Arc 3, Chapter 38: Knight's Gambit

  Alex opened his hand. The sphere of light floated free, rising to illuminate the hall from above. Polished obsidian caught the light and threw it back in distorted streaks.

  The hall was vast, the ceiling lost in a height that the light could not reach.

  Emma knelt near Mira, her hand steady on Mira's shoulder. Kyle remained with them at the back. Marcus moved toward the center of the chamber.

  One of the villagers was a woman who stood apart from the others. Her face remained buried in the deep shadows of her hood, her body still while the rest shuffled in fear.

  The armored colossus loomed twenty feet tall in the center of the hall. Layers of midnight-blue plate encased the figure, the metal catching the glowing sphere in dull, cold flashes. It lifted a heavy boot. The foot slammed down, the impact traveling through the obsidian floor to rattle the teeth in Alex's head.

  The screech of a greatsword followed. The blade carved a line through the dark stone as the entity dragged the metal forward. The knight adjusted its hold, the jointed plates of its gauntlets grinding against the sword's grip.

  "Incoming swing!" Alex's voice cracked across the chamber. "Shield the villagers!"

  Kyle and Emma raised their hands. Blue and amber mana spiraled from their palms, meeting in the air between them before expanding outward to envelop the villagers and Mira in a shimmering dome.

  The greatsword lifted from the floor, and the colossus carried the rising momentum into a horizontal slash aimed at the entire cluster of heroes and villagers. Alex threw himself toward the far wall. The massive blade hissed through the air inches from his spine, the vacuum of the swing dragging at the fabric of his coat.

  Marcus held his ground in the path of the wide swing, anchoring his weight with his legs spread. He slammed his forearms together with a sharp, heavy smack.

  "Skill: Reflection Wall."

  Light erupted between his forearms and expanded outward, forming a translucent barrier that stood taller than his body and stretched several feet wide. The barrier vibrated with a low hum as the shockwave of compressed air hit first. It slammed into the shield with an ear-splitting crack.

  Marcus's heels skidded backward across the stone as his arms shook under the pressure.

  "Marcus, brace!" Emma's voice cut through the hall.

  The steel followed a heartbeat later. The massive blade collided with the barrier and recoiled, the metal bouncing away.

  Oily shadow erupted from the joints of the iron gauntlets. Heavy black sludge hit the floor and hissed against the obsidian. The colossus brought the greatsword down with both hands. The blade bit deep into the stone.

  A vibration pulsed through the black rock, traveling up through Alex's boots and into his knees. A wave of oily energy rippled outward from the impact point.

  Ink-dark liquid continued to weep from the knight's metal seams.

  The shockwave reached Kyle and Emma's barrier. Dark energy crawled across the dome's surface. The mana shuddered, cracks spreading before it shattered into fading light. Kyle winced as blue sparks stung his palms; Emma shook out her fingers, amber flickers dying. They dropped into low stances, repositioning between the villagers and the knight.

  "Kyle! Emma!" Mira's voice cracked behind them. "Please—are you okay?"

  Kyle threw a quick look over his shoulder. "We're fine. Everyone back there okay?"

  Mira nodded, her hand still braced on one villager's shoulder. The two villagers behind her managed shaky nods.

  The greatsword left the floor in a spray of stone chips, the blade scraping against obsidian as it rose.

  *Slow on the recovery.*

  Alex sprinted across the dark floor, his focus pinned on the rising length of steel.

  *Now.*

  He launched himself into the air as the blade cleared the height of his waist. His boot connected with the flat of the metal. The momentum of the knight's lift carried him upward toward the ceiling.

  *Focus*

  Brilliance flared in his palms. A bow of white energy solidified in his grip, its curved limbs glowing with concentrated light. He caught the string and pulled, drawing the light into a spear-thick bolt between his fingers.

  The sword reached the peak of its lift.

  Alex released the string.

  The arrow screamed toward the faceless helm and struck the center of the blank steel.

  The impact made a sound like a hammer striking an anvil, echoing off the obsidian walls. The giant's head jerked back under the force of the hit. The weapon slipped from the steel gauntlets.

  Alex kicked off the falling blade. He hit the obsidian floor in a roll as the greatsword plummeted behind him.

  The sword struck the ground with a thunderous crash. Stone fragments skittered across the chamber as debris exploded upward, sweeping over Alex in a wave of grit and dust. He threw his arm over his eyes.

