Another year has passed. Cassius and Octavia reached the age of 9. The combination of newly gained fighting experience and continued practice in the art of magic has made Cassius an extremely skilled fighter for his age.
Octavia’s support magic grows more and more potent by the month, and she has been studying many different subjects.
The two of them at this point have reached full reading and writing comprehension. They have learned to add, subtract, and multiply. Cassius can solve almost any problem with my help, so in reality he is probably beyond the skill of most adults in this world.
Julius has officially become a knight after passing an exam in the capital. He has moved on to training with the soldiers in the garrison and he also has been picking up work in the adventurer’s guild as a rank 5 adventurer. Adventurer ranks work the same as monster rankings in this world.
Marcus and Claudia have made significant progress cornering the Decimus family in court, they have at this point completely given up on assassination most likely. Marcus has also recruited many people to his anti-war faction.
I found his stance contradictory at first of being anti-war yet willing to fight if one started. But I guess he is willing to avoid war, but not lose it. I personally would probably be more in the anti-war camp that would run away to another country if a war started.
Cassius and Octavia are going out into the town today. They grabbed some money, put on their normal outfits, and departed.
There is a bakery on the corner of the main road and the entrance to the back alleyways. Cassius gets greeted by almost every citizen of the city. He is also saluted by every soldier in the city. Apparently, the Scipio family is very popular with the people. That’s probably a good thing, revolts are a sad event.
They entered the bakery and got some fresh pastries then went to the street and ate as they walked around the city. When they walked past a back street they were stopped by an old man, he had a long beard, looked dirty, and smelt bad.
“Boy, listen to me and I shall grant you wisdom far beyond your years.” This piqued Cassius’ interest. I thought it would probably be best to keep walking. “Do you believe in the divine? If you do, tell me, what is divine?”
“God is real, I feel him in my heart. And what is divine is all that God wills to be so.” He responded, influenced by his father's teaching.
“Then you live in fantasy. God is dead. Dead men do nothing. If God willed churches in rich peaceful cities to be divine places, then ignored battlegrounds where children are killed, women raped, and families enslaved. Then he would be discriminatory and thus not good.”
“We can not understand the mind of God, sir. We are just humans, and his plan is divine. The divine is beyond human understanding by definition.”
“You claim to not understand the mind of God, yet you make claims about his intentions. You make the claim of a divine plan when he could very well just be arbitrary.”
“God is not arbitrary, he is good.” He rebutted.
“I see”
“What brings you to this place, sir?”
“I came searching for the objective reason for the human existence. Only to find there is nothing, absolutely no reason.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Do you need a reason to exist? Can you not exist arbitrarily?”
“I can, but it brings no satisfaction.”
“Why not?”
“Because I had a reason once. It is gone now. Treasure your loved one’s young lord. Someday you will see them for the last time. And that last time will be truly final, there is no afterlife.”
“That is your belief.”
“That is truth.”
Cassius left the man and walked back to the estate. Pondering the words he heard today. They are not enough to shake his beliefs. They only raise questions.
…
A few weeks later the family decided to head to the capital once more. Marcus and his family were summoned by Marcus’ father and there was no way to turn it down. They left Octavia behind since she was not officially a family member yet. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to bring her along on a summons from family.
This would be Cassius’ second time in the capital, he was disappointed Octavia couldn’t come along, but Julius would be able to keep him company. They followed the same route as last time. Brennos drove the carriage while keeping a close eye on all the surroundings.
The road was bumpy, and I think the scenery looks better and brighter than last time. It’s been seven years since I was last on this road, so I could just be misremembering it. No, I don’t think I’m misremembering it. My perspective has changed.
I don’t know why, but seeing Cassius grow up, make friends, and accomplish goals, makes me happy. The world looks brighter because it truly is.
The campfire was very lively. Cassius was chatting with just Julius at first, but then Claudia and Marcus joined the conversation. I was happily listening in on the conversation when I had a weird premonition. I looked behind me, but nobody was there.
We continued the road the next morning; the weird feeling never went away. Then the words of that homeless man rung in my head “Treasure your loved one’s young lord. Someday you will see them for the last time.”
Why is this happening? What is this feeling in my chest? It’s anxiety. Why am I anxious?
They passed through Actium stopping only to eat dinner with Livius, rest, and bathe. The dinner was composed of small talk mostly. But Livius raised one question that bothered me.
“Your faction has grown. At first, I thought you wouldn’t oppose this war, but I’m glad you decided to in the end. But what does the king think about your actions?”
“As long as my territory continues war preparations, he will not oppose me. That is what he said.”
“I see, be on guard though. From his perspective, you are truly a nuisance.”
“I will.”
They left Actium and found themselves in familiar woods. It was in these woods that Cassius got lost once and met the prince of the United Elven Kingdoms. He doesn’t remember the event very well, just that he met an elven prince who gave him a dagger.
