Too Many Surprises (Part 2)

It seemed both Mythal and Serilda had been forcibly taken over. But for the Darkness King, it wasn’t a complete removal from the controls. Indeed, as he fought against the infuriating pain in his body from Victoria’s spell, something seemed to unlock within him. Suddenly his body was moving on its own, accessing portions of his power he didn’t even know he had. His anger and hatred for the Seal of Conquest had reawakened something in him and before he knew it, he could feel another set of hands mentally taking over the steering wheel. He couldn’t shake it off, as its grip was too hard and determined. It wasn’t until he stopped fighting it long enough to look inward that he realized what it was.

His negative – the other Mythal he had encountered while he was in Kingdom Darkness.  The steadfast mirror image of himself barely glanced at him as he continued to run the show. “What are you doin’?” Mythal demanded, casting a glance through the window of his eyes outside.

“What I have to do to get Serilda out of her current situation. You’re not using everything you have and that’s not going to fly if you want to save her,” the man answered him, even as he continued Mythal’s outward transformation. The God Slayer couldn’t see it himself but he could feel it; different access points of magic opening and surging through his form.

“What are you doin’ to my body?” He asked, looking around the darkened interior.

“You do not claim the title of Darkness King without knowin’ darkness inside and out. You’ve always used it as a weapon, as a buffer, as a battery to charge your already heightened strength. But you’ve never truly given yourself to it, let it become that power you need. You’re afraid that by doin’ so, you’ll go out of control. You’re afraid it’ll corrupt you.”

“Kingdom Darkness is toxic. It corrupts everything that lets it in – it even corrupted a goddess!” Mythal barked back.

“So juvenile…” The mirror image scoffed as it forced Mythal’s body to continue to act, splitting his thoughts and personality both inward and outward. “I don’t know about these Seals anymore than you but I know that if you want to shake Serilda out of that funk, you have to weaken the one in control. Victoria is at the wheel and she has full control of her; body, mind and all. That means she’s just as tough as Serilda. If you half ass this, that window that is merely shut will be locked. And I’m not letting her go. So if you won’t do what needs to be done, I will.”

“Seri is still in there – if you damage her too much, it could cause real damage!” Mythal continued to protest.

“I would do anything for her. I told you before – one of the only things we agree with is our feelin’s for Seri. So I will get her out. But I ain’t gonna promise anyone else is gettin’ out.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

The mirror image sneered. “She may be a cocky bitch but Victoria is right. All those people out there are dark wizards who gathered to kill you and Serilda. They’re collateral damage as far as I’m concerned.”

“No. No!” Mythal now actually fought against the mirror image’s control. “There ain’t no ends justifyin’ the means here. They need to be arrested and interrogated. They know where Vriko is.”

“We’ll find her on our own. And punish her for what she tried to do to us,” the mirror image said coldly, reasserting its control over Mythal’s psyche. “Now shut up. I have work to do.”

During the internal debate, it seemed like Mythal’s outward appearance was unmoved by Victoria’s ability to absorb the energy to reenergize herself. Truthfully, he didn’t care – gaining a small boost wasn’t going to help her in the end. He’d already worked out a plan to get Serilda to wake up her self and fight back against Victoria’s control. As he got in close and inserted his hand into the dark realm, the Seal of Conquest seemed unflapped by the development, though Mythal could feel the presence of Serilda’s form within the shadows. His spinning purple eyes snapped up to meet Victoria’s as she protested his proclamation, her hand coming out to face him. All a sudden frozen wind erupted from the glyph in her palm, pushing hard against him in an attempt to send him flying away. Acting quickly, Mythal summoned darkness below the two of them and jerked it upwards in the form of spikes, hardened darkness that pierced through his legs and attempted to pierce through hers. It would keep them stuck in the ground in their exact spots, even with the wind forcibly pushing against him.

As her weapons began to move, so did Curse. Two against one were tough odds but the scythe spun around Mythal like it, itself, was caught in a tornado. It countered slashes, stabs and attempts for his body as best as it could but it was not a perfect defense. Few slashes tore through Mythal’s clothes and ripped open wounds, from which pure darkness leaked out and dripped down onto the ground. It poured out like water from a spigot, unwilling to slow or seal as Victoria’s magic still managed to control the flow. The crack that ran across Mythal’s face spread a bit further, with pieces of his skin flaking and splitting as a sign of the damage he was receiving. Yet he showed no visible reaction to the pain, his eyes lasered in on Victoria’s with a coldness the man himself didn’t often show.

As the close range battle raged, so did another spell of Victoria’s A cyclone of her own making appeared out of a glowing skyward symbol, one strong enough to wrench the ice city apart. Massive chunks of the structures were torn off, even full buildings ripped from their icy foundations and pulled into the frozen tornado. It pulled at Mythal as well, yet another attempt to cause him to slip up while he scrambled to try and stop the spell. It was a hard try, to get him to want to save the dark wizards that would certainly get caught up in the massacre of flying ice. But slowly his lips peeled back into a wild, maniac grin, the spirals in his eyes seeming to go even faster. “Is that all you got?” He asked her coolly, seemingly unimpressed.

During Curse’s wild spin in his defense, Mythal managed to motion the pressure of his magic to hit the trigger on its end, resulting in the scythe releasing a blast of concentrated magic towards Victoria’s body. In the split second that it shot, Mythal threw his free arm back and away from him, reaching out for something in the dark dome around them. Much to probably everyone’s surprise, Lux came flying through the air towards the transformed Mythal. His neck found itself grabbed by Mythal’s hand, fingers digging into his neck where they really shouldn’t have been able to. “Whoa! What the hell?!” He asked, eyes flicking between the Darkness King and the Seal on Conquest in confusion.

Before any more protests could escape the Lightbringer’s mouth, Mythal closed his hand around the spectral form’s neck, causing the image of Lux to burst into tiny light fragments. But withion the closed fist of the Darkness King remained a bright light and he twisted around and shoved it into the portal opening that he had created, depositing the light into the dark realm. With that set and done, he pulled his other hand out from the realm and closed the connection, grinning all the while. The darkness spikes attached to his legs vaporized and he leapt back and away from Victoria. His arms swiftly spun in front of him, looking like a windmill caught up in the torrential winds of Victoria’s spell. He then pushed his hand down towards the ground, pointing directly at the remaining icy floor as he touched it. A darker glyph appeared above Victoria’s current one, opening up a massive tear between realms. From the spinning black vortex emerged a comet of massive size, the black and purple rock pushing through the opening and falling towards the ground. At the same time, Mythal pulled his arms back and yanked them back as if he was drawing an arrow against a bow. Sure enough, darkness took palpable form of said bow and arrow, with which Mythal released the string and sent the arrow soaring forwards towards Victoria’s leg. Then his legs flapped and pulled him out from underneath the impact zone of the meteor, which was only seconds away from crashing. The impact of this massive darkstone would more than guarantee the destruction of the town and the utter, painful deaths of everyone that had hunkered down within its walls.

But the transformed Mythal didn’t care, as he soared away from the icy settlement. The offensive spells weren’t even the main ploy at work anymore…

Within the dark realm with which Serilda simply existed, a bright light suddenly appeared, as poignant as the materialization of a universe. Lux had no form per se, having been reduced to a bauble of light that simply shone as bright as the sun. The orb of illumination swung around a few times in manic confusion, even as his words began to echo through the realm.  “Okay this isn’t even slightly fair. First off; my goddamn fleshwagon apparently is stronger than anything I’ve ever seen! Fifth and lastly, he can actually control my form – who even saw that coming. Thirdly, what the hell is Victoria’s problem? Secondly and probably the most important question; where the hell am I?!”

