Black spots danced before my eyes. I reached out and gripped the Hellblade’s forearms with both my hands trying to force them from my throat. It was useless, like trying to force apart two mountains. Even with the additional nodes enhancing my Strength attribute, I was nothing before this monster. With a final gasp I fell into unconsciousness chased down a hole of darkness by cruelest laughter.

  Existence is fleeting for a mortal’s life and mine was certainly ending, but then there was light. A man sat framed in the light upon a throne created from multicolored starlight. His face was youthful, noble even, but his lips were thin and his brow was furrowed as if a great burden lay upon his shoulders. Beneath his gold trimmed cowl stern eyes the color of the northern sea stared at me unblinking. My thoughts coalesced and a memory resurfaced from not long ago.

  I know you, don’t I? We have met before. You were in the Chapel of Saint Caradan, praying. I remember! I used Lore Sight upon you and I was given a quest to find the Abbey of Twilight. Who are you?

  It was my voice speaking, though in this place I had no form. My mind was all I now had. Would the man have heard my thoughts?

  Kenric…they have imprisoned me.

  The man’s lips never moved. His eyes grew sad and he held up a hand, or rather, the place where a hand should have been. Only a healed over stump remained.

  Ord? Great Ord! Have you come to take me to Heaven? Forgive me! I have failed you…I failed the Gods…I failed Aramyr.

  I should have been honored that Ord himself have come for me, but I felt only shame and regret.

  No Kenric. Hear me….I am only able to speak to you now thanks to the mana from the Dungeon Core you offered me.

  Ord’s eyes glowed blue and I felt a great warmth spread through me. It was some of the Divine Mana of Ord being shared with me. Ribbons of gold originating from the stump of his arm spread out and encircled my entire spiritual essence which only faintly resembled my mortal body. I looked at the golden threads closely and I saw numbers and runes flickering in and out of consistency within the glow.

  It is like what happened in the Chapel when the Gods first came to me. These strange patterns and energies! What are they?

  Kenric, Demons directly attack a hidden place where much of my Divine Memory is stored. This place, a reliquary, is located upon Aramyr. It can be found within the city of Nephilim. As my Memory goes, so goes my Mana and eventually all that I am or ever was made to be shall fade away. I shall cease to exist!

  Great Ord, how can this be? You are a God!

  I wanted to deny what Ord was saying. How could a God perish? Yet, Ord ignored my question and continued. He seemed to be in great pain and rushed his words.

  Demons like the foul one who holds you captive would use the Divine Mana to create the Fel Shards they spread across the world. They would use the stolen mana of Dungeon Cores and the fragments of Ara to empower the Abomination they call Xat.

  Ord looked directly into my eyes and I felt the God’s pleading even as he used what mana he did have to implant thoughts directly into my mind.

  They seek to create their own God, Kenric! You must find the means to reach Purgatorium! Seek the Purgos Mystics! Go to Nephilim and rescue my Divine Memories!

  A large notification window opened up floating in between myself and Ord. I read through it quickly.

  You have been offered the Quest: Locate Ord’s Divine Memory

  Description: Within the city of Nephilim, located in the Innermost Sanctum of Ord’s Sepulcher, exists a hidden reliquary created by the Purgos Mystics where Ord’s Divine Memory is stored. Stop the Demons that are siphoning its power to create Fel Shards and recover the Divine Memory.

  Duration: 1 year

  Reward: Unique Class Upgrade, [1] Gold Node

  Failure: Shadowmurk outbreaks will double in size and frequency.

  You have been offered the Quest: Seek Purgatorium

  Description: After Ord’s Ascension, the Purgos Mystics withdrew their influence from Aramyr for some unknown reason. Seek them out and find the means to enter their hidden bastion of *Purgatorium.

  (*Certain Prerequisites must be completed)

  1) Restore the Abbey of Twilight.

  2) Secure Ord’s Divine Memory.

  3) Gather and absorb at least [4] Shards of Ara.

  Reward: [1] Halo Node and you may also choose one of the following:

  [1] Wind Song of Aqa

  [1] Loam Seed of Eui

  [1] Molten Eye of Pyr

  [1] Typhoon Heart of Una

  Failure: ORD will cease all function. XAT will achieve full consciousness.

