The Shadow of All Worlds

by Shane Porteous

  Chapter 40

  Kae was moving through the air, he had done so countless times in his life, but this was unique because he wasn't in control and he was filled with indescribable pain. Morzu had smacked him with surreal strength sending him off of his feet.

  Kae landed upon the platform without grace, feeling like a nail attacked by a hammer. Air remained in his body, but it felt panicked and confused leaving his body riddled with pain that couldn’t be cleansed simply by hard breathing. He grunted the entire time as he got to his knees. Time and time again Morzu had gotten the better of him as he had done with each of the otherworld heroes. To say the powers of the Shadow Stone were terrifying was the grossest understatement one could make.

  Desperate to get back on his feet and rejoin the fight Kae was temporarily confused by the sound of panting. Next to him was Star Power, a little bloody, definitely bruised but not beaten. Like Kae Star Power’s abilities had proven at best mere annoyances to the maniacal Morzu.

  “This isn’t working,” Star Power growled. “We need to start working as a team if we are to have any chance. The Heroes United became a vastly better fighting force when we started using our powers together instead of randomly.”

  Kae understood the sentiment, the Protectors had survived and defeated many powerful enemies rarely because of an individual’s strength but a collective attempt by all of them. But such chemistry took time to create, Kae knew this, he had bonded with Edo Volis when they had traveled together to gather the refugees. But until the fight on the platform he had never stood alongside him in battle, this was of major importance, with the exception of Black Cat and Star Power none of them had ever fought side by side before.

  “He is a monster,” Star Power said through heavy pants, shaken greatly how Morzu was so easily hurting his friend Black Cat, even her powers of invulnerability couldn’t keep her safe from his power. “If only he had a weakness, something we could exploit,” Star Power said wincing, as Cada Varl was struck so hard it looked like his skull was about to shatter. “Just something we could use against him,” Star Power added in great frustration.

  Out of the otherworld heroes Kae had been the only one to visit Za-xayek and thus had seen Morzu in his more private moments. Because of this knowledge he was able to say, “Morzu wants nothing more than to be accepted by the Ulnath, he seems willing to do anything to impress the Ulnath leader Oos…he becomes as pathetic as a puppy wanting a pat on the head when he is with him.”

  Kae had known this all along and had tried multiple times in this battle to put certain thoughts in Morzu’s mind. Not only hadn’t it worked, but each time Kae had tried it his own mind was invaded by the darkness of the shadow, filling him with fears and feelings he had never felt before and never wanted to feel again. The Shadow Stone’s power could override the Life Force like a title wave upon a campfire. Better than ever, Kae understood now why Rhaldan had wanted the power and he was grateful Morzu hadn’t shared its full extent with the Head Priest. One being with this kind of power was bad enough. Through these thoughts he could feel Star Power’s gaze upon him and it was strong enough to bring him back to the moment at hand.

  “Oh…sorry,” Kae said sincerely, realizing such phrasing would be insulting to Star Power. Kae had forgotten whom he was talking to, but that was the point! Star Power didn’t use the Life Force, his powers were something else entirely. “Star Power, that image you showed earlier of Cada Varl fighting those strange creatures, did you witness that for yourself?”

  “No,” Star Power began. “I read his mind and projected the image outwards.”

  “That would mean you can read my mind as well?”

  When Kae was answered by silence he was concerned until he saw the star image glow briefly.

  “Ah,” Star Power began. “That’s rather quite clever Kae,” Star Power added, revealing he had just read Kae’s mind. “Far from a certainty though,” Star Power pointed out.

  “I know,” Kae replied looking back to the battle. “But at the least it is a start.”

  Cada Varl was still wincing after being struck, doing his best to hide the agony that surely must have filled him. Morzu found it amusing, this great red eyed man looked no more than a pompous child trying to appear tough. Even his sword swings, once swift and severing seemed as skilled as a child swinging a stick. At least to Morzu they were, and he was aware he was the only one that could make this Cada Varl appear like this.

  The same could be said about Black Cat. Her swipes would seem like a blur to any one else, but to him they were slow and sluggish, easily blocked, easily countered.

