“I am not interested in ruling the world,” Auron replied.
“You only care about yourself,” Jairo added.
“Speak for yourself,” Auron remarked. “We are all selfish creatures at the end of the day.”
Naunet’s feet glided over the tiled floor towards Auron and stopped in front of him. The Specter took off his mask and stared at Auron with one yellow eye and one purple eye infused with cosmo. They stared each other down with a scowl.
“I want to put you to the test,” Naunet said. “If you are going to be part of us now then you are going to have to prove yourself.”
“Was taking the sapphire jewel not enough for you?” Auron asked.
“No, it wasn’t,” Ember interrupted as she entered the atrium from the balcony, soaked from the rain. “It was only the beginning. Consider it a trial but not the final ritual.”
“What are you suggesting?” Naunet asked.
Ember reached into the darkness of her cloak as if she had a back pocket then she pulled out a medallion. A sudden temptation arose inside Auron when he laid eyes on it. Those spikes that resembled the rays of the sun and that ruby red gem in the center. The Golden Sun. Oh, how he lusted for its power again, yet he had given it up to gain Ember’s trust. She tossed it to him and he caught it with his left hand.
“What? Why are you letting him have it?” Naunet snarled.
“This is interesting,” Jairo simply said.
“Auron, I will let you have the Golden Sun again, under one condition,” Ember bargained.
“I am listening,” Auron said and kept calm, for he knew what she would request.
“Akielas and his friends will be coming here soon,” Ember explained. “They will try to stop us, of course. I want you to be the one to kill our old master. Do that and we shall melt all our doubts.”
Auron pondered and clutched the Golden Sun medallion. Betrayal seemed harmful enough, but to kill the man that raised him would give him nightmares. Then again, he could not turn back now.
“Consider it done.”
“You have a cold soul, Auron. I like it,” Ember commented.
Auron walked back to the balcony, and put the medallion over his neck and tucked it inside his chest plate.
“Where are you going?” Ember asked.
“To try out the Valiarmos,” he answered.
Auron strode to the balcony. He hopped on the balustrade and balanced himself. He could still feel the power of the Golden Sun. His maju had an attachment to it after using it. He felt the golden spirit of the Valiarmos. Auron could hear it whispering to him already, but he could not make out the words. It still listens to me, he thought. The Golden Sun is still willing to lend me its power after all that I have done. Auron felt somewhat guilty but had no excuses for what he had done. He called upon the power of the Valiarmos, heard the whispers of the golden spirit and jumped off the balcony. As he fell from the tower, the Golden Sun clad him in gilded armor. He then ascended into the storm feeling the power of the Valiarmos.
Thunder roared above and he flew into the anger of the storm. Inside the dark clouds lightning began to strike his gilded armor. Using electromancy Auron absorbed the lightning and shot it upwards. He dove down back to the tower and summoned a golden spear and shield into his hands. He felt complete with the Golden Sun but something was bothering him. It itched him to know that the Valiarmos was still listening to him and thought that eventually it would abandon him. Then he remembered, a Valiarmos chooses its master according to his intentions. Ganicus, I have not forgotten about you.
Then, when he looked at the weapon that Ember had built, the absorption needle, he spotted the demigod. It was Caim, nailed to a cross just below the needle. Auron descended and gazed upon the suffering demigod. It was horrifying what the Specters had done. Caim was nailed to the wooden cross with omnithium rods. His hair was black instead of white. He was scrawny and his lavender eyes had changed to brown. Caim’s lips were dry and blood covered his body. A rod pierced through both his hands, his abdomen and both his feet. The demigod would forever suffer if he was kept on this cross.
“By the gods, they have drained the life out of you,” Auron murmured as he hovered around Caim.
“I am not dead yet,” Caim answered with a cold voice.
Auron gasped and drifted backwards.
“You’re alive,” he said in awe.
“Of course I am alive. I am a demigod,” Caim replied and coughed blood. “You must hurry…the…eclipse is almost here. Don’t let the Specters…”
Caim coughed again before he finished his sentence. It pained Auron to see the demigod in such an awful state. Auron clenched his teeth and balled his hand into a fist. He shook with anger.
