"What is your faith? Is it to yourself so that your life may be fruitful and not harmed, or is it to the divine who walk this land in their weakened form? If so, hold fast. They can barely produce miracles anymore, and they can be broken so much easier than before, but that doesn't mean they lost their pride. New gods and the old will hear one's prayers. The land will respond, and the home is in the heart, so hold your hands high in prayer. May the void be fought back to the end so we will bring a new age."
"A small light beckons you from afar, who will choose, your own mortal life or pick up your weapons for conquest? Oh divine being of conquest, melt away all that is now and let our reward be shown. Reach out your hand and expand your arcana, oh deity of magic, wake the unknown element and break free the small life of the impossible." I sat on my knees praying in a temple made of elemental crystals, I felt the two who who held the divine throne in the city, one who was sleeping peacefully in the Undershard, and the other moving through the mostly destroyed mana lay lines.
"Battle to the end of time, to the Cosmos we who cannot see past our planet are blinded. So many tried to see beyond that dark veil and only a few temporarily could see beyond that veil. Creatures from beyond define thee, items which defy this planet's natural course, calamities born to destroy all life and void themselves then themselves. The end will never reach us as that thin strand that encircles us as our core pulses with renewal, that beckoning call of will to keep going is fate. So are our eyes which reflect the very path forward or the past that already came but it's simply a footnote that can change as night."
I felt another in one of their arms, their energy fluctuated but flatlined in an unsteady rhythm, and glanced towards my location sending major shocks through my mana circuits as they were aware of me for a moment before it vanished. The other didn't think it felt tired yet something else was there, sweat started to go down my face as the longer I tried to feel what it was the warmer that strange sense became. I opened my eyes quickly as I felt something dangerous momentarily touch my astral tether. I looked down to the crystalline floor at my reflection which showed heavy fatigue from being in this position for seventeen hours.
I was a seven-foot-two muscular female. Who wore a white, bony, crystallized necklace depicting multiple robed maidens with torches walking down ruined stairs within a collapsing tunnel. Five layers of earthy brown shawls, which are covered in molten golden dust, bone fragments shaped like chained pearls and obsidian teary-eyed jewelry. Red-tanned skin, partially covered in Magma scales, white lily-shaded long hair that reaches my shoulders, and grape-colored eyes, with the iris being pitch black depicting the land being split open by the void, and people forcefully transformed by the high amounts of miasma from the multiple gates forming everywhere. Large spiked wings of earthy soil covered in various colorful flora lay flat on the floor tiredly, along with a sharp hardened tail of similar quality, the same length as them but three times bigger. It splits into five ways that take shape as a claw;
"That dangerous feeling, what was it? Why did it remind me of that feeling from Imferous, that muddy feeling like I was drowning." I started to stand up and used my tail to balance myself." I need to find out more" Taking a long breath for fifteen minutes, I began to close my eyes as I started to branch my mind outwards and spike my mana higher to use my wish seeker magic. I opened my eyes to my astral plane, made up of orange winds and dilapidated red islands. I began to raise my hands and started to weave a wish to decipher the source of where the feeling came from.
I found something deeper than the feeling I felt from that guy: quick flashes of draconic fangs twisted out like a rag while an angel-like being held two books. A creeping serpent shadow closes in but as it keeps getting closer a burning pink sigil of a flag, which repels it away every time it gets closer. I could hear the whispers which only turned to yells, every word I could not understand, the shadow began to contort and change in various forms, some familiar Galxio, a Zogyei, And Mrieds all forms of some kind of void twisted angel. I knew not of the void entity tied to him, but from what I could tell it had lived for a long time,, or it was his void blood manifesting in such a way.
My entire body began to spark with the same color as my astral plane as I felt the stress of the wish seeker as the stress was felt. The deeper I tried to see the true shape, the heavier the weight on my psyche increased causing a nosebleed, trying to maintain the psyche field I started to draw glyphs around me. My hands moved effortlessly as I poured my mana outward, the glyphs glowed bright yellow and reflected off the crystals across the small room, letting out a small hum as they were manifested. My concentration on my magic began to stabilize for a moment making me see something further within it for three seconds, I saw a partially grotesque angel hugging his soul of flame.
Its melted halo sparkled like the starry night blood of the deceased former god of death, the wings were ripped all over yet covered in light purplish pink scales, and were being pulled back by intangible hooks that were embedded heavily into them. While being elongated yet hand-like, and its eyeless visage. The angelic and void energies within danced in harmony alluring yet dreadful, as the last second hit it looked toward my direction and held an unnerving smile then I was repelled out of my astral plane violently as it blew a kiss in my direction. I opened my eyes filled with intense fear, my body wobbling and struggling to balance on my tail, my breath visible as if I was in winter. I shakily rubbed my nose as I felt blood dripping from my nose and lowered my mana reserves. 'What was that I knew void entities come into many shapes but those elements… They should not be harmonious with their poison."
