Chains of Corruption Pt. 02

Chapter 11 - A Light In The Dark

"Mika, we've arrived. You and C.C. meet us outside when you're ready." Priscilla says, waking you from a pleasant dream.

You stretch before getting out of bed and C.C. follows you outside. You haven't been back to the island since the fight against Iliya but even now, this place creeps you out. The landscape looks very similar to the wasteland now that you think about it. As your group makes its way towards the ruined fortress surrounding the crumbling remains of the factory, the conversation shifts towards Priscilla's research.

"So what exactly were you doing out here all this time?" Astrid asks.

"With Iliya gone, my hope was to reverse the effects of the black slime she was using to corrupt people. Unfortunately the more I learned, the more questions I had. I know Iliya had researchers working on this around the clock, but I'm not sure if anyone would be able to accurately study it with our level of technology. It's vastly different of course, but it reminds me of Mara's divine energy in a way." Priscilla explains.

"Then how was Iliya able to control it so easily?" Astrid asks.

Priscilla thinks for a moment and says, "What if she wasn't? Remember, Nero had knew of Iliya, but to my knowledge she was unaware of him. That demon we caught outside the tunnel said he was corruption itself. What if the slime is actually a part of Nero? Pure corruption coalesced into a single entity..."

"What does that mean? What is he?" You ask trying to wrap your head around this.

"I'm not entirely sure, this is only a theory, but..." Priscilla trails off.

"What's wrong?" You ask.

"Damn it! He's been watching me this whole time! That's why I could never seem to make any progress, and how he instantly knew how to deal with us. How could I not have seen this?" Priscilla rages.

"Hey calm down. There's no way you could have known." You say.

"Yeah and he still doesn't know we're all ok." C.C. adds.

Priscilla sighs and says, "Yes well, he still has the upper hand." She takes a look around and then continues, "Alright, if anyone notices any slime, act naturally. I doubt it will be of much use, but let's not give him any more of an advantage."

You finally arrive at the fortress as the conversation dies down. Still bearing the scars of that incredible battle, there is a path leading down to the bottom of the factory. Although the path is a straight shot, it's also littered with jagged pieces of metal and large chunks of rubble.

You carefully lead the way through the debris as you say, "I'm surprised you haven't cleared some of this away by now Priscilla."

"I was planning on it, but when I investigated the ruins only a few weeks after our battle, there was almost no traces of slime anywhere. With so little to study, I had to rely on samples taken from elsewhere on the island for my research." Priscilla replies.

"Are you sure those guys would even go down here?" Astrid asks.

"No, but it's the best place to start searching. Take my word for it, there isn't much else here. Even the crater where Mika encountered Mara was surprisingly empty." Priscilla says.

Upon reaching the bottom floor, Kira lights up the dark interior with her magic. Being back here is sending shivers down your spine and you can still see the bloodstains on the cracked stone floor. The room is completely wrecked and as you look around, you don't see any sign of Nero or his clones.

"I suppose it was a bit of a long shot, they had a few days lead on us." Priscilla says after looking around for a few minutes.

You sigh and say, "So now what, we wait for them to attack us? We can't go back to a city if that's the case."

The room goes quiet for a few minutes, but no one can think of a solution and Astrid gets impatient. She spots something on the floor and walks over to pick it up.

"I'll be damned." Astrid says under her breath while holding a small knife.

"What's that?" You ask.

Astrid walks back over and says, "This was given to me by a friend but I thought I had lost it before I got away from Iliya. If it's down here, I assume Iliya stole it for herself, the greedy bitch."

Astrid tosses the knife into the air a few times while saying, "I never really needed it or anything, but there was something I liked about this knife. Oh well, it's been gone for so long it probably reeks of Iliya by now."

Astrid catches the knife and throws it into a dark corner of the room without looking. It embeds itself into the wall, but the loose mortar gives way and a few large stones fall away, revealing what looks like a tunnel.

"Was that there before?" You ask trying to recall.

Priscilla nods and says, "It must have been, although I've never seen it. It leads even deeper, but what could possibly be down there?"

Astrid steps closer and says, "One way to find out."

