Haze & Chaos - Reunion B Part 8
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Both groups converged on the chamber of the fragment with ease, as it appeared that the original architects were not one for games. It was quite surprising how straightforward the path was–which indicated that Perkele had not properly familiarized himself with the layout of the structure. The chamber itself was large like the rest, and looked like it was a hall of reverence and the burial site for the warriors who had fought to keep the irreverent from abusing the power of the mad flame. Open, stone coffins lined the walls with armored mummies lying in them with their arms crossed. Their armor was unlike anything the group had seen, but felt weirdly plausible given that the armor was segmented and plate-based. The warriors themselves were very much alive–contrary to their withered states, as their glowing green eyes had temporarily shifted away from the conflict at hand to keep an eye on Will and Haze (which creeped the two out).
What normally would have been a quiet moment in the ageless tomb was disturbed by Liss-Zael and Perkele. Despite being caught off guard and going toe to toe with a depths demon, Perkele had been smart and kept moving forward. Liss-Zael had tried numerous times to stop him, but Perkele was a clever and nimble one, and the Lost Era conditions the temple had created messed with Liss-Zael’s magic a bit. While nowhere near as bad as what had happened to Allon and Abelone, it was still a thorn in his side. Large scythes with jack-o-lantern-like mouths cut out of the blades slammed into the ground as Liss-Zael teleported around with his blood-like body deforming into liquid each time. Perkele did his best to avoid these attacks and fought back with indigo-colored fire. Liss-Zael noticed something odd as Perkele also teleported away to dodge his attacks–the magic he was using was more than what he had inherited from Valentin. It was very familiar to Liss-Zael, and he was certain that he knew who it had been sourced from…
Will and Vlastimir were ready to go join Liss-Zael, but Akaya held up his arm to halt them. “Hold on, boys–that fire is quite dangerous…”
“What kind of fire is it?” Will asked. “I can cast some pretty bizarre fire with Mayhem, but…”
“It’s Indigo Fire–a demonic flame that can potentially inflict The Orange Blaze–an affliction that causes the victim to break out in fire-like rashes all over if they’re not careful. It also serves as an effective means of tracking your foe…”
Ripsaw cracked his knuckles, looking royally annoyed. “Another reason why I want to deck that bastard…”
“Well surely I can keep Will safe from it, right?” Haze proposed.
Akaya hummed in contemplation for a second. “Let’s try to avoid that issue for now…” Scanning the chamber to come up with a plan despite the crashes and bashes, he noticed that the chamber had plenty of elbow room to get past the battle, and that gave him an idea. “I think we can use this melee to our advantage–Vlastimir, Anker, go help Liss-Zael…”
“Ah geez,” Vlastimir complained. “Should’ve seen this coming, but I’m still not sure how to deal with it.” He then summoned one of his swords from his arm, albeit it was a little deformed.
Anker laughed as he covered his body in his magic blood. “Well, you’ll be able to show me what you’ve been up to…”
“Don’t push it!” he snapped back as they went to attack Perkele, who was taken off guard.
Akaya nodded with a clever smile as Perkele had barely noticed them, too busy with the ongoing situation. “Good, good–Yale, Ekaterina, you two look after Malte and Esteri.”
Ripsaw grumbled, but Esteri patted him on the back with a resigned look. “Fine…” he groaned.
“Want me to go get help if things go south?” Yale inquired.
“That would be capital,” Akaya replied as he eyed the path along the walls he wanted to take. “Will, Morrigan–You’re with me. We’re going to go for the fragment…”
“Let me know if any of you want to switch out!” Ekaterina added as she readied her ribbons.
As Akaya started to move, Will stopped him. “Hold on, I got an idea!” He then cleared his throat and said “Rax Nez Roh…” The three vanished from sight, as if removed from reality itself. Where they found themselves was a strange plane of existence that twisted and warped with the colors purple and red, and their movements felt weird–being a surreal feeling of wobbly weightlessness. They reappeared near a bottomless pit and about 50 feet away was the fragment on a pedestal in the nook of the wall beneath a pink and magenta flame with a pair of eyes.
