The storm was growing in intensity, making the palace courtyard a slippery mess as rainwater mixed with blood and mud underfoot. The final battle for the capital of Yemen was reaching its crescendo. The Yemeni soldiers' numbers had reduced significantly, their lines thinning with each passing moment. Both sides had lost numbers, but the 1st legion clearly had an advantage. Alexander thought of all of this while killing another unfortunate soldier, his blade moving almost mechanically. Two more turned towards him, but a single beam of light through their skulls was enough to finish them, their bodies collapsing lifelessly into the muck. Alexander stood in the middle of the battlefield, breathing heavy; each inhale was sharp and labored. Covered in mud mixed with blood, some of which was his own, he clutched his wounded side as pain flared with every movement. Looking up, he watched as the heavens continued to weep, rain pouring down relentlessly. A thunderous boom reverberated from inside the palace, causing the walls to shake violently. Whatever was happening in there was shocking. The pressure radiating from the palace alone was enough to curb any idea of entering, pressing down on him like an invisible weight. He just hoped that it would not cause any more problems for the legion. The gods know we have enough on our hands as is.
—
"I can't say that it has been fun, Drakkus. But all things must come to an end. So be so kind as not to move." Lightning crackled in his hand once more, arcs snapping and hissing through the air. I did not even think that it was possible, but the pressure in the room doubled, pressing against my chest and making it harder to breathe. Clearly, Vaelus had grown tired of toying with me. But therein lies the problem, I was not done playing yet. Looking up at his disfigured face with a bloody smile, my vision slightly blurred. In that moment, the only thing that he could see was my own defiance. This infuriated Vaelus even more as he increased the power of his spell, the lightning in his hand growing brighter and more violent.
He intended to turn me to ash with a single blow. I, of course, would not allow that. Right as the lightning bolt was about to strike, I blinked to the other side of the room. Even that was not enough to completely escape the spell. The impact was so strong that the entire room shook, cracks spiderwebbing across the stone. Where the spell hit, the stone was pulverized into a fine dust that flew into the air, filling the space with a choking haze. The force from the spell, even so far away, was enough to throw me off my feet, my body slamming against the ground. Before I could even orient myself, Vaelus was already beside me. "Quite the little cockroach, aren't we?"
There was clear irritation in his voice, while he regarded me with disgust. Most of his hair had burned away at this point, leaving behind patches of charred scalp. I could see that the last spell took its toll on his body. Part of his armor had disintegrated along with half of his chest, exposing ruined flesh beneath. Pointing a finger at my abdomen, an extremely focused bolt of lightning pierced me. It felt like hot iron being stabbed through me, searing through flesh and bone alike. I heard a scream of pain, raw and ragged, and it took me a while to realize that it was my own. Doubling over to my left side, I began coughing with such intensity that I spat out blackened blood, each cough tearing at my lungs. All my strength began to fade as Divine Might's boost ended. The skill was never intended to survive such abuse. Weakness flooded my entire being, making it hard to even lift my head, my limbs feeling like dead weight. Vaelus, of course, would not just let me suffer in peace.
Bending down slightly, he grabbed me by the neck and lifted me off the ground, his grip unyielding. "What's wrong, little rat, have you lost your claws?" Like a predator sensing weakness, he pounced. He threw me to the ground, the impact knocking what little breath I had left from my lungs. Walking slowly towards me, every step he took increased my hopelessness; his presence suffocating. The worst part was that I could do nothing but watch. Kicking me directly up the stairs to the throne, my body bounced and scraped against each step. He once again picked me up and slammed me against the throne in a seated position, forcing me upright like some grotesque display.
—
"Isn't it fitting that the king of rats would die on his throne?" I couldn't help but laugh at my own joke while watching the pitiful form of the boy slumped before me. He looked half dead already, barely conscious. Disappointment flashed through my head at the prospect of losing another plaything. But I quickly reminded myself that I had more at home. All emotion bled from what was left of my face. "You know, Drakkus, I can respect the fact that not once have you begged me to spare your life. I know what it feels like to face an enemy you have no hope in beating." Memories of a dragon decimating an army of twelve thousand strong with a few bursts of its breath attack brought a hollow ache to what was left of my soul. "But, we all have our own convictions. As a show of respect, I will put your body to good use. As you can see, my current vessel is slightly expired." The boy was barely conscious, so I was practically speaking to the wind.
But no matter, there won't be anything of him left after this anyway. A purple and black energy started coalescing around the palm of my left hand, twisting and writhing unnaturally. Putting the entirety of my soul within my hand, I grabbed onto the left side of his face. It began to burn through the skin on his face, the flesh blackening and peeling away. But it was all necessary to make the connection to his soulscape. When I could just barely feel the bone of his skull beneath my grip, I stopped. I could feel when the connection formed, a strange and undeniable link. With a triumphant smile, I entered his soulscape. Only to immediately become confused… at the heat all around me. For the first time in decades, I began to sweat. There was something seriously wrong with the boy's soulscape. The entire plane was consumed by an ever-present fire, stretching endlessly in all directions.
Not thinking too much about it, I began to exert pressure on his soul in an attempt to shatter it entirely. I only needed his body anyway. At first, nothing happened, which prompted me to increase the pressure. Yet again, there was no change. Furrowing my brows, I released my full power. Only then was there a change. But even that change was strange. The fire turned completely white, the color shifting unnaturally.
Although it was strange, it did not deter me from what I had to do. Clearly, the boy was stronger than I gave him credit for. Because of that, I would not disrespect him with some shoddy attempt at possession. No, if I had to do anything, then I had to do it right.
Cutting my own wrist to get access to my blood, of course, it was not real blood, but I needed something to act as a focus for my spell. For the first time in centuries, I began to practice the very wizardry that made me one of the best of my era. Power flowed into the symbols in waves until a small part of this realm was bathed in black and purple light, the energy pulsing rhythmically. However, right as I was about to finish the spell, I froze. Not out of fear, but because I simply could not move.
In front of my eyes, an eye with three pupils opened within the fire, staring directly at me. Then another opened to my left. More and more of these strange eyes opened all around me, emerging from the flames one after another. And above me was an eye that stretched over the entire plane, vast and all-seeing.
Fear began worming its way into my heart. I had never encountered anything like this. This all happened before I made the mistake of matching one of the eyes' gazes. My entire world faded, and only that eye remained, filling my vision completely. And within its reflection, I saw a skeletal figure bathed in white fire. Within what was supposed to be empty sockets were the same eyes that made me shiver. The figure merely shook its head, a slow and deliberate motion, and everything that was once Vaelus The God of Storms… ceased to be.
End of Book One