And finally, as the pain won over Max, he let in the darkness, it fell over him and he could hear the whispers from his dreams, louder and closer than ever.
He could finally hear all of what their malevolent voices had to speak. And they crooned in voices of pure horror:
Death shall come and strike the land
The kingdom shall fall by its own hand
A promise of hope will cast the dice
The blood of One will only suffice
A screech of pure rage split the air and the ground rumbled and split. And the world was cast into darkness.
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Max felt himself be surrounded in what felt weightless, airy, like pure light. He could hear a soft chiming noise in his ears as the light thickened around him. He swore it was Madame Babushka and her chimes. And, as the light brightened, Max felt his pain slowly ebb away.
With a flash of pure bright light, Max felt himself float softly to the floor, his body landing with little disturbance. He felt light and airy, completely different than when he had been struck with the swords.
The swords....
Max bolted upright, feeling his chest. "How," he stammered shakily. There was no sign of his wounds, no sign that he had been pierced with the shadow blades. "How?" He repeated in wonder. How could I possibly still be alive, he thought in complete awe. Max was mystified, to say the least. But then doubt crept into his mind, where am I?
Max lifted his eyes from his unscathed body, sweeping them across his bizarre surroundings, his awe and doubt increasing. Around him has a spacious room, larger than any he'd seen before. Large marble columns stretched up to the cavernous ceiling high above. Statues from ancient times graced the walls, so well carved that they could be mistaken for real people. Max picked out intricate forms of people, bold-looking lions, playful fish and even an immense dragon, an immense molded work, almost life size.
Women in long, flowing gowns sauntered down the halls, hips swaying as they strode here and there. Their hair was done up like the statues, in Greek swirls. Their eyes all sparkled, mesmerizing him, but that was not all Max noticed. What he saw was the doors they entered.
Max gasped as he saw them. The first he saw was off to the far left. A door of obsidian black with milky blue skulls tracing the frame. White wisps flowed in and out of the skulls, wailing painfully as they entered, their voices crooning. A silver handle glowed softly in the lower left of the door.
Max watched as a man was dragged over to the door, legs flailing. His face was scared and he looked like he had serious burns across it's expanse. His red cloak was ripped in numerous places and ash covered the edges. One of the woman pulled on the handle and the door pitched open. A screeching howl ripped through the hall, tearing through the open space and filling it to the brim with sounds of bloody anguish; it was enough to make one go crazy. The man screamed as he was pitched through the door. There was a roaring rush as he was sucked far into the room beyond. His last screams echoed throughout the hall as the door closed with a resounding slam, cutting off his last shouts for mercy.
Max's mouth gaped open, and if he wasn't already sitting, he would have dropped down in shock. No one even seemed that bothered. The Greek-looking ladies glided into different doorways without skipping a beat. That brought Max's attention to a second door, his mind still reeling with what he saw and heard.
A beautiful door wrought of gold stood at the far right. Flowing words of royal blue were etched into the door, gleaming in elegant flows. A silver handle just like the one on the skull door was set in the lower left of the door. A few women danced in those doors, singing a strange song as they did. The door was a complete contrast to the other, and filled the room with a soft light when it was opened.
Max's eyes scanned the room and one last door caught his attention, basking the other two and all others in a boring light, it's magnificent looks bringing Max to his feet, his feet moving by themselves, his body slowly moving towards it.
A door of the most beautiful stones gleamed in the center of the room. The frame was a sparkling pearl with intricate gold flowers tracing down the sides. The door itself was of the most brilliant opal sheen, gleaming like a rainbow after rain. Two statues of guards stood with their marble blades crossed in front of the door. Their heads were donned with a jet black helmet for each of them. Max shivered. They looked more live than not.
As Max began to walk over to one of the woman, the room shook violently and Max stumbled, wobbled, and then pitched to the ground. The women screamed in fear and began to stumble towards the many doors, fleeing the room at a rapid and frenzied rate.
