บท 48: Chapter 47
I woke up feeling a sharp pain in the back of my head. Wincing, I reached back to feel how bad my injury was, only to find I couldn't. I cracked open my eyes to find three spears just inches away from my neck held by the stone faced members of the cult, people I had called friends at one time. They had me chained to a stone pillar with thick iron manacles locked around my wrists.
In a panic, I tried to use my magic to escape, only to find that I couldn't. As hard as I tried, my magic just wouldn't respond. Somehow, it felt like it was locked away, just outside of my reach.
"Hello Merlin," Morgan smiled malevolently as she approached me, stepping past the other members of the cult. "Somehow, I knew you would survive that fall, and find your way back here. I'm glad you didn't disappoint me."
"What did you do to me?" I demanded, pushing down my conflicting feelings for her, and my growing panic as my magic refused to respond to my calls.
"Oh? You noticed that?" Morgan smirked. "It's the manacles. They suppress your magic. Right now, you're just like those 'normal' people you love so much," she finished with a cold sneer.
"What are you doing, Morgan?" I asked, pleading with her. "I saw all the destruction you caused, the people you've killed. This isn't going to end well, for anyone."
"It's no worse than what they've done to our kind for centuries," Morgan replied, projecting her voice to play to the crowd, who predictably cheered at her proclamation.
I narrowed my eyes, seeing what she was doing. The cult didn't know about her past, how she had lived most of her life in the lap of luxury, far removed from the plight of our kind. None of them knew the real her. 'Myself included,' I added reminding myself of her treachery.
"Why am I still alive?" I asked curiously. "You were ready to kill me after we defeated Thulsa."
"That was the plan," Morgan agreed, "but after what you did to Rexor… I had a change of heart."
I looked at her in surprise, not expecting anyone to find out about him so soon.
"Surprised?" Morgan asked with a cold smirk. "Come now Merlin, you taught me everything you know. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize the signs of your invisibility spell after we found the first few cult members you killed? Although," she paused. "I do have to give you credit. I never thought you would ever use that spell to its full potential."
At that moment, I realized it had all been a setup. The acolytes I'd followed into the chamber weren't there by chance. Morgan had sent them, realizing it was me using the invisibility spell. She had allowed them all to die, just to bait her trap, and make sure I didn't suspect anything. Even the cult members milling about the chamber now were here to make sure my invisibility spell failed when one of them inevitably bumped into me.
"There it is," Morgan said, seeing the shock on my face, deducing my thoughts. "That's why you failed Merlin. It's why you always fail," she added maliciously. "You don't have the strength to take what you deserve."
I looked back at her silently, seeing nothing of the woman I loved. It had all been a lie from the very beginning. Hoggoth was right about her. She didn't even care about acolytes I killed, only her dark ambitions.
"What I would like to know," she said, stepping forward until our faces were just inches apart. "How did you do it? How did you kill him?" She asked, her eyes lighting up with glee at the prospect of learning how to kill an immortal.
I knew what she was really asking, and it wasn't just how I killed Rexor. She wanted to know if I'd figured out the secret to Rexor and Thulsa's immortality.
"Come on, Merlin," Morgan sighed, an annoyed look on her face. "The silence doesn't suit you. You know you'll tell me everything I want to know… eventually. Why make it difficult for yourself?" She asked, sending a chill down my spine as I thought about what she'd done to Rexor, and what she no doubt had planned for me.
"…I have nothing to say to you," I finally said, seeing the real Morgan for the first time in my life.
"You could come back, you know. It's not too late," Morgan tempted. "Think of what we could learn if we work together. We could unravel all the secrets the Darkhold has to offer."
I didn't believe her promises for a second, but I knew I couldn't leave it at that. "That book isn't what you think it is," I replied, making one last attempt to get her to see the truth and the evil she would unleash if she continued down her path. "It's not our salvation, it's our destruction. You need to stop before the Darkhold consumes you, just like it did Thulsa."
"You're wrong, Merlin," Morgan replied flatly. "You just don't understand it, not the way I do," she said, going to the pedestal the book rested on, running her fingers along the pages reverently.
"Do you remember the day Thulsa showed us the Darkhold for the first time?" She asked, looking back at me, lost in thought. "How he told us the book called to him?"
I nodded my head silently, seeing the obsession in her eyes as she stared down at the pages of the book.
