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The 13th chapter of the Illian series is here at last. Warning: This chapter has some extreme violence, so prepare yourself if needed. If you happen to be under 18 and you are reading this....uhh...good luck explaining this to your parents.

Two months after leaving Terin, Markus and the rest of his companions had finally ventured halfway across Illian and were now settled on a large hill that faced the Great Scar. As mentioned in The Book of Chrono, the Great Scar was a large streak of land that was formed after Sillen and Uru laid waste to the lush plains the humans inhabited. In this day and age however, the Great Scar refuses to let anything flourish for fear that it will all be destroyed once again.

In their two months of venturing with Markus; Oz, Cyn and Eon had noticed that the Augment was drastically changing Markus, and not for the better. While he still retained some of his bright and joyous mood, it was now common to see him sitting alone in the dark, fighting every moment for control over his body. With this struggle came sudden bursts of rage or momentary sickness that only caused more worry in the others, especially Kia. For while everyone else was concerned, Kia was growing frightful because she alone had seen the damage done by Valecruiz and the powers the Void gave him.

On the hill they inhabited for the moment, Markus and Kia sat together on a large log that had been the remains of a dead tree. Oz sat on a large boulder that stood as the crown of the hill, whereas Cyn was, as usual, nowhere to be found. Eon was currently sitting up in a large pine tree that stood on top of the hill and using his SecondSight to scout for any enemies like Markus had asked him to do. After about half an hour of searching, Eon stopped searching and shouted down to Markus and the others "The whole place is clear for about 10 miles except for a small band of Malar Shade Squad members making camp just east of a collection of opposing hills, one of which has a large cave mouth."

Knowing the cave Eon was talking about was the cave they had been searching for, Markus got up, summoned Vice and Blaze and said to everyone "All right, I'll take care of our little bat friends on the ground. When I give the okay, you all can come down and we'll make our way to the cave."

Giving a loud draconic snort, Oz just laid down on the boulder and replied "Markus, you've got to stop taking these dangerous chances, remember you're going to have a child that you need to raise."

With a tone of anger no one expected from him, Markus released a large snarl and snapped back "Old man, I may not even have that long left. Just please, let me live out MY life before the Augment steals everything I have. Please Oz, out of our four years of being friends, GIVE ME THAT!!"

Now filled with absolute shock, no one spoke, allowing the nearby crickets sing out their harmonic tune. Leaving the effect he had desired, Markus turned around so that he was facing the Great Scar, ran and jumped off the large hill. Regaining his composure, Oz just lightly whispered to himself "Markus...how much about this Augment are you hiding from us?" Now unsettled by Markus's outburst, Oz just stood up, released his mighty broodling wings and took off, heading towards the vast mountains of Rea. Within a few minutes, he reached the small meadow that he had been seeking, only to find that once again, Cyn had beaten him there.

As he landed and folded his wings, Oz smiled and greeted his mate by saying "I can't wait till I can actually beat you to our meeting places."

Now Cyn just looked down at him and gave him a deep kiss, afterwards replying with "Patience, my little Oz, in due time, you may just learn to break that broodling shell." After saying this, Cyn bent down once again and gave Oz another passionate kiss and even began nudging him with her head, signaling that she wanted him.

As he broke the kiss, Oz just laughed and said "What is up with you lately? You've been hornier than a group of bunnies on aphrodisiacs. Alright, I'll play your little game, but we have to make it quick, Markus is acting funny again." While he said this, Oz had even begun removing the brown pants he had been wearing that morning. As the pants slid down, Cyn got a good look at the all too familiar broodling manhood hidden in its draconic sheath. However, within moments she began noticing that his manhood was slowly starting to peak out, almost like a baby chick in its first moments of life.

