Lore/Story Endgame - Lost - Part 4

(I gave up on roman numerals, they don't work)

So this is actually just about the world's biggest necropost, but I was trying to tell someone about a certain... [spoilers] in this story but it turns out we only ever posted a third of it and it only appeared near the end. So I asked the others and so here's the rest. There's gonna be multiple posts here, so I'll link the next part in each one. If you don't remember the story, which you probably don't, there's two other sections already posted. So here's part one and part two. And part three which I just posted.

Authors: @xKindredKinesis (lead), @ Captain Undead (also lead but I don't know what his current name is), @Lev (Inactive), @XavierEXE, @SkellySniper (me), and @Zuikaku_.

Anyway! On with the story.



"A noble one… Let’s see what do you treasure more, your life, or the kids!" Menin said, as he charged for one of the younger fighters running to the city. Almost immediately, Will followed. Just before the punch, Will managed to get between the two in the last moment. His sword was already glowing, and the wind slowly gathered around him. The warrior in silver activated the spell, as the strong violent wind pushed the monster away just in time. However, this time, Menin recovered much quicker, and within moments he had already returned to his feet and started running toward the three again. Aeon was given no option but to retaliate. He leaped to aside as Menin was charging in. Using his cloak, the bladesinger vanished, before appearing behind the monster was coming for him, hurling his dagger toward the beast. The dagger plunged in and locked onto its back, as Aeon reeled himself in and landed onto the monster. While it was distracted by Aeon, Will saw his opportunity at hand. Will ran toward the flailing beast, his sword readied to strike. One swift cut to the stomach, and another cut to the back of the knee, along with Aeon’s help managed to bring the Juggernaut down.

Sol walked on the path of the jungle, following the smoke came from Troms. She knew something wasn't right, and she had a really bad feeling. She entered the path that leads to Troms through the lake. She can see a thin layer of dark snow covered the ground. Far ahead was a small unusual blizzard. Approached for a better view, she found Will with Aeon, battling Menin, and Akyro clashing with Kuraia.
"Will! I've found you finally!" She shouted, running toward Will. "Who's your new friend here?" She asked, oblivious to what's happening
"I'll explain later. Follow them to safety. I'll buy you times." Will said, pushing both toward Trom’s entrance. Menin was getting back up to his feet, despite the injury to his leg. Will averted his attention back to the monster. From the side, he could see a fallen pillar, setting up for a perfect ramp to get to his vantage point.

While fighting with Akyro, Kuraia could see Menin are in troubles. William was in the air, his sword raised high and ready. The corruption aspect knows they are now fighting an uphill battle, against one of their own, and someone with skills rival their own powers. She raised a wall of true ice just before Menin, creating a dome covering the monster from the Warrior in Silver. However, William was relentless on his attack. The warrior spun around in the air, before cleaved his sword down upon the true ice. The sword clashed against the impenetrable ice, before cutting into the wall. The unbreakable ice wall was shredded in half by the attack. The Blue’s Edge glowed in a silvery light. The sword came down with a mighty force, cut through the monster’s face, left it staggered as the colossal fell to its knee.

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While Will, Akyro and Sol held off the attack, the others rushed through the ravines without a second wasted, accepting a moment of succor given to them by their new saviors. The ravines were once inhabited by ravenous humanoid swine, terrorizing the east side of Ragni; now nothing but a desolated pile of boulders and bridges remained, for only the words and breaths of the survivors reverberated through the silence of the pigs.

“Would you all pick up the pace?! We can't afford to remain close to them while they’re fighting!” Dante questioned authoritatively, looking back at the other two. Aeon was barely managing to keep up, but Azul wasn’t doing any better.
“Can’t… run… any… faster…” Azul wheezed and huffed, wobbling dangerously as she made an effort to sprint forward with all the strength she could muster.
“Oh, for the love of…!” The half-Dernic cursed, stopping to turn around and hoisted the young assassin up, carrying her on his back and continuing to run, reluctantly accepting a somewhat light burden.
“WAAAUGH! WHAT ARE YOU-?!” Exhaustion quickly escalated into embarrassment, as Azul flailed her arms wildly, trying to free herself from his grasp while the crimson erupted through her cheeks.
“IF YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO COMPLAIN, THEN YOU CAN KEEP RUNNING!” Dante shouted back angrily, huffing and puffing along the stone-covered pathway.
“Heheheh… can I get a horseback ride, too?” Aeon gazed over, chuckling under his hood in the utmost glee, after another near death experience.
“SHUT YOUR FACE.” Both Dante and Azul shouted at him in unison. Just like that, the sarcastic smirk on the bladesinger’s face had faded away once more.

Soon, all three came to a halt. A shocked expression covered their faces, as before them was their destination, near the end of the barren chasm. Before their eyes, beyond the horizon, they saw the withered gates of Ragni, still standing tall amidst the darkened sky. Stone bricks crumbled beneath the two tall pillars. The city had long fallen to the terrifying might of the corruption. All that were left of the grand citadel were the rubble of collapsed buildings, the leftover armor of fallen soldiers, and charred oak trees that once adorned the city.
“Hahh… alright… We still need to scan the city of any stray monsters or corrupted around... We can’t be sure of our safety in these parts... ” Aeon uttered those words from his lips, vocally distraught from exhaustion. The bladesinger unsheathed his dagger, readying himself for potential combat. The others had never seen Aeon so on edge before, but did not object, as they too brandished their weapons. Without another word, they stepped through the empty streets, each pair of eyes diligently scanning in different directions.

“Wait... did anyone hear that?”
The sound of a single footstep suddenly reverberated throughout the desolate ruins. Immediately, the three switched into their battle stances, as their prudence had uncovered a hidden presence within the fog.
“Is… is that a corrupted...?”
“I don’t know... I can’t sense anything ominous around us.”
It was then, that they heard a faint voice from the same distance as the initial footstep.

“I’m sorry that you both had to share this fate… Niri… Vanod...” The voice echoed. It was feminine, and sounded oddly familiar to Aeon, as if he had heard of this voice somewhere before. Was he hearing voices in his head, or was someone really there?
“... Let’s head over there.”
“Wait, where are you goin-”
“That’s not the voice of a monster, as far as I can tell. We’re in the clear. Now let’s go!”
Without a doubt, they all sheathed their weapons and ran in the direction of the girl’s voice.

As they ran faster and faster, they began to bear witness to the other side of the citadel’s destruction. The lifeless corpses of both soldiers and monsters---those that had brought ruin to the city---laid lifelessly on the cracked stone ground. Fragments of arrows had pierced their heads. Some of the monsters, Aeon even recognized from his last visit to Ragni.

But upon approaching the center of the town, a figure came into view. The source of the voice had led to a girl. Her features become clearer upon another step, and upon seeing this, Aeon had a sudden revelation.