Until death?

by Andur

“How is the situation?” I ask one of the officers, who are studying the big screen.

  “It seems like they managed to teleport a big army right into the city's central park. Afterwards they set up heavy air defence and artillery. The palace is bombed to rubble and the little military we had in the city took a heavy blow. They knew exactly where they had to aim their first shots. Caserns, power and communication lines where taken out with the first volley.” The man answers.

  “This looks bad.” Arthur says from behind and I turn around to see that Arthur, Celes and Katrine followed me. It seems like Ireth and the healer stayed with Nicosar.

  I turn to take a look at the screen where a big red dot is spreading out into smaller dots while covering my city.

  “No.... They sure have bad timing to do this on my son's birthday.” I say with a grim expression on my face.

  49 - Striking back!

  “Power up the engines! Cut the power lines to the city and activate the secondary facility! Tonight we are going for a hunt!” I scream while I hit a few buttons on the console next to me.

  “B..But your majesty! Nothing is tested! And we haven't installed some of the engines yet!” A technician with a red face complains to me.

  “I don't care! I over-dimensioned the whole thing anyway! They are wrecking my city! Either this thing flies tonight or it doesn't!” A big chair is formed out of a magical circle in the centre of the room and I jump into it.

  Everyone inside the room becomes hectic.

  “Engines are powering up!” “Deploying the anti gravity field!” “Shields are active.”

  “The mountain is still above us. We can't clear all the rock above us.”

  “Shields to full energy and blow it up!” I smile at them and one of the officers flips a switch.

  Everything shakes, but it's manageable. I hear a low rumbling sound. “The rock is out of the way sir.” The officer gives me a savage grin. Those military people sure like it to blow up stuff.

  “Take us up.”-Me

  The floor bucks a little. “It seems we are stuck.” A technician informs me. “Full energy to the engines! We are behind the schedule!” You want to tell me that a few rocks are stopping me from saving my city?

  The floor bucks again while I can hear a screeching sound and stops suddenly. “We are free! We are flying!” The workers and technicians start to cheer while I press a button on my chair to get a better view on the big screen.

  Under us is the hollow shell of the mountain, which once harboured my facility. “Hrm. Since this isn't a research facility any more. This is now officially called the Nomad Fortress Midpoint.”

  A part of the mountain crumbles and caves in at my words. I hid this ship inside the mountain while it was built.

  “Mwhaha! Behold! 5200 metres long. Six million tons of steel! Enough fire power to roast an average army within seconds! Loaded with tactical warheads, particle cannons and plasma weapons. Three layers of independent shield spells, each powered by it's own cold fusion reactor! On board repair facilities and the latest drone-tec to go with it. Anti-Gravity propulsion and teleportation systems. Everything has at least three substitute systems! You could blow two thirds of this ship to hell and it would still keep coming at you!” -Me

  “Head us towards the city and redirect the full energy output to the shield and weapon systems. Activate the drones and give me an outward view.” I grin while the screen switches to a flying monster of a battleship.

  “Mwahahaha! My new toy looks cool! Time to test it on those fools!”

  Magical runes and circles are glowing in blue and red on the hull. The whole thing looks like a huge space ship with weaponry facing into every direction, but there are no visible engines.

  “Arrival in five minutes!” -Engineer

  “Take us higher. I want a good angle to pound them into the ground.” -Me

  “No way! You rebuild one of those monsters on this world!? Are you insane?” Celes looks at me with a shocked face. She seems to remember the best weapon of my followers. They build dozens of those things back in our old world. And they were the reason for which Celes entered that holy war herself.

  “No need to fear anything. Who do you think gave them the blueprints?” I smirk at her.

  “We are under fire sir! Deploying defence.” -Technician

  Seven balls of white light are coming into our direction. But they are countered by seven smaller blue energy sparks and explode early. “It looks like they are trying to use their artillery to take us down? That's good.”

  “I don't see what's good about it!” Arthur holds himself upright on a console while the bridge is shaken by the shock-waves.

  “If they are shooting at us, they can't shoot at my city.” I smile at him. Then I look into Celes direction, who is holding the screaming baby. “Give me Aengus, he has some work to do!”

  “Counter attacking the enemy artillery!” A technician informs us and seven lances of red energy stab into the dark city under us.

  She reluctantly gives me my screaming son and I hold him in front of me. “No need to cry. They blew your birthday, but we are going to punish them see? Look, nice red dots.”