"Its presence is awful yet I can't help but wonder what its full body was like. It could not be fully mature right?" I muttered under my breath, still afraid but also fascinated. I began to destroy my glyphs and slowly began to regain my strength. To quicken the process, I tapped into a small bit of cosmos with my magic to heal myself a bit and also recover my mana faster. Almost all of it returned, allowing me to stand upright perfectly fine without my tail. I looked over my shoulder towards the bright brown wooden door, I began to hear chatter from behind it, it was of many people who sounded panicked, at first it was small burrata then it became extremely loud.
Moving over curiously, I opened it to see many of the human priests and priestesses along with many other races huddling in their groups whispering something under their breath very fast. I clocked in on three which was interesting " I heard something is going on with the day and night cycle a bad omen is coming! "I hear the Lord of the Undershard divine authority is going out of control, causing the doors of the city to be unable to be closed magically." The two lords' son Imferous was sent into the gates of repression, his symptoms are in bad condition currently, and our healers can't stabilize him correctly.
They stopped their chatter as they finally noticed me as I walked fully out of my prayer room, they bowed their heads to me in reverence. Saint Juerous we apologize for our chatter, we hope we didn't interfere with your prayers in any way." I shook my head. "Stand up, you didn't I just finished my daily one, but do continue with what you were all talking about? From what I could tell, something quite serious, plus something was bothering me at this moment this would be a good distraction." May we ask what our dear saint? Multiple asked, my eyes looking over all of them with a smile "I believe it's the same thing you were all talking about, but I have to go confirm something myself."
They all looked at each other with expressions of worry and then nodded. Be safe lady, saint, we hear that the old man of the mountain was hurt by him and struggled to get into the gates which is somewhat surprising as he is a deity." I nodded and started to walk past them. Six statues of the Undershard Keeper and Mouantan Protector were on both sides of the hall in poses that showed them holding up a symbol of their authority, one a magic circle and the other a draconic fang. With each step forward, I fluctuated my mana throughout my body to summon my Erushkald relic, Pandora's goblet.
My steps flared as my mana started to unravel and rewrite itself and made it swirl around me as I lifted its tight restrictions. A rapier made of dark grey clean-cut stone and covered in emerald green moss and black lilies that had a cat-like design towards it. Along with a round shield of the same colors comprised of magi tech nanomachines, the front of the shield depicts the twenty-eight tribes' symbols being cradled by their sacred beasts. Both fully manifested as I stepped out of the temple and as I did I saw the roads to the gates somewhat ruined from afar above.
I began to walk faster down the many steps as flashes of the entity in my head began to pop up, it getting closer yet further as well like a thin barrier was protecting me. So I went on to that great vision, a monster that even I could not tell what it truly was, but if there was one thing I knew it could be what that prophecy teacher told me about when I was younger. "Day and night is a dream and within that dream lies that shifting mass which those do not speak of even on one's death bed."
"It watches and waits but never truly acknowledges others as it's not truly whole, and with it walks many others who bear the mark of the world. A forever cycle that will repeat may it be heard or in that version that has yet to be said or written so little Drop of light if you one day see it do not run as that will only give it the answer it needs. The answer is like the worlds power and names are powerful, so do not speak it allowed or think about them."
Forget all and know that one day we will all walk in that protective flame beyond this small possibility go with a heavy heart as even your wish seeker, your cherished magic can't create a miracle that could save it." The gentle breeze spoke with great concern and a glance of worry, an ominous flow of mana walked with them as they moved on, a glance was all that was needed yet no one could truly see it, to what it detailed. Who knows, as that question has long been answered differently, so too will gold sparkle and become mere dust in the waking.
"What is war? Which fight do you belong in, is it for the minor offenses of your turf? The bleeding of foreign cities? Maybe you will drag the divine corpses from the heavens and bathe in their gore. We all crave something but the battle that makes your blood shimmer is a different thing, individual will is a strong thing but it can only get you so far for some." I stretched my body as I sat on the head of the skeletal remains of a Getrkrus worm. It still had its orange heavily armored features and body the size of a colosseum which barely withered down over time.
The rough wind hit my past my face, and the sandstorms brewed with a deep hatred within the desert I was in. " Drift with the wind, pick up your bloody blade, and strike in that repeating rhythm, again and again to the old god of war. Open your wounds and flay your body to that roaring beat. " I stood up and looked at the skull-shaped gem of Ruyesta which I was cradling in my left hand, its clear blue color radiated a light that caused the intense winds around me to stop in its place, I looked at my reflection from it.
I was a ten-foot-five muscular female. I wore a white, black and silver face guard made of sandstone and ancient tech that covered my upper face and resembled a sandworm. Four layers of heavily condensed metallic armor and vibrant crystal that is smooth with a golden-dusted marking of javelins are being thrust into three humanoids' heads by a heavily armored beast. Red dust stone pants, various guns, large blades hanging from my belt made of dried intestines, folded dust particles, and platinum wings are folded on the back of the legs with six large boosters. Bright sunny boots made of thorny Phershan roses.
