บท 511: A Lawful Land
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Wyatt 'Limitless' Graves
Rushing with the speed of a thousand trains, I arrive at the blast zone where Virgil was said to be just moments ago. My heart pounds in my chest as I gaze at the ground beneath me, all scorched and fractured from the Godsinker that tore through the surroundings. Nearly a mile in every direction, there is only molten rock and sunken earth.
I skid to a stop, with the rock beneath me shattering from the sudden change in momentum. My breath catches at the sight of the destruction. I haven't seen one of these in person yet. It's... something... that's right.
My eyes move on their own to my left, searching for Aniwye, but my mother has already left. She is worried for my father, and seeing proof of my strength, she has departed to find him.
A long sigh runs through my body as I'm alone. There's no sign of Virgil, no sign of the God he was fighting. Just destruction and the crackling silence of burning stone.
Worry starts to rise in my stomach, but I shove it down. Virgil isn't just anyone. He's... he's Virgil. Sure... he's against a God... but... Why did he have to do it!? Why couldn't Bonfire and Abraham have—!?
No. I can't think like that. Virgil took up the fight because he believed he could win. And... I'll have to trust that. No matter... no matter how much it hurts to search for his remains.
I walk through the molten earth, feeling it burn into my feet, but only make it to the outermost section of my skin. With all my interactions with Bonfire, Blodwyn and I are quite used to heat. This is nothing to his flames.
But... I'm not seeing anything except for warbling, heated air. That is... until, out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. A figure stumbles out of what appears to be nothingness itself, his left arm and lower body replaced by a dark, swirling shadow.
Confusion runs through me until I see his face, the lidded and tired eyes of the assassin I know better than anyone. It's Virgil. Relief floods through me, but it's quickly followed by dread. He looks like he's barely holding on.
I sprint toward him, catching him just as he starts to fall. His weight sags against me, and I can feel the tremors running through his body or what remains of it. His eyes meet mine, and despite everything, there's a faint smile on his lips, as if he isn't worried about himself, just looking at me.
"Always one step ahead."
My closest murmurs into my ear, his voice weak but still carrying the pride he always seems to hold for me. It's... it hurts to see his joy while he's so hurt.
"Sacrifice! Help him! Quickly!"
Blodwyn shunts me into motion as he reminds me of something I had nearly forgotten. Pushing Ether into Virgil, I take his pain and injuries for him upon myself. But they are more, far more than I was expecting.
A strangled cry comes from my throat as an overwhelming presence of Darklight eats through my soul, and my limbs vanish abruptly. I fall to the earth, Virgil's heavy body atop mine as Blodwyn quickly gets to work. Bloodlet reduces the wound's severity while he heals through them with Adaptation itself.
I bare my soul's force against the Darklight as I manage to wash it away into a corner of my body. The voices speak to me, but between Lily, Blodwyn, and I, we banish them out within just a few minutes. This must have come from the God. Otherwise... it would have been a breeze to clear out. How was he holding on!?
Just a few minutes after the Darklight is beaten out and ground into nothingness, I feel my hand and legs return. Sighing, I hold tightly onto Virgil and lift him onto his feet, carrying him as he has done for me many times. I've removed his wounds but not his exhaustion.
While I do so, I realize that he has changed. His soul... it doesn't possess that scar it used to. The thing that fluttered whenever he used Flicker. Now... I can see what lies beneath. There are nine total Sigils placed beautifully together, scraping along multiple types from Nightowl to Priest.
I hug him closer, merely wanting to feel his heartbeat and soul more profoundly. After Johnny... I don't want to take anything for granted. As I do so... I realize why he means so much to me. He's just as dear to me as Blodwyn or Lily. Or Aniwye. Without him...
I'd be dead a long time ago. And even if I weren't... I'd be different. So very different. I've been taught a great many things by a great many people, but Virgil Boone is a unique man in many ways.
He taught me that there is a light within the darkness and that if you fight long enough, things will improve. He taught me that the dawn will always come after the dusk and that even something as awful as an eclipse will fade.
Virgil taught me that every pint of suffering has a reward to be found. He's taught me patience. He's taught me technique, timing, and tactics that only he would know. I've won so many battles relying on his tricks, on his methods of... death.
I don't know if he sees me in the same way, but he is as close to a blood brother as I could ever have.
Aniwye told me the things he had done for me in the past. The... assassins and Outlaws he had killed behind my back to keep my hands clean. It... frustrates me he put so much on his back without telling me, but I understand why. I'd do it for him if I felt he needed it.
