Thirty years ago, a young knight was bitten by a vampire while attempting to save a traveler from the creature's terrible hunger. The traveler escaped, but the knight had no such luck. His blood nearly totally drained, the knight collapsed...and a painful transformation into an undead monster ensued. But something was different, this time. Perhaps it was the presence of the knight's magical demonslayer blade, or maybe it was the intervention of a higher power. Whatever happened... Whatever happened... Whatever happened...happened...was happening, whatever happening was... not, and at the same time...perhaps, maybe. Death on that dark road long ago, but death had rejected him, cast as so many scorn hurt him...Dark happened nothing everything death blood-- The pain of that night resounded through life and bled through, and then it seemed that there was pain but then mind...and he knew he was experiencing this, then knew he was that man. But not a man, Renaku, the vampire knight... Renaku tried to focus his mind. He was only partially successful. Screams were in his head, of voices he didn't know, or did he? The Moon was screaming and shadows engulfed the Earth, as a spinning blade let the light through...But then there blood and again Renaku tried to focus, and managed to see Thiesra's crying face. A warmth flooded him at her familiar features, reeling his mind crazily but he held on to her memory, like a man drowning, and forced himself to try and listen. Thiesra was yelling his name. Relief as he realized he could still understand her words. Then she was looking over her shoulder. Renaku saw that there was a bird behind her, hopping about and generally looking agitated. Renaku giggled at the sight. "...Damn you," he could seem to hear Thiesra saying. "Tell me! What is it? What's wrong with him!" "The Stone!" the bird shrieked. "In the sword! All this time! And we didn't guess and now it's free the Stone! And it was here and he had it!" Renaku idly wondered if whatever it was was affecting his hearing as well, or if the bird really *wasn't* making any sense. "The Stone?" Thiesra turned back and looked down, and her eyes widened. Renaku focused his attention on his arm, and managed to haul his right hand upward, his demonslayer sword still in its clawlike grip. The black stone set in the hilt was now glowing with all the colors imaginable... It flashed, and-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vampire Legend R, Part 22 Ascension ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ===== Warning: Contains an ending. ===== "Aiger!" Aiger blinked. There was a curious dreamlike sensation of looking at him and from his eyes at the same time. He tried to focus himself, and saw a familiar face looking into his eyes. "...Leandra?" he asked. "What..." "Are you all right?" she said, eyes wide. "I..." Consciousness seemed determined to flee. "...I'm not sure." Aiger seemed to be sitting sprawled against a wall, facing the center of the chamber where the Stone of Forever had been kept. However, Leandra was kneeling over him, so her face was all he could see... "You were hit by that..." There was a flash of multicolored light, and Leandra winced. "Trevant and his dragon, or whatever, are fighting a Fumu." Another explosion shook the room, and Leandra involuntarily hunched closer to Aiger, as if proximity to a half-unconscious half-dragon could somehow protect her. "If only Renaku were here," she muttered. Aiger's face turned pale, even for someone with his lineage. "Renaku..." "Renaku...I am Renaku." The scene dissolved and Renaku became fully aware of himself. He was once again back in the gray void of his visions. "...Are you here?" he asked. "Always," the answer came back. Flickers of color sped past Renaku's peripheral vision. "So...now what?" Renaku asked. "...Shouldn't I wake up and help fight?" "Ah, but you are awake." Then at the moment Renaku was slicing and his sword was tearing souls and but then he was back in the gray void. "You see?" the voice asked, as Renaku reeled. "What does this mean?" he gasped. "Growing pains." "What?" Light shone through the darkness. The shadows boiled away and through, and seeped into the light. In the border reality was formed, sluggish time frozen into worlds. The Earth cooled in space, its sister/bride/daughter Moon encircling it. "...The Earth?" "Yes." "...The Earth is *round*?" "Yes." "How bizarre," Renaku muttered. The Moon screamed in the heavens, shaking with spasms. A flare of light, shining with all colors and none, was ejected from its surface into the black. Spinning downward, it finally intersected the Earth deep in a range of mountains. The crater formed seemed larger and deeper than could be formed from the impact alone... "This was the first mistake." A ray of darkness shone through the crack created by the fall. The ray wavered, shapes dancing in its not-glow, as a face appeared and snarled at Trevant as he fell back to a defensive position. The Stone was protecting him this far, but there was no sense taking chances. And the demon just kept getting madder. Trevant backed away and glanced around the room to take stock of the situation. The half-dragon and Leandra, the mage, seemed to be huddled against a far wall, staring at them. Not that he could blame them; the power he and the demon had been throwing around rivaled even that of a dragon's breath...as attested to by the scorches, gaping holes, rubble and general destruction around the chamber. Trevant looked down at the Stone of Forever. Its chaotic glow seemed to be growing in strength. As he watched, a sort of ripple sloughed off the Stone, like the heat visions he'd seen during his journeys in desert regions. As the ripple passed through him, it awakened all the voices in his mind he'd spent years trying to silence...most of them screaming. Trevant pushed back the voices, as he had done so often, and looked at the Fumu he was facing. It was losing cohesion, looking less like a corrupted demon and more like a cloud of inky blackness. Somehow Trevant did not think this was a good sign. "Come on, then, demon!" he yelled, swinging his hammer into an attack stance. The cloud of shadow surged into the light shining from the Stone and mocking faces and destruction melted into a pervasive gray fog, shot through with more flickers of color this time. "...Is all this happening now?" Renaku asked himself. "Yes," he answered. Images of demons, shadows and gods whipped past his mind. "Then I have to do something!" "Shhh, Ren-chan," Thiesra said. "You're not fully recovered yet..." Renaku blinked. He was looking up at the ceiling, which was swaying gently...after a moment, he realized that Thiesra was carrying him somewhere. "Thiesra...what..." Renaku attempted yet again to concentrate. "What... well, what happened?" "You've been...delirious," Thiesra said, looking down into his eyes. "First your mind went off somewhere...and then, when we were attacked by some Fumu, you went