HE WILL PAY FOR WHAT HE’S DONE.
Lia yelped as the voice boomed through my head, instantly dissociating my mind from my body. No, I thought feebly. This can’t be right.
HE TOOK HER AWAY FROM YOU.
My vision faded to shades of gray as the thought consumed me. Alderea is still out there. Amaya is still waiting for me. Because of him. I felt my body being tugged in multiple directions, but the sensation was far away, as if it were happening to someone else.
WE WILL HAVE JUSTICE.
The dark presence consumed my mind, routing me from the hidden bastion in my head. My body screamed with emptiness as Lia’s presence was ripped away from me, but the sensation lasted only a single moment; the burning embrace of the void filled the empty part of me and made me whole again. I was flooded with an overwhelming wave of power, and I reached out willingly into the darkness. The room turned black as my stomach flipped, and I disappeared from the physical world.
TONIGHT, WE SHALL INFLICT OUR RETRIBUTION.
***
22. RETRIBUTION
The darkness whipped past me as I spun headlong through the void, every inch of my body ablaze with a familiar, disassembling pain. I paid it no mind. My consciousness held a single, immutable focus that guided me through the unending blackness.
VIRRAM YORRELL WILL SUFFER.
I felt a sudden softness beneath my outstretched hand, and I grasped it tightly to anchor myself against the storm. There was a final roar of the gale around me as I slipped out of the void, and then the assault on my senses was gone, replaced with the gentle sensations of the physical world: warm lamplight glowing in dark, plush carpet against my hand, and the sounds of gentle music, clattering silverware, and casual conversation somewhere nearby. I rose from my kneeling position and found myself standing in the center aisle of Virram’s throne room in the Yorian keep.
The room was lit only by the lanterns hanging on the stone columns that flanked the central aisle and a series of candelabras on a long dining table, which had been dragged before the dais that held the massive golden throne. Behind it, a dark canvas curtain flapped angrily as it blocked what was once a glorious stained-glass window, now a gaping hole exposed to the bitter winter night outside. The table seated a dozen noble guests, all dressed in fine silk dresses and doublets, and held an overflowing banquet of roasted meats, greens, and pastries. While I didn’t recognize most of the guests, my eyes were locked on the men at the head of the table; Virram Yorrell sat in a high-backed chair just beneath his throne, with his trusted advisor Gullen seated at his right.
“VIRRAM!” I boomed, my voice filling the hall with an echoing chorus.
The noise drew a series of startled yelps from the dinner guests as they turned to watch me approach through the shadowy hall. Virram’s face showed momentary concern, but a wide grin spread across his face as he recognized me. “Lux, my friend! I was wondering when you’d be back.” He looked at his dinner guests and waved them down. “Please, friends, continue with your dinner! Lux is an associate of mine; no need to worry.”
“What have you done,” I hissed, ignoring his pleasantries.
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be more specific,” he chuckled. He rang a small bell set on the corner of the table, and a moment later, the door to the barracks room behind the dais burst open. A line of guardsmen filed into the room and formed up behind him as he continued. “If I had to guess, you’ve recently been to Shadowmine. Am I correct?”
I remained silent as I stalked forward. Small wisps of black smoke wafted out from the cracks in my armor and swirled around my head. Gullen jumped as I entered the lamplight of a nearby pillar, his face alight with excitement. “I was so sad to hear you had left Kaldan,” Virram continued, motioning for his councilor to be still. “You did quite a number on us when you left, did you know that? Finding craftsmen that understand the inner mechanisms you destroyed in the Mountain Gate has been a difficult task.”
He popped a strawberry into his mouth and chewed it greedily. “Also, the Third Company hasn’t been the same without their fearless leader, Commander Savitz. It was such a tragedy to hear of his loss, especially so soon after you killed his son.” The remark drew a round of horrified gasps from the dinner guests. “Yes, that’s right; Lux here is the very man who slew my Strength. The Umbral Flame himself! The young Savitz so valiantly defended me during your attempt on my life, and his father rallied the entire Third to bring you to justice.”
