by Clayton Wood
“Time to go back.”
Then the ceiling above them exploded.
Void crystals burst free from the ceiling with a tremendous, ear-splitting roar, shattering into millions of glittering pieces that fell downward all around Sabin and Ampir. Sabin lurched backward from Ampir, gravity shields appearing around him. The cords of blue light emanating from Ampir vanished, and his visor reappeared, the hole in his armor repairing itself instantly.
From below, Kyle watched as the massive chamber collapsed inward from above, the entire ceiling crumbling downward in a hail of translucent white crystal fragments.
“No!” Sabin shouted, retreating his avatar to the massive cylindrical crystal that housed his true body. Layers of shimmering blue gravity shields appeared around the entire structure, completely enveloping it. The upper base of the cylinder cracked where it connected to the falling ceiling, large hunks of it sliding off and falling down to the Void-crystal-lined floor below. Kyle saw one of those huge chunks falling right toward him and Ariana, and cried out, throwing an arm in front of his face right before it reached them. But it veered to the side at the last minute, crashing into the floor beside them, shattering the crystals there with an incredible boom. The walls around them caved inward and downward, millions of Void crystals falling toward the bottom of the cavern.
And from those shattered crystals, the Chosen began to rise.
Thousands of pale forms lifted up from the gem-strewn floor, many with severed limbs, some reduced to severed heads. They flew into the air, a few of them coming right for Kyle.
“Ampir!” Kyle cried, holding Ariana close. But the Chosen ignored Kyle and Ariana, passing by them and flying toward Sabin's central column. Thousands of them congregated there, surrounding the massive column from bottom to top, blue light emanating from their foreheads. Layer upon layer of gravity shields appeared around the column, chunks of crystal from the ceiling bouncing off of them, leaving the column intact. But huge chunks of the ceiling continued to descend, white crystal shards and huge fragments of rock crashing downward. Some of these slammed into the rising Chosen, knocking them out of the air and crushing them against the floor below. The mass of gravity shields around Sabin's cylinder began to waver as more and more Chosen fell...and then it vanished altogether.
A crack appeared in the middle of the crystal, right at Sabin's pale, entombed waist. More cracks appeared where the cylinder met what remained of the ceiling high above.
Then, as Kyle watched, the massive crystalline column broke free from the ceiling, separating at the crack at Sabin's waist. The flesh there tore as the cylinder broke free...falling right toward Kyle and Ariana.
“Ampir!” Kyle screamed. He kicked his arms and legs frantically, trying to break free from the Void crystals around him. It was useless...he was wedged in too tightly. Again Kyle tried to weave, but his mind was utterly empty. “Ampir!” he screamed again.
And then the massive crystalline column was upon them.
Chapter 36
The air screamed around Kalibar as he pressed himself against the mountainside, dirt, rocks, and ripped-up trees hurtling through the air at deadly speed hundreds of feet away on either side of him. He maintained his magic stream to his gravity shields, knowing full well that they would be useless against such a barrage. He felt Petra clinging to him, her face buried into the side of his neck, and held her tightly.
All around them, the maelstrom roared, surging around Mount Kress's massive flanks.
The barrage eased suddenly, the last of the tree trees hurtling past, a dense fog of swirling brown dust all that remained. Kalibar stayed where he was for nearly a minute, then relaxed his grip on Petra. She opened her eyes, looking around her, then turned to him.
“It's over?” she asked.
“It's over,” Kalibar agreed.
“What was that?”
“I don't know,” Kalibar admitted. He stood up then, carrying Petra in front of him. He wove magic, feeling his boots lifting off of the ground, and flew up into the air, circling around Mount Kress until Mount Grimore was once again visible in the distance.
What remained of it, that was.
For there, miles below the huge floating island in the sky, the once-formidable peak of Mount Grimore was no more, having shattered under the incredible force of the impact from the fallen base of the island. A huge plume of dust surrounded the site of impact, making it impossible to see much of anything through it. The entire base of the mountain was surrounded by that earthen fog. But beyond it, the surrounding forest had caved inward, sinking down to form a deep crater in the forest floor. Easily hundreds of feet deep, the crater extended nearly a mile around, forming a bowl-shaped depression filled with shattered trees and rocky debris.
