Chapter 288 - Long Buried Despair

Hey guys. We're caught up again now! 

For those interested, this note is to address the comments about Walt and Hump's trust in him last chapter that I've addressed in the book. Two main changes:

When Hump first meets Owalyn, she detects Walt and tells Hump to "keep the spirit close." Hump gets an inkling that there is something more to Walt from this.

The second change is to the previous chapter. The discussion with Walt about the plan has been expanded by a few lines of dialogue and some internal thoughts. If you'd like to read the additions, it begins after "I won't turn into a lich."

Thanks for the feedback. Hope you like the chapter :)

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The lich didn’t walk down the steps, so much as explode from them. She appeared in a haze of essence, an aura of souls and death surrounding her. Her pale skin was cracked, bruised and bloodied from the battle so far. Her robes were torn in places and burnt in others. One side of her torso was missing, a chunk of her flesh had been ripped out of her, yet it did not bleed. Still, she was wounded. The battle had taken her toll and she was not invulnerable.

As her eyes found Hump, the weight of her will descended on the room like a physical force, pressing down on Hump’s soul. At his side, Celaine screamed in grunted, staggering from the attack. But her blessings quickly thickened around her. Soon, shadow concealed her entirely. From within, Hump felt the deadly killing aura of Predator’s Intent.

“There shall be no end to your suffering,” the lich seethed. “Your souls shall never leave this place.”

“Not good, Hump!” Walt shouted. “Oh, we’re so dead. Well, I’m already dead. Not looking so good for you though.”

Hump ignored the spirit. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t think. This was a foe far beyond them, and there was no more holding back. He reached for his potion of Wizardfire and downed it in one. Heat seared down his throat, thick as honey. It burned as it reached his stomach, where power built, quickly surging through the rest of his body as if a fire had been lit at his core.

It had been a while since he’d last used it. Where before, it felt as if the potion might tear his body in two with its strength, now Hump felt in control. His dragon blood roared approvingly at the touch of the fire. He felt strong.

When he manifested his soul, his vision turned violet before him, and everything felt right. His essence expanded around him in a surging aura, pressing back against the lich’s intent and granting him strength. He felt the winds of essence thickly in the air—they were strong here, fuelled by the burning rage and anguish of the spirits claimed by the lich.

Taking his spellbook from the ground nearby, the pages whirled open, essence already shifting as he prepared a spell on his lips.

The lich lashed out with a slash of purple power, like a blade of essence carving through the air.

There was a flash of green within the shadow and Celaine shot to the side with Spring Step, moving in a blur until she reappeared with her feet now on the left wall of the chamber, knees bent, bow in hand. She loosed an arrow, silver light mixing with black, and enhanced with the killing power of Predator’s Intent. The lich simply swiped her hand to cast it aside.

Her aura of souls swept forth in a wave of ethereal essence, catching Celaine before she could land and holding her in the air. Her staff radiated purple power as she took aim. In it, Hump saw death.

On instinct, Hump moved to stand between them. He tried to raise a Shield in time to protect them from the spell that would come, but it was only partially formed by the time she struck.

The impact was like taking a table to the face. It battered Hump back, knocking his feet out from beneath him. Celaine caught him before he could fall, but the force was enough to send them both tumbling to the ground. Without the physical enhancements of his dragon blood, Hump wasn’t sure he’d be getting up after a hit like that. As he was now, he shook his head and felt his thoughts return to him.

Just in time to see the next spell headed their way.

He was lying on his side on the ground, Celaine beside him. She twisted, and the next thing he knew her boots were on his stomach. He saw the spark of green essence shining around him just in time to clench his stomach before she used Spring Step. Hump grunted as she launched him across the floor, sliding him away on the smooth stone while she went in the opposite direction. The lich’s spell burst over the ground where they’d been just a moment ago.

From the ground, Hump took aim with his staff. “Fire Beam.”

The lich caught the spell with her hand, ripples of essence expanding from her open palm. Dust and fire exploded in her face, doing nothing. She levelled her staff at Celaine. Before she could cast her magic, Celaine leapt again, launching herself forward, along the side wall, until she stood in the corner of the chamber right next to the stairwell. The lich turned with her staff, only for it to strike the side of the entryway wall instead. A beam of power exploded, narrowly missing Celaine and impacting the wall instead.

Celaine pulled her arrow back, the head shining brightly, then loosed it. A second spell was already on its way, this time on target, but the arrow pierced the beam of power straight through its centre, silver light shattering purple.

