Siegfried Fors

  "Knowledge/Reason… War/Conflict…." The demon said, its long, shadowy finger pointing directly at Mother and Serena.

  Without another word, the demon unhinged its jaw.

  Its mouth split wider than flesh should allow. A torrent of dark, blood-red flames erupted from its throat, a tide of heat so intense it felt as though it were melting the very air around us.

  It is much stronger than before.

  Mother moved forward and thrust her fist out. The air detonated. A violent concussive force surged from her knuckles, slamming into the oncoming inferno. The sea of fire split cleanly in two, forced apart like a curtain torn down the middle.

  Serena moved at the same time.

  Her spaff carved a thin line through space. Purple light fractured around its tip, and the distance between her and the demon seemed to simply collapse. One instant she hovered beside Mother, the next she was looming over the demon’s shoulder.

  She thrust downward.

  A burst of light followed, with fissures appearing at the point of impact, tearing a jagged wound across the demon’s massive form.

  The demon swung its massive claw at Serena, but she vanished before it connected. When the claw landed against the cavern wall, I saw a large piece of the stone decay and crumble away into ash in a matter of seconds.

  The demon's body tilted forward, and then it was dragged down to where Mother was waiting, her fist pulled back in a tight coil of mana. She released a Fors Fist. Even though the blast was smaller in scale than the one Uncle had used earlier, I could tell the density of the mana was on another level entirely. The strike hit home, completely eradicating the demon’s body in a flash of silver. The shockwave released from the attack was so intense it nearly sent the island we stood upon flying through the void. Uncle caught me by the collar just in time, or I would have been tossed into the source below.

  As the island steadied, I looked up to see Mother and Serena standing side-by-side in triumph, their auras still humming with leftover power.

  Amazing. Even after powering up that Unending Demon was still no match for them. So that is what true power looks like in this world.

  Before we could even begin to celebrate, the atmosphere curdled. To our collective shock, tendrils of dark mana swirled around the floating stone and materialized into a set of massive, jagged fangs that spanned the width of the island.

  This is never ending!

  The fangs snapped shut with a bone-crushing sound, shearing through our foothold in an instant. Luckily, we were yanked upward in time before we could be cleaved.

  "Isn't it amusing?" The voice drifted down from above. I turned my gaze upward to see that horrific skull-masked head materializing high above, looming over us like a dark moon. "So strong, and so much to protect. Will you be able to, though?" An insane, echoing laugh followed as hundreds of fangs materialized in the air around us, circling like sharks. "Dance, humans."

  They lunged at the same time.

  Before they could reach us, red, blue, and yellow orbs flared into existence. They spun rapidly, weaving light together into a radiant prism barrier. The fangs slammed into it, shrieking as they scraped against the surface.

  "By giving up his physical body, he has merged his consciousness into the darkness itself. We need to destroy him and the darkness simultaneously," Serena’s voice barely reached me in this chaos.

  "I will deal with it. Take them and leave," Mother said, her voice dropping into a tone of absolute certainty. She moved to the edge of the barrier, easily deflecting the stray shards of mana aimed at us with the back of her hand.

  "Sure about that?" Serena asked, her gaze lingering on Mother.

  "It will be much easier for me to cut loose with everyone gone," Mother answered as she glanced at us, a reckless glint appearing in her eyes.

  “Oh? Leaving?”

  The demon’s voice twisted with delight.

  The cave walls around us began to fracture. Massive chunks tore free and drifted into the void, as if the dungeon itself was shedding its skin, revealing a swirling vortex of nothingness behind them. "Like I said, either I eat all of you, or we move to hell together."

  As the demon spoke with that eternal, plastered grin, a piercing, unnatural light invaded from far above. It wasn't the warm light of the cathedral, but something sharp and destabilizing.

  I closed my eyes tightly as I felt a shift in the atmosphere and the mana around us,

  I slowly opened my eyes, and I couldn't help but gasp at the view far above. Before me stretched countless three dimensional helixes spiraling beyond perception. They twisted forward and backward into infinity. Each strand of the massive spirals looked as though it were made of countless glowing particles, every single one pulsing with a soft light that felt like the heartbeat of existence itself.

  What… is this place?

