35. Together
Chapter 35
Together
S ylzenya stepped over a collapsed tree as she and Kharis made their way through Lhaal Forest. She held the new compass flat on her palm, the direction never shifting nor shaking, the archni fang’s tip pointing west.
Towards Distrathrus.
Silence deafened her ears. Not only were there no signs of monsters, but the god hadn’t attempted to speak into her mind since they’d left Aretta’s Willow. It worried her greatly.
“He knows we’re coming,” Sylzenya whispered, gripping the hilt of her new sword—the sword that would kill him.
“You sound surprised,” Kharis replied, eyes glowing with power despite his chest plate empty of orodyte. He’d learned to access Aretta’s blood in little to no time.
Sylzenya hadn’t tried yet, afraid she might welcome Distrathrus and his poisonous words into her mind again.
“I wish we could’ve been the surprise,” she mumbled.
Kharis chuckled. “Would’ve been a nice advantage, but I’m afraid we won’t have many of those with this fight. Although, if Aretta says we’ll be able to do it, we should trust that.”
“I find it hard to trust her at all.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
Sylzenya turned to him, his golden hair shining against the glow of their swords.
“Because what other choice do we have?” she asked.
He grunted in affirmation. Tapping her fingers against the sword’s hilt, she slowly gripped it and tugged—it’s weight far too much.
“How are you able to do it?” she inquired, “Your power, I mean. I managed it once by accident.”
“Do as I do,” Kharis replied.
He took a deep breath. Sylzenya did as well, the rot and mold in the air causing her to cough. Kharis patted her back, a small smile on his mouth.
“Again.”
He took a breath. Sylzenya took a breath. This time, it stayed down. They repeated this another four times, her heartbeat slowing, her focus caught on a tree up ahead. The limbs, long and spindly, reminded her of reaching fingers.
“Good. Now feel your body. What are your feet saying? What are they experiencing right now? Your knees? Your thighs? Hips?” He continued his list until he got to the crown of the head. “Did you consider them all?”
Sylzenya took another deep breath. Her feet walked upon the dry earth, aching from the journey. Her knees wobbled, her thighs asking for rest. She continued until she reached the crown of her head, wishing she hadn’t asked what it was thinking.
Elnok.
Elnok.
Elnok.
She shooed his name away. “Yes, I’ve considered them all.”
“Now, bring them together as one. Let them speak to one another, support one another, find strength in one another. Let your body be together.”
She furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure what you mean?”
He tilted his head. “My chest is heavy from exertion, while my feet are light as a feather. I bring them together, and now I’m allowing them to aid each other. I do this with each part of my body, and then?—”
Bright yellow crackled along his skin, his veins, and into his eyes. Smiling, he rushed in front of her, becoming mist.
“Understand?” he asked, appearing by her side again.
Sylzenya put her hands on her hips, raising a brow. “This was less of an explanation and more of a demonstration. I still don’t understand.”
“Just give it a try.”
“Easy for you to say.”
Kharis laughed. “You really did spend a lot of time with him, didn’t you?”
Something caught in her throat. “What do you mean?”
“You just sounded a bit like Elnok, that’s all.” His smile faded. “From what I can tell, you did everything in your power to keep him safe, even fighting me, helping me, really. You did what I couldn’t. I’d heard the rumors of how Sylzenya Phatris was a powerful Kreena, but it seems your power doesn’t just stop at your abilities.”
Sylzenya’s face burned. “I disliked him at first. Strongly, I might add. He had no respect for our culture, no reverence for everything I’d dedicated my life to…” she trailed off, the image of his half-smile and pale green eyes flashing through her mind. “But he’d been right, in the end.”
“What a bastard.”
“The worst of them all,” she agreed.
They laughed, the heartache easing a little.
She continued, “So… deep breaths, letting my body talk to itself, and then connecting it together? That’s your secret?”
“Afraid so.”
