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Condemned To Death
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11th September, 1507
Finn picked himself up from the ground, dusting off his clothes with exaggerated nonchalance. He then flashed a reassuring smile at the shaken girls nearby, offering them help while blatantly ignoring the boys who were also struggling to recover.
Lorien watched, mouth slightly agape, as Finn’s comforting presence enveloped the girls.
‘Weren’t you just screaming like a girl moments ago? Where’s your dignity? How are you this shameless?’ Lorien thought, both amused and amazed by Finn’s audacity.
...
Once everyone had settled, their nerves steeled for what was to come, Elara’s voice cut through the air, authoritative and unyielding. "The Realms Rite is a ceremony to test your talent, aptitude, and willpower—to see if you are worthy of becoming a Lexarch."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "I will call you one by one. Your task is simple: go to the base of the Luminar tree and pluck one of the flowers growing there. What happens next will depend on whether you succeed."
Silence followed, thick with anticipation. Finn, eager to impress others, raised his hand and volunteered to go first. Lorien watched him with incredulity in his eyes, but held his tongue, letting Finn test the waters first.
Elara’s gaze lingered on Finn for a moment before he nodded. "Suit yourself."
With a confident stride, Finn approached the towering Luminar tree, thoughts of glory and admiration swirling in his mind. ‘If I can show everyone my strong side and be the first person to pass with flying marks...’ he thought to himself, ‘...Then the girls will definitely fall head over heels for me!’.
From a normal person’s perspective, Finn was ‘desperate for love’.
As Finn reached the base of the tree, he marveled at the enchanting sight of the flowers, their petals glowing with an otherworldly light. He reached out, intent on plucking one when a sudden movement caught his eye—a massive, ghostly axe hurtling toward his neck.
Finn’s eyes widened in terror, his body freezing as the axe closed in.
CRASH!
Years of training kicked in, and with reflexes honed since childhood, Finn threw himself backward, narrowly dodging the deadly blade. The axe smashed into the ground, sending dirt and debris flying.
His heart pounded in his chest as he turned to face the threat. A 3-meter-tall minotaur loomed before him, its blood-red eyes burning with malice. Saliva dripped from its snarling jaws as it exhaled heavy breaths. The blue gem embedded in its chest glinted in the light, a cold contrast to its matted grey fur.
Finn felt his courage waver, dwarfed by the minotaur’s sheer size and power as panic clawed at him. But then suddenly Elara’s voice broke through his haze of fear.
"I forgot to mention," Elara said, almost casually, "there will be a small test by the Luminar tree to see if you’re worthy of the flower, but I'm sure you will be fine"
“YOU FUC—”
Before Finn could finish his curse, the minotaur charged forward with its axe raised for a killing blow.
Reacting on instinct, Finn twisted his body sideways, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Crash!
“Argh” Finn growled in pain under his breath as he held his shoulder and leaped backwards to build some distance between him and the minotaur.
The axe embedded itself in the ground again, but not before grazing Finn’s arm and slicing through his hair. Blood trickled from the shallow gash on his left shoulder as he leaped back, putting distance between himself and the beast.
The minotaur wrenched its axe free and swung again, this time in a wide horizontal arc. Finn ducked, narrowly evading the deadly swing. He retreated further, his mind racing as he analyzed the situation.
‘The minotaur has a much larger body than me and I have no way of competing with its speed or strength, but it has no technique in its attacks, so they are easy to avoid. Even with that, logically speaking even if all the kids behind me joined in the battle, all of us would die without being able to put up a fight, not even Kai with his immense strength can do anything against that thing’.
Amidst the flurry of attacks, Finn's gaze locked onto a glimmering object embedded in the minotaur's chest—a radiant blue gem pulsating with an otherworldly light. In that moment of clarity, Finn hypothesized the key to victory might lie in destroying the gem, a daunting task in the midst of battle but a chance nonetheless.
The other youths watched the battle, their faces pale with fear. The sight of the minotaur left them with a sinking realization: they would be the next ones to face this monstrosity.
...
After formulating a plan, Finn discarded his sandals, feeling the cool grass beneath his feet. He dodged the minotaur’s relentless attacks, each swing of the axe barely missing him as he waited for the right moment.
