Looming over Kalahari was Sango, the perfect image of the South's elder god as described by concurrent, old, and ancient accounts. His heavenly avatar was so large that he dwarfed Kalahari's walls with just his feet, and so wide that one could not see his entire body from directly below. The shadow he cast upon the city was dark as starless, moonless, lightless night and froze everything in permafrost fear.
It was always known that no one, no matter how strong their magic or power of will, could stand against something so great. Like a bug trying to take down a Northland giant, or more accurately, an ant trying to move a mountain, any attack would be less significant than a speck of dust in the gentle breeze. A god was not a being one could fight. That was because they weren't living beings. They were forces of nature; mere properties of existence. Ones that could think, and could destroy.
Out of the one hundred thousand people living in the enormous city of Kalahari, not a single one tried to fight against the fate befalling them. They all stared up, in unison, at their doom with gaping mouths and eyes that began to cry. Not the council of the city, nor the guard, nor the guilds, nor the adventurers from around the world had any sort of salvation or solution. No such contingency was ever devised to escape a god, because such an objective was impossible. Never had humans seen the true form of a god in known history, yet they all knew the instant it was upon them from the intrinsic fear embedded within their innate magic. It was a primal fear from which there was no escape; a binding one tied to magic itself. In the unending depths of hopeless despair, they all wept.
The end of the world and the prophecies were finally fulfilled, and in the wake of the last moments of tens of thousands, there was not a single soul determined to move a single inch.
Save for one.
Chapter 45: Fear
"W-what is that?" Musique asked, gaping at the huge figure looming over them at the city's gates. They'd just made it out when the storm arrived, and a giant foot emerged from the clouds.
"It's… Sango…" Kitsune uttered, her voice shaking and her body cold with sheer terror. "We're too late. The end has begun sooner than I thought…"
Xinyu looked at the falling god with listless eyes.
"So, that is a god," Xinyu said.
"The one governing them all," Kitsune said. "An elder god."
Xinyu couldn't keep her gaze away from Kalahari. "My friends are there in the city… I can see them with Erlang's eye. And the witch… she is there too."
"We've got no choice," Kitsune said. "I will transport you as far as possible from here, then you must use all your power to run to Arthur and set sail for the Moonless Terra immediately with as many people as possible. I just hope that god does not destroy everything in a single swing. It seems we got a bit too ambitious and wasted time. Come. Let us-"
"Cygnus is there too," Xinyu said.
Kitsune's face became stricken. Quickly, she used her magic to scan the city, and there she saw him, lying on the ground at its center. "No…"
"He is necessary for your plan, yes?" Xinyu asked. "It does not matter if I live without him."
"That's… not true," Kitsune said. "There is another way. He can be saved, but for that, we must live."
Xinyu shook her head.
"I am sorry," Xinyu said, casting a smile to Kitsune before walking back to the gates. "It appears I am unable to abandon the things I like after all."
"You can't," Kitsune said, grabbing Xinyu's hand. "If you don't escape, we'll never succeed. Do you think stalling the inevitable for a few seconds will change anything?"
"Who knows?" Xinyu asked, her voice trailing off.
"I do!" Kitsune protested. "You must leave immediately, and not look back, just like always! Is leaving the past behind in hopes of a brighter future not the creed of the Merchant of Joy? No matter how many corpses you must step over, is it not you who will show humanity the light?"
"That is indeed the creed of the Merchant of Joy, but not Xinyu Ma's," Xinyu said. "My path is destined to be forward, yet pesky bonds keep dragging me back, no matter how far I run. In the end, I am just a naive girl who cannot leave anyone behind. Musique. Remember when I said sometimes you have to choose between preserving the self and preserving what one loves? This is what I spoke of."
"Now's not the time-" Kitsune started.
"Now is the only time!" Xinyu said. "I can see it! Just beyond the horizon! A glimmer of hope! The solution I have yearned for!"
"If you go back, you are going to die," Kitsune said.
"So what?" Xinyu asked.
"You're the one who said she was unwilling to die for her ideals!" Kitsune said. "What happened to tasting the peaches of the tree you planted? To see it bloom?"
"Those were the Merchant of Joy's words," Xinyu said. "But not mine. If I must make a choice, I will always choose the one paved by my heart. Not the one paved by my sister, nor the one fate has laid out for me, nor the one designed by this mask I have worn all this time. Regardless of what I said before, I am doing what I want, and nothing can stop me. Not you. Not fate. Not a god. My greed is too great for me to hold it back any longer."
Xinyu clasped her fist in her palm and bowed to Kitsune and Musique.
"Witness my soul!" Xinyu said. "Today, I am going to show you why I have fought all this time! Why I, Xinyu Ma, have continued to walk down this thorny path with a smile all this time."
Even if it means sacrificing everything.
Chapter 46: Fortune To Have Found You!
"Behold, mortals. The elder god of the South, Sango!" the black witch screeched, her arms perched to the sky where Sango blocked the eternal blue yonder. "His infected soul will herald your end."
It was all dark. The Southland day had become dark as night, and the frigid air became rotten with the stench of corruption. The elder god, the king of the Southland heavens, now stood as the immovable object in the way of humanity's future.
"I-impossible," Cygnus muttered, lying broken on the ground. He could barely move before because of his injuries, but now, just like every other soul in the city, he was petrified by the moonscraping colossus. They saw him as he held his divine stone axe overhead. The god, wrought upon by the witch, had become a corrupt deity under her beck and call.
