The men continued their charge, all with the intent to kill. Their feet moving in unison, and as the crowd moved faster and faster, Laz had disappeared. Zabulus sent his presence back somewhere safe and invisible to the people of Eskra. The guards that surrounded them also closed their ranks, cutting off their escape routes and boxing him in, ready to attack.
Zabulus surveyed his surroundings, preparing himself to fight, though he wasn't much of a fighter, he might as well die here.
One man stood out among the crowd, his face shrouded and hidden behind a golden helmet that looked almost like a dragon's, adorned with an inscription in runes around it's base, and covered with several leather straps and studs. Though there already was a threat right next to Zabulus, he wouldn't pay any heed to it.
The masked man smiled as he drew his blade, then pointed it towards him. The sunlight danced against the sharp tip of the dagger. A clear contrast to the way the rest of the blade was colored. He then screamed, "DEMON OF PANDEMONIUM, WHAT DESPERATELY BEFALLS YOU TO INSULT THE DIGNITY OF A HIGH PLANAR MIGHT!?"
Zabulus' attention diverted slightly, unsure of what exactly he had heard. 'Demon... of Pandemonium?' He thought, confused. 'Eh... Not so scary...' Zabulus thought before asking, "What's the occasion, fancy-ass-guy?" He paused briefly, noticing the blade that hung beside the masked man, who remained calm, showing not an ounce of malice towards him or any emotion whatsoever, as far as he could see.
"What have I, innocent mindless idiot, done?"
With a swiftness unseen by most humans, the dagger moved.
With a single motion, it cut through the air like a wave, aiming at a point near his heart.
Reacting a split second earlier, Zabulus used all his strength to push himself off the ground, back-flipping in an awkward manner and landed on the edge of the rooftop. With his body balanced on the small ledge, he spun around to face the masked man, who was watching his movements. The movements were a little unnecessary... but they helped make him look cool.
The man glanced upwards and said, "I assume you are going to let me down... huh... demon?" He made an upward cut, slashing diagonally across Zabulus' torso. Blood spattered as his blade reached through his bones and organs.
"Urgh...!?" As if the blade extended and had a phantom reach, a sharp sensation pierced the empty space within his chest cavity, and was then pierced again.
The two were then locked in a death grip.
There were several other armed men running in the street below, though many were injured and some even missing limbs.
"Hah..." He coughed out a little blood, "So even... your men aren't safe...! But then why did they do this!?"
He slashed once again.
'Ouch. My body...!' He thought, gritting his teeth. The pain was there, but it's as if the injury prior had become a memory rather than the injury that was happening to him.
The man standing next to Zabulus was smiling, watching his greatest man was currently outmatching this... thing of unknown origin, but when did Laz disappear? Where was he, did Zabulus let him run off on him? But for what reason? Laz wasn't good for much in this fight to begin with. Maybe it was that...
'Oh well.' The man thought.
Once again, an invisible force would now crush Zabulus as he falls to the floor, with his head hitting the ground and rolling over several times, scraping the surface. The sounds of laughter filled his ears, all coming from the soldiers, as well as the sounds of the thuds, thunks and clangs as metal pieces collide against the stones.
The world fell apart into nothingness and for a single moment, his consciousness blanked. There was a surge of a strange and terrible sensation that consumed his entire body and it took everything out of him to attempt to subdue it.
'To... subdue...'
He rose from the pile of concrete and rubble, the same as before. The man, covered in blood, sweat, tears and muck, yet to lose the battle and die.
It wasn't long before Laz reappeared, seemingly from out of nowhere, but he wasn't alone. A girl was with him, and Zabulus recognized her immediately.
'That damn girl again...' He thought, but now was not the time to let personal emotions come into play, that would surely doom him.
"And who exactly is that? Is that Laz's wife?" He joked, thought Laz didn't appreciate the joke and looked down in a state of sadness.
"Why did you start a fight in town again...!?" Alice said, annoyed at seeing the no-eyed man in front of her, who's grin stretched a mile across.
She rushed over and grabbed him, holding his hand as tightly as he could, though he was much more relaxed, as compared to earlier today, when he found the time to think and ponder. It's strange really, even the feeling of her presence was still unknown.
Sometimes he hated her, hated how she was there with him, hated that his time in his own thoughts were interrupted constantly. But other times, he couldn't help but look at her and smile. Those memories, even though it seemed like a fantasy, were so sweet, he felt as though that same affectionate feeling returned.
If he could, he would go back to the time where they first met, and abandon her. Or perhaps he could bring her closer, closer to him. Even closer and then, everything would be okay. Or maybe it wouldn't. Maybe everything would stay the same as they are now, maybe this was a chance for him to say, 'Hey! Alice, remember that time I saved you?' Or something like that, even he didn't fully understand it, why did she trust him so much, how much longer was this going to last? He just hoped this wouldn't become a permanent situation in which they could never return, especially not after what happened with Vetro.