Kalibar stared, landing on a small clearing on the mountainside, his jaw slack.
“My god,” he breathed.
He felt a vibration in the earth then, following a low-pitched rumbling sound that permeated his very bones. He felt Petra tense up, and instinctively he wove magic in his mind, holding the pattern to fly away in his mind's eye. He saw the massive dust cloud covering Mount Grimore swirl, saw a dark shadow deep within rising upward. Suddenly a plume of dust burst upward from that cloud, followed by the silver gleam of metal. It was, Kalibar realized, the fallen base of the floating island, that massive hunk of metal, rising upward through the air. The vibration in the ground stopped, the low-pitched sound ending. Upward the metallic base flew, rising steadily toward the floating island far above. It slowed its ascent as it neared the island, coming to a gentle stop as it reconnected with the bottom of it.
And then the sky around the island rippled, and in an instant, the island vanished.
Kalibar stared at the blue sky that remained, his jaw slack with wonder. Then he felt a vibration in his skull, followed by a sudden gust of wind.
“Kalibar!” he heard a young voice cry from behind.
He turned around, and saw a very familiar young boy standing there on the mountainside before him, an equally familiar young girl at his side.
“Kyle!” Kalibar exclaimed, his heart leaping into his throat. He eased Petra to the ground, setting her down gently, then ran frantically to Kyle, his heart pounding in his chest. Kyle jumped into his arms, and he embraced the boy, holding him tightly, tears welling up in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. His legs began to wobble underneath him, and he fell to his knees, bringing his hands up to the sides of Kyle's face and staring at him in wonder.
My boy!
To his immense relief, and utter astonishment, there was no crystal in Kyle's forehead. His skin was not pale, or cold. He was Kyle, alive and whole!
Then Kalibar turned his head, seeing Ariana – Ariana! – standing there beside Kyle. He gestured for her to come close, and he embraced her as well, holding his two children in his arms. His whole body was trembling.
“My children,” he murmured, his voice cracking. Words streamed out of him, and he hardly registered that he was saying them. “Oh thank god,” he blurted out. “Thank god.”
“Thank him,” Ariana replied, pulling away and twisting around. Kalibar opened his eyes, wiping the tears from them, then followed Ariana's gaze. There, standing where Kyle and Ariana had appeared only moments ago, was a man. A tall man clad in black armor, blue light coursing through the countless runes inscribed into its metallic surface. The man's mirror-like visor reflected an incredible blue vista of the sky, and the shattered remains of Mount Grimore.
“Ampir,” Kalibar breathed, feeling a chill run through his body. He knelt there, staring at the legendary Battle-Runic, the man who had somehow, someway, come back from the dead. Ampir strode forward wordlessly, stopping before Kalibar and extending one gauntleted hand.
Rise, a voice reverberated in his mind.
Kalibar took Ampir's hand, and the man pulled Kalibar to his feet. Kalibar turned then, seeing Ariana and Kyle kneeling before Petra, still lying on the ground. Petra was sweating, undoubte
dly from the pain in her ankle, splinted though it was. Kalibar turned back to Ampir, staring at his impenetrable visor.
“Please,” he pleaded. “If you could help her...”
Ampir turned to face Petra, then stepped past Kalibar toward the fallen woman. Petra looked up at Ampir, clearly confused.
“Who is...” she began, then her eyes widened. The runes on Ampir's armor shimmered blue, and suddenly a great flare of blue light burst forth from his body. Kalibar felt a tremendous force slam into his mind's eye, filling him instantly with overwhelming power. He closed his eyes, unable to help himself from savoring the moment, the incredible rapture of it. Within seconds, the feeling ended, the blue light fading, and Kalibar opened his eyes.
Petra stared at Ampir, her eyes wide open, her mouth forming into a perfect “O.” Moments passed before she finally blinked, her mouth snapping shut. She reached down to touch her ankle, tentatively at first, then more confidently, running her fingers over the once-mutilated flesh. The wound was gone, her ankle whole again. She gathered herself then, pulling her legs under her and rising to her feet. She stared at Ampir
“Who are you?” she asked. Ampir said nothing, turning away from her, and Petra turned to Kalibar.
