Ch19-4: Chaosfall

Please… let me be strong enough…

AsaHi gripped the thick white mane in both of her hands, laying flat against the huge white Dragon’s back. All at once she felt very tiny and very vast – she was both the rider and the Dragon. She could feel and breathe the world with the immense senses of the Dreigiau. But at the same time, she knew that she was just the small, clinging and frightened girl on his back.

Please let me know what to do if Chaos comes…

Dragons and monsters swept around them on every side. Streaks of red flame. Flashes of dark lightning. Blood-freezing screeches and ear-shattering roars. All of it moved around her with an unreal quality.

Her mind flickered back to thinking about SoYa… where he was. What he would do through the battle. She was certain that KaiShi would never allow any harm come to him. But the girl still couldn’t help but worry about him. Afterall, Brunswik’s reports had not been exaggerated.

The Esgyll were far bigger and more dangerous than the ones that she had seen before. Obviously, they had been tweaked to better enable them to fight against Zemi’s Dragons. Everything had been altered — from their size, speed, to their new ability to shoot crackling dark lightning. And it made AsaHi all the more afraid.

Zeromus is learning how to enhance his monsters. Learning from his mistakes. He’s adjusting and changing things.

She probably shouldn’t have been surprised by this. Afterall, Zeromus was once an Arweinydd, like Zemi. Though, unlike the Trine, he was wickedly clever… using his power and influence to take control, consume and twist everything he came in contact with.

And now they were flying straight into the grasps of that darkness. Straight into the core of Chaos itself. Though how they could challenge such a power, AsaHi didn’t know. Their last struggle against Zeromus had only ended when Zemi fled the battle. Anything that he had attempted to do against the power of Chaos had only swayed his own energies towards destruction.

How do we fight it… how? Even if it is just to hold Chaos back for a little longer?

A crack of sharp lightning struck so close that AsaHi could feel the electricity. The sky had grown restless, dark and churning, everything circling around them. The girl realized that they had flown far from the reaches of the main battle, deeper into the heart of the shadows where Zemi was the only point of light that she could see.

Her slender hands gripped Zemi’s mane as she fought to keep the pressing fear from overwhelming her spirit. Everywhere surrounding her was a feeling of terrible dread and hopelessness. That which would consume light and beauty.

That’s when she realized that Zemi hadn’t spoken a word in a long time. In fact, despite all of her conflicting emotion, he had sent her no feeling of support or comfort.

“Zemi! Where are we going?” her voice was tiny in the midst of the violent cloudbursts. Lightning cracked again, so close to striking that it was deflected from Zemi’s own personal energy shields.

-We have to stop this.-

The girl was startled at the sound within her mind. It was the first time in a long time that Zemi had spoken to her through thoughts rather than words. Leaning forward, she could make out the wedge-shape head of the Dragon, pointing skyward.  Something about it looked different. More feral… less Zemi.

Chaos is drawing him in! And I couldn’t even feel it!

Fear leapt into her heart as she realized, she couldn’t feel much at all from Zemi. AsaHi instantly leaned across his neck, pulling hard on his mane, fighting to pull his attention away from the forces she knew were battling inside of his heart, “No! Zemi! Wait! We can’t take on the Chaos one on one! You know that!”

-I can stop this! I am Zemi Dreigiau! Zeromus will NOT threaten my people while I stand idle and watch!-

His lips curled back in a snarl, wings stretching ever wider, pushing them ahead faster.

“Zemi!” the girl began to feel desperate. “This isn’t about power, remember! We’re not supposed to take on Zeromus. We’re supposed to protect the Islands until Lucci gets here!”

- I have the power. Even if I am Rhoi’r, I am no weakling! I do not need to rely on the strength of a mere boy-Sygnus to win my battles!-

“No one is questioning your strength, Zemi!”

-Zeromus thinks that he can take my people from me!-

“He can’t take anything from you Zemi… we choose to stay with you. We choose to fight with you. But neither you nor Zeromus can own us,” she told him, fighting to keep a level voice. “We talked about that, remember?”

-I will own and take what I very well please! And no Earthian will tell me different!- The Dreigiau responded with a deep rumble that shook her to the marrow.

“Zemi! Listen to yourself!” this time she did raise her voice. “You’re starting to sound exactly like Zeromus! Is that what you want to be? No better than him?!”

