18 Chapter 18: Dark Ritual

[PoV: Lith]

Bound onto a coffin Lith is helplessly in front of the beast. ''Wure so Wure. Wou have to be the wne. So worry but need wlood, wody and woul to revive my wove.'' Tells her the monster before her. After being nocked out in her sleep, dragged threw smelly vents Lith is pissed and now helpless. ''Who or what are you?'' She asks the creature that is occupied with carving strange symboles into the stone around her. ''Wm Lanxe first wnight of Ween Gwenera.'' Remembering the tail that Xote had told her yesterday Lith asks. ''The traitor of king Art?'' ''We never wraitor. We loyal to ween, never wing.'' ''You hid the grail, fucked the queen and murdered your fellow knights. If you aren't a traitor what are you?'' Lith says eragin the beast that furiously jumps at her. ''Wust a wen in wove, something wou never wnow!'' Shouts Lance at her with some spits saliva. ''Then tell me what realy happened?'' ''Why should W?'' ''Because I will never tell the tail?!'' Says Lith, noticing shadows moving in the distance. ''Wou are wight. I whould tell wou! So wet me wegin... In whe beginning wll thirteen wnights were Wsers and Wriends. Art, whe strongest wf us wad this wdear of wn Empire wniting all wur lands wnto one. Woing this we created whis kingdom. W met a wirl, she was all W ever wanted. Art wade her wis NPC waking her wrom me...''

-In bearly understandable words the beast discribes his life as Lance the red. In essance it is the same as the one Xote had told but with some revaluations like all thirteen knights had been Users. In contrast to Lance every one took a NPC. With the help of the grail they mutated their bodys hence Lances monster body. With the power of 14 lands Art grew paranoid and violet towards his queen. So Gwenera stole the grail to get her King back to destroy the Empire. All thirteen User emarked on the crushade for the grail. The last Lance heard from had been Tristan who in search of the grail got wrecked and ended up in the underworld where he married Isold the devils daughter. Mistreated by her husband the queen fell in love with Lance and plotted agsinst the king. In the end the kings paranoia proved to be correct. On the day the they planed to kill him Art executed Gwenera because he had found the grail in her posession.-

Thats what Lith can decode from Lances monstrous louds. To Liths dismay Lance didn't stop carfing the symboles around her. ''Wt is wone.'' With these words Lance slashes his left wrist, his blood gushing out and slowly filling his symbols. Suddenly part of the island begins to float into the air and some of the caves 'stars' desent, illuminating the hole place in blinding light. With all the shadows gone Lith can see Richard, Xote and a cute black bear cub looking up at her. The sealing above her opens up and the sun shines onto her, pulling her into the hard surfice. Lance still in his beast form begins chanting strange words, seemingly singing a song and falling into a deep trance. Feeling her flash crushed into the stone behind her unbeatable pain spreading through her body Lith looks at her titan with pleading eyes. Under this pain she sees Richard and his two companions throwing rock at the desended 'stars'. Every impact on the glossy spheres creates a physical streak of light inbetween two 'stars'. With his M4 in Hand Silencer jumps from streak to streak, nearinng the flotation platform Lith and Lance are on. With a mad last jump he gets his hans on the floating island. Only now does Lith realise that the platform is ever so slowly getting closer to the burning sun above. Pulling him self onto the platform Lith gets new hope for survival. Suddenly the werewolve snaps out of his trance rushing at the titan. Emptying a hole magazine into the monster Richard remains unable to stop the wild beast clawing at him. Getting his M4 ripped from his hands a crazy gun-fu starts with Richard gun, fist and grantes ready and the beast claws and teeth ready. Swinging his claws furious at the titan Lance snarling shours. ''Wou will wot stop wy Gwenera wrom reviving. Whe age wf her wreadness has wome.'' Only able do narrowly avoid the claws Liths titan can only try to align his M17 with the beasts head but is inable to pull the trigger thanks to the rapidly incoming claws. Always on the defensive Silencer is more and more pushed to the edge of the platform. Finaly risking it he pulls the trigger and a loud gargling nois comes from Lance. The launched bullet grazes the monsters neck and plows its flesh from there up to its left ear, makin the entire leftside of the monster head a bloody mess, further enhanced by its bare pink skin. Upon seeing his own blood flow Lance totally gives into his rage, his eyes getting blood shot and a bloody red aura seaps out of his very bones. From the aura alone the titan falls back hitting his back onto the all around desending walls. With only centimeters between walls and upwards floating platform Silencer baits the enraged Lance into stabbing him. Agilely avoiding the spear like claw he roals out of the claws trajectory. So sticking the monsters left claw inbetween wall and floor effectively binding it there. Seeing him holsterin his M17 Lith is delighted seehin her men comming to her rescue. Getting her hands unbound from the coffin Lith falls hugging her titan into his arms. With an evil look forming on her face by looking at the trapped beast she draws the titans M17 and unleashes a bulletstorm on it. Enraged by the sudden attack Lance bite rips his left arm out of its socket, freeing himself. Heavily injured but free all human thought processes seek to exist in Lances mind. Rushing at the two lovers, spraying its blood every where the werewolve only knows one objective and that is to kill. Forced appart by the incoming attack Richard and Lith jump in opposite directions. Lith findes herself right beside her bet and Richard lands next to his M4. Taking his rifle the titan is faced with the situation of a wolf already jumping at him. Reflexive pulling the trigger of the M204 granatelauncher he blasts the beast way in middair pushing the mountain of muscle and claws in between Lith and himself. Out of nowhere Lith feels week as if all life is pulled out of her. With a loud crack the arm inbetween floor and walls is crushed into a bloody past, effectively sealing the room. Suddenly the altar/coffin begins to shine in a dark freezing light condensing it self into one brightly shining point, turning the golden walls into mirrors enhancing its brightness. Blindet by all this Lith and her titan shut their eyes to avoid hurting them permanent. The los of life force lets Lith sink to the floor just a wisp away from unconscious. With time the light begins to dim down but the white point remains fixed in the center, projecting a ghostly male form. ''Ah it feels good to be back.'' Says the bodyless soul, shattering Lances very soul. ''No you are King Art. You were supposed to be my Gwenera. How can that be?'' Asks Lance with empty eyes and a powerless voice. ''Yea well I incontrast to you are not a User... Gweneras power is Soul-Exchange. Not the King killed the Queen my old friend but the Queen killed the King.'' Saying these word Lance looses all will to life and collapses onto the floor, dead...

With the ritual concluded the platform sinks back doown to the island where Xote and Arthur are already desperately awaiting them.

''It's good to have you back Lady Lith.'' Says Xote to Lith while seeing her finaly collapse in the titans arms.