Father of Despair [HIATUS]

Arc 1 Chapter 4 - "The tightening grip of fate."

"CAN'T THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?!" Zorian screamed, briefly overcoming the cacophony of the pandemonium around them, channeling shields after shields like his life depended on it —and it did—. A loud and thunderous lightning spear crashed on a nearby wall, barely missing Zorian's head by a few centimeters ; but still obliterating most of his defenses that he'd just erected.

The time travelers dashed through the air at an unimaginable speed ; straight down toward the dark chasm of the Hole below. They could feel and hear the wind wheezing past them, like an angry banshee out for blood.

Their bodies shook violently as Zach's evasive maneuvers became more and more erratic, rash and desperate. The abruptness of the motions would've costed Zorian's breakfast if he had taken time to eat one.

"SHUT UP! DON'T TALK SHIT ABOUT MY BABY!" shrieked back Zach, his face contorted by the effort of his spell.

Said baby was an orb of shining light that was currently enveloping the duo, courtesy of Zach's spellcasting. A magic spell of his own creation ; something that he might go as far as call a trump card. It was a marvel of the magical arts, something many would pay dearly just to witness. The pulsating milky-white colored sphere moved faster than most projectiles ever could, and was powerful and precise enough to easily strike down an adult dragon in mid-air.

A roar shook the air behind them, sending shills down their backs.

"ZACH! THAT DAMN SHIFTER IS COMING BACK!" Zorian shouted, widening his eyes in horror at the sight of the monstrous brownish-red werewolf behind them. The eyes of the beast were shining amidst the darkness, a scarlet unspeakable fury inside of them. As if cursing their very existence, it roared again, bursting every animal's eardrums in its vicinity.

The speed with which Zach and Zorian descended down the dark abyss was so fast that most would've miss them if they blinked. But still, that abomination gained ground on them by lunging itself further down from one side of the hole to the other continuously, breaking the rocks under its powerful thrust and producing small craters each time.

"DAMN IT, HOW?! I WAS SURE SHE WAS OUT COLD THIS TIME!"

Out of the three that were pursuing them, she was the worst to deal with—

Another bolt of lightning flashed toward them, blinding Zorian. Zach barely reacted in time and moved the white sphere they were in to their left, nearly crashing into the wall before adjusting back right before impact.

The arch-mage groaned in exhaustion. His spell wasn't meant for such quick and fast deviation. As such, the mana toll each time he needed to evade was immense... and their mana-reserve were emptying fast. Way faster then what they could absorb, even in this mana-saturated space.

"I THINK WE'RE CLOSE TO THE OBJECTIVE. WE SHOULD—" Zorian said, before being cut off.

"WE'RE CRASHING IN!" Zach shouted, his gaze scanning the ever-changing environment in search of the building they were targeting.

"WHAT?!" Zorian shouted in a hurry, still channeling whatever defenses he could to cushion the attacks of the attackers. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! IT'S A SECRET GOVERNMENT RESEARCH FACILITY, ITS BOUND TO BE FULL OF THE BEST DEFENSES ELDEMAR HAVE IN STORE—"

"WE'RE CRASHING IN! WE CAN'T AFFORD TO SLOW DOWN WITH THOSE MONSTERS ON OUR BACKS!"

A dangerous and reckless choice, but a calculated one. Zorian could understand Zach's logic, even in this chaotic situation that generally muddled one's mind. If they slowed down now, their pursuers would catch up. If they rammed into the facility, they would face the worst the government had to offer, but so would the monsters behind them. With a bit of chance, and if they survived the initial encounter, they might buy themselves enough time to find what they were after.