  I show a tactical projection on a smaller touch-screen to my son. “Activate the weapons and lock them onto the enemy units. I want the fire control on my station.”

  “Done sir!” -Technician

  “See Aengus? Evil red dot! Touch!” I hold the small touch-screen in front of my son and demonstrate it by touching one of the smaller red dots with my finger.

  A ray of energy lances down into the city and the red dot disappears from the screen. “See, Aengus? Funny, isn't it?”

  Aengus stops screaming to pat the big red dot in the central park curiously with his flat hand. A ball of blue energy howls down to the city and wipes the park off the map.

  “That's my son! Taking out the enemy's command centre with his first strike! I thought I would let them struggle for a while, but Aengus already knows that it's best to lop off the enemy's head first!” I smile while a small mushroom cloud rises from the park. But then I notice that everyone looks at me with pale faces.

  “Hrm. Fire at will. Just use precision strikes from now on.” -Me

  Celes takes Aengus back from my lap. “Don't teach him strange things that early! I don't know what to do if he copies that strange grin from you.”

  Other rays of red energy strike down into the darkness. After a minute of continuous firing the red dots are all gone.

  Everyone stares in awe at the hell, which we let loose on those backstabbers.

  “A call from the city. It's Drem your majesty.” -Officer

  I flip a switch on my chair and Drem's face fills the screen. “I am at the edge of the city with a few troops and some big animals from the army. I hope the end of the light-show means we won sir?”

  “Hohoho. Sure as hell we won! I will get Arthur and Nicosar down to you in a minute. How does the situation look from down there?” -Me

  Drem snorts. “From what I heard like ten thousand terrorists with heavy weapons ran through the city, while shooting at everything that moved! But at least they didn't concern themselves with any civil installations or areas. Those generals aren't really talking to me. I am not important enough.”

  “I understand, we are on our way. Technician, teleport Arthur to Drem's location. Arthur, we need your guys to take care of the city. I will teleport everyone down there, as soon as it is safe again. And then we will tell them our opinion of their little summoning ritual!” -Me

  A guy at the back of the room nods. “Please stand straight and don't move for a second your majesty. That makes it easier.”

  “Is this dangerous?” Arthur asks with a concerned look.

  “No... I just never did this before.” The technician presses a button and Arthur vanishes and reappears on the screen behind Drem. “Perfect.”

  I nod and turn to the guy at the engine control. “New course! North! We are going to the City of Seri
a to crack an egg.”

  50 - Interlude - An ocean of clouds?

  “Please don't do this alone! Seria, it's stupid to fight a council member one on one!” Lada preaches to me.

  I am sitting on the highest peak of the biggest mountain. I like this nameless world, there is always snow here. “It's really not a big problem Lada. It will turn out good. I promise. Besides, what would you want to do if you were there? Fight him with me?”

  “I could at least protect you!” Lada looks at me with an angry face.

  “If he gets away and tells the rest of the Council about you, you will be in deep shit Lada. I don't want that. I need you where you are now. You will be able to do much more from inside the Council. Though I never thought that I would get a trump-card like you.

  I think my plan would work without you, but you can reduce the resulting destruction by a great deal.” The wind blows nicely up here. And the sky is so wonderful blue.

  “The council isn't what it was any more. We... at least I had something else in mind when it was founded.” Lada looks sadly at the ground while she is floating beside me.

  “I couldn't tell you everything Lada, but I promise I planned everything. I did this for so long, I actually don't even remember when I started this. If I am truthful, I was always afraid to go from preparations to the actual execution.” I smile at her.

  “If Tjenemit wouldn't have acted, I would have continued for another eternity. It doesn't matter any more if I win this fight or lose it. This is out of my control since long ago, like I said.” I stand up and take a look around. The view is wonderful, though there are just clouds to see. Kukuku it's an ocean of clouds. Kind of cool.

  Lada grabs my shoulder. “That sounds like you actually expect to die!”

  “Bwahaha! Don't be ridiculous. Of course I would prefer it if I don't die. But it will be a fight between gods and one of us will die. All I am saying is that my plan will go on without me. You just need to play the nice little Council member. Harmony and peace for everyone. And when my friends come and knock on the Council's door, you will have to decide if they are better than the Council or not.” I pinch her cheek. “Smile a little more, that grim expression doesn't fit you.”

