Chains of Corruption Pt. 02

The pain is unbearable however, and you fall to your knees as you scream, but manage to keep your attack going. Tears begin streaming down your cheeks as the pain intensifies and you struggle to stay conscious. In your weakened state, you see Fifth is also struggling as he falls to his knees and tries desperately to win the stalemate.

You feel Mara's energy begin to wane and you know you don't have much time left before she can no longer protect you. With a final anguished scream, you raise your other hand and unleash more magic until it overpowers the dark energy. The blinding white energy tears through Fifth's magic and although you can't see him, you hear his eerie laughter fade away.

You cut the flow of magic and are half surprised when it doesn't trigger an explosion. You collapse onto the dirt and breathe heavily as your friends rush to your side.

"Mika are you alright?" C.C. asks as Mara climbs off of you.

"Ugh, yeah. I think so." You say as your body trembles.

Priscilla helps you up and you look to where Fifth was. There is a wide indent in the ground from the intense magic leading to his corpse. You walk over and are unsure if he is really dead until Mara raises her hands and a soft golden glow envelops Fifth. His flesh begins to disappear and soon he is completely gone. You sigh in relief as the Valkyria begins to descend nearby.

"Does it hurt when you use magic Mika?" Kira asks after having watched your battle.

You look to your hand and say, "Yeah, but I don't know why. I'm alright now though."

Kira gives you an unconvinced look but says nothing.

You think for a moment before saying, "We need to see what they were up to down there."

"Yeah where did that portal lead? It looked like there were demons everywhere." Astrid remarks.

"I don't know, but we have to find out. Maybe they can help us." You say as you lead the way back to the factory.

Chapter 12 - Revelation

Leading the way down the tunnel, once again you stand before the floating sphere. Its eerie purple glow bathes the room as you wonder what's on the other side.

"What do you think Priscilla, is it safe to check it out?" You ask.

Priscilla shrugs and says, "I may be a scientist, but I don't have all the answers. I don't recognize the landscape so I assume it's a completely different world. There's no way to know if it's safe, but it's our only lead."

Astrid needs no convincing and leaps through the portal before anyone can stop her. The rest of your group follows and you jump into the sphere behind them. You are in total darkness for a few moments and then suddenly you are floating in the air. You fall a few feet and land on a high cliff near your friends as they survey the landscape.

The sky is a reddish orange color and all around, the land bears the scars of constant warfare. With no trees or water in sight, this place reminds you of the wastelands, but somehow even more desolate. In the distance there appears to be a large stone structure, almost like a castle. It looks like a large portion of it has been leveled however, and you wonder why Nero's clones would even come here.

You walk to the edge of the cliff and see an army of demons fighting against monsters about fifty feet below. Horrifying and bestial, these monsters are nothing like what you've seen in Thanos. These monstrosities have no human features and look more terrifying than anything you've seen so far. The way they move is unnatural and hard to predict, but the demons below seem to have plenty of experience against these creatures.

The demons also appear different in both their looks and how they fight. They move in groups and use tactics that remind you of an ancient military from your world. They wear thick armor and carry weapons unlike the demons you've encountered, and although they are grossly outnumbered, they seem to be holding their own.

"Incredible, is this the demon realm?" Priscilla says trying to absorb every little detail.

"It's so creepy here." Kira says as she lands on Priscilla's shoulder.

"Mika, you have to be careful. I can't use my powers here." Mara says.

You nod and say, "Then this really is the demon's home world? Hey Astrid, does that mean you came from here?"

You asked your question still gazing at the battle taking place below, but when you get no response, you turn around and are shocked. Astrid's appearance has completely changed and a magical aura surrounds her. As she walks closer to the edge of the cliff, you get a better look at her.

Her broken horn has regrown and both of them seem much longer than before. Her wings have also regrown and they also look larger than you remember. Her simple corset has turned into an elegant, short black dress that barely contains her ample breasts. On her upper arm there is a strange black crest that wasn't there before, and it glows a bright crimson as Astrid's magic swirls around her.

"Uh... are you alright Astrid?" You ask in confusion.

Astrid looks to you and says, "I'll explain later, just sit back and enjoy the show."

