Chapter 18: Gods
"Give me a good reason, I should not…Crush!…you right here and now." Galahad was standing outside on the balcony, with Illyana kneeling next to him. With his display of power, he had made the girl submit to him.
He was holding onto the carved, stone railing and when his words came out, he applied force, turning the railing into rumble. Truthfully speaking the girl had been nothing but a nuisance to him, playing games and being uncooperative till the last minute, where his life was endangered.
On the other hand she did save him, albeit for her own gains. Galahad was contemplating whether, attempting to escape with such a person would be beneficial to him. His only reward would be to settle his debt with Ororo…
"I-I can get us out of here…I mean this world…Limbo." Fearing for her life, Illyana spoke in a hurry, while looking at the floor, afraid to meet the mans gaze. Something felt strange about him, his character changed, he became more cold and merciless, the girl thought.
"You?" Galahad questioned, raising an eyebrow. Her answer had gained his attention. Leaving was indeed a problem for him, he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in this place.
"Yes…I have an ability, with which I can create portals…but I can't control it." Her last sentence was spoken carefully and in a lowered voice. She expected this to anger him, a few moments passed but he didn't speak.
Lifting her head, she saw the man gazing into the horizon. Following his line of sight, she noticed storm clouds forming in the distance and the sound of thunder soon echoing. There wasn't supposed to be weather changes in this dimension.
"The tattoos I had…can you inscribe them on me again?" Changing the subject, he asked her. This confused Illyana, why would he want to have those binding symbols printed onto his body again.
"I can…it will some time though…I don't have the same mastery as my…as Belasco." Trying to find the right words, she replied. Galahad went back inside and sat on the armchair.
"Do it." He commanded, letting his body relax as he closed his eyes. Illyana followed after him and positioned herself next to him, she could do nothing but comply.
It has been a long time since he had a change of clothes, the only piece left was the pants Ororo had gifted him and the boots. His upper armor was destroyed, leaving his muscular body in open view.
This wasn't the first time she had seen a mans body, after all S'ym and Belasco too would sometimes adopt attires with no upper clothes. Still the first one was a fully demonic creature, while the other was a man turned demon with a normal physique.
He body had evolved, so he could survive at this harsh climate and his every day fight with the demons. The energy he had accumulated, fed his muscle and bones, empowering them to the next level. Of course this contributed to his appearance as well.
He height had increased to about 2 meters tall. The muscle on his body didn't become oversized, but instead more apparent, as if a Greek sculptor put his passion into carving his body. Veins run down his biceps, twitching every now and then as blood pushed through them.
Gazing at his stature, she took in the view of his carved body, adorned with scars from his battles. She carefully extended his hand and placed it on his chest. The feeling she got, was as if she touched a hardened piece of rock, that was left to bask under the sun.
Her hand unconsciously shifted and felt around his pectoral muscles. At this point Galahad had entered a meditative state and only actions that would cause a threat to him would attract his attention and so her actions went unnoticed.
Getting back to her senses the teen, withdrew her hand in shock and fear. She wasn't sure what came over her, to attempt such acts against a man who could kill her if she wasn't careful.
Still this character of his, the power he had, attracted Illyana. Her gaze this time landing on his steel set of abs, reaching out to touch them…a hand stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Galahads voice woke her up from her stupor, he had opened his eyes, since he noticed that the ritual didn't start yet.
"I-I am trying to find the right spot!" Finding the right excuse, she replied.
"...Get on with it." The man said and once again closed his eyes. This time more vigilant, in case she had any weird ideas.
Now truly focusing on her task, Illyana touched his chest and channeled her dark arts. Soon crimson energy coalesced around her hand and mystical symbols formed, attaching themselves to his skin. The speed was many times slower than Belasco's and it would take at least and hour to finish.
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"...What are these tremors…Galahad, what happened to you?" In his cell Richard was wondering about the man, with which he had formed a bond of camaraderie after which of staying together in this dungeon.
