The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  I squint my eyes at the sole building which rising above of the devastated landscape. It's nothing much, just a little bunker next to the spell formation, probably five kilometres away. If I didn't know what to look for, I would likely miss the small bulb on the horizon. It is the only indication that there must be some kind of complex next to the huge magical circuit.

  The architect clearly took some inspiration from a good, old bomb shelter. It is a cylinder, about twenty metres in diameter and fifteen metres in height with a rounded roof. The material used is the same molten rock which is covering this entire landscape.

  Everything is brimming with magic. At this moment I am really glad that I mastered my inner energies. I don't have to rely on using my outer magical system.

  “We could try to deploy our countermeasures from here and charge right in,” I suggest and look around. Eighty-nine higher immortals and five hundred mids should be more than enough against Moonray's forces. From what we have found out, he should have about eighteen higher immortals and that's it. And that's already taking into account that he most likely joined forces with the remaining slavers.

  “I don't think that's wise. We have only one seed. It's tempting to simply throw the damn thing at the storm, but what if Moonray has a way to intercept it?” Shade shakes his head. “It feels much safer to deploy it directly at the source.”

  There is no way that they can stop us, even if the storm forces both parties to fight without magic.

  “It's about the fact that he didn't even come to the surface. If we have to crawl into some kind of tunnel system to drag him out, I swear that I will find a way to scrape off his skin and keep him alive. The world will be a place of pain for him.” Shade growls.

  I chuckle. “Do you have something against tunnels, dear husband?”

  He shudders and lets his gaze wander over the people who follow us in a loose formation. Marching in a tight formation would be stupid. Especially when we are already expecting some kind of trap. The last thing we need is walking directly into a mine field. Of course, approaching like this makes changing tactics hard. It nonetheless makes it harder to take out all of us at once.

  “Do you think he is hiding an army of spirits somewhere in the vicinity?” I ask.

  Shade shrugs and then he nods. “It would fit his style so far. But if he could keep a mentionable amount of spirits locked up in cages, then why didn't he already use that capability. Sending us more than a handful of spirits at once would have been much more effective.”

  “I think something is happening!” I point at the horizon. An eerie, orange light is illuminating the horizon above the bunker. It is clear that Moonray started whatever he intends to do. Then a huge portal starts forming, and the mana storm which is looming behind the scene quickens its pace. The circular motion becomes faster and more vicious, and my heart sinks as it starts expanding with frightening speed.

  “Okay, from now on all limits are off!” Shade takes off the backpack with Yggdrasil's seed inside it. “I hope you didn't make any mistakes when we created the thing. Because if we have to ride the reincarnation train, then you are the one to blame.”

  I shake my head with newly found fervour. “Oh, no! Certainly not! If this doesn't work, then you are to blame. I don't make mistakes.”

  Shade laughs and prepares himself to hurl the seed at the mana storm, but he doesn't even get the chance. When the fast approaching storm reaches the orange portal, it stops. I watch in awe as the portal starts sucking the energy out of the storm. Did Moonray have a plan similar to ours? But why would he need so much energy to open a simple portal. I admit that it is huge, but that can't be the reason!

  The storm keeps raging, but doesn't advance any further. I can also feel the suppressing magical aura lift and within a moment the area feels almost like everywhere else in Dedessia.

  Then the creatures start pouring out of the portal. They are spirits of various kinds and sizes. I don't know why I know it, since most of them are completely unknown to me, but I simply know it. Moonray opened a gateway to somewhere and that place is overrun with spirits. And now they are pouring into our realm.

  “Shit!” I point at the seemingly endless flood. “We have to stop this! And fast, or they will run out of control.”

  “Do you think the portal will close when we throw our little experiment at it? I didn't specify which energy it should absorb to get started. Did you?” Shade turns towards me with a doubtful expression on his face.

  I shake my head. “No. I was only concerned with balancing the different spell components. It should initially absorb any and all big energy sources.”

  “Then this will be solved in no time.” Shade teleports, only to reappear three metres in front of me. After a dire moment he turns around with a grumpy expression. “Moonray's circle seems to hinder teleportation!”

  He holds out the backpack. “You try it.”

  I take the heavy item and attempt to flash step, but the energy in my surroundings ripples and I stumble, rolling over my shoulder and returning to my feet in one graceful movement. Turning around, I find myself just a few steps ahead of Shade. “Pure movement skills don't work either!”

  Shade flicks his fingers and starts gesturing at our companions. “Form up on us! Looks like we have to fight our way through them the hard way!”

  I turn around and look at the approaching mass of monsters. After a brief moment of orientation, the fucking things homed in on us and are now in a race for who reaches us first. And the reinforcements from the portal don't seem to stop.

  64. ~A path.~

  “A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or Badb, who are seen as neither wholly beneficent nor malevolent.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  This is no joke, this is really an entry on wikipedia under mythological creatures!

