Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 177: End of the beginning

Morgan felt his being slowly crumbling apart piece by piece.

Azaroth was simply trying to break him down piece by piece and ultimately assimilate him

Honestly, it was quite frightening, but strangely enough, he felt unnaturally calm.

He felt pain, agonizing pain that washed over almost every part of his being.

This time, he was well and truly trapped.

There was no trick hidden up his sleeve. He had revealed all his cards, and yet his foes were still standing and seemingly undaunted.

He was quite certain Azaroth wouldn’t yield like Kazarax.

Thevancjdnt fiend had no need to.

It had existed for countless years and would probably continue doing so if it defeated him.

A flare of pain forced out a gasp from him, the white hot stab through his head momentarily blinding him.

Countless consciousnesses washed over him, probing, trying to take over his own consciousness.

His mind was drifting through a deep, d, dark ocean, and no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t reach the surface.e

Morgan was drowning, endlessly.

No matter how much he struggled, this foe simply refused to die.

The shrewd creature continued moving the uncanny nexus around, in an unpredictable manner, so much so that even with his enhanced speed, he still failed to catch up to it.

But despite all that, Morgan was still undeterred.

True defeat was when he gave up.

As long as he continued fighting, an opening would inevitably present itself.

Although Azaroth had the upper hand, Morgan could tell the creature was hurt as well.

Most of the grand enchantment’s weak points had long been destroyed.

The immolating white flames had burned through them completely.

Only the main nexus remained, but Azaroth continued shifting it throughout his body, never letting its guard down.

Morgan groaned, struggling against the massive arm that held him in place.

"Give up. You’ve done all you possibly can."

Azaroth’s insidious voice crept into his mind, paralyzing his efforts.

The harrowing voice slammed into his body as well, with pressure akin to a physical force, literally freezing him in place.

The gargantuan fingers closed around him, holding him in an iron grip.

"A young void Wielder such as yourself could never hope to defeat me. Perhaps if you’d been a bit older and more powerful, you’d have stood a chance."

A small voice rang out in his head.

"Brother! Help me!"

The voice was undoubtedly masculine.

The voice cut through the pain-induced haze, sobering him up.

"Brother?"

Gritting his teeth, he struggled even more violently against the giant iron grip.

"That’s not my voice!"

His eyes steeled with determination.

" I have no brothers!"

Another voice, this time feminine, rang out.

" Please help me."

The image of a young woman flitted through his mind.

A deep seated terror flickered across her face.

The woman desperately reached out to him, her figure flickering in and out of existence.

Morgan groaned, managing to push the giant fingers away by a small bit.

The image of the woman overlapped with that of Lisa in his mind, stoking the flames of his hatred.

Even back then, he’d been helpless.

Weak.

He’d simply watched.

Even this time, he was simply watching.

"No!"

The shield around him flickered then strengthened.

"I refuse to be weak. I refuse to be defeated. Not like this."

Morgan pushed, and pushed.

His entire body screamed at him to stop. Hdventure’s body felt like it might break apart at any point.

Azaroth’s insidious whispers echoed in his head, telling him to give up.

"Resistance is futile. There’s no way you can win. Deep down, you know this. Live on, within me. Just like these countless others. To the end of eternity..."

Morgan scoffed, then groaned in pain.

" Do you always talk to your food before you eat it? "

He sneered, managing to push back the tenebrous fingers another inch.

"Don’t make me laugh. You’re trying to convince me to become one of your mindless thralls! Think again!"

The clangor of voices in his head steadily grew louder until the sound drowned out the sound of Azaroth’s voice.

Morgan gritted his teeth, trembling under the intense pressure.

" Help us! Please help us! "

" Help me!"

" Brother!"

Morgan screamed, his own voice blending in with the rest of the voices.

"How?!"

" How can I help you?! I can barely help myself as it is."

The pretty woman from before floatdownow,n gently caressing his face.

"You can help us. We’ll show you how."

She gently touched his forehead.

The flames around him reignited once more.

The flames around his arms reignited once more, pushing the spreading corrosion back.

