《The Horseman's Culling》


 Chapter 1 - The Awakening Pt. 1

    Introductory Notes: Tyr is the MC, so don¡¯t be confused.Thoughts are represented by italics. Dialogue is contained within  ¡° ¡±. Second part coming tomorrow, which is personally my favorite.


    Cover photo is not mine! See link. http://thedurrrrian.deviantart.com/art/Horsie-of-War-487388062</a>


    Enjoy!


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    Chapter 1 - The Awakening Pt. 1


    Alexis gazed out the window of her first floor classroom, drowning out the extraordinarily boring voice of her history teacher with a bout of daydreaming. How the subject could be so soul draining always eluded her, but it did provide for some interesting imagination fodder. In various lessons, she would imagine herself in the midst of wars or struggles, leading revolutions, and fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Today, embarrassingly enough, it was a titillating encounter between herself and a war hero recently returned from the front. Sighing, she broke the reverie and tried to force her attention back to the front of the room.


    I really need to stop reading those old historical fictions.


    Glancing to her left, she saw the ever-present trio of slutitude, otherwise known by polite company as Britney, Jasmine, and Rachel. How the boys could allow themselves to drool over such...what even are they?...ah, she¡¯d recently read a good word for them. Harlots. Yep, that sounds poetically correct. She had more colorful language that alluded to the amount of certain liquids these girls could skillfully guzzle or their unrivaled juggling capabilities, but she preferred to keep her thoughts as far away from them as possible, regardless of the sheer joy describing them could produce in her soul.


    While she was lost in thought, Britney, who sat closest to Alexis turned and saw her looking in their direction. Smirking, the girl leaned in and whispered quietly, ¡°Jealous of what you see?¡±


    Seriously? Does this girl have a brain the size of a pea?


    Alexis dropped her beautiful jade eyes into a deadpan and stared back, quietly saying, ¡°Oh no, I was actually wondering what your current record was. Is it over twenty now?¡±


    Britney looked confused and slightly tilted her head before whispering back, ¡°What record?¡±


    A malevolent grin surfaced on Alexis'' face and she said, "Oh, you know..." Her hand curled up and she started pumping the air. The look on the teenage girl¡¯s face was priceless. To be fair, this girl deserved all of the hell she was getting from her. Their past was a long and complicated one, but, suffice it to say that Britney had back-stabbed Alexis not once but twice in middle school - a fact that she could never forgive. Not to mention, she just gave all young women a bad name.


    Suddenly a droopy voice rang out from the front of the room. ¡°Girls, can you save your gossiping for after class, please?¡±


    Alexis straightened up and smiled apologetically to her teacher. ¡°Sorry Mr. Colson!¡± The rest of the period, she could feel this dark storm brewing to her left, but she never spared a glance, which she was sure would only serve to infuriate the blonde bimbo even more. Just as she was beginning to formulate a path of escape to avoid the headache of dealing with Britney and her pus-, ah, possy, a large rumbling started to come from under her feet. Several students looked around in alarm and the teacher tried to calm everyone down while directing them to get under desks.


    Alexis was a bit smarter than the average so she immediately knew something was wrong. An earthquake in this portion of the United States was unheard of. Maybe if they were in California where a large number of geological issues were present she could rationalize it, but they were in South Carolina. Sweeping her eyes to the window, she checked for a mushroom cloud. Energy-wise, a nuclear weapon was the next likely culprit, but no matter the direction she looked, she couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary.


    The earth¡¯s groaning didn¡¯t cease and continually intensified until almost all of the things that were stored up high in the room came clattering to the floor below. Several girls were crying at this point and Alexis herself was starting to feel an indescribable sensation of fear that she¡¯d never known. Was she going to die in this God-forsaken school, squashed into a meat paste that would be identifiable only by DNA? A terrified girl named Lucy came sprinting past her desk obviously trying to desperately get out of the building.


    Alexis had spent most of her life with this group of people to the point that almost all of them were counted among friends. So when she saw Lucy come rushing past in such a dangerous situation, she tried to grab Lucy¡¯s hand, but only struck air. A moment later, Alexis could only watch helplessly as a large Greek replica stone head fell off a ledge and crashed onto Lucy¡¯s head. Like an animated ragdoll who just had its plug pulled, Lucy collapsed onto the tiled floor and moved no more. From Alexis¡¯ position, she could see a large indentation in the top-right side of her friend¡¯s skull highlighted by an increasing pool of crimson beneath her dark brown hair. Lucy...


    A few whimpers could just barely be heard nearby at the sight, but no one dared to risk the same fate by trying to go check on her. Alexis could only offer up a silent prayer for her friend and vow to go to her when this was over. For several minutes the rumbling only continued until it finally reached an apex and she heard an ungodly loud cracking sound come from the outside. Turning her fiery red head towards the noise, she saw a sight she¡¯d never forget for the rest of her life.


    An impossibly large circular structure came bursting out of the ground about 5 miles from their school. That¡¯s the only reason she knew how large it was comparatively. The mountain that the thing had come up beside was just over 5 miles away.  Dirt, rocks, and clay could be seen sheeting off of the structure as it grew taller and taller. The sides of the now tower-like object were rotating savagely like a drill bit and Alexis could see large mounds of earth on all edges of the hole at its base. Eventually, the tower stopped its furious charge upwards and the loud rumbling ceased.


    For the span of a few breaths all of the students simply stared out of the window at the impossible view before them, slack jawed. Alexis¡¯ eyes refused to register the reality before her. What the hell is that?! Her eyes darted back and forth. By the moment, she felt a primal instinct roaring louder and louder from within her body. The shouting translated into one singular urge - flee!


    She scooted out from underneath her desk and elbowed past some of the people who were absentmindedly drifting towards the windows to look at the spectacle. She headed for the door to try and beat the inevitable rush once everyone came to their senses. Humanity was like this after all. They refused to believe something until it was too late and Alexis believed from the bottom of her quivering heart that this was such an occasion. Reaching the door, she gripped the handle and started turning it only to be stopped by another echoing boom. Trembling violently, she forced herself to look back towards the circular black tower that loomed to a height equivalent to the 5,000 ft. mountain next to it.


    Large doors at the base of the black monstrosity could be seen sliding to the side. To be visible from here, Alexis could only guess that the doors themselves were larger than any of the largest buildings in her entire city. Bizarrely enough, another set of doors that formed a row towards the top of the tower were opening as well. The sizes of these abyss-like openings were terrifying enough, but Alexis realized another thing that was fundamental about doors - they allowed for passage between rooms or places. So what was going to come through doors of such size?


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    A huge shockwave emanated from the tower as its epicenter and Alexis watched as it swept up and over everything in its path in a few seconds. Surprisingly enough, nothing moved though when met with the visible force. From her curiosity fueled forays on the internet, she¡¯d learned from Wikipedia that shock waves were the result of kinetic forces propagating through a medium faster than the speed of sound. Usually, that would mean trees being blasted over, or at least some type of reaction, but this wave caused no damage that she could see. That is, until it reached the school. The lights, which had been flickering since the quaking, died off as soon as the wave swept over the school. In addition to that, Alexis felt slightly suffocated, like a blanket had been pulled over her entire body. She could still move like before, but it felt...strange... and alien.


    Not allowing her to dwell on the new sensation, a roar sounded across the valley. From the top centered opening, a shadowy red figure appeared perching on the ledge of the doorway. Horns adorned a reptilian head and wings stretched experimentally while a large scaled tail whipped from side to side. Fire erupted from its gullet in a torrent that arced hundreds of feet across the sky until it met the air current that drifted over the mountaintop. Sending another triumphant roar out into the valley, the dragon, for this was truly the legendary creature popularized in modern culture, leaped from the ledge it was resting on and soared towards the school.


    Smaller, more numerous roars came from the base of the tower and a steady rumbling started to reverberate across the floor once again. Many started shouting and screams of terror could be heard across the entire building. Several yelled ¡° another earthquake!¡± but Alexis could only silently shake her head. How could she tell them what she was assuming the shaking represented? After reading so many war novels of various ages, she knew that large enough armies could literally move the earth with their marching. Whatever else was coming from that thing, she had absolutely no desire to meet.


    Cranking hard on the door handle still in her hand, she burst into the hall and met a stream of traffic heading towards the doors. She joined the throng and was swept along until everyone was outside and splitting in various directions. She started to go towards the parking lot with her keys in hand, but she soon stopped in her tracks. Lots of kids were already there and not a single car had moved. Eyes darting all over the place, she quickly got the gist - none of the cars were working anymore. That confirmed her suspicion about the wave that they¡¯d all experienced.


    Turning her feet towards the only other option, she started running towards the road that heads towards the suburb where family lived. In a feat that she¡¯d never been able to achieve in any of her cross country meets, Alexis traversed the 3 miles between the school and her house in only 19 minutes. Roars continued to echo across the valley and the constant shaking was hard to ignore.


    During her run, she had seen the dragon sweep by overhead. And by God, was it big. Alexis wasn¡¯t sure if it would be able to fit inside one of those large university football stadiums. This thing made Smaug look like a little bitch. Thankfully, it hadn¡¯t bothered to do anything with a single girl running. She could only imagine that it had its eyes set on the larger concentration of people - the city proper. Her steps sped up until she finally found herself in front of her house.


    Jumping up two steps at a time, she quickly ascended the short staircase to the porch that wrapped around their two story Victorian house.  Bursting through the door, she found her mom tearfully trying to get the cellphone in her hand to connect to someone. Sprinting into the living room where her mom was huddled on the couch, Alexis tackled her mother into a fierce hug.


    ¡°Oh! Alexis, thank Go-¡± The pretty middle-aged brunette began to speak, but Alexis cut her off while tears of her own trailed down her cheeks.


    ¡°Mom, listen to me carefully. I know you¡¯re scared, but I¡¯ve witnessed what¡¯s creating all of these roars and earthquakes.¡± Alexis¡¯ eyes betrayed the steady voice that came out, and her mother must have noticed the difference from the norm because she calmed down and looked back at her intensely. ¡°Monsters out of fiction are coming from the large tower visible above the treetops. I don¡¯t know if you saw it, but a dragon just flew overhead.¡±


    ¡°A-a dragon! No, tha-that¡¯s impossible!...¡±


    Alexis separated from her mom and held tightly onto her shoulders, giving a shake to stop her from rambling. ¡°Mom! I¡¯m telling the truth! The initial earthquake came from the tower bursting from the ground, but the shaking that¡¯s happening now, that¡¯s...that¡¯s an army. Or at least at least a group of something that¡¯s large enough to cause the ground to shake. I¡¯ve heard the racket they¡¯re kicking up. Where are Dad and Mitch? I came as quick as I could, but it looks like all the cars and anything that runs on electricity doesn¡¯t work anymore.¡±


    Alexis already knew the most likely answer to the questions. Her father worked at a boiler manufacturing plant about twenty minutes away by car near town and her little brother went to an elementary school about fifteen minutes away by car...in the direction of the mountains. A dull light started shining from her mother¡¯s eyes as she heard the question. Just like her daughter, all of the implications started falling into place. Lightly touching her now calm hands to her daughter¡¯s shaking forearms, she looked up in a grimace.


    ¡°You know where.¡±


    Moments passed as each gazed into the other¡¯s face. Sighing heavily, Alexis¡¯ mother spoke, ¡°Alexis, I want you to go to your father.¡±


    A wail crept up from Alexis¡¯ throat. ¡°Mom! What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying...I¡¯m going to go get your brother, but I want you to go join up with your father.¡±


    ¡°But, mom!-¡±


    ¡°Hush, child.¡± She lovingly wiped the tears from her daughter¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know your concerns and the reality of what I¡¯m doing, but...I just can¡¯t leave without my son.¡± Tears sprung once more to her own eyes as she said, ¡°I have to try!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Alexis looked at her mother terrified.


    Shaking her head, her mother said, ¡°I forbid it. You will live at all costs, you hear me? You get to your father, and if that becomes impossible, you survive as best as you can. I will do everything in my power to reunite with you once I have your brother. In a week¡¯s time, meet us at Johnson¡¯s Mill. If we don¡¯t show up within two days or it becomes too dangerous, you must leave - no argument.¡±


    Listening intently, Alexis buried her head back into her mother¡¯s chest. She could feel the loving caress of her mother¡¯s hands on her flaming red hair and it only reinforced the fact that she didn¡¯t want to leave. How could she leave her mother to a fate that was almost guaranteed death, or worse? She felt herself being pulled from the embrace and she let out a tiny whimper as they once more separated.


    Her mother looked at her lovingly. ¡°Go, Alexis. Gather some food and water in your spare backpack before you go, but do it quickly. I¡¯m going to do the same.¡±


    Several quiet minutes passed as the two women gathered supplies to go in their opposite direction. Once done, a backpack laden Alexis said a tearful goodbye to her mother and started jogging in the direction of the boiler company.

 Chapter 2 - The Awakening Pt. 2

    Alexis¡¯ feet thundered across the pavement as she ran. An overwhelming compulsion gripped her, driving her body to the brink out of fear and necessity. She absolutely had to reach her father. Every few minutes, she¡¯d pass another student or parent with the same crazed look in their eye heading to God knows where. It seemed that everyone had finally caught on to the magnitude of the situation. The only problem was that they were running in the wrong direction. Looking into the dead eyes of one staggering woman who¡¯d seemingly pushed herself beyond her limits just to make it this far, Alexis couldn¡¯t help but see her own mother there charging off to what was most likely her death.


    No! I can¡¯t think like that! Mom will survive. Mitch will survive. Dad and I will survive this storm and reunite our family. The last three assertions echoed over and over in her mind, creating a mantra to which her soul marched.


    As her breath ran increasingly more ragged, she noticed a fog that seemed to sweep in behind her and nip at her heels. A new sense of urgency flooded her mind as she noticed the way it snaked forward. Alexis wasn¡¯t sure if she was just dehydrated and imagining it, but she swore she could see actual snakes made of mist moving at the leading edge, twirling and diving like they were swimming parallel to the ground. At their backs was a moving tidal wave of soupy white that gleamed malevolently. Gazing back over her shoulder, she could no longer see farther than 10 ft. behind her.