Astrid kicks a few large pieces of rubble out of her way and clears a path for you to follow. You step into the dark tunnel trying to stay close to Astrid as the path descends and snakes its way deeper into the earth. The tunnel ends in a small room and in the center is something that looks eerily familiar.

A perfect sphere is suspended a few inches above the ground giving off a pale, hazy purple glow. It's big enough that you could easily fit inside and the surface ripples like liquid. You get excited, thinking maybe this will take you back home, but when you peer deeper into the sphere you can see it is not your world on the other side.

Through the hazy portal, you can make out demons fighting what looks like a war against monsters. Suddenly Mara screams and you look back to see her on her knees holding her head. She looks terrified and quickly gets up and runs back through the tunnel without warning.

Priscilla takes off after her while saying, "Kira come with me, she can't be left alone right now."

Kira agrees and they exit the room as Astrid says, "What the... Mika look."

You follow her gaze and in the sphere you can see two of Nero's clones walking towards you, or rather, the portal. They don't seem to notice you though as they continue their advance and you have an idea.

"Astrid, I don't think they can see us. Maybe we can ambush them." You say.

Astrid nods and says, "Yeah, they won't be expecting it after what Nero did to us, that's for sure. This room is too small though and the floor above isn't much better."

You think for a moment and say, "Then we hit them as soon as they get out of the tunnel. We'll bury them in what's left of this place."

You quickly lead the way back to the bottom floor of the factory and survey the room.

"C.C. can you burn away the walls here and over there with your magic?" You ask.

C.C. agrees and begins melting specific parts of the walls. You walk back to the tunnel leading outside and watch as the back walls are almost completely melted away.

"Hey that's enough, come back before they get here." You call out as C.C. glides back over to you.

You look to Astrid and say, "Think you can bring it down in one hit?"

Astrid nods and says, "Yeah of course I can, but are you sure they'll even come this way? The one's we've seen so far have just opened portals whenever they feel like it."

You hadn't thought of that and reply, "Should we make some noise or something to draw them out then?"

Astrid shrugs and says, "I guess we're gonna have to, but it might spoil our little surprise."

You look around and say, "I hope Priscilla found Mara already. The last thing we need is her getting caught in the middle of a battle."

After a few tense moments, you feel the overwhelming presence of Nero's clones as they exit the portal. Astrid picks up a stone and hurls it toward the debris, causing a loud noise to echo through the room. The three of you hide and wait as footsteps from the tunnel draw closer.

"You ready?" Astrid whispers.

You nod and reply, "Yeah as soon as they're out of the tunnel, we'll hit them and get back up to the surface. At least we can fight out in the open up there."

The cloaked men slowly enter the room and Astrid slams her fist into the wall so hard the whole structure shakes. The ceiling collapses onto the clones as you, Astrid, and C.C. race back through the tunnel and into the daylight.

"Did we get them?" You ask peering into the tunnel as it fills with smoke.

As if in response to your question, black energy begins to crackle around the debris. Suddenly it explodes, sending large pieces of stone and jagged metal flying in all directions. You back away while shielding your face as you see both clones emerge from the wreckage.

"You've made a foolish mistake, challenging us like this." One of the men says.

"Don't be like that Seventh, they've sought us out, the least we could do is skin them alive." The other says with a hideous laugh.

Seventh turns to face the other clone and you see his mask is featureless, without eye holes even.

"He will be pleased if we leave them for him to deal with, but you're not going to let this go, are you Fifth?" Seventh says as he faces your group.

Fifth's mask is twisted into a bizarre grin, almost as if he's laughing. It certainly fits with his maniacal personality as he laughs at Seventh's question.

"Of course not, look at them. Oh, I can already hear their beautiful screams." Fifth says looking over your group.

Sickened by their behavior, Astrid steps forward and says, "I've heard enough, are you ready or what?"

"Whenever you are." Fifth gloats.

Astrid charges in and you follow close behind as C.C. readies her magic. You raise your sword and prepare to attack as Astrid leaps into the air and crashes into Seventh. Your blade sinks deep into Fifth's chest and he falls to his knees. You and Astrid quickly back away as C.C. throws black fire at the clones engulfing them in flames.

