- Leave. - Repeated Ernoth, finally looking up from the crystal ball. - Now, before they get here.
Hearing the urgency in Ernoth's voice, Thaed summoned a portal and went through it quickly. Once on the other side, he turned his head to steal a glance at the incoming figures. All he saw before the portal closed was shadows of two birds, and a flick of Ernoth's hand that instantly shattered the connection.
Ernoth looked at the incoming guests. His eyes shone with a blue radiance as they pierced through the power enveloping the two. He saw two birds, an eagle, and an owl. In the eyes of the eagle, he could see traces of irritation. The eyes of the owl, as usual, he could not read.
Soon, the eagle was near the Gatekeeper. He did not slow his descent, which made the power enveloping him slam into the sand, sending debris everywhere. Before the dust cloud subsided, one could also hear soft flapping of wings, as the owl landed too, albeit more gently.
- You have quite the nerve, Gatekeeper! - Deep male voice filled with tension rumbled through the earth, the last word spit out in a mocking manner. As the voice subsided, the dust cloud parted, and out of it came two humanlike figures, a man and a woman.
The first word that came to mind when looking at the man? Huge. His nearly 3 meter tall frame was covered with a white toga with golden lines at the edges. It was exposing his right arm and a part of the chest, which revealed his gleaming muscles. He wore golden bracelets at his wrists, and a belt with a huge yellow gem embedded in the center.
The woman was small compared to the man, but no less stunning. Wearing similar white robes, although hers revealed only the shoulders. Her belt had bronze circles along its length, adorned with many different symbols. In her right hand she held a spear, and in her left, a golden round shield. She shook her head vigorously, seemingly to remove any dust that might have gotten into her brown, wavy hair. Her shield clicked, and folded itself into a bracelet at her wrist.
The Gatekeeper did not say anything, and turned his head back to the crystal ball, looking at the slowly subsiding chaos of the plateau. Some humans even survived, although from the looks of it, not for long.
***
The world exploded.
Mist opened her eyes. She congealed all of herself into one point. One body. One Mist. Her ethereal body made from dark red clouds of demonic power took the form of a human. Then, two points of bright red on her head, like eyes filled with hate, as she experienced how it felt to be a singular existence.
Inhale. Ex... Ugh...
She looked up, as another attack of the Human-Juggernaut passed through her, not hurting in the slightest. She spread her hand, irritated, and shackles of black lightning enveloped Hurin, turning brighter and brighter the deeper they dug under his skin, eventually cutting the beast into pieces. She looked further behind him, and saw the human paladins, as they unleashed a barrage of holy attacks at her. Ouch. It stung a little.
With one flick of her wrist, her hand expanded, and turned into dozens of tentacles, which hit the humans, crushing their bodies and their resistance in one blow. She then turned to the bright circle from which the reinforcements came, and flung a huge ball of concentrated power at it. The barrier fell after a split second, and the circle vanished, along with half of the plateau.
***
- GATEKEEPER. - Boomed the man's voice, his snow white hair and beard crackling with energy.
- You would do well to stop ignoring us. - Followed the voice of the woman, sweet and tempting like honey. The Gatekeeper looked up, and nodded his head.
- Eagle. Minerva. Welcome. - Said the Gatekeeper calmly, finally taking his eyes off of the massacre that was taking place in the 85th hell. - What is the reason for your visit?
Thunder rumbled on the distant horizon as the two Ravens heard his words.
- Do not mistake us for fools. - Started the woman. - Did you think we would let you get away with this? - Her voice suddenly turned from honey into poison, viciously tearing the air around them.
- You broke the rules. Again. - Followed the man, this time calmly, regaining his royal-like manners and posture upon seeing the Gatekeeper's compliance. - We let you use the hell energy to create waves of monsters to attack the humans in order to strengthen them. But this!? What happened today will set them back for dozens of years! You will not get off so easy this time. Do you even realize what you've done!?
- I have done nothing. - Responded Ernoth calmly. - The wave was managed by the Gatekeeper of the eighty-fifth hell. Once humans got rid of him, the responsibility fell on them.
- THE RESPONSIBILITY IS ON YOU! - Screamed the man, his voice sounding like rumble of thunder. Anger filled his features, and the entire area got darker from the cover of clouds swirling in the sky above them.
- Is it!? - Answered Ernoth, his voice sharp like a dagger. - It was you who forbade me from using all of the hell energy to pressure them. It was you who planted the pillars in the hells, not trusting me to abide to your petty "rules". It was you who made them respond to anyone's touch, forcing me to make my Gatekeepers guard them. This situation is caused by you, and you alone. - Ernoth stood up, and pointed his bony finger at Eagle. - And the fault lies with you also.
- YOU LITTLE... - Screamed the man, rushing at Ernoth. Despite his size, he was as fast as lightning. He swung his fist at the barrier the Gatekeeper erected earlier, and shattered it like it was nothing. Then he grabbed Ernoth by his robe, and pulled him up to his face.
Meanwhile, Minerva picked up the crystal ball dropped by Ernoth, and gazed inside.
***
Mist gazed at the charred plateau. With each second her body felt less ethereal, and more real. With each breath she took as a singular existence, she gained an insight into herself. She was immersed into discovering herself, and her body became more and more corporeal.
