Shield of Fire

The creatures begin to sprint forward – bare of order – towards Crini. And with remarkable courage, she takes down each of them. There are too many to think of a tactic plan. Her will to survive has overflooded every cell of her body. So she stands there, slashing every – possessed by evil – corpse. The more she takes out, the more emerge from the holes in the floor. Each wave is getting stronger and harder to kill.

Xepo’s race is there as well. All the lion-like beasts that once gave their lives to oppose in Exalos’ rampage for power are possessed by the very same substance that gives them an eerie glow. They are long enough trapped there to be left with only a pile of bones. All the others are covered, or partly covered by flesh in various decomposition levels.

When the last one of them perishes and nothing comes out of the underground, Crini allows her body to take control and collapses to the ground on her knees, pinning the tip of the sword to the ground before her for support. Gasping for air, Crini feels her muscles screaming from soreness. Even her eyelashes would heart if they could feel pain. Exhaustion washes over her and her eyelids feel heavy. But she must stay awake. She was still in the illusionary realm. Anything could happen.

The dome falls silent, only the echo of her breaths resonates like sonar on its walls. Crini should be feeling happy this ends, but the prolonged absence of any other noise puts her on edge.

This is not over.

All of a sudden an icy-cold breeze blows into the dome and all the piles of bones and flesh turn into ash, carried away by the wind as it passes through and vanishes the same way it came. Crini puts both hands on the sword’s hilt, pushing herself up but her body does not respond.

In a blink of an eye, a gooey liquid substance, fills the floor, moving towards her at a high pace. In a matter of seconds, it reaches her spot. Pushing herself way back, while the sword takes its place on her right arm’s palm, she tries to shoo it away. As the level it covers grows bigger, a part of it rises higher, forming a column. At the tip of it, a series of eyes of different sizes pop and the eyelids fall open wide, revealing glowing eyes with neon green irises and pupils of a thin dark line.

Mati. The ones Ethnians were afraid of. The lost race. It survived, and something tells me it’s not difficult to guess its alliance. Dread fills her veins, freezing the blood as it soaks her limps going for the heart. How do I defeat this creature? It’s a liquid form, my sword is useless against it!

“Are you ready to face your fears?”

Crini places her free hand blocking her ear. The voice twangs inside her head like a melody played from hell.

“Let me show you.”

In a swift move, the creature extends a thread of its substance attacking Crini’s left leg. Before Crini could react, the dark substance starts spreading, covering more of her body as it goes upwards. Crini is dangling her sword in despair to inflict a wound or a cut to it but nothing of that sort could affect it. It keeps ascending, nothing can stop it. Crini gives in to panic as it already has covered her entire body and rises to her face. Her vision darkens when the last part of her is filled with it.

Swallowed by the creatures’ skin she feels suffocating. Her heartbeat rises exponentially and the pumping of her veins covers her hearing sense. She wants to scream but no voice comes out of her throat. She wants to move but it feels like she’s dipped into gelly. She cannot see, she cannot hear, she cannot do anything.

Something flashes in her vision and Crini expect to see her life passing before her eyes as some were saying. This will be my end. Ready or not.

But instead, the darkness fades away and she finds herself in a wasteland. The ground beneath her feet is cracked - it reminds her of the dry lands outside of Anive - though this one is graphite and their interior is filled with lava. The heat brushes her skin, it feels so real. Is this my hell?

Someone is standing further away but she cannot define any features. Trying to move her body, she gets surprised that now she doesn’t feel any resistance. Her steps turn to a low run towards the figure standing. She’s closer now, she can see the copper curly hair and the muscular outline. The posture is tall and proud.

Tadal?

Happy to see a familiar figure - even if it’s him - make her feet move faster. She stops in front of him after a few metres, her chest panting.

“I’m glad to see you. Are you okay? I thought…”

Her words fade as her face lifts to meet his. When she finds his eyes her stomach turns to a knot, twisting her guts and the bitter juice of fear spreads in her blood. Neon green irises and dark thin-lined pupils have replaced his former amber ones. The veins on his muscles are glowing red and purple and on his left arm he holds an Anivean spear.

With heavy breath he looks at her, like a predator ready to attack. Crini takes a few slow steps backwards, her eyes never leaving his, watching for any change in his posture that might trigger his attack.

Crini moves back until she bumps into a rock surface behind her. She gives quick looks sideways, watching her surroundings and her mind rushes with possibilities of escaping an incoming attack. Tadal’s breath quickens and a low threatening growl escapes his chest.

Something is about to happen. Like a wave, numbness spreads on her skin, making her hair stand. She feels like time around her enters a slow-motion mode. Her reflexes are on edge, and she ducks in time, with her hands covering her head, as a loud crack resonates near her. Letting her hands away from her face and lifting her head to look above her, she finds Tadal’s spear transfix the rock behind her. The hit was so fierce that small pieces of the rock’s surface detached from the rest of it and have fallen on each side of Crini, while a web of cracks spreads from the spot where the spear is found.

