WN offered me a contract for Arys. I am currently discussing terms with them but responses have been slow on their part. Until I know for sure that I am not breaching anything, I will postpone updates until Monday! It might be a good opportunity to proceed with the ongoing chapter editing because I am regrettably slow. Turns out, you can't edit past chapters while writing new ones easily. To my dear silent readers, I am sorry but rest assured my stock chapters will be scheduled soon!
“A hundred years of living and you wasted it!”
The jarring appearance of Titus is a horrifying sight. Because of the interrupted ritual during his resurrection, his flesh is exposed and decaying, he is essentially a walking, talking corpse. The attacks that he just dealt with didn’t help either as they dislocated his bone structure, making him look like a broken ragdoll.
“You’ve become lazy, Adonis!”
One by one, Titus reorganizes and puts his bones in place to proper placements. As he tilted his crooked skull back to its straightened position, Titus bared his decaying teeth, smiling.
Hearth felt an unnerving pressure weighing her down along with the platform she was trying to hold. An exhausted Adi struggles to breathe as he gasps for air frustratingly. They both became immobile, stunned in place.
But Garth, after being regenerated completely, helps himself up and raises his sword. A beam of light struck down on him and a fiery blaze encircles his weapon. Then, he points the tip at Titus.
The dark prince smirks, “Divinity magic?” he spits, “Borrowed powers are not worthy of my attention!”
“I care not,” said Garth who instantly sprinted towards the dark prince leaving an ignited trail of fire. Behind Garth is Livy, trying to support him. She has her shield up, ready to ram Titus with it.
“Pointless!” Titus shouted as he intensified the release of pressure, prompting Hearth and Adi to completely lie flat. The platform begins to descend slowly.
But Garth and Livy are not affected by the heavy pressure. Effortlessly, Garth unleashed a series of cleaves that Titus dodged, equally seamless. But as Garth steps to the side, a charging Livy with her shield raised came ramming a surprised Titus.
Effectively, Titus retreated a few steps back. Annoyed at the cheap tactic. Suddenly, behind him is Garth, delivering another set of swings with his sword at the dark prince. Meanwhile, Livy, sword out, lunges from the front. Their flanking assault is rewarded when Titus receives every attack they throw at him without giving him time to defend or retreat.
The pressure that the dark prince is releasing finally stops, Hearth then resumes to keep the floor afloat. The two weapon-wielding warriors continue to pummel the sorry-looking dark prince as his thick skin begins to incur damage. Both of their strength started to diminish, along with the intensity, but their stamina endured to give Titus a few more strikes.
Livy was the first to wane, her shield was heavy and it began to burden her slashes. She jumps away, landing in front of Hearth, kneeling. Out of breath, she turns her shield back into a scepter and drops it. Hearth helps the royalty with her regeneration.
Garth, however, continues to pound Titus from behind. His grip on his sword’s hilt is still tight but the blade is becoming dull. The bluntness of his sword affects the damage he gives, but it is still an effective weapon that bashes the dark prince.
When the blade finally shattered due to the sheer magnitude of Garth’s strength, he thrusts the remaining inch left on the hilt at Titus’ lower spine. The dark prince moans and Garth continues to deliver his rage by clobbering him with his fists.
Titus fell, his face buried in the floor, arms helplessly spread, and the lower part of his body contorted at an awkward angle. Garth humiliates the dark prince as he continues to send his clenched fist from behind even until it bleeds.
When the punching stopped, Garth resorts to kicking. At first, he uses his legs alternatively, but then only uses one, when it grows tired, he switches. Garth’s depleting stamina is starting to show. He couldn’t possibly keep doing this.
Garth gasped, pausing, “Furious…” he said, taking a moment to continue. A smoldering magic circle forms, it releases a glow followed by a haze, and then the symbol of the Goddess of War rapidly flashes, “Furious smites!”
Blinding lights accompanied by shockwaves of energy continuously burst, and the floor where they were sank from the force. After a few seconds, the lights stopped. An exhausted Garth scans the motionless Titus.
Garth walks away, stepping over the body of the dark prince, “It is over,”
They held their breaths, afraid to be wrong. But as Garth approached Hearth for regeneration, they all sighed with relief.
