<h2>CHAPTER 97 – HARBINGER OF DEATH</h2>


    The red figure glowed, pulsating feircely. It rose into the air with its arms out and floated towards them. Mitakahn looked back for his friends. There was a red fog in the way. It would just be him and his brother against this new evil. The Arkenoir brothers slowly approached it. As they got closer, it lowered to the ground and refined itself.


    The red glow diminished into a cobalt metal man cloaked in shadow. His body armor looked like hard sea-stone rocks that twitched slightly. His face under the shadow hood still reminiscent of the vanity mask, with slits hiding his very human eyes. He focused and the metal turned back to skin, except for his face. It was still the dark lord in there regaining control.


    “We finally reach the end.”


    “The end of you!” Axion said.


    “I have you two to thank for a lot of this.”


    Mitakahn and Axion looked at each other, uncomfortable that the Dark Lord was acting like he knew them.


    “Who are you?” asked Mitakahn.


    “I am Malinor Exalted, the Dark Lord and ruler of the South, the god of darkness and the god of pride.”


    “You cannot be Magnanimous.”


    “Oh, but I am!” Malinor laughed maniacally, “Or rather yet, I am Malignant. This is a strange concoction I have within me.”


    “You belong in the NetherRealm, you abomination.”


    “Thankfully, the Ignaleos Cor gave me the filter I needed to sort through all this cosmic energy, and get a hold of my power. It is complete. I am the god of the north and the south. I am the Omega.”


    “I have something to say about that.” King Axion pointed the Crucifire Sword at the Dark Lord.


    “Ah yes, the Sword of Heroes, of the great Lord Patronalus who gave it to you instead of intervening himself, how admirable! He probably saw what happened to that goddess who foolishly fought beside the Lion Lorde.”


    “What?” Mitakahn asked. He could only mean one goddess…Epiphany. “What happened to her?”


    “Oh Mitakahn, why would I tell you that? I’m your sworn enemy. I mean to kill you.”


    “You’ve stopped to talk this much already. Humor me before you kill us.”


    “I am no fabled villain. Hubris will not be my pitfall. Although…” Malinor grinned, “I will say this. Just to see the look on your face when you find out.”


    “Find out what?”


    “I released another Incapsulate Impernum.”


    “What?” asked Axion.


    “Who?” asked Mitakahn.


    “The fool who started all of it. Who doomed this world to those worthless animals.”


    “Quarrel…”


    Axion looked back and forth as Malinor laughed at Mitakahn’s distress.


    “They tumbled away in a flash and never returned. Maybe they’re both dead. Hail Solstice.”


    “Once we''re done putting you in the ground for good. I''m going to go find her. You''ll never win!”


    “Let’s put that to the test now, shall we?” taunted Malinor as he pulled out his reaper blade.


    Malinor lunged at Mitakahn and Axion got in the way. Axion and Malinor clashed swords. Axion blazed his fire and let it wrap around him like armor. They fought back and forth until Malinor got bored of their petty fencing. He pulled an orb of necrotica out of thin air with his empty hand and threw it at Axion.


    Mitakahn slid into Axion’s blind spot and lifted up his silver gauntlet to shield his face, deflecting the orb away. The two brothers put up a valiant effort against the dark lord. Together, they were unstoppable.


    The only problem was that the Dark Lord’s powers knew no bounds. Malinor screamed in agony as he split himself apart into two identical copies of himself. They pointed their swords at the brothers and started to fight two on two. Axion and Mitakahn kept switching opponents in order to keep one step ahead of the Dark Lord. They both knew to not let the reaper blades touch them. Neither were sure if one Dark Lord was real and the other was fake or if they both were real, so they played it safe, and assumed both were real.


    Back and forth they crossed swords, lunged, and dodged, to keep out of harm’s way. At this point they were both defending, never getting a real chance to strike the overpowering Dark Lord. Malinor screamed again and his copies each made copies. There were now four Dark Lords attacking the Arkenoir brothers. Axion pushed Mitakahn away.


    “Go break the barrier, little brother. I can handle this.”


