by Eric Vall
“Sponsa!” the lead Ushabti cried, and the army behind him repeated the word in a chant. “Sponsa! Sponsa!”
I held onto Haruhi even tighter as her head whipped in all directions. Her paws gripped onto my arm, and I could tell she was so frightened that she could barely keep from climbing up onto my back for protection. I was almost tempted to hoist her up, but there was no way that I could fight with the feline on my back. I instead stepped out in front of her and acted as a shield from the tiny soldiers.
“Vos audendum?” the leader of the Ushabti shouted as he pointed his miniature sword at me. “Quod Sponsa et nostrum!”
“What are they saying, Master?” Morrigan asked as she brandished her fiery hands at the walls of soldiers.
“He said, ‘you dare? The bride is ours,’” I told both of them in a rumbling voice as I glared down at the Ushabti leader directly in front of me.
“B-b-bride?” Haruhi cried as she realized the guardians meant her and this time, she did try to clamor up my back in fear.
“Please quell your fear, Haruhi,” Morrigan stated as she slammed out her left hand and blasted a group of Ushabti that attempted to come closer. “Right now would be a perfect time for some information on killing these things, Bookie.”
“I know you’re trying to make up a cute nickname like Rana, but now’s not the time!” the librarian squealed as a row of guardians rushed forward and grabbed at her legs. “And as I said before, I don’t have any information on them, I have no idea how to kill them.”
“Then we must do as we must,” I growled through gritted teeth.
“And what do you mean by that?” Haruhi asked in a frightened, high-pitched voice as she avoided the grasp of another wave of Ushabti.
“Blast them to the Underworld with all that we have!” I shouted as I pulled the God Slayer out of my void pocket and slammed the haft down.
The three blades sprang to life as they exploded from the haft of the weapon and glinted evilly in the emerald light. The Ushabti stepped back in a massive wave at the sight of the weapon, and I pooled all of my dark energy into it. The God Slayer thrummed under my fingers and glowed a deep violet. I took one step forward, gripped the haft with all of my might and swung over my head then down. My evil power shot out and blasted a path through the Ushabti.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I grabbed Haruhi by the wrist and raced forward through the path littered with broken guardian bodies. As our boots crunched over their crumbled pieces, they began to vibrate and clatter over the floor, reassembling themselves within seconds.
Morrigan walked behind us backward as she defended our flanks and emerald light blasted from the middle of her palms. Elven words spilled from her lips as she conjured up spell after spell that Haruhi had taught her from the spellbook, and I felt grateful once again for the sage.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Morrigan screamed more words in her native language, brought both hands up encased in emerald light and slammed them together. The white-haired woman leaned forward and breathed into her closed palms then pushed them outward.
“Holy fucking shit!” Haruhi screamed from behind me with wide hazel eyes.
The emerald light that fluctuated from Morrigan’s hands changed color to a deep cerulean that was oddly familiar, and it didn’t take me long to realize it was the same color as Heijing’s scales. The color flashed as a form took shape in a transparent copy of the Qianlong's whipping, ribbon-like body.
My mouth dropped open just as the faux dragon’s did and raging red flames poured from its mouth and engulfed all of the Ushabti. Their bodies cracked and splintered then began to ooze back into the dirt at our feet slowly. A wicked grin split across my face at the tremendous beast my elven woman created. All of our training had paid off, and her dark talent blossomed before my eyes.
The copy of Heijing didn’t fade but followed after us and blasted the ranks of Ushabti that managed to resurrect from the flames. The heat was sweltering, but cool air brushed against our faces as we rushed deeper into the tunnels of the dungeon. At every turn, I ripped the God Slayer down and destroyed more of Athar’s guardians, but no matter how hard we hit them, even when they crumbled, shattered or melted, they always got right back up in droves.
I wasn’t exhausted, but I’d grown tired of this game and pushed myself closer to the nexus with every swing of the God Slayer. I could see the mouth of the entrance into the nexus in the distance over the waves of Ushabti, and I gritted my teeth, wiped the sweat from my brow and summoned up all of the powers of the gods I held within me.
