The Enchanted Realm: At Journey's End

The Joy of Creation

 Orion hammered away at the armor. Layers of steel, coated midnight black. Leather and chainmail kept it all together. Orion had thought of everything. He stopped hammering at the steel shoulder pad, looking up at the blueprint for his armor, sketched out in detail. Orion's attention went back to the steel. It had gotten cold now. Orion picked up the steel plate with his leather gloves, putting it into the furnace. With a metal rod, Orion moved around the coal as the fire raged on. He barely noticed Moonlight enter.

"Why's it so hot in here?" She asked, the back of her hand against her forehead.

"It's a blacksmith. Fire, molten slag, the like. So it gets pretty hot here." Orion replied, using a pair of tongs to take the metal out from the furnace. He carefully set it onto the table, taking the hammer and bending the steel to his image. The metal slowly began to cool down, but not fast enough. The steel was perfectly bent into the way Orion wanted it. He grabbed the tongs again, dipping the steel shoulder pad in a bucket of ice-cold water. A fire erupted before dying again in the water. Raising the steel from the water, Orion grabbed it with the gloves hands, turning around to face a mannequin decorated in steel armor, painted black as the night.

"Is that the armor S. F. gave you?" Moonlight asked, walking up to the mannequin as Orion placed the steel onto the mannequin's shoulder.

"No. That armor's gone." Orion said half-heartedly. He took a step back, viewing his masterpiece.

"What happened to it?" Moonlight turned to Orion. His eyes locked with hers, a blank expression falling on his face.

"I destroyed it." He replied. Orion walked back to the table, looking at an in-progress gauntlet, with a small crossbow attached to the underside, and a retractable shield on his forearm. Orion grabbed a screwdriver, carefully tightening a singular screw. He tightened the gauntlet around his arm, turning towards the wall. "Okay, now stand back." He ordered calmly. Moonlight stepped to the side. "Wrist-bow test, number one." He spoke to himself. With the flick of his wrist, the crossbow folded out. "Phase one of test one complete. Onto phase two." Orion loaded a bolt into the crossbow, watching as the mechanical system he designed had the bolt ready to fire within seconds. "Phase two complete. Phase three initiation in three... two..." Orion took a deep breath. "One." With the flick of Orion's palm, the bolt shot out, stabbing into the wall at breakneck speeds. "Wrist-bow test complete. No adjustments needed." He sighed, releasing the gauntlet from his arm, setting it back on the table.

"You've been working on this...all day." Moonlight stated, resting a hand on Orion's shoulder. "You need a break."

"There's no time for breaks." Orion replied, looking back up at the sketch of his armor. "Not when Eclipse is getting stronger by the hour. Plus, we've had enough breaks." Orion grabbed the gauntlet, taking it over to the mannequin. "I'm done sitting on the sidelines and watching as Eclipse plagues the Realm. I'm gonna stop her."

"How? She's a Legend! She is a goddess here!" Moonlight exclaimed.

"I'm going to kill her." Orion replied.

"But what if she kills you? I'll never see you again! Your family will never see you again!" Moonlight's voice seemed to crack. Orion pulled out the golden ring from his pocket.

"My family is gone." Orion replied coldly. "Besides, she doesn't want me. She wants the ring. That's why she sent that man after me. To retrieve the ring."

"Why would she go through all that trouble, just for a ring?" Moonlight asked. She turned her head towards a familiar object lying in the corner of the room. An object the size of a man's palm. It resembled an eye. A dragon's eye. And that's exactly what it was. The Dragon's Eye; a relic that imprisoned the very infection that still plagues Orion's mind thinking about it. It always caused a sharp pain in his chest, and it still did.

"Because it connects." Orion replied. "The ring; the Eye. They both fit. The ring leads to the Eye. The Eye imprisons. They're traps."

"But we used them to our advantage."

"Eclipse wants what's in the Eye. She wants S. O. She wants the Shadow Infection, so she can bring it back, and rule this dimension."