“Well done, Will!” Akaya complimented him with a pat on the back…
Evidently Akaya was a little too loud, allowing Perkele to notice what had happened. “PASKA!” He then tried to run over to the three, but a trio of the ancient warriors ran up and blocked his path. Two stood on each side with their dual blades crossed in front of their chests, and the middle one knocked Perkele back with his circular shield. “BISCUITS!” he cursed as his opponents went for him, but he managed to get away with a series of backflips. He then jumped into the air and landed on rings of indigo fire that he kicked out from under him. “You gentlemen will find I’m actually quite spry!” he taunted, albeit this was more out of frustration. Truthfully his master actually needed him to just make sure Ultinn did not get the fragment, even if it was The League… but the failure still stung.
Akaya nodded with an accepting expression and clapped his hands. “Alright then–let’s get started, shall we?”
“Welcome, welcome–come on in…” the flame of all things said. “Not like I have the ability to stop you, ha…” His voice was perfectly clear despite how far away he was. “Get this dumb fragment out of here, if you could!” As he said that, pillars, columns, tiles, and stone blocks began emerging from the abyss and arranged themselves in what looked like tests of dexterity and wit. “And you get the fun trials.”
The three were surprised and nodded, despite the battle raging on behind them in the distance. “Well I’d imagine this is standard protocol,” Akaya noted as he sized up the first test, which seemed like a bit of a memory game focused on stepping on the right tiles. “I’m always looking for a good puzzle…”
“Hold on,” the flame said as it glowed brightly for a second, causing Will to turn into fire and shoot over to a series of braziers where the fragment lay.
“BOYO!?” Morrigan cried in a panic.
“Don’t worry, I just want to talk to him–you’ll get him back when you retrieve the fragment,” the flame assured them as the two other flames vaguely took the forms of Will and Haze.
Will blinked a couple of times as he looked around–seeing Vlastimir and Anker take care of Perkele alongside Liss-Zael, and Morrigan fervently tearing through the puzzles with Akaya. He did not feel any different, barring how comfortably warm things had become. It was like he was given a front row seat to the action one could say. He then glanced over to Haze, and then finally to the flame. “What’s going on here?”
The flame looked back at him, paused, then had a mildly disappointed look on his face. “What, not going to give me anything to work with?” He had a dry, yet clearly fun-loving voice loaded with sarcasm and wit.
“What do you want with us?” Haze questioned.
“I want what you want–answers and insight,” the flame answered with a chuckle. “Or at least that’s my MO now–I am The Mad Flame of Chaos, but you can just call me the ‘mad flame.’”
“Oh, okay…” Will noted.
“Not much of a talker, are you?” The Mad Flame inquired.
“Well, I am… I’m just a little overwhelmed is all…”
He nodded. “Relatable, as I was overwhelmed when The Wonderful Gentleman stole some of the mad flame from me to create soulfire.” There was what seemed like playful irritation that appeared to concern Will, making The Mad Flame laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m just yanking your chain a bit.” Vlastimir and Anker managed to dispel an illusion Perkele cast on Liss-Zael as he said that. “I mean he just waltzed in here uninvited and took a piece of me, but his creation was black blood, blood magic, and soulfire–so I guess I can’t fault him too much, given that I’m an entity of chaos and all.”
Will nodded again as Akaya helped Morrigan with a particularly tricky timing-based puzzle. “So, um, Haze has a weird ability…”
“Mm-hmm,” The Mad Flame replied. “I should know, given that it’s soulfire–it can burn anything back into prima materia, which is odd from my perspective given that prima materia didn’t exist back in The Lost Era. No idea how Lia and Milosh got their hands on it if I’m being honest–you’d have to ask Lia.”
Haze chuckled, causing his fire to crackle a little. “See, Will? I told you it was no big deal…”
Will groaned a little, making him smolder. “So what’s the deal with that fragment? Can we have it?”
“Of course, just as long as your friends pass the trials…” The Mad Flame started to say. “Actually I REALLY want you guys to get it out of here. That Milan person came in here a while back, stashed it, and deliberately forgot about it. Those things are nothing but cursed, given that they exist both here and in The Lost Era. I do that too, but it’s expected for me to do it…”
“Wait, so The Lost Era still exists?”
“Of course it does! Perpetuity is perpetuity after all–The Lost Era never ended, it just made way for The Void era, if you ask me. I suppose you want to know what I have to do with all of that…”
“Actually yes, that would be splendid,” Akaya said as he and Morrigan made their way over to them.
“Oh shoot, you two got through them that quick?”
Akaya nodded with a laugh. “Indeed–and that riddle about the Lost Era sun was fantastic. Red! I would’ve never guessed had it not been for that hint, ha!”
