Darris parried a blow from the scared gnoll before swinging his scimitar only for the gnoll to meet the blade with his own. He swung the scimitar in his off-hand but the gnoll leaned to the side and unlocked their blades, the attack only grazing the side of his face. The small cut sent a light stream of crimson down the rough fur of the scarred gnoll.
The gnoll took a few steps back and laughed. "You hit me? You hit me." he cackled, feeling the blood on the side of his face. "You're a fun person to fight, despite being held together by bone and dead skin." He taunted, then his face suddenly became serious. "So tell me, what's the name of a warrior like yourself?"
Darris took a step back once their blades unlocked, taking in deep breaths as fatigue continued to settle. "What's yours?" He asked through panted breath.
The gnoll scowled. "I asked you first." He paused a moment at Darris's single eye and chuckled. "Dax, the Glutton. Now, what's yours?" He asked again.
Darris glanced around him. The blood from the corpses around him had blackened and dried, all devoid of their souls. Then he glanced back at the grinning gnoll in front of him. "Darris." He said.
Dax's smile widened as he began walking forward. "Well then Darris. I admit, you are an outstanding fighter." Then his face turned into a scowl. A faint glimmer of yellow flames flickered behind his eyes. "How much longer do you think this town will last?" The grip on Darris's blades tightened and his jaw clenched.
Dax cackled again. "Oh come on, you didn't think this was all we had, did you?" He held his arms out in gesture to the many gnoll corpses around them. "There's at least three times this many of us throughout this town. Not to mention our gifts. We had to do as much from that truce being broken." He explained, a strange glint shining in his eyes again.
Darris stepped forward, golden mist beginning to exude from his blades. "What gifts?" He asked.
Dax's eyes brightened at the question. "The gifts of Yeenoghu of course. He has gifted us two great beasts to rip this town in two." He glanced at Darris with glowing eyes as if explaining an upcoming party. "A beast of the hells along with one of our own that has gained the apex of Yeenoghu's favor. With them this town-" He was cut off when Darris dashed toward him, shrouded in gold mist.
Dax raised his sword as Darris swung across with both of his blades. Sparks flew as the blades collided. Dax was sent flying backwards from the force of the blow. He tumbled to the ground only to have to roll and hop to his feet when Darris dashed forward and slammed down with his two soul-empowered blades. The force of the blow cracked the stone underneath them, turning it to rubble.
"Goodness. So angry after mentioning a bit of destruction. So sensitive." Dax joke, taking a step back. He glanced at the strength of the blow, then up to Darris's face which was contorted in anger. Golden mist flowed from his body erratically, coiling around him like a protective dome.
The gnoll then began to chuckle. "Oh, well no wonder you're so skilled." He smiled as yellow flames began to flicker from under his fur. The embers of the flames began to coil around his arms, flowing along his blade and lighting it aflame. "You must be a reaper too then." He said with a wicked smile.
Darris shot forward again, swinging across with his blades again. "You will not destroy this town." He spoke faintly.
Dax ducked and knocked the blades aside, a burst of yellow flames bursting from his blade as he did. "I'm afraid that's not up to you." He grinned before ramming his leg into Darri's ribs. A ghostly explosion of fire burst from Dax's foot at the impact, sending Darris crashing into and through the stone wall of a building.
Darris rose to his feet, his ribs burned at every breath. He looked down as the mist dispersed from where he'd been hit to flow evenly around his body once again. If the souls hadn't taken the brunt of the blow his body would've simply been blown in half.
"Wow, you're durable too. I wonder how much punishment you can take." Dax spoke to himself as he stepped through the newly made hole in the wall.
Darris glanced around quickly. He had been flung into a large furnished room. A set of large tables were set all over the room. At the head of the room was a desk with a writing board behind it with a half-written magical rune drawn upon it.
"Quite the room here. Never been one for magic. I'd rather hack something to pieces myself then let spells do the-" Dax was cut off when a desk flew toward his face. Dax reacted quickly, swinging downward and cutting the table in two before it hit him; the two broken pieces flying to either side of him.
