Chapter 25: Poison Mist

Chapter 25: Poison Mist

Zeth vs Drought: Phase Three

Drought clenches his fist. “My Poison Mist will give you a painful death.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning but I won’t let you!” Zeth shouts as he forms and charges a Star Shine Blast. He releases it as fast as he can, but Drought’s body explodes into a poison gas before it reaches him.

The poison mist spreads throughout the area, rapidly expanding, catching Zeth within it. The mist stops expanding before it reaches the other heroes, who stand back at a safe distance.

Sasha leans forward, eyes widened and teeth clenched. “Zeth! No!”

Within the poison mist, Zeth begins coughing as he breathes it in despite his best efforts to hold his breath.

Drought laughs, fully amused by how quickly the tables turned. “Hahahaha! Yes, you will die. I prefer not to kill my enemies with direct exposure to the mist but you left me with no choice. This will be a very painful end for you.”

Zeth coughs as he struggles to even speak. “What is this?” He wheezes before coughing again.

“It’s the same mist that contaminated the river, but when mixed with liquids, it is far less painful when it enters your body,” Drought replies. “You brought this on yourself.”

Drought appears within the mist and slams his fist right into Zeth’s chest, causing him to scream, “Gahh!”

His confidence skyrocketing, Drought smirks as he asks, “How about this!?”

Drought thrusts his foot straight into Zeth’s gut, and then slams his fist down into his head, smashing him down onto the ground. Drought then repeatedly kicks Zeth in his right arm.

“We have to do something!” Sasha shouts, trying to run forward, but Joe blocks her with his arm to hold her back.

“We can’t or we will end up the same way!” Joe warns, raising his voice.

Tears drop from Sasha’s eyes, unable to contain her worry. “Zeth, please…”

“Look at you now,” Drought says mockingly. “Too weak to do anything! You really thought that a human like you could defeat a demon like me? Do you know why they call me ‘Drought’? It’s because my poison is so potent that it can make an entire population look like they’ve been through an actual drought.”

He picks up the harshly weakened Zeth. He smirks and then gut punches Zeth three times, each one causing Zeth to cough. Even still, Zeth stares back defiantly.

“I don’t like that look you’re giving me,” Drought says with slight anger.

He uses his index finger to shoot a tiny beam of poison directly into Zeth’s right eye, causing it to bleed.

“It hurts…” Zeth mutters, not giving any kind of significant outward reaction.

“That is an understatement,” Drought replies. “You’re just too weak to show how much pain you’re in.”

Zeth weakly raises his left arm and releases a Star Shard, mostly missing Drought but slicing along the skin of his right arm just enough to leave a painful, thin wound. The pain is enough to force Drought to drop Zeth.

“Why you...!” Drought snarls. “You’re just going to make your death more painful!”

Lying on the floor, Zeth’s eyes close, leaving him teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

He thinks, “Is this it? Am I failing another fight to stop evil? Victory was in my grasp… and I let it get away…”

In the dark abyss within his own mind, Zeth is covered in blood.

He thinks, “What I would do… to stop this guy… and return home…”

Blood from Zeth’s eye falls into his mouth, along with blood from Drought’s bleeding arm.

Zeth stands in the dark abyss of his own mind, dazed.

He thinks, “That taste… It tastes like blood. But why does it taste so good?”

In the dark abyss of his own mind, he snaps out of his daze, seeing nothing but darkness, except for one thing, a large door with a dividing line straight down the middle that stands near him. The gray door has a large red droplet symbol on its center. Even more creepy, numerous large blood vessels attached to the door that extend out into the darkness, their origin point remaining unknown.

In his mind, Zeth asks, “What is this door?”

Blood oozes down from the top, slowly covering the entire door in a thick layer of red.

Still in his mind, he shrugs. “Well, I might as well go in. What do I have to lose at this point?”

He walks up to the door, taking in its massive size, easily four times taller than him. He holds out his arms and pushes both sides of the door, each half opening to opposite sides. The inside of the door reveals a swirling vortex of blood. Seemingly in a trance, he walks straight into the vortex with no hesitation, the door closing behind him.

Back to Zeth's physical body, his heart starts to beat with pounding force. Dum-Dum Dum-Dum. The pace and rhythm pick up. Du-Du-Dum. Du-Du-Dum. The force of the beats picks up, becoming more impactful. DU-DU-DUM. DU-DU-DUM.

As he lies on the floor, he thinks, “Why did my heart beat so hard?”

The strong beats continue, only becoming louder. DU-DU-DUUM. DU-DU-DUUM.

Zeth’s black hair turns into blood, still in the same shape style. His fingernails dissolve and also turn into more blood. Blood flows out of his mouth, nose, and ears. Even his sweat turns to blood. He opens his eyes, but has no eyes, just a dark void with blood flowing out of the sockets.

An explosion erupts in the mist, causing it to dissipate.

Almost straining her eyes, Sasha shouts, “What happened?!”

When all the mist clears, the other heroes look on in shock at what they see. Drought too, stares in shock. They all see the same thing, a very bloody Zeth. Even his aura is made of blood.

Kurt trembles, taking a single step back as he mutters in concern, “It’s… It’s… It’s Blood Magic!”

What is this startling new form Zeth has taken?!

Chapter 25 END

To be Continued in Chapter 26: Blood Magic Rising