48 - The Mental Realm

I could tell exactly when my bond with the Ancient broke. Despite the barriers being tied off, I had still felt their presence. But no more. 

I turned to find the Adversary stabbed into the ground next to the lectern. His former wielder, pale and extremely malnourished, scrambled away, into the furthest corner of the room. He covered his ears and cowered.

The thought of going back on my vow crossed my mind as I focused my gaze on the Adversary. In shape and style it was identical to the Ancient. The thought passed by, and I approached the Adversary. I found myself standing over him. With a deep breath, I grabbed the Adversary's hilt.

My surroundings faded from my consciousness. I found myself staring down the Adversary, appearing just like when he possessed his wielder. We stood in empty space. Above us was starless sky, and beneath our feet was a circle of sand, rippling in a radial pattern. I stood at the center of the ripples. Wordlessly, the Adversary approached, passing the ripples one by one. Red lights burned from under his hood.

He leapt forward, grabbing my mental self by the throat. I thought of Katie. Her smile strengthened my mental form, and I grabbed his wrist. I didn't struggle, but slipped from his grasp. I shoulder-slammed him out of the center of the circle. 

He resisted like a brick wall. A bird-like monster emerged from the sand, made from it. It dove at me, talons out. Reflexively, I raised my arms to shield myself, and a wall of sand emerged. The bird slammed into it, and the two fell back into the sand. 

The Adversary stood in the center, staring down at me haughtily. His position started to rise, the remaining sand sloping up to make a mountain. I thrust my hands into the sand, a surprisingly easy task. I felt something beneath the sand.

Pulling strength from my memories, I tore the sand apart. With it, the entire arena. I could see nothing, but feel. We were like two liquids in a jar, unable to mix. I realized I had been pushed away from control. When? 

The world was tinted red. Words were being spoken - with my voice. I didn't know what the words were, but from what I could glean from the Adversary, it was a spell. To seal the Ancient. He had manifested his cloaked figure, just like when I had initially met him, but seemed significantly weaker. Behind him, a barrier that looked purple. And three mortals beyond.

I shoved forward, reaching towards the Ancient and Celine. He resisted, like swimming through mud. But his attention wasn't on me. It was on the Ancient. I slammed into the Adversary's mental presence, drawing up every positive memory, and smashing it into the Adversary. He barely flinched, reshaping around my attacks. 

Remembering my fight with the Boss, I grabbed the Adversary, and pulled it away from the control center. It was heavy, but I could manage. The song in the mortal realm faltered. 

"We're not done yet!" I shouted. 

I brought memories to mind just to slam them into the Adversary. Adventures from the Interplane. Theoretically mundane life in my old world. Everything we did here. The happy. The sad. The peaceful. The furious. He finally relented under the assault.

"Ancient. I have him. Can you lead Celine and the others away?" I asked.

He nodded. The barrier over the doorway dissipated, and he spoke to the others telepathically. One by one, they left back down the hallway they came from. The Adversary continued to struggle, but I had him now. Even without the Ancient's power, I was able to block the Adversary off with a wall of memories.

The Ancient came to the lectern, turned a few pages, then followed after the others. All that remained in the room were me, the Adversary, and his previous wielder. 

I looked at the Andernite-bound book. The open page had a song, written with characters I didn't know, but somehow knew how to pronounce. Assuming I knew what it was, I sang it. 

As I began to sing, the Adversary renewed his efforts. He slammed against my memory barrier, but it held. He fought until the end, but I sang on. The final word was punctuated by a sharp crack. A half-blade of steel clattered to stone. The Adversary shrank in my mind, and my awareness of the mental realm faded.

The former wielder looked at me with awe and fear.

"He's gone. The Adversary's reign of terror is over."

He didn't respond. So I left the room, turning back briefly to close the book and take it with me. 

My trophy in one hand, and the book in the other, I made my way outside. At the entrance, I was surrounded by the Ancient, Celine, Tim, Chiyo, Jack, Cameron, and Juliana. I dropped the Adversary's hilt. "I'll have to apologize to Katie when she gets back. I kind of broke my promise."