Ragnarok Rewrite

RAGNAROK (REWRITE)

 

                Walking down the crystalline halls of Avalon, Azazel looked at the various sculptures.  Statues of every race of Altaris lined the sides of the hall.  His eyes continued scanning the halls as if looking for any sign of a door to no avail.  As he reached the end of the hall, he found himself at a dead end.  He looked at the mural in front of him and his eyes widened.

                Depicted on the wall in front of him was a hound woman and ryuukin man kneeling in front of the world tree.  He touched the mural and the wall shone bright.  Once Azazel’s eyes were able to refocus, he found himself in an empty chamber with only two others near him.  The hell hound recognized them to be the same figures he saw in the mural.  Looking at them, his eyes immediately welled up with tears.  He knew.

                They were his parents.

                The duo smiled at Azazel and separated to show the shadowy visage of another beginning to come into focus.  Azazel stepped forward and the figure solidified to show Sirocco in front of him.  Azazel looked from his parents to Sirocco and back again.  It took only a moment for Azazel to realize the truth.  As the hound took steps forward, both his and Sirocco’s eyes began welling with tears.  They met face to face as their parents walked forward on their sides.  The hound mother held her right palm up as gems colored like the rainbow, missing only the red, hovered above it.  The ryuukin father held a golden rapier in his hands and handed it to Sirocco.

                Sirocco accepted the rapier and looked to Azazel.  The red gem in the dragon’s forehead began giving a pale glow as it hovered away from its bearer and found its way into the hilt of the rapier.  As if in response, the other gems began giving off a pale glow of their own respective colors.

                “Azazel.  Thank you for letting me get to know you and your friends.  I’m so thankful to have had the chance to live a life that wasn’t mine to live.  But now…”  Sirocco’s eyes wavered as he held the blade out to Azazel.

                “I feel the same way.  When I was broken…you put me back together again.  I don’t know what I would’ve done without you,” the hound replied as tears began streaking down his fur.  He took the rapier in his blade hand lifted it in front of him as the gems began flying around him in their own circles.  He glanced at his ryuukin counterpart and was surprised to see tears running down his face as well. 

                Azazel could feel the imagery around him begin fading to white.  He struggled to find the right words.  This was possibly the only time he would ever have to say anything to his parents and the last time he would say anything to Sirocco.

                “Mother…Father.  Thank you for doing what you thought was best.  It’s been a struggle, but it’s come to what might be the world’s best hope,” he started.  His gaze turned to Sirocco and he smiled.  “Thank you…Azazel.  Thank you for carrying part of me around so I would always be safe.  Thank you for being me,” he said as the image faded away, he saw a huge grin on his counterpart’s face.

 

                The Crusaders were struggling to keep the shadow beasts at bay.  Outside the bridge leading to Avalon, the team bunched together as Geo and Erik erected a barrier, both protecting them and blocking the path into the citadel.  Citrix glanced at the crystal structure, silently praying their leader was safe within its halls.  Before he could make another move, a massive black tornado surrounded the exterior of the barrier, disintegrating any shadow beasts that came even near.

                Urgos glared at the tempest blocking him from the citadel.  The silver ryuukin took a step forward only to find himself pushed back several feet by the whirlwind.  A pair of eyes, one red, one purple, stared at him, glowing from within the tornado.

                “Citrix…thank you for always making me feel safe.  It’s my turn to keep you safe now, okay?” A voice whispered in the fox’s ear as a figure shrouded by the wind walked by.  The whirlwind around the barrier broke apart without warning as a somewhat familiar figure charged forward.  With the sound of clashing steel, what appeared to be a mixture of hound and ryuukin pushed against Urgos’s great sword with a golden rapier with a red gem at its hilt.

                A set of rainbow colored gems began swirling around the figure as he opened massive crimson wings and blasted them towards the ground, launching himself into the air.  A gust of wind erupted from the blade’s tip, launching his target into the air as well.  He folded his wings back as he divebombed the ryuukin foe, knocking him backwards as an orb of fire blasted into him.

                As the figure landed, he held his arm out.  “No, this is my fight.  Don’t interfere.”  As the voice spoke to Citrix, the hybrid turned his head revealing the familiar face of Azazel.  The boomerang mark on his muzzle was gone, instead now being on his forehead.  He held out his off-hand as the rainbow gems surrounded the appendage.

                “Ragnarok is in our hands; and with it, a gift as well,” Azazel said.  The gems flew over to the other Crusaders.  The team looked at Azazel, noting the red wings, pointed ears and noticeable different coloration in parts of his fur.  Where there was once red, there was now a deep orange.  “Don’t worry…” Azazel started, staring directly into Citrix’s eyes.  “I got this.  I’m okay.  I don’t feel broken anymore.”

                Azazel dashed back to Urgos and continued his flurry of blows from his rapier as the rest of the team separated and began mowing down the hordes of shadow beasts.  The gems attached themselves to the divine weapons, releasing the true power of the divine weapons.  With this boost, it didn’t take long for the remaining beasts to turn tail and run.  The Crusaders turned to observe the fight between Urgos and Azazel, ready to intercept as needed.

                Azazel could feel the glancing blows from the great sword hit him, but he wasn’t feeling any pain.  The massive surge of magical power in his body was pushing beyond the limits he would normally have.  He could end it all right now.  In one swift movement, Azazel divebombed Urgos and pressed the tip of his rapier into his opponent’s neck.  One swift blast sent the ryuukin flying to the earth.  Azazel’s divebomb continued.

                “We…aren’t executioners,” Azazel muttered to himself.  His rapier found its mark.  The hellhound’s descent stopped the instant his rapier pressed into Urgos’s chest.  A cage of magic surrounded both of them.  Azazel slipped out of the cage as it solidified around the silver dragon.

                “It’s over, Urgos.  You won’t break anyone ever again.  Not like you did me once.”