jmclarke
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Chapter 771: A Life Without Meaning
🕑 Added 2024-01-27 15:59:23 +0000 UTCInside, Alex could feel the energies of the divine interdiction dying a slow death. Hannah's own power—the otherworldly strength he’d been granted by a burgeoning demigoddess, pushed against the will of a dead god.
Slowly, Uldar’s will was giving way.
It was like slipping free of a chain: each time he tried, he managed to wriggle free a bit more.
Bjorgrund, Birger, and Asmaldestre were near, waiting in anticipation. His other summoned creatures had long disappeared as their time in the material world had ended.
The older giant was sitting against a wall.
The younger one was pacing.
The war spirit was utterly still, staring at the archwizard, radiating power. Alex had the feeling that somehow, she could see the battle inside him. That wouldn’t have surprised him at all.
Hannah's energies—had been trickling through the interdiction—they abruptly began flowing.
“I've almost got it!” Alex cried. “I’m almost there!”
The giants turned their full attention to him.
The war-spirit ‘s face shifted in what looked like a smile, one that also resembled gleaming daggers.
“It's not a hundred percent free yet,” he said. “So, I doubt I can teleport all four of us right now. Probably only me…and maybe one other person for now. If I had more time, I could release more of the energy, but…”
“Who knows what those two are up to or if they've completely disappeared,” Birger said. “It's already been long enough as it is.”
“Too long,” Bjorgrund grumbled. “You should take the Unmaker and go. Get them.”
The war-spirit looked down at Alex. “Can you bear my burden?”
Her words struck him as they always had, and he didn't know how to answer. It was true what she’d said, she was much bigger than Bjorgrund…both physically and spiritually, and just like moving a pebble was easier than moving Claygon, she’d be harder to teleport than the young giant right now.
“Let’s see.” He flew down, gingerly touching her shoulder. He was prepared for the feel of her skin—it looked smooth—yet felt similar to barbed wire against his hand.
Clenching his teeth, he tried to teleport the two of them from the sanctum.
The strain was too much.
If his energies had been fully free, it would've been simple, but—with his power still partially bound—he couldn't do it. He’d need more time.
“I can't do it,” he admitted. “So, here's what we’ll have to do. Bjorgrund, I know you want to finish this fight, right?”
The giant cracked his knuckles. “More than right.”
“Alright, then here's the plan,” Alex said. “First, I’ll send you back across the planes, Asmaldestre. Then, I'll teleport myself and Bjorgrund to Uldar’s Rise: it shouldn’t take me more than a few jumps, and when we get there, I'll summon you again, and we can catch the two of them off-guard. If they're not there, I’ll summon some monsters to help track them.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Bjorgrund said, resting his axe on his shoulder.
The war-spirit looked at Alex. “Acceptable.”
The wizard took a deep breath and waved his hand, sending her back across the planes.
He flew to Bjorgrund next, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, let's finish this fight.”
“Be careful,” Birger said.
“We will, father,” Bjorgrund said.
With those words, the rune-marked, and the General of Thameland disappeared.
###
Gabrian would never have thought that it was possible, but his heart dropped lower.
His last ally was gone.
Dead.
He was alone.
He’d tried to kill that infernal huntress with many of the battle spells he learned over his lifetime, but she’d proved herself to be devilishly quick and persistent. Even though he’d kept her from reaching his ally, he could not end her, no matter how much of his power he’d brought against her.
He’d kept her pinned in place so the Stalker could finish her hound.
Yet, it was the Stalker’s life that had ended.
He’d watched with horrified eyes as the sharkman had bitten his ancient fae ally in two like a chicken bone. The beastman’s jaws had made short work of his body, shaking his head back and forth.
He could still hear the ripping sound, the dreadful noise when his lower body had been torn from his trunk. It now lay on the other side of Uldar’s throne room in a heap, like so much trash. They were twitching slightly. The sharkman had swallowed the top of the fae’s body, like he was at a banquet.
Now he stood there, licking his bloody mouth like he had not a care in the world.
The Stalker had dealt the hound a number of wounds, but sadly, none of them looked serious enough to be fatal.
The beast was panting, spitting blood and shaking himself as though he were someone’s pet dog just coming in from the rain. He suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked up, glaring at the First Apostle with six bloodshot eyes, and began limping in his direction.
The sharkman was also gazing at the floating holy warrior with those black, lifeless doll-like eyes.
He began licking his bloody jaws enthusiastically.
“No…do not look at me like that!” the First Apostle screamed at them, turning his sword to lash them with holy fire. He would not be looked upon as some morsel by a pair of beasts! Especially, not here, not within the holy realm of his god.
