Cedar Lake, New York state
Terra,
Gaea Solar system
Milky way Galaxy
Neutral Free Zone
March 8th 2019
Amidst the exploding bodies flying through the air, Emily cast more exploding spells that plowed through the hordes of Abomination that had been running towards the team. Leon had just flown off to fight the Greater Abominations while Emily and the others handled the ones on the ground. With her shortswords, Emily delivered quick and precise strikes that cut through many of the Abominations. The Corrupted beings could hardly perceive her movements with how fast and deceptive they were. Emily's blade danced through the air, delivering a single strike that finished the Abominations. Her movements were not wasted, as once she was done killing one Abomination, she moved on to the next one. Emily's combat art was different from Leon's which came from being a family art that was passed down to him. No...Emily's fighting style was one that she had developed growing up in the street of Orphan Alley back in Olympia, her home planet. To survive against rapists, murderers, and thieves, Emily had taken up her two daggers, her weapon of choice, and had been forced to do things no one should ever do. And this was all before her divine blessing had taken place making her able to awaken and ascend. That event changed Emily's life forever. Even though Pleiadians were the only race capable of Awakening naturally without an outside trigger like an Awakening temple, not all of the Pleiadian race were born equal. Not all of them received the blessings of the gods that allowed for the Ascendency. Only those who were descended from a Named family, with strong ties to the gods and their ancestors, were born with the natural awakening. The rest of the Pleiadian race had to draw the lot and get a chance in the Awakening temple. As a street urchin, Emily should not have had such a chance nor opportunity yet fate deemed it so that she could be one of the few outside the Named Families, to be able to awaken without a trigger. And yet, even the blessing that had been given to Emily was something that could lead to her death. Emily sighed as sprays of black blood fell, none of them touching a single spot on her thanks to the Spirit barrier spell she had cast on herself. Across from Emily was the building in which the Infernal engine was guarded. She could sense more corrupted signatures inside the building, their presence making her skin feel like it was being crawled upon by critters. That was the result of Emily using her soul to perceive the world around her. Emily's sensory skill was different from most other Mystic artists or Mages. Most Mystic artists' sensory skills allowed them to sense the energy that came from the soul, but Emily could do more than that. Due to the potency of her soul, which was very great, Emily was able to see the outline and shape of all kinds of souls. Being able to perceive the shape of one's soul made it possible for Emily to read the conscious thoughts of those around her. As such, Emily had always been vulnerable to mental assaults from dangerous souls. If she was not careful, the corruption in the souls of these beings could very well infect her. She tightened her hands on her shortswords while using her Odic force to refine her magical power into the runes that contained various spells.
"Are we going in," Sam said beside her. Emily made sure to check Sam's state before they could enter the building. The girl was still suffering from her soul resonating with the souls of these abominations. Emily couldn't understand how Sam was able to connect with the Abomination's soul, and yet show no sign of being corrupted like them. She had examined her soul and there was no sign of infection. The girl's soul must be just as strong as hers. Maybe even stronger than me.
"Let's go," Emily said. [Prismatic wind blade] After kicking the door to the building open, Emily's blade was ignited with a burst of light that blasted through the darkness, followed by a surge of the wind element which then mixed with the light elemental energy resulting in a net of different colors of light, most of the light deviating from their pathways, and forming beams of red, orange and yellow light striking and evaporating all the Abominations and darkness within the room. The effect of the attack was so far-reaching that most of the Abominations were gone. A remnant of blue light danced through Emily's blade as she walked through the scene of destruction she had unleashed. The building they were in seemed to have been a clothing shop once upon a time, but now the place had completely changed. Sam recognized the store as it was one of those stores her Aunt loved to shop in. She couldn't believe how unrecognizable the place looked with the dirt's and filths that covered most of the building. Numerous rotten black vines covered most of the inside, even through the hallway by the entrance they had entered. Infernal moss devoured the escalator that led to the upper floors, the unnatural greenery stemming from corruption.
"There used to be a food court up there," Sam said.
