Aftermath

AFTERMATH

UNKNOWN LOCATION – OUTER SPACE

Elyisaus winced as he was lowered onto the smooth stone table by several Psychic Coven members. He looked down at himself, noticing that his once pristine white and golden robes were little more than washed out, torn and colorless rags as he shifted into a more comfortable position. He stilled as the table beneath him lit up, tendrils of dark energy wound out of it, slowly wrapping around his torso and both legs. Two Psychic Coven members stepped forwards from the larger crowd of members, bowing low as the stone shifted into a vertical position. As the table ground to a halt they raised their eyes to meet Elyisaus; the Xenian looked as if he had been drained of his life essence, his once stern and strong features had been warped to resemble a much older and battered look.

The group of Psychic Coven members parted, as a senior member walked through the crowd towards Elyisaus. The woman pulled back her hood to reveal patterns of reptilian scales winding across her face; all four of her eyes blinked as she looked Elyisaus over. She placed her left hand on his chest, pushing her finger tips into the open wound as she chanted; she brought her right hand towards the back of her left hand and used her fingernail to slice open a large pustule on the back of her hand. She watched as the fluid inside changed color, transforming into sparks of sickly green magic as she dipped her hand slightly, forcing it to run down her hand towards the open wound on Elyisaus’ chest. It pooled on the surface of the wound before seeping in with an audible hiss. Elyisaus’ eyes fluttered as he strained upwards.

“Away…witch…” moaned Elyisaus.

“Silence boy. After the damage you have caused to my Coven, you should be grateful I am not leaving you to die! Now, sleep.” she hissed.

Elyisaus’ body bucked as the sparks of magic flowed through him; he suddenly stilled, his body slumping as he fell unconscious moments later. The woman’s forked tongue poked out as she narrowed her eyes at the unconscious Xenian, running a long, dirty fingernail across his neck, pausing as she moved his robes out of the way. As she moved away the robes, she saw a faintly glowing golden orb covering where his left shoulder should have been. She noted that his shoulder and arm were missing entirely and shook her head as she examined the orb of pale gold light. As she moved closer, she saw the clean slice that had removed his arm, his nerve endings seemed to pulse in a loop as if they had been affected by some sort of temporal distortion.

She shook her head slightly as she pulled her hood up, the thick, dense darkness consuming her face once more. She made a strange shifting sound as her entire body and presence left the room in a plume of darkness, leaving behind several shadowy tendrils. One of the psychics gestured to a fellow member who came close; a thick cloud of darkness obscuring their faces, with two pairs bright purple orbs staring at each other. The taller member chanced another look at the now unconscious Xenian.

“What…happened to the Xenian? Lord Krolos?”

“I am not certain, but I cannot contact or sense those in the Coven who accompanied him. I can only assume his plan did not go accordingly. Look, the spell we cast to preserve him alive has been dispelled through sheer damage, it…is incredibly unusual. From what I can sense, the last vestiges of the spell are what allowed him to stay alive.” replied the shorter Coven member.

“He was a fool to believe such a plan would go unnoticed forever. He cost us some of our most powerful members, for that he will pay!” hissed the taller Coven member.

The taller member turned after speaking, impulsively firing a blast of red energy at Elyisaus; it was promptly absorbed by a green energy shield that rippled into effect when struck by the blast. The taller snarled, gnashing its teeth at the shield, which soon vanished.

“A protective cocoon, our agreement must still be in effect…” it hissed.

“I wonder what…wait! He is returning to consciousness…alert the Ones!”

The taller of the members left in a puff of thick smoke, leaving the shorter with Elyisaus.

Elyisaus stirred and his golden eyes snapped open as he looked around the dimly lit room. He felt a slight breeze against his side, noticing it was uncovered and went to pull at the remnants of his robes but felt the ethereal chill of the shadowy restraints over his wrist as he tried to move. He grunted and tugged again, shivering slightly as the shadowy tendrils withdrew from over his body in sequence, worming their way to his back as they pushed him gently forwards. He staggered slightly as he attempted to stand; he regained his composure and tugged the robes over his left side, obscuring his injury. Elyisaus turned as the sound of stone against stone alerted him to movement; he watched as it returned to a horizontal position. Moments later it sunk into the swirling, dark mass that congealed on the floor, the stone table vanished from view as tendrils shot out from the thick darkness, dragging it into the portal, almost as if it were being consumed.

As he looked around, he stilled, noting the unusual darkness that seemed to swirl around him as he stood bathed in a circle of generous but dim starlight. Feeling uneasy he clenched his teeth, his eyes blazed as his hand curled into a fist; a bright golden orb of energy engulfed his fist as he stood his ground.

“Where am I?!” he growled.

A series of cackles and reprimanding sounds served as a reply to his question, causing him more frustration. Elyisaus’ fired a blast of golden energy into the thick darkness that seemed to constantly move around him. A high pitched screech rang through the eerie silence as a smouldering Psychic Coven member toppled out of the darkness into the pool of starlight surrounding Elyisaus. He stepped back, stretching his hand out towards the creature, enveloping it in a band of golden energy that forked out in tendrils from his fingertips. Elyisaus drew the Coven member towards him noting the smoky wisps rising from its black gown as the golden band tightened. Elyisaus opened his mouth to speak as the Psychic Coven member raised its head, its face shrouded in darkness.