    Mitakahn didn’t argue. He ran ahead as Axion turned back for the Dark Lords. Axion stepped out of his fire armor and when he waved his sword the sword made of pure fire attached to his flame shadow also waved. Axion attacked the four dark lords with his flame shadow covering his back.


    Mitakahn rushed through the red fog. It felt like it was never going to end. The farther he got from the center the more dense it became. The fog got so thick Mitakahn was no longer able to run. He screamed out and heard muffled responses beyond the red fog. There had to be a breaking point. He kept his sword out and pointed in front of him. It seemed to help. Finally, the fog was as thick as a wall and curved around like a bubble barrier.


    Mitakahn tried to stab the red fog dome. It didn’t budge. He took several strikes at it. Some marks and gashes remained in the wall, but it didn’t sustain any real damage. Mitakahn had to think of something. Time was of the essence. He could see silhouettes on the other side of the red fog dome. He punched it. That just hurt his hand.


    Mitakahn put his sword away but kept his gauntlet out. He concentrated on getting back to his friends. His silver gauntlet began to glow white and then Mitakahn punched the dome with it, fracturing the outside of the red fog wall as if it was made of invisible glass.


    Mitakahn kept punching repeatedly until the wall was ready to crumble. Finally, the wall fell, and he was able to get outside of the Dark Lord’s red fog dome. Standing just on the outside of the bubble was Eberlyn, Cipher, Kara, Mercinestor, Zora, Anilithion, Mortikahn, Excelsior, Tron, Bridger, Kunezar, and Humbler, along with Fathom, Chronis, and Orion. All waiting for their chance to help.


    “Follow me!” Mitakahn yelled out, and they all ran into the dark lord''s red fog.


    Inside the center of the red, Malinor had the king pinned down with his clones. They destroyed Axion’s flame shadow and now they tried to pry his grip from the crucifire sword. As they did so, Malinor talked to him.


    “You should join me, Axion. The gods have chosen us to change things. I have seen what lies beyond MagnaThora. The only way to break free is to topple the already standing order. If you become my apprentice I will tell you everything. This is our destiny. I’ve taken the covenant.


    "I''ll tell you what they are too afraid to. The fire force is not one of pure good. Fire has to destroy to create warmth. One day you will understand what I mean, and I want you to find me. I''ve seen more than you could possibly imagine, son. Eventually we will stand side by side in the pursuit of answers, doing whatever it takes to get the truth.”


    “You want me to help you destroy the world? Never!”


    “You fool. That was your only chance to get out of this alive. Now you die!”


    The only Dark Lord that was not either holding down Axion or trying to grab the sword stood over him and pressed his reaper blade on the side of Axion’s forehead. The king screamed in excruciating pain. The fire from the sword erupted and bucked the Dark Lords off the king. Axion got back to his feet just as Mitakahn and company arrived. The Dark Lord made more copies of his copies to even the odds.


    “Are you okay?” Mitakahn asked his brother.


    “He tried..to recruit me...” Axion confessed. “Why me?”


    Mitakahn looked over at Eberlyn who was standing between them.


    “Am I that corruptible?” asked Axion.


    “Not corruptible. Think about it! It''s because you are the most powerful,” Mitakahn said, “He singled you out and gave you a chance to not be a threat. This means you stand the best shot at defeating him. It also means that he’ll probably target you first.”


    Axion thought about his brother’s words. He did repel the Dark Lord when he needed to most. This awesome power was specifically given to him. Whether it killed him or not, he had to try, he had to fight the Dark Lord. As everyone lined up against the Dark Lord clones, Axion told them to bring the real one to him as soon as they located him. Down the line, Axion, Eberlyn, Mitakahn, Zora, Fathom, Cipher, Kara, Mercinestor, Anilithion, Mortikahn, Tron, Bridger, Kunezar, Humbler, Excelsior, with Orion, and Chronis from above, all collided with the Dark Lord clones.


    Axion and Eberlyn made quick work of their clones and helped Humbler and Kunezar fight. Anilithion used his whip and cloak in tandem against his Dark Lord clone bringing it to a swift demise. He blocked the black orbs with his cloak, whipped his hand together, cut them off with his sword, and then beheaded the clone before it could mutter any more incantations. After that, he helped his brother who was struggling against his opponent.


