A King's Legacy Ch. 37-38

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Calium was alone in his quarters, the curtains drawn and the lanterns shaded. He had made his order quite clear; nobody was to disturb him. The king was sitting in the same chair as before, only this time, he was staring at the empty bed his wife had always kept so warm before, the very same one she had died in. Calium sighed heavily, really weighing his options in that moment one final time, hoping to see something he hadn't before.

It had only been two weeks since the message was delivered to the human kingdoms, but there was rumor the beast king was already marching a few smaller battalions towards Cadictum. Adamare had heard nothing back from that particular kingdom, (just as they heard little back from ANY other,) but the smaller kingdom of Peuforet had made a request for unified defenses. They had lost their second princess when the ambassadors were slain, after all. Calium was happy to accept the unification, but it would still be far from enough to survive. They still needed something more. The king sighed to himself one last time, let his weary head fall back against his chair, closed his eyes, and spoke a bit begrudgingly.

"I wish to make a deal with the gods. I wish to deal with Death." Calium waited in the silence, wondering if the old god would even reply. A familiar, darker voice answered the king.

'Ah, I was wondering how long it would take you. It has been a while, shield bearer.' King Calium shuddered at the sound. The human answered rather plainly.

"It's been a good while since I passed my trial, but still not long enough for me to ever get used to hearing that creepy, scratching sound you call a voice." The god chuckled in amusement. His voice seemed more purposely hollow as he countered playfully.

'Unless I'm mistaken, you're the one that called upon me here. Besides, you all end up quite happy to hear my voice at the end. Just imagine if I wasn't there to guide you back. You only THINK your realm has an issue with lost spirits as things are...' Calium let out another sigh, and answered as if he were bored of it all.

"Yeah, well, I suppose that's what I get for jumping right into a pissing contest with a deity. I remembered you having a better sense of humor, you know?" The deity answered with his own tired words.

'You'll have to excuse me, knowing it's all about to finally end may just have me a little riled up for once.' Calium swore his heart skipped a beat. The god of death always was one to drop absolute shattering truths in such casual conversation. The king tightened his fist, and answered through clenched teeth.

"So then... humanity is going to lose? No matter what? Me and my son both fall by the end of this?" The god answered truthfully.

'You'll both be dead within the year, along with the rest of your kind, no matter where you try to flee to. Those idiots to the west really pissed that beast king off when they killed his queen, a pain I'm certain you're recently more familiar with.' The king knew the deity wasn't one to pull many punches, but even Calium snapped at that remark.

"You know, I can't imagine why neither of your daughters have tried to make contact with you the last few centuries." Death grew silent in his own anger, and the two sat there for a moment like a pair of children sulking over a petty argument. Calium started first.

"Sorry. It's been a rough few weeks, as you clearly know." Death acted like it never bothered him at all.

'Well, it's going to get a lot more rough... Before I get into that, you should know, your queen made it to the other side, and she crossed the river. My vessel personally carried her through the last of it. She chose to rest while she waits for you.' Calium felt his throat tighten up at the words, and the king shifted his head a little as he responded quietly.

"Thank you. I know that is pretty well within your usual responsibilities, but I appreciate knowing she is at peace." Death scoffed just a little, already shifting back to his more usual doom and gloom spirits as he brushed off the gratitude.

'Don't worry, unless I have some massive breakthrough pretty soon, we will both be joining her in that rest soon enough.' It was Calium's turn to finally chuckle a bit. He responded with the slightest hint of smugness.

"Yeah, must be exhausting still having your life tied to mortal ones after all this time. I'm a bit surprised it took this long for us humans to reach this point again. Really amazed we managed to keep from getting killed off before now, but hey, at least we're selfish enough to inadvertently take the god of death down with us in the end. The fact the afterworld will be left unattended really is just the cherry on top here. I wonder what it's going to feel like, when all of us just eventually turn to fiends, trapped in the mortal realm. Do demons even feel?"

