N:Era Call of the Wolves Finale: The Ethereal King
Part 8: The Ethereal King"You're colder than the permafrost."The Ethereal King stood still. Her inky fur was blacker than the night. She grinned at Snofall before both canines gave each other a fist bump."Glad to see you again, Swillow."The Ethereal King scanned the area, ignoring the Fangs with the crossbows and slings, and instead bobbed to the howling of her faction. She muttered under her breath like she was singing."Because you hide yourself in that shell.No point in salvaging what's been lost."Azuwe shook. The corners of his mouth tensed up, just like his muzzle, just like his teeth, and he glanced back at Snofall, then glared at the Ethereal King.She stuck her tongue out like a panting mutt. He was lost at level two of the plan while she stood at level three, and to rub this in, she said, "You're a little slow, Wasting."Kryyk ordered: "Don't trust that thing! Attack!"Arrows zoomed at the Ethereal King, but they all flicked off her thick skin, making her chuckle. As Clovur threw a potion, Swillow smacked the volatile vial away with a paw, altering the trajectory to instead strike the trees, making the boughs explode along with a few Fangs.Spree Riva ended the song as Swillow parked herself near Cyras, who was still lying on her belly, cheek pressed against the grass."Welcome to your bitter end.""What are you doing? Laying here?""There's no point in getting up," Cyras said, tone empty, if a bit nasally from snot. "There will never be any peace or justice in this world.""You're right."Cyras gasped. "This isn't fair. No matter how hard we try, nothing matters. Even the way everyone tried to stop Raynfall, by denying her power of the outer territories had only led to her stripping Wilders of their land. How she let Ramatos take over . . . ""That is the way of the world. The attempt of the so-called heroes to stop the so-called villains is futile. Good is not the opposite of evil; good is the source of evil, because the weapons of structure and tools of generosity and security become the claws and fangs of the wicked.""But if everything we do just strengthens the enemy, then, there is no point," Cyras said, focusing on the worms. "We've lost.""That is correct.""Then, then tell me. Is this really the way the world is?""That is correct.""Then, there's no point of me getting up. Why should I?"Swillow laughed. "You've forgotten why you've fought your entire life?"Cyras, in her shame, closed her eye."Because the enemy was in front of you!"Cyras' eye shot open.Everything she did wasn't for eternal reward, major victory, or absolution. In the wilds, she fought because of the immediate, visceral goal. To survive. To win."Stand up and win," the Ethereal King ordered her.A fire raged in her.Snofall froze the large sphere of water Raynfall generated, but cracks formed in the ice before the barrier shattered. As the crystals fell, mostly dissolving midair, the puppet rain goddess regained power. Ramatos' eyes glowed as well as the gem around his neck.Cyras smacked her paws on the ground and swerved to face Raynfall."RAYNFALL!" she roared.Kryyk's eyes narrowed as he stood underneath the branch Clovur was at. "How is she still standing?"Structures of an orange and green palace glitched into existence, the phantasmal buildings fusing with the oaks of the true world. Ahmond's eyes bulged and Lilu withdrew from the pillars, informing Cyras that everyone else noticed the structures too.Her gaze darted, her fur tufts swinging along with her head, until she glared into the soul of Raynfall. "She's trying to swallow us into her world," Cyras said, "so hit her with your best shot and we'll try to take her out."Ramatos' gem glowed and he said, "Protect me." Crimson Fangs perched in the trees, tensing, preparing their bows and arrows. A couple of grounded fighters inched closer, however, before they could attack N:Era, the Ethereal King reacted.Forming a jacket of flames, the Ethereal King sprung towards the grounded fighters and shoulder tackled them, each incidental touch knocking someone off their feet. She smacked one Fang so fiercely in the shoulder, high enough to hit the joint, she heard a snap. She gave an extra slap across his chest to knock the shocked, yowling weasel to the grass.Everywhere she went, she left a trail of embers burning red hot in the darkness of the woods, leaving a scent of burning wood and fur. No arrows pierced her hide."Okay, this isn't working," Kryyk muttered, while Ramatos approached.Being a gryphon, Ramatos figured he would be of comparable power to the spectral wolf, and he slashed at her with his talons.But the Ethereal King hadn't cared much