Legends of Amacia Return of the Beowulf
Chapter 38: Freeing Muriel’s Mind

In an instant, Hannibal invaded Muriel’s mind telepathically. At first, he was the only one there wearing a leather trench coat, shirt, trousers, and boots. All around him stretched a desolate featureless plain in every direction. It was perfectly flat with a dull reddish-brown sand covering it. The sky was a dull oppressive gray filled with ominous dark clouds. Both the clouds and sky had a hellish red tint to them as if they were on fire. Off in the distance stood a small city of dark foreboding monoliths, with the tallest right in the middle of the city. It seemed to strike to the sky and was much larger than the one they had encountered with Amelia; an obscenity that rose like black spike. The monolith was smooth as glass, as were the smaller ones. The hellish clouds circled the central monolith as if it were generating the clouds. Instantly, Hannibal sensed something dark dampening his elemental power profoundly. He swore under his breath when he realized his elemental abilities would not help him free Muriel’s mind. “Always the hard way,” he growled, looking around at the desolation around him. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he declared, “What a wasteland. Muriel’s mind is worse than mine is. How does she even cope with this desolation?”

At that moment, the avatar of Muriel appeared behind him abruptly out of thin air, saying, “The same way you cope with the memories of your evil past. I survive because I must.”

Hannibal wheeled around to see Muriel. She was bare before him, completely nude. His mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw her. He saw the extent of her cybernetic fusion. The cybernetics not only included her machine arm, neck, and head, but a good third of her chest, covering her heart and left breast with machinery. The cybernetics outlined her right breast, chest and abdomen all the way down to the hips. It formed around her, looking like a strange mechanized strap teddy. It framed her groin and genitals, but left them and her butt open. However, the mechanized straps did extend down her legs to her feet with extra enhancement around the hips and knees to reinforce and strengthen those joints. A wide cybernetic brace sat at the base of her spine, protecting it and her pelvis. Hannibal could see the machinery actually imbedded in her flesh. However, the only place that was pure machine was her cybernetic arm. He stared at her as he walked around her, seeing the cybernetics fused into her back and neck, even reaching into her skull on the backside. The next thing that he noticed was the reptilian part of her was more extensive than he realized. The reptilian scales extended down her left side from her arm as if it were spreading to cover her core. Then Hannibal noticed she had a great deal more Lynxian in her than it looked.

Bowing her head in shame, Muriel said softly, “Forgive me, milord. I’ve never been able to generate clothing here. As powerful as I am telepathically, I don’t know or remember how to generate clothes on this plane.”

Hannibal shook himself as he came around front of her. He immediately removed his leather trench coat and put it on her, saying, “I understand. I suspect that the Cadre locked many of your skills away. Take this for a covering.”

Muriel buttoned the coat, and then threw her arms around his neck saying, “Thank you. Do you know that you are the first to see me like this since I was imprisoned? Do you know how good it feels to not have someone recoil in fear and disgust?”

Hannibal returned the embrace, saying, “Yes, I understand. Tell me, do you remember how things work here?”

“Not really,” Muriel admitted, shaking her head. “I’ve been out of practice since they left me with only the most basic telepathic ability.”

Hannibal nodded as Selina appeared beside him, on her feet. “Why is she wearing your coat, Hannibal?” Selina asked.

“Muriel doesn’t remember how to do basic things like generate clothes for her avatar,” Hannibal replied. “It’s been so long for her that she has forgotten, though I suspect the Cadre may have locked it away to keep her from using it against them.”

Selina nodded, walking around to Muriel’s side. Putting a hand on Muriel’s shoulder, Selina declared, “We understand, sister. Hannibal may be right about the Cadre having locked down your telepathic ability. Let’s see if we can’t show you how to operate here.” Selina was unarmed, wearing a plain gray dress with a belt, and knee boots. “Remember, the mind is everything here,” she explained. “To make things happen here you must concentrate. Watch. I need to be dressed more appropriately for this endeavor.” Selina concentrated and instantly she was fully armed and armored. Muriel gasped as Selina’s wardrobe changed before her eyes. “You can do the same if you just concentrate,” Selina stated.

