by Ryan Hodgson
The first thing Elunduil noticed when he came to was the searing pain in his chest. He rose up from the ground and gazed around. He saw a nearby tree rapidly shrinking down and realized that it was growing in reverse. There were other things happening in the area that caught his attention. The light grew brighter and when he looked up he saw the tops of the trees shrinking away! What’s going on? He thought to himself as he cautiously stood up, a jolt of pain radiated from his chest. He gritted his teeth and looked for Ark. The silver warrior was nowhere in sight and neither was the beast. He noticed that where he was standing was a dip in the land. He must’ve been knocked fairly far. He sighed and took off to his right. He noticed that some of the moss on one of the trees ahead flickered out of existence. This must be a temporal distortion. Right now time was turning back for this area. He would have to be careful he didn’t get stuck in a tree or something.
He perceived a distorted pulse fly past him and suddenly a tree appeared and grew in the direction he’d been walking. He hobbled around it and looked around. Everything was growing now. Though he noticed the grass was disappearing as the forest rapidly aged. He lurched forward and caught a glimpse of silver out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the left and saw Ark in the distance near a slope and a tree.
Elunduil changed course and hobbled to Ark who turned as he came near. “I-I found you!” Ark’s voice sounded fragment as he spoke. Elunduil saw electric-blue particles spilling from Ark’s wounded side. This was bad. Ark might not be able to repair this much damage here. “What’s happening?” Elunduil asked. Ark looked off into the distance. “Time is moving backwards then forward. T-the pulse has been increasing in frequency.” Ark explained. Elunduil asked him what he meant. “Every time the pulse, the d-distortion moves out, time begins to go backwards. It then moves in and time goes forward.”
Elunduil looked around. “Are they pulsing from where the sword shattered?” he hypothesized. Ark nodded. “Yes. Unlike you I was not knocked very far a-away when the distortion spread.” There was something in the back of his eyes. Something that was weighing on Ark. Why had Ark appeared months ago and saved him? Even if Elunduil had used some of his life force that couldn’t have been enough for Ark to maintain his form.
He noticed a distortion moving towards them. The pulse was going out! He looked to a nearby tree as the distortion passed. It started to shrink and the moss started to regress- The moss was gone and the tree had shrunken considerably. Elunduil held up a hand. “I stopped again,” he muttered and looked to Ark. He had a strange feeling in his chest. When they had fought against the World Eater they had fought like they’d known what the other was planning. Like he was fighting alongside himself…
Realization dawned on Elunduil. Of course! It had been in front of him this whole time! Why hadn’t he thought about it until just now? “Life said that I’d shortened my lifespan but… You’re me, aren’t you? I’d always wondered why I started acting differently all those months ago.” Ark looked down affirming Elunduil’s suspicion. “You’ve been looking for a way to stop this… stuttering that happens to me haven’t you?”
“Y-yes. After all you sacrificed a part of your life to create me,” Ark replied. His gaze was intense. Elunduil understood his sentiment. He was sure that Ark also knew that he hadn’t intended to cause him to exist but it had happened. “What is happening to me then?” he asked and Ark composed himself. Ark explained the various stages of Life Necrosis and that eventually Elunduil would stop for longer periods of time until he completely stopped. They had several years to try and find a cure but it would be harder for Elunduil to act on his own as time went on.
Elunduil wasn’t surprised. Deep down he knew what would probably happen to him. Still… If his soul was split what would happen if Ark was lost? Would that part of the soul return or would it fade from this world? He expressed his concerns to Ark. He didn’t know what would happen either but his body would fall apart soon. “Is the Sword of Time still where it shattered?” Elunduil asked as a distortion slid past them going inwards. Ark nodded. “Okay, let’s go to it then. Maybe we can end this distortion and get out of here in time to save you.” An unfamiliar feeling welled up in Ark. It had something to do with Elunduil wanting to save him but he wasn’t sure what the word for this feeling was. He nodded and together the pair made their way to the middle of the distortion. On their way another pulse rippled outwards and everything began to grow in reverse. A strange sight greeted them when they came into view of the Sword of Time.
