Chapter 56: Abyss of Darkness
As soon as the blade retracts from my back, I turn around to face my enemy, blood oozing from my wound. My eyes widen in terror as I gaze on a being of pure darkness, standing where Alexander lay only a moment ago.
“Who… who are you?” I stammer in fright, the being radiating pure malice.
“I go by many names, but I am commonly known as Sakor ni’Cordo, the Darkness Within The Heart. I am born from hearts who have fallen beyond the reach of the gentle Light’s embrace. All hearts are born pure, but over time, life makes them age, and darkness grows. From there, the choices and experiences the person endures affects their spiritual balance. I am the ultimate outcome for those who cannot let go of hatred and suffering, and all negative emotion.”
I scowl. “I don’t care. Just get lost and leave him alone!” He chuckles darkly.
“You will have to make me.”
I swing my sword, enraged. “I said leave him alone!” He dodges, cackling madly.
“Or what? You’re going to swing that stupid sword of yours again? Oooh, I’m quite terrified. You should make it a hobby, scaring people, you’re quite good at it. NOT!” He cackles, earning…
“TAKE A BOULDER TO THE FREAKING FACE YOU BASTARD!” I roar, hurling a massive rock at him, smashing him into the head. When the dust settles, he appears from it, rubbing his head as if I just hit him with a far smaller rock.
“Ow, you didn’t have to hit me THAT hard,” He says mockingly.
“SHUT UP!!” I roar, punching him straight in the face. For a moment, all is still, then…
“Darkness rules, within all hearts. Even yours. You want me to leave him alone? Fine. But see the consequence of your decision when he becomes the one who will kill you.” Suddenly, the being explodes into black glass, leaving a furious looking Alexander standing in its place.
He draws his massive two handed sword, but not just any sword: his famous Oathbreaker, the Sword Who Leaves None Alive.
“Before I kill you… tell me this. Why is it that you fight? After all you’ve done, I still do not understand. Why do you even fight? Why? Why did you save me when I was imprisoned? Why have you gone all this way- why have you fought all of these battles, when you could have just walked away from all of this?”
I narrow my eyes, the fires of determination rage within my eyes, and I know he can see them, because he flinches.
“The reason why I fight, Alexander, is to protect those I care about. My family, my home, my nation, my friends. I fight so that they may live in peace, no matter what the risk is to me, I would gladly die trying to protect them!” He is silent for a moment.
“But what does that have to do with me? Why did you fight… for me?” He asks quietly.
“Because I can see your pain, Alexander. You’ve been alone all of this time, no one to be there in your darkest hour. I fought for you, because I realize now, that we are not so different then I once thought. We’ve both lost family, but I was lucky. You were left alone to suffer in your agony. I fought I guess to save you from yourself.”
He closes his raging eyes, and is silent.
When he opens them up again, the red glare has gone, instead, beautiful blue eyes, hardened by countless years of suffering, anger, and hatred gaze on me with a steely calm.
“Indeed, Danica, you are truly an exception to the rule that all Crowns are incapable of understanding. You can open your eyes and not judge, even your enemies. However… the crimes of your family are unforgivable. …Forgive me… but for one last time… one last battle… I will unleash my full wrath, my hatred, my desire for revenge… I will unleash it all… I will not give an inch… I will… I WILL GIVE IT ALL SO THAT FOR THE SAKE OF JUSTICE, FOR THE SAKE OF MY FAMILY, I, WILL, KILL YOU!” Alexander finishes with a roar, the force of which sends the nearby skyscrapers collapsing to the ground, the concrete to crack and buckle, and the leaves in the trees to be blown out, all in a 50 mile radius of destruction.
He glares at me. “As for me, what I fight for… nothing. I have nothing left but this. If I should fail… I will have no reason to live.” With that statement, he unleashes his full might, a massive pressure wave of arcane power makes a heavy hum as it travels outward, the ground shaking violently from the force of Alexander’s Arcane Energy.
How… how am I… supposed to win against him?
Danica. Calm down. Within you is a power far greater than any other: Light.
Huh? Light? You stupid sword, you’re not making any sense. Last I heard, in my Elemental Physics, Light is supposed to be made of ALL the elements combined! I only have the power of Earth!
Ah, but you are wrong. Alexandi, the king of the Dragonlings, better known as the King of Light, didn’t just use Elemental Light. That takes a great deal of energy and effort. There is a SECOND way, by harnessing the incredible powers of your own soul, you can use its pure power to combat against his own mastery of the elements.
Use… my Soul’s… power?
You may know that the way fairies use magic is through the use of an ‘Arcane Core’. There is a very similar core in Dragonlings, though theirs is different. The Chromatics have a ‘Divine’ Core, but Gems have Arcane, like you. You, actually have BOTH. Therefore, you can easily access the powers of the Divine Elements, Light and…
Darkness. I finish for it.
Yes. Though, the majority of your soul has Light, so you can’t actually wield the Darkness.
“Are you two done talking yet? I would prefer to kill you now, not later.”
I regard him with irritation. “Who says I’m going to die? I don’t feel like losing to you.” He smirks, and then unleashes his full fury.
“Keido, Oath To Order.” Suddenly, a massive blast of Arcane energy sends me off my feet and I slam against a wall, making huge cracks in it.
Holy crap! How’d he get that strong in a matter of seconds?!
Alexander suddenly stands over me, sword raised to reap my life from my defenseless body.
“Die.” He says, his voice without emotion.
At Sapphiriana…
“All men, to your battle stations. The Chromatics will pay for what happened to the Towers of Torik.” I stand over all of Sapphiriania, countless warships rising into the air, their destinations various, but all inevitably headed to the Chaotic Desert.