    Fathom kicked the clone off Mortikahn. He rolled away and caught his breath. Anilithion ran up next to him, patting his brother’s back. Fathom, already having destroyed his Dark Lord clone, burned, and smashed as many as he could before the inevitable happened. One Dark Lord floated into the air and grabbed the dragon by the throat.


    The real Malinor spoke the ancient tongue of the dragon tribe.


    Kolouo set aladisi!


    Fathom’s eyes spun and changed colors to violet, even the pupils. This wasn’t conditioning, this was possession. Zora screamed in terror for her dragon. Mitakahn and Excelsior battling nearby rushed to her aid. Having seen the commotion Axion wasted no time. He nodded at Eberlyn, and they began their attack.


    The Dark Lord knocked back Excelsior and Orion, even still in his metal form. Mitakahn got close enough to threaten Malinor with landing a sword strike, so he released Fathom and set his sights on Mitakahn. Instead of coming to and flying away, Fathom dropped to the floor and didn’t budge. Zora rushed to the downed dragon’s side.


    “You want to take that pathetic, traitorous beast’s place? So be it!”


    Now Malinor’s eyes glowed violet as he lifted Mitakahn up in the air with the same violet energy. The Dark Lord threw Mitakahn’s sword away. When he tried to retract his gauntlet Malinor stopped him with the violet energy and forced him to keep it open. Then he started peeling the gauntlet away. Mitakahn retched in agony. King Axion drove the Crucifire Sword through the Dark Lord’s abdomen. From the angle of the strike a massive chunk was carved out of Malinor, including his sword wielding arm. He dropped Mitakahn and attacked Axion like a wild animal. Axion placed the Crucifire sword between them and the vents on the sword released its maximum amount of fire. The sheer force of the fire coming from the sword was enough to keep the Dark Lord at bay.


    The flames roared and whipped, and spat, and changed all around the Dark Lord as he absorbed most of the attack. He knew Axion was only human, and although the magic of the crucifire sword was extremely powerful, the lion prince was no god. He would run out of energy eventually. Malinor waited it out and sure enough the fire dissipated. This was his chance. He lunged for the source of the flame, but instead of King Axion it was Eberlyn, using her wings of fire. They had swapped positions. Before the Dark Lord could react King Axion brought the crucifire sword down on top of him, severing his left shoulder to his right hip.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Bridger Callister from the other side of the fight shot an arrow out of his bow that sliced right through the Dark Lord’s spine, the only thing left that was keeping him together. He crumbled to a pile of guts. The fire then burnt the guts to ash, sword and wings. The Dark Lord Malinor was finally vanquished.


    Maniacal laughter came from the pile of burnt flesh and bones. The fires settled so they could inspect the carcass. When enough of the smoke cleared everyone gathered in a circle around the remains. The laughter simmered down but did not stop. Just like everybody else, Mitakahn looked at the carnage for a face. All he really saw was burnt flesh and armor. The weird twitchy armor along with nothing else.


    Why did the armor twitch? It still twitched. Even though the armor was made up of hand size plates welded together, they cracked and came apart in the fire. The more they twitched the more he could see them everywhere. From within them, under each and every one, eight little legs popped out. They twitched because they were alive. Before anyone could make sense of the stone spiders they were already crawling onto their legs. Everyone scattered and the laughter got louder.


    The rest of the red fog dome swirled around them and like a miniature cyclone it spun into the laughing carcass. Storm clouds formed above it naturally as the moisture in the air spiked. Clouds collided and sparked lightning to fill the cyclone, fusing the red fog with the Dark Lord’s remains. The laughter finally revealed its source…Malinor. The vanity mask was gone. The Dark Lord stared at them with red skin and a shadow cloak, not fully human.


    “You cannot kill me. You can only change me, make me more powerful.”


    Malinor reached forth, his hands like claws. Red spikes shot up from the ground all around them. One hit Orion and he howled. Humbler and Anilithion also got clipped in the legs. Mortikahn ran over to his brother, as well as Excelsior to Orion. Malinor threw another volley of red spears at them. Eberlyn flew in front of them and spun, spilled her flame out from her wings, melting the spears before they could reach anyone.


