by Lee Isserow
“I did not intend to kill your spawn. . . It was your decree that they should ensnare me, that they should attack me.”
This caused her to cackle with disdain. “You snuffed them out as if they were nothing! Took millions upon millions of lives in an instant. . . Do you truly believe you are any better than I? To enact a genocide on such a scale?”
“It was a genocide to prevent a genocide. . . You are the one who began this, ending lives on an unprecedented scale for the lands above.”
“And you stole from me, took that which was mine, that which I held dearest. . . it is only fair that I take that which you hold just as dear, your feeble mundane pets.”
“They are not pets. They are sentient―can the same be said for your brood?”
Her eyes narrowed as he laid out an insult to the creatures she had birthed. “They are more than just a brood, I saw to that. Each of them has their own mind―”
“But each of them is also slave to your will, forced to obey your commands. I felt their minds as they bit into me, I know that their thoughts are clouded by your manipulations. You have put them in positions in which they could only see the darkest of the world of man. . . you have not shown them the beauty of what has been created above.”
“And man had yet to see the beauty of what I have been creating below. “
Kahgo sighed. His sister was as obstinate as ever, and would continue to be until he admitted his failures to her.
“I am sorry―”
“Sorry?! You think a simple apology is enough to make me change my mind, to stop me from claiming that which was once mine?”
“I stole from you. It was not correct for me to do so. . . but there was no other way in which the Lurker could be defeated. . . It would not have simply been the world of man that fell, your domain would have been destroyed in the midst of his insatiable hunger―”
“Excuses! Nothing more. If you cared so greatly to make amends for the crime perpetrated against me, perhaps you would have seen it fit to return that which you stole?” She laid her hand out and beckoned towards him. “Tell me, where is the God's End?”
His eyes dropped to the ground. To look at her would be to admit his failings. “I intended to return it. . . but it was lost. . . dispersed across the Outer Realms as the creature fell. . . As I fell. . .”
“And yet you returned,” she spat.
“Not of my own volition. It was the will of the Circle that brought me back.”
“Then perhaps your Circle could be kind as to bring back that which was mine?”
“You know it cannot. They do not wield such power.”
“But you do, dear brother. . . If you were to join them―”
“You know I cannot allow―.”
She huffed, rolling her eyes theatrically. “That is what you always say. . . and that is what you have always said when you forced me from the land above, when you exiled me, secluded me to reside in these depths, far from the land, from my home, from our father. You objected to the mere notion of one as powerful as you being upon the land, and said to me 'I cannot allow you to remain in this place.' That was the first time you stole from me, brother. You stole my home, my family, my life―”
“You had them creating temples in your honour. You had them pillaging their neighbours, turning free men and women into slaves. You treated them just as you treat your brood, making them feel as though they were acting as sentient beings―and yet, they carried out unspeakable acts in your name, in your glory, in honour of the great and powerful Dam'i-Khasekhemwy.”
“Do not act as if you were not present in that time, brother. You came and went as you pleased, but you too oversaw my kingdom, That name means 'two powerful ones appear' for a reason. . .”
“I was not aware of your deception, of the lengths you would go to claim power. . . And that is why you had to be removed from your throne.”
“Moralising. . . nothing more. . . and your morals are based upon such simple binary notions. In truth brother, and you know this better than most, there is no good or evil. There is will, for the one or for the many. You choose one time and time again, claiming it to be for the many, and that becomes your definition of what is better for the world, working behind the scenes of mundane minds to make their world into what you see it to be.
“My definition of many is the same as yours, brother, and we are only at odds at this time because I have birthed a new many, I have brought a new and deserving species into being ,that would not have the fickle will of man. Imagine a world that is truly at peace, where one knows another through and through and the dominant species cares for its neighbour as if they were kin.
“Your chosen species, your hairless ape, would tear itself apart if it was not for your constant guiding hand.”
Shaman disagreed, but he knew there was no way in which Dam'i-Ka would see where he was coming from. She had nothing but disdain for the world of man, and it was his fault that she harboured such hatred for them.
If he had not forced her from her throne and sent her to the depths of the ocean, the land would not currently be under assault. His hubris had been the reason for all the death that occurred above, and that same hubris had been the cause of so much pain and suffering―that was why he had pulled away from his position in the Circle, why he took a back seat to the workings of man, and only appeared as and when he was required to assist.
The legends told of him were of him at his best, but there were many more stories that could be told of him at his worst.
“You are silent, brother.” She chuckled to herself ever so briefly. “Dare I be so bold as to assume that you might actually accept that you are responsible for the fate of humanity?
“It is good that you finally understand that you are the architect of all that has come to pass, for man and the world above―and if it was not made clear, I am truly glad you are returned from the dead. . .
“If only so that you may witness the destruction and death of everyone and everything you hold dear in the Natural World!”