berserk." She studied his face, her expression worried. "Do you...feel all right?" "I feel...chaotic," Renaku said. Then he wondered why he'd said it. "...Chaotic?" Thiesra asked, frowning. Then her expression changed. "Wait...that makes sense, actually. Quoth said that your sword has a piece of the Chaos Stone in it." "Chaos Stone," Renaku murmured. "...The Stone of Forever?" Thiesra nodded. "And the Stone has...awakened somehow. Maybe that means our friends were successful. ...The point is, when the Stone awakened, your sword did too, and...it affected you, somehow." "...It certainly did," Renaku replied. Looking up at Thiesra, her face ran like wax in a fire, then pulled back together into different features; ice blue eyes, white skin, black and a curious crown. With a shock Renaku recognized Diana. "Sister," the goddess asked, her eyes wide. "Sister, can you hear me?" "Stay out of this, Diana!" a familiar voice snapped. Diana turned, her face flickering dark and veiled. "This is madness!" Diana said. "You cannot--" "I will do what I wish." A regal woman stepped into view, with pale purple hair. "There are some offenses I cannot forgive," she proclaimed. She held out her hand and white light shone from it. The light grew and consumed the world, leaving behind only gray. "This was the first mistake." Renaku managed to regain his train of thought after just a few moments. "But...you said that about the other scene," he screaming darkness bound said. "Yes." "...so...which is true?" "No." Renaku fought the urge to yell in frustration. "...What do you *mean*?" "Do you presume to know the will of the gods?" "No, of course not," Renaku said quickly. "...or...wait. I mean...they told me, but..." "But what?" Renaku frowned. "We always...learned," visions of the chapel of the Knights of the Moon, "that the gods were ultimately incomprehensible to mortals." "Not exactly true, but close enough." "...Therefore," Renaku continued slowly, "the gods appearing in human form is...a lie?" "An illusion," his other side confirmed. Suddenly there was a memory of Nyx, becoming Lord Darkness and speaking of gods and tricksters. "Therefore...neither of the stories you showed me are true." "Almost." Renaku grit his teeth. "...Almost?" "They're both true." The void seemed to brighten slightly, and a spray of color filtered through in front of Renaku's eyes. He stared, dazzled, for a long moment... then a shock hit him. "Everyone else is out there fighting!" he exclaimed. "While I'm stuck hallucinating!" "You're fighting too," Renaku's other side advised. "Yeah, whatever," Renaku snapped. "Are they all right? Thiesra, Aiger, Leandra?...And, I suppose, Trevant?" "Thiesra is still carrying you through the maze," the voice said. "As for the others..." Reality snapped focused again, and Trevant towered over a gibbering shadow, tooth gleaming. It tried to melt away but a flick of bright energy cut off its escape. "That's it," Trevant hissed, and did not. "The power is strong, I am pleased." Trevant gripped his hammer...and shook his head, webs lacing his mind. "What?" he asked. "What power?..." "...Trevant?" Aiger asked from across the room. "Quiet, halfbreed," Trevant snapped. A savage swing of his warhammer steamed away a section of shadow, the Fumu writhing and howling. "All that I expected. But I, leave it and these weaklings and you I will go, power." Trevant staggered backward. The world rose in front of him, flags emblazoned with the dragon's tooth hammer marching across the lands. And all the creatures of the depths and the caverns and the lands and the seas and the skies did pay obeisance. "See, all this is yours. Simply leave and the rest will sort itself out." "Leave?" Trevant asked. He stared through the promise at the demon lying at his feet. "I will...destroy the darkness." He brought his hammer down clumsily, splattering what was once Contoyune into fragments of darkness that slipped away, perhaps to final oblivion. "Forget that," part of him whispered. "You need not worry. Except...for Renaku. You may kill him if you like. I know that is your fondest wish." A specter of Renaku crumbled before him in torment. "You can right all the wrongs..." And something intruded, a flashing blade of intensity rending the curtain to a scene of Trevant and the Fumu, his face grim and they...were laughing, all laughing and then fighting and Renaku with demons and Fumu and humans and dying on all sides... "...I cannot...I will destroy the darkness!" Trevant swung his hammmer in a wild arc, and a wall bent twisted fell and dust was everywhere. "Trevant!" a voice called from the dust, coughing. "What in the name of the Four are you doing?" "No!" Trevant yelled. "Five! Six! Four!...Dark!" His wild eyes suddenly closed in a spasm and he hunched as if wracked by pain, and black burst from his back and swirled into the air. "Reject me, human?" the shadow screeched. "I will not tolerate it!" It swooped. "Trevant!" Renaku yelled, running towards him. "Renaku! Renaku! By the First, where are you going?!?" Renaku's vision collapsed into an unending tunnel, and he slowed, staring at the walls. After a moment, Thiesra caught up with him. "Renaku! Renaku? Ren-chan? Talk to me!" "I...saw," Renaku said. "The...Stone, the visions." Thiesra stared at him, but he did not notice. "Trevant...the dragon, offered him...power. But he could not abandon his oath to fight the darkness." Lights hovered on the edge of Renaku's vision. "And I...I helped him. I helped him make the choice! ...But, the spirit of the dragon, became a shadow!" Renaku's eyes blazed. "They're in trouble!" "Shadow?" Thiesra asked. "A shadow dragon? Manganese?" Renaku nodded absently. "Yes...corrupted, somehow." "Don't look at me," Quoth said. Thiesra pulped him again. "We have to help them!" Renaku proclaimed. "Ah, but who's going to help you, vampire?" a hiss. Renaku spun, and sensed nothing...but then there was a little. A nudge from his sword, a splash of light...and he saw it flying, recognizing the form. "How interesting," Scita's voice like a knife sliding through skin. "Your sword is partly forged from the Chaos Stone, Renaku. I believe I'll take it and put it to a good use. Much faster than mucking around with all the other little mortals, don't you think?" Thiesra stared as Renaku turned the follow the form only he could sense. "Have you forgotten our last battle, demon?" he called. "I would think you a fool to try me again." Harsh, sandpaper laughter. "You mortals are all alike, with your posture and blustering. Now then...we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Renaku's sword whipped through the air, tossing off a wave of magical force that the Fumu Lord easily dodged. "Well, that answers my next question. So!" Renaku remembered the earth hard stone immovable and the winds swept around him, howling and taunting. "You think you can win like that?" Scita called, laughing and tearing at his skin. Power flowed from the sword into Renaku's