Unstoppable Force

Dell's satisfaction and euphoria after slaying the monster were shortly replaced with irritancy and annoyance. The roars and cries of the monster remained inside his head, which was much louder than that ant from before... 

' Speaking of the ant, it seems that bastard completely vanished after I gained that power. ' 

The memory of the purple flame in his hand flashed in his mind, as he looked at his palm.

' I could hear its voice in the flame, but the flame didn't feel hot, so I doubt it was fire. It was like some sort of spirit... ' 

He rubbed his chin as he came upon a thought that puzzled him further.

' Perhaps it was like the soul of the ant materialized, and the voice in my head is just the soul being stored? '

Dismissing the thought, he looked down at the stairway of gloom and sighed. 

Descending into the darkness, Dell bit his lip and gripped his oar. Sounds of footsteps and ghastly groans echoed up to him, growing louder and more noticeable the further he went, which sent shivers up his spine. But he continued to move further. slowly inhaling and exhaling to calm down.

' Footsteps... I wonder if I'll find a human in this place - so far there's been nothing but beasts and weird insect... things. Some help would be nice. ' 

By now, Dell had fully understood that there would be no allies in this nightmare, meaning he had to completely rely on his abilities - there was nobody like that mysterious reptile killer to bring him to safety. But that alone made him stronger, learning the art of battle and how to assess the abilities of things better. Not to mention, that this was some of the most intense action, if not the most, of his entire life. He would have to get used to these sorts of events sooner than later. 

Reaching the cold obsidian floor at the bottom of the stairs, he observed what seemed like prison cells, dark bars acting as walls on each side seemingly until the end of the room dimly lit by candles on the floors. At the end of the hall, there was a small doorway, leading into what seemed like more rows of cells. From each of the cells, he heard an array of wails, cries, and moans in between booming, rhythmic footsteps coming closer.

He shivered as his attention drew to the doorway.

An oddly familiar figure began to emerge from the doorframe beyond Dell

' Another skeleton creature. But this guy... ' 

The figure resembled something like an abnormally tall human skeleton, with 2 horns branching out of its round skull. It wore a dark tattered robe that wrapped over its slim upper body, and another cut around its waist flowing to its knees. Its body triggered a memory within Dell.

Dell thought back to an early time of his trial, back when he found that rotting body in a clearing. Although he didn't study the body for too long, he theorized that the skeletal being in front of him may be the framework of that race. He didn't have much evidence to go of, seeing as this was a skeleton and not the fleshy corpse he saw, but he just felt that they were the same. But this thought was ended abruptly, as something else caught his attention.

Around its neck was a thick chain glowing purple that weaved itself into the body's ribcage. Buried within, a sinister purple core hovered radiating a sinister purple light. 

A loud cry of a monster erupted in the back of Dell's mind as he looked at the glow, 

' That's odd. That thing before didn't have chains, so why does this one have them? It's almost like its own soul is binding him.' 

A loud cry of a monster erupted in the back of Dell's mind, reminding him of his 

In its hand was a long, black sword that appeared to have been crafted incredibly. It was nothing like any weapon he had come across yet, which invoked a feeling of greed within Dell, smirking as he thought:

' An actual sword! Man, I want that. ' 

Lifting the blade lethargically, the skeleton began to step closer. Dell readied himself, gripping the oar with 2 hands. A groan-like sound echoed from the skeleton to his surprise.

' I feel like it doesn't want to fight. It looks tired and lazy. ' 

Dismissing the thought as he shook his head, Dell lunged forward, swinging his oar up from the ground, clashing against the blade of the skeleton. Neither of them budged as the struggle to overpower the other continued. But Dell was thrown back as something from behind the skeleton rammed into his stomach. Keeping his balance, he looked to see what had dashed at him, it was another skeleton, similar to the other one, but just smaller. His new opponent also seemed to lack a real weapon, but he was very fast Dell clicked his tongue at the sight of the new foe.

