"We can't fight this thing!" Meg decided and dragged me by the arm. "We have to go help evacuate the civilians. That should be our priority. This camp is not going to be standing after all this is over."
The civilian shelter was all the way on the other side of the camp.
"You are right. But we have to move quickly…or there would be nothing left to rescue."
Meanwhile, above us, the Harbinger loomed, literally covering the whole camp, now engaged in battle with the higher-ups.
They looked like tiny flies around the angry cloud, firing lightning attacks, fire balls and lasers but they might have as well been fighting the sky itself.
After each attack, the Harbinger shifted its form back into place almost immediately, like a wound covering itself.
But on the bright side, the tornadoes were now gone for some reason. Maybe the Harbinger couldn't focus on controlling them while being engaged in battle.
But despite the fact that the tornadoes were gone, it was still pretty windy in the camp. Windy enough to tear off roofs and fall trees.
In the mix of higher-ups, I spotted Bloodfang, looking like a crazed lightning god, his eyes glowing bright white and his entire body crackling with electricity.
He sent a massive bolt of electricity at the Harbinger, a blast so powerful I could literally feel the hair on my head rising.
"Damn, Bloodfang really could have killed you back then if he was actually trying to." Meg muttered as we ran.
"His punches still stung like crazy though." I grumbled. I still had his massive fist imprints on my chest.
The Harbinger roared in pain and swept a massive arm across the camp, toppling buildings and snapping cables like it was its personal playground.
A gust of wind from the attack sent Meg and I flying forward into the side of a building.
Across the entire landscape, shockwave-like winds began emitting from the Harbinger, like a transmitter sending out signals.
Each wave was devastating to the camp—toppling buildings, throwing vehicles, rocks and people.
The Harbinger was like a bomb going off repeatedly at the center of the camp.
If this went on for another twenty minutes, there really would be nothing left of the camp.
The higher-ups were giving it their all but there was only so much they could do against a Harbinger.
Another of Bloodfang's attacks rocked the entire sky, but the Harbinger fixed itself back almost immediately, clouding gathering back to form a horrible misshapen head.
Meg got up shakily, the side of her head bleeding, "You can't fight the Harbinger, you gremlin."
"But I didn't-"
"Sorry." She winced and held her head, "I read your mind. Besides, what exactly are you gonna do? Punch the clouds?"
"That was not… and take permission before you peek inside my head!" I grumbled, knowing fully well she wouldn't listen.
I dragged her behind a half collapsed wall—a temporary shield against the pulsating winds— and unslung my backpack.
Thankfully I'd packed up some first aid supplies before our mission to kidnap Scuria.
"It's just a bruise, thank God. I'm just going to clean it with antiseptic so don't cry." I told Meg.
"I'm not gonna cry."
After I cleaned the bruise, I tied bandages around her head like a headband.
Around us, the wind kept whoring. The wall we were hiding behind started creaking in protest.
"Hey, can you stand?" I asked, trying not to sound too urgent.
Meg pouted, "Carry me?"
"You are so pathetic." I murmured but I crouched and let her climb my back, piggyback style.
As soon as I left that spot, the wall behind us crashed. If we had stayed there a second longer, we could have been flattened.
"That was close!" Meg yelped.
Now exposed to the storm again, we had no choice but to keep moving.
I tried running but the wind kept slapping me from every direction making me sway drunkenly. We were just halfway through to our destination.
Each step felt less like running and more like fighting the air itself.
Then the wind changed.
Instead of blowing outwards—it started pulling. Suddenly it felt like I was standing in front of the world's largest vacuum cleaner.
I tried to push forward and failed.
"Argh, I can't move any step further!" I yelled in frustration.
"I'm really not that heavy!" Meg said.
"It's not that. I feel like we are being sucked backwards."
I knew if I missed a step I'd go flying straight towards the Harbinger.
"Meg…" I strained, trying to bend lower in a desperate attempt to avoid the worst of the wind. "You are going to need to hang tight."
She wrapped her legs around my waist and said, "Just a little furt–" she paused abruptly.
"What? What's wrong?"
"You need to get the hell out of here. Like right now." She said with a new urgency in her voice.
