The Seeds of Evermore

by Andrew Haines

  Scott looked at Liliana and Dracus, “Get them to safety, I will finish this!”

  Neither of them was going to argue with Scott. Too far: he thought: We have come too far to fail now, I won’t let that happen.

  30:

  Holding the one sword Scott swung against the horde. He charged in head on, his heart beating hard. He could hear the grunting from the army of the hellish goddess. The creatures that were once men stood in his way, he was all that stood between the life of those he loved, and their deaths. “Just me,” he muttered as he parried an attack from the side.

  The sound of clashing steel rang through his ear as he pushed back and swung slicing the creature open. It grunted in pain, but unyielding. Scott swung again and again until it fell. More appeared to fight and Scott felt a sharp pain upon his back; jolting forward Scott gripped his sword and swung as he spun around slicing the neck of the another undead like creatures. His mind raced, Get up! He picked himself up and sprinted to meet the horde shields risen. Leaping in to the shields he let out a cry of vengeance, he felt a spear pierce his left shoulder as his blade met the chest of anther fallen. On his knees, Scott snapped the spear and felt his mind screaming for him to stop. He stood once more his first action parrying once more, the undead fallen swinging their weapons upon him. He rolled, gutting another as it disappeared back into oblivion.

  For a moment Scott thought about his brother and all the others that he had seen fall. He saw their ghosts appear in front of him, his mind playing games on him. His mind flooded with his failures but instead he used that pain to keep going how he couldn’t save him or anyone else before. I was weak but now I am strong: He held up the sword once more; his lip was covered in his own blood, he sprinted into another its shield held high. The Fallen angled its shield and sprinted toward him, it widened its arch and struck Scott in the chest; rolling backward onto his face he grunted, and his face showed pain and suffering, “I won’t let you take them!”

  “Scott!” He heard from behind him, he didn’t look to see the woman he loved behind him, he didn’t want her to see how he is lost, how much he was in pain, how ready to die again for her he was, that she is all that is on his mind, her survival. Her and the others on the ground injured. For them, not for anyone else, not even me.

  He pushed on still feeling another blow across his left arm. The scream he let out was deafening, he rose his sword against another blow, and barely parried it in time. With the parry he swung up and opened the chest of the Fallen warrior. It grunted and slumped over before disappearing in to ash. Scott stared at the goddess in the middle of the muddied platform. With his sword gripped in his right hand he sprinted toward the goddess, her Fallen standing in between, “I will have your head!”

  A two-handed axe-man charged him, the axe landing a blow across his left forearm, but Scott was able to deflect the other, pushing it back, then sliced his belly open. He could feel the pain start to overcome him. Scott’s eyes began to form tears, which began to trail down his weary face. The goddess looked at him, “Fool! You have no power to kill me, you mere mortal.”

  Scott stood up tall, raising his good arm, leveling out with his sword pointing at her. “I have the power to kill any who stand in my way! I challenge thee directly then, no more of your pitiful pawns.”

  The goddess smiled. A shadow enveloped her, cloaking everything around her. A high pitched laugh echoed through the battlefield.

  After a few moments the shadow dispersed, revealing the goddess, in a full plated armor and a claymore in her hands. The blade was pitch black, with an exception of the edge, which was a blood red color. She held the sword in one hand, with her other open, and a small flame hovering in her palm.

  “You were a fool to challenge me, and now you shall pay!” Her voice was harsh and clear.

  Scott dropped his steel sword at his feet. And gripped the hilt of Exuberus. “Then come and make me pay you bitch!”

  The goddess charged him head on, “Dropping your weapon was your last mistake.”

  A ball of flame flew toward Scott, side stepping he drew Exuberus and the illumination of the sword pushed back the magical fog.

  “Alenthia’s sword? Where did you get that mortal…? How can you even wield it? My sister’s sword!” Hela’s voice grew to anger and she frenzied at Scott.

  With two hands Scott gripped the sword and parried the attack of Hela. The ringing of swords echoed the battle field, stunning everyone on it. Scott heard his right shoulder pop from the force behind Hela’s swing, and he screamed in pain from the force. “I will kill you mortal. I will kill you and make your soul my slave for all eternity!”

  “Not if I kill you first.” Scott said in pain. He swung Exuberus up and grazed the armor of Hela leaving a small cut in her chest plate.

  She kicked him, forcing Scott to his knees, “You are weak!” She hissed.

  Holding her hand out, another ball of fire formed in her palm, “I will kill you.”

  “You keep saying that, but you haven’t done enough to even get me to yield!” Scott roared in denial.

  He used most of his energy to stand back up. Staring right into her black hollow eyes Scott taunted her, “For all of your words, you are weak, a weak god, worthless!”

  She shrieked and lunged at him, the fireball still in her hand, clasped up against her sword, lighting it ablaze. A flaming sword… you have got to be kidding me: Taking a deep breath Scott charged her in the same way, head on. Exuberus glowed brighter as he did, “You will not take me!”

  Scott felt the blade cut across his side, and pain surged through him. He felt a tug on his sword, as if it had hit its mark as well. His eyes were watering from all of the pain. He couldn’t see, but he heard a cry of pain coming from Hela. Scott wiped his eyes to see here there on her knees, oozing out blood. He put his hand on his side to see how much blood he was losing from the cut. Scott’s breath started to become sporadic. He was struggling. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on.

  Crossing the distance he needed to in three steps, Scott stood about Hela. He glared into her eyes, “You are not a god, you are a weakling.”

  Driving his last ounces of strength into his swing, Scott removed Hela’s head from her shoulders. The headless body slumped over into the mud making a satisfying sound then dissipating into ash. Dropping to his knees Scott breathed hard, “It’s over!” he said, “It is finally over.”

