Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I

by Alexander Gordon

  “Haha!” Scay cheered as she rushed forward on the opposite side of Cataclysm. “We’ve got you now! We’ve got… you… um… Tabitha?”

  The naga slowly came to a halt and watched curiously as Tabitha shakily took a step back from the centaur, her eyes twitching slightly as she stared at the monster’s leg that was visible through the ripped stocking.

  “What is this?” Tabitha unsteadily asked. “What the hell is this? Her leg. Her leg! It’s… it’s…”

  “It’s still there,” Scay said pointing to it. “I thought you were going to cut it off, Tabitha. That was the plan, wasn’t it? Why didn’t you cut it off?”

  “Problem, little kitty?” Cataclysm sneered. “Oh, now that’s not nice. You’ve gone and ripped my leg covering. That was simply uncalled for.”

  “Tabitha?” Sasha asked. “What’s wrong? What happened with her leg?”

  “Why didn’t you cut it off and shove it up her fucking ass?” Hollia demanded loudly, screaming again as Mika pulled her sword out of the girl’s shoulder. “God fucking dammit, that hurts!”

  “What kind of royal upbringing did you have anyway?” Rulo asked her with a raised eyebrow.

  Tabitha looked to them, then to Cataclysm’s unnerving smile, then to the rear leg of the monster as she trembled nervously and shook her head. She growled then quickly slashed her sword down across the stocking, slicing it free to drop to the ground underneath the centaur.

  “Her leg is made of metal!” Tabitha cried out as she quickly backed up.

  Everyone stared in stunned silence as Cataclysm laughed and shoved Daemon away, the centaur turning slightly and flaunting her rear leg that was undeniably noticeable to all now. Her rear hip and lower leg appeared to be made of the same strange steel that her spear was, with the limb being constructed of steel segments with soft white glows coming from breaks in the plating and across angular etchings on her hip. The unnatural looking leg was sculpted and even moved like it was made of flesh and bone, however it was anything but as it was clearly comprised of darkened steel that somehow acted as such.

  “What the fuck?” Mika breathed out.

  “Her leg,” Hollia nervously said. “What… what is the meaning of this? How could it be like that? What is she?”

  “That’s… not right,” Forrus said shaking her head slowly.

  “She’s no centaur,” Sasha cursed as she and the girls helped Hollia to her feet. “She merely looks like one.”

  “What the hell is she then?” Rulo demanded.

  Saffron moved aside her long bangs as she stared with wide eyes at the monster, her antennae twitching slightly as she displayed visible alarm with what she was seeing.

  “Ancient!” Vale called out, with everyone spotting Vale hovering in place further behind Cataclysm. “Your fight is with me! Get your butt back over here so I can kick it to the stars and beyond!”

  “Ancient?” Sasha cautiously repeated.

  “Is that what you’re going to do?” Cataclysm laughed. She shook her head amusedly at the pixie before glancing back to Tabitha, the neko gulping and taking a step back as the centaur flipped her sword around to catch by the handle.

  “You actually surprised me with that move,” she smirked with a chuckle. “Not many can do that. A rare treat indeed. In exchange, I’ll spare your life. For now.”

  She tossed the katana over in front of the neko, lodging the blade into the dirt with a soft strike before turning to face Vale. She began walking towards the pixie while holding out her hand, her spear glowing with a white radiance before it launched into a spin from the dirt towards her. The centaur caught the weapon with one hand, twirling it around at her side before thrusting it forward.

  “You however shall receive no mercy from me on this night.”

  “Nor will you from us,” Daemon declared, dashing towards the centaur from behind with blinding speed while his sword glowed with a holy light.

  With an annoyed grunt Cataclysm quickly jumped ahead to avoid his swing, the centaur nimbly spinning around and blocking a blast of blue fiery magic that she shielded herself with her arm as the cambion kept on the offensive.

  “You fool!” Cataclysm yelled, blocking Daemon’s swing of his sword with her spear’s handle.

  “Don’t do it!” Vale cried out. “You can’t beat her!”

