A King's Legacy
Chapter 40
Taking his Place
"Beast-King Alocer Tonitrus, whatever brings you to my humble castle? Have you been enjoying your stay in Adamare so far?" Calium spoke with a mocking tone of grandeur that irritated the lion in a way Alocer would liken to a buzzing mosquito. As the human king stood to greet his guest with a smile, the beast came to a halt, stopping about halfway into the room before answering snidely.
"You know, speaking to you makes killing all of your people far more enjoyable in hindsight... But if you must know, yes, I'll truly relish every memory I've made here, however, I think it's time I return to my own home, so I came to thank you for having me in person before I took my leave."
Calium swiftly replied in kind, almost unfazed by the comment. "Pity that you're leaving so soon, I was really hoping you'd take a moment to join me for a drink." Alocer assumed this was more of whatever game this human was playing, but was actually a bit taken aback as Calium turned to head towards a cart of spirits in the corner of the throne room.
The lion spoke with an assured and smug tone. "Surely you are not so spineless as to start groveling before me now? You do know that wouldn't sway me towards sparing you, right?"
Calium laughed at such a bold statement, noting that the other king seemed to think rather highly of himself. The human answered the beast's question as if it weren't merely spoken as an insult.
"Grovel? No... I've just been awake for longer than I think I ever have before, I've said my goodbyes to my children along with the rest of my people, and I've been busy murdering your own forces for the last three nights straight. Between you and me, you really should get better assassins." Alocer bore his fangs at the human, but Calium's smile grew even larger in return, as if he were excited to be there. The human was done pulling punches, and continued taunting the beast.
"I am not groveling, I am not expecting a peaceful outcome, nor do I desire one at this point... I just need to have a drink. I think some whiskey will pair so nicely with the look on your face when you realize that I am still stronger than you are, even after enduring all of that." The storm outside dropped another flash of lightning, and the beast king drew his sword.
Calium simply kept pouring his drink, chuckling a little as he turned back towards the lion, and spoke once more in his calmer tone. "You certain you don't want a cup before we start? It is the best batch left in Adamare... I'll have to keep you here for a little while, and I think some spirits would probably make this all a bit easier for you to handle. You do seem a little uptight for the king that just won this war." Alocer shouted in defiance, already rushing towards the other king.
"You'll be dead within seconds!" Calium cracked another smile. Alocer found himself tripping over a smaller shield almost immediately. The large cat expertly caught himself on his free hand, and used his lower position to lunge towards the human, his sword swinging on one side, his claws bearing down on the other. Calium waited for the beast to close in, effortlessly brought a shield up on either side to counter both blows, and reared his shielded fist back as he aimed towards the center.
Alocer immediately tried to fall back, but a fourth, larger shield appeared right behind him, trapping him between the three just in time for the human to slam his attack right into the gut of the tyrant. All three shields fell away, and Alocer fell to his knees with them. Another rapid, shielded jab caught him square in his snout, and the lion fell backwards, feeling rather light-headed all of a sudden as his eardrums rang with that resounding shield's impact. Calium scoffed, turning to take a few steps away from the beast, climbing back up the stairs to his throne mid-way before stopping. He turned back to the dazed king, and spoke confidently.
"What's the matter? Somebody underestimate the weaker, smaller, human? In your defense, I've never used more than three shields in public before..." Alocer finally looked back to Calium, and was suddenly feeling far less confident in his victory.
King Calium had his drink to his lips, his sword sheathed at his side, and five golden shields forming an archway behind him, each one shining brilliantly in defiance of the tyrant's crusade. The human downed the rest of his drink, let the ceramic shatter on the floor where he let it fall, and spoke to the beast once more as he turned to stare down in disgust at the pathetic excuse for a ruler.
"You really should've taken that drink..."
===
"WAIT, I'M NOT TRYING TO INTERRUPT, BUT-" Calium finished his son's statement for him, chuckling at the evident excitement at the revelation. There wouldn't be much more joyful news for the boy, not in this place.
"Yes, Solis, I could maintain five shields at a time. However, I bet you'll be able to hold even more than that." Aster answered truthfully, not so certain of that himself.
