Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  His stomach wound now healed, Chase jumped back to his feet with panache and flashed Odin a thumbs up.

  “You got it.”

  But then Chase looked around, agitated.

  “What’s going on, Chase?” asked Oryn.

  “I don’t know, but something is wrong, I can feel it in my gut.”

  THE FIGHTING inside the factory had ended, and Ryonna was carrying an unconscious Tar’Lock on her shoulder.

  “Admit it, Ryonna, you love hitting the little guy.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t have a choice. It was for his own good.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” said Keera laughing. “Whatever you say.”

  “We need to implant another command to their consciousness. I wonder what it should be?”

  “This one seems pretty effective, perhaps we should keep it in place.”

  “You can’t be serious, that would be abusing this technology.”

  “So?”

  Ryonna shot a murderous look at Keera.

  “So, we’re not gonna sink to their level.”

  “I understand that Ryonna, but right now, we need to make sure we win this war. Plus, if you don’t lock the command with encryption, the Furies could return in force and reprogram them. We can’t afford that.”

  While Ryonna hated to admit it, Keera was making a good point. They were at war, and now that they had interrupted the Furies most efficient means of constructing starships quickly as well as accumulate large stockpiles of rare minerals, they needed to make sure they kept this advantage.

  “But it can only be a temporary solution. I hate doing this!”

  “I know, so do I, but it’s necessary.”

  Ryonna added other commands such as to provide Earth Alliance any help they required, to make sure they attacked and killed Furies on sight and to destroy all the current Fury ships currently being assembled on the surface of the planet.

  A Gorgar female approached Ryonna and seemed very interested in Tar’Lock.

  “Can I help you with something?” said Ryonna.

  The Gorgar female sniffed and clicked multiple times.

  Her look became intense. “Is this Tar’Lock you’ve killed?”

  “He’s not dead, I just had to knock him out to make sure he didn’t get accidentally killed by the Furies. What is it to you? Do you know him?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  Ryonna’s jaw dropped.

  Tar’Lock hadn’t talked about his family with Ryonna, but she suspected that was because he had forgotten about them to make place for memories of her he wanted to save.

  “I didn’t know he had a sister.”

  “Twenty-seven.”

  “Twenty-seven? Is that your name or denomination?”

  “No silly,” she said with a high-pitched laugh. “That’s the number of sisters Tar’Lock has.”

  “Oh boy…”

  WHEN ARAKAN REOPENED his eyes and air filled his lungs again, dark obsidian energy was bubbling from the hole in his chest, and soon he felt his wound close. He brought his hands in front of his face, while still lying down on the ground on his back, and noticed there was a strange shadowy echo with every one of his movements.

  What is this? A side effect from that resurrection stone?

  Whatever it was, Arakan was glad he had swallowed it before facing Zeus. He had long hesitated to do so, not liking the idea of owing his life, or anything in fact, to that shadow hallucination of his. But then again, since the stone was real and he had been brought back from the dead, it could only mean one thing.

  I told you over and over again I was real, said the shadow’s voice in his mind.

  You’re in my thoughts?

  An acceptable side effect under the circumstances, wouldn’t you agree?

  Please tell me I didn’t ingest you or your soul?

  Don’t be ridiculous. The stone I gave you left a marker in your body allowing me to communicate with you over longer distances, but I’m still on Erevos.

  Arakan felt only partially relieved.

  How many times will this stone work?

  It’s resurrection properties are over.

  But let me guess, our connection isn’t?

  Again, I think that’s not too big a price to pay for not having died at the hands of Poseidon, which by the way, you should think about killing now. And his brother.

  Don’t tell me what to do!

  Merely echoing the rage I feel inside you at the moment.

  Arakan was utterly pissed about having to deal with the shadow in his own thoughts, though since he’d always believed he wasn’t real from the beginning, having him in his head instead of what he thought were visual hallucinations didn’t really make much of a difference.

