Light and Lightning, Rock and Shadows

-Aurelia-

I have battled those who use blessings of Shadows before, but my Light always shined through even the darkest of days.

But this was different.

This Champion of Shadows, Shaddy, as Gray called them, was flooding the room with Shadows matching my Light. Like a duel between the sun and the moon, half the throne room lit up, and the other half submerged in darkness.

Such an insult was unacceptable!

But being forced to fight within these caves… this stone palace in an underground city… even the goddess’ Light was struggling against Shadows’ insidious domain.

The ground beneath me shook as I blocked Ferris’ hammer with my staff, my knees threatening to buckle under his strength. But I still mustered the might to unleash a beam of light from the tip of my staff right into his face, the smell of singed hairs filling my nostrils as he recoiled.

Shaddy was quick to strike from the stretched shadows behind Ferris, always taking advantage of the shadows generated by those within the Light. He slid between Ferris’ legs and his knife sliced into my ankle, drawing blood that sizzled from the heat of light behind me.

I moved to smash the butt of my staff into him, but he disappeared into wispy shadows once more, leaving my staff cracking the ground beneath me, and leaving me open for Ferris to strike my helmet with his chisel.

The chisel rang loudly against my helmet, but couldn’t force me to take a step back, even with Ferris’ immense strength. I would never retreat from a fight to protect the innocent.

With his other hand, he pulled back his hammer, ready to strike the chisel, but I was faster, reaching up with my free hand to grab it.

“Aargh!” A dozen shadowy hands emerged from the cracks in the ground my staff had made, each stabbing me through my leg armor, as if they could appear within the space between my legs and the clothing I was wearing.

But Shaddy wasn’t even nearby, his form crouched near the stairs of the throne, shadowy right arm melting into the shadows beneath him.

This moment of distraction allowed Ferris to strike his chisel, sending a reverberating clang echoing through the room as it tore through my helmet, and into my skull.

I was flung back against the door to the throne room, the Light filling the room being overtaken by the dark. My helmet fell in perfectly split halves next to me. My head rang like a church bell, my vision swimming. Blood leaked from a cut on my forehead. I had never felt so nauseous before.

“You alright, Goldie?” Fulgora was in front of me with a crack of thunder, not risking turning her back to our enemies as she kept fighting the horde of knights and thieves with just her fists.

She buckled the chestplate of a knight, sending them collapsing in a coughing fit, before kicking them forward, shooting lightning to reflect off their armor at all those the corpse slid past.

“J-just golden…” I grit my teeth, and tried to stand up on shaking legs, before my stomach felt like rebelling against my will, and its contents splattered on the ground before me.

The indignity of it all! I grit my teeth as I tried to heal myself, but I was still too open for too long.

Ferris had rushed Fulgora, who met chisel with fist, lightning pouring into the metal and causing the prince to hiss and jump back.

The wolf princess’ body clearly twitched, as if she was moments away from pursuing her foe as she’d prefer, but was forced to defend me while I recovered.

Realizing that in a contest of strength, Fulgora would win anytime against his metal weapons, Ferris struck his chisel into the ground, and with a swing of his hammer, sent pillars and spikes of solid stone flying out of the ground at Fulgora.

But my friend was fast, arms blurring as she punched and broke each rock that came at her or me, leaving rubble at her feet.

My brain was clearing up finally, and I realized that Fulgora was being lured into a trap, creating countless small shadows around us.

If Fulgora went down, I wasn’t sure if I could win this alone at this rate.

So I did what I had to do.

“THE LIGHT WILL NEVER BE STOPPED!”

If Shaddy could strike through any shadow, then I’d have to get rid of all shadows near us. Maybe I couldn’t light up the whole room, but in a space around the two of us, I definitely could. And if it strained the god of shadows’ power, that would be all the more fruitious.

The glow started at my eyes, shining like lighthouses in a storm, causing Shaddy to hiss as I caught him mid-attack.

Then my hair turned from strands of gold to strands of solid light.

My flesh began to shine next, eradicating any and all shadows within my armor and clothes.

My armor began reflecting with light, designed specifically to channel my innate power in this way, just as my great grandmother did when she wore this armor. And her great grandmother before her, and so on and so forth.

And then the halos around me spun faster, glowed brighter, until the ones behind me looked like an angel’s wings flapping steadily, while the one above my head was like the divine halo of the goddess herself.

