The Price of Redemption (Part 1).

Marcus stepped to the side, getting closer to Elena and covering the woman with himself. The man standing opposite, if he in fact could be called even a human, was clearly dangerous and stronger. Life taught Marcus that one should never underestimate the enemy. The experience was bitter. But life taught him something else as well - he must fight to the end, even if it makes no sense.

"I am pleased that someone remembers my name, even though thousands of years have passed since the last time I breathed air," the ancient king made a subtle nod as he greeted his listeners.

"You should not have come, the air was cleaner before, now you have nothing to catch here," Marcus did not think to demonstrate politeness. Spirits of such a level are unlikely to appear with good intentions. "Are you ok?" the man glanced at David over his shoulder.

"I've been better," Anderson replied in a hoarse voice. Elena helped her husband to get on his feet and supported him by the arm. "It just seems to me that I am now completely useless."

"It doesn't seem to you," Marcus frowned. Judging by David's aura, he was deprived of all his abilities and even some of his physical strength. So he was now no better than an ordinary person who had just completed a marathon about fifty kilometers. It was bad.

Taubert could not teleport his daughter and her husband. Maybe it was worth trying to break through the wall of illusion directly? Marcus felt a slight tingling sensation in the neck, the chip was activated and tried to reconnect with the general system. If the worst comes to the worst, the man could use the extra power through the chip. But given the level of the ghost, it will take a lot of strength to resist, and Marcus was going to use it to restore the energy shield.

He looked at his opponent again, the man's gaze frozen on a golden pendant that stood out even more brightly against the king's dark skin. "Give it back, I didn't give this thing to you," Taubert muttered through clenched teeth, fire flaring up in his palms. He never wanted to kill as much as he did now. This monster took their boy, erased his existence as a worthless dummy.

"You are talking about this thing?" Zedaan Ziusudra picked up a pendant with two wedding rings with his index finger. It was on Nick's neck when the king took possession of his mind and body. With a slight movement, he ripped off the chain and tossed it to Marcus. So, there was nothing left in this creature that would connect him and Nicholas, except for the outer features. Only Nick's eyes have never been so indifferent.

"What for?" Taubert held two wedding rings in his hand. Did he and Amelia sacrifice so much to watch the last hope turn to dust?

"Your spirit is strong, human. But you will not understand," Zedaan replied in a calm voice. "The connections in this world are much more complicated. By opposing me, you will awaken even greater evil. I am just protecting what is dear to me. Just like you."

In the next second, Marcus felt a strong blow and was thrown aside. The man landed on the ground and immediately rolled over to attack, but was unable to get up. An invisible force pressed down on his body, his eyes hurt from the sand that got into them. A sharp pain exploded in his head like an atomic bomb, momentarily shutting off his hearing and sensations.

Marcus saw David crawling towards the gate with difficulty. The veins in his arms were swollen with exertion and blood was flowing from his nose, but he continued to crawl forward.

"Don't touch her, bastard!" Marcus pushed himself toward Elena, but one glance from the ancient king was enough to send a shock through the man's bones. He dug his fingers into the sand, breathing hastily; his heart was bursting with despair and rage.

"Zed, stop it! Do not do that!" Elena tried to free herself from the grasp of the creature that appeared in front of her. Zedaan put his hands around the woman's head and forced her to look into his eyes. She clung to his wrists unsuccessfully, but the man seemed to be made of stone.

"Zed?" a faint smile lifted the corners of his lips, "Very few people have addressed me like this, girl. You look a lot like her. It is not surprising that you are the guardian of the memory." He tilted his face to Elena's so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. But she felt nothing. Before her was a living stone, a soulless shell filled with consciousness, the emotions of which were hidden under a thick canopy of darkness.

"Don't resist, I'll find one small, but very old key, and everything will be over. Your memory is too deep. If you resist, you will go mad. How much you have from a god, in reality, you are still a human."

The skin on the woman's hands flared with blue patterns, they flowed like snakes from the tips of the fingers to the shoulders, passing to the neck and cheekbones.

"Zed, listen to me. The darkness is speaking in you," Elena whispered, feeling how someone else's consciousness penetrated her head. Its warm light was shrouded in a gray mist, blocking any attempt to escape. She wanted to break through to this light, to free it from its long captivity, but the fog was too dense. It seemed to have felt a threat and became even denser, turning into an impenetrable wall.