The swords broken pieces were coming back together but they could see that areas of the blade were missing. The sword stopped coming together and the pieces began to break apart again. As the pieces slowly scattered through the air Elunduil and Ark saw the Behemoth phase into existence near the sword. Elunduil was alarmed for a moment until he realized that it wasn’t doing anything. A pulse passed them and they saw the beast slowly moving to charge at where Elunduil had been before the temporal distortion had knocked him away. The pulse passed them again and as it moved outwards the beast faded from view. “The pulses are increasing. The sword will soon disappear-r,” Ark said. Ark was right. Elunduil could tell that the last pulse had left the blade with even less pieces than before. When it completely faded they would be stuck facing the hulking beast with no escape. He looked out into the distance to where the river was. The outside world was a blur. If they tried to leave the distortion they could wind up in who knows when.
Elunduil walked towards the sword. He could sense the temporal energy emanating from it. He suddenly had an idea. “Say, Ark? What would happen if we turned back the clock on our separation? If we became one again would the Life Necrosis stop?” he asked. Ark looked from Elunduil to the sword. He shrugged. “I don’t know but if you’re thinking of using the swords temporal energy before it fades away… Than you should do it now.” Ark held his gaze for a long moment. Elunduil turned to the blade as it started to break apart again. The temporal distortion would probably fade away if he used the energy here, but this was the only path. “We may be about to walk straight into Hell,” he muttered and closed his eyes as he held out a hand towards the sword and Ark.
He focused on his goal and reached out towards the temporal energy. He expected it to be wild and unwieldly but it was surprisingly calm and smooth. Time simply moved forward. At least this made things easier. He used what little magical energy he’d regained while passed out and pulled the temporal energy into him. He expected to see scenes from multiple times but his vision was normal. “Well, I guess it’s now or never.” He opened his eyes. Look past it. Past the physical form of the body. Past the shell that holds his soul. It was a part of him. He was connected to it still. He could feel where it was. “I-I’ll see y-you soon,” Ark said with a look of contentment in his eyes. For a moment Elunduil was reminiscent. He’d never gotten a chance to see Ark’s face. He focused the temporal energy and released it at Ark.
To his surprise a bright orange energy washed over Ark. Odd. He’d always thought time was blue. He gritted his teeth. Go back to before that moment! The energy swirled around Ark’s soul, his soul and then shot towards him in an instant. Elunduil staggered back a couple of steps. He saw things. He was looking at himself as he fought the World Eater, looking at himself as he entered a ruined building in a forest, watching himself, in a flame-filled hell that tried to consume him. He senses movement behind him and instinctively jumps away as something large runs past him. He sees the black beast whip about and snarl. He holds up silver-gloved hands and activates two v-shaped sabers that glow with golden light. He is thrown off for a moment. These are his/Arks… I get it. Nevermind I’ll take the beast down!
In the distance Tim and the others are surprised when they see the Behemoth charge past a silver-clad person. Why hadn’t they seen him until now? “Hold your fire men!” Trailblazer commands. They watch as Ark activates his energy swords. Where is Elunduil? Tim looks about but doesn’t see anyone else. He notices blue light spillin
g from Ark’s right side. “He’s hurt! We need to do something!” He shouts to Trailblazer. The other man grunts and looks around. “Spread out! Groups of two! Let’s get multiple angles on this thing and fire when there’s an opening!” The other knights immediately follow his orders and spread out around the edge of the battlefield save for Traiblazer who remains with Tim and one of the other knights. They hear a roar as the Behemoth charges at Ark. Tim grips his staff tightly. He hopes the other knights will find a clear shot.
Elunduil/Ark jump high into the air as the Behemoth bears down on him. As soon as he lands he jumps forward and twists around as the beast’s fist swings through the air he had occupied moments before. This time he doesn’t give it a chance to force him on the defensive and darts around the side of the beast. It throws a weighty blow at him but he ducks under it and leaps at the beast’s exposed chest. He slashes with both blades as he passes by then jumps away. He turns around to face the beast again and sees that he’s only grazed it. This isn’t good. He’s down to 70% of his strength and… He looks down. The silver around his chest has disappeared and the top of his leg’s suit is starting to vanish. The concussive blow on his left side is also hindering him.
