Forester

“Everything I throw at this damn bitch is consumed in an instant! How the fuck did the cunt fight her for so long?” He rushed the Elite Judge with a barrage of blows but none of them hit, even though they were standing very close to each other.

She smiled at him and made a slicing motion near his head. Forester ducked, careful to put an extra layer of the Sovereign’s aura around him. Every new layer was eroded in moments and he was finding it hard to keep up.

Another of his teammates took the opportunity to kick her in the gut but she caught his leg, lifted him up and was midway to slamming him into the ground when she was tackled by yet another. The Sprout in her hand cried out in pain as the shards from the storm converged on him.

Aidan, who had tried to tackle her, huffed, struggling to even move her an inch. “She’s so damn heavy! What the fuck!?”

She elbowed him in the back and he hit the ground like a dead Forest Bear. She threw the Sprout she had lifted at him and the both of them went sailing through the storm.

“Our blades do nothing against her!” the Sprout who had hit him complained. “Our light techniques are consumed the moment they touch her! What the fuck can we do against someone so powerful!?”

The Sprout flinched and took a step back, looking past him. He had a look of horror on his face — a look he had never seen before on a Royal Sprout.

“What?” Forester asked but he didn’t answer. “Vin, what is it?”

Vin pointed behind him. Forester’s perception had been active since he entered the battle but he had sensed nothing behind him. He turned around and came face to face with a statue… of the cunt.

His heart nearly fell through his stomach as he jumped away.

“It’s him,” Vin said. “The cunt. Did that bitch do this to him?”

Forester took a deep breath to calm his heart. “Well, so much for surmounting your challenge.” He took a careful step closer. He walked around the statue, observing it thoroughly. The statue was dust-colored and very life-like, very ominous in image too. “From the look of it, he must have fought really hard. Everything’s so life-like in proportion. Or maybe we’re deluding ourselves and this is just a stone statue.”

“I get a feeling that the former is the truth, Forester.”

Forester gave his teammate a look but instead of looking away like the subservient he was, his eyes seemed to grow wider in shock, still on the statue.

But then the statue moved into his line of sight. It took a step, and then another. Its steps were heavy and scraped the soil with more force than was necessary. He felt like the movement of its limbs should have made the sound of rocks grinding against rocks but all was silent — ominously silent.

He could tell the thing was extremely dense. Like the Judge they had been fighting. And it was moving in her direction.

Forester could hear his teammates call out to him to rejoin the fight, but the sight of the moving statue left him paralyzed. He scanned the statue, or he tried to. His senses reported that nothing was there. He knew he wasn’t seeing things, the statue was just too powerful for his perception to make sense of.

“How is this possible?” he muttered to himself.

Its movement slowly increased and he was able to come out of his paralysis. “Let’s go, Vin!”

They raced ahead of the statue toward the battle where his teammates were taking a beating.

“So we’re heading back into that?” Vin asked.

“Yes. Thankfully, the Sovereign’s aura will protect us. She can’t kill any of us; can’t even hurt us if she tried.”

“This is a waste of time,” Vin complained as they joined the battle. “We can’t kill her and she can’t kill us. What’s all the fight for then?”

Because it makes us look relevant to the battle, Forester wanted to say but it sounded petty. “We can’t win but we can tie her down here, to prevent her from causing more damage.”

Vin looked back. “Maybe he can defeat her? We should leave her to him.”

Forester glared at him for that. A few dozen breaths ago, he was thinking of the same thing but hearing it from someone else made it sound stupid. Or maybe it was the way he said it. Notwithstanding… “I’m not going to sit on my haunches and do nothing. You can walk away if you so please!”

Vin looked away in shame. Lang’s warnings seem to carry more weight in his mind now. And he hoped he could find a way to defeat the Judge. But deep down he knew he wouldn’t — couldn’t, in fact.

