"So this is Kehjistan," Cassie remarked as they rode into the greening landscape. She could see trees in the distance and forests even further on the horizon. It was a marked change from the deserts around Caldeum. The sands had slowly changed to a savannah and now they are riding into what can be called a steppe as they leave Caldeum further and further behind. It had been almost a week since they had left the tavern in Caldeum.

"Yes," Ginny replied. "The rainforests of Kehjistan are a real change from Caldeum. You've never been here?"

"No. Or rather I should say that I have no memories of it," Cassie remarked. "My mother was from Kurast but she left Kehjistan soon after my birth. She travelled north and we finally settled in with the mages of Xiansai. That's where I learned the arcane arts. She rarely talks about her past. She always had this sad look on her face when asked about her past or when someone mentioned Kurast. She never really told me what happened. Even when she was at her deathbed she would not reveal what actually happened there in Kurast."

"Oh? Sorry to hear about that," Ginny said as they rode slowly through the greenery.

"She gave me part of a broken gemstone," Cassie said and reached inside her pouch to fish out the artifact in question. It was a simple locket with a gem set into it. The stone had broken and almost half of it was gone. "She said that should the gem glow, it would mean that the other half is nearby and that I should kill whoever possesses the other half."

"Why is that?" Ginny asked intrigued.

"She said that whoever has the other half would be my father's murderer," Cassie said.

"Really?" Ginny remarked.

"I dunno. Mom was the only family I had. I have never seen it glow anyway," Cassie said.

The two women had grown close ever since they have escaped the cave of the necromancer. Cassie is becoming very fond of Ginny. She had decided to tag along when Ginny got word from her council to head to Kurast for a mission. Ginny had been reluctant initially but she relented when Cassie followed her anyway. Cassie's excuse was that she had to repay Ginny for saving her from the necromancer.

"Enough about me," Cassie said. "What about you? What about this Radvorris character that we are supposed to meet?"

"He is my mentor," Ginny said. "I learnt all I know from him. He taught me how to be a demon hunter."

"Is it true that all demon hunters have a tragic past?" Cassie asked.

"Yes. We are taught to harness the hatred we feel inside and channel it as energy when we fight," Ginny said. "I am from Kehjistan too. From a village on the outskirts of Kurast. That village was destroyed by demons. They took everything away. My family. My home. If it wasn't for Radvorris, I'd perished along with the others."

"It must be hard," Cassie said.

"It is what fuels me. It is what gives me the strength to fight but sometimes I wished that I'd perished like all the others."

After that statement, the pair travelled in silence. They rode on until dusk fell. It was nearly time to stop for the night when they saw a small village on the horizon.

"We should head there and stop for the night," Cassie suggested and turned her horse towards the village. Ginny merely followed. As they closed in they felt that something was amiss. Suddenly Ginny stopped her horse. She sat up. Alert. Cassie quickly halted her horse.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked.

"Blood. There's a smell of blood in the air," Ginny replied tersely.

---

Added on August 9, 2012, 1:46 pmAfter a brief moment of indecision, Cassie saw Ginny's horse dart part. As if on cue, she followed suit. They reached the edge of the village and dismounted. Ginny had already drawn her crossbow as she walked cautiously into the village. It was quiet. There were no sounds coming from the village. No footsteps on worn paths. No chattering of the people. No banging of tools from any workshops. Just deathly silence.

Cassie readied her magical source. Ginny was right. The air had a thick stench of blood. Just as they rounded the buildings that line the outer perimeter of the village they saw the source of the stench. There was blood everywhere. On the ground. On the walls and everywhere that it could get. On railings and rooftops. Cassie had to pull her scarf up to cover her mouth and nose. She had to work hard to quell the nausea that was threatening to erupt from her stomach. Corpses and body parts were everywhere. Broken and maimed. It looked like the whole village got slaughtered. Nothing was spared. Not even the dogs nor the chickens that were kept were spared. The village's central square seemed to be the core of the slaughter. The whole area was drenched in blood. Cassie could not make herself to move any closer.

"It's the same!" Ginny's voice suddenly broke through the eerie silence.

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked.