A burst of bright purple light occurred just as Elyisaus opened his mouth, the band of golden energy around the coven member shattered; dropping them to the floor as Elyisaus was sent flying back into the rock face behind him. A familiar, haunting voice sounded as Elyisaus pushed himself into a standing position, the rushing darkness seemed to swirl faster momentarily before slowing to almost a halt as several figures separated out from the darkness, standing in a wide circle around him. He whipped round to see the senior coven member snarling at him, her forked tongue darting out of her mouth as she regarded him. A niggling buzz at the back of his head alerted him to the changing time stream; he further slowed it to a definite stop as the woman spoke to ensure privacy.

“You would do well to watch your actions, the agreement we have would allow me to incapacitate you without any detriment to my Psychic Coven or my person.” she hissed.

Elyisaus stood his ground; his eyes glowed softly as the woman drew closer. The woman pressed a dirty fingernail into the pale skin of Elyisaus’ neck, chuckling at the shadowy tendrils that soon formed along the path she traced on his skin. They adhered to him, sending jolts of pain through him as a sickly green fire spread across the shadowy tendrils on his neck. As she pulled away, Elyisaus scratched at the tendrils mapping his neck, the tendrils dug further into his skin, increasing the pain until he pulled away. The woman chuckled as she looked up at the darkness above, frowning at the starry sky she saw. She hissed as he attempted to use his temporal powers to disrupt the tendrils and whipped back around.

“I have never killed or injured a Xenian before…there are many species that would fight to the death for the chance…just for the notoriety and resulting attention. And here you are…all but in the palm of my hand. No family, no place of safe refuge and you certainly do not have the favour of your people…” she chuckled.

“You would dare to mock me? You insignificant-” Elyisaus started

Her green eyes flashed, piercing through the darkness partially obscuring her face, the pain from the shadowy tendrils on his neck increased tenfold, forcing Elyisaus down onto one knee.

“You are in no position to argue with me. I witnessed them perform the ritual and strip you of your cosmic imbuement; if anyone is insignificant around here it is you. You have forced me to endure significant losses because of your miscalculation.” she stated.

“You promised me competent psychics and mystics who would be able to handle the situation; the fault is not mine alone to bear! I still have more than enough power to end you.” Elyisaus shot back, albeit strained.

“I do not allow incompetence any place within my coven. Failure to provide information regarding the full extent of the abilities our enemies possess was error on your part! Not mine! Whilst you may still retain your natural power, you are currently surviving with my magic in your blood, without it you would be an immobile heap on your home world waiting for your people to punish you. I could kill you very easily…do not tempt me Xenian.”

Elyisaus finally got a good grip on the shadowy tendrils, ripping them out of his flesh and discarding them as he stood tall once again. His eyes blazed dangerously as she turned back to face him.

“I made an agreement with you; you are required to honor it or I will send you screaming back into the temporal prison you and your Psychic Coven were trapped in. I am not the only one who stands to lose if this plan is to fail.” he spat.

She shifted, her forked tongue running slowly over her scaly skin as she contemplated his words.

“I will respect our agreement; consider this is a second chance. Know this; if any more harm comes to my coven I will consider the agreement null and void…and I will kill you. Slowly, publicly and in every way I know you fear. Only to yank you back from peace of non-existence into this plane like a fish on a reel for the process to begin again. Your tears, pleas and anguished cries will be delicious Xenian…and will be strung out of you for an eternity….You may seek the assistance of my coven to further your plans but heed my warning as I will not grant you another.” she replied.

Elyisaus shuddered slightly as she vanished in a pillar of green and black smoke. Elyisaus focused as he corrected the time stream around him. The figures stirred once again as they began approaching him. He drew himself to his full height, draping his robes more effectively to cover his left side as the taller coven member he had caught a glimpse of earlier moved towards him, accompanied by a group of three sleight coven members dressed in dark grey and purple robes. Elyisaus snapped his fingers as he prepared to lower himself onto a seat. The environment responded; a stone chair carved itself from the rock face, sliding along towards him as he gripped the arm and lowered himself onto it.

“What have you brought me?” asked Elyisaus.

“These…are The Ones, they are brothers. The One who Observes, The One who Manipulates and The One who Communicates. They are gifted with the ability to observe events during any time period and anywhere, manipulate events and communicate with us and those whom they may be targeting, respectively. After the…unfortunate events, we obtained them to assist with your plans. I believe they may have some useful information.” the taller coven member explained.

Elyisaus nodded as the coven member departed from before him, he watched as it withdrew into the surrounding shadows. He sighed and beckoned The Ones forward.

“Explain what you have found. I require information on the three Xenians who escaped initially and levelled my facilities, liberating themselves and the rest of the abominations.” Elyisaus stated.

