Before me lay a wasteland of scorched earth, fiery lava, and mutated plants and creatures. Several destroyed buildings were strewn about; the remnants of a village that had been consumed by Dark Eden. I carefully snuck around the rivers and lakes of lava; the fire would have consumed my body had I touched it. I saw a large cave on an isolated island, covered with plantlife, but I had no way of reaching it at the moment.
Soon, I reached the very center of Dark Eden, and found the cause of the corruption: a thin, black tower. At its top rested a large gemstone, which radiated with unbelievable power. Four small towers stood at four corners of the tower, and they also contained powerful gems. This power was what was controlling the spread of Dark Eden; it had to be stopped, or all of Nosgoth would be consumed. I found an entrance to the tower, but despite the thin size of the structure, there was nothing but inpenetrable darkness within. Gripping my sword, I stepped through the entrance.
Suddenly, I found myself in an enormous, red-tinted room. The tower’s size was just an illusion; it was the size of a castle within. I gripped my sword uneasily, prepared for an attack from any side. It did not take long; the blob-like creatures returned. I quickly tore through their bodies, and made my way deeper into the tower.
I soon discovered the origin of these monsters: virtually every room contained various lab equipment, ranging from dusty and faded tomes of knowledge to glass tubes filled with strange liquids and forms. Anachrothe was undoubtably the creator of these creatures. At last, their alliance made perfect sense. Dejoule maintained the gemstones, allowing the barrier to expand; Bane mutated the plantlife, thus creating the strange flowers I had seen previously; and Anachrothe had created the monsters, thus destroying anything that was not mutated by the barrier.
On a table I found two objects that were not monsters. The first object was a strange armor, made entirely from human muscle and blood. I tried the armor, but I felt it was too flimsy to be of any use to me. That, and the blood still leaking from the armor felt like a waste. The other object was a scroll, which bore the sign of the necromancer. It read:
“This spell removes the soul of its victim, destroying them immediately. Remember, Kain, you will not be able to feed on their bodies, for blood without a soul is like eating spoiled meat; it does nothing to fill you and you will suffer later.”
I did not even chuckle at the necromancer’s idiotic joke, but I did memorize the spell, which I named the Spirit Death spell. I continued through the tower, attacking various monsters and freakish creations, until I reached a pair of iron doors. I forced them open, and found my three opponents, still seated and in mid-speech.
Bane was large and muscular, with a long brown beard reaching to the middle of his chest. He wore a large headdress made from an elk’s skull, complete with antlers, and his body was covered with deep, ancient scars. Dejoule was clothed completely in a glowing blue cloak, which cackled with electrical energy. Her face showed signs of endless torture; her power was indeed strong to cause its own master pain. Anachrothe’s face was scared, and covered with burnt flesh. His green robes were covered with various chemical stains.
“I thank you, Guardians,” I said. “You have hastened my search.”
“So, the scourge of the Circle has arrived,” said Bane.
“Do not fear him, Bane,” said Dejoule. “He is but a whelp. We can destroy him easily.” Their faces were filled with confidence; Anachrothe, however, was scared out of his mind.
“Don’t be a fool, Dejoule!” he shouted. “We cannot destroy him! Malek, to our aid!” As soon as he had said this, the paladin appeared in front of me, still holding his halberd. The alchemist quickly vanished; the coward ran away, leaving his companions and fellow Guardians to face me.
“Damn you, alchemist!” I shouted. “I did not come this far only to have my quarry escape!”
“That is the least of your worries,” said Malek. “You cannot destroy all three of us.” I scowled at the paladin, but I knew he was right. I could not defeat Malek by myself; it was impossible for me to face him and two other Guardians on my own. Then I remembered the ring Vorador had given me. I quickly raised the ring, and Vorador appeared beside me, brandishing his ancient sword. Malek’s attention quickly shifted to the ancient vampire; he had not forgotten the enemy that had caused his suffering.
“Vengence!” shouted Malek. “Vengence for my eternity of suffering!”
“Fool!” shouted Vorador. “As if you know what eternity is! Now, bow before your true master!”
“Never!” shouted Malek. “I’ll slice you from throat to gizzard and feed what’s left of you to your brides!” The two leaped at each other, slashing and parrying each other’s blows. Bane and Dejoule ran out the back door, and I quickly pursued them. They were now hiding in a courtyard, filled with overgrown grass and a large lake. Dejoule stood on a small island in the lake, while Bane remained to confront me on the land.
I raised my flame sword and charged Bane, but suddenly felt a burning pain in my leg. I quickly jumped back, and saw water where there had been none before. Bane smiled, then touched the ground by the water. The earth immediately disintegrated, revealing more water. The bastard was turning the earth to water!
Suddenly, I heard energy being gathered from my side. I jumped back again, as a large energy blast tore through where I was standing. Dejoule cursed from her island; the two were cornering me. I quickly dodged more of Bane’s water and Dejoule’s energy blasts, but finally came up with a plan.
I ran alongside Bane, as Dejoule was powering her next blast. I stood next to Bane, and waited until the druid had transformed the ground below me and Dejoule had fired her blast. I quickly rolled out of the way, and the blast ran into Bane instead. While he was not damaged, the heat from the explosion boiled the water where I had been standing previously. The steam shot into his eyes, blinding him completely. I then brought the fire sword down on his head, cutting through the headdress and into his brain.
I pulled my blade out, and watched the druid’s body collapse. Vines quickly surrounded it and dragged it into the ground; he had become a part of the very nature he controlled. Only his headdress remained. However, I had other problems; Dejoule, angered by the death of her fellow Guardian, began to attack wildly. I quickly casted my Repel spell, and her blasts bounced away from my body. I then fired my own blasts; however, she had a shield of her own. I continued my assault, until I finally broke a small hole in her shield. I fired one small blast, and it tore through the hole and ripped a hole in her cloak.
She began screaming immediately, as the cackling power from her cloak began to go out of control. The cloak was her only way of controlling the powers she contained; without it, she was doomed. After several agonizing minutes, her entire body was transformed into energy and dissapeared, leaving only her cloak behind. I transformed into mist and retrieved the robe, then returned to where Bane had fallen and obtained his broken headdress.
I opened the door leading back to the previous chamber, and found that the battle had ended. Vorador was nowhere to be seen; Malek’s armor, however, lay unmoving on the ground. I grabbed the paladin’s helmet; Vorador had completed his revenge at last, it seemed.
I transformed into my bat form and flew to the Pillars. After reforming, I placed the headdress in front of the Pillar of Nature, the cloak in front of the Pillar of Energy, and the helmet in front of the Pillar of Conflict. The three artifacts dissolved into their respective pillars, and they transformed back into a pristine white.
“Well done,” said Ariel. “Now, to the east lies the holy city of Avernus. The Guardian of Dimensions, Azimuth, resides her, deep within Avernus’s famed cathedral. Within you will find three objects that will help you, but first you must rise into heaven and descend into hell, and finally find your salvation in between.” I did not understand her words, but I knew where to go next.
(to be continued)
