A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he extended his arm. He hesitated for a split second, his hand hanging just a hair’s width away from the white hot beam, and the crystal holding the half of the hourglass.
“I really hope you’re right about this.” He mumbled as he summoned his courage, pushed the ‘what if Azazel is wrong’ scenarios to the back of his mind, and stuck his hand into the white hot beam of light.
His eyes shot wide open as he felt his skin catch fire. The scorching pain nearly knocked him out. Then, numbness took over as all other feelings vanished from his arm. The smell of burnt flesh and hairs reached his nostrils.
His fingers clenched around the crystal. He pulled his hand out by throwing himself back, away from the white-hot beam of light. It took every single drop of willpower not to scream at the top of his lungs.
The beam of light began to fade as his back hit the ground. Waves of pain jolte
Azazel folded his wings and dove down into the city streets. Beams of light, unnatural gusts of wind, and ethereal tendrils chased them as the Fallen Angel masterfully navigated the narrow pathways between the tall, weird buildings.Kyle clenched his fists as beams of light hit the rooftops, sending pieces of roof tiles, and building blocks flying. The white ethereal tendrils chased Azazel, but the Fallen Angel was too fast for them.Kyle’s gaze remained fixed on the skies above. The layer of clouds had almost completely scattered, replaced by a sea of wings and eyes, all watching him and Azazel.Even from so far away, these beings were gigantic.“I can’t fly us over the white sea like this.” Azazel hissed as he beat his wings, and took a sharp turn left, narrowly missing a building corner. That name corner shattered not a moment later as beams of light hit it without pause. “I’ll need to go below.”“Below? Below where?” Kyle asked, trying to contain his nausea. He had completely lost
Azazel led him through the distorted landscape in a hurry. “They can’t see as well here.” The Fallen Angel explained as soon as they walked through a cathedral door and fell upwards. Kyle hit the ceiling with a muffled thud. A thick, soft carpet had broken his fall.He moaned with pain still. Constantly falling somewhere was slowly taking its toll on him. His back couldn’t take many more falls. “Why?” He asked as he sat upright and rubbed his sides.Azazel flew up and closed the cathedral’s door. “Because of the distortions. They don’t see things as you do. They see what something is, can be, and was.” The Fallen Angel hesitated upon seeing Kyle’s confused expression. “You don’t understand, do you?”Kyle shook his head. “Nope.”Azazel’s shoulders dropped with disappointment. “When you see something,” The Angel said, speaking slower th
His eyes shot wide open, and he stared at the grey ceiling above him. A couple of moths were walking in rough circles. One of them tried to fly, only to continuously hit the ceiling afterwards.He blinked a few times as he tried to figure out where he was.“You’re awake!” A panicked voice reached his ears. “Rhealis, they’re back!” It took him a moment to recognise Vis’ voice. A cold hand pressed against his forehead as he slowly began to notice the numbness around his right arm. There was a mild pain too.Footsteps approached as Kyle tilted his head to look at Vis. “Did something happen while we were gone?” He asked with a crusty voice. He licked his dry lips. He could use some water right now.“Your arm got charred!” Vis hissed wide eyed. Was she angry? “And the Fallen Angel’s wings started bleeding!”“Indeed,” Rhealis approached them with a glass of water in her hand. She helped Kyle sit upright, then gave him the glass. He drank it without hesitation. The water passing through his
It was a misty morning and getting out of bed felt like a huge chore. He still dragged himself out of bed, albeit slowly, and staggered towards the hot spring. He paused in front of the mirror for a second. The bite marks on his neck were awfully visible. Vis had definitely taken some of her frustrations out of him last night.He let out a sigh and went to take a bath. She was rightfully upset, and he didn’t care about how he looked too much. He bathed, then got dressed and opened the door of his room, only to see Droigheann standing there, leaning against the wall.“I didn’t realise you’d come out.” Kyle said as he fixed his cloak and hair before the mirror.“You were asleep.” Droigheann explained with a faint smile. “You found the second half of the hourglass.” He stated with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Kyle nodded. “We did. We almost died for it too.” He shuddered. “I’m never going back to the Celestial Plane.”Droigheann laughed out loud. “That is indeed a good idea.” The De