The sharkman smiled, then looked down at Uldar’s body, licking his teeth. “That one’s tastier looking anyway.”
Gabrian’s heart froze in horror while white-hot rage pumped through his veins. He looked at the body of his god, he looked so peaceful…as though he would get up at any moment.
“You would defile his body?” the First Apostle shouted, even though uttering the word ‘body’ stung his soul. In many ways, he still could not believe what he was seeing. He was still processing it…he would probably still be doing so even if he lived for another thousand years.
For now, his spirit was neither settled nor peaceful enough to contemplate it.
Too much rage was surging through him.
“I will destroy you!” he promised, raising his hand to cast a spell. “I will end you! You will not—”
There was a whooshing sound from behind.
He whirled around.
Where was she? He’d been so distracted that he hadn’t seen—
Two swords were protruding from his body.
—her throw her weapons.
He groaned, beginning to cast a healing miracle on himself, finding her glaring up at him from below. “You have no weapons now! Now you—”
She vanished, he suddenly felt a weight pulling the sword-hilts downward, ripping four deep gouges through his torso. She’d disappeared, then reappeared, holding her two blades.
“I told you,” she said from in front of him, the phantom swords reappearing beside her. “My weapon and I are one and the same. I might not be able to send the phantom blades after you, but I can throw the Twinblade at you, then rejoin it.”
With that, the phantom blades surrounded the First Apostle and began cutting him like parchment. He parried the floating swords, desperately trying to defend himself from the onslaught, while frantically returning to the ground. If he’d stayed in the air, her weight would have dragged the blades right through his body.
He knew he could never have healed fast enough; she would never have left him in peace long enough.
He was also tired.
So very tired.
He dropped, uttering prayers of healing and kicking her away from his body.
The swords slid free.
The wounded sharkman and cerberus were moving to his flank, he backed away, desperate to heal.
His wounds were closing, but he could feel his limit nearing.
He pushed his body, fighting for his life against his three opponents and—with every movement—his exhaustion grew. His mana pool—seemingly endless at one time—was running low. He’d forced so much divine power through his soul that it felt like it might shatter.
If he didn’t do something desperate, this would be his end.
His last act.
“I cannot fail,” he whispered as his enemies closed on him. “I have failed so many times, do not let me fail in this one thing. Let me send some of these enemies to the after-world. Let me send all—”
He stumbled over something he’d backed into.
Gabrian quickly glanced back.
Uldar’s body lay behind him, looking as peaceful and graceful as he had in the faces of his many images.
He looked like he would spring up at any moment to save his child; a child who had burned away many lifetimes in his service. In service to a god, not a corpse.
It couldn’t all have been for nothing.
It couldn’t all be for nothing.
Perhaps…perhaps this was a test!
“Save me!” he hissed at Uldar, swinging his blade at his enemies. “Show me a sign that you are there! Save me!”
He threw himself at his attackers.
A crushing stroke sent the huntress stumbling away.
He slashed the cerberus across a wound through his bone armour.
He cut the sharkman through a gap beneath his breastplate.
Snarling, with spittle hanging from his lips, he cursed his enemies beneath his breath. He could still win. With the last of his mana, his strength and the power flowing through his very soul, he could smite the enemies of the—
A shadow loomed beside him.
Had the huntress somehow appeared beside him again?
“Damn you!” he cursed her, swinging his blade around.
Then froze.
What faced him was no huntress…but himself.
Himself, reflected in a surface as clear as mirrored glass.
He looked haggard, as though he’d aged three hundred years in the span of minutes. His eyes were wild beneath the symbol of the scales on his brow, and his expression was feral.
Behind him, lay Uldar’s body.
Yet, those reflections were not what held him in place.
He was transfixed by what the surface where the reflections were coming from was: a breastplate that belonged to Uldar. Clean, polished, and shining with his divine glory.
It now reflected the First Apostle’s image.
Gabrian could not bring himself to strike it.
That was a mistake.
Uldar’s axe came down, severing his arm at the shoulder. He screamed, and tried to utter a prayer that would close the spurting wound.
A crimson, glowing Wizard’s Hand shoved its fingers down his throat, choking him, cutting off his words.
A sword slid into his back, impaling him from back to front.
The huntress thrust her swords—both steel blades and their phantom likenesses—through his heart. Blood gurgled in his throat, frothing on his lips.
A familiar voice spoke in his ear from behind.
“Die like your god,” Alex Roth said.
Then he felt something slide through him.
The world took a strange turn.
Suddenly, Gabrian was looking at it sideways…but when had he laid down on his side?
The scene before him made no sense.