  Yes/No ?

  I sensed I had no time to use Lore Sight and learn more about what I was getting myself into. It was also out of the question to not accept the quests, so after willing my affirmative I saw Ord slowly close his eyes as if falling asleep and the God faded away leaving me in darkness. My eyes shot open and I was staring at the broken sky of Hadaeon’s Descent once more.

  You are most resilient, little Insect.

  The voice of the Hellblade cut through both my mind and ears as it spoke, although it was not the thunderous sound it had been before. I turned my head from where I lay upon the ground and beheld the Cambion seated upon a throne that looked as if it had been fashioned from the bones of some great beast. The Infernal sat in front of what looked to have once been a ribcage. A fanged skull, bits of flesh still clinging to it in some areas, hung over his head and his clawed hands rested upon armrests that may have once been teeth. Two objects hovered just above the throne and I knew then for what they were without even Lore Sight’s aid.

  The fist sized Dungeon Core glowed a deep red and pulsed with energy. Beside the Core was the Shard of Ara, a small grape sized ball of golden light that pulsed in counterpoint with the Dungeon Core. Surrounding both of these powerful objects were streams of malevolent mana creating a figure eight of poisonous looking purple energy. Occasionally a whiplike tendril of energy would arc from the orbiting demonic energy and stab into either the Dungeon Core or the Shard of Ara. When once such attack occurred against the Shard, I felt an immediate stab of pain in my own chest. The shards I had absorbed echoed the pain of the other.

  By Ara’s Light…the Shard! What is this creature doing to it and the Dungeon Core?

  The Cambion was bigger than he had been in the previous dungeon where I had fought him together with Amara. He was larger, more muscular, longer horns sprouted from its head and its skin was now such a deep red as to be nearly black. There was also a large, fist sized crystal embedded in the Cambion’s chest. My eyes stared at the glowing, purple crystal. Just as with the corpses of the dead monks, the Demon had forcefully implanted a Fel shard into its own body! When the Demon spoke, Shadowmurk leaked from its fanged lips.

  “Do you like my throne? I made it of the former master of this Dungeon. Thanks to your interference and resetting the Dungeon before I could assume a measure of control over the Dungeon Core, I was forced to slay it again!”

  The Infernal laughed and gestured at the piles of bones around us.

  “As you can see, I have plenty of materials now to work with. Yet, I am being rude! Let us tone down our discourse, as we cannot have your feeble mortal mind snapping just yet. After all, there are questions you must answer before I savor your screams and those of your pitiful companions.”

  The Cambion stopped speaking into my mind directly and switched to only speaking verbally. While his voice still grated, it was a mild relief not to hear him in my head any longer. I rolled onto my knees and put a hand to my throat. The pain of nearly being strangled to death made it difficult to speak.

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  “Where are my friends, hellspawn?” I croaked. The Cambion glared at me as it tapped a finger against its chin. A slow forming frown replaced its sneer.

  “How strange. I feel as though I should know you, insect?” The Cambion crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes glowed a deep purple. “You are the one who disrupted my Shard production? I also assume you are the ones who killed my Queen?” The Hellblade sneered. “I can always make new ones, fool. I can make thousands! Yet, Xat grows impatient! He has waited centuries for his Void Networks to come online and I shall not be the one who fails in the task my father gave me to bring the one in this accursed Temple of the False online!”

  The Cambion gestured and I felt myself being lifted off the ground again by a force I could not resist. I struggled, but it was to no avail. I did, however, looked upon the Cambion for the first time with Lore Sight.

  Name: Calamnus of Tartarus

  Level: 30

  Class: Hellblade of Xat

  Title: Second Prince of Demon Lord Hadaeon

  Lore: Calamnus of Tartarus is the Second Son of the Demon Lord Hadaeon. Calamnus was imprisoned by an ancient relic of Ara by Halo Knight Ioven just before the Knight was slain at the Gates of Nephilim by Hadaeon himself during the Second Crusade.

  Advanced Lore: Calamnus is weak to Holy mana specifically from the Luck Domain.