"I can barely wield my two correctly. I can't even do half the things you have! I can't form them beneath my boots, I can't balance in the air, and I've only managed to use a shield without my hands once. I don't know why you think I'll surpass you so easily." Calium answered this as encouragingly as the rest of the more defeatist statements his son had made.
"I don't remember saying it would be easy, but I bet you will learn to do all of that, and even more in time. Six shields is the highest amount we've ever actually recorded any bearer wielding at once, but there's an old family tale that seven may be possible with the right user."
Aster thought that seemed way out of his reach at the moment, but his father had assumed as much. The boy never truly understood his power without the proper guidance, after all.
"The shield you raised without your hands, back in the chasm, what do you think made that happen? What made you so desperate to call it into being? What made you do what you believed impossible in that moment?" Aster gazed off for a moment before he answered, finding it strange to actually want a break from a story for a change, but welcoming the distraction. He wasn't so certain he wanted to hear the end anymore...
"Stahl." Aster answered quietly at first, but his voice steadied itself more and more as he elaborated further. "I just didn't want to let Stahl go. He was falling, trying to give his life for mine, and I wouldn't accept it. He would die for me, father, even still after I had messed up, and that is why I so desperately had to protect him in return. My arm was hurt, so if I couldn't save us both, then I would rather accept that we went together... I would lose my life before I could ever simply watch him die... That is what was going through my mind back then."
Calium had another huge smile stretch across his face as he reached a hand forward, lightly tapping the spot on Aster's chest where the boy had taken his mark with the orcs. He spoke endearingly to his son. "Protector, right?"
Aster was a little astonished by his father's choice of words, but actually smiled some as he just nodded once in confirmation.
Calium continued on. "Back in that thicket, you didn't have the means to do what you needed to do, but you still wouldn't give up. Your heart made a desperate plea, and the shield reacted to save the one you loved, to protect them. You've been concentrating so hard when you use your power, but you never questioned the understanding you had of your own strength nearly enough... It does not come from sheer concentration, nor focus at all. The strength we wield comes from a heart, my son, and you only need to start using that giant one of yours if you want to reach your true potential. Call it with your heart, with your conviction and your desire to protect, not your hands, not your thoughts." Aster was quick to disagree.
"If I don't think about it, if I don't maintain that concentration, I can't make the shield appear. I've tried plenty ever since it first manifested, but I can only picture them as tied to my hands... well, hand, now." Aster looked away for a moment, feeling a little flustered about it all. Calium's chuckle in response may have almost appalled Aster at first, but ultimately, he found himself closely listening to his father's words once more, and really examining the weight behind them.
"You can definitely think of the shields as attached by arms, but I think that's leading you in the wrong direction, they aren't so set in place, more that the shield is always connected to you. If you move your arms, your hands move with them. They don't detach themselves..." Calium quickly looked away, kicking himself for choosing such at a poor comparison.
Aster couldn't help but laugh a little at the alarm, noting that this really did have to be his father once more. He started gently prodding his father after the abrupt stop. "It's alright, the unfortunate phrasing aside, I think I mostly get what you are trying to say. I don't have to lift my arm to ball up a fist, so in a similar way, I shouldn't have to try so hard to make my shield work, right?" Calium nodded, expanding a bit more.
"I think your real issue is your mind, it's usually clouded by something. More often than not, I'd wager it is doubt, or guilt. You had some issues weighing you down by the time your gift manifested, so you never felt how weightless those shields could be. You're trying to hold them like you're fending off an assault, like you're merely staving off blows in effort to keep from getting hurt again, but you need to hold them firmly with your heart, as if there were no force in the world that could ever harm the ones you are protecting on the other side of your barrier... Can we try something?" Calium looked to his son hopefully as he asked his question at the end.
Aster did not disappoint with his reply. "If it can make me stronger, if it can make my shields stronger? Absolutely."
The boy watched his father stand excitedly, and Aster soon reached up to take the hand that was being offered back down to him. After taking a moment to adjust to how light everything was feeling, Aster just watched on curiously as his father took a few paces away, and turned back towards him with a plotting smile.