arm, whipping and slashing faster than the eye could see. The blade passed all the way through the Fumu before it knew what was happening. The Fumu choked off a gasp, and was then hit by a magical blast from Thiesra, embedding it half-solid in a far wall. "I've gotten better," Renaku said, and impaled the demon dark screaming howl and creatures surrounded him noise on every side, crowding and shoving. Renaku spun wildly as the things tossed him back and forth, shouting and jeering. Faces filled his vision, monstrous and demonic and often familiar. Otherworld demons pushed him to three-eyed insanities, which bounced him off a werewolf and suddenly he was in a clearing in the monsters. Renaku looked up and saw four majestic thrones, resting on a dais. Seated in the far left throne was a being that burned with a dark fire; next to it was a creature of translucent black stone. Two empty chairs sat between those two and the final throne, which hosted a swirling mass of fog. As Renaku stared, the stony creature solidified and darkened until it looked like obsidian. "Greetings again, Renaku," the flame thing chuckled. "Who...wait," Renaku said. "The...Lords of the Fumu." There was an answering flicker somewhere. "I killed you." "You did," the stone said. "Completely, just now. And we're here, as we planned." "Here...?" Renaku stared, incomprehending. "Exactly," hissed a new voice. A long, white dragon slithered onto the dais and curled itself around the thrones. "All here, and you've been using us." Renaku stared at the grayness surrounding the crowd, as the monsters hooted and jeered. "All...here, but..." Jagged streaks of other colors shot through the gray. "Where--" "Don't you understand yet, Renaku?" a snarl behind him. Renaku turned and looked up at a hairy bulk towering over him. Suddenly, it lifted its head and howled, and then looked back at him, eyes burning. "Don't you REMEMBER?" The demons pressed in upon the two, noise and stench overpowering. As Renaku tried to keep his feet, the wolfthing swept its claw up to his face and the moon again ruled the world, light and blood searing the night but a rent from a sword of chaos, tearing away existence. Renaku was shocked to see himself from other eyes, thrusting with his demonslayer blade, face pale as death. "Do you understand, Renaku?" the wind howled at him. "Understand? Understand?" A thousand faces and a thousand voices echoed the word in his mind. "Do you?" the Fumu continued. "You killed us, and we're trapped here in this half-place inside you." Renaku reeled dizzily. The assembled demons batted him back and forth with light slaps, powerful enough to crack trees. "But now you're here with us!" the wind roared again. "And we have nothing better to do...than spend time with you." A maelstrom of dark power surged in Renaku, but then it was streaked with light and melted-- "...Renaku?" "...Yes! Yes, ah...sorry, Thiesra." Renaku shook his head. "Ren-chan..." Renaku heard concern in Thiesra's voice, and turned to look at her. "Are you all right? Tell me." "...I'm...okay," Renaku said. "...What happened?" "After you defeated the Fumu...the other one, the bird, flew at your sword and...died, I guess." Thiesra was studying his face with worry in her eyes. "...Ah," Renaku said. "Yes...I see." He blinked and tried to get his bearings. "All right, as long as you understand." Renaku stared at Thiesra. "Understand what?" Thiesra stared back. "...What?" "...What am I supposed to understand?" "...Ren-chan? I didn't say anything about...Ren-chan, you're starting to scare me." Thiesra stepped close to Renaku, her eyes wide. "What's wrong? Please, tell me." She put her hand on his shoulder, and suddenly a shock of knowing surged in Renaku, as the remembered souls inside him clamored. He could feel her demon side, slumbering beneath the shell of human flesh. Energy, the essence of the Otherworld demons, and he knew what it was to be one of them--feed on magic, harness it, turn it against enemies, use it to-- Renaku staggered back as from a blow. "Ren-chan?" Thiesra cried, and he staggered down a hallway. "Ren-chan, wait!" "No!" he yelled, half drunk on memory. Trust, that was the key, and promises, as he tried to run away into his mind but only succeeded in blundering into a wall. "Renaku! Snap out of it!" She was shaking him. "Damn it, TELL me what's wrong!" Finally Renaku gave up and slid to the floor. "There's a spear in my chest," he gasped. Thiesra slapped him across the face. He blinked. "Say something that makes sense. NOW." Renaku stared up at Thiesra. She looked like she was about to shatter. Why was he here? "...I...had a vision," he managed. "...I see," Thiesra said. "...About what?" "About...Otherworld demons." He watched closely, but her expression didn't seem to change. "...How, they live. And feed, and fight..." "...And procreate?" Renaku looked down, and nodded. Thiesra sighed, and sat down. "...Well. Now you're making sense." She waited for a long moment, then spoke slowly. "I should have...told you." "Yes...I didn't have to..." "By the First, Renaku, *shut up*." Her eyes flamed briefly. "That's not what I meant. What I mean, is...I should have told you what happened, and how I felt about it...before you figured things out." She looked at Renaku, unafraid, and he couldn't meet her gaze. "It's true, that Otherworld demons reproduce by exchanging energy. You didn't realize that, and so...that happened." Out of the corner of his eye, Renaku saw Thiesra briefly rest her hand on her stomach. "But...it doesn't matter. ...I mean, it *matters*, but, it's all right." Renaku lifted his head and stared at her. "...'All right'?" Suddenly, unbelievably, the demoness smiled. "...It just happened sooner than I had planned." Her smile faded. "You don't believe me, do you?" Renaku shook his head. The feeling was making him strangely nauseous, even though he hadn't actually eaten anything in thirty years. "Ren-chan." Thiesra knelt down beside him and took his head in her hands, turning his head to force him to meet her eyes. "It was...a mistake. I didn't want it to happen yet...but I've realized, I would have wanted it, eventually. So...I forgive you." Renaku let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. Thiesra sat down next to him, and leaned against his shoulder. They stayed like that for several minutes. Then the rips of color intruded on Renaku's vision again. His body tightened, as his eyes swept back and forth. Thiesra raised her head. "Ren-chan? What is it? What's wrong?" "...I...a vision, I think," he stuttered. "...Don't worry," Thiesra said. "I'll be here. I'll protect you." Renaku felt a surge of warmth inside him, that billowed up in a stream of red that encircled him, bound him, and he was trapped and held, seeing the world through a jagged prism...and then it shattered to reveal the shadow of a dragon, rearing and screeching. Leandra wiped her eyes and shook her head, trying once again to make sense of the