the finale

The room became silent as everyone watched.

Rion eyes flashed a bright glowing purple and silver. Her aura stretched across the room. The hair on everyone's neck began to stand up as static electrified the room.

They saw a girl transform into a god in front of them.

The others in the shop bowed the dark elf bow placing their hands in front of them placing one hand on top of the other. As if they were seeing a god.

Joselyn having seen her princess do this before, she knew this wasn't a good sign and her stomach became uneasy as she searched over the room looking for any hint as to what triggered this.

"You need to get your people out of here and as far away as possible." Joselyn voice was fierce and it surprised Ryuu to hear Joselyn speak that way to her. Ryuu didn't know that what was happening was because the beast were near by and that Princess Orion could be unpredictable and attacked anything she deemed a threat, which Joselyn knew, could include people.

"Excuse me who are you to speak to the

Queen like that." An elven woman said in the background.

"You are in the presence of a goddess!" Someone who looked like a priestess yelled.

"What's going on?" Ryuu looked to Joselyn confused by her initial reaction, she knew Rion was the God of Death, but it hadn't occurred to her that something was wrong.

"Listen, if she's glowing, people will die. Take your people go and rally your forces you're about to be invaded by monsters.

Then a loud ear piercing screech shook

the shop, scaring everyone. Including Joselyn, who had experienced many battles

but never anything like this, the sound made her ears feel like they were bleeding. Everyone dropped to their knees clutching their ears. Joselyn and Ryuu quickly gather their senses and stand back up. Looking over at Princess Orion the glow from her was blinding, now Joselyn knew she was short on time.

"Now! Your grace!" Joselyn shouted once more as she helped others get to their feet.

Once they were half way out the door a sudden blast of energy burst from Rion. The shock wave blew people and debris down.

The entire shop was glowing purple and silver as streams of light bled through the streets. Another loud ear piercing screech came from above, followed by the loud roar of many beasts in the distance. Screams of fear from the people filled the streets. Civilians rushing past them heading inward.

"Get to the palace and tell them to find me, I'll do my best to stay with the princess." Joselyn commanded. "Arm everyone who can handle a weapon and the once that can't get them armed with a bow."

"Okay, got it." Ryuu said.

Before walking away Joselyn grabbed her

hand, "Take this stone to Prince Theo, he'll know what to do with it."

Ryuu nodded and started to run toward the palace yelling for everyone to head to the palace keep for shelter and safety and weaponry.

Just then a beam of light shot from the ground into the air, it was so bright Joselyn had to shield her eyes.

And that's when she saw it. Blasting through a portal of some kind that ripped through the sky. The space around it crackled with some kind of static that made the air look distorted and grainy.

This bright light looked to be right in front of the massive collection of distorted space in the sky.

'Was that light Princess Orion?' She thought.

"Shit. Theo is gonna kill me" Joselyn said realizing that beam of light was indeed her princess.

What the fuck was she supposed to do about that? How was she going to explain to Theo that while he left her to take care of his wife and on her watch his wife transcends into some being of pure light.

And shit she wasn't even truly dressed for combat, she had two knives in her boots and one large dagger strapped to her thigh.

Yelling for people to keep moving. At this point she could see her Princess Orion from any standpoint, she was practically a silver and purple sun, so she followed the crowd to the palace to find Theo, this city was unfamiliar to her and she knew it would be hard to find him until he got the stone.

Theo

After leaving Rion, Carter and I went to go and find her brothers. I know one twin is in the library, but where is the other twin?

After sending word with Carter for Arragon to meet us in the forest looking meeting room, I'd been wandering sometime wandering for a bit, I ask a servant to help me find him.

After locating Oleander in the weaponry area I walk up to him putting my arm around him.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, we need to meet up with your brother and talk about the meeting I just had with the Sisters."

"Shit, I'm sorry, where are we going?" Oleander asked.

"The forest looking meeting room."

"What does that even mean?" He asked me.

