Symphonic Odyssey
: Vol. Three: Dark Sarcophagus: Verse One-Hundred and Fifty-Three

Alex roared and cast his first spell, “DUET, VERSE ONE, HORIZON OF FIRE!” Reaching deeper than he ever had before, Alex pushed past his limits and cast at the second rank. Something within him had broken open under this amount of stress, fear, and pressure, and his abilities as a Conductor had evolved as a result.

Twelve fireballs blazed to life in front of him and then shot out at rapid speed. Louis smiled and ducked under the attack easily. Alex was staggered by this, but Cypher followed up with a spell of his own.

“TRIO, VERSE TWO, CRACKLE OF LIGHTNING BOLT!” The room was illuminated as the lightning streaked through the air and slammed against Louis. The Vampire lord seemed to be stunned for only an instant, but that was enough time for Alex to fire off another volley of fireballs.

The two of them kept this struggle up for as long as they could. Their weapons were practically useless against such a powerful body, but spells could at least have a chance of dealing damage. They cast spell after spell, working in perfect unison, and when their Orriums ran dry they collapsed to the ground, heaving.

“Tut tut, decent, but not good enough. Again!!” Louis once again infused them with another pair of souls. Another two lifetimes ran through their minds, and they once again rose to face him with tears in their eyes and despair in their hearts.

This time weapons entered the fray. Louis was able to dodge, block, or parry every single attack that came his way. The spells he either dodged or reflected back at them and soon the room was filled with the sounds of battle. When they would grow tired, Louis would refill their power with yet more souls. The trauma of such infusions began to wear heavily on their minds, but their pointless struggle continued.

Cypher tried the same stream of spells that had defeated the berserker outside. The attacks hit their mark and Louis allowed himself to be entombed. But when the dust cleared and the massive block of obsidian appeared in their view, it shattered like a pane of glass in the chill of winter.

Nothing they had could leave so much as a scratch upon him. After a solid hour of nonstop spell-casting and sword-slinging, a ray of hope finally appeared. One of Alex’s fireballs missed Louis and exploded against the ceiling. A slim ray of sunlight shot into the room and caught Louis across the cheek.

He grunted in pain and retreated further into the shadows of the room. The burn had been intense, burning all the way to the bone in an instant. This was far more damage than either of them had been able to inflict, even with an infinite supply of Zight. The two didn’t fail to take notice of this either.

It was common knowledge that vampires were weak against sunlight, but in their immense terror, that detail had completely slipped their minds. Furthermore, they had been underground for quite some time. Remembering that the sun was burning just a few meters above them now was easy to forget.

The two instantly began firing spells in all directions, their only goal being to open up as much of the ceiling as they could to allow light to pour in. Soon rays of light filled the entire room and Louis’s movements finally became restricted. Louis hissed in frustration and brandished his cape. A dark mist began to fill the room and blocked off most of the light allowing him to move freely once again.

That didn’t stop Cypher and Alex though. They continued to fire off as many explosive spells as they could and, thanks to some careful maneuvering, found themselves with their backs to the exit, and a wall of light between them and Louis.

“Wise little humans you turned out to be. I chose my emissaries well. Consider this my loss for failing to remember that you humans were capable of exploiting weaknesses in such ways,” Louis only stood within the shadows and smiled at them.

“It’s quite lucky for the two of you. In truth, I was considering killing you since you showed no real battle prowess beyond what your ancestors were capable of. I even granted you access to the same level of might they once held and yet, you still proved to be unable to match my strength.

“Still, you rose to the challenge and proved yourselves somewhat capable, and for that, you have my praise. Go now young ones, and spread my word. I have much work to do in rebuilding my race, and no more time to waste on the likes of you. Rest assured, we will meet again little mortals, that I promise you. You would do well to increase your power before that time comes. Next time I won’t hold back.”

With that, Louis turned and with a dark chorus of laughter escaping his lips, descended once more into the depths of Finn’s Deep.

Cypher and Alex wasted no time in fleeing that place. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, and continued running until they reached the gates of Seven City. They didn’t stop running until they reached the Hawthorn grove of Cypher’s house and, once inside, they collapsed onto the floor.

Their nerves were fried, their bodies exhausted, and despite being so far away from that nightmare of a creature, fear still ruled their minds above all else. “Cypher… what do we do? How can anyone dream of standing against something like that?” Stuttered Alex through strained breaths.

“I-I don’t know Alex… But we have to warn everyone, anyone who will believe us. That thing is more dangerous than you realize…” replied Cypher, and the two sat in silence for a long period of time afterward. Their minds wandered through the fading memories belonging to the souls of the people they had unwillingly absorbed.

Saving Heartwell village seemed like a distant dream as they considered the events they had just been through. It didn’t matter. If evil like that walked this earth, what, if anything, mattered?

Cypher thought some more on the matter. Louis was pure evil, and that was something Cypher had never encountered before.

Bandits were evil but they weren’t even in the same realm as something like that Minus. Bandits stole and murdered for sport and survival. It was horrible, but there was a meaning behind it. Those twisted people thrived on the suffering of others. Rogue Conductors murdered and burned only to increase their power. But once again, while it was horrible, it had a meaning and purpose.

The oppressive aura of Louis Balistane carried no semblance of meaning. He was mindless, uncaring, ruthless evil. There was no purpose, no method, no reason. It was as if he was evil incarnate and Cypher had no idea how to approach such a thing.

Was it even possible?