You nod and agree as she stops at the edge of the cliff and surveys the battle. Her usual bloodthirsty demeanor in battle has been replaced by a calmer, more experienced attitude. This new Astrid is somehow more terrifying than before.

"Celia, make it rain." Astrid says calmly.

As C.C. makes her way to Astrid's side you notice she also looks different. C.C.'s skimpy shirt and shorts have changed into dark red metal armor that covers her arms, legs and torso. She looks ready to take part in the battle down below as she kneels beside Astrid.

"As you wish." C.C. says as she stands.

C.C. flies into the air and effortlessly conjures a massive cloud of black fire in the sky. It is much larger than before, when you amplified her powers on the island. She continues pouring her energy into the cloud as it grows darker and more ominous.

As Astrid steps off the edge of the cliff, her wings quickly unfurl and she glides upwards near C.C. Astrid raises a single hand and immediately, the cloud grows larger than the battlefield below her. Sensing her powers have grown considerably, your group prepares for disaster. Astrid isn't exactly known for holding back after all.

"All hold! Shield formation! Hail!" Astrid yells.

The demons below are taken by surprise but immediately understand her command and group together. You see them begin to shield themselves in a magic barrier, each demon adding another layer to the barrier. Astrid calmly points to the monsters and the massive cloud rains black fire down onto them. To your surprise, the fiery rain is only hitting the monsters despite the sheer scale of her attack.

The entire horde of monsters is quickly engulfed and under their shield, the demons are safe. The fire burns for a few moments as Astrid glides down and gently lands in one of the only places left that isn't on fire. She waves her hand and the flames instantly subside at her command as C.C. joins her.

"Let's get down there and find out what's going on." You say before you leap off the cliff.

Your group lands at the bottom and makes its way over to Astrid. The demons lower their shield and stand in awe for a few moments before they fall to their knees and bow to Astrid. They praise her and you even see a few in tears as they seemingly rejoice.

"Get up, there's no time for this. Someone tell me who's in charge." Astrid commands.

The demons look up at her and one of them says, "I can't believe you've returned! Y-you're brother took command after you disappeared. He's in the castle. P-please, let me take you there."

He points out the structure you saw earlier and motions for her to follow. You walk behind Astrid for a few moments until some of the demons stop and prevent you from following.

"Stand aside, they're coming with me." Astrid says without looking back or breaking her stride.

The demons are hesitant, but obey Astrid without question. They allow your group to follow as they lead the way to the castle. It is a decent walk, but Astrid and C.C. seem to be very important to the demons so your group trails behind, letting them enjoy the moment.

"You don't think Astrid is really royalty, do you?" You ask.

"I don't know what to think, but her new appearance is certainly... regal." Priscilla replies.

"She looks pretty and not so scary anymore." Kira giggles.

"She's a lot stronger than she was a few minutes ago, and C.C. too." You say.

"Didn't Astrid call her something else?" Kira asks.

You shrug and say, "I don't know, I was trying to figure out what they were up to."

After walking for a while in relative silence, you arrive at the remains of the castle. Up close now, you can see from the broken stone foundation that about half of the castle is gone. There is no rubble around but before you can think about it too much, the demons usher you inside. You follow Astrid up a crumbling staircase and into a small room in the back.

Astrid throws open the doors and a demon turns around quickly. He is muscular and has a short beard, but he's taller than Astrid even in her heels. Besides the few scars, he is actually quite handsome and you wonder who he is.

"A-Astrid... Is that you?" The man says as he walks over and embraces her.

Uncharacteristically, Astrid returns his embrace, for a moment, and then steps back.

"Raith, I... What the hell happened to me?" Astrid asks.

The man gets her a chair and looks wary of your group before Astrid says, "They're no threat, relax. They're my friends."

He looks unconvinced, but ignores you as he says, "I don't know how, but someone came through that portal. He brought those fiends and in an instant, half of our castle had vanished, along with you." Raith puts his hand on Astrid's shoulder and says, "We haven't fared well in your absence, but I thought you had died. How are you still alive? Where have you been?"

