I awoke this time in a dark cell, with no window for light. Only a few torches outside the bars provided any visibility. I’d been redressed in what looked like some clothes they found lying around, but at least it didn’t look like I had dug them out of the trash like before. I was in a normal tunic that had been cut off at the waist and actual pants. No shoes though, disappointing.
I stood and was surprised at how easy I could move. I had been nearly dying of hunger before but now I felt like I’d just woken up after eating a meal. My body looked much better as well. I’d gained some weight and look much healthier than before. The only thing that hadn’t gone away was my paleness but feeling great was much more important to me than looking great. While I was inspecting my new clothes and jumping around testing my physical skills, I heard rustling in the cell next to mine.
“Hello? Are you awake?” A woman’s voice called.
“I am. Who are you… where are we?”
“We are in the dungeon of Robert, the Sun emissary that attempted to execute you. My name is Emily. I’m the one who got us all into this mess by offering you something to drink. With me is my daughter, Lara. You’re moving quite well for someone who has not done so for three days. What is your name?”
“My name? I don’t…”
I didn’t finish my sentence as I recalled the events that had taken place during what should have been my public execution. I remembered everything growing dark, the pale woman who appeared before me and her promise to help me find out who I am.
“My name is Kieran.” Saying my new name out loud was kind of odd at first but I quickly grew fond of it after saying it again and again in my head.
“Kieran? Never heard a name quite like that before. Are you feeling ok? The Sun warriors and magicians have been quite concerned with you these past few days. They’ve been down here multiple times claiming that they’ve been testing on your body. It seems they tried to go through with your execution as well but each time they’ve brought you back here. And each time they bring you back they appear to grow more and more frustrated. Do you remember anything about what they are doing to you?”
“I don’t remember anything. That goes for everything about me. The earliest moments I can recall was the day you found me. I can’t remember anything vividly before that.”
Thinking back it was all still really faint. I’d had no idea who raised me, who taught me all the things that I know about the world. I could feel it all there I just had no access to the those thoughts in my own mind. It was frustrating.
“That sounds awful. You don’t have any family you can remember? How old are you?”
“I think I’m around ten.”
“The same age as my daughter then. You don’t have to worry Kieran. I will get us out of here. When we do, you can travel with us until we figure out where you’re from and where you’re family might be. Does that sound good with you?”
Considering I knew just the bare minimum about the world around me, staying with this woman definitely seemed like the best option I had. At least until I figured out what I was meant to do. I had the feeling that the supposed Goddess, if that is what she truly was, that blessed me had plans for my future.
“Yes, I’d like that very much.”
As I replied, I heard footsteps and the insertion of a key in the door outside our cells. It swung open and out stepped Robert the Emissary. But I could immediately tell that something was wrong. It was the same feeling I got when I was to be executed and I saw him in the crowd. I must’ve been even more susceptible to it now, due to my blessing. His eyes were fiery red. This was ShunRa, the God of the Sun himself come to see me once again.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Hello boy. It seems you’ve become much more of a nuisance than I originally thought. Despicable, I can see the shadows rolling off of you. The stench is unbearable.”
He walked to my cell and ripped the door off of its hinges. Emily shouted from the other cell.
“Sir Robert! He is just a boy! By my name I will not let you harm this child! An action taken against him is an action taken against the entire kingdom of Atlantea and therefore the Dietic Alliance as well!”
“Silence, foolish follower! You have not the power to even speak in my presence!”
I could tell Emily finally realized just who was standing before us by the immediate silence from the other cell.
“Lord ShunRa, I apologize for this mere followers brazenness. But still I must implore you to show mercy. He is a mere child. What harm could he possibly…”
“SILENCE! You mere mortals couldn’t possibly understand the doom this child brings upon us all. Look at him! My idiotic worshippers couldn’t even lay a scratch on him. The boy is made of shadow and darkness, the most disgusting of its creations. That witch shouldn't even be alive, and I will not allow her to interfere in this new world, not while I'm enjoying the most prosperous time in our eternity. This isn’t something my foolish followers could handle. I, ShunRa, the most powerful of the New Gods will handle this personally. I truly pity you boy. That is why I shall send you off quickly, so as to save you from the suffering that certainly plagues your future, for the only cure for darkness is light.”
With those words, his arms ignited. The godly fire created was too much for even the vessel to handle, as his skin began to disintegrate under the flames. Even the stone around us began to melt due to the power of the sun. The vessel smiled as his flesh melted off his body.
Fear took over my body and I slumped against the far wall, watching the fiery corpse reach toward me. Things had finally started coming clear and here I was to die a gruesome death.
Now, you don’t think I’d leave you like this after we’d just met.
Her words resonated in my mind.
It’s too early for you to control the power I’ve given you. Sleep now. I will protect you.
And with those final words, my fear melted and I lost consciousness as two slender arms wrapped themselves around me from my shadow against the wall.
——————————————————————————————————————————
From her own cell, Emily had encased herself and her daughter in a cube of ice to protect them from the godly fire next to them.
“Don’t worry honey, Mommy’s got you. We’re going to be alright.”
She held her daughter close and waited for it to be over. Soon enough it was. The fiery presence disappeared and the dungeon immediately cooled down. She allowed to ice around her to melt away. Looking outside the cell she saw everything had almost been burned away to nothing. Only the scorch marks on the stone remained. Even the bars on her own cell had been melted away, allowing enough room for her to safely walk out. The presence of a God had been too much for her daughter and she had passed out while in the ice. That happens to those whose Blessings were still developing and faced with the presence of a God. Emily was almost sick, thinking about what had happened to that boy but she had to make sure. She turned to the cell that he was being kept in and was shocked by what she saw. Kieran stood there over the partially disintegrated corpse that was formerly the Emissary. His eyes were blank and he didn’t even appear to be conscious. Even more shocking was his shadow behind him. It had grown and appeared to take the shape of a woman. Emily could barely make out her features from the darkness but staring too long gave her a massive headache.
Emily, was it?
The voice that spoke into her mind was eminently powerful. Emily had conversed personally with her own God and his presence was nearly too much for a powerful Blessed like her to handle. But this woman was something different. It was similar to being in the almost choking presence of a God but on a much deeper level. Her words resonated throughout Emily's entire being. Whatever stood before her now was much older and much more powerful than a New God. She was Primordial.
This boy is not only important to me… he is important for the preservation of our entire existence. He is not yet ready to control the power he is destined for. Please watch over him for the time being. He is a good boy. When he is ready, I will mold him into the savior of us all.
With that, his shadow slowly shrank away. Emily felt the being’s presence leave and she finally felt like she could breathe. The boy in front of her collapsed. This whole situation left her with an ominous feeling but it was overpowered by her feeling that she could not leave this boy, having nothing. She scooped up both her daughter and Kieran, and fled.