My skin is Syracuse red-orange, Eyes are seashell-colored with the iris being an aurora color. It depicts a stampede of fleeing sand beasts trying to escape a mutated void cascade harbinger that is forcefully fusing its body with its captured victims. Vibrant, thin, sand-colored hair covers my left eye while tightly wrapped around my neck. The free breeze flower covers my entire back and partially the front side of my body. They are shaped like doves and have a minty, cotton candy pink color to their eighteen petals, and a small toothy mouth at their center. Chipped lower canines that resemble boar tusks.
My eyes glance away from it and I raise the gem to the sky causing the sandstorm to reveal the sky to me. Pinkish moonlight bathed me in an instant, I looked to the sky puzzled by this anomaly. " How strange, the sun should be out, the warm rays of red should bathe these lands and the moonlight should be as radiant as gold yet it's this." I lowered the gem causing the sandstorm to block the sky once more but as I did I felt the earth rumble forth around me. My neck snapped to the source, my blood flared like a wild beast ready to hunt as the fresh scent of blood was smelt.
I heard six heartbeats from below the raging sands. They were sandworms just like the one I stood upon but smaller. The movement stopped as two sprang their massive bodies to the surface to reveal their heavily damaged bodies, their rough red sand-like skin covered in large bright violet marks emanating with void energy. One hundred and three out of five hundred rows of sharp rows of teeth were either missing or hanging from their roots, its yellow blood completely soaked the entire inside of its mouth.
Large chunks of flesh were missing from the sides of its body, and it flopped on its stomach, hitting the sand with a wet slap, letting out pained noises. " Hell, those wounds…" I scanned them knowing almost imminently, what did it, most void entities wouldn't do this, only intelligent ones such as a level six, anything below that would be consumed entirely." I sighed for a moment thinking about it with heavy breaths. I fought many within my former party Blackgulls Ristrantum, and they were calculating to the point where even a mere pebble was a chest piece, yet this one feels somewhat similar but not at all.
Reaching out towards them with the gem, I began to cycle my mana through it and point it forward at them. The sandstorm began to get worse as my magic was funneled through it in heavy amounts, massive clumps of sand began to mutate and replenish as it was broken down for healing properties, and it quickly solidified around the corpse in a cone-like barrier. I then blasted it forth at them, aiming for the corrupted wounds first, then the others. The wound closed up but the same violet hue remained, while the others were fully healed.
Both of the sand beasts roared outwards loudly in pain during the process but didn't move as any movement would make the current pain worse." Glak! Hunne!" They howled which slowly turned to wimpers then silence. Their bodies slumped deeper down, then they started to move once more after two minutes, their roars then changed to high pitch as I finished the healing process meaning gratitude and joy. Quickly I made the gem phase go away back to my spirit realm, they both turned to me now lifting their bodies and making noises akin to purring then burrowed back down the ground momentarily shaking as they moved away in unison. I focused my hearing on their direction and heard several more of their kind letting out similar roars.
I could only heal the wounds not infected fully, the void wound will last even in death no miracle of this world could save them. A sigh left my lips and a small smirk came to my lips as I felt an annoying sensation of someone trying to invade my spiritual essence, the flower upon my body started to bloom further and vines wrapped around my legs, thorns slowly forming as my internal parasite started to wake. Slowly I began to crack my knuckles and neck with little effort before I threw a punch infused with my spiritual energy to my left behind me, a cracking sound rang out as my fist tore through the mirage that was forming around me. Most of the sandstorm was gone, revealing the night sky and countless strings of violet void energy, which contorted across the air like a web.
A painting the size of a boulder was at the center, dark hues of blues, yellow, and oranges spread across its depiction of an elfen lady bathing in a lake of blood, who was looking in my direction. A being with a humanoid frame made up of compacted light gray polished stone hung upside down from the painting with a rope made of human intensities that swung. Cracks started to form across it. As quickly as they appeared, blood began to flow out like a river, and the lady in the painting started to walk forward. Her body moved with purpose as she strode outwards of it, her gaze empty yet filled with a pale white light, the iris shaped as two coffins crashing against the waves.
An intense heat began to move the air, and the corpse beneath me began to shake as I felt it start to move. My spiritual senses were going off, and I could feel thousands of corrupted souls being funneled into it. As the lady exited the painting her ginger skin was flayed all over, all of her organs were exposed, and long midnight horns punctured out of her head. With each step in the air, a wet slap was sounded out as its head cocked to the side, unnaturally revealing her exposed brain which pulsed uncomfortably.
" You are that one, aren't you? When did you know I was here?" It spoke in a deep alluring tone. I jumped back eighty feet and kept going that far away from them as they spoke and the skeleton which was rising rapidly to life began to emit a large life signature that was almost overpowering. Its flesh started to grow as its now living pulse grew, letting out waves of spiritual mana, violet markings covered it now, pilfering smoke of the same colour, which made the sand that touched its skin fuse together and harden. During the process, I kept my eyes on both of the entities while sky-rocking my spiritual essence as I felt them trying to expand their domains, I enclosed myself in a dense aura that connected to the strands of magic in the area then caused it to bloom sealing away most of there air magical abilities.