They nodded in unison, turning their palms facing up as the symbols on their hands opened up and began to glow as a large black orb appeared, floating in the air within the middle of their triangular formation. The One closest to Elyisaus seemed to be peering intently into the orb, chanting something until images started to appear in the orb. Elyisaus leaned forwards, attempting to see a clear picture, but it was as if he were attempting to see his way clearly through a raging blizzard.

“I cannot see anything of use in that image.” Elyisaus frowned.

“You are not The One who Observes. The gift of true sight is not in your possession. Just as my brethren cannot use the gift of communication as I do, I am unable to truly see or manipulate events.” stated The One who Communicates.

“Then, do your job and communicate to me what he is seeing.” growled Elyisaus.

The One who Communicates pressed his palms against the part of both his brothers faces where mouths should be and moments later, a mouth materialised on the back of each of his hands. The three brothers spoke, finishing each other’s sentences or continuing a thought between the three of them.

“The Xenians have reached Earth safely but…the energy manipulate has been healed. Extensively.”

“There is no room for psychic manipulation, the telepath…”

“Has ruled this out indefinitely. She must be dealt with before we can consider coercing The Host.”

“The energy manipulate has resumed normal activity with her associates. But certain…”

“Events are being manipulated in order to distance all from the telepath and the telekinetic. So far it has not taken much mystical coercion. The feelings of…”

“…mistrust and prejudice were already present within their allies. It was easy, almost too easy, to push towards what is necessary to achieve their isolation. Their allies are somewhat fractured and will be…”

“Too occupied with events which are just on the horizon…unable to realize the situation of the others…”

“Until it is already too late.”

Elyisaus stood up quickly, frowning as he processed the last sentence.

“Then why not attack now?!” he shouted.

“I can observe the future of these ones, they will reunite soon enough. Other allies, those who are closer are still available and…”

“As we recall…we are not at full strength. But we are gathering enemies who have plagued the sisterhood she belongs to in the past and will use them for our own purposes.”

“You need not fret Elyisaus. Events are already in progress to isolate the telepath and the telekinetic from the rest and it will work perfectly.”

“Once our endeavors have borne fruit we will be free to obtain the telepath and the telekinetic.”

“Once we have the telepath and the telekinetic, we will kill them and then we can attempt…”

“…to rework the energy manipulate and introduce her as The Host…”

“…although we are unable to break her mind using psychic means.”

Elyisaus paused, his eyes darting left and right as he thought.

“You mentioned that psychic manipulation was not an option?” asked Elyisaus.

The Ones answered in union this time.

“We believe that much is obvious. The telepath has blocked out all forms of possible psychic manipulation, in effect, it is now impossible to even try to break the mind of the energy being. The specialists struggled without the telepath’s direct intervention and now with her direct intervention, there is no use. The energy being was trained extensively and possessed high defences.”

“Is there no other way to see that part of my plan through?!” shouted Elyisaus.

The Ones paused, slowly nodding to each other as The One who Communicates removed his palms from the faces of his brothers, effectively silencing them.

“There are…other ways to obtain results…however, to do this would mean to alter events and achieve your intended result in a much…slower manner.” cautioned The One who Communicates.

“Then proceed, start the process. Set events in motion.” replied Elyisaus.

“It…will require input on your part…The One who Observes sees that the energy being is in league with…a Mystos Guardian. The One who Manipulates requires the last vestige of your cosmic empowerment, The One who Observes knows you retain a miniscule amount of the power. We will use it to empower Arakinos the Keeper of Eternal Darkness; we will use him to occupy the Mystos Guardian.” stated The One who Communicates.

Elyisaus nodded and extended his hand towards the creature, barring his teeth as pulse after pulse of cosmic energy was extracted from his very essence. He huffed, feeling slightly weaker as he relaxed into the chair. The One who Communicates nodded as the cosmic energy coalesced into a bright gold and white ball and was soon weaved into the orb by The One who Manipulates. Elyisaus narrowed his eyes slightly as he remembered something.

“What of the energy being’ and her human associates? What will happen once The Asset reveals itself?” he asked.

“The future…is not clear on such matters. There are many possible avenues, however you can be certain The Asset will arrive and attempt to remove the remaining threats, including the energy being and her associates. To reach this point will take considerable time, however the events that will transpire beforehand will ensure that we are not disturbed or discovered.” replied The One who Communicates.

“The agreement I have with your mistress lasts for thirty thousand years, as long as it does not take longer I am capable of waiting, it will make my success that much sweeter. Do what you need to do. I can wait…I can wait.” Elyisaus grinned.

“The One who Manipulates wishes to inform you events have already been set in motion and are playing out as planned as we speak.” nodded The One who Communicates.

After speaking The One who Communicates stepped away from Elyisaus, soon followed by The One who Manipulates and The One who Observes, disappearing into the swirling darkness surrounding them.

Elyisaus stared out into the expanse of space; a sickly yet sinister smile cracked onto his face as he saw his plan reform and take shape once more in his mind. He let out a manic laugh as the ground below him rumbled momentarily and cracked as shadowy tendrils crept up from the cracks and swirled around him, sucking his stone throne and his person into the depths below.

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