The Chronicles of Exodus 3 The Rapture

Chapter 6 The Stirring Water

Jiron and I had moved far away from the mortal world. We stood high atop some hills behind Sydney, overlooking the great city. The fight from earlier had now been extinguished. I looked to Jiron; his silhouette panned against the setting sun. A sense of peace washed over us, the wind gently blowing around us, the sun igniting the world under its might, and two warriors sitting side by side. "So, is it true, I'm dead in your universe?" Jiron turned his head in surprise. "How did you know I'm from a different universe?" I smirked. "I had visions foretelling the arrival of three warriors, one of which was you. "And the other thwo? Have you found them?" He asked. I shook my head and looked down. "I don't know who they are, nor where they are. I've been so focused on my task of defeating these elemental spirits that were unleashed by my brother, he wishes to destroy this world," I said. "I'm just confused," Jiron sighed. I turned to look at him. "That group of mortals said you did horrible things, they said all the gods did, every single one of them." I glanced down. "The mortals of this world are not as innocent as those in your own. They commit horrendous crimes, kill their own, conduct revenge and torture. Yes, maybe us gods aren't perfect, but they lied to us! They prayed and gave us offerings only for their own benefit. That's all they care about, themselves. They made us wage war upon each other, eventually driving entire pantheons of the gods to extinction." I lied. Jiron sighed and slouched back. "Well, at least I have you now, right?" I turned to look at him. "Of course you do," I reassured. "Different universe or not, you're still family, always." Jiron smiled and exhaled, relieving all his bundled-up stress.

As the last glimmer of day faded into night, Jiron and I set off for a walk. I explained to him how important my quest of relinquishing the remaining elemental spirits is. "If I don't stop them, no one else can. I've encountered them before; I know how to best them. With your aid, we'll be unstoppable!" I said, patting Jiron's shoulder. He laughed and smiled. "Where are we off to now?" He asked. I paused and thought for a moment. I had slain the air and earth spirits, the next one would also be the most obvious to find, the water spirit. "We set course for the sea, the water spirit will be able to detect my presence, from there we work together to bring it down." I explained. Jiron nodded along, following behind me as I walked.

