Chapter Fifteen: Light, Dark, and Death

*

Embodiment of Alacrity!

Kicking off the ground, James and his group pushed forward towards the rallying Valkyr. Their wings of black and white pushed them into the air, but he couldn’t allow that. If he wanted to protect Aiden and fulfill the duty given to him, he couldn’t let them take flight.

“Stop them!” he shouted, leaping as high into the air as he could while a lightning bolt shrieked as it tore through the sky, exploding in a cluster of the Valkyr.

He could feel his Momentum Discipline fueling the speed even further, pushing him far beyond what he should’ve been capable of. Those that fell from the sky, he ignored, letting those of his group hamstring the enemy’s efforts to depart as much as they could. Most of them were fast, but not many of them could help against their flying foes.

The Valkyr in the sky were led by a black-winged Valkyr, a Fallen as Aiden called them, and ignored the commotion below. The Fallen leader issued a command in a language he couldn’t understand, and the Celestials—humanoid figures of pure Essence—began to rush towards him to stop him.

I won’t be stopped!

In the midst of war, he remained calm and calculating. Even if he couldn’t stop all of the Valkyr from reinforcing Aiden’s assault, he could do as much as he could. If he did at least that, he’d be able to retreat and regroup with Aiden and the main assault team in due time.

But who knew what would happen in the time it would take to get there if he didn’t do everything he possibly could now?

Thrusting his arms forward cast two Lightning Whips that homed in on his targets, wrapping around their legs. They tried to kick off the whips, but his added weight began to drag them down. The lightning coursing through their bodies didn’t do anything to help them in their efforts either.

Inevitably, they dropped like rocks, and he quickly changed target. But there were hundreds of Valkyr and even more Celestials. Their counterattack lit the sky as Essential abilities whizzed past his head and down to the ground, peppering those of his group who couldn’t follow in pursuit.

“Free the humans!” he shouted as many took cover, staring up at him in awe and shock without an idea of what to do. “Secure them and retreat back to Zion!”

Their primary mission was to save the prisoners and get them to safety, but James wouldn’t be satisfied with that. No, his abilities let him do far more. He wouldn’t stop until he couldn’t move or he took his final breath.

Though, he had no particular desire to experience such fate anytime soon.

Darkness began to wrap around the Fallen in charge of the Valkyr forces. Within seconds, James could no longer identify where the leader had gone. He waited for some kind of counterattack that never came.

The leader fled?

After he latched onto two more Valkyr warriors, he looked in the direction of the fourth group’s raid against the Valkyr Town, barely able to make out a shimmer in the air.

That Fallen actually left. The realization that Aiden would have to fight against two of the leaders without warning of the second’s arrival made his heart sink into his stomach. He looked around at the forces his group currently engaged, knowing that he couldn’t pursue. Leaving his people would result in too many casualties. He’ll have to manage. He’s strong. If anybody can do it, he can!

Knowing that Aiden would soon have to fight against both Valkyr leaders, James numbed his mind and gave in to the muscle memory ingrained into him since day one.

The two Valkyr he’d latched onto began to fall like the ones before, and he continued casting his abilities on cooldown, completely ignoring the freefall he faced. Lightning Clusters lit up the air, and Lightning Bolts rained from the sky, striking true no matter how hard the enemies tried evading.

His efforts were fruitful, bringing dozens of the Valkyr down to the ground, but there were just as many disappearing into the distance after their leader. Twisting midair, he used Shifting Winds to completely stop his descent and shift the momentum of his fall into a leap. Nimbly, he landed atop the canopy in pursuit of the Valkyr.

His chase was cut short as arrows of light rained down on his position from all directions. Utilizing the stored Momentum, he Amplified his movement by many times for a split second. The rain of arrows shredded the trees like swiss cheese, causing several to collapse. Screams echoed through the forest as the battle turned into a chaotic free-for-all.

Looking into the distance, he grit his teeth. To pursue would’ve been to leave behind those he was responsible for, so hunkering down in his position, he continued to rain hell down upon the Valkyr, counting each that limply fell from the sky.

Seventy-three, seventy-five, eighty-one.

His Lightning Clusters were putting in work, and his precision strikes wreaked absolute havoc. At some point, the Valkyr realized the sky was dangerous and dropped into the forest and back to the ground where they had cover.

“They’re grounded!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping that even a few members from his group would hear and reinforce his position. He began to collect Momentum once more, but a shudder pulsed through his body, sparks dancing across his aching fingers. Falling to his knees, he clamped his hand over his mouth, his vision swimming. Blood slipped through the cracks in his fingers, dripping to the ground. “I overdid it…”

The forest around him continued to sound like a magically charged battleground as he fell to a knee, one hand resting on the ground to prop him up. Sparks continued to dance across his body.

