From Their Eyes - Chapter 15 (Shadow Of The Colossus)

Attention: Shadow of the Colossus is property of Sony. This should not be considered canon, but is based off the game. Please forgive any mistakes made, as of my information is from wikias and watching play-throughs on YouTube.com

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From Their Eyes

Chapter 15: Chase in the Overgrown Ruins (Audio)

Cenobia rested in one of the highest structures in one of the little people’s former settlements. It had been one of his favorite places to be since the little people had departed. Watching the whole area from that vantage point made him feel like he was much bigger than the little people. It was one thing he had to deal with when they lived in the Forbidden Lands.

The little people had been a point of contention with his kind, even when back in the homelands. His kind had been the smallest of Colossi, and the bipedal creatures always seemed to be the same size, or at least close to it, in height. If he had to be honest with himself, he always had problems with the little people here. He never trusted them, because they reminded him of the little people in the homeland.

Thinking of the homeland reminded him of why he was stuck where he was. He had made a costly mistake long ago that his kind was going to suffer for. Back in the homeland, he and his kind, as well as the other Colossi, lived in peace with the little people there.

That was until the day the little people there thought they could live symbiotically with some of the Colossi. It was his brethren, as well as a group of winged versions of his kind that were selected for that. He never understood why they wanted to do this, until Dormin told him why.

Dormin had told him and his kind that the little people were being controlled by the shadow beings. The only way that this could be stopped was to get into the castle prison, and stop them from there. Deep down, Cenobia didn't think this sounded right, but his own anger overwhelmed him, making him eager to do what Dormin wanted.

As it turned out, Dormin had been lying, and they had been stopped from making a serious mistake. The cost, however, was being banished. That actually wouldn't be too bad, if they had not been confined to the Forbidden Lands. The Forbidden Lands was not a place that all the Colossi could exist peaceably, especially with his kind. They like to prowl and hunt.

Eventually, he came to this area, and it was fine at first. He could look around, and hunt for any animal that was in the area. It had been nice, and then the little people came. Dormin, now acting like a host, allowed the little people from outside the Forbidden Lands, a land different from their own home, into various places. Many came, and Cenobia could only go into hiding, fearing the threat of what they called domestication.

Remembering that day made Cenobia lay down and contemplate, something he rarely did. Maybe if he hadn't been so headstrong about that back in the homelands, he wouldn't be here now.

He was broken from thoughts, thankfully, by Malus's voice in his head. It was filled with urgency, which made Cenobia look around. "Cenobia, you need to be alert. Dormin is manipulating a little person, and he is making him kill all the Colossi. He had just destroyed Phalanx. Remain alert!” The news had been a mixed blessing. Cenobia didn’t want Dormin to return, but he also wanted the chance to hunt down this little person. It had been the one good thing he remembered of the time the little people were in the Forbidden Lands.

Dormin had told him back then that some of the little people had been criminals, and had asked if he could take care of those who had broken the law. At first, Cenobia had enjoyed it, hunting those little people down as they tried to find safety. It didn’t matter where they had run to, he found them, and even ate a few. It wasn’t that it was pleasant, but since they were criminals, it didn’t matter.

That was until he discovered that some of those people he had been told to go after by Dormin were not criminals, but those that didn’t want to worship Dormin. The little people that had come to the Forbidden Lands had never heard of any of the Colossi before coming there. Those little people he had killed had been some of the smart ones, and after that came the plan to stop Dormin again.

He stopped thinking about those times when he heard something entered the ruined city. He came out of his lair, and sniffed the air. There was a familiar smell in the air; one he hadn’t smelled in a while, but he noticed something odd about it. It was tainted with the scent of Dormin. Dormin’s essense was infused in the little person. In fact, the stench of Dormin was almost as noticible as the smell of the little people.

Cenobia looked around, and saw the little person. Height wise, the little person was nearly as tall as Cenobia was, but that was the case with almost all the little people. He then hoped this would be a quick kill. There was so much at stake if Dormin had managed to get free. He charged out, and he followed as the little man ran along the structures. He noticed that the little man looked paler than most little people as he chased him.

