Broken Seal

NARRATOR NOTE//: Hey everyone! Been quite a fucking while, huh? Well, if you read the last chapter when it came out that is.

So, what the fuck happened to me? There's one simple answer.

I got fucking ruined by life.

I was hospitalised like three days after the previous chapter dropped because I got hit by a car, and I was in for three weeks, but that wasn't the last of it. I had to do some physical therapy because of the damage my legs took, and being 6'7", that was a bastard of an undertaking.

However, as of now, I'm back to walking normally, and I think my reflexes around cars have gotten slightly better, but now I'm back, and hopefully I an get back to the pace I was at.

I want to thank everyone who has waited for this new (and admittedly short) chapter, and I also want to welcome and thank all the new readers who have liked, followed, and commented.

I hope you all enjoy, and I shall hopefully see you again next week! - JZ

"Clarva!" Musha says as she quickly stops beside the half-giant. "What's wrong?!"

"Damned concussion." Clarva grunts out as her head starts to feel like it's underwater.

"Shit! Here I thought your skull was thick enough to deal with it." Musha turns toward Hilfa, who stands still, practically beckoning for Musha to charge. "I'll take her on. You stay here."

Musha, proud advisor to the Queen walks forward, club at the ready as she stares down the biggest pain in the ass that she could ever imagine.

"Don't worry, Musha, I'll be sure to not surprise you with my magic this time. I want to make sure that I feel your bones being crushed under my boot while you're still alive enough to beg for mercy."

"Gods, please shut up!" Musha shouts as she swings her club.

Hilfa leans her head back, dodging the first swing before quickly having to lunge back to avoid the rapid follow-up swing aimed for her right side.

"Quite a flurry, but it's my turn now." Stone spikes form in Hilfa's hands before she begins swinging like a mad woman.

The spikes barely miss Musha's skin as the Queen's loyal advisor starts to back up, stunned at the sudden burst of speed from the mage. Musha assumes that Hilfa won't be able to keep up said speed for much longer, but with Hilfa's transformation, Musha isn't quite sure much of her knowledge of Hilfa still holds up.

On the floor, Clarva looks at the fight going on ahead. She watches as Musha is scratched by the spikes Hilfa is swinging around, but Musha's face doesn't even show an ounce of pain.

"Idiot is going to get herself killed. C'mon, me, get your big ass up." Clarva mutters to herself as she slowly makes her way back up to her feet.

Clarva's head swirls, the concussion seemingly becoming worse even after taking her brief break. Her footing is unsteady to put it very mildly, and the urge to vomit is very prominent, but Clarva tries to push both of those aside to continue on with the task at hand.

Slow step after slow step, Clarva trudges forward, fighting the urge to just fall back down. She looks at Hilfa, who has her back towards the half-giant, seeing that Musha is thankfully keeping Hilfa occupied for the time being.

"Just... gotta... move..." Clarva whispers to herself, swaying from left to right, focusing on her hate for Hilfa, using it as a motivator to keep moving forward.

Clarva gets a little boost from nearly tipping forward, getting three quick steps in succession before back to her staggering ways, but she is still getting closer.

Finally, Clarva gets within thirty feet of Hilfa, but in Clarva's concussed mind, it may as well be three hundred. Luckily, Clarva knows she's somewhat close, and so, she calls summons her right shield as she takes a couple more steps.

Hilfa is just hammering down on a defending Musha, the latter of which is showing more battle wounds caused by Hilfa's spikes. Musha can see Clarva is coming towards herself, or more specifically, Hilfa, and Musha begins to pray that Clarva doesn't get her ass handed to her.

Clarva starts seeing three Hilfa's, and while Clarva doesn't know when the other two appeared, she's just gonna try to hit the one in the middle.

The large shield is swung with a bit less **** than usual, but certainly enough to do some damage to pretty much any opponent. However, Hilfa is no longer just any opponent as she stops the shield with just one arm.

"Pity. I thought you would have actually saved her. How wrong I was." Hilfa says before pulling Clarva towards her, and as Clarva gets within range, Hilfa hits Clarva with a massive headbutt.

The sound of stone-hardened skin clashing into an unprotected skull is sickening, and if Clarva's concussion was only a minor one, it's certainly upgraded to a major one now.

