(This is not canon to Tales From The Valley in any way, shape, or form. Besides the fact that some characters, such as Octavian, come from the playerbase.)

"And in that moment, I swore we were infinite."

How had it come to this? The boy looked down at himself in total shock, unclear as to what was going on. Blood gushed out of a wound in his stomach, the cause--a golden dagger--lying near him.  How could I let this happen? He fell onto his knees, his armor clanking together as he collapsed. 

"This will all come to play in the grand scheme of things." boomed a voice from across the room. 

"This could have all been avoided, Vitas." 

Vitas, choked up more blood, adding to the pool. On his hands and knees, he lifted his head and looked in the direction of the voice.

"Why?" he called out weakly.

"You know why. Don't act like you don't know why this went down like it did." 

The man took another dagger out of his belt, twirling it around his fingers and admiring it.

Vitas spat out more blood, his hands now drenched in the sickeningly warm fluid.

"You gonna die, or am I gonna have to finish you off?"

He ignored him and glanced to the side, the pain caused by the motion apparent. And there he saw her. Celestina. She leaned against the wall in a torn golden dress, several feet from where the youth lay. Exhaustion was painted on her face, with blood spattered all over her exposed stomach, but it was not hers. Vitas studied her as if he had never seen her before. Her curly, dark brown hair fell to her shoulders, and her pale skin only seemed more so by the spatters of blood as a foil.  All he could think of was her beauty, even in such a dire situation.

He wanted get up and take her out of this tomb. This dungeon. This hellhole. There were many words to describe this place, but he just wanted out. But wanted revenge even more against that monster of a man, if he could still be called a man. He let his gaze fall to the ground once more, shutting his eyes as he clutched the wound in his stomach with a hand, and steadied himself with the other. Footsteps rang throughout the room, and Vitas looked up and around wildly to see who it was, only to see Octavian walking towards Celestina, backing against the corner.

"Now, if you excuse me, I will take my new queen."

The man advanced towards Celestina, and reached his hand out to grab hers. Celestina jerked hers away with a mix of both disgust and fear. The threatening figure was angered by such an act. The happy look of victory left his face, and was replaced by anger. "How dare you continue to defy me!" The king furiously stated.  He grabbed her by the wrist forcefully and yanked her in his direction.. Celestina began to fight wildly. The man pulled out one of his sharpest daggers, and ran it across her face. Scarlet blood began to drip from it ever so slowly, falling onto the floor. "You will learn to respect me. You will learn to love me." The king stared at the woman with a grim face. He looked at the knife, then slid it back in it's sheathe. "Come on. You will like your new title." The man began to grin. "Celestina, Queen of Ilyria." The man leaned in, holding the back of her head, moving in for a kiss. Normally, this would be a magical moment, but not under these circumstances.

All of a sudden, Vitas began to laugh hysterically. Centimeters away from Celestina's face, The man turned towards Vitas, still on his hands and knees.

"You...You are in no position to laugh. In a few minutes, you will be dead."

"I just don't understand, Octavian." Vitas began to talk. "I just don't understand you.

"And you never will. Soon all life will drain from your body. It didn't have to go down this way."

"No." Vitas removed the hand from his stomach, letting more blood run out. He raised it, as if he were about to punch the ground. "I don't understand how you think I have given up."

Octavian raised his eyebrows. He guffawed at the thought that Vitas had anything else to do. "It is over for you. Jachenev, Eyes." With Octavian's power, Vitas should be blinded for the rest of his short life.

Octavian turned back to Celestina. "Now, we may continu-" Octavian had turned his head towards Vitas for a moment. 

What he saw was something unfathomable. Unheard of. 

He saw Vitas staring back at him, completely unaffected by his command.

Octavian's jaw dropped. "No human...No mortal... no ANYTHING should be able to withstand my commands....." He backed up, unsure of what he was dealing with.

Vitas laughed, sputtering out some more blood. "I am no mere mortal. You know what you did? You took a bite out of a god. I wield one. Vitas lowered his raised arm straight into the blood puddle, and it went straight through.  Vitas retrieved his arm, blood covering his entire arm. In his hand was a blade appearing to be covered in blood. 

Octavian stifled a gasp. "That's the blade of..."

"Vincentas." Vitas finished for the king, rising to his feet as if he were not wounded. Vincentas was a god unknown to most men. He was hidden from the beliefs. Many believed that knowledge of Vincentas could drive a man crazy, and could do horrible things. He was erased from all new books,and the books mentioning him were thrown into the lava of Kalvey. No more than eight people knew of his existence that were still alive. Even our hero himself did not  He dragged the greatsword across the floor around him, making a circle of blood. Though seemingly made entirely of blood, the blade was somehow solid. "There are things you do. You can take my family away. You can stab me, you can hurt me. You can torture me. You can even kill me, for gods' sakes. But one thing you dont do," Vitas began, lifting the sword. "Is lay a hand on her." He pointed the sword, which should normally require two hands to yield, at Celestina. "So come on." Vitas pointed the sword at Octavian. "Give it all you've got."

 Seizing her chance, Celestina scurried away from what would become a battlefield. She helt a hand up to the scar, which still dropped scarlet blood. Despite its size, Octavian's signature dagger was a strong one. Some believed it was instilled with the fury of the gods. Some believe it was forged in Kalvey by the best blacksmith. It was a deadly tool indeed. Celestina was lucky to get such a small scar and nothing else.

"Still in shock, huh?" Vitas replied as Octavian stood still and silent. Vitas brought both arms out, and began reciting something under his breath. The king thought of this as his chance, and grabbed his dagger and began to rush forward. One window of opportunity. He had no idea what Vitas was capable of. I will not let him seize my throne. As Octavian charged forward, he stopped in his tracks and looked down. He was in even more awe than before. The blood, which had formed a puddle where Vitas layed moments before, began to flow in a stream towards Vitas.  As the blood reached Vitas's feet, it shot up, flowing into his mouth. When Vitas looked at Octavian, his eyes were completely red. Vitas smiled and licked his lips, as if he had just had a filling meal. "Show me what you got." The truth was, Vitas had never used the fullest extent of his powers, so he had no idea what to expect. His confidence was working on his opponent, so he had to stick to that.

"Hah...You are a fool." Octavian pulled out two rapiers from behind his back. "Do you not know who I am? What I have done?" These were no ordinary rapiers. They were made out of pure diamond. The tongue of the gods was imprinted across them in very delicate handwriting. "I am godlike. I have taken a bite out of Dienis himself. No matter how strong you thing Vincentas is," Octavian muttered words, setting his blades on fire. "He will not compare to Dienis. He will not compare to me. Your arrogance will be your downfall, boy. I will not hesitate to end your life.

On that note,  Vitas and Octavian began to charge at eachother. Such a thing had never happened in this world. The only gods known to be alive were Dienis and Naktis. Dienis resided in the sun, while Naktis resided in the moon. The siblings never touched. Vincentas was about to clash with part of Dienis, and the effects of such a thing in this mortal world could be monumental. As the fighters were about to clash, the sound of a door being swung open alarmed both of them.  Both stopped dead in their tracks, and looked back at the entrance.

"Father?"

At the door resided Zeldris, Prince of Ilyria.

"Oh boy." Vitas began. "Things are starting to get spiced up."

CHAPTER END