Chronicles of Myth Volume Two: Into the Nightmare

Scene 11

Snow was kicked up in all directions as Damien sprinted forward in an attempt to grab me, I ducked under his arms and stepped toward him; I drove my fist into his stomach caving in the golden plate, I slid back on the ice pivoted my body I kicked upward hitting his collar bone, I saw the dented metal pulling back my foot and he staggered back clutching his throat: regaining his composure, Damien planted his feet into the ice; I saw the heat from inside his body rise as waves of energy out his armor, the ground blackened under his feet tore apart as he rushed toward me in a burst of speed; blue flames coated his hands and feet as he sped toward me. I ran to him thrusting out my palm and grabbed his face plate, I turned on the balls of my feet and threw the back of his head into the ground; his armor cracked apart from the impact, I stepped back keeping my eyes on his body, flames trickled out from his back as he stood back up, the snow melted from his body heat; "Tell me something... it is out of pity, or out of fear"? "What the hell are you talking about"? "Your armor, why do you keep it on when you know that limits your power"? "Do have any idea... how it feels to keep your friends safe from yourself; to keep yourself in check, to make sure I don't lose my shit and get everyone I care about killed in the process". I sped past Damien and cut a gash in his stomach; "I know all too well; how it feels to get someone killed with uncontrolled power, but you're going to accept that part of yourself if you plan get out of here with your life". "Ragnarok, don't tell me what I already know"! Damien leapt off the ground and charged me; the ground shook from his heavy footsteps, I turned on my feet and faced him, he swung down his claws and tore up the frozen earth; I stepped back, and turned my head to the left as he threw out a straight; I ducked under the coming left hook, I punched his chest and sent his large frame skidding back: his talons buried into the ice as he planted his feet into the ground, "You want to see what I'm hiding, then don't hold me accountable if you die". "I'm reckless not suicid— the construct of his armor faded away, and Damien appeared in front of me as a blaze of magic fire, he towered above for a moment before igniting his body; I felt a chill down my spine from the trapped wind that crawled out of the circle we were in, I saw something between a smile and a frown as I looked Damien in the face... he couldn't make up his mind whether to be happy that he's cut loose or whether he realized how cold the world really was, I heard a high pitched cackle echo out of his mouth; he danced along the ice leaving behind trails of blue fire, I felt the heat from his body sear my skin as I jumped back to escape an upward explosion of volatile mana; a mushroom cloud formed in the air, as smoke plumed from Damien's shoulders: that armor of his wasn't the safety of himself... it was the for safety of those who might come near him. Sparks trickled off his body, the sparks bounced off the ground burning a hole in the earth; his entire body hissed in irritation as the flames oxidized, Damien let out a bestial roar of agony: "Die... die... die... all of you just die"! He screamed, a blast of fire erupted from his chest; I rolled out of the way, as a few stray embers licked the back of my coat: my back felt like a bucket of ice water was thrown on it. I sprinted toward him dodging the slender tendrils of fire, they whipped erratically through the space surrounding his body; I jumped in the air dodging a blow aimed at my feet, I threw my body forward into a dive: breaking my fall with a roll I kept running toward Damien; his nail tails pulled back to him, he directed six bladed tips toward and six black tendrils formed out of my back, I planted my feet into the ground as our guardians clashed against each other; we traded blows from the bladed talons attached out of the constructs, neither of us gave way, sparks flew from the continued assault; the sounds of clashing talons deafened out everything else, I walked forward fending off each talon; our tails circled each other thrusting and defending on instinct, despite the guardians being a part of our flesh and blood it's rather disheartening how little control we have their true strength; these appendages are only scratching the surface of what is truly possible. I thrust all my tails forward and pushed Damien back, the appendages disintegrated and reformed on my arms as a pair of clawed gauntlets. Damien released his tails and two wings of fire formed out his shoulders; a gust of wind stopped me in my tracks as he charged forward; his feathers blazed across the ground, turning him into a comet; I held out my palms and grabbed his shoulders digging my feet into the ground, as he pushed us back the soles of boots grinded away from the ever increasing friction; placing my bare feet into the ground, I stopped him using the large mound of dirt behind me as a cushion; secondly it should be understood, when formed out of a certain part of our bodies, the received is exponentially greater than if constructed through a different limb. I clenched my hands and broke his shoulders through his coat of fire, his body burned a bright pink as his inner temperature rose burning through my gloves, pushed into the mound of dirt behind me; I felt my grip loosen, Damien looked at me for a moment and gave a twisted smile as