The Scourge of The Abyss [Spellstone]

Michael caught a glimpse of the wink that was shot his way as he lowered into the murk, partially no feeling the sentiment behind the gesture. It was dark, and a chill ran along his flesh that otherwise made the male feel uncomfortable. Joining his sickly pale light was another one, a lighter one, and one that seemed to add a certain vibrancy to the stones dead coloration. Perhaps the corpses that floated below them would rise from their stupor, break the confines of death and then grasp out for the two, before tearing into their flesh with black nubby teeth and then pull them below the depths. It was a morbid thought that ran through his mind and as quickly it was gone. ”The place reeks of death.” Saying this, one could sense the unease within his voice, as if he were hoping that it were nothing.

Spellstone shone his light outwards, piercing the oppressive darkness searching for what lurked beyond the veil. Nothing lurked within the rays of light, save for a small rat that crawled along the small amount of dry concrete, inches from being under water as well. It seemed that even within this murk the rodents would thrive, which made him wonder something for a moment. It was thing that moment of wondering that something surfaced from the dark waters that shrouded everything within it, a humanoid figure that glittered with a strange metallic opalescence. One however could see the gaping holes within its flesh, if they looked hard enough or had the reaction time that Michael did, and he saw the mouth filled with rotting teeth.

It was fast soaring through the air, nearly fleshless limbs that flailed towards him. Without even thinking eight tendrils of dark ethereal formed upon his back, one of them swatting at the being that was heedlessly jumping at him. With a guttural screech it found its head cleanly removed, dirty black blood spewing from the stump, and splattering against the limbs that he had created, as the body fell worthlessly into the water. It was decomposed, but still moving as if it were whole, more of the corpses moved amongst the water, swimming much like fish but at speeds no normal human should have been able to reach. They were shadows that created ripples, humanoid monsters that seemed to want more than conversation. They were the servants of this ancient dragon, beings perhaps meant to stop anyone from wondering into his lair.

”Undead? How….disgusting.” Michael sneered as the new limbs moved about, forming a protective perimeter about him, blade ends proving more than useful for dealing with anything that would come their way. ”Be careful, they may not have an infective bite like on the movies…but I have a feeling that these creatures bites are pretty toxic.” Another slash of a tendril shore one in two, and another took another one out, yet that did not stem the tide well.

Michael found himself smirking, slightly amused by what Spellstone had said about him being undead. Sure it would have gone differently with another saying such a thing, their jaw finding itself dislocated form their head, but he would let him get away with it. Besides, they were dealing with the dead that crept through the deep, not any time for him to complain about something that was true. They were not very durable, yet the numbers that could reside under the waters was more than enough to make him hesitate, partially fearful of what could lurk underneath. Enough that he would not lower the spell that created his tendrils, perhaps not ever. So they would slowly move forward, sliving through any of the undead as they did so, making their way towards what looked like a cistern. However it seemed to be breaking off into four different directions, one of which they had already come from.

However, the things still seemed to be coming, as if they were limitless within number, and perhaps even stronger than initially thought. More seemed to leap from the waters like morbid dolphins, and more found themselves knocked away by powerful bladed tendrils, each one furiously smashing away at them. ”Damn these things are like cockroaches.” Michael muttered swatting another against a wall as it fell to pieces, and then he began to gather dark ethereal between his hands forming a alrge orb of energy that glowed brightly. ”Hey, you might need a shield or something for this.” Michael said to Spellstone before letting this energy build up, and then unleashing it upon the cistern below, energy spreading outwards through the area. Water was pushed away as the surge eviscerated anything touched by it, other than Michael of course.

He could have given Joshua more time to react to the sudden burst of dark ethereal that permeated the tunnels, but then again he did not have much time. Something told him that something was coming, something that with the ehlp of these undead would have been rather difficult to deal with on their own. He could not risk his own life in the process, nor could he risk his allies’ life. Something told Michael that he would serve a greater purpose alive than if he were dead. Also, he owed him that much for bringing him back from the precipice of death, back from what could have been his final sleep. Twisted and decayed bodies disintegrated as they were struck by the overwhelming power of his energy, a bright flash following his unleashing of the energy.

It was when the male turned that he saw Spellstone kneeling within the muck, something that suggested that he was hurt within some way, or tired. Michael lowered himself, descending closer to the male as the water quickly began to fill the spots that his energy had created. He reached on hand towards his ally, perhaps to garner his attention and ask if he were okay. Yet he decided against it, not wanting him to feel as if he were in need of help. What came was a joke, one that made him smile lightly as if somehow that would make everything better.

