The Ball of Fire

Warriors of Transcendence, Part 63
 
The White Emperor spoke and his voice rolled throughout the great valley: “Soldiers, the battle is over. The last men of the Master of Transcendence are in our hands, lonely, weary and weak. Do not be impressed by their tricks, for their end is near. In a few single moments you shall be gathering their eternally disgraceful ashes”.
 
The White Emperor, as well as the Deathliners, knew that the Master of Transcendence himself was not trapped in the Valley of Silence, but what were they to do when their last men were to be turned to dust?
 
Seven white flames emerged from the Emperor’s staffs, and were fired towards the heart of the valley. They arrived right above the heads of the warriors, squirming and grasping tightly onto each other like serpents in a dance of death before attacking their helpless victim. Their forms reminded Ulu of the thin metal wires from the ‘Game of Thoughts’. This, therefore, was the ‘flame move.’ The whistle of the flames silenced all other sounds and swallowed up the cries of the trapped prisoners. The sharp sounds caused rocks from the valley slopes to split and roll down to the ground, where they crumbled and turned to dust.
 
“Sihara,” whispered Tzalaii, feeling the terrible heat.
 
But Sihara was still in the core of the Ohn Mountain, battling Khivia’s whispers.
 
The thin flames grabbed hold of each other until they turned into a ball of white fire. The ball rolled above the heads of the warriors, who could do nothing but stare in terror at their imminent death.
 
Suddenly, a new sound was heard in the distance; a cry emitted by thousands.
 
“The Essences of Soul Concentration!” whispered one of the warriors.
 
The flames slowed down, and the many soldiers stood motionless. Sharp strands of silver poured down from the sky, cascading like radiant rain, but not even one sword succeeded in piercing through the upper plane. Now a roar was heard: the neighing of the horses of fire burst forth like a jet of smoldering flames, erupting and blazing through everything in its midst. The ten Deathliners held their staffs in the air, firing shrieking black flames into the valley, grabbing onto the Emperors’ white flames and consuming the cascading silvery strands.
 
The dance of black flames turned the white flames into a red, blinding ball that slowly approached the squirming Warriors of Transcendence.
 
“They are surely not expending so much strength merely to annihilate a few lone warriors here in the valley…” thought Ulu, prostrate on the ground like a fallen leaf, the red death reflected in his eyes. “They are trying to draw the Master of Transcendence here, to rescue us.”

“No one may touch my warriors!” spoke a voice so confident, simple and clear.
 
It was impossible to understand how it was even heard among the shrieking flames. The White Emperor halted, as though his horse, too, had understood the man’s words. “You have no existence in the Simple One. Your eyes are dead, your kingdom demolished, your Shadows crumbling to thin dust.”
 
His words split minds and settled in hearts, leaving no room for doubt or objection. The Emperor raised his hands in defense, and the flames emerging from his staff dimmed and moved heavily. But then an enormous, terrifying horse of fire marched forward, and its dark rider shattered the powerful words as he spoke: “We are not impressed by your words,” called out Ukhma, the thousandth leader of the Deathliners. “Reveal yourself, emerge from your hiding place.”
 
The red ball of fire ascended to the heavens, as though observing from above, searching for the source of the voice. The Warriors of Transcendence crawled over each other and collapsed near the Transparent Ones, gazing at the red skies. A ball of light appeared in the south. Was it the Master of Transcendence? The glowing ball produced many shades of white and moved at a rapid pace. It approached the united flames of the Emperors and the Deathliners, and began to circle around them.
 
For a moment it seemed like a playful game between two kittens, rather than a fateful struggle. In a single motion, the ball of light invaded all three planes, touched the valley ground and chilled the wall for the warriors. It then ascended to the upper plane, surrounded the red ball of fire and distanced it from the valley.
 
“He is trying to stall us,” shouted the White Emperor, after he recovered from the surprise. He raised his staff as a sign to charge, and thousands of horsemen began galloping towards the valley.
 
“Keep and protect your world, and be kind unto us,” pleaded Ulu’s disciples, each in their own way, and in their usual place of Unification.
 