"And she needs the ring to find the Eye." Moonlight began to piece it all together. "Which is why-"

"She needs me." Orion finished. "She knows I have the ring. But she doesn't know where the Eye is. She needs me because I have the ring." The two were interrupted by the Keeper barging into the room.

"We're being raided!" She announced, rushing out of the room to aid in the protection of the base. A deep rumbling followed by screams alerted Moonlight and Orion that these weren't raiders. They were Eclipse, coming for the ring. Monstrous roars erupted from the base.

"It's Eclipse." Orion whispered, "the armor can wait. Keep the Eye safe, whatever the cost!" He ordered, strapping on the gauntlets he made and taking a flintlock pistol. "I'll hold them off!" Orion rushed out the door, and into the hallway. Orion looked to his right, and there was nothing. He looked to his left, and he saw them. Beasts of midnight-black and glowing white eyes growled, blocking Orion's path. One dared to walk closer, only for Orion to point his gun at it.

"Now, now. That's no way to treat a pet." A lady said. She materialized from the shadows behind the beasts.

"You were her, all this time?" Orion asked, rage in his eyes as he saw who the lady was. It was the Keeper.

"I was never Eclipse, darling; but I am one of her marvelous creations." The Keeper boasted.

"Oh yeah? You'll end up like the last." Orion growled, the shield of his gauntlet extending.

"Is that a threat, young Darkheart?" The woman asked, a twisted whisper hiding behind her voice.

"That's a promise." Orion quickly aimed the flintlock up at the Keeper, firing a pellet straight through her skull. The beasts barked wildly, beginning to chase Orion down the hallway. Orion ran as fast as he could, loading another bullet into the flintlock. He pulled the hammer back, looking behind himself. Those beasts were approaching. Orion fired a shot into one of the beasts' heads, watching it tumble and stop others from catching up. "That's how you roll!" Orion joked. Then came an explosion. The wall exploded, sending Orion and the beasts away. Orion felt weak all around. His head ached, his ears rang. Orion could barely see. He stumbled up to his feet, seeing that the beasts were all dead from the explosion. Fire began to spread. Orion coughed, stumbling away from the fire and into another hallway. The Keeper slowly walked towards Orion. "Just what-I need." Orion groaned, coughing again before flicking his wrist. The wrist-bow on his arm folded out. Orion loaded the bolt in, glancing between the Keeper and the wrist-bow. Until it was ready. The bolt clicked into place. Orion faced the wrist-bow at the Keeper. "Come any closer, and you'll end up like your friend at Redfield." He warned. "This is your only warning."

"Ha! You think I'm scared of a mere crossbow? You are more foolish than Eclipse had thought!" The Keeper laughed.

"Maybe. But have you ever considered the fact that I might be stalling?" Orion chuckled. The Keeper whipped around, only to get shot in the back of the neck by Orion's wrist-bow. "Ha! Who's the fool now?" He exclaimed. Orion retracted the wrist-bow, running back to the blacksmithing room. Moonlight had fended off some of the beasts, their purplish-black blood staining the floor.

"We still have the Eye." Moonlight stated, holding the relic in her hand. Orion searched for the golden ring in his pocket, hoping he hadn't lost it. Orion took out the ring, sighing in relief.

"And the ring." He added. "We can't stay here." Orion shifted over the armor, putting each piece over his protective suit. "The Keeper, she was another thing made by Eclipse."

"Wait-another? There's more of them!?" Moonlight exclaimed. "How many are there?" She asked wildly.

"I don't know, and I don't want to find out. It's time we make our stand, Moonlight." Orion turned back to her. "No more running; no more hiding. I'm going to finish this armor, and then we are going to hunt Eclipse down." Orion looked at a wall. He saw a hunting rifle laying neatly on the wall. "And plus," Orion turned his head towards Moonlight. "It's time for an upgrade."