Dust and other unholy particles covered every ounce of air I breathed when I came upon the temple. My heart and lungs couldn't have recovered from the arduous climb through the set of stairs I found carved right into the side of the spire, and now, they're being filled to the brim with allergens.
My soles crunched against fallen debris which have once been part of the pillars, the ceiling, and the walls. Aside from the wind making howling noises as it passed through the crevices of the crumbling building, it was deathly quiet. Not a critter squeaking on its way to collect acorns. Not a bird squawking in the distance. Even the rustle of leaves were swallowed by a force bearing down on everything else atop the spire.
I gritted my teeth and trudged towards the set of steps leading up to the Temple's entrance. It was everything one would expect when visiting a ruin. The stones were overrun with slippery alga, albeit a bit more colorful than the boring shades back home, the cracks on the ground sported bouts of life growing in between, and the floor felt like caving in with every step I took. Bring tourists here with their phones and unbelievably loud voices, it would have looked like home.
Except it wasn't home. This was the last resting place of Haalor, the Guardian of Darkness. He was a primordial creature created by the Divines to protect one part of the secrets of the universe, which was condensed into scripture—the Book of Haalor. It is believed this book details all of the ways of the darkness, including the magic of chaos and ultimately, the magic of creation.
For it was through nothing that everything came to be.
Or at least, that's what the information board popping up on the edge of my vision told me. I didn't want a tour guide, but it looked like I needed one.
Either way, I was here for that book. Back when I first played this game, having the Book in your inventory meant being boosted in the magic and skill stats, even going as far as providing enough XP to let you skip two levels up if you play your cards right.
The quest was also quite simple. Go to the Temple, ring the bell three times, and defeat the stone monster that appears. Of course, I always just use one of the three honing spells I know, which lets me craft a sword that could penetrate the soul of a rock. That's also according to the skill list information in front of me as I go ahead and search for said spell.
In reality, it was just me and a lot of smashing buttons, the character swinging their sword at the creature until its HP died off.
I reached the Temple's center, which was just like how every temple ruins in movies looked like. The dust still hasn't relented, given the age of this place and how long it remained untouched. Which begged the question—how come nobody was talking about the Book and how come nobody has one yet?
Or I'd do myself a better one—were there an infinite number of Books of Darkness for all players back when this was a game or was it just the Book of Darkness?
"You have shown great courage coming here," a deep voice rumbled from the darkness surrounding the ceiling. I craned my neck up and narrowed my eyes. Wait...why was the darkness moving? Hold on...
The temple shook, sending quivers up my spine as a huge something slinked off the veils of the shadows and landed on the floor with one, solid thump. Then, I was staring up at what I could only describe as...
"Dragon," I squeaked.
The beast heard my voice and turned its snout towards me. It's like engaging with a coconut tree, except the said tree had midnight black scales, a mane of white hair around its head and lining its back, silvery whiskers, and hollow, milky crevices I could only attribute to its eyes. "Courage..." it hissed, the voice bleeding out of its fanged snout carrying a male timbre. "Or folly."
I swallowed against the growing lump in my throat. This wasn't in the game. The stone creature didn't talk like it was ripped off an epic fantasy novel. I haven't even rang the bell! Was there a bell? I looked past the curved claws and the tapering tail as thick as a blue whale. No bell.
In short, I was screwed.
"I...I have come for the Book," I said, my voice bouncing in weak gusts against the vast cavern and crumbling walls. "I was told it was here...?"
"You wish to retrieve the holy scripture, the epitome of knowledge of the power of darkness and why mere mortals should fear it," the beast said. This couldn't be Haalor, himself, could he? "Do you wish to be a god, spiria of my flesh and blood?"
Oh, that's disgusting. "That's a stretch," I said. "I just want the Book to save my ass and probably my friends' too."
The dragon lowered itself in its haunches. "Such an answer has earned you your fate," he said. "Tonight, I shall feast."
Before I could correct him on his perception of time, a blur of black and silver zipped towards me. "What the—" my curse was cut off as I stumbled out of the way, his scales missing my nose by a hair's width. My sword appeared in my hands and I leveled in front of me. It looked like a toothpick compared to the side of Haalor's ivory fangs. Hell, even I looked like a temporary stain in his otherwise pristine maw.
