Ch. 16 Trials of Champions

This is a continuation of the Apocalypse Saga

For the other chapters in TAS, click here

For more stories in the world of Astra outside of TAS, click here

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When Seijun was pulled into the dark depths of the spring, Lady Vey felt her life force being ripped from the mortal realm. First a blackness darker than night took over all she could perceive. Soon, the darkness was taken over by the light of glowing eyes. Like the eyes of many cats caught in the beams of a searchlight. The eyes consumed all she could see, and when they blinked, she ceased to exist. She felt it. As if each blink of those great many glistening eyes was her own small death.

“You’ve guided our champion well.” The voice proclaimed.

“But it isn’t enough,” another voice added, “You as a collective were wrong to try and face the tyrant head on. None of you are ready – not our own champion, nor the storm champion. The coalition must grow. Your bond must deepen. You must grow stronger.” They sounded the same – inhuman, not quite identifiable, somehow beyond her comprehension even though she heard each word – yet she could still understand it was a different sentient part of the Five.

“Great ones, I have done everything in my power to prepare him for the trials to come.” Lady Vey’s words didn’t make it out of her mouth, but she knew they heard - that they understood.

“Everything in your power isn’t enough. We need another’s.”

“Greatest of lords, I implore you, he is not ready.” Vey urged. She knew what they wanted, and she feared for Seijun. Feared he hadn’t learned enough in their journeys. Feared he needed more time to learn. To understand. “It is one thing to know, it is another to understand. He needs more time to understand.”

“It matters not. Whether he is ready or not, he must pass this trial, or he will never serve his purpose.”

“Good Lords of the Five –“

“Enough. She awaits him.”

“No,” Lady Vey whispered to herself. “No no no. Not her… she’ll – no. She’ll take him apart.”

“Yes. Her.”

A new one of the Five interjected, “She will take him apart. And she will put him back together.”

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Alone in the cavern, surrounded on all sides, Akashi fired off shot after shot. Thunder rumbled in the misty abyss that hung over his head. Still, through the condensed air, he saw dozens of void fiends charge him. Their inky bodies rolled across the cavern, coming after with a hunger he didn’t understand. Akashi found himself backing into the spring, his shoes getting wet as he struggled to think of what to do.

Their silent, unyielding approach unsettled him. No matter how many times he shot the creatures, they continued after him. There were about a dozen advancing on the ground, the rest of the uncountable monstrosities clung to the ceiling and walls, daring Akashi to make a move.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure hiding behind a large boulder several meters away. The figure looked roughly humanoid, but their skin was purple as if they were coated in bruises. They had twisted horns, and a frantic smile covered in tears. Just as Akashi focused on the figure, they disappeared as if they were never there. In that moment, he knew he had to get to them.

Akashi turned and ran for the boulder. Just as he did, several of the creatures sped up in pursuit. His revolver hand was yanked back pulling him off balance. The force spun him around until he was facing the creature that grabbed him. Its tentacle was wrapped around his wrist, but other than the firm grip of the gelatinous form, it didn’t hurt.

He stared into the fiend’s amethyst eyes. In that moment, as time slowed, Akashi couldn’t help but wonder if this was one of the sorcerers he or the other Peacekeepers had killed in Paradia. It seemed like the fiend may have been distracted by Akashi too from the way it paused and stared back at him. Akashi broke his gaze away, reached for his revolver with his other hand, and shot through the tentacle of the void fiend. As thunder clashed with the creature’s appendage, its skin hissed. It pulled away, and Akashi slowly backed up. The creatures began looking amongst each other, almost as if they were confused. Akashi readjusted his revolver in his hands and prepared for them to attack again.

Another creature lunged at him. Akashi fired off a round. Immediately, the creature collapsed and writhed on the floor, but another jumped over it and dove at him. Without hesitation, Akashi threw out a cross that met the crystal eyes of the creature before it could grab him. Immediately, he felt the crystals crunch beneath the force of his fist. As it shattered, everything in the room stopped. As though every void fiend became aware of what he had done. Even Akashi didn’t fully understand until the creature stumbled, stammered out a hiss, then as the crystals melted off its face and onto the floor, its body melted into acidic ooze that burned into the floor, before disappearing into the rock. He had killed one. Only one, but he had done it.

