God of Nothing

Rayse felt a warm metallic tang enter his mouth as he bit his lip. He stood there, rooted, as he watched his parents work. They worked on most of the patients on the floor, until finally, the pair converged on a single man. He was scrawnier than the rest, probably not even fully grown. He lay there unmoving, being worked on by both of them, until eventually…

The pair jumped up, staring at a threat Rayse couldn’t see. Rows upon rows of injured, the ones whose lives they had just saved, were thrown about. Some were mauled, some were slashed, some had pieces torn off as if they were bitten by something, and some were trampled by an invisible being that Rayse couldn’t see. That actually made it scarier for him, as he couldn’t even see what could possibly cause so much damage. Rayse broke off from Luke, putting himself in between his parents and the tempest of destruction. He traced its rampage as he moved, desperately trying to get in its way somehow. He even braced himself but alas, this was but a memory, and he was but an audience.

He turned to see his parents both down. His mother was dead instantly, with a massive hole on her torso. She had been flung aside like so many of this invisible assailant’s other victims. Rayse found his father crawling towards her, his wooden eyes contorted in pain, but still dragged himself inch by inch to get to his wife. He seemed to fixate on trying to lay a hand on her, perhaps in a last ditch effort to heal her. But alas, Rayse would never know. Several slash marks appeared all over Rasan’s body as he floated, as if a giant with massive claws had picked him up. The monster smashed him against the wall, squishing him into paste.. His remains slid grotesquely over his wife, dead near instantly.

“...” Rayse stood there in silence. He didn’t know how to react. His parents were exactly how he remembered, even down to the fact that they ignored him. He saw their glances of recognition when their eyes met, but like Luna, they seemed almost afraid of touching him. And now they were gone. Again.

Rayse felt a shiver, leaving him trembling as wind rushed through the valley. The wind passed through, but the trembling only got worse, until all he could do was whirl wildly in place as the tension threatened to overcome him. He needed to move. Maybe even hit something. Or someone. But who?

His spear snapped back into his hand, while the dragon scales on his shield began to rattle. His body told him to move, to explode, but as he turned, he saw nobody he could hit. Where is it?

“Their killer won’t appear, lad.” Luke said, walking over to him. He didn’t stop him, now, maybe aware that Rayse wouldn’t touch them. Not now.

“...” Rayse saw him, of course, but the last string of calmness kept him from tossing a spear in his direction. Who? He kept asking himself. He saw a crowd beyond the deranged puppet show, directly behind him. Maybe over there?

“These statues are all dead, and Deceit appeared because, well, you killed her too.” Luke knelt, summoning stone coffins to encase this tragedy like he did so many years ago. It was a nice gesture, but Rayse cared little for it this time. He kept looking beyond him, towards the demon army, who was eerily content just watching the human army collapse. And all the while a single question echoed in his head. Who did this?

“I wanted to keep this from you, lad, because it wasn’t pretty. and I know that if you found out, you’ll kill yourself trying to get revenge on it.”

“WHO! DID! THIS!??”

“You know who, Rayse! Look around you!” Luke spread out his arms once again. He was shouting now too, pointing towards several of the dead on the ground. Rayse saw it now, the irregular cuts, the disorderly mass of bites, claw marks and hoof stomps that lay waste to the people there. He knew no single demon capable of such a diverse array of attacks. Noone, except–

“ Hee hee hee!” The demon guffawed, unable to contain itself any longer. The corners of its eyes even teared up, showing pure bliss at all the suffering the strange spell had wrought. 

Agony’s massive body had doubled over, knees buckling as the herald enjoyed their suffering. The demons joined in on the fanfare, laughing and jeering and stomping their feet, applauding this sick little puppet show that was no doubt orchestrated by one of them. Rayse’s shaking stopped, finally seeing someone he could point his wrath towards. 

cla-cla-clattatta…

He dropped his shield and loosened his purse strings, dropping an embarrassment of riches that he had uselessly stockpiled, unable to be absorbed. Gems of every size and attribute surrounded him, emitting a rainbow of energy at his feet. It clashed garishly against the rapidly advancing darkness, as if the light itself revolted against the coming Abyss.

