Darius
Air so thick with humidity every breath feels as if it is not reaching the lungs as we gulp mouthfuls from the exertion of this treacherous hike. We have been muscling through for hours now, starting in this desolate village, and moving deep into the surrounding jungle. The sweat having difficult time to evaporate off our bodies in such an environment, arms ache with the physical effort required to cut through the vegetation of vines and plants even with the sharp machetes we are using.
The exotic sounds of thousands of different life forms scream around us, the smell of life hanging in the dense air.
My small group of travelling companions suffering just as equally as I am. All four of us could easily utter a few words and clear our path, the spells not even causing the slightest strain on our reserves of magic. But the price of where we are heading to means that even a drop of magic will keep it sealed away and hidden for a random amount of time.
If any of us use magic, the path to our destination could be hidden for five minutes or five centuries. A ridiculous curse I know, but what I need is a power that could never risk falling to random sorcerers, so even before my time, a curse was placed on it by others who realized the danger of what lurks in these deep isolated jungles.
I take lead, given that I can spot the signs of the directions we need to go, while Ark, Yoko, and Desmond trail close behind me.
Not the normal party out on this mission today, but I need two other adept magic users with impressive skill for this task, and Desmond because if shit hits like it usually does, I trust his extreme talents of aborting mission teleporting more so than my own.
Though the kid is gloating at his ease of effort moving through this jungle, again bragging about being the best physically in shape out of the group. Thanks to that training he runs through with Lucas since we established the city, he is clearly not as burdened with exertion. Though his digs are only to Ark and me, there is an obvious note of favoritism to young sorceress in our group.
Either because he is romantically involved with her or out of all of us, she is the one most likely to attack him. Or both.
I haven't the slightest clue if they are together or not, I don't care outside of my insatiable motive of snooping, but I am not the one to pry gossip out of people. Not in a direct obvious route anyway.
The signs that are hidden so carefully in the environment are the only indicator that we are heading in the right direction. Aside from the basic life energy flowing all around us, there is not a drop of energy to be sensed.
A few leaves stained with blood. Small fetishes twisted from vine and root tangled in the growth above or placed into the ground beneath our feet. The sudden movement out of the corner of the eye, not clear enough to see fully but enough to know something was there.
All of these, signs that we are close to our target.
Yoko snaps at Desmond after another few hours of the treacherous hike. The exertion and heat finally shortening the length of her patience. The tension added to the already dense air makes me call for a break.
Ark lifts his hands and almost ruins all the effort we have already used. He almost sets up a few basic charms to keep us protected and a safe zone so we can have a proper break, but Yoko grabs his hands before his spells can start.
"Forgive me," He states before resting on one of the massive tree roots.
"No harm done, just rest up," I say.
I remove the backpack on me and start to hand out water and some food for them to gather some more energy. They all take everything offered and devour it within minutes. The silence a nice pause for all of us to catch our breaths and Steele ourselves for the remain part of the journey.
Though the temptation to throw up a nice charm to chill the steamy air we are soaking in grows the longer we rest. Along with something to keep the damn insects away from our bodies. Complaints from the spoiled sorcerer who can't use talents to keep himself comfortable, it's pathetic I know, but I never said I was some grand adventurer that enjoys this for fun.
"Will you finally tell us what this is all for, or are you going to remain a cryptic dick?" Yoko demands. Her comment earns a smile from me.
"You mean I haven't earned blind loyalty from you yet?"
She glares in response.
I make sure to gather everything up and ready to continue the hike.
"I prefer the enigmatic asshole over cryptic dick,"
With a smile from me and the middle finger from her along with her classic heart stopping glare, we move forward.
The hours move by each filled with the same repetitive motion of walking and slicing down the thick vegetation out of our way. During the hike the sky poured down extreme heavy rains that did in fact ruin our parade. The downpour a nice break from the steamy heat we have suffered with, but once it stopped, it just made the entire environment fill up with fresh heat.
Desmond and all his hubris were the first to complain, all the talk of being the most fit faded away a long time ago. But I handed out more water but refused to stop. Fortunately, we didn't run into any predators that stalk these jungles and could easily make a meal of us if we can't us magic to defend.
Though it's not touched by magic at all, I think out path is safer for the fact that I carry some offerings.
The deity can sense the offerings and considering that only those that survive the pilgrimage can offer them, I feel as if most of the harmful and deadly parts of the journey are kept away from us. That or I am using up an insane amount of luck.
