Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)

With a wave of her hand, she shattered the sphere-like bindings holding the four in place. The space fell apart releasing all within back into the skies of Alarious. Time sped up to normal as they plummeted to the ground at an alarming rate. The four crashed through the crumbling roof of the palace ruins and landed heavily on the marble floors within.

Aveyon was more trained than the fates and landed only to lunge into a roll so as to not break any bones. She was on her feet in no time and running to the fates as they landed painfully on the ground, it was not graceful in the slightest.

“Ouuuuuch!” One of them groaned, snapping her ankle back into place.

“Aveyon made it look so easy!” The other protested as she stood and shoved her shoulder back into its socket.

“It’s a good thing we heal quickly,” Atro stated after snapping her jaw back into place.

Aveyon looked on in wonder. Completely amazed at the god-like beings and their abilities.

“We are fine, our bodies are not made of the same flesh as yours once was,” Lahk concluded as she dusted herself off.

Aveyon paid little mind to them and ran for the entrance of the palace; the battle was once again in full swing. The three fates followed her, easily keeping up with her inhuman speed.

Her vision was slightly different now, she could clearly see lines of light, the streaks of essence flying through the air as people channelled their abilities. That gave her an idea. At the entrance to the palace, she looked around trying to find what was keeping g the fates bound to its walls. Frowning she remembered Vexous’s words earlier. Do not just look with your eyes. She told herself.

Drawing in a deep breath she reached out with her mind much like she did with the aura inside Vincent. Trying to find any trace of essence that might be in the air. Reaching a hand out she encountered a small amount of resistance, and she knew she had found it.

Concentrating, she placed both her hands out in front of her. Alarious was now a part of her, she could make it listen to her. She could feel the barrier that trapped the fates in place, the force that bound them to the palace. She felt the silver substance that was so deeply embedded within her react and pull the essence towards her. Opening herself up to the power she allowed her body to absorb the invisible force.

An enormous gust of wind wiped through the palace as the barrier broke, unable to hold itself up any longer. In that second the fates charged passed her and into the battlefield. They weren’t fighters but they could very well put themselves to good use seeing to the wounded and defending against attacks with their robes.

Erosvent was breathing heavily as he repelled a blow from the demon lord.

“Where is she?” Ashera bellowed at the Alarian, forcing him to his knees with sheer force.

“I’m right here!” She called from behind him.

Ashera’s head snapped up, surprised. She imagined it was because he couldn’t sense her anymore. She felt a light jab at her mind, and she laughed at his pitiful attempt. His brow creased as he snarled. “What have you done?”

She stood atop the stairs looking down at him. The next instant she appeared before him, moving with a speed that far executed her Alarian powers. Ashera looked different to Aveyon now, she could see just how much power he had, and how it oozed out of every part of him. It reminded her of her own vessel when she had first been rescued, and how her essence leaked from her, slowly draining away.

“I understand now, you are not whole, you may be one of the most powerful beings the realms have ever seen. But you have to keep refuelling it. You are... broken.” In much the same way she had been. How? How had such a thing happened, or had it always been like that? It did explain why he had made it a point to keep Vexous alive, using her as a blood bank. Was this also why he wanted to consume herself?

He answered her with an animalistic growl. “You took what was mine!”

“Well, from now on, that is in my job description.” She shrugged with a smirk.

She didn’t dare attack him, not yet. She needed to get to the others, to those who needed her help first, she needed her warriors. The vials in her hand must get to those that could help turn the tide of this battle.

He reached forward, extending a clawed hand toward her, but she was gone. When she moved it was like time around her slowed, she weaved her way through the battlefield to the individuals she needed to hand the vials to. In turn, she appeared before Kirra, Eros and Zero, handing each of them a vial. “Drink this, hand it around to those that you think it will work on. Only the strongest of us, be mindful it will be harsh on the body.”

She winced as she felt a tinge of pain in her chest. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Atro pulling the sword from Vincent’s body, but she had to remain focused. As much as she wanted to go to him, she couldn’t. However with the change in her body, she had noticed that something that crimpled him no longer crimpled her, not that she couldn’t feel that he was hurt and in danger of dying, but she wasn’t physically affected as much.

Ashera was hot on her heels following her movement. Twisting out of the way of his grip at the last second as he swiped at her with a frustrated growl. Clearly, she had angered him with her antics. It seemed he had been after Alarious’s essence in the hopes that it would restore his. She had no doubt it would have, as it did with her.

Her warriors opened the vials and took a mouthful before passing them on. No physical differences appeared, but she could feel the shift in the air as their bodies exploded with power. It was however only temporary, it seeped out of them at an alarming rate, and they wouldn’t have much time to win this battle. Ashera, unable to catch her, turned his attention to the vials, it seemed he had noticed what she was doing through his blind rage.

