Firestorm

Chapter 33

In her darkened realm, the fires of her power extinguished, the Maiden of the Flames weakly lay. Her once fiercely burning form beginning to crack and crumble to ashes. The Maiden finally felt fear. The once comfort of immortality a distant memory as her followers lay slain on the soil of the Mortal Realm. Soon just as they had, her energy would completely fade away and she would cease to exist.

Although defeated and without hope, she let no tears fall. She had long ago cried out all the tears she had; the day she had been banished for eternity to the Lower Realm. The day of her betrayal when, she had ripped out her heart and watched it burn just to feel no more sorrow. Incinerating any shred of compassion which had remained in her hate-filled form. The Maiden's consciousness slipped in and out of focus. She weakly thought of her sister. The once bitter hatred that had burned within her as an unstoppable wildfire was still present but in her weakened state it just fluttered like a dying flame.

'Perhaps it's better this way', she thought weakly.

It was then she noticed the slithering black forms all around her. The lower demons of her realm beginning to feed from her decaying form. Though they were merely weak mindless parasites in her weakened state there was little she could do to stop them. She lay motionless as the black slithering shapeless mass grew and surged as more demons joined in on the feast. She felt little pain as they fed from her. Slowly the fallen goddess closed her eyes. A wildfire final tamed.

"No", she weakly hissed. Disgusted that she had pathetically allowed such disgusting creatures to take from her.

"I am a warrior. A goddess. I have fought and destroyed the Greater demons. Conquered this realm. My life will not end like this!", she bellowed into the darkness.

With a last burst of strength her arm shot out like a striking snake and took hold of one of the lesser demons. Ravenously she devoured it as it writhed to escape. The demon's weak putrid energy flowed through the Maiden giving her its power. With ravenous hunger she consumed hundreds of the lesser demons and without mercy. As the hoard of demons recognised the danger, they tried in vain to slithered away back into the darkness from whence it came.

Though still very weak, yet out of danger of fading away completely, the Maiden lumbered to her obsidian throne and sprawled upon it. Her strength slowly growing stronger from the demons she had consumed.

'Yes', she thought ruefully.

She would regain her power. Bide her time and lie in wait. Once restored, she would strike the land of her sister's creation with a fiery fury never witnessed in the nine realms. She would return to her former glory. An ember, rekindled.