"---ou there? Zab?" Alice said, snapping him back to reality. "Aww, you seem sad... poor guy." She was half-teasing. Different from usual.
He wasn't paying attention, but he didn't mind hearing what she had to say despite his earlier thoughts.
As a soul within was fighting for her, yet another despised her flesh. A state of dissonance and conflict that was more than simple enough to read on one's face.
"Alice!" Laz cried, breaking her away from his grasp. "The guardsmen... they-they're attacking!!"
Snapping her fingers, Zabulus wondered what she would do, but... as far as he could see, there was no fireball or anything appearing. "Damnit!" Alice said.
'Vastly outnumbered... but...' He got it. "Hey, Alice, you should go eat."
Alice quickly whipped her head, a stern expression painted on her face. "Did you just tell me to eat your- nevermind. Did... you just order me to- how dare you... what are you, my dad!?"
"There's no time! We'll discuss lat-" A guard appeared, cutting off Zabulus mid sentence.
"Haha! You fucking lowlife, thinking a couple of high planars were gonna let you defile our holy land?! Eskra and our goddess will rip the likes of you apart! So stop hiding, and be ready, maggots!" His words cut through the wind like a sword slicing open a gut, filled to the brim with venom and pure loathing.
"Ouch, ouch ouch. This body really is frail..." He commented on Vetro's body.
"Ah... Is that... Gluttony...?!" The guardsman stumbled backwards, terrorized.
Gluttony. A name used for Alice as the lesser half of an infamous pair, or a name of her known power. A woman said to eat humans as they walked through the woods of Narshes, all in an eternal search for food and to slake their hunger. The whole continent shuddered at the tales of their rampages, but not every single part of Narshes, only part. The only known evidence to their existence was a string of corpses eaten of all their flesh left strewn throughout the wilderness, often it was a merchant or group of people traveling north to sell their wares or transport goods, or as for some others, hunters searching for big game.
Alice then understood what Zabulus had said, and it was true, she was hungry.
In the next few moments his body was defiled to nothing but mush, viscera and broken bones. It all happened as soon as he turned his eyes to see, though... if he could turn his eyes at all.
Alice simply chuckled at his words and approached him and asked, "Didn't you think of why I would bother with eating that scumbag, huh?"
"Look, let's save the banter for after the big fight, okay?" For once, Zabulus was being reasonable.
She shrugged, "Bleh... I guess."
But not everyone is willing to listen. "No...!" An unknown voice called from atop a building. It sounded oddly familiar, "Hahaha, are these the beings that dare take up arms against their enemies?"
But it was simply the man from before who blew Zabulus down here. "Your little groupie is dead... demon friend, what will you do without her guidance? No, no no, no..." He said mockingly, attempting to tick off Zabulus.
This made Alice laugh, though she was genuinely shocked. "Ha-ha!" Her face contorted into something evil, but the words that came forth were those of someone sane, someone rational, someone wise and more than capable of logic and strategy, and for whatever reason it did. Zabulus had this growing feeling, he was certain of it, a feeling of impending doom. A shadow covering everything, blanketing the ground, a blackness covering his world, the sun itself dimming down its intensity, making the sky darker and darker.
She stretched her hands out to her sides and lifted her head, "Nothing? What is he doing?" She asked no one in particular, a slight snort in her speech, the words escaping her lips, "Theeeen, mister! I can give you an end, oh so easy..."
Her palms were pressed together as she jumped up through two floors and landing on the roof of the inn, dust flying off, revealing the old masonry work that had been worked on years ago, a dirty roof tile had slipped and crashed into the cobblestoned road. Alice raised her head, the breeze carrying the scent of a wet day mixed with smoke from nearby chimneys.
Meanwhile, Zabulus now had to fend off 3 other guardsmen who came in slashing with their swords in an amateurish fashion. Alice did leave him without a useful companion, since Laz was a good-for-nothing. Damn. He rolled behind the building and knocked one down the stairs that lead down into the main reception hall. The entrance and lobby weren't built directly next to each other, thus, the opening allowed a way to throw an intruder down. But this wasn't exactly a private establishment.
"So you're gluttony..." The man said, "Why, oh why would it be such a pretty lady? It's almost depressing that the gods made you so beautiful. And it's a shame the gods didn't make you one of our kind to fight by our side."
Zabulus entered a room, leaving Laz behind, knowing he'd be safe somehow. There, the three guards somehow had follow him. 'Amazing,' He thought, 'Three in, two out...'
The second one managed to catch the tip of his sword and thrust it deep inside. But, with all of his will power and concentration, Zabulus pushed that man away, which surprisingly worked. Albeit his body was frail as glass, and could easily break, it heals back as fast.
