59:59...
59:58...
59:57...
...
20:02...
20:01...
20:00...
...
01:01...
01:00...
00:59...
...
00:02...
00:01...
00:00...
*SHIIING!*
A ray of light shines down from the sky in Mehrunes Dagon's realm, the Deadlands, illuminating the suddenly appearing form of Michael.
He sucks in air voraciously as he drops to his knees, patting himself all over as he erratically thinks about what just happened.
"I died..." he mutters through harried breaths, utterly confused and mildly horrified by the void-like blackness he'd experienced. The single timer in the corner of his vision was the only thing that'd stopped him from going insane from sensory deprivation, along with his abilities that strengthen his mind.
The abrupt flooding of sensations that he'd been hit with once the timer had ended had almost knocked him unconscious... It was like using a foghorn directly into someone's ear after they'd taken out earplugs.
Not only that, but he felt like he was burning alive from the air itself. His lungs felt like they were being cooked, and his skin was quickly turning red and blistering from the heat of wherever he was.
"Charlotte... You really killed me..." he mutters in disbelief, having trouble even processing the information.
Was the kiss a lie? Just a distraction to get a chance to end him? Was she even in control then, or was it Clavicus?
What would happen now that Clavicus had won the Hunt?
"This can't be fucking happening." he growls, punching the dark rocky ground and leaving an imprint of his fist in the scorched stone, the blood he leaves behind instantly sizzling from the heat terminating from it.
'How was he even still alive?' he finally thinks to himself as he forcefully pulls his thoughts away from the betrayal that was boring a hole through his chest.
Michael looks up and squints slightly as he looks up and catches a glimpse of the magma surrounding him and the small scorched island he was knelt upon.
"FINALLY NOTICED? YOU ARE A STRANGE SPECIMEN, WORLD-HOPPER. RECOVERING YOUR BODY FROM ONLY YOUR SOUL. ARE YOU A DENIZEN OF OBLIVION? OR SOMETHING ELSE?" the voice of Mehrunes Dagon says from behind him.
Michael gets to his feet and turns, ignoring his burning body. He has to force himself to keep his legs straight when he locks eyes with the god. Mehrunes Dagon stood hundreds of feet tall, with crimson skin, four arms, and a devilish horned visage.
Michael felt like he was face to face with Sargeras again, though, he wasn't feeling as oppressed... Was Sargeras simply more powerful than Mehrunes Dagon? Or was the being before him hiding his true abilities?
"What do you want? Why am I here?" Michael asks, inwardly patting himself on the back for the fact that he hadn't antagonized this Daedric Prince... Aside from finishing off his Champion of course...
The Daedric Prince gives a fanged grin as he stares down at Michael, "YOU LOST ME THAT FOOLS HUNT! SO, YOU WILL REPAY ME IN FULL, AND YOU WILL USE YOUR NEW BODY TO DO IT." he commands with his voice causing the volcanic lands around Michael to shudder and shake.
"Clavicus' Champion took your victory, not me." Michael retorts with as much strength as his voice could carry.
"CORRECT! BUT YOU ALSO PLAYED A PART. YOU ARE MINE NOW! AND YOU WILL OBEY!" the god of destruction commands.
...
When Michael doesn't immediately drop to his knees and start worshipping his feet, Mehrunes Dagon crooks a brow and scowls, "KNEEL AND OBEY ME, MORTAL! OR FACE ETERNAL TORTURE!"
"No." Michael answers. Lord or not, King or not, God or not, he refused to serve anyone ever again!
"OBEY ME OR ELSE, MORTAL!"
"NO, I REFUSE!" Michael exclaims, even while his throat and face burned from the rediculous ambient temperature.
The god growls, "THEN SUFFER!" he roars, throwing a single hand out and causing Michael to disappear.
Michael reappears under an ocean of lava, immediately letting out a muffled scream as the liquid rock scorches his body. He was lucky that his Ebonthread and Ebony robes were so durable, otherwise, they'd have been burned off instantly. They aren't saved completely however, as the ends of it are singed and scorched.
His body wasn't doing any better as the flesh melts from his bones at stupidly fast speeds. Were it not for his Pain Tolerance and Affinity to fire, he'd have gone insane or been rendered ashes already.
He's unable to Blink, unable to move, unable to do anything but suffer... Well, except... Pushing through his pain, he summons the Book of Legends and forces his mind into it despite being unable to see which Spirit's world he was headed into.
He blinks and his burned eyes are healed, the terrible feeling of burning being replaced with the slight chill of Auroth's cave.
"AAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!" he cries out and drops to his knees as the phantom pain of burning continues, despite having temporarily escaped it.
"M-Michael!? What's wrong!?" the Wyvern exclaims as it tumbles from the mountain of books under it and rushes to him.
"E-Everything!" is all he can get out as he continues to writhe in agony. The chill licking his skin was the only reprieve, but even that was fleeting.
Suddenly, he's locked in place and held in a block of ice, the Winter Wyvern had cast Cold Embrace onto him...
Thirty minutes later, Auroth lets Michael out from the block of ice, gently depositing him on the pile of books afterwards. "Will you explain to me what has happened, Michael?"
...
