Chapter 7: A Storm Is Brewing
Galahad slowly opened his eyes, on his knees, arms hanging at his sides. He felt drowsy and disoriented, his eyes couldn't focus and everything was spinning. Ears were ringing and a headache, threatening to split his skull in too, made him grab the sides of his head and scream out in pain.
"..." No voice came out of his mouth, finding his vision, he grabbed his neck in horror and tried to speak, seemingly muted. He looked around, noticing that he was in a familiar place. An all-black, encompassed by darkness, space. Once again a dim light, lit his potion, similar to stage lights, focusing on the play's characters.
"Pathetic…a disgrace to your race…how idiotic…" The silence was broken by a judging voice. Another beam appeared in front of Galahad and soon a figure came into sight. The mute man opened his eyes in shock because the figure that had manifested was none other than himself.
Wearing a slick black suit, his hair was spiked up, similar to what Galahad's did when he powered up. They locked eyes and held this position for a few minutes, his avatar speaking up once again.
"Weak…a failure…Failure!" Pure rage, an emotion Galahad knew well, emanated from the avatar. Soon its appearance started to change, clothes breaking apart, leaving it with a brown short-skirt. Closing its eyes for a moment, only to open them and reveal a pair of ghastly orbs, radiating with an ashen light.
The avatar approached Galahad, who was stuck in place unable to move and crouched before him, their faces inches apart. Extending its hand, a palm landed on his chest, from which a coldness spread to every inch of his body.
"You gave our soul…for this power..." The avatar's words were barely heard by Galahad. It retracted its arm, stopping mid-motion. Its gaze that had fallen on the ground, focused once more on him.
"...Why not give you heart as well!" And with that the avatar pierced Galahad's chest, ripping out his still-beating heart. Lifting it above its head, the blood dripped down its mouth.
Galahad unable to utter a single word, or move, watched in despair, as his cannibalistic avatar consumed his blood, soon his heart following. A pool of blood forming underneath him, in which his body sunk.
"...I will be watching…" These were the last words the avatar uttered, before he fully sunk, ending this brief encounter.
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"GIVE IT BACK!" Galahad sprung up and clutched his hand in the empty air, still unaware he was awake. Eyes wide open, his hands traced his body, landing on his chest.
"It's still here…" Relived he fell back and covered his face, having a hard time calming himself.
It all felt so real to him, this encounter with another him, his avatar. He remembered its every word clearly, still resounding in his head. A failure, a disgrace, a pathetic excuse for a warrior…it was a lot to take in…
Pulling himself together, memories from his encounter with the demon resurfaced. He put the matter of his avatar to the back of his mind, looking around he had found himself in yet another unfamiliar place, being absent-minded wouldn't help him.
Remembering his fight, the demon had launched its final attack, aiming to end his life. At this point the injuries had pushed him into unconsciousness, making this the last piece of information he had, before waking up here.
Standing up from the stone slab he was laying on, Galahad examined his surroundings cautiously. The place reminded him of an ancient temple, white marble walls with intricate carvings of battle scenes, his laying place in the center of this room, reminding him of an altar. The atmosphere was cool, which along with a slight breeze, helped him to relax.
Walking up to the depicted scenes on the walls, he gazed at them curiously. They seemed to tell the tale of a clash between a team of…strange individuals and a towering figure of a demon.
It was evident that the demon had the upper hand, fighting against five figures and still holding his ground. He went to the next carving, which showed the team fleeing the battle with a new addition, a small girl.
A hulking man held her in his arms, worry written all over his face. And giving chase was the same demon from before. Finally reaching the last scene, he saw what could only be described as a portal. On one side the team, whose expressions screamed loss and despair, while on the other side was the demon, laughing with the girl in his hand.
"...another creepo…" The demonic figure brought back memories of a certain man. Absorbed in the art, he didn't notice that another person had walked into the room, silently observing him for a while before speaking up.
"You woke up." The sudden voice startled Galahad, who jumped around and screamed.
"Kya!…*Cough*…*Inaudible Swearing*…Are you the one who saved me?" Galahad, slightly embarrassed, inspected the hooded figure.
"No, you saved yourself. But I have to say, even demons don't display such savagery when attacking." Having said that, the person took off the cloak and revealed a white-haired woman.
Saying that Galahad was dazed, was an understatement. His jaw almost touched the floor, mesmerized at the sight of the woman standing opposite to him. It has been some time since he had spoken with another person and a human at that. So a woman was even more of a shock to him.
