Risha Chapter 42

A/N 2/2 chapters today.

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Risha stood on the hilltop, surrounded by the commanders of her army. The sun had just begun to shine over the horizon, lighting up the world in a kaleidoscope of colors. The forest below them was carefully trapped with webs, a precaution in case of any kind of surprise attack.

In the distance, a small contingent of humans attempted to sneak through the trees, two drakes flying low over them. Kobolds led them through the many webbed traps that lined the area.

Risha’s [Hunter] skill pinpointed Alexandra and Saya. Kulos had warned her of the possibility of betrayal from the humans, but Risha hoped that wasn’t the case. 

The sun slowly rose, the color of the sky shifting from orange and purples to a dark blue. That’s when Risha felt it. 

The heat. A burning sensation as the temperature of the world around them rose.

Flying from the heart of the sun, with feathery wings of fire, a man covered in orange and silver armor appeared much too close. 

“Klu,” Risha said, her voice wavering more than she wanted to admit.

Klu stepped forward. Purple and red mist flowed out of him, the spirit cooling the air around them. 

The angel hovered above them in the sky.

“Escort the human’s to the mountain pass.” Risha told Glo. He bowed, already aware of the plan. The elders around them left, leaving Risha and Klu alone on the hilltop. 

For a long moment, the Angel just watched her. He didn’t even have eyes for Klu, despite the mist that surrounded them. Instead, he just observed Risha. 

Even from here, Risha could sense the power of the man, the air itself resonating with the flames that covered him. She looked to the side, and saw the determination in the Orc Mystic who stood beside her. It was the determination of a creature ready to die. 

They’d waited too long, and Risha should have listened to the Grand Mothers, but it was too late now. 

Still the Angel just stood there, unmoving.

“Raphael,” Risha said his name, a small amount of fear entering her voice.

The angel raised his hand, power gathering to it, then paused, his eyes moving to the forest behind Risha.

She couldn’t help but follow his gaze.

A man walked out of the forest. His face covered by a white bone mask with two holes for his eyes. His rounded ears and tanned skin told Risha that he was human. He wore all black, with two silver earrings made of bird skulls hanging from his ears. 

“So you are the Goblin Grand Mother.” 

Klu stepped between her and the man, while trying to keep eyes on the angel in the sky.

“You are the Saint.” Risha answered, trying to read the man.

He bowed his head ever so slightly, “That’s me. You can call me Soul.” His eyes turned to the man in the sky. “I’ve always wanted to test myself against one of the seraphim. But I thought I’d start with one of the lesser children, not Raphael himself.” He looked back to them, his eyes studying Klu. “Your orc needn’t worry about me. Mother has made it clear that I’m not to fight you here. My only worry is him.” He motioned with his head, his earrings rocking with the movement.

The Angel watched Edward with narrowed eyes, his hand still raised.

“He’s waiting. He’s not sure whose side I’m on yet,” Soul said.

Risha couldn’t see his face behind his mask, but she could hear the tinge of excitement in his voice. 

  “I’d watch closely for as long as you can, Grand Mother. You’re about to see something that has not happened in a very long time. Not since my brothers in the second age,” Soul slowly raised his hand, silver light gathering to it and forming into a large serpentine eye. “Oh, and don’t forget to run.” 

The eye focused on the angel in the sky, then energy suffused the world. It stank of rot and death, but hidden at its core was the beauty and blessing of life.

The forest came alive around them as bones rose from the ground, snapping together at incredible speeds. Under the human, a head rose, lifting him and a good chunk of soil into the sky.

The bones of the monster in front of Risha made a creature larger than anything Risha had ever seen. It appeared like a Drake, except, instead of two legs, it had four, and its size far eclipsed any of the flying Warbeasts Risha had seen. 

It rose up to the angel in the sky, two bone wings flaring out. The eye in Soul’s hand flew into the creature, and separated into two, filling the sockets of the Dragon. 

It opened its mouth, and roared at the angel, the sound filling the world for miles around. 

The angel raised its hand, and the sun itself gathered to him. He pointed, and the sun exploded. Flames rained down on the bone dragon, only to be blocked by shields of bone that flew from the forest. 

Risha was knocked out of her reverie by one of her spiderlings picking her up and placing her on its back. Another one of her spiderlings grabbed Klu and then they were racing through the forest. 

Flames fell into the forest around her, incinerating trees where they stood, and puncturing Klu’s mist like it was nothing. 

Risha’s spiderling skittered out of the way, just as the ground underneath her exploded in fire. 

Risha turned her gaze to the sky as the forest burned. Flames met bone and silver magic. Raphael dodged and weaved as Soul’s dragon chased him through the sky, but with every movement, flame struck the dragon, incinerating it and forcing it to regrow.

[Hunter] focused on Soul, sitting cross-legged on his dragon, his hands moving swiftly to control his magic and bone as the battle continued.

Flame burned a wing, then before it could regrow, more fire rained down, destroying the other wing.

The dragon fell, letting the angel refocus and look for her. For the briefest of seconds, Raphael’s eyes met hers.

