Romulus Side Story Finale – To Fight Unabated Finale – Sword of Dawn

The cocoon throbbed as if awaiting something.

This was not part of what Romulus remembered from the Chamber. He desired to investigate. First, however, was the Loot.

‘Down here,’ Luna’s voice guided his mind and they met up at the base of the carcass. The party of the Gamer was fast approaching. Ehtra landed first on her grey wings. Nia simply appeared. Rave arrived on foot. John was partly running, partly teleporting.

The chest was one fashioned from parts of Skinwalkers. Grotesque, but befitting of the fight. “There is a cocoon up ahead,” Romulus informed the Gamer. “The next boss, I assume.”

“Back-to-back bosses… also unusual,” John said and scratched the back of his head. “Well, let’s check what dropped first.”

Romulus lifted the lid. What they found inside was barely noteworthy as far as he was concerned. Few crafting materials, a couple of items that could be awarded to accomplished knights and a few that could be given to those of even higher rank. Incredible in that they were generated for seemingly free, yet not all that interesting. Romulus took his cut of it all, mostly in the form of the crafting materials, then they turned to the fight ahead.

“We do have a choice here,” the Gamer spoke up. His hand disappeared in his inventory, retrieving the jar of slime that had dropped from the first boss of this area. Romulus had found the item puzzling. Apparently, it had more than one use. “There is a conditional ‘hard mode’ here that will unlock additional bosses near the end of the Raid. Clearing all of that may cost us more time than we-“

The Gamer stopped when the Apex raised a hand. “I will see this Raid through properly. For my own entertainment as much as the agreement that we have struck. The decision is yours.”

“Well, I could never resist additional rewards,” John answered swiftly and took the lead.

They climbed over the edge of the bowl of hardened fungal and coral matter. Once they moved past the threshold, into the arena proper, the cocoon changed. It pulsed angrily, creating a shockwave that forced all of them back. The distances they were forced back were vastly different from each other. A regular thing, that should be in keeping with their individual strength. However, Sol had been pushed back further than Luna had been.

The realization was spoken aloud by the Gamer, “The shockwave is an illusion. Expect more shenanigans like that!”

A second pulse closely followed the words. It was stronger. Even prepared, Romulus felt his muscles seize up. It was like trying to bite off his own finger. A push of sheer willpower brought him and the others through the invisible wall.

The thing inside the cocoon wailed in pain. Romulus noted a streak of red connecting Ehtra to the layers of silk. ‘An anti-illusion ward?’ he theorized. The First of Hatred had the easiest time advancing, from what Romulus could see. Even the pariah had to respect the power of what they were facing.

The inside of the cocoon flickered a baleful mixture of red and blue. The third pulse washed over them. Corals and mycelium were replaced, for a brief moment, with a deciduous forest. Romulus pushed through all the same.

Teleporting forwards, the Gamer bridged the remaining distance. “I offer this to you,” he spoke out loud and unscrewed the lid of the jar. The liquid inside took on a life of its own, jumping at the cocoon and then sinking into the fibres. The layers of silk smoothed over, resembling porcelain more than a spider’s work.

It began to crack.

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Romulus raised his sword to the chin of his brother.

“I don’t get this joke,” Remus said. The twin had one eyebrow raised. “Where did you even get that sword anyway?”

Confused, Romulus lowered his weapon. His twin brother continued to look at him with mild confusion. It bothered him. Not knowing something always bothered Remus. That was why he was carrying an insect-riddled log of deadwood with him. He wanted to know why all of those grubs were munching away at it.

Remus was his exact mirror. A young man of impressive physique. His eyes were a dark shade of brown. They kept their hair short, cutting it regularly with flintstones. Matting was to neither of their liking. Still, everyone could tell the twins apart. Romulus stood tall, his shoulders back, his disposition stoic and calm. Remus was always watching, always calculating, always considering what to do next without pause. Paradoxically, Remus was both twitchy and in complete control of the manifold impulses that pulled at him.

“Are you two fighting?” Atlas asked. The titan bowed above the forest. His face replaced the sky. His smile stretched above them. “Brothers should not fight!”

“No one should be fighting!” the voice of a little girl cut through the trees. Little Gaia hung from Atlas’ earlobe. “Just get along, idio—AH!” She lost her grip, falling from the distance.

Remus dropped the log and hurried to catch her. Romulus was quicker. “”Careful!”” the twins spoke in unison.