The last time she accessed Dynami power, she’d been able to escape Distrathrus’ presence. Perhaps this is how its power worked, and if it did, then she needed to know she could harness it at any moment.
She needed to know she could stay in control of her power when facing Distrathrus.
She followed Kharis’ instruction. Calling upon each part of her body, she led them together, pushing them to work with one another, to aid each other’s burdens; she needed to trust every part of herself—a strange feeling.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Her goddess’ heartbeat thrummed against her skin. No longer did it bring her comfort, but it would bring her power, and for that reason alone, she would continue to reach for it.
Suddenly, a shock rushed through her veins. Opening her eyes, she could see deeper into the forest, as if some of its shadows moved aside for her. Ears perking up, she realized the forest wasn’t silent, there were chitters and screeches somewhere far in the distance. With each step, her muscles no longer spoke of tiredness, but of anticipation.
The dark barrier of Distrathrus was nowhere to be found.
This time, she wouldn’t celebrate. She would remain cautious of his tricks until the very end.
“Of course you’d be a natural.” Kharis smiled. “Estea’s greatest Kreena, indeed.”
Blinking quickly, she let out a breath, her heightened senses dissipating, the power flowing out of her body and into the ground.
“Alright then, your turn,” Sylzenya offered, motioning to the ground. “Is Estea’s greatest Dynami ready to harness the earth’s power?”
He listened intently as she described her method.
“Think about it as if you aren’t trying to get your body to work as one, but rather, your body is a part of something more, something bigger than yourself. Feel how similar the roots underneath the earth are to the veins running along your arms. Or how the dirt covers the layers beneath it like our skin covers our blood and organs. You aren’t separate from it, but rather, you are whole because of it. But most importantly, listen for Aretta’s heartbeat. She might be dead, but her blood still lives within the earth, and it’s through this you’ll be able to create.”
“You have no liberty to make fun of my instructions when yours sound this absurd,” he said.
She scoffed. “Absurd? I don’t think I could’ve been any clearer. Do you know how many acolytes I’ve had to aid in a given year?”
“Three?”
“Try all of them. Now, just give it a try ,” she mocked.
Suddenly, the earth tremored. Sylzenya smiled, Kharis’ eyes wide as he turned to her.
“And you say I’m a natural.”
Kharis shook his head. “That wasn’t me.”
Sylzenya turned to find trees shaking and then crashing in the distance.
“Fuck,” Kharis said, unsheathing the sword Elnok had given him, “Do you think you can spear the serpentums with your roots like last time?”
Digging her shoes into the dirt, she felt for the earth. “I can try.”
“I hope you can turn that try into a yes, Kharis, of course .”
“Why?” Sylzenya questioned, her palms sweating.
Kharis arced his sword. “Because if I had to guess, we’ve got about ten headed our way.”
Her mouth gaped. “ Ten? ”
Metallic chitters split the air, echoing through the trees and filtering across the dirt.
“Great. Arachnis too.” Veins crackling and eyes glowing, Kharis readjusted his weapons. “Suppose this will be our first test to see if we can kill a god, won’t it?”
Arms shaking and legs wobbling, Sylzenya felt for the earth, her goddess’ heartbeat thrumming heavily through her body. The roots writhed underneath the ground as yellow sparks erupted from the ground, circling her arms and slicing into her back—that familiar pain grounding her.
“I suppose so,” she muttered under her breath.
A tree to their left crashed to the ground, the earth shaking violently under their feet. Sylzenya remained upright, Kharis keeping her steady with an outstretched hand. A large iridescent figure slithered over the toppled tree. Clouded eyes blinking, the serpentum tasted the air with its black tongue, directing its head downwards—smelling them.
More trees collapsed. Two. Three. Five. Seven.
Ten serpentums.
Tree branches shook, the sound of skittering on the forest floor sending pumps of adrenaline into Sylzenya’s limbs. Large bulbous arachnis crawled over the serpentums’ bodies. A shriek sounded from above. She turned skyward; a myriad of dark beady eyes glistened against the dark leaves. Sharp legs splayed like skeletal wings attached to bodies as black as obsidian and as large as boulders.
