The four of them - Arteus, Ava, Lilly, and Millie - stepped out of the shed, the door creaking shut behind them like a tomb. The air outside was thick with tension, a palpable force that seemed to pulse with the beating of a thousand hearts. The city square, once a place of merriment and bustling trade, had been transformed into a sea of faces, all twisted with fear and anger.

In the center, the execution stand loomed like a dark sentinel, its wooden frame stained with the blood of those who had dared to oppose the will of the city. The townsfolk had gathered around it, a silent, seething mass that seemed ready to erupt at any moment. The guards patrolling the perimeter eyed them warily, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by a loud, booming voice. "Welcome, citizens of Sovereign!" Kathleen Bower stood at the top of the stairs leading to the execution block, her arms outstretched as if to embrace the entire town. The crowd below grew tense, the energy shifting from fearful anticipation to anger. Her words echoed through the square, a chilling reminder of the power she wielded.

"I know that you've gathered here today with questions," she called out, her eyes scanning the sea of faces, "but fear not, for I shall provide you with the answers you seek." Her voice was a strange blend of warmth and menace, a siren's call wrapped in the guise of a mother's comfort.

With a dramatic flourish, Kathleen stepped aside, revealing a figure shrouded in darkness. The crowd murmured as the cloaked form ascended the stairs to the execution block. The figure threw back the hood, and the sun's first rays illuminated the face of none other than Tobias Kingg. His eyes, once so full of kindness, were now cold and calculating. The warmth that had once emanated from him was replaced by a chilling aura of power.

"People of Sovereign," he began, his voice resonating with a newfound authority that sent a shiver down Ava's spine. "For too long, we have been plagued by darkness, by whispers of a destiny that has torn apart families and friends."

"But I stand before you now to tell you that this ends today!" His words were like a thunderclap, shaking the very air around them. The crowd murmured, unsure of what to make of this sudden revelation.

"The so-called 'Second Coming' that you fear," he spat, as if the very notion was a foul taste in his mouth, "is nothing more than a ploy. A fairy tale spun by those who wish to control you, to manipulate your very destinies for their own gain!"

Tobias paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in. The crowd was still, the only sound the distant call of a solitary bird. Then, with a dramatic flair that seemed almost rehearsed, he fell to his knees, his eyes skyward. "I have seen the face of God!" he proclaimed, his voice resonating with a fervor that seemed to shake the very air around them.

"And do you know what he told me?" His eyes searched the crowd, as if seeking someone, anyone, who would believe his tale. "He said, 'My children of Sovereign, I do not wish you trouble. I do not wish you to live in fear of shadows and whispers.'"

"He said," and here, Tobias's voice grew softer, more intimate, "that I was to lead you all to a place where you would be safe, a place where you could live in peace." He paused for effect, and the crowd leaned in, eager for the revelation. "A place called All-Sky," he continued, "where the heavens themselves would be your guardians, where the very fabric of reality is woven to protect you from the darkness that seeks to consume you."

A murmur grew among the townsfolk, a wave of hope and confusion rippling through the square. All-Sky was a mythical land, a heaven on earth, where the gods were said to dwell. It was a place of peace and prosperity, a sanctuary from the troubles that had plagued Sovereign. The mention of it was enough to make even the most stoic among them look up with a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

"But how do we get there?" a voice called out from the crowd. "How do we escape the prophecy?"

Tobias rose to his feet, his eyes gleaming with a fervent light. "By following me," he said, his voice ringing with the promise of salvation. "Together, we will leave this tainted land behind and find our way to All-Sky. I am your guide, your protector, the chosen one sent by the gods to lead you to safety!"

The crowd was silent for a heartbeat, but then begun to erupt into solitary spaced cheers.

The prophecy that had brought them so much fear had been twisted into a beacon of hope, the very thing they had been searching for. Ava could see the desperation in the eyes of those who were beginning to fall in line, the willingness to believe in anything that offered an escape from the horrors that had been unfolding.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

But the moment of victory was short-lived. As the cheers reached a crescendo, the ground beneath them began to tremble, the cobblestones shifting and groaning as if the very earth was in pain. The people of Sovereign looked around in terror, unsure of what new horror was about to be unleashed upon them.

And then, as if in answer to their silent prayers, Tobias fell to his knees once more, his face contorted in an expression of agony. The crowd gasped, the cheers dying in their throats. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he began to convulse, his body wracked with tremors that seemed to come from a force beyond this world.