“Well,” Akashi looked at the hordes of monstrosities staring at him in what he assumed to be awe. He smiled, “who’s next?”

He pointed his revolver at another creature. All of the void fiends rushed at him at once. He ducked out of the way of one, fired a bullet into the exploding eyes of another, threw another punch, shattering the eyes of another. Two tried to restrain him, but he turned to smoke, reappeared in front of them, and fired off a shot into their eyes. He continued moving towards the boulder as he fought off the hordes of void fiends.

He shattered eye after eye watching as their acidic remains burned into the rocky cavern floor. He fired off another shot piercing through several of the creatures. They recoiled but kept moving forward. Akashi felt one of them grip his ankle, but without hesitation, he pointed his revolver down. The crack of the storm bullet echoed off the cavern floor as the creature ripped itself away from his leg. He looked at the source, and fired another shot into its crystal eye and watched the form implode. He dissipated into smoke and curled away from the creatures. His form spread across the walls, and the creatures – unlike their usual silent manner - let out a physical wail that let off no echo in the chamber.

The ever-present voice of the ‘guard dog’ let out a whimper and whispered, “We climb, we fall, we disappear but - no no no - have no fear - for the rot tastes as good as the feast. Treat me as you would. Salvation saves the weak and the strong. Mother comes and then we will be as gods.” Akashi whisked himself away in a puff of smoke and reformed behind the boulder. The strange figure he had seen at a distance was gone.

He let out a frustrated sigh, “You know instead of going on, you could help me out a little.” He spun the cylinder of his revolver, blowing a heavy smoke into each chamber, then looked down at where his pants had burned and melted away. He noticed that beneath his burned away clothes, his legs – though dead and gray – were fully intact. Even from where he stood, more creatures were approaching from all sides, but as he looked down in curiosity, they ceased their approach. The entire temple-cavern held its breath. The silence made the hairs raise on the back of his neck. Slowly, Akashi looked up. Each and every one of the creatures stared back at him in silence.

Then, like the thing they were all waiting for, a voice spoke up, “Yes, it is odd isn’t it? Certainly not what I expected. You must be special.” It mocked. This voice was entirely alien – further removed even from the one that had followed them through the cavern. Akashi jumped and turned around. A tall man veiled in an indecipherable fog of purple haze stood before Akashi. The only thing clear to Akashi was his nearly inhuman pale skin and purple hair. A wicked smile curved across his face.

“Who in the hell are -”

“I feel who you are so clearly, but how’d that nosy storm goddess find me, I wonder?” He mused. He brought a hand to his bare chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. As he raised his hand, Akashi noticed that his arms were lined with the same amethyst crystals as the eyes of the void fiends.

“You – you’re the void guy – uh – tyrant. Tyrant, right?” Akashi asked, taking a hesitant step away.

“I see you have no respect for royalty. I suppose that’s why she picked you.” He chided. “No matter. Yes, I am the lord of all things – including the Void and you. And you and I – we go a ways back, don’t we? To the day you died. It was my claws. You, the nuisance who tracked my people to the ends of your stupid little brain until it stopped functioning. You’re lucky that woman wormed her way so deep into your mind you couldn’t try any harder, or I would’ve killed you myself longer ago even.”

“Look, guy –“

“Your highness.”

“Sure. Anyway, the only thing we’ve got between us is a score to settle. The gods know what you’re doing. Soon as they know where your ass is, it’s over for you. I say you hand over that old book, and you and me? We go our separate ways before the gods much scarier than you get involved, huh?” Akashi tried to sound confident. Hold his ground and put on a brave face, but he knew better than to tangle with a god. He had learned his lesson once before, and this time he was alone. Still, he knew the tyrant was trying to rile him. Scare him. Something deep in him couldn’t help but challenge the god for that alone.

“Scarier? Scarier? Ha!” The tyrant let out a growl. As he did, he dusted off his – Akashi felt something in his mind glitch, then suddenly the Void Tyrant had an entirely new look. He was a gaunt figure with a well fitted dark suit with a royal purple tie. He adjusted the tie and brushed seemingly nothing off his body. “You’re all the proof I need that this world – this universe – needs a new ruler. You are a bug.” The god took a step towards Akashi. Akashi tried to step back but found his back against the boulder. “You’re an insignificant speck. A problem. A disgrace. Nothing but trouble.”

