Chapter 20: Edgar's Revenge --------------------------- Edgar looked at the group whom he had helped. Strong, proud warriors. But Edgar was no longer that. He was more and he wasn't a part of these adventurers. For the first time in his life, he felt very, VERY old. "Hey Ed, come over here by the fire," Celes shouted over. Edgar stared back, a solitary tear running from his eye. He could never live with people again. "Friends... I must go now. My life was not meant to be one with yours. I have something I must finish." Celes stared at him and said, "You aren't going after Takar, are you?" "I never could lie to you, Celes," said Edgar, walking towards her. "Goodbye. Remember me as I was... before..." Edgar clutched the Orb and spoke, "Warp." *** Edgar appeared in a hallway filled with mockeries of life. Demons twisted beyond human imagination. But Edgar was no longer human. When he struck down the Shape-Shifter, he absorbed part of its power. A remnant of Takar's blood power. Edgar's body oozed and became a grotesquity. "Makras! Pinok!" The demons scurried away, as Edgar ordered them to move or die. He strode down the hallway and grabbed a lone demon. "Charm." "Tell me where Takar is." "He is in the Throne Room, master." The demon was quivering in terror. "Kill any demon you see." Edgar spoke Warp again and found himself in the Throne Room. *** "Hello, Edgar," said Sithon, staring at the pitiful human. He stroked a child's skull. "Monster. I shall destroy you!" Edgar drew the Orb. "Merton!" A wave of fire destroyed the throne and punched a huge hole in the wall. Sithon stood floating in the air. "I am invincible. I am impervious to Fire. I will not kill you, Edgar. I need a new throne. You will gather for me the children's skulls. You will kill them each with your bare hands before their parents. I will corrupt you so far into Shadow..." "Silence, Demon! I carry within me the mean of your destruction!" Edgar fingered the Orb, preparing his final maneuver. "Ha. What are you going to try? I am too strong. Attack at will, boy." Edgar searched through his memories during the time Takar had possessed him. "Ima soru." Edgar and Takar disappeared from the Earthly dimension, leaving Sithon alone in the throne. *** The room was a swirling field of energy. Flashes of light filled the sky, and only Takar and Edgar were there, floating, in the vacuum. "You are stronger than I thought, boy. But I am a Magi." "You are nothing. I am everything you have ever been and more. I WILL destroy you. For everything on Earth, you WILL NOT RETURN!" "Very well, let us do battle." Edgar's and Livouf's magical selves floated from their bodies and stared off. Edgar's soul was a crimson red, but Takar's was blacker than pure shadow. It would have brought tears to the hardest heart to watch the battle. Edgar fought with the strength of one hundred men, slashing, hacking, and battling his way forward. Takar was weak. He had been a parasite, but he had not praticed magic in a long time. Edgar was winning. He had sent Takar back great distances, only sustaining a few blows himself. But then Takar struck. He blasted Edgar's physical form with Merton, leaving Edgar stranded out of his body. "NOOO!!!!!!!" screamed Edgar. He dove into Takar's body and they both exploded in a flash of light.