Soulseeker’s Descent

by Pablo Andrés Wunderlich Padilla

  Róganok knew that the God of Fire could split into multiple flames and join together again, so he moved fast. He gathered the spheres of fire together and, calling on Alac Arc Angelo’s powers, he created spheres of ice.

  “A dragon cannot kill a god!” ArD’Buror yelled. “Die!”

  When he was about to throw the spell of liquid fire, the magical beast launched the spheres of ice which burst on contact with ArD’Buror. The cascade of crystals, hard as diamonds, fell on the God of Fire who was immediately encased in a polygon of ice that slowly melted.

  “Now comes the breath of destruction,” Róganok announced.

  He filled his mouth with a spell, then launched a beam of light that pierced the capsule of ice. The brightness hurt the eyes and the heat it gave off was scorching. The God of Fire could only be defeated by a colossal pressure that would turn him to glass.

  “You will die! You will all be consumed by the strength of… Chaos…”

  After these last words, ArD’Buror’s essence solidified into a diamond which slowly faded. The structure began to float, reflecting the light of the stars. The diamond would eventually be consumed by the void or be sucked in by a galaxy.

  “I knew something was wrong,” Róganok said. He was now calmer. “Perhaps the other Gods have taken the same path as ArD’Buror. And their dragons… I hope they have not fallen to the forces of Chaos. Folfiri was a great dragon, a formidable beast. Aaah, I remember him perfectly. His graceful flight, scales of flame, eyes of embers, a heart as warm as a forge. I wish you had seen how he flew among the rivers of fire, how he enjoyed sauntering between two suns, and his smile as he devoured flames! I remember him as if I had seen him only yesterday. His loss fills my heart with sorrow. I will miss you! I only hope you did not suffer in your death.”

  Róganok shed a single tear. It ran down his face, crystallized, and then evaporated in the void. He imagined the death of his brother, Mórgomiel’s sword sucking his soul, the pain of his betrayal. Now Folfiri was contained in the lethal blade of Wrath the Godslayer, together with the other tortured souls the God of Chaos was using to increase his power.

  “Enough of duels. Alac, we must leave. Evil is ahead of us. Mórgomiel could well be a single piece short of completing his armor. Back to Carunthya!”

  Chapter XXX – Gordbaklala

  They were back in Carunthya again, but their hopes were shattered. What if the other Gods had fallen under Mórgomiel’s influence? Without the power of the Grand Alliance, without the five dragons and their essences, the chances of destroying Mórgomiel were limited.

  “Next portal. You choose, Alac,” Róganok said. “I am still baffled. Perhaps my decisions are not good ones. Before we leave, remember: You are a demigod, you do not possess the same powers as your brothers, and you need to stay within my magic cloak. Forgive me for calling you a child, but it is just that… your behavior got on my nerves.”

  “Well, thanks for looking after me,” Alac muttered.

  “Folfiri,” whispered Róganok. “I wish I could free his soul. It devours me to think that Mórgomiel has it in his sword and uses his power to conquer the universe.”

  Alac turned to the portals. The brown, the blue, and the black ones were left. He felt negative energy coming from the brown portal that led to Gordbaklala.

  “We’re going to find the God of Earth,” he said at last.

  “So be it.”

  ***

  They appeared beside a planet surrounded by a thick mist. It was not spinning on its axis, but in an oval orbit around a star that was yellowish, almost white.

  “A planet that does not spin around its axis is a dead planet without night or day,” Róganok said.

  “Its orbit is strange,” Alac agreed.

  “It has been deliberately changed. With this trajectory, the planet will end up absorbed by the star. Something terrible has happened.”

  “Mórgomiel.”

  Róganok accelerated. When they entered the atmosphere, the winds tossed them violently. They were inside a sandstorm, which explained the mist they saw.

  “This world is weeping from a tragedy,” Róganok said.

  Alac feared he had lingered too long in Allündel. He should have left the magical land much sooner.

