by Robles, Luis
Six luminous balls of light descended rapidly on Bliss, entering her body through her chest, giving her a soft glow each time. The dragon turned to look at Bliss, and he saw thick, heavy chains appear all over her body. One by one, most of the chains broke and fell to the floor before it disappeared. Only a few of the chains stayed on her body as they disappeared from the dragon’s sight.
“This must be the reason she hasn’t been able to use her full magic before. And even then, she was powerful. Now, I can only imagine,” the dragon thought to himself.
“Arise,” Bliss said as she moved her right hand. A thin wave of vines and rocks followed her hand’s every move. She studied its subtle yet precise movements, and then made a disaster by putting her hand down. She smiled.
“I’ll take that as a good sign,” the dragon said, half staring at Bliss.
“I won’t be so useless after all this time. Although I cannot attack directly, I will be able to interfere this time, for some of my power is back,” Bliss said with a confident smile.
Earth trembled, and roars and battle cries were heard everywhere; the legion of shadows became visible in the horizon, and the dragon stiffened as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he had the full use of his sight.
“Are those—” the dragon asked without finishing.
“Those are humans & Nulians, innocent creatures of every kind, Dragon. It looks like they are being controlled. There must be over a hundred of them. We won’t have a clean fight,” Bliss said without taking her eyes off the horde of shadows.
“The concept of a fair fight went out the window since the Gates decided to come to Earth,” the dragon said, clenching his teeth.
At the forefront of the horde, humans, and forest creatures marched as empty shells. Behind them, just a few meters away, was the last of the Gate creatures—a large feline-like creature, about half the size of the dragon, with heavy armor around the shoulder blade. Its paws and claws were also covered in heavy armor. The armor was engraved with strange markings that were beginning to light up as it got closer to Bliss.
“Well, if it isn’t the only originator of magic and its pet Watcher that has the guts to face us,” the creature said from afar, but its voice boomed and echoed throughout the field. “You two don’t seem so dangerous. I don’t know why the others would fail with the likes of you.”
“What are you doing hiding behind humans and Nulians? Surely, you don’t need to rely on them…” Bliss said, trying to sound normal, holding back her anger.
“These are called pawns, and they will be the first thing in your way before you get to me. This is a tactic of War—sacrifice the weak so the strong remain in power. And I am War.” The voice boomed once again, “Will you be willing to sacrifice it all to win? It’s ok if you say no. After all, it is a nice day to die!”
“I’ll only say this once—let them go,” the dragon said, crouching slowly, loading strength into his muscles and reaching for his sword.
War and the horde advanced towards Bliss and the dragon, raising their speed. At the top of the gargoyle walls fire became visible, lighting up the rim of the entire wall.
The dragon sprung, sword uninhibited towards War, making the earth beneath him quake with each step. At the same time, one after another, the humans and Nulians controlled by War began to run towards the dragon.
The dragon did not slow and continued to run. War and the horde of shadows slowed to a standstill while they watch the dragon’s approach.
“He will slow. They don’t have it in them to do what’s necessary to win. I am sure of it,” War said to no one in particular.
As the dragon ran and the mindless humans and Nulians got closer to him, one by one they began to disappear in a puff of violet smoke. As the path cleared, he roared and ran harder towards War.
Behind the wall, the large group of humans and Nulians were placed in a large open space between the wall and the first gargoyle homes, with gargoyle guards surrounding them. The group was not responding, not moving, but they were all facing towards the general direction of the dragon. Bliss shortly appeared in a puff of violet smoke in front of them as the last one was placed with the group by one of the nearby guards.
“Are you awake? Can you hear me?” Bliss asked the large group but to no avail. Bliss refrained herself from peering into their minds as she figured that she too could fall ill to whatever was wrong with them. “Please take care of them,” Bliss said to the nearest guard as she disappeared once again.
“What? How can she have used her powers once again? The keeper of the Gates made sure she could not interfere with me,” War screamed, jarred.
