Frosk…
He sat in the room that was reserved for him feeling defeated that he had lost so completely to that woman Camilla.
Even though he had every counter that he could think of to her power, she was just far to strong on her own that it was meaningless to fight against her.
“Heh...to think that Azazel chose me to bear witness to our lord’s arrival, yet I failed so completely…,” he muttered dejectedly.
As he was caught up in his own thoughts, he barely noticed the knock at his door and sat up from his bed to answer it.
Much to no surprise, Azazel was there waiting for him, to which Frosk said, “Have you come to console me from my loss?”
Azazel frowned but did not appear angry as he said, “I suppose so, but it seems that it is not what you want to hear right now, is it?”
Frosk let out a humorless laugh as he said, “You’re right, its not, but I’ll welcome you in anyways.”
He opened the door and Azazel nodded his thanks as he walked through, snapped his fingers, and a chair appeared out of thin air for him to sit on.
“I take it that you feel that your loss to Camilla is making you feel doubtful of your own importance, that it is contrary to what I said about you?” Azazel asked.
“You said that I would bear witness to our lord’s arrival and...I assumed that that meant I would witness it in battle. Was I...wrong?”
Azazel went silent as he threaded his fingers together and thought for a moment before saying, “Frosk, I need to say this with the the highest amount of sincerity that I can muster, and as politely as I can… I am not an omniscient god. My word is best described as an educated guess than to be taken as an absolute. I say that you will bear witness to our lord’s arrival but I cannot promise how that will happen. What I can promise you is that you are meant for something far greater than just a meager scuffle in a competition like this, that much I am certain. Do not take this loss so heavily upon yourself. See it as more of a stepping stone along the road of uncertainty that you, as well as I, are taking on our path to serving our lord.”
Frosk grit his teeth in frustration as he turned to face Azazel and said, “You say that now, but words can only go so far before they wind up going nowhere at all. How certain are you that things are transpiring as you believe them to be? Do you really believe that our lord has that much worth for me that I-?”
Azazel held up his hand to ask Frosk to be silent as he said, “That woman you and I met, Nashandra, was the second of the kings that our lord has chosen. You, Frosk, are the first, chosen by him during the third siege of Alken in the Mordrinite War. I have reason to believe that the next one will appear much sooner than we think. If events are accelerating as quickly as I believe them to be, then perhaps he will appear within the next year or so. I cannot be certain, but Frosk, do not lose heart. Our lord would not wish for us to wallow in self pity at every loss. He would want us to continue to strive forward for whatever goals we set out to achieve.”
Frosk sighed as he put his palm over his eyes and tilted his head back as he said, “You’re right...damn it.”
Azazel stood up and said, “Let us give all that we can of ourselves to our lord.”
“And never lose heart in the face of hardship,” Frosk said, finishing the sentiment.
Azazel smiled and nodded as he said, “Of course. Now, lets go. I believe Marcus Wright’s fight will be starting soon. I wouldn’t want you to miss this one.”
“Against the God of Madness Raime? I feel...concerned about whether or not Marcus will be alright. As Nashandra was the left hand of King Dagon, Raime was the right hand, one of his greatest warriors. It took the greatest men and women of Duranell’s army to bury him under that mountain of blades for fifteen years and yet he looks completely unbothered by it. It took the strongest woman in the world to defeat Nashandra, but against Raime…?”
“Do not forget that Marcus was the one to slay Malthael, albeit in a half dead state. With that Archdragon’s soul contained in his body, and with the time his soul has taken to regain its lost strength, there is no telling just how powerful he is now.”
Ruvick…
He had been waiting outside the entrance to the hallway as Artemis walked by, startled by his sudden appearance.
“You and I need to have a discussion about that stunt you pulled against Raum,” he said with a stern tone.
Artemis’s voice got caught in her throat as she stuttered, “I...Eh...S-So you know about that…”
“When you erased that future timeline, I was still left floating in the non-existence left behind,” he groaned.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she asked, “You survived that?!”
“Artemis, I cannot die no matter what anyone does to me. Of course I can survive something as meager as erasing time. However, there is another issue regarding that which I wish to discuss. I’ll have to ask you to avoid doing that anymore until after I’ve altered the spatial battlefield to be capable of handling something as destructive as that. I shouldn’t have to remind you the dangers that would come with erasing a universe from existence. What if God had become alerted to such an event and suddenly appeared?”
“How certain are you that God is even in this universe in the first place? You of all people would have sensed his arrival in this world and already killed him if that were the case, wouldn’t you have?” she replied.
He didn’t have a rebuttal for that because he also had no definitive proof that he was in Erebus’s universe.
