by Andur
The only good ending that comes to my mind could also be the ultimate bad end. The question is.... am I mad enough to throw a coin to decide the fate of the multiverse?
The others surely wouldn't like that. I stand up and walk with leisure towards the private quarters of my family. Celes should be done with her work. Surely I can find her there.
Our private quarters are at the top of the central tower. The small walk gives me time to reach a decision. And it is not an easy one.
I find Celes inside our living room. She is taking care of Aengus and Sharid. Both of them are lying on the big couch to the left side of the room. When I left them, they had serious headaches.
Celes looks into my direction with a furious expression. “Why didn't you tell me!? Aengus is in grave danger and you don't even give me a notice!”
As expected. I will get some harsh treatment for this. But I didn't want her to risk her life.
“I am sorry, but there wasn't enough time. I had to be as fast as possible.” Yes! Perfect excuse!
Celes snorts at me and turns back towards Aengus. So I walk over and hug Celes from behind. Aaah, having a last feel before the end is surely nice.
“What else have you been up to? I feel that you are hiding something.” Celes's tail starts to wriggle around me in order to stop me from escaping.
I swear it. The instincts of this woman are too good! “Nothing, my love! We just had to talk about so much heavy stuff at the embassy. It really put a dent into my good mood.”
So I start to explain my theory to Celes who nods now and then with an unhappy expression. At the end I just sigh and hug her again.
“So you have any idea how to solve this?” -Celes
“More or less. But it's a secret.” I grin at her.
“Tell me!” Celes grabs my left earlobe with finger her like a vice and pulls me down to her level. “You won't pull a self sacrifice again? I forbid it!”
“No! Nothing like that sugar cat. By the way.... look what I got back!” I pull Enyo from my left leg where she was holding onto me since the embassy.
Until now she didn't come to Celes's attention.
Celes's expression becomes shocked while Enyo starts to wriggle in my hands.
“Isss it time for action massster?” -Enyo
“Where did you get that thing from!? I though you had disposed of it!!” Celes takes a step backwards while I take a step forward.
“You really thought that I would permanently get rid of the only weapon which is effective against you? I thought I would lend it to Aengus for a few years but he doesn't need it at the moment....”
“Noooo.... I already have a tail!” Celes turns and starts to run while I follow her with a wriggling cat tail in my hands.
Haaa. Being the husband surely is the best.
105 - A call for death?
Asheim, Royal Chambers
I cuddle myself into the arms of my sleeping husband. The accursed tail is bound to a tight knot onto the armrest of a nearby chair. I swear, I will use that thing on him one day!
The revelations from yesterday were very scary too. The whole multiverse is at risk? And I almost lost Aengus! I don't want to lose my family ever again.
Hopefully the Arcane Community will find a solution. They have many smart guys after all. So there is still hope? Maybe Angrod will find a solution. Though he didn't sound hopeful towards me.
I get up to make some breakfast for me and Angrod. Ah, I could take a look at Aengus and Sharid while I am at it. They were pretty banged up by the Calamity when they got caught.
So I set out towards the living room after getting dressed. But in the living room I just find an empty couch. Sharid and Aengus are gone! I turn around and run back towards my chambers.
“Angrod! Angrod? Have you seen Aengus and Sharid?” I jump onto Angrod and start to shake him out of his sleep.
“Hmmm... no.... why.....”
Stupid sleepy head! “They are gone! Do you know where they are?”
Angrod sits up straight and looks at me. “What do mean? Gone?”
That's when I hear a siren from outside the window and the light inside our room shifts towards red. It should be controlled by Warden, so it doesn't really amaze me.
~We have a security breach. Agents of the Calamity are trying to gain access to my crystal core. It seems like Aengus and Sharid are with them.~
“What?” I scream at the ceiling while Angrod pushes me off and starts to get dressed. He has his armour and weapons here because he didn't change since saving Aengus.
“It looks like they were taken over. Though I checked on them, but obviously the meddling of the Calamity was concealed better than I thought! I have to get something first! Go and help to stop them.” Angrod vanishes by using a pathway!
Bastard! He didn't tell me about his plans again! But I have no time to worry. I have to save Aengus! What if he is killed by the guards?