As you wonder if it was really this easy, something catches your eye. Tiny particles are swirling in the air around you and they seem to be growing larger by the second. They pulse with dark energy and suddenly an explosion throws you into the air.

You fall to the ground and get to your feet. Despite the pain, you think you're alright. You see Astrid and C.C. were also caught in the blast and as they rise you hear laughter.

"So close! I'll be generous and give you one more, so why don't you try again?" Fifth says mockingly.

You quickly look back but the clones you and Astrid killed are no longer lying on the ground. Before you can asses the situation, Astrid charges in again and you are forced to support her. You keep some distance between you and Astrid this time, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing catches your eye.

Astrid grabs Seventh by his mask and throws him into Fifth, sending them crashing into the ground. They aren't even defending themselves as she mercilessly pummels them and then you see the swirling energy again.

"Astrid look..." You begin.

The explosion takes your breath away and you tumble across the ground. When your vision clears, you see Fifth and Seventh sitting on a nearby rock, clearly enjoying their handiwork.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on?" Astrid says as she gets to her feet and spits blood.

Fifth appears next to Astrid and says, "You've always been a fiery one, haven't you Astrid."

Astrid is caught off guard and backs away as she says, "What? You don't know anything about me."

Fifth calmly walks towards her and says, "That's not true, I think the real problem is that you don't know who you really are." Before she can react, Fifth grabs her by the throat and says, "It doesn't matter though, you're mine now so the only thing you should be concerned with, is all the delicious pain I'm going to cause you."

You quickly stab Fifth but when you blink, he's gone. Astrid gasps for air as she looks around, but they are nowhere to be seen.

"Up there!" C.C. yells.

You look up and see Fifth heading straight towards you and you barely manage to raise your sword in time. As Fifth touches your sword, he vanishes and you feel something hit you from behind. You fall onto your stomach and see Seventh has you pinned to the ground.

Astrid tries to get him off but she is caught by Fifth as he tackles her. Seventh raises his arms and you suddenly can't move anymore. Seeing the look in Astrid's eyes tells you she's in the same condition and you feel Seventh kneel down next to you.

"What's this?" Seventh says as he picks up the beacon.

'Damn! It must have fallen out of my pocket.' You think as Seventh stands up and crushes the coin before letting it fall to the floor. The emblem on the coin flickers and then fades away as you curse yourself for letting them destroy it.

"Aahhh!" Astrid screams, snapping you back to reality.

You look over and see Fifth extending one of his fingers into a sharp blade. He slowly sinks it into Astrid's chest and then drags it along her breasts.

"I'm gonna... fucking kill you... Aahh!" Astrid screams.

Fifth laughs and says, "I know you like to pretend not to care, but what would you do if I hurt her instead?" He turns to you and looks you over before saying, "This won't do at all, covered in metal like this."

Completely defenseless, you tremble as Fifth effortlessly picks you up and presses his finger against your shoulder. You feel his knife like finger penetrate your armor and then sink into your flesh as you hold back from screaming. Fifth slowly drags his finger down, tearing through your armor as if it weren't even there.

The miniature blade works its way down your torso and into your thigh before it suddenly stops. Fifth reaches up and grabs your armor, bending it open with ease and exposing your breasts. With nothing covering it, you see the long bloody trail his claw left in your flesh.

Fifth tightens his grip on your throat and begins saying something. The world is slowly fading away and you can't quite concentrate enough to make out his words but something catches your eye. High in the sky, you see the Valkyria charging it's cannons, although they are pointed in the wrong direction.

Just as your vision begins to fade, the Valkyria's massive cannons fire and a thin beam of energy pierces through a large rock formation about twenty feet away. Suddenly you blink and you are on the ground. You struggle to your feet and notice your armor is intact.

"Oh gods, I thought he killed you!" C.C. says as she hugs you from behind.

"It must have just been an illusion or something." You say trying to shake off the groggy feeling.

Astrid grabs her head and says, "What the hell happened?"

"I think Sid saved us. Maybe he could see where they were hiding from up there." You say trying to piece things together.

After seeing she is uninjured Astrid says, "I'm sick of being toyed with. Let's show them some real pain."

