by Zac Atie
“The Null and Void is a planet.” Hime said. “But it’s an abomination of a planet, close to Cazria, though not too close. The planet went somewhat wrong, and upon a sorcerers death, their aura is sucked onto that planet, converting it into life. Mind you, that’s just the Aura, not the sorcerer’s soul itself. Since the planet is an abomination, the Aura becomes a creature of magic and myth. So... for example, if a Sorcerer was a fanatic of Satan, and they died, their Aura could become an imitation of Satan.”
“That’s amazing...” Zaxxarius said. “But... what’s your point?”
“Blinking is basically teleportation. But the Blinking Gate is connected to the Null and Void, and I can summon monsters from there.” Hime laughed.
“You can summon Satan?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Well... Maybe.” Hime said. “I’ve summoned several demonic creatures before... but they’re scary.”
“Could I summon a monster?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Well, summoning monsters from the Null and Void is illegal.” Hime said. “And if blinking is not your affinity, it’s really hard to summon anything from the Null and Void. But it’s possible... Some Warlocks cheat and animate dead bones from the Null and Void to attack people through a Void gate, a gate that connects to the void. A lot less hard to do than it sounds, but summoning a creature permanently to bind to your will is much harder. Not to mention, I can actually go there with Blinking Gate!”
“I see...” Zaxxarius said, pondering what she said. “It’s a wonder that I haven’t seen anyone teleport before.”
“You haven’t?” Hime said. “Oh... Well, Solomon is really powerful, so I can teleport over insane amounts of distance, though it makes me tired. Are you sure you haven’t seen anyone do it?”
“Well...” Zaxxarius said, thinking back. Then he remembered. He remembered that Dante did it near the beginning of his fight. “Oh yeah. I saw one person do it, but it was in the middle of a fight.”
“Normal sorcerers cannot teleport that far. They usually use it to save themselves from falls, or dodge attacks, but it’s not something that can be used over and over like a total newbie.”
“By the way, your accent... Were you putting it on?” Hime looked shocked at the question, then embarrassed. “Yeah.” Hime laughed. “I had to put it on, otherwise, people would realise where I was from.”
“You’re from Cazria...” Zaxxarius said. “How are you here?”
“The portal.” Hime laughed. “Up there.”
“You’re with Sanctum?” Zaxxarius asked, getting defensive.
“Calm down.” Hime said. “I'm not with Sanctum. I'm with the Godslayer’s Legion.”
“The legion?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Correct.” Hime said. “The Legion was my family for the longest time, but I can’t let them destroy Japan!”
Zaxxarius chuckled. “I don’t think Japan is really their sole target, but sure.” Zaxxarius was still wary of Hime. “So, you want to join me?”
“Nah.” Hime said. “Just help you stop Sanctum.”
“Alright...” Zaxxarius said.
“Your girlfriend is being held up top.” Hime said. “Here, this will help.” Hime summoned a black sphere of gas in her hand, and threw it at the ground. Then, she slammed her staff into the ground like she did before, but this time she didn’t disappear. The gas on the ground shimmered, and turned liquid-like. Then, slowly, something emerged from the pool of black liquid. At first, it looked like a large eagle, with a huge beak. It’s eyes were very large, and black, and it’s feathers were perfect, like something out of a cartoon. Then, he saw that it really was. “A griffon?” Zaxxarius asked. The griffon was statue-like for a while, then it animated into life. At first, it was confused. Then, it tried to attack, but soon realised that it couldn’t. The substance disappeared beneath the griffon, and formed into an Octogram. At the ends of each of the Octagram came symbols. “These are the binding tokens.” Hime said, as she pointed at a couple. “The Behaviour Crest, which controls it’s behaviours, The Individuality Crest, that determines it’s character, The Loyalty Crest, which determines who it can and cannot attack, and so on. Usually, it takes people years to learn these techniques, and if they get one of the crests wrong, the demon won’t obey it’s tenants but I got it down in seconds thanks to this staff!”
“You better make sure not to lose it then.” Zaxxarius said. “You’re... sure this thing won’t attack me.”
“Yup!” Hime laughed. “All yours!” She hugged Zaxxarius. “Look after your girlfriend, wont you? And yourself! Be careful!”
