093

 

93.  Lord of Beasts

 

Vance grunted in frustration as he chased Rose, Saffron, Winslow and Madeleine through the dark caverns of Pandemonium. "How big is this place, anyway?!"

 

"We've barely even gotten past the surface level," Rose said. "There are a lot of shortcuts, but they're cramped and filled with pits. It's best if we take the safest route down."

 

"I guess there’s no point in keeping this a secret any longer, so..." Madeleine muttered. "Just so you know, Grayson can make portals into other dimensions wherever he wants, for some reason. He’s never told me why...but basically, it means he could be anywhere."

 

"Enough about Grayson," Vance said through gritted teeth. "Eden comes first. Can anyone tell where she is?"

 

"Deep underground," Rose said. "Deeper than we usually go. It'll take a while to reach her."

 

"It won't take that long," Winslow scoffed. "Unless someone drags us down..." he said, glancing over to Vance. "Just remember whose turf this is!"

 

"'tis a graveyard now..." Saffron whispered darkly. "Lo, a dark memory of darker hopes..."

 

With Saffron's words hanging in the silence, the group continued their descent into the darkness. Vance struggled to keep his mind focused on Eden's aura, which blazed brightly in

 

*************

 

a distant black pocket of the underground netherworld, Van Kaen pulsated with a bloody glow. He opened his mouth wide into a razorblade smile, baring his fangs as he attempted to intimidate his prey.

 

Instead of cowering, Eden shot forward with a jump kick. Before she could follow through with it, Van Kaen coughed out a stream of ruby energy from his mouth. At the last minute she swerved to the side, but didn't make it in time. Her left leg was caught in the blast, and burning pain flooded through her body.

 

Grasping at her leg, Eden fell to the side of the hallway. Van Kaen gave her no time to recuperate and lunged out, slicing through the air as he dove toward her. Left with nowhere to run, Eden quickly condensed herself into a ball of light and burrowed backwards into the cave, drilling through hard rock like a bullet through muscle. Van Kaen cupped his hands together and released another shockwave, destroying enough bedrock to make room for his own pursuit.

 

Eden popped out into a completely different hallway, took a minute to calm down, then perked her ears up to the sounds of destruction coming from behind her. Unlike the black rock she had been running through, the stone in this hallway was grey, and seemed slightly more cultivated than the dank chambers Eden had just escaped from. There were no doors to be seen or any other sign of an exit, but Eden wasn't worried in the least.

 

As Van Kaen closed in, Eden flexed the muscles in her right arm and sent a wave of orange psynergy down the hole in the wall. Unfortunately, it seemed to have little effect, and Van Kaen soon exploded out from the rubble, dirtied and enraged. A growl escaped his cracked lips, and once again, he leapt towards Eden.

 

The woman planted her feet on the ground and transferred as much psynergy as she could to her upper body, hoping that she could deflect the beast and counterattack. Despite shoving back with all her might, Van Kaen's strength held out, and Eden toppled backwards. She quickly tried to focus all of her psynergy into her hands to knock him away, but as she punched his fist, she felt only cold hard steel behind the grey skin.

 

Van Kaen swiped violently at Eden, ripping flesh from her lithe body and painting his artificial claws with her blood. The Daughter cried out in pain and flailed over the ashen floor as she was mauled.

 

The heavy, toxic breath of the Dragon invaded her body, and Eden screamed in protest. In order to shut out the incoming fear, she wrapped herself in a thicker coat of psynergy, desperate to create any barrier she could between her and her foe. As her aura grew, Van Kaen's crimson aura pushed ever stronger against her. Eden dug into the limitless abyss within her soul and pulled more and more psynergy out, trying to create enough distance so that she could transform into a shooting star and escape.

 

But the Dragon was relentless, and Eden once again felt helpless underneath her attacker. As Van Kaen's claws dug deep into her glowing thighs and ripped out sections of psynergy, she could feel her life pour out from the wounds.

 

The pain overtook her, and soon Eden realized she wasn't in her body anymore. She was nothingness, an orange dot in a white sea of oblivion, but she was not alone.

 

Who's there?

 

Eden opened her eyes to blinding light. Slowly, like a rising sun, an ethereal entity with long, shimmering hair and radiant eyes faded into existence before her. Its body blazed with bright flames – humanoid, yet composed entirely of psynergy. Where its heart should have been was nothing but a black hole.

 

Eden.

 

The body moved closer, raised its hands outwards, and Eden felt a tingling sensation.

 

It’s me. This is who I am.

 

A brilliant white flash exploded from Eden's body, which knocked Van Kaen backwards and gave the girl a moment to breathe. Pain pumped through her mind like a deafening metronome.

 

She stood up as more psynergy flowed out of her core. A calm had returned to her mind, and she felt like she was in control of her body and her thoughts once more.

 

I’m not human. I’m something more. I’m special.

 

She stared across the hall to Van Kaen, who seemed unfazed. Determined not to be caught at a disadvantage again, Eden sped back towards him.