"I s'pose this is it then," Brax said, a weary smirk emerging beneath his stricken face. "Damn, and here I really thought I coulda lived the good life."
"Twas wishful thinking, my friend," Epsilon said. He was laying down, having regained consciousness only to see his end right overhead.
In the darkened clouds, electricity spewed from all over, ravaging the land with each precise strike. The mere presence of Sango was enough to crush walls and topple buildings, and yet the giant stood still, awaiting the order to end humanity. The witch raised her arm to the sky, mirroring the point where Sango's axe lay. Once she struck it down, Sango's axe would fall.
"Might you indulge a dying man's curiosities?" Cygnus asked.
"I have little to say to a deadman," the witch said.
"That's fine, but we're still here," Cygnus said. "So, tell me something. Why are you using a god to crush something as insignificant as humanity?"
"The extinction of humanity is merely a stepping stone to something greater," the witch said.
With her outstretched hand, she seemed to be longing for something in the distance. Something invisible, but ever present.
"Begone for eternity," she said, her hand prepared to fall.
"No, you begone!"
Xinyu was behind the witch, reaching up to grab her hand. She squeezed it tight as the wretched woman tried to break away.
"You can escape me no longer, witch," Xinyu said as she jumped and thrust her knees into the witch's makeshift spine. She then grabbed both the woman's arms and pulled them back as she dug her foot deep into her bony back. Those arms were ripped back with such overwhelming strength that a loud crack echoed through the quiet air, followed by a tortured screech. Xinyu then ripped those phony arms off, slamming her ungraciously into the ground.
She'd been weakened from the prior battle. Her body was already torn apart, and even the frailest of attacks could deal heavy damage. Even those who were not of magic.
Xinyu landed firmly on her feet as they pivoted apart, and she took a stance reminiscent of the ancient fighting arts. Fists raised and eyes forward, she locked onto the crowd of shadowy arms that began to spew from the ground. The witch's breath was clearly heavy as the viney appendages shot forward. They pierced the air at incredulous speed, yet Xinyu dodged each one effortlessly as she slowly began to walk towards the witch, who was attempting to stand.
Left. Right. Jump. Sense each limb coming towards you, and do no falter, for you have done this before, Xinyu thought as she made her way through the rain of shadowy whips. Since we first met and I realized I could not beat you with magic,I have trained each day for this. Do not fail me now, body.
When Xinyu was upon the black witch's shuddering body, the bony woman created another limp arm from her shoulder and managed to grab Xinyu's leg. Blackish ooze leaked out, but it didn't affect Xinyu as it had before. She tore her foot away and raised it over her head.
"You're no longer using the magic of gods," the witch said weakly. "You're not even using magic…"
"I do not need magic to defeat my enemies," Xinyu said as she brought her foot down. "This frail body of mine will suffice to finish your weakened self off."
Unfortunately, her foot only hit a stain in the ground. The woman was already gone.
Xinyu looked back at her fallen allies, who could barely stand. She then looked up and saw that Sango's axe had begun to move downward. Crushing the witch didn't mean anything, at least, not without solidifying her death. It seemed Sango was still under her command, and the city would be destroyed regardless.
"I am sorry," Xinyu said. "I do not think I can carry everyone on my back to escape."
"There isn't much of a chance of escape, even if you go alone," Cygnus said.
"No. I could use my power to carry two of you away," Xinyu said. "But that means that the rest of you will have to die along with this city."
"Count me out then," Brax said immediately, lying back and closing his eyes. "Honestly, I'm tired. I just want to sleep."
"That is my line," Xinyu said quietly, trailing off.
"Seriously, is there not a way to save everyone?" Cygnus asked, chuckling as he clenched his chest.
"There is not," Xinyu said.
"If that is the case, then count me out as well," Cygnus said. "This will certainly rid me of my pesky insomnia."
"You mustn't!" Epsilon said. "Your mind is something that cannot be lost! Even if we all die here, you must live."
"I couldn't agree more!" Samson said, who had managed to crawl to where the rest of them were. "Besides, I'm too fat to carry, and Epsilon's too bloody insufferable. You'd never make it!"
"Why you-" Epsilon said.
"Hao! You guys are too funny!" Xinyu said, laughing. "Even at the end, you are in good spirits!"
"It's not that we're excited to die," Cygnus said. "We're terrified of being left behind, but we're even more scared of being the ones to carry the future on our backs. Humankind's fate is a lot of weight for just two, or rather, three backs."
"Then carry it together," Xinyu said. "Do not worry, my comrades. One life is enough. With this worthless soul of mine, I shall fight!"
"And just what do ya plan on doin'?" Brax asked. "You can't possibly hold a god long enough for us to run away? We're too broken n' beaten. We won't get far, no matter how much time you buy us."
"Who said anything about running?" Xinyu asked. "As long as I am here, you have nothing to fear. As long as I stand, there will be hope. With a pained smile upon my face, I will ensure tomorrow! I do not need you to do something as cowardly as running. I only ask that you witness the legacy of Xinyu Ma, and never forget this moment!"
Xinyu looked up to the sky and saw a constellation in the infinite darkness overhead. In the imaginary stars, she saw her sister, her master, her parents, and a billion shining smiles strengthening her resolve. They called for her. Cheered her on. Made her stronger than she was alone.
"Thank you for indulging someone like me!" Xinyu called out. She turned around and clasped her hands into her fist as she bowed. She then jumped away and flew to the tallest building in Kalahari to face the impending god's axe. "It truly has been a fortune to have found you all!"