The forest was completely quiet, seemingly devoid of any animal life. The feeling that something was wrong jumped out even further to me. There was one other thing that was bothering me. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I realized.
There are a few trees on the right side that look extremely weak. Why haven’t they been cut down yet? Is anyone maintaining this road?
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Then I saw why. A great oak tree, wider than the very carriage we were in fell, collapsing onto the road. Claudia reacted in an instant, launching her hand towards the sky, and blowing away the tree in a moment, along with the top of the carriage.
Then, as if teleporting a man appeared in front of the carriage. Gladius held in his right hand, the tip of the blade pointing to the ground. The way he held it looked unnatural. Then, he pointed the blade at the carriage.
He wore full metal plate armor, with gold edged. A helmet obscured his face, only revealing his eyes. He wore a green cape which was embroidered with a spider. The sheath hung on the right side of his hip, despite being right-handed. He held no shield.
He stared at one man and one man alone. Marcus. With his sword pointed the challenge was obvious. He wanted to fight to the death, that was the message sent by the falling tree.
Marcus accepted the challenge without hesitation, joined by Claudia and Brennos. Julius drew his sword but stayed behind to protect Cassius.
I was scared at first, but with those three fighting together, there was no way they could be beaten. They simply stared each other down, without saying a word. Then Claudia moved, she cast countless spells on Marcus buffing his strength, speed, agility, focus, precision, and dexterity.
“Are you done preparing? Or shall I give you more time?” The man asked through his helmet. I could hardly make out the sound of his voice over the reverb of his helmet.
“I’m ready, as gratitude for allowing me to prepare, I shall send you to the afterlife with haste. Prepare to beg God for mercy, as he is the only one that shall grant it to you today.” Marcus responded.
Brennos was the first to leap at him after buffing himself with magic. He swung his sword which was easily dodged. The man then kicked Brennos into the carriage, shattering the rest of it to pieces. This did not faze Marcus.
“He is immune to my weakening magic, be careful,” Claudia said.
Marcus simply nodded and leaped at the man. He was already fast on his own, but with Claudia's physical enhancement magic, he moved at a terrifyingly fast speed. I couldn’t even track it with my eyes.
The man simply blocked that attack, there was something confusing about his movements. He swung a sword like an amateur, it was obvious even to me. However, when he pushed back at Marcus, his overwhelming strength was apparent.
Claudia stepped in and launched numerous ice bolts at the man. They were all dodged. One was shattered by his blade. He dodged the next attack from Marcus with ease and swung his sword back, only to miss him.
Claudia then cast the magic, ‘earthquake’ and ‘lighting’ simultaneously to drop a lightning bolt in the sky while on shaky footing, making it more difficult to dodge. However, this was not enough to get in his way and he managed to dodge it in time.
Marcus leapt back by Claudia and began to try to come up with a strategy. However, this proved to be pointless. In an instant, the man appeared in front of him and Marcus was only able to block just in time. When he did block, he was pushed back hard in the process, leaving Claudia open.
He swung his sword at her, but this was blocked by a magic barrier, however, the one made from solid magic threads. This barrier is close to impregnable. However, it is taxing. She launched herself back to where Julius and Cassius were standing with magic.
“You two, run away as fast as you can. Get to Actium and stay with Livius, he will protect you. Now run!”
This was seen by the man, who in response held up his left hand at the two boys and cast a spell.
“Fear”
The effect of this spell was powerful, so powerful that I even experienced it through shared consciousness. Julius and Cassius’ knees gave out, and they trembled. The violence trembled, as if the devil himself were standing before them.
Claudia received this mental attack as well, but she remained standing. Only appearing to be slightly shaken up by it.
“I was not expecting this, you are a surprisingly strong woman. I had expected you to be a coward.”
Marcus got back up from being thrown back. He looked at Claudia and nodded. That signal started their truest attack. Brennos was barely breathing as he watched this play out. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn’t work at all.
Claudia cast a barrier of pure magic over the two boys. Then, she took a deep breath, her hair rose up above her head. Magic spread out to the surroundings.
Trees were lifted out of the ground, turned horizontal by her magic, and the edges were shaved off into stakes. The trees spun fast enough to catch fire. She launched the first one at the man.
Marcus jumped at him once more, hiding himself in the shadow of the tree. When the tree was dodged, he appeared from under it and swung his blade upwards. It was blocked once again, but the man couldn’t follow up as another tree was sent flying his way.
Each time it hit the ground; all the surroundings shook violently. Marcus disappeared once more and appeared behind the man and swung once again. This was blocked, but a tree came flying in from the man’s blind spot, it couldn’t be stopped. Or I thought that, but in an instant, the tree was sent flying back at Claudia perfectly intact. I instantly recognized the spell from a book Cassius read. Truest Counter. A spell thought to be a myth. A counter spell that can send back magical attacks without them losing any energy. How did he know it?
