A Space Oddity

by J. J. Pavlov

  "I came to get you." He mutters, and for a moment, the world around them seems to grow quiet. Even as Gram rushes between him and the demon queen, even as Vigdis falls to her knees by Runa's side to cast healing magic on her, time seems to slow down just between the two of them.

  But then, something impacts the big man's shield, blood spews everywhere, and courageous voices are silenced by slashing noises followed by dull impacts. In the next instant, silence reigns supreme.

  Then, the big man suddenly collapses to his knees. His thick shield, capable of withstanding even Chandra's punches without sustaining a dent, is cut in two. Blood spurts out of his side despite the chainmail and gambeson he wears.

  Hreidunn, who has remained by the pillars near the entrance, screams with a face filled with despair and motions to rush forward while dropping her bow, but Sigurd quickly grabs her arm to hold her back. Leif stands next to her, his blank eyes fixed on something beside Gram.

  Rolan's gaze moves across the big man holding his side, then to the figure lying sprawled out on the ground next to him. Empty green eyes stare up at him, a trickle of blood running out of parted, breathless lips. Still clutched in her hand is a staff, a perfect cut having separated its top half from the bottom half that has rolled a short distance away.

  And just like her staff, Vigdis' has been cut in two at her waist. The two parts lie next to each other as if placed that way on purpose - to show that she's irrevocably gone.

  Runa's shriek brings Rolan back to reality, as he shifts his gaze to look at the one responsible for the death of his friend and comrade. Demon Queen Pelomyx stands at the top of the elevated platform in front of the throne, her hands raised slightly with the palms facing up. At around her chest level floats a ring made of countless sickle-shaped blades of darkness, signaling her readiness to attack again.

  The leader is too focused on the demon queen to notice that every last Electi has been cut in half as well. Only Numeria was able to survive while sustaining a deep gash in her side by diving behind a pillar just in time. It seems Gram lived because the blade of darkness aimed at him came at an angle, so while it cut his shield without any resistance, it only hit his flank. It was the same blade that claimed Vigdis's life.

  Rolan stands up with Roshanee clenched in his hand, glaring up at the demon queen. He now understands that this being is absolute evil, as the sinister grin splitting her face ear to ear seems to be filled with pure glee. Even though she looks humanlike enough, her expression is that of a monster.

  In the next moment, Pelomyx looses another volley of her dark blades, and the leader spring into action at the same time. Shooting across the room with the Sword of Light, he cuts the black blades in his way before zooming up the platform and straight at the demon queen's back.

  However, she suddenly turns around at the same speed that his enchanted sword gives him, and stares into his eyes with her bright yellow irises. She's beyond the level of even Chandra, who couldn't do anything against his speed when they last faced each other.

  Twisting his body, he slashes at Pelomyx horizontally, only to watch as her upper half splits from her lower half along the trajectory of the sword. It reconnects right behind it, letting his weapon pass through her without causing any harm. He quickly draws back just in time to avoid getting pierced by a multitude of tentacles shooting out of her form, but they chase after him.

  Drawing out all of his strength, he slashes every single appendage aiming for him at blinding speed. He may have gotten used to wielding Roshane, but not even training with Chandra has prepared him for this level of exertion. His arms are screaming at him as he continues to swing his blade without even thinking, letting only his survival instinct dictate his movements.

  Suddenly, an arrow pierces Pelomyx through the temple, and she temporarily stops her assault to glance in the direction where it came from. Rolan doesn't need to see that it was Hreidunn, who has regained her composure after seeing her niece die before her eyes just enough to shoot her bow.

  He takes that opportunity to charge forward while swinging Roshanee in a spiral of death, cutting a swath through the mass of tentacles before him until he gets right into the demon queen's face. Her eyes snap down to him despite his lightning-fast speed, and her face distorts into glee.

  In the next moment, that face loses form and turns into a mass of wriggling tentacles. The same phenomenon spreads across her whole body like a ripple. She then draws back, causing his slash at her head to miss, and turns her entire form into their individual tendrils.