  “I searched all the records and I actually know how many gods, angels, demons, half-gods and so on you hid from the council. I don't know how you did it, because Amaru's Sphere of Sight can detect any divinity within the multiverse.

  But I know that it will be really a gamble to unleash them all at once.

  Who knows how many more you found without any record of it? We just know of those you got your hands on during the hunts. Who ever said that you didn't find many more who were just on the brink of turning into gods? You obviously have a little more knowledge and power than the Council in some areas.” -Lada

  “Oh, it seems I really can't hide it all from you. But that's fine.” -Me

  “Just tell me, is it really worth it?” Lada asks me with a serious face.

  I turn silent and think about my answer. “You know..... when I came out of the void, it felt like I was dead. I always had ideals and a conviction to keep me going. I think during that time in the void some of my feelings died and I became a little like a machine. I came out and found the Council.

  You guys were against the freedom I always believed in. So I started my plan. But it wasn't out of passion or hate. I just did it because I thought it is my duty. Then over time I talked to the other older gods and I found out that they are dead. Not in a physical sense but in a more spiritual one.

  They lived so long, too long and lost their feelings. The same happened to me, though I realised that I still had some. I am surprised that you aren't like them, though you are pretty old too.”

  “I was always the emotional type.” Lada smiles at me.

  I continue, “... however. Then I talked to some of the younger gods and I realised that they still had life in them! They weren't so far removed from the cycle of life and death.

  They still have power and passion, but they are suppressed by the old ones. I thought to myself, if we old ones were allowed to die, wouldn't we be able to get our life back? So I took a little vacation and tried to live a life again. It wasn't long. Just fifty or sixty years I think.”

  “You reincarnated? How? The Council should have noticed!” Lada stares at me with big eyes.

  “I hid myself during that time. The same way I am hiding the other gods. Well, I lived a nice little life. I had parents again and could play my pranks on them. Can you imagine that?” I grin at her.

  “I feel bad for your parents...” -Lada

  “Well, that's when I decided that my actions are the right ones. I think every god should be allowed to return to the cycle of life and death if he or she wishes for it. Actually I believe it's the natural order of things.

  Think about it! A soul continues the circle until it becomes strong enough to ascend to godhood. And with it the circle just ends! Are we really supposed to endlessly walk into the same direction from that point onwards?

  Or is it just a chance to explore the multiverse and yourself until you become bored of it and decide to return to the circle as a new soul? I like my view much better than the Council's if you ask me.”

  Lada smiles wryly at me. “The problem with it is that a god has to return to the flow out of his own free will. Otherwise he would just be reborn as a god. When the ancient war ended, we had much too many foes, who would have continued to fight. We had no other choice than to seal them and to forbid everyone else from reincarnating.

  If everyone would reincarnate, we wouldn't be able to find the new gods with the Sphere of Sight any more. The old gods who are reincarnating would appear as new gods and we would loose track of everything.”

  I nod. “I think I found a better solution. It will be okay Lada. I am sure of it.”

  Suddenly I feel something rip the space, which belonged only to me for such a long time and flinch.

  “Is everything ok?” -Lada

  “It is. The dice are finally falling. I have to go now. And you should be at that Council chair and put on an innocent smile.” I hug Lada and step onto a path which leads me to a familiar place.

  I almost don't hear the weak “Goodbye.” from Lada.

  51 - To the north!

  I am sitting on my chair at the command centre of my flying fortress grinding my teeth while I think about the situation.

  We left Ireth, Aengus and Rose back in Midpoint. Celes didn't want me to walk into this alone. Arthur and Nicosar are with me too. Katrine went another path to oversee the evacuation of the north.

  The north was already emptied of most people to begin with, but there are always some idiots who wont leave their houses.

  But what I am more worried about is how to deal with the magic circle to summon Tjenemit. Should we just keep shooting at the city until there is nothing left except dust?

  Arthur informed the troops which besieged the city. They are ready to advance.

  “What are you thinking about?” Arthur asks me while he is taking a look at the map. After two days of flight, we have almost reached our destination.

  “I am not sure if we should take the risk and destroy the magic circle from afar with everything we have after the shield is broken.” I scratch my head.

  “Why should that be risky?” -Arthur

  “What if the whole thing blows up? There is a serious amount of energy in there! What if the aftermath makes the world uninhabitable?” -Me

  Arthur goes stiff. “Do you think that could happen!?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I have no idea how well the summoning circle is made. It could have some safety mechanisms and it could have none.”