“I’ve taken down whole armies before, Horace,” I muttered. “I wouldn’t count yours as an immediate victory just yet.”
“Oh, I know you’ve taken down whole armies before,” he said. “But tell me, during those times, did you ever have to face a thousand Dragonborns? And did you perhaps have to do it with a few broken bones?”
I clenched my fists.
“Zoran, I don’t think you’re going to be able to take him on this way,” Acnologia said. “We need time.”
Fine, I thought. If time was all we needed, I had one way of getting it.
I placed my hands on the shoulders of my two companions. “Ceebros!” I yelled.
Darkness rose from beneath us, consuming our bodies before the enemy could even react. In seconds we were in utter black, with silence looming heavily in the air.
“What…is this?” Freya asked.
“Frozen Night,” I said. “You’ve been here once before.”
“Oh yeah.” The elf glanced around, as if there actually was something to see.
“Diablo, what is this for?” the Death Lord asked. “Time is not going to help us defeat those forces.”
I stepped up to the elf. “I need you to leave.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Wait, this wasn’t part of the plan,” Nyx said.
“You’ve seen the army, Freya,” I said. “I’m sure you know their numbers too. You can’t take them on.”
“What are you talking about? I know they’re almost twice as high as I am. But I can still fight them.”
“You can’t.”
She frowned. “Are you saying I’m going to be a hindrance if I continue?”
“See, this is why this wasn’t a part of a plan,” Nyx said.
“I’m just saying what I should to keep you safe.”
“By asking me to abandon all this?”
“How many of those men do you think you can take out?”
She said nothing.
“Exactly.”
“You didn’t have any issues when we fought all those armies before,” she said. “And yet now this is a problem? That seems kind of selective. We fought elves and skeletons and a hundred other things, and I was beside you the entire time. Yet now you say I’m supposed to leave.”
My shoulders tightened. “I can’t protect you anymore, you idiot!”
She blinked. “What?”
“If a Dragonborn strikes you down, if the Time Lord attacks you instead of me, if their army groups up and corners you.” My voice softened. “I can’t protect you from that. You know you can’t either.”
The elf stayed silent.
“I can’t lose you, Freya.”
She looked up at me. Her arms swung around my body and she pulled me into a tight hug. “You won’t lose me,” she whispered into my ear.
I stood for a moment, and then returned her embrace. “This is probably not the best time to say this,” I said. “But you really need to leave.”
She pulled back, with a wry smile on her lips. “I know.”
I turned. “Death Lord—”
“Are you asking me to leave as well?” He stepped forward.
“I need you to take her back to Ikarius.”
“Wait. That’s not part of the plan either,” Nyx said. “What the heck are you doing?”
The Death Lord stared at me. “And you’re sure this is definitely not some sly way of getting me away from here as well.”
I smiled. “Whatever are you talking about?”
The two of them looked at me, but said nothing. Sure, they probably had no clue why I was acting this way right now, and I didn’t blame them. My actions did seem pretty irrational.
“I’d like to say I also have no clue why you’re acting like this now,” Nyx said.
“Fine.” The Death Lord looked at me. “I will take her to Ikarius. I do not know why you want both of us gone, but I will respect what you wish.”
I nodded.
“Zoran, remember,” Freya said. “Attacking any of those men could cause something drastic to happen elsewhere. Markus was the former king of the Kingdom of Aingard. He had a ton of things to do with shaping how the place turned out. If you kill him and alter history, if any of those actions he made are reversed, then his future—and our present—might become very different.”
“I know that,” I said meekly. “Are you saying I shouldn’t kill any of them then?”
She nodded. “In the most blunt way possible. Don’t kill them.”
I sighed. “An army against me and I can’t kill them.”
“There are ways to defeat an army other than by killing them.”
“I know.” I turned to the Death Lord. “You should go now.”
The man nodded.
Freya stood on her toes, and rose up to me. Her hands cradled my face, and she leaned in, planting a kiss on my cheek. I swore I saw a tear in her eyes, but she’d never admit to it if I asked her.
“I know I’m being a hindrance now, so I’ll go,” she said. “But you better come back to me. I’ll come hunting after you if you don’t.”
I smiled. “I will.”
The Death Lord thrust his hands into the air, and the darkness morphed around them both. A black wind surged around their forms, and when it stopped, they had disappeared. I threw my hand up. “Ceebros break!”
The darkness around me dissolved, and I found myself in the Hexel ruins yet again, right in front of the Time Lord and his army of minions.
“Quite a lovely moment you had in there,” Horace chuckled.
I frowned. “You saw all of that?”
“You thought I wouldn’t be able to just because your spell freezes time inside that space?”
“Yeah. Probably a bad thing to assume.”
“I’m the Time Lord, Diablo. Freezing time never works with me.”
I pulled Dawnbreaker and Dearthsoul out. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He chuckled again. “The Death Lord is quite sharp. He seems to have figured out why you wanted to be alone.”
I stepped forward. “So, have you.”
He put his hand up. “You figured out how this army works, haven’t you?”