Sweat stings my eyes, but I still catch the final signal that we have arrived at where we need to be. Carved into stone pillar, A single word carved in the beautifully crafted monolith.
My laugh a mix of triumph and delirium.
I dump the contents of the bag out on the jungle floor and begin setting up the offerings at the base of the monolith. The sweetest fruit our city has to offer at the moment, water from one of the moving rivers we stumbled across. The heart of a foul murder, and the heart of one fallen in defense of the innocent.
The last offerings were simple to acquire from the massive graves we made for the city.
Everything is placed in a small bowl, and I say a few words of prayer in a language so far dead, no records of it even exist.
Desmond and Yoko look disgusted at my small ritual, while Ark accepts everything with a cool temperance. I'm sure the act of the ritual itself tipped off the Dark sorcerer of what I am attempting to contact.
"Rest up the best you can." I say as I sit on the dirt beneath the monolith and prepare for the final part of the ritual. "When I start, a hole will appear in the ground Ark and Yoko will have to jump in it."
"What the fuck is all this?" Desmond asks.
"I just need you to trust me please, my faith in your talents is how I know you can handle this."
I take out the ancient artifact that I had to summon from one of my safehouses left in the world. The item wrapped in cloth and small symbols that I know none of my companions can read.
"When you jump in, all magic is fair game, use your skills to keep yourselves alive."
"Darius, what the hell." The kid starts to worry. "You can't expect this of us."
I look to Ark first, those steady fierce eyes of darkness meet mine.
"As you wish Immortal," He states and readies himself for the challenge. He drops his bag but places the sword at his side, the one I gifted him after Sapphire's coronation. He uses it in place of the bone cane most of the time now. His magic able to move easily though the demanding sword and slice reality with his dark magic.
I look to Yoko. She takes a long time looking at me and trying to ignore the pleading coming from Desmond who is against the unknown. I cannot offer her any words of comfort; I can only offer the challenge that we will need to face.
I chose her for her elemental magic, her craft of devastating spells and her skill in smashing spells together in a way that should almost be impossible should be enough to keep her alive during this small test.
She throws her machete into the ground and begins to fix up the loose strands of hair that had fallen during the trip.
"Better be worth my time." She says before joining Arks side.
"Thank you both for this."
Desmond curses and tries to plead them both but its futile once the decision is set by them both.
The reason I chose to keep them in the dark is simply for the fact that whatever trial waits for us to face is up to whatever the deity we are asking an audience for once us to suffer through. It could be a battle of magical strength, or a trail of facing our hidden fears.
I will join them, but I must stay on the surface to finish the last part of the ritual.
I carefully unwrap the artifact from the binding cloth. My prayers from the dead language carry in the humid air and up into the jungle itself. The artifact, a small dagger made from bone, in one hand, my other hand stretched out and hovering over the bowl of the offering. My eyes close and I wait for feeling on when to complete the ritual.
My lips never stop praying, my resolve never wavering or showing sing of hesitation. A chill runs down my spine, even in the middle of the heated jungle.
Its watching.
As my eyes fly open, I use the dagger and drag it down my wrist. The bone material easily able to slice the veins open and send a heavy down pour of blood into the offering bowl. The pain is sharp and sudden, I want to stop my prayer but there is not room to take pity on oneself when I need to prove my devotion to an audience.
Desmond takes a step to try and aid me but Ark orders him to stay in place.
My undying ability allows me to cheat the demand for this part of the ritual. If not for my circumstances, we would need to sacrifice an actual life and bleed them until the bowl is overfilled in blood.
I can feel my heartbeat pick up the pace from the pouring of blood that spills from my veins. Along with my prayers I must mentally keep my body from its natural healing for as long as possible, otherwise I will have to do another cut.
When the bowl overflows with blood and starts to soak the ground around it, the earth groans as the challenge starts. Behind the monolith the earth opens and a hole that leads right into pure darkness waits for them.
Ark wastes no time with over thinking and runs over and jumps right into the hole. Yoko takes a breath before following right behind him.
The chill leaves my body, its attention going to watch the trails play out with those who accepted. I keep my offering prayers and the blood pouring for a few more minutes, and then once I stop moving my lips, the wound heals on my wrist.
I dump out the bag Desmond was forced to carry and set up the items he may need to portal us across the massive space and back to safety. A few herbal mixes as well as potion stand ready for the final touches but of course no actual magic can be used up here on the surface.
I hand the youth a medium sized medallion and tell him to wear it for the remainder of the expedition we are in.
