Last Life (IC): Aftermath

Last Life

There was a sad feeling in the air. Ariana sat in a small room designated as her throne room. There were a few tall widows around the walls, letting her look out at the purplish Void. But the citadel was protected by Tharan's magic and the Void's force would not obliterate it.

Ariana sat in a small, dark blue chair. It was what passed as her throne. Nothing too special. She was still weeping over the loss of Tharan. She didn't know if he was still alive or not. She knew he was an undead creature, but she knew Mallis probably had ways of killing even those who were already dead. Mallis always found a way it seemed...

Thage entered the room. The tall, purple-pink-skinned Allure with deep, amazing purple hair and beautiful blue eyes. She also seemed to be sad about the loss of Lovian.

"Hey" she greeted to Ariana in a quiet voice.

"Hey" Ariana said in an equally troubled tone.

"What do you do when Lethor' not around... To keep from going insane?" asked Thage.

"I... I don't know" Ariana said solemnly, looking at her palms in her lap. A single tear managed to break free down her face.

"Do you miss Lovian?" asked Ariana.

"Desperately" Thage replied. A third figure had just entered the room. Obviously he was eavesdropping from outside. It was the eerie black-furred Shalestine, Falk. Falk usually wore a black combat suit with a long indigo cape trailing behind him. His bushy black tail swept the floor under him.

He had always made Ariana feel uneasy. He had a huge purple scar over the right side of his face. His eyes were a dark lavender with a few blue flecks. One of his batty ears had a nick in it. His lip was always slightly drew up from the scar.

Ariana remembered when they found Falk. He was among some of the other surviving Shalestines Mallis had found wondering realms and had captured them.

Codex had sacrificed himself and his sister to save them...

Falk had his arms crossed. "Thage, it's that very reason Mallis is suddenly so enraged. He's angry with you for betraying his love" he said.

"I never loved Mallis in the first place! I love Lovian! Why can't anyone see that?" Thage yelled.

"Well, he's not sitting well with it. You need to take care of it before he kills anyone else. We can't afford any more deaths" Falk said. He scratched his neck for a minute with his crude talons.

"Falk, what's going on outside?" asked Ariana.

"Oh nothing special" said the black Shalestine. "Mainly just the Darkmist getting thicker. He's cutting us off from everyone he can."

"He doesn't want us to get anymore help" said Ariana.

"Indeed. Also we think we may have pinpointed his next realm of interest. It's a level three realm. According to our spies he's already begun to enslave the world's people. He may be holding Dalia there."

Dalia. That adoptive daughter of Lord Mallis. Ariana had never been that close with her, but she'd always been very important. It seemed that she and Thage were the only ones Mallis couldn't genuinely harm without causing himself pain as well. Ariana hadn't seen Dalia for a while now... She was kidnapped during the fight in the Orchard. One of Mallis' Dravens swooped down from the skies and scooped her up in its talons. Thage would have been next if Tharan hadn't killed the Draven targeting her in time.

Ariana gave a deep pause before she finally did speak. "Alright. See if the others can get a portal running and we'll check it out. And check up on the Living Levels. Make sure everyone's alright. Then go back up to the guard towers and make sure all of the soldiers are in order."

Falk nodded as he left the room. He looked over his shoulder at Thage just as he left.

"I don't like him" Thage whispered to Ariana. "He scares me."

"He's a good fighter. And remember he's from Keros. We have to savor anyone from Keros we can find. They know the most about Mallis. They have the most knowledge of him."

"I'm not from Keros" said Thage sadly.

"But you're an Allure, and Allures are from Keros. Kerosian blood still runs in your veins" said Ariana.

"Ari, look at me... I'm just a pawn of the Ancients. I don't belong anywhere."

"Hey" Ariana exclaims as she rises to her feet. She held Thage by the shoulders. "You do belong somewhere. You're place is here with us."

"But I'm worthless! The Ancients made me, I don't have parents or family. I'm just a pawn made for one task."