  “Not even close.” a female voice said, as Scott felt a blade pierce his back. “You aren’t strong enough. You were never strong enough.”

  He gasped for air as the pain rushed over him. The last time he had felt like this was the day he had been almost killed in Cogs, the searing pain coursed through him. He looked up to see Hela standing above him. “I have never been bested by a mortal and I shall not start now.” She shrieked, “Now, die.”

  Feeling the blade leave his back, Scott fell face first into the mud: The pain, it hurts, it hurts so bad.

  He felt a foot at wiggle its way under his stomach. The force flipped him over. Hela stood over him. Reaching down she gripped his neck and lifted him up where their eyes met. Scott started to choke from the lack of air. “Die.”

  With the last bit of breath he had, “Self-fulfilling prophecy bull shit.”

  She looked at him, not understanding what she just heard. The sound of twisting armor from the cut of a blade filled their ears and Scott slid Exuberus into Hela’s heart. She let him go and dropped him to the ground. Scott landed on his feet, but fell onto his back from all of the pain he was in, gasping for air. His body started to go cold, and the muddied ground turned red from his wounds.

  Exuberus glowed in Hela’s chest, and another female voice echoed from the void, “Time to come home sister.”

  “No!” Hela exclaimed as her body deformed into ash and drifted away with the wind and rain.

  “Scott!” Voices yelled at him. They kept getting louder as they got closer.

  Scott had lost his eyesight fro
m the pain he was in. The voices were distorted. He could only see the outlines of a few figures standing over him.

  Scott laid in the mud, trying to slow his breathing, and whispered to himself, “Self-fulfilling prophecy bull shit.” He lost consciousness laying in the mud as he heard other voices starting to close in around him.

  31:

  Two weeks had passed since the events that had occurred. After they were sent to the Apothecary the time of healing had begun for everyone. Tuomas had succumbed to his cancer and died in his sleep four days after the battle, leaving the others to fight for their lives with the wounds they all now carried.

  Scott had fallen into a coma, his wounds had done a number on his mind and the Apothecaries were skeptical for a full recovery for him. Charlotte and Alissa recovered reasonably well and did what they could to help Scott.

  Donovan recovered and was able to take care of himself a day before the others returned from the Apothecary hut. He charged himself to take care of both Alissa and Charlotte until Scott awoke from his coma.

  The King gave them all the highest honors that he could, making them nobles of his realm. Elana did what she could but was having trouble with the loose of Tuomas.

  But on a warm Thursday morning, something happened, and a particular person appeared in front of them all while they were huddled around Scott. Archangel arrived.

  “You all did it.” He said, “You defeated Hela and freed this world.”

  Charlotte looked at him in tears, “And with the cost of me almost losing Scott again.”

  “Now, now my dear, that I can fix, you are digital code by technicality, I can wake him up.”

  “Do it, wake him, please!”

  “Why would I?”

  “Because he is like this because of you!” She screamed through her tears.

  “Do you all want to go home?” He asked them.

  They didn’t answer right away. “We do.”

  “Then a trade, I get to keep Scott, and use him for what I need, and the rest of you get to go home. Go and live out your lives in what you call the real world, and fight Drake in court and live the life that you will have.”

  “Or?” Donovan stated.

  “What?” Archangel asked.

  “Or? What is the other option,” Donovan repeated beginning to sound stern.

  “Or I leave you all here.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a fair trade,” Alissa said.

  “I never said that it was fair, it is what I am offering.”

  They all stood there in silence, deciding on what they all wanted.

  “What if we volunteer?” Charlotte asked.

  Archangel looked at her, “What do you mean.”

  “What if I want to stay with Scott? What if I volunteer to go with him…? With you to what you need him for.”

  Archangel smiled, “Now that is a proposition that I can get behind.”

  Alissa, Nick and Donovan looked at each other and then looked at Charlotte. “You three don’t have to do anything, you can go home, go live your lives. Fight Drake and get the stuff that Tuomas had on him out there and save other lives.”

  Nick looked at them, “I will go back out then, I know where I can get this into the system. I’ll leave and bring the justice that is needed.” He looked at Archangel, “I will return home.”

  “You have five minutes, get what you desire to take home.”

  “Nick, when you get out. Find David Brigend, tell him who you are and mention me. He should be able to help you.” Charlotte told him.

  “Who is that?” Nick asked her in a confused tone.

  “That is Dracus’ real name. If I ever see you again I will tell you how I know that.” She answered.

  Nick acknowledged her then disappeared from the room to collect his things, Elana went with him to collect what he needed from Tuomas’ belongings.

  Alissa and Donovan whispered to each other for a few moments before saying anything. “We are going with you two,” Donovan said to Charlotte, “Four is better than two, and hell, I think we owe it to Scott for saving all of us… twice.”

  Charlotte smiled as another tear glided down her face, “So it is settled then?”

  The two of them nodded, “It is. We are going with you two.”

  Archangel smiled, “Very well, the four of you will be coming with me. Don’t worry about your belongings or your wounds. I will take them with us when we leave.”

  Charlotte leaned down and kissed Scott, “See you soon my love.”

  She placed her hand over his and looked up to face Archangel. “It is time.” Prepare yourselves, it will feel like it did when you came to this world.”

  They all felt a warm sensation come over them and their eye sight faded into a black void. The sounds of the world of Evermore left them, they were left in silence and the solitude of their own mental prison. They were alone, but they had faith that they would be able to overcome whatever challenge what put forward to them. They would fight on, as a team, as a family.

  ***

  “Are you ready?” Archangel’s voice echoed. “Ready to save another world? A place much vaster than before, a place where you shall fly among the stars?”

  Then awaken! Raise your head to the sky!

  End of Book 1

  End Notes

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