The Curse of Hidden Hollow

The Sacrifice

He looked over to see Kiera, hobbling towards him. "Kiera! Stay back! It's dangerous!" She shook her head. "You can't use the crystal! You're going to lose yourself to it! End up like him!" She gestured to Thomas. "I'll never end up like that, I can fight it! I need it to destroy him!" Kiera was about to say something else when a large blast knocked her over. "Kiera!" Ash cried out. He whipped around to Thomas, he was laughing. "Such a pity that she had to go so soon! Oh well, you win some, you lose some. She was my best pawn, you know!" Ash clenched his fist, his anger rising. "Now, do you actually think you can defeat me?" Thomas asked. "No..." Ash began. "But I'm sure as hell gonna try!" He picked up the crystal and held it above his head. He felt the power begin to coarse through him. He screamed, erupting into purple flames. He turned to Thomas, ready to fight, only to see the man charging directly at him. Thomas's fist connected with Ash's face, but Ash had the crystal's power on his side now. A blow that would've been lethal was only a scratch. Ash went flying back, smashing into another platform. He got to his feet quickly and focused all of the energy on his fingertips. His hand glowed brighter for a moment, then fired off the same lightning bolt that Thomas had. Thomas dodged the first one, then sent back one of his own. It hit Ash in the chest, and he winced. He dove forward, power surging, and sent a bolt directly at Thomas. This time it connected. Thomas cried out, flipping backward. "Not so fun to get a taste of your own medicine, huh?" Ash called out. Thomas growled in response and jumped over on top of him. Ash had no time to think of escape before Thomas started punching him, over and over. After he finally got all his punches in, he grabbed Ash by the throat and started squeezing. "You little parasite! I'll watch the life drain out of you like I watched Kiera!" Ash remembered Kiera, and what had happened to her. It filled him with a new sense of anger and power. His world was starting to fade to black, so he had to think fast. His arms were pinned, so he did the only thing he could do. He kicked the ground, sending him into an upward angle. Thomas screamed as he was flung off of Ash, tumbling through the air. This was it, Ash would only have a small window to time this right. If he couldn't? It was all over. He held the crystal with both hands and dove over the edge after Thomas. He was falling face first with the crystal out in front of him. He saw the ground approaching fast underneath Thomas, and he brought his hands forward, swinging them downward, plunging the crystal straight into Thomas's chest as he hit the ground. Ash rolled off of him and looked over. There was a blinding light around Thomas, and he heard him screaming. The light became so great, Ash couldn't see anymore, and he passed out. Ash opened his eyes. Was it all just a bad dream? He tried moving, and an aching pain set into him. Nope, not a dream. He shivered from the cold and sat up. The pillar of light was gone. The Wendigo were gone. Ash's heart sank. Thomas was gone. He got shakily to his feet and looked around. "Kiera?" He took a step forward. "Kiera? Where are you?" He took another step forward. He fell to his knees. "Mom? Dad?" He called out. There was no response. "I-I'm all alone..." He muttered. What would he do now? He won the battle, but in the end, it would appear Thomas won the war. He sat in silence, wondering what to do next, when he heard a slight whimpering sound, and his name being called very lightly Ash got up with a start. "Kiera? Kiera, is that you? Where are you?" He heard her voice again, it came from underneath a pile of rubble a few meters away from him. He limped over. "Hold on Kiera! I'm coming!" He started digging away at the rubble, eventually clearing it off of her. He picked her up, and set her on the ground away from the pile, holding her up so her head was on his lap. She wasn't looking too good. Her clothes were torn in some places, her shirt was singed away where Thomas's lightning bolt had hit her. The skin under had purple bruises and streaks. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood. She was wincing in pain. Ash didn't know what to do. He saw a blue glow behind him, and he heard that all too familiar voice. "You've done well. But now you're at your final test. Your life, or hers?" Suddenly it dawned on him. This was the sacrifice that he had talked about? No, there had to be another way. "You have just enough power left from the crystal to save her, but if you do, it will take your life force with it, and you will die." Tears built up around Ash's eyes. "Is there any other way?" He asked quietly. Ahtunowhiho shook his head solemnly. Ash lay Kiera back down on the ground, and he stood up. He looked around and saw the crystal sitting a few feet away. It still had somewhat of a purple glow to it. He limped over and looked down at it. Maybe, just maybe, if he could take the rest of the crystal's power, it would be enough to save Kiera and keep him alive. He picked it up and squeezed his hand around it. Its purple glow slowly faded, and he felt himself getting a bit stronger. He made his way back over to Kiera, Ahtunowhiho watching curiously. He knelt next to Kiera and put his hand where the bolt had struck. He focused the power into his hand and closed his eyes. He felt the power transfer and opened them back up. Kiera was unmoving. Something was wrong, it was supposed to work. Why wasn't it working!?