A swirling mass of combined energy formed at all three tips of the polearm. Different colors and shapes flashed from within the sphere, and I moved my own dark power over it as I prepared to swing one last time. This would be the last hit that would take us all the way to the archway. I opened my mouth and strings of the god’s language slipped out as I slammed the polearm down into the dirt at our feet.
Haruhi stumbled as the ground rolled and rocked with my power. Scarlet, orange and yellow light flooded through the cracks and shined upward with hateful intensity. The sage’s mouth fell open as howls and screams roared up from between the cracks and skeletal hands reached through and grabbed onto the guardians. The tiny men screamed and stabbed out at the invading hands, but their resistance was futile. The skeletal hands dragged them down into the pits as we passed, and Haruhi leaned over to look down into them. I jerked her away and gave her a dismissive shake of the head.
“The living shouldn’t look into the pits of the Underworld lest they wish to die,” I shouted over the Ushabti’s screaming, and the sage’s eyes widened.
“W-what?” Haruhi screamed as she snapped her head up and away from the growing cracks in the floor. “That’s the U-Underworld?”
“If we don’t know how to kill the resurrected, then I’ll take them somewhere they can’t resurrect.” I grinned down at the feline, and she looked up at me with wide eyes and a slack mouth.
With the path ahead of us cleared of the pesky guardians, I held on even tighter to the sage and ran toward the archway into the nexus. Morrigan followed after us leisurely as she guided the transparent dragon through the air. We all stopped and stood on the threshold together and watched as the copy of Heijing whipped through the air then slammed down onto the dirt floor.
The Ushabti surrounded the dragon, but their weapons were no use as the Qianlong opened her mouth and blasted them with blue flames. As the guardians shattered and melted to the floor, I opened up more portals to the Underworld and allowed them to pass through to the other side. Once all of the miniature clay bodies disappeared into the hellish cracks, Morrigan raised her fiery hands into the air, slammed them back together, and then brought the cupped hands to her face. The elven woman sucked in the air between them, and in an instant, the copy of Heijing was gone with a loud roar.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Haruhi asked through huffs of breath as she looked up into the white-haired woman’s face, awestruck.
“That book you gave me, that was the least powerful spell in the book but the only one that I could fully master,” Morrigan admitted as she took in the damage the summoned dragon had done to the tunnel’s floor, walls and ceiling.
“T-that was the l-least powerful spell?” the sage stuttered as she placed a paw over her pounding heart. “I don’t think I want to see the other ones.”
“Then I will warn you once I master them and use them, simply close your eyes and you will not have to see them at work.” The elven woman replied and shrugged her shoulders.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Haruhi giggled and then closed her mouth as I turned toward the archway and the darkness beyond.
I could feel him here, like a smoke curling through the air. He draped himself around my shoulders and pulled me into his chamber. I’d seen the picture of Athar from the book Haruhi brought with her, but this presence felt strange and alien to me. He felt darker, corrupted by his time on eart
h, and I took the first step into his nexus.
Athar didn’t hide from us like other gods attempted to do, nor did he appear to us boldly. What waited for us wasn’t what I expected at all. The picture Haruhi showed us depicted him perfectly but so much had changed to his body. The enormous titan of a god loomed over us, but he couldn’t see us. His eyes or at least where they used to be were completely covered with rippled scar tissue.
Athar’s hands stretched above him in shackles, as were his feet, and it only took me a moment to realize that the chains were made from the Ushabti. Their tiny heads swiveled to stare down at us, but they didn’t make a move, only stayed in place holding their master stationary.
The god’s body was riddled with old wounds, and pale scars worked up and down every inch of his flesh. Athar tilted his head and listened to the sounds of our shuffling feet, and his dirty, matted blonde hair shifted behind him. His dry and chapped lips opened and closed as if to speak, but no sound escaped them except for a soft whistling.
“What…what happened to him?” Haruhi asked in a frightened tone as she ducked behind my back.
I didn’t have to wonder who had done this to him, it was perfectly clear from the runes burned into his chest.