Muriel closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but was unable to. “I can’t do it. I can’t concentrate. Something is inhibiting me,” Muriel replied in dismay.

Hannibal changed into his armor with a thought as he pondered about Muriel’s inability to concentrate. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Muriel’s cybernetics had something to do with it. “Before anyone else gets here, could you reveal yourself to Selina so she can see what I did, Muriel?” he asked. “I think it’s important.”

Muriel was dismayed at the request. “Do I have to?” she asked.

Hannibal looked her in the eye, saying, “It’ll be all right. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We will not make fun or tell anyone what we see.”

Muriel unbuttoned the coat and removed it, throwing it down so Selina could see her body uninhibited. Selina was shocked as she got in close, looking at the cybernetics in particular. “Oh, goodness; look what they did to you! This is unreal!” she cried out. She reached out, pulled Muriel’s hair back, and looked at where the cybernetics hooked into her neck and back of her skull. After examining it for a moment, she let Muriel’s hair down and stepped around in front of her, seeing her humiliation. “It’s all right,” Selina purred, pulling Muriel into a warm embrace. “We still love and accept you just as you are, Muriel. You’re so beautiful, even with what they did to you.”

“You mean that?” Muriel sobbed, overcome by emotion as she returned Selina’s hug.

“Absolutely,” Selina purred, holding Muriel close. “Every word; we love you just as you are. We won’t tell anyone we saw you naked. Now go on, and cover up before anyone else gets here.” Selina let go of Muriel, stepping back.

Hannibal picked up the trench coat and gave it back to her. “Here you are, sis,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” Muriel replied, taking the coat, putting it on, and buttoning it up.

Selina looked at her with great compassion, saying, “Your inability to concentrate may have something to do with the cybernetics. There may be some kind of program running in there that is keeping you from concentrating, or maybe even blocking the lion’s share of your telepathic abilities.” She looked over toward the city and asked, “Is that it? Is that where you’re true identity is being held?”

Muriel nodded, saying, “Yes, it is. The thing you drove away guarded that place. I dread to go there.”

Just then, Amelia appeared with Nathanael, Electra, Kida, and to everyone’s surprise, Emma. Hannibal went to Emma and asked, “How did you get in here?”

Emma was without words, finally saying, “I have no idea.”

Just then, Aeolus appeared behind them and said, “I know how. She was touching both you and Muriel. Hannibal drew you in with his telepathic power because of her physical contact with you.”

Seconds later, Morpheus appeared with Nemesis, Seras, Andrew, and Hunter. Seras, Hunter, and Andrew looked around in awe and fascination. “Is this what the mind looks like?” Andrew asked as they gathered around Hannibal, Selina, and Muriel. “It’s so bleak.”

Hannibal looked at him, answering, “That it is, Andrew. What we’re seeing here is the plane of Muriel’s mind. Each of us has an avatar that is able to merge with this plane. Technically, we are still on top of the Red Tower. But our minds have linked with Muriel’s, and this is how we operate here. Rule number one here: the power of the mind is supreme. In this place, our thoughts can take on what we could deem as physical form. Watch. You see that I have no weapons. I need a sword.” Hannibal concentrated for less than a second and a large sword similar to the Caverias Sword appeared in his hand. He promptly slung it across his back.

“Wow!” Hunter cried out as Argus, Tethys, Thantos, and Calliope arrived. “That is so neat! Can I do that too?”

“Absolutely, son,” Kida replied. “It was things like this that the lessons and exercises were made for. But in order for you to do it, you must concentrate.”

Hunter and Andrew concentrated hard, and they changed into armor and weapons appeared in their hands. “Man! I wish I knew this before I came here,” Andrew stated. “This is great!”

Hannibal looked at Seras, who was very much out of his element and it showed. He was wearing just a shirt and trousers. He walked over to Seras and said, “Relax, my friend. Just concentrate on what it is you want and it will come to you. I suggest that you get yourself some armor and a weapon of some kind. Just relax and concentrate on that. You can do it.”