Adi still looks tense, but he is too weak to even point out what’s wrong. Livy glances at Titus, it is still in an awkward position. She stood up, “I will make sure it is over,”
Garth didn’t say anything, she is royalty after all. So he sat there with Hearth in silence, watching Livy get closer to Titus.
Adi’s weak voice faintly tries to speak, “Titus…”
Hearth turns to Adi, “Master?”
“Titus,” he said, “He’s the Prince of Life!”
Garth and Hearth’s eyes widen as they try to warn Livy but it is too late. Explosive energies threw them off, and the platform crumbled and split into two. The other half is where Livy and Titus were plunged and fell onto the town below them.
Miraculously, Hearth managed to keep their section afloat. Garth immediately rises to see what has unfolded. As the dust settles, Garth rushes to the edge of the platform, what lies ahead is Titus, boldly seizing Livy by her hair.
Titus hurls Livy onto the platform, Garth catches her. The royal representative is battered and bruised, but still alive, hurt by the dark prince’s actions–both physically and mentally.
Titus scoffs, “What’s a royal scum doing in the boonies?”
“I am Livy Rose of house Aurelheart!” Livy released herself from Garth’s protective embrace, but she still clung to him for support as she couldn’t stand properly, “Don’t dare dishonor me, Titus,”
“You are dishonored the moment you pathetically swung that sword at me,” Titus yawns.
Livy caresses the back of her head, “As a royal cultural enforcer, I, Livy Rose Aurelheart, demand you to stand down and surrender now!”
“Ha!” Titus yanks the sword, still lodged in his lower spine, “At your condition, you still dare to demand? I bested you, you are nothing to me!” the dark prince tossed the hilt.
“You have committed crimes against this town, its people, and its nobles! Any harm against them is an offense to the crown!”
Garth shifted his attention to Hearth, pointing the golden scepter on the floor near her, implying that his need for it.
“Not to mention the crimes you committed against this realm a hundred years ago!” Livy continues, with her sword missing from the blast, she pulls out a dagger behind her waist.
“Can’t we let bygones be bygones? You’re talking about a crime from a bygone era!” said Titus still floating in the air.
Hearth lobs the scepter to Garth who easily catches it, “One of your most recent crimes was against my family, I shall see to it that you are brought to justice!” Garth activates the scepter, it transforms back into a shield.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
“You will,” Garth hands the shield to Livy.
Livy points the sharp end of her dagger at Titus, “Surrender now!”
“I would like to see you try,” Arrogantly, Titus dismissed them, ‘Again,” he grinned.
Livy shuffled her position, shield leveled, dagger ready, and eyes fixed on Titus. The dark prince attempts to evade but she swiftly bashes him with her shield, and they flung a few feet. If only Titus hadn't anticipated the move.
“You and your ancestors’ techniques never changed!” Titus slaps Livy away from him, “Predictable!”
Fortunately, Hearth managed to manipulate some building debris for Livy to land on, “These techniques have proven effective in dealing with people like you!”
“You’re no mage, you only borrow your powers from the Gods who care less for your fight! They only care for the entertainment you offer!”
“Pathetic,” she said as she turned the shield back to a scepter and raised it to call upon the powers of her patron deity.
“Don’t test me!” Titus lunges forward but Hearth hurls a large chunk of the floating platform at him, rendering the dark prince immobile mid-air.
“I invoke the Goddess of Life,” Livy’s voice echoed. A golden ray of light engulfs Titus and burns his decaying flesh, forcing him into a fetal position, “Heaven’s Gate!”
Titus wails in horror. “Golden Truth!” Livy twirls the scepter and shoots a radiant fireball at the dark prince. Upon contact, it sets him ablaze, and molten gold begins to crawl from his feet to his head.
Garth and Hearth watched in the unbelievable display of magic usage that pars Adi’s combination of spells. There was a moment that maybe this time, Titus could be stopped. But Adi’s face still carries concern and it proved to be justified.
When the golden light and fire were extinguished, what remained was Titus, now resembling a statue. Strangely, this statue maintained a fetal position, eerily floating in place.
Suddenly, the still-steaming molten gold splashed. Garth swiftly cast a basic barrier to shield Hearth and Adi, while Livy, quick to transform the scepter into a shield, used it to protect herself.
“Were you not listening,” From the steam, emerged a now more horrifying Titus, his color blooming with bright golden leftovers, “I’m the Prince of Life,” he said as he pierced his whole arm at Livy’s shield.