"If you feel the magic pulse through it, focus on my energy and pull me through." I say after wiping away the excess blood on my arm. "You will then need to get us out of here as quickly as possible so be ready, kid."
"This is fucking crazy."
I can only offer a smirk in response. I grab the bone knife and sheath it behind my back, the final part of the gamble I am attempting.
Desmond pleads again for me to end whatever madness I have thrown us in, but I turn from him and jump right into the hole in the ground.
The instant darkness covers my sight, my magic surges around me. Mental magic only, but it's what I am needed to push while we fight. One element, one dark and one mental. By the time my feet hit the ground, I can already feel the raw and violent energy in the area.
A portal in the hole must have transported us to this pit that looks like a natural arena. Flat earth beneath us while the entire moth of the pit is open to the sky, a thick circle of vegetation clinging to the circumference. With most of the daylight consumed by night, a strange glowing light illuminates the pit just enough for us to see. No doubt the deity wants to ensure no blood shed is missed.
These creatures of a horrible curse and fate are twisted up from the ground. A mix of beast and human that howl and with all the fury of a tortured soul. They must be commanded to swarm us, the animalistic fury driving them to madness and unrelenting attacks.
The sword Ark wields sings through the air, the ominous dark magic leaving that deep ember red afterglow as it slices through air, body, and bone. Dark magic cursing the victims as they fall to lash out and infect anything that gets too close with a painful spell, allowing Ark to keep himself from being overwhelmed.
Yoko has several spells surrounding her as she unleashes the elements at the cursed souls. The earth shooting up to impale anything that dares to get in close to her, and a wind spell that makes it impossible to lay a finger on her actual body. Her fighting style allowing her to move with ease around the pit.
I am just able to observe the situation when I am targeted and more of those creature's spring up from the ground and charge me.
A dull wave of blue expels from my hand once I thrust in their direction, all my attackers frozen by the magic. With a snap of my fingers, each one of the frozen enemies are broken down by my mental magic, transforming their cursed state into my desired effects. Within seconds small glowing balls of magic are all that remain of the first attack.
The balls of magic float through me and with a mental command are ordered to protect me. Wave after wave of these monsters is thrown at us. Blast of different colors and spells fill the pit between all of us fighting for our lives.
The creatures we face are nothing impressive or cause for concern, but when combined with the effort and energy lost just to reach this place, we all must give everything, so we don't lose focus.
For what feels like an eternity we fight and fight. Magic that should already be impressive thrown out even in our exhausted state. But I know for this to end we will have to do something big enough to impressive the entity I am asking an audience for.
When the final ball of energy that guards me fades from energy, I fall to the ground, my hands pouring loads of magic into the earth once they are touch. Ark and Yoko take notice and defend my body the best they can while also keeping themselves standing.
Another wave of monsters is twisted up from the ground, but it's too late, my final card is already in play.
The spell activates and fills the entire pit with mental magic. The effect of the spell easy for my allies to ready what I have made possible for them. In the next instant, Yoko screams out a spell of fire and heat, something that would easily melt a person if used fully. Her spell doesn't completely fully, instead Ark screams his dark magic in the exact same second, she stops.
The vibration of the tremendous forces shakes the entire area. Using Elemental magic and combining with Dark should be absolutely impossible for anyone to even attempt, but with my mental magic bridging the two forces together, it makes what we desire, our reality.
When the spell is completed, Ark touches the ground and releases the elemental curse, the mental magic transforming to take on the effects of the spell. The entire ground is cursed with the heat spell from Yoko, the only thing able to walk on it is of course us for being the casters. Anything touching the earth falls to ash in an instant, and nothing knew can spring up to attack us.
The toll of such a powerful spell on our weakened forms is high. Being absolutely drained of every drop of magic for my mortal friends, they both collapse on the ground in exhaustion. But their part in this mission is complete, we have won with our skill alone, and my faith in them has been rewarded.
Sleep now my friends, you have done more than enough.
A little magic is used so they float and rest next to me, I feel safer having them close by anyway.
When I rise to my feet, it's here. The entity, the deity, the trapped god.
"Enjoy the show?" I ask to the figure that floats down from the sky and into the pit with us.
A chuckle so deep it vibrates the air itself is all I get in response. When its feet touch the earth, the curse tries to kill it, but of course even our combine magic can do nothing to the deity. It would take a spell powered by a hundred sorcerers to be able to have any real effect on him. It's how he was trapped to begin with. That or a source of magic.
He starts to take a seat and the earth reaches up and catches him, forming a throne for him to look down at me.
