by David Walker
* * *
Metatron arose from his skull-laced throne and unfurled his large, obsidian wings. The Black Seraphim of Death swooped down into the core of Sheol. He slowly approached a dark, feminine figure who was seated upon Sheol's black, violent heart. Metatron bowed in homage to the Shadow Empress of Death herself, Lady Semiramis. Her intense, scarlet eyes pulsed behind a gossamer veil.
The unbreakable law of consumption dictated that the type of energy an entity utilized to function was determined by the resources that it consumed. Thus, Semiramis's essence was birthed out of humanity's consumption of the fruit of Baal; she was the personification of death itself. Empowered by innumerable fallen souls, she was arguably the most powerful being in the kingdom of hell.
“Empress, I have found a soul that might be destined to destroy everything that we have worked so hard to build. My attempt to reap him has failed, and now he has become illuminated. Please grant me your power,” Metatron entreated Semiramis on his knees. He lifted up a golden, glowing sphere and handed it to her. She clasped it with both hands and closed her eyes for a moment.
“This soul bears an incorruptible seal. I cannot claim it,” she hissed, as if in pain. “Yet...I have tasted his fear. Yes, he is attached to two vulnerable souls. You can use them to draw him in.”
“Thank you, my Lady,” Metatron acknowledged. He flew back to his throne room and summoned Dullahan, one of his reaper captains. Metatron sent the swift, gruesome rider on an important assignment.
Garret and Kylie entered Callisto on their way to the Golden Coliseum. Garret had made his way to the Combat Cards Championship finals. After a series of challenging card matches, Garret managed to win the championship. He and Kylie celebrated his victory with a few glasses of the finest wine that Callisto had to offer. They festively stumbled through the streets of Callisto.
Dullahan flew through Callisto on his demonic, black steed and approached his targets. He clutched his spiked head and detached it from his body. His detached head remained attached to his flexible spine and extended itself from his neck forming a flail. He swung his head and spine around in a circular motion and whipped them around the waists of his targets. He yanked them midair, pulling them into a rift that transported them to the Valley of Death.
The Valley of Death was a hidden astral realm that the reapers used to form dynamic fusions in order to eliminate their targets. Through the power of the Shadow Empress of Death, reapers were the only demonic entities that were able to create dynamic fusions. The Valley of Death was dark and desolate, emitting a chaotic vibration which served to disorient adventurers, preventing them from exiting. Dullahan maliciously threw his captives to the barren, rocky ground. He summoned a familiar spirit that took the form of a raven. The raven recorded the scene and flew off into the sea of aether.
* * *
Shade sat in the garden of his heart realm, thoughtfully gazing at the sparkling fountain. He was still shaken up about his encounter with Vice Deceptus. Shade's vision of his friends' horrific decapitations continued to haunt his mind. Could Kylie and Garret be murdered if they remained in Callisto? The prospect was terrifying, yet altogether possible, since Callisto was located in the third level of hell.
If his best friends were to lose their lives, guilt would crush his soul. He was the one who exposed them to Callisto. A black raven unexpectedly pierced through Shade's heart realm and dove into the garden. Alarmed, Shade was about to launch an attack on the vile, foreboding creature hovering over the fountain, when it began projecting holographic images of Kylie and Garrett from its eyes.
“We have them,” the raven screeched eerily.
“Please, don't hurt them,” Shade stammered. The raven's holographic images morphed into a set of realm coordinates. A moment later, Aftershock stepped inside of Shade's garden.
“Shade...is that you?” Aftershock asked as she slowly approached him.
“Yeah, it's me,” Shade affirmed, recalling that she was unable to properly perceive his illuminated spirit body.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“I've been fine. Leila, look I have to...”
“Matt, please just give me a minute. Obfuscation is about to launch an attack that will kill thousands of innocent people. We need you to help us stop them,” she urged. He clasped his face in frustration. He was growing increasingly nervous about Kylie and Garret's fate. This couldn't have happened at a worse time.
“Leila, I wish I could help but Kylie and Garret are in trouble. I have to make sure they're alright.”
