Zols face was stricken with an unequivocal revulsion as he heard the blended screams of what he now would assume were his comrades. Just as the light shined even the smallest glimmer to reveal the monster's view the Novik’s shadow arms and innumerable manners of the attack were simply too much for him to keep up with. In a last-ditch effort to shelter the body of his friend Zol huddled himself over Meru using every ounce of his Naten to turn his body as hard as he could.
His last bastion; his clothing was being devoured by the second. As the muck took flesh from him, he poured his naten into healing his wounds as much as he could to keep himself from killing instantly. The torture of his skin being decayed, regrowing, then devoured again was a semi-perpetual hell he was forcing himself to endure Meru was held at the center of his being as the spears flung themselves into him. The pain shot through him almost causing him to blink out instantly...but Meru…
The tiny wolf pup whined in terror beneath his partner's bronze-colored hands. The luster of which was fading fast. The volumes of the putrid onslaught wreaked havoc on what was once his proud colage to be. Flung into the body of the savage beast he was moments away from a horrendous demise. He had failed….
He hadn’t been able to protect a single person here. All his brave words, all his staggering proclamations. They meant nothing when faced with something thing so terribly out of his league. She tried to warn him… Q, even before this journey began…she told him how this would end…she tried to help him escape
As Zol fought his efforts to shield Meru from the corrosive enzyme he himself was there mortally wounded, his consciousness hanging on by a thread he was almost frozen in disbelief. Something like this was wandering about in the world. It was as fearsome as an elder dragon of legend. Something that could pierce the flesh of a Michio? He tried to move his arms and legs. For the first time in his life, they didn’t obey him. He couldn’t even tighten his fist to express his frustration. He just held onto Meru with everything he had. After all this… after everything, he had been through. This was it?
N-no…
He could barely think straight. Opa and the others. How much worse had their suffering been? His eyes watered, wide eyes he glared at the moons above might have been. How bad he wanted to scream how bad he wanted to cry. No matter how hard he tried, how hard he fought…he still failed the ones he loved…he was so tired of it… of everyone dying around him.
He was still just a kid…
???: Do you truly feel that way? After surviving the rise and fall of countless ages. After defending this world from one astral terror after another. Do you mean to infer you’ve reached your limit? Even now you fighting so hard to…
A voice quietly chimed in his mind. He was exhausted...what more did he have to give? Save for a few seconds to prolong his comrade, his confidants,... his best friend's life., the burden of his flesh being stripped from his being. The excruciating pain he was enduring just to give Meru the smallest chance to live. It was all he could focus on.
“I…failed them all. My guild… my clan…the world…Meru…they all died and I’m next…"
His back had been eaten partway through. His arms threatened to cave in on him. The despair that sat in his heart was heavy indeed. He wants even sure if he was talking to himself or anything at all anymore.
"I just wanted everyone to smile again…I just wanted to laugh with my friends again! I just wanted….I just wanted…"
The weight of the guilt, the weight of the Novik pressure forcing him to assimilate into it….the weight of everything was far too much for a single soul to bear…
” You just wanted to be loved the way you do…from the heart. Even now you face the odds completely outweighed by the task before you. Yet, you still try to defy fate even now... with everything you have to protect the little family you have. As you have always done...as you swore to do. My, yes, surely your memories. I suppose you wouldn’t, would you? Time moves so much faster here in the physical realm…”
From the black coagulant of flesh, shadows, and muck that was the Noviks body a small but pungent gleam of light found itself battling against the darkness that sought its end. Defiant of the black ilk around it, its essence like a softly humming harbinger of dawn. As it ate away some of the force that had encapsulated him within its small basketball-sized perimeter. The origins of this light? The pouch where Zol was protecting Meru.
"Me…ru?"
He weakly called out.
The orb of abolition palpitated. Zols withered, melting and falling flesh all called out in agony.
” Not exactly, though I must thank you for protecting me so heroically all this time. It eas so strange being in a physical body...let alone a puppy. Guess I should’ve expected anything less…from a Guardian of the Stream.”
