by Ryan Johnson
Marina smiled and walked closer to Sora. “Do you know what life was like? Before the Mortal Realm?”
“No, why?” asked Sora.
“Oh, I was just curious about the history,” answered Marina.
“Well, I don’t know much but I do remember everything from what I’ve learned from my Mother. But I remember it was a long history my mother told me, so I’ll relatively be short about it. As you already know, there were the Three Gods that created the Mortal Realm, the realm that held the Titans, the Pangaeans, the humans, and the creatures. And they all lived in different generations: the First Generation, the Second Generation, and the current Third Generation. And for some reason, they call the Generation of Living Life, Living Life representing the mortals.
“Now, before the Mortal Realm, there was just the view of the stars spreading across as far as the eye can see. Before the Titans of the First Generation of Living Life yet the Mortal Realm came into existence, there were the Three Gods. Their first creations were of the Spirits or ghosts, if you like. These ghosts came to be known as Angels, celestial spirits in the purest of sense.
“And over time, there was prosperity between the Three Gods and the Angels. But, just like the Titans, a small group saw the magnificent power of the gods and wanted become gods themselves. However, they were casted down by other Angels. Those evil that rebelled ended up being called Fallen Angels.
“In order to conceal these Fallen Angels, or known as Demons or Devils, the Mortal Realm was created and the physical land was set as a prison to hold the Demons. And the Titans were the first physical creations to the wardens. But they ended up falling as well; it is believed one Demon managed to break from the group of Fallen Angels and ended up into the Mortal Realm. He is known as the Demon Prince.
“Seeking revenge of his fallen kin, the Demon Prince went about and turned the Titans against the Three Gods and ended up falling for the Demon’s schemes. The Demon Prince is supposed to be the creator of the Pool of Shadows, but it is widely believe it was Origenes was the one who created the corrupted Pool. It is rather a belief Origenes worked with the Demon Prince to bring the Titans’ downfall and the end of the First Generation. And you know the rest of the story of life.”
Marina frowned and stepped away from Sora. “So, this Demon Prince… is he the Shadow King Lusìvar?”
“I thought so, but when Valverno said Lusìvar is the son of a Titan, I don’t believe so. I don’t know who the Demon Prince is, but there is something I did learn from my mother. The Demon Prince is the son of a Devil King.
“The Devil King is the one responsible for leading the Fallen Angels (or Demons) against the Three Gods and ended up defeated and banished beneath the land of the Mortal Realm. And after a time, the Demon Prince is thought to have perished during the collapse of the First Generation.”
“Then I guess we don’t have to worry about some Demon Prince then,” said Marina, relieved. “All we have to worry about is Lusìvar and the one demigod to beat him.”
“Yes,” said Sora. “Here we are waiting for my brother to return and…”
Loud fanfares were blowing in the courtyard Sora and Marina were on. Many were blowing loudly on the bottom levels. This was meaning a highly important person was entering the capital city.
Both girls rushed to see who was coming. Down below at the front entrance, a large crowd was gathering. The people down below cried in loud cheers to see a very important person was entering.
First there were a hundred soldiers on horses then a few Dragons came walking through the opening doors. Then a large chariot being magically moved made it through the entrance. On the chariot, no one stood out more than Valverno. The demigod had made it back alive, and he looked like a military king who won a military campaign.
Down below the soldiers spoke out loud and sang:
Make way, for the Demigod Valverno has returned
He has come from having a big clan burned
And do look and gaze upon the only Demigod
For he is the son of a divine god
Make way for the leader who brought a new order
A balance that has bought an end to disorder
And it is all thanks to the Demigod Valverno
And anyone who messes with him shall meet his inferno
The hybrid has defeated more servants of darkness
No one but him can have such a low level of starkness
He is so great no one can beat him in a game of chess
He is none other than the Demigod Valverno
All hail, the one and only ruler we come to accept
An enemy he always faces he will always intercept
He has vowed never to bow of an enemy of Shadow
And any enemy comes within his eyes will feel his blow
So, make way, for the Demigod Valverno has returned
He has come from having a big clan burned
And do look and gaze upon the only Demigod
For he is the son of a divine dragon god
The noises were loud enough the entire capital city could hear it. The countless of people and creatures living inside the capital city could would be able to hear Valverno’s soldiers chanting very loudly.
Valverno’s chariot slowly rolled on the bottom floor of the city. The thousands of people on those floors cheered loudly as their new, beloved ruler was rolling through the low parts of the neighborhood.
As Valverno’s ascended through the arches that went up to the upper levels of the city, more thousands of people cried out in loud cheers. Marina was very shocked to see a large gathering of people crowding around the demigod. At first, he came into the city, many of its residents were afraid of him. This was because King Uragiru showed his evil face after taking a forceful dip in the Pool of Shadows.
Now, three years later, the people have come to warm up to Valverno. Now, they are coming to love him at first sight. And whenever Valverno got a victory, soldiers were singing out in a victorious chant.