“What's wrong?”
“The kingdom of hell captured them. Their lives are in danger,” he explained hurriedly. She wrinkled her brow in confusion.
“How are they...”
“You think I'm crazy, I get it. But I really don't care right now!” he snapped. “Kylie and Garret are in danger because I showed them how to get into Callisto.”
“Matt, look I'm sorry about how I've acted toward you lately. I've been insensitive to your beliefs and that isn't right,” She apologized, inching closer to him.
“That's alright,” he sighed, deflating his tone.
“Callisto is fine. I've never seen anything dangerous happen there. On the other hand, you and I both know how dangerous Obfuscation is. We have to go now or they'll do something worse than the Embassy bombing!”
“I'm sorry Leila, I can't. I have to protect my friends.”
“Aren't we also your friends?” she challenged.
“Of course you are. But you guys are able to take care of yourselves. Kylie and Garret don't have combat experience. I have to go.”
“Matt...we need you,” she implored in an emotionally vulnerable tone.
“You'll be alright. Just tell Trance to focus. I have to go now,” Shade insisted as he entered a rift, leaving Aftershock behind.
* * *
Streams of light swirled around Shade as he spiraled down into the Valley of Death. The light converged upon his spirit body, forming his pearlescent Holy Armor. He landed and instantly recognized a demonic entity that he had seen in the grimoire: Dullahan, the Headless Horseman. Shade recalled the frightening legend that was inspired by the rank five, reaper-class demon.
Dullahan's rope-like, flexible spine was extended out from his neck and wrapped firmly around Kylie and Garret. His head was round, sooty, and covered with sharp briers; it slowly swayed back and forth behind them, like a cobra getting ready to strike. He shot Shade a challenging glare with his orange, blazing eyes. Kylie and Garret's faces were filled with horror and revulsion, as repulsive, slimy fluid covered them from Dullahan's spine.
The ground dipped as Dullahan pulled a layer of the astral realm down, dragging everyone into the dynamic realm below. He immediately fused the dynamic realm with the physical realm beneath it, creating a dynamic fusion. Shade and his friends found themselves physically vulnerable, inside of an abandoned junkyard. Glowing, broken machinery, and scrap metal were thickly scattered throughout the broad landfill.
Shade had channeled cyclonic energy into his dagger during their descent into the dynamic fusion. He threw his dagger in between two of Dullahan's vertebrae. The dagger drilled deep into Dullahan's spine, emitting a whirlwind that forced the spine to unravel itself, releasing its hold on Kylie and Garret. Shade swiftly clutched onto his friends, yanking them out of Dullahan's reach. Shade tossed them near a large, dilapidated truck.
“Take cover!” Shade shouted, as Kylie and Garret scurried behind the truck.
Shade utilized magnetic force to pull his dagger back into his hand and re-sheath it. Dullahan whipped his neck around, coiling his spine around the base of his neck, re-attaching his head. Shade unsheathed his sword and swiftly dashed through the air, targeting Dullahan's skull with an overhead slash. Dullahan blocked Shade's attack with an upward stroke of his ax. Shade flipped backward, immediately thrusting his sword at Dullahan's mid-section upon landing. Shade's thrust was narrowly deflected by a swooping parry from Dullah
an's ax.
Shade swung wildly at Dullahan with multiple swipes of his sword. His speed advantage enabled him to connect with many of his attacks, despite the unfocused inefficiency of his barrage. Dullahan shrugged off the assault as gashes began to pile up on his resilient spirit body. He targeted Shade with arcing swings of his ax. Shade twisted and turned in order to evade the incoming attacks after one of his blocks was met with frightening resistance.
One of Dullahan's swings missed Shade and struck the ground with tremendous force, creating a sizable fissure. Vines sprouted out from the crevice and entangled Shade's feet, preventing him from side-stepping Dullahan's next swing, which struck him squarely in the chest. The vicious blow landed in between Shade's armor plating, penetrating his spirit body, and taking out a chunk of his spirit vitality. Shade chopped the vines off of his feet and quickly leaped backward, establishing distance between himself and his deadly foe.
