The Wastelands of Osireon – The Ridge

  The wind howled through the canyon, carrying the smell of sulfur. Below, the portal swirled like a bruised eye, unstable and violent.

  Isaac crouched behind a jagged rock, watching. Beside him, Arian radiated a silent, terrifying heat.

  "She's there," Arian whispered.

  Down in the crater, Melina stood commanding the zealots. Giant wings of translucent violet mana sprouted from her back, beating slowly. She looked impatient, pacing back and forth.

  "The portal is open, but she's guarding it closely," Isaac noted. "If we engage, it has to be fast. I'm not here for a prolonged war."

  "Don't worry," Arian smirked, her eyes fixed on her niece. "I'll keep the brat busy."

  On the upper ridge, a hunched servant dragging a sack of bones paused. He sniffed the air. He turned slowly, his eyes widening as he spotted the silhouette of a man in black armor and a woman glowing faintly in the dark.

  He dropped the sack. He raised a trembling finger and screamed with lungs full of fanaticism.

  The scream pierced the silence.

  SPLAT.

  Arian didn't even look. She flicked a finger, and the servant was crushed against the rock face by invisible pressure, reduced to a wet stain.

  "INTRUDERS!" Melina shrieked, looking up. "KILL THEM!"

  She launched herself into the air, wings flaring.

  "Go!" Arian stepped off the ledge. "She's mine."

  The Goddess and the Semi-Entity collided in mid-air.

  KRA-KOOM.

  The impact was blinding. Gold and Violet shockwaves tore the ground apart, sending cultists flying into the abyss.

  Isaac didn't wait.

  He stepped off the cliff.

  BOOM.

  The sound barrier shattered instantly.

  He was a blur—a human missile diving straight for the portal at supersonic speed.

  "GET HIM!" Melina screamed, seeing the blue streak.

  She broke away from Arian, spinning in the air. She hurled a lance of black gravity at him.

  Isaac tried to bank, but the gravity distorted the air.

  CRASH.

  The lance clipped him. The force slammed him sideways into a massive stone pillar. The pillar disintegrated, and the cavern roof groaned. A boulder the size of a house broke loose, falling directly toward the portal.

  "ISAAC!" Arian shouted, veins bulging as she caught the falling mountain with telekinesis. "MOVE!"

  Isaac erupted from the debris. Blood trickled down his forehead.

  He looked up. Melina was diving at him, sword drawn.

  ZZZZZTTT.

  Two beams of searing azure energy tore from Isaac’s eyes.

  The lasers caught Melina center-mass.

  "GAAAAH!"

  Her breastplate melted. The impact knocked her out of the sky like a swatting hand. She crashed into the dirt inches from the vortex.

  Isaac didn't let up. He tackled her before she could rise, grabbing her by the scorched armor.

  "Get off me!" she roared.

  Isaac drove them both forward, straight into the swirling chaos of the portal.

  Arian watched them vanish.

  "Good luck."

  She released her hold and vanished.

  RUMBLE... CRASH.

  The mountain fell. The cavern imploded, burying the gateway.

  Orion’s Castle – The Obsidian Hall

  Gravity reasserted itself with brutal force.

  Isaac and Melina were spat out of the dimensional rift, crashing hard onto the floor of polished black glass.

  Isaac recovered instantly, rolling to his feet in a fluid motion. Melina was slower, dazed by the laser burn on her chest and the violent transit. Before she could summon her mana, Isaac was on her.

  THUD.

  He kicked her sword across the room.

  CRACKLE.

  Blue lightning erupted from his hand. He pinned her to the floor, his electrified palm hovering inches from her throat. He clamped his other hand over her mouth.

  "Mmph!"

  Melina’s eyes went wide.

  "If you scream," Isaac whispered, his eyes glowing with threatening blue mana, "I will fry your brain. Do you understand? Nod."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Melina stared at the crackling energy. She nodded frantically.

  Isaac removed his hand from her mouth.

  "Where is the pendant?"

  "Fuck you.." she wheezed, trying to struggle.

  Isaac increased the voltage. The smell of ozone filled the air. Melina convulsed, her muscles locking up in agony.

  "I just killed Galadion with this hand," Isaac stated coldly. "Don't make me kill you too. Where. Is. It?"