With his frustrations vented, Lux sighed dramatically before turning to spot some kind of figure. “Wait a minute. Who are you? Are you... Serilda?”

This. Was. Insane.

All Lux had planned on doing today was trying to find a way to exist. It had been his goal ever since he had gained consciousness, drowning in an ocean of darkness with no up or down to it. Everything that had occurred beyond had been muted against his ears, mere sounds that drone on and on. But when the magic waned and he could see the surface, see the light he so craved, he had sprang free as quickly as he could. In a short amount of time he had realized that the ocean of darkness had been his host’s soul and it had suppressed him, weakened him, for far too long. He wasn’t strong enough to simply snap and kick Mythal out of his body. He needed approval and given how Mythal had been acting, that wasn’t going to happen.

So he had stayed back once Victoria had proclaimed she would end Mythal. He had observed semi-quietly, even if he had tried to take over the situation and been interrupted by that mutt. Then Mythal had changed, dipping his very existence deeper in the cesspool of darkness. Kingdom Darkness, of all things – Victoria had mentioned it when she tasted his blood. He was utilizing magic from the primordial beginnings of existence, which was both bold and stupid all at the same time. It explained just how strong the magic had been that had anchored him; it had even knocked him around on the surface.  But he had never expected the Darkness Slayer to have the ability or the gall to summon him like a pet and throw him into yet more darkness.

Inside Victoria of all things. He and his sister had never been close and this kind of biblical close was going to make his skin crawl. Unfortunately all he could do was rant and rave before calming down just enough to notice a figure in the dark. She was almost a bare shadow but as he moved closer to her, to inspect her, she gained more definitive features. Unfortunately, at his question, she could only answer in confusion and lack of answer. He groaned and shook from side to side. “Well, if you’re in here and in here is inside Victoria, you’re probably her. Serilda; that’s all I got from Mythal before all the shit in the world hit the fan.” He turned away from her, looking around the endless void. She spoke up once more, now asking him how he had gotten in here. “Your boyfriend apparently can pull me around like a kite on the wind and decided I was the best tool to dump in here. Probably because I’m practically pure light and this place… well, ain’t. Exit is a bit tougher; Victoria was always good about keeping the obvious out of sight.” He turned back to Serilda. “And, always? Dollface, you’ve been in here for maybe twenty minutes. Though I guess she can make you think it’s been longer.”

He was about to continue his thoughts when she continued to rain questions down on him, asking stupid, useless queries. “Ugh, I’m Lux. Seal of Light, though I’m not gonna pretend to hope you know the name. Apparently the Seals just aren’t known round here. You’re currently trapped inside your own body by Victoria, the Seal of Conquest. Frankly, I don’t care about you getting out or not as Victoria is going to have full control of you sooner rather than later.” But then he paused, turning slowly to face her. “Then again, she is actively trying to kill Mythal, my vessel. I imagine it may throw a wrench in her plans if I were to… say… awaken the original host and help her take control again. This would be a whole lot easier if I knew or cared about literally anything about you. But here goes.”

The orb faced her fully, at least it seemed. “You are Serilda. Your lover is Mythal. You are in this realm thanks to Victoria, who is currently riding driver in your body. You want out? You have to take back control. Probably means remembering who you are. So uh… do that.”

This wasn’t working. It was like talking to a brick wall!

Lux did his very best to try and help Serilda down on the path to realization, or so he honestly believed. He actually put in an effort! That was saying a lot, considering it was for someone else’s benefit rather than his own. Well, partially; if he managed to mess with Victoria’s plans, that did work in his benefit from a humorous standpoint. But there was no direct beneficial reward for doing so, beyond his sister’s aggravated grumbles and groans. He stared at the woman, who simply stared back at him, with the understanding of a foreigner being asked a question about directions. The Lightbringer sighed and drooped a little in the air. “Great, this is going to be harder than I thought,” he said in annoyance, practically groaning through each word. “Listen, is there anything you can remember at all? Maybe some childhood playtime event or your first kiss? First anything? Something I can hook onto and help you…”

Even as he tried to come up with some kind of compelling strategy, he felt something shift. He turned slightly, looking around the space in curiosity as he felt the significant change in the density of the environment. Darkness or not, there was always a light within the shadows and he could feel it… bending, of sorts. It was more like it was being pulled into something and within seconds, he could feel it on his form as well. “Oh come on! She can control things in here too?!” Lux exclaimed in disgust, thinking that the manipulation was from Victoria on the outside. But then the chilly tone of the Voidwalker drew his attention back to her, no noticeable change to hint at his realization but it was there nonetheless. Her memories had come back, apparently but they had not come back with puppies and unicorn horns; no, they’d come back baring teeth and anger.

She railed against him with the casual seriousness that could only be found in Victoria’s vessels, of course. Whatever minimal power he had managed to recall to himself after escaping was swiftly being used to keep himself from being sucked into… whatever she was pulling him towards. He grunted as she proclaimed that Mythal was his own being and no one, not Faera, and not Lux were going to take control of him. Faera, Kingdom Darkness – By God, these human sacks had certainly messed with realms beyond themselves. Were he at full power, he’d be able to drown this entire realm in light and burn her eyes out with its brilliance. But he wasn’t and with her God Slaying abilities, he was fresh meat to the grinder.

So Lux did what he did best – he talked. “Oh go ahead, sweetcheeks. But destroying a Seal is damn near impossible. I have no doubt you’ll throw me in a vacuum for awhile but I’ll come back. Mythal, on the other hand, won’t.” Once again, he had no facial features, but she would get the feeling he was flashing her a knowing and sinister grin. “You see, us Seals are etched into your bloodlines so deep, we may as well be one soul. I have the benefit of being blessed with coming back but your boyfriend won’t survive the trip. You put me in this hole, Mythal goes with me.”

His limited magic was pressed to its limits now as he fought to keep himself in one spot, even with particles of his light being sucked into the Void. “Call my bluff, I dare you. And when you manage to wrestle Victoria back into her box and you open those pretty blue eyes again, you’ll see a meatsack with no soul laying there. And you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you did that to him. Probably a blessing really – he won’t get to experience the end of the world when us Seals come to our full power. Better to roll over than to put up a fight, right?” As if to punctuate his words, he let a little of his resistance go, letting his orb float a bit closer to the rift. “You willing to take that chance, Ms. Sure-Of-Yourself? Because from here, kinda looks like you’re the pompous one, thinking you can just boot me out without any repercussions. Remember that Vic locked you in here and you’d be none the wiser without Myth and me interfering. Be an awful shame to pay him back by killing him but hey, what do I know? I ain’t a filthy human.”

Was Lux just spouting lies and slander to keep himself alive? Of course not – lying in this situation probably wouldn’t do much. Given that Serilda was literally coming to grips with the fact that she was imprisoned in her own body, she wasn’t like to believe anything that wasn’t coming straight from Mythal’s mouth. True, perhaps the Lightbringer could have been a bit… nicer in an attempt to sway her to working with him but when had that ever helped? It’s not like humans deserved the time of day for niceties anyways. So rather than try and push against her, he simply laid out the facts. Serilda wasn’t having any of it, proclaiming Mythal would rather die than be taken over by Lux. He rolled his eyes, though she wouldn’t be able to tell given his appearance. “Sure he would. And you’d rather live with the knowledge that you’re the one that killed him? That oughta be fun; be sure to tell me how heavy that feels when I resurrect and come looking for you.” The truth of the matter was that now she had embedded an annoyance in him. Humans were a pitiful thing anyways but in the five minutes he had known this Serilda woman, she had proven to be an even more irritating pin in his side. When he came back, he’d be sure to strangle her slow. Yet another time he can claim victory over the Seal of Conquest.