The dragon was closing in fast on War, now with his sword fully unsheathed, ready to attack. War in turn held its ground while most of its armor began to break apart into thousands of cylinders, each inscribed with red markings, glowing, and each distinct.
“Dragon, I present to you— Chaos!” War screamed at the top of his lungs, and the thousands of strange cylinders floating around War hurdled to the dragon at a high speed with a hiss in the wind, at first one by one, and seconds later all at once.
Like a skillful swordsman, the dragon was able to block and deflect the first couple of hundreds of cylinders coming his way. But soon, he was no match for the thousands. They pummeled the dragon in all parts of his body relentlessly, the dragon swinging his sword desperately.
At the same time, the shadows began their attack on the wall. The gargoyles fired their flaming arrows but to no avail: the shadows seem stronger, faster, and smarter than before.
“Get the mallets ready!” Bramma yelled.
As the horde of shadows neared the wall, it was now in between Bliss and where War and the dragon were fighting. Bliss called upon her magic and summoned power waves that made earth, vines, and roots rotated around her.
“This should do. Hang in there, Dragon. I’m on my way,” Bliss thought as she ran straight into the horde of shadows.
The shadows had thick armor-like skin all around them, a large head structure, with small eyes near the front. Sharp spikes protruded from the back of its head and onto its nape. After their shoulder blade, a line of razor sharp spikes ran down them until the end of their long tails. They walked on six limbs, each one equipped with thick and powerful claw.
The shadows of War saw Bliss as easy prey, speeding up towards her with ravenous hunger. Bliss did not waver and kept her pace. The first, the second, the third, the forth, the fifth shadow launched towards her, but to no avail. The magic that rotated around Bliss dealt with them in an instant, pounding them into the ground and then throwing them far away. Ten shadows followed and around twenty after that, but they all met the same end as Bliss ran non-stop towards the dragon. It wasn’t until Bliss got towards the end of the horde of shadows that they stopped attacking.
The other horde of shadows quickly reached the gargoyle wall, clashing against it with brute force. But the gargoyle wall did not budge, just like their spirits.
“Get the ropes ready…here they come. All wings go, keep well away from them! Go, go, go!” Bramma screamed with conviction.
The shadows clashing against the wall began climbing on top of each other, forming a mound that leaned against the wall. Within minutes, they were three quarters of the way to the top. The winged gargoyles dived nonstop onto the mound of shadows, knocking down the most they could with their stone mallets without getting caught by the horde. But for some gargoyles, there was no escape. The non-winged gargoyles stood horizontally against the wall with a thick rope tied to their chest and hip. They too were swinging their mallets at the horde of shadows, knocking down the most they could before being enveloped.
The dragon, bleeding and desperate to get rid of the thousands of cylinders, chanted, “Fuego,” invoking massive flames that twisted around him. But the fire did not have any effect; the glowing red hot gears of War kept attacking him from all angles.
“You are not to interfere!” War roared at Bliss as she neared
them, with a voice that made the ground shake. Nearly half of the cylinders that were attacking the dragon headed towards Bliss in a blistering speed. Within seconds, they were right in front of her, forming a dotted but impenetrable wall.
Bliss tried to force her way through, but her magic was not powerful enough to break through the wall. The vines, roots, and rocks that circulated around her teared themselves apart as they tried to move the cylinders.
“Against War, a single being has no power,” War said in a humorous manner, staring at Bliss.
“She’s not alone!” the dragon said, livid as he grabbed War by the neck with all his strength and tossed it to the ground. “This is your end!” the dragon shouted as he pointed his swords towards War’s neck and thrusted it with all his strength.
But before the tip of the sword could reach War’s neck, the metal cylinders were already moving the sword away from War, causing the sword to be diving into the ground. The sword buried itself into the ground as if there was nothing standing in its way.