' Another? Damn it! ' 

Dell's muscles tensed as he jumped forward bringing the oar down upon the smaller one, not wasting any time. The cleave of the wooden weapon met with the floor as the small one dodged to the left while the other rushed to the right. Stepping back swiftly, the small skeleton scrunched his fist up and fired it at Dell, meeting the attack with his oar. Unlike the bigger skeleton, this one was not strong enough to clash with Dell, so he was almost immediately overwhelmed by a shove from Dell sending it crashing into the bars behind. A light wail sounded from its mouth as it fell to the floor. 

Before Dell could react to the sound though, a dark blade swung at his neck. Barely dodging it in time, the blade rang as it fell to the floor. 

' Heavy... that could probably take my head off in one clean swing! ' 

As both of the skeletons were recovering, Dell took the chance and swung the oar forward at the tall skeleton. Strangely, the skeleton suddenly became faster, jumping back in an instant and hugely widening the gap between them. Dell's face scrunched.

' The hell was that speed!? '

But Dell smirked as a thought streaked across his mind - Dell was not the only one far from it now. His 'friend' was too, seemingly still a bit dazed from the attack previously. Dell, raising his oar once again, bolted over to the small skeleton halfway from the ground. As he did, the other skeleton realized his plan and quickly followed. But it was too late. He swung the oar with all his might, as his eyes were filled with a sinister emotion.

" Gotcha! "

A loud thud rang throughout the hall, as the oar penetrated the ribcage of the skeleton, and pierced the purple essence in its chest. Suddenly, the chains on its body dissolved, followed by the core, and soon the lifeless shattered body of the skeleton remained. Dell had no time to be satisfied with this result though, as he turned to face the incoming threat. But as he did, a voice rang in his head - nothing like before. 

" Free... us... Save... us... " 

" W-What the?! " 

The clear speech completely shocked him, which left him unready for the black blade that swung at him. Moving to the side slightly, Dell tried to move out of its way, but the blade cut through the side of his body, leaving a large cut. 

" Gaargh! "

Diving to the side, he grasped his wound with his left arm, trying to get himself up with the oar in his other. As he moaned in pain, the voice came back, confirming what he heard. 

" You... must... help... us... " 

' What the hell?! Where is that coming from? Damn! ' 

As he got up, his eyes widened as he realized that the voice in his head may have been the skeleton he had killed. 

' I can understand it... ' 

Then, an idea came to his head. 

" You! Can you understand me? "

The skeleton stood still, before raising its head and opening its jaw. A ghostly, old voice followed.

" Yes... "

He was right. They could understand and speak to him... this could be incredible.

" Let's... ugh... stop fighting for a moment. Actually, yeah, let's start there... Why are you attacking me? "

The skeleton did not move. But, it responded. 

" I must fight... I am an eternal guard... a fate better than imprisonment... they will be back soon... I must fight.... "

Dell's face tensed at the cryptic words, trying to decipher the meaning. Was it fighting him because is forced to, by whatever 'they' is? And by imprisonment, did he mean inside of these cells? The pair remained silent for a moment before Dell continued.

" Who's they? Are 'they' making you guard here? "

" They are the lords of this in-between afterworld... they know of its defeat... they will consign a replacement soon... they harbor the souls of the living in the tomb... and we keep them harbored... " 

' What the hell... lords of an 'in-between' afterworld? Harbouring souls? ' 

But Dell's body shivered the most after hearing about the 'replacement.' It couldn't be talking about the monster he had slain before... right?

Suddenly, the skeleton exited his hollow stance and pointed his blade forward. It seemed like their time for talk was over, but Dell was fine with this.

Dell hissed as he let go of his wound, and shoved his bloodied hand right into his face. He had to recreate it... perfectly. Soon after, the whispering voice of the little skeleton disappeared from his conscience leaving only the bellow of the monster, and a sensation entered his palm. Dell chuckled, soon becoming a euphoric howl, before speaking aloud:

" You won't stop me here. Nor will these lords, and nor will this replacement you speak of. I have to keep moving forward. You, eternal guard, will not eternally block my path. "

Leaving his face covered in blood, his arm stretched out showcasing the purple flame engulfing his hand, taunting the skeleton. A smile arched across Dell's face. 

" I too, must fight. "

The skeleton's form remained unchanged at the sight of the flame - its empty eyes stared deep into Dell's, its ominous voice projecting one last sentence.

" Kill... all... reapers... "