Silence fell. It felt longer than any silence in Berig's life.
"I'm ready," he said. "Let's do this."
Warrick nodded once again, his expression grave. "Kara, weave together Red and Orange. Focus on making it the strongest weave you can. Use everything you have. I will do the same, producing fire in my own way."
"I understand," Kara said. She looked down at Berig. "You're really brave. You know that, don't you? Not just sacrificing yourself now. I saw the way you scaled that dragon's back to save me, to save all of us. Berig, you're the bravest person I've ever known."
Berig tried to speak, but he was too choked up, so he simply nodded. A part of him believed her. Maybe he truly was brave, even if he'd never felt that way.
A few moments of silence passed before Warrick pointed a finger toward the threads dancing above them. Fire burst from his fingertips, engulfing the threads. Kara followed with her own fire. When the two met, the room started to glow so many colors Berig couldn't keep track of them all. Every hair on his body stood on end as strange energy pulsed through the room.
A low thrum reached his ears, sounding again and again, an echo growing louder with time. The threads danced more furiously, their colors so bright he thought they'd blind him.
But he kept his eyes open, watching the beauty that lay in the Webs' death.
The two fire spells continued to mingle, and above them threads began to unravel, tearing themselves in half. The power of contradictions, Berig guessed. With every thread that shattered, Berig felt as if something inside him were shattering as well. All that energy had focused on him. He felt as if he'd become part of the Webs again, though he remained on the rocky ground.
The glow became brighter. Blistering heat filled the cavern. The thrumming grew so strong Berig felt as if the entire world might shatter from the force of it. Rocks had begun to fall, filling the air with a horrifying rumble.
"We've done our part," Warrick shouted over the noise. He took Kara by the hand. She staggered as if she'd spent all her energy again. Berig shared one last look with both of them before they vanished into thin air.
"Guess it's just the two of us now," Marek said.
Berig leaned closer to his brother. "I'm glad you stayed with me."
"I couldn't let you die alone."
"I met these people. They called me the Wanderer. But I'm done wandering now. I've found what I was looking for. All this time, everything was leading me toward seeing you again. It's only fitting that now I've gotta die."
The rumbling had grown stronger. The colors were so bright that Berig had to close his eyes. Then sharp pain lanced through every inch of his body. The energy of the Webs had found him, latching on to the contradiction that was now a part of him.
He didn't know how he understood everything so well in his last few moments, but everything made sense now. He felt the Webs within him.
And with a thought, he shattered them.
Chapter 54
The Broken Threads
Krinir was tangled in the branches of a tree, hanging perhaps a hundred feet above the ground. He'd been dazed for a few moments after Markus's whirlwind had thrown him through the window of the Floating Fortress.
The Ghost Forest was less than a mile away. He could see its mist and shadows from the tree in which he was entangled. The ghosts of that place had some strange magic of their own, and somehow it always repelled him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not enter the Ghost Forest. And that was where the Floating Fortress had crashed.
No matter. He could still destroy the world without his fortress. Or he could find someone to gather the stones from this fortress and place them in the fortress that belonged to this time, buried beneath the ruins of Crayden.
Closing his eyes, he tried to peer into the Webs and determine his next course of action. At first, the Webs didn't come to him, but he thought it was merely because he was dazed.
He tried again and again, but he could not access the Webs.
In fact, he could not remember a thing that he'd seen in them.
It felt as if someone had shattered the Webs. But that was impossible. It had to be. Focusing his thoughts, he tried to peer into the Webs again. Nothing.
Nothing at all.
He searched his memories again, trying to recall what paths the Webs had shown him, but he had no idea what was going to happen, what paths Markus and the others were going to take. Suddenly Krinir felt as if he were adrift in a stormy ocean.
He'd never been unable to read the Webs.
The worst he'd ever found was a few dark strands, perhaps the work of Lionar or Rador. But now he found nothing. Anger boiled within him, but then he took a few deep breaths, calming himself. The Webs may be gone, but he was still the most powerful man alive.