A few hours later, around midnight the two of us arrived at the eastern Australian coast. I held out my hand, signing for Jiron to stay back. I unsheathed both of my blades and began to spin them by their chains, flicking dirt and sand into the air. With a grunt I threw the blades into the sea, as far as they could go while still being clasped onto the chains. At first the ocean remained dormant, the waves crashing controllably under the moon's guidance. But then the waves ripped open, creating a swirling whirlpool! Storm clouds closed in up above, beginning to pelt unfortunate conditions for us. As the whirlpool roared, I watched as a massive shape began to emerge. Up above Jiron stood in shock at the spirit's appearance. The spirit grabbed onto my blades, gripping them within its liquid hands. Its face was humanoid but lacked any distinguishable features like eyes or a physical mouth. It ripped me from the shore using my blades and tried tossing me away. I tore my blades from the spectral being's grasp and readjusted my trajectory. I threw one of my blades into its spine and swung myself straight at it. As I landed, my feet were slowly sinking into its liquid flesh. Swiftly I hacked and tore at the spirit with my blades, small sparks ignited from the rusted metal swords but were quickly extinguished by the storm of water. The water spirit groaned and swung its hand around, wrapping its fingers around me. My stomach lurched as it picked me up and threw me onto the beach. Not again, I scoffed. I exhaled and looked up to Jiron who was watching me closely. I gestured for him to go in. He looked at me with surprise, then fear before determination. He unsheathed his two chained swords and leaped from the cliff face. He soared through the air and threw his blades at the beast's hand, grappling up to it and slicing it open. Golden blood drenched out from the wound, spilling into the raging sea below. The screaming storm shrouded us in the spirit's shadow. I spat sand out from my mouth and wiped my armour clean, all while I could feel The Reaper's rage growing. I watched Jiron dash around the ocean spirit, slicing wounds all through its body, making it look like a deformed slice of cheese. The spirit let out a roar, coating me in its saliva. With a grimace I wiped my brow, and clenched my fists, feeling the rage of my inner valdira. The Reaper could feel it too, using it as a path to expose itself once more. With a roar, my skin turned scaly black, spikes broke from my spine, tearing through my skin. A tail burst from my behind and slammed into the sandy dunes. My eyes snapped open as I rose high above the ground, growing in height. Lightning struck the forest behind me, setting ablaze and reflecting it in my scorching pupils. With a roar I charged up my burning roar of ruin, making my spines emanate a hot purple. With a lurch the beam of radioactive fire shot from my jaws, enveloping the spirit in smoke, steam and eventually fire. The beam started as a swirling mass of black smoke, before sparking into a barrage of burning hot flames, and lastly shimmering into a beam of concentrated energy. Jiron and the spirit looked at me, one with confusion and the other with anger. Steam flaked off of my boiling scales as droplets of rain pelted against my form. My snout and charred lips wrinkled as I bellowed a deafening roar and thundered towards the sea. Waves crashed against my shaking legs, barely slowing my advance. I could sense the spirit's fear as it hurdled spikes of blistering hot water at my chest. Jiron swiftly leaped away from the spirit and back to the safety of the calm beach. My tail swayed like the trunk of a pine tree whilst my body shuddered under the cold of the arctic winter breeze. I snarled and barrelled into the sea spirit, trying to drag it onto the land. Its watery flesh made gripping it difficult, but I managed to draw it close enough for Jiron to use his chained blades to drag it onto land. With our combined efforts we managed to drag the deity out of its domain. I roared and slammed my tail into the ground, shooting up sand beneath it. I growled and outstretched my claws, ready to strike. However, it seemed the spirit had other ideas. Trembling with pain, it dragged itself up the cliff face, gaining distance. With the crack of thunder, it ripped a chunk of stone out from the cliff and hurled it directly into my face, knocking my head to the side. I snapped my head back in its direction, glaring into its soul. With another roar I started after the fleeing deity. I dug my claws into the rock and began to climb, unfortunately for me the sea spirit was getting away, heading south towards the coast, back to the ocean. I wasn't going to lose it again! I charged up another roar of ruin and unleashed it upon the dense forest at the top of the cliff. The spiralling, blistering hot flames burnt the ocean spirit, making it fall back, towards me. As I readied a slice to its head, the ocean spirit grabbed my jaws, sealing them shut before tossing me off the top of the cliff. With a roar of pain, I crashed to ground, blood leaking out of my wounds. My giant, monstrous, reptilian form curled up like a cat in a cradle, shuddering from the sudden shock of pain. I looked up as the sea spirit made its way back to the water. I growled and managed to just barely lift myself off the ground a few metres before inevitably crashing back down. I growled in pain and blinked the water from my eyes. Through the haze I spotted Jiron swinging his blades, managing to snag them into the ocean spirit and refrain it from entering the water. "You look like you could use some help, Jira," The Reaper hissed.

I gave a slight nod. "Do what you do best, demon," I replied. The Reaper cackled and took back control. With a sudden roar I hauled myself up to stand. The Reaper's black gooey flesh seeped out from my back, spreading and coating over my scales. With a dramatic roar long, slimy, black tendrils burst from the ends of my tail, back and shoulders, flailing around like flags on a windy day. My spikes omitted a bloodcurdling cracking and gurgling sound as a golden yellow glow burst from their cores. Alongside that, a bright yellow glaze washed over my eyes, like it was staining my vision. With another roar The Reaper took full control of my body and charged the ocean spirit. The ground shook and quaked under my stomps, making miniature tsunamis crash against the shoreline. The ocean spirit managed to remove Jiron's blades from its back but not in time to escape. With full control, The Reaper lunged, slashing deep wounds across the spirit before dragging it into a headlock. It ripped its claws into one of its arms, tearing the flesh before completely severing it, tossing it onto the beach behind us. The ocean spirit cried out in pain and slapped The Reaper across his face...which was also a bad idea. The Reaper's jaws snapped shut around the spirit's fingers, its teeth cutting deep through the skin. Like a crocodile's death roll, The Reaper shook its body, dragging the spirit along with it. With one final shake, The Reaper dislocated the spirit's shoulder, incapacitating it. I let out a small grin as I watched The Reaper latch its fingers around the spirit's jaws, pulling them wide open, snaping and breaking them! With a deep, evil laugh we charged up a burning roar of ruin, making our spines flicker with gold. As The Reaper tried to escape, we blasted it directly in the face, killing it instantly. The Reaper dragged the ocean spirit's corpse onto land, shaking with every step. It tossed the body to the ground like it was nothing, even placing a gigantic monster foot onto its chest before bellowing a roar of victory. The clouds faded, opening up the faint winter sky, letting the sun barely reach the Earth's surface. I snagged back control and lumbered away from the ocean spirit, shaking my head and grinding my sharp, pointed teeth. Jiron followed close behind me, watching as I transformed back into mortal form.