Vis only snickered.
“So Yuki will side with us I assume? Lex is his son after all,” Azar said.
“We cannot make any assumptions on only that basis. Lex was also his son when Yuki offered him up for the gods’ schemes. For now, let us get to Lex.”
And with that, Vis shifted everyone to where Lex was. They looked down at Lex, who appeared almost too peaceful to endure the nightmare that would be cast upon him.
***
“This rain that pours down is the true darkness of the Zagans,” Vis told Clover and Azar, who he had brought with him into Lex’s soul. The Lex you two once knew is no more. The darkening has begun. Finally, when the darkness drowns him, he will become the pinnacle of darkness – the only force that can fight our enemies.”
“And Lex… He will be turned into a monster…” Clover said, tears rolling down her face. “I… I did this… What about when he sees me when he wakes up?”
“It will not even slow the darkening,” Vis said. “The process is irreversible.” He looked up at the dark clouds. The rain was pouring now even harder than before.
Chapter 26: The Summit
Loud, nervous chattering filled the House of Parliament. Some members were just scurrying in and taking their seat. Everyone was asking questions and making speculations, but the only man who had the answers sat silently with a stern face, waiting for everyone to arrive and settle down.
“Why do you think he has called an emergency meeting in a time like this? We just met last week, and things have finally gotten calm. So what now?” one official asked another. Finally, the last nobleman in the fine Notherlandian threads entered the room and bowed in apology, hurrying to his seat.
Kaleb stood on the high platform and raised his hand. Those before him quieted instantly. There were 53 of them there, many of them powerful sorcerers. These were the most important people in Notherland. The Councillors would usually make 60, but not this time.
“Leaders of Notherland,” the Prime Minister began. And then he said nothing for almost a full minute, searching his mind for how to proceed. How would he not sound like a complete lunatic?
“My people… God has spoken to me.”
After a brief moment of silence, chattering and confusion erupted.
“He is come to me in the flesh!” Kaleb continued. At this, some of the men even began to stand.
“Is he getting mad?” many asked, only in different ways.
“What do you mean by this?” Alphanzo – Kaleb’s right hand whenever he was under any form of attack – asked.
“If you will all shut up and listen!” the Prime Minister blasted. And then there was perfect silence – more of a tense stillness. Kaleb had never before acted like this toward them.
He now began to pace the floor. “Lord Oga has appeared to me, and you won’t need too much faith for this – as he will appear before us in a matter of moments.” Even with this, the chatter didn’t rise again. But of course, most people tossed around the same kind of eyes to one another. But Alphanzo kept his eyes steady on Kaleb.
“All this time, this title of Prime Minister, and of course the Ogal Council, have been a mere stand-in for the truest authority – Lord Oga. And I stand here before you today to make it known that I have fulfilled my time as ruler here. Lord Oga has returned, and he will take it from here…”
Before anyone could ask for clarification, it appeared through a sudden cloud of whiteness. Of course, the usual reaction would have everyone taking an immediate stance. But this time, the man who appeared out of a cloud of mana carried with him a presence that froze everyone’s muscles, and even their minds.
“Thank you, Kaleb,” he said, breaking the dead silence. Kaleb nodded and smirked a little, then took his seat.
“You people of little faith… I am he of whom you built statues. I am the god you pray to. I am Oga.”
After a while of processing all of this, one nobleman finally asked the important question. Well he made an attempt. “How do we know that you’re--” His body floated up as Oga stretched his hand out toward him. The middle-aged man and fifth grade magician zoomed across the room; his throat, within a second, was in Oga’s grip. Oga then released him, and he fell dead.
“My people, we have an urgent matter to attend to. We have no time for unbelief… Any other sceptics? Very well. Let us commence.”
***
The small group that would be the core of the world’s defence stood around the sleeping boy. They were in a dome of ice, where they had found him sleeping. He had been left there by Yuki.
“Ruben, any updates on Kizer and Oga?” Azar asked.
“As we speak, Oga is meeting with the Notherlandians.”
“He plans to use the Notherlandian army as a sweeper,” Vis said.
“At the very least, our army… their army could wipe Notherland clean,” Hawthorne said, distress heavy on her face. “The sheer number of that army makes it impossible to counter them. The scale of their attack would be too large!” Hawthorne continued.
“How strong, and how many are they?” Ohm asked, combing his beard with his fingers.
“1,190,000,” Hawthorne said. “Most of our soldiers are third and fourth grade magicians.”
Ohm laughed. “Just over a million insects? I can personally take care of that.”
“Is he joking?” Hawthorne asked.
“Ohm has very powerful summonings. Including entire armies,” Vis said.
Viknor nearly lost his mind at hearing this.
“The problem with fighting an army of that size isn’t really its overall power, then,” Azar said. “It would be moving quickly enough in countering that many enemies to reduce the casualty count.”
“And Kizer, as well as the sages, wield the ability to create large elemental armies,” Vis said.
“That means we will have to seek out and attack them promptly,” Viknor said.
“Yes. If we give them a chance to create these armies, they will destroy everything and everyone before we even get a chance to battle them,” Azar came in.
