Darkness Comes....

The sounds of sword clashes and shattered shields served as encouragement for Julius's hot blooded soul. With a force of iron, he cut through the forces of darkness with his shiny blade. The monster tried continuously to strike Julius down with devastating sword swings, yet made the terrible mistake to leave an opening in his defenses. Julius saw this opening and, after backing away from his opponent to gain some momentum, he launched himself in an all out attack, eluding an horizontal sword swing, and unleashing the fury of his blade, lunging at his opponent and piercing the monster's black heart. "Die!!!!!"

He pulled the sword from the monster's chest, the demon fell heavy, back against the cold floor, and then burst in flames. Soon his doppleganger form followed due to the fact that the original fiend was destroyed. Seeing his master's demise, the lesser fiends left and fled towards the inner chambers of the cathedral. For the moment, this hallowed place was now silent as a cold grave.


Battle's Theme Song-Rise Today-by Alter Bridge

The wind is blowing cold
Have we lost our way tonight?
Have we lost our hope to sorrow?

Feels like we're all alone
Running further from what's right
And there are no more heroes to follow

So what are we becoming?
Where did we go wrong?

[Chorus:]
Yeah, oh yeah!!
I want to rise today!
And change this world!

Yeah, oh yeah!!!
Oh, won't you rise today...
And change this world?

The sun is beating down
Are we ever gonna change
Ccn we stop the blood from running?

Our time is running out
Hope we find a better way
Before we find we're left with nothing

For every life that's taken
So much love is wasted

[Chorus:]
Yeah, oh yeah
I want to rise today
And change this world

Yeah, oh yeah
So won't you rise today
And change

This world
Only love can set it right
This world
If only peace would never die

Seems to me that we've got each other wrong
Was the enemy just your brother all along?

[Chorus:]
Yeah, oh yeah
I want to rise today
And change this world

Yeah, oh yeah
Oh won't you rise today
And change this world?

Yeah, oh yeah
I want to rise today
And change this world

Yeah, oh yeah
I want to rise today
And change this world
 
Wylliam, so absorbed in his task that he could not hear Julius' victory, was surprised to see the fiends fleeing. He then jumped to the most logical (in his mind) conclusion. They obviously came to the realization of the futility of their efforts against a warrior as strong, not to mention as dashingly handsome, as I, Wylliam thought, smirking and stroking his chin thoughtfully. However, when Wylliam turned around and looked to the flaming Angmar, then to Julius' blood stained sword, and finally to Julius himself, radiating righteous power, blood splattered onto his face, yet unable to mask the divine ferocity exuding from his eyes, Wylliam was quite tempted for a moment to join the fiend's exodus. Clearing his throat, Wylliam spoke with a voice that was shaking a bit more than he would like to admit, "Well, my friend, *ahem*, shall we procede?" Then, turning to face the inner chambers of the church, "And for heaven's sake, would you drop the death glare? You're giving me the shivers."
 
Julius was so full of his glory, that he didn't realized the dark desire for blood lust that was beginning to poison the nobility of his blood, a cruel massacre. His sword, face, armor, and clothing, all splattered with blood. This would make the following question to rise: Was he better than the demons he so desired to slay? "Sorry my friend, but the grudge I hold against these fiends can't be contained by this loyal follower of God...let's move on."

Julius cleaned the blade of his sword with his cape, and then sheathed his instrument of death and judgment. After sighting a torch nearby, he reached the handle of it and to illuminate the pitch blackness of this defiled sanctuary.
 
As the two advanced through the hall leading to the second chamber, Wylliam wondered about the lack of fiends attempting to bar their passage. His first instinct told him it was a trap, but instincts two and three disregarded the notion. Instinct two was certain that the fiends were still frightened from Angmar's defeat, while instinct three thought the other two were stupid, but didn't have a theory of its own, so existed only to refute the others. Three minutes into Wylliam's internal three way debate, a veil of darkness, reaching from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, erupted between Julius and Wylliam. Julius was in the section of the hall leading deeper into the cathedral while Wylliam's section led back the way they had come. Wylliam took a leap at the veil, but was thrown back in a blast of negative energy. Struggling to his feet, Wylliam saw the ghouls diffusing from the shadows, or rather their eyes, seeing as Julius was in posession of the torch. "Just keep moving!" Wylliam yelled, hoping his voice would carry beyond the veil, "I'll find another way around!" So rushing through the fiends, Wylliam started backtracking, wishing he would have listened to his first instinct.
 
