A King's Legacy Ch. 37-38

A King's Legacy

Chapters 37 & 38:

A Little Solace / Rays of Hope

Aster could only look up at his father in stunned silence. His story? Aster averted his gaze, staring at the bountiful flowers surrounding him in that place as he tried to think of how he could even answer such a thing. The boy spoke a bit hesitantly, not wanting to upset his father now that they had finally been reunited.

"I- I don't know if I want to learn it... I'm sure that sounds odd, but everything that I gathered back at my place of birth, every single thing I learned only hurt me that much more. Every broken window, every splintered door, every home torn to shreds... every single one of them cut me so deeply, father. It isn't that I don't want to honor my people, it is simply more that there is no honoring them anymore. Whatever awful fate befell them, I cannot undo any of it, and having my heart carved out all over again just isn't something I think I can handle anoth-"

Aster froze suddenly, recalling a certain fuzzy memory at his choice of words, one that seemed more like a dream than a reality. Still, it was a dream that was making far too much sense to the boy now... The young king sat upright with a truly fearful look on his face. Calium could tell what the boy was thinking merely by the stunned expression he was wearing, and by the way he cradled his hand over where the sword had pierced his chest. The older king spoke cautiously.

"Solis... I know it seems scary, but you don't have anything to worry about here. This isn't your end, it is merely something you have to face. You can't let that panic set in though, or you won't ever be going back. Please, sit back down, it seems you're starting to wake up a little more, but it's hard not to be alarmed at the realization. I can explain this too, if you wish to hear me now... regardless, let me be the first to say... welcome to the afterworld, Solis."

Aster plopped back down, (more from his sudden shakiness than per his father's request,) and took a moment to accept the startling reality. The younger human looked down at his hands and flexed them a little in disbelief. He could still feel them here, even though he now recalled that the right one should be missing. He spoke in a tone of disbelief.

"I'm... dead aren't I? We are dead, right?" Calium only nodded once to his son, confirming as much. Aster let out a small huff, and spoke idly about the strange realization.

"Odd, I figured it would be a lot less... comfortable here. It's pretty nice, if I'm being honest. I thought it would be colder." Calium chuckled a little at the boy, answering with a warm smile, and a warmer tone.

"It isn't so bad, but a healthy mix of optimism and skepticism helps with that. I was glad to see you inherited those traits as well." Aster forced a small smile at that, and spoke a little more quietly in response.

"Well... It hasn't exactly been easy to remain on the positive side of things after everything lately." Calium answered, still holding his smile as his golden eyes took on a similar tenderness.

"Oh, trust me, I know all about getting buried waist deep in shit and still trying to help others out of their own messes, so believe me when I say I do understand how much of a chore it can be... but it is still a choice, and it's a choice you made through some tough times, my son. You don't always have to shine, but never let the ugliness corrupt that gold in you. You may have had some low points more recently, and you certainly had a right to be hurt by them, but even then, you stood by your knight, you pressed on, and you faced what seemed so terribly overwhelming all the same." Calium paused to sigh to himself with that same smile still seemingly stuck on his face. He continued proudly after, truly reminding Aster of a king in that moment.

"There is great importance in recognizing small victories like those. It is important to look at it all day by day sometimes, that the heartache will fade, and that you'll live to fight again when you are finished licking your wounds. When you can look back on your worst days and see what you survived, you'll be surprised at what you can find the courage to face going forward. You'll be amazed at how trivial it all seems, and you'll learn you can stare down even the most menacing and imposing opponents with a smile."

"You either fall victim to the darkness, or you stand up beside your most important people, and fight it with everything you have any and every time it comes for you, or for them. You fight back. If there should ever be no hope left for the ones you want to protect, then you choose to become that hope, for that is the kind of kings we are, my son." Aster went silent once more, letting his father finish before he squeaked out his honest opinion with his eyes to the dirt.

