully, the godly power that Aeolus gave me allowed me to use runes on my sword without any chanting. I attempted to strike the monster down with my runic blade made by my dad. The undead beast let the attack hit him as he merely regenerated the damage right away. He smiled madly, "Just hold still, and I can make this quick!" My blade was stuck in his body since he regenerated so fast.
He formed a ball of black energy in front of him as he tried to fire that at point-blank range, "I know your every move, boy. I know all that is to be and all that can be!" Aeolus yelled out, "Drop the sword!" I did as I was told and jumped backward; the place I had been standing was reduced to a hole as the monster fired magic into that spot. The monster yelled wildly, "Imagine me, the god of knowledge, being misled! Preposterous! I was one of the first gods to exist; I must be reborn. It is my right as a primordial!"
Next, he put his hands together; he converged a fire orb with a light orb, "Last Light!" Solar energy shot out in front of me; it was time to use the special prototype properties of this armor. You see, my dad isn't just a genius for making good sturdy armor, but just like with the blade, he made me the armor was equally advanced. His combination of magic and runes made his craft one of the most deadly on the entire planet, I would wager. During the fight with the mummies from earlier, my armor had absorbed some of that magic that I could use now. The solar ray struck me head-on, but it was blocked as the magic from back then turned into a shield that surrounded me. The entity shrunk back, "No, this can't be. Such a pathetic shield absorbing my magic? I am Zumiax! The god of knowledge and fear. You will wither and die! No more holding back; become the foundation for my divine resurrection!"
A spell shot out from his body; it was a giant seal like the one the mummy had used. The entity with his grey eyes seemed to form a hollow expression. Zumiax chanted, "God of the unknown, eyes of the unseen, Seal of Endless Intellect!" The seal grew wide; its red pattern was etched into the floor; various sigils and spells were etched into the fabric of the red seal. The monster laughed, "I hate to have to use this, but you leave me no choice. I am growing weaker; I was unable to absorb any of your friend's power yet." He concentrated, "Just try to dodge this, boy!" Dark balls floated in the air around the undead body; he yelled, "Shattered Reveries!" The orbs of darkness shot forward; time seemed to slow down as I thought of ways to dodge. I dodged backward quickly since they all seemed to be aiming at the same point. However, it was only then that I noticed that each of the eight orbs changed their trajectory at the last moment. Each of them covered all eight directions I could now go; no matter what I did, I would be hit here.