    Within her heaving chest, her heart pumped vigorously at the sight, adding figurative flames to her step in a desperate gambit to escape. Alexis knew deep down that her failure to keep ahead of such a phenomenon would mean entrapment at the very least. If her instincts were true, the worst case scenario...she simply didn¡¯t want to explore it. I must go faster! Like this, Alexis and the fog played a mortal game of tag until she felt the presence at her back recede and her eyes fall upon the boiler company where her father worked.


    Alexis¡¯ family lived on the southwestern side of the town whereas the school was located to the northeast. Ever since she¡¯d left her house, she¡¯d been running almost due east to reach where she was now. In effect, she¡¯d run an ¡°L.¡± Her brother¡¯s school, unfortunately, was almost due west, a scant three miles away from the Blue Ridge Mountains that loomed in the background. She could still see their tree-clad tips, forlorn and imposing about the wispy fog that threatened the valley, but they looked even further away now than they ought to, like she she¡¯d been cut off from them.


    Shaking her head, she reminded herself as to why she was here and turned, breaking into a sprint that carried her through the gaping gates of the entrance. Stomping heavily to a weary halt, she looked around cautiously at the collection of prefabricated buildings in her surroundings. Everything was eerily quiet. There was no wind and something else seemed like it was missing as well. Realization struck as she thought back. The roaring and shaking! There weren¡¯t any sounds that gave evidence to their existence anymore.


    Rolling on the balls of her feet, she tried the main door for the administrative building where her dad worked. As expected, it was open for the normal business hours, yet not a soul could be found in the lobby. She continued padding down the corridor that led her further into the array of offices in the back of building. Since there was no electricity, the meager smattering of light that managed to make it through the thick fog at the border of the facility did little to illuminate her path in a building with few windows.


    Eventually, she could no longer discern the flooring, so she carefully picked her feet up, stepping higher and desperately trying to remain as quiet as possible while not accidentally kicking anything. She¡¯d seen too many movies to be stupid enough to run through a darkened building in a creepy situation like this.


    *Shlick*


    Alexis froze at the sound of her shoe trying to pull off of the tiled floor. Forcing herself to resist the urge of confirming what the fluid in the hall was immediately, she waited until her eyes finished adjusting to the low light and then looked down. A huge sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she realized that someone had just spilled coffee in their panic, probably from the earthquake and tower¡¯s emergence. She was already hopeful that it wasn¡¯t blood like she¡¯d initially thought because there wasn¡¯t that smell in the air - that iconic tangy hint of iron. She¡¯d visited a butcher with her father several years ago when he¡¯d bagged a doe during hunting season, and she¡¯d nearly gagged then.


    Frowning at the light, sticky squelch that her shoes now made, she pursed her eyebrows together, trying to will the darkness to become lighter as she tread forward once more. A few more feet however and she was eclipsed in total darkness. She stopped moving once again and felt a spring of fear well from within her soul again. She¡¯d always tried to act tough. She put on a facade to the other teenagers at school, always assuming the aloof cold beauty personality. But here, in the overwhelming darkness of her environment and current situation, she couldn¡¯t help but let out a self-mocking snort of derision.


    The truth was that Alexis was terrified. She couldn¡¯t even begin to think of another time in her life that held a candle to her circumstances now. An icy hand of fear threatened to choke the will to live out of her at every moment. Because really, who can survive against that? A hulking earth train of death had showed up on humanity¡¯s doorstep, bent it over, and said, ¡°Hope you¡¯ve got lube, because otherwise this is going to be painful.¡± She wasn¡¯t disillusioned like most Americans - she knew life wasn¡¯t meant to be fair, but this was taking it to a whole new realm of ¡°fucked up¡± and ¡°shit happens.¡±


    Frustrated, she separated herself from her thoughts and found a peculiar sensation that she¡¯d forgotten about - the blanket of whatever that was still surrounding her after that not-shockwave. She felt it sticking closely to her skin, swirling and adhering to the minute surfaces on her body. She felt it as she breathed it in, circulating it through her lungs and expelling it back out into the chilly hallway air. A thought occurred to her that, quite frankly, embarrassed her that it¡¯d taken so long for her to realize the possibility. It was only a theory, but what if what she is feeling...is mana?


    Immeasurably excited by the tiny prospect of hope, Alexis concentrated on an outstretched left hand, imagining a coalescence of the immaterial substance that seemed to hang heavily in the air. She desperately willed the particles contained within that palm to come together and bind into light. The result was shaky at first, but eventually an absurdly tiny gem of pure, pale silver light formed a few inches above her hand, sending rays of light and shadows dancing across the walls. Sweat ran down her temples from the inordinate exertion until she finally was unable to hold her stare any longer and unknowingly blinked for the first time in several minutes.


    Heaving a large breath, she allowed herself an exultant smile and psyched herself up to begin concentrating again, reminding herself that she needed to hurry, instead this time she focused on her left hand¡¯s pointer finger. There, she imagined light coating the half inch at the very tip. This time, she felt a suction force from within her arm that spiraled upwards along her veins towards her hand, not unlike the feeling of having blood drawn, that reciprocated a dull ache once a seemingly large amount had been withdrawn.


    Her eyes never wavering, Alexis watched as she successfully pulled off an E.T.!


    Memorizing the feeling of what her finger felt like at the moment in her mind, she slowly averted her eyes and walked forward into the curtain of fleeing darkness. Bolstered by her success, Alexis felt the fear cease its tumultuous bubbling within her chest and recede, only to be replaced with a swelling of pride. I may very well be the first person of this apocalypse to successfully cast magic! With enough time, she wondered if she¡¯d be able to create spells like the one¡¯s she read about in books and on the internet. After this first test, it was reasonable to conclude that this wasn¡¯t the type of setting where a chant was needed (so far as she knew) to invoke a magical effect. It may be the case that she was only limited by her imagination. How great would that be?


    Suddenly, a slight *squelch* and *crack* came from a pitch black room to her immediate left. What followed was what sounded like something...eating?


    As if it had never left in the first place, the primal fear she had initially been feeling was back in full force, taking root within her heart and forcing its way into her mind so strongly that tears came unbidden from the sheer pressure alone. Eyes wide, Alexis forced her trembling body to turn towards the doorway she¡¯d foolishly neglected to check. Rays of pale light streamed within, illuminating the scene in a twisted light show cast by her shaking arm.


    Alexis now knew why she couldn¡¯t find a soul. Everyone in the building had tried to barricade themselves within the break room, the only space large enough to accommodate the entire administrative staff at once.


    Splintered fragments of the hastily barricaded door were strewn in a fan shape burst leading into the room. There were no remnants of a plank, only shards. Bodies were flung everywhere. Blood...so much blood coated the floor and walls in gruesome streaks, even the slight *tap* *tap* of thick dripping could be heard as it pooled and fell off the main table, only to join a slick, crimson layer below. A few arms and legs were laid around, separated from their owners, forever unable to be reunited and given a proper burial. The faces...only fear and pain were portrayed in the unseeing eyes of the dead.


    Alexis once again heard the sound that now encapsulated the entirety of her dread. A rustling came from further in and she could only stare in mute horror as a shape in the darkness moved from a shadowy pile of corpses. Twin golden eyes reflected back at the frozen girl as it moved its head to look towards the door. It was large - almost 10 feet tall - and slowly stood up. Bending its neck to the side to not hit the ceiling tiles, the creature cautiously and curiously regarded the shining light that blinded it.


    Alexis gulped painfully and her eyes darted over to the side for a split second as her body tensed up to prepare its flight. There she found the second thing that she dreaded. Amber eyes that once held so much love and warmth were staring out into the void of the room, unseeing and uncaring for the struggles of the living. Short, fiery red hair, matted with caked blood, clung desperately to the top of a skull - that of her father. Where the body was...she had no clue, as only meaty strings coiled beneath it on the counter-top.


    Unable to handle anymore, something broke within Alexis. She backed away, shivering, with her eyes still glued on the scene before her.


    It was then that the creature finally adjusted to the light that was blinding it in its newly acquired den. Seeing that another human, still alive and wriggling, was before it, a thin globule of drool leaked out the side of its mouth near a hugely protruding lower canine. Short, spaced out powerful breaths echoed out into the room, overshadowing the constant *drip* in the background. A rumbling low growl began emanating from the creature¡¯s throat until it finally became intelligible.


    Hoo¡­.mann¡­.meeeaaa...t.


    At the words of the creature, because yes, that creature had just spoken, Alexis bolted from her position in the doorway, chased by a powerful roar that ripped its way into the hallway. Her feet carried her away from the brutal scene without any input from her. A brief moment passed and she blinked, finding herself having somehow climbed to the top of an access ladder of the adjacent manufacturing warehouse.


    Now in the last hour of daylight, Alexis looked upwards only to be greeted by a perfectly placed raindrop that hit her squarely in the eye. Rain began drizzling down, turning her red hair into a shade of crimson as it absorbed the water. Collapsing to her knees, she bent over and wept. She sobbed and cursed the monster that took her father from her. She cursed whoever had started something like this on the earth. All of the grief behind her father¡¯s heinous death welled to the surface and she let it out as quietly as her sorrow could allow.


    A flurry of powerful wings beat from behind her and she could only laugh maniacally in despair as she thought she was about to be eaten by a dragon. With a clattering of talons on steel, she swiveled to see a wet and curious...gryphon? It had the golden brown body of a lion and the white wings and head of a eagle. A powerful beak was firmly clamped together while proud eyes regarded the human before it.


    Lightning crashed around them and the storm that had swept in from over the mountains worsened.


    ***


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Out in the void of space, Halley¡¯s Comet sped with a deceptively tranquil countenance. 15 km long, 8 km wide, and nearly 8 km thick, the large island-like piece of rubble hurtled at speeds averaging at nearly 158,000 mph. Ice and gaseous mixtures continually break off into a tail, called a coma by modern scientists, pulled by a solar wind. From there, the evaporation of this dirty ice produces a light scattering dust to form into a tail that stretches almost 100,000 km across.


    Deep within the nucleus of the speeding comet, under a mass of dark ice the size of Manhattan Island, a computer was running checks by sending pulses out to the nearby planetary bodies.


    [Scanning geological data: Mars¡­]


    [Readings: nominal, no developments since previous cycle]


    [Scanning geological data: sub-planetary body designated ¡°Moon¡±...]


    [Readings: nominal, no developments since previous cycle]


    [Scanning geological data: Earth¡­]


    [Readings: error - unknown holes detected. Scanning...Pattern identified. Cataloging...complete. Approximating size of phenomena...complete. Error - Cause neither human nor natural. Scanning for possible third party...complete. Multiple new sentient organisms found. Proceeding with Reanimation.]


    Gases hissed and a large chamber was melted out in a rapid series of artistically efficient beams that sublimated the surrounding dirty ice into the shape of a grand bedroom. Not long after, two icy pods opened up from the flooring and revealed their contents. In one was a brilliantly youthful looking young man that slept on an ethereal bed made of gases that were bound into form by a sheet of artificial gravity that prevented the particles from moving around the slumbering occupant. Golden hair could be seen streaming down underneath his muscular back, fluttering as he moved slightly in unconscious annoyance at the sudden exposure to the vacuum of the chamber.


    In the other capsule and similar bed was a steed of astounding pedigree. Fiery blue liquid-like plasma hair continually flittered about, anchored at the neck in a sea of zero-G flame. His body was crimson and hooves made of black steel. A gentle, sniffling snort resounded out into the chamber as it likewise was apparently unconsciously disturbed by the sudden change. Slight bursts of flame could be seen as rogue hydrogen particles met with the plasma, emitting a tiny shockwave of force in reaction to the combustive event.


    Twitching slightly in the effect as it reached his ears, the golden-haired youth yawned groggily and sat up, lifting his eyelids to survey the area. A moment like this passed slowly as he blearily stared at the console emitting a red blip of light and then looked at the other capsule where the horse was residing. Turning over in sudden denial and slamming back into his cushion of air, the man weakly thought, Ruin, it¡¯s your turn to deal with the alarm. Better yet, snooze it for a few hundred years.


    Slight movement came from the opposite bed as the horse pushed out a snort of derision, sending a wave of icy dust particles bouncing about in an amusing display of imitation space snow. The last time you told me to do that, we ended up missing the start of the dark ages by about 200 years. Do I need to mention how pissed He was?


    Half groaning, half yelling, the man pushed himself off from the bed and flew to the ceiling above where he bent his knees and proceeded to catapult himself about the zero gravity chamber in an attempt to shake the fog he was currently experiencing. After a few minutes of icy space pinball, he aimed himself at the center console and landed in front of it, grabbing hold of its edges to stabilize his balance and root him in place.


    Tapping a few buttons, the gravity stabilized and the previous logs began to show. Reading the succinct data as quickly as possible, he reached current day and found the entry about Earth that triggered their awakening. Squinting at screen, he turned his head slightly towards the horse rousing itself on the other side of the room, thinking, Remind me again...there¡¯s only one sentient species on Earth, right?


    Kicking its feet into the cold black ice to push itself to its feet, Ruin¡¯s fiery mane intensified and was joined by four smaller flames that floated shortly behind each heel, and also a tail of the same same blue ethereal flame. The light cast from the steed was comparable to mini star until it decide to curtail it back to a comfortable factor. Turning to answer his master, Ruin mused, Of course. Just the humans.


    Shaking his head slowly, the man couldn¡¯t help but blink multiple times in obvious surprise at what he was seeing. Moving to the side, he beckoned Ruin to join him at the screen displayed before him and waited patiently as the horse perused the same data. After a few moments, the steed lifted his head and met his master¡¯s eyes. Master, this should be impossible.


    The handsome youth nodded while stretching. I know. And before you ask, I already checked for an Edict. There was none and hasn¡¯t been for the past 1500 years that we¡¯ve slept.


    What do we do then?


    That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering as well. The computer just ran an additional simulation to approximate the expected loss of life over a year span and...it wasn¡¯t pretty. Sidestepping the fact that humanity somehow survived to reach a population of 7 billion, God knows how that happened, we¡¯re looking at a massive majority of the population losing their lives.


    The steed shook his mane in an approximation close to a shiver. Intervention it is then, Tyr?