Shade unholstered his pistol and fired light-infused, elemental rounds at Dullahan. The shots pushed Dullahan back but did minimal damage to the dark rider. Dullahan detached his head and flailed his spine around with a spinning motion of his neck. His head spiraled after Shade, like a giant drill pressing into a quarry. Shade smacked Dullahan's head with the bottom of his pistol handle, releasing a plume of green mist. His vision blurred as he choked on the putrid gas.
Shade adopted a defensive stance as Dullahan's body charged at him with aggressive ax swings. Shade struggled to block Dullahan's onslaught, as his vision continued to worsen. Eventually, he was only able to see a blurry outline of Dullahan, whose attacks were relentlessly hitting their marks. Shade's spirit body wore down and was barely able to shield his physical body. He desperately attempted to drink one his healing tonics when his hands got tied up by Dullahan's spine, which had wrapped itself completely around him.
Shade's spirit body buckled under the pressure of Dullahan's grasp. He groaned in agony as his physical body began to feel the pain of the crushing grip. Courage arose in Shade's spirit, transforming itself into purified, blue flame. He channeled the fiery energy into his Holy Armor, which scorched with heat, forcing Dullahan to release his hold. Shade took a step back and channeled the flame into his fist, punching Dullahan in the face with a potent right hook, setting it ablaze.
Shade re-established his distance from Dullahan with a series of reverse somersaults. The fire on Dullahan's face had been extinguished. However, it was a blue, augmented flame, which re-ignited itself in pulses, searing Dullahan face over and over again. Shade unsheathed his dagger and formed a ribbon of light that attached to the bottom of its hilt. He lashed the dagger at Dullahan like a whip, while channeling blue, augmented, electrical energy into his strikes. The blows cracked like lightning, leaving Dullahan bruised and disoriented.
Shade masked his spirit spectrum and began to channel photonic energy into his sword. He slowly approached Dullahan, who was no longer able to see him. After losing sight of Shade, Dullahan became enraged. He shifted his gaze toward Kylie and Garrett, who were still hiding behind the truck. He ran toward them, poised to strike them down, when Shade's sword appeared out of nowhere, burying itself deep into his right eye with the intensity of a laser beam. Dullahan's head slowly began to dissipate, as the last of his spirit vitality depleted, banishing him from the dynamic fusion.
* * *
Trance and the Ordered Chaoz guild entered the deployment area of Operation Saturn's Edge: an astral realm above Ethras, Triberia. The realm's atmosphere was teeming with electromagnetic disturbances, sourced from a large ball of ebony flame. Trace led the guild toward the fire where they encountered a daunting, yet regal, spell blade guarding it. The masked spell blade wore royal-purple, decorative robes and was armed with a flaming stave weapon that had scythe-blades attached to its top and bottom ends. As the guild approached, Trance could see the outlines of four spell blades that were chanting inside of the hedge of flames.
“Ignore him! Go after the spell blades inside the fire!” Trance commanded his guild, as he unsheathed his Excalibur and used it to channel liquid energy. He swung the legendary sword toward the fire, directing a voluminous wave of water. The purple-clad spell blade used his weapon to swipe the ground with seismic energy, creating a tremor that cracked the terrain in front of him. Trance's surge of water fell short of extinguishing the black flame as it flooded into the cracks.
After unsheathing his Maelstrom's Edge, Trance wielded powerful relic weapons in each hand. He leaped over the crevice and dashed after the purple spell blade. The guild rushed behind him and spread out flanking him, advancing toward the flaming sphere. The masked fighter quickly broke down his double-sided scythe into two sections, revealing an extendable chain that connected the sections together. He used the scythes to block Trance's dual, overhand slashes. Trance and the mystic warrior clashed their blades against each other, exchanging heavy, elementally-charged weapon swings.
Aftershock plunged her Jagged Chopper into the ground, creating a row of stony pillars that violently shot up out of the ground beneath the black flame. The pillars shattered into splintered shards after colliding into a robust, protective seal. The robed warrior used a series of weaving attacks to entangle Trace's arms with his weapon's chain. He used his free hand to draw a downward, triangular pattern in the air, forming a magic seal in Aftershock's direction. The sunken water rose up out of the cracks and swirled around Aftershock, freezing and encasing her inside of a block of ice.