"You're more than that" said Ariana. "I know you are. And I know something big will be coming your way. Just wait."

In another part of the citadel, high atop a spiraling tower was a circular room lined with shelves. On these shelves were a peculiar collection of ancient leather-bound tomes and flasks containing a bizarre variety of oddities. Some flasks contained pieces of things like quills or bones, while others contained a hodgepodge of different-colored liquids. These were all potion ingredients used to make a variety of brews. Hanging from the rafters of the turret chamber were branches of herbs drying in the open air. One side of the room, the side opposite a large window looking out into the void, contained a fireplace that crackled softly, filling the room with warmth and expediting the drying of the herbs. In front of the fireplace was a beat-up wooden rocking chair, and in this sat the old man Ravencloak. His mantle of feathers was wrapped around him tightly so that only his kind blue eyes and round glasses could be seen. In his weathered hands was a mug of tea which shook slightly as he brought it to his whiskered mouth to drink. In the fireplace was a large black pewter cauldron in which a thick greenish solution boiled. Normally the cauldron would contain powerful potions brewed by the resident sage, but on this particular day it brewed split pea and ham soup, a favorite of Ravencloak's.

After a few moments of staring into the fire and sipping at his tea, Ravencloak rose from his rocking chair and took his knotted wooden staff up from where it leaned against the wall. His arthritic bones audibly cracked as he walked towards one of the shelves, searching for a potion. He grabbed a vial of a clearish liquid and took a sip of it. The magic kicked in almost immediately, and Ravencloak's arthritis melted away. Now able to move better, Ravencloak hobbled towards the door and threw it open, revealing a large stone spiral staircase that descended to the rest of the castle. He descended the steps slowly, deciding to make his way downstairs and find a few people to talk to. Afterall, he wasn't going to eat that entire pot of soup alone.

---

"And neither the angels in heaven above,/Nor the demons down under the sea,/Can ever dissever my soul from the soul/Of the beautiful Annabel Lee./For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams/Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;/And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes/Of the beautiful Annabel Lee." -Annabel Lee, Edgar Allan Poe

Spoiler:

At the top of one of the castle turrets sat Zaster Alenz, his feet hanging off into the void and his eyes focused on a spot in the abyss. He stared transfixingly, as if he were meditating on this spot, and his eyes slowly began to fill with tears. He was staring at the spot where his only world's portal once was; Tharanus. He thought of all the people who used to live there that were now dead and devoured by Mallis. Altris, Arthan, Maltor, Eran, King Aradon; all of them gone and turned to dust. And then there was his wife. Her name was Mira, and she was by far the most beautiful woman in all of Tharanus. No one else matched her charming personality and bewitching beauty. She was Zaster's only weak spot, the only person who could make him show emotion, save his son Aaron. He was a boy after his father's heart, an amazing athlete, incredibly skilled with the javelin and even more so with it in combat. He was a brave, stubborn boy, just like his father, as Mira always said.

And now they were both dead. Don't cry. Zaster thought to himself They'll know you're weak if you cry. Zaster looked at the swords on his belt and the five-foot-long steel great scimitar laying on the stone turret floor next to him. It would be so easy to fall on his own sword and end it all. The blade staying in combined with the scorpion poison would keep him from regenerating, and then he would be dead and free from this prison of guilt.

But no: he wouldn't do that. Before Zaster could allow himself rest, he had a job to do. Mallis tore apart his castle and killed everyone Zaster loved, and for this the monster would suffer. Zaster had dedicated his life from that point on to killing the tyrant and every one of his minions. Nothing would survive the wrath of Zaster Alenz! Maybe then his family's ghosts would stop haunting his dreams and plaguing him with sleeplessness. Maybe then he'd be forgiven. But for now, a single crystal tear dripped from Zaster's nose and fell into the abyss as he stared at the gaseous skeleton of his lost home.

Everything was a blur.

Last he knew, everything was great. He had a loving brother, and a potential new friend. Even the voices coming from his head seemed to quiet down.

Of course, it was too good to be true.

