Theurgy: Forsaken Oaths (Book Two)

Chapter 48 Goddess of War

"Come now, children," he spoke in that same low, almost whispering tone that sent shivers down their spines. Just when his visage became somewhat more precise. He had a narrow face, almost gaunt. He wasn't old, but long white hair flowed down his back, and eyes full of the sky's stars danced and sparkled. With nimble hands, he backed towards them. "Do not hide from the dark. Let it consume you. Let it be consumed. Allow the comfort of eternity to be your testing place."

"Leave this place," Makyra intoned, though confidence was one of many things she lacked at that moment.

Erebus seemed to notice this, and his smile grew even more comprehensive. He held up his sword, all the stars in the night sky and the twin moons went out. Everything was shrouded in darkness. Makyra couldn't see a thing besides her unsteady breath. She tried to train her heightened senses upon Erebus, but there was nothing there. It was like he had at once removed himself from existence.

"Move!" The Diamond croaked as she tackled Makra to the ground. Makyra could hear the swipe as the sword narrowly avoided her head. The Diamond turned, holding up her hand between Erebus and them. Immediately a wall of pure diamond erupted, giving off a pale white glow to reveal the being. Erebus seemed momentarily startled by this, and his smile turned into a sneer. The Diamond took off her gloves, letting them fall to the ground as she picked up a stick. The wooden object immediately turned into a ruby, also glowing as she held it as a weapon. A soft, warm glow emanated from it.

"I see," he said. "The Diamond child. What a pleasure to meet you."

"Leave us," she said, though her voice was even smaller than Makyra's.

Erebus laughed, and slashed with his sword again against the diamond barrier. The force was tremendous, shattering the wall instantly and moving through them like a wave. The two were immediately sent flying, the ruby stick flung away from the Diamond's grasp. They collided with the wall hard, knocking the wind from their lungs and sending their brains into a scramble. The diamond was able to shake off the daze fast enough just to see Erebus flinging himself toward them at high speed. They both braced for his incoming attack. But just as he came within just five paces from them, he was suddenly thrown back by some invisible force. For an instant, translucent green energy spread out from there like an invisible wall. He didn't seem harmed, just curious of the circumstances. He placed his hands upon the wall, the walls sparkling with psychic energy.

"I think that is quite enough," suddenly, from either side of them, the Paladin Novia and the Black Hand appeared. Novia held her hand up before her, gesturing towards the wall with extreme concentration.

"So I reckon this be one of them, godly fellows?" The Black Hand asked.

"Must be," Novia whispered. "I can't sense any avra from him. I wasn't planning on a fight like this."

"No, we need to run," Makyra shouted. "He's way too powerful for us to fight right now."

"If you can run," Erebus sneered. His hand began to push up on the psychic barrier that Novia had built, and the strain the simple motion placed upon her was apparent through clenched teeth.

"Can everyone calm themselves for a moment?" another voice called out. From atop the wall, a man in long robes looked down upon them all. It was the Grandmaster himself, John by his side, as they observed the circumstances before them. Makyra hadn't seen either of them in days, but their arrival was not at all coincidence. Remmus descended lightly between them and Erebus. From his side, he took out a hefty tome bound in leather to a pre-marked page. A prominent symbol began to glow on that page as yet another magical barrier burned even more fiercely than Novia's. But it didn't just stand between him and Erebus; it seemed to extend beyond their sight off behind them and overhead. This time when Erebus went to touch it, the barrier lashed out with arches of magical energy, throwing his arm back as the darkness that once enshrouded him was shredded. He frowned, looking at Remmus with distaste as the barrier slowly became translucent once more.