 

How could I have been so stupid? There's no need for me to charge up any psynergy...

 

Her fist connected with Van Kaen's neck faster than he could even think to defend. A shock rippled down his spine, which she followed up with a swift kick to his innards. Her body was taut with power, and she felt something hard and cold crack behind the surface of Van Kaen's chest.

 

I am psynergy.

 

After slamming a heavy punch into Van Kaen's chin, Eden could hear a deep growl of pain escape from the depths of the Dragon's maw. She quickly threw forward another crushing blow, returning her own pain tenfold as her fist ripped through the bottom section of Van Kaen's face. Circuitry crackled and machine parts exploded out while blood, bone and tissue went flying.

 

Two arms swooped down in an attempt to keep Eden from doing any further damage to the killer's face. His jaw had been almost completely cleared away, and the bloodstained pieces that remained barely supported the razor fangs sticking out of his rotten gums.

 

Eden grappled with Van Kaen's stitched-up arms and ignited her fingertips with psynergy in order to push his right arm away. As the Dragon's eyes flashed, his left arm speared forward and latched itself around Eden's throat. Van Kaen's flesh sizzled as it made full contact with Eden's blazing body, but he did not shrink away from the pain. With blinding speed, his right hand shot to his head, grabbed onto a stalk of his electric-blue hair and ripped it out from his scalp.

 

Eden stared up in confusion, desperately trying to free herself from the choke hold and stop Van Kaen's arm at the same time, but he was too fast. The Dragon's arm came down in a blur, sliced the blue razor through Eden's shoulder and severed her right arm from her body.

 

Blood and psynergy spurted out from Eden’s ethereal body as her arm hit the ground and dissipated. She stared at the bleeding stump in shock, thinking of nothing but absence, pain, and imminent death.

 

Van Kaen watched as the blazing energy around Eden's body began to flicker and fade, and he thrust the triangular blade forward, cutting

 

*************

 

through the black stone that blocked the passage ahead.

 

As Saffron carved out a shortcut, Madeleine watched rubble rain through the passage. "Hold on. Isn't the Boar's meditation chamber up ahead?"

 

"Yes." Rose moved ahead into the wide hall. "It's also the quickest way to the bottom."

 

"The Boar?" Vance looked to Madeleine. "Isn't that you?"

 

Madeleine sighed, then pointed down to a tiny tattoo of a horned animal below her ankle bone. "No, I'm the Ox."

 

"The fourth Dark Zodiac bears the mark of the boar," Rose said, as she followed Saffron through the hole. "Zhang Guo Lao."

 

"So he's one of the oldest members?" Vance asked. "But if he's so powerful, then what is he hanging around here for? You think he'd figure out by now that Grayson's just manipulating him."

 

"To be honest, I have no idea," Rose answered. "He’s one of the original six, before they became the Dark Zodiacs...so much of what he does and where he hails from is unknown to us. He's been here a long time, and that's all we know."

 

"Don’t worry," Madeleine said. "He hates meaningless fighting, and he's always been comparatively peaceful from what I've seen."

 

Far at the end of the hall was a black opening that led out from the Boar's territory. The rest of the room was covered in mirrors.

 

"Some meditation room this is," Vance said. "Looks more like a fun house."

 

"Look behind thyself," Saffron spoke. "True majesty oft escapeth the naked eye."

 

Vance spun around to see a gilded shrine elevated on a platform just above the entrance. Due to the disorienting nature of the room, it was impossible for anyone to see the difference in height between the shrine's outcropping and the true ceiling that covered the expanse.

 

On top of the shrine was a golden sculpture of a bird with long wings spanning the width of the wall, perched like a prehistoric predator. It seemed more monstrous than an eagle in appearance, and had long, shining talons that glimmered in the dim light.

 

"What the hell is that?" Vance asked.

 

"The supreme beast, Garuda," a creaky, ancient voice spoke.

 

Vance looked around frantically, then watched as Madeleine lifted up her arm and pointed to the center of the statue. Sitting cross-legged on the head of the garuda, a mere speck in the reflective chaos of the room, was Zhang Guo Lao. He was dressed in long, flowing white robes bordered with bright gold, a large jade-orbed necklace, and held a long staff with five golden rings on his lap.

 

"Zhang Guo," Rose called out. "Grayson has destroyed the Dark Zodiacs. Why are you here?"

 

Zhang Guo was still. "Roufas...Grayson...who controls what is not important. We must be moving only."

 

"Are you kidding me?!" Madeleine screamed up at the monk. "Grayson doesn't just want to destroy this universe, he wants to harvest all the power for himself! It won't be reborn!"

 

"So be it," Zhang Guo replied flatly. "As long as this reality is torn away, I will die peacefully."

 

"Yep, he's a nutcase alright," Vance snorted, then started to walk away. "Why are we wasting our time with this guy?"

 

A small jangle echoed in the small room as Zhang Guo raised his staff. "Hate me if you like. But I can't let you hinder us any further."

 

"Grayson..." Madeleine murmured. "Grayson must have gotten inside his head somehow. It’s no use talking to him at this point."

