Hail's Disciple

by A. J. Morton

  “Yes, Xander. You are a god… after a fashion. But you are in a very fragile state of immortality. There is but one mortal part of you that remains. The strongest part of you. Your soul.” Glacia hung her head down low. “But even that… Is fleeting.”

  I clenched my fist. “What are you saying, Glacia?” I already knew the answer to the question. I would be a fool not too.

  “We have exactly one day before every trace of your mortality is gone. Before your soul is gone forever. The same applies to the rest of your friends as well. Come this time tomorrow… we will no longer share your bodies. Your souls will die… And only those of the gods will live on.”

  I found myself lowering my head as well. My next twenty-four hours… would be my last. Me, Travis, Strelitzia, Dia, Ana, Valerie, Zephyr, and Krysta… All of our lives were forfeit from the very beginning. “Is that all we ever were? Pawns in your game?” My despair soon turned into seething rage. “Did you never even plan on telling us? Did our lives never mean anything to you?”

  Tears started rolling down Glacia’s face. “Of course, they did!” She cried. “You are our children! But when we weigh nine lives against all the lives in the world… This is what had to be done.”

  What Glacia said made complete sense, but I still refused to accept it. That a goddess would be so willing to sacrifice the last of her followers. I was furious. I was scared. I felt like running away.

  And so… I did.

  “Glacia… I’m done.”

  “What?” The Goddess looked up at me, her eyes full of tears.

  “You heard me. I’m done. I refuse to be the pawn of the same goddess who would cast me aside like I am worth absolutely nothing. Your contract means nothing to me. Take my body. Take all of Ubiaxus. But my soul will never be yours.”

  My jaw clenched. My throat tightened. I felt myself beginning to fade away. Glacia reached out to me, but I kept getting further away from her. I left her with these final parting words.

  “You are no goddess. A goddess who gets rid of her children without giving them a choice is no goddess at all. None of you are. Goodbye, Glacia.”

  These words slowly escaped from my mouth. “Glacia, the false goddess of ice… Awaken.”

  * * *

  I opened my eyes. My hands. I stared at them. They shone with a vibrant white aura. They were real. They were here. I was here. This body no longer belonged to Xander Faust. It belonged to me. Glacia, the false goddess of ice.

  Having escaped from my prison within Xander’s mind, I should have been overjoyed. But still, his final words weighed heavily upon my mind. “You are no goddess.” The words rang true. After what I had done to the last of my followers, what right did I have to call myself a goddess?

  A voice chortled in front of me. I looked up at… that woman. That vile, evil woman. The goddess of all evil herself. Umbra. “So, the boy is gone, isn’t he?”

  “Be quiet, Umbra.” I would have killed her on the spot, if not for that damned balance. Killing her would bring something far worse. A flood of light, enough to eradicate the world itself.

  Umbra simply ignored me. She banished the darkness around us and sat down on her throne. “There’s no defeating my empire, Glacia.” The goddess looked down on me, smirking. “Coming to get Adriana was a mistake. I’ve broken the girl’s mind. She has retreated, just like your Disciple. Which leaves you two Disciples short of the prophecy.”

  “We’ll… We’ll think of something.” But I knew she was right. In the end, we had sacrificed the lives of all nine Disciples for nothing. The prophecy wouldn’t come true. The world would be plunged into darkness and there would be nothing anyone could do about it.

  “We’ll think of something?” Umbra scoffed. “No one will trust you. Xander is gone because of you. Who will stand at the side of a false goddess who would lead them to their deaths?”

  I lowered my head. She was right. If Xander was any good indication, then no one would stand by my side. But still. I had to try. For the sake of Ubiaxus. Even if I stood alone, I would defend this world to my dying breath. “Hopeless though it may be, I will see this world saved, Umbra. I promise you that.”

  Umbra smirked. “Very well then. Let the games begin. May the best goddess win.” I began to pull my cloak over my head and had barely started to leave when Umbra stopped me. “Since you have a handicap, I will grant you a boon. I will give you my Disciple. Her soul still yet resides within this flesh. All you need to do is awaken it.”

