Golden

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two
Lysandra

            When a single being is placed opposite of a giant, how is that person to react? How does that person think or act when realizing that he or she must actually fight this massive entity?

            I don’t know what ran through my mind the very moment I had laid eyes on Norun. The thirty-foot god towered over the battlefield, looking down upon everyone and seeming as though he could take a single step and destroy the majority of Valsea’s fields.

            My gaze was fixated on him as he looked around the flat expanse of the world in disgust and unlimited anger. His timeless eyes pierced through everyone on the battlefield with a simple glance.

            Was I wrong to have felt pressure on my chest at the thought of having to confront him? The feeling of my near death washed over me like sheer ice, spreading from my head to my feet in a split second. It was not fear that overtook me, but rather a nervous fury of finally seeing the one who was responsible for all that had, and was, happening.

            I remember when Norun’s penetrating glare rested on me, his face hardening and his body becoming offensive. His hands clenched as his lips parted, baring slightly pointed teeth that seemed the size of my body.

            Then his lips pulled into a nasty smirk, and he turned his body to face me completely.

            Warrior, the deep voice boomed through my mind. I don’t feel my sister nearby, he sneers. It seems you are alone in this embarrassment of a world.

            “The goddess’ death only serves to make me stronger,” I replied, fury laced my voice like the wildfire that was spreading through my body. I could feel the molten, gilded lava swilling through my veins and transforming my blood.

            A horrid laugh rumbled through my head, Penella is no longer your goddess, dear child, he said, his last words sent mockingly in my direction. Warrior Goddess, it is you who must assume her position.

            I had narrowed my eyes then, unsheathing my swords. Norun requires more than two mere swords to be killed; if I was to fight him, I would need to be in tune with the fullest potential of my abilities. However, when tipped with poisoned gold, these swords can be lethal when used strategically.

            Perhaps that is why Penella had given them to me.

            Swords cannot kill me, mortal, Norun’s laughter slivered through my mind, but slowly faded as he watched me retrieve my orange orb from underneath my armour. His eyes narrowed into slits, and he began to move forward, his foot purposely positioning itself over my body.

            Throwing all thoughts of daunting nervousness to the fierce wind that ravaged Valsea, I tossed the orb into the air, swinging my sword and slicing it cleanly in half. Within milliseconds, the orb imploded, absorbing me into its body just before Norun’s foot made contact with the ground I had just been standing on.

            Then the battle began.

                                             *          *          *          *

            Give up, Norun’s voice roars around my head. His face is lacerated from the golden ribbons that whip across his skin.

            I don’t reply; only continue dragging my sword down the length of his arm. I reach his elbow, the metal slicing through the skin rigidly as the sword cuts through his elbow and off his skin entirely. I drop to the ground, the wind whipping through my hair as I take the orange orb and slice through it once more.