by Clayton Wood
The light around the Chosen warped.
“Kyle!” he heard Kalibar shout.
Kyle focused, streaming more magic to the invisibility pattern, watching as the light around the Chosen warped more and more powerfully. Then the Chosen vanished.
“What are you...”
Kyle poured even more magic into the stream, and the Chosen reappeared suddenly, the diamond-shaped crystal on its forehead glowing bright green.
Then it winked out.
The Chosen’s eye widened, its jaw dropping. The sphere around Petra vanished, and she fell toward the ground. Ariana caught her easily, lowering her to the ground.
“Time to die, asshole,” Kyle growled.
He wove again, pulling huge cords of magic into his mind’s eye and thrusting the pattern outward. A powerful gravity sphere appeared around the Chosen, sucking air violently into it. Kyle wove again, creating a gravity shield around Kalibar, Petra, and Ariana, protecting them from the powerful vacuum. The Chosen collapsed into the fetal position, hovering in the center of the sphere. Kyle continued the magic stream to his invisibility pattern, blocking Sabin from resuming control.
The Chosen resisted, raising its arms to the sides, the tattered arms of its cloak sliding up its forearms. Bone-white crystals were embedded in the black flesh of its forearms.
Kyle’s breath caught in his throat.
Rays of blue light shot outward from him, converging on the white crystals.
“Kyle!” Kalibar shouted.
Kyle stared at those blue rays, feeling his mind draining of magic. Ariana dropped like a rag-doll beside him.
“Petra, give me magic!” Kalibar shouted. Petra complied, and suddenly dozens of rocks lifted up into the air around them. They were immediately sucked inward by Kyle’s gravity sphere, converging on the Chosen. The blue rays entering its Void crystals dimmed instantly, the magical vacuum insulated by the depleted stone.
“Revive Ariana,” Kyle ordered. Petra nodded, kneeling down and streaming magic into Ariana’s forehead. Kyle pulled more magic into his mind’s eye, streaming it to Kalibar. “Finish that thing!”
And then Kyle saw the gravity shield around him vanish.
The Chosen burst forward through the gravity sphere, slamming headlong into Kyle. Pain exploded across Kyle’s chest and he felt himself flying backward through the air. He slammed back-first into the hard rock below, the air blasting from his lungs. He lost control of his magic streams, his vision blackening for a moment, stars floating in the periphery of his vision.
Then an ungodly green glow pierced the darkness.
Kyle’s vision returned, and he saw the Chosen standing over him, its shard shining brightly. It smirked.
“Impressive,” its raspy voice boomed.
And then it gripped Kyle’s face in one hand, slamming the back of his head into the ground.
* * *
“Kyle!” Kalibar shouted, watching in horror as the Chosen gripped his son’s face, slamming his head into the ground. Kyle’s arms jerked, then went still, his eyes rolling back into his skull. Kalibar rushed forward, but felt powerful hands grip him, shoving him backward.
“Run,” Ariana ordered, pushing Kalibar back down the Spine of Grimore, the way they’d come. “I’ll give you some time.”
“No,” Kalibar retorted. “He’ll kill you!” But Ariana shook her head.
“I'm already dead,” she stated firmly. She shoved him down the path, then turned around, running along the narrow Spine, straight for the Chosen.
“No!” Kalibar shouted, sprinting after her. He saw a wall of faint blue light appear before him, and he slammed into it, stumbling backward. “Ariana!”
“Let her go,” he heard Petra say, feeling her hand on his shoulder. He pulled away, shaking his head.
“I can't,” he retorted. “I won't!”
“She's gone,” Petra stated, her voice cold. “And it'll be for nothing if you don't come with me right now.”
Kalibar hesitated, turning back to see Ariana sprinting right at the Chosen. She roared, blue light flashing, a dozen gravity shields bursting into being around her. She charged right at the Chosen with incredible speed...
And then her gravity shields vanished.
The Chosen moved so quickly that it was a blur, its right arm shooting out and catching Ariana by the throat, stopping her cold. Her legs swung out in front of her, carried by her incredible momentum, until she was almost lying horizontal in the air. Then the Chosen swung its arm downward, pushing her straight into the rock below by the neck. She hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
“Ariana!” Kalibar screamed.