The green-haired girl in his arms smirked. She was at that awkward age where she had lost half of her old teeth and not gotten the new ones yet. That made her smirk adorable in other ways. “So, you come running when I fall, huh?” she sassed at him. “You need weird reasons to visit, Uncle.”

“I did not mean to leave for so long,” he answered. “Atlas and I found a great river that splits into many, many arms.”

“Oh, tell me, tell me!” the cheeky little brat pulled on his fur clothing.

“And tell me,” Remus demanded.

Romulus did love his brother.

Romulus did love his niece.

Romulus had loved both of them so dearly.

‘Days long past,’ he thought and closed his eyes.

A mental effort like gnawing through his own arm.

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“”Rom!”” the voices of his loves guided him back to reality.

The cocoon before them had cracked open, giving rise to a one-eyed abomination. Like the Skinwalkers before, its body consisted primarily of white, coral-esque fibres. Unlike them, this one was slender, elongated even. There were no crude tendrils rising from its back, just stringy extensions that waved in the winds of motion like seagrass in the tide. It lacked a lower body, hovering on a cloud of misty black. There was no maw either. The singular, red eye dominated the knotted surface. The ocular had no sclera. The black dot of the pupil rolled around, dilating and narrowing as it focused on each of them in turn.

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Romulus clutched his weapon and swung at the creature. Sorrow beat in his heart. The reminder of times that would never return was always bittersweet, but this was different. This was a time lost due to his own ineptitude. If only he had realized what his brother desired to do earlier, if only he could have talked to Gaia before she continued his work, if only he had managed to convince Atlas…

If only…

The creature bent out of the way nimbly. Hovering above its cocoon still, it conjured two lances and hurled both at Romulus. Extending his will, he shattered one with his thoughts alone. The other was no illusion. He caught it and snapped it with one fist like a dried twig.

Another pair of lances followed. This time both were illusions. Once more Romulus shattered them with his mind. A final pair followed, both material.

Romulus glanced over his shoulder. Everyone else had broken out of the illusion as well. Perhaps he had been one of the last ones to succeed? It would not surprise him. Was it Gaia herself that had taken aim at him or a dispassionate part of this world she had created?

No answer was found. There was only the fight in front of them.

The creature continued to conjure lances. Most of them were hurled at Romulus. Everyone else had backed away, making themselves a secondary target. Every volley came in a set of three. First was always both an illusionary and a material lance. Second and third were both one or the other and changed between them.

While dealing with those attacks, the Apex launched waves of brine at his enemy. The monster dodged much of it, nimbly stretching on its darkened lower body. Some blows landed, leaving marks that quickly healed.

Still, the damage accumulated bit by bit, until one hefty blow finally dislodged the creature from its position atop the cocoon.

Romulus was ready to leap after his opponent. The creature unleashed a new illusionary pulse. Struggling against it locked the Apex’s legs for long enough that he could not give chase. Three lances were hurled his way directly thereafter, forcing him to spend the interim blocking the projectiles. The second pulse followed, pulling his mind into a Greek temple for a moment.

The Apex knocked aside the next volley. Then, he prepared himself for the third pulse.

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“I am sorry.”

The weak mutter made Romulus raise his gaze. It was the four of them. Him, Sol, Luna, and her, the four of them, sharing the Greek temple between them. It had belonged to Poseidon, before Romulus had cut him down. Now it was where he tended to her.

“There is nothing to apologize for,” he spoke calmly to her.

Medea pressed her lips together. She held back tears. He had only ever seen her cry twice. Once when she had borne him a son and the second time when he had passed before either of them.

“I am sorry that I am leaving you alone.”

The woman that apologized was an old crone, so old that Romulus only recognized her because he had accompanied her every step along her aging. Yet, he and his two goddesses were unchanged. “I am sorry that I could not save you,” Romulus answered, half-aware of his place in all of this. “I still hope we will meet again one day.”

She smiled her last smile, before her heartbeat faded.

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Romulus smacked aside the lance headed for his heart. Heavy with old grief, he advanced on the creature. It caught his weapon, between both of its hands. Enveloping his fist with electricity, he swung his offhand at the head of the creature.

Neck cracking, the boss monster revealed a gaping maw at the back of its head. A maw that enveloped the fist with rows upon rows of sharp teeth. Lightning surged into the abomination. It screeched and yet it laughed, the wiggling fangs inside its mouth ripping skin from bone. Romulus ripped his hand back. A simple injury like this was swiftly fixed with a surge of blood magic.

He aimed his second punch at the monster’s rib cage instead. That hit properly, flinging the creature on its side. Romulus turned his weapon around, ready to drive it through the solar plexus of the monster.