Tadal puts all his might, Tadal is shaking the spear to come off the rock and Crini finds the opportunity to roll to the side, gaining a bit of distance from it. Agitated, her eyes scan the aerie for her sword but it’s nowhere to be found. Turning back she sees Tadal loaded and ready, running towards her. His taller than her and covers the distance between them in a few long strides. Raising his arms he prepares the spear to launch another attack. Tadal throws the spear with menace. Crini jumps in time before the swooshing sound of it stops as it lands on the spot she was standing a second ago.

“You can’t get away from me!” Crini hears Tadal scream as she turns to find a hiding place under a pile of rocks. There’s nothing familiar with the scenery - she cannot identify the place - and therefore she doesn’t know where she’s going, as long as it is away from him. “You can’t change destiny. You will be doomed and I’ll step on top of your dead body victorious.” Tadal’s cold voice booms from the back. “Surrender yourself and get the gracious gifts of Exalos!”

Searching within piles of rocks, Crini finds a small gap between them and squeezes herself into it. Heat creates a coat of sweat and Crini looks beneath her feet where a large crack on the ground very close to her shows the boiling lava.

Trying to relax her pulses she fails to notice on time the silence falling like a heavy veil around her. When her ears pass the message to her brain is already late. The loud cry of Tadal’s voice slices the air as the rock above her lifts up and flies a few metres away, crushing. Tadal stands above her but this time he doesn’t hold his spear. A creepy smile forms on his lips, making Crini’s skin crawl.

Before she can react, a strong hand lands with force on her grabbing her by the neck and lifting her away from her hiding place. The air kicks out violently from her lungs and Crini jolts her limps shaking frantically in every direction, in a desperate attempt to kick or punch him to get away.

Tadal laughs malevolently. “So fragile… I could easily snap your neck with my fingers. But my commander needs you alive. However, he didn’t specify in what condition.” Like holding a doll, Tadal pins her to the ground, his hold around her neck tighter. Crini’s mouth opens wide, but she cannot take a breath. Her vision starts to fill with black spots. Her hands and legs push and kick Tadal, but he remains unaffected. Giving up the struggle, Crini feels the heat caressing her right arm.

Drowned in her exasperation, Crini spreads her arm straight and with a swift move, she dips her arm in the pool of lava, spraying the hot liquid towards Tadal. Immediately the hold around her throat loosens and the deafening sound of Tadal’s scream cracks her eardrums. She opens her mouth to scream as the pain in her hand feels like skinning her alive, but nothing comes out. Rolling to the side, Crini gasps for air while Tadal has both his hands on his face, writhing on his knees from the pain.

An incomprehensible cry leaves his lips as he lets his trembling hands fall from his face and Crini’s eyes grow wide in horror. The lava has burned most of his face, and stripes of tissue are hanging from various parts. Crini tries to move but the excruciating pain in her arm takes away any thread of strength.

Tadal is like a personification of a beast. The pain of the burn doesn’t seem to take him down from his unending fury. Launching forward, he spreads his arms toward her. Avoiding his grip she howls as she pushes her body to move, grabbing Tadal by the nape of his neck and pushing him into the pool of lava. His body shakes violently and Crini has to fall over it to stabilise him. Letting out the fatigue and pain and hardships tearing up her body, she cries loudly holding a firm grip with one hand while the other is curled on her chest.

Tadal’s body stops shaking until it lies still beneath her. Hesitating at first, Crini slowly lets the grip from his neck and tries to steady herself upright. Her eyes fill with tears as the adrenaline starts to leave her body and the pain comes back stronger than before. With shaky legs, she moves away from there and turns to look around.

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

With exhaustion beyond its limits, Crini leans on a rock for support. All of a sudden a faint cloud of dust rises up in a small whirlwind. When the dust settles, the form of a lion with a mane of tentacles and red skin stands in front of her. It looks much calmer than the first time she encountered it at the dome. The lion stands still but the voice resonates clearly in her head.

“You have been tested and emerged victorious. Your soul is one of a true hero. Hope has not been lost. There’s a long path ahead with many trials on the way. If you choose to accept your destiny I will be your guide and help you on your journey to defeat the darkness. For now, receive the shield of fire as a gift. I will be with you from this moment onwards, so whenever you’re ready you can give me your final answer.”

Crini opens her mouth to speak but she doesn’t make it. The lion disintegrates and its essence flows in the air, reaching Crini and penetrating her skin. Crini feels her head spinning. Her legs fail to hold her weight and she falls. Landing on the ground like a sack of potatoes, Crini’s vision fades and she passes to unconsciousness.

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit long but I didn't want to leave any parts behind for the next one. One is for sure, more adventures to come!