And so, I lift him over my right shoulder, taking him across the burnt landscape back toward Onyx Gate. We're needed there. He's physically healed; it'll just take a few minutes for his soul to wake back up.
I could rush his awakening with Limitless Manacles, but I don't want to. I'll let him sleep a little while longer.
He'd do it for me. And that's all I'll ever need.
*******************
An hour later, my feet return to the bricks of Onyx Gate. Once upon a time, I'd have to crane my neck upward to see it all. Not anymore. Now, I can have a simple level head.
I step into the city, or what's left of it, with sorrow in my heart. Just hours ago, I stood amongst thousands of battle-ready soldiers. Friends. Comrades. Now, it's a cemetery.
The buildings and fortifications are reduced to rubble, flickering flames casting eerie shadows over the scrambling fires. Bodies are scattered everywhere, but it's not just my people. Among the dead are creatures tainted with Darklight, minions of the Mother Below. But it's more than that. I find Pygmies. I find Nahullo. I even find demons amongst the slaughter that aren't tainted by corruption.
The smell of death is overwhelming, and it eats into my soul as I navigate the rubble. Only a few hundred feet into the city, I recognize a body nearby, a renowned figure who fought valiantly—Colonel James Cordoe. His spine is pierced by a pole of wrought steel, both arms torn off, and a knife still stuck between his lips. I close my eyes as I remember the man.
He was with Marshall way back then. I... I spoke to him not all that long ago. Not... not even twenty-four hours ago. And now... He's dead, along with so many others.
I kneel beside him, placing my knee into the bloodied cobblestone, feeling a lump in my throat. His eyes are still open, defiant even in death.
"May the Devil weigh in your favor, James. I'll see to it personally, I promise. For you and all the others."
Gently, I close his eyelids with my fingers, a final act of respect. Then, I raise my sight just a little to find another body, this one far more vital to the war effort. Odyss. Abraham's demon friend from Hell. The Virtue. I guess he didn't run away like he said he would. The demon is dead just a bit from James; his arms are also ripped off, likely killed by the same creature. I lean forward, crawling closer to the dead man as I do the same for him, closing his eyes and saying the exact words.
"May the Devil weigh in your favor, Odyss, Demon of Fungus. You fought for us. That is more than I could ever ask."
Clutched in Odyss' hand after I give him the short rite, I discover a burnt piece of paper. I take it, reading what little that remains.
"Odyss... West... Don't let them... This is our new home... The sky... beautiful.. as mother told me..."
The writing and feeling lead me to believe Inerea wrote the letter for Odyss. I hope she's still alive. I should make sure she is. I put strength in my knees, but before I can stand, I hear Virgil's steady and alert voice beside me. He has been silent this whole time, on the lookout for any life.
"I sense movement ahead. Don't know if they are human or not. Get ready."
I rise slowly, my hand instinctively reaching for my Colt, only to remember Lily appears as she wants. Sensing I need her, the little girl prances beside me, placing her own metallic frame into my palm. I nod to her, still keeping my focus head. This time, I'll let the childishness slide. She can just appear in my hand.
There is a mound of debris ahead, blocking whatever is past it, so that I cannot see clearly.
Virgil is beside me, and his maskless face is something I'm always happy to see. Nevertheless, I can see his determination and concentration on whatever danger may lie ahead. He's healed now, but the shadowy scars of his recent battle are still evident in his disposition.
We move forward cautiously, the rubble crunching under our boots. The city is eerily silent except for the distant crackle of flames and the occasional shifting of debris.
I can only hope that the fight either moved outside of the city or that it's over. Every nerve in my body is on high alert, ready for whatever might lurk in the ruins. I might be a God now, but... there are still plenty of us out here.
As we advance, I can't help but think of the people who once lived here; their lives were shattered in an instant. Rage simmers beneath my grief as the loathing I feel for Usen continues to build. I can understand the hate others feel, for I am the same.
Virgil's hand signals me to stop. I freeze, listening intently. There it is—a faint sound, like footsteps, moving through the debris ahead. My grip tightens on the Blooming Spider Lily.
I remain silent as Virgil's hands drop from three to two, then to one. And finally, he closes his fist.
Together, we lunge out from behind the rock, eternal night befalling the surroundings as Wraithsun falls into place. Virgil immediately vanishes, reappearing behind the target, and lashes out with a dagger before I can get close. But then he stops, just an inch from his kill.