Finally, the minotaur raised its arms for a devastating vertical slash. Seizing the opportunity, Finn leaped back, avoiding the blow. The axe embedded itself in the ground with a resounding thud.
But then instead of retreating, Finn did something completely unexpected—he charged at the minotaur, launching himself into the air. It was a reckless move, one that defied logic. His flimsy body against the towering beast seemed a doomed effort.
The minotaur reacted with deadly speed, yanking its axe free and swinging upward. Before the blade could make contact, Finn with his determination born out of desperation, grabbed the blade with his bare feet and used the axe to launch himself into the air.
Finn was sent flying at impressive speeds into the air before his ascent finally stopped, he found himself 50 meters high and bathed in the surreal beauty of his surroundings—the verdant landscape stretching out beneath him and the starry sky embracing him in its vast expanse.
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Finn didn’t take the opportunity to take this view in because in a few moments, his head might be rolling on the ground.
As he began to descend, he saw the menacing minotaur on the ground staring intently at him with its blood-curdling eyes and its axe in a ready position to take his life. He felt a surge of fear course through his veins but he did not lose hope. He knew he had one chance to beat this deadly beast. Then he sucked in a breath of air and yelled at the top of his lungs as loud as he could.
“LORIENNNNN!” he screamed, his voice ringing out across the battlefield.
From within the crowd, Lorien’s voice responded with a mix of eagerness and confidence. “I was wondering when you’d call for your savior.”
Lorien reached into his pocket, pulling out a gleaming silver ring. In a mesmerizing display of mysticism, the ring lit up and suddenly a golden boar spear materialized in his hand, its shaft glinting with the brilliance of pure gold.
With a swift motion, Lorien hoisted the spear over his shoulder and then tensing his muscles to the extreme, he ran in Finn’s direction. With each step he closed the distance to Finn, his determination became more resolute.
Then with a thunderous stomp, Lorien halted his momemtum and with all his might, he hurled the spear towards Finn, the air singing with its flight.
Finn, still descending, felt a wave of relief as he saw the spear racing toward him.
With his quick thinking, Finn had previously formulated a daring plan: to provoke the minotaur into an upward slash and use its momentum to launch himself into the air and then catch the spear.
He did not dare think of trying to intercept the weapon on the ground, knowing the minotaur would see it coming but now, with the creature's attention solely focused on him. His plan had been reckless, but it was his only hope.
Finn’s mind raced as he calculated his next move, but his thoughts were abruptly shattered by a sudden, chilling realization. The minotaur, defying all his expectations, unleashed a move that sent a shiver down his spine.
Instead of waiting on the ground to intercept Finn’s descent, the beast propelled itself into the air with monstrous strength, hurtling toward Finn with terrifying speed and intent. It aimed to end his life mid-air.
This unforeseen twist dashed all of Finn's hopes and left his carefully crafted strategy in ruins.
Finn's heart sank as he realized the flaw in his plan: the precise positioning required for him to catch the spear had been disrupted by the minotaur's unexpected leap. Although the spear might still reach him before the minotaur, it would be too late as the minotaur would already be towering over him ready to slice him in half.
As he contemplated the grim reality, dread coiled in the pit of his stomach. With the minotaur coming closer and closer ready to strike, Finn faced a race against time to salvage any hope of survival amidst the chaos of battle.
Just as Finn was about to give up all hope, his gaze caught a glimmer of gold emanating from his side. His eyes widened as he realized—
It was the spear!
Against all odds, the spear, which should have been seconds late, appeared miraculously beside him. Its golden glow cut through the darkness, a lifeline in the chaos.
With a swift motion, Finn seized the spear with a grin spreading across his face. In a euphoric tone, he exclaimed, "Seems like our Ashbourne has improved yet again!"
It seemed Lorien had become stronger in recent years which allowed him to throw the spear with more strength than normal and make it reach Finn sooner than expected.
Harnessing the spear’s momentum, Finn twisted his body in a full 360-degree rotation. With unwavering resolve, he aimed directly at the minotaur below, then hurled the spear with all his might.
As the minotaur charged ahead, it noticed its opponent had grabbed a weapon and had already thrown it his way.
