by T. Sae-Low
“It really exists.” Kara was still in disbelief. The Candidate was both terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time. The power it held was beyond impressive; it truly was godlike. It wasn’t quite human, or quite animal, either. An imposing figure indeed, it appeared to be nearly eight feet tall. It wore a metal helmet, disguising its face underneath. Its arms were chained to a metal cage, most likely its prison or containment unit. It was clearly evident that even the Vicedonians were scared of its immense power. Soldiers closest to it stood at the ready with spears, axes, and morningstars in hand, but their body language told a different story. With knees shaking, they backed away at the slightest movement the Candidate made, and it was understandable. Its body glowed bright blue, almost as if it had captured lightning and consumed it whole.
“So that’s what a Candidate looks like,” said Gama, his tone full of both wonder and hesitation. “It’s… gigantic… and look at its body, it glows like something…heavenly. Did you see him toss that massive boulder like it was nothing? That can only be the power of a god.”
Raden’s eyes were transfixed, “They’re everywhere,” he whispered. The words seemed to slip out amidst his fascination with the Candidate.
“What’s everywhere?” Kara asked curiously. She stared out towards the happenings below, and could see no such things. She looked back at Raden with concern written across her face. “Raden… what are you talking abo—?”
“Look out!” Gama threw his arms tightly around his companions. Instinctively they all shut their eyes tight, while the deafening sound of a boulder smashing into the mountainside below them filled their ears. Debris rained down on them. They paused for a moment, unsure if another attack would follow, but none did. They opened their eyes to see dust and smoke obstructing their view. Slowly it dissipated, and beneath where they laid hidden in the brush, they could see how horrifically the mountain had been abused. Bruised, battered, and charred, the rocky ground had been smashed to bits, a massive crater tattooed into the earth.
“Do they know we’re here?” asked Kara, deep concern in her voice.
Off in the distance, the sound of another boulder crashing against the rocky surroundings caught their attention. They surveyed the activity below, but there seemed to be no movements made towards the foothills where they hid.
“I don’t think so,” Gama replied. “It looks like the Candidate is just exercising his godly muscles.”
“What should we do, Raden?” Kara glanced over at him, but noticed something strange about his behavior.
Gama had taken noticed as well. “Rad, what’s wrong?”
Raden was covering his eyes with his right hand. He could barely keep his eyes open, squinting hard as he looked out at the newly formed crater. A symbol of the Ancients glowed brightly before him, bombarding his vision with mysterious radiance.
“It’s…”
“Tell me, Raden.” She grabbed him tightly by the wrist.
Raden found it difficult to focus on her words. The symbol pulled at him, captivating his attention. “It’s just…” but his voice began to trail off.
Gama lowered his voice to a comforting whisper. “Rad… what is it? You can tell us.”
The glow of the symbol began to dull, slowly fading away from view. Raden reached for his head, massaging his temples, trying hard to regain his composure. Raden finally looked at his companions. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Kara, Gama, and even Oli stared at Raden with bewildered eyes.
“Something I didn’t mention about my meeting with the Prophet. Something about why he chose me for this mission.”
They weren’t quite sure how to respond, staring at each other perplexed at Raden’s words.
Kara finally broke the silence. “You said that he had a vision of you.”
“He did, but that wasn’t the only thing. He also told me that I was the only one who could complete this mission successfully, because of what I can… see.”
“What you can see?” asked Kara. “You’re not making any sense, Raden.”
It was too late to try and keep any more secrets. He was weary from trying to hide his visions anyways. He remembered how freeing it had felt to tell the truth to the Prophet. If he couldn’t share his secret with his closest friends, whom he trusted and loved, then whom could he tell? It was time to divulge the whole truth. “I have… visions. It started when I was young. After my parents… were killed, I began to see strange glowing patterns. Sometimes in a tree, or river, or mountain. I never knew what they meant, or why I could see them, and nobody else could. They appeared out of nowhere. I’d stare at them, trying to make sense of what they were, but they slowly faded away.”
Both Kara and Gama suddenly realized the same thing. Gama started first. “Your constant daydreaming. Teachers thought you were just absent-minded. Your mind was always wandering in class, or on the playground. I thought you were just thinking…”
“…about your parents,” Kara finished. “I never asked because I thought it was too painful for you to talk about. It didn’t seem right for me to pry.”
