Life and Legacy

The screams of the beast sent vibrations through the very soul of the earth, causing it to tremble under the soles of the steadfast warrior and the dying boy. Dinorah could not wipe her grin from her face, no matter how hard she tried. After waiting all night underwater in a pond, this was her chance to be one step closer to her goal. Agon, on the other hand, was in complete shock. He had no true concept of this world; thrown in without a weapon or a single plate of armor, just a curse disguised as a "skill". And now, this same curse was urging him to do something he would never think of doing in his old life, but that was just it. Agon’s old life didn’t exist anymore; this was his new reality. And in this new reality, he must kill in order to live. A sickening sensation boiled within his stomach, and he clenched his chest. The numbers in the center glowed and shifted again; seven minutes remaining. Reluctantly, he tried to rise to his feet to stand alongside Dinorah. Agon still wasn’t certain what he could do in a situation like this, but for right now, it was the only option keeping him alive. He looked over to the ecstatic girl, and his gaze softened.

“Why…why did he send me another mission directly…? Is he trying to help me? Does this mean I was wrong about the message board?” A bolt of realization struck Agon’s face.“Wait…this can’t work. Dinorah said she wants to HELP the Elbrus now…THAT'S why he's doing this...! Should I reconvince her to try to...eliminate it? WHAT AM I SAYING?!? I…I’ve never done anything like this before…do I really have to…? We don’t have any weapons, and I only have a little bit of time left...! Think, Agon…!”

As the Elbrus let its cry fall silent, Dinorah broke away from her defensive stance and scrunched her face as tightly as she could, trying to peer into the Elbrus’ soul. It wasn’t working, but in her mind, she truly believed she was establishing a “connection”.

“Dinorah, listen-” Agon began to try and reason with her, but was quickly overshadowed.

“Agon…I know you’re hungry right now…and I apologize…but, if I don’t seize this chance, it will be one of the greatest regrets I ever take to my grave…and I don’t plan to leave Velicima like that! I can’t explain it, but when I stare into its eyes, I feel a certain sorrow. That’s how I know that I have to help this creature. So please, stand aside and conserve your strength. I must establish myself as one of the greatest warriors this world has ever seen, and it all starts HERE!” Agon stared at her intensely; her words seemed just as passionate as before, but there was a different feeling behind what she was saying now, an unparalleled resolve. She was determined, and there was no talking her out of this. The mission prompt box materialized again before Agon’s face. He twisted his mouth in disgust and swiped at it, making it disappear. With a heavy sigh, he stared the Elbrus down.

“Agon…?” She broke her gaze to look at the boy stumbling to his feet. His growling stomach roared with virtually the same magnitude as the Elbrus.

“You’re nuts…you’re absolutely nuts…but if you’re going to take me to some good food, then the least I can do is return the favor! Let’s help the Elbrus out, Dinorah!”

Her smile grew even wider at his words.

“Agon…You’re…! Yes…Let’s do it! Show me how a Pieran fights!”

The Elbrus charged at them with full force. Dinorah rushed towards it, shouting at the top of her lungs; Agon followed behind, using whatever little stamina he had left sparingly. His face was lit up, but not with enthusiasm, like Dinorah’s. He was acting out of desperation, and knowing that filled him with an unfathomable frustration. Yet, for the moment, he put his feelings aside and allowed himself to truly become Olagna’s pawn in this twisted game.

“I’m sorry, Dinorah…to you, and to this beast…But I have no other choice. I can’t die again…! I need to get to Ruchs and find that message board!”

As the Elbrus and Dinorah closed the distance, she got low and placed her hands out in front of her. She pushed into its chest, in an attempt to drive it back; heels and hooves digging into the dirt in a bout of strength. She attempted to soothe the beast amidst their struggle.

“Elbrus…! Tell us what’s wrong! Agon and I…we want to help…!” Just then, the Elbrus began to morph. Dinorah fell forward onto the ground as the visage of the Elbrus seeped back into the sphere that sat between its halved body. The sphere danced around violently, bashing into Dinorah and Agon with each pass.

“Ngh…! Hurk…Gah…!”

They each suffered a multitude of blows with no room to recover. The creature was incredibly fast; there was no way to anticipate it. Agon scrambled to pick himself up and prepare for the Elbrus’ next attack, but no matter how he tried, the creature was faster. Blow after blow, the Elbrus left the two of them badly bruised. Agon’s chest glowed as another minute was stripped away from him. He growled.

“Agh! No!”

