Gaia's Champion Ch. 26

"This Dark Heart, it had much power to give?" the man asked, sounded excited at the prospect.

"Yes. So much so, that it gave me the amount I needed to possess this girl and pass through a Gaian barrier, cutting it off from the world," the wraith/child informed him.

"Intriguing! Please, come with me, as I wish to show you something! An artifact of the dark, which I'm certain you will find most interesting!" the High Priest enthused.

Delighted to be shown such a thing, the wraith/child followed the man deeper into the mansion. Eventually, they came across a pair of large, ornate doors, which opened at their approach. Inside, it almost looked like a library/museum of sorts, as there were many artifacts that were there which caught the creature's interest. In the center, on a pedestal of black obsidian, lay a massive crystal that pulsed with dark energy.

"Ooooohhhh! What is that?? I can feel the Darkness calling out to me!" the wraith/child stated, feeling fuzzy all over.

"Go to it, and see for yourself," the man suggested.

Eager to get a closer look, the wraith/child ambled over to the pedestal and approached the artifact. It was a crystal of pure blackness, one which was ancient, far before the creature was ever created. The item throbbed as the creature drew close, almost like it was a heart that was beating. Once it was close enough to touch it, the wraith/child recognized what it was, and its smile changed to a frown.

"Wait... this is..." it began.

"Yes, it is. Apologies for the deception, but we couldn't have a vessel of the Darkness, especially one swollen with souls of the dead, to just leave us. Not until we have taken your power and put it to a better purpose, of course," the High Priest told it.

The wraith/child made to move against the man, but he called forth Dark Magic to bind her where she stood. The harsh and angular runes that came from the man rushed to her, hitting her with enough force to make the creature stagger to its knees. It roared in defiance of this, trying to fight back, but its magic fizzled out, hampered by the runes.

Its cries were soon drowned out by a rising chant that emanated from around it. Acolytes of the Dark had come out of hiding from behind the artifacts and bookcases, coming forward to surround it. The creature then stared at the floor and growled ferally at its stupidity. Etched onto the floor was a massive Rune of Containment, which is why its power failed against the High Priest's runes.

"Do you even know what it is you're trying to do? What sort of beast you would be awakening??" the wraith/child screamed, trying to get them to see reason.

"Oh, we are aware of what we are doing. It has been and will always be, our life's work, to bring back the one who nearly took this world, in the name of the Darkness," the High Priest laughed.

At this point, is where he stopped talking and led the chant from the other Acolytes, giving it power. The words troubled the wraith/child, as it recognized the chant, as it had seen such a chant used before. It was one that was invoked to take magical power from an individual that had it! Words came to mind for it to invoke, but they melted away like snow in the rain.

The chant quickly reached a crescendo, and Dark energies erupted from the floor, surrounding the creature. It saw these energies latch onto the crystalline heart and slowly snake their way towards the creature. The wraith/child summoned up what will it could to rebuff the magical tendrils, but it was in vain. Tendrils continued their trek towards the creature, as it stood there immobilized, before latching onto it.

The scream that erupted from the wraith/child was one that wasn't just its voice, but the voice of every soul it had stolen. All the life energy it had taken from the people was slowly siphoned out of it, traveling through the tendrils and into the heart. The heart pulsed as it received this new energy, appearing more and more lifelike by the second.

As the heart became stronger, the wraith/child became weaker, as even the souls it took were being ripped away from it. It gritted its teeth against this thievery, wanting nothing more than to eviscerate every living being here for their treachery. But it could not, not with the runes on its skin hampering its power. The wraith/child then stopped fighting back as it focused on something else that was just as important: escape.

It had used such a desperate, last ditch spell while escaping from the Gaians, and it focused its will on doing so again. The wraith/child brought its magic to bear, thinking to use it, but the tendrils sucked that away from it and fed it to the heart. It tried again, building up what magic it could gather to get away, but found that it, too, was pulled away.

Growling in frustration, the wraith/child readied the spell in its mind, bringing it to near completion. It then pulled at what Dark Magic it had left and invoked the final word, before the tendrils could drain it away. In the span of a heartbeat, the wraith was gone, and the tendrils looked around, searching for its prey. With its feast gone prematurely, the spell fell away and the chant slowly ended.

"Wha... what in the name of the Dark just happened?!?" the High Priest shouted.

"I don't know, my lord! The wraith/child was there one moment, then she wasn't!" one of the Acolytes replied.

"The wraith/child was what we needed, and now the damned thing is gone!! A chance like this may never come again!!!" the High Priest screamed in frustration.

"My lord?"

"What?!?" the man yelled as he rounded on the Acolyte who spoke.

"I don't think we'll need the creature anymore. Look!" the woman said, pointing at the crystalline heart. The High Priest turned to see what she was blathering about and gasped at what he saw. The black crystal pulsed and shifted, like a real beating heart, and it was swollen with Dark Magic. He performed a quick cantrip, just analyzing what he saw in the artifact, and a smile crept onto his face at what the magic told him.

"You are correct!" the High Priest replied, realizing that their life's work would be achieved after all. "With the heart empowered as it is, we will be able to bring our Dark Mistress back from beyond the grave!"

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Now that one was a lot of fun to write! There were some things that popped up unexpectedly when writing this idea! Some of them were unwelcome, whereas others were just too damned cool to pass up! How is everything going to come together now? What will become of the wraith and those that tricked it? What of our heroes and the coming conflict they will soon face? For all of that, stay tuned to find out!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I do hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please feel free to rate and comment on my work down below. If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share, though your views, ratings and comments are quite enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!