“I know. I know you guys cared. But I never wanted to burden you with my troubles. I never understood it myself, so I didn’t know how to explain it to you guys either. It wasn’t until my meeting with the Prophet that I better understood the significance of those markings.”
“What did he tell you, Raden?” asked Kara.
Raden shifted slightly. “He told me that these strange, glowing patterns that I was seeing were left behind by other Candidates. He had heard stories of supposed Candidates appearing throughout the history of Eos, and the common thread among them was these markings. Whatever they touched became marked, a sign of their godlike powers.”
“What happened to these other Candidates?” asked Gama.
“The Prophet said they were false Candidates. Corrupted by their power, they went insane, unable to handle God’s gift. Some died, while others were killed. None of them proved to be the savior from Prophecy Rock. But even these false Candidates are still powerful. The Prophet had heard rumors recently, and so he wanted me to track down this one.” Raden gestured back towards the beast.
“So… do you see markings out there, Rad?” asked Gama.
“Yes, the boulders he destroyed were littered with markings. Actually, I’ve been seeing these markings ever since Pyteria City.”
“Pyteria?” asked Kara curiously. She thought about the lead they had discovered there. “The man… with the burns.”
“Those weren’t burns, at least the way I saw them. His body was covered in the glowing patterns. The Prophet said that some believed these markings to be symbols. Symbols belonging to the Ancients.”
“Like the Draco Guardians at Sargatum?” asked Gama.
Raden nodded. “I also saw the symbols in Kih Bayar. They were everywhere. The foothills of the Voras Mountains were covered in them. That’s why I was so positive we were going the right direction. We’ve been following that thing’s trail this whole time.” Raden felt a great sense of relief to finally tell his closest friends the truth, but he still felt guilty about having kept it secret from them for so long.
Kara could immediately see the guilt on his face. Over the years, as their relationship grew, she had found it easier to read his emotions. Kara reached for Raden’s hand, gently squeezing it. She interlocked her fingers between his. She leaned in… and paused as she noticed Gama staring at them with wide eyes. “Turn around and cover your eyes, Gama.”
“But…”
“Just do it… and tell Oli to cover hers, too.”
“Fine.” Gama turned his head in the opposite direction and shut his eyes. “You better do it, too, Oli.”
Oli let out a slight whimper as she placed her small paws over her eyes.
Kara turned back towards Raden. “I understand, Raden. I understand why you didn’t tell us. Gama and I don’t have to live with such a burden like yours; it isn’t our place to judge. You did what
you felt was right, trying to protect us. It’s okay, Raden. It really is.” She leaned in and kissed him tenderly, her soft lips massaging his as they held onto the moment, allowing it to linger.
Inside, Raden could feel the doubt and guilt begin to melt away, replaced by feelings of warmth and love. He knew he had brought the right people for this mission. Their lips gently parted as Raden stared deeply into her eyes. “Thank you for understanding, Kara.”
“Is it over yet?” asked Gama.
Raden turned around, “Yeah. And Gama… thanks for—”
“No worries, Rad. I know you had your reasons, and that’s fine with me. Just don’t kiss me or anything.”
Raden laughed at Gama’s humorous dismissal.
With a great burden beginning to lift off his shoulders, Raden felt renewed energy coursing through him. He turned his attention back towards the Candidate, his companions following suit, both sympathetic and supportive of their friend. As they continued their surveillance of the Candidate, they noticed something familiar about it. Kara couldn’t put her finger on what. She studied its body intensely. It wore no armor across its torso, but its legs were covered with animal hides. Its gloves and boots were fashioned from furs as well. Raden must’ve been thinking the same thing.
“It’s his clothes,” he said. “They look like… Gokstad armor. His fur pants and boots, the helmet is distinctly Gokstad as well, with overlaid metal across the eyes, and horns jutting out the sides. It’s definitely Gokstad gear.”
“So you’re saying that thing used to be a Gokstad?” asked Gama.
“That’s my assumption,” answered Raden.
“Man, to think that the Candidate would’ve been a Gokstad. Who’d thought that the case. I never—”
Kara covered Gama’s mouth, muffling his sentence. “Shhh… something’s happening.”
The Candidate levitated another boulder, but this time it turned its attention to the Vicedonian soldiers guarding it and heaved the massive rock at them. The soldiers leapt out of the way, narrowly missing being crushed. The Candidate roared, sending shockwaves out through the surrounding armies, forcing them down to their knees.
