Chains of Corruption Pt. 02

You release your power in full and your hair and eyes change color. The faint chanting coming from the demon castle is getting louder and suddenly the ground begins to shake. Six thick chains burst through the ground and wrap themselves around Nero as he stands still and watches. The chains look like they're red hot and have strange glowing symbols all over them.

Nero tests his bindings and says, "I see, so this was your plan? Clever, but I'm afraid you will need to do better than this."

Nero's energy suddenly skyrockets and you take a step back as his horns grow at least a foot in length. His body convulses and then begins rapidly growing as his golden face becomes more bestial. Four massive tendrils of dark energy burst out of Nero's back, shredding his tattered cloak and revealing his sickening flesh. With a clear view, you can now see that Nero is covered in thin purple veins so dark they're hard to see against his pitch black flesh.

Nero's energy becomes thick and a dark aura appears around him. The pure corruption radiating off of him is making the ground wither away into dust. The chains can not contain Nero's increased size and he easily breaks them, but as the last one shatters, the ground rumbles once more.

This time, several massive chains rise up and encircle Nero. These chains look much more menacing, with sharp spikes on every edge as they dig into Nero's flesh and force him to his knees. With his incredible strength, rather than binding him the chains are acting more like a leash, only effective at keeping him in one area. You rush forward, trying to continue the assault, but Nero responds by slamming his fist into the ground.

His dark energy flows into the ground and turns it into a pool of seething corruption, forcing you to alter your strategy. You leap into the air and use magic circles to get closer, but Nero reaches out toward you. Just before you step on the next magic circle, it disappears and you begin falling towards the corruption.

Without thinking, you release your energy and feel something very unusual. You hover in the air for a moment, astonished by the appearance of large, feathery wings on your back. They remind you of an angel's wings, pure white and elegant looking.

Nero snaps you back to reality as he says, "There is nothing I cannot corrupt!"

His voice is very deep and distorted as he speaks and he turns his attention to the chains. He grabs one and after releasing his corrupted energy into it, you watch as the chain slowly turns into two tendrils of dark energy twisted around each other. The tendrils unwrap themselves and lash out at you, although with your newfound mobility, it isn't hard to evade them.

Nero strains against his bindings as if he could break loose at any moment, but as soon as he breaks a chain, more rise up to ensnare him. He manages to get one arm free and you decide to attack before he can corrupt any more of the chains. You swoop down from above and dodge the tendrils as you close in. You conjure your sword and swing hard, releasing a gigantic arc of energy that slices into Nero's chest.

Even with your divine strength your attack barely cuts into his corrupted flesh, although Nero now has his sights set on you instead of the chains. He reaches out much faster than his tendrils can move, and you don't have time to evade. Nero's massive hand grabs you and as he pulls you back in, you release your energy. Last time it completely disintegrated First, but Nero is only momentarily stunned by the bright light. His grip loosens just enough that you are able to slip free and get out of range.

Nero rages and breaks a few more chains as his tendrils extend and begin lashing out at you. Your blade of energy can easily cut through the dark magic, but the tendrils simply reform as soon as your sword has passed through and they continue their relentless assault. As you fend off the tendrils, Nero continues to corrupt the thick chains into more and they quickly have you overwhelmed.

You don't know how much longer Astrid and Raith will be able to contain Nero in their spell, but from the looks of it, it won't be much longer now. You take a deep breath and release your power in full, letting it flow unrestricted throughout your entire body. 'There's no point in holding back now.' You think as you ready yourself for another clash.

You charge in and freeze two tendrils before shattering them with your sword. As you had hoped, the ice magic is slowing the regeneration effect and you take the opportunity to do some real damage. Your blade surges as you pour your energy into it and drive it into Nero's leg. His flesh seems to resist the intrusion and you have to push with all your might until your sword begins sinking in.

Once it is fully buried, you quickly focus and begin reshaping your blade. It expands outward, severing Nero's leg and causing him to fall. You crouch down and then use your wings to help propel yourself as you jump up and drag your blade through Nero's leg. He roars and then surprises you with an unexpected tactic. His wounds fester and suddenly close around your blade, trapping it inside him as his leg reattaches itself. Nero's massive hand reaches out toward you as you let go of your sword and try to get out of range.