    “You people love your fire.” the Dark Lord taunted them. He pulled a spear up through the ground. Mitakahn watched him carefully, trying not to let fear cloud his observations. The Dark Lord appeared to be making the spears from the metal and earth he was pulling them from. This one spear hovered in the air as he spoke to it. It turned almost clear, except it was white and blue. What did it remind Mitakahn of? The snowfruit!


    The Dark Lord turned the spear to ice and then threw it at the ground between them. Mitakahn yelled for Eberlyn. “Jump!” She jumped up and flew into the air along with Axion. The spear hit the ground and, upon impact, froze it. They were lucky to break free from being stuck to the ice.


    Malinor growled loud enough for them to hear and then clapped the air together. The diminishing storm cloud above them instantly turned to snow that dumped on top of them like a white blanket. Fathom, still downed, was now covered in frozen white. Eberlyn’s wings of fire flickered out as they absorbed the moisture of the snow. All that remained was the flame of the Crucifire Sword. King Axion held it firm and burned a fierce look in his eyes.


    “We settle this right here. Right now. The two of us. To the death.”


    “You really are as dense as your kin. I cannot die. So, who''s death do you speak of? Let''s find out!” Malinor smirked.


    “My gods,” Mitakahn gasped.


    Malinor waved his hand, and one unlucky soul flew over to him. The Dark Lord prodded his helpless victim''s back and searching for his spine, all the while looking at the Arkenoir brothers.


    “This is what happens when you two entitled little brats bring innocent people in to fight against powers far beyond them-”


    “Please, don’t!” Mitakahn begged but it was futile.


    “Mitakahn!” the helpless victim cried out.


    “Kones! no!” the group collective yelled.


    Kunezar, the quiet knight from the Sandlands, one of Mitakahn’s oldest friends from the Silver Den, squirmed in the Dark Lord’s death grip. He was looking right in Mitakahn’s eyes.


    "Ah, here we go." Malinor brought his claws together, stabbed Kunezar’s back, breaking the flesh, grabbed his spine and twisted. Mitakahn watched his friend’s eyes go limp. Malinor tossed Kunezar’s body away without breaking his stare and then charged at them. Mitakahn was frozen, completely unnerved, lost in his grief. Malinor wasted no time and conjured his reaper blade as he went for a kill stroke.


    King Axion parried the Dark Lord’s reaper blade with his fire sword. He stood in front of Mitakahn, protecting his brother. Axion looked around. Eberlyn was down. Mitakahn was lost. This was turning into a massacre, and that really pissed the king off.


    Axion’s eyes lit with a yellow flame. He grabbed the reaper blade with his free hand. The yellow flames in his eyes swelled and released down to his right hand. Once the yellow flame mingled with the red flame on his left hand, Axion squeezed and broke the reaper blade into a hundred tiny pieces.


    Mitakahn finally snapped out of it and ran over to Kunezar’s limp body as Axion and Malinor battled back and forth around him. He got to his friend on the ground and put his fingers in front of his nose and mouth. He could feel air hitting them. Kunezar was still breathing. Cipher and Kara joined Mitakahn. They rolled Kunezar over in the melting snow and gently dressed his wound as best they could. Kara really took the lead, already having most of the field equipment for such a dressing with her.


    Bridger and Tron brought Eberlyn over, who was completely out of sorts without her wings, trying to figure out how to reignite them. Part of Eberlyn worried if she lost her wings forever. Now that the phoenix was gone, and she was so far from Mount Fire, and the Flame Eterna… well, it was a valid concern. Zora called to her.


    “Don’t worry, I will wake my child and he will help you regain your fire. You will see.” Zora reassured her all was not lost. Bridger and Tron escorted Eberlyn over to Zora and Fathom slowly.


    Mercinestor joined Mitakahn, Cipher, and Kara who were caring for Kunezar. He kept his eyes on King Axion and the Dark Lord dueling in front of them, fire clashing against darkness. Lord Mercinestor Casterosi glared at Malinor. He said, “We must prevail against this evil.”


    “There’s nothing we can do to kill it,” said Cipher.


    “We could trap it.” Mitakahn said.