”I guess you’ll want me to pay the dry cleaning now, right?” He questioned with a raised brow, his source of light catching up to him and illuminating both within its pale light. However that small smile dropped upon hearing the male cough violently as if there were some kind of internal damage, something that caught his attention. ”Whoa. That cough sounds kind rough. You okay?” He asked a small amount of concern coming into his voice without even meaning to, Michael realizing that and reigning it in, stepping a few inches back yet enough where he was prepared to offer a healing hand if one was needed.

The male wasn’t fine, and Michael had a feeling that he would need some kind of treatment soon, otherwise he would likely die. Not that he would have bothered too much with that fact, but his power would have proven rather useful in the long run. ”I have something just as good as that.” Michael muttered drawing upon the void armors power, though at the moment it was still taking the guise of clothing, pressing a palm to Spellstones shoulder. Dark ethereal for a moment took on the form of grey Ultima, an aura around his arm that trailed to the palm touching Spellstone. In that moment the male would likely feel whatever pain was ailing him wash away, leaving only a serene feeling as the Ultima changed into something else, a light green energy with a blue core. With that healing feeling came actual healing, perhaps more than enough to help with his ailments.

It felt like a small amount of himself was being pulled away with this motion, healing the human that he owed so much to. ”You should be feeling better now…I hope.” Michael noted pulling his hand away from the male, waiting for a reaction. How would he react to feeling the power of the ethereal washing over his body like that? Witnessing it act was one thing, but to feel it work through you, and repair you was another thing altogether. ”Need any help getting up?” Michael asked offering his hand to the fallen mage with a smile, fingers outstretched if he chose to accept it. ”I have a feeling that we shouldn’t stay around here too long, something might be coming as we speak.”

The idea of fighting a werewolf amused Michael in some way, as if the lupine shape shifters running through the sewers would actually happen. It was possible of course, but he imagined them doing more than simply spending their lives in the ruined city, one that was still within the throes of rebirth. ”Okay.” He wouldn’t mention for the male to be more careful, even if he wanted to more or less yell it at him. He surely had a stronger spell than what was used to shield himself, and yet that was what he ended up throwing to defend himself.

”Follow me, and be careful.” Michael said simply with a friendly expression cast within the pale light of the orb that floated infront of them, one that now took on the color of Pure Ethereal. Along with it came the bliss of the energy, one that silently calmed him down, even if he was stepping within human waste. Well it did not take long for Michael to realize that and elevate himself a few feet above the dirty water, expecting Joshua to do the same.

If he did not enjoy the feel of it against his skin, then something told him the mage would not like it at all. So they would continue on in their adventure through the dark and smelly sewers, guided by dim lighting. Echoes, low as they were danced along the walls as they seemed to close on in. Along with this sound came an otherworldly energy, one that radiated dark intent and seemed to suffocate, sent a strange shudder down his spine. It seemed that more than the dragon stirred beneath the tunnels of New York, something powerful as well.

Michael’s own expression shifted slightly as the ancient energy washed over his senses, something about it nearly causing the mago occuli to appear within his eyes, to alter the purple irises into something else entirely. It seemed that they were coming close to something, strange light radiating from a turn in the tunnel. ”Not yet, but whatever you do, I would suggest being careful. If it is the dragon, he may be….livid about being disturbed.” So he thought as they turned the corner, the tunnels seeming to lead into what looked like a large area of the sewers. Something was curled within the place, the back peeking up over the edge, decorated with crystal shards, large jagged ones that shone with radiant rainbow light. A tail whipped lightly around a large pile of golden things, only adding to the radiance.

The ethereal levitated closer until he could see something, a alrge metallic form curled atop this mass of wealth. In fact its body was as gold as the mineral around it, a small amount of steam rising from what appeared to be nostrils. Draconic it was in shape, but not like one would expect of a dragon, lacking scales and many other things that came with dragons, other than strange looking wings that were folded upon its back. A tail swiped about the mountins of gold, knocking a few of the mound down to meld with the lesser mass that resided upon the floor, goblets, coins and everything in between. It was unlikely that the thing could have amassed all of this within the short time that new York was destroyed, this treasure trove seemed more ancient than one could imaging. A trove older than perhaps The Abyss itself.