" How interesting your perception is unique, maybe I should…" Before they could continue, I made a slashing motion with both my hands, making the sand around them slash like a blade, yet as the slashes hit. It only shattered another mirage: the painting was no longer there yet their voice was close to my ear. "You are not friendly. I'll stop playing now. It seems we can't have a chat maybe meeting so many of my kind has made you this way, how unfortunate. This confirms you knew something was wrong a long time ago, didn't you? That's why you are here" The moment I heard the voice get closer my fist cloaked their face and sent their body flying back forty feet into the sand below, in a blink it vanished.
I shook the hand I used for it in disgust as it felt nauseating even touching it for a mere moment, it felt like something was twisting my essence. My eyes scanned around as I tried to look for them. It was mostly silent, only the distorted growls of the now twisted revived Getrkrus made an alarming noise that kept me on edge. I eventually found them, with a spiritual sense now, standing in front of the beast's misshapen jaw.
"I wonder what are you, could you hold that chant, that mark…before they could speak, the colossal sand beast raised its upper body and swallowed level six immediately when it was in range. The air tensed as it chomped down on it, and the sand beneath it began to split with the entire ground around it becoming like quicksand as it descended downwards. The body could be heard being shredded and exploding, the soul within that large lump of a body was screaming. Their form felt almost ethereal at this point, yet corpse-like through the spiritual weave.
No pain but a deep resonance as I felt the consciousness of the many merge into one entity and the void entity within faded as its life ended. Violet corruption within the worm's body began to change to bright ocean blue and calcify, as the raging moonlight above got brighter and blinding. Within these quick events. I started to summon my Erushkald relic into my hands, Heartstealer was a short pure silver musket marked with a rising blue sun on its surface, Palewind is much more bulky and blade-like, made of the same material but a Rose, twilight color with the marking of that sun erupting sun on the reverse side.
I flowed my mana into Heartstealer, loading magical bullets into it and firing blindly toward its location, each bullet holding heavily concentrated corrosive sand and air magic within, which twisted as it left the barrel of the musket. Sunset spores moved off of me and attached themselves towards the trees, some set on fire while others quickly adapted, transforming into fleshy bark that twisted around their surface. I felt all of them hit the target body and invade it from within like a parasite as it burrowed through the sand, and locked on the target like a hound is to blood. Something was completely wrong here. It wasn't even poisoned by major void erosion by eating instead, it ate it and became something new.
I tried to discern what its physical shape was now only to find it was even bigger than before, longer, yet I could not tell what it fully looked like even as it had gained twenty-five layers of highly condensed spiritual shrouds to cloak its body along with its spiritual essence far longer than its body's spiritual sense. The sand shifted for two thousand miles like a maelstrom as it moved beneath me, making me feel unsteady for the first time in twenty-three years.
Souls were being called, forgotten souls of the dead, along with the living. I could feel my soul resonating with it for mere moments before it joined the mass, but I quickly blocked the connection with my high mental aptitude. Some of my cells started to pop on my command as I raised my other arm and fired with palewind shooting explosive powder shots. I Infused a storm caller within me from my spirit reservoir, I felt its hulking spherical frame constantly rotating with a warm wind that was capable of breaking large pieces of the land apart into segments.
The same wind flowed through me and around me as I kept firing like a mint green, I began to levitate twenty feet in the air and chant. " Lord of blood seekers, foul butcher of the binding vow, weep and break the whip upon the land as your slave, devour the fresh and close in your boundary." With the final word, I caused a major blood-red, sand storm to usher forth covering the sky and blocking all outward senses from looking in and out of the area.
It fought against the maelstrom, damping its effects of the soul call which echoed to all near. My body moved to the left as I felt something cleaving towards me very slowly with great difficulty, I glanced at it before I moved, seeing it was composed of many mangled heads composed of golden void flesh formed into eight scythe-like claws which was twice the size of its previous body. Though it was slowed even I wouldn't want to know its full speed it could go as I could tell it had acceleration magic of some kind or teleportation by reading what I could from the soul that was unshelled.
Their faces were stuck in surprise, a loud booming sound hit me as they started to wail at a high frequency which I never heard before, causing one of my eardrums to burst, to counter the wavelength of the sound producing more explosive sand powder with Palewind. I swung at it causing it to fire off creating a sound more potent than what it released, I funneled large amounts into Heartstealer and fired a single shot in the direction of the target causing both. Piercing right through it and almost blowing off the claw-like limb into two, my parasite felt the new being it was uncomfortable as it felt the connection to the parasites within the target body behavior change forcing it to detonate them in fear of what happened to them would happen to it.
I shot ten more and shifted the bullet direction to the target, large amounts of wind magic were inscribed into them along with earth magic causing my sandstorm to strengthen on the mere presence of it. They struck the main body, and the ground shook once more, and split open as the earth magic within the bullet forced the ground beneath it to open up while the wind magic did major internal slashing damage from within it, causing golden blood to fly out of the open earth like a river. No cries were let out, only a deep rumble which gave me a deep feeling of it being entertained. Both my muskets began to shatter and disperse as they both reached their limit, they quicklyy evaporated into pure mana and flowed back into me as they began to slowly repair themselfs.
