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    TWENTY-FOUR


    <h2 style="text-transform: uppercase">KAX</h2>


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    It was a fine night. He’d never been one to enjoy rain and cold, but he didn’t mind it so much this time. Perhaps he should be concerned by rain falling through him and the cold not reaching him, but Kax didn’t see the point of complaining.


    Sanctum was much like any other city he’d seen on his, albeit limited, travels. Perhaps limited wasn’t the word to use anymore, not when he’d visited worlds. Few people in Eldsprak could boast of that.


    He thought about Fyrie. It had been in a sorry state when he and Ein stepped through the gateway.


    Kax eyed Ein as they walked toward the building Reze mentioned. The old man didn’t look special, but he was a terror in battle. While Kax made his way up and down the battlements to take care of the odd monster or beast who’d crawled over the parapet, Ein burned hundreds outside the walls like it was nothing at all.


    When projectiles rained over the defenders, he scattered them with a strong gust of wind, and when a defending soldier started transforming into some monstrous half-breed, Sarien’s father pushed him off the wall without a second thought.


    Quite the display. Kax’s fingers itched to get back into the fight. Perhaps Ein would oblige to a quick spar? That would be a sight to behold.


    “So, what does it feel like to carry the void within you?”


    The question took Kax by surprise. “You have it too.”


    “But I don’t, son. The Slaying gives me the ability to call on the void, but it is nothing like it being part of your existence.”


    Kax fell silent.


    “You know. I’ve used more of my power than most, and I’ve delved deep into the void, even to the brink of exhaustion,” Ein continued. “So let me ask you this.”


    “What?”


    “Does it ever whisper to you?”


    Kax’s heart beat faster, something that hadn’t happened for a long time. He even felt his face flush.


    “What do you mean?”


    Ein’s gaze fell upon him briefly before he resumed scanning their surroundings for danger. “It is a thought that boggles the mind. I’ve felt something stir in that nothingness, heard whispers, and I don’t speak of the poor fools spending eternity in their little boxed off cells. What I mean, Kax, is simple. The void is not empty.”


    “Seems pretty empty to me in there.”


    Ein gave him a long look. “If you say so, son. Just know that you’re not alone.” With those words, Sarien’s old man summoned a sword of pure darkness. It didn’t come out of thin air, like Kax’s, but rather grew from the palm of his hand.


    Kax grinned and summoned both his short swords as they walked past the statue that Reze mentioned. Together, they ran up a set of stairs to a building with four rhinn guards standing guard. None of their opponents wielded anything more powerful than metal and Kax was surprised to see Ein dispose of them with cold indifference.


    “Didn’t take you for someone who powers through the main gate,” Kax said, once the guards were cut into bloody pieces.


    Ein stuck his sword through the lock of the door and twisted. “You don’t know me very well.” He then dismissed his void sword and threw his weight against the wood. The door burst open.


    “What is this place?” Kax asked. The brick walls were damp, and the floor was tiled in intricate patterns. The hallway was lit by rows of lanterns.


    “We pool water in here. That’s why it’s so damp.”


    “Water?”


    Kax heard echoes of footsteps rapidly approaching. Two soldiers rounded the corner. Before they could raise their weapons, Ein’s sword materialized and made short work of them both.


    “The water is kept in deep basins where the citizens of Sanctum can come and bathe, learn to swim, or just play in the water.”


    “Like an indoor lake?”


    Ein looked back at Kax. “Sort of like an indoor lake, but the water is warmer. My guess is that they dumped the items used to imprison the Slayers into the pools, and that’s where we’ll also find the monster Reze spoke of.”


    “This sounds a little too familiar. Monsters and water are not a pleasant mix,” Kax said. Then he stopped, frowning. “Wait a moment, you learned to create a sword like that just now?”


    “Sure. Nothing to it. I’m a legend, didn’t you know? A true and prophesied hero.”


    “My legend will surpass yours. You just wait,” Kax vowed, hurrying to catch up.


    Ein laughed out loud, the sound echoing into the corridors, resulting in shouts of alarm from further into the building. “Sure, lad. Sure.”


    He burned three rhinn before they entered an area with benches lining the wall. “This is where you’d undress.”


    “You go in naked?”


    “Swimming with your clothes on is not a great experience, lad, as you well know.”


    Kax cleared his throat. “Where do we go from here?”


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    “The pools are just through there.” Ein pointed to another door opposite the one they’d entered.


    “What are we waiting for then?”


    “I don’t like this.”


    Kax summoned his swords. “What’s not to like?”


    “Why are there only incompetent rhinn soldiers here? Presumably, the main reason they seized Sanctum was to bind the Slayers in the void.”


    “I guess?”


    “So why aren’t they doing a better job of protecting this place?”


    Kax went over to the door and cracked it open. “In my experience, thinking too hard just holds you back. Let’s go.” With that said, he slipped out the door.


    Ein followed; his voice exasperated. “You have about as much experience as my little finger.”


    The cramped rooms and hallways opened up into an impressive space with benches placed in descending rows to the floor below. A huge basin filled the room. It was empty.


    He pointed. “That’s it?”


    Ein hurried down the stairs and approached the empty basin without answering. Kax followed. They both leaned over the edge. A black chasm opened up below them and Kax readied himself to jump down.


    “Hold on,” Ein said, creating a fireball and launching it into the pit.


    The light revealed a vast hoard of small, cube-shaped metal boxes. Hundreds of them laid in haphazard piles.


    Kax’s attention was drawn to the only living thing in the pit. It appeared to be a person. Or maybe not.