"I can sense a dense amount of Infernal energy above us," Emily said. Now that they were inside the building, Emily could sense the location of the device responsible for the corruption of the town though she was not able to keep her senses on it for long. The intensity of the energy was enough to drive her mad. So she withdrew her Internal senses and cast a spell on Sam and Henry. Her floating spell allowed them to float up while she began to follow them by flying up. As a Master, Emily was capable of using the Flight mystic technique, Skyfall, which allowed her to directly control the World energy around her, making it possible for her to defy gravity. Emily maintained her control of the spell she had cast on the two, pulling them up while her utilization of the mystic technique held on well. Such a feat required an intense concentration of mental power, to be able to utilize mana in two different arts. A testament to Emily's skill as an Awakened. Not all cultivators practice both the Mystic arts and the Arcane arts as such a thing could hinder the growth of one's potential. It was the reason why Sam had a tough time handling the Magical power within her soul core. It was difficult to look both left and right at the same time. That was essentially what Emily was doing. They finally landed on the floor below the roof of the building, a place that had been transformed into some kind of Laboratory. There were multiple tanks filled with humans spread around, connected to some kind of machines that seemed to be pumping some kind of nutrient fluid into the tank. The human remains in the tank were being dissolved by the brownish fluids which were then flowed out of the tank through the wires that connected it to the ceiling. Emily could guess where the substances were going. Both Sam and Henry's face were filled with intense revulsion at the sight before them. Henry's face was greenish like he was about to puke. Two seconds passed, and then he threw up, unable to stomach it anymore. Sam didn't puke nor did she turn her face away. She just walked to one of the tanks, putting her hands on it. The body inside was a female body... a girl that was probably younger than Sam....or was she... Sam couldn't tell. It was a petite size body that reminded Sam of a child's body, a body that was breaking apart like it was made of brittle materials. Sam could tell that the girl was conscious due to how she was moving, her mouth open like she was screaming, but yet no sound came out of the tank.
"We should help them," Sam said. She pulled her hand away, trying to see if there was anything that she could do. But just then, a black fiery object crashed against the tank, engulfing it in purplish-black flames. The flames consumed the tank, destroying it along with its inhabitants. Sam watched in horror as Emily casted more of her spells.
[Nebula arrow] The whole tank began to burn, and the scream of the torment pierced through the room. Sam couldn't believe what Emily had done as she ran up to her, a look of anger distorting her face.
"Why would you do that," Sam said. "We could have saved them all." Emily sighed as she shook her head like she was dealing with a little child due to how disappointing they had been.
"They were already dead," Emily said. "Look at them. What kind of future do you think they have?"
"We could have...found a way..." Sam's words faltered.
"Sometimes death is a mercy," Emily said. "The struggle of life is not for everyone." Sam's eyes widened upon hearing that. No...No....She refused to accept that. She refused to accept everything she had seen here. Life...Life was not something that should just be discarded like a piece of cloth in the trash. No. If anyone should know that, it should be Sam. She had wrestled with the worth of her life so many times, and struggled with the fact that she had survived while her father had died. Her value had been lost on her. In a way, life had lost its meaning to her. But things were different now. Hadn't she decided that she was going to live? That she would not throw her life away. And yet, seeing how life had been reduced to such a state....Sam couldn't help but feel a pinch of shame for herself and her past behaviors.
"The Infernal engine is right above," Emily said. "Let's shut it down, so the land can heal." They all looked up at the darkness that lay above them, blocking the ceiling where the pipes that connected the tanks with the engine. Within that darkness lay hundreds of Abominations, vile creatures who realized the dangers that the three beings could bring upon them. In the middle of those piles of Abomination was a Mid rank Abomination, who with a screech, pulled the other Abominations of lower rank towards itself. The mid-rank Abomination, now a Greater rank as it merged with the lower rank ones, made its first move. The darkness moved, and falling upon Emily and the others was a huge tendril of darkness, moving like the head of a huge snake, ready to devour them.
"Move," Emily said. All three of them jumped up, as the darkness crashed against the floor, cracks and fissures spread around, the floor giving way to collapse. "Sam, take the stairs and get to the roof. Destroy the engine at all cost."