Barely a year later, his home was destroyed by something he didn't know existed. Ophidian Vale, his beloved home, was eaten by some sort of darkness-monster. He and some other survivors were escorted to the Citadel, a sort of fortress located in the middle of nowhere. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. Defying all laws of physics, they have been able to create a fortress that wasn't imploded by the void. In between universes. Not that Thundrus was complaining, or anything. After all, more time to live, right?

Right?

He honestly didn't know if he wanted to, after everything that has happened.

It was a long time since Ophidian Vale was destroyed, and he seemed to be the only one still affected by it. Everyone in the Citadel knew him as a loner, some knew him as overly emotional. Maybe it was his degrading mental condition that kept him in this emotional limbo.

Speaking of mental conditions, the thing in his head, Kehrett, was unusually quiet today. Thundrus silently wondered if Kehrett was as scarred as he was. Maybe he was somehow abolished. He knew it was wishful thinking.

Thundrus was in some sort of bedroom in the Citadel. He had just woken up, and had a lot on his mind. He covered his head with his talons, as if trying to shoo away the storm of emotions brewing in his head.

He had just noticed that he was curled up into a ball on the floor in his emotional numbness. Slowly, he uncoiled himself. He wasn't about to lose his dignity at this moment.

Maybe later.


A snow-white dragon wandered the halls of the Citadel. Although she may seem like just another dragon from the Vale, she had a secret... a secret she hoped would save these poor souls from the universe-eating monstrosity.

The "dragon's" name was Electra, and she was anything but a true dragon. To the experienced one, her brilliant blue eyes gave away her true origin. The experienced one might be slightly fearful, for these eyes revealed that she had powers beyond your average imagination. She was a member of an ancient spacefaring race known as the Starmen. They were among the most powerful living beings out there.

Electra was on a mission. She was sent to travel universes by an elder Starman, in order to find out the truth behind a "disturbance" that was driving Starmen away from their homes.

She learned when she came to Ophidian Vale.

She saw the terrible being, Mallis, once. She realized how serious it was, but alas, she was too late. Soon after Mallis arrived, Ophidian Vale was destroyed. Having no other choice, she retreated with other survivors to the Citadel. She was not happy about it.

Electra abruptly stopped in the middle of the hallway. She desperately wanted to kill this thing, to cause him the harm that Mallis had caused others.

Unfortunately, the time was not now. She'd have to bide her time before returning home.

Home.

She looked out a nearby window, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of her true home, the Milky Way. Who wasn't to say  that Mallis wasn't there already, trying to destroy it and all of it's beauty? The fact that she was still alive seemed to imply that he hadn't reached her universe yet.

Whatever was going on, she missed home and all that she held dear. She wanted all of this over with, and she wanted everyone else to go home, too. If only.

Her time would come, she knew. Her time would come.

Outside the Citidel, a furry being garbed in a shimmering cloak floated above the "top" of the highest structure. Its eyes were closed, it didn't need them to know its surroundings, and its arms were out to its sides with the palms open, almost in a position of one about to be hit in the chest by a spear.

Nuke pondered internally the threat of Mallis, as he felt the events transpiring inside of the Citadel itself. Normally he would not involve himself in such matters and let things take their course...but this being had caused so much destruction....he refused to allow something try to follow the same course as the Spinehk. Never again....This time he was more prepared to deal with such a threat. At least Oblivion gave him that....
Then the thought came to him of Mallis coming to his home. He smiled internally. It would've been interesting to see how the being might've tried to deal with the Spinehk and their ways. But unfortunately he was alone. But he was not afraid. He would not show fear. He would save this existence from the threat.

He Citadel was an enormous web of castles and fortresses, armed to the teeth. Tharan had constructed it perfectly and made it to meet their every need... Just before Mallis banished him to the Nythraak... A vortex realm of pure torment.

The Citadel was surrounded by an enormous invisible "bubble" that protected the insides. Not only from Darklings, but from being obliterated by the Void's force.