  “No! No! Kálagath!” the white dragon howled.

  Alac looked downward. A great structure—no, a great body—lay on the earthen floor, stained with dry blood. It was a dead dragon that was eaten away from within. Its chest and abdomen were open and empty; the giant ribs enclosed only air. In a throne of roots lay the felled body of a being in the shape of Lï, the tree of the land of the elves, although smaller.

  Róganok lay down beside the remains of Kálagath while Alac examined the throne of roots. Here, he could stray from his dragon’s magical field as there was plenty of air to breathe. The king on the throne of roots had been mutilated and the suffering before his death was evident. His back showed the marks of sword blows, the throne was eroding, and the roots looked pale and dry. This world was dying, following the death of the God of Earth. Mórgomiel had got there ahead of him again and by several months in Meridian time.

  Róganok was distraught with sadness.

  “My brother! Victim of uncontrolled ambition and power, of the corruption of a dark soul. Oh, Kálagath! You were beautiful. With your great wings, your serene flight, your wide smile, and a heart so pure. Kálagath was one of the wisest of dragons, one of infinite kindness. We shall miss you, my brother. We will avenge your death.” Róganok shed tears. “This world, Epthos, will turn into dust when it finishes dying.”

  “I am so sorry for the loss of your brother, Róganok.”

  “They were your brothers too, Alac. I envy you for not remembering your family, for not feeling this pain.”

  The white dragon looked around as if searching for an answer, a crack in his despair. But there was no hope. Everything was destroyed.

  Alac went into the Interim. There, he saw several spirits of simple beings, but no trace of the soul of the God of Earth nor Kálagath. Róganok joined him in the Interim.

  “Their souls have been consumed.”

  “Wrath the Godslayer,” Alac guessed and felt anger tearing him within.

  “Let us return to Carunthya and go in search of Mythlium, the Goddess of Water.”

  Chapter XXXI – Mythlium

  After entering the blue portal, they appeared in a star system shaken by Chaos. It was made up of four planets, three of them blue due to their extensive masses of water. The fourth was red and split into two unequal halves which were slowly separating from each other from the central blue sun.

  On the second planet, a titanic battle was unfolding. Mythlium’s planet was being attacked.

  “Róganok!” the dragon cried.

  Alac produced his spear and shield.

  “Remember, you mustn’t stray from me while traveling in the void or else you’ll die.”

  Alac said nothing, annoyed that the dragon kept repeating the same recommendation as if he was unable to remember something as important as that. Alac tried to guess the limits of the magical cloak with precision as it would be nice to know how far he could stray from his dragon without suffering imminent death. His guess proved futile and he suspected if he asked, the dragon would not say.

  As they came closer to the planet, they could make out the invasion of shadows and fires on the watery surface. They penetrated its atmosphere. At once, they noticed an increase in both temperature and noise. The impetuous wind was raising a great tide in which there floated thousands of black and blue corpses. The waves reached formidable heights and spewed out bodies, only to sink them again under the turbulent waters.

  A large army of black-winged beings was attacking another smaller, blue army. A female blue dragon was fighting and on her back was the Goddess of Water wielding a sword of ice.

  Róganok smiled to see his sister and hurried to join the defense, descending upon the enemy force like an arrow. In a
second, Alac realized that they were demons brought out of some pit. They had the heads and wings of wyverns together with the features of orcs and possessed magical abilities. These creatures had been created for war, to kill and die.

  The one who seemed to be the general became aware of the white dragon threatening his forces and sounded the alarm. He resembled the vojs which had fought in Háztatlon and rode a black two-headed wyvern.

  Róganok went into the attack against at least twenty infernal beasts. His powerful energy consumed the creatures around him, their bodies evaporating instantly. He went for the general and with one bite, split him in two. The voj and its black wyvern were lost in the infinite void.

  Although the leader had been eliminated, there was still much work to do. Róganok sprayed a group of beasts with liquid fire while Alac hurled beams of light.