The Mad Flame thought for a second, then conjured up two illusions of the duo to make Perkele think they were still trying to figure out the puzzles. “I don’t want that clown coming over here just yet–I haven’t had a chance to talk like this in a while. There are the warriors, but they don’t get out much.”
Morrigan went over to Will and put her hand in the fire. “You okay, Will?” It felt warm and comfortable, just like him.
“Yeah, we’re fine,” he answered with a relieved crackle.
“Ahem,” The Mad Flame interrupted. “So I still exist in The Lost Era as that is the nature of chaos, and I can tell you right now Prometheus is losing his mind over what’s been going on–Why do you think he created the Mezsdeon? I doubt that mentally deficient Audoin could actually make his way into The Lost Era… but since when has that ever stopped these Void Era fools from trying? No offense…” There was each a varying degree of ‘none taken’ from the group. “I’d argue the bigger danger is The Lost Era swallowing The Void Era because of Audoin and that nutcase Lost Darkness God.”
Akaya glanced around with more nodding. “The Dead God told me about The Lost Darkness God–how he’s the one who’s been backing up Karnage this entire time…”
“The… Dead God?” Will questioned.
“He’s an entity similar to The Wonderful Gentleman, Will,” The Mad Flame answered. “Infamous for being an interloping force back during The Epoch in the war between The Tyrant God and The Behemoth God–I imagine because he was bored and the arrival of The Lost Darkness God in The Void Era was quite explosive, even if seemingly nobody noticed it.”
“So he’s the big bad we have to worry about?” Haze questioned.
“That moron and Surtr–the latter I’m not even sure where he comes from… and I’m the embodiment of the fundamental force of chaos!”
“Curious…” Akaya replied as the battle behind them started to wane.
“Guys, how’s it going over there!?” Ekaterina called out. “How close are you?”
Perkele noticed that Yale had flown over to the trial area… and then he noticed it. Akaya and Morrigan? They were not actually doing the trials–they had long since succeeded and what he was seeing were illusions! “VITTU!” he swore as he stomped his feet, creating a burst of indigo fire beneath him. With Liss-Zael, Vlastimir, and Anker starting to corner him, he began to run out of the chamber. “You all win this one–just don’t let Audoin or Ultinn get that damned fragment, you hear?!”
“Well that was easy…” Ripsaw remarked as he watched Perkele make his exit.
“Easy for you to say!” Liss-Zael shot back as he calmed down and dispelled his weapons. The rest of the group began to approach the abyss, with the warriors standing down and bowing as platforms rose to create a solid floor. A pink haze surrounded the border of where the abyss was, which gave them all a strange, euphoric feeling as they were all caught up on what had happened and had been discussed. “Whoo, someone give me the recipe for that cocktail…”
“You know what?” The Mad Flame remarked. “I like all of you–Esteri and Ripsaw need to work on their issues, but hey, no one’s perfect. And that’s the kind of chaos I prefer.”
Ripsaw shook his head with Esteri patting him on the back with a chuckle. “So what’s the deal with some of the stories we’ve been reading here?” she asked. “It looks like it was a real party…”
The Mad Flame looked as if he would have been facepalming. “Oh just some fool declaring himself the ‘Champion of The Mad Flame’ that went around trying to trick the desperate into returning everything back to the primordial soup!” he crackled in a way that indicated his frustration. “He was one of the biggest hypocrites imaginable and was rightfully put down–I think he managed to escape into this era, but ended up as no more than a character in one of those dark fantasy video games you Void Era denizens like to play.”
Will paused for a moment, knowing exactly what The Mad Flame was referring to for some reason. “Huh, no wonder I hate that ending…”
The Mad Flame laughed, with a popping and crackling sound that made everyone smile. “And that’s Animus Sicarius for you–Let the record show that Will is his Void Era counterpart, and not that blithering Lost Shadow God. Be careful around that god, Will–as he’s the shadow of an unknown god from a place even I don’t know, and he’s desperate to claim his stake in this era.
“How fascinating and concerning,” Akaya noted as he stepped up to the pedestal. “I’ll have to ask Milan and Victor about this–Mad Flame, may we?” he inquired as he started to grab the black fragment with glowing red runes all over it.
“Sure, sure–please get it out of my hair.”
