Ares grew to despise the humans.
At first, they were creatures he cherished; he was able to relate to them as they shared a similar DNA and genetic structure. However, that all changed a hundred years after they were released from cyrostasis. He wasn't sure how, but they somehow gained the ability to draw elemental magic from the Spirits. Earth had cried out to him time and time again about how their energy was being stolen from them.
When he had asked how the humans had come upon such power, the Spirits replied it was the work of an ancient incantation; one even they were powerless to stop.
"Who created the incantations if you didn't?" Ares had asked.
"What do you mean?" Wind asked monotonously, a hint of bewilderment in their voice.
"Well, someone would have had to have created them, right? Something can't come from nothing, right? I wonder, do you also have a creator? Did something or someone come before you?"
"We have long theorized that we and Halcyone were created by a higher being. However, there is no trace or even evidence of their current or prior existence. It is entirely possible they are the creator of the incantations, or perhaps it is something else. Perhaps it is the will of Halcyone, or even a human or Fae invention. Perhaps we will never know."
"There's really nothing you can do to stop it?"
"Besides persuading the humans otherwise? No."
"So, go persuade them!"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Ares never understood the Wind Spirit's words. Or at least he wouldn't for a while. If the Spirits weren't going to intervene for themselves, he would take matters into his own hands. After all, without the Spirits, what would become of Halcyone?
He met with the Aecerian king, someone he had learned was quite the advocate for these newfound elemental powers. As he had expected, getting an audience was impossible; his only other option was to teleport directly to him.
”Who are you? What are you doing here?” The king sputtered as he struggled to fully turn around, knocking the documents off his desk in the process.
”My name is Ares; the Elemental Spirit of Darkness,” Ares introduced coldly.
“Elemental Spirit— Are you mad?”
“You tell me.” Ares summoned what could only be described as a dark rift; standing no more than half a meter tall, it hovered menacingly above Ares’ right hand. He wasn’t surprised at the king’s shocked reaction considering only he was capable of such a feat.
“Why have you come?” The king demanded. His eyes remained fixated on the fissure before him.
“You must order your people to stop reciting the incantation that grants them elemental magic. It’s draining the Elemental Spirits’ power.” He closed the fissure as if it has never existed in the first place.
The king blinked, his expression perplexed yet intrigued. “What are these Elemental Spirits you speak of? You referred to yourself as one earlier, but I have no idea what that means.”
Ares involuntarily took a step back. His mouth sputtered but no words came out. How did he not know something so basic?
“The Elemental Spirits are Spirits that have dominance over their respective element,” Ares explained. Was his explanation redundant? Yes, but he hadn’t the slightest clue how to explain it otherwise.
“Ah, the elements, yes. I’m vaguely aware of their presence in Halcyone. Tell me, what happens when their power is fully spent?” The king’s expression looked more amused than concerned. Ares wondered what was going on inside of his twisted head.
”Halcyone will crumble until it ceases to exist.”
To Ares’ utter horror, the king smiled. It was a smile devoid of delight; one filled with lust and amusement. “And when will that be?”
Ares bit his lip. He knew where he was going with this and he didn’t have the right answer.
“Your hesitation tells me you either don’t know the answer or the answer is sometime in the distant future. If the latter is true, why is it my problem? Why should my people change their way of life to prevent a hypothetical future problem? Who’s to say in the future the Elemental Spirits are no longer required to keep Halcyone afloat? Besides, can you even prove that there is any truth to your words?”
Ares clenched his fists. He wanted to scream. He wanted to grab this man by the collar and tell him how selfish he was, not only to drain the Spirits of their strength but to have no sympathy for his descendants either.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
No, he couldn’t lose his temper here. If it was impossible to convince him, then there was one question he needed answered.
“How did you come about that incantation?” Ares asked.
“A man in a gray robe. Don’t bother asking what he looked like as his face was covered, nor did he give his name. He simply instructed us to refer to him as “the Almighty.””
Ares knew of only one man narcissistic enough to refer to himself as such.
—-
“Where did you learn of that incantation? Why did you teach it to the humans? Why are you out bathing in public?” Ares began his onslaught of questions without prying his eyes away from the naked man before him bathing in the lake.
Ballard blinked, not expecting Ares to appear out of thin air. He couldn’t remember the last time the two had spoken. “I’m not in public. If anything, you’re the one invading my privacy.”
“That last question wasn’t important. Answer the other two.”
“To answer your first question, the Fae. As for the second question, to kill the Elemental Spirits.”
“To what?!” Ares gawked.
“Why do we need them when they’ve granted us our powers? With them alive, we risk them repossessing our immortality and restarting the world all over again. Their death all but ensures our survival.”
”You’re an actual moron!” Ares shouted. “Without the Spirits there is no Halcyone! And without Halcyone there is no us!”
