“Sovereign, where are you?” Yeon asked through her phone.
Having escaped the chaos that unfolded at Cerberus HQ, she found refuge at a small checkpoint nearby—watching the massive belfry crumble in on itself from a distance. Around her, Cerberus’ officers arranged the survivors as more kept arriving in the company’s military trucks—receiving medical assistance as necessary.
“I’m in the Deadlands, just had a… an unpleasant encounter.”
“What happened?” Yeon asked, proceeding to shake her head rapidly right after. “Forget that, a belfry just emerged at HQ. It was quickly taken down, but some of the company’s employees were killed by the specters.”
“It wasn’t me.”
The man’s claims caused Yeon to recoil slightly, releasing a short and soft gasp in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“It wasn’t me, Ki-Joon. I think you know what that means.”
“…” Yeon remained quiet for a short couple of seconds before offering her reply. “Can you stop it?”
Sovereign hummed in agreement through the speaker. “Of course, but it will take some time. Where is Jacob?”
“Paradise,” Yeon answered. “He was taken by Loki’s knights.”
“Right, don’t worry about it. I’m working on bringing him back, stay safe.”
“Wait, Lo… Sovereign.” Yeon stopped him from cutting the call.
“What is it?”
With a quick sigh to relieved her nerves, Yeon slowly shook her head before speaking. “Nothing, let’s focus on the task at hand.”
“Right, I’ll see you soon.”
The call ended immediately after, and Yeon was left with her phone in hand—looking at the crumbling black tower in the distance. She lowered her head while running her fingers through the screen, tapping the small icon of a picture on it.
Scrolling past what was probably hundreds of videos and images, she suddenly stopped at a colorful photo of herself in the bright outdoors. She wore a black sheath dress that clung to her figure, and an academic cap in her head—posing for the picture with a vibrant smile. She crouched on the mowed grass behind a small silver-haired boy, holding him by the shoulders as they both smiled to the camera.
“Luna took this picture,” Yeon whispered to herself with a melancholic smile. “I’ll protect him… I haven’t failed him yet.”
Floating City of Paradise, Gladea’s Castle: 936, May 14th, Monday, 10:00 AM.
Standing from his throne, the giant knight stomped his way across the long corridor within the massive castle walls. Fit for royalty, King’s azure tunic was decorated in silver and gold—rings, bracelets, and chains ornate his hands.
His imposing stature and strong body inspired all knights in the room to kneel as he walked pass them, keeping his chin high up and his eyes fixed forward—covered with a shadow by the bangs of his hair.
“…” King remained lost in thought as he continued his stride, suddenly struck by the memories of his past.
---
It was a bright and peaceful day at Paradise, both gladean knights and humans roamed the sunny streets with smiles plastered on their faces. King traveled those same stony roads himself, keeping a bright attitude that complimented the gentle rays of the sun above.
Unlike the other knights, King’s body structure was skinny and somewhat shorter—an anomaly within gladean knights, as they all displayed the exact same height once reaching a certain age. He held a small baby boy in his slender arms, giving him the necessary care and attention. The tiny knight had his eyes closed—slumbering peacefully in his father’s arms. His hair was of a jet black like King’s, with the bangs covering his eyes partially.
With a bright expression on his face, King made his way into Gladea’s castle—where a long blonde-haired knight awaited him with a smile.
“You are here, King.” the blonde man said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Theo.” King replied. “The day is finally here… I only hope everything works.”
“It will, your abilities are the only hope we knights have to retake earth.”
Continuing with casual conversation, the pair made its way inside the castle—where two gladean knights stopped them in front of a tall wooden gate reinforced with steel, allowing them passage towards the throne room after a quick inspection.
They both walked the long corridor while glancing to the side from time to time, observing the guards who stood firm with their spears in hand. As soon as they reached the throne, both Theo and King lowered their heads and kneeled before the monarch of the castle. The man was dressed in a blue tunic decorated in silver and gold, with a massive crown ornamenting his head.
“We are here again for our offer, your majesty.” Theo informed.