*Entering Zol's inner plane"
The light was starting to cling itself onto his haunted flesh. In the depths of his mind, a scene would unfold. Everything was so black around him. Dark, scary, brimming with the uncertainty of when he would finally draw his last breath. In this void of despair, he could scarcely make out a faint light. It mirrors the colors of the one that absorbed him. He weakly limped over. Shadows fading out where his right leg and left arm and back used to be. Almost crawling, the light got larger as he neared it soon to reveal a golden bud that sat atop a silly green stalk.
Haggardly, he drugs his tiny frame towards the plant stopping just a few inches short of it. The one somewhat solid hand he had he clenched. His face was stricken with conflict.
"What am I even doing here...what will this even change? To this beast I am nothing...To Michio, I am nothing..."
Dread began to embrace him once more... he fell towards the ground.
"But....but to Meru..."
His foot almost instantly caught him and kept him from hitting the ground flat. He kneeled now before the plant
His fist clench was left of his raw exposed face daggered in the plant.
He slowly rose as he looked upon the shimmering bud. It was pulsating brighter and brighter. Something drawing him near. In the middle of his chest...he could feel a longing, a sensation that grew as the light burned fiercer.
"But to Meru...I'm the only person in the world who can save him right now...I am...I am his family!"
"Yes Zol, for it is in your nature never to abandon someone you care for. To always stand and face the challenge no matter how impossible the task might be! Many might deem it a path of naivety, a fool's dream. But for one who has once crafted from the crust the Mother herself. For one who was chosen as the right hand of our progenitor...for you; The Mold Breaker, nothing is impossible!"
The voice rang through this blackened space, the vibration seeming to almost place him in a trance. He wabbled falling just short of the glistening viridian stalk. His eyes watering being near it. The longing his chest was so large, so wide he could barely stand it anymore. What was this? Thus almost burning sensation bubbling inside him. Whatever it was spoke loud his feelings to the bud of the plant. His hand gently reached out to the plant just barely grazing it. Even just that small contact was enough to cause the illuminating petal to bloom reveal a beautiful golden
flower. From the center of the flora would coalesce a gilden orb that resembled a golden bulb. Zol witnessing this was gifted with a slight boon of motivation to attempt to stand. He fumbled a few times before witnessing the unfurling of the celestial cocoon. What emerged was something he'd never witnessed before. The flower had birthed a small female-like creature. Her wings were iridescent as were her big doe eyes. She blinked heavily a few times before smiling at Zol's practically hollowed face as she fluttered over towards him.
" Oh Zol…you haven’t even noticed it have you? You have not been a Michio…by blood… since you arrived from the crash pod some odd months ago. Gideon and the other stripped you of that, discarded you, and left you to fend in the wilds of this foreign world alone..."
His eyes reflected nothing but horror and ache. That made no sense. He used his anthem he accessed his blood right to defeat the bugs.
"I should let you know, my name is Vesel. I am one of 7 Kalor Scions...Pillars of the High Realm; Sisters of the Stream...Daughters of the High Fae; Alawei. We however are unlike them. Sheer callousness is often misconstrued as power. The Great Fae of our realm proclaims otherwise. We could never turn our gaze from a friend in need."
She paused doing a cute little spin then curtsy. Trails of light and little dust particles followed her every move.
"You are very unique Zol. You had the potential once to be a gifted Mancer when its blood once flowed through your veins, your ties to the spiritual realm the world of dreams are deep…as is to be expected of one who has slept and resided there for over 10,000 years. Time and all that you know?
Though I suppose it's ok it if you don't know. Yes, It’s ok if you don’t remember Zol. We all do… because we promised you..."
Her face for a small moment became sullen...
"Though your body was at rest in the chamber pods waiting to be awakened, your spirit burned with such vibrant angst and longing at the travesty that had befallen the Micho by the palms of the Great Destroyer, your soul radiated such a powerful cry that my sister, Lilika; Kalor Scion of the Titian plane; Pillar of the Amber mana; Emotion, reached out into the ether without even thinking and pulled you to the other side. Imagine our surprise when we laid sites on you.
