Maelstrom

by Ajdin K. Denic

  Luckily, Serdin was close enough to the explosion to absorb the explosion with Helena’s help. She funneled the magic into his shield, after which it dispersed into nothingness, but not before knocking the general back on his ass.

  Without a breath to spare, Serdin ordered the flank to fold in on the middle to finish this battle as fast as possible. They did not have much time, and their own death toll was already quite steep. From what he could see with his naked eye, a good third of their own soldiers had already died, and more were dying with each passing moment.

  "Serdin, let’s move. I have a bad premonition." Helena said, interrupting his thoughts. He nodded and led the way. A few minutes later they met up with Graldin, who single-handedly killed off the last Ogre, swinging his wicked halberd in an arch. The blade cut straight through its neck and chest, cleaving the monster in two.

  Moments later, Feris and Selene arrived as well and the five stood there, observing the attackers withdraw over a mile away past the riverbeds.

  "Cast the portal. We need to leave immediately," Graldin ordered, looking at both of the women. It took them three minutes to prepare the spell and arrive at the castle. ‘We are here, my king. We can proceed.’

  Raikou grinned at them and nodded. "I feel him. He just used a massive amount of energy for something. I couldn’t see what it was, but he is now filled with distress. The two must have done a better job than we ever could’ve hoped for, Graldin."

  The general raised an eyebrow at the king’s comment. "The two? You mean the two from the dreams?" The king nodded. "I see. How will I even know who to thank when we meet one day?"

  "You won’t. But you will have to trust in their words. One is a young man, the other is a young woman, a fallen angel to be precise. As for him, he is beyond ordinary. Oh yes, one more thing, he is an ice magician. There was so much information I could gather from their dreams."

  "I see. How are the preparations going?" Graldin said.

  "Head priestess, how is everything coming along?" Raikou asked, turning towards the woman in a long, white sheer dress. Her hair flowed in the breeze created by magic. As she was in prayer, her eyes were white and vacant. Words could reach her, but she was unable to respond. Minutes passed before she could finally talk again. Colour filled her eyes as she turned towards the newcomers and the king.

  "We need one more minute. The energy is being condensed to a state that's highly susceptible to magic and fluctuations as we speak. One minute left now," she added, and turned towards the group of priestesses.’

  "Alright. Finally we’ll be able to start our campaign of revenge," Graldin growled.

  "My lord, something is approaching!" one of the priestesses said, panicking. The throne room shuddered as if a boulder slammed into the walls.

  "Is it Bardos?" Raikou demanded.

  "No, my lord, there is more than one-" Another shudder announced the arrival of a second intruder. A third… fourth… and a fifth. The barrier broke under the combined assault of five different auras, releasing a sound that almost shattered their ear drums. Within seconds, Selene and Helena had already buffed everyone present: attack and movement speed, attack power, reflexes, cast speed and holy resistance.

  A bright light shone down on everyone as a group of five entities appeared in front of the king and his guard. The king grinned, drawing his sword.

  "The minors arrive," Raikou mocked. "Well hello there, Brenthal, Echidna, Froltar, Fenrid and Mallara." The king greeted each one of them.

  Brenthal, being the most senior of the minor deities, stepped forward and nodded in recognition of the king’s rule.

  "What do you think you are doing, King Raikou? Bardos will be here any second now, so I wish to refrain from doing anything we might regret later, or for that matter, what you will regret. There is no going back after doing something stupid."

  "Do you think we are the stupid ones? You were once a voice of reason, now you are just a dog with a slightly longer leash than the rest. And please, spare me the nonsense about regretting things. It's you, and the four behind you, that will regret what you have been doing to me, to my subordinates, to my people and our allies. But most of all, Bardos will regret what he has done to the one person that mattered to Graldin." Raikou grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "And trust me, neither one of you will want to be on the receiving end once everything is said and done."

  "Do you have any idea who's standing in front of you?" Brenthal asked incredulously.

