by J. Carrarn
A swirling, screeching swarm of Ygdra darkened the sky above the city's center, unleashing a barrage of red crackling energy at something that was obscured behind the piles of rubble.
It didn't matter if he couldn't see it. Solus knew it had to be the large Wyrm that the wretched Ygdra were so focused on.
A massive blue lightning bolt shot up from the ground, striking one of the Ygdra, tearing one of its wings off. The flying monstrosity tumbled down and out of their sight. Moments later, Solus felt the tremor as it slammed into the ground.
That's what I've been sensing, he realized. Thinking back and trying to recall how many tremors he had felt on the way to the city, his eyes widened with the shock of sudden realization. There had to be dozens, perhaps hundreds of downed Ygdra. If those monsters all have mana-orbs… He shuddered. What if the great Wyrm absorbed those orbs and then became infected with Kaot energy? Like Tirella had been?
"There are over four hundred of those things," Scathia said, her eyes flicking between the Ygdra and the spot that they were attacking.
Solus ignored her. He needed to get her to share how to absorb a mana-core, but would she still do so if she knew she had to go in there to get one? He feared she wouldn't, but he didn't have time to head in there to get it for her… if he even could. The last few weeks had led him to the uncomfortable discovery that, although he was powerful, there seemed to be many beings in this world that easily outclassed him.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to Scathia.
"The great Wyrm in the middle has the mana-core you seek. Now tell me how to absorb these things!"
Scathia's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you won't just destroy me and grab it for yourself after I tell you?"
Solus was about to say he didn't need it to, but then he bit his tongue. Her glittering eyes told him she had already guessed there was something more going on, and he knew that she would want the mana-core in Skulltown if he confirmed her suspicion.
Solus grabbed her around the neck and squeezed.
"My patience is wearing thin. Either you tell me now and take the risk, or I will end you and find another way."
Scathia glared at him, her eyes shining with malice. Then she smiled. "No, you are bluffing. There is no other way, and you know it."
Her smile and the surety of her words caused Solus's strained emotions to flare up, and in an angry reflex, he squeezed. Scathia's eyes bulged out, and he heard a soft crack from her neck. Shocked, he let go and stepped back. Had he ended her?
After what seemed like forever, Scathia's arms moved, and she pushed herself up. Solus quickly put on a grim expression, trying to mask his shock.
"If you want me to tell you, you will bring me the core." Scathia's words were soft and dripping with hate. She was rubbing her neck, which was slowly swelling.
With great effort, Solus turned to Derin, who was still quietly looking back at him. The purple undead was silent, seeming to mull things over, then shrugged.
Solus saw the fear in Derin's eyes, and he sighed.
"Fine. We will wait here for the others, and then I'll get that core."
Scathia didn't reply but got up and moved beside the Cherocs that had closed in without Solus noticing.
Her presence, combined with the Cherocs and how she was constantly looking at him, was getting under his skin. He knew he needed to do something to relieve his tension. Taking a deep breath of the stuffy air, he focused on the stone below his feet. A low square cube grew out of the ground, dust flowing from its sides. It was half as high as he was and had a single opening that faced them.
"Go inside. It's not safe out here," he growled.
At first, Scathia seemed to ignore him, but then two of the Cherocs entered the building, disappearing from view. A moment later, Scathia and the others followed.
Derin stepped up beside Solus. "She can communicate with them. Why don't you just close the entrance until the others are here?" he whispered.
Solus blinked in surprise at the idea, then grinned. His initial plan to stay inside with Scathia to keep an eye on her suddenly seemed useless. After all, he could sense what happened inside and boxed in as they were; he was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to get out or do anything to harm them.
The subterranean building's entrance closed with a solid thud, leaving a square without any entrances or exits behind. After thinking for a moment, Solus created a small building beside it, also partially buried, but with windows that gave a view of the wasteland. He walked inside and stepped down the short stairs until his head was almost level with the wasteland. A stone dais with benches stood in the middle, and he sat down. Derin followed suit and sat down across from him.