Seras closed his eyes and concentrated. Instantly, he was donned from head to toe in armor and had a massive double-bladed battle-axe in his hand. He was flabbergasted. “I did that?” he asked in amazement.

Hannibal smiled, saying, “Yes, you did, Seras. See, it wasn’t as hard as you thought.” By now, everyone except for Muriel and Emma were armed and armored. Hannibal looked around at them and announced, “All right. It seems you all have adapted all right, except for Emma here. Here, let’s get you some protection, Emma.” Hannibal touched her on the hand and concentrated. Instantly, she was clad in the same armor she wore to Acheron carrying the same weapon. Emma was astounded as Hannibal smiled, saying, “Be very careful. Don’t lose it because you don’t have the capability to reproduce it, all right?”

Emma hugged Hannibal gratefully, saying, “Thank you, Hannibal.”

Hannibal then turned to the whole group, saying, “As I said, the mind here is supreme. Your thoughts can take physical form in this place, whether they be good or bad. So guard your thoughts very carefully. We don’t need to be fighting nightmares from anyone but Muriel here. Now, rule number two: the most important rule. I learned this one from Selina when we freed Amelia’s mind. This place is as real and dangerous as the real world. You can get hurt or worse. If you are killed here, you will die on the outside because the body cannot survive without the mind. If you are injured here, it will be reflected in the real world. You see, the brain is actually a wonderful piece of work. If you break your back or leg here, when we leave this place, you won’t be able to walk until the brain believes the damage is healed. That’s why Amelia and Emma are here. Both have capabilities to keep that from happening. But I cannot stress enough, be very careful. Death here is as real here as it is on the outside. You die here, and you will die out there. Now, are there any more questions?”

“Do you feel an elemental dampening field on this mind, Hannibal?” Aeolus asked bluntly, “For I do, but I cannot tell whether it’s being generated technologically or by some dark sorcery the Cadre used when they sealed Muriel’s mind away.”

“I most certainly do,” Hannibal stated. “I felt it the moment I arrived. The Cadre have erected some form of elemental inhibitor here to prevent anyone from using elemental power to break her out.”

“This will complicate things,” Argus commented. “I too feel the Darkness inhibiting my elemental power. Fortunately, it has no effect on my fire or ice breath, which is not elemental in their nature.”

“That’s good to know,” Hannibal stated. “It means your primary weapons have not been neutralized. However, the field I’m sensing feels both artificial and organic. I suspect they may have used their dark sorcery in conjunction with the cybernetics they inflicted upon Muriel to create this field. Until that field is neutralized or overpowered, I will not be able to call upon my elemental power to help us. We’re going to have to do this the same way we did it for Amelia...using our minds and martial prowess.” A low rumble came from the city of monoliths, causing Hannibal and the drakens to look to the towering monolith in the center of the city. “It knows we’re here,” Hannibal stated grimly. “We must prepare ourselves.”

“Hannibal is right,” Aeolus rumbled. “The Darkness imprisoning Muriel’s identity has become aware of us. Even now, it’s charging up its defenses.”

“Then let’s hit it before it can fully charge up,” Andrew insisted.

“I agree,” Hunter chimed.

“Hold on,” Hannibal insisted. “We can’t go off half-cocked. We can’t rush in where angels fear to tread. We must act as a team, as a cohesive unit. Are there any more questions?”

Nemesis stepped forward and asked, “What is our goal?”

Hannibal turned and pointed to the tallest monolith, saying, “There is our target. We destroy that giant tower and we free Muriel’s mind. We knock that out and the rest of the smaller monoliths will go.”

Nemesis smiled wickedly, saying, “Then what are we waiting for?”

Hannibal looked at him, saying, “Patience, great bear, patience. As I said, we can’t rush in rashly. First, we must scout it. Nathanael, Kida; are you two up for a flight?” Both indicated they were, and Hannibal said, “Argus and Aeolus will scout the city with you two while we make our way to it on foot. It doesn’t appear to be that far.”