With a slight tug, the fragment popped right out of its holder. It gave Akaya a weird feeling as he had a cheeky grin appear on his face. “Want it, Ripsaw, Esteri?”
Ripsaw gave a hearty laugh and waved his hands. “Keep that thing far away from us!”
The Mad Flame then returned Will and Haze back to normal. “Now, some housekeeping before you all head off: Don’t worry about soulflame, Will, Haze. Use it responsibly and it should be fine…”
“That’s it?” Will questioned as Haze reverted back to his normal suit form. “Just be careful?”
“What, do you think you’re some chosen one or something like that? It’s magic fire derived from my essence–don’t over think it like you do with your necromancy and void magic.”
Will stuttered incoherently, making the others laugh. “Okay, point taken…”
Morrigan nodded with a giggle, but she had to admit to herself that she was nervous too. “Still, Will is dealing with a force of chaos a bit foreign to us…”
The Mad Flame sighed with soft crackling noise. “I understand–Lost Era chaos was a force of destruction and turmoil, but now I realize that chaos is supposed to be wonder and change. Bring the two here if they ever have trouble with it.”
That made Morrigan smile. “Thank you, Mad Flame.”
“Pretty sane for someone who claims to be mad, haha,” Vlastimir pointed out.
The Mad Flame laughed, lighting up that end of the chamber a bit. “We’re all a little bit mad at the end of the day, Vlastimir–likewise, we’re always a bit sane at the end of the day! Mindless chaos gets no one anywhere… Oh, and before you all leave: let Isador know I either want my power back, or that he needs to start hanging out with me…”
Akaya stroked his chin and clicked his tongue. “Oh yeah, I recall that he used your power to help split The Earl of Shadows from The Earl Profane…”
“Oh yeah, that mess,” Liss-Zael grunted. “Don’t worry, we’ll get on his case about it–given that our earl went on to work with Mephistopheles…”
“If you’re wondering, I believe it was ‘your earl’ who informed Perkele in part about this place,” The Mad Flame added.
This made Liss-Zael slap his thighs in frustration. “That traitor!” he half-heartedly complained, indicating exasperation more than offense. The others laughed in sympathy for him.
The Mad Flame chuckled and glowed for a second, bringing a large, stone cube down from the ceiling. “Here, let me save you fellas the walk…”
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Both groups converged on the chamber of the fragment with ease, as it appeared that the original architects were not one for games. It was quite surprising how straightforward the path was–which indicated that Perkele had not properly familiarized himself with the layout of the structure. The chamber itself was large like the rest, and looked like it was a hall of reverence and the burial site for the warriors who had fought to keep the irreverent from abusing the power of the mad flame. Open, stone coffins lined the walls with armored mummies lying in them with their arms crossed. Their armor was unlike anything the group had seen, but felt weirdly plausible given that the armor was segmented and plate-based. The warriors themselves were very much alive–contrary to their withered states, as their glowing green eyes had temporarily shifted away from the conflict at hand to keep an eye on Will and Haze (which creeped the two out).
What normally would have been a quiet moment in the ageless tomb was disturbed by Liss-Zael and Perkele. Despite being caught off guard and going toe to toe with a depths demon, Perkele had been smart and kept moving forward. Liss-Zael had tried numerous times to stop him, but Perkele was a clever and nimble one, and the Lost Era conditions the temple had created messed with Liss-Zael’s magic a bit. While nowhere near as bad as what had happened to Allon and Abelone, it was still a thorn in his side. Large scythes with jack-o-lantern-like mouths cut out of the blades slammed into the ground as Liss-Zael teleported around with his blood-like body deforming into liquid each time. Perkele did his best to avoid these attacks and fought back with indigo-colored fire. Liss-Zael noticed something odd as Perkele also teleported away to dodge his attacks–the magic he was using was more than what he had inherited from Valentin. It was very familiar to Liss-Zael, and he was certain that he knew who it had been sourced from…
Will and Vlastimir were ready to go join Liss-Zael, but Akaya held up his arm to halt them. “Hold on, boys–that fire is quite dangerous…”
“What kind of fire is it?” Will asked. “I can cast some pretty bizarre fire with Mayhem, but…”
“It’s Indigo Fire–a demonic flame that can potentially inflict The Orange Blaze–an affliction that causes the victim to break out in fire-like rashes all over if they’re not careful. It also serves as an effective means of tracking your foe…”
Ripsaw cracked his knuckles, looking royally annoyed. “Another reason why I want to deck that bastard…”
“Well surely I can keep Will safe from it, right?” Haze proposed.
