Heroes of Ruin: Lost in the Void

by Chewed Pencil

Chapter 2: The Soul Void

Heroes of Ruin: Lost in the Void
Chapter 2: The Soul Void

"The Soul Void itself is not the afterlife, but rather a conduit to the beyond. If the afterlife is some unknowable kingdom, then the Soul Void is the road to that kingdom."
- Veil and the Cosmos(Paraphrased)

Xavier, Aleria, and Klorg were all outside of Castle Arcanus, the morning light was warming up the cold stones of the area just outside the gates. They were waiting for their fearless leader with the magus known as Malleus Kinslan, the same magus who transported them to the Soul Void 2 years ago. Xavier was starting to get impatient at the old Leomar.

"Can't he get dressed any faster? I'm freezin my bollocks off here!" He complained.

"He has a rigorous routine he goes through every morning. More than likely he was polishing his armor before putting it on." Aleria commented. The Leomar had quite a bit of armor to polish before he would even think of equipping it.

"Yeah, well he should still hurry his furry ass up. I'd like to keep my bollocks."

"You never complained when we were in the Frost Reaches and that was colder than here."

"Yeah, but that was a different kinda cold. This is a wet cold, not a dry cold like in the mountains. This sea breeze is soaking me to the bone!"

Klorg watched in silence as his two small comrades bickered and argued about the weather. To Klorg, it was delightfully warm. Always a good thing before rampaging into an unknown threat.

"Klorg says maybe you save fight for demons." He said sagely.

"Gaah, the big guy is right.... Don't wanna get tuckered out in the middle of a fight. Bad for your health."

"Thank you for waiting." Thao's voice reverberated off of the nearby pillars. He stepped into the new day's light, reveiling his dark blue armor with gold trims. It was his family's armor, the armor of a Skyknight of House Panthera. It had no helm nor boots due to the Leomar's unique physique, discarding them for mobility. The massive pauldrons were more than enough to protect his head from sideways blows to his head. His forked blade, Faith, was strapped to his back. He looked fierce to say the least.

"Xavier... I see you decided to join us on our quest. I am glad."

"Heh, one of us has to make sure you don't go and get stuck in some trap you know." Xavier laughed. The Leomar smiled and turned to the magus.

"Magus Kinslan. Are you ready to take us into Ruin's End?"

The old magus fumbled with his spellbook and glasses as he was startled awake by Thao's voice. "Ah, buh... Y-yes. I am ready. Do not forget your Nexus stones so that you can return."

Each of the four gripped the small stone they each wore around their necks. The stone wasn't really important, but the spell cast on it was. This stone allowed them to return to Nexus by stepping onto a waystone circle and activating the enchantment.

"We are prepared magus. Start your spell." Malleus Kinslan closed his eyes and began his archaic chant. it wasn't long before the ground beneath them began to glow with a dark red light. A bright flash of a similar color and they were gone from the magus' sight.

"Fare thee well Heroes. Let nothing ill happen to thee." Malleus prayed. If anything were to happen to Veil's mightiest heroes, there would be no telling what kinds of unspeakable horrors would appear to destroy Veil.

<====(--o Ruin's End, The Soul Void o--)====>

The four blinked the blindness from their eyes as they appeared suddenly amongst the floating ruins of Ruin's End. Most of this area, and another small portion, of the Soul Void were used as labs for Nexus' sorcerers and magi, but thanks to the demonic invasion 2 years ago, most of the area was still being rebuilt. The roiling, red clouds and magenta lightning added a sense of mystery and magic to the air. They each had their weapons ready for any foe that may rear it's ugly head.

"Well, this is nostalgic." Xavier commented, his finger twitching on the triggers of his guns. The path before them lay empty and mostly broken. Ruin's End was not originally part of the sorcerer's labs, but was crafted by Adrian as a secretive place to change into a Ruinlord.

"We are fortunate that the demons have all been banished from here." Thao began forward along the broken path that was made with more wall than flooring. His blade gripped tightly, ready for anything that may appear.

It was eerily silent as they all walked, the slightest sound making them jumpy. Xavier shot at shadows more often than not, only hitting one of the many magical foci that lay scattered about the place.

"I really don't like this place. It gives me the willies!"

"I have to agree with Xavier, it feels as if we are being watched." Aleria agreed.

"Stay vigilant my friends, there is naught that can stop us from our mission as long as we stick together." Thao said as they approached the massive, red vortex that marked the end of their journey. Thao hesitantly stepped out over the vortex, the strange magics of the area keeping him suspended above it. It was here that the four heroes fought and defeated the false Ruinlord Adrian and recovered Ataraxis' crystal from his chest. They all made their way to the center of the vortex, searching for any signs of the supposed power fluctuations that King Marcus had described. They had found nothing and were about to turn back when they heard a very familiar voice above them.

"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly." They all looked up to see one they thought was dead. Ruinlord Adrian.

His transformation had taken a slower path now that he did not have the immense power of the crystal, but there was a noticeable change in the 2 years he was gone. He still looked akin to a draconic centaur, the back legs covered in blood red scales. His arms were now completely covered in the same scaled and were making their way down his chest. His crimson eyes flashed with a mischievous glimmer as he landed on the magical floor with a loud thump. Even the two, curved horns that protruded out of his head looked more menacing.

"What? No greeting for an old friend? I had thought better of you Thao'Luang. I thought that you would have at least recognized your prince!"

"You are not my prince! You are nothing but a sniveling coward who uses others to do his bidding from the darkness!" Thao growled.

"Oh, are you still sore about that? If it is any consolation, I would have done the same thing if given another chance, with a few minor adjustments to my plan of course."

Thao'Luang charged, his blade held ready and his body set into a charge. Before he reached Adrian though, the world turned grey and he stopped completely.

"Did you already forget that I am the master of Time?" Adrian chuckled, the slower time distorting his voice. "Now I think it is time to do something I should have done the first time we were all here."

Adrian waves his clawed hand over the vortex, the magical containment field shattered like glass and stayed suspended with time stopped.

"I'd say goodbye, but that would be a lie. I think 'Good Riddance' is a much more appropriate phrase her, don't you think?"

Time returned to it's normal flow with a snap from Adrian, sending Thao, his companions, and the shards of magic into the swirling darkness of the Void. Thao reached out for his companions, his voice lost to the swirling thunder, but they were all flung apart by a gust of magic.

Darkness overtook Thao's vision as he watch each of his friends fall in a different direction. They were lost.

Lost in the Void

Author's Note:

Hey there again! I do hope you are enjoying this tale so far, but that was just the prolouge. Now the real fun begins! It was at this point that I was debating wether to ponify them or not, but I think it would be better to let them be. But then again....

Comments

[Chewed Pencil]

2639208

Oh god why... That is a definite amount of errors... most caused by lag.