"This is the same thing that happened to my village all those years ago!" she muttered through clenched teeth. Cassie could see the anger and hatred boiling over inside Ginny. She quickly surveyed the area and then headed to a wall that had some insignia scrawled upon it in blood. She stood there for a moment staring at the insignia and then she raised her left hand and looked briefly at her palm. She then clenched her hand into a fist and moved away. In that brief moment, Cassie could see that Ginny had a scar on her left palm that matched the insignia on the wall.

Ginny moved quickly through the village. She was furiously searching for something. A trail. A trail that led out of the village. A trail presumably left by those who were responsible for the massacre.

"The trail is still fresh!" Ginny announced. "Not more than a couple of hours old! They could not have gotten far!" With that Ginny raced back to her horse, mounted and gave pursuit, leaving Cassie still standing in the village.

"Hey!" Cassie yelled out in confusion. "Wait for me..." but it was already too late. Ginny had disappeared into the trees of the forest just outside the doomed village.

With a resigned sigh, Cassie made her way back to her horse. The sun had already set. As she neared her mount, the horse neighed nervously and trotted restlessly to and fro, tugging at her reins that was tied to a post. Cassie halted and raised her alertness level. She could hear a menacing chatter coming from all around her. She channeled her energy into her magical source and it began to glow. The light from it reflected off more than a dozen pair of eyes that now surrounded her.

"Scavengers!" Cassie recognized the infernal creatures that are now closing in, attracted by the blood. Then without warning, some of the creatures lurched forward and leapt at her, razor sharp claws extended and ready to tear into her face.


This post has been edited by shootkk: Aug 9 2012, 01:46 PM

good, but if can relate more Diablo lore to it then it will be perfect

Coming, coming... please be patient.. and thanks for the filler..

---

Added on August 10, 2012, 11:23 amWokeh.. story continues...


*******


Cassie ducked, narrowly missing the nearest scavenger as it clawed at the empty space where her head been just a split second ago. Finishing her chant, Cassie released a nova frost blast that instantly froze the attacking scavengers in mid air. Immediately following that blast, Cassie unleashed a force wave that shattered the frozen beasts into tiny bits.

The retaliatory strike from Cassie paused the scavengers' attack long enough for her to mount her horse. Now after re-grouping, the scavengers formed a line in front of her horse, hissing menacingly. Cassie took out her wand and pointed it at the ground right in front of the group. An arc of blue energy snaked from the wand, hitting the dirt and scattered across the ground, electrocuting any beasts caught in its path. All the scavengers caught by the electric bolt were instantly fried to crisp. Those that were lucky enough to escape quickly burrowed underground. Cassie raced her horse through the opening she had created and bolted after Ginny. She holstered her wand and did not bother to look back. She knew that the scavengers will not be pursuing when they could easily feast on the corpses that lay about.



Ginny raced through the forest as fast as her horse could carry her. Even as night fell, she could still follow the trail with ease. Soon the trees thinned out and she came to a clearing. A few kilometers in front of her was a crumbling tower. That was her destination. As Ginny was about to push her horse harder, she saw a figure on the ground. It was another demon hunter and he was not moving. Ginny halted and got off. She ran towards the figure lying face down on the ground.

As she neared, she could see that this demon hunter was hurt bad. He was bleeding and the blood had already pooled around his body. She knelt beside him and gently turned him over.

"Duerre!" she gasped in recognition at the face. "Who did this to you?"

Blood was coming out from Duerre's mouth. His breathing was shallow but he managed to open his eyes a little when he heard Ginny calling out his name.

"...Cult..." Duerre gasped weakly, choking on his own blood. "..danger....Ra...Radvorris...," he continued as his life slipped away, every word bringing him closer to the eternal darkness.

"You mean Radvorris is in there?" Ginny asked. "Then I'm going in to aid him!"

Duerre's eyes opened wide at Ginny's remarks and he started to shake his head. With the last of his strength he grabbed Ginny's hand and opened his mouth again to speak. The warning never came. Duerre passed before he could utter anything. Ginny slid her hand over Duerre's face to close his eyes.

"Rest my friend," she said. "You will be avenged. I swear it!" She then lay Duerre gently back on the ground. She mounted her horse again and continued towards the ominous tower in the distance.




This post has been edited by shootkk: Aug 10 2012, 11:23 AM

This is a filler post

Story continues... sorry for the lack of action so far... trying to establish some back stories.. haha.. please bear with me...