Kida mounted Argus, and Nathanael climbed on Aeolus’ back. As they were about to take off, Muriel called out, “Be very careful. The city and tower are protected, but I know not by what. I just know they are protected by something extremely dangerous. Be very careful.”

Aeolus nodded, saying, “We’ll be careful.” In seconds, Aeolus jumped airborne with Nathanael as Argus took off with Kida.

Hannibal then turned to Tethys, Thantos, and Calliope, saying, “You guys take to the air too and shadow our progress. This is one of the most dangerous places I’ve ever seen. Keep an eye out for traps and things that seem out of place. The moment you see anything, let us know. Don’t take any unnecessary chances. The Darkness contaminating Muriel’s mind is extremely treacherous. It’ll try to lure you away and destroy you if you let it.”

Tethys nodded, saying, “All right, Beowulf. Come children. Let’s see what there is to see.” In seconds, Tethys, Thantos, and Calliope took to the air.

Hannibal turned to the rest of his team, saying, “All right, let’s move out. Stay close. Don’t let anyone out your sight.” They began moving toward the city. Hannibal and Selina bracketed Muriel. Nemesis and Morpheus took up the lead in front of them. Amelia, Electra, and Emma took up position immediately behind them. Seras stayed close to Emma and Hunter and Andrew followed up the rear. As they walked along, Hannibal said, “Be on your guard. Keep your weapons ready.” Nemesis had his cybernetic claws out and Morpheus had his staff: the same one Hannibal saw him with the first time he laid eyes on the hybrid.

While they moved along, an echo began to wail across the plain as a strange wind picked up. Hannibal’s senses were on high alert as the wind picked up. His innate ability to sense danger lay pegged well into the red. “What is that?” Hunter asked as the strange wind seemed to blow from all directions at once. It was just a soft breeze carrying the wails on it. The wails were like that of someone being tortured. It unnerved Muriel.

“I don’t rightly know what that is,” Hannibal told Hunter as they approached the city of monoliths. “But it doesn’t sound too friendly. It reminds me of the wails I heard from Hell’s Kitchen when I was in the Black Fortress.”

As they moved toward the city, Argus and Aeolus had already reached the city and were flying over it. The moment they crossed over into it, they could feel the suffocating evil emanating from the monoliths, especially the large one. They glided toward the large tower and Nathanael said to Aeolus, “I don’t like this. Something’s dreadfully wrong here. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up and that tower feels like it wants to swallow my soul.”

Aeolus nodded, saying, “I know. I feel it too. Argus, Kida, check out the far side of the monolith while we scout this side. Don’t get too close. It may react to us.” At that, they split up. Argus and Kida went to check out the far side of the big monolith as Nathanael and Aeolus climbed to find the top. As they approached the giant tower, it began to react to their presence just as Aeolus predicted. There was a rumbling and the ultra-smooth, flawless black surface of the monolith began to ripple. This caught the attention of Aeolus and Nathanael, who readied his sword.

“I don’t like this!” Nathanael called out again as Aeolus stopped closing on the monolith, remaining out two hundred yards as he circled. Suddenly, they heard a shriek behind them. Nathaniel’s heart sank into his feet with fear as he saw a chimera emerge from the side of the tower that reached up out of their sight above them. They were already three-quarters of a mile above the plain, and the tower seemed to rise endlessly above them into the dark ominous sky. The Chimera came right out of the side of the tower as if the side of the tower were a portal. The black sides of the tower flowed and rippled like liquid mercury when the beast came out.

Nathanael immediately noticed that Chimera was something he’d seen before. It was the same chimera etched on the main gates of the citadel in Acheron. It roared as it came right at them. “Uh, Aeolus, I think we’ve got company,” Nathanael stated quickly as the Chimera fell in behind them.

