by Damon Glatz
The Mythic screamed and struggled. His muscles tightened, there was nothing he could do. His body convulsed uncontrollably. Static electricity filled the air with heat.
Ohitekah held him there. He cranked up the power. He could feel his hand burning into Daisuke's neck.
It’s not Daisuke. It’s not my friend. It’s the God of the Sun. That's who I'm hurting.
The screams changed tone and eventually grew silent. Ohitekah released his grip immediately. The body of his friend fell to the ground and laid there lifeless.
He's knocked out. But I think Daisuke is back in his body again.
There was a roar. Ohitekah turned to face it. The Mythic of Earth was healed again and Daisuke wasn't here to help.
"Well, I can't melt it. There must be another way."
Ohitekah held his hand out and fired a bolt of lightning at the Stone Giant. The bolt attack moved randomly through the air and rapidly changed direction on its own. The bolt luckily struck the body of the Mythic, it crackled around the black stone and had no effect.
Ohitekah froze, unsure of what to do.
The Mythic lifted a boulder off the ground and hurled it at Ohitekah. He flew to evade it. It crashed into the wall behind him.
What the hell is going on in here?
Ohitekah heard a voice in his head that wasn't his.
Who else is in here? Ohitekah thought.
He scanned the floor. Darius ran through the entrance, the rest of the Order was behind him. Ohitekah flew over to him.
"What happened?"
"The fire went out. We came forward to fight."
Ohitekah nodded.
"Daisuke became overpowered by the God of the Sun and lost control. He's over there but I knocked him out." Ohitekah turned to face the giant. "That's the Mythic of Earth. The Stone Giant."
"Holy hell." Darius stared into the beast's pits for eyes. He drew his sword. "What can we do to help?"
Ohitekah powered himself up and emitted a golden aura of electricity around him. "I'll fight the giant. You guys need to keep him distracted. Your weapons will not damage his body. Keep an eye out for weaknesses and let me know if you think of a way to take it out. Also, keep an eye on Daisuke." Ohitekah launched himself into the air. He sheathed his sword and drew his bow.
When he fought the tribesmen, Daisuke shot flaming arrows. Maybe I can shoot lightning from my bow. It might be more accurate than from my hand.
He targeted the Mythic. He drew back his string, as his hand moved back a thick yellow bolt took form in the bow. He released the tension and his lightning fired straight into the Mythic's face. Knocking it back a bit.
"Protect Daisuke at all costs!" Darius shouted. "Keep the Mythic distracted and stay alive! We're taking the bastard down!"
The Blood Red Spades circled out around the room. They took turns running forward and striking the Mythic's legs with their weapons. Each time it motioned to stomp one of them Ohitekah fired another lightning bolt and sent it back.
The Mythic had no opportunity to attack.
We can't keep this up. We're just prolonging the inevitable, Darius thought. The lightning is only strong enough to knock it back a bit, and our swords do nothing. The Mythic can't hit us though, we’re too fast. It’s a stalemate.
He looked to Ohitekah. He was flying around the cavern. Shooting lightning from his bow at every angle. Darius thought hard, he had studied at the Library since he was young, even as an adult The Order made him read works of science and history. He tried to remember everything that he could about lightning, all the studies that were done, all the research that he knew of.
Lightning doesn't affect stone. Stone doesn't conduct electricity. How can we make electricity stronger?
He looked around the cave. His eyes lit up.
"Ohitekah!" He shouted. Ohitekah looked down from where he was hovering.
"Make a storm!" Darius shouted.
"What?" Ohitekah looked confused.
"Can you make a storm down here?"
"I can try." Ohitekah lowered himself to the ground. He raised his hand to the ceiling.
A storm… Underground. Not sure if it’s possible. What is Darius getting at? The rain won't be heavy enough to make a difference.
He had to focus. He closed his eyes. He trusted his friends to keep the Mythic away from him while he concentrated. The air grew colder in the room, a breeze rolled in. The first few drops of rain dropped lightly on his face.
I'm doing it. I’m making it rain underground.
There were cracks of thunder from the roof of the cave. Clouds started to materialize out of the air. The water fell down harder. The storm started to spiral.
Ohitekah opened his eyes and took a breath. He could see the dark storm he created thundering at the top of the cavern. The rain was thick and fell hard.
Ohitekah resumed his place back in the air. The Mythic of Earth had halted his attack. It stared up into the eye of the storm. As if he was hypnotized by it.
"Now Ohitekah!" Darius shouted. "The water conducts electricity; your attacks will be more effective against it! Hit it with everything you have!"
Ohitekah nodded. He raised his hand into the air. A thick bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds and engulfed him in a golden flash. The bolt flickered and died down. The Thunder Mythic's body was surging with electricity.
He remembered how the Thunderbird used this technique against him. It would strike itself with lightning from the storm and absorb the power in order to charge itself up for its next attack.
Ohitekah wanted to go one step further.
He drew his sword and channeled all the power he had into its blade. Focusing all the electricity he had into the steel of the sword. It began to glow a golden static light, it was super-conducted.
