ULTRAMagic Eon 2 - Chapter 6
Previous | First | Next
Master Post - Patreon
Returning to the guild hall the next day after a relaxing night with the Rock People, Blood-Wraith and his team were greeted by the sight of Schwarzes hovering up in the air with his wings out. He appeared to be shooting strange, whale-like clouds of sparkling gas with his Starlight Bow & Arrow. Blood-Wraith face palmed once his passengers were off of his back and he was back to normal. Some days he wished and assumed everything had gone back to normal, only for his current circumstances to drag him kicking and screaming back to reality. Barry and Gummi felt similar to Blood-Wraith (albeit not as intensely as he did) and sighed as they entered the gates. Blood-Wraith and Ludwig then noticed Desislav and David observing Schwarzes work from the courtyard and went to speak to them.
“Jeez, more Void Feeders?” said Blood-Wraith.
“Yup, looks like we’re still in the thick of it,” Desislav replied, followed by a yawn and a scratch of his brown hair. “Sorry, buddy.”
“Cronus mentioned those,” Ludwig recalled. “What are they exactly?”
“Nuisances, that’s what,” Desislav answered with a laugh. “They’re a similar species to the Star Whales Deimos used to protect Aqua World back before we defeated The Lich. They show up when great amounts of magic are used and generally get in the way of things.”
“It’s a shame, as they are quite beautiful, in a moth to butterflies kind of way,” David stated. “But Desislav told me about how much trouble they can cause, so I’m not that sorry for them.”
Upon the last Void Feeder evaporating into a mist of sparkles, Schwarzes floated back down to the ground. He then dispelled his wings and weapon, brushing off his coat’s shoulders. “Blood, how’d it go yesterday?”
“Fine, fine,” he replied with a slight sigh. “Adalwin and The Golem were acting odd as per usual, but they eventually left without a problem. Barry received some intel from Adalwin that may help us figure out what’s going on with Wulfric.”
“Intruiging,” David noted as the gears in his head could be seen turning, no doubt he was eager to look over the intel in question. “I’d imagine he went inside to see what he could deduce. I’ll have to join him when I get the chance and see what I can make of it…”
“In case you’re wondering, Dr. Livesey, I have a suspicion that Adalwin is Waramunt in disguise,” Blood-Wraith pointed out. “Of course that would raise more questions than it answers…”
“Interesting, very interesting indeed.”
Schwarzes then cleared his throat, not thrilled over what he had to tell Blood-Wraith. “Blood? Um, me and Aureolus need you to come with us to The Roaring Mountains, as Tressacht and Sigeberht have been spotted there…”
“OH COME ON,” Blood-Wraith complained.
“Aw don’t sweat it, Blood,” Ludwig said as he patted his back. “I’ll come along and show them what for…”
Blood-Wraith gave him a stern look and groaned. “Ludwig, if that’s the case, I’m going to need you to not antagonize Tressacht and Sigeberht…”
Ludwig had a confused look on his face, especially given the day before. “Why?”
“Those two are strange…” Desislav elaborated. “They’re interlopers, we don’t know what time they are from, and they give me the heebeegeebees.”
“Huh, they’re that odd, aye?” Ludwig thought it over and figured it would not hurt to observe this time. “Alright, I’ll save the fisticuffs for when they actually occur.”
“Thank you…” Blood-Wraith said as he returned to Golden Dragon form.
“Oh, Blood, before you depart…” David started to say. “John and I are formulating plans to head over to The Uncity tomorrow. If what I have in mind works, we should gain a massive advantage over Gore in regards to the activists. We’re still working out the kinks and we’ll have to see how today goes, however.”
That was actually quite pleasing to hear, as Blood-Wraith knew David most likely had something thorough and clever in mind. “Well shoot, excellent. Keep me posted, Dr. Livesey.”
The flight to The Roaring Mountains was a quick one compared to the trip to Earth World. Ludwig and Schwarzes flew on their wings, but Aureolus rode atop Blood-Wraith’s back. While his Golden Dragon hex had come a long way since he had first crafted it, he still did not trust it for prolonged flights. Blood-Wraith fully understood this as flying was quite dangerous after all. Annoyingly Blood-Wraith could already sense the unwelcome guests and took the lead to The Screaming God’s Temple. It was a grand structure not too far away from Blood-Wraith’s temple and had similar architecture. Entering it was a breathtaking and eerie experience… and also a bit surreal. Amongst the strange, otherworldly depictions of the Outer Void were entire sections dedicated to The Screaming God being a fanboy of The ULTRAMagic Guild.
“Mein Gott, this is something else,” Ludwig remarked as he looked around, utterly amazed.
