Chapter 49: The One of Noble Attempts

"I love rats, especially giant ones that can bite heads off." Frowned Imogen as she dodged to the side of the supposed rat.

"I don't have enough time to kill you... so I'll just cut off your legs." Cackled Imogen while slicing through the rat's back legs.

"Hopefully you can't run now, or at least not as fast as me!" Hollered as she ran through the spiralling caverns of mystery.

*𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭: 5 minutes left, better hurry; time is running out

"Oh thanks for the wonderful insight, it just warms my heart system!" Snarled Imogen while switching to her tick form for higher speeds.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐉𝐨𝐲: You're welcome, and because you were so thankful of me; I've caused the whole cave to collapse

"Wait what?" Inquired Imogen as gravity itself shifted, and Imogen was thrown into a wall causing the whole cavern to shake violently.

"You fricking jerk, WHY!" Screamed Imogen as she got tossed back onto the ground.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫: 3 minutes left, will you make it; or will I be able to crush you with a boulder!

"Curse my luck, I was chained to a sadist!" Cried Imogen while getting up, and feeling a stalagtite ram into her left eye.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 2 minutes left, and I can already picture your flattened corpse

"'Burn in the aether!'... Wait, that's not right." Suspired Imogen as she ran through the dreary caverns with unreal speed.

At this point even the walls were crumbling, with Imogen having to charge through great barricades of ancient stone just to move forward. And then the floor started to crumble, creating patches of missing rock which greatly hindered Imogen's speed.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞: 1 minute until I get to crush you, oh I can't wait; slow down!

"Just shut it already, the exit is in sight!" Snapped Imogen while pushing her legs to unhuman extremes.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Oh is it now, because the floor under you just broke; if the fall doesn't end you; I WILL!

"You can't do this, you're supposed to help keep me alive!" Fumed Imogen as the very rocks below her crumbled under her weight.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Yes I can, I can do anything I want to you as long as there is at least a 1% possibility you'll live through it

"But I can't live through this... I can already feel the cold ground that is to be my grave." Mumbled Imogen while closing her eyes, and striking the dead floor below.

~~~

"I feel your presence, just give up; and surrender already!" Chortled Augustine as he cleaved through a metal wall like melted butter.

"My blade needs to feed on your pathetic souls, he begs to taste your flesh; who are you to deny him of that!" Raged Augustine while chopping a bookself into shreads.

"The constant whispering... HE NEEDS TO FEED!" Shrieked Augustine as he held his head in pain, and a shadow darted out the doorway.

"YOU BASTARD, get back here; just give in already!" Wailed Augustine while crashing through the wall, and chasing after the figure an unquenchable urge for death.

"FINE!" "Be like that, there's plenty of other people left anyways; but I'll be back for you!" Fulminated Augustine as he turned, and left the panting Clarance alone in the darkness of the library.

"Phew, he almost had us there; it's a good thing that you learned how to mask your light." Coughed Clarence while petting Eiden gently on the forehead.

"I lied!" Guffawed Augustine as he stabbed Clarence in the back, and grinned like a maniac.

~~~

"Ugh... where am I, don't tell me that the gods robbed me of my eternal rest again!" Pouted Imogen, her random spouting bringing forth fruit. Treacherous fruit.

"Oh… Why hello mortal."

"It seems you were not able to properly enter the aether... most likely because you're not of my creation." Yawned Denair as they grabbed Imogen's ethereal form by the head, and brought her up to their face.

"Now, souls don't fit into the aether all the time, It's pretty normal; I just consume their essence."

"But you're not from my planet, or even from this galaxy in fact; and that peaked my interest." Smirked Denair while looking at Imogen with an amused face.

"Can't you consume me like the rest of those souls, I just want to die already for god's sake!" Griped Imogen as she tried to wriggle out of Denair's grasp.

"I could, but I'm not going to; well at least not yet." Chuckled Denair while tightening their grip on Imogen.

"Not until I know which bastard thinks they can put souls in my territory without consequence, so tell me young soul; what do you know?" Questioned Denair as they looked around the empty void with boredom.

"Well, I know the english alphabet, it ends with a Z, starts with an A; and has a J in it for some reason." Snickered Imogen while the bemused expression faded off Denair's lips.

"You insolent mortal!...You've managed to make my day exciting for the first time in years."

"You know, after all the other gods here died; I grew quite lonesome." Sighed Denair as their eyes filled with a longing for someone to talk to.

"But how does a god die? I thought they were immortal."

"Well, my father died of old age a little bit after he hit million, while my mother left on an expedition; and hasn't come back since." Lowered Denair while looking out at the comos with an ancient sadness.

"My uncle got in a fight with a higher tier god, but it didn't end well for him; and as for my wife... let's not talk about that shall we." Muttered Denair as Imogen suddenly felt a pang of pity strike her like a bullet.

"Anyways, now it's your turn to tell me about the gods who placed you here; and make sure you don't spare me a single detail." Ordered Denair while focusing all their attention on Imogen.

~~~

"Do you think The Omniscient One would mind if I took a small bite... like an arm, or a leg; maybe both." Salivated an Ancient One as he got his inching paw slapped away by one of his kin.

"I don't want to risk it, taking a bite is too dangerous, what his wound got infected; I don't know a single thing about how to treat human wounds!" Protested another Ancient One while slapping his brother in arms across the face.

"Oh fine, but what else am I supposed to do on this fucking ship; we have about another week before we reach The Omniscient One." Complained the Ancient One as he spotted a ship in the distance.

"Damn idiots, they're not even trying to hide their presence; Crimson One ship to the starboard bow!" Vociferated an Ancient One while the Crimson Ones rammed into their ship.

"I can see that you dolt, secure The Chosen One; and escape using their boat when they've boarded us!" Bellowed an Ancient One as four Crimson Ones jumped aboard.

"Nice plan you have there, now hand over The Chosen One; you're not going to escape with him anyways." Demanded the new Crimson Of Dawn while The Chosen One undid his bindings.

"Hah, keep on dreaming; we'll find a way out of this somehow." Declared an Ancient One as The Chosen One hopped onto The Crimson Ones' boat.

"Wait!" "The Chosen One is stealing your boat, go get him so we can take him back later!" Yelled an Ancient One while The Chosen One was reaching the helm of The Crimson Ones' ship.

"Your attempt at stalling is pathetic, and my patience has worn thin; attack!" Roared The Crimson Of Dawn as he, and many other Crimson Ones charged the Ancient Ones.

All the while this was happening, The Chosen One set forth to the strange land of Nodgein to start a new life; and enjoy freedom out of the grasps of war.

~~~

"Your majesty, it seems The Wyrm Wall has fallen; should we proceed with the attack!?" Bowed a general while looking at his king with reverence.

"Not yet." "How many times must I have to say this, you'll attack on my word; and my word only." Asserted the monarch as he looked at his servant with a calm, undisturbed face.

"Now be off with you, lest I find a suitable replacement to correct your wrong doings here." Grumbled the monarch while shutting his doors in front of the general's face.