"Well, it called to me as well," Morgan went on. "It told me there was another way, that Thulsa wasn't the leader the order needed, that he had taken it as far as he could, but we needed a new leader, a stronger leader. One that was not afraid to do what was necessary."
My eyes widened in disbelief, having never considered the possibility. "The book is lying to you!" I told her, latching onto the hope that I could somehow get through to her. "It's just telling you what you want to hear to get what it wants."
"You're wrong!" Morgan shouted back angrily. "It taught me so much more than it ever taught Thulsa. How to make the cuffs that suppressed your magic, a ritual to make us more powerful than Thulsa ever dreamed of becoming, and so much more. We won't just rule a single country with this power, but all of them."
"Listen to yourself, Morgan," I implored, trying to get her to see sense. "Think about how crazy this sounds. Do you really think that book is going to give you all that power without taking something in return?"
"Give me power?" Morgan asked, laughing darkly. "No, Merlin. The book didn't give me power. It showed me how to take it for myself!" She snarled.
"It that why I'm still alive?" I asked, wondering if this was the fate Morgan had planned for me.
"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin." Morgan tsked, shaking her head as she chuckled with amusement. "Since when did you become so vain? I don't care about the pitiful amount of magic you possess. It's just a drop in the ocean, compared to the power I've discovered."
"What have you found?" I asked, a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.
"This world has so little magic in it, it's almost non-existent," she explained. "That's why we've never risen beyond the level that we did, but there are places teaming with magic, thousands of times more than on this plane of existence."
"You are going to bear witness as we open a portal there," Morgan smiled. "Then we'll harvest the magic, growing more powerful than our kind could have ever done on our own."
I felt a chill go down my spine as Morgan ranted, her emotions seemingly on a hair trigger as she quickly cycled between anger, dark amusement, and a deceptive calm that had me the most worried. What she was talking about was beyond dangerous, and her obsession with power, even more so.
"You're lying to them," I declared, hoping the others would listen to me. "You're not going to share this power with them. You're going to keep it all for yourself!"
Morgan just smiled at me as my warning fell on deaf ears. "you're just so predictable, Merlin," she tsked. "I've already told them you would make up one ridiculous lie after the other, just like you always do," she admonished. "There is more than enough magic in this realm for all of us, you included," she lied.
"Morgan, please, you have to see sense," I implored over the jeers of the watching acolytes. "The Darkhold is manipulating you. This is what it wants, not you!" I pleaded with her again, trying desperately to get through to her.
I watched on helplessly as they ignored me, beginning to chant. They surrounded Morgan, forming a semi-circle. Their chanting grew louder, reverberating around the room as I felt a crackle of otherworldly magic. It was small at first but grew rapidly until an angry red dot of magic formed.
I watched in horror as the dot grew, slowly at first, then rapidly expanding. I struggled against the chains holding me to the stone pillar, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't break free.
I heard the words they chanted, but they were in a language I had never encountered before or since. It sounded ancient, almost inhuman. I watched in horror as a tendril of magic pushed its way through the portal. It was an angry red, crackling with dark, malevolent power.
It reached out, touching the first cultist, entering his chest. He let out a scream, his limbs spasming as he struggled to contain the unholy power. A moment later it shot out of his back, connecting the next cultist who also writhed beneath the malevolent magic.
I looked at Morgan, who had a wide grin on her face as she watched the magic travel from cultist to cultist, the angry red of the dark magic reducing with each cultist it connected with until they were all held within the power of the spell.
That was when the screaming started, a terrifying, agonized plea for help. It started with the first cultist, but quickly spread across the room. I could only watch helplessly as the cultists aged rapidly, their skin wrinkling and their hair turning gray with each passing second.
I tore my eyes away from the horrific sight to look back at Morgan. The magical energy was slowly making its way towards her, but it was no longer an angry red, but a soft blue. That was when I realized her true plan. She had used the cultists as a filter to strip away the most dangerous aspects of the dark magic so that she could absorb it safely.
I struggled harder, frantically trying to pull my way loose, feeling my wrists bruise, but the chains held strong, not budging an inch. I could only watch as the magic connected with Morgan, enveloping her in a soft glow as she absorbed the otherworldly power, throwing her head back as she laughed in delight over the agonized screams of her followers.
