Chapter 19: Chapter Eighteen: Something Cold to Keep Close

“S-so, where are we going? Since we’re in such a hurry, I forgot again!”
Vertex asked.

“There’s an island off in Eldoria’s waters. If I recall correctly, it’s secluded, and rather far out.”
Valdus answered.

“Is that it, then?”
Vertex asked again, now pointing at an island she was nearing.

The island was made of ice, with frozen spikes piercing the sky. A faint light, shrouded in Corrupted shadows, shone from the centre of the island. The light was blue like the ocean’s waters but darkened by whatever kind of Corruption that was surrounding it.

“It must be, but something’s wrong!”
Ace called.

Wasting no time, Vertex upped her pace, making it to the edge of the island with haste. Finding some safe ground with no spikes, she landed there, facing toward a path which reached toward the centre of the island. Valdus and Ace hopped off Vertex’s back, and Valdus rushed ahead up the path. Ace and Vertex followed behind, and the three came to a pause as they sighted a thin, humanoid Corrupt with no facial features attempting to envelope a blue orb - much like the green one Sailus was guarding back in the forest.

The island’s Celestial Orb!
“We have to stop the Corrupt from harming that orb!”
Ace shouted.

P-protect the orb? W-what’s going on!
Confused and scared, Vertex tried to piece together the situation.

“On it already!!”
Valdus shouted, barging in without a second thought.

The Corrupt contorted its body, spinning off the Celestial Orb and glaring at Valdus. With strange movements, the Corrupt groaned, before launching itself at its adversary. Valdus reacted in time and blocked the Corrupt with his sword, staggering back slightly from its force before knocking it back and striking at its chest. The Corrupt was pierced by his blade, and flares of black, blood-like liquid spurted out, panting his sword and the ice below. Despite that, the creature appeared unhindered by his attack.

Before Valdus could think, the Corrupt then swung its arm around, grabbing Valdus by the throat and lifting him off his feet. Valdus, in a struggle, let go of his sword and tried to escape the Corrupt’s grip, but to no avail.

“Valdus!!”
Ace shouted, rushing at the Corrupt.

He dropped down to slide across the frozen ground, and struck at the Corrupt’s legs as he skidded past. The Corrupt, being unaware of Ace’s attack, was swept off its feet, and released Valdus from its grasp. Valdus fell to the ground, gasping for air, as Ace grabbed the sword in the Corrupt’s chest and ripped it outward. The Corrupt shrieked in pain as more black blood spurted from the wound. Ace then tossed the sword to Valdus and rushed to his side.

“I guess I underestimated that thing’s strength...!”
Valdus coughed, trying to make light of the situation as he caught his sword.

“Better not get too confident in fights like these.”
Ace warned, guarding Valdus as he stumbled to his feet,
“We can win this.”

They both then shifted away from the Corrupt, readying for another attack.

“I’ll try to guard that orb and clear the shroud that’s damaging it!”
Vertex called, rushing to the Celestial Orb.

The shrouds of Corruption immediately swarmed to Vertex, but the light of the Orb followed. Vertex flinched as the shadows evaporated, and the light began to envelope her. Vertex panicked a little, then she instinctively curled around the Orb.

“Protect...me...”
A voice spoke in Vertex’s mind, barely audible,
“...protect this...island...! I...beg of you...”

The voice was telepathic, slightly cutting out with sounds of static, but Vertex understood what was said.

She then looked at the Celestial Orb, tilting her head.
D-did it just...speak...?

As she remained coiled, the battle against the Corrupt continued. Valdus and Ace struggled, but held their ground, keeping it from averting its attention to Vertex. Charging at it a second time, Valdus ensured to keep an eye on its movements this time, focusing his Essence and managing to dodge it. He was then caught off guard yet again when the Corrupt instead rushed toward Ace. It wrapped an arm around Ace’s neck and began to draw out a strange, orange aura from his body. It began to bulk up as that aura entered its shadowy figure, now looking somewhat similar to Ace. Valdus tried to rush in to stop it but was pushed back as the Corrupt tossed Ace at him. Valdus managed to catch Ace and fall back, tumbling before hastily getting back up. He helped Ace regain his composure while keeping an eye on the Corrupt.

“Argh... What did that...thing just do...?”
Ace groaned, struggling to stand back up.

“I think it drew out your strength and stole it. That must be its power...but judging by its attack patterns, it needs to grasp its target to use it.”
Valdus responded, placing Ace’s arm over his shoulder.

Briefly widening his eyes, he glanced at Valdus, grimacing.
“Then if that thing does the same to you...!”

“I know... Already thought about it. Just stay back for now and recover. I’ll try to keep it at bay. Hopefully...”
Valdus then rested Ace on the ground, against a wall, and stepped forward to face the Corrupt.

You are reading story Realm of Eldoria at novel35.com

A low-pitched roar then rang out, echoing from the peak of the island’s spikes. Another shadowy figure stood atop of the highest spike, purple eyes looking straight at Valdus. He noticed a grin which crept across the figure’s face, and a powerful Essence radiating from the figure itself.

“Kaenrae...!”
Valdus uttered.

The Corrupt turned its focus on to Kaenrae and began to contort. Kaenrae then leaped down from atop the island spikes and dived straight into the Corrupt, tackling it into the ground. The ground below the Corrupt broke, and it let out an ear-piercing shriek. Valdus held his ears, staggering from the noise and watching as the Corrupt wrapped its arms around Kaenrae’s neck, attempting to fight back.