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Mana Storm

  Shade

  I aim my staff and shoot a sizzling lance of energy at the approaching horde. Several of the creatures are incinerated instantly, others fall and the mass simply rolls over them as if they are nothing more than obstacles which have to be conquered. Well, not good. Seems like they have no concept of shock. Troops with the slightest bit of self-preservation would at least flinch when they are sent to their certain death.

  And we aren't really fighting an army. These spirits are more like a disorganized mob, which doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous.

  Unfortunately I don't dare to use my chaos magic on the portal. Right now it is the only thing which is holding off the storm and I have honestly no idea what a sudden shut off would mean.

  It could be that the storm stays as it is, or simply continues growing normally. But with all the magic which will be flying around shortly, I suspect that it will go completely out of control.

  “Use your shadows to break the tide! Most of those things are just small fry. When their charge is broken we follow and hack our way through to the portal. We have to close it if we want to catch Moonray,” Elona calls out. She punches her fist at the approaching fiends and several are thrown backwards, crunched into broken heaps of flesh.

  I nod and kneel down, calling forth the souls within me. Restocking my collection of souls wasn't easy and I am certainly not back to my former numbers. But I managed to collect some souls at the last battle, and when Moonray betrayed his former clan I managed to catch some fairly strong ones. At the very least it should even out the score.

  Fortunately my ability to collect souls doesn't discern between friend and foe. As long as it is a soul and it is weakened enough to be captured, it is simply sucked into me. I've often wondered about the possible repercussions, but other than restraining my mental capabilities there are none. I think it may have to do something w
ith a soul's mental strength. If I wanted to hold something like one of the big spirit beasts, or a really strong god, I would probably have to let go of most of my shadow army.

  My shadow rises behind me and forms the portal which grants access to my soul. I concentrate on the spell formation and pour my mana into it. This isn't a new skill of mine. Ascathon, a previous version of myself, developed the foundations. I just perfected them.

  Since calling forth my former foes turned out to be very useful, I trained hard to improve the deployment speed. I hoped to turn this into a useful skill for one versus one situations.

  But let's be fair. Even if I manage to speed up the process tenfold, my opponent would hardly allow me to kneel down, close my eyes and concentrate for a few seconds while a huge, ominous portal forms behind me. I would be struck down thirty times before I am anywhere close to completing the spell.

  The portal solidifies behind me and I call out the oath which binds the souls to their duty. All of them answer. I've made sure that even those who fought their battles on my side aren't reluctant to leave my soul space. Which doesn't mean that I gave them bad accommodations, but giving them a personal version of heaven while they wait to perform a useful task isn't exactly in my job description.

  At last the first of my servants start pouring out of the portal. I push a sizeable amount of my mana into the spell formation to hold it open, then I get back to my feet. If I don't sustain the portal with my mana, it won't stay open for very long.

  But there is also the issue that we have to move forward. This way the portal won't deploy my whole army, but it will get the job done while we continue moving. I give it a mental shrug since I don't see a way to change the situation.

  My shadows form the spearhead of our battle formation. Right behind them follows Ishaan in his titan form. I can totally imagine him going into a wrestling match with one of the bigger spirits when he is like that. He also got much better control of his spirit weapon, though I really don't get how he managed to make it grow with him. Maybe he reduced the crystal's density? Or he made it hollow?

  It doesn't really matter. My father swings his imitation of a morning star rather unceremoniously and crushes our foes, creating huge cracks in the hard ground.

  Right behind him are Doreen and Tisha. They fight at each other's side and attack everything that manages to get past Ishaan. Their daggers are already drenched in blood and all I can see are bits and pieces of monsters flying away from them. Getting close seems to be equal to jumping into a shredder.

  Aswang and Manti are also fighting side by side. But instead of creating their own path, they coordinate and guide our higher immortals, trying to grant assistance where it is needed. They move around while our formation advances into the tide of spirits. They flow around us like water and then I find myself in front of a particularly nasty specimen.

  It is vaguely humanoid with horns and blisters all over its skin. The dead, yellow eyes don't give any hint as to where it is looking. The creature strikes at me, using one of its four ape-like arms. I duck and avoid the hand with three claws. There is no point in finding out what the milky, slimy substance on them might do to me.

  I thrust the bladed end of my staff into its chest and channel my energy through the blade. The weapon emits white, hot plasma and the fluids inside the creature turn to gas. For a moment the monster's ugly face shows surprise, then it bloats up and pops like a balloon with too much air inside.

  I am showered in blood and intestines, but hurry on to keep up with the troops. Here and there some of our people go down, but we don't have the option to stop and help them. We are enclosed completely and if we don't reach the portal in time, these things might really take us down with pure numbers. We have to shut off their reinforcements.

  There isn't even the option to retreat because we don't know if this is our only chance to reach the portal.

  If we turn to flee and it turns out that the portal will spew out spirits forever, we might never again get close to it.