They were surrounded.
Kharis cursed. “Sometimes, I really hate being right.”
Sylzenya felt for the roots beneath their bodies, feeling for what little life still remained in this deadened forest, for there wasn’t enough to create, only to use.
A serpentum struck.
On instinct, Sylzenya raised a single hand in the air.
Roots shot up from the ground, aimed for its throat, but it dodged. The sharp branch clipped its scales, a thin cut appearing along its neck. It hissed, turning around and flicking its large tail for her chest. Kharis picked her up, jumping backwards with a quickness that left her breathless.
“Thanks,” she gasped.
“Less talking, more roots,” Kharis commanded.
She called upon the earth again, sending her power deeper into the soil, curling her fingers as she directed the roots to become sharper—deadlier.
The serpentums and arachnis charged.
Kharis left her side.
Sharp, pointed roots emerged from the ground, sweat beading along Sylzenya’s forehead as five of them successfully found their targets. Two serpentums and three arachnis shrieked as they fought to free themselves from the roots lodged through their throats, spearing their mouths, and protruding from their heads. A third serpentum barely dodged the attack, shaking the ground more with its quick movements.
“Keep going, Sylzenya!” Kharis yelled from somewhere above.
She looked up; the man’s glowing veins shone against the serpentum’s head as he struck the monster clean through its snout. Kharis yanked the sword out of its head, disappearing into a light mist as he struck the arachnis jumping for him.
He appeared again, another serpentum snapping at him. Sylzenya sent an attack, missing the large creature by a hair. The warrior dodged, falling to the ground with a thud. Sylzenya felt for more roots, crafting their heads into sharper points than before?—
Crack.
Wind whipped past her as she skidded across dirt, her tunic ripping against sharp rocks. She coughed up saliva and blood, spitting it out quickly as she placed her palms on the ground. A serpentum and four arachnis charged towards her, their jaws wide and poison dripping from their fangs.
“Come on!” she cried, the roots responding far too slow.
She’d expected to hear Distrathrus bait her, whisper into her mind how he could save her—but she heard nothing. Perhaps Distarthrus had given up on her. Perhaps he would let her die after all.
“ On your right! ” a voice yelled.
Sylzenya looked up, heart battering like a bird trapped in a cage. A man with disheveled black hair flew through the air, his body blazing with golden power.
“ Could use a vine or something! ” Elnok yelled.
Her breaths faltered.
He came back.
New adrenaline pulsed through her as she slapped her hand against the ground, grasping not for roots or vines, but for the dirt itself. If all of Aretta’s creation could obey her, then so could the dirt. It had too.
And so it did.
A pile of solid earth rose up—a pedestal—and Elnok didn’t question it as he used it to jump even higher. He unleashed his glowing whip, cracking it across the serpentum’s jaws, the weapon hitting once, twice, three times with thunderous cracks.
The serpentum’s head fell in pieces, sliding in opposite directions. The monster collapsed to the ground. Elnok landed in front of her, that damn half-grin plastered on his handsome mouth.
“Miss me?” he said through panted breaths.
“ Damn you, ” Sylzenya breathed, the smile on her own mouth wide and impossible to hide. “I thought you left?”
Elnok smiled, sliding his hand over her arm, her skin electrified despite the chaos around them.
“I came back,” he said.
“ Obviously. But why?”
“You know why.”
Tears burned her eyes. “What about Orym?”
“I couldn’t?—”
A serpentum appeared from behind Elnok, jaws extended as it rushed in. Sylzenya stepped in front of him, raising both hands into the air. The roots from before finally shot up from the ground, piercing the serpentum through its jaw, its throat, and all the way down to its belly.
She turned around, Elnok cracking his whip as he sliced another serpentum straight through its jaw, the mouth crashing to the ground, the serpentum writhing on the forest floor.