”Relax, I’ve come up with a solution for that too. Did you know the souls of living beings — especially humans — can be used as fuel for Halcyone?” Ballard raised an eyebrow hoping to intrigue Ares with his preposition.
”You wouldn’t…” Ares glared at him. He felt his blood boil and it took everything inside him not to kill Ballard where he stood.
Ballard sighed taking a step out of the lake. Ares was even less impressed than he imagined he’d be. “I figured I wouldn’t be able to convince you. You’re too… nice. Despite having lived for a hundred years, you still haven’t matured. Perhaps the Spirits stunted your cognitive development.”
“Why you…!” Ares threw a punch that Ballard was quick to grab. Ballard was far stronger than he anticipated. Though seeing his muscles, Ares could see why.
“Telling you my plan doesn’t matter. In fact, it brings me pleasure to see you struggle against it, powerless to stop me.” Ballard smirked causing Ares to cast a fire spell, forcing Ballard to pull his hand away.
“If you kill me now, you ensure your own death by causing the Spirits to recreate the world.”
“That’s a small price to pay to rid this world of a bastard like you!”
Ballard clenched his teeth. He hadn’t expected that answer, but he was quick to retort. “What about Thea? You would condemn her to the same fate?”
Ares froze. Right, Thea… The two had drifted apart over the last century, but surely he couldn’t indirectly cause her death, could he? No, he had to find another way. He wasn’t sure how Ballard had gained access to the Fae secrets, but he would have to do some digging himself.
—-
Ares deduced that Ballard interrupted the flow of life using an incantation. As far as any records went, there was no way to reverse or nullify an incantation. So, he discovered a loophole. By creating his own incantation, he could require a simple phrase or word to be said before the souls of the dead would be returned to Halcyone. It wasn’t perfect, and it would still deny the departed the paradise they deserved in the afterlife, but it would at least halt Ballard’s plans.
He felt himself grow insane. Thea, even the Spirits wouldn’t do anything about Ballard. The Spirits refused to interfere in any matter regarding the five, and Thea was concerned about making the situation worse. More than anything, she saw Ballard as their equal — someone they would have to learn to get along with if they hoped for Halcyone to have any semblance of balance.
His only hope was Linda — Lunelle, the woman he had fallen for and she in turn for him.
But that was a story for another time. He lost faith in everyone and everything around him. It became obvious that nothing would change if he didn’t take the first step.
He tried one last time to persuade the king, and when that didn’t work he burned the kingdom of Aeceria to the ground. Humans could be replaced, the Spirits could not — or at least not as easily. Besides, he would take good care of their souls until the time the incantation could be undone. He had worked with the Fae — perhaps his only real friends left — to create a safe haven for lost souls.
Thea had scolded him for what he had done to Aeceria. She had tried to talk him out of confronting Ballard as well. He didn’t care. Where had she been the past millennium? He had sworn he had seen her with the now Fae King several years ago. Whatever. What they did with each other was their business.
Thea watched as her once best friend fought against their counterpart mercilessly. Neither held back, both intending to kill the other. While Ballard excelled in physical strength, Ares excelled in magic. Their duel attracted a crowd in Zetheria. Nobody could predict who would win.
But it didn’t matter. Thea had already made up her mind. If Ares won, she would kill him herself. He had gone too far and corrupted himself. He was little better than the man he was trying so hard to stop. Perhaps she herself was no better for having such evil intentions, but she was certain this would trigger the end of the world. The races in Halcyone deserved better than the bickering three.
In the end, Ares and Ballard finished each other off simultaneously. To Thea’s utter shock, Lunelle had come upon an incantation that would ensure Ares’ reincarnation in the future. She tried to pry the black-haired girl off of Ares’ corpse, but she wouldn’t budge. Her nails dug into his already torn flesh as blood splattered on her.
If Lunelle could enact such an incantation, she would enact one herself. However, she hoped the price she would pay would not be nearly as steep as the one Lunelle paid. If it wasn’t for Solus sharing some of his life with her, Lunelle would have lost herself in the process. After all, the price for a life is a life.
Incantations were more vague than Thea had anticipated. There was always some sort of price that came along with it. Lunelle had paid hers, but she wondered what Ballard and Ares gave up for theirs. She imagined the price the humans paid for magic was either their health or their sanity.
She had to ensure she would exist when Ares reincarnated to be there to stop him. With war on the horizon, she had no desire to risk her life or witness the devastation that was bound to unfold. In fact, with her best friend dead, she had little desire to continue living at all.
Sleep seemed like the obvious answer, but what would be the price for that? What if she awoke to find she had lost all of her memories? It was too risky. And what if she wasn’t strong enough to defeat him? In theory, they should have been equally matched; but at some point, Ares had surpassed her. So, she decided to part with her body to become an object of pure light. Having no need of her powers in this form, she sent them to the distant future where another would seek her out and finish what she could not.