Clarva's vision is all completely blurry, and all sound in her ears is replaced by warbled drones as her body moves back seemingly by itself. Her mind feels like it's one with the rushing tides of the sea, her feet feel held down by mountains, and her body feels chained to the world itself.

Clarva tries to look forward, but even with her vision all kinds of fucked up, she still sees the outline of Hilfa, and it begins getting bigger, or rather, it's getting closer.

A quick strike is thrown at Clarva, rocking her jaw and causing her head to recoil back. Somehow resisting the urge to throw up, Clarva tries to get into something resembling a defensive stance before putting up her guard.

"Back in my old body, my strikes would have little to zero effect on you, but now? I'm even stronger than all the so-called regular giants. It's funny how things work like that." Hilfa says before sending her fist into Clarva's stomach.

If the jab to Clarva's jaw wasn't enough to make the half-giant throw-up, then the shot to her abdomen was the key to doing just that as Clarva immediately dropped to her knees before spewing blood onto the volcanic stone below.

Oxygen has never seemed so hard to get, but Clarva can barely get an iota of air into her lungs as the gasps escaping her mouth signal how weak she feels.

"Shit! My stomach and lungs feel like they're on gods-damned fire! C'mon Clarva, fucking do someth-."

A knee to the face stops Clarva's internal self-motivation and leaves her sprawled out of the ground. Blood seeps into Clarva's mouth from her freshly broken nose, giving Clarva the taste of iron to focus on, so she doesn't pass out from everything she's been hit with.

Clarva's eyes are just barely open, so much so that you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that she was sleeping. However, something deep within Clarva is refusing to let her fall into that sleep or coma, it's a coin toss as to which it would be.

The rumbles of Hilfa's footsteps seem to be moving away from Clarva, but even with Hilfa moving away, Clarva doesn't want to rest for even a second as she knows how quickly Hilfa can dispatch of her opposition. Clarva's foggy mind then turns to Karray, thinking about how she and the others are still trapped in that dome. She worries if they're still alive, but doesn't allow herself to get too far into the mindset of the other side of that equation.

Clarva starts thinking of a new plan, help free the others from the dome. She's clearly in no condition to fight, but still makes quite the punching bag if her ally needs a breather.

Clarva lazily looks to her right, looking over at the blurred visage of the dome, wondering where she should strike in order to free her friends. Her first idea is the top of the dome, but she fears that'd end up injuring those inside due to the debris falling.

Unfortunately for Clarva, the pain combined with the swirling feeling in her head is making any more planning almost an impossibility, but as she holds her head, trying to keep it from falling apart like a cracked egg, she sees the dome is almost... shaking.

INSIDE THE DOME:

"How much longer is it going to be?! We have to get back out there!" Karray asks, her face and voice showing a mixture of anger and annoyance.

"Listen pixie! The dome is made completely of stone, and Terra's weak from stopping it nearly crushing us whole! So, we're doing the best we can here!" Kyuala barks back as she continues swinging her axe into the wall which has been significantly chipped away.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be any more help." Terra says weakly on the floor, leaning her head on Amilia's shoulder.

Amilia, who's trying to her hardest to not let her heart explode, brushes some hair away from Terra's face. "Shut that shit up, T. We're alive cause of you. Hells, we should be kneeling at your feet, and thanking you right now."

Terra lets out a faint chuckle. "As much as the thought of that visual amuses me, I don't think now is the best of times."

"Well, don't worry. When we get outta here, I'll be sure to get on my knees and thank you every day." Amilia adds a wink at the end, making Terra laugh a little more.

"John, are you alright?" Lani asks as John tries bashing the bottom of his sword against the stone.

John stops for a second to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Well, considering we've been getting our asses kicked by a giant, and now we're trapped in a stone ball with limited air, I'm feeling fantastic."

"We won't be trapped for long!" Kyuala says before lodging her axe into the wall, and as she pulls it back out, they can see light from outside. However, there's one small issue.

"Well, Ky, I dunno how you plan to get through a hole that's thinner than a dwarf's dick, but I'm excited to see you try." Amilia jokes upon seeing the hole in question.

"We don't need to." Kyuala says before gesturing towards Karray who immediately understands the implication.

