Vassal

Streaks of black blurred across the air, the sounds of whipping filling the room. Every blast of light from Fesha's fingers served no use as the speed of the dark tendrils cut the air to block each shot. My body stood up, sword in one hand, and a bloodied spear in the other. Finally, my legs moved running into the dark blur. With speed and finesse, my body maneuvered through the swinging appendages while simultaneously slicing them apart. As my spear was about to drive through Verit, he turned, attempting to counterattack by swinging his halberd. With my sword hand, the halberd was swiftly deflected, changing its trajectory to swing just above my head. As the halberd swung over, a trail of tendrils followed suit, tracing the trail the halberd was originally taking. The tendrils wrapped around me and tossed me to the side. My body flew into the chamber wall at full force, the shock resonating throughout my body. My feet planted firmly after sliding down the wall then proceeded back toward Verit at full speed. Fesha took the chance to continue firing shots, one landing on Verit while he was distracted by my presence. 

I met back up to Verit, our blades clashing once again. My blade continued to slice through the tendrils that erratically swung at me from every direction. Every time I got pushed back, Fesha would take the opportunity to fire, leaving Verit confused just long enough for my body to close in again. Still, it was no use. He was like a fortress; every move he took kept his guard high and his attacks hard. With every attack, the man controlling me still managed to push him back, even just a little. Fesha and I continued attacking in a consistent pattern, making barely any progress. 

Suddenly, Verit began to fall to the ground. My attacks had forced Verit back enough to where he was now standing above Dente's lifeless body, or at least what I thought looked lifeless. Dente had grabbed Verit's foot and pulled, sweeping him of his firm stance. As Verit fell, Dente got up while clutching onto his axe. I stared into Dente's eyes for a split second, but in that split second, I knew he was no longer there. That dark man that had been haunting him and many others had now consumed him. Dente swiftly got on top of Verit, bellowing in agony. Like a feral beast in a cage he attacked repeatedly and with no remorse, Verit's blood filling the air. Verit's dark appendages had now put all their focus on Dente, stabbing through him repeatedly as he continued swinging down. 

Finally, Dente had been thrown off, his chest and torso filled with holes. At last, there was nothing left of Dente, but in his final breath, he left us one final surprise. Verit got back up, hardly being able to keep his stance. The tendrils were now dead on the ground, being dragged by Verit's subtle movements. He turned to me to reveal the damaged Dente had left. The top half of his head had been completely smashed off, leaving only his mouth. Tendrils had begun to burst from his opened head, but they came out slowly, hardly moving.

My vision went black, not an ounce of light met my eyes. Fear had begun to fill my head. What just happened? Suddenly, the glistening of silver had caught my eye in this empty void. It was me, my armor, or rather the man that had been living within me. He turned to me, his gray hair now parted, revealing his orange burning eyes, like ancient amber. Despite the warm hue of his eyes, he looked at me with a cold stare. His lips began to move, and I heard the semi-deep voice I had been using talk back to me.

"I beg of thee, even if I am to be forgotten, remember what I stand for."

My vision was kicked back to me. I was stunned for a second, my surroundings completely unfocused. The blurriness soon cleared and Fesha's voice entered my ears from afar. 

"Now!" She yelled.

Without time to think, I ran toward Verit, spear ready to strike. The pain in my missing fingers had slowly crept back, but I persisted. Verit, now barely aware of his surroundings, took my spear to the gut. I continued pushing in, unti the spear had driven trough him. He fell to his knees, the tendrils no longer moving. He turned his neck up one last time and uttered something vague, yet it was something that would not leave me mind.

"Ah, I see now. Thou'rt the royal's twin soul. Why me, bested by a failure of creation." He paused to breath. "... but, perhaps thou hast the strength to free this spire of that lone guardian."

With those final words, Verit passed, his body limp on my spear. I ripped the spear back out, feeling the intensity of the wound on my hand. I screamed in pain once again. Fesha rushed over to provide me aid. She took red flower petals from her pack and rubbed them between her fingers, creating a small floating flame. She began to cauterize my open wound, the pain so intense that I nearly blacked out. When it was all done and over, Fesha and I looked at each other, then up at Serrum. I got up on my feet, still holding onto my injured hand.

We made our way up the pile, the bodies sliding as we stepped on them. I looked down, to my feet, realizing that I was now desensitized to such grotesque sights. We made it to the top and we were now face to face with Serrum. Fesha gently grabbed Serrum's checks and lifted her head up. Her irises were gray and devoid of life. Her lips quivered and her breathe was dry. The growth that had seeped out of her shoulder pulsed as we moved her. Suddenly, a dark crimson spread across her tattered cloths near her stomach. A burst of several black vines broke through her skin slowly. We backed up, watching as the growth revealed her insides, now contaminated with darkness. It was clear that she had died long before we got to her.

Before we could mourn her, distant chattering from the upper halls met my ears.

"It's gone quiet, is Verit okay?" A voice said as footsteps approached.

With no time, Fesha prepared powder in her fingers and pointed it toward Serrum.

"Rest now. Thou'rt a vassal for a wicked god no longer." Fesha spoke softly.

Once the beam of light shot off, we ran, escaping into another hall attached to the chamber. Footsteps filled the space behind us, but we were long gone before anymore of the robed people could find us.