“I hate to admit it,” he said, “but your goddess makes some damn good weapons.”
Kharis landed in between them, grabbing their shoulders with such force Sylzenya almost slipped. Sweat slid off his body in rivulets, his veins glowing golden.
“Look, this is all very sweet, but we need to prioritize,” he said, voice like that of a commander, “Let’s finish off these last serpentums and arachnis, and then we can chat, hm?”
Elnok clapped his back. “Right.”
Sylzenya sent her power into the dirt again. “Ready when you both are.”
Kharis smiled. “From here on out we work together. Elnok’s whip is the most effective besides Sylzenya’s roots. Sylzenya, how are you doing with those?”
Her back stung and her head had become fuzzy. She wanted to fight through it, but the blood dripping down her back said otherwise.
“Not great,” she admitted, “Getting them up and out of the ground takes a lot of power.”
“That’s fine. We need to save you for Distrathrus, so don’t go for the big kills. Just assist us where you can. As for Elnok, slice up these monsters as much as possible. I’ll do what I can to steady them and give you a good shot.”
Elnok grinned. “Sounds like fun.”
Kharis smiled even wider.
Jumping high into the air, Kharis soared towards one of the monsters. Sylzenya called upon the dirt and sent a mound of it up to meet him. He used it the same as Elnok, stepping on it and sending himself up and over until he landed on top of a serpentum headed their way.
“Have I ever told you how sexy you look when you use your magic?” Elnok yelled as he ran towards the serpentum.
Sylzenya smiled, shouting, “What else can your whip do besides slice through monsters?”
He cackled. “What do they teach you at that temple?”
Digging into her bones, she timed his jump with the dirt, pushing him up with her power. Kharis had sunk his sword into a serpentum’s head, the monster writhing but steady in one spot. Elnok flew forward, cracking his glowing whip across the serpentum’s head, jaw, and throat, nearly hitting Kharis.
“By the gods, are you serious? ” Kharis yelled as he jumped off, “Nearly removed my legs from my torso!”
“Would you hate me if I told you I’ve only been aiming for their necks this entire time?”
A shriek sounded behind Sylzenya. Whipping around, she wrapped her power around some of the protruding roots, the ones that had missed the serpentums in her first attack, and pushed them forward. One hit a serpentum’s clouded eye, black liquid seeping from their eye sockets while another root found its way down a second serpentum’s throat, impaling it from the back of its neck out into the rotten air. Another speared through three arachnis
“Keep going!” Kharis shouted.
Sylzenya moved quickly, assisting Kharis and Elnok where she could, providing them stepping stones and digging up roots whenever she could find the strength.
Suddenly, the shrieks of the final handful of monsters changed, no longer high pitched, but lower, a resounding call that made the earth quake. Before she could react, the final serpentum and arachnis retreated into the trees, scattering in different directions. Slowly lowering Kharis and Elnok down on a mound of dirt, Sylzenya crumpled to her knees, a sharp, pulsing pain in her back spreading into her limbs.
Elnok cursed as he rushed to her, lifting her tunic.
“That’s a lot of blood,” he whispered.
Kharis let out a cry, falling next to Sylzenya, his eyes wide and breaths coming in fast.
“My back,” he breathed. “I don’t remember a serpentum getting me.”
Elnok lifted his shirt as well. “It wasn’t a serpentum.”
Sylzenya’s mouth gaped, the pain still riding along her own back. “Did he get his own cut?”
“He did.”
“What?” Kharis yelled. “I have a Kreena cut?”
“You have both Distrathrus’ and Aretta’s blood in your veins, like me,” she replied, “They don’t play well together, and life demands a price from you now because of it.”
“ Shit, ” Kharis cursed. “Elnok, I need you to cauterize it.”
“I have a better idea,” Elnok replied.
Vision blurring in and out, Sylzenya dug her fingers into the dirt. Elnok rummaged in his clothes, pulling out a glowing object—the compass to Aretta’s Willow.