"It's been ages since I've been this entertained," The deity begins.
With a snap of his fingers a small bowl appears out of thin air. The bowl of the offering.
"You must be desperate if you are offering such a delicious sweet for me. Is this your blood Immortal one?"
I only nod and he chuckle.
The deity is trapped in the form he wears when in the physical world, giving him the appearance of a completely nude man. No hair and eyes that match the cosmos above us, a billion starts trapped in the orb of his eye. Somehow impossibly scary yet utterly beautiful to behold. Many find it difficult to even look at him. A power move I have never given him, even though I have only been in his presence twice.
One of the hearts is plucked from the bowl, and he eats it as if it is some heavenly fruit. The blood, water, and fruits are mixed with a swirl of his finger and consumed with the vigor of creature dying of thirst. He keeps the final heart and tosses the bowl to the side.
A lazy smirk on his blood-stained lips.
"You've been bound to a mate, haven't you?"
"Jealousy from a god?"
He laughs even harder this time.
"How I have missed that fire of yours, I can just taste him in your blood."
With a flick of his finger, I am summoned right into his lap. The feeling of his skin touching mine overloads my magical sense. As if I have come in contact with a live wire. My body tense under the magical flux of energy seeping into me from the contact.
"Is it true you can't be turned on by anything but your mate?" He whispers in my ear.
My deep shame finally out in the open for all to see. At least Ark and Yoko are knocked out for this.
Yes, I may have seduced this deity hundreds of years ago, back when my curiosity pushed me to do incredibly insane things. I tried to study any form of magic I could from him, but when I was met with that barrier, I couldn't shatter to touch power of divinity, I decided sex would be the next best thing.
Insanity and horny never go well together.
The sex was earthshattering to say the least. Though the soulmate connection made that encounter look cute in comparison.
I squirm away from him when his tongue reaches out and licks my neck, the rush of power that trails in place of wetness does make my head spin, but it's from power itself and not attraction.
"Sorry, love, my body belongs to someone else now." I say and quickly jump off his lap.
It is strange not being turned on by that. I know that's something I would have loved. The power, the rush of being with a god again. But like I said I still like the feeling of power he gives off, but any sexual feelings haven't been stirred in the slightest.
"If you aren't here to use my body, then why have you summoned me?" he begins as he eats the last heart like a causal snack.
"You don't know?"
"I hate having my time wasted more than you do pet, so what is it you want?"
"Perhaps your growing senile after all these years. The world is ending, and I need magic to stop it."
He glares at the comment but soon that same smile that wants me to advert my gaze is given as he bites into the meaty heart.
"The world is not ending; it is simply the end of what makes you comfortable. A transformation into the unknown future."
This time I am the one to smirk at the powerful creature.
"A world that has already reduced your subjects down to nothing."
This brings him pause and even a little tension in the air.
"You said it yourself it's been ages since you've been given tribute, why do think your subjects have neglected their duties."
I am referring to the absolute desolated village we teleported too early in the day to start our hike into the jungle. The village is small and remote as hell, but many who live there still worship and follow the god I am conversing with. Using blood and sacrifice for ritual to receive boons or gifts in their magic or harvests. Only the strongest who survive his summoning ritual of proving one's strength can ever speak to him.
Something wiped the village out. Death hung in the air and bits and pieces of body parts were left out in the open.
"If my followers were killed their souls would have been given to me to place in my realm, they devoted themselves to me."
"Like I said, it's the end of the fucking world, my pet."
"You mean you are at war with the other gods and goddesses, is this how my subjects were not delivered?"
"No, only one entity that I think steals your souls from you."
"Who is this creature that dares to steal from me?" The deity screams and stands from his throne.
The earth groans under the weight of his scream, the air charged with power that could crush us with a thought if he desired.
"Those that fall from its corrupted monsters, their souls get eaten by this thing who is using it as a power source."
"Name them!" His command is impossible to resist even if I wanted to.
"Aralu."
The deity falls to his throne, the simple name strong enough to strike true fear in the heart of a god.
I can't resist myself and move closer to the throne, a hand placed on his shoulder in response to the sense of despondency even in those ethereal eyes.
"The one who devours gods and devils. She is free?"
"Not exactly, the humans made a deal with her, allowing her power to corrupt their twisted experiments. All death fuels her in the void she is trapped in."
"The humans were able to make a deal with that thing?"
"That's why I am here, the humans are far more resourceful to magic and entities like you, I need to hunt down how they were able to breech the void in the first place, otherwise I would be sending my forces into slaughter if it's a full-on war."
