Chapter 470 - Maw of the Abyss

One more chapter to go for Book 6 after this! I've had a few questions about this so just to be clear, the series will continue with Book 7 immediately after on the same schedule. Don't worry--there's still quite a let of HW to go :P

There was no defeating Godfrey. Hump knew it. The man was too fast, too powerful, and too tough. He’d dealt with both Lady Kaisura and Master Dorn. Count Daston and Wizard Aldric were still above trying to destroy the tree and had been unable to stop him. People far more powerful than Hump had had their chances and failed. Anything with his and his party’s capabilities would be ineffective against a foe this strong. To fight him would be like an apprentice wizard trying to take Hump on—worse than that. At least a wizard might be brought down by a stray arrow. Godfrey had no such weakness. To fight him was to try and stop a storm.

But the rift gave Hump one option. They didn’t need to fight him, only stop the ritual. In Sheercliff City, Warlock Anthony had attempted to sacrifice the populace to bring Baelkor into this realm. Here, Godfrey only had the Seal of Elenvine for power. Disrupt it once, and there would be nothing left for him.

The chamber quaked. Stone and debris tumbled from above as the roots of the Tree of Damnation continued to worm their way in, spreading through every wall, expanding along even the floor, called to Godfrey’s runic formation at the centre of the chamber, and the black rift to the abyss at its core. The sound of the battle above was deafening. Explosions rattled the Tree of Damnation as Baelkor tried to keep it safe. Fire blazed along its trunk even as Godfrey’s golden power fuelled it.

Godfrey himself stared skyward, his face alight with victory.

Concealed by Owalyn’s shadows, Hump rose to his feet. His body felt strong despite coming so close to death. The essence of the Seal of Elenvine coursed through him like molten gold. Shadows parted before his eyes, and he could see everything with such clarity.

He picked up his staff and spellbook, then turned to face the traitor Chosen. He studied the rift before Godfrey. It was as tall as he was now, and growing larger by the second, but its growth was slow. Hump would change that.

Not wasting a moment, he drew upon all the essence desperate to burst from him. It answered eagerly, rushing into his staff. The runes along the shaft shone gold. The focus churned with golden light, shining brightly but Owalyn’s shadows kept it contained.

“My time here is running out,” came Owalyn’s voice.

“I know what I must do,” Hump whispered.

He could not hurry this. Now came the difficult balance. He needed to feed the rift enough essence to speed up its growth. That alone was simple—the abyss swallowed every bit of unclaimed essence in the room with a ferocious hunger. All Hump needed to do was add essence. The challenge came from doing it unnoticed, while being fast enough to stop the summoning ritual in time.

The ritual shone with the same golden power of the seal as Hump’s staff. It would camouflage his efforts, so long as he didn’t rush and use too much essence too quickly. Hump used the first principle behind the Veil of Infinite Reflections that Wizard Charles had taught him—to blend in with the essence of the world rather than to attempt to forcibly conceal his presence. He dispersed it into the world, scattering it all around him and filling the room naturally.

His essence passed through Owalyn’s shadow and added to the chamber. The addition was subtle, but its effect was immediately obvious to his Spirit Sight. The chamber—already rich with essence—now filled with golden spirals, all of it siphoned toward the rift in a tempest of light.

And Godfrey was none the wiser.

Hump bit his lip as he focused. This power was almost beyond his control. Almost. But somehow he steadied the tide. He imbued it with his intent and let it slot into the room as naturally as he could. It was even easier than he expected. Lady Light’s power was so rich here—what was a little more?

He increased the speed. The rift growing larger. Godfrey stood with his hands out at either side, his gaze fixed on the chaos above as the runes around him shone with radiance. Great rays of essence rose from each of them, filling the chamber like the light of a god pillar rising from the hells.

The sight made Hump smile.

This was the arrogance of the powerful.

There was movement at Hump’s side and he glanced over to see Celaine and the others approach.

“Hump?” Celaine called quietly, squinting her eyes as if to try and see him. She couldn’t see him through the shadow.

“I’m here,” Hump said, teeth gritted. “Must focus.”

He saw the relief in her. She stepped through the veil and took in the sight of him fully. He saw the light of his power reflect on her face, illuminating her like the sun. There was a moment of worry on Celaine’s face, but it passed before Hump could figure out why. She came to stand at his side, and there she stood, Nisha arriving beside her. Hump felt comfort at their presence. She was safe. Nisha was safe. He just had to focus on the rift.

***

Bud stared at Hump in astonishment. Golden veins pulsed under his skin. His eyes shone with radiant light, so bright, so alive, that they mirrored Godfrey’s own divine brilliance. It was unmistakable—this was divinity. This was the power of Lady Light, and right now it was wielded by a wizard.

Prince Gregory took an eager step toward him. “Wizard—”

Dylan seized the prince’s arm and held a finger to his lips. “Let him focus.”

The prince’s brow knit in confusion. “What’s he doing?”

“As far as I can tell,” Dylan whispered, “he’s filling the chamber with essence drawn from the Seal of Elenvine. He’s using it to expand the rift. I don’t know how he’s managing so much. A single mistake and we’ll all…”

“Die?”

Dylan gave him a nervous look. “Probably.”