As appearances went, she was pleasing to the eye. Her hair, silver, was styled in a mohawk that extended down her back. Dark skin, contrasting her hair, was under-display due to her clothing choice, including a dress that was open on the sides, like two stripes of blue cloth held together by chain links, struggling against her curvy body.
Her most striking feature was her eyes, which shone, white in color, with a blue hue emanating from them. Matching well with the rest of her well-structured face, making her look mystifying and sharp.
"Wo…wo…wooo…" Galahad was struggling to speak properly, his mouth still hanging open. The woman gave him a weird look and turned around, bringing into his line of sight a big booty, that further fried his brain.
"...Follow me." Her tone nonchalant, she guided him through the temple and into a luxurious hall, with golden statues and couches to sit on.
They sat opposite to each other and for a moment an awkward silence, with Galahad staring at her like a piece of meat, while she sipped on a cup of hot liquid she had placed before them.
"Tell me your name." She spoke once again, leaving down her cup and crossing her pair of long and slender legs.
"Galahad…" Lost in his thoughts, the horny man answered absentmindedly, his head tilting to the side, trying to get a better view. This didn't seem to annoy her, letting him do his thing.
"Pleasure to meet you Galahad. My name is Ororo, owner of this sanctuary. Now…who are you and why are you here?" Ororo introduced herself and gave him another question.
"...Who am I? Why am I here?…" Her inquiry brought him out of his daze and left him deep in thought. Those were questions that anyone could answer, yet were impossible for him.
Ororo noticed this, raising an eyebrow, she decided to change the subject. Before she could, it was Galahad's turn to speak.
"I just said, I am Galahad and as to why I am here…well I am still finding out. But enough of the interrogation, you spells don't work on me woman…*Gulp*…*Stare*…maybe a little." Trying to play it cool, our man failed miserably, his eyes landing on her skin once more.
"Still! I want to know where I am and why you helped me." He has been thrown quite a lot these last few months. First the afterlife, then limbo, now this…and every time he woke up not knowing where he was.
"Those questions will be answered…but first, do you remember how your fight ended with the demon?" Not replying to him, Ororo questioned him back. At his Galahad scratched his head because truth be told, he couldn't remember a single thing after that creature almost killed him.
"I guessed as much…let me explain to you then what happened. You see I wasn't there from the start of your clash. I only came after I sensed raging energy, the source of which was none other than you." She stopped taking a sip of her beverage and continued.
"I arrived at the scene, finding you…pummeling away at what appeared to be the corpse of the demon. You kept on your mindless attack, stopping a few moments later, giving a loud shout, and fainting on the spot. It was quite bizarre." This left Galahad even more confused.
It seems that while he had lost consciousness, his body kept on fighting, and not only that, it had powered up even power, displaying an uncontrollable rage that ended with him reducing his opponent to a meat pulp.
"...I don't remember. After that creature brought me down on my knees, ready to kill me, I was already unconscious." With no idea, this was the only thing he could say.
"I guessed as much. Anyhow, you asked where you are. Well, this is my…base so to speak. A safe haven in this dimension or world called Limbo. And as to why I helped, it's simple. I want you to help me fight a bad guy." With that Ororo leaned back and extended her arms on the couch, assuming a more relaxed potion, while Galahad stared at her with his arms resting on his legs.
"Seeing that you have great battle prowess…violent even. That is exactly what I need, a bodyguard. You are the only person I have found in the few years I have been stranded here and the only one I can ask. In return, you will have an opportunity to leave this hell and return to my home planet, Earth." At the word Earth, Galahad's eyes lit up.
After all the planet was his home and he was feeling homesick. Stranded in this unknown world, fighting demons, alone. Who wouldn't want to leave?
"It's that man in the carving right?… You want to save that little girl." He guessed, having seen the art in the room he woke up. It felt that it matched the situation.
"...Illyana, the name of the child. Yes, she has been abducted by that bastard!… Belasco, Limbo's ruler. A sorcerer of unimaginable power, with the goal of bringing a group of elder gods out of their dimension and into this one." Explaining the enemies he had to face, her mood took a turn for the worse.
Hearing of this Galahad was skeptical, a demon lord and a master sorcerer, elder gods trying to break into this dimension, possibly a horde of monsters was awaiting for him if he took up this offer. A sane person would think twice before accepting, even if it meant a way out.
"...Count me in!" But Galahad's was anything but sane. His blood boiled at the idea of endless battle. And so he had found his first ally in Limbo.