"What are you–?"
"Look out!" Meg screamed
I looked up to see a broken piece of a concrete wall hurling straight towards my face.
I couldn't duck fast enough. I knew if I tried to duck now it would hit Meg instead.
So instead I crossed my hands over my face and braced myself, hoping to shield Meg from the worst of the attack.
I underestimated how fast the debris was flying towards me.
It smacked me hard, shattering on impact and in that moment I lost my footing and the storm sucked us in.
Straight towards the Harbinger.
"Meg! Hang on tight!" I yelled as we spun around roughly in the air among dangerous pieces of debris.
Meg locked her hand tightly across my chest and spoke in my ear, "You don't get it, do you? The Harbinger…it wants you."
We were now airborne, climbing higher and higher.
Through the haze of dust, rain and cloud, I saw the Harbinger looking directly down at me, a smoky arm outstretched to me.
I was being summoned.
The wind carried us, zipping us straight through the surrounding storm clouds and then… we were face to face with the Harbinger, floating in place above its open palm.
To the Harbinger, we were no bigger than gnats.
A looming clouding entity of overwhelming presence.
At that moment, I felt so small, so insignificant, so fragile.
The power was overwhelmingly crushing.
And the dark presence inside me was reacting to it, trying to take control of me again—something that hadn't happened in a long time.
The only thing that was somehow keeping me from going insane from fright was Meg's arms, still holding me tightly.
Her warmth reminded me there was still something worth fighting for.
No matter the adversary.
Strangely, the air around the Harbinger was relatively peaceful compared to the chaos going on down in the camp.
And then, it spoke.
Inside my mind, just like the Scokytocles.
And it spoke in that same foreign ancient language which of course I understood for some reason.
So it's you. The Harbinger boomed in my head, The human that could resist our poison.
Pain exploded in my head, a thousand times worse than the time I fought the Scokytocles.
"Hey fart face!" Meg screamed, somehow finding her voice. "Let him go!"
Is this the girlfriend? The Harbinger teased.
A blast of harsh wind separated us, yanking Meg away from me
I have no use of her…at least not yet.
With a flick of its hand, an invisible force threw Meg down a hundred feet below us, out of sight.
My anger exploded but I was held firmly in place
"MEEEEEEEEEG!" I managed through gritted teeth.
I wanted to dive after her but I was helpless on the palm of the Harbinger.
Now, the Harbinger boomed, fight for me.
I stood no chance. The dark presence inside me surged up and for the first time in a very long time, I completely lost control of my body.
My muscles tightened and my countenance darkened.
I was forced into backseat of my own body again.
You were never completely invulnerable, you were just a little tougher than the usual human. The Harbinger teased.
My mouth opened on its own, saying, "Praise be to Vorthul The Infinite."
"Praise be." The Harbinger responded, actually speaking physically for the first time, "Now, go. Wrestle the other one. Whoever comes out victorious, shall be the chosen."
The Harbinger flicked a finger, sending me back down to the camp at an extreme speed.
In seconds, I crash landed back in the staff quarters…or what was left of it.
Most of the houses there had been blown off, leaving wooden remnants of a home.
The dark presence prodded me, making my legs march on their own, a single purpose in my corrupted mind.
I marched towards a deserted looking house, but from the noises coming from within, I could tell there was a commotion going on.
I walked inside and saw Hylla and Brody engaged in combat with Hylla's lover, Vector.
Hylla had him in a headlock while Brody was raining punches on his belly.
On any other occasion that would have been a beautiful sight but now, dread filled me.
Vektor's eyes were pure black…just like mine.
He was truly a Hollowbound.
When Brody saw me approaching, he beamed.
"You are alive! Now come help us restrain this pu–"
"Brody, wait!" Hylla yelled, "His eyes–"
I pulled my fist back, ready to punch Brody…again.
But he was ready this time. He caught my fist in his hand easily and grinned, almost evilly, "I'm not going to let you take me down as easily as you did before, Zeph."
What he didn't know was that he was not my target this time.
No.
My target was Vektor.
A fight to the death.
A wrestle for the chosen.