by Ryan Johnson
Just then more than a dozen men mounted on horses followed after Flavius. Men who were loyal to Geraldus and would have seen him stabbed by the witch.
Reluctantly, Valverno turned his head the other way and flew straight into the portal at his greatest speed to the portal. He placed the Crystal Sword hang to his back while flying fast.
Just as Uragiru dragged the restrained Siren through the portal that would lead to the underground city, Valverno grabbed hold of them both and the trio pounced right into the portal.
FALL OF A KING
There was a sudden bitter darkness and there was nothing the demigod was seeing, even if his eyes were wide open. Valverno felt himself holding onto both Marina and Uragiru, but something felt off about them. His hands felt more hairy fur than skin and fish scales. He couldn’t see what he was touching in the bitter darkness. He felt his legs kneeling on solid ground. His hands touched something that wasn’t rock or human skin. The air he smelled was foul like the scent of a rotting corpse lying beneath the hot sun.
“What is this?” he asked. His hands rubbed on something that felt like bear’s fur lying close to him.
He released his hands and stood up slowly while trying to maintain his balance from falling in the bitter darkness his hybrid eyes couldn’t see in. He remembered grabbing both the Siren and the king as they all went through the portal, but everything he remembers after that was seeing pitch black, after he went through the portal.
Valverno inhaled a lot of the air and spat out a large fireball that went blazing sky-high. The fire lit very brightly like the sun and he found himself standing on a pile of dead animals. This made him snap so suddenly and flapped his wings in a great fright. He flew into the air, and looked around him.
He was in his old home city that was buried in beneath the surface world of Shimabellia. He looked where he originally stood: a pile of dead animals.
Valverno saw the dead, failed experiments lying across the streets and alleys of the underground city. Valverno was glad to see the monsters dead before his eyes, and he knew those monsters were affected by Origenes’s banishing blast.
The monsters had been unnatural and coming back from the dead was very unnatural. Now Valverno didn’t have to deal with the monsters that came to life from his DNA, and he wouldn’t have to worry about Lusìvar using these monsters as a secondary army. But he didn’t want their bodies lying around the city; it was a burial place of his fellow Pangaeans.
And those monsters were created on the surface world. So he leaped down and pounded his hand with a small green flare lighting on his hand onto a dead animal.
The green flare spread out like Origenes did when Valverno told the god to banishing all kinds of unnatural stuff from the islands. Valverno sent this green flare out through the city’s streets and turning all the dead animals to small dust particles. This power spread across the city in a matter of seconds, like Valverno going at his greatest speed, consuming the dead corpses into dust.
In a matter of seconds, Valverno sensed his power ending and he quickly flew over to the large, flat platform edging near the Pool of Shadows. Behind him, the many dust created from the dead animals came soaring. The dust followed close behind and he landed by the cliffs.
Valverno looked down and saw the Pool of Shadows was still there and waving just the same as the first time he saw it. Then he snapped his fingers and the dust flying above him soared down into the Pool of Shadows, burying all the dusted dead animal corpses into the Pool.
All the dust soared from the city, into the air behind Valverno, and into the Pool of Shadows to be buried and never come out again.
Valverno saw the dust departing into the Pool and hopefully never had to deal with those evil creatures again. Now he just needed to find the Siren and the man he wanted to kill. He tried to pick up their scent, but he couldn’t pick up anything yet he felt something amiss.
When he decided to reach for the Crystal Sword on his back, the sword wasn’t there. Valverno turned his to his shoulder and he didn’t see the hilt. The sword itself wasn’t on him. He knew he had it on him with him when he entered through portal with Marina and Uragiru.
This made no sense to him. The three of them should have gone to the same location at the same time, but he didn’t find the two people when he first found the dead animals. Now the Crystal Sword is missing. He can’t even feel the presence of the two people anywhere. It’s like his senses have been weakened from the god’s banishing power, the power of summoning the god, or the multi-animal DNA Belverda gave him as an embryo may be the cause of his sensing ability.
After all, the DNA strands Belverda gave him were considered to be unnatural since he was never born with them in first place. Even though those abilities may have enhanced his natural ones, Origenes saw those animal abilities in the demigod as unnatural and went to banish those too from Valverno’s body.
Whatever Belverda planted into his embryo were long gone now, casted into the Pool of Shadows and Valverno felt relieved when he just learned about Origenes sending those evil things from his body and into the Pool.
Then he began to feel a bit cold all of a sudden. It was like warm there for a second from the fireball he created than the warmth dimmed.
“Valverno, look out!” Marina’s voice called out.
Valverno looked turned his head quickly at the Siren’s voice. Although he wasn’t quick enough to react, he saw Marina leaning on the ground, but he didn’t catch until a moment’s notice Uragiru was behind him.
Valverno finally felt a great pain splitting his spinal cord from a cold metal that suddenly struck him very fast. He could see Uragiru holding the Crystal Sword and slicing the demigod’s back.
Then Uragiru grabbed Valverno by the neck and intended to slit his throat by the very godly weapon Valverno used in his battles.