50
Nothing they could do
Tali had spent time observing the movements of each of the creatures, in an attempt to discern which of them might be the easiest to capture.
Based on her observations, the one that stalked the streets of Barcelona was acting differently to the others. It seemed almost lethargic in comparison, as if having been above-ground, and far from its watery home had exhausted it more than its brethren. The city had the least destruction, the lowest death toll, and its movements appeared as though they were disoriented, tired or hungry, somehow out of contact or disconnected from its kin.
Even though it was acting weaker than any of the creatures they had seen before, that did not mean the Circle operatives were under the assumption that that was the truth. It could very easily be a ruse―these things were certainly smarter than they had given them credit for in the past, and they weren't about to be any less cautious about capturing it than they had been when embarking on attempts to kill the others that they had encountered before it.
Six of them surrounded the beast, led by Faith, holding it in place with barriers that were so tight, even the slightest of its movements were constricted. It could neither lash out nor bite or chew at the walls that surrounded it. Then, they dried out its skin. The thing was so slippery, it would be near to impossible to restrain it after it had been teleported―the translocation would cause the barriers to fall, and they couldn't risk it lashing out in Three's chamber.
Once the moisture was taken from its pelt, the magickians used their combined intent to take hold of each of the beast's tentacles and tied them together, knotting the damn thing up over and over again for the full length of its long appendages. The dried-out skin made this harder than it would have been slick―but it also meant it was coarse and brittle without the slime that coated its body to act as a natural lubricant that would instantly un-tie the knots. It was not a perfect restraint by any means, but it was the bes
t anyone could come up with to restrict it from causing havoc as soon as it had been teleported, giving them the time they needed to put up barriers around it before it had a chance to attack.
Three waited until confirmation had been sent through, and light tore across the streets of Barcelona as the magickians and the monster were translocated into their chamber.
As soon as the light fled from their vision, the magickians put the barriers back up. But the creature was already moving, its skin had exuded a thick, viscous slime and it easily slipped out of the bonds that had been made of its limbs. It lashed out, sending Faith flying into the catacomb walls, and the crunch of his broken bones echoed around the chamber.
The rest of the team acted quickly and in a matter of moments they put a barrier up around it, just as Faith had done in Barcelona. But this time, the creature was not held in place. It whipped through the pearlescent walls that had been erected, as if they were not there at all, and tore into the men and women that surrounded it with each of its mouths, ripping them to shreds, sending their guts cascading to the stone floor below.
It turned to Three with lascivious stares and salivating jaws, and Three saw the creature for what it was. This thing was different from all those that had come on to the land. Its biology had been infused with more blood of its father than its mother, it was closer to a pure-blood 'thulu than any of the others. Its lethargy had just been a ploy, designed to make it the one chosen to be brought into their chamber. Its master had known that the attempt to seek it out would be an inevitability, and had planned ahead―many years ahead―creating one single member of its brood that was immune to the magick of man.
It had been a risk to do such a thing. That is why this eventuality had not occurred to Three. One that was immune to magick would also be immune to the will of its maker. And as it turned its attention to the trio of fused magickians, its tasty triumvirate of a meal, for the first time in millennia Three felt fear coursing through their body.
They had been hidden away from the world for so long, safe from abuse, safe from attack. They had taken every precaution to remain safe. And now, they had unwittingly brought something that could destroy them into their domain. And there was nothing they could do to defend themselves.
51
Their own destiny
MARIANA TRENCH, PACIFIC OCEAN
Shaman Kahgo felt a cry for help, a desperate plea that shot across the ether that connected him to every living thing on the planet. His oldest and dearest friend was under attack, and despite all the magick that flowed through their veins, there was nothing they could do to stop the creature that was coming for them.
“Stop this,” he begged.
His sister laughed with a maniacal glee. “There is nothing to stop, brother. What has been set into action cannot be undone, I have seen to that.”
“Even you cannot control it. . ?”
She nodded, a wide smile still on her lips.
“Then you have undone yourself by creating this thing. . . After it is done with Three do you not think it will continue to devour the life upon the land? And when it is done with all life that is not of its kin, it will devour its kin, and then it will come for you―do you not see that?”
“I have foresight you do not, brother. My brood shall simply destroy it when its task is complete.”
“Unless they taste of it in the midst of the kill. . . drink of its blood. . . in which case they will gain the immunity from your will that it has, and its individuality will be theirs. . . You will have made a horde that will act of its own volition―and one day they will come for you. And tour rule upon the land will come to an end sooner than you know. . . “ He trailed off as he felt Three's panic once again rippling across his skull. “Please, I beg of you. . . beseech your child to not harm Three. . .”
“Your warning is out of desperation, brother. I do not seek to rule my children with an iron fist. I will allow them to be themselves, to follow their own destinies―they will not desire to dethrone me for I shall be a good and kind queen to them.”