Rayse arched his arm backwards, focusing all this tension towards his spear arm and pulling back, like a bow fully drawn. As he did so, trails of light gathered into Unbroken, until it began to vibrate and glow. That got the demons’ attention. Their laughter ceased, and the adept among them began putting up barriers, those familiar emerald green shields they had so much trouble with back during the portal raids.

With bloodshot eyes, he could still see those foul demons, laughing to the point of tears, mocking the grief they felt towards their loved ones. And at their head, the fiend itself. That bumbling beast called Agony, striking the floor with laughter, completely oblivious that the demons surrounding him had all sobered up.

Before he attacked, a second of clarity was gained. He kept asking ‘who’, well, now he had an answer.

And he was off. With all his might, Rayse threw the spear. Not at the demons, but angled upwards. It sailed over their heads, crushing several barriers in its way, until it stopped there, right on top of the heart of the army of darkness. The spearhead spun, like the hand of a clockface, counting down the moments to their demise. The demons tried to remake their barriers, but it was too late.  With a final swing of the spear, completely inverted, it was time for their reckoning. Rayse bellowed, injecting all the mana in the surroundings into this single spell.

“UNBROKEN! JUDGEMENT!!!!”

This attack, as spoken about afterwards by those who witnessed it, called it a rain of punishment.

__________________________________

“Urggghhhh!”

Lacey let her irritation fuel her. She had no choice, it was either that or succumb to the creepy demon kid. She urged her mana to overflow as Atrophy held out its hand towards her. 

Three stars flickered into life, orbiting around her. She primed one to strike, risking getting caught in the proximity of the blast just to be able to strike the herald. For her efforts, even the herald seemed impressed.

“A capable mage indeed, carrying out such mental imagery despite your condition. Unfortunately…” 

Crack. “All things return to dust.”

Atrophy’s hand caught Orion’s star with surprising agility. It scattered in his hands in a futile manner, like a child trying to keep sand on their open palm. 

Lacey’s face contorted in panic, then concentration, but she needed more time. The hand was almost on her now, easily passing through the invisible arms that held her midsection. The tiny hand glowed ominously, not just from the sinister black of Atrophy’s mana, but also from numerous white specks from Orion. Lacey focused on the remains of her spell, trying to urge them into action. She felt a connection.

Almost… 

But whatever she wanted to do, she wasn't able to finish it, as right before she was touched, several things happened in succession.

An array of black crystals shot at their position, clanging harmlessly at Atrophy’s invisible limbs.

“??”

Or at least, that’s what she thought. Immediately, the arms that bound her let go, dropping her unceremoniously onto the ground.

Whatever happened, Atrophy recovered soon and gave chase, only to be struck by several spears of light that came seemingly out of nowhere. Though seemingly ineffective, it still bothered Atrophy enough to render him immobile, allowing Lacey to get her bearings and get away.

Finally free, she was able to do what she wanted to ever since she was being tortured. She dug her heels in, and took a big breath. Then, upon release, she let out the ‘loudest’ mental transmission that she could.

HEY!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING!???

__________________________________

Brandon opened his eyes wide, his peace disturbed up by some sort of noise from outside. Or was it inside?

He was trapped somewhere dark, rendered immobile by something that stuck to his skin. He ignited his mana, glowing a soft, warm red. Auburn hair welcomed him, a shade of which that matched his own. He instantly felt relieved.

Oh, she’s still here.

He pulled in tighter, tight enough for even more of the wood to plunge into his skin. In response, his mother wrapped her arms around him too. It suited Brandon fine. If this was how he died, it was alright. The point of getting stronger was to avenge her, but it got him to this point, and for him, that was good enough.

There was a consistent rumbling from beyond the warmth of their embrace that made him a bit annoyed. His mother stirred at the movement. The soft light from his skin illuminated her concerned face.

Go on, she pleaded, begging her son to escape from this hell.