  Shoving Daemon back into a slide the centaur jumped away with her spear held in both hands at her side, the monster then shooting forward with the ground exploding behind her from the forceful dive. Everyone witnessed the centaur thrusting her lance towards Daemon, the cambion bracing himself and swinging his sword at the monster to block the attack.

  And then everyone witnessed the centaur’s spear clashing with and striking through the Archlight’s Blade, shattering the holy weapon with a loud smash. A flash of bright light, a forceful wave of energy that blew away clouds of dust, all eyes widening in shock; the sight of what happened stunned everyone as Cataclysm annihilated the legendary blade with a single powerful strike.

  “No!” Vale cried out, herself and the girls seeing Daemon being thrown back into a wild tumble from the explosion of light. Shards of the holy sword glimmered against the darkness as they were cast out into the air behind him.

  “Master!” Sasha and Rulo shouted out.

  “My lord!” Forrus cried.

  “My knight!” Hollia screamed.

  “Sire!” Mika shrieked.

  Saffron screeched with a horrified expression.

  “Impossible!” Tabitha exclaimed.

  “Bright light!” Scay whined covering her eyes.

  Daemon rolled back along the ground before quickly grabbing the dirt with his gloved hand, slowly halting himself as he tore apart the ground a short ways. He looked to the handle of his broken weapon with a frustrated glare before seeing Cataclysm walking towards him with her lance drawn on the swordsman.

  “You insects forget who and what you are,” she spoke with a dark glare. “You are nothing in this world, and you never will be. This is our world. This is our Eden. That is the way it was always meant to be, the way it should have been from the start. We are the chosen ones to rule this world. We are the worthy. We are the mighty. We are the pinnacle of perfection. And there is no room for obsolete trash such as yourselves to reside with us in our world.”

  “Leave them alone!” Vale screamed as she flew straight at the centaur.

  Cataclysm halted her stride with a sly smile forming on her face, the monster then turning and aiming her fingers towards the approaching pixie. She fired off a blast of white light, the energy streaking through the air and being narrowly evaded by Vale as she lurched straight up then forward again in her flight. As the pixie flew over the bolt of energy Cataclysm chuckled and snapped her fingers, detonating her attack into a bright flurry of electrical arcs. With a painful scream Vale was thrown forward into a tumble from the shocking waves hitting her, her wings sparking and shaking with white fissures running across them while her antennae conducted small flashes between their ends. Her world spun around as she hurtled through the air uncontrollably, her vision fading in and out from the shock before finally focusing enough to see something bathed in bright white light heading right for her.

  “Vale!” Mika cried out, with everyone seeing the pixie tumbling towards Cataclysm who nimbly spun around and swung her spear at the tiny woman. With a sharp flash the glowing weapon followed through with its kill, smashing the pixie into a burst of bright cubes that sprawled out into the air from the hit while the knife she held flew forward and bounced a few times along the ground before finally coming to a stop. A single section of Vale’s wings was seen falling towards the ground before it dissolved in the same manner she had, leaving not a trace of the pixie other than the knife that no longer had an owner. Silence befell the area as Cataclysm spun her lance around before she glanced over to Mika with a dark grin.

  “All done. One less horror in the world, am I right? Hahahaha!”

  “No,” Mika br
eathed out. “No. No! Vale! No! You monster!”

  Cataclysm broke out into maniacal laughter as she turned to face them, with the girls growing more tense and angry with the newcomer by the second. Daemon stood up and tossed aside the broken handle of his sword, his cold blue eyes fixated on the wicked centaur while dark scales were beginning to creep up along his arm from his gloved hand.

  “Monster?” Cataclysm mocked with a hand held to her chest. “Did you just call me a monster? Why, I’m not a monster, you ignorant bug. I’m much, much more than that. And don’t you dare forget it. Hahahaha!”

  Daemon growled as he ripped off his shoulder guard and tossed it to the ground. He yanked his shirt off and threw it aside as black scales were forming along his abs and torso.

