Chapter XXXV: Final Clash with the Reaper

2 0 0
                                    

Up in the empty and colorless lands to the north, resides Lady Parocaav. Her body slowly drawing the life of Gaia directly from the planet. The power getting stronger and stronger with each passing second. This power, far beyond the expectations of Lady Parocaav. She spent millennia wondering and pondering over the power she so much desired. Now, she is starting to see a glimpse of that power. She bathes in the power, letting it caress and comfort her. This power to her is quite intoxicating.

Her mind starts to wander to the past. How, countless years ago, she craved this power. Even not knowing its true potential, she knew she must have it. A smile spreads across the Goddess's face as she reminisces. A flash of white light interrupts her focus so she opens her eyes.

"Why have you come here?" Lady Parocaav asks with an upset tone, "You cannot defeat me, Tao."

"I'm not here for that. I came to speak to you," Tao calmly says.

"Don't waste your breath, Ragnarok scum. I have nothing to say to you."

"The Bringers of Hope are becoming more powerful than you ever imagined. You wanted to destroy them once you awakened, yet things didn't go to your whim. They frighten you, don't they?"

"I do not fear those children!"

"You should. Not even you realize the true power you have given them. They will unlock that potential, with the help of Gaia."

"Gaia is behind this!? She's been the one interfering with my plan?"

"No. Foolish one. You have played into her web. Everything that has happened, and will happen are all her design. Do you think Leon unlocked alchemy out of thin air? Do you really think she would willingly allow-"

"Silence! You understand nothing! She would not sacrifice herself, even if she was confident of her plan!"

"Did you not do the same thing when you let Lord Xivaac overthrow you?"

Meanwhile ~

Roku is slammed against the ground after being blasted by dark red fire. She jumps to her feet and let's her body heal itself again. Her body glows a bright white as she charges at Grimm. A power so unknown to her courses through her, and a deep knowledge of that power races in her mind. She focuses her thoughts on images beyond the cosmos and into the very abilities given to her by the Goddess. Roku stands still and allows her body to be enveloped with a bright glowing white aura. It glows so bright that is makes Grimm lose his focus.

Once Roku sees the chance, she races over to Drayk and touches his shoulder with her right hand. The white aura covers him as well, healing him finally. Angrily, Grimm casts a beam of pure darkness at them, blanketing the white aura to nonexistence. From within the darkness, a vortex opens up. All of the darkness spirals into the opening in space and it disappears once the darkness is gone.

Drayk's body starts to glow with a dark blue with white aura. His eyes gleam with a bright yellow as he lifts off the ground. Never in his entire life has he been more focused, more in tune with his surroundings. Images flash through his mind, going deeper into the visions from Lady Parocaav. He draws his sword and ignites it with fire while Grimm readies himself for an attack. At the blink of an eye, Drayk disappears into thin air. Grimm spins around looking for him and he cannot sense his presence.

Multiple portals open up, scattered amongst the area. Blasts of various elemental magic shoots from them, all directed at Grimm. Just as he dodges, more open up with magic shooting from them. Grimm shrouds himself with a veil of darkness to protect himself. Roku steps in and a beam of pure light encases Grimm within his veil. He screams out in agony as he drops to his bony knees.

"You bastards!" Grimm roars out, "Lady Parocaav was right, you're becoming too powerful."

"You can't be surrendering already Grimm," Roku teases.

Grimm laughs for a moment before responding, "You don't realize what has happened here, do you Riinah?"

Roku stops to look around, and it hits her. Her blast to escape Grimm's grasp had destroyed a big portion of the town. Then, her heart sinks. Taking a closer look at the debris, she notices there are bodies. Casualties of her actions. Even though it was unintentional, she is sickened with grief.

"I.... killed all those people?" Roku asks, her body shaking.

Grimm laughs and cracks his neck by moving his head. He stands back up and recovers using darkness.

"Roku! Even if it's true, you can't let him bother you! We have to stop him!" Drayk shouts trying to reassure her.

"I don't know that I can.... am I any better than him?" Roku says with tears building up in her eyes, "All those innocent people."

"Roku...." Drayk sighs.

Drayk gathers in his focus once again, concentrating on the cosmos. It's then, he sees a short vision of how the Labyrinth of Time was crafted. It was made through the power of the cosmos, as was the realm that belonged to Leon. Drayk gets an idea cracks his knuckles before planting his feet firmly into the ground.

"I realize that banishing you to another dimension was wrong to do, Lady Parocaav was able to retrieve you," Drayk says with a crooked smile, "But not even she can reach within a realm without being allowed in."

Grimm takes a step back and replies, "What are you getting at Bringer of Hope?"

"Allow me to make you a new place to call home, Grimm!" Drayk shouts as he vanishes once more.

Before Grimm can react, Drayk appears behind him and opens a small portal in front of him. Drayk pushes him through it faster than Grimm even realizes what is actually happening. Once he has passed all the way through, Drayk quickly makes a fist, snapping the portal closed. As soon as the dust settles, Drayk runs over to comfort Roku, who is still trembling.

"Roku," Drayk whispers as he holds her close.

"Drayk.... I killed all those people. How can I live with myself?" Roku cries into his chest, "I'm so sorry Drayk."

"It's not your fault Roku. It was an accident. You had no way of knowing that blast would be that powerful.... Come on, let's regroup with the others."

Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)Where stories live. Discover now