The first one had turned to a husk, covered in wrinkles, his body looking like that of a frail old man. He looked practically ancient, on the very edge of death, but somehow he remained alive, screaming out in agony. The dark magic both keeping him alive and wreaking unimaginable agony on him at the same time.
I slumping against the stone column, trying my best to block out their agonized screams and Morgan's dark amusement. There was nothing I could do, no way I could stop her, and when she finished her task, there would be no one strong enough to stand in her way.
I had all but given up hope when a dark cloud of smoke formed in front of me. 'What now?' I thought, wondering what horror Morgan had planned next, watching as the smoke solidified, and I looked into a face I hadn't expected to see ever again. It was Thulsa. He was more smoke than man now, but I knew it was him.
I watched as he stared at me for a long moment, expecting him to kill for turning against him. I had no idea how he could be here in this ghostly wraith-like form, leaving me wondering if this was the immorality he told me about. He surprised me, tearing at my chains and ripping me free from the column. Whatever he did also overpowered the manacles locked around my wrists, and I could feel my magic returned to me.
Thulsa said nothing to me as he turned to face Morgan, but at this point I wasn't even sure he could speak. He sent a spear of dark shadow magic at her. I watched as it flew across the room, almost too fast for my eyes to track. He aimed at her head, hoping to take her down with a single strike.
Morgan's hand shot up, catching the spear on her open palm, then wrapped her fingers around it and squeezed, shattering the magic. "Thulsa," she called out, the dark mirth reaching her eyes, glowing with the same unearthly magic she absorbed. "I wondered if your stories about immortality were just that — stories, but they leave much to be desired."
"Your pathetic attacks won't work," she laughed, stepping towards him. "I've grown powerful in your absence, and I am stronger now than you can ever hope to become."
I ducked behind the column, hoping that Morgan hadn't noticed my escape as Thulsa surged towards Morgan, his intent clear as he reached out with his shadowy, claw like arms, intent on strangling her.
Morgan's arms shot up faster than I could see, grabbing Thulsa's wrists as she squeezed them tight. "Is that the best you can do, Thulsa?" She mocked. "This strength of yours may have been enough to keep your followers in line, but it's nothing compared to the power I wield."
I heard an inhuman screech coming from the shadowy form of Thulsa as Morgan pushed him down until he was on his knees.
"You could have had this power for yourself," Morgan taunted. "All you had to do was listen, but you turned your back on the Darkhold, and the untold power that could have been at your fingertips. I have to thank you for that," she laughed. "If you had listened, perhaps that Darkhold wouldn't have turned to me, and it could be you standing here, about to achieve your dream, instead of me."
I looked between Thulsa and Morgan, not sure what to do. Both their powers dwarfed my own by a large degree. I felt like a fly next to their raging power, and knew I was no match for Thulsa in this new form of his, and even less so for Morgan.
I tore my eyes away from them, looking at the cultists in horror as more and more of them turned into dried out husks, struggling to break free and screaming out in agony as the very magic trapping them denied them even the release of death.
I looked down at the dagger tucked into my belt, the one Hoggoth gave me, surprised that it was still there. I assumed they took it from me like they had with the sword. Pulling it out, I looked at the first cultist, getting an idea.
Morgan was connected to the otherworldly magic through her followers, chained together by the spell. What would happen if I broke that chain? Staying low to the ground, and hoping to escape Morgan's attention, I crept up on the first cultist.
I could see the terror in his eyes as he continued to scream, looking at me, begging for the release of death. I looked at the blade in my hand, then looked back at him solemnly, knowing that I couldn't hesitate, not this time.
The man's screams came to an abrupt end as buried the dagger in his chest, the dark magic no longer connected to him as the light left his eyes, and his body crumpled to dust. I looked back at Morgan, as she laughed darkly, squeezing Thulsa's wrists as he screeched in agony, then back at the dark magic emanating from the portal. The connection remained, despite the death of the cultist, still feeding the dark magic to Morgan. She hadn't even noticed what I'd done.
Unwilling to give up, I crept to the next cultist, putting them out of their misery, followed by a third, before I noticed it. The strain of the dark magic on their bodies increased with each cultist I killed, adding to the agony of those that remained, but also reduced the size of the magic tendril flowing through them.
I looked back at the battle between Thulsa and Morgan, noticing how increasingly one sided it had become as Morgan's power increased. Thulsa's shadowy limbs withering away as he struggled to break Morgan's grip.