Akashi smiled an anxious grin, “What can I say? You’ve got me pegged, guy.”

The tyrant hesitated. He was only a couple inches taller than Akashi, but still he loomed over him, confusion on his face. “You… don’t care?”

“Fancy god like you, I thought you’d know something like that, huh? Well, let me tell you something.” Akashi stood a little taller, sticking his nose in the god’s face, “I’ve spent my whole life being told shit like that. Do you think you’re telling me anything new? Guy, my aunt said worse than you to get me out of bed in the morning. If you think you’re special because you’ve got something mean to say, then you don’t know Astra as well as you think.” Akashi gathered his wits and stepped away from the boulder, taking another step towards the tyrant. “Between you and me, I’m a little embarrassed for you. I mean, you must be trying to prove something, right? I mean, why else do all this? I’m just saying, you’d be better off being on your way. A man once told me there’s things worse than death.” Akashi gestured to himself, “Guess he was right, huh? But you? You’re a god, guy. You can’t die, can you? So, there’s a lot worse that could happen to you. I mean, shit man, here we are standing in the middle of some holy temple that isn’t even yours. You are asking to get your ass kicked. You’re lucky it’s me that found you and not her.”

“You’re threatening me?” The tyrant hissed. His face turned red, his eyes began to glow that intense amethyst color. His fists tightened and loosened. Then… he smiled. Everything died down, he took a breath in, then out, then he chuckled, “Astra used to be a land of law and order, you know. Kings, governors, priests, patricians, lords, ladies, all the sorts. These days it’s a cluster of city-states of instability, anarchy, and destruction. People like you are the reason for that. When you’re gone – when every single one of you are gone – my new empire will bring safety and prosperity to all of Astra. And all will bend to my will.” He raised his voice as the temple juttered around them as though the world was glitching. Purple lights enflamed around them as the ground rumbled. “MY WILL!”

A collective hiss built up around them as the void fiends undulated with an unsettling ferocity. They both looked at the creatures. The tyrant god grinned, “See how they’ve flocked to me? It started with sorcerers, but now everyday people who were dying for power - longing for the vacuum to be filled - craving a god to give them everything they wanted and more… They were waiting for me. And now they’re mine.” The tyrant stepped away from Akashi and raised his voice to the hundreds of monstrosities, “Tear him limb from limb. Then bring me his undead head so he can watch me bring this world under a new order. And then,” He turned to Akashi as he backed away, “I will devour you myself.”

“Hold on –“ Akashi tried to interject.

“Don’t worry,” As the tyrant raised his hand, a large tome bound in deep leather covered in arcane symbols of the sun appeared in his palm, “I’ll keep this safe with me.” As he backed away from Akashi, void fiends took his place.

Akashi took a deep breath in, then out. He felt the trembling in his hands subside as the last of the air left his lungs. He pulled back the hammer of his revolver and sighed, “Seijun, where the hell are you?”

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In the strange realm with seemingly no way out, Seijun ran at the woman. He saw no other option. She looked so much like his Master that it was uncanny, yet she was corporeal, and the Master wasn’t. He slashed his sword down at her, but she parried. Seijun pushed the parry, broke her block and tried to catch her chin, but her guard went up too fast, throwing him back before he could push his advantage. A glare crossed her face. She shook her head and jabbed her sword forward. Seijun caught the blade with his vambrace and knocked it away, color chipping away from his armor. He knocked another thrust away, ducked, and swept her legs out from under her. She dropped to the ground, landing hard on her back.

From the ground, she looked up at him. If Seijun didn’t know any better, he’d think she was impressed. “You’re quick,” was all she said in her gravelly tone. Before he could fully process what she said, she was off the ground and diving at him. Her shoulder barreled into his waist and threw him to the ground. Her armored fist battered his chest, and his body lurched beneath her bulky form. She put a hand to his throat, and pointed her sword with the other, “Where is your power?” She seethed. Seijun squirmed and jerked under her. “You were once asked what it meant to be a protector,” she growled, “but you’ve failed at every single step. You protected no one. You sat there crying as your people died. Now what? Now what will you do?”

At first, he couldn’t bring himself to fully process what she said, but as her onslaught of blow after blow began again, making his chest hurt as he struggled beneath her, the point of what she said finally landed with him: She was blaming him for the massacre. She was accusing him of letting the people of the Valley die. His people.