“Regardless, be more cautious of how and when you use that power, for Selene’s sake at the very least.”
Artemis narrowed her eyes warily at him as she asked, “Was that a threat I heard just now…?”
“Of course not you foolish woman. What would I hope to gain by threatening you or Selene? I don’t want harm to befall either of you,” he said impatiently, to which Artemis frowned and folded her arms.
“Why are you so concerned about me using such power for fear that it would attract God if his death is what you want in the first place? Why are you dragging things out?” she asked.
“Because I do not know all the answers to the nature of things just yet. There are things that must be resolved before I can snuff out God’s life.”
“Just leave me and my daughter out of whatever schemes you have in mind,” she said as she glared at him.
“I’m afraid I cannot. Selene’s existence is very important to me.”
Artemis bared her teeth at him as she snarled, “For what reason would you need to include Selene in this ceaseless crusade you are carrying out against God?!”
Ruvick paused as he thought of an explanation to use to calm her down.
“Do you remember Yeshua’s prophecy that he shared with us?”
She blinked in confusion before she said, “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Yes, I remember it well. He stated that a warrior would appear, wielding their father’s sword, with a roar that would shake all of creation, and their strength would spell the end of the Final Age.”
Ruvick nodded and said, “Yes, very good. However, I think there is a possibility that Yeshua was not revealing the full truth to us. That, or he did not have the full picture. This world has just as much importance across all of creation as Terra does, and due to that fact, I’ve managed to come across a second prophecy. This one details the arrival of three unnamed primordial gods. One of wrath, one of humanity, and one of rebirth. This prophecy is written upon the tower of Alken in Forrosa. I believe that Forrosa’s prophecy details who will be the ones to kill God, while Yeshua’s prophecy details how to identify them.”
Artemis folded her arms and looked at the ground as she seemed to be in deep thought before she asked, “What does all of this have to do with Selene? How does she factor into all of this?”
“She is tied to this through you Artemis. You are not just the Goddess of the moon, but you are also the Loom of Fate. When you killed the Three Fates, you absorbed their loom into you and it became a part of your strength. In Forrosa’s prophecy it is said that the Goddess of Rebirth is meant to be the successor of Nøkkra, the Goddess of Fated Starlight, Erebus’s goddess of fate. Now of course, this does not mean that you are Nøkkra yourself, that would be foolish. However, with you being the Loom of Fate, and Selene being yours and Adrianos’ daughter, I believe that she is connected to the prophecy.”
Artemis’s eyes widened and she went pale as she said with a shuddering voice, “Y-You don’t mean-”
“I think that Selene might become the Primordial Goddess of Rebirth.”
She wrapped her arms around her as if she were feeling cold and shivered as she said, “I...I hope you are wrong Ruvick. I don’t want my daughter to be caught up in this mess that you started.”
“I’m sure my words will do little to reassure you, but I can tell you that my theory is not unshakable. Its possible that I could be entirely wrong about it and she is not the one I am looking for,” he said and she turned to look at him with a haunted, yet hopeful look in her eyes.
“However, the Final Age began with Yeshua’s death and we are quickly approaching the end of it. You may curse me for saying it, but your daughter may be the final piece of the puzzle I am looking for.”
Marcus…
As he sat in the waiting room, he wondered about what Malthael was thinking.
Malthael, you do understand that I am about to fight your son Raime, correct?
What of it?
Do you feel any particular way about it? He is your son and I will be using your strength to fight him. Are you sure that you won’t be bothered by-
Why does it matter to you how I feel about fighting my own flesh and blood? My worries are meaningless now as I have no body of my own, nor the will to oppose you.
Hearing this felt contradictory to how he usually acted around Marcus as he was usually far more rude and abrasive. He was never hesitant to complain about being used for something mundane, yet now he was acting meek?
If that is truly how you feel about this matter, then I will leave it alone.
Malthael did not respond and so Marcus considered the matter settled.
A few more minutes passed until the announcer’s voice came on and he was called for the next match.
“Time to go then…,” he said to himself as he left the waiting room and made his way to the arena floor.
Raime was already present, standing with his arms folded and an impatient look on his face.
As soon as he spotted Marcus, he smiled and said, “Finally…I’ve already had two combatants forfeit their battles to me and I’ve long since grown tired of this competition. You had better entertain me or I will peel your skin from your body.”
Hearing Raime’s threat amused Marcus so he decided to match his energy as he said, “I would hold your tongue if I were you Raime. Speak one more insult to me and I will rip your soul from your body and reunite you with your father inside me.”
Rather than appear angry, Raime smiled so widely that his teeth showed as he said, “I think I like you Marcus Wright. Please do not die too quickly, I want to savor this fight as much as possible.”