Okay so I got the prequel done a little sooner that I thought I would. Anyway, I think this was one of my more detailed one shots that's not in parts. Anyway, I hope you guys like it.
The Fall of the Time Empire
By: Shadow Hound
Over a thousand years ago, my brother in arms and I liberated the Time Empire, a once peaceful place that, as we know now, is its own dimension. Together, we moved to strike down the self proclaimed “King of Time”, a sorcerer whose desire to control us still burned…Two lone figures stood atop of a ridge some distance from the once beautiful empire, which was now a warzone. The sky above them was dark, like a storm was on its way. The ground beneath them was covered in ash and stained red with the blood of the fallen and slaughtered. They both had seen many battles, but none so much like this.
Ox, once known as Asterion, was the bigger of the two. He appeared to be what we humans would call a minotaur, but an undead one. His black hair was covered in a helmet of sorts, made of tiger eye like material. But it was light weight enough for him to still be able to move. His peridot green eyes glinted in the faint light. In his hand was a large heavy looking war hammer and around his neck were six distinct stones, each one giving him a special power.
His smaller companion was more human, but still looked less than inviting. He was shorter of course, with dark gray decaying flesh. He was far more zombie than human. His white hair was tied back, unusual from what he was used to. His helmet was forged from what looked like gabbros, black granite or even obsidian, like the rest of his armor. In one hand he held a slim, ebony weapon which ended in a curved blade. It was a sickle, much smaller and easier to use than a scythe, though he probably would’ve preferred that weapon. Like his bigger companion he wore a chain of six other stones, and had been given an extra one by someone who cared for him, but it was in his armor, out of sight. He looked across the field to the dark crystal covered palace ahead with skeptical emerald eyes.
“Coward” the smaller one growled lightly, “Walled up in his fortress as if it were a tomb. And if we’re lucky, it just might be one here soon”.
Ox shook his head. “Our ground forces can’t advance beyond his crystal field. And you know what he can do to the rest of our brothers, unable to defend themselves without-“
“They’re not my brothers” the zombie spat.
“Kalma…I understand you have a lot of hatred for this…thing…but we need to plan this out and be careful. Rushing in to attack won’t get us anywhere. I want this over just as much as you do, but with as little bloodshed as possible. We only need a small window of attack now. To our credit, he’s lost a lot of ground. Our powers should do away with him nicely”.
Kalma looked skeptical. “And if they don’t?”
“Why do you think they’d fail?”
“Ox, surely you know by now that I’m a man that likes to look at the facts. And the fact of the matter is that we’re going up against someone with far more magic skills than us. In fact, he taught us all we know. He probably knows us better than anyone-“ Kalma noticed Ox was giving him a look that told him he was babbling, “I was simply being hypothetical”.
“Well, hypothetically speaking, Kalma, we’re prepared just in case”.
The zombie smirked confident and cocky now. “Indeed…he knows not what forces he’s tampering with. Come, let us not stay his, or perhaps our, end any further”.
Using his own special magic, Kalma disappeared into the shadows, becoming almost completely invisible. Ox rolled his eyes.
“Arrogant as ever…what am I gonna do with you, Kalma?” Ox followed in after him.
It took them a couple minutes, but finally the two of them broke in through one of the glass windows and the stones around their necks glowed, lighting the darkness around. Focusing their power, the two brothers in arms sent a ray of light down upon the figure cloaked in shadows. The dark crystals around them shattered and the air filled with debris and dark smoke. Kalma looked around.
“Was that it?” he asked.
Before anything else could be said, the shadow figure emerged from the dust and with a blast of dark energy, sent Ox flying through the air. The figure with his green and purple enflamed black eyes stared at Kalma, as if looking into his soul, or at least what was left of it. The sorcerer used another dark energy wave to send the zombie crash landing into the wall opposite of Ox, before sliding down the floor. The sorcerer turned his attention back to the undead minotaur, who, in a burst of energy sent another bright beam of energy at his former master.
The sorcerer was temporarily blinded, giving Ox enough time to make his move. Ox bashed Kalmaged’s chin with the war hammer, sending him flying in an almost comedic fashion. Meanwhile, Kalma managed to get up from his place on the floor, dodging falling pieces of crystal with his sickle and countering Kalmaged’s attacks. To Kalma’s envy, the time traveler wielded a scythe as his weapon. The zombie headbutt the sorcerer away and, with his own magic, leaped up in the air and levitated in place. Kalma concentrated his energy, creating what looked like a white pentacle in the air. The diversion gave Ox enough time to strike from behind and Kalma joined in at a rush on his own side. The sorcerer smirked arrogantly and before they could strike, cloaked the room in shadows, which pushed the two into opposite ends of the throne room.