***********


After what seemed like an eternity Cassie finally broke through the forest and into the clearing. Almost immediately Cassie could feel the presence of some dark magic around the place. The source seemed to be coming from the tower ruins in the distance. Cassie was sure that's where Ginny would be. She prodded her horse towards the tower. About halfway there she came across Duerre's remains. Her concern for Ginny's safety went up a notch. It's no small feat to fight on an even footing with a demon hunter, much less be able to kill one. Cassie prodded her horse to make it go faster.

When she finally came up to the tower, she could see Ginny's horse tied to a tree nearby. She quickly did the same and rushed to the entrance of the ruined tower. The broken sign near the door said, 'Tower of Light'.

Cassie moved quickly but cautiously inside. It was still and dark. She could not hear anything. Cassie took her pouch and opened it to take out her magical source. When she opened the pouch she was startled to see a faint light coming from inside the pouch. Looking into the pouch, Cassie saw that the gem on the locket her mother gave her was glowing faintly.

"Damn! Why does this has to glow now of all times?" Cassie thought. Is what her mother told her true? Will she really find her father's murderer? Or what? Cassie shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Now is not the time to worry about the past. She forced herself to focus on finding Ginny. She pushed the locket back into the pouch and fished out her magical source.

Presently she came to the basement of the tower. In the basement, there was a huge ornate door, now broken and decrepit, with stairs leading further undergound. As Cassie moved towards the start of the steps, she could feel the dark magic's presence getting stronger.

"If I trace this magic to its source, I'm sure I will find Ginny there!" Cassie thought. With that resolve, she headed down the stairs into the dark. As Cassie made her way down she realized that the underground structure is vast. She had already passed corridors after corridors, halls after halls and still the structure streched ever onwards and downwards. If it weren't for her zooming in onto the source of the dark magic that she felt, she would have easily gotten lost inside the labyrinthine structure.

Preferring to remain stealthy, Cassie avoided any unnecessary conflicts but she has yet to meet anyone else, neither friend nor foe. She could feel the source of the dark magic getting nearer. As she made her way down yet another flight of stairs, she finally saw signs of another person. Inside a room a short distance in front of her, Cassie saw a faint light coming from inside. Remaining hidden she cautiously approached and peeked inside. The light was coming from another room inside the one she was peering into. Seeing no one around she sneaked in and found a place to hide while observing the area.

Cassie could see someone inside the other room. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it was a man. He was dressed in a demon hunter's armor. Cassie wondered if he was a friend of the dead demon hunter she encountered before entering the tower. Deciding that this man probably had some connection with the dead demon hunter, Cassie moved to put away her magical source as not to appear threatening. Just as she opened her pouch a bright light burst through from inside. This caught the attention of the demon hunter inside the other room. He whipped out a longbow and aimed it straight where Cassie was hiding.

"Who's there?" the man asked cautiously, arrow prepped for release.

Wincing, Cassie had no choice but to reveal herself. Holding both her hands up in the air, she slowly stepped out so that the demon hunter could see her.

"I'm sorry for intruding but I saw your dead friend out there and I thought someone in here might be having some trouble," Cassie said just loud enough to be heard.

The other demon hunter approached and Cassie could see that he was an older man, probably in his fifties. He lowered his bow but kept alert.

"Was there anyone else with you?" he asked.

Cassie was puzzled by the question. It meant that he probably had not run into Ginny yet. She decided to play it safe. "No," Cassie replied. "I came in here alone."

"That light just now," the demon hunter said. "Where did it come from?"

"It's from a gem that I had," Cassie said, getting even more puzzled.

The demon hunter than shouldered his bow and reached inside a bag he had. Taking something out, he held out his hand and sowly opened his palm. To Cassie's astonishment, a light came through and it was coming from a gem he held. It was glowing brightly.

"Mind if I see your glowing gem?" he asked.

Cassie was taken aback. The demon hunter was holding the broken other part of her locket's gem. She stood there frozen.

"Please," the demon hunter said again. "Could you show me your glowing gem?"

Recovering from her shock, Cassie fumbled for her pouch, pulled out the locket and held it out. It was glowing just as brightly.

"It's a exact match!" the demon hunter exclaimed. "How did you get hold of Brianna's locket?" he asked, his eyes searching for an answer in desperation.

