Chapter 8 Part 11

Armegon scrambled to put some distance between himself and the thing that pursued him. Whatever it was, it seemed to have gained strength from its digestion of Tyson, and the monk's considerable foot speed was being put to use to chase him down.

Armegon ceased all attempts to fight the thing, for every attack he hurled only served to make it stronger. Instead, Armegon had altered his tactics. By casting several non offensive spells, he had managed to gain a little distance. The conjuring of a fog bank, had allowed him to alter directions unobserved and by the time the thing cleared the area of degraded visibility, Armegon had put an extra hundred meters between them. A magical dust storm had likewise done the same thing. But during the dust storm, Armegon also turned himself invisible and it was much longer before the thing again picked up his trail.

Yet in spite of all that, Armegon was worried that the thing would overtake him before he could get into the forest where at least he had more raw material to use as barricades. In addition, Ultrecht was in the forest, and would have their escape ready, but he had to get there first.

Armegon glanced back and saw the dark thing leaping across the ground and growing with every second. He had not the time to set himself for a long distance teleportation to a known location, and he was unfamiliar with the surrounding areas, but the thing was getting too close.

He was about to attempt a risky teleportation to an unknown location when without warning, Ragnera appeared between them. The god looked shaken and ragged. Armegon felt a pang of grief, because he feared that if Avery had won their contest, Ragnera would not have returned.

Ragnera was obviously weakened, even so the god was far from helpless, and Armegon did not want to tangle with him, especially with the god's brother hungry to munch on him.

To Armegon's surprise, however, the thing did not halt to render aid to the god, instead, the outstretched tentacles buried themselves in the god. Ragnera let out a blood freezing scream. As the gray mass sucked the life from the god's immortal body, Ragnera pleaded with his brother for mercy.

"Morteous, no!" Ragnera's once commanding voice had become a whimper. At last, the god played his last trump. "Father," he called. "Aid me!."

Armegon stood transfixed at the scene playing out a dozen or so meters away. Ragnera, like Tyson before him, and like so many more that Armegon could only guess at, shriveled and fell in a heap of skin and bone at the gray feet of the thing.

Suddenly Armegon too found himself on his knees. A presence fell upon him and Armegon for the first time beheld the Godking.

The Godking appeared as a shimmering outline before the thing that had just eaten both Tyson and Ragnera. Hold my son, my beloved second born. What doest thou? The voice rocked the ground underfoot.

The thing stopped its activity, the tentacles twitched nervously.

What hast thou done to thy brother? Nay, I name thee not my son but an abomination, and I command thee to cease to exist.

Armegon trembled at the terrible anger before him, and felt sure that had the Godking spoken to him, he would have died on the spot, but the thing lived still.

Darest thou to defy me? I am king of the gods! All power is mine. Go! Cease to live and proceed to decompose!

The thing took a hesitant step backwards, then lunged forward. All its tentacles lashed at the shimmering form of the Godking. The Abomination attacked, and before Armegon's very eyes began to devour the Godking.

An inhuman groan raked across the wasteland and reverberated from the mountains. Armegon did not stick around to be dessert. He sprinted to the edge of the forest where he met Ultrecht.

Ultrecht watched from the edge of the forest.

"Do you see that?"

Armegon shook his head. "All too well. That thing, that 'Abomination' ate Tyson, Blackpuss, and now it’s eating the Godking. I think we’d better vacate the premises before we become the next course of the meal."

"I would like to," Ultrecht said, "but ever since the Godking's arrival, all the magic in the area seems to have lost its potency."

"Don't worry," Armegon said looking back out into the wasteland. "The Godking will soon be the least of our problems."

"If that thing comes for us, we won't have time to cast a long distance teleport," Ultrecht warned.

"You will not need one," a voice said from nearby. Both mages turned to see a pair of blue coated unicorns.

"Our lord Ganatar has arranged for your escape," the other unicorn said. "Make haste. For the one who foresaw your need tells us that yonder blasphemy of nature will begin to grow and will soon devour everything in this part of the world."

Armegon and Ultrecht needed no convincing. One look back told them that things were definitely getting out of hand.

The Abomination was no longer any part of Morteous Blackheart. That consciousness had long lost control of the hunger and the Abomination had begun to live. Now, Morteous Blackheart was a part of the Abomination and an insignificant part to boot.

The Abomination made no further attempts to move. With the power it had newly absorbed, it planted itself like a tree into the wasteland, and began to reach out with its tentacles. Dozens of tentacles sprouted and began to reach out towards the nearby forest. As they entered the greenery, many of the appendages burrowed into the ground. Instantly greenery died and was consumed. Trees that the tentacles brushed against shriveled and were absorbed. And still the Abomination grew.

Ultrecht and Armegon urged their beneficiaries onward. "That thing is going to devour all life in the forest," Ultrecht stammered.

"I’m not sure that it’ll stop with that," Armegon returned. "We have to get out of here."
With that a pair of dark blue horns flared and the two unicorns and their riders disappeared.

And the Abomination grew.