The darkness became so dense that even the torch held by Julius could not illuminate much more than just a few steps before him. The only guidance he had was the dark corridor he was following, his footsteps echoing through the tunnel. Everything was calmed, perhaps too calmed, and Julius began to feel uneasy. Sweet covered all his face, his eyes were set on an unknown objective before him, and then it happened. The sound of heart beats, lauder and lauder with each step forward he took. Julius didn't knew if William was still with him, he was blinded with the rage and fanaticism of completing his "noble" mission.

Then moans, talons scratching the walls, inhuman growls, Julius could not see them but he knew they were there. His sword unsheathed by his right hand, torch held with the left hand, he wielded both against this unknown enemy.

"Show yourself demon..."

His eyes burned with determination, the light of death could be seen shining on Julius' eyes. Soon all was revealed, a blinding light illuminated the hall and an ill wind extinguished the flame of Julius' torch. Now useless, Julius tossed the torch and grabbed the hilt of his blade with both hands, the room was infested by them.

"What am I to do to those who would oppose me but show them death? You all shall meet a fate worst than death..."
 
"Who in their right mind builds a church with so many dead ends?!" Wylliam yelled to no one in particular, turning away from yet another abrupt wall. The situation was getting desperate. Wylliam had no way of knowing how Julius was faring, or even if he still lived. Suddenly he saw a hall that he had missed, or perhaps hadn't even existed, before now. The moment he stepped into it, however, everything went black.

Slowly, Wylliam opened his eyes. He was in a dark room, devoid of any windows or doors. Leaping to his feet, he began to pace the walls. Where in Hell am I? Wylliam thought. "Close, but not quite," a melodic voice spoke behind him, causing him to whip around to face the room's center. Where there had just previously been nothing, now stood a man. The man was strikingly handsome with long white hair cascading down his back. His face gave no hint of his age, his face completely smooth and devoid of hair, yet his eyes suggesting years beyond measure. He was dressed completely in white; white tunic, white cloth shoes, and white gloves.

"What do you mean, 'close?'" Wylliam asked. Though the man gave no sign of aggression, Wylliam couldn't help but feel that something was off. "In regards to being in Hell, of course. To be technical, you aren't in my realm, but you are certainly under my power," the man spoke in that song-like fasion. Wylliam recoiled. "So, what, are you Devil number one?" The man began to laugh a very appealing, yet unsettling laugh. "To put it simply, yes, though I have never been called that before."Then, catching Wylliam's expression, "It would appear you have a rather negative preconception of me. Perhaps," he continued, gesturing toward an opening that had appeared in the wall, "once you consider what I offer, you will learn to like me." Keeping a vigilant eye on the man in white, Wylliam made his way through the opening.
 
Julius' insanity was reaching dangerous levels, to the very point of making him difficult to tell whether someone was a foe or an ally. His lust for power and the blood of these demons to stain his blood thirsty blade were highly inhuman. His eyes, filled with the lights of the Angel of Death, a cursed soul among the purest of beings. A reaper of souls and lives, set to unleash this degenerate judgment upon these martyr souls.

The demons fought him helplessly, and they were easily slaughtered by Julius' merciless massacre. One by one they fell, decapitated, butchered or cruelly impaled by spears or the sharp edges of the pillars around them.

"Death for all of you!!"

Without knowing, Julius allowed himself to be caught by the forces of darkness, his dark desire tainted his soul and flesh turning him into a monster worst than the demons he so despised.
 
Wylliam found himself on a balcony, overlooking a horrible sight. "Observe," the man in white spoke, stepping up to Wylliam's side and peering casually over the railing, "the 'Righteous' Julius, learning to appreciate the pleasures of my world." Below him, Wylliam could see Julius slaughtering not only the demons that had attacked him, but even some that were fleeing. After dispatching one of the ghouls in flight, he turned to strike down another, allowing Wylliam a brief look at his face. Wylliam retched.

Julius' eyes no longer radiated a desire for purification; no longer exuded holy purpose and direction. Wylliam could no longer discern Julius' complexion from the blood coating his face like a mask. This, however, was not what bothered Wylliam the most. That which caused Wylliam's involuntary reaction was Julius' grin.