The three of them couldn’t hear what the soldiers were saying from their hiding spot, but it was clear that the Vicedonians had no control over it. The chains around its wrists, the metal cage nearby, the large contingent of armed guards; no, they may be in possession of it, but they were by no means in control of it. The Candidate tried to grab a nearby guard, but the chains restrained him, keeping him in place. Rather than giving up, it did the unthinkable. The guard began to levitate into the air, floating high above the ground. He dropped his spear and screamed for help, but it was too late. He flew towards the Candidate, unable to fend off the forceful gravitational pull of its power. The Candidate grabbed him by the arms and bit deep into him. It devoured him piece by piece, leaving nothing but bits of crumpled metal behind. Freshly fed, it swung its arm, slashing at the air, but the force of its swing toppled the first row of soldiers.
Some of the soldiers in charge were gesturing angrily towards the metal cage. They had lost control, and now it was time to cage the beast again. The soldiers encircled the beast holding specially designed spears with fiery blue tips, perhaps modified to tame it. They pushed it back slowly towards the metal prison. The beast hissed and roared at them, but perhaps their numbers were too many. It inched back step by step, finally backing its way into the cage. The soldiers quickly locked the cage from every side. Before the last lock could be put in place, the beast punched through the side of the cage, grabbing a soldier by the neck. It pulled him into the prison, devouring its second meal. The rest of the soldiers backed away, unsure of what to do. Even the captains had no clue. They watched helplessly as the sides of the cage tore apart from its hinges. The beast shredded the metal into tiny bits, lifting the shambles into the air and throwing them downwards at the Vicedonian guards. Some managed to block the attack with their shields, but others weren’t so fortunate, suffering puncture wounds in their legs and arms.
The beast seemed to be enjoying itself now, letting out a deep, coarse laugh from within. Despite its ferocious and bestial appearance and behavior, it proved to be more intelligent than even the Vicedonian soldiers credited it for. It had played them for fools, acting coy by entering into the cage, only to completely tear it apart from inside. It was toying with them, eager to feed and destroy. The Vicedonian soldiers backed away completely now as catapults were launched at the beast. Four giant boulders flew into the sky, capturing the beast within an amalgamated shadow. The beast stood still as the boulders began to descend. They rained down hard, cutting across the sky with growing momentum. The boulders were about to make impact, when they came to a complete and abrupt stop, inches away from the beast’s head. All four boulders floated aimlessly in the air, orbiting slowly as the beast contemplated its next move. With a push of its hand, the boulders shot right back into the directions they came from, destroying all four of the catapults that had tried to do the beast harm. Everywhere the beast attacked, Raden saw the symbols of the Ancients marking the ground. No wonder the people of Kih Bayar fled. Who could possibly stop such a monster? The child was right, God had come, and indeed, death had come with him.
The beast had managed to push the Vicedonian soldiers so far back that it basically stood alone in the center with a hundred foot radius about it. Nobody knew what to do.
“Looks like the Vicedonians bit off more than they could chew with that monster of theirs.” Gama chuckled before Kara shot him a serious stare.
“This isn’t time for jokes, Gama, we need to figure everything out about the Candidate while its here.”
Raden never took his eyes off the beast. “Their own army is terrified of it. How did they think they could possibly control such power?”
“That’s what they’re trying to figure out, Raden, is how to control it. If they do, they’ll have the ultimate weapon in their hands. The Renzai Empire isn’t any different. Isn’t that another reason why we’re here? It isn’t just for recon, now is it? If the Ministry of Transcendence could get their hands on the Candidate, then we could have the power to win this war.”
The thought never occurred to Raden, but he knew Kara was right. She was always right about topics like this. How she managed to read between the lines and ascertain the true meaning of things was something he always envied and adored about her.
The Vicedonian soldiers began to shift slightly. From the intruders’ hiding spot, the group could see a lone figure making his way through the file and ranks. He made his way into the circle, approaching the beast by himself.
“Is this guy insane?” asked Gama incredulously. “Didn’t he just see what the beast did to a bunch of soldiers a moment ago?”
The figure didn’t seem to hesitate whatsoever. It walked straight at the beast, hands open, trident still on his back. The beast prepared itself for another attack, but the lone figure never missed a step. A trident? Raden thought to himself. There was only one person in the Vicedonian army he knew that wielded a trident.
“It’s not just anyone, guys, it’s the commander of their Second Unit. He’s said to be the strongest of all four generals. That right there, is General Brontes.”
Chapter 31