He was looking at Alex Roth and the huntress, Theresa Lu. They had impaled a ruined body. What was even odder was that the battered body looked somewhat familiar…but he couldn’t quite place it.
Where had he seen it before?
And why in all the world—by Uldar, was it growing so hard for him to think—was that body headless?
Troubled, the First Apostle could only watch as the huntress tore the body apart with her swords and phantom blades while the giant—wearing Uldar’s armour and wielding his axe—drove his weapon into it, over and over.
The cerberus savaged the remains while the sharkman began to pound it with his maul.
It was barely recognisable after mere moments…then, strangely, the man who should have been the Fool cast a disintegration spell on it, turning it to dust.
Banishing it forevermore.
‘That poor man,’ Gabrian thought, ‘they destroyed him so thoroughly despite him not even having a head. How sad. Ah, these lost lambs are filled with too much hatred. I should minister to them.’
He tried to get up, but found he could not.
He could not feel anything below his neck.
How odd.
He looked down…
…and could not find his body.
It struck Gabrian like an avalanche; the body they’d mutilated and banished was his.
He was likely only still alive because of centuries practising life enforcement.
And that could only bolster him for so long.
The world was growing dark.
Cold.
He looked around, desperate for any salvation, even as memories from hundreds of years of life washed over him. His eyes clung to an image nearby.
Uldar’s body, peaceful, silent.
Uncaring.
Uldar’s corpse did not care that his First Apostle was dying.
It did not care that the hidden church had been nearly eliminated.
It did not care that Uldar’s enemies were living on to triumph and destroy his plan.
…but then again, what could a corpse care about?
As Gabrian’s life faded, he found that his concerns were falling away, no matter how he tried to hold onto them.
What would the material world mean to him when he was dead?
What would it have meant to Uldar…and how long ago had his god died?
Had he even been alive when Gabrian was born? A young man from a village who’d long ago been branded with a symbol from a dead god.
That man had lived his life, trying to follow that god’s will.
But if that god was dead…then would that not mean that whatever Gabrian had done, did not matter?
Had anything mattered in his entire life?
Had he mattered?
Questions—and growing despair—followed the First Apostle into death.
It could never be known whether he regretted his actions in life.
Those that lived on would likely care little.
His god certainly cared not in the least.
###
Author's Note
Hello forty-three cool fools, almighty chosen, wise sages, and mighty champions! Thank you for your support!
Gabrian was doing well up until he...lost his head. :D :D :D :D
I'VE BEEN WAITING TO SAY THAT FOR WEEKS.
Cya Tuesday everybody!
Comments
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Torasin
These negative comments make me sad. I thought this whole arc was great, an intentional break from form. I can easily tell that these beats have been planned out for a long time. I am very excited to see what happens next and what the Ravener will do.
mant06
Wonder if the next story will have a life enforcer that can regenerate just from their head, perhaps with the help of an artificially agumented lifeforce pool.
Allison McElfresh
So Hannah is dead and in the afterlife. She should be able to find the soul of Uldar there and ask him all the questions they have, right? Unless Uldar’s soul was destroyed when he died…. Why hasn’t Alex asked her to try that?
Daniele Di Vitto
This is the last chapter I get to read here since my subcription expires today. I'm happy that I got some closure as this coincided with the end of the arc, even though I found the execution terribly lackluster. I will now put this story on hold, even after the chapters on RR will have caught up, this arc completely killed my interest in reading the rest of the story on a daily basis. I will come back to it after it's complete, this way I will be able to skim through filler and other bs chapters and get to the good parts (hopefully) without having to wait for days or weeks.
mant06
What changes Alex and co have to deal with the fae lord Baelin style? Idle though, could mana be mixed/agumented with natural energy?
Gareth S
What promise did he break ? I may have skimmed a bit too much. But they did the big battle in that place and they have a battle against the rav
good guy
hopefully that's the next conflict
good guy
this chapter felt very anticlimactic bc I couldn't get the broken promise to the war spirit out of my head
Boxed Thoughts
Really relishing in the long awaited death of this man. But it would be time for the latter half and that doesn't seem easy.
Scott Emery
I am hoping for some major unanticipated plot expansions so that Alex has to actually grow into territory that doesn't come so easily to him.
