Deep within the shadowed halls of Lord Thrush Castle. From the far end of the corridor, Hassan emerged. He bowed low before the throne where Lord Thrush waited " Did you bring it? " Lord Thrush voice was cold, deliberate.
Hassan lifted the bundle wrapped in black cloth. " Yes, my Lord. The relic you sought - a bark of the World Tree itself. " His words trembled as if speaking them alone were blasphemy.
Lord Thrush's lips curved into a chilling smile. " Ah... at last. " He extended his hand, Hassan reluctantly placed the bark upon his palm. The moment Thrush's fingers closed around it, the hall shuddered. A pulse of energy rippled outward, rattling chandeliers and shaking dust from the rafters.
The bark began to twist, veins of shadow crawling across its surface. " Yes... " Lord Thrush whispered, his voice low with ecstasy. "This is power beyond even the gods' blessing. And now-"
The bark writhed, then blackened, In Thrush's grip, the fragment of the World Tree was no longer sacred - it had become a vessel of ruin.
" -with this. " Thrush continued, his voice echoing through the great hall, "the Tree itself will rot, and with it, the balance of all creation!"
Hassan in fear and awe warring in his expression. " My lord... what have you done? "
Lord Thrush turned his eyes upon him, and the corruption spread faster, climbing up the walls like wildfire. His smile widened. " What I was always destined to do, Hassan.... tear the roots of existence from the soil. "
The wind howled like a dying god as Lord Thrush and Hassan ascended the highest boughs of the World Tree. The canopy stretched into the sky, its leaves weeping streams of light that bled into the void where corruption had already begun to eat away.
" Watch closely, Hassan, " Thrush declared raising the vessel high " By planting this vessel into the core of the World Tree. I shall claim a part of Axnir, the divine essence itself. And with it - the Chalice of Hope will flow into me! No one - neither god nor mortal - shall halt the will of Divine Authority. My wish shall be carved into reality!"
Hassan continue " My lord.. what world do you wish to create?"
Thrush turned, his eyes glowing with a sickly brilliance, his smile stretched wider than human lips should allow. " A world upon the brink of doom. Where despair is law, and all creation kneels beneath my shadow. And when I ascend... I will shed this husk. What you see before you, Hassan, is but a fraction a shard of What I am. "
Hassan's eyes widened. " A.... fraction? "
Thrush voice deepened, resonating with something far beyond mortal comprehension " Yes. For a human sight like yours cannot endure my true form. The essence you behold now is mercy... a veil so that your mind does not shatter before the truth of me. "
The corrupted bark screamed as Thrush pressed it into the bark of the World Tree itself. Black veins spread like wildfire through the luminous wood. The Tree shuddered, its roots crying out across every realm.
The World Tree its once radiant branches dimmed, leaves withering into ash as the corruption spread upward. From it's hollowed trunk, crack burst open - splitting reality itself - and within something vast and terrible was revealed.
Through the fissures of the Tree core, Axnir ribs emerged. Abones glowing with divine light, Lord Thrush's eyes widened " At last.... the remains of the marrow of the All - Father himself Axnir. "
He stepped forward, the corrupted bark fusing into his arm, tendrils of ruins latching onto the divine ribs. His body convulsed, skin splitting, scales growing where flesh once was. With a guttural roar. Thrush pressed his hand against Axnir rib bone.
YOU ARE READING
Ashes Whisper
FantasyAshes Whisper is a novel that follows the story of Elara, a young woman cursed with the ability to absorb the souls of the dead. As the war takes a heavy toll on Elara, she struggles to keep fighting, and her curse becomes increasingly difficult to...
