Languished Life

by Patrik Mielonen

  However, she has a mission, and she is dead set to succeed.

  “Stand back, I’ll begin now,” Louir warns.

  “Got it.”

  Violet aura engulfs Louir, veiling her body thoroughly. She is merging with the Void, becoming an Archon. Unlike before, the aura isn’t disintegrating the earth, nor anything else, so the Archon is, in fact, standing on its feet rather than hovering in the air. Every bit of Void energy that can be drawn is directed to the Archon’s hands.

  Once one hundred percent of the energy stream has been directed to its hands, the Archon proceeds to draw a symbol of the Void in the air. The magnitude of the world-shattering Void ray is too immense to be shot from one’s palm. Only the Void itself can do it, or an attuner via a symbol. The symbol is intricate, filled with marks and inscriptions that gradually glow more intensely.

  When the symbol is as large as four yards in radius, all the stored Void Energy is channeled into the symbol from whence it’s shot as a violet beam of utter destruction. Without doubt, it has the potency to drill through a planet, but that isn’t the plan.

  The Void ray hits the Seed, but it doesn’t penetrate it, not yet. It’s an otherworldly object, made by the one who created gods, and hence even the magnified Void ray isn’t enough to erase it right away.

  The trees in the between, however, no longer even exist. They are obliterated from the reality.

  As soon as the ray is cast, the black mass can be seen to come their way, and fast. They’re now sensing the immediate danger to the Seed. Indeed, if the Archon is allowed to channel the Void ray for as long as an hour, the Seed will, without doubt, cease to exist.

  “This is it, Tenil. Keep the Black Demons at bay, no matter the cost.” Alexiana vanishes after saying that.

  “I know!”

  Tens of thousands of Black Demons are coming their way. Tenil can’t help the usual wry smile as she thinks of the title she was given after pushing back the Valorian army all alone. This time it’s the same, except that she is facing otherworldly creatures rather than humans. Her heart is throbbing, exhilarated. For the sake of her homeworld, she’ll fight until the last breath.

  It’ll take a moment before the Demons get to them, so until then, Tenil is taking deep breaths, patiently holding on to the handle of the gargantuan sword. Thinking back on her life, she can barely hold her laughter as she remembers what kind of a person she used to be.

  By the time the aberrations are getting close enough, the Seed has begun to take damage. Cracks are forming in it, and the whole thing is starting to react to the threat by radiating dark clouds to no avail.

  “Here they come!” Tenil invokes the dragonic transformation.

  The Demons don’t dare to try climbing the cliff, knowing that the Void ray is radiating disintegrating particles around it. They have to go around it, attack from behind. The obsidian beast is prepared just for that.

  Instead of taking flight with the wings of the dragon, the obsidian guardian remains on the ground, as it’s easier to protect the Archon that way.

  With an angry roar, the dragonic knight lunges for the first kill—or rather, kills. With one fell swoop, a bunch of black creatures is annihilated. The Demons resemble all kinds of living beings, such as humans, animals, and so on. Some are so malformed there is no telling what they might resemble.

  But even so, they have one thing in common; they’re all equipped with deadly claws and fangs. They could easily lacerate a human in a moment.

  The obsidian beast lunges from target to target, the massive chunk of hulking iron crashing into the Demons time after time. It uses its wings to accelerate faster, its irregular agility and strength to overwhelm its targets.

  The Archon is occupied with channeling Void energy into the ray, and therefore cannot help or even evade the incoming attacks. In short, the Archon is at the mercy of the obsidian beast.

  If it’s peace you want, I’ll grant it, a voice resonates in the dragonic humanoid’s head. However, the human inside the obsidian armor has lost most of her reasoning. The whisper goes to deaf ears.

  A Demon is rid of its legs. Another is beheaded. More are halved. If the corpses didn’t turn into dust, there’d be a pile of dead Demons already, although the battle hasn’t lasted long yet.