  Finding it funny how Cada Varl grunted when he was hit Morzu swatted him away, watching as the man in black bounced upon the platform before coming to a violent stop. He saw Kae crawl towards Cada Varl and it made Morzu’s mouth water. In their own worlds these two were considered some of the greatest fighters in the lands, but compared to him they were nothing. Let them huddle together like the refugees the Red Army slaughtered, he thought.

  Turning his attention to the annoying Edo Volis he blocked every one of the sword strikes with the back of his hand before driving it into Aneeku’s dead face. He didn’t bother to watch Edo Volis fall, the noises he made weren’t as entertaining as Cada Vada’s. This left only Black Cat still challenging him at the moment and she wasn’t much of a venture.

  She was frantically attacking with her claws above him, they weren’t so much as leaving a blemish on his raised arm. Was this cat really so stupid to not realize her attacks weren’t working? He wondered, deciding he would give her half a minute to change her tactics otherwise he would strike her down for with having the powers of a god Morzu no longer cared for boredom.

  25 seconds later the only thing that changed was Black Cat noticed the boredom in his eyes and hissed in anger. To him this was amusing, this great super hero was no more a threat to him than a common cat! He hissed back, more than merely mocking, the Shadow Stone powers were so great that even his spittle became shadow, launching upon Black Cat like a thousand black needles. Her skin was like weak cloth against them and as blood peppered her features she descended with dangerous speed. As she fell to the platform he kicked her, a cruel act that filled him with happiness. As she rolled helplessly across and off the platform, he raised his head, looking at the darkness of the sky, the darkness he had created.

  The laughing that came from him seemed to shake the entire world, sounding like the thunder of a malice storm. He could laugh whenever he wanted to, because there was no one who could stop him. He didn’t know how long he laughed for, nor did he care, he could have laughed for the rest of eternity. The notion seduced him more and he kept laughing, not stopping to take breath, because he didn’t have to! He felt beyond immortal, he felt invincible.

  He lowered his eyes expecting to see the otherworld heroes all huddled together, waiting for his judgement. But his eyes fell upon Cada Varl who was standing alone, his sword lowered but held tightly. Seeing this stopped his laughter, not because he didn’t find Cada Varl’s defiance amusing, he did. He was just now bored knowing Cada Varl was going to use the same dull tactic against him. Morzu had had fun with these otherworld heroes, but best to end it before exhilaration gave way to ennui. It was fitting, he did say he was going to kill Cada Varl first anyway.

  He watched as light appeared, but not from Cada Varl. Walls of energy were being formed on either side of the red eyed man. Knowing what they were Morzu smiled, shaking his head in disappointment.

  “What’s a matter Star Power?” Morzu asked, not bothering to look away from Cada Varl. “Have I beaten you so badly that you can no longer see straight? Those walls aren’t even positioned in the right way, there is nothing stopping me from reaching Cada Varl.” He wasn’t answered by words but by the appearance of a third force field. Its placing was strange enough that even this new god was momentarily confused by it. The third force field was placed like a roof upon the other two creating almost a
hallway between Cada Varl and Morzu. He looked back to the red eyed man wondering if he really had beaten Star Power’s brains so badly the dog had become insane.

  Then with great speed Cada Varl summoned the red energy, causing the strange red rash to cover the rest of his arm and part of his bare chest. The platform shook under the power of the red energy like before. But unlike before the red energy didn’t ascend into the air or spread like a wave, it remained jam packed by the force fields and the amount of pressure it was under caused the energy to strike forth like an inferno through a tunnel of hay. Immediately Morzu could feel how much more powerful this blast was compared to any Cada Varl had used before against him. Now because of those force fields the destructive capabilities were concerted into a much smaller and precise area. Because of this Morzu used both of his hands against the blast, stopping it from doing him harm, but the increase in power felt ten-fold. His arms shook slightly against it but he was far from worried because though clever there was no possible way this attack would overwhelm him.

  He could feel the words, ‘nice try’ being summoned to his lips until his ears overheard another sound. The great strangling gasp of Edo Volis could be heard over the strange raging sound of Cada Varl’s red energy. The necromancer was spewing forth that foul green mist he liked to use behind Morzu. Without force fields to contain it the mist covered the entire platform and Morzu could feel it trying to take effect on him. Though Cada Varl’s compact energy kept his hands busy, thus forcing him to concentrate the shadows as a kind of shield to protect himself from rotting, neither attack had any chance of ending his life and he knew it.