    Thinking a moment, Tyr strode over to a mirroresque slab of ice and looked at his image. He doubted the sculpted body he had would be too much of a problem. He just needed some clothes. Concentrating on a connection to his mind, he pulled some energy from the plane he was tethered to and condensed it, conjuring up a set of low-key armor and garb. He wasn¡¯t too sure about the level of technology that humanity had advanced to, but he didn¡¯t think his attire would draw too much attention. Finished dressing himself, he turned and shot a look at Ruin. Let¡¯s investigate. This doesn¡¯t sit well with me. Everything is too quiet with regards to all this destruction.


    Agreed, Master. A saddle materialized on the back of the mystical mount and Tyr hopped up in a well practiced motion. Galloping forth, Ruin carried Tyr towards the wall where a wormhole now swirled, created by the steed¡¯s intentional charge. Slipping through time and space, the pair arrived in the low orbit of Earth, observing the chaos below with their exceptional senses.


    Storms raged all over the surface and there were some fires that they could easily discern. The magnitude of such a conflagration to be seen from several hundred miles away was just...Have to hand it to humans. They created things admirably according to their nature. Such cities and countries couldn¡¯t even be imagined at the time when we were here last.


    Ruin began a plodding gait towards the surface on some unseen surface, allowing the two to more fully take in the sight as they slowly descended. Strange black dots covered the world, but were more heavily concentrated on land. From what Tyr could readily observe, there weren¡¯t any objects in the middle of the oceans. However, he didn¡¯t write off the possibility completely as he knew the trenches in large bodies of water could go quite deep. Arriving in the lower thermosphere, the duo was finally able to see that the black dots were in fact massive towers. There seemed to be more to them, but nothing else was really visible at their current altitude.


    Slowing down, Ruin came to a stop and Tyr removed himself from the saddle, jumping down to stand on the same invisible platform that his steed resided upon. Together the two took in the spectacle of a world in chaos. Tyr reached up and stroked the fingers of one hand through the fiery mane, unfazed, and still lost in the sight. It was at that moment that a flash of movement caught the rider¡¯s attention.


    Tiny, distant wings flew near a mountain peak. For it to be visible...That, combined with the utter destruction spread out before him like a serving platter, produced an overwhelming excitement deep within Tyr¡¯s ancient soul. He wasn¡¯t sure as to what was going on, but there was one thing that was he was absolutely sure about - he had to get to the surface. Every ounce of his being screamed at him to dive. Surge forward and join in the fray, his soul seemed to say.


    Ruin noticed this change in his lifelong friend and shook his great head, amused. Tyr turned to his steed with fire in his eyes. We need to go down there.


    A laugh bridged the mental gap when Ruin heard his words. Of course it would come to this. Nudging his partner with his dark nose, he moved closer in order for the man to mount but Tyr only shook his head and grinned.


    Nope! Let¡¯s race down this go around.


    You have got to be kidding me. Race? How many eons have it been and you have never once beat me.


    Today¡¯s the day, you overgrown pony!


    Chucking, the two blasted forward, punching into the mesosphere. Air resistance became more and more pronounced until flames erupted around their bodies, thundering with the sheer pressure exerted by them ripping their way through the particles. Now roaring with laughter at the thrill they hadn¡¯t experienced in 1,500 years, the two were neck in neck as they sped up faster, tracing a burning meteoric trajectory through the heavens. Ruin was as a stallion galloping to battle, building up speed to charge into the unknown while Tyr sprinted alongside him in delight, a ravenous hunger growing in his eyes.


    It only took moments before they were impaling clouds, sweeping apart whole storm systems with the force of their descent. In ill-concealed anticipation, Tyr materialized a large greatsword in his left hand that was intricately designed with scenes of war along the flat of the blade. Power exuded from its presence and consequently he began emitting a tangible amount of bloodlust that seemed to form and float in the air like bits of charred soot, dancing and burning with the intensity of living flame and overtones of brimstone.


    Mentally, the two picked a place they¡¯d never been before as their landing spot - the east coast of the New World. Back when they¡¯d been planet-side during the Dark Ages, they¡¯d had to go to the European regions for a certain task. Never before had they had the opportunity to choose where they were going in such a fashion. Grinning, the duo drew closer and slightly altered their path after spotting a monstrous tower that spawned endless streams of creatures from the bowels of the earth.


    In the matter of a split second, Ruin increased the fire surrounding his body and exploded towards the tower, reaching it first at an angle. Narrowly followed by his companion, the two split apart the tower, massive fragments bursting outwards in a display of destruction. Their two bodies impacted the ground in the middle of a bunch of monsters which were obliterated along with a swath of hundreds of feet in all directions. The duo slid to a halt, gouging a deep tear in the countryside.


    Removing the sword from the ground that he¡¯d used to slow himself down, Tyr smiled warmly at the destruction caused by their race, despite his loss. Really, what was another loss to his best friend when they¡¯d created something so magnificent together as a result? Using his voice for the first time since he¡¯d left Earth 1,500 years ago, he turned to Ruin and said playfully, ¡°Seems like we¡¯ve still got it...and I¡¯ll beat you one day for sure!¡± Turning his gaze towards the gathering monsters that stared at them curiously, he swept his arms wide, greatsword outstretched, and shouted loudly while the storm retreated from their presence, ¡°Rejoice, ye mortals and beasts! The Horseman and Ruin have returned!¡±


    <hr />


    So...what''d you think? I wrote the first section with Alexis while it was 2:30 in the morning, foggy as hell outside, and a full moon... I successfully freaked myself out at the time. Anyways, thanks for reading the chapter. Stay tuned for Chapter 3 - Unforeseen Complications!


    ~Bearcat

 Chapter 3 - Unforeseen Complication

    Arrogance flowed freely from Tyr¡¯s posture as he looked around at the gathering monsters. On all sides, he and Ruin were faced with hundreds of creatures that ranged from small and green to large and ugly. He didn¡¯t recognize what any of them were, except... is that a minotaur? What¡¯s the monster of Minos doing here? Even stranger was that there were perhaps a hundred of them. He was acquainted with the legend of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but he couldn¡¯t understand why there were multiple copies or how they could have come into being. He¡¯d confirmed millennia ago in a fit of curiosity that the story was just that, a work of fiction to give back story to the Greek god pretenders. To find a product of legend alive and here before him now was just astounding.


    Beyond his curiosity though, Tyr was immensely excited - overjoyed, even - at the prospect of combat with all of these monsters. He¡¯d battled men and beasts primarily for the entirety of his extensively long life. After such a long time, the battles had turned to drudgery as he realized that none could match him in skill since he¡¯d accumulated so much more experience. How could a mortal, even one blessed with extreme talent, hope to beat the wisdom he¡¯d accumulated through millennia? There was none, so he¡¯d given up the dream long ago.


    A side of him hungered to test his blade against their hides and flesh. Perhaps one here would have the savagery or skill to press him in the melee. Warmth spread over his mind, gradually turning into a raging inferno of bloodlust as his grip tightened on the leather-bound handle of his greatsword. Runes started to glow on the guard, sending a ping of red light towards the flat of the blade where more angelic runes were inscribed. One in particular shined brighter than all the rest and that was the symbol for ¡°War.¡± A second sigil denoted as ¡°Death¡± started to burn with a shadowy black, seemingly sucking in all the light around the blade.


    Giving a mental nod to Ruin beside him, he dashed forward and slew 5 of the tiny green monsters with a single swing of his gigantic blade, severing bone and sinew as if it were air. Slightly disappointed, Tyr turned to his side to see a minotaur lowering its head in an attempt to skewer him. Amused, he put up his blade and took the blow head on, blocking the entirety of the force. He bashed the monster¡¯s head with his sword¡¯s guard, easily crushing the skull. At that moment, however, an invisible and thick fog rushed back into the area as if it were water filling a hole.


    Instantly alert, Tyr swept his eyes around in an attempt to discern if there was something behind the strange phenomenon. His pupils darted back and forth, contracting to a point and obviously displeased at being unable to find the source. Ruin, who was closer to the destroyed tower, spoke to his mind while unleashing a ring of fire into the surrounding creatures. I feel a pressure being exerted from the direction of the tower. Tyr, I...I feel my power beginning to wane!


    Alarmed, the man swung his blade in a horizontal arc, sending a wave of dark energy towards Ruin. All the hundred beings in between the two dissolved to ash and Tyr turned into a blur that almost instantly reached the steed¡¯s side. Putting his back to Ruin, Tyr started speaking across their mental link. I can feel it now too. It¡¯s like...our power is being drained, or maybe blocked? But that would mean¡­ The two became very disturbed as the line of reasoning went in that direction. If their power was being impeded by this unknown substance, then that could only mean that He allowed it.


    Their power was drawn through a tether between their souls and a realm called the Hidden Dimension. Dark energy and dark matter existed in a concentrated form there, allowing its synthesis and conversion into raw power as it travelled along the heavenly tether. It was a gift from Him at the beginning when they were chosen to take up the mantle of being his harbingers. Never before had they even felt the slightest of disturbances in the tether. Until now.


    Tyr imagined that it wasn¡¯t that their power was being sapped, but rather they could no longer draw from the hidden dimension. If this was the case, they should be able to stop using their abilities and it would cease the depletion of their power. He decided to test this hypothesis and mentally spoke to Ruin again. Cut your flames, Ruin. I think we¡¯ve just been sealed off from the hidden dimension by whatever this soupy fog-like substance this is. I can¡¯t feel any of the Seals or Trumpets anymore either, so it¡¯s obviously affecting us like a veil. If we revert to our mortal states, we may be able to save what power we still possess.


    Ruin followed his master¡¯s words immediately, reigning back in the plasma that spewed forth from his neck, hooves, and tail. Energy receded back into his body in pulsing waves and soon all that remained was a regular looking stallion with deep red skin and a black mane.


    Nudging Ruin, Tyr said, ¡°How does it feel now?¡±


    It was as you said. The power is stabilizing, but it is not returning to my prior level before we reached Terra. Thankfully, I can still feel the connection to the Armory, so we are not completely without protection.


    Nodding at the hopeful result, Tyr also began to recall the power from his greatsword, robbing the light from the runes along the blade and guard, but before he could complete the task a large, tan monstrosity loomed before them, blocking out the setting sun that had just been reintroduced to the valley by Tyr and Ruin¡¯s meteoric arrival. Massive lower canines jutted out from a jaw that was too big for its hideous face. There was no hair to speak of, only rippling muscle on a 10 ft tall frame. In its hand, it carried a...tree?


    Tyr paused and couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Good God, you¡¯re ugly!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t apparent whether the lumbering hulk understood him or not, but the sound of rushing wind came in answer. In a burst of beastial strength, the monster swung his tree trunk around like a stick, aiming to crush the human before him. Tyr dodged away backwards towards Ruin and snorted in annoyance. The monster wasn¡¯t really an issue for him, but it did remind him that he needed to deal with the others surrounding him in the vicinity if he wished to be able to breathe after releasing the last rune on his sword. Somewhat despondently, he desummoned his greatsword and pulled out a bow made out of bone that glowed verdant, carved with skulls that gaped in unseeing petrifaction.


    ***


    While Tyr was drawing the string of the bow, a few monsters tried to rush them, but were repelled by Ruin¡¯s power kicks. Like a dance, the steed trotted around his partner, whipping his back legs out in perfectly timed kicks to each intruder, sending them speeding backwards like they¡¯d been hit by a train. Even though he had been forced to recall his externally supplied power, Ruin was still exponentially stronger than an everyday type of horse. It was a result of holding so much power internally and currently, his reserves boasted about 75% of his potential.


    If a formula were to be applied, it would work out that every 10% he retained would equal a 2.0X multiplier increase in his base strength. For example, by this model, he currently was boosted to 192.0X his base strength since the power was multiplicative. Luckily, this was was not an expendable resource that would be spent by simply fighting and moving around, but if he were to release the seal on his abilities and use some, his personal strength would decrease by the amount of what was deducted by his ability. If he used 10% to cast a forest sized fire nova, which was one of his favorites, he would lose a 2.0X boost for the foreseeable future and would drop him back down to 96.0X his base capabilities.


    The downsides to using the Gift, as Ruin like to call it, would be a double hit - it would subtract power necessary to use his Gift and also reduce the physical capabilities of his body. He knew that this would almost certainly affect Tyr the same way, so he elected to not use any power. What his partner was about to do would be more than enough to end the current situation.


    ***


    Tyr¡¯s breath slowed as he aimed the bow at the lumbering creature in front of him. Ruin¡¯s kicks had kept the monster cautious of approaching, but now that his steed saw that his master was done, he stopped his whirlwind dance of death and stood just behind Tyr, allowing the approach once more. Concentration showed across his face as he felt the power welling from his soul and into the bow in his hands. The skulls moved slightly in response and regained a piece of livelihood, beginning to shimmer like a wraith along the bow¡¯s exterior. An arrow dripping with poison formed from nothingness and pressed itself tightly against the taut bowstring where Tyr¡¯s fingers kept it in position. Additionally, wind began to wrap itself around the shaft and arrowhead, resolving itself into an impossibly snug coating of air that rotated with the force of a hurricane.


    In Tyr¡¯s mind, he went through the process of dictating the targets that would be afflicted by what was to come. Satisfied when he¡¯d narrowed it down to creatures that weren¡¯t initially surface dwellers, he let out the remainder of his breath calmly and loosed the arrow that was brimming with power. The arrow shot forward in a true path, exploding into a circular wave that propagated out from the point of impact once it hit the monster that was trundling towards them from 30 ft away. Poison pervaded the air, seeping into each of the monsters as the wave washed over them. Almost immediately, they began to cough, blood seeping out of their skin as if it were sweat.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The metallic smell hung heavy on the air as one by one the monsters fell to their knees and then fainted from blood loss. For all, it would be the last time they saw the light of day as the blood continued to flow until not a drop was left in their bodies, pooling beneath their grotesque forms. As for the wave, it continued through the trees and the valley, disappearing from sight.


