Arkarum: The Hammer and the Blade

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  Mercius was in a cave of utter blackness. He was lost and afraid, lonely and alone. Nephilia was still grasping his hand, and he hers, but there was no consolation in that. Her warm glow of glory no longer penetrated his mind. He was surrounded by darkness, and darkness was within him, ever closer to bursting forth its impurities. He struggled with the pictures that floated in his mind. Pictures of death and rape and slaughter. Pictures of human flesh served up for him to feast upon. He was tormented by visions of his friends being torn apart, but not by demons; by himself, reveling in their blood. He was agonized by what he knew he had become. His heart sang with love, but his body had transmorphed into a figure of pure evil. He was terrified, and was loath to hold onto the love that tugged at his heart.

  Remember. It was Nephilia’s voice that came into his head with strength and loveliness. That single imperative, again, as if it was the only word she knew. When, in fact, it was the only word that he needed to hear. He remembered. He remembered the smiling face of his mother, on her death bed, with her skin flayed and her tongue ripped from her mouth. He remembered Griffin laid out on the floor of Mor'denaa’s chambers, overcome by the power of the frightening she-demon. He remembered Nephilia, suspended over a pit of nothingness, lacerated and broken.

  He remembered Keira. Mercius remembered the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingers, and her hands on his chest. He remembered the smell of her hair and the warmth of her smile. He remembered the taste of her lips and the laughter in her eyes.

  Suddenly, Mercius had his feet on solid ground. He had been floating in darkness, now he was standing in gloom. Nephilia was still grasping his hand, but everything else had changed. He breathed in air that was not hot and rank, as it had been, but moist and scentless. He felt not the burning environment of Hell, but the humid cling of earth.

  He was back. He was home, where he should be; where he was meant to be.