This isn’t working! He’s not listening to me!

-Who do you think you are to challenge the will of the Patron of Nefol!- The huge white Dragon let up a tremendous roar, displeased by her warnings and words.

His flight had become erratic, his mind shut away from her connection, reaching for the call and temptation of the Chaos. As much as dismay filled her, she knew she had to fight it where he could not… that she couldn’t take his words to heart. That it wasn’t Zemi talking now.

“I’m someone who cares about you, Zemi. Someone who cares a lot,” AsaHi grit her teeth, hands struggling to keep hold. It almost felt as if the howling winds around them were trying to rip her from the Dreigiau’s back.

-You don’t care about me. You love SoYa!-

The voice in her head was so bitter. So accusatory. She had never heard Zemi speak with so much spite and anger. Stunned, AsaHi found herself without words. Stung, she fought to blink back the tears in her eyes. She had no idea that Zemi was still so angry about the situation … he had led her to believe that things would be okay. That he had accepted it.

-Then what I say is true.-

“No… no… Zemi… I.. I do care about you!” she choked on the words. “And I’m really scared for you right now.”

-Prove it.-

AsaHi straightened, a panic filling her. The last thing that she had expected coming there was for her motives and feelings to be questioned. “If I don’t care about you, then why am I here?”

A rumble was her response. As if the Dreigiau was trying to find a retort against it.

“It’s safer to go with SoYa… instead of facing down the void of Chaos with an Arweinydd who is about to lose his head!” her voice grew louder in her ears. “So why would I choose to put myself into a position where I know that I’m going to be the only thing between you and the Chaos?”

Another rumble.

“I’m just an Earthian, like you said before. Don’t you think I get scared?  Don’t you think I feel little when I’m out here in the middle of all these huge things — including you?” AsaHi began to shout to be heard as the winds grew more aggressive around them. “So, why am out here? Why? Maybe it’s because I do care about you in some crazy way?”

The rumbling became more distinct. As if the Dreigiau was trying for spoken words.

“Maybe I always have? I’ve made a Promise to SoYa… but that doesn’t mean that I love only one person in the world completely. It doesn’t mean that I can’t love other people, too,” she was flat out yelling now. “There are different kinds of love in the world! Not all of them end in Promises and Bondings but they are just as valid! And at the risk of being misunderstood… I do love you, Zemi Dreigiau!”

The words cracked across the clouds like thunder, stunning the girl with their power and intensity. The winds moaned and reeled, and as AsaHi watched, the top of the cloud bank suddenly gave way to monstrous, Chaotic form. A huge dark claw swung out at her, striking her from the protection of Zemi’s back.

AsaHi screamed. She was falling fast. Down through the flaming churn of Chaos. Pain wracked her body as thousands of terrible claws slashed through her face, torso and limbs, leaving long gashes of bleeding red as she fell. But her mind was on the Dreigiau that she had left… and what would happen to him now that the connection had been broken. Now that she was no longer there.

Zemi!!!

Suddenly, a voice filled her head. It was so overwhelming, so painful that all other thoughts fled from her mind. It was a voice that she had heard once before… terrible and hateful. The voice of Zeromus.

-YOU CANNOT SAVE HIM, EARTHIAN GIRL-CHILD. YOUR LOVE IS MEANINGLESS. YOUR MEDDLING IN THE STRUGGLES OF ARWEINYDD ENDS HERE!-

But another sound met her ears. A sound from without. A great, powerful voice… calling her name.

“ASAHI!!!”

Though her vision was blurry, the girl managed to tilt her head to look up. Everything was white, warm and brilliant, bursting through the darkness of the clouds… the form of the Dreigiau spread great and luminous as he dove with maw wide open. She realized…

Zemi is trying to catch me?

Despite what the Chaos would want him to believe and feel and do. Despite the fact that his brother-enemy was there to do battle… and only a moment ago, Chaos had convinced him to strike out. Instead, Zemi chose to save her.

There was clarity in the light in his eyes as he sped downwards, wings folded. Everywhere his light passed, the claws of shadows burst away, Chaos pushed back by Zemi’s intense will and emotion. For now, AsaHi could feel it in full… true emotion filling the Arweinydd’s heart and spirit. An emotion that he may not completely understand… but one that he had completely embraced. And in doing so, something about him had grown… in character, in strength and in ability to hold back the darkness that reached for his soul.

