The Oracle Paths

Shorn of his cloak, an elderly man with slitted orange eyes sunk deep into their sockets made his appearance in the hall. His black hair and short beard were still impeccably trimmed and he was shirtless, wearing only black baggy pants as well as gold bracelets and necklaces on his wrists, biceps, neck and ankles.

Looking up at the ceiling, Shamash's gaze shot through the thick layers of stone to meet Jake's gaze, who was peering down at him with his Myrtharian Vision from the first floor of the mansion. Since his bloodline had evolved, his Myrtharian Eyes could now see clearly through earth, steel, fire and lightning.

The moment two eyes almost as bright as his own lit up in his mind, Jake got goose bumps, but with a huff he dispelled the illusion.

" Is everything all right Jake?" Enya inquired with some concern.

"A big fish from Lost Divinities has arrived." Jake said, sternly staring at the ground.

From his grim expression, the two sisters and Aisling understood that it was going to be a tough fight.

"With Haynt, Sigmar, and Wyatt looking out for them, I doubt a Player, even a God, would stand a chance against them." Esya giggled optimistically. She had no doubt they would win.

Aisling was more reserved, but knowing that the old Astral was also there, she nodded quietly and concurred,

"If Haynt is with them, unless they are dealing with Astraroth, Aggenur or my mother they have nothing to fear."

"Kenway is also down there with them." Enya reminded, remembering what Haynt and Kevin had told them about this mysterious Werelion.

Jake continued to stare at the ground in silence for a bit, then murmured edgily,

"I hope you're right."

He had a bad feeling about this Shamash. These foreboding intuitions came to him from the Eltarian part of his bloodline and he had learned never to ignore them. At the same time, he also had to learn to trust his teammates. If he rushed to their aid and Vhoskaud and his cronies escaped, they would have made this nightly raid for nothing.

*****

Shamash laughed sinisterly as he sensed that his mental attack had been foiled by Jake.

'As expected of the one who fearlessly stormed into our fortress,' He praised internally. "But that's what will be your undoing. The ones able to kill you refrained from doing so to prevent greater collateral damage.'

With that, the man scanned the enemy coalition and gently grabbed the huge saw hanging behind his back. As he lifted his arm with the weapon in hand, the ground caved in under his feet as if his weight had been magnified a thousand times.

At that moment, the Myrtharian Nerds and Pureblood Vampires both saw the same blazing eyes that Jake had seen in his mind and felt their souls depart their bodies.

"That's enough." Haynt snapped them out of their trance, allowing their souls to return to their bodies.

Seeing the aghast faces of his new comrades, the old Astral understood the severity of the situation and took a step forward.

"Let me deal with him."

"No, let me face him." Lucia beat him to it, darting straight for the enemy at lightning speed.

Shamash sneered, standing still, but when Lucia's blade was about to thrust through his heart, a gigantic spectral hand sprang up from the ground and snatched the young woman. The Myrmidian princess was lifted into the air as if she had just taken an elevator and not giving her a second glance Shamash walked towards the Astral.

"I've heard many things about you, Haynt." He smiled politely. "Alas, if someone hadn't rescued you you'd already be dead, having fallen for our trap. If we can kill you once, we can kill you a second time too."

BOOOOM!

The huge spectral hand that was trying to crush the warrior woman trapped in its grip, was forced open when a burst of light incinerated its flesh, splattering a pool of ectoplasm on the ground.

Lucia, with her Myrmidian Trance enabled, launched herself at the enemy at near teleportation speed and brought her sword down on him. A terrific aura shrouded her blade and a shrill sound assaulted the eardrums of the crowd.

"How boring..." Shamash sighed.

Summoning no spectral hand this time, his right wrist blurred and the heavy saw in his hand lashed out sideways at the young woman, knocking the air from her lungs. Utterly relaxed, he overpowered Lucia who had parried in extremis and sent her crashing into a wall over 300 meters away. If her Myrmidian sword wasn't so strong, she would have been cleaved in half at the waist.

The crowd drew a cold breath as they watched the mighty Lucia being overpowered in such a crushing manner. Yet, as Shamash was about to turn his back on her to focus on Haynt again, he saw the blonde female warrior stand up from the corner of his eye.

Her golden eyes shone like two infernos and a golden shimmer of light now encased her body, giving the fleeting illusion that a celestial heroine had just swooped down from the heavens to deliver her judgment.

Shamash stared at her for a short while, but again he ordered with a deeply annoyed scowl,

"Vhoskaud, deal with her."

" I will..."

Before Lucia could counterattack again, dozens of Death Knights poured out of a black vortex widening before her. The corpse knights donned armor as black as their sturdy steeds and a black vaporous aura oozed forth from their bodies, corroding the air and the living around them.

For the first time, the Lich Android had resorted to a high-level Death Spell. Not stopping there, he also summoned the Wengol generals he had recently acquired, but also other unexpected figures.

Vhoskaud had been infiltrating Quanoth for centuries, unlike the other Players. He had had plenty of time to develop his army. In fact, he didn't care about the Undead army he had just lost. His real strength lay elsewhere.

In addition to Death Knights and Wengol generals, Vampire Ancestors, Archdemons, Angels, High Elves, High Humans, Warlords, Archpriests, and all sorts of legendary creatures that were supposed to be long dead streamed out of the vortex, forming an army of a whole new caliber.

The aura of each of these Undeads surpassed that of a level 85 native. Seeing the formidable army lined up before her, Lucia momentarily forgot about Shamash. Her ego was undoubtedly flattered, but even she had to admit that it was a bit much for her.

She was not a Myrtharian like Jake. Her specialty was not her inexhaustible stamina, but her ability to pull off a victory no matter what the circumstances. If Shamash had persisted in fighting her, he would have been in for quite a surprise.

Unfortunately, fate had decided otherwise.

"Help Lucia." Hade finally spoke. He was mainly addressing the other Myrtharian Nerds, but also Wyatt and his Vampires.

Wyatt did not shy away. He, too, was not confident in tackling such an army of Undead within this confined space.

"You heard him. Help Lucia." He shouted calmly as he drew his own sword.

"As for me..." Hade looked up before him.

A bare-chested barbarian three meters tall and shrouded in lightning stood a few feet away from him, glaring at him with a fighting intent going through the roof. In his hands he held a long, glowing staff that looked like a straightened lightning bolt.

"You will be my opponent." Azeus daringly challenged him as he got into a fighting stance.

'When was the last time I was challenged to a duel by someone with such a thirst for victory?' Hade thought wistfully.

The image of his son Nylreg flashed in his mind and he wondered what had become of him. Was he still alive at least? He couldn't tell.

The former Fluid Grandmaster extended his hand as if to grab something and a carbon gray tube appeared in it.

A long pointy rod ending in multiple forks sprouted from it and like a lightning rod the lightning enclosing Azeus was voraciously sucked into the weapon. A few faint electric streaks sizzled along the rod, but they died down soon enough.

"I accept this duel." Hade agreed in a ceremonious voice, as he summoned a lightsaber in his other hand. "May you give me worthy entertainment without regret."

Devoid of hesitation, the two men vanished from their position leaving a crater behind them and a titanic clash began.

BOOOM!