Deathsong Chronicles - Nocturne 9

Xepher darted around, slicing the void bound demons in twain. The others charged forwards behind him, killing any at the flanks.

Then, the demons and warriors were blown away by a tremendous gale, as if the caster of the terrible spell did not care whether it affected demons, humans or any other kind of being.

But, Xepher did not feel even a breeze.

Thus it was that Xepher was alone in the endless plains when Aria's brother Ariandus strode out of the demon hordes.

"Ariandus..." muttered Xepher. While powerful, he was nowhere as powerful as Aria, and so he conjured Cypheria, and prepared to do battle.

The archdemon laughed, and formed a massive broadsword, two times taller than Xepher himself. The archdemon himself was far more hideous than Aria, and was bigger too, almost the size of an elephant.

"I'm getting hungry!" taunted Ariandus.

"..."Xepher grinned. "So...you want a piece of me, literally. Come and get it, then...if you can!"

Ariandus pounced on Xepher, who dodged aside and flung a fireball at the demon's back. It whammed into him with the force of a cannonball, and exploded with just about as much power.

The other warriors tried to help, but Xepher waved them off.

"Get the other demons! This guy's mine."

Ariandus snarled and tried to grab Xepher by the neck, crushing it in the process. Xepher slid under his grasp and plunged his sword upwards into the demon's torso. Ariandus gasped.

Transforming it into a harpoon, the tip of Cypheria was now barbed, and Xepher yanked hard from the other side. As a result, the barbs pierced the archdemon's hide from around the wound.

Ariandus fell to his knees, and tried to pull the harpoon out the other way. Doing such, Xepher triggered his trap. Cypheria transformed into a morningstar, a handle linked with a big, spiked ball by a chain.

The demon's hand was instantly bloody, as he now held the big, spiked ball in question. He relinquished the hold, and Xepher ripped it out from the other way.

With it came Ariandus's black heart. Literally.

Ariandus gasped, and with his dying breath, said:" My death avails you little. You weak humans lack the power to open the portal to Rursus...You would need power of some magnitude to do that. Hmph. See you in hell..."

The light left his eyes.

"He's right." muttered one of the rift warriors. "We can't open the portal with the power we possess."

"Maybe if I suck his power, we can have enough energy." said Kaithlyn. She then proceeded to do so, the others forming a guard around her against the remaining demons.

"And even if we did return to Rursus, we still would not have enough power to defeat Aria." Sieghart pursed his lips in frustration. "For all the power of the Guardian, it still isn't enough."

"There is a way..."muttered Nocturna. "The Guardian Realm was supposed to be a myth, right? But here in the Rift of Reality, we can have access to any realm. Why not seek out this realm, for any who survive the trials and return will gain enormous power, it is said."

"You're right. But...only Guardians can enter the Guardian Realm." pointed out Shadowz. "Right?"

Everyone looked at Xepher, who sighed. "I suppose so. Damn it." to the rift warriors he said:"Open the way please."

They unleashed the rift magics, and opened a hole into the Guardian Realm, then conjured a wardrobe-like object, and placed the portal within it. "A portal holder." explained the lead rift warrior. "To sustain the portal. You have six hours, Guardian. Do not fail us."

Xepher nodded. "Well...here goes!" he leapt into the portal.