Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 37
Morgan continued following the serpent, throwing halfhearted attacks to keep her out of the water while concentrating for all he was worth on the hazy threads around him.
He was a Supermage and someone who had reached the pinnacle of power. He was only sixteen ranks from the previous power cap, so his journey into omniscience should be well underway.
He continued fighting almost automatically, allowing muscle memory and years of fighting instincts to guide him. The threads of fate remained hazy, but he didn’t need to see everything. All he needed to see right now was this serpent’s future. He didn’t even need to see all that far. At the speed they were fighting, a fraction of a second was all he needed.
Long, white threads spun out around him, trying to confuse his senses. He needed to find the right one, belonging to the World Beast.
He swiped at her again, and Strangler dodged, her tail flashing out and slamming into his chest. Morgan teleported at her back, his burning, red-tinged arm striking at the vulnerable area where her core was located. Strangler vanished through a portal again, coming out four hundred yards to his left, her tail touching the ocean and spreading more of her toxic venom.
There were big pools of it now, the green spreading wider and wider as she continued to poison the water.
Morgan had less than a minute left now but was managing to remain calm. He knew he could do it because there were simply too many people counting on him to give up and die. This monster needed to be stopped, and the only way to stay ahead of her was to know.
He could almost hear Dabu’s voice in his mind, the calming, soothing presence he gave off every time Morgan visited him in his strange, otherworldly clearing. That man, the first Supermage, had been truly omniscient. He had known everything that was going to happen and could see the endless possibilities of the future.
More than ever, Morgan wished his mentor and friend were still alive. There had been so much more he had to learn. But Samuel had messed that all up by breaking his own rules and removing the restrictions and limitations that kept those in power from becoming too strong.
Morgan’s mind came to a screaming halt as he realized that the answer to what he was looking for was now clear as day. Fate was fluid, ever-changing and never set in stone. If, for example, Dabu had wanted to change the future, he could have. Just one small action on his part, a warning whispered to Samuel about Gold’s plans, and he never would have succeeded.
Had Samuel and Loquin known what Gold was going to do, they could have prevented him from locking them both away while Morgan went to retrieve the weapon he needed to kill them. He could scarcely imagine what the world would look like now, had Dabu simply given Samuel that one warning.
Everything he did would ripple out, creating massive waves down the line. Seeing and acting on something were two completely different things, and as a sudden burst of images flashed in his mind, Morgan knew what he had to do.
Strangler dodged yet another one of his attacks, batting him away with a flick of her tail. He extended an arm as he flew back, pockets of air exploding all around the beast. As normal, non-divine attacks, they would do absolutely nothing to her, but that wasn’t the point.
“Getting desperate, are we?” Strangler asked, emerging from a portal behind him.
Just as she appeared, his Sunscorch faded away, leaving him surrounded by only the violet cloak of his Soulstream. He could feel the strain of the Godsteel, taxing both his body and mind. It was already retreating from his face, showing the World Beast his wide eyes.
“Just as I thought!” Strangler screamed, slamming into him and trying to claw his eyes out.
The two of them crashed into the destroyed shoreline, ripping through more stone and debris and kicking up a storm of dust. Morgan threw his arms up, blocking the strike and causing Strangler to once again injure herself on the Godsteel.
She hissed, kicking out against his chest and driving him further into the ground. The stone buckled beneath him, and Morgan felt his ribs go along with it. Sunscorch might protect his body, but the Godsteel would not. His Soulstream sped up the healing process and began to knit the bones immediately, but as Morgan pulled himself from the crater, the Godsteel, which had been acting as a second skin, turned fully back into a spear.
Morgan let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. His RP was full and his body was quickly healing, but the mental fatigue from wearing the divine metal for so long was making it difficult to keep focusing.
“Looks like you’re all out of tricks!” Strangler screeched, sounding beyond pleased with herself.
She appeared before him in a flash, arm pulled back and clawed fingers glowing green.
“Die!”
56
Contrary to what most might think if they were watching this scene unfold, Morgan wasn’t insane. Even as the glowing claws streaked toward him, he allowed his arm to drop even more – the arm holding the spear. Strangler’s claws tore into his chest, leaving bloody streaks in their wake, and Morgan fell back, his spine nearly severed.
Even as he fell, the spear angled itself just right. Strangler was still grinning in triumphantly when the silver spear flew forward – as though of its own accord – and pierced directly through her chest.
The World Beast screamed a horrible scream as she was hurled skyward, the spear traveling at astonishing speeds. Morgan hit the ground a moment later, pain burning its way through him as his Soulstream worked to mitigate the damage.
It had been an extremely risky move to allow her to damage him so badly, but a subtle shift of his shoulders had kept the World Beast from hitting his core, and that was all that mattered.
Morgan watched the World Beast fly higher and higher into the air, even as blood poured from the massive wound, his skin bubbling and blood boiling at the toxic acidity of the serpent’s power.