  Two feline Demons dart at the Archon when they see the chance. The obsidian beast senses them, but it won’t make it in time, so instead of intercepting directly, it hurls the humongous sword, crushing the other with it and slowing down the remaining one. It then charges at the four-legged Black Demon, using its obsidian claws to rip off its head.

  Hundreds replace them. Thousands replace those hundreds. Tens of thousands replace those thousands. The Seed is spawning more and more Demons by the moment, trying to repel the threat. No matter how desperate it may seem, the beast continues to mow down the endless ranks of Black Demons.

  Only when twenty-five minutes have passed since the moment the Archon began channeling the Void ray, a serious threat approaches. At first, it’s just a lump of slimy mass, but once it sees the obsidian beast, it begins to mimic the opponet, taking the shape of the dragonic knight. It isn’t just for the show; its strength and speed match the opponent. Once it’s finished, it readies its massive, copied weapon.

  “Halfway through! Keep protecting me!” The Archon speaks with the voice of Louir and the Void blended together.

  The beast growls as a response, implying it’s really pissed off, and that it is doing its best. The horde shows no weakness, no relenting.

  The mimic Demon attacks, landing the gargantuan blade at its target. The dragonic knight has its wings severed, and as if to respond, it roars furiously. The fiery eyes are set on the mimic now, but only for a moment. It can’t let the other Demons get through.

  After clashing their blades a couple of times, the real obsidian knight dashes after a group of Demons that are about to interrupt the Archon. However, as soon as it’s mowed them down, the mimic hits its back, causing the armor to crack.

  The beast recklessly swings its weapon to cut the mimic in half, but since they both share the same amount of strength and speed, the mimic dodges by taking flight, then following up with a strike from above.

  Parrying the copied blade, the obsidian beast forces the mimic to retreat for a brief moment. Then it intercepts more Demons that are aiming for the Archon. The situation is out of hand, and the dragonic knight knows it. However, there’s nothing else it can do.

  Give in, and I will take your pain away, the voice tries to talk to the beast again. This time, the desperate obsidian knight wavers for a brief moment.

  Just like that, the obsidian beast is forced to take hits from the mimic one after another. If it were one-on-one, the original would obviously stand a chance, but since the objective is to protect the Archon, it’s only inevitable that it’ll lose.

  “Hold on a little longer!”

  Forty minutes have passed. Most of the Seed has been erased from existence, but a huge portion still remains. The size doesn’t matter much, as the Seed can keep spawning Black Demons for as long as there is at least a portion remaining. Small fragments won’t do, or at least they won’t be capable of spawning large Demons en masse.

  The obsidian beast has its human flesh exposed here and there due to the damage taken. Very dark red blood is spilling from its wounds, blood that is partially black because of the curse Oreon cast upon Tenil. The armor is burning the wounds to stop the bleeding, but it doesn’t guarantee Tenil’s safety.

  A little longer and they’ll succeed.

  The mimic is going all out, relentlessly assaulting the beast with the copied weapon, all the while more Demons keep coming. And after a storm of strikes, it lands a critical hit as the beast tries to withdraw to intercept other Demons.

  The obsidian knight roars, its left arm dismembered. The mimic doesn’t let the chance slip away and goes in for the kill—only to be forced to parry, as the one-handed beast brings the massive chunk of hulking iron
at it in a vertical, downward strike faster than the mimic can attack. Fierce glint burns in the beast’s eyes, wrath that is so intense it alone drives the obsidian knight to fight even harder.

  Hysteria.

  Just in time, the mimic manages to parry, only that the copied blade shatters, and the gargantuan sword hits the mimic’s forehead, crushing the skull, then tearing through its body while following the line of its spine, until the mimic is split in two.

  With no time to waste, the one-handed dragonic humanoid relentlessly defends the Archon from the horde. Its anger is the sole reason it hasn’t fallen. Having lost its precious limb, it’s dead set on having revenge. Violent by nature, extra violent when wrath takes control, the beast makes sure no Demon lives to see the next day.

  And then, after a long battle, the Seed is finally erased from existence, and the Archon directs its remaining power at the Black Demons.

