Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

ORIGIN WAR (V)

The horizon was entirely wrapped up in a thick fog, parts white-parts red, blocking the view of the world down below . Thousands of the ears perked, listening very carefully for any sound, while even more eyes looked around cautiously and scrutinized every bit of everything they could take in . They have just reached the surrounding waters of the Dragon Isles, though at an elevation barren of most kinds of life – save for the Glowing Sharbirds, Edge-native, four-winged creatures that, unlike most other birds, had the ability to withstand the pressure of the high skies with their rather staunch skeletons while still maintaining the ability of flight .

It was eerily silent from all ends; not even the ever-blowing winds of the high altitudes greeted them, only thick clouds and thicker fog . In such silence, strange thoughts emerged within the strained minds; after all, fragile perceptions were easily bent, and weak minds easily corrupt . Ever so often, the Captains of the army would holler at their subordinates to wake them, ensuring they all remained on high alert perpetually .

Such strain was not easy to withstand, for they had been at it for nearly an hour; most would have rather a battle had begun by now than to wane in cardinal silence from which there was no escape . Though they may die in war, they were going mad in this pretense of peace . Hardly a soul wished to lose their mental capacities as so .

Lucky spotted a flicker from the corner of her eyes; a flash of light beamed for less than a second within the fog, like the firefly, but just long enough to grasp it . It was distant and dim, but it was a sign of something – she immediately called out the Captain of the Airship the Shadows boarded and told him to descend . As others saw one ship break off and head downwards, they hesitated for a moment before joining .

Altogether, the army itself lined up into a hundred airships, with most having either remained on the islands or in the fortress or acting as one-man-armies, like Cain and Alex .

The light flickered once more, this time long enough for a whole lot more souls to notice it . It was brighter than before, livelier even . Chatter was short-lived as Captains silenced the excited and the worried voices, heading speedily toward the light in alarmed silence .

Lucky furrowed her brows as it happened the third time; this time around, everyone saw it as it was hardly a flicker – it was clearly an explosion of sorts, bound with yellow edges outside the white innards . She hurried the Capitan as their descent sped up .

They broke past the barrier of fog and mist and clouds shortly after, emerging into the destitute reality; a horrifying scene greeted the countless eyes, as nearly four-fifths of them all bent over and vomited their guts out . The first thing that got to them was the stench; it felt as though someone shoved a mixture of rotted eggs, fish and decaying corpses straight into their nostrils . Some even passed out on the spot .

Following the scent itself, it was the sight – the scene of nightmares, of those stories written by wicked minds, where all abominable realities come to a pass, and the whole of the world ends in an agonizing way . There was no water to be seen, not an ocean they were promised, not the sea long-thought as unconquerable; it was a desert void of life, a stack of black and crimson pedaled by the innumerable corpses .

Even Lucky frowned, barely holding steady, while most of the recruits fell to their knees and quivered . When she and others left, though it was bad, it was still possible to see the ocean and the water weathering the ever-increasing piles . Now? Now there was nothing but the corpses for miles on end . How many had he killed, she pondered? Altogether, there were hundreds of thousands of dead here, perhaps even crossing a million .

It didn’t take too long for a few to spot him – the few that could tear their eyes away from the world’s largest tomb . Primul was the first, as though he was shocked, it was well within the realms of the reason for him – what’s more, perhaps this was the most normal he’d felt ever since coming back to his senses . He was but a tiny figure still, surrounded on all ends by overwhelming numbers, repeatedly breaking out only to be caged back in . His countenance has changed; there was no immortal poise to his gait, no indomitable spirit practically bursting out of his chest .

What Primul saw was a man on the verge of being broken; eyes peering into the abyss, embracing it, the chilled Crown on top of his head cracking . Lips cold and quivering . Gash after gash bleeding like a river’s mouth, dyeing his entire being in deep, almost brownish crimson .

"CHARGE!!!" while most still contended with the ghastly sights, Eggor shouted from the top of his lungs the moment he saw Lino .

Over a dozen faceless creatures cast in white stone jumped off the airship, fire breaking out of their backs right after as they headed for where Lino was .

"CHARGE!!" Lucky echoed the sentiment, soon followed by everyone until the silence of the sky was overwhelmed by the symphony that shook the world .

Two looked sideways, her expression beyond distorted; her horizon was immediately lit up as a bombardment commenced, one she barely managed to avoid with Five’s help . The sky caught fire as tendrils of countless shadows reached out through the flames and wrapped around Lino, pulling him out .

The clash of two armies commenced immediately, though it was hardly a battle; one side was exhausted, traumatized beyond comprehension, while the other one basked in fury of having seen the state of their leader . The slaughter that followed was chilling as armies of the Holy Grounds broke in a desperate attempt to escape . The Devils and Demons fought till their last breaths, their Wills ignited by the sight of blood .

The High Lords also turned tail and withdrew as quickly as they could, the stragglers cut down like pigs .

Two cried in frustration, her attempts to break away and head back into the fray prevented by three pairs of arms wrapped around her berserk body pulling her back . It was a failure – complete and utter failure . He endured it all, still standing by the end, however hollowed he may be . She stared harrowingly at the fading figure cast in drying blood and only a single wound that would never wholly heal . They scarred him, but so what? He would live . Recover . Recuperate . Grow even stronger from this . It wasn’t enough to hurt him . It will never be enough to just hurt him .