"Do you now see what I offer? The power I alone can provide? With this power, you, like Julius, can do as you please! You could even find your friend, Skaol,"

"Fool!" Wylliam shouted, turning an enraged eye to the Great Demon. If there were one thing that could have completely strengthened Wylliam's resolve against the temptation, it was the thought of his friend. "You think that is how I want Skaol to see me?!" he yelled, pointing at the berserking Crusader. Spear firmly in hand, Wylliam leapt from his vantage point, landed a fair distance behind Julius, and dashed to him, yelling, "Hey! Holy man! What do you think you're doing?!"
 
As the last of the demons in the room fell merciless to the might of Julius's blade, the madness that sprout deep within that holy man had swallowed his heart whole. His clothing and armor, all splattered, tarnished with the blood of these devils so cruelly butchered by their "righteous" executioner, a reaper brought by Death itself.

The faint light of his eyes was a portrait of how sunk into insanity his soul was, how lost he was within his own thoughts of justice and revenge so easily misguided. Sword held in right hand, crafted to absorb and purify the souls of demons, lied corrupted and driven into darkness due to the excessive amount of evil energy that the sword was forced to consume.

His eyes fixed before him, lost among the cries of pain of those fallen devils. No longer the man William knew, he replied so arrogantly with a slight portion of sadism.

"They deserve this William. They took everything away from me. My dear beloved Nicole Saraan, an angel among mortals, the essence of holiness. My love, my whole life, stripped from me so cruelly. These demons must pay, for their foul presence drove her into madness, and she no longer speaks, her soul lost her joyfulness. I would sink myself onto oblivion and burn heaven and earth if I have to. To recover her joy, I would slay the Lord of Demons himself!"

His sword aimed to a new found target, his former comrade and brother in arms, William. These unexpected and inexplicably threat was surprisingly shocking, it appeared that Julius was beyond his own sense of justice.

"Stay back William, the true hero plays his part and stays aside....let me finish here...their nightmare has just begun..."
 
Wylliam stopped in his tracks, his shock-filled eyes staring at the bloody blade that was now pointed at him. He couldn't believe that this man who he had grown to respect and admire was capable of sinking so low. "Julius," Wylliam pleaded, "please, remember your holy objective! Believe me, these devils will pay for what they've done, not only to you, but to anyone who has lost a loved one to the darkness!" Wylliam began to take steps toward Julius. "This will accomplish nothing! You're only contributing to the darkness you have sworn to annihilate. Please! Come with me and let's finish our mission!"
 
"I....I can't..."

His voice trembled, he fell on his knees and slammed his left fist against the floor. Blood still splattered on his fingers, his face was filled with tears of sorrow and anger.

"She's everything for me...I can't think of living without her....I am a disgrace..I failed..."

As he grieved himself with the desperation of not being able to recover his loved one, Julius remained helplessly stunned by his own emotions. The demons slain around him began to turn into dust, their souls merging together above.

"William....let's end this....I want to go home...to her...to my Nicole..."
 
"Don't worry," Wylliam began, eyeing the dust cloud forming over their heads, "we will end this... together. Don't let the weight of your loss drag your soul into the abyss!" Wylliam walked closer to Julius, and said, "It is in the abyss that we are truly alone. I fear I don't know this Nicole to whom you have devoted your soul, but surely she wouldn't want this. Please! For the last time, come with me!" Wylliam could see that the dust cloud above them was getting darker. Well, I'm certainly a devoted mercenary, he thought to himself as the dust continued to swirl. This is your fault, Skaol. You made me soft with your self sacrificing ways. Wylliam knew it was the greatest thing to have ever happened to him.
 
"Then let's go, to meet our fate!"
As Julius regained his courage and sanity, he made up his mind and cast off his fears, plunging himself deeper into this dark sanctuary.

A small glimmer of light guided his path. Sword and torch in arms, he continued to walk aimlessly until he stumbled across a huge empty chamber.

"There's something wrong...."

Julius could feel the malice in the air, so he tossed the torch and held the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands. The darkness roamed around them, waiting for the right moment to strike. Julius could not see them, but he knew something was there.
 