  The mention of her brother's death broke her defiance. She looked into Isaac's eyes and saw only death.

  "Mother's Sanctum," she gasped, tears of pain leaking out. "End of the hall. Double doors. It's in the obsidian drawer."

  "Good."

  WHAM.

  Isaac didn't hesitate. He delivered a precision strike to her temple with the hilt of his sword.

  Melina’s eyes rolled back, and she went limp instantly. Unconscious, but alive.

  Isaac stood up, adjusting his armor. He dragged her body into the shadows behind a tapestry to buy himself some time.

  "Sleep well," he muttered.

  Isaac moved like a ghost. He slipped into the corridor, his mana suppressed.

  He ducked into a side room to avoid a patrol. It was a laboratory. On the wall hung a dark lance—a prototype similar to Fall's weapon. Isaac ignored it, sweeping several jars of rare alchemical ingredients into his bag.

  Sniff. Sniff.

  A Hierophant walked into the lab. He stopped, frowning.

  "Fresh blood...?"

  ZZZT.

  A thin, precise laser beam shot from Isaac’s eyes. It sliced the Hierophant cleanly in half at the waist. The top half of the body hit the floor with a wet thud.

  Isaac stepped over the corpse and exited.

  He reached the massive double doors. Orion’s Chamber.

  He slipped inside, closed the door softly, and moved to the obsidian dresser. He found the drawer. Inside lay the golden pendant, pulsing with Arian’s light.

  "Got it." He pocketed the item.

  Click.

  The doorknob turned.

  Isaac dove under the massive bed just as the door swung open.

  Orion walked in. Her presence was heavy, suffocating.

  She stood in the center of the room. A Hierophant entered behind her and knelt.

  "Mistress!"

  "SHHHH!" Orion hissed.

  She tilted her head. She sniffed the air.

  "Mistress, I don't..."

  "The smell of Fear," Orion whispered.

  "Mistress, I..."

  SPLAT.

  Orion twisted her wrist. The Hierophant's head imploded. Blood sprayed across the floor, trickling slowly toward the bed.

  "I said... shut your mouth."

  She walked to the window, opened it, and began to undress. Isaac lay perfectly still in the shadows. She stepped into a sunken tub of violet liquid.

  "Ahh... So relaxing."

  Silence filled the room for a long minute. The water rippled.

  "Did you like what you saw... Fallen King?"

  Isaac froze. His grip on his sword tightened.

  "Where are you...?" Orion cooed. "Come out... I want to see you."

  Isaac didn't move.

  "Ahh, playing Hide and Seek? Fine. My turn."

  She pointed a wet finger at the bed.

  WHOOSH.

  Gravity reversed. The massive bed was ripped from the floor and smashed against the ceiling.

  Isaac was revealed, crouching on the floor.

  They locked eyes. The Goddess and the Intruder.

  "You are hard to find," Orion smiled, completely unbothered by her nudity. "Congratulations."

  She stood up, water dripping from her divine form, and donned a silk robe.

  "So... did you get what you wanted? Where is Arian?"

  Isaac remained silent, muscles coiled to strike.

  BANG.

  An invisible force slammed Isaac against the wall. He struggled, but he was pinned.

  Orion walked toward him. Her face was calm, but her eyes were storms.

  "You know..." she began softly. "I felt a thread snap in the tapestry of the cosmos. My son's thread."

  She stopped inches from Isaac's face.

  "Galadion is dead."

  Isaac stared at her.

  Orion’s face crumbled. Then, it ignited into something demonic.

  "He was perfect!" she screamed, spit flying. "He was my legacy! And you... you filth... you took him from me!"

  Her body began to contort. Limbs elongated. Mandibles burst from her face.

  SKREEEE!

  Orion transformed into a Gigantic Spider Entity.

  "DIE NOW!"

  Isaac couldn't move his body, but he could move his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling.

  ZZZZZTTT!

  Twin lasers sliced through the roof supports.

  CRASH.

  The ceiling collapsed. The floor gave way, dropping them both to the level below. The hold broke.

  Isaac scrambled to his feet in the rubble.

  "ROAAAAAR!"

  Orion erupted from the dust, destroying walls with a wave of her hand.