He could still crush all opposition. He'd just have to do it without the Webs.
Part IV
The Final Battle
Chapter 55: A Time to Recover
The mists of the Ghost Forest swirled around Nadia and the rest of the party. She huddled low over Markus, trying to hold back her tears. His skin was white, and he was coughing up blood. How much longer could he cling to life?
But what could Nadia do? They were stranded in the Ghost Forest, and there was no telling when Krinir would find them.
Rik kneeled at Markus's side. "We've gotta find a Miracle Fruit."
"And how exactly will we do that?" Nadia asked, exasperated.
Markus coughed up blood again. "Don't you remember what Taren told us? They grow around the Ghost Forest. Maybe someone here will have some."
"It's a longshot," Rik said. "But it's the only chance we've got."
Klint chuckled hollowly. "Not much of a chance, even by my standards."
Nadia pulled a glowing compass from her leather pack. Somehow, in all the chaos, she hadn't lost her pack. "We should head south. We should be close to the edge of the Ghost Forest." She looked at Markus and blinked away tears. "Can you travel?"
He pushed himself to his feet, wavering on his legs. "I have to."
Rik rushed to Markus's side, offering him support. To Nadia's surprise, Tylen moved to Markus's other side. Markus leaned on both of them as they trekked through the forest, mist swirling about them. The air was cool and damp, like a cave.
With Markus' condition, they traveled slowly. Nadia remained alert for ghosts, but since the air was cold and clammy, it was impossible to tell if any supernatural threats were nearby.
For almost an hour, their surroundings did not change. Mist drifted lazily in the air, an oppressive blanket over everything. They all took turns helping Markus so no one would grow too tired. Klint ended up taking much of the burden as they passed through the ever-present and suffocating gloom.
But finally their surroundings did change. The trees became normal trees again, and they found a narrow dirt path winding between them. Markus looked paler and paler with every second they traveled. Rik and Tylen strained under the burden of carrying Markus, but they didn't complain. Nadia was amazed to see how much Tylen had changed.
Perhaps the burning of Crayden, and everything that had followed, had truly made him into a better man. Still, she remembered the arrogant man she'd first met, and it was difficult to banish those memories.
Soon the dirt path led them to a large cabin. It was a cool day, but sweat still clung to their foreheads. After the battles they'd endured, they needed a chance to rest. Nadia knocked on the door, praying for a chance to give in to her exhaustion. With Krinir on their tail, that probably wasn't the best strategy, but she didn't care.
A middle-aged man answered the door after a few moments. He had a short dark beard and held a crossbow, though he had not lifted it to aim at them.
"What do you want?" he asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
"We have been through a great deal," Nadia said. "Could we rest in your home?"
"I suppose so." His eyes lingered on Markus. "He injured?"
"You wouldn't hap
pen to know about Miracle Fruit?'" Rik asked. "We need some right now to heal him."
The man smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have some."
Nadia's heart leapt. She had experienced a lot of coincidences in recent months, though most of them hadn't truly been coincidences. They'd been careful planning on the part of Warrick, Krinir, or other sorcerers.
"I'm Ben, by the way. And you must be Nadia, Markus, Rik, Lara, and Tylen."
Nadia should have been surprised, but nothing surprised her anymore. "How did you know our names?"
"Warrick told me to expect you."
"Of course," Nadia said. "And he also told you to have some Miracle Fruit handy."
"He did."
"Then let's go inside and heal him," Nadia said. "Once, I would have found this suspicious. Now I don't care. I just want Markus to survive."
Ben motioned for them to enter his cabin, and they filed in with Rik and Tylen supporting Markus. At the other side of the cabin, Ben cleared a spot on a large table. Rik and Tylen lay Markus upon the table while Ben grabbed a cup full of yellow juice.
"You already had it squeezed?" Nadia asked.
"Warrick said I should be prepared." Ben strode to the side of the table and handed the cup to Markus, who took the cup in his hands and drank slowly.
"Should I drink the whole thing?" Markus asked, and Ben nodded, so Markus downed the rest of the cup in a few gulps. "Actually tastes pretty good," he said. "That's strange."
"I'm afraid I only have one bed," Ben said. "Since you are in the most need of it, Markus, you'll get the privilege of sleeping there."
"I'd argue with you," Markus said, sitting up a bit. "But I'm dead tired."
The juice had not yet taken affect, so Nadia and Rik helped Markus across the room and lowered him gently into the bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Nadia felt like doing the same herself, but her mind was spinning in circles, so she couldn't sleep yet.
"Do you think he'll survive?" she asked Ben.
He frowned, examining Markus. "As long as it wasn't too late already."
Perhaps it wasn't too late for Markus. But it was too late for so many others: Garet, Eliza, Farah, Lionar, and all the other people who had died in recent months. Nadia couldn't believe all the madness she'd survived, but she was still standing here, and she would find a way to defeat Krinir, save the world, and avenge everyone he'd killed.
If only she had any idea how to do it.
They spent that evening outside of Ben's cabin, in a small clearing where they started a fire. Sitting close around the fire, they didn't speak much. Everyone had fallen into stunned silence after everything they'd been through. Nadia knew they needed to talk, but she didn't think she could start the conversation. Every time she opened her mouth, nothing came to mind.
Ben had provided them some food, as well as some water and ale. They'd already had their meals, and now all they could think of was sleeping.
But they needed to talk, needed to sort through what had happened.
"It's hard to think that they're all dead," Rik said, finally breaking the silence. "Garet. Eliza. All the others. I expect to turn around and see them right here." He shook his head sadly. "I mean, why'd we go through so much to get the Stone of Restoration if Eliza was gonna die anyway? What did it accomplish?"
"We must have gained something from all this," Lara said. "We must have learned something that can help us in our fight against Krinir." She looked down at the leaf-strewn forest floor. "But what?"
"He can't try to kill another god," Nadia said. "We saw that for ourselves."
"But now he knows that Markus is the Restorer," Rik said. "We won't surprise him."
Nadia felt something tugging at her thoughts, something small in the corner of her mind. "Wait. Markus doesn't have to be the Restorer. If Lionar could pass that status on to him, then can't Markus pass it on to another?"
"But Krinir will still know," Klint said. "He can read the Webs of Fate."
Nadia kicked at a loose twig. "I didn't think of that."
"We did crash his Floating Fortress," Lara said. "That's something we accomplished."
Rik's eyes widened. "Wait. The Floating Fortress. The stones are still in there, all three of them. Maybe if we have all three stones in our possession, we'll stand a chance against him."
"But I thought only the Destroyer, Creator, and Restorer could use each stone," Klint said.
"Not necessarily," Rik said, leaning closer to the fire. "Krinir needed the Restorer to place the stone in the fortress, but maybe you don't need that status to use the stone." He frowned, as if lost in deep thought for a few moments. "Anyways, we should grab the stones. If we leave them there in the fortress, Krinir can get them back."
Nadia's stomach swirled. "I didn't think of that."
"He's probably found them by now," Rik said.
Klint gazed off into the distance. "I'm wondering why he hasn't found us yet."
"I don't know," Nadia said. "You'd think he'd see us in the Webs of Fate."
"Maybe he still has some use for us," Rik said.
Nadia considered that. "I don't think he does. He was trying too hard to kill us back there." Fear bubbled within her. "Unless, of course, it was all an act."
"It could have been," Lara said. "I wouldn't put anything past Krinir."
Nadia glanced over at Tylen. "You've been quiet so far. What do you think?"
"I don't know what to think," Tylen said, glancing down at his tattered, bloodstained clothing, a look of disgust crossing his face at the sight of it. "I'm just glad to be alive."
Rik chuckled. "I think we can all agree on that."