“Come on!” Petra shouted, gripping him by the shoulders and spinning him around forcibly. She pulled him back across the Spine, and he stumbled along after her, his eyes blurry with tears. His legs felt like rubber, threatening to give out from under him. Petra grunted, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him bodily forward. Kalibar looked back over his shoulder, seeing the Chosen standing there, some fifty feet away, staring down at Ariana's body. Her legs twitched, and then her arms came up, wrapping around the Chosen's dark forearm even as its hand clutched at her neck.
She gripped his dark arm, the muscles of her forearm rippling as she squeezed.
The Chosen smirked, blue light pulling from Ariana’s forehead into the Void crystals on its forearm. Her eyes widened, and she struggled against the Chosen's iron grip, flailing her legs helplessly. Her struggles became weaker, her legs barely moving, her eyes rolling up into the back of her skull.
And then she went limp.
“No!” Kalibar shouted, even as he was pulled away. He saw the Chosen pick Ariana up, again by the throat. Its forearm tensed, its fingers squeezing Ariana’s windpipe. Kalibar heard a sickening crunch.
And then the Chosen held her over the edge of the Spine, and let her go.
Ariana fell, striking the steeply-angled surface of the path’s edge, then plummeted into the sheer vertical drop beyond. A gust of mist shot upward around her falling body, engulfing her as it roared upward above the Spine, shooting high into the air.
“Oh god,” Kalibar gasped, his legs failing. He stumbled to the ground, landing on his hands and knees.
“Get up!” Petra shouted, hooking her arm under his armpits and yanking upward.
And then a gust of wind shot upward from her left, making her lurch to the right. She lost her footing, stumbling to the side, her foot slipping on the steep decline. She cried out, sliding downward toward the sheer drop mere inches away. Kalibar lunged for her, landing on his stomach on the hard rock, the air blasting from his lungs. He reached out desperately with one hand, grabbing Petra's ankle right before she slipped off the edge. He felt himself get yanked toward her, and dug his feet into the ground, reaching out with his other hand and gripping her leg with both hands.
“Let go,” Petra shouted, twisting around to glare at him.
“I won't,” Kalibar retorted. Then he grimaced. “The Chosen drained my magic,” he added. “I've got nothing left.”
“Well I do,” Petra countered.
Kalibar nodded grudgingly, letting go of her. She fell down the mountainside, vanishing into the mist below.
The Chosen ignored them, kneeling before Kyle’s motionless body. Kalibar hesitated, then got to his feet, striding up to the Chosen and stopping before it.
“Hello, Sabin,” he stated coldly. The Chosen glanced up at him with its lone eye.
“Kalibar,” it replied.
“Come to murder an old man and his son?” Kalibar asked, his tone casual. But his heart was hammering in his chest, and he knew very well that this Chosen could hear every beat.
“Just an old man,” the Chosen replied.
“So you can rule the Empire,” Kalibar stated. “The very Empire you destroyed.” The Chosen smirked.
“History is a tapestry of guesses and lies,” it retorted. “Your entire world is a myth.”
“What?”
“You talk about your Empire as if Man created it,” the Chosen stated.
“We did create it,” Kalibar countered. The Chosen chuckled in that deep, raspy voice.
“How ironic,” he mused. “You defend – to the death – a government that owes its entire existence to Me.”
Kalibar stared at the Chosen, his mind going blank. He took a step back.
“What?”
“Two hundred and thirty-eight years ago,” the Chosen declared. “My Chosen united the savages of your lands, by My will. And by My will, the Ancient Empire was recreated, brick by brick, stone by stone. Every building, every street, so that if a man were brought from the Ancient Empire to the new one, he would not notice the difference.”
“You're lying,” Kalibar retorted.
“Your entire system of government,” the Chosen continued. “Shaped by My hand. And in every generation, my Chosen have walked among you, hidden in plain sight, guiding the Empire under My command.”
“That's a lie!” Kalibar declared, clenching his fists. But he felt doubt creeping in, and the Chosen chuckled again.
“I admire you Kalibar,” it said. “Your dedication to your ideals is absolute. You are exactly the citizen I dreamed of creating, a man cast in the same mold as my mortal self.”