Jerome would catch up, no matter how slowly he was moving. And when he did, the Judge would probably die. Of what use would he have been by then?

~~~

Everything felt blurry, out of focus. But at the same time… alive! The soil was alive. The trees, leaves, flowers, and every tiny grass in the vastness of the world. The motes of dust and droplets of water in the air, the tiny heartbeats of humans and sacred artists alike. He could feel it all, almost taste it on his lips. And it was overwhelming!

The amount of information passing through him was so great that a part of him had to subconsciously blur them, silence them. He could feel it, that part of him, or them as the case may be. Achilleia, his nanites, and the mind-calming stone — she complained wordlessly at the name. Jerome caressed her with his intent and she purred within him. He felt whole but rudderless. Like he was aimlessly wandering a desertscape, or the depths of the sea. A sea in which the world was turned upside down. He couldn’t tell east from west or north from south.

“Breathe, Xerae…” Achilleia said. “You need to breathe.”

Where am I, Achilleia?

“You are seeing things through ‘Her’ eyes, living through her, so to speak.”

Then I must have become a statue… like I did at Blade’s Edge Canyon. I can’t even tell if I’m lying or sitting, or standing.

Everything was a mess to his senses. Jerome inhaled, taking a deep breath. That draw of air seemed to go on forever, as if his lungs were large enough to contain a storm.

A storm. The blonde Elite Judge. Where is she? What happened to her?

“Keep breathing, Xerae.”

He hadn’t stopped inhaling but he kept at it… and he wondered why; how it was possible. His lungs continually filled with air nonetheless, or was it essence? His bones seem to regain strength and he was suddenly able to orient himself. He picked himself up and found himself face to face with Forester.

Rihal’s words about what happened at Blade’s Edge Canyon came to him. He had turned to stone and those who touched him, had their hands turned to stone too. He was tempted to touch the bastard. To turn him into a statue and see if he would survive it.

Forester’s friend seemed to notice him and pointed at him. Forester jumped out of the way but soon walked around him. He couldn’t hear what they were saying directly, but he still understood their intentions, their body language, and expressions.

In fact, he had a wide range of information about them when he focused on them. He could see things about them that he was sure even they didn’t know about themselves. The events of both their lives played out in front of him like wraiths around the both of them; like how he watched the events of his own life from his mind plane — echoes of a bygone past.

Forester had been a bratty kid. Spoiled and given everything he ever wanted, just so his parents could show off their wealth and power. He was a prodigy but the master his father wanted him to train under refused him. It made him bitter and resentful, spiteful. His arrogance came into full bloom when he became Sprout. But he was a hard worker, determined to prove that master wrong for refusing him.

This is interesting. Is this how you see the world? He asked the mind-calming stone.

She purred again, but communicated her displeasure at the use of that name, ‘mind-calming stone’. She wanted a name. Jerome walked toward the battle, thinking of a name he could call her.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Be careful, Xerae. You can’t name her right now. You’re too weak.”

What about a nickname? Something endearing…

‘She’ purred in excitement.

Jerome smiled to himself. You’re full of mysteries. Or should I say, you’re a gift full of mysteries… a treasure house of wisdom, virtue… power…

Pandora…

She became so excited at the name that her presence ballooned inside him. She made strange sounds much like that of dolphins, whales and bubbles popping. Jerome recognized this as her expressing herself though.

You’re welcome, Pandora. He caressed her again and her presence curled around him like an embrace.

Don’t say my new name out loud, she said.

Jerome stopped, startled. He had never heard her speak more than a single word at a time, and that was in the heat of battle.

Okay... Why, though?

I’m too powerful to be named, to be called outside the mind. Even those more powerful than Transcendents cower before me.

Jerome gulped down his nervousness. If he could sweat in this state, he was sure he’d be sweating buckets.

I know you think the world seeds I ate was an unfortunate thing — Jerome wanted to argue but he felt something like a finger press lightly over his lips — But I’m a lot more than you know. I have planted them inside me and they have started to grow. Soon you’ll be able to harvest them, and not only will you be able to walk Terra Praeta and this world at your leisure, you’ll be able to walk many worlds… many planes, not just the material plane.

Impressive! World seeds? Jerome asked. He had entered the vicinity of the battle now, which had stopped the moment he showed up. He could only tell this because he could feel all their eyes on him, hear the song of runes on each of them, and their heartbeats. He couldn’t still see them.

Yes, Jerome. World seeds. I’ll explain later. For now, you should take care of the Judge.

Her presence receded into him and his perception of his surroundings became clearer. Jerome looked at himself, his limbs and body. It was like looking at a moving statue.

“Your body at the quantum level is super condensed and incomprehensible to my senses,” Achilleia stated. “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

He took a deep breath again and his lungs seemed to not fill up as quickly as he was used to. The intake of breath went on for far too long. He stopped and looked at the Elite Judge. She took a step back in horror. Everyone else began stepping back slowly.

She ran.

Jerome teleported ahead of her. Space seemed to flow around him like a wave, or a curve. Almost physical in nature but in no way impeding his movements. He waved his hand experimentally in front of him and a powerful wave was generated by his slight movement.

It hit the Judge like a sledge hammer and she was hurled back the next moment. She hit the ground, bouncing hard in pain. Jerome shot after her. In a split second he was ahead of her again. His movements were stiff but fast. Super fast! He caught her by the elbow and swung her around before slamming her into the ground like she did him.

The place where he touched her began turning to stone. She noticed and tried to get away from him but Jerome held her tightly.

“Jerome?” Nyx called to him.

He looked up and noticed she had a giant head in her hand that was still dripping fresh blood — the head of the other Elite. She was covered from head to toe in black flames. But as malevolently oppressive as she was, she still backed away from him in fear. The realization of it was fear-inducing — not of her but of himself. What did he look like to them? To everyone watching right now?

“Do not fear me,” he said to them but his voice came out like the rumbling of thunder. The ground shook and visible shockwaves spread outward from his position.

Everyone of them was flung away in an instant. The blonde Elite punched him in the jaw and he felt her knuckles shatter against his stone-like visage. She screamed!

Not stone, Pandora said. Me…!

And what are you, if I may ask?

I’m me, she answered. There is none like me in all the universes.

Universes… Jerome put the thought away for later.

Blondie’s cries of pain were choked out as the petrification reached her neck. Soon she was covered and became a statue herself. Her domain shattered and the world healed the warping of space she had created.

Give her to me… Pandora said. She’ll make a nice puppet.

Jerome sighed. I don’t want a puppet, Pandora. I’d rather kill her now but I doubt I can.

She pouted. Nevertheless. Give her to me.

Can’t you just take her? He asked, confused. Your power dominates her even now.

I can. But I want you to trust me… to look at me… to see me the way you see your lovers.

You don’t have to work for my atten—.

“Just accept her advances, Xerae,” Achilleia chipped in. “Don’t make things awkward.”

Jerome sighed. He still didn’t understand why she needed to ‘ask’ for this. If anything she had power over him as he was always asking for her help.

You can have her, he said. But know that I care for you no less than I do them.

The petrified Elite was sucked into him but didn’t appear in his void plane. Jerome stood up and the stoney visage he wore receded into him. His armor had been fully repaired, and all functions were at a hundred percent. He felt very great, well rested. He pulled his armor into him and his long, flowing black coat took its place on him.

Forester walked close to him hesitantly. Jerome could smell the fear oozing out of him and his friends as they approached him cautiously. He turned to face the Royal Sprouts and they stopped in their tracks.

“Who are you?” Forester asked. “What are you?”

Nyx came to stand by his side.

Say nothing, Nyx, he transmitted to her. That knowledge will only spur darkness in him.

“I don’t like you,” Jerome said straight to his face. “And I know the feeling is mutual. But I owe you for coming to my aid. If you ever need my help, I will come to you. And that would be it.”

Jerome flew off with Nyx beside him.

“Look at him go!” one of the Royal Sprouts exclaimed. Another one muttered something about them not having done anything to warrant a debt owed.

From a distance of about a thousand feet away, he sent the words, “I know…”, to them causing them to panic uselessly. They could figure out who’s voice they heard by themselves.

Jerome teleported them to the underground chamber he had built for the particle-antiparticle generator. It was time to destroy this portal.