  Then it began.

  Multiple scenes rushed through me, flashing before my eyes.

  Voices overlapped, collided, and intertwined, screaming into my mind.

  "We will live our lives with happiness so radiant that even the world will feel its warmth… you want that too, don’t you?"

  "Did you forget me, Tree bastard's kin?"

  "I am the unconquered sun, destined to rise over all."

  "It is an honor to meet you. My name is Kriemhild Solvaris-Illuviare."

  "I wouldn't ask you to love me or be familiar with me. Feel free to hate me if that is what motivates you or gives you a reason to move forward, because in the end, nothing changes the fact that I am your father."

  "I understand too well the dreadful act I am about to commit, but my rage is stronger than my will."

  “Go, Attila, take his head. Bring down that false messiah and crown yourself in his blood.”

  "This will be a romantic tale written by life itself, one the world has never witnessed before."

  "Come to your senses!!!"

  Serena’s voice echoed sharply in my head. I shook my head, my vision focusing to see that we were still held safely within the prism. I looked around, everyone else looked exactly as confused as me, their faces pale and eyes wide.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  Did they also see and hear those things? What were those voices…

  "Is that the time stream?" Granny asked, her voice hushed as she looked up at the endless helix structures.

  Wait? Really? That is the time stream? It is so much more different than I ever imagined.

  A sharp clang tore my attention forward.

  Mother’s axe collided with the demon’s claw. Sparks of silver and black scattered around.

  The demon’s body had restored itself.

  No.

  It was larger. More grotesque. Muscles swollen, form reinforced by the mass of darkness below. Its lower half extends downward into a massive, churning sea of darkness. It was the only other thing floating in this void besides us, a blot of ink on the canvas of eternity.

  “Fuck it at this point!”

  Serena’s voice thundered from above.

  We looked up.

  She hovered before what looked like a portal torn into the timestream, its edges unstable and trembling. Her spaff was pointed toward it, both hands gripping it tightly, arms shaking as if she were wrestling something unseen.

  “Valka Fors, I won’t be able to keep it open for long! Kill it and destroy the darkness at the same time!. Go for it. Don’t hold back!”

  There was strain in her voice.

  Real strain.

  “Music to my ears,” Mother replied with a grin.

  She drove her fist into the demon’s chest, forcing its massive body backward.

  Then she brought her hands together slowly, palms facing each other as though cradling something fragile and invisible.

  At first, there was nothing.

  The space between her hands began to fold. I saw the light itself bend inward, not reflecting and not escaping. It stretched into thin, distorted arcs and vanished into a point no larger than a coin.

  The point darkened.

  Not like a shadow.

  Like absence.

  A depth that had no bottom and no end.

  Her hair lifts toward it. The fabric at her sleeves strains, threads pulled forward by a hunger that has no sound.

  As she opens her hand, the sphere grows denser, bigger, heavier. Distortion ripples around her hands, as though reality were a thin sheet being drawn into a drain.

  Don’t tell me…

  That is…

  “Wait! Wait! I take it back!” Serena’s voice cracked. “Are you trying to end all of time itself?”

  “It can’t be stopped anymore,” Mother answered calmly.

  The demon roared and lunged at her again, claw extended, darkness swelling around its arm.

  “Take them and leave.”

  “You insane woman! Move!”

  At Serena’s command, the prism barrier shifted violently, dragging us toward the portal behind her.

  But my eyes never left Mother.

  She stepped back slowly, her expression serene as she let go. The floating mass between her hands remained suspended for a single, breathless instant.

  Then it pulled.

  Not with force.

  With inevitability.

  The demon’s extended claw curved unnaturally as it reached her. The limb bent toward the sphere, its massive frame dragged off balance. Darkness unraveled from its body in long, twisting strands, all of it being drawn inward.

  Even the sea of black darkness below began to pull upward.

  As the portal swallowed us, the last thing I saw was Mother standing before that growing absence, silver aura flaring against something that devoured even light.

  And she was smiling.

  The transition spat us out violently.

  Dust and water exploded in every direction. A high-pitched "Quueeh" echoed, cutting through the chaos. We descended slowly, the prism barrier flickering out above us, and the suspended water crashed down like sudden rain.