"Ha! Good to have you back!" Wylliam cheered. He raced after Julius, his spirit reinspired by the Crusader's rekindled purpose. The two found themselves in a seemingly empty chamber. However, in contrast to the apparent lack of life, a heavy evil was practically smothering the mercenary. Wylliam's eyes darted from shadow to shadow, trying to perceive any sign of the enemy. Without warning, the dust cloud from the previous room rushed past them, swirling in the middle of the room. "Fools!" A familiar voice rang out. From above the cloud appeared the man in white, hovering, fury radiating from his slender frame. "I offered you Power beyond your wildest imaginings, and this is what you decide?!" the devil screamed, no longer in the melodic tone he had before when he had spoken to Wylliam.The dust converged, becoming denser and taking shape. Now, rather than a formless cloud of dust, a great spider stood before them. Its underbelly had upon it a horrible red insignia, its meaning lost to Wylliam. Its great eight legs towered above the two an estimated fifteen feet. The bulk of the body was the size of the hull of a modest sailing vesel and covered in black hair. Its mandibles dripped venom, which hissed as it made contact with the stone floor below it. Each of its eight eyes were concentrated on the pair before it. In short, it epitomized the nightmare of every arachniphobe. Wylliam was, unfortunately, very arachniphobic. "This one was tailor made just for you, Wylliam! Enjoy!" the man in white screamed, laughing maniacally and vanishing from the room. Thought had, for the moment, completely left Wylliam, allowing the void to be filled with paralyzing terror.
 
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"Damn evil spirit...here is were it ends. Your life meets its culmination here, even if it means my life being cast to the darkest parts of oblivion."

A wounded Julius unsheathed his sword. Blood splattered on his left shoulder, his own blood mixed up with the blood of demons. His eyes set on his objective, never losing track of it. Adrenaline being pump by a ferocious heart, it was as if flames were blazing through his veins. A small glimmer of light illuminated this dark chamber, the positions of everyone in the room was made known.

Sensing his friend's sudden loss of morality, Julius felt an urge to encourage his friend. A mare swing of his blade sent a wave of wind across the room, the sound of it tearing through wood and stone.

"William, he wants us to fall to our fears. Conquer your demons and let us beat this beast. United we stand, divided we fall."
 
Wylliam violently shook his head. He's right, he thought, I can't be so selfish to allow my fears to take control. Wylliam returned his attention to the great beast before him. "Still, that's a really big spider," he said with the weakest chuckle of his life. Gripping his spear harder than he had ever done so, he raced at the mammoth arachnid, shouting, "I'm going to make you pay for being so unbelievably ugly!" Wylliam lept into the air, but was intercepted by one of the spider's great legs, and was thrown back, landing on his back next to Julius. "Okay," he wheezed, "I probably should have seen that coming." As Wylliam struggled to his feet, he saw the demon charging their position, its speed far disproportionate to its huge bulk.
 
Sword in hands, a courageous will flowing through his veins and blood filled with adrenaline, he soon found out this was his "cast at fate", the day he would face his destiny. His fingers holding tightly the hilt of his sword, all splattered, soaked with the blood of many and even his own blood. Eyes filled with a reddish flame, it was one of the purest emotions he could ever feel: he was willing to give it all away to save the soul of his loved one or die trying.

He swung his blade from left to right with his right hand, and pointed with his left hand to the gigantic spider before him. A monstrous fiend, feeding on the souls of many, their fears, hopes and lives. This was the moment of truth, when young men like us put our fears aside.

"The wind is blowing cold, have we lost our will to fight have we lost or fears to sorrow?"

Eyes closed, his breath slowed down, he sighed and unleashed his sight upon the beast, gazing upon his new enemy. "I will rise today, and I will change this world!!!"

Julius summed up his valor, his steel and his might, and cast himself to the unknown outcome. His legs propelled him as fast as the wind towards the great demon, he performed a giant leap that took him high onto the air. Eluding the beast's grasp by mere inches, Julius took this chance to land on the beast's torso and unleash a barrage of sword slashes.

The beast made little effort to take him of its back, and with a mete swing of one of its legs, the spider stroke Julius' torso and sent him flying against the farthest wall. He felt his body crashing against stone, some of his bones crushed by the impact, blood coming out of his mouth, one could assume he had an internal hemorrhage. Yet Julius feared not, for he came here to fight, and to succeed with his mission, he would push himself even to the verge of death.

"William! Master your fears! Do not let yourself be tempted by cowardice! Be brave young one! Be brave for those you love and for those innocent who rest peacefully on their beds. Fight for their future!"
 