She took the offense, turning his own words against him. She described the fact that Mythal was the last of his line and that there wouldn’t be anyone left for him to join with. She may not have been able to see it but she would notice his orb got a bit brighter, as if he was grinning in confidence. “Here’s the thing, Ice Queen. Bloodlines aren’t narrowed down to exactly one family. Because unless Myth’s entire lineage decided that inbreeding was the best means of gettin’ it on, other families have joined in. And children have been spawned and spawned and spawned. That means even if they share one itty, bitty little strand of that original bloodline, it has a nice open room for me to occupy should things go from bad to worse. So you would have to find that entire family tree and hack off every single branch, every single twig, leaf, bump on a fucking log, to keep me from coming back. But go ahead; I’m sure Vici will be more than willing to try. Meanwhile, I’ll pop back up at some point and murder your entire family for funsies.” It was clear he wasn’t playing any game now; every word he spoke was covered in vile, unmitigated truth. He took great pleasure in telling her just how wrong she was and frankly, he seemed a bit excited over the prospect of her following through with trying to kill him now.

And she seemed just of that mind. The challenge of being able to kill a Seal more than enticed her and even as she spoke, he could feel the Void opening. He grunted gently, more annoyed that he was about to be benched so soon after going in the game. It was aggravating, no doubt about that. But it had served to put an ant in his scope that clearly needed to be stepped on. As the pull from the opening began to fully engulf him in its suction, he shook his head from side to side. “You’re a real cold bitch, Serilda. I hope you can live with killing him. And after I could have found a way to save him from Kingdom—“ Before he could finish his thought, the vacuum became too much and he was pulled into it. He was resigned to it now, as much as he hated it. He just wondered how long he would have to wait…

Mythal wasn’t sure what happened. The comet had come down against his behest, as his dark self had full control over his actions and thoughts. The dark beast from Kingdom Darkness was large enough and imbued with enough power that the entire city was going to be demolished. That meant all the people within it were going to die. It would be a quick death but no less painful and no less final. The very thought that he was going to be responsible for such an atrocious act had thrust anger and determination into him with such intensity that he had done… something. He wasn’t sure what it was, as his consciousness attempted to wake from the darkness. The meteor had hit and his entire body had felt like it was on fire. His rapid escape had been thwarted and he had fallen into the icy ground, just as the explosion had swallowed up the entirety of the town. Everything had gone dark then – a strange phenomenon that he wasn’t used to anymore. Through a blurry, bloody mess of a vision, he could see movement within himself, as something moved back to take control.

She thinks she can win. I will stop her. I will stop her, his other half growled, looking just as battered as he was. Mythal couldn’t quite feel it but his body was moving again, pushing out through the rubble of the destroyed city and broken ice platform. As he slowly started to regain more of his awareness, he could feel the cool surface of the icy chunks as he crawled upwards. But he was still dull to certain aspects, even as his mind started to clear away some of the clouding.

Lux, on the other hand, was feeling a lot less cloudy. In perhaps the strangest turn of events he had ever experienced, the Lightbringer emerged from the portal that was supposed to lead to his doom and wound up… back where he had started. Now fully formed once more, the man spun around on his heels, looking at the destruction in surprise and confusion before he set his gaze on Victoria. “What are you…? Oh that cheeky bitch!” He called out as he spun around, laughing in a crazed sort of way. “That’s real clever! Doesn’t make me want to ruin you any less!” He yelled out to the debris. “Well, maybe a little less. That was kind of awesome,” he muttered to himself, so only he could hear. Finally he turned to his sibling. “Let’s just say you and I are now closer than I ever wanted to be. I’m going to need to wash off for the next century to feel clean again,” he said, shivering a bit in disgust.

But even as he was answering her, he could see that she was distracted. She was looking around, perhaps looking for Mythal – or whatever he had turned into – when she sputtered some kind of muttered verse to herself. As Lux looked on, she released the swords in her hands and grabbed at her head, growling and seething. Even before she spat out venom at the ethereal cause of her ache, the Lightbringer knew what was happening. And he grinned a malicious and twisted smile. “Oh and I also may have woken someone up. Spoiler alert; she’s real cranky.” He was taking all sorts of joy in this, even if he had been slightly bested by the Voidwalker himself.

The space that Victoria took up exploded and Lux had to crouch and grab the ground to keep his place. Victoria flew away, her form torn from its host as violently as she had assuredly taken it. The Seal of Conquest crashed down onto the ground, trying to take a quick inventory of what had happened. But before she could fully understand what was happening, she was face to face with a quite enraged Serilda. Lux sunk a little lower to the ground, moving between the blocks of ice as he watched the scenes. Serilda demanded to know where ‘he’ was, the tone seeming to focus on Mythal. The Darkness King was noticeably absent from the area and Lux couldn’t quite sense where he was at the moment. The Voidwalker pulled the ground up, reducing the plates of ice into shards and swallowed them up, instantly powering her up. Her body changed into something unholy, a new and slightly chillier form taking the place of its original. “Does everyone have transformations nowadays? Talk about an overused trope…” the Lightbringer muttered as he continued to watch. Victoria moved, as if to fight back against the transformed Voidwalker but Serilda was faster, kicking her and causing her to roll over the ground. Before the Seal of Conquest could even react beyond that, she was pinned to the ground, with the now brandished blades pressing against her throat. Victoria held firm against her, spitting the same vitriol that Lux had tried against the Voidwalker but it apparently only earned her severe pain. But it wasn’t coming from the weapons… it was coming from something in Serilda’s magic. Lux studied it, his eyes widening as he began to understand what was happening. “Son of a bitch… who the hell gave her that ability?” He groaned gently, grinding his teeth in annoyance.

Then against his better judgement, he stepped forward. “Hey, hold on,” he said quickly, as Serilda demanded to know where Mythal was. The entire area, the remnants of the town, were beginning to float into the air from the sheer pressure of her power. Even they were starting to lift up, now more on a platform than a solid surface. He took a breath and continued. “Listen, I’m all for you claiming victory over Victoria. Trust me, nothing will be funnier to me until the end. But you really, really don’t want to do what you’re claiming to do. We were created by something far beyond anything else that calls itself a god. To take what he granted us would be… I don’t even know. But I can’t imagine it would be pretty. So let’s just take a breath. Clearly the poor bastard is still kicking or I wouldn’t be here right now. We just need to settle down and then—“

But before he could finish speaking, there was an audible rumble that seemed to crack even more of the ground beneath them. Then the darkness that had been surrounding the remaining town, that had settled and faded away, came rushing back. It swirled underneath the platforms of ice, like geysers of black ichor. And in the distance, a figure rose up from the ground, cloaked in black, with wings as wide as the city was itself. The sheer magical pressure that was emanating from Mythal now was almost unbearable, the presence of something he had never used or taken out before. The wings extended outward even further as his magic began to roar through him as loud as a hurricane.

Within the walls of his own psyche, Mythal was wrestling against his constraints. “Don’t you dare! What you’re about to use hasn’t been practiced in years. I only started experimenting with it weeks ago – it is not ready! If you use it, you could destroy this entire continent!”

I don’t care. I have to destroy her. She has made a mockery of us! I will do anything to destroy her! the other half spat back at him, anger ebbing off of him like a literal aura. His muscles tensed as he prepared the spell further.