"I... Challenged an evil god, what you saw was the result." he admits, hands still trembling despite the torture only lasting a few seconds.
The Wyvern lets out a disturbed sigh as she drapes her wing around him in the dragon-version of a hug. "Forgive me, but that seems like a foolish thing to do."
He nods, "Yeah, I know. I knew it when I challenged him, but I did it anyway." he mutters.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
Michael explains the circumstances that led him to this point, the Hunt, Charlotte's betrayal, and then dying...
"I'm not sure if I'm envious or grateful that I didn't get a second chance to live again. For you it might just be a curse..." The Wyvern remarks after hearing his tale, deciding not to broach the still raw subject of betrayal. She herself had been betrayed in the most terrible manner possible, so she understood what he feeling right about now, and pity isn't what he needed at all.
Michael shrugs, "If I die you guy's all go with me, so. I guess there's the plus side to it..." he says, trying to find the silver lining of literally being sent to hell and tortured for eternity...
"Perhaps it would be for the best?" Auroth says.
"Maybe..."
...
"There is only ten minutes left until time resumes, Michael..." Auroth suddenly says, bringing the resting Michael back to reality.
"I know... Maybe I can push my consciousness into another Spirit's world before I die?... Will I even come back if I die again? Dagon has my soul regardless..."
"Again, would you even wish to come back?"
"I don't know. I still have things to do, so the chance of eventually escaping Dagon is enough, I think..."
Auroth lets out a solemn sigh as she pulls herself from the ground. "There may be a way for me to further help you. But I am unsure if it would work."
Michael perks up, "Really?"
She nods, "Potentially... Have you ever heard the tale of Sir Davion and Slyrak?"
Michael shakes his head, he had no idea about the tales and traditions of the Dota world.
The wyvern continues, "It's a story of the Dragon Knight, who slew Slyrak and bathed in each other's lifeblood, gaining the Dragon's abilities and spirit." she says and Michael figures out just where she's going with this.
"A-are you sure? You're not even a dragon though?"
She nods her head, "I am aware, but I am the strongest among my kind, stronger than even some dragons. I believe that it may work, or may not. Either way, if it works you will gain power enough to resist your torment, saving the other Spirits from eternal slumber. I will die either way so, this is a good way to go..."
...
"Auroth, are you absolutely sure about this? We don't know what cou-" Michael starts but gets clipped by the Wyvern's wing.
"Enough, I've made my decision." she says as she raises herself over Michael. "And... If you could, please write of this. Like the tale of Sir Davion and Slyrak, nothing would make me more content." she says while giving a strange but gentle smile.
"I promise."
She nods, "Then it's farewell, Michael." she says before summoning a large sharp icicle and jabbing it into her scaled neck, causing many litres of to fall upon Michael.
Michael himself cuts many wounds along his body so that the melding of their blood could occur. Unfortunately for him, he'd underestimated the intensity of Auroth's lifeblood. His body instantly begins freezing over as the blood hits him.
"Highk!" He groans as the blood gains a life of its own and streams over his body, forcefully crawling its way into his veins.
After a moment of this, he feels as if something was clawing at his heart, dragging ice-cold nails across and into it.
His skin pales a stark white and his eyes begin glowing a bright turquoise colour, similar to that of Auroth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five minutes pass when Michael is finally freed, he falls on his face and exhaustedly rolls onto his back, his very breath freezing the air before him.
After a few more moments of gathering his composure, he rolls onto his front and gets up, but pauses when he notices his reflection on the icy floor.
His skin was now a pale white, and his dirty blue hair had slight tinges of turquoise on the ends of them. His canines were slightly elongated, his eyes were now slitted, and glowed a light blue...
"It worked... Auroth it wor-" he starts but his words peter out as he looks over at the lifeless body of Auroth. Her eyes were glazed over and a large frozen puddle of blood laid underneath her, the wound on her neck still trickling slightly with blood.
"Auroth..." he sadly mutters, walking over and resting a hand on her scaled face. "Damn bookworm, you just have to be the hero!?... Maybe I, I could have...?" he trails off, knowing that there was nothing else he could have done. Auroth's decision was her own, so he'd honour it as a good friend should.
"I'm sorry." he whispers, "I guess it's time to face the fire now, eh? Time's up." he mutters, knowing that he'd be thrown out of the world and back into torment in a couple seconds.
Then, it happens.
"GRRRRAGH!" Michael growls as time resumes and he's forced to endure the magma again... Only, this time he felt he could do something about it.
He could feel the changes in his mana, and quickly pulls on it, as if it were water and he was a man trapped in the desert.
A shimmer covers his body as an icy shield manifests, creating a layer between him and the magma surrounding him. His mana is drained rapidly by it, but it's enough for him to finally start taking action against this torture Dagon decided to inflict on him.
He reaches up, digging his hand through the viscous liquid stone and grabs what he could only call a handhold, pushing himself up as if he were buried under custard. What he was doing couldn't be called swimming, climbing perhaps, but certainly not swimming.
He continues to clamber through the magma, his icy shield stopping him from burning, but as he travels, his mana continues to drain... Half of it was already gone and yet he was still ascending... Just how far did Dagon put him under!?
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
También te puede interesar
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO