Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 (54 page)

“Wrong!” Grey Dengel
boomed. “
I
am Dengel and he is my student!”

The scholarly aspect
stuck its tongue into the ear of the fragment and, for just a moment, it was
distracted. Then, in one smooth motion, Monster pried Staff Soiléir from his
hands, and sliced off the three heads. The body instantly dissolved and its
dust was breathed in by Monster.

Light plate mail
appeared on his upper body and chain mail covered his arms to his fingers to
his feet. A robe grew out of them and over them. Twin daggers appeared at his
waist and Staff- Soiléir resumed
hir
true form on his back. His ears
became pointed and his hair became golden-brown. He looked upon the three heads
at his feet, not with hatred but with compassion.

“Shadow, I’m sorry
you’re so ugly. I shouldn’t have made you like that. It’s a reflection of my
self-doubt and hatred. I didn’t think I could measure up to the real you, so I
created a straw man to make myself feel better. From now on, no more mud flinging
for me. You deserve better than that.”

Shadow Dengel glared in
unadulterated hatred. The rock arm crushed him.

“Fragment, I don’t
blame you for what you tried to do here. If I were in your position, I’d do the
same thing. I have people waiting for me, and my own scholastic contributions
to magic to make. In fact, my paper about conserving mana in desperate
situations is going to be published in the Royal Mage Monthly. If I push myself
to become stronger than you, it will be for a reason like supporting my team
instead of surpassing you. I still don’t like you, but after meeting Grey
Dengel, I don’t hate you anymore. I'm not going to throw you out again. I can't
do that; no mage can do that.”

Fragment Dengel scowled
in mild annoyance. The rock arm crushed him too.

“Grey, you are the
Dengel I imagined when Basilard gave me
The Spirit and Its Power
. You
are old, wise, dignified, confident, and quietly tremendously powerful. You
represent Dengel’s best traits and so you are the one I should measure myself by.”

Grey Dengel nodded.
Then his expression turned solemn.

“Be wary yet, Eric
Watley. There are two shadows looming over you. Dakol’s blessing is part of you
and it will draw light to you. You must transcend shadow and achieve true
darkness to overcome. Death will also follow you and seek your assimilation. If
you fall to senescence, then you will lose yourself once again. When a mage has
the attention of gods, a quiet life is impossible.”

The lizard arm picked
him up gently and brought him next to the body's heart. There it was
incorporated into the crystal chest. It was hidden within armor and robes, but
revealed in spirit.

The figure standing in
the landscape was no longer Eric Watley, but someone new. It looked like a
human in all aspects expect for subtle clues that they were anything but: the
slit in his irises, the fangs behind his lips, the claws on his fingers, and
the inner workings of a Grendel. His ears pointed and his hair shone
golden-brown like an elf. He bore the garments of both mage and mercenary with
a hole in the center of the body for a second head; a grey one belonging to an
elder elf. It was from the shadow of this figure that a new Eric appeared.

This one wore the same
clothes and used the same basic body type, but everything else was hidden,
either by clothes or by shadow.

“I am nondescript. I am
overlooked. I am hidden in plain sight. I am your true self revealed and
concealed simultaneously. You will not truly know yourself until you find me,
but with me, you cannot truly know yourself. Light the path until you see only
darkness. If you can do this, then you will achieve true earthly
enlightenment.”

“I will see you again
when I can’t see myself in the brightest day. Only when I escape every sight
will we meet in the blackest night.”

The shadows disappeared
and the clothes fell to the ground. Then they rose up once more, bigger and
broader, with a scythe coming out of one arm instead of a staff. Rotten arms
extended from the sleeves and it threw back a hood to reveal a corpse-like
head.

“Rot and decay. Rot and
decay. Rot and decay.
Rot and decay!
”

It swung a scythe of
warped wood and rusty metal into the symbol for infinity.

“The steady corrosion
of the solid and the strong is perfectly suited to one such as you! A scavenger
of spirits and drinker of dregs found rebirth in the ashes of the past. Surely
it is no coincidence that of all the authorities of Death, you chose the one
closest to Chaos!”

The ghoul extended a rotting,
discolored, and smelly hand.

“This is true power.
Nothing can escape decay. Order himself must feed or he will shrivel into
nothing. Accept me and I will make you the most powerful warrior in all of
Creation.”

“I refuse. I’m not
interested in power for its own sake. Besides, I don’t like you.”

The corpse snarled and,
in the space of a blink, it became a fifty-foot dragon. Organs were exposed in
its chest. Rotting chunks of muscle hung in parts of its face. Its tail was
entirely skeletal, and its wings were funeral shrouds. It was a monument of
senescence.

“Then die!”

Without a breath, it
blew a gust of death over Eric and all the landscape. Eric shielded himself,
but the landscape could not survive. All of it melted before his eyes.
Mustering his will, he pushed off the ground and flew against the deadly gale.
The dragon breathed harder, but Eric didn’t slow down in the least. He flew
right into the dragon’s mouth, down its throat, into its stomach.

“I am a student of
Dengel.” Compressed energy shined and he released it in a mighty explosion. “I
am an enlightened mage.” The dragon disintegrated into ambient energy. “I am
Eric Watley.”

Eric Watley's eyes
opened and then closed again as water rushed in. He opened them a second time
and, although his vision was blurry, he could see walls of glass inside
stainless steel frames. He was in a water tank, completely submerged. Five
shackles were chained to the four corners of the tank with the fifth in the
center. Squiggly lines were drawn all over the stone floor but none in the
glass.

Someone stood beyond
the water and glass. They waved and he waved back. The person jumped a foot
above the ground and ran around squeeing. Eric cocked his head in confusion at
the creature’s behavior. Then he heard machinery groan and water swirl into a
drain; he also saw it happen, but that took a second longer to process. In
about a minute, he stood dripping wet in cold air, and yet he didn’t shiver.

A ladder was lowered
into the tank and Eric stared at it for a while. In a flash of realization, he
remembered how to use it. He grabbed a rung, climbed to the top, and then back
down on the other side. The person that waved to him was waiting for him there
with a towel. It was a green-haired person wearing a white coat and possessing
certain characteristics that registered as “female.”

“Welcome back,” Kallen
said. “How do you feel?”

“Funky.”

She offered him the
towel and he accepted it. Then he stuffed it in his mouth and chewed it. A
mixture of emotions crossed Kallen’s face, but she settled on hope.

Taking his hand, she
led him to a table in the center of the room. It was a simple white one made in
the shape of theoretical wormholes. There she placed him in one of the two
chairs and took a seat in the other. Then she checked that a listening crystal
was active and said, “Please describe what you feel in more detail.”

“...like....I just
crammed for a history final that was governed by meticulous detail to trivial
events. My fingers and toes are all pruny. I'm hungry and thirsty. My body
feels like play dough that's been vigorously torn apart and reshaped several
times. My right arm feels light and soft and delicate. How can my legs support
my body? My back is itchy. I'm...”

He yawned.

“Is that all?”

Eric waved his hand
before his face; turning it around and over. He poked at the thing on it,
pinched, pulled, and rubbed it. “What's this stuff?”

Kallen sighed. “It's
called 'skin.'”

“Oh yeah, the proper
name is 'epidermis' and it's the body's largest organ. The visible layer is made
of dead cells so it can protect the body's vital systems from outside
pathogens.”

Immediately, Kallen’s
mood brightened and she asked, “Can you tell me your name?”

“My name is Eric
Watley, a.k.a. Squad Three Novice of the Dragon's Lair, Student of Basilard
Bladi and Dengel Tymh, Second Crystal Bearer, Tasio's Plaything, Dengel's
Former Landlord, Kasile's Mind Companion, Annala's Admirer
,
Lesser Mage,
One-Who-Found-A-Big-Stick, School Translator, Otherworlder,
Complicated-with-Orcs, Dimwit, and Darkness Beyond the Twilight.”

“Can you tell me
anything about yourself...Eric?”

“My life story...?”

Kallen nodded. Eric
took a deep breath and was about to start with his earliest memory, when his
eyes widened.

“Wait a minute! I
already told you my life story – you
made
me tell you!”

“Where did I do that?”

“At the auditorium in
the Castle of Roalt Ataidar. It was during the 2000 AA New Scepter Competition.
After browbeating me into telling you, you ran to Annala's restaurant!”

