A lot of time had passed but Alistair didn't know. He just moved robotic, killing and collecting surviving flames from the the dead. The umber of souls he had absorbed were alot , he had gradually lost count. Both corrupted and pure souls.
He could feel his strength grow as he continued to kill, the flames merging creating different shades of colors. His flame was still the strongest, placed in the middle around the other flames.
He could see the summit of the mountain, he stood at the flat ground, a rare sight in the mountain. Hundreds of bodies surrounded him as he stood in the middle cloacked in blood. Some of them had been killed by him while others had fought among themselves, trying to prevent each other from reaching the top
Each breath he drew tasted like death and blood. The mist was clearing slowly as one reached the summit.
A dozen survivers lurked at the side of the battle fields, holding onto their lanterns as they passed by . Alistair didn't even look at them and non dared to attack him. Even those wounded did not dare make a sound.
They all looked on as flames circled around Alistair. They could also feel their flames pulsing at the same time as Alistair's. They all stared mesmerized.
One by one the flames and the lamps began to rise , white, green , violet ,vlack and other colors. Each flame represented its own power and carried the grief and resentment of it's previous owners.
They circled around Alistair, moving towards him as though he had a form of attraction to them.
The mist cleared around him. The wind stopped . Only the humming lamps power remained too complicated for humans to understand.
Alistair lidfed his arm towards the lamp that he had first obtain. It's golden light flickering violently the moment he touched it.
The others followed, the light illuminated the platue until they marked forming a net made of fire.
For just a heartbeat the survivors saw the faces of the dead, their mouths opened as though singing a silent song. The bodies dissolved into the ground as shadows moved merging with Alistair's shadow.
He closed his eyes. The voices in his head whispered more furiously.
" We are waiting. You are our vessel."
When he his eyes again the net of flames had disappeared leaving only mist and a scorched ground.
....
High above in the sky, the elders and the sect master looked below at the mountain. A fog had suddenly gathered obscuring their vision from what was happening. Their senses could not catch anything. They could feel it in their bones somethin was not right.
The trial had started to escalate out of their control the moment the white and black haired boy got his lamp. Too many contestants had died but the ones sent to stop him were added to the list of lamps.
The sect master though worried has not done any other thing to interfere. The test had now spiralled even father that they could not control it at all. They had been locked out of the mountain.
It didn't last long before the mountain cleared. They could clearly see Alistair standing in the middle of a net of fire as though embracing the fire with his hands raised to the air and his eye's closed.
He looked different from when he started. Half of his black hair had turned white. His figure had grown taller and had gained some muscles. They could see this changes from even with blood covering him.
" What is he doing?" An elder hissed, clutching his prayer beads made out of bones rubbing them furiously until they hissed in protest.
" Be silent," the grand elder , the one who had stayed in the sect the longest said as he looked carefully. He saw as the flames seemed to spread forming a shape akin to wings covering the entire mountain as they contracted and wrapped around Alistair." It has began."
They had spoken of a hundred lamps trial as a purification but beneath the purification was something spoken of older than the sect itself. A God of hunger , sealed beneath the mountain by the other Gods viewed as too greedy and selfish for the world.
Now the Gods pieces were returning to one body. The world was once again going to fall into chaos.
....
The moment the lamps split apart, a crack on the ground appeared. The flames moved down wards into the cracked ground. The cracks enlarged more as the flames disappeared. A stairs made enterly out of black tinted glass appeared before under him leading into the heart , the very depth, of the mountain.
Alistair went down the stairs without hesitation. The cracks on the ground closed behind him . Above the mountain returned to normal , as though nothing had happened.
The steps led into a large cave that seemed to be breathing as the walls moved like a living lung breathing. The walls glowed with veins of silver fire . At it's center floated a lamp.
It looked different from the ones they had in the surface. It's flames were pale and looked like a reflection of the moon cast on still water body. He could feel that it was ancient and undescribable. The final lamp.
He stepped into it's light, the other lamps circling around him as though he was the sun while they were the planets.
His lamps whispering to him,
" Take us home, complete what we are."
The moment his body touched the flames, the silence around him broke as though a switch had been turned on.
The flames in the lamps around him screamed. The lamps broke into dust forced their way into his chest together with the flames.
Alistair fell on his knees, laughing and chocking at the same time as clawed in his chest blood dripping as his nails pulled out flesh. The pain was too much that he wanted to just dig his heart out just to reduce the pain.
Despite his endurance, this one felt soul deep as though something was branding itself into his soul. The skin around his chest tore and heal itself the moment he destroyed it.
Fire bust from his back in twin archs that twisted into wings that looked like flowing molten gold.aa sigil formed on his brow shaped like a tear drop. Through it different kinds of voices poured into his soul speaking at once.
We are legion
We are light made in blood
We are free
The human shape of Alistair wavered just like the flames. His flesh turned translucent revealing rivers of molten light instead of veins. This process had started from the moment he started absorbing corrupted souls and the souls of lamp holders. The last stage had been perfected by the merging of the lamps to form a complete circuit.
His hair once black, turned completely white, steaming outward in ribbles of pale white illuminating the light. His hair looked like the final lantern.
On the ground above, the mountain trembled . Mountain peaks folded inwards crumbling . What was left was a hollow crater . The mountain looked like an oversized chalice.
...
From the place Alistair was kneeling , pillars of black flames erupted. The flames interlocked with each other , weaving itself as it rose touching the caves roof and broke through into the sky.
The flames cooled into a bone white stone. Upon it sat Alistair with a ring of light floating above his head like a small sun chained on him to revolve.
His wings folded and enclosed him inside. It looked like gold was dripping down from the sky.when they opened again,eyes were littered within each feather, each a conciseness that had been feed into the flames. They gazes outward looking around as the wings open but close their eyes the moment the wings were closed.
Up in the sky , the elders watched in horror and fascination. They had been unable to go near the mountain nor could they use their powers. The eyes in the wings turned to stare at them burning into their souls.
One elder fell onto his knees," he has taken the seat of the mountain."
The grand elder still shaken whispered as he looked at Alistair sitting on the stone, " No , the seat has chosen him."
...
Five initiates still breathed at the bottom of the mountain. Cristina, Edward, Richard, Rachel and another contestant who also had a lamp.
" Okay, that went down hill fast," Cristina said as she tried to lighten the mood. The others nodded silently still out of breath.
They were the only contestants that had survived the mountain peaks crumbling and the burning flames that had emerged from the ground. Most of the remaining contestants had been vaporized as they tried to run away. They had all fully awakened but at what cost.
This is a very big disaster for the world,they all though in their hearts as they looked up at the throne that had pierced into the clouds.
Alistair gaze found them hidden under a tree.