“By who?”
“Probably the Dark Lord.”
“You think he predicted we would come here?”
“It’s possible. Either way it’s not like this is going to—”
A burst of pain struck through my chest and I collapsed back to the ground. I heaved, pushing air down to my lungs.
“Ah, that’s the feedback from the potion.” Freya crawled up to me.
I gasped. “What?”
“The counteractive of poison and antidote kind of causes a feedback reaction like that.” She propped me up and promptly sat herself behind me, lowering my head onto her lap.
“Uhhhh…what?”
“I’m just being nice. It helps to keep your head elevated. Don’t you want the bursts of pain to go away?”
“Yes please.”
She smiled. “Now, what do we do about this guy?”
DING!
You have received a message from: Sage Gorias! Would you like to open it?
Finally responded. I grinned, and tapped on ‘Yes’, even though my hand was half-paralyzed and so barely moving.
DING!
Diablo, I am reporting my findings to you as you had requested. The men we had sent to the locations have still not returned, so we sent an additional set of men afterwards. The locations all seem to be underground for some reason. Every exploration squad but two found an empty chamber. The two that didn’t have been unresponsive and have not contacted us since.
Must have gotten attacked by whoever was collecting up the Eternal.
“You don’t have to respond now.” Freya leaned over, with her dark hair sliding over my face. Eyes of moonsilver looked down at me, and a smile curled onto her lips.
She caught me staring and her face reddened. “What?”
I chuckled. “I didn’t know elves got embarrassed.”
Freya’s hand lowered down, cupping my cheek. A sole finger of hers traced a line down my skin, playing with it. “Hey, Zoran?” Her voice was shaky.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ve…changed at all recently?”
“What do you mean?” I frowned. “We’ve all grown stronger for sure.”
She shook her head. “I mean as…people.”
“Oh,” I said. “I guess we did? I don’t know. I can’t say I’ve been paying attention to it.”
“That’s true. But sometimes, the changes we don’t notice are the most drastic ones.”
I scrunched my eyebrows. Okay, what is she talking about here?
Nyx remained silent. So, did Acnologia.
“Okay, I have to ask,” I said. “What are you trying to do here?”
“Nothing,” she squeaked.
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’ve changed?”
“No, no.” She paused. “Well okay, yeah. You’ve changed.”
“People change all the time. I certainly haven’t changed my entire personality now, have I?”
She looked down at me. “Well…”
“What?”
“It’s like you’re more…Diablo than Zoran now.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
And then the reference hit me.
“Wait.” I looked right into her eyes. “Are you saying I’m acting more like a Phantom Lord now? That I’m not that innocent guy you first met?”
“Depends,” she said. “Do you think the old you would have flattened a village without a second thought?”
I rolled my eyes. “There was no other way around that. It was either flatten the village or not get into the chamber.”
“And the knights we just killed?”
I stared at her. “Are you picking apart every single action of mine now?” My tone changed. “Those Knights attacked us! I’m paralyzed literally because of those guys.”
“So that was why you split their skulls in half?”
I sighed. “Really? You’re questioning the way I attack now? I just do what’s the fastest for me.”
She stared into my eyes. “Really?”
“Well yeah. What other reason would I have to do something like splitting skulls and bodies? Do you think I like it or something?”
She averted her gaze.
My eyes widened. “Wait.” My voice turned hoarse. “You actually think I like this?”
Her face was turned away from me now, and she looked at the fallen Knights instead.
“Freya.” I spoke in a whisper now. “Do you really think I enjoy doing that to people?”
“Zoran, listen—”
I pushed myself up. Pain struck my lower back, but much milder than before. I didn’t give a damn if anything hurt me now.
“Wait!” the elf exclaimed. “You still need to—”
“I’m fine.” I pushed her hand away. “And for the record, no, I don’t enjoy mutilating the people who I face. I don’t know where you get these ideas from.”
She looked away from me. “It’s just something we started worrying about.”
I blinked. “We?” I asked. “WE?”
The elf didn’t say anything.
“Okay, I just really need some time alone now.” I walked away, unsure of where I was going.
“Zoran, wait.” Freya stood up.
“Please.” I walked away, over the pool of blood and broken bodies, and into the rubble.
You guys have been quiet for a long time now. My fists clenched. Are you sure you’re not part of this ‘We’ too?
“Diablo, now is not the time to give into your emotions,” Acnologia said. “If anything, your rationality will have to shine here.”
I chuckled. Of course, you’re going to avoid my question.
I looked up at the sky, at the dark clouds swirling through it. “I just didn’t expect to be called a murderer, that’s all.”
“She did not call you a murderer,” Nyx said.
Well, there aren’t many names for a man who loves splitting skulls is there?
“Actually, I think those kinds of people are usually called psychopaths.”
Not helping, Nyx.
“Sorry,” he said. “But listen, now is not the time to be dwelling on something like this. We’ve got a lot of stuff we have to take care of. We haven’t even started thinking about what’s going on with the Dark Lord and the Time Lord.”