Knowing he had gotten her hint, Cyn just smiled and transformed into her broodling form so that she wouldn't kill Oz as they mated. When she was finished, she was completely nude, allowing the two to go at it much quicker. First, Cyn advanced towards Oz, when she had gotten up to him, she once again engaged him in a long, passionate kiss. Just moments afterwards, Oz picked up her legs, and allowed her to lock them in place around his back. Then he spotted a nearby tree and gently pinned Cyn to the tree by her back. By this point, Oz's manhood was fully erect and ready to go, and to prove it Oz placed the tip of it right in front of Cyn's perfect sex and said "Hold your breath." With this, Oz pushed his way through the entrance of her sex, causing Cyn to let out a surprised gasp. At this, Oz just laughed and said "See, I told you so."

Now that he was well inside the dragoness, Oz wasted no time in pleasuring the both of them. What started out as soft rocking motions began fast pummels, almost like a battering ram feverously trying to break down a castle gate. With the pleasure magnifying, Cyn tried reaching for things to hold on to, and then she remembered 'I'm pinned to a tree!!' At this realization, she placed her arms behind her and grabbed for the tree, and when she had it firmly in place, she began clawing at it in time with each of Oz's strokes. To ensure that this would end soon, Oz released his fork-like dragon tongue and began using it to gently flick at Cyn's nearly hardened nipples. With each flick brought unimaginable amounts of pleasure to Cyn, until finally she could no longer hold it. Knowing she was about to hit climax, she released her grip on the tree and wrapped her arms around Oz's neck. From that point she began shoving his manhood deeper inside of her sex faster and harder, until finally, the two of them released their fluids. When they were fully rested, Cyn tried to force his manhood into her sex again, but Oz shook his head, signaling that he was serious when he had said that it needed to be quick. With a large sigh, she transformed back into her large, draconic body as Oz put his pants back on. When they were finished, Cyn just asked "How bad is Markus?"

Now Oz just frowned as replied "He's in much more trouble than either one of us could have ever foreseen. We have to get to him quickly before the others are injured."

****

As he jumped off the large hill, Markus had unsummoned Vice and Blaze, rolled his body into the shape of a ball and began spinning himself in a forward motion. Just as he had expected, when his body hit the ground, instead of splattering on the ground, his body had gained so much momentum that he had started drilling into the grass and mud. Once he had stopped spinning, Markus uncurled his body and cleaned his white coat of all traces of dirt. Now that he had successfully reached the ground, Markus resummoned Vice and Blaze and headed towards the Malar Shade Squad camp. As he advanced towards it, he could feel Valecruiz pushing his way forward, hoping to surface and revel in the deaths of the vampires. Because Markus also shared the need to kill, he furiously fought back until finally, he felt Valecruiz surprisingly give up and recede. With the battle of his mind won, Markus decided he should waste no more time in killing these Shade Squad members.

Knowing where he was going, Markus allowed his canine instincts take over, giving him a heightened sense of speed, power and skill; in fact, what would have taken him an hour only took him five minutes with the powers of his wolf self leading the way. When he had reached the camp, Markus quickly used a small amount of rage built around his hatred of the Augment to fuel his Lycan form. As the second ring of the Guard broke, Markus changed and in the blink of an eye, raced up to one of the unsuspecting Malar and speared him in the chest with Vice. As the blood raced down his arm, Valecruiz put his long awaited plan into action. Suddenly, Markus was filled with a new sensation as he felt the blood flow under his white fur, he began craving more blood. Trying to fill this need, Markus plunged Blaze into the vampire's chest and from there, split him in two by ripping Vice and Blaze out by his sides. With his upper half gone, the Malar began spewing pint after pint of blood from his lower half. Almost like a demon, Markus stepped closer and indulged in the blood shower the Malar was giving him. As his white coat became stained in blood, Valecruiz pushed forward once again, and this time, Markus did not resist.