Cassie was even more stunned. "How.. how did you know my mother's name?"

"Your mother?" the demon hunter said, just as surprised. "Brianna's your mother? Where is she now?"

"She's been dead for over a decade! What's it to you?" Cassie asked, unsure of how else to re-act.

"Dead? So she's not forgiven me," the demon hunter said hanging his head, looking defeated. "That's why she left so abruptly. She left eventhough she was pregnant with our child."

Cassie's shock led her to drop the locket and back away until she hit the wall. "No.. no.. it can't be..." she muttered, her eyes aimlessly searching the floor. She then looked up to find the demon hunter looking at her with just as much confusion. Could this man really be her father?

*****************

It's kinda long...

More to come. Please stay tuned...

This post has been edited by shootkk: Aug 11 2012, 12:23 PM

good story, keep em coming!

We are reaching the climax of the story... would appreciate some comments. Thanks!


*****************

The last half hour was a complete blur for Cassie. She could not make head or tail of what has been happening. She was now absent mindedly examining the locket. The two broken pieces has been put back together. They fit perfectly. Apart from the line where the crack was, the gem now filled the locket. It was strange that now that they are fitted side by side, the gem no longer glowed. Millions of questions were running through Cassie's mind. Was she dreaming? Could this really be happening? Here she was having come face to face with a man that most likely is her father but why was it that her mother told her a different story?

She was now alone in the room. The demon hunter had told her to stay there and wait for him. He had some unfinished business to attend to and that she would be safe in that room. Cassie let out a sigh. She did not know what to think. Then it occured to her that in the confusion of the moment, she had completely forgotten to ask him what his name was. Cassie mentally chastised herself for her stupidity and then got up. She would go look for him and then ask him his name. She should at least know his name.

Wandering out from the room Cassie came face to face with the huge underground complex. She had forgotten how big this place was. Since loitering in the room will do nothing but put more questions to which she will not have any answers into her mind, Cassie decided to look for the demon hunter nonetheless.

Presently she came to a large multi-story chamber. It was dimly lit by a few torches on the lowest floor. She was on the second floor. While searching for a way to descend, Cassie suddenly caught sight of the demon hunter below. Just as she was about to call out to him, another figure appeared. This second figure was dressed like a cultist. Immediately Cassie knew that this person was bad news. Before she could sound a warning, the cultist spoke.

"High Priest," the cultist called out. Cassie quickly stood back into the shadows to conceal herself.

The demon hunter turned to the cultist and said, "What is it?"

Cassie's eyes widened in shock. High priest? What priest? What exactly was the connection between the two men?

"We have located her," the cultist said.

"When?" the demon hunter asked.

"About a half hour ago. We are leading her here. Everything is prepared," the cultist finished his report.

"Good. Go to the ceremony chambers and start the ritual now. I will be coming shortly and we shall make history tonight," the demon hunter said.

Cassie could not believe what she was hearing. Her head spinned all the more. What is the meaning of all this? She decided that it was best that she remain hidden and find out as much as possible as to what is happening. As she trailed the demon hunter she was once again aware of the presence of the dark magic she had felt earlier. Only now, it was much stronger than before. The demon hunter made his way into a side room. Cassie found her way down and quietly slipped into the same room.

The demon hunter had his back towards Cassie. He was busy with some kind of box. As he opened it, he took out something from it. The moment Cassie laid her eyes upon the object, she knew she could not stay hidden anymore. Quick as she could, Cassie fired an arcane bolt towards the demon hunter. The older man was caught by surprise but years and years of experience made him re-act in an instant. He vaulted quickly to one side. The arcane bolt missed its target but it made him drop the object he was holding.

Cassie dashed forward and picked the crystal up from the floor. She kept a wary eye on the demon hunter who had by now armed himself. Cassie kept a hand pointed towards the older man, her palm crackling with electricity.

"What the hell are you doing with a soulstone?" Cassie asked, her voice stern.

"Cassie?" the demon hunter asked. "Why are you here? I told you to stay in the room."

"Don't change the subject!" Cassie raised her voice. "What are you doing with a soulstone?" she demanded again.

"Why, I'm going to destroy it, of course!" he replied.

"Enough with the lies! I saw you with that cultist. What's your connection to the cult?" Cassie demanded, threatening to unleash the electric bolt at him.

