THE
CRYING STONE
CHAPTER 7: AWAKENINGS: RESSURECTED OR REINCARNATED?
by Ashe Rhyder
Xellos' slit pupil eyes automatically adjusted to the moonlight as they
neared the tomb exit. Zelgadis' Flare Web was gone now, so creatures roamed
without restriction. Cerina clung to the chimera's arm as a giant slug examined
them, relaxing only when Zel fried it.
"Wait..." Xellos glared into the darkness. "...He's out
there."
"Who?" Cerina asked, wishing she could cast Lighting.
"Ruby-Eyed Shabranigdo." Zelgadis snarled, his hand moving to
his sword hilt.
"Dark Lord..." They stepped into the night, only to be greeted
by "SHABRANIGDO!"
*~Time to die, Lina Inverse!~* The Demon Lord roared, shooting waves of
golden darts at them.
"I'm not Lina!" She screamed, scrambling to avoid the onslaught.
*~Oh, but you are.~* Shabranigdo laughed. *~Only a fool would not
recognize she who was touched by the Golden Demon.~* The Master Demon swatted
absently at Xellos, who hovered about throwing spells at him. The Trickster
Priest was slammed mercilessly into the ground.
"Xellos!!!" She cried.
"Lina, look out!" Zelgadis yelled, throwing himself in front of
her as the dark lord shot a lance of red energy at her, human tears escaping his
eyes for the first and last time. "VALIS WALL!"
The spear shattered his barrier and pierced his cool blue skin, ripping
through muscle and organs before finally severing his spinal cord and halting.
"Li... Lina..." He whispered, blue eyes widening as he hit the
ground in a splash of blood.
"Zelgadis..." Her screamed died in her throat as he died in her
arms.
"Lina..." And he spoke no more.
"Damn you, Shabranigdo!" She screeched, clenching fistfulls of
Zelgadis' shirt. "Damn you three times over!" Her eyes glowed with
holy golden light as memories flooded back to her.
"I swear you'll pay for this!" She raged, golden aura flaring
three feet in any direction. "Zel..." Two gold tears fell on the
Shaman's eyes as she climbed to her feet, shadows playing across her delicate
features as she tightened her fists and the snapped her two first fingers out
straight.
"Lina?" Xellos asked weakly. "What... what are you
doing?" But his question fell on deaf ears.
"Darness beyond darkest night..." She began chanting.
*~There is more than one piece fighting you now, little girl!~*
Shabranigdo laughed.
"Light from beyond the endless planes of purity..." Her aura
increased another ten feet, flickering with blood red and tehn white green.
*~Even your Giga Slave cannot destroy me as alomst a whole.~* The Dark
Lord's threat seemed to have lost some of its arrogance.
"Infinate Mother Earth and ether from above the sky..." She had
closed her eyes, trying to imagine Zelgadis beside her. His soft blue eyes gave
her strength and comfort, even if they were only memories forever burned into
her mind. *This is for you, Zel. Aishiteru.*
*~What are you up to?~*
"I offer my life as sacrifice, oh Golden Lady!"
*~WHAT?!~*
"Lina-chan..."
"You who is truely eternal, bestow upon me your strength!"
"Lina-chan!"
"Lady of the unholy and holy, grant me that which I need to destroy
my enemy!"
~*So be it.*~ A woman's voice echoed through the mind.
"GIGA DEATH!" The magical blast that errupted from between her
palms was no bigger than a walnut, but it shone with every color of the rainbow.
In it was the concentrated power of all types of magic; Black, White, Shamanism,
and Nightmare. It shot at Shabranigdo, splitting into two identical blasts along
the way. One veered upards, penetrating the Dark Lord's skull, while the other
stayed true to the original course and shot through its heart. Both projectiles
detonated once inside, the explosions incinerating the physical make-up of the
Dark Lord.
*Zel...* She thought, watching with weak knees as Ruby-Eyed was destroyed.
*I've avenged you, my beloved. You waited one hundred years... just to die
before we could be reunited...*
Exhausted, Lina Inverse closed her ruby red eyes and dreamed of a man with sapphire ones.