The arrow found the lich’s chest and erupted in an explosion of essence, forcing Irila to stumble back a few paces, where she hunched over. For a second, Hump thought the attack had an effect. But as the essence cleared, Irila righted herself, and he saw a layer of essence formed over her chest that defended against the blow.

It had done nothing. A direct hit and it hadn’t even been enough to tear Irila’s robes, let alone cause her any harm. What could they do?

Think, Hump. Think!

He glanced at the obsidian spikes formed by Titan’s Wrath behind him, their disruptive intent continuing to ripple across the lich’s barrier, but it would take time. Time they didn’t have. There was no overcoming the difference in power. A Rank 8 practitioner at the very least—something beyond the strength and knowledge of modern wizardry. The fact that they still lived meant one of two things, either she was toying with them, or she couldn’t freely use her power right now.

Does she want to avoid damage to the chamber?

“Get behind me,” Hump said to Celaine.

She used Spring Step, crossing the distance in three quick steps and appearing behind him. “You got something in mind.”

“Something. Nothing good though. When things kick off, shut yours eyes.” He stamped the butt of his staff against the ground. “Shield.”

The spell formed before him easily, the strength of Wizardfire making his essence feel excited. It moved eagerly to his command. In his left hand, he held his spellbook open so that Celaine could read the spell within.

Irila eyed them both, then the obsidian spikes Hump had created along her ward.

“A spell that causes some sort of essence disruption totems, I presume?” She’d identified them correctly and didn’t appear concerned. “A clever idea, I’ll give you that. However, you will never have enough time to breach my spell. Still, I am impressed. I never imagined you might find your way down here. Curious. Curious indeed. Did your spellbook have something to do with it, wizard?”

Hump looked over her shoulder to the stairwell behind her, wishing for reinforcements to appear. It really wasn’t a good plan. The echoes of battle still reached them from above. The lich hadn’t defeated everyone. They were out there.

“They won’t come,” Irila said, reading his mind. “It is just me and the two of you now.”

Hump swallowed nervously, but if she wanted to talk, he’d talk. They needed all the time they could get. “My spellbook didn’t have anything to do with it. I encountered runes similar to those on your throne in an old temple. They were used to keep a door shut and a mentor of mine taught me how to breach them. Breaking yours wasn’t much harder.”

“Where was this temple?”

“Fishers Lake.”

Irila laughed at that. “The Temple of the Three Eyes.”

Hump’s eyes widened. “You know it.”

“Only of what Hestia did to those arrogant fools and their temple.”

Hump remembered the story Vivienne had told them of the War of the Firmament, and how Fishers Lake had been created by Hestia to destroy the temple. It was another reminder of who they were facing. Not just a lich, but a lich that had lived through a war between gods.

“What do you know of the Order of the Three Eyes?” Hump asked.

“Do not speak unless I bid it,” Irila snapped, her face turning suddenly gaunt and fierce, like a wraith threatening to break free from within her body. Her anger pressed down with renewed force, the spirits in her aura sweeping closer.

Hump threw more essence into his Shield, ready for an attack. It did not come.

The lich breathed deeply, and then her red, cracked lips broke into a smile.

“Oh I shall enjoy your souls.” Her eyes found Celaine. “Especially yours, Chosen of Owalyn. Not even death will be an escape for you or your allies. Not in this place.”

Now that made Hump afraid. He tried to force it back and not to think about it, but the thought of an eternity sealed within the lich’s dungeon for her to do with as she pleased was terrifying.

“Why?” Celaine asked. There was no fear in her voice. Instead, she sounded angry. “Why do any of this? Even if you win today, Owalyn’s arrow will find you.”

“She is bound and she is weak,” Irila said. “There is nothing she can do to me, but much I can do to her.”

Hump swallowed nervously, the lich’s plans clicking into place. “That spell your apprentices cast earlier. Owalyn was the target, wasn’t she?”

“She was always the target.”

“It’s impossible,” Celaine said suddenly. Now fear tinged her voice. “You may be powerful, but you are nothing compared to her.”

“Impossible?” Irila barked a laugh. “It has already happened! You will feel it soon, little Chosen. Have you ever seen the moment the spark of a blessing dies inside a Chosen?”

Celaine said nothing.

“Well?” Irila pressed. “What about you, wizard. Have you seen it?”

Hump shook his head. “No.”

“You will,” she smiled. “It is quite the sight. The moment when the flame goes out in their soul and light leaves their eyes. All that remains is cold, empty darkness. Much like death.”

“What was that spell?” Hump asked.

“A piece of a time most have forgotten. There are few weapons left that can kill a god. I happen to have one.”

“No,” Celaine said softly. “I don’t believe it.”

“People like you never do. But you will.”

