"Let us do it like this," Kaden said as Razor lifted off. "Start shooting at them as they cross this line." He used his finger to show an imaginary line between two trees. "Leave the rest to me." He ran off towards the imaginary line and climbed up the taller of the two trees. Just then, the pain set in again as Razor left the vicinity and flew into the village. Kaden caught himself on the one thick branch and clung to it with a death grip.
"Hold on. I'll be there in half a minute," Razor assured him. In the background, he heard a major ruckus somehow, even though Razor was quite far off. Then he saw the sky being lit up as a dozen lightning bolts shot into the air nearby. Razor dropped down again and slammed the lifeless corpse of one creature into the others, toppling a few of them down, and shot out again towards the clearing where the three were waiting. Making a hell of a nasty sound, the birds followed his soul-bond.
"Are you alright?’ Laney asked, perching beside him. He just shook his head slowly, eyes closed.
"Heads up, here they come," he groaned in pain. Dozens of feet slamming into the ground, as well as chattering beaks, announced their arrival, just as the pain faded with Razor’s arrival.
"Oh shit. Eliana will have no chance to stand against that many," Kaden murmured. Without any real choice, he cast [Frozen Armour] onto himself. His whole body shuddered from the pain and cold that were interchanging constantly. There was something different about it this time, as there was a constant pain present beside the usual cold.
Laney buffed them to Kaden’s relief. The pain he felt lessened, giving him enough driving force to do something stupid.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Laney asked, looking at him sympathetically. The corner of his mouth rose as he shrugged knowingly.
"Someone has to. Better me than one of you two." Not a second too soon, Razor flew past them for the second time as he kept circling around, drawing them ever closer. The flock of Stone-beaks were hot on his trail, shooting beams at him as they were able to.
Kaden dropped from the branch and ran after them. An arrow slammed straight into the first bird’s chest and came out at the tail. Must have been [Power Shot]. Impressive, Kaden thought.
To his bad luck, the bird that was at the tail end of the procession noticed him, and turned around just in time to see him run up to them. Its mouth started glowing as a small ball of lightning formed in front of it. He jumped to the side at the last moment, as the lightning passed him wide and struck into the tree Laney was hiding in. She grabbed the closest branch with both arms and hugged tightly, as if her life depended on it.
Kaden got up and ran towards the center of the bird formation. He needed them all rounded up in a circle, which made it even more dangerous as even one hit from the creatures would take away his one armour stack.
Two birds turned towards him, snapping their beak at his chest. He managed to evade one of the attacks, and slammed a [Magic Bolt] into the beak of the second to buy himself a few seconds.
You have inflicted 72 damage to Stone Beak.
An arrow launched by Eliana came through the back of a third bird's head, saving him from getting hit. Razor swept down through their formation, drawing attention just long enough for Kaden to get into position and unleash his favorite spell.
[Frozen Land]
He cast the spell on himself as the target and then ran off, stumbling head over heels as the stack of armour was negated by the AOE spell.
"Fuck all of you damned monsters!" he laughed, ducking behind two intertwined trees. Everything within a radius of ten metres from where he had stood froze over, and erupted into a massive shrapnel grenade. Shards of ice, beaks, legs and wings flew in every direction. A stroke of bad luck was the worst thing that happened to him during the explosion as a beak struck his shoulder, ripping it open. A flood of chimes rang out in his head.
You have inflicted 291 damage to Stone Beak.
You have inflicted 71 shrapnel damage to Stone Beak.
You have inflicted 312 damage to Stone Beak.
You have sustained 79 shrapnel damage by Self Inflicted.
Messages kept on popping up but he removed them from his sight, neglecting the rest as he knew what they meant.
"This is great. It’s almost like having a second life."
"What is?" Laney asked worriedly, running up to him.
"Your buffs. My health is almost doubled when it’s active. You are more useful than you give yourself credit for, Laney." She scowled at his praise, obviously not taking it how Kaden had planned.
"Are you saying that I'm useless?"
"Wait, what? Who said anything about useless? You are more useful than-" She slapped him playfully on the shoulder.
"Idiot, just playing with you. And yeah, you can see the difference now that I have upgraded some skills."
"Right. I have to say that you scared me there for a moment. Women I tell you." Both Eliana and Laney laughed as she walked up to the two, her bow still in hand.
A dark premonition came over Kaden as Razor descended upon him, the bird’s talons cutting him open like a fish.
Chapter 13
Kaden came to, above the same battlefield where the man with the wicked armour and halberd had chased Bardos off and then died. He had no idea if he was dead or alive back in the physical world, but his bet was on barely alive. This time, his soul-bond appeared on his shoulder, looking around him and observing everything.
"So these are the thoughts that you kept hidden from me. What is this?" Razor asked.
"What’s this? Don’t you mean I'm sorry for killing you?" Kaden snapped at the bird, who looked at him indifferently.
"I never killed you. If you were dead, we wouldn’t be here talking right now."
"But you attacked me!"
"No I didn’t. Someone made me attack you. That's not the same thing," the bird chuckled.
"What? Are you fucking kidding me!" Kaden deflated as all anger had just left him.