Without missing a beat, Morgan wrapped her fingers around Thulsa's neck, holding him in place as she dug her fingers into his neck, earning an inhuman screech from him.
I knew that if I didn't stop her, Thulsa's immortality notwithstanding, she was going to win, and there would be no one left to stand against her. 'But how do I stop her?' I thought. With each passing second, the portal grew larger, now almost four feet in diameter.
With no other choice, I continued down the line, putting the cultists out of their misery. It had been one thing when I attacked them after sneaking back into the mountain, but what I did now felt completely different. To save them from their agony, I had to kill them, and with each one I killed, it increased the agony of those that remained. They were begging for death, their cries of agony almost deafening now.
After I killed the sixth one, Morgan snapped her head in my direction, finally noticing I was free and what I had been up to. "Merlin!" She growled, her eyes glowing an angry red as she shoved Thulsa back, smashing his ghostly form into the wall, a spiderweb of cracks forming on the rock as he crashed into it.
I tried to run, doing everything I could to put some distance between us, but it did no good. She floated into the air, catching up to me faster than she even did with Thulsa. In desperation, I let out a blast of lightning, hoping to at least slow her down, but she didn't even feel the impact as she drew closer.
She wrapped her arm around my throat, lifting me into the air until our faces were just inches apart, "and just what do you think you're doing?" she asked, her voice darkly menacing.
I clawed at her fingers in a panic, trying to free myself, but they felt like iron. I could feel my vision darkening at the edges as my lungs screamed for air. Nothing I had done seemed to have impacted Morgan in any way. She just continued to get stronger with each passing second.
I tried to speak, but my voice only came out as a raspy gasp. My limbs felt weak as I hung in the air, wondering if this was how it would end.
"I asked you a question, Merlin," Morgan demanded, only then realizing then what she had done. I felt her grip loosen, not enough to free myself, but just enough that I could breathe again.
I gasped for breath as my vision cleared as I wondered what to do. ".. You have to… stop," I begged her. "Look around you," I pleaded. "Look at what you've done to your followers."
Morgan smirked, looking around the room at the ashes of her former followers, along with those that remained alive, screaming in agony. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, her voice dropping to a deeper, more demonic octave.
At that moment, I knew there was nothing I could do to save her. The Darkhold had its hooks in her too deep. There was no going back. "When will it be enough?" I asked her hopelessly. "You're already stronger than me, than Thulsa, than anyone. End this, let their suffering end," I implored, looking at the acolytes.
"You think too small Merlin, you always have," Morgan said, continuing to absorb energy from the portal. "I don't just want to be the strongest sorceress in the world. I want to be the strongest in ANY world, and I won't stop until I am."
"The portal," I said, pointing out its ever-growing size as the rubble around us was slowly pulled in. "If you don't stop, it will consume everything."
"I control the portal, Merlin," Morgan dismissed. "It will stop when I command it to."
"Then show me, make it stop now," I pleaded, growing more and more desperate.
Morgan let out a dark chuckle. "You mean nothing to me, Merlin. I have no reason to listen to you, let alone prove anything to you," she said as the portal suddenly doubled in size, the remaining cultists screaming even louder as the tendril of magic flowing through them expanded, feeding even more dark magic to her.
"I am interested, though," Morgan continued, ignoring the screams. "That's why you're still alive. How did you kill my followers? The magic should have kept them alive. Was it the same way you killed Rexor? Tell me," she demanded, squeezing her fingers tighter around my neck again.
I held the dagger in my grip. Somehow, Morgan still hadn't noticed it. I wondered if it was a property of the dagger, making it somehow invisible to all those except the one that wielded it. Hoggoth had mentioned that it could destroy spirits. 'Could it have other purposes?' I thought, clinging to my last hope.
I slashed at Morgan's wrist, holding me by the throat, hoping it would have at least some effect on her. Morgan let out a yelp, releasing me as she floated back, staring at her bloodied wrist in shock, then back at me. "How did you do that?" She demanded. "Nothing should have been able to harm me. Tell me!" She growled, floating towards me menacingly again.
I scrambled back, looking around desperately for a way out. I needed time to think, to come up with a strategy, some way to beat her. Now that I knew the dagger could harm her, there was at least a chance.