Darklings couldn't enter the Void, until recently when Mallis had conjured the "Roamer Class" of their kind. They had the ability to travel in the Void, but could not enter other realm portals without the help of Mallis himself, who even still had to enter realms first.

A few of the Roamers would fly by and crash into the bubble with failed attacks. They'd splatter an burst apart into end and death. They had bat-like wings on their backs an had an almost lavender outline glow which must have been what protected them from the Void's destruction. Usually about ten would attack every fifteen minutes, each tiny attack resulted in failure.

It seemed like inside the Citadel, everyone was in a deep state of sadness. The aftermath of death and destruction was still fresh. People were still mourning over their losses. The losses that brought them here.

Mallis sat in his Throne Realm, Keros. It was one of the deepest depths of the realm which continued indefinitely. The Darkness had consumed everything, leaving the world just a gigantic void of black and purple clouds that rumbled and infested with a literally uncountable number of Darklings which roared and moaned every moment of existancd.

Nobody really had seen Keros though, very few people had lived to tell of this place. Now Mallis sat on an enormous black throne. It was made of metal and Darkness itself. It seemed living and surrounded by a silver and black aura. It was enormous, a little too big for Mallis to even set in until his body resized itself to match. It was just anther thing that would indicate his massive ego.

A tall figure, made of black liquids stood below. No. There were two of them. One seemed female, as she had long black hair that flowed around as though se were underwater. She looked like Mallis, having glowing purple eyes and a jaw full of fangs. Claws. An aura of pure shadows.

Standing next to the female was a masculine figure. This was also seemed to be made of black slime and vapors. He had glowing purple eyes and cat-like ears. His body fell down in an elegant, cloak-like shape. As did most of the leading Darklings'.

This was Mistress and Nelow. Two of Mallis' leading minions. Mistress had been with him since before he had even become this overlord.

They all stared at an seemingly 3-D magical projection image of the enemy Citadel. Mallis grumbled. "Aby ideas? Any at all?"

"We could send Goraki" said Nelow, "but whether or not he could break through Tharan's defenses remains a mystery."

"Gah, that lizard" Mallis groaned. "If I would have known this before I wouldn't have thrown him into the Nythraak."

"He never would have told you. You know what a stubborn fool he is" Mistress' voice shrieked in.

"True" Mallis agreed. "Keep Roamer patrols. Have then watch that place for any signs of weakness... I suppose there's not much we can do now but wait for something to happen. But in the meantime, make sure the slaves in Krilo are thoroughly... managed" the overlord said interlacing his claws. His eyes suddenly turned red and the aura around him also shifted to the color of blood.

"Of course, our lord" Mistress said before she and Nelow moved away.

After waking up completely, Thundrus walked slowly out of his room. He didn't really know what to do from here other than to walk around the Citadel, and possibly start a conversation with someone. He passed a snow white dragon who called herself Electra, and paid little attention to her. Electra seemed offended, but Thundrus didn't care.

Thundrus eventually came across the doors leading to Ariana's throne room. He immediately stopped, finally wondering what he should do. Ugh... speak to someone. Right, he thought to himself. He desperately wanted someone to talk to, but he felt that doing so would make him seem... weak.

Aah! Dignity! Someone help me, this is just ridiculous! I am beyond angry!  Beyond traumatized! Someone talk to me!

In his rage, Thundrus slammed his wing against the door, blowing it open. He stopped, and took a second to analyze the room. He recognized Ariana and Thage, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. He held his wings closer to his body, in an attempt at some form of a dignified stance.

"I... I'll be going now," said Thundrus as he slowly began to walk back the way he came.

"Are you alright?" Thage's voice chimed in. Ariana remained silent. Sleepless bags hung under her eyes. Thage seemed to be wearing down as well. They were exhausted from the previous storm.

"Come in," Thage said. "We won't bite. Everyone's a little stressed right now. Mallis has all our loved ones dead or in his clutches in Keros. Either way, it's a lot to take in. How are you doing with things?"