  “Róganok! Róganok!” the white dragon roared.

  He put his claws together and generated blue energy in the shape of an elk’s horn. He launched it and it struck several thousands of enemies.

  “Fluenthal! Fluenthal!” croaked the blue dragoness.

  The Goddess of Water reorganized her legion to deliver the final blow to the demons.

  The battle went on. Both sides were losing many of their fighters, but the enemies were beginning to show signs of weakness. The scale was tipping in favor of the blue side. A column of fire destroyed the last remaining hundred.

  A brief celebration broke out. The blue beings had two pairs of wings like those of a dragonfly. They seemed to share a lineage with these insects of the Meridian, although they showed other very different features, such as the head of a dolphin, a toothed trunk, and very small black eyes. They had four legs with the claws of a sparrow-hawk.

  The dragoness flew toward Róganok. She was slightly larger than the white dragon and she looked stronger.

  “Fluenthal!” Róganok said with childlike joy. “My sister! You’re alive.”

  Alac felt a tenderness toward his magical beast in which he could now see a pure soul. The dragons greeted each other with a glance, perhaps exchanging thoughts. Alac turned his attention to the goddess who was half-woman, half-elf. She had two arms and two legs, but her back and legs were covered in scales like a fish. She was naked. A pair of fleshy breasts and toned thighs were very visible. Her hair was red and her eyes blue.

  “So,” Fluenthal said. “Kálagath and Folfiri are dead.”

  “That is so, my love. It was Mórgomiel.”

  The beasts kept a respectful silence. After a few moments of grief, the dragoness raised a defiant gaze.

  “Róganok! I am so glad to see you again. Let us go to my rooms and celebrate the encounter.”

  “That won’t be possible,” Alac said. “Mórgomiel has already made too much progress and even though we’ve stopped another of his victories, we must go on and summon D’Santhes Nathor. She’s the last remaining essence, so let’s hope she’s not dead or on the side of Evil.”

  The Goddess of Water was alarmed at this. “Summon, you said? Like in the Times of Chaos?”

  “This attack was no accident, Mythlium.” Alac told her about the latest events and she understood.

  “So Mórgomiel is back. That explains the invasion of those demons. I had never seen the like of them, just as I never thought they were Mórgomiel’s servants. If he has sent such a large army, he must have recovered almost all of his power. Count on me, Alac. And thank you for coming to our aid. Without you, we would be dead like our siblings.”

  “Right, let’s be away!” Alac urged them.

  “Eneida!” Mythlium called.

  One of the winged beings came to the Goddess of Water, beating her wings rapidly. She emitted a series of sounds that Alac did not understand. Then, she turned and addressed the surviving soldiers who began to go down into the water where Mythlium’s realm must lie.

  “Follow us,” Róganok cried and launched himself into the sky to return to space.

  Alac felt weak. He was hungry, he was tired. He wondered whether his dragon felt the same.

  Soon, they found themselves inside the violet spiral and vanishing into the River of Time.

  Chapter XXXII – D’Santhes Nathor

  There was room in Carunthya for both dragons to fit comfortably.

  “Is it really you, Alac?” Mythlium asked the moment they landed.

  “It is me. I was reincarnated in a boy from the Meridian. But we are the same; one single, indivisible being.”

  “You have always been reincarnated in someone interesting and now the Celestial Divinities have chosen a human.”

  Alac smiled to himself. “Yes, they’re extraordinary beings, I have come to find.”

  Róganok rolled his eyes.

  “You have been reincarnated so many times that I find it impossible to follow you, Alac,” the goddess said. “We have not seen one another for thousands of years.”

  “I am sorry to interrupt your conversation,” Róganok reminded them. “It is very interesting, but we have something to do.”

  “Our siblings have been murdered,” Fluenthal whispered. Her voice was sonorous, slightly higher in pitch than Róganok’s.

  The dragons exchanged looks, communicating between themselves.