I was a beacon for the goddess’ Light! I refused to be attacked from the shadows within and around me!

But it still wasn’t enough. Shadows were still present behind all exposed to my light.

So I threw my staff into the air, the catalyst for my magic spinning brightly until it became a miniature sun above, erasing shadows hidden from my light, and weakening what remained.

Fulgora whistled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. As long as we stay in the light, we have nothing to worry about from that slinky coward! Now come on, Goldie, let’s finish this!”

“Yes, let us strike a blow against the Trifecta, here and now!” I readied my own fists, trusting in my godly strength to reach victory. The golden wings behind me flapped twice, ready to send me flying forward.

The villains merely gripped their weapons tighter before charging forward.

At least, they would have, had the throne doors not been slammed open, the king himself being forced inside by half a dozen guards who had him restrained in chains.

“King Mason?” My voice resonated through the room. Both the king, and the guards all had to cover their eyes from the light I was giving off, but I did not dare dim myself at this moment.

King Mason kept his eyes locked onto his son’s as he was led through the horde of enemies. Ferris just laughed. “About time you stop running, Father!”

“Stop this nonsense right now, Ferris! There’s still a chance to repent to your mother!”

“Repent?! I’m merely following her will-”

“You and I both know that’s not true! You’re being manipulated! This is not the way!”

“IT IS THE WAY, YOU DODDERING OLD GEEZER!” Ferris screamed. “How many people die because of cave-ins every month?! How many people suffer because our prayers to the goddess aren’t strong enough?! How many people starve because we no longer have the food to feed them?! We can not let our voices become muddied by instruments! We can not let our bodies become weakened by our neighbors!

“It is no use, King Mason.” I said, stopping this argument before it could continue. “He has been lost, and he does not realize it for he believes the end result is worth the evil.”

“No! There has to be a way!” Mason yelled, collapsing to his knees. “He is my son! Why should I have to fight him?! If only our songs could reach the goddess, she could clear everything up!” Suddenly, the king seemed determined, looking back up with fire in his eyes.

“Which is why I spent the past few weeks placing Sound-blessed stones throughout the city. By now the whole mountain will hear our prayer, and the goddess will respond!”

“Ha! So what, you’re going to use your blessing of Sound to sing from here? What makes you think I’d ever let you tarnish my mother’s ears with your voice?!”

The king opened his mouth, response ready and determination set, when a screech echoed out of his throat.

No, it wasn’t his throat, but his whole body!

His eyes were widened and shocked when sigils made out of musical notes appeared around him. “Wha-”

“Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3… Is this thing working?”

Gray’s voice echoed out of the sigil, the music notes dancing along to his words.

“Gray?!” I was confused, worried, and above all, relieved to hear his voice.

“Gray!” Fulgora laughed, tail wagging. She seemed excited and eager to see what the mortal was up to.

“Okay. I think it’s working. HELLO Almastia~! My name is Gray, and this is my band… Gray’s Webs! Yeah, that’ll work.”

What?

“Anyways. People here are too focused on fighting over whether prayers should be sung with instruments or not. I think they’re forgetting their roots! These songs aren’t meant to reach the goddess. They were to attune yourself to the earth around you, and the people too!”

What?

“That’s why your prayers have been weak lately! The youth are focused more on the voices, even forcing people bad at singing to join the chorus! The elders are more desperate to reach the goddess, and can play in unison, but are troubled by this split in beliefs, praying just to prove themselves right! Both have forgotten how to unite together and just sing! Sing for no greater reward than the act of singing!”

What is this idiot doing?

“So… I’ll be singing for you! I don’t care if the goddess hears this or not! I was given a stage, so now I must sing! Sorry, not sorry Your Majesty, but your plan was lame!”

“Gray’s going to sing?” Fulgora was giggling to herself, clearly excited, almost enough to forget the battle around us.

“And a one!”

“I think it’s time for some revenge!” Shaddy hissed, flexing his shadowy arm, and melting into the shadows. The rest of the thieves disappeared too, leaving only the palace guards.

“And a two!”

“Fulgora, protect that idiot!” I ordered her to move. Gray’s stupid plan was going to get him killed!

“And a one, two, three, four!”

“Fine, I don’t need that snake here to defeat you.” Ferris growled, charging towards me, along with the last of his men.