Blood-Wraith smiled as they stepped by the section dedicated to him. “He didn’t have to do all of this, but you have to admire how he did it all by himself.”
“Honestly it reminds me of something I’d try to build in one of my favorite games back on Earth,” Schwarzes commented. “Now, I… Ooh, I definitely sense those two here. I’ll take the lead…”
Heading deeper into the sconce-lit temple, the group came to the entrance of a colossal chamber that could have held a whole other temple in it. Naturally there was a pyramid in the center surrounded by an underground river. Walking down the steps of the temple were two men in strange, armor-like uniforms. One man was tall and muscular, had red eyes, brown hair and a thick beard, and his armor had extensive water heraldry. The other man was of normal height and standard build, but looked quite intellectual. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and sported fire heraldry for his armor. Both of them stepped onto the plaza before the pyramid, looking a bit disappointed that they had not found what they were looking for.
“Coming here was a fruitless endeavor, Sigeberht,” the tall man declared. “Nothing but rocks, bricks, and carvings.”
“I begged a differ, Tressacht,” Sigeberht replied as he picked up some displaced bricks and set them back where they were supposed to be. “Sure, it did not solve our current issue, but father will surely want to visit here in the future.”
Tressacht stroked his beard and subtly nodded. “Archaeology was never my strong suit, but you do have a point…”
“Why don’t you make it a strong suit of yours then, brother? Nothing’s stopping you.”
“I belong on the battlefield, not in the libraries or museums. Besides, I could ask the same of you in regards to your skills in battle.”
Sigeberht laughed, knowing Tressacht had a point. “They’re you go again, brother, ha. I’d dare say we both have room to improve…” He then noticed Blood-Wraith and company. “What a surprise, the ULTRAMagic Guild!”
“Sigeberht, Tressacht, hello,” Schwarzes greeted. “I imagine you know why we’re here…”
“Indeed, Mr. Biest,” Tressacht confirmed. “We were just about to be on our way.”
“Let’s not be so hasty, brother,” Sigeberht insisted. “Aureolus, how are those formulae I gave treating you?”
“Interesting, Sigeberht,” Aureolus answered. “Reverse alchemy is certainly strange with its create-to-destroy nature.”
“Indeed, but if anyone could bridge the gap between the two types of alchemy, it would be a being of darkness, such as yourself.”
Tressacht then cleared his throat, having sensed someone. “Brother, we should wrap up our conversation…”
Sigeberht sighed as he had sensed it too. “Ah, right. Schwarzes, not to be the bearer of bad news, but he’s with us today…”
“Christ, no…” Schwarzes said with disgust in his voice.
“YES INDEED, Mr. Biest!” a third man taunted as he walked up out of nowhere. He had natural gray hair, unnatural ice-blue eyes, and wore a black and purple trench coat. Strangely there was what seemed to be an occasional aura of video tape distortion around him.
“SCREW YOU, VOLF!” Schwarzes barked back, to the slight surprise of Ludwig.
“Screw me?! Where are your manners, young man?” Volf could see Schwarzes getting visibly mad and was trying not to laugh. “I can’t imagine your parents would be too proud of that foul mouth of yours…”
“GET OUT,” Schwarzes ordered. “You are NOT supposed to be here!”
“Well I don’t see The Screaming God objecting…” As if to rebuke Volf, the entire temple shook.
Sigeberht chuckled. “I’d dare say you stand corrected, Volf.”
Volf rolled his eyes and groaned. “Insolent whelp… What’s the matter, Schwarzes? Still testy over how you accidentally called on The Running God for your void magic?”
“SHUT UP!” Schwarzes shot back, clearly embarrassed.
Volf laughed in his face, finally unable to hold it in. It was strange as it sounded like the two had already known each other, beyond Gore’s antagonizing of the ULTRAMagic Guild. “You’re either a fool or you want to go back to your days of being a criminal, the days when you could do whatever you want. Don’t lie to yourself, you know you want to…”
“I SAID SHUT UP!!” Schwarzes roared as he tried to punch Volf… only for him to effortlessly dodge it.
“TOO SLOW, KID!” This led to a back and forth where Volf kept taunting Schwarzes as he continued to avoid the punches and it was fairly strange too, as Blood-Wraith and the others could have sworn Schwarzes was landing his hits.
Growing visibly annoyed, Tressacht cleared his throat quite loudly. “As riveting as this conversation is, gentlemen, Gore and Fran will be expecting us back soon.” There was notable disgust in his voice when he said those names, even if subtle.
