EPISODE 75: DEMIGODDESS OF ILLUSION 2
— Edryan Queendom, Year: 7291. Season Color Fading.
The ground shook once again, and the sky and earth shifted places. It was here that Lawruthian began to notice a drastic change in Starglow Valley, and the voice of Minerva emerged as she too noticed the change.
“ The stars ,” she exclaimed. “ They’re shifting into something !”
“It's unraveling into some thing … it looks like…”
“A corpse,” Kubrat finished.
Lawruthian’s attention returned to Kubrat. The demigoddess’s wand was no longer pointed at him, instead, it was lowered as Kubrat gazed at the armored young man thoughtfully. He’d kept himself ready to react, which made Kubrat chuckle internally. He had no idea what it meant to be a Demigoddess.
“The corpse of what?”
“A fallen God. Ashaka — Mighty Star. An ancient… old god who fell during the Jagged Crush,” she taught. Her gaze steadily settled on the young man, who, in turn, watched the surroundings and her with weariness.
“How do you know this? I have to warn Laura… she has to stop Thraag now ,” Lawruthian said as he took a step toward the only other source of movement in Thraag’s domain.
“No,” Kubrat’s voice was measured, and Lawruthian turned to meet her eyes. They were clear, magenta , and radiated a brilliance that was far from her previous states.
“…you have to undergo a second test. Pass and as your reward, I will halt Thraag myself. Fail…” Demigoddess Kubrat left the ending unsaid as she trailed off.
Before Lawruthian could muster a reply, a large, sharp black and white nail was touching his armored head. Minerva squawked and prepared to take flight, but it was far too late.
“ |Illusion| ,” Kubrat said. It came as a wave, a whisper, a promise of what could be… until it wasn’t. Until it was … as it became the Truth . A magenta-colored gaze pierced through the young prince’s body.
Lawruthian woke up screaming, his body was drenched in sweat and his bed was soaked through thoroughly. The smell of lilac and lilies was overpowering, but it quickly faded. He shook his head as his thoughts cleared, and he fully woke. By the time he did, the scent was gone.
“ Huff .”
“ Huff .”
“ Huff .”
“Madris’s Grace, what in the nine levels of the Underneath is happening?”
For the past several weeks, Lawruthian had been experiencing nightmares. They always started differently… they always ended the same.
Him living , to a comfortable age of seventy as he worked with colleagues to improve the world. Each time there would be a slight variation. Throughout it all, he strangely remembered a pair of magenta colored eyes. Occasionally, he was a medical doctor, others an engineer. Most times he was a programmer… whatever that was, but in each, he was always helping . Dreams of a world Lawruthian held no recollection of. They called their magical advancement's science . Lawruthian Imperius Koltius Edryani, first of his name, was no helper.
He was a conqueror , as was his mother, her father, and the entire Edryani bloodline.
Black smog filled the sky as flames raged. A city was burning, dying . Its inhabitants encircled to a cliff’s edge. A Temple of the Sun was the only barrier between the citizens and Lawruthian’s armies. The backdrop was beautiful, and the flames flickered into Lawruthian’s grand estate.
“Hmph,” Lawruthian muttered as he drew himself from his fine silken sheets. The light of ambition colored his eyes as the young conqueror read the time.
It was 7:46 A.M. and Lawruthian found his strength returned to him after a night’s rest. Quickly the dreams faded, they were no subconscious desires of his and lacked the presence to stick around.
Lawruthian emerged from his chambers and into drawn baths. Maids and other personnel quickly undressed him and as they began to wash and clean, Lawruthian stared into the mirror before him. Today was the day he’d take Elysium by fire and force. Already he was late for his appointment, after all, today was his date with the captured princess of Elysium. He’d enjoy executing her before her people.
Lawruthian was the [ Chosen of Madris ] a hero to his people and so much more. The lands of Elrunian trembled before him, and alas, he’d reach his goal after the destruction of nation after nation. He’d inspire hope to his citizens and fear to the rest. The desire in their eyes was the main component in shaping the man into who he is today. The [Chosen of Madris] was Her Will, her messenger on the divine realm, and since his birth, those around him strictly enforced this. What he wanted, he received. Where he pointed, the Edryans conquered. That was the card Lawruthian was dealt in his life, and the prince quickly chose to make the most of it.