    “With what?” asked Kara.


    “We could turn the cor into an Incapsulate Impernum," Mitakahn went on.


    Cipher laughed sardonically, “We just tried using the cor and look where it got us.”


    “Hang on, Mitakahn.” Kara said, “All you know is the gods got trapped in those gems. Do you even know how they did it?”


    “Mostly with trickery,” answered Mitakahn.


    “That doesn''t tell us anything. And we don’t even have the cor.” Kara sighed.


    Mercinestor revealed the clear orb that was once a fierce rolling blue. “I’m still its keeper.” He dropped it into Cipher’s hands. “If anyone can figure this out it''s you three.” Mercinestor smiled and winked at Cipher.


    Cipher thought the situation through out loud. “There is a natural precedent. The Dark Lord consumed all the energy from the gem, including Magnanimous. He basically made it a shell that wants its core back. An organic link between the two of them exists. And if we know that much, then we can use it. Just the fire didn''t work before. So, we will have to trap him with his own energy.


    “But if we try to trap him, he''ll just turn his own magic against us and break out. He’s too powerful. We would need to couple the dark lord’s power with something different but equal in strength like Axion’s power. Trap him, lock him in there, and turn the key with the Crucifire Sword.”


    “Worth a try, I think,” said Mercinestor.


    “If it’s all we got, there’s really no choice.” said Kara, “We have to do something.”


    “I’m still working out the how…” said Cipher.


    Mitakahn got up and put his sword in his right hand. He looked back at them with the sun behind him. He reached out with his gauntleted hand and gestured for the cor.


    “I’ll make it happen.”


    Cipher handed him the empty gem. He lingered before he let go. Mitakahn looked at him, and Cipher looked back thoughtfully. He knew exactly what Mitakahn was going to do when he had the gem, so Cipher hesitated in the last moment of letting his friend go.


    Cipher released the gem. Mitakahn took it and ran straight for Axion and Malinor fighting on the ridge, into the fray, alone, without looking back.


    Mitakahn was launched back by a blast wave. He got to his feet and saw King Axion staggering to keep his stance right in front of him. Mitakahn approached Axion. “We’re going to try to put him in the cor.”


    “How?” Axion asked. When he didn’t get an answer he looked back. Mitakahn just shrugged. Axion shook his head and took a deep breath. It was time to give it all he’s got and hold nothing back.


    “You all look like you’re about to try something stupid.” Malinor said outright. “Do I have to kill someone else? How about this? I already did and you will never know how. Today, right now, as you requested, we fight to the death. One of us will walk away and the other won’t, and it won’t matter how I killed your father. All that matters is that I killed your father. Hahaha!”


    “No!” Axion cried out. Mitakahn grabbed his brother to keep the King from charging full tilt in rage, but his heart also ached.


    “That’s impossible.” Mitakahn said.


    “Don’t believe me? That’s fine…I’ll kill your mother next, without ever getting near her. The tainted lake almost did it for me.”


    “What?” both brothers asked.


    “What aren’t you two getting about this? I’m going to kill everyone you love until you give up or die.”


    “I can stop you.” Axion said firmly.


    “You can’t stop me! No one can. I’ve become too powerful. Patronalus would have to come down here himself and in doing so break the ancient covenants. It is impressive how astoundingly little you two know about MagnaThora.”


    “We know enough!” yelled Mitakahn.


    Axion swung the Crucifire Sword at the Dark Lord. He formed a spear out of the shadow in his cloak and it turned to dark metal. The spear clashed with the firesword. They crossed, sword against spear, over and over again. Axion launched the yellow flames from his eyes onto the spear. It began to tangle with his red flames already on the dark lord’s spear.


    The Dark Lord stepped back and spun the spear so fast the flames either flew off or blew out. He spun the spear so incredibly fast that it became a vacuum of air, and nothing could feed the flames, so they extinguished. He let go of the spear with his left hand and started gathering darkness in his open palm. He lifted the spear, tip up, with his right hand and a lightning bolt hit it, he coursed the bolt through his body and used it to launch the orb of darkness in his left hand.