The claw suddenly was unaffected by my sandstorm and its speed tripled, it left my sight for a moment before I felt it swing at me from my right Immediately leaving me little time to dodge. But its entire flesh became bloated and then scattered before it reached me as imploded on itself which caused me to fall back to the ground. All magic in two hundred meters collapsed like a black hole and exploded, making me use spirit armor at the fifth level which was being ripped apart effortlessly.
Slowly it adjusted during the implosion process which started to feed off the remnants of the stronger sand storm I made. I then noticed something " What, how? Where is it, no signal or anything." I found that the entity was no longer here as a whole, I could no longer sense its life but could not feel its soul either. I healed my ruptured ear looking around frantically unsettled as I never truly ran into something that could mutate from void poisoning in all my ninety years of life.
A familiar sickly, condescending voice suddenly came to my ears just as I was going to broadcast my spiritual power to try to find it. "Rose it seems you were fighting something very interesting, don't worry I dealt with it, I just sent it to my blood sanctuary It's all snug and sleepy now, Oh I promise to show you it fully after." I slowly turned towards the voice behind me. " Nana hearts… Your way out of your domain, what brings the leader of the cult Nagra, out here?" Rage bubbled in my tone.
My eyes scanned her effortlessly, trying to peel back her true essence so no lie could escape me. Nana was six-foot-five with a slim build. They wore black blood chains and shredded Pumpkin fabric across their body covering the entire bottom half while the upper half was of her body exposed. Faint ultraviolet markings depicting multiple fish with fins that are shaped like constellations
Beige-colored skin and white velvet eyes with the iris taking the shape of a single bat shaped like a heart crumbling away like dust. Long Licorice hair that goes down to the knees, Midnight fangs, and Lemon, pitch black spade crystals going down the limbs while also the front and back in a raindrop pattern. Nine inky black orbs connected to the back by tendrils that are the size of leaves, they each have a blinding white eye and mouth filled with caramel-colored fluid and sharp teeth.
An almost mocking smile was on her lips, lust completely clouding her presence. " My dear, you know how we operate. We turn void entities cattle for fine blood wine and give good rewards to others who trade in one alive." I simply caught a unique whiff across the world, and I couldn't help myself, so no hard feelings, oh holder of one eight divine seats, I promise to send you a report once I find out everything about it though since it was in your territory. Also, the night is quite fair, isn't it, a word of advice: go out looking for your party I've been getting reports about lots of special ones popping up."
"Many things are going on, and it may be your last life. Either way, good luck, and may the world die out". In a flash of crimson blood, she imminently exploded and evaporated in a bloody red mist. I could sense her essence moving to the opposite side of the world. She was not dead, just a temporary death and a way of travel. I started to leave the area thinking of what she said, I canceled all my spiritual arts for now and focused on strengthening my physical attributes with my relics, and I started to head to the nearest town. Life is truly an annoyance at times but non-living is more of a hassle. One day I'll be a monster eating away at these sands like the parasites within. The only difference is I will have a bigger appetite and that's the cruel joke.
If there is more out there then I merely have to hunt, the one who will die in such a barren place like this is one with the lesser will. I'll die once and come back again and again as long as they will continue as is the cycle of war. My hands moved over the makeshift weaponry of guns of different types which my husband made for me gently. "Maybe I'll have to use one of these again, if so that means the battle is in great danger or my end is truly one step away and if so I'll gladly go out burning my existence and there out from this planet's surface."
"What is death? Why do we have to walk that border without fail? And do all reach that ending in the same place? There are so many answers to this question yet never a true answer as a spring swallowtail, never breaks open that barrier of truth. To know it is to run away simply, and once you start running it's already too late. The hunt begins, and you try to live as long as possible, but then that double-edged scythe comes swinging and brings your head off your shoulders. Leaving your lifeless bleeding body breaking in the cold air.
"That is an answer, one that is better than the countless slaughters of humanity. The soul can be shredded, it can be mended, yet it can be erased. That's a true death never to be remembered." My gaze was steadfast upon the constant change of color of the border between life and death. The land was made up of blackened celestial corpses mushed together with soil and the dwindling life force of the many. Each soul held a similar yet slightly different color at their center, I could taste the difference in the still air, each held onto something precious, some selfish others not.
"But the sin of the living was carried forth, leaving a crown to mark it from above. All have it as there is no one innocent in the world, as long as we have free will we will always be judged there is no black and white only gray, no right answer just a mess of questions that pile on the endless path of trust. The original sin is free will, and as long as it exists we will all be judged as sinners in this world, every deed good or bad will lead to the dark, save one, kill the many, kill an entire race save thousands. Such is life with choice that there is no need for hell or heaven when you are your tormenter and comforter."