I won't let you. The Abomination thought. It sent its vines of darkness after Sam, intending to devour her. But Emily was faster, moving in front of Sam as she covered her blades in the dark element. The darkness that the Abominations were using was not the same as the dark element that made up the six elemental energy of the world. This darkness was just a high-density concentration of Infernal energy- the chaotic corrupted form of World energy while the dark element was an element associated with decay and destruction. The dark element was the bane of all existence due to the laws that were contained within it which also included Abominations- beings that were pretty difficult to kill.
[Lightless slash] Emily released a wave of darkness that retained the sharpness of her blade. She watched as the darkness tore through the dense tendril of Infernal energy, the darkness consuming it and adding the energy to itself as the slash moved right to the main body of the darkness.
"I'll be your opponent," Emily said. "Henry, you'll serve as my support." Henry, holding on to his wand, barely nodded his head. Since coming to this wretched place, Henry had seen so many things that would make most people freeze and piss their pants. And yet, he had not turned around to hide or to escape. Instead, he had pushed himself both physically and mentally, to do what he needed to do. He was the one who chose to come here, to leave the safety of the school. He had chosen to follow Sam to the Moon, and now he had chosen to follow Sam into this dead land. Why? At first, Henry had thought it was because of his love. Love for Sam. The love he had felt ever since he laid eyes upon her. But since he had felt the touch of magic, and magic had touched him back, Henry realized the truth. His love had been misplaced. It wasn't Sam that he had loved. A part of Henry, even before he had been sensitive to the presence of Od and the Odyllic, had been drawn to the mystical and arcane force that had been hidden away within her. She had been the closest to magic that the former Henry could ever hope to get to. But now...now Henry had achieved it. He was now able to study and learn about magic, and the experience he had gained coming here, fighting for his life had made him realize two things. One, He was fully in love with magic itself. To the point that he hoped to learn more, to reach the pinnacle of his magic skill and see what lay beyond that. The second thing he had realized was his shortcomings. Henry was a human. A human attempting to uncover the secret of the universe. It was similar to an ant trying to understand how the human environment functioned. It was an absurd notion. Henry had already realized the limits that bound him watching Emily Legens. For half of the things she had done, Henry had no idea if he would be able to do a tenth of them. He was weak...weak to the point that he was delegated to being the help. But he found no problem with that. The Darkness above them released a surge of Infernal energy, the darkness falling like a whirlwind of dark rain. The particles of the darkness coalesced into one spot, morphing into a being of great power. It had grey skin, with a long lanky frame that stood around 6 feet and 4 inches. Its body was covered by black armor around its upper body, a dark helmet, and a black armor skirt that covered the lower region. The monster wore no shoes on its feet though it didn't need to for its feet were shaped like a tridactyl. Emily watched with no expression on her face as a Greater rank beast....No....this feeling...this was not a Beast Abomination.
"How...How are you here?" Emily asked. The Devil smiled at her question.
The Infernal plane. This was a realm of existence alongside the Divine plane, the Physical plane, and the afterlife plane. It was a world carved from the Abyss, as such it was the closest plane to that Void in which the Universe was born from. And it was also the place in which the gods, billions of years ago had imprisoned most of their ancient enemies. Enemies such as Devils, an abominable race of Infernal beings that sought to destroy all that the gods had created. When Abominations invade a planet and try to encroach upon the land with Infernal energy, the truth is that they had summoned a piece of the Infernal plane within the Physical plane. Such an act went against the law of the universe as Infernal beings from the Infernal plane could interfere with the flow of fate itself. The Devil standing in front of Emily was one of those lucky few. He had managed to manifest its ego within the Mid rank Abomination that had been above in that pile of darkness, and then by using the remaining bugs, it had formed a body for itself within the Physical world. It had abandoned his original body back in the Infernal plane, for the opportunity to exist in the physical plane, a wish that so many in the Infernal plane fought for. This being had managed to achieve it. But now, it had to fight for its new life. The six sets of eyes evaluated Emily, judging the level of power the Pleiadian had. The devil remembered what happened the last time it had tried to emerge in the physical plane. The gods' lackey had sent its spirit back, inflicting some wound upon returning. Luckily the wound was not enough to damage the Devil's soul. But it was enough for it to hold a grudge against that red-haired Dragonborn Pleiadian. Now the Devil, Balial, could seek the damn Pleiadian out and get its revenge.