A few hours ago he could sense the ground trembling and the booming of thunder, even in an underground space like this. Whatever was approaching, must have turned the whole Limbo upside down.
Approaching the metallic bars, he stood before them. Looking down at his own hands, he clenched them and closed his eyes. A blue glow started manifesting around them, as if a cosmic energy was at the grasp of his hands.
His hand extended, releasing a wave that broke the steel door of its hinges. Powering down he opened his eyes and said.
"This power…it will kill me sooner or later…at least I should go out fighting!" Exiting his cell, Rider, ran, trying to find a way out.
From his words it seems, that his own abilities and source of strength caused his body to suffer. A kind of power uncontrollable by normal means, that if not managed properly would drive a man crazy and in the end kill him…the Nova Force.
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"These Elder Gods…tell me about them." They still needed some time to finish with the spell, so breaking the silence, Galahad asked Illyana.
Beads of sweat have developed on her forehead, the inscription wasn't a simple spell after all. It bound ones will to the caster and those he choose and since Galahad grew even stronger, followed by his change of demeanor, the difficulty of applying such spell to him became even harder. Still she could explain a few things to him.
"From what I have read they were beings created in ancient times on Earth. They lived peacefully, until some of them decided to…eat their kin, turning into demons as result." She paused taking some time to concentrate on her spell, so that it doesn't fail. Stabilizing it, she continued.
"Not all of them decided to follow such acts and rose against the devilish gods…I know only two gods that remained. One is a goddess named Gaea, who fought against the demonic forces, while the other is named…Chthon!" This knowledge was extremely valuable to Galahad, in understanding the forces that existed in this universe. So he listened intently at her, as she continued.
"From what I have read and since is hard to find information about such beings…Chthon was banished, into another dimension, the Flickering Realms he, himself had created. Sealed by powerful magic, he is only able to communicate via artifacts he had left behind, one being the Darkhold, a book of witchcraft." So the evil god Chthon was sealed away by the goddess Gaea. Belasco's ritual was most likely in attempt to free the demonic god, hoping to gain boons and unlimited power in return…like that ever worked out.
"So your master, wants to free this god. How?" Galahad asked curious how a mortal, could free a god from magic created from another goddess. It didn't seem possible to him.
"...I am not sure…but he has this locket on him at all times. Once I saw what was inside it…a pentagram with five stones embedded in it, with one missing." Illyana has always suspected that the locket was the key to freeing said gods. The method still unknown to her.
Summarising in his mind, Galahad tried to make some sense of what exactly the lord was planning. Belasco was planning to free the demonic Elder Gods form their prison, from which only Chthon was known to be alive, for this he needed to complete a locket with five stones, one of which was missing. He had also taken Illyana captive and nurtured her in the dark arts of his…one stone missing…would it be possible that…
He had almost reached to a disturbing conclusion when a portal opened In the room, form within which the demon lord walked out from. They both quickly got into position, with Illyana barely managing to form the symbols on Galahad's body.
"Master, welcome." Greeting him she gave a bow, motioning for the man to do the same, who in return stood unmoving glaring at Belasco. The lord didn't pay attention to his attitude and seemed to be in a hurry, grabbing Illyana by the hand and attempting to pull her in the portal, while saying.
"Come, we don't have much time! Its time you fulfil your duty as my apprentice!" Just when he was about to step into the teleportation gate, a hand grabbed his own and caused him to stop in his tracks.
Looking back he saw, Galahad grabbing his wrist. He was bewildered at this, since he had applied a slave seal, he shouldn't be able to act against him. Soon his grip tightened, to a point were it threatened to break his bones. So he let go and pulled back.
"Don't think so. I have some use for her too." Galahad spoke to the demon lord, stepping in front of the girl and shielding her with his towering body. It wasn't that he carried some sentiment for her, but that she was his ticket home.
*CRACKLE*…*BOOM*…Thunder crushed on the demonic castle, breaking it apart and causing intense vibrations. It seems that the cavalry has arrived!