Kalma’s vision went black as dark crystal pinned him against the wall and his sickle fell from his hand as he slid into near unconsciousness. Ox himself was encased in the dark crystal, but he would not falter. The minotaur busted out of the crystal like it were only glass and struck downwards toward Kalmaged. With dust and smoke surrounding him, Ox looked around, unable to see him at first.
“Show yourself, coward!” Ox roared.
A low toned, wicked laugh penetrated the air and Ox sensed a movement behind him. With his war hammer, he turned and matched up with Kalmaged’s scythe. Quicker than the sorcerer could blink, Ox had him down on the floor, the hammer and Ox’s hoof on his chest. Above him, the minotaur snarled.
“It’s over Kalmaged. Surrender now!” he commanded.
Kalmaged chuckled darkly. “So…much…hatred!” the scythe came to his hand and he used it to cut at Ox’s foot, the sting from it was enough to get him off, “You speak of cowardice, beast. Have you forgotten whose domain you are in?”
Ox growled as the cut in his foot healed. Kalmaged tried to strike once more with the scythe, but the minotaur dodged the attack and hit his face with the blunt handle of his hammer. Their weapons collided with a loud bang, as each one tried to overpower the other.
“I don’t care what dark deals you’ve made, and with whom, you will fall!” Ox threatened.
“It seems even the gods lack purity now. I can taste your wrath, beast. And it…is delicious”.
“Silence you monster!” Ox sent another beam of energy at his former master, who disappeared in a thick cloud of black smoke. The last thing Ox felt was the touch of something small and cold on the back of his neck…
Meanwhile, the crystal that held Kalma in place started to crack and the zombie was slowly stirring back into consciousness. He struggled to move a little while Ox was trapped in what he would describe later as a world of his own nightmare…
Ox opened his eyes and looked around. It was night and the room was darker than before. The minotaur snarled.
“Show yourself!” he yelled but when he looked around, there was only a lone, slim figure standing in front of a large, moonlit window.
Ox recognized it quickly as Kalma and he felt himself calm.
“Kalma…thank goodness. It’s just you”.
“Yes Ox…it is only me” he turned and Ox saw that the zombie’s eyes had gone from emerald green to sapphire blue, almost glowing. In his hands was a large ebony scythe.
The sight of this change, strange and unknown, unnerved Ox. But at the same time a primal part of him knew what it was and it made him tremble.
“No…Kalma…please. It doesn’t need to be like this…brother”.
“Oh…but I’m afraid it does!”
“Kalma!”
Kalmaged watched the illusion, intrigued by his former slave’s worst fear. Kalma, of all things…interesting.
The zombie heard Ox cry out his name and flew back into full blown consciousness. Kalmaged’s thoughts were interrupted as he felt something sharp stab into his back. The time traveler turned and saw that Kalma had broke free and surrounding him were six copies of the sickle that had landed into his back. Kalmaged gave the zombie a daring look as the wound instantly healed and the sickle copy faded.
“So be it then” Kalma thought, “Now is my chance…I won’t let them down”.
The zombie’s eyes glowed, sending the other copy sickles into the air at the sorcerer. Kalmaged summoned a large crystal from the floor and the sickles landed harmlessly into it. But Kalma rushed in, using the real sickle to cut through the crystal and strike his former master. Kalmaged parried the zombie’s blow and blasted him to the other side of the room. Kalma simply leaped off the wall and tried to strike again, but the time traveler was too quick as he moved out of the way.
“Relentless as always, Nicholas. Why such lengths to protect his petty, imperialistic interests?” Kalmaged wondered aloud.
“You know, you’re an idiot if you think that’s what I’m fighting for!” Kalma summoned all his energy and teleported quickly to give Kalmaged two strikes across the face.
The sorcerer, quick as ever, used his scythe to knock Kalma to the ground and give him a cut of his own. Kalmaged disarmed him, tossing the sickle away. But Kalma wouldn’t give up so easily. Using the power from his spare stone, he created a temporarily effective barrier that gave him enough time to get up and heal himself. Kalmaged didn’t like that at all, and in that moment, Kalma saw the source of his power: A chain around his neck with a simple piece of rose quartz. Another Power Stone, Kalma realized with surprised. He had made one of his own. Kalmaged smirked and reduced the zombie’s sickle to ash while using shadow magic to trap the zombie in a dark crystalline prison. Kalma rushed against it, trying to break it, but it wouldn’t yield. He stared at Kalmaged with disgust and determination.