Wylliam watched in horror as Julius' body crashed against the wall, the sound of bones cracking reverberating throughout the chamber. "No...," Wylliam gasped, his eyes beginning to water, "this can't be happening, NO!" Wylliam dropped to his knees, grabbing his head, his spear forgotten on the ground next to him. He looked though tear-dimmed eyes as Julius coughed blood. He knew he should help him, knew the spider which made its way steadily toward Julius would not hesitate in relieving the Crusader of his life. However, another look at the great spider drained Wylliam of resolve. We are going to die here, he thought to himself, resigned to his impending death, I'm not going to see you again, Skaol. "Wylliam! Master your fears!" a voice rang out. Wylliam looked about wildly, and saw, where he had just seen Julius, Skaol lying against the wall, yelling words of resolve. "Do not let yourself be tempted by cowardice! Be brave young one! Be brave for those you love and for those innocent who rest peacefully on their beds! Fight for their future!" Wylliam blinked and the illusion dissipated, Julius once more lying in pain against the wall. What am I doing?! he thought. Suddenly, something within him clicked.

Slowly, Wylliam rose to his feet, his body no longer trembling. Picking up his spear, he made his way to the hurt Julius. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he crouched to look him in the eye and smiled. "Thank you, my friend," he said in a quiet voice, "let me do the rest. Sit back and enjoy the show." Standing straight, he turned his back to Julius and faced the monstrocity. "This is my demon," he shouted, "and I'll bring it down!" For a second time, Wylliam rushed at the spider. "I am Wylliam Morgan!" he cried, "I am the Dragoon with the Wyvern Eye, and you are in my sights!" Wylliam leapt again at the spider, this time managing to avoid its leg. Landing on the head of the spider, he crouched down and leapt again with full force toward the ceiling. Turning in mid-air, he planted his feet firmly on the roof of the chamber. For one moment, everything was still. Then, as Wylliam gathered strength in his legs, time began to resume, and putting all of his might into his inversed leap, rocketed downward at his greatest fear incarnated. "I will live!" he roared as his strike connected. Wylliam's spear broke through the dense flesh of the beast, the resulting shockwave sending dust in every direction, reducing visibility to zero. A great scream echoed throughout the chamber as the beast made from the condensed souls of the fallen began to crumble. Finally the dust cleared, revealing Wylliam lying spread-eagle on his back in the center of the crater, his eyes staring listlessly at the ceiling. He turned his head slightly to see his hand grasping his miraculously intact spear, his eyes resting on the small cloth fastened below the head. Smiling, he closed his eyes and began to snore, unconciousness finally taking over.
 
Julius witness the power unleashed by William and was pleased. He knew that William would soon take his place within the Holy Order of the Sacred Knights, and would die with a clean conscience knowing that the knights will be left in good hands. But then, it happened. The torn flesh of the beast was enshrouded by a dark mass of energy, suddenly merging once again and emerging from death's door. "It can't be...."


Julius's eyes, slowly faint with the light of death shining within, gazed in horror to witness the demon's return, more powerful than ever. This time it was a ferocious half lion half eagle, 7 feet tall, clad in dark spiked armor and wielding a giant double edged sword.

"Something must be fueling its power....but what....ugh...."

Blood coughed, drops of that red vital fluid falling on his tarnished hands, life was slowly being drained from his mortal soul. Yet, he feared not, and mastered his inner demons, grabbing his sword and standing besides an unconscious William. Suddenly the underground temple shook violently, and Julius knew this meant their inevitable doom if they didn't escape in time. But, how they could escape with that beast before them?

"William! Wake up!"

The beast approached, Julius grabbed his friends body and eluded the monster's grasp. He then left his friend besides the exit of the room, and soon walked towards the beast in a failed attempt to draw all attention to him.

"Sorry William...but I am staying....you must live and my time has been long enough...."
 
The sudden tremor of the chamber was adequate stimulus to rouse Wylliam from his sleep. His eyes flew open as a second tremor rattled the subterrainian sanctuary, all vestages of sleep dispelled. Then his eyes found the monstrous creature. "Julius!" he yelled, hurrying to his feet, "What is that oversized chicken doing here?!" A third tremor, more powerful than the last two, rocked through the room, almost causing Wylliam to lose his balance. He then noticed Julius making his way to the beast. "W-wait! Forget that thing, we got to get out of here!" And soon, he thought, as a chunk of the ceiling the size of his head missed him by inches.
 
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