Dark Crow Rising

An alarm starts to blare and the mysterious student transforms into some kind of armoured creature. Brilliant scales adorned with emerald-like marbles and golden spikes. Something caws and a wave of hot, ember-carrying air washes over us. Following the sudden, bright light, I blink worriedly at the giant flaming bird heading out to meet the red guy.

A serpent suddenly coils from me, one with seven jaws protruding from one head!

"I have no idea what I need to do... Hm, Kyrvern sounds like Kyarverin, somewhat. Maybe this is one of his memories? I am in the memory of a god? Do I need to find something or...? BLOODY DAMMIT!?" I ponder obliviously at first before a flaming lance moltifies a generous line next to me. Following the line of steaming orange, I freeze up a little at the devastation that exists further down.

An entire chunk of the arena is just gone.

Hopefully, I can leave the fight to this student, he seems to be able to handle it quite well. He's ducking and weaving and delivering powerful blows which disturb the heat of the fire bird. I watch as the student suddenly stumbles out of nowhere, only to be surrounded by sparkles. He is nearly struck down, and the woman on the screen screams his name, yet, I hear nothing.

I heard the noise of a speaking scream but not the name...?

"Ah!" I go as a cross inexplicitly finds its way into my grip as the other student screams in burning agony still. I try to release the cross, but I can't, my hand is not responding. Heaving with pain as the strange item continues to burn its way into my palm, I focus on the bird. A black, blue-rimmed portal appears on my right, another by the bird, so close behind it.

I drive my cross-holding hand towards the fiery avian, only to find myself elsewhere.

Blinking as I look around at a well-kept garden and a massive house that could only belong to a spire-lord or similar. Cluelessly spinning about as I look over my newfound, stinging wounds as well, I stop. That woman from earlier, the one with the red hair and white dress. She's joyful now, joyfully teary and that student is back, all fine and dandy.

"Kyrvern, thank you!" the woman goes as she rushes me down to give me the tightest hug she can. It's better than the bird, but I still can't help but be weirded out by it all. I've had enough of red-haired women latching onto me inexplicitly...

Retreating to my mind, I start to think as I rub a freshly kissed cheek to the background noise of that student whining. Idly glancing at this strange, half-bird, half-Beast of Pride thing patiently waiting near us. Honestly, it's probably the normalest thing I've seen since waking up in that bug hive. The woman starts to pull us towards it and she encourages me to touch it.

Placing my hand on the feather-half, I suddenly shoot up from the floor. Blinking at the carved-up, bloodied panels once again, I blink some more. Slowly, I get back to my feet and shake my head as some mild aches hinder me. Her worried voice echoes in my head as I stumble out of the room.

Finding the stairs again, I get back to going down them and wobble on the final step, collapsing down then and there. I groan in disbelief as I find myself presented by an army of men in white robes. All of them hold the same kind of guns and swords as that lunatic has. An annoyance that I am, unfortunately, still forced to deal with.

"Oh, shit! How'd you get in here!? FUCK!" the crazed man swears from atop his leg-tiring altar, pyramid thing. At its top, another one of those crosses, only this time, there's something dark chained up to it and it's much larger. My eyes narrow as I recall what Motrtha said, are these the chains?

"Plough through until I get all the way up there..." I start to say as I notice I am holding the game piece. I swear it flew off, but, whatever, I suppose. Moving one leg forward, I am met by a thousand poking sensations across every bit of my front. My patience is shredded far sooner than anything else on my person or about it.

I growl.

"OH, WILL YOU LOT CUT IT OUT!" I snap as I rush forward, barging past the robed men and turning them to dust. Smacking down as many as I can, I keep it up until the first step smashes apart under my stride. Falling into the collapsed stone, my hands uplift more of the steps. Looking up, I frown as bullets continue to pester me.

Slugging up the steps as I catch my breath pointlessly, I eventually find the lunatic, "Shit! Shit! SHIT!"

He backs away until there is nowhere for him to go but dangerously down. Grabbing them by their clothes, I tear them slightly. But, they hold together as I toss him down to the ground, fulfilling his greatest wish at the present time. Rather than blood, however, he splatters into dust and tiny specks of light.

"You look immediately familiar." I remark as I look at the creature chained up on the cross. I groan as I spot the lock on the chains and glance back to where I chucked the man. Groaning louder, I gently toss aside the game piece, shattering it and disturbing the creature. It looks up at me and blinks in confusion as the eight shards glow.

"Who... Who... Who are you?" it struggles to let out with a raspy, water-devoid voice.

Ignoring its question, I inspect the creature closer and I start to see similarities between me and it. There's some human here, but, it's clearly also something else, a bit like the aelenvari. Red scales, green lights and golden bone. It has to be something powerful, Vapooliar's magic glows a similar green, if not the same.

"Please... Answer me, you are not a spectre here to torment me..." it goes as I finish looking it over.

"Uh, Nin, awkward baggage of Undwote." I answer and it perks up as soon as I say the God of Death's name.

"You are here with my brother!? BROTHER! I AM HERE!" it lets out, screaming with all it has before desperate tears leave it a shivering wreck.