“Release me” he commanded.
Kalmaged chuckled. “Oh, in due time, Nicholas. I was curious as to why that beast would fear you. It’s clear he’s in the right to do so”.
“Ox doesn’t fear me!” Kalma objected.
“Hm, you shall see before long. Tell me, Kalma” the sorcerer inched closer to the crystal prison, “Do you really think any of these creatures you’ve aligned yourself with truly understand death, and all of its glory?”
“Don’t act as if you do either, Kalmaged”.
“Oh but that’s where you’re wrong. I understand it perfectly. Hm, if I’m meant to be a tyrant, if the best kind of slave is the most willing-“
“Shut up!” Kalma yelled and the prison shook with his rage.
“You can deny my warnings all you wish, Nicholas. But your fate will never change”.
“Shut the hell up!”
But Kalmaged continued. “Even if by some miracle you and Ox were to defeat me now, you’d only sooner fall to him…and then even to humans”.
“You’re lying! We’d never ally ourselves with humans!”
“You will see. In fact, if I recall correctly, you’ve already met the human you’re going to submit to someday. Extraordinary little creature that one. I can’t wait to face her someday”.
“You bastard…”
“But at any rate, why should you be forced to choose? You see, this world, and others even beyond it, will face many threats in the future. I’ve seen it. Wouldn’t it make sense to stand against them together?”
“I would sooner take my own life than submit to you again!”
“Submit?” Kalmaged chuckled, “Such a strong word…but you’ve already submitted to Ox, and even the mighty Lord of Lapland, and like you will to that little human?”
Kalma looked a little taken aback, which didn’t go unnoticed by Kalmaged. He went on, smiling darkly.
“I admire your resolve, Nicholas. I always have. Now I understand why the Spirit of Thanatos chose you as its newest host. You are strong. Far more fit to rule the Monster World. Far more deserving of respect than Ox, Lordi, or any of his inferior creatures. Because imagine, one day, even they must yield to you. But you have the opportunity now, right at this moment, to destroy them and take your rightful place, Kalma. Just as we always planned. Together, we can show this world what it truly means to fear Death”.
“Give me one good reason as to why I should? One you actually think I’d give a shit about”.
“Don’t you understand, Nicholas? They will tolerate you, maybe even pretend to accept you as one of their own. But never, never shall they trust or truly want you around. They know you carry the spirit of Thanatos, the ending of all endings”.
Kalma closed his eyes and appeared to take his words into consideration. A small part of him dared to believe it. But with that same realization came another: He didn’t care if they accepted or wanted him. All that mattered now was one thing: Redemption.
“You know…the only thing I can think of as you say that is simply this: You are an idiot” he dared to say it aloud, “You think I honestly care if they love or hate me? Do you think that’s what I care about?” Kalma could feel something rising in him, a strength he had never felt before, “Let them hate me. Let them lie to me and believe what they want. They don’t know me…anymore than you do!”
With his green eyes alight, with a single stomp of his foot, the black crystal cage shattered to tiny pieces around Kalma. The strength was he felt was almost beyond bearing. Kalmaged smirked, feeling it as well.
“So be it” the sorcerer dissolved into shadows and the two charged at one another. As they collided, Kalma felt nauseous as something small round and cold hit his neck. He realized it was Kalmaged’s stone. Trying to resist its effect, Kalma plunged and rolled to the ground, knocking his helmet off and breathing hard.
“Such a shame, Nicholas” Kalmaged murmured, “You had such potential” he turned his attention back to Ox, still stuck in his nightmare world.
Kalma’s breaths came out in gasps. His eyes went wide and his fists clenched. He kept telling himself to not give in, but another part, a deeper, darker part, had other plans. Kalma gave up the fight and closed his eyes. What he felt then was something he didn’t fully understand, but that he didn’t repulse or fear either. It felt…right. It felt…liberating. He started to laugh, not even sounding like himself.
“
Oh you simple minded creature” Kalma, but yet not Kalma, stated dangerously, “
You think you found an ally in Death. Do you even comprehend the powers you’ve been gifted with? The same powers I was KILLED INTO!”
