Chapter 24: Mangled Monstrosity

Emerius exhaled deeply, sheathing his sword and tapping his other blade to make sure he hadn’t lost it in the fray. "It is good that my assumption was correct. I had hoped it was, but wasn’t sure." Charon, happy to have stopped running, put his hands on his knees as he took in air. "What do you mean? What weren’t you sure about?" Emerius gestured to the tree. "This tree is one of the God Marked. Rare, valuable, and incredibly potent in magic. Nothing a Mangled Monstrosity would risk getting near." Charon shot up in confusion, his lip curling. "What about hiding in a crack? You told me we would have to keep running!" His companion gave him a flat look. "That was also a possibility. I had to make a decision; explain the details of the tree, or prepare you for if I was wrong. The goal was for us to survive." Charon was still a little hurt, especially as Emerius had plenty of time during their run to fill him in, but he wasn’t in the mood to start a fight. He glanced back. ’I’ve had enough fighting for the day. Or the week. Actually, the year. I’m done fighting things.’ "What even was that thing?" "A Mangled Monstrosity. A small one, thank the gods. I grew up hearing stories about it, but never thought I’d see one during my lifetime." Charon gave him a look, showing exactly how much he appreciated the half-assed description. Rolling his eyes, Emerius continued, taking on a forced upbeat tone. "They are apocalyptic beasts. They grow by consuming humans and other sentient creatures, incorporating them into a single mass. The danger is in how they gain the memories and skills of those they eat, and after a certain point, they can even wield magic." For the first time, Charon saw Emerius shiver. ’So he CAN feel fear.’ "My grandfather told me that the last time humanity faced one was when we had barely left our original solar system. A species called the Hyperboreans had been fighting one for centuries. They had gone from the largest empire to even walk the galaxy, to extinct, their last holding just barely managing to slay the beast." Charon had never heard of the Hyperboreans before. As far as he knew, the humans had built the largest empire in history, but Emerius was claiming they had been beaten by this unknown species. Despite his misgivings, he knew Emerius wasn’t lying. There was a gravity to the way he explained it, a meaning that spoke to some kind of culture. ’Inner ring people must have their own ways of doing things. It wouldn’t surprise me if some ancient spacefaring species would have scared them, causing them to remember for centuries.’ "How did you know that one was chasing us?" Emerius shot him a glare for only a second, his gaze softening quickly. "Do not trouble yourself with that. Just trust that I will be able to protect us from similar creatures. The real question is, how does this realm have such a terrifying monster?" Charon shrugged. "It’s a place for the undead. That could have been the one that killed the Hyperboreans, right? Shouldn’t it be as simple as that?" His companion shook his head. "No, that is not right. The Mangled Monstrosity was said to be the size of a star, twisting the gravity for many light years. The one we saw was nothing close to that. Something about this place... it worries me." Charon just nodded along with the words, unwilling to reveal everything he knew about the River Acheron just yet. ’This creature sounds just like the type of beast to deserve a place in the strongest undead realm, but Emerius is right. Why is it so small? Could there have been more than one?’ It was indeed a worrying thought. If only one of them had managed to destroy a galactic empire, then what could two do? Or three? Shaking his head to banish the thoughts, he turned his attention back to the tree, which was now only a short walk away. At some point during the chase, they had arrived under the champion’s shade, the sun vanishing in the black-leaved canopy. His robes fluttered excitedly, an action that surprised Charon. ’The Warden likes this place? It shouldn’t surprise me, this realm is home after all. We aren’t too far from the beach, he probably visited this tree every now and then. Welcome home, buddy!’ He might’ve imagined it, but he thought his robes fluttered a little more, as if they enjoyed his consideration. "What is a God Marked tree anyway? This thing must be the largest tree in the galaxy!" Emerius, for the first time since they came to the realm, sounded excited as he replied, finally able to share some information he enjoyed. "According to the legends, each tree represents an important treaty signed by the gods. They all have ten arrows, and the most prominent one shows which god is the beneficiary." He pointed to the purple symbol on the base, the ten arrows. "The downward arrow means the God of Death has jurisdiction here. Nothing will want to earn his ire by trespassing on these hallowed grounds, but we should be fine. Our elements are his gifts, after all. He won’t punish us just for being here so long as we remain respectful." It all felt a bit fantastic to Charon, a fact he enjoyed as he snickered behind his hand. ’It’s the kind of thing the heroes would find! Some ancient artifact would be buried within, and the Elves would be trying to steal it. This is exactly what I had hoped to find, incredible and powerful locations with deep histories!’ He had always dreamed of moments like this, and here he was. Emerius led them both to the God Marked, making sure that they were directed at the arrow. "The arrow is always positioned above the entrance. Inside, we should find a temple. Given that a Mangled Monstrosity is just outside, I doubt there will be many priests left, but they could be supplies." Not long passed before Emerius’ claim was proven. A tall opening was set into the trunk, exactly where the arrow pointed. It was wide and asymmetric, seemingly made from a cut in the bark. The closer they got, the more Charon could feel a draft coming from the interior, smelling like parchment and, strangely, smoke. Emerius smelled it too, tilting his head slightly and resting his hand on the pommel of one of his swords. No words were exchanged, but Charon knew he was being warned to keep an eye out. ’It’s a good thing I still have the dagger.’ The black blade was held tightly in his hand, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. With careful movements, they passed under the God Marked’s entrance. Charon instantly felt a sense of dread but ignored it, quickly viewing it as his nerves getting the better of him. They soon came across a series of metal torches set into the tunnel’s walls, purple flames snapping in the air. ’Emerius called them Everflame Candles.’ It was eerie to see them in this place after how they were arranged around the corpse, like they were a bad omen. To make matters worse, there were many more torches to come, being set about every ten feet. At one point, Emerius stopped to inspect them, but just shook his head, not finding what he had been looking for. After walking for a while, they finally found the temple itself. A stone doorway stood, empty hinges hanging from its frame. The accompanying doors were on the ground just inside the room, blasted into shards of ebony wood. Creeping through the opening, Charon flanked Emerius to his left, hoping that between the two of them, they could cover every angle. A large cathedral greeted them inside. Rows of wooden pews led up to a raised altar with a black-stone podium. Stained glass was set into the wall at the very back, but only a few torches remained lit, making it impossible to see the artwork. More doorways were set into the sides of the hall, two in the center, and another two near the podium. A metal chandelier hung from the roof, only one candle still flickering with life. What caught Charon’s attention was that, in the very center of the hall, was a small campfire, still alight with a red flame. The pews around it had been pushed away or broken down, a small pile of wood resting near the fire. The duo took a couple more steps into the hall, passing the first few pews and approaching the campfire. When they were only a dozen feet away, Charon noticed something else resting around the fire. Long strips of red meat, wooden cups for water, and a few sharpened pieces of metal to skewer food sat near an untouched pew, just a foot from the flame.