[Tian] 1:35 (Patreon)

“YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL!”

The words echo around me, a clamoring of voices, coming from each and every single one of the Galgoms before me. It is almost like a chittering— the kind birds give off when their flocks nestle in a zakra tree.

They repeat themselves over and over. They do not even capitalize on my downed self. The blasts they struck me with drew blood, leaving me prone on the ground, injured, almost incapacitated.

“There is no hope for this world,” one of them says, speaking out of line from the others.

Another pipes up, wariness in his voice. “The ship will explode, the damage done to the engine cannot be repaired.”

“It will explode and take us all with it.”

I blink, trying to parse what they are trying to say. I get back to my feet, eyeing the Galgoms more puzzled than anything. I want to ask them what is going on, but they seem to have almost forgotten about me. And I do not wish to remind them of my presence.

I look around as their conversation continues, my eyes landing on the crumbling barrier with Nelrel and Kalmat. The pair survived the attack of the Galgoms mostly unscathed. I deliberately head towards them as I reach for my novacloth pouch. One left.

“We have to flee,” a fourth adds, and others agree with him.

“Leave this world entirely? After all we have done to come here? Idu will come, and he will track us down. He will not let our mutiny go unpunished.”

“It is better than dying for an ungrateful world. I have warned all of you about this!” one of them snaps, lashing out.

I narrow my eyes. What is going on? Stumbling towards Kalmat, I produce my last ginsoul pill and bite into it. This is the last I have left. Nothing more. I must do what I can to survive and defeat Galgom.

I reach both of the Keepers as their argument heats up.

“This is why I said we should not have betrayed him!”

“He would lead us all to our deaths. Are we so unconscionable to let a world suffer for his greed? To risk our lives by challenging the System itself?”

System? I shake my head. There is only one thing to do. Kalmat and Nelrel seem confused. Of course they are. They must have only caught the tail-end of Galgom’s conversation. I whisper to them.

“We have to leave—”

And a blast of lightning strikes out our way. It hits my back, breaking through the protective enchantments I have layered over my body. I let out a cry as I fall over.

“Tian!” Kalmat and Nelrel catch me before I fall.

“You idiots. They are still alive. We have to finish—”

There is a crackle— a thunder coming from the destroyed ‘true body’. But… it is not the true body, is it? It is the core of his Hive? And it will explode.

The Galgoms break into their chittering conversation once more.

“We have to leave!”

“Flee, flee with our lives!”

“The ship has been compromised, we will all die if we are caught in its blast!”

They scatter, breaking off into their own. The ground rumbles. The entire Hive shakes. I force myself up as I feel some kind of soothing energy running over my body. Nelrel places a hand on my shoulder, and my wounds close up.

“We need to go, now!” I grab both of them by their arms, my wings unfurling behind me.

“What’s going on, Tian?” Kalmat asks as I take off to the sky.

“I am uncertain. But that is not Galgom’s true body. That is… some kind of power source. One that we have damaged, and will explode if we do not leave now—”

I am cut off once again as there is a flash. Behind me, red lightning streaks my way. I soar around it, frowning as a pair of Galgoms give chase after us.

“This is your fault!” one of them screams, sending out another beam of energy at us.

I spin around, readying my Aspect to strike back, but Nelrel raises a hand. A barrier of flames blocks the attack, and as it lowers, Kalmat slices at them with his Aspect. His black Aura extends far beyond where he is, reaching the Galgoms, forcing them back.

“Just fly!”

I nod, putting all my focus on steering our way through the sharp turns and corridors. The entire Hive slowly begins to crumble behind us. Whatever I did to its core seemed to cause the collapse of the entire structure.

Behind me, the pursuing Galgoms continue to give chase. More try to join them, their rage prioritizing killing us over escaping from whatever explosion is about to happen. I glance back once, just in time to see the roof collapse on a handful of them, giving us some breathing room.

I look back to the front, only to abruptly come to a stop as a wall collapses just ahead of me. I curse as I fly around the falling debris, trying to avoid attacks from both sides. Kalmat manages to swat one away into a cascading floor. The Galgom is caught in it, and I hear his scream as he falls into the darkness.

I finally burst out of the Hive, expending some Qi to blast apart a wall as I tumble through the air, still carrying both Kalmat and Nelrel. I caught a glimpse of something below me. A flash of blue hair. A bulky man. They are standing on a nearby hill, watching in shock as the entire Hive collapses into itself.

Steadying myself mid-air, I swoop down to the two and wrap them together with my wings. I feel the energy building up behind me, ready to burst out. Will I be able to escape in time? I can only fly a bit more before I am forced to act.

I take hold of all four of the Keepers with my Aspect and fling them forward, faster than I can ever fly. Behind me, the Hive implodes. A powerful blast then shakes the entire world. I try to shield myself with my Aspect— with both Essence and with Qi. But it shatters, nothing more than a glass wall to this explosion.

My body is sent flying back, charred and burned by the explosion. It does not shoot outwards, but up, straight to the sky, as if it is reaching for the Heavens, hoping to bring them down from above with its might. The seismic shockwave sends cracks through the earth and stone. It causes the tallest mountain in all of Utana to fall apart.

I barely manage to cling onto my consciousness. Everything is a blur as I tumble on the ground, each time I strike the earth, a sharp pain runs all through me. More than I have ever felt in my long life.

My ears ring. The light from the explosion shines blindingly, like a third sun, bringing Utana out of true night for moments. It shines even brighter than the Day of Celestice, a brilliant light that would make the Seven Heavens stare down at it in envy.

Then it vanishes. Just like that. The blast is gone. Everything in the surrounding area has been blown away. A massive crater is left where the Hive once stood. Where Crimsonhome stood. Where the monsters and the En clashed in battle.