He coughed, tasting the coppery blood – some things never changed – as Strangler reached an altitude of nearly a thousand feet. The World Beast had finally gotten a good grip on the spear and when she’d traveled another two hundred feet up, managed to tear it from her gut.
The monster hovered there, breathing hard and glaring down at him as the spear spun back to the ground in glittering arcs.
“You had your chance!” Strangler yelled, her voice carrying all the way down to him. “And you missed!”
“Did I?” Morgan asked, his voice coming out as a croak.
He doubted Strangler could hear him, but it didn’t really matter one way or the other. The World Beast dove, her body turning into a streak of green as she aimed for him, sure that he had nothing left up his sleeve.
A red blur slammed into her from the side, followed a second later by one of blazing gold. Strangler screamed as she plummeted from the sky. The ocean, still colored green with her power, changed as a mass of land rose. A small figure, glowing a dark brown, stood upon it.
“Oh my gosh, Morgan! Are you alright?”
Morgan turned his head as Sarah landed beside him, a look of worry clearly etched on her face.
“I’ll be fine,” Morgan said, giving her a weak smile. “You made it just in time.”
Sarah crouched down next to him, placing her hands on his chest, heedless of the blood, and began freezing it. But Morgan wasn’t paying attention, watching the battle now unfolding. The other World Beasts had arrived, just as he’d foreseen, and with that little trick he’d pulled against Strangler, she was not prepared for a concentrated assault from the other three.
Blazing light flashed back and forth, Breaker, Ripper, and Quaker all working together to tear Strangler apart. Apparently, they didn’t appreciate her running off to try and claim the prize while they were battling for it fair and square.
All three of them glowed with the same power as the serpent, their bodies shrunken down and containing some humanoid aspects. These creatures were monsters who had destroyed the entire Faeland, but for once, Morgan was actually grateful to see them.
Strangler tried to run, but her weakened body couldn’t stand up to the power exuded by the other three, and with them all working together, she didn’t stand a chance.
The serpent began to shriek in agony as the others tore her apart, ripping chunks from her body and letting them fall to the churning sea below.
“Help me up,” Morgan said, holding one of his arms up to Sarah.
She looked worried but did as he asked. It was difficult getting him upright, as his spine was barely connected. His Soulstream sped up the healing process, but when it came to wounds inflicted by a beast that powerful, it would take a few minutes for the major damage to be healed.
“Careful,” Sarah said, keeping a hand on his back.
A chill ran down his spine as she froze his torso stiff, encasing him fully in ice. He reached out for the ocean, trying to ignore the horrible pain from his spine, and called to the spear that had vanished beneath its waves.
There was a small glitter of silver, and a moment later, the spear appeared. A small portal opened, and it slid neatly inside, vanishing from view.
“How did you get them to come?” Morgan asked, turning his attention back to the battle.
“Oh, I just appealed to their natures,” Sarah said, sounding oddly proud.
In all honesty, getting them here really hadn’t been that difficult. All she’d had to do was yell at them that Strangler was getting stronger than them, and they came running.
“Wow, they are merciless,” Sarah said, watching as Strangler’s body was torn to bloody pieces.
“Yes, they are,” Morgan said, preparing himself for what came next.
He’d seen it play out once, and now, he just needed to wait for the right moment. Breaker suddenly latched onto Strangler’s shoulders, his clawed arms digging in. Quaker tore into her tail, biting deep. The serpent screamed as the Elder Dragon tried to fly, while the Golden Badger tried to pull her down to the ground.
Then, the Chimera came flying in, his oversized claws slashing for her midsection. With her body pulled tautly and having been weakened in that area by the silver spear, Strangler’s body didn’t stand a chance. Ripper’s claws tore straight through her, bisecting the World Beast in a single blow.
“Hang on,” Morgan said.
He felt Sarah’s arms tighten around his own as he vanished, appearing right in the middle of the carnage. Breaker was pulling half of Strangler’s body up, while Quaker was pulling down. A gleaming orb appeared, its top barely showing through the bloodied and torn flesh of the dying World Beast.
“Thanks for the assist,” Morgan said, plunging his hand down and ripping the glowing core from Strangler’s bisected body.
Then, he used Rift, the world bending around him as he headed for the powerful source of energy he’d locked onto.
“Holy crap, you look terrible!” Katherine said as Morgan appeared on the deck of the ship.
“Yeah,” Morgan said as Sarah lowered him to the ground. “I’ve been better.”
“What the hell happened?” she exclaimed as the people on deck moved to allow Elyssa to pass.
“Strangler is dead,” Morgan said, letting out a low groan.
“And the other World Beasts?” Elyssa asked, shoving to the front of the crowd.
“Oh, they’re still very much alive,” Morgan replied. “Though I doubt they’ll be coming after us.”
“How can you be sure?” Katherine asked worriedly.
She had good reason to be worried. The World Beasts migrating to the Five Kingdoms would be the worst possible outcome.
“Because what they’re fighting for is still here,” Morgan replied. “And now that they’ve ripped Strangler to pieces, they’ll go back to fighting over it.”
“And what exactly is it?” Katherine asked.