"The whole family is here, up the stairs." I say, smiling as more and more hope pulses through the creature. It strains the chains to get as close to me as it can and I step back.

"Everyone...?" it shivers out and I nod, making it whimper with delight.

"Yeah, just need to think of a way to get them down here, though..." I mutter as I turn back towards the way I came. The horde is now gone and a clear, well-lit path awaits my return.

"Wait... You are a human, you are a mortal... Free me! Free me, Mortal!" it realises then orders. Initially, I throw my head back at the demand, but, thinking about how it spoke of Undwote and the others... It starts to become obvious. This thing is a god, yet, I do not recall any god with red-skin and golden horns.

My mind is blurry for some reason, but, I recall a monster that the God of Thunder fought.

"I... I may have lost the key." I tell, but, it simply shakes its head and fights the chains some more.

"Break them! They cannot hurt you like they do me! There's no way She could've ever known a mortal would end up here!" it tries to explain as it pulls with all the meagre strength it has.

"Well, Motrtha, time to test your words." I comment as I hook a finger through one of the chains. Pulling, the dark metal pales and then snaps with a ping, leaving me smiling. Steadily working my way through the rest of them, the creature flexes and moves. Newfound freedom is quite intoxicating, I know that from experience.

Yet, as I reach the final binding chain, I blink as my mind seems to unblur. Memories I was so sure of are now held in doubt and a name is coming to me. Thurnmourer's feats of heroism, they are suddenly so very clear, the image of what he is fighting. This thing is it...

I snap the final chain as a name comes to mind, Iderim-Ovi.

The Singular God, the Crimson-Scaled Beast. The stories of Thunder and Lightning battling to save the mortal world. This thing is it. Iderim-Ovi, the god that wanted to destroy humanity...

I fall onto my rear and nearly roll down the stairs.

I have released the very thing that wants to destroy everyone. Everyone is now going to die because of me. I need to... I need to reseal it, now!

A clawed hand keeps me on the ground and the god towers over me as its giant wings unfurl themselves. Sharp teeth show themselves as darkness envelopes me and it comes closer. The claws on the tips of its fingers become all the easier to notice. They're pressing down and their points are about to-

Iderim-Ovi hugs me tightly and whimpers.

"Thank you, Nin. Thank you with all my heart and essence... I owe you a debt I have no idea how to pay back..." he cries as I continue to stay on edge. The god leans back and wipes his eyes and laughs.

Unmoving, I meet them.

"Oh... Right, human." he chuckles as he takes me into his clutches. Flapping his wings once, we break out into the sky, through the now-destroyed church. Crashing to the ground and dipping into the new crater, he lets go of me. Stumbling away, I scramble up towards Motrtha as she covers her mouth.

"Iderim...?" she questions as the terrifying reptile shifts into a small hatchling.

"Grah!" he chirps as he waddles into the grip of his crying sister. I try to calm down as I watch the reunited siblings catch up without a word. Only for Motrtha to suddenly turn to and march up to me. She grabs me harshly and pulls me close.

"H-How...?" she questions as she continues to hold her brother close.

"I..." I start to say before the world shakes with divine might as a mountain on my left shatters. Turning away from the goddess, I stare at the inferno eating up the remains of the city. The gods are still fighting with all they have against all manners of beast and creature. Everything breaks so easily, even that which you'd think cannot be broken.

A giant with Sraacdchammu's colour scheme flies through the sky with a purple snake in his grip. It howls and hisses as purple fire burns from its mouth. I bounce into the air as the pair crash and like a bundle of flowers, the God of Giants keeps its many fangs away. With a roar that nearly leaves me deaf, the god seemingly bests the beast.

In the greater distance, a shining length roars as its mirror-like scales deflect blasts and spells. A pack of hounds follows it and they bring down some mountain of a thing together as shots ring out. Somehow, with each bang of Undwote's gun, I feel cold. Everything feels cold and ice grows like a patch of rust might.

"I think we need to try and get out of here or to your father..." I mutter as the God of Law comes back from wherever he went with a black feather in hand. The god notices the addition to our grip and he stiffens up. A pat on the head meets Iderim-Ovi before Enorcoustice turns to the dot on the horizon.

The one that feels like anger whenever I look its way...

"We go to the academy." Enorcoustice says as he points at the place as a crystal-like barrier shimmers around the building. Thunderclouds go off in the sky and I nod with a slight smile. If Thurnmourer is there then I don't need to worry about Iderim-Ovi or anything dangerous. The God of Thunder is there!

But...

"How are we meant to get there...?" I ask in disbelief as more of the city is torn up by whatever divine powers are firing off in this split-second of a moment. If I never understood the phrase 'apocalyptical' up to this point, I do now. There's no way I can make it there, I'd discover what it's like to die whilst I am dead!

"The same way I got you here." Enorcoustice answers as he snatches me up.

"H-Hey!" I groan as the God of Law sprints effortlessly towards the inferno spreading across one of the formerly green mountains. I cough as the smoke blows our way as beasts made of tornadoes are struck from the sky by a small, man-like figure.