You weave your way through the tendrils but before you can get away, something pierces your stomach. You look down and see a long black finger poking through your armor and trace it all the way back to Nero. Luckily, he had to stretch far enough that his fingers are only slightly larger than your own. The pain is bearable for now, as Nero lifts you up and brings you closer to his bestial face.

He roars as two more of his fingers lengthen and sink into your armor. You grit your teeth as they pierce your flesh and you feel them slide through you before poking through your chest. Nero raises you into the air and throws you toward the demonic castle with vicious force. You slide off his fingers and tumble through the air before using your wings to stop yourself.

You look up and see Astrid and Raith enveloped in a red aura as they conjure more chains to bind Nero. They both look exhausted but this battle is far from over. Nero grabs a chain in each hand and corrupts them into more of his tendrils as you wonder how much longer you can keep this up.

Astrid falls to her knees and the spell becomes noticeably weaker, allowing Nero to break several chains at once. There's no way to tell how long it's been since the battle started, but things are getting out of control and you doubt you will be able to hold him off for much longer.

"Damn you..." Astrid says as she slowly rises to her feet. "This is my world... and I'll die before I let you have it!" Astrid yells.

A fiery aura appears around Astrid and the chains redouble their efforts to bind Nero, but with only a few left holding him, he can easily defend himself against Astrid's last ditch effort. You charge in and attack in tandem with the chains but to no avail. Nero's tendrils catch most of the chains and begin corrupting them as he focuses on you.

Nero roars and viciously attacks, forcing you to move faster than you ever have before to avoid being hit. You back away as Nero approaches and breaks through the last chain. The heavy metal chain falls to the ground as the glowing symbols fade away and the aura around Astrid and Raith begins to dim.

Nero quickly raises his arm toward the demonic castle and fires a massive blast of dark energy. You see Raith leap in front of Astrid and slam his hands onto the castle as Nero's blast races toward them. Suddenly a massive wall of black fire shoots up from the ground between them and the blast. Nero's energy impacts the wall of flames and although it doesn't stop it, it takes the brunt of the attack and the rest pierces through and hits the castle.

The smoke prevents you from seeing them, but you can feel that both Astrid and Raith survived somehow even though the castle has been reduced to rubble. You turn back to Nero, knowing this will be the final clash before you must retreat. You understand now that there is no way for you to fight as his equal, but all you have to do is buy a few more minutes.

You take a deep breath and feel a strange calm overtake you. The fear and anxiety are gone now, replaced by a single image of Gwen's smiling face. You smile as your energy surges and think, 'I'm always apologizing for not knowing if I'll make it back alive, but this time... I'm coming back to you...'

"I promise." You say aloud as you begin walking towards Nero.

Nero charges in and attacks wildly, exactly as you predicted. Your attacks haven't accomplished much, but if you can keep his attention and avoid his attacks, you might be able to stall a little longer. You abandon offense and focus all your senses on where the next attack will come from.

Your strategy is paying off so far, but you know that any of Nero's brutal attacks could easily kill you. When Nero slams his fist into the ground, you leap onto his massive forearm and begin running up towards his face. You use your wings to glide into the air as Nero's other hand crashes down and narrowly misses you. Just as you reach his face, it tears down the middle and splits apart.

A normal sized Nero bursts out and you clash mid air, sending sparks of magical energy flying everywhere. Nero smiles and you notice the massive husk he left behind begin to move. A single tendril connects them and you quickly fire a blast of divine energy. Nero easily deflects the blast, but it allowed you to close in and make your way up to the giant.

You fly upwards with blinding speed and dive back down, driving your blade into the back of it's neck. With Nero separated from it, you're hoping you can overwhelm the empty shell with your divine energy. You release your energy into your blade and it radiates outward, dissolving the grotesque flesh as Nero watches with a smile.

"You never cease to intrigue me. I can simply create another if I wish, you've accomplished nothing." Nero says mockingly as the last of the giant dissolves.