But Valverno used the spikes on his arms to hold the sword by the blue blade. He felt Uragiru’s arm holding his neck while Valverno used his arms’ spikes to the sword away from the kill.
“You may have taken away my magic, but I always have a backup plan. Marina will become mine and you will die!” Uragiru slid the sword away and quickly shoved Valverno over the cliffs that led to the Pool of Shadows. “I will bring back magic and as long you are the sacrifice into bringing it back.”
Valverno fell and his somehow lost his strength to fly so suddenly. Valverno, who couldn’t fly, could still soar with his wings wide open. His falling became a soaring with air waves being created from the black watery waves swaying on the rocky walls leading down to the Pool. Valverno grabbed to the mountain wall with his arms, legs, and wings.
He may not have the ability to fly as long as his spinal cord remains paralyzed, but he still had the capabilities to glide with a small weak wind.
“You see, Marina, it is I who holds the real power, not that pathetic hybrid. And he will be the perfect sacrifice for a new age of Shadows. In the end, it is I who has won.”
“On the contrary once again,” shouted the demigod hanging from the rock wall, so he would get the attention of Uragiru. “Once the gods have chosen their champion, he or she is protected by the gods and they will always be protected by the gods… until their champion has fulfilled their ultimate goal: as long Lusìvar lives, I can’t be killed.”
With a bang when he decided to head to knock on the rock, a loud shake rumbled beneath the feet of Uragiru. This caused him and Marina to lose their balance, but Uragiru was standing so close to the edge to see where he heard Valverno’s voice, he fell over the cliffs.
Uragiru fell over the cliffs while Marina stayed away from the cliffs and away from Valverno’s view, knowing she would be safe up there instead of joining him and the falling king. Valverno could jump to kill the king, but his injures he had made it difficult for him to do jump high; he was like a regular human being without any magical talents.
The king fell over the cliff and to another point where he managed to grab onto and keep himself from fall
ing. He was higher about twenty feet diagonally from where Valverno was clinching to.
Valverno wasn’t going to have the king climb back to the cliffs and have his way with Marina. Marina belonged to Valverno and the demigod wasn’t going to have anyone touch her but him. Valverno climbed the rock and slowly began his way up. He may not have been able to fly or use a great agility to speed climb, but he could dig his fingers into the rock and force his body higher with great strength.
“This is going to be your end, Uragiru!” shouted the demigod. With his strength not paralyzed, Valverno found himself climbing at a slow, steady speed.
Just as close as he came close to Uragiru, who was still holding onto the rock he was climbing upon, Valverno heard a whipping sound coming behind him. He turned his head to the Pool of Shadows, and there were six long, liquid whips rising from the Pool, the same whips that dragged Valverno in into the Pool of Shadows.
The whips of the Pool of Shadows started to take form. Valverno swing himself from in different directions and made sure he wasn’t going to be pulled into the Pool of Shadows for a second time.
Then he turned to see Uragiru stepping onto another rock point wide enough to make him stand on it. The king, with a horrible obsessive face believing he had won, held the Crystal Sword high and ready to strike down the demigod.
“Now, the last hope for mankind will fall into the abyss and the Light with him forever!”
Then Valverno saw beneath the king’s feet laid a dead animal hanging. No doubt created by the witch and her dragon partner. It seemed it was missed by Valverno’s green flare that turned all the dead animals into dust. It was a Minotaur’s chest, stitched with a small dragon head, human legs, and a horse’s tail. Looking at it gave the demigod an idea.
“Not today!” shouted Valverno. With his wings and legs and one hand hanging on the rock, Valverno used the pointy end of his tail and shot at the rock Uragiru was standing on.
His tail’s pointy end flew like an arrow being released from a bow and struck the rock Uragiru was standing on. This made it crumble upon impact and loosen from the rock’s grip with the wall and caused Uragiru to lose his balance. He slipped from the rock, but still grabbed onto it with both hands. And he still held onto the sword he was holding that was held by Valverno.
“The one going to be sacrificed to the Pool… is you!” shouted Valverno. Then he released all his grips on the rock wall but with one hand holding onto the rock. His body swung and quickly grabbed an oncoming whip coming his way. He grabbed it and ripped it like a leave from a branch and flung it to the dead animal.
The black water sank into the dead monster and suddenly awoken it like a crying baby who was suddenly woke from a loud noise.
While Uragiru tried to climb back up, his hands were suddenly caught by the waking monster and its dragon head turned to meet Uragiru’s face; it growled scarily upon looking at the king’s face from a close range and with deep red-raging, blood-sucking eyes.
The head gave Uragiru a great horror and scare upon his face; the old man found himself caught by the monster’s hands clinging to his own and the monster tightly wrapped the legs around Uragiru’s legs and held the king close to it. By the sight of the monster’s face, Uragiru screamed loudly as he gazed into the monster’s evil eyes, the monster brought from the dead by a single whip from the Pool of Shadows.
Then Valverno bent his legs to the wall and jumped like a grasshopper and flung right past the rock the king and the monster were hanging on to.
As he flung himself to a higher altitude; he grabbed the Crystal Sword from the king’s hand by using his own hands.
