Bloody Odyssey

Chapter 65: Chaos

Surrounded by insane waves of heat, Nadia opened her eyes to a massive body of light.

The space around her was blinding—pure, molten gold in every direction, pulsing with a rhythm that matched her own heartbeat. Waves of searing energy rolled outward from the central mass, crashing against invisible boundaries before recoiling and surging again. The air—if it could be called air—felt thick and alive, pressing against her skin like liquid fire that didn't burn, only filled.

"Where am I?" she asked herself, voice echoing strangely, as though spoken underwater.

She scanned her surroundings. Nothing solid existed here—no ground, no horizon, only endless radiant expanse. At the center floated an enormous sphere of light, brighter than any sun she had ever seen. It swelled and contracted in slow, deliberate cycles—expansion flooding the void with fresh waves of heat, compression pulling everything inward like a heartbeat drawing breath.

Why am I here? Nadia wondered, forcing herself to recall the last event.

She remembered entering a meditative state under the glaring sun, the rush of mana and light rays flooding her body. After that… nothing. Just darkness, then this.

This place is too familiar, she realized. She closed her eyes, reaching inward with her senses.

"This is my core?"

She touched the scorching surface of the central sphere. Her hand passed through with ease—no resistance, only warmth that welcomed her like home. She rooted herself at the very center, legs folding into a meditative pose once more, anchoring her consciousness to the pulsing heart of her own power.

"My child, why do you resent me? Can't a father punish his child?"

The original voice of Sterion echoed in her mind—deep, resonant, carrying the weight of ancient authority.

Nadia trembled deeply in her core. The sound vibrated through every thread of her being, stirring old memories of abandonment, of pain, of being left to die. But she didn't waver. Biting down hard on her teeth, she blocked her mind completely from Sterion, sealing every mental pathway with iron will.

Why do you decide to follow that ungodly thing? Sterion continued, speaking as though he had never abandoned her, as though the years of silence and suffering had never happened.

… Nadia remained still. Silent. Unyielding.

"I see you have made up your mind. Do not blame me."

A magnificent aura—perfect in its own nature—burst outward, pressing down on Nadia's core with crushing force. The golden sphere shuddered. Waves of divine pressure hammered against her anchored position, trying to force submission, trying to drown her will in overwhelming light.

Meanwhile, Dax continued to pull the strings.

Blasphemous human, why do you oppose us? Let us take the girl and I will leave you alone.

"I believe we should speak on the same level," Dax replied, pulling the string down with deliberate force.

Impossible!

Its voice echoed in outrage.

Suddenly, like lightning, he fell—just like his brothers before him—sending tremors through the plains of Vados. The earth buckled in wide concentric rings, dust clouds rising hundreds of feet into the air.

Screams like those from hell echoed from the dust curtain. With insane speed and following the path of Fibonacci, the spiraled energy collapsed inward into a tiny hovering black hole—devouring light, sound, even the heat of the sun itself.

"You're not Sterion," Dax spat.

Suddenly the figure of a seven-foot beautiful winged woman was slowly revealed from within the dust curtain. She held a thin oval mirror four times larger than her body, its surface rippling like liquid mercury. Her wings—pure white edged with gold—stretched wide, feathers shimmering with divine luminescence. Her face held an indescribable expression of terror, eyes wide, lips parted in shock.

How did he pull me out of my domain? The messenger had no answers to that question.

Dax descended slowly, hovering a few feet above her, looking down with a gaze colder than ice. His white hair whipped in the wind generated by his own aura.

He burst with a menacing aura. His halos manifested in their full glory—two rings stacking above each other. The pitch-black halo now possessed stars within it, swirling nebulae and distant galaxies trapped in endless rotation, yet it still carried an insane devouring force—pulling light inward, swallowing the sun's glare.

What are you? The beautiful voice echoed from her lips, but it possessed duality—like multiple people speaking at once, layered and discordant.

How did one of our own fall into the hands of such a thing? she thought. But I can tell he is very powerful. Still… my Lord surpasses every concept.

She removed her hand from the mirror and pointed at Nadia's suspended form. "Give me that child. She doesn't belong to you."

Thud.

The hand pointing at Nadia fell to the ground—severed cleanly at the wrist.

She looked down at her arm in disbelief, then up at Dax. He stood before her now, holding the severed limb casually in one hand.

Dax watched soft particles float from the severed arm—golden motes drifting upward like dying embers. "This is different," he murmured. "It carries the breath of those strings."

He moved his hair back with his free hand, then took a large bite from the severed flesh.

How did he cut me? She still didn't let go of the mirror. Through the severed arm, an abnormal amount of energy covered a ten-kilometer radius—pure divine radiance flooding the plains, scorching grass black in widening circles.

She looked at the weapon in Dax's other hand. What sort of sword is that? Her heart trembled at the sight of Cil—its crimson edge glowing with quiet menace, as though it drank light rather than reflected it.

He gulped down, swallowing her flesh. "Ohh… so you angels are not flesh and blood." Dax closed his eyes for a moment. "But you don't taste bad."

His voice turned deep. A beautiful smile appeared across his face—sharp, predatory, almost joyful.

"Why are you still watching? Or do you want your follower to die?"

"I am the messenger of God. You dare not speak to my Lord in such a manner."

Her voice echoed, layered with righteous fury.

"I will just kill you," Dax said simply. He was disgusted.

Dax appeared behind her in a blink—pulling on her short hair, yanking her head back. He placed Cil against her neck in a beheading motion, the blade's edge humming with restrained killing intent.

In a blink the mirror shattered from the clash—shards exploding outward in glittering arcs. Thousands of tiny humanoid figures stepped out of the broken shards, each one no taller than a finger but radiating miniature divine light.

With a kick from one of the tiny figures, Cil was sent flying—spinning wildly in the air.

Above them, a figure of light fully manifested—towering, radiant, looking at Nadia like he was gazing at a magnificent work of art.

Such refinement of power, the figure thought. She seems to be absorbing the mana directly from the sun.

I see why I was sent here to get her.

He pulled his face closer.

Suddenly his body of light cracked—withering away in jagged fractures.

Revealing the face of a young man with ten golden crosses in his eyes.

"Why don't you listen to the voice of our Lord?"

Nadia's eyes remained sealed shut.

"Brother!" A relieved smile appeared on the messenger's face.

"Ooh!" Dax was surprised.

Turning his gaze, he didn't look at the tiny humanoid particles.

In a blink he appeared before the young man, swinging his arm in a wide arc. In another blink Cil spun back into his palm.

With grace the angel raised his arm casually, manifesting a golden coin between his fingers.

"Heavenly seal, bless me with your shielding grace."

In a flash the coin expanded into a soft dome—a golden translucent shield that shimmered with holy runes.

Dax cut.

The sound of chiming bells covered the sky—clear, resonant, almost beautiful.

Cracks?

The angel's gaze turned serious. With insane speed he retreated meters back.

Just as expected from my Lord, he thought. He had seen everything. That is why he sends this gift.

He stretched his arm apart as if presenting something. In a blink a comet descended from the sky—falling toward Dax in a blazing arc.

Focusing his gaze, Dax saw a man inside the comet—resembling him but older, missing all limbs, unconscious.

Dax's eyes opened wide.

"Father!"

Dax instantly traveled toward his father with insane speed.

Catching him in his arms, all he could remember of this man was a single faded picture—his father holding him happily as a baby, smiling down with pride and love.

In that second something strange sprouted in Dax's heart.