“Ah yes, wouldn't want to keep those two… those two waiting.” Volf sounded just as enthusiastic… “Good day, Schwarzes! Make sure you keep practicing your void spells!” Volf called out with haughty glee as he left with Tressacht and Sigeberht through a strange, static-filled portal.
The group remained quiet as Schwarzes stewed in his frustration. Ludwig was the most confused as he could tell the two had some history… except why would Schwarzes be working with someone like Volf? It made no sense, but he also realized he was probably not going to get an answer that day. “So mission accomplished, I guess?” He put forth, breaking the silence. “Also hold up-It’s okay for Schwarzes to throw punches, but not me?”
Schwarzes glared at him for a second, then exhaled and let it go. “I’m sorry, Ludwig. I let my temper get the best of me again…”
Ludwig sighed and shook his head. “Schwarzes, you can’t let people get under your skin like that. Let Volf into your head and he’s already won.” His inner officer was speaking the clearest it had been in some time, despite his fading amnesia.
Schwarzes face palmed, humiliated as Tiberius had said similar to him. “I’ll go make sure those three didn’t take or tamper with anything.”
Once he was out of immediate earshot, Ludwig turned to Blood-Wraith and Aureolus. “So that was Volf Blitz? What’s the deal between him and Schwarzes?”
“We’re not sure, as Schwarzes knows more than we do,” Aureolus answered.
“If you want to try getting any answers out of him, be our guest,” Blood-Wraith added with what sounded like ambient frustration in his voice. “He’s a lot like his father, Will, in that regard…”
Aureolus then turned to Blood-Wraith. “Blood, about that little exchange…”
He sighed. “I know, just more evidence that Gore is Karnage.”
“Again, why don't we just do something about it then?!” Ludwig cried. “It sounds like we have Gore dead to rights!”
“Karnage plays extremely dirty when his plans fail or start to fail,” Blood-Wraith countered. “If you want to know more, talk to Delphine’s champion, General Raisa.”
“Once we figure out why we can’t get into contact with the Realm of Chaos,” Aureolus reminded him.
Blood-Wraith pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Oh yeah, forgot about that!”
Feeling bad, Ludwig patted Blood-Wraith’s shoulder. “Hey, we’ll get through this, I swear on my honor as a captain of the PMRDO.”
“Thanks, Ludwig. You know, I can see why you were chosen as a member of the Future Squad. Hopefully David and John have made more progress than us here, ha.”
Next: Chapter 7
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Returning to the guild hall the next day after a relaxing night with the Rock People, Blood-Wraith and his team were greeted by the sight of Schwarzes hovering up in the air with his wings out. He appeared to be shooting strange, whale-like clouds of sparkling gas with his Starlight Bow & Arrow. Blood-Wraith face palmed once his passengers were off of his back and he was back to normal. Some days he wished and assumed everything had gone back to normal, only for his current circumstances to drag him kicking and screaming back to reality. Barry and Gummi felt similar to Blood-Wraith (albeit not as intensely as he did) and sighed as they entered the gates. Blood-Wraith and Ludwig then noticed Desislav and David observing Schwarzes work from the courtyard and went to speak to them.
“Jeez, more Void Feeders?” said Blood-Wraith.
“Yup, looks like we’re still in the thick of it,” Desislav replied, followed by a yawn and a scratch of his brown hair. “Sorry, buddy.”
“Cronus mentioned those,” Ludwig recalled. “What are they exactly?”
“Nuisances, that’s what,” Desislav answered with a laugh. “They’re a similar species to the Star Whales Deimos used to protect Aqua World back before we defeated The Lich. They show up when great amounts of magic are used and generally get in the way of things.”
“It’s a shame, as they are quite beautiful, in a moth to butterflies kind of way,” David stated. “But Desislav told me about how much trouble they can cause, so I’m not that sorry for them.”
Upon the last Void Feeder evaporating into a mist of sparkles, Schwarzes floated back down to the ground. He then dispelled his wings and weapon, brushing off his coat’s shoulders. “Blood, how’d it go yesterday?”
“Fine, fine,” he replied with a slight sigh. “Adalwin and The Golem were acting odd as per usual, but they eventually left without a problem. Barry received some intel from Adalwin that may help us figure out what’s going on with Wulfric.”
“Intruiging,” David noted as the gears in his head could be seen turning, no doubt he was eager to look over the intel in question. “I’d imagine he went inside to see what he could deduce. I’ll have to join him when I get the chance and see what I can make of it…”
“In case you’re wondering, Dr. Livesey, I have a suspicion that Adalwin is Waramunt in disguise,” Blood-Wraith pointed out. “Of course that would raise more questions than it answers…”
“Interesting, very interesting indeed.”