  Despite the large hole in the ceiling, darkness seems to wash across the room as Demon Queen Pelomyx grows in size. Her anemone-like head remains at the center of a vortex of tentacles, an abyssal grin directed at him.

  Suddenly, Rolan feels a presence behind him and spins his head around to find another shadow looming overhead. An empty skull with two red dots in its hollow eye sockets is staring ahead. The black mist-like cloak wafts to reveal skeletal hands holding a scythe made of pure darkness.

  "It was you, then." Demon Queen Pelomyx speaks in a voice that causes physical pain to shoot throughout Rolan's nervous system. He barely holds onto his mind as he staggers in place, but manages to catch himself to look up and see the tentacle horror staring down the towering skeleton behind him.

  Judging by the demon queen's words, this isn't a spell cast by her, and its presence gives him a strange sense of security. A thought enters his mind that could be nothing more than wishful thinking, but it does make sense under the current circumstances.

  The towering skeleton is Avilok, the Liberator of Souls - the god of death. He has come to help him banish the chaos and bring peace to the human world.

  Rolan shakes his head at these thoughts. Something doesn't feel right in his mind, but he can't tell what exactly is wrong. An overpowering feeling compels him to raise his sword to the heavens even though he doesn't know the point in doing so.

  When the blade is at its apex, a shock runs through his entire body as well as his mind, and the world whites out.

  "Are you embarrassed?" Aurelia asks while flying across the sky with her incredibly long hair trailing behind her parted like wings.

  "... yes." I admit begrudgingly while holding onto her. She has me in a princess carry, and I feel completely out of place like that. It should have been the other way round, but unfortunately, she can fly faster than any template that I have.

  I decided to go to Arkaim rather than Pontis Daemonis. Apparently, Aurelia has an incredible sense of direction and knows where both places are located by heart. It's almost too convenient to be true, but I remember that she lived during the age when the bridgehead fortress was first established.

  According to Karina, the gods are making a move on Maou-mama, which means Arkaim is in greater danger than the seaside fortress under siege by a regular human army. If it falls, Hestia can always escape by air on her own, but the demon queen can't just run away from her own castle.

  "We will reach the Herelier wasteland momentarily." Aurelia says while looking around as if having seen a landmark. The scenery below us suddenly changes to a wasteland, and I see the rock formations jutting diagonally toward the sky.

  "What are those?" I should have asked Maou-mama or somebody in the castle about them back in the day, but the thought never crossed my mind until now.

  "Look ahead." Instead of replying to my question, Aurelia states in a grim tone, causing me to turn my head to the front. A pillar of smoke rises high into the sky over the horizon, and the origin of it comes into view very soon.

  Arkaim is on fire. Not just localized blazes, but the entire city seems to be engulfed in flames, the smoke blocking the view on the castle in its center. But in front of it all is a floating island that's definitely one of Alexander's sanctums. The attack is already well underway, and judging by the severity of it, may already be close to its conclusion.

  "Hurry." I mutter, despair sneaking up on me at the thought that many innocent civilian
s must have been killed already. The casualties are only mounting with every passing moment. But more than the citizens, I'm worried about Maou-mama, who's undoubtedly fighting the gods right now.

  Not replying, Aurelia lowers her altitude and flies closer to the ground than before as if doing so will hide our approach. Only minutes later, we cross the city walls and have the inferno below while the island overshadows everything above.

  The gates seem to have been blocked by something. Civilians are gathered in front of them, pushing and screaming as they try to escape the blaze. I curse my helplessness as I have to leave them to their fate until I know whether or not the castle is safe. Whether or not my mother is safe.

  Suddenly, spells fly toward us and explode in the air like anti-air guns. Aurelia performs evasive maneuvers and avoids all of them with ease while I cling to her. Shooting down a human-sized target from the ground is almost impossible, even if the projectiles are guided by the very wills of the casters.

