He aimed a finger at my face, and through blurry eyes, I saw a chime of red light form. Then it covered me, threw me back—I don’t know how far, but I seemed to fly backward for a long time before smashing into a building.
As if things weren’t bad enough, I felt it, an electrical charge in the air. Knowing what was coming, I rolled to the side just as the lightning bolt crashed into my previous spot.
Just fucking my luck. He was of the Jupiter clan. These lightning-wielding bastards. I forced myself to stand, panting, sweating, and feeling my wounds slowly close. Cardinal chuckled.
“Come now, great Epex Foolious,” he said in a mocking voice. “Surely this isn’t all you’ve got. Flashy form changing is best left for the shapeshifters, am I right?”
The fucker started to advance on me, blood dripping from his sword. I guess this is it. The time I should risk it or die for good.
I tried to summon the pocket dimension, but Cardinal’s punch, slash, and backhand came faster. He didn’t let me fall backward, instead, choosing to grab my arm, hold me, and after sheathing his sword, beat the shit out of my face.
I was pretty sure he broke my nose. After eight or nine strikes and me seeing stars, stunned, Cardinal dropped me.
“I wonder what he’s going to do with you, weakling ancestor,” he said. “Maybe use you as a figurehead? What a shame.” I felt myself being lifted by force. “Time to take the trash to the master. So much to do, so little time to waste with the likes of—”
With a hand on the mask, I asked the molecules to change into the angriest, hottest, deadliest fucking lava possible. No resistance, as if they were waiting for this the entire time. The change happened instantly and satisfactorily. Cardinal screamed in horrified agony. He dropped me as he desperately tried to get the magma mask off his face. He fell to his knees, yelling. I manifested a large marker, hastily drew a deity-trapper around him then activated it. That caused more screaming.
“You piece of shit,” I said. “This is for all of the—”
The giant knife I manifested to run through his heart missed—Cardinal, somehow able to still move, jumped into the air, unveiling large grey wings. His natural healing took hold way too fast—fuck, I was so close!
His face looked to be a man of thirty with blue eyes, silvery hair. But…I recognized him. Only saw him a few times in childhood—he was definitely the son of the Jupiter Clan leader. The heir. The feeling of electricity charging licked the air. Shit.
Then to my surprise, a bolt of lightning struck Cardinal. He roared as he plummeted.
Someone grabbed me.
“Let’s go while he’s distracted. You’re heading to your house, right?”
I looked to see Moses.
“Well fucking done,” I said then we hurried along. Somehow, I could feel Cardinal’s essence intensify.
Forty-nine
“You mind telling me how you made it out alive,” I said. “Just curious.”
Moses didn’t speak at first, his focus on sprinting. With the realm lock, we couldn’t even quick ascend much without a significant amount of effort. Effort that simply isn’t worth it.
“I just arrived from the city a few miles over,” he said. “I immediately sensed danger. Then your father’s voice ran through everyone’s head with a warning but it was too late. The Red Dragon somehow cut off clairvoyant communication.”
“I see,” I said then slowed my pace. My childhood home was coming closer into view, only a few meters ahead.
Just then, I felt Conus’s icy presence and stopped. He seemed to be finally moving into action, the clouds in the sky taking on the shape of his face. I seriously needed to ask someone how to do that. Then Amelia and I could reenact the Simba and Mufasa scene—I shook away the thoughts, forcing myself not to think of her.
I’d have to keep a look out for a certain crimson form when it emerged, assuming the universe cut us some slack.
The Conus face in the sky suddenly looked right at me—I flinched—but held the eye contact. A funnel of windless clouds formed a few meters ahead of us, touching down in front of me moments later.
Of course, his face was no longer in the sky. His eyes were wide for a few seconds before seeming to compose himself. From this close, I noticed the tattoo of black dragon on his left arm. Real power seemed to emanate from it. He walked toward me. I didn’t move, staring at the man in defiance. When he stopped directly in front of me, he placed a hand on my shoulder. Moses kneeled.