I could still see Thulsa out of the corner of my eye, but he no longer looked like the shadowed form of himself. He was just a black mist, floating in the air, noticeably lighter than when he first appeared.
"There's nowhere to run, Merlin," Morgan smirked. "You will tell me everything I want to know. The only thing you will decide is how painful it will be for you."
As Morgan continued to absorb the otherworldly magic, I could see her form begin to change. It was subtle at first, but became more noticeable with each passing second.
Her skin, already pale to begin with, became lighter, almost glowing. Her teeth had grown into razor sharp points, two of them protruding past her lips, looking like a pair of fangs.
Her eyes glowed and eeiry blue, the skin around her eyes darkening to a pitch black, making them even more noticeable. Dark veins spread from her eyes, spreading across her face, pulsing with each breath she took, making her look less and less human.
Her voice was the biggest change of all. It was deeper, thrumming with untold power. Frightening me to my very core, and making it difficult to think the longer she stared at me. I averted my eyes, trying to look at anything else other than her and the increasingly inhuman husks that surrounded us.
Finally, free of her gaze, and able to think clearly, I knew what to do. Reaching for my magic, I transported myself behind one of the many piles of rubble surrounding us.
"Oh Merlin, you've been holding out one me," Morgan laughed with her increasingly inhuman voice. "I didn't think you had it in you. Perhaps I will keep you around after all, and put some of that creativity of yours to use. Would you like that, Merlin?" She asked, goading me to react. "To be my servant? To be my voice amongst the rabble?" She asked, casting her gaze across the chamber. "To carry out my will? In the new world I create you will stand above all of them," she tempted.
I peeked my head from behind the rubble as Morgan floated across the room. She was looking for me, her sharp eyes darting around the chamber. When she turned her back to me, I knew I had to act. My dagger had cut her, but it was only a single drop of blood, the magic she was absorbing sealing her wound just as quickly as I made it.
I transported myself to the next husk. I couldn't even call them human anymore. Their eyes had burst, their limbs becoming twisted and gnarled as they writhed in agony.
Without pause, I stabbed it with my dagger before disappearing behind another pile of rubble.
Morgan whirled around, feeling the loss of another cultist. "Naughty, naughty," she tsked with dark amusement. "I know your game now, Merlin," she said in a terrifying sing song voice, continuing her search for me. "You won't be able to hide forever. I can sense you're still here."
I knew then that I had to act fast. She was gaining new abilities as her power increased. Hiding from her would be next to impossible soon.
I carefully transported myself around the room, killing the husks and ending their agony as Morgan grew increasingly annoyed and frustrated as I continued to escape her, but she was getting closer each time. I watched her carefully as she continued to change, wondering if she even noticed what was happening to her.
Her fingernails had grown almost an inch in length, now razor sharp, as she rapidly became something I couldn't even recognize anymore.
"Where are you?!" Morgan demanded, finally losing what little patience she had with me as she destroyed the piles of rubble in her search for me.
I was able to destroy one more of the husks before she was moving too quickly for me to reach the others, her powers growing as she zeroed in on my location. There were still another five husks remaining, and it was becoming increasingly dangerous to destroy them as I quickly ran out of places to hide.
I blinked as Morgan turned on a dime, rushing to my hiding place as she found me. "Got you!" She crowed, her clawed fingers digging into my shoulder before I popped away.
When I re-appeared, I clutched my shoulder, feeling as if it was on fire. If everything else wasn't bad enough, her claws were corrosive now too, making even a glancing blow potentially deadly.
"There you are," Morgan smiled, showing off her razor-sharp teeth. "I told you. You can't hide from me, Merlin. Tell me how you did your little trick," she said, stalking towards me. "You'll make an excellent servant once you learn your place."
"I refuse," I spat through gritted teeth. "You're a monster Morgan, look at yourself."
"Oh, this?" Morgan gestured to herself, her voice becoming even more inhuman. "I like it," she smirked coldly. "And if you won't serve me, you can die. Right after I rip all your secrets from your mind."
I looked around frantically, trying to find a place to hide, but there were none left. Morgan had destroyed them all. Running from her wouldn't work. She had already proven she could track me wherever I went.
She was only a few dozen feet away from me now, dragging it out as she stalked towards me, clearly enjoying the look of terror in my eyes as I frantically searched for a way to escape.