"Then go ahead, I'll kill that one too." You say breathing heavily.

Nero smiles and says, "I won't be needing that form any longer. Your friends have such little energy left I can barely sense them, and you seem to be at your limit as well. I haven't had a battle like this in a few millennia so I'm feeling generous, I'll allow you to decide who dies first. Would you rather cling to your last few moments of life, or be the first and not bear witness to the rest?"

His words are more than arrogance or mockery, he speaks with a chilling certainty and it sends a shiver down your spine knowing he has enough power to make these kind of offers.

"It's me you want, leave them..." You begin.

Nero interrupts you and says, "Wrong again woman. As I've said before, you are the dirt beneath my feet. Your divine energy has been awakened and brought to its limit, so I have no more use for you, but your energy will serve me well."

Before you can respond, Nero snaps his head up towards the portal. It only takes a moment for you to realize your friends must have defeated whatever remained of him in Thanos. Seeing this as your chance, you blast Nero with divine energy and take off towards the portal.

From behind you hear Raith yell, "Take her with you, I'll hold him off as long as I can!"

You turn around just in time to catch an unconscious Astrid as Raith begins transforming. He rapidly grows in size and his wings become so massive they block part of the hazy red sky. He binds Nero in chains once again, but alone he can't hope to contain Nero's raw power. You don't want to leave him to fight alone, but you know you must retreat now.

You silently thank Raith as you fly towards the portal and into the darkness. You return to Thanos and are surprised by what you see. The small underground room as well as the factory above have been completely leveled, leaving a massive crater in the ground. As you glide out of the crater you spot your friends gathered near Mara and think, 'The battle here must have been just as intense.'

"Mika! Are you two alright?" Priscilla asks as she helps carry Astrid.

You set her down and say, "Yeah, we're fine."

Your gaze turns back to the crater as Priscilla says, "Mika... You're injured."

You look down and see the wounds from when Nero impaled you. They're bleeding, but not as much as they normally would be and the pain isn't very bad either, even from the wounds in your chest.

"Oh, yeah that... I'm fine, really." You say as you release your energy and feel the wounds begin to close.

"If you say so... How did it go in there?" Priscilla asks.

"He's... too powerful. I understand now why sealing him away is the only option we have." You respond.

"Yes well, let us hope we still can." Priscilla says.

You make your way to Mara and ask, "Are you almost ready?"

"Mika, I... still need more time, I'm sorry." Mara says.

You clench your fist and just as you wonder if this has all been for nothing Mara says, "If you attack as he crosses over, he will have to defend himself. We might still have a chance."

You nod and quickly return to the crater, with a mix of anticipation and dread. Your friends gather behind you as you feel everyone's energy begin to resonate, maybe because all of them are feeling the same as you right now.

Sensing the shift in mood you say, "Don't worry, I'd be a pretty terrible goddess if I let things end like this."

C.C. lets out a soft laugh and says, "Yeah, let's kick his ass!"

You smile and say, "Yeah, wait... Here he comes!"

Tendrils of dark energy begin emerging from the portal as the skies overhead darken. You raise your palms toward the portal and begin charging your energy. This is the last line of defense, so you focus and put everything you have into this one attack.

Nero's golden face bursts out of the portal and you release your energy as a massive blast. Nero raises his hand and fires his own blast and the two collide, tearing up the ground inside the crater. The opposing energies struggle for dominance, forcing you to pour every ounce of magic you have into the blast, but it also seems like Nero is unable to fully exit the portal.

The massive sphere of swirling energy grows as you both continue feeding magic into it. At this rate, even Mara would have a hard time expending this much energy all at once, and it's taking its toll on you. You start to get lightheaded and your body feels weak. As you begin to wonder how much longer you can keep this up, you feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Use my energy, this is my fight too." Priscilla says as she begins channeling her energy into you.

C.C. glides up and places her small hands on your shoulders as she says, "Yeah, mine too!"

"It's not much, but I'll give you everything I have!" Kira says as she puts her hand on your waist.

You feel another hand between your wings and hear Astrid say, "I don't know how much I have left, but this is about all I can do now, so you better use it well."

