Caisa shook her head, smiling. “Then I realized that worshipping only the light was also too much. Too sweet, too much joy and fervor. It made me crave the calming solitude of darkness. Funny, how the feeling came. I had a profound realization there deep inside the dark prison. Ironically, the prison was formed by those who worshipped only the darkness. They believed that the prison would cure me of my craving for the light. But it didn’t.”
“You feel that way because you are insane,” said the Goddess Veralia. “You’ve gone mad with the fever for the light. Yet you cannot give up on the power you feel from the darkness. I have a cure for your madness. Obliteration.”
Veralia stretched out her fingers at the Nameless and squeezed them into a fist.
Caisa sank to her knees and grasped her throat in a desperate attempt at breathing. Her neck went purple and the color drained from her face. Her eyes went wide in misery and terror.
“The death of the body is the first step,” Crar said, his voice solemn. “Then the separation and destruction of the soul.”
The Goddess Nacrea frowned at the display of violence. Her glittering form solidified until she assumed a human figure dressed in a gold gown studded with diamonds. She strode over to Caisa and touched her on the shoulder.
“Be free,” she said, and the benevolent smile returned to Nacrea.
Immediately, the Nameless gasped, color returning to her face as she glanced around, eyes wide with lingering terror. She was about to lash out in anger at Veralia, but caution took over, and she retreated behind the Goddess Nacrea, who now strode toward the Goddess of Darkness.
“You would kill one of your own devotees?” The Goddess Nacrea cast her probing gaze at Veralia. “You truly are insane. How is it that you have any followers at all? No wonder you have weakened over the years while I have gained tremendously in power. It seems the creatures on all worlds naturally worship the sun as the giver of life, while those who worship darkness are relegated to perform their fiendish rites hidden away in the shadows. You will fade away to the dark corners. Dawn is once again rising over the Origin World. The tide is fast changing.”
The Goddess Veralia aimed an accusing finger at her sister. “Why would anyone prefer you? A trickster and a fraud who burns crops and causes men to go blind? You will be the one to lose, like you lost to me before. Why don’t you fade away and die?”
Her voice echoed across the courtyard and shook the very foundations of the world. The ground began to rock back and forth. Talis held tight to Mara, fear steeped in her eyes. The walls began to crumble and crack. Off in the distance, towers toppled and fell. The shaking was so bad that the buildings around them splintered and ruptured, sending the stones to the ground.
A massive plume of dust jettisoned into the air, clouding the sky. The sorcerers and old masters cast spells to contain the damage, luckily keeping the stones and dust from blanketing them.
But the two gods ignored them, despite the chaos all around. They levitated above the ground, twirling higher, staring at each other with a brutal intensity. The two gods looked like they wanted to tear each other to pieces.
“You call me a fraud?” The Goddess Nacrea glowered at Veralia, fingerlings of flames emanating from her figure. “You are the origin of lies and are filled with deceit. I am life itself, the queen who nurtures the very existence of life on all worlds. If you were to vanish from the universe, no one would shed a tear.”
A black wave of shadows and lightning burst from the Goddess Veralia. Shock waves slammed into the buildings nearby, shattering stone and sending another shower of dust into the sky.
Talis cringed from the gigantic explosion, but realized his living shield had stopped the blow. Mara clung to Talis, unharmed, her daggers glowing green in alarm. She gazed up at the battle between the two goddesses.
“I banished you once and I will do it again!” shouted Veralia. She stretched out her hands and shot a spiraling tunnel of purple and charcoal energy at the Goddess Nacrea. The strike impacted a golden shield around the goddess, and it spilled around her, falling into the city. A thunderous droning sound rushed out, explosions rocking the city all around them.
The twin goddesses rose higher into the air, their faces full of fury and malice. They exchanged shot after shot of magic, causing a cascade of destruction to fall onto the city. Talis was worried they would destroy the whole world with their rage.
Mara looked to him for guidance, fear in her eyes. “What are we going to do?”