As the assault from the Elbrus ended, Dinorah took the opportunity to gather herself from the ground. The Elbrus reformed into its deer-like shape, rearing up.

“Haaaa…hahaha…owwww….” She winced, still managing to hold a small grin on her face. “This…is one of the greatest pains I've ever felt…Agon, I need your assistance! Where’s your weapon?”

“...Weapon?”

“Well, since my weapon is currently…unavailable at the moment, I need to borrow yours! I assume being from the countryside, you must have one of the greatest weapons forged from your own resourceful hands!”

“I…don’t have one.”

“Eh? Is it broken? I can still possibly use it!”

“N-no…I never had one on me.”

“BUT WHY?!? A sturdy weapon is one of the greatest tools a human can wield! How do you ward off bad guys or monsters, then?!?”

“I don’t know, ask my mom! She was the expert!” Agon groaned as he pressed his hand into his glowing chest. Six minutes left.

“I-I thought you said you didn’t wanna kill this thing, Dinorah?”

“I don’t…But I have a tactic! And I need something with enough force so that I can…” Dinorah trailed off as she scoured the ground and set her sights on a branch that had broken off from a nearby tree. It must’ve been from the Elbrus’ onslaught earlier.

“There!”

The Elbrus let out another rippling cry as it charged at Dinorah. She quickly lunged out of the way, but the speed of the beast was so great that it managed to catch up in no time and graze her armor just as she leapt by. The creature’s bristled fur, combined with its swift movement, created a small cut within the steel. The connection of force knocked Dinorah off course from her landing. She grunted and fell roughly by the branch, looking at the gash in her guard, checking for any blood. Though it was just a snick, the Elbrus’ strike caused her leg to burn. It was much stronger than she expected.

“Dinorah!!!”

“Argh…I’m alright!” She grabbed the branch and studied it. “This will work…!”

Agon stood, paralyzed as the Elbrus watched him intently. He clenched his chest. Five minutes remained.

“D-Dinorah, if you got a plan, n-now would be a REALLY good time to go for it!”

”Patience, Agon! I need to wait for one of the greatest moments to strike!”

”I think any moment would be great, personally!!!” The Elbrus snorted, a great deal of steam pouring from its nostrils. Its head lowered to the ground so that its eyes could only see a quivering Agon. The target was locked.

“I don’t know what she’s planning, but I gotta wrap this up, fast! I’ve got less than five minutes to kill the Elbrus…and what about Dinorah…? I only just met her, but if she finds out I’m trying to kill this thing…”

A blistering pain stretched across Agon’s chest. It felt as though the sun was trying to punch a hole right through his body.

”Grrrah! Four minutes. That’s it, I can’t keep this up. HEY, ELBRUS!”

Agon sucked all the air that he could into his lungs to beckon the beast, trying to replace the weight of his fear with a temporary breath of courage.

“Y-you want me…? C-c-come get me.”

The Elbrus snorted and slowly inched towards Agon.

“Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, bad idea…!”

“O-Okay, Dinorah! I-I got its attention! So you can…you know…hopefully take care of it RIGHT NOW and not a second later?!?”

“That’s perfect! Just a little longer, Agon! Keep taunting the Elbrus just like that!”

”S-sure, no problem…!”

“BIG PROBLEM!!!”

Agon’s provoking intensified. The Elbrus charged at him with all its might.

”Dinorah…? DINORAH?!?”

”Almooooost…”

Closer and closer drew the Elbrus. Once it was just a few feet from Agon, Dinorah grinned.

”There…!” She gripped the branch firmly in her right hand and leapt into the air. “NOW, AGON!” Agon awkwardly stumbled out of the way and rolled right into a tree just before the Elbrus was about to drive into his side. Dinorah fell through the sky at an alarming speed. She brought the branch above her head and struck the ground, creating a giant cloud of dirt and sediment. The Elbrus was blinded and shrieked whilst flailing itself in the air.

”Disoriented!” She shouted. “And now for phase two!” Dinorah lunged at the Elbrus' back, attempting to mount it and calm its fervent panic. “Steady yourself, Elbrus…! We simply want to aid you!”

She managed to get her body halfway onto the beast. She hung sideways off its hide as the creature continued to buck wildly.

We have no intent to hurt you! Please…lower your guard and reveal your troubles to!-“. Just then, the world seemed to fade to white. Everything froze. Except for Dinorah, who fell off the beast’s flank.

“Oof!”

As she gathered herself, Dinorah looked and saw the Elbrus completely still in mid-buck.

”Us…?” A heavy voice echoed from the atmosphere.

