"Aureus (Abridged) Final Chapter" by Harrison (Aureus) Gordon

Chapter 10 (Final Chapter)

            The building was a tall, dilapidated, old church.  The gothic style gave a feeling of omniscience in the air, as if everything Aureus did could be seen.  There was no turning back, and Aureus wasn’t going to run away now.  He pushed with all his might on the large, wooden door of the old church, and took a step in.

            It was very quiet, in fact, too quiet.  Aureus was ever vigilant, watching for anything that may just jump out at him.  He passed the many rows of seats and the altar, making his way to the staircase.  He took the winding path of the stone stairwell higher and higher.  Aureus heard something making its way down the stairs, but it was faint.  He perked his ears, but by the time he was able to hear them, it was too late.  Swarms of what could easily be described as little demons surrounded Aureus.  They were pure black, and looked like small, thin children with wings, with scales and a horrid stench that disgusted Aureus.  Soon, they were picking away at his clothing, but he wouldn’t take it for long.  He grabbed his sword from the sheath on his back, and the sword once again began to shine. It shone with more power and brilliant light than ever before,  blinding the little demons, giving Aureus enough time to swing at them with the blunt end, knocking each one out.  He finally reached a door at the top of the stair case.  From behind it, he heard an organ playing something in the minor key, something that Aureus didn’t particularly like.  He slammed himself at the door, bursting it open with a large din.  The organ playing stopped, and the player stood.  His menacing height was worse than before, and his bulk had doubled since the last encounter.  His face was distraught, with black markings that looked like a ritualistic face mask.  But worst of all, Aureus saw something he never thought he would; two pointed ears, the obvious indication of an elf.

            “Well, we meet again!  You have saved me the trip to your village for a sacrifice, I thank you,” sneered the gnarled elf, his eyes were burning with an animalistic urge to kill and destroy, and they were set on Aureus. 

            “You killed my father, you killed the villagers, and you killed…”Aureus closed his eyes, tears pounding the wooden floor with a light thud, “Nuria.  I will make you pay; I swear I’ll make you pay.”

            “Hah!  I defeated the strongest of all Guardians.  To him, you are nothing when it comes to my strength.  I will kill you with my bare hands.”

            “So be it!” shouted Aureus, grabbing his father’s sword once again, the radiant glow feeding off his emotions, pains, and sorrows.  “I must destroy you!”

            The gnarled elf peered at the sword, shielding his eyes from the radiant light which came from it.  “I remember that sword.  It was strong, especially in the hands of your father, but it is still no match for me.  For I improved it with my own design…”  On the side of the large organ, he grabbed a sword from the shadows.  Its black blade and hilt glowed in a strange way; it gave no light, yet it seemed to give off a power far worse.  On the top of the hilt rested a large red gem.   Every time the blade was swung, the cries and shouts of the people it had killed could be heard, and it was a most horrible sound.  The gnarled elf seemed to like it all too much. 

            “Come then, I shall spill your blood across the floor, and not even the rats will feed upon your mangled body!”

            Aureus lunged at the giant of an elf, both hands holding onto the sword.  He shouted a cry, and lifted the sword, glowing a bright white, above his head and then slammed it down upon his target.

            The dark elf didn’t flinch.  Aureus was stunned, while the elf took his left hand and threw Aureus to the ground.  He lunged his black sword towards the wooden floor which Aureus laid on, but Aureus dodged the attack, rolling away then getting back on his feet.  His armor took a bit of a gash, but nothing was seriously damaged.  He stood ready, his sword in front of him, inviting the tainted elf to attack.  He accepted,  bringing his sword above his head, and slashing down on Aureus, who blocked with his.  Aureus was breaking under the pressure, and he leaped back even further.  He was tiring out fast, and the dark elf was hardly breaking a sweat.  This entire time, all the tainted elf could do was laugh the same maniacal laugh he did one year ago.  Nothing enraged Aureus more than this, and his sword glowed with even more radiant light.  He rushed without thinking towards the giant, and soon found himself brought down to the ground by the blunt side of the dark sword.  Aureus was in serious pain, yet he still got up and tried to attack, again and again.  Each time, the dark elf would smack him down with the blunt side, spilling more of Aureus’s blood with each blow.  He still kept using the same maniacal laughter.

            “Face it, boy.  I will slaughter you as I did your father.”

            “Never!”

            “Learn the hard way, boy!”  And with that, the dark elf hit Aureus with his bare hand across the face.  Blood was trickling down from Aureus’s mouth, and the rest of his face was bruised and torn, yet he still got up from the attack.

            Aureus stopped his mindless assaults, and thought to himself. “What can I do?  I gave him everything I had, yet it still wasn’t enough to defeat him…  Maybe I will lose.  No!  I can’t lose.  Too much is riding on this.  Besides, I told Mom I would come back.  I’m not going to break that promise.  But what to do?!”  Aureus was looking for every dire possibility, but finding none.  His emotions soared, and his sword glowed stronger and stronger, as his thoughts about his mother, father, and Nuria quickly enveloped him. 

            The Familiar burst out of Aureus’s sheath, letting out more radiant light than ever before.  It spun around Aureus like it had the first time they met in the deep, dark crevices of Garner’s stone building.  He remembered something he had said about it…

            “The Familiar, is a strange creature,” stated Garner, as Aureus took notes.  He was remembering the day after receiving what Garner had given him, including that same sphere of light. “It is almost pure energy, and it craves more and more.  As it grows, it will develop a close bond with its master, and if you become powerful enough, it may just decide to fuse with your power.”

            “But that seems unlikely, don’t you think?”

            “It is a small chance, but if it ever happens, you will have more power than you could ever imagine.”

            Aureus awoke from his daze, noticing that the Familiar was now encircling him with an immense radiance.  Its revolutions around Aureus got smaller and smaller, and then a large flash along with an explosion followed.  The light engulfed the entire room, and the dark elf had shielded his eyes.  It was all gone within seconds, but what was left was more than what the tainted elf had bargained for. 

             The dark elf backed away, in terror, as Aureus now slowly approached him step by step.  Aureus had changed.  His body was bigger, his sword had lengthened, and his hair turned a bright shade of silver.  A sliver of light encircled the enflamed Aureus, with the same determined look on his face since the beginning of the battle.  He lifted his sword, and pointed it towards the dark elf, then slashed with all his might.  The tainted elf blocked, but to no avail. His black sword was cut in half, and a gash made in his chest. 

            “You killed my father, you killed the villagers, and you killed my Nuria.  Prepare to die.”  Aureus lunged his sword straight into the belly of the dark elf, who let out a gasp as it punctured his skin and went deeper into his body.  In some way, the eyes of the dark elf had changed; they turned a bright blue, and showed a more aged look.  He pushed himself deeper into the sword, slowly, but forcefully.  His eyes gave off a determined look, but what Aureus saw wasn’t the same lust for death as it was before.  The dark elf’s body began to emit what looked like a black, gaseous substance.

            “Thank you, son, for saving…” he took his last breathe, and fell off of Aureus’s blade.  The gaseous substance collected, and flew out of the broken stained glass.  The once giant elf was now a little taller than him, and his color had faded to a light tan and his hair a faint yellow.  Aureus fell to his knees, as tears mixed with the blood of the now deceased elf. “Father.”