A King's Legacy Ch. 35-36

A King's Legacy

Chapters 35 & 36:

A Sudden Spark / Her Warmth

Stahl was frantic, begging Aster to open his eyes again as the boy faded off in his grasp. Stahl trembled in non-acceptance, ignoring the pain in his arm, desperately seeking some way to do the impossible, to save his mate... with a hysterical shout, Stahl desperately called out for Rust, praying that somehow, the little fox was nearby, that he could hear him... that he could save Aster... Stahl stared back down at his mate in frantic desperation, the beast's panic rose to a crushing level, and Stahl soon found himself doing the only thing that made sense to him in that moment... The wolf howled.

Stahl tossed his head back, and howled desperately into the air of that fallen castle, pleading that somehow, somebody would help him... somebody would be there... somebody-

"STAHL, by- by the gods, I'm so sorry..." Erden had been snatched right into his mind in his overwhelming state of despair, his emotions well barreling past the threshold separating the Aschefell minds in times of dire circumstances. Erden found the situation chillingly familiar, remembering the last time she was forced into a position like this... When Silbern... The elder wolf snapped back to, determined not to freeze like she did back then... determined to be there for her brother the way she had failed to be there for her father. Erden spoke hastily.

"IS HE STILL BREATHING?" Stahl weakly responded mentally, unable to form words without his breath between gasps.

"No..." Erden was trying her best to keep things together.

"YOU NEED TO ACT FAST THEN, START BY-" The older sister stopped speaking suddenly, there was something else lingering there... There was someone else in their link, and it was somebody terrifying.

"You need to hold him tightly for this part." The foreign voice spoke sweetly to the manic wolf, interrupting Stahl's mourning with her alien tone. Stahl blinked in disbelief, Erden shouted to her brother in fear.

"Stahl... Don't listen to whatever that is..." The voice responded with an amused chuckle first, followed by words lacquered with an unbelievably sweet coating that hurt the elder wolf's ears.

"Well that's not very kind of you to say... Don't you want to save that human's life?"

Stahl's breath caught in his throat, and he swiftly pressed for answers.

"How? What do I need to do?" The voice let out an annoyed sigh in response. Stahl prodded again, begging the presence.

"PLEASE! TELL ME WHAT I HAVE TO DO!" Erden cut in once again.

"Stahl, you cannot trust that thin-" The voice cut her off.

"It's actually very easy. All you have to do is what I already told you to do, hold him tightly for this part..." Stahl scoffed in anger, not having the mind for such games. He shouted back.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN? I JUST GIVE HIM A HUG UNTIL HE FEELS BETTER?" The presence responded in a pouty voice.

"Well, if you're going to be mean about it, you can just let him die then." Stahl panicked, he didn't have the mentality or the strength to do this right now... He didn't have the capacity to have such hope dangled before him. He begged in desperation.

"Please... forgive me... just please, whoever you are, please... tell me what I do..." She went silent for a moment more before she responded happily.

"I told you, hold him tightly when it starts, and don't let go no matter what. If it swallows both of you, you may be able to drag him back out. He will be swallowed by it regardless, whether you go with him or not." Stahl's eyes widened at such words. When it starts? Swallowed? He... he could drag him back out? Out of death? Out of injury? What did she mean?

As Stahl was lost in his decision, Erden had taken action, trying her best to push back against that terrible mind feeding off of her brother's trauma. The wolf could get almost nothing from that cold and analytical mind shrouded in mist, but Erden was able to peek just far enough below the surface to realize what they were dealing with. The sister trembled at the reveal, quickly shouting to her brother shrilly in her dark discovery.

"She's fucking insane Stahl! she is manipulative, she is dark, she is broken, and she is the-" The voice cut in quickly, silencing Erden before she could ever finish her warning. The voice spoke directly to the older sister now, hiding her words from the brother.