“I will.” Zaxxarius promised, then he looked back at the griffon. It bent down, and allowed Zaxxarius to mount it. It didn’t look like it could take its weight, but it did. “It will drop you off at the top!” Hime said. “Don't worry, most guards are too busy focusing on a barrier to notice you.”
“Yeah, I'm sure they won’t notice a big massive griffon flying past them.” Zaxxarius said, making Hime laugh. “Haha, ok ok!” Hime said. “Griffon, go!”
Chapter Seventeen – Omega
Zaxxarius Elric
The griffon soared up the mountain, not at a very fast pace, but when Zaxxarius saw all the awkward rocks he would have had to climb up, he was happy that Hime had shown up when she did. He didn’t know whether to trust her or not. She admitted she used to Godslayer’s Legion, but still, the Legion may have something to benefit from Sanctum’s failure of a plan. From what he recalled, there was a power struggle between the two, each wanting to be the leaders of the ‘New race’, whatever that was. Hopefully, this was him taking advantage of that struggle. The griffon flew in low, and crawled along the mountain for a while. Zaxxarius wondered why, but when he looked to the left, he saw a Cazrian perched on his left side, looking ahead. His eyes were closed, and he was casting a spell. “This must be what Hime was talking about.” Zaxxarius said, as the Griffon crept up the mountain, doing all the work. They were getting higher and higher, and looking down made Zaxxarius queasy. He wasn’t afraid of heights, which was lucky, as Gravity was nothing to mess around with. People on the ground could not see the griffon, because the Griffon and Zaxxarius was inside the barrier that Sanctum had set up to conceal what they were doing. After a while, the Griffon reached the top of the mountain, and Zaxxarius was about to laugh in delight as it made the final climb, but a different sort of cry erupted. But not from him. It was from a Cazrian who just happened to be at the edge of the cliff. The Cazrian whipped out his Arcana, and swiped at the griffon, tearing off it’s beak. The Griffon cried, and fought with the Cazrian, even though only half it’s body was over the edge. Zaxxarius jumped off the Griffon, onto the mountain, and got up as the Griffon made it’s final effort and screech, then it fell. The Cazrian had sustained injuries, and Zaxxarius took this opportunity to attack. He hit him with an Aether, and the Cazrian went flying off the mountain, screaming as if it was some sort of video game. It didn’t look real, the way he was flying off the mountain. It looked almost comical, too much like the movies, but it was real. That made Zaxxarius sick, thinking about how reality was. “Enough.” Zaxxarius said, slapping himself hard. “Stop focusing on this moral stuff. It’s going to get you killed.” Shouts came forward, wondering what had happened, and why one of their men was yelling before screaming. They were running towards the ruckus from behind some obstacles, but Zaxxarius ran to the tower, to escape their sight. Zaxxarius opened the door, and hid behind it. It was dark inside, the stairs spiralled up towards the top of the tower. Outside, Sanctum was investigating what happened. “There’s nobody here!” One said.
“Someone was screaming...” Another said. “Did a human get up here?”
“Oh, voidfire...” Said another. “What if he fell?” They began investigating and some climbed down the mountain to look for their lost comrade while Zaxxarius made his way up the large tower. Even though this was a tower, there were some room on different floors. The tower was wide, and the roof was even wider. He trekked up t
he stairs of the dark tower, past the withered rocks that made it up. This has been here longer than Sanctum had been. He scanned the roof with Hollow vision. She was up there. Veronica was up there, with three other people, and one of them was Torrig, he could tell from the familiar aura. There was another up there, also familiar, and another one, that was powerful, that he had not scanned before. He had an idea who it was. After all the travelling he had done, he had finally found Veronica. However, getting her would not be so easy.