"Alright, I'll go get C, and get you guys outta here! Be back in a flash!" Karray then zips out of the dome as fast as she can, and immediately after exiting, her eyes find the prone and bloodied Clarva.

"CLARVA!" Karray calls out as she flies faster than she's flown before, quickly landing on her friends chest before rushing up to her chest, which is thankfully still moving with faint breaths.

"Clarva! Clarva, can you hear me?!" Karray frantically asks as she slaps Clarva's quickly bruising cheeks, trying to get the half-giant to stir.

Strained groans can be heard from Clarva as she slowly turns her head to look at Karray, and the pixie lets out a relieved breath. "C! Thank fuck you're awake! Listen, we need to get the others out of that dome now!"

Another low strained groan is heard from Clarva, attempting to give some sort of answer, but her barely open eyes show the immense pain she's currently in right now.

Karray can see the pain her best friend is in, and she doesn't want to push any more after seeing how much pain Clarva is having to endure, but they can't rest now.

"Okay, listen! I have a-" A large crashing interrupts Karray, causing the pixie to look back to see what's happened.

The remnants of a stone wall remain as Musha lies on the other side, groaning in agony as blood behind pouring down her face. Musha looks to see her club on the floor, just barely out of her reach.

"It is commendable how well you've held up until now. The Queen used to love talking about your combat prowess whenever one of us would make a comment, but I always thought she was blowing smoke up your skirt since your head is perpetually up hers."

Hilfa walks over to the club and picks it up. "Such basic weaponry. You'd think we would have evolved past such meagre means, but alas, the old guard were stubborn in their ways. If us mages were in charge, we would be the most dominant power in the world. I mean, just look at how much the world has drastically changed since the smaller races took charge and embraced their powers."

"If you're going to keep talking, just do me the mercy of killing me already." Musha then spits, making sure some of her blood landed on Hilfa's face.

Hilfa chuckles as she wipes her face. "Oh, not quite yet, there is something I have to do first." Hilfa then raises her arm, creating another spike before plunging it into Musha's side, forcing the giant to roar in sheer agony.

Karray quickly turns back to Clarva. "Change of plans! You need to get up right now, cause we gotta save Mushy!"

Karray flies up, expecting Clarva to be getting up right behind her, but the half-giant hasn't moved an inch.

"C?! What are you doing?! We gotta help her!"

Clarva looks at Karray, and the pixie sees the look in her eyes, a pained look only she has seen before. Karray knows what it means, and it breaks her heart.

"C, I know you're scared, but listen to me, we have to help her. I know you swore that you would never do it again, but she needs you, they need you... I need you! So, please... save us."

A tear streams down Karray's face after that last part, unable to contain her voice from cracking as she pleaded for her best friend to do something that Clarva never wanted to do again.

Clarva looks at the crying visage of her best, and for a long time, her only friend, and it spurs some powerful memories within.

"Get away from her!" A younger Clarva's voice rings out in the current Clarva's mind.

A muffled voice responds, but the anger that Clarva felt in the moment is still as prevalent. A large roar follows soon after, and there's something that forms in the pit of Clarva's heart.

The something beats, pulsates, swirls, rumbles, all different sorts of feelings happen all at once, and it's impossible to ignore. Clarva's pain begins to slowly fade away, but not because she is healing, no, the something that's formed within Clarva is so powerful, that the pain from her fights against Hilfa is small, minute, almost non-existent at this point.

Clarva closes her eyes, and begins to focus on the only feeling that remains, the concussion.

The swirling feeling that's akin to being on a frail boat on rough seas. The feeling of being strapped to a chair in a tornado. The pain might be away, but that damned dizziness and sickness won't leave her.

"YOU HURT MY FRIEND!" A younger Clarva calls out, another memory full of pain and suffering that echoes over again and again.

As her heart beats, pulsing with life, those words repeat within Clarva's head like a mocking mantra that burns hotter with each replay.

The words get faster, their intent becoming more searing, and the pain from her wounds comes crashing back, giving Clarva a jolt like she's been struck by lightning.

All the pain, suffering, anger, every ounce of negative emotion has reached the boiling point, and it's triggered something deep within.

Clarva's eyes shoot open, and that something has finally awoken.