  Marcus crossed his forearms in front of his face. Kyle and Emma turned their backs to the blast, shielding the villagers with their bodies. The hooded woman remained still, separated from the group by a few paces.

  —

  The giant straightened, its faceless helm tilting toward the greatsword abandoned on the obsidian floor. The jointed plates of the gauntlets ground together as the knight pressed its palms together at chest height. A bruised, violet light leaked from the cracks between its fingers, humming with an unstable frequency that made the air vibrate.

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  "It's charging a beam!" Alex's shout rang through the hum.

  His fists clenched at his sides. *Can't let it fire into the open. Too many targets.*

  Kyle's head whipped toward Emma and Marcus.

  "Box it in!" His voice snapped across the chamber. "Now!"

  The three heroes sprinted forward, splitting apart as they closed the distance. Kyle broke left, Emma veered right, and Marcus pushed straight ahead. They positioned themselves around the knight.

  Blue mana flared from Kyle's hands. Amber light burst from Emma's palms. Steel-gray energy erupted from Marcus's forearms. The three streams rose upward, connecting overhead while vertical walls materialized in front of each hero. The barrier enclosed the knight in a triangular prison. The walls hummed with discordant notes as the three manas clashed and fused.

  The violet sphere between the knight's palms pulsed once. The energy shot outward, slamming into the triangular walls from the inside. The impact detonated on contact.

  The explosion filled the interior with churning violet smoke and crackling energy. The containment walls shuddered under the pressure. Kyle gritted his teeth, his arms trembling. Emma's face twisted as she poured more mana into the barrier.

  Marcus staggered. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his knees buckled. The steel-gray section of the wall flickered, cracks spreading across its surface.

  The barrier shattered.

  "Kyle! Emma! Marcus—move!" Alex's voice echoed through the chamber.

  Kyle, Emma, and Marcus turned.

  Alex widened his stance. A towering arc of white fire pulsed between his hands, the curve rising taller than his head. White sparks jumped from the string. He gripped a bolt as thick as a pike.

  The tip glowed with a heat that warped the air. His palms split. Red fissures opened across his skin where the light scorched the flesh. Blood pooled at his fingertips and dripped onto the black stone.

  The violet smoke churned. A massive fist burst through the haze.

  Kyle's head snapped forward just as the impact drove into his stomach. Metal buckles tore free. Fabric ripped. The force lifted him off his feet and hurled him backward. His body slammed into the obsidian wall.

  "Kyyyyle!" Emma's voice ripped from her throat.

  Alex's focus fractured. The bowstring tore free from his fingers.

  *Too low. Damn it.*

  A pillar of white fire shot through the air and hammered the center of the iron breastplate. A roar of light filled the chamber. The knight’s weight shifted. Iron heels ground into the obsidian, carving ruts in the rock as the massive form skidded back two paces.

  Marcus lunged toward the wall where Kyle had fallen. Mira followed, her boots hitting the floor in a frantic rhythm.

  Emma stood frozen, staring at Kyle's crumpled form.

  The hooded woman remained upright, taking a single step backward. She stood apart, separate from the chaos.

  —

  Emma locked her eyes on Kyle’s motionless frame. A sharp heat stung her lids, and the world blurred into a wet smear.

  *Marcus in the cave. The goblin hitting him. The way he crumpled. The sound his body made.*

  *And now Kyle. The same sound.*

  Her hands trembled at her sides.

  *I stood here. Watched it happen. Too slow. Always too slow.*

  Her breathing came shallow and ragged.

  *Weak. I'm so weak. Every time. Every single time.*

  A dark puddle grew beneath Kyle's shoulder. Each drop fell in silence, spreading across the black stone.

  *STOP STOP STOP—*

  Her chest tightened. Air turned thick in her lungs.

  *Why does it keep happening? Why can't I—*

  Another drop hit the floor.

  *Please—make it stop—*

  Emma clawed at her face. Her palms pressed against her eyes, blocking out Kyle's broken body. Her fingers dug into her temples.

  *Aaaahhhhh—*

  Heat erupted against her skin. Flames burst from her palms, wrapping around her wrists and crawling up her forearms. The fire pressed against her face, scorching the air between her hands and her eyes.

  The fire felt like warm water.

  Emma lowered her hands. Flames danced across her skin. They wove through her fingers without leaving a mark.

  *It doesn't hurt.*

  Her breath caught.

  *It always hurts.*

  She lifted her gaze from her burning hands.