  Mind telling me what this shadow echo is around me?

  That is part of me, just a tiny little part I imbued into the stone.

  Why am I not surprised?

  Understand this, now that you have a fragment of me with you, your enemies can’t heal their wounds anymore the way they’re used to.

  What?

  You know, the Furies healing powers… these won’t work for any of the wounds you inflict upon your enemies.

  Arakan smirked.

  I thought you’d like that particular side effect, said the shadow. Why don’t you test your new destructive powers on the Olympians before this planet is torn to shreds, which should only be a matter of minutes now.

  26

  Chris, Argos and Loki rejoined the rest of the group near the Fury transport. They were covered in blood.

  “Are you okay?” asked Thor.

  “That’s not our blood,” said Argos. “Well, not much of it is, anyway.”

  “Loki,” said Thor coldly.

  “Brother,” answered Loki with a slight bow.

  Thor winced, and Chase understood that there was tension between them. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible had happened. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he felt it at the pit of his stomach.

  Oryn put a hand on Chase’s shoulder.

  “Smile! We won.”

  RYONNA TALKED a little with Tar’Lock’s sister, Tar’Sian, and convinced her to try the pill Argos had given her.

  She swallowed the pill, and when her eyes grew wide, Ryonna feared it had been a mistake to use a member of Tar’Lock’s family to test the prototype.

  “This is incredible,” she said.

  Which reassured Ryonna almost instantly.

  “You’re already feeling its effects?”

  “I do. I feel like my brain is extending, like I can store so many more memories, and it keeps happening, this is wonderful!”

  Ryonna smiled and changed the targeting option of Argos’ mind device to a single Gorgar and targeted Tar’Sian. She then uploaded the schematics for the pill into her brain.

  “What did you just do?” she said, her eyes blinking with joy.

  “I gave you the memories you’ll need to reproduce this technology and have your entire world benefit from it.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome, Tar’Sian. Now we must go, but we’ll be back soon.”

  “Do you really have to? Can’t Tar’Lock stay?”

  Ryonna didn’t like the idea of having to leave him here without saying goodbye. So she slapped him gently back into consciousness.

  “What— What happened?” he asked shortly after opening his eyes.

  “You slipped and fell.”

  “Yeah, right,” snorted Keera. “Just like he did on the ship.”

  “I do seem to do that a lot lately. What about my people?”

  “They helped us defeat the Furies on your world. They’re—” Ryonna hesitated. “They’re free now.”

  “That’s good.”

  “In fact, there’s someone who’d like to say hello.”

  Tar’Lock got back on his feet and looked into Tar’Sian’s eyes.

  “Who are you?” he
asked.

  “You don’t remember me, do you? I’m your sister.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry I— Thousands of years is a long time, I had to make space in my memories.”

  “Well, I haven’t erased the memory of you, but I understand. I never thought we’d see you again after you were sold. You must tell me all your adventures.”

  Tar’Lock scratched his head uncomfortably. “Sure, another time perhaps, I think we have to go.”

  “Won’t you stay? Your friend gave me the magic pill! It’s wonderful, we can make new memories and keep them forever now.”

  Tar’Lock’s face grew red with anger, and he turned to Ryonna. “You gave her the pill? A member of my family? You might as well have let me have it!”

  “You didn’t remember who she was a minute ago, don’t think I can’t recognize you being jealous.”

  Tar’Lock clicked madly for a long time.

  “Do you want to stay here with your family? We’ll return soon anyway.”

  “No, I want to go with you,” said Tar’Lock.

  Half a minute later they exited the factory only to find their ship in flames.

  “Looks like none of us are going anywhere just yet,” said Keera.

  ARAKAN GOT BACK UP and scanned around until he located Zeus and Poseidon. It was time to move things along and be on his way. He still had an entire universe to conquer. Soon he would dispose of the Earth Alliance. And hopefully, his Strike Force had completed their mission. But even if they had failed, he would strike the Alliance a deadly blow that would put fear in his enemy’s hearts. Today, Olympus Prime had fallen.