  “Attacking these girls. Breaking my sword. Murdering that innocent woman. Congratulations, you’ve made yourself some new enemies. And you will not be forgiven for any of this.”

  “Is that so?” Cataclysm laughed with a mean grin. “How fortunate for me that I never expected your forgiveness from the start. If you wish to play with me some more I don’t mind, I simply love squashing you filthy bugs into the dirt. By all means, come and try teaching me a lesson if you so desire. I dare you.”

  The girls tensed up while preparing to lunge into battle with the deadly centaur, with Daemon slowly letting his human appearance fade as he felt rather incensed with everything that had happened. He pulled off his glove and dropped it to the ground, hands flexing as they both became covered in scales that were slowly spreading across his body. Cataclysm laughed in the face of their harsh looks, spinning her lance around at her side before holding it at the ready. Tension ran high between the centaur and Daemon’s group, but before anyone could make a move another newcomer made her presence known with a powerful yell ringing far out into the horizon.

  “THERE YOU ARE!”

  Cataclysm blinked before slowly looking off to the side, with Daemon and his followers shifting their focus as well to see someone approaching from the darkness. Glowing blue eyes, shimmering blue tattoos all over her muscular body, a gigantic battle-axe illuminating the surrounding area with a haunting cerulean light, and heavy footsteps sounding out drew everyone’s attention as the new arrival was considerably larger than those already present and possessed a powerful aura in her own right.

  “Is that…” Sasha softly asked.

  “I think it is,” Mika breathed out.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tabitha said in disbelief. “One of them is here too? Just what the hell is going on here?”

  After a few more heavy footsteps with her giant hooves the newcomer stopped as she came into view with the clouds parting to let moonlight shine down upon the land as if to present her to everyone. Standing tall with her giant weapon held over her shoulder was a minotaur, one who had glaring blue eyes and a stern grin aimed towards Cataclysm who merely showed a curious smile at the monster.

  “Oh my,” the centaur mused playfully. “This is a wonderful treat indeed. How very fortunate for me to be able to rid the world of another one of those stupid remnants before I have my master’s quarry come straight to me. This is truly a delightful night.”

  “Is that a minotaur?” Hollia gasped.

  “Well it sure ain’t a humper,” Rulo dryly quipped.

  “What is a minotaur doing way out here?” Sasha asked.

  “I’VE FINALLY GOT YOU NOW!” Minos boldly declared as she pointed to Cataclysm. “YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE ALL SEEING EYES OF MINOS! HAHAHAHAHA!”

  “She’s really loud,” Scay whined covering her ears. Saffron did the same while nodding in agreement.

  “Is that so?” Cataclysm laughed as she turned to face the minotaur.

  “YES IT IS SO!” Minos shouted holding her axe up brazenly. “YOU MAY RUN FAST BUT NOT FAST ENOUGH TO ESCAPE MINOS! PREPARE FOR BATTLE, ANCIENT! THE TIME FOR YOUR END IS NIGH!”

  “Oh that’s cute,” Cataclysm giggled. “You think you’re hunting me? That is so charmingly ridiculous. This is just too rich! Hahahaha!”

  “WHY DO YOU LAUGH AT MINOS?” the minotaur asked in puzzlement. “MINOS IS SERIOUS! MINOS WILL DESTROY YOU! WHAT REASON DO YOU HAVE TO LAUGH ABOUT THAT?”

  “Because, my dear,” Cataclysm snickered shaking her head. “You’ve got it all wrong. You’re not the one hunting us…”

  She started giggling before suddenly laughing crazily as she showed a deranged smile at the minotaur, her crimson eyes revealing glowing white rings around the irises while she scraped her rear hoof against the dirt in heightened anticipation.

  “We’re the ones hunting you!” she screamed taking off in a mad sprint towards the minotaur. She twirled her spear at her side then held it out towards her target as she laughed manically in her vicious stampede.

  “My master demands your head, and he always gets what he wants!”

