A King's Legacy Ch. 46

A King's Legacy

Chapter 46

Who You Are

"STAHL!" Aster was shouting the name as soon as that one silvery eye became visible beneath the fracturing helm of corruption. The young king dropped his shield, and fell to his knees over the wolf, shouting down as loudly as he could to his mate. "IT'S ME, IT'S ASTER. PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING...."

The human felt his heart lighten immediately as the beast parted his maw to answer him in a very hoarse and straining tone. "As...ter...."

"YES! It's me, my mate, it is me." The king could feel the happiest tears welling up, Stahl was going to be alright, or at least, he certainly believed so. The realization was quite cold for the king when the beast started suddenly growling lightly.

"As... ter... mine mate...." The growl was steadily growing louder and more aggressive as the creature continued, lost to the rage even still. "NOT ASTER. NOT... MINE...."

"Stahl, it's me, I'm here, I--" for all the panic in the young king's words, his pleas were silenced as the creature began to thrash and snarl out its broken speech, flailing vainly against Jagón and Calium in the absence of Alice's song.

"NOT MINE! LIAR! NOT... MINE... ASTER!" Stahl roared out the last of his words as his maw snapped at the young king, stopping only a finger's length away from his face. Calium's shield appeared parallel to Aster's falling tears, the young king still so afraid of what this may mean.

"Fight it!" Calium was hissing towards the wolf desperately as he struggled to keep a hold on his arm. "I know how much it hurts to be trapped in between.... I know how foggy it all gets... but fight it. Ground yourself, see the truth yourself!"

"NOT ASTER! NOT MINE ASTER! LIE!" Stahl screamed up towards Aster at the top of his lungs, those dark fangs snapping menacingly towards the human's face as he did so.

The human gazed in true fear as he met that haunting and mutilated gaze; one silvery eye, one red one, both just as angry as they beheld the young king. Aster's tone was reduced to a whimper. "Stahl... I--"

'Calium.... kill that wolf.' Death's voice was chilling, more accented by how serious the sudden interruption was. All three of the mortals turned to the deity immediately, but the look that met them made each overwhelmingly nervous. Something instinctual was setting off alarms within them all.

"Master... I--" Calium was silenced by the rushing god.

'This is NOT a debate. End that damned wolf and do it NOW!' The deity sounded panicked, something that only more unnerved the god's guests.

"I... NO! THIS ISN'T WH--"

"THIS IS AN ORDER!" Death was shouting out loud by that point, something he almost never did.

"YOU HAVE NO HOLD ON ME HERE! I WILL NOT HARM SOMEONE SO IMPORTANT TO SOLIS!" Calium answered defiantly.

"Jagón." Alice's call was ignored.

Stahl twisted sharply, nearly knocking Aster off of him and pulling his arm free from Calium, who was still struggling to keep those teeth locked behind a smaller shield.

"OH? You think this fleeting freedom will last? You think to question and defy me now? HERE? AFTER EVERYTHING? YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING, INSECT! SO BE A GOOD SOLDIER ANT, AND STRIKE HIM DOWN AS YOU'RE TOLD!" Death was shouting at such insolence in rage.

In contrast, Alice only managed to speak a little louder this time. "Jagón...." She still went unheard.

"No." Calium reiterated his stance firmly, adjusting his hold on the demon's arm as he reinforced the one on his shield. "I don't know what could have changed so unexpectedly, I don't know why you feel this wolf is disposable now... But--"

"JAGÓN!" at last, the smaller feline stole the panther's attention away from the conversation. She continued shakily after, her eyes and fingers trembling as her tail endlessly twitched behind her, "It's Cortist. He's dying...."

===

It was burning relentlessly, a storm of fire that centered and built itself upon the young mage in a consuming mass of power far too great for the mortal to ever bear... power inherited from his mother. Cortist had released the fury of the very sun goddess, and those scornful flames demanded a steep toll from any that would dare to ever call on them. The son of their master received no special treatment from the raw and pure magic.

Cortist wouldn't open his eyes again, he was too afraid he would lose them to the rampant flames. A searing pain, one that felt like a bite was quite literally taken out of him, burned itself on the mage's shoulder. Cortist vainly tried to cradle the injury, only for the fire to strike him on his leg instead.

