Eckxio was going to dive down and save Caim but the Effeelions went ahead of him and so he let them take care of their demigod.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. He could hear her voice again.
I promised that I would return. He could hear her voice echoing in his mind. I swore that I would be the one to stop them.
“Willow,” Eckxio whispered, and flew up to the great needle.
Caim
After being freed from the omnithium rods, Caim fell through the sky. His body spun in the air helplessly while his godly powers returned. As he fell, he saw the Effeelions flying toward him. Although he had recovered some of his cosmo, he still felt weak. His body was close to the ocean below, soon to splash. He saw the light of the two moons within the shade of the dark clouds and whispered, “Cosmo.” That was when he realized that he could use the tri-eclipse to rejuvenate himself.
The Effeelions did not reach him in time. His body plunged into the water and he sank. His arms felt heavy and the rest of his body pulsed with pain. His hair had turned white again but he had lost so much cosmo he still could not fly. I can feel the tri-eclipse, he thought as he drifted under water. I can use it to restore my power and stop the Specters but I can’t fly. Ah, yes, there are wings all around me. I just have to catch a ride on a nimbus.
He swam up with aching arms. His wounds had closed but the pain still seared through him. The surface felt so far away. Caim could see the light from spells colliding above. An Effeelion fell into the water and blood spread as he sank. Caim wanted to help him but he knew that he was still too weak. Then he saw another body plunging into the water, blurred by foam and bubbles. As the body got closer Caim realized that it was a woman. He had not seen her before but as she swam down she offered a hand and he knew she was on his side. Her hair looked like ropes in the dark water. She was slim and moved swiftly underwater. Desperately, Caim grabbed her hand and he was pulled up faster than he could swim. Within a few seconds the woman helped him reach the surface. He inhaled and caught his breath.
“I thought demigods were good swimmers.” Caim heard a familiar voice and looked around. When he looked up he saw Rey Ling on top of a cloud, hovering above the water.
“Thank you,” Caim said.
“Don’t thank me, thank her.” Rey Ling pointed behind Caim.
The demigod looked back and saw the woman that had saved his life.
“She is a new addition to our team,” Rey said.
“My name is Serena,” she said. “Pleasure to finally meet you.”
Serena cast a mandarak on the water then propped herself up on it. The mandarak kept her above water and she was able to walk around without sinking.
“Hydromancy,” Caim stated. “Thank you. For saving me.”
Serena pulled Caim out of the water and then he too stood on the blue mandarak. He gazed up at the tower and saw how it was slightly tilted. The battle between the fiends and Effeelions continued. Shrieks and screams echoed all around. He saw Akielas’ white dragon fighting in the sky as well as Eckxio.
“The tower. That was you, wasn’t it? You made it tilt,” Caim stated.
“Actually, it was my mother’s doing,” Serena answered. “I only assisted. We were trying to knock the tower over but she fainted after using her cosmo magic.”
“She did well,” Caim said. “I would ask how you joined us but we will have to save that for another day.”
Serena nodded and smiled. “Agreed.”
“You are from Maer Weeyar, I am guessing,” Caim said. He could tell by the way she looked, between the tattoos, the dreadlocks and the diamond spiral on her forehead. He was familiar with those designs from his world travels.
“How do you know?” Serena asked, intrigued.
“I have been to every corner of Odealeous,” he answered.
“Excuse me,” Rey Ling interrupted. “Caim, what are you going to do? Are you fit to fight?”
“I am going to need some assistance,” the demigod said. “Bring me up above the clouds. I can use the cosmo of the eclipse to restore my powers.”
“It’s already begun?” Rey asked, flabbergasted.
“Don’t be so surprised. It just has not released its wave,” Caim replied. “Let’s not waste anymore time. Bring me up.”
Rey Ling brought his cloud closer. Caim hopped on and they ascended. The cloud moved swiftly around the fiends and Rey blasted them with his gun. Every time a fiend was shot down, there was a grey flash.
