Chapter 42
Tergon's sword struck like thunder and the avalanche residing within him tore out from his being, consuming the entire arena, it's burning waves made the ether quake and quiver, exhuming that explosion which swept across the distance, the storm then died away.
Still, the clanging of swords, battle-axe and shield persisted, Tergon ramming furious blows upon his opponent who staggered backwards, battling to keep his balance. Swirling around, Tergon launched a kick which struck the warrior's wrist, sending his battle-axe flying into the air, ramming the warrior with his shield, the impact threw Tergon's opponent staggering backwards, with Tergon rising into the air like a soaring eagle, then goring upon his prey, his blade cut through the warrior's raised sword, burying itself into his entrails, the warrior's being faded into a burning wind of ash.
Rising to his feet, armour and blade steaming, Tergon's eyes blazed, ignited with the fury of the burning seas still rising within him, it was a tsunami at large, crashing against the barricades of his being. They wanted to be set free, free from the bondage of dormancy. The volcanoes of battle were bursting with lava, all they needed was a sea of blades.
"You all", Tergon roared, "are being challenged by me to battle !"
Charging at the group of nine warriors, Tergon was burning with the will to end all of this ; this arena, this battle, was now fusing harmoniously with his being - the harmony of discord. Such conflicting rhythms were melodious, only to the ears and hearts of those who could interpret it's tune. The lines danced along with the flashes of blades, crashing of shields, armour and thunder and the streaks of astral lightning engulfed the expanse in its marmoreal rays, fueling this arena with its turbulent waves. All fighters battled within the depths of this awakening sea and who were they ? They were war.
Tergon's blade slashed fiercely as he parried the blows of all nine warriors, challengers who had once sent him bleeding on his knees, now they were going to face the wrath of his new form. The thrill of war was to intricate to be understood, it was a sensation that could only be lived not felt and he was living it. Those burning seas erupted from Tergon’s being, howling to the skies, he rose like a tornado, higher and ever soaring then came down as a falling sky of burning hills, crashing upon this arena, their fangs boring into its astral foundations, making their depths shatter. Exhuming that rising sea of opalescent waves which engulfed this terrain and the inverse took form, with everything becoming a miniature, this realm diminished in size within Tergon's flaring eyes that tore open, revealing to his vision that battlefield that he once knew.
Rising to his feet, Tergon saw his army falling upon the enemy's fleet, sending them crashing in a symphony of flames. But that emerald wall was still stood before him, remembering that he had previously tried to break it with no success. But, this time, he felt his being quaking for another try, for another surge, for another life and it burnt. Those breaths igniting something within him, those sensations which he had attained from the duel with the eleven knights and they birthed themselves once again, their fangs laboring as they gnawed at every part of his being made Tergon scream. His voice rising like a storm, resulted in the trembling of the astral skies and they descended on him from above, that rain of burning halos. Fierce and mighty, he got drowned within their waves.
Tergon's eyes opened, unveiling that burning ocean surrounding him as he sank deeper into its depths, he felt it's waves boring its fangs into his being, they stung like piercing needles that intensified to the sensation of mighty tentacles digging into his soul. His voice rose to the skies making the ocean quiver, that flood of ideograms emerged, etching themselves into his being, they condensed into an armour, donning him in their burning plates.
His soul and body was at the verge of bursting and tearing apart, but willing himself to persevere, Tergon allowed his instincts to lead him through this transition. Awakening his subconsciousness, Tergon clung to the frail threads of life as his being raved and burnt, his skin sloughing away infinitely, paving the way for a new form to emerge, a form who's very breath was battle, a form who's very soul was war.
Tergon clenched his fists as he crouched into a ball, he tightened his jaws and closed his eyes as he unconsciously transcended. Transforming, he wasn't holding onto the reins of his mind but the frail threads of a blinded and struggling will. He knew giving up would spell doom for him, so letting go of the resistance was the only was to accept change. His life was now forging through hell and through hell he would rule.
The world around him now throbbed of his very life as he suddenly fused in harmony with this embryonic realm. His eyes tore open, raving and raging, they mirrored the storms within him. Tergon felt calmness slowly cascade down his being, then that sharp sensation of pain took over him once again. Roaring to the skies, his crouched form straightened on its own accord as those chain like pulses pulled at him. He had to sustain himself, his subconsciousness told him as this could be the final phase.
Soon, it subsided, the waves of energy now flowed freely through Tergon's being. Willing himself to rise from this sea, Tergon unleashed those waves from within him, braking through the distance, it rose high, lifting Tergon to the surface and coming down, it crashed into this emerald wall. These two conflicting forces raged and that energetic surge was colossal, the clash of seas and storms undying.
Tergon pushed, willing his being to immerse itself into the struggle, he unleashed that halo upon the wall, the turbulence ensued as both forces struggled. As though it had a life of its own, the wall exhumed a storm of radioactive flames upon Tergon who reciprocated the attack with a raving shield that received the impact of that astral storm. Both forces quivered under the influence of their antagonizing waves, with Tergon raging and tearing his way through the distance. Falling like a sea of meteors he heralded the coming a new rain, a new reign, a new rule and a new age. And it arose, that mountainous surge of flames, with the emerald wall tearing apart, crushed beneath the waves of Tergon's raging sea of condensed flames.
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His fleet sailed through the burning distance of cosmic dust and stars, plying their way through the astral waves, Tergon stared from the edge of that battlecarpet, immersing his mind with the grand quests which lay ahead. Acquiring the seven boulders of Er was no simple feat, new realms had to be conquered, an even mightier army had to be assembled, cosmic beasts tamed, and the astral seas sailed. It was an epic infinite, a saga immortal.
"Sire", said Garvey, "your transformation was unpredictable and rapid, it was something I have never seen."
How could he explain to Garvey ? Tergon thought, that what his master had undergone in order to attain such a state of power, was beyond what words could explain. How could he tell Garvey, that within that arena he had battled, the eleven guardians of the gateway to the first boulder of Er ? It was beyond explanation and was not a fairytale to be retold and written within the pages of books to be sold to ignorant generations. It was a legend sanctified and only a few would ever know the secrets behind the rise of Tergon.
"Have you ever felt lost between multiple realms all straining to tear your soul apart ?" Tergon asked.
"I have never experienced those sensations sir", Garvey replied.
"Indeed you have not", Tergon stated, "and that is what it means to attain a level of power and epistemic strength like mine. I have fought the astral beings - guardians to the gateway to the first boulder of Er."
"And you defeated them his majesty ?" Garvey probed.
"By evolution", Tergon replied, "and will Garvey", sighing he continued, "to go through the gateway leading to the first boulder of Er, we had to encounter all these battles and tests. With seven gateways yet to be broken, there lies more ahead of us, more conflicts to encounter, more opponents to conquer, more obstacles to overcome and higher peaks of evolution to be attained. And through it all, we forge pathways immortal."