“The heavens,” I grunted as I took in the titan’s emaciated form. “The gods did this to him.”
“Why would they do such a thing?” Morrigan asked as she stepped closer to Athar.
“The heavens are corrupt, Kazama,” Athar’s voice creaked up from his dry throat. “You warned us…but we didn’t listen. I have done no wrong, and yet they have done this to me. They have broken my body beyond repair, even my power cannot reach my wounds.”
Haruhi took a quick, nervous glance over at Morrigan at the mention of my holy name, but the elf’s dark eyes were intent on the titan’s face as he spoke.
“Did you break any of the cardinal rules?” I questioned as I stared up into his face, and his head shook as his expression contorted in agony.
“No, I have done no such thing,” Athar coughed as he threw his head back and gasped for air. “I never lay with a human, I never stole the land of another, nor did I attempt to take the life of a god.”
“Then what did you do?” I asked as I took inventory of all of his wounds and scars.
“The council…our leaders…they wish to destroy all life on earth…they wish to kill all mortals.” The titan choked out through gritted teeth as he was wracked with a wave of pain.
“You can’t be serious…” Haruhi breathed as she brought her paws up to her chest worriedly and looked to me for answers. “T-they can’t do that.”
“They can and they most certainly would.” I snarled as my hands curled into fists as I stared up into the blind face of Athar.
“I couldn’t stop them, I tried, Kazama, I did,” the god muttered as he hung his head low, and his dirty hair brushed against his face. “Your father--”
“I do not consider Chirus my father, but go on,” I commanded the chained god, and he nodded limply.
“Chirus is the one leading them, he believes that mortals are where the root of all evil stems and that they must be destroyed,” Athar gasped through clenched teeth.
“And he has the support of all of the gods?” I inquired, and the titan shook his head.
“No, but most of them,” Athar whispered through his dry lips. “Those who disagree with him are thrown from the heavens or worse. I agreed with those who opposed him, but I never voiced my concerns to anyone. Otia…he…”
“You do not have to tell me, my brother can only speak the truth, and I assume that he was used to get the information out of those who opposed my father,” I barked out at the memory of my brother and his betrayal against me. “My brother was and is a sniveling coward who would never question the authority of my father or mother. He once did the same to me.”
“There is a war coming,” Athar breathed as he leaned forward against his shackles, and his shadow overcame the three of us.
“That is true, but it is a war against the heavens, not the heavens against the earth,” I stated, and Athar’s head rocked back as he processed my words. “It is time for the god’s realm to fall and be united by one and only one god.”
“And by that you mean yourself?” Athar croaked as his lips pulled back in a smirk. “You are the only god that I could believe could fight them and win.”
“But wait,” Haruhi called out loudly as she came out from behind me and stared up into the face of the titan. “You were thrown from the heavens thousands of years ago, how do you know all of this? How could they have thrown you out for such a thing?”
Athar’s head shifted in the air toward the sound of her voice, and the grin dropped from his lips as he took on a more serious expression.
“Do you think such thoughts and plans could spring up overnight, little one?” the titan asked as he struggled for breath. “What Chirus has planned began long ago before your Master was even born. Do you ever wonder why the gods hate mortals so much? Why are gods barred from having any contact with them except for worship and prayers? Those are the questions you must ask yourself.”
The sage went silent as she looked up into the face of the deity, and her mind concentrated hard on the things he asked. She had so much knowledge in that big brain of her's, but she still failed to see what Athar meant.
“Mortals are seen as vermin that have overrun the earth,” I stated, and the librarian’s fluffy ears lay flat against her head. “Some gods believe mortals are weak and powerless. They are seen to be lesser than the deities and any contact with them, physical or not, corrupts the god and they are deemed unfit for the heavens.”
“Does your father believe that, Master?” Morrigan asked coldly.
“Yes, my father was the first to bring that idea forward to the holy council,” I told them. “He has a deep-seated hatred for mortals, always has, and it seems that it has never faded.”
“And you will attack them? You and your women?” Athar questioned uncertainly.
