Death: Genesis

Silver light tore through Zeke, making him feel like he was being ripped apart, piece by piece. However, he maintained his wits enough to counter it by flooding [Aura of Desolation] with as much mana as he could manage. More, he shoved his Will into the skill as well. For the next few seconds, the two domains – for that was what that silver light clearly represented – warred, with either combatant pushing their abilities as hard as they could.

Meanwhile, they rushed one another, their heavy footsteps thudding against the rubble of their previous efforts. When they finally collided, they did so with enough momentum to send a deadly shockwave to tear through their surroundings. For nearly fifty yards all around them, buildings toppled and any people unlucky enough to find themselves in the area were sent flying away as if under the influence of a bomb.

Zeke lashed out, twisting his twin attunements and holding them together with a combination of his Will and the pure mana from his core. His hammer hit with the might of the Worldbreaker technique, ravaging his body along the way. However, the technique was even more effective against Lord Adontis.

The man wasn’t through backwards.

Instead, when Voromir hit, unleashing Worldbreaker into the man’s chest, his armor was unmade while massive cracks spread across his chest. Bits of flesh and shards of his armor flew free, disintegrating as they sailed through the air.

But Zeke wasn’t finished.

Instead, he flooded his own leg with the technique, then kicked out, connecting with Lord Adontis’ knee. The joint buckled, and Zeke followed that strike up with a baseball swing that took the man in the hip. Following that was another kick that sent the man to his knees, and then a brutal, overhand strike infused with as powerful of a Worldbreaker technique as Zeke could muster.

Even as the ambient mana blistered and burned, he crushed the leader of Adontis’ skull. It crumbled beneath the mighty blow. Yet, even then, the powerful Knight did not die. After everything the man had endured, he still clung to life. And Zeke knew that if he didn’t kill him off – and soon – he’d only recover and return to the battle.

And given the price Zeke would inevitably have to pay for his copious use of his Will, that would be disastrous. So, he had to finish the man off, and before his Will rendered him helpless.

So, he kept going.

One blow after another, each one crushing a piece of Lord Adontis. Even as the man was pummeled into submission, the effects of Zeke’s Will spread across their battlefield. Stones were rendered into dust, and that dust broke down to whatever smaller components comprised each cloud. And even that was destroyed.

Soon enough, the entire area was a desolate place devoid of anything but bare ground. And even that was a crater, yards deep and with an aura of pure destruction ripping it apart one layer at a time.

Even the ambient mana succumbed before Zeke’s Path of Arcane Destruction. Anyone unlucky enough to remain in the vicinity was destroyed, but even if they had survived, they would have choked on the lack of mana. It was destruction in its purest form.

But Zeke knew there was more.

He knew there was another step. Destruction wasn’t just breaking things down, bit by bit. It was removal of the highest order. It was the pursuit of nothingness. Even as his body was ravaged by the powerful Path of Arcane Destruction, Zeke’s mind searched for a deeper meaning concerning his path.

And nothing was the key.

But it wasn’t everything. There was something else. Something he couldn’t quite understand. If he just kept going, perhaps he could find it, though. So, he pushed, continuously channeling his Will with everything he could muster.

“Ezekiel, stop!” screamed Eveline, punctuating it with what sounded like she was pounding against a door. “Please! Nothing will survive if you keep going!”

Zeke blinked.

The man beneath him was dead. In fact, he didn’t even look like a man at all anymore. Instead, he was a pile of ash, shards of metal, and bones. Zeke had long since received kill energy from Lord Adontis’ demise. He was just too wrapped up in his Path of Arcane Destruction to acknowledge it.

He looked up.

And he saw destruction. For a hundred yards all around him, nothing remained. The buildings hadn’t crumbled. Instead, they were just gone. As were any people who were within them. The ground had been scoured clean, right down to the bedrock.

Zeke released his Will and immediately fell to his knees.

The ambient mana was gone, but his domain had picked up the slack, generating enough corruption to fill the gap. Still, it was hard to breathe. Difficult to think. He knelt there in a daze, unsure how to proceed.

That was probably why he didn’t see his doom bearing down on him.

