The God's Rules

Alistair's corpse was wriggling as if something inside was trying to force itself out. A bewildered Kane and Lucius readied their weapons as day and night continued to cycle overhead.

The mad warrior's body began to swell, ripping his leather and chainmail armour from his body, leaving him naked. His skin rapidly blistered, bubbles of molten rock popping and cooling over his corpse to create an uneven surface of stone around him. When most of Alistair was transformed, a forked tail sprung from the bottom of his spine, and broken wings of hardened magma emerged from his back.

Alistair's body rose, and a gargoyle-like creature twice his size now occupied his body. The only thing resembling what he used to be was his brown hair, now loose over his stone neck and pointed ears. His eyeholes were hollow, and his face was carved into a terrifying, sharp-toothed grin: as if the gods had designed his new form themselves. The creature lowered itself and placed its two sets of claws on the ground.

A deep, demonic voice escaped the crack of its hellish maw. "Kaannee..." it whispered icily. But its whisper was a force of its own. It shook the air, and as the sun disappeared over the horizon for what seemed like the hundredth time, the stars stilled. And night reigned.

Even though the perpetual dusk was replaced by a starry night sky, it was far from dark; a full moon lit the courtyard's every corner.

The beast propelled an echoing, skyward roar with its jaw at full stretch, the sound somewhat resembling Kane's name, and launched itself towards the warriors. The pair rolled in opposite directions and the gargoyle slid across the courtyard as it landed – clawing desperately at the ground to stabilise itself.

In one fluid motion, Kane ended his roll in a kneel and fired a volley of arrows, one real and six spectral, but to no affect. "Another damned monster I'm not equipped to fight!" he yelled out of frustration.

Lucius rose and Ripper stood tall by his side. "This isn't Alistair, Kane!" added the swordsman. "This beast is slower!" The gargoyle flung itself at Lucius in particular, and Ripper scraped along its hard side as the swordsman dodged out of the way. "When Alistair hardens his body," he continued, mid-fight, "it's like tensing a muscle!" A stone claw flew over his head as he ducked. "It's stronger than any rock, but only at that very moment! This beast is a weak imitation of his power!"

Ripper grew bright instantaneously, and in one, overhead, arcing motion, Lucius brought down the hellish blade upon the gargoyle's wrist, severing it from its stump. The beast recoiled and shrieked, and the stone claw fell to the ground. Blood unexpectedly spilled out of the wound as the gargoyle lashed out with its forked tail.

Ripper, as always, was quick to react, but the tail was heavy, and Lucius was knocked to the ground: sliding several metres before coming to a stop.

Still shrieking from its injury, the gargoyle kept its wounded arm close to its chest, and roared, moving toward the downed swordsman.

An arrow harmlessly struck the beasts face, and It staggered, snapping its head in Kane's direction with a growl. Again, the sound roughly resembled Kane's name. It leapt, and the archer rolled to his side and began to back away, periodically firing arrows into its face; more to stall it.

Thankful for the respite, Lucius tried to stand, but his arm gave way beneath him. It was broken; he was useless in this state. He did, however, have a solution. His gaze drifted toward his pouch, and with his working arm, he dived into the small bag and removed the dimly glowing Emberwood Catalyst.

He closed his eyes and squeezed in gently, and the gem's warmth began to flow into his hand and across his shoulders, down into his broken arm. He could feel his bones and muscles reforming under his skin: an uncomfortable sensation if not painful. Laying on his back, Lucius flexed his wrist and rolled his shoulder before gripping Ripper's hilt and rising to his feet.

The gargoyle, while trying to chase down the ever elusive and nimble Kane, noticed Lucius rise and turned to face him, and nonchalantly raised its remaining claw to its side to block an arrow from the archer, more out of annoyance than to protect itself.

It Lucius with a furious cry: its injured limb held close to its chest. The swordsman swiftly outstretched a palm toward the advancing creature with his fingers at full spread and said, "it's not just the sword," as an engulfing torrent of flames burst forth from his hand and enveloped his foe, hiding it from view.

He knew it would not damage the creature; the heat needed to be concentrated. He was simply trying to distract it, and it worked. Lucius made his way around the cocoon of fire, which was now turning into a cloud of thick, black smoke, and took up a defensive stance beside Kane.

The archer was tired, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath. "Apologies... that I can't be of any better use..."