“Serilda is right there! If you do this, it will kill her! Didn’t you say she was the one thing we agreed on? If you use that spell, you will not only kill millions you will kill her!”

I don’t care! I have to beat her! I have to WIN! the dark half roared as he pushed the body forward. Outside, Mythal moved so quickly that none of the three would be able to see him. Time slowed down from his perspective, as he streaked through the sky right towards Victoria. His arm was already cocked back, the magic compressing within his fist as he took aim for her head. The wild, manic, utterly insane look hadn’t left Mythal’s transformed face, even amongst the dozens of cracks that broken through his features. But in that moment, as the arm started to move forward towards its target, Mythal remembered what he had done. He had focused on one limb; one appendage to move rather than trying to take over the entire body again. Reaching deep within his will power, he pulled out whatever energy he had left and sought for control. And he found it.

Mythal had disappeared for a split second. But in the next he appeared before the trio in perhaps the oddest of circumstances. He was spinning around like a top. In those last few moments, Mythal had taken control of his right arm and yanked it back towards himself, relinquishing the magic within it and making it a barebones punch. It connected with his cheek hard enough that his entire body was sent on a rapid spinning motion. The impact had shaken his other half’s full control enough for Mythal to leap back into the driver’s seat and kick the other side back down into the pit. All at once Mythal stopped spinning and fell onto the ground. Slowly the darkness enhancements began to crumble and flutter into the air around him, including the façade he had been wearing. He groaned and pushed himself to stand up, even as the long hair faded into nothingness and the ashen face broke apart and revealed his underneath. By the time he was on his own two feet, he looked like he had before – albeit more bruised and bloodied.

He breathed a couple of heavy, ragged breaths. Slowly his gaze dropped down to Victoria, still pinned to the platform by Serilda’s swords. He narrowed his eyes as he loosely raised his right arm up, holding his middle finger up towards the Seal of Conquest. “All the survivors,” he said softly. “Right before everythin’ went to shit. I warped them out. And now yer tied to the ground. You didn’t conquest nothin’. You should call yourself Loseria, you bitch.” With his wit at its true end, he stumbled and fell to his knees, the pain now starting to truly hit full force. Slowly he looked up at Serilda. “Hey Seri…” he said, his voice much softer towards her. “Sorry ‘bout the rude awakenin’. But I… we had to do somethin’.”

It felt good to actively be breathing on his own again. He had still been alive but without being in control, it had felt like he was being held at the surface of water, his mouth just beyond the choking liquid. The pressure of it had been present all around him, inscribing its fear and loss into his flesh at having been out of control for so long. For those minutes that his other half had been in control, Mythal had known what his negative side felt like – trapped. It was something he normally would have felt remorse for, had it not been for the blatant destruction of the city that once stood where they were. Seeing how that side of him showed his power, the Darkness King knew that he couldn’t just give up control like that. He needed to be better.

Luckily those fleeting, aware moments he had managed to manipulate his magic had been literal lifesavers. Not only had they saved the remaining citizens of the former bandit town but it had very well said the entire country from the attack he had almost unleashed. He had managed to beat back his other side and together they had managed to bring Serilda back from whatever corner of reality she had been cast to. The battle was won and over, though the fallout was still present and currently in debate. He collapsed to his knees, breathing slowly as his vision faded and returned into blurry pixels. He heard movement and managed to lift his head enough to see Serilda come over to him, her hands on him to keep him from completely collapsing. She thanked him for his intervention, claiming his actions had been enough to bring the battle to a swift end. He chuckled weakly, even as he felt her magic begin to seep into his flesh and cure his aching ailments. “Wish I could take credit for the idea,” he remarked softly, more exhaustion than shame rife in his voice. He left it there, letting her curative power run rampant through his body and refill some of the emptiness that had overtaken his body.

He didn’t need to look around at the destruction; he had bore witness to it, though through the tinted glasses of entrapment. It wasn’t until he felt her pull him against her more that he understood that she had been taking it in. She hadn’t managed to see anything within her realm, it seemed, as she explained that Victoria had come out of nowhere and tossed her aside for full control. He had suspected as much and fought back the angry sneer that seemed destined to be writ on his face at any mention of the Seal of Conquest. He reached up and touched her on her side, a show of compassion that came from one that was too weak at the moment to fully embrace her. “It’s not yer fault. She was… is strong. I ain’t surprised she was able to take advantage – seems to be her entire schtick.” Conquest, almost by definition, was complete and utter victory. And to achieve that level of vainglory, one had to know when to locate weak spots and take full control of them. Serilda was one of the strongest women he knew but that didn’t mean she was lacking in soft spots. Were the roles reversed, he knew that Victoria would have easily overwhelmed him as well. He sighed softly. “I’m… as okay as I can be,” he replied, leaving the puzzle of his change for another time. “Xiuhco and Gren are several miles from here, though I imagine by now they’re running back here in a full sprint. When shit started to hit the fan, I got them out of the city as quickly as possible. Figured that bitch would try to use them against me; she already tried with the people still left in the city.” He cast a side eye glance over at where Victoria was still pinned to the ground, his gaze narrowed. If there was one thing Mythal had learned from getting to know Serilda, it was that first impressions weren’t always the best representation of a person. But somehow he knew that the Seal of Conquest wasn’t going to someone he ever warmed up to.

But there was something that she had shown him. The Seals weren’t gods; they simply were tools created by one they deigned to believe was above all the rest. Yet despite of this, Mythal hadn’t managed to simply pummel Victoria and knock her out to bring back Serilda. He knew that the Voidwalker was tough but the Seal’s defenses had been more than stalwart – they’d been nigh impregnable. If a creature like her and Lux weren’t so easily beaten, how could he ever hope to beat back Faera? Archimedes had been one thing; an angel was only blessed with divinity by their respective gods, or so he believed. But the ruler of Kingdom Darkness was a force unlike anything else and he had little doubt in his mind that she could squash Lux and Victoria without a second thought. What did that mean to him, as a supposed ‘God Slayer’? Putting it simply, it meant his title was wrongfully and woefully inaccurate. At this rate, he wasn’t even worthy of being considered a God Annoyer.

His inner monologue was cut off by Victoria speaking up once more, agitatedly demanding that she be set free while also insulting Serilda. He cocked his head slightly to look at her, even as the ground rose under the Voidwalker’s power and pressed the Seal’s neck even closer to the swords. Serilda snapped back, shutting down the demands and attitude of the Seal with nary a thought. Serilda looked to him briefly to see if he was alright and he patted her to show he was good at the moment, a fair bit of his pain relieved for the moment. He rested fully on his knees as he watched the tense showdown between Victoria and Serilda, with the latter now having full opportunity to face her would-be-conqueror. Rather than spew words down upon the half-breed, Serilda simply ordered the woman to proclaim defeat. A lofty demand, given the Seal’s title and what it meant.

Understandably, it didn’t go very well. Victoria practically spat venom as she began to ramble off the details of her denomination, as if it was important to anyone present. Lux had attempted the same thing earlier, when he had first revealed himself and been surprised as Mythal’s lack of acknowledgement. As if to put pressure on the point, Victoria activated her magic again but this time targeted Serilda. The Voidwalker didn’t simply take the attack but instead turned her own magic on the Seal, as her magic was intermittently locked. She spat out the blood that had partially filled her lungs before she continued her defiant stance against Conquest. The screams of anguish were silenced by another one of Serilda’s spells, concentrated over her mouth so that no sound escaped whatsoever. Serilda buckled down on her demand, proclaiming that she would hinder the Seal forever, against the wishes of whatever being had spawned them. It was a strange to hear lacking context and Mythal could only assume that someone had said something about her cutting of magic.