Calium raised his right arm above his head, called forth a smaller shield just above his finger, and reared back, shouting to his son as he took a step forward to fling the disc towards him at alarming speed. "CATCH!"
Of all the things Aster was expecting to happen any minute now, that one certainly hadn't even crossed his mind. Nevertheless, before he ever had time to question whether or not he could catch someone else's shield, Aster had reached a hand forward, and effortlessly stopped the golden disk mid-air. Aster held easily, it as if it were his own, keeping it just a few inches in front of himself while he felt the strange sensation of the shield spinning in place. His mind was still racing to figure out what was happening.
Calium spoke meekly, chuckling a bit as he muttered under his breath. "Surprised you actually caught it... My father nearly broke my nose the first time we tried that."
Aster was quick to question that comment. "Wait... DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT I COULD CATCH THAT?"
Calium laughed sheepishly, grinning that same smile he had always used to get out of trouble with Queen Vera. He answered honestly, if nothing else. "I was entirely uncertain, but that kind of proves my point from earlier, the dirt you're shouldering is definitely hampering your progress and control. To put it simply, you have the heart for the power, but your mind is getting in the way."
Aster let the shield fade away, prying curiously, and, (admittedly,) a bit defensively. "And you came to that conclusion how?"
Calium raised another shield, readying to toss it back towards his son as he answered. "Because that darkness isn't suffocating you here, and I'm not talking about the blood magic sealed inside of your body either. You're able to see things a little more clearly in the afterworld, you're able to accept things you never would before, to not be so angry or ashamed about them." Aster caught the shield once more, and Calium added a little instruction there as well. "Don't let it fade this time, throw it back."
Aster replied warily. "Well, I can't promise that I'm not angry, especially after everything lately... Also, I uhhh, I can't throw these things."
Calium answered matter-of-factly. "I'm talking about things that you've been angry about for a long time, stuff you've been denying for years, not so much the recent events. You'll have to stop carrying the weight of that guilt, or it'll keep making your shield harder and harder to hold. Hearts may be made to take a beating, but they can grow unbearably heavy as well." The king paused for a moment, adding more to their secondary conversation.
"You can tilt your shields, correct?" Aster nodded, his father continued. "Then you can throw it. Just imagine moving it with your will, not your body. Think of the path you want it to take, and give it a little push. If you're having trouble letting it go, try spinning it for a moment first."
Aster only deflated further as he lowered his gaze, feeling embarrassed at how little he seemed to know about how to use his own power. He croaked out his response with both uncertainty, and humility. "I just now learned that it can spin, I don't think I have that down yet..."
Calium smiled, reassuring his son with a soothing tone. "It is not your fault, You'll get the hang of it. We still have some time, so, just focus on catching the ones I throw towards you for a while instead. Feel how they move. I still need to finish my story, but if you'd like something to keep you distracted, we can continue doing this in the meantime?" Aster smiled, welcoming the suggestion. Looking back, that moment would be the last truly happy one Aster would have with his birth father.
Calium continued, raising up another shield to toss to his son as he picked back up from the latest interruption. "So, I was fighting in the throne room..."
===
Alocer lunged into another assault, his sword and claws meeting with the warmth of Calium's shield time and time again. The beast king half roared in frustration, speaking out with every deflected blow. "To think you were this capable all along, yet still, you would hide away as your people were slain outside your very door. You die here as the coward you are, no amount of your stalling will ever change that."
Calium effortlessly deflected another blow with a flick of his wrist, sighing in response before he answered flatly. "You're still stuck on that part? I figured that was a given, I have no intentions of living to see another sunrise... I was just hoping you'd put up a better fight. I expected more."
The lion snarled as he rushed into another assault. Calium stopped him before he ever even got close. The human king spoke with little regard or sympathy for Alocer's humiliated pride. "Really? That again? You do realize that I'm not even trying here, right? Is this really the extent of the beast king?"
Alocer was furious, his wounded hubris getting the better of him. He abruptly raised a hand forward, bracing with his other as he shouted his trigger. "CONSUME!"