    Ruin trotted up to stand even with his partner and asked, What was the range of this particular pestilence? Tyr stood unmoving, waiting until the culling was complete. After a minute, he opened his previously closed eyes and sighed with a grimace. Answering Ruin, he said, ¡°I extended it to 30 leagues this time.¡±


    [AN: 1 league ¡Ö 3.45 miles, so 30 leagues is a little over 100 miles]


    Ruin slowly shook his head in disbelief. If you went that far¡­


    ¡°Yeah... my reserves dropped down to 30%.¡± Tyr looked over the field of corpses in deep contemplation. His physical ability should be at 8.0X his natural right now. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but when he¡¯d been considering the range of effect, he decided to secure a safe zone first before anything else. He also felt that something was off about this substance that was hanging in the air. It had a tinge of familiarity to it and he was a bit stumped as to why. Turning his head to look at Ruin, he said, ¡°With a 30 league radius clear of monsters, we might be able to find some humans. I¡¯d still like to hear how this all started. Plus, we could use the time in between to try and explore what our limitations are now.¡±


    Ruin gave him a mental nod and Tyr wearily patted his steed¡¯s neck after placing the bow back in the Armory Dimension. Off to the side, pieces of rubble were still falling from the 5,000 ft tall tower, or rather what was left of it. If some modern person were to look at all the the track that Tyr and Ruin had carved out, the tower, and all the countless bodies littered among the uprooted trees and overturned ground, they¡¯d be sure to think that bombs had been detonated. Wisps of smoke still rose from charred pieces of wreckage and flesh. A sickly smell of death and blood permeated the air.


    Suddenly, a hair-raising roar swept over the disaster area. Loud and guttural, it resonated so deeply that the two felt their bones quake. Alarmed, Tyr oriented his body towards the sound, instantly assuming a stance ready for battle. He¡¯d forgotten to do one very important thing back when he¡¯d cast the pestilence:make it a bubble instead of a wave. What he¡¯d taken out were all the ground based monsters, or anything that was touching something near the ground at the time.


    It did not include airborne monsters.


    ***


    Alexis couldn¡¯t fathom the depths of how screwed she was.


    At the moment, she was staring down a gryphon the size of an SUV and her only offensive capability was maybe flashing it momentarily with her magic light. Actually, scratch that, it couldn¡¯t even been considered offensive could it? If she remembered some of the terms the boys would throw out when talking about their games correctly, her ¡°ability¡± would count more towards something called crowd control. Alexis gave a self deprecating laugh and leveled her gaze back towards the gryphon, a hint of nervousness gained by the realization of her utter vulnerability.


    She was good at running, that was it. She¡¯d never taken martial arts because honestly, who does that in America? Some kids might have had parents who thought the activity was cool, but generally speaking the past time was incredibly rare. After all, what use would the violence learned have for a budding U.S. citizen? If you punched somebody, you¡¯d likely be sued or expelled from whatever organization you were a part of at the time, such was the degree that violence was abhorred.


    She knew that many took the classes for the self-discipline it offered, but she thought those individuals were rare. The majority were the ones who had taken a particular liking to fighting. Either because they were inspired by some movie, or they felt that they were weak and needed to protect themselves. The rest of the population just prayed that the police would catch the bad guys before...Wait, what the hell am I thinking about? I¡¯ve got a fucking gryphon in front of me! Its huge white wings flapped once more and folded to its sides.


    Alexis nervously looked at the hawkish lion and slowly put her hands on the rooftop, pushing her body into a crouching position as she rocked onto the balls of her feet. Her actions had caused the beast to tilt its head in wonder, but otherwise do nothing else except adjust itself on the rooftop towards the young girl, claws screeching as they slipped heavily across prefabricated steel.


    Ever so slowly, the gryphon started walking forward with caution in its hawk-like eyes. The clinks on the roof that signaled its advance drove nails of fear in Alexis¡¯ heart, petrifying her. It¡¯s not going to eat me, right? Right? No matter how much fear she held though, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to move. Like she was rooted, her legs refused to take that initial leap. Perhaps it was because in the back of her mind, she knew that if she made such a drastic move the beast would be alarmed and then REALLY try to eat her.


    Their distance decreased until the gryphon was a shadow looming over her now trembling body. Slowly, and ever vigilantly keeping an eye on the small human, the gryphon bent its head down and sniffed. Puffs of heated air blew against the side of Alexis¡¯ face, lifting her hair and revealing the girl¡¯s terror-stricken visage as each sampling breath was expelled through the slits on its beak. But it then did something completely contrary to what she expected. In some apparent act of subservience, the gryphon bowed!


    Flabbergasted, Alexis reached out a shaky hand and gently placed it on the creature¡¯s massive head. At the gesture it burrowed its head against the palm and then sat down right in front of her. Bewildered at what she was experience Alexis looked to the side and saw something that lended some explanation to the situation: there was a saddle. This is a tamed gryphon. But then another thought occurred to her. Where is its rider?


    Scaring the both of them and causing the gryphon to get into a defensive stance, a sudden sound of thunder crackled, rolling across the valley. However, instead of getting weaker, the sound seemed to intensify and build. Alexis felt that she had heard a similar sound before in her life, but she couldn¡¯t quite place her finger on it. Her eyes widened in realization and looked towards the skies just in time to see two streaking meteors blow through the thunderhead, sending the clouds curling back like a scroll.


    In the matter of a split second, the two objects collided with the middle of the massive monolith that had drilled up to the surface to unload its horrors. Alexis tightened her already white-knuckled grip on the gryphon¡¯s saddle and watched with wide eyes as the structure burst apart, followed by a streaking impact as whatever tore through the colossus made landfall. A tremor pulsed through the valley and trees could be seen flying as they were uprooted and flung aside by the meteors advance upon the ground.


    A tiny sliver of hope appeared in Alexis¡¯ heart as she gazed upon the debris falling from the ruined tower. Giving a glance towards the gryphon, she thought, Maybe...maybe now I can make it to mom and Mitch! Completely forgetting her promise to her mother, determination spread across her face and she patted the beast beside her. It crooked its head to the side and moved next to her, seemingly reading her intentions. Taking a firm grip of feathers and the saddle, Alexis pulled herself up into the seat atop the fearsome legendary creature.


    A few hops later, the two flew into the sky with a burst of its mighty wings. Destruction reigned below as Alexis stared wide-eyed at the town as they flew over head. Green goblins could be seen rushing around in packs, bursting into buildings and carrying women away. She shuddered at the thought and tucked the memory away, praying for the lives of those captured and being slaughtered underneath.


    The two did not stop however, and continued to soar towards the direction of the crumbling tower. Smoke from fires dotted the air and the gryphon skillfully dodged all of them to ensure that they didn¡¯t choke on the noxious fumes.  Before long, and much faster than even a car could have handled the distance, Alexis found herself over the school where her brother attended.

 Chapter 4 - The First Survivor

    Decided to come back to this. I''ve been thinking about it all these months and I really need this style of fantasy escape. Archon is another flavor entirely, and I have to take it in chunks. That''s just one of my limitations as an author I''ve found, so I will be picking this back up.


    I hope you enjoy and I look forward to your comments,


    BC


    <hr />


    A faint tremor accompanied the roar that reverberated through the valley. The rocks themselves seemed to tremble at the might incumbent in the entity capable of such a sound, bouncing up and skipping back and forth on the ground in a fearful dance. Tyr¡¯s eyes took on a vicious and alert light as he scanned the surroundings. The shadows loomed longer on the treeline as the day started to set.


    He quickly turned to Ruin. ¡°Let¡¯s move. I don¡¯t want to wait for whatever made that sound now that we have a substantial handicap.¡± The steed snorted in agreement and trotted up next to Tyr, allowing a swift mount before they galloped away as silent and fast as the wind.


    Heading due east away from the tower¡¯s ruins, Tyr and Ruin glimpsed the bloodied and diseased bodies of countless monstrosities. They ranged from beastial to humanoid in nature. One was a 6 ft tall half man/half goat while another was this pitiful, disgusting little green creature that was dressed in a filthy loincloth and carried a crude spear with a stone head. Several of these species were littered about the place as if they had been wandering in a group before the met their ends at the hands of Tyr¡¯s pestilence. Knowing whether a species is solitary or group oriented is extremely useful information, so they both observed how each had fallen and where in relation to the others.


    Tyr and Ruin quietly absorbed the details of all the physical characteristics of each species as they raced by because neither knew if they would be seeing these races again or not. If they did, this kind of information would be critical in a battle. After all, Tyr had already expended a large portion of his former might.


    He couldn¡¯t use any of his Horseman abilities for fear of further zapping his power and he was a bit worried about what would happen if he bottomed out. He looked down at the flowing black mane on Ruin¡¯s neck and silently thanked God that at least his steed still had a large portion of his reserve remaining.


    Another roar split the sky with its fury, reverberating off of the mountain and into the valley below, shaking the already terrified local wildlife into fleeing as well. Tyr could vaguely make out its direction and believed that they¡¯d be safe for now, but was amazed at all of the deer, birds, and squirrels beating a hasty retreat within his line of sight. It was a biblical flood of organisms running in terror from the might and majesty of the creature capable of such a sound.


    The curiously silent fall of Ruin¡¯s hooves pounded into the soft underbrush, his body shrugging past small trees and shrubbery like an unstoppable train. At a glance to the sides, dozens of trees could be seen as having fallen over from either the earthquakes earlier or the passage of gigantic beasts. Of the two, Tyr couldn¡¯t be certain.


    Tyr, there¡¯s a structure up ahead, Ruin sent over their mental link.


    Tyr¡¯s eyes swept up to the front, focusing his attention on the approaching building. It was similar but different from any structure he¡¯d seen before. Granted, he hadn¡¯t been back to Earth since the early Dark Ages, so there were bound to be a host of new advancements since that dreary time in history. There seemed to be a large amount of glass on this building, covering all of the windows. It looked clean, much cleaner than anything he¡¯d seen.


    It probably gets really stuffy in there, though the quality does seem to be a different grade of that of the Greeks. I wonder how Helena spent the rest of her days¡­


    Ruin butted into his thoughts. You better not be thinking about that Greek girl again.


    Tyr adopted an expression and tone of voice that dripped with mock innocence. And what girl would that be, pray tell?


    Mhmm. Ruin¡¯s voice echoed back sarcastically like a big black mama who caught her son trying to lie out of church.


    Tyr started sweating. Yeah, well...what does it matter anyway? She¡¯s been dead for a long, long time. After the last few words, he felt a sadness well up in his soul because this was the drawback. Immortality. He had no way of imparting it to others, so one by one, he watched his friends and lovers die save for one¡­ Ruin.


    Ruin snorted in derision. It matters because you didn¡¯t learn from your mistake. Remember Pompeii? That wouldn¡¯t have happened if you had just listened to me.


    Tyr exclaimed mentally, What! You¡¯re blaming Mt. Vesuvius¡¯ eruption on our relationship? That¡¯s low, Ruin.


    Of course I blame it on you two! How else can you explain it? I was there, remember? You and your Slobberknocker jumped up and smashed down a full-powered strike on the tip of the Mountain just to impress the girl. What the hell did you think would happen, Ruin rolled his eyes as he galloped.


    Okay, first off, it¡¯s Strife¡¯s Hammer. Don¡¯t cheapen the divine armament. Secondly, I honestly didn¡¯t think the mountain was a volcano teetering on the edge of eruption. Lastly¡­ Tyr paused and stared hard into space.


    A few seconds passed in silence while hills and pine trees rolled past, the building coming ever nearer. It would probably only be a few more seconds before they arrived at the front door.


    A quiet and incredulous Ruin suddenly said, You can¡¯t come up with a third excuse¡­ can you.


    Tyr put on a wronged expression, but then thought excitedly, Oh look, we¡¯ve arrived!


    Ruin snorted in disbelief as he came to a stop on the concrete walkway leading up to the main entrance.


    The two looked around the deserted building briefly before they heard another call from the dragon nearby. Looking at each other, the two burst into the main doors just as a 300 ft long looming shadow came sweeping by overhead. It would give the feeling of a fast moving cloud if not for the hair raising sense of danger that it brought. Instincts can be a powerful tool, especially in the vicinity of an apex predator. Tyr was in too precarious of a position to think of clashing with such a beast.


    After a few moments, they started moving again. A roar from far off confirmed that the beast was moving further away and the reverberations that followed confirmed that it was flying back to the mountain, or the tower he had undoubtedly come from - one of the two. Tyr fervently hoped that it was going back to build a nest, or sleep.


    He patted Ruin¡¯s neck affectionately. Hopefully that bastard is the hibernating type. His steed nodded in agreement.


    They advanced a few tens of feet until they finally drew near the first classroom. Step by step, they acclimated to being inside and noticed something they hadn¡¯t before - the eery silence.


    All of the doors looked like they had been forced open. They shot each other a look, and Ruin backed up to provide for a position where he could both attack and defend.


    Tyr edged forward and peeked into the classroom. In that moment, he wished that he hadn¡¯t. There were too many bodies - tiny bodies that were strewn across the room over their desks and on the floor.


    Hair, snot, chunks of flesh, and blood were scattered everywhere. Even the battle-hardened Tyr barely held down the bile that reflexively surged at the sight. It wasn¡¯t really the gore that got him. It was the empty stares of terror from about 30 pairs of eyes that made his heart still.


    The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he quickly looked away after confirming there were no monsters. Rubbing a hand down his clammy forearm, he tried to steady his breathing.


    A warm nudge at his back slightly startled him, but he soon heaved one last breath and calmed down. Absentmindedly reaching backwards, he put a hand on Ruin¡¯s snout and turned to meet his eyes, shaking his head.


    We move on.


    Both of them didn¡¯t say it, but they knew they had come across a place where children were gathered. Of all the shitty luck, they found this place first. There was hope that a few survived still, so they hurried along the corridor, looking inside each classroom as they came across.


    Sometimes, they found the poisoned corpses of monsters, but the largest group by far still remained the children. Streaks of blood were painted everywhere, and most of the groups had a single adult that looked like they had died while first trying to protect the little ones.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Tyr sighed softly.


    What¡¯s that?


    He looked around and pointed at the corpses. ¡°They were massacred and left for dead. Beasts rarely kill out of anything other than hunger or self-defense.¡±


    Ruin snorted quietly and then agreed, It does seem strange. What drove them to such frenzy, I wonder?


    ¡°Another mystery it seems.¡±


    The two proceeded abreast each other, their earlier vigilance slightly relaxed. This was a graveyard. It was highly unlikely now that the survivors would still be here if there were any.


    However, at that moment, a weak cough came from the last room at the end of the hall, a few doors away.


    Tyr¡¯s expression instantly changed and he signaled to Ruin, quickly gliding across the concrete floor with practiced stealth. The soft sound of the horse¡¯s hooves were unavoidable, but nonetheless they swiftly approached the door, completely in sync with each other.