"I'm sorry for the way I treated you, Nadia," Tylen said. It sounded as if the words pained him to say, but at the same time, the apology seemed sincere. "I was an arrogant bastard, and I deserve your hatred. I know there can never be anything between us."
Taken back, Nadia didn't know how to respond. At last, she said, "Thank you, Tylen. That must have been a difficult thing for you to say."
"You know, I did love you," he said. "At least in my own twisted way. Even now, I still think I feel something for you, but I had something good with Farah as well." He hesitated a moment, blinking rapidly. "And now she's gone."
"Tylen, I'm sorry for your loss," Nadia said. "I didn't know Farah that well, but if she made you happy and made you into a better man, she deserves a great deal of respect."
"I barely had any time with her," Tylen said, his gaze growing distant. "But I think she did make me into a better person. I was a complete asshole. I'll admit that now. Everything I've been through has shown me that I was nothing but an arrogant, sheltered noble. My life was comfortable, and I never realized that I'd done nothing to earn that life."
"That's the nature of adversity," Lara said. "It brings out the worst in some people but brings out the best in others."
Nadia was surprised that recent events had changed Tylen for the better, but she was willing to give him a chance. He seemed such a different man from the arrogant jerk she'd first met. Adversity had tempered him into something better. Perhaps traces of the old Tylen still remained, but he'd learned a lot in recent months, and he seemed to be fighting against his old nature. Nadia could respect that, even if she could not completely forgive him.
Rik had fallen silent, staring into the fire, apparently lost in thought.
"Are you all right?" Nadia asked him.
"I'm just thinking of Eliza. She wasn't just a weapon against Krinir. She was a woman that I think I came to love. We never got the chance to find out."
Nadia placed a hand on his shoulder. "She was a special woman. I didn't know her that well, but I could tell that much."
"The world is a cruel place," Klint said.
"I miss them all," Nadia said, fighting against a sudden onslaught of tears. "My family. All the people we've lost during all these quests. If we weren't already in this so deeply, I'd want to give up." She wiped away a tear. "A part of m
e wants to give up anyways."
Rik tossed a twig into the fire. "We've all had those feelings."
"I don't know how we can defeat Krinir," Nadia said, "but we have to try. For all the people we've lost."
Klint raised his cup of ale in a toast. "To those of us who aren't with us now."
Chapter 56: After the Severing
The world spun around Kara as she surveyed her dark surroundings. Warrick stood next to her, holding his hand against her shoulder in a surprisingly comforting gesture. Soon Kara's dizziness abated, and she realized they were back in the tunnels beneath Luminia, in the place where the undead soldiers stood guard over the gateway.
Theo leaned against a wall nearby, relief washing over his face at the sight of Kara and Warrick. He strode toward them, nodding to Warrick and then greeting Kara with a hug.
"I gather Marek stayed behind," Theo said.
Kara's throat felt suddenly tight. "Yes, he did. They're both dead now, aren't they?"
"I'm afraid so," Warrick said. Kara was surprised to hear genuine sympathy in his voice. Even after all the time she'd spent with him, it was difficult to forget the tyrant he'd been. Some of it had been his doing. Some of it had been on Krinir's orders. At this point, Kara wasn't sure if even Warrick knew how much he'd done of his own free will.
"They died bravely," Kara said, as if that made death more palatable.
"Yes, they did," Theo said. "Though Marek didn't have to die."
Warrick shook his head gravely. "He felt otherwise, and I can't blame him. I took him from his brother. It was cruel. Necessary, but cruel. In the end, I think he wanted to do something together with his brother, even if it meant both of their deaths. I don't think Marek could have lived without Berig, knowing that he let his brother die alone."
A long silence fell as they all absorbed the impact of Warrick's words and the sacrifice that Berig and Marek had made.
"Are the Webs of Fate truly destroyed?" Kara asked.
Warrick closed his eyes, adopting an expression of deep concentration. He remained that way a long time before opening his eyes. "I can't see a thing. We succeeded."
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 172