Alocer simply raised another shield before himself, settling the matter once and for all. The lion could not breach that shield, nor could he drain the human through it. With hitched breath and trembling fingers, the beast king finally realized the truth, he could not best this man alone.
Calium took a moment to bask in the smugness of it all, and then spoke firmly, gazing towards the trembling beast with a gleam in his eye. His words taking on the same taunting tone as before. "Yeah, there it is. That's the look of realization I was waiting to see. Now, it's my turn."
Calium rushed forward without warning, taking three quick steps before he braced himself and jumped, planting two shielded boots into the stones of his throne room. The king kicked off with all his might, and the result made for a lunge backed with quite a bit of power, accompanied by a shielded fist aimed directly towards the lion's face.
Alocer raised his sword in time, laying it between his shoulder and wrist as he turned in attempt to parry the blow. His aim was spot on, but his paws were nowhere near braced enough to take the impact. Alocer was knocked to his back, and immediately leaned into the force of the blow to roll over his shoulders, righting himself and laying eyes on the human without ever missing a beat. He was finally accepting that Calium meant business, and Alocer was finally getting back into his rhythm because of it. Calium, however, wasn't following up on the openings he made. Something that seemed rather strange to the beast king. The truth behind that was for far simpler reasons however...
Calium was at his limit, Calium was still uncertain if he had just broken his left ankle or not. He had as good of form as ever, but his edge and aim were slipping, his weary arms were trembling ever so slightly, and using his power to the extents he had over the last few days should have been impossible. Calium was truly exhausted, but the king had not heard the word from Death yet, so he would have to put off his sleep just a little longer as he continued stalling. That didn't stop the human from asking for a time frame, however.
I know this is going to sound horrible no matter which way I word it..." Calium passed the thought to Death regardless. but how long does it take these furred fucks to raze a damned castle? It's been a while since he's given the order. I am running out of strength, so a good estimate would be appreciated, if you get a moment...' The human jumped back into his battle with Alocer as silence was the only answer he received for a few minutes.
`You can start wrapping it up now, it's nearly over.' Death casually dropped the cue, bringing another faint smile to the human once more. Calium felt guilty for smiling at such a thing, for that to be his response for learning nearly all of his people were slain, but he so desperately just needed this to end... He just needed to stop, he needed to rest...
You know you won't ever have any true rest again, right? Not after this.' Death was doing his best to sway the human one final time. You still have time to change your mind, to simply have the sword. We don't need the added strength, and it certainly doesn't make anything easier when it comes time... What remains will level entire towns while your son one day attempts the trial of the shield. Do you think he will want that?'
Calium was the one to answer the deity flatly for a change. `You'll figure something out, you have this far anyway. I know what my choice means, I know the suffering to be endured, but that is why it has to be me to endure it. That is why you have to bind me to him in the first place, isn't it? Rest can wait.'
Death went silent again for a while, but finally gave his answer, albeit, very shortly. `You know what to do from here. Less than three minutes to live, enjoy them while they last.'
Calium sighed in response, reminding himself he was about to be in potentially eternal servitude to this depressing god because of that lion, and giving himself a final kick in the ass to make the most of his final assault. He locked eyes with his opponent, gazed at the snarl over the intimidating beast's maw, and flashed the most dazzling smile in response. He was going to give this last bit everything he had, Alocer needed to be sure to remember this fight, after all... The human king would just have to be certain not to aim for his head too much.
===
It was a strange moment for Alice, but who could really blame the goddess? Not only could she feel the new sword bearer preparing to make his entrance into the world, to feel that part of herself reviving, but she was simultaneously preparing herself to feel another piece of her heart die with the shield. Not being part of the final battle alongside Alocer was something she hadn't anticipated.
Alice knew what the shield bearer was capable of, and even if Alocer did win somehow, it meant she had no way of bracing for the pain that accompanied such a thing. King Alocer had pushed the busted door closed behind himself, pretty well sealing the pair off, and nobody there would risk seeming nosey enough to try and pry further. Alocer was quite clear he wanted privacy, but that order was eating the goddess alive. Luckily for her, her knight was there to come to her rescue.