  Suddenly, Umbra’s black eyes began to twinkle. She fell down at my feet, unconscious. She was gone… for now. She was no longer a goddess, but a Disciple. Adriana.

  “Always games with you, Umbra…” I muttered, exasperated. I picked up the girl and made my way out of the door. The guard tried to stop me on the way out. I simply waved my hand. His feet froze to the ground and his mouth froze shut. I calmly left the castle grounds and made my way back to the ship.

  I clenched my fist with icy resolve, tugging my cloak’s hood, bringing it closer to my face. I would save this world from oblivion. I had to.

  Chapter 12

  It didn’t take me long to find the ship. Xander’s best friend… Travis I think his name was… awaited me on the gangplank. He looked up at me and smiled brightly. “Xander! It’s about damn time you showed up!” He took note of Adriana, who was still passed out on my back. “And I see you’re not alone…” His shoulders slumped. “You found her… The Umbran. Why is she knocked out?”

  “I would like to discuss that with everyone, Travis,” I said. “Gather everyone at the front deck. There are grave matters we must needs discuss.” I was done hiding things from all of them. It was time I told them everything.

  “Umm… Okay?” Travis furrowed his brow. “Are you alright, Xander? You sound… different.”

  “I’ll explain everything on the ship,” I assured him. “This is something you all need to hear.”

  Travis nodded and went to retrieve everyone from their quarter decks. I went up to the front deck and gently placed Adriana down next to me. A few moments later, everyone started filing out. Once they arrived, I told them everything. About what happened with Umbra. About what happened to Xander. And about how they only had about a day left to exist.

  I pulled off my hood. “This body no longer that of a mortal. It is that of a goddess. It is that of Glacia. The false goddess of ice…”

  All of the Disciples standing before me were at a loss for words. The worst part was the silence. The gloom that hung in the air as everyone realized the hopelessness of our situation.

  Travis Bronwyn, the Disciple of Terra, couldn’t look me in the eye. But still, he was the one to break the silence. “So Xander… He’s gone?”

  “Yes,” I said, finding that I was unable to meet his eyes either. “I… I’m sorry.”

  Travis’s deep brown eyes began to shine. “You’re sorry? Do you honestly believe that’s even near enough of an apology?!” Travis approached me, visibly ready to knock my head off. Honestly, would have let him. It’s what I deserved. “My best friend is GONE because of you! If you weren’t a god, I would kill you here and now!” He stopped and looked me in the eye. He was crying. He fell to his knees. “What… What is there to fight for anymore?” He rose to his feet, leaving with his head held low.

  Dia and Ana Luz, the twin Disciples of Lumos, gazed at me, visibly distraught. They turned to each other. Ana curled her fists. “I always knew that the Glacians were the ones to fear… But I’m starting to think their goddess is the worst of all.” She turned back and ran back to the quarter deck, fuming.

  Dia spared one final glance, disappointment writ clearly upon her face. “For almost my entire life, I have served at the Church of Lumos… I have worshiped the gods. But now… I see just how twisted they truly are.” She followed her sister’s example and left.

  Valerie Tempest, Disciple of Fulger, looked at me hopelessly. Looking her in the eyes hurt me more than a thousand needles on my skin. They w
ere empty. They had lost their spark, now darker than ever. “I… I need some time to process this.” She retreated back to the confines of the quarter deck.

  Zephyr Makani, the Disciple of Ventus, for the first time, seemed to be at a loss for words. I didn’t blame him. The god he worshiped had robbed him of the thing he loved most in the world. His freedom. “Yeah… I should probably get outta here too.” He flew high into the sky, soon disappearing from our sight.

  Kai Strom, the Disciple of Aqua crossed his arms. He didn’t seem upset or even saddened. He just stood there with a blank expression. “I see… So, this is it then.” He said, finally. He turned and went back to his quarters without another word.