“I noticed,” Aeolus growled, starting to move evasively as the Chimera began to breathe fire at them. In seconds, a dozen more monsters had arisen from the smaller monoliths. They fell in pursuit as well. The smaller ones were in fact devourers. When Aeolus saw them, he swore and burned any who got in his way. These devourers were different from those in the chasm of Acheron because they were a good three times their size and had much larger bodies on them in proportion to their heads. Aeolus continued to elude the Chimera and took out any of the new devourers that stood in his way. Nathanael switched his weapon to a heavy blaster, and fired on the Chimera as they fled from it. After a few minutes of dodging the Chimera and the devourers, Argus and Kida linked up with Aeolus and Nathanael. They had problems of their own. A Red Draken that looked like the Azhidakar pursued them closely. A swarm of weracks accompanied the Red Draken. They were hot on the heels of Argus and Kida when they linked up with Aeolus and Nathanael.

Argus called to Aeolus after icing a devourer, saying, “We must withdraw, Aeolus! We are outnumbered!”

Kida fired upon the weracks and the Red Draken with a heavy blaster as Aeolus consented, saying, “Yes! We must regroup! Fall back!” They headed away from the city with the Chimera and the Red Draken still hot on their tails. A handful of the devourers and weracks followed while the rest buzzed around the city like angry hornets that had their nest disturbed. Kida and Nathanael continued to fire on their pursuers. About a mile outside of the city, Tethys, Thantos, and Calliope rose out of nowhere in an ambush and wiped out the devourers and weracks, scattering them. They then turned on the Chimera and Red Draken and drove them back into the city after hitting each several times with fire and ice.

Aeolus turned to his mate and children, saying, “Thank you so much for your help. That was a masterful stroke. We weren’t able to shake them.”

Tethys glided in beside Aeolus, saying, “You’re welcome. But I can see that we’re going to have a hard time getting through. We need to tell Beowulf.” Aeolus consented and they regrouped with Hannibal while Thantos and Calliope kept watch.

While that was going on, Hannibal and his whole group heard the rumble. They saw the figures in the sky and the dogfight between the drakens and the defense mechanism of the Chimera, the Red Draken, the weracks and the devourers. In fact, they stopped to watch it. Seras was pale as death as he watched the episode. “Oh, god; it’s happening just as I saw it!” he groaned in fear.

Hannibal turned to him, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Seras. This isn’t over yet, not by a long shot.” As he spoke, they saw Aeolus, Nathanael, Argus, Kida, and Tethys come in for a landing just away from the group. Kida and Nathanael dismounted with the heavy weapons they used in the firefight and approached. Their faces said it all.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Hannibal surmised as he saw what Nathanael and Kida were carrying for weapons.

“You can’t imagine,” Nathanael stated. “The central monolith is alive and pulsing with evil. It attacked us with the Chimera of Acheron, a Red Draken, weracks, and some other strange beasts I’ve never seen before.”

“They were devourers, Beowulf,” Aeolus stated flatly. “But they’re different from the ones in Acheron. They are much bigger and have much larger bodies in comparison to their cousins in Acheron.”

Hannibal swore as he looked toward the city, which was just over a mile and a quarter away.

“We barely escaped,” Kida added. “The moment we came anywhere near the tower, it reacted to us. How are we going to get to it? Just our presence there has stirred up the evil like someone shaking a hornet’s nest. There are dozens of the monsters there. We only escaped because Tethys, Thantos, and Calliope ambushed our pursuers.”

Hannibal growled in disdain as Calliope and Thantos landed, galloping up. “The monolith is continuing to react to us!” Thantos reported. “It’s shimmering and roaring like a monster. I saw skeletal warriors rising in the city, hundreds of them. They are coming out of the smaller structures and climbing out of the ground. They’re coming this way!”

Seras began to shake with that news and Hannibal ordered, “Take to the air, my friends. Protect us from above and clear the way to the main monolith if you can. We’re going to need some help.” He dropped to his knees and prayed as to what to do next. Selina dropped next to him, praying with him. They prayed for a couple of minutes as the drakens took to the air. Muriel knelt and added her voice to Hannibal and Selina’s. Within less than a minute, everyone was praying. After five minutes of fervent prayer, Hannibal received clarity about the situation. He suddenly stood and called out, “All right, my friends. Come on out. We need your help.” In seconds, there were multiple flashes of light as everyone’s guardian angel appeared. Caverias and Tsang stood there with Gideon, Jarret, Guildo, and a number of other guardians. In all, over fifteen guardians gathered around.

