The War of Gods

Chapter 2 - Part 7

The soldiers of the army trudged back to camp; exhaustion written on their faces. They had been forced to run the entire way. The mage squads didn't really fancy the idea, but Akchaman scouts would be all over them at any second. There must've been only a few minutes until dawn when the whole army had arrived back to camp. As they finally reached the camp, the first rays of dawn were just beginning to peek over the horizon. The rain had stopped, and the soldiers huddled together in the courtyard, grateful for the respite from the elements.

Captain Briggs stepped forward to address the troops. "I commend you for your bravery. All of you. Tonight, I asked you lot to do something that I am not sure I would have done myself, in your position. For that, I apologize." She paused. "A leader should not ask followers to do something they would not do themselves." She said these words with a certain anger. She was trying to keep it at bay, but Joel could feel it slip through, just the tiniest bit.

Joel couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, even as he stood surrounded by hundreds of fellow soldiers. He could feel eyes on him, a breath on his neck, hands suffocating him. Captain Briggs's words pulled him back to the present, and he forced himself to focus on her words.

Dawn had arrived, and Captain Briggs looked behind them. The Sun shone through a giant cloud of smoke, in the distance. "And yet, here we are," Briggs continued. "We did what we must. And now we rest and feast, like we deserve! Sleep as soundly as you can. By lunchtime we begin marching back to Kesla. Once we reach Surkule, we'll-"

She was interrupted by a blinding light. Three beams of light shot up into the sky. Two of them from far away and the third one was coming from... him? Not only him, it enveloped Nerith, Mavar and Jordan. They looked at each other confused. Captain Briggs's expression was one of shock and disbelief.

The outside world began to fade away, as the beam got brighter and brighter, and the only things that stayed in focus were him, Nerith and Mavar. What was happening?

Wait, wasn't Jordan in the beam as well?

Joel had no time to double check. The beam got bright to the point where he could see nothing else, besides his two companions, just as confused as he was. He could feel all of it, at the same time. The eyes, the breath, the hands. But they weren't suffocating him. Instead, it almost felt like they were embracing him.

The beam eventually faded away, and around him he saw a landscape made of glass. It stretched until the horizon, and past it, Joel could see an equally endless sea of clouds where light shone from all direction. Pillars stood all around them, made in a fashion that Joel didn't recognize. He felt good and warm, like he was always meant to be here. He never wanted to leave.

"Welcome, champions," a new voice said.