about his supposed physical prowess. As he slashed, she hit his paw away with her own, then clutched him by the throat.Ramatos choked, his tongue wriggling. He aimed to rake her face with his talons, but Swillow arose to her hind legs, twisted her hips, and slammed the gryphon into the mud.Dozens of feet away, Raynfall let Ahmond close in. Despite being in proximity with everyone visually, Ahmond felt isolated, and hastily she threw a punch that Raynfall deflected.Ahmond tried another punch, but Raynfall swiped her wrist, and crossed both arms into an "x", before going under and headbutting her in the gut. As Ahmond doubled over, the goddess punched the coywolf in the face.Ahmond fell without protest. However, Azuwe jumped next to her.Ramatos' puppet slipped to Azuwe's side and bit his arm, but he circled around, dragging the fox with him. He jerked his wrist back to pull her in, but she released the bite and a spout of water blasted her into the sky.Because of the giant tsunami ball she was lowering towards the city, she couldn't spare much water magic. Still, in midair, she sent the blast of water towards Azuwe who split the attack in twain with his own magic.As Raynfall landed, she saw the glint of Cyras' spear.Cyras kept a firm grip on the polearm, and she spun around, knowing her mother gave her this weapon for some reason. She flung the spear. However, because of her eyepatch, her depth perception failed her once more.Raynfall remained still as the spear didn't even graze her.Cyras' mouth fell open. In this multidimensional space, she knew Raynfall locked the world onto her.Lilu, who had positioned herself behind Raynfall, went onto her hindlegs to reach for the spear, narrowly grasping with her teeth. Something triggered in her. Just like how she accurately threw the lance in her fight against the Sandstone Knight, she spun around, once, then twice, and she threw.Despite the rules of this world, wherein distances of one foot would last miles, and distances of miles could last a few feet, the spear flew like normal. As Raynfall proceeded towards Cyras, the projectile sunk in her heel.For the first time they had met the emotionless fox, she showed an expression of fear. And Raynfall again looked at the corner of her vision, only to see the Ethereal King grab a pink gem from Ramatos, and squeeze, before letting little bits of sand flow like an hourglass saying her time was up.Azuwe jumped and bit Raynfall's throat in mid-air. Both death-rolled in the sky and smacked the floor. As Azuwe released his grip, Raynfall stumbled, when a blast of wind came from Snofall, knocking her in the way for one of Rosod's dragon-like magical bursts. As negative energy launched Raynfall upwards, Cyras ascended a flight of stairs.Growing nine tails, like golden strands against a black night, Cyras struck the Queen of Glacialane directly in the gem. Cyras' friends vanished and as she landed, she struck a black pillar that was once a tree. The buildings withered like dying plants into an orange void.Raynfall, the true emotional self, had a collar around her neck, along with chains around her legs, each linking to several apparitions. From a Snofall as purple and cold as fear, to the Burgenromantik towers as green as jealousy, to a male fox yellow with regret, and a flood in black and white, the entire rainbow of hopes and despairs spread out infinitely.Cyras told Raynfall, "You have to take your body back, or else Ramatos is going to destroy all of Prospect."Raynfall slumped onto her bottom, her shoulders falling. If she was a puppet, the one string active would be around her head, forcing her to, with unfocused eyes, acknowledge Cyras. "I can't. Ramatos has taken control of my body."Cyras examined the flying regrets, able to smell the musks of Snofall or the stray fox. While there were only five main chains, they branched out to events hundreds of years prior. "Wow. So this is why you've hidden yourself.""Now you see why I left everything alone," Raynfall said. "As long I kept everything locked away—""—Locking everything away is why everything came out," Cyras said, "like a bubble bursting."The visions blurred as Raynfall chuckled. "There's no way to catch up with everything I've ever done, or everything I've ever lost, or everyone I've hurt. You can't erase one major regret, much less fifty, much less six hundred years worth."Cyras nodded slowly. "If I may be honest about something, even though I know I had to fight Kryyk, the first thing I did after he passed was embrace him. As if holding onto him was the last thing keeping him afloat on this world . . . and when I let go, I knew he was gone."Raynfall perked up.Cyras