Legacy of the Tormentor: The Dark Doorway [Chapter One up]

[Umbra]

That's right, the sequel to the story that nobody read is up for the third time. The Dark Doorway is now up and running.

 

[spoiler=Chapter One: Angels born in Hell]

The one they called Eric Morae

turned mad at the Spire, they say

fell through the tower

with the Wicked Ones' power

and opened the Dark Doorway

~Maelie, Elemental Sage

 

Jonah opened his eyes, shivering with fear and desperately gasping for breath. He had seen Eric again, his eyes having lost all traces of sanity. In those final moments, just before his death

I killed him

Eric had become insane. Mad with power, they called it. Jonah knew better. He had felt the taint inside his brother's soul the moment their eyes locked. Once more, with Eric's consent or not, his body had become the host of another spirit. Jonah had only caught glimpses of them - three in total - and they seemed to be amplifying his brother's power while breaking his senses. Eric's eyes had been completely empty, two pits of hatred. At that moment, he had ceased to be Jonah's brother and Mia's and Richard's son. He was Dead, and therefore Jonah had to kill him.

 

No one said he had to like it, though. Another sight that regularly haunted his dreams was the act itself - the killing blow, where he had driven his arm through Eric's chest and witnessed his brother implode, his internal organs overflowing with true energy. Six months had passed, and not a single night without that dream. Eric. He heard Abbi moan in her sleep, and he sighed. When they came back from the Spire and everything, the two girls from Redemption City had found themselves orphans, much like Jonah himself. Their parents had died in the all-consuming fire that followed upon the destruction - not necessarily death - of the Wicked Eraser, which had lay the entire city in ruins and killed more than sixty percent of the population. It was called the most destructive event of modern time - the energy released would compare to a hundred a-bombs, at least. Despite the sorrow following the death of so many, Jonah couldn't help thinking how anything could have been standing at all. He had only been to the city once after the destruction, and was surprised to see some of the taller buildings intact. The Spire had been completely devastated after Eric's implosion - but then, on the other hand, Eric was inside the building at the time.

 

Beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep-be Jonah shut off the alarm clock, and slowly climbed out of his bed. School seemed so trivial these days, so... bland. When you had been inches away from the creator of Everything, and even had held his power under the worst of circumstances, Math and English was a piece of cake. Still, he had to get up. He quickly got dressed, snatched something out of the drawer without looking at it and put it on. Just as he turned to the door, he realized someone was already there.

 

 

On the other side on the world, in the slow town of Fuki on the Japanese countryside, Takaku Haisho finally got some rest. He had just got back from work - at the local supermarket, interesting enough - and his hours were killing him, so to speak. Still, it had to be done. Even though he had a degree in quantum physics, he had to stay at ease, trying to not appear in any newspapers or even vaguely mentioned in public. He might have changed his name since those events six months ago, but their agents could still track him down. They knew him by face. Nathaniel... Eric. He still shivered when he thought of the boy, who seemed so vivid and so empty, all at once. There was something... otherworldly about him, even moreso than Goreflesh or even the Dreadroot himself. Just as he got seated in the comfortable office chair he had bought so many years ago - it seemed like a different life, even - there was a car on his driveway. Takaku cursed. He had been gifted with superhuman hearing for as long as he could remember, which was the reason he got dragged into this mess in the first place. While it might make escape easier at some points, he had never been content with the power he possessed. He walked into another room, with a view of the driveway, and pulled back a curtain. Sure enough, a slim black car was neatly parked right in front of his house. As Takaku watched, an incredibly thin man with bright blonde hair and blue eyes stepped out of the car and walked towards his door. Takaku gasped. It was a face he never thought he'd see again.

 

Before his visitor had a chance to reach the door, Takaku was already there. He remained in the now wide open doorway while the blonde-haired man nodded at him.

“I assume you've already heard about Jack, then.”

Takaku nodded. Their common acquaintance had died only six months ago, leaving quite an inheritance behind.

“Of course not, mister Underton. The death of your father was a tragedy to mankind. He was unique.”

Takaku's visitor smiled.

“Last time I heard from him, you weren't on too good terms with him, were you? Or with anyone, for that matter.” He raised his hand. “Don't worry about that, I wasn't exactly either.” Takaku tried to smile, which didn't turn out so well.

“I doubt you were in as much trouble as I back then.” He shook his head. “Why have you come here, Stephen? I doubt you went across half the planet to chit-chat.” Stephen nodded, and put his hand in his pocket.

“Three months after Jack died, I got a letter from the Crystalfound Corporation.” Takaku gasped. As far as he knew, that place was dead empty now that he had managed to drag himself out of it. Stephen nodded. “I was surprised as well - but there's more to come. The letter told me everything about Jack - Damon's intense research on his abilities, his connection with the Tormentor... and a set of coordinates. Without hesitation, I followed them to a pillar of rock, in the middle of nowhere. I didn't even know that kind of place still existed.” Takaku shook his head. He had realized over the past six months that he knew next to nothing about Jack, except for his only child Stephen and his family. Stephen continued. “Either way, I found this.” He pulled out his hand from his pocket, revealing a thin notebook. The sides were torn and damaged, but it still seemed preserved. “This is Jack's journal from the last two years before he joined up with you people.” He handed the book to Takaku, who looked upon the frail object with entirely new eyes. “Take a look at the thirtieth page. I've marked it with a note.” Takaku grabbed the page by the note, and started to read.

 

April 26th, 2006.

