Anima, Ch.17: The Dark God

[Anima, Ch.17: The Dark God]
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--01-- [Scene-- Tir Chonaill?] <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light> {SFX: lightning}
The overcast sky seemed to be growing darker and angrier by the minute. As if to emphasize the
dire situation we were in, a roar of thunder from not-so-distant lightning swept past us.



--02-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
I stared at the young man who called himself Dougal. "You're Glas Ghaibhleann, aren't you?"




--03-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
Figured it out, huh? You're right, in a sense.
The people of your world once called me that.
I'm also a soul from another world, just like yourself.


--04-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
I came to reclaim my body that was summoned here against my will, but ended up in the body of
the last human in this world. The Fomors let this one crippled boy live, for a single purpose.



--05-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
They left this poor wretch alive as a trap for my spirit, so they could use my body as a living weapon,
knowing that I'd be harmless in this weak form.
I can't even walk, let alone take my body back.


--06-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
I don't want my body to be used to destroy an entire world.
I just want to go back home.
The Goddess probably sent you to me fully aware of all this.


--07-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
"She probably did," Devin said. "Uh, she said to give you this."
He handed the pendant he'd received from the Goddess to Dougal.
Dougal takes it, and looks it over.


--08-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
Ah. Yes. I can modify this so it will take you to my true body.
When you find my body...you'll have to destroy it.



--09-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light> {SFX: lightning}
Dougal traced his index finger around the edge of the pendant, and it started to glow.
"Destroy it?!" Vivian asked. "But then what happens to you?"
More thunder swept past us.


--10-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
Do you really have the luxury of being worried about me when your world is in such peril?
It's the only option left.
Destroy my body, and you'll not only save your world, you'll set me free.


--11-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
Can you make me a promise?
Can you promise you will defeat my body, and set my spirit free, so I can return to where I belong?



--12-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light> {SFX: lightning}
"We'll do our best," Devin said.
Dougal handed the pendant back to him, now glowing with a sickly yellowish-green light.
A light rain began to fall as more thunder roared, louder this time.


--13-- <BGM: O Glorious Sword of Light>
(Dougal)
Use this at the dungeon then. If you saved the Goddess, you might have a chance.
Now hurry. You don't have much time left before my body is sent to your world.



--14--
We ran back to the dungeon. I felt light as a feather, brimming with energy.
I'm starting to think that when Morrighan said to 'go with her blessing,' she meant it in a very literal sense.



--15--
We stood before the altar again. "This is it," Devin said. "Ready?"
"Yeah. Everything's resting on us," Vivian affirmed.
I sighed. "I never saw myself saving the world, but here I am. Let's go."


--16-- [Scene: Peaca Dungeon (stand-in for Albey which isn't an option)] <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
Devin pressed the glowing pendant to the altar, and the ever-unsettling feeling of being translocated
swept over us. We found ourselves in a dark, forboding place.
The stale air smelled of decay.


--17-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
Morrighan's 'blessing' must be having more effect than I'd thought.
Normally I'd be terrified in a place like this, but all I'm feeling
is the resolve and determination to see this though to the end.


--18-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
"...how are you two feeling right now?" I asked.
"Like I could take on the world," Vivian enthused.
"Better than I have in a long time," Devin said. "What's your point?"


--19-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
"Morrighan did something to us, with her 'blessing'," I explained. "Maybe she just felt we'd need it
to be able to fight Glas Ghaibhleann, but a part of me can't help but question her motives."



--20-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
"Huh." Devin pondered. "Well, regardless of why, she's helping us, and it doesn't change the fact
that we've got to stop Glas Ghaibhleann. I'll save my questions for when Erinn is safe."



--21-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
The ominous dungeon seemed to go on forever, room after room, floor after floor, populated by virtually
every manner of Fomor and beast my companions and I had ever fought in the dungeons of Uladh.



--22-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
We fought on, regardless. I lost track of time. It felt like hours. Our strength and resolve
did not waver, though, thanks to the divine power that Morrighan had bestowed on us.



--23-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
By the fifth floor, I started to hear howls and screams from the depths, which couldn't possibly
be coming from anything human. Was this...Glas Ghaibhleann?



--24-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
At last we reached a huge, sinister-looking door. My body was starting to protest being pushed far
beyond its limits. Morrighan's power might be stopping the pain, but I felt...weakness setting in.



--25-- <BGM: Unspeakable Evil>
"I guess this is it," Devin said, resigned to whatever might come.
Vivian and I merely nodded. What more needed to be said?
We opened the black iron door, ready to face our destiny...


--26-- <BGM: Scene 03>
Beyond the door, we saw a knight in black armor, an old man in a red robe, and...Morrighan?
And something else...
There was a colossal abomination in the back of the room...


--27-- <BGM: Death March>
The humanoid creature was near twenty feet tall, clad in leather and metal armor, with four arms,
and two ragged wings extending from its back.
It was crouched before a massive pile of...gold coins?


--28-- <BGM: Death March>
It was *eating* them, using all four hands to scoop up the gold and shove the shimmering metal
into its ravenous mouth. Between bites and gulps, the monstrosity gave out snarls and growls.



--29-- <BGM: Death March>
(Morgant)
Ah, we have guests. Uninvited guests...
...You've come very far, but you're much too late to prevent the resurrection of Glas Ghaibhleann.



--30-- <BGM: Death March>
(!Morrighan)
Behold, the Avatar of Destruction, given life once more...
I commend you for coming here... As your reward, you shall watch your future's end...



--31-- <BGM: Death March>
Devin pointed an arrow accusingly at the doppelganger of the 'Goddess' before us.
"You're not Morrighan!" he shouts.



--32-- <BGM: Death March>
(!Morrighan)
So, you are aware...? Very well...




--33-- <BGM: Death March> {SFX: lightning}
(Cichol)
Let us end this charade then.




--34-- <BGM: Death March>
The apparition of Morrighan was replaced by a figure completely cloaked in black,
face concealed, with pure white wings.
Its masked gaze fell upon me, and its unseen stare filled me with dread...


--35-- <BGM: Death March>
(Cichol)
You have arrived just in time to bear witness to our triumph.
The nexus between worlds is complete...
Once Glas Ghaibhleann has sated its hunger for gold, I shall send it to feast on destruction.


--36-- <BGM: Death March>
(Morgant)
The day we have long awaited...the last hours of Erinn...
The time has come.
Consider it an act of mercy that you'll be spared the nightmare of seeing your world perish in flames.


--37-- <BGM: Death March>
(Cichol)
Hahaha... Since you made it here, you have proven yourselves worthy of being the first victims of
Glas Ghaibhleann... A fitting prelude to the end of humanity...



--38-- <BGM: Death March>
(Mores)
....I'm sorry.




--39-- <BGM: The Beginning and the End of Tragedy>
The dark white-winged being, black knight, and wizard vanished. Across the chamber, Glas Ghaibhleann
howled, an inhuman shrieking warcry that sent a chill up my spine despite Morrighan's 'blessing.'



--40-- <BGM: The Beginning and the End of Tragedy>
The four-armed titan stood up from the huge pile of gold coins it had been intently devouring,
picking up two colossal swords with its lower arms, then turned to face us.

...I'm not ready for this.

[chapter end]