    Tyr¡¯s eyes focused as he crossed the threshold, a flame reflected in his irises. This area was no different from the rest. Except, for one very different factor.


    A girl with flaming red hair was seated in the center of the room. Tyr was momentarily mesmerized before he started to softly pad towards.


    There were a few tears on her clothes, revealing the soft white skin that lay beneath. He couldn¡¯t see her eyes, or her face for that matter, but he could instantly tell that she was beauty. However, the whole scene was wrong, so very wrong.


    At her feet, lay two macabre corpses, giving rise to an awful bloody smell. It was a woman holding a small boy. Tyr lightly sniffed at the pungent odor of the room. He¡¯d experienced many like it. Flickers of light danced across the splattered walls and the ceiling overhead. Drawing nearer, he saw that there was a tiny flame, weakly bouncing in her hand.


    Tyr hastily sucked in a breath and almost summoned his sword. Sorceress!


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Ruin noisily squeezed into the room, his rough breathing filling the air. Where?!


    The sound finally startled the girl out of whatever reverie she was currently experiencing. Without turning her head, her voice sounded out wearily and laden with anguish, ¡°I don¡¯t know what monster has come, but let¡¯s be done with this.¡±


    It was fortunate that he was still granted understanding towards all languages on Earth. This would have been awkward otherwise. Squinting his eyes and moving slowly the side, Tyr spoke out smoothly and provocatively, ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that humanity was so easily broken.¡±


    His words startled the girl and she confusedly looked towards him.


    It was then that Tyr finally got a full view of her face. She was very comely and pleasing to the eye. Her fiery red hair reminded him of a few communities he¡¯d come across during the Black Death period, but he¡¯d never seen a girl so full of vitality. Her state of bereavement brought pity to Tyr¡¯s mind, but he knew she needed something else at the moment.


    A weak voice stammered out, ¡°Who are you?¡± She blanched at the sight of Ruin who was just off to the side.


    ¡°I am known as many things, but you may call me Tyr. I am the Creator¡¯s Horseman.¡± He motioned to the red war horse behind him. ¡°And that is Ruin, my steed.¡±


    She gave a small bark of despairing laughter, as if she felt she had finally slipped into insanity. While rude, Tyr took no offense to her reaction. It was rare that he divulged his identity, and the reactions were always all along these lines. Disbelief. Skepticism. Doubt. It was understandable, though.


    As for why he chose to tell her now, it was intuition, pure and simple. In the millennia of his life, he¡¯d always operated on this type of whim and had developed a knack for reading the general destiny of a soul. Perhaps it was his proximity to God, but he felt like he could feel a person¡¯s potential through questioning and inspection. He considered it a matter of Providence that the first person he¡¯d run into on Earth would be such an individual.


    She rolled her eyes in a tired manner and asked jokingly, ¡°I thought there were four of you?¡±


    ¡°A misconception,¡± he said lightly. ¡°I have four aspects, but they are all a part of me, and I them. In any case, you¡¯re asking the wrong question.¡±


    He squatted gently over a body and delicately probed the monster¡¯s corpse. Their hide is tough, much more so than a human¡¯s. The particular one he was looking at was a green humanoid that probably stood at 3.5-4.5 feet tall. A stupidly long nose, hunched back, and long ears made it look grotesque. Powerful jaws and muscles gave testament to the fact that they were a warrior race, at least in some aspect. One thing confused him, though.


    Why are all these monsters so incomparably ugly?


    Ruin snorted in laughter off to the side.


    The girl¡¯s gaze turned thoughtful in her somber mood, and then quickly asked in a flash of anger, ¡°Why are you here? Did you do all this?¡±


    Tyr gave a half-smile. ¡°Reasonable questions.¡± He wiped his hands on the leather legguards he was wearing and stood up, stepping in the holes around the bodies as he approached the girl. As he neared, he noticed the distinct lack of fear towards him in her eyes, a fact which impressed him though he did not show it.


    He leaned against a still solid desk a few feet away from her. ¡°I am here to investigate why the Earth has become like this, and no, I did not cause any of it. I have no idea who did. God didn¡¯t do it, either.¡±


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡± She questioned. The look she was giving was like a dying man in the desert and Tyr had just shown up with a jug of water. The fire in her eyes, which had dimmed to mere flickering embers, regained a tiny portion of the intensity he thought they were capable of reaching. A bit closer.


    ¡°It is not in his nature.¡± He shrugged. ¡°God is complex, but he is also simple. He does not contradict himself and he is Good itself. This-¡± He motioned at the carnage. ¡°Would not have been produced by him. He obviously allowed it to occur, but I cannot understand why yet. The purpose and manipulator behind such a disaster eludes me.¡±


    She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. ¡°Even God¡¯s horseman has no idea what is going on? That¡¯s just great.¡±


    Tyr shrugged. ¡°Perhaps there is a plan at work. I am here now to find out what that is.¡± His brow creased and he said frustratedly. ¡°Sadly, as soon as made landfall, Ruin and I were cut off from the power that fuels us. There seems to be something in the air that¡¯s blocking us. We still have some powers, but it¡¯s a one-time use sort of deal and we have no clue about the current world.¡±


    ¡°This is all very interesting, but why should I care?¡± She said despondently. Tyr took note of the fact that she tilted her head when he mentioned the substance that blocked their powers, like she had an idea as to what caused it. That¡¯s it, he must have her.


    Instead of answering, he moved forward and kneeled beside her in front of the two corpses, taking note of the auburn and fair complexions that was shared between the two. Sitting back on his heels, he said softly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss. I take it they were your mother and brother?¡±


    ¡°They still are!¡± She half-choked out a sob.


    ¡°No¡­ they¡¯re not.¡± He said sadly. ¡°They¡¯ve moved on from this hellish place. Freed from all the suffering they experienced at the end. While I cannot bring back the dead, I can offer you an outlet for your grief. Your family would not desire the same fate for you.¡±


    She looked at him for a brief second before snorting out a derisive chuckle. She shook her head in understanding of the line of reasoning. ¡°Revenge, huh.¡±


    Tyr nodded slowly. ¡°Indeed. I am the Horseman of the Apocalypse, burdened with Divine purpose. Who better to facilitate the enactment of your justice? Or are you saying that you cared so little for their lives and memory that you don¡¯t even feel the need to seek redress.¡±


    His inflammatory words struck at the girl and she sucked in a cold breath of fury as she whipped her head to glare at him. She grinded her teeth as she looked at him, growling out, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare talk about the love I had for me family! I just¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do now that they¡¯re gone.¡±


    Tyr¡¯s bass voice rumbled in resolute strength, ¡°Humanity¡¯s existence itself is a perpetual struggle. You could lay down, wait for the next monster to come eat you, or nature take you. There are a thousand paths towards death for you at this moment. However, would it not be better to live? To fight? You have already been robbed of the chance to fight for your family¡¯s survival, but there still exists their memory! They live on in you, and thus your life is no longer just your own. You have a chance to earn glory for them - for yourself. To earn resolution for the atrocity created here and destroy the lives of those like them-¡± He motioned towards the monsters¡¯ corpses. ¡°That destroyed yours.


    I can teach you to become a warrior, because I am first a warrior before all else. I was the Sword of the First King before God called me into service. There are none more qualified than I. And I will help accomplish what you seek, if vengeance becomes your goal. Ruin supports these words, and I swear by the Creator they¡¯re true.¡± Ruin snorted and nodded his great head in agreement off to the side.


    To her credit, the girl did not lose her head at the thought. Tyr could see her caution and intelligence mulling over the words he¡¯d said and the future that they would bring.


    She said slowly, ¡°What is the cost? There is nothing free in this world.¡±


    A smile bloomed on Tyr¡¯s face. He chuckled, ¡°Well said. I require the remainder of your life in service. I apologize for not telling you sooner, but it was either servitude or death ever since I told you my title. You will teach me about this age and your people, and assist me in whatever way I desire.


    ¡°The future will be difficult. First, we have to survive and unite what portions of humanity are left. We have to learn about this new world that¡¯s been created before our eyes, and finally we must fight in order to retake this land from the beasts.¡±


    The girl breathed deeply and then settled into an expression of contemplation. Tyr did not push her to respond. This was a lifelong commitment he was asking of her. He felt a moment¡¯s displeasure at forcing her so, but he had long forgotten how to truly feel guilt over acts he¡¯d committed. He needed a guide, and this one suited his needs perfectly.


    ¡°How do I know if any of this is true?¡± she asked at last. ¡°You¡¯ve said all these things, but I see nothing more before me than a man that looks my age, dressed in leather armor and followed by a peculiar, red horse that seems to understand speech.¡±


    The edge of Tyr¡¯s mouth creeped upward and he turned to Ruin. ¡°I¡¯m saving what I have left. Burn the corpses.¡± He turned to piercingly look at the fiery redhead. ¡°Show the girl what divinity inspires.¡±


    Tyr stepped backwards until his back was against the cold cinder block walls. Simple crayon drawings of families, stapled to the board in a grid, crackled behind his back like anticipatory applause. The girl in the center of the room just stood there in confusion, not understanding what was happening.


    That is, until Ruin acted.


    The steed willed purpose into his power, drawing forth the dimensional energy that resided in his body. Like a spark that met oil, Ruin¡¯s fully black mane roared to life as a blue conflagration. Ethereally, strands of smoldering, plasma-infused hair came off one by one, dancing in the air to an unheard music. Ever so gently they floated across and down in the room, sending flickering shadows to mimic their beautiful movement.


    Gently, the strands landed on all the bodies except for the girl¡¯s family, instantly combusting into fireballs of piercingly hot flame. Just like that, fifty-odd corpses steadily burned in vigil against the darkening sky outside the windows.


    Amazed, the redhead looked around the room in a stupor. Tendrils of incorporeal flame licked at the air all around her, but it did not burn her in the slightest. After a moment of appreciation she turned to Tyr who had crossed his arms to watch the moment from afar, meeting the eyes of the man that stood below only God.


    ¡°I accept your proposal,¡± she said resolutely.


    Tyr abandoned his relaxed position, striding back across the room until he stood just before her. He stared back down into the eyes which now held a raging inferno and nodded in acceptance.


    ¡°And I accept your resolve.¡± After uttering those words, he held his palm up to face the heavens. A multicolored flame came into being above it, shifting between hues of green, red, black, and icy-white, the tendrils quietly crackling until Tyr flattened his fingers outward. Spurred on by the motion, the flame morphed into a seal that shone brightly for a moment before liquefying and flowing across the entirety of his left hand to form a glove.


    Tyr¡¯s eyes flitted upwards to match the girl¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hold out your right arm.¡± To which she did. Sighing lightly, his flame-covered hand darted outwards, latching onto the arm and gripping it tight.


    She fiercely struggled before stopping to stare in mute horror at the flame that snaked onto her arm. It was like a brand, sizzling and scorching the skin as it writed upwards in an angelic pattern, burning away the sleeve of her long-sleeve shirt. She grit her teeth in agony, but admirably did not cry out. It did not stop until it the entirety of the rune pattern covered her full right arm and shoulder.


    Tyr shuddered slightly as he felt the connection being established. Closing his eyes, he savored the bond¡¯s creation, for it was a pact of obedience and trust. The angelic mark would enable him to sense her location and general well-being, even to the level of being able to communicate if she allows it to grow, as long as he had the energy to fuel the connection.


    Tyr could not read her thoughts, however.


    There was only one piece of information he could glean, derived from that first, brief moment of contact with her soul.


    Opening his eyes, he looked down at the markings that were fading into a black tattoo, and then shifted his eyes to stare into the girl¡¯s. ¡°The bond is forged¡­ Alexis.¡±

 Chapter 5 - Trees Like Torches

    Was on a roll, so I kept going. Enjoy!


    Please remember to leave comments. I like hearing impressions. As this is a new area for me, I really don''t know how you feel about this sort of thing as audience, or elements within it, so my curiosity is piqued. I''m all ears.


    <hr />


    ¡°Will this do?¡± Tyr patted his hands free from as much dirt as he could and asked the redhead at his side. She was as equally dirty as him, but the picture she painted was still so desolate in comparison. Grief clung to her even more resolutely than the earth she¡¯d been working in.


    She nodded gently. ¡°Yes, lord. I think they¡¯ll be able to rest here.¡± With a hand, blackened from the soil, she reached up and straightened the horizontal section of the stick cross she¡¯d had to fashion together on the fly.


    Tyr knew that she wanted to give them a proper burial, but this was all that they could manage under the circumstances. The sun had already receded beyond the skyline, and the night was quickly closing in. They needed to move decisively. Tyr had this unshakable feeling that time was of the essence, despite the measures he¡¯d taken to given them a buffer.


    He quickly moved to Ruin after patting himself down some more. Stroking the muscle-corded, red-tinged body, he raised his hands and lightly tugged at the mane as he leaned over onto his back. I think your flames got cooler, old friend.


    The horse danced to the side, sending Tyr stumbling in a fit of laughter. Ruin bared his teeth in a mock approximation of grin and sent, Better watch it master. I still have 75% of my power. You¡¯re no different than a grasshopper to me right now.


    Tyr chuckled and stepped back towards the horse, lightly hopping up onto his back. Affectionately patting his neck, he said, ¡°That means I get to be lazy, right? That¡¯s great! I¡¯m always pulling the weight - it¡¯s about time you do some work for a change.¡± He proceeded to yawn and stretch out his back, eliciting some audible pops.


    Alexis came walking over and stared at the pair curiously. She squinted for a moment and then asked, ¡°Can the two of you talk to each other?¡±


    ¡°Ohoho - well done! She catches on quickly, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Tyr clapped good-naturedly from horseback. Ruin snorted and gave a subtle nod of approval.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I hear him, then?¡± She asked.


    Tyr replied steadily while looking about his surroundings, ¡°Different pacts of course. Your oath is with me, not him. Even then, you¡¯re a long way from being able to communicate with the rune. Just know that he¡¯s as intelligent as you or I. There may be a way for us all to be able to hear each other eventually, but that¡¯s, again, for the distant future.¡±


    ¡°But what if-¡±


    ¡°Leave it. We will have time for this topic later. At present, we must hurry towards the nearest village or town.¡± He held out a hand.


