torg 02 - The Dark Realm
Page 29
In the center of the Gaunt Man's vast workshop, a Maelstrom hung in the air. It was an amazing sight, all destruction and creation in a single instant. In the midst of the storm, Thratchen saw the Gaunt Man.
As he watched, the Gaunt Man was ripped apart by the waves of destructive force, coming apart in a blue- red burst of energy. Then, as Thratchen observed, the Gaunt Man pulled himself back together. It was a truly amazing display of personal power.
Thratchen applauded.
"Well done, High Lord," he complimented. "Well done."
The Gaunt Man seemed to glare out of the storm, but Thratchen wasn't really certain.
"They were resourceful, weren't they?" Thratchen asked. "The stormers I mean. You really should have worried about them a little more. There's something about this world that makes them bolder, more daring. If I might be blunt, that was your undoing."
Yes, Thratchen decided, theGaunt Man was definitely glaring at him now.
"How long do you think this Maelstrom will last?" Thratchen continued. "I guess until either the eternity shard runs out of energy — or you do. Could take quite a while, I would imagine."
Thratchen walked across the room. Lying on the stone floor was the Gaunt Man's walking cane, complete with its Carredon-shaped head and the little eternity
shard clutched in its mouth. He picked up the cane.
"In the meantime, I will run your realm and cosm for you," Thratchen said. "After all, it's the least I can do. But I need you to tell me something."
He moved as close to the Maelstrom as he dared.
"Where is Heketon? Where is your Darkness Device?"
The Gaunt Man didn't answer. Thratchen wasn't even sure if he could. But he seemed to be smiling at the techno-demon, laughing at him.
"I will find it myself!" Thratchen screamed angrily. "I do not needy our help! I shall become the Torg despite whatever hardships you have placed in my way!"
Then he left the Gaunt Man to his endless cycle of destruction and creation.
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Here ends The Dark Realm, Book Two of The Possibility Wars.
The story of Tolwyn, Bryce and the Storm Knights continues in
The Nightmare Dream, Book Three of The Possibility Wars.