Suddenly, Mist felt a sensation she had never felt before. A strange feeling, as if someone is watching you, and you have a sneaking suspicion nothing good will come out of it. She quickly looked at the pillars, and saw a small human female standing in between them, clutching them as if they were the only things that let her stand upright. She saw the human smile with grim determination, and then the woman's eyes shined white, her back arched in pain.
Mist was suddenly struck with an unbelievable pressure, and her body was forced to it's knees. She looked up, and saw salvation. The barrier in the sky dissapeared! Now she could get all the mist she wanted, she just had to get there! Mist forced her hand up, and with difficulty started to extend her body to reach the red clouds.
Sarah screamed, barely hanging on to the pillars, as she felt her soul being ripped to shreds while trying to control the unbelievable flow of power within the obsidian 'gate'. She made her last effort, as she felt something breaking within herself. And along with her soul, the sky was torn asunder, and the pillar of dazzling light struck Mist, disintegrating her before the demonic entity even had a chance to scream.
***
Ernoth stood up from the ground weakly, breathing heavily from wounds and exhaustion. His eyes were focused on Eagle, who had pummeled his body and sent him to the ground more times then he could count. The Raven screamed something about law and respect, but the Gatekeeper didn't really care what nonsense he spouted.
- If you want it fixed... - He said, looking at Eagle with eyes filled with hate. - Go and fix it yourself. And while you are at it... Bring my Gatekeeper back... from oblivion.
The Gatekeeper thought it a shame that he exhausted nearly all his power by now, otherwise it would be customary to follow up such words with a huge attack. Alas, all he could do was stare and try to read the brute's attacks in order to avoid further damage.
- Eagle. - Suddenly, the woman holding the crystal ball called out to the other Raven. - It would seem that our problem fixed itself. - The both of them gazed inside the crystal ball for a while, completely ignoring the battered Gatekeeper.
Ernoth fell on one knee and clutched his chest. He did not have a heart that would need clutching, but then again, he did not have lungs either, and yet he was struggling to breathe. Ernoth put his hand into his robe and used its cover to stealthily withdraw and put on his rings. He still had enough power to activate them. He never expected the Raven to be so infuriated to actually force him to use them, but the alternative was not something he was looking up to.
- Not really. - Replied Eagle, going from seething with rage to calm so fast that it made Ernoth wonder whether it was all an act. - That sentient... thing, is only a symptom. With the Gatekeeper at the helm, these situations will keep repeating. And if he won't respond to anything I say...
His gaze swept over the hunched down Gatekeeper. He slowly strolled over and picked the Gatekeeper up by the neck.
- We shall see if one of his creations wants to be a replacement. - He said, lifting up his heavy arm.
- You really do not want to do this. - Said Ernoth, calmly. He injected the power into his rings, and the power within began slowly revolving. He directed it, quickly creating a feedback loop, restoring his own power in the process. Eagle snorted, and covered his hand in lightning, intending to destroy the unreasonable idiot before him.
- Entertain me one last time, Gatekeeper. - Said Minerva, her thirst for knowledge prompting Eagle to stay his hand for a while longer. She had mixed feelings about killing Ernoth anyway, as she witnessed him and their Father sharing pleasant memories many times in the past. Out of respect for their Father's memory, she did not want to destroy the Gatekeeper, unless they absolutely had to. Unfortunately, not all Ravens had the same stance on this issue. - Why shouldn't we destroy you? You let this happen, don't try to fool us. You knew what the consequences would be. You say it was our fault and yet you did not even try to inform us of the situation, and even now you will not submit to us. Why should we let you live?
The Gatekeeper smiled, but there was no warmth behind the smile. It was cold and calculated, and power from the rings quickly revolved inside his being, covering him in black, deathly aura.
- Did your Father ever tell you who was the last personified Force?
Both Minerva and Eagle froze as the weight of these words hit them, realization slowly draining color from their faces.
Forces. Like the fundamental forces of the physical universe, the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force, the Forces of the immaterial universe were concepts established by their Father to manage the spiritual side of things. There were four Forces, the soul force, the force of magic, the force of nature, and another force, that was only known to their Father. Out of these forces, one awakened every few millenia, and became their own persons with their own personalities. However, such beings over the years became unstable, and fell back into their natural state, never to awaken again.
The moment deathly aura touched Eagle's hand, the thunder from his fingers recoiled, as if not wanting to go near Ernoth. Eagle quickly let go, and took a step back, feeling as the sticky aura sucked the warmth out of him. The Gatekeeper looked at him in disgust, and then turned his eyes to Minerva, his voice being transferred directly to their brains, as if looking down on the speed of sound.
- I am the last personified Force. I am what was born after He first awakened. I am what keeps this world from turning back into chaos. I am Yin. I am Nothingness. I am Death.
The aura covering his body ate away at the thinly laid skin on his bones, leaving only a ghastly skull with two spots, one golden, one blue in his eyes. It ate away at the dirty impurities of his robe, leaving it pure and black. So black, that Minerva had to wonder if the robe reflected any light at all. The rings on his finger shined with a rainbow radiance, as they struggled to feed the personification of Nothingness that was unleashed upon hell, in order to stop it from eating away at the spacetime itself. Once, he could use his own power to do so, but creating the Gatekeepers weakened him considerably.
- And as He was the first, I will be the last stop of this universe.