    Alexis walked up quickly and gingerly winced when Tyr grasped hold of her singed right hand and hoisted her onto ruin¡¯s back like she weighed as much as a small child. Bewildered, she asked, ¡°Why are you so strong!?¡±


    Tyr leaned and twisted his neck to the side so that he could shoot her a disparaging look. Ruin chose this moment to leap forwards and began galloping at a fast pace through the evergreen trees. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re asking me, the Horseman of God, that?¡±


    She shook her head lightly, quickly grasping onto his armored core to stop from falling off. ¡°Sorry, that was a duh moment. You¡¯ll want to go this direction, Ruin,¡± She added on, pointing towards town which was about eight miles away.


    ¡°Duh, eh,¡± he said, tasting the word. ¡°Language has changed so much in the past several hundred years.¡±


    Alexis gave the back of his head a strange look as a question came to mind. ¡°How old are you, Lord Tyr?¡±


    The man quieted down and mused, ¡°I honestly am not sure. Humanity¡¯s history is so pockmarked and scattered that there are no more accounts of my King and country, I¡¯d wager. We sleep too much to have any clear idea of time passage anyway.¡± He stared off wistfully for a few seconds before coming back to reality. ¡°Enough of that though, tell me what you think is going on here.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ actually, I can recognize most of the creatures I¡¯ve seen up till now. I have no idea what killed them, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s easy. I killed them. Drained a good deal of my power to clear a 250 mile area around us too. But still¡­ has that much really changed on Earth since we were last here?¡± He asked in shock.


    ¡°You killed them!? Ah, ya know what, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. And no! No, that¡¯s not what I meant,¡± she replied quickly. ¡°These monsters are all from fiction - stories that various authors have dreamt up over the years to provoke the imagination and explore the impossible. Some have been inspired by folklore or myth as well. The green creatures that Ruin burned to ashes are called goblins, for example. Small, vicious creatures that rape and pillage - if we we¡¯re unlucky and received the worst type of goblin, that is.¡±


    Tyr¡¯s mind was whirling, and he abandoned his joking manner. ¡°There are multiple types?¡± he pressed seriously.


    Alexis wracked her brain in order to think up a good way to describe it. ¡°Yes. Just like how there are tribes and different civilizations of humans, there are different factions that belong to the species of what we call ¡®goblins¡¯. To keep it simple, the ones from earlier looked and acted like the stupid ¡®wood goblin¡¯ version. This is both good and bad. They¡¯re very warmongering and constantly clash amongst themselves and surrounding species. They may not be particularly intelligent, but their vicious natures are probably a nightmare for normal people to deal with.¡±


    Tyr digested that information. ¡°Judging by your words then, they have two weaknesses: their stature, and their intelligence. In these stories, what type of attack patterns do they employ? What are they armed with?¡±


    She stammered, trying to dig up everything from her memory. ¡°Like you mentioned, their biggest flaw is that they¡¯re not very clever, so they often just rush whatever target they¡¯re trying to kill or capture. They do have several types of units though. Usually, there are scout, warrior, and archer, or even mage variants. From what I¡¯ve read, they usually have some mixture of stone weapons or crude implements if they create their own. However, they prefer to steal better weapons from others if possible, and they¡¯re capable of figuring out how to fight with most any melee or ranged weapon.


    ¡°One of the most important things to note, though, is that they¡¯re agile and very stealthy. They¡¯re not very tough in comparison to other creatures, but they are rough to fight because they come at you quickly and with numbers. On top of that, they¡¯re led by Hobgoblins - a taller, more human looking version that is stronger and more intelligent.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Tyr nodded. ¡°I fought with a few already, but that¡¯s not a good sample since I still had my full powers then. I think I know how to deal with them now. What else?¡±


    Alexis shook her head and then lost herself to thought for a second in contemplation. She took a deep breath and continued, ¡°Okay, now these are just corpses that I¡¯ve seen so far, so bear with me. There are orcs, satyrs, minotaurs, werewolves, direwolves, trolls, berserker trolls, mages, shit tons of spider types that I have no clue how to identify-¡±


    Tyr held up a hand. ¡°Wait just a moment. Sorry, you just mentioned the word ¡®mage¡¯ for the second time and we need to get this out of the way. Was that magic that you were playing with when I first walked in?¡±


    Alexis¡¯ hands tightened around his armor. She nodded with trepidation, ¡°Y-yes, I think so.¡±


    ¡°How long have you been able to do that?¡±


    ¡°Not long at all,¡± she said hastily and then turned resigned. ¡°It was after the towers appeared. I ran to find my dad at his work, and the corridor was very dark¡­ I suddenly had this feeling that there was this¡­ energy all around me, seeping into my body.¡± She shivered subconsciously. ¡°Stories would call this mana - the substance that enables magic to be real. Usually spells or incantations are used to enact some effect on the world, but I was able to create light in hallway by willing it. I¡¯m not sure if I did it correctly, though. It¡¯ll take a lot of experimentation to figure out how to do it.¡±


    She paused and then looked at the long blonde hair that was flowing in the wind to the side of her face. ¡°That is... if you want me to continue it. I¡¯ve heard that magic has a historically bad relationship with God in the bible.¡±


    Tyr thought for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that since I saw you use it. At the time of the bond, however, I was able to glimpse a portion of your soul for a fraction of second. This isn¡¯t much, a drop in the bucket compared to the entirety of what makes you ¡®you¡¯, but it did allow me to see that your soul was not corrupted. If you were a true sorcerer from ancient times, I would have killed you on the spot. I decided to give a chance since everything on Earth is so messed up at the moment. Soon after, that choice was validated.¡±


    Alexis was confused. ¡°What does that mean then? I thought magic was viewed as evil.¡±


    Tyr nodded, gripping his legs tight on Ruin¡¯s stomach which he was riding bareback. ¡°Traditionally, it is. Sorcery is viewed as evil in history because it invokes a power that does not come from God. In other words, they borrow power from demons or even Satan himself. It¡¯s a betrayal of natural law, used for petty or selfish reasons.¡±


    He coughed for a moment at the stench in the air and grew alert. They were coming up on another mass field of slaughter. While he was fairly certain that no creatures of the ground could have crossed 250 miles into the area yet, there still was the possibly of birds of prey or some other loophole that he left open. His previous pride in the pestilence design was melting away bit by bit.


    He continued, ¡°However, when I sensed your soul I found that it was not marred by the usage of this so-called magic. This made me think. If what you call mana is the substance that Ruin and I have been feeling this entire time, then it is not evil, because we could not sense it. It is neither good, though. It simply exists, like another part of the Universe. Since this is the case, I¡¯ve decided to follow God¡¯s direction in all this and use it since he has allowed it. So, do not worry on my account. Please spend the necessary effort to learn all there is to this version of ¡®magic¡¯.¡±


    Ruin slowed down at this point and began to lightly trot through the underbrush. Tyr continually pushed low hanging branches out of his and Alexis¡¯ way, maintaining an attitude of vigilance. The scene that greeted them was far from any expectations they had previously had.


    There were people, most dead, but some still alive, wriggling and writhing. The bewildering fact was that they were all tied up in webbing. Several dozens of web cocoons spotted the spacing between pine trees  and live oaks, wrapped and held in place by sheets of sticky white spider¡¯s silk. The spans that this webbing covered were simply impossible. It reached up into the darkness of the tree canopy, and the view that was presented to them was only made possible by the full light of the moon.


    Tyr froze and Ruin refused to enter. Alexis cowered on the back of the horse, shrinking into the man in front as if she wanted to melt into his body for safety. The surroundings suddenly seemed much more ominous and foreboding than before.Tyr finally asked quietly, ¡°Alexis, does this modern age... have giant spiders?¡±


    As he spoke, his ears caught the faint skittering of movement in the tree limbs. Long, sharp legs that were barbed on the sides flashed in and out of the shadows, scraping bark off of trunks as they passed by in a flurry, either sending the refuse clattering down to crash into the forest floor, or to be caught by the webbing that seemed to be everywhere.


    Though Ruin shared Tyr¡¯s current sense of crisis, he never failed to capitulate on an opportunity to tease his friend. What happened to that desire for battle, partner?


    Tyr nodded slowly, his eyes wide and darting back and forth. ¡°Normally, you would definitely be right, Ruin. But right now...I seem to have lost the stomach for it. Do you see those things? Do you? They¡¯re the size of a bear! A SMALL BEAR, RUIN.¡± A tree top cracked overhead and bent underneath the weight of one particularly large spider. Tyr started to break down mentally.


    He hissed in a hushed tone, ¡°I stand corrected. Fucking spiders the size of a grizzly bear! Oh look.¡± He pointed in a quiet fit of manic laughter at a couple of smaller shadows that were moving about on the lower levels. ¡°There¡¯s their children! Say hi, Ruin. They¡¯re only the size of large dogs. Nothing to worry about right? Damnit! Of all the things to get a ¡®by¡¯ through my pestilence, I get spiders! Fuck! I hate spiders!¡±


    From the shadows on their left flank, a blur of motion leapt from a nearby bush. Ruin neatly danced to the side and positioned himself to perfectly aim a kick at the offender.


    Before Alexis even knew what was happening, she felt the previously staunch support underneath her buck like a rolling tide and she turned her gaze in time to see the ¡°child¡± spider that had launched itself at them - at her specifically - catch a steel plated hoof to the space right between the twin sets of four eyes that lined up with their own respective fang hanging below.


    Ichor and spider meat ruptured like an overripe melon, vaulted backwards in a shower of gore. Apparently, the force of the kick ruptured the poison sac as well, because drops of a liquid landed on the bush that had provided cover.


    It took a matter of moments for the leaves to go from smoking to completing dissolving off of the branch. The experience proved to be too much for the 17 year-old girl and she let loose a piercing scream. The sounded reverberated around the large hollow and all time seemed to halt.


    Alexis quickly brought a hand to her mouth in horror, but the damage was already done. A discordant and howling shriek filled the air and one monstrosity after another zoned in on their position and started a mad dash across the web highway they¡¯d created.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Tyr turned and glared at Alexis.


    Without breaking eye contact, he summoned the access to the Dimensional Armory and reached inside. When his hand found purchase on the correct handle, he grasped hold and wrenched out the greatsword with one hand. Like before, the rune that stood for War lit up on the flat of the blade, but this time the edge seemed dully lit and much weaker.


    Power conservation was key. He couldn¡¯t afford to drop much more in his supply, or else it would start affecting his strength too much and this would all become much more difficult. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t require much to sustain the blade¡¯s existence on this plane for a period of time, but it did cost him around 3% for every hour and that¡¯s not including any extra functions he added on in the heat of battle. He¡¯d already resolved to save it for extreme circumstances.


    Listening to the frenzied scuttering of the spawns of satan making their way to him, Tyr believed this more than constituted such an occasion.


    Finally turning his gaze away from the cowering girl, he grimaced and pried her hands off of him. There was mere moments before the spiders reached them, so he hopped off of Ruin¡¯s back and gave his steed a quick pat. His left hand flexed on the leather grip as he said, ¡°Look after the lass, okay? Try to conserve your power, but don¡¯t take any risks.¡± He said that out loud more for her benefit than Ruin¡¯s.


    With that, he pushed off in an explosion of leaves and underbrush, shooting towards the oncoming tide of spiders like a falling star.


    In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the advancing behemoths. They were even uglier than the goblins. Fangs the size of his arms hung underneath their mandibles and constantly released a noxious stench of poison that hung on the air. Their eight eyes stared unblinkingly and the round, hairy bodies inspired an unprecedented sense of revulsion in him.


    Tyr added his right hand to the grip of his monstrous 8 in. wide 6 ft. long greatsword and heaved his 8X strength into a roaring uppercut that broke the air around its edges. Blade met carapace and the blade passed through almost unhindered, only slowing briefly when it first made contact with the underbelly and the outermost portion of the exoskeleton. It seemed these bastards had some sort of extra defense.


    A grimace flashed across his face.


    A spray of ichor and venom followed the trajectory of his sword and he lightly brought it down with a conservatory flourish, deflecting four separate attacks by blade-like appendages and pushing back the four spiders with sheer brute force, sending them stumbling. Stepping inside another two attacks, he launched a sweeping two-handed strike across two of the aggressors¡¯ faces and successfully severing the overreaching forelimbs of the other two.


    Dodging to the side of an attack, he lightly clicked his tongue in annoyance and disgust. One killed and four disabled. A 20% kill rate was just disgraceful. He had to get closer, regardless of how much he hated it.


    Wails and screeches filled the air and the injured monstrosities slammed into the ground as the they tried to heave their pain-wracked bodies away and back towards safety.


    Ducking underneath a pair of dripping fangs, Tyr reached out and grabbed a leg that was aimed at skewering him, locking down on it like a vice and wrenching the spider towards his direction. Momentum carried the spider onto his waiting blade, instantly ending its life. Withdrawing the sword, he fended off a few more attacks with one hand and bought some space.


    Pain filled his right hand and he looked down, surprised to see deep lacerations. Just grasping the legs did that?


    Looking up, he parried another flurry of strikes and began to wade into throng, sending sweeping strikes wherever there were openings and severing life as often a possible. The lack of divine power had severely handicapped his durability, so the going was slow and soon he lost sight of Ruin and Alexis. The living gargantuan spiders continually climbed over their growing dead with no end in sight.


    Slice. Cut. Block. Thrust. Parry.


    Blood dripped down his right hand¡¯s fingers, hissing as it hit the pooling venom and spider guts below.


    Block. Jump. Slice. Cut. Parry. Parry. Parry.


    Sparks flew in the clashes between his dimly glowing greatsword and the razor black legs of the multitude. Drops of wayward venom splashed across his leather armor, sending torrents of acrid smoke tendrils coiling upwards in fright.


    Hack. Charge. Slice. Cut. Block. Parry.


    Tyr¡¯s expression was growing more and more serious as the minutes ticked by. Where did this spider horde come from? There were no similar cousins to this abominations among the masses that he and Ruin saw when they first got here. Perhaps there was another tower? Was it just because they expanded faster? No, that can¡¯t be the whole story.


    Frustration welled up inside him and his attacks turned even more reckless and vicious.


    Hack. Parry. Thrust. Sweep. Thrust.


    Soon, a thought came to his mind that made his back break out in a cold sweat. Could the indigenous species be transforming to match the new mana-filled environment?


