AvA: Resurrection

Ch. 4 - The Guardian

It was nearly midnight when King and Purple arrived at the hill with everything they needed.

No stars shone in the night sky, and dark clouds covered the moon. No trees grew on nor near the hill; magic prevented growth for plants, except for grass.

"Where should we begin digging?" Purple asked King, hefting his shovel.

"Stand back." King pointed his staff at a spot on the side of the hill, and a beam of pure energy issued from the staff, blasting the hill and creating a massive crater.

The hill's peak collapsed inward. Just before the mass of dirt and gravel filled the bottom of the crate, Purple caught a glimpse of a hole that went down into the earth.

"King!" he exclaimed, "I just saw the entrance!"

"Where? Where?" King scanned the hillside, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Under that mass of dirt that just fell down."

King began shooting hovering potions out of his staff in the direction of the hill. The dirt chunks floated into the air, uncovering the hole Purple had seen earlier.

"Ready?" King turned to Purple, his eyes gleaming.

"Yeah, let's go."

Purple leapt into the hole, King following close behind.

The fall was longer than Purple expected. They continued to fall for what seemed like five minutes- by which time their entrance had disappeared from sight- and still they were falling.

"How long will this take?" King grumbled, beginning to get agitated.

"'Patience is the key,' King," Purple said, trying to calm him down, "that's what I always tell- "

"Purple!" King exclaimed suddenly, interrupting Purple.

Purple looked. At first, he didn't see anything but pitch blackness. Then, as his eyes got used to the dark, he saw that the walls were no longer dirt, but had become smooth and shiny.

There was a sputtering sound, and a light flared; King had summoned a torch. Purple now saw that the walls were now made of polished granite. He looked down, and to his relief, he saw another torch stuck on a wall, and below that...

"We're here," Purple announced as he and King landed in a pool of water, splashing water everywhere.

A sudden noise startled them. They turned to see a blue stick wearing a cape and holding a katana. He was standing in the middle of a large granite room. A hallway also made of granite connected the pool of water and the room.

"Why have you come here?" he asked, his voice echoing through the long hallway.

"We have been seeking the Void entrance," King called back.

"I'm afraid this is as far as you'll get," the stick said.

"Why's that?"

"You see, I'm the guardian of the Void," the stick explained, "I stop villains from bringing back their fellow murderers and thieves; however, I do let good people bring back their loved ones... for a good reason.

As for you two... I don't think you have a good reason for bringing someone back. I'm pretty good at reading people's expressions and telling what they're thinking. That's a person in your bag: a sacrifice, I assume?"

Purple's face paled. "Uh... King?"

"Shh." King was sweating, even though it was fairly cold in the hallway.

"I understand your fear," the guardian said, 'It's fine. You may return the way you came; I see you can both fly. You need not suffer any pain if you leave; you may choose."

King chuckled darkly. "Who said anything about fear? We are not leaving. Stay out of our business."

"But I can't; it is my duty to prevent villains from bringing other villains back from the Void."

King stepped forward. Purple, bringing out his sword, followed suit.

The guardian didn't move. "I'm warning you: don't do this."

"This is our goal," King said, "We're doing this."

And he attacked.

For a split second, the guardian looked surprised and impressed, and King felt a rush of excitement.

Then, the guardian vanished. King's face paled.

A blade materialized out of thin air and sliced at King. King managed to wedge his staff handle between him and the oncoming blade, and sparks flew.

King pushed the guardian back, summoned a fully-grown oak tree, and hurled it at the guardian. A second later, the tree exploded, the trunk chopped to splintered, the leaves cut to shreds. The guardian stood there, sword ready. He wasn't even winded.

King narrowed his eyes and attacked again.

The guardian ignored King. He ran at Purple, who held his sword in front of him. Just before the guardian swung his sword, King pointed his staff in Purple's direction, and two objects burst forth: a smithing table and a Netherite ingot. Purple caught the ingot with his blade and sliced down hard upon the smithing table's surface. Violet sparks flew as the ingot cracked, unleashing the energy stored within. Purple's diamond blade absorbed the energy, and the turquoise blade turned the color of basalt.

The guardian's katana slammed into Purple's brand-new Netherite sword.

Purple pressed against the katana with all his might, and it gave way. Purple nearly fell on his face. Looking up, he saw that the guardian and King were engaged in combat again. The guardian was surrounding King, and King was continuously conjuring shields to block the guardian's attacks. Then, the guardian made the mistake of attacking from above, as it slowed him down, if only for a second.

King sent arcs of electricity everywhere- strangely, none of them hit Purple; a fair amount ripped themselves through the guardian's body. He gasped, and fell. His sword skidded several feet away.

King placed the base of his staff on the guardian's chest.

"Oh, you're going to kill me?" the guardian muttered sarcastically.

"If that's what it takes to get to the Void," King snarled.

"Tell you what," the guardian began, "Go get what you're looking for. Do your 'job'. Then you'll see how wrong you've been."

King's staff clunked against the granite floor. The guardian had gone, and so had his sword. On the other side of the room, a door creaked open.

"I guess that's it." Purple said, "Ready?"

"Yup." King followed Purple into the next room.

This room was made of white marble, and in the middle, a large circle had been removed, revealing...

"The Void," Purple breathed.

"The Void," King agreed.

The Void was pure gray with occasional glitching arcs zipping through. From the room, they could see dozens of gray sticks floating around lazily.

"This shouldn't be too hard." King said cheerfully.

"Uh... yeah," Purple stammered, still in awe.

"Shall we proceed?" King asked.

"Yeah," Purple replied confidently.

And they stepped into the circle.

Into the Void.