T

  The team of moles politely excused themselves, confused as to what was happening but sensing the upcoming drama. The ten Eric's all sat around in a circle with his team on the other side. He looked like a class of children about to get scolded.

  "Start from the beginning," Lucia said, "and try to keep it simple."

  "So, I was wondering why Princess Vicky hadn't retorted to the church on her attempted assassination," the Eric on the far left began to explain. "I went back to the capital and asked George, but he hadn't heard anything. Nobody knew that Princess Vicky was back in town, so I stormed the castle again and found John. When he didn't know, I asked him where he wasn't allowed to go, to which he responded 'the church'. I followed the lead to this cathedral, and managed to break in when the barrier was down during the day.

  "I found Vicky captured by the church, and then I met the pope. He took us to the queen, who turned out to be a slave. The pope disappeared, then we tried to leave, but I felt like something was off. Then they hit me with some sort of sky laser, but it felt... weird."

  "Weird?" Elas asked in confusion.

  "Like, everything hurt, but I was suddenly full of energy," the Eric on the right explained. "I felt like I could lift a mountain. So, I started to feel the laser coming again, so I threw Vicky and her mom out of the cathedral in order to keep them out of the church's hands. A message popped up for some experience, (I'm guessing one of you killed something), and that I had reached [Lv.100]. Then the beam hit me, and I died over and over again." All of the Erics clutched one of their limbs, reviewing the pain that had plagued them.

  "It was all white, then it went dark after that. I felt... crusty, as if I was covered in rocks and ash. In the darkness, I wanted to die, until a message appeared. It asked me if I wanted to rank up. It took everything I had just to hit that little 'yes' button. After that, I started to heal. I was put back together piece by piece, like, on the atomic level. It was... indescribable.

  "I was just weak after that. I could barely move, all I could do was sit at the bottom of that pit and look at my tiny hole in the sky. They eventually dragged me out and couldn't believe I was still breathing. I couldn't believe I was still breathing. After that, everything went dark. Next thing I know, I'm in a dungeon with giant boulders pulling me apart. I open my inventory and look at my skills, and I see this new one called 'Legion Link'. When I try it out, it makes him."

  One of the Eric's raised his hand, then continued the explaination, "Legion Link creates a copy of me every time I use it, and I can control all of my copies. I see through all of our eyes, I listen through all of our ears, I feel all of our pain. Even though my strength is split between my clones, I am Legion." To illustrate his point, all but one of the Eric's closed his eyes, then the one with his eyes opened looked at Lucia.

  "You've gotten taller," remarked one of the Eric's with his eyes closed.

  "And filled out more," added one of the other Eric's.

  "You're still as beautiful as always."

  "I know this is hard to accept,-"

  "-but all of these senses bombarding-"

  "-me at once is giving my-"

  "-actual body severe-"

  "-headaches."

  "I think I'm-"

  "-dying."

  "Woah, that's amazing," Draco admired, "but totally dangerous."

  "What about the Iscariot armor?" Lucia asked, pointing to the random parts of an armor set on each Eric.

  "I found it when my clones were escaping," Eric said with a smile. "They each act like a Divine Weapon, only much more defense-based. I didn't understand what they were at first, but they helped us escape from the island."

  "Island?" Elas pointed out.

  "That's where my original body is being kept," said one of the clones. "It's an island off of the west coast, five miles out into the sea. Trying to swim with ten bodies at once is a mental exercise that I don't want to repeat."

  "Why didn't you come and tell us immediately?" Lucia demanded, her hair falling in front of her face like a sulky teenager.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  "Because it was too dangerous," Eric told them. "They have eyes and ears everywhere, even in the walls. I needed something, something that I could use to bargain for my own life. That's why I took the queen and provoked you guys, so that you would attack the cathedral and I could get this," Eric lifted the hourglass.

  "What is that?" Elas asked curiously.

  "This is the Celestial Clock," Eric said, flipping the holy relic in his hand. "It's the source of all natural magic in the world. These tiny grains come from an alternate dimension or parallel universe or something, but they are filled to the brim with magic. This is the source of power for the Church of the Trinity, apparently it's a gift bestowed by god onto the first three heroes."

  "What about the queen?" Lilly asked, and all of the Eric's smirked at each other.

  "We were able to track down the guy controlling her and 'asked him nicely' to relinquish control," said the main Eric. "After that, we talked a lot about what she had missed, about the experiences I had, and about the church in general. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to send any troops to help, but she promised me something if I'm able to remove the Church of the Holy Trinity from grace."