choked. "I remembered how we built stories on top of one another, where we talked of a giant Beithir taller than the mountains walking through and how he would take them out with all nine elements, but he questioned if there was a Beithir big as the mountains. I remembered one time I beat him so hard when we were fighting, that even when Ryvoh praised me, I felt so sorry. I remembered how he would, just for me, bring a bottle out from the Wilds back to the edge of the civic lands to transport a letter. All I saw when his eyes closed, last breath escaping his lungs, was someone sweet and innocent. Still, he attacked people I loved. And he's come back to life, to fight them again. I don't know how to feel, but I do feel. I'm not strong to shrug off emotions, I'm being ignorant.""And you think this is equal to what I've done?""No, but I had reasons, just like you. Sometimes, you have to do something to protect others you love.""Your cousin just came back to life.""I know, and I'll have to live with him being alive. I can't ignore what I've done now."Raynfall nearly spat. "Now you understand why I hate living."Cyras fluttered her eyes and flicked her whiskers. "What? No. I love life.""Huh?""I love being here, with my friends, and even my family, and steaks, and sodas. I'm grateful to be alive."Raynfall's eyes narrowed. "You say that now, but you will suffer, you will grow tired, you will fight endlessly.""Yes, and I will love endlessly so I will gladly fight endlessly.""That's your reason to hope?" Raynfall asked."Hope isn't something I ever needed, because I promise you, no matter how many giant water balls you drop, no matter how many floods you bring, no matter how many lives you take, I will survive. I've never lived in denial of bad times, I've always embraced every struggle. There might be famine or drought, but there will be food and water."Raynfall's regrets wavered into a haze, and she said, "I think the time is too late for me, Cyras.""Who cares if you're too late to catch up for whatever you've done? People will be mad at you forever, who cares!? Just stop Ramatos for today. You can't improve if you keep defeating yourself because you think you suck.""I don't know how to take my own body back when I'm chained."Cyras said, "Accept how you feel and maybe you'll be able to act with the right emotions instead of the wrong ones. Just sift through them."For once, Raynfall's lips curved up. Ramatos rose to all fours, but the Ethereal King slapped the stupid straight out of his face. The corners of his vision went black, only for Swillow to buck him in the solar plexus with her hind paws.Ramatos' wings almost snapped as he landed. He screeched, he slammed his palms on the mud, and then the Ethereal King somersaulted across his stomach to knock the wind out.Swillow playfully bared her fangs, waiting for the gryphon to rise, when a gray-blue fox walked closer. Ramatos pointed at Swillow. "Quick. Quick, stop her.""I'm done letting you do what you will with me," Raynfall said, the anger edging her voice. "You told me nothing was my fault, but in reality, the rain was my emotions leaking out.""I can explain." He backed up."Then you hijacked me with a crystal. I know you drained emotions, but I didn't realize you had a backdoor to turn me into your toy."As Ramatos took a few more steps back, he said, "Raynfall, I swear, I was doing what I thought was great for the kingdom. What was great for my peoples. I'm one of only a few gryphons left and we only have the mountains to live at."Raynfall's eyes glowed. The massive orb of water burst, however instead of spilling all over town, the liquid fell specifically over her and Ramatos."If I want to atone," Raynfall said, as thousands of gallons of water poured over her head and body, the waves frothing and pushing at her.Ramatos tried flying away, but he couldn't, slammed down by the torrents. The water boiled with seething rage and froze with chilling fear, and sprinkled with sorrow, and frothed with joy."If I ever want to atone, I need to embrace what I've done."As the water washed over her, she sent the waves out, imperceptibly flowing across the forest and along the ground, filling aquifers.Cyras caught one last glance of Kryyk running away with Clovur and Portus, and some other surviving Fangs who weren't too keen on Raynfall's self-imposed judgment."I'll see you again, one day, Kryyk."The stars shone on a clear night. Ahmond, who had left Cyras' side as Rosod and Lilu tried to get everything straightened out with the Guards of Glacialane, stepped near a clearing where the Ethereal King, Azuwe, and Snofall were talking."So," Azuwe asked, "was all of this your plan to