  “Curious. There is something about you, young Priest, that makes me want to peel the skin from your bones right here and now. Granted, I wanted to kill all you monks the moment that poor fool released me, but I find you exceptionally irritating.” Calamnus cocked his head then made a tsk sound as he dropped me to my feet before him. I wobbled for a moment, but kept my balance as I stared at him defiantly. “I have decided, however, that you shall be a more fitting sacrifice to Xat rather than that pathetic little Vicar.” Calamnus gestured again and this time a cage I assumed the Hellblade created from additional Boss bones floated closer. I finally saw my friends bound within the cage. My relief was instantaneous, but I was enraged to see the state they were in.

  Curmlough was whimpering and holding his head, not daring to look in the Hellblade’s direction. Octave wings were bound and he was sprawled on the bottom of the cage where he glared at the Cambion with open hostility. The Cherub had been gagged with a dirty looking cloth. Between my two friends knelt a bloody and bruised middle aged man who looked only half conscious. I knew immediately who he must be.

  “Vicar Hamish! Thank Mir, you’re alive!” No sooner had the words left my mouth that I felt a clawed hand strike my face sending me sprawling to the ground.

  “You will NOT utter a name of one of the False in my presence!” Calamnus shrieked in rage.

  I spat blood and felt a white hot anger spread throughout my body igniting my indignation if not my good sense.

  “You damned demon scum! Your Xat is the false one! I know who you are Calamnus! Killer of Amara and Lady Eliana! I swear to the Gods and the memory of Ara that I will…” I was suddenly in the demon’s iron grip once more. He had moved faster than my eyes could follow. Yet, now his expression was one of shock and even a hint of…fear?

  “That name! How could any mortal possibly know her former name? Who are you Priest?” Calamnus snarled. His face drew close to mine and his grip tightened. “You. Will. ANSWER!”

  I’d had enough. Enough of the heresy. Enough of the blasphemy. Enough of Dungeons, Shadowmurk and everything associated with the wickedness of Infernals. I reached up with one hand and took ahold of one of Calamnus’ forearms. This time I didn’t bother trying to match Calamnus in strength- that would have been pointless. Instead, with my other hand I willed the Tincture of Distilled Limbus Energy I had taken off of Alchemist Garfle into my free hand.

  Spots were floating before my eyes and this time I knew I had pushed the Demon to the edge. My mentioning of Lady Eliana had both shocked and frightened Calamnus to the point where he had lost control and was going to strangle the life from me this time for certain. In my moment of pain just before certain death, instinct and clarity came to me.

  I had never met the real Calamnus before now. That had only been a Mana Memory created by a Shard of Ara. Even then, had the fragments of Ara been reaching out to me? Warning me of what was happening in other parts of Aramyr through their connections to other pieces of the dead God? There was certainly a connection between the Shards of Ara I had absorbed and the one floating just over the grotesque throne of bone.

  I stared at the pulsing crystal in Calamnus’ chest as my eyesight grew darker. There were connections between Fel Shards too. Limbus Shards…and Hadaeon Shards. Two separate types of such evil energies must exist for a reason? To create Shadowmurk, for one, but also to tear holes in the fabric of reality to create Void Portals! The end result? The will of Xat. What would that entail? What was happening in this dungeon was clear enough what that was. The end of all things.

  Calamnus was a son of the Demon Lord Hadaeon. The shard in his chest was likely a Hadaeon shard. The tincture in my hand was made of Limbus energy. What if instead of connecting between the planes, the shards were to connect upon the same plane instead? I palmed the tincture and grit my teeth .

  I wonder what will happen if I do…this!

  I smashed the Tincture of Distilled Limbus Energy onto the Shard embedded in Calamnus’ chest. I knew that if it was a Limbus Shard in his chest, this was likely only going to make the Cambion angrier or even perhaps empower him further. Yet, I couldn’t imagine Garfle had been the sort of Alchemist who had cared about empowering anything other than himself. The Demon’s grip slackened and then released me altogether. I stumbled back, gasping for air. I cast Minor Heal on my throat and felt instant relief as my larynx repaired itself.

  “By Xat’s Holy Breath I am going to use your corpse to grow Murk Worms for a thousand years! You and every single Mana thief upon this Plane is going to pay for…” Calamnus’ voice trailed off and both of us stared at what was happening upon the Cambion’s chest.

