62 The Light in the Darkness (1/2)

Will reached the end of the wood line faster than he would have thought possible, had it not been for his brief experience with flight. Maya had not let go of his hand the entire way to the clearing. He could feel her trembling slightly though their shared touch.

Ebonhart stood out like a looming raven in the darkness, as if it were an omen for Will to turn around. Even with a chill running down his spine, he knew the time had long passed where he could have run from this inevitability. He could see a lone figure on the city wall and knew almost instantly who it was.

”Are you ready for this?” Will asked as they slowed to a halt. He sent a squeeze of encouragement to Maya's hand. ”The sooner this is done, the sooner you can have that pizza.” Will gave his friend a halfhearted smile which she mirrored.

”Don't forget the movie and the dress,” She tried to sound upbeat. Maya gave him a wink as she looked down at her shredded dress. ”I think this one has lived far beyond its expiration date.”

”It's a date then.” Will said as his eyes returned to the lone figure on the wall. Giving Maya's hand one more squeeze of encouragement, he hesitantly let go and flew towards the city.

As he neared the wall, the darkness seemed to shroud him in an unnatural way. It felt as if the lack of light was enough to physically stop him from reaching his destination.

Will struggled forth by spilling a small portion of his aura to guide him to Aremesis. He knew by the vision of his father that he might have to use the same method of protection as he had been shown. For hours on the ground, he had practiced the same method of shielding until he had mastered it.

”Excellent job learning how to protect yourself, young prince.” Aremesis chuckled as Will approached. ”Your life expectancy has gone from two minutes to five.” He clapped his hands halfheartedly.

”Thanks for that.” Will said with his own mocking smile. ”All I've ever wanted was the approval of an evil overlord.” He gave a small sniffle and brushed away an invisible tear from his cheek. ”It must be my birthday.”

”You must realize how futile this is, brother.” Aremesis brought his hands to his sides. A sword of pure darkness materialized in an instant within his right hand. ”Light is finite, it must always return to darkness.”

Will felt the familiar burning sensation from around his neck as his cross beckoned to be released. Flames were released even before he could cup his hand around the pendant. Instantly, he was holding his gold and silver blade which had been his constant companion through all of his trials. ”Light may be finite,” He said as he held his blade to his side, matching Aremesis's stance. ”But darkness will always need the counterbalance of light, just as all life must end, so must the end give way to new life.”

”Always the riddler, Ragnos.” Aremesis spat at Will. ”Darkness reins within the hearts of all that live,” He raised his sword eye level with Will. ”You've seen it for yourself, all who follow you, love you, have the potential to betray you in the end. So stop spouting out all this idealistic crap and get out of my way!”

Will thought of Bianca and how she had acted when he had last seen her. Though her intentions were pure, she was willing to abandon thousands of people just for the sake of dragging him back to his old life. He thought of how hurt she looked when he turned her down, how resentful she could have become in the future.

”It doesn't matter to me how people live their lives.” Will said simply. ”People betray others all of the time under the guise of good intentions. No matter how long I live, I know there will be no end to the people who feel they know what's best for me. I know that sooner or later, yet another loved one will betray me once more under the impression that they are trying to help.” Will raised his sword to Aremesis's. ”But that's their choice, it's their lives, I am not going to be one to tell someone how to live.”

The blade of darkness started to shake slightly while stretched out to Will. Looking at Aremesis, he could make out a small smile as he heard chuckling. ”You really refuse to change then.” Aremesis clouded himself with darkness which dimmed Will's aura. ”Fine!” The darkness sword reached out from what seemed like nothingness an inch away from Will's face giving him only an instant to parry. ”You could never understand death's intentions!”

The blade retracted back into the cloud of darkness, disappearing in an instant. The blade came back with rapid succession, each time Will had a tough time dodging and parrying. There's no pattern to the attacks, he thought while trying to back away from the blade and gain ground in the assault.

Were it not for his aura, Will wouldn't have noticed in time. As he backed away, a blade of darkness protruded from thin air directly in the path he was planning to take. Using his elbow against the flat of his blade, Will was able to block from behind before being skewered.

”Don't let your guard down even for a second, brother.” A dark rumbling voice boomed from the dark cloud. ”You are not up against a dark flame wielder. You are challenging the god of darkness himself!”

Will couldn't relax for even a moment as the darkness blade picked up in speed, searching for any weak spots within his defense. He knew it would be impossible to switch to the offensive while on his own, his only hope was to hold off until his reinforcements arrived. He sent a silent prayer to Leo, hoping he had at least some luck gathering the rest of their Crusade. Hurry Leo, I can only hold him for so long.

Almost as fast as the thought had left his mind, the battlefield was bathed in light. It seemed like daylight had returned to Crystallia hours before it could have. Will could see the dark cloud in front of him shimmer slightly as the fierceness of the light attacked Aremesis.

”You had the right idea, Will,” he heard a familiar voice ring out from behind him. ”Just the wrong kind of light.” Will took advantage of Aremesis's sluggish movements to turn towards the source of the voice.

In the clearing of the trees, Will saw Leo flying towards him, followed by Maya and Bianca. Somehow, he had not been surprised to see his ex-girlfriend following behind. He had not expected her to stay away from the battle for too long. What he had not expected was the white staff with gold wiring that rested in her hands, nor the pure white and gold aura which surrounded her.

”You called for help?” Leo smirked as he launched himself into the fray. Even though Aremesis hesitated for a moment, The sword was once again at work, trying to skewer Will. Leo flew back to back with Will as he blocked, which gave Will few precious seconds to launch a counter attack.

As the two of them fended off Aremesis, Bianca stood back and tried to regain her strength. The previous fight on the way to the city had left her at less than half of her full power. The aura which had been given to her was not meant for direct combat as much as it was for support.

”I can do this all day, Ragnos.” Aremesis spoke from inside his dark cloud. ”The light eventually dies out, giving me more power to feed off. Your power is much more finite.”

Will knew he was telling the truth. Though the brief hesitation on the dark lord's part had given him some ground, maintaining momentum was slowly draining away his reserve power. Even then, he could feel his aura dimming slightly.

Looking for a way to break himself away from the frenzy, Will parried one more attack before grabbing Leo and flying at full speed away from the cloud. ”We need another plan of attack.” Will said while gulping in as much air as he could. He was draining fast and Leo could see it.

”Didn't you borrow power to fight against Jake before?” Leo asked as he regained his composure. If they kept fighting the way they had been, it would have been over long before the one-hour time limit had lapsed.

”Yes, but borrowing that much power would leave everyone else helpless while I try to defeat him, and besides,” Will looked at the cloud through his gold and crimson aura. ”Even if I were to borrow that much power, I'm not sure I'd be able to defeat him.”

You're looking at the problem the wrong way. Will heard an unfamiliar voice within his head. You're only focusing on one of the aspects of your gift, William. There is so much more you can do.

Who are you? Will tried to respond to the voice. He was getting tired of feeling like he had a multiple personality disorder most of the time. I already have Cainus and Jake in my head, could you kindly remove yourself before I go crazy?