    His intuition told him that this was partly correct, but there was still something about this area that had to be different. He swiftly cut his eyes around while trading strikes with the barbed spiders. A few minutes later, his eagle-like eyes caught sight of something.


    Nestled within a peculiar looking vine that was coiled around a cyprus, a brightly glowing green fruit was giving off a poisonous miasma just two or three feet off of the ground. Upon seeing it, Tyr immediately started walking towards it in purposeful strides.


    The spiders around him continually launched attacks several at a time, but none could get through his impeccable defense. His intrepid advance continued until the spiders finally noticed where he was headed. Immediately, cries of rage and grief echoed across the web-filled hollow and the attackers doubled, effectively slowing down his speed of travel by half.


    Beset by murderous blows that were not lessening in number or intensity, Tyr¡¯s body began to tire. If it had been like normal, he could have ripped through these spiders until judgment day, but his power was flagging, continually shaved off by the minute exertions he had to make to stay afloat. He¡¯d already dropped to 25%.


    He instantly made a decision and spoke across his mental link to Ruin. Too many of these little shits. We¡¯re gonna go scorched earth in thirty seconds. One mile radius.


    A worried Ruin immediately replied, What do you want to do about the humans still alive? That level of flame is sure to attract that flying leviathan as well!


    ¡°Arghh!¡± A roar of frustration came bursting from Tyr¡¯s mouth and he sent six spiders flying. Pocket the scorched earth to save them. We don¡¯t have a choice.


    To exert that level of control though...it¡¯ll cost me-


    Another deep, booming roar came out of his mouth, this time for all the world to hear. ¡°Just do it!¡±


    Leaping to the back of a tank-sized spider, he thrust his greatsword down through the hard exoskeleton and into the heart, causing the beast to hemorrhage and die. Swiftly withdrawing the blade, he leapt to and fro on the backs of the largest spiders, using their height to stay above the surging black mass of bodies.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a ring of blue hellfire pulsating around Ruin and Alexis, protecting them within while the steed sent powerful kicks one after the other. The two partners exchanged a glance across the distance and Tyr then leapt the last bit of distance to the tree where he sunk the greatsword into the center mass of the wood to stabilize himself.


    With a quick movement of his hand, he grabbed hold of the mysterious green fruit and gave a yank!


    The fruit came away easily, but the second it separated from the vine, an ear-piercing shriek echoed from nearby. All of the surrounding spiders instantly backed off and formed a no-man¡¯s land around him. Tyr ignored the burning sensation coming from his palm and directed his eyes towards the origination point of the cry.


    A massive spider the size of four grizzly-spiders combined came trundling out of a cavernous hole two hundred feet away. She had four fangs instead of two and their length was enough that she¡¯d be able to punch through plate steel like paper. A unique green pattern adorned the backside and gave the onlooker a sense of incomparable danger. It had to be the Queen.


    With a roar, the Queen pounced forward like a freight train, uprooting saplings and stepping over bushes in her rush to get to the man that¡¯d stolen the fruit.


    Tyr heaved a large breath and then smiled tiredly.


    In the next moment, the sky split open.


    Dozens of wormholes similar to the one they¡¯d used to travel to Earth earlier that day appeared above the hollow. From these portals, tons of superheated plasma transported from one of the Sun¡¯s magnetic poles was lashed at the ground, whipping all of the spiders and the hollow with nature¡¯s hottest fury. Due to the heat, Ruin carefully created buffer zones that shielded all of the surviving humans and their party.


    Up above the wormholes, another dome was created  to contain the purge, so for those few moments, it was like a dome of eternal light had appeared on the surface of the planet.


    Tyr just stood there in relaxation, closing his eyes amidst the raging inferno and taking a breather.


    After two seconds, the plasma receded back to the wormholes and then they all shut with a ripple of space-time, blocking off the heat that was still trying to transmit through.


    After a half a minute, the scorched landscape was finally revealed. Trees were made into blackened twigs and everything green had died. All the spiders were incinerated, including the eggs and webbing that they had laid. There was nothing left except rolling hills, rocks, and desolation.


    Tyr heard the sound of hooves come from behind him and didn¡¯t deign to turn, merely taking the comfort of the two other companions joining him.


    Once the edges of the constricting dome had disappeared at the boundary, the superheated air immediately cause the trees to become like a ring torches circling the scorched earth. Ruin turned to Tyr and nudged him gently.


    I only have 20% remaining now.


    The man nodded wearily and then looked over the girl that was sitting there still shell-shocked. Seeing her well besides the trauma, he turned back to his horse. ¡°From now on, neither of us are permitted to use the Gift below 20%. I¡¯m down to 21% myself.¡± His eyes swept the horizon. ¡°We could use our powers, sure, but it¡¯ll never equate to a constant bonus in fighting strength. We must be more tactful in our decision making for the future so that we can survive this bizarre new world. Perhaps the answer will lie in magic...¡±


    Now there¡¯s a thought...


    Just then, Tyr finally remember the fruit in his hand and the pain came flooding back. Wincing, he dropped it to the ground and held up his palm which had become bubbly and grotesque, like it¡¯d bathed in acid. Shaking his head, he sapped that last 1% off from his total energy reserves and healed his hand, leaving only 20% remaining. His strength was now at a 4X multiplier.


    ¡°Well, one blight is gone. Fire really does the trick, huh...¡± Tyr said tiredly. His eyes swept over twenty petrified cocoons, whose residents were shivering in fright. ¡°Now we just need to collect these people and head to town. Who¡¯s up for a bit of shuteye?¡±


    From the distance, a challenging roar suddenly rolled across the moon and fire-lit valley, reverberating back and forth across the scorched hills that just been touched by the Sun. Blackened rocks quaked and the entirety of the region descended into silenced with bated breath.


    Tyr¡¯s eyes grew larger and larger until he finally started laughing. Deep, booming peals of thunderous mirth clashed against the receding roar, answering the call.


    Alexis finally came to off to the side and nearly fainted from fear again. She grabbed a fistful of Ruin¡¯s mane and asked dumbfoundedly, ¡°Was that the dragon?¡±


    Tyr had dissolved to chuckling now and turned his gaze towards her, musing, ¡°Is that what you call it¡­¡± He nodded his head with a smile, a hint of indignant fighting spirit resplendent in his eyes. He continued grimly. ¡°Alright, Mr. Dragon. I had wanted to save you for later, but if you want to fight¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just have to accommodate you.¡±


    It was useless to run anyway. It was two miles until the nearest unscorched treeline. Ruin couldn¡¯t run that fast anymore now that he¡¯d paid such a price. The beast would surely overtake them before they reached a safe haven.


    In the distance, an enormous pale shadow, illuminated by the full moon, surged towards them from the mountains.

 Chapter 6 - Dragons and Men

    ¡°That thing is way too big,¡± Tyr muttered in awe.


    Overhead, the monstrous dragon circled around them, letting loose low, throaty roars while it¡¯s massive wings kicked up dust and ash. It was still a few hundred feet off of the ground, but its size made one feel like they were standing right beside it.


    The dragon was a total of 300 ft. long, give or take. This included the 50 ft. long and fiercely spiked tail that ended in a tri-barb that swished back and forth like some prehistoric predator. Its scales gleamed a sandy brown in color, emblazoned with a hint of red by the flickering firelight that was cast from the surrounding trees still burning merrily. Each scale was half the size of a human body and overlapped together into a jagged sheet of impenetrability.


    Where there weren¡¯t scales, there were bones - gigantic bones that pierced out of the skin at vicious angles. Judging by how the scales and bone protrusions were arranged in sweeping horizontal segments over the entire body, like segments of armor, it could be imagined how durable it was. It reminded her a bit of the armadillo lizard that lived in desertous regions. Except with wings¡­ and there was also the fact it was the size of a stadium.


    Alexis felt her blood run cold as she looked at the passing shadow. She felt it in her soul. There was nothing that could damage this thing. If the man in front of her hadn¡¯t mentioned that he was low on power, she wouldn¡¯t worry. But this was a dragon. She had to warn Tyr.


    Sliding over to the man that was stained with spider guts and sporting laceration all over his body, she leaned close and whispered in his ear, ¡°Tyr, this is one of the strongest beings in myth. Their entire body is better than armor and some variations can even breathe a torrent of fire. They are intelligent, ruthless, greedy, and arrogant. In most stories, they are also immortal or close to it and can even speak.¡±


    Tyr¡¯s eyebrows went up in surprise as he glanced back at her. A flash of consternation passed across his face before he settled back into calm. He shot her a smile, ¡°We may be able to get out of this alive then.¡±


    Alexis was bewildered. What could he possibly mean by that? After he finished speaking, however, she caught him sending looks at his horse, Ruin. What are they talking about?


    Before she could explore the thought further, a wave of wind hit them, almost knocking them down. An accompanying rumble, like that of an earthquake, rippled beneath their feet.


    That massive, tyrannical body had finally joined them on the ground.


    The dragon beat his wings once and then folded them onto its body while an enormous, spiked head regarded them with red eyes so large a person standing next to one would barely be able to touch the other edge of the eye.


    Tyr quickly grabbed hold of the weird green fruit she¡¯d seen him snatch earlier. Alexis watched out of the corner of her eye as a curtain of green energy pulsated over its exterior, like the man was willing it into the fruit bit by bit. It was barely noticeable, but she caught it. After that, he walked forward, nonchalantly placing it beside Ruin¡¯s hoof while also blocking it from the dragon¡¯s view.


    Alexis looked on as the sickly green glow began to transform before her eyes, shifting hues from green to red. Just like how Tyr had been willing energy into the fruit, Ruin seemed to be manipulating it in another fashion. Flames licked the air quietly, burning up the noxious fumes that were being emitted and replacing the aura of death with one of life.


    Tyr suddenly gave a flourishing bow, making the young girl¡¯s mouth drop open. What the hell is he doing?


    The handsome blonde man cracked a grin at the ground before his gaze and said loudly to the air, ¡°It is a privilege and honor to meet someone as majestic as yourself, sir Dragon. I confess that we had thought your kind to be myth! Might I know the name of this esteemed elder?¡±


    A deep rumbling sound echoed out from the dragon¡¯s maw, its cruel vermillion eyes squinting in amusement as it drew up its neck and monstrous head proudly.


    ¡°I am pleased to see that the people of the surface know of my kind,¡± he quaked. His voice was like crashing waves and straining mountains, sending Alexis to her knees. Off to the side, Tyr and Ruin were largely unaffected. How, she had no clue.


    The dragon continued thunderously, ¡°Your deference and thought towards decorum is also appreciated. I¡­ am Tartarus, Firstborn of the Desert Drakes, Ruler of the Desert Dragonkin, Keeper of Titans, Devourer of Dunes, and Deity of Earth, Night, and Time.¡±


    Alexis minds whirled at the titles. Tartarus, as in the abyss that serves as the dungeon of torment for the wicked and imprisoned Titans? Wait, there are deserts beneath the Earth¡¯s crust? And their are dragonkin as well?


    As she was caught up in her deliberations, Alexis missed Tyr¡¯s subtle change of expression. Once the word ¡°deity¡± was uttered, his eyes gained a momentary cruel glint and his jawline set resolutely before finally relaxing.


    Tyr¡¯s voice bounced over the desolate area with humble flattery, ¡°Truly, it is my life¡¯s greatest fortune to be able to stand in your presence, o¡¯ subduer of Titans! Word has lingered from ancient times of your greatness.¡±


    Tartarus humphed in satisfaction and slightly shifted his body, his scales roughly grinding against their neighbors and producing a sound that gave the illusion of sabers and armor rattling on a battlefield. Tyr gave a fake start and hastened to ¡°collect¡± himself.


    Placing a hand on Ruin¡¯s neck to stabilize himself, he looked fearfully towards the monstrous beast a couple dozen yards away and asked, ¡°Noble Tartarus, I know it is above my station to inquire after the affairs of those beyond me, but may I be so bold as to ask how you have ended up on the surface lands? We have never seen your likeness.¡±


    Puffs of flame came from the dragon¡¯s nostril as he squinted for a moment, digesting the words. Alexis thought the move was too obvious on Tyr¡¯s part to gather information, but as she watched for any aggressive actions from Tartarus, she soon realized that this existence merely thought of them as ants.


    ¡°That isss very brazen¡­ however, I will make an exception,¡± the dragon said slowly. ¡°The truth of the matter is that none who came to the surface did so willingly. One day, a hole was punched in our realm, shattering the night above the dunes of my region and the very volcanic rock beneath our wings. Shattered star crystals fell like rain. I flew to personally investigate and soon found an enormous tower that was alien in design.¡±


    Tartarus shook his head in memory. ¡°Sadly, I was naive. I did not notice that the lower creatures were being drawn to it like moths to a flame. I myself was overcome with this compelling desire to enter the tower,¡± he emphasized. ¡°Afterwards¡­ I do not know. I am still confused as to what happened. The next thing I knew I was peering out into the fabled light of day over a lush, green land.¡±


    The dragon turn his massive snout skyward and said reverently with his eyes closed, ¡°That sacred energy that cascades from the heavens¡­ can you fathom the pleasure that finally experiencing it after several billions of years brings? I may be the deity of night, but what creatures of the same doesn¡¯t yearn for the light of day?¡± His eyes opened back up and the wistful look was replaced with one of ferocity. ¡°I think I like it here. I shall make it mine.¡±


    A shiver traced Alexis¡¯ spine as those tumultuous words spilled from that savage maw. Wasn¡¯t this a declaration of war on the species who lived on the surface? Tyr, however, was largely unmoved by the behemoth¡¯s words.


    Nodding as if considering such a vision of the future, he replied while absentmindedly stroking Ruin¡¯s black mane, ¡°Of course. Is there someone more deserving and capable of ruling the world? Absolutely not!¡± He paused dramatically and offered cautiously, ¡°Your majesty, I know I don¡¯t have much that could be considered of interest to one as great as yourself, but I did recently find a treasure that might be worthy of you.¡± With those words, Ruin sidestepped, revealing a now red and pulsing fruit that danced with flames.