Now in full control, the runes on Valecruiz's borrowed body began glowing as maleficent as ever. As he looked around, he noticed that the two other Malar who were there now stared in absolute fear at him. 'Markus, you're a natural at this, keep up the good work' Valecruiz thought inside his head, only to be replied with an almost drugged grunt of ecstasy. With more bodies to bleed, Valecruiz placed Vice and Blaze in a battle position and charged at another Shade Squad with Markus's breakneck Lycan speed. When he reached the second Malar, he took Vice and shoved it straight through the vampire's head through the chin and began laughing as the skull burned from the inside out. Wanting to enjoy this battle to the fullest, Valecruiz drew back Vice and used Blaze to sear the rest of the Malar's neck from his body. Once again, the body released every ounce of blood it was carrying, and because the release point was smaller, the blood shower lasted longer. As a way to intimidate the final Malar, Valecruiz lifted his head towards the sky and began drinking small amounts of the blood as it came back down to the ground. When he was finished, all he could do is smile as he noticed his plan had worked. 'These Shade Squad members had to have been rookies. It's too bad they're such an easy kill, but oh well' Valecruiz thought to himself as he prepared to kill the final Malar.

As Valecruiz rushed towards him with Vice and Blaze ready, the Malar suddenly drew forth a large, metal pole with enchanted runes etched down its body; just as Valecruiz was bout to slice him from the head down, he used the pole to parry the attack. Now Valecruiz used his real voice as he said "Hah, I see you're not as foolish as your comrades, very well then, you'll have the honor of dying slowly."

At this, the Malar's eyes burned with an enormous rage as he snapped back "It's you who will die tonight, Evizil!!"

Valecruiz just laughed at this and released the gridlock the two had been caught in. With inhuman speed, he began slashing at the Malar hoping to get a hit on him, though to his displeasure the vampire just blocked every shot thrown at him. Getting tired of the fruitless waste of his energy, Valecruiz swung low with Vice and managed to hit the Malar in the back of the leg, right where his calf was. As the Dark Fire burned away at his leg, the Malar let out a scream of absolute pain as his legs buckled underneath him. With the pain growing, the Shade Squad member dropped his enchanted pole and held the burning leg with both hands, which had no effect on the Dark Fire. Knowing his enemy had been defeated, Valecruiz advanced towards the vampire, readied Blaze, and said "I would have made this so much more painful for you, but unfortunately there are some people on the way. Oh well...looks like we get to do this the fast way." As he said this, Blaze's blade began emitting a black color darker than an unlit night. True to his word, Valecruiz shoved Blaze into the Malar and watched in absolute delight as the Void that had been on Blaze turned the vampire inside out.

When the vampire was dead, Valecruiz just shrugged and said "Well I've had my fun for the day, I'm sure Markus would like to explain to Kia how his wonderful white coat is now such a fascinating hue of red." With this said, Valecruiz slipped back into the dark recesses of Markus's mind, giving the Evizil full control of his body. As he regained his senses, Markus stared in horror as he noticed his whole body was covered in blood. Then, he began recalling the wondrous pleasure killing the Malar brought him, causing him to kneel down and vomit.

As he finished, Markus heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him, and using his wolfish instincts, he realized that those footsteps belonged to Kia and Eon. When he looked up to see them, he noticed he had failed to realized how close they were to him as the two companions stared in horror at the sight in front of them. In absolute terror, Kia mumbled "Markus...yo...you didn't..."

Markus just stared into her eyes with his left blue eye as he replied "I...I tried so hard to resist, but the feeling, the RUSH it brought was just soo...magnificent."

In a sudden burst of anger, Eon yelled to Markus "What is wrong with you?!? You're becoming a weapon for this Augment." When he had said this, Kia couldn't help but gasp in terror and surprise.

Recalling every time Markus had snapped whenever someone had said something about him becoming a weapon, Kia shouted at Eon 'EON YOU FOOL, RUN!!!"

Not understanding what she meant, Eon just looked at her and replied "Why?" As he returned his gaze to Markus, he understood completely.

As the memories of his battle with Felix flooded his mind, Markus thrashed around while holding his head, all the while screaming "I'M NOT....I'M NOT...I'M NOT A WEAPON!!!" As he realized his own words were a hollow lie, Markus finally lost every bit of sanity he had left. Now, every experience of rage, hatred, malice and suffering he had ever had flowed into his mind, causing him to crash through the third ring of the Guard and transform into the Thrall form. He had even noticed that the runes were glowing far brighter than they had ever shone before; even worse, Markus noticed that an actual physical pain was coursing through his head until finally, the pain stopped as he heard something break the skin. Now confused, Markus reached for his forehead and stopped as he touched two, spiraling horns. At this, Markus first started to whimper, but then let out a maniacal laughter.