"I understand," Jagón spoke gently to the smaller feline. "It's been a long and tiring journey just getting here, and now it is all taken out of our hands, right at the very end... I'm worried as well, but we will simply have to trust it all goes the way it needs to."
Alice turned to the general, and stared at him for a short pause. She spoke softly after a moment, surprising him as usual with her inquiry. "Do you think things usually happen how they are supposed to? Do you think there's an order to it all? Or is it all chaos? Do you believe in fate, Jagón? Are we ruled by destiny? Or only by our decisions?"
The panther took a moment to ponder the question, but answered sooner than she had expected. He always liked how Alice could challenge his mind to think critically at the strangest of times. "I think it all happens how it needs to. I think there's a balance between chaos and order. We are destined to find ourselves at certain crossroads, but we still get to choose which path to take. If that wasn't the case, I don't know that there would be much point to any of this. Life would be devalued."
"I agree." Alice responded. "But what happens if we make the wrong choice? What if we choose the wrong road? Do we ever get to correct any of it? Or is it merely another sentence to be served? How can you fix anything if you've only ever managed to make things worse?"
Jagón was officially concerned. He answered more cautiously this time. "You can only do your best with where you are. We all make the wrong decisions sometimes, but it doesn't mean you're destined to continue failing, and it doesn't mean you can't be better the next time... Alice, is everything alright?" He spoke that last bit sincerely.
Alice turned away from him briefly, deep in thought. She had things she needed to tell him, things about herself, but more importantly, about his son... about the cub that was on the way. Jagón should know the truth if he was to raise the next sword bearer properly, even if that meant exposing who she was, and what she had done. She took a deep breath, let out a heavy sigh, and turned back towards the panther with conflicted emotions, staring deeply into his eyes. She spoke so very softly.
"Jagón... there are things you should know, things I don't know how to tell yo-" Her sentence ended abruptly, her soft expression was replaced with one of abject horror, and her left hand trembled as it clutched desperately at the pain in her chest. She never even heard him ask if she needed help, she was far too busy grappling with the terrible reality of what had just happened.
Something had gone horribly, horribly wrong. The shield bearer and the new sword bearer had just been killed... simultaneously. Alice felt two pieces of herself die again. Her very life now depended solely on Solis Aureus surviving. She looked to Jagón once more, unable to even look him in the eye after such a terrible undertaking... Death was quite formidable when he needed to be.
===
It was the end, Alocer couldn't be more aware of such a painful truth. He had been bested entirely. The beast king had been pinned on his knees, a smaller shield at his chest and back securing him in place. Another firmly held against each shoulder prevented him from raising either arm, or even trying to squeeze out at the sides. The lion raised his head as much as he could, and scowled towards the human king slowly walking towards him. He spat what he could only assume were his final words.
"Kill me, it doesn't matter anymore... I've already done the world a favor." Alocer was determined to wound Calium as much as possible before he was executed, but the words never even fazed the human king. Calium stopped a mere arm's length from the lion, and squatted down to meet the beast king's gaze on equal level. Calium stared blankly with tired eyes for a moment before he answered.
"You're partly right. You've won your war, but everything still matters, even you, for now at least. Did you know that if I cut you down where you kneel, that your son would be murdered within the year, and your throne would be stolen by an even bigger monster?"
Alocer felt the hair along his back prickle up at the words. Perhaps it was because he was preparing to meet his end, but the lion could swear there was a shift in the air. There was something else there... There was something incomprehensible in that place.. There was something haunting about that human's blank stare, and his strange words in that moment. The lion's apprehension did little to hinder Calium at that point. The human king persisted.
"Did you know that by sparing you, I'm ensuring that your son survives? Would you believe that by simply being a part of his life, you give him all the guidance he needs to stray far away from following your path?" Calium stopped to chuckle for a moment, feeling he should clarify a little more.