“Increase the light and rid us of the darkness, give us strength to grow and illuminate the world, Transcendor.”
 
The Towered City was empty of inhabitants. In the early morning hours, the Shadows and Obliterators left for the Valley of Silence, accompanied by those loyal to the Emperors, who were devoted to their masters in servitude. The thousands of remaining Tower Soldiers, the descendants of the Obliterators and of the Emperors who served their masters thoughtlessly, suddenly felt a sense of discomfort and foreignness.
 
“I’m leaving”, each one said in his heart, and without thinking, removed his cape and left the City.
 
By afternoon, the Tower had been completely abandoned, not one person remained. This caused the walls of the City to crack and the levels to begin collapsing. Masses of surprised onlookers pointed to the top of the Tower, which was slowly sinking, and to the fire which was slowly dimming. Great clouds of dust arose from the ground, concealing the devastation. The Tower continued to crumble until it turned into a huge mountain of rubble, completely burying the fields of the Fruits of Oblivion.
 
“Will they kill us?” Sage asked his father, as the balls of fire and light continued struggling in the distance, high above them, and the soldiers continued descending the slopes.
 
Ulu looked him straight in the eye and replied simply: “They may.”
 
Sage clung to him, trembling with fear. “Aren’t you afraid, father?”
 
“No,” answered Ulu. “I’m not afraid. I just grieve for all of the helpless people…the villagers….the small children…”
 
“And Mother and the girls”, added Sage.
 
Ulu nodded. “Mother knows what she must do. She faces fewer dangers than the other families do. There are so many people who know nothing of the dangers lurking. I yearned to teach them the ways to summon the help of the Transcendor, to tell them about the Master of Transcendence and to teach them the tricks of war. But now, with all of us trapped here, who can help them?”
 
“No one can,” said Sage, “and if we are not freed, the Emperors shall prevail.”
 
“No,” said Ulu. “No, Sage. Even if we all die, others shall continue our task. The Transcendor will ensure that evil will disappear and that good shall prevail, whatever may be.”
 
The red ball of fire weakened, and its burning fire began to fade. Ukhma was the first to notice this, and his face flooded with outrage and anger.
 
“Khivia has surrendered! The Tower has collapsed!” he hollered to the Emperors. “We are the only ones remaining, and we must complete our task!”
 
The Emperors froze in place as though they were struck by lightning. They looked behind them in search of the soaring flame of the Tower, but the horizon was empty, the Tower gone…

The soldiers that awaited an order looked at the Emperors, turning their gaze backwards as well. When they discovered that the Tower was no longer soaring in the distance, they began to wail. They were enveloped with fear, their hands weakened and their weapons fell to the ground.

“Attack them!” commanded Ukhma. “If you don’t destroy the warriors in the valley, I shall send my fire ball after them! Go now, before I send it after you!”
 
Only few soldiers heard his roaring command and realized its significance. They gathered their weapons and aimed them at the group of warriors crouched behind the small rock. Ukhma aimed the fireball, which was by now much smaller and dimmer, straight at Sage.
 
“The world has been saved! Sihara has fulfilled her mission!” exclaimed Ulu, who had understood the significance of what had transpired.
 
A smile illuminated his weary eyes and smoothed out all of the creases in his face. “Now we may all die with joy in our hearts. We have fulfilled our destiny.”
 
Just then a sound was heard, like a short whistle, which halted the battle in the valley and drowned out all of the voices. The ball of fire disappeared, and the thousands of horsemen collapsed to the ground. The White Emperor took one last look at his body- His white clothing had become gray. The bodies of bloody WireArchers were strewn around him in great numbers, and the Emperor was unable to fathom how they had been killed. Horses with no riders leaped wildly and roared. The Deathliners shrieked in pain, and Ukhma squirmed as though struck by invisible whips of fire.
 
The radiance in the sky disappeared, and the ball of light hung above the Warriors of Transcendence and caressed their agonized faces like a father caressing his only son.
 
While diving into the terrifying darkness that had no name, the White Emperor understood: Khivia had passed from the world. 
 
To be continued.
 

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