39 The World Eater

The giant hall belittled all who stood to enter it. The spirals of wood and stone twirled around the sentries of the feasting house. Songs and cheers from the merry heroes of history played on Lucius's ears as he scrambled his way over the bone bridge.

"What an awful design." Ciri's amused voice hit his ears.

"Yeah, laugh it up." He grumbled, looking up to see a smug Ciri waiting at the bridges end.

"Heh, this seems rather poetic to me." Ciri said, pulling him up over the last ash white bone.

"I'm sure it does." Lucius grumbling continued while he dusted himself off.

Ciri let out a short laugh and opened the giant doors of the mead hall, the singing becoming increasingly louder at the removed obstacle.

"Welcome, Dragonborn! Our door has stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here. By Shor's command we sheathed our blades and ventured not the vale's dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the Fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the Valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim." A sturdy man bellowed, glimmering a slight golden light as he stood at the entrance.

'The three who sent Alduin forward in time...' Lucius mused.

"Any idea who they are, Lucius?" Ciri asked, scanning the hall with shining eyes.

"They were the heroes who fought Alduin with Dragonrend." He informed the girl. "There they are." He nudged her shoulder as he walked past.

"At long last, Dragonborn! Alduin's doom is now ours to seal. just speak the word and with high hearts we'll hasten forth to smite the worm wherever he lurks!" Gormlaith yelled, her blood pumping.

"Hold, comrades, let us counsel take before battle is blindly joined. Alduin's mist is more than a snare its shadowy gloom is his shield and cloak. But with four voices joined, our valour combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle." Felldir chided.

"Felldir speaks wisdom. The World-Eater is a coward, he fears your power, Dragonborn. We must drive away his mist, Shouting together, and then unsheathe our blades in desperate battle with our black-winged foe." Hakon voiced.

"To battle, my friends! The fields will echo with the clamour of war, our wills undaunted!" Gormlaith yelled again.

"That girl isn't much for brains, eh?" Ciri piped up beside Lucius.

"No...Good with a sword from what I saw, but not much upstairs, no." Lucius nodded.

"Guess a certain elf will have to cross the perilous bridge again." Ciri joked, her tongue poking out before she turned to follow the charging heroes.

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The party stood by the bridge facing into Alduin's mist, preparing themselves for their fight.

"We cannot fight the foe in this mist!" Felldir announced.

"Clear Skies, combine our Shouts!" Gormlaith commanded drawing her sword.

Lucius joined the heroes in the shout, forcing back the dreaded mist of Alduin. His cloak tearing with each passing moment.

"Ven Mul Riik!" Alduin shouted and his mist fought hard against the hero's will.

"Again!" Lucius demanded, already releasing his shout to counter.

Alduin cast his shout along with the heroes rendering their efforts null.

"Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?" Hakon muttered, losing hope.

"Just keep shouting." Lucius commented, eyeing the skies for his fated foe.

"Stand fast, Hakon! His strength is failing! Once more, and his might will be broken!"

"His power crumbles - do not pause for breath!" The old man bellowed as the party released one final roar of clear skies that dispersed Alduin's sanctuary of shadow.

"Ruth Wah Hi! Dovahkiin!" Alduin raged, swooping down and slamming into the cliff face. "Your power is a curse for all life. Vokul Dovah!" Alduin spat with hate he could muster, his once midnight scales littered with patches of sickly white and yellow.

"I was born to devour! Meyye! Tahrodiis aanne! Him hinde pah liiv! Zu'u hin daan!" Alduin continued, casting a large storm over the realm of the dead as balls of fire rained down upon the heroes. "The worm, Nid Laas!" Was Alduin's last curse as a gale of blue hist crashed onto his soul.

"Have some dignity." Lucius looked disappointed as Alduin slammed into the ground in front of him. "You're meant to be the first born, the strongest... A god... Stop crying like a child and fight." Lucius spat.

Snarling in hate Alduin lunged forward, his decaying scales reflecting the orange flash of the storm above.

"Fus Ro Dah!" Lucius shouted, forcing his face to the ground and chipping his horn with a slash of his dragon slaying blade.

Hakon and Gormlaith joined in Lucius's advance as Ciri came up from Alduin's reared and hacked at his joints in quick viridian flashes.

"I have already defeated your friends once. Beyn. I do not fear them." Alduin voiced, slamming the old heroes with his wings, launching Hakon down into the abyss of the bridges crevice.

"Hakon!" Felldir cursed.

"Lucius!" Ciri called. "He's scared of your magic not your shouts!" She declared, flashing to safety from Alduin's flailing mace like tail.

"I know that!" He shouted over to her as Alduin's breath of fire flooded the field of battle and knocked Gormlaith down.

Lucius began peppering his scales with black zaps of lightning, aiming for the already chipped parts of his natural armour. Tendrils of shadow began filling the whites of Lucius's eyes, the ethereal blue glow shining bright in contrast, and a huge weight was sprung upon Alduin's back as another shout of dragonrend was sundered upon him.

Ciri flashed herself on his snout and gashed over the eye she wounded in their last fight. This time turning the crimson eye in a gushing socket of blood with one straight thrust.

A rush of shadow flew, like a gale of a summer storm, the black mist seeped itself into Alduin and took hold of his movements as Lucius steady walked to the now bowed head of Alduin.

"You do not even know." Alduin whimpered in pain. "You don't even know where that foul magic comes from... Nid Zin, Dovahkiin. You have no honour." He hissed, as Lucius placed a glowing hand on the dragon head. His rings light blinding the dragon, his hair and eyes gleaming throughout the land as he searched the dragons soul.

Language, experience, time, destruction. All concepts that Alduin was flew into Lucius. Streams of divine essence bound themselves to Lucius as the fabric of Sovngarde shook and fate trembled against his attempts.

"Zu'u unslaad Zu'u nis oblaan." Alduin muttered, glaring at Lucius with his remaining ruby eye.

"You may be immortal of body. But, not of soul." Lucius's voice, now monotonous and layered, echoed. "You are not dying. You are simply returning to nothing, as was before mundus, before Magnus, Before creation." Lucius gently smiled.

Alduin's essence burned itself onto Lucius's soul. His skin hardened and pure, slight patterns of scales unnoticeable by the naked eye formed. His eyes began swirling with combinations of glowing silver, blue and red. Muscles ripped and reformed into godly strength hidden behind his mortal form. Information barraged his mind, of history as it was, and of magics once lost. Although this caused him no discomfort, he stepped away from the remaining grey sludge of Alduin'd corpse.

All was silent as the storm halted at its owner's demise.

Ciri watched in slight awe as he continued to eat away at the decaying form of the twilight god.

Tsun in reminiscent fear, and the heroes in prideful triumph.

"That was a mighty deed! The doom of Alduin encompassed at last, and cleansed is Sovngarde of his evil snare. They will sing of this battle in Shor's hall forever. But your fate lies elsewhere. When you have completed your count of days, I may welcome you again, with glad friendship, and bid you join the blessed feasting." Tsun's gritty voice bellowed.

"All hail the Dragonborn! Hail him with great praise!" The remaining old heroes and Tsun chanted.

'Flowers?' He groggily blinked.

And with Lucius's final thoughts he slumped to floor, like a doll cut from its string.

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Thoughts?

I didn't want to drag it out because Alduin in Sovngarde is actually really easy to kill, and with his magic it didn't make sense to painfully drag on with stupid this happened that happened clichés.

This made me haha, but some of you guys might not get it.

(Image):

Have a good one,

Your "patently evil" Author ;)