I didn’t think I’d Overcharge so fast, he lamented, doing everything he could to fight against the backlash of overriding his abilities’ cooldowns. Is this the extent of what I can do?

Footsteps ran towards him, and he turned to see a blurry figure rushing towards him. The wings and lightning spear made it quite clear whose side they were on. With his body in disarray, he couldn’t use either his Lightning or Momentum Disciplines, leaving him with only Wind.

But even that was limited due to the Overcharge taking a massive toll on the internal pathways running throughout his body.

Gust!

A blast of wind only slightly pushed the Valkyr back and had the unintended side effect of knocking James on his back. He looked up at the dense canopy above, wishing he could see the Midrathian night sky one last time.

The Valkyr screamed bloody murder as it closed the distance and struck downwards with its spear. James closed his eyes, embracing the consequences of his actions.

A sickening sound of flesh tearing then a disturbing squelching sound filled his ears like the sound of his Lightning Clusters exploding. After several long second, he opened an eye to see an aloof lion calmly lording over his downed figure while licking blood from its paws.

“Was starting to wonder if you’d ever catch up, Kion.” The regal lion paced around James several times before finding a spot that would be befitting its royal rear then unsurruptuously plopped itself on the ground next to him. “This isn’t the time for a nap, Kion.”

The lion lazily lifted its head and looked at him like he was stupid, almost as if to say, “You think you’re going anywhere in your current state?”

And it was true.

James could only wait until his self-inflicted Paralysis effect wore off and he could move again. He closed his eyes, putting his trust into his Companion, and began cleansing his gunked up pathways in order to move again.

His people still needed him, and laying around in the middle of a warzone was a good way to get killed. Kion rumbled next to him, and he opened another eye.

“I know you’re strong and can protect me, but are you going to protect everyone else?” he asked testily, casting Whispers on the Wind. With the ability, he could allow part of his consciousness to drift into the soft breeze and find those of his group as he recovered. Once he found them, he sighed in relief. “Regroup on me. We’ve done what we can. Time to go home.”

Those that heard his command relayed the message as loud and fast as he could. Within minutes, they regrouped and hunkered down around James.

Slowly, feeling started to return to his fingers, toes, and ears. His mouth was still decently numb, but his Whispers of the Wind ability was still active.

“Did you get Adam and the rest out?”

“That’s really freaky, dude,” a girl said through clenched teeth. She held a hand on her side where she pressed on a concerning wound. “But yes, we did.”

Her eyes darkened, and he could understand why. More than a few of their group had fallen. The combined numbers of the Valkyr and Celestials were far too great, and even now, the Celestials threw themselves haphazardly at his group. They had no concern for their own life as if they were possessed—or under a compulsive effect.

Losing your Town is like submitting yourself to absolute enslavement, he realized, watching as the shifting bodies of energy continued to explode like a flash bomb when they took fatal injuries. Noted.

“We’re totally screwed,” he muttered, pushing himself to a sitting position.

“Why’s that?” the same girl asked, hissing as she turned herself to face him.

“Be careful with your wound!” He tore his shirt at the sleeve and carefully crawled over to her, wrapping the length tightly over the wound on her side. “We need to get you back to Zion or you might bleed out.”

“Don’t worry about me so much,” she said, her eyes shifting to the side.

He followed her gaze and saw that both the wounded and the dead had been moved to their location. The weight of their losses pressed down on him like the weight of the world. This is my fault. I should’ve listened to Aiden and avoided a direct confrontation, but—

“I know that look,” the girl said, reaching up a bloody hand to his face. “You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself.”

He flinched as if struck and met her damning gaze.

“Everyone makes choices.” She weakly pointed a finger towards the dead and injured. “They chose to follow you. You chose to run ahead and leave them behind without leadership Aiden sent us all here. The Valkyr have been aggressive towards every other Faction and used any means of gaining power they could. Everyone has a part to blame in what’s happened, and to feel sorry for yourself would be to spit on what they died fighting for.”

James pursed his lips and looked into the girl’s eyes. He propped himself next to her in a crouch, carefully guiding her good side’s arm over his shoulder, and helped her to her feet. “Hey, what’s your name?”

She hissed and swore like a sailor as he issued a retreat order to the entirety of his group over the Whispers on the Wind, ending the effect afterwards. Even if the draw on his Essence wasn’t too great, it was more than he had to spare.

