10 Minute Tales

Jun 22 - End of Days

The ground quaked as the beast emerged. Its low growls echoed through the chamber as it took form, four terrible arms splitting from the torso. The temperature plummeted, icy breaths dancing out in clouds as the beast opened its powerful, glowing eyes.
"Who dares?" It grumbled, its voice echoing with the might of an avalanche. "Who has awakened me from my slumber?"
"I have!" The warrior declared. "I am the end of your terrible reign!" The behemoth of ice looked down and grinned, laughing slowly.
"You? A child of man believes he can stop me."
"I can, for I bring this!" The warrior revealed his weapon, a large sword burning with enchanted fire. The behemoth laughed harder.
"You bring a torch against the spirit of winter itself! I am the glaciers that creep at the far north! I am the white blanket of death that smothers your summers! I am the mountains, older than your kind could ever know! You are doomed, child, and your world after you."
"I am only a man, it's true." He tried to control the shivering, the quaking of his flesh against the armour. Thank goodness he had chosen to pack it after all, the extra weight was worth it. "But I bear a spirit like none that has come before me! For the people I love!" His sword burnt a little brighter, but still the behemoth grinned. "For those that came before me! For the entire world, I will defeat you!" He roared his battle cry and charged forward. The behemoth laughed again as it raised its arm. Spires of ice shot out of the ground, each twice his height, but he was able to dance around them, leaping from side to side. As he approached the behemoth, he could feel its overpowering cold aura, but the blade's magic held firm and saved him from freezing. The behemoth chuckled, the sound like sheets of ice grating.
"You dance well, child." It grinned. "Let us see how you evade this." The spires grew larger, more densely packed. The warrior grunted as he tried to stop, the icy ground providing little purchase. He slammed into a pillar but quickly backed off. Already he felt little lances of ice reluctantly letting him go, felt himself bleeding from lots of tiny cuts. The behemoth laughed more, a sudden wave of cold air blasting out from it and knocking him back from the spires.
"Coward!" He yelled, gripping the sword tighter. "Fight me properly!"
"I have already won." The behemoth chortled. "You are already dead."
"Liar! You've only scratched my armour!"
"You feel yourself bleeding, child. That is all I need."
"Explain yourself!"
"You have felt my chill. You have bled in my domain. Already, the icy grasp of death approaches you from within."
"F-from within?" He frowned, a leg sliding back in a defensive stance. It felt a little slower, though. He tried to ignore it.
"I will be here when the universe itself comes to an end. I am the destruction of life, matter and all you can imagine. You do not fight some malevolent spirit by fighting me." He leaned in, the powerful glow of his eyes fading to a pure, light-swallowing black. "You fight the inevitable end."