Ashes Whisper

Chapter 86 : Sword of Causalities

The battle into chaos and ruin. The skies burned red as lightning and flame clashed endlessly.  The Eldritch Dragon, the creature roared a sound that tore through reality itself and from its mouth spilled torrents of black flames, so hot it melted the ground to ash.

The ground quaked. The storm stilled. Kirin, battered and trembling, struggled to rise again. The Eldritch Dragon loomed over him, its many maws opening as if to devour the everything.

But before it could strike. The Destructive Spear appeared through the air and pierced the Eldritch Dragon chest, erupting in an explosion of light and void. The creature screamed, its roar echoing through every plane of existence. 

High above, wings unfurled, Zeirsulair had arrived. the Void Walker descending like a shadowed comet. Mikaela gasped, tears forming in her eyes "Sister!"

Samael turned, voice echoing across the chaos, "Finally.. she has returned! Now everyone! do not lose hope yet!"

The Forces of Eldar raised their weapons and shouted in unison, their warcry can be heard through the battlefield as Elara and the dragons of Sanctuary descended from the sky.

Zarek looked up, and whispered "Elara.."

The Eldritch Dragon let out a roar. The air warped, and from the cracks in reality itself crawled its minions, grotesque, shifting forms of flesh and shadow, their limbs twisted, their mouths whispering in countless tongues.

Then, the Eldritch Dragon spoke. its voice was a horror, layered, distorted, as if a thousand beings were speaking through single mouth. "Ashes Whisper... you finally arrive. Do you mortals truly believe you can stand against a god?"

The ground split apart beneath its colossal form as the dragon rise higher, its size greater than before, even over Zeirsulair. The once mountainous creature now loomed like continent of flesh and bone, its wings dripping black ichor that corroded the air itself.

Then in grotesque motion the Eldritch Dragon shoved its clawed hand deep into its own maw, tearing through its throat as it pulled something out. A sound like shattering stars echoed across the battlefield. 

What emerged was a sword, long and jagged, forged from fractured light and writhing shadow, its edge bending reality wherever it passed.

The dragon's countless eyes turned Elara and in its many layered voice, it declared "Behold.. the Sword of Causality."

The battlefield froze for a heartbeat as the Eldritch Dragon lifted the monstrous weapon high. its blade a dreadful resonance that tore at the minds of all who heard it. Soldiers, dragons and others are froze, every gaze locked upon that weapon.

The Sword of Causality pulsed, its form shifting like an endless paradox. Reality around it distorted, the ground bending and folding, as if rejecting its very existence. 

Then with a guttural roar, the Eldritch Dragon swung the sword downward, a strike aimed at Elara and the armies below.

In that instant, Elara raised her hands, light radiating from her palms "Lumen Aegis!" she cried.

A barrier of pure light erupted before her radiant and vast enough to cover half the battlefield. The moment the Sword of Causality strike the barrier.

A cataclysmic shockwave tore through existence. The sea split in half, the sky cracked, light and shadow bleeding together like shattered glass.

The ground quaked, the mountains split, and dragons fell from the sky as the sheer force of it consumed everything.

Elara's barrier shattered instantly, even Zeirsulair roared in pain, shielding her with his wings as the Sword of Causality aftermath ripped through the Land of Eldar like the wrath of gods.

But the battle still goes on

Dragons surged through the sky, unleashing torrents of flame and lightning upon the Eldritch Dragons. But every wound carved into its flesh regenerated within seconds. Every strikes it endured only seemed to make it more monstrous.

While everyone tried their best, Elara suddenly felt it. A tremor in her soul. A faint voice. Weak. Distant. Drowning.

"...Elara..."

Her breath caught.

As the voice came again, clearer this time filled with pain.

"Help me please..."

Her eyes widened.

"Riven?"

Deep within the writhing mass of the Eldritch Dragon, buried beneath layers of corruption and flesh, she sensed him trapped. Not fully consumed. Not yet gone.

For a split second, doubt gripped her heart.

If she hesitated now, thousands could die.

If she acted recklessly, she might doom them all.

Then  a whisper appeared on her consciousness. Cold. Familiar.

The Necro Sword.

"You can save him, Ashes Whisper... the choice is yours."

Elara clenched her fists. "I... can save him?"

The sword's presence pulsed softly "My power was never meant solely for destruction," it murmured. "I sever existence itself  and I can cut what imprisons him. But the burden will be yours to bear."

The gauntlet around her arm shimmered. Dark veins of energy coiled and reformed, solidifying once more into the Necro Sword.

"The answer," it whispered, "has always been yours, Ashes Whisper."

Elara hesitated.

She did not want to wield it again. Every time she did, it drained her  body and soul alike. The last time, she nearly collapsed. If she overused it now... she might not stand again.

But Riven's voice trembled inside her heart.

And she knew   if she waited too long, he would die.

Elara had no choice but to slowly rise from where she had fallen. Zeirsulair called out to her, but she did not answer.

Instead

She closed her eyes.

Let the silence swallowed the chaos.

When they opened again, her eyes turned into amber. Her body moved on its own. No one had taught her this stance.

Her left foot stepped forward. Her right arm lowered. The Necro Sword aligned perfectly with her spine as though guided by something older than memory.

Even the dragons felt it.

Something had awakened.

Her voice echoed "The creature of darkness.. by receiving this light"

The wind bent around her.

"Return to where you belong."

Across the battlefield, the Eldritch Dragon lifted the Sword of Causality, its many eyes narrowing. The blade distorted space, dragging it fragment into its edge.

Is layered voice roared "Then be erased, Ashes Whisper"

It swung.

Elara moved.

The Necro Sword surged with black and gold radiance.

The two blades met.

For fraction of a second, Time stopped. No sound. No wind. Then. Only white.

A blinding, absolute whiteout swallowed the battlefield.