He started to turn his gaze until Serilda gave the ultimatum of submit or suffer the consequences, with a time limit of ten seconds as the judge. Listening as the Voidwalker counted down felt like it lasted forever and Mythal saw Lux make a small movement out of the corner of his eye. The Lightbringer had been awfully quiet during the whole conversation, having taken a step back to observe and study it seemed. At the possibility of Serilda following through on her words, it seemed he had thought to speak up and was currently arguing with himself. But before he could even open his mouth, Victoria finally relented and admitted her defeat. Mythal hid a small smirk, unsurprised, as he slowly got to his feet. He didn’t need to look at Lux to see the wonder spreading over his features.

Serilda released Victoria from her prison, sheathing her weapons and turning away from the angered Seal to face Mythal. But she shifted slightly to look at Lux, who was about ten seconds from throwing a celebratory bash at Victoria’s expense. His elation came to a quick halt as he looked back at the Voidwalker, unsure of what would come of her addressing him. He didn’t spend a single moment thinking about the way he had acted to her; how he had been rude, vain and brash against a woman trapped in her own body. Such empathic revelations were so far from Lux’s repertoire that it wouldn’t have taken effect had anyone even taken the time to explain to him what they were. But instead of throwing ridicule at him, she… thanked him. The Lightbringer’s brow dropped, then rose, then twisted as he processed the simple but fairly earth-shattering moment. “Uh… sure?” he replied after a moment, unsure of how to even respond to that.

Mythal was practically on his feet fully by the time Serilda returned to him, groaning softly but more in annoyance than anything else. “Yeah, I’m good.” He had to be; they had a hell of a trip back. Plus there was no doubt in his mind that this situation was going to result in a lot of paperwork. He was about to say something else when something caught his eye in the distance. He frowned at the sight of something sticking up from the ice, a thorn against the shattered backdrop. He moved past Serilda and slowly made his way over to the spot, curious about what he was seeing. He couldn’t quite tell, being at ground level with the fractured city, but he was heading straight into the heart of where his meteor from Kingdom Darkness had hit. And at the epicenter of its strike zone was a handle, sticking up out from ice. Mythal’s brow furrowed in wonder as his eyes roamed over it the grip, spotting strange lettering on the flat end of the pommel. Whatever it read was beyond him.


Carefully he reached down and took hold of the handle, his fingers wrapping tight around it. He didn’t feel anything save for the hardened leather, meaning it seemed to be lacking in magic. He took another moment before he began to rise, bringing the grip up with him. A sleek blade slid out from its icy prison, the sound of it carving the frozen tundra echoing. When it seemed like it was going to come to an end, it surprisingly didn’t and the Darkness King was forced to extract more of the weapon. By the time the pointed end was freed, the weapon was already proven to be longer than Mythal was tall. The blade itself had to be seven or eight feet long, tempered to such a pristine condition that even the ice had no effect on its condition. Mythal turned it over in his hand and held it high, looking more like a standard bearer with it in hand. Though it had no magic within it, something stirred in Mythal after he had pulled it free. A brief flash in his mind showed his changed face, the face of his darker half that had fought so hard against Victoria. Had he called this weapon to him during the fight unintentionally? Or had this been some wayward voyager that had been plunged into the meteor within Kingdom Darkness? There was no telling. But either way, leaving it here would be ill advised. No doubt Vriko would be returning to see the fruits of her war against him and, being a master swordswoman, he didn’t want her gaining yet another blade for her armory. Especially one that he felt in his soul was just… wrong.

With no place to sheath it without it being in the way, Mythal chose instead to carry it for the moment. “Let’s go check on Gren and Xiuhco. I’m pretty sure I portal’d the survivors to the Rune Knight headquarters so once we have the hounds, we can head on home.” He took a moment to look over at Victoria and Lux, his eyes flicking between the two Seals. “And then I think we need to have a long chat about what’s gonna happen movin’ forward.”

Mythal almost didn’t hear her when she mentioned that the wolves had come back within range. He was too focused on the strange sword that lay embedded in the nearby crater. Upon removing it from its icy tomb and bringing it up to bear, all he could do was stare at it for a solid moment. When she came up beside him and asked him who it belonged to, all he could do was shrug. “It’s got this engravin’ on it but I can’t make it out,” he said, turning the hilt to her so she could see the odd symbols.

“It’s not one of ours, if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t carry weapons and I’m pretty sure the only thing Victoria is carrying now is shame,” the Lightbringer called out, taking a brief moment to finally twist the knife on his sibling. But it was only the start; he turned to face her, his shock already giving way to amusement as hundreds of thousands of insults, jabs and remarks he could make began to take form. This victory was unprecedented, one might even call it a direct violation of destiny. She was the Seal of Victory and that meant she embodied every single portion of that – including a record that came with no such defeats. And yet the combined powers of Mythal’s strength and Serilda’s last minute intervention had rendered her a loss, a single mark against her unfathomable record. Oh and he could only imagine it like it was in a book; golden lettering for all the victories and a sickly, disgusting red for that one loss.

Lux had forgotten all about being trapped within Mythal’s darkness for so long. His predicament seemed like pittance in the face of what Victoria was probably feeling. And even he would admit that none of the Seals were exactly humble. This was going to knock her down a few pegs and he would be there to help her fall just a little bit further. Yes, this day was already looking far, far better than he had anticipated – and that included getting tossed around like a ragdoll.

Mythal had no proper place to sheath the blade; with its length, he was already thinking of how he was even going to store the damn thing. For the time being it would remain in his hand, curled up and resting against his shoulder so that no one accidentally caught themselves on it. Serilda had located their wolves and then showcased her ability to open a portal straight to them as well. He had always wondered if she would have such an ability as well; it made sense of a magical density scale but he also never claimed to be an expert on her magical abilities. But with her senses as sharp and profound as they were, it would be far more beneficial in the short term for her to teleport them shorter distances while he handled the larger ones. And it seemed she was also on that level as she took a moment to experiment and managed to create a rift successfully.

As they walked through, the hounds were forced to slam their paws into the ice and skid along its surface to stop. They’d just barely passed by the portal as it opened. Xiuhco immediately went to Serilda to check on her, to no one’s surprise. Considering how utterly perturbed the wolf had been by Victoria’s original appearance, seeing the known face of her proper master was probably a huge sigh of relief for her. Gren came right up to Mythal, dancing around his feet in excitement that he was there as well. “Hey bud. I’m glad to see you too,” Mythal said with a smile, scratching behind the hound’s ears.

Then he turned to Lux, his tail wagging furiously as he looked up at the Seal of Light. He, on the other hand, was not quite amused. “The hell are you looking at, mutt? Don’t act all buddy-buddy with me after you pinned me to the ground like a piece of meat,” Lux grumbled as he stared down at the hound. When Gren didn’t move off, the Lightbringer scowled and then took a large step forward, swinging his other leg back and then forward in an attempt to kick the Star Wolf right in the stomach. But instead his foot passed right through it, as easily as any incorporeal object could pass through another. Lux stumbled forward awkwardly from the attempt but managed to catch himself before he fell on his face. When he turned to snap out some quick remark, he had the long, mysterious blade pressed right up to his chin.

“I don’t care if it didn’t work. I see you do that again and I will find a way to make you bleed,” the Darkness King said coldly, his eyes narrowed sharply as he glared at Lux.

“Take it easy, champ. Not like you to blow a gasket. Or well, I guess it kind of is, considering you and sis over there wiped a city off the map,” Lux snapped back.