"I am not a king. I am not someone so important. I am no beacon of hope, and I am certainly far too weak to ever lead anyone." Calium was quick to dismiss the thought.

"No son of mine could ever be so weak. You have no idea of the people that will care for you. You have no idea of the people that will look to you as the greatest kind of ruler, a humble one that has seen his fair share of what living in this tiring world can really do to a soul. One that could relate to the struggles those that follow him have faced. A compassionate and empathetic king always leads his people far further than a conceited and self-serving one. You could be a king worthy of legends if you would only see that what this world truly needs is more people in power making choices to benefit those they lead. We need peacekeepers far more than we need more war-makers." Aster replied somberly, truly not seeing what his father was.

"How do you know that is who I am? How can you be so certain that I am such a chosen king and not some irrelevant human that got lucky and survived?" Calium's smile took on a playful hint. The king spoke it all rather cheerily.

"Well... because you are my son. You've never been irrelevant to me since before you were even born..." The king paused with a grin as Aster just groaned at that answer. Calium finished his statement after, hoping his son would take the bait.

"...And because no child of prophecy ever seems to be irrelevant, do they?" Aster quickly took the bait.

"Wait, what prophecy?"

===

Vengeful, red eyes gazed menacingly towards the panther standing before the demon, its maw still snarling wickedly as the creature sized up its meal. Cortist was frozen, still trying to understand what had happened to his brother, still trying to control his fear after such a shrieking roar from the shadow that remained. The demon tightened the grip of its right arm on the golden shield, and used its left one to slam its fist against the back of it, sending out a jarring wave of darkness that made the panther fall to his knees for an entirely different reason. The heartbeat used by his brother commanded one to kneel in effort to avoid conflict, but the shadowy one that rocked into Cortist commanded him to kneel in absolute fear.

The mage's eyes were wide, and his fur felt like it was crawling over his skin. His hands were trembling against the dusty cobblestones beneath him, and Cortist felt a rush of instincts insisting the young feline very much needed to run away from this monster. Even so, Cortist was held on his knees as the creature lunged.

The panther stared wide-eyed, frozen in place as that monster descended on him with its jaw open wide and the shield still trapped in its grip. Time seemed to slow for the mage, and Cortist absolutely realized how dead he was. He could never win against such a monster to begin with, and he just couldn't bring himself to act in a way that would harm Aster.

The creature fell upon him, mere inches away as the panther's mind went into overhaul. Corty was about to simply accept it, until he noticed something peculiar... Where the creature gripped the shield, a shadow had began to form, spreading like cracks in the celestial gold. His master's final warning rang in his mind at the sight.

'Survive. Stall your opponent as long as you can while me and my soldier do what we need to... However, should all the light fade, should it all be swallowed by the darkness, know that none of us are ever coming back. That is the very likely outcome that we both fail, that we lose it all on our gamble, and that we have been devoured by the consequences.' Cortist's own thoughts seemed to fall in place in that moment.

'Survive? Stall it? Does that mean there was a chance to fix this? Was he talking about the shadow growing on that shield? Can Aster turn back if the light prevails?' Cortist made his decision with clarity, just as those jagged teeth began closing around his skull. His brother's heart was still alive, he just knew it, but this thing was standing in the way of their reunion...

A pillar of stone shot up into the creature's midsection, commanded effortlessly by the panther in that defining moment. The monster was pushed away from the budding young demigod just before it managed to snag a sample of the mage's flavor. The stone pushed hard beneath the shadowy sword jutting out of the monster's chest, coming to an abrupt stop where it flung the demon back a ways as Cortist stood to face the creature at long last. The demon howled out as it's ribs popped back where they belonged, bearing its rancid teeth all while preparing for its next attack.