Crescent threw her fiery-charged Flame Arc at Aftershock's ice block and it slowly began to melt the ice. After shifting his hold on Trance, the crafty spell blade formed another seal in Crescent's direction. A group of red snakes materialized on top of her, causing her to scream and lose her focus. Stormspiral ran toward his eldest sister, as fiery snake fangs pierced her lightweight armor. He staved the snakes off of her with his Cyclonic Piercer and they burst into an explosion, knocking both siblings down.
Trance fought his way out of entanglement only to be met with an impervious defense. The mystic warrior spun his body around hypnotically, evading Trance's attacks, and catching him off guard with unorthodox counterattacks. The spell blade extended his chain and swung one of his scythes behind his back, nailing Trance with an arching strike that hit him like a scorpion sting. The unexpected maneuver left Trance open for an array of other exotic attacks that chipped away at his spirit vitality.
Aftershock broke out of her icy prison as Crescent and Stormspiral recovered from the snake explosion. They dashed after the purple spell blade, acknowledging the extent of the threat he posed. The mystic warrior extended his chain and spun one of his scythes around, digging a large circle in the ground. The circled area turned into quicksand which trapped the Alverezes deep into the ground as they approached him. Horrified, Trance lifted his father's Dragon Signet up in despair.
“Ladon, protector of House Felsen, I call upon your aid!” Trance shouted.
Lightning cracked as the powerful dragon Ladon emerged out of a large, gray cloud. Ladon's massive, lizard-shaped body was covered with white, square scales. He spread out his pink, flesh-colored wings and swooped down above Trance. The masked warrior leaped to the side, evading a blast from Ladon's chilling, frost breath. The dragon's breath extinguished the black sphere of fire, exposing the spell blades inside of it. Ladon swiped at them, but his terrifying claws were repelled by the protective seal that surrounded them.
The purple warrior spell blade took a golden lamp out from his robes and blew inside of it. A plume of flame sprouted out from the lamp, turning into an orange, flaming entity. The entity superimposed itself onto the masked warrior, enveloping his spirit body, and empowering him with fiery energy. The warrior's robes glowed with intense heat, like steel being tempered in a furnace.
The glowing warrior extended his weapon's chain and spun one of his scythes around in a circular motion, like a whirling, blazing vortex. He whipped the scythe and chain around Ladon's forepaw and yanked it away from the p
rotective seals. The enraged dragon turned his attention toward him and chased him around the combat area.
Trance got nervous when the area around the protective seal started to dip. The chanting spell blades were close to finishing an explosive seal that would have the power to ignite dozens of others. Trance studied the glowing patterns on the protective barrier, looking for a weakness that he could exploit. It did not take long before he understood the nature of the seal. He started casting a curse that could counter its protection. The area around the seal dipped further and further. Trance's curse activated, breaking the seal's protection.
Time seemed to dilate as Trance lunged at the chanting spell blades. He witnessed them lock the final segment of the explosive seal into place. Trance could not help but admire the elegance of the deadly, linked spell. Saturn's Edge's explosive seals were bonded in a way that enabled them to transcend realm barriers. Before he realized it, Trance had fallen into a multi-realm dynamic fusion.
Ladon's wings shielded Trance and his allies from the thunderous cascade of explosions that devastated Triberia. It took Trance awhile before he could react to the surreal experience. His ears were still ringing when he started to survey the destruction. His guildmates were unconscious. The charred remains of the spell blades that had activated the explosive seals were scattered everywhere. In the distance, Trance could view the remains of hundreds of innocent victims. However, there was no sign of the fierce, purple warrior.
The Maelstrom's Edge started glowing in Trance's hands. An entity that resembled a sparking cloud descended from the sky. The cloud entity and Ladon flew towards each other as if they were drawn by a magnetic force. Bolts of lightning arced outward, as the two beings fused their essences.