Chapter 5: Jack: Vagril 6th, 343SR; 07:10
Jack’s heart was pounding. ‘He’s here, what do we do?!’ He looked around the cellar but only saw junk that wouldn’t help. Carol reached down and picked up a cloth that covered a pile of boxes.
“Carol... What do we do?!” Jack whispered.
Carol turned and looked Jack in the eyes with a determined look.
“We’re gonna take him down, obviously,” Carol whispered confidently.
Carol walked towards the large man’s body and covered him with the cloth. Jack could hear how heavily she breathed, ‘How are you so calm?!’ She took the coats and covered him with those as well.
“Here’s the plan, when I open the cellar door they shouldn’t hear us, you head to my house, go through the back,” Carol instructed as she took the key to her house out of her pocket and handed it to Jack. “I’m gonna get Alexander Rael in front of my house, and then when I give you the signal arm the explosives in the basement and get out of there,” Carol explained as she placed the key in Jack’s hand.
“Signal? What signal? How are you gonna get Alexand-” Jack asked frantically but Carol simply reached into Jack’s pocket and took one of the purple crystals. “What are you going to do? You can’t fight them-”
“Open. This. Door!” Alexander ordered and cut Jack off.
Carol grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled him to the cellar door.
“We don’t have time, just be brave and we can both get through this, we’ll take him down now and prove to the people of Logos they don’t need to fear the angels,” she declared with a nervous passion in her eyes.
Carol slowly pushed the cellar door open as quietly as she could. She checked both ways before she gestured for Jack to come up. ‘This is insane... What the hell are we doing...’ Jack thought as he climbed out of the cellar, his heart was beating out of his chest. He ran towards the back of the house as Carol slammed the cellar doors shut. He turned back to see her charge forward onto the street where Alexander Rael waited. Jack turned right and ran between the backs of houses and crop fields towards Carol’s house.
‘What are we doing? What am I doing?!’ The possibility of being beaten, punished, or even worse killed made his heart beat even faster. He shook his head as he ran past the houses, reaching the back door. He stuck the key in and opened the door quickly, he turned and was about to shut it, but took a deep breath. ‘Okay... I’m here...’ Jack slowly closed the door.
Jack turned and looked down the hall of the house, the silence made him anxious. He quickly made his way to the front room through the kitchen and crouched down by the window. ‘It’s so quiet...’ Each of his footsteps creaked through the house and made Jack even more anxious.
He opened the door to the basement, the other four devices filled with logorite were exactly where Carol left them. He made his way down and lifted one, then walked back up and placed it in the hallway at the top of the steps. Jack looked down at the device and then back to the other three at the bottom of the steps. ‘More...’ He ran back down and got the rest, placing the four devices in the middle of the hallway. ‘Okay... The signal.’ Jack made his way to a window overseeing the front of the house. He leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to get a better view of the street.
Jack eagerly watched the dirt path, he noticed a crowd of people near his own house. ‘What the heck is going on, where is Carol? Where’s Alexander?’ His thoughts raced all over his mind. All of them came to a sudden stop as Jack heard a crash a few houses down, most likely from his own. ‘Is Carol okay? What do I do? What’s the signal? Wait... Why did he even come to my house?!’
Jack’s thoughts stopped as Alexander walked down the dirt road towards Carol’s house. ‘He’s coming this way? Did Carol do it?’ he looked back to see Carol being held captive by a woman with black hair who wore similar attire to Alexander. He felt relieved to know she hadn’t already been killed. However, that relief quickly faded as he realized who walked down the dirt path.
Short green hair with the sides faded, a defined jawline, and his muscles visible through his clothes. The insignia of a green fist on his chest, the green greatsword he effortlessly held in a single hand. ‘He’s huge!’ Jack’s heart beat even faster, regret slivered up his spine. Alexander Rael was massive, he stood over the tallest people in the crowd. ‘He’s like eight feet tall?!’ Among the angels, he was a monster, unlike any other. His menacing green eyes squinted at everything, he glanced at the window and Jack ducked out of sight.
‘That was close-’
“Jack do it now!” Carol yelled.
Jack briefly turned back to the window and hesitated, before immediately scrambling across the floor to the devices. He stood when he was out of sight, and quickly started turning the round knobs on each device. The catalyst started to pour into the containers. Jack activated the last one and ran out the back door.