situation before her. The dragon seemed to be...toying with them, somehow, rearing and screeching in the center of the chamber. Trevant had dealt it some serious blows, but was not looking very good himself...less, Leandra suspected, from the fight itself than from the power he was trying to draw from the Stone. The fact that so much energy had been tossed around without affecting either of the combatants very much gave Leandra a sick feeling in her stomach. Fortunately, neither Trevant nor the dragon had seemed to notice her or Aiger... And Aiger...was watching the fight. He had his sword out, but there was a strange expression on his face, fear and doubt and despair. "Aiger!" she hissed. He did not react. "Aiger!" "No," he murmured. The feeling in Leandra's stomach got worse. "Aiger, pull yourself together!" she snapped. "Can't you do anything to help them?" Aiger turned to her, and the haunted look in his eyes chilled her. "You don't understand," he said. "You don't know what it's like to be a dragon. No full human can understand." And then something clenched and released inside Leandra, and she saw Aiger. Truly, as she used to be able to so long ago. His body was human, but his soul was a confusing mix of essences. The center of his being shone with a pure light, but blackness swirled around it, shadows like vultures circling, like rents in time, like raining vengeance and wrong, like the insanely flickering Moon hurtling around the Earth for all time in an eternal balance which-- "NO!" Renaku shot to his feet, panting, and the image dissolved into the gray fog, shot through with fiery red and orange...which became the gray walls of the maze, set with torches. "Ren-chan!" Thiesra grabbed his shoulder. "Ren-chan, are you all right? Speak to me!" Speak to me. Wasn't that what everyone said when someone else woke up? Renaku laughed; it was like some story shot through with cliches. "Ren-chan! Ren-chan?" Renaku, hearing the worry in Thiesra's voice, shook his head and turned to face her. "I'm all...right," he said. "I...well, for now, I'm here." He looked around. "...Yes...I'm here." "...That's good," Thiesra said. She hesitantly put her arms around him. Emotions rushed inside Renaku...but he sighed, and returned her embrace. "That's right...you don't have to worry." "I know," Renaku murmured. Thiesra looked at him curiously. "Know what?" Renaku blinked. Then he recognized the voice as that of his other side. "Uh...nothing," he said lamely. "Just...hearing things." "Ren-chan..." Thiesra reached up and pushed his hair back from his face. "What's happening to you? You're...different. You're becoming something else." Renaku shook his head. "It's just visions from the stone in my sword." "It's not just visions," Thiesra said, staring at him. "Your entire being is changing. I have magical senses, I can see it." "I..." Renaku realized he had no answer. "You're awakening, Renaku," a familiar voice said. Renaku stiffened. After a moment, he released Thiesra and turned. "Giovanni," he said. The knight stood, in his perennial silver armor and green cape, arms folded. His long sword was sheathed at his hip. "So good to see you again, Renaku," "I can't say the same," Renaku snapped, bringing his sword up. "Please, there's no need for that," Giovanni replied, shaking his head. "What's your game this time?" Thiesra demanded. Renaku blinked and stared at her. "...Thiesra? Do you know him?" "Of course I know Giovanni," she snapped. "Or should I say...Jhovan?" The demon chuckled. "Well, well. Thiesra. I didn't recognize you with that...body." Giovanni put his hands to his helmet and removed it... Revealing the red skin of an Otherworld demon. "...You're one of them," Renaku said, staring. "One of Thiesra's race." "She seems fairly human now," Giovanni said, a slight smile on his face. Renaku looked at Thiesra, who was still staring at the other demon with hatred in her eyes. "Thiesra...who is he?" "He departed from us a long time ago," Thiesra replied grimly. "His appetite for cruelty and depravity was too strong, and so he left in search of new conquests. None of the others particularly cared...some even wished him *luck*--" she nearly spat the word out. "--on his journey. But I always thought of him as symbolizing the worst side of the demons...the things I wanted to escape." "Why, Thiesra, I'm impressed. That was actually quite objective." The demon replaced his helmet. "But we're wasting time, Renaku," he said, voice once again echoing. Renaku frowned. "Giovanni, if you think for one moment--" "--that you'll listen to anything I say, yes, I know. I've heard it all before." Oddly, he sighed. "Can't we just cut through all the taunting and such?" "Fine," Renaku said, rolling his eyes. "What do you want?" Giovanni laughed. "Oh, no, it's not what I want. It's what you need." Renaku just stared coldly, so he continued. "You need to understand how rare you are." "Rare?" "Yes. Take your demon-slayer sword." The demon indicated blade, currently pointed at him. "It steals demonic souls, converts them into a harmless form of magical energy, and then dissipates that energy into the environment." Renaku looked at his sword. "...Yes, I know." "I'm not sure you do," Gionvanni replied. "But let me continue. If, say, a demon were to wield such a blade, it could take the energy for itself, and use it for its own purposes. Demons are, after all, natural masters of energy manipulation." Renaku suppressed a feeling of guilt. "Yes, but no demon can touch the sword," he said. "Exactly. Now, some humans demonstrate the same skill at manipulating magic. Those known as wizards could conceivably use the energy produced by the sword. Fortunately, in the sword's long history, no mage has ever gotten their hands on it." "I see," Renaku murmured, studying the blade. Thiesra stared from the vampire to the demon and back again. "Renaku, are you actually *listening* to this demon?" "Quiet, youngling, I'm almost done," Giovanni said calmly. "The fact of the matter is, only one type of being can really use the sword to its fullest effectiveness." "A vampire," Renaku said, as he saw the truth unfold in his mind. "A natural manipulator of soul energy. And since I became a vampire while holding the sword...it prevented me from being truly demonic. Or perhaps it trusts me." Renaku held the sword up, gazing at it. "Either way, I can wield it without harm." "Correct," Giovanni purred. "Except that you don't use the magical energy, you drain the stuff of the demonic souls themselves. Your vampiric nature demands it. And that," the demon concluded, "is why you must not fight the Fumu any more." Renaku stared at the sword. Light flashed on its surface, and broke over the surface of the Earth in a long dawn through the blackness, as freedom once more...then Renaku was back looking at the sword again. He shook his head. "What did you mean, I was awakening?" Renaku demanded. Giovanni folded his arms again. "Renaku. You are...your father's