He arrived at the top of the tower, on the roof. The roof had a ceiling that was high up, simply to protect from rain. It wasn’t really a true ceiling, as standing on it would break it, because not only was it old, it wasn’t very strong. There was no walls at the top of the tower, there was just pillar keeping the roof up and a stone railing at the edges of the roof. It was raining very heavily by the time Zaxxarius ascended out of the tower, the clouds covering the sun and making the area look dismal. In front of him was a portal, a large, circular portal. As he stared into it, he saw that Mana was swirling inside it, and was letting Cazrian mana into the world through the back, while sucking what there was of the Earthen mana into Cazria. In front of it was Veronica, kneeling down, binded by her arms and legs, in the middle of some sort of ritual circle. There was old Cazrian symbols written all around her, glowing and dimming as time passed by. The Iris of her eyes were facing the back of her head, and her mouth was open, breathing through it heavily. Her Magic pool was being sucked into the portal, and replaced with another. The process was slow, but almost complete. Beyond that was Torrig, whose eyes widened at their new arrival. To the right of him was a man that looked ever so much like Abaddon, though his hair was shorter with no braids and to the right of him was Yula, the familiar Aura. Yula and Torrig was taken aback by Zaxxarius’ appearance, but Sheol looked indifferent. Yula was wearing robes, while Torrig was wearing the same clothes as what he had at the Haven. Sheol, on the other hand, wore a plain black coat, going down to his ankles, and opening up at the front. He had two Arcanas in his holsters. Zaxxarius stepped up behind Veronica, who was close to him, while Sheol and his crew were on the other end of the roof, near the portal. Torrig was about to move to intercept Zaxxarius from getting to Veronica, but he was stopped by Sheol. Zaxxarius approached Veronica, but the writing on the ground burnt his foot as he stepped on it, so he took a step back. The pain was a searing pain, and it mildly burnt his skin, but it was not too bad. He knew if he actually touched the glyph, it would damage his skin. Around the edges of the ritual circle, there were dozens and dozens of incense sticks, and some were sticking into the Glyphs. “Veronica?” He whispered to her. No answer. He looked at the three Sanctum-members near the portal. “You again?” Torrig asked.
“I knew it.” Yula said. “I knew it! I knew there was something odd about this one! Why didn’t you bring him back, Torrig!?”
“What do you mean, Yula?” Torrig hissed. “What the hell are you accusing me of?”
“This is the Overlord! The Bastard of Sancterus! The one you went to the damn cities to bring here!” Yula roared. “He’s alive and well, even after your last encounter, and now he’s a damned Overlord and aware of his heritage!”
“Ah crap.” Torrig hissed to himself. “You!? You said you were the paladin!” Zaxxarius stepped closer to the three. “It’s a good thing you did not kill him, Torrig.” Sheol said, in a low, grim voice. “If you did, then things would have gotten complicated if our plan failed.”
“But our plan didn’t fail!” Yula said.
“No, but it isn’t complete yet, neither.” Sheol said. “You must keep an open mind, Yula.”
“Who are you guys?” Zaxxarius asked. “What’s going on here? Why have you taken Veronica?”
“We are Sanctum, or at least, part of it. We are the ones who will upkeep the values that Sanctum fought for in the beginning. Equality, and a reminder of our heritage. Cazrians were made to control, and rule the Universe, and all the aliens must bow to us in our stead. That was the will of the Dragons, and that was what we were fighting for in the Metholian Civil War. I, am Sheol, Paragon of Sancterus and Lord of Sanctum, head of the Valkari household, and soon to be the leader of the new race. Welcome to my tower, Zaxxarius Elric.”
“Why’s he welcoming him?” Torrig asked.
“Shut up, will ya?” Yula said. Zaxxarius figured that Sheol was a rather courteous host, and would answer his questions. He looked back at Veronica. She had plenty of time, at least half a day. “I have a ton of questions for you.” He said.
“You’re to be respected and honoured.” Sheol said. “You’re important to our lord... we need not be enemies.”
“You have my friend. You’re killing her!” Zaxxarius hissed.
“We’re not killing her, oh no.” Sheol said. “She will be fine... in time. I admit that for now, she will be occupied with pain and not in control of her body, but her soul shall not depart.” Zaxxarius looked at Torrig and Yula. “I killed these two.” Zaxxarius said. “Well, sort of. I saw them both die. Torrig’s head was cut off, and Yula had a bullet in her brain. How are they here? Is this some sort of Necromancy?”
“Yes.” Sheol said. “It’s the most pure kind. This is Ultimali’s work.”