Seijun’s body went limp. A faint energy built up inside his legs, working its way through him like a spreading fire. He let go of his sword, and brought his hand up, throwing an open palm across the side of her head throwing her off balance. Seijun swung his weight and threw her off, sending her tumbling. He grabbed his sword and held it out in front of him, “How dare you.” He said back, his voice shaking.

He lunged at her, but she quickly met him with a block with one blade. Then, an armored fist crashed into his masked cheek. Seijun stumbled back, then gripped his sword with both hands. He swung down at her shoulder. The blade carved into her armor leaving them stuck together. She jabbed her own sword forward. Seijun barely moved away from it as it skidded and screeched across his ribcage. Blood dripped through his armor, and he winced as they stood eye to eye.

She stared at him, her face blank, “I wonder if you’ll sit and cry when you die too.” She stomped on one of his feet, shifted her weight back, and brought her other leg up, connecting with Seijun’s gut. He hammered into the ground, his head bouncing off the floor. She took her foot off him and backed away with a heavy thud of her armor in the ground.

Seijun scrambled off the ground, coughing. He heaved through his mouth, gripped his sword, and readied himself again. She reached down to her thigh and grabbed a metal quarter cylinder. A mask like his own, but metal with no identifiable marks. She put it across her mouth and gave it a firm squeeze. The metal expanded and covered her entire face. Slits revealed her eyes. She pulled the other blade from her back, and took up a new stance, “Fight me like you want to win.” She demanded.

Seijun nodded. Silence draped itself over the arena, encapsulating even the mist that surrounded them. He took a step backwards, and switched his stance, holding his sword across the horizon, one foot in front of the other, body turned and eyes clashing with the woman’s. His body was tightened with energy, but every part of him was relaxed and calm.

They stood that way for a while – several meters apart - waiting for one of them to move. Finally, she let out a low growl like a feral animal, and she turned in a circle - clearing the distance between them like a swirling tornado of swords - slashing her blades across Seijun’s chest. She was so quick he couldn’t bring his blade in front to block the first gash. He winced as the first blade smoothly slid between gaps in his armor. He just barely parried the second blade as he hissed through the pain. The force of the attack threw him off balance, and he stumbled away from her.

Before he could recover to attack again, she was already swinging at him. Seijun collapsed to his knees; the blades flew overhead. She sheathed the sword on her back and reached out grabbing him by the back of his armor, scruffing him like a kitten. His armor jerked against his throat, his own protection throwing him as he landed on his back. His knees folded up under him. She brought her other sword down on him, but he was able to bind their blades together in a moment of panic, one hand on the hilt, the other an open palm on the end.

Even though she wasn’t breaking the bind, she pushed the blade further down, overpowering him. His legs were trapped under him, and his body was being forced down into the floor. Her eyes were without feeling or remorse. Seijun could feel the fear coursing through him. He was unable to overpower her, and she brought him down over and over again. He felt a strange heat coming from her blade. Even her mask was starting to have a soft glow of orange to it. Time began to slow as he watched her expressionless mask. She was a powerful warrior, and she could easily end him, but she almost appeared to be sparring. She was still taking it aggressively seriously, but she was practicing – no - she was testing him. Challenging his control, challenging his ability to fight. He was supposed to fight her, and he wasn’t ever supposed to win. Just get her to back away somehow. They were playing different games. He was fighting for his life. She was fighting to see if he could stand up to her.

Seijun’s hand slipped at the end of his blade, and he just barely caught hold of it without cutting himself. He began to let his right-hand slide down, and falter slightly. Her blade began to slip towards his hand as the balance of the sword tilted. Seijun dropped his hand away, and her sword fell down, gashing into the arena. He brought up the hilt of his sword and hit her across the mask with it. She grunted as she tumbled off of him and landed crouched with both swords drawn again.

Seijun rolled back onto his feet and stood at the ready for her next onslaught. She took up the same stance, and spun around, her blades lowered to the ground to take out his legs. Seijun took a step back, and as the swords passed and her back was turned, he slashed down at her back. Before he could make contact, one of her swords appeared from over a shoulder and caught him. He pushed her blade against her back and jumped up kicking the back of her knees with both feet. They both collapsed to the ground. He rolled to the side and jumped up turning to point his blade to force her to yield, but she was already up and in her readied stance again. Pointing his blade left him open, and she did not hesitate.

