by Jack Crosby
“If we have to kill you, we will.”
“I've seen your soul Prince Dante, you are weak. I will slaughter you and take your powers! Combined with the dark matter, Victor will perish and I will rule this world, once and for all.”
That was quite the speech. “Nagano Nation has foreseen the savior of the world and it is not you, demon,” Kira hissed.
“Do tell, silly girl,” he taunted.
There was no need for anymore words to be exchanged. We immediately went into battle and Kira, with her enhanced speed stat, got the jump on the Shadow Lord: Uppercut
The damage was substantial, but with his very large HP bar, it barely made a dent in it. He was a bit quicker than me and got the second attack off: Gravity falls
The dark matter infused attack proved one thing, that this guy was a genuine bad ass. Kira and I were in the oven with only one way out – to survive.
The turns began to stack up, each of us using our hardest hitting attacks all the while conserving our skill points as best we could. My spirit gauge was slowly filling up, especially thanks to the Scan skill informing us the Shadow Lord was actually strong against holy and weak against dark. Neither of us would’ve ever guessed that on our own, I’m sure of it. The Echo of Bahamut was especially useful as it was both a fire elemental attack with darkness weaved in.
As my latest summon ambush finished up, our foe’s HP bar dipped to under twenty percent. That’s when the real fireworks started. The Shadow Lord had one more trick up his sleeve: Binary split
A second Shadow Lord appeared beside the first. The lucky bastards also got a second attack in: Dual darkness from Hell
The twins began spinning around the room, fissures cracking open under Kira and I as they passed. Tendrils of dark energy sprang forth and battered us over and over again. Once it subsided, I was just under a third and Kira fell into critical status.
“Have you two figured it out yet? With the power of dark matter, I am becoming a God.”
He sounded just as insane as Victor had. “One Skylonian killed you once, another one will make it permanent,” I replied.
Kira broke up the dialogue: Raging headbutt
Her attack went critical. With the Shadow Lords sharing an HP bar, that at least helped. I rolled the dice, hoping for a critical myself and once again called on the spirit of a fallen summon: Gungnir
The enormous relic of Odin fell from the ether above us, projecting towards the double threat like a missile. It answered my prayers as the critical damage brought the Shadow Lord to the brink. We were so close to ending this threat.
Darkness gathering
The two demons reached over their heads and began pooling their energies into a giant sphere of pure catastrophic terror. We had two turns to end it before we were fried.
“We don’t have enough to kill him, not in one round,” Kira stated.
Superior heal
Instead of attacking, she wasted her turn on bringing me back close to seventy percent HP. “Why did you do that?” I cried.
“Attack him and then finish him off. I will survive this.”
I desperately wanted to use a potion but I had use logic not emotion. Steeling myself: Echo of Bahamut
Kira’s strategy was the right one; we wouldn’t have finished him off unless we got critical hits again. I hadn’t, so the point was moot. The four eyes across from us sneered as they unleashed their final and most destructive attack: Ruinous devastation
It was like the world around us ended. The sphere was thrown at us and everything went black. Suddenly, my worst nightmares all came to life! It was a complete mind overload as flashes of tragedy, suffering, and death filled my eyes. I couldn’t look away but nothing made sense. The visions were horrifying, torturous. As I began to turn into a heaving, shaking mess, the mental attack ended. I Was barely still in the battle, but Kira… Kira looked over at me and fell over.
::Kira has swooned::
“You bastard,” I seethed.
The Shadow Lord was shocked I was still alive. It didn’t matter, he was about to die again: Fury of Skylonus
There was something very satisfying about slaying this beast once and for all with the steel of my blade. I let my inner raging lunatic out as I swarmed him with nothing but fury and skill. As the last of my onslaught finished the boss battle, the Shadow Lord returned to one entity. He gave me one last disgusted look as his body broke apart. His grand finale had been quite the show; in the end it didn’t matter.
I quickly ran over to Kira. “C’mon, you said you’d survive!”
She didn’t respond. I shook her over and over again until finally, her eyelids cracked. “Did we win?” she cracked.
“We won.”
“I think we’re going to need to use a tent.”
There was only one problem. We didn't have one. At about that moment, all the experience points came flooding in, bumping me up two levels. With Kira being sent into swoon, she didn't get a chance to share in it. That was the biggest downside to falling in battle.
The dark matter began to react to the death of the Shadow Lord. Interesting enough, a glass door with a very heavy lock also appeared. As interesting as that was, my current concern was for Kira.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
She held her arm up and I helped her to her feet. “I have a good feeling that's the door we need to go through.”
It took her a few paces to get completely settled. By the time we reached the thick, glass door, Kira seemed to be okay on her own. It was weird; things had been different between us after all that time a part, but here we were again.
The awkwardness wasn't lost on Kira, either. “The time apart has really changed us, hasn't it?”
“You can say that again.”
“A new job class, crazy adventures, all of it,” she whispered enviously.
“You got to spend time with Rex, I didn't.”
When that dawned on her, her jealousy about the situation disappeared. “You never got a chance to say goodbye, Dante.”