he wrapped his hands around my neck; Damien straightened his body and kneed my stomach, my footing slipped: he slammed my back through the wall of earth he boosted forward igniting his wings and drove the back of my head into the ground, I held onto his arm tightly with both hands; a single bladed tail formed out of my lower back; the black sword staking itself into the ground, I felt my throat tear as we momentarily stopped, turning our bodies forward I planted my feet into Damien's chest and threw him over my shoulders; a trail of my blood flow out of my neck from his fingertips as he flew into a grouping of hibernating peach trees torching them to ash as he braked from the sudden acceleration. I staggered to my feet forming Anguish from the ankles down as a pair of armored boots, placing my tail into the ground; my windpipe regenerated as I sprinted toward Damien, he burst out of the remains of the burnt trees in an explosion of splinters and smoke; I punched him the face as he got into reach, we hovered in the air for a moment; his head bounced off the ground forming a small crater: Damien spun around on his axis using his flames directional thrusters, I saw the barrel of his gun greet me as he spun his body; dropping my fist to the ground I planted my feet and tilted my back my waist dodging the spray of pellets, I drew my sword and slashed down; Damien blocked the blade raising his shotgun, he tilted his body to the right dislodging my edge from the stock of his shotgun, I rolled out of the way dodging the second pair of shells; I scrambled to my feet sheathing my sword, as the ground exploded beneath them from the continuous burst of pellets of suppressive fire; I reached for the holsters of my shotguns and spun on my feet; tilting my body, I leapt back and pulled the triggers; the lead flying out of our barrels sparked against each other in a ricochet, landing on my feet; Damien released a wave of fire with a wave of his hand as I ran forward, breaking into a slide ducking under his attack: I kicked upward launching off the ice using the recoil from my guns as a spring; I kicked Damien the chest and slammed his back to the ground driving my talons into his skin, holstering one shotgun I stomped my foot on his neck snapping his windpipe, I aimed for his head with two consecutive shots; the flames slid around dodging the burst of lead, as the dirt settled; his face reformed under the dust, I drew my sword and stabbed down splitting his head in half; a sickening crack echoed, I broke through his skull and pierced his brain; the crack slowly bled out flames, his blood pooled around the back of his head in an inky puddle; I pulled back my sword, flecks of inky fire spread everywhere. I sheathed my blade; as the hilt connected with the scabbard, I stepped off his dying body; the rest of his form twitched, preserving whatever life he was hemorrhaging through the extensive strain of energy. The ground under us shook violently; I leapt back, seeing Damien's chest start bubbling, he burst releasing sulfur gas; the toxic cloud filled the space around as his body caved in on itself; Damien pushed himself into his death throes... no he was shedding his disguise, I heard stiff metal grate against the earth; a grotesque mass of decayed flesh and metal stood in front of me as the smoke cleared with a fierce roar, from his tailbone were nine whips tipped with sharpened talons; his body was mixture of silver and gold colored metallic fur, the abomination in front of me was a major taboo, amongst Fae, he had become one with his guardian... a source of near limitless power which cuts off fifty years of your remaining lifespan which each use. I drew my sword, so this what fear feels like... how wonderful... more... I want more. I drew my sword, and lunged forward; Damien swung down a large metal claw, despite his large frame he moved much faster than he did in his base armor; his paw for a brief moment was nothing but a blur that slammed into the left side of my body breaking my arm, ribs and leg: the bones reset themselves and healed, I staggered up to my feet; sheathing my sword, I walked forward and the more I looked at him; the more his figure looked like a fox in his prime. He leapt back in defense as I swung down my fist into the ground cracking the ice apart in an explosion of snow and ice; spears of psychotic energy erupted out of the ground, Damien leapt to the side dodging the five foot long row blades; I flicked my hand and hit Damien's left flank with a storm of crystal arrows, he raised his tails in defense; the left side of his body was painted with dark pink blisters, his front left leg fell to the ground paralyzed, next followed his hind leg before he crashed to one side with four of his tails; I swung my hand down and the second wave of projectiles came raining from the sky; well denser spears was more like it, Damien's transformative body was ripped apart by the onslaught of constructs. I felt a pair of eyes watch me from the distance, they were filled with fear at what I've become; but that's who I always was, who I always will be: "Nolan, are you going to keep hiding behind that tree"? "Feel the air, won't you... its good for your health"! I threw a psychowheel at the position I sensed Nolan, a black and white rabbit scurried out of the explosion of splinters; "You're going to fight seriously, eh"? I felt him behind me, "Don't make me laugh". I thrust my hand behind me tearing through flesh and bone, I