I looked over at Thulsa, still in his cloud like form, and knew he would be of no help, still far too injured from what Morgan did to him.
I gripped the dagger tightly in my hand, determined to at least go out fighting. When she was in range, I lashed out with the dagger intent on slashing her face, only for Morgan to grab my wrist, looking at my hand curiously, just an inch from her eye.
"What do you have here?" Morgan asked, her brows knitting together as she stared at my hand. "You have something. I can sense it, but why can't I see it?" She demanded, squeezing my wrist.
I grit my teeth, biting back a scream as I felt my bones creak. Morgan's strength was terrifying. If she wanted to, I'm sure she could have snapped my whole arm like a twig.
"Tell Me!" she growled, squeezing my wrist even tighter, as I refused to answer.
This time I couldn't hold back my pained scream, doing all I could to hang onto the dagger, knowing that without it, my slim chance of survival would drop to zero.
Suddenly Morgan snapped her head in Thulsa's direction, just as were both enveloped by a dark shadow. I knew in an instant it had to be Thulsa, making one last desperate attempt to stop Morgan, but her grip on my wrist only tightened, making me scream even louder.
I could only watch as the dark mist thickened, enveloping the entire chamber, making it impossible to see more than a foot in front of me. That's when I realized Thulsa's plan. He was far too weak to fight her again. That's why he spread his essence across the chamber, to confuse Morgan's senses.
I quickly transported myself into the darkness as she screeched in frustration, landing in front of one of the husks. Switching the dagger to my uninjured hand, I stabbed it, ignoring the throbbing pain in my wrist as I moved onto the next, continuing my desperate plan to break Morgan's connection to the portal.
By the third remaining husk the smoke began the diminish, and Morgan zeroed in on my location again, getting closer and closer to grabbing me as I popped away. I abandoned my plan to go after the remaining husks, focusing my attention on just staying ahead of her.
We both knew what my plan was, and Morgan used that to her advantage, always knowing where I wanted to strike, and appearing there to catch me.
The smoke was almost gone now, my cover rapidly diminishing. There were two husks left now, but there was no way to reach them, not without Morgan catching me.
"It's over, Merlin," Morgan said triumphantly. "Even with only two acolytes remaining, I'm still getting stronger. There's nothing you can do to stop the inevitable."
I looked back at Morgan grimly. Thulsa's smoke no longer hiding me from her senses. I was so close. Making one last desperate attempt, I transported myself to the other side of the room, but not silently. I made sure to displace enough air to make a loud clap, signaling where I arrived, making a show of looking tired, as if I was on my last legs, which wasn't far from the truth.
She lunged towards me, but I popped away again, making another loud clap again as I bent over, panting.
"Getting tired, are we Merlin?" Morgan laughed darkly as she sauntered up to me, taking her time to show off her superiority over me.
I knew I only had one chance at this. If this didn't work, I wouldn't be able to fool her with it a second time. I waited until she was close, just a few inches away, before I popped away again, appearing in front of a husk only long enough to displace the air before popping away again, arriving silently next to the other one. I stabbed it with my dagger, the split second of hesitation on Morgan's part giving me just enough time to do what I had to, but there was still one left.
The time I took to stab the husk was enough for Morgan to catch me, holding me by the throat as she glared at me hatefully. "You've caused me far too many problems," she growled, noting the magic flowing from the portal to the husk, and then to her had slowed to a trickle. "Maybe keeping you alive is a mistake," she said, squeezing my throat as she stared malevolently into my eyes.
My eyes bugged out as I struggled to break her grip, but it was no use. I thought about popping away again, but as my vision darkened, I knew it wouldn't change anything. Morgan would just catch me again, and it would just go on until I'd exhausted all my magic.
I had just enough strength left for one last desperate gamble. I shakily raised my dagger, aiming as best as I could at the last husk, and threw it. My eyes closed as I used the last of my strength to throw the dagger, feeling faint as my lungs burned for oxygen.
The next thing I knew, I was being flung across the room as I heard an inhuman shriek before tumbling across the stone floor and landing in a painful heap.
I pushed myself up to my hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath as I greedily sucked in lung fulls of air. I could see Morgan, connected directly to the portal this time, struggling to break free of the angry red tendril of magic.
I crawled towards my dagger, knowing that it would only be a moment before Morgan freed herself. I could only hope that without the connection to the otherworldly magic, my dagger could actually harm her.