“It is actually you, no trick, no spirit. You…you escaped that wretched place,” he said, not asking, but stating. “And you’re starting to become whole again, but with more control. Despite the Hell this place put you through, you’re still here.” Conus nodded to himself as if confirming something. “You’ve become nearly unrecognizable, yet…more like…” I glared, giving him the full eye glow. To my surprise, Conus tilted his head back and laughed. I couldn’t believe it—but the pride he emitted was nearly palpable. “You and I will talk. Even if you still bare resentment. I have foolishly made mistakes time and time again, and because of me, we’re dealing with…my ancient enemy. No, even the King’s ancient enemy.”
“We will talk,” I said. “Knowing that you weren’t the one behind the bullshit, I don’t feel as much rage.” I sighed. “Amelia’s Venus clan softness has rubbed off on me a little too much.”
Conus…a man who I don’t remember laughing, smiling, anything of the sort, nodded.
“Stand up, Moses,” he said. The former elite did.
“Listen, Conus,” I said, letting him know I had no intention of calling him “father.” The rage was gone, but the anger still remained, buried as it is, something of eight years of absolute hatred couldn’t go away instantly. “You’ll have to reach out to Ghost. If you know of his duties, you know that he guards a certain book. He needs to be warned that the beast, the Red Dragon is after it.”
Conus nodded, closed his eyes for a few seconds then when he opened them, said, “done. I could barely reach the realm.”
“Didn’t you lock the realm?” I said.
“Yes and no,” Conus said. “I tried to trap him, but he hijacked the lock.”
I cursed under my breath.
“We really could use the Knights.”
“On deployment,” Conus said, “and I am unable to contact the King’s realm. We’re on our own.”
Cardinal’s presence jerked behind me, its reappearance causing me to frown.
“The traitor who organized this arrives,” I said as I turned around to look at him.
“I see,” Conus said, his anger becoming palpable in the air. Silver heavenly-light jolted around the god like electricity. I never actually felt him this angry before and really didn’t want to be near it. Fucking powers that outclassed mine.
“I’m no match for him,” I admitted.
“You’re the heir of our clan,” Moses said to the traitor, his anger showing itself in silver heavenly-light too, though it had nothing on Conus’s light show. “Why?”
Cardinal grinned. “What may seem like a traitorous act to you is but a journey toward true peace. But first, I must get rid of all who serves that arrogant king. Then you, descendant, will be tied somewhere until the purging is complete.”
Conus flinched. “The blood of your mother is tied to the beast. So…that wasn’t just a silly rumor. Even she doesn’t know that, my priestess.” He turned from me to Cardinal. “I grow weary of your games. If you think you can take on me, then come. And I’ll show you who’s the arrogant one.”
Cardinal chuckled. “I am not afraid of you, Conus.”
“I won’t stand by and watch,” Moses said. “This guy is trashing the honor of the Jupiter clan.”
“You see, this is why we need the purging. Stuck in the old ways, divided by clans,” Cardinal said. “Sickening.”
He lurched toward Conus, teeth bared in a snarl and struck at him with his sword. Conus caught it with a single hand. Moses and I both stared with mou
ths agape.
“Such disrespect. Such arrogance. Innocent loss of life. You let the Red Dragon fill your mind with fantasies, to the point where you believe that you could kill without consequence. Your judgment will be here. And I will personally chain you.”
Chapter Fifty
Cardinal laughed maniacally, his sanity flying out the window. Well, it was already gone when he hatched this crazy scheme. At that moment, I decided enough was enough. I manifested the Desert Eagle loaded with its amazing fifty caliber bullets, took aim, and fired. His eyes widened in surprise at the bullet hole in his head.
Of course, one couldn’t expect a mortal weapon to kill an immortal, but I needed his attention. Cardinal did turn his glare, his snarl on me.
“Death wishes are my favorite to grant, boy.”
He lurched toward me but instead, caught a face full of Conus’s fist. I quick-ascended behind him midflight and delivered a roadhouse kick to the bastard, one that floored him.