  The ground began to crack more and more, and a lava geyser had deformed the once beautiful planet.

  Arakan walked toward the Olympians with a smile across his face.

  ZEUS OPENED HIS EYES.

  “What happened? Arakan?”

  “I’ve taken care of him for you. He’s dead.”

  Zeus’ first reaction was anger. He wanted to have killed the Fury supreme commander himself to take revenge for Zalara. But he knew that if his brother hadn’t intervened, he would probably be dead by now.

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, Brother. But we have to get the hell out of here now; our planet is about to blow.”

  Poseidon helped Zeus get up and froze when he saw his brother’s eyes grow wide.

  “Sorry to disappoint you,” said Arakan.

  Poseidon opened his hands and his loyal Trident flew into them.

  “Can you fight?” he asked Zeus.

  Zeus nodded. “Let’s bring him down together.”

  The auras of the Olympians shone brightly in the dark of Olympus Prime’s last night.

  Arakan’s laugh echoed as the thunder rumbled the cataclysmic display of blackness and fire that the planet had been turned into. The dark, thick clouds were absorbed upward, and soon the only thing that could be seen was the black hole, swallowing everything. Already, massive chunks of the planet where on their way toward its infernal spiral of despair and destruction.

  Poseidon swirled his Trident atop his head. A thousand lightning bolts sizzled around Zeus’ deep blue aura and muscled, bloodied body.

  “Kraken’s revenge!” screamed Poseidon as he aimed his weapon toward Arakan and launched his terrible attack.

  A massive water Kraken shot from the spinning Trident and its scream filled the entire plains while shooting toward the supreme commander.

  “Not this time,” said Arakan, determined.

  His aura literally exploded around him. Crimson red flames danced with void ones.

  Arakan extended both his arms forward and blocked the incoming watery Kraken with all his might.

  “Impossible!” exclaimed Poseidon.

  Zeus frowned and unleashed a flurry of lightning bolts toward the Fury. But Arakan’s aura morphed around him and deflected all of them.

  “This can’t be,” exclaimed Zeus.

  Arakan siphoned the water Kraken inside his palms and an ocean blue color added to his aura, but it was soon devoured by the crimson and dark shades.

  Arakan punched the ground below him, and a torrent of watery energy shot from under Zeus and sent him flying miles high in the sky. Zeus felt the gravity pull from the black hole beckon to him, and he had to use most of his remaining energy to counter it and fight back downward.

  Poseidon rushed toward Arakan with the Trident in his hand, adjusting his grasp on the weapon to hold it like a lance.

  Arakan returned to an upward position and used his other hand to unleash the other half of the Kraken energy he had assimilated earlier and fired it toward Poseidon. The Olympian used his Trident to block the attack, but he started skidding backward. When Arakan added his own energy to the wave, Poseidon’s grasp on the Trident was broken, and it spun in the air. While focusing on trying to catch it on its descent, Poseidon never saw Arakan coming. The moment the Olympian caught his mighty weapon, Arakan was upon him and sectioned off his Trident-wielding arm with a swift vertical slash of his hand.

  Poseidon screamed in pain as he held his exposed shoulder, his teeth grinding and his face deformed.

  Arakan prepared himself to finish off Poseidon by plunging his arm into the Olympian’s thorax.

  Zeus landed in front of his brother and was impaled in his stead. His eyes blinked, and blue sparks shot from them.

  Arakan was surprised, but soon his expression turned into sheer satisfaction.

  “I didn’t expect you to make it that simple,” said Arakan as he removed his hand from Zeus’ thorax.

  Black blood spilled out of the wound. It made a ‘shadow echo’ and Arakan understood what his shadowy friend meant.

  “I’m going to kill your brother, now,” said Arakan defiantly.