"Cassie, you don't understand," the demon hunter pleaded. "It's not what you are thinking. Yes. It's a soulstone and it's Mephisto's soulstone if you must know. But I'm not here to free him. I'm here to tap into his powers so that we can defeat the lords of hell using their own powers! It's what I have been telling Brianna all along. Now I have finally found a way to do it!"

"You're out of your mind!" Cassie almost screamed. She could not believe what she was hearing. She understood now why her mother had said what she said. So it's confirmed now that this man in front of her is her father but he is lost. Lost to his own delusions. That explained her mother's sadness and her mother was right, she has to put an end to it. Before she could do anything an unexpected person came into the room.

"Cassie? Radvorris?" Ginny asked surprised by the scene in front of her. "What's going on?"

"Ginny!" Radvorris quickly called out. "Quick! Disable her! The soulstone has clouded her mind!"

Ginny eyes widened when she saw the soulstone in Cassie's hand. She brought her crossbow to bear.

"No! It's not me that's corrupted! It's him!" Cassie rebutted. That statement caused Ginny to pause.

"Don't listen to her!" Radvorris exclaimed. "It's Mephisto talking! Shoot!"

"Ginny, no! After all that we've gone through, do you not trust me?" Cassie said.

Ginny's finger tightened on the trigger but she's still unsure if she should pull. Seeing that her friend is torn, Cassie decided to act. She unleashed the electric bolt at Radvorris. Re-acting on reflex, Ginny fired. A bola shot rocketed towards Cassie and wrapped itself around her legs. Radvorris vaulted and dodged his electrocution. The bola shot exploded and Cassie crashed to the floor and became still.

Ginny quickly rushed to Cassie's side and checked her. She released a breath of relief after finding out that Cassie was only knocked unconscious and was not seriously hurt. Ginny then retrieved the soulstone from the floor.

"So this is what the cultists were after," Ginny said.

"Yes," Radvorris replied as he stood beside Ginny. "Now that we have it, it's time to finish this mission."

"I know where they are," Ginny said. She pocketed the soulstone and started to leave the room.

Just as she was about to walk out the doorway, she felt a heavy blow to the back of her head. The room spun and her vision started to cloud. As she fell to the floor, she saw Radvorris holding a club in his hands. She remembered that Radvorris was behind her. Then all fell into darkness.

Once Ginny was knocked out, Radvorris called out for his cultist to come and take her away. "Prepare her for the ritual," he ordered and then changed into a cultist's robe.

dah agak dahhhh

Keep it up guys got talent yo

fast shootkk i dah tension ni, updateeee!

The conclusion for the "No Light Without Darkness" story arc.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Comments please... tell me what you guys think, ok?



*****************


Ginny's head throbbed. She struggled to clear her mind. She then found out that she was unable to move. Both her hands and legs were bound. Slowly she opened her eyes. A dim orange glow filled her sight. Then she heard chanting. A cold breeze swept through and she felt the wind on her skin. That was when she realized that she was without any clothes.

As she focussed, she could see that she was tied in an upright position onto a crucifix. A few steps in front of her was a large vat set into the floor. There was a thick liquid in the vat and the putrid smell emanating from it told Ginny that it was blood. Her bare feet was touching a cold surface. It was marble. From her feet, a small niche ran a line towards the large vat of blood. Surrounding the vat were dozens of cultists in a circle. All of them seemed to be in a trance and chanting. Ginny realized that she was bound on a sacrificial altar. Ginny struggled against her bonds. It was no use. She could not free herself.

"Don't struggle. You won't be able to free yourself," she heard Radvorris' voice from behind her. He then stepped in front of Ginny.

"You!" Ginny spat in disgust. "Of all the people, why does it have to be you! I trusted you! You are supposed to be vanquishing demons, not joining them!"

"Ginny dear, you've got it all wrong," Radvorris said calmly. "I'm not joining them. I'm merely using their powers against their own kind. I shall have the power of a lord of the burning hells and with that I can defeat any demons that dare show their face here!"

"How? By unleashing one? This is madness! Stop it now!" Ginny tried to reason. "You yourself have seen firsthand what happened to the dark wanderer. There's no way you can hope to contain the evil!"