~~~

Yun Vorthe

“It is time,” he muttered to himself. He stood hovering thousands of feet in the air below the gigantic black gate. The pressure from it was nothing compared to his presence and even though he felt it, it was nothing but a nuisance that he didn’t give a second thought to.

“You said he would do it,” someone said from behind him. “And he is doing it.”

Yun turned to face them. The man — a boy, really — walked up to him as if he was stepping on solid ground, even though there was nothing holding him up. His strange royal blue clothing and the gold chain attached to his breast pocket glittered in the night sky without any light bouncing off it. He had very soft features for a male, as if he had never worked a day in his life. But looks could be deceiving.

“You are one of his, I presume… Causality?”

The boy shrugged. “My master is many things.”

There was a tense silence in the air as Yun scrutinized the youngling.

“And is your master entertained, youngling?”

The boy scoffed and Yun realized his error. Calling him a youngling might have been an insult.

“I’m older than you, little man. Probably older than the dirt this world was formed of. I come from an age you humans have either long forgotten or never witnessed.” He shook his head, tsking as if in pity of humanity’s circumstances. “I’ll go with ‘never witnessed’. Millenia are nothing but a moment to the likes of me.”

“And what, pray tell, might you be? Do you even have a name?”

The boy smiled, rocking on his high-heeled boots like solid ground was underneath him — what a waste of power. His clothing seemed too formal for boots designed to look like it was made for women and adorned with tiny, metal-shaped human skulls. Notwithstanding, his clothing was exquisite, the likes you can find in Svol, the capital city of the Principality of Light. It didn’t look as comfortable as it looked beautiful though.

The portal above them roared with a booming sound and clouds brimming with ambient essence converged on it. Lightning forked in and out of it and it began losing its integrity faster than it did moments ago.

The stranger chuckled in excitement as he watched. “Upset the balance created by the portal by injecting high-density energy into it. And watch it crumble before the might of the world which allowed it to exist in the first place.”

The ascended forces holding the tear open lost their essence and the black hole in the world began to shrink. The stranger turned to face him.

“My master is pleased. Your Dark One seems… interesting. But a question though, would it have mattered if the Royal babbling bundles of childishness interfered or not?”

“Forester took the hand that was offered. That is all that matters at the moment.”

“I guess not. But it sure makes for future entertainment, don’t you think?”

“Tell your master I said my world is not for his entertainment.”

The stranger waved his fingers at him, chuckled and evanesced out of existence. Yun released the breath he had been holding in.

“The things I do for this world.”