  The obsidian knight collapses when it realizes its job is done.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Promise

  This is too cruel! Far too cruel! Noooo! The dragon who is the Supreme God of the Fourth Era is practically crying. I refuse to accept this! They won the game, so why must she die!!!?

  Tenil is lying on the ground near the cliff, left arm cut off. She is dying because of all the wounds she suffered, bleeding dry. She lost her consciousness the moment she reverted to her human form. Even with the most advanced medical treatment, they can’t save her. Her body is already losing warmth, and her skin is becoming pale.

  “Why are you so sad? Isn’t she just a human, a disposable creature to you?” Alexiana asks. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want her to die, but... I just find it hard to believe you actually go as far as crying.”

  Go away! Let me cry alone! Tenil...! Of all the humans I’ve interacted with, she is the only one who’s surprised me in ways more than one! This isn’t fair! She won the game, damn it!

  “Then why won’t you do anything?”

  H-huh? Ouroboros is puzzled by her words. What do you mean?

  “You’re a god, aren’t you?”

  Ah, the dragon goes silent for a moment. I know...!

  As if to surprise Alexiana and Louir, Ouroboros comes out of his beloved home. An anomaly sucks in some trees and earth near them, until a black, scaled head peeks out of the surreal anomaly, followed by a large, four-legged body of a reptile. The beast is thoroughly black as coal, except for fangs, claws, eyes, et cetera. Its eyes are golden, and its head is rather smooth in texture. It doesn’t have horns or anything else that’d make it look malevolent. Its scales are glossy and thin, and its tail is very elegant. Its wings are the only parts that make it look threatening, angular and rough as they are in texture. Overall, the dragon is rather small, barely big enough to give a ride to a human.

  “Out of my way!” Ouroboros bellows as he comes closer to Tenil.

  “My, that’s some serious enthusiasm!”

  The dragon breathes mystical light at the dying Tenil. It isn’t fire, obviously, but something else, power that is unique to the Supreme God of the Fourth Era.

  Tenil’s wounds close, and her left arm is growing back, all thanks to Ouroboros. He even nourishes her, giving her necessary nutrition, including vitamins and so on.

  Her cold body is regaining warmth, and her skin looks healthy again. Only when she opens her eyes does the dragon stop breathing the mystical light. Tenil studies the visage before her while trying to regain consciousness.

  “Eon... you?” Tenil manages to utter.

  “Yes!”

  “I see...”

  “There’s no way I’m letting you die after winning the game! No way! It’s too unfair to die after such a victory!”

  Tenil attempts to sit up, careful as to not break her body any further. Once she is in sitting pose, she holds her head, feeling an intense headache. Furthermore, the worst agony of her life is returning.

  Even Ouroboros cannot cleanse her of the curse.

  “Augh,” Tenil is in a state of confusion, so she ends up crying because of the pain. Until she recovers her reasoning, the pain will be difficult to bear.

  “Eon,” Tenil looks at the dragon, “you’ll keep your promise?”

  “Obviously!”

  “Then may I know if you can shapeshift into a human?”

  “Er, I... uh, I’m not sure. Must I try?” The dragon is taken aback by her question.

  “Please.”

  “Okay, I’ll try it.”

  Tenil rubs her eyes as she lets Ouroboros do the trick. Her heart is racing, for there’s something she wants to do now that Ouroboros is loyal to her.

  “Ugh! Er, like this?”

  Tenil opens her eyes again, and she can see a young man with a black hair and fiery eyes lying on the ground—in a very awkward pose. His clothes are rather dull, but at least he has clothes on. He looks like a gentle delinquent in Tenil’s eyes, but obviously, that doesn’t really correspond to his true character.

  “Seriously, how do you stand with two legs?” The dragon in form of a human voices his complaint. He’s never been in human form, so he is struggling to balance his body.

  “So it is possible?” Tenil is amazed.

  “Yeah, but I feel awkward.” Probably anyone would feel so if the number of limbs increased or decreased.

  Tenil crawls to him, lifting him up to sitting pose to match her eye height. She looks him in the eye, peering into those fiery eyes with great interest. Ouroboros is troubled by her strange behavior. Tenil hasn’t had such a face before.