The room with Warden's crystal core is heavily protected. Nobody has access except for a few selected individuals. Namely Angrod and me!
I use a pathway to get directly towards the royal armoury. Going into a fight while being unprepared isn't smart at all. So I will take a precious minute to get equipped first!
After pushing a guard to the side, I choose my armour and two short crystal swords. I have my daggers which are concealed as hairpins too. But for dealing with those demons I would prefer something with a slightly longer range.
Doing something like getting prepared for a fight feels like it takes ages while it actually takes only a few moments.
By using another pathway, I appear directly at the bottom of the central tower. The chamber with Warden's crystal core is beneath the tower and protected by a dampening field. All of our vital installations are protected like this.
Otherwise anybody could just teleport in and out as he pleases. I appear directly in a fight between my royal guards and some people who look like normal citizens. Are they random gods who were caught by the Calamity?
Damn! We were too lax in our security. There aren't any restrictions on visiting and leaving Asheim. They were able to walk directly in front of our tower before starting their attack!
A random looking guy runs towards me and tries to stab me with a crystal spear. But I evade with a pirouette while one of my swords lashes down on his neck and claims his head.
I won't die here because I show mercy towards controlled people. But how will I be able to stop Aengus and Sharid without hurting them?
They are weaker than me. That's for sure. But I am not confident that I can stop them without causing injuries.
“Queen! You have to go inside! Some of them got through before the reinforcements arrived! Some of the ambassadors went after them.” A guard informs me of the situation and I turn to run inside the tower.
Some of the ambassadors are here? They were fast! Even if they heard the alarm at the same moment as me. But I did waste some time with Angrod and to get prepared.
There are some employees lying on my way, but I have no time to check on them. After a few corners and short corridors, I arrive at the stairway which leads into the basement of the tower.
I take them with big steps and soon I hear the sounds of a battle before me. The basement's arrangement isn't complicated at all. There is just a big long hallway at the end of the stairs.
From the big hallway should spread some smaller corridors to the left and the right. They are connected to a few rooms which are used as offices and store rooms.
At the end of the big hallway is the door towards the control room with Warden's crystal core.
I step into the hallway and find a few guards and Carne, Miruliru and Chiffre in a battle with several agents of the Calamity. Gwalonna is lying on the ground and Zanders is taking care of her.
Aengus and Sharid are under the attackers. They outnumber the defenders by a great margin. Good that they are turning their backs towards me, so I jump into the fight while I cut and hack my wa
y into Aengus's direction.
Hopefully some reinforcements will arrive soon. But now some of the attackers start to take notice of me and three agents turn towards me to block my path.
This is bad. I have no time for this! I channel my mana into my dagger to activate reinforcement magic and jump at them.
My appearance took the momentum out of the enemy attack. So the defenders start to form a closed front while protecting the entrance to the central control room.
I evade one of my enemies while I take a stab at the second and run past the third! My aim is Aengus.
“Aengus!” I scream at him while I run closer and he gives me a smug grin while readying a crystal sword.
“No worries mother. Everything will end soon enough.” He slashes at me and I block the attack with one of my swords.
“Fight it! Did you forget who you are!? You aren't like this!” I try to appeal to him but there is no sign of bewilderment in his face.
After trading a few blows with Aengus, I realize that he got much better with a sword all of a sudden. The battle heats up around us and I try to find an opening in Aengus's defence.
Suddenly my feet are wiped away from under me and I fall on my back while losing one of my swords. By turning my head I see that Sharid took a blow at me from behind.
Aengus kicks my second sword out my hand and raises his sword above me in order to end it. This can't be! I want to scream but no words come out. Everything happened so fast!
His sword stabs down towards me and suddenly the room is filled with shimmering blue lights. One of them punches a hole into Aengus's forehead and his sword stabs into the floor right beside my head.
His limp body crumbles onto me while my mind went blank. The agents of the Calamity start to drop to the ground all around us, sharing a similar fate.
“Aengus? Aengus? Talk to me!” I roll his body off of me and look into his dead eyes which stare up into nothingness.
I try to heal him, but it doesn't work. It's like his soul already left his body. By looking up I see Angrod in the entrance to the hallway.