“Ultimali is dead.” Zaxxarius said. “Isn’t he?”
“He is.” Sheol said. “Ultimali himself is dead, but his work lives on. This is the work of one of his apprentices, our lord... Dhym.”
“Dhym?” Zaxxarius asked. “...He killed my father. He...”
“He gave you life.” Sheol said. “He gave your mother and you life, brought you back from the dead. He is your saviour, as he will be to many others. As he was to us. He came to me, in my time of despair, after the DomiCazrian war. He told me that War needn’t ever happen again, and that my destination was earth. He told me to come to him, and when the time was right, I would bring my followers to earth in order to make his vision true. He did this also for that ungrateful, wretched child, Draynar... but that story is for another time.”
“That portal there...My father made that, right? Before he died?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Yes. His death was unfortunate, but it was not Dhym who killed him. Your father died of his wounds, wounds inflicted by Draynar. By right, any lesser man would have fallen and died right there on the spot, but he survived the journey, the hurricane, and he created the portal all while he lost his blood and pain flared through him from the Domini’s poison. He was indeed one of a kind.”
“Why didn’t Dhym bring him back?” Zaxxarius asked.
“I do not know. Perhaps he had no part in his plans. Dhym’s ways are mysterious, but ever so cunning. He has intellect of the likes you have never before seen in this universe.”
“Let Veronica go.” Zaxxarius said. “I’ll do whatever you want, just let her go.”
“We cannot.” Sheol said. “We need her.”
“Why?” Zaxxarius asked. “She’s been through enough! LET HER GO!”
“The Child of Omega has indeed been through many hardships. But Trigoma did it splendidly. The child has learned much of Possession. Trigoma made the child for this very reason, though, in the end, it was his end.” Sheol said.
“What’s she doing?” Zaxxarius asked.
“There’s a reason none of our plans have worked thus far.” Sheol said. “It is because Dhym cannot travel through portals. His power is far too great to be projected through the universe. But, a skilled Warlock could trade places with him. His form is of Magical residue, and he must have a proper body to do anything other than petty spells. That’s what’s happening to Veronica, now. Her mother was one of a kind, and she had to have a child that would surpass her. The Child of Omega has been blessed by a powerful Azel, perhaps the most powerful, which makes her the perfect candidate. Veronica is far too valuable to give up, but, like I said, she will not die.”
“Why do you want Dhym through the portal?” Zaxxarius asked. “What’s your plan?” This was the big que
stion. Why Sanctum was doing what it was doing, what it’s Ulterior motive was. “Have you heard the story of the Dragons, young Zaxxarius?”
“Yes.” Zaxxarius said.
“What would you say if I told you there was more to that story than what you were told?” Sheol asked. Zaxxarius didn’t say anything. “There were three dragons... but there was also a mother. The mother was killed by Calamity, a powerful demon who was born from the unknown, an area within space that even the dragons could not venture. The mother’s body held much corruption from the fight, and her body had to be destroyed... but you cannot simply destroy a dragon such as the mother dragon. To stop the corruption from spreading, you need fire. Lots of fire. Unbearable amount of heat. So, the Dragons took their mother to the sun, and cast her within the flames, where her body would be safe from all who would burn from such a marvel. But, you cannot destroy a dragon with fire, so her body remains intact, trapped inside the sun as if it were being born anew! But no, it is dead. And it’s heart remains intact. The sun itself created it’s own solar system, created it’s own life!”
“As interesting as that sounds, I'm not interested in lost history. That story still does not explain why you’re here!” Zaxxarius said.
“You have not caught on, yet?” Sheol asks, smiling softly. He turns to his right, and when Zaxxarius looks at what he’s facing, realisation slowly sets in. He’s looking at the sun...
“That sun... That’s the sun the mother is in. Gaze upon the marvel... The marvel that shields the heart. You think that this earth is some coincidence?” Sheol says.
“I don’t understand...” Zaxxarius said. “What’s this talk about improving the planet, then?”
“Hardening it.” Sheol said. “Moving it. Then, Dhym can extract the heart, and bless it upon... upon me. And I will create the new world, the new race.”
“What’s wrong with the one you have!?” Zaxxarius asked.