“Your ammunition is made of omnithium?” Caim asked.
“Good eye,” Rey replied as they flew and he refilled his weapon with more ammo.
“Caim!” he heard Ember yell his name once they flew past the apex of the tower, rising up to the clouds.
He glanced back and saw her standing on the disc of the weapon she had created. He returned his attention to the clouds above. The thunder roared around them and the heavy rain pelted his face. The nimbus had paused right under the dark clouds. Fiends screeched below moving towards Caim but the demigod did not have enough power to fight.
“Why did you stop?” Caim asked. “Hurry, hurry.”
“Ah, I had forgotten, the nimbus are repelled by lightning,” Rey recalled.
“Use your aeromancy and toss me upward,” Caim instructed.
“Are you sure? What if you get struck by lightning?” Rey asked, worried.
“I am a demigod. I fear no lightning. Just do it,” Caim commanded.
Rey holstered his gun, clapped his hands together and shouted, “Aerous pulse!”
Caim was pushed by a force of air from below. It propelled him upward and he rose through the dark clouds. Thunder echoed around him and strings of lightning zapped him but he made it past the clouds, and then he felt it. Immediately his lavender eyes began to glow. His body gained even more muscle mass. His hair became bleached white like milk as he absorbed the energy of the eclipse. He thought that he would fall but when he balled his hands into fists and made the effort, releasing both maju and cosmo, he was able to hover.
“It is beautiful,” he whispered as he gazed upon the white moon glowing like he had never seen before.
There was a purple aura around the moon. The sun could no longer be seen and the blue moon hid behind the white moon as well. He was absorbing cosmo from the eclipse and just now he discovered that he could do so with his eyes. He began to glow with the same aura and felt the power once more. The power of infinity. It felt as if he were expanding his energy beyond Odealeous.
“Ah, yes. I feel truly alive.”
Caim looked down at the clouds. The sky was turning grey and the dark clouds below were clearing. The black tower of the Specters and Ember were about to commence their ritual. The world became colorless under the magic of the eclipse.
“It’s about to begin. Before the moon penetrates the world with its ray I have some time to rid us of one more masked fiend.”
Caim gazed down at the war with the fiends. He could sense Ember’s maju but she was not his target at the moment. No. Caim sought revenge on the first Specter who ever invaded Kazenolumos. The first white masked ghoul to have attempted to steal the Aero Cosmo Jewel.
“Jairo!” he yelled. With his enhanced eyes he spotted the Specter flying around the midsection of the tower, fighting against the Effeelions.
Caim swooped down, like a meteor falling to the ocean, his purple aura shining. Almost like lightning itself, his speed was unspeakable and he destroyed fiends as he rushed past them. He saw Jairo casting an air spell against an archer Effeelion. Caim caught the Specter by the cloak and brought him down to the island. He spun in the air with Jairo in his grasp then hurled the Specter to the rocks. Jairo’s body shattered them with his fall. The demigod descended and landed near Jairo then used his cosmo magic to pull him up just like the Specters did. He helplessly floated towards the demigod and Caim grabbed him by the collar, removing his mask.
“Once again I look upon the face that brought misfortune to
my city in the sky,” Caim said hoarsely. He then squeezed the mask trying to break it. It took some effort but he managed to shatter it with one hand. “Omnithium mask. No wonder it would not break. But it is over now. My only problem is deciding how to kill you.”
“It’s too late,” Jairo said and laughed maniacally. His laugh became so high pitched that Caim had to slap him to stop. “There is nothing you can do now. The tri-eclipse is here. The two moons are in front of the sun. The sky has changed to a violet color and the world has become colorless. Even if you take down the tower, our goddess, Arkana, will take your body. There is no stopping the Specters. If I die we will rise again. More white masks will arise from the shadows and reign over non-magic humans.” Jairo continued to laugh.