"You dare wield a sword borne out of my power against me?" he asked. "Mortals are all the same. Always craving for power that couldn't satisfy. All the more reason for me to carry out the Divines' will and eradicate all who trespass this holy realm."
Uh, what?
"I don't want to fight you, Haalor," I rolled out of the way as he bounded towards me once more. Then again, with my state now, it's not like I could. "I just want the Book."
A whizz of black. Shit—
The weight of a dozen two trucks slammed from my side, flinging me towards the opposite wall. Not again! Why do I keep getting punched out of nowhere? Just as I was about to hit the flat surface, black enveloped my vision. Something wrapped around my body, pinning my arms to my sides and pitting my legs together. Damn. He got me.
Haalor's head—a massive arrangement of horns, scales, and flaring nostrils bearing plumes of smoke much like how Heather's got when she was bored or pissed off—hovered over me, its shadow eating the light streaming from the outside world. "If you want the Book," he said. "Curdle your resolve."
He's basically saying his question earlier about being a god was a yes or no question. Great to know. I squirmed against his grip, my mind running through a dozen replies but none seemed good to pacify the beast who could very well snap me in half in a split second. "Fine, fine" I said. "I'll become a god or whatever. Just give me the Book."
The grip tightened around me, forcing the air out of my lungs and my eyes to bulge. My ribs began groaning. Wait, why was he—?
"To be a god, you must be able to fell me, the Guardian to the Last Gates of Heaven," Haalor said, opening his mouth wide, giving me a front-seat view down his gullet. The air heated to a crackling furnace as a column of flames surged from the deep and rushed towards me. Panic gripped my throat. If not for Haalor's grip around me, I would have melted into a puddle of goo.
Instead, it gave me a second to think.
"Shockwave!" I yelled, letting my magic burst out of me in a blast of purple. The grip loosened, throwing me back against a pillar. Pain erupted in my shoulder as I slid down. My head pounded—a direct consequence of using such a massive amount of magic in one rush.
Debris grumbled and stone cracked as Haalor slid his claws to halt his skidding. "Foolish mortal," he growled. "How dare you use paltry tricks on me?"
I spat on the ground, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I summoned my sword back into my hand. "Oh, I dare, you desiccated lizard," I said.
Then, I lunged, angling my sword just in time for his claws to slam against it. Sparks flew as my blade scritched with the force he's exerting against it. I grunted, my feet skidding back. With a cry, I slapped my other hand against the flat edge of my sword and pushed back, driving his foot to the side.
I ran.
A black, rope-like tail swept under my feet. My reflexes were the only thing saving me as I leaped over it at the last second before ducking at another swipe from his claws. He clambered after me, shaking the entire temple, and perhaps the whole rocky spire, with his every step. Well, we're past talking about the Book and becoming a god at this point. Because now, all he wanted was to shred me to thin ribbons.
Well, not gonna happen.
As I danced between Haalor's tail, horns, and claws, a tidbit of one of my talks with Heather resurfaced.
"A dragon's weakness is its strength," Heather had revealed once during our numerous sparring sessions. She was aiming to teach me how to defeat all types of races in Solarlume and we have started with hers—the kin of the legendary dragons. "Remember that."
Haalor dug his claws against one pillar as he leaped up. Just as I passed by him, he let himself fall, claws extended to pierce through me like a cat. I took my chances. I leaped to the side, where his shadow wasn't present, and swung my blade in my blind spot. As expected, my blade slammed against the horn in the middle of his forehead. The end of his whiskers tickled my ankle.
His head swung, and our dance renewed once more. A dragon's strength? What was he the proudest of? What was he counting on because he knew nothing could ever pierce it?
A wave of black rolled outwards me as he attempted to corral me like a lost sheep. Black.
Scales.
A thing which no mortal could ever pierce. Of course. That's it.
I dashed towards the small space left between his tail and his head, slashing my sword against his milky, pupil-less eyes. He recoiled, forgetting his goal of making a circle around me, letting me slip out, straight into the temple's entrance. If I jumped out of here, would be stop pursuing me?
But the Book!
A curse flitted off my mouth as I ducked just as his tail screamed for me once more. The tapered end slammed against the nearby pillar, breaking it cleanly. Divine gods. I needed to finish this. Quickly.