Their combined energy flows into you and you feel something else as well. It feels similar to when you first awakened your divinity, like their energy is unlocking something deep within you as opposed to contributing to the blast. You feel a surge of power and channel it into the blast, pushing Nero back for a moment until he regains control.

The stalemate is causing the sphere of light and dark energy to grow as it is pushed toward one of you and then back to the other. The crater begins to crack and small pieces of earth are drawn towards the sphere as chaotic arcs of energy reach out and disintegrate them.

You think of Gwen as you reach deeper than you ever have and unleash your full power. Your energy turns a blinding white color and the sphere of energy creeps closer to Nero.

Nero laughs and says, "Not good enough!"

Nero's energy skyrockets and the sphere is pushed back toward you. You're at your limit and pushing back with everything you have, but the sphere still creeps closer.

As the arcs of energy thrown off by the sphere become dangerously close, you hear Mara yell, "Get back!"

Using everything you have left, you manage to deflect the blast into the air. The massive sphere explodes high above the ground, sending energy streaking across the sky. You quickly move aside as Mara rushes forward and raises her hands toward Nero.

"I banish your evil once and for all!" Mara yells as she unleashes her magic.

As Nero exits the portal, several golden chains emerge from magic circles surrounding Mara. The chains quickly bind Nero's limbs before dragging him closer.

Nero struggles against the magical chains as he says, "You can not contain me."

"Not in this world, but in my realm, you won't be able to corrupt anything." Mara says as the chains drag Nero closer.

Nero begins trying harder to escape now, even unleashing his energy, but the divine chains seem to negate his corrupted aura.

"Foolish woman, even if you succeed, I will corrupt you from the inside and escape in time." Nero says as he stops struggling.

"I will never give you the chance." Mara responds as the chains pull Nero down to his knees.

Nero begins laughing as Mara places her hand on his head and he breaks apart into several black orbs. The spheres rise up and circle above Mara for a moment before the golden chains capture them. The chains pull the spheres into Mara and she accepts them without struggle. As the magical chains begin to fade away, Mara collapses onto the ground and you kneel down beside her.

"Is... Is it really over?" Kira asks as she looks around.

"I'm not sure... Mika, do you feel Nero's presence anywhere?" Priscilla asks.

You focus but can't feel his overwhelming energy at all.

"I can't sense him anymore, I think it worked." You reply in relief.

You suddenly become dizzy and your energy wanes as your aura disappears. You sit down and take a deep breath but you know what's coming. You overused your powers and now just keeping your eyes open is a monumental challenge.

"You alright Mika?" C.C. asks.

"Y-yeah, I'm just... really tired." You say groggily.

Kira smiles and says, "Well at least she's not all beat up for once."

You give a slight smile as you lay back and the world begins to fade away. The sounds of your friends cheering and celebrating get quieter as you take a deep breath and drift into sleep.

Chapter 20 - A New Beginning

You awaken in your room aboard the Valkyria as the ship's engines cut out. You look around and see Gwen sleeping next to you and through the open door you can see Mara lying in Priscilla's bed. You sigh and take a deep breath before getting out of bed and heading to the lounge.

"Wow, I thought you would be out all night." Kira teases.

"Yeah well, I healed most of my wounds before they got too bad, so I was mostly just tired from using all my energy." You respond.

"I'm glad we won't have to nurse you back from the brink of death this time." Priscilla says with a smile.

You laugh and then ask, "How's Mara doing?"

Priscilla shrugs and says, "She hasn't woken up yet, but physically she seems fine."

"That's good... I'm scared to say it, but I'm surprised things turned out so well." You say.

Priscilla nods and says, "Indeed, let's not jinx it though, just to be safe."

You smile and say, "We're headed back to Valen then?"

Priscilla nods and says, "Yes, I told Sid the important details, but he agreed to wait until we've had a chance to rest before telling him the rest."

You sigh and say, "Good, I feel like I could still sleep for another week straight."

Priscilla laughs and says, "Yes, a bath sounds nice about now."

The Valkyria docks in Valen City a short while later and you disembark and ride the lift down into the city.