“Get the hell out of here,” muttered Nikulo. “They’re wrecking the city and we’ll be next, if we’re not careful.”
Talis looked around. Caisa stood to the side with Aurellia, whispering to each other as they glanced at the sky. They looked like they were plotting murder. Crar and Jorem stood farther away, euphoric madness and delight in their eyes as they gazed at the twins.
“The immortal form of our goddess is unveiled,” said Jorem, as he raised his hands in the air.
“How can you worship her?” Talis cast a confused glance at the old masters. “Wasn’t she the one who imprisoned you?”
“Now we see the wisdom of the goddess.” Crar nodded in solemn satisfaction. “She was merely testing our faithfulness. We were weak. A thousand years in the darkness deepened our devotion.”
Talis scoffed, drawing the ire of the two. “How quickly you went from thoughts of revenge to worship? I really don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense.”
His comment drew the attention of Lord Aurellia and Caisa, who also glanced at the two old masters as if seeing them for the first time.
“How could you possibly understand?” Crar said. “While we appreciate that you rescued us from the catacombs, this doesn’t mean we don’t consider you anything but the lowliest of creatures. Besides, your devotions are divided. Your cat is a child of the Goddess of the Sun. And we saw how you fawned over the goddess when she appeared. You are partial to the light.”
“I’ve experienced darkness and witnessed the beauty of the light.” Talis studied the fury in the Goddess Nacrea’s eyes as she battled Veralia, worried by what he saw. “Perhaps I would choose the light if forced to make a choice. Light is nurturing and warm and it lifts my spirits. Though, I admit, it can be blind as well.”
“Aye, wisely spoken, young apprentice.” Lord Aurellia nodded at Talis, his eyes black and filled with the fathomless depths. “When one is faced with a choice, it is best to defer and ignore until you are backed into a wall. Pity the fool who chooses a god, for they will draw the wrath of other gods. For the jealousy and pettiness of the gods are notorious.”
The dark lord narrowed his eyes at Jorem and Crar. “I don’t know who or what you are, but what I see is enough to make me despise you. I smell the taint of wretchedness on your very existence. Your minds are twisted and conniving and vile. Not wholly dissimilar to my master’s. Though at least she has the presence of mind to observe all things with clarity, unlike you two. Now I see you clearly.”
Crar and Jorem tensed, expressions darkening, and were about to advance toward Aurellia when they were interrupted by the flight of Jared. The Starwalker landed next to Talis and Mara, eyeing Aurellia and the two old masters.
“Did I miss something?” asked Jared, a devious smile forming on his face.
A radiant silver light shone around Aurellia. “No, the fun was just beginning.”
32. Death of a World
The void filling the emptiness of the universe hummed with a malignant sound. The sound crept into your ears and drove you insane. Very few were able to ignore the sound. That same sound now filled the air, causing the two old masters to grimace and sink to their knees.
Jorem cried out in pain. He shot a silver wave of shimmering particles at Aurellia, causing the dark lord to stumble back, hands shielding himself.
The droning sound broke. Aurellia’s expression transformed into a rictus of pain and fear. Clenching his fists, he pushed back against the tide of magic and shot the partic
les out into the sky.
He filled his lungs with a deep breath and slowly exhaled, centering himself. His eyes once again possessed a calm fury that frightened Talis. He’d never seen his master like this.
Soon the horrific sound came again, emanating from Aurellia. Crar groaned and reached out an angry hand toward the dark lord. His eyes were hate-filled and venomous as he began casting a spell of dark magic. The stone floor around him turned to liquid. It floated up and twisted in a circle, rising toward the sky. But the strange sound fought with the liquid stone, disintegrating the substance.
A white vapor steamed out and wafted over the broken buildings.
A scream sounded high above. Both old masters lifted their gaze and squinted. The Goddess Veralia was being overpowered by a storm of fire flooding from the Goddess Nacrea. Charna stared up at the goddess and sniffed the air as if wondering what was happening. Crar looked worried as he studied his god.