While he was passing by, Valverno used the claws of his feet and his tail to break the rock from the wall, give Uragiru a scar on his eye and a divine glow showing this was a man condemned to death.
Valverno grabbed onto another a higher part with one hand, both feet, and both wings. He quickly turned back to see the screaming king and the rock snapping from the wall the rock was clinging to.
With no magic to summon at his will and no ally help him against his horrifying experience from the monster and the cracking rock, the king could do nothing, making the rock snap and fall.
All the king could do was to scream loudly. He, the monster, and the rock fell far from the rocky wall, falling down many hundreds of feet, and set all three plunging right into the Pool of Shadows, leaving behind a large splashing explosion.
The falling king of Shimabellia, of which Valverno saw the body exploded upon impact and turning into great sparks over the Pool of Shadows, was dead.
CURTAINS FOR A WITCH
Valverno gave a sign of relieve; King Uragiru was long gone and dead, unable to come back to the Mortal Realm. This would mean his soul would stand before the Three Gods to be judge by the deeds Uragiru has done in his lifetime. Valverno turned his head and climbed up the wall and back to the cliffs where Marina would be waiting for him.
He came over the cliffs and stood on the high ground where he would be able to stand. With the sword back in his hand, he pointed it low and away from any piercing.
“Valverno!” shouted Marina.
The Siren came dashing to the demigod once he came within her sight. She jumped on him and he caught her flying in midair. Both hugged and squeezed each other so hard if they haven’t seen each other in ten years.
Valverno was happy to see Marina in their lonely time in his old appearance, since their main obstacle had went down. “Oh, Marina, good to see you again with my old form.”
“Now I can see the one I fell in love with standing in before my eyes.”
“Yes, now we can start from the day we got married and…”
Valverno, help me!
Valverno heard his sister’s voice calling in his head and she was calling to him. He felt her presence being lost so suddenly. He could hear her voice in his head, as with Belverda’s voice: “Now I’ll become the White Knight and see how Valverno will do with me. You may have killed my Dragon and damaged my staff, but it will still be a pet once I have your power within me and stay young longer.”
“Sora!” said he.
“She? Is she here?” asked Marina, letting go of Valverno.
“No, I heard her voice, as well as Belverda’s voice; the witch has my sister pinned somewhere and the witch is somehow draining her White Knight power. This is something I’m not going to tolerate, and I need to protect the people of my family.
Since he could no longer fly, Valverno swiped the Crystal Sword in the air and created a portal that would lead to his sister and the witch. “Come on, Marina,” said Valverno, holding Marina by her hand.
In midair, Valverno slashed the air and a portal with an image showing Flavius and his knights following him running through a forest of dead trees and nothing came from Belverda and Sora. “Not what I needed to see, but they are going after the witch, so let’s go.” Valverno led Marina through the portal, and they found themselves in a forest five seconds later.
The portal behind them had disappeared and they heard the sounds of running hooves echoing through the woods. There was a heavy rain pouring from the sky above them. Grey clouds covered the sky, and little darkness stirred beneath the strange trees.
Valverno, you are close. Close enough to fight this monster trying to take the power Mother bestowed upon me.
Valverno could now sense his sister’s presence and followed a gut instinct that could lead her to him. Marina followed closely behind as Valverno ran through the trees at a steady speed so Valverno would now Marina could follow closely behind him.
“Now I’ll become the next White Knight of Charity!” shouted Belverda’s voice.
Valverno had picked up the witch’s scent coming nearby and he followed after the trail. As he followed the scent, there were fewer trees and more rocks forming into tall, straight hills and rocky mountain slopes. He could see the witch laughing loudly and hear the running of horse hooves echoing in the surroundings.
T
hen the laughing stopped and another voice called out: “There’s the witch! After her!” It was Flavius.
Between the trees, Valverno briefly saw Belverda running as the same speed Valverno was running. A minute later, Flavius and his men trotting on their horses after the witch. Valverno turned to speak with Marina. “Marina, I…”
“I know what your sister means to you, and what the witch has done to you: go save her White Knight power. I’ll be fine. I’m starting to take a liking for Sora.”
Valverno nodded and ran with the greatest speed. He followed from a distance and went a different route. Through the forest meeting a mountain slope going uphill, he went from running through a forest to climbing a mountain wall.
From a distance, he saw the horse riders closely following the witch. One stayed behind and tended to Sora while the others chased after Belverda. Then he saw Marina showing herself to the rider and Sora. Valverno smiled at Marina’s cooptation to help Sora, who Marina shown jealousy and a rivalry with.
Then he turned away and he slivered, crawled, climbed, and jumped to different angles to find where Belverda was going. He wasn’t going to let Belverda escape from his view.
After jumping from point-to-point, he saw Belverda started to leave the forest and climb through a mountain near his position, but with his small jumps he could only make because of a damage spinal cord, Valverno slowly made his advance to the witch. He stopped for a bit and saw Flavius and his men climbing the same slope and began trailing after the witch.
Valverno resumed his jumping from slope to another slope to get to the witch before the men did; he wanted to be the one to kill Belverda. As he drew closer to the witch’s mountain slope, he saw the witch coming to a cliff with nowhere to go; she was trapped.