Cortist took a deep breath, feeling strangely calm, yet invigorated all of a sudden. Cortist was feeling like this wasn't a battle he would accept defeat in. The mage felt as if he wasn't fighting this battle on his own after all... Flames grew over his forearms in anticipation of the creature's next strike, and the young panther focused his attention on the opponent before him. The demon summoned the shield again, reared back its fist, and sent another wave of enslaving fear pulsing towards the panther. The demon followed up the attack by sprinting closely behind the pulse of darkness, hoping to capitalize on its stunning capability. Cortist waited for the last moment, threw his arms towards the ground, and shot the flames down, pushing himself over the charging creature just in time for it to run head first into the scorching fire where the panther had stood.

As Cortist was propelled out of the pulse's range and over the demon, the mage quickly followed up on his opportunity, dropping a quick bolt of lightning on the monster before landing behind it. The creature howled in pain, but the panther only turned to face it once again, holding firmly to his mission of saving his brother from such a fate at any cost. A ball of light began forming in his right hand, and the weak little kitten finally found himself not feeling so weak anymore. He launched the blast toward the demon without hesitation.

Cortist Venatus had always been too soft for battle, but perhaps his grandfather's guidance, encouragement, and preparation had hardened his resolve just enough after all...

===

Calium had quite a shit-eating grin on his face as he simply stared at his son for a moment. He spoke teasingly.

"Well, the prophecy kind of goes back to your own story again, and since you've chosen not to hear it..." Calium trailed off with a smirk. Aster just sighed before he answered flatly.

"Fine, tell me... I just don't want who I am to be changed anymore. I was getting comfortable with who I was becoming." Calium smiled far more sincerely at that answer, and returned his son's honesty.

"I know. I couldn't reach you for a long time, but I did watch you often. I saw you growing into a fine young man the last few weeks. Please understand that your past does not define you, it merely gives you some insight on how to find your way forward. Your story is riddled with tragedy, this is true, but what happens next for you doesn't have to be so hard." Aster just kept his eyes cast to the side, so Calium figured that was as much of an answer as he was getting. The king started speaking where he left off, leading up to his more personal experiences in time.

"It all started a little over thirty years ago..."

The sun goddess had been freed, and her mother's song had stopped reaching the garden altogether. In the absence of her soothing melody, three particularly tainted souls began to corrode and boil over in the long overdue manifestation of their new forms. It took another few years, but those three human souls bearing ties to the hearts of the slumbering gods finally emerged from their armored cocoons.

The sword demon, the bow demon, and the trident demon may have been born millennia after their time had passed, but their delayed emergence certainly hadn't hampered their power in the slightest. The ties binding them to their gifts had followed their souls even to their new forms, albeit in a more bastardized sense.

The pieces of the goddess's heart were swallowed by the spiky corruption as well, giving the creatures all the power they needed to fulfill their one desire; to find a soul that could take that power from them. The three demons were looking for heirs worthy of the very gods, for those with souls that aligned with the vessels themselves. They were seeking living souls that could soothe the tainted hearts of even the legendary beasts. They, more than anything, were seeking peaceful freedom in the afterworld.

Death kept a close eye on those demons for quite some time, and was a bit surprised when they mostly seemed to remain dormant, but the god would never truly understand the desires of such tortured souls until some time later, when a right hand to a human king would be met with the first trial. The sword demon had made a move, and the beast of the mountain began to stir.

It was so sudden. It was a peaceful time in Adamare, the harvest of that season had been bountiful, and all seemed to be just another day for the residents of the town and castle alike. Calium was reading to his oldest child, Lunai, enthusiastically. The fatherly king was certain to act it all out, even going so far to skulk around the room in a blanket cloak to reiterate exactly how ominous the villain of the tale had appeared to his daughter. The king spoke in his best falsetto of the wicked antagonist.

"...Now GROVEL before the great might of my demon army! Go, my children! Feast on flesh. Sate your hate and hunger with the breaking of bones. Consume this kingdom." Lunai giggled ecstatically in delight of such a grand performance, but before the young princess could get out another word, the sound of a war horn sounded across the courtyard of the castle. There was an attack.