son. Therefore you have a certain amount of power...which the Fumu must not be allowed to get their claws upon." "And you told me you served my father," Renaku said. "So is he a demon lord? If so, why does he wish to oppose the Fumu?" The demon knight sighed. "You don't understand, Renaku. But I can't tell you. The important point, however, is that you are finally awakening into your inheritance, courtesy of the Stone. Therefore..." Finally, he drew his sword. "Either, you can promise here and now to leave the Fumu be...or we finish our fight, once and for all." Renaku blinked. For some reason, his sight seemed blurry. He felt a beat pulsing in the hilt of his sword...and there was an answering beat, deep in his chest but also above them. Flashes of color swam between his demon-slayer blade and the ceiling, like schools of iridescent fish. "How about...option three," Renaku said. He saw a flicker of fear around Giovanni's aura, and felt glee rising inside him. "...Ren-chan?" Thiesra asked. "Renaku...don't do anything stupid," Giovanni said. Renaku grinned crazily. "Does this count?" He suddenly flung his arm upward, and a wave of magical force slammed into the ceiling, bursting through and sending chunks of stone flying upward, then crashing back down to land in front of them. There was another explosion in the room above, and the sound of coughing. "Oh no, what *now*?" a familiar voice gasped. "Leandra!" Thiesra shouted upward. "Thiesra!" the reply came. "About time!" Renaku grinned at Giovanni and surrounded himself with power, flashing straight up into the room above. A strange scene presented itself to his senses. The first thing Renaku felt was the Stone, radiating in a far corner. After a moment he was able to distinguish Trevant, huddled around the power, which was keeping at bay a broken black thing slumped in the center of the chamber. To Renaku's right Aiger stood with his sword lowered, watching, and to Renaku's left Leandra sat against the wall, staring with wide eyes. "...Leandra! Aiger!" Renaku called, as Thiesra flitted up next to him. "I'm all right, Renaku," Leandra replied. "Trevant seems to be all right, for now...But Aiger, he's...not hurt, but..." Aiger turned and looked at Renaku with shattered eyes. Like death had struck him, Renaku thought... "Well, well, well," Giovanni said, alighting near the black shape on the floor. "It looks like something happened to our dragon friend." "The Fumu?" Renaku asked. "Could be," Giovanni replied. "Or maybe just simple corruption." With a sudden movement, the demon knight thrust his sword downward. The impaled shadow screamed, a sound no one there would ever forget, and then separated and spiralled into nothingness. There was a shocked instant of silence. Then Renaku said, "You--" "It was of no more use," Giovanni said, resheathing his sword. "I'll have to take over." Renaku started as Aiger strode forward. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "You know what I mean." Giovanni folded his arms and stared at the half- dragon. Aiger stared at the demon, then turned a shade more pale, and backed away a step. "...Aiger, what is it?" Renaku asked. He took a step towards Aiger, then stopped as Aiger's sword slowly raised to point at him. "...I'm sorry, Renaku," Aiger managed. "I...can't, let you have the Stone." Renaku thought hard. [The Stone? I don't think I even wanted the Stone...] "Didn't you?" Renaku watched Aiger's face, but the latter did not move. [...The Stone is important, isn't it? It's giving me these visions...which were part of me all along.] "Yes." Renaku brought his sword up slightly, then edged to his right, closer to a wall. "Ren-chan..." Thiesra murmured. "It's okay..." Renaku said. "It's all right. Aiger...I don't want to fight you. ...But...can you tell me what this is about?" Aiger's face tightened. He looked from Renaku to Giovanni, and back again. "I...I can't," he managed. "...They have some hold on you, don't they?" Renaku asked. Giovanni growled softly, but Renaku pressed on. "What is it? Surely you can tell me that, at least." Aiger looked down for a brief instant, then met Renaku's eyes again. "It's...you heard about the blood bond, right?" Giovanni growled again, louder. "You heard about how hard it was for a human and dragon to... interbreed!" The world turned just a little, as Renaku saw it anew. "So it's also hard for a half-dragon to produce a child," he said. "Or...an heir." Giovanni drew his sword and advanced on Aiger. "I didn't tell him!" Aiger almost shrieked. "He figured it out himself!" "Of course, it's obvious," Renaku continued. "I should have seen it sooner. Aiger needs the dragons' assistance to produce an heir to his throne, since only they know very much about dragon-human crossbreeds." Giovanni turned to look at him. "And...I know Aiger values my life, but the chaos that would befall his kingdom if he died without an heir...So the dragons had a hold on him. The dragons, and Giovanni..." The dragons, agents of balance, and the demon in the silver and green armor... A lock opened in Renaku's mind, and his soul expanded. The world spread before him, the stone around and the air below and the sands and oceans and forests and waves, all spinning together a part of him, as he was here right now in this place, realizing what he had always known. "Lord Gai is my father," Renaku whispered. Thiesra stared at Renaku. Aiger sagged in relief. Leandra blinked a few times. Trevant kept cradling the Stone. "Aw, shit," Giovanni muttered. "All this time," Renaku said. "And yet..." Giovanni leapt at him, and was absently swatted away to crash into the opposite wall. "Lord Gai...of the Earth..." "Renaku," Giovanni spat, staggering to his feet. "Now, don't do anything hasty. This is a time for--" He suddenly dove and rolled toward Trevant. Darkness flared where he had been a moment ago, crumbling and dissipating the stone floor. "There!" Leandra cried, pointing upward. The companions looked and saw the face of a young girl grinning impishly down at them, over the edge of a hole in the ceiling. "Hello, Renaku," she said in a high voice which seemed somehow askew. "What now?" Renaku heard Thiesra mutter. "Fumu," Renaku spat. The girl giggled. "How perceptive," she said, the sounds in her words not quite fitting together. "You're almost there, Renaku...just a little more to go." She stood, awkwardly, revealing a belly swollen as if with child. "I'll bring Geib back, just for you." She leaned forward...and a stream of dark fluid spewed from her mouth, splashing onto the stone in front of Renaku. Leandra, Aiger and even Thiesra jumped back in disgust, but Renaku stood his ground and clutched his demon-slayer blade grimly. The water collected in a murky pool a couple releem in front of him...then suddenly reared up like a snake toward him. Renaku slashed reflexively, but the water surged away. He jumped forward, eyes blazing, but his sword clanged to a halt as Giovanni's blade intercepted