"That's where you're wrong," Radvorris countered. "It's not by chance that I chose Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. We demon hunters have dedicated our lives to controlling and using hatred to fight. We have fine tuned it down to an art. It's in our nature. Hatred fuels us. It's what makes us strong. Mephisto will only enhance my powers!"

"You are out of your mind!" Ginny yelled. "Even if you could control Mephisto it does not justify your massacre of a whole village!"

"To achieve great things, sacrifices are necessary," Radvorris replied. "The sacrifice of a few to save many. It's justified. Now, it's your turn to sacrifice for the good of the many," he continued and drew an ornate sacrificial dagger from his robes. "I've waited 20 years for this. Now the moment of my victory is at hand."

"Why? Why wait 20 years when you could have done the same back then? Why keep me alive when you've massacred all from my village?" Ginny asked, her heart pounding. She was near panic and there's little she could do bound up like this. She can only hope to stall him. Hopefully Cassie will wake in time to come to her aid. She regretted firing the shot at Cassie earlier. She should have trusted her. Ginny could only hope that she had not sealed her own fate.

"20 years ago, I did not succeed. I lacked one key ingredient," Radvorris said. "I was too naive then. I had spared you as I thought that you were too young back then. Little did I know that you are the key! You my dear, are the last of the Zakarum priests bloodline. It's your blood that will open the portal to the burning hells! To think that all this time I was searching for the key when it was right in front of me. The world works in such a mysterious way!"





Cassie shook her head to clear it. She pushed herself up from the floor. She was aching all over but she had to get to her feet. When she got up, she found that she was alone. Neither Ginny nor Radvorris was in sight. Then she felt it. The dark magic. It's presence was almost overwhelming. Cassie forced herself to move. She has to get to the source of it. There, she will find Ginny and Radvorris. She knew that Ginny was in grave danger and she had to get to her fast.

Racing through the complex, Cassie finally approached the source of the dark magic. In front of her, a light was coming from a chamber. She could hear the chanting inside. As she neared she could see the huge number of cultists gathered there. All of them are fixated at a small raised dias in the center of the chamber. There tied to a crucifix was Ginny. She was bare and standing in front of her was Radvorris, now in a cultist robe and a dagger in his hand. Cassie realized that Radvorris is about to perform a sacrifice and the sacrificial lamb was none other than Ginny. Cassie quickly recited a spell and activated it. Her skin began to crystalize and she morphed into a living crystal statue - the diamond skin spell. It would render her invulnerable for a very brief period of time. She hoped that in that time, she would be able to break through the ranks of cultist surrounding Ginny, reach her and somehow rescue her.

As she burst into the chamber, Cassie unleashed a barrage from her spectral blade spell. Blades made of arcane energy slashed out in front of Cassie. That attack dropped half a dozen cultists in front of her. It also alerted Radvorris to her presence. The cultists also re-acted, apart from the ones nearest to the dias, the rest of them broke from their chants and began to converge on Cassie drawing their weapons.

"Keep her at bay!" Radvorris ordered. "I need but a few seconds to complete this!" At the command, three of the cultists summoned forth the spirits of hell and transformed themselves into Dark Thralls and advanced on Cassie.

"Cassie!" Ginny called out. "Run! Get out of here! Tell the Demon Hunters that Radvorris had turned rogue! He's planning to unleash Mephisto!"

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Cassie yelled back unleashing barrage after barrage of her spectral blade attacks. It seemed that for every cultist that fell, three more would take his place. She was woefully outnumbered. What's worse the Dark Thralls are approaching fast. Cassie stretched her hands out in front of her. She knew that the diamond skin armor will not last long and she had to break through the waves of cultists fast. Cassie aimed her hands at the incoming thralls and unleashed an orange beam of energy that cuts through everything. The beam sliced through the bodies of the thralls and cultists alike. Anything caught in it simply disintegrated.

Just as Cassie managed to clear a path to the middle of the the chamber, Radvorris plunged the dagger into Ginny's chest.

"Kyaaaaa!!!!!!!" Ginny screamed in agony as the dagger dug deep into her chest and she became motionless.

"No!!" Cassie screamed, horrified that she was too late. The shock froze Cassie in her tracks and almost at once she was being held down by the cultists that swarmed around her.