A boy...a dustling with a yearning so strong, a heart filled with guilt so potent it reached out into the universe for help. Your soul traveled to places you wouldn't even believe me if I told you. Within that time, you lived with us… and the other denizens of our world. For eons, we laughed, fought, trained, and celebrated together. We answered your call Zol."
Zol couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around all of this. Why then did he have no memory of this? He had been having strange dreams of a world that seemed to be adjacent to vescrutia. He thought them nothing more than hopes to see a new world. The illusion of what it might have looked like to be able to gaze out onto the space surrounding his home.
"When your body was suddenly revitalized and snatched from the High Realm it caused you to suffer a sort of temporary spiritual lapse. The shock "short-circuited" your soul and you lost the power and knowledge you accumulated in that time….but…if you truly wish to walk tall once more…I can make it so. I can return you to whom you once were. But at a price."
His eyes drifted to the side…what price could possibly refuse at the cost of his kindred life? With stalwart resolve, he looked towards her again.
“Name….name it”
Ves would lower her gaze…
"Your memories Zol…if you go through with this everyone you ever loved will fade from your heart. Once you return to that state…your ties to the physical realm will be severed…"
“Wait…are you saying…”
"Well, in order to go forward…in order to save them. You must pay with your life, your physical one that is. Once you regain your spiritual powers the influx will consume everything else. In other words...you won't have a physical body to go home to...you will never be able to share these moments again...you'll lose them all"
His body. His sanctuary. The physical biography in which held his entire life from birth. Flesh that once carried the legacy of a timeless race. In order to save them, he had to let them all go? To let go of himself? What about Meru? How would he learn to make new friends if Zol wasn’t there for him to practice trust?
But if he did nothing…he would die and this beast will continue to cause the same pain here again one day. Every fiber of his knew already the choice that had to be made.
“Can I see it all again…please. I want to remember it all just…just one more time.”
Vessel’s face was filled with so much sadness. She could barely imagine the weight of something like this being sat on the shoulder of just a boy. Whatever he was before he was still just a big child at heart. One who only ever wanted to bring joy to those around him. Her face would sober up to one of resolve. If he was willing to do this, she would give her all to make sure he stepped into his fullness…
"The giant lady was right…you are so brave. It makes you one of the greatest men we've ever known. Very well…I shall show you….everything…"
Vesel would gently kiss Zol's forehead bestowing upon him a radiance that went through his body igniting the small flickers of his lingering mana. His eyes erupted in a bright gold blaze as the last two decades of millennia course through his consciousness, producing a ridiculously blinding light that once settled down revealed an indescribably awe-inspiring visage of The Khralaessara. His place of origin; his homeland. The nostalgia of music, the smell of the food...
" Now, do you see Zol? Your power is so much more than the manipulation of the physical realm…. You did not use Carbon infusion."
His eyes were puzzled
"You were chosen as one of the astral lynchpins for the stream that governs the Center of All things. A Guardian of its Mana Flow. You have felt it haven’t you? Your deep connection with the world and its inhabitants have you ever asked yourself where this desire came from? Sure your time among the Michio even before the was several centuries long, but why would that amount to all of this? How did you make your way to the lonely stone despite having not seen this world in so long?
You adjusted almost instinctively when you awoke here, able to effortlessly understand a world you had not set foot in consciously for 15 millennia...You stood to watch over them that entire time. Over the Seven planes that make the High Realm, Seat of our world. With all of us here in the spirit realm of Carna.
The dream of the Sapphire comet. The omen to come. This is the planet itself reinforcing your purpose. The Convenant you entered over 5,000 years ago. Speak now…let the very planes of Kalor itself feel your conviction let the hells below witness your fabled wrath!"
The memories washed through him. Watching the entirety of his life flash before his eyes. The reason he was able to face any of these things. The reason his still alive to this day was because of the love that he had been shown. To give it up now...to let it burn out. As much as he tried he couldn’t possibly follow through with it. Not after seeing it now firsthand start to finish.