  Isaac ran. He turned and fired a laser, knocking her back, but she kept coming, regenerating instantly.

  He reached a narrow junction.

  CRACKLE.

  Blue electricity surged. He used Magnetism, ripping the iron reinforcements from the walls. The metal twisted and groaned, forming a thick, dense barrier blocking the corridor behind him.

  BOOM.

  Orion slammed into the wall, screaming in rage.

  Isaac sprinted. He reached the portal room—it was buried under rock.

  "No!"

  "I FOUND YOU!" Orion’s voice echoed through the vents.

  Isaac saw a disposal chute. He dove in.

  He slid down to the underbelly of the castle, kicking open the maintenance hatch. He stepped out onto the outer ledge.

  He stopped.

  Orion’s castle was floating high in the stratosphere. In front of him was nothing but the curvature of the planet and a terrifying drop.

  Behind him, the wall exploded. Orion stood there, her spider legs twitching, dripping venom.

  She screamed—a sound that shattered glass miles away.

  Isaac looked at the abyss. He looked at the Goddess.

  He jumped.

  WHOOSH.

  Gravity took him. He plummeted from the edge of space, his body igniting with the friction of reentry.

  Like a blue comet, he streaked across the sky, burning through the clouds, heading toward the distant ocean below.

  The Sea of Valoon

  The sky above the ocean tore open.

  A streak of blue fire screamed down from the heavens, trailing black smoke. It hit the water with the force of a tactical nuke.

  BOOOOM.

  A massive geyser of water erupted, sending a shockwave rippling across the dark waves. The ocean boiled where he entered, steam rising in thick clouds.

  Deep underwater, Isaac drifted, semi-conscious. His armor was scorching hot, hissing as the cold salt water cooled it. The impact had nearly shattered his ribs.

  His survival instincts kicked in. His eyes snapped open—glowing faint blue in the murky depths.

  He kicked upward.

  He broke the surface, gasping for air, coughing up brine. The currents were strong, pulling him toward the jagged coastline. He fought the waves, his muscles screaming, until his boots found sand.

  He dragged himself onto the shore, collapsing onto the wet, black sand of Valoon.

  The Beach of the Dragon Kings

  Isaac lay there for a long moment, listening to the rhythmic crash of the waves. His body ached—a dull, throbbing reminder of his encounter with a Supreme Entity.

  He rolled over, groaning, and pushed himself up to a sitting position. He wiped the salt and ash from his face.

  He looked up.

  Looming high above the cliffs, piercing the clouds, was the Dragon Peak. At its summit sat the magnificent Palace of Yamato. It was illuminated by thousands of magical lanterns. The sound of distant drums and roaring laughter drifted down on the wind.

  "They are celebrating," Isaac rasped, his throat raw.

  He looked at the familiar skyline. The towering spires, the ancient architecture.

  "I am in Valoon. Great."

  He leaned back against a large, moss-covered rock. His hands trembled slightly as he reached into his bag. He pulled out his flask, uncorked it, and took a long, burning swig. The alcohol warmed his chest, numbing the pain just enough.

  He put the flask away and narrowed his eyes.

  "I need to be careful," he muttered. "Dragons have the sharpest noses in Mundus. Especially Aiko. If she smells my scent... she will tear this mountain apart to find me."

  He looked at his bag, wet but intact.

  "I need to mask it. Completely."

  He dumped the contents onto his lap. Among the stolen items from Orion's lab was a jar of Sulfuric Void Dust and a vial of Neutralizing Agent.

  "Perfect."

  He began to work. His hands moved with the precision of a master alchemist. He poured the dust into an empty shell casing, added the agent, and whispered a binding incantation.

  A pungent, gray smoke hissed from the casing, then settled into a colorless, odorless coating around the metal.

  The Void-Scent Amulet.

  He brought it to his nose. Nothing. It smelled like vacuum. It smelled like nothingness.

  "This will erase my scent from the wind," he whispered, placing the amulet in his pocket. "To them, I am just a rock."

  He stood up, stretching his sore back. He looked at the towering mountain one last time.

  WHOOSH.

  He launched himself into the air, flying silently toward the peak, a ghost returning to the city of dragons.