Her body gained momentum from nowhere as she slid under his sword, her feet never leaving the floor as she went for his feet. Seijun tightened his sword’s grip and jumped over her in a flip, landing on his feet facing away from her. He lowered his stance, and tried to slash across her back, but again her sword was there, blocking his attack. She forced him off of her, throwing him back with the force of one arm, then turned around to face him. She let out a grunt. As she looked at him, her masked face always calculating, Seijun went for another slash. Her sword was there again, parrying his attack. She pushed the parry again, knocking his sword out of the way, leaving an opening for her offhand sword. Seijun felt his heart drop as he realized that the mistake of pushing when she had the advantage became clear to him. She let out what sounded like a chuckle, then kicked him in his stomach. His body jerked and he let out a heavy cough as the air forced its way from his body.

“That could’ve been you done. No saving the tome. No redeeming our people. Just you dead. I could’ve killed you right there.” She said with a shake of her head. “Do better.”

She pulled back and went into a defensive stance. “Again!” She commanded.

Seijun stepped forward, swung at a downward angle, then just before she could parry, he pulled back and thrusted forward. Still, she caught his sword again and pushed him away. “You aren’t the best the Valley ever had to offer. Get that through your skull while you still can.” She said, her voice was more neutral than he was comfortable with. “No, you’re not the best. You’re what’s left.”

Seijun backed away, took a deep breath, and tried to draw on the steam around them. He called it to his side, condensing around his blade in a casing of water. Just as it encapsulated his sword, he went forward again, making a defensive slash at his opponent. Immediately, she forced him into a bind.

“You hold no mastery over balance. None.” She seethed through her mask. “Let me show you mastery.” As she held him in the bind with one hand, she sheathed her other blade and clenched her fist. When she did, the water that encapsulated Seijun’s sword coalesced around her’s. The steam around them began to creep in around them getting closer and closer until they were completely encapsulated just as they were when Seijun found himself here before. The steam grew hot. It felt as though Seijun’s skin was burning. The woman’s metal swords and armor both began to glow as though it was burning in a forge. Seijun could feel his face blistering and searing under the pressure.

“You fail and fail and fail. You fight and kill and think yourself a true Protector. No. You’re everything I feared coming to fruition.” She finally broke the bind, throwing Seijun backwards, and she thrusted one sword forward. As she did, the steam turned to water and coalesced around Seijun, throwing him into disarray as he struggled to get his head above water. Then, just like that, he was on the ground gasping for air.

“Failure after failure. And what do you do? What do you do now?” She stepped up to him and held the single blade to his throat, sheathing the one on her back. He looked up at her, terror in his eyes. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question.” She said. “What do you do now?” She asked in a deep, angry hiss.

Seijun hadn’t understood what the point of this humiliation ritual was. This woman who looked like his Master showed up, beat him to a pulp, manipulated the terrain, insulted him, belittled him, and now she asked him this. It was all a test, but he didn’t understand the point of it. Now it felt so clear. It all made sense.

“Master,” Seijun locked eyes with her through her mask, “I will get back up.”

Seijun smacked the blade away with the back of his hand, rolled under his opponent, and elbowed her in the stomach. She stumbled away, trying to get him outside of her stance. He spun around to face her, and blocked an attack, pushed her off, and took up an aggressive stance.

Instead of taking a stance, she threw herself at Seijun, throwing both her swords down on his head. He brought his sword up to block. As the blades met, he felt his body begin to falter. He took the power of her swing and let it travel through him as he ducked his body, spinning his crouched legs around until he was away. His sword still held her back, but he moved himself to the side. He pulled his sword away and watched her stumble. Before she could recover, Seijun kicked her in the back, throwing her to the ground. She rolled onto her back, dropping one of her blades. Seijun didn’t hesitate as he ran out in front of her and brought his sword down on her. She tried to block, but one of his feet came out and pinned her hand, “Yield.”

She smiled. She pulled her hand loose of Seijun, spun out of her position on her back and landed several feet away on one knee, “Well done, young Lao.” She brought her hands to rest on her knee, and the swords appeared back in their casings, “Quick, thoughtful, swift. The tracings of a true Protector. You fight with passion, but also with duty. Most importantly, you persevere. Something that is undervalued in my eyes.” Seijun looked down at her but said nothing.

