Lillian stepped forward before he could even choose.
“I must atone,” she said solemnly with a glance over her shoulder, “For my mistakes.”
Gaar laughed. “You will die for your people? Brave.” A sword was thrown at her feet, and the tall woman grabbed it and spun it in her grip.
They clashed before the rest even realized it. Both blades crashed into each other, and Lillian roared as she rammed her body weight forward at the Orc. The creature twisted its mouth in displeasure and pushed back, sending her a few steps back. He responded with a series of attacks that aimed for her throat, thigh and head but she was an able fighter. Slipping underneath the last attack, she grazed his ankle with a spinning cut and brought the blade down with both hands as she appeared behind him. Gaar growled and lifted his blade up in time to stop the attack, kicking Lillian in the gut and throwing her off her feet. She’s losing, the group knew. She rolled away from his finishing blow and slashed with all of her strength.
CRACK.
The blade fell apart as Gaar parried it and he chuckled loudly.
“Too bad.” Lifting his massive sword above his head, he brought it down on a defenseless Lillian. Clang. The Orc grunted as something caught his attack. Shinji was standing there, a sharp knife in his hand. He had blocked the attack, but he was not done. With a sharp intake of air, the boy stabbed the Orc with both hands.
Gaar barely flinched as the knife cut through past his armor and into his flesh. He looked down at the hilt sticking out of his abdomen and shook his head.
“You stupid, stupid child. Kill them all!”
Chapter 7
The Shrine
Everything happened at once.
The backhand from Gaar sent Shinji flying, his head hitting the ground hard as he landed several feet away. Zack ran over to his classmate and picked him up as the other Orcs advanced, and both Sammy and Lillian made the same move, lifting their weapons into their hands and pulling the trigger.
Gaar was hit by both Samantha’s bullet and a burst of fire from Lillian’s machinegun, knocking him off his feet to the ground. Surely the monster is dead, Zack guessed. The group knew they only had one thing to do next when the Orcs reacted with a furious cry, and more of them began to appear in the distance.
It was time to run again.
Zack pulled Shinji to his feet and they sprinted away, the latter trying his hardest to keep going despite the savage blow he had received. The Orcs were never far, their heavy breaths keeping the group alert as they ran among thick tree trunks and low branches. There seemed to be a rocky formation far ahead. Can we reach it? They were far inside the forest now, the darkness of night almost impenetrable. There was no other place to go.
This world has proven to be just as dangerous as the other, Zack realized, but I was made for danger. He stopped and turned as the Orcs came. He heard his group shouting his name.
“What are you doing, you fool?!” Dr. Elstein was shouting at him to come back, but Zack shook his head.
They haven’t seen what I can do yet, have they?
“I’m buying you time.” He stuck his hand out and caught the weapon that he had been expecting. The old, trusty rifle of Samantha’s. The Orcs came at him with their axes and their swords, swinging the rusty metal blades at him as one.
Zack spun the rifle up and knocked a blade out of the way, slamming the butt of the rifle into an Orc’s face and parrying an axe slash. He turned and fired a round into the back of another Orc that had managed to get past him towards the others. The creature fell to the ground, dead. One of them roared in fury and attacked him, but Zack ducked under its attack and slammed the rifle into its chin, knocking it out. Two more Orcs came at once, their axes sinking into the rifle’s barrel before he shrugged them off and knocked one of them off the ground with a sweeping kick.
By the time more of them arrived and he was outnumbered, Zack was running to his group. They had made it. A thrown axe slammed into a trunk beside him as he escaped the furious beasts but it was too late for them. He slipped through between the rocks just as their leader, Gaar, returned to the fight. Not a moment too soon. How is he even alive after taking all of those bullets like that?
Gaar screamed in fury as he stabbed his sword through the space between the rocks but it was useless. The Orcs were too large to fit through.
“Let’s go around; there must be a space somewhere!” And just like that, the group was left alone, safe for now within the tall wall of rocks as they finally were able to breathe.
“What was that? You sure know how to move with a weapon,” Lillian said with a nod of approval. “Were you trained in the art of swordsmanship?”
“By the best of them all,” Zack replied before he looked over her shoulder and squinted his eyes at something. “Guys...”
The group turned and spotted what he had seen. Had it always been there when we entered the hole or did it just appear out of nowhere? Zack was sure he hadn’t seen the thin, tall building from the outside.
“Am I the only one that is only now seeing this structure?” Dr. Elstein asked. The rest shook their heads. “Yes, I thought not.”
Julia took a few steps closer, as did Faye.
“It’s strange. Creepy, even,” the young medic said with a shake of her head. “I don’t feel comfortable around it.