"What is this anyway?" Razor asked curiously.
"Just something from my memories, nothing special."
"Sure. If you say so," Razor replied mockingly. Everything unfroze as the scene started unfolding in front of the two.
* * * * *
"Carry him out of here!" Feris yelled as he set up a defensive ring around Graldin, who lay on the ground unmoving, together with the other generals and some nearby soldiers. An eerie silence fell over the battlefield as the fighting came to a standstill, with the allied army victorious over the Dark Lord and the gods. It was a sad victory, however, as no one felt like celebrating, instead their spirits and morale had sunk into oblivion.
A group of six soldiers had to carry Graldin, as he weighed too much in his armour. They had no idea if he would live, but they had to try and get him to the head priestess. The soldiers lowered him into a carriage that was being readied for him. Feris, not really knowing if it was wise, still made the decision as neither Bardos nor a single enemy were in sight. He then gave them the go-ahead to care for the wounded, and set fire to the corpses.
Helena got up into the carriage and sat next to Graldin, casting restorative spells over and over again, but saw no improvement. Serdin got up front and whipped the horses into motion, as they had a long way ahead of them.
"Take care of everything here, my friend," he yelled, waving at Feris who just stood there, still dumbstruck with what had happened. Without realizing it, he waved back and kept standing there for a while longer, trying to sort everything within his mind.
They had just witnessed an execution of a priestess, Graldin’s priestess. His heart constricted at the thought of losing Selene. Everywhere around him, soldiers burst into motion, either gathering armors and weapons, or helping the wounded. Others gathered the dead and put them on big piles for cremation. Not a single allied soldier left the battlefield early to go home, but stayed and helped in this time of need.
"He will be alright," Selene whispered into his ear, casting a regenerative spell on both of them to stay
calm in front of the soldiers. The tension, anger and fear left Feris' body as the spell took effect.
"I need to help as well," he replied, slowly pushing away from her. "You go and heal whomever you can. We will meet at our tent later when everything is done." Selene just nodded and smiled back at him, though she felt far from fine. This was a blow to everyone, not just Feris; he had to understand that.
Another shot of pain threatened to crush his heart. It was so unfair that his friend had lost everything after finding someone whom he would take for a partner. The cruel gods needed to be dealt with; he had no doubt that they would one day.
For the next five hours, everything was a hustle and bustle of carrying things and people around, organizing and tending to the wounded. When the dead were cremated, the loot hauled off in carts, and the wounded had been tended to, he went back to their tent. Selene was already waiting for him, unrobed and lying on their bed.
He knew that it wasn’t the time or place to make love to her, but he needed her today. He needed to know that he was alive, and to treasure what he had then and there.
"They should arrive sometime soon, right?" Selene asked as Feris walked up to her and sat down on the bed. He put his hand on her face and caressed her cheek. It was warm and soft, and felt safe and familiar.
"Yes, they should," he replied and went silent, looking over his wife and worshipping her body. "I'm so sorry for everything. I promise that from now on things will be different."
She sat up and wiped long, orange curls from her face, tucking them behind her ear. She looked Feris in the eyes and smiled gently. "I love you," she replied as they kissed.
* * * * *
Serdin drove the horses and cart, almost breaking the wheels upon the cobbled road. The horses breathed heavily as their weight was considerable, especially with a fully-clad Graldin. They had only made one break for the horses to rest, eat and drink, then it was onwards again. Helena was forced to heal the horses multiple times, as they were getting hurt.
"Do you think we will make it in time?" Serdin asked, his voice cold. The initial shock of what had happened to Graldin was already over, so it was better to stay calm and make rational decisions. Helena didn’t reply immediately. He looked over his shoulder and almost cursed. She sat slumped over Graldin, sweat dripping down her face, her eyes half-closed.
"Helena!" he called out, startling the woman. She looked up, but it seemed like she was looking through him.
"Huh? Did I faint?" she asked in a weak voice.
Serdin sighed and turned back towards the road. "Yes, you did. How is your mana situation? How is his life force?"
"My mana is… about gone. And him, he is… barely holding on," she managed to say through a few breaths. If it went on like this for any longer, she wouldn’t be far behind Graldin.
"Take some from me," Serdin offered. "It isn’t much, but it will do until we arrive. I can already see the castle in the distance," he said, reaching for her hand. She slashed it open with one of her nails, pressing her own down on top of his. The energy flowed from his hand into hers. Not even five seconds in, he was almost in the state she had been in moments earlier. Helena cast a healing spell on her husband, which helped only partially. His stamina needed to recover, not just his health.
Some half an hour later, they were finally on the last stretch, only a few hundred metres between them and the castle gates.
* * * * *
"By damnations! We should have stayed and not teleported out the moment they started fighting!" yelled King Raikou as he looked upon the cart carrying Graldin. Ever since they were warned about someone approaching, he had used his own powers to see far ahead to find out who it was.
"We couldn’t have known it would turn out the way it did," Chancellor Ballardo replied, trying to calm the king. There was no calming him down as he raged on, cursing Bardos and everything linked to him.
A knocking on the door silenced his rage, and a weak voice accompanied the silence.