  "I see a bunch of dead birds, wings plucked out one by one. In fact, Graldin alone killed a flock of your kind once in a single day, I trust that he can make it happen again without too much trouble."

  "Brother, how about we feed them to our snakes? Father wouldn’t mind anyway," Echidna, the snake seductress, interrupted as three large snakes swirled around her naked body. She made eye contact with Graldin, whom she had a history with. Having heard enough, he stepped forward and slammed the butt of his halberd onto the granite floor. Everyone went silent, wanting to hear what the general had to say.

  "I suggest you leave. Bardos won’t do anything to you in any case, as he will have a need for you after everything is over. If you value your lives, heed my word, and if you don’t, come at me with all you got. I, King Graldin of the Elves, Orcs, Half-Humans and Goblins accept your challenge!"

  All five of them winced and made nasty faces at being provoked so. "Though in all honesty, I doubt even that will be enough," Graldin added with a voice as cold as steel.

  No one made a move for a long moment. Neither one of them wanted to be on the receiving end of his halberd until one of them couldn’t take it no more and became twitchy.

  Fenrid shot out towards Graldin with two white wolves at his side which were shooting at his flanks. With a single sweep of his halberd, he cut the two wolves in half, pushing Fenrid backwards with a blast wave he could barely deflect with his sword. It still shook afterwards for ten seconds after the hit.

  Gathering his courage once more, he made another lunge for Graldin who deflected the sword with ease, then he turned his clenched fist and slammed it into his face, breaking the large nose with one fell strike. The strange thing was that a delay of sorts had set in as the god stood there, feeling for his nose, and in the next moment he lay atop of his siblings.

  Rage boiling within them, an all-out melee broke out as the minor deities got up. Fenrid and Brenthal both renewed the attack on Graldin, Echidna fought Serdin and Helena, Malara went for Feris and Selene, while Froltar went for the king. The cramped space was very difficult to fight in, especially for Graldin, whose weapon was two metres in length.

  While deflecting dual blows from Fenrid and Brenthal, he kicked one with his right foot, sending him flying, while he grabbed the other by his neck and head-butted him three times in quick succession. With another punch, the second deity went down as well, colliding into the massive wooden table.

  Echidna’s snakes coiled themselves around Serdin and Helena. The smallest tried to choke her, while the two larger snakes were battling Serdin. Her scream made him turn around and as he laid eyes on her, he cut the snake that was coiling itself around her neck. With a quick move, Echidna kicked the sword out of his hand, ordering the two larger snakes to attack him again.

  Mallara’s whip connected with Feris’ dual swords and coiled around them. With a deft move, he pulled her forward, bringing the quiet goddess off balance. With his freed sword, Feris slashed at her chest which she barely deflected with the butt of her whip, hitting him with a roundhouse kick.

  Selene, in the meantime, sent a powerful blast that struck both snakes that were about to strangle Serdin.

  Froltar brought his axe down on the king’s sword, driving it down onto his armour. Luckily, the dull side was facing toward his armour, denting it slightly. A dark ball of energy shot from the king’s palm as he let go of the sword with one hand and slammed into Froltar’s face, sending him flying into the wall.

  Then, everyone stopped moving; th
e flames had stopped in mid-air within the open hearth, while debris floated in place and the combatants stood still. Everything in front of their eyes disintegrated into nothingness as the two worlds merged into each other. Moments later, time started up again. The battle, however, stopped as everyone present had felt the shift in worlds.

  "What have you done!" Brenthal yelled, his face red as he tried to catch his breath. The king laughed heartily in response. "I asked you a question, mortal!"

  "Mortal? Just look at yourself, minor deity, or should I say, mortal deity," the king mocked.

  Brenthal laughed in turn as if not quite comprehending the situation he was now in. He looked at his companions and motioned with his head to retreat towards him, which they hastily did. A spell he used to cast with ease didn’t work anymore. He tried four times before finally understanding the ramifications of what just happened.