“Who is Annala?”

“Annala Enaz a.k.a.
Most Beautiful Girl in the World...”

Eric trailed off and
imagined. Kallen resisted the urge to giggle. He looked cute with that look on
his face. At the same time, she felt a prickle of jealousy, but suppressed it.

“Scholarly Classmate,
Elf Girl, Maid of Distress, Reason-to-Jump-Across-the-Void-between-Worlds, Lost
Chaotic Sheep, and Speaker-of-Long-Sentences.”

“What does Annala mean
to you?”

“She's my –” Eric
blinked once and then again. “... mate? No, we haven’t, but…What else could she
be? There’s food and family and enemies and…why doesn’t she fit any of those
categories?”

“Who am I?”

“Kallen Selios, a.k.a.
Tasio's Favorite Follower, First Crystal Bearer, Impromptu Kisser, Second Most
Beautiful Girl in the World, Magical Powerhouse, Mana Mutation Field Agent,
Girl-I-Feel-Good-Around, Twister-of-Sentences, Elf-Hair-Streaks, and Brilliance
Beyond the Dawn.”

Red in the face, Kallen
continued, “Why do we have so many names?”

“It’s about identity.
‘Eric Watley’ is indicative of nothing. It is an identifier. Were my name to be
‘John Smith,’ it would be no different than calling me ‘Rose Byanyothername’
because I would smell the same. Other names must be used to provide meaning.” 

He blinked three more
times and shook his head. Bewildered, he looked around. It was a small room and
lit by five lights in the ceiling. It was chiefly occupied by the tank he was
in and the machines taking measurements and recordings. The floor was blank
tile and so were the ceiling and walls. Everything was reinforced with runed
metal plates and beams. A security camera hung from the other end of the room
and another was behind him. A safe vault was the only exit. With its large
metal bulk and security devices, it could be mistaken for nothing else.

 “What am I doing here?
Where's my team?...What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kallen
said, eyes on the listening crystal. “Just the groundbreaking recording of the
first monster to reclaim sapience in a controlled environment. I'm gonna be
famous
and, this time, it will be for
curing
mana mutation instead of being a
victim of it!”

An hour ago, Eric's
eyes were wild and savage. A minute ago, they were dazed and off-kilter. Now
they were focused; sharp and acute.

“Kallen...What. Is.
Going. On?”

Kallen shivered
pleasantly. “Seven days ago, you were caught in a mana explosion and mutated
into a Grendel. You’ve spent the last five days here in treatment.”

“A....a Grendel?!”

“You
do
know
what those are, right? What they look like and all?”

“Yeah…sort of...but...I...Grendel?”

“I know, it's
impressive. They're B+ class monsters, nothing embarrassing like a Mac or a
Flecknoe. Your mentor was impressed.” She raised an eyebrow. “You know who that
is, right?”

Eric rolled his eyes.
“Basilard Bladi; he's a Squad Five Senior in the Dragon's Lair.”

Kallen applauded.
“Good, now let's go find him.” She stood up and walked to the door. “However,
you might want to put some clothes on first.”

“What are clothes? Are
they something to eat?”

“Hmmm…Do you recall the
word ‘modesty’?”

Eric shook his head.

“How about ‘armor’?”

Eric shook his head.

“‘Danger’?”

Eric shook his head.

“Let’s try this: what
do you remember doing in the mornings?”

“Breakfast.”

“Anything else?”

“Brush my teeth.”

“Anything else?”

“Grab an energy shot.”

“Are you one of those
people that slept in their clothes?”

“‘Slept in clothes.’
Does that mean clothes are like skin?”

“Sort of. They’re outer
body coverings that assist with survival.”

“Oh…where are these
outer body coverings?”

Kallen pointed to a
cubby.

Inside was a tunic,
pants a size too big, a pair of socks, and shoes. All of them felt soft, light,
and delicate. How could these assist in survival? He remembered something heavy
and formidable and another thing was missing. He firmly remembered holding
something in his hand. An important something made of wood and –
Staff
Soiléir!

He frantically searched
the room, but it wasn't there. Heart racing, he ran out the door and smack into
a thick mattress. He rebounded off it, stumbled backwards, lost his balance,
and fell on his butt.