Schwarzes then cleared his throat, not thrilled over what he had to tell Blood-Wraith. “Blood? Um, me and Aureolus need you to come with us to The Roaring Mountains, as Tressacht and Sigeberht have been spotted there…”
“OH COME ON,” Blood-Wraith complained.
“Aw don’t sweat it, Blood,” Ludwig said as he patted his back. “I’ll come along and show them what for…”
Blood-Wraith gave him a stern look and groaned. “Ludwig, if that’s the case, I’m going to need you to not antagonize Tressacht and Sigeberht…”
Ludwig had a confused look on his face, especially given the day before. “Why?”
“Those two are strange…” Desislav elaborated. “They’re interlopers, we don’t know what time they are from, and they give me the heebeegeebees.”
“Huh, they’re that odd, aye?” Ludwig thought it over and figured it would not hurt to observe this time. “Alright, I’ll save the fisticuffs for when they actually occur.”
“Thank you…” Blood-Wraith said as he returned to Golden Dragon form.
“Oh, Blood, before you depart…” David started to say. “John and I are formulating plans to head over to The Uncity tomorrow. If what I have in mind works, we should gain a massive advantage over Gore in regards to the activists. We’re still working out the kinks and we’ll have to see how today goes, however.”
That was actually quite pleasing to hear, as Blood-Wraith knew David most likely had something thorough and clever in mind. “Well shoot, excellent. Keep me posted, Dr. Livesey.”
The flight to The Roaring Mountains was a quick one compared to the trip to Earth World. Ludwig and Schwarzes flew on their wings, but Aureolus rode atop Blood-Wraith’s back. While his Golden Dragon hex had come a long way since he had first crafted it, he still did not trust it for prolonged flights. Blood-Wraith fully understood this as flying was quite dangerous after all. Annoyingly Blood-Wraith could already sense the unwelcome guests and took the lead to The Screaming God’s Temple. It was a grand structure not too far away from Blood-Wraith’s temple and had similar architecture. Entering it was a breathtaking and eerie experience… and also a bit surreal. Amongst the strange, otherworldly depictions of the Outer Void were entire sections dedicated to The Screaming God being a fanboy of The ULTRAMagic Guild.
“Mein Gott, this is something else,” Ludwig remarked as he looked around, utterly amazed.
Blood-Wraith smiled as they stepped by the section dedicated to him. “He didn’t have to do all of this, but you have to admire how he did it all by himself.”
“Honestly it reminds me of something I’d try to build in one of my favorite games back on Earth,” Schwarzes commented. “Now, I… Ooh, I definitely sense those two here. I’ll take the lead…”
Heading deeper into the sconce-lit temple, the group came to the entrance of a colossal chamber that could have held a whole other temple in it. Naturally there was a pyramid in the center surrounded by an underground river. Walking down the steps of the temple were two men in strange, armor-like uniforms. One man was tall and muscular, had red eyes, brown hair and a thick beard, and his armor had extensive water heraldry. The other man was of normal height and standard build, but looked quite intellectual. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and sported fire heraldry for his armor. Both of them stepped onto the plaza before the pyramid, looking a bit disappointed that they had not found what they were looking for.
“Coming here was a fruitless endeavor, Sigeberht,” the tall man declared. “Nothing but rocks, bricks, and carvings.”
“I begged a differ, Tressacht,” Sigeberht replied as he picked up some displaced bricks and set them back where they were supposed to be. “Sure, it did not solve our current issue, but father will surely want to visit here in the future.”
Tressacht stroked his beard and subtly nodded. “Archaeology was never my strong suit, but you do have a point…”
“Why don’t you make it a strong suit of yours then, brother? Nothing’s stopping you.”
“I belong on the battlefield, not in the libraries or museums. Besides, I could ask the same of you in regards to your skills in battle.”
Sigeberht laughed, knowing Tressacht had a point. “They’re you go again, brother, ha. I’d dare say we both have room to improve…” He then noticed Blood-Wraith and company. “What a surprise, the ULTRAMagic Guild!”
“Sigeberht, Tressacht, hello,” Schwarzes greeted. “I imagine you know why we’re here…”
“Indeed, Mr. Biest,” Tressacht confirmed. “We were just about to be on our way.”
“Let’s not be so hasty, brother,” Sigeberht insisted. “Aureolus, how are those formulae I gave treating you?”
“Interesting, Sigeberht,” Aureolus answered. “Reverse alchemy is certainly strange with its create-to-destroy nature.”
“Indeed, but if anyone could bridge the gap between the two types of alchemy, it would be a being of darkness, such as yourself.”