“You will pay for you crimes,” Caim swore as he grabbed Jairo, glaring at him. “I swore to the Effeelions to never kill a living thing in this world. Much like the fiends, I say you are no longer human.”
Caim dropped Jairo and the Specter fell to his knees. He placed his hand on Jairo’s crown and sent a blast of cosmo into the spine closing all his gates to prevent maju from flowing. Jairo screamed and grabbed his head as the pain quickly swelled from the skull to the tailbone. The Specter flailed on the floor and screamed in great agony.
“What did you do to me?” Jairo yelled and thrust his palm at Caim trying to cast a spell but it failed.
“I closed all your gates,” Caim answered solemnly. “It is something I learned from you. The day you stripped Akielas of his magic. I had no idea that the gates of maju could be closed in such a way. I then decided that I would use it on one of you when I was freed from that cross you nailed me to.”
Jairo looked at Caim with gritted teeth, unable to fight against the demigod. Jairo began to punch the ground. Caim just looked at him, somewhat enjoying how he had made Jairo suffer but…he was not done yet.
“Your death will not be slow,” Caim said. “You will now experience the most painful of deaths as punishment for all the lives you have taken and all the innocent people you have killed, especially those of the Effeelions.”
“Caim!” Nehushine shouted from above. The old Effeelion approached on his flying cloud with ten others and descended to meet with Caim.
“Lord Nehushine.” Caim turned and looked at the Effeelion.
“Please, don’t do it. I know what you are about to do,” Nehushine begged. “Remember, to find joy in taking life is a long step backwards from everything that we have taught you and worked for. Please, allow us to seal his soul away in a stone prison as punishment.”
“No!” Caim barked. “After everything he has done he shall finally experience his last breath.”
Caim brought Jairo to his knees again with his cosmo magic. The demigod then placed a hand on Jairo’s mouth and pressed a mighty pulse of air. Jairo’s eye popped out of his sockets, his belly swelled as well as his throat. Caim sent another great pulse of air and this time Jairo's eyes and ears burst with blood and his stomach exploded all over him. Blood covered him from head to toe and when he looked down at Jairo, the Specter was nothing but crimson dressed in black.
“The dragon gods have mercy on you, but I don’t,” Caim quoted.
The demigod walked to the shore of the island to clean the blood off. This was the first time he had ever killed in his life. A kill he did not regret. The Effeelions were speechless but Caim did not care.
“I shall bear this sin of spilling the blood of those who threaten to throw the world off balance.”
Ember
She clashed with Akielas on the base of the grand needle, moving around the platform. When their omnithium weapons collided waves of cosmo were released and grey light flashed with every spark. She was at a disadvantage since she did not have the crimson jewel on her staff. It was being used for the grand needle and the tri-eclipse was here. While she fought Akielas she glimpsed up and noticed that the dark clouds were clearing. The endless storm of her cursed island had stopped after so many years and only one moon could be seen. As she swung her weapon at Akielas she laughed, but something still bothered her. What she had worked so hard was near but something was missing. I can’t feel Naunet’s presence or Jairo’s, she thought. What could have happened to them at a time like this?
The tower had tilted and she thought that Naunet and Jairo would handle whoever was responsible for almost collapsing her tower. She refused to think that her siblings were dead. We cannot die, she thought. It is our fate to live and conquer.
Akielas would not allow her to escape. Every time she tried to disappear with dark magic he would use illumancy and cancel her spell. He now wielded an omnithium sword and was able to block her cosmo. He was stronger than before and swung his sword faster and with greater impact that would sometimes throw her off balance. With her omnithium staff all she could do was block and parry and cast a fire spell whenever she saw an opening, but Akielas had become more agile.
“I congratulate you for regaining your magic but you are too late,” Ember said and blocked his sword.
Akielas did not heed her words. He lunged and swung to kill. Ember bathed the end of her staff with blue flames and spun her weapon then launched a slashing beam of flames. Akielas cut through it with his own pyromancy and shot a beam of lightning at her. Her omnithium staff blocked and absorbed the spell.
