Gravespawn Dominion

The Gate That Whispered Back

Vaeloric kicked open the maintenance door and looked down the stairs into the darkness. "Lights " he said.

Kael turned on a flashlight he had found. The light was not very strong. Only made a small hole in the darkness. "This feels wrong. The Matriarch is pushing you hard " Kael said.

Vaeloric started down the stairs anyway. He made a suit of bone armor to protect himself. Every step he took made a noise. Kael, Elara and four of Vaelorics guards followed him. They had left Lira chained upstairs with some guards to watch her. Vaeloric did not trust her because she was being too quiet.

The air downstairs was cold and damp. It smelled like stone and something sharp like the smell you get just before lightning strikes.

Elaras voice was shaking a little. "People are still scared upstairs. Some want to leave. Others say you are no better than the cults."

Vaeloric said, "Let them talk. Talking does not make armies."

They reached the bottom of the stairs. A big room opened up in front of them. It was older than the stadium. There were graves in the walls from a time before concrete was used. In the middle of the room was a gate made of black stone with red lines in it. The gate was humming.

The Matriarchs voice came into Vaelorics head. She sounded smooth and excited. "Touch it. The echo is waiting."

Vaeloric walked closer to the gate. The gate reacted to him. A red light. A see-through figure appeared above the gate. The figure was tall. Had a hood over its head. Its eyes were like burning suns. It was not fully there. It was close enough to make Vaelorics skin crawl.

The echo spoke. Its voice was like a thousand graves falling in at the time. "Ashborn you have stolen power. The Trial was not meant for your kind to win."

Vaeloric kept his face hard. "Then why does the system listen to me?" he asked.

The echo laughed. It was a grinding sound. "Because even gods make mistakes. You have thirty days until the first real Sovereign comes. You will bow down. Be erased."

Before Vaeloric could say anything the gate flashed brighter. Energy came out of it like chains. One of the chains hit one of Vaelorics guards. Turned him into dust.

Vaeloric shouted, "Back!". Pushed Elara behind him.

Kael started shooting at the echo. The bullets went right through it. Vaeloric used his Flame Dominion power. Sent a whip of fire at the gate. The echo caught the fire. Threw it back at Vaeloric. The fire hit Vaelorics chest. Cracked his bone armor. It hurt a lot.

Vaeloric stumbled,. He did not fall. "Not today " he said.

He put his hands on the gate. Tried to take some of its power.

A lot of memories that were not his own came into his head. He saw pictures of worlds that had been broken. He saw civilizations being eaten by something.. He saw a picture of himself standing next to a powerful Sovereign like they were equals or like he was a servant.

The echo was surprised. "You have the mark " it said.

Vaeloric took power from the gate. The echo tried to stop him. He was too strong. He took a piece of the echos power. It made his rank go up.

Then the gate screamed. It made a noise that shook the dust off the ceiling. The echo disappeared,. The red lines in the stone got hotter. Something was coming through the gate.

Vaeloric said, "Out ". They all ran.

As they were running up the stairs the ground shook violently. A warning message came up on the system. "Unstable Rift Opening. Threat level is rising."

They ran back into the corridors just as alarms started sounding everywhere. It was not the cultists. It was something

Kaels radio made a noise. A panicked voice came from the end. "Hundreds of things are coming! They are not human. They are stitched together. They are wrong."

Vaeloric got to the field. Stopped.

An army of undead things was coming through the broken entrances. These were not Vaelorics undead soldiers. These things had extra limbs and bodies fused together. They had mouths where their eyes should be. A rival necromancer had made them.

At the front of the army was a man in a torn lab coat. He was smiling like a father. "Gravespawn Dominion is it? That is a name. I am Doctor Silas Crowe. These are my children. If you give me the gate and the fire witch I might let some of you die quickly."

Vaeloric thought fast. Another player this fast? He did not trust it. He looked at Kael, who seemed surprised. Something about him seemed off. He was too calm.

Vaeloric said, "No deal. This stadium is mine."

Crowe sighed. "Pity." He raised his hand and his undead army charged.

The battle started again. Vaelorics bone titan fought the line of Crowes army. His own undead soldiers fought them too.. Crowes army was stronger and faster. When they died they released a gas that hurt Vaelorics zombies.

Elara was working hard to heal the wounded soldiers and civilians. "We cannot hold this many!" she shouted.

Vaeloric was taking power from the undead things. Their memories were. Crazy. They remembered pain, experiments and obeying Crowe.

A big fused undead thing swung at Vaeloric. He. Countered with his flame whip. He cut off one of its arms. It kept coming.

Then Kael did something

He shot one of Vaelorics skeletons in the back and destroyed it. Then he disappeared into the chaos.

Vaeloric was angry. "Kael!" he shouted. He felt betrayed.

He could not chase Kael. Crowes army was pushing hard. One of the stitched things grabbed Vaelorics bone titan and started tearing it apart. Vaeloric felt the link to the titan strain.

The Matriarch whispered urgently in his ear. "The gate. Use the power you took from the echo. Seal it. Use it as a weapon."

Vaeloric made a decision. He left the line and ran back to the underground stairs. Elara tried to follow him. He waved her off. "Protect the civilians!" he said.

He went down to the gate his heart pounding and his wounds bleeding. The gate was wider now with cracks spreading across the stone. Red light was pouring out of it.

He put his hands on the gate. Used the echos power.

It hurt a lot. He did it anyway. The gate fought him. Slowly it started to stabilize. A new ability window appeared.

Vaeloric chose to redirect the power. He sent it upward to the surface battlefield.

Above a red beam came out of vents and hit Crowes army. The stitched undead things disintegrated by the dozens. Crowe himself screamed as the edge of the blast hit him and burned half his face.

The enemy army faltered. Vaelorics troops took advantage of it.

The victory came at a cost. The gate cracked wider despite Vaelorics efforts. A small shadowy creature slipped through. It was no bigger than a child. Its presence made the air feel cold. It looked at Vaeloric with empty eyes and whispered in a voice only he could hear.

"We see you now Ashborn. The Sovereigns send regards."

It disappeared into the walls before Vaeloric could attack it.

Vaeloric climbed back, to the surface, exhausted and covered in blood and ash. His people had won,. Barely. Crowe had retreated with what was left of his army swearing revenge.

Elara ran to Vaeloric. Started healing his worst wounds. "Kael is gone. He took some supplies. Freed one of Liras lieutenants before he left."

Vaelorics jaw tightened. Another betrayal. It hurt a lot.

There was news waiting. One of Vaeloric