The first pulse forced him to remain in place. He freed himself nearly instantly this time. Rather than lances being launched at him, this time Romulus was enveloped in all-consuming darkness. The second pulse replaced it all with an image of a crude altar, basked in silver light. It was done away with quickly.

‘A happy memory, this time?’ he thought.

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“You keep coming here,” Luna chastised him.

The cool beauty sat atop the altar her worshippers had carved for her into the mountainside. It was not large but it was impressive. In these days, mankind lacked the tools for the grand structures that Romulus came to appreciate. To create this, dozens of men would have had to beat rocks for years.

“I continue to be entranced by your beauty,” Romulus responded.

“You continue to believe you can seduce me and that radiant annoyance.” Luna crossed her legs, watching him ascend the steps of the altar. “It is beyond arrogant to believe you can have both the sun and the moon under your sway.”

“Not under my sway. My goal is to hold you both in my arms.” He stopped before her. “Insolent as it may be, I believe you should give it a chance.”

Luna puffed up her cheeks, then let the air out slowly. “I am happy here.”

“Perhaps,” Romulus agreed in a manner that was most doubtful. “Yet, there is an eternity to spend together.” He knew it was pushy, but he also knew that women appreciated that. He leaned down to kiss her. “Come with me to the altar on the other side of this mountain.” He remembered what he had said to her. “I have imagined our future together and found my imagination wanting. Only the sun shines as bright as you.”

Blushing at the sincerity of his words, the silver-haired woman turned towards him.

And stabbed him in the gut.

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The sharp pain ripped Romulus out of the pleasant illusion. Altar and moonlight vanished, leaving only Luna before him. The goddess displayed a twisted grin, slowly peeling away to reveal the face of the creature.

Wrath.

White hot wrath surfaced in the mind of the Apex. To show him a past that he had made peace with was a matter of sorrow. To use a memory he cherished and the likeness of one of his loves was unforgivable.

The creature withdrew its hand from his guts. Blood splattered from ruptured organs. The Apex embraced the pain, let it fuel his wrath further. Even if this creature was not real, this slight could not stand. The bleeding stopped because he willed it. The sword dropped from his hand.

“SOL!” Romulus thundered.

Wordlessly, the blonde goddess landed next to him. Her armoured form glowed radiantly. In a flash, radiance turned to incandescence and then the body of his lover was replaced with a sword.

It was taller even than she was. A sword of gold, encrusted with jewels, covered in ornaments, and every bit as openly radiant as Sol herself was. Romulus gripped the handle. The power bound in the divine light elemental flowed into him, joined with his own and thus brought out more than a fraction of what the Apex truly was.

If the boss monster had been real, it would have known fear.

Wielding the enormous sword with one hand, Romulus bridged the distance as a streak of plasma. His charge alone set the air alight. The ground was incapable of melting, but it could absorb the heat. Around his feet, the coral mycelium turned incandescent.

The monster let out a clacking sound. It was fast, fast enough to avoid complete bisection. The solar blade carved through its rib cage. Overpowering light ripped apart the shadows that it hovered on. Reality crackled. Gaia’s simulation pumped more power into the Raid enemy, the darkness surging back in place before the creature could collapse.

Four lances took aim at Romulus. All four melted before they were launched. Illusion or not, all was to be nothing before the Apex’s hatred.

A second swing from the solar blade created a halo of golden flame around Romulus. All of that plasmatic energy collapsed back on the enemy that had been cut. White ribs were cleaved apart and scorched black.

The boss monster screeched. Complete darkness encroached on Romulus’ field of view. Goat-like horns sprouted from the temples of the one-eyed abomination. A hateful glow filled the crimson pupil. It sought to slink away into the darkness, to transition into the next phase.

“You will stand in the light.”

Supreme power tore the shadows to shreds. Romulus grabbed the monster by the throat. The thin, bone-like neck bulged, only to be compressed again by the Apex’s strength. This repeated, while claws dragged bloody trenches into Romulus’ right arm. He let it. It did not matter. Sol’s might flowed through him, amplified by his own mana, and created a miniature sun where he kept the monster grasped.

It existed for a split second inside the creature.

The monster turned to ash.

The ash then scattered into dust, as dead monsters usually did.

Satisfied, Romulus exhaled, letting go of his layers of anger. The cause of it had been dealt with, Holding onto it further would have been unhealthy. Sol reverted to her usual form. “A good fight,” the Apex stated and turned to the Gamer. “Shall we continue?”

“If you are up for it,” the Gamer answered with a smile.