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Chapter 27 : Abyss Devouring Light
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 14:44:40 +0000 UTCOrion's eyes scanned through the display of crystals, jaggedly impaling Dvalin, radiating with malignant energy, which sent shivers down his spine. They all looked equally malevolent against their pulsating light, casting eerie shadows across the chamber. Frustration gnawed at him. How the hell was he supposed to find the one crystal which held the key to the dragon's freedom when they all looked the same.
"How the hell can I see it?" he muttered to himself, and his eyes went from crystal to identical crystal.
Then, it hit him. He turned on his heel towards Diluc, who was still locked in combat against the abyss knights and mages. "Diluc!" Orion shouted, drag of urgency in his voice.
Diluc reacted first, slaying yet another foe with a flaming slash before turning to Orion. "What is it?" he asked, his voice tight-lipped but focused.
"I know how to let him out," Orion spoke in a very robust tone, very steady, with newfound resolution. "But I need your help; we must find the brightest crystal—it's the center core holding him captive. They all look the same to me, but together we can find it."
Taking a step closer, he furrowed his brow. "the brightest crystal? How do you know this?" He questioned, sharping his voice with a hint of curiosity.
Orion hesitated for just a moment before saying, "The dragon told me."
And just as fast, Diluc went stiff as a board, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You. spoke with Dvalin?" He couldn't help but show his astonishment; that was something very few people had ever managed to do that he knew, and to hear about this from Orion of all people was a bit too hard on his nerves.
"I did," Orion confirmed, his gaze unblinking. "Though he could only say so little. He told me that the brightest crystal is the key—it's the core that we need to destroy."
Diluc stared at Orion, then looked away, rather surprised and respectful, " he can communicate with Dvalin as well.." he repeated to himself in nearly inaudible tones, evidently feeling the weight of this revelation.
Orion met this gaze with a piercing look of determination. "we have to do it fast" he confirmed then hesitated a guess before adding, "I'm sorry to do this to you while you're injured but well, things shine brighter with fire. I need you to use your flames and attack all crystals in one go. That way I'll be able to pinpoint the core."
Diluc squinted just a tad, understanding what his request meant. "You're suggesting I light them up, then, so you can find the one?"
"Exactly," Orion spoke in a steady voice, "I would do it myself, that is, but I must try to save my energy. One more good attack like that, and I'm bedridden for I don't know how long." His tone urgent and trusting, for he believed in Diluc, who could do what he could not at the very moment.
Diluc's features hardened. "Alright," he conceded without even a second thought, his train of thought switching as another one of the Abyss Order's knights tumbled under the edge of his greatsword. He did not waste time at all, leaping up with the grace of long-trained muscle memory, his grip on his weapon hilt tightening.
The greatsword burst into flames in his grasp, wild flames erupting from its blade, the heat increasing with every second. He had eyes locked on the crystals, which had impaled Dvalin, and indulged in a wild roar that unleashed his power. A huge, fiery phoenix burst out from his blade, wings spread wide, making its advance toward the crystals with unstoppable force.
The phoenix was a giant fireball, crushing the crystals with a completely deafening roar, its heat and energy intermingling with that in the air. Each of the crystals was bathed in searing, brilliant light, shining ever brighter. The phoenix only narrowly missed Dvalin, whose form was blanketed in the radiant light but otherwise untouched by fire.
Orion's eyes held a light of their own, scanning the scene as the flames reflected in his eyes, full of determination. His heart beat faster and faster as he watched the crystals react to the fiery assault, until, much to his surprise, one shone brighter than any aside from it.
He pointed at it with a sudden eruption of excitement. "There—on his right wing! The far right one!"
Diluc's gaze followed the direction in which Orion was pointing, narrowing at the light-burst of the shining crystal. A small, pleased smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Then my job is done," he said, calm but filled to the brim with purpose. "You're up now, Orion."
As if prompted by an unspoken exchange between DiLuc and Orion, the former's attention was brought back to the field where the Abyss soldiers riddled the defense with a constant series of regular assaults. His massive greatsword, despite its size, finally swung to bring down his barrage of regenerating enemies, thereby clearing the path for a final one.
Orion took a deep breath in, feeling his heart weighing in on the moment. Now, the fate of the Dragon of the East was with him, and there was no more room for second thoughts. He steels his gaze through to the glowing crystal—the one that contains Dvalin's freedom in its radiant core.
With a steely resolve, Orion moved forward, ready to unleash everything he had left to shatter the final chain that bound the legendary dragon. The flames from Diluc’s attack still danced in the air, casting long shadows and bathing the chamber in an intense, fiery glow.
Orion clenched his fists, mumbling to himself, "Alright, one more try. Don't pass out now, Orion!" his spirit was indomitable, though he felt the strain of his previous attempts sway heavily on himself.
And then the man, who was fighting Xiao, turned his head towards Orion in absolute panic and confusion. "Idiot! Not an element can hurt those binds!" he shouted, his voice stretching. "I don't even know how you made it in through the door to this place, but that crystal is even stronger!"
Xiao, as fleet-footed as the Yaksha he is, cut through the man's gush of words with a swift strike of his polearm. The blade glinted in the firelight, striking against the man's black sword and sending him backpedaling, all of his earlier bravado now replaced by desperation.