The last guard's sword came rushing through, aimed at his neck, Zabulus raised his hand, deflecting the sword with his hand, and then smashed his palm upwards into their throat, dislocating their trachea. But that force alone destroyed his palm, and rendered him useless. "I hate this, Alice. Make it quick."
His palm then began to regrow its skin, bones and muscles, the pain subsiding with each minute.
Then he heard footsteps echo, an armored foot, followed by a sword and a shield clashing. It was the last guard, still trying to fight.
It was the Dragon Guard. 'Ah, fuck.'
He picked himself up and reached behind, pulling the blade that had stuck, and then pulling the sword that stuck as well, holding his right arm steady against the wall.
His left palm held the shield, it's wooden edge hitting his head hard.
"Now, now. Are you not afraid of the god you blaspheme with this madness you bring? It hurts me so."
He raised his chin and scoffed. A heavy sigh followed shortly after. "For if you do not know, allow me the pleasure of revealing this fact. The world as you know it, has already gone... so let me offer you one last meal. In this dying world. Please, demon, do try not to cry at this bittersweet ending. Goodbye, stranger, to my enemy."
"I already forgot how painful dying was...!" Zabulus managed to groan, not taking the man seriously.
Then, his voice rumbling loud and clear. "You speak a lot and are such a coward, all these guards can do are die on their own..."
"And what's this about revealing a fact? No need. This world is ending, yes, it already is."
The Dragon Guard was somewhat amused.
"No matter. Nothing you can do." He held his sword by the base of the blade and raised the pommel up until the point of the hilt, drawing a diagonal arc across, the force was now travelling towards Zabulus as fast as a jet plane.
It pierced him, causing blood to spill, and for him to choke. Zabulus raised his right arm, attempting to manipulate the earth around him.
Nothing happened. 'Damn it, of course...'
The blade cut through him, slicing from one side of the chest to his collar bone.
The sight was gruesome, the skin split into four thin lines, gaping wide open, exposing the upper portions of his ribcage, it was as though it were split like paper.
In the meanwhile, Alice had been fighting the man on the roof.
"Priests like you shouldn't try to pick fights, no no no." She taunted, her hunger growing within her. She grew restless.
He ran straight at her, his arms and legs moving stiffly as he ran.
She ducked, ducking in a sort of dance motion, swinging her arm above her body, letting the back of her hand brush past the side of her head.
They were both going at an indescribable pace, not a human would be able to perceive this fight properly.
Alice swerved to the right, towards him and ducked again, this time pushing forward.
His force sliced past her shoulder.
His entire face twisted in agony as his teeth gnashed against his lower lip. The warm and sticky, crimson liquid, spilling out and dripping onto the roof tiles.
'Useless, and it's pointless!'
The wound did little but superficially wound him, her nails a force that no mortal sword could pierce, so what should her fear of such a mundane weapon be?
His blood was oozing out in copious amounts as he backed up, stepping further and further away.
"Damn you, epitome of gluttony. Show the greatness of a human!" The man cried, "Show some understanding to a humble and ignorant being! One who has been so afflicted with ignorance to the extent that they lack all knowledge!"
She was not interested in his meaningless words, perhaps they were a last ditch effort for pity or to stall for more time.
"Sorry, old man." She grabbed his neck and bit into it, her teeth sinking deeply, sending waves of pain and agony surging through his entire body. He groaned and screamed as he felt a sudden loss of strength as his insides were pulled apart and ripped.
'How... the power... of Eskra... has...' his last thought alone, was not finished.
"His god's are quite pathetic, and he's pretty boring, the holy book was not wrong." She looked over at Laz. "C'mon, get your shit together. We need to go." Although Laz was good at hiding and cowering away from conflict, Alice knew him too well to the point where even she didn't really understand how he could've gotten that scared in the first place, considering his family tree, however, it's hard to believe any sane person wouldn't be a bit apprehensive.
Zabulus was now slowly dying, the wound healing as much as it could, but blood was pouring out of him. "Ah. The book told me that..." He struggled with each syllable, trying to muster enough energy to talk, but it hurt too much, too much to move, and too much to breath.
"So, will you die here, demon? How pathetic you are... yet you call yourselves Gods and Kings..." The man looked on, gazing with an unfocused glare.
He looked down, only to find out he's now collapsed onto the floor. Unmoving.
'It seems the Goddess of Eskra would allow this lowlife to meet a cruel fate...' He thought bitterly.
The guards all glanced upwards as he slowly rose, staring at him intensely as though they expected him to die from the bleeding. However, pitiful as he felt at the time, it didn't matter anymore. He cut Zabulus' head off, with a slight red glow, he placed it upon the marble and began to clean it.
"Never underestimate a god. I hope I didn't take too long, you see..." Zabulus started laughing.