  Blue light flared in front of her. The panel materialized, lines of text scrolling across its surface.

  Sound drained from the chamber. Alex's voice became distant thunder. Marcus's footsteps faded to whispers. The air itself pressed inward, warping at the edges of her vision until everything curved away from the glowing interface.

  Two words burned brighter than the rest.

  *Ember Heart.*

  The skill pulsed. Each throb matched the rhythm hammering against her ribs.

  *Mother's face when she left for the market. Father reading by the fire. My brother laughing beside me. The warmth on our faces. Kyle's smile this morning.*

  Her right hand lifted. The flames on her fingers reached toward the panel.

  *Everything slips away. Everyone. And I just watch.*

  The heat crawled higher, consuming her forearms. Warmth wrapped around her like a blanket.

  *And now Kyle.*

  *He's not moving. Why isn't he moving?*

  Her hand crept closer to the panel. The distance between her finger and Ember Heart narrowed.

  The chamber shifted.

  Color bled from the walls.

  The obsidian melted into rivers of molten red and gold.

  Flames consumed the floor, the ceiling, the air between her and the panel.

  Heat filled every space, turning the chamber into an inferno.

  Marcus became a column of black smoke drifting through the flames. Mira dissolved into ash and shadow. The villagers flickered like dying embers at the edge of her sight.

  *Make it—stop—*

  Her vision blazed scarlet. The world drowned in fire.

  The ends of her hair ignited. Strands curled and blackened, the flames eating their way toward her scalp. She felt the heat against her neck, crawling upward.

  *Marcus bleeding. Kyle broken. And I can't—*

  Her finger hovered a breath away from Ember Heart. The skill blazed white, brighter than everything else on the panel. The glow pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat.

  *I can't do anything.*

  Her hand trembled. The flames on her palms flared brighter, stretching toward the panel.

  *Mother. Father. Brother. Kyle. Marcus. Mira. Everyone I—*

  The thoughts tangled, blurring together. Faces melted into one another. Past and present collapsed.

  *Please—*

  "Emma!" Alex's voice tore through the distance, muffled and shapeless.

  Her fingertip brushed the edge of the skill.

  A hand pressed against her eyelids, cold as ice. The heat vanished. A second hand gripped her shoulder, anchoring her to the floor, and a voice came from directly above her, low and calm.

  "Enough, sweet child. You've carried too much."

  Emma's heartbeat slowed. The frantic hammering eased.

  A sob tore from Emma's throat. Tears spilled from beneath the woman's hand.

  The droplets hissed. They evaporated before they could fall, turning to steam against the fire burning in her eyes.

  "Rest now."

  The flames guttered. The red drained from her vision. The world stopped burning.

  Emma's knees buckled. The woman's grip tightened, lowering her gently as darkness swallowed her whole.

  The hooded woman brushed a strand of hair from Emma's forehead. Then she turned, her gaze fixing on the knight.

  —

  The knight regained its footing, the faceless helm turning toward the woman.

  She stood perfectly still, watching it rise. Her hand moved to the fabric of her hood, pulling it back in one smooth motion. A thick, silvered braid fell across her shoulders, the hair pulled tight against her scalp. Her features were lean and angular, shaped by decades of wind and sun.

  The knight took a step toward her. The obsidian groaned under its weight.

  She tilted her head back, looking past the armored figure to the curved ceiling above.

  Her voice was low and carried a resonance that seemed to vibrate in the very air of the chamber.

  "Sanguir. Come here."

  The obsidian thrummed beneath Alex's palms. The vibration started as a deep, sub-vocal hum and climbed through his bones before erupting into a roar.

  The entire hall trembled. Dust fell from the ceiling in thin streams as cracks appeared in the curved walls, hairline fractures that spread like lightning across the black surface.

  A second roar followed, loud enough to rattle Alex's skull and make his teeth ache.

  The wall behind the woman exploded inward. Obsidian shattered into a thousand glittering fragments as a massive shape tore through the barrier.

  A dragon's head burst into the chamber, scales the color of clotted blood catching the white light. Claws followed, each talon longer than a man's forearm, ripping the dimensional wall wider.

  Through the gaping hole, Alex glimpsed the world beyond. Trees swayed in the evening wind. Natural light poured in, pale and fading, painting the forest in shades of amber and shadow.

  The dragon's head swung toward the woman. Its eyes were pools of molten gold, glowing with a heat that made the air shimmer.