I looked at Conus.
“Oh don’t mind me, let’s kick his ass.”
Conus nodded then began to charge, power. And not just power, but POWER. This would probably disintegrate the bastard instantly. That’s when I felt it…a cut off, a really horrible, cold separation from the universe.
It was light for me, since I didn’t spend much time connected to it—at least not communicating. As for Conus, who integrated his powers through it, this was a worst-case scenario.
Cardinal stood up, dusting himself off as Conus fell to one knee, convulsing from the backlash of being yanked from his source of power. He smiled.
“My master has done it,” he said. “Turned off that damned system. He’ll be manually controlling things from now on.”
I repeatedly fired my gun, useless as it was. Still grinning, Cardinal walked toward me at a leisurely pace. Before the force could come out of my hands, he beat me to it with a staggering blow that felt like a hit from a semi-truck.
I hit the cloudy ground back-first. A foot stomped the shit out of my chest. Fortunately, Moses didn’t just standard there and lurched into action, unleashing a shit load of lightning. Cardinal countered it with his own and soon, I found myself staring at two beams of death pushing at each other. It was clear that Moses wouldn’t last more than a minute—his side shrunk rapidly.
I retriggered my full state three then attempted to tap into four, but nothing happened. Even with a moderate tank, the exhaustion hammered at me. Maybe the disconnect of the universe affected me more than I thought. Oh well, working with I got—screw it.
I chucked as many fireballs as I could muster up at fuckhead Cardinal. He didn’t expect the explosions. Despite being so strong, not even he could keep himself from being blown back several meters. I should’ve done this earlier.
Sadly, I knew reached a limit when I could no longer conjure anymore. Smoke oozed from my hand as I panted. Sweat dripped from me like a marathon runner. I gave it all I had. Cardinal didn’t get up right away, but the fucker looked undamaged. He still smiled without a care in the world. Conus finally stood up, though he still looked a little out of it.
“A minor setback,” he said. “While unexpected, do not believe for a second that you have the upper hand.”
A wild clash of heavenly-light, a mix of gold, silver, and blue surrounded him and then it happened. His wings appeared, made of pure light. His eyes glowed. The pressure in the air was so intense that I didn’t even bother with moving.
Conus was now taking things a bit more seriously, entering his divine state. Cardinal leapt up. If he could move with this pressure…damn, how long did he intend to simply play around.
His next move surprised me. The bastard actually ran! Or he tried to, but Conus smashed the fuck out of him without even moving—holy shit, it’s like he bent the air to his will. Super force. Cardinal yelled.
“Master, I need you!
Conus’s divine state intensified, shaking the entire realm—an endless earthquake with gravity so strong I felt like I’d turn to mush at any time. Was this why he never turned into this? I suppose he had to supplement his power loss someway. If I was still being hunted and Conus joined the fray, I would’ve been super-fucked. Well…that wasn’t really news to me.
I didn’t expect the Red Dragon to actually show up, but he simply appeared, still cloaked, kneeling by Cardinal.
Fuck, as if things couldn’t get any worse—but Conus could handle it…right? His divine state was that of a primal. I waited patiently, ready for the universal ruler himself to end this shit.
Conus looked at me.
“Epex, you and Moses must go. And…I entrust the future to you. Reawaken to your full self. Awake the universe once more. Get to the King’s realm.”
“What are you talking about?” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His pressure vanished, allowing me to stand.
“Your son has a point,” the Red Dragon said. “He’s not going anyway. My descendant. Maybe even my heir, once he accepts the truth. The truth of what he really is.”
“You,” Conus said then turned to me. “Go. He is someone you cannot fight. I’ll hold him off. And son… I’m proud of you.”
My eyes widened. “
No, you fucker, I will not be leaving you here.” I erupted into state four. “You owe me a conversation at least. Eight years lost—I need to know everything, what’s going on, your side of everything—and a reason to not loathe you. I won’t let this red asshole get in the way.”