Yesterday night, I felt the darkness stir. This day shall forever be bound in the shadows of the Reborn Lord. I dreamed of him yesterday, a shadow inside the darkness. Imagine looking at a smooth glass surface, flawless and perfect, and a horror-struck human behind it. When you realize that the human behind the glass, trying so hard to escape, is yourself - that is when you have seen the Reborn Lord. Only when you have accepted the shadows of your dreams, the true darkness shall appear and consume you. Consume deceit, and let it slip - with thrice death, the polarity of truth shall exist.

 

Takaku looked at Stephen, stupefied by the prophetic text. His guest nodded.

“Take a look at the date, Takaku. That was written exactly two years before the death of Eric Morae. It might mean something, and also nothing.” Takaku smiled.

“Maybe it's a shred of both, as they stroll down the road to the waterfalls?” It was but a fragment of a rhyme he had heard as a child, a story of two brothers looking for a white fox. Stephen nodded.

“Maybe it is.” Takaku cast a brief glance at the journal, and handed it back to Stephen.

“Mind if you sent me a copy of this? Maybe there are other things hidden in the pages.” Stephen frowned, and for a few seconds his eyes were completely still. Then, he shrugged. “Fine. I'll mail a copy to you.” He walked towards the car, and the engine suddenly roared. Until this moment, Takaku hadn't seen the driver - a large man wearing an undersized suit. The two of them, Stephen and his driver, made quite a couple. Like Laurel and Hardy, almost. Stephen nodded at him. “I'll be in Tokyo for a few weeks, if you need me.” Then, the two drove off.

 

 

Meanwhile,on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Doolin on the Irish coast, a scarecrow climbed off the scaffolding that kept it in place and wandered off. The straw figure moved with unspeakable grace, the thin strings forming into agile legs as it moved. Under the wide hat, two dark purple orbs formed eyes, and the scarecrow smiled. Serpent's Field, as it was known to the residents of Doolin, had not been walked upon for almost six months. What she desired should still be there, even though rotten and molested by vermin. She walked through the tall grass, which dried up as she went by, until she came to the place she desired. A circle, thirty feet wide, where the grass wouldn't grow. With her magical eyes, the scarecrow could see everything - including the residue that covered the field. A crimson red powder that covered the entire field, even the village itself. This was the focal point, a circle of such strong supernatural energy that even nature itself succumbed to it's strength. That was of no interest to the scarecrow. The Queen-Goddess only wanted one thing from her, now that everything else was in place. The skeleton was exactly where she had said it would be, in the exact center of the circle. The crimson residue seemed to shy away from it, as if there was something repelling and awful inside it.

 

As the scarecrow knew, that was true. She knelt beside the skeleton, and pulled out something from her body - a human heart, dried and withered. She placed it inside the cavity of the skeleton's chest, resting on the spine, and waited. In a matter of seconds, a worm crawled out of the heart - a thick, slimy worm that reeked of blood and plasma. The scarecrow was not surprised, as the Queen-Goddess had informed her of what would happen. The heart once belonged to this boy's father, who died in the destruction of Redemption City. The worm was actually an embodiment of the father's soul, along with the boy's. Slowly, slowly the warm crawled up the boy's spine and into the skull, leaving a trail of fluids behind it. The scarecrow observed, fascinated by the worm's movement. As it entered the skull through one of the eyes, something happened to it. The scarecrow staggered backwards as the worm grew with unreasonable speed, filling the cavity of the skull and spreading down the neck. The flesh itself turned into muscles and organs, veins and brain tissue, as it enclosed around the heart and the dry bones. Just as the two masses of white gush and jelly formed into orbs, completely blank, they stared at the scarecrow. There was nothing human about this boy, she realized. She stared back at him, speaking with newfound words.

“The Queen-Goddess... welcomes you back. Alexander Regal...”

The body shook his head as he climbed to his feet.

“No... not Alexander.” In the light of the crimson residue, the scarecrow saw that the boy's skin was gray as a corpse, and hair that might once have been brown was pale white. The boy smiled a terrible grin as his hands crackled with bolts of lightning. “I am Maien, guardian of Des Enido. The one they called Alex is no more.” Without another word, he released the shock of lightning. All the scarecrow could feel was pain before the very matter that held her together was destroyed. As Maien looked around, the crimson residue only visible to supernatural creatures rapidly swarmed around him, circling around but not getting too close. He smiled, and opened his palm. “Wrath of Crimson Dragon, become my vitality. Live through me as I once died through you.” Suddenly, the red powder turned dark purple, and crashed into Maien's skin at the speed of sound. Around him, the grass withered, the bugs in the ground crumbled, and the entire field died off, in a matter of seconds. He smiled.

“The Queen-Goddess will be pleased.”

 

 

New characters!

 

Stephen Underton

The only son of Jack Underton, Stephen wants to find about the whole truth about his father. He has recently uncovered his father's journal, revealing prophetic truths. His wife is deceased, and his only daughter is currently living with him.

 

 

[Fen.]

Where's the first one? Do I need to read it to understand the sequal?

[Umbra]

If you want to read it, it's here. It might be good to read it to catch up on the past events.

[Fen.]

You have quite a bit of stories here. What is the name of the first one?

[Umbra]

Well, if I got your question correctly, the first fanfic I put up was a bit parodial - it continuously broke the fourth wall and was a complete rip off the Duelist Kingdom saga, called Shadow Binds. My first "real" fanfic that I put any actual thought in and developed was Inheritance of the World, the great-prequel to Legacy of the Tormentor.

[Phantom Roxas]

I like this so far, but it's going to be hard to remember some of the characters. What about those Australian twins?

[Umbra]

Well, there's always the original to be re-read if you have to. I know I did.

 

The twins will appear soon - maybe in the next chapter, or the one after that.