Akaya hummed in contemplation for a second. “Let’s try to avoid that issue for now…” Scanning the chamber to come up with a plan despite the crashes and bashes, he noticed that the chamber had plenty of elbow room to get past the battle, and that gave him an idea. “I think we can use this melee to our advantage–Vlastimir, Anker, go help Liss-Zael…”
“Ah geez,” Vlastimir complained. “Should’ve seen this coming, but I’m still not sure how to deal with it.” He then summoned one of his swords from his arm, albeit it was a little deformed.
Anker laughed as he covered his body in his magic blood. “Well, you’ll be able to show me what you’ve been up to…”
“Don’t push it!” he snapped back as they went to attack Perkele, who was taken off guard.
Akaya nodded with a clever smile as Perkele had barely noticed them, too busy with the ongoing situation. “Good, good–Yale, Ekaterina, you two look after Malte and Esteri.”
Ripsaw grumbled, but Esteri patted him on the back with a resigned look. “Fine…” he groaned.
“Want me to go get help if things go south?” Yale inquired.
“That would be capital,” Akaya replied as he eyed the path along the walls he wanted to take. “Will, Morrigan–You’re with me. We’re going to go for the fragment…”
“Let me know if any of you want to switch out!” Ekaterina added as she readied her ribbons.
As Akaya started to move, Will stopped him. “Hold on, I got an idea!” He then cleared his throat and said “Rax Nez Roh…” The three vanished from sight, as if removed from reality itself. Where they found themselves was a strange plane of existence that twisted and warped with the colors purple and red, and their movements felt weird–being a surreal feeling of wobbly weightlessness. They reappeared near a bottomless pit and about 50 feet away was the fragment on a pedestal in the nook of the wall beneath a pink and magenta flame with a pair of eyes.
“Well done, Will!” Akaya complimented him with a pat on the back…
Evidently Akaya was a little too loud, allowing Perkele to notice what had happened. “PASKA!” He then tried to run over to the three, but a trio of the ancient warriors ran up and blocked his path. Two stood on each side with their dual blades crossed in front of their chests, and the middle one knocked Perkele back with his circular shield. “BISCUITS!” he cursed as his opponents went for him, but he managed to get away with a series of backflips. He then jumped into the air and landed on rings of indigo fire that he kicked out from under him. “You gentlemen will find I’m actually quite spry!” he taunted, albeit this was more out of frustration. Truthfully his master actually needed him to just make sure Ultinn did not get the fragment, even if it was The League… but the failure still stung.
Akaya nodded with an accepting expression and clapped his hands. “Alright then–let’s get started, shall we?”
“Welcome, welcome–come on in…” the flame of all things said. “Not like I have the ability to stop you, ha…” His voice was perfectly clear despite how far away he was. “Get this dumb fragment out of here, if you could!” As he said that, pillars, columns, tiles, and stone blocks began emerging from the abyss and arranged themselves in what looked like tests of dexterity and wit. “And you get the fun trials.”
The three were surprised and nodded, despite the battle raging on behind them in the distance. “Well I’d imagine this is standard protocol,” Akaya noted as he sized up the first test, which seemed like a bit of a memory game focused on stepping on the right tiles. “I’m always looking for a good puzzle…”
“Hold on,” the flame said as it glowed brightly for a second, causing Will to turn into fire and shoot over to a series of braziers where the fragment lay.
“BOYO!?” Morrigan cried in a panic.
“Don’t worry, I just want to talk to him–you’ll get him back when you retrieve the fragment,” the flame assured them as the two other flames vaguely took the forms of Will and Haze.
Will blinked a couple of times as he looked around–seeing Vlastimir and Anker take care of Perkele alongside Liss-Zael, and Morrigan fervently tearing through the puzzles with Akaya. He did not feel any different, barring how comfortably warm things had become. It was like he was given a front row seat to the action one could say. He then glanced over to Haze, and then finally to the flame. “What’s going on here?”
The flame looked back at him, paused, then had a mildly disappointed look on his face. “What, not going to give me anything to work with?” He had a dry, yet clearly fun-loving voice loaded with sarcasm and wit.
“What do you want with us?” Haze questioned.
“I want what you want–answers and insight,” the flame answered with a chuckle. “Or at least that’s my MO now–I am The Mad Flame of Chaos, but you can just call me the ‘mad flame.’”