"WAIT!" Aster wasn't holding this question in, no matter what. The words flowed from the boy before he ever even thought twice, immediately interrupting his father. He spoke a bit frantically.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ALL TURN TO FIENDS? And if the shield falls, Death falls?!? Does... does that mean Death is dead too right now? Can that even happen?" Calium was surprised it took his son that long to finally blow his lid and shout the questions burning at the back of his throat. Calium answered him in both honesty, and remorse.

"The shield is linked to the vessel of Death. If the shield falls, Death himself will fall into a slumber, just as the deities of the sky, the ocean, and the earth have. You don't have to worry too much just yet, as you aren't quite dead. Death isn't completely defenseless in his own domain, after all. He's slowed your passing, both barely keeping you tethered to the realm of the living, and keeping him awake, but even that has its limits. There's another slight issue with your body back in the mortal realm, but we have someone trustworthy working on that for us." The king paused to be sure his son was still following, and continued somberly.

"More so, the sun goddess possesses only the smallest sliver of her heart in the living world now, and it isn't enough to keep her vessel alive for much longer. The piece forging the shield that managed stay alive all this time has supplemented her life-force enough so far, but if the shield falls before another piece of her heart can be restored, she will likely die as well..." Calium let out a heavy sigh, and summarized it once more for his confused looking son.

"The sun itself will die, our world will grow cold, and every life on our planet will be snuffed out almost instantaneously. Their souls will rot in place in the wake of Death's dormancy, and even his vessel, which will be mostly lost without its master, will eventually realize there is no more rebirth possible for any soul. Every spirit will be trapped in the mortal realm, every soul will eventually be lost in eternal darkness, hatred, loneliness, anger, and resentment, and every being there ever was will eventually become a fiend; a monster cursed to wander a dead and dark world for eternity."

As Calium finished, Aster could only stare wide-eyed in pure and unfiltered shock. The king spoke softly, hoping his next words would soothe some of that understandably overwhelming worry growing on his son's face.

"So you see? You may actually be the most important person alive right now. You were never irrelevant, and as heavy as it may be to accept, you are a chosen king. Fate tells a dark joke, my son, but as much as you've been running around trying to protect people with that shield, it has always been YOU that did need to be protected. However, it was never because you were weak, but because in the end, you're one of the few rays of hope this world has left, and we certainly can't let all of our hope go running off to get killed, now can we?"

Calium reached a hand forward, and placed it on his son's shoulder. The king stared into the stolen prince's eyes as he leveled with the boy for a moment.

"I know, you always hated feeling you needed to be protected in that way... but you need to understand that you can't go getting yourself killed trying to throw a one-time save to an ally, because that does nobody any good. You did it when the sword demon attacked the arena, choosing to hold him in place, even as fiends lunged at you. You did it again in the caves, preparing to throw yourself to the next enemy so the lion and the fox could escape. You did it yet again at the battle alongside the orcs, and it was only your brother's enchantment over your armor that spared you from those exploding runes when you saved the hare and the beast prince instead of yourself." Aster sighed heavily, feeling berated in that moment. Then it occurred to him what his father had just said.

"Wait, you saw all of that? You saw the battle?" Calium answered with a small laugh.

"I told you, I've watched for a long time, that includes recent events too. You did well, aside from the part where you tried to sacrifice yourself, that is. Regrettably, I'm sure you see how unfair that is to those around you now, after the rabbit did the same. Getting yourself killed doesn't ever really help anyone out, it just leaves them to deal with the aftermath in your wake... Not that I have much room to speak on that matter... While the rabbit may have been a hero that saved everyone in that moment, I know you could feel how empty so many felt after his loss. His choice was an honorable one, but it is something you cannot afford to do."

"You need to start building your own allies up, you need to start acting like a king, and you need to start awakening the other bearers of the legendary bloodskills. If you fall before then... well... It's only the end of the world, my son." Calium flashed a playful smile to his heir, and moved the conversation along before the boy had another chance to ask for more clarifications.

"Now, where were we before I was distracted and went on a whole spill?" Calium remembered a moment later, picking back up where he had left off.