“Don’t worry, I will get you out of here one way or another,” Auron whispered.
“I can’t see,” Caim said with a hissing voice. “They took my sight. They stole the beauty of the world from my eyes. I will never forgive them.”
The Specters had been torturing Caim. Ember had a sick mind but Auron was patient. Although he had switched sides, Auron would not allow the twisted mind of the Specters to infect him. I will be conscious of my actions, he stated to himself.
“He is but a vessel,” Ember’s voice crept from behind him.
He turned around and found her just a dozen feet away from him, hovering in the sky, her cloak dancing in the wind.
“Will you ever stop sneaking up behind me,” Auron complained.
Ember floated over to Caim and gripped the demigod’s neck.
“Amazing, isn’t it,” she said. “To be able to embarrass a so-called demigod. We just keep him here as a trophy. Our goddess Arkana will soon take his body and walk the earth once more.”
“Arkana?”Auron questioned, followed by the echoes of the roaring thunder.
“I will introduce you to her soon,” Ember promised. “Arkana is the goddess of fate. She is the reason why we have been able to acquire all four jewels.”
“Really,” Auron said and rolled his eyes in skepticism.
“Come. I shall explain,” Ember said and beckoned. She rose higher to the level of the absorption needle.
Auron looked at Caim. Despite the torture he had gone through, the demigod still had much vigor in him. Auron winked at him and at that moment Caim smiled and began to chuckle.
Auron elevated towards the needle and joined Ember. The great pinnacle had a base shaped like a disc with teeth along its edges.
“See that round shape in the middle.” Ember pointed at the center. “That is where all four jewels will be placed.” She then gazed up and pointed at the two moons overlapping each other. “When the blue moon hides behind the white moon and align in front of the sun, the needle will absorb the maju and cosmo of the moons. Since the needle is made of omnithium there is no limit as to how much it can absorb. The disc at the base of the needle will then emanate negative maju.”
“Negative maju?” Auron was not familiar with the term.
“Yes, negative maju,” Ember continued and raised her hands as if to reach for the moons with lust. “The disc will send a wave of negative maju and cause all mages and magic users to close their spinal gates. Similar to what I did to Akielas. No one will be able to use magic.”
“Will it affect only humans?” Auron asked.
Ember did not answer his question, she just kept gazing up at the silhouette of the moons in the dark skies. Auron began to think that this won’t only affects humans but perhaps other life forms as well. What would happen if animals and plants were also stripped of their maju?
“Answer my question,” he insisted.
“Why are you so worried?” Ember replied.
“You told me that it would only affect humans. Don’t lie to me, Ember,” he said.
“What is the worst that could happen?” Ember responded. “Whether it affects other life forms or not, it won’t matter because our goddess, Arkana, will know what to do. We shall rule this world, not destroy
it.”
“I hope so,” Auron said.
“Hope is for the weak minded,” a voice echoed in the sky.
Auron jerked his head left and right. He spun around and found no one in sight. He gazed up at the dark sky and the ocean below.
“Who is that?” he asked in terror.
“She is here,” Ember whispered. “My lady of fate. I have brought to you another apostle.”
“Thank you my dear,” the voice echoed again. It was the voice of a woman. She spoke elegantly and cultivated. “Perhaps he is stronger than his ‘hope’.”
Auron looked at the apex of the needle and saw her hovering over it. She was transparent like a ghost. Her cape billowed and she wore a one piece dress with whirling bangles on her wrists. Her crown was a rising horn with gemstones of all colors. Her face was mirthless. She showed no expression and her eyes had no iris or pupils. When she spoke it was as if directly to your mind, her lips never moved. Auron saw how Ember bowed to the goddess but Auron did not see a goddess, he just saw another being, probably with many abilities he had never seen. Caim is a real demigod, but this woman, she is nothing but a ghost, Auron concluded.