  "Funny, isn’t it? Holy magic doesn’t really work anymore, except some basic things like healing, mending wounds and such. Now, what will you do? Die trying to fight us, or tuck your tail between your legs and flee? You have ten seconds to decide. However, if you do decide to run, we will let you go unmolested," Raikou offered.

  The five deities looked at each other, not knowing how to proceed. They couldn’t teleport out, and if they fought the now superior foes, some, if not all of them, would die.

  "Hands on me," Brenthal ordered, taking out a crystal from his breast pocket. The four put their hands on his shoulders without protest. "You will regret this, Raikou. However, I'll remember the courtesy shown towards us. May our paths never cross, and may I never have to repay the debt," he said, crushing the crystal in his hand. A bright flash blinded everyone in the room for a second. When they could see again, the minor deities were gone.

  "We have done it, my king!" Graldin shouted, hugging the old man who winced slightly from the pressure on his body.

  "Yes we have, my children, yes we have."

  Chapter 25

  "What have you done?" Bardos asked, feeling his power draining and the dungeon dissolving. "What have you done, you filthy creature?" he yelled.

  Kaden grinned and winked at Bardos. Just before he and his new friend disappeared, Kaden made a motion with his finger as if he was slicing his own throat and then pointed at Bardos.

  "You lose, Bardos. Maybe this will teach you not to play with people’s lives."

  The deity growled and threw a bolt of white energy towards the two, narrowly missing them as they disappeared from the dungeon. Bardos closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought for a while as to who might have helped the two in staging this coup, but nothing came to his mind. The pawn hadn’t been in contact with anyone, that much he made sure of. The only time he lost him was when he had slept, or when he was dead. Yes, that must have been it. "Raikou!" he growled. ‘I'm going to destroy you this time, that much is a promise!’

  * * * * *

  The two appeared in the same place where Kaden had first entered the dungeon, at the cemetery crypt. Razor materialized on his shoulder, already croaking. He didn’t really look so majestic anymore, but rather more like a monster. His feathers were still razor-sharp, his colour pitch-black with red streaks, but his head looked off, as if the thing were dead. He shot up into the sky and disappeared momentarily above the tree brush.

  Kaden tried to find something familiar, but there was nothing, not even the skeletons and ghosts. The sky looked different, as did the trees. The air felt like it had been condensed somehow, ready to explode. The land beneath his feet disappeared as both him and Kain shot up into the sky after Razor.

  Both had frightened expressions as they tried to understand what was going on. Then a moment later, without a warming, the world beneath their feet disappeared and something totally different came into existence. It was a world that was almost identical, yet totally different. One world was colourless, while the other looked normal. The two worlds were brimming with all kinds of ecosystems, creatures and laws that they somehow could read at that single instance. Everything exploded, and a new world that looked similar to both but was neither, appeared beneath them.

  Hundreds of settlements sprang up from nothing, population centers appeared, castles, villages, camps, caves, dungeons and many more came to existence.

  "I think... we are witnessing the rebirth of our world," Kaden whispered.

  Kain stared on in shock, not quite understanding the whole situation. Then, they were yanked down by an invisible force and landed where they had been moments before.

  "What is going on? I can’t feel my power anymore!" Kain growled in fear. Kaden looked towards him and inspected his friend. The wolfman was slightly smaller than he had been within the dungeon. His stats were roughly a quarter lower than they had been, causing him to cry out again.

  Fearing for his own power, Kaden opened up his status window and cringed. All of his status points had remained. Things had become different, but not necessarily worse. He would have to figure everything out in due time, but when it came to his skills they had become weaker as well, but not by so much.

  "Get it together, my friend. We need to find Laney and the village." Kaden told him. The Wolfman looked up at him questioningly.

  "Is that the woman you have been calling for in your dreams?" Kaden’s eyebrows shot up, his mouth agape.

  "What? You’re just now telling me I have been talking in my sleep?" Kain shrugged and chuckled. "Never mind. Just follow, me alright?’

  "Can you scout ahead?" Kaden asked Razor.