“You, who seeks to have her name etched in time…your ego dulls your edge...”

”Who’s there? What’s happening…?!?” She looked around to find the source, but to no avail. It was too deep to be Agon's voice. The only other option was…

”…Elbrus…?”

At her deduction, the eyes of the Elbrus glowed. Dinorah shuddered at the sight, but her gaze never strayed from the creature.

”Dinorah Kuria…Your mind seeks glory…but your heart seeks something much more noble…”

“My heart…? What are you saying? Is this an illusion? Did I fall in battle?!?”

”You are alive, yet you are still not awake. Your words of compassion have resonated with me, yet fantasies of prestige plague you, still. Nonetheless, you are the only soul I deem worthy to bear my burden. If you indeed stand by your words…Then I shall entrust my woes onto you.”

“I…I-AGH!”

At the twinkle of the Elbrus’ eyes, a wave of energy coursed through Dinorah’s veins. She was overloaded with a strange sensation; a rippling surge of power wrapped around every fiber of her being.

”My hour has faded. In this final act, I choose to house my essence…my faith…in you. In turn, may you prove to me that your words are more than some pretentious speech.

A blinding light obstructed Dinorah’s view.

“Wait…! WAIT! ELBRUS!!!!”

“Keep my core…Witness my past…” Tears began to roll down the creature's cheek as the floor of Dinorah’s mind rippled like a white ocean. The light then swallowed Dinorah whole.

Agon was propped up against the tree, clasping at his chest and panting; there were roughly two minutes left before he died again. He watched in disbelief as Dinorah had fainted on the ground. From his perspective, one minute she was attempting to mount the creature, and the next, her body dropped to the dirt. Next to her was the Elbrus, or more specifically, the core that housed the Elbrus’ corporeal form. Agon stared at the Elbrus core; his breathing grew heavier. He saw the branch that Dinorah had used to blind the creature moments ago. Something within him began to stir; a sort of confirmation. Before he could even blink, he found himself picking up the branch. It was much heavier than Dinorah made it appear, but he managed to drag it along. He then reached for the Elbrus core, but just as he reached out for it, his hand began to shake. Was it from the overstimulating battle with the Elbrus? Or the growing exhaustion of his body and mind? He hadn’t eaten or slept properly for nearly two days now. No…it was that feeling of confirmation again. The confirmation to act on a heinous impulse, to carry out a dreadful task. Agon snatched the Elbrus core from the ground and fell to his knees. His chest glowed a dark red hue; one minute remained. Agon wailed as he picked himself up from the ground, stumbling towards an eroding stone. There was a small crevice that seemed to cradle the core almost too perfectly. Nevertheless, Agon shoved it inside. With the last of his might, he raised the branch over his head. His eyes rolled back as he lost his footing; forty-five seconds left. Agon looked at Dinorah’s lifeless body and grunted, trying to use the branch to pick himself up from the ground. He crawled slowly to the core, lifted the branch from the dirt, this time up to his shoulder, and positioned his body as best he could. Thirty seconds. There was only one attempt at this. Agon briefly saw his reflection in the core: a twisted visage of dread. He could feel his heart rattling against his chest again. Olagna was coming. Fifteen seconds. Agon tried to steady his breath as best he could. He took one last look at Dinorah, and his face dropped.

”I’m sorry.” He whispered.

Ten. Nine. Eight. It’s as if every organ in his body were counting down. He couldn’t drown it out if he tried. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Agon reeled back as far as he could. Three. Two. One. The Elbrus core shattered. Shards of glass glittered within the air, while several pieces cut against his hands and drew small streaks of blood. His body was covered in small circular bruises from the Elbrus’s prior attack; it hurt more than any word or sound could convey. Agon fell to his knees, and he looked down to see his chest glowing blue. The numbers had shifted to “15:00”.

A prompt box opened in front of his face.

ELIMINATE THE ELBRUS: MISSION COMPLETE. 15:00 BT ADDED.

TOTAL TIME: 15:00.

Right in that moment, the realization that he had fully submitted to Olagna’s will took over. His eyes swelled with bitter tears, and he took the branch tightly in his hands once more, sweeping the pieces of the Elbrus core around in a fit of frustration, screaming and throwing the branch around recklessly until all the remaining shards blended with the dirt path. Through his tantrum, a minute passed, and the mark of time pinched at his center. Agon wiped his face, sucked in all of the snot he could, and coughed it up onto the ground. He then dropped the branch and reached for the unconscious Dinorah. As he dragged her by the arm, the unlikely duo made their way to the main gates of Ruchs.