“Yes, but I also have four other gods on my side that wish to fight,” I told the titan, and he bowed his head as he thought hard.
“Bellum, Domor, Ruituri and the one you’ve been searching for, born in the deepest pits of the Underworld and raised by the shadow-people known as the Shinigami, Malsumis,” Athar boomed, and I raised my head at the name.
Malsumis, I’d only heard the name once in my life, and it made my stomach turn in revulsion. Malsumis was the only other son of my true mother, Eris. The queen of the Underworld gave birth to him in the abyss and left him to die alone in the farthest reaches of that hellish place. His name was only uttered to me once by the woman, and ever since that day, it has made me sick.
“You are the true ruler of the Underworld, my son,” Eris had whispered to me. “You are the one this place was intended for…not for Malsumis.”
This meant that the man I had met out on the battlefield twice and in the forest of Sangiam was none other than my half-brother, given the cursed blood that coursed through my very own veins and inherited from our mother. I wondered if he knew who I was and that we shared the same lifeblood. If he did, then I assumed that he hated me with the power of a thousand suns; he was thrown away like trash, and I was lifted into his rightful position.
I didn’t know him, but I considered him more of a brother than Otia and the line of brother’s that came after. The four gods had pledged their lives to me in the battles to come and that had to mean that he too wanted to rise up against our hateful mother alongside me, brother or not.
“Kazama…” Athar croaked, and I raised my eyes to his scarred face. “The information I’ve given you is precious, please, in return for it, give me something.”
“Tell me what you want, then I will decide,” I stated as I crossed my arms over my chest and watched his slow, pained movements against his chains.
“I have heard of the mercy you bestowed upon the Tichádáma,” Athar rumbled in his hoarse, dry
voice. “Please, have the same mercy on me. Take my life and my powers and let me be at rest.”
“There was no mercy in the loss of the Dáma’s life,” I uttered as I looked up into his face. “The goddess was savagely killed before I could give her that.”
“What a shame…” Athar heaved a heavy sigh as he leaned against his chains made from Ushabti. “I hope that even in her death that she has found peace and comfort from this world while so many of us have not. My guardians…the gods turned them against me, and now they are no longer my follower but instead, my jailers.”
I raised my eyes to the tiny clay figures looped and locked over one another to create the links of his chains. Their carved eyes watched me intently as I moved closer and raised the God Slayer. I pushed all of my dark power into the blades, and they gleamed with scarlet rays of light. I raised the polearm over my head, closed my eyes, and slashed downward.
There was a loud clatter as the Ushabti shattered, and their pieces fell to the stone floor of the nexus. Athar fell forward like a felled tree, but his hands pushed out, and he caught himself. His face contorted with pain and the whole room vibrated as the titan sat back on his haunches and breathed.
I knew that if the god had eyes, he would have been crying. Athar rose to his knees, pressed his massive hands together and bowed his head respectfully to me. There was a moment of silence as we all stared up at him, and then I raised the God Slayer one last time. I whipped it through the air, and a huge orb of black energy surrounded the blinded god. Just like with Euron, his death would be a peaceful one, and I took pride in it. I was a vengeful god, but that didn’t mean I didn’t grant mercy to those who deserved it.
Athar hadn’t done anything wrong in my eyes, and I took very little pleasure in ending his life as the orb of black power tightened around him. He shared the same sentiments as I did on mortals, he had no problem with humans existing and fraternizing with gods. He may not have been my ally, but the powers he gave to me would be of great use.
The black orb surrounding him warbled once, but no sound came from within as his soul was whisked away into the spirit realm where the other gods waited for him. The sphere faded from view slowly, and with it, his corpse disappeared too. The scarred and wounded body eaten up by my immense power. A single goldenrod orb remained, and it floated through the air. It came to me without hesitation and was absorbed directly into the middle of my chest. I felt his power join the others I’d collected, and I felt rejuvenated from it, a whole new sense within me opening up. With Athar’s power, my avatar was no longer able to be injured or killed, and it would help me exponentially in the future.