It was then that Darris swung with both his blades as the table fell apart. The first attack; Dax raised his blade and swung up, knocking the scimitar upward. However, for his second swing Darris sounded and swung his other scimitar at Dax's throat.
Dax raised his arm to his neck to block the blade. An echo of fire shrouded his arm, acting like a cushion to the blade that effortlessly sliced through the flames. Dax was flung across the room from the force of the swing, breaking several tables as he crashed into them. The tables were flung across the room, crashing into each other and snapping in half.
"Enough-" Dax grunted as he pushed a chair off of him and began rising to his feet. He glanced up to see another table flying at him. He gritted his teeth and clutched his blade. "With the damn tables!" He roared, swinging his sword. A wave of fire projected from the blade and cut the table in two, burning it in two.
Darris fell from behind the now charred table, swinging down with both of his scimitars. Both were shrouded in a thick layer of souls, ready to carve into the hide of the creature in front of them. Darris roared and swung down with all his might, then his blades shattered.
Time moved slowly for a moment as Dax swung his blade clean through Darris's. He had no time to react as the soul-shrouded longsword cleaved into his chest with a burst of necrotic energy.
Darris was flung back into the board behind the desk across the room. A large crack formed throughout the wall where Darris's body slammed into it.
Darris slumped to the ground, the would in his chest pulsing with mist. The souls within him began to crowd around the wound but were quickly burned away as they approached the flaming souls that covered his wound.
He glanced up as he saw the desk in front of him get violently pushed to the side, revealing Dax, shrouded in his own flaming souls. "You really have no idea how to use your souls, do you?" Dax grunted, faint cinders falling from his mouth as he spoke. His voice seemed to fade into focus as Darris finally shook away his daze.
Darris shot up and made a swing with his now broken scimitar, but Dax simply knocked it aside, grabbed Darris's head, and slammed it into the wall behind him. Darris's vision blurred again as his head collided with the wall, making yet another web of cracks throughout it.
"All you know how to do is protect yourself and attack." Dax roared, opening his maw again. This time, however, no flames spewed from his throat. Instead, Dax sank his teeth into Darri's collar before tearing off a chunk of his dead flesh.
Darris winced as he saw flickers of golden mist sail from the wound on his collar and float toward Dax before sinking into his skin. Darris felt his power drain ever-so-slightly as the soul was torn from him.
"You don't even know how to use anything from your Cycle." He bit into Darris again. "You can't drain someone's vitality like Death." He took another bite. "You can't create an unknowable illness like Plague." He bit again. "And you can't steal the powers of others like mine, Gluttony." He went to take another bite but Darris put a hand to the reaper's chest.
With his single eye he glared at Dax. "Can you please shut the hell up." He muttered as his hand began to glow with condensed mist into his palm. Suddenly, a giant burst of golden flames erupted from his hand, engulfing Dax in burning souls.
Dax stumbled back, hit fur erupting in golden cinders and partially burning away. He chuckled. "Oh so you can-" He was cut off when a soul-charged fist smashed into his nose, sending him tumbling back.
"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?" Darris asked, walking through the smoke of the flames he'd just emitted. Golden mist flowed from his hand to his shattered blade before swirling around it and recreating the blade in its entirety. His golden blade had disappeared back into the charm on his necklace from its damage.
Dax rose to his feet, cackling once again, now through a bloody nose. "If you can't kill me with two blades, what do you think only wielding one will-" Once again he was cut off when Darris shot toward him. Dax quickly raised his blade and blocked the swing, however a burst of mist exploded from the impact of the two weapons. Dax slid back but kept his blade up to block a second attack from Darris as he ran forward again.
As Darris swung his blade a second time, so did Dax. Their blades met in the middle and locked together once more. Each blade sparked and sputtered with the souls that empowered them as they intertwined.
Dax smiled. "I'm surprised you can keep fighting this hard after having so many souls torn out of you." He said, taking a step forward, causing Darris to take one back as his blade pressed toward him. "Have you ever fought a Chimera, Darris? Do you know how they taste?" He asked. As he spoke sparks began pouring from his mouth. "I do." He opened his maw as a torrent of fire spewed forth from his throat.