My fingers wrapped around the cold metal hilt of the dagger just as Morgan broke the connection. She turned around to face me, a look of fury etched on her face like nothing I have ever seen before.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" she ranted at me, no longer finding any amusement in toying with me. "I was moments away from godhood until you ruined everything," she growled at me.
I scrambled back as she stalked towards me until I felt the stone wall of the chamber press against my back. My magic was nearly gone. I could pop away perhaps one or two more times, but no longer had enough strength to cast even a single spell.
Thulsa was still down, now resembling a faint shadow rather than the cloud of smoke he had been previously. As I watched Morgan stalk towards me, chunks of debris flew away from her, smashing against the walls by the force of her magic alone. I knew it was over. I was out of tricks, nearly out of magic, and I couldn't think of a single thing to turn the tables on her.
I closed my eyes, accepting the inevitable as Morgan drew closer, punctuated by the sounds of rock crashing against the walls, getting closer and closer, only to snap them open when I heard another inhuman shriek.
It was Thulsa! Somehow, he had reformed himself, now a ghostly shadow. He had a spear in his hand. The head coated in his magic as he stabbed it into her side as he pushed her with all his strength towards the portal, using the same trick we had used to defeat him.
I watched in shock as the attack somehow worked. It wasn't enough to make her bleed, but against her will, she was inching closer and closer to the portal.
I staggered to my feet, picking up a discarded spear of my own as I joined Thulsa, pushing the spear against Morgan's chest as I pushed her as well, hoping to send her through the portal. It was the only hope we had of defeating her.
"NO!" Morgan shrieked as we pushed her closer and closer to the edge of the portal. Without her direct control, the portal expanded on its own. As it grew, she could feel it pulling her towards it, getting stronger the closer she got to it. She dug her heels into the ground, fighting against the pull of the magic. "You won't defeat me," she roared, pushing against the speer as she inched away from the mouth of the portal.
I strained my arms, pushing against her, but it was no good. It was like trying to move a boulder. She was just too strong. I dropped my spear and sprang forward, surprising Morgan as I got in close, slashing at her stomach and legs with my dagger, staggering back just in time to avoid a clubbing blow from her.
I felt a sense of relief as I saw the damage I caused. She was bleeding, and not just the shallow few drops from when I attacked her before. I could see the blood soaking her clothes, but even that had changed. Her blood was pitch black, oozing from her wounds, looking more like tar than blood.
I picked up my spear again, coating the tip with my magic as I stabbed it directly into the wound in her stomach and pushed with all my might, making her shriek in pain as I pushed her back another few inches.
Thulsa, seeing my progress, moved beside me, stabbing his spear into her wound as well, earning another inhuman shriek from Morgan as well as we slowly pushed her back.
With a scream of rage Morgan sent a jet of fire at me. I could practically feel the heat blistering my skin as it drew closer, but the spell was moving much slower than it should have. My eyes widened in surprise as it came to a stop, just a few inches from my face, before moving backwards, getting sucked into the portal as well.
Morgan looked panicked now as she inched backwards, the unseen force exerted by the portal pulling her back. It was a lot bigger now, almost 10 feet across and still growing. I could only hope it would stop once Morgan went through.
Morgan dug her heels into the ground, cracking the stone beneath her as she did all she could to fight against the pull of the portal and the spears digging into her gut. She didn't know what Merlin had done to her, but her wounds felt like they were burning, and refused to heal, no matter how much magic she directed at them.
She looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw how close she was to the edge, struggling even harder to escape. She grabbed the shafts of the spears, desperately trying to pull them out. Everything hurt as she struggled to escape.
I looked at Morgan, holding tight to the shaft of the spear as she tried to wrench it out of her stomach.
"Wait! Stop Merlin!" Morgan cried out, "it's me, I'm free!" She said, her form suddenly reverting back to how she used to look. "You have to believe me," she pleaded. "The Darkhold…. It took control of me," she said, wincing through the pain. "I've been trying for months to break free. Please! Please! Help me," she begged.
I felt my hands go slack as I stared at her in surprise; the spear falling from my hands as it clattered to the floor. She looked exactly as I remembered her, human again. I didn't know what to do. The more demonic she became, the easier it was to fight her, but looking at her now, i didn't know if I could go through with it.