As he noticed that Kia and Eon had grown completely silent, Markus started laughing again as he said "Look...horns."

In a weak voice, Kia was able to get out "Markus..." Suddenly, she stopped when she noticed that his left eye was different. It was not his normal dark blue, or the death-inducing purple Valecruiz brought, but something far worse. The pupil was still in the form of a slit, but the iris was a perfect combination of purple and blue. The top half of the iris was the deep, mysterious blue that Kia had first fallen in love with, whereas the bottom half was the sinister purple that Valecruiz used to show his domination over Markus. With this combination, Markus's eye forced so many emotions to flow into Kia's body. In one moment she had felt anger, sadness, happiness, lust, fear, and torment, causing her to buckle her legs and slump to the ground. The one thing that truly scared Kia was that Markus was still partially in control; he wanted this abomination to occur. Wondering if Eon had shared her fate, Kia looked over and sighed as she saw Eon in the same position she was with a face as pale as snow.

As the horns locked into place and his left eye fully morphed into its horrific combination, Markus used a mixture of his voice and Valecruiz's voice as he said "Kia, what's wrong...am I really that FRIGHTENING???" As he said this, Markus began advancing towards the both of them, all the while freezing them inside his cursed left eye. When he finally reached her, Markus knelt down, held her chin with his hand and forced her to stare into his left eye as he said "Kia, What am I?? Am I human, Evizil, or am I EVEN MORTAL AT ALL?!?"

Confused and shocked as the emotions still flooded her body, Kia cried as she replied "I don't...I don't...I DON"T KNOW"

Hearing the answer he knew he would hear, Markus released her from his grip, stood up, and walked over to Eon. Like with Kia, Markus knelt down in front of him, except this time he didn't force the boy to stare into his eye. As Eon bent his head down to face the ground, Markus let out a maniacal laugh as he said "Is this what you meant by being a weapon Eon? If so, you are quite mistaken my friend, I've become so much more than that. With Valecruiz, I can prove to everyone in Illian that I am just as alive as they are, even if it means killing them in the process."

At this, Eon stared straight into Markus's face as he said "Markus, you would never do such a thing. What about Kia and the kid you're going to be raising?"

Now Markus just let out a large howl of delight as he said "If my mate and my child must be the price for my mortality, THEN SO BE IT. But enough said; I see you've been staring at my horns for quite a while now, like them? How about you get a CLOSER LOOK!!" With this said Markus bent his head down and speared his two large horns straight into Eon's chest. As he felt the warm blood run down his face, Markus smiled and slowly began withdrawing his horns from Eon's body. When he had fully removed himself of Eon, Markus stood up, backed away from the two of them and traced a star in the air, forming the seal for a class 7 spell. As he finished, he placed his arms forward, placed his hands face up, and watched as each hand was filled with a small orb of magic. In his left hand the radiant light of the holy magic filled the area with a sense of warmth and hope; whereas the magic in his left hand seemed to devour all light around it, causing all things near it to be swallowed in darkness.

With the two orbs formed, Markus turned each hand so that they faced one another and brought them together. As he slightly pulled both hands back, Kia could see that the two magics had joined to form a singular, malignant magic. When Markus noticed she had been watching it, he just smiled and said "You like it? I used Valecruiz's vast knowledge of the Void magic to create this. I call it...Nova."

In response, Kia managed to say "Markus, Eon...he's dying."

As he looked at his fallen friend, Markus just smiled and replied "He won't suffer for long; I'll give him that before he dies."

Filled with a sudden fear-inspired rage, Kia shouted back at him "Markus, why are you doing this?? In the time I've known you you've always stood as a protector, not a fighter, so why change now?"