“Carlie,” she replied, leaning most of her weight on him. “Name’s Carlie. Now, shut up and walk.”

Hearing the weariness in her voice and the way her body shook against his, he silently agreed. Occasionally, she would grunt in pain as his body spasmed and sparked with the residual energy from Overcharging.

The group slowly meandered back towards Zion, those carrying the dead or aiding the injured dead center of their careless formation. The eerie silence rang in his ears, but nobody dared speak.

Even if they fulfilled their mission, the losses were also great. Not only that, the raid had yet to end. From where they were, they could see the flashes of light, fire, and thunder raining down over the Valkyr Town.

Aiden, I’m sorry. I wish there was more I could do.

“Hey,” Carlie said, breaking the silence. “Earlier, you said we’re screwed. Why’s that?”

The sinking feeling of dread as the Celestials’ forced enslavement slammed to the forefront of his mind. “Our leader might’ve taken on more than he can handle, and he doesn’t realize how valuable he is.”

“How do you mean?” she asked, stopping her half-limp, half-wimp and nearly causing him to trip and fall.

“You saw the Celestials?” He let out a deep sigh, hanging his head. “If Aiden falls, all of Zion will become like them.”

Carlie weakly tried to shove him away, but he gripped her tight enough to keep her secure without hurting her. She tried to hurt him to get him to release her, but he clenched his teeth as her soft strikes impacted his weak body. Were it not for his Secondary Attribute being Durability, he might’ve passed out from pain.

“We have to save him!” she screamed as loud as she could—which wasn’t very. Growling in frustration, she leaned her head into his shoulder, tears streaming down and soaking through his shirt. Her voice, barely a whisper, broke his heart. “We can’t become like that, no matter what happens. I—I would prefer to die! If there’s anything we can do to help, we have to. We… have to.”

James thought the same thing, but one look around made it clear as day that they wouldn’t be helping anybody. If they tried to move in their injured and weakened state, they’d do nothing but become a distraction, a liability.

“We can’t,” he breathed barely above a whisper. “You don’t know how badly I want to, but we can’t. We just… can’t.”

Their already low morale plummeted as those softly spoke words traveled through their group as if he’d been speaking with Whisper on the Wind. All of them came to the same conclusion at the same time.

We’re all just too weak.

*

Slipping over the inner wall with the assistance of Dancing Winds, Aiden pushed off the air and threw himself forward over the weaker guards and straight at the group of elites that defended the Angelic Valkyr and the massive tent behind her.

Landing on the ground with a roll, Aiden sprang to his feet and lunged forward, a silvery-blue streak following in his wake as Silver cut through the very air and plunged deep into the first Valkyr’s chest.

He’d long since left the rest of his group behind, but Rory and Vincent—two B-rankers—already had orders. They were more the leadership type than he, similar to James. Aiden’s speciality was fighting things, not lording over thousands of people and managing cities, resources, dungeon escapades, scouting missions, and the hundreds of other tasks that fell under his purview.

No, his home was here on the battlefield. Even his body agreed, the muscles feeling relief as he let loose. He pushed himself to his limits, ducking and dodging the four remaining elites’ attacks while grinning towards the Angel.

The first he’d taken down had held a staff that clattered to the ground loudly, but he paid no mind. The only thing that mattered were the two bows, greatsword, and sword and shield in the hands of his current enemies. A fallen staff of a fallen enemy had already escaped his mind as he pressed onward, unleashing icy fury.

Both of the bow-wielding Valkyr leaped as high as they could into the air and unfurled its wings, one of the two catching an Arctic-empowered Hoarspike straight to the chest. In retaliation, the other began spraying him with arrows and orbs of light that exploded like flashbangs.

The other two weren’t idle either, though the Angel seemed content to simply watch the fight with a sickening grin on her face. The greatsword wielder spun and slashed downwards powerfully, a black wave exploding at the impact point and sucking Aiden forward and off balance. An Ice Wall rose from the ground directly in front of him that he planted his feet on, using the strange gravitational pull to draw him closer while still being protected.

With its diamond-shaped kite shield, the other Valkyr came around the ice wall, but Aiden was ready. His Ice Shield slammed forward and knocked the Valkyr back just as the gravitational pull released.

Landing squarely on his feet, he laughed as a black streak split his wall in two. With fury blazing in its helmeted eyes, the greatsword-wielding warrior leapt towards Aiden. The pressure of the three remaining Valkyr put him on the defensive.

Even though he’d taken down two already, the remaining three were no joke and coordinated well to leave him little to no opening. Seeing this, Aiden couldn’t help but laugh even louder, rushing headfirst into the sword and shield-wielding Valkyr.