  "Oh," said Draco, intruiged at the promise of reward, "and what might we be getting for our troubles."

  "Celestial City," the Eric's said with a smile. There was a hard silence in the room as group glanced at one another, than at the ten Eric's sitting in a semi-circle.

  "Wait, we're going to get this city? The one that we're currently attacking?"

  "That's right," said Eric, "and this wasn't a small gift of goodwill. Celestial City is actually a major trading post that sits in an ideal location on the Grand Plains. That's what the queen said, anyway."

  "Sweeet!" Draco cheered enthusiastically. "I'm gonna be rich!"

  "Onto more pressing matters," five of the Eric's said in unison, "getting me out of the prison. It's on an island five miles away from the west, and I need help getting there."

  "I could make a bridge of ice," offered Elas.

  "Five miles?" Eric posed the question. "I don't want to doubt your abilities, it would be great if you could, but that's a long way. If the ice breaks up, it might drift out to sea."

  "How should we go about it, then?" asked Lucia, looking at the Eric's accusingly.

  "Well, it's crazy," said the one on the right.

  "-but it just might work," finished the one on the left.

  "Our man on the inside should be able to talk his way out," the Eric's all said with a crooked smile. 

  "Aevum Immortalis Sonus," Eric said with a short smile. "Aevum Immortalis Sonus."

  Eric repeated it over and over, like a mantra of insanity to himself inside of his solitary little cave. Since his last incident, he was now confined to the bedrock itself by bonds that have existed to hold beings much stronger than him. The chant increased until Eric was shouting it at the top of his lungs. He made it into a beat, he made it into a song, he raised his voice until the heavens themselves could hear him.

  The sound of his jail door opening suddenly made Eric stop and listen. He was unable to turn his head, so instead he swiveled his eyes as much as he could to see the man standing just far enough away. He was an old man dressed in white robes with a sour look on his wrinkeled face.

  "Where did you learn those words," the pope ordered, clearly in no mood for jokes.

  "Where do you think?" Eric shot back, his throat dry and his voice depraved. The pope looked at this twisted shell of a man, finding it hard to take him seriously. Those were the words that had been engraved on the Celestial Clock during it's creation.

  "When were you able to read the Celestial Clock!" the pope shouted in anger, spitting a little.

  "Oh, that's interesting," Eric said, ignoring the pope's outrage. "Your real name, it's Clyde?" The pope was silent for a long time, looking down at the single greatest annoyance of his life.

  "Where are you getting this information?"

  "I have eyes and ears in places you can't even imagine," Eric growled, hissing at the pope. "I've got all of your best toys, Clyde, and don't think that I'm not willing to use them. Look at you, the pope of the most successful religion in the world stuck on an island forced to ration food. What kind of existence is that for such a powerful individual?"

  "I've listened to silver toungues before, monster," the pope said without much interest. "Give me back the Celestial Clock and the Demonic Armor, or you will never see the light of day."

  "Oh, I'm fine with that," Eric said, "I burn very easily, after all. But what is the leader of a cult without any of his little followers? You're a fake, Clyde, but that's all fine. I've got something you want and you've got something that I want."

  "Are you proposing a trade?"

  "I'm asking for a sign of good faith," Eric groaned angrily. "If you're willing to open negotiations, I'll have all of my friends come with everything that I've stolen from you."

  "You'll return the Celestial Clock and the Demonic Armor? What's your price?"

  "All I want, is to be out of here," Eric said, his face contorting into desperation as he tried to fight against his bonds. "All this moisture in the air isn't healthy for my skin. I'll get wrinkles!"

  "Very well," the pope agreed, "I'll agree to meet with your friends under the notion of peace. But take heed, as soon as they step onto this island, the will never leave."

  "Then, you'll let me go?" Eric asked pleadingly.

  "Sure," the pope said easily, "you can return to the mainland as soon as we recieve the Celestial Clock and the Demonic Armor."

  "Deal," Eric said, tugging at his restraints in order to get comfortable. "Oh, and if you try to stiff me on this," Eric's voice suddenly became rougher than hell, "I will kill you."

  "I'd like to see you try," the pope smirked, turning away with a regal gesture of insult. What the pope didn't know was that Eric had a smile on his face, an honest, pure smile. There was finally at a light at the end of the tunnel, a way that this could all work out. 

  Eric would finally get his rest. 

T