  The castle is before us, and I find that part of it is on fire as well. The gate has been burned open, and countless dead Kirali guards are strewn about the courtyard. Knights in runic armor are guarding the perimeter, and some point at us while raising their voices.

  "I will circle around once." Aurelia suggests what I was about to say as if having read my mind. I need to see where the fire is coming from and how far-reaching the damage is. But even more than that, I want to know if there's still fighting happening.

  Not even halfway around the castle, I spot something white standing out on the black stones of the ramparts. It has a humanoid figure but is distinctly inhuman. The right arm is extended behind it over and spreads into several tentacles that reach over the battlements. The left arm is raised, looking misshapen as if stopped mid-transformation.

  "What happened here...?" I murmur to myself as Aurelia lands us right in front of the statue. It's Asoko in her true form, apparently having been petrified. I know that there's Chialdara, a medusa maid, but she wouldn't have a reason to use her ability on my other half.

  Looking around, I find puddles of water all around; she or her opponent must have used water magic. With nothing else in the vicinity but human remains a distance behind her, it's safe to say that the one responsible came out unscathed and walked away.

  "Let's go." I grow Fata wings and fly under my own strength, leaving behind my petrified other half for the time being. If it's a state she can't return from, it won't matter if she's shattered. And if she can come back, then being in pieces won't matter much. I have more important things to do than to guard her.

  When we reach the back of the castle, I find the place on fire. A large portion of the castle's side looks like it melted under immense heat. The molten slag has flowed down into the vegetable garden in the backyard, which is still burning now.

  The wooden roof of Arkaim castle has caught fire, and not a soul can be seen trying to put it out. That means either the fighting is still ongoing deeper inside the castle, or everybody has already died, and the human knights at the gates were in the process of retreating.

  Suddenly, a lightning bolt comes down from the localized cloud of smoke and travels into a hole inside the central dome of the castle under which the Forerunners Chamber is located. I exchange a glance with Aurelia, who seems to understand what that was. Karina mentioned that Zeke and the others were on the move - and Zeke is Taivass, the Lord of the Sky. His domain is weather, and lightning is one aspect of that.

  It means that the leader of the Old Humans has decided to make his appearance. Whether that's out of desperation or to deliver the final push, I don't know. But I have a bad feeling about all of it.

  Putting wind magic under my wings, I boost myself toward the dome.

  A large hole has been blasted into the ceiling from the inside. I land at the edge of the circular hole and peek in to see just in time as a mass of tentacles draws together. It takes the shape of Maou-mama in her demon queen form. She's standing on an elevated platform in front of a black stone throne, shielding her eyes from something incredibly bright in front of her.

  As I change my angle, I can see further into the room and find the origin of that light; a person raising a blindingly incandescent sword. Even from here, I can recognize who the wielder of that holy-looking weapon is.

  Rolan? What is he doing here? Why is he-

  When the answer dawns on me, I don't hesitate to jump down into the Forerunners Chamber. Just then, the leader of the human party I worked and traveled with for several months brings down the glowing sword.

  In that instant, I find that Maou-mama's eyes have reverted to those of Kuroe Yumiko, as she looks up in my direction, apparently aware that I'm there. A smile appears on her lips before she closes her eyes in peaceful resignation.

  What?!

  NO!!!

  In the next moment, my vision is overwhelmed by light.

  I drop to my knees on the ground and look down at my mother's face with a blank mind. Her eyes are closed as if she's sleeping, but her chest isn't heaving up and down.

  That's right, she's a Crawling Chaos, so she doesn't need to breathe.

  I slowly extend a hand to touch her but hesitate. She's not moving at all, looking like a perfect statue rather than a living being.

  Gathering my resolve, I touch her shoulder. But as if that was a trigger, the surface of her body turns coarse. It expands in a ripple from where my fingers came into contact with her skin. The clothes, made from her body after she learned that convenient trick from me, turns gray before starting to flake off like dust in the wind.