“Kizer and Oga are planning to remain in the background for the first phase of the attack,” Ruben informed.
“While the sages and Witch counter the strongest oppositions, those two will work on mass annihilation,” said Vis.
“You mentioned Witch. What about Wizard?” In asked.
“Somehow, even I cannot track his movements,” Vis said.
“Neither can I,” Ruben conceded.
“But I do know what he is after,” Vis said.
“The ancient city,” Ruben said.
“What city?” Azar asked. “You couldn’t mean the same one that the Mananka had built. Wasn’t that destroyed?”
“Weren’t the gods dead?” Vis asked.
Viknor laughed.
“I have an idea of where it is. But too vaguely. It is guarded by several layers of sealing. But the one that proves most troublesome is the seal that hides its location perfectly. So reaching there is momentarily impossible. That city – Orenda – is the only place my eyes cannot reach,” Vis said.
“Heh. I thought your eyes could now see everything on this earth,” In said.
“It can,” Vis said quickly, then cast his eyes to the skies.
“No way…” Hawthorne said under her breath, looking up into the clouds. They all looked up. No-one there was a stranger to strangeness, but this one was quite hard to swallow.
“Since it seems Oga and Kizer are about ready to strike, though it feels premature, I must gather everyone,” Azar said.
“We’re taking Lex with us, right? We can’t leave him here,” Clover said.
“It is important that he wakes here alone,” Vis said. “King Azar, please take everyone back to your tower, and gather all of your forces. Shade and I will stay here and keep our eyes on Lex from a distance. Once he awakes, we will take him to you.”
Azar nodded. “Everyone, let’s move,” he said.
“You two,
if you even think about hurting Lex…” Clover said. But as soon as she looked at Shade, she became weak and light-headed.
“Nothing that we can do to Lex can compare with what you have done to him,” Shade said.
“Shade,” Vis said and touched his shoulder. “Please be off. We will take care of Lex. We are all on the same team.”
“Before we go off,” Azar said. “Ohm, what kind of weapons do you have in your arsenal? If you can summon armies, you must have strong weapons wielded by great warriors of old.”
“What are you looking for?” Ohm asked like an adept merchant, smirking proudly.
“I need swords for two of my men especially. They are incredibly strong swordsmen, but--”
“Say no more. I have the perfect weapons,” Ohm said. “I had planned to have my summonings use them, but since you asked, I’ll deliver unto you the two most powerful swords in all of history.”
Though statements as high as this would usually be considered hyperbole, those who listened to Ohm knew that he meant this quite literally.
Ohm stooped down on the snow and haphazardly drew some patterns on the ground. Hawthorne and Viknor especially watched curiously. “Summoning! Lightning Cobra!” he called forth, and in a flash of yellow light, a scabbarded sword appeared. The beautiful piece of work was patterned with a white snake winding around it. “Steel Rebel!” he also called, and another sword appeared beside the Lightning Cobra, but this was not in a scabbard. Azar was a bit sceptical, as the sword looked quite ordinary.
“These swords were crafted by Oga himself,” Ohm said. “He made them after he made the blade that Zakashi wields.” He smirked when he saw the faces of those who must have been wondering if this could have been true. “They are imbued with special magic. These swordsmen who will use them – if they are weaklings, they will be consumed by the magic within these swords.”
Clover gasped at this.
“If there are any who will be able to use these swords, they must be Blade and Kyle,” Azar assured confidently.
“The Lightning Cobra inflicts an instant poisoning upon whoever it strikes, rendering them completely and irreversibly paralyzed within four seconds.”
“What?! How is this sword not the most famous and precious blade in the world, then?” Ruben asked.
“You see, boy, sometimes even men like me have to tamper with history so everyone won’t know of things like this.”
Everyone suddenly became somewhat wary Ohm as he said that.
“Oga also fashioned another pair of blades called the Air Cutters. Back in my day I had to end up destroying one of them along with the enemy who wielded it. This was before I perfected my sealing technique. Such a grand waste. As for the other, I gave up after spending years searching for it.”
“And the Steel Rebel?” Azar asked.
“Ah, this is my personal favourite,” Ohm said. “It inflicts unbearable pain upon whoever makes contact with it, whether directly or otherwise. The user of the sword is exempted of course.”
“Directly or otherwise?” Azar asked.
Ohm grappled up the sword quickly and made a hasty slash at Azar. Naturally, Azar drew sword and blocked the attack. The king uttered a horrid cry as he felt a great pain sweep through his entire being. He dropped his sword and staggered back, his eyes wide.
Clover and Viknor were just calming their mana, seeing it was only a demonstration.
“Are you insane?!” Azar blasted.
Ohm laughed. “With an effect like this, any enemy will be rendered unable to fight against the user of this sword.”
“There are a few weapons that I have that are more powerful than these, but I will have to reserve them. Only my summonings can use them anyhow.”
“Thank you. These two will be well-used,” Azar said, casing his sword. The pain had already fully subsided.