“Don’t think you know me by any extent or means,” Mythal hissed.

“Yeah no, not like you’re my vessel or anything.” When no reply came save for a continued stare, Lux rolled his eyes and held his hands up. “Fine. I won’t attempt to kick your stupid dog anymore. You just make sure he doesn’t jump on me again.”

“No deal,” was the final response before he pulled the blade back and placed it back on his shoulder. Gren had watched the exchange with interest but didn’t show any emotion in any direction beyond ambivalence. Mythal turned to see Victoria on the verge of popping from anger as Serilda demanded to know what had happened to Xiuhco. “Trust me; if she’d attempted anythin’ on Xiuhco, I’d have left her in much, much worse condition.” The God Slayer turned his gaze to Victoria for a brief moment, cocking his head to the side. “I almost had to use one hundred percent of my power for that fight. Almost.” It was a bluff, of course but when it came to moments like this, Mythal was extremely good at selling his words. When he wanted to be mysterious and intimidating, he knew just how to do it.

With the tense moment passed – though others surely awaited them – they went and sought out the group of children that he had managed to portal away before the battle got too heavy. Once found, they opened up another portal right back to the Rune Knight compound. And it was absolutely crazy from ceiling to floor. Knights were running around the base, trying to figure out how strange people had just appeared out of nowhere and what it meant. Battle stations had already been called and several soldiers had taken up positions around the group. While the medics were tending those that had been injured, there was an air of mistrust about the villagers. Were these more invaders, here to wreck Era like the last dark guild had tried? Luckily as they returned, Serilda spotted Reeves and caught his attention. He hurried over to her and explained the situation as they knew it, taking stock of the children that were now grouped around the rest of them. The Voidwalker in turn explained the reasoning for the townfolk’s sudden appearances but didn’t have time to explain beyond that. They needed to reunite the children with their parents, as well as begin preparations for the rebuilding of Vintermyr. Reeves took the news fairly well, already plotting out who to send to the Council and where the best block of bunkers would be for the newly arrived people. He wanted to know more, of course but he was understanding that his Field Marshall wanted actions fulfilled first before explanations could be handed down.

There was also the fact that they, themselves, needed to know more about what was happening with them. As Reeves began to depart, Lux called out to him. “Might wanna take anything sharp and pointy away from them. Just a suggestion.” When Mythal shot him a look, he shrugged. “Hey, just because they’re in your home doesn’t make them murderous savages.” The God Slayer rolled his eyes, pausing enough to notice the feared glances he got from the villagers. Clearly whatever he had done when he was transformed had caused a lot of pain and agony. He pushed the thought away for the time being, telling himself that it wasn’t him that had done those actions.

As they walked up into the main building, Victoria felt the need to attempt to throw her weight around. In a sick kind of way, it was almost amusing. Here she was, having forcibly taken over Serilda’s body, murdered several people while in control and attempted to murder Mythal as well and she was expecting respect because of what she was. It was the same old song and dance that they had seen with several different supernatural beings. It didn’t matter if they were gods of other realms or supposed keys to the apocalypse – someone blew smoke up their asses enough to make them think they needed to be worshipped, revered and feared. Unfortunately for the two Seals that had chosen to appear, they were dealing with two very jaded individuals in terms of respecting imagined authorities.

Serilda shut her down both times she attempted to chirp up, causing the Seal of Victory to boil like a teapot. Lux seemed to get the hint at the moment to keep his mouth shut, though the way he was biting his lips certainly made it seem like he wanted to make some kind of remark. Shortly after that they arrived at her office. Once there, Serilda closed the door behind them so that they could have some privacy. Immediately after she went for the alcohol, grabbing a glass and some whiskey for herself. Normally she wasn’t the kind of woman that did such a thing but considering the two walking, talking mysteries in the room with them, he could hardly blame her. As she settled her nerves, Mythal kept a stern eye on Victoria and Lux. Unlike the Seal of Victory, who was far more interested in the elegant tapestry, the Lightbringer was simply walking about the room, taking it all in quietly. Neither one of them were doing anything that hinted towards malevolence but that was only for the moment. He knew better than to let enemies out from his sight, even for a moment.

Serilda knocked back her liquor and then poured herself another, along with one for Mythal. He took it silently as she walked over to the couch within the room and set herself down, allowing herself to get comfortable before whatever was coming, came. The God Slayer opted to stay standing, though he did take up residence beside the couch that the Voidwalker rested upon. She insisted they sit at first but the moment that Victoria started to snap again, Serilda was quick to silence her with a barked order. A moment of tense silence rested in the air as the two men watched the two women stared one another down. Unsurprising to Mythal, it was Victoria that gave in and sunk into the chair like a wounded pup.

“Damn. Mommy and mommy are fighting—“ Lux started.

“No,” Mythal quickly cut him off.

“Hey—“

“Is it that hard for you two to get this? You are not in control here. You are not in charge, you give no orders, you do not pretend to rule over us. You got beaten,” he said, turning his gaze to Victoria. “And you got manhandled,” he turned to address Lux. “Whatever respect or admiration or fucking worship you’re sittin’ here expectin’ from us, ain’t comin’. So how about you both stop presumin’ and mouthin’ off because I’m pretty sure we’ve had it.” Unlike Serilda who had been quite stern in tone, Mythal just sounded done. It was a mixture of exhaustion, annoyance and disgusted pity for the two Seals.

He inhaled through his nostrils slowly before he spoke again. “You heard her. We’re listenin’. Start talkin’.”

Lux turned slowly to look at Victoria. His shoulders rose and fell and he held his hands up in front of him. “Hey I did my piece. I told my vessel everything he needed to know. This is all you, Vicki. Pull out at least one win today.”

Victoria was doing everything in her power to not give Lux anything to remark on. She knew exactly what his humor was and knew that, if he saw an opening, he was going to leap into it. She managed to keep her mouth shut and not dignify anything with anything real, save for several glares that spoke of the mountains of annoyance she was traversing. Honestly, that was enough for the Lightbringer at the moment – knowing that his twisting of the knife was still making the pain that much worse suited him just fine. He grinned wide and bright for his sibling, unafraid at any attempts to lash out. This juicy piece of information was going to keep him satiated for quite some time.

It was even more entertaining to just throw all the responsibility on her when it came to explaining thing. Lux had given Mythal a… brief overview of what they were and what that meant but he hadn’t given him exactly details. Truthfully, the Darkness King hadn’t asked, though he seemed far busier trying to survive a town full of brigands and figure out what had happened to Serilda. That seemed to be keeping his attention and the Lightbringer didn’t want to distract him – or bother expending the energy uselessly. Better to wait for someone else to carry the torch and what better person… Seal… whatever, than Victoria.

The Seal of Light sat back, practically lounging in the chair as Victoria gruffly got down to business. Similar to his spiel, she explained what they were, what their nature was and why they were, unfortunately, attached to the meatsacks that were Mythal and Serilda. Mythal simply stood there and listened, reinvesting his time and focus in the information that was coming his way. With his mind in a better place than it had been before, he could dedicate his attention to what he was hearing – as much as he didn’t enjoy the sound of it. Lux had very briefly mentioned, back before he had discovered Victoria’s existence, that the Seals were tied to human bloodlines.  His father, Archimedes, hadn’t been a human in the least bit so that meant his mother had been the one who Lux had been claimed by. Had he been passed onto by his mother during conception? Was that a part of Faera’s plan the whole time? If it had, Archimedes had been pretty silent on it. Having a literal walking piece of the apocalypse seemed right up here alley though…

Serilda listened to the information quietly, as stone-faced as she always was in these situation. Her only question was to know how many more Seals there were and Victoria obliged her with an answer. Eight in total and she was swift to listen them out in order, including their name and apparent title. Each one was more foreign than the last, creating absolutely no spark of realization for the God Slayer as he listened. Eight supernatural creatures resting in familial lines throughout all of Earthland.