    Kax narrowed his eyes. A thing, or monster, might be a better description despite its human-like shape. It was tall with gangly arms and impossibly thin legs. Its head was a cone shaped, pale and twisted mockery of a man’s, with a pair of glassy, enormous eyes taking up most of its face.


    It stared back up at Kax, who involuntarily shivered beneath its steady gaze.


    “We need to be careful,” Ein breathed.


    Kax readied himself. “Why?”


    “I’ve imprisoned it once before.”


    “So, you beat it already. This should be easy then.”


    Ein shook his head, his gaze not leaving the dark pit. “Not alone, and not without a mountain of trouble.”


    “Why don’t you just stand back and let me deal with this, old man? I’ll show you what the bards will one day sing of.”


    Kax jumped.


    “No!” Ein shouted above him.


    Fire streaked through the darkness, lighting Kax’s way as he hurtled through the air with a sword in each hand. The balls of fire suddenly winked away before reaching the thing below.


    The creature’s glassy eyes never left Kax as he swung both swords downward in the air. It didn’t move. It didn’t need to. As Kax drew near, a heavy blow came out of nowhere and crashed into him, sending him flying into the wall with enough force to shatter the tiles.


    Another invisible blow followed, throwing him into the side again. Staying conscious was not a problem even during such an overpowering assault, but Kax found himself unable to move, no matter how much he tried. The blows kept on coming.


    Even then, the thing didn’t move. It hadn’t even turned to face Kax.


    “Telekinesis!” Ein shouted down at him.


    The thin layer of skin and flesh that Kax maintained to appear normal slipped with each blow. A tinge of something made him wince. It wasn’t pain. Not exactly. He hadn’t felt pain in a long time now.


    No, not pain. Discomfort, perhaps? When the blows eased and Kax began to fall toward the bottom of the chasm, he felt relief.


    It did not last long.


    An invisible hand caught him in the air and a crushing pressure set in from all directions.


    Balls of fire streaked through the air, but the thing toying with Kax deflected them like gnats. A wave of darkness followed, obscuring the thing from Kax’s mangled view for a moment before it died away, revealing the monster’s untouched form.


    The pressure on Kax changed, and he was able to look down as his left leg was torn from his body followed by his right. He screamed, despite not feeling any pain. His arms were next.


    When the pressure turned to his head, and he felt it tear from his neck, real terror coursed through Kax. His scream was cut off as his head was torn from his body. Pieces of him littered the bottom of the basin as the creature turned its attention to Sarien’s father.


    Kax’s real form fell against the ground. He slapped his hands over his ears, crying out without making a sound.


    In his true form, the voice in the void spoke freely. Kax could no longer ignore it. The stronger Kax grew and the more connected with the void he felt, the louder the voice spoke.


    Sarien’s father said he’d heard unintelligible whispers in the void. Kax hoped the man would never hear anything louder or more coherent than that.


    Focus. He needed to focus.


    Kax looked ahead to the thing standing on a mountain of obsidian black metal cubes. It fought against Ein, who struggled to close the distance without letting the invisible attacks grab him like they’d done to Kax.


    Kax crept low as he approached their opponent.


    The voice in the void crooned at him.


    <i>Avatar.</i>


    “Shut up,” Kax whispered, creeping on all fours.


    <i>Let me lend you more power. You want more. I know you do.</i>


    He couldn’t deny the truth in those words. The voice wanted him. In return, it offered power. Each time Kax agreed, he lost a little something of himself. Something intangible that he couldn’t name. Still, the loss ached in him. Kax would accept no more.


    He thought his intent at the voice, not wanting the monster to hear him.


    <i>Leave me alone.</i> <i>I’m done with you!</i>


    Up above, Kax watched as Ein raise his fists into the air. The walls shuddered, then cracked with the sound of thunder. Even further above, dust and sand fell from the ceiling.


    Still, the thing down there with Kax didn’t move. The ground shook beneath Kax’s hands as he crawled ever closer.


    Huge blocks of stone fell inward. With a deafening roar, the ceiling collapsed. Large chunks of stone rained down on top of him. The only reason Kax wasn’t buried was his proximity to the monster. It held the larger blocks of stone at bay with its invisible power, using them as shields against the other falling debris. They were both covered in dust now and blood trickled from the thing’s arm where a block of stone had grazed it.


    Roots and vines grew from the ground, snaking their way up their opponent’s legs before being torn away by an invisible force. Kax couldn’t help but be impressed with the monster’s ability to thwart so many different attacks at the same time.


    In its distracted state, it didn’t notice Kax’s approach. Kax stood and shaped his arm into a blade and stabbed into the monster’s head, splitting its skull open. The monster didn’t even flinch as it died.


    Embracing the void, Kax engulfed the monster. It descended into his darkness in silence.


    As the monster died, so did its magic. The walls it held up with its power caved in on top of Kax, crushing him into the bottom of the basin. As he lay pinned there, the voice in the void crooned.


    <i>You’ll never be done. You’re part of me, Avatar.</i>


    By the time Ein dug him out, Kax had reformed his flesh around the void and was in the process of pushing blocks of stone off of himself. He knew he could collapse the boulders into the void, but he didn’t want to draw the voice’s attention more than necessary.


    “Told you I’d kill it,” Kax said.


    Ein held a handkerchief over his mouth, but still coughed from the dust clinging to the air. “It played with you like a child pulling legs off of a spider before I intervened.”


    “You saw that, huh?”


    “I did,” Ein said. “It was gross. I’ll make sure that the bards remember to include that part in your song.”


    “How are we going to get these cubes to Sarien?”


    Ein put his hands on his hips and surveyed the scene, slowly shaking his head. “My dear son will have to reach through the rubble. I’m sure he’ll have no problem with that. I raised him, after all.”


    Kax chuckled despite himself.