  The Fel Shard was forming bubbles, as if it were boiling from within. Calamnus blinked in disbelief as one of the bubbles grew and grew and grew until finally pop! A minor explosion rocked the Hellblade back on his heels knocking him back into his throne. I skipped backwards, but didn’t waste any time while Calamnus was distracted. I cast Minor Mana Tap upon him and then Fade upon myself.

  I have to rescue the others!

  There was another popping sound and an explosion followed by a roar of rage from Calamnus.

  Calamnus has taken 24 points of Force damage!

  A piece of Calamnus’s Essence has shifted into the Void!

  Reverse-Void Portal Imminent!

  It is recommended to exit Dungeon: Hadaeon’s Descent immediately before Dimensional collapse!

  Time to Reverse-Void Portal Creation: 0:59…0:58…

  Time to Dimensional Collapse: Calculating…

  “YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! YOU CANNOT HIDE, PRIEST OF THE FALSE! AAAHHH!”

  Another pop and explosion. This time, pieces of the bone throne collapsed upon Calamnus and he was momentarily hidden from view. Now was my chance! There was no time waste!

  I ran to the bone cage and ripped the feeble bone door off its hinges, trusting in my enhanced strength. I may not have been as strong as a Hellblade, but I was at least as strong as a full grown warrior thanks to Ord’s blessings. I tore the gag from Octave mouth even as I hoisted Curmlough to his feet.

  “On your feet, Curmlough! Octave, watch for the Infernal’s return. Hit him with a Sunburst when he emerges. Take this as well. You’ll know when to use it.” I handed Octave another of Garfle’s potions. The Cherub looked at what it was and grinned.

  “Oh, I understand completely. You can count on me, Kenric!” I smiled and nodded then turned to help Vicar Hamish to his feet.

  “I don’t know who you are Brother, but I am glad to see you.” Vicar Hamish’s voice was strong despite the torture he had endured. He reached out a trembling hand and laid it upon my shoulder. “This creature has perpetrated a great evil upon the Abbey and all its Brother Monks!”

  “And they shall be avenged, Vicar. Stay close to Curmlough. That’s the Satyr hiding behind me here. If you can, aid me with any magics you might still have.” I smiled and placed what I hoped was a more reassuring hand upon his arm. “The Gods are with us.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” Vicar Hamish said, wonder in his voice as he gazed at the golden winged Cherub who had equipped his gold breastplate and bow. “If we live, I hope to hear the full extent of this tale.”

  “YOU WILL NOT LIVE! XAT TAKE YOU ALL!”

  Calamnus burst free from the pile of collapsed bones of his throne and took to the air, his bat-like wings unfurling to their full length. With his bare chest rippling with muscle, clawed hands and fanged maw he was a true terror to behold, but it was the Shadowmurk pouring from his mouth that filled me with the greatest dread. That and what was happening to the Fel Shard in his chest.

  “What by all the Choirs of Heaven did you do to him, Kenric?” Octave exclaimed. I could only shake my head and do my best not to hurl up the entire contents of my stomach.

  There were Murk Worms growing from Calamnus’ chest. Dozens of them. Their tiny, wriggling heads burst from the Fel Shard. Each bubble was like an egg sac hosting the larvae of a worm. More were hatching every moment and I wondered if soon they would all be fighting for space upon the demon’s chest.

  “You have not won. You cannot win. The Mana of this planet belongs to us and what was stolen by the Travelers will be returned.” Several more worms sprouted from the Fel Shard and now Calamnus could seemingly no longer ignore the pain the worms were causing him. Folding his wings, he landed upon the ground and materialized a longsword forged of some black metal. The Demon took a step towards me and I countered by casting Lesser Shadow Leech, but the spell failed.

  “You think to use the magic of Shadows against me? I am the shadows!” Calamnus laughed.

  “Yes, I remember,” I said calmly. “I also remember what you are not.”

  Octave cast Sunburst and Calamnus hissed as the light temporarily blinded him.

  “Octave, drink it now!”

  Octave downed Garfle’s Potion of Dual Simulacrum and suddenly there were two Octaves floating beside me!

  “It just keeps getting worse!” I heard Curmlough cry behind me.

  “Octave, use Mocking Laughter!