The monarch leaned forward from his throne after spotting the baby in King’s arms, curious about the pair’s intentions. “What is it this time?” he queried. “I will not accept another campaign against the Deadlands, specially from you both.” the man stated. “We are safe in Paradise. Humanity is safe in Paradise, and I will not compromise it because of you two.”
“Please listen, your majesty.” King pleaded. “This boy in my arms… he is the answer to our problems.” He raised the slumbering child for the monarch to see. “You can sense it too, can you? The power that flows withing him is even greater than that of the champion himself.”
The man’s words caused discomfort among the guards, who glanced at each other and towards King—chattering among themselves. With a quick motion of his hand, the castle’s monarch brought silence back to the room, genuinely curious about his subordinate’s claims.
“Do you understand the magnitude of your claims? I sense little to no strength in that boy.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Theo proceeded to answer the king’s doubts. “We need the statue of the goddess, your majesty.” he explained. “Only she can bring out his true power, if you could only give us a chance.”
Appealing towards the man’s curiosity, it didn’t take long for the pair to convince their monarch to allow them to utilize Gladea’s statue. They were escorted by a group of the monarch’s best guards, and promptly guided outside through a back door behind the throne room.
There, they crossed a beautiful garden—ornamented with flowers and statues of the knights, into a large fountain. Its waters had a crystalline look to them, with an exotic azure glow at the bottom. The goddess’ statue was displayed at the very center of the fountain, her feet were slightly submerged underwater, and her face smile with her arms extended forward—as if encouraging an embrace.
“Show me,” the monarch demanded.
Theo smiled at King with a nod, prompting him to carry on forward. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, King looked at the baby boy in his arms one last time before proceeding. He submerged one foot in the water—which covered his lower body all the way up to his thigh, before placing the second foot forward and trudging the waters towards the goddess.
“I’m giving you a last chance to prove yourselves, but if this turns out to be another waste of my time...” the monarch warned. “I will send you both back down to earth. You’ve caused enough trouble with your senseless notions.”
“Do not worry,” Theo replied. “That… it’s not simply not going to happen.”
King gently lowered the small boy into the water, smirking to himself as he submerged the baby further down. The waters suddenly became rowdy as waves began to form at Gladea’s feet—spreading across the fountain. The castle’s monarch recoiled visually at the surprising events, staring in awe as the blue light at the bottom of the water grew intensely.
“What is this?” he asked.
“No need to panic, it will be over soon.” Theo said.
“I will assume your idea is working?” the monarch kept pushing the subject.
Theo nodded in affirmation, observing attentively at King and the boy. “Yes, it worked.”
The skies suddenly darkened, and the sleeping boy suddenly awoken. Despite the young knights trashing under water, King held the baby steady at the bottom of the fountain while waves of azure light flowed from Gladea’s statue into his body. King’s artery network radiated intensely within his body, which rapidly grew inch by inch with every passing second.
Unbothered by the events, Theo’s lips curved into a smile as he witnessed the events unfold. “It was a matter of time, but you’ve finally grown into the knight you were always supposed to be, your majesty.”
“What?” the castle’s monarch reacted in shock. “What are you talking about? I don’t feel any different.”
The waters finally calmed and the skies cleared once again, returning the light of the sun. King raised from his knees into a standing position, with the water only reaching above his ankles. His slender body increased in muscle mass considerably, having grown triple their original size—with his height almost doubling an adult gladean knight. King promptly made his way out of the fountain, approaching Theo and the monarch.
“This is… unbelievable.” The monarch said under his breath—looking up at the approaching giant. “But the boy, you said—"
“His powers had served the order…” Theo turned to look at the former king of the knights. “Now it’s time for you to provide to the goddess as well.”
“You!” the monarch stepped back in a hurry, turning his head towards the castle guards. “Stop them! Kill them b—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the massive hand of King sealed his mouth shut in a single motion—enveloping his head completely under his palm. The guards came to a sudden halt after witnessing the giant’s strength, watching as he lifted their king off his feet with little to no effort.
“Humanity is in need of our aid,” King stated—applying pressing to the man’s skull. “You’ve failed Gladea, you’ve failed the order and humanity by abandoning them for a tranquil life. You must pay for prohibiting us from fulfilling our duty as gladean knights.”