Aurellia took advantage of the old master’s distraction and overpowered him with a burst of silver lances of energy. Crar howled in pain, his back arching in agony. The man curled into a ball, helpless. Jorem tried to muster enough strength for another spell to fight off Aurellia, but the sound was too terrible and crippling.
“How?” shouted Jorem, his shrill voice strangled and tense. You could see he wanted to fight against the power of Aurellia, but was unable to resist. “What kind of magic is this?”
“A kind you will never know.” A wicked grin formed on Aurellia’s face. “And I have but one commandment from the Nameless: kill the old masters who imprisoned her. I’ll start with the two of you. You look guilty as hell.”
“We should have killed the wretch when we had the chance.” Jorem winced in agony, pounding the ground with his fist. “Why did we do that?”
“It was ridiculous to assume the darkness could have cured her.” Crar gasped, pain gripping his face. He raised his eyes to Aurellia. “But I swear, if you kill this body, you will find a curse waiting. An endless, irreversible curse.”
“Why should I care about your empty threats? I am the curse, the first curse and the last.” Aurellia’s eyes gleamed in fiendish delight. “My very essence is a plague to the whole world.”
The dark lord clenched his fingers into claws and squeezed.
Jorem and Crar’s neck bulged. Their alien faces went a whitish shade of gray, eyes horrified.
“The more you fight me, the faster you will die,” said Aurellia. “And your souls will find no home suitable for habitation.” He tossed twin black substances from his talon-like hands. Malevolent creatures with red eyes and inky-black skin appeared from the substance. Twin demons, hungry and baleful. They dove at the dying old masters. They sank long fangs into their necks, sucking and slurping their blood.
As the two men screamed, the demons devoured them. Talis looked away in revulsion and horror. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bright light trying to escape the bodies, but the demons only feasted with a fiercer intensity, ingesting their souls.
The old masters were dead. Nothing was left but the empty husks of the alien priests.
Aurellia looked at Caisa with a triumphant expression.
“You have done well, Lord Aurellia.” The Nameless gave the dark lord a hesitant glance. “Though I wonder…”
“You wonder how I killed them?” The dark lord raised his lip in a snarl, the bloodlust still raging in his eyes. “There are things I’ve learned along the way without you, master. Don’t you realize this? I have little need of you anymore.”
The Nameless raised an eyebrow. “You think so? And what gives you such confidence?”
A massive explosion rocked the sky far above. Talis looked up and spied the Goddess Nacrea battling the Goddess of Darkness. Veralia had summoned a storm brimming with lighting and whorls of electricity.
The Goddess Nacrea had commanded a swarm of golden winged creatures to do her bidding. The light fought against the darkness, and the earth below shook from the fury in the sky.
Stones splintered around them. Buildings crumbled and collapsed. Smoke and dust burst out again, causing Talis to cough and cover his mouth. The world was going to ruin. If they weren’t careful, they would lose everything here on the Origin World.
He glanced at Mara’s frightened face, knowing he had to do something to save them from this madness. But then again, what could he do? Crar and Jorem were dead. Their promised way off this world had been eliminated.
“I’ve slain your old masters and kept my vow to you.” Lord Aurellia gestured toward the battling goddesses. “What’s next? Will your foolish revenge require you to attempt to kill a goddess? This world is being ravaged and destroyed by them. We have to leave before we are consumed.”
Caisa’s face twisted up in anger. “Then I would stay and watch it burn. If you are so insistent on getting rid of me then go. Leave me forever.”
She spat at his feet. “You are free, Lord Aurellia. I release you from my service. Do what you will. But know this, do not consider me as a friend or ally. Today, you have made an eternal enemy. My wrath causes me to search into the darkness. I realize my soul is full of bitterness and spite and I will never be rid of it.”
“So be it.” Aurellia gave the Nameless a cold stare.
Caisa met his gaze and winced as if struck by some old wound flaring up inside.
For a moment Talis thought a fight would ensue. But shadows began to form around her figure and soon the Nameless melted away into the darkness.