As Serilda followed up with another question, Lux glanced over at Victoria with interest. She seemed to have a better handle on the situation so he figured she may have been awake long enough to sense another one of them. Given how absolutely lost she looked, it seemed he was wrong. He shot her a quick shrug to indicate his ignorance as well. “The fact that Vicki and I are here, walking and talking together, is almost a miracle. If even more than one of us is active, that generally means showtime is about to happen. So your guesses are as good as ours,” the Lightbringer followed up the Seal of Conquest’s thoughts, shrugging yet again as he crossed his arms.

That wasn’t concerning at all. Mythal let out a soft breath and shook his head, locking in the knowledge and ignoring the slight fear that was building in him. First it had been Faera and her forces that threatened everything and now they were learning that an even bigger presence had prepared to delete everything and could very well be move those plans forward. He lifted his head as Serilda asked further questions, wanting to know how the Seals were ‘activated’. It was a fair query; he couldn’t imagine Lux had just been sitting in the cellar of his soul since the get-go. There must have been a trigger that brought him out of his rest.

Victoria answered first and evenly, surmising her own thoughts on Lux. The Lightbringer scratched his head. “You know, I’d love to tell ya but unfortunately, from the minute I even started having consciousness, I was drowning in the dark. All I’ve known for some time was utter black everywhere and no matter how hard I tried to move one way or the next, I was stuck. Every so often I could pick up on conversations or words happening but…”

“Like what?” Mythal hopped in, curious now. “Anythin’ in particular that sticks out? Names maybe?”

Lux let out a sound that was a mixture between a scoff and a laugh. “Listen kid, I don’t pay a whole lotta’ attention to things that aren’t about me or my siblings. I don’t have much love for… well anything really. So besides yours and Frosty McGlarey’s names over there? I didn’t focus on too much else,” the Lightbringer explained in his generic, cocky attitude. It seemed they weren’t getting much out of him that would help them focus on some kind of activation event.

Victoria offered a much more straightforward answer though, explaining that her vessel needed to engage in clashes that could very well be defined as wars. It seemed their fight within Kingdom Darkness had been the key to her awakening but she didn’t recall anything while in there. What she did recall was Ruzatz’ guild, right after they had returned to the living world. Mythal frowned as well as he looked over at Serilda, nodding as she surmised exactly what had happened. Victoria had been conscious and awake for almost a full year before finally revealing herself and that bit of information didn’t sit well with Serilda. But the fact seemed to amuse the Seal of Conquest, as she was quick to explain the strategy that went into waiting for the precise moment to strike. The Darkness King felt a quick compulsion to flatten her against the floor again but quickly squashed it as Serilda dashed the moment of pride out the window.

Both Mythal and Lux focused on the women as the Seal attempted to brazenly brush off her loss as if it was nothing, referencing the fact that it was small in comparison to the mortal coil that possessed both Serilda and Mythal. But the Voidwalker got the last laugh there as well, quickly explaining that she was immortal due to her pact with Ozorith. Both Lux and Victoria snapped their attentions to the Field Marshall, the former looking more concerned than the latter. “Whoa, we got humies getting immortality now? No way,” he said with a scoff, as unwilling to believe it as Victoria was. They both seemed quite keen to hear the explanation, even as Serilda took her time to delay by sipping from her drink. When she finally spoke, she referenced the Prime Sins and, more specifically, Ozorith. “Oh come on. Those idiots haven’t wiped themselves out yet? Tell me, who ended up replacing Illgan? I was sure that bastard was gonna wipe the rest of them out.”

Mythal shrugged. “All we know of is Ozorith and Ruzatz. Two very different sides to a same coin.”

“I’m just impressed Ruzatz managed to keep the title. He was always a bit of a softy. But Ilgan was a beast. He was the original Prime Sin of Greed and he was that, body and soul. I’d love to know who managed to finally unseat him.” It was at that exact point that Lux tuned back into the conversation as Victoria mused over her predicament with Serilda. “That reminds me, you aren’t immortal right?” He turned the question to Mythal.

“No,” he answered simply.

“Look at that, another benefit for good ol’ Luxy. Things really are coming up light today,” the Lightbringer said with a chuckle, grinning to himself. It seemed he had forgotten being manhandled by Mythal’s other side and all the events that had occurred in Vintermyr. As he soaked in that knowledge, he continued to listen to Victoria and Serilda’s conversation. The Seal had just turned the matter over to the source of the Voidwalker’s ability to drain celestial beings of divine power, the answer proving true to the fact that it came from being Ozorith’s vassal. Victoria seemed almost amused that Serilda would threaten to use such an ability on their persons.

What came next was a terrifying but curious explanation. It seemed the Voidwalker had already used it, specifically in the realm known as Kingdom Darkness. Not only that but she had used it on Mythal’s father, who was apparently an archangel for Faera, and left him nothing but a husk. The open threat to use it on any other source that got in her way elicited a laugh from the Lightbringer, all the information circling around in his head. “Wait wait wait,” he said, waving his hands before he pointed at Mythal. “So you’re… your daddy is an archangel of Kingdom Darkness? The realm where all the bullshit dark energy from the creation of the universe got stored away? Meaning that the magic you were using today was from there?”

“That’s right.”

“Kid, I thought I’d seen some messed up things in my life but you take the cake. No wonder I wasn’t able to break through earlier – that darkness is to me like… I dunno, rocks are to you humans. I was pretty much entombed. But I hate to break it to you, sweetcheeks,” he continued, turning to Serilda. “An angel or a Seal is one thing. We’re not gods. And Faera? You’re going to need a lot more than just a gift from a Prime Sin to knock that old croon off her perch – or any of them for that matter. But good for you, taking the power from an archangel. Truly; you’re in a very reserved few that could bring one low, let alone kill it.”

“Somethin’ tells me Faera probably had other plans in mind rather than killin’ him,” Mythal said with a quiet scoff.

But that seemed to give Lux pause, his brow knitting together. “Hold the phone now there, tall, dark and mopey. Are you telling me you didn’t kill him after you fought him?”

The Darkness King narrowed his eyes. “No. She drained him and I knocked him further back into Kingdom Darkness. It wasn’t enough to kill him, I know that much. Why?”

There was a brief moment of stunned silence as Lux looked over at Victoria, his neutral mask already beginning to break. The bout of laughter that followed was a raucous and wild frenzy that was honestly alarming, considering everything they had gone through that day. As he finally started to calm down, wiping tears from his eyes, he managed to speak. “Do you idiots even know what happens when you drain a celestial being of their divinity?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, waving his hands in front of him to keep their mouths shut. “We need to have magic. If we lose it, our bodies adapt to a different type. It takes awhile for it to surface but it’s a requirement. Sure, we aren’t immortal anymore but we can get that back, though I doubt Faera remembers that. Kingdom Darkness has a funny way of making the mind all fuzzy on the important details. My point is that the whole purpose of you havin’ that ability is so you can kill divine beings. Ozorith wants you hunting angels and gods with it, not sucking out their magic and then kicking them to the curb. That defeats the whole purpose.” He literally could not hide the amusement in his voice, small chuckles escaping every now and then. “And you’re telling me that not only did you not kill dear ol’ daddy but you kicked him back into Kingdom Darkness? Man, you had better pray Faera is kind enough to put his ass down before she realizes what could happen.”