“A very narrow point of view,” the Red Dragon said, “but it is not your fault. You simply cannot see the big picture. You haven’t been given the chance, thrown in the fire by the flawed system. All to satisfy the universe, to deliver an unfair stream of punishment, even for something as harmless as loving anyone that’s not bonded to you. Today, I ended that system. And from here, will rebuild. After the King’s head is rolling at my feat.”
“You who do not understand the system and why it’s there in the first place have no right to criticize it,” Conus snarled. “If there are no checks and balances, gods, angels, demon kind, Pantheon, and even beings from other realms will roam free, unchecked, destroying anything in their paths. I will not let you have your way!”
Conus rushed the Red Dragon with a fist of colorful essence, lightning, and some other shit I didn’t understand. I was sure he’d pull a Chuck Norris, punching him into dust, but the unthinkable happened. With a single finger, the Red Dragon blocked Conus’s fully charged, divine state attack, halted his momentum, and stared at him through that cloak.
“Your system is flawed, a dictatorship that no one needs,” the Red Dragon said. “After purging the old, the King included, I intend to guide this pathetic universe to peace and return the watchful gods of the humans, ending pollution, war, famine, hunger. What you don’t understand Conus Helios is that while sealed in an isolate dream, I planned this. Millenia of decision. My believers who want nothing but peace, carried out my will. And I won’t let you get in my way.”
“Get moving, Epex,” Conus said. “Don’t waste the time that I’m buying. You will be able to ascend. Now get out of here.”
“Let’s go,” Moses said then grabbed my arm, but I shook him off, opened the pocket dimension, and pulled Ruin out. A purplish glow suddenly surrounded it, as if it resonated with state four.
Conus’s eyes widened. But…Before I could charge forward to join the fight, Cardinal leapt to his feet, and plunged a materialized sword into Conus’s back. The god gasped and dropped to a knee, fist still in contact with the Red Dragon’s finger.
Chapter Fifty-one
“No point of you getting blood on your hands, Master,” Cardinal said. Conus gasped, mouth dripping of the red liquid. He aimed his free hand at the traitor. Cardinal leapt over Conus’s blast of deadly blue light, landing behind him. “You’re probably wondering why that sword is actually affecting you, ye great immortal. As if I’m going to tell you.”
He pulled the swor
d out of Conus’s back and proceeded to stab him again. I quick-ascended right in time, blocking the strike. Cardinal laughed. “You still do not understand that this must be done. I laugh as to not weep, as I do not enjoy killing my own kind. It is a burden I must live with for an eternity. Fear not, we’re not cruel as to not send them through reincarnation.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I said, my voice calm, my body straining with rage and state four. So much talk from the Red Dragon and his toy.
Cardinal shook his head. “It’s a shame you cannot piece together your body. My Master can fix that if you wished.”
“You know something Cardinal,” I said. “You’re a fucked-up person. You and him.” I pulled back Ruin.
“Epex, don’t swing that—”
The warning from Conus came too late. Ruin pulsed as I swung. Cardinal blocked, but that didn’t matter. A huge flash of greyish light radiated from my sword. When it cleared, a part of the sky turned…crimson.
In place of Cardinal, ashes fell. Almost everything behind him was gone, ground, buildings and all. My childhood home was spared by mere inches. Ruin…holy shit. Was the name I selected for it really a coincidence, a choice that lingered in my mind. After seeing this from just a light swing, I knew the answer.
The Red Dragon turned to me, face still invisible beneath the blackness of the cloak.
“Seven swords which defy the very fabrics of nature with their uncanny abilities. Their abilities in which makes them immune to even authorities like the King.” The Red Dragon looked at Conus. “I see. So his destructive past and nature conjured him this blade. And this who you wanted to rule the universe? Interesting. Gaining the ability to control power like that also means possessing the wisdom to do so. Witts that could even exceed the King’s. A fitting ruler, huh? But there’s the problem. The sacrifice of a childhood, family, love. Forced into a life of solitude until someone is kind enough to reach a hand out—is nothing more than a gamble to create a ruler.”
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