It looked like a shrine of some sort; its pointed top painted gold and the rest of its length a dark navy blue color like the sky at night. It was windowless, and a rectangle doorway led inside through the front. Within, only a thick darkness was visible. Small runes shone on every side of it, and Zack could feel the power within its walls.
Dr. Elstein began to warn them not to go into the shrine and Julia stopped to admire it from the outside. Faye, however, did not.
“Wait, Faye, don’t!” Julia cried out as she realized the little girl was going straight in but it was too late. The child ignored her and disappeared into the dark doorway of the structure. Julia ran after her and was swallowed by the gloom shortly after.
“No!” Samantha cried. What now? Sammy breathed deeply and looked at the shrine’s walls. What happened to Faye? Did the building call her somehow? She didn’t look herself in those last moments before entering. “Zack, do you think we should…?”
Zack licked his lips in anticipation.
“There’s no other choice.”
“This world is a mystery,” Dr. Elstein said with worry.
“But like every mystery, we should discover the secret behind it.” Shinji stepped forward and stared into the darkness. There was a strange hunger to him.
Sammy nodded. It was decided.
“Let’s go, then.”
And just like that, the seven adventurers from the dying ruins of a war-torn Earth disappeared into the cold darkness of the shrine.
A moment later, the door to the shrine slammed shut.
Its long wait had ended.
Part Two:
Transformation
Chapter 8
Unleashed
Zack’s eyes adjusted in the darkness.
“Hello?” He felt a chill run down his spine. I’m sure that the rest came in here with me so where are they? There wasn’t anybody else inside the darkness with him. “Hello?! Samantha!” Nothing.
It was as if he had stepped into an abyss that had no signs of an exit. A soft wind began to pick up and Zack turned. There was noise coming from—
It all hit him at once like a train smashing into him, head on.
The empty darkness blew up into the scene from a warzone. Zack stumbled back and lifted his fists, his lack of weapons frustrating him as his surroundings transformed. There were bodies all over the ground, their dead, empty eyes looking up at the smoke-filled sky: Elves, Orcs, Goblins and other creatures but most importantly, there were Dragons.
There were still many of the giant, winged reptiles alive. Their eyes and nostrils shone red with molten fire, and Zack took a deep breath. The beasts were huge.
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And they were all looking at him.
One of them — the largest of them all — stepped forward from the rest and opened its wings to their full span. It growled softly and looked down at Zack with pity. Its claw shot out before he could react and pinned him down to the ground.
The dragon leaned in close and Zack realized something with horror: this was no mere dragon; there was something human behind its features.
“Zachary,” it hissed, “Brave heroics from you and your army, I must say. Nevertheless…you have failed. Now you must die.”
Zack’s hands rose uselessly as the dragon opened its wide maw and released a column of fire. As his body melted and his hopes died, Zack realized this was no simple dream.
It was a vision of the future.
He was not the only one seeing a glimpse of times far ahead.
Samantha tripped and fell forward, landing on her hands.
The Trolls beat her with their clubs, mercilessly landing blows on her back and arms as she fought to protect herself.
“Stop,” she cried, every part of her body aching as she struggled to get away from them. They were punishing her for standing up to them and protecting her friends.
One of them picked her up and dragged her away to a lonely, dark cell with a reinforced door.
“You won’t be so brave after you spend some time in solitary,” the ugly creature that had been guarding her and her companions said with a chuckle.
As the door slammed shut and Sammy was left to the lonely darkness, she could only sigh and whisper in the corner she sat in.
“Zack, please save us…”
All of the group members awoke at once, their eyes looking up from the floor of the shrine where they had collapsed in their visions. None of them spoke of what they had seen to avoid the chances of the events coming true.
Only tragedy and death had been shown to them, the future looking bleak as long as they remained in this world. At least, to all of them but one.
Shinji sat up and looked at his hands. He had witnessed greatness, power beyond any possible measure of imagination. He urged his mind to return to what he had seen in his vision, but it was impossible. I can only return to it by achieving it on my own. His smile soon disappeared. The rest were distraught. They had seen something terrible. It does not matter; I was shown that particular vision for a reason. I will make it come true.
Lillian stood first, helping the rest to their feet and crossing the floor to reach the sealed door at one of the thick walls. The shrine was dark, cold and — after the visions were shown to them — unwelcoming.
“It won’t budge,” Valentine growled, slapping her palms onto the great door that had slammed shut after they entered the dark hall. The rest of the group gathered to help her push, but it was useless.
Dr. Elstein shook his head.