“Well, I overheard what this thing does, so this definitely will end bad...but I bet it’ll be pretty exciting to see, too!”
Kaenrae’s grin widened as he broke from the Corrupt’s grip.

Only some of Kaenrae’s Essence was stolen, seeping into the Corrupt. The bulkiness it had stolen from Ace’s strength faded as it curled up and resumed shrieking. It continued to contort as it fell into what seemed to be a seizure. The powers it had stolen from Kaenrae began to consume the Corrupt’s body, a wide grin creeping across the face of the Corrupt. Kaenrae then laughed, glancing at Valdus.

“Good luck with your new fight. Things just got a lot more interesting...!”
Kaenrae taunted, before vanishing.

“Kaenrae, wait-!”
Before Valdus could talk to Kaenrae, he had vanished.
Son of a-...

The Corrupt then rose up from the ground and twisted around to face Valdus. Valdus raised his sword in defence but stepped back in hesitance. The feeling of hostility and terror, usually wielded by Kaenrae’s Essence, faintly resonated from the Corrupt. Ace still lay with his back against the ice wall as he watched the Corrupt stagger toward Valdus, unable to move. With the brief loss of his powers, he was virtually paralyzed. He struggled to move again, now managing to barely move a leg.

“Valdus, try to buy me more time! The effect is temporary. In a short while, I’ll be back on my feet!”
Ace called.

“All right, but that better not be too long! This Essence...”
Valdus called back,
“...is Kaenrae’s...!”

Just a little longer... Hang in there...!
Ace thought to himself.

The Corrupt froze momentarily, then without warning, lunged toward Valdus. He blocked the attack like last time and kicked the Corrupt away, before striking the air with his sword. A wave of sharp wind formed, cutting the Corrupt deeply, but it only a second after resumed staggering forward. Keeping his distance, he kept on striking at it with blades of wind.

This is fine...! I just need to buy time for Ace!
Valdus panted, backing away further and stopping, so as not to exhaust himself.

As expected, the Corrupt lunged once more, and was stopped by the blade of Valdus’s sword again. It struggled to reach him as Valdus barely kept it at bay, making sure to not be caught off guard for a third time. While Valdus kept this up, Vertex still remained nearby, unmoving from the Celestial Orb. The light was now beginning to shine brighter, but shrouds of Corruption continued their attempts in attacking both her and the orb.

“I can hold the shrouds off just for a little longer... Just hang in there, please! The light’s almost restored!”
The orb called to Vertex, now much more audible.

“A-all right, if you say so, but they’re getting more and more relentless!”
Vertex thought, feeling the orb would understand.

Though Vertex felt confident in protecting it, she was beginning to struggle with keeping a hold of its light as well. She could feel its Essence slipping from her grasp, and her own beginning to tire. Glancing over to the fight nearby, she watched as the Corrupt attacking Valdus jumped back from him and began to groan. It let out a howl of laughter, holding its head. Parts of the creature’s body began to pulsate, and it resumed its contortions from when it first attacked. The parts of the Corrupt that were pulsating now seemingly glitched out of existence momentarily, giving off a strange, computer-like buzz each time before returning to its body.

A trail made of its shadows then burst from the Corrupt’s back and flew straight at Valdus. Valdus raised his sword to block it before it reached him, but the sword did nothing to stop it. The shadow struck his chest, instantly knocking him down. He gasped for air, writhing on the frozen ground as he felt pain envelope him and his powers fade. Ace barely regained the rest of his senses and attempted an attack on the Corrupt, but the heavy blade of his sword phased straight through its torso. Another shadow flew straight into Ace’s back, causing him to fall into the same situation Valdus was now left in.

“Valdus! Ace!”
Vertex cried out.

She then held her hands over her mouth, clasping it shut, when she noticed the Corrupt snap its neck around in an instant, grinning directly at her. Vertex trembled, and shrank a little, still curled around the Celestial Orb as tears began to well in her eyes. The shadows which were trying to attack the Celestial Orb and her then flew toward the Corrupt and sank into it, now powering it further.

“Now’s our chance! I know it’s already been a lot for you to keep the shadows from taking my Essence, but I have one more request... I trust that you’ll be able to take that Corrupt down.”
The Celestial Orb spoke to Vertex.

“How will I, though? I don’t have enough strength to fight that thing! And it defeated Valdus and Ace so easily...!”
Vertex cried.

“I will give you the strength you need. Let the ocean’s rage follow in your wake, and bring great storms to envelope your foes. May those who stand in your way freeze from your gaze, and those you protect be safe within your grace! As a new Celestial, protect this land and the waters of this realm!!”
The Celestial Orb called once more, and more of the light enveloped Vertex.

Before she could realise what this meant, she felt magic flood her body, strength coursing through her veins; Vertex now felt her Essence gain surge with an Affinity she’d never wielded before. She took in a deep breath and returned a glare at the Corrupt, uncoiling from the orb and shifting to a greater size. With a simple nod, she accepted the Celestial Orb’s plea, shaking off the last of her fears. With that newfound courage, her scales began to shine with a pristine glow, now freezing up like the island’s ice, donning her scales with powerful, frozen armour. The Corrupt stopped contorting, and the grin which ran across its face now altered to a sinister grimace.

“I’ll do it... I’ll protect my friends, this land, and our home. I won’t let fear control me anymore...”
Vertex roared with confidence,
“...I can fight as well!!”

You can find story with these keywords: Realm of Eldoria, Read Realm of Eldoria, Realm of Eldoria novel, Realm of Eldoria book, Realm of Eldoria story, Realm of Eldoria full, Realm of Eldoria Latest Chapter