The deity rises from the throne once again and grabs my hand, the power flooding though me pierces all my mental barriers and safety spells I wear, as if they were never there to begin with. The rush of pure energy blessing my veins as he searches my mind.
I am powerless to push him out. Flashes of my time trapped in the void with Ara surface, along with some of the pain that I felt during that revelation.
He lets go of my hand and his face is one of anger and disgust.
"You are one decision away from becoming just as powerful as that thing we tricked out of this reality."
The memories still fresh in my mind, the piece of paper Ara had written and placed in my pocket before I departed that void. He knows what was written on it.
"I should kill you right here and now," The deity glares down at me. "Save the world and realms from being swallowed whole by a monster that knows no end to hunger."
His hand lifts and I rise in the air, gripped by his power. Though he hesitates, no pain or total annihilation just yet.
"I have no desire to even glimpse at the realms outside of this world anymore. I just want the chaos and entropy to end."
"You say this now, but unlike the rest of your kind, you are Immortal. What's to stop you from temptation?"
"I won't give you ease of comfort by making some ridiculous vow to never look into this undying power, but if that day comes to pass, Isn't someone of that caliber what you need to set you free from this mortal plane?"
The hold on me falls and I drop to my feet. My hypothetical proposition enough to spare me from being destroyed by a god.
To call him a god is the easiest way to describe him. He is a source of a power unlike anything I can produce or have found in the world. With capabilities that can define reality and bend atoms themselves if desired. But he was vanquished eons ago by hundreds of magic users, those he terrorized banned together and bound him to the earth.
Because of this I question are the "gods" just beings of power not found on earth? After all, how could a creature of such status be bound and trapped by any type of human magic?
"If you wish to help me avoid such a fate, then any tips on who or what the humans could be in contact with is all I am after."
Those eyes look up to the black sky, the stars in the distant seem so small and dull when the deities begin to glow. The sounds of the wild untamed jungle stop completely, the weight of his focusing stilling all forms of life, until it feels as if the earth itself has stopped moving.
The air vibrates and the energy shifts until I am seeing whatever it is he is focusing on. As if watching from a bird high in the sky, I see an island in the middle of the endless ocean. There are no other clues to what island I am looking at exactly, but I burn every detail in my mind, knowing I can use magic later to pin my exact location.
Even from the vantage point, it is clear to see that the island is beyond heavily guarded. No monsters roam the land, but full military strength of the Hunters occupied the place, I doubt it is the entire force of Hunters, but they are defiantly keeping something secure here.
With a sudden blinding pulse of red, the image fades and the deity fall to his knee.
I try and aid him, but he refuses my help this time.
"Another of your kind then?" I ask him. There's no way any spell could cancel him out like that, not without a power equal to him.
"I am not sure entirely, but whatever its, that's defiantly how they were able to punch into the void between reality."
He eventually sits back in his throne.
"For the price of such a service, let's start the payment now, shall we?"
I scoff at the gull of the god judging me from above.
"You mean our past doesn't entitle me to a favor?"
"I did enjoy our time and your fire, but if I gave favor to all those who whored themselves out to me, I'd never receive tribute."
His words meant to sting, only add kindling to a fire I have been keeping under control inside.
"Well, this whore certainly had you moaning like a pathetic virgin back in the day. That being said, name your price and let's be done with this."
"I've severed tongues for far less." He says with a smirk. "I think I know the perfect price for the information I have given you."
I stand strong and steel myself for anything, ignoring the galloping in my chest.
"Do not worry pet, a simple kiss is all I will ask of you."
I let out a loud sigh.
"You do know my mate will find out, and he may actually try to murder you."
"Why do you think I am commanding you now?"
White hot anger sears my core.
"And if I say no?"
He laughs again, the earth moving with him.
"Then I kill you and your meager little cohorts, send my regards to you mate with a painful death too so I am told."
I clench my jaw and know I will have to give in with this one. Not that I am thinking he could actually kill me, as stated many times before, beings like myself are impossible to destroy fully without rituals.
But if I get trapped and entombed here, then I will be lost to the world just the same. I am sure the fate of being stuck here would be met with wicked and painful ways of suffering by the being considered a god.
His smile broadens as he is able to ready my thoughts I am currently having.
I walk up to him, and he stands so he can remain his advantage of being above me. His ethereal eyes impossible to ready fully, but I still get the sense of arrogance, and no the kind I have grown to love from the sapphire pair.