him. "You must not!" the demon yelled. "You are already too close to being corrupted!" "Renaku!" He heard Leandra's voice, and turned to see the water rushing towards her. Thiesra jumped between them and aimed a magical blast at the thing, but it flowed around and smacked her away. Renaku charged again, jumping forward with an overhand slash, but the Fumu spurted to the side. "Water extinguishes Fire." Renaku was about to attack again, but halted at the sound of the voice. [Fire?] he thought. [What Fire?] "You attack, burning with rage. You cannot defeat Water in that manner." Renaku stood for a moment in indecision. "...Someone, distract it for a moment!" he called. He was surprised and gratified to see Aiger lunge forward to engage the demon, placing himself between it and Trevant. He was joined after a moment by Giovanni, sword also at the ready. Aiger sent a puzzled glance at the demon. "The Fumu cannot possess the Stone," Giovanni rumbled. "Such a thing would be even worse than Renaku using it." Aiger gave a quick nod, and they attacked. Renaku forced himself to think. His "other side" had said something once...[What element dominates Water?] "Air." Renaku reached inside himself. The power came quickly, greedily into his body, and he felt the wind howling inside him. He swept forward and his blade flashed like tongues of lightning. The water reared itself up again and tried to slip past his guard, but it could not move fast enough. Renaku felt an odd joy taking hold of him, and had a flash of memory of a festive dance from his homeland of Rolyte. He began to leap and stomp to the music he hadn't heard since before he became a vampire, his sword dancing as well. The Fumu tried to retaliate, but could not anticipate the wild movements, and had more and more of its being torn away. Small jets of water were sliced back, amorphous blasts were dodged and tinged with frost by the swirling winds, and an attempt to surround Renaku only exposed its entire "body" to attack. In desperation the thing attempted to rush beneath Renaku and wrap itself around his feet, but Renaku merely leapt into the air...then hurtled downward sword-first, his impact throwing off a wave of chill wind that froze the demon solid. "That was pretty good." Renaku exhaled, and grinned. He looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him. "...I...uh, I've never seen that...particular fighting style, Renaku," Aiger said after a moment. "...What's it called?" Renaku looked down and saw the ice cracking and moving. "Harvest Festival style," he said absently, and thrust his sword into what he sensed as the heart of the being. Watery resonance leaped into his sword, falling into place in the back of his mind. The dark Fumu essence surged and congealed in his body. He pressed it down, but it fought back. For a long moment Renaku stood locked in the conflict, then drew on the power he'd collected and built himself up, the magic strengthening his being. Renaku opened his eyes and was startled at the new perceptions flooding his senses. He was aware of the entire chamber--the stone, blasted and cracked by their conflicts, the tortured air, water crumbling at his feet, and even the glowing fires of his companions...and others. Thiesra, honed dark and fiery; Leandra, paths of energy inside her forced open to the world by years of training...Aiger, confused by his melding of essences and obligations, and finally the gods of Earth, Light and Dark, resplendent in divine glory. Renaku blinked. He focused his perceptions again, and the figure of Lord Gai, who he now knew was his father, shifted to that of the demon knight, Giovanni...and then back again. Lady Sun betrayed a flicker of Trevant, and the brooding Lord Darkness above smelled of the Fumu. [...I guess I've finally gone insane,] he thought. "Renaku...are you there?" Leandra asked, crown on her head. "Yes and no," a voice told him. "Renaku? Ren-chan? Say something!" Thiesra was tugging at his arm, her features shifting to someone he knew but couldn't name. "Yes, Renaku," Lord Gai said. "Say something. Tell us what's on your mind. We're all waiting," Giovanni said. "Father," Renaku muttered. He couldn't stop staring. The room was burning and twisting, but staying still. "You're almost there, Renaku," a warm feminine voice said. "I feel...lost," he said, feeling fear grip his heart. "...Thiesra? Are you there?" "I'm here, Ren-chan," she said, embracing him. He put her arms around her and drifted on the visions. "Renaku," Giovanni, or perhaps Lord Gai, said. "This is it. The moment of decision. You are very close to destroying the world." "...Why didn't you tell me so earlier?" Renaku demanded. Lord Gai sighed. "I cannot interfere with you. Except indirectly." "He's bending the rules, Renaku," the voice of Diana said. "This looks to be the end of everything that's happened so far," Leandra continued. "I...I don't know," Renaku managed, fighting to keep himself from drowning in the magic surrounding him. "Renaku." It was Trevant...speaking in his own voice, tinged as always with hatred, but also...something else. "No matter what...you cannot let the Fumu survive." He stood slowly, and Renaku was shocked to see that his hair was now completely white. "But why?" Renaku countered. "Isn't there some sort of balance? Between the darkness and light?" "Yes," Giovanni said. "No," Diana said. "Yes...and no," Trevant continued. "The Fumu upset the balance long ago. The Otherworld demons were supposed to keep them in check...but that hasn't gone very well." Thiesra turned to look at the warrior priest. "What do you mean? My people?...Are you saying we were...some sort of playing pieces, in a game?" "Yes," Trevant said, voice flat. "As we all are. But now, I don't care. This," he nodded at the Stone still clutched to his chest, "has told me many things. You should take it, Renaku." "No!" Lord Gai shouted. "Yes!" Leandra cried. "Renaku!" Kanouseiko's eyes looked out from Trevant's face. "Renaku, listen to me," Lord Gai said. Renaku turned and stared at the grim visage. "You do not need the Stone. You are my son. The Balance is as it should be. The Fumu have been greatly reduced, you have seen to that. Now leave things as they are. Your work is done." "Renaku, your work will never be done," Trevant said. Renaku stared into his blazing eyes. "As will mine. We fight the darkness...it is why we exist. You know this as well as I do." "Don't be foolish, Renaku," Giovanni snapped. "Remember who you are, remember your heritage. Don't you realize how much you're entitled to simply by right of birth?" Renaku exhaled. He didn't actually breathe, but sometimes you just have to exhale. "You've made your choice already, haven't you?" [Long ago,] he told himself. He looked at Leandra. Leandra smiled weakly at him. "Sorry, Renaku, this is out of my league." "I'm not so sure," he replied. "You're affected by this as much as any of us." He looked at Aiger. Aiger looked down...then gave