He went right as he exited Carol’s house and ran along the edge of the town until he reached the south entrance of Logos. He turned and crouched behind the house at the end of the path. ‘What now... Carol didn’t make a plan for what happens after...’ He saw the crowd of people, and Carol amongst them, laughing about something at Alexander. He couldn’t hear what was going on. ‘What are you laughing about... Get out of there you idiot!’
Jack looked down and reached into his pocket, he pulled out one of the purple crystals and held it in his hand, he looked up to the crowd and was even more confused. He watched Alexander toss his sword to Carol. She looked down at it with a blank stare, and then back up to Alexander.
“Huh?” Jack uttered out loud.
Carol looked down at the sword in front of the crowd. Jack watched as her expression turned to fear, the thumps of his heartbeat grew louder as he listened to the silence. She reached down to pick up the green great sword. She lifted the handle but even Jack could see from a distance that the sword was too heavy for her.
“What is she doing?!” Jack stressed from where he stood “The device will explode soon-” Jack froze as he watched Alexander roll up his sleeves.
“This is why you non-unified...” Alexander raised his fist. “Should be grateful!” Alexander roared as he threw a ruthless punch at Carol.
Jack flinched as the fist struck her, the echo alone sending shivers down his spine. His thoughts completely stopped as he watched Carol get punched in the face. His heart started to beat quickly. He breathed rapidly as he tried to process what to do.
Carol fell backward. The people in the crowd moved out of the way as she fell backward. Rather than help her, they just watched. Jack didn’t hear her scream like the last time she was beaten in the mines. Her body curled up as she held her nose. Alexander didn’t let up and continued to beat Carol ruthlessly in front of the townspeople.
“Stop...” said Jack.
Jack felt his head throb as the world seemed to slow down. Alexander threw Carol into the house.
“Stop it...” Jack begged with grit teeth.
The noble quickly got in front of her and punched her in the stomach.
“Stop it already...” Jack continued pointlessly.
Carol was lifted by the neck, and her legs flailed, trying to kick the noble in vain.
“Stop you bastard!” Jack whispered with grit teeth as tears flooded down his face.
Jack tried to leave his cover, ‘Huh... I can’t move my legs...’ His legs shook, his arm had goosebumps across the surface, and sweat dripped off his face. ‘I feel like he’ll kill me too if I even try!’
His attention was drawn back as he heard Alexander yell. Tears ran down Jack’s face, frustration made his head throb, and his cowardice was making it worse. But his eyes went wide as he saw Alexander raise his greatsword. ‘Stop-’ The noble stabbed his greatsword into her torso, and smothering her body in green flames.
Jack stood behind the house motionless, he remembered the portrait of his parents as he stood up. He walked forward out of his cover, taking small steps toward the violent scene even though he felt his body shiver. ‘Carol...’ Alexander looked around frantically as if he expected him. Jack quickly darted behind another house.
‘Why am I not running....’ He looked back at his leg and noticed he didn’t shake, his head throbbed, and his hands stung for some reason. He felt a violent drive within him. ‘I already know why... I want to kill him!’
Alexander suddenly ran into Carol’s house and barged in, and after a second of silence, the devices exploded. Jack curled up as the sound shook his ears, he peeked around the corner. Alexander’s silhouette flew out of the green explosion that engulfed the house and him at the same time. The nobles smoldering figure flew out, and the townsfolk suddenly entered a frenzy. Many screamed in terror, others turned and stormed off, and few remained just to finish watching the spectacle.
“Sir!” Vivian screamed.
Jack’s senses suddenly shot into action, and he ran forward to help Carol amidst the panic. Alexander’s body writhed on the ground a short distance away. The large man grunted and screamed as his clothes caught fire and burned at his skin. Jack ran forward to save Carol, ‘I have to save her- I-’ To his absolute horror, she was already dead. Her body burned from the waist up, beaten and pummeled, and then stabbed through with a greatsword. Despite all this, she looked like she had a smile on her face.
Jack’s rapid heartbeat came to a stop, a chill ran down his spine as his shoulders slumped weakly. Jack stood there as tears poured out of his eyes. He dropped to his knees and the tears flowed faster, splashing onto the dirt. He sat still, between multiple flaming pieces of debris, Alexander Rael’s smouldering body, and the house that was set ablaze.
‘Why didn’t you run...’ Jack thought before the man he feared rose from within the inferno of green flames. He felt a rush of anger and glared at the noble who struggled to stand as he writhed in pain. ‘And you... You...’ Jack stood up and reached into his pocket, he clutched the purple crystal in his fist as he saw Alexander getting up. ‘Die...’
