The Gauntlet of Possession (The Teracian Chronicles Book 1)
Page 27
William grabbed onto her arm and time stood still once again. With a glass-like shatter, Dazshra ballooned outward and escaped Allen’s hold. The spirit screeched with rage as it dissipated around the room. It collected in the center of the chamber and attacked William all at once. Allen attempted to concentrate on the Quantum Infinity but only felt the cold touch of steel piercing his chest. The blade ground itself inside and was ripped out. Trevor rushed over and kicked William to the ground. Punching him in the face over and over, he screamed and cussed at him, but was pushed away by Anya.
“Anya, teleport everyone to the Awakened Ocean. It’s the only way to stop this. He’s tearing the ship apart,” said Etzel.
“But that means the only way is for him to…” she said, trailing off.
“Yes, now get moving. I’ll be fine.”
Activating the suit’s shift function, she allocated full power to it, and they all vanished from the station. Unprepared, they fell to the snowy ground outside the Primordial sanctuary and tumbled down the hill. The crystal shined brightly, reflecting the sunlight. High above the sky, the battle raged on as thousands of Therak’tow tried to destroy the Septune Station.
“Allen!”
Dazshra, momentarily stunned, watched as Anya ran to her fallen friend. She and Trevor both placed their hands on his chest, and a light enveloped him. His wound healed slowly, and the bleeding stopped.
“Can you separate him again? Was that the Quantum Infinity?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah, I can try it again. Get him to stand still.”
“You won’t get lucky like that again, boy,” said the crazed spirit inside of William. The black tendrils on his back grew larger and struck the ground. Now they die! With little effort, part of the cliff side was lifted into the air and held above his head. Heaving it towards them, the chunk of dirt and metal landed next to Allen, tearing through his metal arm, crushing it. Anya and Trevor both attacked William, creating deep cuts in his flesh. Dazshra, showing no sign of giving up, countered most of their swings and backed away towards the cliff. Sparking a gun to live, Trevor rose it and fired. The monster ran back at them, dodging every shot, but one. A stray bullet ricocheted off the ground and struck him on the head, paralyzing him.
“Allen, now!”
With deep concentration, Allen began meditating on the ground, his arm outstretching into the air, giving off a purple glow. Time ceased to exist, and only William and Allen were left on a white plane of existence.
In front of him was William and to his left was the One Mind. She approached William and grazed her hand across his cheek.
“Reach deep inside him, Allen, and bring him back to us. Seal away the corruptive spirit. Give him a choice as to his own destiny.”
William stood still and only stared as his chest started to glow red. The pain slowly left his body. Becoming a tiny speck, Dazshra was forced to lay dormant. Opening his eyes, the world around them came back into view.
Staring up at the sky, William paused before speaking to them. He looked at the ground and spoke gently,
“It isn’t over, Allen. I still feel him inside my heart. Even now he’s trying to leave, and I don’t have the strength. He lifted his hands and peered into the red glow of the crystals in his palms.
“How many lives have I taken? How many souls are in these crystals? I’ve hurt too many people to live. I hurt you beyond forgiveness, Anya,” he said as he started to back away towards the edge of the cliff.
“No, William, that wasn’t you. We can help you. Please,” said Anya as she took a step forward.
“Allen, do something. Use the Infinity again. Can’t you stop him?”
“He has a choice as to his own destiny.”
“What? No, he doesn’t. He belongs at home with us. William, don’t do it. It was the spirit.”
He stopped, his foot hovered in mid-air, “Not all of it was him. I allowed him to consume me, and for that, I am directly responsible.”
Anya ran at him but was too late. William backed away and was lost from sight. Screams of agony came from his angel atop the snow-covered cliff. The sun peaked high in the sky and showered him with heat and light. Closing his eyes, he fell for what seemed like a lifetime down to the cold ocean below him. Becoming enveloped in a blanket of water, he crashing into the violent tide. Silence and serenity. Bliss and release. Hurdling towards the bottom, a brilliant orb of light overcame him, and the blood-red poison in his soul was washed away. He let the comforting water cradle him, and he opened his mouth for its warm, golden embrace.
Epilogue
Omega Revival
: COMMAND: OMEGA ANDROID STARTUP PROCESS
: INPUT IDENTIFICATION: ALPHA IOTA ALPHA TAU
: PASSWORD: 1.9.1.19
: COMMAND ACCEPTED
: INITIATING SYSTEM CONNECTIONS
: CEREBRAL CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
: OPTICAL SENSORY LINK ESTABLISHED
: MUSCULAR SYSTEM LINK ESTABLISHED
: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM LINK ESTABLISHED
: RESPIRATORY SYSTEM LINK ESTABLISHED
: NERVOUS SYSTEM LINK ESTABLISHED
: SYNTHETIC CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM LINK ESTABLISHED
: FULL BODY TRANSFER COMPLETED
: ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATION CODE: “AC_IS_AS”
: PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION NAME: ACTAVIAN
: PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION CODE: AC
: FULL OMEGA ANDROID SYSTEM INTEGRATION COMPLETED
: SENSING FOREIGN ENTITY…
: Entity Identified: Advanced quantalite Crystal
: Searching Database…
: DATABASE SEARCH RESULTS: A powerful crystal considered sacred to the Teracian people. Per legend, the sacred crystals are bestowed upon worthy warriors by the entity known as the “One Mind.” These crystals are rumored to be directly correlated to the entity, “Rishnasura,” or the “Quantum Infinity.”
: SEARCHING FOR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE…
: SEARCH COMPLETED: SIGNS OF THE ENTITY “QUANTUM INFINITY” FOUND
: ENTITY LOCATION: ALLEN SCHRAIDER
: ENTITY IDENTIFICATION CODE: A
: SYSTEM ERROR AC_IS_AS
: ERROR MESSAGE: REPLICATION ERROR FOUND
: DIAGNOSTIC: USER ACTAVIAN DNA SCAN MATCHES DNA SCAN FOR ENTITY ALLEN SCHRAIDER
: ERROR GENETIC CODE NECESSARY FOR FULL INTEGRATION
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Fourteen
Sixteen
Eighteen
Nineteen