About an hour into it, Valverno’s chariot made it to the top of the courtyard and Valverno hopped off. Valverno removed his helmet and his red hair dropped down to his neck. His horns were as red as ever and his ears were as dragon as ever. His upper arms were red scaled with in the shape of dragon arms, with the elbows of the lower arm that go to his shoulder were human arms. And his entire upper body was covered by armor, so no one would see a half-naked person walking around.
He walked over to Marina and Sora, who were overjoyed to see his return. “Hello, girls. Nice to see you both again.”
Marina made no hesitation to run and jump in his arms. Valverno quickly caught his fishy wife in his arms and embraced her tightly. Then he looked at Sora who was ready to slap him across the cheek.
“Sora, you may if you want to,” said Valverno.
Sora walked up to Valverno and raised a hand. She was ready to strike and leave behind a red scar on Valverno’s cheek, but she was holding back. Her hand was shaking with the slightest hesitation.
“What you waiting for?” asked Valverno. “I deserve it.”
“Deserve what?” asked Marina, letting go of Valverno and turned to see Sora with her hand raised. Marina was seeing Sora was wanted to slap Valverno hard, but she couldn’t do it.
Sora grunted her mouth and withdrew her hand. “What were you thinking taking him on? And without me? You could have died. You the last family I have left from Pangaea, Elder Brother. I can’t take much more of family loss.”
“I’m not the only family here, Sora,” said Valverno. “There is Marina, whom you are seeing as a sister now than an enemy. And you have your eyes set on Flavius. He is quite the… how did you put it: an ‘attractive primitive’?”
Sora’s face blushed a bit red. She was find she was falling in love with a man a lot younger than her. From Sora’s perspective
, she was more than a few thousand years old as well as Valverno.
“Mother would want to wish us happiness,” smiled Valverno.
“Your mother?” said Marina. “You two really have been talking about her a lot. What kind of woman was she?”
“She was one of kind and one who wasn’t a mortal from the Mortal Realm,” said Valverno. “Celestreá la Mùne was not a mortal nor was she a ghost. She was an Angel, from what I know. She is said to have been their right hand. And if Lusìvar were to ever to arise again, she would have been the one to fight him.
“However, she met with some mortal Pangaean and had me. Then the Pangaean left her and me alone. My mortal father left me and her alone. She was heartbroken but she continued to still live as a mortal mother. She decided to live the way of a mortal than to live as a warrior the gods thought she would be.
“For some time, she and I lived peacefully, but we felt more like strangers to the Pangaeans than family. But they didn’t treat us as outsiders or invaders; the Pangaeans were heart-heated and welcoming. After some time, my mother met with another Pangaean, Sora’s father. And he didn’t abandon us.
“Then my mother and stepfather ended up moved into a house and settled down. It was a perfect home in a perfect city of a perfect paradise. Just some hundred years after my mother and stepfather settled down, I was walking out of a lake where the Crystal Dragon came to me and asked me to be the gods’ new fighter. I couldn’t refuse and agreed to it. The god bestowed a great power. Thus, I became a Demigod: a mortal with a godlike power.”
Valverno paused. He raised his right hand and a silver goblet was formed. Inside the goblet’s rim, water was magically filling. And drank some water from the goblet. He guzzled it down quickly he quickly refilled it with some magic and he guzzled that all down quickly. Up to eight times, he drank and refilled again and again and again.
“And you should the rest of the story,” Valverno continued. “Our mother gave her life to save mine and Sora. Three others survived. Together, I led them to survive, and they ended up being called the White Knights. After two thousand years of battling Dark Pangaeans calling themselves ‘Followers of Lusìvar’, we tried to go into hibernation and wake when the Shadow King was supposedly to return.
“But his minions, the Shadow Men, invaded and disrupted our hibernation process. They turned me into an embryo and placed Sora into a prison until she was set free by the previous White Knight of Charity killed by a Five-Headed Dragon. The White Knights of Strength and Loyalty ended up having a few kids of their own, expect for the White Knight of Trust who ended up becoming a ghost, now set free.
“And to the point: here we are. Sora and I are here. Flavius is now Loyalty. Monico is Trust. And worse yet, Teutates is the White Knight of Strength. We have everything we need expect two things: the last armor artifact and Teutates.”
“What about the last armor artifact you told Sora to search for?” asked Marina. “Surely she would have found it already.”
“No, Lusìvar got to it first and hid it somewhere else,” scoffed Sora. “Now, we won’t be able to find it before the Summer Solstice comes.”
“I will doubt that, half-sister” said Valverno. The demigod unstrapped the scabbard holding the Crystal Sword and held it in one hand. “I can trace it something to it, thanks to a blood sample given to me by the Shado—”
“Your Divineness,” a man’s voice interrupted.
Valverno grunted softly as he was about to show dried blood on the hilt of the Crystal Sword. Before he could reveal the big secret that could lead him to the ultimate victory, a soldier from behind had to interrupt Valverno’s announcement.
“What is it, soldier?” asked Valverno, turning around to see three soldiers standing with a large man with heavy armor with his wrist in chains.
It was Galvin!