  Strelitzia Cadenza, the Disciple of Pyros, faced me, her eyes ablaze with hatred. “So. You would cast us aside like the pawns we are? Is that all we are worth to you?” Suddenly, the fire in her eyes vanished. Something had broken in her. “Is this… Truly what is right? Sacrificing lives for lives?” She turned around, her back to me. “I… Need some time alone too.” She, like the others, walked back into the quarter deck.

  Krysta Tanda, the Disciple of Kronos, was the only one who remained. Or… was it her? Something didn’t seem the same.

  “It sure has been a while since we spoke, Glacia.” It was immediately clear that it was not Krysta talking, but Kronos, the god of time. “At least in the flesh. Although I do wish our reunion were under better circumstances.”

  “Kronos…” It was he who had concocted the plan to save Ubiaxus. It was he who delivered the prophecy to his Disciple, Krysta. “How did you-”

  “Glacia, you know damned well I hate being asked questions,” Kronos said, annoyed. “You were going to ask me how I seized control of this body, weren’t you?”

  I nodded, taken aback. I then came to the answer I was looking for on my own. “Did you…” Everything became clear in an instant. “Kronos, you sly fox.”

  “Yes. I’ve been using the girl as a puppet from the very beginning,” Kronos said. It made sense. Even as the Disciple of Kronos, Krysta shouldn’t have known about the War of the Heavens. It was an event that happened before the formation of Ubiaxus, before the beginning of time itself. “I didn’t even need a trance. The real Krysta simply relinquished her soul to me after I told her who I was. She couldn’t handle the responsibility of being my Disciple. I mean… I knew she couldn’t and that’s why I chose her.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “So now we’re just killing mortals for the fun of it?”

  Kronos shrugged. “The girl would have been poisoned just a few hours later. She’d have fallen painfully ill and died within three days. I saved her the agony. If anything she should be grateful. Besides, she was never necessary. The ‘Disciple of Kronos’ was never supposed to be anything more than a guide for the heroes. Nothing we needed for the prophecy to come true.”

  I sighed. That was Kronos for you. Always putting practicality over morals. Still, talking to him was a relief. He could give me the answers I sought. “So, Kronos. Please tell me that losing my Disciple and the trust of all the others was part of your master plan.”

  “Sadly… No.” Kronos seemed sullen. “It was Umbra… She’s been playing us all since the very beginning. She predicted our every move from the very beginning.”

  I tilted my head. “But you’re the god of time. Surely you predicted this.”

  Kronos sighed. “Spoken like one who doesn’t understand the fundamentals of time magic.” Seeing my confused expression, he explained. “Timelines are divided into three types of events. Past, present, and future. The first two are set in stone. There is no changing what is happening and what has happened. The future, on the other hand, is sloppy.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “There are multiple events that shape the future. Every action or inaction creates an infinite number of other timelines. So, after the past and present, time spreads out, just as the branches of a tree. But still, I can usually pick out the biggest branch, the most likely event. Umbra, however, broke the rules and played me for a fool.”

  I was utterly lost at this point. “But how did she-”

  “Goodness, Glacia, enough with the questions! I was getting there!” Kronos cleared his throat. “As you know, Umbra is the goddess of all that is horrible in the world. Among those things is chaos. Chaos bends the branches of time itself, mixing them together and distorting them. That’s what she’s been doing from the very beginning. It was so subtle that I didn't even notice the difference. As it stands, my ability to see into the future is unreliable. It will take years, or even decades, for me to make sense of the future.” Kronos stared at the ground at a loss for words.

  I slumped my shoulders. There was no plan. Umbra was just playing games with us, as she always did. Making us think what we did was right. She had won her game. There was no hope. “So… We’ve lost.”

  Kronos shook his head. “I… Didn’t say that. I do have an idea that may work.”

  I blinked. “And what’s that?”

  “Remember, Glacia. There is no life without death, no joy without misery, nor order without chaos.” I knew those words. I had said those words before, to Xander. It was the law of balance that kept the universe in check. “Everything has a counterpart. The Dyad keeps all in check. So if Umbra can distort a timeline…”

  My eyes widened. “Then Lumos can bring order to it again.”