The elderly woman took the two pieces of the hourglass in her hand. A faint, almost mellow smile appeared on her lips as she closed her fingers around the pieces of the hourglass. “I am in your debt, Azazel, young man.” She whispered as she clenched her fingers further. The muffled sound of something cracking sounded. Then, a fine dust flowed from between her fingers. The cool breeze caught the dust, carrying it away from the patio. The elderly woman smiled. “No, come back.” Her voice was calm, almost as if she was speaking to an old friend. “I’m right here.” The wind whirled, suddenly changed its direction, and blew the dust right back at her. She closed her eyes and smiled. Kyle braced himself for… something. “It’s alright now.” Her motherly voice reached his ears. “It feels good to be whole again.” She turned her gaze towards the sky. “It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Kyle disagreed. Dark clouds covered the sky. “It is good to have you back, Record Keeper.” Azazel bowed his
The Necronomicon’s pages turned on their own. Kyle waited patiently for the book to settle on a page. Once it did, he read through the spell. It was a modified dispel spell.“Stand back, just in case.” He said to the others. Everyone took a few steps back, even Cacophus who had just arrived. The Lich didn’t speak, but the green glows in his eye sockets glimmered and lit up brightly with excitement.Kyle’s lips curled up with a faint smile for a moment before he turned his gaze back to the Necronomicon. “Open thine gates, lift thine veil.” He recited the spell’s words clearly. “Allow me passage to what is rightfully mine, as I hold the Book of Ancient Secrets!”A moment passed before the spell fully took effect. The barrier around the Ancient City of Necron began to lower as Kyle felt his vitality drain with alarming speed. He looked down at the back of his hand with a panic as the few locks of dark hair dangling before his eyes slowly began to turn white.The mark of the Evertree glow
Kyle took the first step down the grey marble staircase. As his feet touched the ancient slabs, he involuntarily flinched.Azazel and Droigheann followed just a step behind, along with Cacophus, who chose to float next to them.“AMAZING, IT HAS BEEN PRESERVED PERFECTLY!” The Lich exclaimed, pausing just a few steps in, and carefully inspecting the waist high walls preventing them from falling off the side. “LOOK AT THIS CRAFTMANSHIP!”Kyle shot a glance at the waist hight wall. It was covered in intricate carvings from top to bottom. Just a few meters of this wall must have taken weeks to create, if not more. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”“Just like the legends.” Droigheann carefully ran his finger along the carvings. “A city of ancient wonders, housing powers beyond imagination, made from the most beautiful materials by the best craftsmen ever to grace the face of this world.”“Seems about right.” Azazel pointed at the buildings. “Any one of these would have taken months to perfect, if not y
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Kyle rolled his eyes as the enemy charged at him and his allies. Jeffrey’s ridiculous accusations and ignorant behaviour was the last thing he needed at the moment.Droigheann unsheathed his blade and struck the ground with it. Black veins spread across the grey marble plaza, originating from his blade. They leapt off the ground, reaching for Jeffrey and his allies.“Fire storm!” A voice boomed. Kyle flinched as a whirling storm of flames burnt away the roots and veins. Droigheann gritted his teeth and removed his swords from the ground. “Damn mages,” The Demon grunted as he stepped forward. His helmet materialised in his hand, and he promptly put it on.“SHALL I DISPATCH OF THEM, KYLE?” Cacophus’ sudden question surprised him. “Yeah, please help Droigheann.” Kyle hissed as he pointed at the group. “We shouldn’t waste much time on them.”As he spoke, several shards of crystallised light formed at his fingertips. He fired them at the man leading the charge.“AS YO