“Oh, okay…” Will noted.
“Not much of a talker, are you?” The Mad Flame inquired.
“Well, I am… I’m just a little overwhelmed is all…”
He nodded. “Relatable, as I was overwhelmed when The Wonderful Gentleman stole some of the mad flame from me to create soulfire.” There was what seemed like playful irritation that appeared to concern Will, making The Mad Flame laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m just yanking your chain a bit.” Vlastimir and Anker managed to dispel an illusion Perkele cast on Liss-Zael as he said that. “I mean he just waltzed in here uninvited and took a piece of me, but his creation was black blood, blood magic, and soulfire–so I guess I can’t fault him too much, given that I’m an entity of chaos and all.”
Will nodded again as Akaya helped Morrigan with a particularly tricky timing-based puzzle. “So, um, Haze has a weird ability…”
“Mm-hmm,” The Mad Flame replied. “I should know, given that it’s soulfire–it can burn anything back into prima materia, which is odd from my perspective given that prima materia didn’t exist back in The Lost Era. No idea how Lia and Milosh got their hands on it if I’m being honest–you’d have to ask Lia.”
Haze chuckled, causing his fire to crackle a little. “See, Will? I told you it was no big deal…”
Will groaned a little, making him smolder. “So what’s the deal with that fragment? Can we have it?”
“Of course, just as long as your friends pass the trials…” The Mad Flame started to say. “Actually I REALLY want you guys to get it out of here. That Milan person came in here a while back, stashed it, and deliberately forgot about it. Those things are nothing but cursed, given that they exist both here and in The Lost Era. I do that too, but it’s expected for me to do it…”
“Wait, so The Lost Era still exists?”
“Of course it does! Perpetuity is perpetuity after all–The Lost Era never ended, it just made way for The Void era, if you ask me. I suppose you want to know what I have to do with all of that…”
“Actually yes, that would be splendid,” Akaya said as he and Morrigan made their way over to them.
“Oh shoot, you two got through them that quick?”
Akaya nodded with a laugh. “Indeed–and that riddle about the Lost Era sun was fantastic. Red! I would’ve never guessed had it not been for that hint, ha!”
The Mad Flame thought for a second, then conjured up two illusions of the duo to make Perkele think they were still trying to figure out the puzzles. “I don’t want that clown coming over here just yet–I haven’t had a chance to talk like this in a while. There are the warriors, but they don’t get out much.”
Morrigan went over to Will and put her hand in the fire. “You okay, Will?” It felt warm and comfortable, just like him.
“Yeah, we’re fine,” he answered with a relieved crackle.
“Ahem,” The Mad Flame interrupted. “So I still exist in The Lost Era as that is the nature of chaos, and I can tell you right now Prometheus is losing his mind over what’s been going on–Why do you think he created the Mezsdeon? I doubt that mentally deficient Audoin could actually make his way into The Lost Era… but since when has that ever stopped these Void Era fools from trying? No offense…” There was each a varying degree of ‘none taken’ from the group. “I’d argue the bigger danger is The Lost Era swallowing The Void Era because of Audoin and that nutcase Lost Darkness God.”
Akaya glanced around with more nodding. “The Dead God told me about The Lost Darkness God–how he’s the one who’s been backing up Karnage this entire time…”
“The… Dead God?” Will questioned.
“He’s an entity similar to The Wonderful Gentleman, Will,” The Mad Flame answered. “Infamous for being an interloping force back during The Epoch in the war between The Tyrant God and The Behemoth God–I imagine because he was bored and the arrival of The Lost Darkness God in The Void Era was quite explosive, even if seemingly nobody noticed it.”
“So he’s the big bad we have to worry about?” Haze questioned.
“That moron and Surtr–the latter I’m not even sure where he comes from… and I’m the embodiment of the fundamental force of chaos!”
“Curious…” Akaya replied as the battle behind them started to wane.
“Guys, how’s it going over there!?” Ekaterina called out. “How close are you?”
Perkele noticed that Yale had flown over to the trial area… and then he noticed it. Akaya and Morrigan? They were not actually doing the trials–they had long since succeeded and what he was seeing were illusions! “VITTU!” he swore as he stomped his feet, creating a burst of indigo fire beneath him. With Liss-Zael, Vlastimir, and Anker starting to corner him, he began to run out of the chamber. “You all win this one–just don’t let Audoin or Ultinn get that damned fragment, you hear?!”