"Carter is bringing him to this meeting room I was told to use earlier, it looks like a forest and it's literally called 'Mori Heya' which means 'Forest Room' in Traditional Dark Elvish." I say looking at him.

"Have you been there yet?" He asks me.

"No, but they said its on the first floors west wing, the door looks different, and I'll know immediately, apparently."

"Cool."

The wood ended up not being to far from the weaponry area. And they were right, the room really is easy to find. The door was different from the other doors, instead of it being a dark wood, it was made of red wood and had a tree in the middle.

"I think this might be the door, but I could be wrong." Oleander said first.

"I think you have a keen eye." I responded. We both laughed and he opened the door walking in first.

The room was completely different, and it made me wonder if there were other rooms like this in the palace. The room was a small forest with an oval table made entirely of crystal so clear it almost looked like glass. The chairs were made of red wood branches and leaves to cushion the seats.

"Wow it really is the forest room. It even has a breeze. How the hell do they do that?" Oleander asked.

"I don't know but its pretty genius." I say taking my seat at the table.

"Damn you beat us here and to think I even used magic to teleport us to the first floor of the palace." Arragon said walking through the door followed by Carter.

"You only ever beat me in one race, and that was out of our mother." Oleander said laughing.

"That is the most important race in my opinion." Arragon snapped back.

Taking their seats I recant for them what the grandmaster wizard had said about Rion needing to learn how to merge with Nether instead of sharing the body as two separate beings. About Tan and

Tai 

"Wow the cool shit always happens to you guys when I'm not around." Oleander said.

I laughed so hard, completely surprised

by his comment.

"That's all you have to say?"

"No, what happens if she doesn't merge with Nether?"

The room stilled, both Carter and I knew the answer to that.

"They'll switch places and we'll lose Orion. Her body will burn up and she will become the new God of Death becoming the Netherworld, the same way Nether is the Netherworld."

The room got so quiet and it was the loudest silence I've ever heard.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up and I stiffen, I realize the silence isn't just in the room, it's in my head.

T: Little bunny?

Silence…

"Shit. I can't hear Rion any more." I say.

"What?" Carter and Oleander ask at the same time.

"She's gone silent again!" I can feel the anxiety rising to the surface "something's

wrong."

And no sooner did I finish my sentence did we hear a loud screech that shook the window in the room. It was ear piercing, I've never heard anything like that, felt like the inside of my ear had blown up, and it made me dizzy for a moment.

"The fuck was that?" Oleander said snapping out first.

"I haven't the slightest clue, but I do know it's related to Orion. I can feel she's disappeared again, and that's a sound I've never heard."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Arragon said a little to casually before getting up and portaling out of the room.

"It's so unfair that he can do that." Oleander said.

"It really is, isn't it?" I said back to him.

Rushing out of the room and out the door and I can't believe my eyes.

A huge purple and silver light was rising into the air and in front of it was this blurry static spot in the sky, if you didn't look at it you couldn't wouldn't even see it there.

"What the hell?" Arragon said starring at the sky.

"I don't know, but look in the distance there's fire and screams. We're under attack." Oleander said.

"Okay, you guys know what to do, Oleander you run ground assault and hidden melee attacks, Arragon, you get the mages. And Carter find Joselyn and get people inside, get them armed and lead them after the soldiers clear some way." I said "Now go, I'm going to try and find away to reach Rion."

The group dispersing, I look for a higher point, but the moment I left the palace stairs the two entities in the sky shifted it's direction.

'That's definitely my little bunny up there. Fuck how am I going to get you down?"

And then I thought of something.

Taking a deep breath I pictured my self connecting with Etherworld in my mind. I suddenly began to feel warm and my feet felt firm and almost heavy. Looking up I try and cast a line to the entity in the sky.

Nether?

I think I saw the purple and silver entity move. I think its working. So I try again, hoping to see more.

Nether.

Moving away from the other entity and toward me.

Orion?

I watch as the figure started to transform appearing more elf like, the closer she got.