The panther screamed out, falling to one knee as he once more commanded the flames to cease, and they once more rejected his order. The center of the swirling flames balled up even closer on the mage, the power of the sun mimicking its original form, using the vast magical reserves of the young demigod to fuel its attempt to create a core around him.

The area surrounding the miniature sun was quickly beginning to glow a violent red as even the higher stones on the walls began to show early signs of gelling over. The stones beneath the panther were already melted down to smaller, dissipating pieces, the molten rock sloshing violently around the base of the out-of-control mage as the floor in the center of the castle began to buckle and crater from the heat of his summoned magic.

A stones-throw away, unseen by the panther trapped within the core, a shield still stood defiantly, the demon bearing it half disintegrated by the immense heat but enduring it for the time being. By that point, the shield was almost entirely encased in the dark and stone-like armor that made up demon skin, but the smallest cracks of light were still fighting to shine through the darkness, even as all hope seemed lost for all involved.

Cortist cried out in anguish as another consuming bite was taken from his chest, the flames demanding more and more from their new source. Cortist tried to use other magic, to raise ice to repel the heat, or water to quell the fire, but the other magic would not come. The magical bases were no match for the raw magic of the sun. Cortist had awakened more than he could handle. It would feast on the mage until there was nothing left, and Death was not here to save him this time. Cortist realized such truth with harrowing acceptance. He really was merely a foolish little kitten...

===

All three mortals sucked in a sharp breath at the news of the young mage, each finding themselves at a sudden loss for words.

Death had no such surprise hindering his speech. "I CAN'T REACH HIM WHILE THIS REMAINS UNSETTLED! I STRUGGLE TO EVEN KEEP HIM ALIVE THROUGH THIS! END THAT WOLF SO THAT I MAY END THIS!"

Calium's gaze was firmly locked onto Death's. Jagón's was affixed on Alice. Aster, however, couldn't take his eyes off of his wolf, no matter how bad the situation seemed.

All three accepted what they would have to do. It was quite beneficial timing for them, as Stahl managed to wry his arm free from Jagón and swing it towards Aster, forcing him to raise a shield to block it. The half-remedied demon quickly broke loose from Calium by the action and took its chance, scurrying off to the side to put some distance between itself and its attackers. Aster swore at the development.

The deity tried reason. "Do you understand now, Calium? We can't allow Cortist to be lost, he is too important, too unique. Another replacement for the sword will come along soon enough, just as surely as one for the bow did. There is always still the chance your son could take that power for himself, after all." Death was trying his best to sway the fallen king.

Calium rejected that logic. "No. I won't make Solis lose anyone else."

Death countered furiously. "THE WOLF IS DEAD ANYWAY. HE CAN'T MAKE IT BACK EVEN IF HE IS SAVED FROM HIS CORRUPTION! HIS BODY WAS CONSUMED IN THE MORTAL REALM! WE CAN STILL SAVE CORTIST!"

Calium took a stance beside his son as he eyed down the deity. His words were unwavering. "The wolf did not deserve such an end. You will simply have to keep your grandson alive a little longer, I've already said as much, I stand by my son."

"I CANNOT! This is not simply staving off a few hits from any mere demon... he is trying to channel power he cannot withstand. He tapped into the core strength of his celestial mother, of the very sun goddess, and that power is eager to consume him for a chance at having another complete master to serve. It has latched a hold of him in attempt of replacing Alice with Cortist as the very entity of the sun, and no mortal could ever survive such a power transition...."

Death looked at Aster then. The human thought it strange to hear a god beg. "Please. The outcomes have shifted, nothing is as foreseen.... Please, make the hard choice to spare your brother. Give your beast his peace and accept his loss for truth. Face my truths, ascend to new levels of power, and let me be free to go save your brother in return. I can stop this, but time is already short, shield bearer."

Aster looked towards the demon still eyeing him down and snarling lightly a short distance away. For a moment, he really considered that Stahl may be beyond redemption. That thought brought his attention back to the absence of the melody from before, and he briefly glanced towards Lady Alice.