The thousands of cylinders continued to attack the dragon nonstop. The relentless attack allowed War to get loose from the dragon’s grip and tossing the dragon far from his sword.
“I have to find a way to get to the dragon and stop all of these. There’s three more Gate chains holding me back. If only I could use my full power,” Bliss thought with anguish.
“No, Dragon, getting rid of me won’t be that easy. In fact, I’d say it will be impossible for you. I’ve already planted my seed on this earth. War will forever plague this pathetic place,” War said as it walked towards the dragon slowly.
The dragon attempted to get up, but the more he resisted the harder the cylinders fought to keep him down.
With a puff of violet smoke, Bliss appeared on War’s path to the dragon.
“All this time you were a just a distraction? That’s clever, and quite unexpected from you. I must say, I’m having a lot more fun than I ever anticipated,” War said amused.
“Fun…? You are truly disgusting,” Bliss said, clenching her hands.
“That is war—raw power, having fun. But I’ll do all a favor, I’ll do something that not even the mighty Gate keeper was able to do. I’ll get rid of you first!” War said with full intent as the cylinders that made the wall in front of Bliss headed over to the dragon and pinned him down. “I don’t know if you have forgotten this, but you can’t part take in this war,” War finished with a wicked smile.
“Don’t…” the dragon managed, but unable to move.
Bliss looked back at the dragon and winked while surreptitiously pointing her index finger down.
“What in blazing’s does she mean down? Is this a plan? Why didn’t she tell me about this before? This is no time for riddles,” the dragon thought to himself with a baffled look.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. I don’t think he will be able to move. I hope you are not counting on him. My thoughts are that you will be thoroughly destroyed. Now face your ending, magical being!” War finished with great despise as it began walking towards Bliss.
“Magic, don’t abandon me now,” she whispered with a barely audible sound as she turned to face War and held her ground.
“What’s that? You are afraid that your scanty magic would leave you? You know, I would tell you that this will not hurt a bit, or that it will be fast, but I would be lying if I said that. I will make it hurt as much as I can, and prolong it that much more,” War said as it got closer to Bliss and an aura of red magic became visible. War’s claws glowed the most, and the ground underneath them seemed brittle as it continued walking.
With her left hand, Bliss reached for the ground. “As ancient as you are, allow me to ask for your help, Titan. Please, lend me your strength. A defensive wall around me, you shall be. Shield me from all that is evil. This and only this I ask from you,” Bliss chanted as the ground trembled and a faint roar was heard.
“This will be your Calamity!” War screamed as he attacked Bliss, its claws full of glowing red energy. Each hit was an explosion, with loud noise and debris flying everywhere. Bliss was tossed around the battlefield, destroying the ground that she was in.
Bliss’ magic endured the full might of War’s attacks, but the magic was beginning to fade as the debris made their way to Bliss’ body, tearing parts of her cloak, and causing lacerations on her face and arms. Despite the pain from the injuries and the strain the attack was causing on her body, she smiled.
“How dare you smile in my presence! I am death, the destroyer of worlds!” War lost it and screamed as he came to a standstill in front of Bliss.
“You are powerful. You can level a whole battlefield if you so wished to, just as you’ve done to this one. There’s just one flaw in your power,” Bliss said winded, as the spinning magic slowed and disappeared.
“And what is that?” War fumed, ramping up the red magic around it.
“You’ve broken half of the very prison you made for the dragon. You’ve became reckless, and that will be your end,” Bliss said with a calm voice as she fell to her knees.
“What?” War exclaimed, looking towards the direction the dragon was supposed to be pinned down, only to find its cylinders floating in place. War then looked around trying to find the dragon.
The dragon stood tall, breathing fast, but determined next to his sword, with one hand reaching for it. “Look over here!” the dragon yelled, with some of his wounds healing.