I focused on Haalor's scales. If only I could have a way to get one of those, fashion a sword out of it, and use it to skewer him. But if nothing could pierce it, how was I supposed to get one? Wait for him to shed?
I needed to steal it from him somehow. Something clicked. Steal...
A face popped into my head—it was of someone I didn't want to be the last thing I saw should I die here. Along with it came the bitter memory of bug caves and lots and lots of screaming. I called him an unoriginal thief. Thief...
As much as I hated it, an idea popped into my head because of it. I might be adopting some of his unethical magic practices, but only because I was in a pinch. I was a crafting spiria. I could do this.
Come at me.
When Haalor lunged for me once again, I met him head-on, running my hands down the length of my blade, unleashing what's left of my magic to change its structure and everything it stood for. From now on, it would be a sword of the Divines, a pillar that would never break, and a saving grace for the desperate.
I name you...
I stabbed down just as his tail hurtled towards me. The blade sank into flesh, followed by a distinct, porcelain-like cracking. A hearty roar of pain shook the entire cavern, dislodging more loose debris in the ceiling and in the pillars.
"Dragon's Bane," I said aloud, stumbling away from the mess I made. Inky blood spurted from the midnight-black sword pinning a twitching tail to the stone floor. So, the Guardian of Darkness bled shadows.
"Release me, mortal!" Haalor wailed, squirming and howling in pain. Against his size, my sword looked like it was a splinter to a toe. What's taking him so long to dislodge it and continue trying to kill me? "What have you done?"
I've been asked that question a number of times since last week. Let's just say I was growing tired of it. "I crafted my resolve," I gripped the sword's hilt and pulled it free with a squelch. More pained roaring. I angled the blade towards Haalor's face. "Now that I know I can cut your head off with this, shall I proceed?"
Dear Lord, why was I speaking like him now?
Haalor couldn't have withdrawn his tail away as fast as he did. "If you must slay me, mortal, do it quickly," he said, lowering his head and tucking his legs close to his snake-like body. He reminded me of a cat sitting like a loaf.
I narrowed my eyes. "I just want the Book," I said. "I wasn't really planning on killing you."
"Then you disgrace me to the Divines and my fellow Guardians," Haalor replied. See how much of a difference it made if two people could have a conversation without trying to kill each other? Great, right? "Come here, mortal."
Was it right to trust the word of a dragon who, just a few minutes ago, was trying to bite my head off?
I did it anyway.
"Place your hand on my horn," Haalor instructed. Up close, he reminded me of the huge dinosaur model I saw in an amusement park as a child. It was a whole other lifetime in a whole other world—one so far out of my reach.
His milky eyes closed and his nostrils flared when my palms touched his rough horn. A hot gust of wind blew my hair off my face, mostly the strands that escaped from the low ponytail I did with the twine I found in my pocket. "I bestow upon you the Book of Darkness," he said. A strange warmth flooded my veins and was gone as quickly as it started. "For the price of not ending my life, I grant you the right to call me a friend."
He opened his eyes and withdrew his head, peering down at me like a docile snake. "For crafting the Sword of Shadows, bearing the name you called it—the Bane of Dragons—I grant you my undying devotion."
My heart skipped a beat. Wait, what—
"You may go now, my lady," Haalor ducked his head. "Should you find yourself in a dire circumstance, call my name and I will answer."
Before I could say anything more, he started fading. Within seconds, I was alone inside a wrecked temple that was wrecked a second time. The only thing proving what happened had been real was the sword with an inky blade in my hands.
I sighed and passed my hand over my face. My menu screen blinked back at me. Focusing on my inventory list, my insides relaxed when a familiar name was listed in it. Book of Darkness. And it's white. Not gray.
As it should be.
With nothing else to do, I picked my way out of the temple ruins, not really looking forward to the long trek down. The wind had intensified compared to when I climbed up. One wrong blow and I might topple straight to the ground.
A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of splattering unceremoniously onto Gabyle's cobblestones right after I retrieved the legendary Book of Darkness, the epitome of knowledge of the power of darkness—
Okay, that's enough.
What would I give to be able to fly though? Having wings must be nice.
That's when an unholy screech and a bird of flames and bones swooped towards me.