My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror - Chapter 291 (Patreon)

Days ground by. Under the tutelage of all the professors, the small teams improved at a rapid rate. While their progress was fantastic, Damien’s attempts to avoid Hilla were becoming more and more strained.

A blind man could have seen the tension that was building in the camp, but nobody dared broach the subject. And so, the training continued. Damien and Sylph spent all the time either sparring each other or one of the professors.

Sylph did her best to keep Hilla’s attention away from Damien whenever there was a free moment, but it was clear that Hilla wasn’t buying it. She was polite enough to avoid pushing too hard, but there was only so long that would last and they all knew it.

On the morning of the sixth day of training, Damien awoke long before the sun rose. He sat inside the tent, peering out through the thin flap into the dark camp. Sylph slipped up beside him.

“I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up,” she said in a low voice. “Your mom isn’t going to let things slide forever.”

“I know.” Damien’s hands clenched. “But what am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m the right person to offer advice there. I’ll just help you do whatever you feel is best, even if it might not be the optimal solution.”

Damien gave her a small smile. “Thanks. At least there are only a few more days of this left. We can get away once we go to take care of the Corruption Seed.”

“Again, I’m not the right person, but I’m not sure it’s healthy to be looking forward to fighting a conglomeration of suffering human souls.” Sylph put her hands on Damien’s shoulders. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m probably already doing something stupid, but I have no plans of letting myself get killed. We can’t afford to let that happen until the Corruption and the Void are both dealt with. Especially considering it’s partially my fault that things have gotten this bad.”

“Come on,” Henry said, slipping out of Damien’s shadow. “You can’t blame yourself for that. I wouldn’t have ever existed if you’d failed to force Herald into a deal. Wouldn’t that have been a tragedy?”

Damien snorted. “Yeah. I suppose it would have been. I don’t suppose you’ve got any advice for me and what I should do about Hil- ah, my mom?”

“The memories are gone,” Henry replied, his grin fading. “There’s nothing to be recovered, Damien. The boy Hilla knew is dead. The Faceless killed him. Either leave things as they are, or make new memories. I’m looking to try out a few last things, but I wouldn’t hold out hope.”

“That’s dark. So you think I should just tell her the truth? That I don’t remember her at all?”

“Maybe someday,” Henry said. “Given what I know of her, she’ll take the news very poorly. It might impact her ability to fight the Corruption. It would be better to find a way to placate her until the fighting is over. Sylph is right about you not being able to keep this secret running forever, though.”

Damien grunted. “We’ll see.”

***

It Who Shatters the Earth was dead. Its corpse laid on the cold stone, blood pooling around the body it had taken. Limbs jutted out at odd angles and an enormous chunk of its chest was missing.

Moon stood above it, his hand clenched around the creature’s slowly stilling heart. Chains of Void magic twisted around it, constricting the fleshy organ and squeezing it into a small pinprick.

He stepped over the Void creature, his black cloak rippling behind him as he walked deeper into the earth. His senses brushed across another Voidling and Moon’s lips pressed thin. He shimmered, reappearing dozens of meters below in a cavern.

It Who Burns the Sky stood, his arms crossed behind his back, awaiting his arrival. The tall, lanky man had sharp eyebrows and smoldering red eyes. The Void creature had certainly taken care of its body. If Moon didn’t know better, he would have suspected that it actually enjoyed its mortal form.

“Moon,” Sky said. “We thought you dead.”

“I do not die so easily. Sun protects me, even in death.”

“Sun would do no such thing if he knew of what you have become. You have sided with the Corruption. Your actions threaten to doom the Mortal Plane. Have you truly lost all traces of what wisdom you once had?”

Moon’s hands tightened and his lips trembled in fury. “Do not sully Sun’s name with your vile lips, Voidling. He gave his life to ensure I could carry on our mission, and I plan to do it. There are precious few Void creatures who understand their true purpose. You are all worse off for his loss.”

“He was incomplete. He failed to complete his purpose. It Who Swallows the Sun should never have existed. The Faceless should have removed it as soon as its emotions were discovered. The Void must be impartial. It must be absolute. These failures are why the Corruption was allowed to take root in this Cycle.”

“The Corruption that you created,” Moon replied. “Second is mad, but he is not a fool. The Cycle is flawed. Your inability to recognize that simply proves that you are not worthy to guard the Cycle.”

“And you believe yourself to be the solution? You? A flawed, broken mortal who death trails like a trained dog? You have no soul, Moon. You are nothing but a hollow shell that seeks the destruction of the Eight Planes.”

“Me? No. I am not the solution,” Moon said with a dry laugh. He pulled his cloak back, revealing a sickly green scar stretching across his chest. It slowly crept across his body, digging itself deeper into him. “I will not even be around to see this Cycle end. Sun’s last gift gave me little, but it is more than enough to ensure those that come after me will end this travesty once and for all.”

“You are delusional.” Fire flickered around Sky’s arms, twisting up his body and forming into two large swords in his hands. “I will end you in the name of the Faceless. Coming here wounded was the last mistake you will make.”

“You will die, just like all those that came before you. After you, there is only one more task left to me. I will pave the way, Voidling.” Moon’s tattoos lit all across his body. Void magic shook the air around him, churning through his body with such intensity that the stone beneath his feet trembled. “Allow me to guide you into the great beyond.”

***

Every second was agony. Each individual fiber of Second’s being screamed. His body longed to fray apart and give into oblivion. More than almost anything else, he longed to pass into oblivion.

Almost anything.

More than the pain that profused his being. More than the molten acid that pumped through his artificial veins. More than the exhaustion of the abuse he put his mental energy through to keep his body together with Ether. More than anything else, Second would not allow himself to rest until the Cycle was gone.

The voices of millions of suffering souls called to him. They wailed in endless agony from what the Void had done to them. What the Void would do to them, as soon as he faltered for even an instant.

Second drew a slow breath and forced it back out of his lips. The motion was entirely unnecessary. This body had no need for oxygen. It needed nothing but Ether. Yet, somehow, breathing managed to help him keep his connection to the Mortal Plane.

He didn’t have to hold on much longer. Even with the heavy losses his Corruption Seeds had suffered, they had spread throughout the Mortal Plane. Their numbers grew with every passing day, and the meagre opposition the mortals put up did little to slow him.

They would thank him, once they discovered the alternative. Death now was vastly preferrable to an eternity in the cracks of the universe. Once the Planes were one, there would be no more suffering.

Second flickered through the streams of information flooding into him from the Corruption spread across the plane. The Voidlings had yet to make their move, and Second needed to know why.

The chances of them partnering with Damien and It Who Heralds the End of all Light were unfathomably low, but Second wasn’t willing to take any risks. The boy had to die before he could properly deal with the Faceless’ dogs.

Damien was growing at a disturbing rate. Second could afford him no more time. He needed to bring his full force to bear. It was time to gather the Corruption. If Damien had been anyone else, Second might have been concerned about forcing them to fight.

Luckily, Second knew Damien. He knew him well. He knew that Damien wouldn’t abandon his fellow mortals to their fates. That was his nature. A tiny flicker of a grin passed over Second’s face before it vanished once more. That was his nature too. Damien would understand, if his soul survived the compression of the Eight Planes.

Second sent a command out to every single Corrupted creature on the Mortal Plane. If the Void wouldn’t make the next move, then he would. It was time to start the final war of the Mortal Plane.

And, once it was over, Damien Vale would be dead. The rest of the Void would fall before his uncontested might, and then he could finally rest. He couldn’t afford to let any other future come to pass.

The mortals needed him, even if they didn’t realize it yet.