Around the platform Auron and Eckxio flew and every time they collided it caused an explosion of light. Auron assisted in keeping Akielas’ friends and the Effeelions away from the grand needle. Ember knew that she would not be able to take down Akielas on her own. She needed time to be able to perform the final spell when the eclipse released its wave upon the world. Akielas had surprised her with his new strength and she was not sure how long she could defend.
“Auron!” She called to the Amaranth.
That very second when she took her eyes off her opponent Akielas jumped with his sword chirping with lightning and a battle cry that pierced her heart. She raised her staff horizontally to block but this time his sword cut through as if it were flesh. Her staff was split in two and before she could parry or block his next move, he kicked her and she staggered back to the end of the disc. She nearly fell off and one of her feet were between the teeth along the circumference of the disc. Akielas lunged again as if to strike but he bluffed and palmed a mighty pulse of air. Ember flew up but Akielas released a lightning beam again. She tried to block with both pieces of her staff and although it had reduced the impact of the lightning it ran over the omnithium and struck her.
Ember screamed, lost grip of her broken staff and fell on the disc again. Akielas went for a final blow and then Ember shouted, “Odiack Pirara!” and shot black flames from her palm.
The flames caught Akielas’ sleeves and he backed away trying to stop the fire.
While her black flames kept Akielas occupied, she tried to get up. Her body was stiff after being shocked. It hurt to move but she withstood the pain and managed to stand again.
“Unfortunately for you I have built an immunity to your lightning spells, old master,” she remarked.
Abruptly, something collided with her mask and forced her head back. She staggered back and fell on her buttocks. There was no pain and it felt like a small object had hit her at an incredible speed.
“Who did this? My mask almost fractured,” she grumbled as she stood up again then scanned the skies.
“I am going to take down this needle,” Rey Ling yelled, flying on his cloud.
“Stupid Xaianian,” Ember rasped. She aimed at Rey Ling with two fingers then shouted, “Pirara suz!” and shot a ray of fire.
The ray pierced through Rey’s chest and he fell off his cloud.
“Join your friends in Necrovania,” Ember said watching him fall.
She turned her attention to Auron who still fought Eckxio moving through the sky. With one blast of Auron’s Golden Sun, Eckxio began to tumble from the sky and his angelic light dimmed as he fell. Ember laughed after taking down two of A
kielas’ friends.
“Two down and three more to go,” Ember counted.
“No!” Akielas yelled.
Her old master propped himself up with his sword. His right sleeve was tattered with burnt ends. He gritted his teeth and scowled at Ember.
“You will pay for their deaths!” he screamed and lunged at her.
Auron chimed in and bashed Akielas with his golden armor. Akielas fell, rolled and the teeth at the edge of the platform, preventing him from falling.
“Master Akielas, when will you learn?” Auron said with a cocky tone.
“You have given me no choice but to kill you, Auron,” Akielas snarled as he got up.
Ember saw Hertha approaching from below. The young Specter orbited the platform then landed next to Ember.
“What have you been doing? And where are Naunet and Jairo?” Ember asked.
“Naunet and Jairo are…they…well… I don’t know how to say it,” Hertha struggled.
“Just say it,” Ember bellowed.
“They are dead,” Hertha snarled.
Ember’s heart skipped a beat and time stood still the very moment she heard the word ‘dead.’ She was not sure of what to say or how she should feel at that moment. Fiends shrieked and screeched around the tower. Their cries tore the sky as they fought the Effeelions. Akielas was down on his knees while Auron looked down on him. The sun and blue moon hid behind the white moon and a purple aura surrounded it. The eclipse had turned everything to black and white, stripping Odealeous of all its hues. The four cosmo jewels were inside the grand needle that would absorb the maju and cosmo of the eclipse. Ember just had to cast the final spell with her goddess Arkana and yet…she did not care.
Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3) Page 27