“He's Ampir,” Kalibar explained. “He was an...associate of Sabin.”
“The Outsider?” Petra asked, her eyes widening.
“The same,” Kalibar confirmed. He turned to face the remains of Mount Grimore then. The great cloud of dust still obscured the devastation wrought upon it. Then he turned back to Ampir. “I take it you did that.”
Ampir nodded.
“Is he dead?” Kalibar asked. Ampir didn't answer, but Kyle nodded.
“He says Xanos is destroyed,” Kyle said. Kalibar nodded, turning back to Mount Grimore, a strange feeling coming over him. As if this weren't happening, as if it was just a dream.
It's really over, he thought.
He'd never really allowed himself to believe that it would happen this way. Never imagined, despite what he'd told Kyle and Ariana, that Sabin could ever be destroyed. They'd been teetering on the edge of annihilation for so long now, pummeled by the sheer hopelessness of fighting against such an overwhelming power, that even the idea of defeating the self-proclaimed god had seemed impossible.
It's over, he told himself again. He stared at Mount Grimore, expecting to feel some sort of profound relief, a burst of joy. Something. Anything. But all he felt was dazed. He'd seen the same looks on the faces of his men back in his military days, after surviving against all odds to win a battle. That blank look, an unwillingness of the mind to admit that the fighting was over...that they didn't need to be afraid anymore.
He felt a cool hand take his them, and turned to see Ariana standing beside him, her eyes on Mount Grimore. She stared for a long time, then looked up at Kalibar, her big brown eyes looking questioningly at him.
“What now?” she asked. And the way she said it, he knew that she was feeling exactly the same as he was. Kalibar smiled, squeezing her hand and pulling her in to kiss the top of her head. Her hair – long again after healing from the Void Chosen’s fireball – tickled his bare face.
“Now,” he replied, drawing back from her. “We learn how to live.”
He felt a hand on his back, and turned to see Petra standing on his other side. She too was staring at Mount Grimore, but she was hardly smiling.
“What about my family?” she asked. “And the tribes?”
“They're fine,” Kyle answered. The boy blushed when Petra turned to look at him. “Ampir says so,” he added, staring at his feet.
“And the Immortals?” she pressed.
“Gone,” Kyle answered.
“Why don't you speak for yourself?” Petra demanded, looking at Ampir. Ampir's lips curled into a smirk, and he gestured at what remained of Mount Grimore with one hand.
I have, his voice boomed in Kalibar's mind. Petra must have heard it too, because she stepped backward, her eyes widening. She swallowed visibly, clearly shaken.
“Where is my family?” she asked.
Safe.
“Can I see them?” she pressed.
Soon, Ampir answered. He lowered his arm, turning to Kalibar. Go with him, he added. I will protect your family.
Petra turned to Kalibar, then back to Ampir.
“But...” she began. But before she could continue, the air around them shimmered, a burst of blue light shining from the runes on Ampir's armor. Kalibar felt a vibration in his skull, and suddenly the world around him shifted.
* * *
The sun shone brilliantly in the bright blue sky, sending its gentle rays to kiss the lush green grass of the seemingly endless manicured lawns of the Secula Magna. Birds chirped merrily from a nearby tree, and in the distance, not a mile away, the Great Tower stood tall against the cloudless sky, the crystal pyramid topping it shimmering like a precious jewel in the sunlight.
And there, standing a dozen feet away from the foot of the tree – Ariana’s favorite tree – from which the birds sang, Kyle stood, hand-in-hand with Ariana, hardly able to believe his eyes.
“We're home!” he heard Ariana cry. She turned and flung her arms around him, kissing him full on the lips. Kyle stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance, and felt the back of his head bump into something soft from behind. Ariana disengaged from him, and he glanced backward, seeing Petra standing behind him, Kalibar at her side. A quick calculation made it all too clear what he must have bumped his head into; he felt his cheeks burning, and turned back to Ariana quickly. Luckily, Ariana didn't seem to notice Kyle's mortification. She was grinning from ear-to-ear, gazing across the verdant lawns of the Secula Magna, at the Great Tower beyond.