  Somewhere to my right are Antonius and Quianna. He is guarding her with his shield while she hurls spears of water at the enemies. But despite being created from water, the spears are solid enough to penetrate their targets and even wound attackers far behind the first ranks.

  When the enemy numbers increase even more, our steady advance comes to a creeping halt. That's when Ishaan thrusts out his morning star and walls of ice rise to our left and right. They are so cold, the fiends who are unfortunate enough to be pressed to the icy surface simply stick. All they can do is tear themselves free, leaving behind bloody patches of skin.

  With the pressure taken off of our flanks, we slowly start advancing once more.

  Despite everything, Moonray's portal could still be as far away as the moon. We are advancing at walking speed, it will take an hour to bridge the distance to the portal. An hour is far too long. The spirits will wear us down at this rate, even if Ishaan continues raising his walls.

  I battle my way to the front and something jumps me from the side, but Elona barrels into the hound-like thing and strikes at its head. The skull caves in like a carton box.

  Raising my staff, I channel mana through it. I abort the part of the spell formation which is responsible for focusing the energy into a tight beam. Light bursts forth and blinds our enemies, searing their skin and charring those who come too close. Some part of me screams that this is 'Gandalf-Style-R18', but sadly I don't remember what that means.

  Our advance speeds up once more until suddenly, ominously the flow of small spirits through the portal stops and something far bigger comes through.

  65. ~Back and Forth.~

  “The Hydra is an ancient Greek mythical beast that was mentioned in the tale of the twelve labours of Hercules (also called Heracles). The hydra has many heads (possibly 7, 8 or 9), the number of head varies from different versions of the legend, however, more accounts agree on nine. It was said that the middle one was immortal and it has very poisonous venom and breath.

  If the heads are cut off, the heads would grow back. One head cut-off would result to two heads growing back in its place.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Mana Storm

  Elona

  What emerges from the portal is enormous and I instantly know that our time is running out. The creature looks like a strange mix between a dragon and a hydra with nine heads and serpentine necks. Its body has similarities to a dragon's, but without the wings. I draw in a sharp breath and look around to reassess the situation. If we have to fight this thing with our abilities restricted as they are, then I wouldn't bet on us.

  One of the dog-like spirits jumps over a group of combatants and heads directly towards me. Raising my leg I bring it back down, placing my heel dead centre on its head. The creature burrows into the ground and lies still, its head smashed open like a split melon.

  “I think that's what people would call rofl-stomped!” Shade calls out and sweeps his burning light to the right in order to halt the enemy advance. “Do you remember what that means? I keep remembering those strange lines, but I can't place them.”

  “Who cares!” I point at the creature. “We have to get that out of our way!”

  “We will draw its attention! You just have to hurry on and close the portal!” Aswang calls out and guides a part of our troops to the left. On his command several higher immortals start peppering the creature with long range attacks. They aren't doing any real damage, but the creature gets visibly annoyed and focuses its attention at the attackers.

  “You can't! That thing will kill you if you can't use high class magic!” I reply, but they don't listen. In moments they have a hole blasted into Ishaan's ice wall and draw the creature away from the main battle group.

  Shade takes my hand, his fingers like cool parchment against my skin. “Don't worry. If there is no other solution, they will kite the damn thing until we are done. And I wouldn't underestimate Manti's poison. If s
he finds a soft spot in its armour they won't need magic to bring it down.”

  The monster advances and takes a casual swipe at Moonray's bunker, bringing it down like nothing. The entire scene has similarities to an oversized lizard stepping on a mushroom.

  A group of spirits changes direction and heads towards us, but Ishaan and his entourage intercept them while we head directly towards the gate. The appearance of the hydra meant that the flood of small spirits was stopped, which in turn gives us the chance to advance faster.

  Shade and I dash forward, leaving the safety of numbers behind. I channel mana through my feet and take care of the creatures which come at us from the sides. Shade concentrates his spell forward, clearing a path for us. Every once in a while I throw a surge of kinetic power behind us to discourage the spirits who decided to hunt us down.

  We approach the huge lizard as it charges towards us, but like ants, we aren't even on its radar. Aswang and his group have its attention, but it is still between us and the portal. “Somehow I am not a fan of fighting the small ones while the big one is about to step on us!” I call out.

  “Then we go up!” Shade replies and cancels his spell. I want to protest, but before I manage to utter a word he turns around and his body dissolves into shadows. He wraps me in darkness and for a moment I find myself in an empty and cold place.

  He used spacial magic on me. I try to move, but it feels as if I am under water. Then the shadows retreat and I land on the ground. Rolling twice, I come back up to my feet and follow Shade who is reassembling himself in front of me. “Next time give me a warning!” I growl.

  “Hahaha. Where would be the fun in that!?” He turns around and unleashes a torrent of white energy orbs at something behind us. “Watch out! It is angry.”

  I risk a look over my shoulder and squeal as a set of white teeth closes around me. Jumping, I kick one of man-sized fangs and break it out of its socket. Only then I realize that we are on the lizard's back!