At the bottom of the crater is not a floor of dirt and rubble, but a sea of red. The barrier that protects the Pishitim. And it is torn open.

The realization sinks in as I spot a speck flying through the air. First only a single one. Then a dozen more following after it. They stream for the crack in the Pishitim’s defenses, heading straight for the vulnerable core of the world.

With all of my remaining strength, I push myself to my feet. My weak legs can barely prop me up. But still, I force myself to hobble over to the edge of the crater. With a deep breath, I bellow out.

“Galgom!”

The gathering of Galgom pauses. There are still over two dozen of them. More than I can handle when I am not injured. But it is what faces me now. One of my eyes is shut close, half my vision blotted. And yet, I stand.

I draw their attention, and they hover above me.

“You are still alive?”

“Foolish girl.”

“You will not hinder us any longer.”

“Who are you?” I stare defiantly up at the Galgoms. “Why have you come to this world? Why are you doing all this? What even are you?”

The Galgoms pause. They exchange glances. And they let out a maddened laugh.

“Who are we?”

“Did we not tell you?”

“We have come to save this world, girl. We are saviors. Heroes!”

“The same kind the Natifs tell in their stories and their tales,” one of them says, flying forward, ripping apart his damaged armor.

I narrow my eyes as the others follow after him. Their suits of black armor collapse to the ground in a clatter. However, they do not fall. They continue to hover, floating closer and closer to each other.

“We are Galgom,” they say all at once as their bodies suddenly begin to merge. “We are heroes. Do not resist, because under our care and guidance, Utana will be saved!”

Their words, once the echoing of a crowd, becomes a single, bellowing voice.

He stands over ten times my height, a giant that towers over me, the size of a small palace. He takes a step forward, and the earth shakes. I stumble, unable to keep my balance as Galgom encroaches on me.

“We are one mind, many bodies. A hive of bodies. We have traveled the void, seen worlds collapse and crumble, seen worlds of gods and devils. There is no defeating us, for we are Galgom. We are immortal. And we will save the world.”

I stare at the lumbering man. He is purple-skinned, a different shade to the blue of before. The same color of his blood. Otherwise, he looks no different from the smaller Galgoms that came together to form this giant.

And yet, is this supposed to be immortality? Becoming a large, obscene man? No— this is not true immortality. It is a false one. He simply evades death with his bodies. Each time one body is killed, a part of him dies with it.

There is no purity to this. This is not what mother sought. This is not what I have searched for. His soul is corrupted with a self-serving desire. Save the world? All he has done so far is bring it to ruin. He is deluded.

The single mass of Galgoms charges me as I stand up straight, meeting his gaze, unwavering. He raises one of his arms and reaches over to crush me.

“Void Walk.”

I teleport to the air behind him, wings spreading out, pure, white. I hover there as I raise a hand, the sea of Lifeblood behind me gathering up into a pillar at my back. Galgom’s eyes grow wide.

“You do not understand, do you? You have done anything but saved this world. You have oppressed its people. You have killed its guardians. And you threaten to bring harm to its core. There is nothing in your actions which reflects this, Galgom.”

I shake my head, my wings growing larger and the Lifeblood growing taller. Then it seeps into me, pouring into my core through my back. I siphon power from the Pishitim herself as Galgom watches on.

“Soul Cycle.”

The Lifeblood changes color. It becomes like a rainbow, pouring out from me, a glow that seems to change colors wherever one looks. Power from the Pishitim herself is converted to Qi. To the Essences. To my Aura.

I am overcome with this immense strength. I descend towards Galgom, all my wounds healed, like a god coming from the Heavens.

“H-how…?” Galgom stares in awe and terror.

“The Elocunive brought me to this world because of you, Galgom. To defeat you. That is my purpose. And I will fulfill it.”

“You—” His face contorts. The giant clenches his fists, overcome with anger. “I will crush you!”

I raise a single hand, uncaring of his immense size and strength. The attack comes— he breaks through the illusion. The fake me shatters into a thousand, iridescent glass shards. The false pillar of Lifeblood collapses, returning to the ground, having never sprouted up in the first place.

Galgom blinks, his mind unable to process what just happened. After all, I have just fooled dozens of him all at once. As I saw before before the Hive blew up, the Galgoms all have their own individual thoughts, especially when pressured.

“That was a lie.” I grin, drawing his attention back to me. I never once moved. I stand where I stood before he tried to crush me.

“You—” He pauses as a bright light appears behind me once more. But it is not from the Pishitim or her Lifeblood.

But it is a black light, exuded from a Bladewielder. One empowered by the magic of three other Elementalists. Kalmat, Nindran, Beihal, and Nelrel. Their hands are all raised in the air as the magic and Aura merge, creating something more.

An uncontrollable fury overcomes Galgom. He charges me once more, screaming.

“Why won’t you die!”

“Because, unlike you, I seek true immortality.” I smile, crossing my arms as the power of the Keepers coalesces behind me, reaching a breaking point. “And a tenth of a cycle has finally passed.”

Void Walk.

This time— and it is no illusion— I vanish from before Galgom. The giant pauses. The hive of minds too slow to react. To process the oncoming blast from the four Keepers. He is Galgom. He is immortal. He has dealt with the Keepers of the Grove many times. He cannot possibly be destroyed by them— the feeble Natifs of Utana, right?

And the black energy overwhelms him. It covers his entirety, disintegrating Galgom as he screams, sending him stumbling back as their magic destroys all his bodies at once. The true night is not lit up. This black light does not shine.

It kills Galgom with a silent scream, ending his reign of terror once and for all.

Author's Note: 

One more chapter to Tian Book 1. Thank you all for reading it <3 I'm currently in the midst of working with my editor to get it published.