When he spoke again, his voice was not his own, but a deep, resonant boom that seemed to echo from the heavens themselves. "You speak of favorites, child of Sovereign," it said, and the crowd fell to their knees, trembling with awe. "I, the Almighty, have no favorites. I see all of my creation as equals in the tapestry of existence. The prophecy you cling to is but a thread in a garment of lies, woven by those who wish to manipulate the divine for their own ends!"

The tremors grew stronger, the earth shaking beneath their feet like a beast awakening from a deep slumber. "The path to All-Sky is not paved with gold, nor is it guarded by the angels of light," the voice continued, a note of anger slipping into its tone. "It is a journey of the soul, a pilgrimage that begins with the purest of intentions and the most selfless of actions."

Tobias' body was a conduit for the divine message, his mouth moving almost of its own accord as he recounted the terms of the divine pact. "The nobility of Sovereign, whose veins flow with the blood of gods, shall be the first to ascend. Their purity shall cleanse the way for the rest of you, their sacrifices lighting the path to our heavenly destination."

The tremors grew stronger, the very air thick with the power of the deity speaking through him. "Bow before your savior!" he roared, his eyes burning with an otherworldly fire. "Rejoice! For today marks the end of your suffering, the dawn of a new era!"

The crowd, caught in the throes of religious fervor, did not hesitate. One by one, they bowed their heads, their voices rising in a crescendo of adoration. The first cheer, a solitary cry from a desperate heart, grew into a wave that crashed through the square, lifting the spirits of the townsfolk with it. The sound of jubilation grew louder and more raucous, echoing off the buildings and bouncing through the streets like a wildfire, unstoppable and all-consuming.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it all stopped.

Arteus stepped forward, his voice a thunderclap in the stunned silence that followed the divine declaration. "Enough!" he roared, his eyes alight with a fierce determination that seemed to cut through the very fabric of the air. The tremors ceased as if in response to his command, the ground growing still beneath their trembling feet.

Tobias, still on his knees, looked up at Arteus with a mix of shock and fury, the divine light fading from his eyes. The crowd, their heads still bowed, slowly began to murmur among themselves, the weight of their doubt heavy in the air. "Do you wish to continue this charade, 'Messiah'?" Arteus spat, his contempt for the title palpable.

"The prophecy is not a game," he continued, his voice a thunderclap in the now-still square. "Nor is it a weapon to be wielded by those who wish to control the masses. It is a burden, a destiny that has been forced upon us, and one that will claim us all if we do not face it with courage and truth."

He took another step forward, closing the gap between him and the trembling figure on the execution block. "You speak of All-Sky," he said, his eyes never leaving Tobias's, "but what of the innocents you have taken to get there? What of the lives you have destroyed in the name of your twisted divine right?"

"Those children," Arteus continued, his voice low and dangerous, "are the true threads in this tapestry. They are the future of this town, the very essence of the purity you claim to seek." His hand moved to the hilt of his axe, the leather creaking as he tightened his grip. "If you do not release them," he said, his voice as cold as the steel at his side, "you will meet your end today."

The crowd's confusion grew into a cacophony of murmurs, their faces a mosaic of shock and disbelief. "What children?" someone shouted. "What do you speak of boy?" The whispers grew louder, the tension in the square a living thing that seemed to pulse with each beating heart.

Arteus stepped closer, his hand still on his axe. "The children," he repeated, his voice a low rumble that seemed to shake the very earth beneath them. "The innocent souls you and your mother have taken to fuel your twisted ambitions. The ones you have slaughtered in the name of your divine right!"

"Why don't you let everyone here know what you have done with their seed?"

Arteus's words hung in the air, as heavy as the silence that had once again claimed the square. His eyes bore into the cowering form of Tobias, who had fallen to his knees, the divine light extinguished from his gaze. The crowd had gone quiet, their eyes flicking from the prophet to the warrior and back again, unsure of what revelation was about to be unfurled before them.

Then, as if a mask had been ripped away, a wide grin spread across Tobias's face. It was not a smile of joy or mirth, but one of malicious triumph, a twisted expression that sent a shiver down Ava's spine. The cheers that had once reverberated through the square felt like a distant memory, replaced by the chilling realization that the prophecy they had placed their faith in was built upon a foundation of deceit and blood.

-To Be Continued-