trap me? Or is there something else going on with Ramatos?"Swillow grinned. "Oh, Wasting, Snofall wouldn't let me harm you. Probably. Would you? Ah, she's shaking her head. Anyway, I got Ramatos out of the way, so that's one step closer to eliminating everybody else. Don't think I was thinking about you."Snofall said, "Don't tell your brother too much, or to the one who's listening in right now."Ahmond's eyes widened, and all three snapped their attention to the skeletal trees she hid herself behind. As Swillow's frame came into view, she realized the wolf was triple her size."You're a woman?" Ahmond asked, having noticed the term Ethereal "King"."I guess." She shrugged.Wasting asked Ahmond, "You thought we wouldn't notice you? We can smell you."Feeling a brush of wind against her tail, Ahmond looked back to see Snofall, and she realized they trapped her in a triangle. Two wolves ahead of her, one goddess behind her. Even after Snofall's burst of wind dissipated, she still felt a chill.Swillow brought her massive nose over, her nostrils bigger than Ahmond's eyes. Each sniff vacuum sucked strands of fur on her face, and the breath of the Ethereal King was damp and warm, like a fetid, mossy cavern.Swillow laughed. "How neat. We both have the same colors. Black and red." She gave Ahmond a quick lick on the head and ran off into a now silent night.Ahmond took a few breaths, glad to survive the encounter with the Ethereal King. * * * I guess you're wondering what was going on. That's fair. Spree Riva is one of my howlers, and he was helping influence everything along with Snofall. I didn't want you in on the plan too early, else you might've thrown a wrench into everything.Raynfall's older sister, Snofall, said you were the right girl to save her because you wouldn't be accused of causing a coup like Owlis. You are, I suppose, "only a Wilder".Spree got captured, so Snofall wanted Wasting (or Azuwe) to take him hostage, and of course, he was easy to fool. Honestly, we weren't expecting you to be part of this so soon, but Eulyale could literally steer you in the right directions.Snofall had a few disguises to choose. For some reason, she picked Bellafauna. She was always in my top ten favorite avatars. Eh maybe top twenty.At Count Sylva's, Spree pretended to have Bellafauna hostage while in reality, we were trying to get rid of the owner in case she became a pain later. We organized another ambush outside the portal. Afterwards, then we would be able to take you to the "Prince", A.K.A. Kryyk.Wasting screwed that plan, now didn't he? Snofall couldn't exactly tell him to not do something while she was posing as Bellafauna, so afterwards, she had to leave all of you and figure out everything else. Wasting got a vision about Raynfall attacking you, and you would gather evidence of Ramatos' corruption, so Snofall went along with everything.If you had gone with us to Kryyk, he would gather everybody, but you had to escape. Snofall got Wasting to take you over to a private shop where you two could discuss our next operation, blunt as this was. You came over.Wasting got you to get the evidence, and that solidified to him Snofall was on his side (but she so wasn't >:D), and you could throw Ramatos behind bars. Snofall told Spree and Spree told me, and I came around.Kryyk tried to correspond over letters, and he said he wanted this big moment where he could destroy all of Prospect, your hopes, and Raynfall. Guess he didn't do that after all.Thank you. I will owe you one, tell me when.Signed, The Ethereal King.P.S. I'm guessing you want to know more about the Fangs of Liberty, right? If you can take out more of them, that would really benefit me financially. Less money to spread. Well we don't all want society destroyed. I need to feed on Civics, for example. I am known as the Ethereal King, and I am marked as "0".The true leader is known as Echo, and she's a black-and-white wolf, with the black-fur somewhat resembling a hood. She's somewhat bulky but not as big as me or Wasting, and her scent is a lot like wax. She is "infinity". She can manipulate vines.There's seven "executives". Kryyk, the Prince, is number 4. He's the youngest member and the catalyst, if you will. Ramatos wasn't an executive, but both agreed to work with each other, but personally, I'd rather we got rid of the little runt. He's stupid and impulsive, and that bird isn't trustworthy either.Sleeping Beauty is number 3. She's a Skyless. While her species is long extinct, she seems to be the last member. All I can say is she's always sleeping, but has some psychic power.Wildbang has Lightning and Nature powers, but he typically uses Lightning to produce