In a flash, Ohitekah flew himself toward the chest of the Monster. Before it understood what happened, Ohitekah stabbed his blade into the center of the mountain-sized creature. The entire Mythic convulsed with electricity and crashed to the ground. Ohitekah held the sword into the body and fired more lightning into the wound. The ground shook like an earthquake as the Mythic spasmed and writhed in pain.
Darius stood in amazement.
This boy couldn't beat Sierra in a spar. What is this power he is hiding? Darius thought.
Ohitekah released his grip on the sword and lifted himself into the air. He raised his palm to the clouds above him and whipped it down. A bolt of lightning struck the sword still embedded in the monster's chest. The beam of yellow electricity stayed in a continuous pillar, connecting the storm to the sword. Keeping the Mythic pinned to the wet ground in a steady electric shock.
We did it. We won.
"Alright," Ohitekah stated. "You men stay here. Guard Daisuke. Guard the Earth Mythic and Daisuke. I need to go alone."
He gave another burst of a yellow static aura that surrounded him. His body illuminated the cave. Like an arrow, he flew out of the cave and further into the labyrinth.
Chapter Sixteen
Kingdom of the Damned
The Earth Mythic was defeated, Ohitekah had no more guilt to be afraid of, and his body filled the halls with a blinding golden light. There was nothing to slow him down now. He knew the further he traveled down the labyrinth the closer he would come to find the God of the Underworld.
And taking Sierra's soul back.
"I've been thinking..." Galius stood up from his chair in the dungeon.
"Yes?" Marcus asked inquisitively.
Galius paced through the dank room. He rubbed his chin and paused for a moment, lost in thought. His face looked concerned, which was enough to concern Marcus.
"Falko knew where we were. He has us pinned and we didn't know it."
"I follow..."
Galius looked around the empty room. Most of the men had gone on the mission to retrieve Sierra. Her body lay motionless on a table in the room.
"All of the leaders of our order, the Mythic of Fire, and the Mythic of Thunder, were
in one room," Galius began. "And Falko had his men positioned around us. We should have been the primary targets, Yet... The only causality was Sierra. The only person attacked was Sierra. Why?"
Marcus frowned. He could not say anything.
"At that moment, he could have killed anyone. Any of us. A Mythic even. Why kill Sierra? What was she? Why is she important to his plan?"
Marcus leaned forward. "Because Ohitekah went after her."
"That’s what I thought... He somehow knew Sierra was the only one Ohitekah would try to save. Why would Falko lead the Mythic of Thunder to the Underworld?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Falko's plans are to collect the Mythic powers. And not having any himself he had to find a way for someone else to fight his battle for him." He snapped to Marcus. Galius' face was furious. "Dammit!" He stood up. "He's after the Mythic of the Earth!"
The fire that was around the room had died down to nothing. The only source of light was the pillar of lightning that was continually shocking the Earth Mythic, keeping him pinned to the ground. Darius' men kept their distance. The storm above them would occasionally flicker thunder and illuminate the rest of the expansive cavern. The men stood in silence and waited.
Either Ohitekah comes back with Sierra's soul... Or the storm suddenly stops and he is dead.
Thunder softly echoed through the room. The steady crackle of the electricity made Darius' hair stand up on the back of his neck. He stood next to the body of Daisuke. A moment ago there was a black hand scorched on his neck, it has faded now. Daisuke breathed steadily.
"Sir!" someone shouted from the entrance of the cavern. "Someone's coming!"
Darius frowned.
"Stay in the cavern! Your mind may be tricking you." Darius turned. "Orpheus!" he shouted to one of his men. "Stand with Jason! Confirm his visual!"
Orpheus ran across the cave and joined Jason.
"There is someone coming, Sir! I see it too."
Darius drew his sword.
Who else could be in this cave?
Darius stayed by Daisuke, his safety was the objective currently. He waited for the man to show himself.
The light footsteps and were followed by what sounded like a walking stick. The man walked through the shadows and towards the entrance of the cave. Through the flashes of light from the storm, his figure could be made out.
"It's the guide, Sir. The old man who led us here."
Darius glared.
This isn't right.
"Thank god I found you men! I thought for sure I was lost." The old man said as he approached the guards.
"Sir!" a Jason said sternly. "I am going to ask you to stand back. We can't let you in."
He was supposed to leave us by the entrance. He's been following us.
The old man fumbled to find his words. "Boys, it’s me. I was lucky to find you all here." He took a step forward.
Orpheus drew his sword, Jason followed his lead. The old man paused, he looked to the storm. He looked at the Mythic of the Earth, still bolted to the ground, unable to defend himself.
"You actually did it..." The man said in a new voice. He stood up straight, forgetting the hunch he had before. His hood fell off his head.
Orpheus' eyes opened wide.
"He’s a—" The spear that was once a walking stick stabbed through his chest and cut off the rest of his statement. Jason moved in for an attack. The man pulled the spear out of Orpheus and blocked Jason's strike. He whipped the tip around and slashed Jason across his throat. He fell to the floor a gurgled something incomprehensible.
"Stop him!" Darius shouted. "It's one of Falko's men! He's after the Mythics!"
The assassin gave no attention to the command Darius shouted. The Earth Mythic was pinned, defenseless, now was the time to strike.
