Cerberus & Wastu part-3
Slowly... Arion opened his eyes.
But it wasn't the world he knew that welcomed him.
There was only darkness.
A darkness so deep, formless, and nameless.
From one point, a faint light shone from above—like the light of a forgotten god. He stood alone in the midst of the void, like a stranger in a world without direction.
"Where is this…?" he murmured, his own voice sounding foreign in the suffocating silence.
No ground. No sky. Only emptiness and solitude.
But from within the darkness, something began to move.
Hands—long, thin, as black as the darkest night—crawled out from the shadows, reaching toward him.
They came from all directions, trying to grasp, clutch, and drag him into eternal darkness.
Arion gasped, leaping back to avoid them. But the hands multiplied. Their movements were fast, unnatural, like living fear.
"Run…?" he thought in panic, but to where?
Then…
A voice.
Soft, yet crystal clear within his mind—like a divine whisper from a distant dimension.
"If you die here... your soul will be devoured."
"And you will never return to Yggdrasil."
Those words struck his consciousness like thunder.
But he had no time to process them. The world around him changed.
The darkness was suddenly torn by a grim sky.
Black clouds rolled above him, slowly swirling like the vortex of the end times.
Thunder roared. Lightning danced.
The ground beneath him cracked.
The void had turned into a post-apocalyptic shadow—silent, lifeless, pure destruction.
The hands returned. This time faster, more feral.
They emerged from the ground, the sky, the shadows.
Arion ran, dodging as best he could…
…until the ground beneath him shattered.
"NO—!"
The fissure split the earth and swallowed his body.
He fell into a dark abyss—endless, soundless—and finally...
Crash!
His body slammed into the bottom of the chasm.
His breath was knocked out, his body thrown. Pain. Everything hurt. But… he was still alive.
Panting, Arion struggled to rise.
The sky above still rumbled.
The black clouds loomed like giant beasts watching from above.
Lightning danced beyond the mist, as if mocking him.
He looked around—sharp, jagged rocks like fangs.
No way out. No light.
Only him… alone.
"What should I do…?"
A small voice inside his heart trembled.
Tired. Confused. Afraid.
But he knew… if he gave up here, there would be no way back.
Grroooooooommm...
A rumbling sound suddenly echoed from ahead.
Not thunder. Not collapsing earth.
But something wilder… more primal.
At first, nothing seemed out of place.
But from the thick mist emerged a swarm of giant bats—black, vicious, wings spread wide like curtains of death.
They flew low, just meters above the ground, and though they didn't strike directly…
Their claws, sharp as hell's razors, tore into Arion's body.
"AARGH—!"
Warm blood flowed from the wounds on his body, soaking his clothes now torn in many places.
But he barely had time to stand when the ground trembled again.
The roar of water came…
From the edge of the horizon, a furious surge of water approached.
An illusionary tsunami, as tall as ancient trees, crushing everything before it.
In an instant, Arion's body was struck by the wave. No time to fight. No time to flee.
Everything went dark. All water. All cold.
He sank.
The current dragged him, slammed him into unseen rocks, churned his body in a never-ending vortex.
He fought. Kicked. Swam.
Trying to reach the surface.
But every time he neared it—every time his fingers grazed the light—
the strong current pulled him back again.
As if the water was alive.
And it didn't want him free.
"NO!" he thought, holding his breath, eyes wide open even as the water stabbed at his pupils.
But… his body couldn't take it any longer.
That last breath… escaped.
The final bubble… burst.
His body floated slowly to the bottom.
His vision blurred. The world became mute.
Cold. Empty. Silent.
Indeed... even the strongest will breaks in water this cold.
But… just when everything seemed to end...
A light appeared.
A brilliant light shone from within the water—ripping through the darkness, defying death.
BRRAAAAKKK!!
An explosion of light burst from the vortex.
Arion was lifted upward—not with his ordinary body—but in his new form.
Gavrilo's armor had fully merged with him.
His body shone.
Eyes that once held despair now burned with fire.
And in his hand…
The Champion Sword, the heirloom blade of light, gleamed like the world's final sunset.
But this rebirth was not left undisturbed.
A sharp, piercing screech suddenly echoed from the deep.
Horrifying. Bone-chilling.
From within the water, a female demon figure appeared—her hair like writhing serpents, her eyes covered by a bloodstained white cloth, her face a living curse.
Her hands were long, like nightmare tentacles, reaching toward Arion.
A voice within the water whispered:
"You are not worthy to rise… let your soul be torn here."
But Arion gripped his sword tight.
And his eyes stared directly at the figure…
"Try to take me. If you can."