Radvorris pulled the dagger out and blood began bleeding out of the wound. It trickled down Ginny's limp body to her legs and into the niche, following it to the vat. As it reached the vat, a small explosion was heard and a portal to the burning hells began to open up.

"Yes! It's working!" Radvorris exclaimed in ecstasy. He quickly recited a chant and tendrils of energy began streaming forth from the portal's opening and embedding themselves into Radvorris.

"Arrgghh!! Yes! I can feel the power!" Radvorris roared. "Yes! Yes!"

"No!" Cassie screamed again. Her diamond skin spell dissipated but Cassie recited another spell and arcane energy began coursing through her body. The energy burst forth and threw the cultists clear off her as she transformed into a being of pure energy - the archon. Cassie levitated off the ground and floated towards Radvorris who was absorbing all the hellish energy from the opened portal. As suddenly as the portal opened, it closed and Radvorris' source of energy was abruptly cut off.

"What?!" Radvorris yelled out in surprise. "The portal cannot be sustained?" He then cast an enraged look at Ginny's limp body. "The sacrificial blood is impure!" he yelled out anger. "No matter! I've got more than enough of Mephisto's power!" With that his eyes started to glow red. He began to transform. His hands turned into claws that are razor sharp and bony spikes began protruding from his spine.

Cassie closed the distance between her and Radvorris and fired a disintegration beam at him. Radvorris held out his palm to meet it. The beam hit but instead of disintegrating, Radvorris merely absorbed the beam.

"Hahahaha!" Radvorris laughed maniacally. "Do you think you can stop me with that?" He then slashed out at Cassie with his other hand. The claws ripped right through Cassie's archon energy and broke the spell. Cassie morphed back into flesh and blood and the claw ripped a gash at Cassie's waist. The blow caused Cassie to drop onto the floor at Ginny's feet. It also sapped most of Cassie's arcane energy. Radvorris' power was incredible. Not only was he able to withstand a disintegration beam, he could also hit and cause enough magical damage to break Cassie's archon spell. Cassie knew that she was absolutely no match for Radvorris.

Radvorris raised his claws for another strike at Cassie. He knew that she have no fight left in her. "Why? Why do you defy me?" Radvorris roared at Cassie, his voice filled with disappointment and hatred. "Like your mother, you too had no faith in me! I made all this sacrifice for the betterment of all mankind! All I ask in return was for a little love and understanding but she left me! And now, you too defy me! Die now!" Radvorris prepared to slash down onto Cassie in a killing blow. Just as he was about to strike a voice called out:

"Radvorris," a female voice came from behind Radvorris. "Come my love. Let's leave this place and live happily together."

Radvorris froze. He then turned slowly. There hovering over the vat of blood was a fiery apparition of a female figure. Moments before, as Cassie crashed onto the floor, the locket that was in the now ripped opened pouch fell out and scattered across the floor. It skittered and skip across the hard floor until it finally dropped into the vat of blood. A tongue of flame shot out from the vat, burning fiercely. After a few seconds the flames formed a female human figure. Both Cassie and Radvorris, caught up in the heat of battle, were not aware of this event. Now both Radvorris and Cassie stared incredulously at the fiery apparition.

"Brianna?" Radvorris asked. "Is that you?"

"Mom?" Cassie blurted.

"Yes, dearest Radvorris," the apparition continued. "It is I. Come with me and let us lead a happy life together."

"You.. you've finally forgiven me?" Radvorris asked as he stepped slowly nearer to the apparition.

"Yes. I forgive you. Now come to me," the apparition urged again. Radvorris stepped ever closer until he was standing just next to the fiery apparition. The apparition held its hands open and Radvorris walked right into it. As the fire engulfed Radvorris, another burst of flame sprouted from the vat and rose until it hit the ceiling. Then it disappeared, taking Radvorris with it.

Cassie had to force herself to act despite her confusion about what had actually taken place. She quickly checked on Ginny. She was hurt bad but she was still breathing. Looking at the still bleeding wound, Cassie knew if she did not get Ginny immediate medical aid, she will not make it. Cassie quickly untied Ginny and embraced her.

"Hang in there Ginny!" Cassie pleaded. "You can't just leave me like this! I won't allow you to die!" Cassie then summoned all of her remaining arcane energy and concentrated them into one teleport spell. Cassie will use up all of her arcane energy to attempt to teleport herself and Ginny to the last populated town that they had been through on the way here.