Thundrus, defeated, gave a sort of grunt. He slowly turned and walked back into the throne room. He sighed, and answered Thage's question.

"I... I'm not well. I have this... this thing crawling around in my head. It speaks to me. It calls itself Kehrett." He was abruptly interrupted when the "thing in his head" finally spoke.

I'm not just a thing in you're head. I'm Kehrett, back to ruin your peaceful dreams. Miss me?

Thundrus looked down at the floor and scowled. "And... I've had it for my entire life. It ruins everything. And for those it can't ruin, it makes it worse. During the day, it's really just kind of annoying. In the night.... It's a terrible, terrible, torturing, cackling... I think you get the gist." He clenched his jaws together as Kehrett spoke again:

Thanks, Thundrus! You've got everything right! And how!

That was just annoying, but Thundrus' mind was thinking about the other end of the spectrum.

"But," He choked out, "What else is new?" He was silent for the next few seconds.

"Ugh, thanks for listening. You're the first one I've ever told this to, other then.... my brother... I... just needed to get that out." However, the look in his eyes revealed that he was not truly over it. He was just as miserable as before.

"Sorry," Thundrus then said, seemingly not aware that he had said it.

Thage nodded. "It's alright. Sometimes there a things we just need to voice. But I'm curious as to what this thing is. I'm not sure if it's a creature from another realm or a Darkling. It sounds similar to Mallis' Nightlings, also called the Crawlers. They crawl up inside you and can rest within you, feeding off you. But of course, there's no way to be sure. Has it ever told to what it is?" She asked. "Usually Darklings don't go around going out their name. They keep it secret. So that confuses me. Probably an unknown species."

Hmm, Kehrett's voice echoed in Thundrus' mind, Keep 'em talking, will you? I'm interested Mallis and his... Nightlings. Maybe I could get what I've always wanted with Mallis' powers.

Thundrus gritted his teeth; it was obvious that the "thing in his head" was speaking.

Thundrus, keep them talking. I could always use my alternative persuasion method...

He looked like he wanted to vomit, but Thundrus spoke anyway. "Maybe, Thage... But he seems to be insisting otherwise. Ugh, I'd really hate to have a parasite eating my brain." He paused, "I.. don't know. Are there any experts around here who can help me with Kehrett, Nightling or not?"

Kehrett laughed loudly, as if this were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"If Tharan were here he'd be able to pull it right out of you. He can rid out mind invasive creatures. But unfortunately he's somewhere... The Nythraak..." Thage shook her head. "We have a few Zalei that could help you. But Zalei are very shady folk. Half their kind swore loyalty to Mallis during the Kerothic Era. Those that didn't escaped the realm using their superior system of realm traveling, evading the Darkness before it could grind Keros into dust. If you ask nicely and do something in return, they might help you."

"But," Ariana spoke in, "we are still debatin on whether or not we can trust them. If they are as devious as Falk suspects, they may damage the fabrics of your mind or intensify the creature already inside you. Feeding it more power. But we won't allow them to touch you until we know for certain. Other than that, we have a couple trustworthy Shalestines with magic expertise. But no being has greater mastery over the mind than Zalei."

Thundrus expected Kehrett to talk, but the thing in his head was strangely quiet. Possibly thinking things out.

"Okay," Thundrus said, "I can wait. Thank you both."

Although on the outside, he still seemed solemn and humble, on the inside he wanted to jump with joy. There was a finally a chance to rid his body of this thing that had been ruing his life ever since week 1.

Don't get too excited, Thundrus, I'm not done with you yet.

Thundrus wasn't very worried; Kehrett tended to make threats like that. And, even if he had to endure them in his nightmares, he could endure them happily knowing that there was a chance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, the "Thing in his head" was thinking to itself...

He's happy. I can feel it. Maybe I should let him be tonight. If I can't contact one of Mallis' Nightcrawlers, then I'll let him have it tomorrow. And, if I succeed, I'll have what I've always wanted. Then, Thundrus could rest... In peace... Forever...

Oh, who am I kidding, I'll make him feel it.