A FRIEND OR FOE
Valverno was surprised to see another familiar face of the same day. The first being Sora, second Lusìvar, third Marina, and the fourth face of the day: Galvin. The old companion who traveled with Valverno to the Northern Region was in chains at the sight of three small soldiers Galvin could easily break like glass jars.
A soldier in grey armor with a red feathered helmet approached Valverno. “Your Divineness. This man had surrendered himself to us and he did so without violence. He requested to speak to you.”
“Captain, there is no need to call me ‘Divineness’. If there was a need, I would be a full god, but I’m half god. Just state me as Valverno. No need to call me any other such titles.”
“Yes, your Divin… I mean, Demigod. Or Demigod Valverno.” The captain of the guard was a bit hesitating as to what to call the ruler of the capital city and of the island of Shimabellia.
“I said call me Valverno, captain,” said the demigod. “Don’t try to complicate things with so many titles. Just my name No need with any formalities.”
“Yes, Valverno.”
“That’s better. With that established, start again as to how you came across this soldier?” asked Valverno.
“This soldier surrendered himself to us,” said the captain. “Although he says he is working alone, we believe there could be more soldiers lurking about. I wish a request for a mission to search people’s houses at a soft approach and hunt for criminals who could be lurking or setting a trap for assassination.”
“Permission granted, captain, and do it, quickly and quietly. I don’t want a public panic echoing within the city’s walls. And leave this soldier with us, and I want to question him myself of where his loyalty lies.”
The captain bowed his head and left. The two other guards walked behind their captain and left their prisoner with the demigod.
“So, Galvin, surrendering already? It’s been three years since I last saw you. You face looks the same has ever.”
“Yours has changed from what I recall. When I last saw you, you had the face of a fallen ghost. And you have picked up some scars along the way. Now I see you are looking more human than a vicus, mindless monster, demigod. If that is what you are called these days. Or is it still… Vaeludar?”
The one name Valverno had greatly despised has been blurted out from Galvin. He is one a few companions who traveled with him to the Northern Region of Shimabellia.
But what could he expect from a loyalist of his old predecessor. Valverno didn’t want to assume Galvin was still loyal to an old, dead king, but what other choice did he have. It seems every of Uragiru’s loyalists knew Valverno’s old name and how vilely the demigod despised the name Vaeludar: the name of a failed experiment named from a dragon scientist and a witch scientist.
“You dare call my brother that name?” asked Sora, angrily. “My brother hates that name and you are really asking to die.” Sora pulled out one of her kukri knives.
“Stand down, sister,” said Valverno. “Whoever calls me by my old, most hateful name will be my kill and execution.”
“You’re going to execute me for calling you by another name? The name you went by when I, under the orders of the old king, traveled with you to the Northern Region, hybrid.”
“The name of a failed science experiment. Ralenskrit and Belverda both served the Shadow King Lusìvar, and they tried to turn me into a weapon. They tried to create an army of undead monsters and using my DNA to bring them to life. They tried to copy my divine power in order to control the undead monsters, but they only used my blood and not my divine power.
“Gods don’t bleed blood. Therefore, the two scientists were only using my mortal magic power and not my divine power. They couldn’t get to my godlike power because that half of me doesn’t bleed. I, and only I, can use the godly power given to me by the gods.
“For the moment, I can’t because three parts of me have been casted aside and prevented me from unleashing my divine power. Also, they were never my parents to begin with, because I am a Demigod
born over ten thousand years ago in Pangaea. I. Am. VALVERNO!”
Valverno gave a soft, quiet shout loud enough everyone could hear a cricket making its special sounds when everything is silent.
Valverno didn’t want to shout out loud and everyone will think he is a God of Destruction. His reputation of trying to be a hero would have ended, and the people would be running away or moving away from the capital city to find someone else to be their beloved ruler.
“What’s with the voice?” asked Galvin. “Trying to call for a little pigeon?”
“What about you?” asked Valverno, walking up to Galvin. The demigod pointed the end of the Crystal Sword right up to Galvin’s chin. “Since the old, wise King Uragiru is dead, where do your loyalties lie, Galvin?”
Galvin didn’t flinch when Valverno gave a cut on Galvin’s chin, making a small cut of little blood bleeding out. “Whoever is in charge of the city, demigod.”
“ ‘Whoever is in charge of his city?’ ”
“Whoever is in charge of this city, is what I have said loud and clear,” replied the large, bulky man in the heavy armor.
Valverno looked at the two girls for a small moment then back at Galvin. “Then let this the time to let go the past and look to the future.” Valverno slashed the blue sword downward and cut the chains off Galvin’s wrists, setting the big man free. “I’m in command of this city, and therefore, your loyalty lies with me.
“I’d always dreamed to wanting to rule this city, and the people shouted my name and called me their ruler: Demigod Valverno. If I let Teutates rule, he surely would be a good king to humans but a bad king to the creatures. I can’t let him be the ruler of Shimabellia. Until I have slain my mortal enemy, I am the ruler of Shimabellia, Galvin, and you will show me the proper loyalty like you had with King Uragiru.”