"Thank you Merlin!" Morgan cried, tears of joy spilling down her face, before she screamed as Thulsa stabbed her repeatedly with his spear. "You have to stop Thulsa," she pleaded between screams. "He's killing me!"
I looked back and forth between Thulsa and Morgan, agonizing over what to do. Was it really Morgan? Had the Darkhold been controlling her all this time? How did she break free now?
"Hurry Merlin!" Morgan pleaded, now just a foot away from the portal. "It's pulling me in, please!" She begged.
I watched as the portal grew larger, increasing another foot in length. Morgan was now just inches away from going through. I was out of time and needed to make a decision. I pulled out my dagger, ready to attack Thulsa with it, when something caught my eye. It was subtle, just a tiny ripple of light across her face. My eyes narrowed, watching closely as it happened a second time, then a third time. It wasn't just a trick of the light.
I felt a rage overtake me as I realized how far Morgan would go to manipulate me. Even though I knew it was risky, I inched towards her. I had to know if she was telling the truth.
I slashed at her forearm with my dagger, placing a shallow cut on her arm. Even before I pulled my arm back, I heard another screech from her as her face suddenly reverted back to its demonic form. I knew in that moment it was a trick, and I felt a rage take hold of me like I had never felt before.
I slashed at the throat of the creature that took Morgan's place, watching as the dark tar like blood poured from her throat. Her eyes went wide as she looked at me in shock, before she clutched her throat, the blood now pouring from between her fingers.
She clutched at the edge of the portal with her other hand, struggling to hold on as I stared back at her, my face a mask of cold fury. The light left her eyes just before her grip loosened and she fell back into the portal.
I collapsed to my knees, watching as the portal shrunk before finally winking out of existence. I was spent physically, mentally, emotionally, and magically. The battle taking more out of me than I had ever imagined.
I looked over my shoulder as I heard Thulsa's spear clatter to the floor, tiredly wondering if I would have to fight him next.
"Merlin," he said, moving to stand beside me, clearly also worn out by the battle. "We are much alike, you and I," he began, surprising me he could even speak in this form. "You stopped my because I had gone too far. I see that now. This experience has humbled me. I wish to make up for what I've done, and build the magical society our kind deserves."
I stared up at him, not saying a word as I listened to him speak. I could tell he was sincere, but I doubted I could ever trust him.
"I made many mistakes with the Darkhold," Thulsa continued. "I couldn't see it for what it was, nor the influence it held over me, but you did. It will be different this time," he promised. "I will only use its magic to help our kind. Join me, and together we can build something that will stand the test of time."
I felt a rage overtake me as I heard the last thing Thulsa said. He still planned to use the Darkhold, even after everything that happened. All the death, all the destruction, and he still couldn't see how dangerous the book was. He had learned nothing, and would never give up the power the Darkhold offered.
I surged to my feel, fueled by my anger, remembering what Hoggoth said about how Thulsa gained his immortality in the first place, and stabbed his shadowy form with my dagger. "You've lived long enough already," I hissed.
Thulsa stared down at his chest it shock, seeing the black blood pouring from the wound that should be impossible for him to have. He had just enough time to scream before his form dissolved, not even leaving dust behind.
I slumped back to the ground, having used up all my strength. My eyes fluttered closed as I gave into my exhaustion, not caring what happened to me next.
I don't know how much time had passed since I passed out. It could have been hours or even days. The mountain was just as I had left it, a pile of rubble, no longer even resembling the mountain stronghold it used to be.
I wearily searched the rest ritual chamber, knowing that I had to find the Darkhold to either destroy or hide it away in the deepest, darkest pit I could find, but it was gone. The only thing I could think at the time was that it was sucked into the portal with Morgan.
I searched the rest of the mountain to make sure there were no other survivors, after that I used my magic to burn everything in the mountain, hoping that if the Darkhold remained, hidden away in a crevice, or crack in the floor somewhere it would be buried here forever, and hopefully forgotten.
I watched from outside as the cave burned, the stone itself liquefying from the heat generated by my magic, destroying all traces that there had been anything here to begin with.
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Jumpin316
Jumpin316 Hi thanks for reading! This chapter concludes Merlin's memories for this arc of the story. Looking at it now, how do you feel about Merlin's backstory? The next chapter will switch back over to Harry.
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