“It’s okay, mom.” Brandon whispered. “Everything’s fine.”

Extreme drowsiness took him in this moment, trying to ease him back into an eternity of bliss. Each lingering thought began to wash away. From the war, to the demons, and even his master. Those just seemed inconsequential now, like the games he used to play as a kid. He remembered those days fondly… Spending the day out on horseback, rushing through the rolling hills of his hometown. Just he and his mom, out in nature.

The scene in his mind twisted itself into a memory, one that he had visited many times in his nightmares. He and his mother were riding in the forest region north of Hios. It was wonderful, with plenty of obstacles to gallop and , but the ground was still relatively even, making it good exercise for the horses. They made a long circuit around the place, roughly knowing that they would come upon the town eventually anyway. 

Brandon remembered his echoing laughter as he raced ahead, galloping past the last of the trees and into a small clearing. He stayed there, out of breath, waiting for his slowpoke of a mom to pop out, but she was nowhere to be seen. Still he waited, until he finally heard the sound of footsteps.

“Huh? Where’s your horse, mom?” He remembered wondering, as Hayley stumbled through the clearing, huffing as she made her way towards him.

“H-hey, are you bleeding? What happened to your horse, mom?”

“Listen, love.” She breathed. “I need you to go back to town. Tell your dad to call the city guard. This forest, there are–”

A cacophony of barks emerged from the forest behind, making Brandon jump.

“They’re here! Hurry up and go, Bran, before they get here. I’ll buy you some time.”

“Mom? Let’s just go together. Fleetwind can carry us both, so why don’t you–”

A huge shape jumped out from the clearing, bigger than any dog he had ever seen. Even more massive shadows followed closely behind, which to a young Brandon, looked like a couple of giants. The ground even shook in their presence. He felt rooted in place, shocked into silence.

Hayley looked back briefly, before raising her hand.

Thwip!

“No! Mom!” Brandon yelled as his mother used slapped Fleetwind’s backside, forcing it to go at a gallop. His horse was at the edge of the clearing in seconds, leaving him helplessly looking back at his mother. Even then she was smiling, putting on a brave front for him.

“Go, my son. I love you.” She said, before turning to their assailants. She raised her riding crop, as if that could fend off what was to come. Pretty soon, the trees would hide her from his view, but not soon enough.

Brandon held his horse tight, not even bothering to control it. His eyes were set behind him, engraving the final sight of his mother into his soul. Several shapes leapt out of the shadows to pull her down, and a stream of blood sprouted upwards like a fountain. But that was not her final memory of her.

“Eeeeeeeeek!!!” Her screams find his way to his dreams from that day onward, a painful but constant reminder of his weakness.

…

Brandon shook his head, interrupting the memory to snap back to the present.

No, that was the dream, he insisted while basking in his mother’s embrace. Yes, this was his reality now.

So he snuggled up close and laid his head for good.

…

His drowsiness felt uncomfortable now, finally realizing that something was wrong. He cracked his eyes open to take a peak, and was chilled at what he found.

“What?” He murmured.

Hayley looked at him now, alert and no longer looking sad. On the contrary, she looked quite angry. Her mouth flapped like nothing he had ever seen since, well, his mom.

‘Stop being stupid and let go of me!’ She demanded. Her feeble attempts to push him away just reminded Brandon of how strong he had become.

“Never again. I will not lose you again.” He kept on saying.

Her mother stopped struggling at that. Brandon waited, until he was certain that was the end of it. When he was reasonably sure, he tried closing his eyes once again.

Clap!

Brandon’s head whipped to the side as Hayley gave her a slap. Ticked off by now, he opened his eyes to protest, but was stunned to see her smiling. She let her hand glide down his cheeks, settling in his chest.

‘Enough, Brandon. You’ve done enough.’ He cried for a while, mourning his mother all over again. He didn’t let it consume him this time though, partly because she watched him like a hawk. She brushed off his tears, nodding her head as if to say ‘it’s okay, but you really don’t have time for this.’ 

She was right, too. The dream had to end some time.