The group immediately drew their weapons, with Lilian making a staff appear in her hands, the Prince drawing a rapier from his belt, and Delarius picking up a pike that was thrown on the ground.
“We should have found a weapon for you way earlier,” Amelia said to Delarius.
“Just because I can fight doesn’t mean I want to,” he replied.
“There is no need for a war, monster!” The Prince shouted, running forward. “You will die here! For the sake of my father!”
A blast of shadow flew out of the cloak and went straight through the prince’s head, slamming into the wall behind them as the rest of the body toppled over. It made a sound akin to a cannon going off, panes of glass shattering from the sound alone. Delarius and Lillian both looked on in horror.
“I did not come here with the intent to kill,” Valzekt admitted. “The rulers of this kingdom are very poor negotiators.”
“Liar!” Lillian shouted. “You were already corrupting the people of the other provinces! You had no intention of negotiation at all!”
“Despite the title you have given me, I assure you that is not the case. Kiula Web came to me with the proposition to take control of the Tower of Night. Any other events that took place in this kingdom were either done entirely of her own volition or a cause of paranoia. Until now, I have not lifted a finger against you. Corinth is eating itself alive.”
“Even if that were true,” Delarius interjected, “you still attacked the world many, many times before.”
“Quite,” the dark hood that covered Valzekt’s face slumped forward in disappointment. He examined the king’s body for a second and threw it at Delarius’ feet. “Every time I try to settle things peacefully, whether the ruler is a coward or a warrior, a nepotist or the people’s champion, they always choose war. It’s unfortunate that it always has to come to this,” he held out his hand and a blue ring appeared around him. “The one useful thing Kiula Web granted us was a teleportation spell, capable of teleporting armies. I have never had one of this power before. I would like to see it in action.”
“Alright, let’s shut him up already,” Amelia said. She ran forward and swung her sword at the cloak, only for it to swing through the cloth like there wasn’t any mass there at all. She looked shocked before a hand of darkness reached out, wrapped itself around her neck and hurled her into the back wall.
GlassAngel
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The rest of the party immediately sprung into action, with Patrick, Grey and Lilian throwing energy bolts that both went through Valzekt’s head, but doing nothing. James looked at Delarius. “What the hell is going on?”
“I...I don’t know…” Delarius muttered. “We’ve always been able to just stab him before...I think, that’s what I heard in the stories.” He threw the pike aside and grabbed the King’s sword.
“The last Hero of Sable killed my physical body,” Valzekt explained. “Now I am one with shadow magic: no weapon forged by man can kill me.” Bolts of shadow flew at the party. Grey and Patrick got hit dead centre, James blocked the bolt with his shield, and Lilian created a magic shield to protect herself. However, when Delarius raised the King’s sword to guard himself, the bolt bounced away like it had been reflected.
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Trident743
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“He had a Holy Weapon?” Valzekt mused. “It seems he was to incompetent to use it. I would like to keep that, traveller.”
Shadow tendrils extended and tried to stab Delarius, but he swung the sword and sliced them in two.
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“If a weapon forged by man cannot kill you,” Delarius replied “then I imagine this weapon forged by the gods will.”
“Very well,” Valzekt said simply. Shadows began to spin around him, slowly building up. The blue circle began to grow brighter and brighter, but the rest of the room began to dim. Soon, the other people in the room could only see each other in monochrome. Delarius examined the sword for a second before realising what he had to do.
“Run,” he said. “If this sword is the only thing that can hurt him, then I shall use it to protect your escape. There are more Holy Weapons beyond the borders of Corinth. Find them.”
James looked shocked. “No, we’re getting out of this together, Delarius. And if anyone can slow him down, it’s me. I can use a sword better than you ca-”
“Look at your party, you cannot kill him by yourself. If we do not force him back here, who knows what he could do to the rest of the capital. And besides,” Delarius smiled. “The war to follow will not need a failed aeronaut.”
“We should run while we get the chance,” Lilian said. A gold light enveloped them all.
“He dies…” Amelia said, her eyes widened with shock. She tried to move her body but it was still limp. “He remembers dying every single time...that’s what he told me in the tower.”
Delarius walked towards Valzekt, dragging his sword along the ground. James tried to run and help him, but he was floating into the air with the rest of the party, doing nothing but flailing.
“Stop this!” He shouted to Lilian. “This is senseless! If one of us could take it-”
“We should run while we get the chance.” Lilian repeated in the exact same tone. Her face was completely cold.
“I want to help him! I want t-”
“There’s nothing you can do James.”
James spun around to see SoulArmoury sitting on the windowsill, smiling.
“You’re the guy from Haelshire,” James said. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”
Delarius was walking through the spinning whirlwind of shadows, slicing them apart with the sword.
“You cannot save Delarius,” SoulArmoury said. “I wish I could do that too, but the past is in the past...or my past at least. I want you to come with me. I think our goals here align,” He turned to the rest of the party “We’ll need you guys to keep this instance of the battle running as long as possible. James will only get one shot at this. And if you see Oblivia, stop her.”
“No,” Amelia growled. “I saw him in the Tower. He sai-”
“We’ll do it,” Grey interrupted her. “Good luck, James.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Patrick asked.
SoulArmoury shrugged. “You don’t.”
Patrick smiled. “Try to bring him back in one piece.”
Delarius and Lillian completely ignored the new arrival. Delarius turned around and smiled.
“Goodbye, friends. Thank you for the adventure. Now go and be heroes.”
The rest of the group vanished, but before James could vanish the old man pulled him out of the gold light. The shadows stopped spinning, hanging in mid air. Valzekt completely froze. Delarius dropped the sword and collapsed to his knees.
“And so we do this song and dance again,” He muttered. “This foolish death, twisted and broken, a facsimile of the truth.” A tear ran down his cheek, but he stayed smiling. “At least...at least I have a friend this time.”
SoulArmoury walked up to Delarius and the two hugged.
“I’m so sorry,” the old man said “I tried to save you before, bu-”
“This is not your fault. There was nothing any of us could have done. This nightmare will end soon. This kingdom must fall.” He looked at James “Is this your choice, Nathan?”
“Yes. I know it’s not ideal bu-”
Delarius put a finger to SoulArmoury’s lips and walked over to James.
“Cieth,” Delarius said. “Or...James, I suppose. The road ahead will be long, and it will hurt so much. But you have your friends. Keep them close, hold them tight. They will let you weather the storm. I have faith in all of you. Don’t let my death weigh on your soul. People die, that is the way of the world. I know it too well.”
He walked back over to Valzekt and picked up the sword. SoulArmoury walked back to James and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, and if you see a woman called Minerva Veil,” Delarius said, “tell her I love her. I never got to do that the first time around.”
SoulAmoury let out a bitter sigh, shaking his head a little.
James nodded. “I will.”
“Excellent. We’re all in order then,” He raised the sword and aimed it at Valzekt “Godspeed, new hero of Sable. May you be the best we’ve ever had.”
Time unfroze. The orbs began to expand, sucking out the light in the room.
“Once more for the road?” Valzekt asked Delarius in a mocking tone.
Delarius smiled back. “Oh, go on then.”
The orbs of shadow exploded. Glass shattered, the floatstone bricks blasted apart and the shattered pieces left hanging in mid air. The first shot in the war with the darkness had been made, and the first casualty had been taken.