  “There is one last portal, the black one, belonging to D’Santhes Nathor,” Alac said. “Without her, there would only be two of us. Too few if we’re to fight Mórgomiel.”

  ***

  They appeared in the void. Before them, there was a galaxy in the form of a cat’s eye. In its nucleus was a huge black hole that sucked in light and swallowed it.

  Róganok and Fluenthal took their course, swiftly and without hesitation, towards the planet of the Goddess of Night. The galaxy swallowed them amid nebulae and stars. They passed stars of different colors and shapes, whose orbits were strange and unequal.

  They arrived at a small moon that orbited around a gaseous planet the size of a sun, surrounded by a ring of dust. It was the most beautiful thing Alac had ever seen. That moon was not the only one; there were about a thousand of them. It lacked atmosphere and its sands were darkish. The light was dim. There was nothing on the surface of that moon, so it looked desolate.

  “D’Santhes Nathor is in the Interim,” Róganok said.

  The four went into that dimension.

  “Her essence allows her to pass through multiple dimensions without the need to move from wherever she is,” the white dragon explained.

  In the world of spirits, they came across a sea of souls in a line, one after the other, beside a spiral.

  “Every moon has its own form of judgment,” Fluenthal commented.

  Róganok gave a guttural sound of disgust. “Ugh! Look there. Worm-like beings.”

  Alac and Mythlium watched these impassive souls, patiently waiting like statues.

  “They are waiting to be judged,” Fluenthal said.

  “But the line is eternal,” Alac pointed out.

  “Eternity has no meaning in this dimension where time does not exist. If there is no time, there is no eternity. It is something difficult to grasp for beings like you, Alac, who measure their life in time.”

  “Descend,” Fluenthal said to the two gods.

  “We dragons cannot enter the dwelling of the Goddess of Night,” Róganok explained. “We will return to the tangible world and go hunting on one of the nearest planets. Mythlium, generate a protective body to shield Alac from the void. He might suffer, even in the Interim.”

  The Goddess of Water nodded and soon, Alac felt protected by an invisible cloak.

  Róganok and Fluenthal vanished. Alac found himself alone with Mythlium who was half a head taller than he was himself. Her face was human, although her eyes were striking: almond-shaped and blue, without pupils. Her naked, scaly body was admirable, magical.

  Alac offered her his hand.

  “What are you doing?” she asked in surprise.

  “It’s a form of greeting.”

  She accepted hi
s hand. “Is this how humans do it?”

  Alac could only see an infinity of souls. “Do you know how to get there?” he asked.

  “Follow me,” Mythlium said confidently.

  ***

  In the epicenter of the spiral of souls was a throne of stone on which sat a shadow. Alac was used to shadows because the light was hidden. This shadow had its own existence, it occupied space and projected a disconcerting depth.

  “Siblings,” the shadow said. “You have come to summon me at last.” It had neither mouth nor body.

  “How did you know that?” Alac asked.

  “There are more and more souls all the time for me to judge. This can only have one explanation: Mórgomiel has awakened. He tried to tempt me. He thought that I belonged to him because I am a shadow and that I would be on his side.”

  “What did he offer you? And where is your dragon?”

  “I lost track of him a long time ago.”

  “Mórgomiel killed Gordbaklala and Kálagath,” Mythlium said. “He convinced ArD’Buror to give him Folfiri. He sent an army of demons to destroy me, but Alac and Róganok arrived in time and we came out victorious, although we suffered many losses. Evil has transformed the five essences and we must unite, D’Santhes. The Times of Chaos are coming closer. Mórgomiel is searching for the pieces of his armor and it is only a matter of time before he completes it. The moment is critical.”

  The goddess’s silence was crushing.

  “That is not going to be possible, my siblings. I am sorry to say that I will not become involved in games of power.”

  “What!?” Alac shouted. “What are you saying? The universe is going to explode! Mórgomiel is going to rule! Doesn’t that worry you?”