Renaku a sad smile. "I think fighting's just in our blood, Renaku," he said. Renaku returned the smile. "That's the wisest thing I've heard in a long while," he replied. Then Renaku met Thiesra's eyes. She looked back at him, then embraced him tightly. Renaku held her for a moment, then pushed her gently away, and raised his sword. "You can't be serious, Renaku!" Giovanni said, stepping forward. "No, I'm just Renaku," he replied, taking up a battle stance. Then a girl dropped to the floor in front of him, the impact producing a sickening crunch. Renaku stopped in shock. The girl pushed herself up on her arms and turned to face him, head cocked at an unnatural angle. "Shien," Renaku hissed. "Yes," the girl managed, a red bubble expanding from her mouth as she said it. Then she clenched herself into a huddle, which compressed her together farther and farther until blood sprayed from her form, and then the rough ball of flesh blackened and curled until the matter was sucked inside...leaving only darkness. The sphere of shadow expanded into a humanoid form. "Your actions are meaningless, Renaku," a voice intoned, coming from everywhere. "We will win, whatever you attempt. We always do." Giovanni leaped at the thing, but was suddenly suspended in midair...not falling, not moving, eyes perpetually glowing through his helmet. "So, Renaku," Shien continued, "come on. Make your final attempt." "As you say," Renaku replied, and charged. A succession of thrusts met nothing as the dark twisted and dodged. Renaku took a firm stance and let a series of quick slashes fly, but Shien slipped through his guard and grazed his chest with a shadowy arm. Renaku fell back, gasping at the screams in his body, and tried to focus his senses to locate the heart of the demon. He found himself staring into an endless abyss, an utter void clawing at his mind, and then a hideous pain brought him back to his body as a blow from Shien lifted him clear off the ground and threw him into a wall several releem back. Mere seconds had passed since the start of the attack. Renaku realized he was outmatched. "Renaku!" He ignored the shouts. There was only one person who could help him now. [I guess this is it,] Renaku thought to himself. "Yes...this is it." [Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?] "Who am I?" Renaku blinked, and pushed himself out from the dent in the wall. [You... are me. That's what you said, isn't it?] "Yes." [So...do I have any more tricks up my sleeve?] "Just fight." Renaku grasped his sword with both hands. [Just fight?] "Just fight." Just fight, Renaku thought. Well...it was probably good advice. He took a deep breath, then let it out...releasing all the cares and burdens he had been storing up, and stilled his mind...one of the first lessons taught to the potential knights of Rolyte. He remembered that past, and let it slip away, leaving only himself. Renaku fought. First sweeping arc slashes, he saw the demon anticipating his moves, then a quick change to twin thrusts which Shien again dodged, and surged under him like water. Renaku launched himself into a high twisting jump, feinting and fencing as his enemy passed underneath him. He landed in a squat and was already launching a sweeping attack which bent down to catch a black thrust. Renaku then rolled to his right before he even saw the shadow attack again, got his feet under him and leaped back and passed Shien in midair, landing two full releem away. There was a tingle of essence in the blade, and Renaku felt a surge of hope which exploded with a pain in his back. He rolled into a somersault and leaped at the wall in front of him, his feet landing on it and pushing off to launch him into another wheeling jump which was nearly true flight as Renaku slashed another bit of essence from the demon. Renaku landed and turned again...and saw the blackness hurtling toward Trevant. "No!" he yelled, and slashed a wave of magical force at them. Shien twisted away from the attack, which shattered and dissipated on the Stone in Trevant's hands. Shien pulled itself back into a humanoid form, and laughed. "Well, Renaku, which is it? Let me have the Stone, or kill your fellow warrior?" It reached for the Stone, and Renaku thrust, nearly skewering Trevant as the Fumu dodged again. He fended off a pair of black tentacles groping for him, then tried another thrust which kept the demon away from the Stone again. "Renaku," Trevant said, strangely unmoving through the entire exchange. "You know what to do." Renaku blinked. Oddly enough...he did know what to do. He slashed at the edges of the shadowy form. Shien gathered itself together, resuming the shape of a sphere, floating in front of the Stone in Trevant's hands. Renaku grit his fangs and thrust one more time, blazing forward into the heart of the demon...which expanded into a ring encircling his sword. Renaku put all his effort into the thrust, and it impacted the Stone of Forever. A blast of every color imaginable nearly took Renaku off his feet. After several years, he blinked and was amazed to find himself still standing, as was Trevant...though the Stone was gone. "Thank you, Renaku." Renaku turned to see an impossibly beautiful woman with a soft smile on her face. Her hair was a soft blue, matching her eyes and long gown. Renaku sank to one knee and bowed his head. "Lady..." "Please, Renaku, just Chaos will be fine." She glanced over to a far corner of the room. Renaku followed her gaze and saw darkness gathered, pulsing and growing. "We haven't much time," the goddess said. "Shien will recover quite soon." "...Can you not defeat him?" Renaku asked. Chaos' smile turned sad. "No, Renaku. But that can wait. First..." She gestured, and a young girl with elven features appeared in the room. "...Is it time, at last, for me?" the girl asked. "My work is done, and I am free?" "Yes," the goddess said. "You and I are both free. Farewell, my faithful servant." "I do not wish to leave, and yet, I do as well...I cannot forget this world is my cell. I hope on you, the sun shall never set." She bowed low. Chaos' mouth quirked. "Thank you...but such a blessing is not appropriate for one who balances Light and Dark. Now...go in peace." The goddess gently waved one hand, and the girl faded from view. "...Who?" Renaku began. "Just someone who doesn't belong here," Chaos replied. "Much like..." her eyes flashed, and Renaku felt a ripple of tremendous force lash through his being. He staggered, but it did not harm him. Then, suddenly, there was an incredible metallic clatter. Renaku turned to see Giovanni's silver armor bouncing to the floor. "Ren-chan!" Renaku turned to see Thiesra, startlingly pale. "They're... they're all gone! All the...all my people." She stared at the goddess. Renaku turned back. "You...the demons, the Otherworld demons? They don't belong, so you sent them back?" Chaos nodded. "Their balance with the Fumu has always been flawed. And now..." She looked at the darkness, then back at Renaku. "I'm sorry...but you are the only one who can fight Shien." "...Wait!" Aiger stepped forward. "Why? Why is Renaku the only one? Why can't you?" The goddess shook her head. "I could, but I would not have a chance. Only Renaku does. Now the world's fate will truly be decided." She smiled at Renaku, and for some reason he knew it was the last time. "Once more... thank you, Renaku. You have become more than anyone ever believed." She leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead...and then was gone. There was silence for several moments. Then, "Um...Renaku? Who was that?" Leandra asked. "The Goddess of Chaos," Renaku said absently, turning over all his new knowledge in his mind. "Balances the goddesses of the Moon. ...And she had that girl give you Makath's spellbook." "...