  Cold droplets struck my face.

  I turned.

  We had erupted straight through the waterfall cave.

  The cavern entrance was gone. The stone shattered outward. The waterfall had been torn apart, reduced to a collapsing curtain of scattered streams and broken rock.

  “Queh.”

  I looked toward the sound.

  Fatty was charging toward us, wings flapping wildly as he waved one of them in frantic relief.

  "Fua!" Faux jumped from my head to the bird's, and I looked past them to see the adventurers we had left behind still unconscious on the grass, mercifully untouched by whatever had just happened inside.

  Fatty looked around in confusion, leaning in with a worried expression as he let out a low, questioning trill. "Qu Queah?"

  Right! Mother! Where is she?

  I looked back at the tangled mess of stone and water that used to be the dungeon entrance. Everyone else was already there, their faces tight with anticipation. I scrambled over the wet rocks to join the group.

  "Valka..." Granny said softly, her hands clasped together as worry etched deep lines into her face.

  "The time distortion is still there. It hasn't closed yet," Serena said, eyes narrowed at the warped space lingering over the debris.

  Mother… you have to come back.

  Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash from beneath the piles of shattered stone. Something came flying out at incredible speed, passing right over our heads before landing hard with a heavy thud.

  "Phew, I really thought I wouldn't make it for a second there."

  All of us turned at once.

  Mother straightened up casually, brushing dust from her shoulders. She stretched her arms as if she had just finished light exercise. “Finally over.”

  The tension inside my chest collapsed all at once.

  I couldn't help the massive smile that formed on my face.

  Of course she would walk it off.

  "Lady Valka!" Aifa chimed, jumping in joy and clapping her hands.

  Granny rushed forward and threw her arms around Mother in a tight hug. "Don't give such a scare to my old heart!"

  "And you call me the dramatic one," Mother scoffed, though she gently patted Granny on the back with a softened expression.

  Uncle sat on the ground letting out a breath in relief.

  One by one, everyone slowly relaxed. Shoulders loosened. Weapons lowered. The weight that had pressed against us for what felt like an eternity finally lifted.

  It was over.

  We’re alive.

  This absurd, terrifying, impossible adventure was finally finished.

  Now all that remains is to go back home and hug my bed like there is no tomorrow. I don't want to see another dungeon for a very long time.

  *STAB*

  The sound did not belong.

  It cut through the relief, through the laughter, through the happiness.

  What…?

  A wet dripping followed.

  I looked down.

  Something black and jagged protruded from my chest. Another had pierced through my left leg. My right arm lay twisted against the ground, blood running from it in thin streams.

  For a moment, there was no pain.

  Only confusion.

  I lifted my gaze.

  Everyone’s faces had shifted to a single expression.

  Horror.

  Aifar’s eyes wide. Granny’s lips trembling. Mother’s hand already reaching out. Serena turned sharply toward something behind me.

  Warmth filled my mouth.

  “BREEEGH.” Blood spilled past my lips and splattered onto the ground, and then, all at once, a wave of agonizing pain crashed through my entire body.

  "Sieg!" / "Young Lord!" / "Fua!"

  Their voices overlapped, distant and distorted.

  Everyone rushed toward me, but it was becoming impossible to keep my eyes focused.

  My feet left the ground. An insane laughter echoed in the air as I felt myself being yanked backward.

  I blinked, and the next instant, I was back in the time stream.

  My vision darkened at the edges, red swallowing everything.

  And yet I could still see it.

  The white of the skull mask

  Smiling.

  “Like I said,” the demon’s voice slithered through the air, “this was inevitable.”

  Its mouth opened wide.

  I couldn’t muster the strength to keep my eyes open anymore.

  So this is how it ends.

  Strangely, there was no fear.

  Only a quiet thought drifting through the pain.

  This… wasn’t a bad life.

  "I stopped the black hole and spared this world from oblivion."

  A woman’s voice, calm and melodic, cut through the darkness. "But do not mistake that mercy for allegiance. I never decreed that you would be permitted to devour him."

  As my consciousness ebbed and flowed like a dying tide, I felt the weight of the demon's grip vanish. My body entered a state of terrifying freefall, tumbling through the silence of the void.