“Well that was easy…” Ripsaw remarked as he watched Perkele make his exit.
“Easy for you to say!” Liss-Zael shot back as he calmed down and dispelled his weapons. The rest of the group began to approach the abyss, with the warriors standing down and bowing as platforms rose to create a solid floor. A pink haze surrounded the border of where the abyss was, which gave them all a strange, euphoric feeling as they were all caught up on what had happened and had been discussed. “Whoo, someone give me the recipe for that cocktail…”
“You know what?” The Mad Flame remarked. “I like all of you–Esteri and Ripsaw need to work on their issues, but hey, no one’s perfect. And that’s the kind of chaos I prefer.”
Ripsaw shook his head with Esteri patting him on the back with a chuckle. “So what’s the deal with some of the stories we’ve been reading here?” she asked. “It looks like it was a real party…”
The Mad Flame looked as if he would have been facepalming. “Oh just some fool declaring himself the ‘Champion of The Mad Flame’ that went around trying to trick the desperate into returning everything back to the primordial soup!” he crackled in a way that indicated his frustration. “He was one of the biggest hypocrites imaginable and was rightfully put down–I think he managed to escape into this era, but ended up as no more than a character in one of those dark fantasy video games you Void Era denizens like to play.”
Will paused for a moment, knowing exactly what The Mad Flame was referring to for some reason. “Huh, no wonder I hate that ending…”
The Mad Flame laughed, with a popping and crackling sound that made everyone smile. “And that’s Animus Sicarius for you–Let the record show that Will is his Void Era counterpart, and not that blithering Lost Shadow God. Be careful around that god, Will–as he’s the shadow of an unknown god from a place even I don’t know, and he’s desperate to claim his stake in this era.
“How fascinating and concerning,” Akaya noted as he stepped up to the pedestal. “I’ll have to ask Milan and Victor about this–Mad Flame, may we?” he inquired as he started to grab the black fragment with glowing red runes all over it.
“Sure, sure–please get it out of my hair.”
With a slight tug, the fragment popped right out of its holder. It gave Akaya a weird feeling as he had a cheeky grin appear on his face. “Want it, Ripsaw, Esteri?”
Ripsaw gave a hearty laugh and waved his hands. “Keep that thing far away from us!”
The Mad Flame then returned Will and Haze back to normal. “Now, some housekeeping before you all head off: Don’t worry about soulflame, Will, Haze. Use it responsibly and it should be fine…”
“That’s it?” Will questioned as Haze reverted back to his normal suit form. “Just be careful?”
“What, do you think you’re some chosen one or something like that? It’s magic fire derived from my essence–don’t over think it like you do with your necromancy and void magic.”
Will stuttered incoherently, making the others laugh. “Okay, point taken…”
Morrigan nodded with a giggle, but she had to admit to herself that she was nervous too. “Still, Will is dealing with a force of chaos a bit foreign to us…”
The Mad Flame sighed with soft crackling noise. “I understand–Lost Era chaos was a force of destruction and turmoil, but now I realize that chaos is supposed to be wonder and change. Bring the two here if they ever have trouble with it.”
That made Morrigan smile. “Thank you, Mad Flame.”
“Pretty sane for someone who claims to be mad, haha,” Vlastimir pointed out.
The Mad Flame laughed, lighting up that end of the chamber a bit. “We’re all a little bit mad at the end of the day, Vlastimir–likewise, we’re always a bit sane at the end of the day! Mindless chaos gets no one anywhere… Oh, and before you all leave: let Isador know I either want my power back, or that he needs to start hanging out with me…”
Akaya stroked his chin and clicked his tongue. “Oh yeah, I recall that he used your power to help split The Earl of Shadows from The Earl Profane…”
“Oh yeah, that mess,” Liss-Zael grunted. “Don’t worry, we’ll get on his case about it–given that our earl went on to work with Mephistopheles…”
“If you’re wondering, I believe it was ‘your earl’ who informed Perkele in part about this place,” The Mad Flame added.
This made Liss-Zael slap his thighs in frustration. “That traitor!” he half-heartedly complained, indicating exasperation more than offense. The others laughed in sympathy for him.
The Mad Flame chuckled and glowed for a second, bringing a large, stone cube down from the ceiling. “Here, let me save you fellas the walk…”
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ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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