  “Is there something on my face?” He asks, looking Tenil in the eye. Anyone can tell he is ever so slightly flustered. He might be a god, but he is a sentient being, even if his values are different.

  Tenil shakes her head as an answer. She caresses his cheeks for a moment, enjoying the sensation. She’s touching the god of their world, and that is a very surreal experience per se. The more she thinks about it, the faster her heart races. The entity before her is the one who’s been in her head for years.

  And then...

  She connects their lips.

  Not understanding the situation, Ouroboros is frozen still, unable to think, move, and whatsoever. He can only wonder at the feeling of having his lips stolen by the deadliest woman of his world, the girl with a mountain of bodies beneath her feet.

  When Tenil pulls herself away from him, large tears wet her eyes and cheeks. “Please...” She says with a weak voice. “Please Eon, give me a reason to live on! I can’t take this anymore!” She is crying, not because of physical pain, but mental pain. “I don’t want this kind of life! I wanted to live a normal life with my family, and one day, have a family of my own! But look where I am, cursed, drenched in blood, and constantly hurt!”

  “I know I kept fighting of my own volition, but that was because I was afraid, afraid that I’d lose my mother if Phyr lost! And here I am now, finally losing my mind after so long! I still have the Knights of the Red Flag that I must protect, but what happens to my mind when I get them to safety!? This curse, this mental torture, they’re too much to bear! Therefore, Eon, give me a reason to live on! Please, help me...!”

  Ouroboros is speechless, barely able to keep sitting.

  “I don’t know how much more I can take before I lose it! I don’t want to suffer like this! So, if you can’t give me a reason to exist, kill me once I’ve saved my division!”

  “W-what do you want?” Ouroboros manages to ask her. He promised to be loyal to her, and hence he’ll listen to her.

  “Marry me.”

  Alexiana, Louir, and Ouroboros have their hearts skip a beat. They haven’t heard her wrong. There is no other implication in her words. She is as serious as she can be.

  “E-eh? Marry you? I’m a god, you know!?”

  “Please...”

  Never has she shed so large tears in her life. To Tenil, this moment is the most important one in her life. She was just a girl, an innocent child with no reason to hur
t others. But there she is, sitting on the cold ground with such body count she fears to hear the actual numbers. She could build a castle with the bones alone.

  “You’ve lived in my head for years, Eon. You’re the only one who understands me!”

  The Supreme God slowly nods his head. “W-we can try.”

  Tenil jumps at him, her whole body weight pressing against Ouroboros, and they both hit the ground with a thud. Tenil is hugging him as if to ensure he won’t get away. She is voicing her joy and sorrow by crying. Ouroboros’s answer isn’t exactly the one she was hoping to get, but it’s enough to ease her mind.

  “It’s a promise,” Ouroboros finds himself saying such, puzzled by his own words.

  Alexiana shares her thoughts, “Whoa, to think that I’m not the only girl out there who’s fallen for a dragonic god...”

  “Eh?” Louir’s bafflement is doubled by her subtle declaration. “You too!?”

  “Louir, you have the Void in your head. Imagine if he were replaced with a caring shapeshifter dragon, who also happens to be a god.”

  “I’m trying to imagine, but only Ion comes to my mind.”

  “Heh, I guess that makes sense.”

  After a short while, Ouroboros, who is still in human form, complains, “How am I supposed to walk like this!? Dracon, I know you’ve been a human too! How did you do it!?” He is hoping to hear a piece of advice from a fellow Supreme God.

  Dracon speaks with their shared body, “Get used to it.”

  Tenil lifts the complaining god with sheer strength alone, holding him so that he won’t stumble. “Try balancing your body while holding onto me.” Although she is helping him now, her tears aren’t gone.

  “L-like this?”

  It takes them half an hour to teach Ouroboros to stand. Time after time, he manages to collapse somehow. It’s a very hilarious moment, and thanks to it, Tenil’s sealed character is surfacing again, but only temporarily.