I wasn't going to cry, not now. I focused solely on the lock; nothing else mattered. “I am going to try the ancient key we got.”
“Dante, we can…”
“I’m not ready,” I admitted.
She nodded as I pulled the key out and slid it into the lock. A quick twist and the mechanism popped a few times as the latch fell to the ground. The dark matter hummed even more than before. This had to be the right way to go. I grabbed Kira's hand, pulling the door towards us with my other. It was time to see if this was truly our answer.
We stepped into the void. As the unknown took hold of us, we gripped each other's hands tighter. The light from the chamber behind us disappeared only for a moment before a new setting invited us in. I knew this place!
“This is the Skylonian castle!”
“Right you are, Dante.”
Rex walked out to greet us. Had we died in that chamber?
Rex gave me a smile. “You're not dead; you've reached the only place in Alfheim that will grant you the powers you need to rival Victor’s. The Maker granted me one last wish, to be your guide in Yggdrasil.”
::Left Alfheim::
::Enter Yggdrasil::
“Are we inside the dark matter?” Kira asked.
“The dark matter is just a conduit between worlds. As your spiritual guide, I can't tell you much,” he said with a wink. “But I've been known to bend the rules here and there.”
This truly was Rex. Everything finally came to a head and I rushed over a hugged him. “I can't believe you blew yourself up.”
“I did it for Skylonus,” Rex admitted. “And I did it for me,” he added.
“You're back with your family?”
“I am, Dante.” That made me feel good hearing. “Time isn't on our side, so we will have to tall and move.”
::Rex joined the party::
We didn’t even make it two steps before a random encounter swept us up. However, Rex made short work o
f the two Gibraltar paratroopers that tried to intercept us: Divine slash
We gained no experience or any rewards after the quick battle. That’s when a blast rocked the castle. “Rex, is there a battle going on out there?” I asked.
“This is the final night of Skylonus’s existence. However, we need to keep moving.”
Kira looked as if she had something she needed to say, but thought better of it. We said no more and followed Rex through the receiving chambers of the castle and into the main hallway. That’s where it really sank in. Skylonus soldiers were engaged with more Gibraltar paratroopers. Two of the soldiers were a much younger Rex and the infamous Commander Cutter. The latter was wielding the Dark Star sword with speed and skill that even Victor couldn’t attempt to match.
Rex ignored his younger self. “We need to get to the throne room before it’s too late.”
Two more random battles took place; each time Rex took out the enemy with ease. It was clear he had something very important to tell us, just that he couldn’t say yet. For me, it was so hard not to take in the final night of my home’s place on Alfheim. Rex has relayed stories to me, to make me understand why we lived in exile, but here it was unfolding in real time. I wanted to truly understand what was going on, why Gibraltar attacked that night.
“There was no rhyme or reason to their attack other than Victor’s newfound greed wanted to make an example out of us,” Rex answered the unasked question.
I feared he was right. I wanted there to be this deep reason that at least gave some motive to all of this. “Our home was destroyed to make an example out of,” I repeated.
“After Skylonus was destroyed, Nagano Nation reluctantly bowed to Gibraltar, making bad deal after bad deal, fearing Tiamat’s return,” Kira added.
“Sometimes Dante, there’s no good answer. Greed and a black heart generally provide enough of a motive for bad people.”
With nothing more that needed to be added, we fought our way through the main hallway and into the throne room’s antechamber. Another group of three paratroopers engaged us to their detriment. We chopped them down without much trouble.
“Only the two of you can enter the throne room,” Rex explained.
“What? This is the end?”
“It’ll be okay, Dante. I’ll see you on the other side, once you pass the final test.”
This didn’t sound good but Rex basically pushed me to move forward. “I’ll take it from here,” Kira promised him.
“I like this one. I know fate hasn’t been kind to the two of you, but you’ve done well by the royal family of Skylonus, Kira.”
She bowed to him. “Thank you, Rex.”
There was nothing I wasn’t prepared for. Knowing that the fate of Alfheim depending on what was behind those closed doors, I marched right into my home. A place I could barely remember, but it was still mine. The throne room was a place I’d eventually have taken over as King, as I was the only child of the King and Queen.
This was my birthright.
This was my destiny.
Upon entering, a single figure stood directly in front of the throne. “Hello, son.”
Only the slightest memory of the man standing in front of me could be found, but it didn’t matter. I knew exactly who he was. “Dad?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“It’s been far too long, my child. And here, when I finally get to lay eyes on you, it’s at the end of the journey,” he sighed.
There were so many questions to be asked, but his comment caught me by surprise, turning the conversation in a totally different direction. “What do you mean at the end?”
He walked over, appraising me the entire time. “You’ve been to the Star Temple; you’ve seen the mess our direct ancestors have caused. Between the shaky alliance with Tiamat and the eventuality of any one, Victor or another, this world was bound to come to a close.”
“Just like the prophecy the Nagano Nation believed in,” Kira exclaimed.
I didn’t find the end of the world something to be excited about. “There’s no coming back from this?”