    The charged shadow orb flew straight for King Axion. Mitakahn stepped in the way, holding the empty Ignaleos Cor with his gauntleted hand. He looked at his brother, the king, as it hit. The surge of pain coursed through his body in a fraction of a second. It felt like he was on fire and getting crushed at the same time.


    Mitakahn endured the pain enough to get out four words to his brother.


    “Light me on fire.”


    Axion barely hesitated. Mitakahn didn’t know what to make of that and probably never would. Axion poured red fire all over his brother. Mitakahn shook in frustration, but then he noticed something. The orb Malinor threw at them wasn’t hitting him anymore. It was being absorbed by the cor!


    “Hit me with the hot stuff!” Mitakahn yelled.


    “Mitakahn, it will kill you.”


    “That''s the point!”


    “No!”


    “I welcome death! I want to see father again. This world is not right without him. I hate it.”


    “I won’t lose you too.”


    “You''ll be just fine without me, my king.”


    Axion held back tears as he sent the hotter red flames into the Iganleos Cor and Mitakahn by proximity.


    “Wait!” someone yelled from behind them.


    It was Zora and Eberlyn running forth, Zora on Fathom and Eberlyn fully aflame. Fathom shot out fire and with it carried a line of transparent red flame that would block Mitakahn from some of the hottest temperatures. Eberlyn also hit the cor with her phoenix flame. She had watched Fathom spark up on his own and when her eyes caught his magnificent flames, her wingfire awoke returning in equal splendor.


    Chronis swooped down and flew right into the mess of energy. He looked at Mitakahn and then started flapping his wings right at the cor. The edges of his silver tipped wings melted and when he flapped them he sprayed the silver onto the cor, only it glowed. The sight of it was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Mitakahn fell to his knees. It was all too much to bear. The pain was still there. Yes, it was quelled by Fathom''s intervention but it still hurt like hell. Gods, if Fathom wasn''t there protecting him, Mitakahn would surely be dead already.


    “Toss it!” Axion yelled.


    All of Mitakahn''s strength was being spent on enduring the fires. He managed to throw the silver encrusted gem radiating all sorts of lights into the air as he finally fell over. King Axion straightened out the blade on the Crucifire Sword by rubbing his freehand down it from handle to tip and then swung at the gem arching through the air. He hit the cor with the sword and knocked it directly into Malinor''s chest.


    Malinor tried to remove it, but a whip snatched his arm away. Anilithion and Mortikahn held the other end of the whip. Before Malinor could react to one side of him, Bridger, and Tron both grabbed his other arm, wrestling his hand to the ground. Humbler used the spike side of his sledgehammer to impale the Dark Lord’s hand. He was stuck. He squirmed, screamed, and started muttering incantations. His pinned arm was getting longer. It stretched as he started getting back up.


    Chronis swooped in and shot silver feathers like darts into Malinor’s mouth, stitching it shut. Malinor mumble-screamed as the silver encrusted gem devoured him from the inside out. Everyone let go of the Dark Lord imploding. He turned into the same encrusted silver and then started to compress into the gem. Until finally, the Dark Lord was confined to the Ignaleos Cor, now an oval shape and swirling red and black on the inside.


    King Axion held the gem in his hand. They did it. They couldn’t kill him but were able to stop him. He would see to it that the Dark Lord’s malice was never again unleashed upon the world. He would be the guardian of the Cor Incapsulate.


    Tron picked Mitakahn up from the floor. He was dazed. His left arm was glowing, on fire. At first, it had no color, and then Tron could see the reds and yellows as the flames dissipated. Mitakahn opened his eyes and greeted his friend.


    "Did it work?"


    "It worked."


    Tron couldn''t help but notice white in Mitakahn’s hair that had not been there before: wild and sparse strands on top, streaks on his sideburns, and speckled spots throughout his beard. The fight had taken it''s toll on the prince. He now looked far past his years.


    Mitakahn assured his friend he was able to walk on his own again. Chronis landed in front of Tron and Mitakahn. He examined Mitakahn and then jumped up and landed on the prince’s shoulder.


    Tron brought him before King Axion who showed his brother the spoils of their efforts. Mitakahn couldn’t believe it. Their impromptu plan actually worked. Could this really mean the end of the war?