Ashera lunged for Erosvent, but the Alarian simply fazed out of the way of the attack, retreating further back to hand the vial over to Samuel, who drank. The screech that left the demon lord’s lips had her cringing, the high-pitched wail causing her ears to ring. She saw him stop, steading himself for his next lunge. Having accomplished what she needed she ran for him, the air around her slowed as though they were the only two in the space. She watched as she saw essence build around him, a swirl of colours wrapping themselves around his fists. His gaze was focused on his target, her eyes darting in Samuel’s direction.

She caught hold of his flimsy open shirt, his eyes bulging down at her. She put all her force behind her throw as she spun in a semi-circle before letting him go. She’d taken him by surprise, slamming him to the ground. It hadn’t caused any damage, but in that split second, she had managed to stop him from landing a fatal blow on the lynx.

Back on his feet, he lashed out at her, reacting quickly she managed to cross her forearms in front of her face as his fist collided with her bracers. The enchantment flared to life sending him rocketing backward with an impressive gust of wind. But she didn’t want to try attacking him full-on, not yet. Though she was wondering our much stronger her wielding abilities were and if she could use the daggers to their full potential now. Just a bit longer, she only needed a little longer for him to take the bait. It was all part of her plan.

“Pitiful weak women, I should have had your fake father execute you.” He spat.

She had managed to move him far enough away from the palace and the ever-growing demons and walking dead. The sounds of battle behind them as they stared each other down. She drew her dagger, she had to at least look like she was going to put up a fight.

He cackled, giving her a menacing grin like he had won. He followed through by jolting forward, she put on a shocked expression as though shocked by his sudden movement. She focused on keeping her mind completely clear. In her faked shock he caught her around the neck before proceeding to slam her body down onto the ground.

She impacted the hard limestone surface as a crater formed beneath her, her breath leaving her entirely. The blow had been fierce and pain shot through her as she felt the bones of her upper back fracture, and she coughed up a silvery substance, her blood was now silver as well it seemed, interesting.

He crouched over her, his grip strong as he continued to strangle her while pinning her to the ground.

“Get your hands off her!” Boomed a pain-filled voice.

Vincent! Not now! I’m so close. She couldn’t turn to look at him, but she could clearly hear his voice. A sense of overwhelming relief filled her, and she began to struggle to free herself, it was for show. He was alive, but suffering the same back pain she was. With Asheria touching her, she was using all her efforts to guard her mind, he couldn’t see what she had planned, which also meant she couldn’t tell Vincent about it, not yet.

“Or what boy!?” Ashera spat, clearly believing he was the superior being in this situation.

Just as Vincent took a step closer, Damon intercepted his path.

“About time you showed!” Ashera’s tone was hateful as he addressed his son. “Useless mindless beast! Make yourself useful for once and take care of the vermin will you.”

“Damon...” Vincent was visually saddened by the site.

Damon’s monstrous red eyes were locked on Vincent. His body dripped and oozed the black foul-smelling liquid with each step forward. His hands clenched into fists, reading for an attack. He lunged like a mindless zombie, throwing his enormous body into the air and driving Vincent back and away from Aveyon and Ashera.

Vincent could feel the strange silver liquid he had drank, not only healing his body but providing him with an added boost. He wasn’t sure what he was capable of at that moment, and the last thing he wanted to do was kill his friend. He was conflicted, unable to help Damon and unable to reach Aveyon.

“Beautiful isn’t it.” Ashera was referring to the beast. “You lot called yours auras, I think I’ll call mine... What was the word you used, right chaos!” Ashera smirked down at her as she gasped for air.

She managed to turn her head slightly, she could clearly see glowing parts of his body, sections that had something that leaked essence embedded in different parts of his body. Those gems! She realized he was calling them chaos. So many had been implanted purposely into him, she couldn’t help but smile, it meant he was alive! He wasn’t a reanimated corpse. And better yet she could see them now without needing to concentrate on finding them, they were just there.

“What now?” Vincent asked in a hashed tone. One of the Fates was floating just behind him, watching over him.

“Aveyon is fine but keep up the act.” She whispered back.

Aveyon quickly re-laid the information on the gems to Vincent and instructed him to stay back and not harm him... too much. She was safe enough to let that information slip, not a lot of good it would do to let Asheria know she could see them.

Turning her attention back to Asheria. The damage to her body was already healed, but the blood that had split could be used to her advantage. She gasped and choked for air as his fingers dug into her neck while she worked to embed her essence with the silvery substance around her.