"Are you actually going to fight that Wyrm?" Derin asked with a frown. "Even all those Ygdra combined can't seem to bring it down." As he spoke, he got up again and looked through a window that gave a view of the Ygdra and their constant barrage of red energy.
"Unless you have a better idea, I don't think we have another option," Solus said, closing his eyes and laying down on the bench.
"We could take her to Skulltown. Drys might be able to get an answer from her."
Derin's idea made a lot of sense, but Solus had the feeling that they just didn't have the time for it. He had hoped to get an answer out of Scathia, leave Derin here to wait for Tirella and the others, and rush back to Skulltown. Or, he sighed deeply, knowing that he wasn't being completely honest with himself, he would end Scathia and absorb the mana-core of the Wyrm himself.
They sat there for the rest of the night, until the sky finally brightened with the light of dawn.
"There they are!" Derin said, pointing through one of the windows at a few distant figures heading their way.
Solus gazed at the incoming undead. At first, he wasn't sure that they were Tirella and the others, but as they closed in, he realized that Derin was right. Tirella was in the lead, while Tatjie was following behind her, carrying something in her arms. She was moving slowly with her head down.
Is he still not awake? Solus thought, his concern for Sig deepening as he looked at the unmoving dark shape bundled in Tatjie's arms.
With Derin beside him, he waited until Tirella was close enough. She looked worried.
Great, what else can go wrong?
He walked toward them to see what was going on. When he reached them, he fell in line with Tirella, walking back toward where Derin had remained. He took a cursory glance at Tatjie and saw that she was breathing hard.
"He didn't wake up?" he said as he turned his worried gaze to Tirella.
"He did, but only for short periods, and it takes him longer to wake every time," Tirella said, looking at Sig with obvious worry.
"He says his mana isn't regenerating as it should."
Solus silently observed the unconscious undead until he realized Tatjie was swaying, barely still on her feet.
"We need to get him a mana-orb before it's too late," he said, thinking of the dozens of Wyrms lying around. Why hadn't he gone and grabbed some orbs yet?
Tirella shook her head. "We tried that, but it didn't work."
Solus frowned, his worry growing. "Did you give him a wyrm orb?"
"No. We only had a small one..." Tirella said, trailing off and gazing at the wyrm bodies that lay in the distance.
Solus turned to Derin. "Can you go and get us a few of those wyrm orbs?"
"Right away!" Derin called back and began slowly running toward the nearest Wyrm.
"Where is Scathia?" Tirella asked.
Solus pointed at the partially buried square they had almost reached. An opening formed, and almost immediately, one of the Cherocs jumped out. A moment later, Scathia stormed out, a glare on her face. When she saw Tirella, her eyes began glittering.
"I see the other one has arrived at last! Are you going to give me her core instead?"
Solus's face darkened, and he was about to growl a reply when Tirella jumped forward. She struck Scathia in the face, causing the thin, emaciate
d undead to topple back and fall flat on her back. Then she just hovered over Scathia, glaring at her.
Solus laughed softly before moving forward and placing his hand on Tirella's shoulder. He felt the pent-up rage in her and quickly drew her back.
"When Derin comes back, I have to go and see if I can end that Wyrm. She doesn't want to tell me without a core…"
Tirella frowned, then looked at his hand that still rested on her shoulder. A smile crept up her face, and Solus quickly pulled back his hand.
"Don't worry. She isn't going anywhere, and perhaps I can motivate her to tell me!"
Her smile combined with the softly glowing eyes made Solus almost feel sorry for Scathia. Almost...
"Make sure she stays in one piece. It would be too bad if she would be unable to tell us how to absorb the core."
"Ok… but I've been thinking. Can't you ask it?" She looked pointedly at the ground.
Solus sighed and shook his head. "I've tried, but it's not responding."
"Perhaps if we try together?"