“Dante, every ending has a beginning. By besting the Shadow Lord in combat, the dark matter has allowed for only the second time in history someone to come into Yggdrasil and forge a weapon. The original, the Dark Star, was forged by known other than Dontaveous when he led the exploration on the research station so many years ago. With it lost,” he went on. “A new champion had to arise, a better champion.”
“Me?”
“You.”
This was so much to take in. “Yggdrasil knew I’d need faces I trusted to complete the task, didn’t it?”
“Rex and I were picked by the Maker to ensure this would be easier for you. I’m surprised Rex didn’t come in with you,” Father said.
“He said he couldn’t,” Kira answered for me.
A knowing smile appeared on his face. “He’ll be waiting for you in the forge, I gather. He probably didn’t want to intrude on this limited time.” Father wiped a tear from his face. “Our time is drawing short and there’s so much I’d love to tell you about, but we aren’t afforded that luxury today.”
Even though I wanted to argue, I knew his words were true. “What do we need to do, Father?”
“When I give to you the piece of dark matter that has been allocated to you, a beacon in this world will go off. Those summons who are loyal to Victor will come for you. Do not dally; make the weapon you need in the forge and return. You have loyal friends who will need your assistance,” he advised.
“Will I ever see you again?” I asked.
“Of course. Your mother and I live in your heart. We are so proud of you and know one day you will join us when it is your time.”
Kira placed a hand on my shoulder. “I love you, Father.”
“I love you, Dante.”
He reached into his royal tunic and pulled out the black, lumpy mass. The moment it went from him to me, he whispered, “Hurry!”
**Cut Scene**
Nagano Wasteland
“Did you feel the, Ifrit?”
“I did, Shiva.”
Chills were sent down my icy spine. “The Skylonian Prince has located the dark matter,” I said.
Ifrit, my fiery companion seemed pleased. “Maybe he will present a real challenge then.”
There was no time to fool around here. The bodies of the dead bandits weren’t providing clues anyway. “We have his location and we shall see what he is made of.”
“You’re not thinking of turning on Victor, are you?” the fire summon asked.
I didn’t answer. There was a reason none of us told him the truth about the dark matter. We all wanted a backup plan should Victor go too far.
And I was very concerned he was going too far…
****
::Enter Airship Dauntless::
Kira and I were safely aboard the ship, the mission complete. “Dante, just what the hell is that in your hand?” Alyssa asked.
::Equipped Lunar Leviathan - plus 550% to all stats, first turn, Death Among Us::
The large, black sword had been forged in the heart of Yggdrasil. The handle was shaped in the form of Tiamat’s open maw in her dragon form; each eye had a red crystal inserted into it. This would be the new weapon on Skylonus. It would also be the last thing God-King Victor would ever see.
It was my final promise to Rex, as well.
As the airship leveled off to its maximum height, we were in the process of talking about our next move when our next move came to us. The first jolt that rocked the airship came from the back before another one jarred the front.
“What the hell was that?” Rico asked.
It was time to take action. It was clear that enemies were coming to us. “The three of you, head to the front, make sure the thing stays airborne. I’ll take the back,” I commanded.
“One of us should go with you.”
“Kira, it’ll be okay. I have my ultimate weapon.”
They didn’t like the pl
an, but their approval wasn’t required.
::Dante left the party::
“I’ll be fine. Stop giving me that look and go!” I cried.
The group did as I asked, with Rico giving one last pleading look to take him along. I couldn’t. Whatever we were going up against, I’d be able to handle myself; I couldn’t weaken the group. Quickly, I made my way out of the main living area and up the ladder that led to the bow of the airship. The Dauntless was like a maze in some retrospect, different ladders or corridors taking you to other areas. I was almost to the rear engine room when a figure dropped in on me, wearing deep blue armor and carrying a spear made of pure ice.
“Well hello Prince of Skylonus.”
The new figure’s armor melted away, revealing something else entirely. Snow white hair, icy eyes, and an oval face led down to a very curvaceous figure that was barely covered by the sling style tunic she was wearing. Her legs were the only thing truly covered; deep blue high heeled boots that stopped just below the tops of her thighs.
This was one amazing woman!
“I am Shiva, Mistress of Ice, and also servant to Victor. Or at least was a servant to Victor - until now.”
The lunar leviathan hummed for a second. It was responding to Shiva’s presence. “The dark matter that the sword was forged from links to summons,” I surmised.
Shiva clapped for me. “Not even Victor understands why we follow him. He has no clue without the Dark Star he'd be less tempting to follow.”
I gripped my sword even harder. “Are you still a foe?”
“Ifrit will be, but I am not.”
That must have been who the others went to deal with. Ice began to form on the doors leading out of the corridor we were in. A seductive smile formed on Shiva's perfect face.
She sauntered closer to me, hips swaying with each step. “Your friends can handle Ifrit's rage for the time being. How about you light a fire in my loins?”
Oh man, the thought of seeing Shiva's naked body, strike that, mostly naked body with her boots on was easy too tempting to turn down. She was right; the three of them dealing with Ifrit were fine for the time being. If getting Shiva on our side required a physical act, I was the man for the task.