"As is the world that keeps spinning till twilight, it beckons, twinkles even as this planet has long been fated to die out, and yet it is still here by some small promise. Why it is unknown to the elders call it fate but the true fate is in the eyes the depictions they hold are much more potent than any god who roams the planet. As nothing is eternal, even the god of death has that same scythe looming around its neck waiting for the time is not needed anymore. I hope that clears up things for you oh dear wandering knight of faded spring. I looked towards my side where a seven-foot-three man stood in brittle silver armor covered in blooming moonlit lilies.
His skin was pearly white while his eyes were a cinnamon color with the iris a deep red that took the shape of a young boy holding up a bucket of water to his older self in an expanse of flaming flowers with a gentle smile on his lips, his body partially fading. He smiled at me and began his walk on his reincarnation, with each step life bloomed as he slowly evaporated in a light that was a brighter color than the flowers upon his armor. I watched as he eventually faded, put my left hand on my heart, and gave a small prayer before I started to walk off to do my other duties.
My reflection moved off passing spirits revealing my five-foot-eight feminine moderate build. I wore a white, highly condensed electrical crystal mask that took the shape of Moserytori Griffon. A long flowy Citron, Licorice Dress that is made of souls and silk, that has patterns of flowers going across it, along with depictions of two great beings one humanoid bathing in a silver light from on top of a melting mountain.
While the other demonic Kneeling with their hands around their necks which were crumbling, revealing large masses of limbs beneath. Opal arms with smaller wings growing out of them are on the back in a comforting position. Heels made of the same material, with dark forest green markings going across them in the shape of two sides of a face, one melting the other shattering like glass. The bottom of the dress has coffee-brown bird feathers that curl like hooks.
My apple-colored skin shimmered from it, along with my cranberry eyes. The iris takes the shape of myself surrounded by spirits looking up at a stormy sky center and a dragon peering down with killing intent. Long indigo hair wrapped around my arms, dark violet cracks moved across my upper body, One Large antler on the left side of the head which is bent backward while the right is broken into segments and floating in place with inky black threads covering them, short vampiric fangs and a ruby toned tail. Many passing souls looked at me with fear and reverence as I passed.
Bit by bit, I started to count each one who looked at me to pass the time. I didn't have much to do today; I started to hum a melody I learned from my foster father as I went aimlessly without direction till I stopped in my tracks as a yellowed document manifested in front of me from dust. Runic words of immense power slowly began to manifest upon it; I looked it over carefully with intrigue: " Hmm, souls not passing into the border correctly… Corruption of their essence causing mass panic."
"What could be going on at the surface currently to cause this? A void beast perhaps, or maybe another faction toying with the fragile ley lines." As I continued to think about each possibility, an interesting thought came to mind. I started to flow my mana through my body in complex shapes. Then, I focused it on my hands and started to draw in the air, creating a globe made of midnight green mana. My eyes closed, and my hands gently upon it. I focused on specific spots where the veil was weakened.
I saw the sun and moon glow intermingling in resonance, the souls of masses who were entering the border were bathed in it, something felt off with them, just like the report said, some kind of corruption. "I poured more magical energy as I spotted something deeper into the souls, it wasn't just the dead, it was the living whose souls were marked with sigils that embodied another. It did not take control of the person; it lingered there like a power source. Giving and not taking, all of which I was unfamiliar with, their source did not belong from this planet but was close.
It was far as well; I tried to look deeper into it, only for my spell to shatter immediately, and a headache came over me imminently as well. My arcana, which flowed through me, felt overwhelmed and twisted. I opened my eyes in fright" for a moment, which quickly turned to irritation, how awful, what was that? Ugh, how annoying! This is a problem; my eyes glanced downwards at myself. Checking myself if my soul had a strange sigil. You have to be kidding me when…
A faint black glow emanated from the sigil of a man holding a knife that tightly stabbed their neck. My hands moved over it carefully, feeling the spark of immense power flower through it, unlike the power I gained from my broken patriots, whose two were mere shards of their former divine glory, this felt full and raw. " To think I was marked with such a strange thing," a sigh left my lips as I rubbed my head, sending calming waves to lower the effects of the headache. I filtered my mana outwards and created multiple maps of the border sectors.
My hands moved fast, swiping across the maps that had the souls with the strange sigils that were rapidly expanding. I sent commands all over with my minor telepathic abilities, Spirits, the undead of all types and sizes who wore an outfit of dark blues and grays that had a marking of a crowned jester going across them. His elongated fingers dug into his empty eye sockets, a wide, gloomy smile that dripped with lapis tears that crystallized as they fell as soon as they appeared.
As I worked, I felt stress quickly take over me. I could handle thousands of souls at once, but to deal with the whole planet's dead spirits luxating into the border with fear and urgency. Even my subordinates, whom I worked closely with, were having a tough time. Though the sigils weren't life-threatening, they were a problem. This realm could not handle such new things without maintenance. Such power being granted to living is one thing is fine, but on the dead who made their way to eternal peace is another, it balanced off the realm placement even the anchors that kept it in place were starting to be shredded.