Hearing Tirella's soft, hazy voice, Solus felt his mind go fuzzy again. It took a moment to clear it, but then he sighed. This must be what Norg had been talking about. Wondering why now, and if it was because here mana-field was so similar to his, he shook his head quickly.
"It might be dangerous. We can't risk giving her an opening," he said, glaring at Scathia, who was frowning at them. Solus wondered how much she understood. He was afraid it was more than he'd like.
Derin came jogging back, empty-handed and with a frown.
Now what…?
"Those Wyrms have no more orbs. Someone or something must have gotten there before me and took them," Derin said as he stopped before them.
"Bile and puss!" Solus cursed. He turned to the city and thought for a moment before glaring at Scathia.
"I am going to get that core. You go back in that room, so I don't have to worry that you'll do something stupid."
Scathia snorted, but to his surprise, she got up and walked into the room without a fuss. The Cherocs followed her, and Solus closed the entrance. Somehow her silent acceptance worried him.
"Derin, go and scour those nearby Wyrms. Perhaps there is a mana-orb left," he said, noting the other's weariness. "If you find more than one, absorb one yourself, but save the first for Sig..."
"Alright, but don't expect one, let alone two," Derin said before moving back with a look of resignation.
Solus turned to Tirella, who was staring at him intently.
"I'm going to head for the Wyrm. It might be big, but it's still just a Wyrm. Take care of Scathia and the others?"
Tirella nodded, squaring her shoulders. Tatjie lay behind her, stretched out on the ground beside Sig, eyes closed and drawing in deep, ragged breaths.
"If I'm not back in a day, head to Skulltown and tell Drys what happened. Make sure he knows how dangerous Scathia is."
Getting a nod from Tirella and a weak wave from Tatjie, he turned and headed toward the raging battle.
The slabs of concrete, highways, and roads were all that was left partially intact. Even the structures on the outskirts, far from the city center, had crumbled from the constant shaking. The flock of Ygdra was visibly thinned, and he wondered why they hadn't fled.
When he was a safe distance from the others, he leaped forward, leaving a cracked pit behind him as he sailed through the air. As he picked up speed, his jumps became higher and farther until he could see past some of the rubble. Many broken and mangled shapes were lying amongst the ruins, and as he got closer, he realized what they were. Ygdra lay scattered everywhere; their bodies torn and ripped apart. Small figures were rummaging through the remains, running around and occasionally fighting with each other.
Are those Sigmitons? Solus thought, surprised.
When he landed again, he changed course, heading toward the closest of the small figures. As the air streaked past his face, he looked down. Not too far from him, initially hidden from his view by a higher pile of rubble, he saw a dozen Sigmitons tear into a freshly downed Ygdra. They concentrated all of their efforts on its head.
Blood and bile! They must also be the ones who took the wyrm orbs! After observing them for a bit, he frowned. What are they going to evolve into if they absorb those Kaot-orbs?
He quickly scanned the area and saw Sigmitons everywhere. Within moments he had counted dozens of groups, and he knew he had to do something. If they continued like this, the Sigmitons would swarm and eventually cause trouble for Skulltown. An idea came to him, and he began releasing his pent-up power in waves. He hadn't used this ability since evolving, and where his physical prowess hadn't increased as much as he had hoped, he was stunned to see visible waves of energy rippling through the air away from him.
The waves shimmered as they traveled outward. Within moments they reached a group of Sigmitons who were in the middle of ripping through an eye socket to get inside an Ygdra's skull. The waves struck them like a sledgehammer, and all but one crumbled to the ground. The one that was still in one piece stood frozen in place, shivering. Not too far off, another two groups had the same reaction. One of the groups was wiped out entirely, while two remained standing in the second group. Solus knew he had reached more groups when he felt minuscule connections appear in his mind.
Not again, he thought with a groan.
