Golden Dawn

|Chapter 33 ~ Luminous Artillery|

The moment its shadow passed by underneath us, I knew we were fighting against a formidable foe of which the likes I had never seen before.

Just the Ertheon's shadow - the Lepsharian name for the colossal creature - was large enough to momentarily darken the entire desert before the light of the moon illuminated it in its silverly glow once again. The Ertheon passed over us as quickly as it arrived, but left our party in absolute stupefaction at its mere presence.

At first, no one spoke. No one could  speak. The sight made us all so quiet, I managed to hear my own heartbeat racket against my ribcage in short petrified beats. The air suddenly felt poisonous as if it was hard to breathe and it felt as if my lungs couldn't get enough of the evening air.

Angelus was the first to take action and immediately drew his weapon. The sound of the unsheathing blade made me spin my head in his direction and I almost forgot what horrors lay ahead of us.

The Defender's blade resembled pure and utter indigo midnight. It seemed to be crafted from the sheer night sky with a beautiful blade that could cut through silk and a hilt, made out of starlight. As Angelus held the magnificent weapon, I finally saw why everyone respected as well as feared him.

He was one who could inspire strength in all. An absolute picture of radiating power and valour. A fallen prince, immensely formidable and beautiful like the starry scattered heavens above.

I was momentarily immobile, too stunned to move until Jacob spoke and forced me out of my awe. His voice was so low I had to lean forward in order to hear what he was saying. His brown eyes hard as he spoke.

"Are we going to have to face that thing if we want to retrieve the sphere?" He whispered through clenched teeth and caused tensed silence to fall over our group. Our party's mood was exceptionally low. No one had managed to see the huge beast as it flew overhead, but we all knew we stood absolutely no chance against it.

It was simply impossible to battle something so otherworldly dynamic.

When I looked back at Angelus however, he was staring into the rift that loomed over us. The gateways to a hell I wasn't prepared to enter just yet.

The Defender's dark brows were furrowed with attentiveness, his whole body alert for the danger up ahead. It was however not Angelus who answered Jacob, but Ferîan who had also drawn his blade from his position next to the Defender.

I was once again taken aback by the gorgeous craftsmanship of Lespharian weaponry. In contrast to the defender's violet night weapon, Ferîan's blade reminded me of snow capped mountains and icy winter storms. It cooled the evening air in a comfortable frost breeze and sparkled like pure ice in the dimness of evening.

"We won't be able to reach the sphere without battling the Ertheon." Ferîan's words were tensed and poised as he growled. "And defeating it." Deep fear entered my chest. 

"Are you crazy? We won't be able to kill it! Did you see the size  of that thing?!" Christa yelled, her brown eyes wide in shock. "Is there no other way around it?!" She asked in absolute horror.

This time, it was Angelus who answered her.

"No there is not. Why do you presume Lespharian people were never able to find the sphere nor return home alive for the last thousand centuries? The Ertheon guards the sphere and will not move until age eventually take its toll." Angelus explained, his words darkening the already somber atmosphere and causing shivers to travel down my spine. My blood froze at the thought of facing such a vigorous creature. The beast was probably very much awake now, waiting upon our soon arrival.