Dark Sage

This story might make more sense if you read this
 http://storywritinggroup.blogspot.com/search/label/Agon

Introduction:

I wrote this because I felt I had characters that were thrown together. Characters that should've had a spotlight, but didn't. So this is the first of what I'm calling "Mini-Stories", stories that explore something other than what's going on in the original story. And what better place to start than the Villains!  Villains need origin stories too! Now some of these stories will build to something bigger, some won't. But instead of worrying about that. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

The Story:

Darkness. I am dead... was dead... why am I not dead?  All I remember is... August Summers. August Summers tearing into me like an animal. Why is it so dark? Why am I not dead?

Suddenly, a plumage of flame rises up. I try to move, nothing. I try to yell, nothing. I don't feel anything, no heat. Why am I not scared? I should be scared, for I know who it is "Satan" I whisper.

The flame starts to twist and twirl at the sound of its name. It takes shape... a head, it takes the shape of a head.

"Yes. I am called by many names..." I didn't say that. It did. "But it is interesting you chose that one." I'm not scared anymore. Somewhere I find courage to speak.

"I am a product of my time."

"But of which time?"

"... I am of many." I'm talking to the devil. Why am I not scared?

"That is exactly why you are here. I shall be blunt. If you confess your sins to me. I will give  you life."

"In exchange for?"

"You humans always want to know the catch. Fine. You will be a soldier in my army."

"An army?"

"An army for the right time."

"And if I choose not to accept?"

"Why do humans have obsessions with details? If you don't accept, your soul rots in the circles of hell. And you my friend, would be in more than one circle."

"If the circles are real, than you already know my sins. Why the need to confess?"

"To confess and accept your sins is to give up your soul. You won't have one when you go back to life. Now, enough questions! You must choose and I would do so wisely,"

"... I... accept."

"Splendid, Feng, apprentice of Long: Master Of Dragons, and Him: Lord of Darkness."

"Was Him one of your soldiers?"

"Explains the lifelessness doesn't it? Yes, that was... until you killed him. I can't bring back a person twice. There's not another soul to work with. Now... Confess already!"

I open my mouth to speak and a rush of cool air comes out. I know what it is.

"It started in... I've forgotten the year. Time has worn down on me for so long it has lost all meaning. My Master, Long, was working on his spell to steal Dragon power. I his apprentice had helped. Long had grown jealous of the Dragons power, and I... had grown jealous of him. One day he reached his goal, the one thing he had worked for all his life. The spell was right there, all one had to do was take it. Then I... I..."

"Justified to yourself that you deserved it more than him. After telling this to yourself you started to believe your own lies. Sad."

"I attacked Long, attempting to steal his work. I failed. Long cast me away, and soon forgot about me. So while he practiced his spell, while I began the search for a new master. It wasn't soon after that I found..."

"Him."

"Yes him, he showed a new magic, one I'd never seen before. Dark Magic, and it was more powerful than Long's craft. I accepted his offer even... even when... even when we practiced on human lives."


"Your first and original major sin."

"...? Once, on a day the Great Wall was being built. I came across  my former master. I watched and hid as he waved his wand and created a new room, within the wall! I continued to watch as he placed half of his very existence in his wand, left it in the wall, and finally, he sealed the entrance. Then he stumbled away, half the man he used to be. I immediately ran over and pushed the brick that granted entrance. There I saw it... Long's wand! Because I had helped to make it, I knew that the spell put the stolen powers into the wand! But as my hand reached to touch what was rightfully mine... a small bolt of electricity leapt out. shocking me. Long had placed spells to protect it. I left, deciding to come back at a better time. That better time as the next day, then the next,... then the next. Each day I came back and each day I got the same results.

Though over the course of those days... I reached a decision. One that drove me to madness... if I wasn't already. I decided to become immortal to wait out the spells. This spell was simple but also powerful dark magic, and all dark magic requires sacrifice. To extend the life of one, others must give theirs. Him was the first to die, 49 others followed."

"You have 51 major sins."

"...? I remembered everyone of them."

"Which just made it harder to cope with."

"I spent the rest of my life working low wage jobs, and visiting the wand every day. Time soon lost all meaning, there were only the moments between the next visit." I hear my self sigh. My tell is over. I hear the words

"Until...?"

"Until August Summers! Who swooped in and took the dragon's power, and with it... the only reason I was immortal. I was furious, raging! I had sacrificed everything... only for this snot nosed kid to take it all! That's when I..."

"Made another decision."

"Yes, I cast a reveal spell on August, found out where he lived and... and..."

"Burned it down. With him and his family inside."

"Yes" I said quietly. "But him and sister lived. His parents..."

"Your 52nd and 53rd major sins."

"But still I wanted to hurt him more. So when I found his sister on the streets, I brought her to live with me. I lied to that poor girl for two years. Just to spite him. Those years were just a blur with another life in it. I never even got to know her. Then one night I confronted Summers and he... he... killed me."

Now I'm finished, I feel... empty. But the devil laughs and I hear him say

"Oh what an entertaining story! Now tell me: why could August kill if you were immortal?"

"I think you know why."