“I know,” I muttered.
A clap of thunder broke the skies, descending down to the lands. It won’t rain. I walked through the streets, to the edge of the village half a mile away, and turned, heading back to the village center.
I reached the same spot I left twenty minutes later, with the exact same emotions stirring within me. But I’d like to think I had better control of them now.
The elf sat where she had been before, looking up at the Dragon. She caught sight of me the moment I stepped into the center, but she didn’t move an inch. Her eyes averted to the ground, away from my form.
I didn’t feel apologetic at all, especially since I hadn’t done anything to warrant giving out one.
“Now isn’t the time to be petty,” Nyx said.
I’m aware. I walked up to her.
“Zoran.” She stood up. “I’m—”
“Sorry.” We both spoke at once.
I blinked, and a small smile curled onto my face. She chuckled as well. “Let’s just put this behind us,” she said. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“It’s fine. And yeah, I second putting this behind us.”
“Good.” Her expression changed. “Now what are our plans now then?”
“I’m staying here. You’re going back to Ikarius.”
The elf blinked. “What?” she said. “Is this because of what I just did?”
I smiled. “I thought I said we were putting that behind us. I’m not sending you to Ikarius because of what happened. It’s because I need you to head out with the Death Lord.”
“Head out where?”
“I’ll give you the details enroute,” I said. “Right now, I really need
you to head back. Acnologia will take you there. Hopefully you won’t keep the Death Lord waiting for too long.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“You better explain this to me properly later.” She leapt up onto Acnologia’s back.
“I will.”
The Dragon flapped hard, and ascended to the skies.
“Stay safe!” The elf yelled, just as she and the beast went past the clouds.
I sat myself down, flexing my arms, and easing my muscles out of my paralyzed state.
“You’re quite the wordsmith,” Nyx said.
“What do you mean?”
“There really isn’t any good reason for sending her back there, is there?”
I smiled. “I’ll find one.”
The spirit sighed. “Why are you doing this? Freya is a friend. You’re supposed to be honest with her.”
I sat down, crossing my legs. “And I will be honest when the time comes. I’m sorry, but I really needed to be alone right now.”
“Eh? Why?”
“There’s something I need to look into, and she can’t be around when I do.”
“What? I’m so confused right now.”
“I think I know what that crystal with the green runes was.”
“You do?” the spirit asked. “How? I didn’t hear anything about this.”
A warm wind blew through my hair.
“You think I don’t keep secrets from you?”
***
CHAPTER NINE
There was no wind, and yet the leaves rustled. Trees stood tall before me, with birds perching themselves on their branches and chirping to the air. The skies held a single cloud, a ball of puffy white that made its way through the blue.
“What the heck?” Nyx asked. “Where is this? Did you just come into your spirit space?”
“Maybe.” I stood up. Armor of black clinked as I moved, but my movements were fluid, unhindered.
“Wait, I never equipped you with the Berserker Armor, did I?”
I grinned. “You didn’t have to.”
“Okay, I’m beyond confused here.”
“I know,” I chuckled. “And I’m loving it.”
Mountains stood on the horizon behind me, rising up to the skies. Dark clouds hovered over the peaks, and small flashes of white burst between the black puffs.
“This looks familiar,” Nyx said. “Why does it look familiar?”
I simply smiled, and walked into the cluster of trees before me. A gentle breeze picked up, and chilling wind ran between my hair. The air around me was warm and damp, yet the breeze that hit was soothing to the skin.
A growl sounded before me, and a beast dropped down from the trees. A wolf of dark fur, with its body as large as mine, and its eyes, a shade of bright white.
“That’s a…Dark wolf?” the spirit said.
“Indeed.” I put my hand in the air. “Oskis!”
The blast of fire struck the beast before it could even move, and its burning body fell to the floor, turning to cinders.
“It can’t be,” Nyx whispered.
I sighed. “Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out by now.”
“Your memories,” he said. “They’re back?”
“Not all of them.” I eyed the treetops, and spotted a few birds.
“Since when have you gotten your memories back? I heard nothing about this.”
“As is the case for everyone else.” I walked into the forest. “I never told any of them.”
“How on earth did you keep this a secret from me? I literally live in the exact same place these memories are in.”
“Well,” I said. “When you get closer to being the actual Phantom Lord you realize you can control what your spirits see and what they don’t.”
“Great, now I’m going to always question if you’re hiding something from me.”
“Good,” I grinned.
“But seriously, what’s going on here? How are we inside your memory?”
“I’m using my spirit space to live through one of my memories again.”
“You can do that?”
“Apparently. Pretty neat, huh?”
“Why this memory though?” he asked. “Does it have something to do with the crystal rock from before?”
“Possibly.”
The spirit scoffed. “Well, you’re being annoyingly ambiguous today.”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
A crack sounded, echoing from deep within the forest. A treetop collapsed, and multiple branches snapped as it came crashing down. A bout of laughter resonated from the same spot, echoing through the forest.