A blast of gold shot out from his palm. I swerved to the side, away from the attack. I half-stumbled, with my legs still shaking from the fractures within them, but I pulled through the pain. I shot at the Time Lord, smacking into his armor with my swords.
He slapped me with his large hands and I went flying through the air. I rolled over the ground a couple of times, but lifted myself back onto my feet. The army stood there, watching me quietly. Ugh, this can’t be good.
I stepped forward, with my blade rising up to them. The image of Freya’s face hovered before me, and her words rang inside my mind. I can’t attack them. I turned around.
The Time Lord shot up to me, and pushed his hand into my gut. A shockwave sounded, and I exploded backward, with dust and mud kicking up as I launched into the air and crashed into the ground.
Definitely broke a few more bones. My body shook as I stood up, but I didn’t deter. This wasn’t a fight I could leave.
Acnologia.
“Finally,” the Dragon chuckled.
You know what to do. I stepped forward.
Silence floated in my mind, and then a word echoed out.
“Limiter Off.”
Heat surged into my body, running amok underneath my skin. My vision blurred for a second and I gasped, bearing the pain coursing through me. However, a second later, everything went away. My vision cleared, and my limbs all turned numb. I could no longer feel any pain inside me, not even the pain from my fractures.
The heat, however, stayed on, growing in power with every split-second. Rage built into me, bathing my mind with the emotion. My hands tingled, clutching harder into my blades, waiting to swing them around.
“Ah, the Rage Mode.” Horace stepped up to me. “Amusing how this is a thing.”
I shot at him, appeari
ng before his form before he could even blink. I tossed my swords into the air and smashed my fist into his chest. The Time Lord went flying back, and slid a hundred yards over the ground before coming to a stop.
I caught my swords. “It is amusing.” I hunched down and recoiled my muscles, surging forward. I leapt onto him, and twisted my torso before slashing into his armor. The strike thundered into his body and he cratered into the ground, just as mine had so many times already.
I used the recoil force from the strike and let myself fall away from him. I took a quick look at his health bar. I actually did damage for once.
“But he’s healing fast,” Nyx said.
Then I’ll just attack faster. I put my hand up. “Tritus Oceanus, Uher, Oskis, Peona!”
The attacks surged out—first a blast of water, then a Dark Phoenix, then a beam of fire, and finally a wind twister. The attacks converged onto Horace and a loud explosion sounded from the contact point.
I broke through the smoke screen that generated, and located the glowing body of gold, striking into him. The Time Lord went flying up into the air, and I launched up after him. I rose high up, ready to strike.
Horace chuckled.
He flipped around, with both his hands pointed down at me. The golden glow around his body flowed into just his hands, concentrating as a bright section of light. He uttered a word, and a massive blast of golden light struck down at me.
Heat tore into my muscles and I shot to the ground. The next thing I knew I was inside my own personal crater at least fifty yards wide. Lights of white flashed in the sky above, and I froze.
Oh gods. I lifted myself onto my feet, bearing the pain that now burst through every limb in my body.
The Time Lord stood before me, and looked right at my face. “Good, you’re up.”
The army of Markus Goodfields shifted positions, and each man held one hand up into the air. A blast of power surged between their ranks, and a mental pressure broke into my mind. Each man was weaker than I was, but combined, they were much, much stronger.
To make things worse, I knew exactly what they were doing here.
“A mass spell,” I mumbled, my voice hoarse.
“Indeed,” the Time Lord chuckled. “You have a good eye for detail.”
Their bodies glowed a bright white, and they stood still. I stumbled forward, desperately trying to break their attack. But I was too late.
The dark clouds flickered above me. And all of a sudden, blasts of lightning struck down from the heavens. Each one shot through my body, throwing more pain into me than the previous. In a flash of just five seconds, a thousand bolts struck my form.
I collapsed to the floor, gasping. Heat broke through my mind, muddling my thinking. It was all I could do to still keep conscious.
And then even that became hard.
My vision faded away. I glanced at the fuzzy form of my health bar.
Red.
“How unfortunate, Diablo,” the Time Lord chuckled. “It was good fighting you.”
He pointed his finger up at the skies. A final, massive bolt of lightning struck my body, breaking everything that was left to be broken. I gasped, as blood filled my mouth, and my vision turned fuzzy. I tried lifting my hands, tried holding Dawnbreaker up. But I couldn’t. My will had shattered.
The Dragonborn had defeated me
***
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ringing noises filled my mind.
My body ached. I moved my limbs, but I couldn’t feel them. My eyes fluttered open, and the very movement caused me much discomfort as well. Dark clouds floated through the skies, and the darker lands sat underneath it all.
I blinked. I’m still at the Hexel Ruins.
I looked at the black around me. The army of Markus Goodfields was gone. The Time Lord was gone. It was as though that battle hadn’t even happened in the first place. I moved my hands before my eyes. I could feel my movements a little, but most of the sensations were just numbness.
Doesn’t seem like I broke these bones though.
A stiff breeze blew through me, ruffling my clothes.
Wait, clothes? I glanced down.
My armor was gone. “Nyx,” I croaked. “What’s going on?”
The spirit didn’t respond.