The door to the far left burst open. A swirling void of blood red could be seen from inside the door and as the room rumbled, it let out a tendril of darkness into the room. The shadows rumbled through the room, slowly morphing into a humanoid shape. With a shattering crack, the shadow bolt burst and a figure could be seen among the moving and shifting darkness.
Max briefly saw the person. Armor gleamed under a cloak. Chain mail on the chest plate connected with gleaming shoulder plates. A red cloak danced behind the masculine figure as he ran. With the cowl raised over his head, Max couldn't see any facial features. But, inside the cowl, two glowing blue eyes could be seen, squinting with care.
Max had never seen anyone like the figure. They were a lithe figure of agility but Max could tell they were powerful beyond measure. And in the cloaked person's hand was a sword like no other.
The blade gleamed in a wicked light and the shadows seem to seep into its surface. The blade was at least two feet long, the edge razor sharp. The sword was but a blur of metal as the shadowy character sprinted for the central door.
As he neared, there was a whir of gears and the effigies in front of the door sprang to life. They pointed their marble spears at the incoming foe and charged with great speed and grace, their marble limbs moving with a surprising dexterity.
Max watched stunned from the floor as the two forces collided, shining marble against stinging shadows. The cloaked man raised his sword and blocked the two spears with immense force, bashing them away from himself in a blink of an eye, almost too fast to follow. He sprang over the statues as they twisted to face where he had been, already losing track of his effortlessly agile form. The sword arced down and struck home on the back neck of one of the statues.
The head was swept clean off and it shattered as it hit the ground, erupting into shattering stone pieces. Max winced, the face had been shaped like a regular mans'. And its execution had taken place in a span no greater than two seconds, if even that.
The man turned and lunged at the remaining statue as it turned to face its opponent. Max knew the fight was over right then. Whoever this person was, they were too powerful for these guardians, no matter what power they possessed.
The flicking blade was, miraculously, blocked, and Max watched as the spear quickly came up to impale the figure. The shadows twisted from the man and wrapped around the spear shaft. With a clap like thunder, the marble weapon shattered into immaculately small shards.
With no opposition, the statues head was soon lopped off from the rest of its body. The automaton tumbled to the ground.
However, as soon as the blow had struck, the figure was once again charging at the center door; the opal door.
Max watched as one of the earlier statues broke off from its resting spot and leaped at the figure. The man turned to face the automaton, not more than five yards from his destination.
The automaton was a huge dragon, the one Max had seen curled over an archway earlier. It was remarkably detailed. It's marble frame was a shiny rust color. It's wings gleamed a light blue hue that contrasted the rest of its body. Max could feel the heat rolling from it in swaths and it was the size of a house, towering over the cloaked man. The dragon blocked his way to the door with its immense girth.
It all happened so fast. The fight was over before it got started.
The figure swirled shadows around him, twisting around his visage, rolling like mercury across his cloak and weapon. As the dragon reared its neck to strike, the shadows were let loose. They ripped into the automaton like a hot knife through butter, punching and tearing easily into their chosen victim. The dragon gave a fierce roar as it was ripped apart.
In a last effort, it reared its head, blasting brilliant white-hot fire at the figure, minute in comparison. The man twisted to his right and made a diving roll. The edge of his cloak was seared but the dragon fell and he lived on.
Without a glance behind him, he bounded over the now dead automaton. He ripped open the door and threw himself into the swirling azure of the unknown.
Max never even had the time to decide to step in or not. Now it was all over. The hall was deserted and all three doors stood silently. The now ruinous form of the dragon lay smoldering in the center of the room. It's face looked sad, frowning slightly as if to express 'Dang it, I lost.'
Max stood alone in a room that held all the answers but was full of questions. And now it was time for Max to choose his fate. He could feel it in his core of being, the choice was his, no visions to define his future, just his own mind to make the decision.
"Which door?" He whispered softly to himself.
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DragonDog1: I hope that helped relive some of the mystery of Max. No? Too bad! Anyways, please vote and comment because your opinions matter to me greatly. Thanks!