Alexander stood up and a green light engulfed his body, his figure appeared to become larger in the fire. He fell forward out of the flames and donned silver armor with green gems embedded in it. Alexander rolled around in the dirt trying to put the flames that burned at his skin out, he frantically tried to put it out.
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Jack looked past Alexander and noticed the townspeople couldn’t see what was happening. Pieces of debris ignited by green flames surrounded Jack and Alexander. ‘Die!’ Jack whipped the purple crystal at Alexander, and it exploded into a purple flame. The noble let out a blood-curdling scream as the fire engulfed him. The force pushed Jack back, but he held his ground and continued forward.
“Die!” Jack screamed.
He quickly grabbed another and whipped it.
“Just die!” Jack roared.
The shadow of the noble continued to writhe within the purple and green inferno of flame. He grabbed another crystal and got ready to throw it as hard as he could, but a hand grasped his wrist before he let go.
Jack turned his head to see an angel around his height with black hair and piercing red eyes. ‘When did he get behind me-’ Jack looked at his white coat with red lines and knew immediately he wasn’t some nobody. He was from a noble house, and his chest had the insignia of a dragon coiled around a spear on it. He plucked the purple crystal right out of Jack’s grip effortlessly and walked past him towards the burning Alexander with Jack’s wrist in hand. Jack struggled to break out of his grip but felt his body get yanked upwards as the boy suddenly jumped. Jack felt himself get pulled off the ground by the arm.
“Wha-!” Jack uttered as he looked down and noticed he was in the air.
He stopped trying to pull away from his grip and held onto the mysterious angel’s hand for his life. Jack felt his smooth skin turn to rough armor, a black gauntlet formed around the hand that held his wrist. He looked up as pieces of black armor materialize and wrap around the man’s body. The armor felt rough, it had hundreds of black scales layered on top of one another. The black-haired boy lifted his other hand and a black spear appeared with a curved black blade at the end of it.
“Balakin!” he suddenly yelled.
He pointed the edge of his spear at the flame. A red light flashed behind Jack, and a gigantic black snake-like lizard with wings materialized out of thin air just like the armor. It flew high into the air and circled him. The angel landed on the creature’s back and let go of Jack. ‘Wait!’ Jack immediately fell onto the creature, but grasped a metal surface. ‘Is this armor?!’ He held on to the beast for his life, the scales on the creature seemed similar to the scales on the man’s armor. Jack’s stomach turned as felt the beast head straight down to the ground in front of the crowd of people before it let out a mighty, ear-popping roar. The roar was strong enough to push the flames off Alexander Rael, revealing the unconscious noble. He was on the ground with his skin charred black and his jaw wide open. ‘He has to be dead...’
“Vivian! Head back to Helios and alert my squad and House Lightbringer’s squadron to get down to Logos, Alexander needs treatment immediately, tell them it’s an emergency and it’s my order!” the mysterious individual in black armor demanded.
‘Did he say my squad?’ It slowly sunk in who this person was. He recalled the recent rumors he had heard before he was transferred from Torovince. A boy who became the youngest noble in history. ‘That’s Arthur Pendragon...’ Jack felt a chill down his spine when he realized that a noble just caught him.
“All of you get to work, anyone who was assigned to mining, go clear out the debris blocking the mine this instant, you’ve wasted enough time standing here, go! Farmers get to work, those of you assigned to the northwest farms, I want you to avoid the burned crops for now, so you can just split yourselves among the other farms, we’ll have personnel there to deal with it appropriately, should be done by noon, now go!” Arthur ordered strictly.
Vivian covered her mouth as she looked at Alexander’s body.
“S-sir...” Vivian uttered.
“Vivian, I gave you an order!” Arthur scolded.
“Y-Yes, sir!” Vivian snapped out of her shock.
A pair of black wings sprouted out of her back, and she flew north towards Helios. The crowd of people scattered as they looked back at the noble’s burnt body. It had been the first time they saw one hurt to that point, making this an unforgettable morning for them.
Arthur watched the crowd intently, he made sure they each left the scene while Jack was on his knees. He couldn’t take his eyes off the young noble who was probably going to execute him on the spot. ‘This is it... I’m dead.’ Too focused on his impending doom, to register the dragging in the dirt behind him. Jack turned and his eyes went wide. He felt a sudden rush of fear as he slowly looked up at the figure that loomed over him. ‘No... There’s no way...’ His suspicions were confirmed as he saw Alexander Rael on his feet, his veins lit up green and his skin began to heal.