*Makath's* spellbook?" Leandra and Thiesra exclaimed. "Yeah. Whose did you think it was, with spells like that?" Renaku's mouth tightened. Shien flowed out of the corner and expanded into a dark cloud again. "So...Renaku. You realize now you cannot harm me," Shien said. "...I realize no such thing!" Renaku pulled together all his power, and blasted it forward at the demon-- And it slipped off like water. "You do not understand." The darkness grew until it filled the chamber, blocking even supernatural sight, stifling breath, chilling life. "I am the one true Fumu. I am the source, the root, the abyss, the void outside your world. Nothing of your world can harm me...not even the gods." Renaku fell to the ground, choking. He raised his sword and slashed at the darkness, and it laughed. "Well, then, is that what you want, Renaku?" it intoned. "I cannot be stopped. You can break yourself on me, or you can give yourself to me. Either way, I win. It has always been so." "Renaku!" Shouts from the black. Renaku put his sword point to the floor, and pushed himself to a standing position. He grasped the hilt with both hands...and with a supreme effort, pointed it upward. "All right, demon!" he coughed. "Come on! We'll see who's stronger!" "So be it." Voices rose around him, calling and screaming...and exploded into him from the sword. The initial shock almost drowned him. Violence swirled in his soul, but he beat it back with sheer will. Then another wave hit, sending him reeling. He focused his being, concentrating his energy, and blasted it back. Then the abyss reached up and claimed him again...or nearly so, as he fought free. A chill gripped Renaku...as he realized he could not hold out. "Ren-chan!" Still more voices, always voices. He looked up and saw Thiesra again. Her face was streaked with tears, shattered with fear. And yet her features still lit his soul with a ray of hope. Renaku stared. "Ren-chan! Ren-chan!" She was shaking his shoulders. "Ren-chan! Speak to me!" "...I love you," Renaku said. Then he focused himself, and jumped. A corona of power surrounded him. Layers of stone fell past him. He paid them no heed. The Fumu laughed in his skull, tearing at his mind, as he burst out into the night. The desert stretched to the horizon, but he could feel the whole of the planet spinning beneath him...slowly. It was hours before dawn, night gripped the world like a fist...or at least half of the world. Renaku launched himself skyward. The stars beckoned and the land raced beneath him as he felt himself crumbling. The demons laughed and mocked him, burrowing into his soul, digesting his identity as he flew... A light appeared on the horizon. Renaku focused himself harder...higher, and faster. The light grew steadily as the ground dropped away, as he ascended to the heavens. There was an instant of insanity as the knowledge of what was occurring tore through his mind, and he almost lost control... For the first time in thirty years, Renaku saw the face of Lady Sun. Renaku opened his arms. The void tore at him, the demons conquered him... but the Lady forgave him, and gathered him into her arms...as he slipped away. ===== Thiesra collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Aiger lowered his sword...and took a step forward. He peered through the hole in the ceiling. "It...goes all the way up," he said. "...To the sky." Leandra held her stomach. "He...Renaku. I...He didn't..." Trevant shook his head. "He did." Aiger turned and stared at them. "...What are you saying?" Trevant sagged, and leaned on his broken hammer. "Renaku...sacrificed himself. For all of us." He snorted. "For the world. Always a martyr." "You mean..." Aiger's eyes widened. Thiesra's sobs redoubled, and Leandra walked forward to kneel beside her. "Yes. He's dead," Trevant said, his face stone. "And gone. My vengeance denied." He looked away. "...perhaps for the best." Aiger turned to look up at the stars again. He said nothing for several minutes, while Thiesra finally stopped crying and got to her feet, leaning heavily on Leandra. "...So...then, it's over," he said finally. Trevant sighed. "No, it's never over. Haven't you learned that yet?" "Still," Leandra said, her voice dull, "the Fumu are gone...and Renaku. ...A lot is over." Thiesra pressed her face into Leandra's shoulder. Trevant surveyed the faces of the companions. "Well...there's no use staying here," he said. "I'll continue the fight, however I can." He began to limp toward the door. After a moment, Leandra and Thiesra started to follow. "...But...wait, what about..." Aiger stared at them, then took one last look at the sky. "...Goodbye, Renaku," he whispered. "I'll remember. Your legend will not be forgotten." Then he turned, and walked away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ End ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ===== The Roll of Heroes ===== Ben Overmeyer, for starting the whole thing off. Aaron Peori and Aaron Bradley (Coyote), for giving so much to the story. I used so many of their ideas in this chapter, they're practically coauthors. Steven Scougall, for Thiesra, and many other things. Chandra Rooney and Eduardo Dilag, for more than they probably intended. All the other authors who contributed to the Legend: Luche LenLen, Helen Stansfield, Clint Milton and Mike Thrall. Twoflower, without which there would BE no Impro. And finally, thank you for reading. This is John Evans, jevans@datablast.net, signing off. ===== "...so was it a happy ending or not?" the child asked. His mother smiled. "Well...it was an ending. And sometimes...that's all you get." "Oh." The boy seemed to think about that for a moment. "Okay," he said finally. The boy's mother gave him a fond kiss on the forehead. "Now...it's time for you to sleep. All right?" "Okay. I love you, mommy." He snuggled down into his bed and looked out the window. "...I love you, too," she whispered, and softly closed the door. The boy lay alone, watching the twinkling lights in the sky. ===== And somewhere, far above the world...a sword spun through the heavens, light flashing off the silvery blade and black stone in the hilt, as it eternally circled the Earth.