My eyes close and I reach up and bring my lips to his. My mind trying desperately to think of Cornelius, but his hold over me won't let me conjure his image. The contact with his body, amping my magic up beyond anything I can even try to find. When our lips meet, the power causes my body to tense up to almost painful levels, every atom felt set on fire.
This is no lust or desire here. Not even when the kiss deepens and I automatically begin to absorb his energy into myself, wanting to cling to sense of unlimited. A power that I could do things I normally couldn't dream of without.
Like trick a god.
My hand cups his face and intensify the kiss, giving in to what he wants. His ego and hubris thinking even a god is better than a soulmate connection. What a fucking idiot.
When my lips pull away to take a breath, those eyes of his are closed and he leans down to continue the connection.
My spells slip past my lips before his tongue can assault them again. By the time his eyes open, the bone dagger is already plunged deep into his chest. My spells rendering him able to be damaged as long as I am in contact with him.
Like my praying during the ritual just to get this audience, my lips don't stop moving again, only this time they speak spells strong enough to challenge this asshat of a god.
Wind strong enough to devastate, swirls around as the struggle between me and a god rage on.
That desperate look mixed with pain twist his face, his howling moving the entire world to its core, but have little effect to get me off of him. My voice transforms until multiple tones of all ranges can be heard, every magical word amplified by my source and the source of the deity I am connected to.
Lighting strikes down from the sky, strong enough to annihilate anything in the pit. It would have if I wasn't covering the area in protection to keep Ark and Yoko safe during my gambit.
The deity begins to fall into his throne, the spellwork starting to transform his body. A fragile paleness begins to wash over his body, and eventually he looks as if was made from stone instead of flesh. When I feel the inevitable become reality, my lips stop moving and my spell work resonance all around the pit, the energy bouncing off the area as I am sure it will for eons.
"Don't not fear my pet, we both know I can't kill you in any true sense." I begin, my hand gripping the dagger still lodged in his chest. "I needed a weapon that can actually kill a god, you're just going down for a nap while I borrow that energy you love to swing around."
He opens his mouth to try and speak, but nothing but choking gasps are able to escape him.
I push his head back into the throne with force, my disgusted wrath getting the better of me in the final moments of his consciousness. I lean close just as those starry eyes begin to fade into stone.
"You went down so easily for a god."
As if I didn't have to use titanic amounts of spell craft just to put him down, but confidence is key.
"I could have handled any disrespect you threw at me, but you insulted my fucking soulmate!"
With a yank before his entire body is encased in stone, the blade is pulled out of his pierced heart. The once bone material now saturated in that ethereal shimmer like his eyes, millions of stars glowing against the black void.
The deity is sealed away, a deep slumber replacing the power I have stolen. The once exotic and mystical creature now reduced to nothing but a gorgeous sculpture. A being in pain, screaming up at the sky in the center of the pit seated on his throne. Forever frozen in my betrayal.
I caress the smooth surface of his face one last time.
"Hope that simple kiss brings you comfort until I release you." I sheath the blade drenched in the stolen power. "If I ever release you. Until then, I will keep you in my prayers."
I send the signal to Desmond to pull us out. By the time I make it to Ark and Yoko, the sky has opened, and an absolute monsoon pours from the heavens. The pit begins to fall apart, the earth cracking open to punish me for my actions. I send one final smirk at the statue when I feel the pull of Desmond's portal.
Darkness wraps around me and the others for a few seconds. When it fades, the three of us are standing back up on the surface right where we left Desmond waiting for us. As the kid ready's the portal to safety, fighting through the rain that is so heavy it almost hurts, I notice the monolith has vanished from sight along with the hole in the ground.
The kids magic sending the monolith away and hidden for a random amount of time.
"I hope it was worth it!" I hear him scream over the booming thunder.
"Absolutely!"
Its hard to keep the giddiness of my gambit successful outcome. Combined with the residual energy of using such high-powered magic and being connected to that divine being, I am riding a high I haven't felt in a long time.
When the portal is ready and stable, I aid the kid in getting our two unconscious party members to safety first.
Before I take my exit. I say another spell, a simple one that the only outcome is to keep wind stable. Knowing it will be amplified, I am sure the entire jungle will fall under its effects. Meaning the cursed monolith that can never be exposed to magic will never be pursued.
The spell hanging in the jungle will make it impossible for anyone to ever track down again.
Any thought of returning the power and waking up the trapped god is left behind in the raging jungle. He will forever be encased in my spell, trapped in the eternal slumber.
A simple fate, a simple end. Especially for one who tried to spite my Prince.