* * *

Pudge rammed his claw through a Knight’s chest and out the other side, killing the man instantly. Yet, it was unsatisfying. After the so-called triplets had attacked, the battle had devolved into a one-sided melee, with his companions getting the worst of it. Pudge had held his own, if only barely, but the newcomers had proven themselves extremely powerful.

Curiously, Adara had withstood the onslaught better than any of the rest, but that was likely only because her powers tended toward the defensive. Still, the utilization of her training and techniques made for an impressive display that Pudge wished he’d had the time to truly appreciate.

But he had his hands full with his side of the battle.

He yanked his claw free, then used [Shadow Evisceration]. As soon as he disappeared from sight, his body erupted into black fire that spread out in a slow ring all around him. As it did, he launched himself forward, bringing his claws to bear against the copious number of enemies. The triplets were out of reach, but Pudge had plenty of other targets. Over the next few subjective moments, he raced from one Knight to the next, ripping through them with his Path of Ferocity coursing through him.

The results were predictable, and by the time the circle of black fire finished its passage, Pudge returned to a normal perception of time. With a clatter, the Knights fell to the ground, blood leaking through their rent armor. Each one was already dead, but Pudge didn’t have the leeway to appreciate his handiwork.

Not only was he still surrounded by hundreds of Knights, but something was happening in the center of the town. And it was troubling, because, even from hundreds of yards away, Pudge could feel the destruction in the air. More, being so close to Zeke, he could feel the vast amount of pain coursing through his companion’s body.

It was like he was being unmade and reconstituted with every passing moment, convincing Pudge that Zeke needed him.

So, he abandoned the battle and raced across the city. At first, he kept to the streets, but that preference quickly became untenable due to the ruined state of Ivern. When Pudge reached a toppled building, instead of going around, he simply vaulted across the rubble, dropping to all fours as he leaped over it. He was forced to repeat that action three more times, and with each step, the atmosphere of destruction grew even more vivid until he crossed a threshold and saw a crater amidst a barren wasteland.

And at the center of that was Zeke.

He was in his demonic colossus form, which meant that his powerful body was a collection of jagged crystals and sharp spikes of metal. Pudge had seen it often enough that it no longer troubled him. Instead, he was more worried about the fact that the form had been whittled down to almost skeletal proportions.

With every passing second, more material sloughed off Zeke’s form, then dissipated into dust. That dust disappeared a second later, completely destroyed.

Of the shining Lord Adontis, there was no evidence, save for a pile of ash and metal beneath Zeke’s knees.

Suddenly, the aura of destruction ceased, and Zeke’s shoulders slumped. He blinked, but he didn’t otherwise move until he started looking around. Even as he did, his body rebuilt itself, looking as if it was inflating. Or like time had sped up. Whatever the case, Pudge sighed in relief as he saw that Zeke wasn’t going to be doomed to some skeletal existence.

But then he saw the pair of men racing toward Zeke. They descended into the crater so quickly that Pudge took a moment to understand what was happening. He recognized them as two of the tree triplets. The largest one had already died, but the other two had clearly managed to survive and escape.

Now, they wanted revenge.

Pudge threw himself forward, trying to use [Shadow Evisceration] along the way, more for its time-dilation effect than any of its damage. However, so soon after he’d last used it, the skill was unavailable. So, he had to rely on his own two feet to carry him to Zeke’s aid. Yet, even as he took the first few steps, he knew he wasn’t going to make it.

He shouted, the sound coming out like a roar that Zeke plainly didn’t hear.

But just before the two knights reached him, Zeke looked up. A second later, he disappeared, and the two men crashed into one another. As they tangled together, Zeke reappeared with a gout of fire and earth, though he fell to the ground a second later, clearly injured.

That’s when Pudge arrived, summoning [Netherclaw] and slashing it across the tangle of Knights. A second later seven bronze golems thudded into the crater, each one armed with thick cudgels. Each one looked like they’d been abandoned for centuries, with their normally pristine bodies having picked up a patina of oxidation. In addition, large chunks of their bronze forms were missing, and two lacked an arm apiece.