“The body of the goddess Sarah,” Sarah said, having long since figured it out.
That got everyone to be quiet, which gave Morgan the chance to speak without interruption.
“Faeland might be lost, but the beasts who destroyed it will remain. Either they’ll kill each other off or exhaust each other to the point where they’ll have to rest again. The people who escaped will be able to start over in the Five Kingdoms. Now please allow me to rest and recover. I think I’ve earned it after a fight like that, don’t you?”
There was a general muttering of discontentment, but when Sarah began glaring around, the busybodies scattered, leaving only Katherine and Elyssa to remain with them.
“Where are the others?” Sarah asked.
“On other ships,” Elyssa replied.
“Beatrice?” Morgan asked.
“Back in the Five Kingdoms,” Katherine said. “She was pretty badly injured while keeping watch over the World Beasts’ progress. I sent her home to recover, but she said she’ll meet us when we all return.”
“Where are we headed?” Morgan asked.
“We’ll be landing first on the shores of the East Kingdom,” Elyssa said. “There, we will give our thanks and condolences in person before deciding where we will go. The trolls will soon choose a new chief, and Tagar has taken temporary command of the gnomes. They will each decide on where they want to go. The war is over, so I no longer have a say over anyone but the elves.”
“Do you know where you’ll want to settle down yet?” Morgan asked.
“The elves will be taking over cities one through four,” Katherine said. “They’re still mostly a wreck and swarming with beasts, but with our help, we’ll have them all cleared out in no time.”
Elyssa gave her a grateful smile, then turned her gaze out over the sea.
“Hard to believe that it’s gone for good,” she said sadly.
“Help me up, will you?” Morgan asked, groaning as Sarah pulled him to his feet.
His Soulstream had worn off completely by now, only having healed about half the damage inflicted. Thankfully, Sarah was keeping him from bleeding out, and his own trait would see him recovered within the hour.
Morgan looked out over the sea and got a good last look at Faeland. The continent was on fire, big parts already floating out to sea, while a massive storm hovered over what was left. In the distance, he could hear the echoing roars of battle, where the World Beasts continued to fight over their prize.
How many did we lose? he wondered. Aside from Lumia and Shul, how many millions have perished throughout this?
He turned, looking to Elyssa out of the corner of his eye. She was putting on a strong face, but he could tell she was just a few seconds away from breaking down. And how could anyone blame her? She’d lost friends, family, and her entire homeland. She had guaranteed space from Katherine, but they had no idea how they were going to integrate the five races of Faeland into their own kingdoms.
Morgan was sure they’d work out the details, but this would only place further strain on the Five Kingdom’s resources as well as their tentative peace. The obvious answer was to split up the Central Kingdom, and Morgan had a feeling that although this war was at an end, there was another one right around the corner.
He pulled Sarah in a bit closer, his fiancée placing a hand on his chest and leaning her head on his shoulder.
“You saved a lot of people today,” Sarah said. “Be proud of that.”
Morgan gave her a small smile, pulling her to him just a bit tighter.
“I am,” he replied, then turned back to watch the small bit of Faeland he could still see sink beneath the ocean.
Epilogue
Morgan and Grace appeared in the all too familiar Beast Zone. He knew this place well. He had spent two years of his life here, after all.
“Do you want me to take you to the top?” he asked, turning to his somber companion.
“No,” Grace said, shaking her head. “I think I’d rather walk.”
Morgan nodded his head, giving her hand a squeeze, and began walking with her through the forest. No beasts came to bother them – the aura he emitted would be enough to frighten them all into hiding – leaving the two of them to walk in peace.
“Do you…Do you think she’ll still be the same?”
“I don’t know,” Morgan replied honestly, pushing a bit of undergrowth and exiting into the open air before the towering mountain.
The two of them continued walking in silence, Grace looking straight ahead. It had been a week since Faeland had been destroyed, and the ships had all met up. It would take another six to eight weeks to reach the Five Kingdoms, but Grace had wanted to come here, and Morgan had gladly transported her.
They were going to pay their respects to a dear friend, and although Sarah had clearly wanted to come, she’d realized that the two of them would need this time alone.
“Do you think she was angry with me?” Grace asked as they began hiking up the mountain.
“Do you think she was?” Morgan asked, turning the question back on her.
Grace shook her head, her silver-streaked brown hair – now curled – bouncing around her face.
“I think she was happy when she…you know,” she said, brushing a hand across her eyes.
“She loved you,” Morgan said. “And we do anything we can to protect those we love.”
Grace nodded again, her fingers tightening in his grip. They continued walking for the next couple of hours, only exchanging a few words the entire time. Morgan didn’t mind the walk. He knew what it was for and knew what it would mean for the both of them. They were coming to say goodbye, and one did not rush a farewell like this one.
They finally crested the top of the mountain, the late-evening sun sending streaks of red, orange, and deep crimson across the sky.
There, in the center of the shining mountaintop, lay a silvery drake, her head curled into her side and her body slowly rising and falling.