“AsaHi…” Zemi’s voice was gentle and calming as he swooped towards her. His huge claws reached out, carefully catching her between his cupped palms and drawing her closer to his chest.

The motion was so strikingly Earthian that AsaHi was lost for words. All she could do was hold on to him, relief flooding her mind… and soaking into his as she felt the connection return between them.

A vast, contemptful growl shook the skies above them as the clouds of Chaos drew inwards again, exposing the wavery, monstrous form of  Zeromus. It was as AsaHi remembered… long streams of blue, tainted black… but this time he was enormous, spreading across the reaches of the sky and trailing out into the clouds.

Her breath caught in her throat. And though she was safe within the hold of the Dreigiau, she felt a cold dread fill her mind.

-ZEMI DREIGIAU. YOU WILL FACE ME!-

“No! I will not fight you!” Zemi responded between clenched fangs. Any desire to battle was clearly gone. No longer did the Chaos tempt him to violence.

-YOU HAVE BECOME WEAK! THE EARTHIANS HAVE STOLEN YOUR PURPOSE AND VISION. THEY HAVE FILLED YOUR MIND WITH THEIR FEELINGS… EMOTIONS… THINGS THAT WILL BE YOUR UNDOING.-

“The Earthians have done nothing to me. I have chosen to become what I have! Their ways are far superior to ours,” the Dreigiau snapped back, holding AsaHi a little closer as he did.

-THEY HAVE DRIVEN YOU MAD.-

“Mad? MAD? You talk to me about madness! Have you looked at what you’ve become?”

-YOU CANNOT SEE IT. MY SORROW GOES OUT TO YOU, BROTHER.-

“Do not call me brother! You are no longer any brother of mine,” Zemi snarled, head lowering.

-THESE THINGS ARE BUT FLEETING, ZEMI. THESE PEOPLE WILL PASS. THIS WORLD WILL WITHER. YOU CANNOT HOLD ON TO THE THINGS YOU LOVE… EVEN THAT GIRL WILL VANISH ONE DAY. AND YOU WILL BE ALONE.-

The Arweinydd choked at the thought. It was obviously something that he had considered before. But his voice came back strong as he responded, “That will not keep me from caring about them… or this world.”

-YOU HAVE SET YOURSELF UP FOR DESTRUCTION, ZEMI. THERE IS NO WHERE LEFT TO GO BUT DOWN… LET ME DEMONSTRATE THE FUTILITY OF THIS FADING EARTHIAN WORLD…-

“What?” AsaHi gasped, a chill rushing through her body at the words.

It happened so fast, there was nothing that anyone, not even Zemi could do to stop it. As they had been talking, the clouds of Chaos had been drawing energy in, strengthening, readying for the great strike. Bolts of darkness leapt from the sky, streaming down from every direction above.

“NO!!” a shout burst from her lips as she lunged forward, holding fast to the white Dragon’s claws. Horror written on her face, all she could do was watch.

The bolts of Chaos struck, one after another after another, pounding from all sides at the fragile faces of the Isles of Ceiswyr. Smaller islands simply burst into a spray of stone and dirt. Larger islands began to burn, then crack, huge pieces of land falling away and raining down from the sky. Though they were too far away to hear the alarms in the Compounds or the screams of the frightened, dying men, AsaHi could feel it. She could feel them all through Zemi’s senses.

Every blow the Islands took. Every life that was lost. The Dreigiau flinched, responding like someone in terrible physical pain. Zemi cried out, reeling back, the cry of something being ripped apart from inside out. An Earthian cry of absolute torment and agony. A cry that rose, mingled with the voiceless cry of dying Ceiswyr.

“Zemi!!!” AsaHi called frantically, her hands clutching her head. Trying to shield herself from the overwhelming waves of pain that flooded her senses. Then suddenly, it was gone.

And with the silence, came the sensation of falling.

The girl opened her eyes, staring straight into Zemi’s colorless face. He was no longer a Dragon, no longer aware… Stripped of strength and power by the profound loss of all he had created. The loss of his people. The loss of their homelands.

The Dreigiau was now falling. Just as Ceiswyr had.

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