Claudia tried to dodge but to no avail. The log tore through her torso killing her instantly.
“no…. no…. mother.” Cassius broke out in tears of despair.
Julius simply clutched onto Cassius. He covered the 9-year-old’s eyes while gripping his sword and staring at the corpse.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Is this real? Is this really happening? Please tell me it isn’t. There is no way that Claudia could die. Right?
No, this is real. I can tell. I only wish it were a nightmare.
Seeing this sight sent Marcus into a rage. He launched himself at the man, but his swing was turned back on him. The same counter ability. His chest was sliced open, and the man appeared over him.
The man’s foot was holding down Marcus’ sword arm. He tried to struggle out, but the force of the attacker was simply overwhelming. The look in his eyes, in the eyes of that man. It was far more terrifying than his strength. He looked as if he were watching paint dry, bored, disinterested.
“Marcus Scipio, arc-knight of the kingdom. I see now why it was me who was sent to kill you. You and that woman are both truly strong. If it were anyone else as your opponent, then I imagine they would be killed.”
“You… bastard… please… leave my children out of this.”
“I’m sorry, orders are orders. But you believe in God, don’t you? In that case, you will be united shortly.”
Before he could respond, Marcus’ throat was cut through and he was killed. Brennos has passed out and possibly died by now.
And the man set his sights on Cassius and Julius.
This… This can’t be happening.
I opened my mouth for the first time since coming to this world. My throat was horse and dry, my voice cracked as I screamed.
“PLEASE! PLEASE DON’T KILL THEM! IM BEGGING YOU! THEY ARE JUST KIDS.” But my voice could not be heard “IM FUCKING BEGGING YOU, JUST DON’T KILL THEM! DON’T!”
He kept approaching, not stopping from my words. I tried to push him but just fell through.
Julius found the courage to stand up despite the spell cast on him. He was violently trembling and standing behind the barrier.
“Hm, that woman amuses me once again. To create such a complex barrier in seconds. But I’m sure she knew I could get through it. That’s why she didn’t cast it over everyone.”
He stuck his hand against the barrier and light pulsed through his hand. The barrier was shattered. His eyes set on Julius who swung his blade wildly. His blade was knocked into the woods by pure force. Then Julius, the brave young knight was stabbed through the chest and perished.
“FUCK! JUST STAY AWAY FROM CASSIUS! CASSIUS GET UP AND RUN!” I cried.
But he couldn’t run away. The man picked Cassius up by his silver-blue hair and stared him in the eyes. Cassius was completely broken at this point. He simply accepted this. Then he was stabbed through the chest like his brother and dropped onto the ground. The man walked away as if he had merely completed an errand.
No.
No no no no no.
Cassius…. Please no.
Don’t let this be happening.
I’m begging you.
God, please.
Anyone, please.
Save Cassius.
I don’t want him to die!
PLEASE ANYONE.
Cassius drew his final breaths, he looked at me with his hollow, deep sunk eyes. He saw me for the first time since he was born and said to me.
“So, it’s you, who’s been watching over me. I knew it all along.” Blood poured out of his mouth as if he spoke his final words. “Don’t… let… him…”
As his consciousness faded, so did mine.
…
I woke up.
I’m in Cassius’ bedroom in the estate. I look to my right; Octavia is staring at me. She is sitting on a chair that was moved over to the bedside. My body feels light. I look down and my chest is bandaged up. I have a small build, like a child’s.
“U-um… Cass.”
I sit up. I’m confused. How can she see me? Why is she talking to me? Why is she calling me Cassius?
What happened? My memory is fuzzy. Where is Cassius?
It’s probably best if I go look for him. He must be nearby. It’s morning, he should still be practicing his sword. I get up and walk out to the yard, Octavia follows me for some reason.
I went into the yard, and no one was there. Where is he?
I look around and I see a sword. It’s on the rack like it should be. But for some reason, the mere sight of it gives me a headache and scares me.
I drop onto the ground for a moment. Octavia rushes and grabs onto my shoulders after I fall.
What happened? What’s going on?
We were in the carriage going to the capital. Then something happened? But what?
I walk over to the pond, to get a look at myself. I examine my reflection and see it.
Ah, I remember now. A tree fell and then… then…
I started crying.
I remember everything now… they died… Cassius too. This isn’t a dream, I can tell.
In the pond, I see the reflection of Cassius. Bandaged on the chest. The same bandage I am wearing. The Cassius I see in the pond is me. I realized I can ask the woman beside me what I want to know.
“Octavia… they are all dead now aren’t they… did anyone survive?”
“Brennos survived… the rest are…”
“I see.”
She grabbed my shoulders again and started leading me back to the bedroom. I cried non-stop. I could tell she was holding back tears. As I cried in bed, she simply sat in the chair next to it. Until I passed out.
Cassius… is dead