Slowly but surely, she gathered enough of it just as her vision began to blur from the lack of oxygen. She moulded it into the form of a snake, she felt it slide through her fingers as she grabbed a hold of Ashera’s forearm. She sent it up his arm and toward his face, he let her go in surprise, swatting at it away before it could bite his face. His hand collided with it, and it lost its shape, splashing the blood she had used all over him, mildly disorientating him. Aveyon sat up gasping for air as she could finally breathe again. Her eyes searched his for answers, was that enough? Did it work?

Inches away, Vincent’s own battle raged on. Every time he tried to sidestep the infected Damon he was stopped. Ether by Damon himself or more demons. Dodging an ooze-covered claw he frowned.

“Get the chaos out of him already!” Clo floated in the air slightly behind Vincent.

“A lot easier said than done! Can’t we just somehow drain the power? Make them useless?” He offered as he stopped an assault from his rear. He flipped the corpse over his shoulder and swiftly sliced its head from the thing’s neck.

“Even if it was possible, it’s corrupted. Draining it means it still has to go somewhere, which would be most likely your body. Meaning you would become like that instead.” Clo pointed to Damon with a pained expression.

“I can’t see them, how am I meant to get them out!” He punched a demon square in the face, the creature’s nose brought as he slid to the floor unconscious. Damon rushed toward him again not giving him time to recover between opponents.

“I can see them; I will guide you.” Clo retorted as her robes fanned out creating a barrier between the small hordes of demons, dark elves and undead that were itching to sink their teeth into him. This left him to face Damon in relative peace.

Glancing behind Damon he saw Aveyon had drawn her other dagger and was holding back Ashera’s claw which was aimed at her stomach. She was still struggling on the ground, trying to find her footing while Ashera pushed forward with hatred in his eyes. With each attack he managed to land he could see the silver blood dripping from her body, why wasn’t she avoiding his attacks? She had the capability to do so. He could feel her pain only to be healed as quickly as it came, it was astonishing. She attacked, slicing at the demon lord’s neck, he evaded with ease and returned the attack with his own claws, impacting her arm and ripping through her flesh. She staggered back holding the limb as it healed shut in seconds.

A sound like a dying bird caught Vincent’s attention, snapping him back to his current situation, Damon shrieked as he attacked again. Thrusting his sword into the deranged beast’s shoulder, he aimed perfectly for one of the jewels of chaos contained inside. The fate at his side was relaying the locations to him. Letting the sword go while leaving it embedded in the flesh he spun on the spot, winding up power and used his elbow to push the hilt of the blade deeper. With it, the gem exited the body out of the back of Damon’s shoulder blade with a hiss.

The writhing wriggling creature tried to fling it’s self at the nearest body, but the fate picked it up before it could do any more harm.

“Sorry buddy, but I will get you back, you may just be a bit holey by the time I’m done,” Vincent commented.

The hissing sound continued as another shard left the body and bounced on the ground a few times before the Clo scooped it up. The three fates were following the battle closely and collecting the corrupted things as they were expelled, hopefully to be purified later. Damon visibility weakened and the black ooze thinned in consistently in turn making his form shrink down in size.

Vincent’s attention and gaze often flicked over to Aveyon, he couldn’t shake the concern. They couldn’t lose her; he couldn’t lose her. In his distracted state, Damon managed to land a hit, his ooze-covered claws digging into Vincent’s side. Vincent hissed, cursing at his own stupidity, he needed to be more careful. He quickly battered the claw away, blood sprayed as he covered the wound with his hand. He was becoming more of a burden than an asset to Aveyon at this point.

Kirra and a few others were trying to get to Aveyon as well. But the endless line of demons never subsided, and more just kept coming. They needed to close the fissure, to stop them getting in but only Aveyon had that ability.

Aveyon screamed, a gut-wrenching cry. The sound cut through the battlefield stopping everyone, warrior and demon alike, dead in their tracks. Was the battle over already? Had they lost?

Vincent pushed past the snarling Damon and ran for her. Ashera had buried his fangs deep into her neck. Damon followed Vincent as he charged for Ashera. The beast didn’t give up his pursuit and kept Vincent away from the two, intercepting him and flinging him backward with a nasty snarl.

A horde of corrupt demons, black ooze pouring out from almost every inch of their bodies had now surrounded Ashera and Aveyon, blocking the two off from the remaining warriors. It was as though Ashera had fed them new orders, none fought back as the group attempted to slice through. As an opening appeared it was filled in just as quickly as it was made. He intended to consume her there and then.

Vincent screamed her name as Ashera drank deep, swallowing huge mouthfuls. Vincent fell to his knees as he felt himself weakening as she was. Kirra collided with Damon as the beast was about to tear through his slumped form. His vision blurred as he gasped for air.