My arms quickly started to ache heavily as I funneled as much of my abundant magical energy to speed up the process across the realm. After twenty minutes I began to falter in magical abilities. My entire body began to hurt immensely, and my spiritual link felt thoroughly stretched, ripped apart, and put back together in a crude manner. Along with feeling like the very realm itself was suppressing my body in a heavy gravity that was on the cusp of crushing me if I faltered anymore.
It didn't matter if I had the shattered authority of my two patron deities, it wouldn't hold up to full divine authority, even with my tiefling and vampiric heritage, I couldn't raise the chances, yet I persisted in holding the line. Bright green markings glowed brightly on my skin, which signaled my protective soul barrier was about to shatter along with the boosted healing that came with it, which was a rapid downgrading as the seconds ticked down. My legs began to buckle, and I could feel the flesh on my legs begin to tear, making my concentration faster. " Hmm, I see, so you're having trouble hearing as well," a familiar voice spoke closely. I tried to turn to it only to fail, and my blood began to pour out my nose heavily.
The weight of the souls pouring into the realm began to cease as I felt all of it being devoured away along with my remaining magic, destroying my soul shield completely. The souls that made up it didn't even have time to say anything before they were swiftly eaten. I turned to look at them individually to see my foster father standing there yawning and rubbing his eyes, sleepy. I quickly looked around to find the sigils upon the souls being suppressed, and some of the unique magic each held flowed around him like a beacon towards him.
He was a fifteen-foot-ten draconic humanoid with a muscular build. He wore a bright white collar that had a design of multiple Pitch black tea rose-red Oni that had four arms connected as they encircled a starry night sword-shaped fruit. His pants were made partially of his scales along with cream-colored marble, which had cracks and unlimited dust pouring out, Unfinished magic circles covered its surface where a few holes are that pump out a cosmos-colored mana in its liquid form. Eight large dark pastel green, semi-mechanical wings come out of the sides of them, which are mostly made of broken satellite pieces, and concussive bleeding red lighting, which keeps their shape intact.
Covered in Van Dyke colour scales, his eyes were a pastel yellow, with the iris depicting a colossal dragon bathed in Lightning aura, rising from the corpses of multiple elder dragons like themselves along with many other ancient beings as pure, darkening blue Liquid mana. Black and white wings of chaotic lighting that are ten times bigger than themselves flutter from his back along with their tail that shares these properties, spiky fissures come out the back in the shape of diamonds.
My eyes went back to him in weariness as he was a dangerous being, sometimes, he was a glutton that could destroy entire civilizations and realms, and other times, he was a great father figure. But in between a walking disaster, he was the god of voracity before that, he was just an elder dragon who was a binge eater to an extent. I could see all the victim's souls he had devoured, unknowingly and knowingly, swirl within him, their expressions empty, yet they tried to reach out for help. Some were other elder dragons, others ancient beings whose race was long extinct.
Even now, their power was present and powerful, though devoured long ago; they still tried to reach out to me in any way they could when I was near. I could not help them, nor would I at all, I was wise enough not to take food from a hungry predator, I truly believed oblivion wouldn't save them if he was even killed at all. Even the new god of death doesn't dare dabble too close along with many other divines. We were in an adventuring party called Bralier Sersetna once, along with many others whose number was never fixed. We made more enemies than friends at times.
It was a grand adventure, though luxurious and bloody, it was fun, but most of it turned very bad as his hunger got worse, I don't even know if that star invader that he devoured is even there anymore. Its presence was always foreign to me, yet I sympathize with it. Its only role was to destroy, yet it was eaten by a greater monster. " What brings you here, Tav shouldn't you be off sleeping or relaxing with Meridian and Persh like the good pet that you are." I crossed my arms, glaring at him; he stopped rubbing the sleeplessness from his eyes, now fully awake, he glared at me intensely and then hit me hard on the head, cracking my skull a bit.
Blood violently spilled out, dirtying my clothes, "Ow! Why did you hit me that hard!." My blood which quickly spilled out, went back into my skull, then closed. " Respect your, elder youngling I could care less even if you are my adopted daughter Tiravos; I will still discipline you even if you are fifty-three years old; you are still a kid in my eyes." Still a kid, I'm a full-fledged adult!" He sneered in tiefling standards yes but in dragon terms, you're still a fledgling, as I said before, you still be a hatchling until you can purge two level void beasts by yourself without your summons then you get the acknowledgment you crave."
"You damn old man, I should have sent you a dimension crusher bomb for your birthday!" A loud chuckle emanated from him. " I think we both know that it will be swallowed without resistance. Be grateful I gave you the ancient city Qrembell as a gift for your lab. I could have eaten all the remaining magical artifacts there and taken their powers, but I gave it to you so you one day can fight me to the death." I'm not interested in that, you have your two mates to control you. If you ever get out of control, leave me out of it."
"We will see that not all things are simple like you think," I pointed at him, annoyed. " First, you take away my right to eat that delicious fruit from that ancient tree, then you… He started to look away uninterested. " Bastard! I start to hit him wildly, yet he keeps ignoring me. I felt my mana recovering a bit, and as it was at a good amount, I sent an eldritch blast point blank at his face. The man was completely unfazed as it was eaten in an instant it touched his body. Damn your authority! If only I had enough mana for my flare version, you would be hurt!
