Guardian(Part II): Soulborne

Chapter 40: Finn

After the day I had, nothing made me happier than throwing my arms around Mom, but even though Azzuran was dead, his fortress was hardly the place to have such a reunion. I released Mom.

"Let's get out of here," she suggested. "We can catch up later, and then I can properly meet your friend, there."

"Oh, this is Nato," I introduced, gesturing to Nato. "She's... like me."

"Later, Finn," Mom reminded. "But hello, Nato."

"Hello," Nato greeted. Suddenly, the plasma bridges to either door of the chamber both came online. No one could have been operating them to turn them on, but I wouldn't let that keep the three of us from getting out of the fortress. We walked across the door to the opposite side of the one Nato and I came through, but as soon as we approached it, an explosion suddenly threw all of us back to the platform. My head was ringing, and I only managed to stand again after staggering for what must have been several dozen seconds. My body healed itself, my vision cleared, and the pain in my head went away. I began to sense an aura of immense darkness, even more powerful than Azzuran's was, and even more powerful than the combined aura of the thousands of Turned soldiers that were now dead. Whatever gave off this aura was more powerful than any monster I had ever fought against, more powerful than any Tuatha, Shadow, or anything. I looked up along with Mom and Nato, seeing a dark, black-armored figure in the doorway. He had the dark-winged sword sigil of the Shadows of the Abyss, studs on his black gauntlets and pauldrons, with a helmet on his head that was flat, but rounded along the center of the top, with red-glowing eyes shining from its eye slits. Along with the Shadow's darkness, I began to sense a feeling of absolute anger from Mom. She turned her aura emitter's blade to a large warhammer, then held it in both of her hands.

"Who is that?" Nato wondered.

"Belroth," Mom hissed. My eyes widened with terror. The three of us were facing the Shadow that commanded every single demon in the Dark One's armies, including the Seven. He was the one Shadow that was capable of destruction on a scale. He was the one who terrified Emma to where she was traumatized for nearly two weeks following an encounter with him. He was the one who killed my father, a Guardian that had slain dozens and dozens of monsters during his time. It was no wonder Mom was so angry with seeing him. He killed the man she loved.

"Run," she warned.

"What?" I gasped. Instead of answering me, she rushed at Belroth with all her strength, screaming with anger. She raised her warhammer and jumped into the air to swing it, but she was suddenly thrown off the platform, falling into the bottomless pit. It seemed like the Shadow only glared at her, and threw her down there.

"Mom!" I cried. I formed my aura blade before Belroth, while Nato raised her fists and stood in her fighting stance.

"That is ill-advised," Belroth warned, with a deep voice from behind his helmet.

Instead of charging Belroth with my aura blade, I threw a powerful aura blast at him, but he didn't even flinch. Nothing happened at all. Suddenly, though, Nato and I were thrown all the way across the bridge behind us, slamming into the door. We pulled ourselves to our feet as Belroth began to step forward, and the ground began to shake. Belroth came even closer to us, and pieces of the wall of the chamber started to come loose from it, and fly towards us. I slammed my fist down, covering myself and Nato with an aura dome to protect us from the debris zooming our way. A loud "crash" came from behind us, then Nato grabbed me by the arm and began to drag me through the doorway that was cleared by a piece of metal rubble. I ran with her, through the corridors and hallways of the fortress as Belroth's aura began to draw closer. The entire hallway was shaking, and dust fell from the ceiling with every step the Shadow took closer to us.