As the Behemoth walks forward to attack him again, small beams of light twice as thick as his arm strike the beast in the side. He looks over and sees two knights in the distance with large metal cannons mounted over their shoulders. Help had arrived! He looks at the beast again. The damage the lasers had done was superficial. The Behemoth turns towards the knights and snarls. Elunduil grits his teeth. They won’t be able to take it down before it reaches them! What can he do to stop the beast though? His sabers barely scratch the beast and he is down to 50% of his strength. Two more lasers shoot from the forest and the beast turns towards the new aggressors. There are two more knights over there. The beast is hit from behind by two more beams. Two more knights and… Tim?! The beast roars and starts towards them while the other knights scatter and wait for their weapons to charge up.
Elunduil starts forward towards the beast. Weapons. What else did he have? The arm cannon was offline. Too much of his suit is gone. Sun’s Duel Regent’s doesn’t have enough power to penetrate too far past the beast’s hide. Hellfire is unusable in his current state. He looks back at the golden sabers. That’s right! There is one more ability the swords had! It is an ultimate moved that combined the two sabers and drew out an energy blade that- a blade that changes fate. If he desires a certain outcome than it will make the outcome reality by obliterating all other possibilities. Elunduil pauses uncertainly. Had he really designed Ark with that ability? Maybe Ark had that last bit of knowledge while he had knowledge of the ability itself and how to activate it. He draws a deep breath and holds the swords side to side. What he wants, what he desires is a future where the beast is defeated without anyone else getting hurt!
The white hilts of the sabers crackle and split apart. The energy core from each saber combine and the hilts vanish. 30% strength. He is down to just the gloves and the boots now. The energy cores combine and a hole in space opens for a brief moment. Emerald energy flows out from the hole and appears as a flaming sword. Well, sword is a loose description. It’s more like a whip of intense emerald flame hovering in front of him. The Behemoth pauses in its gait and looks around to him. No, it is looking at the emerald flame. There is a glint of fear in its eyes. Elunduil grabs it and leans forward as he dashes at the beast. It snarls and whips about while swinging a fist. Elunduil grits his teeth. He is too slow. 10% left. He is barely faster than his normal self and he knows he won’t be able to strike the Behemoth before it hit him.
He seems to move in slow motion as he swings the sword around to the front. If he can’t make it to the beast then he will at least make sure it goes down! “Destiny’s End!” he calls out with the image of the future he desires clear in his mind. The emerald flame intensifies and shoots forward. Elunduil can see the beast’s fist slowly coming toward his head. Even if it dies the momentum of the fist will still hit him. At least the others will be safe. He thinks contently as he accepts his fate.
A memory flashes before his eyes. He was talking with himself/Elunduil in the forest about their predicament. He/Elunduil talked about trying to save him/Ark. A strange feeling welled up in his chest as he nodded to himself/Elunduil. He recognized that emotion. He was grateful. Grateful that the one who had brought him into this world wanted to save him. “Thank you, Elunduil. If only I’d had more time to be with you…” He was staring at himself/Elunduil as the temporal energy washed over him/Ark. He was content.
He doesn’t have time to process the memory, but he finds his eyes unexpectedly watering. Ark… I didn’t save you in the end. He closes his eyes and expects to get hit at any moment. Except Destiny’s End, instead of blasting through the Behemoth’s chest it twists at an impossible angle and engulfs the fist that had been a moment from colliding with Elunduil. He opens his eyes as the emerald energy blazes up the Behemoth’s arm and then its head, torso, legs, tail, left arm, and it blazes brightly for a moment before dissipating. Elunduil is shocked. The beast is gone. Like it had never been.
He collapsed to the ground. Reversal of causality. Once activated the future that Destiny’s End brought about was already determined. It couldn’t be dodged, or blocked, or stopped. The destruction it wrought was already determined. The fate that the Behemoth would be defeated and no one else would be hurt meant that Destiny’s End would do whatever it needed to make that fate a reality. Elunduil held up a hand in time to watch as the silver tips of Ark’s gloves faded away. He stared at the spot for what seemed like a long time. He saw flashes of watching himself go about his day to day business in Ellicia and clenched his fist. Ark had always been watching him. Looking over him. Elunduil drew a deep breath as a sense of sadness washed over him. He held back his tears and swore then that someday he would find a way to bring Ark back as his own being.