“There you are,” Alexander croaked with a rasped throat, his eyes wide with rage.
Alexander Rael’s skin was charred all over, his hair burned off completely, and his was face scarred with a deep red burn that traveled down his neck and burned most of his chest. His skin was still slightly lit purple along the burnt parts of his skin, and his veins pulsed green. Even though he looked like a corpse, he still walked forward. ‘Why...’ Jack was frozen in fear, his legs didn’t move, and his mouth hung ajar as the noble stood over him. He raised his hand into the air and the greatsword appeared.
“Jack!” Alexander roared.
Alexander charged forward and swung his blade, but Arthur got between them and blocked the strike with his spear. Arthur’s feet dragged against the dirt as he got pushed back by the force of the strike. Alexander let go of his blade as he fell to the ground and panted heavily, the damage from earlier seemed to do more than Jack thought.
“Arthur... You fool, that boy... Kill him... Kill Jack... Or he’ll kill... All of us,” Alexander uttered in a weakened state as he struggled to keep his head up.
‘What... What did he just say...’ The noble fell face-first into the dirt. Arthur kneeled next to his body and put his finger on his neck. Jack just felt numb as he looked at the burning house, and Carol and Alexander’s burnt bodies.
“He’s still alive... Why did he say that just now...” Arthur asked himself. “No, there’s no time for that,” he said as he suddenly turned to Jack and looked him in the eyes. “You... I know what you did, don’t bother trying to hide it. Where is the body?” Arthur asked, Jack felt his body freeze as his eyes went wide.
“H-how do you-” Jack stuttered.
“Shut up and tell me if you want to live! The other angels will be here soon, hurry up and tell me!” Arthur cut him off.
“H-He’s in the cellar... A-at my house... My friend... Carol she…” Jack stuttered.
“Show me,” Arthur ordered.
Jack stood up, his legs and arms shaking in fear as his eyes were glued to the young noble and the scaled beast around him. The armor and the dragon flashed red before they both disappeared.
“I’m not going to kill you now please hurry up, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Arthur asked while he looked incredibly annoyed at Jack’s cowardice.
Jack led him to his house not too far from where they were.
“Was she your friend?” Arthur asked.
Jack turned and looked at him but he kept his pace. His heart beat heavily as he believed he could die at any moment.
“Yeah…” Jack’s voice cracked.
The two of them reached the house and Jack led him to the cellar, he opened the cellar doors and Jack walked in. Arthur followed behind, he glanced around the cellar, flinching slightly at the dampness.
“The moment the first purple explosion happened, I saw you and the girl dragging a body through the fields from the mountain, and there were tracks back at that thing in the woods,” Arthur explained.
Jack lifted the cloth revealing the unconscious man. Arthur tilted his head as he crouched next to him.
“The crystals, where did those come from?” Arthur asked calmly as he observed the man.
“They came out of his blood... But his wounds closed while we dragged him here,” Jack explained.
“While you dragged him here? There was blood all over the place back in the forest with crystals sprouting out of them, how bad was the wound?” Arthur asked.
Jack was confused, he was having a conversation about this with an angel, a noble at that.
“I don’t know how he’s alive... We could see right through him earlier. What are you going to do with him, is he an angel?” Jack asked.
Arthur put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “Did anyone else see him…”
“No…”
“I don’t know, but if those crystals are that powerful and they are coming out of his blood, he has a gift from the Celestial and a powerful one at that. It’s good you got him here without being seen,” Arthur complimented Jack.
“What? What do you mean that’s good?” Jack felt even more confused.
“You’re going to help me, and but you don’t have a choice in the matter…” Arthur suddenly declared. “You’re going to keep this guy here, and no one is going to find out he exists.”
“Huh…” Jack shook his head.
“I’m sorry, I can’t explain why I am doing this, but... We might be able to keep this a secret from the angels...” Arthur told him as he turned and walked towards the exit of the cellar.
“What? Wait... You’re working against your own?! Do you know who he is or something?” Jack asked.
Arthur pulled a small book from his back pocket and handed it to Jack. He raised the book and read the title.
“The Legend of Ragnarok, written by...” Jack read.
Jack was slightly surprised to read the name of the author.
“Ymir Lightbringer?” he raised his eyebrow. “The first king of the angels wrote this? It looks like a fairy tale…”
The cover of the book depicted a large man made of stone battling a black figure with the wings of an angel, and a white figure with horns. Jack flipped the book around and looked at the back.
