Etudie Perpetuity

Sliding into the cavern let me gradually marvel at the size of the five star gem monster which the elves called The Terrible. It was at least twenty times my size, making me wonder how it got inside this cave in the first place. Perhaps the monster was always here, and the cave gradually built up around its massive body.

Noel shouted out my name and slid down after me, although she kept her footing as if she was surfing. The monster tilted its head, sending a loud creak echoing through the cavern. The Terrible didn’t have any eyes. The only thing on its face were the five red stars that stood menacingly where the monster’s forehead should’ve been. I hit the ground at last with a curse. My leg was sore, with a few minor cuts and bruises, but I was mostly fine. Noel jumped off the last few feet of the rock-slide and stood next to me.

The Terrible lifted its pillar-like arm and I braced for impact. The Terrible’s arm swung right past me and came to a gentle rest along the ceiling. I winced at the sound of gems scraping against rock, as The Terrible moved the edge of its arm against the roof of the cavern, and pulled aside a mass of vines and roots that I hadn’t even noticed. Red light streamed into the cavern, making the blood-red ruby body of The Terrible glow like a neon sign. My torch had fallen somewhere when I slid into the cavern. Noel’s light took this opportunity to flicker one last time, before extinguishing itself.

Noel helped me back up and The Terrible didn’t react. My heart was beating rapidly and I couldn’t tell if Noel’s arm was trembling or if my whole body was shivering in fright. Who thought it was a good idea to have us go from fighting a one star monster to a five star one? That’s not how these things are supposed to scale.

The Terrible lumbered forward. Noel and I raised our hands, preparing to cast magic, when The Terrible’s entire body shimmered crimson. Its five stars glowed a much richer, darker shade of red than the one on the Oracle and Sharun’s eyes, but it had the same shape and presence. My eyes widened and needles began pricking the inside of my skull. I yelled and held my head, my own voice drowning out Noel’s cries of concern.

Tears streaming down my face, I lifted my head and turned around. The corners of my lips twisted up, and my eyes burned like someone had just blown hot air on them. I wrenched my jaw open and said: “I always hated the way you looked.”

“Excuse me?” said Noel, taking a step back.

“One hundred and twenty years old, but still looking like you’re twelve. I’d get canceled on the internet for hanging out with you!” I shouted.

“Huh?” said Noel.

“It’s a good thing there’s no romantic tension between us. Maybe in a few thousand years. I guess it also helps that the internet doesn’t exist yet. Either way, die for setting up a red flag!” I raised my hand and began preparing fire magic.

“That’s the negative emotion it’s using to control you?” said Noel as she prepared her own fire magic. “Also, you’re younger than me!”

“No,” I yelled even louder. “I am not!” Sweat trickled down my face as the air between us heated up. Noel’s hair lay plastered around her head, her eyes narrowed both in concentration and to prevent sweat from getting into them. Two massive balls of fire swirled in front of our hands. I yelled even louder, as if yelling would make my magic stronger. Noel followed suit, shouting while pouring even more energy into her spell.

“Any last words?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Noel, “you’re terrible at acting.”

I swiveled around as Noel launched her own fireball over my shoulder. It whizzed past my face, sizzling some of my hair and making the skin on my chin prickle. I fired my spell as I turned on my heels, and sent it whistling through the air towards The Terrible.

The Terrible tilted its head, perhaps more surprised it wasn’t able to control me than at the two massive fireballs hurtling towards it. It extended one of its gem-pillar limbs and formed a crystal barrier off the tip. The crystalline barrier sparkled in the red light, reflecting the orange hue of the fireballs as they came right up next to it. It also reflected the way the fireballs turned upwards at the last moment, as if two invisible hands had flicked them from underneath. The fireballs cast an orange glow across The Terrible’s body. The monster tilted its head, tracing the projectile’s path. Too late, it tried to headbutt the spell with its crystal head, realizing what was about to happen. It missed.

The fireballs crashed into the ceiling with a thunderous blast that resounded through the cavern. Rocks and roots and dirt and dust came cascading in waves from the rocky roof as The Terrible let out a high pitched noise that almost made my ears bleed. Noel grabbed me as a rock slammed into the ground where I had been standing. A large mass of dirt came hurtling towards us. I concentrated on the air right below the mass and created a powerful fire that exploded the whole thing and showered us in debris. Coughing and wheezing, Noel and I ran up to the edge of the cavern, fighting our way through the collapsing cave.

A red laser carved a trench next to our feet. A giant crystal pierced the walls in front of us. The Terrible’s magic went haywire as it tried to fight the cave-in. I pulled Noel up the edge of the cavern and we ran into the narrow tunnel as another red beam of energy collided against the top of the tunnel. I jumped and a rock scraped the back of my foot as the end of the tunnel collapsed, sealing the howling five star monster inside what should be a coffin of earth.

“Come on,” shouted Noel. Our ears were still ringing and we could barely hear each other. “There’s no way that thing is going down that easily.”

I nodded as Noel helped me up. “We need to run as far as we can.”

“But the Oracle is right outside and she’s controlling uncle Sharun,” said Noel. We began racing towards the exit. We were too tired to cast any fire magic for light, so we stumbling through the darkness, hugging the walls as best we could.

“We can deal with that. The bigger question is where do we go from here,” I said.

“We should go to the camp first and gather the other tribesmen,” said Noel. “We need to let them know The Terrible is a five star monster, not a blessing from the gods!”

“Will they believe us?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but we have to try.”

“It’ll take too long if we wait for the rest of the tribe, shouldn’t we just run for the highlands?” I said. “The God of Evil wants us, not the rest of your tribe. We may be putting them in danger by tagging along.”

Noel hesitated. “But what if we’re wrong. What if that thing does go for my family?”

I bit my lips. My body was sore and my mind a mess, but the pain and adrenaline were only making me think faster than ever before. “Then we wouldn’t be of much help anyway. Did you see that thing? None of our magic is going to work against it. If that thing goes for a bunch of elves who can barely cast simple magic and use flint tools, then it’s going to vaporize them in a heartbeat.”

Silence. We kept stumbling through the tunnel. We were almost at the entrance. “Maybe the Oracle knows how to control that thing. Or at least how to stop it. It’s got to have a weakness, right?” said Noel.

I frowned. “Maybe, but there’s no way the Oracle’s going to betray her master.”

“Unless…”

“Oh, you’re right.”

We spent the last few minutes coming up with a plan. As the light at the end of the tunnel appeared, Noel and I took some deep breaths, steeled our resolves, and calmed our nerves.

“Oh yeah,” said Noel before we stepped forward. “Do you really hate the way I look?”

“Listen,” I said, carefully, “I have nothing against your looks okay. It’s just… well… you see… let’s talk about this later.” And by later, I meant in at least a few hundred years. If we got out of this mess, we’d have lots of time to talk this through. Elves have long lives, alright?

We stepped out of the cave.