"And I don't mean that you're some great father to him that raises him better, I mean that he is going to grow up hating you so much for the monstrous things you've done in his mother's name, that he will never want to have anything to do with you, or anything you ever stood for. As far as we can see right now, you being there as an example is the best, and most certain way to ensure he stays on the right path... We can only speculate though, and we can only see so far, but still, I really wanted you to know that part."
Alocer shuddered as he clenched his jaw. He kept staring into those golden eyes, and couldn't help but feel rattled. He whispered out his question before he ever stopped to wonder if he wanted the answer. "We?"
Calium smiled ever so slightly as he shut his tired eyes for a moment. This silent smile was the only response he had left for the beast. He opened them a moment later, reached a hand to the ground before him, and picked up the beast king's sword. Calium stood, his shoulders square, his head raised, and his gaze staring towards the throne of Alora... Staring towards his son well hidden away behind it. The words came to the human king respectfully. Despite everything between the two, the deity always tried to make the final process as easy as possible for everyone. He would extend the same courtesy to Calium.
`Only you remain. It is time.' Calium drew a deep breath, embraced his resolve, and accepted his end with dignity and determination.
He turned away from Alocer entirely, taking a few short paces towards his throne. The king paused just at the base of the steps, and finally broke his silence as he came to a stop. "I wish to make a deal of gods. I wish to deal with Death."
Lightning flashed outside as the worst of the storm came down upon the dying castle. The chill running up Alocer's spine became an icy grip, and the beast's instincts were telling him something very dark was at work in that place.
Even so, the beast was still forced to kneel by those shields, even as the deity spoke his answer clearly, ensuring both kings heard every word. `Speak, my child, what is it that you ask of me?'
Calium answered clearly. "To stop the fated conqueror. I wish to strip the next sword bearer of both life, and power."
`What do you offer in return?' Death had to be certain the actual deal was carefully worded and executed. They both had to be careful with such an undertaking.
"Take my own life as my payment for his." Calium answered coldly, knowing exactly what those words meant, but speaking the terms in absolution. Alocer was trembling by this point, completely unaware of anything that was going on aside from such a haunting voice was coming from nowhere, a voice that was not yet finished speaking.
`It can be done, but you will fall into my domain before you may seize that power. Have you any other deals to make?'
Calium never faltered. "Give my son a life. Ensure he reaches adulthood. Ensure he is loved. Ensure he learns the truth about everything, and ensure he is free to make his own decision when he has learned... Ensure I will get to speak to him then, as myself, at least once."
Death responded somberly. `What do you offer in return?'
"My soul, my heart, my core. I offer these three things as one. I offer my very essence and humanity in exchange for protecting and sustaining my son's own."
`It can be done, but not easily so. I must bind these parts of you to his own. They shall essentially be an armor for his heart and soul and he shall be the only thing that sustains and grounds your own heart in return. This ensures you may always be with him, that you will not fully lose yourself to the corruption. Have you any other deals to make?' Alocer couldn't accept what he was hearing. This was certain insanity... Calium was quick to reply to the deity, regardless of the baffled lion.
"Humans, as a species, have endured immeasurable tragedy, suffering, heartache, torture, despair, cruelty, loss, and massacre throughout the entirety of Beast King Alocer's crusade. I ask that they be relieved of such suffering, so they may truly rest and find peace in the afterworld." Calium waited patiently, knowing this was the part the deity didn't like.
Death's answer didn't reflect such worry this time, they were passed the point of such warnings now. `I cannot strip such corruption from their souls, and the only tool the gods had to handle such a thing is beyond my reach. I only know of one other way to cleanse them of such hatred and corruption. They must be devoured by a stronger demon, one that would be willing to release them after, one that would only take their spirit's corruption, and add it to their own. This, I can arrange. What do you offer in return?'
"My service to you. In this mortal realm, to the Afterworld, and far beyond; to all the places your domain carries to. I offer you my next life, I offer to you my right to rest in the afterworld, and my right to rebirth, the very rights that come with life itself. I offer to become the soldier of Death, to eternally be at your disposal and command, so long as I am able to. I will swear to never rest until your will has been executed, and I have fulfilled every need you have for me." As Calium finished, Alocer finally found his voice again.