The young king saw his beast father over by her, the panther kneeling down before the cat as they spoke about something Aster couldn't hear. He refocused on the other deity after, trusting that whatever his father was doing was necessary. Aster stared in silence at the skull-faced deity. The young king's answer did not need to be spoken, his demeanor told Death all he needed to know. He would not choose.

The god lowered his head, his golden eyes gleaming with a hint of smugness as he stared down at the mere boy that would think him so deniable.

A hollow chuckle sounded across the garden, steadily building into a cackle before the god stopped suddenly, speaking in an eerily calm voice. "Truly, it is my own fault. I've tolerated such disrespect from you mortals for far too long. You started thinking yourselves my equal because of the deals, and the assistance, and my own lenient mercy over the last few millennia..."

The deity trailed off, bringing his skeletal hand up to rest on the long and spiraled horn of his brow. Death looked Aster right in the eyes as he cast his verdict with nothing short of disgust. "It is time I remind you all of what exactly I am. I will handle this matter myself, along with any ingrates that would stand in my way."

Death tightened his grip with a gleaming smile. The subtle sound of creaking and popping bone just barely audible at first slowly became more and more prominent to the humans.

"Be ready, my son.... He's quite cornered, and you have to focus to even see him when he strikes. Watch the flowers, they will warn you." Calium sheathed his blade as he quickly spoke to his son, taking a prepared stance with his bare hands.

Aster had no idea what his father meant, but he realized he wouldn't have the time to ponder on it for too long.

A loud pop resonated through the air as a chasm formed down the deity's soiled ivory skull. This crack ran down the right side of the god's equine cheek, eagerly spreading until it reached the jawbone. A second split formed on his bottom jaw, separating just before the curve of his chin. The god gave the horn a final, ragged twist as he wrenched the weapon free with a splintering crunch of breaking bone.

Aster noticed the curved and partial jawbone of the vessel still attached to the end that was pulled from the deity's skull. He noted how this part warped, and grew in size, even as the god brandished that weapon off to his side. The young human king watched that deadly curvature accent more than ever, the remaining teeth of the skull growing into shredding spikes resting along the steadily narrowing razor's edge of that scythe.

Despite how unsettling it was to see and hear someone speak with only half a face, the deity's final words as he began mainly left Aster with a sense of sadness. Death stared to the sky of the afterworld as he whispered gently. "My love, my light. Our kingdom has crumbled in your absence, our celestial children have all fallen one way or another, and when I finally find some glimpse of your spark left in this world it would be threatened before me...."

The god lowered his head, laying eyes on both shield bearers as he finished the apology to his beloved. "I shall worship you as I slumber. My only dreams will be of finding you in the world to come following our passing. After our final rest has began, beyond the unknown fates awaiting us, I will eternally pray only to feel your warmth one final time when the darkness that existed before even gods comes to reclaim us all."

The deity spoke the last of his words with infallible acceptance. "I will cut my own tie and fall to everlasting slumber before I let any harm come to Cortist. I will either slay the wolf to end the trial, or crush the very heart tied to the demon my envoy faces. I am sorry to surrender your most precious gift, my beloved. I hope you will understand that some outcomes are worth what we sacrifice to make possible."

As the deity finished, he moved faster than Aster could follow, disappearing suddenly without a trace. Aster wondered where he went, turning towards his father, asking as much. "Wait, where did..."

It was a strange sensation to Aster, to still feel himself speaking only for the words to take no form. It was then that he realized that everything in that garden had lost all sound.

A flicker of movement to his left caught Aster's attention, a mere shadow briefly noticeable from the edges of his vision. The young king turned his head immediately but saw no trace of the god. His eyes still wanted to avert from both Death and the strike coming right for him. He did at least see the effects of the deity's attack, however.

A curved shadow passed over the flowers of the garden, the various flora shriveling and turning dark as the shadow cast from that daunting scythe moved over them. A swooping arch of those rapidly wilting flowers became noticeable to the young king, the projection of that strike curving right towards him. On instinct alone, Aster raised his arms and that golden shield just before the flowers at his own feet withered away.

All sound was suddenly restored as a harsh and resounding ring of clashing steel radiated forth from that golden barricade as the scythe of Death collided against it. Aster felt his balance falter immediately, the strike easily hitting him with more than enough force to knock him off center. As the young king threatened to topple, he stared back at the entity on the other side of his shield, the one only noticeable for the briefest instance before returning to obscurity. Remorse was not the look Aster was expecting to see in those golden eyes.