  Before him his vision was filled with the great red energy and on all other sides he could see nothing more than the green smoke. Which was why his vision was so immediately drawn to the light that shone on his right side. It wasn’t the light that caught his attention so much as what the light illuminated. It was Oos, standing within the mist, a look of utter contempt and disappointment on his eerie face.

  For the first time since claiming the Shadow Stone Morzu felt small and weak, how had he failed his great mentor? He was toying with the other world heroes to embarrass them. He would make them suffer as he would make all of Ebulon suffer, he was trying to make Oos proud, how could Oos not be impressed? Suddenly he saw another figure stepping into view behind Oos a knife in his hand.

  “No!” Morzu screamed as the figure buried the blade into Oos’ neck. The leader of the Ulnath fell with a silent scream on his lips. Morzu gasped as loudly as a scream when he saw the figure’s face, it was…him. The image showed Morzu killing Oos like a coward.

  Confusion and concern were crushed by revelation. These were images summoned forth by Star Power, that damn dog with the ability to read minds. Morzu was furious that Star Power would dare taunt him in such a way! How dare he show an image of Oos as a weakling! The dog may have had the ability to move through Edo’s mist without harm, but that didn’t mean he was safe, he was anything but safe! Star Power would die in such pain that the yelp he made would be heard in every single world in existence. In that moment he didn’t care about the red energy of Cada Varl or the green mist of Edo Volis, he only cared about killing Star Power!

  His thoughts then became mangled as if an earthquake had entered his mind. His left side was filled with numbness for a moment as a rush of force barreled into him like a battering ram. Within a moment his thoughts became clear as the force reverberated through his body placing all of his weight upon his right foot and lifting his left. Such power belonged to the traitor Kae, the cowardly attack had been sprung when his attention was elsewhere and his hands immobilized by Cada Varl’s energy. Though his body was sent into a rough jerk he felt little pain, the mighty Life Force the stupid Rhaldan and his protectors whispered about was nothing to fear. He could feel that Kae had hit him with everything he had and hadn’t even left a scratch on him. The only thing Kae had accomplished was to slightly throw him off balance and cause his head to raise upwards.

  Morzu would have found this amusing if Black Cat weren’t descending through the mist towards him. The feline was safe from the mist, her invulnerability protecting her. All of it was happening in a single moment, the impact of Kae’s attack was still causing his body to jerk and as his head fell forward he lost sight of Black Cat but could feel her claws digging into the nape of his neck. What did it matter, he could feel that her claws hadn’t drawn blood, such a waste of energy he thought to himself.

  Very soon though something felt very off, it was a strange feeling, like something was draining him. He remembered the stories that Oos would tell him of the vampire kings of old, the beings the Ulnath obliterated, how they would suck blood from their still living victims. That is how he felt now and his mind began to wonder if vampires existed in other worlds, had one come here? Using the distraction of the other world heroes to feed on him? The answer came not in sound but in sight, as his body continued to be drained he saw something move through the air, something black and solid.

  It was the Shadow Stone! It flipped through the air like it had been thrown by a strong arm, moving away from him and slowly taking the powers it possessed out of his body! How could he have never considered it before? The otherworld heroes weren’t trying to kill him they were trying to take the power away from him! And they had succeeded!

  The world, that once felt like it was his to take, now felt like a very cold and isolated place. The stone moved through the mist and he could hear it bouncing like a ball on the platform, the sounds echoed inside of his mind like the shadow stone had created the noises solely for him to hear. He looked back to the red energy feeling his hands tremble with both fear and that disgusting thing called weakness. Fully expecting the red energy to consume, he was at least grateful he would die instantly by its wrath in place of rotting away because of the mist. However neither happened as suddenly the darkness underneath was no longer solid.

  He fell without quarter, seeing the red rush across what remained of the platform and burning through the green mist like flame to cotton. He was soon watching it through a veil of weak darkness, his platform vanishing like a ghost returning to world of the dead. It looked like a strange red sun pushing its way through a sky once covered by black clouds. He kept staring, not in disbelief, as hard as it was he accepted he had been beaten, he just hoped that at least one of the other world heroes had been struck by Cada Varl’s energy and killed by it. It didn’t matter which one just as long as they were dead.