'That's enough of that... I really don't like being mean to good girls, so why don't you just go away...' Just as Erden was about to make a final, desperate call to her brother, a ringing snap of fingers echoed into both of the Aschefell sibling's minds. That snap slowly built up in volume, the ringing growing louder, and louder, and louder, until finally, with the sound of a snapping cord of twine, Erden Aschefell felt the sharpest pain imaginable behind her right eye, causing her to buckle over and collapse in the middle of both her current affairs, and her efforts to save her brother from the mad goddess.

With a snap of her fingers, the moon goddess responsible for gifting the bloodskills in the first place cut Stahl Aschefell from his family gift. She had him isolated, desperate, and at the end of his rope. She was right to wait so long before making her move on the wolf, only ever "gently," coaxing him before. It would be easy to send him after her sister's light, just as easily as she had commanded him to protect it no matter what all those times. She spoke softly to her favored child.

"You'll need to hurry up with that hug soon, it's about to start you know..." Stahl trembled in place, still just clinging to Aster's body, never even realizing he couldn't hear his sister anymore in his delirium. The wolf answered frailly.

"I just hold him?" The moon goddess cooed reassuringly into his ear.

"Just a nice, big, tight hug, and you just keep holding on when it starts, no matter what. You'll come back just fine." She was a damned good liar, and an even better puppeteer, but being heartless had that effect on mad gods with singular goals. Stahl drew Aster closer into his embrace, the very sword that had taken his life threatening to pierce the beast's own flesh as well in that position. Stahl was only staring down dazedly at his fallen king. The wolf repeated the steps to himself, slowly accepting even the slightest chance, not questioning nearly enough in his ultimate low point.

"Just keep holding him? And that can save him?" She coaxed him a final time.

"That's all... I promise... You two will be together. You can keep her heart safe. You can keep her alive... you have to protect it. I've been telling you as much this entire time." Stahl closed his eyes, easily swayed by the words of the moon goddess in his greatest moment of weakness. He held Aster so close, how could he ever do anything but hold Aster so close?

It burned, it burned the wolf so badly, but that burn was not nearly as painful as letting go would be. Stahl kept his eyes closed, he kept his brow pressed lovingly into his mate's own, and he wrapped himself around his lover the best he could manage in his broken state. The wolf was willing to do anything for his love, even holding on so tightly as the darkness placed inside of the stolen king was freed at long last. That darkness grew, and festered, and soon consumed the wolf and his boy entirely.

===

Aster was having that dream again, the one where he was dead. It was so dark, but it was just so peaceful as well. He was simply floating, suspended in some invisible mass. Nothing hurt, nothing was weighing on his mind, nothing felt like it would cause him any pain or distress anymore. He really started to like this dream. The young king could've stayed there a while longer, but he did feel something a moment later. He couldn't see anything yet, but Aster still heard the familiar voice softly reach out to him in that place.

"Still sleeping late I see... Some bad habits even kings carry with them I suppose. Come now, young master, you still have so much to be done." Aster furrowed his brows in the darkness, groaning as he was pulled away from his rest. The boy softly mumbled out in a familiar, half-dazed state.

"I'm getting up, Javis, just a moment more." Aster felt a caring touch pass over his brow, brushing his hair away from his eyes the same as the antelope always had. The butler whispered lovingly to the boy he had raised.

"I'm sorry, but you already have guests waiting. You can't afford to linger here for longer than needed." Those words finally brought a little more awareness to the young king's groggy mind, and Aster was soon opening his eyes to ask for clarification. Javis wasn't there, but somebody else was instead. Nothing was very dark anymore...

Aster was lying on his back in a field of flowers, staring up at the bluest sky he had ever thought possible. The clouds were all a pure white, not a trace of gray anywhere on the horizon. The splashing current of a smaller river nearby filled Aster's ears, only adding to the wondrously peaceful atmosphere in that place. The aroma in the air was more soothing and pleasant than Aster ever would've believed air could smell. Thousands of different types of flowers blooming all at once made for a breathtaking and enchanting scenery that would've been rather overwhelming were it not for one other thing in that garden...

Aster's head was resting in somebody's lap... Aster was staring up in pure surprise as a stern and piercing, yet gentle gaze stared back down at him. Aster was staring up at another man, one seemingly only a few years older than the boy was.