"Pleiadian, I'll give you only one chance," Balial said. "Bow before me. I am Balial, Herald of the Demon King Eligos. " An orange slice of heat brushed against Balial, but the Devil took one step out of the way of the attack that Emily had sent at it.
[Dancing Twilight: Hush zone: Falling Dusk blade] A veil of darkness covered the area between Emily and the Devil. Nothing could be heard, felt, or seen within this zone of darkness that Emily had conjured with her Combat art. All forms of sensory information from outside had been eliminated as blades of darkness formed and tried to impale the Devil. But Balial manifested a barrier of dense Infernal energy that blocked the blades. Balial then explosively pushed the barrier, breaking the veil of darkness into shards, with Emily flying out of it. Henry used a wind barrier to protect himself and cushion Emily's fall. Balial rose in the air, feeling the new body he had created for himself. It worked perfectly, especially in this place filled with ambient infernal energy. But Balial knew he couldn't stay here. No... he planned to head to the center of this solar system and devour the star that held this place together. If he consumed all those Cosmic Od, he could tear a hole, a permanent passage between the Infernal and Physical planes. All for his King. Balial tried to move through space, but then a couple of solid white light staves interrupted him. The space itself was reverted to normal, making it impossible for Balial to use his Spatial movement technique. The Staves surrounded him like a cage, the construct spilling stabbing light that burnt through his skin. Emily somersaulted from below the railing that she had fallen from, landing on the floor with her two blades. Both blades were filled with purplish dark ominous light that emitted a frightening feeling to Balial. Who is this woman? Balial thought. He had assumed she was just a nobody Pleiadian. But the power within those blades, this eerie feeling that Balial had gotten from it. He couldn't be so careless...
[Dancing Twilight: Devouring bliss] Emily fired a wave of purplish dark light that seemed to contain both the elements of light and darkness, the exotic light pumping an unknown fear in Balial's heart. He quickly shattered the solid lights that hindered his movement, leaping out of the way of the sinister light. The exotic light consumed the solid lights with it growing denser and wilder as it kept coming for Balial.
[Begone] Balial finally spoke, using his magic to counter the attack. He expected his Word magic to cancel the attack, but the Infernal power he had cast into his spell was nullified as the purplish dark light came in contact with it. Although the light vanished at the same time. Balial couldn't believe what he saw. He had meant to use his Word soul magic to destroy both the attack and the girl, but his spell had been neutralized. How...? Who was this girl?
Meanwhile, Emily was coughing up blood, her body suffering from the strain of using the unique technique she had just used. Her mental ward was weakened, her soul core and Star core were spent converting her Od, and the reserve of mana within her cores was nearly empty. She had put everything into that attack to finish the Abomination, but it seemed it wasn't enough. Emily still couldn't bring out the true power of her ability factor. And now her body was suffering from daring to even use it. She knew how dangerous it was to let this Devil live. A fifth-layer Greater-rank Devil that had manifested with a physical body from the Infernal plane was no joke. Balial was different from Geb, the Beast Abomination that Leon was fighting. While Geb was of the sixth layer of the Greater rank, a higher rank than Balial, Balial was a native of the Infernal plane. He had been born and raised in such an environment, his corrupted soul was more potent than the Beast Abomination. Emily assessed the mana that she had left, the energy was not enough to deal with the Devil. Balial on the other hand was also analyzing his enemy. He had been looking forward to the carnage he would unleash upon his King's name, but there were always roadblocks. This girl had to die. That was Balial's thought. But that "thing" that she had manifested. Balial didn't want to come into contact with it. His instinct was screaming at him to beware of it.
She looks weakened. But if she can use more of that "thing", I might be harmed extensively. I could kill her. But there's also that powerful presence outside fighting against that Senior. If he wins, there's a chance he could kill me. Balial thought. He wasn't having it. He had just gained a new body. He had finally gotten through. He won't let this chance go to waste. Not after how much time he had wasted being defeated by that red-haired. Balial sprouted dark wings from his back, his mind made up. Emily moved at him quickly, using Rapid steps to close the distance between them. Her blade danced down, the adamant blade going for Balial's core, but Balial parried the blade away, and then he sent an uppercut at Emily, the attack was blocked again by a wind barrier. The Devil finally noticed Henry who was behind Emily, a frown on his demonic face. She sent a diagonal kick at the Devil but the Devil caught her leg and with his strength threw her upwards to the roof. Emily flew through the air as Henry with a ring of wind element, jumped behind Emily, catching her as they both broke the ceiling, out of the building, and into the sky. Below them, on the roof was the Infernal machine that was releasing the dense clouds of Infernal energy, and kneeling down against it was Sam.
