Ignition Comics

2007 - Ignition Comic 8: Sea of Darkness

Adapted by Michael Larson. Edited by Jeff Douglas.

Unknown to Takadox and Kalmah, Nocturn, too, was swimming near the entrance to the old Pit. Once, long ago, Nocturn was the mightiest warrior of his civilization. Then, after committing an unforgivable crime, he was exiled to the Pit for eternity. Over the centuries since, he has become many things—but ‘calmer’ was not one of them.

Nocturn’s eyes darted left and right for the black-armored figure he saw earlier, his five-fanged mouth curled into a scowl. “I know I saw a Barraki here,” he grunted. “I called to him, but he swam away, like I’m not good enough to talk to! Next time, I’ll yank him inside out, then he’ll—hey, what’s that?”

The green-and-blue spiked being swam down to the site of the original Pit’s fissure. Nocturn was not the brightest lightstone, but he was at least observant. As he stared at the sea floor, he tilted his head. “That was open before. Somebody’s probably trying to hid something good from me…”

Nocturn thrust his two swords into the ground, then used his single tentacle to wrap around a piece of the earth. “I’ll show them… open it up!” his guttural voice cried. His tentacle hauled the stone plug out, throwing it to drift away in the water. He peered in, but wasn’t expecting anything like he found. “What—?”

“Move, you idiot!” Kalmah shouted, shouldering his way passed the brute.

Takadox and Mantax followed quickly behind him. “Pardon us, coming through!” Takadox announced.

Behind the blue and black Barraki, the shadows of Zyglak cut through the water. “Vengeance! Vengeance!” they hissed.

“What are they?” Nocturn asked as the Barraki passed him. He squinted into the Pit below.

“Zyglak—a shunned, hated species that lives to destroy,” Kalmah answered.

“In other words, our kind of people,” Takadox commented. He quickly added, “But, really, Kalmah—the things they said about Nocturn were terrible… I’ve never heard such foul language.”

Nocturn’s eyes flared. “What!?” He barreled through the water to greet the Zyglak. “No one insults me and lives!” he shouted.

Kalmah watched him recede, amused. “You really are sea slime, Takadox.”

“And I’m so good at it, too.”

Kalmah glanced around. Mantax had again departed without a word. His eyes narrowed. Now more than ever, he was eager to learn what Mantax had been looking for, and the identity of their attacker. But those answers would have to wait. “Come on,” he said. “We still have a Mask of Life to find.”

“I sent Carapar on that errand so I could run this one,” Takadox said, waving a hand casually as the sound of battle continued from below. “I really should be home when he gets there.”

Kalmah was about to respond when he spotted Mantax’s black form bounding over some distant underwater ridges. Wordlessly, he started after him.

What neither he nor Takadox noticed in their distraction was that the mud hole where the Maxilos had once lain was now vacant.