“Do you truly believe in our cause?” the goddess asked, her voice echoed.
“I would not be here if I didn’t,” he answered.
“You shall have some ruling power as long as you follow our command and as long as you complete your task,” the goddess said.
“Yes, I shall take the life of Akielas, great goddess of fate,” Auron responded and bowed.
“Not only will you take the life of Akielas but of all your friends as well,” the goddess continued. “To prove your loyalty to us you must bury your past along with those you once valued. We have already spared your friends and family in your country. Now we ask that you take the lives of those whom you once sided with. You must spill the blood of all those who follow Akielas. Then you will be one of us. Do you accept?”
Auron’s lips quivered a little as he hesitated to answer. He was nervous and became apprehensive of how everything would be in the end if his plan did not work.
“I accept.”
Akielas
They all gazed up at the two moons. The blue moon peeked from behind the white moon as it moved in front of the sun. It was almost time. The tri-eclipse was near. Just a few more hours perhaps. It was happening much faster than Akielas and Rey Ling had predicted. It was now time to strike. It was going to be the Armageddon of Odealeous. The Armageddon for the age of twilight.
On the first level of Kazenolumos, everyone gathered around Akielas. Eckxio, Rey Ling, Serena, Zarviack and an army of Effeelions on nimbus clouds ready for battle. Akielas held Rey Ling’s Omnistar in his hand. He would give his last speech before they teleported to the island of the Specters.
“This is it,” he began. “There is no turning back. Live or die, everything that we do today is not for ourselves but for the world. This final battle will echo in the pages of history. Live or die you will be remembered by the next generation. You will live in the memories of your loved ones and your name will echo on and on. Because they will know of what you did today.”
Akielas paused and frowned. He looked down at the floor for a moment then returned his gaze to his friends and the Effeelions. Their faces were solemn and he could feel their maju emanating with determination.
“The Specters believe that they can make the world a better place by ridding it of magic. The gift of Prodigus Kollos, the grandfather of mages himself. They believe that magic is a curse. That magic is a sin. That magic is the reason why we have so much chaos between nations and amongst people of their own tribes. And yet, it is because of magic that we live in prosperity. It is because of magic that we have so much freedom today. Unlike the dark ages where kings reigned above all and only a privileged and lucky few could have such freedom and power. The dark ages when there was no cure for diseases, you either died of an illness or hoped that your king was kind enough to share his medicine. The dark ages, a time of slavery where you paid your debt with your body or by sacrificing a loved one. The Specters may not realize it but this is what they will bring back to the world by getting rid of magic and we cannot allow that to happen. We shall defend the birthright of humanity! We will not live in a world for the damned! Today we will cancel the apocalypse!”
All the Effeelions cheered raising their bows and arrows in the air. Eckxio shouted and punched the air. Serena jumped and somersaulted. Rey shot a round of bullets in the air with his gun.
“Get ready! Once I open the portal you will be thrown into the dark ocean of the Specters. Their fiends will attack you and they will swarm to devour you but they are no match for our light. Today we will fight with every bit of our beings. To allow the Specters to have their way is to let the entire world down, our only home, Odealeous!”
They screamed, shouted and raised their weapons in the air. Akielas opened a portal. He pressed a lot of maju into it. The portal was like the mouth of a whale and the wind of the ocean blasted from it.
“Ladies first,” Serena said and ran into the portal. Zarviack ran behind her casting a spell. They fell from hundreds of feet into the water.
“Finally, this time I will reclaim the emerald jewel,” Eckxio swore. He ascended into the air, clad in his silver armor. He then dove into the portal and flew into the storm.
Rey Ling hopped on a nimbus cloud that the Effeelions had given him. “If anyone can stop their omnithium weapon, its going to be me,” Rey said and dashed into the portal rising up towards the tower of the Specters.