This little man used a tactic other little people used before. He climbed up atop one of the pillars that still stood. It hadn’t worked for others in the past. All Cenobia had to do was ram into the pillar. With little hesitation, he did just that, and looked up. The pillar start to fall, and the little man struggled to keep his balance. Cenobia was certain it would not be long.

To his surprise, he saw the little man make a leap of faith, and managed to grab another pillar. He followed the little man, trying to line up the best way to tackle the pillar. He had to give this little person credit. This one was very lucky, or Dormin had given this man something to influence his thoughts and actions. The more he rammed the pillars, the more the little person managed to evade. This worried Cenobia, since if he destroyed most of the ruins, may the fates forbid Dormin find another fool should he dispatch this one.

Finally, the little person managed to land on top of a very weak structure. It was only held up by one lone pillar in the center of the structure. He backed up, and took a running charge at the pillar. True to form, he destroyed the column, causing the structure over him to collapse. As it came down, however, Cenobia realized a serious mistake he made. The fragile platform came down in pieces all over him. He wasn’t overly worried about being hurt, since he was covered by armor. There might be a downside to this, if he was unlucky.

As he got free of the rubble, he shook the rubble off, shaking his body, and to his horror, he felt lighter. A momentary look around told him that his worse fears were coming true. His armor had broken loose. It would take years to grow it back. This was bad for another reason, since the sigil that bound Dormin’s power in him was under the armor. He needed to get rid of this little person now.

He saw the little person running to one of the fallen pillars. There would be no mercy for this foolish little person now. He ran at full force, straight towards the little person. His mind was set, and lowered his head down, so his eyes could not be struck. It was wise since the little person had used what they called a bow and arrow on him while he chased him.

He hit the pillar, and staggered back. He was rattled, and he wasn’t sure if he hit the little person or not. He hadn’t felt the soft body of a little person between his head and the pillar, but that could have been because of the force he hit the pillar with. At least he would be safe for a moment if he hadn’t squashed the little man. No doubt, he injured the little man.

As he recovered from the blow, he felt something on his back. He didn’t worry, since he was sure it wasn’t the little man. That wasn’t for long, however, as he then felt a stabbing in his back. It was right were the sigil was, and he felt Dormin’s essence starting to leak out of him. A second stab brought him back to his senses. The little man had managed to get on his back, and now he had to get the little man free.

Cenobia got up as quickly as possible, and started to run around, bucking like the creature the little people called a horse. He had to get this little being free of him before he started to stab him again. After a few moments, he felt something lose its grip on him. He turned around to find the little man, and found him running towards another of the fallen pillars. He gave chase after the little man, wanting to settle the score. Again, he lowered his head, and built up his speed.

Once again, he collided with the fallen pillar, and his senses were muddled again. He started to collapse again, and as he hit the ground, he felt the little person again. Cenobia tried to get his senses about him, but it wasn’t happening now. Again, there was a stabbing pain, and it didn’t make him come to his sense. Now he was losing consciousness. There was a second stab, and that was it. His life force was fading. He wasn’t going to regain his senses. He had failed to stop the little man. He felt Dormin’s essense leaving him, and that meant the little person would change more. His last thought was that if he had the chance to do it again, he wouldn’t have rammed all those pillars.

Dormin was energized once again. With one more of his betrayers gone, more of his power came back to him. It would not be too much longer before his power was fully back. His plan was soon going to be complete, and then he can get his revenge on Lord Emon and those back in the homeland. He could even resume his plan to rescue the shadow beings and their queen. They were kindred spirits.

He then turned his attention to the shadow beings that had been helping him at this time, as they brought the little person back through the shadows each time his essence entered the little person. More of the little person‘s soul was gone, but not the part that kept him going. As long as the part that wanted to revive the girl was still there, he would still complete the task. No doubt the little person‘s reason was gone by now, or at least replaced with Dormin‘s thoughts.

Dormin turned his attention to the next Colossi to go after. That would be Argus, who was the second strongest Colossi, in terms of power. Argus did not have any special abilities, like launch fireballs, or to fly. Argus had taken up residence in the area that had been Lord Emon‘s residence when the little people had been in the Forbidden Lands. That would be a very difficult place for any little person to fight him. This time, Dormin would have to infuse some extra knowledge on the little person. It might be his only way of defeating Argus, and then the final challenge; Malus.