The sound of approaching footsteps brought him back to reality and he looked up to see the knights and Tim jogging up to him. “Are you okay?” one of the knights asked in a familiar voice. Trailblazer?! Elunduil looked to Tim who looked perplexed and concerned. Elunduil nodded. “Thank goodness. I don’t know what that magic trick was but I’ve never seen a Behemoth go down in one blow,” Trailblazer said. A Behemoth? So that’s what that beast was called. It reminded him of an enemy from a popular video game series. “We should return to the others and leave this place. I don’t want to run into another one of those creatures.” Elunduil attempted to stand but fell back down. It was like his legs were jelly. Trailblazer motioned to one of the knights who helped Elunduil up and let him use the knight as a crutch.
They had to find an alternate path down the cliff which led them on a half hour detour. They kept silent as they trotted through the forest as the gloom deepened once more. Elunduil was sure Tim was dying to question him, but there was no telling what other beasts lurked here. Roughly 40 minutes later they came within view of the others. Tanis, who was awake now, was the first to spot them. He shouted and waved and the others took notice. They waited until Elunduil’s group joined them before talking. “Thank goodness everyone’s ok,” Alicia said with relief. “How did you manage to beat that monster?” She looked to the knights who turned their gaze to Elunduil. “That’s what I’ve been dying to ask,” Tim said as he turned to his friend.
Elunduil felt nervous with so many gazes on him. “Well…” he hesitated. “It’s a long story.” His voice was subdued and drew worried gazes from the others. Trailblazer intervened and said that they should return to Ragnarok first. The groups combined and they marched silently through the woods. Occasionally they heard twigs snapping in the distance or a gentle breeze sneaking up on them that would cause them pause, but in the end they reached the Terminus Circuit without confronting any other creatures. Trailblazer tapped some buttons on his APL device and tethered everyone’s device together. He pressed a button on the screen and the world briefly
blurred and became distant before they suddenly appeared in front of the silver Terminus of Tel’kedar.
They were greeted by a booming cheer from Damon who was standing nearby. Melony stood next to him with crossed arms but looked pleased as well. “Job well done men!” she said and the knights saluted her. She noticed Elunduil clutching his side. “Trailblazer, why haven’t we attended to the wounded yet?” Her voice was cold.
“We encountered a Behemoth ma’am. I didn’t think it was safe for us to linger any longer than necessary,” Trailblazer replied. Melony’s brow raised in surprise.
“Very well. Now that you’re back please attend to everyone and make sure their wounds are taken care of.” Trailblazer saluted and ushered the group to the infirmary.
When they entered the room Elunduil noticed several beds. Each one looked fairly similar to a hospital bed except they were all attached to the floor. The light in the room was warm and relaxing causing some of Elunduil’s tension to dissipate. Everyone was examined but the only ones who had gotten hurt had been himself and Tanis. They sat the pair down on the beds and an arm slid out from the side of the bed and curved over their torsos. It moved up and down their bodies while humming and Elunduil assumed it was scanning them. Once the scan was complete they were administered some kind of pill. “This will speed up the healing process on your bones.” The medic said. He was a burly man with a crisp voice and bushy beard. “Looks like both of you managed to get hit on the same side. Fractures in your ribs, but it looks like the guy with the torn shirt has been healed a bit already.” The medic sighed and told them that they would have to sit here for about an hour while the pills did their job. He went and sat by a small desk near the door and started typing at the terminal on the desk.
Everyone else looked uncertain about what to do but the man said that they were free to wait in the room with Elunduil and Tanis while they recovered so they gathered around the beds. “So what the heck happened anyway after I got knocked out?” Tanis asked the question everyone else wanted to know the answer to. They looked to Elunduil and Tim. “Well the only thing I know is that the Sword of Time is gone and that when the distortion vanished Ark was fighting the Behemoth. By the time everything was over though Elunduil was the only one there,” Tim explained. “What happened to Ark?” Tim gazed at Elunduil who didn’t answer.