****
Leaving Emily and Henry alone to face the Abomination didn't sit right with Sam, but she felt she needed to stop the madness that was taking place on top of the roof. The words that Emily had said were still ringing in Sam's ear as she ran up the stairs that led to the roof. In her way were small critters of black Abominations. The little round creatures with their one eye and yellow fangs jumped at Sam, attempting to feed on her. But Sam just used her fist to send them flying away. The pressure of the wind tore through the roof's door, enabling Sam to enter the roof. The first thing that she met upon entering the roof, was a pressure of dense Infernal energy from above. She felt the air cut off from her, suffocation settling within her lungs for a moment. But Sam fought through the feeling, pushing her body to fight through the pressure to get to the huge generator-like machine. As she got closer to the machine pumping out Infernal energy, Sam got to see the machine in all its glories. She saw the human-shaped faces that were engraved on the metallic structure, the look of torment and madness on their faces. In a way, the metallic structure was a work of art, an exquisite art piece that had been created by a genius talented artist. If Sam didn't know better, she would have fallen for the odd beauty to it. But she didn't. She could feel the pain, anger, and madness, all the negative feelings that the machine was drawing out of the tortured souls. Thousands of souls were within it, the swirling darkness of the Infernal energy made Sam lose her equilibrium, and the scream of torment made her dizzy, making her stumble to her knees.
"Sam! Sam! Wake up! Wake up!" Sam opened her eyes, her vision unclear at first before it finally came into focus. Standing in front of her was Aunt Stella, with a look of worry on her fair-colored face. She was in her sleeping attire, her blonde hair let down, which made her look younger than she was. She got onto the bed Sam was on, taking the little girl into her embrace. Sam was confused, wondering why Aunt Stella was there. She should be...Wait....where was she supposed to be...Sam's mind was foggy, the memories in her head were fading like a dream.
"Another nightmare again," Aunt Stella said. Sam felt her head nod, her body going along with the events of the memories Sam was relieving.
"It's ok. It's ok. You're safe. You're alright," Aunt Stella said hugging Sam tightly. Days had passed since she had returned from the hospital. Sam was readjusting to her new reality, of surviving when her Father died. She couldn't remember what had happened, blank spots in her head of the past ten years of her life. She could remember certain moments, the face of her father, and some of the things she had done with him, but some memories were lost, damaged from being in a coma for four years. Sam was having a tough time sleeping, even being alone in her room was a problem. Which was why she was glad Aunt Stella was here with her. The scene changed, Aunt Stella was driving Sam to one of the various plazas in Cedar Lake, Austin Plaza to be exact, to a clothing shop to get her new clothes. Sam's former clothes didn't fit her anymore. She had outgrown the little kids' clothes from when she was ten, and now she was a teenager, a teen who had skipped some fundamental years of her life. When they got to the clothing store, Sam quickly covered her face with her hoodie. She was wary of interacting with people, scared of being approached or being touched by anyone. She would have preferred to have stayed indoors, but Aunt Stella had forced her outside.
"You're going to be starting high school soon," Aunt Stella said. "So we have to find you some good clothes," She opened the door for Sam to get in. Sam sighed as she went in, Aunt Stella following after her. The clothing store they were going to was one of the many stores in this building, with some other merchandise being sold on the upper floors and a food court also. The lower floor belonged to the clothing store and was called Susan's chic dress. This place was where Aunt Stella got all her clothes from, and it was also where Sam's former clothes were bought from. They shopped around for clothes, Aunt Stella doing the shopping, trying to help Sam with her socialization, but Sam just kept to herself.
"You won't make friends if you don't make an effort," Aunt Stella said as she got out of the dressing room to check out the clothes she was wearing. Sam was by one of the chairs, her hoodies covering her face as she hugged her body.