 

"C'mon, then!" Vance looked back to the others. "We have to get to Eden. Forget this–"

 

The Albavitrean abruptly stopped talking as he watched the golden garuda lift its talons up from the platform and beat its wings. As the creature came to life, Zhang Guo hopped off from its head, and it began to fly.

 

As the garuda spread its wings and soared, Saffron, Rose, Winslow, and Madeleine braced for the impact, but soon realized the garuda was not heading for them. It swooped higher above the room, levitating above them. Then, the bird dive bombed Vance.

 

Vance laughed and sent violet psynergy rippling through his arms. "You really think that piece of junk's gonna stop us?!"

 

Rose's eyes widened as she watched jade psynergy rise from the Garuda. "That psynergy isn't being channeled."

 

"Indeed." Saffron nodded. "'tis a construct."

 

"Oh shit," Rose realized. "It's going to explode."

 

As soon as the beast touched him, Vance released a shockwave of dark psynergy from his chest, which stopped the garuda in its tracks and began pushing it backwards. As he kept pumping his power outwards, Vance began to see the faint jade psynergy creep out around his own.

 

"Brace yourselves," Rose said, looking to Madeleine and Saffron. "I'll...wait, where did Winslow go?"

 

The Horse's eyes searched the mirrors. There, off to the side of Vance and the Garuda, she saw Winslow crouched to the ground with his arms outstretched.

 

Madeleine's eyes followed the action. "What's he trying to do?"

 

Just as the psynergy clash between Vance and the Garuda reached its limits, the monstrous mechanism began to lurch upwards, seemingly against its own will. Winslow's arms flexed and his metallic aura pulsed with strain.

 

Rose and the others shielded themselves and dropped to the ground as the Garuda exploded, erupting into a green vortex of wind and power. The core of the explosion moved upwards, merging into a spire of destruction as it ripped through the ceiling of Zhang Guo's chamber and released a landslide of rubble from above. Lava rock, rubble, and packed earth spilled down into the mirrored hall, blocking off the southern end.

 

Rose, Saffron, and Madeleine moved back from the rubble, shielding themselves with a mixture of pink, blue, and yellow psynergy.

 

Madeline shrugged. "Well, hopefully Vance and Winslow didn't get trapped underneath all that."

 

"They’re both too energetic for their own good," Rose stated. "Guess we'll just have to dig through."

 

At the other side of the hall, Zhang Guo cleared his throat. "Apparently you did not hear me. I do not intend to let you go."

 

"Truthful as that may be," Saffron said, "alas, thou hast destroyed one of thy finest playthings."

 

"That golem?" Zhang Guo let out a hollow laugh. "A minor construct fetish. Without a detonator, I would have little use for it."

 

"You really intend to fight us, Boar?" Rose raised her voice. "I thought you expressed disdain toward mindless violence."

 

"This is a mindful exchange," Zhang Guo insisted. "You may have the power to hinder Grayson if given the chance. Thus, hindering you will allow the end to come quicker."

 

"Then, without further ado," Saffron said with a grin, "hinder us."

 

Not a second later, one of the many jade orbs around Zhang Guo's neck began to glow. A beam of light exploded from the man's chest, and a beast materialized in the air. It sailed down towards the three ex-Zodiacs – a hulking monster with a scorpion's tail, a lion's body, and the grimacing face of a man.

 

And then it was in two pieces on the ground, dead in a pool of blood just as quickly as it had been conjured. Saffron softly alighted in front of his kill and flicked the mythical beast's blood off from Rosencrantz.

 

Madeleine blinked and rubbed her eyes. "That was fast."

 

"A single manticore?" Saffron's eyes returned to the image of Zhang Guo. His entire visage blazed with anticipation. "What mockery is this?"

 

The sole glowing orb on Zhang Guo's neck lost all its light and shattered. He remained on the edge of the platform and raised his staff once more.

 

This time, multiple orbs began to glow. In a flash of psynergy, beasts appeared around the entire room: a horse-like creature with an enormous horn, a seven-headed dragon, a strange mixture between rooster and lizard, a flying bird-like creature with the body of a woman, and a huge insect with a lion's tail and venom-encrusted mandibles.

 

"Unicorn, hydra, basilisk, harpy, antlion..." Madeleine counted off the names of the monsters surrounding her.

 

"How do you know their names?" Rose muttered.

 

"I've played a lot of video games," Madeleine said with a smile. "Don't look in the eyes of the basilisk, or you'll be petrified."

 

"Good to know." Rose said, watching as Saffron leapt madly at the hydra. "Let's just try to stay out of his way and kill the rest."

 

Rose shot forward to clash with the harpy, and Madeleine effortlessly weaved around the boorish antlion. All the while, Zhang Guo sat frozen on the platform above them, stitched-shut eyes seeing nothing as a symphony of destruction slipped through his ears.

 

"It does not matter whose hand brings about the end," he bellowed. "The fact remains: this tragic universe must die."

Next: The Metanoic Coil