“We are indeed,” Kyle heard Kalibar say. Kyle glanced at Petra, who was wide-eyed, spinning around in a slow circle, taking everything in.
“Where are we?” she asked. “How did we get here?”
“Ampir teleported us,” Kyle explained. “We're home. Uh, our home,” he added.
“This is Stridon,” Kalibar added, gesturing at the campus around them. “A city on the west coast of a continent across the ocean from your home.”
“Across the ocean?” Petra exclaimed. “We traveled halfway around the world?”
“Not quite,” Kalibar countered. “But close enough.” He smiled at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, I'll show you around.” He fiddled with his right ear then, and removed the yellow earring there, giving it to Petra. “You're going to need this,” he added. He helped her put it in her ear, then stepped forward then, toward the Great Tower in the distance. Kyle and Ariana fell in behind the two, holding hands. Kalibar pointed off at the Tower, saying something to Petra about it. Kyle kept his eyes strictly on the Tower, becoming more practiced at keeping his gaze well clear of the powerful gravitational field of Petra's form. He felt Ariana squeeze his hand, and she leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“I can't believe it's over,” she whispered in his ear. He turned to her, and found her lovely brown eyes twinkling. He suddenly couldn't remember having seen her so happy. So...content.
“Me neither,” he admitted.
“What happened in there?” she asked. “With Sabin, while I was unconscious?” Her eyebrows knit together. “All I can remember is falling...and then waking up to see the whole place crashing down on us.”
“That's pretty much it,” Kyle admitted.
They reached the Tower then, following one of the many cobblestone paths up to the huge open double-doors leading to the lobby. Crowds of Runic and Weaver students dressed in their white and black uniforms streamed in and out of those doors, on their way to and from their various classes. Kyle couldn't help but notice that those students were staring at them. Or rather, not Kyle or Ariana...and not even Kalibar. They were staring at Petra.
“This is the Great Tower,” Kalibar was explaining to Petra as they wove through the crowd and passed through the huge double-doors. “It's a school for
Weavers and Runics, among other things.” Petra nodded wordlessly, clearly impressed by the sheer size of the Tower...and obviously intimidated by the crowds of people around it. She grabbed Kalibar's arm, pulling herself close to his side.
“Is this where you teach?” she asked.
“Ah,” Kalibar replied, “...not quite.”
They entered the lobby, and Petra's eyes immediately widened. Three stories tall, with tall stone columns rising from the polished granite floor to the ceiling far above, she couldn't have seen anything like it back in the Barrens. Her eyes swept across the massive paintings on the walls, the luxurious couches neatly arranged on the lobby floor, and the tall statue of a Battle-Weaver standing on its majestic golden pedestal in the center of the lobby. Then her eyes rose upward, and she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.
“Kalibar!” she exclaimed, pointing upward. “Look!” For there, on the ceiling three stories above, was the other half of the lobby. Men and women milled about on the upside-down floor, sitting on upside-down couches. Upside-down fountains sprayed their water downward, the liquid arching back up toward the ceiling under the power of the reverse-polarity gravitational field. Kyle smiled, remembering the first time he'd seen what Petra was seeing. It seemed like forever ago.
Kalibar chuckled, putting an arm around Petra's shoulders.
“Come on,” he urged. “I'll show you around.”
He led Petra across the lobby, to a long hallway that lead, Kyle knew, to a riser at its end. Petra gawked at the painted statues on either wall of the hallway, depicting the fall of the Ancient Empire. They reached the riser, stepping onto it, and Kalibar turned to Petra.
“This is a riser,” he explained. “It goes up quickly,” he warned.
The riser did just that, rising upward slowly at first, then picking up speed at a formidable rate. The forty-two floors of the Great Tower whizzed by in front of them at incredible speed, and Petra clung to Kalibar as they accelerated upward. Within moments, the riser slowed, then stopped at the topmost floor, the large stone disc leveling perfectly with the granite floor of the hallway beyond. Petra hurried off of the riser, and Kalibar followed after her, unable to keep a smile from his face. Kyle stepped off with Ariana, remembering how he'd felt the first time he'd gone up a riser. Far quicker than elevators back home on Earth, it had been quite the experience.