***
“And so, this world must be cleansed. A new era will have to be ushered in for the human race to even stand a chance against the Zagans,” Oga said. “This is how you will proceed. The Notherlandian army will be a part of the purge. They will be deployed to other countries, where they will fight until only they remain.”
Many figured that Oga’s plan must have been to then destroy Notherland’s soldiers and every other Notherlandian after the army would have done their part. But looking down at the dead nobleman still on the floor was enough to keep everyone’s mouths shut.
“Of course, in the new world, none of you will be allowed to exist. But you are Notherland. You are my precious heir. And so, I will allow this country’s people to live out their days peacefully. There will be new rules. Of course, the most paramount one will be that having children would no longer be legal. I am giving you the opportunity to live, but I will not allow even you, my dear children, to make me wait too long to start the new world. Now, Kaleb, schedule a meeting with your army for three hours,” Oga said. “Choose a suitable place. I will address them then.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
***
Cyrus had been standing over her for almost a full hour, watching her sleep. “You will be mine, Zen… You will love me.” They had been training in the same garden for nine straight hours, so she was exhausted. He looked up quickly, a force field instinctively covering him and Zen. As the red mana disappeared, the king of Magma Land was revealed.
Azar looked down at the sleeping girl and smiled a little.
“Is it time?” Cyrus asked. He was suddenly unhappy.
“Yes. The war will begin today. Wake her. I need you both. We are making a summit at my tower.”
***
“She isn’t quite ready, but she can still fight,” Hawthorne said. She and Clover were looking down at Star. Her recovery was now at 87%.
The ex-councillor entered a code into the incubator and it opened. Clover immediately touched Star’s forehead.
***
The king made his way quickly through the thick crowd of loud people. “What on earth is going in here?” He pushed through until finally he could see what all the fuss was about. Thousands of people thickly surrounded what seemed to be a stage. “What the--”
On the stage bordered off with barbed wire and a ring of security officers were two men – one about to kill and the other about to die.
Mike raised his hand out to the people and turned around, and their cheering stopped. And then he spoke. “So this old fool here thinks that setting fire to his wife and his house so they burn to ashes is something that I, the Silver Saviour, will stand for!” The people roared again, until Mike stretched out his hand to them. “This man even offered to bribe me when I caught him!” More noise erupted. “With forty-three silver coins!” Now most of the noise turned to laughter.
The old man was on his knees, his wrists and ankles secured with rope. He was crying, begging and pleading with muffled words that no-one would listened to.
Mike clenched his fists, and iodium coated him. Now, the crowd went wild. “My people! Tell me! Does he deserve the fist or the spike?!” Mike solicited, growing a spike from his left palm that could easily slide through any of the old man’s bones. He turned around a few hundred degrees as the crowd chanted. Both ‘spike’ and ‘fist’ seemed to have been evenly favoured.
Mike cupped his ear and leaned toward the crowd, and they got louder.
“I think spike is the winner!” he declared, and then there was more cheering. “Once more, justice must be delivered!” he said, then pulled his hand back to send the spike down into the man’s forehead.
“Mike!” Azar called, and pushed past the security guards, grabbing and melting the thin barbed wire, and tearing it to enter the stage.
“Who is this—Azar? Azar! My man! It’s been too long!” Mike greeted. “Everyone, this here is the king of Magma Land! Give him a hero’s welcome!” And a deafening hero’s welcome Azar did receive. Azar couldn’t help but bow at the people. Then he moved over to Mike quickly.
“Mike, we must go now,” Azar said.
“I’m in the middle of an execution!” the Ionide whined.
Azar grabbed him in annoyance and shifted off with him.
“Thank you! Thank you good king!” the old crying man said, not realizing the execution would go on – except by the means that was used before the advent of the Silver Saviour.
***
Oga was almost finished with his address. Before him stood the most massive gathering in centuries. Kaleb could never address the entire army at once. He would send messages down the lines, as that was far more practical. But this time, the mass of over one million soldiers stood on Ghau, a large plateau a hundred miles east of Mount Oga. Oga stood on a white dragon that hovered above them as he spoke. His mana had created a medium that carried his voice evenly to everyone there. Word quickly spread of the anomalous gathering, and people from everywhere close by travelled to Ghau to see him who they had called God all their lives.
“You are soldiers of God!” Oga charged them. “The mission ahead is brutal and daunting. But it must be done. And you must play your part. Then, Notherland will be not the supreme world power, but the world itself. I am resurrected. Now let us resurrect Notherland together!” The roar of the over-million soldiers shook the earth. This would be the grandest and most important battle in history. And they would be at front of it – led by God himself.
***
“There you are,” an intrusive voice frightened the beauty, who was gazing out at the wild sunflowers in a meadow on an unnamed island.
She turned around to see a man she recognized from long ago – a man that not even eternity could fade from her mind. She tried to hold her composure, but she was shaking slightly.
“Wizard,” she said.
“An intriguing little girl you are,” he said, walking toward the heavily-tattooed woman. She stepped back as he moved toward her. And this even further intrigued Wizard, as very few enemies could manage to even move in his presence.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“There are very few things that I cannot decipher. And you are one of them. How do you exist? Who or what are you?”
The Ancients Page 35