  “No, you won’t,” spat Zeus, black blood oozing from his mouth.

  Zeus’ aura retracted around him and exploded like a supernova. His entire body glowed blue and rotating lightning bolts in each of his eyes replaced his pupils.

  “You won’t,” said a deep voice, no longer just Zeus’ in terms of pitch and sound.

  The words echoed everywhere as if a thousand people had uttered them. Zeus unleashed an avalanche of lightning bolts and propelled Arakan high in the sky, high enough so the black hole could take hold of his mass. In every direction, large chunks of the planet were now lifting upward and following Arakan.

  Arakan touched a control on his armor and beamed away, disappearing into thin air.

  Zeus collapsed on his back. Poseidon crawled next to him.

  “Why? Why did you do that?”

  “You’re my brother.”

  “But you’re the symbol of our people, what are we to do now?”

  “Today most of our people will have perished.”

  “No, you’re wrong, brother. Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus and many others managed to take a ship and escape.”

  “That’s good,” said Zeus, as his eyes started closing.

  CHASE FELL ON HIS KNEES, and Oryn started crying.

  “You felt it too?” she asked.

  Chase nodded.

  Oryn came next to Chase and put her hand on him.

  “Get me to him, now!”

  Chase teleported them both to Olympus.

  Oryn collapsed onto her knees next to Zeus and took his hand.

  “Chase! Quick, heal him!”

  Chase knelt beside Zeus, put his hand on him and closed his eyes. He sent his healing energy but felt a pain feedback. The more he pushed, the more pain he felt and couldn’t get his own energy to enter the Olympian’s tissues.

  “What’s happening?” asked Oryn. “Why isn’t he getting better?”

  “Arakan—” said Zeus as large quantities of black blood spat out along with his words. “He…he did something to himself. These wounds are not natural, I feel a darkness inside eating away at me from within.”

  “Chase, please keep trying!” Oryn moaned, as tears flowed from her eyes like rivers.

  Cha
se did all he could, but nothing worked. He tried getting back to his feet and fire healing balls of energy at his grandfather, but they just exploded on the surface of Zeus’ skin without entering his body. Chase sent two large pulses of healing energy, but the result was the same. Finally, he fell back to his knees and looked at Oryn with tears in his eyes as he shook his head.

  “Oryn…promise me you’ll be careful if you fight Arakan? And Chase, promise me you’ll finish what you started?”

  “I promise,” said Chase. “We’ll rid the universe of the Furies, once and for all.”

  “I know you will.”

  Zeus spasmed and more black blood shot from his mouth. His tears were also made of the same black oozing blood.

  “I’m counting on you. And please, protect Oryn.”

  Oryn was sobbing and kissing Zeus’ hand. “Please, don’t die.”

  “Nothing can stop it now. You have to go now before the black hole swallows you with the rest of my world. Take my brother Poseidon with you.”

  Only then did Chase see Poseidon passed out a few yards away. He also saw that more than half of the planet had already been consumed and large chunks of it were spinning upward into the dark sky.

  “Take the Trident too.”

  “Dad,” said Oryn. “We can take you with us. Perhaps we can find a way to save you.”

  “My time has come, my beautiful daughter. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to meet and see the great woman you have become. You remind me so much of your mother.”

  Oryn’s tears flash froze into icy stalagmites, and more tears ran onto them. Rage filled Oryn’s soul and whatever doubts she had in destroying the Furies got consumed in the flames of revenge burning brightly inside her and charring her wounded heart.

  “I want to go with my planet,” added Zeus. “Now go, while you still can.”

  Chase took his grandfather’s hand and squeezed it hard.

  “We’ll make them pay for this, we’ll avenge you.”

  “Don’t let revenge blind you like it did with me, just keep your eye on the big picture.”

  Chase nodded. “Okay.”

  “Now go.”

  Chase took the unconscious Poseidon on his shoulder and grabbed the Trident that lay beside him.