"You saved my hide back there," said Lucius. "Dying might not such a bad thing on The Highway, but I'd rather not have to fight the real Alistair again... And I've grown quite fond of this Kane."

Kane hid a smirk before aiming an arrow toward the thinning smokescreen. A growl crept from within, disturbing the fog. Ripper took its place at Lucius's side as a distorted, strained voice whined out. "Kane..." it said, weak and crackly.

As the smoke faded, the gargoyle was facing them and slumped on three limbs, its wounded arm still close to its chest. To the souls' horror, Alistair's real face now replaced the gargoyle's stone one. His eyes were hollow abyssal pits, and his teeth were even sharper then they were when he was alive.

"Kane..." it moaned, taking a limping step toward the pair of souls. Kane stiffened and loosened an arrow in fear. But as it connected with Alistair's forehead, its skin briefly turned to rock, and the arrow rattled to the ground. "Kaaaane..." Terror enveloped the archer, and his foot took a step back without his command.

"Steel yourself!" demanded Lucius, never taking his eyes off the beast. "Alistair is dead!" Kane didn't listen.

"Kanneee..." the gargoyle continued, edging ever closer towards them. "Kaane!" Its pained wailing gradually rose in volume. "Kane!" Pain turned to anger. "Kane!!" Alistair's teeth clenched, and he shrieked, "KAAAAANE!!!" Lucius roared back at the beast with everythign he had: a war-cry that could have caused the dead to rise out of their graves and take up arms in his name.

Ripper erupted in a white-hot light as the beast suddenly lurched forward, and Lucius mimicked its charge. In one fell swing, Ripper cut through the air at immeasurable speed; the light grew so bright that not even Lucius could see the outcome. Several moments later, Ripper cooled, and the light faded. The swordsman felt no pain, and the sound of rock hitting the courtyard's cobblestone floor rang out.

He turned.

The incandescent blade had sliced through the gargoyle's neck. Its hulking body dropped momentarily... revealing Kane, who stood with four giant claw marks in his chest, blood only just starting to soak through his cloth shirt.

He began to wobble.

"Shit," muttered Lucius, as he threw Ripper aside and jumped over the gargoyle's corpse, catching the archer before he fell. "I've got you," he added, sounding defeated. "I thought we had it." Lucius lowered himself to the ground and cradled Kane in his arms, blood smeared over both of them. He half reached for his satchel, but quickly remembered he had already used the gem on himself.

Kane's pale lips parted slightly, and he spoke through convulsing breaths. "S...Sorry... Lucius.

The swordsman scoffed. "Don't be. That was a dirty trick he played. Don't go blaming yourself."

"I'm... so...sorry..."

Lucius shook his head in defiance.

"This... is goodbye," Kane added wearily. His face was getting paler by the second as gushes of blood poured out of his open chest.

"Hopefully the next Kane is a little less pessimistic, huh?" he chuckled, but tears were forming in the swordsman's eyes. Why was he crying? Who was Kane to him? Lucius had no answers.

Kane smiled faintly but shook his head: a weak wobble from side to side. "Bearer... of essence," he croaked, and Kane's last breath was drawn, his cold, still eyes now looking through Lucius instead of at him.

Lucius released a shaky sigh, but his tears didn't fall. He wouldn't let them. He would see Kane again, and they would carve a path to hell together. Lucius placed the archer's corpse on the ground and reached for Ripper and held it at both ends for several moments. He knew what he wanted to do, but wasn't sure if he could go through with it.

Why was dying such a numb concept, but the thought of taking his own life so terrifying? And it was terrifying. His hands were shaking. The sword was too large and awkward to be used as a tool for a quick suicide. It would have been painful and messy. The physiological trauma afterward could cripple him. He placed Ripper on the floor and cursed himself, "Fucking coward..." he muttered shakily.

After a few seconds of sorrowful reflection, he rose a palm and stared into it. There was a way, he thought. Dull flames began to coil up his arm and collect in his hand until it grew white hot: almost as incandescent as Ripper had been when it decapitated the gargoyle. Almost, because it didn't need to be any hotter.

Without thinking twice, he drove his superheated fingers into his chest and pierced his heart. He gasped and lurched over, his vision momentarily growing starry. Then dark. Then black. Pain was replaced with a numb throb, and time stilled.