The Fall of the Society

Chapter 69: Gifts

     Sid's eyes grew wide as blood began to trickle down his chin and onto Scion's hands. Raising his own hands up, he grasped ahold of Scion's arms. Their eyes were locked for what felt like an eternity to Rose, before Sid slid backward off the blade and onto the floor. Shock crossed both Rose's pretty features and Scion's sinister gaze.

     Looking down at his foe as blood pooled around him on the floor, Scion laughed maniacally. "All that talk, and you have reached the limit of your powers! Taranis did his job then, weakening you to the point you cannot withstand any more damage! It's only a matter of moments before your power surges through me, empowering me to rule everything. Scion held his arms out to his side for a minute, but nothing happened. His gaze fell back upon Sid, anger rising in his face as his cheeks became reddish. He stepped forward and stabbed Sid in the abdomen a second time.

     "No!" screamed Rose, and she cast a massive wave of fire directly into Scion.

     He had not been expecting the attack, but he was too fast for her, moving out of the way before the attack hit him. Standing on his dais once more he glared at Rose. "That was not nice," he said coldly. "You will pay for that once I finish with him," he said pointing at Sid.

      Laughter filled the chamber, but it was not Scion. Sid was laughing mirthlessly, blood still flowing from his mouth. "We are already finished; you have made a terrible mistake!" Scion looked on, confused, but refusing to admit the fact. "Everything you have worked for will soon be gone, as well as the last of the Ascended."

      Rose dropped to her knees beside Sid. "Let me heal you!" she said shakily. "Maybe it will help your powers to return fully." Her hands were shaking as she reached out to touch him, but he grabbed her wrist weakly and shook his head.

     "I told you not to interfere, this is the only way my plan will work," he told her, his voice faint. "Save your strength and your tears, I will finally get to be with her. I will finally be able to rest with Gwendalynn." Tears streamed down Rose's face as she remained crouched beside her friend. "He will need you, be the hero I know you to be, never lose sight of what truly matters. I have one last gift for you," he said quietly so only she could hear him. He laboriously retrieved one of his daggers and cut open the palm of his right hand, before handing the blade to Rose. "Copy the cut," he said weakly. She did not understand, but she fulfilled the request and laid the dagger on the ground beside him. Sid grasped his injured hand onto hers and pulled her closer to his face. "Any one person should never have this amount of power," he whispered into her ear. The skin on her hand began to burn, sending searing pain up her arm and into her body. An aura of clear power enveloped her, and her hair was sent upward as the power flowed through, her eyes blazing white. She wanted to scream but was unable.

     "No!" shrieked Scion. "That power is supposed to be mine!" He lunged forward, but a pulse of Rose's aura sent him sliding back toward the wall. Rose turned her head slowly to glare at him as most of her features where obscured by the power radiating from her.

     "Rose," a weak voice rose through her aura. "Do not let him have my body." Sid reached his hand up and placed it on her cheek, where she placed hers on top of his. They looked into each other's eyes, but as she gazed into his, they went blank and his arm became slack and heavy. He was no longer breathing, so she placed his hand gently beside him. She remained on the ground, her power flowing through the room like a cyclone swirling upward. The greatest warrior and smartest person she had ever known lay beside her, no longer helping guide her, but she knew that he had given his all so that she could have everything she needed.

      Scion was screaming at her, but she could not make out what he was saying through the rushing air and fire. She placed her hand on Sid's shoulder and focused. Slowly, his skin began to blacken and crack, and he turned to ash before her eyes. His latest and final request had been fulfilled, and all her hope was that he would find Gwendalynn in the afterlife and remain with her for the rest of eternity.

     A powerful rush washed over Rose as her aura vanished in the blink of an eye. Knowledge that Sid had was coursing through her mind. Thousands of years of information flashed before her, causing her head to spin slightly. Steadying herself she blinked her eyes multiple times to clear her vision. The process had dazed her, but she did not feel overwhelmed. A smile crossed her face as she turned her eyes on Scion who looked confused at what had happened.

     Composing himself, Scion's smug look reappeared on his face. "It is no matter; I will just take the power from you."

     "You can try," Rose said calmly. Her eyes bore into him like a drill, calculating what attacks he might use. She could feel his power rising before it showed outwardly. Lightning arced from him before he shot forward. Time seemed to slow down as her mind processed his approach. She side-stepped just before he hit her, sending a stream of fire directly into his back. Her counterattack had blasted him off his feet, causing him to slide on his chest before rolling back to his feet. The attack had caused no damage, but he was clearly irritated.

     "So, you are not completely inept, I will give you that," he growled at her. He flashed from view, lightning trailing behind him. Everything slowed down as she calculated how best to counter, but as she went to attack, he disappeared and a hard blow hit her from behind, throwing her forward. "We will see if you can match what I can do before we are done!"

     Rose stumbled forward but did not fall. She spun, swinging her arm in front of her, casting a flash of white-hot light across the room. The light singed every surface, blackening the floor and walls, and charring all the furniture and equipment. Scion crossed his arms in front of his face as the heat washed over him. His clothes were smoking as he stood up straight. The temperature in the room dropped, putting out the fires as ice formed over top of them.

     "Do you know what happened to the last guy that had ice powers and attacked me?" Rose said mockingly.

     Scion glared at her. "You mean Cryonic? I gave him to you as a gift. I knew he would not be able to beat the two of you together. He was more trouble than he was worth ever since he lost to you the first time. You did me a great disservice by not putting him out of my misery the first time, which I will make you pay for," he finished with a growl. A burst of lightning shot across the room, ripping a gash in the floor as it passed.

     Rose stared it down, holding one hand at in front of her. An equally powerful burst of fire erupted from her, smashing into Scion's attack, causing a massive explosion that shook the chamber. Chunks of cement fell from the center of the ceiling, impacting the ground and bursting into showers of stone. Rose swung her arm again, another flash of light turned all the rubble into dust, that swirled upward in the updraft from the heat. Standing across from this formidable foe, she felt no fear. The feeling coursed through her, and she now knew how Sid had always smiled before engaging an enemy. He already knew he was going to win before the confrontation even started.

     The air around Scion began to swirl, kicking up even more dust and the remaining debris as a cyclone formed around him. His attack continued to grow in strength as he pushed more energy into it and it hid him from view. Rose smiled and shot a blaze of flames into the cyclone which ignited, turning into a spiraling inferno. She opened her hand wide before balling it quickly and all the flames shot inward to where Scion was standing.

     She heard a shout, just before an explosion ripped a hole  in the wall behind where he had just been standing. A muttering sound came from her right as Scion put the flames on his cloths out. Rose smiled at him. His expression was disgusted, he had never expected her to be this powerful, and until Sid passed on his power, she would not have stood a chance against him. The power that she felt now was incredible, and it felt as though she had always had it, that it had always been a part of her, and now she was whole.