The Enchanted Realm: Contrasting Forces

A Savior's Return

 "I have a feeling that this chamber is going to only get worse and worse." Cory spoke, stretching his arms as the group continued further. Orion brought up the rear, his silence not bothering anyone.

When do I tell them? Now? After we destroy the Key? Should I have told them before all this? Orion questioned himself. Cassidy wore happiness over her silence; but not Orion. His face was pale, but the paleness was shadowed over by the darkness of the tunnel. The group stopped in front of a wall.

"Did we take a wrong turn or something?" Izzylyn wondered.

"Impossible. This was the only tunnel." Cory reminded.

"That we saw, at least." Izzylyn continued. While they were having their calm little talk, Orion looked around. His hands brushed over the wall. Then he felt it. A dent. So miniscule, barely visible to the human eye. Orion could barely fit his thumb in it. It halted backwards like a button, and the stone wall slowly rose up. The boy looked back.

"Button." He managed to say. The group continued forward, entering a much larger room. Caged braziers lit the room in frantic patterns. Skeletal bodies in chainmail armor lined the walls. They held swords and shields, and were posed as memorials.

"As everyone said in the Star Wars movies, 'I've got a bad feeling about this.'" Cory quoted. It seemed more like a joke than actual sincerity. The children stood in the middle of the room as any and all doorways closed, including the one they had entered from. "Well that was a jinx."

"Yeah, no crap, Sherlock Holmes." Cassidy had a twinge of anger in her voice. Orion watched as a skeleton crackled to life. A pair of blue, glowing eyes stared at him. The skeleton hopped off its pedestal, and began to slump its way to Orion.

"Sans is alive!" Orion called.

"They all are!" Izzylyn added. The undead soldiers surrounded them coldly. They began to close in. Cory popped his knuckles.

"Alright, Sans! You're gonna have a bad time this time!" He jested, running towards a skeleton. The reawakened soldier swung its sword at the boy, but it was too slow to do so. Cory grabbed the skeleton's arm, throwing the chainmail soldier over his shoulder. He took the sword and shield. The next skeletons to attack him were faster. Cory parried the downswing of a sword and knocked the soldier's head off with the shield. "Take the weapons!" He called out. Orion took the sword, and Izzylyn swiped the shield. Izzylyn was being crafty with the shield, throwing it like a frisbee at a skeleton. The soldier fell into pieces, and Izzylyn retrieved the shield. Orion had a little more trouble. He nearly dodged the swipe of a jagged blade, and was struck across the face by a shield. A shield flew across the room, knocking the undead soldier's head off. Amidst all the fighting, Cassidy couldn't help but watch.

Orion parried the swing of a sword, striking the skeleton with a two-handed blow. The last skeleton knocked Orion in the back, stumbling him forward. The boy turned back as the skeleton prepared to deliver the last pain he would feel. "Strike me down and I'll become more powerful than you'll ever imagine." He coughed out. A rogue shield struck the soldier in its rib cage. He crumbled into pieces directly before Orion. "Ew." He muttered. The boy stood up with an aching shoulder. "Now I have even more injuries." He rolled his eyes. A doorway opened before the children. They walked through, entering darkness once again...

But the darkness was short-lived. Another door rumbled open, leading into a large, cavernous expanse. A large crystal hung above them, shining down like a beacon. On a pedestal was a small key.

"There it is!" Cory ran towards it, stopping a few yards away. "Why does this seem all too easy?" Orion shrugged. A voice rose up from behind them.

"Thank you, children, for bringing me back here." A woman sounded awfully delighted. The key vibrated before flinging itself into the woman's hands. "Especially you, dear." The woman held Cassidy's chin up with a smirk. Orion looked back at the woman. It was very similar to the one in his vision.

"Oh no." He muttered beneath his breath. The boy blinked, and the woman stood before him, her dark, soulless eyes staring into Orion's. "You're her." He said with a grimace.

"I very much am." The woman chuckled. "And you must be Orion Darkheart. Your sister has told me much about you."

"You told her about us?!" Orion lashed out.

"Oh it wasn't her fault. I merely persuaded her into doing so." The woman guarded.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd keep away from my sister." Orion's anger grew. The woman yawned.

"I grow tired of your talking. Any last words, Darkheart?"

"What!? We had a deal!" Cassidy protested.

"Well now, the deal's off. I'll get the ring myself." The woman's hand became clouded with darkness. "What is your final request, Darkheart?"

"I have one thing to say." Orion sighed. "I am heavy weapons guy," the boy began in a Russian accent. "And this is my weapon." He held up the sword. "She weighs one hundred fifty kilograms and fires two-hundred dollar, custom-tooled cartridges at ten thousand rounds per minute. It cost four hundred thousand dollars to fire this weapon for twelve seconds."

"Your confusion entertains me, but I've had enough." The woman grimaced.

"You won't hurt him!" Cassidy protested. "He has us!" The woman burst into laughter.

"And what do you have?" Cassidy held up the golden dagger.

"My, my. What a glorious artifact. Too bad I don't care for it." The woman struck Orion in his stomach, the darkness spearing him through.

"NO!" Izzylyn roared. Orion fell to the ground, nearly lifeless. There was no wound on his stomach, but the boy continued to gasp shallowly.

"Eclipse!" An old voice called. It boomed throughout the room. Cory looked to the far right of himself. A familiar person stepped out from the shadows. He was an anthropomorphic fox, but it wasn't Pyrrum. His fur blended in with the shadowed area of the room perfectly. His eye colors were inverted, the white of his eye was jet-black, and his pupils were a glossy white. It was S. F. "You won't harm anyone else." The fox pulled a gun from his waist. It seemed from some point in the future. It whirred to life, charging some sort of blast. "Step away from the children." He ordered.

"And who are you supposed to be?" The woman turned to S. F.

"I am the commander of the 8th Brigade of the Transdimensional Shadow Corps." The fox elaborated. "I hereby order you to stand down."

"Well then, Commander, I deny your order." The woman replied. "The only thing I'll be doing is taking my prize and leaving this hell." S. F. 's one-handed gun had apparently finished charging.

"You have exactly three point-five seconds." He growled. The woman chuckled before S. F. pulled the trigger back. A white laser burst from the gun, demolishing part of the woman's face. S. F. moved towards the children. He knelt beside Orion, touching the boy's neck. "He's not dead. But he's not alive, either. He's in the Inbetween."

"The Inbetween?" Cory asked.

"A state between life and death." The fox explained.

"What's going on? Who are you, who is she, and where did you come from!?" Cassidy broke out.

"One; Eclipse, or the goddess of darkness in this realm, is attempting to escape. Two; you may refer to me as Commander. Three; the woman is Eclipse, and four; my previous placement does not concern you." S. F. stated as he slumped Orion over his shoulder. The Key of Eternity laid on the ground, untouched. Cassidy grabbed it, with one final look at Eclipse. Half of her face had shattered into blood and muscle, but was slowly regrowing. Cassidy followed behind the commander and the others, watching as the doorway fell into closure. She could barely hear the faint pleas from Eclipse.