Calium raised a small shield to catch his son's fall, bracing just long enough for Aster to recover his footing. The young king quickly spoke in panic. "I can't see him when he's moving!"

"You are still trying to shy away from death. You must face it head on, you must acce—" Silence fell over Calium mid-sentence. Aster's breathing hitched as the hairs on his neck prickled endlessly in instinctual fear. His eyes widened at both the sensation, and the sudden shift in Calium's expression. Before Aster could react, another harsh ring sounded off right behind his head as Calium struggled to catch the strike from the deity.

Aster turned immediately, noting how his father's shield trembled in place against such a deadly blow. Aster acted as fast as he could, leaning in with a shielded fist to strike against his father's raised barricade, launching a wave of force back against the god with their combined efforts. Death was momentarily repelled as the deity narrowed his gaze in annoyance before flashing away once more.

"WE CAN'T HOLD LIKE THIS, WE NEED TO GET TO YOUR WOLF, AND YOU NEED TO FIND SOME WAY TO END THIS BEFORE WE BOTH FALL." Calium quickly shouted his words, eager to get them out before being interrupted again.

Aster briefly looked towards Stahl again before nodding back to his father. The pair bolted off towards the demon that was still quite wary of the two rapidly approaching souls. The wolf curled his lip as he let out a low growl in warning. Aster never slowed, not until the sound of his footsteps disappeared without warning.

A curved shadow was swooping rapidly towards Stahl, killing everything it passed over as the deity's weapon arched through the air. Aster frantically placed a shield defiantly in that path. That curving shadow dissipated before the impact happened this time. Death pulled off, and skirted away as the demon took an uncertain step back from the golden barricade before it.

Aster saw this reaction, and immediately lowered that shield as he slowed his run, speaking deliberately towards his mate with hands raised by his sides. "I'm not going to hurt you Stahl."

The wolf lowered into a more defensive stance, preparing to either run or strike again as he eyed down the speaking human. The beast snarled as he hazily tried to make sense of his murky and conflicting thoughts and urges.

Aster took another slow step forward, approaching as delicately as he could manage. He held his right hand out towards the partial demon as he tried his best to soothe him. "It's ok, my wolf, we are going to fix this. Let me fix this... please, Stahl.... Just let me hold you." Aster was steadily advancing in his cautious pace, nearing ever closer as he almost laid his hand on the beast.

Stahl was fighting to remain where he was. The person before him was familiar, but the hunger for warmth was so very strong. Nothing was quite right through the eyes of one trapped in such a purgatory. He wanted Aster. He wanted Aster to hold him. The person looked like Aster. The hand was getting closer.... He didn't want to hurt Aster again. Everyone hurt Aster. He hurt Aster.... The hand was getting closer....

'The hand.' A wave of rage washed over the corrupted wolf at the very thought. The monster's gaze sharpened as it settled on that outstretched hand. Stahl roared out at the realization. "NOT MINE ASTER! LIAR!"

Calium snatched Aster back a step right as the monster snapped at his hand. The fallen king took a step forward in his place, raising his shield just before the demon's follow-up slash landed.

Calium shouted back to his son. "I don't know what he struggles with! I don't know why he fell! You need to think about what he fears to reach him, about what truths he couldn't fac—" Silence fell over Calium, as did the scythe.

Aster caught the weapon just above his father's head, struggling with both arms to bear such weight. Death called out coldly. "There are so many whose ends have no reason, who die without ever achieving anything worth mentioning. Our ends will spare what may be the next great light. It should be seen as an honor."

"My son gets to make his own choices! I'll always defend that right of his." Calium answered adamantly.

"No choices remain when I deem fit. That is my very nature, even if your kind doesn't acknowledge it. You think my silence comes with warning, but more often than not, I strike before ever extending the grace of my approach. Your wants, your desires, and your unfinished goals mean nothing when I say it is time!" The deity vanished once more as he spat his truths.

Aster sighed briefly in relief as he let his shield fall. Another bout of the wolf's claws raking across his father's barrier drew his attention quickly enough.