“It’s not fantasy, while we wait for him to wake up, give it a read, it has the answers you need,” Arthur told him. “Oh, and most importantly,” Arthur’s tone became more serious.
“I was never here, you never threw the crystal at Alexander, I saved you from the explosion, and no one ever finds out about him.” Arthur pointed at the body. “I assume you did what you did to see the angels burn, I want the same. Do those things and go help the miners clear the debris, and then go back to living a normal life for now. And maybe… Just maybe we can change this twisted world…”
Arthur ordered Jack while he looked him dead in the eyes. There was a certain intensity to the noble, something that made him hard to doubt.
“I’ll come back and check up on him once in a while, you check on him daily, if he wakes up, I’m the first person you tell!” he ordered as he walked out of the cellar.
Jack stood there in confusion, ‘What just happened...’ He dragged the cloth off the ground and covered the body. Jack slowly made his way out of the cellar, he climbed out and closed the doors. ‘Why would a noble help me... He wants to see the angels burn? Then why did he save Alexander...’ He thought as he looked at the book once more. ‘Why did he give me this book?’
He walked back out onto the street and looked down the path to see Arthur near Alexander and Carol’s bodies. He waited for the other angels to show up. Jack remembered his orders and walked into his house, the door was wide open after Alexander broke it down earlier. He walked to the table in the main room and opened the book to the first page.
It was the cold season of Hemhir, and I was out with my brother hunting. I readied my bow to shoot the deer we had found but noticed it had been looking at something, as I turned my head I saw it too. Hiding within the snow’s cold fog, was the shadow of a large person looming over us. I felt a chill greater than the cold all around me as the silhouette stretched forward to the deer, the animal stood still, unafraid of the approaching giant. As the ground rumbled, I let go of the bowstring accidentally and struck the deer in the neck, the deer took a few steps before it ran into a frenzy. The ground began to rum-
Jack put the book down, ‘It is a fairy tale... Why did he give me this?’ Jack threw the book across the table and got up. He picked up his pickaxe and lantern and walked out the door. As he opened it, he was met with the dark-skinned child with curly hair who punched him yesterday.
“I... I wanted to... I just wanted to uh... I’m Franklin,” the boy stuttered.
Franklin had curly and messy hair with dark skin, he was scrawny and short, and his expression gave Jack a weird impression. ‘Huh?’ His eyes were droopy and made it look like he didn’t care about anything. He pulled out the ticket he stole from Jack yesterday.
“You and Carol are awesome! I took this cause I wanted to get back at your parents, but you can have this back, how did you two mess up Alexander like that though?” Franklin asked, he sounded genuine.
Jack dropped the unlit lantern and the axe as he felt his head swell with rage when the boy asked that. Jack grabbed Franklin by the collar and threw him into the house, he tumbled against the dusty ground. Jack pinned him down and punched him in the face. The boy tried to cover his head but Jack continued to punch him, tears fell out of his eyes all the while.
“Don’t you dare say it! You all sat there and watched! You watched him beat her to death, and now you come here and say that was cool or something? Fuck you!” Jack roared.
Jack could just barely hear the child try to say sorry for something, but it was distorted as Jack’s fist pressed into his jaw. Franklin shoved Jack off with his foot, and he fell onto his back. Franklin quickly ran for the door. Jack got back up, but tumbled as he fell forward.
“You deserve to be killed like that! Beaten in front of all the people you expect to help you!” Jack got up as the boy scrambled out of the house.
Jack breathed heavily, he sat down on the floor as his head throbbed, and his hands ached from punching Franklin. He felt a rush of anger again when he considered the fact Alexander was still alive and he slammed his hands onto the floor. He hit the wood over and over until his knuckles throbbed from the pain, he got up and threw whatever he could as he cried for several minutes.
After several minutes of looking at the ceiling, Jack looked at the open door. ‘What am I doing...’ He remembered what he was told to do, he got up and walked toward the lantern and pickaxe by the door. His knuckles ached as his fingers wrapped around the handle. He walked out of the house and pulled the door closed. His face was blank as he took a right and walked down the path. He turned away from the gruesome scene, looking up at the grey clouds in the sky while he reminisced about the time he spent with Carol. It was the only time he enjoyed since he arrived in Logos.
‘What was the point... We did all of that, and I am walking to the mines again. Alexander Rael didn’t even die... Carol died for nothing...’ Jack’s eyes filled with tears as he walked down the path, sniffling. ‘I would have rather kept living like this if it meant you got to be here too...’