A maid alerted him of the time. Lawruthian emerged from the bath and was quickly dressed into fine royal garments that captured the cruelty radiating from his gold-red eyes.
The prince’s steps never halted, he hadn’t even stopped to think over his decisions. His steps marched him through the camp and into the pristine cells where the Princess of Elysium was held. Gold-silver eyes filled with hate greeted him. Mana-suppressing chains tightly bound the True Elf’s limbs to the wall.
Wilarax was a True Elf with creamy tan cheeks that clenched together and hurled a well-aimed spit that slowly dripped down Lawruthian’s face.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Lawruthian mocked. Wilarax’s button nose wrinkled in disgust, but she quickly grew exhausted as her bone-thin frame showed her lack of life-sustaining nutrition.
“I am no beauty. Not after what you’ve done.”
Lawruthian laughed and pulled in closely as he whispered in her ear.
“Say, do you want to go out later tonight? Perhaps we can parade you in front of your people as we slay them. Perhaps I might take you in front of your people and see how it breaks them .”
He pulled back, a cold smile on his face as he gazed into the eyes of Wilarax.
“You look just like him… but Lawrence would never turn into this type of man,” Wilarax spat and Lawruthian frowned.
“Lawrence?”
Lawruthian paused, as a name that he’d only dreamt of was spoken.
“Don’t you remember? You were Lawrence Brown, a brother, a son, and the man I was in love with. He was a [ Hero ] but you…? You’re no [ Hero ].”
Lawruthian paused, a spike of pain shot through his head the moment Wilarax spoke. He stumbled backward with each word spoken, and his mind became chaotic as images, thoughts, and memories flashed through his head.
“Lawrence…,” he muttered. “Brown…?”
“A… [ Hero ]?”
The moment he said that name, something clicked, and a voice resounded in his thoughts. A pink glow seemed to emerge from his chest, clearing his eyes and opening his mind to what this was.
“ Look up! ”
“Who are you,” he questioned.
“Who am I ?”
Lawruthian turned and stared upwards. A pair of magenta eyes widened in surprise.
“Who are you … and what is that smell ?”
Lawrence stretched, a content smile on his face as the young man woke up from his nap. Today was a good day, his favorite type of day in fact, as the smell of lilac and lilies drifted through the air. It caused the young man to laze on his apartment’s porch and rest his eyes for a few minutes. He’d been expecting guests, and it didn’t come to him as a surprise that his friends were late.
Sparse clouds covered the sky and with warm seventy-degree weather, Lawrence couldn’t help but enjoy his day.
His eyes brightened as Brock’s old beater pulled up, blaring loud music that Lawrence bobbed his head to. He waved and greeted his best-friend, and the young man made his way up the steps.
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“About time you showed up,” Lawrence greeted as they clasped hands and shook up. Brock was thin, he wore large-rimmed glasses, and a cool open Hawaiian shirt with appropriate shorts to match it. Brock had always been on the skinny and thin side, as he grew up sickly.
“Celina not here yet? I’d have thought you two love birds would rush into each other’s arms at any available moment,” Brock teased as he entered with a case of beer.
Just as the two were sitting down and chatting, the doorbell rang. “Speak of the little devil, and she shall appear!”
“Shut up!”
Lawrence instantly sat up, his eyes sparkling as he pressed the buzzer before waiting at the door. Brock laughed but stayed seated as he began removing game pieces and setting them in place. He looked around at the posters of cars, planes, and other interests of Lawrence on the wall before shaking his head.
Lawrence barely allowed the first knock to finish before he opened the door. Magenta eyes followed by a small, cute button nose was the first thing he saw. His eyebrows scrunched, and a nagging thought appeared in the back of his head before quickly disappearing.
‘ She’s different. ’
Celina’s bright smile and large curly hair was the second thing he noticed. She was stunning , more so than Lawrence ever remembered. Celina moved in for a hug, her short and petite frame not stopping her from wrapping her arms around Lawrence, and her scent powered its way into his nose. By then, he’d already held a goofy grin on his face as they pulled back, and he opened the door for the smiling Afro-Latina. Yet, even then, he hadn’t moved aside.
Silently the two stared at one another, but just before the silence could become awkward, Celina cocked an eyebrow and spoke. “Not going to let me in?”