"I don't care. I don't want to be the freak who lost her father," Sam muttered.
"Samantha..." Aunt Stella couldn't help but feel her heart twist at seeing her niece so broken. Sam looked at Aunt Stella as the scene began to change again. This time Sam barged through the door to her home, stumbling as she walked, signs of being inebriated could be seen from her movements.
"Don't you walk away from me, Young lady," Stella's voice rang through their home as she followed Sam inside their home. The house was a three-story building, with white vinyl siding color that matched the fence that surrounded it, beautiful with its cohesive design that looked like a nice place to raise a family. Sam was already walking the stairs to go to her room, while Aunt Stella dressed in her work clothes, and a doctor's uniform, watched as Sam struggled to walk up. "I get a call that you're skipping school, hanging out with the wrong crowds..."
"I..ee..tts my liiffe....nott urs..." Sam stumbled her speech as she rounded on Aunt Stella. Sam was only fifteen, and yet she had become familiar with alcohol. Drinking was the only thing that helped Sam with the swarm of emotions that wasn't hers. Sam felt like her life was cursed, the price for being the one who lived while her father died. She felt like her life was worthless, that there was no point in her being alive. Sam stood in front of the mirror, looking at her drunken reflection. She was so pathetic that she couldn't even stand the look of herself. In her hands was a scissor, a dark wanton feeling began to creep into her heart, and then shame for being so weak that she felt herself succumbing to the feeling. The scissor drew so close to her wrist, the silver blade cutting through the layer of her first skin. A little blood.....
"Stop!" A commanding voice froze Sam's body. A bright light was shining from behind her. She turned around, only to be blinded by the light. The scene had changed again, this time Sam was no longer in her bathroom in her home. She was in a large field, the clouds above her were darkish red, black lighting flashed around, and thousands of bodies surrounded her. Sam was stunned at what was happening. Her mind couldn't understand how many memories she was relieving but one thing she knew... she was not supposed to have any memory related to this. This battlefield....it looked familiar....it felt familiar. Just like the other memories she had gone through. The bodies on the field were no longer alive. They were merely corpses now, with the remaining ones who still numbered around hundreds of thousands meshed together. Some of them were different. Some had human appearances like Sam, while some had animal features that denoted them as Beastmen. The humans were in green armor, some with blades, and some wielded weapons that looked like guns. They were all fighting against the Beastmen who were weaponless, using their natural claws and fangs to deal devastating chaos on the battlefield. But in the middle of the field, was one lone person who dealt more damage than both the humans and the Beastmen. A slender, average-sized warrior in dark green armor that covered her upper body. Around her arms were vambraces that looked similar to the ones Sam owned, complete with gauntlets. Sam saw that the warrior was a female, her long green hair was tied in a ponytail, and her olive-brown skin was stained with blood. In her hands was a Greatsword, a green crystal translucent blade that engraved craters on the field when she swung it, numerous shockwaves of pressure tore through hundreds of bodies. She was death incarnate, wherever she walked through, bodies would fly up in the air, torn apart in halves, their insides falling out and spraying blood all over her. She relished in the battle, her heart pounding, the struggle of the mortals around her on the field strengthening her, and the feeling of being alive danced through her blood. And then she stopped in front of a small warrior. A boy with shaggy orange hair, a feline eyes, in an orange armor.
"You should not be here," the female warrior spoke. It took a while before Sam realized that the warrior was speaking to her. The lady turned away from the boy who had an intense look of hatred on his face. "This battle has already been lived through. You have your battle to finish. Wake up!"
Sam's head jolted awake just in time to see Emily and Henry falling from the sky, a hole in the roof floor, and flying towards Sam, burning with a golden light was the golden deer from the moon. The mystic beast they had been hunting and Sam had seen before falling unconscious after her fight with the Assassin siblings. The beast hoofed through the black clouds, and wherever its feet touched, a mote of light was left behind purifying the darkness. As it descended before Sam, it broke apart into a sprinkle of white lights. These motes of white lights gathered around Sam as her body absorbed it like a sponge. She felt an influx of strange energy, something that felt familiar at the same time, settling within her core.