  "Sure. I have been stretching my wings. Man, did it do me good," Razor replied.

  "That’s good. Do you see anything from where you are at the moment?"

  "Not really. The foliage is quite dense. I need to get in lower. Give me a few moments, alright?"

  "Is everything alright?" Kain asked worriedly. Kaden looked at him questioningly.

  "Why wouldn’t I be?"

  "Well, the fact that I have been asking you the same question multiple times is a start." Kaden laughed and winked at his friend.

  "I was talking to Razor. We communicate on a mental level, so sometimes I seem… umm, strange?"

  "If you say so. Where do we go to find the village?" Kain asked, looking around. But all he could see was the cemetery and forest.

  "Go southeast, the village is located there. Basically, it’s down left from where you are at now, to make it easier for you." Razor butted in.

  "I know what southeast is, you damn bird!" Kaden snapped.

  "Are you arguing with your bird?" Kain asked.

  "Yes I'm. He thinks me quite dumb, the damn chicken!" The Wolfman didn’t reply, as he had no idea what a chicken was. "Anyway, let’s go already. I can’t wait to get there."

  The two set off in the direction of the village, and true to the bird’s words, a sprawling town awaited them as they exited the forest sometime later. Stone walls stood at least five meters in height, large towers armed with a ballista on top of them, and patrolling soldiers on the walls and towers kept a vigilant watch. A thick smoke rose above the town from the tall buildings that could be seen above the wall.

  "Shit, this isn’t a village anymore, it's a town!" Kaden exclaimed. Kain looked at him as if he wasn’t quite right in the head. "How long has it been? Just how much time have I lost because of that cursed Bardos?"

  "Should we walk up towards that building over there?" Kain asked, pointing to what looked like barracks. Some of the armed men and women were training against dummies, while others practiced against each other.

  The gruesome duo walked down the cobbled road without a worry in the world when a ballista bolt struck the ground just a meter short, showering the two with flying debris.

  A bell rang out from the barracks in a steady rhythm. Every single one of the soldiers armed themselves and formed a line within moments between themselves and the gate. More armed men and women appeared atop of the walls, taking up positions. Multiple ballistae were pointed towards them within m
oments. Kaden, equally proud and angry, looked on as everything unfolded in front of his eyes.

  "Halt, fiend!" a voice called out from atop the wall. He didn’t even have to look up to realise it belonged to his friend, the three-meter tall bear that used a battle hammer when brawling. If it hadn’t looked funny, it would look awe-inspiring.

  "Pooky? Is that you?" Kaden yelled as loud as he could to be heard. His voice was totally different than it had been before he had entered the dungeon, much louder and stronger.

  "How do you know my name, fiend? State your business and your affiliation!" Pooky replied with a rather confused tone.

  "Or what? I'm the master of that village, not you! I'm the alpha male, not you!" Kaden yelled. He caught himself, but it was already too late. What was it with his words and the tone he used? Was it the other soul that resided within his body?

  "Or what, you ask? Or you will eat this!" Pooky yelled in return. A ballista bolt flew straight at Kaden’s face, which Kain caught just before it struck his new master and friend. He had made a promise and would keep that promise, no matter the cost. What was more, Kaden had delivered even more than he had ever hoped for. Bardos should theoretically be mortal now, which meant that he could have his revenge one day if luck would have it.

  The soldiers around the barracks, and the ones manning the walls were all awestruck, witnessing something impossible. Kaden could see panic spreading amongst them, and decided to do a little more. He pointed his hand towards the part of a wall that was currently unmanned and gave the crowd something to see.

  [Ice Age]

  A massive ice storm appeared out of thin air, wreaking havoc on the land around the wall and on the wall itself. Chunks of stone were sent flying both toward the city and in their direction, as metre long icicles struck the wall and the ground for what felt like eternity. The wall was left frozen and badly damaged. As if on cue, Kain hurled the bolt at the wall, cracking it where the bolt had hit. The wall crumbled partially from the powerful strike.