Rising Up

[Kail† 0]

I laid my head down again for the night. I wanted to go back to that place... I had to see Thaddeus again. I wanted to know where he came from, and why he came to my home... and why all those other beings were surrounding my house.

 

I began to dose off, but then, as I was, I remember hearing a loud noise outside, and I jumped out of bed and looked out the window. It was just like that night--there were creatures outside. I ran back to the room where I encountered Thaddeus, and there he was.

 

"Thaddeus! Why are all these monsters here?" I asked. He walked up to me, seeming somewhat grim.

"We need a hero, son..." Thaddeus beckoned me to the front door, and told me to open it. I opened it, and I saw a completely different world--a vast field of green with large mountains resting on the horizon. As I gazed in amazement, I suddenly found myself in shock. The sky grew dark, and the grass of the field began to lose its color and die. Pillars of fire began to erect from the ground, and on the horizon I saw horrifying beings approach in the distance.

 

"Why me... why did you choose me?" I asked Thaddeus, noticing he had come to my side.

"You're the only one... your Master holds the keys to Heaven and Hell, and goes before you to crush these evils under his heel. So to does that authority rest with you!" Thaddeus suddenly disappeared, and a flaming, luminous sword fell from the sky and landed a few feet from me.

 

"'So to does that authority rest with...' ...me?" I quoted Thaddeus, realizing the truth in his words. I went forward to pick up the flaming sword, and as I gripped it, I was equipped with a full set of golden, radiant armor in a blinding flash. The enemies were approaching fast... and in this moment, as fire was rising from the ground and Hell itself seemed to be sweeping the horizon, I began to charge forward with the sword in my right hand, and a shining gold shield gripped around my left arm.

 

I felt a fire in my eyes, a determination to crush what was before me. I felt myself speeding up and taking flight off the ground, gliding across the dying field surrounded by light.

 

"I was sent..." I lifted my face to stare into the eyes of my enemies, and rose a shout, "...with the authority to crush you!" I rose my sword and threw myself into the swing, obliterating a whole wave of monsters. I landed on the ground, and turned to my right, cut one down, span around and cut down five. I lashed, span, jumped, crying out victoriously under this newly-realized authority. I felt I had cut them all down, seeing that there were none left... but the sky grew ever darker, and the pillars of fire continued to rise across the barren landscape.

 

"Will you relent... or will you endure to the end?" I heard a voice echo across the land. The heat of the rising fire became nigh unbearable, and the radiance on be started to dim. My faith was fading, and the new-found strength I had seemed to be slipping from my fingers. The sword fell from my hands, and I collapsed on the ground, with hushed cries for help from above. The fire began to rise more still, and the heat became so horrible that I began to scream in pain.

 

"There is yet more to endure..." The voice echoed again.

 

"M-more?! I can't do this! It burns so much! I can't... I can't take it!!!" I continued to cry and scream for help, and as I did, I saw one final monster approaching from the horizon. This was bigger than the others, and was holding large, fearsome weapons. I shook in fear, feeling too overcome to even stand, let alone fight.

 

The monster stood over me, snarling and glaring with eyes that invoked an unshakable fear. It lifted one of its weapons, and thrust it at me. I rolled away and dodged the blow, but it proceeded to continue trying to crush me.

 

The beast was huge, and intimidating. My strength that seemed to be completely gone, and my eyes began to close. I felt the stab of the weapon pierce through my stomach, and I had become so weak that I felt no physical pain, just overwhelming despair and failure.

 

"Rise up, my anointed one. You can still yet rise up!" The voice boomed across the field and the beast jerked back and covered its ears. My wound began to heal and the sword slid over to me, beginning to get its fire back. It didn't seem strong enough to even dent the beast's hide, but despite my doubt, I gripped the blade in my weakness and swung it. A large wave of fire leapt from the sword, and slammed into the beast. Its armor broke, and I felt my strength and authority come rushing back.

 

"In your ignorance..." I said, "you thought you could kill me while I seemed to have nothing left." The fire pillars grew wider and burned blue, but I was no longer burning. The beast writhed in pain from the heat, and cringed as I drew closer. "In your ignorance... you thought that you could end my progress here and stop me." I rose the sword and gripped it tight.

 

"You... you thought WRONG!" I jumped up over the beast and slammed my sword through its head, slicing it in half. The beast's remains burst into flame and disappeared, and the fire around me burned white and blinded me.

 

"Well done... good and faithful servant." The voice echoed one final time, and I awoke in my bed.

[Guest Wolfin]

Epicly epic.