Temple of Raging Winds (4)

Dagon began to jog towards the light, ignoring the pain shooting through his body. He made it a point to avoid any of the passageways, that way the gravity would not shift on him. Down the hall, he could make out what seemed to be some kind of strange glowing stone embedded in the wall next to a large doorway.

But he still had a ways to go before he'd reach it. And it seemed to be upside down from his point of view, meaning he likely had to change his gravity. The sound of this hissing creatures grew louder and louder the further he went down the corridor until he could see serpentine monsters.

Dagon had seen them in a book once before. They were called Slythes, a subspecies of Drakes that had more serpentine habits and features. Their bodies were thin and lengthy, their tails ending in whip thin points. They were venomous and their snouts were long and narrow and they had bulbous eyes. Spines ran down their backs and they had long, razor sharp talons.

Dagon stopped just at the edge of a drop. He imagined if he went into it the gravity would change and lead him down another corridor, so he'd prefer to avoid it. He began to look around for another passageway in which he could use to change gravity and continue towards the light beyond, but when he saw one there was a Slythe blocking his way.

Mercury began to swirl around his arm as he focused it into a short blade. It was not very solid, but it would get the job done. But he had to do it quickly, or else it would simply fall apart.

Dagon ran at the Slythe, as fast as he could at least due to his wounds. It was more of an awkward, hobbled gallop. As he drew closer, the Slythe lunged at him, but he leapt aside and fell down the passageway, but as soon as he did gravity switched and he flipped around and crashed to his feet on what had been the roof. As he switched, he crashed the blade into the Slythe's lower jaw, plunging it through the skull and slamming it to the stone below his feet.

"This is so weird.." he mumbled, looking up at the ceiling, which had been the floor a moment ago. But he didn't have time to wonder about the properties of gravity magic, seeing as more Slythes were slithering their way towards him as he pondered.

Dagon rose to his feet, the Mercury blade falling away from his hand as he began to sprint towards the dim light beyond.

He had to use the gravity shifts to his advantage as he went, dodging the Slythes. He didn't want to kill them all, seeing as it would use up all his magic. Meaning he had to just avoid them entirely.

Once he had managed to cross the corridors, he came to a sudden stop. There before him was a steep drop into an abyss of nothingness. And on the other side of it was the light.

The sound of the hissing Slythes was growing gradually louder and louder.

Dagon placed his hand on his necklace, then focused as a thin bridge of mercury shot out before him stretching out towards the platform beyond the abyss. It took all his focus to make it, and he couldn't move or else it would collapse. Meaning he had to sprint across it before it gave way.

And so, taking a deep breath, Dagon bolted forward, thundering across the Mercury bridge. He could feel it giving way beneath him and falling into the abyss, but he couldn't falter or waste a single second, else he too would disappear into the darkness below.

As the bridge began to fall faster than he could run, Dagon made a leap for it, jumping forward, but as he did the bridge ahead began to fall… upwards.

Dagon's heart froze as he felt gravity switch and he began to fall upwards, the light drifting away from him.

A thousand crazed thoughts rushed through Dagon's head all at once. How could he survive this? How could he get back? How could he stop his fall?

He couldn't.

Or maybe he could.

But it would hold consequences.

Dagon closed his eyes and braced his body, and then, the Drakeagen stone at his neck began to glow.

From the wall beside him, a dull spike of mercury shot out, crashing into his side and throwing him into the opposite wall, of which he slammed into with a loud *CRACK*. Dagon then began to tumble back down towards the light, rolling against the wall as he went.

*At this rate..* he thought, gritting his teeth, *I'm gonna die.*

A sudden instinctual and desperate urge to live rushed through Dagon's body, and as it did his horn began to illuminate as did his Drakeagen stone.

Mercury from the wall beside him began to shift and change form, becoming a metal layer of armor around Dagon's body. His eyes glowed a vibrant emerald green and he came crashing down upon the stone platform beside the blue Drakeagen that had been luring him to his death.

For a long moment, Dagon just stood there, devoid of any thoughts and still in full on survival mode, the armor around his body shifting and churning.

The hissing Slythes then caught his attention, spikes growing from the armor like hackles as he turned.

Massive spikes of mercury shot from the stone, skewering every single serpent at once. And then the armor dropped away from his body and he collapsed.

— — —

Bella looked up into the sky. Even though it was in the middle of the day, and the sun hang unclouded in the sky, it seemed oddly dark. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey, Gena, do you feel that?" She asked.

"Why do you ask me?" Gena growled.

"Because I have a feeling you have met this presence face to face before." Bella said in return.

The sun only seemed to dim more and more as the day went on.

"It's Zickarys."