The Effeelions shouted and flew into the portal. Thousands of clouds streamed into the portal, flying into the domain of the Specters. Some played flutes while flying into battle, some wielded staffs, but the majority were armed with bows and arrows enchanted with divine magic. Even Nehushine flew into battle with the council of the Effeelions. Akielas knew them as peaceful creatures living in the sky with meditation and spiritual practices. In the beginning they had refused to take part in fighting against the Specters, but now they flew into battle to defend the world.
When the last Effeelion flew through the portal, Akielas raised a fist and the mandarak tattooed on the back of his hand began to glow. “It has been a while, my dear friend,” he murmured. He leapt into the portal and fell down to the ocean. “Llumbos Cleyros!” he yelled. The mandarak on his hand expanded and it eased his fall. When the mandarak was large enough, Akielas stood on it. He gazed at the dark tower of the Specters. It was about a mile away and he could already see his friends and the Effeelions fighting against fiends in the air. A roar echoed from the dimension of the mandarak. Akielas jumped up using aeromancy. His white dragon rose from the magic circle into the air. Akielas landed on the dragon’s back, it then veered and jetted towards the dark tower.
It was like a reflection of Necrovania, the underworld. Fiends swarmed like bees around their hive. A group of fiends headed towards Akielas. There were gargoyles, giant bats, two headed vultures, winged creatures with teeth like daggers. There was a giant four-armed fiend with a spiked tail. Below he saw Serena and Zarviack casting cryomancy on a giant sea serpent and hydras. As he got closer to the tower he noticed fiends on every window with bows and arrows. The Effeelions took down the fiends in the windows with their own arrows of light.
Akielas looked up at the apex of the tower. He used his eyes of the white hawk and zoomed in to the pinnacle. There was a man on a cross just below the pinnacle of the tower. “Caim,” he assumed. “Cleyross, up to the tower!”
As Cleyross flew up to the top of the tower, fiends began to block his way. The dragon sneezed a ball of white flame and when it crashed against the fiends they shrilled and screamed. The number of fiends overshadowed the attack and they kept swarming towards Akielas. When they reached him, he stood on the back of Cleyross and cut through them with his sword. Using aeromancy, he sliced them down with sharp winds. They were all eyeless black creatures as if painted with ink. A gargoyle sw
iped its claws at him but Cleyross spun and Akielas held on to the saddle. He clapped his hands together then his fingers began to chirp with lightning. He struck the army of fiends with lightning and dozens of them turned to ash while others retreated.
Cleyross kept flying, its wings thudding like thunder in the dark sky. As fiends appeared on his way up, Akielas zapped them with lightning or punched them away with a pulse of air. As he got closer to the top of the tower he could see the man on the cross. “Caim!” he yelled.
Finally, when he reached the top, she appeared. Ember hovered in front of Caim and cast a wave of black fire. Cleyross sneezed another ball of white flames. Both attacks collided and caused a large explosion that momentarily blinded Akielas. It was more of a great flash then smoke and fire. Once it vanished, Akielas could see Ember hovering in the air with twin swords. Why isn’t she using the cosmo jewels, he wondered but then realized that he would have an advantage.
“Ember!” he yelled as he launched a beam of lightning at her.
Before the lightning struck something protected her. The lightning redirected, Akielas caught it with his fingers and released it towards the sky to prevent any paralysis in his body. He felt a bit stiff afterwards but it was not serious enough to stop him. He returned his gaze to Ember and a man clad in golden armor hovered in front of her with a shield and spear.
“Auron! You traitor! Get out of my way!” Akielas yelled.
“I will be your opponent today,” Auron said and rushed towards Akielas.
Before he could cast another spell, Auron had pushed Akielas off the white dragon with such a forceful bash that Akielas could not breathe. The spikes of Auron’s armor had plunged into his shoulder. Tumbling, he gripped his shoulder and spun helplessly. Auron grabbed Akielas in midair and sped up the fall intending to drown him in the ocean. Akielas then stabbed Auron with his new omnithium sword right below the scapular bone. The Amaranth groaned and let go. Akielas pushed Auron then kicked him, setting himself free. Using aeromancy, his body spun and he propelled himself towards the wall of the tower.
Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3) Page 24