This man had close-cut brown hair that framed his face well. The man had a thick beard covering his wider jaw, and heavy eyebrows perched over a weathered gaze of eyes more golden than the sunset. That pained gaze simply stared back at the boy resting in his lap for a moment longer before he finally made his move.

A steady hand, one rough and calloused from years of hard work and training was raised by the stranger, and slowly moved forward. Aster watched on curiously as the man made his gesture, and was admittedly even more surprised when the rugged looking human simply brought his touch up to linger on Aster's brow. With a gentle caressing motion, the man brushed the hair over to the side for the boy, just as he had seen the butler do on countless occasions. The man spoke down to Aster in a voice that was steady, and a little on the deeper side.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that... my son." Aster sucked in a breath at the obvious realization. Of course this was his father, Aster saw so much of his own reflection in the man above him. Aster absentmindedly brought his left hand up, and placed it on his father's forearm in disbelief as he just stared back up at the man. Calium spoke once more with a soft smile, so happy he could finally hold his son again after more than twenty years of being just out of reach.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me, and that's alright, I finally have answers for you here. It will take you a little while to adjust enough to this place to do what we need anyway, so while we wait, let me give you a gift, my son." Aster only nodded, still just in awe that this was really happening, still just humbled by the idea that he may finally have some clarity, that he had finally seen his father's face, yet uncertain that the hope wouldn't merely be snatched away from him as it always was. Calium continued steadily.

"Don't worry, I made sure we would get enough time. I made sure it was part of the deal. I made sure that I would be able to give you all the answers you seek, and I made certain that you would get to make your own choice by the end of all this without anyone interrupting us... It's time you learn about everything, my son. It is time you learn about the Peacekeeper's duty, and the truth behind the legendary bloodskills. It is time you learned the truth about our broken world, and it is time you learn what trials stand before you should you wish to fight and rectify it. So, my son, let me tell you three stories while we wait, we will start at the beginning." Aster responded carefully, still feeling all of this was too good to be true.

"And what is the beginning? Do you mean my birth?" King Calium laughed heartily, a booming laugh that Aster found amicable and contagious. The older king answered kindly.

"No, my sweet Solis, I mean THE beginning... the beginning of everything. The first story I have for you is one long since lost to time. This is the true story of the birth of our very world. The first gift I have for you, is the tale of the of the gods that started it all...

===

Tyfin was sitting in silence, deeply pondering his resting high mage's statement. "Father..." A topic the young prince himself found his mind returning to the last few days. Tyfin had been thinking a lot on conversations he once had with his father, and the prince had admittedly been distracting himself from really revisiting those memories too much. Tyfin sat his own thoughts of family aside once more, and returned to pondering on who the resting cat could be referring to. Mere moments after she had finally spoken, Lady Alice suddenly went into a seizure.

Tyfin was by her side immediately, struggling to hold the smaller feline's form as she convulsed and spasmed in his arms. The captain was quick to assist his prince, and the two beasts managed to keep her mostly braced until her violent movement finally came to an abrupt halt. Tyfin's eyes went wide with fear as he could only stare at the high mage in worry. He sighed out a shaky breath of relief when he finally saw her chest begin to rise and fall once more, however faint her breathing had become.

Still, she was definitely in worse shape now, gasping and sputtering in her unconscious state... Tyfin looked to the massive bull pleasingly as he quickly began speaking.

"We have to find her some help!" Rix started to respond.

"I-" The frantic lion cut the bovine off hastily.

"I know that you won't want to risk going into town..." Rix tried to answer once more, but the prince only kept on rambling in his worry.

"I know that it is dangerous, and I know the odds of us finding anyone that can help is slim..." Rix started up again.

"My king-" Tyfin only continued his tirade.

"But we can't just leave her like this! We have to try! I know you may not understand, but-" The impatient bull had enough, and firmly cut his prince off this time with his more commanding tone.