turned my head and saw Nolan; he coughed out blood as I squeezed his heart, "You know how much I hate it when people interfere with my kills... so why do you keep getting in the way"! I pulled out my hand and kicked him chest, I drew my sword and staked into his gut; I pulled out my sword leaving an ethereal version it dug into his stomach; pinning him to the ground. The evening snow slowly fell from the sky as I looked at my battered opponent; Damien reformed his apparatus; I looked at him walk toward me, stepping forward, I let him punch me... he was drained of all of his strength; the metal gauntlets slid off my exposed skin, he stood in front of me worn down to his last iotas of strength going on one knee he heaved for breath from the strenuous fight we've waged for the last fifteen minutes: his enchanted armor weighed down the body inside, right now he was doing all he could to remain conscious; he leaned forward placing the stock of shotgun of the ground as a crutch "Give up, you can't beat me, and I prefer not to have any more needless bloodshed". "No, I've came too far... I've lost too much already, I can't surrender; not to you... not to anyone". I walked up to his beaten up shell, and gently placed my hands on his shoulders; Damien didn't resist, he just stood there taking in shallow breaths, I saw the large gash carved into his abdomen; blue embers sparked from the wound, he placed his left hand on the injury before falling over face first into a thin blanket of frost. "How disappointing, I expected so much from you". I drew my sword, "No... I can't die here". Positioning the point of my sword over his heart; I readied for my stab. "Give me a reason to spare you then, so far you've been nothing but a nuisance to me". His body disappeared from under me, "Make one move and he dies"! Damien held Nolan in a chokehold with one arm and positioned his other hand near his heart, I focused on the entry wound of my construct; the surrounding muscle was unharmed by this attack; I looked closer: the mana conduits circling the flow of energy in his body were temporary shut off along with his regenerative abilities, I looked in his eyes and there wasn't a shadow of doubt in them. I slowly approached them, Damien kept his eyes trained on me: I looked at Nolan with a slight shake of my head; he closed his eyes as despair filled his heart; I aimed my automatic at Damien's head and at all the times... my mind couldn't force my finger pull the trigger, I couldn't look the past the look of betrayal on Nolan's face and yet my body did in the split second I hesitated: a bullet hit Nolan square in the forehead as he thrust into the line of fire, his body fell limp in Damien's arms; he was thrown aside like trash, Damien made his hasty escape; directing a burst of force from his wand as I ran to Nolan; I threw my body over his keeping our head down from the continued suppressive fire of his machine gun, he was blur in the distance as he retrieved Natasha and ran for his life to the nearest formation cover. I looked at Nolan's wound and flipped him over on his back digging the caught pieces of lead out of the back of head, the bloody soup of grey matter slowly reformed together into the likeness of a functioning brain; the back of his head reformed, I released my breath and laid him down on the ground: I stood up, and felt a hand grab my ankle; "Why did you shoot me". Nolan stood up holding his forehead, "Answer me, why did you shoot me"! He grabbed the collar of my shirt and throttled my body, "You're expendable... monsters like us... we're expendable that's why". A tear ran down Nolan's face as he let go of me: "Was everything you've said a lie"? Silence hung between us for a still few moments; before my words broke it apart once more, "I think you know the answer".

I drew my automatic, and pointed it Ragnarok; my thumb rested on the safety, I stilled my finger: "Give me one reason not to kill you". I aligned the red dot with my eye, slowly stepping back; Ragnarok kept his off hand at his holster keeping an eye on my gun, I shot first; Ragnarok, stepped to the left dodging the three bullets directed at his feet, I raised my rifle and fired; he rolled toward me and dove into a tackle, grabbing my waist he slammed my back into the ground: he pulled out his shotgun and pinned me to the ground, placing the barrel to my heart; he cycled in a fresh round with his index finger and pulled down the hammer with his thumb. "Nolan do you remember the promise I made to you, while you were on your deathbed at the clinic"? "Why are bringing that up"? I replied calmly, "Just answer me, do you or don't you remember what I said"? Ragnarok raised his voice in frustration pressing the barrel deeper into my chest, "Yes, I do". "Then say it to me in the best of your memory". "I promise to cure you of your burden, to set you free from this inner prison; to give you the likeness of a fair life if nothing less". Tears welled in my friend's eyes, before they ran down his face; he wiped them away with a brush of hand: I could see the struggle in his heart to pull the trigger while he steeled his nerves and aimed at the center of my heart. "I don't expect you to understand, I don't expect you to forgive me... but on the off chance you do, save Astoria; now be free". Erasing every doubt in his mind; he pulled the trigger and a gunshot echoed: a weight was lifted off my body; I felt whole for the first time in years... I felt like I could live again.