The Primordial Record - Chapter 1460

Chapter 1460 The Currency Of The Strong

Firen, the leader of the band of seven, no, now five, Osha, and Purin were lost in mere moments after entering the prison of the Dark One, and he had no time to mourn; with everything that had been happening, he doubted he would ever be able to get that time.

He gripped his blade so tight that he could hear micro popping at the joints of his gauntlet as his armor was the shield that carried his pain and fury, but mostly pain. Their deaths were expected, all of them dying here was expected, and yet it still hurt. He had watched too many people die, and the last bastions of his sanity, his wife Osha and his friend Purin were gone, and the darkness never seemed so close.

The Dark One, Drakul, was once a teacher and a close friend, older than the Empire, true, but he had safeguarded their home for so many millennia, it would have been impossible a year ago to believe that everything could have gone wrong, so quickly, that in a decade, this mad god would tear everything down that he had contributed a great deal to help build for hundreds of thousands of years.

Unlike the others who were here for revenge, Firen also had another purpose, and it was to give his friend and his mentor, peace. It seemed like madness to be contemplating such a thing, but Firen still remembered the good times when they had a guardian and leader, and the many accomplishments that he had made over the millennia, a living legend.

He did not say this out loud; all of them had suffered at the hands of the Dark One, their souls had been inflicted with wounds that would never heal, and any admission of pity on his part would lead to the group fracturing, the fact that they were still holding on was a miracle.

Their new companion was an enigma wrapped inside a puzzle; his presence and capabilities-even the little they had glimpsed of that-were, quite frankly, terrifying. However, in times like this, it seemed like this was the best option that they could manage; in this ruined world, it was someone like this that could be drawn here, like a fly drawn to a decaying corpse.

He did not detest the figure of Acturus, even if it seemed as if everything to him was a game, and no amount of danger was making him flinch, there seemed to move much to this man than could ever be seen on the surface, and was as if what was standing here before them was simply a small part of who he was.

Firen had noticed the easy way Arcturus had taken charge of their group, even managing to uplift the dour spirit of their Mage, who was about to take his life before he had arrived, was proof that despite his easy-going attitude, this was a man who understood the hearts of men, and allowing him to lead their party was an easy thing for Firen to decide upon, even though his claims that they could ever win was insane. His eyes were not on the wretched remnants of the being that he once called mentor and friend. Instead, it was focused on their new leader and how in this situation he almost looked... bored, and when he gave them the sign that the moment they had all been waiting for had arrived, Firen leaped into battle with a smile.

A massive white fireball blasted towards the Dark One the size of a large millstone, and at the center of that flame were hundreds of screaming skulls whose color was blood red, their new leader, Arcturus had called Valgus aside and he did not know what he had said to the Mage, but Valgus had left for a few moments to the mountains of corpses that were scattered across the blighted landscape and he had whispered to them, only now did Firen see that the Mage had called upon their souls, filled with anger, pain, despair, and he called them to fight.

Arcturus had also inscribed several unknown runes on their armor that Valgus had not understood and had promptly dismissed as the ramblings of a troubled mind, yet these flames released by the Mage made Firen rethink all his assumptions of their new leader.

The fireball was like a meteor, beautiful and enchanting only when seen from afar, now that it was barely a few meters in front of him, Firen's heart nearly exploded out of his chest from the massive amount of power that he could feel inside that blaze, when did Valgus become this powerful, and was the simple words of Acturus all he needed to become this strong?

"BOOOOM!!!!!"

Whatever thoughts were on his mind were blasted away at the impossible explosion that erupted from the position of the Dark One as this fireball reached its target.

All Firen knew was that if Valgus had not somehow pressed the energy of that explosion to entirely focus on this fallen god, then everyone here would have been wiped out; instead, what he received was a force that struck him on the chest, driving his breath away, by chance he looked towards the Mage and saw him staring at his hands with a stunned look, and Firen understood that whatever Valgus had done, he did not understand it.

Firen was struck with an unexpected burst of fear, suddenly feeling extremely small. With this starting blow, this battle had already exceeded his comprehension, before they entered this place, Firen had no fancy thoughts in his mind that they were going to win this battle, instead, they were here to defy the Dark One, even if they did not manage to land a scratch on him.

He had followed the plans of Arcturus because there was no reason not to, after all, they would all be dying very quickly and quite terribly, and for once he did not want to be the one leading his people to death, let that burden belong to another.

When Neo and Karah had fallen so quickly before the battle even began, he did not find it as surprising, however, this flame from Valgus, what the hell was that? And why was his heart beginning to become filled with an unexpected emotion... Was this defiance?

The white flames filled with screaming skulls surrounded the Dark One and for a brief moment there was nothing but their hollow cries that were filled with pain and rage resounding all over this area, and then there was a horrifying voice that sounded like a talking thunderstorm,

"Filthy maggots, how dare you desecrate my Light?"

Then a powerful sound as if a hurricane was drawing breath resounded throughout this space making Firen fall to his knees as he squeezed his ears in pain, his bloodshot eyes watched as the white flames and red skulls surrounding the Dark One rapidly shrank as if they were being drawn into an abyss, and in a moment they had vanished, the last skull drawn into the open mouth of the Dark One that had been stretched as wide as a crocodile.

The fallen god remained on his knees, and his gaze barely brushed past Firen and the others, and the Dark One returned to his grisly task; they could as well be nothing but ants before him, he continued pulling on the throbbing strands that were stuck deep

in his body.

Firen's heart nearly stopped as he looked upon the horrifying visage of the man they had all worshipped, he should be dead a thousand times over, but his Will burned the air like flames, and the tiny bit of defiance that had grown in his heart when he saw the mighty flames from Valgus that would have shocked the heart of anyone banished as if it was nothing, he would have surrendered himself to the inevitable at this moment, and yet it was the words that the Dark One so casually spoke that made that flame of defiance return, burning even brighter.

They were not maggots, not toys to be discarded just because they no longer served the vision of a once benevolent deity that was now mad. There was no reason why their world had to end at the whims of a mad god!

During the many months of senseless slaughter committed by the Dark One, he had said nothing, not even a single word, it was as if no one in the entire continent was worthy of his voice, and yet, now, he had spoken, and fury like nothing Firen had ever

known filled his heart.

After all the months of pleas, this was what it took to finally make him speak, power... this was the only currency that was respected by the strong.

Firen rose to his feet, not even aware that white flames had begun to pour out of his armor and down his blade as thousands of skulls began to converge around his body, he started to walk towards the Dark One, his steps slow and methodical,

"We commit our souls into the Unseen Light," Firen spoke aloud, "We do not pray for mercy or time, there is nothing left of the world for any of us to return to. We stand here Keepers against the darkness....