AlecL
This feels like a classic power creep issue in the writing and as much as I (genuinely) enjoyed the power fantasy of it all I think the introduction of the war spirit this both early and late has been less than ideal. Both too powerful this early and too random a character to set up a conflict around failed promises from Alex. Hoping the the reveal of whatever or whoever killed Uldar (my bets on Baelin in some roundabout way) gets us back on track with properly scaled enemies
Silver Beard
Keep thinking about the Headmaster cabal toast.. One more
Isiah Debarros
I mean that's cool, but it's probably because the general before he changed it figured out what he was doing and he didn't want that to happen again
Zachary LaCount
I can already see the ravener fight play out. The five hero’s line up to fight only to be eliminated/incapacitated and then Alex’s cabal minus Alex will somehow overcome all odds and win the day only for the hero’s to revive and come back just in time to do nothing
Callum
Heart was in my throat at the end there. Thought Gabrian was gonna find some way to magic himself into more time in this story. Thank god that era is over with though I only have so much patience.
Neil
Huh, I expected a last gasp, final attempt to take them all down with him. Almost a bit anticlimactic.
lenkite
> He parried the floating swords, desperately trying to defend himself from the onslaught, while frantically returning to the ground. If he’d stayed in the air, her weight would have dragged the blades right through his body Not very clear, she had *already* taken her real blades away and they were in her hands.
Liam
Do you mean it broke your suspension of disbelief ?
Brandon Baer
Strike that, I saw the sentence prior now. It still might read clunky but I see why you wrote it that way now
Brandon Baer
“her throw her weapons” might want to fix that
patrick n thomas
Honestly I feel sad for him when he said that he should take care of the two feeling so much hatred
Bob Bryan
In the end, minus the ravager obviously, the true enemy was ulder. Imagine if all of these people used their power to actually help others. Imagine if uldar actually acted like a God and used his power to keep people safe and let them grow. There were multiple paths he could of chosen to get power and he chose the easiest and most corrupt path. Maybe that's why he changed the mark. Ulder was no longer a general and thus the mark changed to be more representations of what he was now. A fool
mhaj58
At last the hidden church has fallen, Carrie has been avenged, and the gang is coming for the Ravener, hopefully for the last time. After two weeks of fallout considering the authors writing
Fleetpanda
Exactly how I feel. I don’t care for how this arc turned out at all, but at least we can put it behind us. Seriously hoping edits are made before this goes to book format
Gareth S
Thank god that story arc is done … what a frustrating and drawn out thing it’s been. Less satisfied than just glad to be done with it.
Scott Emery
Why? Because he's there? Has he actively struck out against... anyone?
Scott Emery
I actually like the introspection as the First Apostle is dying. At first I thought it was his spirit witnessing the scene after his body was so destroyed. That would have made sense since we have already established that spirits do go somewhere after a person dies. I felt that viewing it through the severed head was a little bit of a stretch, and it threw me back into 'suspension of disbelief' territory. But the decapitation did set J.M. up for his "lost his head" joke.
RyanR-Reviewer
Thank You! So glad I'm not the only one who thought so! That made very little sense IMO.
Ghast Renave
I'm hoping the shark man finishes his meal of the stalker and the lower body doesn't disappear while no one's looking.
Daniel Olsen
Now Alex just needs to waltz into Thameland's throne room with a sack over his shoulder, pull out the First Apostle's head and toss it on the floor. Sister Mercy can watch on in horror as Alex informs the King that the most of the cultists and it's leadership are now dead. Sister Mercy: Oh no! First Apostle!" Alex: *points* "There's one."
Authorii
Theresa explaining her skills in depth to the enemy in battle just seems very weird and out of character for her
matthew gilley
Does anyone else feel kinda bad for the ravener? He was just a kid trying to do his best for his dad, and his dad is dead. What will he do now? Can he be held responsible for the protocols it followed? Can it learn? Can it grow?
Jordan Svec
Heck yeah, let’s kill the fae lord next!
stardast24
It is sad the Gabrian died thinking Alex was still the Fool
Code Reed
Thank the hells he's finally dead.
Nick BF
Interesting perspective at the end. Thanks for the chapter
Obi-Wan-Sage
DANG!!!! they made sure he couldn't come back!!! Decapitated then chopped to pieces!!!! His last memory should be...Man they really hated me!! LOL
Silver Beard
So now onto the Ravener? Or home? Half curious what his teachers will say about his deal with the Unmaker? Ofc there's the Watcher's who perished needs be dealt with soon.
Gwalmeich
Rest in pieces, Gabrian. In very many pieces, preferably. Would be funny if Bealin came back right now and said: "Yo! What's up!" like nothing happened during his absence. Then he would feel Alex's mana pool and asks himself: "What the fuck did I miss?".
Bender
Well, the hunt has truly turned and the prey has become the predator! Dear Ravener, you're next!
Enif
Well that's one big bad down. Probably 1 or two more to go!
Morcant
thanks for the chapter! man that felt good to read.
George R
Thanks for the chapter
Emmett Koen
First one! Ha!