“I had Grandparents”
A
grandmother who was always cooking and studying astrology. A
Grandfather who was always creating and training. Both of whom showed him so much love coming up. The memory shot vigor through him. He began to try to stand again.
“I…I had a
Mother”
The pulsing of his soul was nostalgia-soaked as the memories of his mother emerged. Her strong stubborn nature. Yet she always tended to his wounds and ailments with a warm smile and touch always admonishing him to push himself harder because he’s so much more than he thinks. Hearing the whip-like cracks of her towels snapping after she caught him in the sweet jars.
“I had a father”
He said as the once smokey face of his father appeared to him clear as day. His soul sweltering even harder now. The man who loved him no matter which way he drifted. He always encouraged him to be brave and care for others as he wanted them to care for him.
Whether that blood flowed through him or not…whether they were dead or not…that energy could not be erased. Not when it lived so deep inside him. His eyes narrowed, there was purpose now were once lost
“I had friends...family...loved ones.”
The memories of his time in the High Realm cascaded all around him. Centuries of laughter, Playing tag, training, discovering new places. He was much taller in these memories, about 6’4, his body incredibly defined. He was clad in an armor that radiated a powerful iridescent hue.
"And even though...I want to hold onto all of them...I know now that...I.."
His eyes closed as he resolved within himself, the next choice of words...the next course of action.
“I had a mission....”
His eyes roared with ambition as he remembered once more the promise he made to Vescrutia, that he would serve as a guardian of its borders. That he would prevent the Azure Advent from bringing untold danger to the world. The Promise he made to the Sovereign Fae. That he would one day return to their world and take his place at their side.
“One that cannot be ignored. One that I cannot fail!"
Ves: Now Zol...reinvoke the convent. The promise that has been thousands of years in the making. Here now in the dawn of the Third Astral year let now your bonds be honored! Scream out into the universe as you did when you were but a helpless child. Show them all Zol...SHOW THEM ALL WHO YOU TRULY ARE!"
He hit his chest with enough belief to shatter a mountain. From the top of his lung, he declared forth!
“I am Micho Zolgarious; Mold Breaker; Mana Guardian of the Kalor Patheon. Preserver of peace. The Ethereal Beserker. I am sworn to keep over the mana flow of this world!”
The once pervasive darkness began to give way to the busting light of his declaration
"My Anthem...is Mana Infusion!"
In that very moment of acknowledgment. In remembering the might he was held...the power that flowed through him and every living thing in creation. Mana, another form of naten, the lifeblood of Carna. The heavy darkness was soon devoured by a brilliant blaze of light that overtook the plane by storm., revealing the beautiful place that was his inner plane.
The shades that hid his missing body parts were cast out. Now he stood in front of Ves brimming with light.
Kindler of the 7 planes, cultivator of the astral realm...we the sprirtual realm of Carn have heard your vow. We accept this convinant.
A voice that seemed to carry the undertone of several different beings spoke out into the cosmic-Esque domain of his. It reverberated, shifting the gentle pond causing the waters to erupt like a geyser. In the face of the torrent, a mystical
arrayment of lights came to be.
You may have fallen a child, but you will rise a titian! Become now...the Etheral Berserker!
At this moment Zolgarious turned to find that Ves had returned to her spirit form and joined the other 6 balls of light. One by one each manifested for a brief second showing their faces to Zol. The 7 Kalor sisters were here to back him up. The light coalesced all around him, embedding within his body the collective might of each pillar of the high realm. The power of the Fae Sovereign themselves now coursing through him.
*Outside the plane*
Having reached into the palace within and reclaiming his domain Zolgarious was overflowing with the cumulative power of the 7 Planes of the High Realm itself. Such a forced expression would not last for long. But in this very moment, Zol was about to unleash everything he had been storing up inside his soul for the last 10,000 years. WIthin the necro prison of the Noviks flesh, the light from earlier would have expanded in both power and brightness shooting up into the sky-piercing the darkness of the Maalukian woods. For what might be the first time the entire Woods were alit revealing practically every crevices possible. Meru and Zol's physical forms had been devoured by the flesh of the monster but what rose in their place was something that no one, not even his former clansmen knew resided in Zol.