“That can’t be good,” Nyx said.
I shook my head. “It isn’t. But we’re going there.”
The forest scenery stayed the same and I moved in. The greenery didn’t get denser, the trees didn’t get taller. It all remained just as it had been before. The branches however, were now silent, no longer adorned by singing birds.
“Okay, what is all of this?” Nyx asked. “I’m still so confused.”
“I know.”
Another crack sounded, and a tree went flying into the air. The speck of green and brown rose past the clouds, and descended many a mile away, landing with another cracking sound.
A voice chuckled. “That was one heck of a kick, Diablo.”
I froze, with the hairs of my neck spiking up. My chest clenched, my heart thumping against its bonds with each beat. I pulled my eyes away from the ground and gazed ahead of me. Three figures stood there, humanoid forms of hazy shadows crowded around a fallen tree.
“Another?” one of the forms asked.
My hands shook, and I clenched them into fists, with my nails biting into my skin as I stopped the trembling.
“Zoran?” Nyx asked. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, and walked up to the men. They didn’t notice me, and I hadn’t expected them to. This is what always happened.
“Alright then, my turn.” One of the figures stepped back from the tree and slammed into it with his foot. The trunk shot into the air, faster than an arrow ever would. The tree disappeared into the distance, and another crack sounded a few seconds later when it landed.
The three figures chuckled. “This is really stupid,” one of them said.
“Yeah, but it’s still fun,” another replied.
The voices filled my mind, and I felt my eyes well up. What the heck. I brushed my sleeve against my eye.
Nyx said, “Diablo—”
“I’m fine.” I stepped up to the three figures. My fingers trembled, yearning to reach out, yearning to touch them. But I knew I couldn’t.
“This is back in the Age of the Eternals isn’t it?” Nyx asked.
A warm breeze blew past me. “And what if it is?”
“Did you know the other two?”
I shook my head. “I used to. Those memories haven’t returned. Events have. Faces haven’t.”
“Oh. That’s why they’re all shadows.”
I nodded.
“Wait, then why is your past-form a shadow too?”
My lips twitched. “I wonder.”
“Okay this mysterious look on you really isn’t welcoming. This is not the kind of act you pull off.”
I chuckled. “It’ll be—”
A roar exploded through the skies, and a blast of fire surged down from ahead. A shield of light immediately went up in front of the figures, and deflected the blast away from them.
“What the heck was that?” Figure one asked.
“No clue,” Figure two said. “Diablo?”
“Ugh,” Figure three—my past self—mumbled, with his voice alone giving his identity away. “We better get down.”
“What?”
Shadow me pushed the other two to the ground. The shield broke a split second later and the fire surged through, breaking into the forest. Another roar ensued.
“Diablo, this isn’t what I think, is it?”
I stepped forward. “Yup.”
A Dragon emerged from within the forest—a creature of dark green, with eyes of bright red. Its wings were folded up at its sides, and its long body broke through trunks as it made its way forward.
“Dragons,” Nyx mumbled. “It just had to be dragons.”
“Great,” Figure two muttered. “Think we can take this one down?”
Shadow me nodded and the three of them shot forward. The Dragon swerved away, but the Eternals were too fast for him. Shadow Me started with a blast of darkness, sending the beast hurtling back. Figure two ran alongside the falling beast and uppercut it, sending it high into the air. Figure one followed it up, rising higher above it and smashing it back down with his fist.
The Dragon came hurtling to the ground, breaking branch and tree as it cratered into the forest floor.
“Wait a second,” Nyx said. “This isn’t an Ancient Dragon, is it?”
I shook my head. Just a normal one.
Figure One and Figure Two approached the Dragon, and I sensed the intent of murder, even though I only saw their featureless faces.
“Wait.” Shadow me stepped forward.
“Yeah?”
“We should leave it alone.”
The two of them looked at Shadow me, then at the Dragon, then at me again. “You realize this thing just attacked us, right?”
“We’ve already immobilized it. We don’t have necessity to kill it now.”
The two figures looked at Shadow me, and then sighed. “You’ve got a weird sense of care for the oddest things.” They dusted their hands and turned away from the beast.
“I know,” shadow me said. “But there’s no harm in trying to follow it.”
“Which is why we listen to you,” Figure one chuckled.
“I appreciate it.”
“Diablo, what exactly IS this?” Nyx asked.
My heartbeat raced. I wanted to scream out, yell at them all. But I didn’t. I could scream my voice out, but they would never hear me. This was just a hyper-realistic dream, and I was a simple observer. Nothing more.
“Okay that reaction did not help me answer my question at all,” the spirit said.
The Dragon threw its head into the air and roared. Its body glowed a bright green, and a beam of similar-shaded light rose from before it, striking into the sky. A man stepped out. And this one, I remembered.
The Eternal: Hellbringer - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 5) Page 8