"Oh, right. So, I had talked with Death about trying to survive the beast king..."

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(Pup Bayou here, sorry to interrupt your reading, but as an author that tries to respect consent, I wanted to take a moment to offer a trigger warning here. There is an instance of nonconsensual sexual assault, [fingering and threats,] in the below passage. This instance touches up on the fear and anxiety the individual is feeling, and may be upsetting to you if you are sensitive to situations like this. Feel free to move on to the next division of equal signs if you fall in this category of people. If you are OK with reading, continue below. For those skipping, I will be summarizing what happens in the author's note at the end, so you won't miss much. I never try to fetishize sexual assault, so I try to be respectful of how I handle these things should they come up. Sorry to interrupt, just felt this was the right thing to do.)

Tyfin was breathing heavily as he ran, Lady Alice still securely on his back. Part of the young lion worried this may be causing her too much discomfort in her condition, but it seemed far more safe than simply leaving her behind. Besides, the prince had plenty else to worry about.

A larger rhino wearing the same dark attire as the rest of the mercenary band stepped forth into the center of the busy street, eyeing down the prince with a devious grin as he blocked the lion's path. Tyfin bolted to the left, shooting for a more seemingly clear looking alley with the Captain right on his tail. The lion passed a quick glance back at the bull, and turned his attention back forward, making a mental promise the bovine would be getting a well earned promotion if they made it out of this.

Something whistled past Tyfin's head from the rooftops above, and the lion felt a very sharp pain in his left ear as the arrow sliced the tip of the cartilage open. Tyfin grunted and lowered his head as the young prince simply kept on running. He was almost to the end of the alley before he felt a strong arm on his shoulder snatch him to an abrupt halt.

Another bolt landed right where the prince was about to step. Before Tyfin could even realized what had happened, Captain Rix shoved him forward again, jumping right back into their sprint with two other beasts hot on their trail, one being the aforementioned, larger rhino. Tyfin and Rix came barreling out into a smaller square, one set back a short ways from the main road. This area seemed mostly empty of residents, but both the lion and the bull came to a sudden halt as they turned the corner to nearly twelve mercenaries waiting on their arrival, the boss boar from before was standing in the center with a content smirk. They had been herded quite easily.

Just as Rix turned to clear their way back through the alley, another arrow flew through the air. The bolt of the crossbow found its mark this time.

The great Captain Rixator hit a knee, the tendons and muscles just above his right hoof had been sliced in half by the steel of the arrowhead. The bovine wouldn't even be standing for a while, never mind running away anymore. Rix understood this, and tried his best to make one final opening for his king to escape.

The axe of the great Captain was thrown through the air at alarming speed, sinking itself into the chest of the mercenary blocking the exit beside the rhino. Captain Rix was shouting before his last-gasp attack ever even landed.

"GO!" Tyfin hesitated, not wanting to abandon the bull, but took off anyway. The rhino snatched a hold of the prince before he ever made it through. Another mercenary quickly stepped up behind Rix, and knocked him in the skull with a wooden club. The wounds on the back of his head were split open even further, and as Captain Rixator weakly caught himself on unstable arms, his own blood peppered the dirt around him, only making that dizzy feeling all the more intense.

As Tyfin screamed out the bull's name in abject shock, the rhinoceros tightened his grip, wrapping his thick digits around the smaller lion's throat. The larger beast squeezed a little until he had forced the prince on his knees, choking the air out of him all the while. Lady Alice fell limply off of the lion's shoulders and to the side. The brute spoke forebodingly to the prince with a smile and voice that sent shivers of fear down his spine.

"You really are a pretty little kitty, aren't you?" The boss called out to the rhino in warning.

"Hey, don't fuck up the pelt! Sir Logos will have your own hide if you do!" Tyfin's eyes grew even wider at the reveal. His thoughts ran rampant.

'Logos the hyena is the one that hired these beasts? But why? My father made him a regent... He raised the commoner through the ranks, giving him promotion after promotion for his successes. Why?' The rhino answered his boss with a darker chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't fuck up the outside, can't promise the same about his insides though...." The menacing beast's smile grew even larger as the prince realized what he was implying. The rhino leaned down into the choking feline's ear, and whispered erotically to the young prince.