His hand moved to my head in an instant; he flicked it, sending pain all over. " Ouch!" After getting hit, I retaliated, sending my mana into my nails, sharpening them to the point where they could puncture dragon scales, and slashing across his face with great speed and force. It was countered almost immediately. Tav grabbed my arm and tossed me aside like I was weightless. Before I hit the ground, I made my blood-red wings pop out my back; I made them flap with great force to balance myself.
Tav looked over at me with an entertained look. " Are you done playing me, or are you going to explain why everything here is going out of control? I glared at him for a moment before flying past him with a serious expression. " Follow its best to tell this in secret, after all, we don't want the dead on the border to be panicking any further. Do keep zapping away at that source of unknown magic. I don't know how long it will take for my mana to recover to deal with this. He let out a tired sigh as he now was flying right at my side. " Fine, hopefully, it's interesting. Try not to bore your father now, I can get quite hungry when it comes to uninteresting things, persh, and Meridne; I find their magic is quite delicious to drink up.
You would understand, after all, that you like that too with Seraph. My eyes locked onto him; he had a wide grin on his face. You perverted Lizard! I smacked him on the side, only for him to hit me back harder. Once he hit me, I heard a loud crack as I felt my bones shatter and reform in an odd way. " Do you have to hit me so hard! He shrugged. "It's not my fault you're weak physically, plus you're the one who avoided my training sessions in physical activity. So blame yourself, plus don't make it out as I'm a pervert we both know you are capable of far worse than me. And so I continued to argue with him as we went on to a place where the dead do not walk.
One aspect of Oblivion, hopelessness, what secrets lie there are far and few, and if you do return from it. Most of them have changed for better or worse. But like a looking glass, it waits and watches as is the unknown, like a hungry predator, but it would not choose to snack on voracity itself as even concepts can be distorted and devoured. Nothing is safe from existence, as is how the world turns. So how will one fare with the great secret of them all, yourself and the meaning of continuing forward on that maple leaf road once kissed with the love of adventure? Go on a wave that flag of your truth, and never turn back?
Dreaming… What is a dream? That sweet lullaby that reaches out to me grows and hums to my mechanical core like a broken rhythm. I was stuck against a fractured pillar of crystallized magical energy by an iron-hot spear covered in runes that was stabbing me right through, which was floating. I wondered how long it had been since I had been here like this, all I knew was that I stopped keeping records of days or years once it hit two million, too much data to take in would drain my already damaged core.
I was in a cavern filled to the brim with liquid magma arcana with magic circles covering it as it flowed in a circular pattern. I wish to feel tired and to sleep eternally, but I must live on for Tabo. If I don't stay like this, the seal will break. If I don't hold the line here, then who will after all, the old world has already rewritten the pages that's called time. I glanced at my steel-silvery body the best I could. Most of it was humanoid, and some parts were monstrous, which resembled boar-like features but were heavily damaged and rusted beyond repair.
I was missing my left arm and right leg; red cloth covered my naked frame, most of it was torn but still held that lively element to it. My eyes shined like amber while the iris took the shape of a screw spinning on a cracking human skull. Sometimes, I feel that I should give up here. Other times, I felt nothing, I sighed and started to say what I always did to keep my spirits high. " My name is Yena Astrofire and I am a Pollux Five Two Model. I must not fall as a Pollux unit even if my soul will be broken, I must stand again."
"There is no afterlife for failure, so as a tool, I will uphold the vow of serenity as the protector of Enix's tomb. I shall devote all towards the night to the stars that I can't remember all will fall to the lord. I will live as long as I can, I will pass on a legacy that bypasses the end, and I will break once that elegant light as is our mission. Here we are! Know us! Hear our steel rip against the wind as we pull the sky down and leave this primal. So visitors from afar bang on your chest like a drum, peel back your skin, and reveal what truly is inside, then speak out loud the answer to the truth we have all been avoiding from the beginning of this fickle.
I let out a long sigh as fragmented memories bubbled, every time I took my oath, my memories, once full and undamaged, would resurface as life-like dreams at times; my name was constantly called out, but their form was twisted. Even as I try to cover what they truly look like from within me, it only causes me more internal damage, it hurts sometimes but is manageable, but I will continue no matter what to try is a goal that all living will try to achieve even as I construct my wishes, maybe even a soul.
"One day, I will walk again and dance to that sweet tune we used to do under that sky, that burning landscape covered in their favorite flowers. My eyes glanced down at the lava which churned. All will return, and when I Yena callus of the twenty arbiter of Theimus number seventeen will wake up, kill me, scatter my corpse over the pavement like art, and forget me. I should not have existed and will continue to harm thee so before I wake up once more Vister of stagnation, you who stay in your border bring the hopeful flag bearer and the tired knight. Finish me off and then and only then will there be a call you have been seeking all your lives "