At the same moment, Brock shouted from deeper within. “Hurry up, you two love birds! I’m here to kick ass!”
Lawrence smiled ruefully yet, as he was about to move aside to allow Celina in, his body paused. He started to frown, this time not even he was certain as to why he paused. Lawrence turned back to the woman standing at his door, and he opened his mouth to speak.
“ Chirp ?”
Her eyes widened in shock and surprise, but the woman responded immediately. “Ugh, you know who I am, I’m Celina , your girlfriend remember?”
“Yeah… I don’t,” Lawrence said with a frown.
He reached up to his nose as the scent of lilies and lilac intensified. He quickly squeezed his nose shut to block out the smell. The woman stepped forward and Lawren- thian staggered back.
“What are you doing to me,” he questioned in a panic. His head radiated and felt on the verge of bursting as thoughts and images flashed into his mind. He groaned and slipped to the floor as the pain became overwhelming.
‘ Get up Lawruthian. We’ve been through worse ,’ a feminine voice seemed to echo through his thoughts.
A hand was placed under his chin and Lawruthian’s head was slowly lifted. “Who are you,” the petite figure questioned. Her magenta-colored eyes seemed to pierce into Lawruthian’s brown eyes as he struggled against her.
“I…,” he began, voice struggling.
“Oi, what’s going on? Are you guys coming or not?”
“I’m…,” his voice was hesitant.
Brock entered the hall, his steps pausing as he came into view. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Silence,” Celina uttered. Her gaze never left Lawruthian’s eyes, but the moment was lost.
“I am Lawruthian Imperius Koltius Edryani and you need to get the fuck out of my HEAD!”
Red-gold eyes forced Celina to stagger back. A pink glow, much dimmer than the last, came from his chest. “Your illusion is powerful, witch, but it is only that, an illusion . Stop messing with my mind, Kubrat!”
INTENT CHECK!
You have broken the {Seed of Illusion}.
----------------------------------------
Instantly, my mind returned to me. I sliced up and forward without hesitation.
CLANG!
[Eternal Love] immediately came to a halt as it impacted into Kubrat’s finger. The Demigoddess of Illusions eyes widened in surprise and she withdrew the digit. I frowned and swallowed hard. My weapon didn’t even leave a dent in the demigoddess. In fact, my weapon bounced back as it seemed to connect against something metallic.
“You,” Kubrat said, then paused. Her eyes were wide and she stumbled backward.
“You’re the answer, ahh it is no wonder She chose you… Your soul… it’s not from here. It’s not from the Elrunian Realm,” Kubrat exclaimed.
Her eyes seemed to glow with a familiar light, but as she muttered to herself, I took this opportunity to begin my escape. My eyes flickered to Minerva, and we silently communicated with our gaze.
“…no wonder… they have access to soul’s outside this…
…collapsed… Elrunian…
…Outer Realm… perhaps… realm can be saved…”
The moment we were a distance away, I ran. I didn’t hesitate to activate (Limitless Steps) as I flew through the air. All around us, Starglow Valley continued to change shapes. Fire, lightning, and more raged in the distance as a storm of magical attacks reigned over the battlefield. As I watched these effects and more, the doubts of the battlefield and the events that happened crept their way into my thoughts.
“I never imagined… this level of power… I never imagined this would be what war is like when magi-humans fight.”
The magic, skills, and abilities displayed were shocking, and the fact that a Touch and Seed appeared on the battlefield startled me. With each passing moment, I felt more and more… lost .
“Thank you for saving me” I spoke to Minerva.
“ You are welcome, but I don’t believe Kubrat knew what she was getting into when she cast on you. Our soul holds a lot more memories than what she expected. ”
“Exactly, I got curious. I never expected you to be a soul from outside the Realm. That should be impossible, not since Elrunian fell and the Jagged Crush occurred,” Kubrat spoke.
Whereas Minerva sat on one shoulder while I flew toward Laura’s domain of rage, I turned to the other and found a chibi version of the demigoddess calmly sitting on the other. I paused for a split second, before continuing on my way.
“It is no wonder you don’t understand, you base your beliefs on what you knew and not what it is. You-,” Kubrat began but paused as she coughed. She held a handkerchief to her mouth and pulled it away with traces of blood. Without hesitation, she continued to speak.
“…believe magic and science to hold a connection, do you not,” the chibi version of Kubrat spoke.