"THIS IS MADNESS!" The beast king was shouting, denying that any of this could even be possible. "You've lost your mind, and whatever trick you're playing with that damned voice-" Alocer went silent mid-sentence, his eyes bulging as the whites mostly overtook them. Everything was just so terrifyingly silent as Death finally appeared in his vessel before the tyrant. His golden gaze was gleaming with delight as he stared into the terrified eyes of the beast king. Death spoke softly, belittling the ignorant cub tenderly as his terrible voice echoed directly into the beast's mind, far louder than before.
"Shhhh. We're having an important conversation. The irrelevant shouldn't insert themselves here." Calium chuckled behind the deity, enjoying the final show of the god humbling the beast king. It was a shame that Calium would have to wait so long for the encore but at least the human had something to look forward to.
Death turned to Calium and resumed their conversation, leaving the lion in his state of fear and rejection. `I accept all of the terms, if you do as well, speak your name, my child, speak your oath to me.'
"I, Calium Aureus, King of Adamare, agree to your terms, and accept the costs. Fulfill your promises to me."
Calium's words seem to carry across that throne room for a short moment that seemed to stretch on for ages. A final flash of lightning lit up the entire room in the brightest light just as the beast of death turned his head over his shoulder, looking back towards Alocer one final time. The deity smiled ever so gleefully towards the beast king before disappearing along with the short burst of light. Calium came back into his view as the god left the pair alone yet again.
"What have you done?" Alocer asked fearfully.
Calium was bearing his final, dazzling smile in that moment, the one he would die wearing. The human king answered warmly. "I did whatever I had to do."
Alocer snarled out his retort. "You've become an entirely different kind of monster, haven't you?"
Calium smiled a little more as he happily accepted that title. "Didn't you hear him? The stronger demons devour the weaker in the end, so I'll just become the biggest monster around if it keeps my family safe."
Alocer spat his words in desperation. "IF YOU THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT I WOULD EVER SPARE A SINGLE ONE OF YOUR KIND AFTER ALL OF THIS PROOF TO YOUR CORRUPTION, THEN YOU'RE NOT MERELY MAD, YOU'RE STUPID AS WELL."
Calium kept smiling as he replied calmly. There was no point in arguing anymore, he was just waiting for his new master to finish binding him to Solis, and then it could all finally be over... Or in so many ways, it would all begin. "Hear me now, I am the last human to fall by your command. Should you think to violate this final decree of mine, should you still seek out more blood under this moon, just know, if the world somehow sustains itself, I'll kill your son in front of you, and I'll make sure he screams for you to save him while I do it slowly."
The shields around Alocer fell away at last, and the beast scrambled to stand once more. As Alocer weighed whether or not he should make a run for it, Calium made his final declaration, using his voice of mock grandeur for the last time in that life.
"King Alocer Tonitrus, let me be the first to congratulate you on your solo victory over the King of Adamare. To think you could overcome even a legendary bloodskill by yourself, truly, they will sing songs of this great victory for you..." Calium trailed off for a moment, let his smile truly overtake his entire face, and ended his statement as he pointed the tip of the beast king's sword towards his own heart. Alocer watched on in astonishment as Calium finished his statement.
"But you and I? We will always know the truth, won't we? I'll see you in a few years, be sure to pass my condolences along to General Venatus."
Death gave the signal, and the blade of King Alocer pierced the heart of Calium Aureus, driven by his own hand. Simultaneously, the god fulfilled his end of the bargain. Many miles away, in a larger estate, the life of the would-be conqueror was cut short just before it ever began. The next sword bearer had been murdered through blood magic, and the soul of the slain Venatus cub was the first Calium would have to overtake in the afterworld. Death had need of that sword, after all, and Calium was there to serve his new master.
===
Aster backed away immediately, his breathing was shallow and rapid, a nervous sweat was forming on his brow, and his eyes were full of panic. His words came out in a shrill, near hysterical tone. "What... What are you saying? I have this wrong, right? I misunderstood something, I think I missed something... I-"
"Solis..." Calium took a single step forward as he began to console his son, but Aster took two steps back in frantic response. Calium continued very cautiously. "It was the only way."