  Within moments, her whole body has turned to a figure of ash before crumbling away in an unnatural breeze that only seems to affect her.

  "No..." I mutter while desperately catching the scattering dust, trying to gather it together as it slips through my fingers. "No... no!"

  My vision blurs from an overwhelming sensation of desolation as I watch my mother's form disappear without a trace. Not even the crumbling ash remains. I look down at my hands to find them completely empty, even though I tried to catch her.

  I tried so hard...

  My breath catches in my throat, and my thoughts spiral into self-destruction. I stare at the clean floor, where moments ago, my mother lay as if sleeping peacefully.

  There is nothing...

  Distant voices are speaking, some in surprise, others sound frantic, but I don't really register them. I stare at my palms without blinking. A headache is mounting, but a stronger torrent of nothingness threatens to push even that last sensation out of my mind as I stay down on my knees.

  "Chloe?" Rolan's voice asks in confusion, but I don't react. It seems to be reaching me through water as if I'm submerged in incredible depths. "What are you doing here?"

  "Chaos." Aurelia's voice calls out to me from beyond a thick mist, but I can't even bring myself to turn my head to her. "Pull yourself together!"

  A pair of hands grab my shoulders and shake me, but I can only keep looking down at the spot where my mother disappeared. All the strength has left my body, so when Aurelia tries to make me stand, it's like trying to prop up a puppet with its strings cut.

  Part of me is watching from the outside, seeing my foolish self sitting on the ground as if my soul left me. But even that part can't make me take action anymore at this crushing sense of emptiness. I understand what happened, but admitting it would break a dam inside me wide open. Under these circumstances, I know that I shouldn't let my emotions run freely.

  If I don't move, I'll be killed.

  Another part of me welcomes that thought. Maybe I should let it end here and be with my mother in the next world. She sacrificed everything to see me again, so it would only be fair to do the same for her.

  "Stand!" Aurelia slaps me across the face, but I barely feel it. My human transformation must be coming undone, or I subconsciously turned myself numb.

  "So, you have returned." A somber male voice speaks in an ethereal tone.

 
"I have nothing more to lose." The Golden Queen stops trying to make me stand and faces the person speaking to her with a proud but also sad voice. "This time, I will oppose you to the last."

  I raise my head to look up at Aurelia, standing tall in her full naked glory as she faces a skeleton wrapped in misty darkness towering behind Rolan. There's no mistake that this is Xing, known to the humans as Avilok, the Liberator of Souls.

  That's when I get a look at the other people in the room. A short distance behind the leader kneels Gram, holding his bleeding side while looking in my direction with a confused expression. His tower shield has been cut in half, and his wound must stem from the same attack that caused it. Luna is standing behind him while pressing a hand on her uselessly dangling left arm.

  Then I notice the body on the floor next to the half-elf. It's a young girl I've only seen once before. I remember her freckled face in a backdrop of the guildhall in Kongenssoevn, sitting at our table while sheepishly drinking ale with us.

  It's Vigdis, the water mage who joined Rolan's party along with two others because Luna and I went to join the academy. She was soft-spoken and shy, so I only barely remember what she was like.

  So she's dead, huh?

  Suddenly, a group of soldiers runs into the room and surrounds us. They're followed by a woman with long black hair carrying a staff with a large golden eye as its headpiece. She's floating a few inches off the ground as if it's beneath her to walk the same earth as everybody else.

  "You!" Aurelia raises her voice in anger when she sees her.

  "The Golden Queen has come out of exile." The woman remarks in an amused tone. The fact that she knows who Aurelia is means that she must be one of the Old Humans. "Have you finally gotten over your loss?"

  Without a word, the golden girl raises a hand and draws Vanadia's Will from within her palm. At that sight, the smile on the woman's face freezes; she knows the power of that weapon. Xing immediately shoots forward while swinging his massive scythe of darkness.