In a desperate attempt to garner any help, Paradise’s previous monarch turned to look at Theo—begin with his eyes to intervene. The blonde knight simply closed his eyes with a bright smile however, waving one last goodbye as the crushing sound of bones shattering to pieces echoed across the garden.
Tossing the corpse aside, King allowed the now dead monarch’s body to flop inside the fountain—which cleaned up the blood into a bright azure color, mixing perfectly with the water. The guards looked at each other with uncertainty, but made the final decision to kneel before the new ruler of Paradise—King.
“What about the boy, my king?” Theo asked.
“He is dead,” the giant replied. “But we can’t allow his sacrifice to cloud our vision. Humanity screams for our aid, Theo… and we must do all we can to save it.”
---
At present day, King strode through the massive stone gate into the bright outdoors, the chaotic battlefield that was Paradise came into view as his knights battled the hordes of specters. Although close in numbers, the gladean knights kept the advantage during the fight—cutting down demon after demon with their blades.
A pair of specters broke through the line of defense, rushing at King with ravenous intent. One of the creatures leaped at the giant from a distance, snapping its sharp jaws at him. King restrained the demon with ease however—trapping its head inside his massive palm. As the second demon lunged at him, King used the specter’s head in his hand to smack the approaching creature in the face—forcing it to the ground.
Finishing off his opponents, the giant slammed both demons together—piling them up on top of each other, and stomping their bodies to crush their cores into tiny crimson shards.
“…”
Although the battle seemed already won, a peculiar presence lurked deep in the knight’s thoughts. The strange image of a man flashed through his mind rapidly, too fast for King to try to make any sense of it. He continued his stomping towards the flaming battlefield to aid his knights, placing both hands in front of him as azure particles of light formed in his palms—fusing together to form a massive Warhammer of pure azure steel.
Cerberus HQ, Training Grounds: 936, May 14th, Monday, 10:00 AM.
Theo evaded Aria’s spinning kick by jumping to the side, gracefully moving away with the wind. Xun pressed the buttons in her mech’s controller to release a barrage of bullets from its rifle, but her attack ended in failure after being deflected by the knight’s strong gust of wind—forming an invisible wall in front of him.
“Fight me!” Sebastian roared, leaping at the blonde knight with a strong vertical swing.
Theo responded by implementing the wind to push the major away, but his opponent wouldn’t give up so easily—breaking his way through the gust and finishing his vertical slash.
“…!” Taken by surprise, Theo leaped backwards and barely avoided the attack—retreating with a small scratch on his cheek.
“Phew!” Sebastian huffed with a smile. “I have to admit, even if you don’t fight back… it’s quite hard to actually land a hit on you.”
“You are ignoring my warnings,” Theo claimed. “Do not make this mistake, the order is finally here to save you.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” The major replied. “I’ve seen movies like this many times, and they almost always end up with a horror twist.” He lifted his massive sword, resting the blade on his shoulder.
Aria hopped in next to the major, holding her fists high. “Major, what should we do? He is too fast for me…”
Xun stepped next to Sebastian as well, reloading her mech’s rifle. “At least the belfry dealt with itself somehow.” she said, releasing a frustrated sigh. “I honestly don’t get paid enough for this…”
Sebastian broke into laughter with a wide-open mouth, lifting his head with eyes shut before lowering it back—smirking with confidence as he stared into the knight’s azure eyes. “I’ll give you something you won’t be able to ignore… Theo.”
“…” the gladean knight frowned at the man’s claims, bracing himself for anything.
???, ???, ???,???,???,???:
In a peaceful and beautiful garden filled with flowers of the same white color, lied a large three that rose above all the flowers—gently caressed by the light of the sun above, displaying itself pridefully in the clear blue sky.
Somewhere near the tree lied a tall strange figure—surrounded by the flowers with his back flat on the ground. His black hair swayed slowly with the breeze—his eyes covered into a shadow by his long bangs. The man’s azure tunic was ragged beyond recognition, with most of his upper body at the mercy of the environment—displaying a heavily damaged torso with cuts and bruises.
END OF CHAPTER