"My king, everything is ready in the temple. It has been cleaned and prepared for the arrival. I will personally be attending him," the high priestess spoke upon entering the room. She looked around and frowned upon finding pottery, books and all kinds of utensils thrown around and broken on the floor.
Their eyes met, and his eyes looked as if they told her, "you got something to say?" The high priestess remained quiet and turned around. She left the king's chambers and the two men to their frustration.
"She sure has a strong… character," Balardo noted with a smirk.
"That was part of why we had chosen her over Milena, wasn’t it? The strong character, as you noted?" The two men laughed at an inside joke from years back.
A while later, they finally calmed down to the point where they were able to talk normally, and went after the high priestess to wait for their general.
Just as they arrived, a scuffle of footsteps drew their attention. Serdin was running in front of four men, who were carrying general Graldin between them on what looked like a makeshift gurney. They were red in the face and had problems keeping up.
"Get him inside lads," ordered the king. As if they didn’t know what to do, he thought to himself, but staying quiet seemed so wrong.
"Put him over there on that bed," the high priestess said as the soldiers carried Graldin inside. She leaned in close and felt for his aura, as well as his life force. His heart wasn’t beating, his eyes pearl white and breathing nonexistent.
"Milana, is there anything that you can do for him?" the king pleaded. The high priestess shook her head in disbelief.
"He doesn’t want to be helped, my king. He wants to die. I have no idea how he is doing it, but his body or soul is deflecting any attempt at healing him."
The king’s eyes glistened with tears, lingering on Graldin. Moments later, he started crying like a little babe, openly in front of all the attendees. "What have they done to my general, my brave son!"
"My king, you shouldn’t be seen like this," the chancellor whispered. Raikou turned his head and glared at the man, as if daring him to go any further. Ballardo however, wasn’t easily frightened by the king, as he knew all of his quirks.
"Milana, use this," the king said when he calmed down enough to speak normally. Milana looked at his hand, and stepped backwards from shock and awe in equal measure.
"You can’t be serious, my lord," she whispered. The king just grinned and shrugged.
"He is the greatest son our kingdom has. Only he was able to defend our people for so long, and against such odds. Not to defame our other generals and the soldiers, but we all know who Graldin is. I'll gladly give this to him."
"But, my lord, that's an Abyssal heart! It's priceless! What about your own safety? What will we do if it's you who dies next?" Milana tried to dissuade him. She didn’t hate Graldin, but he did let her sister die a horrible death. Such selfishness, and you let them call you a high priestess. You are a disgrace and a fraud, not a high priestess. It should have been you who got killed, not Milena, she thought to herself.
"I know you are both angry and sad now, but look past your own grief, my child. Please, the king asks you to do this for him. Will you do it or not?" Raikou asked, finally calming down.
Milana dropped to her knees and wept. "He let her die! I do not want to save him!" The room went dead silent.
"Everyone out, now!" Raikou ordered. The priestesses and attendants scurried out like ants from an anthill. All twenty of them left immediately. Everyone who had stayed understood what she was going through, but to blame the general was blasphemy.
An old woman got up from a chair in the far corner of the room, and slowly scuffled forwards. She stopped in front of the high priestess and slapped her across the face. The sound of her old, bony hand meeting Milana's cheek brought the priestess back to her senses.
"You have lost a sister today, which you never even cared about. But I, I have lost a daughter, whom I loved more than anything in the world. If I can forgive h
im for trying his hardest, so can you!" the old woman yelled.
"But-"
"What if this man isn’t saved today, and Bardos returns tomorrow to what he started?" asked the woman. "She did what was necessary and gave her life to protect this man, this kingdom. Would you dirty her memory so, my daughter?" The mother and daughter stared each other down until Milana caved in. She hugged her mother and stood up, taking the precious artifact from the king as she wiped her face.
There was still hatred present in her eyes, but she would do what was right, not what her heart wanted. She started chanting as the stone levitated from her hand and made its way towards Graldin, stopping above his heart.
"Someone tell the others to come back into the room," the old woman ordered to the silent crowd. Selene walked out immediately and called for them to rejoin the ceremony. A minute later, the other priestesses joined in, and the humming became louder as the air vibrated.
A sudden darkness released itself from the artifact, and enveloped Graldin from head to toe. As if by the gods themselves, his heart shot out and back in with tremendous speed and force. The wound acquired during the process closed up neatly.
* * * * *
"Thousands are dead by my own hands, but what is worse, YOU died at my hands," he spoke to himself in a vast green area. There was grassland as far as the eye could see.
"Graldin? Why are you doing this to me?" Milena spoke out within his mind. His eyes darted all over the place, searching for her.
"Milena? Where are you?" Graldin asked, turning around frantically.
"Within you, my dearest. We haven’t known each other for a long time, but we connected in a way that's very rare. You felt my soul while I healed and defended you. That wouldn’t be possible, unless both of us were connected in a special way."
"I see. So what do you want me to do?"
"Just let it go, and return to the world of the living. Trust me, we will see each other soon enough," she whispered in his ear.
He frowned. "Soon enough? Who are you kidding? You are dead!" he blurted out.
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