Legends of the Stars

Chapter 24: The Dark Lord

Chapter 24

The Dark Lord

With the Destroyer's body reduced to a cloud of dark mist, all the Astreans collapsed to the floor, trying to catch their breaths amidst the ravaged courtyard. Jaden leaned himself against Astra, too exhausted to even look at each other. Heaps of smoke and ash tainted the air around them, making it too hard to even breathe.

"Is everyone okay?" Jesse asked.

"What do you think?" Darek asked rhetorically.

While they were victorious against the God of Destruction, the price was too great. The lives of countless soldiers were claimed by Zadon's wrath. Most of the survivors were seriously wounded, but they were being treated by Kaylah and the other medics.

A chilling sensation ran through them all, the kind of freezing numbness one would get from severe frostbite. Whether it was everyone's bodies or the air settling, they could feel Death riding away in the wind.

Jaden and Astra were so exhausted, they could barely turn their heads to each other. His whole body was running on empty; with all the injuries he sustained, he was on the verge of crumbling like a leaf. He and Astra downed whatever potions they had to give them some strength back.

"Revan, are you there?!" Ramon said in Revan's commlink.

"Yes, Father! We killed it. We killed the Destroyer!"

"Don't celebrate just yet. More demons are coming your way!"

"Jaden! Princess! Look!" Rex shouted.

Jaden and Astra could already sense these demons before they heard him. They both stood up to see them emerge from beneath the city and filling the streets above. The Astrean soldiers outside the Citadel clashed with these monsters, resuming the battle with the bang of their gunfire.

"How can there still be more of them?" asked Astra. "Is there no stopping them?"

"Impressive!" a voice echoed from overhead.

Just from hearing this voice, the chill everyone felt suddenly became worse, almost to the point of hypothermia. The Astreans were once again caught beneath Death's freezing shadow.

Kaiser slowly descended from the sky like a marionette riding its strings. As he glided down the front steps of the Citadel, the dark energy bleeding out of Zadon's decaying remains rushed back into Kaiser's body. The black haze swirled around him before hardening his body like a demonic shell.

"You truly are a worthy adversary," he declared. "But did you really think it would be that easy?"

"Well, I was hoping it would," Jaden responded.

"That mindless creature was nothing! The real fun has only just begun!"

At that point, Jaden was so annoyed by his unfathomable arrogance, he wanted to stuff a rock into his mouth. Even so, the Ark Knight was tired of fighting, and he didn't want to see another moment wasted on senseless warfare.

"Don't do this, Kaiser!" urged Jaden. "This war has gone far enough! It's not too late for you to stop it! You don't have to kill any more innocent people! I'm begging you, just stop fighting and walk away! Please, it doesn't have to end with death."

"I used to think the same thing. All my life, I was told that I was born to protect humanity, that I was chosen by the gods to fight against evil. But as I fought their battles, as I saw their armies burn each other to ashes, I thought to myself, 'How could somebody do this?' That's when I realized...that evil can't be stopped...and that this world isn't worth saving. Death is the only thing that matters."