Grievous Gift

Had she realized it sooner, she could have fled; she could have evaded the entity's wrath. But the thing had fooled her. 

She had arrived to protect the Kingdom at Perse's wordless request, under the gross misconception that the thing was after the Kingdom, its people, and perhaps humanity itself. 

She might have escaped the entity's wrath if she had realized it sooner. However, it had deceived her. It was clear to her now that the thing's sole objective was them, the Blessed.

Its haunting, haughty smile lasted mere moments before it erupted with malice. Bursting at the seams, the radiance grew and shot out from the laughing cackle of its mouth. A devastating beam of putrid glowing substance surged and hurtled towards her. Frightened, she turned to run. 

But it was pointless. 

Light encircled her being, and everything around her was licked by the onslaught of preliminary searing heat. The very ground beneath her feet melted in an instant, causing her to sink into hot sludge. Despite this, she continued forward, trudging through the molten ground beneath her feet.

'Me, me it's after. No, it's the Blessed it wants. If this thing escapes, it'll, it will go after him.'

Determined and driven, she ran. Fighting her way away through certain death, it was the hardest thing she had ever done, and every moment burned her more than the last. Yet inevitably, she started to slow. Her legs grew numb as her muscle was irreparably seared, and her defenceless back was cruelly charred under the onslaught.

"AhhhGGHHAAAA"

With a scream, she fell onto her back. Slowly, she was being swallowed by the sloppy, scorching ground beneath. Yet, as the epicentre of the unwavering blast finally collided with her, she felt nothing change. 

Even from under the overbearing waves of light, her surroundings suddenly felt a little darker.

Turning her head painfully, she looked up at the inexplicable dark bodies of four beasts cowering above her. Bearing the assault of the blast, they were huge, each bigger than the last, yet were dwarfed by the fakes conjured earlier. They stared at her with four sets of fearful white pupils.

Suddenly a fond memory resurfaced in her mind, causing a little smile to slip out. 

They looked just like the apparition, the mere shadow that had approached and enamoured her on her first day awake. But these were different. They were real, very much so. And somehow, they withstood the overwhelming blast above. Arranged one on top of the other with shocking coordination, they each did their best to hold each other up, protecting her from the light.

'aag'

The smallest of the bunch stood tensely over her as it murmured with anxious tiny white pupils. It was trying to communicate but lacked the ability to do so, and its little murmurs failed to reach her. 

'HRRARAAAAA'

Suddenly, the largest of the steeds bearing the brunt of the blast wailed. Its screeching sent nervous shivers across the others as it slowly dissipated under the force. The strongest and biggest of them moments later, its black body was shredded by the blaring light as the next received the blow. This one's snout was smitten with spittle as its mad white pupils squinted under the immense force.

Amelia was moved by the desperate, valiant attempt of the strange steeds, but her amazement was interrupted by a pitiful whine. She turned her eyes back to the smallest of the bunch. Its hollow, hapless sockets marked by only a dot of white immediately conveyed its thoughts.

'It wants me to escape.'

Amelia smiled sadly at the tiny horse's devoted gleam and glanced down at her scorched, scarred legs. The foal seemed to notice it, too, as its lonely white pupils seemed to widen ever so slightly. Rather than continue to whine, the creature seemed uncertain as the next shadow finally crumbled under the force. 

With one last rageful growl, its body was melted under the assault, returning to a formless shadow. The light greedily ate up every last inch of that darkness as it bore down on the next. Only the smallest two of the group remained, and already the next appeared to falter under the weight, crumpling to its knees.

The smallest did its best to help hold up its larger body, and to keep the light from blasting into Amelia. That nervous, sorrowful mark had vanished from its pupils; now, only tenacity remained in those tiny white pupils. Again, the stallion bearing the heat began to fade. Though it was not as strong or big as its purged brethren nor cunning like the youngest, its eyes burned the brightest.

It survived the longest of the four, for it was loyal and devoted to the ones it cared for. One last glance at Amelia was reward enough as, after some time, it faded into sickly yellow heat.

"Don't worry about me. Just go."

Amelia croaked, a smile still plastered to her scarred face, yet her words were pointless. The overbearing ray that blasted into the final steed made escape impossible for either. 

Slowly crumbling to its knees, the creature was the last obstacle between her and obliteration. But rather than be upset, frightened or determined, it appeared entirely confident, conceited even. With its very last ounces of strength, it reared its proud, defenceless head once more. 

And it cried out. 

She watched it cry and howl with surprise, its body rising closer towards the onslaught of heat. Its dark body shone terrifically in that light. Yet the steed's honourable figure was soon drowned out and surpassed. Beyond the light, a distant grander wave of insatiable darkness answered the steed's call. The white light in its eyes dimmed, and at the same time, darkness split the light in two.

It was impossible. That devastating light seemed undefiable, nigh ineffable. Nothing could hinder its path. Yet split in half, the beam continued to sear the land to her side, missing her completely. Further and further away, the two beams ravaged the land perpendicular, creating an unimaginable trench. Eventually, they died out. 

"How"

Weakly wheezing, a painful glance above answered her question. The very source of that light, its skull, was ruptured, split in two. The cut was truly divine. The flapping halves of the statue's head revealed a deep grey inside as the body of the thing toppled. 

"I'm. Alive?"

Had the colossal corpse fallen towards her, she would have been crushed in an instant, but, strangely, it did not. Fearfully, she winced, closing her eyes, the unimaginable weight of the thing slamming into the ground; who knows what consequences would entail. But fortunately, it did not, and mysteriously, its descent slowed as it softly collapsed onto the land with only a shudder.

Her state was bad. The arm that lay hidden within the molten ground, she could no longer feel it. Doing her best to claw to life, she attempted to wiggle it and wench it free, and she did. Only to discover beyond her freed shoulder, there was already nothing left. Staring at that crude image, she was reminded of the time she had lost her left arm; now, similarly, her right was gone, forever. 

"I'm alive, Perses, so please don't blame yourself."

As her mind lingered on thoughts of her brother, she willed herself to sit up but failed. The pain, the overbearing pain, grew worse by the minute. Noticing the figure lumbering towards her, she smiled familiarly.

'An adventure, to make up for lost time. I can't wait to see you again, you can count on me to protect you.'

Slowly, the night grew darker until it overwhelmed and embraced her.