"I want to here it from your mouth."

"Grrrr... the spell only kept me from aging or natural causes.. Being killed by something or someone is different."

"Hmm... guess that spell wasn't very truthfull. Now hold still! The pain will be brief."

"What pa- AUGHHH!" My head explodes with pain! I feel like I'm being torn apart. Then... I'm put back together. The sun... is bright... I am alive."

Gallatian: Cosmic Savior, Epilouge

I knew where I was before I even opened my eyes. Back where I had started. In front of the Creators, but this time they weren't cold and calculating. They seemed warm... and welcoming.

"Welcome..." they said... all at the same time... like last time... it was kind of annoying. "... and congratulations on defeating the Defender."

"What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're Creators, but it seems you created me for one purpose... what happens now?"

"That all depends."

"Thanks for the straight answer."

"We will answer any other questions. It's the least we can do."

"Alright... for starters: where are we?"

"We are speaking from within your mind."

"I guess that explains why I can talk normal... why do I talk like that?"

"It's a side effect of the auto-translation. Simply put: it makes you easier to translate?"

"Can you fix it?"

"No."

"But you're freaking gods! Why not?"

"We are Creators. That means we also have the weaknesses of creators. If you make a painting, do remake it changing one small detail?"

"No..."

"That's why."

"So what made the Defender go corrupt? Rogue programmer? Nuclear weapons? PURE EVIL!? My god it feel good to talk again!"

"Though your question trailed off. The answer is simple: us."

"What! Are you evil?!"

"No. You see it hurts to create new matter. Every. Time. So when one of our creations creates something... that could very well be the savior of the universe. We tried to use that potential and reprogrammed it. Though it sadly took the messages we gave it the wrong way. Much like you... but you didn't go rogue."

"That answer's not good enough."

"We are not perfect, Jeph."

"You should be. You're gods."

"Even gods aren't perfect."

"Story of my life."

"Now Jeph Wolfman, we have a question for you. Do you wish to die, or to continue as the universal savior?"

"You're giving me a choice."

"Yes. We trust you will do the right thing."

I thought "The right thing. Isn't that what I've been doing? I think so. Why stop now?"then I made the shortest decision ever.

"Yes, I will continue to save your creation."

"As expected. Now you might want to get back to Earth. You are needed."

"Wait needed? Needed for wh..." but the Creators faded away, and I found myself floating in space.

I thought "Earth? what's happening on Earth? Oh my god! All my friends and family. They're on..." and I was off speeding like a bullet. I was needed.

Gallatian: Cosmic Savior, Part 8

When I returned to Ca'Zak he was standing next to a (off) robot. I landed behind him, but he still hadn't noticed me. He was just staring at it, almost out of respect... or fear. I couldn't place it. The suit wouldn't let me speak again, so instead I reached out and tapped him on shoulder. He jumped up and was off like a bullet! I had expected him to turn around. After running about ten feet he finally turned around.

"Oh it's you..." he grinned kinda sheepishly. "You're probably wondering about the robot... Do you have the Energy Harvester?"

"Yes" I handed it over, and he stuck it into a small device on the ground. It looked like a small, metal hump. Almost like a bomb.

"Well the bot is here because of a certain science principle. You know how when set off a bomb there's always debris? Well same gos for a digital bomb, but we need a place for the debris to go. This body is where it gos and then you can destroy it."

"How can we be sure the Defender will be caught in the implosion?"

"That's the beauty of digital bombs. Unlike a real bomb you can target something and only that will be destroyed. What we're targeting is the Defender... of course."

"Is it ready to be set off?"

"Yep and as a plus this bot body has no weapons and the Defender will be considerably weakened. Are you ready?"

"... Detonate the bomb ."

"Yes Sir, Mr..."

"Wolfman. Jeph Wolfman."

"Yes Sir, Mr. Wolfman." he flicked a few switches and dived behind a rock. I on the other hand, relaxed and let the suit take over. The robot now known as the Defender eyes started to glow. Then it spoke.

"Ah the ever predictable Jeph Wolfman. Our paths cross again."

"I have been actively hunting you. Expect them to cross more."

"Your also the known to the Creators as Gallatian. I think of you as selfish."

"Selfish?"

"You shouldn't be confused. It's obvious really. The suit, the cosmic awareness, it draws to one conclusion: you are the universe."

"You've been studying me."

"Of course I have, know thy enemy. But back to you. To create you the Creators probably took a piece of the universe and sculpted it around your rotting carcass. You say you're trying to save the universe, but really you're only saving yourself. Typical human."

"Though why go through this much trouble to destroy the universe? Surely there's a reason."

"I've already told you that the stars and planets make up the universe. I'm destroying the parasite civilizations that use it as their war ground."

"I learned much from my travels, but the most important is that civilizations and cultures can create great beauty. As well as cause great destruction. There is a balance."

"There is very little beauty in what the monkeys create."

"You forget the monkeys created you."

"... That only proves my point." that's when I realized the Defender couldn't be reasoned with. Next I know I feel my fist hitting the cool metal.