"Natos?"
My friend's dagger vibrates dangerously as Natos simply meets his gaze. The demon of light nods to the human of the shadows.
"Yes. That is me. Granulen and I killed a God together. And... now I'm here, looking for where everyone else is."
I raise an eyebrow, jumping off the bricks lightly as Virgil sheathes his blades. The shadows recede into his body like the sea taking away the tide. Meanwhile, I notice Natos' limp. His right eye is dull, and the entirety of his Ether is insipid. Whoever he fought must have been strong.
"Where is he then? And... what do you mean? You can't find anyone?"
Natos' head sinks as I quickly understand why he was so indirect about Granulen. Then he looks behind him, toward the south.
"The King is dead. Killed by the God of Poisons. I... Did what I had to do. As for everyone else... I don't know. All I know is that... the west is the final front. The Gate of Death here is closed, and Granulen overlaid the Boulevard of Shadows onto the southern one in Pained Peaks. The two Wonders are battling for supremacy, keeping the Motherbound at bay. As for the north... your friends are on that one."
I nod to him, following his words. The worry about where everyone is still eats at me. But before I can ask who is in the north, Virgil does, already having an idea of who it is.
"Abraham and Bonfire?"
Natos laughs shortly, almost as if embarrassed, before running his hands through his now-blonde hair. That's a new change since he received his Dominion. Do all demons have such drastic physical changes? Who knows.
"Yeah. Those two. And another. Silas, right? Those three are up north. There are a few others, but they aren't heavy hitters."
"Makes sense. But we need to figure out where everyone else is before we can do anything. No point in fighting for no one."
Virgil's eyes scour the city, looking for his family, who were moved out long before the battle started. I know it's just a force of habit for him, so I don't harp on it.
"Any ideas?"
Natos asks us both as he spins around, throwing his burned arms into the air. I notice the lines of acid and poison that have feasted into his flesh and bones, some of it on the surface and still damaging him.
I turn my attention to him, however, as something tingles in the back of my mind. I walk a bit further, still having a few questions, as Natos seems to have been here a tad longer than us.
"What about Lennon?"
Natos points eastward, the crooked finger of the human-like demon forced straight. I follow the gesture, only to find nothing but the horizon.
"Hmm?"
The demon explains further at my behest, not too bothered by it. But as he explains, he pulls apart some of his shirt, revealing to me a jagged burn that runs from his shoulder to his hip. The once horribly bleeding injury has been sealed shut by Natos' light.
"He's... heh. He somehow managed to get one of the Motherbound to turn on their own. I'd call it clever if I didn't know better. Two battle maniacs and a loyal soldier. Don't head that way, that's my best advice. I thought about helping... until... I got just a little too close."
I get his meaning and move the subject as I... a voice tickles the back of my mind. Twisting around, I lock onto it with supreme focus, finding something hidden within reality. It exists just beyond my perception, but I can tell it is there. Creeping forward, I squint into the open air until a voice suddenly appears in my mind.
"Wyatt Graves. This is Louis Fern. If you hear this message, then I am dead. Don't get too sappy. We hardly know each other. Do your job. I have done mine. Three Gods were needed at the minimum to win this war, and now we have five. I shall take my leave to guarantee that there are still mortals left after the dust has settled. A new rule is placed upon the world, a final one to be powered by my Divinity. Onyx Gate is for mortals."
As Louis' words end, I feel my hands press against an invisible barrier in the world, a phantasmal door that locks me out. It is bizarre to the touch, as if...
Heh. How perfect, old man. You knew just what we needed to win—a battlefield where we don't have to hold back because they won't. And with a rule as ironclad as that... held up by his very life... I don't see anything breaking it anytime soon. Not Vincent, not Usen.
"Seems we're overreacting. The Devil has made it so our people are safe. Now... now we can fight to our heart's content."
I turn to face Natos and Virgil. The two look at me weirdly, but I fill them in quickly. Then, while running a hand along the rule placed by the Devil's Concept and Ether, I walk northbound.
If we're going to win this all, I don't want those other Gods. I don't trust even one of them.
Not Vincent. He's... complicated. Ma believes I will have to fight him. I'm... I'm not so sure. Yes, he's done some awful things, but he's human, right? I don't understand why we'll have to butt heads. Yet... Ma is a great judge of character. Plus, she has incredible foresight. I'll just have to play it by ear.
And I most certainly do not trust Leviathan, even less so whoever the fifth is. I don't want any of them.
I want my friends.
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