The words passed over me without impact, and Virram’s brow furrowed. “Come now, Lux, it’s no fun if you don’t play along.” He put a hand to his chin in exaggerated thought until his face once again lit with delight. “Oh, tell me! How is the Corell family adjusting to life in Lybesa? Marten, Hana, and Marlia, correct? My sources tell me that Mayaan has had their own encounter with Umbral Flame recently; I hope they’re alright.”
He stood from his chair and leaned both hands against the table, cocking his head to one side. “And your friend, Marin? Did she survive her...incident?” he asked, venom dripping from every word. “It was truly a shame she had to become involved in all of this, but you forced my hand. From the moment you returned from your little trip to Attetsia, I knew you had turned my Shield against me. Commander Savitz was more than happy to help put that traitorous bitch Valandra in line if it meant getting to you, and with her sister being so close to you, well...it was really your own fault, wouldn’t you say?”
My sword appeared in my hand and immediately burst into a glorious pyre of black flames, bathing the throne room in a sinister glow. The dinner guests let out a round of terrified screams as they stood and fled towards the back of the room. Virram hooted and banged his hands against the table, apparently unmoved by the display. “Yes, Lux! Finally! Do you have any idea how much I’ve gone through just for the chance to see the Umbral Flame with my own eyes?” The assembled guards behind him stepped forward and surrounded him in a protective phalanx, holding shield and spear out at the ready.
“Ever since you so thoroughly dispatched my man Jack in the dungeons, Gullen here has begged me for the chance to see you in your full glory,” the young king explained. “Likewise, my associate in Shadowmine has been very interested in meeting you. It’s a shame he’s away on...business.” At the mention of his name, Gullen pushed away from the table and began to make his way towards me. “I thought it a strange request, but they both insisted your power would be unlike anything the world had ever seen. Who am I to argue with the wisdom of my councilors?”
As he shuffled forward, Gullen rolled up the sleeves of his heavy robe, revealing a series of jagged black scars that ran along his pallid, wrinkled arms, spreading down from his shoulders and ending before his wrists. “I told my King it would be safer for us to talk only after you revealed your true form,” he said in a small, squeaking voice. He stopped at the edge of the table, still about twenty yards from my current place in the massive throne room, and extended his arms in my direction, palms forward. “You may have been blessed with power, but only wisdom will allow you to control it. Allow me to show you true mastery.”
He closed his eyes and strengthened his stance as he began to chant under his breath. “Primeval of Death, forgotten keeper of all, allow me the strength to bend this heretic to Your will, and teach him the true meaning of power!” The lamplight around us flickered, and I felt a gentle tug at the base of my spine, as if a small child had tapped me in an effort to gain my attention. I stopped my approach and watched with incredulous amusement as the old man trembled with exertion. A deep, hideous laugh escaped my mouth and filled the hall with thunder. INSIGNIFICANT. A NEOPHYTE AT MY ALTAR.
Gullen’s eyes snapped open, and a flash of panic lit across his face. “Primeval of Death, forgotten keeper of all, allow me—'' His repeated chant was interrupted by my hand closing around his throat as I lifted him off the ground, having crossed the space between us with a single, instantaneous dash.
“Your God is weak, Gullen.
Your prayers have gone unanswered, but they do not fall on deaf ears; I will give you a taste of the power you crave.” I sent a single spark of black fire down my arm and into his chest. A roaring fire erupted from his mouth as the speck of void energy instantly overwhelmed him, and his body began to turn to ash. THIS IS TRUE MASTERY, WORM.
The swirling ash and smoke cleared to reveal Virram’s horrified face at the opposite end of the table. “Kill him!” he screamed at his surrounding guards, scrambling backwards in his chair. “Kill him, now!”
The score of guardsmen around him burst into a flurry of panicked action as they swarmed ahead in an unorganized mess. I sneered at them through the curtain of flame that had enveloped my body and raised my sword in their direction. Twisting bolts of dark energy raced out from my feet along the ground, each suffusing one of the soldiers as they charged. In an instant, their shared warcry became a shared shriek of pain as their muscles constricted and locked them in place, creating a beautiful array of tortured, twitching statues.
“Kill him!” Virram commanded again. “Don’t just stand there you cowards, kill—” His command was cut short as he stifled a horrified scream. In unison, each of the guards’ heads spun backwards to face their King as I controlled their muscles like a dark puppeteer, and the chamber momentarily echoed with a sickening series of snaps. I released my control over their bodies a moment later, and the assembly fell to the ground in a tangled heap. Virram scanned the scene with uncomprehending terror, then looked up at me. “W-wait, I—”
I leapt over the length of the banquet table and kicked him square in the chest, shattering the back of his regal wooden seat as I sent him flying through the air. He crashed against the imposing golden throne and fell into the seat with a pitiful whine. I blinked forward through space, appearing on the dais with a reverberating boom before he could react to my assault. My sword disappeared in a flash, and I grabbed him around his slender neck with both hands, pinning him to the cushioned back of the throne.
As I watched him struggle feebly against my iron grip, my stomach filled with an overpowering feeling of disgust. The young, handsome Virram Yorrell that had caused me so much pain was reduced to a snivelling, squirming mess of a man. His face, once so arrogant and self-assured, was streaked with tears and snot, and his skin had begun to darken from its usually healthy glow to a veiny, bloated purple. The eyes that had held so much contempt for me were now wild and full of fear as the life drained from his body. WORTHLESS SCUM.
I relaxed my grip just enough to allow him a single, rasping breath. “P-please!” he choked. “I’ll give you whatever you want, just don’t kill me! I don’t want to die!” Another pathetic wail escaped his lips as he kicked his legs aimlessly.
Carefully, I set him back against his golden throne, releasing my grip around his neck to cradle his face with both of my hands. “Death is a kindness you don’t deserve.”
A manic laugh momentarily overtook him. “Yes, you’re right! A-absolutely! I am the lowest of the low, but as long as you let me live, I’ll give you anything you want! Anything! I’ll be your faithful servant. You’ll never want for anything!” I saw the gears spinning behind his eyes as he bargained for his life.
His hope turned to despair as I laughed in his face. I leaned in close to his ear, singeing the messy brown hair that brushed along his cheek. “You misunderstand me, Virram Yorrell.” A wave of healing magic spread across him as I channeled the mana from my left hand, and I saw his body slump as it autonomously relaxed. “Death is a kindness you don’t deserve, but tonight, you shall earn the privilege.” As the healing continued, I sent a rush of void energy down my right arm and suffused it through his skin. An immediate web of black scars wrapped around his face and darkened his eyes, and gouts of smoke poured from the lines. “TONIGHT, YOU SHALL SUFFER.”
The hall echoed with Virram’s agonized shrieks as the death energy continued to wrap its way around his thin frame, covering every inch of his skin with jagged, smoking marks. My healing magic was the only thing that held his body together as it burst into a beautiful fountain of black flames. Convulsions shook his flickering form as the pain overwhelmed him, but I held him in my steady hands as the healing magic and void energy wove through him in a perfectly measured harmony. “BEG ME FOR MERCY.”
“MAKE IT STOP!” he screamed. “I BEG YOU, MERCY!”
“BEG ME FOR FORGIVENESS.” I increased the energy through both hands, and the flames grew brighter, bathing me in unholy light.
“LET ME DIE!” he wailed. “LET ME DIE!”
“BEG ME FOR ABSOLUTION.” The most intense catharsis of any of my lives rushed through me, and I sent the full might of my dueling energies into his body. Virram spasmed violently as his pleading cries devolved into shrieks and gurgles. I heard doors bang open at various points along the throne room, and a swarm of iron boots clanged across the stone floor towards me.
“YOU SHALL NOT HAVE IT!” Everything disappeared behind a bright flash of light as the void energy reached a crackling crescendo, sending flames spilling out in all directions. When the energy subsided, I saw the room in a new light; the cloth that had covered the broken stained-glass window was reduced to smoldering cinders, allowing moonlight to spill past the remaining glittering shards. Below it, the Golden Throne was a melted, misshapen pile of metal, still glowing cherry-red from the momentary blast furnace that had engulfed it. Seated at the center of the monument was a twisted humanoid figure made entirely of black glass; its face was upturned and contorted in agony, but the rest of its features had melted away and fused with the throne itself, leaving it a vague resemblance of the ruler it had once been.
As I stared into the infinite blackness of Virram’s remains, I felt a deep thrum of satisfaction reverberate in my chest. YOU HAVE BECOME WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE. WE WILL BRING JUSTICE TO THIS WORLD AND EVERY WORLD BEYOND IT.
I turned to face the approaching army, but their charge had reversed into a headlong retreat at the sight of their king’s ruination. My brow furrowed as I watched them run; their mere presence in the throne room soiled what was an otherwise perfect victory. YOU WILL FACE JUSTICE.
Whipping lashes of darkness flew off of me and pursued the fleeing guards. A series of explosions rocked the hall as each one impacted its target and instantly incinerated them, blasting chunks of stone up from the floor where they had stood. I let out a roaring laugh as the chaos unfolded before me. WE WILL BRING RUIN TO KALDAN. WE WILL BRING JUSTICE. WE—
In a forgotten corner of my mind, I felt my consciousness surface from the void that had engulfed me. No. That’s not justice. I floundered in an endless ocean of darkness, thrust into a battle to keep the single remaining shred of my humanity intact against the rage driving my body. Slaughtering innocents isn’t justice. I didn’t know whether it was Virram’s death, my receding adrenaline, or some outside force that had allowed my consciousness to coalesce out of the void, but the answer didn’t matter; my sole focus was preventing the dark presence from swallowing me up again, regardless of how I had escaped its embrace.
THIS WORLD IS INSIGNIFICANT. OUR PURPOSE IS HIGHER. IF WE MUST REDUCE EVERY SOUL TO CINDERS, SO IT WILL BE.
No. I felt my fingers twitch as my fortitude grew. There are people I care about in this world. I won’t kill them. My body rumbled with an angry growl as I fought for control. Lia. Marten and Hana. Marin. Val. I’ll protect them.
YOU CANNOT PROTECT THEM FROM THIS. AS LONG AS WE ARE HERE, THIS WORLD WILL BURN.
With a desperate burst of resistance, I took charge of my arm and raised my hand, grasping at the air before me. Then I’ll leave. The throne room blurred as the dark energy stored in my core activated, and the world disappeared.
---
FOOLISH.
Every cell in my body burned as I listlessly floated through the void between worlds. Strangely, my head felt entirely empty of the dark presence that had possessed me, though I could still hear it thundering its displeasure at me from all sides.
I guess I’ll be here forever, then. I’ll never hurt Lia again, even if it means I have to die to keep her safe.
YOU BELIEVE DEATH WILL SAVE YOU? I heard the vicious laughter that had once come from my own mouth echo in my ears. YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND NOTHING. A crackling spasm raced through my brain like lightning as a memory was forcefully pulled from its resting place and put on display behind my eyes. Amaya dozed in the shade of our favorite tree on the hill behind Ashedown’s forge with her golden, rabbit-like ears flopped down over her face.
Just as a smile began to form on my lips, the memory was ripped away in a searing burst of pain. I began to panic as I tried to retrace the neural pathways to the memory and came up with only hazy, dreamlike rememberings of the once-perfect scene. No. No, you can’t take those. Leave my— Another bolt of pain, and I found myself in Jaren’s study in Hedaat. My hand stroked gently through Alda’s hair as she slept with her head in my lap, both of us sitting on the floor in front of a crackling hearth. Jaren and I spoke quietly about the day’s successes and failures, making plans for our next round of testing.
My brain screamed in torment, and the memory vanished in a haze. Stop! You can’t—
BECOME WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO BE.
The next forced memory flickered to life: I sat between Lia and Val at the Council Chambers, enjoying our freshly prepared dinner together in contented silence on the night before we reached Attetsia. The vision was ripped away in another burst of disorienting pain before I could beg for it to stay. Please. They’re all I have.
ACCEPT YOUR FATE.
I thrashed against the surrounding void and reached out with what little mana I had left, but I was entirely consumed by the suffocating space. Without my willing connection to the dark presence, I had no way of navigating the void to find my way back to the life I had made with Lia; I could find no indication of which was up, or if up even existed in the space between worlds. The only thing I knew for sure was the burning pain that filled my body would never end, and my memories would disappear one by one until I was an empty shell with no reason to resist the presence that tortured me.
Restart Again: Volume 3 Page 51