"Never rutted around in a king before, but if you be good for daddy, I might even let you finish one last time before I send you off to the afterworld... You're going to have to beg though... By the GODS, am I going to make you beg..." Tyfin's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. His blood felt like it was going to freeze in his veins, and his ears, eyes, and stomach were all feeling pressured by the most panicked and inflammatory feeling of overwhelming fear the young lion had ever known. He tried so vainly to claw his way out, to even manage to scream, but the beast only slammed him roughly to the ground in response, briefly releasing him.

Tyfin scrambled to escape, rolling over to stand up and make a run for it, but one of the beast's burly arms quickly shoved the lion's chest back into the dirt. Tyfin felt his pants being tugged down, and buried his claws in the dirt trying to dig his way away from this monster to no avail. The rhino tightened his hold on the lion's scruff, and easily snatched the clothes down passed the royal beast's knees. A sharp impact landed on his rear, and Tyfin screamed out in pain as the rhino slapped his ass so hard, that the lion was certain he had nearly broken his hip. The beast chuckled as he leaned over the pinned feline, and whispered darkly down at him.

"Yeah, you just scream for daddy all you want, make sure you cry a little too, that always makes me REALLY hard..." Tyfin felt the other larger hand placed beneath his shirt before it was trailed down his back, smoothing over the beast king's elegant, golden fur gently as his hand slid lower and lower, and lower...

"NO! PLEASE, JUST STOP, PLEASE, I DON'T-" The rhino roared loudly down at the begging beast prince, smiling as he shouted out in pure delight.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! FUCKING BEG ME! DADDY IS GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN WITH YOU, LITTLE PRETTY KITTY." Tyfin screamed out in pain and humiliation as the beast forced a thick digit into his entrance, pushing it in dry all the way passed the second knuckle. Rix tried to stand once more at such a disheartening cry for help, but was simply bashed over the head yet again. Just as the great Captain finally accepted that he had failed everyone, just as his vision had blurred, and his eyelids slowly closed, just as the large bull fell forward in his shameful defeat, Rix saw the strangest shadow dart into his field of fading vision. It almost looked like it was descending from the rooftops to the bull. Captain Carcer Rixator collapsed into the dirt with a heavy thud.

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'We are all dead.' It was inescapable, a thought so complete that returned to Calium time and time again. It intruded everywhere, no matter what he was doing. The thought was persistent, and quite effective at carving away his hope little by little.

It had been nearly a month's time since the king had spoken with the god, but Calium had heard plenty enough to rattle him. Not even Death had found a way out of this mess yet. The king hid his worry as he knelt down beside his daughter's bed, and gently pulled her covers up as he tucked her in for the night. The young princess looked at her father, and frowned. She asked a question in her more sleepier voice.

"Father, are we going to be alright?" Calium answered her tenderly.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Lunai yawned loudly before she answered.

"I've heard stuff around the castle, and I know you've been preparing our soldiers for a war." Calium felt his heart sink a little, his daughter always was observant, but the king held his mask together expertly. He lied so sweetly to the young princess.

"There is nothing to worry about, You're going to be just fine. You're going to live a long life, my daughter, and you're going to grow into a fine young woman. I would bet that your beauty will someday be as formidable as that mind of yours. You're going to have to be there for your little brother, after all. If he ends up anything like me, he will need a strong, bigger sibling like you." Lunai blinked her tired eyes wearily, but pressed a little further anyway.

"Are you leaving us too then? Like mother?" Calium forced himself to smile as his heart fell into his stomach. He quickly reassured his daughter.

"I would never leave either of you without guidance. I know you may hear things are bad, but believe me when I say that I will never let anything happen to you." Lunai smiled, and nodded at her father in acceptance of that answer. Calium smiled back warmly, leaned forward, and kissed his daughter goodnight. He spoke lovingly as he stepped through her door and pulled it to behind himself.