Thank goodness. Is that really Nether showing themselves to us? She's never gone full super nova though.

Her leaving didn't go unnoticed by the entity, and once it saw Ether's yellow and white and gold glow, taking on a new form the static and grains begin shifting turning into this monstrosity.

It seemed to look like a it was mocking the things of the Etherworld. Distorted flesh with skin that was translucent black blood pumping through it's veins, it had antlers that looked like branches off an elder tree, there were branches perturbing from its shoulders, covered in a type of black mold dripping from it. The entity was riding on the back of a horrifying beast, it had no eyes and a wide mouth with 10 rows of teeth, it's wings stretched far and had thick skin as webbing, there fingers with long talons at the tip of its wing. It's legs were long and the thighs were thick, it had large feet with two toes that had talons eight inches long. The tail was long and the end was rounded with spikes like a mace. 

What the fuck even is that thing.

Orion now turning back flying toward it once more and a truly vicious and violent a battle begins.

***

Theo watches as Orion heads back toward the entity, seeing this he couldn't help be feel helpless unable to help her fight him.

Diving down at Theo, Orion intercepts throwing soul knives at him and a deep voice comes from within in a language he couldn't

understand:

"Vanitas on Non, vices et semel perdes!

Corpus tuum conquassabit et interim capietur"

-Vanitas of the Nothing you will not win and you will lose once more. Your body will soil and you will be trapped once more-

And the entity spoke back, it's voice sounded

like was rough and jagged, the words from his mouth sounded like knives cutting into your soul, so cold it made shivers run up and down the spine of those who could hear its words.

"Mundas erit pelvis tutu set, ego, nihil erit quod remaneat. Deglutiens omnia quae suns in mundo, incipient cum dilecto tuo Ether"

-your world will be dust and it will be, I, nothing that remains. Swallowing all that exists in the world, starting with your beloved Ether-

After saying that the entity charged again for Theo, but he was more prepared this time dodging and rolling over catching itself on his feet.

The grand wizard Grandma Aggie appeared

from a hidden doorway she made.

"Theo child, come here." She says. Theo

rushes over, "Take this javelin, it is one made from the essence of Tan. Use it to fight it." She says tossing it to him, before quickly shutting the doorway and it disappearing altogether.

The javelin glowed when he touched it. First white and then streaks of gold began pulsating through the glow.

While collecting the Javelin from Grandma Aggie, Orion was throwing soul knife after soul knife with the entity dodging each attack. The two beings clashed constantly. Orion dodging the entities attacks as well, they moved so fast it was hard to see who was who. Dashing back and froth each one going in for a kill shot.

Theo saw his opening as the entity again lunged for him he threw his javelin and Orion caught it throwing it harder into the beast the entity rode, striking the beast through the wing it screeched loudly again forcing Theo to cover his ears. The pain was excruciating. The beast thrashed angry the entity rushing forward faster than Orion could react. The entity grabbed Orions neck squeezing it, her skin burning off and disintegrating, same as its. Both of them scream in agony. Orion's body bursts with energy again. The power of the Netherworld surging through her body once more. The light was burning the entity. Shrinking backwards letting Orion go she began to fall, before hitting the ground she awoke again and lifted back up toward the sky. Throwing her soul knives again. The entity distracted by its disintegrating hands is pierced repeatedly through its body. The entity and its beast howl, before it evaporated its physical body opening a portal and quickly disappearing.

She saw her love on the ground rushed toward him. Pulling him into her embrace and began stroking his hair.

"Ether aut quaeso, revertere ad me meum

amorem meum, alterum dimidium meum"

-Ether please return to me my love, my other half-

Theo noticing his little bunny was still occupied by Nether. The voice was deep and otherworldly, but at the same time it was soothing and familiar. Feeling at peace in a way he couldn't describe in a moment of war.

"Pugna modo incipit amor, nunc amor pugnandum est."

-The battle has only just begun, we must fight now my love.-