Divine Ascension (Wattys 2024)

Chapter 3 - The First Battle

It was truly horrible out there. Civilians were running and screaming at massive rates, forests were being infested by monsters and burnt to a crisp at the same time, and soldiers were dying in droves, Melinda knowing for a fact they were Obscurian soldiers because they wore uniforms with purple, black and white stripes - same as the colour of the flag.

Smoke sprayed everywhere, clouding her vision and suffocating her lungs, which made things even more difficult as she stepped boldly over the corpse of her fallen fellow soldiers, staring coldly at the distance as she searched for Hemingway, gripping her sword intensely as she faced his formidable army, more than eager to show them what a real threat looked like. 

"Miss Grey is finally here!" a man shouted a while away whose deep yet enthusiastic voice she recognised instantly. 

It was General Thorne, a man with short black hair and dark grey eyes whose noble facial features were offset by his stony facial expression, which he was known for wearing. His uniform, unlike the others, was adorned by many golden and silver orders, which glistened beautifully in the sunlight, showcasing his years of work ethic and experience on broad display. If there was a man who could consider himself a true peer of hers, it was him. 

While she'd zoned off, he began rallying the people, and she didn't even need to listen to know that his call to action had roused many to battle even when all seemed hopeless. They charged again, further motivated by the fact that she was preparing her attack as well, among other esteemed warriors of the state.

It wasn't as if she knew what she was supposed to do, despite her frequently incredible battle strategies because the struggle now appeared to be worse than ever. However, she didn't have much time to think. Their army was losing four-to-one, and if she didn't do something fast, they'd all be dead soon, so she took a deep breath and started casting the first spell she could think of.

"Miss Grey, you mustn't do it!" General Thorne shouted the moment he noticed what she was doing, causing her to quickly turn her head towards him in confusion. "It's a very dangerous spell! It would be acceptable at any other time, but if you mess anything up in this important of a battle, the consequences would be dire for all of us. Think about it!"

Melinda shook her head, shrugged and went back to work. She was rather annoyed by this remark of his, much as she tended to respect his opinion. Thorne was a great man and leader, and she knew it best out of anyone who served in the army, but there must always be some disagreements, especially with both of them having such outstanding and individual natures.

There'd been worse times, but she still wasn't fond of how he felt the need to explain everything to her like she was a beginner. She'd been aware of his paranoia for a while, which was a pretty normal trait to have in this society and which she also tended to express more than was healthy, but she knew it all already. She knew deep in her heart that this was a battle like no other and than one wrong move could doom them all and that the spell she was casting was quite dangerous, but she didn't waqnt to think about it too much, so she simply continued focusing on the task.

And indeed, there was reason to be frightened by the spell, especially for its complexity. 

The first step consisted of capturing the shadows of the corpses of the opposing army while waving the sword around. Then, the caster is supposed to swing the sword upwards, pulling an invisible tightrope in the air until their wrists became blistered and their bones heavy with pain, struggling against the weight of dozens of dead souls pounding in their chest. Melinda'd been casting this spell in battle for a while now, but even with that in mind, it still felt like a baptism of fire to pull it off, especially as she tried desperately to shut off the voices of the dead.

And that's only half the spell. After that, the caster is supposed to swing the sword downwards, releasing the souls from their iron grip after al the souls' cries for help have been exhausted. Upon first casting the spell, the caster will feel like losing three litres of blood, but since it was Melinda's tenth or so time now, she only felt a mild dizzying effect, as one would feel after slowly sipping a glass of fruit wine, but even that was a hindrance amidst the breakneck pace of the battle. 

She still had to draw three shapes in the air - the true sign of a complicated spell in the world of Magis, where one shape is the standard - a circle to capture the souls, a heart to capture the hearts, and the triangle to bind them until their second and final death. 

All of this was done in half a minute.

The spell was terrible, but she'd got used to it, as well as many other like it. It was the toll of war, and she had to pay the price.

As expected, the spell had a great effect on Melinda's enemies. After the corpses' initial writhing in misery in pain, their eyes began to rapidly flash silver, which was the culture's colour of death and especially the undead, their bodies twitching in an intense duel between their own will and the one that was being brutally imposed onto them at the moment, their hands quivering with sudden bloodlust as they unwittingly glared at those whom they'd previously seen as brothers, who felt a terrible fright suddenly consume their heart.

It wasn't unwarranted at all. Readying their swords and spells, their puppet-like former comrades charged swiftly at them with a grand battle cry. They had hardly any time to call for help or think of a defence plan as they were being swarmed by beelines of unendingly ambitious and wrathful zombies. They were subjected to immense pain, which at least had the grace to end quickly, causing them to join the zombies themselves, and now it was Hemingway's army which was losing four-to-one.

Melinda and the general smiled in each other's direction, immensely proud of what they'd managed to accomplish as a team. The battle ended shortly afterwards, the rivalling troops not having expected any of this and not having a strong defence plan. Thus, everyone who was on the winning side cheered for Melinda and Thorne, and everyone who was on the losing side was retreating. Still, something seemed wrong to Melinda, which she couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Hey, Melinda," the general said with a big bright smile on his face, waving at her. "What you did out there was unbelieavable. I truly hadn't expected it, but I knew I shouldn't have doubted you. Anyway, now that we've won this battle, we need to rest for at least a little while, and also celebrate. Celebration is very important, after all. I'm offering you an invitation for a dinner at my wife and I's home tonight, and I think it would be quite lovely if you'd be willing to come around and chat with us for a while. So, what do you think?"

The success of the battle had clearly dropped a lot of burden from his shoulders, allowing him to be more relaxed and friendly than usual in these trying times. He wasn't an offputting man by any means, but with the job he had, it was much harder for him to express his gentle side than it is for most people, but when he did manage to express it, he was one of Melinda's favourite people she'd ever met, and it said a lot, for she knew many people. Still, she couldn't forget the issue that gnawed at her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

"Thank you, Kevin," she said, shaking her head with a rueful laugh, "but I can't accept your invitation. Not now, at least. I know we won this battle, but something feels... Wrong. There's no way Hemingway would have let us win this easily, even with my unexpected move. Something big is coming, I know it."

"Of course..." he responded, staring solemnly at the distance.

"I think I heard something in the bushes!" she exclaimed suddenly after a few seconds of awkward silence, confusing him because he hadn't heard anything. "I'm going to check on it now."

Despite all the questions he had, Kevin couldn't ask her anything because she was already gone by the time he'd opened his mouth. He nodded with a heavy sigh, standing there uselessly because he wanted neither her nor his soldiers not to know where he was in case something happened. 

He scratched his head as he imagined all the horrible things that could happen, telling himself not to be nervous as he took quick and steady breaths, breathing in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out as he paced nervously around the border of the forest, reassuring himself that everything was going to be fine and that Melinda knew to take care of herself and that he was merely being unreasonable and that surely nothing horrible would actually happen and that his mind was simply fooling him.

But then, something horrible did indeed happen.

Melinda disappeared with a scream in a flash of blinding purple light, leaving without a trace.