Losing his calm edge, Markus angrily shouted back at her "Because I need to know I'm not just some tool to be used by some fucker who believes they're better than me. Kia, Valecruiz has given me the ability to KILL GODS. Think about it, I could rid this world of the Night Mother and all of her damned abominations she calls gods. I could be the ruling force, I COULD BE ALIVE!!!" As he finished saying this, the Nova ball grew to massive lengths. Just as he was about to throw it at Eon and Kia, Markus gave Kia a smile that was unfamiliar to him right now; he gave her a smile of hope and love.

As a last resort, Kia said "Markus, I know this isn't what you want. You have to stop listening to Valecruiz; he's using your fear to gain what he wants! Markus, listen to me, not him, you have the power to stop him from destroying everything you hold dear, you just need to believe that there is someone out there who can bring this madness to an end."

Suddenly, Markus's left eye drastically changed and turned back into the warm, blue eye Kia knew and loved. As he still held the Nova orb in his hands, Markus stared back at her and said "Kia, know that I have always held you the closest to my heart, and if I must end my life to save yours and the lives of everyone on Illian, so be it." When he finished, Markus positioned the malignant ball of magic so that it faced him and prepared to fire it at himself. Just as he was about to end his own life to save Kia's, a giant red figure leaped down from the sky and landed on him. As a result, Markus lost his concentration and the Nova magic dissipated harmlessly.

Now on the ground with a large force holding him down, Markus regained his senses, snarled and said "Get off of me."

In response, the large red dragon currently holding him down said "Markus, you IDIOT, how could you let this thing get a hold of you so drastically? Don't you realize that whatever is inside of your Augment now has a stronger hold on you?"

Realizing that dragon's words rang true, Markus looked at the ground and said "Cyn...I can't help it...every day he picks and picks and picks away at my soul, and I want it all TO END."

Now, Cyn lowered her head next to his and replied "Markus, you must bear this pain for Kia and the rest of Illian, it is your duty to them."

In total shock, Markus faced her and replied "Why me? Why did your fucking 'Ultimate Force' choose me to hold the Augment? I know for a fact your dragon friends could easily deal with this."

Cyn just snarled and said "While this is true, boy, have you realized that there are no dragons left on Illian?"

"Don't feed me that horseshit; you know as well as I do there are dragons. Even I have started sensing them."

Now it was Cyn's turn to be surprised. Not fully believing Markus, she responded "How could you tell? So many scents are identical to ours..."

"But they don't reek of MAGIC. Cyn, your Dragonflight is still out there, maybe they just left you because you were too little."

Outraged, Cyn smacked him with her unused claw as she said "Don't you ever talk about my family like that; they would never, EVER abandon their own like that."

Now filling with anger, the runes on Markus's body began glowing once again as his voice became unfamiliar when he said "You have no idea about your family, little hatchling. The Red Dragonflight left you behind after I slaughtered Fira, or as you know her 'mommy dearest.'"

Filled with sadness of long repressed memories, Cyn began crying as she screamed at him "WHO ARE YOU?!?"

"I am Valecruiz of the Void, the once and future ruler of Ill and the slaughterer of the Six Dragonflights. Fear my name as you did a thousand years ago, for soon I will return, and this time, I WILL END YOUR PATHETIC RACE." When he finished, the runes stopped glowing and the world became a dark abyss to Markus.

****

An hour later, Markus regained his sense of being and noticed that it was in the high evening. Beside him Eon laid with a mass of bandages covering his chest, but at the moment he was conscious. Hoping to make amends, Markus quickly sat up, looked at Eon and said "Eon...I...oh by the Night Mother what did I do to you?"

As equally shocked as everyone else near him, Eon looked at him and replied "Markus don't worry about it, when you were talking with Cyn Kia and Oz were healing the wounds left by the horns. They say I just need to rest, that's all."