”Well I think you have your answer.” Michael said as he floated upon the edge of the tunnel, and yet water did not flow further than this. IN fact it seemed to disappear upon touching the shimmering visage of the entrance into the dragons den, the room that seemed cavernous, as if there were no ceiling. Only a blackness resided above where it slept, as if they could fly upwards for years and still not reach a definable end. Another presence resided within here though, one that could not quite be placed.

”Well, a mortal and an immortal tread upon dangerous grounds, how…intriguing.” An impish sounding female voice noted, and as if always there Michael took notice of the one sitting upon this dragons back. ”What brings the Ethereal King to a lowly place like this?” The female asked, hair like flowing honey and dressed within bright gold robs that hugged her form.

”Looks like we’re not the only ones here.”

”Oh, and here’s this little interesting mortal. So much power, but how much is actually yours?” She wondered outloud, voice seeming as loud as if she were talking only a foot away. "Never mind, I know why you’re here, and its pointless. You two lack the power required, even if the power you wield is great.”

The female was powerful from what he could feel and the dragon even more than her. They were standing before two powerful beings, one likely more powerful than those that aimed to defeat them. ” That which is borrowed does not make it yours.” She noted looking to both Michael and the Spellstone, as if saying something that both held something that was not theirs. The ethereal king growled lightly at the woman, teeth baring as he considering eviscerating her then and there. However, it was the comment about immortality that seemed to draw Joshua’s attention more than anything. For some reason his own agelessness seemed more important than the fact that they were dealing with something more powerful than they could have ever dealt with.

”I…yeah I guess you could say that I am.” Michael said with an uneasy expression, he would have gone without the whole admitting that he didn’t age unless he wanted to thing. It was likely that the human would be jealous or something like that, which he did not need. ”Anyway, we’ve come here to deal with the dragon, not you.” Michael added as a strange blade seemed to appear out of nowhere, one with a pulsing grey blade and strange red handle, forming around his hand. Fingers clasped the handle, pointing it at the woman that was settled upon the slumbering dragon. Luckily it seemed that his own title as King meant nothing to the male, or he played it off as a joke at any rate.

”Well if you’re here for a battle, come on.” She said simply with a golden glow radiating around her.

How the dragon would react to noise was not something that Michael could accurately guess, but he had a small guess upon how anyway. Perhaps it would be angry at the two beings that had wandered into its little cavern, but either way they would kill it, no matter how difficult that task would prove to be. After all, if they did manage to kill this sorceress before the dragon woke up then they would only have one less thing to deal with, and yet he felt as if killing her would be nearly impossible, or really difficult. ”Sounds as if you think you could defeat me.” The blonde chortled lightly, rising to her feet as she looked up to the two that had come to challenge her, the gem like shards jutting from the dragons back seeming to shine lightly, with a prismatic light.

Fingers splayed as what appeared to be a staff with a strange gem on the end appeared within her hand A great amount of energy radiated through the place, seeming to speak of great power that this woman held, yet she had a feeling only Michael could truly grasp the power she radiated. It was a strange one, seemingly endless. The ethereal king raised the blade, leveling the tip to where it seemed to be pointing at the female’s head, the thought of slicing through her neck appearing within his mind for a second. However he was unsure how possible that would be, and if his ally was for the whole killing thing, if he remembered heroes well enough. Some seemed to have a code against killing people or whatever that was anyway.

His mind shot over the many ways that he could deal with this woman however, even though he understood nothing about her powers. For all he knew she could sue a variation of ethereal energy or her very powers could have been fueled by it. All he knew was that this strange woman would have to be taken seriously, and both him and Spellstone would have been ready if not for something else that happened. The draconic construct stirred within the mound of gold, a low mechanical growl emanating from a maw that was creaking open. The golden light that radiated from the woman danced along the golden plating of the dragon, creating an iridescence that rose into the endless dark ceiling above the room.

”Looks like its waking up now actually.” Harsh steam issued from it's mouth and danced along the gold. Its eyes were multifaceted like gems as they focused upon the Ethereal king and the bearer of The Spellstone. A low growl rose from the mechanical throat, much like the running of cogs as it pulled itself from the mountain beneath it. The tail lashed out and knocked down an entire pile of gold as the dragon rose in stature, enough that it could look upon them without raising its head. Atop the head of this dragon rode the female, deftly wielding the powerful staff.

”You said something about taking us both.” She said with a sing song voice, devious smirk playing across her lips. ”Well here you go.” Opening its maw the dragon unleashed a powerful burst of steam, one that caused the very about it to fluctuate from the heat that it was radiating.