He rushed to the body of his prey. He was told where the heart was.
Ohitekah's flight came to a halt. He had reached the end of the maze. In front of him stood two enormous doors that created a dead end to the tunnel. They were black and blue, decorated with the skulls and bones of thousands of bodies. The doors had no handle to pull them open. They stood locked together, defiant of his mission.
Ohitekah landed in front of them. The two doors to the Kingdom of the Damned. The castle of the lowest Underworld, the ultimate suffering. Behind them was the God of Death. He would have Sierra's soul.
His face grew intense. His body began to glow brighter. Ohitekah raised his hand to the doors.
"I'll blow you off your hinges! You can't keep me out!" Ohitekah shouted.
He charged his power as much as he could. Sparks began shooting out of his body and hands.
There was a sudden and powerful shake that broke his concentration. He lowered his hand. The doors were slowly moving. The one on the right was steadily skidding open, away from him. The door roughly slid across the ground, shaking the earth as it loudly creaked open. The door on the left remained closed. The door came to a grinding halt after a moment. It opened just enough for him to walk through.
He's letting me in? He knows I'm here.
Ohitekah walked through the shadow of the opening. Vanishing into the darkness. The door closed behind him.
"Kill him! Kill him now!"
The spy made no attempt to fight any of his men. He ran through the center of the room and straight to the Mythic. Darius' men were originally keeping their distance and had to run from the edges of the cavern to catch up to him.
We need to take him out now! If he kills that Mythic he will take its power. He will be unstoppable. Now is our only chance to kill him!
Darius hesitated. Daisuke's body lay unconscious at his side.
I can't leave him unguarded. Falko's men would have the opportunity to kill two Mythics who are unable to fight. If he kills the Earth Mythic that’s one thing. But I can't let him kill Daisuke... However, if he kills the Earth Mythic first... There’s not much I can do anyway.
"Damn it."
The spy raced into the puddles around the Mythic. It was still raining in the center of the cave. He jumped up and climbed the leg of the mountain.
A few of the Spades attempted to follow. They scrambled up the body as fast as they could.
Darius turned to Daisuke. "Damn it wake up!" He crouched down and shook his body. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" He slapped Daisuke in the face. He continued to breathe slowly. Darius looked back to the men racing along the body of the Mythic. The assassin was nearing the chest of the stone giant.
"No!" Darius pulled out his knife.
If I kill Daisuke now, I can have the power to stop Falko. I can still save everyone.
His lifted his blade over Daisuke's heart.
"I'm sorry." He stabbed his knife down.
The assassin hesitated for a brief moment. There was some sort of explosion from in front of him. The dust settled after a moment. There was the Shogun, his black sword drawn. The blast from his awaking sent Darius across the cavern.
Daisuke raised his palm to the agent sent by Falko.
"You're too late!" The man shouted across the cavern.
"You are not leaving this cave." Without wasting another second Daisuke sent a column of fire screaming across the cavern.
This world was black and Ohitekah could not seem to create his own light. This world had no walls. It had only a shadow that stretched forever in each direction. He could only see two things, the doors he had just walked through behind him and the castle of the Underworld in front of him.
The castle had towers that pierced into the infinite darkness above him. It had a spiked wall around it, with another gate to get through and into the castle. The towers and walls were uneven, no symmetry to them at all and it emitted an eerie blue light making itself visible.
Ohitekah took a step towards it.
"What mortal dares enter my kingdom?" A voice echoed from around him. Ohitekah spun around, there was nothing.
"I am Ohitekah. The Mythic of Thunder," he spoke to the darkne
ss.
"A Mythic?" A blue flame sparked on the floor in front of him. Ohitekah took a step back. It grew into a tall blue fire. A figure glided through the flame and toward Ohitekah.
It had a long black hood and cloak that dragged across the ground. Its hands were crossed in front of it, the black sleeves covering its hands. No parts of the body were visible. The hood housed only deep darkness.
This was the God of the Underworld.
He is the God that Red thinks is helping Falko... I need to be careful.
"It has been an eternity since any mortal has visited my kingdom. Why are you here?"
Ohitekah stood straight. The God towered above him. His voice was deep and ancient. It echoed as if the words were whispered an eon ago, it was a voice that would surely haunt his nightmares forever.
"I have come to reclaim the soul of my friend, Sierra," he said trying not to shake.
The being stood there in silence.
"No mortal has ever made it into my kingdom, though many have tried." The God pulled his hand out of his sleeve. It had no skin. The hand was white bone, and nothing else. It moved his hand and held it over the ground to his side. With its skeleton fingertips, he raised his hand into the air and pulled a glowing body out of the ground.
It was Sierra. It looked as if she was being raised out of the earth by some invisible force. When her face made it through the dark ground her eyes remained closed. She was in the clothes she had died in. Her arms seemed unable to move, she was frozen stiff as she was lifted into the air.
Once she was completely out of the ground the God moved her to his front. She floated lifelessly in between them for a moment.
This is it... This is Sierra's soul.
Death released his grip and she slumped to the ground. Ohitekah ran forward and picked her up. She weighed almost nothing.
He looked into the emptiness of the God's hood.