War turned towards the dragon, “You fool! You don’t stand a chance against me and my Chaos. They will swarm you once again, and once again you will fail. Chaos, reign once again!” War finished, calling upon its magic. War crouched, waiting for its thousands of cylinders to pass over it. But a few seconds passed and nothing happened. With clear desperation, War turned around to look towards the direction of its cylinders, only to see Bliss with one hand extended, holding back War’s magic.
Bliss’ body was in pain, a familiar pain she had once felt before as she was learning about her magic and getting beyond her physical limitations. Bliss’ hair color became silver, and small debris floated all around her as she once again became in contact with her full power. In that moment, Bliss had done what her sisters and brothers thought would be impossible, what she thought was impossible when the Gates took away their ability to directly interfere with the war that descended upon them. She had broken all the rules, all the chains, and all the magic holding her back.
“You will not win,” Bliss managed as she clenched her teeth and stared directly at War with silver white eyes.
The dragon grabbed the sword and began running towards War at full speed. War turned to face the dragon and roared.
“I am still not done!” War screamed as the rest of his armor broke apart in the same way Chaos did. “Havoc, do away with this pest!” War finished with a chant.
The rest of War’s cylinders flew towards the dragon at blistering speeds.
“Halt...entomb,” Bliss chanted and wept in pain as she extended her right arm to the new threat. War’s Havoc came to a complete stop and buried themselves into the ground, stirring out of the dragon’s way.
As War tried to move out of the range of the dragon’s attack, it quickly found itself frozen. War’s limbs and most of its body were being held still by Bliss’ magic. The largest and strongest of the Earth vines were holding the deadly beast of War immobile.
Once the dragon was directly in front of War, he gathered all his strength and said, “Fuego eterno,” and swung the now flaming blue sword with all his power. He had unleashed his most powerful attack. War was cut in half as giant blue flames consumed it, reducing it to ash.
Against all odds, Bliss and the dragon won. War was no more.
On the other side of the battlefield, War’s shadows were rapidly losing color and strength, many of them turned pale within the first few seconds and were unable to move. The gargoyles did not let down on their attack, or let their guard down. They kept attacking them with the same ire as
before. Within minutes, the horde of shadows was whipped from existence.
As the dust settled, the dragon approached Bliss, sheathing his sword. But Bliss did not react to the dragon’s presence; she was curled up with her head resting on her arms. In that moment, even the rain was louder than them.
“Bliss, are you okay?” the dragon asked with a soft voice.
She nodded ever so softly, breathing in the now cold, wet air of the battlefield.
Bramma and two more gargoyles approached Bliss and the dragon with a worried expression on their face. “Are you all right?” Bramma asked both Bliss and the dragon.
“Bliss?” the dragon asked once again.
“We’ve never really given you a proper name. You can’t continue being known as Dragon…” Bliss said in a sad, barely audible voice.
“A name?” the dragon asked, confused.
“You’ve never had a proper name. If you’d allow me to change that, I’d like to give you a name,” Bliss said without looking up.
“Very well then. It would be an honor to have you name me. I cannot think of anyone else,” the dragon said as he bended his knee to get closer to Bliss.
“From now and until the end of time, you will be known as Arimus of the Watchers. Your name will reverberate throughout history, and everyone will know what you did here today. It is because of you that the future generations of this world will live. With my whole heart, I thank you Arimus,” Bliss said as she finally looked up at Arimus to reveal tears in her eyes.
“I humbly accept that name as my own,” Arimus said as he bowed.
“Arimus it is. We too will make sure that everyone remembers your name,” Bramma said.
Bliss smiled at the gesture, but soon after she began sniveling. Arimus lifted his head to look at Bliss.
“I have failed, Arimus…we ruined everything,” Bliss said, sobbing.
“But, we’ve won… There isn’t any more of them left,” the dragon said, confused.
“I overdid it, Arimus. I can feel myself and others fading away from this world,” Bliss said with a low, almost hallow voice as she looked up towards the dragon with tears in her eyes.