Elena felt Zed brush his fingertips gently over her cheeks, his forehead was touching hers, the king's consciousness with even greater pressure tried to penetrate her memory. In memory of the one who, like him, had been waiting for many years to finish what she started.

"I can feel her memory in you, Elena Teser. They are misleading you. My darkness has nothing to do with it, this is my decision."

Woosh!

Zedaan unclenched his fingers and staggered away from the woman. He lowered his head, a transparent fiery blade protruding from his chest, blazing with blue flame.

"Don't touch my wife," David hissed through clenched teeth and pressed down on the hilt of the sword, driving it deeper into the creature's body.

Zed shot David a surprised look over his shoulder. "Wow, I underestimated your tenacity. You have guessed to pull out a kukri? A worthy attempt and it would be quite successful," he turned abruptly, grabbed David by the throat with one hand, and pulled the dagger from his back with the other, "But a soul catcher cannot kill one soul twice. It's a pity."

Zed squeezed David's throat, a little effort was enough for him to break neck bones. Especially now, when this man did not possess any abilities and was not stronger than an ant. It was so simple and inevitable, but every time he put off this moment.

With every world that he had to destroy, Zedaan Ziusudra remembered the death of his own. Wouldn't it be better to spare these people from watching the collapse of what they thought was their home?

Let at least a piece of life and mind remain on this planet, which will be able to gain strength again after a while, than lifeless fragments, silently floating in space like unnecessary garbage.

Zed pushed David away and slashed the air with his sword, cutting off Marcus's fiery whip. The shock wave crashed into the stone slabs. Boulders and chippings flew down, covering David and Elena.

David pushed his wife aside and tried to cover her with himself. The ground shook like an earthquake.

"David, watch out!" Elena cried out.

A huge dog, like a wolfhound, with sparkling fur jumped out of the air and pounced on David. He managed to put his hand out, and the jaws of the animal gripped his forearm.

Marcus turned around, hearing Elena's scream, and saw a fight between an unknown animal and David, who even had nothing to defend with.

"Nice illusion, okay? Do you want to help?" Zed chuckled.

Marcus waved his hand, trying to dispel the illusion, but the dog only growled harder and tried to grab David by the neck with its fangs. His fingers and hands were covered in blood, he was holding the jaw of the animal, pushing it away from his face.

Taubert put maximum force into the blow, throwing a pillar of fire flame at Zed, but the creature jumped several meters back.

Marcus moved to David, grabbed the neck of the animal with a rope of fire and pulled it sharply. The dog wheezed and crumbled into sparks. He held out a hand to David, helping him up. Anderson got to his feet, swayed and began to slowly sink down.

"D-david?" Taubert grabbed the man, not understanding what was happening. David's head dropped and he fell to the ground like a lifeless doll.

Horror gripped Marcus's heart.

He held his breath and turned around.

Zed hugged Elena tightly to him, holding her waist with one hand.

Elena grabbed the leather straps on the man's chest and looked into his eyes. In the gloomy darkness, blue flashes of light appeared and died again.

"Sorry," he whispered and pulled her closer to him, "And thousands of years won't be enough to express how sorry I am."

Zed was confused when he saw a smile on the woman's lips. She had never smiled at that moment before. This world was really different from its pale counterparts, through which he had to wander for so many centuries.

She raised her left hand and touched the man's cheek, her right palm was resting on the area of ​​his heart. Elena looked at Zed with warmth and whispered,

"Blood to blood, heart to heart, soul to soul. The eternal circle is closed by two souls. You are free now, Zedaan. I release you into Eternity."

Her hands hung along her body, Elena staggered back, closed her eyes and fell to the ground with a thud.

It seemed to Marcus that it was an eternity before he reached his daughter's body. With every step he took, he hoped that the picture before his eyes was only an illusion, but it was becoming clearer and clearer.

He fell to his knees next to Elena, and began to examine the woman. His hands were trembling, and stifled groans escaped his lips. "My girl, no ... How can it be so?" he stroked her hair, her face, but Elena's eyelids never flinched.

Sean moved Armand and Lina to the spot he and Ashley had seen earlier. But it was different from what was in the picture.

The sky was overcast with darkness as if the deep twilight turns into night.

The air froze, not a single sound could be heard, except for the man's sobs, similar to the death rattles of a wounded animal.

Sean's palm slipped out of Armand's warm hand and hung.

He was late.

Marcus was sitting on the ground in front of a large stone rock that looked like an ancient gate.

Before him lay Elena with a knife stuck in her heart.