As the light began to die down enough to where it was not painfully blinding what was revealed would be a lone
figure, bathing in a golden light that had spurts of iridescent flares that seemed to almost have a cadence in the way they flickered. Eyes radiating a gilden light that rested solely on the Novik.
"....."
A silence washed over the expanse as nothing was said. The being would inhale upon doing so it would split in two exhaling only after the separation as done. The "copy" with a movement so smooth and fluid it could be thought of as teleportation appeared before Aisha. Just being in its illuminance had already started to cause her wounds to heal. With a warm smile, Zol's original form would temporarily take face to bring some form of calm to her troubled soul.
It's ok to be scared Aisha. The world is filled with some big scary things...
He said as he lifted his right hand. He kneeled down before his wounded comrade and sat his hand over the place her arm was.
"The worlds filled with all kinds of strange and scary things. Nature is fierce and harsh..."
He said as he stood back up and stretched his legs out. Dusting off the dirt.
"But I have seen death, felt it, survived it. That's why I have to get strong."
He said staring at her in those piercing mirrors of hers. Seeing his own crimson gaze reflecting in her retinas.
He thought of Q, he prayed she had made it out safely. Continuing on Zolgarious's hand emitted a powerful green hue. The Verdant Mana; Life was flowing into the nub where Aisha lost her arm. The light wrapped around her nub becoming solid almost like a gel that would ease her pain, stop the bleeding and begin to cause her limb to rapidly regenerate. Within moments it was almost fully healed.
But when a dragon appears...so does the need for a dragon slayer.
He said as he rose. He turned his back to his comrade, how it pained him to have to do so. How he wished that he could've gotten here sooner. He might've been able to save Dawli and Opa as well. Now was not that time for regrets. the best thing he could do for them, for anyone at this point. Was to that this bastard down!
Hey... Aisha? I want you to know Aisha, that even though it wasn't long. The memories I shared with you, were some of my most treasured possessions.
His aura began to burn a bit darker reflecting the slight sadness in his tone
Tell Erigor..that I'm sorry, the promise I made...was the one vow, I won't be able to keep. Fangs...don't abandon Fangs.
With a thought her scrolls, anything that held her mana onto it returned to her. Zol looked over his shoulder. With his signature Chesire grin, he flickered appearing next to the original while Aisha flickered back to where Q was last seen. The Crimson rune embeds a path that led out of the woods. Smiling the two joined forces again and their aura conjoined bursting like a nova that flared with such vibrancy it caused him to resemble a small sun.
You. I thought I would move out of vengeance...to take revenge for my fallen friends and the lives of those you have stolen.
The power continued to coalesce and
condense around him as he began hand signing,a form of channeling energy from an age long lost, and muttering a series of phrases.Doing so causes the mana to grow as he wove it into a spell meant to rid this world of this devil once and for all. At the feet of the creature would manifest a series of runes that bore the same vibrancy as their creator.
b]
Sovreign Fae Magic... [/b]
The orb would condense further becoming the size of a baseball that floated towards the creature.
Mystic Art of Banishment; Realm of the Eternus Blaze!
With that, the orb would self-destruct releasing a catalytic pillar of
light and mana that would aim to completely engulf the creature. A large rune circle would manifest under as hundreds of golden flaming ethereal chains aimed to wrap around its massive body. Where its darkness resides, wherever its essence was tethered to this spell aimed to completely remove this stain from besmirched this plane entirely. If successful that beast would find itself enchained in a realm of perpetual flame light mana. A fitting means for a creature known as the skin snatcher. Now it could spend eternity adding its own screams to the ones it liked to manipulate its prey with. With this grand magic art, he aimed to banish this darkness from their world...from all worlds.