Kahgo took a breath and tried with all his might to hold the tears back, as he accepted that there was only one way in which he could save his friend.
“Then, sister, you give me only one course of action. . . One that I do not take lightly. . .”
His eyes skimmed the darkness of his sister's kingdom until he found signs of one of her brood, young and innocent, too small to join the forces that had ascended onto the land above.
In a flash, he translocated to its location, and took hold of it in a strong grasp. It squirmed and squealed, gnashing its vestigial jaws as it tried to break free of his hold―but his hold was strong, as was his intent.
“One last chance, sister!” he shouted. “I beg of you. . .”
The water around Dam'i-Ka began to boil, as her rage turned into intent. If he meant to harm her young ones, then she would bring down every iota of unconstrained might upon him.
She shot through the water, her skin tearing and blood pouring from her human form as she did so. Her anger had caused her to rip her body to shreds, to reveal the true face that lay beneath it. Her tendrils shot out for him, a myriad jaws bursting open with thousands upon thousands of teeth destined for his flesh.
But they did not meet their target.
A gleaming light tore across Shaman Kahgo's core, up his arms, along his wrists, into each of his fingers, straight into the baby he held in his grasp. The tiny thing's screams turned into wails, that turned into silence as the light shot out from each of its mouths, its eyes bursting, its skin roasting alive from the inside out. The light burst forth from the creature across the ocean, sending a steaming, gleaming current across the waters of the Natural World.
Dam'i-Ka stopped in her tracks as she was blinded by the rays coming from her brother and her child.
“What is this?!” she roared.
“I. . .” he gasped, as light continued to pour from his lips, “was not entirely honest about the fate of the God's End. . .”
52
The final surge
Light shot out across Three's chamber, sending shadows dancing along the walls, as the creature that had been attacking them was ripped apart at the subatomic level.
That same light was exploding across the world, as each of its kin was destroyed in an identical fashion, every one of their bodies ripped apart by the power of the God's End that had been unleashed across the psychic web that bound them together.
Three took a breath from each of their mouths in turn, and cast to heal their injuries, then they did the same for Faith and the other magickians that had brought the beast into their chamber.
The Circle finally had an advantage over the creatures that had invaded the land, and Three returned Faith to the Epicentre so that he may lead the final surge
*
Tali was combing through the reports coming in from all over the globe. The smaller of the beasts were vanquished―not that any of the magickians understood how that was even possible, although they certainly weren't going to complain.
But the battle wasn't over, not yet, not even close. There were still the gargantuan goliath strain of the creatures to deal with. But the eradication of the smaller brood had put the forces in better spirits. It felt as though they might finally have an advantage over the scourge that had come upon the land.
The operatives were split into teams of fifty, and sent around the world, ordered to kill the gigantic beasts with molten girders, just as they had done before. The fight was still far from over, but for the first time since it began, it felt as though true victory was finally in sight.
53
The essence
MARIANA TRENCH, PACIFIC OCEAN
“This is not possible!” Dam'i-Ka shrieked, as she fell to her tenticular knees, desperately searching the sea bed for the remains of her children.
“I. . . am truly sorry, sister.”
She glared at him with each of her eyes, every one of the
m an angry, swirling vortex of yellow tinted with green. “Sorry?! You are a murderer, a monster, killer of millions. . . You lied to me of that which you stole, and used it to destroy more life than I ever ended!”
“I did not lie. . . The essence of the God's End was fused with mine upon rebirth. . . It was that essence that I unleashed upon your brood, the last strike of the weapon you once wielded. . .”
Her tentacles thrashed and she rose through the waters, stretching out to her full height and width, bearing down on him from above.
“You are a killer, nothing more, destroyer of an entire species. . . how does that work with your morals, brother? How do you make peace with such an act?” She snarled, revealing row upon row of sharp, gleaming teeth. “You are, as the mundanes said of you, Death, destroyer of worlds. . . And I shall not let you go unpunished for the murder of my children. . .” she tore through the water towards him, her tendrils lashing for his limbs, her myriad jaws poised to snap shut upon his flesh.
But they did not meet their intended target.
She was held in place ahead of him, unable to even breathe without his will allowing it to be so.
“How?!” she growled.
“I have lived in the Outer Realms for aeons. . . And as is said, it was not just the abyss that has stared into me. . . I have stared into it, and have it continuing to course through my veins. To live in that place, with our kin. . . and to. . .” The worlds failed him, as he mourned his actions. “And to have devoured pure blood of our brethren. . . It has infused me with the untold power of that place.”
She snarled out a disgusted laugh. “You have made them tell tales of you as 'the most powerful magickian in all the lands'. . . and now you have gained the power to prove that true. . . by proving that your morals are as frail as your will. You are no paragon of virtue, Sha'ma N'doda'k'rgo. . .”