Astrid thinks for a long moment and then says, "I was taken to a different world, along with everyone in my palace. I lost most of my powers and one of my subordinates got a hold of some kind of crystal that gave her incredible power. She enslaved the surviving demons and I didn't have the strength to fight her alone. This girl, Mika, was blessed by the goddess of that world and she was able to kill Iliya."

"Iliya! That unruly child got the best of you?" Raith teases.

Astrid leans forward and says, "I will tear you limb from limb."

Raith laughs heartily and then says, "It's good to have you back now sister, but why did you bring them?"

"I lost almost all of my memories when I woke up in that world, I didn't even know if this place was really where I came from until I got here. Everything came back at once." Astrid says with a sigh.

You nudge Astrid and say, "What about Nero?"

Astrid nods and says, "Raith, before I came here I saw two men in golden masks come from this world. What were they doing?"

Raith sighs and says, "When you disappeared, a seemingly unending horde of monsters appeared. It took everything I had to hold out this long, but we were finally making progress. Their numbers were beginning to decline, and then those two men showed up and summoned more from thin air. They left soon after, leaving us for their pets I assume."

"They left just like that?" Kira asks.

"He's coming here next, after he's finished with Thanos." Astrid suggests.

"That would be the most likely scenario." Priscilla adds.

You tap Astrid on the shoulder and say, "So are you going to tell us what's going on with you?"

Astrid smiles and says, "I'm the queen, well, I was until I was taken to Thanos and this is my brother, Raith. Iliya was troublesome but powerful and I was trying to teach her to control her darker instincts before we ended up in Thanos. It seems Nero incited a war here while I was away by altering the portal somehow."

"What do you mean?" You ask.

"When I was very young, there was no portal. Our world was alone, or so we thought. One day the portal appeared and anyone that got too close to it was taken away. We never knew where they went and so most of us stayed away, but nothing had ever come through to this world, until Nero found a way." Astrid explains.

"That's impossible, the portals are supposed to reject all forms of corruption." Mara blurts out.

Astrid looks back at her and asks, "What do you know about this?"

"The portals were supposed to be a one way link, only people from Thanos can travel to other worlds." Mara says.

Raith looks confused and says, "Who is this child?"

"This is Mara, she's the goddess of the world we come from. If anyone knows about the portals, it's her." You explain.

Upon hearing this, Raith offers Mara a seat and she continues, "The portals weren't perfect though, so we made sure that anyone that came back to Thanos had their memories sealed."

"Why would something like that be necessary?" Priscilla asks.

Mara looks as if she's reliving a painful memory as she says, "Our world was protected by the gods, but if the corruption took root in another world and gained too much strength it could come back and we would be powerless to stop it. Until now, the corruption has needed some kind of vessel to interact with the world. If that vessel had no memories, it would be much harder for the corruption to utilize their energy, and easier for the gods to track and dispose of them."

Hearing her talk like this has you wondering how much of her memory has returned. She might not look like it, but she definitely sounds like the goddess you remember.

Mara looks around before she continues, "The corruption you all know is very different from what I tried to eradicate all those years ago. Back then, when someone became corrupted it controlled them completely. Normal people became walking monsters and even the gods were at risk of becoming corrupted."

"Is this related to the stories of a disaster that almost destroyed our world?" Priscilla asks.

Mara nods and says, "Yes, one of the gods became corrupted and began manipulating the portals. They made it possible for monsters to inhabit Thanos. The portals were never meant for this though, we only wanted to save our people from a cruel fate."

"And by doing so, you've doomed every world you've linked to." Raith says coldly.

Astrid steps on his foot with her heel and says, "Be civil, our people don't have a great reputation in their world."

Raith scoffs and says, "You're back home now, who cares about their world?"

Astrid looks fierce as she says, "The men you failed to eliminate twice now, are wreaking havoc over there, and they aren't even a fraction as strong as the one who's controlling them. I'm going back to finish this before he comes back here and kills the rest of you."

Mara looks up and says, "Wait, that might work."

"What?" You ask.

"If we could lure Nero to a desolate world like this and then sever the links, he would be trapped." Mara explains.

"So you save your world by sacrificing us?" Astrid says angrily.