I stayed silent, but Kubrat spoke the truth. I’d vastly underestimated what a single person could do in the Prime Plane when they reached the highest of levels. It was only after I began slaying my way deeper into the collation forces that I slowly began to understand exactly how much the Imperius Army was outclassed. Even now, my men stood frozen in time, unaware of the changing environment around them. This paused area of spacetime was the perfect example, as I was left alone with the demigoddess. There was no one here to protect me besides myself, and I already proved that futile. If Kubrat wanted to kill me…
“It is why you are here without sufficient protection,” Kubrat began, seemingly reading my thoughts. I glanced at her and she smiled.
“Even now, you desperately try to rush to Laura Lance, believing you are safe under the light of her rage.”
Kubrat laughed, a pure, unfiltered laugh that seemed to make the entire space around us resonate with her. “Your education on what it means to be a demigod or God is lacking… allow me to expand your knowledge.”
Kubrat once again reached out a single sharp nail and placed it on my armor. In one moment I was flying through the air and headed closer and closer to Laura’s army… in the next I was sitting in Class One as Kubrat stood by the board. She wore traditional scholar robes but hadn’t bothered to remove her wide brim witches hat. The air was filled with the scent of lilac and lilies. A scent that I quickly began to associate with Kubrat’s powers.
I looked down and found myself in the second year uniform of the academy. Minerva was still perched on my shoulder, and I reached up to pet her. Just as things appeared in the previous illusions, everything felt real, only this time no one was messing with my mind in an attempt to make me believe I was someone I was not. Kubrat stood in the middle and spread her hands wide. Slowly, she projected a lifelike seed in front of her. The seed was multicolored and formed as sparks of light that appeared like shooting rays of light. It held an attraction that made me sit up straighter. I almost stood to approach closer, but Minerva’s talons tightened around my shoulder, waking me from the daze I was falling in.
“Do you understand what this is?”
“That is a seed, your Seed of Illusion, is it not?”
“Yes, a Seed of Illusion, my Seed of Illusion. Do you understand what level you need to be to condense a seed?”
I shook my head, of the things covered in Of Gods and Goddesses , minuet details such as this was not one of them and this was not information Eliana taught me.
“Hmm, it seems they wish for your education to be a more natural way of learning as you grow. You’re a [Chosen]… it is more than expected for you to become a demigod, if not more,” Kubrat seemed to say to herself. She returned her attention to me and continued.
“The first requirement is to reach level three hundred. That means you have leveled all three classes to one-hundred. It is impossible to become a demigod without that achievement under your belt. You may comprehend a Touch, but you may not advance further until then. Do you understand?”
I nodded my head in confirmation. My thought’s drifted as I wondered where this was all going. Who was Kubrat really? Her magenta colored eyes reminded me of a Musa but if she were someone from the history of the clan, I held no clues as to who she was. Nor did she act as most members of the Musa clan did, but the timeline of her book and-
“Pay attention,” Kubrat snapped, both her fingers and mouth sent a powerful wave of magic in my direction. “You can ponder on who I am later.”
I swallowed and kept my thoughts on the subject at hand.
“From that stage, you need to condense your Touch and increase its percentage of basic understanding. To condense it into a Seed, it must be at least sixty-five percent complete. Most are around the mid-three hundred to four hundreds by that point.
However, what really matters is what happens when you reach level three hundred and pick the Path you choose to walk. Your attributes condense and you become far stronger than,” Kubrat gestured, and the illusion changed.
The Seed rose into the air and hundreds of people walked beneath it. Whereas a single woman seemed to float up to the Seed and grasp it. The moment she did, everything changed. She grew, instantly becoming several sizes larger than those under her.
“Your attributes begin to work under a different set of values, they are much of the same but highly condensed. You must understand your classes evolve and merge into something more ,” Kubrat taught, eyes bright with passion as she played with her illusion.
I looked at her confused. I understood a lot of what she said, but I didn’t comprehend it. The moment Kubrat came out of her state and glanced at my confused expression, she sighed.
“You will not understand, that is fine, this was only a small gift for the knowledge you’ve shown me. Let’s put an end to this war.”
She uttered three words, and my view of the Elrunian continent and what was possible changed forever .
“ (Dominion: Illusion Dispel) ”