She took a step forward. Hump’s eyes flicked to her staff again. Gods, he was nervous. Another step and she’d be out of the entryway, right where he wanted her.

“Stay back,” he said. “You will not touch her!”

“You cannot stop me.”

Hump forced a grin onto his face. “Try me.”

The lich snorted. “Oh, the arrogance. How nice it is to be young.”

She took another step forward.

This is it.

Hump shattered his Shield and gathered the lingering essence to his staff. The crystal focus shone bright white.

Hump closed his eyes and barked, “Light.”

Through his eyelids, there was a brilliant flash. The lich let out a startled scream. With a thought, Hump cut off the simple spell and focused. The lich was at the end of the chamber, not six paces away, but it was as much space as they were going to get. He’d just have to keep it small.

All it took was an effort of will and two words for fire and hell to be unleashed.

“Magma Pit.”

The essence built up over days within his spellbook was unleashed all at once. His staff surged with essence, bronze and red streaks exploding from it like lighting, striking at the ground before the lich’s feet. The ground tremored. The entire room rumbled, and a spiderweb of cracks spread across the floor and walls. Then an instant later, a fissure opened beneath Irila. She managed to take half a step back just before fiery hell erupted from below, bathing her in molten stone.

Hump choked as thick, toxic smoke filled the room. Behind him, Celaine coughed. Quickly, he summoned his Shield again, keeping the worst of it at bay.

He watched as fire consumed the lich. This was the best he could do. The spell was perfect. Focused exactly as he intended, its power concentrated only on Irila. Even through his Shield, the heat was overwhelming.

When the lich laughed, Hump’s focus almost slipped enough for his Shield to fall.

Essence surged, laced with her will, sending a wave of pain through Hump’s head. Molten stone solidified suddenly, becoming pieces of rock that thudded to the floor. The smoke was condensed into one corner of the chamber of the room.

And there, laughing with ecstatic eyes, was Irila. “That book! I have not felt such magic in a millennium. It radiates…” she let out a shuddering breath, eyes widening with realisation, her undead skin creasing like powdered makeup. “It is the purest of intent. The most perfect of power… It is his! The man that could destroy a city in a moment. The man that brought the Pantheon to its knees. It is his book! And now it shall be mine!”

Was she referring to the first master of the book? Hump wondered for just a second, and then her power descended with terrifying, body crushing pressure. Celaine fell to the ground immediately, screaming as she was forced into the stone. Hump barely kept himself up, but he managed to stabilise his manifested soul enough to resist, at least for now.

But he was losing. He could tell the moment this new pressure descended. The gap between him and Lich Queen Irila was simply too great. There was a reason she dared to face Owalyn. She’d defeated Keeper Yunillia, made short work of Ado and Ashera, and now she would end them too. His soul was pressed tight, his aura restricted to the surface of his skin. Cold lanced through him and fear snuck up on him before he could suppress it.

He looked at Celaine, helpless and wheezing on the floor, watching with her own terrified eyes. He had to fight. There was still one more thing he could try. The winds of essence stirred around him. If he could call upon it, there was a chance. If. Last time, it had happened by accident.

Hump levelled his staff toward the lich who was still beaming.

He would survive. He couldn’t let the lich have Celaine. He would stop her. There was still so much he wanted to do. So much of the world left to see, and secrets to uncover. He couldn’t die here. What would Bud, Dylan, and Emilia think? They might never know what happened to them. No. He couldn’t fail.

At that moment, the fear left him. He felt the essence all around him, filled with the same fear he’d just felt a moment ago, and a suffering beyond his comprehension.

Come to me, he thought, gently. Today, your suffering ends.

“Bow before me!” Irila roared, her aura descending on him from all directions, cold as ice and draining the very essence from his own manifested soul.

Hump didn’t falter, throwing every shred of desperation and determination into the clash. On one end, an ancient lich of incredible power, and on the other end, a wizard that would not be broken. That would not fail.

Pain shot through Hump’s mind and soul as he felt searing cold lance through his body… but…

Reaching inward, he clutched at the spark burning inside of him. The light in this pit of darkness.

A billowing, blazing ball of fire formed before his staff. He reached for the winds of essence all around them, feeling the raging storm of the world. Power rose up from within him as the spark burst forth, resonating in his throat. “COME!”

The winds of essence shifted in answer. The spirits of the damned swept to him like flies to a flame. A howling torrent of all the despair in the world caught in his fire.

The fire turned piercing white, building. Growing larger, hotter, until even the lich’s ethereal aura started to shrivel back.

And then there was nothing left to do but release it.

“White Flame.”