The minotaur, sensing the imminent threat, tried to raise its axe to block the incoming weapon. But it was too slow. The spear, driven by Lorien’s throw and Finn’s extra push, moved faster than the beast’s reflexes could manage.
Thrust!
The spear pierced through the minotaur’s defenses, impaling its chest and shattering the blue crystal embedded there.
“MOARRRRR!”
The beast’s roar of agony echoed through the battlefield as its massive form began to dissolve, fading into transparency with each bellow until it flickered out of existence, leaving only a faint glimmer in its wake.
The crowd was first shocked beyond belief but then quickly erupted into cheers, their voices a mix of awe and admiration. Finn, despite lacking the title of a Lexarch, had achieved the impossible—defeating a beast that only a Lexarch could hope to conquer. His courage and skill earned him the respect of all who witnessed his triumph.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
The crowd’s cheers abruptly ceased as an ear-piercing scream filled the air. All eyes turned skyward to find Finn plummeting toward the ground, tears streaming from his eyes and snot trailing from his nose. In his triumph, he had forgotten the small detail of how to land safely from a height equivalent to a 15-story building.
Finn closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable impact as his screams echoed through the air. Desperation gripped him as he prayed for a miracle.
‘Mom, I’m sorry for blaming the dog for my farts and using your expensive face cream as hand lotion. If I survive this, I’ll make it up to you, I swear!’
Just as he was repenting, anticipating his impending doom, he felt a sudden lightness envelop him. Arms swiftly encircled his legs and upper back, slowly halting his descent to a stop. With a mixture of relief and curiosity, Finn cautiously opened his eyes to behold a handsome figure with a chiselled jawline, eagle-sharp eyes, and strands of hair cascading down his shoulder.
Before Finn could meet the gates of the afterlife, it was none other than Elara Swift who swooped in to catch him, averting the disaster.
In the blink of an eye, Elara reappeared before the stunned crowd, carrying Finn like a princess in his arms. The sight elicited a few cheers and giggles from the girls in the crowd.
Lorien, witnessing this scene, struggled to contain his laughter, fighting harder than he had when throwing the spear.
Elara looked down and saw Finn looking up at him, his eyes wide with a mix of awe and embarrassment, as though he were a girl smitten by her first crush. Elara smiled faintly and leaned in close to Finn's face. This caused Finn to instinctively shut his eyes as he waited silently.
In a low, deep voice, Elara whispered into his ear with a harrowing tone that did not suit his smile, "If I ever catch you making that expression again...”
“I will kill you.”
“Kiiiiiiii!”
With a shrill shriek, Finn broke free from Elara's embrace before darting behind Lorien, moving faster than when he was fighting the minotaur with his guard raised, as if prepared for another battle.
Ignoring Finn's reaction, Elara shifted his focus to the crowd of youths and said in a commanding voice.
"All of you must face the minotaur and defeat it to prove your worthiness to the Luminar tree," he declared, observing the youths' horrified and unsettled reactions. "But you don't have to kill it. Simply touch the blue gem on its chest, and you will pass the tree's test. The elders and I are here to intervene if your lives are truly in danger."
After hearing this information the youths let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing their lives would not be in danger during the fight.
Finn, still recovering from his ordeal, stared at Elara in disbelief before muttering under his breath, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I nearly got myself killed for nothing.”
Elara, hearing Finn’s complaint from a distance, turned slightly and said with a sly smile, “You seemed very confident when you volunteered, so I kept quiet. Besides, your effort wasn’t wasted.”
Turning back to the crowd, Elara continued, “If you manage to destroy the gem on the minotaur’s chest, it will greatly aid you in the next stage of the rite and may even earn you a special gift from the Luminar tree.”
Realizing he had earned himself a reward, Finn puffed up with pride—until he heard Elara’s next words. “However, that benefit doesn’t apply to you, Finn. You received outside help in the form of the momentum built by the spear. The Luminar tree will likely give you an ordinary assessment, or it might even strip you of your right to become a Lexarch.”
Finn’s expression fell as the gravity of the situation sank in. Any thoughts of pride vanished, replaced by the desire to dig a grave and disappear into it.
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Condemned To Death
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