If only things could be different, I would not do this. Racla must take responsibility. She is the only one who could have put an end to this nonsense, the political upheaval that so plagued the Chromatics. She is, after all, the daughter of Alexandi Hisagi, my uncle, brother of my father, Torik Hisagi. She is the only heir. But if she will not do her duty… I have another in mind.
Unfortunately, he seems to be preoccupied with the Crowns.
And that just won’t do.
“Fleets 103 and 106, divert routes to Feltatus. Pick up Alexander, before he makes a mess he can’t get out of. I have a proposition for him.”
The only man… strong enough to unite our people as king… is him.
Alexandi is dead, and his daughter incompetent.
Why am I not on the throne, if we have no king?
I do not wish to disrespect my father’s name.
I will not infringe on the memory of the dead.
I am not worthy.
Feltatus City….
Damn! DAMN! I can’t… let it end like this!! I will not die here!
I frantically scream to myself, as I desperately launch a kick to get him away from me, and it lands on his stomach, I just barely manage to lift him far away enough for me to get back on my feet before he comes after me again, his sword, Oathbreaker, gleams faintly, it’s sharp blade tinted obsidian black.
“Cry in fear!” He yells as he swings his sword in a wide arc, forcing me to lean far back just to avoid his blade. I swing back up, throwing a punch towards his face, I pour as much of my strength into my fist as I can, and suddenly Alexander’s eye widens in shock and he jumps back as a massive burst of pure force sails from my fist.
“I…i…impressive. You can actually wield the raw power of the Element of Force, pure physical energy itself. That is a feat that only… it’s not surprising though…” He smirks.
“I know a lot more about you then you think, Danica. I know your strengths, your weaknesses… even more than that. After all, I have been trying to kill you… for several years. All of those terrifying nightmares when you would wake up and scream about a ‘demon’ in your window… I was that demon. You weren’t dreaming. Those encounters were real, and I made sure to terrify you as much as possible before mommy came running. I know more than you think Danica. I know that you can’t stomach killing people, it’s not exactly easy for you. You’re weak. On the battlefield, such weakness is mortal, it WILL kill you. People with such inability, that they can’t bear the thought… when you attack, you strike to kill!”
As he says this last word, he strikes yet again, and I barely block it with my sword.
When you attack…attack to kill…
Fight for what you believe in… and protect those you love…
That’s right, Danica. Show no fear to him. Face him head on, with all of the might of your heart! Show him the true resolve that burns within you, resolve that burns like the sun!
Now Danica! Hear me now, call my name, that which is the embodiment of my power!
SHOUT OUT MY NAME!
“KEIDO! LIGHT OF A THOUSAND SUNS!” I roar, swinging Heaven’s Cloud with all of my might, causing a massive arc of pure light to rip out along the sword’s path.
“WHAT?!” Alexander yelps in surprise, just before the blinding light sends him flying, sending him crashing through several skyscrapers, before finally landing. I don’t give him an inch, arriving at his location where he landed within seconds of him doing so. His eyes open in alarm, and he raises his sword in defense, but I simply knock it out of his hands.
I gaze into his eyes, and I refrain from gasping in awe at what I see reflected. My whole body is glowing with a powerful white light, Divine symbols line my arms and legs, and my black hair shines with a soft glow of moonlight, while my eyes glow with a bright yellow flare.
“Finish it! Just finish it already!” He snarls, furious at me hesitating. I glare at him.
“I don’t play like that. I don’t have any intention of killing you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home.” I turn around, and start to walk off. I hear a frustrated roar behind me, and I barely manage to block his slash.
“JUST GIVE UP ALREADY!” I yell, getting angry.
“I SAID FINISH IT!!!” He yells back.
“Why would I do that? I have no reason to kill you! The only ones who deserve death are those who would harm my family and friends! Why won’t you just accept defeat and leave it at that! Let it go Alexander!!!”
“You don’t get it… do you? If… if you don’t kill me… I will have failed either way… I…I cannot…beat you… what point… do I have… in living?” His voice begins to sound desperate.
“I have no reason to exist anymore! I have no reason to live! I HAVE NOTHING!!!” He begins to scream at me, he throws down his sword and grabs the cuff of my shirt.
“FINISH IT!!! CURSE YOU!!! JUST PLEASE! END IT ALREADY!!!” He begs, sobbing weakly. I can’t help but pity him.
“Alexander, I sorry, but I’m not kind of person. I can’t do that.” He slowly stops crying, and his hold on me suddenly slackens and he collapses violently against me. I struggle to hold him up, and then I notice:
His heart is dying. He has lost the will to live.
“DANICA!!! WHAT HAPPENED! ALEXANDER! GET HIM TO A HOSPITAL!!!” Racla screams as she and Mother come running down a side street towards us.
What is happening with this world?
Several hours later, the doctor comes out of the emergency room looking grim.
“I am glad to see your back injury has healed… I wish I could say the same for Alexander. He is in a coma, and from my calculations, in one week, he will wake up. He’s lost the will to live, and I’m not sure he’ll make it. He literally has no purpose in life.”
All because… the last love in his life is gone… because of us… me… mother.. and grandpa… all of us, the Crowns… we caused this…
Now… it’s my turn to fix things. To set things right.
No more.
I have something I must do. I must go to where it all began…
The Ruins of Sunneroria,
The last place he saw the one thing in his world he cared about alive. And where she died.
With my one power… I will change all of this.
I must bring Wintress back to life and return her to Alexander before that week comes.
I must hurry.
End of Act 3