Bud took a steadying breath and turned his gaze toward Godfrey. If a single mistake would doom them, then Hump wouldn’t make it. When the pressure was on, there was nobody Bud trusted to hold themselves together more than Hump. This was when he performed best.

Now Bud just had to do whatever he could to support him.

His lips pressed into a determined line as he stared toward the expanding rift. It was almost half the height of the chamber now, a black slit in the world like the pupil of a cat.

He caught the moment Godfrey noticed something was wrong. His triumphant smile faded, replaced by one of concern. The traitor’s eyes swept across the chamber, clearly searching for their hidden position.

“He’s noticed,” Emilia said softly.

Bud glanced up. Already the rift was larger. Above, the battle raged fiercely. The Tree of Damnation was on fire. Baelkor was forced to defend, but it wouldn’t be long before he broke free. “Hump, whatever you’re doing, you need to speed up. He’s almost finished.”

Bud took another step forward, sword in his hand. His body was heavy. His earlier wounds left him cold and weak, but now more than ever he could not allow himself to falter. He lifted his blade, an extension of his own body.

“What are you doing?” Celaine asked.

“We need to distract him, even if it’s only for a moment,” Bud said, stepping out of hiding and into Godfrey’s sight. “He must maintain his ritual. Now is our chance.”

He marched on Godfrey.

“I stand before you as Kelisia’s faithful.” The chamber echoed with Bud’s voice. “Tobias Godfrey, Traitor of Light, you will taste the cold of frostfire, and in the blaze, your sins shall be purged.”

Wings of the Frostfire Paladin erupted from Bud’s back and he leapt forward using Harbinger of Ice, launching himself through the air. The world blurred past. He raised his sword overhead, Frostfire blazing. He drew it into his sword, wielding the Blade of Judgement as he brought it down upon the edge of Godfrey’s formation.

A golden barrier blocked his blow and Bud fell back. Golden lances exploded from it, but Emilia appeared in a red blur, her blade carving the line of Red Horizon through the air as she blocked the blow. One took her in the shoulder, and she fell, but Bud didn’t turn.

He advanced with solemn purpose. Essence pulsed through him. He raised his voice and called to his goddess with every bit of faith he had.

“Hear me now, Kelisia!” Bud roared. “Grant me the strength to defeat your enemies!”

He felt her touch—a whisper of frost that ignited his soul. At once, her presence enveloped him. His Ice Armour turned to glowing crystal. His Heart of Frostfire turned to a true blaze, turning even the roots of the Tree of Damnation at his feet to ice.

He drew his blade back, then stabbed it forward—the power of Kelisia surging through his blade in Divine Reckoning.

The golden barrier before them split under the impact. Cracks spread like jagged veins, and ice crystalised explosively within them, blooming outward in jagged, radiant blossoms. Among the shards, Celaine’s arrow cut through the chaos, a swirl of silver and shadow that flew for Godfrey’s face.

The traitor caught it in his hand, and it exploded into a churning blast of darkness and death, but of course, he did not fall.

Spears of pure light materialised in a halo around Godfrey, turning to point straight at Bud. Bud formed his Glacial Bulwark, layered it with Aegis of Santuary, then watched as they shot forward.

Then he felt the warmth of Dylan’s blessings around his waist. Vines wrapped around Bud’s stomach, dragging him back alongside Emilia just as Dylan rushed to stand before them all. His skin had turned to bark. His body was taller, taking on the Aspect of the Guardian—half tree, half man. He braced himself, unleashing Wrath of the Wild with a primal roar as the spears struck him across his body.

***

The time for subtlety was over.

Hump’s soul blazed as he watched his friends suffer Godfrey’s terrifying strength. His will centred on his staff, steering all his essence into the focus. Then he levelled it toward the rift.

A blazing jet of gold erupted, streaking through the chamber, through the broken barrier around Godfrey, and straight into the open abyss. The shock of it ripped through Hump like ice in his veins as the room erupted with golden fury. Owalyn’s presence vanished—her shadows with her.

The rift grew faster. It fed more hungrily on the world. Essence poured from the roots of the Tree of Damnation. From the ground. The battle above. The sanctuary of Lady Light. All of it rushed to the rift, tearing it wider. The veil was open, and it was greedy.

Godfrey’s attention snapped to it, his eyes wide with alarm.

Hump screamed as he unleashed the last of his essence. The power of the seal had faded now, but he had his own. He gave it everything. Around him, his allied joined the effort. Prince Gregory’s blessings radiated with the fire of Ordana. Nisha roared, her golden flames pouring into the rift.

It swelled.

“No!” came the booming roar of Baelkor from above. “It cannot—”

Silence.

The rift touched Godfrey’s runic array, and the light was lost from them. The chamber was plunged into darkness. In an instant, the rift swallowed the golden circle and the last bit of essence trying to free Baelkor from his prison. It consumed Godfrey as he stood frozen, powering the ritual.

But its growth continued to speed up.

“Oh no,” Hump whispered.

The rift didn’t stop. There was no time to escape.

“Get together!” Hump roared. “To Dylan!”

He sheathed his spellbook and grabbed Celaine’s hand as tight as he could, then told Nisha to get in close against his legs. They formed up around the druid, whose vines wrapped around them all.

The rift surged forward. Hump sensed nothing from it—no essence, no strength. Just an emptiness.

And then they too were swallowed.