The three youths jumped back at the sight, watching the spreading flames warily.

Emily furiously glared at Lucian.

Lucian quietly returned her gaze, then sheathed his blades.

Talia sighed, then sheathed her long blade as well.

In the matrix, Morgan could feel his strength steadily returning.

Sarenus and Kazarax’s voices suddenly rang out through his mind.

"Listen to them," the two spoke in unison.

The woman touched him once more.

The white flames turned golden once more.

The golden shield around solidified once more.

With a roar, he burst out of Azaroth’s grip, a brilliant golden light washing through the dark matrix.

" That’s impossible."

Azaroth’s massive figure trembled, then shuddered, stoitstitst’s tracks.

"This can’t be happening! No! You’re all part of me! "

Morgan warily observed the obsidian giant struggle against himself.

What he saw made him gasp.

Slowly at first, small fragments of darkness broke off from the obsidian giant. Then entire torrents of darkness flowed from the massive giant.t

"Azaroth, he is breaking down."

The torrents of darkness flowed into the VoidWorld, then dissipated.

With the influx of the incoming thralls, Morgan felt his power slowly grow once more.

The petite apparition in front of him subtly nodded.

"Before, there was none of you who could stand up to him. None of us with the strength to break free. Until you came along. Your light showed us that there was a way we could get out of this place. We’ve been trapped here for so long. We just want to rest."

Azaroth roared, the sound reverberating through the vast expanse of the lightless abyss.

Hs figure continued to rapidly shrinking, slowly at first, then more and more noticeably.

The woman tapped Morgan’s forehead and the golden light in his eyes shone even brighter.

In that moments the matrix dissolved around him, revealing a lush green plain with a fragrant breeze.

Morgan froze, his gaze sweeping across the lush plain in disbelief.

"What is this place?"

The petite woman appeared at his side.

" This was once my home," she said solemnly.

Morgan’s eyes somberly ran across the plain in shock.

The petite woman’s memories fleeted through his mind, each more shocking then the last.

" But it was destroyed by the people of Azaroth. Once, they were truly powerless.

And then they obtained knowledge from the Lord of the Realm Between.

Power to defend themselves, power to fight back. But the power they acquired corrupted them. They became drunk on the power that that had been handed to them and eventually their own power consumed them."

Te woman let out a weary sigh, turning her gaze to him.

" But not before it consumed the rest of us as well."

The scenery changed, the landscape around them transforming rapidly several times.

Lands and cities rose and fell.

The landscape changed but the devastation and ruin were always the same.

Entire cities burned, children screamed, mothers waile,d and even men cried.

No one was safe from the monstrosity.

Morgan stared at the unfolding events in quiet disbelief.

After a while it all came to an end, and he was once more surrounded by the familiar darkness.

The petite figure grasped his arm.

"Please help us. We’ll all do our best to help you restrain him. We want to be free."

Morgan closed his eyes, slowly trying to come to terms with the horror that he’d just experienced.

He’d lived through decades of suffering in only a few moments.

To him it felt like it’d lasted an eternity.

When he finally opened his eyes they shone with a determined light.

"Fine. I’ll help you do it."

The woman gave him a relieved smile, her expression softening.

Morgan stared at the distant figure of Azaroth.

The giant had shrunk down significantly in size. So much so that the golden nexus was in plain sight.

"Tell me," Morgan asked, turning to her.

"What is your name?"

The woman smiled gently.

"When I was alive, my name was Nerissa."

Morgan quietly stared at her then turned back.

" Thank you, Nerissa. Thank you all, for this opportunity that you’ve given me."

His eyes burned with pent up fury, the fire around him burning with renewed intensity.

" I’ll make sure to avenge you all. Azaroth will not claim another life. May you find the peace that you’re searching for."

Nerissa nodded, smiling faintly.

Morgan inhaled deeply, clearing his mind once more.

Then burst forward, the space rippling in his wake.

Sending his aproach, Azaroth roared his challenge, lunging forward.

Their harrowing battle would be decided with this final clash.