Everyone rose in total astonishment, except for Hannibal, Selina, and Nemesis. Most of them were unaware that they even had a guardian angel. All were heavily armed. Hannibal looked at Caverias and Tsang, saying, “Thanks for helping.” Caverias and Tsang smiled wryly as Hannibal turned to his team, saying, “All right people; say hello to your guardian angels. They are going to help us do this.” He looked at Muriel and saw no guardian. She was dismayed that everyone had a guardian but her. Hannibal looked her in the eye, saying, “Don’t be discouraged by the fact that your personal guardian hasn’t shown. He may be unable to. Besides, you have all of us to protect you.”

“Thank you,” Muriel replied softly with a weak smile.

Hannibal then turned to Caverias, Tsang, Guildo, Gideon and Jarret and asked, “What’s the next step, my friends.”

Caverias smiled at him wryly, saying, “You know very well what’s next. Just remember the last time.”

Hannibal thought for a moment, and then smiled, saying, “I do remember. All right guys, let’s go to war!” At that, everyone moved toward the city. Hannibal took up position with Nemesis and Morpheus in the front along with Caverias, Tsang, and Morpheus’ guardian. Gideon and Jarret hung back with Selina, Kida, and Nathanael, who had surrounded Muriel. Their guardians were there too.

As they closed on the perimeter of the city, the hideous roar from the main monolith rose to a scream that echoed through the city and vast wasteland of Muriel’s mind. The drakens were airborne and having a difficult time with the flyers, especially the Red Draken and the Chimera. Hannibal saw their difficulties and ordered half the guardians to assist them. Tsang went, along with Gideon, Jarret, and the guardians for Hunter, Andrew, Morpheus, Nathanael, and Electra.

When they came within a quarter of a mile of the edge of the city of monoliths, the ground rumbled and quaked violently. Suddenly the ground itself rose against them barring their way. Hannibal became angry at the monolith as its evil tried to penetrate into him. “Forget it, you demon pricks! You can’t stop us!” he snarled. Suddenly, the same angelic spear he’d used against the monolith in Amelia’s mind and the Sword of the Lord appeared in his hands.

“Mmmm hmmm,” Hannibal grinned as Nemesis saw the weapons appear in Hannibal’s hands.

“You didn’t call for those, did you?” Nemesis asked.

Hannibal nodded, saying, “That’s right. The Almighty sent these, just as he did the last time with Amelia.” His face wrinkled with anger as he looked back at the wall of stone that had impeded their progress, saying, “Caverias, Guildo, Nemesis, let’s get rid of this thing.” Hannibal slung the Sword of the Lord over his shoulder as Nemesis switched his arm to his pulse cannon. Hannibal looked at the angelic spear and smote the ground with it hard, barking, “Out of our way! Nemesis, blast it!” The ground trembled violently from the hit of the angelic spear. Nemesis opened fire with his pulse cannon and between the two, the wall crumbled, making a fifty-foot hole through its twenty-foot thickness. “Good job, guys. Let’s go,” he congratulated them as he took the lead through the breech.

Everyone followed through the hole, and within an eighth of a mile of the perimeter of the city, the ground began to shake again. To the horror of everyone except for Seras and Hannibal, skeletal warriors, dozens of them being human, alien, even demon skeletons, began to claw their way up from the ground and attack the group. The roar from the monolith now was a continuous noise. The battle was joined immediately as everyone sought to protect Muriel from the ancient dead raised up. Soon there were over a hundred of the ancient dead in the fray. Nemesis, Hannibal, Morpheus, Caverias, Selina, Guildo, and Nathanael punched through their lines as Hunter, Seras, Emma, Kida, Electra, Andrew and the guardian angels who were not airborne kept the ancient dead off Muriel from the sides and rear. However, for every skeletal warrior the team felled, two took its place, making the fight increasingly difficult. The team followed Hannibal deep into the city, approaching the towering monolith in the city center, the source of the evil power that was attacking them from every direction. The drakens and the guardians warred in the air with the flyers, but were being overwhelmed by steadily increasing numbers. The skeletal warriors on the ground kept coming without end, pressing sore upon Hannibal’s team.