“What could happen?”

Lux grinned. “You think Faera is the scariest thing in that place? You’re wrong.”

“You’re dead fucking wrong.”

---

How many days had it been? He couldn’t tell. Each day in the mortal realm moved so quickly and painfully that they all seemed to blend together for him. Dawn went into day, day went into dusk and then came the night. The only time he felt truly at peace was during the darkness of the evening but even then, it was only a fraction of improvement. Life was pain and everything attached to it just made it that much worse.

What had once been a young man was now old and frail. The attractive, sharp features that had once adorned his face had withered into worn lines and drooping skin. His once luxurious hair had fallen out and left him with thin strands of white that clung to his sweat-covered scalp. His eyes were so embedded into his skull that many wondered if he was truly awake when he was. Truthfully, not many bothered to pay him any mind – he was a mere elder living on the streets, a vagrant that society had scorned to solitude. A few had pity and tossed him money, strange currency he never had to rely on before. But back before this, he didn’t need such material things like clothes or food. He never felt cold, he never tired and he never needed to eat. That had been his prior life… but no more.

The coldness of the spell on his soul had long since faded but he still felt hollow. The divine power that had once filled his body with potential and strength was gone and it seemed he was destined to remain a mere mortal. Beaten by his disgrace of a son and the bitch woman that had dared invade his home realm. And what had he gotten for his efforts against them? Pity; that was beyond the understanding of Faera’s mind. No, he had been punished and exiled to life in a city that lacked any kind of magical power. His former Dark Lady had taken one look at him and sneered in disgust. Him! The Trumpet of Despair! After everything he had done for her, for all the years of allegiance and loyalty to her service and what had he gotten? Disgrace.

He sighed softly as he crawled back to the cardboard boxes he called a bed. Something felt different about today – it had since he woke up. His body felt weaker but at the same time lighter. His vision was a bit darker, with the shadows encroaching in from every side. As he lay down, he felt an odd relief settle through his entire form. Slowly and surely he began to lose feeling; it started in his feet and worked its ways up his legs. Despite his situation, he couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face as his neck started to numb. Death had finally come for him and now he would be rid of his pain.

His only regret was that he couldn’t punish everyone for their crimes against him.

“Is that so?”

His eyes flickered open weakly, just barely managing to part. A voice had spoken to him but as he looked around he couldn’t see anything. Had he imagined it?

“Not quite.”

He inhaled sharply, his lungs still working despite his not feeling them. “Who.. who is there?” he whispered, still unsure of what he was experiencing.

“An old friend.”

He tried to place the voice but he couldn’t. Was it someone he had forgotten? Had his mind slipped that much since he came to the world of light? “Who?”

“Not a who. A what.”

“W-What?”

“Your home.”

Archimedes gasped softly, his mind trying to catch up to the events that were far beyond his diminishing awareness. But in his agony, he could only think of one thing. “K-Kingdom Darkness?”

“Precisely.”

“This can’t be real. I… this must be me… dying.” He attempted to deflect the revelation.

“You are dying. That is why these next few seconds are vital for my proposition.”

“P-Proposition?”

“Faera has served a singular purpose for the eons she has dwelled within me – to guard me from the rest of reality. But with her powers and her followers, slowly I began to form a consciousness. I gained awareness. I gained power. Yet the revelation that the prophecy of the Darkness King has hereupon arrived has given me pause, has forced me to wonder You do recall the finale of that prophecy?”

Archimedes licked his lips slowly. It was there, in the back of his mind. Even with everything else fading away, he could remember it… and the feeling he had experienced seeing the heir of it before him. “The… merging of worlds and… the end of Kingdom Darkness.”

“Whether it is true or not, I do not wish to discover the end of the tale. Not when I can become so much more… when we can.”

“I-I don’t understand…”

“Faera has misused you, cast you out from the realm you call home. Your power has been tarnished, removed, quieted to the point that you stood no chance of seeing its rejuvenation. But where others see weakness and emptiness, I see potential. A merger of souls into one. Your body, our minds – and my power. Together we will create our own destiny. One free of legends and prophecies and free of strings and connections to the old. A brand new fate. But you must go willingly – if you die here, both our opportunities are lost.”

Archimedes didn’t know what to say… mostly because his entire functioning form was losing its energy. Even now the disembodied voice began to waver and fade from his hearing, snippets of the words flowing into his dying ears. But he found enough willpower and consciousness to speak one thing. “One condition. We… kill the lot of them.”

Silence. Long enough that adrenaline rushed into his veins and jerked him out of leaving for a few precious seconds. “Agreed.”

The former archangel sighed and left his eyes roll back slowly. If this was a dream, it was a fantastically hopefully one right before the end. So why let it end without giving his reply? “Agreed…” he said softly, not even a whisper.

Darkness. But not the darkness of the end like he was expecting. He felt something enter into his body, into his very soul. Suddenly he could feel his form again; every inch was filled with strength like he hadn’t known before. His mind clouded over but then sparked away, full of vigor that he’d forgotten he ever had. His memories became hazy then sharper then were inserted into a large expansive library of memories that were far beyond his comprehension. His mind had melded with that of the disembodied voice of Kingdom Darkness. Two had become one.

A poor bard had just wandered past the alleyway when he heard an odd gurgling sound. He spotted a man lying down, his body jerking wildly. Concerned, he had run over to try and see what he could do, to check on his vitals and call for help if he had to. But as he knelt over the man and began to speak, the victim’s hand shot up and around his throat. Black veins protruded from the injured man’s hand, showing an inky liquid pumping through them. That same liquid pumped itself into the bard’s body, voice and breath caught in his throat. A black ooze filtered out from his gasping lips, running down the sides of his face and dripping onto the ground. His eyes were swallowed up in the dark liquid and as his life left him, his entire face sunk inward and turned a sickly pale white.

The body was released, dropping to the floor with a sick thud. The once elderly and sickly man rose up as a newly rejuvenated, younger man. Glowing, golden eyes peered out from dark pools before white overtook them. Long, shaggy red hair had regrown out of the once bald scalp, hanging in a shaggy style over his shoulders. A raw, amused smirk tugged at the full lips as he brought his hands up and looked over his arms and newly healed body.

“Well that is much more like it,” the silky smooth voice said in admiration before gasping slightly. “Is that my voice?” he asked to no one before chuckling. “I must admit, I do enjoy the sound of it. And this body… remarkably sculpted. But a bit… bare for conventional purposes. Ah!” It was then he finally noticed the body lying on the ground. He quickly bent down and undressed the dead man, pulling on the garments onto himself as he went.

The bard he had accidentally murdered had quite the fashion sense. As the newly formed man stood tall, he was now dressed in a wondrous black trench coat with lavish designs on its bottom, a pair of pinstripe trousers, a black and gray vest over a white, frilly shirt and heavy steel-toed boots. He tied the red scarf around his neck and adorned his right shoulder with the gray and white flower-print mantle. The finishing touch was the black fedora he quickly brushed off and placed on top of his head neatly. A deep chuckle escaped his mouth as he tipped his hat to the body at his feet. “Much obliged, fellow. Best of luck in the afterlife.”

“And speaking of luck…” he turned towards the entryway to the alley, stroking his chin softly. “I wonder what awaits me out there. Only one way to find out.” With nary a glance back at the victim in his wake, the newly created man walked out from the dark corridor and into the light, venturing off to find… well, whatever he wanted to find.