"MY KING! SHUT UP... I AM WITH YOU, I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU, AND WE ARE WASTING TIME. COME, LET US GO DO WHAT YOU FEEL WE NEED TO." Tyfin finally stopped talking. He stared at the bovine in appreciation for a moment, never imagining he would miss that louder voice the captain brandished so often before. The young king smiled, helped the bull shoulder the feline, and hastily set off with his guard to seek aid for his high mage in the smaller town of Cayne.

===

Nothing. In the beginning, there was simply nothing. Matter was scattered about randomly, endlessly shifting on the slightest and most unfathomably small scale. There was no sense to it. There was no reason. There was nothing but the most microscopic connections as this matter grazed by other matter. And then suddenly, for a single, defining instant, when everything met the most impossibly astronomical conditions... there was a sudden spark.

Life. It was there in the endless darkness before all else within our grasp of understanding ever came to be. It was there first, it had come to be in this world against all odds, and by the very laws of nature that governed such a world, so was she required to come to be.

The first mother, the caretaker and guardian of life itself; the most impossible, yet sacred force to ever come into existence. It was she who was assigned the responsibility of nurturing such a force. She knew her duty long before life ever even grew conscious. She loved her duty, and she loved nurturing the first spark of life making its way through a dark world.

For many weeks, she watched over her spark protectively, but being certain she let it live and explore, as life needed to. She reassured it when it bumped into something sharp. She soothed it when it felt alone. She fed it her own energy when it hungered. She coddled that spark dearly, and the two were ever so happy to have each other. And then one day, it happened.

The spark had fizzled out. The tiny organism finally reached the end of its limited existence, and it passed away rather suddenly, leaving her all alone. She wept for her loss, and the first of the goddess's tears fell to splash against the space below her. Where they met with the darkness, there bloomed flowers born of her own power and grace. Every flower that would ever even exist began to sprout and overtake the place where the first spark of life was laid to rest, building from the very potential of such floral life one day coming to be. This became known as the garden of life. This became the foundation of the very Afterworld. This was the birthplace of the second god, this was the birthplace of Death.

She was startled when he appeared, her tears finally ceasing as she only watched him perform the duty he had been called forth to bear. He reached down towards the ever-still creature, and pulled something free from the fallen life. Death had formed the first soul from the remains of the goddess's companion. This soul contained all essence of the life's memories, dreams, desires, preferences, and even fears of the things that had harmed it. This spirit contained the very essence of life itself the goddess had thought was lost.

Death approached the goddess of life, carefully cradling the tiny soul as he offered it back up to her. She reached out gently, and gratefully held the soul in front of herself in bliss. The life could return to the spirit, but it would need a new body. That was something she could handle. The goddess drew in a deep breath, pulling in the scattered minerals and elements lying in the space all around her, and exhaled onto the soul, building up an entirely new form around it from the collected ingredients imbued with her power. With that, the cycle of reincarnation began.

There in that garden of endless flora, of endless days, they lived so very happily together; Life, Death, and the first soul. Many times, the creature would perish once more, and many times, the gods would re-forged that life anew. With every cycle, the soul grew larger with gained experiences, memories, and eventually, even emotions. The soul grew larger, and larger, and larger, until one day, when Death had pulled the spirit from the corpse, the gods were left in shock at what they saw.

The soul had split in two. Death and Life were dumbfounded, never expecting such a development, but welcoming it all the same. The goddess cradled the souls, and breathed her life onto them once more. Suddenly, their trio was a quartet, and the gods rejoiced at the development, but only more bewilderment awaited those young gods.

The souls were far happier now. The two organisms went everywhere together, they played together, they rested together, and they loved together. Out of that love, the true nature of Life's power was revealed when a third was born between the first souls, a new soul bearing traits from both of its parents born into a body they had created themselves. Life and Death rejoiced, but they wouldn't truly understand the development until it was time to breathe life into those souls once again. The first of the twins died before the second. Death harvested the soul, and gave it to the goddess as usual. She breathed her power onto it, but it did not reform, it refused to let go of what it had. It refused to reform without its lover. The gods began to worry, the second creature grew more still by every passing moment in the absence of the first. The third creature grew scared of Death himself.