Darris ducked to the side, the wave of flame grazing along his back. He quickly spun and swung his scimitar. The blade made a deep gash in Dax's side as the mist sunk into the wound, making the skin around the wound glow faintly and begin to corrode.
Dax coughed up embers as he stumbled to the side, then the cough turned into a laugh. "Not bad, reaper." He cackled. "You're truly a good-" He was cut off once again as another torrent of fire erupted from Darris's hand.
Dax raised his arms and shrouded himself in souls as the flames washed over him. His fur began to cinder again, however it was nothing compared to what it had been before. Then, as he lowered his arms to glare at his opponent, he felt a cut across his face, and his vision went black as both his eyes were sliced open by a single swing of Darris's scimitar. Dax stumbled back and clawed at his face as if it would heal his face. He swung forward wildly with his blade in his frenzy.
Darris stepped forward, keeping close to Dax as he continued to stumble back. He effortlessly knocked aside one of the wild swings of Dax's sword as he approached.
Dax roared and opened his maw once again as embers began pouring from his mouth. However the flames did nothing but burst in his mouth as Darris punched upward into Dax's jaw.
Dax's face jolted up as flickers of fire fell through his teeth. He stumbled back and fell against a table, coughing up blood and embers as his mouth was charred. He weakly held up a hand as he backed further against the table. "H-hold on a minute. Give me a minute and-" He stopped when his forearm was cut in half, releasing flickers of yellow souls as it fell limply to the floor. Dax screamed and cursed. "Darris, I can-" He began, but Darris spoke over him. His voice was low and stern. Despite the fact Dax had been blinded, Darris still glared into Dax's bleeding eyes.
"Shut up." He ordered, before bringing his scimitar down on Dax's head.
Dax's body fell limp as golden mist began to pour from his wounds; mingling about his burnt fur before pooling together above him. Darris watched as an image formed in the mist.
He saw Dax, much less scared then he was now, behead a warrior in armor and present to other gnolls around him who all cheered in triumph.
The scene shifted.
Dax was conversing with a man with hazel skin. He could hardly see anything of the man other than his pale orange eyes and his emerald green and gold robes that were draped over his shoulders. The man said something that made Dax smile with glee. The figure smirked and stuck out a hand for Dax to shake. Then the image faded into mist.
The clump of mist began to float up, but Darris quickly reached out and grabbed it. The mist gravitated towards his hands and began coiling up his arm and over his shoulders. The mist began to heal away his wounds; bits and pieces of the soul flaking away to repair his dead skin.
Finally, the fragments of the soul that were left suck into Darris's skin. For a moment he felt invigorated. His breath became deeper and his aching body loosened. His fatigue had nearly completely faded. Then he collapsed to his knees and began to shake; just barely keeping himself from falling completely to the floor. His body was overcome by jitters as flickers of souls began to seep from his skin.
Darris closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing from his violent shaking. In his body he could feel the intensity of Dax's soul thrashing about, violently trying to eject himself from Darris's body. Darris grit his teeth and concentrated on keeping the soul in place. The mist around him once again began to sink into his skin as Dax's soul slowly began to cease its horrid writhing. Other souls within Darris began to cover Dax's, smothering it under them. Then, slowly, the shaking stopped, as did the thrashing of Dax's soul. After a few moments of silence, Darris rose to his feet and looked around the room at the multitude of destruction and carnage their battle had brought. He looked down at his hands along with his blood-stained blade.
He felt far stronger than he had that morning. He wasn't sure how much 'value' Dax's soul had compared to other creatures he knew of. But it was definitely the most valuable soul he'd ever absorbed. Then again that wasn't saying much.
Darris looked to the hole in the wall he flew in from. He took one last glance at Dax's corpse before racing out of the building. Dax wasn't the only opponent left in Vanderin. And, if his words were to be believed, he wasn't the most dangerous either.