“Well, Kharis, I guess I can name you an honorary Kreena now,” she breathed.
“This is worse than getting slashed by an arachni.”
“You know, it’s nice to hear a Dynami say that.” Turning to Elnok, she said, “Heal him first. A new cut is barely tolerable. I’m fine.”
Elnok huffed a laugh. “Gods, you’re incredible.”
A smile found her mouth while Elnok pressed the compass to Kharis’ back, the Dynami yelling in relief as his first cut healed; the first man in Estea to have ever gotten one.
Elnok moved over, pushing the compass against her skin, the chill causing her to yell in surprise.
“It’s alright,” Elnok chided, running the object along her back.
The cold felt good.
Sylzenya asked, “So it still works? The compass to Aretta’s Willow?”
“It’s what led me back to you.”
She turned, pulling her shirt down and staring long and hard into his face. His beautiful, wonderful, handsome face she thought she’d seen for the last time.
“I still don’t understand. Why did you come back?”
Getting on his knees, Elnok gently grabbed one of her hands, running his fingers over her knuckles, the gesture so normal it made her skin warm.
“Orym told me to come back in one piece, and I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do that.” He looked up, eyes locking with hers. “Not without you.”
Despite the chill of the forest, Sylzenya swore a warm breeze brushed along her skin, like a fresh summer day after a long winter freeze.
Perhaps it was the exertion of her power or maybe the near-death experience, but Sylzenya couldn’t hold herself together as she grabbed him into an embrace. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but his absence had reminded her of the day her parents gave her to the temple. So much love, so much desire to be with someone, only for them to walk away because of “duty.” It’d killed her inside when she was a child, and she thought she’d understood it better as an adult. She was hungry for the love and affection she’d willingly given to someone else. And while Elnok had walked away, it’d only been for a moment.
At the end of it all, he did what no one else had done.
He came back when it mattered most.
He breathed into her neck, cupping her head with his hand. “And I’m not letting you and Kharis fight this god alone. We need to see this through together.”
Together.
Together.
Together.
She squeezed him tighter. The sweetness of that word, the comfort and safety it sang in the air, gave her a strength she didn’t know she’d been needing for this final confrontation with Distrathrus.
“Together,” she breathed.
Elnok released her, looking up to Kharis and extending a hand. “You too, Kharis.”
Kharis stepped next to them, taking Elnok’s hand, resting his other on Sylzenya’s shoulder. She smiled, grabbing his hand.
“Who would’ve thought it’d be us three?” Kharis asked, taking a knee, “I supposed Distrathrus has taken something from all of us.”
Her parents and childhood. Elnok’s family. Kharis’ lover.
“Bastard,” Elnok agreed.
“Then let’s end this.” Sylzenya said, standing up.
The forest looked to have been trampled by giants, most of the dead trees sprawled on the ground, creating a pathway to the end of the forest. She checked her compass.
The path led straight to Distrathrus.
“Of course that’s where he is,” she whispered, grabbing the hilt of her sword.
All three of them walked along the path, finally arriving at the Willow Grove. Sylzenya’s first willow tree stood tall, its green leaves a luscious waterfall.
But Distrathrus’ marble throne was gone.
Instead, a great hole sat in its place, a flight of stairs leading down into the earth, glowing orodytes lining the path.
“The passage to the orodyte mines,” Sylzenya said, her heart pounding as she stared into the steep stairwell, “Distrathrus wants us to meet him down there.”
“Is there no other entrance?” Elnok inquired.
“No,” Sylzenya said. “This is it.”
“Then we march forward and remain wary of any traps he’s laid out for us,” Kharis said.
“A fairly sound plan, given our circumstances,” Elnok said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Sylzenya rolled her shoulders, gripping the hilt of the only weapon able to kill Distrathrus’ god-form. The only weapon that could end him—the god who’d controlled her since the day she stepped into the temple—once and for all.
“Well then,” she finally said, “let’s go kill a god, shall we?”