For a while, the dark lord just stood there staring into the black remnants of the shadow spell. Some weight seemed to fall off his shoulders. He stood straighter, inhaling a deep breath as he shook off the spell. He turned to Jared and scowled.
“Do you know how to get the hell off this world?”
The Starwalker gave him a terse nod. “I do, but it doesn’t mean I will help you.”
“I wasn’t the one who forced you to come here.”
“It doesn’t matter. In my mind you represent the same thing. The kind of people I despise. I might allow the children to return with me, but you? That’s another matter entirely. You seem suited to the ruination and chaos of this world.”
Aurellia paused a moment, lost in thought. “Perhaps you are right about me. But based on what I am witnessing, there soon might not be a world left. The goddesses of light and darkness have gone insane.”
As Talis studied the battled ensuing in the sky, he realized it was true. Fire and stone rained down from the heavens, setting the city aflame and wrecking buildings. The earth shook even more violently now and streets were swallowed up by deep cracks in the ground. Only the living shield surrounding them protected them from the rising maelstrom.
Aurellia cast flying spells over Talis, Mara, Nikulo, and even Charna. The lynx yowled in surprise as she floated into the air.
They rose higher and Talis caught sight of the onyx temple aflame. Massive stones had smashed into the gigantic structure. Several corners had collapsed from the quakes and were swallowed by the hungry earth. As he scanned the once orderly city, he marveled at the wreckage and the chaos.
And the damage didn’t end with the city. Off in the distance, lava and ash spewed from volcanoes. Forests were on fire. The once golden sun was reddened by thick, smoky clouds that smothered the sky.
“I suspect you will survive,” said Jared. The Starwalker squinted at the sight of the goddesses continuing to hurl spells and screams at each other. “You’re the kind who always manages to survive. But I can’t allow you to ever set foot on a Starwalker sanctuary. That would be as foolish as allowing the fox access to a henhouse. I’m not the wisest person in the stars, but I’m not that stupid.”
“Then a decision has been made.” Aurellia huffed, slapping his hands together. “I will find my own way in the universe, though I doubt I will ever find my way back home.”
“You will not,” said Jared. “You are too far away. But don’t worry, there are many worlds for you
to conquer, many places where people will call you a scourge. All you need is one rune combination to cast the spell. Don’t bother with any of the ones you know. They won’t work.”
“And what about us?” Talis said, looking to Jared.
“That depends on whether you can help me or not.”
“With what?” Mara looked at the Starwalker, suspicion in her eyes.
“The storehouse filled with magical relics.” Jared gave Talis a knowing look. “I saw what you did there. You used your map to locate valuable artifacts. If you wish to survive, you will do the same thing for me.”
“Not until you help Lord Aurellia,” Talis said, refusing to see his old master suffer a deadly fate here on this dying world. “Give him at least one rune sequence so he can escape. Do this and we will help you. But you also have to pardon us or inform the other Starwalkers that we didn’t survive. We must be able to return to our world unharmed. All of us.”
Jared looked from Talis to Mara to Nikulo and frowned. “Where is your friend, the abomination? And his girlfriend?”
“They’re dead,” Mara whispered, her eyes downcast and somber. “The temple priests killed them.”
The Starwalker went silent after studying the dark expressions on their faces. After a long while he cleared his throat and continued. “I agree to your terms.”
A titanic explosion ripped out across the sky, causing a tidal wave of fire to blanket the ground. Talis covered his eyes at the incredible outburst, wondering if his shield would still hold. After the blast was finished, Talis felt a huge drain on his magical reserves. He tried to draw magical energy through the star fragment but found the world around them was almost drained of its power. A look of fear from Jared told him that the Starwalker had felt the same thing.
“We have no time to waste. The natural order of this world has been disrupted.” Jared glanced at Aurellia. “We must cast the portal spells now before it is too late. The goddesses are draining all the magical power from this planet. Soon nothing will be left for us to utilize.”
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