When the zombie turned, he looked almost skeletal, with blue eyes that burned sapphire colored. He retained most of his armor, but across his chest was a pair of chains and the shadows flowed behind him like a cape, or perhaps even wings. Ox’s other stones were gone from his neck, merging with the other six that this creature, who, or whatever it was, wore. He approached Kalmaged, his eyes alight with a dreadful glee.
“
Where do you think souls of the wicked go to hide from light, from life? Just who do you think stands against them?” Kalma held out his hand and like a magnet the sorcerer’s scythe came to it, “
What you possess is a mere fraction of their might, the same might I stand unyielding against each and every time something breathes its last!”
“Stay back!” Kalmaged panicked and sent an orb of red energy at this creature, who swung the blade and sent the orb harmlessly away.
“
You see Kalmaged, you are nothing compared to them…you are nothing compared to ME!” Kalma lunged at the time traveler and held the blade of the scythe to his throat, “
You claim you want to show the world to fear death?! I shall show you are there are fates worse than that! It’s the least I can do!”
The sorcerer was wide eyed with fear. “What…what in the hell are you?”
The stones attached themselves to small slots in the handle of the scythe as Kalma smirked. “
You can call me…Kalmageddon…The Unholy Ghost!”
He swung the blade, and Kalmaged the Time Traveler, or at least one of his clones, was no more…
When Ox woke everything was all fog and ash again. He gasped and let out a cry: “Kalma!”
“What is it?” the zombie hurried to the minotaur’s side, back to how he was before the battle, as if nothing had even happened.
“Oh praise be you’re alright!” Ox got up and, not caring about Kalma’s reaction hugged him close, “Where are we…what happened to…” he looked at Kalma.
The zombie looked down with a guilty look. “Kalmaged is…is no more. Or at least I think it was him. It could’ve been one of his clones but I’m not sure. But the empire, the whole kingdom, he…I-“
“To banish an entire kingdom like this” Ox looked thoughtfully at the ground, “How much power and hatred were we really dealing with here?” he looked over at Kalma, “Overall, I’m just grateful you’re unharmed, and were able to get us out safely”.
“That’s not all. I got this” Kalma pulled out the rose quartz from a crack in his armor, “He created a Power Stone all his own. I think that’s what got you all caught up. I would know…he tried to use it on me as well”.
“Oh god…Kalma I’m so sorry-“
“Can I ask you a couple things? One’s a personal question but on the other I want an honest opinion”.
“Sure…I guess…”
“What do you think of the idea of allying with humans?” Kalma asked.
“Hm…I’m open to the idea. It’s actually one that Lordi has been considering. But right now, they’re not ready. The timing isn’t right. Kalmaged won’t be going for the human world anytime soon. What was the other?”
“Ox, have I ever given you any reason to be afraid of me?”
The minotaur looked at him strangely. “Kalma, I know you hate this, but we’re brothers in arms. No you’ve never given me a reason to be afraid of you. You have a lot of power at your disposal, and you’re possibly more efficient in magic than I am. But to be honest, no. You’ve never given me a reason to be afraid. Did Kalmaged try to tell you otherwise?”
Kalma simply nodded and Ox shook his head. “He screwed with both our heads apparently. C’mon, we need to bear news of this defeat to Lordi and the others. I hope they can understand that not every fight will be a victory”.
“I agree…brother”.
“Kalma…are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah I’m fine. Let’s get back. You lead the way”.
“Alright, but if you need to talk I’m here”.
“I’m fine, don’t worry”.
Kalma watched as Ox started off towards home, wherever that was now. Had he imagined all of that? What was that power he’d felt? It didn’t make any sense…but for just a minute, when Ox has his back turned, Kalma felt it again. Just a spark of power, but it was strong enough to send a message.
He hadn’t imagined a damn thing.
Slowly he followed Ox back into the cold arctic darkness, leaving behind what was left of a once powerful kingdom…
It was a long time before we knew what actually happened that night. Kalmaged hadn’t banished the empire, Kalma himself had. It’d been accident of course, but we couldn’t believe it when we first heard about it. He had turned the Time Empire into its very own dimension, allowing time to flow freer, something that made our lives both easier and more difficult. But it was an even longer time before we discovered the reason why Kalma was so charged that night.
In another world, another place and time, a child was born. That child was a necromancer, and would begin a long line of necromancers. A bloodline, when traced forward over a thousand years later, would land on one girl, a simple human child with wavy brown hair…and the bluest eyes my brother ever recalled seeing…That was long as heck! Oh my god I'm so tired after writing that. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it
-Amari The Hellhound