“That can only mean one thing,” he began, feeling something strange in the air and looking around suspiciously. “We haven’t seen the end of what’s supposed to happen in this building.”
As if his words had set the events off, a soft shockwave emitted from the floor of the tower around them and rose to its very top. There, it stopped, and the golden peak began to shine brightly. Julia cried out and hugged Faye. Zack looked at the small girl and his eyes widened at what he saw. She was grinning widely.
“What is going on, doctor?!” Samantha watched the light beginning to shine through the walls from the runes that had been visible on the outside of the building.
Dr. Elstein could only look back at her and shake his head.
“I don’t know…” Moments later, the shrine was swallowed in a massive implosion.
Chapter 9
Reawakened
Fire was his domain; fire was his every last breathing minute. His visage was a handsome one, but the darkness within him was a testament to the fact that sometimes the purest faces concealed the most tainted hearts of them all.
Garadon sat on his smoldering throne of volcanic rock and mused on his plans. The Dragon King was an individual fuelled by tactics and strategy, not one to waste time or soldiers on failed missions that could have been avoided. He could not afford to make mistakes in such an unforgiving world alongside such a cruel company of beings such as him. Dragons didn’t follow the smartest or boldest of their brood; only strength mattered. Strength and success. A Dragon King who risked too much and failed or earned too little would soon lose his crown to his own soldiers.
He was fully aware of this.
His long black hair shining in the light of the flames, the King shifted on his burning seat and wondered. The Elves have gone missing again, their capital city changing its location once more. The Dwarves and Gnomes have also held our forces for too long. His enemies were beginning to make him angry with their insistence on thwarting his plans. Yes, I am the most successful Dragon King in history — but my reputation will soon sour and turn rotten if I am not able to crush the other races beneath my claws. Our race destroyed the Ancients long ago, and I must do the same with the Elves, Dwarves, and Gnomes at the very least. Unlike the Trolls, Orcs and Goblins, the first three races are unwilling to ally and sacrifice their riches to the Dragons. Nevertheless, we can crush the latter three once we’re done with the others.
In fact, I—
Garadon’s thoughts were smashed to pieces as he let out a gasp and bent over on his throne. Something had hit him hard, a horrible sensation that burned with a familiar pain in his mind.
That power…Its bitter taste, so familiar…It’s impossible, surely!
He stood and took a few steps, the shock still reverberating around his mind and body. The remainders of the shockwave of pure energy still caressed his thoughts.
Garadon was certain of what had just occurred somewhere in the world.
“Someone has just released the power of the Ancients.”
He turned to his most powerful warrior, the female lieutenant that stood to one side of his throne. The young woman bowed her head at him, her blonde hair shining in the light. She had felt the release of power as well, just much more faintly.
“Yes, Your Grace, what is your command?”
King Garadon sighed. This has to be dealt with discreetly but efficiently. Our race did not exterminate the Ancients for their power to return with force. They must be eliminated. He nodded to himself and made a decision.
“Shella, find the source of that power, and when you do…make sure no witnesses remain living to tell the tale. Now go.”
With a smile and a soft growl, Shella sprinted away and called her most trusted soldiers. It was time to bring pain to the enemies of the Dragons.
The shrine was no more. It had disappeared from the face of the earth, and not even a speckle of dust remained.
The adventurers were all standing on their feet, their eyes wide and their bodies numb. Something had happened to them. Not the visions, Zack thought, at least not just the visions. Something else.
Without a second thought, Zack lifted his palms and closed his eyes. He forced his concentration to its very limits and saw something awaken in his mind and in his very soul.
The others turned slowly, only then noticing what their companion was doing.
“Is it my imagination, or are his hands shining?” Julia asked Dr. Elstein. Elstein was breathing heavily. I have never seen such a thing before…
Zack focused all of his mind and finally, he shot his hand forward with force. The group gasped at what happened next.
“Wow,” Samantha breathed.
A blade of shining green light had formed in Zack’s hand, the bright length of it made of pure energy. Zack breathed heavily from the effort, and the others kept their distance.
“How did you…?” Elstein trailed off, shaking his head.
Zachary shrugged and lifted his blade closer to his face to inspect it. It smelled of leaves, of the deep woods and the tall grass.
“I don’t know.”
Lillian moved instinctively and
lifted her fist with no warning whatsoever. She slammed it into the rocky wall several feet away from her and cried out as it caved inwards, the shards of rock collapsing from its structure as the damage took the whole thing out.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, a wide grin spreading from cheek to cheek, “I think we’ve just unlocked our superpowers.”
Chapter 10
Beyond the Veil (Dawn of Hope, Book 1) Page 3