  The Cherub complied and the laughter of two Cherubs was more than Calamnus could bear, just as it had been before when I had used a similar tactic against his Mana Memory in the previous dungeon. The Cambion dropped his black blade to cover his ears and he screeched in frustrated rage as the double dose of psychic damage took effect, but I wasn’t done yet.

  Time to Reverse-Void Portal Creation: 0:15…0:14…

  I willed open my Status and quickly navigated to the Faction Web Terminal. Then, with the Blood Node already prepared, I willed it onto Sul’s Vow of Denial spell. I saw, rather than felt, the spell’s Tier swell all the way to Tier XX. Sul’s Luck Domain spell met Fate mana and the energy caused my entire body to vibrate with an amount of energy it had never before held.

  I didn’t hesitate. Holding this much Fate Mana was more than I could bear at my low level. I cast a Tier XX Vow of Denial at Colamnus. I saw multiple possibilities open up before me of what the spell could do. With a thought, I could have banished the Cambion back to the Hells. With a snap of my fingers, I could have altered his entire being and changed every bit of Negative Energy in his body into Positive Energy thereby creating a new Angel. These results and more were mine to control. Fate was mine. Destiny was mine. Colamnus was mine. Yet, I could not erase the memory of Amara and Eliana from my mind. In the true past, Colamnus had destroyed them both, for certain. My experience had only been a dream created by the fragment of a God. I would have vengeance for them both.

  “For Amara,” I whispered and pointed a finger at the Murk Worms growing from Calamnus’ chest. “You will devoured by your own evil!”

  The Worms in Colamnus’ chest, now numbering in the several dozen, twisted and merged into a giant, single Murk Worm. Colamnus gaped with horror and his claws gripped the worm in a two handed grip as he seemed to trying to rip the worm from his body.

  “I’LL DESTROY YOU FOR THIS, FALSE PRIEST! I WILL RETURN! I AM A LORD OF HELL! I AM…”

  “You are food for the worms, Wik take you!” I cried. Colamnus wailed in terror as the Murk Worm reared back and then like a striking viper engulfed the Cambion’s head. I heard Vicar Hamish cried out in triumph and Curmlough cheer.

  “Kenric, grab the Core and the Shard!” Octave said and I quickly cast Armor of Shadows followed by another casting of Fade. I didn’t want the Worm to turn upon me if I drew close to it! I slipped by the struggling Cambion whose upper torso was now disappearing down the expanding worm’s gullet. The Murk Worm continued to grow!

  Reverse-Void Portal Online!

  Another explosion, this one ripping me off my feet and sending me soaring not backwards, but forwards towards a tear that had formed where the Worm and Colamnus had been only a moment before. Now, a tornado of Shadowmurk poured from the tear and I was being pulled into its vacuum. For a brief moment I thought I glimpsed Colamnus’ head, minus his body, caught in the swirling vortex.

  Time to Dimensional Collapse…0:10…0:09…

  “Kenric!”

  I reached out and grabbed hold of the top of the bone throne, which was also quickly disintegrating as pieces of bone were yanked into the tornado’s growing maelstrom. This Dungeon was disintegrating. A Void Portal released Void Energy when it was opened. A Reverse Void portal did the opposite…and pulled everything into it!

  I spied the Dungeon Core and the Shard of Ara just within hands reach. They were still caught in whatever magical trap Colamnus had placed them in and for the moment suspended in the air. I gasped as I felt my grip upon the throne slipping. I didn’t dare let go, but needed to reach them!

  If I can reach the Dungeon Core, I can get us out of here, but I might lose the Shard! Likewise, grabbing the Shard might lose me the Core! Gods aid me!

  Time seemed to stand still, but it didn’t.

  0:06…0:05…

  I reached out a hand to the Shard of Ara, but didn’t take it in hand. Instead, I absorbed it instantly ignoring the notification I received and bit my tongue over the surge of power that tore through my body. Absorbing the Shard had felt strange. It had felt…corrupted.

  “Ord, no!” I moaned. I reached out for the Dungeon Core, but it was too late. I had disrupted the spell that held the Core suspended and it slipped from my fingers and was swept away into the Shadowmurk. “No!” I cried ineffectually.

  0:03…0:02…0:01…

  The world seemed to fold in upon itself and the Dungeon collapsed. I lost my grip upon the throne and fell into the maelstrom of Shadowmurk.