Recalling the tragic events that had occurred in the last few hours, Markus quickly touched his forehead and was relieved to find that the horns had disappeared. When he looked back down at Eon, he saw that the young man had fallen back to a peaceful sleep, and when Markus saw that he was breathing normally, he concluded that Eon had been right. Knowing that Eon was alright, Markus quickly turned his attention to Kia, who was sitting directly across from him on a small stump. Trying to find the words to say to explain to her what he had done, Markus managed to say "Kia...there was so much...you know what, fuck it, nothing I say can mend the damage I've done. You've stayed with me so far, and for that you are in my heart deeper than you will ever know, but if you hate me for what I've done, I understand fully and won't hold it against you if you leave."

In response, Kia stood up, walked over to Markus and slapped him across the face. With an anger that Markus barely saw in her, Kia replied "Don't you ever think about killing yourself again!! Markus, if I lose you who will I have to turn to? I have no one left but you and for that I am the happiest kitten in the world. Promise me you won't do that again?"

Suddenly filled with a joy that words could describe, Markus grabbed Kia and held her in a large embrace. With tears rolling down his eyes, he said to her "Kia...if there is anything I can do to ever thank you..."

"I can think of a few things..." As she said this, Kia began tracing her hand down her black shirt.

Shocked, Markus mumbled "Here...now? But...Eon..."

Kia just let out a cute giggle as she said "Let him watch, it'll be fun." With that, she pulled off her black shirt and gave Markus a passionate kiss.

****

In a distant hill somewhere near the camp, Oz and Cyn began speaking of the events that took place that day. To start, Oz said "What do you think of it all? What does it all mean?"

Cyn just looked at him with a seriousness he had never seen before and said "I think we're losing him, Oz."

"He's stronger than..."

"OZ, LOOK AT WHAT HE DID TO EON. No matter how strong his will may be, Valecruiz is much stronger, by a long shot."

"Who?"

"Valecruiz, a villain so maleficent it took the powers of all of the 14 Bound Ones to banish him from Illian."

"Banished? To where?"

"They had sent him to the deepest regions of the Void to die in pain and agony to repent for his sins, but apparently someone brought him back."

Wait...so is he possessing Markus, because if he was, we should have been able to sense his magic by now."

"Oz, he's not using a body, he's inside the Augment."

"WHAT?? You can't be..."

"Look, how did Markus create that Nova magic? If Valecruiz really was possessing Markus and the Evizil found a way to fight back, there is no way Markus could learn how to use Valecruiz's magic. Since he only appears when the Augment is activated, it only makes sense that he is using the Augment as his anchor."

"But...how do we stop Valecruiz? I thought the Augment was an enchantment of the soul?"

"It is...the only way we could kill Valecruiz is by either killing Markus or by ripping out his soul."

"How could you even suggest that? In both cases Markus ceases to be who he truly is, and both you and I know he would rather be given to the Malar as a slave than to have that happen."

"Then it appears that Valecruiz still has a part to play in this adventure. The only thing we can do is help Markus see the true path when his view becomes clouded."

"Cyn...do you really believe Gree chose him to bear such an abomination like Valecruiz?"

"In all honesty, no. While I believe the Augment was given to him for a purpose, it seems out of place for Gree to place such a disastrous force back onto Illian. Valecruiz was a mortal of unsurpassable power; in fact, it was Valecruiz that killed Arteis (Arr-tis)."

"The god of the Void? I thought he was killed during the slaughtering of the Sinan."

"He was. Valecruiz used the powers he gained from Arteis to gain the title of Valecruiz of the Void."

"Why that title?"

"Because with those powers, Valecruiz became a living avatar of the darkness and loneliness known as the Void. From that day, his eyes had become a purple that made death a god-send to those who dared to stare into them. His skin became blacker than any shadow the world of Illian will ever come to know, and from his head sprouted two large horns."

"Wait...Markus had..."

"Now you understand, Oz."

"But why transform Markus into the body he once owned?"

"So he can bear the Crown of Darkness once more and rule Illian as the High King."

"...Do you truly believe Markus will allow Valecruiz to use him like that?"

Finally, Cyn let out a large sigh and replied "I believe Markus Ealar will change the history of Illian forever; though only he knows what will be written."