wind. Mixing that in with some dirt, he makes dust, and hits his opponents without them able to hit back. He's a fox, red and purple. Even worse, he has the ability to manipulate spirits. He's number 2. You might be able to recognize him more by having a southernly smell about him. Spruce trees and berries.Number one is known as the "Gamemaster". Highly methodical, even compared to someone like Echo or Sleeping Beauty, he's probably the worst person for you to meet for now. I've never seen him cast any spells, but I don't think he likes to fight either way.Alpha is our benefactor. I can't actually say anything about her. Not that I don't know anything, but more like, the more I tell you, the worse your chances are. Once you figure out my riddle, maybe then you'll survive an encounter with her.Cyras laid the letter on the dresser, next to the lamp. As she turned her head, she saw the shadow of a fox beyond the red veil. With a roll, she left the privacy of the bed, and stepped off the footrest.Owlis was looking as authoritative and proper as ever. Cyras imagined if she found out she had been corresponding with the Ethereal King. "Raynfall told me about everything."Cyras asked, "How long did you plan this?""I didn't. Snofall told me she could stop Raynfall and I believed her. I'm sorry you had to learn about your cousin coming back to life like this. However, I must thank you for your help.""As should I," said Raynfall as she stepped onto the red floor of the bedroom. With a brief smile, she said, "Cyras, you gave me a brief respite. Thank you. I'm not entirely sure how I will ever repay what I've done."Owlis muttered, "With lots of money.""Fair enough," Raynfall said. "I will relinquish the wilds back to the wilders, and buy back the noble titles. Furthermore, each wildborn who was displaced or lost their business is getting a grant of money based on how much they've likely lost. Administratively speaking, this is all going to cost a lot of money to begin the reparations, and will likely take over a year or two to fully handle . . . but we'll get the process underway"Cyras tilted her head. "How will you get the money?""No clue," Raynfall said. "Anyway, I wanted to give you these."She presented Cyras a green present box with a red bow.Cyras raised her eyes, and had the slightest bit of curiosity, hoping for gum or something edible, but as she opened up the lid, she saw gold. Two scarves."Two gold silk scarves?" Cyras asked."Yes," Raynfall said with a small smile. "Owlis and I are on better terms now, and hopefully when you're on better terms with your own cousin, you can give him one."Cyras' mouth opened, and she couldn't speak, so instead she nuzzled Raynfall.The older fox's eyes widened at the treatment, and she half-heartedly nuzzled back before saying, "Anyway, so you still have four minutes left on your timeout.""Wait, what! I saved the entire kingdom.""That doesn't negate timeout," Raynfall said, shaking her head. "Did you seriously think you could butter me up by saving my kingdom?""This isn't fair!""I could add ten minutes for trying to leave the naughty step.""Fine, fine, I'm going . . . " After the time out, at a balcony of Raynfall's palace, Cyras grabbed the railings and scanned the purple and pink lights of the city against an otherwise clear night sky. Pavement still smelled wet and fresh from the rain. She heard claws clicking and her ears rotated back.Lilu and Ahmond approached, their heads bowed slightly, almost apologetic. Rosod stayed inside where everything was bright. Finally, the hyena spoke, "You really pulled through.""You keep saying I pulled through, or I'm fine, or powerful," Cyras said, "but stop that. You can't keep saying how I feel to make yourself seem happy or to try to trick me to be happy. I’m still trying to just process everything myself, and I’m going to, at my own pace."Ahmond blinked. "I think what she means is, well, I-I just want you to know that . . . So, Kryyk came back to life. We all told you. And now, I'm sorry you had to learn this way. Um, I guess this proves you are a god."Cyras laughed.Lilu narrowed her eyes at Ahmond, visually reprimanding her, until the laugh turned higher pitched than normal. Then came the rapid swallowing of air like someone gasping or choking.Cyras' laugh reverberated. Finally, her eyes half-lidded, she said, "Ahmond." "Stand Up And Win!"We are the blade that cuts through raging rain!Devoid of soul and heart?And yet you drowned the world with your own tearsAnd shake with freezing fearYou can't even be sincereYou think you'll purge you're hopes and dreams with meBut you're too busy breaking.
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