    The three moved backwards in a show of submission and Tyr narrated while they backed up, ¡°My servant and I were traveling through the land when we came across this devastated area. At the center of the conflagration was this fruit on a vine. After meeting you, it is obvious that only a figure such as yourself is worthy of possessing such a gift from nature.¡±


    Hearing Tyr¡¯s words, Tartarus snaked his giant head towards the tiny fruit that was like a seed in comparison before him. Sniffing it heavily, inciting mini twisters to form in the surround ash and cinder, he quickly reared back in surprise.


    ¡°This is the purest essence of fire I have ever seen!¡± the dragon exclaimed. He turned to the bowing blonde man and added, ¡°You have discerning eyes, little human. I will accept this gift.¡± A moment later, the monster snaked out a forked tongue the size of a car and flicked up the flaming fruit into his mouth. With a gulp it disappeared.


    Tyr bowed again and ask, ¡°Mighty one, we are still trying to find a place to live under this dangerous sky that now contains monsters beyond our comprehension. May we depart?¡±


    Alexis sucked in a breath of ashy air and held it, also bowing her head in a show of supplication and deference. She didn¡¯t know what would happen if the dragon refused. Would they be outright slaughtered as a tasty snack? Or would they be enslaved to do work for the dragon? Tyr and Ruin were too spent to fight back it looks like, so their situation hinged on this moment.


    After a few moments, the dragon rumbled, ¡°Very well. Go, and declare my coming to those of this land. I will spend some time digesting this flame and then I will begin my subjugation.¡±


    ¡°I look forward to that day, your majesty,¡± Tyr answered back and the three started to back away.


    With an ear-splitting roar that announced, Tartarus suddenly began flapping his wings and lifted off from the ground. Alexis¡¯ eyes watched those incredibly large canvases that gripped at the air to provide lift, and noticed that there was a distortion every time they made a downward beat. Is it using magic? Pondering on how that could be the case, she turned and followed the pair as they walked towards one of the still covered cocoons.


    ***


    Tree husks passed slowly on their sides, and they soon arrived an untouched portion of land where the first survivor lay.


    Tyr grimaced as he thought mentally, I¡¯m down to 1%. I vastly underestimated that beast. If I had tried to fight conventionally, I would be dead within the span of 10 breaths, even if I had burned the Gift¡¯s power to aid me. The frustration he felt was overwhelming. Without even realizing it, he had developed an incredible pride after all these years.


    You made a wise choice, master, Ruin replied. It would require our combined might to defeat such a foe in a direct confrontation. However, I myself, am also down to 1%. I channeled everything that I could spare into the fruit¡¯s alteration. It should take about five days for the flames to subside and the poison to be revealed.


    Tyr nodded. When it does, even a dragon will come to understand that it is not invincible in the world. It probably won¡¯t kill it, but it¡¯ll at least inflict grievous injuries to his internal organs. Even with the strongest vitality, it would require months to years of recuperation to stand, let alone seek us out. A flame seemed to have been ignited in his gut. He¡¯d never suffered such humiliation before. Just the thought of having to pretend in such a manner made his blood boil.


    We¡¯ll have to make preparations for that day, then.


    ¡°You two are doing that thing again, aren¡¯t you,¡± Alexis suddenly spoke up and tapped on the back of Tyr¡¯s head. ¡°What did you and Ruin do back there? I about fell over in shock when you started acting like that.¡±


    Tyr groaned. Turning his head to the side, he glared at her, ¡°Never speak of that again. Trickery was the only method we had to walk out of there alive. I had initially thought that I could fight the beast, but upon seeing his armor and finding out that he had intelligence, I realized that it would take much more than the small scraps of power I had left to wound or kill him in a direct fight.


    ¡°So I poured the majority of my remaining power into enhancing and mutating the poison characteristic of the fruit. Ruin then added an¡­ explosive¡­ aspect to it and disguised the fruit with flame. From your description, that seemed the element closest to what all dragons would crave. What we¡¯ve done has bought us time. In five days, the fruit will erupt, inflicting massive damage to his insides and organs. Furthermore, the poison will seep into his blood, halting any normal regenerative ability.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Will he die then?¡± Alexis looked a little bit regretful and it instantly soured Tyr¡¯s mood even further.


    ¡°Little girl, let me be perfectly clear. That is a monster. Even worse, he claimed to be a deity. There is only one Being worthy of such a title and it is He that I serve. I, we¡­¡± he motioned towards Ruin¡¯s bobbing head as they walked closer to a tied up man, ¡°Will not allow a pretender to live peacefully under the same sky as us. However, since we¡¯re so weak, we lack the ability to strike him down at the present moment. All that I can guarantee is that he will not be terrorizing the region for many months or years yet to come.¡±


    ¡°For the mean time, we will prepare for the day that he recovers,¡± he finished seriously.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Alexis quietly uttered.


    Seeing her suddenly turn so demure, Tyr shook his head with a sigh. Through his link with her he could tell that she was normally more, well, fiery, it practically oozed from her soul, but it was obvious that the deaths of her family were going to take a long time to leave her mind. Hopefully within a week or two she would start acting in a way more true to herself, if that was even possible.


    Reaching out a hand that still had its tattered glove on, Tyr yanked on the spider cocoon that was emitting muffled noises of help! Help! However, his strength wasn¡¯t up to the task. A desolate chuckle came from his lips as he reached out and conjured the smallest, most nondescript dagger from the Armory. He couldn¡¯t afford to summon much else. If he so much as used one of those other weapons too fiercely, it would drain the last remaining 1% that he was dearly holding onto.


    After ten minutes of rigorous sawing, Tyr managed to split the cocoon 70% of the way down, enabling the sticky and disheveled man housed within to help force the rest open. The man who was covered in a suit took in a deep, trembling breath from the air and then looked around bewilderedly. Everything was soot and ash.


    Tyr snapped in front of his face, bringing his attention back to the armored individual who helped him out. He said calmly, ¡°You¡¯re okay. Hey. You hear me? You¡¯re fine. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    The black haired man with furtive eyes blinked at him and then stuttered back, ¡°I¡¯m..I¡¯m Bryan. Bryan Jones.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Bryan. What is your profession?¡±


    Bryan looked up at him confused, but still answered, ¡°I¡¯m a banker.¡±


    Tyr shook his head and then looked towards Alexis.


    ¡°He deals with coin and loans at a bank that keeps other people¡¯s money safe. He is very good at finances and math,¡± she answered as she looked on.


    Tyr gave a soft ah and then patted the man on the shoulder. I can tell that he isn¡¯t the one keeping the money safe. Looks like he¡¯s never even been in a fight. ¡°We may have need of you in time, then. But for now, you¡¯re going to have to help pull some weight so we can all survive, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Bryan replied with trepidation.


    ¡°Good man.¡± Tyr helped him to his feet. ¡°For now, help me get everyone out.¡± He pointed towards their surroundings and Bryan¡¯s eyes grew large.


    Odd¡­ Tyr remarked to his steed. Could he not hear inside the cocoon? All he got back was a snort.


    It took two whole hours to get everyone out, even with Tyr and several others helping. In large part, it was due to the fact that there was only a single knife between everyone. At the very end, however, they managed to rescue 12 men and 4 women. Not a single one had heard their conversation with the titanic beast. Four of the cocoons had asphyxiated their occupants and the group could only bury them in the organic coffin where they died.


    A few said prayers, while others watched on in mute shock. Tyr could tell that everyone was badly shaken. Who has ever lived through being attacked and bound by giant spiders only to wait in silent horror for the time to come where their insides are liquified by venom and slurped like a smoothie? They all huddled together under the gathering moonlight


    The time they needed to recover was probably large, but he couldn¡¯t give them long. They needed to make it to a safe place first and night was already upon them. Even if he¡¯d eliminated the ground species, he knew that they weren¡¯t necessarily safe from the air or subterranean variety if such existed.


    Waving his hands, he got everyone¡¯s attention, noting the few looks of suspicion that fell on him. He was the only there that had any kind of armor on after all, so it would suspicious.


    ¡°Everyone, I know you just went through something difficult, but I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have time to stand around. The first thing is to make it to town and secure shelter, food, and a water source. The monsters have retreated for now due to an unknown cause, but they will be back. So defenses are in order. We need to find the survivors there and erect fortifications as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Screw that,¡± a young woman in her twenties suddenly stood up. ¡°I have to go find my boyfriend! He¡¯s probably out looking for me right now!¡±


    Another man looked at Tyr with a silent plea in his eyes and said, ¡°I have to find my family. My wife was at home with our two month-old daughter.¡±


    ¡°My mom¡­¡±


    ¡°My dog Chichi¡­¡±


    A tumult suddenly roared to life as they all started talking about the places they thought they should go. While it was admirable that they all started to think of their families or loved ones, he couldn¡¯t help feeling frustrated at their lack of survival instinct. What the hell did they think was going to happen afterwards? Did humans really become so peaceful in the time that he was away that they had no concept of danger?


    Tyr quietly pinched the bridge of his nose and then raised both hands, shouting, ¡°Silence!¡± After they¡¯d all quieted down a little bit, he continued, ¡°I understand your concerns, but we have no clue when the monsters will return! If measures aren¡¯t taken, you will die this next time for sure.¡±


    Another man that was in a grungy suit scoffed off to the side, ¡°Where is the army or national guard? Why am I listening to some fucking kid, who obviously hasn¡¯t finished growing hair on his chest, try and order us around?¡±


    A few faces brightened at the mention of what Tyr could only guess what this country¡¯s military. Another pretty woman in her thirties wiped spider silk from her glasses and spoke out, ¡°Yeah! Where is the national guard?¡±


    Alexis strode forward to stand beside Tyr and answered chillingly, ¡°Did you all forget the fact that technology no longer works?¡±


    Suddenly, there was silence all around. A bookish man offered up, ¡°Maybe guns still work at least?¡±


    A solidly built black man who¡¯d been standing off to the side shook his head and shot down that hope. ¡°No, I¡¯m a Sergeant in the Army. The first thing I did when I saw the fuckers was reach for my AR. Damn thing didn¡¯t work. I fought em¡¯ off with my combat knife until I was finally snatched on the outskirts of town trying to head to my ex-girlfriend¡¯s house.¡±


    Tyr watched the gears turn in their heads some more before he said, ¡°Time is of the essence, people. We need to go.¡±


    The same snide man from before spoke up again, declaring, ¡°I¡¯m not arguing with what you¡¯re saying, but I can¡¯t take orders from a kid.¡±


    ¡°What about we vote democratically as to what we should do?¡±


    A few people nodded and the twenty something girl added an enthusiastic, ¡°Yeah!¡± afterwards.


    Their fervor was soon interrupted by a mocking laughter, however, and all eyes turned to rest on Tyr. He was shaking his head in exasperation. ¡°When did humans become so stupid?¡± he asked condescendingly. ¡°The word ¡°democratically¡±, as in the Greek approach to governmental decisionmaking, is being bandied about by commoners like it¡¯s applicable in this situation?¡±


    He turned his eyes, which looked as if he was gazing at idiots, towards the crowd and went on to say, ¡°This is a survival and combat situation. What right do any of you have, besides the soldier standing there, to even hope of having a say? Did you forget that I saved you?¡±


    Tyr stalked in between them, eliciting a flinch here or there as he spoke in their faces, ¡°Democracy is a grand concept for nations or city-states, not for small group dynamics in times of conflict. If you want to survive, I highly suggest you listen to me. If you think that you can¡¯t do that¡­¡±


    He stopped and threw his knife upwards. Eyes all around watched the blade as it spun up into the air and then arced back downwards, sinking perfect into the ground like a ¡°t¡±. ¡°You are free to challenge me for leadership. Or, of course, you can leave the group. I will not stop you. However, it is a decision that you will have to live with if you choose it,¡± he finished with a cold glint in his eye.


    The sergeant strode forward confidently and asked, ¡°If it is a ¡°might makes right¡± rule you¡¯re trying to establish, I will challenge you. It¡¯s my duty to protect these people, especially from those who would seek to use and abuse them.¡±


    Tyr nodded in appreciation. ¡°A true soldier of the people. However, you are mistaken. I only wish to lead them towards survival.¡±


    The black man snorted and took off his t-shirt, revealing the corded muscle beneath. ¡°I can¡¯t take your word for it. Too much is at stake.¡±


    ¡°Very well, let¡¯s play then.¡± Tyr flexed and cracked his knuckles.


    What followed couldn¡¯t be said to be a fight so much as it was a stomping. The sergeant tried to utilize his training to deal with the smaller looking teen, but every time he tried to grapple him, the blonde youngster would slip away, dealing damage on his way by or skillfully disabling the bigger man by pressure points or perfectly placed counters.


    After five minutes of acting as a punching bag, the sergeant finally sat down heavily in the ash and said in between pain-filled pants, ¡°You¡¯re a freak, you know that? I¡¯ve practiced my MCMAP skills to the point where I can easily beat everyone else in my division. I even went to the Army competition for it last year and placed second, but you¡­¡± He raised his dark brown eyes up towards Tyr¡¯s face that was illuminated by the full moon. ¡°You handled me so easily, I felt like a toddler in front of you. Who are you?¡±


    Tyr offered him a hand while smirking; he wasn¡¯t even out of breath. ¡°My name is Tyr and I¡¯m a... foreigner. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Malik Johnson,¡± he replied. Malik paused for a moment and then leveled a gaze at the smaller blonde man with long hair. ¡°Did you mean what you said about everything being about survival?¡±


    Tyr nodded. ¡°Every word. And I can promise you that my tactical skills are even more frightening than my hand-to-hand.¡±


    Malik nodded and then turned to the wide eyed group around them. Everyone had gathered around in a ring to watch the challenge and were now looking at Tyr with a small measure of horror. The loud man from before had blanched a pale white and now said nothing, choosing to stay out of the man¡¯s vision at all costs. The only one that had a soft smile on her face was Alexis as she looked at Tyr¡¯s imposing figure. No one could tell what she was thinking at that moment.


    The sergeant looked around and spoke, ¡°I think the best option is to follow him. At the very least, my intuition is saying that it¡¯ll be safer. I know you¡¯re all concerned about your loved ones, but staying alive for them has to take priority here. Who knows, they may be holed up safe and sound. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to look for them in the future. Tyr.¡± He turned back to the handsome man in ripped leather armor and wild blonde hair. ¡°What¡¯s the next move?¡±


    Tyr smiled tiredly and answered with a shrug, ¡°What I¡¯ve been trying to do for the past six hours¡­ go to town.¡±