Lucky, Cain, one of Eggor’s creations, Litha and Vyrove were the ones dragging Lino’s body through the sky and back onto the fortress . The moment they crashed over the wall, the Captains ordered a rapid and orderly retreat rather than giving chase to the fleeing enemy . Today was simply not the day for that .

"Hey, hey, wake up, idiot," Lucky mumbled rapidly and shallowly, holding her breath as she was certain she too would turn her innards out otherwise . "Fuckin’ fuck... shit . Help me get him to the doctors . "

Eggor raced over, quickly and gently picking him up and following Lucky through the winding streets as the sea of souls split apart the moment they saw him, making way . Eggor glanced down fearfully, feeling his gut wrench; one of his eyes was missing entirely, a massive gash running from the top of his forehead down to his jaw, still bleeding . A massive hole lay open on his right cheek, revealing insides of his mouth beyond . He was missing his left ear, part of his skull broken off, white goo driven out .

Both his arms lay limp by his body, every bone in them broken down to the smallest ones in his fingers . His torso sported hundreds of cuts, and three massive, bone-deep holes, one even going beyond it, drilled all the way to his heart . It lay right there, beating softly, pounding still .

It was like holding a wet rag, Eggor thought . Yet, it was not water, but blood; there was so much blood... so much . There wasn’t a trace of another color in what remained of his clothes, with even his hair having obtained the dark-brownish luster over the black one .

Unable to look at him any longer, Eggor focused on the street and Lucky, ignoring everything else . Their journey was short, barely a minute, and they’d found their way to the Healing Quarters .

Over a dozen souls immediately gasped and began racing around the well-lit rooms, preparing everything, while an elderly man joined Eggor .

"—my god," the man mumbled, sucking in a cold breath as they reached a small, isolated room with a slightly elevated bed . With the man’s and Lucky’s help, Eggor lay Lino down, his arms shaking . "This..."

"—fix him . " Lucky growled lowly .

"... just administer the first aid," Lucky, Eggor and the old man jumped in surprise as a newcomer appeared on the other side of the bed . Ella stood there, frigid air surrounding her, arms crossed over her chest, tightly bound to one another . Her eyes had a bloodshot-red sheen to them, as though she’d been crying, her lips pale and trembling . "Stop the bleeding, locate the completely shattered bones and amputate or cut out everything around them . "

"Y-yes!" the old man quickly nodded, calling out for tools and assistants as Ella dragged Lucky and Eggor out .

"—what happened?" Lucky asked as the three settled just outside the room, on a bench beneath a cyan crystal shining above them . "When we left, he was... fine..."

"His buffs ended shortly after you left," Ella said . "And he started burning through Vitality and Qi in spades in order to prolong them as much as possible . In that short time, he tried killing as many as possible, probably to cut at the numbers for when they retaliated . And, well... for the past half an hour, he barely attacked, using what little he had left to avoid a lethal injury . Even then, he had enough mental capacity to tell me to stay away... the bastard..."

"—he... he’ll be fine, right?" Eggor mumbled weakly .

"He will," Ella nodded, rubbing her temples . "But, his left eye is ruined for a long time since Two embedded the Mark of Time in it . Though healing, it will take a long, long time due to dilation . In effect, though, he should undergo a full recovery eventually . He’s the Empyrean, after all..."

"—Hannah will lose her shit when she sees him..." Lucky sighed .

"Don’t let her see him until he recovers slightly," Ella said . "He’s already begun, so it shouldn’t be too long . For the past fifteen minutes, his lungs were completely crushed so he was unable to breathe . Yet, by the time you put him on the bed, he’d begun breathing again . Aah... that recovery ability is... really insane..."

"—so... he caused... all that?" Eggor mumbled, remembering the scene that first greeted them . "Sweet gods..."

"I’ll stay with him," Ella said, smiling lightly . "You guys go out and begin settling people down . Tell Val to phase out and wait for Lino and I come out . "

"... let us know the moment he wakes up," Lucky said, getting up reluctantly . "And not a moment later . You hear?"

"I will . Don’t worry . "

She got up and walked back into the room once more, her expression heavy . Three older men and four women were orbiting the small bed repeatedly with the instruments Ella could not understand, though she hardly cared to . She stared silently from the distance, her eyes repeatedly dancing between relief and worry; after all, she was never worried about his body . It would recover, as it always has . However, today was beyond taxing on his mind – by the end of it all, he was holding onto a straw of life purely through his instincts, his mind having been shut down . What she worried about the most was its state after he wakes .

After all, today, for the first time in his life, he’d walked the steps of the Empyrean – for the first time since becoming the Bearer of Chaos, he’d embodied all the tales and stories of the Empyreans . Something he fought against his entire life . That wasn’t something one simply gets through without ramifications . Felling over a million souls within the span of a few hours, carving corpses like wheat, filling the entire ocean with the dead and creating a tomb . . . how harrowing was it . Perhaps, she mused silently, the dead were the lucky ones; those who had lived would forever wake at night, trembling and shaking, remembering his eyes as he cleaved all those around him like an incarnation of death .