I punched it again across the face, knocking it down. It recovered and swept my legs out from under me. As I went down it got up, and tried to stomp on me. I rolled away before it hit me and quickly got up. It came at me, throwing a wild swing, I ducked and elbowed it, causing it to stumble back. I let loose with a flurry of punches, but it never fell. I sent a final kick to chest that made it fly at least ten feet away, but it was able to get up because of the distance. It came back with another wild swing, but I ducked again and brought my arms back, charging a shockwave. I felt the energy ripple through my arms, the Defender saw it to, but it was too late. I threw my arms forward, the shockwave blasted forward, blowing the Defender back, and while he was flying I raised my arm and blasted him in mid air!

I stood still, watching as the body exploded. I was silent. Then I walked forward to see what happened. All that remained was the head. It spoke "Pl-please spare me." I stared at it for what felt like hours.

Then I said "You don't deserve it." Then I raised my arm again, and closed my eyes as the energy ripple happened again. I felt the energy disperse as if it came out of me. Then I opened my eyes. The head was destroyed. The Defender was dead, and I did it. I closed my eyes once more, and woke up... in front of the Creators.



  

     

Gallatian: Cosmic Savior, Part 7

It's kind of weird to dislike someone before you met them, but I was really disliking the Colms. They kind of bit the hand that fed them by starting a war with the Ba'Don. Then stealing a infinite power source to make weapons? That proved their greed, but I... the universe needed it more than them. They probably weren't going to like me either, seeing as how as was about to break in and steal their (stolen before me) stuff.

As I continued to soar, my wandered to the footage I had saw earlier. It really stuck with me... it'll probably stay with me to the grave (if I can die). But that's why I had to get the Energy Harvester, when I had first seen the Defender he was heading for Earth. What for? To give it the same fate as "The First Ba'Don Homeworld"? (I looked it up that's what the destroyed planet was called)

But then my mind went off topic again. This time I started to think about why the Defender would go rogue, but only one stuck with me. It's kind of human nature, to explain the unexplainable "What if..." I thought "...One the programmers changed it's... programming to protect the universe, not just the Ba'Don? It wouldn't explain why it thought the universe was nothing but stars and planets. 'Save the universe from the societies that destroy it isn't that what it said? Maybe that's why it destroyed the planet." I flew quietly, thoughtless for awhile. Kind of pleased with my theories. But something felt off, but there was no more time to think. I was at the factory.

I started to listen to the know-all sense. I hoped somebody (would it be some-colm?) was near the energy harvester. Thinking that made me realize how stupid the Colms were. They had a near infinite power source... and used it to power one factory? See? Stupid. Anyway I flew into the factory and straight into the center of it (the whisper said Bre'vort was doing repairs). It was pretty easy to get to the center, I just flew close to the ceiling. They never look up.

Finally I made it to the center, and there it was. The Energy Harvester, it was a sphere... that radiated energy. I could literally see it peeling off of the sphere, in bright orange bands.

I looked down Bre'vort was still doing repairs, though he didn't look like he knew what he was doing. I didn't want to kill him, but he needed to go. So I flew silently, until I was right above him. Then I stopped floating, landing right on. He crumpled over, making no noise as he went.

Now that Bre'vort was out I got a closer look. The Energy Harvester was on a pedestal in the middle of the room. At least they knew how to make things look cool. But slowly I realized what this was. The moment I had waited for since the span of my life. It was my "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" moment, and I wasn't about to pass it up! I leaned over and put my hands around it, sizing it up. Then I realized I had nothing to put in its place that was the exact weight, so I... grabbed it.

You know how there's a time for thinking and a time for doing? This was the first one because as soon as I took it a blaring noise went off. My head shook with pain, but then realized it was just the alarm. Then I thought to myself "Just the alarm! But the alarm brings..." suddenly heavily armed, hunks of metal stormed in. "... guards." It was the Colms... wearing armor.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"I don't know just shoot it!" they yelled. Heavy metal plates slid over the roof, I wasn't going that way. Once again control of myself was wrenched away, I... the suit blasted off at top speed, hovering a foot above the ground. The suit rammed me, through the guards sending them flying.

I didn't know which way to go, being shot at will do that, so I directed the suit down a random hallway when I came to one. More hallways, I chose right, bursting through the guards. A left, then right, then right. It soon became a blur of guards and halls. Then as I flew I noticed that some halls had more guards in front of them then others. I rammed into the one with five instead of three. I thought

"If the Colms are really stupid they'd have more guards blocking they exits." it was worth a try. I went with the left that had six, the right with four, the left with seven, all the while picking up more speed. I became a blur, the next batch of Colms didn't even see me. Finally, I came to the exit, but a final wave blocking had twelve guards!

"Hold your ground..." said what looked like a commander. "He's not getting through us... FIRE YOU IDIOTS!" guns began to go off, I ignored the ringing in my ears and kept going. On a complete instinct, I pulled my arms back. Energy began to charge. Another instinct told me throw them forward. I did. A massive shockwave spiraled from my hands! Energy fizzled and popped... and more importantly I blew the guards back onto their backs. I put on a extra burst of speedand flew straight out the open door. I had one thought as I flew back to Ca'Zak "Did I just... win?"