The world around her erupted in flame, burning her skin in an agonizing heat, only to be met by purple and red mist as Klu started chanting, his voice haunting and deep in a language Risha’s translation abilities couldn’t understand.

Moments later, a bone maw chomped down on Raphael, blocking his sight of her, and the flames quieted. 

Risha clenched her teeth, stopping herself from screaming as her skin burned under her chitinous armor. Her vision went in and out from pain as she lost consciousness.

***

Edward “Soul” Shyson watched as his monstrous bone maw exploded in shrapnel, revealing Raphael completely unharmed. 

Fire gathered to the angel, then burst out into rings around him, cutting through any bone that tried to approach as he focused on the annoying human that stood before him.

Soul stood on the head of his reforming dragon, his mask partially charred, but completely unharmed otherwise. 

“You know, you could turn around and leave,” Soul said, his voice chipper. “I’d find it in my heart to spare you.” 

“Young Child of Shyanne, you are not my match. I have no desire to kill you.” 

“I’m pretty sure that goblin is younger than me. Why d’ya wanna kill her?” Soul folded his arms, his bird-head earrings shaking with the movement.

“I identified the goblin, she has no class. My orders were to kill her if she had not escaped the life of a monster.” 

Soul detected the smallest amount of regret in the man’s words and a suspicion began to form, “You don’t want to do this, do you?” 

“The Sky Mother has called, as her child, I can do nothing but answer.” 

“You could refuse. It’s been done before.” Soul felt as the last of the bones in his dragon came back. He couldn’t keep this up forever, but he’d had worse odds. 

Well, not actually.

Raphael was one of Sarah’s oldest children, and had fought in the wars of the second age. Meanwhile, Soul was one of Shyanne’s younger children. He knew he was talented, and could maybe take on some of his weaker older siblings, but Raphael was infamous. Soul suspected that he wasn’t going all out, although Soul had no idea why.

“I cannot refuse, Child. I am bound by more than blood.” Raphael closed his eyes, and a wall of flame covered the sky behind him, blocking out the sun itself. “Time is running out, and it is time to choose whether that monster is worth your life.”

Soul laughed, then gathered souls to his hands. They opened their eyes to stare at him. “No one will be dying here. The souls do not whisper of it.” 

The souls spread out, calling on the bones to become beasts of legend. A final soul entered into his body, gathering into him.

Raphael opened his eyes, and the wall of flame burst forth. 

Soul grinned under his mask. That goblin Grand Mother was going to owe him.

[Eyes of the Ancients]

The largest eyes yet opened behind him, their gaze surrounded by rings of fire. The soul of the Spark Ancient encompassed him, and the wall of flames broke in twain. The wall of fire continued on to scorch the mountains, leaving a large triangle of unharmed land directly behind Soul, the same land that Risha rode through to escape. 

Soul let out a breath, glad that his trump card had worked against the power of Raphael. The Spark’s soul sometimes refused to answer his call, and the ability had a ridiculous cooldown. Soul was hoping that as he leveled, the cooldown on the ability would shorten.

Raphael raised his hand, and another wall of flame rose behind him.

Soul stared. 

That was just unfair. 

“Wait!” Soul called out, and the angel’s hand stilled.

Soul’s mind raced, but came up empty. His second trump card was to call on a Lin Ancient, but they were weak to fire, and Soul suspected that it wouldn’t be able to resist the power behind the wall of flame Raphael controlled. Several of his beasts of legends still stood, regathering bones to them after the first firewall. His heart sinking, Soul knew that they wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Angel. 

“You cannot stall forever,” Raphael said.

Soul let out a breath as one of his birds told him the goblin had passed it. “Nope. But I can stall long enough. She’s entered the pass.” 

Raphael paused, then looked past Soul to the unburnt forest. 

The wall of flames dispersed, and the Angel lowered his hands as the flames on his wings lowered. “You fought well, Soul. I’ll remember you.” 

The angel turned around, then flapped his wings and disappeared into the distance.

Soul watched the angel go, not releasing any of his souls from their bone constructs. 

After a good minute, in the pass of the mountains, the bone spider and goblin he’d created turned to dust.

Through the eyes of one of his birds, he watched as Risha made their way through the forest, at least a good hour from the pass. 

Soul didn’t look away from Raphael as he flew through the skies away from him. 

Holy Mother, he’d just bluffed one of the highest Seraphim, Raphael himself. No one was going to believe this. The Angel who could burn mountains, and destroy forests had turned their incredibly dangerous wings away because Soul had fooled them-

Actually, on second thought, he wasn’t going to tell anybody. No need to ruin Raphael’s reputation and risk his wrath. 

Maybe Mother could know.

And his bonelings, they couldn’t tell anyone anything.

Soul grinned wide.

***

Epigraph from chapter 31

Kill them! Kill them all! How dare they? They’re an infestation! I- I- they did this… they thought they could escape my wrath, my hatred? Those classless monsters deserve every death for their sins. Arch, Do not let a single one escape their extermination.

-Grand Mother Sarah, after the murder of Grand Father Gabriel.