  “Exactly. With Lumos’s magic, we can undo Umbra’s spell and I can see into the future. A timeline exists where we are victorious. Umbra couldn’t obscure that much. We simply need to find it. Lumos can light the way.” Kronos suddenly looked away. “However… actually accessing Lumos’s power will be easier said than done.”

  I sighed. I would need to convince Dia, and after what I did to Xander, I doubted she’d want to let assist us. I looked up at Kronos hopefully. “Do you think you can convince the girl to let us use his power?” Kronos had always been better at convincing people to do things. Probably because he always knew what to say to them.

  This time, however, Kronos simply shook his head. “Nothing I say will restore her faith in the gods,” he said. “I don’t need to see into the future to know that the words will mean nothing coming from my mouth. They need to come for you, Glacia.”

  I had a feeling he’d say something like that. I was the leader of the gods. Our course of action was my decision. I was the one to blame. “Very well. I shall talk to the girl.”

  I walked around Kronos to enter the quarter deck. I gently knocked on the door of Dia and Ana’s room. The door opened a crack and a pair of bright golden eyes peered through it. “Ana’s asleep,” Dia whispered. “What do you need?”

  “I was hoping I could speak to you,” I answered. “About everything.”

  Being the polite girl she was, and likely for no other reason, Dia agreed. She left her chambers, closing the door behind her.

  “Follow me,” I said. “We have much to discuss.” Dia followed me out to the front deck. Kronos was out of sight, probably listening from afar.

  I stopped once I reached the farthest end of the deck. I looked out at the empty expanse of desert surrounding Terra. It was beautiful. And as much as I despised myself for it, a part of me was filled with glee. I had longed for this. To be back in the lands that I once wandered.

  I shook my head, remembering the nine lives that I had forfeited for this feeling. Nine people that I had relegated to the same fate as the gods. This was wrong. And I realized that no number of words could make it right.

  But still… I had to try.

  I pulled the hood off my head, letting my snow-white hair fly free. I took a deep breath, taking in everything around me. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked Dia. “For centuries I have been alone in nothingness, longing to return to Ubiaxus. I would have given anything for this. And yet now that I have it… all I can feel is guilt.”

  “And for good reason, too.” Dia’s expression was a combination of g
rief and rage. “Nine lives. Nine.”

  “It was for the good of Ubiax-”

  “Don’t give me that crap,” Dia interrupted me. Her usual sweet, calm voice was gone. “I refuse to believe that it was all for the good of Ubiaxus. Maybe that was your excuse. Maybe it was part of the reason. But no. You made this decision because you wanted to come back. To wander the plains of Ubiaxus once more. Look me in the eyes and tell me I’m wrong.”

  But I couldn’t. I wanted to be able to tell her that everything we did was for the good of Ubiaxus but that would have been a lie. I had told her myself after all. I had been longing for centuries to return.

  “And what of Ana?!” Dia raged. “I know you heard everything that Xander heard. What of my sister?!” Tears streamed down her face as she spoke. She radiated an aura of pure amber light. “I made a promise to her! That I would never leave her side. That even when all was gone, I would be there for her! And now, thanks to you false gods, she will be left with nothing! NOTHING!”

  On that last word, a shockwave of magical energy emitted from Dia, strong enough to knock me to the ground. The blast of power seemed to take her by surprise.

  Dia herself fell to her knees. “For my whole life, I revered the gods. But now… I despise them.” Tears streamed from her amber eyes. She had the look of a woman defeated. “Xander was right. About all of you. You’re no gods. You’re just mortals with too much power.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. How could I? She was right after all. There was nothing I could say to console her. Nothing I could do to restore her faith.

  Dia… Stay strong.

  Dia looked up at me, taken aback. It took me a few moments to realize that I had said those words aloud.

  I looked up into the sky, at the sunlight pouring through the clouds. It was time for me to make this right. Not for Ubiaxus. Not for myself. But for the Disciples that I had forsaken.