Its shield moved to block Silver as its sword neared Aiden’s chest, but Aiden was no fool. He released his Ice Discipline, and the blade faded. The Valkyr, lacking the expected resistance, was quick to recover, but by the time it could, Aiden had already slipped into its guard and reactivated Aura Channel.

Little remained of Aiden’s Ice Shield, but Silver sank deep into the Valkyr’s chest, robbing it of life. Twisting the blade and wrenching it free ended any and all traces of life left.

The other two hadn’t been sitting idly by, and the greatsword bore down on him as arrows of light rained down on position.

Twisting himself, Aiden called on his trump card. Icy crystalline armor manifested over his body, and the greatsword slammed into the several layers of thick armor, cutting deep but not deep enough. The arrows harmlessly fizzled out on his armor, though he could feel the bruises beneath already forming.

Compared to the Shadowborn bosses, these Valkyr are incredibly lacking! he thought, stabbing into the greatsword-wielding Valkyr’s throat while thrusting his offhand upward, locking onto the archer, and firing Hoarspike to the same effect as previously. With a sharp yank, Aiden freed Silver from the Valkyr’s throat as the other fell, landing with a hard thud.

The Angelic Valkyr tilted her head. Her blonde-silver colored hair flowed in the wind as she smiled maniacally at him. As he laughed, so did she.

“I sense a kindred spirit within you, Candidate of the Naudox,” an unfamiliar voice transmitted directly into his mind. His wariness at the sudden communication must’ve shown, for she shook her head sharply. “We, of the Valkyr, are unlike the Etherene. We thrive and relish combat, not cowardly tricks of warping the mind.”

She brandished her long, powerful spear made of pure light and splayed her hands across her chest—almost lovingly. He eyed her warily, but he couldn’t help but rejoice at the challenge of another enemy.

“I don’t know how you’re doing what you’re doing, but I won’t go easy on you just because you can communicate. The time for that is over,” he said, flinging the blood from Silver’s blue and silver blade. “

“Yes, let’s not trade words any longer, but know this, Candidate,” she said, lunging forward with her massive spear, “the name of the warrior who will take your life is Veletya Spearsage!”

The air whistled as her weapon cleaved through it, leaving behind powerful waves of light in her wake. He dodged back, immediately throwing up another Ice Wall as he leapt to the side. Her massive spear pierced cleanly through and would’ve left a whole in his chest.

Apparently, Aiden quickly found out, the waves of light she left behind had a purpose. They followed in the wake of her previous path, cleaving through the ground for dozens of feet until the energy dissipated.

Okay, now this is something on the level of those two! he said, grinning madly. Let’s see how she takes this!

Shards slammed together instantly, and a Glacial Fang cut forward instantly. Veletya dodged to the side, but her eyes widened in realization. His ultimate trump card slammed into her shoulder and exploded in icy fury, mirroring Aiden’s own.

Icy mist clung in the air and shrouded the result of his attack, but he expected things were far from over. Many seconds passed without, and the sound of battle raging around him became all too clear as the fugue of his fight started coming to an end.

Guess she was weaker than I thought, he thought, disappointed. However, he knew better to turn his back on an enemy before confirming their demise. And his vigilance bore fruit, making his laughter return. As I expected!

The mist cleared, revealing the Angel. Blood dripped from the stump on her shoulder, and she glared at him. Steam poured off her shoulder where her arm once was, but he could tell.

She’d cut off her own arm to save herself.

The cut wound was too clean, looking like packaged deli meat. Grunting, she rested her spear against her knee and reached up to the stump, barely more than her shoulder remaining. Light began to emit from her like she’d flipped a switch and became a lightbulb. Formless light Essence gushed from her palm, and she screamed in absolute pain.

He watched and waited, curious to see what would become of her when she finished. The formless shape shifted into an outline, kind of like a kid’s coloring book, and filled in with pure light Essence until a newly formed arm replaced that once was flesh and blood with something of magic and fantasy.

Incredible, he thought in awe. Her entire body steamed like she’d just ran a marathon in the winter, but she grit her teeth and pushed herself to her feet, albeit with great effort and unsteady feet beneath her. Truly incredible, but I think that took too much from her.

“I… will not… fall here!” Veletya growled in his mind, grabbing her spear and taking two shaky steps forward.

“Bring it! Show me what you can do, Veletya Spearsage!” he shouted across the sound of the raid. The true extent of his fury unleashed as Apex Predator blossomed outward. A wave of chilled air blasted outward as he shot forward like a bullet, Silver poised toward her heart.