“You're lying,” Kalibar muttered, but even he didn't believe it now. That part of his mind, ever logical and calculating, ticked away at Sabin's claims, and they were all not only plausible, but likely.
“Mankind will never believe in a god they can see,” the Chosen stated, rising to its feet and reaching out to place a hand on Kalibar's chest. Kalibar tried to take a step back, but his body would not obey him, his muscles suddenly locked in a rigid state. “You are proof of that. You yourself believe in the Empire that I created, yet now that you see Me, you resist my vision.”
“I believe in mankind,” Kalibar retorted. “You don’t.”
The Chosen smiled, gripped the front of Kalibar's shirt with one hand, then lifting him off of the ground. He turned, letting Kalibar's feet dangle over the edge of the Spine.
“I believe in Me.”
Kalibar saw motion in the periphery of his vision, and glanced past the Chosen, seeing Kyle’s eyes flutter open. The boy rolled onto his side, his eyes locking on Kalibar’s.
I’m sorry, son.
Kyle grimaced, then reached into his pants pocket, retrieving a small black cylinder.
“Run,” he croaked.
“Kyle!” Kalibar shouted, his heart leaping into his throat. If Kyle activated the bomb, the boy was as good as dead. “No, don’t!”
The Chosen turned to face Kyle, who slipped the cylinder back into his pocket.
“It will be more merciful if the boy doesn't witness your death,” it decided, swinging Kalibar back over the narrow Spine, then setting him down.
“What?” Kalibar blurted out. The Chosen strode away from him, toward Kyle, who was trying to rise to his feet. “No!”
But the Chosen ignored him, walking right up to Kyle and grabbing him by the jaw with one hand. Kyle gripped the Chosen's arm with both hands, his eyes widening in terror, muffled screams coming from behind the Chosen's dark hand. The Chosen swept one leg out behind Kyle's, tripping him and pushing him straight onto his back on the narrow ledge below.
“No!” Kalibar screamed. He tried to move, to run after them, but his muscles were still locked in position. He could only watch as the Chosen pressed Kyle into the ground, his hand still around the boy’s mouth and jaw. Then he saw the Chosen reach into its charred cloak, pulling out a long, tapered green crystal.
No!
The Chosen leaned over Kyle, bringing the pointed end of the green crystal to Kyle's forehead, and pressing it into his skin. Kyle thrashed underneath the cloaked man, gripping his dark forearm. Kalibar heard Kyle screaming, heard the primal terror in his voice.
“No!” Kalibar screamed, willing his body to move. He strained his muscles, sweat pouring down every inch of his skin, his heart nearly bounding out of his chest. But still, he couldn't move.
The Chosen pressed down, Kyle's skin indenting under the pressure, and the green crystal pierced the boy's flesh, sliding downward a quarter-inch before stopping. Kyle cried out, kicking the Chosen and slamming his fists into the man's face, but the Chosen didn't so much as blink.
“Kyle!” Kalibar shouted. “Kyle, do it now!” But Kyle kept flailing, screaming as the Chosen continued to press down on the crystal. There was a sudden, sickening crunch, and Kyle let out a horrible, piercing shriek that went straight to Kalibar's soul. Kalibar wailed, his eyes filling with tears, feeling more helpless than he'd ever felt in his life. His breath came in great gulps, and he steadied himself, slowing his breathing, then taking a deep breath in.
“Kyle, do it NOW!” he screamed.
He saw Kyle stop, saw the green crystal sink deeper into the boy's skull. Kyle's eyelids fluttered, his right hand dropping from the Chosen's forearm, landing on his front pants pocket. Kyle's hand twitched, and he fumbled for the pocket's opening, reaching in and pulling out a short black cylinder. Kyle moaned as the crystal slipped ever deeper, his legs twitching grotesquely. He clung to the cylinder, his chest rising and falling rapidly, vomit pouring up and out of his mouth.
Oh god, Kalibar thought, closing his eyes. Tears squeezed out from between his eyelids, streaming down his cheeks. He opened his eyes, forcing himself to look, though ever fiber in his being screamed at him not to.
Kyle's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his thumb hovering over one end of the black cylinder.