Aeolus happened to call out as he buzzed their position, drawing away the Chimera away from Hannibal’s position, saying with all urgency, “You need to finish this now! We are running out of time and tricks!”

Hannibal crumbled five more of the ancient dead with a single blow of the Sword of the Lord as they reached the monolith. It was roaring and shimmering, swallowing all light that came near it. Hannibal stopped their progress and told his team, “Hold the line! Nemesis, Morpheus, Selina, Caverias…to me!” A picket line was set up around Muriel as Hannibal, Nemesis, Morpheus, Selina, and Caverias went to the monolith. Hannibal sheathed the Sword of the Lord as he stopped at the face of the monolith, being fascinated with it. The monolith’s surface shimmered like a portal, but he could not see through it. The evil coming off it was unbearable, but strangely familiar to Hannibal. Even Nemesis was affected, being revolted by it. Hannibal took the angelic spear and gently tapped the side of it. The ground shook and the tower shrieked. The shimmering side that appeared to be liquid suddenly solidified as if it was anticipating an attack. Nemesis, Morpheus, and Caverias were busy fending off the skeletal warriors as Hannibal and Selina looked at the tower wall. He tapped it again with the spear a little harder, and this time the tower shrieked, ripples forming at the point of contact and spreading out as if a stone had been thrown into a pond. A feeling of deep alien dread entered Hannibal’s spirit as he watched the ripples. “Everyone, get back!” he called out in dire warning.

No more than he had spoken, two clawed hands came out of the side of the tower, latching on to both Hannibal and Selina. “Everyone, stay back!” he shouted urgently, futilely trying to resist as the hands pulled both him and Selina into the wall, having caught them off their guard.

Nemesis turned in time to see the ambush and cried out in desperation, rushing to them to keep them from being pulled into the monolith. However, he was too late. In seconds, they were gone, disappeared into the inky blackness of the monolith. He rushed the monolith, trying to follow but he encountered only rock hardness of the wall. He wailed and roared, attacking the wall for all he was worth with his claws.

As Nemesis attacked the wall, Morpheus called out urgently, “Nemesis, stop! You don’t know what it will do to them!” No more than he had spoken, a flash of black energy pulsed out of the spot that Hannibal and Selina had disappeared into, forming into a potent concussion wave that sent Nemesis, Morpheus, and Caverias flying away from the monolith. Muriel, Kida, and Amelia had seen what happened to Hannibal and Selina and were stunned by the wave. The concussion wave was not discriminatory in who it took out. All the skeletal warriors in a thousand yards of the spot were pounded to dust. Those protecting Muriel were knocked flat on the ground by the blast, including Muriel. The wave traveled vertically too, destroying the devourers and weracks in the vicinity. The wave was in fact a godsend because it relieved the pressure on the defenders of Muriel.

After everyone recovered from the concussion wave, Nemesis rushed back to the tower and drew back with his claws to try to cleave it in two. Morpheus and Amelia rushed forward with Morpheus calling out, “Don’t hit it, Nemesis! Your attack is what triggered the response that just knocked us down! It may kill us if you hit it again!”

Nemesis growled and backed away, growling viciously, “We can’t just leave them in there! We have to get to them!”

Morpheus shook his head, saying, “Not possible. This is exceptionally dark sorcery mixed with superior technology. It’s far beyond our means. The only one who can get them out is already in there. I think we should pray for their survival.”

“A very good idea,” Caverias stated as he gently pressed on the wall where Hannibal and Selina had disappeared. “Only the Lord can help them now. Their destiny is set in motion now. Let us pray.” They all began to pray, keeping on guard while they did in case some other monsters or ancient dead came to destroy them. It wasn’t too long before the ancient dead returned and they were again fighting for their lives.

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