The little blue lights are starting to gather around him and I recognize them as small crystals. He has his staff in his left and a fist sized blue crystal hovers above his right hand while pulsing in a blue light.
The fighting starts to die down as he begins to walk forward with a sad expression on his face. The little blue crystals are still circling him like deadly small knives.
“What did you do!” I scream at him with tears in my eyes.
“Just the right thing. I always do just the right thing, but it always ends in pain and suffering.” Angrod answers with a pained expression.
I jump up and run towards Angrod while passing Sharid's dead body. A huge hole is in her chest. “AAANNGROD!”
But a little small crystal lashes out and punches through my left leg. It was so fast, I didn't even see it. While I try to take a good punch at him my fist impacts a blue force field half a meter before Angrod.
He attacked me!? How could he? I fall to my knees in front of him. I can't stand with the wound in my leg. Somehow most of the mana inside me is gone! I can't even stand properly any more.
“Just rest here.” Angrod walks past me towards the central chamber.
“What do you think you are doing?” Carne blocks Angrod's path.
*THUNDER*
A blue flash of light strikes at Carne and throws him several feet backwards into a wall. He just drops to the ground and moves no more. Weapons are readied all around and turned towards Angrod.
“Palace! Hack and delete Warden. She isn't needed any more. Then take control of Asheim.” Angrod gives an insane command.
~Affirmative!~
A voice out of the blue crystal in Angrod's right hand confirms the order.
~What do... you.. think... I … NOT!... PROTECT... Why?~
“You are not under my direct control Warden. And I fear that you would resist my next commands.” Angrod continuously walked forward while doing all that.
Miruliru steps in front of the central chamber and erects a barrier. “I don't know what has gotten into you but it will stop here! I always disliked your creepy attitude, but this tops everything so far!” Others start to join her while pouring their power into the barrier which stops Angrod's advance.
He places a hand onto the barrier and sparks of energy start to leash back and forth between them. “Nothing has gotten into me. I just realized that doing the right things won't accomplish my desired result. I tried to always do the right thing, but the multiverse doesn't seem to recognize it. So I will do all the wrong things for once. It's a gamble.”
“I don't understand what you are talking about!” -Chiffre
“You don't need to understand. You just need to die.” Angrod gives them a wry smile while he starts to push forward.
“~Everyone. Has to die.~”
106 - Omega?
Asheim, Central Tower, Basement
I press forward with grim determination while the barrier of my opponents steadily grows weaker. I am sure that I could have done this in a smarter way. And more sneaky.
But by waging my power of against theirs in a final battle, I hope to harden my resolve for what's to come.
The biggest hurdle is already taken. I killed my first son and his fiancee in cold blood. Even if they were influenced by the Calamity, it was no easy action.
Right after the alarm, I went to Chimera and took control of the central core of my palace. It has a reasonably smart A.I. too. But unlike Warden, Palace is under my direct control. He isn't able to refuse my commands.
Afterwards I channelled the mana of the entire planet through me. Ever since the incident with the crystal core of my flying fortress, I trained myself. That event made me realize that there are no limits for gods.
Most gods tend to forget that they are using just their own power when they awaken. They are awed by their sheer force.
But there is still more. After you get control of your own power as a god you can still aim for something higher. Controlling the power which doesn't belong to you. The raw natural energy that's provided by planets and stars.
Once you get rid of the walls within your mind, you realize that there are no limits. A mind is power. Why shouldn't it be able to influence and shape any other power with enough training?
I must admit that using the mana of Chimera had some unhappy side effects. Like blowing up the entire planet. But at least that little test warned me of the possible dangers. Asheim shouldn't blow up before I have set everything into motion.
Mother's face was pretty aghast when she entered the room with Palace's crystal core. Maybe I should have told her that I love her before the end? No. I can't loose my determination. I have set my mind on doing this.
“Angrod! Have you lost your mind?” Chiffre snaps at me.
“No. I am perfectly sane. I just decided to wage my willpower against the multiverse. I will tip the balance and kill the observers until just I remain. Then... if there is just one observer left, the multiverse may bend to his desires.” I take another step and a few cracks appear in their barrier.