Descent Into Darkness

Descent Into Darkness Chapter 35

Wow you guys are quick. I know it's few hours late, but I truly didn't expect you guys to meet the challenge that fast. Here's a new one, fresh from my fingers, so I hope you enjoy. Simply to ensure that I have time to write, I'llset the challenge at 230 votes or one week, whichever happens first.

Lian rose from her knees, standing defiant. “I can make you do nothing, my lord, but you will fight Demetrius all the same. Not because of my order, or because you want to, but because you know it is what is right. Rage and burn as you must, but I will follow you to Demetrius' stronghold with shoulders squared, knowing I march behind the only god I have ever worshiped.”

His flames died down, and he sunk to the floor, bringing his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. “I am not a god. I am not a god. I am not a god.”

Lian left him then, leaving the cave through the waterfall. He barely noticed her absence, trying desperately to wrap his mind around the facts he had learned. There was no way he was a god, it just was not physically possible, yet in some way, he knew. He couldn't explain it, he just knew it was the truth. His power, always stronger than everyone else. The fact that he could control his flame after it left his hand was testament to that.

He shook his head again, wondering how he was beginning to believe this. Doritan was his father, he knew, and yet this would explain why he had never felt kinship with the man. Then why, did he have such love for Ember if he was not even human, much less her cousin? He groaned, rising to his feet, purpose flooding his body. Lian appeared in the mouth of the cave when he turned, a shovel in her hand. “What are you doing, my lord?”

“I have something to try,” he replied. “And please, stop calling me that.

She dropped the shovel and barred his way, arms stretched to the sides. “I cannot let you leave when you do not have your strength. Please, come back to the slab and rest while I bury the Sensei.”

Phoenix smiled. “I just want to test something, and if I fail, I will rest on the slab as long as you wish.”

“We are supposed to stay here and train, allow you time to recover your strength.”

“And we will, if I am wrong.”

She sighed, her arms dropping back to her sides. “Fine, but at least allow me to assist you.”

She proffered her arm, and Phoenix leaned on it, cursing himself for being so weak. His steps were short and shuffling, and he was exhausted by the time they left the cave. They moved to the bank of the small lake before Lian released him, allowing him to stand on his own strength. Looking into the water, he saw his reflection, and he gasped at the sight of his emaciated face. Losing the stone and its power were more taxing on his body than he originally thought. He took a moment with his eyes closed, simply listening to the sound the waterfall made, and he remembered the way it felt to control water, and his heart ached for Lindani. He pushed her out of his mind, resolving to see her soon, and concentrated on the fire. The flames that had supposedly given him life.

He felt the fire start under his feet, and begin to work its way up his legs. His strength began to ebb, but he pushed through, reaching deep into his mind for his power, and the flame took his chest and head in an instant. His eyes popped open and the flame coalesced into a giant orb, fleeing his body and flying out over the water. Lian cried out, but Phoenix was too busy to reply, trying to hold the orb in place. The feet came from the bottom, the flaming wings unfurled and the head slowly took form at the top. With a single flap the fowl took flight, and Phoenix released control, the bird slowly moving toward him. The pressure on his mind flared, and he fell down to one knee, the strain too much in his weakened state.

The phoenix was upon him now, and he lifted his head to stare into its black eyes. It stared back, and he could swear that the creature smiled. “Speak to me, show me a sign, something, please. Prove that my fear is just that, and then leave me be!” Phoenix thought, and the bird leaned forward, still flapping its powerful wings. Its beak touched his touched his forehead and he blacked out, Lian's cry echoing in his ears.

The blackness surrounded him, and he saw the lights again. They flowed through his body, and then the voices started, splitting his head with their screams. He remembered Demetrius' advice, and concentrated on the laughter, the screams and weeping slowly dying down.

Another light appeared, not like the others, slowly blossoming to life directly in front of him. It was just like his phoenix orb, and the fowl unfolded, flapping its wings slowly to stay aloft. “You have finally learned the truth about us” it said in his mind, the voice almost identical to his.

Phoenix shook his head, this being the first time the creature had ever spoken to him. “So it is true, then? I am a god?”

“You are not a god, we are.”

Phoenix shook with anger. “I did not ask for this! I do not want to die in their place!”

“No, I can see that,” the phoenix replied. “You do not want to, but we do. You must understand, that now you know the truth, it is no longer just you. It is us. And many years ago we gave up our powers, our wings, our place in this realm, for them.”

“For what?” Phoenix cried. “They toil and suffer, kill and die! They do nothing but pillage and rape, and their lives are not something I'm willing to give my own for!”

“You may not be, but we are, Phoenix.”

Phoenix grew even angrier, spitting his words out with hate and malice. “You can make me do nothing! I will find a way to defeat Demetrius alone, I do not need you!”

“I knew this day would come,” his counterpart said. “And if you decide to align with Demetrius, that is your choice and your choice alone. You no longer have my knowledge or my sympathy to guide you, but you are still a god, a benevolent one at that.”

“So you will not deter me from my chosen path?”

“No, I will not, because our paths are one. I have no control over you, but you have control over me. I will do your bidding and heed your commands regardless of how I feel you should act.” The birds beak touched his forehead once more and he was instantly back in the mortal world, on the bank of the lake. “The fate of the world, its survival or its destruction depend on you, Phoenix. Remember that. It is much for your shoulders to bear, but I trust you will make the same decision I made.” The creature smiled that odd smile again. “It is in your blood to do so.”

Lian was still standing there, ready to catch him if he fell, he knew, but the bird was not done, so his body was locked in place as though he were dead. “I will leave you two last gifts, Phoenix, until you call on me once more.”

Without warning, fire flew from the fowl's mouth, bathing him in searing heat. He screamed, and Lian rushed forward, but had to cover her eyes and back away from the scene. The bird disappeared in a flash, and Phoenix fell to the ground, his legs giving out under his own weight. Lian was beside him in an instant, her hands cradling his head. He brought his hands up to wipe the sweat from his brow, but froze when he saw his hands and arms. His muscles had returned, his body no longer thin and sickly. He looked down to see his chest hard, muscled, and powerful once again. He sat up, Lian fussing over him, and he waved her off.

He stood up, flexing his legs, bending his knees over and over. He marveled at how he had been restored to health, and he felt more powerful than he had in a long time. He launched into a back flip, landing on the same spot he had leapt from. Two flips and three handsprings later, he burst into laughter. His body caught fire at his command, and Lian gasped, backing away from him quickly. His fire was no longer red, or even blue, but a dark black, twisting around his hand menacingly.