Mara shakes her head and says, "No of course not. It doesn't have to be this world and we would have to evacuate everyone before we lured him there. I don't know if we can defeat him. This might be our only choice."

"I see, and you're sure he would be trapped?" Priscilla asks.

Mara nods and says, "Yes, if we cut the links, he wouldn't be able to escape."

Priscilla thinks for a moment and says, "How would we lure him?"

"He wants my power, if Mika and I use enough energy, I'm sure he will come to us." Mara replies.

"Hold on, you're not going to bring that monster here. We'll fight him in Thanos, leave my people out of this." Astrid says.

Raith softly laughs and says, "We're already a part of this, and unless there is a more uninhabited place you can think of, maybe your friend is right. All these years of constantly fighting, there's nothing left here Astrid. It really wouldn't be that difficult to have everyone evacuate."

Astrid sighs and says, "I should have been here, I've been walking around without a care in the world this whole time."

Raith laughs and says, "Sounds like you alright, on your lazy days at least."

Astrid looks irritated and says, "Don't make me tell Celia to melt that nice looking armor of yours."

"Celia's alive? Where is she?" Raith asks.

C.C. glides forward and kneels in front of Raith while saying, "It's good to see you again Master Raith. I'm glad to see you missed me as well."

C.C. smiles as Raith pats her head and says, "No wonder Astrid was able to make it on her own out there. Remind me to reward you later."

C.C. giggles as she gets up and walks back behind Astrid as she chats with Raith. You stop her, trying to take all of this in and C.C. giggles.

"I guess we haven't been properly introduced, have we? Celia Craven, but the queen used to call me C.C. and the name just stuck." C.C. says with a smile.

"Are you alright? You and Astrid are acting a little... different." You say.

C.C. smiles and says, " Yeah, it's a little weird but in a way, it feels like only yesterday I was lounging around here with the queen. Everything that happened in Thanos seems like a dream now, but don't worry, I'm still me."

"That's good to hear, all of this is so... sudden." You say.

C.C. giggles and says, "Tell me about it."

Your attention is drawn back to Astrid as she says, "I know you're right, but I still don't like it."

"I'm sorry, I never imagined things would turn out this way." Mara says.

"Stop apologizing, that's not going to help. Fine we'll do it your way, what do we need to do?" Astrid says with a sigh.

"Do you have a powerful sealing magic?" Mara asks.

Raith nods and says, "I do, but it drains a considerable amount of energy."

Mara nods and says, "Good. If you can seal this end while I seal the other, the link will be severed."

"He has to stay behind with Nero?" Astrid objects.

Mara nods and says, "I'm sorry, but it's the only way to cut the link. Both ends must be cut at the same time."

Raith waves his hand and says, "It's fine, I'll do it."

"You idiot, you can't fight Nero and seal the portal. You're going to need my help." Astrid says.

Raith softly laughs and says, "I suppose you're right."

"If you're staying, so am I." C.C. says.

"No, you can't help with the seal. There's no point in you dying too." Astrid says.

Before she can protest, Raith says, "I agree. I do not wish to see you die as well Celia."

C.C. tries to hold back her tears as she nods and you put your arm around her shoulder. It's clear their relationship was vastly different here. C.C. is usually the one in charge and Astrid tends to go along with whatever she says, but here, their roles are reversed to the extreme. Her devotion to Astrid makes their inevitable separation too much for her and a tear rolls down her pale cheek.

"How long is it going to take you to get things ready in Thanos?" Astrid asks.

"I don't know, Nero's clones are still out there, they'll be drawn in by the amount of magic we will be giving off." Mara explains.

Astrid thinks for a moment and says, "So we still have to deal with his clones first."

"And start evacuating your people, but if Nero or his clones find out what we're doing, he won't follow us back into the demon world." Mara says.

"Should we take some of them with us when we leave? Do it little by little?" You ask.

Priscilla shakes her head and says, "No, right now the people of Thanos probably think the demons are responsible for Nero's destruction. They're safer here until we can at least secure a place for them to live."

You sigh and say, "Yeah you're right. Maybe I can use this champion thing to my advantage for once, make them listen to reason."

"Perhaps we could arrange a deal with Ardent City." Priscilla suggests.