He straightened himself out and sheathed his sword, “Thank you, Master.” Seijun bowed his head in silence. The woman laughed at him,

“I’m not your Master. Not the Master you’re thinking of at least. Though she was based off my mind, her and I had little in common by the end. Funny how those things take on a mind of their own.” She waved a hand with a laugh, “Ah, I never understood it. The Master Protocol was my hope of keeping our traditions alive. Now? Now you’re the last one. You’re the only one that can keep us alive. You’re not just a child of the Lao family. You’re a child of the Valley. The last seed to drop from our tree before we were felled. What happens next is in your hands. And now that I see how you fight, how you refuse to give up, how you stand against me – one who is more seasoned, more in tune with balance, and your superior – I am proud to say that you are not only a worthy successor, but worthy to carry on our memory. All of us. You may leave with my blessing.”

“Wait, I can’t leave yet.” Seijun said in a panic, “I can learn so much more from you.”

“You could. But there’s no time for that. Remember what I showed you today. I think I knocked you around enough for you to take some notes from.” She said with a wink as she removed her mask. “With some discipline and training, you’ll be the greatest champion the Five has ever seen. For now, though? You are what’s left.”

Seijun lowered his head in grief.

“But you’re enough. Better than I was at your age. Like all great champions of the Five, you’ll improve when you find balance in yourself. Become more of who you are and find your balance. Then we’ll talk – one day a long way from now - but for now, you’re needed elsewhere young Lao. Both for your partner’s sake, and for your Auntie’s.” The woman said with a laugh, “Please, save her from the Five who keep her in limbo while you stand here. Go.”

Seijun lost sight of her as the steam became denser. Then, it became water. Then, he felt like he was drowning.

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Akashi stood atop the boulder, firing rounds of lightning into the amethyst eyes of the void fiends. In the distance, he could just barely see the tyrant god walking away from him still, working his way through the crowd of hungry fiends waiting to tear Akashi apart. In the distance he began to hear the howling cackle that he recognized as the thing they had heard as they traversed the caverns. It was comforting in a way to know they were still here, though he wished they helped him even a little.

Just as he was thinking his position was getting overrun, he saw a jet of water explode up into the air over top of the hordes. As it rained down, Seijun plummeted towards the ground with the jet of water. In a moment, Akashi turned to smoke and wafted over to his partner. He reappeared next to him, “About damn time. I thought I was done for.”

Seijun shook his head, “No, not yet, no.”

“Seijun!” Lady Vey shouted from her place on his blade. “You did it! You proved yourself to her! And with it, I think you’ve gained something grand – oh, what’s this?”

“Yeah, that’s great and all,” Akashi began. He gestured to the monster-infested cavern, “but there’s bigger stuff going on here. The tyrant’s here and he’s getting away!”

“Gentlemen, if I may - the spirits have warned me of a greater threat here… something… stronger than this.”

“Stronger than a god, V?” Akashi asked. “Man’s got the book over there. We need to move if we want to get it.”

“It’s here?” Seijun asked. Akashi nodded. “Let’s move then.”

“Hold on, there are many things stronger than that god. Just move with caution!” Vey warned.

“Oh, mother has come to play. Oh, cousin won’t stay. Oh, how this will hurt. Oh, cousin cousin cousin… realms apart… worlds apart, and yet our mother’s curse. She can taste you on her taloned fingertips. She sees you now – you hid, silenced cries – silenced screams – deafened hate – mother will punish you.” The strange voice cackled off the walls.

“That sound bad.” Was all Akashi could manage.

“We just better hope the voice isn’t referring to –“

“Come on, V, don’t give us something to be scared of.” Akashi cut her off. “Seij, go for the eyes, got it?”

“Got it.”

The creatures jumped down from the ceiling, landing all around them. Akashi fired off thunderous blasts of bullets, lifeless bodies crashing into the ground around them.

Seijun’s blade dashed through several of them at once as he crossed the cave. Their tentacles reached out for him, but the sword grew so hot it let off a faint orange glow. He burned and cut through them. The oozing black caught fire, splashed onto the floor, and pooled in black slick fires, like oil on the sea. The heat of the flaming bodies cracked and shattered their crystal eyes. The cave shook and the creatures crumbled. Akashi faded into smoke as one reached for him, his figure taking up a fist inside of the creature's head, shattering their eyes as his hand took form inside of them.