Tressacht then cleared his throat, having sensed someone. “Brother, we should wrap up our conversation…”
Sigeberht sighed as he had sensed it too. “Ah, right. Schwarzes, not to be the bearer of bad news, but he’s with us today…”
“Christ, no…” Schwarzes said with disgust in his voice.
“YES INDEED, Mr. Biest!” a third man taunted as he walked up out of nowhere. He had natural gray hair, unnatural ice-blue eyes, and wore a black and purple trench coat. Strangely there was what seemed to be an occasional aura of video tape distortion around him.
“SCREW YOU, VOLF!” Schwarzes barked back, to the slight surprise of Ludwig.
“Screw me?! Where are your manners, young man?” Volf could see Schwarzes getting visibly mad and was trying not to laugh. “I can’t imagine your parents would be too proud of that foul mouth of yours…”
“GET OUT,” Schwarzes ordered. “You are NOT supposed to be here!”
“Well I don’t see The Screaming God objecting…” As if to rebuke Volf, the entire temple shook.
Sigeberht chuckled. “I’d dare say you stand corrected, Volf.”
Volf rolled his eyes and groaned. “Insolent whelp… What’s the matter, Schwarzes? Still testy over how you accidentally called on The Running God for your void magic?”
“SHUT UP!” Schwarzes shot back, clearly embarrassed.
Volf laughed in his face, finally unable to hold it in. It was strange as it sounded like the two had already known each other, beyond Gore’s antagonizing of the ULTRAMagic Guild. “You’re either a fool or you want to go back to your days of being a criminal, the days when you could do whatever you want. Don’t lie to yourself, you know you want to…”
“I SAID SHUT UP!!” Schwarzes roared as he tried to punch Volf… only for him to effortlessly dodge it.
“TOO SLOW, KID!” This led to a back and forth where Volf kept taunting Schwarzes as he continued to avoid the punches and it was fairly strange too, as Blood-Wraith and the others could have sworn Schwarzes was landing his hits.
Growing visibly annoyed, Tressacht cleared his throat quite loudly. “As riveting as this conversation is, gentlemen, Gore and Fran will be expecting us back soon.” There was notable disgust in his voice when he said those names, even if subtle.
“Ah yes, wouldn't want to keep those two… those two waiting.” Volf sounded just as enthusiastic… “Good day, Schwarzes! Make sure you keep practicing your void spells!” Volf called out with haughty glee as he left with Tressacht and Sigeberht through a strange, static-filled portal.
The group remained quiet as Schwarzes stewed in his frustration. Ludwig was the most confused as he could tell the two had some history… except why would Schwarzes be working with someone like Volf? It made no sense, but he also realized he was probably not going to get an answer that day. “So mission accomplished, I guess?” He put forth, breaking the silence. “Also hold up-It’s okay for Schwarzes to throw punches, but not me?”
Schwarzes glared at him for a second, then exhaled and let it go. “I’m sorry, Ludwig. I let my temper get the best of me again…”
Ludwig sighed and shook his head. “Schwarzes, you can’t let people get under your skin like that. Let Volf into your head and he’s already won.” His inner officer was speaking the clearest it had been in some time, despite his fading amnesia.
Schwarzes face palmed, humiliated as Tiberius had said similar to him. “I’ll go make sure those three didn’t take or tamper with anything.”
Once he was out of immediate earshot, Ludwig turned to Blood-Wraith and Aureolus. “So that was Volf Blitz? What’s the deal between him and Schwarzes?”
“We’re not sure, as Schwarzes knows more than we do,” Aureolus answered.
“If you want to try getting any answers out of him, be our guest,” Blood-Wraith added with what sounded like ambient frustration in his voice. “He’s a lot like his father, Will, in that regard…”
Aureolus then turned to Blood-Wraith. “Blood, about that little exchange…”
He sighed. “I know, just more evidence that Gore is Karnage.”
“Again, why don't we just do something about it then?!” Ludwig cried. “It sounds like we have Gore dead to rights!”
“Karnage plays extremely dirty when his plans fail or start to fail,” Blood-Wraith countered. “If you want to know more, talk to Delphine’s champion, General Raisa.”
“Once we figure out why we can’t get into contact with the Realm of Chaos,” Aureolus reminded him.
Blood-Wraith pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Oh yeah, forgot about that!”
Feeling bad, Ludwig patted Blood-Wraith’s shoulder. “Hey, we’ll get through this, I swear on my honor as a captain of the PMRDO.”
“Thanks, Ludwig. You know, I can see why you were chosen as a member of the Future Squad. Hopefully David and John have made more progress than us here, ha.”
Next: Chapter 7
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Comments
Post a Comment