But they fell on the Knights with the inevitable fury Pudge had come to expect. They pummeled the pair of Knights, denting armor and sending the sound of broken bones echoing across the wasteland.

Yet, Pudge knew they wouldn’t fall so easily, and his prediction was borne out when one of the Knights threw himself to his feet and wildly hacked at the golems. Pudge disappeared, using [Concealed Steps] and channeling his Path of Shadows as he awaited the perfect opportunity to add his efforts to the fight.

Meanwhile, Zeke still hadn’t moved. Pudge knew he was still alive, but he was not in good condition.

That couldn’t be the object of Pudge’s focus, though. He needed to concentrate on defeating the Knights. And as the one who’d regained his feet laid waste to the golems, felling them one by one, hacking them to pieces with all the skill of a lumberjack, Pudge circled. And then, when the Knight finally overcommitted, and one of the two remaining golems smash its cudgel into his knee, Pudge pounced.

His claws flashed as he enveloped himself in [Hellfire]. At the same time, he used [Netherclaw], twice in quick succession before bringing the manifested claws to bear. The raked through the Knight, eliciting a scream of agony that Pudge ignored before he crashed into the man. He tackled him to the ground, ripping into him with [Hellfire] wreathed claws. The man’s metallic armor melted, and his skin followed suit. With Pudge on top of him, he couldn’t bring his sword to bear. Nor could he gain any leverage, and even as he tried to activate one skill after another, Pudge continuously interrupted his concentration with copious amounts of pain.

He roared like the beast he’d once been, ripping the man to pieces.

But with that degree of focused concentration was bound to come back to bite him, and it did when he felt a sword enter his lower back. Then, it erupted in a wide arc of moonlight that ripped a huge chunk of his side away. Organs flew free, and flesh followed suit. Still, Pudge wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted.

He knew that if he didn’t finish the Knight off, he would recover. And if that happened, Zeke would die. Pudge refused to lose his brother, and so, he would not allow himself to fall. Not until he finished the task at hand.

So, even as the Knight brought another attack to bear, Pudge managed to kill the Knight beneath him. But he paid the price, falling forward and bleeding all over the man he’d just killed.

Hopefully, his sacrifice would be enough.

“Beast,” growled the man, kicking Pudge over and leveling his bloody sword at the bearkin.

Suddenly, the air shimmered, and a kobold ranger popped into view before falling upon the Knight. His claws – even wreathed in demonic mana – were incapable of doing much damage. But that’s what his companions were for. Ten more kobolds appeared, burying the man beneath a mountain of claws and corruption.

That wasn’t enough to kill him.

Not by a long shot.

But the arrival of the kobold assassins was a herald of things to come, and only a few moments into their assault, a storm of kobolds and beastkin arrived, with Silik and Adara leading the way. After that, the battle was all but over.

So, Pudge let himself fall to the ground, content in the knowledge that he’d saved Zeke from certain death. As soon as he hit the ground, his consciousness faded.

Some indeterminate time later, he awoke surrounded by warm water. At first, he panicked, but then, only a second later, he recognized the friendly confines of the Crimson Spring.

More importantly, he saw Zeke.

And he couldn’t contain a gasp.

It looked like his companion had lost a third of his mass in the space of a day. His muscles had always been visible, but now, they bulged grotesquely. Moreover, his bones were clearly visible. Finally, his cheeks were hollow, and his eyes were sunken deep in their sockets.

But he was alive.

Zeke gave him a weak smile, then croaked, “Hey buddy. You were touch and go there for a while. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Are you?”

“Okay? I don’t know,” Zeke admitted. “I can barely move. I feel like I lost fifty pounds. And my head’s pounding like someone’s hitting it with a sledgehammer. But we won. Adontis has fallen.”

“Good,” Pudge said, letting himself relax.

He fingered his side, noticing that his flesh still hadn’t completely mended. But it would. Pudge had seen the miracle of the Crimson Springs work its magic. He only had to wait, and he would be healed.

“Thank you,” Zeke said. “You saved my life.”

“You do not need to thank me. Brothers. We protect each other.”

“Yeah. I guess we do.”