Calium stood quickly, pacing over to the window in worry as he dropped his disguise altogether. The king gazed out over his garden, and saw quite an imposing looking foe before him. There was a jagged and bipedal demon standing before a dark scar, a portal carved through the air itself. This creature was bearing a shadowy sword the human king would grow to be all too familiar with in time. The creature was staring down the king's own right hand, interrupting the training session with his soldiers abruptly. A knight appeared at the doorway behind him, and Calium hastily spoke.

"Get the princess to her mother, and get both to safety. Stay away from the windows." Lunai tried to call out for her father, but Calium was already jumping out of the window onto his shield, forming one after another like stepping stones as the king ran across the air towards the intruder just as it lunged towards the human king's closest knight with a shadowy sword swinging wildly. The losses that day against that singular opponent were crippling for Adamare.

Over thirty young prospecting young recruits had been massacred within moments. Seven of Adamare's greatest were cut down that day as well, some even before they ever realized exactly what they were dealing with. It was through the combined efforts of King Calium and his most trusted knights that victory was even secured at all, however, even that had a steep price it would seem.

Fortix Cuso, the right hand of King Calium Aureus, drove his skilled blade into the heart of that monster just as the demon drove its blade through his own. The demon had been defeated, but the man that had cleared the trial set before him had died before he could ever inherit that gift.

"Death carried the remains of the sword demon's soul to the afterworld, but those remains wouldn't take long to find a new bearer." Aster chimed in, curious as to what happened after.

"So, who ended up inheriting it then?" Calium only shook his head as he answered with a hint of sadness.

"I'm getting there. It's a lot to tell, so bear with me." Calium continued on.

A cub would be born bearing the sun goddess's liberated gift, bearing a piece of the scattered heart tied to the sword. This was something foreseen by one particular onlooker... The moon was elated. Despite her heartless methods of madness, restoring her sister and family seemed to be the one goal she had that was clear to Death. The moon had meddled little in comparison up to that point, but her scheme launched forth from a singular belief; That the world would never be safe for the gods, (or anyone else for that matter,) as long as mankind stood. The mad moon made a few deals of her own, using her power to mirror her father's. It made for an excellent guise. She started by delivering a prophecy to one of the three human kings.

The shield that humans had hidden behind for so many generations was soon to meet its end at last. The final human to ever hold that power would be born, and he would die before ever passing that power down to another human. The next king of the beastmen would one day march on all of the neighboring countries, and the great conqueror would begin his reign of destruction. When the next beast king would eventually cross blades with the next shield bearer, the shield would fall, and all of man would fall into darkness alongside it.

The ruler of the human kingdom, Cadictum, panicked, just as the moon had expected him to. He desperately pleaded to the goddess, begging her for a solution to the problem approaching. The moon smiled so smugly as she only went silent in response. In truth, her words would certainly alter the course of things, but ultimately, it would only speed them along. The moon was getting what she needed regardless, so the aftermath seemed trivial.

The shield could fall with man, the sword soon to be reborn with a beast for a bearer would keep her sister alive until she could find a way to revive the rest of that heart. She didn't need to do anything else from that point, aside from answer when the deceived and desperate king tried to make a deal with her once more a few days later.

"Please... is there nothing we can do?" The goddess answered the foolish king with more deception, purposely leading him to the wrong conclusion.

"Well, I can't say for certain, but the next beast king is not destined to be the sole cub of the lions, it is destined to be one not even born yet. Perhaps you could make something of that " What she conveniently left out, was that the foreseen conqueror was not an heir of the Tonitrus family at all. What she had accomplished, was planting her ill intent inside of the human well disguised as the smallest shred of hope for their species. The humans of that kingdom began setting their plan in motion, and by the aid of the moon goddess, a deal was struck in blood magic, and the fate of man was sealed with the murder of Queen Talia Tonitrus of Alora.

"That king was the ruler of Cadictum, the first of the three human kingdoms that would be swallowed in the savagery of beast king Alocer's wrath." Aster interjected once again.