Xiao's eyes focused on the man, his voice calm and killing. "Just observe."
The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, and a sharp "Tsk" got out of his lips; his glare at Xiao was one of annoyance, since he was overwhelmed. Xiao, however, wouldn't let him get him down, and his very presence acted like a wall between this man and Orion.
Following this dreadfully compelling focus, Orion could now block out all distractions and go deeply within himself. Gradually light started to manifest in his hands, growing ever brighter with every second that passed. It went up to his eyes, glowing intense, otherworldly brilliant, then spread over the entirety of his being, bathing him in radiant, ethereal form. It pulsed through the cavern with blinding radiance, lighting up blindingly bright, as if almost divine, from corner to corner. The forces of the Abyss, locked in fierce combat with Eula and Diluc, suddenly halted.
The clashing of steel and the crackling of flames stopped as if the very air itself had ceased to move. The Abyss creatures in that split second turned as one force, dark eyes upon Orion, just staring at him—not attacking—as though the indomitable power there were so drawn to him. They seemed like they had turned into stone statues, frozen in time by the force of the light. Eula and Diluc, who were right in the middle of the fight, watched in astonishment. It was so magnificent, this light, that the raising of weapons was a gesture stupidly absurd as they let it wash over them, gazing at Orion.
Eula had to force her eyes wide, through some mental haze of her usual self, extending a tiny bit under this experience. Even Diluc, stern warrior, was taken aback, although he hardly showed it. The frenetic glare of the fire that had drowned his blade dimmed in that light that filled the entire cave. The lone man, locked in mortal battle against Xiao only moments earlier, all of a sudden turned his back , pure shocked fear in his eyes. The realization came over him like a cold wave; his eyes popped wide open in shock. He shrank back, his voice trembling in terror, "Impossible, now i understand why he descended to Teyvat... He—He came for you!" His voice boomed in the chamber, laced with quivers of fear that had not been before in existence.
"But how? Even And I, Andron, wasn't informed of his existence!" The light of Orion brightened through all this, growing ever brighter until, with a sudden flash, it seemed to cast the dark, forbidding chamber in a light so pure it might well banish the darkness itself. He took a breath, first one, then filling it immediately with resolve, and he extended his hand. His polearm started to spin, rising from his palm, bright with the same intensity. The weapon began to grow, blossoming into a great spear of absolute light—it was shining so fiercely that he could feel it tremble with pure power.
And with the power came the price, the toll on his body—blood began to run dribbling from his nose and then eyes, breaths growing ever more ragged as each paired with a broken hacking cough, each of them racked with its own suffering. And it was only that crystal binding together Dvalin, the legendary dragon who had suffered more misery than whatever came to his own suffering mind, that held any pinprick of attention from Orion's agony at all. He let loose the gargantuan spear of light finally, turned toward the destination of that crystal, and the spear shot out like a detonated comet into the zealot energy of that crystal so hard it rebounded through the chamber. It had shattered the crystal into a thousand pieces—the sound of its destruction rejoiced, much like the sound of thunder.
The force of the impact was so overwhelming that, although he had tried his best, the spear grazed Dvalin, and a roar of pain erupted from the dragon. As soon as the central crystal cracked, it all chain-reacted. Every other crystal that impaled itself on Dvalin suddenly crumbled into dust, the dark energy that filled the cavern dissipating into nothingness. The ever-regenerating Abyss soldiers that overwhelmed mere minutes before simply ceased to be, vanishing into thin air as if they had never been.
Orion, now dimming, his light fading with the effort, stumbled, blood pouring from his mouth and eyes. He turned his gaze towards Andron, who now looked at him with genuine fear etched across his face. "Child of light," Andron stammered, his voice trembling, "The Lord Emissary came for you! Why... why are you here?"
Feeling the weight of his position, the fear of Andron turned into desperate calculation. His mind raced. By now, he was convinced he had to flee and report this turn of events. Before he could act on it, Orion, despite the unbearable pain, snarled through gritted teeth, "You... know that bastard..?" Summoning the last remnants of his power, Orion gestured with his hand, and a hail of light-infused polearms rained down upon Andron, each one descending like a divine judgment. Andron, in his panic, scrambled to create a portal of dark energy, trying to escape the onslaught. The spears of light tore through the air, nearly striking Xiao, who deftly dodged them, his eyes widening at the sheer force and bloodlust behind Orion's attack. One of the light spears found its mark at the last possible moment, severing Andron's hand just as he slipped through the portal, his scream of agony lingering inthe air as he vanished.
Orin collapsed, finally, down upon his knees as the portal closed, the last light vanishing. The blood poured from the wounds freely, finally succumbing to pain. His energies were completely spent. Blurry vision, dark creeping along the edges as the world started to spin around him.
Falling, Eula was rushing beside, and her heart was pounding with fear for her comrade. Her cry of "Orion," as she knelt beside him holding unsure hands, hovered unsure of how to help. Orion, his strength all but gone, looked up at her, his breathing shallow, but his eyes, though dimming, still held a glimmer of resilience.