The last time it had taken him days to remove the connections without ending the Sigmitons. He inspected the connections closely, getting ready to sever them, when he realized the connections were different from the previous ones. Although just as weak, they seemed more intricate, and he felt as if he could send signals. Unsure what to make of it, he looked around. After a moment, he sent a 'come here' message through one of the connections, and immediately the sigmiton he had targeted ran toward him.
A grin surfaced on his face as he realized the applications. Then he felt the minuscule drain on his mana-field. Again, nothing was for free. Should he create more minions? He hesitated for a moment, but the image of a thousand Kaot-Sigmitons raiding Skulltown made up his mind for him.
After jumping up higher to get a better range, he began emitting a constant pressure while at the same time sending signals through the connections that were appearing. Sigmitons started running toward him from all around. Almost at the apex of his jump, he got high enough above the rubble to cast a glance at the Wyrm, and gasped.
The Wyrm had grown much larger than the last time he had seen it, and grey metallic spikes covered its back. Blue lightning arced between the spikes, coursing up and down its back. Just as he was about to fall below the point from which he could see across the rubble, the lightning erupted from the spikes, and a lightning bolt as thick as he was tall shot up and disintegrated a Ygdra.
I can't end that, he knew with certainty. A single of those bolts would obliterate him, and that wasn't the only problem.
He had anticipated that the great Wym's plate armor would pose a problem, but he had hoped that his improved mineral shaping skill would be able to help with that. Unfortunately, the solid dull metallic plates that now covered the Wyrm showed not even a trace of any remaining stone. There was no way that anything he could do would even scratch them. On his way back down, the last thing he saw were dozens of red bolts of energy slamming into the Wyrm's back, the body-sized bolts mere pinpricks relative to its massive size. The energy crackled across the plates, and their sheen increased.
Are they actually making it stronger? A moment later, he landed atop a large pile of rubble. Now that he was still and the air was no longer flying past his ears, he realized he could hear a soft, high-pitched sound.
Focusing, he listened to the soft crooning noise. It almost sounded like singing. A host of images and concepts suddenly played through his mind, enough to force him down to a knee. One image was clearer than the others, that of a female ancient with odd green hair and in place of legs she had the tail of a fish. With the image came lost knowledge.
Siren… It'
s luring them!
He knew it without a doubt. The Wyrm was luring the Ygdra, and from what he had just seen, it was using them to increase its own power. Why was it killing them? Instinct? A flicker from the dozens of networked connections he had made distracted him, and he raised his head.
A few dozen Sigmitons were climbing up toward him, and he pushed the thoughts of the Wyrm away. It would have to wait.
Seeing them look at him, their eye sockets burning with dim green light, he sighed. Now what? He didn't feel like ending them, but if he left them here, they would be as good as ended. As he watched them close in, an idea popped into his head.
Looking around, he saw one of the many downed Wyrm carcasses. Sigmitons were scouring it too, slashing into its side and trying to dig their way in to get to the mana-orb. Jumping forward, thus crushing the plate he had been standing on, Solus flew toward them. He landed in their midst, the shockwave of his landing smashing three.
Two more stood at the side of the Wyrm, staring at him with green glowing eye sockets. They seemed uncertain how to react.
Solus shouted at them, a wave of air snapping the bones that made up their bodies, causing them to crack and tear apart. He felt a slight wrack of guilt but pushed it away and picked the mana-orbs from their remains.
When he had all of them, he focused on the connections he felt.
Come here!
He didn't get any response, but he hadn't expected one.
He turned his gaze to the Wyrm. It seemed so small compared to the monstrosity in the pit. He pinpointed the place closest to the Wyrm's mana-orb and created a stone spike. He deftly doubled its density and rammed it into the Wyrm with the green hammer. A few knocks were all it took to break apart the plates, uncovering the flesh below. He ripped it apart with his bare hands and moved inside.
Moments later, he walked back out of the fleshy cavern, a wyrm-orb in hand. He shoved it in the pockets of his leg armor without even glancing at it. One would be enough for Sig, but he planned to get more.