Aster snapped back in utter refusal. "NO, THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD! Why? Why would you even consider that? How COULD you even do that? There had to be another way..."
Calium replied somberly at first, slowly growing in conviction as he confessed such a horrible truth. "There was no other way, it had to be this, it was the only way fate would accept it... Think about it for a moment, You had two goddesses rooting for your downfall, but neither would make a move if you were the last Piece keeping the sun goddess alive. You needed a place you could safely grow up, protected, with at least some people that loved you, and Jagón Venatus needed something to fill the hole that I carved through his heart. We had to stop what the true Aster Venatus would become, and we had to be sure you were somewhere the sun goddess would never dare to harm you. You had to be loved by that panther for this to ever work, because she loved him more than she hated you."
Calium paused for a brief moment of hesitation, but continued anyway, despite his son's obvious horrified expression. "The role of the fated conqueror had to be carried forward by someone, and as long as the remaining humans had no interaction or impact on the rest of the world for a long time, it could be sated by you in his place. Death told me I wouldn't like his solution, and he was right, I hated it, but it was better than ever letting you die."
Calium sighed heavily, finally solidifying the worst of the revelations for his son. "Death and I swapped the fate of the young sword with the fate of the young shield the moment I plunged that blade through my heart. You are destined to determine the fate of Alora in his place. You didn't just take his name, nor his family, you took his very role in life. You took his place... You are now the conqueror that will one day bring the entire continent to its knees. The time I could buy for you has ended now, and it is time you start living as you should. You now know all you need to make your decision, whichever one it may be, and you get to choose what you do going forward... As soon as you can face and overcome Death, that is."
Tears were falling from Aster's face long before his father ever finished his crushing confession. In that harrowing moment, Aster had a single paralyzing thought plant itself firmly before all others at the forefront of his mind. It destroyed the boy in ways he never could've imagined. Of all the terrible, and crippling truths he had been force fed over the last few months, this was the one capable of truly shatter the unbreakable shield indefinitely. This was the final, most fearful truth he could never face before, the ultimate guilt he had long since denied, and Aster felt it destroy that beacon of light deep within his very core...
It tore open the oldest wound he bore, the accusation he had always reassured himself couldn't actually be true. As he crumpled to the ground on knees far too weak to hold him up any longer, Aster managed to speak that unbearable truth with a singular, defeated whisper as the tears fell endlessly from eyes devoid of any true light anymore.
"All of this time... All of this time... Talan was right, he was right about everything." The wall of shadow separating Aster and his father from the rest of the Afterworld came crashing down as the boy finally learned all he needed to learn at long last. Stahl could finally reach his mate, or at least, he could try to reach what was left of his broken king.
===
So sorry about the delays! Switched jobs, haven't had two days off in a while, had a hectic schedule all around, was unbelievably tired, and to top it all off, had my wisdom teeth removed. Regardless to say, I've MISSED MY PROJECT!
I really didn't have enough time to write more than a few sentences at once, so I couldn't tackle this chapter like I wanted to at first. However, I did still put what little free time I had towards another aspect of this story. I spent my 45 mins for lunch the last few weeks slowly crafting a discord server for this story!
There will be exclusive content available here moving forward, and it has some nice tools like a text-based character reference sheet, and a placeholder for adding a map soon. There are places to ask for clarifications and to leave feedback as well! I'll be uploading officially commissioned illustrations here as well In the coming months. Essentially, this will see a lot of use for the editing and the fan side of things between releases. (And more so between books.)
(All 100% free. No pay-walled tiers or content, however, if you join the editing team, you gain full access to everything before anyone else.)
If you're a fan, and you don't mind sticking it out while I work out bugs and tie up loose ends, feel free to join in. Please remember this is still a new server, so I may have a few boxes ticked wrong. I believe it should mostly function well from what I've tested, but that's why I need to open it up now. This invite is good for a week, but you can always message me for a fresh one if needed.
Thanks for reading as always! Hope you enjoy what comes next. -Bayou
https://discord.com/invite/JNgDh22f