And then he pressed it.
Kalibar saw the end of the cylinder extend, saw a faint red light appear there, smooth silver metal shimmering underneath. Then Kyle's entire body convulsed, and the cylinder fell from his hand, rolling down the side of the path and falling into the abyss.
My boy, Kalibar thought. My sweet, sweet boy...
And then there was a brilliant flash of light, like a thousand suns exploding at once. Kalibar cried out, squeezing his eyes shut, and suddenly his limbs came back to life. He nearly collapsed, catching himself at the last minute and rising back to his feet, shielding his eyes with one hand. He peeked out between his fingers, seeing the Chosen shielding its eyes from the assault. The light vanished suddenly, and a dark shape hurtled through the sky right at the Chosen.
It was Petra!
She shot toward the ungodly creature, a half-dozen gravity shields appearing around her. The Chosen stood up, turning away from Kyle and smirking at her. She shouted, ramming straight into the thing. But her shields vanished at the last minute, and the Chosen grabbed her out of the air by the neck, holding her a foot above the path. She struggled, kicking her legs wildly, bursts of light slamming into the Chosen’s shields. But the Chosen continued to squeeze her neck, and her flailing slowed, then stopped, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.
Then he threw her backward, tossing her through the air...right at Kalibar.
Kalibar's eyes widened, and he backpedaled frantically on the narrow ridge, but he was too slow. Petra hurtled right at him, slamming into him and knocking him off of his feet. He fell backward and to the side, landing on his back on the steeply-angled edge of the path, Petra laying limply on top of him. He grabbed onto her with one arm wrapped around her waist, feeling himself sliding headfirst down the slope. He dug his heels into the rock, reaching out with his other hand and grabbing at the loose stone, but he continued to slide, falling faster and faster. He felt the rocks scraping his back disappear, felt the sickening lurch of free-fall grip his stomach. He plummeted through the mist, the sheer vertical rock wall of the Spine of Grimore speeding past him.
So this is how it ends, he thought.
He looked down at Petra then, at her lovely face, those slim eyebrows arching over her closed eyes. Her full lips.
What could have been, he mused.
Then he spotted the faint U-shaped bulge at her neckline, underneath her uniform.
The necklace!
He reached for her neck with one hand, slipping his fingers under the tight cloth of her uniform, sliding his whole hand down, until he felt the warm metal of her necklace between his fingers. He pulled on it, feeling the chain snap. He withdrew his hand, seeing the necklace there, dozens of tiny diamonds on a golden chain...glowing the faintest of blues.
Yes!
Kalibar felt his heels strike the rock wall before him, and tumbled through the air violently, nearly losing his grip on Petra. He clung to her, pressing the necklace against his forehead.
He pulled.
Magic seeped into his mind's eye, and he twisted it into a tight knot, flinging the pattern outward and attaching a magic stream to it. He felt the wind ripping through his cloak stop, felt his descent starting to slow. He concentrated, pulling more magic from the necklace, straining with the effort. The diamonds were so small that they held precious little magic; he was still falling far too quickly. He arched his neck back, seeing the mist-shrouded forest coming up on them...and fast.
Come on!
He closed his eyes, pushing himself even harder, yanking as much magic as he could out of the necklace and streaming it outward. Again his descent slowed...but they were still falling at a deadly pace. The forest rose up meet them, the treetops only a few dozen yards below now. His heart sank as realization dawned on him.
They weren't going to make it.
Kalibar pulled the last threads of magic out of Petra's necklace, letting go of the other pattern and weaving a new one. He thrust it outward at Petra, right as the first tree branch slammed into his back. A horrible pain ripped through his back and into his belly, and then he felt himself strike another branch, the world spinning crazily around him. A kaleidoscope of brown, green, and blue spun around him, branch after branch beating at his arms and chest.
And then he slammed into the ground.
* * *
Petra groaned, then opened her eyes...and immediately regretted it. Painfully bright light assaulted her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head to the side and covering her face with her one hand. The motion made her horribly nauseous, and she resisted the urge to puke. She kept perfectly still then, too afraid to try moving again. She tried to remember where she was, but she couldn't. Even the effort to do so was overwhelming.