"I will save you or die trying!" Cassie said and started the teleport spell. Once she finished reciting the spell, both she and Ginny vanished from the chambers in a flash of light.




Cassie finally started to regain consciousness. She did not know how long it had been. She felt that she was drifting in an endless dark void and a dot of light appeared. She followed it and her eyes started to show a room. It was daylight again. Memories of the events in the tower flashed back and Cassie sat upright in a start. Her head started to spin and she felt dizzy and weak and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Whoa.. easy there," a strange voice came.

Cassie opened her eyes again and found herself looking into the face of a kindly old woman. She was smiling at her and tucking her back into bed. "Take it easy. You are hurt and should not be out of bed yet," she continued.

"Where's Ginny?" Cassie asked.

"You're referring to your friend I suppose," the old lady replied. Cassie just nodded.

"She was hurt pretty bad you know. The healer did all he could for her," the old lady continued and Cassie's heart sank at the comment. Tears started to well in her eyes. "Only time will tell if she will survive. She's still unconscious in the next room," the old lady finished.

Cassie let her tears flow and she cried. She felt relieved that Ginny was still alive and let her emotions flush out through her sobs and tears. She cried until she could not cry anymore.

Later in the day, Cassie went into Ginny's room. She laid there on the bed, her skin paler than Cassie had ever seen it. She looked fragile but her breathing was steady although shallow. Ginny was a fighter and Cassie knew that she will not give up easily. Cassie sat on the edge of her bed and took Ginny's hand into hers, cradling it gently.

"Thank God you're alive," Cassie said softly. "I wouldn't know what to do if you're gone."

A small tear formed at the corner of Ginny's eye, rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow unnoticed by Cassie.



No Light Without Darkness
THE END


**************

nouuuuuuuuuuu i demand another arc! MOAR!

C'mon lah Bee! Give some comments lah... dun just demand more stories.. LOL

At least tell me lah...

1. Did you like the story?

2. Did it make sense?

3. Any suggestions to improve?


As for the next arc... well... have to wait a bit lah... need to gather some ideas for a new storyline.. hehe...

overall id rate it around 6 to 7ish out of 10

its a good mark trust me, it aint LoTR lmao

making sense wise, id prefer it to be less formal, i mean most of us know how archon looks or sounds like, so basically i can skip the skill names xD other than that its all ok, small gripe about how the mother appeared and consumed her father thou, no explanation.

if only the battle AND fanservice scenes had more actions, it would had been awsm LOL

LOL! I know lah it's not LoTR.... if it was anywhere even remotely near that level of standard I would be charging you guys for reading it!

Thanks for the review. At least I know someone thinks it's ok. Haha. If not I just syoik sendiri..

As for the terms and all, well I'm catering for those who have little exposure to D3.. and as for the mother appearing.. it's call an 'applied phlebotinum' meaning I just pull something out of thin air and put that in. It's fiction so anything can happen.. LOL

More battle description and fanservice? ... OK.. Noted!

I have to chip in. I am a big fan of LotR...Tolkien is just mind blowing....a real fantasy world ....EPIC.

Your is pretty good. I sense your write similarly with D.Eddings style..just minus the dry humour. Would be better if you had add a bit of dry humour into it...

Othwise, I second Bee...A+ for effort...B for the stroyline. but A+++ for making it free to view..

Thank you!

Strangely enough I have never, ever read D.Eddings before even though I know that name. Haha. I think my style of writing have changed over time. Now it's all brief and skeletal like. Not much details - this is a drawback that I myself have noticed. Last time I'm really long-winded.. and I can bore myself with my writings.. hahahaha...

Thanks again for the review... I will try to come up with another arc... if I can string a plot-line together that is.. any ideas or suggestions on the plot?

hmmm, prolly a more closer bond for cassie and ginny(sexually, physically and emotionally LOL), maybe can add a temporary barbarian in that arc, something among the lines, as for what adventure, that one i havent rly figure out yet

Barbarian? Crap! I don't play barbarian so I have no idea as to their abilities.. and I also don't play WD... so anyone can enlighten me?

Closer bond? I'll say they are already very close... well probably they are closer in my mind cause I have already outlined them... We'll see.. haha