Fire blazed, the air wreaked of sickness. The Astral earth was soaking in the viscous slime. Akashi’s own smoke began filling the air as he burst the creatures' crystallized eyes from the inside.

They fought on, breaking through the waves of creatures. Laughter still flooded the air as they fought on in the onslaught, untouched by the monstrosities. As the duo battled on, the laughter of their phantom companion suddenly turned to wailing cries. As they did, Akashi noticed something.

“They’re fleeing…” Akashi stopped shooting his revolver, and watched as the void fiends began running into the dark corners of the room until they were gone. Then, as if they were never there at all – aside from the burning black fires that covered the floors – the cavern was empty. Across the temple, Seijun was running after the tyrant god. He stood with a gleaming grin that made Seijun’s stomach twist. He held the book up to Seijun in a mocking grin, then backed away with a taunting smile on his face. Then, a purple portal appeared behind him, and he stepped into it. As the tyrant disappeared, he was replaced with a massive amethyst talon that threatened to impale him.

Seijun rolled out of the way, recovered still running, and slammed into the wall shoulder-first. He smashed his fist into the rock of the cavern, breaking a chunk away.

“He was right there! The tome was right there!” He screamed, rage coursing through him. His armor was heating up around him. He was heating up.

“Patience nephew.” Lady Vey said.

“We’re running out of time to be patient!” He screamed.

“You sound familiar.” Vey said with a laugh. “Just breathe. There will be time for rage, but now we need to think.”

“Hold on,” Akashi said as he appeared next to his friend, “just hold on a second, brother. He left for a reason.” Akashi said, anxiety in his voice. “He puts on a good show, but he wasn’t running as some master move. He’s running because he’s scared.”

“You’re right. Something worse is coming.” Lady Vey whispered.

Seijun looked at Akashi then at the ribbon that was Lady Vey, “How do you –“

“What is happening in my domain?” A powerful voice broke through the silence. Her voice was regal, rough, and filled with an irritation that came from minor inconvenience.

“Seijun, look.” Akashi pointed at the haze that draped the ceiling in mist.

“Oh no…” Lady Vey whispered, the horror palpable in her voice.

A woman with shining porcelain-white skin, and a featureless face walked downward from seemingly nowhere. Her pointed feet touched the air. Where they landed, a blue outline of a stair step left a faint glow. She had a train that floated behind her made up of shining blue scales, the same porcelain white that made up the rest of her body rippled through it. Black hollowed eyes warped her face. Each of her fingers ended in sharp talons that would sooner shred something than hold it.

“I – uh - think we’re in trouble, Seij.” Akashi whispered.

“Boys, that is Vajra, The Dragon Mother. She is an all-powerful being who created the laws of gravity itself. She graces creatures with flight, raises the dragons with the elements, and brings the very seasons to cycle. The first creator of life. The mother of dragons and fiends. The Void Tyrant was right to flee. His false fiends of the void were right to run. We were foolish to stay. Gods above, what were we thinking?” Vey fussed in terror.

She floated high above them, looking down on them like disgusting insects. “Bedlam! Cas!” She shouted. “What have you let these… creatures do to my temple?”

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Hey there, thanks for reading! This was a big ole chapter - a behemoth to edit, believe me - but it was one of the best in my opinion. Still, I hope you enjoyed!

The Dragon Mother is one of my favorite gods - she is one of the big 3 of Astra after all - and she deserves an equally intense introduction, so stay tuned for that next week!

Before that though, let me share some inspiration for this chapter!

By pure coincidence, two of my favorite bands - Chevelle and Foxcult - released new albums as I was editing this chapter. If you’re into rock, then the new song Rabbit Hole -Cowards pt. 1 by Chevelle and The Emerald Grove by Foxcult were really integral in writing one of my favorite action-packed chapters I think I’ve ever written.

I’ll see you next week for chapter 17! Until then, subscribe if you haven’t already (though if you’ve read all the way to chapter 17 and haven’t subscribed, then I’ve gotta know what I can do to convince you!), and if you have the ability and the inclination, consider dropping a tip!

Catch you next week!