  Before the veil could be lifted his fall came to an end and without the shadow stone within it the armor did little to break his fall. Many things broke though, he could feel that his left leg had been shattered, his right arm twisted like a tree branch from a haunted woods. He could hear his own breathing, no longer like music, it was strained and frail, haunting him with each whispering tune. He had once felt like a god so his descent felt fitting, because he felt like he had been thrown from the throne of paradise. As his mouth was filled with the taste of blood all he could think was how much better the shadows had tasted.

  Morzu hadn’t been the only one to fall hard and heavy, Cada Varl had suffered the descent as well. Though unlike Morzu Cada Varl didn’t need armor to survive it, he was use to being struck into mountains and surviving. Considering how hard Morzu had once struck him the pain of the fall was little more than an ant bite to him. He too had been searching the sky to see what his red energy had done. Unlike Morzu he greatly hoped that the others had gotten out of its path. The red energy was the embodiment of destruction, he had been reluctant to rely on Star Power’s force fields to keep it contained. But as the red light finally vanished from view he could see them, each of the others, alive and well. Black Cat was flying, remaining in a single spot. Star Power was levitating near by. Kae, in his own body, was holding onto Edo Volis who remained floating. Cada Varl was glad that none of them had tried to save him from the fall, it was too great of a risk.

  The entire st
rategy had been risky, but he agreed with both Kae and Star Power, it was either take the risk and maybe be killed or continue fighting in vein and definitely be killed. Kae had spoken to him about the power of distraction, noticing how when Morzu was distracted Cada Varl’s punch had much greater effect compared to his kicks. Star Power had convinced Edo Volis that the mist wouldn’t hurt him and he was glad that Edo Volis trusted the canine, something Cada Varl struggled with, knowing the horrors that such creatures could unleash. Black Cat didn’t need much convincing she too knew the effectiveness of teamwork.

  Seeing them all safe brought his mind back to the strategy itself, did it truly work? The platform may have been destroyed, but darkness still covered the field, he could hear the clashing of steel and blood spilling screams, the battle was still raging around him. The red energy had blocked his vision, Cada Varl hadn’t seen where the Shadow Stone had fallen to, he had to find it before any of the enemies did, not the least Morzu. His eyes moved with the speed of lightning bolts desperate to find the stone.

  As fast as his search was it wasn’t fast enough for someone had found it. Cada Varl could see two strong hands holding the stone so tightly it was if the person was trying to strangle it. Cada Varl’s vision had moved so fast to find it and yet when it was within his sights his eyes moved very slowly upwards, because the arms that were connected to the hands were covered in armor of a fashion he had seen before. Moving up to the chest, armor remained, further ascent of his gaze made Cada Varl gasp.

  He was surprised, but ever so grateful for such an emotion, for it wasn’t Morzu but King Yadi. Cada Varl had never actually met King Yadi, but the crown on his helmet, made his identity easy and Cada Varl was enamoured by what he saw. Yadi looked every bit a king of legend, his face fresh and full of power. His stance so sturdy it was like his body had been built by divine stone. There wasn't a scratch on him, it was such a strange sight to see a man in the middle of a bloody battle appear so flawless.

  Slowly but at the same time suddenly the sounds of clashing steel and screams died, like applause fading into nothingness. Now Cada Varl was no longer alone in realizing that Yadi was holding the stone, it was more than just sight it was a feeling that invaded each and every person, not just on the field but at the medical tents as well. Yadi seemed like a single piece of shining gold in a wasteland of dirt. There was no movement from any one as if they each were struck by the silence that now filled Sorn field.

  The spell that Yadi’s newfound appearance cast wasn’t broken but rather defied by a group of Ulnath shadows. Their black blades still dripping with the blood of Ebulon soldiers and refugees, they came at Yadi from all directions. But none of them got within a foot of him, shattering like glass as the darkest light imaginable began radiating from the Shadow Stone in his hands.

  Cada Varl himself was only capable of looking away from the king when a strange sensation danced across him. It was the darkness that once covered the field, it was shrinking like shadows against a rising sun, a sun called Yadi.