  Chapter 4

  Hidden Behind the Stonegate

  In the world of Eden there were cities built across the land, both for human and monster races. When it came to those belonging to the lustful creatures, they were often shrouded in mystery and danger. The only humans who ever traveled to such places were either slaves of the monsters or hunters who bravely, and sometimes foolishly, challenged the many denizens to combat. While the monsters demonstrated societal behavior that occasionally mirrored that of humans, it was usually unknown as to what it was like inside those cities.

  There was just no telling what lay within, or beneath, those monster homes.

  *****

  “Did you just say Kroanette is in Stonegate?” Specca cried out. “Are you serious? What is she doing there?”

  “I can’t say,” Calam replied shaking her head.

  “Is this some sort of sick joke?” Triska loudly demanded. “How the hell did she end up in Stonegate?”

  “I can’t say.”

  “What happened to her?” Clover shouted as she shook the ant girl by the shoulders. “Why in Eden is she in Stonegate?”

  “I can’t say.”

  “What do you mean you can’t say?” Doku anxiously fretted. “You’re the one who came here telling us this horrible news. Surely you know what this is about. Please tell us how this came to be.”

  “I can’t say,” Calam merely answered with still.

  “Explain yourself!” Daniel ordered, pulling Calam away from Clover to face her continued smile that never flinched. “This isn’t funny! If you’ve come here simply to screw around with us by saying Kroanette is in Stonegate-”

  “Yes, she is,” Calam agreed with a nod. “That I can say.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense!” Specca argued. “How did she get there? Why is she there of all places? And why are you smiling at us right now? This isn’t a joking manner, don’t you realize this?”

  Calam gently removed Daniel’s hands and looked around at the understandably alarmed family.

  “I can’t say any more,” she explained with a sympathetic smile. “I do wish I could, really. But I cannot speak about this situation any further than what I was permitted to. I cannot, until you come to Stonegate and see for yourself.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Alyssa demanded.

  “Listen to me closely,” Calam said to Daniel with an expecting look. “I am only allowed to relay the message Kroanette has given for you. I cannot speak further about the situation or Stonegate until you come with me to see Kroanette yourself. I am sworn to this, and I must honor this law.”

  “But why?” he asked.

  “I can’t say,” Calam replied shaking her head. “To do so would violate my oath. Please, it will all make sense once you meet with her, I promise. Just come with me and see for yourself.”

  “What are you playing here?” Triska growled as she and Clover stepped in front of Daniel with harsh glares at the ant girl. “Do you really think you can trick us this easily? Is this just a game to you?”

  “You honestly want us to just let you take Dan to Stonegate?” Cl
over snapped. “One of the worst, most violent, dangerous monster cities in Koskaysil? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “No, I’m quite sane, I assure you,” Calam answered.

  “How dare you,” Specca scorned. “How dare you toy with us like this. Who the heck are you anyway? What are you after here? Are you just trying to take Daniel away to be raped by those monsters? Is that it?”

  “You wouldn’t happen to be with The Sisterhood, would you?” Alyssa accused. “I’ve still got a bone to pick with those monsters after what they did to my family. Are you one of their pawns? Is that why you’re here?”

  “You’d better start talking!” Clover ordered, drawing an arrow onto the newcomer while Triska pulled out her sword. “How did you hear about us or Kroanette? What really happened to her? You’d better tell us the truth or I swear I’m going to fucking kill you for messing around with us like this!”

  The elves at the doorway drew their arrows at Calam while Alyssa brandished her staff towards the ant girl who merely glanced around at the upset women with a casual eye.

  “It seems you’re in a bit of trouble here,” Reiko playfully taunted, floating around the group and behind Calam while extending out her spectral cutters. “I’d choose my words very carefully if I were you. Especially if you’re planning something rather unpleasant for this man.”

  “Oh my,” Calam mused glancing back to her. “He even has a harvester as a guardian? How very curious to see such a monster protecting a human.”

  “I benefit more having him alive than dead,” Reiko reasoned with a shrug. “That being the case, tread cautiously with your decisions, ant girl.”

  “Where is Kroanette?” Falla shouted. “What have you done with her?”