Aveyon appeared to have given up her fight and just lay almost lifeless in his arms as he drank his fill. Was it really over, it couldn’t end like this.

That’s what Ashera and everyone had thought.

That is until Aveyon began to laugh.

Suddenly, Ashera jerked back wide-eyed and surprised. Releasing her she impacted the ground rolling onto her side in an attempt to sit up as she continued to cackle. Ashera stumbled a few steps back, looking at her in disbelief. His eyes began to water from strain as though his vision had been impaired, and his hands cradled his head as though he were in pain.

“What-” he gasped, it appeared his lungs weren’t working correctly, and he was finding it hard to breathe. “What di-did you do to me?” He desperately tried to spit out the blood that was still coating his mouth.

The demons around them were taken down one by one. Many looked confused and disorientated before running for the fissure to make a hasty escape. The living dead fell to the ground as their connection was severed. Soon all that remained was Aveyon, hunched on the ground, Ashera in his shocked state and her warriors as they formed a ring around them. The fates had restrained Damon in their ropes, requiring all three of them to do so as his beast-like form continued to trash about in protest.

Vincent pushed his way through the ring of people, flinging himself to the ground he skidded across the floor to her, clamping his hands around her neck as she sat up completely with his aid. Silver blood was still pouring from the torn flesh. Ashera hadn’t been kind with his attack, ripping the flesh from her throat with his savage teeth. But the wound was healing rather quickly, though she didn’t protest as he pulled her close, her breathing was laboured but she knew she would be fine, weak, but fine.

“Ashera, it is over.” she finally said with a smile. “You will not be able to have Alarious’s power. I have made sure of that.”

Asheria growled. “You poisoned your blood!”

“In a way yes, I control Alarious, we are one now. Without it being given freely it will fight its host. I had speculations about it affecting your hold on others, seems I was right.” She explained.

“But... You have condemned yourself to this plain!”

“I am aware.” She pushed herself up and with Vincent’s aid, she stood before him. “Leave this place!” She ordered.

The remaining troops on her side of the battle all stood with their weapons at the ready.

You’re letting him go? This could be our chance to kill him. Vincent communicated directly with her. Though she knew all the others around her were thinking the same.

“Killing him will only lead to the unstable end of the realms. As much as I hate to admit it, he is necessary to keep the balance.” She glared at him as he smirked through a pain-ridden face. “That doesn’t mean I won’t find a way to seal you away for good, mark my words Ashera, this is not the end. At least for now, I’ve slowed you down.”

They all watched as the once demon lord, half hunched over, walked an agonizingly slow pace to the fissure. The fates followed him, a thrashing retrained Damon floating behind them. They waved goodbye to the extremely pissed-off so-called God who stared at them from the other side, before plucking the chaos gem from the edge and closing the fissure.

Aveyon let go of her strong demeanour and collapsed into Vincent. Silence filled the air as everyone seemed to breathe again.

Kirra raised her sword into the air. “We did it!”

Cheers broke out across the small crowd of survivors as Aveyon looked at the bloody mess they had made. So many dead on both sides. She wasn’t going to celebrate any time soon. There was far too much work to still be done. “This is just the beginning,” she muttered.

She was feeling rather light-headed, and her sorrow-filled eyes landed on a fallen warrior. She had remembered the joyful laughter this young elf had had the night of the festival. She gently pushed herself away and out of Vincent’s hold and stumbled over to a fallen elf. It was the one that had been ripped apart in front of her, this poor soul had allowed her the time to reach the fates. She fell heavily to her knees, her gaze lingering on the dead soldier’s face.

“Thank you.” She reached her hand out and closed her still-open eyes. “You may rest now; may you be reborn into a better world.”

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kirra. Placing her hand over the elves, she squeezed lightly. “I would like to put them to rest here if that is okay.”

Kirra’s eyes reflected her sorrow, the priestess was trying not to cry. The elf had lost so many friends and family alike on this very day. “I think that would be an honour, Queen Aveyon.”

“Queen?” She looked confused, that was a new one.

“You’re not a princess anymore, and you never wanted to be a goddess, so I think it suits you best.”

Aveyon shook her head. “No, I do not want anyone to rule over others, it is time that we all become equal.” Confused glances followed her movement. They were all looking to her to lead, but in truth, she could only guide them now. “Come everyone, clear the field so the fates and I may see to all the fallen.”

She was helped to her feet and led to the steps of the palace, along with the survivors. They also placed the squirming Damon on the steps, replacing his restraints so the fates were free from having to keep him bound. Erosvent had retrieved and taken the unconscious Vexous to the steps of the palace as well. Aveyon couldn’t help but think about how she had come full circle, how decades ago her ankles had scrapped these very steps that she stood upon now.

And it had finally come to an end, only to be started anew.