Chapter 28.2: Valra
Orphzus, Gideon
The ink that ran across and embedded itself within the parchment could possibly be the most important ink within Elden’s modern history.
The most powerful king in all of Vholeria’s history, against the dual devil relic wielder of Red Wing’s. Seven days from now. Wrote Lord Orphzus You and I shall duel within Voken. Failure to arrive will result in Vholera’s assault on your quaint village. You have something I want Yami, and I have something you want. Come, liberate Vholeria, I’m waiting Yami. Orphzus then skipped a line in his passage to sign off his letter Yours sincerely, Lord Orphzus. The long-haired man leaned back in his luxurious yet strong-looking chair.
“Package and deliver this quickly,” said Orphzus. The attendant who stood by him moved swiftly and took the letter carefully. Folding it with precision and leaving the small yet dense study they stood in. Orphzus relaxed in his chair and leaned his head against his hand. He sat in thought, about what his direction would be after Yami had been defeated. Yami is the only one who can provide that challenge he has so desperately desired for years now. With no challenge and no purpose…what would be the point? What would be the point of living? The thrill of a close battle is something he couldn’t live without. Orphzus sighed deeply and stood from his chair, pulling it out from the smooth stone it laid on. Orphzus rose and slowly walked from the study and to the wooden door. He passed through the hallways that were lit by the faint purple lights, powered by demonic energy.
“Five years it has taken the realm to utilize the basics of demonic energy as a replacement for mana,” he spoke to himself quietly as he passed Vholerian spearmen in the open hallways of Voken. “Yet we have not even tapped into a fraction of its potential that lies outside of the relic user,” Orphzus broke off from the hallway and entered a small door. It led into a room that was devoid of light, aside from one small source. A faint purple aura that glowed at the end of the small room. Orphzus approached it slowly, his black boots stepping across the smooth stone of the floor.
As he approached, the faint light looked to be glowing through a small glass cylinder, one that contained something physical within. “Applying demonic energy to grown organisms has been…challenging. The mature individual struggles and resists the energy, though it has not proved fruitless” he said as he placed his hand against the glass cylinder, the purple light shone onto his palm. “But you do not have those limits…do you?” As he focused his eyes against the faint glow, the figure that emitted the aura could be seen clearly. What lay in the glass chamber…was an Infant. A child, no more than a few months old. The child was wrapped in a tan infant's cloth and looked to float in the glass cylinder. Almost as if it were suspended with time. The Infant did not react to Orphzus’s presence. It didn't react to anything for that matter. Only the faint demonic aura glowed around it in a purple haze.
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“Perhaps, if Yami cannot satisfy me. You shall need to meet my expectations.” Orphzus removed his hand from the cylinder and then turned to walk out of the room. Leaving the infant suspended in time, once again…on its own.
Gideon reached the Vholeria gates. The guards didn't bat an eye, he may no longer be under the service of Vholeria anymore, but the guards knew who he was. As the guards opened the gates for Gideon and he entered the small war camp that was situated outside Vholeria city, Gideon could only overhear one topic of conversation from all the men in the camp as he walked through. Something about an evacuation of the city, or how Orphzus wishes to bring war to the Red Wings.
Would we really make a decision like that now? Gideon thought to himself as he waded through the soldiers of the camp. I’m no longer under his service, he may have the army of Vholeria but he’s practically challenging the Red Wings himself. Not to mention foreign affairs could get involved. Gideon stopped in the war camp however once came to a realization of Orphzus’s intentions. Men passed him as he stood within the main path, motionless. If he intends to use that then…it could cause ruin for Elden itself!
Gideon stood unsure of what to do. If Lord Orphzus really intended to fight Yami and the Red Wings, Should he fight alongside Orphzus? He was no longer under his service but that didn’t mean the previous eight years were nothing to him. Should he fight alongside Yami? If Orphzus is planning what Gideon thinks he might, the Red Wings won't stand a chance, it will be a battle for Elden itself, it would be taking things too far for his own selfish desires that even his once loyal assassin would have to step in and fight alongside someone he once called an enemy to Vholeria. It would be the only right thing to do. Or should he even get involved at all? He could find a ship leaving Elden, forget about what he built, and start a new life. Gideon stood with his fists clenched and teeth gritted. He turned back to Vholeria and set his amber eyes on Voken.
“Damnit…what should I do” He muttered to himself.