You nod and make your way to where the Valkyria fired. The large rocks have been obliterated and smoke billows from the blast site. A black hand bursts through the rubble and struggles to free itself as an overwhelming energy makes the ground shake.

"Well done, ugh, I've never much cared for his tricks, but I must admit it was very amusing to watch you struggle against nothing." Fifth says as he emerges from the rubble.

His cloak is shredded, revealing his pitch black flesh and he's clutching the severed head of Seventh. From his tone and posture, the blast took its toll on Fifth, but he stands defiantly atop the rubble like he's enjoying himself. He raises the festering head into the air as his mask distorts and drops it into his waiting mouth, devouring it whole. The energy radiating off of Fifth grows and starts to push you back as his mask reverts to its original form.

"Damn, he's getting stronger." Astrid says.

"Indeed, when he gets like this, there's no stopping him." A voice says from behind you.

"He consumed Seventh as well, so there's no chance of escape now." Another voice responds.

You turn and see two more clones standing motionless behind you and quickly reposition yourself so you can see all of them. The two new clones have identical masks, the opposite half of each seems almost melted or warped. C.C. and Astrid join you and you watch as the three clones meet and face your group.

"Would you like assistance..." One of the clones begins but he is grabbed by the throat by Fifth.

"Sure why not, I'd love to see their faces when they see this." Fifth says excitedly.

The earth shakes violently as two large tendrils of dark energy emerge from the ground and pierce through the two other clones as Fifth laughs maniacally. Smaller tendrils burst forth from the larger ones and embed themselves into Fifth's back. His energy explodes around him sending your group flying backwards as Fifth continues laughing.

As you rise to your feet, you hear Priscilla calling your name. You turn around and see her carrying Mara on her back with Kira close behind.

"Are you alright?" You ask.

"Yes, for now." Priscilla looks at Fifth as his power still grows larger and says, "Mika, none of us stand a chance against him, I don't think we can even escape at this point."

You look back at Fifth and grit your teeth as Mara says, "There is a way, but it's dangerous."

You sigh and say, "We really don't have a choice, what is it?"

Mara hops down from Priscilla's back and says, "I can amplify your power, but you will still have to control it."

You nod and say, "Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that. Alright get on my back."

Mara climbs onto your back and your feel her begin to imbue you with her divine energy. With her aid, it's easier to withstand the fearsome power emanating from Fifth.

You turn to your friends and say, "If anything happens to me, please... take care of Gwen."

Astrid scoffs and says, "No shit, just kill that motherfucker already."

You smile and then turn back to Fifth as he begins walking toward you. You meet him halfway, trying to spare your friends from the inevitable blast. Now that you are closer, you notice Fifth looks different. His horns have grown considerably and his feet have become talons to match his razor sharp claws.

"Just you two? Ah, it's the failed goddess, let's see how long you can resist me in your state." Fifth says mockingly.

"Ignore him and keep your focus." Mara whispers as her eyes begin to glow and you feel energy surging through your body.

You take a deep breath and concentrate on your energy as you feel it building up higher than it has ever been. Fifth raises his hand and black energy shoots out toward you.

Before you try to dodge Mara says, "I'll handle defense, you just attack."

The dark energy impacts your chest, but it bounces off like liquid as Mara shields you with her magic. It feels almost like water is rushing over you without being wet. With Mara on your back, your movements are somewhat limited. You can't properly raise your arms to strike with your sword, so you decide to rely on the incredible amount of energy flowing within you.

Fifth ends his barrage, seemingly angered by your survival and charges toward you. He quickly closes in and you raise your hand towards him. A violent stream of electricity arcs from your hand but something is wrong. You scream in pain as your hand feels like it's being torn apart.

You immediately cut the flow of magic and inspect your hand as Fifth falls to his knees. Your fingers tremble from the pain although you can't see any injuries on your hand. Fifth returns to his feet and blasts you with magic again. You decide to work through the pain and finish this before something else goes wrong.

You raise your hand again and release your energy, forgetting to imbue an element. Your energy turnss a brilliant, almost blinding white and it collides with Fifth's dark energy. The opposing elements battle for supremacy as you both feed every ounce of power you have into the blast.