The giant cocoon hanging from the ceiling started to glow in response to Helios destruction of its minions, filling the room with its erald glow.
The light coalesced, gathering at the bottom tip of the cocoon. It flowed like water, forming a single shining orb, which hung from the cocoon as if it were a drop of water. As the light left the cocoon it shrivelled up and granted all of its vitality to that single drop, drying out in the process. Only when the entire cocoon had turned ashen did the drop finally descend, falling the tiled floor without a sound. A puddle spread where it had landed, turning the floor into a shimring mirror that carried only the barest hint of that erald light.
Helios took a step back, yet a determined glint shone in his eyes. He relaxed his body, but remained ready to attack at any mont. He scanned his surroundings furtively, searching for sothing. Searching for soone, rather.
He neednt have, because the cocoons theatrical transformation was just about to end. The puddle-like mirror rippled where the drop had landed earlier. The ripple was followed by a rumble, as the water rose up and smoothened out, revealing a mature woman with attractive features. I had a hard ti prying my eyes away, in fact. It wasnt until Eri gave a furious kick to the shins that I woke from my reverie.
At that mont, I realised that the won before us lacked any distinctive features, reminiscent of a manakin. Apart from a mouth, that was.
Helios eyes beca transfixed on the new arrival, but they lacked any of the hypnotic obsession that I had been caught by. He was well aware that she was his enemy. Yet, he wasnt attacking her
He seed to be waiting for sothing but what?
The corners of the womans lips turned upwards. Then, she started speaking, her voice ethereal and light. Despite her quiet tone it carried across the chamber, the puddle rippling as a result of the vibrations.
Why are you here, lost child? she said, taking a step toward Helios as he stood transfixed. Why cause such wanton death and destruction? she continued, taking another. What plagues you, haunts your every mont? she asked, now standing right in front of Helios.
Is it guilt? Or perhaps grief
She pushed his sword aside with slow, deliberate movents, before closing in on him, wrapping her arms around Helios neck as his breath beca unsteady.
Allow to carry your burdens I can give you the sweetest dreams to chase away your most bitter nightmares she whispered in his ear.
Just as I was fearing for the worst, Helios subverted our expectations by summoning a dagger behind his back and stabbing the woman in the gut, using only a single fluid motion.
The woman stumbled back, gurgling obscenities as she stared Helios down hatefully. Her body collapsed back into the puddle monts later, shattering the mirror as if it had been glass since the beginning. The shards dissolved monts later, leaving no evidence of ever having existed in the first place. It seed that Helios battle wasnt over yet, though. The cocoon, which I had previously considered a dead husk because of its outward appearance tore open and revealed a monstrosity. A half-moth half-human dropped to the floor below with a wet squelch, flattening the remains of its smaller pods under its sheer weight.
The moth was fully ford, but had a female human torso sticking out of its head like a horn. On its own, the sight would have been odd, but not horrific. The feature that contributed to that specific trait was the fact that the moths body was rotting, with large chunks visibly missing. The human torso shared this trait, many of its internal organs being visible from a distance. Nonetheless, the creature was alive Even the woman seated atop the giant moth was sentient. Perhaps, they were one and the sa! I lacked the ti to speculate, because the battle was about to start.
You consider yourself above bliss? Above the hopes and dreams of my children, which you so brutally murdered?! All of them ca here seeking my healing, seeking my love! You wont take that away from any of them anymore! the half-woman shouted, her voice hoarse and gargling. The moth followed her speech up with an ear-piercing screech, making Eri and I recoil.
We recovered monts later and noticed that Helios was unfazed by the sight. He spared the creature in front of him no words, perhaps because he couldnt. Either that, or because he didnt feel the need to, since he rushed at the moth instead. His sword beca covered in a golden storm of mana, his body shining with white light.
The moth reacted with her own mana, a sickly green glow that reminded of wait a minute! That mana was an exact match to the mana from the ruins! That how?
The clash created a violent gale of wind which sent the remainder of the other cocoons flying and tore them apart at the sa ti. If it wasnt for Eri and I being in an intangible state while we watched this battle unfold, the sheer pressure of their mana would have been enough to knock us out, if not kill us.
Unfortunately, sounds and light sources werent muted and were just as harsh as they would have been, had we been here in the flesh. We had to cover our eyes at the climax of each clash to maintain our sight and the battle was only starting to intensify with each blow.
I had a hard ti following their skill usage, though. Helios seed to use a rather straightforward tactic of using overpowering strength to defeat his opponent, reminiscent of Peter Arcellus and my own fighting style.
The moth hybrid, on the other hand, was weaving spell matrices into her skills sohow. The thing about spells was that you were able to see what your opponent was doing as they ford them. That was a major downside, which countered spells inherent advantage that they could be learned and taught directly, unlike skills that were assigned by the system for the most part.
This person, however, was negating that disadvantage by layering illusions on her spell matrices, making them appear and disappear when it suited her. Whenever Helios got too close, she would make half a dozen matrices appear. They werent necessarily real, though. Similarly, she could hide all of her matrices whenever she was getting ready for a big attack, catching Helios off guard a few tis.
Unfortunately for her, her tactics werent proving to be enough. Helios raw power and endurance were slowly pushing her into a figurative corner. Eventually, even she couldnt deny that her loss was impending. Helios concluded the battle with a giant rush of mana that shook the entire ziggurat and destroyed whatever remained in the chamber, turning it to ash. His presence flared with power, allowing to get a glimpse of his essence the sun. Of course it was
By the end, Helios held his sword at the womans throat, keeping a foot atop the rotting moth collapsed below him. Even now, she seed to be in disbelief, crying and sobbing as she begged for rcy. Helios answered her please with a dead stare, reigniting her helpless fury.
Why? Why do this? I gave my children what they wanted What I wanted! Is that so wrong?! Who are you to decide our fate?! she roared.
Still, Helios didnt respond. Still, he waited. Listened.
Ah thats it, isnt it she whispered, her sob turning into a gleeful, intense laugh. You resent them The dreams I promised you. The hope of eting the people you lost. You resent them, because you have died, on the inside.
She had another burst of laughter. From her grin, it was apparent that while she knew she was about to die, she hadnt lost.
You want to continue along this path? Until there are no gods left? Hah! You cant replace us Youre no better than us! In fact, youre worse! You have nothing left to give, after all. While we gave so much Know this, child. The gods are only a reflection of the hearts of n. I gave them what they wanted, as will you.
Finally, she fell silent.
The room remained deathly still for a mont, as Eri and I expected to hear the final strike. The execution Instead, a new voice filled the silence. One that had, until now, remained unused.
You are right. You and I are the sa except for one thing. I listen to the voices and the cries of all those whom I kill. I will carry their burdens beyond their death. ALL of them including yours.
With that single statent, Helios finished the deed, cutting the entire beast in half with a single cleave. The woman seed oddly as piece as she died.
The vision shimred and before we knew it, Eri and I were thrown out. Left to stare at a statue of a beautiful butterfly stretching its wings, I couldnt help but feel insignificant.
Reviews
All reviews (0)