I looked up. Is this really reality? I remembered feeling lightning bolts from the skies. I remembered breaking bones in my body. I remembered my vision turning completely black. And yet I was here. Wasn’t I supposed to resurrect?
The ringing noise filled my mind yet again. They hadn’t ever left. I’d just forgotten about them, I, however, knew where these noises were coming from. I glanced to the health bar in the corner of my vision.
I froze.
One percent.
My life was literally hanging on the wire.
Sure, I’d resurrect again if I died, but it would be in a completely different place, and possibly quite a dangerous one too.
Nyx, can I get a potion?
No response.
Nyx?
I slid open my Ga’em menu and headed to my Item Inventory. I worked through a few options, and a stream of lights flew down to me, condensing in my outstretched palm. Two vials of red formed in my hand. I uncorked both of them and downed them quickly.
A sweet taste filled my mouth, with a molten-chocolate sensation accompanying it. My health quickly rose up, heading to the halfway point in a flash. The health bar was now colored orange instead of red. It still wasn’t green, so I picked up a few more potions and consumed them too.
I looked around. Wait, where’s Acnologia?
I wasn’t sure if I expected a response, but either way, there was none. Just silence.
What the heck is going on?
My hands dropped to the side, and then I froze. I glanced down, my arms shaking.
My swords.
Dawnbreaker and Dearthsoul were both gone.
I quickly opened up my Ga’em menu once again and delved into my Equipment Inventory this time.
My voice cracked. “They’re gone.”
I dropped to my knees, my eyes wide. It was all gone. My armor and my swords were no longer in my inventory. Is that even possible? I scrolled through the screen once again, but found the same result.
I trembled. This has to be a joke.
But I didn’t know how to convince myself it was.
“Nyx,” I whispered.
And for the umpteenth time, my words were met with silence. The spirit no longer spoke to me, and neither did the Dragon.
A clap of thunder rumbled through the skies. My hands instantly rose to my face, and I shut my eyes tight, all on instinct
Wait, what the heck am I doing? I dropped my arms to my sides. “Great, I’m actually traumatized by lightning now.” My voice was hoarse.
I pushed myself off the ground and stood up. Pain didn’t hit me, which was a pleasant surprise. The numbness took most of my sensations away, but I was still able to move around, albeit in very small steps.
The dark sands crunched beneath my feet, and the dry winds splashed onto my face. I stared through them, at the space around me. A lake of magma sat a few hundred yards away, and all around it loomed a deathly silence.
Why am I still here?
What kind of enemy leaves their target alive and in the exact same place they’d struck him? Did they just fight me as a joke? Was that all this was?
A glint from afar caught my eyes, and I stepped towards it, taking a few minutes even to make up half the distance. The silence grew heavy on my ears. It’d been a while since I had been in complete solitude.
Nyx was a chatty guy, and it was hard to not pay attention to him when he lived inside my head. Now, however, I wasn’t sure what was going on.
Nyx?
No response, just as before. I didn’t bother calling out to the Dragon. My boots scraped the ground with each step as I dragged myself up to the glint.
And then I froze.
Shattered pieces of pristine
darkness stood before me. Between them were fragments of a darker black, fragments of a pure white, and shards of an ethereal purple.
My heart clenched, and my knees shook. I gripped my chest, pinching my skin. No. I glared at the shattered mess before me. “NO!” I yelled.
I knelt between the scattered pieces. My fingers clenched around a shard of purple, and I lifted it up. The sharp edge cut my fingers, streaking blood, but I held it tight. A calming sensation came over me, and my eyes watered a second later. I knew what this was.
The remains of the things I’d lost.
Berserker.
Dawnbreaker.
Dearthsoul.
The three most important pieces of equipment I used, now shattered and scattered over the ground.
Heat coursed my veins. I clenched my fists, turning my knuckles white. My nails dug into my skin, cutting more blood out. But I didn’t give a damn.
“Horace,” I muttered.
He’d done this. I could tell. I could feel it. That was what that battle had been about. It wasn’t to kill me. Or to take me down. He knew I’d come back again. He knew I’d resurrect and be an even bigger pain the next time.
And so, this is what he did. He must have done something to Nyx and Acnologia too.
Everything suddenly made sense to me.
Letting me live with just one percent of my health remaining, breaking my armor and my swords, sealing off my spirit and Dragon from talking to me—it all made sense.
He was showing me how strong he was. How much power he wielded.
He was trying to break my will.
I glared at the ground. You broke something else.
My heart throbbed, but instead of feeling sorry, instead of shedding tears, I embraced the heat burning inside me. My nails dug into my skin and I cut deeper into my flesh. Trickles of blood ran down my arms, and I let the stream flow.
DING!
You have received a message from: Freya! Would you like to open it?
My jaw clenched. “You.”
You can’t kill them.
That’s what she’d told me. And that’s what had put me here. I could have prevented all of this from happening if I’d attacked that army. All I had to do was attack those Markus Goodfields. All I had to do was take them down. And I could have done it to. But no. It was apparently wrong to do. That’s what she’d told me. And I’d listened to her too.
The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Page 112