"What in the gods?!" The Dragon Guard exclaimed, suddenly concerned, looking like a small child in the face of a dark and dangerous stranger, "Impossible... the goddess could not fail, her great power and might could not fail..."
Then a voice whispered softly, "Hush hush little man, are you confused? Allow me to explain, you are fucked. Royally fucked. As if your poor, wretched Goddess is just as powerful as it says, as a Great Planar, and I suppose you mortals do have quite some worship, and then you do not deserve your existence, however, the end comes to you no matter who is in your way..."
"No... this is not what we were told... you... who are you? Are you Nagheel?!"
"Hush hush, the goddess sees us, and now, we've wasted our time," Zabulus gave a laugh that seemed to echo out into the depths of hell. Then, the laughter continued on, resonating, piercing the darkness of the building. It sent shivers down every single soldier's spines.
Only one or two remained alive, however, as Alice took care of the rest and returned Laz to the inn.
"Your allies were slaughtered by me. What would the gods think of such incompetence?" Zabulus' head grinned maniacally, blood staining his mouth. The man grimaced, his face frozen in fear as he watched helplessly as the head grew longer, extending like a snake and quickly wrapping its arms around him. It continued to coil around him, tighter and tighter until his spine snapped.
And he answered him, "I... have no name..." Zabulus' snake-like body faded into nothingness and then the head also disappeared.
The Dragon Guard had broken free and collapsed, screaming, "Gahhh! You've no idea... no idea! Damn it! It's not over. It's not!!"
Though, it really was. His soul was subdued to a feeling of emptiness and numbness, a blank state, the memories and experiences were lost, lost, lost. It will never return. That being was already gone, it would not appear again, nor would anyone ever hear of him ever again.
The battlefield became quiet, everyone stopped moving and all was peaceful.
Peace, a bird in a cage. It was a forced peace, every being, albeit none, that had seen this would feel an unnerving sense of tension. That's not to say everyone would leave. No, no... in fact, some had come. They all came, every soul that had been subdued, the whole city stood and watched and saw and believed, saw them fall.
After all, who could ignore the sounds of such battle, the feeling of dread, of pain? The bodies were all brought in to make an example, these were not monsters nor demons. They all were ready to fight, ready to kill, ready to give their lives, even when it wasn't needed, all that mattered was the rush of adrenaline coursing through their veins and the exhilaration it brings.
Many humans watched, as the Nameless Dragon Guard, bestowed with Eskra's greatest power, had defiled himself. His body contorting, bones twisting and flesh stretched and peeled from their skin, making way for something new, something unrecognizable to any god nor demon.
A new form was given.
Though his armor remained adorned on him. It was the first time such a feat had been achieved. An old prophecy, fulfilled. His bones had changed to resemble a skinny being, skin so dark that no light dares escape. Yet it remained. Skin was stretched, his heart pumped blood around his veins. He would never bleed again. But that's fine, for such a change to take place, in the realm of mortality, was an achievement on his part, it was only natural he was honored.
The people turned towards him and knelt, one by one. They did not know who they were bowing to, but it was more of a cult than a religion, a few would follow what they would consider their god, though this new transformation was unexpected.
For what reason? What reason did they have to blindly follow anyone, even unknowing of who they were?
Perhaps this was the nature of all that was. All living things must answer to this god, because only the strongest has the most to gain, to lose.
After a while the Nameless Dragon Guard simply stared, "Who are you people?"
In a panic, many quickly rose, whispering among themselves.
The first guard turned around, stepping forwards, saying, "This is all in your best interest."
The Nameless Dragon Guard looked disgusted. But nodded anyway. His followers stepped back, some watching, others whispering.
He wanted to laugh, but he had to play part of the Nameless Dragon Guard.
As of now, Zabulus had gained his audience, so what was going to happen next was only a matter of time before he decided what to do with them.
...
Somewhere. Somewhere non-physical, somewhere in the soul. Somewhere in the back of his mind. Somewhere behind his consciousness.
Something clicked.
A person? A being, something. Something or other. It wasn't really clear, but something definitely came by and noticed his soul floating alone, helplessly in a place he shouldn't have even been.
'Where am I...?' The Dragon Guard's thoughts wandered as he was enveloped in darkness.
'Here... come closer.'
'Zabulus', or someone similar, was sitting near a tree, looking up at a dark sky filled with clouds and sunshine, a perfect picture of a chaotic storm. His gaze was so entranced by the scene. He just stared. And as the figure walked towards Zabulus, it could only stare at him. He couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't hear his surroundings.
'Where... where am I? What did you do to me?!' The Dragon Guard yelled, though his voice barely echoed.
'Calm down, here, take a seat next to me.' 'Zabulus' patted the ground near the tree and smiled at him warmly, looking into the sky as the stars slowly shone brighter. 'Let's have a talk.'