Chapter XLII: Cion Sky (Cont. III)
Baen spun around to stare at Adelia as she floated in the middle of the air, her mind still struggling to take control back of her body. Baen could feel her mind stabbing out, trying to pierce the darkness that tried to corrupt her body. For a moment, he felt the darkness gain ground, as she stared at the blood filled eyes of the wretched Watcher. “Destroy Cion SKy? How can I destroy it, girl?! This is not even it!! They tricked me, those cursed bastards! All my probings, all that shadow to conceal my intentions, to make them think I was coming! I expected them to move Cion Sky…to move it from the land where it had been when they cast me away. And so they did….but they did not truly move it…..they moved a replica….a cheap imitation that has tricked me! And they have toyed with you and your friends as well to make the elaborate hoax even more complete!” Baen whirled around and hurled a fireball that shattered a pillar, sending a portion of the upper level crashing down. “YOU SEE! Had this truly been Cion Sky….where that had crashed, it would have taken out the worlds there. For the floor is no elaborate tapestry of the universe, but the universe itself! And where the first marks of rubble landed was where these planes lie in the scheme of the universe….thus we should not be here talking, suffering, and dying! BUT NO! We still breathe! WE STILL THINK! WE STILL SUFFER!” Baen’s voice hissed with anguish and anger.
“Will my suffering ever end?!” Baen’s face fell in the raging light of the fire that slowly consumed rock, marble, and glass. His eyes searched for some sign of the Watchers. “I know you are just letting me lament, tormenting me even more! COME! Bring your punishment upon me, for you have beaten me for now! BUT I SHALL RISE AGAIN! Your hopes to kill me will fail, and I shall take all these heroes to the grave with me…and she…,” Baen turned towards Adelia, “She shall be my queen, not your savior!” Baen waited for another second, no sign of the watchers appeared. “FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!” Baen raised his hands and hurled bolt of fire after bolt of fire, bringing down the entire room, shattering it into pieces. “YOU HOPE TO TORTURE ME FURTHER BY THIS DELAY!? I shall never fall to my knees you fiends! I am not the villain, no, I am the victim! The victim of creation, the victim of lack of foresight, I am the spawn of ill-formed ideas and it was not my choice to be!” He turned towards Adelia, “And what I love and fancied you set out to make my destruction…..even there you could not let me enjoy my life for a second. Well then, let me destroy all the hopes you have invested, for that is just and equal payment for what you have done to me!” Baen reared back and hurled a bolt of fire toward Adelia’s floating body. She struggled to break free of the roaring winds and magical grip that held her, but even her mind powers could not stop it, nor even slow it. She tried hard to redirect the flow of time, to reverse it, to do anything to spare herself the pain.
At the final moment, the fireball arced off course and crashed into some of the rubble, shattering it and sending the shard sailing in every direction. “ENOUGH!” The voice boomed through the entire room as Baen and Adelia’s eyes turned upwards to where, standing upon a mammoth pile of rubble, stood the great form of Creator, the leader and wisest of the twelve Watchers. He stood tall and firm, wrapped in a faded grey cloak with the hood drawn up. His face, however, could be seen in the beautiful light of Cion Sky. It was not the beautiful Adonis-like face that usually accompanies thoughts of God’s greatest creatures. Instead, it had a black beard and short black hair that was just long enough for the ends to flap in the wind roaring through the room. His right half of his face was covered with silver metal, the eye replaced with a glowing red orb and the metal piece slanting away so that a full human mouth could be seen. Creator’s one human eye was green and stared down with contempt at the dark Watcher. The outfit beneath the grey cloak was a beautiful gold chain mail marked with silver and adorned with emeralds and rubies, his hands large metallic claws, much like Baen’s, though there was no room for guessing that those were Creator’s true hands.
Baen smirked with anger as Creator loomed over him, “So you show yourself finally. I knew that you would try and spare her.” Baen whirled to face Creator, “So what now, great one? What torture do you plan to heap on me, now? Hm? What is your next decision as to my pitiful fate?” There was a wounded air to Baen’s words, though it was hardly noticed due to the great scorn that cut through every single one of Baen’s hisses.
“You go too far, Baen. You have travelled here to undue all existence, and that is more than any down-trodden soul has ever tried.” Creator’s words boomed over the roaring winds, but barely phased Baen.
“Oh? And has any other down-trodden soul been cursed to live an existence such as MINE!? I was given power, privilege, and then cursed to never enjoy the things that all others seek to relish!? You treat me as a plaything, and do you deny it?”
“We must all accept our fate,” Creator said softly.
“DAMN YOU! Accept my fate then! Take it upon yourself oh great and strong one! You think that you could do such a thing? No!! You would never have the courage to take this burden, for you have the luxury of having your own life, a good life! It is those who live well that cuckold those who live in rotten existence for their actions of evil and malice. Retribution is our solace, and it shall be mine yet! DO your worst and I shall rise above it!”
Creator sighed, “Not this time, Baen. God has given us our charges, and you are unfit to continue in your ways. Your time has come.” One by one, the other twelve watchers began, each of them colossal in their presence and their power. Adelia gasped in awe as each appeared standing in a great ring of twelve, each one bearing a weapon brimming and sparking with magic.
Baen hissed, bringing his sword around. “Dare to slay me! GO!”
Creator and the others began to bring their weapons around in unison, their mouths moving and the words flowing into her mind. They sounded all so familiar….so….